Tag Archives: Christians

Conspicuous Places

by

0


Dear Christians:

Are you aware of your place in eternity even now?  I speak to those who struggle, through violence, to attain those things which Christ holds in his hand.  For we know about a violence that does not leave marks on the body.

You have heard about the great cloud of witnesses.  Are you aware that their number is not fully comprised of holy servants of God?

These unholy witnesses were present at the crucifixion of our Lord.  They incited the crowd to riot at the burning and torture of our brothers and sisters.  And they have caused a maligning of the way throughout history.

You may be sure they watch us even now.  Every Christian’s weakness is well known.  But so is the strength of our Holy Lord.  And now is our day to bring him glory.

As we have been encouraged before, I bring it again to the forefront.  As we serve our Lord with all the faithfulness we can muster, it is good to remember that we walk in highly conspicuous places.

The glowing cross

by

0


Bob:  “That’s a great saying!  I’ll have to practice that one.”

Nancy:  “Oh I adore it!  We’ll have to use it in our evangelism  push this year.”

Drew:  “Absolutely!  Nobody in the world would take offense at that.  We start saying things like that and the entire world will realize we love them.”

Ben:  “Well I hate to be a stick in the mud, but I have to disagree with all of you.  Its sayings like that that turn the offense of the bloody cross into a pink warm fuzzy one.  A cross that glows at night so nobody gets scared of the dark.

We ought to be so different that we scare the socks off of people.  They hated our Lord why are we trying to make them love us? 

I just don’t get it.  I realize I don’t fit in here.”

Prayer

by

0


People, by majority, tend to avoid prayer.  To most, prayer is like those little hammers you can buy to smash out your window in case you drive into a lake.  In fact it is so like that little hammer, that most people can’t remember where they put it when they need it the most.  If they remember at all.

But prayer is not exclusively for men.  When you tell people they should pray, they think of themselves as ugly and unworthy therefore afraid of the Most High God.  And they equate God with a holy law they cannot and are not willing to fulfill.  They may say “okay” but they will not.

People think of prayer as something they are expected to do as a righteous ritual.  But prayer is not for us.  Prayer is for God.  He takes delight in seeing his creatures come to him.  So when we don’t pray we rob him of his joy.

I will make a fool of myself by giving this example.  I lay on my bed one day, feeling fully unworthy of his presence.  I spoke a few words to him but did not kneel before Him in prayer.

Then I sensed that familiar loving voice of the Lord Jesus.  “It is not right to keep what belongs to him.”

The understanding was immediately clear.  Humanly speaking, I was hurting God’s feelings.  I was busily robbing him of his joy.  With that understanding, it was very easy to get up and kneel in humility to give him praise and thanks.

When people refuse to pray, they are often correct about their guilt.  But the guilt will not dissipate unless we go to the one who can remove it.  He will remove it if we come to him in humility and earnest intent.

How do I know this?  Because Jesus willingly allowed himself to be murdered so that he may become the mercy of God.   He is the crown jewel in all God’s creation.  No one exalts trivia.  Rather, he gives glory to his greatest prize.  How much more does God?

If we are guilty of sin, that is one thing.  But to be guilty of non-belieg is an entirely different matter.  By refusing to believe we are counting God’s greatest prize as far less valuable.

God was deadly serious about offering his Son as the sacrifice for our sins.  He is deadly serious about how we receive that sacrifice.  (It is not possible to put that more strongly.)  Therefore he is deadly serious about saving us.  Therefore he is deadly serious about his desire to commune with his creation.

There is holy wrath waiting for those who refuse to believe.  But his generosity and mercy are even more potent for those who receive His gift. 

This is true.  It is a faultless saying.   Why then would anyone refuse to give God what is rightfully his?

With the promise of utter annihilation , and the promise of eternal embrace, how can anyone choose the former?  It is not logical.  It makes absolutely no sense.  God refers to such a choice as foolish.

His people, in this place, willingly testify that God is a beautiful loving Father.   Ask and they will tell you how much God loves them. 

(I can only hope that the man you think is a Christian, and approach to ask, is truly in love with God.  Beware, many masquerade by wearing the name.)

With even a summary view of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, you will get the picture of God in Jesus.  If you approach those books with humility, understanding will come.

There is no safety away from him.  But near him there is all safety and confidence, not to mention a clean conscience.  And by going to him we give him what is his. 

I had a dear old friend you once told me, “It is impossible to out give God.  He has a bigger shovel.”  If you give him what he wants, do you think he will not rightly give you what you need?

The word

by

0


The Word is life.  The Word is joy.  The Word is hope and help.  How should those who have received any portion of all that keep it to themselves?

We moan and groan at the display of wickedness among men.  Have we discharge our duty to share what we know?

The world hates God because it is blind.  A simple fearless word to them can begin the opening of the eyes.  But if we keep our mouths shut, can we truly say we see?  If we live in fear have we appropriated grace?

“To StayGo Please.”

by

0


A pair of In-N-Out cheeseburgers.

A pair of In-N-Out cheeseburgers. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Standing in line at a fast food place, a person considers what they want to eat.  When it is their turn to render their order they are asked if they want this order to go or to eat in.  For most of us this is a no brainer.  But I confess that sometimes I have to think it through.  “Do I have time to just sit here in the noise and prying eyes to eat this?”  I rarely sit at a table to eat.  Usually I brave the spilled drink and dripping catsup behind the wheel of my car.  Somehow the meal tastes better if I sit in the car (alone).

An object lesson is about to unfold here.

Christians go to the Lord to appropriate a certain peace from being near the Prince of Peace.  Much like ordering a meal, we encounter the Lord to gain what we don’t have.  We spend a few coins of faith and receive a bounty of peace on our plate.  With a good sized drink of hope, we walk away from the “counter” of prayer to live our lives.

There are three kinds of “eaters” in this parade of prayer.  There are those who will sit near the place of “order”, eat what they have been given, enjoy the company of others, soak in the ambiance of the place, then go out into the world to accomplish what that “meal” dictates is true and good.  They are in the presence of that “Great Cloud of Witnesses”.  And they love their company.

There are those who make the order “to go”.  They cast up words to the Lord just like you would order a meal at a fast food place.  Once they get what they wanted they grab the bag and head for the door.  They’re so busy that, even as they eat it, they hardly notice the flavor.  To them this meal of peace and hope is just a function of their busy lives.  Though they are fed, to them it’s just an ordinary meal.  Somehow they have missed the fellowship aspect of prayer.  And they’re not putting themselves in a position to encounter it.

Then we have a very curious group.  I suspect there are far more of this last group than the other two.  They ask and receive just like the others.   But they differ because they are a mix of  “stay and go”.  They order to stay.  So they get the tray and all its fixings.  They sit for a moment, take a bite and a sip.  Then they grab their stuff and head for the door.

These people know the place was prepared to give comfort and joy to those who purchase here.  They feel compelled to listen to the beautiful music.  They let their bodies enjoy the soft seats, clean tables, beautiful lighting, and the aroma of joy this place provides.  But they don’t feel worthy to remain.  It’s kind of like they don’t really belong here, yet they know they should.

They are caught between accepted and rejected.  And their lives are filled with a curious internal war.  They believe what the Lord has said regarding His forgiveness.  But they are so filled with sinful tendencies that they have a seriously hard time associating that promise to themselves.   Bottom line, it is a certain love for sin that causes this turmoil.  But there is a certain love for the things of the Lord too.  There’s no need to judge them.  They do that to themselves all day long.  And, in the end, God will determine their standing.  I sense it will go well for them.  But there are questions, aren’t there.

I would love to be of that first group.  I loathe being of the second.  Yet I sure enough find myself part of the third.  I guess we all encounter the Lord of Peace as we do.  We work hard on remaining in His presence while we eat what He provides.  And who knows, He might even come around the corner while we’re there and sit with us a while.  Those who leave stand no chance of that happening.  Perhaps this is what the third group is looking for.  “Maybe if I sit here I’ll catch a glimpse of He who provides.  Maybe He will smile at me.  Maybe He would even come and sit with me.  I’m just not absolutely sure He loves me.”  Isn’t this what goes through the mind of most Christians?

How good it would be if we all just sat to enjoy what He has provided.  But this isn’t the usual manner of faith in this world, is it.

Got Understanding?

by

0


"Pop Goes the Weasel" melody (Kliewe...

Image via Wikipedia

Who is the one who has been given understanding?  Perhaps you sleep a short sleep.  Perhaps your prayers are being heard even now.  Perhaps the day is consuming you as you serve the Living God.  Perhaps you are nearer to me than I presently know.  But who is the one who has been given understanding?

We all catch melodies as we mingle with this world.  A jingle sticks in the mind like a bur in wool.  Then we scrape against an experience and the bur leaves us.  We walk along grateful that the irritating melody is finally gone, only to encounter another.

I have had a melody ring in my heart for weeks now.  “I could have told you Vincent.  This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you.”  Where is the one who has been given understanding?   Are you able to divide truth from fiction regarding this?  Are you willing, because you have been given understanding, to shed light on this for me?

I find applications as the days go by.  But there is a “something” I can’t yet grasp regarding this melody.  And I know it as well as a grown person.  Perhaps the Lord is building something which will be revealed in a certain moment of time not yet arrived.  Perhaps this post is the engine which propels the answer to me.  But I ask again:  Where and who is the one who has been given understanding?