The greatest race of our life

Posted on January 19, 2015 by | Comments Off on The greatest race of our life

greatest race of our lifeThe greatest race of our life didn’t begin with the crack of a starter pistol. For many, myself included, the greatest race began with tears and the realization that we were a sinner and stood guilty before a holy God. After accepting Jesus as my personal Savior in 2006, I began to study the Bible with the sole wish to understand what I, as a Christian, was supposed to do. As I began my study, one of my favorite passages is found in the apostle Paul’s second letter to Timothy: I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing (2 Timothy 4:1-8).

In this short passage, there are several things that Paul is trying to explain to Timothy. Paul had come to an understanding about several things in his life and was ready for the physical death he knew was waiting for him. He understood that he was going to be executed because of his teachings and the stand he took for the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. He knew that since he had accepted Jesus as his savior, he had not wasted his life’s time on things that had no eternal value; he did not have the shame of unconfessed sin or wasted time. He knew that the many great works he had done had been out of his obedience to and love of the Lord and for no other reason. And finally, he knew that he had completed the things that he knew that the Lord had set for him to do. I’ve often wondered what allowed Paul to have such confidence to be able to say that he had finished his course? As I began to study the life of Paul, I began to learn things from his life that I could and should apply to mine. I would like, as I am sure you would, like to have the confidence to say I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith (2 Timothy 4:7). I wish with all my heart to hear my Lord and Savior Jesus say Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord (Matthew 25:21b).

Lessons from the life of Paul

Just as every Christian experiences today, Paul also had to grow in his new faith. There were stages of spiritual development that he went through that we can see taught all through the New Testament. Paul had to first, accept the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior. He had to dedicate his life to following after the Lord. Paul had to learn  – to be discipled in his new Christian faith by other Christians in Jerusalem. He then began to boldly share his newfound faith in Christ with others. When the time came, God placed a burden on the heart of Paul; Paul had to answer God’s call for his life. God had given Paul a set of gifts and abilities – talents – that Paul recognized as coming from the Lord and was able to use those as he strove to fulfill God’s call on his life. He had to go through each of these stages of his life as a Christian to become the man who God had called him to be. He had to go through each stage to learn what it was that God had for him to learn and he had to go through each stage as led by the Holy Spirit. Before Paul even stepped out on his great missionary journeys, he had already decided that he was going to focus on what God had put in front of him and was content in whatever manner the Lord was ready to use him.

The greatest race Paul faced started the same as every Christian’s great race. Recorded by Luke in the book of Acts, And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do (Acts 9:3-6), we see that before Paul could even begin on his travels in the name of the Lord, he had to come to the point where he was willing to accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior. Before Paul accepted the Lord as his personal savior, (before his salvation he was known as Saul) he was unusable by God. His testimony was known by many, Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name (Acts 9:13-14). Before Saul (Paul) could be used by God, he had to be born again.

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An answer to an emailed comment

Posted on January 14, 2015 by | Comments Off on An answer to an emailed comment

answerThis post is different from most posts that I do. Normally, as I prepare my Sunday school lessons or do my daily Bible study, the Holy Spirit will lay on my heart what I need to share with the regular audience. There are times I wish I could share with you the number of unfinished posts that sit and wait for the day when the Holy Spirit will give me the peace I need to finish and share them with you. This morning is no different from any other morning; I posted some items to the Facebook page that ties to this site and was sorting through the various junk emails that the page generates when I came across an email received through the prayer list contact page. This person simply asked why do I share what I do, what blessings do I get out of it, and if I say I am doing it for God, why does the site accept PayPal donations. I figure that those are fair enough questions and believed the answer was important enough to share with regular readers.

Why do I have a PayPal link?

I want to begin by sharing a scripture about this very thing: But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear (1 Peter 3:15).  As a Christian, I believe I do owe those that will ask questions an honest answer about my faith. I want to begin with the PayPal question first. This blog is not done for generating revenue. I do not share what I do for building wealth or taking advantage of others. About three years ago, when this site was in its infancy, I had a reader who wanted to financially contribute to the annual hosting plan and was angry that I didn’t have the page set up to accept love offerings. I had never thought of it before as I do this site to be a blessing to others and never put any thought to it. The person said that my ingratitude towards their desire to give was creating a stumbling block in their faith. Knowing that the apostle Paul wrote, Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way (Romans 14:13), and after much prayer, I came to the decision to add the ability to accept donations on this site (by that point, the person who had made it an issue no longer followed this site). I do not solicit donations nor is any financial contribution expected from those who regularly read this blog.

I do not need donations to keep this site going and will gladly, as I have each year, continue to pay for the hosting plan out of my pocket. However, if the Lord does lead you in the direction of helping with the cost of hosting this site, I will honor your donation’s intent. This site will never charge a membership fee nor will it ever have a “subscriber only” section. The scriptures teach: But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life (Romans 5:15-18) and since that very grace is what brings salvation to humanity, I do feel that this blog, a public forum, should also remain free.

Why I share what I do

This question is a little more difficult to answer because I am not sure exactly what the person asking the question meant. I will say this – the reason that I blog about the topics I do is because 1) I feel that I have been led to that particular topic by the Holy Spirit, 2) basic discipleship and sharing what I have learned about my faith in the Lord are meant to be shared [Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also (2 Timothy 2:1-2)], and 3) if I can help one person to grow in their relationship with the Lord, then this work that Christ has called me to do has been successful. I wasn’t raised in a Christian home and in late September of 1988, I had an emotional experience where I thought I had been led to the Lord. The problem was that all I gained was head knowledge but my heart remained unchanged. From 1988 to 2006, I lived a deceived life. I was deceived in believing I was saved and was content in claiming Jesus Christ as my Savior while still pursuing the pleasures of sin. I realize now that it was not until 2006 that I truly accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Savior; before (and in earlier blog entries) I would hold on to the deception that I had been saved in 1988 and simply rededicated my life to Christ.

And that is the simple purpose of what I share here. A lot of time has passed since those college days and the blinding deceit that Satan was able to hold me under. In fact, even asking for the Lord’s forgiveness and surrendering my life completely to Him, I still held onto the belief that I was saved in 1988 and simply rededicated my life to Him in 2006. After promising the Lord Jesus that I would study His word as seriously as I was my academic pursuits, a few verses called out to me and changed my relationship with my Lord and Savior forever: Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near (Isaiah 55:6), One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple (Psalms 27:4), and  The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing (Psalms 34:10). From that moment forward, the Lord has blessed me tremendously.

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The right tool for the job

Posted on January 12, 2015 by | Comments Off on The right tool for the job

toolsHaving the right tool for the job is incredibly important. I will admit that I am not as mechanically inclined as many of the men who go to church with me. I can’t listen to a car engine and know what is wrong, beyond brake repair and replacing an alternator, I’m not much good under the hood of a car. That’s fine with me and it doesn’t bother me that I lack those skill sets needed to be a mechanic. My Lord has given me other skills that I am thankful for and have been able to use to help others within our church, our families, and immediate neighbors. Whatever you do, whether it is auto mechanics, carpentry work, computer repair, or crochet, having the right tool for the job is extremely important. It often makes the difference between a well-done job with pleasing results or a patch job to get by.

The right tool: the Lord’s toolbox

I’m nothing special and it is the same with other Christians; we each have abilities and skills that complement one another. Think of the practicality of the local New Testament congregation as a toolbox for the Lord. Each member brings special skills, abilities, and talents that only they may have. When we think of a toolbox, most of us have several types of screwdrivers, a hammer or two, pliers, wire cutters, and some wrenches. Each tool is specific in its role and each tool has a purpose that the other tools cannot fill. If the tools were interchangeable and could all do the same jobs, we would only have that one tool. There would be no need for a toolbox full of tools. Paul had to discuss this very issue within the early church at Corinth: For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now are they many members, yet but one body. And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary: And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked: That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular (1 Corinthians 12:12-27).

I know I have written about this very topic often; it is a very important topic that too many Christians either do not take seriously or do not understand. God has a specific purpose for each of us and He wants us to be completely surrendered to Him so that we can do that purpose. In his letter to the church in Corinth, Paul is having to explain this concept; some members of the church were focused on the bigger, more visible aspects of the church ministry and were less concerned with functioning within the skills, abilities, and talents they possessed.  Paul uses the imagery of the human body to explain that not everyone in the church can be a pastor or deacon, but that the other positions in the church are just as important for the church to be able to work as a whole. Just as having a toolbox full of screwdrivers wouldn’t help a plumber much, having a church body that’s missing youth workers, Sunday school teachers, and others to allow it to successfully carry out the mission that the Lord has set before all churches.

The right tool: you have a unique roll

It is often hard to understand, especially when you’re a young-in-the-faith Christian, exactly where you fit in. You may even ask yourself what could I possibly do that someone else hasn’t or isn’t already doing? I know that I have asked that question often in my own life more than once. It is easy to get caught up in emotion during a revival or missions conference and to “surrender” to our own sense of wanting to do something for the Lord. Sure, the heart may genuinely believe that you’re doing the right thing, but soon you discover that it’s not going like you had hoped it would. For a while, I thought I was supposed to be a missionary and I tried and tried, but no matter what I did, there never seemed to be any progress made. I had to learn through experience what Paul meant: If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him (1 Corinthians 12:17-18). It didn’t matter what I called myself, what matters was what God had designed me to be. God had a distinct role for me to fulfill in His ministry. God had given me a specific set of abilities, skills, and talents that if I were truly surrendered to His will in my life, I would be able to use. Paul wrote, For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance (Romans 11:29). When we are using the abilities, skills, and talents that the Lord has given us to support the local ministry, we never need to be ashamed or embarrassed to do what He has set for us to do. In effect, we allow ourselves to become the right tool for the job.

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