There Go I

On May 28, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Titus 3: 3

For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.

Paul gives us the perfect example for being patient and kind with others, ourselves We once were just as painful to be around as the unlovely are to us now. I praise God that we are growing and learning to be more like Christ but let us not lose sight of where we were before His grace moved in our lives. We demonstrated all of the undesirable traits above and probably a few more. Now as we are learning to be more like Christ we must learn to love and be kind to people even while they are in an unenlightened state just like Christ was generous and forgiving with us. I do not say that it is always easy but by focusing our attention on those qualities God would have us develop we come up just a bit higher. Set your sights on the heights. You will bless those around you.

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Modeling Christ

On May 27, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Titus 3: 2

… malign no one, to be uncontentious, gentle, showing every consideration for all men.

Malign no one – that means that we are not to say anything bad about anyone at anytime. That is a big bill to fill but that is what God wants us to aspire to. What about being contentious? A contentious person is one who tends to argue, tends to find himself in arguments, debates and disagreements. Merriam-Webster defines a contentious person as one likely to cause an argument even sometimes “exhibiting an often perverse and wearisome tendency to quarrels and disputes.” We all know or have known someone like that. Every time you talk with them they have another story about a conflict they have been involved in. God does not want us to live in conflict. He certainly does not want us to bring conflict into other people’s lives. As it says above Father God wants us to be gentle in our dealings with one another and to be considerate of every person with whom we come in contact. You cannot be contentious and kind. A contentious person will have a two-fold problem. First, people are not likely to enjoy being around them and secondly, one cannot fulfill the ambition of the Lord for one’s life while being quarrelsome. Let us endeavor, therefore, to live in peace. Let peace guide you.

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Wisdom is for the Wise

On May 26, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Proverb 9: 7 – 9

He who corrects a scoffer gets dishonor for himself, and he who reproves a wicked man gets insults for himself. Do no reprove a scoffer, lest he hate you, reprove a wise man, and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser, teach a righteous man, and he will increase his learning.

This has been one of the hardest lessons of my life to learn. I thought that everyone wanted to know truth and to learn but it just isn’t true. And brother, if you want to alienate some folks in a hurry, correct them. You see, I have been willing to be corrected because I really wanted to know the truth. I didn’t want to continue in ignorance when there was someone who could teach me. My biggest frustration has been in finding someone who would teach me. But this is not the way of the majority. Most folks prefer the status quo no matter how uncomfortable.

You are likely to run into this problem too. As you learn and grow in the things of God you increasingly see more victory and more ease in your life. You are going to want to share what you have learned with those you care about. That’s all good. But, when they start doing the very things that have led them into disaster time and time again and you have already shared with them what has worked for you then let it be. They do not want to be corrected. It seems most people would rather live with their adversity than to change. There is some perverse comfort we have with our own calamity that makes it easier to live with than endeavoring to change ourselves. 

There are two things you can do. First, of course, pray for them. Second, is to just keep living your life in the glorious glow of Jesus. Hopefully, your friends and family will see the grace that the Lord has blessed you with and will ask you for your secret. 

The other problem is that some of these “friends” will become very critical of you. They want what you have but are unwilling to do what you have done. They see you growing and experiencing life as they want it and they become jealous. Sometimes they will treat you unkindly. Again, the best thing you can do is to continue to live a life of grace doing as the Bible and the Lord Jesus instruct you. “For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men” (1 Peter 2: 15). We want people to see the magnanimity of our Father but we cannot preach them into acceptance. We must lead, but mostly by example. Every once in a while a person will come along who is that wise person spoken of in today’s verse; one who is seeking to be wiser. These people are a joy and a delight and I pray that your life be filled with them.

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Peculiar

On May 25, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Luke 7: 22 – 23

And He answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard; the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM. 23 And blessed is he who keeps from stumbling over Me.”

John the Baptist sent his disciples to Jesus to ask if he was the one the Jews were awaiting, the Messiah. Above is Jesus’ response. Verse 22 makes perfect sense; it is about what you would expect Jesus to say but what about verse 23. Isn’t that one of the most amazing statements?

I really had not thought about people stumbling over Jesus. He is our light but think about Jews. I suppose quite a few have stumbled over him. Still though, I perceive that there is much more to this statement than first appears. Over the last 5 years or so since I first began thinking about this verse, I have noticed that quite a few of us do stumble over Jesus.

This has been startling to me. This stumbling seems to take the form of not wanting to acquiesce to his leadership or to his words. We read the Word and right there, in plain sight is a mandate and yet are unwilling to yield. Here is one example, you can think of many others. Jesus says plainly, “Forgive” and yet some of us will go to our graves with unrepentant anger and unforgiveness. How about this one, “Do not judge”? Again, it’s pretty clear what this commandment demands. You don’t need a theologian to explain it to you but every day we judge others and condemn whole populations to hell.

The truth of the matter is that many of us routinely trip over Jesus. Who knew? Well, I guess Jesus did. He knew that people would struggle with living life according to the Spirit of truth and the way of the Kingdom rather than living according to the world’s rules and standards. “The Way” is not the common way. Following Jesus necessarily means being different. We are called a peculiar people. “For you are a holy people [set apart] to the Lord your God; and the Lord has chosen you to be a peculiar people to Himself, above all the nations on the earth” (Deuteronomy 14: 2 Amplified). And speaking of Jesus Paul wrote “Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2: 14). But people stumble over Jesus. They stumble over the love commandment. People who claim to love Jesus and who present a holy life to outside observance trip over his words and the nudges of the Holy Spirit.

“Blessed is he who keeps from stumbling over Me.” Our blessing is in our adherence to Jesus and his ways. Salvation, in all its forms, is in him. I don’t think we can ignore his words and teachings and still experience his grace. This seems to be a package deal. Are you in or are you out? Be blessed in Jesus’ name!

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I Spy . . .

On May 22, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Judges 6: 9

And I delivered you from the hands of the Egyptians and from the hands of all your oppressors, and dispossessed them before you and gave you their land.

You know the story of the Israelites. God freed them from Egyptian slavery and led them through the desert to the Promised Land. He was with them at all times. He routed their enemies and gave them the chosen land. And yet, most of the people who journeyed through the desert never entered the Promised Land. They died in the desert because of their unbelief. How tragic! God defeated the enemy. He led them, fed them and gave them water. He emptied the land for them and yet they failed to enter in.

Even as I lament those Israelites who stopped short of receiving the promise I am brought up short by the reality of present day faith. How many of us are failing to enter into the Promised Land? God has made us many promises. He has provided food and drink, dispossessed the land of our enemies, prepared a table before us and all we have to do is follow him obediently and faithfully. But so often we look at the land and see the giants instead of the promise. We look at the enemy or the desert and focus our full attention on those things when we should be filling our vision with the land which is flowing with milk and honey. 

Only two of the original twelve Israelite spies were able to move into the land God had given the Israelites (Numbers 14: 22 – 24). The others were too busy talking about the giants even though they admitted that the land was everything God promised. I read recently, “You become what you behold,” (Richards, Moving Your Invisible Boundaries, P. 141). Ten of those spies saw themselves as grasshoppers and so they were. Two of them saw the promise of God and that was all they needed. They believed God and applied their faith to what He said and they got the Promised Land.

God has driven out the enemy before us too. Jesus did that for us. We didn’t even have to use our faith for that. But now in order to receive all that Jesus has won for us we must believe with our hearts. Your heart is your faith center, not your brain. We can have everything God promised us but we must put our believers in gear. We have to decide that we are going to believe our Father and trust Him. If we will do that, we can have the Promised Land. I want that for us. Then all people will see how mighty is our God.

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Empty Vessels

On May 21, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Philippians 2: 5 -7

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.

There is a whole bunch of theology tied up in this verse but I wish to focus on a more narrow aspect of this verse today and suggest a way it applies to each of us.

This scripture tells us that Jesus emptied himself. It is talking about his removing the robe of his deity and taking on the garment of human flesh. I am taken aback by this idea of him emptying himself. What shall we imagine; perhaps a container of some sort? Let’s picture a clear 2 liter bottle. Imagine the bottle full of green liquid. Now pick it up and pour out half of the contents. Half of what that bottle knew and contained is now gone. However, the bottle is not empty is it? So, pour out all but one drop. Okay, the bottle is effectively empty. Most of what it held and what gave it the biggest part of its value is now gone. Still though, the bottle is not completely empty is it? So, let’s pour out the last drop and for argument’s sake all you physicists, let’s not consider the air that rushes in to fill the void. The bottle was a container for green liquid and now that the last drop has been poured out the bottle is truly empty.

Have you ever felt the way that bottle must feel at this point? Have you felt empty? If you have then you would likely say it is not a feeling you would pursue. None the less, Jesus emptied himself of everything he was and everything he knew in order to be the lamb we required. That had to be a pretty intense experience. Here you are part of the Godhead and then you become empty.

So, here is my point. I believe that we are supposed to, in like manner, empty ourselves so that we can be renewed in his image. We shuck off the old self and put on the new person which has been made in the image of Christ himself. It is sort of the reverse process that Jesus went through. He put on flesh and we must crucify our flesh and take on his nature. It seems to me that we can only be renewed into this new creation which is our right and our destiny to the degree that we empty ourselves of the old person. The more we empty ourselves, the more we can be filled. We like to hold onto the familiar, but this I believe, we will be much happier, more successful, and more fulfilled the more we pour out ourselves unto him. Empty vessels are good. Just ask the widow in 2 Kings 4: 1 – 7. When we present God with empty vessels He fills them with oil. Be filled today!

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Crimson Veil

On May 20, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Hebrews 10: 19 -20

Since therefore, brethren, we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh.

In Old Testament times there was a tabernacle which housed the Ark of the Covenant. The ark was in a section of the tabernacle called the Holy of Holies. Only the high priest could enter this section of the tabernacle and then only once a year. The priest had to be sanctified and entered this holy place only by means of sacrificial blood. This Holy of Holies was the place where God’s presence met with humanity through the priest. This is the place referred to in today’s verse as “the holy place.”

There was a veil which separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the tabernacle. When Jesus died on the cross “the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Mark 15: 38). No longer did the veil stand between humanity and God. Jesus removed the veil with his sacrifice so that we are free to enter into the Holy of Holies and commune with our Father. 

Now, re-read today’s verse in light of these thoughts. You can see that Jesus shattered religion and replaced it with relationship. He bought our entrance into the presence of God for all time with his blood. And think about it . . . the blood of God was shed for us and sprinkled over us so that we may forever enter into God’s presence. The veil has been lifted. God was released from the box but I would like to suggest that there is a new veil in place. This one is for our good though, and rather than separating us from God, it draws us to him. 

The new veil is the blood of Jesus our Christ. When God looks at us he sees us covered head to toe with the saving blood of Jesus. He doesn’t see our sins and short-comings. He sees his beloved son intertwined with us. He sees the communion of our souls. We are glorious in God’s sight because we have put on Jesus like a robe. He is the crimson veil through which our Father sees us. Today’s scripture tells us that Jesus has ushered us into the presence of God, right through the veil through the sacrifice of his flesh. He bought us our freedom; we are free to roam the halls of the citadel of God. We can freely and boldly enter into the throne room.

So, stop telling God about all of your weaknesses and sins. He sees you glorified in Christ. If you have “blown it” today, put on Christ. As a matter of fact, isn’t that what we want to do each day, don Christ? You are now God’s beloved. He sees you pure and sanctified. Don’t stand out in the parking lot when Jesus has purchased your ticket to the main show. Enter into the throne room with thanksgiving for you have a crimson glow all about you.

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