Friday, December 23, 2005

Whatever you do - Always Remember

Luke 2:7 (KJV) And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

Definition of manger - A trough or an open box in which feed for livestock is placed.

There was no room in the inn. He was laid in a trough in which feed for livestock is placed. He came into this world under very humble circumstances, and He died as a common criminal. He came into this world asking for nothing, and his last request was that those that condemned Him be forgiven. Yet, He would not have ascended had He not been resurrected. He would not have been resurrected had He not died. And He would not have died had He not been born.

May you have a blessed Christmas, remembering always that you can live eternally because of what He did for you.

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

The Trial

Let me share with all of my blogger friends an experience I had this week. At Sunday's service, our elder/pastor was led to put an amount of money into the offering. I chose by faith to stand with him on that amount, and gave my offering. I am truly of the belief that God really does not care about the amount, He cares about our obedience. Well, the very next day, Monday night, my neighbor comes to my house in the evening (he works second shift and does not get home until after 11:00) and informs me that all of the tires on my vehicles were flat. That's right, I said all the tires! So, of course I turn to my wife and tell her that it seems like each time we obey the Lord, the enemy does something to attempt to discourage us.

However, as I began to analyze this trial on a deeper level, I saw two wonderful things: 1) I did not get upset. Now some of you may think "What is wrong with him? I would be livid!" Well, I did not feel the anger that I may have felt in the past. But the second thing that the Lord showed me during this trial, which was probably the most important, was what I did not think or say. As I was talking to Him this morning, He brought to my attention that I did not even consider the issue of using the money that I gave as an offering. I did not think "I could have used that money that I gave Sunday to repair these tires." In times past, I know I would have given place to that thought. So, I began rejoicing and thanking Him that I know that I have matured in the area of responding appropriately!

God does not care about the outcome of a situation; He only cares about our response to the situation!

The Trial

Let me share with all of my blogger friends an experience I had this week. At Sunday's service, our elder/pastor was led to put an amount of money into the offering. I chose by faith to stand with him on that amount, and gave my offering. I am truly of the belief that God really does not care about the amount, He cares about our obedience. Well, the very next day, Monday night, my neighbor comes to my house in the evening (he works second shift and does not get home until after 11:00) and informs me that all of the tires on my vehicles were flat. That's right, I said all the tires! So, of course I turn to my wife and tell her that it seems like each time we obey the Lord, the enemy does something to attempt to discourage us.

However, as I began to analyze this trial on a deeper level, I saw two wonderful things: 1) I did not get upset. Now some of you may think "What is wrong with him? I would be livid!" Well, I did not feel the anger that I may have felt in the past. But the second thing that the Lord showed me during this trial, which was probably the most important, was what I did not think or say. As I was talking to Him this morning, He brought to my attention that I did not even consider the issue of using the money that I gave as an offering. I did not think "I could have used that money that I gave Sunday to repair these tires." In times past, I know I would have given place to that thought. So, I began rejoicing and thanking Him that I know that I have matured in the area of responding appropriately!

God does not care about the outcome of a situation; He only cares about our response to the situation!

Friday, December 02, 2005

Flowing with the music

I would like to share a wonderful experience that occurred almost two years ago.

Recently, I attended my daughter’s school concert, in which I learned a wonderful spiritual principle. During the performance, a student was highlighted on the xylophone. I could tell as they rolled out the rather large instrument that she was nervous, and it was immediately clear to me why she was nervous once she started playing. I was used to seeing only one set of bars on a xylophone; this one had two. And the tempo of the song was such that it required some fairly fast hands. As the song began, I could see the performer’s eyes locked in on those bars, and it was evident that she was concentrating as hard as she could in order to not miss a beat. And for a while, she appeared to be successful. Inevitably, however, she stumbled. What happened next was beautiful. As the band continued to play, she quickly gathered herself, and she began to be guided by the music. It was at that point that she and the band began to flow like water. Once she stopped concentrating and began to be guided by the music, she stopped worrying. At the conclusion, she received one of the longest ovations of the evening. I stood and applauded her accomplishment. The following day, as I began to reflect on the performance, God showed me the remarkable parallel between that performance and my life. Whenever I tried to concentrate on doing something good, inevitably, I stumbled. I was concentrating so much on trying to do the right thing, and do it perfectly, that I would consistently make a mistake. But once I chose to be guided by His Spirit, I would accomplish things with a remarkable ease. What was happening? When I was concentrating on the task, I moved God out of the equation. I had to do it well, so people would say what a good job I had done. The problem was that I was no longer a servant, because I wanted to be in control. It was no longer God accomplishing something through me, but me doing something for God or for myself. Once I released that desire, and once again became God’s servant, my concern was not how a task turned out, but that I was doing it according to His will. And, even when I thought that it may not have turned out well, others were impressed with the finished product. This was the lesson I learned that evening. I stay focused on how God wants to accomplish something through me, instead of me doing something for Him. This is the attitude of a servant.

Thursday, December 01, 2005

The Greatness of Grace

Rom 6:14 (KJV) For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

What is grace? If we reduce grace to simply unmerited favor, we have truly done a disservice to all that Christ did on the earth. Unmerited favor implies that I get the reward, no matter what. It is a selfish point of view. If I look at grace from a different dimension, I get a much more thorough definition. Grace is the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life. I suddenly see the purpose of grace in my life. It is for me, but it is for me so that God can accomplish something in the earth. Grace is now two parts. First, God must have an influence on my heart. Second, the influence is so powerful that it now reflects in my daily living. Sin had dominion over me before I accepted Christ, but now I am under grace, that divine influence. When sin had dominion over me, it reflected in my life. Now that Christ has influenced me, that influence is reflected in my life. I now understand that His influence is there for a purpose, that He may be glorified in the earth through my life. Unmerited favor simply keeps open the opportunity to sin, because I understand that if I fall short, then I have favor with Him, He forgives me, and I can get restored. “Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” This I the question that I must ask myself. If I continue in sin by saying I cannot help myself, has grace abounded in my life? Is His influence reflected in my life? Change the way you look at grace, and instantly your life is not your own, but a reflection of His influence, a reflection of His glory.