6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. [Colossians 2:6-7]
Once again we are coming upon the Thanksgiving holiday here in the U.S.A. I love the holidays! Thanksgiving for some is a day of remembrance; remembering all that God has done for us. Remembering how blessed we are. For many it is the only time of year they ever give God a second thought and yet for others, they never even acknowledge Him on that day. For many the prayer around the dinner table will be nothing more than a ritual.
The Apostle puts thanksgiving into perspective for us from Gods point of view. For the Christian every day should be thanksgiving. Our life, our daily walk with Him, should reflect how thankful we are for what Jesus has done for us. If we are really thankful then we will do more than just say we are. We will learn more about Him, become better servants of Him, and trust Him more each day. That He may know we are truly thankful for what He has done for us. Let us not only tell Him how thankful we are but let’s show Him!
Monday, November 22, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Life 101: The Seasons
To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: (Ecclesiastes 3:1 NKJV)
King Solomon was a very wise man. His wisdom came as a gift from God that he may govern the people of Israel justly. He was also street smart, gaining this knowledge from trial and error! After having everything he wanted and doing everything he wanted to do he finally concluded that the only thing that really matters in life is to “Fear God and keep His commandments.”
His introduction to his testimony of experiencing Life 101 gives us insight and foreknowledge of what we can expect in what some may consider a mundane life while yet others seem to be having the time of their lives. It all depends on what season you are in. Not the earthly seasons but our personal times of life. Age can be a factor as we grow older. It seems the older I get the more I begin to appreciate things I used to take for granted!
These seasons that the Bible talks about here, I believe, are the times in our life that we experience all the things Solomon lists in verses two through eight. He starts with being born and ends with peace! All the other stuff in between is what life consists of. The lesson I get from this passage is that whatever I may be going through right now, it is just a season. I have had seasons of sorrow and of happiness, just as Solomon wrote about. I have also learned, as Solomon did, that God is the key to peace in all the seasons! Solomon found out the hard way that peace can only come from God; trying to find it in anything else is vanity; a waste of time.
Jesus is not called the Prince of Peace for nothing! So whatever season you are in right now, enjoyable or not so enjoyable, let Christ bring peace into it.
King Solomon was a very wise man. His wisdom came as a gift from God that he may govern the people of Israel justly. He was also street smart, gaining this knowledge from trial and error! After having everything he wanted and doing everything he wanted to do he finally concluded that the only thing that really matters in life is to “Fear God and keep His commandments.”
His introduction to his testimony of experiencing Life 101 gives us insight and foreknowledge of what we can expect in what some may consider a mundane life while yet others seem to be having the time of their lives. It all depends on what season you are in. Not the earthly seasons but our personal times of life. Age can be a factor as we grow older. It seems the older I get the more I begin to appreciate things I used to take for granted!
These seasons that the Bible talks about here, I believe, are the times in our life that we experience all the things Solomon lists in verses two through eight. He starts with being born and ends with peace! All the other stuff in between is what life consists of. The lesson I get from this passage is that whatever I may be going through right now, it is just a season. I have had seasons of sorrow and of happiness, just as Solomon wrote about. I have also learned, as Solomon did, that God is the key to peace in all the seasons! Solomon found out the hard way that peace can only come from God; trying to find it in anything else is vanity; a waste of time.
Jesus is not called the Prince of Peace for nothing! So whatever season you are in right now, enjoyable or not so enjoyable, let Christ bring peace into it.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Tell Them Anyway.
Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe. (Acts 28:24 NKJV)
My wife and I were in a fast food joint when our twins were about three years old. She was keeping them corralled why I was heading to the counter to order. “You guys sit here and be good, I will be right back with your stuff,” I told them. An older gent was seated right behind us. As I passed by he said, “Son, you know you are telling those boys to do something they are not going to do,” and he laughed. “I know,” I said, “But I want them to hear it anyway!”
Sometimes I can hear his words still echoing in the far back of my mind when I come out of the pulpit. The first sermon I ever preached I expected the people to run to the altar and cry out to God saying, “O Lord, please forgive us and save us!” It never happened though. If there is any discouragement in preaching or witnessing it is the same as Paul faced in Rome. Although many never believed him, he never let that discourage him. We can learn from his experience. We witness, preach, and testify for those who will be convinced by our message and respond to it. As for the rest of them, well, they need to hear it anyway.
My wife and I were in a fast food joint when our twins were about three years old. She was keeping them corralled why I was heading to the counter to order. “You guys sit here and be good, I will be right back with your stuff,” I told them. An older gent was seated right behind us. As I passed by he said, “Son, you know you are telling those boys to do something they are not going to do,” and he laughed. “I know,” I said, “But I want them to hear it anyway!”
Sometimes I can hear his words still echoing in the far back of my mind when I come out of the pulpit. The first sermon I ever preached I expected the people to run to the altar and cry out to God saying, “O Lord, please forgive us and save us!” It never happened though. If there is any discouragement in preaching or witnessing it is the same as Paul faced in Rome. Although many never believed him, he never let that discourage him. We can learn from his experience. We witness, preach, and testify for those who will be convinced by our message and respond to it. As for the rest of them, well, they need to hear it anyway.
Monday, November 1, 2010
The Holy Nation must vote!
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; (1 Peter 2:9 NKJV)
Election Day 2010 is upon us and tomorrow millions will be heading out to the polls to vote for the person they are hoping that will help the Country and in return, help them in some way.
“Are you a Democrat or a Republican,” a friend once asked me. I told him that I was neither; but that I was a Christian. As Christians we are a part of the Holy Nation that St. Peter writes about here. We do not have a political party that elects candidates to represent us, we are governed by a Sovereign King and His name is Jesus! We are to represent Him! You and I are blessed in that God has placed us in this great Nation in which we live and we have a responsibility as good citizens of this Nation to cast our vote tomorrow. Men and women have fought and sacrificed their lives for our right to vote. When we fail to exercise that right that makes what they did for us all in vain. Check out the candidates and cast your vote for the one that you feel represents you and your values. Jesus expects us to vote if given the right, He said Himself: “Give to Caesar what is his, and give to God what is His.”
Election Day 2010 is upon us and tomorrow millions will be heading out to the polls to vote for the person they are hoping that will help the Country and in return, help them in some way.
“Are you a Democrat or a Republican,” a friend once asked me. I told him that I was neither; but that I was a Christian. As Christians we are a part of the Holy Nation that St. Peter writes about here. We do not have a political party that elects candidates to represent us, we are governed by a Sovereign King and His name is Jesus! We are to represent Him! You and I are blessed in that God has placed us in this great Nation in which we live and we have a responsibility as good citizens of this Nation to cast our vote tomorrow. Men and women have fought and sacrificed their lives for our right to vote. When we fail to exercise that right that makes what they did for us all in vain. Check out the candidates and cast your vote for the one that you feel represents you and your values. Jesus expects us to vote if given the right, He said Himself: “Give to Caesar what is his, and give to God what is His.”
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