Observations From Matthew 6:24

(Matthew 6:24) “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

Some observations:
1. There are two masters: God and possessions (money, or the things money can buy)
2. There are two types of serving:
          a. Love, to love dearly and be fond of
          b. Devotion, to stay in the same room as, to hold to
3. There are two types of non-serving:
          a. Hate, to detest and have hatred toward
          b. Despising, to think little of, or have nothing to do with
4. Serving means to yield obedience to
5. There is no middle ground, it is either one or the other at any given moment
6. There is no possible way to serve God and possessions at the same time and same way
7. One master is visible, and one master is invisible
8. We are always serving one or the other at any given moment
9. Being indifferent to God is the same as hating God; they are both non-service
10. Being in love with God is the same as holding to, or staying near God; they are both service
11. If God requires service to him at all times, and I can not serve two masters; there must be a way to serve God by serving an earthly boss. When I am doing what an earthly master says because God says I should submit to my earthly authority, I am serving God as long as the earthly master does not require me to disobey a command from my heavenly Master.

Kurios

Even if you are not all that familiar with the Bible, I am guessing you remember the account of Moses encountering God speaking to him through a burning bush (Charlton Heston?). Moses is about to be used as an instrument in the hands of God, to both rescue the people of Israel, and to bring judgement upon the Egyptians. Moses sees a bush that is on fire and draws close. He hears God say that the ground Moses is walking on is holy (because God is there, not because the real estate is holy) and he should remove his sandals. After God tells Moses His plans, Moses says "If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" God then says,

“ I am who I am.” And he said, “ Say this to the people of Israel, ‘ I am has sent me to you. ’” 15 God also said to Moses, “ Say this to the people of Israel, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. ’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.

When God tells Moses his name, he uses the Hebrew word Yahweh. The Old Testament is written in Hebrew. There is also a greek translation of the Old Testament called the Septuagint. The name of God in the greek language is Kurios. 

We fast forward to the New Testament; Jesus is speaking to a group of people in John chapter 8. He says is verse 58, "Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." The Jews Jesus was speaking to were so mad, they picked up stones and were going to stone him to death. Why? Because Jesus called himself the Kurios, and the Jews knew exactly what he was saying. Jesus is saying that he is the one who spoke to Moses through the burning bush.

Jesus is God!  

To Bare Fruit For Your Husband

(Romans 7:1-6) Or do you not know, brothers — for I am speaking to those who know the law — that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? 2 For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. 3 Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.
4 Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. 5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.

As I am reading through my Bible this year, I am reminded of how the women of old longed to bear children for their husbands; and in this passage, the children would be the fruit that they longed to bare. A man and woman would be joined together, and with God's blessing, they would bare fruit.

Before the gospel comes to a person, they are unable to bare fruit for God (Galatians 5). The law says, "Thou shall not covet," and upon hearing that command, the non-Christian finds new passions of covetousness growing in his own heart. This is good, because it is one purpose for the law. So even though the law is good, it arouse sinful passions in the heart of man, which produces bad fruit, or in other words; no fruit for God.

The gospel kills. It crucifies a person on the cross with Jesus. When a person is dead, they are no longer under any law. Just like when two people are married, and the man dies, the law of marriage that bound the two people together is no longer binding upon the remaining alive woman. She is free to marry another. She is free to bare fruit for another man.

In this way, the Christian is now free from the law which condemned. The Christian has died to the law, and has been married to Jesus, and she is free to bare fruit for him. This means that every bit of godliness and righteousness that grows in her from now on, is fruit for Jesus. Every gospel seed she sows, is fruit for Jesus. Yet how do we as Christians know what fruit is pleasing to God, or what traits are defined as godliness, or righteousness? Well, they are found in the law. This is the second purpose of the law, to sanctify the Christian into the very image of the one they are now married to. The Christian is given the Holy Spirit, which enables the Christian to have a new heart, which longs to, and is now able (in part), to become obedient to the law.

Two Masters- Sin and Righteousness

(Romans 6:1-23; Romans 6:11) So you must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

The battle has been raging ever since you could remember. You look out across the field of blood to your opponent clothed in white. His warriors are strong and powerful. You lay your face back down in the mud, you feel the ache from head to toe from the wounds inflicted upon you by your own master. You wonder if this may be the last day you will ever have to lift your heavy sword against the warriors of light, or feel another lash across your body from the hand of your own cruel master. Your sword is a few inches from your fingertips. You hear the panting and the growling of your master coming behind you. He calls out your name and you do not move. "Stand and fight you worthless slave." You feel the ground move from each step he takes towards you. You hear the sound of a snap from your masters belt, which you have come to learn, is the last noise you hear before you feel the slash of yet another whip across your worn out body.

He unleashes a furry of blows, which causes every nerve in your body to scream out for relief. Though you long to scream out in pain, you force your mouth and your body to remain still. Sin calls out your name again, lifts your chin with his gnarly and bloody fingers, and calls you a worthless, good for nothing slave. You feel his boot crush your ribs as he kicks you for the last time. You hear your master curse your name as he leaves you for dead.

As you lay, covered in your own blood, aching from every inch of your body; light begins to form good and righteous thoughts in your mind. You are dead to sin, yet you are alive to...

You hear another set of heavy footsteps approaching you. You force yourself to remain still, and breath with slow and unnoticeable movements. You hear another Master call your name, "Son, you have considered yourself dead to sin. Awake and consider yourself alive to God in Christ Jesus."

You lay still for a few moments, considering the words you just heard. You have been fighting this opponent your whole life time and wonder what it will be like be for Him and not against Him. The battle ceases in your mind as you lift your head out of the grime, and make eye contact with the One called Righteousness. He says to you, "Son, no one can serve two masters." "Do you not know that if you present yourself to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?"

You ponder His statement for a moment, and force yourself to your knees to bow before the One whom offers you a new life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

A Word About Grace

Yesterday a  sister in Christ shared this link ( What Is Grace? ) with my family and me. After reading it, and pondering the great love she experienced in 2005 during her conversion, and the love she still experiences day by day; she was moved to write a wonderful, and personal challenge to her friends and family. I will not share what she wrote, but wanted to share the link she sent to us for your benefit. May Christ fill you today with hope!

What Is Grace?

Godly Grief Leads Somewhere..

(2 Corinthians 7:10) For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

As a man who didn't come to faith in Jesus until I was 30 years old, I have had much grief in my life. As far back as I can remember, I have had rebellion in my heart. I was the kind of kid that influenced other kids for the bad. I can remember many times doing rebellious and evil things even if nobody was around to influence me; the influence was right there deep in the inner sanctuary of my own heart.

I understand what Paul means when he says worldly grief. It is a grief over doing wicked and wrong things toward other people. I have had this type of grief toward my parents, my friends, my teachers, the law, and toward animals. It feels like a regret or sorts. A sorrow because of hurt I caused to another. Also it was a self focused sorrow, meaning a sorrow because at times I would get caught. I would venture to say that everyone who has lived on this planet for any amount of time has felt worldly grief. It can come in various degrees; from a slight prick to the conscience, to a wishing you were dead.

It was not until the Spirit of God moved upon my dead heart, till I understood anything about godly grief. Up till the time I became a Christian, I thought all of my sin was horizontal not vertical. When this type of grief comes upon you it is different. It may feel the same, but it has a very different object in view. When I understood that all of the sin I had committed was not ultimately toward others, but toward the God who's image all the others were made; it dropped me to my knees to scream mercy, mercy, mercy! Jesus tells us that if we give even a drink of water to a child made in his image, we are doing it for him. Which flips the other way as well and says that if we throw a cup of water in a child's face, we are splashing the Son of God. This goes for kicking, punching, stealing, lusting, envying, murdering, prompting to anger, gossiping, or any other sin we may do to another.

If you have never known anything of a godly grief, I am afraid you can not be a Christian. Godly grief produces a repentance which leads to salvation. Godly grief is a gate you have to go through, before you get to the cross, or the celestial city of heaven. Godly grief accompanies salvation. You do not turn toward Jesus for forgiveness, without turning away from the sin that caused Jesus to die. And it takes a Spirit empowered grief to lead your mind to understand that all of your deeds are done to, and in the sight of God.

Jesus sent the Holy Spirt to convict the world of sin, righteousness and the judgement to come. Pray to the Lord for His Spirit to produce in you a godly grief, which will lead you to salvation...which won't be regretted.

Becoming Steadfast And Wise

James 1:2-8
Testing of Your Faith

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double- minded man, unstable in all his ways.

As I read these verses over and over again this morning it brought hope and joy into my heart. When I come to verse 5, my joy increases hearing that I will be given wisdom from God if I ask him. I am a man who needs much wisdom, and I love hearing that God gives generously and will not reproach me for asking. But then comes verse 6 with the conditional statement, I must ask God in faith, without doubting. If I doubt that God will give me the wisdom I seek, then he won't give it to me, because I am a double-minded man who is unstable in all his ways. This knowledge turns my joy into sadness. So I press on in the text, asking for wisdom to understand the text, and God helps me. 

The doubting, unstable man in verse 8 is the same as a man who is not steadfast (verse 2). The man who is not steadfast, can become steadfast, single-minded and faith-filled through trials of various kinds. So my Bible tells me to count it all joy when any trial comes my way. Why? Because the trial is ordained by God to train me to become more and more steadfast. The more steadfast I become, the more stable and single-minded I will become, and the more stable and single-minded I become, the more I will receive the wisdom I seek from God; because I will be asking in faith, with no doubting. 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds..

If I Train Up My Child, Will He Depart?

(Proverbs 22:6) Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. 

I believe every word of Scripture is true, which is to say that I believe it is divinely inspired. It has taken me some time before I could come to the point where I can accept the different genre's of the Bible. The first time I crossed this type of thing is when I heard a preacher say that the verse quoted above is generally true. I thought "what!" "Is the statement true or false preacher man?" But he was merely indicating what I have come to understand about some of the statements in the book of Proverbs.

Some of the literary features that the ESV study Bible points out are as follows..
1. Proverbs is a collection of anthology of individual proverbs.
2. A proverb is a concise, memorable statement of two or three lines.
3. A proverb works by making comparisons, leaving the reader to work out how the proverb applies to different situations.
4. A proverb often supplies a contradiction.
5. Proverbs of necessity focus on consequences, and raises the question of whether they are "promises."

Point 5 gets at the question I often had when I read the above verse, wondering whether this was a promise or not. The ESV continues point 5 by saying..."Proverbs by nature deal with general truths, and are not meant to cover every conceivable situation...The competent reader knows that the force of the proverb is not statistical, but behavioral..to urge due caution. In biblical proverbs, the consequences generally make God's basic attitude clear, and thus commend or discourage behavior."

If you and I accept that some proverbs are generally true, and not absolute promises; does that give us the right to disobey the first part of the statement (train up a child in the way he should go)? Should our obedience to God depend on the consequent outcomes of other human beings?

Ephesians 6:44 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates

Deuteronomy 4:9 “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children—

Timothy is an example of a boy who was trained in the way in which he should go, and when he was older, he did not depart. How do you know O parent, whether you have a future Timothy growing up right under your noses?

2 Timothy 3:14-15 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

Train up your children in the way in which they should go. Paul, who was speaking to Timothy in the verse quoted above, surely had hope in the God of Proverbs 22:6, for his statement is basically the same.

 

Anxiety and Frustration

In Jerry Bridges book Respectable Sins, he has a chapter called Anxiety and Frustration. Let me give you a few quotes to chew on...

"The opposite of trust in God is either anxiety or frustration, and Jesus had a lot to say about anxiety." (p.63)

"When you or I say to someone, 'Don't be anxious' or 'Don't be afraid,' we are simply trying to encourage the person, or admonish in a helpful way. But when Jesus (or Paul or Peter, who were writing under divine inspiration) says to us, 'Don't be anxious,' it has the force of a moral command. In other words, it is the moral will of God that we not be anxious. Or to say it more explicitly, anxiety is sin." (p.64)

"Anxiety is sin because it is distrust in God." (p.64) 

"I have come to the conclusion that my anxiety is triggered not so much by a distrust in God as by an unwillingness to submit to and cheerfully accept His agenda for me." (p.65) 

"Worry is a synonym for anxiety." (p.67) 

"Closely akin to anxiety or worry is the sin of frustration. Whereas anxiety involves fear, frustration usually involves being upset or even angry at whatever or whoever is blocking our plans." (p.69) 

"Let me repeat, however, what I have said or implied throughout this chapter. Both anxiety and frustration are sins. They are not to be taken lightly or brushed off as common reactions we have to difficult events in a fallen world. Can you picture Jesus ever being anxious or frustrated? And whatever in our lives is not like Jesus is sin. Granted, we will never achieve complete freedom from anxiety or frustration in this life (at least I don't expect to). But we should never accept them as just part of our temperament any more than we would accept adultery as part of our temperament. Keep in mind that even though anxiety and frustration may not be as serious as adultery, they are still sins. And all sin is serious in the eyes of a Holy God." (p.70)

Two Kinds of Peace

(John 14:27) Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

I have been pondering briefly this morning, the two different kinds of peace that Jesus is talking about in the verse above. He tells us that he is leaving and giving a certain type of peace. And he also tells us that this type of peace is different then the type of peace the world gives. I looked up 8 or so verses that spoke of a certain kind peace that was deceptive.   This peace was deceptive because one person would boast and flatter another person, only to later bring destruction upon them (Psalm 5:9, 12:2).

(Psalm 55:20-21) My companion stretched out his hand against his friends; he violated his covenant. 21 His speech was smooth as butter, yet war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords.

There is also the account in Matthew 22:15-22. The Pharisees want to trap Jesus in his words, so that they can shipwreck his ministry. They have some of their followers go up to Jesus and speak flattering words..

Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. 16 And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “ Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. 17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “ Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20 And Jesus said to them, “ Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21 They said, “ Caesar's.” Then he said to them, “ Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” 22 When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.

I think the difference between the peace that Jesus gives to Christians, and the peace the world offers is this; the peace of Jesus brings unity, and the peace the world brings disunity. Jesus, through the cross, brought a peace with God that was not there. We were enemies of God because of our sin. Jesus bore our wrath, and took away our sorrow. He brought us to God through his own blood. We have true peace with God because of Jesus, and thus true unity. The peace the world offers brings disunity. If you read the above verses, the peace the world is offering is only deceptive peace. It says, "I love you," and yet will deceive you later on, thus bringing disunity between people.

In thinking about this type of peace the world offers, It seems to me that there is plenty of peace between non-believers. It would appear at first that what Jesus is saying isn't always true. People can be truly kind to one another, and have no plans in their heart to kill, or deceive one another at a later date. But here is where the peace of the world, and the peace of Jesus really distinguish themselves. The peace of Jesus bring unity between man and God. The peace of the world brings disunity between man and God. The atheist parent brings up their children to be unified with their fellow man. They teach that all of creation is united by a common substance, and should strive to be at peace with it all, whether other humans, the animals or nature. They do not outright teach against God, yet they are preaching plenty of the needlessness of the peace that Jesus offers. It ends up not in what they do say, but what they leave unsaid.

So the peace Jesus offers us is a unity with the God of all creation. The peace that the world offers may be a supposed unity with other men, but is only deceptive speech to actually bring disunity. Or the peace the world offers actually brings unity between people, but disunity between these people and God; and thus brings actual disunity.

Encouragement to Parents

My family and I were at our small group last night. We were asked an ice breaker question, "name one of your most favorite moments during the last month." Everyone took turns sharing something that had blessed them over that period of time. I shared with them something that happened in our home last Sunday, and they encouraged me to share it on my blog for encouragement, so here was my answer.

Last Saturday night after our family Bible study, my oldest daughter started to show some sad emotions. She made the statement, "I feel like there is a wall that is separating me from God right now." My wife and I asked her a few questions to see if we could fish out more detail, and possibly help. She was unsure of why she felt the way she did, and didn't respond with anything other than "I don't know why, I just feel like there is." I told her that I wanted to do a Bible study with her the next day after Church, and that I would not prepare at all, we would do it together.

Later Sunday afternoon my daughter and I went down into my office and started to talk a bit. I took out a piece of paper and wrote out in front of her, the sentence I heard her say the night before, "I feel like there is a wall that is separating me from God right now." I opened up the OliveTree app on my computer (it is just a Bible software program that works both for my phone and my computer; any concordance, or on-line site would be able to get you the same results) and faced it toward her. I told her we were going to search through the Bible to see what it said about "walls" and the idea of "separating". Figuring most of the results from Genesis through Ester would probably not be of much help, I restricted our search results to Job through Revelation.

We started our search with the word "wall". We found a verse that said that if there was a wall, with God's help, we would be able to jump over it; one that stated that a wall could be only in our imagination; and that the wall that separated us from God was broken down at the Cross of Christ. Next we searched the word "separate." Our results were that nothing could separate us from the love of God, not even our feelings; that the wall of separation between us and God was shattered at the cross. On and on we skimmed over verses until my daughter had eight or so written down in front of her, along with how they applied to her statement. Through this time, her spirit was softening, and the Spirit of God, through the word of God was penetrating her mind, convincing her of the truthfulness of His words, and the bankruptcy of her own feelings to determine truth. We talked about her feelings, and they are good and God given. But as we travel on this train track of life, we must place our reason car before our feelings car. The reason car, after reading the truthfulness of the word of God, is able to see clearly that the train is not heading toward a wall of separation. The feelings car needs to be in back of the reason car. When it is back there, it can scream all it wants that it is headed for a wall, but reason see's the tracks clearly. Eventually when we get to the place where the feelings car thought there was a wall, and instead of crashing, we sail unharmed right through it; the feelings car will know it was a tunnel all along and will follow along quietly; at least until the next obstacle.

After our brief study, I held my daughters hands and we prayed together. I encouraged her to keep her eyes open, and fixed upon the verses she had just written down, while she spoke to the Lord. When we were finished, her mind was fixed and steady on the truth of God's word. It evidenced itself while she prayed aloud on Sunday night, and again on Monday night. I hope this encourages you, and possibly gives you an example of using the Scriptures to instruct and guide the children God has given you. God's word did all the work, and provided all the wisdom.

A Spurgeon Devotional

A morning devotional from Charles Spurgeon...

Abel was a keeper of sheep."—Genesis 4:2.

As a shepherd Abel sanctified his work to the glory of God, and offered a sacrifice of blood upon his altar, and the Lord had respect unto Abel and his offering.This early type of our Lord is exceedingly clear and distinct. Like the first streak of light which tinges the east at sunrise, it does not reveal everything, but it clearly manifests the great fact that the sun is coming. As we see Abel, a shepherd and yet a priest, offering a sacrifice of sweet smell unto God, we discern our Lord, who brings before His Father a sacrifice to which Jehovah ever hath respect. Abel was hated by his brother—hated without a cause; and even so was the Saviour: the natural and carnal man hated the accepted man in whom the Spirit of grace was found, and rested not until his blood had been shed. Abel fell, and sprinkled his altar and sacrifice with his own blood, and therein sets forth the Lord Jesus slain by the enmity of man while serving as a priest before the Lord. "The good Shepherd layeth down His life for the sheep." Let us weep over Him as we view Him slain by the hatred of mankind, staining the horns of His altar with His own blood. Abel's blood speaketh. "The Lord said unto Cain, 'The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto Me from the ground.'" The blood of Jesus hath a mighty tongue, and the import of its prevailing cry is not vengeance but mercy. It is precious beyond all preciousness to stand at the altar of our good Shepherd! to see Him bleeding there as the slaughtered priest, and then to hear His blood speaking peace to all His flock, peace in our conscience, peace between Jew and Gentile, peace between man and his offended Maker, peace all down the ages of eternity for blood-washed men. Abel is the first shepherd in order of time, but our hearts shall ever place Jesus first in order of excellence. Thou great Keeper of the sheep, we the people of Thy pasture bless Thee with our whole hearts when we see Thee slain for us.

Two Massive Kettle Pots

(Matt 22:35-40) And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “ Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.

I love when complex things are boiled down. I have a hard time remembering long lists of commands or principles. It is much easier for me to have a principle or two burned into my mind; then when temptation, trial or even blessing come, my mind is ready to give back to me that which it retained.

A lawyer asks Jesus to boil down the law. "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" This is a great question and I am thankful the lawyer asks it. Because Jesus looks back over all the commandments in the Old Testament and gives us two kettle pots that each and every other commandment can be boiled down into.

First he quotes Deuteronomy 6:5 for his principle of loving God. Then he quotes Leviticus 19:18 for his principle of loving neighbor. As I was reading this morning, I did not at first remember that Jesus goes back to Leviticus for the second greatest commandment. We typically think of Leviticus as the book everybody peters out in, while they are reading through the Bible in a year. Yet it is this book that describes for us what it means to love our neighbor as ourselves.  I would encourage you this morning to go back to Leviticus chapter 19, and read verses 1-18. You will see there (among many other things) what it looks like to care for the poor, to live as neighbors, to pay your debts and how to speak to one another.

Everyone Knows God, And Yet Nobody Does

For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe (1 Corinthians 1:21).

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened (Romans 1:21).

I am attempting to put a couple of things together this morning in my mind. 1 Corinthians tells us that nobody in the world knows God. It is only through the preached word of the gospel that people come to know the true God. And then in the Romans passage, it tells us that everybody in the world knows God.

These are my thoughts: The Romans passage is telling us that there is enough evidence in creation to show all people that the true God exists. Nobody (after they leave this earth) will be able to stand before God and tell him that they had no idea he was real, or that they needed to come to him in repentance and faith. God has placed evidence of himself in all of creation. He has placed himself in mans conscience, He has placed himself in the land, the sky, and the animals. The creation screams that there is a designer behind all that we see. It only takes 3 seconds to glance up at the moon at night and wonder how it stays there, or to look at the sun and wonder how a ball of fire does not get any closer and destroy us. So in this sense, all people know God.

The Corinthians passage is telling us that no man can come to know God in a saving, intimate, adoptive, and fatherly way on their own. I can not reason from the general revelatory display of God in creation, to a personal God who loves me, and adopts me as his son. I can not be saved on my own. I can not get to heaven without someone telling me the specific revelation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And in this way, nobody knows God. No amount of human wisdom can make me right with God, and get me to heaven.

 

Chosen to Receive Answers

John 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you

Jesus is speaking this text in John chapter 15. He tells us that behind the choice we made to follow Christ, he was first choosing us. You did not choose me, but I chose you... He choose us, in this text, for two purposes.
1. That we should go out in the world and bear fruit.
2. That the fruit we bear should abide (continue, endure, last, be present).

Then there is a so that in the verse. This so that tells us the result that will follow if we have been chosen, if we bear fruit, and if the fruit abides and is still present. The result will be that I will be given anything I ask God for (in the name of Jesus).

Lets take a quick trip backwards through this verse to see if I am chosen. Do I have in my possession, or character, the things I have asked God for? Do I have current fruit in my life (the fruit is from Galatians 5:22, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control)? If the answer is no, has there been a time when I have had this fruit in my life?

Lastly, if I do have current fruit in my life, and I look back and see that I have had this same fruit in the past; am I bearing this fruit in the world. Jesus says that as we go we will bear fruit. Does this fruit continue to grow no matter where I go in the world? Do I have it at the grocery store? At work? In private? Do I have this fruit when the shades are open or closed in my home?

Jesus appoints the ones he chooses, to bear continuing and lasting evidences of fruit. Those chosen, will then have the things they ask God for in prayer.

A Doxology For One

1 Timothy 1:17~To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Near the end of chapter one of 1 Timothy, Paul  breaks out in a doxology. A doxology is a hymn, or a form of words containing an ascription of praise to God. You have probably heard the doxology, "Praise God from whom all blessings flow, praise Him all creatures here below, praise Him above, ye heavenly host, praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, amen. 


The doxology in 1 Timothy that Paul writes can only be written, or spoken from a servant to the God of Scripture. If this were written to a king (say our president) of this age, it would read something like this: To the king of this age, mortal, visible, one of the many gods in the world, be honor and glory in this time, until death. Amen.


Now lets assume that if there is a doxology written about a King, then there are servants who would sing or speak the doxology. Lets say the doxology for the servants: To the servants of this age, mortal, visible, one of many servants in this world, be honoring and glorifying in this time, until death. Amen.


What is the difference in nature between the king and the servant? They are both in a particular age, they are both mortal, the are both visible, they are both one of many. But one is suppose to receive glory and honor, and one is suppose to ascribe glory and honor. But what quality differentiates the servant from the king? It must be some quality of material possessions, like money; or some quality of power, like strength; or some quality of beauty; or some quality of knowledge. Is there an intrinsic difference between the two? By intrinsic, I mean a fundamental difference, an essential difference; a difference in essence. Is there a difference is essence between the two that would make one a worshipper, and one worshipped? No. They both come forth from the womb, naked and helpless. One may possess material things because they are given to them at birth. Or one may be set apart to be a king because they are of a certain blood line, and may be the first born son. But these are things given to them by another. Who deems one blood line better than another? Does God? If not, then we all stand on level ground. 


God alone is to be the recipient of this doxological ascription. Because He alone can be the King of every age, because He is immortal. He alone can be worshipped in all places at the same time, because He does not possess a material body, for He is invisible. He alone can be worshipped forever, because He alone is eternal. He is not one of many, but He alone possesses the essential qualities to be worshipped and adored. In fact, we only get our value because we are created by this One God, and are made in this One Gods image. 

Ambassadors for Christ

2 Corinthians 5:20~Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

This list was written by Greg Kokal. It is a list of qualifications he established for himself to become a good ambassador for Christ. I like the list, and suggest reading it from time to time. May you have a blessed Lord's Day, as you sit under the hearing of God's word. 

• Ready. An Ambassador is alert for chances to represent Christ and will not back away from a challenge or an opportunity.
• Patient. An Ambassador won’t quarrel, but will listen in order to understand, then with gentleness seek to respectfully correct those in opposition.
• Reasonable. An Ambassador has informed convictions (not just feelings), gives reasons, asks questions, aggressively seeks answers, and will not be stumped by the same challenge twice.
• Tactical. An Ambassador adapts to each unique person and situation, maneuvering with wisdom to challenge bad thinking, presenting the truth in an understandable and compelling way.
• Clear. An Ambassador is careful with language, and will not rely on Christian lingo nor gain unfair advantage with empty rhetoric.
• Fair. An Ambassador is sympathetic and understanding towards the opposition, and will acknowledge the merits of contrary views.
• Honest. An Ambassador is careful with the facts and will not misrepresent his opponent, overstate his own case, or understate the demands of the Gospel.
• Humble. An Ambassador is provisional in his claims, knowing that his understanding of truth is fallible, and will not press a point beyond what his evidence allows.
• Attractive. An Ambassador will act with grace, kindness, and good man- ners and will not dishonor Christ in his conduct.
• Dependent. An Ambassador knows that effectiveness requires joining his best efforts with God’s power.
  
  
  

Words, Words, and More Words

Proverbs 12:18 There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

I have never been thrust threw with a sword, but I'm guessing it hurts. My family and I have read the "Kingdom Series" of books by Chuck Black. So our whole family has read, and heard about the destruction a sword can do. The story would depict a skilled sword fighter fighting for the kingdom against an avid, and very evil opponent. It would go into some detail about how each sword fighter would be hindered, and slowly unable to keep fighting by each and every sword thrust that found its mark. 

Our words are like this. They are like sword thrusts in a battle. Each sword thrust that found its mark will hinder our opponent from continuing in the battle. Do you ever think to wonder which side the person you are talking to fights for? If you and your friend are talking, and are both Christians; you are on the same team. If we are not wise with our words, we may be hindering our brother or sister from continuing to fight. After all, our brother or sister is not fighting for us, we are fellow soldiers fighting for the same King. How long do you suppose a battle will continue if the members of the same team are thrusting each other through with swords?

Our words have another, more wonderful purpose for those whom are our ally, assistant or friend. Our words bring healing. They are the swabs that dry the wound. They are the ointment that soothes and brings healing. They are the strength along side an ailing brother or sister, that helps to hold them up, to keep standing, and keep walking.

There will be times when our friend and co-soldier will have a growth or cancer that will need to be removed. An extremity that has been infected with a deadly gangrene will need to be removed in order for them to progress toward healing. This type of surgery will require pain for our friend. But this pain that you inflict upon them is done out of love, and meant for their good.

The tongue in our mouth has amazing power. How will you use your's today?

A Few Questions This Morning

James 3:7-11

For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water?

1. What is something that is impossible for a human to do?
2. What does the tongue not do (v8)?
3. What is the tongue full of (v8)?
4. What does v9 say we do that is inconsistent?
5. What well does the tongue get its words from (Luke 6:45)?
6. Verse 11 likens our mouth to the opening of a spring of water. The water may be salt water, or it may be fresh water; how will I know what type of water flows in the spring?
7. Water is refreshing, nourishing, and necessary to sustain life. Salt water is none of the above. It will not refresh, nourish or sustain life. It will dry out the mouth and make you more an more thirsty. The salt water will never refresh you. The more salt water you drink, the less refreshed you will become. Does your mouth reveal there is one kind of spring of water below the surface, or two?
8. Ought this to be true of you (v10b)?
9. What is the remedy (John 15:5)?

In The Mouth Of A Fish

Matthew 17:24-27
The Temple Tax

24 When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two- drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?” 25 He said, “ Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “ What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?” 26 And when he said, “ From others,” Jesus said to him, “ Then the sons are free. 27 However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.”

This account is really amazing. Many have probably read this and wished that getting money was simply this easy; just go to the nearest lake, wet a line, reach in the first fishes mouth and whalla', thanks for the tax money. 

But do you remember what Peter's occupation was before he was an apostle of Jesus? Right, he was a fisherman. And that occupation was the means by which Peter was able to make a living and pay his taxes. 

I am a HVAC service technician. My coins are not found in the mouth of a fish, but they are found doing things like I am doing this morning; changing out an exhaust fan at 10 degrees outside air temp, and a mighty cold wind chill. I did not find any cash in the lid of the fan I am working on, but I will find it direct deposited in my bank account come Friday. 

This has been a nice break to warm up. I am going to go back up on the roof and earn more coins. 

It's Easier to Lay Back in my Recliner

Acts 17:10-12The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. 12 Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men.

How do you determine if something is so? How do you tell if something is true or false, right or wrong? There are a multitude of ideas and teachings about God, man, Jesus, salvation, life and death. But how do you sift through the ideas to find out which are true? I recommend that you use the method of the Bereans. They were said to be more noble than the rest of the people at that time. Let's examine what their method of determining truth was.


First of all they listened, they received the word. In order to discern whether something is true or false, you must first know what the being proposed to you as true. If you don't understand, you will be unable to discern it's truthfulness. Next they received the word. Notice it does not say they received all of the words. Words are very important, but they are the clothing for ideas and thoughts. Words are the means by which we communicate thoughts and ideas. The Bereans listened to the word behind the words spoken. They not only listened attentively to the ideas being proposed to them, but they listened with all eagerness. It is the idea of forward leaning, not backward slouching. They were on the edge of their seat to what was being said.


The next step after listening and understanding what is being proposed, is that you have to have a source of truth to compare it to what you just learned. You have to have a standard of true and false, right and wrong in order to compare and contrast. Maybe your standard of truth is your own mind. Maybe it is a certain teacher. Maybe it is the law of non-contradiction. The Bereans standard of truth was the Bible. I am proposing to you that this is the one and only true standard. Jesus tells us in the Bible that he is the truth. Psalm 119, among many other places says that God's Word is truth. 


These Bereans examined the Scriptures to see if the ideas were true or false. To examine is to investigate, to ask questions, to made judgements, to search and to interrogate. They were vigilant to take what they just heard and see if the Scriptures affirmed or denied the truthfulness of what was being proposed to them. 


One last step remains in our looking to the Bereans for help on determining things as true or false. Many of them believed what was being said to them as true. After they listened attentively, and compared and contrasted with the Scriptures; they came to the point where they either would abstain from the teaching, because it was false, or they would cling to the teaching, because it was true. Well they clung to the teaching as true, and they believed. 


Being a Berean is hard work. I know this because I am not a naturally good discerner of things. It takes effort and at times frustration to get at the truthfulness of a thing. It is way easier to lay back and recline, but using the Bereans as my example, I must lean forward and press on. 

Teaching Commandments of Men as Doctrine

(Matt 15:1-9)

What kind of traditions do you have in your home? The Scribes and Pharisees had a tradition of washing their hands and feet before they performed any of their duties. Then they assumed this tradition as law, and looked down at others as though they were in sin for not following the same traditions as themselves. They elevated their tradition to the same level (if not higher) as God's commandments.

The Pharisees had traditions of making vows to God. They would evidently vow a certain portion of their belongings to the temple. Then time would pass, and their parents would be unable to care or provide for themselves. Even though the fifth commandment (honor your father and mother) prescribes a son or daughter to care for their parents needs when they are unable, the Pharisee would say they were unable because their money was vowed to God. Thus they have just made void the Word of God, for the sake of their traditions.

Jesus does not agree with the way in which the Pharisees elevated their traditions above the commandments of God. He rebukes them by quoting Isaiah 29:13..

"This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men."

What kind of traditions do you have in your home? Will any of the traditions you have, cause you or your family to violate a commandment of God in order to follow your tradition?

How to Abide in the Love of Jesus

John 15:9-14  As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. 12 This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.

Sometimes it is hard to boil down the Christian life into a principle or two. The Bible is a very large book with many things to say. We can (or at least I can) get bogged down by the shear amount of information, and commandments in the Scriptures.

Jesus tells me that he loves me with the same love that the Father loves him. This is an amazing statement because the Father loves Jesus with an infinite, perfect and a holy kind of love. Jesus tells us in the above verses that he is our example and our instructor. As our example he tells us that we are to keep his commandments in the same way that he kept God's commandments. In other words, we are to look at the life of Jesus as an example for us to mimic. As our instructor he tells us that we are to keep his commandments. We are to do what he tells us.

Now Jesus not only tells us that he loves us in the same way that he is loved by God the Father, he tells us to abide, or remain in that love. Jesus remained in the love of God because he kept God's commandments. Now Jesus looks at us and says the way we are to abide in his love is by keeping his commandments. Notice it does not say, "I have loved you with an unconditional kind of love, go forth now and do whatever you want." He tells us that in order for us to remain in his love, we are to obey his commandments.

Jesus now sums up for us the Christian life by giving us his commandment. His commandment is to "love one another as I have loved you." Then he tells us that the way in which he has loved us is by laying down his life for us. He laid down his life for his friends, he calls us his friend, then asks us to lay down our lives for him.

God used Luke 9 to awaken me and my wife to the truth of the gospel. I remember pondering over and over again what Jesus meant by "if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." Jesus' commandment sounds so easy at first, but the more you ponder what he is saying, the more I knew I was unable to do what he was commanding me. I am unable to deny myself in a self slaying kind of way, where I offer myself as a living sacrifice to Jesus. I loved myself way too much to lay down my life for anyone other than me. It is the simplest thing in the world to become a Christian (for it is by faith alone), yet it is also the hardest. Because no one on their own can lay down their dreams, their desires, their hopes, their plans, their money, their possessions, their time, their hurts, their pains, their affections, their mind, their body, their very life for Jesus. Oh we see all kinds of people lay down their lives in a one time act for Alah'. But you try laying down your life for your spouse, your kids, your friends, moment by moment, and day by day. This kind of commandment Jesus calls us to is not a one time act; that would be easy. This commandment of Jesus demands the moment by moment, and day by day death of Scott.

I dare you to try to love in this kind of way. It will throw you on your face before the Holy God of heaven and cry mercy, mercy, mercy. And when you come to that place, you have begun to learn what it means to be a Christian.

My Lips Instead of an Alter

I mentioned in an earlier post that our family discusses one particular verse each night. I simply have subscribed to "the verse of the day" from Crossway. Today's verse is Hebrews 13:15 which says..

Hebrews 13:15
Through him (Jesus) then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. (my parenthesis of Jesus)

In the Old Testament testimony, Gods people were required to bring many different kinds of sacrifices to the temple. There was the wave offering, the grain offering, the thanksgiving offering, the sin offering; but these were shadows that were to point to the One casting the shadow; namely Jesus Christ.

2000 or so years ago the One casting the shadow came. And once the One whom all the sacrifices pointed to came, so did the end of them. God brought judgement on His people when he destroyed their temple in 70 AD. With that judgement, the sacrificial system ended as well. But God does still require sacrifices. But they are not the ones that happen with a bloodied knife, or a basket of grain. Nor is this new sacrifice merely one or two times a year. In one sense, the sacrifice is harder because it is continual, but in another sense it is much easier.

The sacrifice God requires of us is a thankful heart, and open lips that continually are giving praise and thanks to God, through his sacrifice for us; Jesus Christ. I have found that this sacrifice from us of thankful lips becomes harder when we spend less time thinking of the gift God has given us in Jesus. The more we remind ourselves of the gospel, the easier the sacrifice becomes. And if we do not spend anytime thinking through these great truths, we will not spend much time praising the One whom all praise and thanks is due.

Every day should be Thanksgiving to the Christian.

Jesus and the Sabbath

Chapter 12
Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath
1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “ Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” 3 He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? 6 I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. 7 And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice, ’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

9 He went on from there and entered their synagogue. 10 And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”— so that they might accuse him. 11 He said to them, “ Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then he said to the man, “ Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

In reading through Matt 12 this morning, I am confronted with Jesus' view of the Sabbath. It is interesting to me that Jesus does not nullify the Sabbath, he interprets it. He says that his disciples are justified in taking grain and eating it on the Sabbath, which the Pharisees had prohibited with their legalistic regulations. This would be classified as a "work of necessity."

Also Jesus then takes a man with a withered hand and heals him on the Sabbath. Again the Pharisees would prohibit this by saying Jesus was doing work, and it should not be done on the Sabbath. This would classify as a "work of mercy."

Commentators disagree over whether Colossians 2:16 says "let no one pass judgement on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath." Or whether is says "or with regard to a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths." Evidently this is a big deal. Sabbaths would speak to special Jewish Sabbaths that their festival calendar had. If it says, "sabbaths," then Colossians is not nullifying the Sabbath.

Are there other texts that speak of the nullifying of the Sabbath, or is this the only one? I asked in an earlier post what your hermeneutic was. Does Jesus interpret the Old Testament for us by giving us the spirit behind the written words in the Old Testament? Again, like a previous post, I am actually wondering. I am not a man that has all the answers. I know that the answers are in the Scriptures, but sometimes they are not so clear to interpret.

God intended the Sabbath, which was made for man, to be a day set aside for rest and worship. A day for works of necessity, and works or mercy. The Pharisees were making all kinds of judgements about Jesus over the Sabbath. They were wrong judgements which missed the spirit of the Sabbath, behind the letter.

More Than A Man

Jesus Christ was a man, born of a woman, who walked around on this earth just like you and I. But the Bible declares that he is much more than just a man. I was skimming through the book of Colossians this morning looking for statements that declare him to be much more than a man, born in Bethlehem.

Jesus is..
1:15 The image of the invisible God
1:15 The first born over all creation
1:16 The creator of all things
1:17 The one who stands before all things and holds everything together
1:18 The head of the body, the Church
1:18 The beginning
1:18 The first born from the dead
1:18 The preeminent one
1:19 The fullness of God dwells in him
1:19 The one who reconciles all things to himself
1:20 The one who makes peace with all things through the cross
2:2 The mystery of God
2:3 The one whom is hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge
2:6 The Lord
2:10 The head of all rule and authority
2:15 The disarmer, and triumpher over all rulers and authorities
3:1 The one seated at the right hand of God
3:4 The one who is coming back in glory
3:11 The all, and in all
3:17 The name by which everything should be done,
3:17 The name through which all thanks flows through

Oh and one last thing; (3:18ff) Jesus is the one who is served as I go to work this morning. He is the one who is served by me when I come home from work tonight and love on my family. As I serve my family, and my employer; I am serving the Lord Christ. The Lord Christ is also the rewarder of those who serve him.

I read a quote from another blog yesterday, which was something John Piper stated when asked how to stay alive to Gods beauty (he said other things, but I only wrote down this one).

"I shall not demean my own uniqueness by envy of others. I shall stop boring into myself to discover what psychological or social categories I might belong to. Mostly I shall simply forget about myself and do my work."

What's Your Hermeneutic

I am wondering what your hermeneutic is for Bible interpretation...And yes I am looking for people to actually respond, even if you are unsure.

Relating the Old Testament to the New Testament has been, from my understanding, a debated issue down through the entire Church era. Here are a couple of options of interpretation...

1. We start with the Old Testament. Whatever is not nullified in the New, we are obligated to still obey.
2. We start with the New Testament. We are obligated to obey all that we read. We then look back to the Old Testament for commands that are consistent with the New. And those commands we find in the Old, that are verified in the New, we obey.
3. We start with Jesus. Jesus interprets the Old Testament for us. The rest of the New Testament is an interpretation of Jesus' teachings.
4. We see no separation between the Old and the New. We simply take the whole thing as one book. Leviticus has equal authority as Romans.
5. We start with Paul, and let him interpret the teachings of Jesus, and the teachings of the Old Testament. Whatever he says, is normative for us to obey.

I know there are names for kinds of hermeneutical interpretation, like "grammatical historical," and "redemptive historical," and "allegorical." But specifically I am looking for the relation between the testaments.

Are there other ways to relate the testaments? What way do you use?

Redeeming The Time

(Ephesians 5:15-17) Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

What do you do during the day? There are 24 hours in a day. Believe it or not, God is concerned with our use of every minute of each day. They are minutes He has given to us for a purpose.

Look carefully is to perceive with the eye, it is to discern with the mind, to understand, to turn toward and face with diligence and accuracy. How has to do with what direction, or in what manner. Walk is to be occupied with, progress, the regulating of the life, the conduct and use of opportunities.

Unwise means foolish. Wise is skilled, an expert planner, forming the best plans by the best means, learner. Use is to rescue, to buy up as like a ransom, to recover, to make wise and sacred use of every opportunity. Time is just a measure of portion of time.

Foolish means without reason, senseless, stupid, without reflection or intelligence. Understand is to mentally put together, to put the the perception together with the thing perceived. The will is the desire, the wishes that have been determined, the purposes, the commands, the pleasures.

Do you buy up all the spare moments during the day to put together and perceive what the desires and wishes of God are? Do you look carefully at your own direction of life and conduct, to see if you are walking a skilled life, using the best means to make the best plans?  I confess that there are many minutes in each day that are not redeemed for these purposes. The first steps seems to be to look carefully at how I am walking.

Try to spend some of the moments God has given you this day to look carefully at how you use your time.

Baptism And A Reading Plan

Over the long New Years break, I had the opportunity to read a couple of interesting articles. It seems that two of my favorite preachers had a debate on baptism; John MacArthur and R.C. Sproal. The debate was done in love, and with clarity. Here are some links to their articles in case it interests you to read such things.

http://www.gty.org/Resources/Articles/A360 (Credo-Baptism Position by John MacArthur)

http://www.gty.org/Resources/Articles/A361 (Paedo-Baptism Position by R.C. Sproal)

I am wondering if anyone who does read this blog has made any kind of commitment to a Bible reading plan this year (or is currently doing one now)? It seems the time of year when people make all kinds of resolutions. One of the good resolutions to make would be to commit to reading the Word of God every day.

There are many different kind of reading plans out there. Ones that come to you through an RSS feed, ones that are emailed to you every day, and ones that you can listen to through your cell phone, iPod, or computer.

Just wondering if anyone wanted to share what they are doing this year. I have decided to start fresh with the Robert Murray M'Cheyne plan. I actually started the plan last week. The plan starts by putting four book marks in your Bibles. One in Genesis, one in Ezra, one in Matthew, and one in Acts. Basically you are reading four chapters a day, two from the Old Testament, and two from the New.

Whatever plan you may choose, I hope each and every one of you will seek God this year through His Word!

Encouraging Us To Pray

Ask, and It Will Be Given (Matt 7:7-11)
“ Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

These are encouraging words for us this morning regarding prayer...

We are to...
1. Ask God for what we need
2. Seek what we need from God
3. Knock on the doors of heaven persistently for our needs
4. Ask specifically from God for our needs (i.e. bread, or fish)
5. Ask for things that are good according to what God deems as good (this would require us to study our Bibles to determine what is good and what is bad)
6. Seek them from God as your Father who is in heaven.

God says He will...
1. He will give to us what we ask for
2. He will enable us to find what we are seeking
3. He will open the doors of heaven
4. He will give to us what we specifically ask for
5. He will give good gifts to us (way better then we could give a good gift)
6. Presumably treat us as His children

And How Was Your New Year?

Our son has had a fever off and on for about 10 days. Last night around 7:30 I was giving him a bath and noticed that his rib cage was retracting when he breathed. This suggested to us that he was having a difficult time breathing. My oldest daughter and I brought him to the ER to find out how serious his situation had become.  We anticipated that he had pneumonia, and wanted to have him on antibiotics if it was a bacterial infection. 

After our initial checks, the doctor ordered a white blood cell count and an X-ray. We have had our kids get X-rays before, and they needed to be strapped down to this torture device to keep them still. The man who was going to take the X-ray asked me if our son Sammy would sit still for a picture. I prayed he would. 

As my son was in my arms the entire time up to that point, content and calm as ever; this was the first time I had let him out of my arms. It really was sweet to be next to him, holding his hands to the top of the X-ray board and press his little hips flat. He squirmed quite a bit, all the while I was saying to him, "say cheese son." All he really wanted to do was two things, see the camera, and be back in his Daddy's arms. 

It is a precious thing to grasp the role we have in our children's lives. Although Sammy knew my arms to be enforcers of punishment when he disobeys, he more so knows my arms to be comforting and protecting arms. 

My arms are merely a dim shadow of my Heavenly Fathers, yet they still function on some level like His. I am a small picture of God to my children. Like a Pastor is a small picture of God to their flock, my children are sheep in my pasture. I pray O Lord Jesus that I will rightly and justly represent you to the children you have entrusted to my care. 

I thank the Lord for skilled individuals that are able to diagnose a body in the same way I can diagnose a heat/cool roof top unit, or a boiler. 

Sammy is on antibiotics, and I trust those nasty little critters that are plugging up my son's airways will soon be triumphed over.