Rom. 1:14 I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and the unwise.
Paul is opening up his letter to the Romans here, and in this verse he is prefacing the statement that he is ready to preach the gospel wherever he is called upon to do so. The reason he feels so ready to preach is because he sees himself as a debtor. His debt is actually not to the Romans or Greeks, it is not the wise or unwise that he owes anything to. His debt is to God, he is indebted to Jesus Christ for the salvation of his soul. However there is no way he can repay that debt to God, it is not possible for him to make it up to God, there is no way he can give God anything God does not already have, especially something as important as the soul. Therefore if Paul wants to begin to repay this debt to God, he must be a servant to God for the rest of his life, and bring this saving gospel to all men.
We too, have been saved by the power of Christ, and have no way to repay this debt. Paul says in Rom. 12:1 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service". That "therefore" is referring to the previous chapter where he explains that we have been saved by the mercies of Christ, and therefore are to live accordingly. Please do not misunderstand me here, we work for Christ because of our salvation, not for our salvation. Paul also says "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." He is a debtor to Christ and because of this debt he preaches the gospel to all men.
Secondly, I want you to see his obligation to bring this gospel to all men. Paul says in Rom. 10:14 "How shall they believe on him whom they have not heard, and how shall they here without a preacher?" And again in I Cor. 1:21 "It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." Doing this will not repay God for what He has done, it will not benefit Him, God is holy and perfect and can not be benefited by the actions of mere men. However, Paul had the privilege of hearing this gospel preached and now knows he is obligated to give every man possible the same opportunity. That is not to say that everyone that hears will be saved, but that those whose spiritual ears God has opened, will believe unto salvation.
Now with these two principles in mind, let us come to the applicable conclusion. If you are saved, it is because you heard or read the gospel of Christ, and if someone went out of their way to give you that gospel, shouldn't you do the same? God has saved you regardless of who you were, or what you could give back to Him. You are now a debtor the same as Paul was, you owe it to everyone you come in contact with to proclaim the gospel and give them the chance to believe on Him of whom they have just heard. It is your reasonable service to present your bodies to God as a living sacrifice and preach His gospel, no matter how foolish it sounds to the lost. Believe me, to them it will sound foolish, Paul says in I Cor. 1:18 "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God." Start paying on that debt, start preaching the gospel to every creature
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Sunday, July 6, 2008
The mirror of God's word.
Psa. 119:133 Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have any dominion over me.
Have you ever met someone that was just photogenic? Sometimes they are not even strikingly good looking in real life, but you just can't get a bad picture of them. I hate those people, okay I don't hate them, but I sure do envy them. I do not know what the opposite of photogenic is, but I'm it. A good picture of me is as rare as hen's teeth, hard to find and harder to believe. I don't think of myself as a bad looking person, my ego tries to tell me I might even be bordering on good looking, but a quick trip to the photo album quickly relegates my head back to it's normal size. I'm either slouching, or the angle makes my nose look huge, or they catch me blinking. Maybe the problem is with the cameras, yea, someone needs to invent a camera that makes me look good. Oh boy, you got your work cut out for you. You would think that somewhere in a hundred pictures there would be at least one good one of me, you would be wrong. I thought I found one once, but then I realized it was someone else standing in front me that made me look good.
Unfortunately, it's not only the camera that catches me at my worst. I read my Bible on a regular basis, and each time I look in it's pages I see a new angle of me that I don't like. I like to think I'm a pretty good person, my ego tries to tell me I might even be better than most, but a quick reading of God's word quickly shows me other wise. I don't know what it is, but I just can't seem to find a passage of scripture that puts me in a good light. I thought I found one once but then I realized it was Jesus standing in for me that made me look so good. There is one major difference between the two. As far as the cameras go, I'm stuck with this mug for life and it probably won't get any better, but when it comes to the scriptures, with each new flaw I find, I have a chance to make it right. That's what I'm hoping in, though I may look pretty bad right now, I pray that with God's help I can correct the flaws with time. The challenge is humbling myself enough to realize that the problems are just that, and then being dedicated enough to do what I have to do to fix them. All too often I want to think the problem is with the Bible, and if I could just change that, I'd be okay. If only the Bible could be changed to make me look good. This is the solution many people have come up with, and have either reworded or redefined the bible to fit their agenda. The problem is, that while all of heaven and earth will one day melt away with a fervent heat, God's word will stay the same forever (II Pet. 3:10, I Pet. 1:25). So I guess that means that the only option left is for me to change. Oh well, that will give me something to do while I wait for you to invent that camera that makes me look good. Good luck.
Have you ever met someone that was just photogenic? Sometimes they are not even strikingly good looking in real life, but you just can't get a bad picture of them. I hate those people, okay I don't hate them, but I sure do envy them. I do not know what the opposite of photogenic is, but I'm it. A good picture of me is as rare as hen's teeth, hard to find and harder to believe. I don't think of myself as a bad looking person, my ego tries to tell me I might even be bordering on good looking, but a quick trip to the photo album quickly relegates my head back to it's normal size. I'm either slouching, or the angle makes my nose look huge, or they catch me blinking. Maybe the problem is with the cameras, yea, someone needs to invent a camera that makes me look good. Oh boy, you got your work cut out for you. You would think that somewhere in a hundred pictures there would be at least one good one of me, you would be wrong. I thought I found one once, but then I realized it was someone else standing in front me that made me look good.
Unfortunately, it's not only the camera that catches me at my worst. I read my Bible on a regular basis, and each time I look in it's pages I see a new angle of me that I don't like. I like to think I'm a pretty good person, my ego tries to tell me I might even be better than most, but a quick reading of God's word quickly shows me other wise. I don't know what it is, but I just can't seem to find a passage of scripture that puts me in a good light. I thought I found one once but then I realized it was Jesus standing in for me that made me look so good. There is one major difference between the two. As far as the cameras go, I'm stuck with this mug for life and it probably won't get any better, but when it comes to the scriptures, with each new flaw I find, I have a chance to make it right. That's what I'm hoping in, though I may look pretty bad right now, I pray that with God's help I can correct the flaws with time. The challenge is humbling myself enough to realize that the problems are just that, and then being dedicated enough to do what I have to do to fix them. All too often I want to think the problem is with the Bible, and if I could just change that, I'd be okay. If only the Bible could be changed to make me look good. This is the solution many people have come up with, and have either reworded or redefined the bible to fit their agenda. The problem is, that while all of heaven and earth will one day melt away with a fervent heat, God's word will stay the same forever (II Pet. 3:10, I Pet. 1:25). So I guess that means that the only option left is for me to change. Oh well, that will give me something to do while I wait for you to invent that camera that makes me look good. Good luck.
Laborers
Matt. 9:37, 38 Then saith He unto His disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;
Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth labourers into His harvest.
All around us, every day there is a harvest to be gathered, souls headed to hell that need to be saved, christians that need to be taught how to live godly. Those of us who are saved, now have a responsibility while we are on this earth. Too many Christians once they are saved simply kick back and decide to live the rest of their lives in a state of relative ease, this is not what we were put here to do. The bible says we must work while it is day, for the night cometh when no man can work, this is speaking of the fact that we will only live a few short decades here on earth compared to an eternity in God's presence. Therefore our responsibility is to work for God the entire time we are here on this earth, Paul said "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain". This ought to be our motto as well, that we would live our entire life here in the service of Christ, and wait for eternity to take our rest, to get our gain.
We live our life as if this is where we are supposed to get our gain, when in reality this is where we are supposed to work. We are laborers that have been put in the middle of a ripe harvest, and there are far too few of us to waste our time. Just as your employers expect you to use your time at the job for him and then rest at home, so God expects us to use our lives harvesting for Him and then rest when we get home with Him.
Secondly, note that Jesus commands us to pray that God would send laborers. Not only are we to live our lives as laborers, but we are to ask the master to send us some help. I don't know about you, but so often I get caught up in what I'm doing and forget to pray for more laborers, yet it is an express command from Jesus Christ to do so. We would do well to remember this, to add this to our prayer list for each day. If Jesus has commanded us to pray for something, we should do just that. It's a common thing if a business is growing, for the employer to hire more employees, if that would bring him more gain. We, as the servants of Christ are here for one purpose, to bring Him honor and glory. If more laborers would help us better accomplish the task, than that is what we should pray for.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (Romans12:1) Let us live our lives with this as our creed, that we would live our lives as diligent servants of the master for the entirety of our lives, continually praying that He would send laborers to assist us in bringing even more glory to Himself.
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Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth labourers into His harvest.
All around us, every day there is a harvest to be gathered, souls headed to hell that need to be saved, christians that need to be taught how to live godly. Those of us who are saved, now have a responsibility while we are on this earth. Too many Christians once they are saved simply kick back and decide to live the rest of their lives in a state of relative ease, this is not what we were put here to do. The bible says we must work while it is day, for the night cometh when no man can work, this is speaking of the fact that we will only live a few short decades here on earth compared to an eternity in God's presence. Therefore our responsibility is to work for God the entire time we are here on this earth, Paul said "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain". This ought to be our motto as well, that we would live our entire life here in the service of Christ, and wait for eternity to take our rest, to get our gain.
We live our life as if this is where we are supposed to get our gain, when in reality this is where we are supposed to work. We are laborers that have been put in the middle of a ripe harvest, and there are far too few of us to waste our time. Just as your employers expect you to use your time at the job for him and then rest at home, so God expects us to use our lives harvesting for Him and then rest when we get home with Him.
Secondly, note that Jesus commands us to pray that God would send laborers. Not only are we to live our lives as laborers, but we are to ask the master to send us some help. I don't know about you, but so often I get caught up in what I'm doing and forget to pray for more laborers, yet it is an express command from Jesus Christ to do so. We would do well to remember this, to add this to our prayer list for each day. If Jesus has commanded us to pray for something, we should do just that. It's a common thing if a business is growing, for the employer to hire more employees, if that would bring him more gain. We, as the servants of Christ are here for one purpose, to bring Him honor and glory. If more laborers would help us better accomplish the task, than that is what we should pray for.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (Romans12:1) Let us live our lives with this as our creed, that we would live our lives as diligent servants of the master for the entirety of our lives, continually praying that He would send laborers to assist us in bringing even more glory to Himself.
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The power of the tongue
Prov. 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruits thereof.
How many of us has ever said something in the heat of the moment, only to instantly wish we could have it back? I know I have. How many of us have ever been hurt by words, worse than any sticks or stones ever could? The tongue has an incredible power that no other part of the body possesses. In fact the bible says if we can control our tongue we can control our entire body, because no other member is as hard to get a bridle on. The bible speaks of the tongue in some pretty potent terms, it compares it to a sword, a fire, and this passage even says it has power to kill. However the tongue was created as a blessing, the words of encouragement we can speak to each other, the songs of praise we sing to our redeemer, and the power to persuade, are all much more powerful spoken than written. But, because of our depravity we have taken that blessing and turned it into a curse, we've taken the very thing made to give life and corrupted it into an instrument of death. We as Christians have been given a new heart, and it is our job to take all of those things that sin has corrupted and start using them for their original purpose, to glorify God. It is Satan's goal to corrupt all the good things in life and use them for his purposes, and he has done a pretty good job with the tongues of mankind. The shock jocks spend their entire career trying to think up some new hurtful or crass comment just to get someone's ire. Political candidates are no longer content to simply promote their own agenda, they have to trash talk everyone else's, and we do the same sort of thing every day. If we talk bad about someone else, either to their face or behind their back, we do it because it makes us feel better about ourselves. If we can convince others that everyone around you is a lazy good-for-nothing, it makes us look like a pretty good person in comparison. The amazing thing is that the most well respected people are not those that try to make others look bad so they can look better, but the ones who honestly work at being the best person they can be and don't worry about what everyone else thinks. All that to say, we have been blessed with a peculiar gift in the tongue, let's not abuse it. Let's use it for the purpose it was made to be used for, helping others. If you have been blessed with much, you now are responsible for much. The tongue and power of speech is a big blessing, when we're called to give an account for how we used it, will it be a good report or bad? Will it be seen that we used it for the edification of the saints, or the exalting of ourselves? Let's be really careful every time we open our mouths, so that when we do speak, it will only be with words of life.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Filled to the brim
John 2:7 Jesus saith unto them, "Fill the water pots with water". And they filled them up tho the brim.
I read this passage of scripture and wondered at the response of the servants, they reacted in way rarely seen by mankind. Jesus Christ gave them a command and they not only obeyed, but went above and beyond the call of duty and fulfilled not only their obligation, but then did a little bit more. I wonder how we would have reacted if we were put in the same situation? The truth is we are put in this situation every day, we have commands from Christ that we are required to live in every day.
The first thing we do when confronted with the command is to question Jesus' command. We consider ourselves logical beings who can discuss the situation with God. Unlike the obedient servants we say, "But Lord, if I tithe, how will the cable bill get payed?" The fact being God asks us to obey without questioning. We are not called to look at what we think the results will be and then act accordingly. We are called to obey, if we do that the end results are in God's hand, we will not be held accountable for what happens if we only obey.
Secondly, more often then not we do only the amount required to scrape by. Christ tells us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together, so we drag ourselves to church on Sunday morning, and just let the rest of the services slide by, resting in the fact that we've fulfilled our "obligation" to God. These servants did not consider it an obligation, but an opportunity to carry out zealously. If we reacted the same way they did we would be in church Sunday morning, night, Wednesday night, and any other opportunity presented to us.
If commanded to tithe, we would give ten percent and then some, when commanded to pray we would not pray for five minutes because we had to, but all day, wherever we were, we would pray without ceasing.
Why don't we start acting with the zeal that these servants did? God asks us to fill our water pots with water, do we fill them to the brim, or fill them halfway? Do we obey out of obligation or out of love? Do we leave the results up to God, or argue with God, thinking ourselves more logical then God. Although we would never word it that way, that is exactly what we're doing when we disobey Christ's commands because we think we've got a better way. Let's forsake ourselves and simply obey what Christ has asked of us. We sing "Trust and Obey", but do we act it out or simply pay God lip service? Let's commit to never give the world a reason to laugh us to scorn, by obeying Christ with all our might and filling our water pots to the brim.
I read this passage of scripture and wondered at the response of the servants, they reacted in way rarely seen by mankind. Jesus Christ gave them a command and they not only obeyed, but went above and beyond the call of duty and fulfilled not only their obligation, but then did a little bit more. I wonder how we would have reacted if we were put in the same situation? The truth is we are put in this situation every day, we have commands from Christ that we are required to live in every day.
The first thing we do when confronted with the command is to question Jesus' command. We consider ourselves logical beings who can discuss the situation with God. Unlike the obedient servants we say, "But Lord, if I tithe, how will the cable bill get payed?" The fact being God asks us to obey without questioning. We are not called to look at what we think the results will be and then act accordingly. We are called to obey, if we do that the end results are in God's hand, we will not be held accountable for what happens if we only obey.
Secondly, more often then not we do only the amount required to scrape by. Christ tells us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together, so we drag ourselves to church on Sunday morning, and just let the rest of the services slide by, resting in the fact that we've fulfilled our "obligation" to God. These servants did not consider it an obligation, but an opportunity to carry out zealously. If we reacted the same way they did we would be in church Sunday morning, night, Wednesday night, and any other opportunity presented to us.
If commanded to tithe, we would give ten percent and then some, when commanded to pray we would not pray for five minutes because we had to, but all day, wherever we were, we would pray without ceasing.
Why don't we start acting with the zeal that these servants did? God asks us to fill our water pots with water, do we fill them to the brim, or fill them halfway? Do we obey out of obligation or out of love? Do we leave the results up to God, or argue with God, thinking ourselves more logical then God. Although we would never word it that way, that is exactly what we're doing when we disobey Christ's commands because we think we've got a better way. Let's forsake ourselves and simply obey what Christ has asked of us. We sing "Trust and Obey", but do we act it out or simply pay God lip service? Let's commit to never give the world a reason to laugh us to scorn, by obeying Christ with all our might and filling our water pots to the brim.
A sure foundation
Ps. 11:3 "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?
Down through the ages there has been a precedent set for today's Christians. If the Bible is not clear on an issue, a good idea is to look back and see how orthodox Christianity has acted in the generations before us. Nine times out of ten, the pattern will show you the correct view. The church as we know it today (as a called out assembly of believers) is being built by God down through centuries until one day when He calls us home, we will be a perfect, unified assembly, in which each age will contribute it's piece to fit into the holy convocation. (Eph. 4:16)
Why then, this present and very prevalent idea, that we need to pull away from the pattern and precedent laid down for us by our forefathers? It seems as if the modern view of the church, is that it must conform to look like the world, instead of making the world conform to Christ. The foundation is singing hymns, psalms and spiritual songs. (Eph. 5:19) Today's church has decided that these type songs are too full of controversial doctrine, so in order to be more relevant, we have replaced them with "Praise and worship" songs. Unfortunately these song have little to know doctrinal content, when the words of a song are such that a Mormon, Muslim, Catholic, and Baptist, could all sing along without confrontation, the song is not fit for church. Take for example this song found in many "Orthodox Christian" church hymnals.
"Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia,
alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
He is God's son, He is God's son, He is God's son, He is God's son,
He is God's son, He is God's son, He is God's son, He is God's son.
We will praise him, We will praise him, We will praise him, We will praise him,
We will praise him, We will praise him, We will praise him, We will praise him."
This is an actual song with the very original title, "Alleluia". What has happened to the songs that were lifted up to God singing of his holiness and justice, what of the hymns sung among the believers, that held so much undeniable truth Christians were martyred for not recanting them? The foundations are being destroyed, and the righteous are being crippled, because the world is having a larger impact on the church, than the church is on the world.
The foundations laid said that joining a church was a strict process in which your salvation was made sure and your walk with God was watched diligently, and if you fell into a sin of which you refused to repent, the Bible would be followed and you would be taken off of the rolls. Today a church will put you on the rolls if you attend once (that is the actual practice of at least one of the churches in our area) and God forbid that you should ever mention taking someone off the membership roll.
I pray that the righteous will begin taking a stand while they still can, and say "I will stand by the foundations that my fathers died on, I will not stand idly by and let the world destroy the foundations." For thousands of years men have lived and died trying to keep the church of God pure, will you let that pass in a few short generations? Will their efforts have been in vain? Or will you, like Martin Luther take a stand against the errors in the church, and attempt a reformation? It must be done in love, but it must be done.
Down through the ages there has been a precedent set for today's Christians. If the Bible is not clear on an issue, a good idea is to look back and see how orthodox Christianity has acted in the generations before us. Nine times out of ten, the pattern will show you the correct view. The church as we know it today (as a called out assembly of believers) is being built by God down through centuries until one day when He calls us home, we will be a perfect, unified assembly, in which each age will contribute it's piece to fit into the holy convocation. (Eph. 4:16)
Why then, this present and very prevalent idea, that we need to pull away from the pattern and precedent laid down for us by our forefathers? It seems as if the modern view of the church, is that it must conform to look like the world, instead of making the world conform to Christ. The foundation is singing hymns, psalms and spiritual songs. (Eph. 5:19) Today's church has decided that these type songs are too full of controversial doctrine, so in order to be more relevant, we have replaced them with "Praise and worship" songs. Unfortunately these song have little to know doctrinal content, when the words of a song are such that a Mormon, Muslim, Catholic, and Baptist, could all sing along without confrontation, the song is not fit for church. Take for example this song found in many "Orthodox Christian" church hymnals.
"Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia,
alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
He is God's son, He is God's son, He is God's son, He is God's son,
He is God's son, He is God's son, He is God's son, He is God's son.
We will praise him, We will praise him, We will praise him, We will praise him,
We will praise him, We will praise him, We will praise him, We will praise him."
This is an actual song with the very original title, "Alleluia". What has happened to the songs that were lifted up to God singing of his holiness and justice, what of the hymns sung among the believers, that held so much undeniable truth Christians were martyred for not recanting them? The foundations are being destroyed, and the righteous are being crippled, because the world is having a larger impact on the church, than the church is on the world.
The foundations laid said that joining a church was a strict process in which your salvation was made sure and your walk with God was watched diligently, and if you fell into a sin of which you refused to repent, the Bible would be followed and you would be taken off of the rolls. Today a church will put you on the rolls if you attend once (that is the actual practice of at least one of the churches in our area) and God forbid that you should ever mention taking someone off the membership roll.
I pray that the righteous will begin taking a stand while they still can, and say "I will stand by the foundations that my fathers died on, I will not stand idly by and let the world destroy the foundations." For thousands of years men have lived and died trying to keep the church of God pure, will you let that pass in a few short generations? Will their efforts have been in vain? Or will you, like Martin Luther take a stand against the errors in the church, and attempt a reformation? It must be done in love, but it must be done.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
meditation
Ps. 119:97 "O how I love thy law! it is my meditation all the day." Sept. 26, 2007
I was recently sitting in on a bible college class, in which the professor stated that the two most neglected duties in a Christian's life were probably prayer and bible study. If you think about it, the three most important things for a christian are probably prayer, (our communication to God) bible study, (God's communication to us) and fellowshipping with like minded believers, (our communication to each other). To think that we fall short of the mark on two out of three areas, is a pretty disappointing statistic. Yet I'm afraid it's true. As I examined my own life, I realized that I do fall short of the mark in my bible studies. David said that he loved God's word to such an extant it was his meditation all the day. What do we meditate on all day? Our job? The errands we still have to run? What time we have to pick the kids up from school? The cares of this world end up choking out any thoughts we had on God's word. Now don't get me wrong, I want you to be focusing on what you're doing when you are operating a piece of heavy machinery, and I want you to be focused on the road as you're driving, but so often we have a million things running through the back of our minds, and rarely is it God's word.
I would hope that you set some time apart in the morning to read the scriptures, and whether you read a few verses or a few chapters, whether you are in Numbers or Romans, I would encourage you to pick out a verse or set of verses that you can apply to your life. Then throughout the day, mull over that portion of scripture, think about what you need to do to make your life form around it, consider what importance it has in your walk with Christ, decide how it can help you live better with your fellow man, connect it with other portions of scripture you know. Let your mind meditate on the law of God, not a meditation that clears the mind, or focuses on some singular abstract, but the type of meditation that brings your focus back time and time again to the word of God.
The first part of this verse is critical in bringing the second about. Can't you hear the desire and passion in David's voice as he exclaims "O how I love thy law". It is a declaration of longing for the things of God, a true earnestness about finding out what it is that pleases God. If you read the scriptures because you want to be able to say you did if someone asks, or because you think it is a religious duty you must do to stay in God's good favor, you will never truly meditate on it the way David did. A true love for God and his word must precede meditation. If you've ever been separated from a loved one, you know you read every letter you get from them, not out of fear they'll ask if you did, but because you honestly want to know what they're thinking about and what you can do to help them. So it is with the bible, we must approach it with an honest love for the author, we must read it looking for his will for our lives. Then when we think about the bible verse we read, we won't be doing it out of obligation, instead it will simply be a natural occurrence, something we do because we want to, not something we do because we have to.
As read your bible tomorrow morning, think about the fact that God has preserved this word for thousands of years, because he wants you to know of his love for you. Think about the fact that this book is written by someone who gave his only begotten son to die for you, though you had done nothing to deserve it. Perhaps it will give you a greater appreciation for the bible, and just maybe that portion of scripture you picked out, will come back to your mind throughout the day.
I was recently sitting in on a bible college class, in which the professor stated that the two most neglected duties in a Christian's life were probably prayer and bible study. If you think about it, the three most important things for a christian are probably prayer, (our communication to God) bible study, (God's communication to us) and fellowshipping with like minded believers, (our communication to each other). To think that we fall short of the mark on two out of three areas, is a pretty disappointing statistic. Yet I'm afraid it's true. As I examined my own life, I realized that I do fall short of the mark in my bible studies. David said that he loved God's word to such an extant it was his meditation all the day. What do we meditate on all day? Our job? The errands we still have to run? What time we have to pick the kids up from school? The cares of this world end up choking out any thoughts we had on God's word. Now don't get me wrong, I want you to be focusing on what you're doing when you are operating a piece of heavy machinery, and I want you to be focused on the road as you're driving, but so often we have a million things running through the back of our minds, and rarely is it God's word.
I would hope that you set some time apart in the morning to read the scriptures, and whether you read a few verses or a few chapters, whether you are in Numbers or Romans, I would encourage you to pick out a verse or set of verses that you can apply to your life. Then throughout the day, mull over that portion of scripture, think about what you need to do to make your life form around it, consider what importance it has in your walk with Christ, decide how it can help you live better with your fellow man, connect it with other portions of scripture you know. Let your mind meditate on the law of God, not a meditation that clears the mind, or focuses on some singular abstract, but the type of meditation that brings your focus back time and time again to the word of God.
The first part of this verse is critical in bringing the second about. Can't you hear the desire and passion in David's voice as he exclaims "O how I love thy law". It is a declaration of longing for the things of God, a true earnestness about finding out what it is that pleases God. If you read the scriptures because you want to be able to say you did if someone asks, or because you think it is a religious duty you must do to stay in God's good favor, you will never truly meditate on it the way David did. A true love for God and his word must precede meditation. If you've ever been separated from a loved one, you know you read every letter you get from them, not out of fear they'll ask if you did, but because you honestly want to know what they're thinking about and what you can do to help them. So it is with the bible, we must approach it with an honest love for the author, we must read it looking for his will for our lives. Then when we think about the bible verse we read, we won't be doing it out of obligation, instead it will simply be a natural occurrence, something we do because we want to, not something we do because we have to.
As read your bible tomorrow morning, think about the fact that God has preserved this word for thousands of years, because he wants you to know of his love for you. Think about the fact that this book is written by someone who gave his only begotten son to die for you, though you had done nothing to deserve it. Perhaps it will give you a greater appreciation for the bible, and just maybe that portion of scripture you picked out, will come back to your mind throughout the day.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Potter and clay
Isa. 64:8 "But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou the potter; and we are all are the work of thy hand." Sept. 12, 2007
Isaiah brings out a good point in this verse, he reminds the children of Israel that God is the creator and they the creation. We would do well to be reminded of this fact on a daily basis, to have our memory refreshed and our pride crushed under the weight of the knowledge that we have no "rights" when facing God. Paul says it best in Rom. 9:20, 21 where he says "Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the the clay; of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?" When we come to Christ, we have no chips to bargain with, we have no right to life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness. Isaiah says in the sixth verse of our text chapter, "All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags", so clearly we can not store up enough good works to out weigh the bad ones, because even our righteousness is as filthy rags.
I love America, I am fiercly patriotic, and I would gladly die to preserve the rights we have in this country. That being said, I am afraid that all the rights we have in this country have created an attitude that we have rights in every other aspect of life as well, and that is a misconception. You have a civil right to speak your mind, but a christian ought to forfeit that right if speaking his mind would offend a brother or cause shame to come on the name of Christ or his church. Before a judge we are innocent until proven guilty, and if proven guilty, good behavior can reduce your sentence. We enjoy no such luxury when standing before God, we are born guilty and no good deeds can reduce the sentence of eternal damnation.
This would drive many to cry "What then can be done for my soul?" It is here that the beauty of it all comes in, the creator, the one who has every right to life, the one who has every bit of innocence, can take on the form of the creation. The potter makes himself a vessel, the inventor takes on the attributes of the invention, and somehow the innocent takes all the punishment of the guilty, the one with all rights to life, dies. Is this fair? No, if fair prevailed we would all be in hell, but God so loved the world that he did the unfair thing and took the punishment on himself, through his son Jesus Christ.
With all this in mind, why do we think we deserve anything from God? What pride drives us to think we are worthy of his love? How could we stand before him and be justified by all our filthy rags (aka good works)? We ought to gladly throw down our rights, after all didn't Christ? We ought to gladly submit to the unfair and uncomfortable, after all didn't Christ? We ought to be willing to be used however God can best use us, after all we are the vessels, he is the potter, creator, inventor, and master.
Isaiah brings out a good point in this verse, he reminds the children of Israel that God is the creator and they the creation. We would do well to be reminded of this fact on a daily basis, to have our memory refreshed and our pride crushed under the weight of the knowledge that we have no "rights" when facing God. Paul says it best in Rom. 9:20, 21 where he says "Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the the clay; of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?" When we come to Christ, we have no chips to bargain with, we have no right to life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness. Isaiah says in the sixth verse of our text chapter, "All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags", so clearly we can not store up enough good works to out weigh the bad ones, because even our righteousness is as filthy rags.
I love America, I am fiercly patriotic, and I would gladly die to preserve the rights we have in this country. That being said, I am afraid that all the rights we have in this country have created an attitude that we have rights in every other aspect of life as well, and that is a misconception. You have a civil right to speak your mind, but a christian ought to forfeit that right if speaking his mind would offend a brother or cause shame to come on the name of Christ or his church. Before a judge we are innocent until proven guilty, and if proven guilty, good behavior can reduce your sentence. We enjoy no such luxury when standing before God, we are born guilty and no good deeds can reduce the sentence of eternal damnation.
This would drive many to cry "What then can be done for my soul?" It is here that the beauty of it all comes in, the creator, the one who has every right to life, the one who has every bit of innocence, can take on the form of the creation. The potter makes himself a vessel, the inventor takes on the attributes of the invention, and somehow the innocent takes all the punishment of the guilty, the one with all rights to life, dies. Is this fair? No, if fair prevailed we would all be in hell, but God so loved the world that he did the unfair thing and took the punishment on himself, through his son Jesus Christ.
With all this in mind, why do we think we deserve anything from God? What pride drives us to think we are worthy of his love? How could we stand before him and be justified by all our filthy rags (aka good works)? We ought to gladly throw down our rights, after all didn't Christ? We ought to gladly submit to the unfair and uncomfortable, after all didn't Christ? We ought to be willing to be used however God can best use us, after all we are the vessels, he is the potter, creator, inventor, and master.
Biblical Authority
Rom. 13:1,2 "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God:" Aug 29, 2007
I was speaking with someone the other day, and we got to talking about the fact that in the south, people don't like to be told what to do. There are many people who might never go to Wal-mart, but if you told them they couldn't got to Wal-mart, they would go just to prove to you that they would do what they wanted to do. Unfortunately this is not just a southern thing, this is built in to every human being. When God created this world he created in a perfect state, he created man with only one rule, that they couldn't eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Satan, (who had already rebelled against God himself) convinced Eve to rebel and eat of the forbidden fruit, ever since man has had an intuitive desire to rebel against authority. There are those who say, "I will submit to God, but not a man, no man has the right to tell me what to do." The bible says otherwise, the bible says all the men that are in authority here on earth are put there by God and to rebel against their authority is to rebel against God.
When Adam and Eve were first created they were perfect, but when sin and rebellion entered there was the need for a new system to restore order and decency, God chose to use authority to do this. He placed the husband as the authority over the wife, he placed parent as authorities over the children, he put pastors over congregations, and civil authorities over governments, in order to restore a system of decency. We all know that a battle can not be won without an officer giving the commands, a football game cannot be won without a coach calling the plays, and families, churches and governments operate under this same principle. The devil also knows this and is working hard to destroy the biblical call for authority, he tells parents not to restrict their children, but instead to be their buddies, parents are not supposed to be their child's buddy but their authority! Satan tells us churches are made to be run as a democracy where everyone has equal say, pastors aren't supposed to be just another member with equal say, but an authority that will give an account to God for what the church did. Satan tells us that policemen, congressmen, the president, etc. are a bunch of clowns messing up our country, the bible says they were put in authority by God, and we as the general public are to submit ourselves to them.
Unless an authority commands you to directly violate scripture, you are to obey them. rebellion is not a joke, it is not something to be proud of, it is a sin that the bible likens to witchcraft (I Sam. 15:23). If I claimed to be a christian and a member of Wicca, any biblical church would kick me out, yet we have churches whose pews are filled with men and women that refuse to submit themselves to authority, and we think little of it. I would call on every man , woman, boy and girl, to examine their lives and make sure they are in biblical submission to authority. I would also ask every husband, parent, pastor, and civil authority, to stop tiptoeing around everyone's feelings and start asserting your God given authority. Because one day you will give God an account for how those under your authority acted, and you will have to explain to God why you chose to throw off your responsibility.
I was speaking with someone the other day, and we got to talking about the fact that in the south, people don't like to be told what to do. There are many people who might never go to Wal-mart, but if you told them they couldn't got to Wal-mart, they would go just to prove to you that they would do what they wanted to do. Unfortunately this is not just a southern thing, this is built in to every human being. When God created this world he created in a perfect state, he created man with only one rule, that they couldn't eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Satan, (who had already rebelled against God himself) convinced Eve to rebel and eat of the forbidden fruit, ever since man has had an intuitive desire to rebel against authority. There are those who say, "I will submit to God, but not a man, no man has the right to tell me what to do." The bible says otherwise, the bible says all the men that are in authority here on earth are put there by God and to rebel against their authority is to rebel against God.
When Adam and Eve were first created they were perfect, but when sin and rebellion entered there was the need for a new system to restore order and decency, God chose to use authority to do this. He placed the husband as the authority over the wife, he placed parent as authorities over the children, he put pastors over congregations, and civil authorities over governments, in order to restore a system of decency. We all know that a battle can not be won without an officer giving the commands, a football game cannot be won without a coach calling the plays, and families, churches and governments operate under this same principle. The devil also knows this and is working hard to destroy the biblical call for authority, he tells parents not to restrict their children, but instead to be their buddies, parents are not supposed to be their child's buddy but their authority! Satan tells us churches are made to be run as a democracy where everyone has equal say, pastors aren't supposed to be just another member with equal say, but an authority that will give an account to God for what the church did. Satan tells us that policemen, congressmen, the president, etc. are a bunch of clowns messing up our country, the bible says they were put in authority by God, and we as the general public are to submit ourselves to them.
Unless an authority commands you to directly violate scripture, you are to obey them. rebellion is not a joke, it is not something to be proud of, it is a sin that the bible likens to witchcraft (I Sam. 15:23). If I claimed to be a christian and a member of Wicca, any biblical church would kick me out, yet we have churches whose pews are filled with men and women that refuse to submit themselves to authority, and we think little of it. I would call on every man , woman, boy and girl, to examine their lives and make sure they are in biblical submission to authority. I would also ask every husband, parent, pastor, and civil authority, to stop tiptoeing around everyone's feelings and start asserting your God given authority. Because one day you will give God an account for how those under your authority acted, and you will have to explain to God why you chose to throw off your responsibility.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Seek ye first
Matt. 6:33 "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Aug. 22, 2007
In this portion of scripture, Jesus had just finished telling his disciples not to worry about their clothing or food or lodging, because God takes care of all nature, and he is surely able to take care of us. Now like anything, you could take this verse out of context and proportion and use it to excuse laziness or irresponsibility, you could say "God is going to take care of my needs, I don't need to work or provide for my family." However that's not what Jesus is telling them, he's telling them they need to prioritize. He says "Seek ye FIRST", the priorities need to be in the right place, if you don't have your spiritual state in order don't worry about the physical. The bible clearly states that there is no gain if you get all the physical benefits this world has to offer and lose your soul to hell.
The doctrine of fasting illustrates this point perfectly, when we are serious about some spiritual issue we forgo meals in order to pray without losing our focus on the matter at hand. We are admitting that there are issues that are more important than our physical well being, and that is our spiritual well being. We live in a society that is constantly catering to our flesh, it teaches us that we ought to have everything we want exactly when we want it. To withhold food, so that we can study the bread of life (the bible) more fully, is considered foolish by the majority of America. To deprive your body of sleep so that you may rest more fully in Christ, is a foreign notion to most Americans. Jesus Christ said that if your priorities were right (seeking the kingdom of God) then all these things, (food, clothing, housing) would be added unto you. All the physical pieces are able to fall into place once the spiritual one are taken care of.
In the Old Testament we read the story of David's death, and when David was about to die he gave the kingdom to his son Solomon, now Solomon was not the oldest or most experienced son, but David chose to give it to him anyway. Soon after this God appeared to Solomon in a dream and told him he would give him anything he wanted, Solomon asked for wisdom to lead the Israelites according to God's will. God told Solomon that because Solomon had asked for righteous wisdom instead of money or long life or prosperity, God would give Solomon wisdom as well as all the physical blessings, if Solomon would follow God the way David had. 2000 years before Jesus was ever born, God told Solomon since he sought the spiritual things first God would add to him all the other things. 2000 years after Christ's death the principle still stands, the priority is spiritual, the real important things of life are those that pertain to the kingdom of God.
Let's determine that we will not let the world brainwash us into believing the physical life is more important than the spiritual. Let's decide that we will make sure our walk with God is where it needs to be, before we worry about our job or bills. Let's make sure we are following Christ's will and not ours.
In this portion of scripture, Jesus had just finished telling his disciples not to worry about their clothing or food or lodging, because God takes care of all nature, and he is surely able to take care of us. Now like anything, you could take this verse out of context and proportion and use it to excuse laziness or irresponsibility, you could say "God is going to take care of my needs, I don't need to work or provide for my family." However that's not what Jesus is telling them, he's telling them they need to prioritize. He says "Seek ye FIRST", the priorities need to be in the right place, if you don't have your spiritual state in order don't worry about the physical. The bible clearly states that there is no gain if you get all the physical benefits this world has to offer and lose your soul to hell.
The doctrine of fasting illustrates this point perfectly, when we are serious about some spiritual issue we forgo meals in order to pray without losing our focus on the matter at hand. We are admitting that there are issues that are more important than our physical well being, and that is our spiritual well being. We live in a society that is constantly catering to our flesh, it teaches us that we ought to have everything we want exactly when we want it. To withhold food, so that we can study the bread of life (the bible) more fully, is considered foolish by the majority of America. To deprive your body of sleep so that you may rest more fully in Christ, is a foreign notion to most Americans. Jesus Christ said that if your priorities were right (seeking the kingdom of God) then all these things, (food, clothing, housing) would be added unto you. All the physical pieces are able to fall into place once the spiritual one are taken care of.
In the Old Testament we read the story of David's death, and when David was about to die he gave the kingdom to his son Solomon, now Solomon was not the oldest or most experienced son, but David chose to give it to him anyway. Soon after this God appeared to Solomon in a dream and told him he would give him anything he wanted, Solomon asked for wisdom to lead the Israelites according to God's will. God told Solomon that because Solomon had asked for righteous wisdom instead of money or long life or prosperity, God would give Solomon wisdom as well as all the physical blessings, if Solomon would follow God the way David had. 2000 years before Jesus was ever born, God told Solomon since he sought the spiritual things first God would add to him all the other things. 2000 years after Christ's death the principle still stands, the priority is spiritual, the real important things of life are those that pertain to the kingdom of God.
Let's determine that we will not let the world brainwash us into believing the physical life is more important than the spiritual. Let's decide that we will make sure our walk with God is where it needs to be, before we worry about our job or bills. Let's make sure we are following Christ's will and not ours.
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