Where Do You Find Your Significance?

"And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first." - Matthew 19:29-30

Martie and I have been watching the Great British Baking Show for a few years. No profanity - no sexual overtones - no violence - Although the past couple of years sexual innuendo has increased and there is some profanity, although mild by today's standards - the "language frog" is in the pot and the water is being brought to a boil. Sad. But I digress! Something I have heard from a number of the finalists on the baking show, to include winners, was that they were amazed since they had very low self-esteem.  And suddenly they discovered that they had mad baking skills - better than most home bakers in their country.

That got me to thinking about where we, as Christians, are to place our confidence. In ourselves, compared to other people or in the Lord. About whom the Lord considers who is great in contrast to the world's estimation of who should be esteemed. 

"But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." - Matthew 20:25-28

Being great as a Christian means loving God first, to have set the world and what it values aside, including your own welfare, and seeking the good of others. To be like Jesus. 

"But whatever gain I [Paul] had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death" Philippians 3:7-10

Can you say that about your life of faith? Or do you struggle to find significance in the world and among men. A.W. Tosier wrote: "A whole new generation of Christians has come up believing that it is possible to 'accept' Christ without forsaking the world."

It is certainly possible, but those Christians are what is known as a carnal Christians. 

"For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be." - Romans 8:5-7

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

Relief Or Repentance

"And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate." - Luke 15:21-24

I am certain that you are familiar with the parable about the prodigal son, his repentance and restoration. Not until he realized that he had sinned did he repent and find restoration with his father. All too often I have known people who didn't realize that their sin was the problem and that they needed to repent by faith. What they wanted was relief from the consequence of their choices with no intention of changing the way they made choices. They did not understand that sin was the problem. Like Jesus talking to Nicodemus in John 3.

"Jesus answered him [Nicodemus], “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?" - John 3:4-9

Unless the truth is revealed by the Spirit to a yielded heart the person will not repent. I received a phone call not long ago from someone who was desperate for a solution to their struggle. I told them the answer was Jesus, but they wanted it to be something else other than Jesus. Today, we would like to have an easy answer - like a pill - take one and you will never have this problem again. Faith will save you from the eternal consequence of sin but may not relieve you of the temporary consequence of your sin. But your faith will help you endure those consequences. Like Nicodemus, the person I talked to could not understand the spiritual truth. Jesus told Nicodemus that he could not understand how being born again happens.

"Nevertheless, I [Jesus] tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper [the Holy Spirit] will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged." - John 16:7-11

Don't you wish you could make people understand? To see the truth and the true source of relief. There is a "pill" you can give people who ask for help - the "Gos-pill". Jesus Saves! But, sadly, you will find that for many that “pill” will be too hard to swallow!

"All to Jesus I surrender. All to Him I freely give. I will ever love and trust Him. In His presence daily live. I surrender all." - [I Surrender All - Judson W. Van DeVenter, 1896]

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

Christians Are All The Same - Aren't They?

"For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise." - Galatians 3:27-29

One of the criticisms of the Christian faith has been that we persist in drawing lines between people groups. In Galatians, and other letters to the churches, it seems that Paul was bent on erasing those lines. For the sake of being one within the confines of our ethnicity or cultural traditions, we limit just how "one" we will be with Christians who don't look or talk, or act like us. Justifying why we cling to our cultural traditions so as not to lose our ethnic or cultural identity. We all readily embrace John 3:16, understanding that the world that God loves is, in fact, the whole planet and not just our little piece of it. "He's got the whole world in His hands" - right?

Cerebrally we can embrace that, but practically - when faced with it - well - we stumble.  The fact is that we would prefer that everyone just stay within their lines.  Oh, this is not just a "white" or "black" or "brown" thing. It's a human - flesh thing. And that is the problem. 

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." - 2 Corinthians 5:17

Have you ever thought about what those "old things" might be? I think the root of the problem is that we see other Christians of other ethnicities and cultures through the lens of our old fallen nature and not our new risen one. The Spiritual one. We are OK with the idea that if they are to change but they should change to be like us - fit into our culture. But what if we have all missed the mark. That instead of expecting other to be like us we should all expect all of us to be like Jesus. Need I remind you that Jesus was born of a virgin through the line of David, a Jew. He was not an Anglo born in the USA! There is no white, black or brown Jesus. Just the Son of God - Jesus.

Jesus prayed that we all would be one as He and the Father are one (John 17). That is a spiritual oneness - supernatural - a unity apart from the race of Adam. Made possible by the blood of Jesus and not the imaginings of man. When I preached in a Haitian church I always started with the phrase, "mwen pa blan mwen se frè nou" - "I am not white, I am your Brother" From the looks on the people's faces I was certain my declaration was often met with skepticism. But it was no less true. It was and is and will always be a spiritual truth. 

"If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen." - 1 John 4:20

Hard words. Do you want to seek justification for your attitude and actions? You say, "I don't really hate Christians who are not like me. I just prefer to not be around them." My one-word response would be, "Really?!"

"For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed [by the vain traditions of] your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God." - 1 Peter 1:18-21

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

Does The World See Jesus In You?

"Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?" - John 14:8-10

Isn't it interesting that Jesus told Philip that seeing Jesus was the same thing as seeing God, the Father? 

"No one has ever seen God; the only God [the Son - Jesus], who is at the Father's side, he has made him known." - John 1:18

The world is desperate for the things that only God can provide. The world seeks relief from the physical aspects of our existence, our natural lives. God, the Father, in His providence, has made provision for something greater to satisfy the source of their fears and discontent. It is not the physical but the spiritual aspect of their existence - to satisfy their need for a pardon for their sins through faith Jesus the Son and a new life in Him.

"From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation" - 2 Corinthians 5:16-18

Starting from the moment of our salvation, our lives are being transformed as we are conformed into the image of Christ. 

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers." - Romans 8:28-29

Jesus prayed to the Father -

"I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me." - John17: 20-23

And so - just as when Jesus told Philip that if Philip had seen Jesus, then he had also seen the Father, so we who are one with Jesus can say "If you have seen me - you have seen Jesus".  What? You don't think that can be true for you? Well, I would say that it "should" be true. As Christians how we live our lives should reflect our faith. Does your life clearly reflect Jesus to the world? Does the world see Jesus in you?

If our lives do not reflect Jesus to the world then the reason it doesn't is because we have a love problem. Our hearts are divided in their devotion. We love ourselves or the world more than we love God. It is a common malady among Christians. You can't live your new life in Christ on your own. You have been saved by faith and that is how you must live. You are not immune to the temptation to trust in your flesh - to yield to it. But God has provided a way to escape. 

"Therefore, let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." - 1 Corinthians 10:12-13

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

Am I My Brother's Keeper?

"Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?" - Genesis 4:9

Great question.  Of course, Cain was trying to avoid answering with the truth that he had murdered Abel. But his answer begs a question.  - Are we responsible for other people? The answer is "yes". Jesus said, 

"If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." - John 15:10-13

Loving others like Jesus loves us. Placing their welfare ahead of our own. Are you committed to that? Because it will mean that you must forego you own plans and desires for their benefit.

"All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense. It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak." - Romans 14:20-21

So, we are not to do anything that causes our Brother to stumble. But isn't there a limit to how much I must not do? That is the wrong question. The right question is "Does anything I am doing or about to do cause my weaker brother or sister to stumble in their faith?"

Another question - Do I really care that doing what I want to do, when and where, and how often I want to do causes other Christians to stumble in their faith?  After all isn't their sin their problem? As a Christian, you will find that you must quench the Spirit in order to not be your Brother's keeper. 

Abstaining from things that are not necessarily sinful - can be spiritually harmful to others. Does that matter to you? It should. You are your Brother's keeper. And to answer the question of "So what if I don't?" James addressed that. 

"To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin." - James 4:17

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

From Whom Are You Seeking Approval

"I [Paul] am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse! Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ." - Galatians 1:6-10

I am certain that you are as concerned as I am by the moral flat spin that the Church seems to be in. 

A flat spin in an airplane is a dangerous flight condition that can be impossible to recover from. Thankfully, it’s not likely to happen on any routine flight. It occurs when the plane has no forward airspeed as it spins towards the ground around its vertical axis. (In a helicopter it is called "settling with power")

During a flat spin, the aircraft usually pitches down and begins spinning in a corkscrew-shaped spiral toward the ground. The forward airspeed is very slow since the aircraft is stalled. But the sink rate towards the ground can be very fast, and the rotation rate can be violent and disorienting to the pilot. How did the plane and pilot get there - very likely the pilot has made an error in judgement. Probably several decisions that led him to that calamity. The sky (and gravity) can be very unforgiving. (In a helicopter your only option is to do what is counter-intuitive - you are rapidly descending and want to increase power but that is the opposite of what you must do which is reduce power and fly out of the disturbed air column that you are in)

What does that lesson in aerodynamics have to do with faith.  Paul said that the motivation for preaching a false gospel was that the preachers or purveyors of the false gospel were trying to please men and not God. Today there is so much pressure to conform to the world. To agree that what God has made plain is wrong is, in fact, right as deemed by man. We are tempted to go along to get along - but that is the worst thing we can do. And it is not just one bad decision we make that finds us spinning out of control. We are to be light in a dark world and the darkness hates the light. 

"Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed." - John 3:19-20

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

Do You Hear What I Hear?

 For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them. (Isaiah 6:10) But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it." Matthew 13:15-17

"He who has ears, let him hear." - Matthew 13:9

There is only one way to hear and see what Jesus was talking about. You must be born again. That is what Jesus told Nicodemus.

"Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." - John 3:3-8

Each of us, like Nicodemus, must be born again by the Spirit. Until that happens, it is impossible for any of us to hear the Spirit and see the Truth. To understand spiritual things requires the indwelling of the Spirit of God which happens on the day of our conversion. The day we are made alive toward God by faith in Jesus. 

Don't expect the world to understand and embrace the Message.  What is the Message? That God so loved the world that He sent His Son to redeem the world by paying the penalty for sin that we might be made righteous and have eternal life by faith. Unless the Spirit of God stirs in their hearts and they yield their lives by faith in response then they will continue in their sin to their eternal destruction. 

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." - 1 Corinthians 1:18

Don't let the fear of rejection by those who don't have ears to hear be the reason to be silent in a doubting world. Be the Light. Cast the seed. Rely on the Spirit and not yourself as you go. 

Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy:

"Do you hear what I hear?

Ringing through the sky, shepherd boy

Do you hear what I hear?

A song, a song, high above the trees

With a voice as big as the sea

With a voice as big as the sea"

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

The Manger Was Only The Beginning

 "Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you." - John 20:21

We all have a purpose and a mission. What is it? The same as God the Father gave to Jesus the Son.

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me [Jesus], because he [God the Father] has anointed me [Jesus] to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." - Luke 4:18-19

First is to proclaim the Good News - the Gospel, that there is liberty for those who are enslaved by sin. Second, be a source of light to give sight to see the truth for those who have been blinded by Satan, the god of this world. Show people the Way to freedom from spiritual oppression. And fourth to proclaim that God has sent His Son to save us from our sins. 

"In their [those who are lost] case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." - 2 Corinthians 4:4

What! You didn't know that was your responsibility? Every Christian has been given that ministry. What's more - just like Jesus went to the cross and died, once for all - we are to pick up our crosses - dying to the world and our old nature (Matthew 16:24). Offering ourselves as living sacrifices to prove the good and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:1-2)

What's more - we have been given the same ministry of reconciliation as Jesus was given.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation." - 2 Corinthians 5:17-19

As you celebrate the birth of Christ - remember that He was the "first born among many brothers (and sisters)"  

"For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers." - Romans 8:29

Understand that His birth was just the beginning. What He started we are to continue. We are not spectators in the stands nor are we to be satisfied with warming a bench (or pew) but to be players on the field. 

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

No Room For Compromise

"No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money" - Matthew 6:24

Most of us have at least read the ten commandments. You may not have thought of them in this way, but the first 4 commandments have to do with our relationship with our Father and the remaining 6 commandments have to do with our relationship with other people. When Jesus said 

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." - Matthew 22:37-40

He was referring to the 10 commandments and all other commandments God had communicated through the prophets. So, when we read in Matthew 6 that we must choose God or the world - it is to remind us that we should not try to do the impossible, which is to embrace both. Both demand our total devotion. If we convince ourselves that we can do both we are deceiving ourselves. 

"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." - 1 John 2:15

That doesn't leave much room for us does it? We are prone to accommodate those things in the world that are appealing to us that God has spoken plainly against. Much of "those things" falling into the "not so bad" category in our minds. We might do it for acceptance by other people - typically not Christian people, friends, family, or people we work with.  Exodus 20 and Matthew 22 lay it out simply. We must love God with all of our being and that will manifest itself as love for others. And it will also cause us to reject what the world says is "OK" but what God has said clearly is not "OK". And if we try to love the world in spite of that knowledge then the truth is that we don't really love God. We may want to, but we don't.

Jesus also said ....

"If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." - Matthew 16:24.

In other words, we must deny our old nature and its affections and do the will of the Father - just like Jesus did. Taking up our cross means laying our old, sinful nature on the Altar as a sacrifice like Paul referred to in Romans. 

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." - Romans 12:1-2

We are about to celebrate the arrival of Jesus - sent by God the Father as a means of redemption from our bondage to sin and eternal condemnation. Why would we want to embrace that which we had been saved from. How can we say, "Thank you Jesus" and then continue to live in or turn back to our sinful ways?  Examine your heart and your ways. Don't wait for the New Year to make a resolution - instead commit now to choose God just like Joshua. 

"And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. - Joshua 24:15

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

Remember To Rejoice

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, rejoice." Philippians 4:4

The one time of the year when the contrast between our faith and what the world values is most apparent is during the Christmas season.  God sent His Son to die on a cross so that we might be redeemed - made righteous through His sacrifice - restored as children of God by faith through a spiritual transformation. That is a reason to be full of joy and to rejoice to a world in desperate need of a Savior.

I remember what I thought Christmas was all about when I was a child. Our family was lost spiritually. The big idea about Christmas was that Santa was coming to bring us presents. We knew about baby Jesus, the angels, the shepherds, the wise men. We even sang songs about them. We might even re-enact the manger. But for us, without faith, it was just a nice story. What we were more interested in was for Jolly Old Saint Nicholas to lean his ear our way. What we were going to get for Christmas was the focus of our heart. It was all about those things wrapped up as presents and little or nothing to do with the great present from a loving God wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger and destined for a cross.  

Over the years I have seen more and more of Santa and less and less of Jesus in our culture. As Martie reminded me - the legend of Santa had good roots, but then it seems his sleigh went off course. Some years ago the idea of Black Friday was birthed by marketeers. Just doing their job. Black Friday was a way to move up the spending on the calendar to fill the coffers sooner than a few days before Christmas. Thanksgiving has long been the demarcation day for the beginning of the Christmas celebration. Time for the trees to go up and the spending to go into full swing. 

Ever so subtly, like the frog in the pot, that demarcation line has been moved to a date before the fourth Thursday of November.  Inching closer and closer to another holiday - Halloween. Christmas has become a largely a secular holiday with token acknowledgement of the "Reason for the Season." These are findings from a recent survey. 

44% of Shoppers Believe the Best Deals Come in October
Nearly 197 Million Consumers Shopped Over Thanksgiving Weekend
62% of Consumers Used Credit Cards For Holiday Spending
In 2023, total holiday retail sales were projected to have reached new highs of 957 billion U.S. dollars.

And my point. Christian - be diligent to keep things in perspective.  

"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he [Jesus] said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment." - Matthew 22:36-39

"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life is not from the Father but is from the world." - 1 John 2:15-16

Make certain that you make much of Jesus in the coming days. Your family should know it is Jesus that they should be excited about and His immanent return - like a thief in the night - not like Santa Clause sneaking down the chimney to leave gifts for you and yours. Jesus is the gift.

"Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape." - 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3

Come let us worship the newborn King - the Prince of Peace - the Son of God - Our High Priest - Savior - Redeemer. Let the world know. 

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

 

Advent - Spiritual Reality - Obey God And Experience God

Reality Seven. You come to know God by experience as you obey Him, and He accomplishes His work through you. 

It is not enough to say that you believe what the Word says is true - you must obey it - walk in it. Dr. Blackaby said that if you have a problem obeying God, the root cause is that you are having a problem loving God. Jesus said .....

"If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me." - Luke 14:23-24

Mary

"And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her." - Luke 1:38 

To obey God means that you must “faith” God. What Gabriel said to Mary defied conventional wisdom and practice. For Mary to obey God was to surrender to His will and lay her own will, her cultural understanding and very life on the altar.  

“I (Paul) appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” – Romans 12:1-2

Joseph

“When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.” – Matthew 1:24-25

Joseph knew it was a message from God and obeyed the message to the letter. 

“She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet (Isaiah 7:14): “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” – Matthew 1:21-23

Mary not only conceived as a virgin but gave birth to Jesus as a virgin. In order for Isaiah’s prophecy to be fulfilled, Joseph could not consummate his marriage to Mary until after Jesus was born.

What God did with Mary and Joseph, inviting them to become part of the eternal story of redemption is not unlike what God wants to do though you and me. Oh, there will never be another Mary - there will never be another Jesus. But as His ambassadors, we are called to join God in what He is doing. We will each have our own Crisis of Belief - perhaps more than one over our lifetimes. To obey what God tells us will require that we make major adjustments in our lives. But mere acknowledgement is not enough. We will not experience God until we obey Him. 

God does not want your sacrifice; He wants your undivided devotion. He wants you to love Him with your whole heart. 

“For you [God] will not delight in sacrifice, or I [David] would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” – Psalm 51:16-17

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

Advent - Spiritual Reality - Making Adjustments In Your Life

Reality Six. You must make major adjustments in your life to join God in what He is doing. 

Mary

“And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.” – Luke 1:35-38

Mary knew what Jewish law said about a woman getting pregnant and not being married - and if it was by a man other than the one to whom she was betrothed. People would not believe that her pregnancy was supernatural. To obey God would mean that she must risk everything. What would happen when she submitted to what God wanted her to do? Her life would not be what she imagined it might have been. What if Joesph did not accept what was about to happen? 

What God did with Mary, inviting her to become part of the eternal story of redemption is not unlike what God wants to do though you and me. Oh, there will never be another Mary - there will never need to be. Jesus died once for all. (Romans 6:10) As His ambassadors, we are called to join God in what He is doing. We will each have our own Crisis of Belief - perhaps more than one over our lifetimes. To obey what God tells us will require that we make major adjustments in our lives. 

Joseph 

“And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.” – Matthew 1:21-25

When Joseph was betrothed to Mary, he most certainly understood its significance. There are two parts, the betrothal and later, the wedding. At the betrothal Mary was legally married to Joseph, although she remained in her father’s house. She could not have any relationship with another man unless she was divorced from Joseph. The wedding meant only that Mary, accompanied by a colorful procession, was brought from her father’s house to the house of Joseph, and the legal tie with him was consummated. Joseph was faced with making a major adjustment in his plans. One that would require faith.

Zechariah and Elizabeth

The adjustment for them was that they would be raising a child when they were old. John the Baptist was near 30 when he began his ministry. There is no mention that his parents were still living at that point. Which means that they may not have witnessed John fulfilling his purpose.

Perhaps God has already spoken to you. Or perhaps he is speaking to you now. Will obeying what He has said require adjustments in your life? Absolutely. God did not say what He asks you to do will not be difficult, but He did say you will not have to do it on your own. God always asks us to do what we cannot do on our own. We will always need the power of God to do it. Just say "Yes Lord" and then step out in faith. As my mom once told me when Martie and I were facing a crisis of belief, "The River Jordan did not back up until they stepped into the water!" Do what you know to do. And trust God for the rest.

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

Advent - Spiritual Reality - Faced With A Crisis We Believe

Reality Five. God’s invitation for you to work with Him always leads you to a crisis of belief that requires faith and action. 

The picture of course, is Peter getting out of the boat and walking to Jesus. Peter had to ignore what he knew about getting out of a boat in the open seas. Denying the natural in favor of the spiritual. Peter had to leave the safety and security of the boat made by human hands and his friends to join Jesus. He faced a crisis of belief that He was not expecting that required faith and action.

"And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus." - Matthew 14:28-29

Mary

"And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?" And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. For nothing will be impossible with God.” - Luke 1:34-37 

Mary did not understand how it could be possible for a woman to conceive in any way other than through the intimate relationship with a man. What Gabriel was telling her would require faith and action. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things nor seen." - Hebrews 11:1

Mary chose to believe.

Zechariah

“And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” – Luke 1:18-20

Zechariah was an old man, and like all men his age, past the season when he could produce children. He and his wife, Elizabeth, had tried to have children, prayed to have children, when they were young and could not. Now an angel who appeared in the Temple told him what had been impossible when it was possible, would be possible when it was physically impossible.

Speaking of salvation from sin, Jesus told His disciples, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” – Matthew 19:26

Zechariah chose to believe.

Joseph

“When his [Jesus] mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” – Matthew 1:18-20

Mary might have been stoned not being able to prove that she had not conceived a child with another man. The only natural way it could happen. But Jospeh resolved in his heart that she should suffer no harm before the Angel – presumably Gabriel – spoke to Him. “as he considered these things” What things? What the angel told him but, although the Bible is silent – it is safe to assume that he and Mary had spoken about her pregnancy, and she had explained her encounter with the Angel. Joseph was confronted with rejecting what he knew to be impossible in the natural and trusting and believing in the spiritual.

Joseph chose to believe.

How about you?

Have you heard from God and now you are faced with that you think is impossible in the natural but you are challenged to believe in the spiritual? 

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

Advent - Spiritual Reality - God Speaks

 Reality Four. God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes and His ways. 

For 400 years before the birth of Jesus, God no longer spoke through the prophets. But at the right time, God spoke to Mary, Joseph and Zechariah through an Angel, and to Mary through her cousin, Elizabeth.

To Hear God Speak – Your Heart Must Be Right Before God.

Zechariah and Elizabeth

“In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.” – Luke1:5-6 

They were righteous before God because of their faith in God

Mary

“In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” Luke 1:26-30

Mary found favor with God because of her faith in God.

Joseph

"And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.” Matthew 1:19

Joseph was just before God by his faith in God.

Then God Spoke

Zechariah - Gabriel

"And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.” – Luke 1:11-19

Elizabeth - Circumstances

"After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.” – Luke 1:24-25

Mary - Gabriel

"In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary.  And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” – Luke 1:26-30

Mary - Elizabeth

"In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” – Luke 1:39-45

Joseph – An Angel (Gabriel?)

"But as he [Joseph] considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” – Matthew 1:20-23

And Today God Speaks

How God Speaks To Us Today

God will speak to us and we will hear Him if our hearts are right. We live in the time after the resurrection and ascension of the Messiah – Jesus. To be a Helper in our spiritual lives, God, the Father, sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in every Believer – sealing us as His children for eternity. Anointing us as He did the prophets to enable spiritually. Today God speaks to us by His Spirit through the Word of God, prayer, circumstances, and other Christians. God very often speaks to us in more than one of those four ways. You may not be expecting it when it happens. What He says will always lead you to a Crisis of Belief. Do you believe that God would speak to you?

Are you listening?

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

Next - Responding To What God Says

Advent - Spiritual Reality - God's Invitation

Reality Three. God invites you to become involved with Him in His work. Today I will focus on Mary and Zechariah.

Mary

“In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” – Luke 1:26-30

God sent Gabriel to speak to Mary - Mary was not seeking this invitation - God sought her out. In her mind the course of her life seemed to be set. She was doing what every girl she knew did. She loved God and was betrothed to a man, Joseph. And then God intervened.

Zechariah

“Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.  And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.” – Matthew 1:8-11  

Zechariah was going about his duties as a priest according to the customs of the day. Outside there was a multitude seeking God through prayer – yet among them all, God sought out Zechariah. 

For Us

Is it too hard to imagine that God would invite you to join Him in what He is doing during your generation? It’s not that He needs us, but He chooses to use us. Like Mary and the others, we are living our lives – doing what we do – and then, one day, God shows up. 

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” – Jeremiah 29:11

Is that too hard to believe? That is, to believe that God would want you to join Him in matters of eternal consequence? Well, you should believe it, because it’s true. Not because of who you are in the flesh, but because of who you are in Christ – a child of God.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.  All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.” – 2 Corinthains 5:17-20

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

Next – God Speaks – Receiving The Invitation

Advent - Spiritual Reality - God Loves Us

 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” – John 3:16-18

Reality Two. God pursues a continuing love relationship with you that is real and personal. God so loved the world that He sent His Son. God's eternal plan if redemption. 

Through Zechariah, Elizabeth, Joseph, and Mary God initiated the revelation of His plan of redemption and the fulfillment of the prophecies of the coming of the Messiah.

How man imagined the way the Messiah would come and what God intended were quite different.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." - Isaiah 55:8-9

Zechariah

“Now while he [Zechariah]was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.” – Luke 1:8-11. 

It was God who initiated the revelation to Zechariah in the temple. God sought him out.

Elizabeth

“After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.” – Luke 1:24-25

It was God who made the conception possible. God who chose Elizabeth. God, the seer of the hearts of men and women.

Joseph

“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah …. Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.” – Matthew 1:1-2,15-16

It was necessary for the husband of Mary to be in the House of David, in the tribe of Judah in fulfillment of prophecy. Prophecy being what God had revealed to the men He anointed with His Spirit in times past to share what God would do in the future. God sees from the beginning to the end and beyond. 

Mary

As Elizabeth was in the same tribe as Zechariah, it is generally assumed that Mary was in the same tribe as Joseph, however the Bible is not explicit as to which tribe Mary was a part of. 

“And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” – Luke 1:30

God chose Mary because He knew her heart. He initiated the relationship because of His love for her and her love for Him. 

For Us

“but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8

God loves us and initiated the only way that we could be restored in that love relationship. He sent His Son to be born of a woman but not by man’s corruptible seed – which passes along the sin of Adam – but supernaturally. The first born among many. Likewise, when we are born again it is by faith and the Spirit of God and not the works of man. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

We have a choice – as did Zechariah, Elizabeth, Joseph, and Mary. They loved God more than their own lives and reputation. 

Do you love God that much. The greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. (Matthew 22:37) Love sacrificially just like God loves us. Let the celebrating of the birth of Jesus be a reminder that it represents the greatest gift we can ever receive – redemption, forgiveness, and eternal life with the Father through the Son. Not the baby – but the man. 

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

Advent - Spiritual Reality - God Is At Work

 “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” – Hebrews 1:3

Reality One. God is always at work all around us. 

There was 400 years of silence, the time between the Old Testament and New Testament, during which, so far as anyone knows, God did not speak—no Scripture was written. The 400 years of silence began with the warning that closed the Old Testament: “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD. He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse" (Malachi 4:5-6) and ended with the coming of John the Baptist, the Messiah’s forerunner. 

But that did not mean that God was not at work. Before Mary's encounter with Gabriel, Mary's cousin, Elizabeth, became pregnant with John the Baptist. "He [John]will go before him [Jesus] in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” - Luke 1:17 The star in the East had been set in the sky. The hearts of the wise men were being stirred to know. You know that story. 

Then and now, the problem is not that God is absent but that we do not have the spiritual understanding – awareness to see that He is at work. That is why Paul wrote about it to the Church in Ephesus.

“I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.” – Ephesians 1:16-21

Israel, as a nation, had been under the rule of foreign powers for centuries, the latest at the time of the Advent was the Roman empire and foreign occupation continues for centuries after. But God was still at work. Even many of the enemies and occupiers of Israel had a reverence for the spiritual significance of Jerusalem.

So What does that mean for us?

Even when we are faced with great adversity in this mortal life, it does not mean that God is not at work. Our challenge is in our maintaining a spiritual perspective. When this same Paul was on the road to Damascus, as Saul, to persecute Christians, he encountered Jesus on the way and was struck blind. In my mind that was a physical representation of his spiritual blindness which was restored when he met with Ananias. 

“And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So, they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank…. So, Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized.” – Acts 9:4-9,17-18

Perhaps, like Paul, we need the scales that have blinded us from seeing God at work removed from our eyes as well.

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

Living In The Power And Presence Of God

"I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some." —1 Corinthians 9:22

"A Christian worker has to learn how to be God’s man or woman of great worth and excellence in the midst of a multitude of meager and worthless things. Never protest by saying, “If only I were somewhere else!” All of God’s people are ordinary people who have been made extraordinary by the purpose He has given them. […] We are not workers for God by choice. Many people deliberately choose to be workers, but they have no purpose of God’s almighty grace or His mighty Word in them. Paul’s whole heart, mind, and soul were consumed with the great purpose of what Jesus Christ came to do, and he never lost sight of that one thing. […] It is not that you have gotten God, but that He has gotten you. God is at work bending, breaking, molding, and doing exactly as He chooses. […] We have to be in God’s hand so that He can place others on the Rock, Jesus Christ, just as He has placed us. He will do with you what He never did before His call came to you, and He will do with you what He is not doing with other people. Let Him have His way.” Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

“Have Thine own way Lord, have Thine own way.  You are the Potter and I am the clay. Mold me and make me, after Thy will, while I am waiting, yielded and still.”  Oh, how I love the old worship songs.  I often wonder what was going on in the life of the person that penned the lyrics that we sing.  Are you ready for God to do what has He purposed to do in your life?  Paul wrote to the Corinthians, 

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.  We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed." - 2 Corinthians 4:7-9  

Paul was speaking to how fragile we are on our own, but what is in the “jar” is able to meet whatever comes our way.  Whether it is our calling or our circumstance, we are able to stand in the midst of it because of the power and presence of God.  

"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" - Romans 8:31

Listen, we are all going to face trouble – challenges – trials – add any label you like.  But our feet are planted firmly on the Solid Rock, Jesus Christ.  We have an eternal destiny, and what we need to do is maintain is our eternal perspective.  

"For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 8:38-39

 Meditate on that this morning.  In light of your present circumstances, your past, or what might be looming in your future … you have Jehovah God on your side.  You are in the palm of His hand.  Be encouraged … don’t be downcast .. put your hope in God! Bondye Fidel – God is Faithful!

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

The Virgin Birth - Mary Experiencing God

"In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary.  And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?" - Luke 1:26-34

I was listening to a sermon last Sunday about Mary's encounter with the Angel Gabriel recorded in Luke chapter 1. (see the verse above) It suddenly occurred to me that her experience followed the same realities taught in Experiencing God. Martie and I had just finished teaching Experiencing God for third time since we returned from Haiti in 2015. We taught it in Haiti and several times before our time in Haiti. The study has been instrumental in our understanding of how God is at work in this world through the Saints and, of course through Martie and me. The study teaches seven (7) Spiritual Realities, which I refer to as principles. A principle is a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or for a chain of reasoning. As is the nature of all principles these Spiritual principles are immutable, constant. They don't change no matter what context you find them in. Whether it be the age in history, ethnicity or the culture. Much like the character of God who is immutable, unchanging, ever present throughout the course of time.

I have tended to think of Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, and Zechariah as exceptions in the course of human events – and their faith and obedience was exceptional, but they were regular people like you and me. In my mind, they are in the same category as Moses, Abraham, King David and the major prophets in terms of how God used them.  The fact is that the same God who called them and used them for His glory is the very same God that invites you and me to join Him in what He is doing today. Over 2000 years later. And so, as we enter the Advent season, I thought it might be good to share the stories of Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, and Zechariah but in the context of the seven realities.  My goal being to help you understand that the spiritual principles at work in their lives have not changed but are exactly the same as the ones at work in our lives today. It should not be surprising after all, to quote Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Life, “It is not about us!” It’s about God. 

People like us.

Mary: Mary was a 1st century Galilean Jewish teenaged woman of Nazareth. Her exact lineage is unknown, meaning that it is not explicit in the Bible. She was a virgin. Tradition tells us that Mary was from the tribe of Judah, but the Bible is not explicit in that regard.

Joseph: A carpenter from Nazareth, of the house of David. Betrothed to Mary. Betrothal in ancient Jewish culture was a legally binding stage of marriage that preceded the actual wedding ceremony.

Elizabeth: The wife of Zechariah, mother of John the Baptist, and a cousin to Mary the mother of Jesus. Like her husband, Elizabeth was a descendant of Aaron, the first high priest of Israel, and therefore a member of the Levitical priesthood. She was an elderly woman. She was childless until she gave birth to John the Baptist.

Zechariah: He was a priest who served in the Temple. A descendent of Aaron and member of the Levitical priesthood.  The husband of Elizabeth.

The point here is that they were people of no real significance in the eyes of men. Perhaps the most significant among them was Zechariah, but even then, he did not hold a high position in the Temple.

And so it is today. God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things for His Glory and other’s good. 

As we walk through the spiritual principles in the next few days, I hope that you will see how God was and is at work. That each of us has the amazing opportunity to be used by God in ways that we could not or would not have imagined. My hope is that you will understand not what you might do for God but what God might do in you and through you.

You might even see the Advent in a different way. 

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

Do You Have Never Changers In Your Life?

Jesus did not commit Himself to them…, for He knew what was in man. —John 2:24-25

“Many of the things in life that inflict the greatest injury, grief, or pain, stem from the fact that we suffer from illusions. … if we love someone, but do not love God, we demand total perfection and righteousness from that person … we are demanding of a human being something which he or she cannot possibly give. … Our Lord trusted no one, and never placed His faith in people, yet He was never suspicious or bitter. Our Lord’s confidence in God, and in what God’s grace could do for anyone, was so perfect that He never despaired, never giving up hope for any person. If our trust is placed in human beings, we will end up despairing of everyone.”  OSWALD CHAMBERS

Has anyone ever disappointed you? How does that make you feel?  Do you lose hope for them? Have you lost hope for them? Have you given up on them?  It is really pretty easy to do.  I think most people have a category that they put others in called “They are never going to change.”  In a way, we are correct.  They can’t change without help.  Not our help.  God’s help.  Just like He changed you and me … who were never going to change either.  Now the tricky part is that some think that if they think differently about that person, they must accept, embrace, the things they do and the life they live.  Not so! But, at the same time, when you cast them off as “unchangeable” you have judged them and, in your mind, condemned them to Hell.  And perhaps, because of what they have done to you or someone else, that is secretly your hope for them.  

I know people in my life that I have done this to.  (This is very convicting as I type these words.)  Listen, God is in the business of saving us from Hell and transforming us to the image of His Son through faith.  Remember the parable of the unforgiving servant? (Matthew 18:21-35) Think about these verses in terms of the people in your life that you have relegated to “They are never going to change”.

“For God so loved the world” (John 3:16) That is pretty inclusive .. doesn’t leave anyone out including the ones that we think will never change.

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  (Romans 5:8) God did not demand that we do something that we were incapable of doing, and yet He did not, could not, would not embrace us until we placed our faith in His Son.

The second greatest commandment is to love people (Matthew 22:39).  So don’t give up on those “Never Changers”, pray for them.  Forgive them.  You can’t you say? Of course you can’t, you need God’s help to do that.  What you are trying do in the flesh you can only do in the Spirit.  It is a supernatural act, forgiveness is.  We need to see others just like Jesus did.  Even while on the Cross, Jesus asked the Father to forgive the very people that rejected Him and killed Him.  There is no way that we can love people like that on our own.  

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.” - 1 John 4:18-20

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

God Is Worth The Wait

 "So tired, tired of waiting - Tired of waiting for you - So tired, tired of waiting tired of waiting for you"

No, that is not a scripture reference - it is the chorus from a Kinks song from 1965 - "Tired Of Waiting For You"

It is the song that came to my mind when I was thinking about King Saul and what he did to cause God to remove his anointing. Ok - so I am just a little weird :)

"He [King Saul] waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself and offered the burnt offering.”  And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you." - 1 Samuel 13:8-14

King Saul lacked faith in God. He feared the people more. So, he decided he would not wait on Samuel but offer a sacrifice to God himself. I mean what was the big deal? Wasn't he doing a good thing? The answer - No. King Saul had a heart problem. A faith and obedience problem.

"Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart." - Proverbs 21:2

We are not all that different from King Saul.  We often think that success depends upon us. It doesn't - least wise not if you are child of God.  A great quote from Dr. Henry Blackaby, "You have heard the say, 'Don't just stand there - do something, but often times God is saying, 'Don't just do something - stand there.'" Wait on Him.

"but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." - Isaiah 40:31

There is a song that goes on to say, "Teach me Lord to wait."  Waiting on God is a discipline that is strongly tied to trusting God. If your confidence is more in yourself and less in God then you will have a struggle with waiting.  Your unwillingness to wait and trust will be telling.  

God is worth the wait.

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

Rejoicing - A Reflection of Joy

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit." - Galatians 5:22-25

The fruit of the Spirit does not have its expression through our natural emotions.  Our emotions are dependent on our circumstances. The fruit of the Spirit is independent of our circumstances and solely dependent upon our faith, submission to the Spirit of God and our obedience to the Word of God.  And as Dr. Henry Blackaby would say, "If you are having a problem with obedience, you really have a love problem." In other words, you don't love God enough. You have not yielded your heart fully.

I was listening to a recent sermon by Pastor Russell Howard, the lead pastor at McGregor Baptist Church in Fort Myers, FL. (I devoted a sentence about who I am about to quote to give credit where credit is due.) He was preaching on 2 Corinthians 13:11-14. 

"Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you." - 1 Corinthians 13:11

He made a distinction between the Biblical meaning of "joy" and "rejoice".  "Joy, a fruit of the Spirit, is not an emotion. It is not elation." Butterflies in your stomach, that warm and fuzzy feeling that emotion stirs in us. It is not happiness in your heart. "Spiritual joy is a settled confidence. A knowing that what was eternally wrong has been made eternally right." Through Jesus.

Paul's encouragement for the Corinthains Church, and us, to "rejoice", is to live in "Joy". Rejoicing is the proclamation of spiritual joy in your life. Rejoicing not just with words, as important as our testimony is, but in the way we live our life - the litmus test of the presence of supernatural joy in our lives. Paul encouraged the Philippian Church in the same way.

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:4-7

Rejoicing is having an attitude of gratitude. 

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

When God Reveals Himself

"For you shall not go out in haste, and you shall not go in flight, for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard." - Isaiah 52:12

"The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." - Deuteronomy 31:8

You don't need to pray for is for God to show up - He is already here.  One facet of His character is that He is omnipresent. That means that He is present everywhere at the same time. Hard to imagine? You just read the scripture - I gave you two verses.  There are many, many more that describe His character and nature. One problem we often have is that - we want God to do what we want God to do in the way and when we want Him to do it. And if that doesn't happen then we often think and say that God didn't show up. When what we really mean is that God's response did not meet our expectations. 

We have a contradictory faith if we say that and, at the same time, acknowledge His sovereignty and wisdom? Do you see the conflict here?  I have often said that God is the "Just In Time God". Frankly, most often, that is said after God has manifested himself in some tangible way right when I needed Him to. And He often does, but not all the time. He is "just in time" from His perspective, not mine. Sometimes they are coincident, but not always.

Does that mean that God has failed or forsaken me? Re-read Deuteronomy 31:8. Often times our lack of understanding of what God is doing, will do or is not doing results in diminishes our trust.  Read Proverbs 3

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones." - Proverbs 3:5-8

It is understandable that we might not trust other people fully.  They can change their minds. Have other interests. May even not like us and want to see us fail. Sad but true. But not God.  He has our best in mind. Loving us so much He sent Jesus to die for us. That is how much He values us. God has a plan and purpose for us.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord" - Jeremiah 29:11-14

Very often we view those verses through the prism of this natural world. When we read "prosperity" our "flesh" perks up. These are eternal promises and may or may not result in a worldly benefit but will always have and eternal benefit. 

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

It's Not About You!

 "Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven." —Luke 10:20 

"It's not about you." is the first sentence of the first chapter in the book "The Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren. It is about the God who has a purpose for your life.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." -  Jeremiah 29:11

Every now and again, we all have an opportunity to experience something supernatural.  The movement of the Spirit of God.  Some mighty act of God precipitated through us or through someone else.  We are amazed and perhaps derive a sense of great joy – like the disciples.  But we must be careful – like the disciples.  It is very easy to lose focus on God, who is the source of all spiritual power, and focus on the event that is the result of that spiritual power.   And perhaps, even attribute credit to yourself or to someone else and not to the Source.  

A question that is very often asked of volunteer mission teams, that serve with us, at the end of their trips was “What did you get out of your time here?”  A simple question, but it focuses on the wrong point of the mission trip.  Maybe a better question might have been, “How did you see God at work during your time here?” We have had people give Martie and me credit for our service many times.  It is easy to begin to think that somehow, we were the reason some good happened.  But, in fact, the source of the “good” was God, not our abilities or sacrifices.  God is the source of our abilities, and our sacrifices are a result of our devotion to Him.  Jesus told the disciples not to rejoice in what they were doing, but in why they were able to do it.  

Listen.  It is OK to feel good about yourself.  But we must be careful that we don’t take credit for something that someone else, namely God, did through us.  Certainly, the world does not understand that. But that lack of understanding presents you with an opportunity to give God the glory. to point them to the Father and the Son.

And about that feeling.  I was talking to someone the other day.  He was telling me about how he had helped someone in need.  He said “It made me feel good inside.” I told him the feeling he had was not “Good” but “Right”.  When we are obedient to God’s leading and will, we have a sense of “Right Being” in our hearts.  That can be easily mistaken for good and that can be easily mis-attributed to our own action and credit.  Like the doing of a good thing somehow vindicates us – making us good.  Right– is what it feels like to be walking in obedience to the will of the Father.  Out of obedience springs the fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace (Galatians 5:22-23) …. The result of that, in our flesh, is most often the human emotion of feeling good.  

It’s OK to have that feeling.  What is not Ok is taking credit for it.  Make certain that in all you do for God that you give credit where credit is due.  And you can feel good about that!   

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone