Blessed???

I discovered the following today on a FB post

   "Blessed is the crisis that made you grow, the fall that made you look to heaven, and the problem that made you look for God." [author unknown]

What do you think!? Did it make you stop, like it did me, and muse a minute or 2? What struck me is that the 'made' is the word choice. The only way a crisis will make you, grow or the fall that makes you look to heaven, or the problem that made you turn to the Lord is... ? Easy answer. WE, it's we who determine this. 

This also reminded me of a scripture that was one of those... whhhaaaatttt?!!!

   "Consider it nothing but joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you fall into various trials. Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace]. And let endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed [in your faith], lacking in nothing." [James 1: 2-4]

The first time I read this I think I must have just passed over it quickly. The next few times I would suspect my reaction would have been 'you've got to be kidding' or 'there must be some explanation... I'm sure that 'joy' must have another definition'. So what is this saying? When you start diving into these 3 verses you discover that trials and testing has a product, and to be honest... WE are the benefactorees of this. 

First look at the words. Trials, testing is of OUR FAITH. That is rarely manmade and faith may play no part so these trials and testings are what is the focus. And we are the focus because our faith is one of our cornerstones. So, what are trials, testings of our faith? It is founded in our faith in Jesus - the only path to salvation - and then it is in the Word, that is true and infallible. This begins our journey of discovering the parts in our faith. Example: do you believe that you were given a gift for expression in the body? Do you know that you are blessed with every spiritual blessing?

Now look at the results of the trials, testing - these produce endurance. And what is endurance? International Standard Bible Encyclopedia says:

   "bear up under," hardship, persecution, etc. (2 Timothy 3:11; 1 Peter 2:19); "to remain under" (Hebrews 10:32; 12:2; James 1:12; 5:11); "to be strong, firm" (Hebrews 11:27); "to persevere" beneath a heavy burden (Matthew 10:22).

The Amplified defines endurance as: "...spiritual maturity, and inner peace." Why? "...so that you may be perfect and completely developed [in your faith], lacking in nothing." 

Just looking at those two explanations - I want endurance. That, dear friends, is definitely being blessed!

   "Jesus replied to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, if you have faith [personal trust and confidence in Me] and do not doubt or allow yourself to be drawn in two directions, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen [if God wills it]."  [Matthew 21:21]  

Further, if we return to the initial scripture and read on... see what else we are blessed in:

   "If any of you lacks wisdom [to guide him through a decision or circumstance], he is to ask of [our benevolent] God, who gives to everyone generously and without rebuke or blame, and it will be given to him. But he must ask [for wisdom] in faith, without doubting [God’s willingness to help], for the one who doubts is like a billowing surge of the sea that is blown about and tossed by the wind."  [v. 5-6]

You, I, We are the blessed.

Occupy

   "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come." [Luke 19:10-13, KJV]

Sometimes, the KJV says it exactly the way I want it heard... this is one of those times. In most versions the word 'occupy' is rendered 'do business, invest, trade, put this money to use, operate...'. However, the word 'occupy' provides a totally different mindset. The other words used instead seem to connect easier with the fact that the owner gave them money and then gave the directions. How do you connect 'occupy' with the fact that the nobleman gave them money? The connection, I believe is with the context - when the kingdom of God should appear.

The Gospels, in relating this parable, come from Matthew 24:36,44 and Mark 13:32

   "Heaven and earth [as now known] will pass away, but My words will not pass away. But of that [exact] day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son [in His humanity], but the Father alone.

"Be on guard and stay constantly alert [and pray]; for you do not know when the appointed time will come."

I believe that each day we should be attentive to the day... to not let an opportunity to be who the Lord has designed us to be, to do those things that are pleasing in His sight, to act confidently based in His Word. Yes.. we don't know the time of His return but that shouldn't be our focus. What's at hand should be our focus. I also suspect that we don't always see the multitudes of opportunities presented to us - partially because we don't see but also we may have our eyes focused where they should be. 

Personally I do believe we are in the Last Days... but we've seen countless examples of the Church thinking it could be 'any day now'. And that goes back to the time of the Disciples... if you read (Thessalonians for example), the Disciples also thought it was only moments before Jesus' return. But how were they engaged? Yes. In bringing others to a saving knowledge. They were following the command of Jesus found in Matthew 28

   "Jesus came up and said to them, “All authority (all power of absolute rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations [help the people to learn of Me, believe in Me, and obey My words], baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always [remaining with you perpetually—regardless of circumstance, and on every occasion], even to the end of the age.” [18-20] 

They also remember the earlier words of Jesus [Matthew 9: 37-38] and spent their time following His directions. This is no less than what we should be doing. The occupying in my mind has a different definition... these are the times of discipling after someone gets saved. Too often they've been left to their own devices because we mature Christians haven't completed the directions.. "...make disciples of all the nations [help the people to learn of Me, believe in Me, and obey My words].

The act of 'occupying' is a high calling.

 

The Second greatest Sin

I believe that the first and greatest sin is something we, at least Christians, can agree on and it's what God gave to Moses in the first commandment: 

   "You shall have no other gods before Me." [Exodus 20:3]

Jesus explained that command when He said:

   "And Jesus replied to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for others].’ The whole Law and the [writings of the] Prophets depend on these two commandments.” [Matthew 22:37-40]

And it's the second that gets us in sooo much trouble. As Christians we are to put ourselves second, though it can be argued that the world places this as the first and  highest priority: 'what's in it for me', 'what about me', etc. The point is ... we ARE supposed to put ourselves second so we put others in the same category as ourselves. But do we rarely do this? We sometimes get into a 'Me-ism' state and feel oooh so deprived or misunderstood or not valued or... (fill in the blank). In this state do we do what scripture says in Matthew - love your neighbor as yourself? Hardly. I would question if we ever give anything or anyone a second thought when all our attention is on us. I've also discovered that eyes looking only inward continually bump into people and things or fall or get completely myopic. 

From a different perspective, I also believe that's why pride is such a problem. Pride was the downfall of Satan. And while we may quickly point out that we aren't trying to be God. Hmmm, then what are we attempting to do? Any and every time we place ourselves as first... what is this saying? Maybe ... do you ever say 'no' to the Father? Knowing that He wants you to do/be something, recognizing that He is the source of your free will, remembering He never asks you to do something you can't do or won't be equipped to accomplish, and that He never sets us up for failure... yet we say - no. 

When Jesus expanded on this [Matthew 23] He was indicating what the second greatest sin is, at least from my perspective, loving others as we love ourselves. 

Bottom line: do you really love those who are your 'neighbor'/other person? And... as yourself? What do your action say? For some it may be an issue of not really loving ourselves or not knowing what that means. Perhaps we're caught up in blame or unworthiness, maybe we feel shame. Is this something that's current or in your history? In a way the time isn't relevant - the only real question is.. have you sought forgiveness and do you feel sorry? If so, if you've acted on 1 John 1:9 and, if so, then walk free knowing He has cleansed you. But also know you can't use the former as an excuse.

Love is listed as the highest, best way by Paul in 1 Corinthians when he says he will show you/us a better way. Love is that better way. What kind of satisfaction do you get from not forgiving others, or revenge, or holding a grudge? You are the only participant in this - you are the one carrying the baggage. And how can you be expecting to be forgiven for what you do or say, or don't do/say? Why would the Lord forgive you when you won't forgive others?

The First greatest Sin is putting anything above God. Have you ever thought that not loving your neighbor is putting this above Him? His Word says - Love. Period.

 

Christian without Christ???

 I've had people tell me that they believe in God but that they don't believe in Jesus! Not certain how they can even begin to accomplish that.

Actually some would say that they are a Christian - though how can one be a Christian without believing in Christ??? Ohhh, they believe Jesus existed but not that He was the Son of God, our Savior and our only way to the Father. If He wasn't who He said He was and did what He did... what's the point? Then again I wonder if they don't believe that God is our Father.?! Or is it merely an excuse so they don't have to acknowledge not only Who Jesus was but What He did because they say and believe(?) they are a good person, which smacks of self sufficiency and all that is associated with that belief. 

Why do we find it so very difficult? (And how can we justify such a belief? - Personally, I can't.) I suspect we can point to many reasons why such a belief exists but mostly it comes down to the point that we want to do life... 'our way'. (And just how successful is that?) And that's just one confusion. What about - scripture is extremely clear about salvation.

   " For God did not send the Son into the world to judge and condemn the world [that is, to initiate the final judgment of the world], but that the world might be saved through Him. Whoever believes and has decided to trust in Him [as personal Savior and Lord] is not judged [for this one, there is no judgment, no rejection, no condemnation]; but the one who does not believe [and has decided to reject Him as personal Savior and Lord] is judged already [that one has been convicted and sentenced], because he has not believed and trusted in the name of the [One and] only begotten Son of God [the One who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, the One who alone can save him]." [John 3:17-18]

   "This Jesus is the stone which was despised and rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief Cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among people by which we must be saved [for God has provided the world no alternative for salvation].” [Acts 4:11-12]

Those are only 2 of the scriptures that describes HOW we are saved and WHO saves us. Period. Without Jesus the Christ we are still dead in our sins. DEAD. Believe only in God?

According to Google (and they ARE always right - yes?) but they say and cite their 'authority':

   "A person who believes in the existence of a god or gods is called a theist. The opposite of a theist is an atheist. 

- Dictionary.com

Theists believe in the existence of a god or gods. The word deist refers to someone who believes in God

- Wikipedia

More simply stated, Deism is the belief in the existence of God—often, but not necessarily, an impersonal and incomprehensible God...

 

Deism: The belief in God, but that God created the universe and then left it to be governed by natural laws. Deists often base their beliefs on rational thought, rather than religious authority. 

When you read those definitions, aren't you left a bit empty? What do you receive from such beliefs? But when you read the Bible you discover:

   "You believe that God is one; you do well [to believe that]. The demons also believe [that], and shudder and bristle [in awe-filled terror—they have seen His wrath]!"   [James 2:17]

Do you really want to be counted among the demons!! Why do you not realize the significance of Jesus and all He has already done for you? In Him, your sins have been nailed to His cross. In Him you are blessed. In Him you are a joint heir with Him. There are so many 'things' that are yours... in Him. Cutting off your nose to spite your face? You cannot even count yourself a Christian without accepting Christ. 

In Him, Jesus, you have everything you need. What more do you need? There is a slight caveat to becoming a Christian... Jesus comes first because He is Lord.

Success ... Failure

How many times have you heard, or said, that you learn from your mistakes, from your failures? A variation of the theme of: those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it? Do you? Do you learn from your missteps... regardless of the attendant emotion? How about successes? Do you learn from them too? Can you say: I also learn from my accomplishments, the 'right' actions or words because if I don't... how will these positives become part of my 'modus operandi'?

I've always been a tad mystified that the 'saying' never included incorporating those aspects that enable future successes. Granted we don't need to get a 'big head' about our accomplishments but to ignore them is throwing away important information ... at least that's my thinking (and I intend to stick with it). Learning is the point and we can learn in all sorts of ways but to not learn those 'good' lessons is just plain silly.

If something has been successful - an approach, a plan, etc. - then this learning can possibly be applied to a new but similar situations. Yes? Then why not focus your learning on the positives as well as the 'life lessons'? And what about sharing with others what has worked for you when they need, or ask, for your opinion?  This isn't bragging, I think it's a form of bearing one another's burdens by helping the other person to look at (fill in the blank) from a different perspective.

Have you ever thought that sharing scriptures with another person, your experiences when you were faced with difficulties is a form of sharing your successes? It is. Look at the affect testimonies have on the listener. When you first came to the Lord, or your journey with Him as you've continued becoming you - none of those are failures. Actually it's expressing the success that came from the failure. 

If you are the only one learning and growing from failures... isn't that a failure? We never should put the other person in a 'my way or the highway' but how you moved from failure to success, how you adapted or changed your perspective - aren't these successes from failure? Please, don't be the only one that can learn from others' mistakes. 

Failures happen for all sorts of reasons. When, after the fact, we look at what happened and why, we can gain a great deal of learning. The same point can be made about success. Then again... success, like failure, is in the mind of the beholder.

Hear... Open

On your scale of priorities, where is ‘belonging’? Crucial? Important? Not really necessary? I suppose we should start with a definition first. So how would you define the word? For example: does the definition include- equality? Everyone involved is equal in standing? Everyone is equally valued? Actually, 2 different components.

When I searched the dictionary for a definition of 'belonging' it was: a close and intimate relationship. I've discussed belonging before but as I observe 'the times' it seems that this need has increased, perhaps Covid added to our separate-ness or maybe it is we've been burned by others or maybe it's a concern about identity theft... let's face it - our society isn't safe! So we distance. Unless we've had previous experience or a close person 'vouches', many people are not interacting as 'in days gone by'. And this increases the need for 'safe' belonging. 

When I sought a scriptural definition of belonging I discovered this: 'True belonging means being fully known and fully loved by God and one another.' (source unidentified) Fully. Fully known, fully loved. That is the heart of belonging. I could use other adjectives such as accepted but 'fully' is a kind of belonging is a forever reality with the Lord. It's a reliable, it's real, it forever because the Father said so.

How do You belong to/with the Lord? He is more than your creator - though that's a good start. Perhaps the questions is... do you allow yourself to belong? Do you put obstacles in your way: I'm sinful, How can the God of Creation want me, what do I need to 'give up'/change in order to belong that I don't want to give up? All sorts of 'excuses' that really are only your way to keep the Lord at arms length unless it's a crisis situation.

   "Behold, I stand at the door [of the church] and continually knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him (restore him), and he with Me." [Revelations 3:20]

I find myself using that scripture a great deal (in a number of different applications). And did you notice that it's not a one time knock and then leave but... continually knock. Did you also notice the one and only requirement you have (remember, this is said to the Christian... not an unbeliever)? Opening the door. Upon hearing, that's all anyone has to do... open the door. When you do you'll understand - you belong.

Prayer is.....

Relationship building time. Have you ever consider this? That when you pray, when you take the time to take your eyes off your world and yourself and place it on the Lord that you are building on your relationship with Him.?! And how cool is that!!! Or don't you think that we should try and build a relationship with the Lord? That somehow that thinking is disrespectful? Why? Isn't He your Father and your elder brother (joint heir)? 

In one place in scripture Jesus tells His disciples that He calls them 'friend'. Google states it this way: 

   "When Jesus tells his disciples, "You are my friends if you do what I command"  (John 15:14 ), the components of association, loyalty, and affection all appear. If one can be a friend of God or of God's Son, this friendship can extend as well to others who are also friends of God."

John 15:12-16 

   "12 This is My commandment, that you [a]love and unselfishly seek the best for one another, just as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love [nor stronger commitment] than to lay down his own life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you keep on doing what I command you. 15 I do not call you servants any longer, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you [My] friends, because I have revealed to you everything that I have heard from My Father. 16 You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed and placed and purposefully planted you, so that you would go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit will remain and be lasting, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name [as My representative] He may give to you."

If you want to build your relationship with the Lord, look at not just that Jesus called His disciples 'friends' but what this means, how it came about, and what occurs as a result of this 'status'. Probably the first question is not so much that doing so is not what the Lord wants as it is that you haven't decided that you want this?

What kind of relationship would the Lord want? Scripture has the answer. Part of it is found in the above reference - verse 15. Also, in Hosea, repeated in Matthew we see how the Lord views relationship with us>

Hosea 6:6

   "For I desire and delight in [steadfast] loyalty [faithfulness in the covenant relationship], rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." [AMP]

   "I’m after love that lasts, not more religion. I want you to know God, not go to more prayer meetings." (MSG]

This message is repeated in Matthew 9:13

   "13 Go and learn what this [Scripture] means: ‘I desire compassion [for those in distress], and not [animal] sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call [to repentance] the [self-proclaimed] righteous [who see no need to change], but sinners [those who recognize their sin and actively seek forgiveness].”

Just these 2 scriptures confirm the kind of relationship that the Lord seeks from us. He does want a relationship with us but He is also telling us what He isn't wanting. But there are others that demonstrate His Love for us and His desire to be with us. Genesis 1:26, Deuteronomy 31:8, Hebrews 13:5, Isaiah 49:16, Jeremiah 13:5 are only a few of the verses that tell us how the Creator of the Universe, our Triune God looks at us. Since the beginning He has offered relationship:

   " Behold, I stand at the door [of the church] and continually knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him (restore him), and he with Me." [Revelations 3:20]

What more do you need to know about God's attitude toward relationship. It is always your choice to choose....