Category Archives: Our relationship with God

You’re busy, but is it what God wants from you?

Posted on April 4, 2016 by | Comments Off on You’re busy, but is it what God wants from you?

you're busyYou’re busy in your church; believe me, I understand that. You’re already teaching a Sunday school class, you’re actively participating in the various activities and services of the church. When your pastor or someone else comes to you and asks you to do just one more thing, you jump on it. You have a hard time saying no to the requests because you know that you do have the abilities and skills needed to get those things done. I know what this feels like because this describes me just one year ago. This past Sunday, I was asked to share my salvation testimony as a part of the Sunday morning worship service of the church that I attend. As I shared my testimony, the Holy Spirit laid on my heart to share the concept that a person could be extremely busy in the various ministries of the church and not be fulfilling the ministry that the Lord has placed in front of them.

You’re busy: why I buried myself in the work of the church

I have never been comfortable talking about the work that I do. One of the things that I dislike about college/university teaching is the bi-annual updating of my educational resume. I simply don’t like a lot of fuss made for what I do; I never have and probably never will. Not only do I believe this is scriptural [Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips (Proverbs 27:2); But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth (2 Corinthians 10:17-18)] , it is also a part of the environment I grew up in that I will undoubtedly carry throughout the rest of my life. In no way am I sharing this to brag upon myself but to share how busy I was within the church.

When I was attending Gospel Light Baptist Church, I had become a church trustee, a Sunday School teacher, song/worship leader, worked the church’s audio-visuals with help of family and others, videotaped the sermons, edited and posted them online, and took care of all the church’s printing needs. At one point, I even offered a basic Christian discipleship class for young-in-the-faith Christians. The entire time I was doing these things, I knew it wasn’t the calling that the Lord laid upon my heart. I justified my not surrendering to the Lord’s will by believing that since I was doing all these things for the church then He would just understand. I even tried to wrap up what I was doing with the ministry the Lord had laid on my heart by telling my pastor and others that I wanted to expand the printing ministry to be able to serve small and struggling congregations. Yes, while the Lord has called me to serve small and struggling congregations, it was not the exact way or method that He had laid on my heart

In my mind, I had very good reasons why I was busying myself in the various ministries and support of the church and not being completely surrendered to the Lord’s plan for my life. There’s comfort in what we know; the exact ministry that the Lord had been working on my heart on for the past three years is full of uncertainty to the point that my family and I would have to completely rely on the Lord. Within the gospel of Mark, there is a story of a man, a father, who comes to Jesus about the condition of his son. The father, as any parent would do, asks Jesus for a miracle. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief (Mark 9:23-24). For most of us, we will come to a moment in our lives where we know the Lord is capable of a miracle, of taking care of our needs, but we still need to see something before we will let go of our doubts, fears, and worry. I was comfortable were I was at; and in my form of justification, there was no reason that I could not stay there and serve struggling congregations through a printing ministry. 

One of the other reasons were there were things in my past I felt made it nearly impossible to overcome. Even though I have read the verse a hundred times at least, it never really sank in: For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance (Romans 11:29). It is easy to stay in a place of comfort regardless of how busy you have become when you feel that there is something in your past that you believe simply cannot be overcome, that serves as a barrier, or that holds you back from doing what the Lord has called you to do. It becomes easy to see the Goliath and rather than confronting him as the shepherd boy did, to stand back with the armies of Israel, trembling and terrified with every taunt the giant throws out. It took the Lord three separate people to remind me that if He has led me to a certain ministry, then He has prepared the way for me to do it, as long as I put my complete trust and faith, as David did, in the Lord. David knew he had already been promised by the Lord to be the king of Israel. He also knew that with the promise of being king some day, the Lord would protect him from the wrath and anger of any giant that stood in the way, as long as he would keep faith in the promises of the Lord.

Continued on the next page.

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Road work ahead: Christian growth demonstrated

Posted on March 14, 2016 by | Comments Off on Road work ahead: Christian growth demonstrated

road work ahead signRoad work is something that seems to plague modern civilization. For many of us, just the sight of the orange diamond sign sends a wave of frustration and panic into what would normally have been a fairly uneventful drive. Family vacations can become quite stressful as those all-too-familiar signs begin to warn of road work ahead. If you’re like my family where our adventures to visit family takes us through larger cities such as Nashville and Knoxville (Tennessee) and Jackson (Mississippi), it seems as if those signs are a permanent part of the landscape. On a recent trip to visit family, I began to wonder if others can see such signs as road work ahead as we journey through our faith. I once heard an old country preacher explain during a sermon that if a person isn’t growing, they are dying.

Road work ahead: our spiritual growth is ongoing

For those of you who follow this blog on Facebook, a few weeks ago I shared how I had gotten rid of about fourteen inches of CDs. I love music and still have a variety of music that includes everything from classical to heavy metal – or at least I had. Since about November of 2015, the Holy Spirit began leading me into a direction that at first I resisted: get rid of music I knew was holding me back from spiritual growth. At that time, my Bible reading had taken me to Psalms, but one verse seemed to leap off the page at me: I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me (Psalms 101:3). As I continued reading that morning, I felt the tugging of the Holy Spirit urging and pleading with me. I didn’t listen to the CDs when my daughter was home because I didn’t want her exposed to the lyrics on them. I justified keeping them because I liked the music, but as the Holy Spirit began working on my heart I realized that if I didn’t want my daughter to listen to them, I probably shouldn’t listen to them either. 

As we begin to grow and mature in our faith the Holy Spirit begins to do road work on the path that our life will take us. Jesus told us about the work of the Holy Spirit during His earthly ministry: But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you (John 14:26). Once we have received Jesus as our personal savior, the Holy Spirit begins its work to mold us into the new creation God wants us to be.  Where the Holy Spirit began a work on my heart to rid myself of music I shouldn’t listen to, He may be doing a work in your life calling you to give up something else, such as a toxic relationship, a habit or addiction, a television show, or yes, even some sort of music. When we are obedient to the leadership of the Holy Spirit we actually please the Lord: And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams (1 Samuel 15:22). Yes, I had complete free will to either obey or reject the leadership of the Holy Spirit; if I sincerely desire to place the Lord’s will above my own, then the choice becomes simple.

Rest assured, if you are a child of God, even if you do not see it, there are areas of your life, as there still are in mine, where the Holy Spirit will lead us to change. It relates directly to what the apostle Paul strove to teach the early Christians in Corinth: Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty (2 Corinthians 6:14-18). What Paul is describing in this passage is that God calls us to prepare for road work in our lives. He tells us to be ready for it!

Road work ahead is proof the Lord really cares

Each year, the local department of transportation evaluates roadways and traffic patterns around the cities within its jurisdiction. From these periodic evaluations, decisions are made to widen some roads, redirect traffic flow from others, to build new routes, and in some cases, to stop service and maintenance to others. This accurately describes what the Holy Spirit does in the life of a believer.  As uncomfortable as road work can be for the traveler, it can also be uncomfortable in the life of a Christian. The Bible clearly teaches this in two verses: Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee (Deuteronomy 8:5) and For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth (Hebrews 12:6). The work of the Holy Spirit within our lives is proof of the love of  the Lord towards us. The Lord would not waste the effort to correct, to mold, to direct the life of someone who rejects Him. Even Hosea the prophet testified to this: My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children (Hosea 4:6).

We continue to grow spiritually and should look forward to the growth with great excitement. Yes, there are going to be growing pains and there will be times when it seems that we are being asked to surrender more than our share. Just keep in mind that each of us are on a different path in our walk of faith with the Lord.

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Spirit of Christmas: Keeping it all year (Pt 3)

Posted on January 25, 2016 by | Comments Off on Spirit of Christmas: Keeping it all year (Pt 3)

spirit of ChristmasThe spirit of Christmas, as we have shared in the previous blogs, is not about trees decorated in lights, garland, and brightly wrapped presents. It’s about us celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus. To carry the spirit of Christmas with us throughout the year, we have seen through scripture that we 1) must have a personal relationship with the Lord and 2) We must be willing to show His love for us through our love for others and through our fellowship with others who believe in Jesus. There is one more crucial part that must be presented before we can end this series and it is the importance of bearing fruit for the Lord.

Spirit of Christmas: the source of all Christian fruit

The love we have for the Lord should spring up inside our hearts and should cause us to bear fruit. The fruit is the evidence of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us, of the love for the Lord within our hearts, and at the center of the Christian fruit we bear, our love for Christ must permeate the fruit. Anything we do, we must do it out of our love for Jesus and not some misguided attempt to fulfill some sense of Christian duty. Ask any married couple or any parent with children and they will tell you the difference between a loved one doing what’s desired because they want to versus because they have to. If we know the difference then we must realize that our Lord knows the difference when it comes to what we do for Him.

The reason the first part of this series deals with our relationship with the Lord is because of what Jesus told his disciples, Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me (John 15:4). This truth – that our relationship with Jesus and the free gift of salvation He offers – is the seed from where all our fruit springs forth. Jesus would later say, Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples (John 15:8), which is an interesting scripture. Within it is this simple truth – when we bear fruit we do bring glory to God. We bear fruit because we are the disciples – a word rooted in ancient Greek that simply means we are students of Jesus.

Spirit of Christmas: our fruit should be evident

The fruit we bear should be obvious, it should be visible to others, and we should bear fruit unashamed. Our fruit should bear witness of the Lord, should make it obvious we are His, and be a testimony to His tender mercies towards us. We should do these things, sharing the gospel message, sharing the love of Christ, and showing others tenderness and mercy not because God expects us to, but because we are doing it out of nothing other than our love for the Lord. Again, the teachings of Jesus show this concept: Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven (Matthew 5:14-16). If we apply this to our lives, our fruit should be obvious because we have been transformed on the inside; Paul best describes this transformation: For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light (Ephesians 5:8). This light should burn so bright in our hearts that it glorifies our Lord and draws others to Him. Peter describes this concept a little differently: Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation (1 Peter 2:12).

Spirit of Christmas: reaching out sacrificially

Often when we think of sacrifices, we think of sacrificial giving to missions or to fulfill some special need of a member of our family, a friend, or others. When we give sacrificially, we do it without any expectation of anything in return. We simply want to help or to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Jesus taught about this very type of reaching out to others sacrificially: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me (Matthew 25:35-40). Those who were doing all these things never expected to receive any sort of reward. They simply had compassion on others and a love for their Lord that they simply demonstrated God’s love and compassion for others.

Even the apostle Paul taught and demonstrated this sacrificial reaching out to others: And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me (Acts 26:15-18). Once he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior, Paul understood the task the Lord laid before him. If we were to study the life of Paul, we would see that he constantly demonstrated his love for others, even if it meant he could lose his life or be persecuted for sharing the love of Christ with others. Paul spoke of the condition of his heart, But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24). If we were to study Paul’s life, we would see that everything he did, from his preaching the gospel in every town he entered to every letter he wrote, were done out of sacrificial giving and love for the Lord. If we are to keep the spirit of Christmas alive throughout the year, then we must be willing to sacrificially give, as our Lord and Savior did for us.

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