I'm sure that won't happen to you, friends. I have better things in mind for you—salvation things! God doesn't miss anything. He knows perfectly well all the love you've shown him by helping needy Christians, and that you keep at it. And now I want each of you to extend that same intensity toward a full-bodied hope, and keep at it till the finish. Don't drag your feet. Be like those who stay the course with committed faith and then get everything promised to them.
Take the old prophets as your mentors. They put up with anything, went through everything, and never once quit, all the time honoring God. What a gift life is to those who stay the course! You've heard, of course, of Job's staying power, and you know how God brought it all together for him at the end. That's because God cares, cares right down to the last detail.
You're blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God. You're blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him. That's right—you don't go off on your own; you walk straight along the road he set. You, God, prescribed the right way to live; now you expect us to live it. Oh, that my steps might be steady, keeping to the course you set; Then I'd never have any regrets in comparing my life with your counsel. I thank you for speaking straight from your heart; I learn the pattern of your righteous ways. I'm going to do what you tell me to do; don't ever walk off and leave me.
God, teach me lessons for living so I can stay the course. Give me insight so I can do what you tell me— my whole life one long, obedient response. Guide me down the road of your commandments; I love traveling this freeway! Give me a bent for your words of wisdom, and not for piling up loot. Divert my eyes from toys and trinkets, invigorate me on the pilgrim way. Affirm your promises to me— promises made to all who fear you. Deflect the harsh words of my critics— but what you say is always so good. See how hungry I am for your counsel; preserve my life through your righteous ways!
(All from The Message: Heb 6:9; Jam 5:10; Ps 119:1; Ps 119:33 - All emphasis mine)
Monday, January 21, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Uplook vs Outlook
For we walk by faith, not by sight. (2 Cor 5:7 NKJV)One of the gifts I received this Christmas was a mug. The picture was of a guy sitting at his kitchen table. The scene outside his window was a dark cloud with a rainstorm going on. The caption reads, “ It’s not the OUTLOOK, but the UPLOOK that counts!
This was a good pick for me, as I can tend to get a bit gloomy now and then. I have been know to sometimes let circumstances dictate my outlook and attitude.
One of the things our pastor talked about this morning was the twelve spies sent in to spy out the promised land. Ten of them were taken by what they saw and reported "We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there” (Nu 13:27-28). “We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are. "And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them." (Nu 13:31-33)
Two were taken by what God had said. “Send out for yourself men so that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel” (Nu 13:2). Their report was "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it." (Nu 13:30 NIV)
The ten had their eyes upon circumstances, upon what they could see, the temporal, and made their report based upon that.
The two had their eyes set upon the eternal, the unseen truth behind the seen circumstances guided their report.
Let’s be counted as those who believe God’s Word over their circumstances. Let us not stand upon that which is seen and subject to change, but upon that which is invisible, rock solid, and eternally unchanging. For we live by believing and not by seeing. (2 Cor 5:7 NLT)
It's what we trust in but don't yet see that keeps us going. (2 Cor 5:7 MSG)
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Legalism, Grace, and Mercy
When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the "sinners" and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: "Why does he eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" (Mk 2:16)
Pharisee-ism repels, pushes away, judges, compares, binds, conforms, weighs down, and imprisons. It says, ”Behold I stand at my door and judge. Prove you are worthy.” It is a legalistic view saying, “ They don’t deserve it, they are not as good as we are. We have to keep them away from us.”
God’s grace and mercy seek. draw, attract, welcome, heal, restores rescue, comfort, help, transform, loosen, lighten, and free. Their cry is, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. Whosoever. Come, drink freely of the Waters of Salvation."
What draws us to the throne of God's mercy and grace? Mark tells us that many people were drawn to Jesus, including the unwanted and the unlovable, such as the lame, the blind, and the lepers, as well as the homeless such as widows and orphans. But public sinners, like the town prostitutes and corrupt tax collectors, were also drawn to Jesus. In calling Matthew to be one of his disciples, Jesus picked one of the unlikeliest of men – a tax collector who by profession was despised by the people. Why did the religious leaders find fault with Jesus for making friends with sinners and tax collectors like Matthew? The orthodox Jews had a habit of dividing everyone into two groups: those who rigidly kept the law and its minute regulations and those who did not. They latter were treated like second class citizens. The orthodox scrupulously avoided their company, refused to do business with them, refused to give or receive anything from them, refused to intermarry, and avoided any form of entertainment with them, including table fellowship. Jesus' association with the latter, especially with tax collectors and sinners, shocked the sensibilities of these orthodox Jews. - Don Schwager.
We must ask ourselves, “Am I helping or hindering people from entering the Kingdom of God? What does my life, reactions, and responses say about what I believe?” The following poem may best describe us.
The Star Market
by Marie Howe
The people Jesus loved were shopping at the Star Market yesterday.
An old lead-colored man standing next to me at the checkout
breathed so heavily I had to step back a few steps.
Even after his bags were packed he still stood, breathing hard and
hawking into his hand. The feeble, the lame, I could hardly look at them: shuffling through the aisles, they smelled of decay, as if the Star Market
had declared a day off for the able-bodied, and I had wandered in
with the rest of them—sour milk, bad meat—
looking for cereal and spring water.
Jesus must have been a saint, I said to myself, looking for my lost car
in the parking lot later, stumbling among the people who would have
been lowered into rooms by ropes, who would have crept
out of caves or crawled from the corners of public baths on their hands
and knees begging for mercy.
If I touch only the hem of his garment, one woman thought, could I bear the look on his face when he wheels around?
"Lord Jesus, our Savior, let us now come to you: Our hearts are cold; Lord, warm them with your selfless love. Our hearts are sinful; cleanse them with your precious blood. Our hearts are weak; strengthen them with your joyous Spirit. Our hearts are empty; fill them with your divine presence. Lord Jesus, our hearts are yours; possess them always and only for yourself." (Prayer of Augustine, 4th century)
Pharisee-ism repels, pushes away, judges, compares, binds, conforms, weighs down, and imprisons. It says, ”Behold I stand at my door and judge. Prove you are worthy.” It is a legalistic view saying, “ They don’t deserve it, they are not as good as we are. We have to keep them away from us.”
God’s grace and mercy seek. draw, attract, welcome, heal, restores rescue, comfort, help, transform, loosen, lighten, and free. Their cry is, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. Whosoever. Come, drink freely of the Waters of Salvation."
What draws us to the throne of God's mercy and grace? Mark tells us that many people were drawn to Jesus, including the unwanted and the unlovable, such as the lame, the blind, and the lepers, as well as the homeless such as widows and orphans. But public sinners, like the town prostitutes and corrupt tax collectors, were also drawn to Jesus. In calling Matthew to be one of his disciples, Jesus picked one of the unlikeliest of men – a tax collector who by profession was despised by the people. Why did the religious leaders find fault with Jesus for making friends with sinners and tax collectors like Matthew? The orthodox Jews had a habit of dividing everyone into two groups: those who rigidly kept the law and its minute regulations and those who did not. They latter were treated like second class citizens. The orthodox scrupulously avoided their company, refused to do business with them, refused to give or receive anything from them, refused to intermarry, and avoided any form of entertainment with them, including table fellowship. Jesus' association with the latter, especially with tax collectors and sinners, shocked the sensibilities of these orthodox Jews. - Don Schwager.
We must ask ourselves, “Am I helping or hindering people from entering the Kingdom of God? What does my life, reactions, and responses say about what I believe?” The following poem may best describe us.
The Star Market
by Marie Howe
The people Jesus loved were shopping at the Star Market yesterday.
An old lead-colored man standing next to me at the checkout
breathed so heavily I had to step back a few steps.
Even after his bags were packed he still stood, breathing hard and
hawking into his hand. The feeble, the lame, I could hardly look at them: shuffling through the aisles, they smelled of decay, as if the Star Market
had declared a day off for the able-bodied, and I had wandered in
with the rest of them—sour milk, bad meat—
looking for cereal and spring water.
Jesus must have been a saint, I said to myself, looking for my lost car
in the parking lot later, stumbling among the people who would have
been lowered into rooms by ropes, who would have crept
out of caves or crawled from the corners of public baths on their hands
and knees begging for mercy.
If I touch only the hem of his garment, one woman thought, could I bear the look on his face when he wheels around?
"Lord Jesus, our Savior, let us now come to you: Our hearts are cold; Lord, warm them with your selfless love. Our hearts are sinful; cleanse them with your precious blood. Our hearts are weak; strengthen them with your joyous Spirit. Our hearts are empty; fill them with your divine presence. Lord Jesus, our hearts are yours; possess them always and only for yourself." (Prayer of Augustine, 4th century)
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Walk In Love
We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
(1 Jn 4:16 NASB)
… and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. (Ep 5:2 NASB)
… and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ep 5:2 NIV)
Love is not a set of rules, that if we just follow them, we will be doing it right. As a matter of fact, love is more about being than about doing, Love is more about being Jesus to those we are around, than it is about doing something for them.
If we approach walking in love as doing, we will not draw close to the heart of God, nor will we enable others to. We can do and say a lot of good things, without caring about the individual, but only that we respond correctly. However, we will never be Jesus to those around us without loving Him and them. It is far more than a general love for mankind, though we should have that. It has to be individualized. It has to be towards the person who is before us right now.
Love cares … Love helps … Love gives … Love adds … Love values … Love always wants God’s best for whoever is before us. To quote from 1 Corinthians 13 “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails;
The kind of love that God requires we walk in cannot be worked up. It can only be walked out as we worked out what God has put within us. It doesn’t come by study, though that illumines our mind. It doesn’t come by being encourage to, though that will increase our resolve. It only comes as we take time to let the tide of God’s Spirit and God’s Word wash through us, flowing in and flowing back out changing us, changing our motives, and changing those around us.
I came across the following poem which seem to fit well with these thoughts.
Walk In Love
By Curtis R. McComis
As sunshine is to the earth, so is love to a person
Without sunshine, a plant will die
So without love a person will also die
Love is our breath of life
Love is the first gift of the Holy Spirit
Love holds a sick person's hand
Love looks beyond our faults and meets our needs
Love is the vitamins that keeps us healthy
Love stays in all types of weather
Love is the same today and forever
Love heals the broken-hearted
Love is not some kind of feelings and emotions
but love is actions comforting the lonely
Love has eyes to see, and ears to hear
(1 Jn 4:16 NASB)
… and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. (Ep 5:2 NASB)
… and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ep 5:2 NIV)
Love is not a set of rules, that if we just follow them, we will be doing it right. As a matter of fact, love is more about being than about doing, Love is more about being Jesus to those we are around, than it is about doing something for them.
If we approach walking in love as doing, we will not draw close to the heart of God, nor will we enable others to. We can do and say a lot of good things, without caring about the individual, but only that we respond correctly. However, we will never be Jesus to those around us without loving Him and them. It is far more than a general love for mankind, though we should have that. It has to be individualized. It has to be towards the person who is before us right now.
Love cares … Love helps … Love gives … Love adds … Love values … Love always wants God’s best for whoever is before us. To quote from 1 Corinthians 13 “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails;
The kind of love that God requires we walk in cannot be worked up. It can only be walked out as we worked out what God has put within us. It doesn’t come by study, though that illumines our mind. It doesn’t come by being encourage to, though that will increase our resolve. It only comes as we take time to let the tide of God’s Spirit and God’s Word wash through us, flowing in and flowing back out changing us, changing our motives, and changing those around us.
I came across the following poem which seem to fit well with these thoughts.
Walk In Love
By Curtis R. McComis
Without sunshine, a plant will die
So without love a person will also die
Love is our breath of life
Love is the first gift of the Holy Spirit
Love holds a sick person's hand
Love looks beyond our faults and meets our needs
Love is the vitamins that keeps us healthy
Love stays in all types of weather
Love is the same today and forever
Love heals the broken-hearted
Love is not some kind of feelings and emotions
but love is actions comforting the lonely
Love has eyes to see, and ears to hear
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Why And Where
I received a question from a friend and thought I would post the answer here also.
WHY IS YOUR BLOG CALLED 'OPEN UP THE GATES", AND WHERE ARE THE REFERENCES FOR THE SCRIPTURE VERSES UNDER IT.
I called it 'Open Up The Gates' to signify a life opened up to God. Not just being open to God and His input, but being opened up to God totally, no holding back, not waiting to see what He will do or say or require, but saying "Yes" to Him before any of that is know.
The Scripture References
I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw… This is from proverbs 24:32, but you need to look at the whole proverb. It is about how God speaks to us with everyday ordinary circumstances, and sometimes not ordinary, to reveal himself, His purposes, His ways, life principles, etc. But we have to observe, think about it, and learn from it.
For God does speak—now one way, now another— though man may not perceive it… This is Job 33:14, and again I recommend reading the whole chapter. It has to do with God speaking to us in various ways even when we don't realize He is.
Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. This is from Ps 24:7 , and again read the whole Psalm. We have a choice about letting the Lord in (our lives, our homes, our situations, etc). We also have to open the door which takes some effort on our part and we need to have a willingness to accept what He will do or say or change, in other words, what His will will be.
WHY IS YOUR BLOG CALLED 'OPEN UP THE GATES", AND WHERE ARE THE REFERENCES FOR THE SCRIPTURE VERSES UNDER IT.
I called it 'Open Up The Gates' to signify a life opened up to God. Not just being open to God and His input, but being opened up to God totally, no holding back, not waiting to see what He will do or say or require, but saying "Yes" to Him before any of that is know.
The Scripture References
I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw… This is from proverbs 24:32, but you need to look at the whole proverb. It is about how God speaks to us with everyday ordinary circumstances, and sometimes not ordinary, to reveal himself, His purposes, His ways, life principles, etc. But we have to observe, think about it, and learn from it.
For God does speak—now one way, now another— though man may not perceive it… This is Job 33:14, and again I recommend reading the whole chapter. It has to do with God speaking to us in various ways even when we don't realize He is.
Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. This is from Ps 24:7 , and again read the whole Psalm. We have a choice about letting the Lord in (our lives, our homes, our situations, etc). We also have to open the door which takes some effort on our part and we need to have a willingness to accept what He will do or say or change, in other words, what His will will be.
Friday, January 11, 2008
The Purpose of the Desert
(From TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1 by Os HillmanMonday, January 07 2008)
Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. - Hosea 2:14
If you have an important message to convey to someone, what is the best means of getting the message through? Have you ever tried to talk with someone who was so busy you could not get him to hear you? Distractions prevent us from giving our undivided attention to the messenger. So too, God has His way of taking us aside to get our undivided attention. For Paul, it was Arabia for three years; for Moses, it was 40 years in the desert; for Joseph, it was 13 years in Egypt; for David, it was many years of fleeing from King Saul.
God knows the stubborn human heart. He knows that if He is to accomplish His deepest work, He must take us into the desert in order to give us the privilege to be used in His Kingdom. In the desert God changes us and removes things that hinder us. He forces us to draw deep upon His grace. The desert is only a season in our life. When He has accomplished what He wants in our lives in the desert, He will bring us out. He has given us a mission to fulfill that can only be fulfilled after we have spent adequate time in preparation in the desert.
Fear not the desert, for it is here you will hear God's voice like never before. It is here you become His bride. It is here you will have the idols of your life removed. It is here you begin to experience the reality of a living God like never before. Someone once said, "God uses enlarged trials to produce enlarged saints so He can put them in enlarged places!"
He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me (2 Samuel 22:20).
Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. - Hosea 2:14
If you have an important message to convey to someone, what is the best means of getting the message through? Have you ever tried to talk with someone who was so busy you could not get him to hear you? Distractions prevent us from giving our undivided attention to the messenger. So too, God has His way of taking us aside to get our undivided attention. For Paul, it was Arabia for three years; for Moses, it was 40 years in the desert; for Joseph, it was 13 years in Egypt; for David, it was many years of fleeing from King Saul.
God knows the stubborn human heart. He knows that if He is to accomplish His deepest work, He must take us into the desert in order to give us the privilege to be used in His Kingdom. In the desert God changes us and removes things that hinder us. He forces us to draw deep upon His grace. The desert is only a season in our life. When He has accomplished what He wants in our lives in the desert, He will bring us out. He has given us a mission to fulfill that can only be fulfilled after we have spent adequate time in preparation in the desert.
Fear not the desert, for it is here you will hear God's voice like never before. It is here you become His bride. It is here you will have the idols of your life removed. It is here you begin to experience the reality of a living God like never before. Someone once said, "God uses enlarged trials to produce enlarged saints so He can put them in enlarged places!"
He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me (2 Samuel 22:20).
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Progression
The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. (Prov 4:18)
The Christian life is to be progressive. It is pictured as darkness being overtaken by dawn’s gentle intrusion breaking into full day. There is to be growth. Without growth, there has been no life exchange, only unknown stumbling in shades of darkness.
Our knowledge of and fellowship with God is to be progressive. We are to be growing in the grace and knowledge of out Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Our intimacy with God is to be increasing, and as we are learning His ways, we should be increasingly living in such a way that pleases Him.
Our life is to be increasingly illuminated and effected by the Light. That Light dispels darkness, increasingly shows the path of righteous living, and either attracts or repels those around us.
Let’s walk in increasing light as God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. (1 Jn 1:5)
The ways of right-living people glow with light; the longer they live, the brighter they shine. But the road of wrongdoing gets darker and darker— travelers can't see a thing; they fall flat on their faces. (Prov 4:18-19 MSG)
The Christian life is to be progressive. It is pictured as darkness being overtaken by dawn’s gentle intrusion breaking into full day. There is to be growth. Without growth, there has been no life exchange, only unknown stumbling in shades of darkness.
Our knowledge of and fellowship with God is to be progressive. We are to be growing in the grace and knowledge of out Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Our intimacy with God is to be increasing, and as we are learning His ways, we should be increasingly living in such a way that pleases Him.
Our life is to be increasingly illuminated and effected by the Light. That Light dispels darkness, increasingly shows the path of righteous living, and either attracts or repels those around us.
Let’s walk in increasing light as God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. (1 Jn 1:5)
The ways of right-living people glow with light; the longer they live, the brighter they shine. But the road of wrongdoing gets darker and darker— travelers can't see a thing; they fall flat on their faces. (Prov 4:18-19 MSG)
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