Seeing this next passage with new eyes this morning...
"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
What gain has the worker from his toil?
I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil - this is God's gift to man." - Ecclesiastes 3:1-13 ESV
God-given seasons. God-given toil. I think the key passage that puts the rest into perspective is this one.
"I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with." - Ecclesiastes 3:10 ESV
" 'All things are lawful,' but not all things are helpful. 'All things are lawful,' but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor... So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." - 1 Corinthians 10:23-24, 31 ESV
Yes. Yes. Yes.
When we are in the glory of God business each season has a place and makes sense eventually. The Greek word there is doxa (Strong's G1391) and it is a 'revealing.' It is a true account made by a believable witness.
A polished outside isn't what glorifies God. Grace, mercy, truth and redemption do. Forgiveness. Rebound (getting back up when we fall). Living in a new identity. Being free inside. Struggling with God for 'the blessing' until He lets us win.
"For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." - Romans 14:17 ESV
Not every season is easy or comfortable or fun but there is a glory waiting in each one for them that believe. God can be revealed as He Is.
"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me...' " - John 14:6 ESV
Jesus is the revealer of God. God can't be known correctly without Him but if we have Him and He has us glory is going to happen. That glory is man's highest truest joy.
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Showing posts with label Work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Work. Show all posts
Friday, March 23, 2018
Thursday, August 3, 2017
Making Tough Choices
Many of us don't find work to be fun. We go but it is a fight. 'Do what you love.' may not always be an option for us but we make a choice because we have weighed our options and work allows us certain benefits. It is great if we love what we do but even if that is true we likely have aspects of work that are not our favorite but they are necessary. We do what we need to do because we are adults and it is part of being a mature responsible person.
Purpose or pleasure. Which will it be? Sometimes you can't have your cake and eat it too. Sometimes you and I must just make a choice and live with that choice. It we choose in anger, exhaustion, self-justification or exasperation we may live to regret what we did because in those states we are seeking relief and are often not building on a future happiness.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." - John 3:16-17 ESV
"But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors." - Isaiah 53:10-12 NASB
God has made some tough choices because of love. We can also. Love is pleasurable but it has stages that we must tough out because we care about the end result. God gave us free will and He has had some hard days because of that choice. His hardest day was the cross but God 'was pleased' to crush His Son so that we could be reconciled. That boggles the mind.
Don't quit.
Don't throw up your hands and self medicate.
Don't choose pleasure over purpose. Let's have pleasure in our purpose because our purpose aligns with God's purpose. If we value investment and redemption all the sweat and tears will contribute to a great increase.
"Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For, 'Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.' But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls." - Hebrews 10:35-39 ESV
Yes and Amen.
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Purpose or pleasure. Which will it be? Sometimes you can't have your cake and eat it too. Sometimes you and I must just make a choice and live with that choice. It we choose in anger, exhaustion, self-justification or exasperation we may live to regret what we did because in those states we are seeking relief and are often not building on a future happiness.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." - John 3:16-17 ESV
"But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors." - Isaiah 53:10-12 NASB
God has made some tough choices because of love. We can also. Love is pleasurable but it has stages that we must tough out because we care about the end result. God gave us free will and He has had some hard days because of that choice. His hardest day was the cross but God 'was pleased' to crush His Son so that we could be reconciled. That boggles the mind.
Don't quit.
Don't throw up your hands and self medicate.
Don't choose pleasure over purpose. Let's have pleasure in our purpose because our purpose aligns with God's purpose. If we value investment and redemption all the sweat and tears will contribute to a great increase.
"Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For, 'Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.' But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls." - Hebrews 10:35-39 ESV
Yes and Amen.
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Monday, October 19, 2015
Wholesome Words In The Ark Of God
"By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith." - Hebrews 11:7 ESV
"For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed - God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us. For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers." - 1 Thessalonians 2:3-10 ESV
God's Love becomes a refuge from events as yet unseen.
There are men who use the truth to take. But then there are those who labor to give. They labor to give gently.
"The word of the LORD came to me: 'Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord GOD: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts.' " - Ezekiel 34:1-5 ESV
God has given us an ark. He has sent His Son. His Son Is our ark. We labor against the idea that God wants to take something away. Sometimes the labor is to undo the work that shepherds who feed their belly have done.
God wants people to be in the ark He has prepared because they will be safe there. The storm can still be a bruising affair. Even in the ark we get tossed around but it is nothing like what it's like to be outside.
We can have great physical needs and yet we go to God and He becomes our strong tower. He becomes a place of safety and perspective.
We often go through needy times where if we don't get help from people and from God we might not make it. There is no shame in that. Those times create humility. Those times remove sentimentality. We either become people who use others as a lifestyle or we find the ark and become people who labor to be gentle create an atmosphere where people are safe so that they will choose to enter the ark that has been revealed to us.
"Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." - Ephesians 4:28-32 ESV
Yes. I was a thief. But grace transforms thieves into people who give grace.
--
"For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed - God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us. For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers." - 1 Thessalonians 2:3-10 ESV
God's Love becomes a refuge from events as yet unseen.
There are men who use the truth to take. But then there are those who labor to give. They labor to give gently.
"The word of the LORD came to me: 'Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord GOD: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts.' " - Ezekiel 34:1-5 ESV
God has given us an ark. He has sent His Son. His Son Is our ark. We labor against the idea that God wants to take something away. Sometimes the labor is to undo the work that shepherds who feed their belly have done.
God wants people to be in the ark He has prepared because they will be safe there. The storm can still be a bruising affair. Even in the ark we get tossed around but it is nothing like what it's like to be outside.
We can have great physical needs and yet we go to God and He becomes our strong tower. He becomes a place of safety and perspective.
We often go through needy times where if we don't get help from people and from God we might not make it. There is no shame in that. Those times create humility. Those times remove sentimentality. We either become people who use others as a lifestyle or we find the ark and become people who labor to be gentle create an atmosphere where people are safe so that they will choose to enter the ark that has been revealed to us.
"Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." - Ephesians 4:28-32 ESV
Yes. I was a thief. But grace transforms thieves into people who give grace.
--
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
The Work Of The Lord And Our Labors Of Love
Let the finished work of Christ overflow in your life.
"But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." - 1 Corinthians 15:57-58 ESV
The Greek word there for abounding is Perisseuo (Strong's G4052) and it speaks of an overflow. It isn't an overflow of what we have done in some kind of Christian service. It is the overflow of what Christ has done. Jesus' victory has an overflow.
The phrase 'the work of the Lord' uses the word Ergon (G2041) and this is the work of a business. A business is there to make a profit. That is why it exists. Jesus' victory is a profitable one. It has an overflowing pay out.
The 'labor' spoken of that is not in vain uses Kopos (G2873) and this speaks of an emotionally involved labor that is the result of trouble of some kind. It isn't profitable. It is hoping to minimize loss. It is the labor of stacking up sand bang so that an area won't be flooded or of driving all night to be with someone in trouble and help them.
I love that the person who Is laboring must remain steadfast and immovable. They won't leave the spot where Jesus died, was buried and rose again. They live and have power because He Is risen and seated at the right hand of His Father.
Oh, That helps me put things in perspective. I can worship God because the victory has already been won! I have lists of things to do this week that need to be done but I am not doing them to gain something. I have a victory that overflows that I can be steadfast in. I go to work so that I can put gas in my car so that I can drive all night and stack sand bags. I labor so that I can be in front of people to tell them about Jesus to recover something that could be lost.
We can start the day thanking God and then refuse to let trouble move us away from that thankful state of mind. If we begin to stray we can return. That is the place of power and overflow. We are victorious ones when we won't be moved from Christ's victory.
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"But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." - 1 Corinthians 15:57-58 ESV
The Greek word there for abounding is Perisseuo (Strong's G4052) and it speaks of an overflow. It isn't an overflow of what we have done in some kind of Christian service. It is the overflow of what Christ has done. Jesus' victory has an overflow.
The phrase 'the work of the Lord' uses the word Ergon (G2041) and this is the work of a business. A business is there to make a profit. That is why it exists. Jesus' victory is a profitable one. It has an overflowing pay out.
The 'labor' spoken of that is not in vain uses Kopos (G2873) and this speaks of an emotionally involved labor that is the result of trouble of some kind. It isn't profitable. It is hoping to minimize loss. It is the labor of stacking up sand bang so that an area won't be flooded or of driving all night to be with someone in trouble and help them.
I love that the person who Is laboring must remain steadfast and immovable. They won't leave the spot where Jesus died, was buried and rose again. They live and have power because He Is risen and seated at the right hand of His Father.
Oh, That helps me put things in perspective. I can worship God because the victory has already been won! I have lists of things to do this week that need to be done but I am not doing them to gain something. I have a victory that overflows that I can be steadfast in. I go to work so that I can put gas in my car so that I can drive all night and stack sand bags. I labor so that I can be in front of people to tell them about Jesus to recover something that could be lost.
We can start the day thanking God and then refuse to let trouble move us away from that thankful state of mind. If we begin to stray we can return. That is the place of power and overflow. We are victorious ones when we won't be moved from Christ's victory.
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Saturday, May 9, 2015
Career Choices
I was thinking today how it is good to think in terms of 'a career'. At some point we must make the transition of thinking moment to moment and start thinking long term. This applies to work but it also applies to our spiritual lives.
"Thus it is written, 'The first man Adam became a living being'; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual." - 1 Corinthians 15:45-46 ESV
"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." - 1 Corinthians 15:22 KJV
Adam lived but in the end he was known for his failure. Just being alive will not be praiseworthy when we stand before God. Jesus had a calling. He was and Is a quickener. God is very happy with His Son and in Him we find our calling. We have a life through Adam but Jesus gives us a ministry.
"Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election" - 2 Peter 1:10a ESV
We don't have any say in our election. Nor do we have much say in some of the circumstances we find ourselves in. It is good to be sure about why we are in our present circumstances. We are here because God has us here. We are here as called ones. Circumstances are not just things to survive they are stepping stones on a career of faith.
"Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God." - 1 Corinthians 4:5 ESV
Everyone who believes will have praise from God. Anyone who continues believing will have a long list of things for God to commend. It is not our works but our life of faith that is given as a gift from God.
"Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God;" - Romans 14:10 ESV
God's judgement seat is a reward seat. God will reward us and he will reward those around us who have believed. I want to cheer for you when you stand there and not be ashamed because I operated as a judge when I should have been a friend.
"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil." - 2 Corinthians 5:10 ESV
Good here is Agathos (Strong's G18) which means agreeably, useful or lovely and evil is Phaulos (Strong's G5337) which speaks of easy, worthless or something of no account. A believers judgement will be about useful and not useful.
God is going to deal with our career on that day. It won't be about our self life it will be about our career. A professional makes career oriented decisions. Good or bad is useful or not useful. That is how I want to think. What will be useful when I eventually stand before God?
Men are often not known for the little things they do day to day. History records important moments when people made crucial decisions. Those decisions are often not easy ones. A career of faith prepares us to make useful choices in those crucial moments.
It gives new meaning to the common question, 'So what do you do for a living?'
We can say with confidence that we are more than just alive. Believers have careers of faith.
--
"Thus it is written, 'The first man Adam became a living being'; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual." - 1 Corinthians 15:45-46 ESV
"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." - 1 Corinthians 15:22 KJV
Adam lived but in the end he was known for his failure. Just being alive will not be praiseworthy when we stand before God. Jesus had a calling. He was and Is a quickener. God is very happy with His Son and in Him we find our calling. We have a life through Adam but Jesus gives us a ministry.
"Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election" - 2 Peter 1:10a ESV
We don't have any say in our election. Nor do we have much say in some of the circumstances we find ourselves in. It is good to be sure about why we are in our present circumstances. We are here because God has us here. We are here as called ones. Circumstances are not just things to survive they are stepping stones on a career of faith.
"Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God." - 1 Corinthians 4:5 ESV
Everyone who believes will have praise from God. Anyone who continues believing will have a long list of things for God to commend. It is not our works but our life of faith that is given as a gift from God.
"Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God;" - Romans 14:10 ESV
God's judgement seat is a reward seat. God will reward us and he will reward those around us who have believed. I want to cheer for you when you stand there and not be ashamed because I operated as a judge when I should have been a friend.
"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil." - 2 Corinthians 5:10 ESV
Good here is Agathos (Strong's G18) which means agreeably, useful or lovely and evil is Phaulos (Strong's G5337) which speaks of easy, worthless or something of no account. A believers judgement will be about useful and not useful.
God is going to deal with our career on that day. It won't be about our self life it will be about our career. A professional makes career oriented decisions. Good or bad is useful or not useful. That is how I want to think. What will be useful when I eventually stand before God?
Men are often not known for the little things they do day to day. History records important moments when people made crucial decisions. Those decisions are often not easy ones. A career of faith prepares us to make useful choices in those crucial moments.
It gives new meaning to the common question, 'So what do you do for a living?'
We can say with confidence that we are more than just alive. Believers have careers of faith.
--
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
The Spinning Servant and The Written Servant
"Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast. By your appointment they stand this day, for all things are your servants." - Psalm 119:89-91 ESV
'They' are God's servants. The word and the Earth both fall into this category.
The sun rises and sets. The season come and go. The Earth spins on an axis. We have poisoned our planet but we have not changed it's appointments.
The Bible also expresses God's judgments and decrees. It reveals creation, human and angelic history and the incarnation. Careless men have handled it. Evil men have tried to destroy and quarantine it. Men have not changed it's appointments.
The Bible has outlived it's enemies and will continue to do so.
If the real purpose for speech was so that man could communicate with God in the garden and the real purpose for music was so beings could worship God then perhaps the real purpose of the internet is to house God's word. Like language people use it many other ways but I'm interested in seeing what will be written in God's history books about the subject.
How many purely spoken languages have been given a written form by Bible translators. I dare say most of them. Rome thought it was building roads to conquer the world but it was eventually conquered by the word of God as missionaries like Paul traveled those roads bearing good news.
"For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." - Isaiah 55:10-11 ESV
Grace sets me at ease. I can rest. God has already judged Christ in my place. God treats me with the favor He gives to His Son. God's grace and God's word together is an explosive combination. The word without grace is deadly but the word with grace is life. Jesus is the embodiment of grace and truth functioning in harmonious union.
We can be sure that God's word has appointments today and every day. It will do what God's sent it to do with or without us. Here we are with the Bible dwelling in us. It is going to do the work. God will do the work through His word. The living word came to die on a cross and do the work of salvation. The Gospel of grace will do what needs to be done day to day in our lives.
The question is if we want to be right in the thick of that work seeing it change lives or on the sidelines hearing about it later because we refused to mix faith with the truth we were given.
God, We surrender to your love and mercy. We marvel at your grace. You are holy and You have made us holy people. Move us today. Fill us. Help us. We want to see the way and the path as it is illuminated by Your truth. Our confidence is invested in You and You alone.
---
'They' are God's servants. The word and the Earth both fall into this category.
The sun rises and sets. The season come and go. The Earth spins on an axis. We have poisoned our planet but we have not changed it's appointments.
The Bible also expresses God's judgments and decrees. It reveals creation, human and angelic history and the incarnation. Careless men have handled it. Evil men have tried to destroy and quarantine it. Men have not changed it's appointments.
The Bible has outlived it's enemies and will continue to do so.
If the real purpose for speech was so that man could communicate with God in the garden and the real purpose for music was so beings could worship God then perhaps the real purpose of the internet is to house God's word. Like language people use it many other ways but I'm interested in seeing what will be written in God's history books about the subject.
How many purely spoken languages have been given a written form by Bible translators. I dare say most of them. Rome thought it was building roads to conquer the world but it was eventually conquered by the word of God as missionaries like Paul traveled those roads bearing good news.
"For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." - Isaiah 55:10-11 ESV
Grace sets me at ease. I can rest. God has already judged Christ in my place. God treats me with the favor He gives to His Son. God's grace and God's word together is an explosive combination. The word without grace is deadly but the word with grace is life. Jesus is the embodiment of grace and truth functioning in harmonious union.
We can be sure that God's word has appointments today and every day. It will do what God's sent it to do with or without us. Here we are with the Bible dwelling in us. It is going to do the work. God will do the work through His word. The living word came to die on a cross and do the work of salvation. The Gospel of grace will do what needs to be done day to day in our lives.
The question is if we want to be right in the thick of that work seeing it change lives or on the sidelines hearing about it later because we refused to mix faith with the truth we were given.
God, We surrender to your love and mercy. We marvel at your grace. You are holy and You have made us holy people. Move us today. Fill us. Help us. We want to see the way and the path as it is illuminated by Your truth. Our confidence is invested in You and You alone.
---
Monday, June 10, 2013
Our Treasure Is Safe
Hope is the confident assurance that someone benevolent has things under control. When the goodness of the person in charge is in question or the confidence that things will be handled correctly is shaken people lose hope.
A person without hope must rely on whatever resources are at hand. They will despair, compromise or just try to take control of what they can.
Control requires effort.
"For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." 2 Timothy 1:12 KJV
"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Matthew 6:19-21 KJV
"By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." Romans 5:2 KJV
Faith gives us access to the knowledge that we are the beneficiaries of God's goodness and care. Pure grace is very stable.
If our work has to contribute to any of this it casts a shadow on our hope. That hope can truly be eclipsed in peoples lives if the Gospel of Grace is tampered with. Why? Because control is then shifted from God to us... or to other people. Anyone but God will prove to be unreliable. Treasure must be stored in a safe place for the soul to be at rest.
"and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." Romans 5:5 ESV
The human part of God's plan has been finished by Jesus. When that is revealed to us and we mix faith with the reality of God's gracious nature and that His far reaching plan has taken care us us in life and in death our inner being rejoices and we desire God to be revealed to others.
The only thing on my spiritual to do list today is to believe. Our treasure is safe.
"Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." John 6:28-29 KJV
That is the 'obedience of the faith' that we are called to and we may even fail in that area and if we do we can say 'turn me and I will be turned.'
"Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, 'I believe; help my unbelief!' " Mark 9:24 ESV
A word of grace will restore our hope because it reestablishes who is in charge and the goodness of the One in charge. Every important thing that is ours is under His constant care.
"For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Matthew 16:25-26 KJV
A believer in Christ has an anchor for the soul. Christ is the anchor of our soul and that anchor holds through every storm of life.
The Bible outlines God's plan for mankind from beginning to end. The future is safe. God has written all about what will be in broad strokes that no one can alter.
There is no need to live any part of the day with shadows cast over our hope. Our past is gone and our gracious God is in control of our present and our future. Our soul is safe. We can rest and worship from a place of rest.
A person without hope must rely on whatever resources are at hand. They will despair, compromise or just try to take control of what they can.
Control requires effort.
"For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." 2 Timothy 1:12 KJV
"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Matthew 6:19-21 KJV
"By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." Romans 5:2 KJV
Faith gives us access to the knowledge that we are the beneficiaries of God's goodness and care. Pure grace is very stable.
If our work has to contribute to any of this it casts a shadow on our hope. That hope can truly be eclipsed in peoples lives if the Gospel of Grace is tampered with. Why? Because control is then shifted from God to us... or to other people. Anyone but God will prove to be unreliable. Treasure must be stored in a safe place for the soul to be at rest.
"and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." Romans 5:5 ESV
The human part of God's plan has been finished by Jesus. When that is revealed to us and we mix faith with the reality of God's gracious nature and that His far reaching plan has taken care us us in life and in death our inner being rejoices and we desire God to be revealed to others.
The only thing on my spiritual to do list today is to believe. Our treasure is safe.
"Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." John 6:28-29 KJV
That is the 'obedience of the faith' that we are called to and we may even fail in that area and if we do we can say 'turn me and I will be turned.'
"Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, 'I believe; help my unbelief!' " Mark 9:24 ESV
A word of grace will restore our hope because it reestablishes who is in charge and the goodness of the One in charge. Every important thing that is ours is under His constant care.
"For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Matthew 16:25-26 KJV
A believer in Christ has an anchor for the soul. Christ is the anchor of our soul and that anchor holds through every storm of life.
The Bible outlines God's plan for mankind from beginning to end. The future is safe. God has written all about what will be in broad strokes that no one can alter.
There is no need to live any part of the day with shadows cast over our hope. Our past is gone and our gracious God is in control of our present and our future. Our soul is safe. We can rest and worship from a place of rest.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Airfare Included
When you go out to eat part of the pleasure of it is that someone else does all the preparation and clean up and you just get to sit back and enjoy the meal. Others even clear the plates and bring you coffee.
When God paid for our salvation meals and a airfare were all included in the ticket. We have unlimited minutes inside our family plan.
But, Cleaning something up requires work. Relationships require ongoing attention.
Our provisions are free but who does the work in life?
"And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed: Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat. He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat? He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes. And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass. And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties. And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. And they did all eat, and were filled. And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes. And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men." Mark 6:35-44
Thank God for the people who clean up the dishes in the sink. The ones who walk the dog, put gas in the car and mow the lawn.
Thank you God for those who open the church and practice in the band and make phone call after phone call to make sure people know they are loved.
'Would you like a piece of bread?' they say... 'It was broken and blessed by the Master.'
Into the crowd they go. Wading through the ocean of humanity with the supply of bread and fish. Little humanity framed by fire but we are not consumed in it.
We can perform that same action and get used up. There is always another mess to clean up. But there is another way... a secret way. When we walk in something finished the supply is not cut off. We are not burning up a limited quantity of humanity. We live as sent ones and our shoes don't wear out.
We rest when the day is done but find a table set again when we awake. The journey is a long one... rest and eat.
When God paid for our salvation meals and a airfare were all included in the ticket. We have unlimited minutes inside our family plan.
But, Cleaning something up requires work. Relationships require ongoing attention.
Our provisions are free but who does the work in life?
"And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed: Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat. He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat? He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes. And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass. And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties. And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. And they did all eat, and were filled. And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes. And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men." Mark 6:35-44
Thank God for the people who clean up the dishes in the sink. The ones who walk the dog, put gas in the car and mow the lawn.
Thank you God for those who open the church and practice in the band and make phone call after phone call to make sure people know they are loved.
'Would you like a piece of bread?' they say... 'It was broken and blessed by the Master.'
Into the crowd they go. Wading through the ocean of humanity with the supply of bread and fish. Little humanity framed by fire but we are not consumed in it.
We can perform that same action and get used up. There is always another mess to clean up. But there is another way... a secret way. When we walk in something finished the supply is not cut off. We are not burning up a limited quantity of humanity. We live as sent ones and our shoes don't wear out.
We rest when the day is done but find a table set again when we awake. The journey is a long one... rest and eat.
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