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"For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God"
(2 Corinthians 9:12)
Ask absolutely anyone about Thanksgiving, beloved, and they will tell you that it is one of our national holidays! And to so many people that is basically all that it is - Turkey Day - the chance for family and friends to gather for a scrumptious meal and to spend quality time together. Not a bad idea either, is it?
But check the pages of God's Word, beloved, and what you discover quickly is that "thanksgiving" is more than a holiday! In fact, Scripture has so much to say about thanksgiving that it is quite impossible in this short space to deal with all that it does say. Let's confine ourselves, then, to the single verse above and see for ourselves that thanksgiving is actually the natural outpouring of passionate, effective ministry.
The word "ministry" is the Greek word from which we derive our word "deacon" and is simply translated as ministry in the sense of serving one another. That, by the way, is what deacons are meant to do, but that is another subject for another day! Paul had been up to his eyebrows in ministry himself, specifically a love-offering being collected from saints in every region to be taken back to Jerusalem and ministered there to the needy in that area. Believers everywhere had been more than generous, many like the Macedonians giving through great personal sacrifice to "fully supply the needs of the saints" in Jerusalem.
Then the word "service" is a Greek word which could well be translated worship through service or ministry and stands in contrast to what takes place traditionally in a house of worship on any given day. It refers to that "worship" of God that is offered by us through the acts of personal ministry which we carry out on behalf of others. You see, beloved, as Paul was making clear, there is "worship" and then there is "worship"!
As the material needs of the Jerusalem saints were being met, people from all regions who had learned about it began to offer thanksgiving to God for it, especially those in the city of Jerusalem. Thus, their words of thanksgiving became the outcome of ministry!
Did you know that you and I should be the cause for God receiving thanksgiving from those who know us personally, beloved? Our actions ought to motivate people to lift holy hands in praise to God and to thank Him for what He has done and is doing through our lives. How many people who know you personally have reason to give thanks to God for you? How much is God receiving glory and honor because of what you are doing? I know of no better way to celebrate Thanksgiving than to serve others and to bring God praise!
Turkey and dressing are delicious, no doubt about that! But thanksgiving is meant to be the natural by-product of ministry, beloved. It really is more than a holiday! Happy Thanksgiving!
Ron
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Watch Out for Slippery Slopes!
"Surely Thou dost set them in slippery places; Thou dost cast them down to destruction. How they are destroyed in a moment! They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors!" (Psalm 73:18-19)
I know something firsthand about "slippery places," beloved! Just this past week I was not watching what I was doing and my foot slipped from a slippery step and put me on my face before I was aware of what was happening. Slippery places are definitely dangerous!
David was going through a really tough time in his life, a "crisis of faith," let's call it. So critical was his spiritual situation, in fact, that he openly confessed:
"But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling; my steps had almost slipped" (v.2)
I love the way that Charles Spurgeon described that which was going on in the king's life during this time:
"The Psalmist could make no progress in the good road. His feet ran away from under him like those of a man on a sheet of ice. He was weakened for all practical action, and in great danger of actual sin, and so of a disgraceful fall" (Great Verses from the Psalms, p.131)
And what was it that was causing David so much spiritual consternation? What had his water boiling? Let's allow him to tell us in his own words:
"For I was envious of the arrogant, as I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pains in their death; and their body is fat" (vv.3-4)
David had allowed his vision to become focused upon the momentary and fleeting wealth and prosperity of the godless. And that misplaced focus caused him to question his faith and to question God's wisdom. He even questioned whether or not he had wasted his own efforts in living a godly life (vv.13-14)! It was not until he allowed his spiritual gaze to be refocused upon God's plan and purpose that he regained a truly biblical worldview:
"When I pondered to understand this, it was troublesome in my sight until I came into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end" (vv.16-17)
We will always in this world have the "arrogant" and the "wicked" and those whose "pride is their necklace," beloved. We will continue to live about the "violent" and the "mockers." That is precisely why as Christians we need so desperately to keep a biblical worldview, to "come into the sanctuary of God" with David and to meditate daily and fervently upon the truths of God. That is when this world of sinful sickness will make sense. The ungodly may be having their moment now, but know this, beloved. God has set their feet on slippery slopes! Sooner or later apart from His grace and mercy they will fall and fall hard.
So what can we do now? Let's return to David's closing words in this psalm for they are classic:
"But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all Thy works" (v.28)
Basically David has revealed to us that there are two things that we need to do today. First, we need to seek refuge in our relationship with God - to embrace His perspective, His timetable, and His "big picture." Secondly, we need to tell a lost world about this glorious God - to speak of His love in Jesus Christ, of His mercy and grace. As we embrace unconditionally and walk within steadfastly God's plan and purpose, we will no longer gaze upon the temporary fatness of the ungodly and wonder why life is so unfair. We will keep our feet off of "slippery slopes"!
Ron
I know something firsthand about "slippery places," beloved! Just this past week I was not watching what I was doing and my foot slipped from a slippery step and put me on my face before I was aware of what was happening. Slippery places are definitely dangerous!
David was going through a really tough time in his life, a "crisis of faith," let's call it. So critical was his spiritual situation, in fact, that he openly confessed:
"But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling; my steps had almost slipped" (v.2)
I love the way that Charles Spurgeon described that which was going on in the king's life during this time:
"The Psalmist could make no progress in the good road. His feet ran away from under him like those of a man on a sheet of ice. He was weakened for all practical action, and in great danger of actual sin, and so of a disgraceful fall" (Great Verses from the Psalms, p.131)
And what was it that was causing David so much spiritual consternation? What had his water boiling? Let's allow him to tell us in his own words:
"For I was envious of the arrogant, as I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pains in their death; and their body is fat" (vv.3-4)
David had allowed his vision to become focused upon the momentary and fleeting wealth and prosperity of the godless. And that misplaced focus caused him to question his faith and to question God's wisdom. He even questioned whether or not he had wasted his own efforts in living a godly life (vv.13-14)! It was not until he allowed his spiritual gaze to be refocused upon God's plan and purpose that he regained a truly biblical worldview:
"When I pondered to understand this, it was troublesome in my sight until I came into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end" (vv.16-17)
We will always in this world have the "arrogant" and the "wicked" and those whose "pride is their necklace," beloved. We will continue to live about the "violent" and the "mockers." That is precisely why as Christians we need so desperately to keep a biblical worldview, to "come into the sanctuary of God" with David and to meditate daily and fervently upon the truths of God. That is when this world of sinful sickness will make sense. The ungodly may be having their moment now, but know this, beloved. God has set their feet on slippery slopes! Sooner or later apart from His grace and mercy they will fall and fall hard.
So what can we do now? Let's return to David's closing words in this psalm for they are classic:
"But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all Thy works" (v.28)
Basically David has revealed to us that there are two things that we need to do today. First, we need to seek refuge in our relationship with God - to embrace His perspective, His timetable, and His "big picture." Secondly, we need to tell a lost world about this glorious God - to speak of His love in Jesus Christ, of His mercy and grace. As we embrace unconditionally and walk within steadfastly God's plan and purpose, we will no longer gaze upon the temporary fatness of the ungodly and wonder why life is so unfair. We will keep our feet off of "slippery slopes"!
Ron
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Eating on Sundays and Wednesdays
"Like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation" (1 Peter 2:2)
Let's get one fact perfectly straight right from the start, beloved - I love to eat! I don't know anyone who loves to eat any more than I do. I just love the taste of good food! I look forward to every meal and "relish" (pardon the pun!) the anticipation of tasting a savory dish, just like those scrumptious meals that will be served soon on Thanksgiving Day. That fact firmly established, then, I cannot imagine the thought of feeding myself only two days a week. I mean, eating is supposed to be a daily experience!
Leaving the food analogy behind for a moment, let me tell you where this all came from and where it is going. I was recently studying and preparing a message from 1 Corinthians 14 and was struck by the Apostle Paul's instruction to the Corinthian women to "ask their own husbands at home" if they desired to grow spiritually (v.35). Without getting into the specifics of what had gone wrong with the church in Corinth to prompt such an exhortation from him, I was reminded by his words that the home is to be the primary "campus" for Christian education. Or to return to the food analogy, we should be feeding ourselves daily upon the Word at home just like we feed ourselves daily with the food from our cupboards.
What is unfortunate, beloved, is that we have transferred this personal responsibility for nourishing ourselves spiritually from the home to the local church. We have made the church our primary "campus" for Christian education and, in many cases, our only "campus"! We have reached the point where we now only "eat" on Sundays and Wednesdays and conclude that it is all the feeding that we need to receive as Christians - Sunday School, a preaching service or two - and we're good to go for the week! No wonder that the church of Jesus Christ is as anemic and ineffective as it has become!
If feeding ourselves physically two days a week is to you an absurd notion, beloved, then imagine how much more absurd to you should be the idea that what you get at church is all that your soul needs in order to grow steadily in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ! Imagine believing that with such "snacks" as you receive on Sundays and Wednesdays, you may still become a warrior for Jesus Christ and a builder in His kingdom! If it wouldn't sustain you physically, my friend, then it won't sustain you spiritually.
Let me invite you to join me in pleasing your spiritual palate on a daily basis. Drop the two-day a week routine and start feeding your spirit regularly upon the sustenance of God's Word. Begin to look forward to each "meal" with anticipation and enjoy it with gusto. Let each one nourish and strengthen you for the life of service to which God in His mercy has called you. Bon appetit, beloved!
Ron
Let's get one fact perfectly straight right from the start, beloved - I love to eat! I don't know anyone who loves to eat any more than I do. I just love the taste of good food! I look forward to every meal and "relish" (pardon the pun!) the anticipation of tasting a savory dish, just like those scrumptious meals that will be served soon on Thanksgiving Day. That fact firmly established, then, I cannot imagine the thought of feeding myself only two days a week. I mean, eating is supposed to be a daily experience!
Leaving the food analogy behind for a moment, let me tell you where this all came from and where it is going. I was recently studying and preparing a message from 1 Corinthians 14 and was struck by the Apostle Paul's instruction to the Corinthian women to "ask their own husbands at home" if they desired to grow spiritually (v.35). Without getting into the specifics of what had gone wrong with the church in Corinth to prompt such an exhortation from him, I was reminded by his words that the home is to be the primary "campus" for Christian education. Or to return to the food analogy, we should be feeding ourselves daily upon the Word at home just like we feed ourselves daily with the food from our cupboards.
What is unfortunate, beloved, is that we have transferred this personal responsibility for nourishing ourselves spiritually from the home to the local church. We have made the church our primary "campus" for Christian education and, in many cases, our only "campus"! We have reached the point where we now only "eat" on Sundays and Wednesdays and conclude that it is all the feeding that we need to receive as Christians - Sunday School, a preaching service or two - and we're good to go for the week! No wonder that the church of Jesus Christ is as anemic and ineffective as it has become!
If feeding ourselves physically two days a week is to you an absurd notion, beloved, then imagine how much more absurd to you should be the idea that what you get at church is all that your soul needs in order to grow steadily in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ! Imagine believing that with such "snacks" as you receive on Sundays and Wednesdays, you may still become a warrior for Jesus Christ and a builder in His kingdom! If it wouldn't sustain you physically, my friend, then it won't sustain you spiritually.
Let me invite you to join me in pleasing your spiritual palate on a daily basis. Drop the two-day a week routine and start feeding your spirit regularly upon the sustenance of God's Word. Begin to look forward to each "meal" with anticipation and enjoy it with gusto. Let each one nourish and strengthen you for the life of service to which God in His mercy has called you. Bon appetit, beloved!
Ron
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Paving the Way with Crosses
"And they said to Him, 'Grant that we may sit in Your glory, one on Your right, and one on Your left.' But Jesus said to them, 'You do not know what you are asking for. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?'" (Mark 10:37-38)
How many of you have ever had the opportunity to see the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, beloved? If you have ever seen the movie "Saving Private Ryan," then you have stood in that very place with the title character of that film. Rows upon rows of white marble crosses adorn the landscape marking the resting place of the warriors who paid the ultimate price in the liberation of France during World War II. Once you see it, you realize that the pathway to the freedom that we enjoy today has, indeed, been paved with crosses.
James and John were clearly out of line when they asked Jesus if they could sit on either side of Him in His earthly kingdom. All they had in mind was the kingdom, the end-result, the eternal blessing of being redeemed. His gentle rebuke - "You do not know what you are asking for" - let them know that their focus needed to be upon the pathway to that kingdom instead of upon the end of time and that kingdom established. They were thinking of "sonship" and they needed to be thinking of "servanthood." The kingdom of God was not going to be handed to them on a silver platter. They were going to have to work hard to build it themselves and many of them would have to die in the process. In other words, their journey to the kingdom would be paved with crosses!
How like them we are today, beloved! Our songs and our themes of worship are so often about heaven - streets of gold, gates of pearl, choirs of angels, and reunited loved ones. And each one of those will be for us as true believers an eternal reality! But when we focus so intently upon that which is coming one day, we tend to lose sight of that which is here now. What our obscured vision will not let us see is that "cup" of suffering which Jesus bids us come and share with Him. We cannot or perhaps don't want to see the rejection by a sinful world, the slammed door, the turned-away face. Yet Jesus very clearly revealed to His disciples what it would cost them to build with Him:
"And He summoned the multitude with His disciples, and said to them, 'If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me'" (Mark 8:34)
"Take up his cross" - interesting that in a day in which so many of us as Christians want to focus upon eternal glory, Jesus reminds us that the path to that glory is paved with crosses! Every true believer has his own "cross" to bear and the path down which we bear it is one of servanthood, of yieldedness to the purpose and plan of the Father for our lives. So the next time you sing a song like "When We All Get to Heaven," beloved, just remember that the way there is the way of the cross. By the way, you don't really have to imagine a cemetery full of white marble crosses in order to regain your spiritual focus. All you need is one.
Ron
How many of you have ever had the opportunity to see the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, beloved? If you have ever seen the movie "Saving Private Ryan," then you have stood in that very place with the title character of that film. Rows upon rows of white marble crosses adorn the landscape marking the resting place of the warriors who paid the ultimate price in the liberation of France during World War II. Once you see it, you realize that the pathway to the freedom that we enjoy today has, indeed, been paved with crosses.
James and John were clearly out of line when they asked Jesus if they could sit on either side of Him in His earthly kingdom. All they had in mind was the kingdom, the end-result, the eternal blessing of being redeemed. His gentle rebuke - "You do not know what you are asking for" - let them know that their focus needed to be upon the pathway to that kingdom instead of upon the end of time and that kingdom established. They were thinking of "sonship" and they needed to be thinking of "servanthood." The kingdom of God was not going to be handed to them on a silver platter. They were going to have to work hard to build it themselves and many of them would have to die in the process. In other words, their journey to the kingdom would be paved with crosses!
How like them we are today, beloved! Our songs and our themes of worship are so often about heaven - streets of gold, gates of pearl, choirs of angels, and reunited loved ones. And each one of those will be for us as true believers an eternal reality! But when we focus so intently upon that which is coming one day, we tend to lose sight of that which is here now. What our obscured vision will not let us see is that "cup" of suffering which Jesus bids us come and share with Him. We cannot or perhaps don't want to see the rejection by a sinful world, the slammed door, the turned-away face. Yet Jesus very clearly revealed to His disciples what it would cost them to build with Him:
"And He summoned the multitude with His disciples, and said to them, 'If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me'" (Mark 8:34)
"Take up his cross" - interesting that in a day in which so many of us as Christians want to focus upon eternal glory, Jesus reminds us that the path to that glory is paved with crosses! Every true believer has his own "cross" to bear and the path down which we bear it is one of servanthood, of yieldedness to the purpose and plan of the Father for our lives. So the next time you sing a song like "When We All Get to Heaven," beloved, just remember that the way there is the way of the cross. By the way, you don't really have to imagine a cemetery full of white marble crosses in order to regain your spiritual focus. All you need is one.
Ron
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Road Work Ahead!
"A voice is calling, 'Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. Let every valley be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; and let the rough ground become a plain and the rugged terrain a broad valley; then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken'" (Isaiah 40:3-5)
Everyone who has ever driven on the open road knows full well how aggravating it is to be diverted onto a "detour" route and away from the more direct route you had chosen to travel. Yet when road surfaces are torn up in the process of being repaired - graded, filled in, leveled, whatever - progress along such routes becomes difficult if not impossible.
In the spiritual life of the believer, the very same reality holds true. Here in the example of Israel as she came to the end of her years of captivity under the Babylonian dynasty, we discover in God's words of comfort through His prophet Isaiah a wonderful challenge for restoration that will fit our lives very nicely today as well.
Note first the command to "clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness." As He rescued them from their bondage, Jehovah wanted nothing to stand between Himself and His people as true restoration of spirit and heart took place. And He certainly wanted nothing of what had sent them into captivity in the first place in any way to mar their relationship in the future. But how were they to "clear the way" so that this relationship could be maintained?
His first instruction was for them to "let every valley be lifted up." Valleys are low places, beloved, and can represent to us today those fallen places in our lives wherein we have lowered the standard of God's righteousness in our living. These low places need to be brought back into line with the Word of God!
He further instructed them to "let every mountain and hill be made low." Hills by contrast are high places and can represent to us today those exalted places wherein we have allowed our own self-righteousness to prevail and have been self-seeking in our ways. These high places need to be "made low" in the sense of forsaking our own agendas and seeking to focus our living upon Jesus Christ alone.
He then instructed them to "let the rough ground become a plain." Such places can represent to us those paths that are blocked by the "rubble" of this world, making spiritual headway difficult or even impossible. Such places need to have all obstacles removed so that free and full access and progress are possible.
Finally, God instructed His people to "let the rugged terrain become a broad valley." Here the idea of "rugged" is that of something that is "crooked" or not straight. These places can represent those times in our lives when our feet have wandered down other paths, enticed perhaps by the pleasures of this world so readily available. These places need to be "straightened" so that we can walk the straight and narrow of God's perfect holiness.
And what will happen as our own personal "road work" is accomplished? God's promise is that "the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together." Would you exhibit the life of the Lord Jesus Christ in your living, beloved? Then we each need to get busy with some "road work" of our own! Our "filled-in, leveled, cleaned-up, straightened out" lives will make God's glory in Christ Jesus so visible to others that all in our world will be able to see it! Famed songwriter Baylus Benjamin ("B.B.") McKinney described such road work in our lives in a beautiful hymn written in 1924:
Everyone who has ever driven on the open road knows full well how aggravating it is to be diverted onto a "detour" route and away from the more direct route you had chosen to travel. Yet when road surfaces are torn up in the process of being repaired - graded, filled in, leveled, whatever - progress along such routes becomes difficult if not impossible.
In the spiritual life of the believer, the very same reality holds true. Here in the example of Israel as she came to the end of her years of captivity under the Babylonian dynasty, we discover in God's words of comfort through His prophet Isaiah a wonderful challenge for restoration that will fit our lives very nicely today as well.
Note first the command to "clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness." As He rescued them from their bondage, Jehovah wanted nothing to stand between Himself and His people as true restoration of spirit and heart took place. And He certainly wanted nothing of what had sent them into captivity in the first place in any way to mar their relationship in the future. But how were they to "clear the way" so that this relationship could be maintained?
His first instruction was for them to "let every valley be lifted up." Valleys are low places, beloved, and can represent to us today those fallen places in our lives wherein we have lowered the standard of God's righteousness in our living. These low places need to be brought back into line with the Word of God!
He further instructed them to "let every mountain and hill be made low." Hills by contrast are high places and can represent to us today those exalted places wherein we have allowed our own self-righteousness to prevail and have been self-seeking in our ways. These high places need to be "made low" in the sense of forsaking our own agendas and seeking to focus our living upon Jesus Christ alone.
He then instructed them to "let the rough ground become a plain." Such places can represent to us those paths that are blocked by the "rubble" of this world, making spiritual headway difficult or even impossible. Such places need to have all obstacles removed so that free and full access and progress are possible.
Finally, God instructed His people to "let the rugged terrain become a broad valley." Here the idea of "rugged" is that of something that is "crooked" or not straight. These places can represent those times in our lives when our feet have wandered down other paths, enticed perhaps by the pleasures of this world so readily available. These places need to be "straightened" so that we can walk the straight and narrow of God's perfect holiness.
And what will happen as our own personal "road work" is accomplished? God's promise is that "the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together." Would you exhibit the life of the Lord Jesus Christ in your living, beloved? Then we each need to get busy with some "road work" of our own! Our "filled-in, leveled, cleaned-up, straightened out" lives will make God's glory in Christ Jesus so visible to others that all in our world will be able to see it! Famed songwriter Baylus Benjamin ("B.B.") McKinney described such road work in our lives in a beautiful hymn written in 1924:
"While passing through this world of sin, and others your life shall view,
Be clean and pure without, within; let others see Jesus in you.
Let others see Jesus in you; let others see Jesus in you.
Keep telling the story; be faithful and true; let others see Jesus in you."
Be clean and pure without, within; let others see Jesus in you.
Let others see Jesus in you; let others see Jesus in you.
Keep telling the story; be faithful and true; let others see Jesus in you."
Are your own personal "work zone" signs posted and visible, beloved? Then let's get to work!
Ron
Ron
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