You may have an electric baby grand piano sitting in your living room, polished, shining, looking grand, but if it isn’t plugged in what is its purpose aside from gathering dust? It is meant to resonate with beautiful music, but unplugged, it sits in silence, not fulfilling the purpose for which it was made. The devil loves unplugged people, loves to see them isolated, especially Christians! The lame line people use, “the beach, the mountains, nature is my church” is exactly what the devil loves to hear. Yes, you can feel God’s presence and have moving spiritual moments alone with Him in His creation, but then you need to get back to the church. Not the building but the body of Christ.! We are a part of His body, whether an eye, an ear, a toe, or whatever, and we are a needed part of that functioning body. When a toe is missing the foot lets the whole body feel its pain. When the back is being rubbed, the whole body relaxes. We need each other, we need to share each other’s joys and sorrows, to encourage each other, strengthen each other, help each other to develop spiritual maturity. It isn’t an option, it is what He expects and tells us to do. The NT writers used the term one another over 50 times for a reason! We are His church, His body, we need Him and we need each other! Have your quiet times with Him each day, get alone with Him in nature, and then come together and help the body stay strong and healthy and whole. We don’t want to be missing any toes!
James said it best. “Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” You can quote the Bible all day long but if your actions don’t match your words, what good is it? I shared this quote from an old HS friend before but it bears repeating. “I’m so tired of people with a mouth full of Scripture and a heart full of hate!” There’s a harsh modern day translation of what James said that should cut you to the quick! We are to know His Word, study His Word, and then live His Word. Not just Sunday mornings with brothers and sisters, but every day, everywhere; in the workplace, in workout places, on golf courses, in restaurants, in club houses, in your neighbor’s house. We don’t need to be spouting Scripture but we should be overflowing with kindness, patience, love. The point of knowing His Word is so that we will apply its principles and make a personal application to our lives. A great point Pastor Curt made yesterday, that many people may gloss over,, was, “we don’t change without Biblical confrontation!” Until we take His Word into our hearts and apply it to our lives, we won’t become the person the Lord wants us to be! Keep working, like the wise man, to build your house, to build your life, upon the Rock and seek His guidance for what He wants you to do, what He wants you to be. Remember, wherever you go, you are the Lord’s representative, He’s not yours.
I suppose this is a guy thing,, but why would you try to put together a complicated piece of furniture or machinery or child’s toy without first looking at the instructions? Or why would you drive for miles when you have no idea where you are rather than ask a local for help? Why do people (not just guys) try to make their way through life without ever consulting the Book that was written to do just that? Why do people think they can find their way to Heaven without ever asking directions? God gave us the Bible for our benefit, to make our life easier (not easy, easier), and to give us His directions to Heaven, so why is it the last book most people pick up? The world and society have changed but His Word remains the same yet how would you know if you never read it? I was explaining something in Genesis to a skeptic and concluded by reading the Scripture account of what we discussed. Their response was, well that’s one version! No! That is the version, it’s His version! Listen to the Pastors, listen to Biblical scholars, and then go and read it for yourself. Pray before you read, asking the Holy Spirit to open your understanding. Don’t merely accept what others say, spend time in the Word, know it so well that no one can lead you astray. As Jesus said, “If you abide in My Word … you shall know the truth …”
Who doesn’t love Peter? Big, tough guy fisherman, boldly going where no disciple has gone before, first to speak up, first to react with the sword, first to proclaim who Jesus really was, first to swear undying love and loyalty to the Lord, and the first to openly deny Him! Peter was quite a guy, one to which we all can relate. After His resurrection, when Jesus confronted him on the beach three times about his love for Him, Peter’s heart was grieved. “You know I love You Lord” was all he could say. Three declarations for three denials. How many times would Jesus ask you, “Do you love Me?” How many times, whether by words or actions, have you denied Him? How many times, from watching your lifestyle or listening to your speech, would people question your love for the Lord? We aren’t a perfect people, and like Peter, we all have failed Him one time or another. Maybe not blatantly, maybe only subtly, but we still have let Him down. Yet the beauty of His amazing grace is that just like Peter, we may have failed Him in some way, but He knows if we still love Him! Funny how it was Peter who encouraged the churches to be holy because He is holy. We won’t be perfect, our holiness may waiver, but we need to never stop trying! Then someday if He asks you “Do you love Me?” you will be able to answer, “You know I love You Lord … and He will!
You have been working hard all day, your body is tired, borderline exhausted, all you want is to go home and lay down, and then the boss comes along and says he has one more thing for you to do. Do you jump right up and say yes sir whatever you want? Yeah, thought so. Yet that is what Jesus did to His disciples, twice! Once after He had taught a multitude by Lake Gennesaret and again after His resurrection. Both times the disciples had been fishing all night, caught nothing, and were tired. Real fishing, manually casting and hauling in heavy nets for hours is back breaking work, they were beat, but at Jesus’ request to cast their nets one more time, they responded in obedience and were rewarded with more fish than they could handle! They didn’t whine or complain they simply obeyed. How do you respond to what Jesus requests of you? Whether extremely tired or fresh as a daisy, do say yes Lord or make excuses? Paul encouraged the churches in his letters to never grow weary of doing good works and doing good works is seldom that tiring but always rewarding. Seek and listen for what the Lord wants you to do, to go where He wants you to go. Don’t question it, He knows what He’s doing and of what you are capable. Heed the Psalmists words, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding.” You will find that is a very rewarding thing to do!
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” isn’t just a proverb but a theme that runs through the Scriptures. Too often we get so caught up in how much God loves us and has done for us, that we allow our personal relationship with Him to become too familial.
Yes He loves us, yes He gave His Son for us, yes He forgives us time and again, but He is the great I AM, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, and we still need to fear and revere Him! Our finite minds cannot comprehend the infinite. How Someone who can masterfully design universes and multitudes of life forms want a personal relationship with each one of us is well beyond our grasp, but that Someone deserves all the reverence we can give Him! People love to make new year resolutions (not that Jan 1 is the only time you can do that) so let’s do some resolving! Make it a point to become wiser; fear and revere the Lord more every day. Show Him your love by doing as Jesus said. “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” It’s a new year yet He hasn’t changed. He still “is the same yesterday, today, and forever,” but we can continue to change and grow and become wiser. Let us resolve to do just that!
By Tim Irving – Evangelism Team
I suppose this is a guy thing,, but why would you try to put together a complicated piece of furniture or machinery or child’s toy without first looking at the instructions? Or why would you drive for miles when you have no idea where you are rather than ask a local for help? Why do people (not just guys) try to make their way through life without ever consulting the Book that was written to do just that? Why do people think they can find their way to Heaven without ever asking directions? God gave us the Bible for our benefit, to make our life easier (not easy, easier), and to give us His directions to Heaven, so why is it the last book most people pick up? The world and society have changed but His Word remains the same yet how would you know if you never read it? I was explaining something in Genesis to a skeptic and concluded by reading the Scripture account of what we discussed. Their response was, well that’s one version! No! That is the version, it’s His version! Listen to the Pastors, listen to Biblical scholars, and then go and read it for yourself. Pray before you read, asking the Holy Spirit to open your understanding. Don’t merely accept what others say, spend time in the Word, know it so well that no one can lead you astray. As Jesus said, “If you abide in My Word … you shall know the truth …”
By, Tim Irving – Evangelism Team
By, Tim Irving – Evangelism Team