John

I took Shoe’s advice and continued reading through John 10, and lead me to to go through quite a bit of the book of John.  I seemed to jump from chapter to chapter and everywhere I went to, the verse I read had to do with, the fact that Father knows where I am.  Not geographicly but spiritual and just in life.  Yesterday when HE gave me that verse to look up I was really needing to know that HE is involved in what’s going on.  And not just in the way like, I’m GOD I do everything, but more like, I am your Father and I care about what happens in your life.  After reading through John more today I realized that, is what HE was wanting to show me.  It’s good, with what’s going on I really need to know that…. not just in my head but my heart.  It seems that when life’s happening and stuff is going on, I tend to forget that HE cares about the things that go on in my life.  I know that kinda elementry but,  I guess every now and then I need to be reminded of the basics.

Quality Time

Luke 9:23-24, “Then he said to them all: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.”

We have been doing this blog for the last month or so and I have really enjoyed it, I was putting aside time to spend with Papa and then actually doing it. Apparently I have become so busy in the last week that my quiet times have been  when I can make time for God. That isn’t what that verse says. It says, “…If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily…” I haven’t been denying myself to pursue Papa, I have been giving Him an audience when I have time. James 4:17 says, “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.” I have been in sin, because I knew I should have been putting my time with Him above my time for other stuff.

Papa, I confess not doing what I knew was right. I confess dutifully spending time with You instead of pursuing You as my first love. I’m so sorry Papa, I love You. You get the tithe of my time from now on. I love You, please forgive me.

Am I choosing who I’m serving?

Matt 25:34-40 (NLT)
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ 37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

Jesus taught in parables his entire ministry. It would be interesting to see how many of his teachings were ONLY face value. With that in mind, I started thinking differently about this teaching when I these verses this morning. What if this was not only the lesson of “to the least of these,” but what if there is more?

Could each example be a different kind of person in differing stages or seasons of their spiritual life?

Hungry: Those purposing to be transformed. They have moved from spiritual milk to spiritual food and they yearn for it.
Thirsty: 1. Those spiritual babes still on the spiritual milk; 2. Those who yet have drunk the Living Water from Jesus.
Stranger: Those who feel unwelcome or rejected by the Church. Those who consider themselves outcasts.
Naked: Those plagued by shame. Those who feel vulnerable and exposed and unprotected.
Sick: Those spiritually sick and misguided from the Truth of the Gospel.
Imprisoned: Those who are in bondage by the enemy. Those who feel isolated and rejected by society. Those who are rebelling against God.

I’ve been each one of these at some time in my life. It almost seems like a reverse progression.

I was imprisoned and in bondage to my sin and pride. My sin made me sick and clouded my vision of who Jesus was and who I was in Christ. I was naked and shamed by my sin. I thirsted for relationship with Christ and I am hungry for more of Him.  Could it be that because I’ve been through each of these, God wants to use those experiences to minister to others in those same places?

I don’t know what this means to me yet. I don’t know why Papa put it on my heart, but I felt compelled to share and would like to banter about this idea.

I feel challenged to identify those people that I know who are currently in one of those places and purpose to minister to them where they are. Who are the hungry in my life and what am I doing to feed them? Who are the thirsty in my life and am I giving them them a drink? Who are the strangers in my life and am I welcoming to them? Who are the naked in my life and what am I clothing them with? Who are the sick in my life and am I comforting them? Who are the imprisoned in my life and am I visiting them and just loving on them with the Love of God? Now, the bigger question… am I choosing (or am I picky about) who I’m serving? OUCH! That hurt.

The overlying message is still “to the least of these,” which is humility, service, and expressing His love to others. This is an overriding lesson Father has been teaching me for the last few years.

Dad, let me serve everyone you put in my life with humility and love.  May I show them You and not me.  In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Marvelously Helped

2 Chronicles 26:4, 5, 15

“Uzziah did what was right in the sight of the LORD… and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper.        …so his fame spread far and wide, for he was marvelously helped till he became strong.”

Interesting reading this morning.  I read through verse 15 and it was more of the same.  Uzziah, king of Judah, did what was right with God and he prospered.  He made war with his enemies and won.  He is doing it all right ad God is blessing him.  But, what really stuck out to me was verse 15 “he was marvelously helped until he became strong.”

Uzziah became king when he was 16.  Imagine the help that he needed.  Even though God was there to help him prosper, he surrounded himself with men that helped him get where he needed to be.  I think that is a challenge for each of us.  Are we helping those around us that have a call upon their lives at times when they are week?  There are often times, for one reason or another, when those who have been called by God are not strong enough on their own.  At these times it is our job to marvelously help them.

Chruch Study #5…..Beginning of Division

I started doing some more study on the Church and decided to look at why we do have so many different religions, or division between ourselves.  Can we even be on the same page with anything anymore? 

 Frequently we hear people express differing viewpoints about even the most serious of religious issues. Why is this? One of the main reasons is lack of knowledge. Many people simply do not know what the Bible teaches.  In Mark 7:14 Jesus said, “Hear Me, everyone, and understand.”  Yet today people will dismiss plain Bible teaching about moral issues (such as homosexuality, divorce, or abortion) or about salvation from sin or the church because they say the teaching is too confusing or difficult to understand.

Why don’t people understand? It is not because the Bible is so unclear. Jesus expected people to understand His teaching, and Paul said: “…do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:17; see also 2 Timothy 3:16,17).  But some don’t understand because they do not study diligently. “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures…” (Matthew 22:29).  Many people simply do not know what the Bible teaches. Some people have never heard the gospel of Jesus or have never considered the evidence that it is the word of God. Such was the case of Cornelius, who needed to be taught the gospel. As soon as he heard it, he obeyed (Acts 11:14; 10:30-48).  But many would be surprised to learn that much ignorance of God´s word is willful: people just don´t want to know what the Bible says (2 Peter 3:5). In Matthew 13:15 Jesus described people who closed their eyes and ears, because they did not want to understand His teachings. Why would anyone prefer darkness rather than light, ignorance rather than knowledge, error rather than truth? In John 3:19,20 Jesus said: “… the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.” As we all know there is a certain amount of enjoyment in sin. Some do not want to give up their sinful pleasures. Some people just dont want to put in the time, effort and self-sacrifice it take to be a Christian.  But we need to realize that spiritual ignorance is not bliss. Acts 17:30 says that “God does not overlook ignorance. Rather, He commands all men everywhere to repent.”

Others misunderstand because they accept teachings of men who disagree with the Scriptures. “And in vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:9). Such teachings often come from false teachers dressed in sheep’s clothing who are really wolves (Matthew 7:13,14).  John 17:17 tells us that God’s word is truth. Yet, everyone realizes that truth does not contradict itself. Since the Bible is truth, it necessarily follows that two contradictory views of the Bible cannot both be right. If one man teaches one thing and another man teaches the opposite, it must be that one or the other does not know the truth. Yet, Jesus promised in John 8:32, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  So, we can know the truth, and when we do we will not contradict one another? Suppose one man said “two plus two equals four,” and another said “two plus two equals three,” and another said “two plus two equals five.”  Would we say, “Oh well, it’s just a matter of interpretation, and all of them are right”? Of course not. What has happened is that one man understood that answer correctly, and the other two misunderstood differently! So it is with the Bible. We may misunderstand differently; but when we understand the Bible, we will understand it alike. In 1 Corinthians 1:13 Paul wrote to men who were becoming divided religiously. He asked them: “Is Christ divided?” Does Jesus contradict Himself? Of course not! If He did, He would be a hypocrite!”  But often people do not understand the Bible simply because they do not like what it says. “Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their heart and turn, so that I should heal them” (Matthew 13:15).