by Les | May 8, 2023 | Click Date to Respond
Psalm 107:1 ESV – Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.
I think about it often, when I’m reminded, for example, when one makes a claim such as: it was a good movie… I’m thinking, good? What makes it good? Was it a Godly movie? The cake is so good, is it good? What makes it good? The way your tongue and senses respond to sugar and textures? Is this your understanding of “good” and “goodness”? I think too much, of course, it’s a figure of speech nowadays and the word is used for many things, some that are wicked… A “good time” could mean something totally different depending on the individuals involved.. but really, we all ought to ask ourselves and consider with one another, what is “Good” As Christians, we know or should know, Jesus said there is none Good but God alone. Let’s start with that alone and let that be our measurement and scale to weigh “goodness”. Does it honor God, is it glorifying God and the Gospel message of peace and reconciliation? Is it teaching wisdom, discretion, discernment? Charity, Patience, Self-Control, Long-suffering? Meekness or humility? Woe to those who teach Evil as Good and Good as Evil. We need to get it straight and do not hold back our voices, but lift them up as a trumpet, be wise as serpents And gentle as doves, for we are sent out as Sheep Amidst the Wolves.
The above is a Facebook public media posting, dated 4/27/2023, by Sean Keith Gray.
by Les | May 1, 2023 | Click Date to Respond
Psalm 400.1 NIV – I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.
Some years ago I was trying to phone a friend and got a busy signal at each repeated attempt. Upon reaching him the next day, and knowing that he had two teenage daughters in the home, I suggested that he might want to invest in having call waiting phone service added to his extension. My friend replied that he already had call waiting and that I wasn’t thinking like a teenage girl, call waiting only meant that you could be talking to one friend while you had a second friend on hold. As his daughters were tying up both lines, anyone else attempting to call had to simply wait.
That evening I was trying to call my friend, it was frustrating to get the recurring busy signal. Each time I heard it meant that I had to wait longer before I would be able to speak with him. Waiting is often hard for many of us.
Often, when we pray, we petition God, asking for healing or changes in our circumstances. Many have made the same request repeatedly and have wondered if their prayer would be answered. We humans crave control and our prayers are often for things for which we have no control.
To continue to pray for God to intervene gives us time to loosen our perceived control and to increase our trust in Him. Waiting allows us time to recognize that, in our weakness, God is the one who is ultimately in control. The waiting allows us time to prepare to fully appreciate His power and mercy as he administers it in his own good time.
Waiting often reveals our true motives. If our motives have good intention, and our prayers are committed, the waiting will weed out any desires of self interest. Waiting builds patience and it changes our perspectives towards those things that are most important. Waiting builds anticipation and anticipation helps us to appreciate answered prayer all the greater. Waiting, and continued prayer, builds intimacy and dependency upon God.
“The most important lesson I have learned while waiting on God is to pray my way through the ‘waiting time'”. Karen O’Reilly
by Les | Apr 24, 2023 | Click Date to Respond
2 Corinthians 6:14 ESV – Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?
Having read this passage many times I had always accepted the verse to mean that, if partnered with a non Chrisitan in my life, the non Christian would be a burden to my faith journey. I accepted the verse as a warning to be headed. A while ago an Amish friend put the verse into a new perspective through an insight that Levi, who still works with yoked horses, was able to share. Levi pointed out that in any pairing one horse will be stronger than the other. It is the responsibility of the stronger animal to hold back enough to allow the weaker to work alongside while they are yoked together. The stronger horse also has the responsibility of pushing the weaker animal just enough to help the weaker grow stronger.
Levi’s comments have not changed Paul’s warning to the Corinthians, or us, but they do add a new consideration. Do not connect ourselves with unbelievers in ways that they become a negative influence in our spiritual growth. Instead, touch lightly as you work with them, encouraging them to recognize the power and glory of Christ Jesus. Lift the non-believer up and exhibit the new creature that you have become in Christ.
by Les | Apr 21, 2023 | Click Date to Respond
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come.
A few days ago Cassie was talking about her young grandson, Preston. On the evening before Easter, Preston’s parents helped him plant jelly beans in a pot of soil. On Easter morning Preston was delighted to discover that his jelly bean pot had miraculously sprouted into lollipops. This is such a cute story that it needed to be shared.
The story that Cassie shared is one of transformation, jelly beans becoming lollipops. While jelly beans do not really transform there are transformations that are real. One of the greatest transformations is the change within a person when they accept Christ as their personal savior. Second Corinthians 5:17 reminds us that, in Christ, we become new creations.
As a new creation in Christ we become a member of the brotherhood of fellow Christians. As new creations we begin to enjoy living in the freedom of the Holy Spirit rather than remaining in the entrapment of legalism. By accepting Christ, and becoming a new creation, we begin to be transformed into the image of Christ.
As a new creation in Christ, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit, are given Spiritual gifts and receive salvation. Let us rejoice in being a new creation through the power of the Holy Spirit.
by Les | Apr 11, 2023 | Click Date to Respond
Romans 6:4 ESV – We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
Yesterday was the remembrance of the wondrous resurrection of our Lord and Savior and his victory over death. Through this astonishing miracle our great hope is founded. We, who believe in Him, will be with him for all eternity. Around the world Christians commemorated the most important day of the year; and many gathered with family and friends. Sadly, many will not think about the resurrection of Christ for another year as if it is an annual event to be celebrated and then forgotten; like Memorial Day and Labor Day. Many take too casually their own new life given by the power of the Holy Spirit.
A life forever impacted by the events of Easter (a resurrected life) will have unique qualities about it.
It will be a life marked by love. Jesus went to the cross because of his love for us. Love is the defining mark of a resurrected life. Remember Jesus’s words found in John 13:35, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
It will be a life marked by joy. Joy is another defining mark of a resurrected life. In John 15:11 we read, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” It will be a life marked by service. Serving others is an expression of love and very often the act of serving brings joy to the server. Serving others was exemplified by Christ. In Matthew 20:28, Jesus said, “even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” We, as followers of Christ, need to recall the resurrection of Jesus daily and to express the changes in our lives (our resurrected spiritual lives) as Jesus would through love, joy and service.
by Les | Apr 3, 2023 | Click Date to Respond
John 13:34-35 – “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Holy week is the week which begins with Palm Sunday and continues through the Saturday preceding Easter. It is a week celebrated by Christians around the world and in some countries the entire week is a national holiday.
On Holy Monday Jesus cursed the fig tree, chased the merchants out of the temple and responded to Jewish leaders who questioned His authority.
On Holy Tuesday Jesus foretold of his own death.
On Holy Wednesday Judas Iscariot arranged for the betrayal of Jesus with the chief priest.
Holy Thursday, also called Maundy Thursday, Jesus shared the Last Supper with his disciples. Maundy is a shortened form of the Latin word ‘mandatum’ which means ‘command’. During the Last Supper Jesus commanded his disciples to love one another (John 13:34-35).
Also on Maundy Thursday, Jesus washed his disciple’s feet, was betrayed by Judas Iscariot and was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Holy Friday, known as Good Friday, was the day that Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate, was sentenced to death, tortured, crucified, died and was placed in the tomb. Jesus redeemed mankind through his self-sacrifice and saved those who believe in him from eternal separation from God.
