A Responsibility to You; An Act of Faithfulness for Me

Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. – 1 Corinthians 4:2 NIV

Whatever the activity in which you engage, do it with all your ability, because there is no work, no planning, no learning, and no wisdom in the next world where you’re going. – Ecclesiastes 9:10 ISV

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. – Romans 12:11 NIV

In the months leading up to April 1, 2020, the countdown was on. After faithfully writing or procuring a fresh devotional post every single day for ten years, I thought we would scale back to six days per week or even five days a week. A series of notices were included at the bottom of four devotionals. “100 Days of Christianity 201.” Then, “75 Days of Christianity 201.” Followed by “50 Days…” well, you get the idea; and then 25. You would be forgiven if you thought I was ending C201.

And then something happened.

The world shut down due to… well, you know what it was due to.

Suddenly I had a lot more time on my hands. And I figured, so did readers. So I simply ignored the countdown we had done, and kept posting every day.

It’s now three years later, and I feel driven by the same sentiment. Because the world has never fully returned to what it was before, it seemed like a good idea to just keep going. But slowly, there was a realization dawning that I needed to be doing this, even if, as we posted two days ago, absolutely no one was reading it. (The subscriber list and daily stats do indicate otherwise.)

Sometimes I will check in my browser history to compare the time I first opened a new page draft to the time I completed the writing or editing of a single post. It’s usually between 40 minutes and an hour. That’s an hour spent thinking about the things of God, His word, theological and doctrinal matters, examining the spiritual reflections of others.

I don’t know that there is some other way I could commit that amount of time otherwise. This is the particular discipline that I need to keep focused.

Some of you know that another ministry venture which occupies my week is owning a Christian resource store (or shop for my British readers.) One day not long ago I looked around the inventory in our remaining store, which is well over $100,000 Canadian. I mentally added to that the amount of fresh inventory that is added every year, and factored in that we once had three stores, and then thought of the thousands of dollars that have been spent on rent in those locations.

And then it was as if God spoke to me.

‘Maybe this is what it took to get you to be the person you are today.’

In other words, all those thousands of dollars spent on Christian books, Bibles and other items was a necessary step in keeping me busy about Kingdom work, when I could have been occupied doing and thinking about other things. This is what it took, not unlike that sitting here composing and curating devotionals is also what it has taken for me to become who I am to be.

With the bookstore, and the various other ministry ventures Ruth and I have been involved with doing through local churches, and independently, another new thought entered my head in the last three years: the word missionary.

I had never thought that we moved to a small town from Toronto specifically to be missionaries, but as I tried on the word for size, it seemed to fit. Missionaries… and maybe this is what it took…

There is a saying and although the wording varies slightly depending on what you’re reading, it’s usually something like ‘Play with the cards you’ve been dealt.’ We tend to use this phrase where someone is facing a tremendous challenge, a physical handicap, a broken relationship, a chronic health issue, the loss of job, etc. In other words we tend to associate the phrase with coping with the negative factors that can creep into our lives.

But there’s another side to this.

In serving the Lord, it might mean taking the circumstances we’re in and the opportunities that lay before us, and then simply running with those realities and doing so, as the “The Preacher” of Ecclesiastes reminded us above, “with all our might.”

It might mean taking the ministry — to a community, to our friends, to our work associates, to our family — that has been entrusted to us, or stewarded to us, and being faithful with it, as Paul reminded the Corinthians in another verse above.

Or as he told the Romans (also above), it means never giving up (CEV), never lacking enthusiasm (AMP), never decreasing our devotion (GWT, ISV) in serving.

…So as we complete year 13 here at C201, I find myself where I was three years ago: released from the constraints of providing a daily devotional, but not — at this writing anyway — free to walk away from what it does to me to be writing here each day.

So right now it’s business as usual, but if I miss a day, know that we more than surpassed our ten year goal.

Thank you for reading and subscribing. Thanks to my wife Ruth and son Aaron for being available for consultation. Thanks to all the writers whose material we use, and especially to Clarke Dixon for his weekly contribution. Finally, thanks to BibleHub.com for being my go-to search provider for Biblical texts.

 

 

 

His Will for My Life is My Food

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. – Hebrews 12:11 NIV

Today our search for new sources of devotional writing took us to Portugal and the blog of Tashmness. She writes about food, and travel and (mostly) the “Love of God” or L.O.G. for short. After scanning about 20 articles, we chose this one. She uses a number of guest writers, but we wanted to feature one which is her own. (She mentions struggling with faithfulness in writing, in the piece below.) Click the title which follows to read this where it first appeared, and then take some time, as we did, to look at some other items.

Committing To The Commitments

I spoke about making a new or another commitment in a blogpost I posted January of this year. About posting weekly and even several times a week. But lately I noted that when I feel worn out or my soul feels weary, I start to postpone. I wait for the energy to come back. I look for “food” to refuel me, so I get the energy to continue. But what if, when I feel weak, hungry, empty and it’s hard to even get up and out of bed or off the couch.. What if, that when that feeling comes, I just take one little step. How about I start by writing one word, which hopefully stubbornly makes me want to write at least a sentence. Which then attaches to a couple more.. A start. A step. What if, when I make that step I push myself to continue. To continue to walk and to do the work of God. To continue to do as He has asked and commanded me to do. To obey and to do His will.

Now I know. Not just because I have recently experienced it, but most importantly, because the Bible tells me so. I Know now, that I will be strengthened, fed, refueled and energized to continue When I do His will. His will for my life is my food.

John‬ ‭4:34‬ ‭[HCSB‬‬] – ““My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work,” Jesus told them.”

I’m doing another Fasting & Prayer. An end of the year one, where I fast and pray for three months to finish the year strong with God and to leave my old ways behind. You know we have so many “ways”. So many versions of ourselves we have been through. Several times before, I have looked at my ways and found out that my ways should not continue on like that. That my ways were not the ways God willed for me. And so, gratefully, when I found out about these ways to be left behind, faithfully I left them or worked on them to leave behind and did my best to follow a new way.

“I did my best”. Saying I will do my best, is not really Doing my best. It’s leaving that “extra mile” free, which actually is just the last mile to reach “the best”. The best version of yourself and the best that you can give. What is it about full commitment that scares us? For me the answer is: knowing that when I make that full commitment, I come through and stay committed. I know I can be very disciplined and I never break a promise. Sooner or later, but I WILL do what I promise to do. Otherwise, I just don’t make that promise. “I’ll try to.. I’ll do my best.. Let’s see..”. These are my ways of not making a promise. Or better yet, my ways of not committing.

This week God has been cancelling and rearranging my plans and appointments. Making me homebound and putting me on a stricter fast. I’m being disciplined. When two days in a row my swimming plans got scratched, I obeyed and walked up the stairs of my building on my way back to my front door dancing and praising (Psalm 34:1).

Gary McIntosh – “Sometimes the promise isn’t just given, sometimes it is fought for.”

The last time I wrote this same quote, it was me working to see the promise of God. This time, God is working on making me make a promise. And so I did. I entered my house dancing and praising, continuing to my room. I worshiped God on some Maverick City Music & Kirk Franklin and then I made my promise.

Today on 19th of October of the year 2022, I PROMISE God, to never ever slack again on this blog. It is Your gift, to me. Your commandment, to me. Your calling, to me.

It’s time for action, the promise is made. No excuses. Now don’t just stay committed, but BE committed and be consistent. Another lap of this race has started and it’s time to show my endurance and perseverance again. And by your endurance gain your lives (Luke 21:19). It is time for my self-discipline to be built.

Charles Metcalf – “Only disciplined ones are free. If you are undisciplined you are a slave to your Mood.

Hebrews 12:11 [HCSB] – “No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields the fruit of peace and righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

One last note to self: Go get it.

 

Encouragement for Veteran Believers

I chose the word veteran not in a military sense, but with the idea of those who have served the Lord for a long time and have been faithful in church involvement and Christian witness to the wider world.

Today we’re just slightly stretching the six-month rule — it was May 11th if you’re keeping score — to share another message from Stephen and Brooksyne Weber at Daily Encouragement. The day after this appeared, they celebrated 26 years of writing original devotional material every weekday. Clicking the title below takes you to their site, where this first appeared just over a week ago.

The Wisdom of the Aged

Listen to this message on your audio player.

“Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?” (Job 12:12).

“I have been young, and now am old” (Psalm 37:25).

“Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness” (Titus 2:2).

Many years ago when I was much younger I taught a senior Sunday School class. At that time older age still seemed quite a ways off and I felt like a relatively young man teaching these seniors, although I was actually middle-aged.

An elderly class member shared this perspective, “One of the blessings of being older is having a broadened perspective on the events of life”. Indeed many (but certainly not all) of the elderly have a deep reservoir of “broadened perspective”, which demonstrates an ancient observation made by Job. The question Job asked some 4,000 years ago surely demands an affirmative answer! “Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?” (Job 12:12).

Well, now we are in a class with those similar in age to us and to the class I taught many years ago! We are experiencing David’s observation, “I have been young, and now am old” (Psalm 37:25). That’s a good thing since growing old is a healthy consequence of staying alive!

Of course not all the aged are wise and many have lived their lives foolishly. Aging is not a guarantee that we will attain wisdom and maturity. It comes over time as we make wise choices, learn from our unwise decisions, and “deny ungodliness and worldly desires and live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age” (Titus 2:12).

My life is enriched as I consider those who have endured the rough knocks of life and steadily matured in their Christian walk as year by year they grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ. They offer timeless wisdom – similar to that which is seen in the lives of the Bible characters thousands of years ago and every bit as applicable to our lives today. Now it’s increasingly going to be my turn and I sure hope I have the same wise outlook to offer those who follow me, either by example or counsel.*

What about you today? Are you building on the Rock, progressively attaining the true wisdom to pass along to those that who follow behind? Older readers, today I want you to know that Brooksyne and I, along with many others, greatly value the contributions of your generation to the cause of Christ and the perspective you now offer to those who follow.

It’s natural for all of us to seek out those who are similar in age since we find ourselves going through many of the same experiences and interests related to our season of life. But if we fail to regularly interface with believers from all ages we miss the greatly needed perspective they bring to our lives.

Spending time with the aged who have experienced so much of the stuff of life that we will eventually face is such an important aspect to the maturing believer. Let us just add that we appreciate those of you much younger than we are who regularly read the Daily Encouragement and interface with us. The fact is, we all need each other!

Be encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)

Daily prayer: Father, we read of those in the Bible from generations long ago who lived upright and godly lives. They were discerning and wise, devoted in their duties such as Anna and Simeon who served in the temple. So many serve as examples of those who walked in Your ways from their youth and remained faithful through their golden years. Some of their choices brought about multiple blessings and other choices brought forth great sacrifice, persecution, or even death. We also read of those who were proud and foolish, thinking only of themselves, such as Samson, Ananias and Sapphira or Demetrius the Silversmith. They also serve as warnings to us. Since we will soon follow in the steps of our elderly friends help us to store up the wisdom, discipline, and overcoming spirit they convey as they deal with the inevitable physical pain, loss of loved ones, and lack of independence as a result of growing old. It’s in the name of Jesus that we pray. Amen.

One of the Bible’s Anti-Role Models

^{NIV.Heb.12.2a} fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

Not every personality we encounter in scripture is a positive role model. Some are just the opposite.

This is our fifth time at Don’t Ask The Fish written by Lancaster Bible College and Capital Seminary president Dr. Tommy Kiedis who also writes at Leader’s Life and Work. Clicking the title below will take you to where this first appeared.

I Don’t Want to be Demas

“for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica.

— 2 Timothy 4:10

Four photographs hang on the wall in my office. Each captures an iconic moment in baseball history. Each reminds me of an important aspect of life and leadership. I shared their significance in my inaugural address. You can click here if you want to learn more.

These days I’m wondering if I should add another picture to my collection, that of Demas walking away.

Demas occupies a place of quiet significance in the New Testament narrative. He helped the Apostle Paul to such an extent that Paul identifies him by name in his greetings to the church in Colossae. Paul highlights Demas again when writing to his friend Philemon. Both these letters, written from prison, find Demas locked arm-in-arm with Paul advancing the gospel.

But something happened and it wasn’t good.

Paul is released from prison, apparently Demas as well. But then under the persecution of Nero, Paul finds himself back in the Roman slammer — this time without Demas.

Demas had enough. It was time to relax a bit. “Peace out!”

What follows from the pen of Paul haunts me these days.

Make every effort to come to me soon; for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. . . . only Luke is with me. 2 Timothy 4:9-10 NASB

Chrysostom, the early church father, paraphrases Paul’s words about Demas as follows:

“Having loved ease and safety, [Demas] chose rather to live daintily at home than to suffer affliction, than to endure hardship, with me, and with me to bear these present dangers.”

Demas is not the only runner to quit the marathon of faith. Look over on the side of the road. You’ll find Hezekiah there as well.

While Demas occupies a mere footnote of Scripture, Hezekiah is the subject of chapters. In fact, you’ll find a gold star next to his name. Hezekiah is a model for monarchs, the epitome of what a good king should be. Look what Scripture says about him:

Hezekiah trusted in the LORD . . . . There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the LORD and did not stop following him; he kept the commands of faith. And the LORD was with him . . . 2 Kings 18:5-7 NIV

Remember, Hezekiah followed David, “a man after God’s own heart.” He was a shining star . . . or was he a shooting star? As Hezekiah neared the end of his life God told him to put his house in order… his days would soon be over. Like most of us, Hezekiah was not ready to go. He cried out to the Lord!

“Remember, LORD, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And he wept bitterly. 2 Kings 20:3 NIV

And God, in his graciousness, granted him an additional fifteen years of life. FIFTEEN YEARS! And God backed up his promise with a powerful sign of confirmation.

One would think the biblical account would read: ‘And Hezekiah followed God happily ever after!’ Right? Wrong! No sooner does God grant him more days, than Hezekiah begins to walk away from faith.

The son of the Babylonian king shows up on his doorstep. Babylon was having a hard time on the world stage, twice upended by Assyria. Hezekiah opens the door, welcomes him in, and shows off his ENTIRE kingdom: treasures of silver, gold, spices; his armory . . . “there was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.” 2 Kings 20:13

Foolish! Idiotic! Arrogant!

One commentator notes that Hezekiah was more intent about displaying his wealth than declaring God’s glory — and God had just blessed him with fifteen more years.

As might be expected, God was a little more than upset. He sends the prophet Isaiah to pronounce judgment. This is serious. Read the words carefully, and then even more carefully, read Hezekiah’s response:

“Hear the word of the Lord: The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord. And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”

“The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “Will there not be peace and security in my lifetime?” 2 Kings 20:16-19 NIV

You can hear Hezekiah paying lip service to God, but in his heart he is not too bothered. It won’t happen in his lifetime. “Let the good times roll! I’ve got fifteen more years!”

It is not lost on me that Hezekiah’s son, Manasseh, who was born in that fifteen year stretch and would follow his father to the throne, was the worst king in Judah’s history. How bad was he? Scripture says “he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood.” ”He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced divination, sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger.” 2 Kings 21:5 NIV

I’ve heard it asked, “Why is it that opportunity knocks once, but temptation pounds on my door every day?” Hezekiah gave into that insistent pounding. So did Demas. They quit the race!

I don’t want to join them on the side of the road.

So how do one cultivate faithfulness? I’ve been thinking about that this morning. My list is not exhaustive. What would you add to it?

• Revel in God’s goodness: I have a tendency to think what I must do to maintain my walk with God, so it is imperative to remember what Christ has done and is doing for me. Paul writes, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him” (Colossians 2:6 NIV). MacLaren notes, “As in wisdom so in character, all progress consists in coming closer to Jesus and receiving more and more of His many-sided grace.” I was saved by God’s grace. I need to rest in God’s grace, and live by God’s grace.”

• Cling to the Vine: Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing“ (John 15:5 NIV). George Müller said, “the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord.” Müller’s words come back to me time and again, especially when I think “I don’t have time to meet with God today!” He would tell me, “You can’t afford NOT to meet with the Lord.”

• Take appropriate times to rest: Jesus said to his disciples, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest” (Mark 6:31). My friend Wayne Cordeiro wisely says that when life gets exceptionally busy, you must actually “increase play.” This is counterintuitive, but so important. Watch his talk, “Dead Leader Running.” It is excellent.

• Embrace community: On two occasions, Paul wrote, “The brothers and sisters who are with me send greetings” (Philippians 4:21. See also Galatians 1:2). Study Paul’s life. He lived in community. He served in community. Paul knew we are not meant for isolation. Isolation should be an occasional rest stop on the road of life, not one’s destination.

Cultivate faithfulness . . . or join Demas and Hezekiah on the side of the road.

The day before yesterday, I met a member of our Board of Trustees coming out of our office complex as I was walking in. This man can add “octogenarian” to a long list of accomplishments. He is as wise and winsome as the day is long. His handshake is a vice grip. More importantly, his grip on Christ and what matters is equally strong.

This man is still running with perseverance, eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2). I don’t want to be Demas. I want to be where my older friend is, where Paul was — faithfully running the race — until the very end.

---

Notes:

• “Chrysostom, the early church father, paraphrases Paul’s words . . .” from Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (2 Timothy 4:10). http://www.biblehub.com. Accessed September 21, 2022.

• “MacLaren notes, ‘As in wisdom’ . . .” from MacLaren’s Expositions (Colossians 2:6). http://www.biblehub.com. Accessed September 22, 2022.

• “the first great and primary business . . .” from George Müller, Soul Nourishment First, A booklet by George Müller. May 9, 1841.

Mothers Prayers

Today something a bit different, as we look at mothers interceding for their children, both in scripture, and with contemporary examples.

Last week I met Canadian pastor Rev. Bruce Pero for the first time, who has just written Teachings from God’s Word. You can learn more about the book by clicking this link. Bruce graciously supplied us with a devotional to share with you today.

So many times, down through the ages, we have heard it said there is nothing like a mother’s prayer. That is so true, even today. Let’s take a look at situations where mothers’ prayers prevailed. We are going to talk about a number of mothers.

The first is Moses’ mother found in,

^{NIV.Exodus.2.1} Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, ² and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. ³ But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. ⁴ His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

⁵ Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. ⁶ She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.

⁷ Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”

⁸ “Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. ⁹ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him. ¹⁰ When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.”

Can you just imagine the prayers that went up from Moses’ mother. The joy she felt as God took care of her son; not to mention, the plan God had for Moses in leading the children of Israel out of bondage.

A comparative example for today is John Hagee who also had a wonderful praying mother. For years John’s mother, a God-fearing, praying lady, had asked God for a minister among one of her sons, and she believed John was the one. So many times, as John would sneak in, after a late-night out with his friends, he would go past his mother’s bedroom door and hear her crying out to God for him; that God would watch over her son and make him the preacher, she knew, God wanted him to be.

John would often say to his mother, “If you are praying for me, stop because when I turn eighteen, all you will see is the dust from my feet, going down the street.” But when we have a praying mother and she will not quit, God has another plan. Just one week before John was to register at West Point, God, through his mother’s prayers, radically changed his direction, and just a short time later, he registered at Oral Roberts University.

That was over fifty years ago; all because of the prayers of a righteous mother.

Today, we know John as John Hagee Ministries from San Antonio Texas, one of the biggest ministries in the United States. John is the forty-seventh member of his family to be in ministry.

Another righteous mother we can think of is found in 1 Samuel.

^{NIV.1Samuel.1.20} So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him.”

²¹ When her husband Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the Lord and to fulfill his vow, ²² Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, “After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the Lord, and he will live there always.”

²³ “Do what seems best to you,” her husband Elkanah told her. “Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the Lord make good his word.” So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him.

²⁴ After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. ²⁵ When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli, ²⁶ and she said to him, “Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. ²⁷ I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. ²⁸ So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.

Another amazing and righteous lady that we can think of today, to compare to Samuel’s mother, is often referred to as Sister Hannah.

When some of you hear this name, you will know who I am referring to. But in her son’s own words, “Sister Hannah?…God’s gift to me.” Chuck Price told his story.

After dad died, I was sixteen and rebellious, so off I went and joined the CNR, working on a gang crew. We were stationed about three and one-half hours west of Toronto. I had not told a soul where I was going, but no worries, Mom prayed, and the Holy Spirit said, “Go.” directing her miraculously to the very street where we were clubbing it up. Long story short; she parked her car one block from the bar I walked out of. During that part of my life, Mom’s prayers protected me until I could run no further.

In ministry, she would call late Sunday evenings… “I knew you were up Chuck still wrestling through the preached word and lack of response. You know Chuck, when you preach, there is not always an immediate result. Let me pray with you and then, get some sleep.”

Even in death, Dec. 2009 Mom had dementia and could not always remember everything, but she could still pray. So thank God for a praying mom.

– Pastor Chuck Price

The fifth and final man that we will look at, with an amazing, fearless, praying mother and father, was a very gifted and talented singer.

He was also a very good athlete, excelling in baseball. When he was young, the Lord revealed the call that He had on his life. Like all God-fearing, praying mothers, his mom got a hold of this; like a dog with a bone, determined not to let go. When this young man was old enough, he left home to make his way with a music career. Just when he was about to sign a major recording contract, he became extremely ill. He returned home, where he spent some time in bed.

Quite often he would hear his mother praying for him. Then one evening as his dad entered the room to say goodnight, as he always did, his father had a vision from the Lord. God revealed to him that his son was to enter the ministry, and he saw hundreds of thousands of people being ministered to and giving their lives to Christ and many more getting healed.

Oral Roberts shared this with his son. Shortly thereafter, Richard Roberts signed up at Oral Roberts University, starting one of the largest ministries going today. Since this happened, Richard’s mother and father have passed, but until his mom died, she never stopped praying for her son, Richard Roberts. He took over his dad’s ministry with a double anointing on his life, and it all began with his mother’s prayers.

For those who may not understand what the anointing is, it is the power and wisdom that God put on our being through the Holy Spirit so we can accomplish The work we are to do. So a double anointing would give us twice the power to accomplish our work. So you see, through the ages, the strength of a mother’s prayers, your prayers, have been proven over and over again to defeat any situation that comes along.

I am sure, that every time a mother gets down on her knees for her children or any situation, the Devil is cringing in his boots because nothing can win over against a mother’s prayers.

I even asked my mother if she ever thought, when we were growing up, she would have any of her children in ministry; not to mention, by this June, in 2011, she will have five in the ministry. She said she, “had always prayed for one to make it but never dreamed five would make it.”

So mothers, don’t ever give up praying for your children, grandchildren, husbands, or anything you need in your life. God will not let your prayers return to you void. Amen.

 

The Business (and Ministry) of Making Connections

Some of you know that I’m involved with a Christian bookstore. (Yes, there’s still a couple left!) The thoughts below are something I shared with our customers on the weekend…

---

Part of our mission at Searchlight is to get people connected to local congregations. So it would be easy for me to sit here and type something like, “Okay, people; it’s been more than two years, it’s time to get plugged in once more to a local church.”

Instead, I want to come at this from the other direction. I want to celebrate the people who, against odds we’re all familiar with, have remained faithful to church attendance (in-person as much as possible) for the last 24+ months. Faithfulness is not just an admirable quality, it’s listed as one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Your dedication and perseverance is seen and will, one hopes, inspire others.

We can be faithful because God is faithful toward us. Proverbs 3:3-4 (NLT) reads,

Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
Then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man.

I am so grateful for the example of people who have “stuck it out” during the ministry season of 2020 and 2021 (and now this year as well.) For these people “pulling back” from Christian service was simply not an option.

Another mission of our store is to connect people and resources, so it’s especially painful when those resources simply don’t exist in our community. Wednesday morning a young man came in the store who is without an address to call home. Yes, there are shelters but unless you’ve actually spent a night in a shelter, it’s only an academic exercise to talk about them.

Then on Thursday morning, the devotional reading that lands first-thing on my phone was from James 2:15-16.

“Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?” (NLT)

We do have people in our community who lack clothing — a national event called “The Big Give” is coming up in a few weeks, and clothing will be handed out — and people with food insecurity, but the Bible doesn’t speak as much to the equivalent challenge of our day, homelessness. Perhaps when the scriptures were written it was the warmer climate, or that family units cared more for their own. But for us today in North America, it’s the affordable housing crisis.

And yet, after talking to him about possibilities, I did the VERY SAME THING that the verse tells us not to do, and, as is my habit when people are walking out the door, I said, “Bless you; have a good day.” Talk about Brain Cramp Encounters of the Worst Kind.

I felt so empty, not being able to give him the one thing he needs more than anything right now. I just don’t have the contacts, and we have other acquaintances who are literally living in a tent on the north shore of Lake Ontario. That’s their home. And was all winter.

It just hurt to not be able to reach into my pocket and pull out a business card and say, “Call these people, they’ll set you up.” I could more easily pull a rabbit out of a hat these days.

I was reminded of a poem which was making the rounds at least two decades ago that is a riff on a Bible passage that is known well by readers here. I’m not sure if anyone knows who wrote this:

I was hungry …
And you formed humanities groups to discuss my hunger.

I was imprisoned …
And you crept off quietly to your church and prayed for my release.

I was naked …
And in your mind you debated the morality of my appearance.

I was sick …
And you knelt and thanked God for your health.

I was homeless …
And you preached to me of the spiritual shelter of the love of God.

I was lonely …
And you left me alone to pray for me.

You seem so holy, so close to God …
But I am still hungry … and lonely … and cold …

The challenges for people without a fixed address can seem endless. But there are people doing what they can to help, day in and day out, because of the thing we started out mentioning: Faithfulness. One way to find out exactly where your help is most needed and appreciated might come through a local church connection.

Which brings us full circle. The capital “C” Church is making a difference in the world, but there’s so much work spread out ahead of us. You can be a part in making a difference.

Stewardship as Leadership

In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy. – I Cor. 4:2 NASB

This week I attended a church’s annual business meeting. I’ve been to many of these in several churches, and as these things go, this one was relatively non-eventful. After hearing different ministry reports, the focus (and the bulk of questions) at these types of meetings lands on the financial statements. I know of one church which had to spread their annual meeting over two nights; the second just to deal with capital and fiscal issues.

The passage above in I Corinthians clearly indicates that those in church management (the term the CSB uses in this verse) possess spiritual qualities. These are the same qualities related to the trust involved with those who provide spiritual guidance, whether we call them pastors or shepherds or elders or deacons.

Often the church’s treasurer is not someone who we typically think of as a “leader” in the church. They have no high-profile role beyond that seen in the annual meeting. (Although getting that person to read a scripture or offer a prayer might not be a bad idea.) They would appear to be relegated to number-crunching and management of the church’s physical assets.

But in the case of Stephen in the book of Acts, we see the disciples seemingly off-loading administrative duties (the feeding of widows) to a second tier of leadership, but the requirements for leadership in that department are apparently also spiritual (see Acts 6:5 below), and Stephen takes the ball and runs with it, preaching with eloquence a sermon so convicting that he his killed afterwards, becoming the first Christian martyr.

In Paul’s second letter to Timothy he writes,

“…the things that you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.” (II Tim 2:2)

A leader must be reliable and qualified. What kind of qualifications did Paul have in mind? Perhaps he was thinking back to Stephen, a man whose job description in the early Church seems to involve assisting in some rather mundane administrative duties. (See Acts 6:1-10).  Today we would say that “Pastor Steve” was in charge of our “inner city outreach” or “helping hand program” or “operation good will.” His job would involve making sure that food baskets reached shut-ins, senior citizens, and people on welfare. In many of our churches, Steve would be on the staff part-time, probably working at Wal-Mart the rest of the week.  But to be chosen for this role, the text notes that he was

“…a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 6:5)

Note that they didn’t hire a social psychologist with a masters degree in social work.  The qualifications were spiritual, not academic, and God used Stephen (6:8) to such an extent that he was martyred for his faith (see 7:54-58), something that Paul witnessed firsthand.

But whether we’re talking about church treasurers or the administrator of the church food pantry, there are always those who will ask, yes, but who is supervising the supervisors? It is a fair question. Several months ago we learned about a church secretary who embezzled $173,000 (US) from a church.

Do you think you could attend a church where you could simply say to the leadership, “That’s okay, we don’t need an annual meeting; we trust all of you” or does it seem unlikely?

The website BibleHub.com provides two comparison passages in 2 Kings — set 10 chapters apart — which offer an interesting wording.

The first is in chapter 12 (click here to read the full chapter) where I direct your attention especially to verse 15

^{NIV.2Kings.12.13} The money brought into the temple was not spent for making silver basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, trumpets or any other articles of gold or silver for the temple of the Lord; ¹⁴ it was paid to the workers, who used it to repair the temple. ¹⁵ They did not require an accounting from those to whom they gave the money to pay the workers, because they acted with complete honesty.

This wording repeats in chapter 22 (click here to read in full, though it’s not exactly a happy passage.)

^{NIV.2Kings.22.4} “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him get ready the money that has been brought into the temple of the Lord, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people. ⁵ Have them entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. And have these men pay the workers who repair the temple of the Lord— ⁶ the carpenters, the builders and the masons. Also have them purchase timber and dressed stone to repair the temple. ⁷ But they need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are honest in their dealings.”

While separated by a number of other chapters, these statements are part of a larger story of the rebuilding of the temple, and it’s interesting the level of trust indicated by that recurring statement.

I remember one time when a pastor said to someone who was questioning my own personal integrity in a matter not related to finances, “I know his heart and I trust him.” It gave me a vote of confidence which was badly needed at the time.

Let’s end where we started, in I Corinthians 4:2, but widen out to include a fuller context. Paul is speaking:

^CEB.1Cor.4.2 So a person should think about us this way—as servants of Christ and managers of God’s secrets. ² In this kind of situation, what is expected of a manager is that they prove to be faithful. ³ I couldn’t care less if I’m judged by you or by any human court; I don’t even judge myself. ⁴ I’m not aware of anything against me, but that doesn’t make me innocent, because the Lord is the one who judges me. ⁵ So don’t judge anything before the right time—wait until the Lord comes. He will bring things that are hidden in the dark to light, and he will make people’s motivations public. Then there will be recognition for each person from God.

 

 

 

 

Success or Failure Depends on Who Sets the Standards

^{NIV.Luke.11.13} “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. ¹⁴ After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

This our second time sharing the writing of Pastor Mark Anderson. The first time, in 2012 was an article we found through a blog by Steve Martin called “The Old Adam Lives.” The link below is actually to that site because this time around we couldn’t locate the original source.

Mark Anderson is a Lutheran Church pastor. There’s a simple but profound thought here that I’d missed in the story of The Prodigal Son before. (The parable is so rich, it just keeps on giving.) We often skip devotionals which spend a long time in an introductory analogy, but in this case, the contemporary story is a very fitting lead-in.

Click the header below to read this at Steve’s blog with other articles.

“…the younger son got together all he had, and set off for a far country.”

Two young men went to work in the same company. After a time a friend of the one of the families inquired after their son. “He is doing very well”, his father reported. “He has received two promotions and is making good money. His hours are good and everyone seems to like him” .

At about the same time, the other young man was fired from the same company. He had received no raises and no promotions. When his wife heard the news she was quite upset until she learned that he had lost his job because he would not participate in the corruption that was the standard in his office.

The first young man ‘succeeded’ according to the standards he was willing to abide by. The second young man ‘failed’ for the same reason.

In a real sense it would not have mattered if the Prodigal Son had failed or succeeded in the far country. Either way, his life was measured by the sordid standards of that place. Success would have been just as damning as was his groveling with the whores and pigs.

You and I were created for the standards of the Father’s house. No matter how high we may fly by any others, they are not sufficient measures by which can claim success. Our s0- called success may actually be nothing more than evidence of our corruption.

In Jesus Christ God calls us all, His sons and daughters, to return from the far country to the Father’s house. The shape of our shabbiness, whether rich or poor, is immaterial. What matters is that we know we are His. The Church has been given the Gospel for just this purpose. For it is through its gracious, merciful message that we are awakened to the standards of the Kingdom and drawn into the forgiving, loving arms of the Father, for Jesus’ sake.

“May the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The Predictably Unpredictable Life

Thinking Though the Unpredictable Life of Joseph from the Book of Genesis

by Clarke Dixon

Life can be anything but predictable.

We face many new beginnings that we could not predict. Who would have predicted in January 2020 that we would all be facing a pandemic for the last year and a half? Who could have predicted at the beginning of this year that Afghanistan would be completely under the control of the Taliban before the year was done?

In our own lives, we all experience things that we did not and cannot predict.

How do we handle such unpredictable times, and the predictable unpredictability of life?

There is a character from the Bible we may be able to relate to.

When Joseph was living happily on his father’s farm, could he have predicted that he would be sold by his brothers into slavery? When Joseph was serving in Potipahar’s home as a trusted servant, could he have predicted that he would end up in jail? When Joseph was in jail, could he have predicted that he would end up being the main administrator over all of Egypt?

In each of these new unpredictable situations, there is something in common, something very predictable. Despite the unpredictable nature of his life, Joseph himself was a predictable kind of guy.

Joseph was always the same Joseph, with the same God given gifts around dreams, with the same God given gift, or as some would put it, natural talent, for administration, exercising the same integrity.

In the Bible we read of something else which made Joseph predictable:

The LORD was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. Genesis 39:21 . . . But the LORD was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. And the LORD made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden. . . . So Pharaoh asked his officials, “Can we find anyone else like this man so obviously filled with the spirit of God?”

Genesis 39:2,21;41:38 (NLT emphasis added)

The presence of God in Joseph’s life was predictable. Joseph’s reference to God throughout his life was also predictable. Joseph was predictable, in a good way.

In being predictable Joseph actually reflected something true about God. God is predictable in a good way!

With God there is a consistency, a constancy. We see this played out in God’s commitment to all His covenant promises. We can think of God’s relationship with His people as recorded in the Old Testament. God stuck by His people, even though they were predictable in their rebellion against God and constant idolatry. Yet God is predictable in a good way, always making a way for His plans and purposes to be carried out.

The writers of the New Testament came to know that God is predictable. For example, the apostle John wrote “God is love” in 1st John chapter 4. You cannot earn a description like that without being predictable in your love!

If God can be described as love, what word might people choose to describe us?

Clarke is ______.

Please don’t yield to the temptation to answer that in the comments, but please do ask that about yourself. People will fill in that blank based on what is predictable about us. Is it a good word? Do any of these words show up; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control? These are the fruit of the Spirit, the consequence of living a life filled with God. Are we predictable in a good way because of our growing relationship with God?

Being predictable does not mean never surprising others.

In fact Joseph, despite being predictable, was likely very surprising, especially for Potiphar’s wife who probably assumed Joseph would be easily seduced. His integrity would have been surprising. Is ours? Joseph likely surprised the jailer who probably assumed that Joseph would be like every other inmate. Instead Joseph was like a breath of fresh air in a very stale jail. Are we experienced as a surprising breath of fresh air? Could Pharaoh have predicted that a seemingly insignificant foreigner sitting in jail would be the person who would save Egypt from starvation? Do we turn out to be of greater significance in people’s lives than they ever could have imagined?

God, though predictable, is full of surprises too.

In fact Joseph’s story reflects that of God’s people in the Old Testament. Joseph had this dream of his older, and therefore more “significant”, brothers bowing down to him. Yet in the end, surprise, they bow down to him and look to him for salvation from starvation. There were bigger stronger, and seemingly more significant nations around God’s people, like Babylon, and Egypt. In comparison God’s people were weak and insignificant. But God did something profound through this little “insignificant” nation. In fact people from every nation look for salvation in what God has done through this little “insignificant” nation, and its “insignificant” king who was crucified on a cross by the “significant” people. Surprise!

Speaking of Jesus, here is another surprise; God came to humanity in Jesus. We killed him. God still loves us and offers reconciliation and a new relationship. Surprising, yet predictable, because God is love. God worked in a very surprising way to help us see what we knew about God all along, that God is love.

Do people find us to be surprising in good ways? Are those surprises consistent with the good things people find predictable about us?

In Conclusion . . .

Our lives may be unpredictable, but we can be predictable, in a good way, living with a constancy, a consistency, and integrity, like Joseph, like God, like Jesus.

As God grows our character, developing within us the fruit of the Spirit, God’s work within us will show up through us no matter what is happening around us.

Life is totally unpredictable and full of nasty surprises. We can learn to be predictable in a good way. And full of good surprises.

---

Regular Thursday contributor Clarke Dixon is a Canadian pastor. You can watch the preaching of this sermon here.

A Warning About Wandering

Don’t let your heart be hardened!

Today we’re introducing another new writer to you. Morning Glory Journal is written by Hannah and it’s the opposite of our devotional page here — which posts in the afternoon — as each of her articles’ titles begins with “Morning Pep Talk.” Send her some link love by reading this at her page instead of this one; just click the title which follows.

Morning Pep Talk: Beware

When just starting out in your relationship with Jesus you feel a couple different things: excitement and doubt, maybe fear. Excitement in that your stepping out of the norm in seeking the God of the universe! Doubt and maybe fear in that you still might not be sure if He really can hear you or if He even cares all that much. But then, once you get going in a habit of talking to Him everyday, if you’re like me, you might start a bit of a roller coaster ride going from spiritual highs down to lacking a desire to look for Him. I’ve probably talked about this before but I’m experiencing it once again and I know I shouldn’t and I really don’t want to so I have to do something to combat this feeling.

“Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: ‘Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, and saw My works forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, and said, “They always go astray in their heart, and they have not know My ways.” So I swore in My wrath, “They shall not enter My rest.” ‘ ” Hebrews 3:7-11; NKJV

Reading those verses again, I feel a fear creeping into my chest. Whatever happened to that fear of slipping away from Jesus? That fear of leaving the path He set me on? Somewhere along the way the fear ebbed away and was slowly replaced with a sort of complacency. I was leaving Jesus! I don’t want to harden my heart against God! I don’t want to be one whose heart goes astray! I want to know the ways of God!

“Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, while it is said: ‘Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.’ ” Hebrews 3:12-15; NKJV

Isn’t that something? While it’s today talk to fellow believers, encourage each other, continue to seek out the Lord. Not, “Oh! I was going to do that yesterday!” or, “Oh, I can do that tomorrow.” None of that!

Just now reading the next few verses I have to include them:

“For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.” Hebrews 3:16-19; NKJV

Do I need to add my thoughts on this? That’s pretty straightforward! It all boils down to their unbelief! When we stray and lose interest per se, in our God, that’s because we don’t fully believe. Oh God, please! don’t let my foolish heart stray! It’s as the Interpreter in the second part of The Pilgrim’s Progress said, ” ‘Tis easier watching a night or two, than to sit up a whole year together: So ’tis easier for one to begin to profess well, than to hold out as he should to the end.” (p. 251.5)

Yes, it’s easier to leave our God, but we must hold out till the end! Satan wants us complacent, but don’t give in. Beg Jesus for help and He will gladly and readily help you. He helped me this morning so let this serve as proof that He can and will help you too. Just believe!

---

---

 

Building for the Storms: A Reflection on Matthew 7:24-29

by Clarke Dixon

What do we do when the storms of life are raging against us, threatening to beat us down and knock us off our feet? The COVID-19 pandemic may feel like that for many while for others it might be concern over health, work, relationships, or stress levels. What do we do when we face the biggest of all storms, the one that really does knock us down, when death draws close? Jesus speaks about storms. Let’s listen in:

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!”

Matthew 7:24-27 (NRSV)

If we are wise, we will “hear my words and act on them.” Then we will be like the wise person who built a house upon rock, a house with a solid foundation that could withstand the storms.

That could be the end of the sermon right there. Except that we tend go in one of two directions and so end up as unwise builders.

The first bad turn is to make our lives merely about following the rules. We might hear Jesus say “hear my words and act on them” then be tempted to go through all the words of Jesus, to write up a comprehensive list of his rules.

Since Jesus is concluding his “Sermon on the Mount” here, let us go back and consider again what Jesus has been saying up to this point.

Let us consider an example from earlier in the Sermon on the Mount:

You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment;

Matthew 5:21-22 (NRSV)

We might add to our list of rules, “do not get angry with people” and move on. But that misses the point. Jesus is pushing us into a deeper righteousness here, a righteousness that surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, a righteousness that is of a better kind, a righteousness of the heart.

Instead of merely keeping a rule about anger, we want to become the kind of people who are not angry, the kind of people who are peaceable and gentle, the kind of people who would never murder. Going further in the Sermon on the Mount, instead of merely keeping a rule about looking at others with lust, or a rule about divorce, we want to become the kind of people who are faithful (5:27-32). Instead of merely keeping rules about oaths we want to become the kind of people who have integrity (5:33-37). Instead of merely following the rules about whom we love or hate, we want to become the kind of people who love like God loves (5:38-48). We want to reflect the character of God. It is about Christlike character.

As we read on in the Jesus’ sermon, we don’t want to merely follow rules about piety, about prayer, fasting, and giving. We want to be the kind of people who develop and demonstrate a deep relationship with God (6:1-24). We do not pray to keep a rule about praying, we pray because prayerfulness is part and parcel of a deep and intimate relationship with God. We do not merely follow a rule about not worrying, we become the kind of people who trust in God, who know Him to be a loving, Heavenly Father (6:25-34).

Jesus stands in contrast to the religious types of his day who were all about the religious rules. He still stands in contrast to many of us religious types today. Jesus was leading people to the heart of God in a way that the scribes and Pharisees were not. When we hear the words of Jesus and act on them, we grow in character.

What do we do when the storms of life hit? It is not what we do, but rather who we are becoming in Christ that gives us the solid foundation. We handle a crisis with things like love, integrity, trust, faithfulness, prayer, and a deep relationship with God. That character will be a solid foundation when the storms of life hit.

Let us get into the second way we might take a wrong turn and so not be as prepared for the storms as we might think.

Some Bible scholars think that Jesus is talking about the final judgement when he talks about the great storm that knocks over the foolish man’s house but leaves the wise man’s house standing. Bible teachers are divided on whether that is so, but even if Jesus is not specifically referring to the final judgement here, we can think of that final storm among the many storms we face, the one which really does seem to knock us down for the final time.

We may hear Jesus say “hear my words and act on them” and think we must be super-obedient to receive eternal life. It’s on us to get this right. We may then begin to worry. We have heard his words, some of us have heard them many, many times, but have we actually acted on them? Have we acted on them well enough? So we worry.

Let us go back and consider again what words Jesus is telling us to hear and act on. One of the things Jesus tells us to do is “do not worry.”

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

Matthew 6:25-26 (NRSV)

The reason we are to not worry is because God’s got our backs. God is our Heavenly Father who loves us and knows what we need.

There are many stressed out Christians who wonder “have I done enough to be saved?” No you have not. Neither have I. There are many anxious Christians who wonder “what if I have unconfessed sin when I die?” You will have unconfessed sin when you die. So will I. We all have sin we are not even aware of.

But there is good news!

Having told us to not worry, but instead trust God, and trust that God loves us, Jesus demonstrated God’s love by going to the cross, to take away our sin, all of it. We have not done enough to be saved. God has done enough to save us. We will have unconfessed sin when we die. Jesus died for that sin too.

Hearing the words of Jesus and acting on them puts us on a solid foundation ready to face death. What do we do when that final storm rages against us? Again, it is not about what we do, but who we are becoming. We continue being the kind of people God is calling us to be, the kind of people who trust God, in everything. We know He loves us. That is the best foundation for facing life, and for facing death. Yes, a storm may blow through that really does seem to knock us down for the final time. Do not worry. God will pick us up.

Jesus said that if we hear his words and act on them, we will be wise,
like the man who built his house upon rock. That house was ready for the storms. A Jesus shaped, God formed character provides a solid foundation for all the storms that threaten to knock us down, even death. Are you hearing Jesus? Are his words being acted out in your life?

---

Pastor Clarke Dixon is the pastor of a Baptist church in Cobourg, Ontario. This reflection comes from an “online worship expression” which has replaced their regular church service. Watch today’s teaching portion at this link. Read more at clarkedixon.wordpress.com.

 

Good Habits

^{NLT.Luke.4.14} Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. Reports about him spread quickly through the whole region. ¹⁵ He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.

¹⁶ When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures.

Today we are back again at the blog with the unusual name, More than Useless, written by Thom Fowler. Click the title below to read this at source.

He Went as Usual

Father, it is much later than I like but I just couldn’t stop what I was doing. You and I were working on this coming Sunday’s sermon and You were speaking and guiding me so clearly that I just couldn’t stop! May it be a blessing to those that hear. May our time be a blessing, as well. Amen.

Luke 4:14-16 (<<see above or click to read the passage)

Frequently, I see and hear excuses for why people don’t attend church. Let me share one from a slightly different angle.

12 Reasons Why I, as a Pastor, Have Decided to Quit Attending Sporting Events

1. The coach never came to visit me.
2. Every time I went, they asked for money.
3. The people sitting in my row didn’t seem very friendly.
4. The seats were very hard.
5. The referees made a decision I didn’t agree with.
6. I was sitting with hypocrites – they only came to see what others were wearing!
7. Some games went into overtime and I was late getting home.
8. The band played some songs I had never heard before.
9. The games are scheduled on my only day to sleep in and run errands.
10. My parents took me to too many games when I was growing up.
11. Since I read a book on sports, I feel that I know more than the coaches, anyway.
12. I don’t want to take my children because I want them to choose for themselves what sport they like best.

Now this list is shared with a little tongue in cheek on my part but as I read through today’s passage something important was pointed out. At the beginning of verse 16, it says of Jesus,

When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath…

First of all, my Life Application Bible states, “During the exile when the Jews no longer had their Temple, synagogues were established as places of worship on the Sabbath and as schools for young boys during the week. [They] continued to exist even after the Temple was rebuilt.”

So, verse 16 states that Jesus “went as usual”.

Just for review, who is Jesus? He is fully God and fully man. Do you think that God needed to go to worship? And if you really give it some thought, wouldn’t His local synagogue had been a little sub-par, especially when compared to the majesty of heaven? But He went “as usual”.

Hebrews 10:25 encourages us by saying

And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. NLT

Sunday is coming – and if Sunday doesn’t work others meet on Saturday night. Find yourself a place to set down the burdens you carry every day. Jesus will welcome you with open arms! Don’t miss out!

Remaining Faithful in His Absence

Luke 19:11-27 (NIV)

The Parable of the Ten Minas

¹¹ While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. ¹² He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. ¹³ So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’

¹⁴ “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’

¹⁵ “He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.

¹⁶ “The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’

¹⁷ “‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’

¹⁸ “The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’

¹⁹ “His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’

²⁰ “Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. ²¹ I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’

²² “His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? ²³ Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’

²⁴ “Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’

²⁵ “‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’

²⁶ “He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away. ²⁷ But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.’”

For today’s study you will have to click through to the original source, because although it’s in point-form,  it is quite lengthy to include here.  I wanted to run this as an example of what a good expository (i.e. verse-by-verse) Bible study or preaching outline looks like.  The study is formatted so you just need to hover your mouse over the scripture references to see the verse in question.  Gene Brooks is the pastor of Union M. Baptist Church, Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

Personal note before we begin: There is a whole other story going on — concerning a King and the people of a far country —  in verses 12, 14, 15a, and 27 that bookends the story we are more familiar with and is often overlooked. Gene addresses this briefly, but it’s something some of you might want to dig into for future.

Here is the link to continue reading.  Take the time to study both the form and the substance of this. I’ll be checking to see how many of you are clicking through, okay?

Joanna, A Disciple of Jesus

^{Luke 8:1} After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, ² and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; ³ Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.  

# # #

^{Luke 24:1} But very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. ² They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. ³ So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes.

⁵ The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? ⁶ He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, ⁷ that the Son of Man^[b] must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.”

⁸ Then they remembered that he had said this. ⁹ So they rushed back from the tomb to tell his eleven disciples—and everyone else—what had happened. ¹⁰ It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several other women who told the apostles what had happened. ¹¹ But the story sounded like nonsense to the men, so they didn’t believe it.

Today’s reading is from Jeff Lucas; and first appeared in the UK bi-monthly devotional book Lucas on Life — an offshoot of CWR’s other subscription devotional, Selwyn Hughes’ Every Day With Jesus — in November of 2005.

What does a real Christian look like?  Is it enough to believe the right things, attend church regularly, read the Bible and pray — or should there be some more startling evidence that God is at work?  The letter of James insists that when God is really at work in us, then fruit can be seen.

We don’t want to be followers of “mere” religion that makes us feel good, but does nothing else.  S. H. Miller, dean of Harvard Divinity School, says, “Religion which is interested only in itself, in its prestige and success, in its institutions and ecclesiastical niceties is worse than vanity; it is essentially incestuous.”

For some answers we turn to a lady called Joanna.  She is only mentioned twice in the Bible — both times by Luke in his gospel.  But Joanna — a member of Jesus traveling band and one of the first to hear of the resurrection — is a heroine worthy of our reflection because her life was radically transformed by Jesus.  We’ll see that her priorities, her spending patterns, her domestic life — all were dynamically affected by the power of God that had either delivered her from sickness, dark powers, or both.

Let’s follow in her footsteps.

Jeff Lucas also adds as a reading for the day this passage in James:

^{James 2:14} What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? ¹⁵ Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, ¹⁶ and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?

¹⁷ So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

¹⁸ Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”

¹⁹ You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. ²⁰ How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?

²¹ Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. ²³ And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. ²⁴ So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.

²⁵ Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road. ²⁶ Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.

Scriptures quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT)

Faith Without Works Isn’t Faith

Today’s post is from Ron who blogs at Window or Mirror?, a blog primarily for men, where this appeared under the title Would You?

I posed a hypothetical question to my son the other day, to his ever-growing amusement. I asked him, “RJ, what would happen if I told you to go upstairs and clean your room, and you disappeared and returned in 90 minutes and sat on the couch to read a book, without having cleaned it? What would I do if I asked you what was going on and you said that you memorized what I said, and then went back to reading”? My son, laughing now, said that I would likely think he was being a wise guy. I asked, “What if I told you to go clean it again, and you disappeared again, return in 30 minutes, and the room still wasn’t clean? This time when I ask about the room, you tell me that you’ve invited three friends over to have a Bible study – in the dirty room – to discuss what it might look like if you cleaned it”? RJ laughed and said, “I wouldn’t dare do that Dad”!

Wouldn’t dare indeed. Isn’t this what we often do with what God has told us? …We pray, begging the Lord to show us His face, to reveal His specific will for our lives – and that’s good – but don’t you think that He sometimes looks down and says, “Your knowledge already far outpaces your obedience. I have given you my Word, and you cannot follow it; what more should I tell you now”? We are to be “doers” of the Word, and not hearers only. The “one anothers” of Scripture demand relationships and “action”. Each “one another” is preceded by a verb. Now I was never good at English, but I think verbs imply action on the part of the subject of the sentence. Each of the “one anothers” has YOU implied as the subject. YOU, love one another. YOU, bear one another’s burdens”. I challenge us today to be active in our faith. Exercise the “one another’s” in Scripture, and do what the Lord has instructed.

I am not advocating “works theology”. Some imply that the mere mention of “doing something” – even if for the Lord – hints at working for salvation. Men; everything that you can possibly do – all of it – cannot move you one fraction of an inch closer to deserving the gift of grace. It is free not because it is cheap, but because it is priceless; and praise the Lord that this is so! But works are important. How important? Read Matthew 25:41-46 below:

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,

Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Well, how important is that? At the end of it all, the One who gave us His life to redeem us will separate those who will live eternally from those who will not; and He will do this based on whether or not they did what He asked them to do. It is important. Praise the Lord that we have good works that have been prepared for us to do, and that we have the Spirit enabling us to do them. Let us therefore do what He commands.