July 2024 - Creation Beckons

Everybody Is Big League

1 Peter 4:10 Everybody Is Big League

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms” (NIV).

This was the home field of the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, a triple A affiliate of several major league baseball teams. The players’ next step was the major leagues—the Big Time. They were all playing hard to get their shot at the big time or to get back to the big time. They were good players; some would make it and some would not. Major league teams have a roster limit of 26 players, which means that any time one of these guys got called up, someone else was sent down. Elation and heart-break are frequent emotions for these men. While some will become long-time major leaguers, most will, at best, play a few years in the major leagues, and some will never make it.

What a difference there is on God’s team! First of all, there are no minor leagues. Everybody is on God’s all-time all-star team. “For God does not show favoritism” (Romans 2:11 NIV). Everyone on His team is a starter. God expects each of us to do the job that he or she has assigned, and no one’s job is more important than anyone else’s. We do not have to worry about being “sent down” because we have not performed as well as God may like. God depends upon us, but He is very patient with each of us. There is no roster limit for God’s team. We get to choose to join God’s team, and when we do, He assigns us a position, one in which we can serve Him best. We are not waiting for our “shot” at the big time. Once we are on His team, we are already in the big time.

Thank you, Lord, for giving me the opportunity to be a big part of your team. Help me to do my best.

Praise the Lord!

Psalm 148 Praise the Lord!

“Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights above. Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his heavenly hosts. Praise him sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars. Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for at his command they were created, and he established them forever and ever—he issues a decree that will never pass away. Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creature and all ocean depths. Lightning and hail, snow and clouds. Stormy winds that do his bidding, you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds, kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth, young men and women, old men and children. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens. And he has raised up for his people a horn, the praise of all his faithful servants, of Israel, the people close to his heart. Praise the Lord” (NIV).

What else is there to say? PRAISE THE LORD!!! EVERYDAY!!!

So Shall We Bloom

Isaiah 61:11 So Shall We Bloom

“For as the earth brings forth its bud, as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord will cause righteousness and praise spring forth before all the nations” (NKJV).

This spiny cactus brings forth brightly colored beautiful flowers, and they are what get noticed the most, the flowers, as they should. Are not pretty flowers more interesting and enjoyable to view than the spiny stems on which they grow? We are the plants that grow in His garden, and no matter how spiny and difficult our times past, the brighter shines the righteousness and praise that spring forth from us. Righteousness is shown by the quality of the lives we live, the kindness, the caring, and the love of God we express. The praise that springs forth from our voices as we grow and grow closer to Him becomes more beautiful each day.

Yes, as the earth brings forth beauty in the flowers that it grows, so do we bring forth righteousness and praise for our Lord. He has filled us with His Holy Spirit, and as we let the Holy Spirit work in our lives, the more attractive we become and the more attractive the call of Jesus Christ. To fulfill the desires of God for our lives we must let Him shine through so much that the spiny hurtful parts of our past are greatly overshadowed by His glory showing through us.

God’s Will for Us

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 God’s Will for Us

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (NIV).

Paul gives us simple instructions for us if we want to do God’s will—rejoice, pray, thank. I believe that if we do these three things, our commitment to Him will be obvious to others. I also believe that if we do these things, we will live in a manner that will draw others to Him.

“Rejoice always.” I take that to mean that I should be joyful, with a pleasant countenance on my face and the love of Christ showing in my heart and actions all the time. It sounds easy, but we all know that it is difficult to maintain a joyful attitude today with all the garbage that satan is throwing at us. It becomes easier when we remember that the one who lives within us, Jesus Christ, defeated satan several thousand years ago, and He gave us the joy of living in that victory.

“Pray continually.” Now that’s pretty hard. I have to go to work and interact with others. How can I be praying then? Well, not all of our prayers need to be audible. Many of my prayers are done in my heart or in my spirit even when, or perhaps especially when, I am with others. How can I pray when I am driving? That’s often a good time to pray, rather than saying some of the other things that might leap out of our mouths. Often others I see when I am driving “obviously” need prayer or we need to pray for protection from them and from our own mistakes. Those prayers can frequently be spoken aloud. How can I pray when I am studying or reading? This is another good time to be praying, praying for insight and understanding, and probably not praying aloud. I think God wants us to be aware of His constant presence, His nearness, all the time. He wants us to know that conversation with Him is instantaneous any time. Paul used the word, “continually” instead of “continuously.” I believe that he used continually to indicate that even though we can’t actually pray all the time, we can maintain an atitude of prayerfulness all the time.

“Give thanks in all circumstances.” Many have said that we need to be thankful in all circumstances, but not necessarily for all circumstances. Others say that we really should be thankful for all circumstances because those are often the times for drawing closer to Him and for growing. Whichever we believe, we need to be thankful for God’s presence, help, and love through all circumstances. It certainly is true that, whatever the circumstance, we do have many things for which to be thankful.

So, thank you, Paul, for reminding us of these three instructions from God. I do know that when I keep them in mind, my life is happier and, certainly, more peaceful.

God Is Faithful

Psalm 91:14,15 God Is Faithful

“The Lord says, ‘I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them’” (NLT).

This photograph is from a state park in Nebraska. The ranger told us that this pair of geeses had lost several chicks to a fox, so they had become extra attentive to and protective of their remaining gosling. If these geese are so protective of their chick, how much more must our Lord and Savior be protective of us. All we need to do is call on Him.

Psalm 91 is a Psalm of the promise of protection by God for those who love Him. David begins the Psalm by speaking of the shelter and rest provided therein, and ends it by saying, “I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.” Packed between the beginning and end of Psalm 91 are acknowledgements of the deadly things the enemy will attempt to bring upon God’s people, from snares to terrors to arrows to plagues. But also packed in those verses are God’s continuing proclamations that He will be with us, give us strength, hold us up with His hands, and provide us with armor. Yes, satan can do terrible things, but he should know better than to get in a fight with God Almighty. The last time He decided to take on God he was humiliated in front of his own demons, and Jesus brought us the keys to eternal life. The last part of verse 15, “I will rescue and honor them,” is amazing to me. Not only will God rescue me, He will honor me. God will honor me? Yes, that is what He said! I’m the one who needs rescuing, but God will honor me. WOW! How great is our God? How much can I trust Him? How very much does He love us? Those are questions that will take me an eternity to answer.

Peter, the Rock

Acts 4:8-12 Peter, the Rock

“With that, Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, let loose, ‘Rulers and leaders of the people, if we have been brought to trial today for helping a sick man, put under investigation regarding this healing, I’ll be completely frank with you—we have nothing to hide. By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the One you killed on a cross, the One God raised from the dead, by means of his name this man stands before you healthy and whole. Jesus is “the stone you masons threw out, which is now the cornerstone.” Salvation comes no other way; no other name has been or will be given by which we can be saved, only this one’” (MSG).

Wow! Peter certainly earned his name, the “Rock” this day. He and John, upon entering the Temple for a meeting, raised a man, crippled from birth, to his feet and gave him the gift of walking through the name of Jesus. None of the religious leaders liked it, so they arrested Peter and John. When they were questioned by the religious leaders, the most powerful people of Israel, as it says above, Peter let them have it. He held nothing back. He not only said that they healed in the name of Jesus; he reminded them that they had killed Jesus, and that God had brought Him back to life. He also took away their authority by saying that Jesus was the only name by which anyone could be saved.

Jesus had changed Peter’s name from Simon to Peter, the Rock, and Peter certainly earned his changed name that day. The leaders threatened Peter and John never to speak in the name of Jesus again. We all know how well that worked. Because of the rock-hard strength given to the disciples of Jesus through the Holy Spirit, we today are blessed to proclaim, as they did, “Jesus is the only way to salvation!” Lord, help us to speak in the same strength they had on behalf of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Spread the Gospel

Mark 16:15 Spread the Gospel

“And then he told them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone’” (NLT).

The bright yellow color is intense in the center of this flower, the yellow radiating toward the outer edges. Let me use this as a simple visual illustration of “Go into all the world and preach the Good News.” If we visualize Jesus Christ as the brilliant center of Christianity, which He is, we can see disciples, us, spreading this Good News towards the ends of the earth. It’s time to do it, time to focus on speaking the Good News of forgiveness of sin and eternal life with our great God in heaven. If I can’t personally do that, then I need to support those who can. Wait a minute—I can spread the Good News myself. I know lots of people who need this Good News, and I even meet others I don’t know who also need the Good News. Lord, give me the boldness to represent you by the way I live my life. When I can’t do it with words, help me to do it with my actions. Help me live so that people may wonder and even ask why I am not dragged down by all the turmoil the world is going through.

Stewardship

1 Peter 4:10 Stewardship

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (ESV).

When we think of biblical stewardship, we usually think of the parable of the three servants who were given differing amounts of money to invest for their master. That’s a great parable that shows how we are expected to use what God has given us to His advantage, and we usually consider the “talents” as money. Two servants did a good job, and one, being fearful, buried what he was given and did nothing with it for fear that he would lose it—and he did.

Peter speaks of stewardship in a different manner. He sees it as putting to good use the talents and abilities God has given us. Peter doesn’t mention the poor steward probably because he expects each of us to put his abilities to good use. He seems to assume good stewardship because he knows that Jesus expected His disciples to go forth and preach the Gospel even though they had not been trained as speakers or theologians before they met Jesus. They had been given the gift of teaching and preaching the Good News by Jesus through observing Him and by the impartation of the Holy Ghost.

Not many have been given the gift of teaching or the gift of preaching, but God doesn’t count that as a valid excuse for doing nothing. He has given each of us a talent for use in the Kingdom of God, and He expects us to develop it and use it. Many, or maybe even most, talents are not publicly acknowledged, but it makes a difference in the Kingdom if they are not used. Men may not notice the difference when a talent is not used, but God does. As it says in 2 Corinthians 5:10, “For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he had done in the body, whether good or evil” (ESV). What will I say when Jesus says, “Let’s take a look at what you did with the talent I gave you”? Then I will receive my reward for the work I did with the tools He gave me. Then I will be glad that I didn’t bury the talent He gave me. I will be able to rejoice that I made good use of it. I’m sure you will have reason to rejoice also.

Am I an Obvious Christian?

Ephesians 2:10 Am I an Obvious Christian?

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

Do people recognize me as being a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ? Maybe my bumper sticker has a Christian message. Maybe I wear a cross. Maybe I go to church. Maybe I don’t use foul language. Maybe I put up a manger scene with my Christmas decorations. These are all indications that I might actually be a follower of Jesus Christ, but to most people these may be the only indications of my faith in Christ. Do I really look like God’s handiwork? I realize that most people don’t get close enough to me for me to expound upon my love for Jesus, and I am glad to have these external indications of my faith. But for those closer to me, those I work with, those I bowl with, my neighbors, my friends, my family, I have the opportunity to represent my Savior in a deeper sense.

How does God want me show that I am a follower of Christ? Well, Jesus gives us a direct answer to that question in Matthew 7:12, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (NIV). Do I have to let people out in front of me in traffic? Yes. Do I have to let people in front of me in the grocery line? Yes. Do I have to be patient with a rude store clerk? Yes. Do I have to respect the right of people to reject Jesus? Yes. Do I have to hold my tongue when someone denigrates the work of Jesus Christ? NO! I do have to respect someone’s decision to reject Christ, but I am responsible to represent my Lord, and to speak what He says. Sometimes “do unto others” involves prayers on their behalf after leaving the conversation even if they don’t know Christ, or really, especially if they do not know Christ.

It’s important to remember who we represent when we put a Christian bumper sticker on our car, and, more importantly, to remember who we represent when we wear a cross. Let the cross be a conversation starter and not just a piece of pretty jewelry. Jesus tells us in John 13:34,35, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (NIV). Sometimes love is obvious, and sometimes love is subtle; in either case, love is His command, not His suggestion. Evidently, there is something about showing love that gets noticed and speaks of the care of our Lord. So, let’s do that—love one another.

Unchanging God

Revelation 1:8 Unchanging God

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,’ says the Lord, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty’” (NKJV).

The picture is of the main living space in a house of 150 to 200 years ago. Although we can recognize many things, they do seem strange to us. The heating for the house is right in the center, the fireplace. There was no furnace. The wood had to be cut, and the fire had to be tended. I’m sure the temperature in the house varied greatly according to how close one may have been to the fireplace. The sewing machine, which few houses have today, was run by a foot pedal instead of the electricity we use today. Oh, that’s right, there was no electricity then. The level of light in the house was not controlled by the flicking of a switch. The chairs don’t look to be very comfortable—no recliners in this house. I don’t mean to demean this house. It had all the modern equipment of the day. In the intervening years, homes have changed quite a bit.

There is one thing that hasn’t changed from that household and the modern household of today and will remain the same for as long as this earth may last. Our Lord and His love have always been and will always be the same—from eternity past to eternity future. Not only does His love remain constant, but the method of showing it to the world largely remains the same. It’s passed on from person to person as in the words of Jesus in Matthew 22:39, “And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (NKJV). I said largely remains the same because there is the one magnificent difference—Jesus gave His life on Calvary to share the love of God with all of mankind at one time. He did it once for all time. It is up to us to make sure that all people, ALL PEOPLE, are made aware of His sacrifice, and He has asked us to do that by loving our neighbors as ourselves. Actions speak louder than words. A Christian life lived is much more effective than a Christian life spoken, but the best results happen when a Christian life is lived and spoken about as Paul says in Romans 10:14, “How can people have faith and ask him to save them, if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear, unless someone tells them?” (CEV) So, let us live a visible Christan life and speak freely about it.