Made Ready
Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. 1 Thessalonians 4:9 NIV
I think it is a true statement that when we became followers of Christ, we became as children. We had to start the work of growing up all over again. The first time we grew up, we did so (for better or worse) under the tutelage of our parents and guardians. But as adopted children of God, we now need to re-learn life by the standards of our new guardian.
When God loves us, He does so in order to teach us His way of practicing love. And likewise, we do not know mercy until we are recipients of God's mercy. We are unable to show true compassion until we have becomes recipients of the Lord's compassion. We will not be willing to forgive others until we recognize our need for the Lord’s forgiveness.
God never makes us aware of His love, compassion and forgiveness for our own benefit. God reveals these things to us so that we can pay them forward to others. Maybe a good prayer is to ask God to show you His love, His wisdom, His compassion and His forgiveness. Once we see how God has blessed us, I think that will create a willingness in us to dispense those things to others.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Friday, February 15, 2013
Coming Tide
Coming Tide
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV
I saw a family playing at the beach. Both parents and their son wrote their names in the sand. The son grabbed his dad's hand and said, "Now our names will be here forever." I remember a time as a child when I assumed that my parents and siblings would "always be there". And even now, I still struggle with the reality that I will lose my friends and my family. That is, unless they lose me first. And as much as loss seems to be the natural order of things, the supernatural always says differently. What is strange is how we accept loss as something that is normal. There isn't anything normal about abandonment, illness or death. The real normal is eternity. And a time is coming when the abnormal will be banished, for eternity.
I think that we are born with a sense that we are beings designed for eternity. And that belief in longevity comes out in a childlike yearning for things to last. Just like the rising tide will erase everything written in the sand, so will the troubles of life also rise and attempt to erase eternity from our minds. The Bible tells us to store the word in our hearts (Psalm 119:11). I think that when we take in God's word, it will meet up with God's eternity and spark an explosion of life, supernatural life. And that same supernatural life is at the heart of every follower of Christ.
Though the tides may come to sweep away hope, eternity has been placed in your heart by someone that loves you. God’s spark of life can never be swept away.
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV
I saw a family playing at the beach. Both parents and their son wrote their names in the sand. The son grabbed his dad's hand and said, "Now our names will be here forever." I remember a time as a child when I assumed that my parents and siblings would "always be there". And even now, I still struggle with the reality that I will lose my friends and my family. That is, unless they lose me first. And as much as loss seems to be the natural order of things, the supernatural always says differently. What is strange is how we accept loss as something that is normal. There isn't anything normal about abandonment, illness or death. The real normal is eternity. And a time is coming when the abnormal will be banished, for eternity.
I think that we are born with a sense that we are beings designed for eternity. And that belief in longevity comes out in a childlike yearning for things to last. Just like the rising tide will erase everything written in the sand, so will the troubles of life also rise and attempt to erase eternity from our minds. The Bible tells us to store the word in our hearts (Psalm 119:11). I think that when we take in God's word, it will meet up with God's eternity and spark an explosion of life, supernatural life. And that same supernatural life is at the heart of every follower of Christ.
Though the tides may come to sweep away hope, eternity has been placed in your heart by someone that loves you. God’s spark of life can never be swept away.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Persevere Confidently
Persevere Confidently
So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he promised.
Hebrews 10:35-36 NIV
It is a sad thing to live as if faith is the end outcome of the work of Christ. If you now have faith in God, it is only the beginning. If one thinks that merely believing is enough, one should question as to why God gives us faith. Is faith merely for the comfort of mankind? Is belief in God only for our private consumption?
Here is a very certain truth; if you have faith in God, you are among the chosen. Or another scripture calls us "Children of the promise" (Romans 9:8). For what purpose were we chosen? What promise are we to uphold? I think we have been chosen to be the aroma of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:15) in this world. Where ever we go, we bring a hint of God with us. And if we believers are truly doing the work God has planned for us, then at the least, we will act as signposts that point toward God.
What more could God's work for us entail? Well, I think that we slow the moral erosion of this world. We change the world by our private prayers and financial gifts into ministries that speak truth. We bring salt and light into a tasteless, deteriorating and dark world. If you testify, keep the testimony alive. If you pray, keep praying. If you love the hurting, then keep showing compassion. Whatever you do, keep doing what you are doing for it is what God has called you to. And He will use you and your gift for His purpose. Don't discard your gift. I know it gets hard and the world wears you down. But persevere so you can gain the full reward that the Lord has promised.
We keep at it not only because of the reward, but because we love God. And using our gifts for His glory may be the best type of praise for Him that we can offer.
So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he promised.
Hebrews 10:35-36 NIV
It is a sad thing to live as if faith is the end outcome of the work of Christ. If you now have faith in God, it is only the beginning. If one thinks that merely believing is enough, one should question as to why God gives us faith. Is faith merely for the comfort of mankind? Is belief in God only for our private consumption?
Here is a very certain truth; if you have faith in God, you are among the chosen. Or another scripture calls us "Children of the promise" (Romans 9:8). For what purpose were we chosen? What promise are we to uphold? I think we have been chosen to be the aroma of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:15) in this world. Where ever we go, we bring a hint of God with us. And if we believers are truly doing the work God has planned for us, then at the least, we will act as signposts that point toward God.
What more could God's work for us entail? Well, I think that we slow the moral erosion of this world. We change the world by our private prayers and financial gifts into ministries that speak truth. We bring salt and light into a tasteless, deteriorating and dark world. If you testify, keep the testimony alive. If you pray, keep praying. If you love the hurting, then keep showing compassion. Whatever you do, keep doing what you are doing for it is what God has called you to. And He will use you and your gift for His purpose. Don't discard your gift. I know it gets hard and the world wears you down. But persevere so you can gain the full reward that the Lord has promised.
We keep at it not only because of the reward, but because we love God. And using our gifts for His glory may be the best type of praise for Him that we can offer.
Friday, February 1, 2013
Mutiny in me
Mutiny in me
I know that nothing good lives in me, this is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. Romans 7: 18 NIV
Some time ago I read Treasure Island from Robert Lewis Stevenson. It is an exciting book full of intrigue, superstitious swashbucklers and back stabbing scallywags. It's one of my favorite books! In the story, many of the crew pretended to be upright sailors. But in a brief time they turned into mutinous traitors. I once heard a poem where the writer equates sailing in a small boat to living with God. My favorite line is, "There is a mutiny at sea; is it me?"
As often as I desire and attempt to be my approximation of good, I often times catch myself being bad. I don't even measure up to my own idea of goodness! Just like Paul, I struggle to do good and sometimes (okay, most times) bad results. And doing bad seems to come naturally for me, no real effort is required. An honest self-assessment reveals that I am always capable of living against God even though I choose (and desire) to do good.
Though the internal struggle rages on, I know that my saving grace is uh... grace. Or, I should say that grace is the tool that God uses to give me salvation (Ephesians 2:5), justification (Titus 3:7), anointing (Psalms 45:2) and godly sufficiency (2 Corinthians 12:9). Even though there is a mutiny in me, I know that God has provided all that I need by the grace given to me in Christ. I know that Christ has covered everything that is wrong with me (Isaiah 53:5 The Message).
I know that nothing good lives in me, this is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. Romans 7: 18 NIV
Some time ago I read Treasure Island from Robert Lewis Stevenson. It is an exciting book full of intrigue, superstitious swashbucklers and back stabbing scallywags. It's one of my favorite books! In the story, many of the crew pretended to be upright sailors. But in a brief time they turned into mutinous traitors. I once heard a poem where the writer equates sailing in a small boat to living with God. My favorite line is, "There is a mutiny at sea; is it me?"
As often as I desire and attempt to be my approximation of good, I often times catch myself being bad. I don't even measure up to my own idea of goodness! Just like Paul, I struggle to do good and sometimes (okay, most times) bad results. And doing bad seems to come naturally for me, no real effort is required. An honest self-assessment reveals that I am always capable of living against God even though I choose (and desire) to do good.
Though the internal struggle rages on, I know that my saving grace is uh... grace. Or, I should say that grace is the tool that God uses to give me salvation (Ephesians 2:5), justification (Titus 3:7), anointing (Psalms 45:2) and godly sufficiency (2 Corinthians 12:9). Even though there is a mutiny in me, I know that God has provided all that I need by the grace given to me in Christ. I know that Christ has covered everything that is wrong with me (Isaiah 53:5 The Message).
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