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"Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John, and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were marveling and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus" (Acts 4:13)
Have you ever heard the old adage that "bad company corrupts good morals," beloved? How well I recall my parents' warning not to spend time with this person or that one simply because "they're a bad influence." Now as a teenager wanting desperately to be accepted and to have friends, the idea of "influence" was pretty well lost on me, even as a Christian.
It was not at all lost on Peter and John, however. As they stood before Israel's highest court, looking upward into those somber faces there in the "Hall of Hewn Stone," how they would present themselves as representatives of Jesus Christ was definitely on their minds! Prompted by the unleashed Holy Spirit within, they responded to the condescending attitude of those judges with unparalleled wisdom and tenacious honesty. Their response was, in fact, the last thing the Sanhedrin expected to hear from a couple of Galilean fishermen!
As they sat and listened to Peter and John respond to their question concerning by what authority they had healed the lame beggar lying at the "Beautiful" gate of the temple, an uneasy awareness crept over them. They had heard these words before! They had seen this boldness before! But precisely where they could not yet pinpoint. Then it dawned on them. These men spoke like that pesky Nazarene whom they had just summarily crucified! These men had been with Jesus! That was where they had heard these words and witnessed this boldness. Would they ever truly be rid of Him?
Influence is a powerful tool, beloved, and one that you and I use every day whether we realize it or not. Look back over your day today. With how many people were you physically and verbally in contact? How many phone conversations did you hold? Are you aware that in each of those lives you left indelibly stamped your own influence? You marked for eternity every person you encountered today and, surprise of surprises, you will do it again tomorrow! All that remains to be seen is whether your influence in their lives will be for the good or for something somewhat less noble.
If asked, how many of the people you encountered today could honestly conclude, as did the Sanhedrin judges who listened to Peter and John, that you have "been with Jesus"? What of the Master's character is visible in your words and deeds? What are you doing on earth for heaven's sake? Guard carefully your influence, beloved! It is a priceless gift that you are giving.
Ron
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Becoming an Emmaus Road Disciple
"And they said to one another, 'Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?'" (Luke 24:32)
Let's face it, beloved. Time spent walking and talking with Jesus must surely have been one of the most exciting experiences ever! At least, that's what the two disciples on the road to Emmaus thought. A few hours in the presence of the risen Lord and their hearts "burned" with holy fire and a passion to be all that they could be for Him and His glory.
What amazes me today, however, is that in contrast to the Emmaus road disciples, we actually spend as Christians twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a year (well, you get the picture!) in the presence of that same risen Lord, yet many of us have trouble getting excited enough about Him to even make it to worship services regularly! Not only do our hearts not "burn within" us, we seldom even experience a bump in our pulse rate.
What makes the difference? It's all right there in the account of Luke the beloved physician. While walking on the road before Jesus joined them, they were talking about Jesus. Do you get that, beloved? They were talking about Jesus! Now admittedly, what they were saying about Him lacked a lot of knowledge and understanding, but at least they were talking about Him. How much time today do you and I spend talking about Jesus with anybody? How much time do we even spend with each other outside of church, much less spending time talking about our Lord?
Then, after the Master joined them on the Emmaus road, they spent time listening to Jesus teach them about Himself. They drank in every single word as He explained first each prophecy, then its fulfillment in Himself. They listened and they learned. They were true "disciples" or learners as they took in all that He shared with them about Himself. How much time do we today actually spend studying the Scriptures? And I'm not talking about following along with the pastor as he preaches his message, nor with the Sunday School teacher in your copy of the quarterly lesson book. I am talking about plain old "dig it out/write it down/learn it/apply it" Bible study! It's the only way we will ever grow to full maturity in Jesus Christ and become the instruments of His grace that He wants us all to be.
And when He was revealed to them and vanished from their sight, they rushed back to Jerusalem to tell everyone they could that they had seen the risen Lord. Did you notice that this journey took them in the opposite direction from the one in which they had originally been traveling? Nothing was more important to them than spreading the good news! They would have paid any price to get the word out that Jesus had conquered death and that He was and is Lord of all. When's the last time you and I "rushed" anywhere to share that same good news? You see, beloved, it is sadly true. Our hearts by and large today just do not "burn within" us.
Let me challenge you today to become an Emmaus road disciple! Talk about Him, learn about Him and from Him, and tell everyone you can about Him. And by all means let Him "light the fire" within you that will burn until eternity and then forever!
Ron
Let's face it, beloved. Time spent walking and talking with Jesus must surely have been one of the most exciting experiences ever! At least, that's what the two disciples on the road to Emmaus thought. A few hours in the presence of the risen Lord and their hearts "burned" with holy fire and a passion to be all that they could be for Him and His glory.
What amazes me today, however, is that in contrast to the Emmaus road disciples, we actually spend as Christians twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a year (well, you get the picture!) in the presence of that same risen Lord, yet many of us have trouble getting excited enough about Him to even make it to worship services regularly! Not only do our hearts not "burn within" us, we seldom even experience a bump in our pulse rate.
What makes the difference? It's all right there in the account of Luke the beloved physician. While walking on the road before Jesus joined them, they were talking about Jesus. Do you get that, beloved? They were talking about Jesus! Now admittedly, what they were saying about Him lacked a lot of knowledge and understanding, but at least they were talking about Him. How much time today do you and I spend talking about Jesus with anybody? How much time do we even spend with each other outside of church, much less spending time talking about our Lord?
Then, after the Master joined them on the Emmaus road, they spent time listening to Jesus teach them about Himself. They drank in every single word as He explained first each prophecy, then its fulfillment in Himself. They listened and they learned. They were true "disciples" or learners as they took in all that He shared with them about Himself. How much time do we today actually spend studying the Scriptures? And I'm not talking about following along with the pastor as he preaches his message, nor with the Sunday School teacher in your copy of the quarterly lesson book. I am talking about plain old "dig it out/write it down/learn it/apply it" Bible study! It's the only way we will ever grow to full maturity in Jesus Christ and become the instruments of His grace that He wants us all to be.
And when He was revealed to them and vanished from their sight, they rushed back to Jerusalem to tell everyone they could that they had seen the risen Lord. Did you notice that this journey took them in the opposite direction from the one in which they had originally been traveling? Nothing was more important to them than spreading the good news! They would have paid any price to get the word out that Jesus had conquered death and that He was and is Lord of all. When's the last time you and I "rushed" anywhere to share that same good news? You see, beloved, it is sadly true. Our hearts by and large today just do not "burn within" us.
Let me challenge you today to become an Emmaus road disciple! Talk about Him, learn about Him and from Him, and tell everyone you can about Him. And by all means let Him "light the fire" within you that will burn until eternity and then forever!
Ron
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Projecting God's Power Wherever You Are
"And it came about one day that He was teaching; and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing" (Luke 5:17)
Have you ever thought about what kind of environment you project as a Christian, beloved? Are you aware that we each do so wherever we are whether we know it or not?
Note closely the circumstances in which Jesus found Himself in His beloved Capernaum, His home base for ministry in Galilee. He was likely staying at the home of Simon Peter and, as always, was surrounded by a vast multitude of people. The 19th verse lets us know that the throng of people pressed about Him so tightly that those who had brought a paralyzed man for Jesus to heal had to climb up the outside stairway to the roof and let the man down through the roof tiles just to reach the feet of Jesus.
And I'm sure you know just why the Pharisees and scribes had traveled from every compass point to be there! Let Him slip up once, speak one false word, make one outrageous claim, and they were waiting like vultures on a tree branch to discredit both His teaching and His ministry.
But it is the closing statement of this 17th verse that should really grab our attention, beloved - "the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing." How prone we are in the face of such claims to dismiss them by saying, "But that's Jesus. The power of God was present wherever He went." And you would be absolutely correct if you were thinking that. But the power of God was not present because this was God the Son, but rather because this was Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Man, filled with the Spirit of God. And that reality places an entirely different light on what Luke meant by these words.
If Jesus in His earthly ministry projected the power of God wherever He went, then you and I as His followers, ourselves to be continually filled with that same Holy Spirit, should project the divine power of God as well. When you sit at your desk at work or stand in your place of service, whatever it might be, you should be projecting the power of God. There should be an air about you, an influence that those who come into your presence can sense when they are with you. The power of God ought to flow through your words and actions and should even be sensed through the attitudes that you project to others. That is what it means to be a Christian in 2009, beloved, and nothing less!
So how about it? What do people who know you sense when they are in your presence? Is the power of God being projected into the lives of people with whom you have daily contact? Does the love of God flow from you and touch those around you? Can others sense Jesus' presence as if they were with Him back in Simon Peter's house in Capernaum? Is there anything of the divine in what you think and say and do? There should be...in your life and in mine!
Ron
Have you ever thought about what kind of environment you project as a Christian, beloved? Are you aware that we each do so wherever we are whether we know it or not?
Note closely the circumstances in which Jesus found Himself in His beloved Capernaum, His home base for ministry in Galilee. He was likely staying at the home of Simon Peter and, as always, was surrounded by a vast multitude of people. The 19th verse lets us know that the throng of people pressed about Him so tightly that those who had brought a paralyzed man for Jesus to heal had to climb up the outside stairway to the roof and let the man down through the roof tiles just to reach the feet of Jesus.
And I'm sure you know just why the Pharisees and scribes had traveled from every compass point to be there! Let Him slip up once, speak one false word, make one outrageous claim, and they were waiting like vultures on a tree branch to discredit both His teaching and His ministry.
But it is the closing statement of this 17th verse that should really grab our attention, beloved - "the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing." How prone we are in the face of such claims to dismiss them by saying, "But that's Jesus. The power of God was present wherever He went." And you would be absolutely correct if you were thinking that. But the power of God was not present because this was God the Son, but rather because this was Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Man, filled with the Spirit of God. And that reality places an entirely different light on what Luke meant by these words.
If Jesus in His earthly ministry projected the power of God wherever He went, then you and I as His followers, ourselves to be continually filled with that same Holy Spirit, should project the divine power of God as well. When you sit at your desk at work or stand in your place of service, whatever it might be, you should be projecting the power of God. There should be an air about you, an influence that those who come into your presence can sense when they are with you. The power of God ought to flow through your words and actions and should even be sensed through the attitudes that you project to others. That is what it means to be a Christian in 2009, beloved, and nothing less!
So how about it? What do people who know you sense when they are in your presence? Is the power of God being projected into the lives of people with whom you have daily contact? Does the love of God flow from you and touch those around you? Can others sense Jesus' presence as if they were with Him back in Simon Peter's house in Capernaum? Is there anything of the divine in what you think and say and do? There should be...in your life and in mine!
Ron
Thursday, April 30, 2009
He Who Would Know God's Will
"Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path" (Psalm 119:105)
The "ephod" or sleeveless vestment of the high priest of Israel was an amazing article of clothing, beloved! Scripture describes it for us as a "breastpiece of judgment" (Exodus 28:15) used to determine the specific plan and purpose of God in any given situation confronting Israel. Clearly God wanted His people to seek His face and to discover the path that He wanted them to take in a particular set of circumstances.
Attached to the ephod were twelve precious stones set in a very specific order. These were given the name "Urim and Thummim" and in some way still unclear to us today, God would use them to reveal His specific will at times of inquiry. Examples of the ephod being used in such a way to determine the will of God during the early days of the Levitical priesthood abound in Scripture.
When David was hiding in the cave at Adullam from the pursuit of the angry King Saul, a priest named Abiathar joined him there, having escaped the slaughter of the other priests and their families at the city of Nob (1 Samuel 22:11-19). He brought the ephod of the high priest with him and David would use it to inquire of the Lord and to discover His will for any situation facing them, such as concerning the Philistine attack on the city of Keilah (1 Samuel 23:9-14). In fact, after ascending the throne of Israel as king, David continued to "inquire of the Lord" using the ephod in his possession (2 Samuel 5:17-21).
Clearly God has spoken to His people throughout the history of mankind, beloved. He spoke directly to them in Abram's day. He spoke to the children of Israel through the pillar of cloud and fire as they made their journey to the land of promise. He spoke through the Urim and Thummim of the high priest's ephod in the early days of the Levitical priesthood. And He spoke to His people through the voices of the many prophets whom He sent to them. That God wants us to "inquire" of Him today and know His plan and purpose for our lives is absolutely without question!
Here the promise of God through the words of David himself reveal to us how we as believers today may know the heart and mind of God for our circumstances. Note first that God's Word is a lamp to our "feet." That reminds us that, if we would know God's will, we must be willing to follow wherever He leads. We must be committed to going wherever He directs. How many of us today want to know God's will, then want the option to debate it and choose whether or not we will follow? That is definitely not what is involved in learning to consult with God!
Then David said that God's Word is a light to our "path." We all make choices as to particular "paths" every day. As the true follower of Jesus Christ seeks God's will through His Word, the right "path" will always become clear. God's Word becomes our "Urim and Thummim" for knowing just where God would have us to go and what He would have us to do. Our part? Get the "feet" moving and just follow the path He reveals to us! What is the point of knowing if we are not going to then follow?
Ron
The "ephod" or sleeveless vestment of the high priest of Israel was an amazing article of clothing, beloved! Scripture describes it for us as a "breastpiece of judgment" (Exodus 28:15) used to determine the specific plan and purpose of God in any given situation confronting Israel. Clearly God wanted His people to seek His face and to discover the path that He wanted them to take in a particular set of circumstances.
Attached to the ephod were twelve precious stones set in a very specific order. These were given the name "Urim and Thummim" and in some way still unclear to us today, God would use them to reveal His specific will at times of inquiry. Examples of the ephod being used in such a way to determine the will of God during the early days of the Levitical priesthood abound in Scripture.
When David was hiding in the cave at Adullam from the pursuit of the angry King Saul, a priest named Abiathar joined him there, having escaped the slaughter of the other priests and their families at the city of Nob (1 Samuel 22:11-19). He brought the ephod of the high priest with him and David would use it to inquire of the Lord and to discover His will for any situation facing them, such as concerning the Philistine attack on the city of Keilah (1 Samuel 23:9-14). In fact, after ascending the throne of Israel as king, David continued to "inquire of the Lord" using the ephod in his possession (2 Samuel 5:17-21).
Clearly God has spoken to His people throughout the history of mankind, beloved. He spoke directly to them in Abram's day. He spoke to the children of Israel through the pillar of cloud and fire as they made their journey to the land of promise. He spoke through the Urim and Thummim of the high priest's ephod in the early days of the Levitical priesthood. And He spoke to His people through the voices of the many prophets whom He sent to them. That God wants us to "inquire" of Him today and know His plan and purpose for our lives is absolutely without question!
Here the promise of God through the words of David himself reveal to us how we as believers today may know the heart and mind of God for our circumstances. Note first that God's Word is a lamp to our "feet." That reminds us that, if we would know God's will, we must be willing to follow wherever He leads. We must be committed to going wherever He directs. How many of us today want to know God's will, then want the option to debate it and choose whether or not we will follow? That is definitely not what is involved in learning to consult with God!
Then David said that God's Word is a light to our "path." We all make choices as to particular "paths" every day. As the true follower of Jesus Christ seeks God's will through His Word, the right "path" will always become clear. God's Word becomes our "Urim and Thummim" for knowing just where God would have us to go and what He would have us to do. Our part? Get the "feet" moving and just follow the path He reveals to us! What is the point of knowing if we are not going to then follow?
Ron
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Have You Looked into the Mirror Lately?
"But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does" (James 1:25)
Who can forget the timeless fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty, a story in which a wicked queen stood before her mirror daily and asked: "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?" Now it is important for you to know that our family has its own version of this fairy tale, beloved. One unnamed person (he knows who he is!) has been known in times past to stand before a mirror and declare that he could not wait unto tomorrow to see what he was going to look like if he was already as good-looking as he was at that moment. Sorry, kids! You won't find this story listed among your usual fairy tales!
There is a tremendous need today, believe it or not, for each one of us as Christians to "look into the mirror" continually. That "mirror," according to the apostle James, is the mirror of God's inerrant and infallible Word. He calls it here "the perfect law, the law of liberty." You see, beloved, only the divine Word of God has the ability to cause you and me to see ourselves as we really are. Look into the world's mirror, for example, and you will see whatever it is that Satan wants you to be at any given moment. Or look into the mirror of "self" and you will see yourself as you want to think that you really are. The problem with such mirrors, unfortunately, is that they are all distorted!
The mirror of God's "perfect law," however, is different. It will show you as you really are through the eyes of the One who counts most, God Himself. He will show you what you look like to Him, the One who searches the hearts of all men. And why is it so important to God that you and I see ourselves as He sees us? Simply because as we yield ourselves to what His Word shows us, we become the people that He wants us to be. When we become "doers" of the Word, not only are we tremendously blessed, but others will see us as God sees us, too. Our lives will begin to have an impact on others!
Oh, and about that other fairy tale, the one with the wicked queen? She never did become "the fairest in the land," except perhaps in her own mind. And neither did that unnamed family member that I mentioned earlier, but he sure has provided his family with years of great entertainment. And for that we love him more than he knows.
Have you looked into the mirror lately, beloved? Why not give God's Word a try? You'll be amazed not only at what you may learn about yourself, but you will be amazed at what God can make of you as you give yourself to what you see there! Happy gazing!
Ron
Who can forget the timeless fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty, a story in which a wicked queen stood before her mirror daily and asked: "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?" Now it is important for you to know that our family has its own version of this fairy tale, beloved. One unnamed person (he knows who he is!) has been known in times past to stand before a mirror and declare that he could not wait unto tomorrow to see what he was going to look like if he was already as good-looking as he was at that moment. Sorry, kids! You won't find this story listed among your usual fairy tales!
There is a tremendous need today, believe it or not, for each one of us as Christians to "look into the mirror" continually. That "mirror," according to the apostle James, is the mirror of God's inerrant and infallible Word. He calls it here "the perfect law, the law of liberty." You see, beloved, only the divine Word of God has the ability to cause you and me to see ourselves as we really are. Look into the world's mirror, for example, and you will see whatever it is that Satan wants you to be at any given moment. Or look into the mirror of "self" and you will see yourself as you want to think that you really are. The problem with such mirrors, unfortunately, is that they are all distorted!
The mirror of God's "perfect law," however, is different. It will show you as you really are through the eyes of the One who counts most, God Himself. He will show you what you look like to Him, the One who searches the hearts of all men. And why is it so important to God that you and I see ourselves as He sees us? Simply because as we yield ourselves to what His Word shows us, we become the people that He wants us to be. When we become "doers" of the Word, not only are we tremendously blessed, but others will see us as God sees us, too. Our lives will begin to have an impact on others!
Oh, and about that other fairy tale, the one with the wicked queen? She never did become "the fairest in the land," except perhaps in her own mind. And neither did that unnamed family member that I mentioned earlier, but he sure has provided his family with years of great entertainment. And for that we love him more than he knows.
Have you looked into the mirror lately, beloved? Why not give God's Word a try? You'll be amazed not only at what you may learn about yourself, but you will be amazed at what God can make of you as you give yourself to what you see there! Happy gazing!
Ron
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