Day by Day

[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)

[Soldier4Christ]

Not Quite Black &  White

    But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is  the evil thereof (Mt.6:33-34).

The ultimate question is, and should always remain, "What does God want?' It is not unheard of for a church to ask this question from time to time, but it seems that many churches are asking it far less than they should. Most situations are confronted with the consolidation of our collective wit and human reasoning. And only if and when we find that we have run out of answers do we, as one united group, ask God what He wants.
And there are those times where we do come together and ask God what He wants. As it is within a group, it is often done formally--led by one, while some may be praying in their hearts along with him. But let the unity be lacking and the direction be intellectually derived and we will see no awe-inspiring movements of God. For we will as before tackle our troubles with human ingenuity, and the results are as would be expected without any supernatural intervention.
Throughout the Bible, God used ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary doings. God's hand often moved a person beyond their limitations, using that person in such ways as to demonstrate His purpose, power and love. God's desire for the church is no different. He wants to take us beyond our abilities and reasoning and limitations, and use us in such a way that all who witness cannot help but see the movement of God's hand within it.
But when the church is governed by majority rule, what will be seen is the opinion of the majority. And anyone who stands up and declares, "We need to seek God more fully," will be looked at like they are fanatical. Someone might even explain to them that their faith is a little unrealistic. Perhaps they might respond, "Why does it seem unrealistic to you? You believe in a God you cannot see--don't you?"
Why would such a faith seem unrealistic? Possibly because there are many who walk not by faith but by sight. They are those who place their stake in the bottom line and limit the operations of the church within the confines of budgets and bylaws. For it is truly easier to let written words and numbers be our Lord than a God we cannot see.
Nevertheless, it is not the church collectively who suffers vision impairment due to the cataracts of the bottom line, it is also the individuals in their personal lives. And it is everyone of us from one time to another. For as we are faced with a difficulty our first response is often to venture out to solve the problems on our own, with what we have and within the confines of our limitations. Why do we do this rather than coming to God first? Is it some sort of frantic search for answers that leads us to mentally scroll through a list of options; which once we come to the end of our list we look at it again or pick the best choice even if it does not really solve anything? A sad but true statement for most of us much of the time is that there are times where God is not even on the list of possibilities. Though not because we do not want Him there--we just simply forget about Him.
It is truly God's desire to work within our life situations, bringing us peace and resolution before, during and after our storms. We often frantically search our minds for answers. We might even pray first and then, praying aside, we begin to search our minds for the answers. But we should keep in mind that there are many times that we have no answers on our own, and when we reach the end of our list of possibilities we will become worried and frustrated--and worried and scared--and worried. . . You get the idea. Yet rather than finding comfort once we have found an answer, God would have us find our comfort and then find the answer. For as we seek Him first, we find His peace and comfort and we release worry and anxiety, and then our eyes are open to see His answers for our situations.
God cannot find room in our hearts to bring peace when our hearts are full of worry, and He cannot find room to speak the answer into our minds when our minds are filled with human reasoning.

[Soldier4Christ]

In All Our Ways

    From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!" Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."
    Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:21-26).

Many of us may read this passage and feel sorry for Peter. His intentions seem noble as he took Jesus aside and told Him, "This shall never happen to you!" But Peter’s rebuke carried with it overtones of selfish concern, and Jesus promptly responded with a rebuke of His own, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." We do not know exactly what Peter’s thoughts were, or what he was trying to say to Jesus, but it is clear by what Jesus said that Peter’s motives were not pure.

Jesus had a purpose, and He reminded Peter of that purpose as He spoke of the cross. Jesus had come to lay down His life. He was not given a normal life in this world, but a cross to carry. As he followed God, He counted His life as forfeited--given up for the will and purpose of the Father.

Peter’s remarks clearly expressed his desire to see God work in Jesus according to Peter’s plan. But Jesus reminded Peter that there is a greater plan than ours, and it is the plan we must follow. Even as Christ gave up His right to a life of His choice on this earth so that the greater plan of God might be accomplished, He admonished that the rest of us are asked to do the same. To do any less is to become a stumbling block to the purposes of God. To choose our plan over His is to “not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

We make a lot of plans in this life, and so often without consulting God. Careers, churches, locations, marriage partners, and many other life decisions are made with the “things of man” in mind. May God help us to follow Him in all our ways, and not just a selected few.

    “in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:6).

[Soldier4Christ]

Every Opportunity

    Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord. always giving thanks to God the Father for everything. in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Eph.5:15-20).

We do not know how much time we have left, as a group or as an individual. We are all well aware that our lives could be over today, but seldom do we sit around thinking about it to any real and serious degree. We consider our activities, ambitions and goals for today and tomorrow; and in so doing, we may or may not have our priorities in order. And being that some, or most, of our lives are wasted upon many petty things, perhaps it would be a good time to evaluate our direction, our wants and our reasons.
It is certain that the coming to grips with our "out of sorts" priorities can be painful and maybe even frightening. But let us hold to the love of God that will not suffer us to bear above what we are able. Knowing this, then, let us realize the benefits of coming before our Lord and asking Him to clearly point out the priority adjustments we must make. May we say to the Lord, "Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom" (Psalms 51:6); and also, "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts" (Psalms 139:23). Let our seeking be for His truth and may we avoid the seeking of the fulfillment of our own desires.
"Therefore do not be foolish, but understand the Lord's will." And what would be foolish is to pay more attention to the things that will not last. But we know that the will of God will endure and continue on into the next life. For we were designed to seek after the things that matter most within the person of God, yet so often we "strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel" (Mt.23:24). Simply put, we place such a great emphasis on things that do not really matter while practically allowing the important things to completely go ignored.
But what is important, and what should be our greatest priority? Jesus told us that the two greatest commandments were that we love God with all our person, and that we love all others as ourselves. In this we find that which is of the greatest value. For what we accomplish here may never reach heaven, yet we will ourselves will one day be with God in heaven. On the other hand, what we do accomplish here may not seem like much to the world, but it may have resounding effects throughout eternity in the hearts of those to whom we have reached out.
Does God want us to sit around and dwell upon our end or the end of the world? I don't believe so. Yet, I am certain He wants us to consider the end's effects and to remember that to love God and others is our greatest priority.
So let's not allow the time to slip by as we hurry through our busyness, but let us make "the most of every opportunity," holding tight to the glory that is before us and pressing on toward the goals the Lord Himself has established for us.
There are many things we can do to help others find their life in God, but truly loving them as we go is what its all about.

[Soldier4Christ]

Somewhere In The Middle

    I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth (Rev.3:15-16).

There is a broad area that lies somewhere between one extreme and another. Take the water temperature gauge on a car's dashboard for instance; on the one end there is a "C" for cold and to at the other end there is an "H" for hot. That which is in the middle might sometimes be labeled as normal and therefore does not raise any feelings of alarm or uneasiness if the needle remains in that area. But let the needle sit at the maximum cold or the maximum hot and those who look on might become somewhat uncomfortable and find themselves continuously and cautiously watching the gauge and hoping to see it return to a normal state of operation.
Revelation 3:15-16 comes from a passage wherein Jesus is speaking concerning the church of the Laodiceans. He compares their state to that of lukewarm water, which when drank would cause one to spew the water out because it is neither hot nor cold. Evidently, they were not a people who were excited about God and His work, or a people passionate concerning the Kingdom of God. Perhaps they were a people who showed very little interest in a spiritual life at all, but were content to go through the motions of doing church as though to fulfill a religious obligation.
The Laodiceans were also a people who were not completely turned away from God. They did not openly and outwardly defy God and His righteousness. For if they had been cold to God perhaps their would have been some anger, bitterness or distrust regarding God for one reason or another. Yet it seems obvious that they were not angry at God, and it is also apparent that they were not passionate toward Him. Instead they were somewhere in the middle--having no real feelings whatsoever. It was probably an intellectual faith more than one of the heart.
The amazing thing about being somewhere in the middle is that it is something that seems to make everyone else more comfortable. It's like the water temperature gauge--let it remain in the "normal" state and those who look on are settled and feel comfortable to proceed as usual--but let it go to either extreme and there will be a lot of troubled onlookers who will be trying to find a way to get things back to the more comfortable, "normal" state.
If someone is "too hot" in regard to God then "they are not realistic." They are seen to speak of faith in a fanciful way and are viewed as persons more led by unpredictable emotions than by rational thinking. The "normal" dwellers look at them as fanatics who have good intentions, but are expected to settle into the normal state over time. So those who are truly passionate for God may be seen as "going through a phase" that will soon pass.
On the other hand, if a person is "too cold," well, first of all they probably won't be in church to begin with. And if they are at church, they probably won't stay for very long. For they are those who do not agree with us or believe in what we stand for. They do not fall into the norm, and we really don't believe a lot of them ever will--but we hope some day they might.
Now consider the gas gauge--it is seen as at its best when it is at one extreme, and only one--"full." It may be seen as all right if it lies somewhere between the extremes, but we know that the best place is always at the one end--and we begin to worry if it gets too close to the other.
If only our churches could be more like the gas gauge instead of the water gauge. Perhaps then we would encourage our members to be filled, rather than holding them back from going too far so to keep them at a level that makes the rest of us comfortable. If we could only see ourselves as gas gauges, then we would all be motivated to return and be filled when we see our needle moving downward, and we would find our greatest comfort when we are completely filled.
When Jesus explained to us that we should take up a cross and follow Him, and give up every attachment to everything and everyone, He was clearly encouraging us toward an extreme. An extreme wherein we would indeed find true comfort, and an extreme in which we would truly experience the fullness of God's Person, Purpose and Kingdom.

[Soldier4Christ]

Paid Dearly

    Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it (Mt.13:45-46).

The story is told of a young boy who had worked hard to build a model boat. The boat was beautiful and the boy was pleased as he looked at what he had made. The day came that the boy had long awaited, the day he would take his boat to the lake at the city park and set it afloat in the water. With excitement, he set the boat in the water and gave it a push. But in his excitement he pushed it a little too hard and the boat soon moved out beyond the boy's reach. In a short time the boat was pushed along by a breeze and moved further and further until it faded from sight. The young boy was heart-broken and ran home and told his father what had happened. His father assured him they would go and by another boat--one even bigger and better than the one he had lost The following day, the boy was walking down the street when while he was passing a pawn shop he noticed a model boat in the store window. But it was not just any boat, it was his boat--the very one he had labored to build and had lost at the lake. The boy quickly ran into the store and told the owner what had happened, but the store owner insisted that if the boy wanted the boat he would have to pay for it. The price was not too great for the boy as he gave the owner the money to buy back what was already his. For the boy thought to himself, "This is my boat again. For I made it, and then it was lost, and now I have found it and have bought it back again. And it is mine once more."
Sometimes, it seems that we forget the value that we hold in the eyes of our maker. We look at our lives and sometimes let the circumstances persuade us that we have been all but forgotten. There are those times when we are like the lost boat, adrift without a sense of direction or purpose, and we might feel as though we are far and away from the safety of a shore whereon our Maker stands--watching us move further away from Him.
But our Lord has not forgotten, and He misses the one who is lost while many are not. He longs to bring back to Himself those who for some reason have drifted away and are not where they belong. He has not forgotten, and He will leave the ninety nine to find the one, and He notices just one that is missing among thousands who are not.
Sometimes we forget the price that was paid for us. We forget how great a love the Father has for us that He would give His own Son so we might be in His Hands once more.

    Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the LORD thy God (Isa.43:1-3).

[Soldier4Christ]

Missing The Miracles

    For this people's heart has become callused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them (Mt.13:15).

I remember the first time I saw an illustration of a light spectrum in a science book. It was amazing to me how each and every color was somehow contained in the light, and that as a particular light wave hit the surface of an item, some of the light waves were absorbed while others were deflected off. This, I am certain, is a very simplistic description of what light is like and how it is reflected. Nevertheless, it is still something that is fascinating when considering it.
Many a child has stood still, eyes wide and beholding the wonderful colors refracted through a prism. Many adults still enjoy the array of colors that seem to bounce around on the walls of a room wherein a prism hangs in a window on a sunny afternoon. But what has always been even more amazing to me is that there are many colors we cannot see--colors that are invisible to the human eye, but no less there.
Even as we know that there is light we cannot see, we know there is sound we cannot hear. We know, for instance, that a dog can hear a dog whistle, while we on the other hand cannot. And though we cannot see all light and hear all sound, we do not debate the existence of either. For we know that there are electronic devices that can show us some of the hidden light, and as we watch a dog respond to a dog whistle, we can observe a response to the sounds we cannot hear.
With all this in mind, we would then surrender to the knowledge that we are not able to perceive all physical occurrences with our human senses. We simply trust that these things are so because there are evidences of them, and evidences we realize we may never witness first hand.
If therefore, we are able to believe in physical forces we cannot see, we have no basis for disbelieving the spiritual forces we cannot see. For we are no more equipped to sense within our human capacity all the things which are supernatural, than we are the natural. Yet, many would contend that certain supernatural movements, specifically "miracles," are more likely the movement of one's imagination rather than the movement of God's Hand. Would such people also contend that light that cannot be seen and sound that cannot be heard is also the creation of human imagination? Such people might respond like so many others by requiring some sort of proof, and that proof often as defined by the doubter.
The problem with such thinking is that we cannot expect God to move outside of His will in order to prove that He moves by His will. When God reveals Himself to us it is how and when He chooses, it is by His nature and because of that, it is not confined to the laws of our physical perceptions no more than subsonic frequencies and infrared light.
God moves as He will, and the only way we shall see his movement is when we have a developed sensitivity to His movement. It is likely that those who do not believe in miracles do not because they have never personally witnessed any; but it is more likely that they did not witness any because they have eyes that cannot see, and ears that cannot hear.
Let us pray to God to develop in each of us a keen awareness of His supernatural movement--that He will give us eyes that see and ears that hear.

[Soldier4Christ]

Faith In Faith

    Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long has he been like this?"
    "From childhood," he answered. "It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything take pity on us and help us."
    "If you can?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes."
    Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief (Mk. 9:21-24).

We are faced all too often with difficult situations in which we believe more in our ability to doubt than in God's ability to work in spite of our doubts. For in the midst of certain events we cross our fingers and hope that our faith will outlast our circumstances, and it seems that the tighter we try to hang on to our faith the more difficult it becomes. For in reality, as we fear losing faith we have in essence already began to doubt. The doubt grows--our faith weakens--and we react. And then it is time to pick up the pieces.
For some of us, that is when the real trouble begins. That is when we begin to analyze what went wrong, and we try to determine where we messed up. We might begin to think, "If only my faith were stronger. . ." or "If only I could have" done this or done that. This is the time we begin to list out all of the possible errors, blame ourselves for messing up, and then determine we are hopeless.
Perhaps it would be good at this point to remind ourselves which of us is God. Though it is not us who are God, one might think that we think it is. For you see, we act as though we have so much power over all of our circumstances. We take all of our scenarios in hand and determine all of the ways we have changed the course of our lives. We act as though God's will changes and is conditional--as though the administration of His will in our lives is directly proportional to our performance.
What we must keep in mind is that anything we do, or don't do; any amount of faith we have or lack, or any direction we choose never surprises our Lord. He is quite aware when we are about to make a mistake, and He knows when and where our faith is going to give out. But rather than steer us away from such catastrophe He has chosen to take us through it.
God is not sitting up in Heaven looking down at us and shaking His head in frustration--saying to Himself, "There he goes again. What am I going to do now." The point is that God is greater than our mistakes and is more than able to keep us on a path He has chosen for us if we veer off from time to time because we have misread His purpose in and around a particular event, and regarding His will. If our hearts are toward Him, if our desire is truly to serve Him and do His will, He will correct us and help us to get back on track--we just need to trust Him to do that. For our faith is not placed in our ability to believe, but in His ability to help us in the midst of our unbelief. In this we see the faith that moves mountains, because we know it is not our faith that moves the mountains, but Who we place our faith in.

[Soldier4Christ]

The Enemy

    Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings (1Pt.5:8-9).

Who is our enemy? Is it the man or women at work who seems to be trying to undermine our credibility with our fellow employees or our employers? Is it the neighbor who seems to be having a miserable life and is intent on making ours as miserable as theirs? Is it someone at school who is spreading malicious gossip about things that are not true, and means to ruin our reputations? Perhaps Scripture would help us to understand who our real enemy is. Consider an enemy who can have no change of heart, who will not respond to any amount of kindness, who will hate you and continue to hate you no matter what. Even some of the most difficult people can be won over in time--wounds can heal, and bygones be bygones. But there is no reconciliation with the one true enemy, for he is always out to beset us.
We must always remember that the devil is our one true enemy, lest we forget and begin thinking it is another human being. Ephesians 6:12 tells us, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Our battles are not with human beings but with the dark powers that control a significant portion of humanity. We wrestle with satan's control over the lives of others, and we wrestle with his control of ourselves. And we must continue to wrestle--to resist the devil and to stand "firm in the faith."
And our wrestling is not something we do alone, for there are many who "are undergoing the same kind of sufferings." So we do not wrestle for our cause and for our lives alone, but also for the lives of others like us who strive against the enemy and fight to bring light to the world. The enemy would have us think that we are alone in our struggle. He would have us believe that the majority have abandoned the call of God and no longer listen to Him, for the devil knows that if we believe we are alone in our struggle that we will be easier to defeat.
The enemy's tactics are old, but well practiced. He is one who divides churches with petty differences or with opinionated doctrines. He distracts us with the pleasures and pleasantries of this life--he feeds our ambition, he caters to our lusts and he motivates us toward a life of self-centeredness. For he knows that if he can keep us distracted from the realities of his certain defeat, that he will be able to take many with him when he goes down.
But Peter warns us to be alert. We are to ready ourselves and refrain from becoming distracted from the truth of reality no matter how much it hurts to look at it. And Peter also tells us to be self-controlled. For we know that the enemy will tempt us, but it is the enemy within that yields to temptation. It is our selfish nature that will draw us toward the enticements of our enemy,
What shall we consider as we go out into our lives today? Shall we do business as usual, and do so in such a way that heaven and hell, and life and death escape our attentions. Will we face a day thinking that those are important issues, yet not live our lives as if they are. We know that in the church there are many people who say they believe in an afterlife while acting as if there is no life beyond this life. And that's just fine with the enemy, for as long as we live like we don't believe when we say we do, that just makes his job all the easier.
Do you believe "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour?" Does it show in your life? What actions are you taking against your truest enemy?