Category Archives: Service

Gifts of the Spirit

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The one who makes a personal art of the things he knows he can do, can be referred to as an artisan.
                      ~
There are men who make worthy pots and pans.  Men who paint, and men who “stand” and speak of what is true.

There are gifts that are inherent from the teachings we endure.  They come to us by virtue of our parents, peers and more.

But a singular gift is sent from above to everyone the Lord will love.  For the Glory of His Majesty, His Christ; the Worthy One and Free.
                     ~
At the beginning of my walk in Christ, I used a talent that seemed to emerge from nowhere.  I kept it to myself, for it was very useful.  I spoke to the Lord with paper and ink, writing my thoughts and writing possible responses.  I came to perceive the wisdom of God in the responses that were chosen.

No one saw those early writings.  I don’t know what became of them.  And perhaps it doesn’t matter.  For, little by little, I became because of them.

He had gifted me to become a scribe; to write down the things I encountered that belong to Him.  Not that I am above my brothers, for my writings are ramblings and small.  I have read the things that belong to masters of the same gift.

This is an awareness of my own journey.  But every child of God receives something uniquely special.

The Apostle Paul said this to his spiritual son Timothy:
6 “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.”

Had men laid their hands on me, and spoke of the gift that is in me, I would have known to fan it into flame.  But no mention was made, for no one knew.

Decades later, I began to perceive a gift to relate the things of God.  His wisdom is given freely to anyone who asks and believes.  There is nothing special about this man.

There is nothing special about you.  But the Lord of life has seen fit to give such gifts to every one of his children. 

The purposes of his giving are hidden and woven into the fabric which spans the boundary between heaven and earth.  Your gift is exclusively for His Majesty. 
I say this with a desire for the deepest of encouragement; that every child of God may know he has a distinct purpose.

Examine what you do (if you do not yet know what gift is yours).  Look at what you love to accomplish, those things that bring the Lord praise.

Try to forget for a moment those things which you see others accomplish.  Though your gift may be similar, it will be unique.

And be careful as you listen to those who may advise you.  As it was for me, the decades between, it may not be for all.  But I suspicion that if man can manipulated it, or direct another along his way, the result is too close to man’s hands.

Read all the “how-to” books you want.  In sum, they will say no more than this.  You will find yourself still requiring an answer.

Many assume that the wisdom of man can direct them in the wisdom of God.  If you search far enough you will find this fallacy a lie.  Yet many embrace the traditions of society.  There they remain, the rest of their life, lacking.

What can be faned into flame, that already rages among men?  How is the richly variegated wisdom of God glorified, if everyone is the same?  And how many of His gifts have fallen to the dust unused and unnoticed.  Ask yourself: “Should that case belong to me?”

By His Grace

Flying Free

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There can be no shame within me, to expose my lack before the Living God.  For by such exposition, both I and His people are strengthened to what is “more”.

I cannot boast in my weakness.  But I can address openly, the things the Lord exposes.  And how His Holy expectation deserves an answer.

He is just and righteous among us all.  His patience is for an accounting.  He teaches with diligent intent.  His desire is cast abroad.

If we listen, He is rewarded for His excellent Love.  Yet if we balk, His desire is subjected to frustration.

Now we look to His patient love.  With open heart, and eyes of the Holy Spirit, we turn to face Him.  Approach with confidence, for this is the promise which He wrote in His Holy Blood.

What is His Holy Covenant, what value is it to us?  The answer is dictated from our willingness to obey.

What provokes our lack?  Isn’t it our unwillingness to believe?  Is it not, then, our tiny faith that keeps us bound?

Come with me.  Let us enter into His Covenant.  Let us fan the flames of gifting, so that our faith might prosper.  Race on before me, if you can!  Then call back to speak of the beauties you perceive.  Let us drive one another as far as we can.  By our limit, we have tested the Lord.  If we have found Him to be Good, why not break another link that our faith might fly free?

Thus there is no shame in exposing what lacks.  For as one we enter in to He who is One.

Bring Out the Will

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Where is the astounding fruit of the Most High God among us?  It is hidden in our unwillingness to obey.  It is as if we have secreted His Holy Words into the thicket of our rebellion. 

Too many have hidden His treasure away, as if a thief might come and steal their riches.  As a result, many stand guard at their doorway; judging others as they perceive from their own darkness.  Where is the freely flowing Gospel of Peace and Joy?  Where is their vial of Living Water?

Who will go retrieve the Holy things he contains?  Who will reach into his thorny will and bring his obedience out of hiding?  Who will bloody his own hands to retrieve what is best for all?  Who dares “become”, that he might lead his siblings in Christ to what is best?

What is the will of a man in Christ Jesus?  What power does it receive if it is brought out of hiding?  What blessings are the Holy Lord of Life willing to bestow on the man who diligently gives Him what is rightfully His?  As obedience comes, so the prosperity of God appears.

In case my words are not clear enough to provoke specific action, let us read what the Lord has spoken to all who desire to serve Him.  Let us remember: the generation that serves the Lord with faithfulness, is the generation that passes down what is good and valuable before His Holy Face.  It is the blessing of their “children” to inhabit the better land. 

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 5)

The Useful Singer of Truth

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The one who constantly quotes the Bible to others is not likely to be well received.  If this is the thrust of his “ministry” to God and His people, he is likely to become a rather burdensome companion.  Consider how the Bible is treated in most households.  This one will be given the same honor.

But the one who does what the Bible says, this one is prone to be somewhat accepted.  But doing what the Bible says doesn’t mean that man’s testimony will be heard everywhere he goes.  Such a one might just selectively pronounce the Gospel, according to his own faith.  He might be accepted.  But he might also be rather a useless “Singer of Truth”.

Yet there is the one who does what the Bible says, listens to the timely and focused prompting from the Holy Spirit, and delivers a “living word”.  This one is acceptable.  This one sings the song of Truth with power and usefulness.  This one will find legitimate persecution.  This one is useful to both man and God.

Such a one won’t have to wait long for the world to hate him.  They already hate the One who drives him onward.  And, beyond description, this one will encounter hard resistance from the majority of the family of God.  Not because he is an irritation, but because he speaks what is true to the moment.  Not because he is quoting what is past, but because he brings the written, and blood honored, Word to the present.  The Wisdom of the Living God drives his willing heart.

Let the resounding gong and the clanging cymbal think this through.

To What End?

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I can play the guitar and sing songs that praise God.  But to what end?  With the simple flick of a switch, men can listen to much better quality of music than I can produce.

The simple days are gone.  The days when a man might sit near the fire and entertain his loved ones with the music he can make, are gone.  They won’t come back in my life time.  If, indeed, they ever come back among men.

I could stand on a street corner and preach the word of God, in what variety of means might come to my heart.  But to what end?  Shall the steel of the passing cars hear my words and repent?  Not many read lips.  And their passing is far too quick to gain more than a simple word, as they speed by.

The simple days of inclusion are gone.  Now is the day of isolation.  And just think what this isolation is breeding.  Those in control of mass media hold the attention of the general public.  Gone is the day when a man might affect the passing public with the Gospel.  It’s gone.  And it’s not likely to return in my life time.

I could sing.  I could preach.  I could dance for them.  But to what end?

And I can write (as some might call these works).  But to what end?  Every article I post, stands in direct competition with a million others.  Every post I post falls into the pile of “interesting things”.

But there is something I can do that is viable.  There is something I can do that never fails to produce.  I can worship the Living God in Christ Jesus.

These simple things will never fade, not in this life or the life to come.

God alone knows the slices between men that penetrate to understanding.  He alone can penetrate the steel of a car.  He alone can whisper over the loudest stereo, and be clearly heard.  He alone can dance before them with entrancing creation.  He alone can write on our hearts!  He alone knows how to obliterate the noise of man.  He alone can drive a man to his knees in convulsive sobbing at the wickedness of the man’s heart.  And when He appears, then comes Life!

Prayer, direction of the will, that certain “listening” to what is, and obedience to what I know is holy,  these things I can do.  And they will never fail to produce that bounty that God deserves to have for the Life He has promised and delivered to those who love Him.

 

Successful Christianity

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What characterizes a successful Christian?  He has something that’s rather rare.  Something that many, apparently, never even know exists.  And it must be rare because all the Christians are still trying to find it.  That in itself, makes this a worthwhile post.

He’s a detriment to the Christian publishing business.  He’s simply not that interested in mainline Christianity.  He doesn’t need “how to” books, he’s already doing it.  He doesn’t need someone to provoke inspiration, he can’t shut it off.   But this in itself doesn’t make him a successful Christian.

It’s highly likely he does not have a lot of friends.  Though he is the one steady enough to confide in.  People rarely seek him out.  He just doesn’t play well with others.

He hates no one.  But he also trust no one.  And over time that becomes rather obvious.  Still, no “pin the tail on the donkey” here.

The successful Christian knows where his Bible is at all times.  He may or may not be able to quote you chapter and verse.  But you’ll find him busy doing it.  Yet this isn’t what sets him apart from the rest.  Many fall into legalistic adherence to the Word.  Many!

What is it that has cut him away from the larger portion of the flock?  Why is this one successful, while the others flounder about? 

If he has no interest in the things of mainline Christianity, how can he be called successful?  And if the successful Christian can’t memorize chapter and verse, what was the use of their notation?

Two really good questions.  But I’ll let the reader answer for himself.  When you finally realize the answers, you’ll be amazed.

The successful Christian understands the meaning of the name “Christ”.  And he realizes, with stark nakedness, that he does not own this understanding, because he studied.  He realizes that Christ knows him, and he knows Christ because of the merciful introduction from the Father.

In the successful Christian’s mind, he has only one thing that he can call his own.  To whatever extent a person owns this, he is a blowout success.

(watch for caveat.)

A successful Christian is always looking for opportunity to obey (bingo!).  This is the only item of Christianity we can own.  Everything else comes from God.  Obedience comes from mastery of the will.

(Slow down please.  Caveat ahead.)

Though it must be said that no man masters the will, without the direct guidance of Christ Jesus.  The successful Christian has made up his mind to dedicate himself to mastery.  The mutual work of Christ Jesus and man comes to a head in the man’s will.

You know the really sad part about this entire writing, is that I felt it necessary.

By His Grace