Yesterday I had the privilege of performing the marriage of a grandson. That is why a blog was not written yesterday.
One of the points I make to any couple who profess to know Jesus as their Savior, is that marriage was designed by God to be a direct reflection of Him. Since each of us are made in the “image” of God and carry His “likeness” (Genesis 1:26), He intended that we represent that image in every relationship we enter. The first relationship God introduced to Adam was a woman made from his rib, taken from his side (2:21-22. As marriage is a reflection of Christ and the Church (Ephesians 5:22-27), so man and woman in marriage reflect the unity and oneness found between Divine Persons. This is another reason God pronounced that “it is not good that man should be alone” (2:18). While we individually must live to represent Christ to the world, there is even a greater witness when we collective represent Him. It is good for us to ask ourselves if we are maintaining this outlook in our marriages and every other relationship. This is part of our highest calling as followers of Jesus. To fail in this responsibility is to fail our mission in this world.
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What does “sovereignty” mean? Perhaps we can gain some insight into this attribute of God by reading the words of Nebuchadnezzar:
“At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored Him who lives forever, for His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and He does according to His will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay His hand or say to Him, “What have you done?”” (Daniel 4:34–35). Is this your attitude toward God and what He does and allows in your life? Peter had more than one moment in his life when events shocked this seasoned fisherman. The first time was when Jesus was speaking to the crowds by the lake of Gennesaret, “And when He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking…when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord”” (Luke 5:4–8). Let’s move on to a second event several years later after the Holy Spirit came. Peter “went here and there…[and] came down also to the saints who lived in Lydda” (Acts 9:32). From there, he went to Caesarea and “the next day…Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. “He fell into a trance and saw the heavens open and something like a great sheet descending” (10:9, 11). “In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean”” (Acts 10:12–14). This time it was a sheet, not a net, but both events were outside Peter’s control. In the first event, Jesus told Peter that “from now on you will be catching men” (Luke 5:10). In the second event, Jesus told Peter; “What God has made clean, do not call common” (Acts 10:15). God put the fish into the net, and God put the creatures into the sheet. Make sure you allow God to choose those He wants you to disciple. They may not be the ones you thought should be in your net or sheet, but that is because you are His servant, not the Master. We live in a very visual world. Instant gratification is fed by things we see, whether food, clothing, cars, and of course, every new electronic gadget. The problem with all these things is that, while some are necessary, they are temporal. They last for a short time and then are gone.
Paul reminds us that “the things that are seen are transient [temporary, or lasting only a very short time], but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18b). How do we get this perspective when we are surrounded by what can be seen? Backing up one chapter, we see Paul giving us part of the answer to this question. “We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18). The change of perspective begins by changing our primary occupation. The more we fix our gaze on the glory of Jesus (Hebrews 12:2), the more we are “being transformed.” This will not happen all at once. It is a process that takes place as we continue to fill our spiritual vision with the person of Jesus. It is “from one degree of glory to another” as we persist in changing the direction of our eyes to what is “unseen.” What are you looking at? Things and people are temporal. The work of the Spirit in people is eternal. Set your heart on building them up in faith and obedience by doing it first in yourself. There is one more thing that will change when you make this adjustment. Your rewards will no longer be things, but Christ! There are a people I have met in my life time, and many more I know of, who are much worse off than I am, and they choose to rejoice in their circumstances. Some have the daily pressure of suffering or persecution; even the threat of death, yet their hearts are happy to be able to tell one more person about Jesus.
I have come to the conclusion that, while circumstances can make a difference to a degree, the real difference is in our hearts. If the heart is anchored in a strong, intimate relation in the Lord, then circumstance are only the canvas on which God paints a mural of His work for others to see. Israel was caught between two monarchies that were crushing the people of God; Assyria and Babylon. The Prophet Habakkuk wondered why God used a wicked nation to discipline His people. It seemed hopeless. The prophet learned that there was something mysterious about the ways of God he could not understand. Where does Habakkuk turn? Digest these verses for the answer. “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments” (Habakkuk 3:17–19). Will you join Habakkuk in this attitude? You will end up in worship no matter what you face. Twenty-one times in the Psalms, David and others write about waiting on God for Him to answer them. I have called it a discipline because for most of us, it is not easy to wait patiently. David has wise instruction when he says, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!” (37:7). This has to do with circumstances that are difficult because of other people. This is not the kind of waiting that I am concerned about in this blog. I am thinking more about the discipline of waiting on the Lord as He prepares you and me for His next assignment. Often in these periods of waiting we get impatient and try to hurry along God’s calendar. It has been said that God prepares His servants most often through extended periods of waiting that are designed by Him to sharpen our spiritual skills. This includes breaking our wills so we submit to His will. Often, we do not see our own character flaws, so it requires a longer period to mold our character through trials, testing and forced time with Him. Exceptional work is preceded by extended waiting! James reminds us to “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2–4). Are you waiting impatiently with anxiety, or with joy as you see God work in you, making you become “perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” for that next assignment? WAIT ON THE LORD! Twice Paul makes a statement about himself that we should carefully ponder. “For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God” (1 Corinthians 15:9). “To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8). If we consider this man’s calling to preach the gospel and to plant churches from Antioch to Rome, write thirteen letters that were placed in the Scriptures for our instruction, plus travel 17,760 kilometer or 11,081 miles in just over 10 years, his life is very impressive. In the face of all he accomplished, Paul takes a very humble position regarding himself. Paul even accepts “a thorn…in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited” (2 Corinthians 12:7). Are we willing to take that same path so that our preaching and ministry would become more effective, more fruitful, and more God glorifying? Charles R. Swindoll says, “Rather than racing into the limelight, we need to accept our role in the shadows. Don’t promote yourself. Don’t push yourself to the front. Don’t drop hints. Let God do that.” (Paul – A Man of Grace and Grit, Thomas Nelson, 2002, page 74). Each of us must take this matter seriously. I leave you with the admonition of Peter; “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you” (1 Peter 5:5–6). There are many examples in Scripture of persons God used and there was no one else with them as their support. It is more common that God puts two or more together so they can encourage and support each other. This is especially needed when there is a dangerous and weak spiritual condition among the people of God. A prime example of this was when God was going to bring the people of Israel out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land. Moses sent out twelve spies (one to represent each of the twelve tribes of Israel) to survey the land and prepare the people for entering the land God promised to Abraham (Numbers 13 – 14). Of the twelve spies, only two of them brought back a good report of the Promised Land to the people; Joshua and Caleb. Like so many situations, the crowd followed the majority and false reports rather than following the Word of God and His promise. In response to this, Caleb and Joshua “tore their clothed” (14:6, an act of repentance) and pleaded with the people to accept God’s way. Sadly, they refused and God pronounced judgment on the people and they all died in the wilderness, except, “Of those men who went to spy out the land, only Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive” (14:38). You may be in a spiritual situation where most are not interested in remaining true to the Word of God and His purpose and promises. God will give you a partner to walk with you. I know from many years in ministry that God provided a brother to walk with me in some very lonely conditions. He will do the same for you. The key to this is not looking for a partner. The key is making a commitment to the Lord to be faith. Then, He will provide. One of the things I often pray for is that God would lead us to eager and hungry hearts who want to discover what the word of God says. So many use a method of lecture to teach a subject, but the retention and understanding is much less with that method than it is when persons discover for themselves. The method we use in training creates in persons a desire to learn because they are discovering, often for the first time, what God’s Word says about a subject.
Here is a testimony from Myanmar that we just received. It gives a great insight into hearts there. “It is exciting to train in the Word of God using with GPHD and GPHC. The training was held with 38 people were taking the course under the temperature of 43`C (109 F) for two days. They came from 8 different churches. Some came by bicycling for an hour. The farthest one came from the mountains and traveled over night to come here in Kalaymyo (Kale). The people are wonderful. They are so hungry for the Word of God, and when they study, they study deeply. They have agreed to meet again in August 2019.” This reminds me of Luke’s comment regarding the Bereans; “Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:11). Let’s promote this attitude, first in ourselves, and then in others. |
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