Store Up For Yourselves

            One of the lessons that my mother drilled into me while I was growing up was the importance of sharing with others.  Many of the television shows that were designed for children also taught the same thing, so I naturally came to realize that it was always the right thing to do. 

            So you might understand why I grew up having a problem with Jesus’ parable about the Ten Virgins (Maidens).  This story has a group of young ladies who were unwilling to share with others.  And Jesus seemed to be sanctioning their behavior.  After all, they were the ones allowed inside while those they refused to share with were left out in the cold.

            As I continued to read and listen to lessons about this parable, the more it dawned on me why Jesus spoke as He did.  Jesus was encouraging His followers to be ready for His return.  When we remember this, the other details fall into place and make a lot more sense.

            All of us must work hard every day to stay on track with Jesus, and there are some things needed to accomplish this task that are just impossible to share with others.  For example: your faith.  Faith is the building block (the foundation) of your relationship with God.  You can tell others about your faith, but you cannot give them the faith they need to follow Jesus.  Faith is something each of us must acquire in our own lives as we encourage each other to do the same.

            Another example is peace of mind.  Our conversion to Christ provides us with the tools required to attain contentment in life, but it is something we must build on our own.  No one can give this quality to someone else.  And so it goes with all of the virtues listed as the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23): these are blessings that we must build into our lives, but are impossible to give to or receive from others.

            And all of these needed, yet un-sharable characteristics are what Jesus was alluding to by using the symbol of the “oil” for the girl’s lamps.  When we face God / Jesus on the last day, our lamps (Christian example / lifestyle) must be burning brightly with the oil that God has helped us accumulate in this life. 

            With this in mind, then, are you ready for His return?  Is your lamp burning brightly or is it ready to burn out?  If you’re depending on others to bail you out, you will be disappointed, just as the foolish girls were.  Work every day from now on and spend as much time with God’s people as possible in order to receive the encouragement needed to be ready and to stay ready.

Doug

A Perfect Reflection

     Mirrors are interesting things.  They are totally honest.  They show you what you truly look like.  Whether or not that is a bad thing is up to your interpretation of what you see.  But the result is not up to the mirror.  Its job is to reflect back the object that is directly in front of it.

     Maybe this is what God was trying to express to us in the words of Paul:

     “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”                                           

(2 Corinthians 3:18)

     In a sense, then, we are to be spiritual mirrors.  We are to reflect the glory of God to those around us every day.  Therefore, it is important for us to portray an honest picture of Him.  It is mandatory that we show others what He is truly like.  And remember that it isn’t our job to force an impression of Him on others.  We will tell others about Him and why we follow Him.  But it will be up to them to form their own faith in Him.  And they are very likely to base that upon our reflection.

     Thankfully, we don’t have to come up with the power or energy to bring this about all by ourselves. The strength to succeed at this spiritual reflecting is provided through the action of God’s Spirit that dwells inside every Christian. This is God’s doing – on our behalf. The truth of this should impress on every mind what an important task each of us commits to when we (1) put Christ on in baptism to have our sins remitted and (2) receive the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide us in the process of being less like the world and more like Christ. The longer we strive with God to follow the lead of His Spirit, the more confidence we have. And with the increase of confidence in Christ comes the natural result of reflecting His true character to those around us.

     So, what kind of Jesus do other people see being reflected in you; one that gives Him leftovers or one who gives Him everything?  Does it show a committed soldier or a timid critic?  Does your gospel have the power to save or is it based on arguments that divide?  Do others see you being transformed into His likeness or trying to live in two different worlds?  Are you showing His glory or trying to gain glory for yourself?

     Your reflection of Jesus will be obvious to everyone.  You cannot hide how you really believe.  Make the changes you need to soon in order to help your friends and family see the real Jesus - the one living in you.

Doug

The Number One Evil

     All of Paul’s letters to churches and individuals were designed to combat certain problems that first century Christians were facing.  Though each case had a different set of circumstances surrounding it, all of the issues had the possibility of creating what can be considered the number one evil for the church.  Division - Satan’s favorite weapon against God.  It is the devil’s best strategy because if he can divide us, he can (and does) defeat us.

     The church was designed to provide us with much needed fellowship.  This is, in fact, the earmark of the church.  Division destroys the fundamental purpose of the church.

     When Christians are divided and no longer in fellowship, our worship suffers because we cannot focus on the Father.  Our faith suffers because we are too busy defending our cause and trying to defeat one another.  Our influence in the community falters because we are unable to show others the mark of Christianity (love for one another - John 13:35).

     So how can we avoid division?  Well, it really depends on each one of us being committed to the following: 

     1.  You must decide to do whatever possible to keep division from happening.

     2.  You must remain focused on Christ.

     3.  You must study the Scriptures and use them for all matters of doctrine.

     4.  You must be willing to allow others freedom of opinion on issues not clearly taught in the Bible.

     5.  You must accept that not everyone is on the same level of understanding and faith that you are.

     6.  You must take every opportunity to improve your relationship with each person.

     If you wait for others to do these things, division is sure to happen.  If you expect others to do these things, division has already happened.  The best way to avoid the number one evil, is to do whatever you can to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:3).

Doug

Rely On God

            “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia.  We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.  Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death.  But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.  He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us.  On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us.” 2 Corinthians 1:8-10

            Paul doesn’t tell us what the peril was that he and his comrades thought would bring about their deaths.  One thing we do know, though, he considered it so life-threatening that he felt as if God had raised him from the dead.  To be alive and tell of this incident was proof that God had carried them through an impossible ordeal.

            Indeed, there were many incidents like this in the life of the apostle Paul.  So many, in fact, that just reading about them impresses me with the amount of faith this man possessed.  No human could endure the hardships that Paul was put through and keep going unless someone with divine power were alongside of him directing his path. 

            And this is exactly what Jesus promised just before He ascended into heaven.  The closing words of Matthew’s gospel are to bolster our faith in God’s desire and ability to secure our lives.  “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  There it is!  The ultimate fulfillment of the name Immanuel (God With Us).  The Holy Spirit whom Jesus sends to all who are cleansed by His blood, is God with us (right inside of us) to guide us through life and back to God, the Father. Paul trusted in this divine decree and lived his life in full assurance that God would definitely rescue him in the end (2 Timothy 1:12).

            We all have this same promise from Jesus today.  Those of us who have put on Christ (Galatians 3:27) and continue to walk in His light (1 John 1:7) can receive comfort to know that He has guaranteed us safe passage into eternal life.  No matter what happens in this life, no matter how perilous or life-threatening, God’s children have a new home awaiting them.  What it will take to believe this and act accordingly, though, is our commitment to allow God to lead direct our paths.  Then we will have the courage and foresight to rely on Him to help us get through anything.

Doug

I’m Thankful For . . .

     The Bible is full of passages encouraging God’s people to be thankful for the benefits of being among His family.  The reason for this, as I see it, is that thankfulness produces loving service.  Jesus claimed this as His purpose (Mark 10:45) and our gratitude leads us to imitate Him in this way.

     Yet I know so many that have been distracted by Satan to focus mainly on their problems and frustrations.  Their thankfulness and gratitude have taken a back seat and they are unable to truly consider anything to be thankful for.

     To help you, I would like to offer you a list of blessings that I think of whenever I get discouraged.  I strive to be thankful for them so that I can keep from falling prey to Satan’s discouraging ways.

I’m Thankful for . . .

     My Salvation in Jesus Christ:

            that I am justified from sin;

            that I am being sanctified through God’s Spirit;

            that I am a child of God.

     The Countless Blessings of life:

            for my wife, children and extended family;

            for my health (it can always be worse);

            for a loving spiritual family - the church;

     God’s Constant Care:

            He takes care of my emotional needs;

            He takes care of my spiritual needs;

            He sees to my physical needs.

            And He gives me more than I need in all of these areas.

     My Future Home:

            that I am a citizen of Heaven;

            that Jesus has prepared a place for me;

            that I am an heir of God’s promises.

     I could go on and on.  But I find that when I get to this point in my list, most of my fears and doubts disappear.  It is truly helpful to follow the advice in a popular hymn that we all sing:  “Count your blessings, name them one by one; count your many blessings, see what God has done.  

     And it also helps to remember a good piece of advice I was given long ago:

            “It’s not happy people who are thankful;

            It is thankful people who are happy.”

Doug

God Will Fight For Us

            One of the most difficult things to learn about faith is that it is NOT easy. Being willing to believe, trust and act according to a Being that can’t be sensed takes a tremendous amount of courage and resolve – mainly because we may be called to do what has never been done (or thought of) before.  That’s why the great heroes of the faith (Hebrews 11) were so blessed.  They were willing to allow God to use them to do unheard-of things.

            One excellent example of difficult faith is found in 2 Chronicles 20.  King Jehoshaphat and the nation of Judah were facing a dire crisis.  An enemy army was on their doorstep before they could mount a legitimate defense against them.  With their backs to the wall and completely out of viable options, the king did something extraordinary – he went to God in prayer.  It may not seem to have been the correct war strategy from a human standpoint: after all the lives of thousands upon thousands were in his hands right then.  Yet God brought them success because this action showed true faith:

                        The king’s prayer claimed YHWH as their God (6, 7, 12);

                        He expressed their inability to succeed without His help (12);

                        He admitted that they had no idea what to do (12);

                        And Israel submitted to accepting whatever outcome God decided upon (12).

            The real faith issue came in responding to God’s answer (14-17).  First of all His reply came through a prophet.  God said (I’m paraphrasing), “This isn’t your fight; you won’t have to do anything; let me take care of it.”  Could this message really be true?  But since there was no time to make sure whether or not this guy was telling the truth or just making it up, they had to follow through on what he said.

            Also, their faith had to believe that when they marched out to where the enemy was encamped God would indeed do all of the fighting.  “I don’t have to do any fighting?  God will fight this battle?”  Their courage was evident in that they did march out.  The difficulty of their faith showed in the fact that they were singing and worshiping all the way to the front.  And they really didn’t have to fight.  As it turned out, all they had to do was to watch God work, mop up after the enemy finished killing themselves, and proclaim God’s glory when they returned home.

            If God has ever proved anything to us humans all throughout history it has to be that He will indeed fight for us.  When we claim Him as our own, His Spirit keeps us in His care. When we tap into His power to persevere, His Spirit provides the strength we need to get through any challenge. When we follow His guidelines toward the goal and keep our eyes fixed on Christ, then there is no way we can fail (Rom. 8:31-39).

Doug

When It Seems Impossible

          Many of the miracles recorded in the Bible came at a time when an answer from God was thought to be impossible.  Just when things appeared to be hopeless, God stepped in and provided what was needed.  Time and time again, His providence and care arrived just when those involved deemed a solution to be improbable.

          When it looked like everybody was just too sinful, God saved Noah’s family in an ark.  When it appeared there would be no heir to Abraham’s estate, Sarah became pregnant.  When the Israelites saw no way of escape from the Egyptians, the Red Sea parted.  When their throats became dry in the wilderness, water poured from a rock.  Gideon and a motley band of 300 unarmed regulars stood and watched a vast army kill one another trying to flee from them.  A widow thought she was going to eat one last meal and then die until Elijah showed up and extended her meager rations.  And who will forget the defeated attitude of eleven disciples who thought Satan had won a great victory until the resurrected Jesus stood in their presence celebrating with them?

          What we should learn from these lessons is that God does His best work when we think a given situation is totally impossible.  His track record on coming through at the most unlikely time is perfect.  He does this because these are the times when we have to recognize that He brought about the victory – we were powerless and clueless to do anything.

          So when you have to go on without a certain loved one, remember the One who has promised never to leave your side.  When you’re called upon to face an uncertain trial, allow God (and His people) to encourage you to persevere.  When you don’t know how a situation will ever turn out in your favor, trust God who enjoys doing “impossible” things to show up right on time and provide you with another proof of His love, kindness, mercy and care.

Doug