tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83569033732572457482024-02-08T14:03:51.182-05:00Gleanings from God's WordRon Varnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17396871496487188250noreply@blogger.comBlogger217125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356903373257245748.post-61010899957633388422015-05-25T20:22:00.000-04:002015-05-25T20:49:50.130-04:00This Is the Day That the Lord Has Made<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am" (Philippians 4:11)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">One of the most humorous posters that I have ever seen, beloved, was of a toddler in a high chair who was quite literally "wearing" his supper! His head was covered with spaghetti noodles and his face, arms, and chest with sauce. And as cute and funny as that picture was, what really made it complete for me was the caption beneath it. In large letters were these familiar words:</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;">THIS IS THE DAY THAT THE LORD HAS MADE! I WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;">And judging by the virtual ear-to-ear grin on that little guy's face, he was certainly "glad" in all of that spaghetti mess!</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;">I find a wonderfully appropriate lesson for us as adults today in the image that I have described for you here. Do we really believe that in every circumstance of life that "this is the day that the Lord has made"? When we are circumstantially splattered with the noodles and sauce of everyday living, can we actually "rejoice and be glad in it"? The confident declaration of the Apostle Paul to the church in Philippi lets us know clearly what his own personal reply to this question was:</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;">"I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am"</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;">If you know anything at all about Paul's life, beloved, you know that in many circumstances he found himself "splattered with spaghetti sauce"! Life was tough for the apostle more times than it was not. Yet he faced each day with the certain conviction that it was indeed the day that the Lord had made and he was determined to be content in it. He was able to do that because he believed with all his heart that God is in complete control. His circumstances were meant to glorify God and to strengthen Paul in his daily walk. Can you and I have the same conviction today, beloved? Can we take on life's splatter and declare with assurance that "this is the day that the Lord has made"? We can if we know that God loves us and only desires His best for our lives! So enjoy your spaghetti!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;">Ron </span> </span> </span> </span> </span></span></span>Ron Varnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17396871496487188250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356903373257245748.post-4043901395368209362015-05-17T20:32:00.000-04:002015-05-17T20:32:59.385-04:00Living in a Disproportionate World <span style="color: #783f04;">"But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come" (2 Timothy 3:1)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;">One of the most popular D.C. Beltway "buzz-words" that we hear being bandied about in recent days is the word <i>disproportionate</i>, beloved! More accurately, it is most often linked to another word forming the all too familiar claim of "disproportionate wealth" supposedly plaguing society today. In fact, it seems that this present administration seems to be obsessed with the concept. Very simply, too many people have too much money while too many have too little. Ergo, disproportionate wealth! </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;">What fascinates me, however, is how so many can claim to be champions of solving the disproportionate wealth problem while at the same time apparently failing to realize that we all live in a "disproportionate world"! Scripture makes it very clear that we are living in a world that is horribly gone wrong, a world that is out of balance and off-kilter in every way imaginable. The Apostle Paul described this world-wide condition to the believers in the city of Rome in this way:</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;">"For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now" (Romans 8:22)</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;">This present world is suffering from being out of balance spiritually with our Creator, beloved. We have fallen horribly short of the glory of God and are hopelessly ensconced in bondage to sin. We are in an eternal slavery from which we cannot hope to extricate ourselves. As Paul wrote to the believers in the city of Ephesus in his day:</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;">"And you were dead in your trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1)</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;">The good news is that, though man could not deliver himself from his disproportionate world, God in mercy did that for him. In Jesus' laying down of His life on the cross for our sins the way was opened for us to know full and eternal restoration into a glorious relationship with God. What we could not do, God has done and all because He loves us and is not willing that any should perish. </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;">Let man rail on and on, if he chooses to do so, about the ridiculous notion of disproportionate wealth. We who are followers of Jesus Christ know that God will one day restore all balance and symmetry to this disproportionate world of ours and that every eye will behold it and every tongue will confess it. It will be on that day, beloved, that God will set everything right.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;">"They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Then it will come about in that day that the nations will resort to the root of Jesse, who will stand as a signal for the peoples; and His resting place will be glorious" (Isaiah 11:9-10)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;">"The earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea"! Does not that statement describe beautifully God's healing of our disproportionate world? In that day "the nations will resort to the root of Jesse," meaning that King Jesus will rule on the throne of David and the peace of God will cover the earth. Everything "disproportionate" will be set right and all will exist in harmony for God's glory and for the good of His people. To God be the glory!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;">Ron </span> </span> </span> </span> </span></span></span></span>Ron Varnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17396871496487188250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356903373257245748.post-75355768243365184692014-11-01T19:01:00.000-04:002014-11-01T19:01:45.521-04:00Coming Alongside to Help<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;">"And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; <i>that is</i> the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, <i>but </i>you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you" (John 14:16-17)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">I experienced today one of the most tender and heart-touching moments that I have ever witnessed, beloved! We were at the nursing home where Bev's mom resides and were about to leave. In the hallway outside her room, an elderly Alzheimer's resident was trying with great difficulty to move her wheelchair down the hall to the front lobby where many love to sit. Another resident, a man in a motorized wheelchair came up behind her and grabbed her chair, I thought to move it out of his way. Instead he asked her, "Are you having difficulty, ma'am?" Without waiting for a reply, he took a firm hold on the armrest of her manual wheelchair and "hit the gas" of his motorized wheelchair. I watched in amazement as he literally "towed" her to her destination before continuing on his way. He had actually <i>come alongside her to help her</i> and was able to see her through her dilemma.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">"Not a big deal," some might say. But it surely is if you are an Alzheimer's victim confined to a nursing home and you can't get your wheelchair to work for you! What occurred to me instantly as I watched that special moment of ministry going on was that the Greek word <i><b>Parakletos</b></i>, recorded here in the words of the Apostle John to describe God's gift to us of the indwelling Holy Spirit, literally means "one coming alongside to help." What I was seeing played out before my eyes was for me a reminder of the work of the Spirit of God daily in my own life and in the lives of those who have a true relationship by faith with Jesus Christ.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">Just as that "good Samaritan" came alongside to help that sweet lady in her distress, so the Spirit of God is present within us to "come alongside" and help us through whatever it is that we are facing. And in like manner, beloved, again beautifully exemplified by that unidentified helper today, we as believers have the responsibility to "come alongside" those into whose lives the Holy Spirit may send us. No matter what the need may be, we should be doing all that we can to help others along the way, especially along the path to knowing Jesus Christ and living with Him eternally.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">I am pretty sure that the aforementioned gentleman today does not know that I witnessed his gift of grace and mercy. I am sure that he does not know what an impact his example made upon my life and what a reminder he was and is to me of what I need to be doing more of myself from day to day. The formula is pretty simple, beloved: </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">(1) Be on the lookout always for those who are stuck on the side of life's path, and </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">(2) Do whatever is needed to meet their need and to set them moving again in the direction that God would have them to go. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">As you do that, you will be imitating the person and work of the Spirit of God in your own life. You will also be advancing the kingdom of God and you will certainly be exalting the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and pointing others to Him!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">Ron </span> </span></span>Ron Varnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17396871496487188250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356903373257245748.post-30071415812398828242014-09-26T20:30:00.000-04:002014-09-26T20:34:47.356-04:00Carnivorous Chickens?<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #783f04;">"If you love Me, you will keep My commandments" (John 14:15)</span> </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Stupid bird!" Those were my wife's precise words recently as she read once again the words "Vegetarian Fed Hens" on the outside of the carton of fresh eggs she had just purchased. You see, anyone who knows Bev knows that she and vegetables are not on the best speaking terms! In fact, when I pointed out to her that all chickens are fed vegetable products, her response was "Not mine!" Carnivorous chickens? Really? I suppose that in her world such critters might just exist!</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;">We all love to play by our own rules, don't we, beloved? It is a trait of human nature as long as there have been human beings that we insist on deciding what is best for us and by what standards we will live our lives. Now in all fairness we have become civilized to the point that we do submit to some degree to people of authority over us. After all, lots of folks have bosses, children have parents, and all of us as citizens live under the watchful eye of Big Brother! But in our heart of hearts,we would rather have everything go <i>our </i>way, have everyone around us dance to <i>our </i>tune.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;">Jesus blew such a common trait of human nature to smithereens when He proclaimed to His disciples that if they truly loved Him, they would <i>obey</i> Him. And I am pretty sure that it is safe for us to assume that by "My commandments" He really meant <i>all</i> His commandments. No wiggle-room, no side doors, no back windows out of which to climb. Just straight forward, dead-ahead obedience, walking moment by moment in the will of the Lord. Jesus did not chew His cabbage twice on this point: the only real evidence that we even have a relationship with Him will be <i>the degree to which we obey Him</i>!</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;">You see, beloved, being a Christian is not really a complicated issue at all. It means simply that moment by moment and day by day, I discover what the Master's will is for my life and then I go out and do it. <i>Just do it</i>. Otherwise, you are going to find yourself lost in that nether-world inhabited by unicorns and carnivorous chickens. You gotta love her!</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ron </span></span>Ron Varnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17396871496487188250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356903373257245748.post-2952393705815983042014-08-14T20:41:00.000-04:002014-08-14T20:41:30.663-04:00Joy Unspeakable!<span style="color: #783f04;">"Therefore you too now have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one takes your joy away from you" (John 16:22)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;">The phrase "joy unspeakable and full of glory" is the title of a gospel song from 1900 written by Church of God minister Barney Elliott Warren. His inspiration came from the words of the Apostle Peter about the joy that comes from the gospel of Jesus Christ.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;">"Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory" (1 Peter 1:8, KJV)</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;">Peter wrote concerning how, though the believer cannot see Jesus right now visibly, still because of our faith in Him and His finished work on the cross, our hearts are filled with joy, a depth of joy that it is absolutely impossible to adequately put into words. It is truly "joy unspeakable" and it ought to overflow our lives! It ought to be so infectious that those who are exposed to it when they are in our presence cannot help but notice that something is very, very different about us. We are not weird but we are joyful! As Barney Warren put it so well:</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: blue;">"I have found the joy no tongue can tell,</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: blue;">How the waves of glory roll;</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: blue;">It is like a great o'erflowing well,</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: blue;">Springing up within my soul"</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: #660000;">It you could have seen the faces and manner of the disciples that final night with Jesus, beloved, you would definitely <i>not </i>have seen "poster children" for the joy of the Lord! They were anything but joyful, so great was their sorrow over His coming departure from them. And though He sought to convince them that their hearts would be joyful after a little while of sorrow, they just could not and would not believe it. It was not until after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost that the true transformation of heart and life began.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: #660000;">How infectious is your joy right now, beloved? If we are honest with ourselves, each one of us, we must confess that we are not always the most joyful people to be around. What are we showing to our world that will catch their attention and cause them to want to know what (or who!) has gotten hold of us? Let me encourage you to ask the Spirit of God to fill you to overflowing with the joy of Jesus Christ. Ask Him to let your life so flow with the abundance of His joy that it cannot help but wash over those who know you. It is truly "joy unspeakable" to have a living relationship with Jesus Christ and to be His ambassadors in this world so darkened by sin! Come on! Let the waves of glory roll!</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: #660000;">Ron </span> </span> </span> </span> </span> </span>Ron Varnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17396871496487188250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356903373257245748.post-19741054189232330862014-08-01T18:58:00.000-04:002014-08-01T18:58:07.843-04:00The Spirit of God at Work!<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;">"And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged" (John 16:8-11)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">To attempt to describe fully the work of the Spirit of God in the world today, beloved, is a formidable task, indeed! Seminary libraries are filled with thousands of volumes that have been written over generations on this subject alone. Still Jesus, in His final night on earth with His disciples before going to the cross to pay the price for the sins of mankind, described for them graphically in very few words what the true work of the Spirit of God is in the world today.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">In the verses above, note that the first work of the Spirit of God in the world today mentioned by Jesus is that He will "convict the world concerning sin." The recognition of each person's sinfulness before God is the one great essential if he is ever to know forgiveness and receive eternal life. That every man has sinned against God and stands under His divine condemnation is the deepest need of the human heart. It is the work of the Spirit of God to reveal to every person, then, his lost condition spiritually before God and his need of God's gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">Jesus went on to tell His disciples that the Spirit of God would also "convict the world concerning righteousness." He told them that the "righteousness" about which He would convince the world can be found only in Jesus Christ Himself. The evidence that His is the only true righteousness is seen in the fact that the Father received Him to glory following His death, resurrection, and ascension and declared that with His righteousness He was truly "pleased." Thus, beloved, it is not the righteousness of any man, no matter how lofty his standards or how hardy his efforts to attain it, that God accepts. He only accepts the righteousness of the sinless Son of God and only in His righteousness can we find acceptance with the Father.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">Finally, Jesus revealed to His disciples that the Spirit of God would "convict the world concerning judgment." Mankind has deluded himself into believing today that no such judgment is forthcoming, that God either cannot or will not judge the sinfulness of man. Man is only accountable to himself, so says the secular humanist, so there is nothing to fear. The work of the Spirit of God is to convince the world that this judgment is not only real but that it is inevitable and that no man will escape it. Jesus pointed to the fact that Satan himself had already been judged and would feel the full measure of God's wrath at the appointed time. Why, then, would God not judge sinful man when He has not allowed the Father of Lies to escape?</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">What is so exciting for every true follower of Jesus Christ today, beloved, is the awareness that we are each partners with the Spirit of God in His work in the world today! It is within us and through us that He seeks to work to let this sinful world know that salvation can be found in Jesus Christ and in Him alone. Ours is the blessed privilege not only to know Christ personally and to know the assurance of our own salvation, but to tell others about Him as the Spirit of God gives us opportunity.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">So the Spirit of God is truly at work in the world today! The question that remains to be answered is whether or not you are working with Him?</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">Ron </span> </span></span>Ron Varnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17396871496487188250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356903373257245748.post-33774581711550330872014-07-11T12:42:00.000-04:002014-07-11T12:42:40.800-04:00The Down Side of Following Jesus<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;">"If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before <i>it hated </i>you" (John 15:18)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">It has been quite some time since I sat down to put together a devotional blog, beloved, and I am glad to be doing it now at long last. We are working our way on Sunday mornings through what is known as "The Upper Room Discourse" of Jesus, His final night with His disciples before going to the cross. In actuality, these words were spoken after they had left the upper room and were on their way to Gethsemane. But we consider them as part of that discourse as well.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">These may seem to us on the surface to be words that are dark and somber, but Jesus was seeking to reveal to His disciples just what it would cost them to walk as He had walked and to serve as He had served. He wanted them to know, as He does each of us today, that there is a definite "down side" to following Him in obedience. Here in verses 17-25 we find that He disclosed to them first of all that they would be <i><b>hated</b></i> by those who had hated Him if they were faithful in proclaiming the gospel message and in turning the hearts of men to repentance and forgiveness. If they chose to come out from the world has He had done, then hatred for them and their message would be the world's response to their ministry. That reality has not changed at all today!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">Next Jesus revealed to them in the 20th verse that they would not only be hated but <i><b>persecuted</b></i> as well. You see, beloved, "hatred" does not like to stand alone but prefers to express itself in harassment and torture. It wants the object of its hatred not only to be silenced but to suffer for having spoken and stood in the first place.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">Finally, Jesus let them know that because of being hated and persecuted, they would be totally <i><b>rejected</b></i> by the world (verses 21-25). Because the gospel message is rejected today, then those who proclaim it are rejected as well. Have you noticed that, while "religion" is tolerated and even protected, any who desire a "relationship" with Jesus Christ by faith are not? Have you noticed how fundamental Christianity is being blamed for society's woes? It is not that they reject our political views, beloved, as much as it is that they reject the truth of God that Jesus Christ is the only Way and the only Truth and the only Life!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">Yes, there is a "down side" to following Jesus Christ for any person today who would choose to be faithful. But the most important truth is that, though we experience a "down" side in living for Christ, we are never "defeated." Do you recall what the Apostle Paul wrote to encourage the hearts of the saints in Corinth?</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;">"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves; <i>we are </i>afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed" (2 Corinthians 4:7-9)</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;">Though a "down side" to following Christ, then, know that we remain more than conquerors through Him who loved us, beloved! Know that faithfulness to Christ, even bearing the down side of living as His servants in this world, is nothing compared to the glory that will be revealed one day to us and through us. Hallelujah!</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;">Ron </span> </span> </span> </span></span>Ron Varnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17396871496487188250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356903373257245748.post-14787978710295547022014-03-07T20:58:00.000-05:002014-03-07T20:58:04.622-05:00Dumbing Down or Wising Up?<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">A popular "buzzword" that has recently gained notoriety in media usage is the rather distasteful term "dumbing down." I heard it used just this week via the airwaves to describe the administrative leadership of New York City's decision to penalize certain charter schools by expelling them from public facilities they are using. And it is being done in spite of the fact that their students' test scores have far outstripped those of NYC public school students. Would that not seem to you to be an example of "dumbing down" a trend that should be nurtured and developed and encouraged? What is unfortunate is that throughout the halls of U.S. leadership we are seeing manifold evidence of this alarming trend at work!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">What is even more tragic, beloved, is that we are seeing the effect of this same disastrous trend in the church of Jesus Christ as well. More and more members are opting for minimal learning and maximum entertainment in their worship experience. Yet Paul here urged Timothy to make his primary objective that of learning how to "handle accurately the word of truth." The only truth that matters today is <b><i>God's</i></b> truth, beloved, and the only answers that will meet people's needs are <i><b>God's </b></i>answers. Instead of "dumbing down" spiritually as Christians, then, we need to be "wising up" by studying His Word and learning how to apply it in every possible circumstance of life. Only as we do so will we never have cause to be embarrassed or feel ashamed because our ministry is shallow or ineffective.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">Ron </span> </span></span>Ron Varnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17396871496487188250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356903373257245748.post-87002931887068757342014-02-28T14:29:00.001-05:002014-02-28T14:29:32.095-05:00A Couple of Guys Named Earl<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;">"And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And it came about that for an entire year they met with the church, and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch" (Acts 11:26)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">I had originally intended to write this post quite some time ago, beloved. In fact, the idea has been simmering on one of the back burners of my mind for a while. It was recently brought forward when my sister changed her Face Book photo and replaced it with one of my mother and father taken around the time of their wedding in the early 1940's. Just seeing their beautiful faces reminded me that I needed to get back to this blog idea and "git 'er done."</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">You may have already figured out that the two guys named Earl are my dad and me. My grandparents gave him the name Earl as a surname (don't even ask what the "T" stands for in his middle name!). Then Mom and Dad gave me the name Earl as my middle name and it is one that I have worn gladly and proudly throughout my life. Wearing the name Earl for me is a true badge of honor. My father in his life was an honorable man, a man of dignity and integrity who loved his country and served it well. The photo that I have already mentioned shows him in his military uniform during WWII. On every bomber mission while on active duty he would crawl through that narrow tunnel in the belly of his B-17, strap himself into the tail gunner's turret and, with his fellow crew members, put his life on the line to defend liberty against horrible and perverted aggression. I guess you can tell from that bit of nostalgic rambling that I am honored myself to be a guy named Earl.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Although many of you no doubt have similar stories you could tell, the point that I really started out to make is that we all as followers of Jesus Christ have a <i><b>koinonia</b></i>, a "sharing in common," that is far more than just a couple of guys named Earl. You see, we each have the honor and the privilege of being known as a person named Christian. And with that privilege comes the most awesome responsibility that it is possible for any one individual to bear. We have the task of bearing that glorious name before the eyes of a watching world, most of whom do not have that privilege yet. They are watching you and me to see if they can figure out why it is so important for them as well to become a guy named Christian. And the decision that they will each ultimately make, though their own to make and their own consequences to bear, will still in great measure be affected by what they see in you and me.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">So I am just a guy named Earl and you already know why it is such an honor for me to bear that name. But more than that I am a guy named Christian and it is my joy and my responsibility to bear that name as Jesus did. The reality for me personally is that I fall and I get back up. I fall again and I get back up again...but I never lose sight of the name that I bear and of the cost that Jesus paid to give me the privilege to bear it.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Say, how is that name fairing in your daily care?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Ron </span>Ron Varnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17396871496487188250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356903373257245748.post-89544036252687175432014-01-02T14:42:00.000-05:002014-01-02T14:42:21.108-05:00Garbologist at Work!<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"...in order that no advantage be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes" (2 Corinthians 2:11)</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #660000;">I am indebted for the idea behind this devotional thought to a waste collection agency, one of its trucks anyway, behind which we found ourselves this morning and upon whose rear portion we saw proudly displayed the sign: GARBOLOGIST AT WORK! <i>Garbologist!</i> Don't you just love that term? What an intriguing title for the critical and beneficial work of garbage removal and disposal!</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #660000;">Even as I commented to my wife and chuckled about that sign as we passed the truck, the thought immediately occurred to me that there is a "garbologist" at work in the world today and that there is absolutely <i>nothing</i> "beneficial" about his activities. I hereby officially bestow upon Satan, the enemy of all mankind, the title of "Garbologist"! All that he plans and all that he carries out is nothing but sheer spiritual <i>garbage</i> in the lives of people. His primary goal is now and always has been to keep people away from the grace and mercy and love of God. Know this for a certainty, beloved, that Satan stands opposed to everything that God by His grace is doing in the world today. If that fact does not earn for him the title of "Garbologist," then I do not know what does!</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #660000;">The Apostle Paul in his second recorded letter to the church in Corinth gives to us a wonderful word of encouragement and source of hope in our daily dealings with the enemy of our souls. He first promises that there is no need for any "advantage (to) be taken of us by Satan." In other words, we do <i>not</i> have to find ourselves covered by the spiritual garbage that he seeks to heap up in our lives. We do not have to fall prey to his schemes or become victims of his lies. And the reason is simply, as Paul put it so well, that "we are not ignorant of his schemes." That is one of the most glorious promises in all of the New Testament concerning the potential victory of the child of God! The apostle told the Corinthian believers that we as followers of Jesus Christ are "not ignorant" of how the enemy works today. We not only know from personal life experience, but we know because <i>the Word of God instructs us</i> in how to deal with him and how to have victory over him. This same Paul exhorted the saints in Ephesus to "put on the full armor of God" in facing each new day.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;">"Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil" (Ephesians 6:11)</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;">So there is no reason, beloved, especially as we face the onset of a brand new year, for any of us to fall prey to the "garbage" that Satan loves to sling: thoughts that are misaligned with the truth of God, actions that are not in keeping with what He requires of us, attitudes that are not glorifying to Him or edifying to one another, a lifestyle that is not redemptive because it does not point the way to the cross of Calvary.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;">May this New Year be for you one of complete and total victory over Satan and one of glorifying Jesus Christ in all that you say and do. And remember, always keep your eyes and ears open! There is ever nearby a <i>garbologist at work!</i></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;">Ron<i> </i> </span></span></span></span></span></span>Ron Varnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17396871496487188250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356903373257245748.post-878251821047940122013-12-03T21:32:00.000-05:002013-12-03T21:32:03.149-05:00The Secret to Staying Awake in Church<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied" (Matthew 5:6)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;">It's been a while since I have posted anything, beloved, primarily because I remain determined to do so only when I feel like I really have something worthwhile to share with you. Tonight I have been working on the current passage in the book of Acts upon which we are focused at present in Sunday worship. The passage is a unique one involving a young man who "fell asleep in church" while the Apostle Paul was preaching and fell to his death from a third story window. Often today believers assume that it was a sign that Paul's sermon was too long for Eutychus and he could not stay awake.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;">What I find in this unusual experience, however, is a question that immediately confronts us when we jump to such a conclusion. That question quite simply is: <i>"Too long with reference to what standard?"</i> The truth is that what is "too long" for some worshipers is in fact "too short" for others! I have enjoyed the privilege of preaching on the island of St. Lucia in the West Indies where worshipers are accustomed to services that go on for two to three hours. I have personally been asked by the resident pastor there to preach for 90 minutes. I don't know about other denominations, beloved, but try that in the average Baptist church and see what happens!</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;">In the famous <i>Sermon on the Mount</i> (Matthew 5-7) Jesus pronounced that "blessed" or <i>happy and fulfilled</i> are those who have a true "hunger and thirst for righteousness." How could a worshiper possibly lose his focus in any way, much less actually fall asleep, when the truth of God is being taught in a service of worship? Instead of asking, then, if Paul's sermon was too long for Eutychus' attention span, perhaps we should consider that <i>Eutychus' hunger was too short for Paul's message!</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;">How is <i>your </i>personal "hunger and thirst" for righteousness, beloved? Does the enemy consider you to be a threat to his perverted purposes or does he rather find you to be "yawning" your way through each day as a professing Christian? Are the Biblical messages we hear on a regular basis truly "too long" for our ability to pay attention, or is the problem with the degree of our spiritual hunger?</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;">Do you want to know, then, the secret to staying awake in church? Develop a hunger for the Word of God, an insatiable craving to live out the truths of God each and every day, and you will never become a Eutychus. Other than this, the only advice that I can give you is to stay away from churches where the sanctuary is above the ground floor!</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ron<i> </i> </span></span>Ron Varnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17396871496487188250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356903373257245748.post-40190622858566409332013-10-23T17:02:00.000-04:002013-10-23T17:02:20.377-04:00Religious Like Me?<span style="color: #783f04;">"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma" (Ephesians 5:1-2)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;">Recently a good friend invited me on an outing with a couple of friends of his, telling me that I would like them a lot because they are "religious like you." I'm pretty sure I know what he meant by that. At least, I sure <i>hope</i> he meant what I think that he did! But either way, his choice of words really set me to thinking. Is that the image I present to those who know me, that I am "religious"? Is an outward adherence to a set of dogma what I am putting on display before others? Is that what a Christian is at heart?</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;">Paul told the believers in Ephesus to "be imitators of God." And in elaboration of that command he urged them to "walk in love." He further presented to them the Lord Jesus Christ Himself as the perfect example of such love. He reminded them that Jesus "gave Himself up for us" as a once for all time offering for our sins. His, then, was a truly <i>sacrificial</i> love. Very simply, He put all of mankind ahead of Himself when He went to the cross and paid the price for our sins!</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;">But let's get back to this "religious" thing for a moment. Is that really what any one of us as Christians wants to convey to those who know us...that we act religiously? How will that lead anyone to faith in Jesus Christ? Being an imitator of the Lord Jesus Christ, beloved, is of necessity <b><i>an attitude of heart made visible through a manner of life</i></b>. Because I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, He lives within me. And because He lives within me, I <i>live Him outside of me for everyone to see!</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;">In all honesty I must confess to you that I have definitely not mastered that last line just yet. I find that it was a whole lot easier for me to <i>write</i> in this blog than it is for me to <i>do</i> day after day after day. I'm still working on that part of it. But that fact does not change for a single moment the need for me, for each one of us, to be more than just somebody's idea of "religious"!</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;">What my good friend said to me today, and I am sure that he meant it in a very positive way, is something that I for one definitely want to change. I don't want to be somebody's idea of "religious." I do want to be somebody's idea of a person who clearly knows Jesus Christ personally. Want to join me?</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;">Ron<i> </i> </span> </span>Ron Varnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17396871496487188250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356903373257245748.post-86473237317407172582013-09-28T21:47:00.000-04:002013-09-28T21:47:25.039-04:00Smarter Than Your GPS?<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;">"There is a way <i>which seems</i> right to a man, but its end is the way of death" (Proverbs 14:12)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">How many of you have ever felt at times that your computer is smarter than you are? Yep, me too. How about your GPS? Not so much for me. Today I learned that I am definitely smarter than our GPS. Here is what happened. We traveled up to Wake Forest to a local high school to see our oldest grandson play in a showcase baseball game against another travel-team. We loaded the address of the school into the GPS and it took us there perfectly. No problems. The trip home, however, was an entirely different story. Bev hit the "Home" button on the GPS which is supposed to simply reverse the directions and take us home the same way it brought us there. Not this time! Since I had just driven that GPS-directed route a short time before, I remembered the way home. We decided to allow the GPS to lead us home anyway. As we approached the very same highway that we had traveled en route to the game, however, the GPS tried to take us past that point and to another highway that was out of the way and a longer route home. Even as I drove past the road I had taken up there, I said to my wife, "This is not right." Her advice was as profound as it was simple: "Then turn around." I did so and was soon on the same road back home that we had taken to get there. And all the way home, would you believe it, that GPS did everything it could to re-route us on to the road I had refused to take to get home? It never did acknowledge that I had taken the right way and it had taken the wrong one. This was one time when ignoring the GPS and doing what I knew was right to do was <i>the right thing to do!</i></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">So often in life today, beloved, people make decisions that <i>seem</i> to them to be the right thing to do. Just like our GPS that stuck doggedly to its errant way home and did its best to lead us to follow that way, men just decide that <i>they</i> know what is best for their lives and so forge ahead into disaster and ruin. Solomon in his godly wisdom declared that this is a failing in our nature that plagues all of mankind. We <i>think</i> we know the way and push ahead regardless of where it may lead us. And as Solomon went on to say, that end is "the way of death." In this regard we are our own worst enemy!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">Only <i>God's</i> way is the right way, beloved. Only <i>God's</i> path is the one we should travel. Only <i>God's</i> way will lead us to life instead of to that inevitable death. If you are on the wrong way right now, what can you do? Listen to my wife's wonderful advice once again: <i>just turn around</i>. You do not have to take one more step down the road that you are on if that road is not the one that God has chosen for you. You don't have to listen to your own inner "GPS" if it is trying to lead you the wrong way. The glorious thing about God's way is that you are free to choose it any time and it is always accessible to you.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">Which way are you on? Are you smarter than your GPS? If you are choosing God's way, then you most certainly are! And the road you are traveling will lead you to eternal life and to a wonderful peace that passes all understanding.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">Ron<i> </i></span> </span></span>Ron Varnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17396871496487188250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356903373257245748.post-90790675155655405152013-09-21T22:39:00.000-04:002013-09-21T22:39:36.556-04:00Whatever, Whenever, Wherever, Whomever<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;">"To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some" (1 Corinthians 9:22)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;">Volumes have been written and dissertations delivered, beloved, on the importance of establishing one's true <i>purpose</i> in life. From the perspective of some that we should "to one's own self be true" to the conviction of others that it is "better to burn out than to rust out" so many philosophies for living daily seem to abound.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;">I want to propose to you that the Scriptures define for us clearly and distinctly what God's desire for our personal mission statement is. Here, for example, we find the Apostle Paul succinctly outlining his own heartfelt purpose in life. Very simply, in words familiar to any true student of God's Word, we hear him declaring: "I have become all things to all men so that I may by all means save some." Powerful and complete!</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;">I wanted to suggest to you in this brief statement a much shorter version of what Paul wrote to the saints in the Greek city of Corinth, not different at all, but shorter - <i>whatever, whenever, wherever, whomever</i>.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;">Consider with me how Paul in this verse of Scripture clarified the <i><b>whatever</b></i> of his personal life purpose. His exemplary "all things" reveals this aspect of his mission statement. He was willing to <i>do whatever it would take</i> to reach one single person with the gospel of Jesus Christ.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;">But note also here his <i><b>whenever</b></i> as well as the <i><b>wherever</b></i> of his mission statement as found in the term "all men." Since none of us ministers to people all at one time or in one place but rather day by day and in varying places and circumstances, then we discover that Paul's commitment to servant-hood had a definite <i>whenever/wherever</i> aspect to it. He was simply never "off-duty" as a servant of Jesus Christ.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;">Further we discover about him the wonderful <b><i>whomever</i></b> quality of his life's focus. To Paul it simply did not matter who you were: where you came from, what you might have done, how famous or infamous you might have been. To the apostle all that mattered was <i>what you needed to become</i> and <i>where you would spend eternity</i>.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;">The beauty and simplicity of his life-statement as an apostle of Jesus Christ can best be seen, however, in the term "so that I may by all means save some." Paul cared about people perhaps like no one else. He was not necessarily the archetypical "people person." But what he was reached so much deeper within himself and as a result so much further out from himself. Because God had filled his heart with His own divine love for lost people, Paul's passion in life had become telling people about Jesus and seeing them turn in genuine repentance and faith to Jesus Christ.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>WHATEVER, WHENEVER, WHEREVER, WHOMEVER</i>. Certainly an intriguing statement of personal servant-hood, wouldn't you agree, beloved? And is that not what every child of God ought to aspire to become? You see, it is one of the most powerful yet simple definitions of what a true "servant" of Jesus Christ is to be!</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ron </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span>Ron Varnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17396871496487188250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356903373257245748.post-61467580114076991872013-09-10T19:56:00.000-04:002013-09-10T19:56:26.112-04:00When Is Upside Down Right Side Up?<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;">"When they did not find them, they <i>began</i> dragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities, shouting, 'These men who have upset the world have come here also; and Jason has welcomed them, and they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus'" (Acts 17:6-7)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span>Just when <i>is</i> "upside down" really "right side up"? To use a well-worn cliche, beloved, it all depends upon whom you ask! The world, for example, will tell you in a heartbeat that Christians, or even moral conservatives for that matter, are definitely "upside down." Listen to the rhetoric that spews from the printed page and the airwaves. All of that which they choose to say about us today means only one thing - in their minds we are "upside down" in our thinking and consequently in our politics. We have been brainwashed by religion.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Did you know that the Apostle Paul and his missionary partner Silas were accused in just the same way by the irate citizens of ancient Thessalonica in Greece? Dragged before the city bigwigs for causing too many people to accept the gospel of grace and to turn in faith to Jesus Christ, these servants of God were loudly accused of having "upset the world." In other words, they had challenged and affected the safe and sanctimonious status quo of the Hellenistic Jews and the unbelieving Greeks. Very simply, they accused Paul and Silas and their gospel message of being "upside down" and of having turned the whole Greek world topsy-turvy as a result.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">The problem with such thinking, beloved, whether from the first century or the twenty-first, is that this world has missed the boat when it comes to just what is "upside down" and what is "right side up." Paul in his preaching in the synagogue in Thessalonica had reasoned with his audience for three Sabbath days in a row and had proven irrefutably that Jesus of Nazareth was then, is now, and forever will be the promised Messiah. Of the resolute Jews whom many thought none could convince Luke records that even among their number "some of them were persuaded." They were not persuaded by enticing speech, riveting stories, or catchy phrases. They were persuaded by <i>the undeniable truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ</i>. For those so persuaded, they turned to Christ for the simple reason that they could do nothing else.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">That being the case, beloved, again the twenty-first century as well as the first, what every true child of God knows is that the gospel is "the power of God unto salvation" (Romans 1:16). So we conclude without fear of meaningful argument or contradiction that it is <i>the world</i> that is "upside down" and it is <i>the gospel of Jesus Christ </i>that is "right side up"! Thus, in answer to the original question: "When is upside down right side up?" the answer clearly is <i>whenever anyone turns from sin and in faith to Christ and receives the gospel of grace</i>. By the way, are <i>you</i> turning your world upside down by showing it how to be right side up?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Ron </span>Ron Varnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17396871496487188250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356903373257245748.post-37197853934145172272013-08-28T22:14:00.000-04:002013-08-28T22:14:12.498-04:00Taking a Close Look at Your Heart<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;">"When they entered, he looked at Eliab and thought, 'Surely the Lord's anointed is before Him.' But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart'" (1 Samuel 16:6-7)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">The medical technology that the Lord has given to the mind of man today is truly unbelievable! This week I had the opportunity for the second time in my life to be wheeled into a "cath" lab to undergo a heart catheterization. Now for those of you who have ever undergone this procedure, no more need be said! But for those of you who have not, essentially you are awake and aware of what is happening to you as a cardiac surgeon inserts a catheter into the femoral artery (commonly) of your body and runs that catheter through that artery and into your heart. Having seen on the monitors in the cath lab what your heart looks like with that tiny line inside of your heart, I am truly amazed at the knowledge that God has given to man so that he can help to save lives. What an amazing look, then, my cardiologist had at my functioning heart as he searched for a suspected blockage to repair!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">As phenomenal as this technology of man is, beloved, it absolutely cannot touch what God can do when it comes to both <i>seeing</i> and <i>knowing</i> the heart of every man! Nor is God looking at our blood vessels, our blood flow and our platelets as He searches our hearts. The writer of Hebrews states clearly what it is that our Great Cardiologist can see:</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;">"For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12)</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;">God can see the deepest need of the heart of any man, beloved, and knows what to do to meet that need. Nor does He put in a "stent" or blow up a balloon or in any way repair a failing. What He does do is to <i>totally transform that heart</i> so that the visible living of the person is forever changed. God's view of you and me, then, is the ability to end all abilities!</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;">No one had to convince me this week to agree to undergo the second heart catheterization that I've had. I wanted to know what was going on inside my heart and, more than that, I wanted my doctor to know as well so that he could fix it for me. Did you know that this same desire must be in each of our hearts? King David put it this way in his petition before the Lord:</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;">"Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way" (Psalm 139:23-24)</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;">How much do you want to know what is really going on inside of you, beloved? Do you make the same appeal to God about your spiritual neediness as you would a cardiologist about your physical needs? The need to truly <i>know ourselves</i> is the key to not only understanding but allowing God to transform us into what He wants us to be. Take a close look at your heart today!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><u>Personal note</u>: I want you to know that my cardiologist did not find any new blockages so no further stents were needed. God is good! Thanks to all of you who knew about this and prayed for us during this surprising and trying time. And thanks to all of you for all your love and support. I say again: God is good!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;">Ron </span> </span> </span> </span> </span> </span></span>Ron Varnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17396871496487188250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356903373257245748.post-66690691006782147332013-08-19T16:08:00.002-04:002013-08-19T16:11:25.817-04:00Sunday Morning Sniffles<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;">"I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the Lord'" (Psalm 122:1)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">Believe it or not, beloved, I actually do suffer from a condition which I have dubbed the "Sunday morning sniffles"! As soon as I step onto the platform at church it starts. <i>Sniff! Sniff!</i> From that point on to the end it is "take out the hanky/put away the hanky."</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">But what is even more amazing to me is that there are actually folks who let the "Sunday morning sniffles" keep them away from worship altogether. The Kingsmen Quartet recorded a gospel song called "Excuses" some years ago that spoofed this practice:</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><i>A headache Sunday morning and a backache Sunday night,</i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><i>But by work time Monday morning you're feeling quite all right;</i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><i>One of the children has a cold - pneumonia, do you suppose?</i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><i>Why, the whole family had to stay home just to blow that poor kid's nose!</i></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">It would seem, beloved, that a number of believers suffer from some form of the "Sunday morning sniffles"! Could it be that perhaps we've become accustomed to going to church with all the enthusiasm of a man headed to the orthodontist for a root canal<i>?</i></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">The psalmist here declared joyfully that he was "glad" to be invited to go to the house of God for worship. Whatever has happened to the excitement of anticipating the heartfelt worship of God? Does it not stand to reason that the attitude with which we <i>go</i> to worship will be the attitude we will project while actually <i>in</i> worship?</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">By contrast, a single thought of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ ought to put us into the "glad" category with the author! Does it? Are you excited at the prospect of heartfelt worship? Does the thought of fellowship with the saints and in the Word lift you above those "Sunday morning sniffles"? There will always be one kid or another who needs to blow his nose from time to time. Don't let the "Sunday morning sniffles" rob you of the joy of worship, beloved! Be <i>glad</i> for the chance to gather with the saints for worship!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">Ron<i> </i> </span> </span></span>Ron Varnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17396871496487188250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356903373257245748.post-29653151378734197982013-07-04T19:47:00.000-04:002013-07-04T19:47:20.393-04:00Giving God a Reason to Grieve<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart" (Genesis 6:5-6)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">The news is out. It's official. Sources are telling us that morality has died in America. The Barna Group has just published its latest findings revealing that currently 53% of Americans favor changing the laws to grant full recognition and acceptance of the homosexual and transgender lifestyle. People are slapping each other on the back and congratulating each other that at long last we as a people have attained "enlightenment." Morality as we knew it is a thing of the past, so they say, and it is time to rejoice and be glad. There is no pulse. This is a new day.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">Why is it that mankind seems doomed never to learn anything from his own history? Not one time, beloved, not a single time has any generation of people ever abandoned a moral foundation and benefited from that choice. Check your facts. Such a disastrous condition as we are now told is here in America does not indicate advancement or enlightenment but rather the further unraveling of our moral fiber, the further decay of a once strong and godly nation.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">But that is just the rub, is it not? God. What a pesky being He has been in the lives of so many for so long. Always wanting to have things His own way, always wanting to tell us what is right and what is not. So here we are. We have finally silenced God...or so a majority of Americans believe, according to the latest statistics. We are "free" from all restraints, free to make our own choices, free to follow our own dreams, free to realize destinies of our own design and our own creating. Free.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">But for one small problem. None of it is true. Not a single word. Morality is <i>not </i>on life-support, much less dead! In fact, morality is not even sniffling. Morality is as strong and robust as it has always been. Why? Because the moral standard by which we are judged, beloved, is the creation of God, not the wishy-washy back and forth of man's sinful mind. Oh, God is grieving to be sure! But God is not passive about us. He may grieve over our choices but He is anything but inactive. God is doing what God has always done and will do throughout the remainder of human time. He is appealing to us in love. He is reaching out in mercy. He is using a myriad of ways to remind us that <i>He alone</i> is sovereign and that we are not. He is seeking our yieldedness and our obedience. He is inviting us to turn to Him in heartfelt repentance so that He may flood our hearts with His forgiveness and fill our beings with His love and His power.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">So go ahead. Check for a pulse all you want. Make your declarations that morality is dead in America and that we are all enlightened and liberated. God will continue to remind us that only in Jesus Christ can we know true enlightenment and find eternal life. Don't be so quick to write morality's epitaph, America. God has already declared that the day will come when His righteousness will cover the earth like a flood. Mankind had stood at this crossroad before. And God is still there and is still speaking. More than that, He is acting.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">Ron </span> </span></span>Ron Varnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17396871496487188250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356903373257245748.post-50978714038358022332013-06-28T23:07:00.000-04:002013-06-28T23:07:17.032-04:008, 9, 10! Y'er Out!<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;">"The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden whether it is good or evil" (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">We've all seen it, beloved, in the movies if not in real time: the referee crouched over the fallen boxer, counting slowly and deliberately - "8, 9, 10! Y'er out!" Then with a dismissive gesture much like that of a baseball umpire signaling that a sliding base-runner is safe, he walks to the still standing opponent and raises his arm in victory. I believe that the term for the unfortunate loser is "down for the count." Down and out!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">So much is being broadcast today - some on the printed page, some behind the microphone in front of a television camera, and much on public media means such as Face Book, Twitter, and personal blog sites. The message seems to be that God and His holy standard for mankind are officially "down for the count." Down and out! With such dismissive words as we read today, God is deemed to be irrelevant, out of touch, obsolete, and (modern media will love this one) yesterday's news. You see, we are now "enlightened" as a society. We've learned our lesson. We've discovered the liberating truth that <i>we and only we</i> set the moral standards for our own lives, that <i>we and only we</i> have the right to say what is acceptable and what is not. I would challenge you to check your home page on Face Book on any given day and you will find this alarming trend filling its spaces. We slap ourselves on the back for being so liberated, so progressive, so "in touch" with mankind. The only standard for us is now that <i>anything goes</i> and that no one has the right to say that it does not.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">Really? Perhaps we need to go back and consider the words of Solomon, by God's estimation the wisest king whom He ever allowed to rule the nation of Israel. It was he who wrote the words that are our main focus here. I love the truths found in these words, beloved, eternal truths, unchanging truths, truths that cannot be dismissed by even the largest majority of foolish mankind. You see, though we may say or write anything that we please about God and His supposedly outdated standard, though we may refer to the "religious right" as bigoted or narrow-minded or just plain wrong, the truth is that God has given to none of us a vote on the matter. He is the Creator and Lord and His standard has always been, is now, and forever will be in force.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">Consider, then, what Solomon in his wisdom said about the "conclusion," that which will happen when all is said and done, when the last editorial has been published, the last microphone and t.v. camera turned off, the last Face Book thought posted. Solomon said that when that moment comes - "when all has been heard" - the only conclusion to which we must come is that you and I owe to God reverential awe for His glory and our obedience to His standard for our lives. In fact, at last God will "bring every act to judgment," all of them, yours and mine. None will be overlooked or omitted.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">I suppose that people will go right on posting comments and sending tweets and publishing articles, expressing the mistaken notion that we are only "free" when we place ourselves above the God who made us. I suppose that we will keep reading such tragic remarks on Face Book and receiving them on Twitter from whomever wherever whenever. But one irrevocable truth stands undaunted by all of the trivialities of fallen man. <i>God and God alone will have the last word</i>. What was that again that Solomon said? Oh, yes. God will "bring every act to judgment." The Apostle Paul said that mankind lives under a "deluding influence, so that they will believe what is false" (2 Thessalonians 2:11). We are seeing that lived out before our very eyes today, beloved, and it is tragic to see how pervasive it has become.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">The good news is that not only is God not irrelevant but He is loving and gracious. Not only is He not out of touch but He is merciful and forgiving. Not only is He not yesterday's news but He is willing even now to cleanse and to transform any and all who will turn to Him in repentance and faith. And if you and I who know how relevant and in touch and on time God is will only listen very, very carefully, we just might be able to hear a heavenly voice counting over Satan - "1, 2, 3, 4, 5...! Very soon, beloved, we will hear those glorious words "You're out!" as the arms of the Lord Jesus Christ raise in glorious and eternal victory!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">Ron </span> </span></span>Ron Varnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17396871496487188250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356903373257245748.post-87832851292744000572013-06-18T19:20:00.001-04:002013-06-18T19:20:57.199-04:00Are You Feeling the Love?<span style="color: #783f04;">"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son <i>to be </i>the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:10)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;">Now you must understand this right from the start, beloved. <i>I am a kidder!</i> In fact, I am a <i>selective</i> kidder. I have a particular niece whom I tease whenever I get the chance. I sort of "inherited" that job from my father who was himself a classic tease. And whenever I do tease her, the response I typically get is also classic: "I'm not feeling the love!" Sometimes when I do get her on the phone, I will play on that statement by starting the conversation by asking: "Are you feeling the love yet?"</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;"> Did you know that this same question also has a very serious side? There are plenty of people today who aren't "feeling the love" of God simply because they have no idea how much He really does love them! And, as John as made so clear here, not only does God love us more than we could ever imagine but <i>He chose to love us first!</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;">So how do we know that God loves us? The Apostle John said it is because He has sent Jesus to be the "propitiation" for our sins. "Propitiation" is one of those $5 words that is little understood today. The word implies a <i>covering for</i> in the sense of an "atoning" for our sins. I think that I personally like the word "satisfaction" best of all. In the laying down of His life on the cross Jesus has <i>satisfied</i> the holiness of God offended by our sinfulness. We become acceptable to God in Christ because of His becoming that propitiation. And only the deepest, most pure and abiding love could motivate anyone to make a sacrifice like that.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;">Are you feeling the love, beloved? If not, perhaps you just need to respond to that love by opening your heart to Jesus Christ. Accept His love unconditionally and you will begin to "feel the love"! You will also find that your own heart will be able to love God in return because He will first have filled your heart with His love<i>. Are </i>you feeling the love?</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="color: #660000;">Ron<i> </i></span> </span>Ron Varnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17396871496487188250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356903373257245748.post-7958646424058421832013-06-07T19:07:00.000-04:002013-06-07T19:07:55.235-04:00After Me, You're First!<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves" (Philippians 2:3)</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">Recently I stopped at a traffic light next to a company vehicle belonging to a major insurance firm. The driver clearly needed to get into my lane in order to exit just ahead, so as we waited for the light to change, rather than battle it out for first place, I motioned for him to get ahead of me in traffic. He waved his thanks and off we went.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">Contrast that with a more common practice from my high school days. Whenever we would race to the lunch line at the cafeteria and a late-arriving friend would ask to be let in line, the common response as we would do so was: "After me you're first!"</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">That attitude from high school days, beloved, has sadly become all too familiar today, even among Christians. No one is supposed to best us, to take the lead on us in any way. We aren't to sacrifice ourselves or even be inconvenienced for someone else' benefit. In other words, "After me, you're first"!</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">But what did the Apostle Paul say to the believers in Philippi about such an attitude? How are we to respond when facing the needs of others? Is ours to be some sort of modified "after me, you're first" focus? Paul's reply to our question is as unsettling as it is startling. <i><b>Regard one another as more important than yourselves!</b></i> Very simply, seek the good of others ahead of your own desires. It is just that simple.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">Let me propose to you, beloved, one clear-cut reason why we should have no difficulty considering everyone else to be more important than ourselves. First of all, we do so simply because <i>that is what the Lord wants us to do</i>. Paul's words do not constitute a suggestion or recommendation but rather a <i>command</i>. The apostle is describing in no uncertain terms what the Lord <i>expects</i> us to do. It is what He demands of those who profess to be His followers, His servants.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">Then, because He commands it, as we obey Him in it we are in reality <i>putting Him first</i>. How often do we who claim to follow Him refuse to put others first? If we do not consider others to be more important than ourselves, beloved, then we cannot really be putting Him first! We may as well let this listening world hear us say to Jesus, "After me, You're first" as we would let them see in our living that we do not consider one another to be more important than ourselves.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">What is your attitude, then, toward the place Jesus has in your life? Did you know that it is reflected most clearly in your attitude toward others? It may begin with simply letting someone in front of you in traffic, but it reaches far beyond something as trivial as that!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">Ron </span> </span></span>Ron Varnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17396871496487188250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356903373257245748.post-29659653008111926842013-05-18T21:00:00.000-04:002013-05-18T21:00:37.453-04:00Coming Soon!<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;">"And then the <span style="font-size: small;">sign of the Son of Man will appear in the <span style="font-size: small;">sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming<span style="font-size: small;"> on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory<span style="font-size: small;">" (Matthew 24:30)</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">I was on my way somewhere <span style="font-size: small;">recently, beloved, when I passed a construction site where a new store <span style="font-size: small;">for a well-known grocery chain is being built. The sign showed the name of that chain in <span style="font-size: small;">splendid letters with the two words following: "COMING SOON!" That corporation wants us as potential customers to know that if we will just be <span style="font-size: small;">patient and anticipate the grand opening, soon a new store will stand on that location and serve the needs of all in that community.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Even as I <span style="font-size: small;">passed by and read <span style="font-size: small;">the sign, beloved, I could not help but smile and think <span style="font-size: small;">instantly of Jesus' promise to us just like the one in the verse of <span style="font-size: small;">Scripture <span style="font-size: small;">above. And as I see what is <span style="font-size: small;">happening all around us in the world today, including the staggering changes taking place right here at <span style="font-size: small;">home, I am thrilled at the prospect that Jesus is indeed <i>coming soon!</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you've never read, and I mean <i>really </i>read, Matthew's twenty-fourth chapter, then let me encourage you to do so...and soon. You see, Jesus has laid out for us the order of events that will precede His coming and, very simply, this world falling <span style="font-size: small;">apart morally and socially and politically is a major part of the preparation for that coming. It is not my intention here in this brief post to examine all the details of events preceding the day of His return, but rather to encourage you to do precisely what <span style="font-size: small;">that grocery chain that is building the store is urging its future customers to do - <i>anticipate its coming</i>. I want you to be fully aware of all that is going on around us, especially here at home, but I do not <span style="font-size: small;">want you to be discouraged or fearful. Rather I want you to see in all of it the announcement of Jesus that should gladden our hearts: "COMING SOON!" This is a time to rejoice, beloved, as well as a time to be as active as we can be in standing up for kingdom values and in promoting the message of the cross to this lost generation. It may well be our last opportunity to do so.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">I am not at all sure if we will ourselves become customers of that soon coming grocery store that is even now <span style="font-size: small;">being built. But I do know this. I know that we <i>will </i>be a part of what Jesus is Himself even now preparing for us, what is even now "under construction." What a "hard hat area" that must be! One day we who know Christ by grace through faith will not have to think about Him "coming soon" for He will arrive in power and glory and every <span style="font-size: small;">promise of Scripture will be fulfilled. Jesus Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords will be forever all in all.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>COMING SOON!</i> Could any news <span style="font-size: small;">possibly be any more exciting than that? Are you ready for His coming, beloved? Do you know <span style="font-size: small;">someone who isn't? Why not tell them He's on the way?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ron </span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span><i> </i> Ron Varnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17396871496487188250noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356903373257245748.post-40565317678495063032013-05-12T21:06:00.000-04:002013-05-12T21:06:43.470-04:00Fired Up or Spewed Out?<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;">"I know <span style="font-size: small;">your deeds, that<span style="font-size: small;"> you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that<span style="font-size: small;"> you were cold or <span style="font-size: small;">hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth" (Revelation 3:15-16)</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #660000;">Tepid</span></b><span style="color: #660000;">.<span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-size: small;">Now there is a word you don't hear in normal everyday <span style="font-size: small;">conversation! Try using that one in a sentence, grammar-fans! Actually, <b>tepid</b> is a very <i>descriptive</i> but at the same time <i>disgusting</i> word. Case in point: Have you ever poured for <span style="font-size: small;">yourself a steaming cup of coffee, only to be distracted and set it down in order to go and take care of whatever it was that drew your attention away? Who hasn't? Some time later you remember that patiently waiting cup of coffee and go looking for it. When you find it, what happens? You put <span style="font-size: small;">the cup to your lips hesitantly and take a swig. <i>EWWWWW!</i> <i>Tepid!</i> The coffee is no longer hot but neither is it yet cold. It is <span style="font-size: small;">instead <i>lukewarm</i>. Revolting! So you pour it out in disgust.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">It is bad enough when coffee that should be <span style="font-size: small;">steaming and delicious is lukewarm and disgusting<span style="font-size: small;">, beloved. But when it happens to those who profess to be Christians, it is a spiritual <span style="font-size: small;">tragedy. Jesus described the degree of such a condition in His words to John that were meant for the Asian church in the city of Laodicea. And in His statement we discover a wonderful challenge for <span style="font-size: small;">our own living today.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Note that Jesus accused the professing believers in Laodicea of being "neither hot nor cold." To be "hot" spiritually, a translation of the Greek word <i><u><b>zestos</b></u></i><span style="font-size: small;">, is to be filled with the Spirit of God and to be ablaze with love for and commitment to Jesus Christ. We like to use the term "on fire<span style="font-size: small;">" to describe such believers today. On the other hand, to be "cold" spiritually, a translation of the Greek word <i><u><b>psuchros</b></u></i>, is to go beyond mere disbelief. It is to take <span style="font-size: small;">a stand as strongly <i>against</i><span style="font-size: small;"> the gospel of Jesus Christ as being "hot" is to stand <i>for</i> it. That Jesus was sending this warning to a local church speaks volumes of what can <span style="font-size: small;">and does happen today even among those professing faith in Christ and part of an organized visible<span style="font-size: small;"> body.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Perhaps what is <span style="font-size: small;">most <span style="font-size: small;">surprising here, however, is <span style="font-size: small;">Jesus' stated preference concerning those in Laodicea professing to be His followers, that they be either "hot" or "cold<span style="font-size: small;">" rather than "<span style="font-size: small;">lukewarm." The preference for them to be<span style="font-size: small;"> spiritually "hot" we can certainly understand. But "cold"? Perhaps the answer lies in a closer look at the word "lukewarm." The <span style="font-size: small;">Greek word <i><u><b>chliaros</b></u></i> describes a spiritual state in which one <i><span style="font-size: small;">professes</span></i><span style="font-size: small;"> to be a true follower of Christ, yet in whose life the evidence of the life of God does not exist. This is the one who has <span style="font-size: small;">substituted "religiosity" for saving faith and "heated religious activities" for <span style="font-size: small;">genuine service to the Lord. Jesus' preference is understood, then, because to be "cold" or an outright denier and <span style="font-size: small;">rejecter of the gospel tells us what the need is and how to go about meeting it. But of the one who has all the outward signs of being a Christian yet <span style="font-size: small;">whose heart <span style="font-size: small;">Christ does not occupy becomes the worst of all stumbling blocks. <i>He presents himself to the world to be something <span style="font-size: small;">he in <span style="font-size: small;">actuality is not!</span></span></i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> And in condemning and rejecting such a person, the world will often do so with a wide stroke of the brush and wil<span style="font-size: small;">l reject Christianity altogether.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Jesus declared His preference that we be either "hot" or "cold" instead of choosing to be "lukewarm." But do not assume for a moment that He would actually have any one to reject the<span style="font-size: small;"> gospel message! The challenge<span style="font-size: small;"> laid before us here through His words to the<span style="font-size: small;"> Laodiceans is that <i>we need to be on fire every moment of every day for the Lord Jesus Christ!</i> Anything less is simply unacceptable<span style="font-size: small;">. It is <span style="font-size: small;">already to Him because He said so and it should <span style="font-size: small;">be as unacceptable to us as well.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ron </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> Ron Varnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17396871496487188250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356903373257245748.post-90204936580289380632013-04-10T22:15:00.000-04:002013-04-10T22:15:35.253-04:00It's the Gospel!<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not<span style="font-size: small;"> come to bring peace but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, <span style="font-size: small;">and a daughter <span style="font-size: small;">against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man's enemies will be the members of his household" (Matthew 10:34<span style="font-size: small;">-36)</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;">It is absolutely a fact of S<span style="font-size: small;">cripture,<span style="font-size: small;"> beloved, that Jesus made a number of "hard" statements that many are loath to face and understand an<span style="font-size: small;">d accept today! Such is the<span style="font-size: small;"> declaration that faces us in these verses. Jesus had been giving to His disciples a discours<span style="font-size: small;">e on <i>the cost of discipleship</i>. It seems to be rather weakly understood today that a "disciple<span style="font-size: small;">" is not just a student of Christ or a worshiper of Christ, but in actuality <i>an active follower</i><span style="font-size: small;"> of Christ. Being a disciple, then, is much more about <i>obedienc<span style="font-size: small;">e</span></i><span style="font-size: small;"> than it is simply about knowledge and religious ceremony.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Such obedience as marks a true disciple of Christ is further proven in the arena of everyday living in a world that is lost in the darkness of sin. Today the media would have <span style="font-size: small;">everyone believe that we who are part of the "religious right" are fraught with all manner of social and moral and cultural shortcomings. We are bigoted and narrow-minded, homophobic and even racist<span style="font-size: small;">, or so says the modern media anyway. And <span style="font-size: small;">many of the followers of <span style="font-size: small;">Christ have made the mistake of following such accusers right into their own tra<span style="font-size: small;">p. We face them and try to defend ourselve<span style="font-size: small;">s upon moral and social and cultural grounds. And that is where, I truly believe, we are making our most serious mistake.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">You see, beloved, the hatred that<span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-size: small;">abounds today for the "religious right" - those followers of Jesus Christ who are committed to the inerrancy and infallibility of the Scriptures, those who are persuaded that <i>if God says it, that settles it,</i> is not politically based at all. The division between the "liberal left" and the "religious right" is not a<span style="font-size: small;">t</span> heart a moral or social or cultural or especially a political<span style="font-size: small;"> problem, beloved. It is at heart what it has always been</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>, a <i><span style="font-size: small;">spiritual</span></i><span style="font-size: small;"> problem! <span style="font-size: small;">You see, it is not a<span style="font-size: small;">t all political ideologies that divide us. It is not socio-economic differences, suburban versus urban living. It is not even one's per capita income or the lack thereo<span style="font-size: small;">f. <span style="font-size: small;">I</span>t is very simply <i>the <span style="font-size: small;">gospel of Jesus Christ!</span></i></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you want to find out what is at the heart of the hatred that liberal-thinking people have for us as Christians, all you have to do is button-hole one of them and tell that <i>God says that Jesus Christ is the only way to eternal life</i>. <b>(Pau<span style="font-size: small;">se here for sound of huge exp<span style="font-size: small;">losion!)</span></span></b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Jesus prophesied Himself that His sacrifice on the cross would divide brother from brother, sister from sister, children from parents, and even spouses from each other. Nor would such divisions occur <span style="font-size: small;">along ideological lines but rather because some family members become believers, those who follow Jesus Christ, and others do not.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">So what do we do? We do the only thing that we can do, beloved. <i>W<span style="font-size: small;">e keep on telling men and women and boys and girls that Jesus Christ is the only way to eternal life</span></i><span style="font-size: small;">. Political differences will rise and wane and cultural differences will fluctuate with each new generation. Only the gospel of Jesus Christ is unchanging and never-ending. So let's quit falling for that old trap of arguing with people along political or moral or cultural lines. Let's determine instead to use our energies to so live out the reality that is Jesus Christ that the Spirit of God may use us to draw the lost to Himself.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ron</span> </span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i> Ron Varnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17396871496487188250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356903373257245748.post-90416499968008039652013-03-18T23:45:00.000-04:002013-03-18T23:45:51.400-04:00You Are Not Forgotten<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done" (Revelation 22:12)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;">One of those very <span style="font-size: small;">special heart-touching moments happened to me recently, beloved. <span style="font-size: small;">A <span style="font-size: small;">military retiree came up to me and handed me a<span style="font-size: small;"> small clear plastic envelope containing a <span style="font-size: small;">business-sized card and a white embroidered star clearly cut from an American flag. The card explained that the star came from a flag that had flown over someone's home <span style="font-size: small;">until worn and tattered and in need of replacement. A local<span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-size: small;">veterans <span style="font-size: small;">organization had <span style="font-size: small;">rescued the flag among others<span style="font-size: small;"> and had separated the stars into keepsake bags to hand out to veterans like me. <span style="font-size: small;">The card's message concluded with these words:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>"Please carry <span style="font-size: small;">me <span style="font-size: small;">as <span style="font-size: small;">a reminder that you are not<span style="font-size: small;"> forgotten. Thank you for your service<span style="font-size: small;">."</span></span></span></span></span></i></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">You can be sure that I will keep and treasure this memento, beloved! I am as honored to carry a star from Old Glory as I am to have served my country over which she waved.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">As a follower of Jesus Christ I have His assurance <span style="font-size: small;">as well that those who serve <span style="font-size: small;">Him faithfully are not forgotten. He has promised that one day He <span style="font-size: small;">will return for us and that He will have with Him heaven's reward for faithful service. Even now you and I through faithful obedience are "laying up treasures in heaven" (Matthew 6:20). Every life that we touch in His name, every act of service in meeting a need, every encouraging word prompted by His Spirit within, all are being noted by Him and will be rewarded.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">So take heart, fellow pastor! Cheer up, stalwart youth worker! <span style="font-size: small;">Stay strong, child of God! You are <i>not </i>forgotten! I am so thankful for that scrap of flag that was given to me. And I am eternally grateful for the assurance we all have from our Lord that<span style="font-size: small;"> in our service for His name's sake we are not forgotten.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ron </span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <b><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </span></span></span></span></i></b> Ron Varnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17396871496487188250noreply@blogger.com0