Posts
"And Jesus said to them, 'Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men'" (Mark 1:17)
Did you ever try to teach your kids how to fish, beloved? I had that singular and truly glorious experience many years ago when they were all small. In fact, my son actually fished while sitting in his stroller! I remember buying for him one of those plastic fishing poles that came complete with string, plastic hook, and even a plastic fish. Of course, I replaced the string with real fishing line and carefully tied on a real hook when it was time to go for the real thing. What I remember most about that day at the coast was that they caught so many pin fish so quickly that Dad never got his line in the water! They went home smelly and dirty, but they went home grinning from ear to ear.
Jesus was someone else who taught His "kids" how to fish, beloved. In fact, much like my experience with my three, He taught them something about which they knew absolutely nothing. The force of the construction in the verse above is that He made them into something they were not before. They knew nothing about sharing the gospel with people and that is what He taught them to do. You see, Jesus was a Master "fisher of men." I love watching a heron fishing along the pond that is at the golf course. I don't know if you were aware of this or not, but a heron is a master fisher! He can actually see the fish swimming beneath the surface of the water as he stands so very still upon the bank and stalks his next meal. Jesus is a Master "fisher" of men. No one could teach His followers what He could teach them. And clearly He did a "masterful" job because of how the Holy Spirit was able to use them to turn their world upside down with their preaching.
But has the Master "fisher" of men been able yet to teach you how to fish, beloved? What impact are you having with the gospel upon your world? Are people who know you coming to know Him because they know you? That's how it is supposed to work! We know Him. They know us. They know Him. Isn't that a glorious plan? I recall a story told years ago about an imagined conversation between Jesus and Gabriel once He had returned to the Father's right hand. According to the story, Gabriel really wanted to know what the plan was now that Jesus was separated from His disciples. What were they to do? Jesus explained that He had instructed His disciples to make it their business to tell the people they met about Him, generation after generation it would go. Gabriel asked the Master, "What if they forget or simply don't tell? What is your plan then?" To that question Jesus replied, "I don't have any other plan. I am really counting on them."
He is really counting on us, beloved, you know? If we are truly believers, then He has taught us how to fish! Now we need to do it. He doesn't have another plan if we don't. It is up to you and me to be "fishers of men" just as He made His disciples to become. They were masterful fishers of men and so must we be as well. So much is counting on our faithfulness! The souls of lost people are too precious to God and we are His instruments, His messengers. And, by all means, as you carry out the command to take the gospel to the world, be sure you teach your "kids" how to fish as well!
Ron
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
Writing Your Own Love Songs
"And they sang a new song, saying, 'Worthy art Thou to take the book, and to break its seals; for Thou wast slain, and didst purchase for God with Thy blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. And Thou hast made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth'" (Revelation 5:9-10)
I absolutely adore those great love songs of the 50's and 60's, beloved! One of my personal favorites will always be "The Twelfth of Never" by Johnny Mathis. And who could forget that soulful sound of the Righteous Brothers singing "You've Lost That Loving Feeling"? Have you ever wished that you could put words on paper and turn them into songs that express the love of your heart for the love of your life? Who hasn't?
Writing your own love songs may seem rather trivial and even childish in the context above, beloved, but we actually are to be spiritual "lyricists" in our own right every moment of every day. How much do you as a Christian love Jesus Christ? The last time that you opened your mouth and sang a song of praise to Him whether by yourself in the car or in an act of public worship, did it come from your heart? Was it something that you really felt or just something that you were singing because it was the scheduled time in that service for everyone to sing?
John the Revelator said that the day is coming when those standing in the presence of the Lamb will "sing a new song" unto Him, extolling His worthiness to execute God's judgments against a Christ-rejecting earth. They will sing His worthiness because He has redeemed sinful man and has transformed those whom He has saved into an eternal kingdom, priests who will serve God forever. What a love song that all of heaven will hear on that day!
The psalmist declared that the Lord had "put a new song" in his mouth (40:3) and that is certainly true for every genuine believer! Is that what Jesus Christ has done for you, beloved? Luther Bridges, a Methodist pastor and evangelist from Georgia, wrote these words in 1910 following the deaths of his wife and three sons in a fire at his parents' home while he was conducting revival services in Kentucky:
I absolutely adore those great love songs of the 50's and 60's, beloved! One of my personal favorites will always be "The Twelfth of Never" by Johnny Mathis. And who could forget that soulful sound of the Righteous Brothers singing "You've Lost That Loving Feeling"? Have you ever wished that you could put words on paper and turn them into songs that express the love of your heart for the love of your life? Who hasn't?
Writing your own love songs may seem rather trivial and even childish in the context above, beloved, but we actually are to be spiritual "lyricists" in our own right every moment of every day. How much do you as a Christian love Jesus Christ? The last time that you opened your mouth and sang a song of praise to Him whether by yourself in the car or in an act of public worship, did it come from your heart? Was it something that you really felt or just something that you were singing because it was the scheduled time in that service for everyone to sing?
John the Revelator said that the day is coming when those standing in the presence of the Lamb will "sing a new song" unto Him, extolling His worthiness to execute God's judgments against a Christ-rejecting earth. They will sing His worthiness because He has redeemed sinful man and has transformed those whom He has saved into an eternal kingdom, priests who will serve God forever. What a love song that all of heaven will hear on that day!
The psalmist declared that the Lord had "put a new song" in his mouth (40:3) and that is certainly true for every genuine believer! Is that what Jesus Christ has done for you, beloved? Luther Bridges, a Methodist pastor and evangelist from Georgia, wrote these words in 1910 following the deaths of his wife and three sons in a fire at his parents' home while he was conducting revival services in Kentucky:
"There's within my heart a melody,
Jesus whispers sweet and low,
'Fear not, I am with thee; peace, be still
In all of life's ebb and flow.'
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Sweetest name I know!
Fills my every longing,
Keeps me singing as I go!"
Jesus whispers sweet and low,
'Fear not, I am with thee; peace, be still
In all of life's ebb and flow.'
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Sweetest name I know!
Fills my every longing,
Keeps me singing as I go!"
How are the love lyrics of your life coming along, beloved? What does the "melody" within your heart sound like? And just how often do you sing your own personal lyrics to the One who loves you so much that He went to the cross, took the full weight of your sins upon Himself, and hosed you down in the precious crimson flow? Jesus is listening for your lyrics, beloved. What is your heart singing to Him right now?
Ron
Ron
Thursday, May 13, 2010
It's Time to Buy Gold!
"I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich, and white garments that you may clothe yourself" (Revelation 3:18a)
We have all by now seen those television commercials which urge us to "buy gold" as a deterrent against the shrinking dollar, beloved. Company after company seems to be stepping up and inviting us to invest in gold as that commodity you can trust. After all, it has been said of gold that "it has never been worth nothing"!
Jesus Himself, as Head of His body the church, spoke to the Laodicean church members through the pen of the Apostle John on Patmos and urged that lukewarm and self-centered congregation to "buy gold" from Him so that they could become wealthy in what really matters - in a genuine relationship with Him by grace through His shed blood. It should be obvious to even the most casual reader that it is the gift of salvation by grace that is the "gold" about which Jesus speaks.
Jesus' words to the Laodiceans are strangely reminiscent of something that Jehovah spoke to His people Israel through their prophet Isaiah.
"Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost" (Isaiah 55:1)
Instead of gold, however, the Lord offers to them "wine and milk" - the basic necessities of the people of Judah in that day. "Milk" for the infants and the joy of "wine" for the adults beautifully parallel the "gold" which Jesus offered in such abundance to the Laodiceans. But what means the invitation to "buy without money and without cost"? Is not God's salvation still a gift of His grace given freely to all who will receive it in true repentance? Indeed! I believe that the call to "buy" emphasizes here, beloved, a valuing on the part of the receiver, something that becomes so important that he or she must have it whatever it takes. Nothing must stand in the way of procuring this greatest of all treasures.
The pages of God's Word seem to echo with this same call to "buy" what is real, to gain for ourselves what is most important in life.
"Buy truth, and do not sell it, get wisdom and instruction and understanding" (Proverbs 23:23)
My son and I were briefly discussing this same verse from the Proverbs just this week as he was preparing a video message to be broadcast to the students on the satellite campuses of their church. The "truth" here is clearly and only God's truth - specifically and primarily the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. People of Solomon's day desperately needed divine truth by which to live, as did the people of Judah during Isaiah's ministry to them as their prophet. And in end times, those times in which we are living right now, that smug and self-deceived visible church will have as its only hope the "gold" found in Jesus Christ. So it has been and so it will be, beloved. We must have the "wine and milk" of the gospel, the "gold" of Calvary, the "truth" of God's redemption in love and of His plan for this world and for our lives. And once we do have it, really have it, we would not trade it for anything for we come to understand that when a man has Christ, he truly does have it all!
Ron
We have all by now seen those television commercials which urge us to "buy gold" as a deterrent against the shrinking dollar, beloved. Company after company seems to be stepping up and inviting us to invest in gold as that commodity you can trust. After all, it has been said of gold that "it has never been worth nothing"!
Jesus Himself, as Head of His body the church, spoke to the Laodicean church members through the pen of the Apostle John on Patmos and urged that lukewarm and self-centered congregation to "buy gold" from Him so that they could become wealthy in what really matters - in a genuine relationship with Him by grace through His shed blood. It should be obvious to even the most casual reader that it is the gift of salvation by grace that is the "gold" about which Jesus speaks.
Jesus' words to the Laodiceans are strangely reminiscent of something that Jehovah spoke to His people Israel through their prophet Isaiah.
"Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost" (Isaiah 55:1)
Instead of gold, however, the Lord offers to them "wine and milk" - the basic necessities of the people of Judah in that day. "Milk" for the infants and the joy of "wine" for the adults beautifully parallel the "gold" which Jesus offered in such abundance to the Laodiceans. But what means the invitation to "buy without money and without cost"? Is not God's salvation still a gift of His grace given freely to all who will receive it in true repentance? Indeed! I believe that the call to "buy" emphasizes here, beloved, a valuing on the part of the receiver, something that becomes so important that he or she must have it whatever it takes. Nothing must stand in the way of procuring this greatest of all treasures.
The pages of God's Word seem to echo with this same call to "buy" what is real, to gain for ourselves what is most important in life.
"Buy truth, and do not sell it, get wisdom and instruction and understanding" (Proverbs 23:23)
My son and I were briefly discussing this same verse from the Proverbs just this week as he was preparing a video message to be broadcast to the students on the satellite campuses of their church. The "truth" here is clearly and only God's truth - specifically and primarily the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. People of Solomon's day desperately needed divine truth by which to live, as did the people of Judah during Isaiah's ministry to them as their prophet. And in end times, those times in which we are living right now, that smug and self-deceived visible church will have as its only hope the "gold" found in Jesus Christ. So it has been and so it will be, beloved. We must have the "wine and milk" of the gospel, the "gold" of Calvary, the "truth" of God's redemption in love and of His plan for this world and for our lives. And once we do have it, really have it, we would not trade it for anything for we come to understand that when a man has Christ, he truly does have it all!
Ron
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Let's Be Reasonable!
"'Come now, and let us reason together,' says the Lord, 'though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool'" (Isaiah 1:18)
"Let's be reasonable!" How many times have you heard that plea, beloved, either from someone else or possibly from your own lips? Unfortunately, most of the time when these words are used, it is a cry for folks to come back to the "middle," to forsake some perceived radical position or viewpoint. It is an urging in the direction of a more "middle of the road" approach to whatever issue is at stake. In so many such cases, the "truth" is commonly sacrificed for an easier path, a less troublesome way of dealing with the situation.
Most followers of Jesus Christ have read their Bibles often enough to be at least generally familiar with the words which God spoke to His people through their prophet Isaiah. What may not be understood, however, is that never does "reason" or "reasonable" to God mean meeting Him in the middle or taking the smoother way out of or through a set of circumstances. What does it mean, then, when Jehovah invited Israel to come to the table and "reason" with Him? The Hebrew word yakach (yaw-kahh') contains the notion of something "reciprocal" going on, but definitely not in the sense of equals meeting to reason together. It is clear, beloved, that both "reason" and "justice" are on God's side of the equation. Note simply His willingness to cleanse and forgive the undeniable sinfulness of man.
Thus, to "reason" together with God, beloved, is to submit ourselves willingly and completely to the standard which God lays down for us. As Edward Young has noted:
"That which is reasonable is reasonable only because God Himself has declared it to be so" (The Book of Isaiah, I, 76).
So to "reason" together with God is to acknowledge His sovereign rule and to obey His commands. In God's sight, nothing less than total obedience is "reasonable."
The "red" which God mentions to Israel through the prophet does not seem to refer in any way to anything redemptive, but rather to the color of sin. And that understanding is confirmed by the "white" which we may become when we repent of our sins and receive God's forgiveness by grace. God would not regard His people's sins as "white" apart from their genuine repentance, nor will He extend that same offer to us today.
So the next time you hear someone say "Let's be reasonable!" think about what "reasonable" is to God and remember that it is only through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and our own repentance and acceptance of that gracious gift that what is "red" in us can be made "as white as snow"! Thanks be to God for His glorious gift!
Ron
"Let's be reasonable!" How many times have you heard that plea, beloved, either from someone else or possibly from your own lips? Unfortunately, most of the time when these words are used, it is a cry for folks to come back to the "middle," to forsake some perceived radical position or viewpoint. It is an urging in the direction of a more "middle of the road" approach to whatever issue is at stake. In so many such cases, the "truth" is commonly sacrificed for an easier path, a less troublesome way of dealing with the situation.
Most followers of Jesus Christ have read their Bibles often enough to be at least generally familiar with the words which God spoke to His people through their prophet Isaiah. What may not be understood, however, is that never does "reason" or "reasonable" to God mean meeting Him in the middle or taking the smoother way out of or through a set of circumstances. What does it mean, then, when Jehovah invited Israel to come to the table and "reason" with Him? The Hebrew word yakach (yaw-kahh') contains the notion of something "reciprocal" going on, but definitely not in the sense of equals meeting to reason together. It is clear, beloved, that both "reason" and "justice" are on God's side of the equation. Note simply His willingness to cleanse and forgive the undeniable sinfulness of man.
Thus, to "reason" together with God, beloved, is to submit ourselves willingly and completely to the standard which God lays down for us. As Edward Young has noted:
"That which is reasonable is reasonable only because God Himself has declared it to be so" (The Book of Isaiah, I, 76).
So to "reason" together with God is to acknowledge His sovereign rule and to obey His commands. In God's sight, nothing less than total obedience is "reasonable."
The "red" which God mentions to Israel through the prophet does not seem to refer in any way to anything redemptive, but rather to the color of sin. And that understanding is confirmed by the "white" which we may become when we repent of our sins and receive God's forgiveness by grace. God would not regard His people's sins as "white" apart from their genuine repentance, nor will He extend that same offer to us today.
So the next time you hear someone say "Let's be reasonable!" think about what "reasonable" is to God and remember that it is only through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and our own repentance and acceptance of that gracious gift that what is "red" in us can be made "as white as snow"! Thanks be to God for His glorious gift!
Ron
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)