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"And Jesus was saying to them, 'Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power'" (Mark 9:1)
I will never forget the one and only occasion in which Bev and I while visiting our youngest daughter then living in Colorado Springs were able to drive all the way to the summit of Pike's Peak. Talk about thin air! Everyone was moving so slowly and breathing more heavily than normal.
As wonderful as that trip up Pike's Peak was, however, it could not compare at all to Peter and James and John's trip to the top of Mt. Hermon. There they had witnessed the glory of the risen Lord Jesus Christ and the sight they beheld had scared them beyond belief. It is in their wonderful experience, beloved, that we learn a valuable lesson about what our focus needs to be each time that God gives to us our own "mountaintop" experience. Note first that in Jesus' actual transfiguration before them, that lifting of the veil of eternity so that they could peek within, we see the need to always reaffirm the Master as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And that, of course, involves ever acknowledging that He is Lord of our personal lives.
As Peter and James and John looked on, Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus and began to discuss with Him His coming death, resurrection and ascension. On the mountaintop, then, beloved, we need always to reaffirm the message. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ, the story of His death, burial and resurrection that must be our priority here. And as those who acknowledge honestly His Lordship we ought always to be about His business.
As they came down from the mountain, they encountered a heartbroken father begging the disciples to cast a demon from his son. Right in front of them, then, right there "in the valley" they saw the need to reaffirm the mission. Mountaintop experiences are wonderful, beloved, encouraging and strengthening, but it will always be in the valley that we meet those for whom Christ died. And it will be in the valley where we serve Him best.
So mountaintop experiences are important, aren't they, beloved? At such moments we are invited by the Father Himself to reaffirm the Master, the message, and the mission. And armed again with a resolve that Satan can't crack, we descend to the valley to take on all that he can throw at us, wearing the armor of God and armed with the sword of the Spirit. We do so because, as the song says, "people need the Lord."
Ron
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Room at the Cross
"But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world" (Galatians 6:14)
Ira Stanphill is well-remembered as a traveling evangelist and musician of the 20th century who was privileged to write more than 500 gospel songs. In 1946 he was preaching in a revival meeting in Kansas City, Missouri, and as was his custom, asked the members of the congregation to submit suggested gospel themes or song titles. As they would present to him their favorite ideas, he would select from them and proceed to write a gospel song based on the suggested titles selected.
On that particular evening he was thumbing through the titles and came across the words "Room at the Cross for You." These words struck a chord in his heart and before the service was over, Stanphill had written the lyrics to the hymn that we know and love so well today.
The cross upon which Jesus died is a shelter in which we can hide;
And its grace so free is sufficient for me, and deep is its fountain as wide as the sea.
There's room at the cross for you, there's room at the cross for you;
Though millions have come, there's still room for one,
Yes, there's room at the cross for you.
Some time later a young man in great despair of life, intending that very evening to take his own life with a pistol he carried in his pocket, found himself walking near a church where a worship service was in progress. He heard the music director singing the words of Stanphill's great hymn, Room at the Cross, and was so gripped by the message that he made his way into the church. That night he found Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord and was gloriously saved. Later he studied for the gospel ministry and became an evangelist himself. It is said that a motion picture was eventually made of that man's life since the day when the words of the hymn, Room at the Cross, pointed him to Christ and delivered his life and his soul.
The Apostle Paul declared boldly that he could never boast in anything in this life except in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ and its redeeming power in his own life. He further declared that to him the world was nothing and that he had died to it as well. His one aim in life was to live for Jesus Christ and to let everyone know that there is still today "room at the cross" for any and all who will come to Jesus by faith.
May our lives as Christians today ever reflect that same wonderful message - "Though millions have come, there is still room for one. Yes, there's room at the cross for you"!
Ron
Ira Stanphill is well-remembered as a traveling evangelist and musician of the 20th century who was privileged to write more than 500 gospel songs. In 1946 he was preaching in a revival meeting in Kansas City, Missouri, and as was his custom, asked the members of the congregation to submit suggested gospel themes or song titles. As they would present to him their favorite ideas, he would select from them and proceed to write a gospel song based on the suggested titles selected.
On that particular evening he was thumbing through the titles and came across the words "Room at the Cross for You." These words struck a chord in his heart and before the service was over, Stanphill had written the lyrics to the hymn that we know and love so well today.
The cross upon which Jesus died is a shelter in which we can hide;
And its grace so free is sufficient for me, and deep is its fountain as wide as the sea.
There's room at the cross for you, there's room at the cross for you;
Though millions have come, there's still room for one,
Yes, there's room at the cross for you.
Some time later a young man in great despair of life, intending that very evening to take his own life with a pistol he carried in his pocket, found himself walking near a church where a worship service was in progress. He heard the music director singing the words of Stanphill's great hymn, Room at the Cross, and was so gripped by the message that he made his way into the church. That night he found Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord and was gloriously saved. Later he studied for the gospel ministry and became an evangelist himself. It is said that a motion picture was eventually made of that man's life since the day when the words of the hymn, Room at the Cross, pointed him to Christ and delivered his life and his soul.
The Apostle Paul declared boldly that he could never boast in anything in this life except in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ and its redeeming power in his own life. He further declared that to him the world was nothing and that he had died to it as well. His one aim in life was to live for Jesus Christ and to let everyone know that there is still today "room at the cross" for any and all who will come to Jesus by faith.
May our lives as Christians today ever reflect that same wonderful message - "Though millions have come, there is still room for one. Yes, there's room at the cross for you"!
Ron
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Buffeting My Body?
"But I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified" (1 Corinthians 9:27)
Just let the average Christian read the word "buffet" and instantly the taste buds perk up and the hunger pangs begin! We are notorious (especially we Baptists) for linking a meal to just about everything that we do! In fact, we would all have no problems whatsoever being obedient if God was actually challenging us here to "buffet" (buf-fay') our bodies in that respect.
But the Apostle Paul was definitely not talking about your favorite smorgasbord eatery! Rather he was letting the Corinthian believers know how important to him it was to "discipline" himself and to make sure that he controlled his physical body instead of allowing it to control him. The Greek verb hupopiazo means quite literally "strike under the eye" as in giving yourself what we used to call a good old-fashioned "shiner." Now Paul clearly wasn't referring to some strange form of self-flagellation but was instead speaking figuratively of his own system of spiritual discipline over his flesh and its desires.
One of the greatest problems which we seem to have as Christians today is the mastery of our flesh, beloved. And that brings me back to the thought of a "buffet" (as in food!) for an example. Eating at a buffet is the one area where you can be sure that all Christians will devoutly believe in "good stewardship"! How many times have I myself reasoned that I just had to have that second plateful of food so that I could justify the cost of the buffet! Sound familiar? I thought so! You see, in such cases we don't control our bodies but they control us. It is we who are the slaves and our desires that are the masters over us.
The Greek word doulagogeo means "bring into bondage" and is the picture of the victor leading the vanquished about in chains. Paul lets us know even today that as Christians we have only two options from which to choose. We can either be the slave or we can be the master. If we let our flesh dominate us, then we will become slaves to our flesh. But if, as Paul did, we are willing to "buffet" our body, to control ourselves spiritually, we will not find in the end that we have been "disqualified" from service.
Buffet my body? Absolutely! While the line for a clean plate at the local smorgy is a good place to start, beloved, we all need to discipline ourselves to think, talk, and act like Jesus. We need to "walk in the Spirit," as Paul told the Galatians, and then we will find that we will not fall prey to the desires of the flesh. Buffet anyone?
Ron
Just let the average Christian read the word "buffet" and instantly the taste buds perk up and the hunger pangs begin! We are notorious (especially we Baptists) for linking a meal to just about everything that we do! In fact, we would all have no problems whatsoever being obedient if God was actually challenging us here to "buffet" (buf-fay') our bodies in that respect.
But the Apostle Paul was definitely not talking about your favorite smorgasbord eatery! Rather he was letting the Corinthian believers know how important to him it was to "discipline" himself and to make sure that he controlled his physical body instead of allowing it to control him. The Greek verb hupopiazo means quite literally "strike under the eye" as in giving yourself what we used to call a good old-fashioned "shiner." Now Paul clearly wasn't referring to some strange form of self-flagellation but was instead speaking figuratively of his own system of spiritual discipline over his flesh and its desires.
One of the greatest problems which we seem to have as Christians today is the mastery of our flesh, beloved. And that brings me back to the thought of a "buffet" (as in food!) for an example. Eating at a buffet is the one area where you can be sure that all Christians will devoutly believe in "good stewardship"! How many times have I myself reasoned that I just had to have that second plateful of food so that I could justify the cost of the buffet! Sound familiar? I thought so! You see, in such cases we don't control our bodies but they control us. It is we who are the slaves and our desires that are the masters over us.
The Greek word doulagogeo means "bring into bondage" and is the picture of the victor leading the vanquished about in chains. Paul lets us know even today that as Christians we have only two options from which to choose. We can either be the slave or we can be the master. If we let our flesh dominate us, then we will become slaves to our flesh. But if, as Paul did, we are willing to "buffet" our body, to control ourselves spiritually, we will not find in the end that we have been "disqualified" from service.
Buffet my body? Absolutely! While the line for a clean plate at the local smorgy is a good place to start, beloved, we all need to discipline ourselves to think, talk, and act like Jesus. We need to "walk in the Spirit," as Paul told the Galatians, and then we will find that we will not fall prey to the desires of the flesh. Buffet anyone?
Ron
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Putting a Stopwatch on God
"And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary" (Galatians 6:9)
Anyone who has ever spent time around thoroughbred race horses, beloved, no doubt knows how important a stopwatch is to the training of such animals. In fact, the term to "put a stopwatch on" a particular horse means to time his speed so as to see what kind of racing potential he may have. All of us have probably seen that all too familiar scene from any of a number of movies where the horse's trainer and owner stand on the side of the track as the horse races past, one of them clicking the button on the stopwatch as the horse crosses the finish line. Without "putting a stopwatch" on a race horse, the owner would never have any way of knowing just how capable or incapable a racer his horse might be.
While such a practice makes perfect sense when it comes to race horses, beloved, it makes no sense at all when we as Christians try to "put a stopwatch on God"! Yet that is what we do each time that we come to Him in prayer and in anticipation of certain answers or blessings and we become discouraged or disillusioned if He doesn't respond to us in short order. Note closely here the term "in due time" or "in due season" as the King James Version has it. The Greek word kairos is difficult to translate adequately into English. It is not connected to "time" in the sense of a certain day or hour, but rather to various opportunities that are given to us by God. And the word "due" focuses upon just that fact, that it is God Himself who determines when it is the right "time" for something to occur in our lives.
God is not a racehorse, beloved, and should not ever have us try to "put a stopwatch" on Him. Rather as His children and His servants we should be willing for that divinely appointed "due time" to come. We need to learn to trust God and keep serving Him faithfully. Paul here stated that we will always "reap" when the time is right as long as we don't grow weary of waiting and serving and give up. As we choose to trust Him and keep serving, we will discover again and again that while God is certainly not in a race, He is never late!
Ron
Anyone who has ever spent time around thoroughbred race horses, beloved, no doubt knows how important a stopwatch is to the training of such animals. In fact, the term to "put a stopwatch on" a particular horse means to time his speed so as to see what kind of racing potential he may have. All of us have probably seen that all too familiar scene from any of a number of movies where the horse's trainer and owner stand on the side of the track as the horse races past, one of them clicking the button on the stopwatch as the horse crosses the finish line. Without "putting a stopwatch" on a race horse, the owner would never have any way of knowing just how capable or incapable a racer his horse might be.
While such a practice makes perfect sense when it comes to race horses, beloved, it makes no sense at all when we as Christians try to "put a stopwatch on God"! Yet that is what we do each time that we come to Him in prayer and in anticipation of certain answers or blessings and we become discouraged or disillusioned if He doesn't respond to us in short order. Note closely here the term "in due time" or "in due season" as the King James Version has it. The Greek word kairos is difficult to translate adequately into English. It is not connected to "time" in the sense of a certain day or hour, but rather to various opportunities that are given to us by God. And the word "due" focuses upon just that fact, that it is God Himself who determines when it is the right "time" for something to occur in our lives.
God is not a racehorse, beloved, and should not ever have us try to "put a stopwatch" on Him. Rather as His children and His servants we should be willing for that divinely appointed "due time" to come. We need to learn to trust God and keep serving Him faithfully. Paul here stated that we will always "reap" when the time is right as long as we don't grow weary of waiting and serving and give up. As we choose to trust Him and keep serving, we will discover again and again that while God is certainly not in a race, He is never late!
Ron
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