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Category: Christian Life

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Settled in The Power of God’s Word

 “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” (Isaiah 26:3)

Today, in the midst of a global pandemic and the overwhelming political use of it to accomplish certain goals and intentions against our nation and our faith, the population is stuck and divided between two positions: Some of us are in fear and some of us are angry – some are both.

Some of us are in fear – fear for our health and the health of our loved ones, neighbors and friends; fear for our economy and the future of our nation. Others are just angry – angry that some people don’t seem to be as afraid, alarmed or concerned as they are about the health risks concerning the virus and /or that those same people are refusing to heed the cry of the “experts” on the issue (either concerning the virus or the economy) OR they are angry with those leaders who have taken advantage of the crisis to advance their own socio-political and radical environmentalist agendas.

Both the fearful and the angry people have one thing in common – no peace.

Isaiah wrote that perfect peace is only available to those whose minds are stayed (fixed or centered on) God – such a person is at peace because he or she has placed their trust in God. That, “stayed mind” is the third position being expressed today because it takes into account and considers what God’s word says – what it predicts (or prophecies) and what it promises.

Consider this, in (Matthew 24) Jesus both predicts (prophesies) and promises that days like these would come. I say promises because according to (Isaiah 55:11) in which God declares:

“So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”

Every word of God WILL come to pass!

In (2 Timothy 3:1-5) Paul speaks to a young minister about the “perilous times” to come and the kind of behavior and attitudes which will mark those days and be manifested through both false teachers and worldly men:

“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!”

In the gospel of (Luke 17:26-30), Jesus made mention of the days prior to His return characterizing them to be like the days of Noah and Lot:

“And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.”

Was there a great revival in those days? No – they were marked by judgment.

The people ate, drank, gave their children in marriage, they bought, sold, planted, built and they were immoral – they lived but they did NOT seek God!

Some view their political party rivals as their enemy but in (Ephesians 6:12), Paul makes it clear that “we do not wrestle (war or fight) against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

The tension we feel and the stress upon us because of the evil we see in the world may come through or by the hand of our fellow man but it originates with Satan.

The Bible tells us how to wage a spiritual war in (2 Corinthians10:3-6). First, it says that the weapons we wage war with are NOT carnal – “we do not war according to the flesh.” We don’t mock, don’t shoot, don’t slander, don’t assault – don’t let our flesh respond to the emotional and or physical stresses upon it; instead, we bear the weapons of God and wage a spiritual warfare. We prayerfully use the word of God – even if it only assails our own attitudes rather than the issues around us. We bring EVERY thought into captivity (v.5) to the obedience of Christ! Such was Paul’s warfare, so it should also be the warfare of all who have believed in Jesus Christ.

The Lord Jesus Christ said in (Matthew 24:12) that “because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” What love, emotional love, physical love? No, more like empathy and compassion for our fellow man will grow cold. More than that, a lack of “love for the truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:10) of God – to deny His truth is to reject God. When we face oppression, the flesh wants to lash out against our oppressors but as we have seen, God would not have us to respond according to the flesh. When our answer to His word is “yeah, but…” we are NOT loving His truth! I think that this is part of what the “apostasy” which Paul mentions in (2 Thessalonians 2:3) looks like – a departure from loving God and the people He created AS WELL as a rejection of His authority and truth.

Both are taking place today!

Somehow, those of us clinging to either fear or anger in response to the world around us MUST return to seeing this world and reacting to it in light of the words and promises of God rather than the carnality of our emotions.

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My Journey

A brother in Christ asked me recently whether I counted my past life as Paul considered his to have been in (Philippians 3:7-8) – as “loss,” “dung” (KJV), or “rubbish” (NKJV). I said to him, “yes and no,” because I believe that Paul was referring to things like his reputation, education, status among men, and even his passion or “zeal” for God prior to knowing the Lord Jesus Christ – his “confidence in his flesh” (v.3-4) when he said it; I don’t think Paul meant things like the way God was getting his attention in those days. I don’t think that Paul meant “the goads” of the Lord (Acts 9:5) including the devotion of the followers of Christ, whom Paul persecuted, as they faced death or imprisonment for faith in Jesus as Stephen did in (Acts 6:8-7:60).

Why did I say yes and no? Because although my past life was in many ways, a deplorable moral train wreck; along the way, God used some of the things from my past to get my attention.

You see, for most of my life, I have been aware of God because of those things.

As a young teenager I would sing “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” in front of my house in the morning, while I was waiting for the bus or a ride to school – because somewhere I learned that Jesus was a Lion. I wouldn’t have called it worship because I didn’t know what that was but I was singing it to Him.

Silly, I know.

I wasn’t really ‘raised’ in church but I went to CCD as a kid – I was a kind of black sheep to the nuns who taught there, but I learned some things about Jesus there too.

Then I heard the rock opera, “Jesus Christ Superstar,” I didn’t know that it was meant to mock Jesus rather than exalt Him so, year after year as 97 Rock in Buffalo NY played the entire work on Easter Sunday, I would listen and sing the songs as an act of remembrance and one day I watched the movie by the same title. On that day, as I watched, Jesus was nailed to a cross while many stood near Him, mocking and laughing and His disciples boarded a bus leaving Him alone to die on the cross – I wept…I cried hard. I asked my mom, “Why did He die like that?” and “Why did, how could His friends leave Him there to die?” Questions that would be answered several years later, on the day I gave my life to Him who gave His for me.

Just because I was aware of God didn’t mean that I knew Him or had accurate knowledge about Him either; the fact was that I really knew very little about Him. For instance, as I grew older and my sins increased, I came to view God as a “three strikes and you’re out” kind of God. Maybe it was because what little exposure I did have to what He is like came from people who taught that you could earn your way into Heaven by doing good. On Easter Sunday morning 1988, I entered into church with the overwhelming conviction that I had sinned one too many times and after hearing a message that involved a gospel presentation when I finally learned the answer to WHY Jesus died like He did, in tears I came forward to ask Him to save my soul.

Did I come to understand Him fully in that hour? No. Did I turn from all of my sins in that hour? No.

I began a new life in Christ, in that hour. I began a journey of transformation, in that hour.

Have I had doubts about God since then? No.

Have I ever had doubts about myself and my relationship to God since then? …Yes, occasionally and especially when I forget that the only works which count for eternal life are the works that Jesus Christ did to save me.

I’m still on that journey today and I have learned a few things about myself and about God during the 32 years since my first encounter with Him on the road I had been traveling. It is from those lessons that I write in order to help those on the road to keep headed in the right direction and also in order to introduce others to the Son of God who died and rose for them like He did for me.

Over the years, the Lord has used tragedy, danger and answered prayer to draw me nearer to Him in faith but the one thing that He has consistently used to humble, refine and draw me nearer to Himself is the mirror He left for us which is His holy word.

More on that later this week….

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Green Pastures…Still Waters

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.” (Psalm 23)

Green pastures…still waters – you can just about hear the gentle breeze blowing in the trees and through the grass as the water gently passes by; it just doesn’t get much better than that – this is a picture of the peace of God.  I love that picture don’t you? If such a place as that spoken of in this passage is the only place where we may find peace and rest for our souls you and I are in deep trouble because it’s a rare occasion that we get to a place like that.

Does that mean that we can’t have the peace that David spoke of in these verses?

No, the peace of God is not circumstantial –it isn’t dependent on where you’re at physically; it is dependent on where you are spiritually.  The peace from God is first a mindset that comes from a confidence that all will be well and that confidence comes from trust.  Isaiah said of God, [Isa.26:3] “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”  King David, the ‘under-shepherd’ of God’s people Israel wrote this psalm as a dependent follower of the living God; his mind was stayed on, concentrated on, and focused upon – God. No matter what was happening on the outside, he had peace because it was his God rather than his circumstances that gave him peace.

Think about that for a moment.

The pandemic affecting the world has led to the shut down of nearly everything. Some people haven’t stopped working – truckers, first responders, doctors, nurses and others in the medical profession, retailers and grocers to name a few, but the majority of us have been told to stop and stay home. But what if what most of us have viewed as a negative situation could really be for our good? When He makes us to lie down, when He gives us a moment to rest in green grass – what do you do? You only have two choices: you can choose to lie down OR you can choose to refuse to lie down.

God uses, He turns, He makes “…all things work together FOR GOOD to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) Even something like what the world is going through right now.

What is the Lord’s purpose in THIS moment that we are all going through?

Consider the fact that some of you, prior to this “storm” were complaining about how tired you were. Some of you, prior to this “season” were so busy that your spiritual life was suffering; some of you were so busy that your family life was suffering and some of you were so busy that your marriages were suffering. Some of you, prior to this moment were longing to get closer to God but because you were so busy could never find the time.

In this moment, He has slowed you down. In this moment, He has caused you to lie down. In this moment, He has given you an opportunity to rest yourself, an opportunity to repair your relationships and an opportunity to search for, listen to and hear Him.

Have you slowed down or are you now complaining about what might happen because you’re not busy at work? He has given you a moment to catch up, check up and listen up – are you?

Like some of you, I’m pretty stubborn – I like to be in control of my life. When I’m told to sit down, I want to stand up. When I’m told to be silent, I want to talk. I’m the guy who thinks to himself after he’s been told to sit down, “I’m sitting on the outside but I’m standing up on the inside!”  All joking aside, the reality is that like it or not, God IS in control – not you and not me. Jesus told us not to worry. Why, because it changes nothing. He said in (Matthew 6:27): “Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?” Worry changes nothing but your attitude and your health – stress kills – worry fixes nothing.

Considering the opening statement in (Psalm 23), can you say that the Lord is YOUR Shepherd?

If He is, let Him lay you down to rest; don’t worry, don’t let your wants consume your thoughts – be content in this moment. If the Lord is YOUR Shepherd, let Him lead you beside still waters and restore your soul (v.2-3) – draw near to Him, seek Him, find your rest in Him; let Him turn even this moment into something good in your life.

Is He your Shepherd? Let His presence in your life comfort you (v.4) – because He IS with you, you need not fear.

Is this moment REAL?  Yes.

Is Almighty God MORE REAL? Yes.

Is our Great God MORE THAN ABLE?  Yes, His word declares that HE is able to deliver us either FROM the fire (see Daniel 3:17) or THROUGH it (see Daniel 3:22-26).

It is not my intention to diminish or dismiss the seriousness of this season into which the whole world finds itself. But neither can I diminish or dismiss that He who is God over both the hills and the valleys of life IS also IN CONTROL!

What is God’s purpose in this moment for you? For some, it is a time to rest, for others it may be a time to restore relationships and reflect on Him who saved you and also for others it may be a time to finally repent of your sins and believe in Jesus Christ. Take the time! Use it for the purpose for which it has been given! Whatever the purpose, the opportunity may not come your way again.

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Resting Assured in a Season of Uncertainty

Lately, I’ve been reading posts from people about how uncertain their lives have become due to the onslaught of the Covid19 virus. People are uncertain about their jobs, their future, their health and the health of others; they are uncertain about the things they’ve been hearing from leaders, social media, news outlets and even their neighbors – they are uncertain if they’ll have enough food and supplies to weather this pandemic, unclear as to how long it will last and just as unclear of what to expect once its over.

Prior to the current pandemic most of us had a confidence about tomorrow using a kind of emotional barometer which led us to believe that because we had a job today we’d have it tomorrow or because we or a loved one was alive and well today we or they would be alive tomorrow; but does ANYBODY really KNOW what tomorrow holds?

There is One who does – Almighty God knows the end from the beginning:

“Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,And I will do all My pleasure…” (Isaiah 46:9–10)

The God who knows the number of hairs on your head (Luke 12:7) hold tomorrow in the palm of His hand (Psalm 139:16, James 4:13) and commands the rising and setting of the sun (Job 9:4-8). Our God and His Son Jesus Christ are the SAME yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). In a world of uncertainty, He is a constant that you can turn to and count on! He said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” (Matthew 24:35) His presence is a constant in our lives during seasons of crisis and during seasons of calm (Psalm 46:1; Hebrews 13:5). The words He spoke and the promises He’s made are all “yes and amen” (2 Corinthians 1:20) – they are guaranteed! (see Romans 15:8-12)

Frankly, before we believed in Jesus Christ, Almighty God was as He has been – He never changes (Malachi 3:6, James 1:17). But, prior to our faith in Jesus Christ we only knew one thing – that one day each of us would cease to be. We didn’t know when or how but we knew that everyone eventually breathes his or her last. When we came to trust in the Lord (assuming you have) we gained access to a whole host of otherwise inaccessible constants or “sure things” – things which can give you peace amid the uncertainty.

I would like to remind those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ of some constants that we CAN cling to in these uncertain days:

  • God is in control:

“But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases.” (Psalm 115:3)

“A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9)

“There are many plans in a man’s heart, Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand.” (Proverbs 19:21)

“(His Son), who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,” (Hebrews 1:2-3)

  • God will not and has not forsaken us: “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you,Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’” (Isaiah 41:10)
  • Jesus who died for our sins and rose from the dead will return again for us before He judges the world:

““Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:1–3)

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17)

“For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” (1 Thessalonians 1:9–10)

  • Through faith in Jesus Christ, death – whenever that may be – DOES NOT HAVE THE LAST WORD in our lives: “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.” (John 11:25)
  • God’s promises (as we’ve already said) like His person and character NEVER change or fail.

A time may come in the future, when we might be caught off-guard and taken by surprise (as many were this time) by a crisis of some kind and as a result, lose sight of the constancy of Christ and His promises but that does not and can not change the FACT that He IS an unfailing, eternal God who has made and eternal promise to those who believe in Him!

So sinner and saint alike – believer and unbeliever alike:

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face; and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.“

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Am I My Brother’s Keeper?

Tucked away, in the middle of the narrative about Cain and Abel is a question that most people answer incorrectly – “Am I my brother’s keeper?”  First let me say, how brazen this reply was from a man with blood on his hands to answer the question of an all knowing and all-powerful God concerning Cain’s brother. There is much to learn from the passage in (Genesis 4:1-12) about how sin lies in wait with a desire to rule over us (Gen. 4:7) but that instead we should rule over it, however I’d like to draw down on the impertinent question in (v.9) “am I my brother’s keeper” because in light of the current state of the world both prior to and in the grips of the corona virus “pandemic,” it is a question to be addressed and answered by each of us.

I recently read a story on LinkedIn telling about of a couple of Marines who, as pilots were regularly tested on tactics, weapons systems etc. The two “senior pilots” were very knowledgeable and well-studied so as to avoid having their reputations tarnished in those testing situations. In advance of an upcoming weapons test, some younger and less experienced pilots entered into the squadron; the senior pilots did not know and did not care about how or whether the new guys were ready for it. When the “smoke” from the test cleared and they were graded it came as no surprise to the senior guys when they “aced” the test; the new guys however all failed and received a well deserved chewing out but it was when the tactics officer called the senior guys out that the real surprise came – they were chewed out for their irresponsible failure to train their younger “brothers.” This is what the author wrote about it, “We had a responsibility to actively seek out the less experienced pilots, teach them and guide them along the path to success.” It was his understanding from that chewing out by a tactics officer that he WAS his brother’s keeper.

How do you respond when those around you struggle, falter or fail? What’s more, what are you doing to help them succeed?

Are we our brother’ (or sister’s) keeper as Christians?

Perhaps we’re too competitive with each other to care about how our teammate on the field of life – be they a brother in the faith or a fellow human being – is making out, let alone to come alongside them and offer them a word of encouragement or a helping hand. It’s unfortunate, but sometimes it takes a global pandemic to wake people up and even then, many draw down on the one thing that matters most to them – their own survival. But what if more of us adapted the attitude of Jesus “who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:6–8)

Jesus self-sacrificially laid everything down for the sake of others.

When Paul tells husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church (see Ephesians 5:25) he was pointing to the self-sacrificial mind of Christ towards all mankind and showing us that esteeming others better than ourselves (Philippians 2:3) and looking out for the interests of others (Philippians 2:4) is a Biblical mandate for the follower of Christ.

Consider for a moment that the four men who went to great lengths to get their paralyzed friend in front of Jesus (Luke 5:17-20) were acting as their brother’s keeper. The (HB) word shâmar here translated keeper also means guard, protector and attendant – It conveys the idea that love for one another should drive us to look out for each other; love and concern drove those men to action for their brother’s sake.

Perhaps you don’t think the other guy is YOUR responsibility? Consider these passages:

While arguing for a faith that does, James wrote: “If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?” (James 2:15-16)

In response to people seeking to know what “works worthy of repentance” looked like John the Baptist said: ““He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.”” (Luke 3:11)

“By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” (1 John 3:16–18)

Laying down our lives doesn’t always mean to physically die but often it means to lay aside our self-interests and selfishness for the sake of those in need (see also Acts 2:44-45, 4:32).

The prophet Isaiah wrote: “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; when you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh?” (Isaiah 58:6–7)

Jesus said, ““You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matthew 22:39)

Concerning whatever spiritual , physical or emotional burden or weight, Paul wrote: “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2)

“Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.” (Galatians 6:1)

Again Paul wrote: “Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me. I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:34–35)

Are you your brother’s keeper? Like it or not – YES!

We live in a moment of crisis. People need supplies, people need hope, people need encouragement, people need support and most of all people NEED Jesus. There are people in our community working to meet those needs – first responders, doctors and nurses, truck drivers, people in various aspects of Christian ministry like Christ’s Kitchen in Victoria. In the days, weeks and perhaps even months that this crisis continues, pray and seek the Lord for ways that you can attend to, protect and guard your brother or sister in the faith as well as your fellow man. The difference you make may be eternal…

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Redeem the Time (Part 3)

Can you redeem time lost?  Not always – all opportunities to share God’s love are limited opportunities and available only as long as the Lord allows.  Time marches on, people change, move on, grow old and pass away.  But sometimes God allows us a second chance to share – don’t miss it if you get one; resolve now to be a person who will care enough to help another person come to faith in Christ.

You can redeem the time you have left or that someone else in your life has left remembering what Jesus said in [John 9:24]: “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.” We have the strange notion that God has given us life for our own pleasure and purposes and while the time IS coming when we will be at rest (in heaven, with Jesus ) for now we must work while it is still day – while we still have breath we must redeem the time for the sake of the spiritual need of others.

Redeem the time you have because it is most likely that you will never have the given opportunity or set of circumstances to impact the lives of those you meet for Jesus again. Each experience in time is unique with so many variables that duplicating the experience is next to impossible.

As in my visit with the young man on the plane trip to Buffalo; outside that one moment in time, I will never have the same opportunity to reach out to him again. Redeeming the time is making the most, in Christ’s name, out of every opportunity to share the love of God with others.

Redeem the time because you may never see the person you are visiting with again. We’ve already said that life is a fragile thing. It is important that we stop taking for granted that we’ll have another chance to tell someone about Jesus. Will the bed ridden, sick and indigent be around tomorrow?  Will the fittest man, a picture of health, in the prime of his youth be around tomorrow?  Will we, the bearers of the message be around tomorrow?  Life is a vapor (James 4:14). No one knows their own length of days let alone someone else’s .We must come to understand that when the Lord puts someone into our lives, even temporarily, it is our only opportunity to reach them in Jesus name. We must make the most out of every moment in which we live as followers of Christ to reach people. We must come to see those we meet in life as people for whom Christ died but who don’t know it or believe it yet.

Finally, we must remember as one commentator said, not only to redeem time lost, and time left but time loaned; we must remember that we do not manufacture time, if we did, none of us would ever run out of it.  The fact is that like everything else pertaining to life, God has given us time; let us make the most of it in light of His purpose and the worlds need. Buying up opportunities, which is another way of saying redeem the time will cost you something in terms of your own wants and desires – lay your life down for the gospel, for the cause of Christ and the purpose of God – the price you pay to tell is not as high as the price Christ paid to provide but it may lead to the priceless redemption of another soul – that IS what redeeming time is all about.

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Redeem the Time (Part 2)

Redeem the Time because Life is Short…

Somebody once said, “Don’t put off until tomorrow what should be done today because procrastination is the thief of time.”  What he meant by that I think is that we usually procrastinate when we have the time to do what’s needed but we’d rather not, thus we put off to another time which may never come what we had the time to do today and in this way procrastination robs us of time.

In the Ephesian letter Paul calls the days that they were living in evil; he said, “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”  What’s Paul saying?  Well, without denying God’s sovereignty over all of His creation I think that Paul is drawing our attention to the fact that we live in a delicate world.

Men still choose to do evil instead of good. Sometimes their choices just affect themselves, and sometimes they affect others, sometimes many others. On 9/11 several men boarded planes which crashed into the Trade towers, the Pentagon, and a Pennsylvania field, killing thousands out of hate. And on any given night someone carelessly chooses to drink and drive, wrecks and kills someone; or another gets angry and takes another man’s life, etc.; wars and rumors of war, famines, pestilence’s, earthquakes in various places (Matthew 24:6-8), hurricanes, typhoons, tornado’s, blistering heat, freezing cold, ‘global warming’, hate, greed, injustice, etc. – we live in a delicate world.

We are obviously not in full control of our time here on earth. You could avoid people, traffic, cities and still be a victim of someone else’s careless or violent act. You may live a morally pure life and still contract AIDS from a blood transfusion during surgery (all though that is less likely today than in recent years). You could drive carefully and cautiously and still be a party in a fatality wreck because of ‘the other guy’ – and so on.

It should alarm us that life isn’t nearly as predictable as we would like it to be. Likewise, it should be just as alarming to understand that the threads that moor each of our lives in time can be easily broken by any one of a number of things. It should alarm us that life can end at any moment, ours or someone else’s, and that their eternal destiny hangs in the hope that someone tells them about Jesus, and that they believe.  These alarms should move us to act, to listen, to care, and to get involved in the lives of others; they should stir us to urgency regarding the sharing of the gospel.

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Redeem the Time (Part 1)

When panic is prevailing in the hearts of people all around us, what should the followers of Christ do? In Paul’s letter to the churches of Colossae and Ephesus twice he uses the expression – “redeem the time;” in fact these are the only two instances of the phrase in the entire New Testament.  One man suggested that in redeeming the time you and I are to take ownership of it and if we take ownership of it, if we treat it as the precious gift that it is – we will also make the most of it.  We all know what that means in simple human terms: life is short; cherish the moments; spend time with those you love – make the most out of today because tomorrow doesn’t always come; we know what it means in general terms – what does it mean for the follower of Jesus Christ?

Redeem the Time for the Lord’s Purposes…

 In his letter to the Ephesians Paul adds something to the expression “redeeming the time” in [v.17] taking it all together, [v.15-17] read like this:

“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

If we are to understand how we as believers are to make the most of our time on earth we must first understand what God wants us to do with the time He has given us – what is His will? The simplest answer to the question of God’s will pertains to His primary purpose in sending His Son among us – His Son came to redeem us. Therefore we make the best use of our time as believers – we redeem time best when we use it to share the message of God’s redeeming love with those who have yet to trust in Jesus themselves.  It is in this context that we might best understand the Great Commission given by Jesus Christ as read in [Matt. 28:18-20]:

“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”

God’s will is also clearly expressed in [2 Peter 3:9]:

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

And in [1 Corinthians 5:9-10]:

“I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.”

Clearly God’s will according to these verses alone is that as we live our lives we are to strive to lead as many people (regardless of their background as unbelievers) as each of us can to a relationship with Jesus Christ.

In light of the fact that the will of the Lord is redemptive in nature and that as the redeemed the use of our time must be redemptive as well, there are two other points that we should consider:

  1. The world is on a collision course with God’s wrath. (2 Peter 3:10-18)
  2. Life is short.

Redeem the Time for the Lost’s Sake…

Paul not only instructed believers to consider and understand what the will of the Lord was and is but also to “walk circumspectly.” That expression means to live in such a way as to consider the consequences before hand of what you might do or say. The writer of Proverbs wrote in [Prov. 12:18];

“There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, but the tongue of the wise promotes health.”

That’s a hard one; most of us are not that measured in our speech. For most of us, we say what comes to mind as soon as it does and we are nearly as spontaneous in our actions as well. If we’re wronged, for example, often our first response is to pay it back.  But Paul’s instruction leads us to understand that there are consequences to consider in terms of accomplishing God’s will which are dependent on what we say and do before the lost.  Will your actions and or deeds bring the unbeliever closer or push him or her further away from faith in Jesus Christ?

Paul instructed the Colossians (Col. 4:5) to “walk in wisdom toward those who are outside” (outside the faith). In other words, believers should be careful how they live before unbelievers, choosing to live holy lives on a daily basis (to practice what we preach), pursuing the will of God, and striving to do good at every opportunity rather than pursuing the evil that lurks in every day. Paul’s words in (Ephesians 5: 8–13), especially, (vs. 8) shed additional light on his instruction in (vs. 15) to conduct our lives wisely and carefully before a watching world – in (vs. 8) he said, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.”   If we are followers of God, who is described metaphorically in the Bible as “light” (light being synonymous with God’s pure and holy character, and His integrity) we should ourselves conduct our lives as children of light – every moment of the day should be lived with God and His will as the driving force behind every choice we make and every word we say.

Listen, the gravest consequence of all is that unbelievers will face the full wrath of God in hell and I think that it is in light of this truth that we must double our efforts to make the most of our time with the people that we meet as we live our lives.  

How are you redeeming the time for the lost’s sake?

The call of the Christian is to rescue the perishing; the consequence of not heeding the call, the consequence of not casting the “gospel” net or reaching out to the lost is the unbelievers eternal doom.

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Help for A Rainy Day

It is easy to offer advice to people going through trying times, just say a few words and “bam” you feel that you’ve done your part and hope that they feel encouraged. Such an approach to the suffering of others reminds me of what the half-brother of Jesus said in (James 2:15-16):

“If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?”

Am I saying that we really can’t help others until “we’ve walked a mile in their shoes?” No, but the reality is that our words of empathy, understanding and compassion can lack a certain authenticity – it is often as the words of the bereaved state to the one who says “I know how you feel” – “no, you don’t.”

The Lord has been working on me regarding this subject lately and He used a well-known quote from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem “The Rainy Day” to start it off:

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the mouldering Past,
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,
And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
INTO EACH LIFE SOME RAIN MUST FALL,
Some days must be dark and dreary.

Rain, as you may know, is sometimes a blessing and sometimes a curse. So as to not keep what I mean veiled behind the word, by rain I mean to point to the challenging moments in our lives that change our life’s trajectory either permanently or for a season and which, if allowed, cause us to lose track of our identity and purpose.

With regard to the rain, we don’t get to chose when it comes, whether it drops from the clouds or it takes the form of an unwelcome diagnosis or announcement; it comes as it pleases with the permission of the Lord and the best any of us (especially those who trust in the Lord) can do in advance of the rainy day or the storms of life is to remain focused on Jesus Christ and the promises found in His word.

Well, as I said, the Lord has been dealing with me on the subject of dealing with the rainy days of life by taking me through my own and reminding me that the rainy days of life DO NOT have the last word; He used the following Biblical passages to bring me back to the right perspective:

  • When you want to give in to hopelessness, “Be STRONG in the Lord, in the power of His might!” Ephesians 6:10 (emphasis mine)
  • LEARN “to be content in whatever state you are in…” (Philippians 4:11)
  • ACCEPT adversity from God: “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” (Job 2:10)
  • BELIEVE that: “God shall supply all your NEED according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)
  • When you think you’re alone REMEMBER that “…He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)
  • Because the Lord IS with you, keep the faith: “Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.” (Matthew 8:23–26)

The word of God contains multitudes more encouragement for those experiencing an extended season of difficulty. I offer these because it is easy to get caught in the rain (so to speak) and to become so overwhelmed and inwardly focused that we may fail to worship God for who He is; praise Him for what He is doing and serve Him in the work He has for us.

The rut of hopelessness and despair only gets deeper if we fail to recall to mind the Lord’s word and heed it when the rainy days come.

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Christian Body Armor

How did you dress this morning before you headed out the door to begin your day?

Chances are that no matter what you wore, you dressed for the circumstances and conditions you expected to face. If for an interview, you dressed well; if it was cold outside you probably wore a coat, if it was raining you probably wore a raincoat and carried an umbrella – whatever the circumstances or conditions you most likely dressed accordingly.

But wait! Did you dress for the guy that cut you off on your way to work? Did you dress for the bully who shoved you in the hall at school? Did you dress for the co-worker who is constantly harassing you? Did you know that as a follower of Christ, you’re supposed to dress for circumstances and conditions like those too?

Let me put it to you another way; a soldier puts on battle gear before heading onto the battlefield not once he gets there. Why? Because it will most likely be too late once his or her boots hit the ground and they will most likely suffer harm for being ill-prepared for the battle they were entering into.

Christian, do you know that every day, no matter the weather outside you are entering onto a battlefield? Take a look at the words which Paul shared to a group of believers in Ephesus:

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” (Ephesians 6:10–13, NKJV)

Everyday, we enter onto a field of battle. Our enemy is not the one who just passed you on the road driving like a lunatic, it is not Shakira and J-Lo baring all to the world during the Super-Bowl, it is not the bully who shoved you or the parent who mocked you or the co-worker harassing you – your enemy and mine is the devil and ‘the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” His methods, his scheming – his “wiles” and his minions are working to get you off track with God, to ruin your testimony and to trip you up before the very ones you were put here to reach in Jesus’ name. Often the devil wins the daily skirmishes between he and us because we did not dress accordingly for the day ahead. We went out in our own strength rather then the strength of the Lord “and the power of HIS might” (v.1).

Like our enemy, our weapons are spiritual – we don’t fight the devil with guns, knives and so forth; the best Kevlar won’t protect you from Satan’s fiery darts; “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God…” (2 Corinthians 10:4, NKJV). I know that I go on about this a lot but its because the vast majority of Christians that I have met do not dress accordingly for the daily battle that awaits them (see Genesis 4:7, 1 Peter 5:8).

So, what are we to wear for this battle? Paul lists six items:

  • A belt (v.14a): “Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth…” To the audience he was speaking to, such a belt would enable a person to gather up the garment they wore so that they could move about without restriction. For the Christian, this is integrity and faithfulness that equates with blamelessness in my mind. It is hard to stand for God and against the devil with hypocrisy and personal condemnation (see 1 John 3:20-21) in our hearts but remembering the promise of God and applying those promises to ourselves girds our waist with truth.
  • A breastplate (v.14b): “…having put on the breastplate of righteousness…” the (GK) word used here cannot mean justification in the sense of our salvation because we are not born again and again and again – believers are justified (set apart and delivered from the wrath of God) by faith (Romans 5:1) in the shed blood of Jesus (Romans 5:9) once and for all. For you and I, donning this breastplate is more about the daily consecration or setting of ourselves apart for God through sanctification or a personal commitment to doing the will of God.
  • A pair of cleats (v.15): “…and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;” Roman soldiers wore cleated shoes or shoes with spikes on the bottom of them to give them a firmer footing in battle much like runners do on a cinder-track. To understand the point of the cleats Paul is referring to here take a look at (Philippians 4:6-7):

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

How many of us enter the day worried about this or that? Peace and worry DO NOT go together and in the above verse we find a way to plant our feet deeply in the gospel of peace. We cannot strive for souls or defeat the schemes of the devil against us if doubt or fear control us; to be sure footed for the day ahead we must stand in the peace we have with God (see Isaiah 26:3).

  • A shield (v.16): “…above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.”  The (GK) word thurĕŏs translated as “shield” literally points to its size – it was a “door shaped,” body length shield. The phrase, “Above all” in this verse is not to imply that this shield was the most important aspect of our preparation but rather the one part that goes in front of all the other pieces. While it is true that it is impossible to please God apart from faith (Hebrews 11:6); it is also true and apparent here that only by faith in Christ who goes before us and in His words will we be able to quench (by the power of God) the darts of temptation flung at us by the wicked one, Such a faith puts God between you and whatever the devil may throw at you.
  • A helmet (v.17a): “And take the helmet of salvation…”  The last two items a Roman soldier would receive in preparation for some conflict would be his helmet and his sword. Just as wearing a helmet in baseball or football instills a certain level of confidence regarding head injury in the player on the field, the helmet of salvation instills a sense of confidence in the believer as he enters into another day.  Paul referred to this helmet in (1 Thessalonians 5:8) as “the hope of salvation,” literally the confident expectation of future glorification in and with the Lord (see Romans 8:30).
  • A Sword (v.17b): “…and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God…” Every other piece of equipment named in Paul’s list is defensive and meant to be the means by which you are protected and prepared for spiritual battle but the sword is an offensive weapon. Defined as the word of God, we know that this weapon is super sharp (Hebrews 4:12) and because it is “a discerner of the thought and intents of the heart” it cuts deep and gets to the heart of every matter. That it is “of the Spirit” of God implies spiritual power over the direct assaults of Satan but how is it to be carried? It is my belief that in order for the Spirit to use the word through a person, that person MUST be immersed in the word. The word of God is not merely to be carried beside us but is to be memorized and stored within us; then and only then upon the assault of Satan in our lives can the Spirit call to our memory and bring to utterance in and through us the words which will silence him or cause him to flee.

Finally, constant “prayer” and “watchfulness…for all the saints” (v.18) is called for by the apostle. On the battlefield, soldiers have each other’s backs, so to speak; they watch out for one another and are ready to defend one another along with their position – they would be worthless to one another if they were not fully equipped and prepared. When we pray, we speak to Him who knows all things, asking Him to watch over, guide and equip us as Paul has described for the various battles we will face every day. Praying not only to be strengthened and empowered (see Ephesians 3: 16) by the Holy Spirit but also so that we would recognize both when the enemy is about to attack as well as when God would have us to speak, what he would have us to say and for boldness to declare it (see v.19-20).

My Christian friend, what circumstances and conditions are you anticipating today? Be it rain, cold or scorching heat you will never be adequately prepared for the day if you have not also planned and prepared for the spiritual battle that is sure to come upon you today.

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