Month: May 2024

The Tools We Are Given

1 Corinthians 12:4-11                                   The Tools We Are Given

“God’s various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit.  God’s various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit.  God’s various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all.  Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits.  All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people!  The variety is wonderful: wise counsel, clear understanding, simple trust, healing the sick, miraculous acts, proclamation, distinguishing between spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues.  All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God.  He decides who gets what, and when” (MSG).

 

I realize that is a long quote, but it is all relevant to the tools we are given to use.  I spent several years as business manager in both Vail School District and Grace Christian School.   In both places I was responsible for compiling the annual supply orders for all the teachers into one large order.  When this large order was received, it was then my responsibility to distribute the various supplies to the correct teachers.  There were general supplies that every teacher ordered, and specific supplies that teachers ordered according to their teaching specialties.  Math teachers ordered different things from English teachers, and history teachers ordered different supplies from science teachers.  Elementary teachers tended to order many of the same items.

There is a big difference between the teachers supplies and the tools of the Christian worker.  The school teacher decides what supplies he needs, but the Holy Spirit decides and distributes the appropriate tools for each Godly task.  According to the Scripture above, God provides the tools we need.  Some people minister mainly in the healing of the sick, and some minister mainly in the giving of words of wisdom for difficult situations.  As the Scripture says, everyone is given the particular tool or tools he or she needs for the assigned task.  The last sentence of verse eleven tells us that the Holy Spirit decides “who gets what and when.”  The implication in that verse can be that anyone can receive any of God’s great tools at any time, and perhaps could receive different tools at different times for different purposes.  Some may interpret these verses to mean that a person would be given one specific tool for his or her lifetime.  I don’t know which of these interpretations is correct.  I will leave that for you to decide which you believe to be correct.  God has already decided and the Holy Spirit will distribute the appropriate tool at the appropriate time for each assigned task.  All we need to do is be ready and willing to do God’s will.  He will make us able.  All the tools are in the tool storehouse of the Holy Spirit, and He knows what tool needs to go where and when it needs to be there.  He will do whatever is necessary for the completion of God’s plan on earth.  Praise be to God!

We’ve Got Work to Do

Ephesians 2:10                                           We’ve Got Work to Do

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (NIV).

 

That’s a picture of a magnificent animal, standing tall, looking forward as if he has a task to do, and he’s ready to do it.  He is a striking animal that God has created.  Well, I believe that God sees us in much the same way He sees the animal in the picture, but with one big exception.  God created the animals, and then He created man in His image, and that’s an important difference.  Then, many years later, He created me and He created you.

We are told in Ephesians 2:10 that God has prepared work for us.  If we read the verse closely and slowly, we discover that we were created for a particular purpose, a job that was itself, specifically prepared for us.  That makes it pretty special, particularly when the one who created the universe chose us for a particular task.  Implied is the idea that He has formed us and  given us the abilities that we need, for this special task.  If He chose me for this special task, then He didn’t choose someone else for the exact same task.  That indicates that I am special to Him, the only one of all the people ever created who is exactly right for this job.  Since God has spent time and energy preparing us for a task and preparing a task for us, it follows that we are able to do it well, but how can we do it well if we don’t know exactly what it is?  Sometimes it seems as if God has left us alone to discover just exactly what He wants of us.  He hasn’t, but He does want us to also spend time and energy, as He has, in discovering what His plan is for us.  How do we do that?  I’m no expert, and I don’t suppose that there is anyone, aside from God, who can tell each of us what we should be doing.

There are several obvious things to do to prepare.  We can read the Word.  We can pray.  Then, we can read the Word, and we can pray.  I would suggest that we then read the Word and pray.  A few  people are definite that they know by this time exactly what God has planned for them, but that’s not most of us.  We get to study, read, and pray for a longer period of time, and sometimes we even have to try different jobs until we find out what we do best, and what we enjoy doing most.  That makes for a longer journey, but any walk with our Lord is fruitful.  Some of us try many things until we finally know our special place in His plan.  I certainly can’t tell you when you will know God’s special call on your life, but I can tell you that it will be a blessed and satisfying journey during the search.  I do know that whatever the task prepared for me, it is important, and God expects me to perform it to the best of my ability.  So, Lord, I commit myself to the task you have chosen for me, and I intend to do it to the best of my ability.  Lord, I ask for your help, wisdom, and encouragement along the way.

The Gift of Seasons

Genesis 8:22                                                  The Gift of Seasons

“While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall never cease. (NKJV).

 

When God created the earth, He made provision for seasons—different weather patterns for different times of the year.  Interestingly, He did not cause the seasons by moving the earth closer to and farther from the sun to change the seasons, and He did not make day and night by cloaking the sun or causing it to cease to shine at night.  No, He tilted the earth about 23 degrees from upright on its axis, and He caused the earth to rotate so that day and night occur because of the spinning of the earth.  Because of God’s creation plan, there is always daylight and there is always night time somewhere on earth.  Because of the tilting of earth’s axis, the seasons are reversed between the northern and the southern hemispheres.  I’ve always found it difficult to think of people in Australia going to the beach on Christmas, but it is their summer time.  When our trees in the northern hemisphere are beginning to bloom in the spring, the trees in Australia are changing colors for fall.  One of the important results of this tilted axis and season is that it is always growing season somewhere, and it’s always harvest time somewhere.

As Christians we experience seasons in our spiritual lives.  We experience times of harvest because there are times of planting if we don’t forget to plant.  I’ve recognized times in my life when I have been busy planting and then working the fields preparing them for harvest.  And when harvest comes, my activities are different.  It’s interesting to note that some people are very good at planting while others are excellent at harvesting.  Neither one experiences his best results without the other.  Perhaps the skills needed in the two activities are somewhat different.  So, should I feel bad if I don’t experience a large harvest of souls by my work at harvest time?  No, I may have been the one who planted, watered, and fed the plants in preparation for harvest.  We tend to focus on harvest and the great harvesters, but without great planters, the harvest would not be as big.  God’s kingdom needs both, and that’s why God gives different gifts to different people.

I have also experienced times of lower activity, and that time, winter, is usually thought of as the time when nothing happens.  But those are the times when we are rested, fed, and enriched by our Lord.  Those who are going full tilt 24 hours a day, seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a year seem to wear down sooner.  God provided a time of rest for us, and it is important that we use that time to let Him love us tenderly, and prepare us for our next intense time of effort on His behalf.  It is a marvelous privilege to be a farmer in the fields of God, and to do our best, we need to observe our personal seasons just as the earth does.

Having Done All

Ephesians 6:13                                                   Having Done All

“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” (NKJV).

 

This verse comes before the listing of armor that we are to wear—belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes with the preparation of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit.   We are also told to pray “with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, which is the Word of God.”  I’ve always taken this section of Scripture to mean that all our weapons were of a defensive nature because we were to stand.  But, by thinking this, I neglected the three words just before, “to stand.’  Those words are, “having done all.”  I’ve come to realize that “having done all” means that we were to have been on the attack, taking territory from satan and pushing him back in every way we can.  Sometimes when a soldier has “done all,” he is tired and needs rest and resupply.  That’s the time we are to stand—not to give any quarter, not to give up an inch of the territory we have gained while we are being resupplied.  The weapons we have been given will certainly help as we stand, withstanding the attacks of satan.  All the weapons provide protection, but we need to remember that these same weapons also provide protection as we charge forward.  The principle offensive weapon would seem to be the “sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.”  Sooo, I need to memorize passages of Scripture so that I have my sword always at the ready.  Jesus showed us when He was tempted by satan, that the Word of God drives satan back and may even cause him to go away—quit the battleground for the time being.   Of all the weapons given to us by God, we control the sword of the Spirit by the effort we put into memorizing Scripture.

God has given us His Word, the Bible, but when we let it lie on the coffee table or sit on the bookshelf unopened, we nullify it as a weapon.  Even reading it doesn’t make it very effective as a weapon, but when we know Scripture and can quote it—fire our guns—at satan, it becomes a powerful weapon that sets him back on his heels.  And when satan is finally defeated, we will quote and sing Scripture not as a weapon, but as an expression of our understanding and acceptance of every Word written by God, the very Words He uses to tell us of His great love for us.

Removed from the Grand Canyon

Galatians 6:14                               Removed from the Grand Canyon

“As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died” (NLT).

 

This cross was at a beautiful spot on the south rim of the Grand Canyon where we saw it in 1964.  Unfortunately, it is no longer there.  The area is set aside as a place to spend time in contemplation of the beauty of the Canyon and appreciation of however each person believes it came to be.  This is just one of the many places in this nation that the cross of Jesus Christ is no longer welcome.  There is concern that it may offend someone.  I imagine it would offend those who are actively opposed to the message of Jesus Christ.  But I and many of my friends are proud to claim the cross of Jesus Christ as the symbol of the sacrifice Jesus made to guarantee an eternal home in heaven with Him.  If you claim to be a Christian, I encourage you, no, I challenge you to boast publicly of the importance of the cross of Christ in your life.  It’s time for us to push back.  Jesus expects us to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” Mark 16:15 (NIV).

 

He Gave Them What They Wanted

Luke 23:25                                    He Gave Them What They Wanted

“And he released to them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison; but he delivered Jesus to their will” (NKJV).

 

Jesus had been brought to Pilate because the religious leaders wanted Jesus killed.  He was interfering with their plans, making the people doubt their biblical accuracy. They were afraid that the Romans would take their power away, so they incited the gathering crowd to cry for the crucifixion of Jesus.  So the crowd cried, “Crucify Him!  Crucify Him!”  These are the same people who threw palm branches and even their cloaks on the path the donkey carrying Jesus into Jerusalem was following.  Just a few days before, they hailed Jesus with the words, “Hosanna!  Blessed is he who comes in God’s name!  Blessed the coming kingdom of our father David!  Hosanna in the highest heaven!” Mark 13:9b-10 (MSG).  How soon they forgot.  How easily they were persuaded by the religious leaders.

Why were they shouting?  What did they want?  What was the choice they made?  They shouted because, like many a mob, there were instigators shouting those hateful words at first.  But it didn’t take long before the crowd took up the chant.  “Crucify Him!”  Pilate tried three time to release Jesus because he found no fault in Him, but as the crowd increased their clamor, he gave in to their wishes. They wanted Barabbas, the rioter and murderer released.  They chose chaos and murder over the pure love of God.  Wow!  What a choice they made!  We would never do that today, right?  Well, maybe we would.  Church attendance is down, and many churches have closed.  More and more of our entertainment features murder and mayhem.  A former President of the United States announced that the USA is no longer a Christian nation.  Many college campuses are inflamed today with riots to the extent that graduation ceremonies have been cancelled, and the cries of the rioters are calling for the eradication of the nation of Israel.

We haven’t changed as much as we might think.  Mankind is not getting better and better no matter what the claims are of those opposed to our God, Jehovah, and His Son Jesus Christ.  But wait.  Later in Luke, chapter three, we learn that after Jesus had committed His spirit to His Father, a great darkness fell for three hours in the middle of the day.  In verse 48, we are told, “All who had come around as spectators to watch the show, when they saw what actually happened, were overcome with grief  and headed home” (MSG).  The NIV uses the words, “…they beat their breasts and went away.”  Was repentance beginning?  Might repentance begin and grow into a mighty move of God today?  We can pray for that to happen.

Beauty When All Parts Fit Together

Psalm 133:1                 Beauty When All Parts Fit Together

“How wonderful it is, how pleasant, when brothers live in harmony” (TLB).

 

Students at Grace Christian School were taught to live by this verse.  It didn’t always happen that way, but it certainly was a good daily point of reference.

I made a meat loaf for dinner today, (I’m the meat loaf chef at our house.) and while I was making it, I realized how much this verse applied even to the meat loaf.  I put together many ingredients: ground beef, red peppers, orange peppers, yellow peppers, onions, eggs, Ritz crackers, catsup, meat loaf seasoning, and even a little brown sugar.  (Before you question my list of ingredients, you should ask my wife how it tastes.)  Of course I didn’t just put all the ingredients in the loaf pan and put it in the oven.  The ingredients had to been combined, and I did that by hand.  It makes for messy hands, but it also makes for well-mixed ingredients.  I don’t really have a recipe in the manner of specific amounts of each ingredient each time, so my meat loafs are not always the same.  The main ingredient is the ground beef, but three pounds of ground beef by itself just make a very big, rather tasteless hamburger.  The other ingredients add flavor, each one its own special addition to the whole.

That’s a long way to get to brothers living in harmony, but I think it makes a point.  The main ingredient in any church is the Word, and its exposition.  If that’s all that happened in a church, it could be a church that has no effect on the surrounding community.  God purposely adds all kinds of ingredients to every church, and no two churches are exactly the same.  Just as each ingredient in a meat loaf adds its own special flavor, so each member in a church adds his or her own special flavor to the whole.  The Word and its exposition is certainly central, but if there were no praise and worship, much would be missed in each service.  If there were no one to plan the order of service, always subject to the Holy Spirit of course, services could be chaotic.  If no one made sure that the bills were paid, the church wouldn’t last long.  If no one organized the collection of funds, the finances could be a mess.  If no one cleaned the building, people would soon stop coming.  If no one reached out to his or her neighbor and friends, the church would not grow.  Everyone’s voice is important to God in the singing of worship and praise.  He loves to hear your voice singing His praises.  Making people welcome, especially newcomers, is vital to the health of every church.

I didn’t put much brown sugar in the meat loaf, but it made a difference.  If you don’t think you add much to your church, remember the brown sugar in the meat loaf.  Every ingredient is important in meat loaf, and every person is important in the church.  If you don’t believe me, just ask God.  He added you to your church, and you can expect Him to stir all the members together so that the church not only lives in harmony, but also witnesses to the surrounding community.  If that’s not happening, maybe the members need to become more amenable to God’s stirring.  Maybe we need also to be ready for Him to turn up the heat so the community becomes more aware of the church.

“I Love You”

John 3:16                                                                  “I Love You”

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (KJV).

 

Jesus spoke these words directly to Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews who came to Him at night to inquire of Him what He could not or would not inquire during the public time of daytime.  He wanted face-to-face conversation to understand better the message given by Jesus.  This conversation must have lasted quite a while for it takes up over half of John, chapter three.  We so often neglect the rest of John, chapter three, yet it deserves close study for the many truths that Jesus declares to Nicodemus.  Even so, from this chapter of many basic truths of the Gospel, the one verse, John 3:16, has come to be the most Gospel that many people ever read or know.  As such, it has great importance in spreading the Good News.

In each of the following translations of John 3:16, the full love of God is declared.  Read the many versions given below, and let the truth of the message settle in your heart and mind partly because of the repetition, and partly because of the various ways in which man paraphrases the real words of God, “I Love You!

(NIV) ”For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

(MSG) “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only  Son.  And this is why : so that no one need be destroyed;  by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.”

(Phillips) “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son that everyone who believes in him should not be lost, but should have eternal life.”

(NEB) “God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, that everyone who has faith in him may not die but have eternal life.”

(NLT) “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

(CEV) “God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die.”

(NLV) “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. Whoever puts his trust in God’s Son will not be lost but will have life that lasts forever.”

(AMP)  “For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] [a]only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

(EASY) “God loved the people in the world so much that he gave his one and only Son to save them. As a result, everyone who believes in the Son will not die. Instead, they will live for ever with God.”

(WE) “God loved the world so very, very much that he gave his only Son. Because he did that, everyone who believes in him will not lose his life, but will live for ever.

Yes, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”

Time Alone with the Father

Mark 1:35                                           Time Alone with the Father

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed” (NIV).

 

Fellowship is good.  Spending special time with friends is good.  Gathering with large groups of people to praise the Lord and hear His Word preached is certainly good.  But, even Jesus needed to get way from everything and everybody to spend time alone with the Father.  We find this happening several times in the Gospels.  It seems that Jesus needed the close personal contact with the Father with no possibility of distractions.

If Jesus, the Son of God, had to get away from everything to spend time alone with the Father, how much more do we need to do the same.  Our relationship with our Heavenly Father is a very close, intimate one, and we need to be able to spend time when we can focus our conversation entirely with Him.  He loves mankind in general, but He loves me in particular, just as He loves you, and He yearns for alone time with each of us, to hear from our hearts.  Yes, God does know everything about us, but He also desires to talk with us and hear from our hearts how we are doing, what we are wondering about, how we feel about Him, if there are any requests we have for Him.  Focused time alone with Him also gives us the opportunity to hear from His heart how much He loves us, and what plans He has for us.  For me, that close, focused time alone with God is enhanced when I can be outdoors enjoying His creation.  It draws my attention to Him.

I cherish the times my wife and I can get apart from the concerns of life and just spend time together sharing the deepest feelings of our hearts.  Our relationship is strengthened every time we do that.  We should be desiring to do what we can to deepen the relationship with our Father God, and spending time alone with Him shows Him that we are eager and willing to make an effort to make that special time happen.  I encourage you to plan a time in the near future to spend extended time alone with Father God.  He’s waiting to meet you and spend special alone time with you.

 

Creation Calls Us to Him

Psalm 19:1-4                                             Creation Calls Us to Him

“The heavens proclaim the glory of God.  The skies display his craftsmanship.  Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make Him known.  They speak without a sound or a word; their voice is never heard.  Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world.  God has made a home in the heavens for the sun” (NLT).

 

The declaration of God by the heavens is remarkable.  Go outside at night and look at the stars and a full moon; then go out at night and see the stars when the moon isn’t shining.  It’s a quite different view.  Without the light of the moon, the stars shine brighter, and there are many more stars visible.  My wife and I are planning to visit a designated “dark sky” area this summer during new moon, and we also plan to stay awake as long as it takes to see the Milky Way.  From the pictures I’ve seen, it’s spectacular.  Other beauties of the night skies include the brilliant light of meteors (falling stars), and the view of the Northern Lights.  How many sunsets have you seen, and no two are alike?  We’ve seen sunsets from Maine to Hawaii and Alaska, and I am always rewarded for taking the time to look, not just glance, at a sunset.

During the daytime, we have the normal sight of the sun—a sight too bright to look squarely at it.  Then there are the days with clouds—partly cloudy to overcast.  Bright white puffy clouds floating across the blue sky pull my eyes heavenward.  It’s enjoyable to watch the sun play hide and seek with the clouds, sometimes making their edges stand out brilliantly.  Even an overcast sky holds my interest with the several types of clouds that cover the sky.

I’ve seen a total eclipse of the sun in Maine, and several partial eclipses of the sun in Arizona.  I’ve also seen total and partial eclipses of the moon in both Pennsylvania and Arizona.  Each of them has held my attention while they were occurring.  Nighttime light in the middle of the afternoon will get and hold your attention.  It certainly gets the attention of animals, as birds go to roost and land animals lie down as if to sleep.

So what is the point of all this discussion of the beauty available for enjoyment in the skies?  Go back to the top of this message and reread Psalm 19, verses one to four.  That’s right, “The heavens proclaim the glory of the Lord.”  Look and see.  Look and learn.  Look and believe in Jesus Christ, the creator.  He created all this beauty for our enjoyment and to draw us to Him.  The next time you look at the sky, spend at least a few minutes thinking about the Creator.  Creation beckons us, and the Creator calls us to Him every day.