Mite or Might

On August 9, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Mark 12: 42 – 44

And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. And calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, his poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”

This is a familiar story to many of you. None the less, I am hoping we can allow this narrative, and its meaning, to sink deeper into our spirits today. This woman’s act certainly got Jesus’s attention. Why?

There was nothing to be criticized in what the other contributors did but there was something different about the donation of the widow. What was so special about what she did that it caused Jesus to stop and comment? Here is another question – why in the world did she give her last penny, what was it that caused her to give all that she had? That which she gave was all that she had to live on. Think about that for a moment. Better still, try to put yourself in her position. If you didn’t have much how would you feel about giving to anyone, even the Lord? What if all you had was your last dime? Could you, would you put your last farthing in the till? I confess that I would find that a difficult thing to do. Our natural impulse is to take care of ourselves first.

Let’s try to get into this woman’s head? What was it about this lady that caused her to toss her last centavo into the plate knowing she would have nothing later with which to buy bread? Wasn’t this almost like signing her own death warrant? Maybe she wasn’t absorbed with taking care of herself first because she knew that it was not her job to meet her needs. Could that possibly be the case? Could it possibly be that her love for the Lord was greater than her self-preservation instinct? How about this, was she, perhaps, trying to meet her need by sowing into the kingdom? Did this Jewish woman know, in her heart, something few modern day believers understand? That penny wasn’t worth much as provision but it was invaluable as seed. Jesus taught us that the entire kingdom of God is contained in the smallest of seeds (Mark 4: 30 – 32).

I do not know what inspired this woman but I do know that it was a significant enough event that Jesus called his disciples over to witness it. It certainly is a humbling passage. Although Jesus made a point of isolating the incident for his disciples and for us, he did little to explain it. Perhaps this is one of the points in our walk with Jesus which he designed as a “Selah” moment, a time to pause and reflect. Maybe the full account of this event is meant to be explained by the Lord himself in the still, quietness of our hearts. One thing is for sure, this woman and her unselfish gift live on in distinction and are a quiet testimony to each of us.

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Rightful Reliance

On August 8, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Habakkuk 2: 4

Behold, as for the proud one, his soul is not right within him; but the righteous will live by his faith.

There are quite a few observations we can receive from the prophet Habakkuk. One of the first is that the proud person and the righteous person are not one in the same. That may seem obvious but perhaps we have not yet made that connection intellectually. We can be either arrogant or righteous but not both.

Secondly, Habakkuk tells us that an arrogant or proud person is not right on the inside. There is something amiss in their soul. This is really tragic. There is damage on the inside and this damage or unresolved injury prevents this person from being righteous. Now in the New Testament, Jesus is our righteousness so one might argue that righteousness still belongs to the arrogant or self-centered person because of Jesus. The problem with that argument is that this righteousness, which was purchased for us by Jesus, must still be received. The arrogant person can no more receive the grace of God’s righteousness through Jesus than he was able to do under the old covenant. God has always been the source of righteousness. We must die to self, take our eyes off of ourselves and live unto Christ if we want to walk in the blessing of Christ. All the blessings are provided for us but they are “in Christ” where we too are supposed to be. We cannot be into ourselves and into Christ. One might even ask how a person can be a Christian, a follower of The Way, with eyes, motivation and passion focused on oneself instead of on the Christ.

Lastly, the self-absorbed person cannot live by faith. Faith is in the rightness provided for us in Christ Jesus. That means that an arrogant person cannot also be a person of faith. This person, even if he confesses to be a Christian will be unable to live and walk under the umbrella of faith. Faith begins with Jesus. Faith comes through an end to self-reliance and a surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Faith comes by hearing and hearing comes by the Word of Christ (Romans 10: 17). Faith, therefore, requires submission to the person of Jesus. Faith requires that we put our egos, ideas, thoughts, reasonings and truly all that we are behind the words of Christ. That necessarily means that we cannot be self-absorbed, self-impressed or self-sustaining and also reliant on the person and words of Jesus. We must take the idol of our intellect off of the throne of our hearts and ensconce Jesus there.

Not one of us wants to admit that we are arrogant because only fools are such. Whatsmore, I may find it quite easy to lie to myself in this regard, but here is the question I must consider, that is, not whether I believe or think myself to be arrogant but rather what others may say about me. If I can be completely honest with myself do I suspect that others might find me self-impressed. Oh dear God in heaven, save me from myself. Repentance brings the oil of gladness and repentance means nothing more than turning and going the other way, it means a change of heart, a change of mind. It does not mean travail or moaning and groaning. Just let Jesus and his word change your way of thinking. Be saved by the renewal of your thoughts, by the refreshing of your mind and be free from the burden of yourself.

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Believers?

On August 5, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 107: 6

Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble; He delivered them out of their distresses.

As the infamous Joan Rivers used to say, “Can we talk?” Between you and me, we are distressed from time to time, are we not? You can be honest with me. I know that you, like me, hurt and are troubled. We keep a brave face on but truly there are times we just have nothing left to give anyone. Those we have tried to help, those we have prayed for are the very authors of our distress. They take our obedience to our Lord and abuse us with it.

 
Do you think that our mothers and fathers of the faith did not also feel as we do; did not suffer the same severe doubt, sorrow and anguish that we do? Sure they did, so how did they become giants of faith and loyal to the Father?
Sooner or later we all have to make a decision. We have to choose whether or not we are going to believe God or not. Even more significantly, are we going to believe the Word? If I cannot believe the Word, if I have not made a solid decision to believe what it says then where shall I go for comfort? As for me, I have decided that God is not a man that He should lie (Numbers 23: 19). Has He said it and will He not do it?

Today’s verse says that they cried out to the Lord and He delivered them. So, do we believe this or do we not? Do we believe that if we cry out to the Lord He will deliver us? Are we believers or not?

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The Seeker

On August 4, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 6: 33


But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you.
One encounter with God can change your life forever. Having an encounter with God is worth everything. There really is nothing greater than a touch from Him. But how do we find god in our everyday lives? We must seek Him. When we seek Him, we find Him. In Him is the answer to every question we have as well as every need. Our job is to seek Him out and it is His job to provide us with the resources we need. Everything we need, want or desire is in Him. Seek Him with all your heart, all your mind and all your strength and he will give you the desires of your heart. He will be everything you need or want. His touch will fill your heart and heal your hurts. This type of seeking requires commitment and surrender though. If you will be determined to seek Him out, you will most definitely find Him. Seek Him in His word and through your prayers. He will be found by you.
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Prayer Time

On August 3, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Daniel 6: 10


And he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God.
This verse used to really impress me. I was, and still am, humbled by Daniel’s devotion to God and to prayer. However, I have a new revelation of prayer, and perhaps you do too. Last week we considered 1 Thessalonians 5: 17 which says, “Pray without ceasing.” Well, if praying three times a day is impressive, how much more is praying without ceasing?

While I still applaud Daniel, it is true that this is an Old Testament view of prayer. Prayer no longer need be a formalized, ritualistic event. Don’t misunderstand me, there is nothing wrong with going into your prayer closet, kneeling or whatever you do, and praying. It’s all good and even to be encouraged but if you are going to move into new dispensation prayer and pray without ceasing then you are going to have to adopt some other methodologies. Consider Ephesians 6:18: “pray at all times”. What? How are we to do that?

The key is in the words I did not reveal to you from Ephesians 6: 18. The rest of the quote is, “in the Spirit.” There is our super-power. You see, in Daniel’s time the Spirit of God had not been poured out yet. We need to learn to walk in the Spirit, worship in the Spirit and pray in the Spirit. This is exactly what Jesus had in mind when he said, “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you” (John 16: 7). The apostles must have thought Jesus was crazy in saying that it was to their advantage that he leave but Jesus understood about life in the Spirit. He knew what it would mean to us and how the Spirit’s coming would change everything.

So there we are. Rather than praying three times a day, pray all day; pray without ceasing. Do you think this will change your life?

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A Kingdom in a Seed

On August 2, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Mark 4: 30 – 32

And He said, “How shall we picture the Kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smaller than all the seeds that are upon the soil, yet when it is sown, grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches; so that the birds of the air can nest under its shade.”

Jesus was trying to illustrate the Kingdom of God for us. He compared the Kingdom of God to a seed, and not just any seed, but the smallest of all seeds. He tells us, though, that once this seed is sown, it yields the greatest harvest of any seed of the garden. The mustard plant not only yields a food crop, as do the other garden plants, but it also provides shelter and protection for the birds. God is telling us that we need sow only a small seed in order to reap a large harvest, a harvest which will provide our food as well as our protection and shelter. Everything we need is contained in that small seed. Operating in the Kingdom of God is easier and more fruitful than operating in the world. The world is like the rest of the garden where you labor and yet reap a smaller crop. The Kingdom of God operates in faith and efficiency. You can sow smaller seeds and yet gain all that you need.

As you meditate on this scripture, you will find more and more depth in it. Read it then think about it then re-read it. Remember, this is Jesus trying to demonstrate the Kingdom of God to us so it is probably in our interest to glean all of the understanding from this that we can.

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Beyond Normal

On August 1, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

1 Corinthians 3: 3


[F]or you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?
Paul seems to say here that he did not expect us to walk as mere men. He expected more of us. We are expected us to walk like Christ. Paul could tell that his disciples were not walking in the Way because there was still jealousy and strife among them. He berated them as fleshly babies but then attempted to draw them up to their true calling. They were to leave fleshly desires and behaviors behind and come up to a higher walk. Paul actually expected them to walk in a way that was above normal life. Honestly, most of the things that people strive over or are jealous about are temporal. They generally are not important in the grand scheme of things. When you have your eyes on the things above, it helps you tolerate the things of the world. Set your gaze on things above and let the things of this world slip beneath your feet. Don’t get caught up in the things of this world and you will find it easier to be kind to other people and jealousy and envy will no longer plague you.
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