WHAT GOD HAS DONE

“Give praise to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.” - 1 Chronicles 16:8

          What has the Lord done for you? Do you even know? There are the obvious things that I will get into in a moment, but frankly, there are some things orchestrated by God that take place in our lives that we experience, never realizing His hand was in it. We are called to make His mighty deeds known far and wide. That doesn’t mean we are supposed to fly around the world extolling the virtues and deeds of our God any more than “pray without ceasing” (I Thessalonians 5:17) means we are to never, ever stop praying … as in 24/7, 365 days of the year without stopping. We are simply to testify of His mighty deeds and glorious mercy when called upon or when an opportunity presents itself. We are to lift up the name of Jesus continually and call on Him when necessary.

          So let’s take a look at what God has done for us. He has made himself accessible to the masses by virtue of the veil separating the Holy of Holies from the Most Holy Place in the Temple being torn from top to bottom. This symbolizes the fact that God opened access to Himself for all people. No longer did they have to meet with God via the High Priest. The veil was “40 cubits (60 feet) long, and 20 (30 feet) wide, of the thickness of the palm of the hand”.* It reportedly took 300 priests to put it in place so no mortal man tore it in half; especially not top to bottom.

          God allowed gentiles to be grafted into the family due to the Jews rejection of Christ (Romans 17:7). We can assume gentiles were the ones grafted in since it is said to Roman gentiles by Paul in his letter to them. So all had access to the forgiveness God freely gave. God provided a payment for our sins in the form of Jesus Christ, His only Son. Without acceptance of Christ there is no forgiveness and therefore we must pay for our sins ourselves, which we are unable to do. God also provides to those who have entered in: His grace, mercy, peace, joy, contentment, fulfillment, and so much more. Scripture says “eye has not seen, nor ear heard that which the Father has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).

           We have much to be grateful for. God has saved us and all He asks in return is our unflagging obedience and our unending praise. In the words of the old WHO classic: “I call that a bargain … the best I ever had.”

Walk with the King today and be a blessing!!


* Alfred Edersheim; The Life & Times of Jesus the Messiah; Hendrickson Publishers; 1993.

THE MESSAGE OF CHRIST

“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.” - Colossians 3:16

 

          I would like to highlight two words from this verse of scripture; message and gratitude. What is the message of Christ? From a layman’s perspective it is the following: it is peace, forgiveness, love, mercy, grace and hope. It is much more than that, but those are some of the key elements of Christ’s message. He came in love and peace and administered them liberally to all He came in contact with. He showed mercy and grace to all He encountered. He dispensed forgiveness to those who sought Him out and as a result of that forgiveness gave each one hope. This message is to resonate throughout our homes, our churches, our communities, our regions and our world. It does in small measure, but it can be more than it is.

          In this verse the word ‘as’ implies that we are going to actively do two things: 1) teach and 2) warn or reprimand one another with scripture. This is what we use our Sunday school classes for. We also spend time in Bible Studies doing that same thing. It is in recognition of the wisdom and value we find in the Bible itself. We are to learn from its’ pages. We are to do as it says. Why else would it be given to us? Some say it cannot be trusted because of the potential for improper interpretation. I say I have found no one as trustworthy or believable as Almighty God and I have chosen to trust Him and the bible as His word rather than find reasons not to.

          We should have unbridled joy and gratitude in our hearts for all God has done for us as genuine believers. If we truly have a relationship with Him we should embrace our calling as His ambassador. Gratitude doesn’t simply mean to be thankful, it means “to be ready to show appreciation and return kindness”.* It’s usually pretty simple to say ‘thank you’, but to be ready to return the kindness, that is another story. It requires deep appreciation and a willing heart. It requires us to step out of ourselves and our self-made comfort zones and reach out. God didn’t have to say and do all that He did. It was for our benefit, not His. So let us allow the message of Christ to permeate our souls so that we may live our lives with true and abiding gratitude in our hearts. Let this motivate us to live our lives for His glory and not our own.

WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!!

* www.oxforddictionaries.com

RUNNING THE RACE

“… let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” – Hebrews12:1b-3

 

          Perseverance … a certain ‘stick-to-it’ attitude; a ‘never give up’ type of stance. To fix your eyes on Jesus is to look straight ahead, to look at what lies directly before you. We are to look to Jesus, who is standing directly in front of us. Our faith is in Christ; our faith is in God. They are one in the same.

          It is unbelievable to me that Jesus considered it pure joy to go to the cross. I am assuming it was because He knew what that one single act of selflessness would do. He knew that the bloody beating He took would be for our benefit. That is an understatement. The brutal suffering Christ was made to endure was done willingly. He took each lash to His back knowing we wouldn’t have to. Oh don’t kid yourself, He felt the pain. Christ was wholly God and wholly human. He felt each sharp pain just as we would have. Those who needed Him most cast Him aside to be crucified. Crucifixion was reserved for criminals of which Christ was not. We deserved the punishment and the pain. We did; not Him. He took it for us. We are to remember His act of mercy, grace and love so that we do not grow weary and faint. We mustn’t lose heart in the face of the trials we face in this life. There is nothing we will ever have to endure that could even lightly compare with what Christ endured for us. Not one solitary thing.

          Let’s look for a moment at the beginning of this portion of scripture. Our relationship with God is likened to a race that is to be run. I ran cross-country in high school. It’s all about pacing yourself. If you race ahead you will burn out and fade towards the end of the race. There was a term for a runner like that. It was ‘rabbit’. Once in a while a team would send out a rabbit who would sprint from the starting line in the attempt to break the pace of the other team’s lead runners. The rabbit was bait. He sprinted as long as he could and then drifted back in the pack. He was never counted on to win the race, just disrupt the pacing of the opposition’s runners. As Christians we must learn to pace ourselves so we don’t grow weary and lose heart.

WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!!

RANDOM RAMBLINGS 53

“What you are is what you do.” – C.S. Lewis

          Now I don’t pretend to know exactly what was on his mind when Mr. Lewis said this, but I have an idea what he might have meant. Example: I am a writer, so I write. A swimmer swims, a logger logs and so on. So what does a Christian do? First, what is a Christian? A genuine Christian is a person who has accepted his sinful state, submitted to the grace of God and received forgiveness. This forgiveness isn’t a one-time deal for immediate sins, but rather forgiveness for sins past, present and future. A genuine Christian recognizes his inability to make it in this life on his own. A genuine Christian has a personal forever relationship with Almighty God. What he does with all this reveals the true state of his heart. You see, God never judges man by his outward appearance, but rather by the condition of his heart. A genuine Christian strives to be more like Christ each day. A genuine Christian is compelled to read the word of God. A genuine Christian has a heart for lost souls. These are just some of the things a Christian is. What he does is an outcropping of who he is. It is something we grow into. Once we receive Christ we are not expected to be the quintessential Christian, perfect in every way. What we are is cultivated as we walk with God. I have walked with God for over 33 years and I am still learning and growing. When we stop learning we stop growing and begin to stagnate. I have had periods of stagnation in my life. They weren’t God’s fault, but my own. So now the question is yours: who are you? rlk

THANKS BE TO GOD

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” - Psalm 100:4-5

 

“So long as we are receivers of mercy we must be givers of thanks. Mercy permits us to enter his gates; … .””Let the praise be in your heart as well as on your tongue, and let it all be for him to whom it all belongs. And bless his name. He blessed you, bless him in return; bless his name, his character, his person.” *

 

          The mercy of God is upon us whether we feel it or realize it. If we are genuine Christians who have a bona fide relationship with our Heavenly Father and are not Christian in name alone then we are under God’s grace. It is His unmerited or undeserved favor. I repeat these terms and phrases often in my writings so we (and I) never forget them. May we never make His grace a cheap thing.

           When we enter into a relationship with God and our heart begins to change towards all that which we encounter, we should begin to feel a compulsion to give God thanks. We should feel a deep, abiding sense of gratitude to the One who set us free from sin and cleansed us from the filth and stench of this world. We must see God as our all in all, our provider and sustainer, our protector and defender. We could never praise His name enough for all He has done for us. We would be lost forever if it were not for God. No other god can compare. No other religion can match the faithfulness and love our God bestows upon His followers. We are His children. We are, like King David, the apple of His eye. Jesus Christ willingly suffered unspeakable torture for something He did not do; yet He willingly bore our sin … every last one of them. For this we are to worship Him. How come we barely pay Him any mind so frequently in our lives? I believe it is because we do not understand. We don’t even try in many cases. Knowing God is one of the greatest things we can ever do in our lives. We will never find a greater friend, confidant, counselor or guide then the Holy Spirit. For all this we are to give thanks and not just on a certain day in November each year. We are to give thanks for our God and TO our God each day for without the breathe He provides for us to breath we would perish. Thanks be to God for His indescribable love, mercy and grace.

WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!!

* Treasury of David; Charles H. Spurgeon; http://www.spurgeon.org/treasury/ps100.htm

 

GIVE THANKS FOR GOD IS GOOD

“Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.” – 1 Chronicles 29:12-14

 

“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.” - 1 Chronicles 16:34

 

“Historically, Thanksgiving had roots in religious and cultural tradition. Today, Thanksgiving is primarily celebrated as a secular holiday.” – Wikipedia entry under the word Thanksgiving.

 

          If we are to believe this Wikipedia entry, we no longer thank God for our many blessings. Now I’m assuming the above statement wouldn’t apply to bone fide Christians, but who knows. Christians are susceptible to the secularization process just like anyone else.

          So why should we thank God on Thanksgiving in particular and every other day of our lives as well? Because He is the creator of all things, is in all things and above all things; because He gave us life; because if we have allowed Him to be so in our own lives, He is our ruler and giver of strength and power. All financial blessing and honor come from God and not from anything we ourselves have done. We have a free will to believe or disbelieve that. We can do as we choose. With each decision we make comes consequences. We can embrace the forgiveness God has bought for us through His own Son or we can turn away from it. It is our choice. His blessings await those who embrace what millions of people consider to be the truth. His wrath awaits all others. It’s the way of things. We truly must break away from the whole idea that it is all about us, because nothing could be further from the truth. It is about God and others. We come somewhere down the line.

          Being thankful is being grateful. We are grateful for all the things we have and the associations we have made and the good health we have. Are we grateful for the salvation God has wrought? Are we grateful for the mercy and grace He has displayed toward us? We should be. I can honestly say that nary a day goes by that I am not both baffled and grateful for the incredible love and patience God has shown to me throughout my life. In spite of my own stupidity and lack of good judgment, He loves me … without condition. That is unbelievable to me. Perhaps because nothing side of heaven even comes close to the love and patience God shows any of us. I have nothing to compare it to. But it feels good. I am blessed and I know it. So are you, especially if you have a personal, life-altering relationship with God. Have a very happy, healthy, blessed Thanksgiving!

WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!!

GIVING THANKS FOR HIS GRACE

“I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.” –                        1 Corinthians 1:4

          I enjoy Thanksgiving; digging into the dark meat of the bird, enjoying jellied rather than berried cranberry sauce, plopping a large wad of mashed taters with turkey gravy on my plate and we cannot forget the stuffing. We look forward to time off from work and uninterrupted time with our families. We see siblings, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews, grandparents, friends … the doors are open for whosoever will enter. The desserts are always over the top. Dieters beware for there will be no weight loss on a day such as this; and football on the tellie. Pro games, college games, basketball games … sports of all kinds for the day. We cannot forget the traditional high school rivalry football game, which seems indigenous only to certain areas of the country; New Jersey being one. All these things are fun and there is absolutely nothing wrong with any of it (as if you needed my approval, right?).

          On Thanksgiving some folks recount the first meal between Pilgrims and Indians, a part of our national heritage. Some are grateful for our country. Many are thankful to God for the bounty He has bestowed upon them during the past year. It is true that Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks for the many blessings we have in our lives. In most cases patriarchs speak of the blessing of family, financial gains, comfortable living accommodations and good health and thank God for them; but what of the blessing of God’s grace. There is no doubt that many mention this in their Thanksgiving Day speeches before opulent tables filled with a feast fit for a king. Frankly, everyday should be thanksgiving for the Christian, for it is on each day of the year we experience the result of God’s undeserved favor; His grace.

          Unmerited favor; being given something we scarcely deserve and neglect to fully appreciate. Without the grace of God we would not have found Christ or had sins forgiven thus permitting us a blanket pardon for all our misdeeds. Without the grace of God we would be lost and while we would have celebrated Thanksgiving nonetheless, something within us would have been missing. I believe Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter are times of deep inner contemplation for the Christian. We ponder the greatness of God, the wonder of His mercy and seemingly unlimited patience with us, and His grace. God knows us better than we could ever know ourselves. He knows we will eat too much and fall asleep on the couch or in the recliner with the football game on the TV. He also knows our propensity to forget the most obvious things. May God cause us to pause and reflect on His goodness, mercy and grace toward us during this time of year in particular and throughout the year as well.

Walk with the King today and be a blessing!!