"Because Of Him"

  I've spent the last week traveling to a funeral of my uncle. What made this journey to pay my respects so unique was the nature of our family. We aren't any different than other families. We do have a unique situation with my kin.  I have two sets of double cousins. One on my mother's side and one on my dad's side. We all grew up within a few miles of one another and spent a lot of time with each other. This is the first, with more to come in the near future, that death has touched this close-knit part of our family.

  It didn't take long when we got together that the reminders came out. Each cousin were quick to remind me of my 'meanness' growing up. Stories were told, laughs were abundant but I kept seeing something missing. TRUTH! They had bits and pieces of things that had happened but left out was critical truth in certain situations. I did get to set some of that straight! No doubt I was a rounder in my younger years but as the children of my cousins would come up to me and tell me they had heard stories and wanted to meet me. One of my younger kin said he wanted to meet me to see if I was still the same! I asked him the same as what? He simply said the same as he had heard. I guess he was waiting on me to hit him in the head with a rock, or smash an egg on him, throw a dirt clod and hit him in the mouth or shoot him with a roman candle, or catch his hair on fire!! I don't know but it was funny to see and hear. I had one of my cousins children said I was "infamous." I shrugged my shoulders, smiled and thought..."Infamous, wow, that's more than famous!!!!"

  I guess as I write and reflect on my life, one thing became rather clear. Mercy! Grace! Truth! I cannot begin to thank the Lord for those three elements of His nature. No one needed mercy like me. Grace was extended to me because I simply could not have made it today without His grace reaching me. Grace brought salvation and instructed my life (Titus 2:11-12). Truth was the only way I would find my way out of spiritual darkness. Truth is the only way one can continue to stand in a right relationship with the Lord.

  I was so thankful to be able to go and take my parents to say goodbye to their brother/brother-in-law. I learned so much as painful as some of it was. But I can smile today because I was shown mercy. It doesn't take long to reflect on your past and be humbled by your present knowing, it wasn't you! It was HIM, the Lord Jesus Christ. I must say, all my kin doesn't really know what to do with me today. I'm not sure I don't either. All I can say because of HIM is thank you!

 

"God's Love"

  This will be my last blog until May 1, 2012. My uncle who I grew up around and spent much time with their family passed away in Colorado. I will be traveling to Texas to pick up my aged parents and take them to Colorado to attend the funeral. This is my dads brother. I do cherish your prayers as we travel.

  Let me leave you with this thought. We are sometimes astounded to see pictures of a little boy saluting over the casket of his fallen father because he gave his life in service of our country. We are proud of the men and women that gave their all for our freedom.

  We see children whose life might be in danger and a mother or father giving their life to save the life of their child. It moves our heart to see the willingness to put the life of a parent for their children.

  We have read or heard stories of good friends, best of pals laying down their life for the sake of the other. It brings us to tears as we hear the story of how things came about.

  Let's keep things in real perspective. How many people do you know would lay down their for the town drunk or the drug addicted? How many people do you know would lay down their life for the murderer, the rapist and those who commit such horrid crimes? The measure of true love is not that God sent His Son to die for us but that He died for us while we were yet sinners and ungodly (Rom. 5:6). Sinners and ungodly people are not good people. They might do some good things but we are still filthy and vile. When we can come to grips with that we will begin to see the true love of God in that Jesus laid down His life when we were His enemy. Don't be afraid to reach out. Don't fear the love the God. Jesus died for Hitler, the Boston strangler, Barabbas the murderer and yes, me and you! Think of it this way...without the death of Jesus for your account, you would be standing next to some of the most vile and ungodly people that ever lived in eternal condemnation being tormented along with them. Your better quality of life does not exempt you from the consequences of sin! Now that's love! And no one will end up in eternal condemnation without being shown love. They simply did not care and rejected God's great love. What about you? 

"Jesus At Work"

   The work is never done! For years I have tried to catch up but as I have gotten older, I'm not sure what I am trying to catch up with or to or what that even means anymore. There is no such thing as catching up. People still need to be reached. Doors open here and there. It is a continuous cycle but that's the way it's suppose to be when people need salvation.

  Jesus is at work! He is working in the church as He is alive and well. People's indifference, laziness and hypocrisy doesn't stop the work of Jesus. I'm trying to stay out of the way to allow the Lord Jesus Christ to do what He needs to do with His body. It's tough sometimes. I get a little too involved in me at times and forget that hinders. I want people in heaven and I know many others who have the same desire. In order for people to get to heaven they must see and come to Jesus. For some reason people think that because someone does good to others and just live good lives that they will be saved in the end. The mentality of others has been that the Lord surely won't refuse anyone who leads a decent life and tries to help where they can. But that's just it. It's about us and what we do, or at least some make it that way. Salvation is about Jesus! It's coming to Jesus as our sin-bearer, as our place of refuge, as our union into His death to escape our own so we can be raised up with Him (that's the purpose of baptism - Rom. 6). Too many are baptized into Christ but rely on themselves as the end result.

  Jesus is at work! Too many are looking at what is wrong with the church, who is messing up, who is holding us back and what isn't going right. Maybe we are looking at the wrong side of things because when we have this mentality, it's actually us holding back the church. We need to focus on Jesus and let Him work on me to see the real issue of salvation. Trust Jesus. Let Him work on the things that lack while I work on my faith in Him. You will see a difference and in the process see your calling into Christ. We aren't saved because we are good. We are saved because we were in death and Jesus came to our rescue. If the Lord can save, He can work! Let Him!!!

"Healthy Worship"

  All healthy worship has at its heart a sense of awe and reverence. Reverence and awe bring about an inner conviction and awareness that the Lord our God is greater in all aspects than anything created, since He is the Creator, and that alone should lead us to something greater in our faith. Healthy worship is centered in a complete sense of dependence that we aren't self-made, self-maintained and owe everything about us to our Lord and Master. Healthy worship should deepen our humility leading us to magnify the majesty of God Almighty. "Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire." (Heb. 13:28-29) This is a great summation of healthy worship.

  How we worship and what we bring from our hearts to worship reveal our inner being. We show our insight to our heavenly Father. We show our understanding or lack thereof. Healthy worship is much more than what things look like and the external things going on around us. Too many look to the externals for their up-building and it becomes the focus. It's like looking at a rainbow. People try to break down this optical phenomenon that results from the refraction of light by water droplets. While that may be true, many, so many miss what the rainbow stood for in Gen. 9! It's things like this that help us understand and allows us to see the depth of healthy worship. Our worship is not something we just do but something in the process is being done to us!!

  Healthy worship is to strengthen our trust in Him who we can't see. "And though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory." (I Pet. 1:8) When is the last time you had a joy inexpressible in your worship? Have you ever? Healthy worship carries our hearts and minds into the glorious world that is purer and greater than anything we see on this earth. Healthy worship is not about externals or a social gathering. It's all about your inner life: your heart, your soul, your mind and your strength. That inner life reaches beyond the norm and grasps hold of the eternal God by which we give to Him us, all of our being! And that my friend is what God is driving for and what Jesus died for.

"Do We Hear?"

  "For the heart of this people has become dull, with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes, otherwise they would see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I would heal them." (Isa. 6:10) This seems to be an old problem for God's people. Isaiah speaks to God's people about their hearing and seeing. Jesus quotes this verse and applies it to God's people in His day and time in Matt. 13:15. Paul quotes this same teaching in to God's people in Acts 28:27 and the Hebrew writer applies it in Heb. 5:11. Why would it be any different for us today in the church?

  Hearing is not just related to sound. Many of those deaf physically hear just fine! It is the heart that has grown dull and insensitive. The result is people simply refuse to hear the whole of God! They pick and choose what they want to hear while ignoring the things they need to hear. When something from God is spoken that addresses their present situation, they turn off their 'hearing aids' and close their eyes. It is much easier to ignore than address. The Lord cannot reach those who refuse to listen and take in His word honestly in their heart. As the result, no healing of life and soul! They remain who they are, the way they are and head the direction they continue with all deception.

  God's word directs us individually and congregationally. God guides us down the path of morality, attitudes toward those outside of Christ and attitudes toward brethren. God's word addresses our speech and conduct among the world of the lost and in the church. God's word directs us in congregational worship, respect for the eldership, work of the deacons and the work and purpose of the church. God speaks! God reveals! God wants our hearts! Saving faith is produced in the heart! The real question is do we have a heart to hear and see so we will change? As Jesus would cry out to the people: "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." (Luke 8:8) Are we listening?

"Keeping Judas Away"

  We need the Lord's wisdom. It's that simple. "Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy." (Prov. 27:6) What a deep statement of wisdom. How you ask? We expect 'wounds' from our enemies and 'kisses' from our friends. But sometimes things aren't what they seem!

  People are drawn to the flatterer, the one who is full of energy, always doing for others and speaks what we want to hear. The danger in this is all this flattery and business keeps one from noticing red flags. For the sake of a smile or a word one may turn a blind eye to any possibility of ulterior motives. In many cases, the truth comes out only after the damage has been done!

  On the other hand, we are turned off by criticism or people questioning about the wisdom by which we are approaching things. One can offer their criticism with well-intentions or in kindness and some are still offended. "Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you, reprove a wise man and he will love you." (Prov. 9:8)  We need wisdom to recognize a scoffer! Our enemies may give us a slap on the cheek and we expect it but what about the one who is genuinely concerned for our spiritual well being trying to awaken us from a spiritual stupor or helping us not set ourselves up for disappointment? When we can use wisdom and not allow ourselves to be drawn in by our emotional state or attachements to determine the real value, we will say, "Thank you! I need that insight or help!"

  I pray that God grant you true people in your life that will tell you what you really need to hear in truth. Not mean-spirited but truth. May God keep Judas from the doorsteps of your heart! It takes God's wisdom to know the difference!!!  

"Whatever"

  Maybe you say it when your attitude isn't the best. We hear it from young people. Married couples when they are in disagreement use the term to show disapproval or lack of interest. It's called "WHATEVER!" I heard someone the other day tell another, "Whatever! Talk to the hand!" What many don't realize, "whatever" is a very biblical term.

  "He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields it fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers." (Psa. 1:3) 

  "Whatever the Lord pleases, He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps." (Psa. 135:6)

    "Pray for us to the Lord our God; and whatever the Lord our God says, tell us so, and we will do it." (Jer. 42:20)

  "Whatever you devise against the Lord, He will make a complete end of it. Distress will not rise up twice." (Nahum 1:9)

  "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you."  (John 15:7)

  "...and whatever is not from faith is sin." (Rom.14:23)

  "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of Scirpture we might have hope."  (Rom. 15:4)

  "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (I Cor. 10:31)

  "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap."  (Gal. 6:7)

  "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things." (Phil. 4:8)

  "Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father."  (Col. 3:17)

  "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men." (Col. 3:23)

How does your "whatever" line up with the Lord's "whatever"? Maybe we need an attitude adjustment?