Contributions

Paul told the Christians of Galatia something that may at first seem a little arrogant to us. He said that the leaders of the church in his day, meaning the Apostles, John, James, and Peter contributed nothing to him, as far as doctrine and the substance of his message were concerned. This is quite a statement for two reasons. One is the people he speaks of were 3 of the men who actually walked and lived with Jesus as He walked among us. They were eye witnesses and participants with first hand knowledge of everything Jesus did. They were also the objects of Paul's hatred and persecution before his conversion experience. So to say that their doctrine and teaching contributed nothing to Paul's is quite surprising. But the other reason explains Paul's statement, and is a good reminder for us today. High reputation, position, learning, degrees, none of these things contribute to the standing or effectiveness of the Christian who serves God faithfully each day. The Bible college professor, the Pastor of a large church, visible spokespersons for Christ and the humble and unnoticed Christian are all dependent on the same Holy Spirit for effectiveness in ministry and service. Nothing against any of these positions and accomplishments, praise God for them, but may we not replace the accomplishment for the Accomplisher-Jesus! All believers are clothed in Christ Paul goes on to say and each receive every spiritual benefit that accompanies the gracious gift of salvation. Accomplishments or ministries that seem so great may turn out to be worth little in the eyes of Christ. Likewise, small acts of faithfulness done in obscurity may hold great value in the economy of the Kingdom. Therefore, all believers are on level ground with the goal of faithful service empowered by the Holy Spirit using us as He sees fit for the Father's good will and purpose. Therefore brethren, keep on serving, hold your head up and give glory to God as we serve and bring blessing to as many as we can- in Jesus' Name! If our sphere of influence is great or small, the same Spirit makes our efforts effective, and Jesus will bring all things to judgment and reward on that final day we all long for.

The Place Of Wisdom

I was reminded once again of the place of wisdom. The Bible is the place. In it's pages we find Gods guidance and insights for life. Some days the decisions we make are easy and quick, other days they are not easy at all and require much thought, prayer and guidance. As Christians we look to the Bible. The Proverbs are precepts that are very applicable to our day. They are like a rule, a measuring rod by which we compare the ways of God with the ways of men. In Proverbs we find the traits of the Godly versus the ungodly. Wise people and foolish are both described there. The teachable and the stubbornly rebellious are there as well. It is wise for a Christian to learn God's values, to live by them, even though they may challenge us in ways that may seem to much for us. Our lives will become increasingly in contrast to much of what is called the church in these religiously correct days when we seem to have the form of Godliness but not much of the power of His Presence or experiential working. God always call His people to higher ground, especially in times of confusion such as we see today. To reject the ways of God is to reject wisdom, we then embrace foolishness, confusion, sin and death. So may the place of wisdom be once again found by all of us, there in the Bible. But may the place of wisdom also be found in our own hearts as we learn to cherish and honor His word once more.

Chosen

I was impressed this morning with the sense of Gods people being those who are called out, chosen, set apart for His glory and honor. 1st Peter has many references to this throughout the letter. Christians are those who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God by the working of all three Persons of the Trinity. We're protected by His power until the last day when our pilgrimage ends in His presence. We don't see Him yet, but we love Him still. Prophets, saints, holy persons of God have gone before us and we are here in our generation with the calling to let His virtue and grace be seen through our lives. We make our mistakes like everyone else, but we count on the cleansing sacrifice of Christ to renew us and get us back on track. The religiously correct of our day may not appreciate us or recognize us, but we are called to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, for they didn't recognize or appreciate Him either. We suffer ridicule or worse simply because we want to do what is right, and won't do what is wrong. We wander like sheep sometimes, but always return to our good shepherd who cares for our souls and restores us by His Spirit and word. Sometimes in the scheme of things others get what should have been ours, and we take the last place, yet we still rejoice over a greater reward that we haven't even gained yet in full, but we will. We suffer yet rejoice,we labor yet see little for it now, we face the assault of our enemy resisting him until he flees. In it all we're trusting our God to exalt us then, as we exalt Him now. We press onward because we're infinitely established by His grace and presence. Finally, when all is said and done, we stand in the Presence of the Most High God, full of glory and righteousness and everything that it means to define "heavenly." So brethren, rejoice in your calling for it is to this that you are chosen.

The Validating Center

I was wonderfully surprised as I read through the book of Ecclesiastes yesterday. In the past I've been touched many times by the sense of futility that can be discerned in its pages. But yesterday I remembered the context in which Solomon wrote. He was an old man now, and had accomplished many great things in the name of God. He spent many years ruling Israel and leading it into and during its most prosperous days up to that time. There was peace, safety, blessing, riches, wisdom all because Solomon kept God at the center of all his activities, and governed according to the good precepts of His Laws. He did this not only in his duties as king, but as he oversaw the building of a mighty temple for the worship of God and the building of his own home. He rejoiced for years in the goodness of God. So why all the cynicism and sense of futility? Personally, I was struck by the fact that he wrote after he accomplished these things and served for many years. I was impressed that, yes, life can seem empty, shallow and have a deep sense of futility at times unless one learns to keep Jesus Christ at the center of all of life. Let Him and His words be the hub that holds everything together giving unity and purpose to our activities. Solomon writes several times to rejoice, and to tell yourself that your labor is good, realize is the gift of God. He says to rejoice with the wife of your youth, it is your reward for your labor under the sun. There are several such exhortations throughout the book to rejoice, be blessed, because we like everyone, will one day pass away from this world into the next. How to keep from despairing, and fight off the sense of futility that often plagues mankind, usually at the low points of life? Go about your day, your task, your job or your vision, deliberately keeping Jesus Christ at the center of it all. For like Solomon reminds us, the prime of life is fleeting, and one day we all will stand before our Lord. This is true whether we believe in Him or not. So my surprise was that, rather than finding the same old complaints I've been accustomed to reading, I found a very helpful encouragement to put Jesus first in all of life's adventures. That is the true way to find and keep meaning and fulfillment all of our days. I hope you're joining me in doing that today.

Confidence Granted

I was struck today by a verse in Proverbs 10: 24. It reads,"What the wicked fears will come upon him, but the desire of the righteous will be granted." The phrase, "will be granted," is what impressed me today. We serve a God Who is good. We are not at the mercy of impersonal forces of nature or random principles that dictate life. We are those who are all, whether we acknowledge it or not,under the hand of the Almighty. So as a believer in Christ, we can know that all righteous desires are from God, and He in deep compassion will grant, allow, permit, give, the righteous fulfillment of righteous desires. This is what John the Apostle wrote in his epistle, 1 John 5:14-15, "This is the the confidence we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him." So the key to abundant life is to have desires and affections that are in accordance with Gods desires and affections. We gain those by prayer, His word, fellowship with His Holy Spirit as we commune with Him, alone and with other believers. This is not an impersonal karma, getting good for doing good things, or bad for bad things. This is the gracious blessings from a gracious God Who desires His people to glorify Him on the earth, by means of fulfilled, purposeful lives that point others to salvation in Christ. Have confidence then, your answer is on the way, to the glory of God and of Christ Jesus.

A Heart To Serve God

In 1 Chronicles 28 David is admonishing his son Solomon to get ready to build a temple for the worship of God. As he does so the foundational instruction is to, "know the God of your father, serving Him with a whole heart and willing mind." I was struck by the total engagement of David's words. Not only is Solomon to serve God with a whole heart, but a willing mind too. Our heart, our mind, our will, our emotion, our entire being is to be engaged as we serve the God or our fathers. Perhaps today, at the beginning of a new week, all the weeks work is in front of you and you're just not feeling up to it. There is a place of power for service, in the presence of God Himself. Draw near in faith by prayer and be reminded of how great our God is, and how faithful He is to our success and desires to serve Him. Solomon was being prepared for a huge task, and needed to engage his whole being to seek and obey God. You and I as believers in Christ are privileged to do the same, and more because His Holy Spirit dwells in us. We are serving for a far greater purpose than building a house of brick and mortar for worship. We serve to build a spiritual temple made of living stones, the souls of men and women from all over the world, until Christ returns for His own. So, stay with it brother and sister, God is able to make all grace abound until the final work is done and we enter into the fullness of rest in the glorious habitations above.

Beginnings

This afternoon is the first entry into this new blog. I started this so that my own insights and gleanings from the Bible may find their way into the hearts and minds of as many as possible. I firmly believe that whoever happens to find this sight does so at the leading of God's Spirit, they wont find it by accident. I welcome all comments favorable or not, as long as they are civil in tone without rude or base language. I don't pretend to be a theologian or to have every answer, I'm learning also, but I do want to share what I have learned over many years of my Christian experience and study. I'm also very much a rookie when it comes to building a website or a public site. I will add on to it as I go to make it as attractive and God honoring as I can. I trust The Lord will bless this effort, and the readers He make bring into this domain.
Blessings!