Tag Archives: Romans

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.

Continued on next page.

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When others minister to us

Posted on January 5, 2015 by | Comments Off on When others minister to us

helping-handFor me, one of the hardest things I have had to do in my walk with the Lord is to accept it when He uses others to minister to my needs. I am pretty sure that I am no different from anyone else when it comes to accepting help. One of the hardest things to do is to allow others to minister to us, especially when it is within our own family or church family. There are times we will need others to minister to us, and we must be willing to allow ourselves to be ministered to. The same verses that we, as Christians, use to show the need to minister to others actually show the attitude we should have when others minister to us.

Accepting help from others

When others minister to us, we should realize that their help comes at the leading of the Holy Spirit and is an act of obedience on their part, as the Holy Spirit directs. We must give thanks to the one ministering to us and to the Lord for the blessings we gain. The apostle Paul explained this to the Christians living in Thessalonica, In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Sometimes it is difficult to be thankful when we receive a blessing at the hands of someone within our family or church. It is hard to admit that we couldn’t take care of a problem or issue ourselves; while it is easy to pray to the Lord about those needs, it is quite another to accept the Lord’s provisions especially when it comes at the hands of someone else. We should take on a spirit of genuine thankfulness from the heart; not fake or based on deceit. Paul also wrote to the Christians in Ephesus, Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:19-20). When others minister to us, we should not seem callous, or dismissive of their efforts. We should also genuinely be thankful to the Lord and not be dismissive over the Lord’s blessings.

No one understood this better than the apostle Paul; before his conversion to Christianity he had been part of the Sanhedrin council. He shared that part of his testimony in his writings and in his speeches: But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question (Acts 23:6), Which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee (Acts 26:5), and Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee (Philippians 3:5). As a Pharisee, he never had to worry about his physical needs being met. But when he became a Christian and fully accepted the Lord’s plan for his life, he no longer had access to the financial resources he once had. His role as a missionary prevented him from working so he had to wholly depend on the Lord to provide for his needs. I can imagine that at times Paul felt ashamed and embarrassed that in his newfound faith he was humbled and had to depend on the Lord for everything where before, as Pharisee, he never had a want or a need that he could not meet on his own.

One of the hardest things that we have to do as Christians is to learn how to receive answers to our prayers and needs at the hands of others. Again, the writings of Paul gives us an insight to how he approached being thankful for what others did do for him. He wrote to the Christians in Colossus and to those in Thessalonica, We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you (Colossians 1:3), and We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers (1 Thessalonians 1:2). As a missionary, Paul is demonstrating the attitude of gratitude we are to have towards others. We are to give thanks to the Lord when others minister to us. The Lord moves in the hearts of His children and will use our brothers and sisters in Christ to minister to us. As mentioned earlier, the apostle Paul, a missionary, often depended on the gifts and the ministering of others in support of his ministry.

There are times in our own life where we will have a real need – maybe it is a physical need, maybe it is a need for encouragement, or maybe it is just knowing that someone else is praying for us. God uses His children to minister to the needs of others; He uses others to minister to us. It is important for us to remember that we see throughout the New Testament a principle of people and churches moving, as the Holy Spirit leads, to meet the needs of others who are hurting or are in need: Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea (Acts 11:29). Again, Paul wrote on this very subject to the Christians living in Rome: For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem. It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things (Romans 15:26-27) and Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; 13Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality (Romans 12:10 & 12:13). Paul is writing about the emerging characteristics of Christians – which are the same characteristics that we see today. Our churches are filled with women and men who are eagerly waiting for the opportunity to be a blessing to others.

Don’t question the motives

By nature, I am a cynical person. I was not raised in a Christian home and for much of my time in the military, I worked in the military justice field. Both of these influenced the outlook I have held for so long. I’m not proud of this and it is something that I pray that the Lord will help me overcome on a daily basis. While it is not as bad as it once was, I have a problem questioning the motives of others, especially when they’ve done something that ministers to a need. Before I began to ask the Lord to help me in this, I would easily assign them hidden motives of trying to atone for guilt, trying to buy my friendship, or whatever motive my mind could come up with.

I never understood how bad this habit had become it was until one afternoon in 2007, I felt the Lord moving within my heart. There was a family in our church that had fallen on hard times and the Lord had laid on my heart to buy them some groceries and to pay their utility bill. I went to the city hall and paid the utility bill, which was easy enough. I went to Kroger, bought the basic groceries I could think of that a family of five would use, and went by their house and put them on the front porch of the family’s house. The next Sunday, I was approached by the gentleman and was asked all the things I normally muttered to the Lord in private – why did I do that? What was I expecting in return? How much was it going to cost him? At that point, I saw myself for what I was in the situations I similarly experienced in the past; by my very nature and mindset, I was unthankful, I was full of pride, and I was unwilling to be genuinely thankful when the Lord used others to minister to me. Just then, it hit me that from that point forward, I should never question the motives of someone that seeks to be a blessing to me out of obedience to the Lord; instead I needed to remember the words of Jesus: And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward (Matthew 10:42). Even if their reason for helping us is simply “doing it because it is what the Bible teaches…” we are to be accepting of their efforts because the Lord has told them that just offering us a hand because it is what they’ve been taught to do as a Christian is still doing it for the right reason. James wrote, If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone (James 2:15-17). Just as when we are moved by the Holy Spirit to meet the needs of others and we understand that it is the demonstration of our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to help others, when others reach out to minister to us, they are also are acting out of their faith in the Lord. And for that, we must recognize their living faith and a tender heart and rejoice and give thanks to them and to the Lord for meeting our needs.

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Willing obedience should be our testimony

Posted on December 15, 2014 by | Comments Off on Willing obedience should be our testimony

open-bibleWilling obedience is different from reluctant obedience. If we are honest with ourselves, we all can remember the times in our lives when we did things because we were expected to do them and not necessarily because we wanted to do them. For those of us with children, we also often see this demonstrated as they will do what we ask but out of a lack of any other choice but to obey. How we do things tells others a lot about us, including the very basics about our character. Continuing with the thoughts of the previous two entries about being an obedient servant and having the proper attitude, it is important for us to realize that when we do the things we do for the Lord, we have other people watching us. Whether it is where we work, with our family, or even within our Christian service, the attitude of how we do things often becomes more important than why we do things. 

The testimony of willing obedience

When we choose to show willing obedience to God, it sets us apart from those around us that are lost or that may be less than sincere about their faith in God. Willing obedience comes out of our unconditional love of the Lord; we do the things He desires us to do not because we are expected to do them as Christians, but because we know that when we do them, we actually please Him. For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil (Romans 16:19). Paul is commending the Christians within Rome that their obedience to the things of God; their willing obedience had become a part of their testimony. They were doing the things that Paul taught them to do not because they felt as if they had to as Christians, but because as Christians, they had the sincerest desire to do what the Lord would have them to do. When we do things out of willing obedience it does become a part of our testimony.

During His earthly ministry, Jesus taught all who would listen, Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 20Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them (Matthew 7:16 & 7:20). While the most common application of this verse is that we can tell someone’ spiritual health – if they are saved or not – there is also another application. How we bear fruit tells others about our walk with the Lord. What does our obedience say about us? Does our obedience have a positive or negative impact on our testimony? Are we identified as a genuine servant of God because of our willing obedience by those around us or does our profession for the love of Jesus surprise others? In a letter to Philemon, the apostle Paul wrote, Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowels in the Lord. Having confidence in thy obedience I wrote unto thee, knowing that thou wilt also do more than I say (Philemon 20-21). Just as with what Paul is writing to Philemon about, our obedience should be to the point that it can actually encourage others to continue in their faith. In Paul’s day, the seat of human emotions was considered to be in the bowels – the intestines was considered the center of our being. In our time, it is the heart that we consider the seat of the emotions. What Paul is essentially saying is that the obedience of Philemon actually encourages and refreshes his heart!

Willing obedience encourages others

Just Philemon was an encouragement to Paul through his willing obedience to what he had been taught. When we show willing obedience to the will of God, it encourages others around us as well. Just as Paul understood that Philemon would go above and beyond what was required, our obedience should also tell other Christians that we are willing and ready to go above what is required of us without being asked. Jesus taught a parable about three servants. Two of the servants, out of willing obedience and the sincere desire to please their master both were praised by him: His lord said unto him, 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 25:21). Each servant was given talents – money – by their master with instructions to take care of his business while he was away. This parable teaches us that their testimony, or their demonstrated ability to be obedient to their master determined the responsibilities that they would be entrusted with while their master was away. Our willing obedience to the things that God has set before us also determines what God will entrust us do to for Him. If we are obedient in the smallest of things then he will entrust us with.

Our willing obedience to follow the teachings of the Lord and to do the things we know will please Him are considered worth more to Him than anything else we have to offer: Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? (Micah 6:6-8). To live justly and humbly before the Lord, we cannot simply be obedient because it is expected of us and expect the Lord to bless our efforts. We are showing reluctant obedience, of which the apostle James warns us, A double minded man is unstable in all his ways (James 1:8). Obedience, when done out of reluctance, is just as bad as being indecisive. Sure, we are being obedient, but out of a sense of duty. The Lord wants us to be willingly obedient, because we want to please Him. Others will notice the difference in things done out of a willingly obedient heart versus those things we do because we feel we must.

Willing obedience brings its reward

When we choose, as a servant of the Lord, to do the things that He has set forth for us to do in willing obedience, He will reward us of our faithfulness and determination: Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ (Colossians 3:24). Our rewards for our willing obedience come from Christ himself. When we are an obedient servant, we do our best for the Lord; the Lord will reward us for our service and our faithfulness.  The scriptures make it clear that the Lord will reward us with increased responsibilities: His lord said unto him, 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 25:21), rewards that are not dependent on our position, but based on our service to Him: Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour (1 Corinthians 3:8), rewards that are worthy of what we have done for Him: For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward (1 Timothy 5:18), and finally, rewards that cannot be lost once earned: Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward (2 John 1:8).

  

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