Tag Archives: Teachings of Christ

Resting and waiting upon the Lord (Part 3)

Posted on November 28, 2017 by | Comments Off on Resting and waiting upon the Lord (Part 3)

resting and waitingResting and waiting on the Lord is something that I still struggle with daily. As I shared last time, it is also the smartest thing we can do. It is easy to become so involved with things around us that we often neglect to simply rest and wait. We become tempted to act when we see  injustice, suffering, or other problems which must be solved. But we see within the Bible a verse that reminds us to do just that: Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass (Psalms 37:7).

The last part of the verse

The first two parts of the verse have been pretty straight forward in what the Lord wants us to do. The first part, Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him, reminds us there are times when we simply need to take a step back and let the Lord handle things. The next phrase of the verse, fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, is another reminder that we don’t know enough about anyone else’s situation in life to pass judgment. We often forget this and rush to judge others by an artificial standard we’ve constructed. It is a faulty judgment because we base it on our standards.

The third part of this verse, because of the  man who bringeth wicked devices to pass, is another reminder for us. And like the other reminders, too often we forget this important one. This part of the verse is about those who are bent on doing evil – doing things in direct opposition to the Lord. If we are honest with ourselves, we pay more attention to them than what we really need to.

Setting the right priority

Since I began studying the Bible more seriously in 2006, I’ve learned that when the same thing is recorded in two separate places it’s really important. David understood the importance about not worrying about the wicked and their plans. David understood a precept which Jesus would later teach during His earthly ministry: And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do (Luke 12:4).

The same teaching is recorded in the book of Matthew, but with a slight twist: And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Matthew 10:28). We should be more worried about what the Lord sees within us than what those who want to do evil have planned. The most severe thing that evil can do to a believer of the Lord is to kill the body. And as Christians, we know what happens at that moment: We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8).

We still have an obligation to share the gospel

A while back ago I was told by a college student that she never shares the gospel with people she believes are too evil to receive Christ. As followers of Jesus, it is not our responsibility to decide with whom we share the gospel. We are simply commanded by Jesus: And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). There are no qualifiers, no rules of who we are to avoid. Just a commandment to spread the gospel.

The apostle Paul understood something about our divine mission: I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building (1 Corinthians 3:6-9). I’ve seen too many well-meaning Christians who believe that every time they share the gospel there’s no success unless a profession of faith is made. This is not at all what should drive us. We are simply the conduit through which the Holy Spirit works.

The ultimate fate of the wicked should be our concern…

but it shouldn’t become such a preoccupation that we lose focus. We all know people who become preoccupied with making sure the wicked “get what’s coming to them.”  God even reminds us several times in the Bible that it’s not our place to make sure the wicked are punished. We don’t have that responsibility. Once we have shared the gospel with those who are bent on being wicked, our scriptural responsibility is complete.

God’s set this standard back in the Old Testament: Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD (Leviticus 19:18). It has never been the responsibility of humankind to seek revenge against another. Instead, we are to love others as we love ourselves. And it should be this love that drives us to share the gospel with them. Paul reminds us of this important teaching: Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord (Romans 12:19).

We share the gospel and our responsibility stops there. We are not to do anything other than that. No revenge, no setting up scenarios to get even. We must simply share the love of Jesus with them. This can become a true test of our faith in Jesus. We must allow the Lord to be God without reservation or second guessing.

There’s no need to worry

When we worry about what awaits others, regardless of if our view is right or wrong, we are letting God know how we think He should handle others. It’s difficult knowing there are people out there who treat others with such contempt and hatred. There are people out there who have intentionally hurt us or those we love. And it becomes easy for bitterness and worry to preoccupy our minds with thoughts of what we think what they deserve.

David wrote, But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment. And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness (Psalms 9:7-8). We don’t need to worry about what awaits the wicked. The Lord has already prepared for their judgment – and unlike what fills our hearts, it is a righteous judgment. Solomon expounded on this very thing in more detail: I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work (Ecclesiastes 3:17).

Resting and waiting upon the Lord

The Lord’s desire is for us not to fill our days with worry or stress. He doesn’t want us to waste our time trying to figure out ways to get even or to punish those we believe who need it. There are times He simply wants us to wait (not do anything without His guidance) and trust (this means commit our entire being under his Lordship) upon Him. Again, the verse for this series reads: Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass (Psalms 37:7). We could free up so much of our mind and wasted energy if we just followed God’s advice and wisdom.

 

 

 

 

 

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Following Jesus wherever He leads

Posted on June 27, 2016 by | Comments Off on Following Jesus wherever He leads

following JesusFollowing Jesus wherever He leads is often a journey that is easier to discuss than to simply begin in complete obedience. This past October (2015), I made a decision that was not easy to make. Since 2012, I have been an active member of a local Baptist church and had a variety of roles. I had the privilege of serving as a trustee, a Sunday school teacher, a Christian discipleship mentor, song and worship leader, and even operated a small printing ministry, and video recording and editing of the various services for the church’s YouTube channel. I was active in the various ministries of the church but had struggled with the ministry the Lord had laid on my heart. Starting in November of 2012, the Lord began laying a burden on my heart that I could no longer ignore – the small and struggling congregation.

Following Jesus: the first steps are the most difficult

There’s a hymn that immediately comes to my mind. It’s chorus goes, “footprints of Jesus that makes the pathway glow; we will follow the steps of Jesus where’er they go” (full text of the song available here). It’s an easy song to sing; it is a much harder thing to actually do. All through the gospels we see people who came to Jesus but for some reason, when it came to following Him, they were simply unable or unwilling to let go of what they understood and were comfortable with what following Jesus would require them to do.

I think of the passage in Matthew, And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead (Matthew 8:21-22) and the one found in Mark, Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions (Mark 10:21-22). In both cases, these men were willing to follow Jesus until they realized the personal sacrifice that would be required. Both men decided the cost was too great. Both men walked away.

Since 2012, when the Lord began working on my heart, I knew that He had a purpose for my life and a specific way He wanted me to serve Him. What the question came down to was I willing to step out on faith and accept the work that Jesus set before me? I could either be obedient or I could stay where I was – which would be continued disobedience. For a while, I was willing to stay in disobedience and even congratulated myself for “working” on the calling through my efforts to meet the needs of the church we were already attending. In the process, we began a printing ministry, became the administrators for the church’s Facebook page and web page, and began filming the Adult Sunday School and a.m. service for YouTube and DVDs for shut ins, plus many smaller ongoing projects. 

Being busy is not the same as being obedient

Yes, we were busy, and for a while, I believed the Lord would be pleased with our best efforts. Many people, myself included, make the mistake of thinking that just because we are busy doing things at the church, then we must be serving the Lord. One of the ways the Lord has taught me about my relationship with Him is by the use of my relationship with my daughter. A while back ago, she wanted to help me do chores; instead of putting the pillows back on the couch as I had asked, she went into the bathroom and began to reorganize the items in the sink cabinet. Yes, she was busy, but she wasn’t helping me accomplish the goals for the day that I had set out. I remember thinking to myself, this is how the Lord must feel about what I am doing. Yes, we were extremely busy at the church but it wasn’t the right kind of busy. Our efforts were simply getting in the Lord’s way.

By early 2015, I had reached the point in my life where I could no longer just sit by in comfort and in continued disobedience. I began praying that the Lord would make it painfully obvious what He wanted me to do and that I was ready to do whatever it was He had for me to do. It was hard, beginning in October of 2015, to start the process of preparing to change from one church to another, to fully surrender to the full-time ministry, to leave friends behind at one church as we strive to be faithful to the calling placed in front of us by the Lord. It hasn’t been without some pain. There have been some earthly costs.  We have lost some friends along the way.

Following Jesus is an ongoing process

While most of this post has been about following the calling of Jesus into a specific ministry, there are other ways we follow Jesus. Recently, the Lord laid on my heart to purge my CD collection and as a result, nearly 14 inches of CDs were taken and sold to a used CD shop. Did I like the music? Yes. Was keeping those CDs more important than my obedience to Jesus? No. If I had kept the CDs then I would have allowed things – possessions that I cannot take to Heaven – become more important than following Jesus. Everything in life boils down to a simple and child-like choice: is it bringing us closer to the Lord or is it pushing us further away. I think at times we have a tendency to make things more complicated than absolutely necessary.

Jesus encourages all who will listen, Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:4), and Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein (Mark 10:15). As I began to seriously study what these verses were saying, I was again reminded of my interactions with my young daughter. She will come to me and ask me the same questions every child asks, “why do plants have flowers” and while she is looking for an answer, she’s not wanting the scientific explanation complete with chemical formulas. She just wants to know why on the level as a child. It is how she can understand and it is all her young mind can handle. When we set to follow after Jesus, we have to have the mindset to see the decisions that must be made on the same, simple terms. It is either going to bring us closer to Jesus or it will keep us separated from His complete and perfect will for us. And once we have made our decision, follow through with it to the best of our ability and daily seek His help to do it.

 

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Posted in Journey in the Salvation Army, My Walk, Our place within the local church, Our relationship with God

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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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