Thursday, November 24, 2011

Always Time for Thanksgiving!

"In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

Thanksgiving! What a wonderful time of year, beloved! Even as I write these thoughts to share with you, family members have arrived at our home and others are en route. I've got my "Grandpa" sweatshirt on and I'm ready to romp with grandkids. I love Thanksgiving!

God loves thanksgiving as well. More specifically, God loves your thanksgiving and mine! In fact, so vital is our thankfulness to God that He has commanded us to be thankful. As the Apostle Paul wrote to the saints in Thessalonica, we are to give thanks "in everything." Not for everything but in everything. No matter what we face in life - good times, bad times, happy times, sad times - we are to be thankful in heart and give thanks to Him.

And the realm in which it is God's will for us to give thanks is "in Christ Jesus." Within the realm of who Christ is and what He has done we find ample reason to give thanks from a grateful heart. You see, beloved, we can truly be thankful in every situation of life, not necessarily for that moment or its circumstances, but for the reality that Jesus Christ is Lord of Lords and that everything happening in our world is moving steadily toward that ultimate moment when "every knee shall bow" and "every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord."

So as I anticipate the arrival in a couple of hours of more family members, I can be and actually am excited and so very thankful. Thankful for the blessings of life and family, thankful for the blessings of precious time spent together, and thankful most of all for the God who loves me and has redeemed me and who is in control of all that happens.

In everything give thanks. This is Thanksgiving and a glorious time of year it is! But how truly thankful are you, beloved, as you get ready to celebrate this precious holiday? The good news is that not only are we to give thanks "in everything" but because of who God is and what God has done for us we can truly be thankful in every situation of life and give Him the praise and honor and glory He so richly deserves. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! And by the way, let me just take this opportunity to tell you how thankful I am to God for each one of you who has blessed my life by taking the time each week to read these devotional thoughts. What an encouragement you all are and I praise God for you!

Ron

Friday, November 18, 2011

Spreading Your Deposit Around

"The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (2 Timothy 2:2)

Having discovered in our previous time together what a wonderful blessing the truth of God's Word is to us, beloved, and how important it is for us to protect that wondrous "treasure" within our hearts, we turn now to consider a need that is beyond that of merely guarding what God has entrusted to us.

The Apostle Paul went on within this same portion of his letter to Timothy to exhort him to "entrust" the treasure of God's Word to others. The word "entrust" in the original language means to "put near" in the sense of committing something to someone as a sacred trust. Very simply, we are to take the "treasure" of God's Word and invest it in the lives of other people! We are to pass it on as we have so wondrously received it ourselves. The one common mistake that we too often make as Christians, beloved, is that we become "repositories" of truth, storing it away in our thoughts and memories. With our notes and our meditations we become libraries of divine truth.

But Paul here tells us that we are not merely to "archive" God's truth for use in our own lives. We are to deposit that truth in the lives of others. We are to become channels through which can flow the precious principles of daily living that are to energize our living as followers of Christ. In fact, the apostle told the saints in Ephesus that the literal growth of the body of Christ depends upon "what every joint supplies" (4:16).

One very important qualification is added to Paul's instructions, beloved. We are to seek out "faithful" saints with whom to place this sacred deposit of God's truth. The word "faithful" means those who have shown themselves to be reliable and dependable in living for Jesus Christ and His glory. I believe that what the apostle is talking about here is nothing less than a determined and concentrated effort on our part to be "disciplers" of new believers. We cannot be content to merely see others make a profession of faith but must do all that we can to train them in the truths of Christian living. We must not only, then, protect our own deposit but must pass that deposit to others who, as Paul goes on to say, may themselves "teach others also." It is the only way to insure the growth of believers in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are God's chosen "planters," the agents of His truth being invested in the lives of others. So pass it on, beloved, pass it on! The next generation is waiting!

Ron

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Protecting Your Deposit

"Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you" (2 Timothy 1:14)

Anyone who has ever used the drive-through window at your local bank has seen the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) sticker on the glass assuring you that your "deposit" is fully protected and safe. No bank without such a financial back-up would likely have many depositors!

But did you know that many folks who so fastidiously guard their material wealth give little or no thought to that which Paul calls their "treasure" or literally their good deposit? For us as Christians our "good deposit" is the truth of God that is imparted to us through the faithful teaching and preaching of the Scriptures. Very simply, beloved, every Bible truth so shared is "deposited" by God within us through His Spirit who dwells within. Yet how carelessly many believers toss aside such a sacred deposit as they would an empty soda can or crumpled candy wrapper! Do you recall what your pastor or Bible study leader last spoke into your life?

The only way to protect your deposit, beloved, is to take to heart the truths of the Scriptures and to live them out in your life. As Paul urged Timothy, "guard" them as the sacred deposit that they are! Hopefully in our next post we'll consider together what else we need to do with our "treasure." But for now, ask yourself how much of a treasure your life shows that you consider the truth of God's Word to be?

Ron

Friday, November 4, 2011

There Are Hearers and Then There are Doers!

"But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves" (James 1:22)

The truth bound up in this single yet powerful statement of the Apostle James is without a doubt the most foundational in any believer's daily walk! The issue at the heart of it all is whether we live as "hearers" or "doers." Take a moment, then, to consider ramifications of each choice.

Perhaps the first thing we ought to note is that there is nothing inherently wrong with being a "hearer" of God's Word. In fact, every "doer" today must first be a "hearer"! The problem does not arise until we encounter the little Greek word monon which means "exclusively" and is here translated "merely." To be a "hearer" is a good thing, but to be "merely" a hearer is not! As James has pointed out, to make the choice to be merely a hearer of God's Word is to "delude" yourself. The Greek verb paralogizomai is rich in meaning, beloved. It means literally "reason beside" in the sense of stepping outside of that which is reasonable and rational and coming to completely false conclusions. Today we might say such a person has "taken leave of his senses."

By contrast the true "doer" is the believer who takes action as a result of what he has heard in his heart from the Word of God as revealed by the Holy Spirit. One truth which James has made abundantly clear, beloved, is that God never intended for us to "hear" His Word and not respond to it. We ought always to be changed, always to be transformed, always to be set on new paths with renewed vigor. Otherwise, what is the point of even "hearing"?

James' description of the "doer's" look into the truth of the Word is graphic and prosaic. The word he uses in the original language means to "stoop down beside." The picture is that of one who stops and stoops to take a closer and longer look into something, much like one who stoops to gaze into a silent clear pool of water, noting his own reflection in that liquid mirror. He looks long and he looks intently, drinking in all that is being reflected back to him. He takes note of what he sees, takes note of areas where attention is needed, and completely analyzes his true condition. Then with that understanding clear, he rises to his feet and takes action in keeping with what he has been shown by the mirrored image.

There is simply no more basic or foundational need in the life of every Christian than this, beloved! If we fail as "hearers" to become "doers" of the Word, then we fail at the core of what makes us who we are. We fail the kingdom of God. We fail the Savior who shed His blood and bought us for Himself. We fail the plan and purpose of God for all mankind.

May I say to you today that in this we must not fail! To be satisfied to become a self-deceived hearer is simply not an option. We must become "doers" of the Word. We must take action in all that the Spirit of God shows us as we stoop to gaze intently into the mirror of God's truth. Are you a "doer"?

Ron