It has been a very nice day overall. I got two very nice cards today, one from the boys and one from Lory. I have been stressed out a little bit lately but its worth it. Working toward my degree is reminding me how much school can drive me nuts. I am so proud of Lory, she has started driving further than she has in years, and has been doing great in school (even if she doesn’t think so). Within the last two weeks we have built a play set that was annoying but the kids love it. Dug and installed the underground fence, just have to make a few tweaks and then hopefully we can let Joy run free. Poor Richard was diagnosed with pneumonia two weeks ago, thought he was better and we found out it has actually gotten worse. I have to say the Lord is good even when we don’t expect or deserve it. I have grown to enjoy and look forward to going to the men’s group full of outdoors men. I know the Lord is doing some great things in my life even though we are having some rough times.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Do You Know the Time?
How many of us with children have left them with a babysitter? One of the first questions they ask is “when do you plan on coming back?” Well in the main part of the text Christ is talking about his return. He is explaining to his disciples that when he returns he will separate the good from the bad. In (Matt 24:45-47) Christ describes the good servant the one who is doing the will of his master while he is gone expecting him to return at any moment. Then in (Matt 24:48-51) he depicts the evil servant who after presuming that the master is not returning begins beating his fellow servants and living a life of drunkenness, and the master returns and we are told he will “cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites.”(v 51a) The rest of our reference scripture is about the parable of ten virgins waiting on the bride groom. Christ in this parable is speaking about himself and his return. Jesus is the bridegroom and the virgins are believers. The main difference he makes is that some will be wise and others will be foolish. The wise will bring enough oil for their lamps since they do not know when the groom will come. Now the foolish not having enough oil want to borrow from the wise, but the wise are unwilling to share because they would then run out and be unable to make it to the one calling for them. We can look at the oil in the story as our faith, while we live our lives waiting on the Lord’s return some will run out of faith while others live out theirs. Those who run out are going to ask to live off of those who have, to no avail.
Well in summarizing the story that follows the parable of the ten virgins, is that of the talents (Matt 25:14-30). We are not used to the phrase talent as they were in ancient times, to them a talent was a measure of money not a simple coin but a great sum (depending on the metal could be up to 20 years wages). The man refers to Christ who has given talents (skills and abilities) to his church, and he will return to find who has used them wisely. To those who have used them wisely he will give more and to the one who does not he takes away what they did have and cast them out (one commentary says to be exposed as hypocrites and destroyed v.30). As for the story that comes before our selected text that gets a little tricky because we start in the middle of one story. So for our purposes I will go just beyond the beginning of that story (Matt 24:36-42). This text starts out referring to the days of Noah and the pending judgment of God. Again these people were leading lives displeasing to God. So by the Lord telling Noah to build an ark, was warning the world he was going to unleash devastation. However since it took so long for Noah to build the ark people thought he was plain old crazy, until the world was flooded. All because no one would listen to the warnings and trust that he was going to do what He promised.
When I look at all of these stories with a more critical eye I am able to see several lines of connection and distinction. The overarching theme is to be prepared for the return of the Lord, because we do not know when he will come again. Upon his arrival we should be found as “good and faithful servants”. Then there are some areas of contrast between the wise servants and the evil, the prepared and unprepared virgins, and the faithful and unfaithful use of talents. They all correlate to either being wise or foolish. I write this hoping the Lord finds us all about his work in a wise manner.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
How Far Are You Willing to Go?
When considering this assignment I knew almost immediately the “Hero” I most related to, was Jonathan. Jonathan was a curious young man, who was loyal to a fault at times. According to some of today’s standards Jonathan would be a fool. Primarily because he became best of friends with the man who would take the throne from his father, ending his families reign. He chose not care about being king, instead he chose to care more about his friend “As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 2 And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father’s house. 3 Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. 4 And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt.” [1] This was a young man who allowed God to lead him knowing that the will of God was for David to be the next king. He willing gave up everything from his chance to rule all the way down to the clothes on his back. Another great thing about Jonathan was that he was willing to put his life on the line against his own father, knowing that Saul was out to kill David. He never turned his back on his friend, nor did he leave his home and his allegiance to his father. To some his loyalty may have been a weakness in my opinion it was a great strength.
In many ways I feel like I have been a Jonathan with two David’s in my life. I have called both of them my brothers and have given each of them the shirt off of my back literally. They each hold a special place in my life, one I have known since before my conversion to Christianity and the other helped lead me to Christ. Wendall and I go back to our teenage years; we did all most all of our dirt together. It is hard for either one of us to start a story from that era without mentioning the others name. I can recall a time when he and his girlfriend were having some issues with his ex and her family. We hoped in the car, while keeping an eye on his girlfriend while she was trying to leave her house. We were spotted by a family member and chased through one of the worst neighborhoods in the area. We would have gotten away except we got pinned in on a one way street, and the family members came up on us with weapons making threats. Now “B” and I were business partners. He helped lead me to the Lord. I was around for him when he needed someone on several occasions. I gave material possessions, a place to live when he moved back here from Atlanta. After awhile I began to surpass him spiritually and became an advisor to him. That was until he chose to reject my influence and walk a path I knew all too well, of alcohol dependence and self reliance. He ended our friendship on a sour note, but has since repented of his sins and recommitted to the Lord. After he turned his life back around he told me he can now see all I ever tried to do was love him according to Scripture.
In Courageous Faith, Dr. Hindson says “People need people. That’s what life is all about. God created us with a desire for personal relationships. Instead of avoiding people, we all need to learn how to reach out to people. Our words of encouragement, acts of kindness, and attitudes of acceptance communicate to people that we care about them.”(pg 175) I think we all have at least a little bit of Jonathan in us all. We can allow that to grow and become a stronger characteristic in our lives by stepping out of our comfort zones and living in someone else’s life. So how far are you willing to go to love someone else? Are you willing to deny what could or should be rightly yours to allow someone else the chance to live according to God’s will or are you going to fight it tooth and nail? Jonathan gave in and allowed God’s will to prevail which allowed us to have prophecy fulfilled that Messiah would come from the house of David, and sit on the throne forever.
[1]The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (1 Sa 18:1-4). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Living According to the Spirit
This entry is based on a paper i did for my NT survey class and the section of Scripture referenced was Galatians 5:16-18.
The book of Galatians was written by the Apostle Paul to the churches in Galatia, but we are not exactly which part of the country. Now most of the commentaries I have read lean more toward the southern portions of the country because he spoke to them in such a direct manner, as though he had spent generous amounts of time with them, which could have taken place while he was on his mission trips.
Since accepting the gospel of Jesus Christ you are free from the bondage of the Law. Do not abuse your freedom as a chance to sin more, but as a reason to love all the more accordingly to the great commandment. If we live in a manner according to the Spirit we will not gratify our fleshly desires. Keep in mind that the desires of the flesh and of the Spirit have no room for one another. So in being led by the Spirit we are no longer under the Law. Make sure to pay close attention to those around you because the works of their flesh are evident. You will also know those in whom the Spirit dwells because you will see their fruit. So live in the Spirit and you will not give into sin, remember that the Spirit and the flesh cannot occupy the same space, knowing that being led by the Spirit frees you from the Law.
Now the audience that Paul was writing to was a church that he had planted. While he was away however another group of preachers came around preaching another gospel. The gospel these men were preaching was a gospel of Jesus plus circumcision. These men were often called Judaizers. This same sect was also trying to challenge the authority of Paul’s Apostleship. Hopefully for all of us we do not rely on works to grant us salvation or have someone preaching it to us. We can also trust that Scripture is true and that Paul was an Apostle.
We should walk according to the Spirit and in doing so we will not gratify the desires of the flesh. And we are no longer bound by the Law but free in the Spirit.
Now to bring this all home let’s see what this will look like in our lives. I will use myself as an example, when I was younger I was an addict. I was addicted to alcohol, nicotine, marijuana, and pornography. Since my conversion I have not had major struggles with all of these things but there have been some more than others. I have been able to combat these struggles not of my own accord but in trusting the Lord and spending time in His word and with Him. The closer I get to Him the further I get from my sinful desires. One of my favorite groups is Pillar and they have a song called “Further from Myself” which falls in line with what we are talking about.
A way we can look at being free from the Law is to look at the food customs when Peter was told that what God declares clean is clean.(Acts 10:11-15) So Jews today still hold to Kosher products refusing to eat pork and certain kinds of meat, seafood, and etc. By us being set free from the Law we are no longer accountable to the Law. So go have a some good food and thank the Lord he has set you free to eat it.
Monday, April 5, 2010
You Want Me To Do What ?!?
The Lord in his good and perfect grace saved me in August 2002. It was around six months after my conversion that I felt the Lord put a call on my life to minister his word. Just like Moses I felt like “God you have got the wrong man.” Remember God met Moses at the burning bush in Exodus 3 & 4 informing Moses of the task at hand. All Moses wanted to do was come up with reasons why he could not do them. Moses got to speak with Jehovah through a bush, as for me He actually showed me in dreams what I was supposed to do. Due to the circumstances surrounding my life I constantly feel like a failure, or feel like I am inadequate to accomplish any goal. In my life whether at work or at church I am the outsider and very rarely listened to because I feel they think I lack authority. Just as Moses felt like an outsider while in Egypt, he was a Jew raised in the palace. He was never treated like any other Jew, by either side.
I think I get looked at like a child especially in my church because my education is not up to par with others in my community or life stage. However Moses did not have that problem because he was raised in the palace of the Pharaoh, and he was highly educated. I have offered before to lead a small group or to help assist or even teach a Sunday school class, but I have never received a second look from my leadership. So this makes me feel extremely insecure, like” Okay Lord did I hear you correctly.” The only thing that keeps me going to pursue my dream and goal in spite of everything is trusting that the Lord is in control. “And I am the God who made you with your limitation. I want to use you despite your limitation so that you will bring glory to Me.” (CF pg 67) My hearts cry is to bring glory to Jesus with all that I do in my life! In starting these classes I pray that he will be glorified in my work .My biggest fear is that I will screw up. I have been saying for so long how I feel called to His work, and here is my chance to show people that this is what I was made to do. I pray I don’t screw up and ruin the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Right now at this stage of my life I am travelling in the wilderness. I have been out of work for close to two months now, just started attending school, while living in my mothers’ house with my family. On top of everything I live my life day to day feeling like I have few friends, no money, and unfit to be alive some days. But there is comfort in knowing that the Lord has made the promise “For the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them.” (Deut 4:31 ESV) So trusting that the word of the Lord is true I know that where I am right now is not where he is going to leave me. Because “Despite all the difficulties, it was there in the wilderness that God’s greatest blessings came” (CF pg 72) And holding fast to the words of Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”[1] So just like Moses I hope to lead God’s people well, remain in his presence and always pursue His will. May we all be like Christ in the garden in praying “And he said “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”[2]
[1]The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Ro 8:28). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
[2]The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Mk 14:36). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
Courageous Faith : Dr Ed Hindson