“Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel, ‘My way is hidden from the Lord, and the justice due me escapes the notice of my God’? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.” Isaiah 40:27-31
“Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love! The fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.” The words of John Fawcett’s familiar hymn blend beautifully with Paul’s hallmark works describing the intended and desired path of development for the Christian.
In part Paul says, “until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ....no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, ...but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him...even Christ.” Eph. 4:13-15
Does your life fit into this description? Are you on your way to developing those qualities? If so, then you should weather the storms caused by every wind of doctrines which comes “by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming” Eph. 4:14. There is great safety and value in any fellowship of believers when they are “equipping...the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ” Eph. 4:12.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
Be Prepared
“For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.” Col. 1:9-12
One thing you learn when you live on a farm is the importance of keeping your eye on the weather. It can mean the difference between a bumper crop and no crop. So too in our daily walk, it is helpful to keep our eyes on the condition of the circumstances which surround us. The storms of life may strike often, but they often give a warning.
What do you do when you recognize a thunderhead of trial blowing your way? Are you paralyzed by fear? Do you go to others to consult when it’s likely to hit? Do you compare this one to storms of the past and tremble at its fierceness? Do you hide? Or do you get busy and “batten down the hatches”?
Before rough times arrive, there are a few thins you can do to prepare for their coming. When they do come, you’ll be better prepared to cope with them.
- Remove any hindrance in your life. Keep right with God
- Resolve to keep balanced in your judgment. Don’t panic.
- Recognize that your hope is in Christ. Rest in Him.
- Resist the temptation to return to your former lifestyle.
- Realize that holiness is the only acceptable goal for the believer.
The Boy Scouts’ motto cautions Christians as well: “Be prepared.”
One thing you learn when you live on a farm is the importance of keeping your eye on the weather. It can mean the difference between a bumper crop and no crop. So too in our daily walk, it is helpful to keep our eyes on the condition of the circumstances which surround us. The storms of life may strike often, but they often give a warning.
What do you do when you recognize a thunderhead of trial blowing your way? Are you paralyzed by fear? Do you go to others to consult when it’s likely to hit? Do you compare this one to storms of the past and tremble at its fierceness? Do you hide? Or do you get busy and “batten down the hatches”?
Before rough times arrive, there are a few thins you can do to prepare for their coming. When they do come, you’ll be better prepared to cope with them.
- Remove any hindrance in your life. Keep right with God
- Resolve to keep balanced in your judgment. Don’t panic.
- Recognize that your hope is in Christ. Rest in Him.
- Resist the temptation to return to your former lifestyle.
- Realize that holiness is the only acceptable goal for the believer.
The Boy Scouts’ motto cautions Christians as well: “Be prepared.”
Sunday, December 6, 2009
The Power of Forgiveness
“...and He instructed them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a mere staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belt; but to wear sandals; and He added, ‘Do not put on two tunics.’ And He said to them, ‘Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave town. And any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake off the dust from the soles of your feet for a testimony against them.’ And they went out and preached that men should repent. And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.
And King Herod heard of it, for His name had become well known; and people were saying, ‘John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.’ But others were saying, ‘He is Elijah.’ And others were saying, ‘He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.’” Mark 6:8-15
From the land in which our Lord walked comes a story of mercy and forgiveness. In November of 1989, Sergeant Zeev Traum was patrolling the beach-front road south of Gaza City. He and another Israeli soldier were ambushed in their jeep by Palestinian gunmen. The 40-year-old’s death brought a unique dilemma for his widow. She could simply bury her husband, or donate his heart to an ailing Palestinian.
Bittersweet revenge could be found if she denied the request and let “one of them” die since “they” killed her husband. Instead, she opted to forgive. So outside the city walls where Jesus Christ replaced our heart with His, 54-year-old Hanna Khader, who had waited four months for a heart, received new life from his political enemy. In response, Zeev’s widow said, “if it’s possible to save a man’s life, I think it’s a mitvah (Commandment of Jewish Law or Meritorious Act).”
And King Herod heard of it, for His name had become well known; and people were saying, ‘John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.’ But others were saying, ‘He is Elijah.’ And others were saying, ‘He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.’” Mark 6:8-15
From the land in which our Lord walked comes a story of mercy and forgiveness. In November of 1989, Sergeant Zeev Traum was patrolling the beach-front road south of Gaza City. He and another Israeli soldier were ambushed in their jeep by Palestinian gunmen. The 40-year-old’s death brought a unique dilemma for his widow. She could simply bury her husband, or donate his heart to an ailing Palestinian.
Bittersweet revenge could be found if she denied the request and let “one of them” die since “they” killed her husband. Instead, she opted to forgive. So outside the city walls where Jesus Christ replaced our heart with His, 54-year-old Hanna Khader, who had waited four months for a heart, received new life from his political enemy. In response, Zeev’s widow said, “if it’s possible to save a man’s life, I think it’s a mitvah (Commandment of Jewish Law or Meritorious Act).”
Friday, December 4, 2009
Determine to be Light
“This I say therefore, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality, for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.” Eph. 4:17-24
Talk with most people these days and you’ll probably get this type of response about spiritual matters: “Oh, everybody has their own beliefs” or “Don’t push your religious beliefs on others. You have your beliefs and I have mine. Let’s leave it at that.” Sound familiar? Instead of shrugging it off as just a “difference of opinion,” look closer and you’ll discover something very interesting about Satan’s strategy of keeping people in the dark.
Those who don’t want you to push your religious beliefs down their throats are the same ones who often brazenly “push” their own views on you. Peer pressure is not restricted to teens. It is a force you deal with all of your life. It is an issue you need to settle in your teen years; then in later life you’ll have the courage and background to stand against wrong - even when it is popular.
The Bible often speaks of the lost as those whose minds or understanding are “darkened”; they have no light - no understanding. Satan expends great effort to keep them cloaked in that darkness; for if they ever see the light of the real Christ, Satan’s grip would be lost, and they would turn to and embrace the Light.
Talk with most people these days and you’ll probably get this type of response about spiritual matters: “Oh, everybody has their own beliefs” or “Don’t push your religious beliefs on others. You have your beliefs and I have mine. Let’s leave it at that.” Sound familiar? Instead of shrugging it off as just a “difference of opinion,” look closer and you’ll discover something very interesting about Satan’s strategy of keeping people in the dark.
Those who don’t want you to push your religious beliefs down their throats are the same ones who often brazenly “push” their own views on you. Peer pressure is not restricted to teens. It is a force you deal with all of your life. It is an issue you need to settle in your teen years; then in later life you’ll have the courage and background to stand against wrong - even when it is popular.
The Bible often speaks of the lost as those whose minds or understanding are “darkened”; they have no light - no understanding. Satan expends great effort to keep them cloaked in that darkness; for if they ever see the light of the real Christ, Satan’s grip would be lost, and they would turn to and embrace the Light.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
The Enemy’s Strategy
“Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Indeed, has God said, “You shall not eat from any tree of the garden”?’ And the woman said to the serpent, ‘From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, “You shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die.”’ And the serpent said to the woman, ‘You surely shall not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.” Genesis 3:1-6
How often has Satan repeated that very first temptation scheme used on Eve in the Garden. Note the progression of his attack against the known Word of God. First, he presents the question: “Indeed, has God said...?” (verse 1). The context implies that is sort of a sly question with a bit of rebellion just below the surface.
Let a warning sound in your mind and in your spirit when your logical questioning begins to shift a bit - and a self-will raises its ugly head - and a rebellious attitude dulls your sensitivity. Know right then that your question is leading you on a collision course with obedience to God.
Satan’s second statement was an outright lie. It was a lie backed up with a cunning revelation of a purposely misdirected truth. Watch out when you begin to listen to Satan’s contradictions. Jesus gives the supreme example of how to respond when Satan offers an alterative to full and complete obedience to the revealed will of God. Read Luke 4:1-13. He always resorts to the Word of God.
Be alert. Be aware of the enemy’s strategy. He is not an unbeatable foe. He has already been defeated at the cross.
How often has Satan repeated that very first temptation scheme used on Eve in the Garden. Note the progression of his attack against the known Word of God. First, he presents the question: “Indeed, has God said...?” (verse 1). The context implies that is sort of a sly question with a bit of rebellion just below the surface.
Let a warning sound in your mind and in your spirit when your logical questioning begins to shift a bit - and a self-will raises its ugly head - and a rebellious attitude dulls your sensitivity. Know right then that your question is leading you on a collision course with obedience to God.
Satan’s second statement was an outright lie. It was a lie backed up with a cunning revelation of a purposely misdirected truth. Watch out when you begin to listen to Satan’s contradictions. Jesus gives the supreme example of how to respond when Satan offers an alterative to full and complete obedience to the revealed will of God. Read Luke 4:1-13. He always resorts to the Word of God.
Be alert. Be aware of the enemy’s strategy. He is not an unbeatable foe. He has already been defeated at the cross.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Limited Power
“Little children, let no one deceive you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” 1 John 3:7-8
“And when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Rev. 20:7-10
Who has the last say? Who is really in charge? God or Satan? If it is God, then why does it appear that He is callously indifferent to the critical concerns of many who are in desperate and even mortal need?
Maybe the answer lies in Rabbi Harold Kushner’s commentary in his book When Bad Things Happen to Good People. Because of his personal experience with sickness, death, and grief, he believes (at least he writes) that God may be all-loving, but He is not all-powerful; some things are just out of God’s control.
Unfortunately, many follow such thinking and adopt it for themselves without considering that it completely denies a major scriptural revelation concerning the nature and character of God. Charles Colson carefully titles this unbiblical view of God’s power: “God Isn’t Dead, Just Sick and Feeble.”
Believer, (honestly now) how do you view God’s power? Do you believe and live as if God has the very last word? Or is there a crack in your foundation of believe - a crack which sees God as benevolent but limited?
One of Satan’s greatest charades is to masquerade as an equal to God. Don’t believe it.
“And when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Rev. 20:7-10
Who has the last say? Who is really in charge? God or Satan? If it is God, then why does it appear that He is callously indifferent to the critical concerns of many who are in desperate and even mortal need?
Maybe the answer lies in Rabbi Harold Kushner’s commentary in his book When Bad Things Happen to Good People. Because of his personal experience with sickness, death, and grief, he believes (at least he writes) that God may be all-loving, but He is not all-powerful; some things are just out of God’s control.
Unfortunately, many follow such thinking and adopt it for themselves without considering that it completely denies a major scriptural revelation concerning the nature and character of God. Charles Colson carefully titles this unbiblical view of God’s power: “God Isn’t Dead, Just Sick and Feeble.”
Believer, (honestly now) how do you view God’s power? Do you believe and live as if God has the very last word? Or is there a crack in your foundation of believe - a crack which sees God as benevolent but limited?
One of Satan’s greatest charades is to masquerade as an equal to God. Don’t believe it.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Battle for the Mind
And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things. Phil 4:7-8
One of the common catch words - which is already on its way out - is the word “awesome.” If you were in conversation with an average teen, it would be “awesome” this and “awesome’ that.
The word “awesome” also describes the power and personality of our greatest enemy - Satan. A problem many experience regarding our enemy is that they quickly feel overwhelmed by his show of force and power. As intimidated soldiers, many believers just want to close their eyes and ears and block out any recognition of the enemy’s obvious activity. But that is not living within God’s full provision for His children.
Yes, the Bible does describe Satan as “the god of this world” II Cor 4:4. But notice that god is spelled with a little “g” not a capital “G” reserved only to represent Almighty God.
Satan is also known in Scripture as “the prince of the power of the air.” Eph 2:2
The real battle is being fought for the minds - then the souls - of individuals. Christian friend, what do you feed your heart and mind? Be alert. Judge what you take in. Remember your mind is the greatest computer ever invented, but it can only put out what you put in...
One of the common catch words - which is already on its way out - is the word “awesome.” If you were in conversation with an average teen, it would be “awesome” this and “awesome’ that.
The word “awesome” also describes the power and personality of our greatest enemy - Satan. A problem many experience regarding our enemy is that they quickly feel overwhelmed by his show of force and power. As intimidated soldiers, many believers just want to close their eyes and ears and block out any recognition of the enemy’s obvious activity. But that is not living within God’s full provision for His children.
Yes, the Bible does describe Satan as “the god of this world” II Cor 4:4. But notice that god is spelled with a little “g” not a capital “G” reserved only to represent Almighty God.
Satan is also known in Scripture as “the prince of the power of the air.” Eph 2:2
The real battle is being fought for the minds - then the souls - of individuals. Christian friend, what do you feed your heart and mind? Be alert. Judge what you take in. Remember your mind is the greatest computer ever invented, but it can only put out what you put in...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)