Day by Day

[Soldier4Christ]

Manna Again!

    The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, "If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost--also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna! (Num.11:4-6).

Stirred by discontent, the Israelites complained about the manna that God had supplied them. Sure, they rejoiced the first time the manna was supplied. They had been hungry and was sure that they were going to starve to death in the dessert. The manna had been God's answer to their need. But as the story goes, in time they grew weary of what God had given them. And whereas they once were grateful to have any food at all, they now complained because they could not have something to suit their taste as well.
This brings to mind an image of a child who has plenty of food, who refuses to eat vegetables or a particular food item simply because he doesn't like it. That image is sharply contrasted along side the image of a child in a third world country who is starving and is happy to get any kind of food--regardless of how it tastes.
Could it be, however, that within such a nation as that in which we live, that although we have plenty of variety, we still grumble because we have grown weary of what we have? This question could open up discussion on a multitude of topics--all of which would be relative to selfish gain and greed. For we are a people who are discontent, always wanting something else and never happy with what we have. Even now if you or I are to honestly ask ourselves what we want, most of us could quickly start a list of material goods and earthly possessions. And though the material realm is a kingdom that rules many, it is not the end of our discontentment, but only a small part of it. For though the quest for comfort in the physical can cause us to be unhappy with what we have, the quest for comfort in the spiritual can do the same.
If having our needs met is the only reason we are spiritual then we are sure to grow discontent. Let's say we find a church suitable to what we feel will best meet our needs. We join it and are very excited about it. The people seem friendly, the Sunday School class is educational, the song service is a joy and the preaching is inspiring. We then no for certain that we have never been to another church like it. But after time, the people seem a little more distant than they did at first, the Sunday School class almost puts us to sleep and the song service does. And "What happened to the preaching?" The preacher use to really make you think and now it is hard to tell one sermon from the next, or the last.
Most likely, the only thing that has changed is you--the "manna" is still the same, you just don't quite like the way it tastes any longer. You have gotten use to the people, the classes, the songs and the sermons, and now you have decided that the church is not what it use to be. After a while you may grow board and wonder if you shouldn't look for another church, with another set of people, classes, songs and sermons. You may feel you need to go where you will "get fed," "feel welcome" or feel God's spirit moving once more.
We are not a content people. We grumble and complain about our churches, the way they do things, the speed of the songs in the song service, the way the preacher holds his mouth (I exaggerate--or so I hope). These are all too often the indications that the question at heart is, "What am I getting out of it?" Here in lies a great trouble: in approaching the matters of our lives with such an attitude, we are sure to remain discontent. Our physical needs will never seem to be met to our satisfaction, and our spiritual needs will seem the same.

[Soldier4Christ]

The Greatest Priorities

    Then one of them, [which was] a lawyer, asked [him a question], tempting him, and saying, Master, which [is] the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second [is] like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets (Mt.22:35-40).

Life can get so incredibly busy. Perhaps some would see this as a bit of an understatement. Our jobs, schooling, church and activities occupy most of our schedules. Days, weeks and months seem to be flying by. At the end of which we often look back and wonder where it all went. Perhaps we wonder as well, just how important all those activities were, and what difference they really made. When life is a blur, its hard to see where you have been, where you are going, and sometimes it is even difficult to see where you are. And somewhere in the mix, we completely lose sight of what is important--as life that would be lived for God, people and purpose, becomes an endless list of "to do's."
Recall if you will, a time in your life when you would not have even noticed if the whole world were suddenly to go away. A time that you were so taken by another person that he or she occupied your every thought. That person made it hard for you to keep your mind on your work, your school, your activities and your "to do" list. All you wanted to do was just to be with that person. You did not care how, or when or why, just being in that person's presence was satisfactory. And if you could not be physically present with him or her, maybe you would call on the phone and mix minutes of conversation with periods of silence, as neither could think of anything to say but neither wanted to hang up the phone. For even in the periods of telephone silence, there was still a sense of each other's presence that somehow brought you closer.
And then you wake up. That's how some would have us think. Oh sure, the kind of enthrallment, described above, that two people share for one another cannot be expected to be lifelong--yet it is also something that should not be expected to completely disappear either. Relationships are to grow stronger and to endure through the "to do's" of life, but they should never become a "to do" themselves. If we are not careful, we will let our lives slip into the mode of daily accomplishment of tasks, and we will wonder where the joy went that was once held so precious.
There is a song that says, "Precious and few are the moments we two can share." It would seem that life in the 90's has many of us finding it harder and harder to find those few and precious moments. But what we must keep in mind is that we do not have to be slaves to our lifestyles. Our lifestyles are not to rule us, otherwise they become our lord and master, rather than God. Our "to do's" (if they rule us) will confuse our priorities and draw our attention away from what is most important, to whatever is loudest at demanding our attentions. And within the wake of our excuses (i.e. "I want to. . .but I have so much to do), we neglect what is most important (God, people and purpose), to join a rat race that is ran in a never-ending maze.
You may be a person who wants that relationship time, yet others seem too busy for you. Rest assured that no one understands that more than God Himself. He wants so dearly to spend time with His children, yet He gets lost in the shuffle of our "urgent" matters of this life. To our loss, God has become a task to do within a brief morning quiet time, when what He desires is to meet with us throughout the day--to walk with us, talk with us. . . We have no idea what we are missing out on when we rationalize God out of our schedules because, "I have so much to do."
You may be a person who wants relationship time, realizing the importance of it, yet you just cannot seem to find the time because of all that needs done. It has often been said that "we make time for what is important to us." If you are going to spend time on what is really important, then you are going to have to make yourself see the importance of it. Don't let things that won't matter ten years from now, be that which is utmost important today. There are so many insignificant things that can easily be let in to clutter our thinking. Re-prioritize. Cut the list down to the necessary things. And for everyone's sake, let the top priorities be God, family and others. Ask God to show you what is important and how to prioritize, and follow what He says to do. You will find that anything that really matters will get done, and you might find that you even have some time to enjoy life rather than looking back at it and wondering where the time went.

[Soldier4Christ]

Tolerance

    In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to way what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away form the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry (2 Tim.4:1-5).

We live in what many would say is becoming a society of tolerance. We are led to believe that one is not allowed to question another's lifestyle or actions that do not demonstrate any danger to the lives of others. "It's none of your business!" they will proclaim, and then proceed to justify behaviors that bring to question moral right and wrong. And if morality does not suit one's lifestyle, then morality is either discarded or changed to fit one's own perspective. This is the world's theory of relativity: "I'm OK--You're OK" And if you disagree that right and wrong is up to the individual, then you are the problem.
There are many who never touch a Bible, yet they can quote Matthew 7:1, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged." Yet other verses seem less popular, such as John 7:24, "Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment." These two verses do not contradict one another but support each other as they are examined within the context. There is a right way to judge. But our trouble with the word "judge" is more of a trouble with semantics than one that deals with morality. The word "judge" has become a very negative word that has caused many of us to draw back from situations that may require outward rebuke. On one hand there are the ones who will say, "It's not my place to judge," and on the other hand there are those who will say "You have no right to judge me." One may often be used to excuse one's self from an uncomfortable situation in effort to avoid confrontation. While the other side is one that is to remove one's self from any blame or any wrong. So as we avoid the confrontations, our tolerance level rises.
We must see that to judge does not mean to pass sentence. We are to seek God in the recognition of His right and wrong, and we are to follow He who is a Fair and Just Judge in what we are to do regarding the wrong that is done. We do not have authority in and of ourselves to rebuke, our authority is from and in God. And we have a responsibility to God and others to stand for what is right, and stand against what is wrong. Yet how we do that is not up to us. We are to seek God and follow His wisdom within all matters. We cannot say "I will stand against" this or that, only to allow our stance to lead us. We, instead, are to determine what God stands for and follow Him within it.
Our responsibility to God is to do His will. That may mean that we confront people by His guidance, and that may mean that we keep our mouths shut by His guidance. Our responsibility it to others, in that we are not confronting so as to promote our cause, our purpose or our plan. Instead, we stand against and above something so that we can help others out of there darkness--not so we can defeat them within it.
We are also responsible to not be tolerant to sin. If we hate the sin and love the sinner, we will do with them as we would someone whom we love dearly who might be making some bad decisions. We would approach that loved one in love and seek to find a way to carefully administer the truth to them. We would not approach them as the enemy, ready to jump down their throats. Remember that we are instructed to speak the truth in love. And if we are incapable of doing so we best keep our mouths shut because, in such a case, it is not the Spirit of God within us that speaks but our own self interests.
In regard to tolerance, have you noticed how tolerant we can be with ourselves? Our instructions regarding this matter are clear, "And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam [is] in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then
shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye" (Mt.7:3-5). If we are to become less tolerant in our lives, it had better begin at home. We better demonstrate no tolerance to sin in our own lives before we even think of "standing against" the moral decadence of our society. The fact is, we will sin and so will the world around us. We are to approach the matter through God's Wisdom as led by His Spirit, and we are to approach it in a love that has the best interests of everyone at heart. Therefore, we do not tolerate our sins or the sins of others, but we love all persons enough to do something about it in a Christ-like manner.

[Soldier4Christ]

What Would Jesus Do?

    If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me (Lk.9:23).

Perhaps you have seen the bracelets that bear the bold faced letters, "WWJD." They serve as a nice reminder to us that we should consider how our Lord would respond to a situation, so that we might try to follow His example. The bracelets or T-shirts that display these letters can also serve as a great "door opener" to get conversation started about our faith. In wondering what "WWJD" means, people will ask us to explain. You can then almost feel the blood rushing faster through your veins as you anticipate an opportunity to share Jesus with another person.
"What Would Jesus Do?" That question is one most often used in efforts to avoid making poor decisions, or to avoid doing things that would be dishonoring to God. It may also be asked of one's self when we see someone in need and maybe we don't feel like taking the time out of our busy schedules to lend a hand. Then the words come to mind again to remind us to give up the selfishness and try to be like Christ in any given situation.
We may use these words to Help us to become more like Christ, but how far do these words take us? Where do we draw the line in our likeness to Him? We may consider what Jesus would do if He were in a given situation, but even as the Spirit of Christ indwells us we should consider what He still wants to do--not just what He would do.

        If Jesus were here among us,
        and walked every day through this land,
        would He still feed the hungry thousands,
        or heal with the touch of His hand?
        Would He teach us the way of the Father,
        and tell us the way we should live?
        Would He still live His life the way that He did,
        giving all He could possibly give?
        Would He still raise the dead from the grave,
        bringing life where no life could be found?
        Would He still bring freedom to servant and slave,
        breaking chains by which they were bound?
        Jesus would still do all of those things,
        the need has not gone away.
        The same things He did, so long ago,
        He would do them again, still today.
        We say Jesus lives inside of us,
        but why is it we don't ever see,
        the things that Jesus would still do today,
        being done through you and through me?

Jesus has not changed, and the needs of fallen humanity have not gone away. When Jesus walked among us, He gave of himself, his time and his energy; and invested himself into people so that people might come to know the love of the Father through Him. He denied Himself for our benefit. And now it is our turn to follow His example. We are going to have to deny ourselves if we are going to see what Jesus would do be done through us. We might want to consider that instead of saying "What Would Jesus Do?" we might ought to say, "What Would Jesus Do THROUGH Me and You?"
As we allow Him to live through us, He is more than just an example somewhere up in front of us for us to follow--He is the person who will lead us from within.

[Soldier4Christ]

Heart And Soul

    Thy word I have treasured in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee (Ps.119:11,NAS).
    Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man. . .(Mt.7:24).

A number of years ago, my grandfather gave me an old wooden, Gibson ukulele. It had been his for a long time, and I do not recall why he gave it to me, but I was so excited when he did. My dad showed me a few chords on it an even taught me a little song. It was probably the only song I ever learned to play on it, and the chords he taught me were probably the only chords I ever learned.
The ukulele is something that I treasure. I treasure it because it was my grandpa's and it still reminds me of him. But it sits in its case most of the time--collecting dust--and about the only time I have gotten it out lately is when we have moved from one house to the next. I am sure it is way out of tune, and I am sure I do not remember how to tune it. My memory of the chords that formed the song I once knew are a vague memory. I would have to struggle very hard just to remember one chord.
I also have a guitar. It sits in a corner or closet most of the time. When I first got it I sat for hours at a time trying to learn the chords and learn some songs. I was hoping to get good enough with at least a few songs so that I could take my guitar to different church functions, like youth retreats and children's summer Bible schools. But after a time and only a few learned chords, I stopped picking up my guitar. And now, most of the time, it is like my ukulele--sitting somewhere gathering dust. My skills are rusty at best. My memory of what I did know is fading and is only somewhat refreshed when I go back and tune the guitar, strum it a few times, and then put it back in the closet.
Our Father in Heaven has given us a treasured possession--it is His word. It is something so many of us, His children, were very excited about when we first began to pick it up. We began making our way through it, hoping to read the whole thing within a certain amount of time. Perhaps we memorized favorite verses, and even committed daily to sit down in a morning quiet time to read and study the Word. But for one reason or another, our skills have become rusty. Perhaps the practicing of the Word became too difficult, time consuming or tedious. Perhaps we just lost interest somewhere along the way, but cannot recall when that was. And now, the Bible we treasure still reminds us of the One who gave it to us, but it spends most of the time sitting--unopened and collecting dust.
There are many, however, who still pick up God's Word daily to read it and perhaps even memorize a verse or two. But for many of them, perhaps it is obligatory--like a child being forced to learn the piano--they're present, but their heart just is not in it.
We can't all play the ukulele, the guitar, or the piano--or at least play skillfully. But there is one thing all of us who are children of God can do, we can become skilled in God's Word, learning how to apply it to our lives and making it a very real and vital part of who we are. We can "practice" the Bible each day with a desire to become better and better--learning more and more of its "chords" and sharpening the skills we have already learned. We can even become good enough to use our skills to minister to others--like the playing of a song to soothe a wounded heart, our knowledge of God's Word can help others in their darkest hours. If we practice long and hard, we might discover that reading and applying God's Word is not a tedious task but actually a joy. We might learn that any thoughts we have ever had that we would "never understand" or learn His Word were mistaken. And we might discover that what it takes to become skilled in God's Word is really no different than what it takes to become a great pianist--it is all a matter of what you put into it--it is all a matter of heart and soul.

[Soldier4Christ]

Of Greater Influence

    These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, whey you lie down and when you get up (Deut.6:6-7).

Parental pains and parenting problems may be perpetuated by paranoia. Then again--maybe not. None the less, being a parent is not easy. It is a job we first take on with no experience and little training. Many of us go into it with less instruction than is required to take a driver's test. And we do so often simply because we want to be a mommy or daddy--not fully realizing the implications of just such a commitment. Not fully understanding the responsibility, trials and fears that will accompany our love for our children. And whether we consider it being anxious or just being concerned, most parents will readily confess that they often fear for their children.
Are those fears substantiated? You will have to answer that question for yourself, and only truly answer it once you have been or are a parent. For we know that we have many fears that are unsubstantiated, but also many that are substantiated. I watch my son climb a tree like I once did and it makes me nervous. Is that unsubstantiated? I still don't know the answer to that one. Nevertheless, I still get nervous and fear for his safety, and I try to let go of him a little more each day, entrusting him into God's capable Hands. But that's not always easy.
While parents have many fears for their children, perhaps one of the greatest fears is in regard to how others will influence our children. Within the child's early years many of them spend a great deal of their time with a baby sitter. It is soon thereafter that they are enrolled in school and surrounded by more people than they have come into contact with within the short span of their lifetime. Their teenage years are filled with trying to find their place to fit in and peer pressure becomes a strong motivating force in their lives. Throughout their lives, they will be exposed to beliefs, thinking and viewpoints through their contact with others, with television, movies, music, books, with school, church, and work. Within all of this we hope they will be levelheaded and listen to the right influences, while turning away from the bad.
So what determines who or what becomes of greater influence? Is it a question of time? If it were a matter of time alone we could all be doomed when considering the amount of time that is spent in front the television set. Is it a question of quality teaching within those teachable moments we encounter along the way? Perhaps, for a few well chosen words at the right time can impact a person and stay with them for a lifetime. But even still, if those words are few and far between, we will wonder, what is of the greater influence?
It is most certainly the quality and quantity coupled together, and supported by a good parental role model who has genuine concern and love for the welfare of the child that will be of greater influence. And as we cannot raise our children in a glass bubble, only allowing them to be exposed to our influence, it is vital that we take advantage of our time with them in effort to counter the worldly influences with plenty of godly influence. It is imperative for the sake of our children, that we have them in church and spend time with them, loving them, caring for them, and teaching them the Word of God and how to live holy and righteous lives "in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation" (Phil.2:15). And if time does not seem to permit, then we are going to have to carefully weigh the possible consequences of our inability to spend time with our children, and determine who we are going to allow to be of greater influence.

[Soldier4Christ]

Of Sound Mind


    Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him (Lk.12:35-36).

Read Matthew 24:36-51

Time will tell, and usually does, whether the words of a prophet are truth or nothing but vain ramblings. There are some in our world who with the best intentions proclaim that God has revealed the date of His return. These people often manage to draw many to follow them to a place where they will be ready for Jesus to come and gather them home. But to their sorrow, they discover their error and leave perplexed--wondering where they went wrong with their interpretation of the signs of the times.
As the end approaches, Jesus warns, "At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, there he is! do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect--if that were possible. So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time" (Mark 13:21-23). Again He tells us, "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man" (Mt.24:36). Of these matters, Jesus warns us, "Watch out that know one deceives you" and "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come" (Mt.24:42).
"Therefore watch," Jesus says, conveying to us the importance of being ready and alert. It is a statement of urgency and exhortation. "Be on your guard." Be ready, watch, be alert and do not be deceived. There are two sides to this coin, we are either as Noah in the days before the flood, preparing for what was to come and watching for the signs of the Lord's movement; or we are as the people who continued to live life as "business as usual." Those are they who shunned the truth--choosing to live in blissful ignorance because the truth was something they would not tolerate.
As we live our day to day, perhaps it slips our minds that Jesus is coming back. Maybe we have fallen into doing life as "business as usual," and have become slack in our preparations for the inevitable. Perhaps we prefer the blissful ignorance over the painful truth of coming storms, lives lost and certain disruption of our way of life. None the less, the day approaches and soon will be. And what shall we say to God when we stand before Him to confess our belief in Him, after living a life as though He was never coming back.
Many of us have already, or will, make preparations for the time we will leave this earth. Considering what we will leave behind for our loved ones is a sobering and serious venture, one in which we must attest to our being of sound mind. It is a preparation for an end. Most of us do not go around in denial, pretending that we will never someday die. To do so would pretty much nullify our claim to be of sound mind, and our last will and testament would not likely hold up if it were strongly contested. And while we may consider it a bit crazy for someone to live their life as though they are immortal, we do not make the same judgment of those who live as though Christ will never come again, because that would probably be the majority of us. For we do not truly watch for His coming, and we do not make preparations for it. Instead, we go on living our daily lives--"business as usual"--living a denial of the truth, even while professing that truth. If we were really of sound mind, knowing that Christ could come tomorrow, we would live as though it were truth. But we have settled to become a part of the large and silent mass and there is no longer anyone to proclaim the truth of the coming "floods."
Can you think of someone who is urgently proclaiming the coming of the end? Is it a wacko? Is it a preacher? Is it you?

[Soldier4Christ]

Silent Pondering

    But Mary kept all these things, and pondered [them] in her heart
    (Luke 2:19).

There are those things we would proclaim upon house and mountain top, wanting everyone to know what we know and share in our excitement. And there are those things that we quietly treasure within our hearts, like some special sentimental secret which reveals itself only through the glimmer in our eyes. Mary observed the reactions of the shepherds to the birth of Jesus, and she marked well the many words, events and jubilant expressions that accompanied. And she "kept all these things," and treasured them, "and pondered them in her heart."
It is a very special love that exists between us and our Lord. There are many aspects of our times with God that we cannot wait to share with others. We look forward to telling others about some new thing God has revealed to us, or some new way God has moved within our lives. It is, after all, and encouragement to others and to us when we come together to share excitements over a common love we have for Jesus.
But every morsel of truth is not necessarily meant for public knowledge, and every movement of God does not have to immediately be moved beyond the confines of our personal relationship with Him. There are those times when what God allows us to be a part of is something that He would have us keep and "ponder them" in our hearts. Within any close relationship, there are those things that are kept within a small and intimate circle. It is then nurtured and grows and soon flourishes beyond expectation.
What God gives to us is sometimes meant to be a small piece of a greater whole. It is meant to be preliminary to things to come, as well as being laid upon things already present. It is a process of the revelation of God's will and desire in our lives. To ponder it is to allow it to unfold. We are not always meant to act upon it immediately or to proclaim it loudly. But sometimes, we are simply meant to take it in, think about it, pray and wait upon the Lord to fully develop our understanding.
Some things are meant to stay between us and God. Those things will be like a rose bud on a stem, concealing a beautiful secret that it is not quite ready to share. Much of God's work in our lives is part of the ongoing process, and much of it requires our patience and the necessary time to allow the rose bud to become the rose. While we would not want to keep the rose bud forever closed, we would also not want to rush the process of it's opening.

[Soldier4Christ]

Clothed In Christ

    You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ (Gal.3:26).

Read Galatians 3:26-4:20

A friend of mine told me a story of a time he went to a Baptist church, where one Sunday, there was a baptism service being held. The pastor began to tell everyone that baptism has no real significant meaning, but that it is only something done to enter the membership of the church. I could not believe what I was hearing. I have attended a number of Baptist churches and I have never heard such a statement. In fact, most Baptist churches spell out the significance of Baptism in their church doctrine, and it goes far beyond a ritualistic right of passage into church membership.
Could it be we are coming to an age where we will no longer think it is necessary to baptize new believers? Most assuredly so. For it is only a matter of a simple following of suit. The reason such important sacraments could be easily set aside is that they have already been set aside in the heart. The writer of Galatians tells us that "you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ." It stands to reason that a generation who have clothed themselves like the world would see no reason to clothe themselves in Christ. After all, who puts on two sets of clothing?
To some, Baptism is a step in the salvation process. To others, it is a outward expression of and inward happening. For many, it is the identification with the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. For Jesus, it was so that all righteousness might be fulfilled (Mt.3:15).
Our believing in God concerning Christ identifies us with Abraham who "believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness." We are made righteous through our faith in Christ because we have believed God, that Christ is the way to salvation for all of us, and that salvation is as secure as He that has offered it is faithful.
When a baby is born, one of the first things we do is put clothes on the baby. Clothes that we have picked out with and excitement and love for the new child. When Jesus came up from the baptismal waters, God said "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." When we are baptized in Christ we are clothed in Christ and are thereby identified as God's child. And just like the new child in the maternity ward, we too shall be taken home to be with our Father.
Baptism can mean a great deal to us, or it can mean almost nothing. The condition of one's heart will determine which. For if someone desires to be clothed in Christ yet continues identifying with the world, then he is trying to wear two sets of clothing. This will get quite uncomfortable and will lead him to eventually remove the set of clothing that is not worn closest to his heart. To the one who sees baptism as nothing more than right of passage, he will not identify himself with Christ as a child of God. To the one who sees baptism as very significant and somewhat mysterious, he will continue to discover the awe-inspiring implications of what it means to be clothed in Christ and identified as a child of God--one day to be taken home to be with the Father.

[Soldier4Christ]

Stretching

    Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest into your souls. For my yoke [is] easy, and my burden is light (Mt.11:28-30).

A dear friend of mind has often referred to trials and tribulations as "growing times." These words are often accompanied with a deep sigh that rings of the weariness experienced within such times. They are times we do not particularly want to endure. Nevertheless, we know there is no way to get around them--except to go through them.
The weary times can stretch us so thin, that we fear we will snap somewhere in the middle if things keep going the way they are. We become so fatigued by our life circumstances that just a little thinking is something that seems to be to much to do. And it is just when we think we cannot take any more that one of two things usually happens. Either something is added to our load and we learn that we can take more than we thought, or we come to the end of our burden to find a much anticipated rest. Regardless, we do find our rest, and within it--we find God.
It is a wonderful Sabbath rest. It is the walk in the garden in the cool of the day. It is the time when the work and weariness is finally at an end and we can take a long deep breath, relax, and just be with Him. We do not purpose to find rest, and therefore we do not arrange our circumstances to bring about the Sabbath rest. But we discover that rest only after the work is done. It is a reward to those who seek no reward. It is a taking of pleasure in looking back and knowing you did well within your struggle.
But before that kind of rest is reached, we will most assuredly be stretched. It is the picture of our arms spread as wide as they can be. One hand holds that which we must release to put behind us, while the other hand strains to grasp that which must be held. We try to hold on to both to feel secure but we cannot truly enter into the rest until we let go of what must be put behind.
The things that must be put behind differ for each of us. Some of us must release life dreams or ambitions. Some of us must let go of what we once may have loved or treasured because it is already gone but we fight to keep it going. Wishing for things that cannot be only frustrates us. That frustration can turn to anger and the anger into bitterness. The more we struggle to cling to the things we can never possess, the greater our frustration, anger and bitterness will become. And our hearts will not know rest, for we will struggle within the quietness the same as we do in chaos.
If life is like a jungle, we must keep in mind that we won't make it very far if we refuse to release one vine to take hold of the next. The growing times are there to bring positive change to our lives.  The stretching is seldom fun, but always necessary, as we are continually shaped within the hands of our Creator.
Work hard to allow God to stretch you as He needs, and then, discover the joy of His wonderful Sabbath rest.

[Soldier4Christ]

Don't Go Empty Handed

    Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all [was] vanity and vexation of spirit, and [there was] no profit under the sun
    (Ecclesiastes 2:11).

We have each been given two hands. With our hands we greet strangers with a friendly handshake, we open doors on buildings and cars, we pick things up and we put things down. With our hands we embrace what is dear to us, and with our hands we push away what we do not like. But two hands are all we have, and they will only hold so much. So we must choose what we will hold and of what we will let go.
We come into the world empty handed. Many things will pass through our hands as we learn and grow. And as we grow, we are bound to find some things that pass through our hands that we do not wish to let go of. We embrace them and decide that we will hold on to these things while continuing to try out new things.
But there comes a time of letting go. We may choose to hold on to what is most pleasing and let go of those things that do not bring as much pleasure. Nevertheless, we cannot hold onto it all.
It is obvious that by hanging onto some things that we will miss out on some others. We might even become afraid of what we will miss out on and never really hang on to anything, only to discover that we let something of value slip through our fingers.
We are continuously letting go of one thing while clinging to another. It is kind of like musical chairs in some cases, as we quickly move from one chair to the next, ready to settle into one chair but cautiously moving forward. And we hope that when the music stops that we will have what we want.
But God gave us two hands--only two hands--why not more? Like anything else, God has given us what is needed and therefore we can say that it is because we do not need any more than two. But and if He did, think of all the extra things we could hold on to. Think of all the things we could try to cling to while at the same time clinging to our Heavenly Father.
But even with two hands, perhaps we can hold on to the Father and also to something else. Yes, and indeed we do. But what is it we try to hold on to, and is it meant to be held on to, and can it go with us into God's Kingdom? Consider what things we hold on to and then consider how far they will go--will they make it to Heaven?
Perhaps if we could truly let go of what the one hand hangs on to that is of this life, we might discover what it was meant to grasp. For while one hand holds tightly to the Hand of Christ, the other would be holding the hand of someone who needs Christ. And as we hold that person's hand and draw them toward the Lord, he will grab onto His hand and turn ours loose. Then his hand will be empty, as will ours, and we then can grab onto the hand of another to continue the process.
Consider what you can hold onto that you can take to Heaven--it is the hand of another who would come to know Christ once we choose to release our grip off our wants and this world. Embrace the truth, and your hands will hold more in Heaven than they ever could have held on this earth.

[Soldier4Christ]

Severed Ties

    Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought form death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master because you are not under law, but under grace (Rom.6:12-14).

Read Romans 7:7-8:1

                              Sin

                    Ebony cubes
                    enclosing all
                    who stray from God
                    in endless pain.
                    Within the chamber
                    of it's grip,
                    blackened soot
                    fills every breath.
                    Children
                    suffocate to death.

And so we wonder just what sin is. Is it something to be saved from? Is it something we cannot escape? Is it something we are born with or into? Does it threaten to suffocate us within it's walls and keep us in bondage to it's grip? Perhaps we should spell it out rather than summing it up in a single word. Sin is disobedience to God. But it is not just disobedience, to think so might cause one to think that obeying the rules is enough.
To sin against God means that we have offended Him or wronged Him in some fashion. It happens, just as in our relationships with others, when we ignore what we know is desired by the other so that we can have what we want. It is in not doing what is for the good of another, or it is in doing that which is harmful, even at the most remote level. To live in sin is to subscribe to our Selfish Nature--putting the self ahead of others regardless of what is right or wrong.
Now we know that by our sin, our relationship with God was severed. But we know as well that God made a way for us to restore that relationship and be reconciled to Him through His Son, Jesus. And that restoration is complete. We cannot do anything to add to or take away from the work of Jesus. All we can do is to trust that what He did was sufficient to restore us to the Father, once and for all.
With this in mind, we need not confuse broken fellowship with God as being a separation from Him like unto the separation we have from Him before we trust in the work of Christ and are reconciled to Him. We will sin against God even after we have been reconciled to Him, but the relationship remains secure because it is dependent upon the work of Christ, not upon the tally of my wrongs and rights or goods and bads.
Our fellowship with God is broken or hindered by our sin, but we still think to see this as a separation from God like that before we trusted Christ. It is not a complete separation. If that were the case there would be no thought to make things right. For our God does not turn His back on His children, but reaches out to them to bring them back. Away from Him we sense no need to repent, but as He draws us near we feel the friction within the relationship that is there because of our selfish acts. And we are faced with dealing with our sin if we are to have peace in Him once more.

    God [is] faithful, by whom you were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord (1 Corinthians 1:9).

[Soldier4Christ]

Guard Your Heart

    When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, "I will return to the house I left." When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first (Lk.11:24-26).

More than once I have left a church service convicted over sin in my life. More than once I have repented of that sin and determined to do better. And more than once I have lost the battle before it barely got started. It would seem that feeling remorse for my sin and good intentions to do better are not quite enough. Sure, I manage to do well at first--I face temptation head on and come away victorious. But that often does not seem to last long. It seems that I have, more frequently than I would care to confess, found myself right back where I started--failing to a temptation I thought I had gained a final victory over.
However, we must first consider the first mistake; and that is the attitude that we will not make the same mistake again. For as soon as we think we stand, that is truly when we will be blind-sided and knocked to the ground in humiliating defeat. Keeping in mind that we are not above sinning will help us to keep a watchful eye open, and to be on guard against the devil's fiery darts.
A second thing that we must keep in mind is that we cannot keep fighting against our selfish nature--we must change it. Fighting against our selfish nature will wear us down until a time we are weak and that nature will prevail. That is why we never try to fight temptation alone. Instead, we turn to Christ saying, "Lord, save us." And we rely on Him to provide us a way to escape. We come to Christ to be our strength, and we come to Him so that through our prolonged contact with Him, our selfish nature might be changed.
But let us keep in mind that just because we have chosen to lay off the fatty foods and sugars, we have not decided to give up food. We can turn from temptation, and we can fight it by the power of God, and we can draw near to Christ to be changed, but Christ did not come to empty and clean our "house" of the bad, without providing something good to take the place of the bad. As we fight off temptation, quitting what is wrong may give us a victory over a battle; but without fortifying the walls of the fort, the enemy will eventually penetrate our defenses. It is necessary not only to be cleaned, but to be filled. For example, if you feel that you need to avoid television and movies because of their godless influence, you might determine to not turn the TV on except for the news and perhaps public TV. Perhaps you will just not watch it at all. And so, you have emptied yourself of the godless influence that would normally come through that medium. The problem is that your person is going to want something to replace that, and the flesh is weak. This craving for want and the weak flesh combined, spell out trouble. But if we were to go out of our way to find videos, movies or TV channels that are entertaining, and have spiritual benefit while containing no godlessness, then we would be filled with something good to replace the bad. The result will not only be more frequent victories over the sin, but our tastes will change to enjoy the godly things, which will cause us to lose more and more of the desire for the things that are godless.

[Soldier4Christ]

Following On

    Teach me, O LORD, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end. Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart. Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word (Psalms 119:33-37).

“Nobody said it would be easy, they only said it would be worth it.” Those familiar words ring in the ears of many who seek to remind themselves why they sacrifice, or why they uphold godliness in the face of adversity, or why they simply keep following the Lord no matter what the cost. No one said that you would have no more troubles or that God would snap His fingers and make your life perfect in every respect. God did not promise us that. What He promises instead is that He will never leave us nor forsake us, and that He will provide for our needs in Christ Jesus. And with that, we see within His grace another well known matter of fact--and that is that “He may not make your troubles go away, but He will help you make it through.”
“Nobody said it would be easy...”
In fact, truth be known, most will tell you that the Christian life is anything but easy. It is a life of growing pains and hard lessons. I remember one particular time when I was so excited about reading my Bible that I read it on my job while neglecting some important work. Did God want me reading my Bible? Of course. Did He want me reading it instead of doing a job I was being paid to do? No. And in fact, God kindly warned me through three different times and ways. He did so until I finally reaped according to what I had sewn and so I received a stern reprimand from my boss. That was a hard lesson learned. But it was only one of so very many.
I remember another time shortly after I had become a Christian, when while in my enthusiasm, my pastor told me that I would have to come down out of the clouds sometime. I know He meant well, but I have to admit that I resented being told that this was some kind of elated “cloud nine” experience that was sure to pass. In time I learned that a certain amount of the excitement would diminish, but I also learned that a loving relationship with God goes much deeper than spiritual highs and momentary mountain top experiences.
“...they only said it would be worth it.”
The pain and hardship is nothing new to believers in Jesus. And neither is the reward that comes as a result of the trials. You may have heard someone say that you won’t find a rainbow without going through some rain. And just as the world around us needs rain to bring growth, so also it would seem that in order for us to experience growth in our Christian lives, we must also go through some rain. James tells us to, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance” (James 1:3). In Romans 8:18, we are encouraged as Paul explains “that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” In fact, we find much encouragement throughout the Bible as we look into the lives of children of God who realized that the riches in the Lord were far greater a prize than anything of this earth--and they were willing to suffer to attain what God has for those who will continue to follow Him.

[Soldier4Christ]

Acquired Taste

    I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey your word. I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! (Psalms 119:101-103)

I am, what you might call, “a serious coffee drinker.” I like all kinds of brands and flavors. I have a cappuccino maker, a ten cup coffee pot, and a four cup coffee pot as well. I drink coffee at various hours of the day, not just morning, and when I go out of town, I am sure to see to it that I will have a coffee pot where I am staying--even if it means bringing my own.
My wife, on the other hand, has these words to say about coffee: “I don’t know how anything that smells so good can taste so bad.” More than once I have told her how coffee is really kind of an acquired taste--one I have grown accustomed to--one I miss when it is not there.
In Psalms, we are invited to, “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him” (Psalms 34:. Now, would we say that our “taste” for the Lord is an acquired taste? I would say so. For it is only through the contact with the Holy Spirit that we even begin to discover what the Psalmist is talking about when he writes, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”
So how does one taste of the Lord? In Psalms 119, we read, “I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey your word. I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” To taste of the Lord, simply means to walk with Him and according to His word. It means meditating on the things of God--chewing on them, if you will. And it means experiencing God in an up close and personal way as we keep our feet from evil and purposely set our hearts on the purposes of our Maker.
In time, our acquired taste is one that we cannot hardly go a day without. We enjoy the pleasantry of His company. We enjoy the warmth of His filling. We enjoy the aroma of His sweet Spirit as He embraces us in all His goodness. We have grown so accustomed to tasting the Lord on a daily basis that, when we do not spend time with Him, we soon feel the effects thereof.
Another aspect of our acquired taste is that as we taste of His goodness, we recognize the empty foods of this world as just that--empty. In Proverbs 20:17 we read, “Food gained by fraud tastes sweet to a man, but he ends up with a mouth full of gravel.” Simply put, the empty foods of this fleeting world can leave a bad taste in our mouths.
We need to be, what you might call, “ a serious child of God.” The kind of people who enjoy God at all times and look forward to that next moment together. People who, whether we are at church, home, or away, we seek to ensure that we have the things of God with us--even if it means taking a Bible to the beach.

    Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. (1 Peter 2:1-3)