Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works

The good old King James version of this verse from Hebrews 10:24 talks about provoking one another to love and good works. I see a lot of provocation, but it’s not always the right kind! I have been stirred up, even thrilled this morning however, by hearing some of the things that the church is doing on the west coast of Newfoundland.

In particular, a friend of mine has been telling me of a full weekend of activities the local church put on to show appreciation for, and to honour the first responders in the local community. We are talking about the fireman, the paramedics and the RNC and RCMP. Many times these are thankless jobs, and to say that the job is not easy, is a massive understatement. For example, being the first to arrive at the scene of an accident can be extremely traumatic, and can result in burnout and even PTSD.

I am grateful therefore, for this example of the church in action, doing what it is supposed to do, being salt and light in the community. We need to do more of this sort of thing, but we need His help and His wisdom to know what to do and to know how to do it the right way. And then we need to get up off our rear ends and do it!

Father, I thank You this morning for this initiative of the of the church on the West Coast. Thank You Lord for the love and good works being displayed here. And I pray this morning, that this example may indeed provoke us here in the “big” city, to bring us out of our defensive postures, and to start to show love and appreciation where, as with the first responders, it is so richly deserved. In Jesus name Amen

The LORD is with you, mighty warrior

The context of this quote from Judges 6:12, is of the angel of the Lord coming to Gideon while he was thrashing wheat in the winepress. The Midianites had wrought havoc with Israel, destroying the wheat, and slaughtering the livestock etc., etc. And here was Gideon threshing wheat in the winepress for fear of the Midianites. Now the point of threshing wheat, it is to separate the wheat from the chaff, so that the wind can blow it away. And that does not work in a winepress!

The angel of the Lord tells Gideon that The Lord is with him, calls him “mighty warrior,” and tells him that he will save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Gideon’s response is essentially the claim that he is unqualified, that his clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and that he the least in his father’s house. In other words find somebody else!

Many people I know fear that the Lord is all about calling us out, you know pointing out our faults and condemning us. The truth however, is that the Lord wants to call us up. He sees Gideon’s potential, and He calls him with His help and strength to fulfill it. In the same way, He calls Christians "His saints." This is not necessarily because we are saint like, but He calls us up into our calling, part of which is to be saintly.

Father, thank You that You give us salvation as a gift, and after we have received it You call us saints. And then, having given us the assurance of your acceptance, You call us up into the high calling with which You have called us. We need Your help, but with Your help we like Gideon, can rise to the fullness of our potential. And I know that this is what will give life meaning, and bring satisfaction and fullness of life. Help us Lord to respond to Your amazing call. And we will give You all the honour, all the glory and all the praise in Jesus Name Amen

For me to live is Christ to die is gain

I seem to have to assure people whenever I talk about this verse from Philippians 1:21, that I am not suicidal. The point though, is that I have caught enough glimpses of heaven, that at some level, I am homesick to go to my eternal home. When I was going through treatment for the aggressive prostrate cancer I was diagnosed with, a friend of mine said to me “You’re not afraid to die are you!” And I’m not! I don’t want it to be painful though, and I have put in my request accordingly.

But I feel very much like Paul (the author of Philippians) on two accounts. First of all for me life is all about living for Him. I’m not saying I do this perfectly, and I’m not saying that I don’t find life hard at times, because I do. But I have walked with Him for well over 40 years, and I know that life in Him works, whereas at least for me, fullness of life is found only in Hm (John 10:10b).

The second area where I feel like Paul, concerns his telling us that he did not feel that his ministry to others was done (verses 25 and 26). There there are two things here, the first concerns the needs of others for ministry. The second, at least for me, is that there is great satisfaction and joy in helping others come into their full potential. I am not saying I have fully achieved this myself (Philippians 3:13,14), but this is my calling, and I find it both exciting and frustrating.

Father, I thank You for the joy and peace you give me as I choose to trust You on a daily basis. Life is not without pain, but life is good. There are times though that I long for You to take me home, there are so many things that grieve me down here. But like Paul back then, I am not sensing that the work that You have for me to do (Ephesians 2:10) is done. And I know that You will continue to give me all that I need to be able to say “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” In Jesus Name Amen

Be angry and sin not

I was feeling bad yesterday, because I got very loud in seeking to mediate between two people who had no intention of being reconciled. I mean I am well aware, that the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God (James 1:20). On the other hand, the Scripture it tells us to be angry and sin not (Ephesians 4:26). Well I was angry, and in the past I belonged to the type of fellowship that equates being loud with sin. So it took me some time to work through my issue of getting very loud, and to decide if I needed to confess, or to rest in peace.

I am well aware, of the propensity in all of us to rationalize our behaviour. Not only this, but I am also aware of the tendency to think we are 100% right, and the other person 100% wrong. That was certainly happening with the other two people, but I also needed to admit my own tendencies in this regard. So I took it to the Lord.

And I needed to ask myself, at what point did I get loud. Well, this was not the only time I was loud, but the point that immediately came to mind, was the time the two of them were shouting at each other, and I shouted even louder for them to shut up. Based only on these facts, which may not be all the facts, what do you think? In other words, treat the question as hypothetical.

Father, thank You for the balance of Your Word. Thank You that it shows us clearly that it is possible to be angry and not to sin, but also that it can be wrong. In fact Jesus was angry on a number of occasions (i.e. John 2:15; Mark 3:5). Thank You too Lord, that when we need to sort issues like this through, You can be relied upon to show us the truth (James 1:5). And even if we sin, then after we have confessed and made restitution where necessary, then we can also rest in peace. And I pray this morning Lord, that this post will help others to work through their own issues with anger in Jesus Name Amen

Don't worry about tomorrow … Each day has enough trouble of its own

Nobody had to teach me how to worry, it came very, very naturally! I mean there’s so much to worry about, the kids, the house, relationships, finance, about the future, about the state of the world, about terrorism, about where it’s all going to end etc., etc. But Worry is destructive. We can’t be at peace if we are worrying. We can’t have joy if we are worrying, and we are likely to be irritable and short tempered. And most of us have been there! I certainly have!

So no, nobody had to teach me how to worry, and in fact worry seems to be the default! But worry is faith in a negative future, and in this message from Matthew 6:34, Jesus is teaching us to put our faith in God. In verse 26 he tells us to look at the birds of the air, which neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns yet are fed by our heavenly Father. Then He asks “Are you not of more value than they?” Clearly we are (John 3:16)!

If you have watched little children in loving families, you will notice that there are joyful, and worry free. In fact they are free period. And we are called to be little children of our heavenly Father, and we need to choose to trust in Him. And what helps me this morning to do just that, is to remember His faithfulness in the past, His faithfulness, as I chose to trust Him. Certainly there are things yet to be resolved, but knowing that He has already helped me to resolved many things, helps me to trust Him today. And I know by faith, that on that day I will be able to say to Him “You have done all things well” (Mark 7:37).

Father, forgive me for the times I have allowed worry to rob me of my peace and joy. I choose to come to You again this morning trusting that You are in control, and that You will give me what I need to say or do at the time things need to be dealt with, but not before (Luke 12:11)! Thank you Lord that as I continue to remember Your faithfulness, and to choose to trust You in these ways, You are strengthening my faith, and this helps me to trust You for the next time, even for what I know is coming today! I give You praise and glory again this morning Lord, in Jesus Name Amen

No trial, no test, no temptation … God unable to deliver

Stuff happens! In 1 Corinthians 10:13, of which the above it is a partial Phil paraphrase, Paul talks about what God allows. And if I were God, then I would not have allowed what happened to a number of people I love, but then I’m not God. You may have noticed :-). So one of the questions I will ask Him when I get to heaven is why He has allowed some of the things that He has allowed. In the meantime I once again choose to trust Him.

Some of the translations of this verse talk about temptation, others about testing. This is because the Greek word thus translated, includes both temptation and testing. And the verse promises that God will not allow us to be tempted or tested above our ability to endure, but will with the trial or temptation, provide the way out, that we may be able to bear or endure it. And sometimes the provision for the way out, is the grace He gives in order to push through to victory! After all, this is what our forerunner did for us (Hebrews 12:2).

And I want to tell you this morning, of the joy and pride I feel when I see the determination in His saints to push through and obtain the grace He gives to stand. You see though I do not fully understand, I do know that God uses what He allows. In particular He uses the attacks of the enemy to take us higher, and deeper and further into his extravagant healing love and embrace.

Father, Your Word tells us to provoke one another to love and good works (Hebrews 10:24). And I thank You this morning for those of Your saints who challenge my life in this way. Father, thank You that You Yourself provoke such love and determination by Your own amazing example of extravagant sacrificial love. I ask You this morning Lord to lift us out of the ash heap, to establish our steps, to put a song of praise in our mouths, so that many may see and fear and put their trust in You (Psalm 40:1–3). In Jesus Name Amen

Those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires

I am being convicted this morning of overreacting to what in the broader view of things, are small irritations. And as I took this to the Lord He was showing me that what lies behind this, is that I am still acting out of childhood woundings. I have come to realize, that we all operate out of our woundedness. If we don’t feel safe for example, then we may feel the need to control our environment, which of course includes trying to control others.

But if we are operating in this way, we likely cannot tell ourselves that we are controlling. So what tends to happen is that we blame others for how we are feeling. And if there is nothing significant to blame them for, then we will likely blow up some small thing out of all proportion to the “sin.” What I am trying to say is that there are times when we are likely to find ourselves being picked at, over things that in the normal course of events would simply be overlooked.

And what I felt the Lord was showing me this morning, was that I I have this tendency to overreact to being picked at. And this is a problem, since it tends to happen all the time! In addition, I realized this morning that I am still irritated at something that took place over Christmas. Now I know that the way to deal with this, is to be calm, forgiving, loving, understanding and to overlook the offence. So why am I finding it so hard? Well the Lord is using these things to show me that what underlies this difficulty is that I am still acting out of the wounding I received from constantly being picked at in childhood. There are three things need to happen here, the first is that I need to forgive again the perpetrators of this childhood wounding. The second is that I need to confess my faults, and the third is that I need to ask the Lord to crucify, to put to death, my overreactions.

Father, after all that You have forgiven me for, how can I not forgive others? So I choose again this morning to forgive those who have wounded me. I claim the promise that when I confess my faults I will be healed (James 5:16), and I ask You to put to death my overreactive responses which is in essence are responses of the flesh, of the sinful nature (Galatians 5:24)! I want them gone Lord,because I know that they interferes with my ability to minister effectively to others. Thank you Lord for Your ongoing forgiveness, cleansing and healing in Jesus Name Amen