(The following is an expansion on an article I wrote for the church newsletter.)
Do you have your 'holiday' on... or are you getting there? To me, the end of October ushers in the start of 'The Holiday season'. I know Christmas gift ideas and decorations have been up for weeks (sadly, Thanksgiving seems to have gotten lost in the rush.) I am and was brought up with a great fondness for Thanksgiving. I know many still honor this day and don't look on it as the day before the biggest shopping day of the year - Black Friday. Black? A bit sinister sounding... or do you only honor Cyber Tuesday?
But before that mad dash... how do you celebrate Thanksgiving? What do you do? Is there time given to remember all the blessings of the previous year? Sooooo... how do you want to celebrate this Thanksgiving - planning your shopping strategy for Friday or taking the time to 'count your blessings, one by one'? Remembering and relating all the wonderful things that have happened to you in the previous year is one way to celebrate. No fond remembrances? Really? Is it more of a case of not recognizing the Lord's hand?
If for no other reason, 'society' recommends you have a 'gratitude' list and also indicates 10 reasons why being grateful is good for us. However, I believe there's a better way. Look at all the scriptures that tell us to be thankful.
"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good and His mercy endures forever." (1Chronicles 16:34)
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." (Philippians 4:6)
Those are only 2 of over 30 scriptures that talk about being thankful. Thanksgiving is one time to remember, and perhaps recite them to yourself.
Better yet... apply the suggestion to keep Christmas in your heart all year and remember/recite all the people and 'things' you are grateful for... daily.
Thursday, November 22, 2018
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
Your perspective... your personalization
Question: how do you view The Great Commission? Simply Jesus' last words found in Matthew? Something beyond you? For the professionals? What's your perspective, your personalization?
Those words are for all of us, wherever we live and whatever we do, in the worlds in which we live. They should permeate our own words and our actions. This should be as 'familiar' to us as anything and everything we do and say. Read Jesus' words again, after He had died, rose again, went to heaven, He returned to earth:
"... And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on
earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have
commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end
of the age.'” (Matthew 28:17-20, ESV)
These words are directed to all of us who have accepted Jesus as our Lord, not just the original disciples, nor the 'professional' ministry. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul indicates that we ALL have gifts for the body and it is our responsibility to use them for the growth of the body (Ephesians 4:12-16, NKJV)
"for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the
edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the
faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man,
to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we
should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about
with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning
craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may
grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom
the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies,
according to the effective working by which every part does its share,
causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love."
None of us are designed to do it all... including the professional ministry. We all have a part. Its up to us to choose to act on what has been given us for the growth of the body. So, what is your perspective... your personalization?
Those words are for all of us, wherever we live and whatever we do, in the worlds in which we live. They should permeate our own words and our actions. This should be as 'familiar' to us as anything and everything we do and say. Read Jesus' words again, after He had died, rose again, went to heaven, He returned to earth:
"... And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on
earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have
commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end
of the age.'” (Matthew 28:17-20, ESV)
These words are directed to all of us who have accepted Jesus as our Lord, not just the original disciples, nor the 'professional' ministry. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul indicates that we ALL have gifts for the body and it is our responsibility to use them for the growth of the body (Ephesians 4:12-16, NKJV)
"for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the
edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the
faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man,
to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we
should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about
with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning
craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may
grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom
the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies,
according to the effective working by which every part does its share,
causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love."
None of us are designed to do it all... including the professional ministry. We all have a part. Its up to us to choose to act on what has been given us for the growth of the body. So, what is your perspective... your personalization?
Monday, November 5, 2018
Will the real Me please stand...
Ever feel or think this way? You've just said or did something that surprises even you. And yes, this is both the positive as well as the negative acts/words. Do you ever wonder about yourself as to where (fill in the blank) came from? There is always a source, a motivation that prompted ... always. Sometimes we really are surprised... and then there are those times that something else prompted us.
Is it necessary to analyze everything we do or don't do? Yes. Why? One reason we need to remember this is found in: Matthew 12:37, Romans 14:12, James 3:6. Bottom line is the we are held accountable.
"For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will
be condemned." (Matthew 12:37)
Simple example, do you agree to do something for someone and then close to the last minute contrive something else to do so you don't have to? Or maybe you pass on some gossip that you personally have not witnessed. Or perhaps you subtly 'taint' the mind of someone either for or against another person based on your own feelings. All of those examples speak to our motivation and if we don't accept our own behavior and change then how can we be acquitted?
"I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every
careless word they speak." (Matthew 12:36)
We are warned. We need to listen to what we are saying and be aware of how our words are affecting the listener. This really should not be a 'fear' issue but a standard upon which we can judge if we are living up to the standard we have set for ourselves.
Is our public me congruent with our desired me? If not, this is one area that we need to bring into the center of our attention. We do have the power and control to become all that we are intended to be. This decision is ours and how we approach it determines how we are 'repaying' the Lord all He has done for us. Which, what you do you express? Is your real and desired the same?
Is it necessary to analyze everything we do or don't do? Yes. Why? One reason we need to remember this is found in: Matthew 12:37, Romans 14:12, James 3:6. Bottom line is the we are held accountable.
"For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will
be condemned." (Matthew 12:37)
Simple example, do you agree to do something for someone and then close to the last minute contrive something else to do so you don't have to? Or maybe you pass on some gossip that you personally have not witnessed. Or perhaps you subtly 'taint' the mind of someone either for or against another person based on your own feelings. All of those examples speak to our motivation and if we don't accept our own behavior and change then how can we be acquitted?
"I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every
careless word they speak." (Matthew 12:36)
We are warned. We need to listen to what we are saying and be aware of how our words are affecting the listener. This really should not be a 'fear' issue but a standard upon which we can judge if we are living up to the standard we have set for ourselves.
Is our public me congruent with our desired me? If not, this is one area that we need to bring into the center of our attention. We do have the power and control to become all that we are intended to be. This decision is ours and how we approach it determines how we are 'repaying' the Lord all He has done for us. Which, what you do you express? Is your real and desired the same?
Thursday, November 1, 2018
By definition
If you have been saved, then - by definition - you are in process. No one is an instantaneous mature Christian. There is a lifetime of discovering what this means, who you are, what your responsibilities are... but also Whose you are and what this means. Example: do you realize you have an inheritance? You do, and it's all because of Jesus.
"For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but
you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba!
Father!" The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children
of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with
Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified
with Him." (Romans 8: 15-16,ESV)
Heirs! We are heirs of God! While it is difficult to get one's head around this, it does not diminish the truth.
So what do you do about/with the fact that you are an heir? Well one thing you need to do is to discover who your Father is: what He does and how He goes about being Him. How to know this? Read His Word! Get to know Him through this and then open your eyes to see how He expresses Himself. This truly is all around us.
In your discovering, discover what YOU need to do to act on who you are and who you are becoming. How? Again - read His Word. What does He tell us to do and be? What does He want for us? Example: He tells us to renew our minds, to put off the Old Man and put on the new! If this seems an insurmountable task - remember that the Lord never asks us to do something we can't - so we obviously are able... if we so choose. Duly note that I never said that we have to do this alone. We have help. The Holy Spirit.
If you remember your scripture, you'll recall that Jesus told His disciples (which, by definition includes us - what Jesus taught and gave His disciples is available to us as we learn about who we are) about His departure and what He was sending to them,
"And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be
with you forever." (John 14:16, ESV)
Forever is defined by itself. It means... forever! Then as you continue to discover and grow and become, you'll understand all the ways the Holy Spirit is there for us. We are on a marvelous journey of discovery that lasts... forever.
"For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but
you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba!
Father!" The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children
of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with
Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified
with Him." (Romans 8: 15-16,ESV)
Heirs! We are heirs of God! While it is difficult to get one's head around this, it does not diminish the truth.
So what do you do about/with the fact that you are an heir? Well one thing you need to do is to discover who your Father is: what He does and how He goes about being Him. How to know this? Read His Word! Get to know Him through this and then open your eyes to see how He expresses Himself. This truly is all around us.
In your discovering, discover what YOU need to do to act on who you are and who you are becoming. How? Again - read His Word. What does He tell us to do and be? What does He want for us? Example: He tells us to renew our minds, to put off the Old Man and put on the new! If this seems an insurmountable task - remember that the Lord never asks us to do something we can't - so we obviously are able... if we so choose. Duly note that I never said that we have to do this alone. We have help. The Holy Spirit.
If you remember your scripture, you'll recall that Jesus told His disciples (which, by definition includes us - what Jesus taught and gave His disciples is available to us as we learn about who we are) about His departure and what He was sending to them,
"And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be
with you forever." (John 14:16, ESV)
Forever is defined by itself. It means... forever! Then as you continue to discover and grow and become, you'll understand all the ways the Holy Spirit is there for us. We are on a marvelous journey of discovery that lasts... forever.
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