I'm sure I won't get this story exactly right, but hopefully it will still help me make my point. I think this happened when my youngest nephew, Will, was in first grade. That year his class would be going to a different playground at recess. Will was very excited about this prospect and eager to see the "new" playground. He is a very active little boy and loves to be outside. From the very beginning of the school term, Will asked his teacher almost every day whether or not they would get to go the playground. For several days, and various reasons it was not to be.
Will was persistent - he kept asking. Finally, the day came! The teacher took them to the new playground for recess and Will's anticipation was well worth it. It was wonderful! Mr. Will was quite happy with the new playground and with himself! He could not wait to tell his Mom and Dad when he got home.
That afternoon at home Will told his parents, "We got to go to the playground today and it was all my fault!" He was so proud of himself. Of course, what he was trying to say was he was the reason they got to go to the playground. His class finally got to go because of his persistence in asking. At least, that's the way he saw it. Will wasn't taking blame for anything when he said it was his fault. He was claiming credit for it!
This reminds me of the parable Jesus told in Luke 18:1-8. It is the parable of the persistent woman and the unrighteous judge. Christ says "there was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man." And there was a woman --a widow in that city who came to him seeking justice. For a while, the judge had no interest in helping this woman. When he finally decided to do so - it was because of the woman's "continual coming" (v.5). The judge granted her petition "lest she weary me." (again v.5)
Jesus went on to say if this unjust judge gave the woman justice because she asked repeatedly, God would surely answer those who "cry day and night unto Him." (Luke 18:7) God wants us to pray to Him. He wants us to be persistent in the requests we make to Him. Luke says in verse 18:1 the reason Jesus told this parable was to teach "men ought always to pray, and not to faint." I think we can understand then that God does not want us to give up if a prayer is not answered the first time we petition Him for something. God wants us to be like the lady who continued to go before the judge. He wants us to be persistent; like Will was with his school teacher.
This parable teaches we should never give up on God. He sees the bigger picture. He knows when the right time is to answer our prayer. He knows what is best for us. He wants us to trust Him; but to continue to pray. When my oldest son, Adam graduated with his teaching degree, I prayed he would get a teaching job. He applied and was in close running for three different positions. Each time I prayed he would get the job. He didn't. He actually ended up going to work in a factory for a while and was beginning to think perhaps he wasn't meant to teach after all. But I kept praying Adam would get a teaching position.
Finally, almost out of the blue - a school called him in for an interview. It was the fourth time we prayed for a particular job. This time God said yes! And looking back, I see now this is the job God wanted Adam to have all along. He is doing well and enjoys being in the classroom. I know he is an asset to the high school he is with. God knew what was best for Adam. We didn't. He said no (or wait) three times. I wonder what would have happened if we had given up and stopped praying for a teaching position for him? I don't know. But I truly feel God had a hand in this situation all along. I believe that with all my heart.
Sometimes God does say no. Trust Him. He may be preparing you for something better. Sometimes we may think our answer is no, and later we realize it was not no -- it was just not yet. Trust Him. He knows what is best. Keep praying. Whatever situation you are begging Him to help you with - don't stop. He will bless you. He will help you. The help may come in a way you never imagined it would. You may not even realize you are experiencing the answer right away. Then at some point, you will know. You will understand what God's will was for you in that situation. Then perhaps you can share with someone about how richly God blessed you. You will be able to tell them "God answered my prayer, and it was all my fault!"
We serve an awesome God. He loves His children. He will bless us as we pray to him. Never stop praying and never stop trusting God cares for you and He knows what is best.
Christ above all things,
Robin
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
A Lesson from the Apostle Peter
I have been studying and thinking a lot recently about the apostle Peter. I have enjoyed my study. Peter has always been easy for me to identify with. He is impulsive -often speaking before he thinks. Sometimes that gets Peter in trouble with His Lord. Has anyone else ever done that besides me? I have spoken impulsively so many times in my life that I can't even begin to remember them all. And like Peter, my mouth has gotten me into trouble before.
Thankfully, the Lord loved Peter and gave him the chance to redeem himself. Actually, he gave Peter more than one chance, didn't he? And God - who is all gracious and merciful and loving and long suffering will forgive us too, if we are doing our best to serve Him. But we must learn from our mistakes and commit to doing better - being better. As we read through the first part of the book of Acts and then through Peter's two epistles, we realize that his love and dedication to Christ allowed Peter to overcome his weaknesses. This is true for us as well.
As we grow and mature as Christians, we learn to control our weaknesses and develop our strengths. Being dedicated to Christ means we strive to grow spiritually stronger every day.
In Matthew 16:13 Jesus asks the disciples, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"
The disciples tell him some say he is John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the other prophets. Then Jesus asks them "but who do you say that I am?" And Peter - our friend and brother Peter steps up to the plate and says, "Thou are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." (v. 16) Can you imagine how this grand confession made our Lord feel? What a wonderful confession this was and what a great feeling it must have given Jesus to have heard Peter proclaim Him as the Son of God! Then Peter is given the keys to the kingdom of heaven. What a triumphal moment this was for Peter!
It is just a few verses later, however, in the very same chapter, that Christ strongly rebukes Peter. Admittedly, I don't know how much time is supposed to have passed from verses 19-20 to verse 21. But verse 21 says "From that time forth" - which means that from the time of Peter's declaration - "began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took and him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee Lord: this shall not be unto thee." (Matthew 16:21 - 22) It makes sense doesn't it - for Peter to have said that to Christ? It made perfect sense to Peter the time. I mean - Peter and the other apostles now know that Jesus really is the Son of God. How could the Son of God allow Himself to suffer as He is predicting? Surely, God would not allow that for His Son! The prophets had declared that the Messiah was coming to establish a Kingdom that would last forever. How can Jesus do that if He is killed?
That kingdom was not meant to be an earthly kingdom. We all know that because we have the scripture to tell us of this. Peter did not understand that. I don't think Peter meant to anger the Lord. In his heart, he didn't mean to say something that would cause him to be rebuked by his Master. But whatever his thoughts or intentions were, he confronted Jesus and argued with Him. If Peter truly understood that Jesus was who He was - then why didn't he trust Him and believe what He said? I mean Peter was saying -- look Jesus - I know you are the Messiah - God's only Son and all - but - uh -you are wrong about this. I can understand that Peter may have thought he was declaring his belief in God's power -- but no matter which way you look at it - Peter was arguing with the Son of God!
Think about how Jesus must have felt at this point. I can only imagine the frustration He felt. I can't put thoughts in Jesus' head -- but one of the things He may have been thinking was - "Peter, you still don't get it. After all my teaching, after me telling you about my Heavenly Father - after you, Peter called me the Christ -- you just don't get it." Or maybe Jesus was not happy with Peter questioning Him. At any rate, Jesus tells Peter in verse 23, "Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." -- Peter you don't understand I was never here to build an earthly kingdom.
But Jesus loved Peter. He prayed for him. Peter was part of His inner circle. He knew Peter's heart. He knew Peter's potential. The Lord knew that Peter would rise to the occasion. Christ knew that Peter really did love Him. He gave Peter the chance to become the great soldier for Him that He knew Peter could be. Jesus will give us that same chance because He loves us too. Jesus knows our hearts and our potential. He will help us fight the good fight, just as He helped Peter. All we have to do is follow Him. Peter ultimately made that decision. If we make the same choice to follow Him, then Christ will be with us just as He was with Peter.
Thank you, Heavenly Father for your Son, Jesus and the love You have toward us. Thank you for giving us the chance to learn about You through the Bible. Help us to always be willing to follow You. Help us to guard our tongues and to think before we speak. If we fail you, please forgive us as we forgive others and as we turn from our sins. Give us the wisdom to understand the potential we have to bless others by serving You. In Your Son's precious name, Amen
Christ above all things,
Robin
Thankfully, the Lord loved Peter and gave him the chance to redeem himself. Actually, he gave Peter more than one chance, didn't he? And God - who is all gracious and merciful and loving and long suffering will forgive us too, if we are doing our best to serve Him. But we must learn from our mistakes and commit to doing better - being better. As we read through the first part of the book of Acts and then through Peter's two epistles, we realize that his love and dedication to Christ allowed Peter to overcome his weaknesses. This is true for us as well.
As we grow and mature as Christians, we learn to control our weaknesses and develop our strengths. Being dedicated to Christ means we strive to grow spiritually stronger every day.
In Matthew 16:13 Jesus asks the disciples, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"
The disciples tell him some say he is John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the other prophets. Then Jesus asks them "but who do you say that I am?" And Peter - our friend and brother Peter steps up to the plate and says, "Thou are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." (v. 16) Can you imagine how this grand confession made our Lord feel? What a wonderful confession this was and what a great feeling it must have given Jesus to have heard Peter proclaim Him as the Son of God! Then Peter is given the keys to the kingdom of heaven. What a triumphal moment this was for Peter!
It is just a few verses later, however, in the very same chapter, that Christ strongly rebukes Peter. Admittedly, I don't know how much time is supposed to have passed from verses 19-20 to verse 21. But verse 21 says "From that time forth" - which means that from the time of Peter's declaration - "began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took and him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee Lord: this shall not be unto thee." (Matthew 16:21 - 22) It makes sense doesn't it - for Peter to have said that to Christ? It made perfect sense to Peter the time. I mean - Peter and the other apostles now know that Jesus really is the Son of God. How could the Son of God allow Himself to suffer as He is predicting? Surely, God would not allow that for His Son! The prophets had declared that the Messiah was coming to establish a Kingdom that would last forever. How can Jesus do that if He is killed?
That kingdom was not meant to be an earthly kingdom. We all know that because we have the scripture to tell us of this. Peter did not understand that. I don't think Peter meant to anger the Lord. In his heart, he didn't mean to say something that would cause him to be rebuked by his Master. But whatever his thoughts or intentions were, he confronted Jesus and argued with Him. If Peter truly understood that Jesus was who He was - then why didn't he trust Him and believe what He said? I mean Peter was saying -- look Jesus - I know you are the Messiah - God's only Son and all - but - uh -you are wrong about this. I can understand that Peter may have thought he was declaring his belief in God's power -- but no matter which way you look at it - Peter was arguing with the Son of God!
Think about how Jesus must have felt at this point. I can only imagine the frustration He felt. I can't put thoughts in Jesus' head -- but one of the things He may have been thinking was - "Peter, you still don't get it. After all my teaching, after me telling you about my Heavenly Father - after you, Peter called me the Christ -- you just don't get it." Or maybe Jesus was not happy with Peter questioning Him. At any rate, Jesus tells Peter in verse 23, "Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." -- Peter you don't understand I was never here to build an earthly kingdom.
But Jesus loved Peter. He prayed for him. Peter was part of His inner circle. He knew Peter's heart. He knew Peter's potential. The Lord knew that Peter would rise to the occasion. Christ knew that Peter really did love Him. He gave Peter the chance to become the great soldier for Him that He knew Peter could be. Jesus will give us that same chance because He loves us too. Jesus knows our hearts and our potential. He will help us fight the good fight, just as He helped Peter. All we have to do is follow Him. Peter ultimately made that decision. If we make the same choice to follow Him, then Christ will be with us just as He was with Peter.
Thank you, Heavenly Father for your Son, Jesus and the love You have toward us. Thank you for giving us the chance to learn about You through the Bible. Help us to always be willing to follow You. Help us to guard our tongues and to think before we speak. If we fail you, please forgive us as we forgive others and as we turn from our sins. Give us the wisdom to understand the potential we have to bless others by serving You. In Your Son's precious name, Amen
Christ above all things,
Robin
Monday, March 25, 2013
The Armor of God
I was blessed Sunday to be able to hear a very good lesson on being a soldier for Christ. It was encouraging and also challenging. The teacher reminded us that we are always in a constant battle between good and evil. As much as God and Christ loves us and wants us all to be saved; so the devil wants us to be lost. We must always rise to the challenge of the fight. If we are faithful and obedient, then God will give us the power to succeed in our battles. Naturally, the preacher also mentioned the armor of God.
In Ephesians 6, when Paul calls us to stand against the wiles of the devil, he tells us to "put on the whole armor of God." (Ephesians 6:11) A soldier must be prepared for battle. Part of being prepared means having on the proper armor and having the proper equipment to be able to fight. Each item had its own importance and the armor would not be complete if any item was missing. Many of us have studied the armor of God before. As a Christian these passages should carry a special meaning.
As I read back over these scriptures, I began to look at them differently. I thought about some things that I have never thought about before. Why do you think we are told to protect our feet, our heads, our hearts -- what about what we are protected with?
Our feet are to be shod with preparation of the gospel of peace. Didn't Christ tell us to go into all the world preaching the gospel to every creature? Aren't we supposed to go and teach in peace and love? If we don't protect our feet - we may stumble and fall. If we don't hold onto the gospel - we might lose our way. Without the gospel of peace, we could stray from the path of light. So we must keep our feet shod with the gospel of peace - so that we can keep going. If our feet are injured, we cannot take the gospel to anyone - anywhere. If we are to be good soldiers we must protect our feet.
We are to have on the belt of truth. What does a belt do? A modern day belt holds a person's pants up and helps keep a shirt tucked in. A belt kind of holds everything all together. So the truth of God's word holds us together. Christ said "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life." Without the Truth on our side, we cannot hope to win this battle at all. If we hold on to Christ -- He will help us keep us all together. He will protect us. If we are fighting for the truth - fighting for Him - of course He will be there for us.
Another way to think of this is to think of our instincts. This may be somewhat indelicate, but have you ever heard of "gut instincts?" Well, if we are training ourselves in the way of Truth it will become so ingrained in us that the Christian life - knowing the Truth and knowing the right thing to do will become instinctive.
As we protect our "gut" with the Truth; then we are also to protect our hearts with the breastplate of righteousness. The breastplate covers and protects our hearts. We learn about what is right from God's word. We learn of God's love for us. Christ's willing sacrifice to save our souls fills our hearts with love. It is what we feel in our hearts that gives us the courage and strength to act. So we protect our hearts. Righteousness protects us and keeps us loving and compassionate. With our hearts in the right place we are able to hold on -- to keep fighting the good fight.
I know I am not going in the same order that Paul did in Ephesians; but we are to take the helmet of salvation -- so we are to protect our heads - which means protecting our minds. In order to function properly on any task at hand, we must have a clear mind. So it is true with being a good soldier. We must protect our minds - so that we don't become addled. We don't want to lose our train of thought when fighting against the wiles of the devil. Having on the helmet of salvation will keep our mind in the game, because we will rest easy in the knowledge that our Lord has died for our sins. He has given us a way out. God's word tells us that we will never be tempted without having a way of escape. Being a child of God and knowing that He will save us in the end gives us the peace of mind we need to fight this battle. Knowing we have salvation for our souls gives us a reason to fight and to try to bring others to Christ.
Head, heart and "gut" all work together - truth, righteousness, salvation -- all work together to make a top notch soldier for Christ. When we add the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit - nothing can defeat us. The shield of faith protects the entire length of the body. Paul says we quench the fiery darts of the devil with our shield of faith. He is right (of course) -- our faith chases away our doubts and fears. Our blocks any attacks on our goodness, righteousness and truth. If we have a good shield, if our faith is strong - then we are able to withstand any battle that may come our way.
After we are armed - after we have protected ourselves with faith, salvation, truth, righteousness and the gospel of peace -then we are ready to go on the offensive. We take the sword of the Spirit - we take the word of God with us every time we face our enemy the devil. We resist Him and he flees from us. Christ faced the devil with the sword of the Spirit. When he was tempted in the wilderness He answered every one of the devil's taunts with what? Well, He used His sword. He quoted the word of God and the devil left Him. Jesus was fully armed that day. He knew the truth. He was full of righteousness. Even then He knew that His mission was to die on that cross; to become the gospel. He died and rose again so that we could wear the helmet of salvation.
So my friends - with these thoughts in mind -- in the words of Paul --"Put on the whole armor of God --why? that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."
(Ephesians 6:11)
And verse 13 says - "Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of god, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand!"
Stand and fight. Don't let satan put even one chink in your armor.
Christ above all things,
Robin
In Ephesians 6, when Paul calls us to stand against the wiles of the devil, he tells us to "put on the whole armor of God." (Ephesians 6:11) A soldier must be prepared for battle. Part of being prepared means having on the proper armor and having the proper equipment to be able to fight. Each item had its own importance and the armor would not be complete if any item was missing. Many of us have studied the armor of God before. As a Christian these passages should carry a special meaning.
As I read back over these scriptures, I began to look at them differently. I thought about some things that I have never thought about before. Why do you think we are told to protect our feet, our heads, our hearts -- what about what we are protected with?
Our feet are to be shod with preparation of the gospel of peace. Didn't Christ tell us to go into all the world preaching the gospel to every creature? Aren't we supposed to go and teach in peace and love? If we don't protect our feet - we may stumble and fall. If we don't hold onto the gospel - we might lose our way. Without the gospel of peace, we could stray from the path of light. So we must keep our feet shod with the gospel of peace - so that we can keep going. If our feet are injured, we cannot take the gospel to anyone - anywhere. If we are to be good soldiers we must protect our feet.
We are to have on the belt of truth. What does a belt do? A modern day belt holds a person's pants up and helps keep a shirt tucked in. A belt kind of holds everything all together. So the truth of God's word holds us together. Christ said "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life." Without the Truth on our side, we cannot hope to win this battle at all. If we hold on to Christ -- He will help us keep us all together. He will protect us. If we are fighting for the truth - fighting for Him - of course He will be there for us.
Another way to think of this is to think of our instincts. This may be somewhat indelicate, but have you ever heard of "gut instincts?" Well, if we are training ourselves in the way of Truth it will become so ingrained in us that the Christian life - knowing the Truth and knowing the right thing to do will become instinctive.
As we protect our "gut" with the Truth; then we are also to protect our hearts with the breastplate of righteousness. The breastplate covers and protects our hearts. We learn about what is right from God's word. We learn of God's love for us. Christ's willing sacrifice to save our souls fills our hearts with love. It is what we feel in our hearts that gives us the courage and strength to act. So we protect our hearts. Righteousness protects us and keeps us loving and compassionate. With our hearts in the right place we are able to hold on -- to keep fighting the good fight.
I know I am not going in the same order that Paul did in Ephesians; but we are to take the helmet of salvation -- so we are to protect our heads - which means protecting our minds. In order to function properly on any task at hand, we must have a clear mind. So it is true with being a good soldier. We must protect our minds - so that we don't become addled. We don't want to lose our train of thought when fighting against the wiles of the devil. Having on the helmet of salvation will keep our mind in the game, because we will rest easy in the knowledge that our Lord has died for our sins. He has given us a way out. God's word tells us that we will never be tempted without having a way of escape. Being a child of God and knowing that He will save us in the end gives us the peace of mind we need to fight this battle. Knowing we have salvation for our souls gives us a reason to fight and to try to bring others to Christ.
Head, heart and "gut" all work together - truth, righteousness, salvation -- all work together to make a top notch soldier for Christ. When we add the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit - nothing can defeat us. The shield of faith protects the entire length of the body. Paul says we quench the fiery darts of the devil with our shield of faith. He is right (of course) -- our faith chases away our doubts and fears. Our blocks any attacks on our goodness, righteousness and truth. If we have a good shield, if our faith is strong - then we are able to withstand any battle that may come our way.
After we are armed - after we have protected ourselves with faith, salvation, truth, righteousness and the gospel of peace -then we are ready to go on the offensive. We take the sword of the Spirit - we take the word of God with us every time we face our enemy the devil. We resist Him and he flees from us. Christ faced the devil with the sword of the Spirit. When he was tempted in the wilderness He answered every one of the devil's taunts with what? Well, He used His sword. He quoted the word of God and the devil left Him. Jesus was fully armed that day. He knew the truth. He was full of righteousness. Even then He knew that His mission was to die on that cross; to become the gospel. He died and rose again so that we could wear the helmet of salvation.
So my friends - with these thoughts in mind -- in the words of Paul --"Put on the whole armor of God --why? that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."
(Ephesians 6:11)
And verse 13 says - "Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of god, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand!"
Stand and fight. Don't let satan put even one chink in your armor.
Christ above all things,
Robin
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Be Fervent in Spirit
Did you know the words fervent and fervently are not found in the Old Testament anywhere? (I refer to the King James Version; other versions are about the same.) These words aren't found very often in the New Testament either. Fervent is in the King James version just 7 times and fervently shows up in only two verses. And yet, I find myself thinking about this word all the time. Actually, Paul commands us in Romans 12:11 - "Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit; serving the Lord."
I think since we are commanded to be "fervent in spirit;" it might be a good idea to know a little more about what it means, don't you? So I looked it up both in my American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language and in my copy of Strong's Exhaustive Concordance. In Romans 12:11 cited above; Strong's says the Greek word is "defined "as a primary verb meaning to be hot - as in liquids to boil, as in solids to glow; to be fervid, (earnest) - be fervent."
The dictionary's definition is very similar: "having or showing great emotion or warmth; passionate, ardent; extremely hot, glowing." I suppose most of us already had a good idea of the definition of fervent just from the context of the verse. However, it seems to be much, much more than just not being slothful in business. If we are fervent in spirit and in the service of our Lord - we are to be on fire for him. We are to "glow" in the Spirit of His love and we are to be earnest in our commitment to Him.
Luke describes such a man in Acts 18:25 -"This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John." This man was Apollos. And when Priscilla and Aquila heard him speaking boldly in the temple, they took him aside and taught him (the scripture says expounded) the way of God more perfectly. Apollos was apparently not arrogant or vain in his preaching; but was truly fervent in spirit because he was not offended at being taught the truth more extensively. As eloquent as he was, he must have truly loved the Lord and had an intense desire to learn. He accepted what he was taught. Verse 28 says, "For he (Apollos) mightily convinced the Jews, and that publicly, showing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ." How wonderful it is to know that those in the early church spoke so boldly for our Lord! Apollos is only one example of many who were fervent in spirit.
Being "fervent in spirit" is only one way the word is used. We are also to be fervent in our prayers to our Heavenly Father. Many are familiar with James 5:16 which says, "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." We are to pray with zeal-- earnestly seeking God's blessing. James tells us when we pray with such heartfelt pleading that our prayers will avail much. An example of this type of prayer is found in Colossians 4:12 where Paul tells the Colossian church that "Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you always laboring fervently for you in prayers" and get this - listen to what Epaphras is praying for his fellow Christians - "that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God." He is fervently praying for their spiritual lives - their souls.
The fervent prayers of Epaphras fit perfectly into the next way that this word is used. The apostle Peter uses this word twice in his first epistle when he is speaking of the love Christians are to have for one another. We are instructed in I Peter 1:22 - "Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart - how Peter? -- How are we to love one another? "with a pure heart fervently." I Peter 4:8 says "And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves; for charity shall cover a multitude of sins." So as Epaphras was fervently praying for his brothers and sisters in Christ, he was showing his fervent love for them.
We see then, that we are commanded to be fervent in spirit -serving the Lord; we are to pray fervently; and we are to love one another fervently with a pure heart. I am beginning to think that the Lord doesn't take these three things lightly at all and He doesn't want us to either. This fervor is pretty serious business. Love fervently - pray fervently and serve fervently. Be on fire for the Lord. Love Him so much that you glow! Our fervent hearts and spirits will show the world who we serve and who we strive to glorify.
Peter uses "fervent" in one more context. As it is used here, it explains exactly why we should obey the Lord's commands with a fervent spirit. Remember how we talked about the definition of the word meaning hot or boiling? Well Peter gives us a couple of warnings in his second epistle: 2 Peter 3:10 - "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and works that are therein shall be burned up." Peter refers to this fervent heat again two verses later. With these warnings in mind, it becomes clear how important it is know God's commands and to keep them.
I want to serve, pray and love fervently don't you? When this world passes away, I want to be with the sheep who are told "Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." (Matthew 25:34)
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so much for all the bountiful blessings you bestow on me each day. Thank you for helping me to understand the meaning of what it means to be fervent in spirit. Please help me to keep my heart pure and full of love for you. Give me an ardent desire to serve you. Help me to learn to love others more fervently and to pray more earnestly.
In your precious Son's name, Amen.
Please keep Christ above all things - fervently,
Robin
I think since we are commanded to be "fervent in spirit;" it might be a good idea to know a little more about what it means, don't you? So I looked it up both in my American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language and in my copy of Strong's Exhaustive Concordance. In Romans 12:11 cited above; Strong's says the Greek word is "defined "as a primary verb meaning to be hot - as in liquids to boil, as in solids to glow; to be fervid, (earnest) - be fervent."
The dictionary's definition is very similar: "having or showing great emotion or warmth; passionate, ardent; extremely hot, glowing." I suppose most of us already had a good idea of the definition of fervent just from the context of the verse. However, it seems to be much, much more than just not being slothful in business. If we are fervent in spirit and in the service of our Lord - we are to be on fire for him. We are to "glow" in the Spirit of His love and we are to be earnest in our commitment to Him.
Luke describes such a man in Acts 18:25 -"This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John." This man was Apollos. And when Priscilla and Aquila heard him speaking boldly in the temple, they took him aside and taught him (the scripture says expounded) the way of God more perfectly. Apollos was apparently not arrogant or vain in his preaching; but was truly fervent in spirit because he was not offended at being taught the truth more extensively. As eloquent as he was, he must have truly loved the Lord and had an intense desire to learn. He accepted what he was taught. Verse 28 says, "For he (Apollos) mightily convinced the Jews, and that publicly, showing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ." How wonderful it is to know that those in the early church spoke so boldly for our Lord! Apollos is only one example of many who were fervent in spirit.
Being "fervent in spirit" is only one way the word is used. We are also to be fervent in our prayers to our Heavenly Father. Many are familiar with James 5:16 which says, "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." We are to pray with zeal-- earnestly seeking God's blessing. James tells us when we pray with such heartfelt pleading that our prayers will avail much. An example of this type of prayer is found in Colossians 4:12 where Paul tells the Colossian church that "Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you always laboring fervently for you in prayers" and get this - listen to what Epaphras is praying for his fellow Christians - "that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God." He is fervently praying for their spiritual lives - their souls.
The fervent prayers of Epaphras fit perfectly into the next way that this word is used. The apostle Peter uses this word twice in his first epistle when he is speaking of the love Christians are to have for one another. We are instructed in I Peter 1:22 - "Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart - how Peter? -- How are we to love one another? "with a pure heart fervently." I Peter 4:8 says "And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves; for charity shall cover a multitude of sins." So as Epaphras was fervently praying for his brothers and sisters in Christ, he was showing his fervent love for them.
We see then, that we are commanded to be fervent in spirit -serving the Lord; we are to pray fervently; and we are to love one another fervently with a pure heart. I am beginning to think that the Lord doesn't take these three things lightly at all and He doesn't want us to either. This fervor is pretty serious business. Love fervently - pray fervently and serve fervently. Be on fire for the Lord. Love Him so much that you glow! Our fervent hearts and spirits will show the world who we serve and who we strive to glorify.
Peter uses "fervent" in one more context. As it is used here, it explains exactly why we should obey the Lord's commands with a fervent spirit. Remember how we talked about the definition of the word meaning hot or boiling? Well Peter gives us a couple of warnings in his second epistle: 2 Peter 3:10 - "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and works that are therein shall be burned up." Peter refers to this fervent heat again two verses later. With these warnings in mind, it becomes clear how important it is know God's commands and to keep them.
I want to serve, pray and love fervently don't you? When this world passes away, I want to be with the sheep who are told "Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." (Matthew 25:34)
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so much for all the bountiful blessings you bestow on me each day. Thank you for helping me to understand the meaning of what it means to be fervent in spirit. Please help me to keep my heart pure and full of love for you. Give me an ardent desire to serve you. Help me to learn to love others more fervently and to pray more earnestly.
In your precious Son's name, Amen.
Please keep Christ above all things - fervently,
Robin
Thursday, March 21, 2013
I See You
There was a movie out a few years ago that became very popular. Avatar was the title of the film. You may remember seeing it. I liked a lot of things about this movie, but what I think I remember most is the way the inhabitants of Pandora would say, “I see you.” The meaning of these three words went far beyond the literal meaning of seeing with the eyes. “I see you” involved an intimate knowledge of the person being spoken to. To “see” someone was not a mere recognition of the person being present in body. It also meant that you understood and loved and accepted that person for who they are– not just how they look. The person inside the physical body was acknowledged and valued. It also meant – I want to have this relationship with you. I want this deep intimate relationship of knowing you as you are – without feeling you have anything to hide. I see you with unconditional love and acceptance.
How often do we take time to “see” those we love and care about? We stay so busy and have so many worldly cares to tend to. There are bills to pay, grocery shopping to do, places to go … work, kids, and school – and on and on and on. So when is the last time you actually saw your spouse? Did you tell him or her that you love them and value them for the person they are and what they mean to you? When have you given them the valuable gift of your time? When have you tried to understand what they are going through – or even asked how their day went? Sometimes it seems we get so busy that we are just two people living in the same house always going in different directions. Stop. Slow down – become friends again. Look at your spouse and truly see them.
What about your children? I have to admit that my work is so stressful at times that when I come home all I want to do is “zone out.” I don’t want to do anything or talk to anyone. I still have one child at home. He is 18. I know my time is limited with him. I know he will be gone very soon. Lately, he wants to talk more – share ideas and hopes and dreams. That is what 18 year old children want and need. They need someone to listen – someone to “see” them. Truthfully, it is what all children need;– no, no-it is what we all need. It is a very natural human need to be “seen” – valued, loved– cared about.
Sometimes as a parent, the shoe is on the other foot. Sometimes we feel like we are invisible to our children. We often feel like we are thought of as nothing more than a bank or a chauffeur or …. I don’t know. I am sure that I am not the only one that has ever felt like that before. We fix their food – nurse their injuries – take them to and fro–give them money …. And we begin to feel like they don’t see us– they only see what we do for them. Sometimes that is a very lonely feeling.
Maybe that’s how God feels about us sometimes. We ask for all these blessings and we expect Him to be there for us – but only when we need Him. The rest of the time – well it’s OK if He kind of sinks into the background, right? What do you think God feels like when we fail to see Him?
What about Christ? Have you seen Him lately? Did you worship this past Sunday? Did you make time for Him Wednesday night at Bible study? Do you ever think about how much the Lord loves you? He “sees” you. He knows you, inside and out. He loves you so much. Have you considered His awesome sacrifice today? Did you spend any time at all with the One who loved you so much He died for you? Slow down – He is waiting for you. He wants to be with you– to spend time with you. He wants you to see Him.
Our Heavenly Father knows us better than we know ourselves. When we pray for blessings in our life–God answer is always perfect. He sees the future. He knows what we need. Oh, yes He knows what we want, too. But He understands what we need. And sometimes those two things are totally different. We must have faith in His vision. We have to trust God's ability to see us clearly and love us for who we are. After all, He made us. He knows what we are capable of– He knows what we can do in our service for Him. If we trust Him and follow Him, He will bless us beyond our wildest expectations! He knows our hearts and our heartaches. Yes, God truly sees us.
So if you find yourself so busy that you have almost allowed yourself to stop seeing; slow down– stop. Take time to SEE – your spouse; your children; your Redeemer and your God!!! And watch the blessings flow!
Christ above all things,
Robin
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Don't Give Up
Ah! The wonders of this modern technical world we live in, right? I suppose that's so only if you understand all there is to understand about computers and such. I don't. I am slightly frustrated right now because I typed something earlier today from another computer and emailed that file to myself so that I would be able to open it on this computer tonight. I could not open the file. So - I suppose I will have to try again tomorrow. I can't give up because if I do what I wrote earlier will be lost.
I have not posted in the past couple of days. I apologize for that too. Hopefully, I am back on my game. Again, I can't give up and stop posting - if I do - I will lose what I have gained and I don't want to do that.
We can't give up in our spiritual lives either. We must "keep on keepin' on."
Our God loves us so much and He is rooting for us to stay in the game. I think it was Winston Churchill that was quoted as saying "Never ever ever ever ever ever ever give up." I think God tells us the same thing -- "Be not weary in well doing, for in due season ye shall reap if ye faint not." (Galatians 6:9)
Many other verses encourage us to remain faithful and I love them all, for they are so encouraging and uplifting.
I Corinthians 15:57-58: "But thanks be to God, which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord."
Hebrews 3:14 - "For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end;"
Hebrews 12:1 -- "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,"
Although there are others, we can see from these verses alone that God does not want us to give up. The Holy Spirit tells us through the scriptures that if we keep doing good, we will reap our reward. Just don't give up. We have victory through Christ if remain steadfast, if our faith never wavers and if we continue to abound in the work of the Lord. Just don't give up.
When we become Christians we gain a new hope and a new confidence in Christ our Lord. We have confessed that He is the Son of God. We have repented of our past sins, been buried with Christ and raised to walk in newness of life. So we have this wonderful confidence that He will be with us as we commit our lives to Him! Our hearts are filled with enthusiasm and love for our God. I love being around new Christians because they are so joyful and so zealous. But we are all supposed to be that zealous. It is easy to be excited about the Christian life in the beginning. We are new in Christ - but the world hasn't changed. We still have to live, work and survive in the same old world. Our attitudes, mind set and life style has changed -- but as time goes on our enthusiasm may wane. Hang in there. Remember Hebrews 3:14 - we have to "hold the beginning of our confidence to the end." In other words, just don't give up and you can be a "partaker with Christ."
Lay aside the weights of sin - do not let them "beset" you. Have patience. Persevere - run the race that is set before you. Remember all of those faithful followers of God who never gave up. As He gives us the examples of those who had faith in Him - those He rewarded because they diligently sought Him - I think God is trying to tell us -- "Look, these folks did it - you can, too! You can run your own race. Just don't give up!"
You see my friends, if we start this race - this journey with our Lord - and then we stop in the middle of it -- well it won't matter how far we had gotten if we don't cross the finish line. If we give up on our Christian lives all that we have done will be lost and so will we!! We will be no better off than if we had never started to run! In fact, God's word tells us that after knowing and obeying God's will and then turning back to our old life, we will actually be worse off than in the beginning. How sad that would be! Don't allow yourself to lose what you have gained.
One more passage from God's word, Matthew 24:10-13 -"And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." The promises are there and God is faithful to keep His promises.
Just don't give up - ever.
Christ above all things,
Robin
I have not posted in the past couple of days. I apologize for that too. Hopefully, I am back on my game. Again, I can't give up and stop posting - if I do - I will lose what I have gained and I don't want to do that.
We can't give up in our spiritual lives either. We must "keep on keepin' on."
Our God loves us so much and He is rooting for us to stay in the game. I think it was Winston Churchill that was quoted as saying "Never ever ever ever ever ever ever give up." I think God tells us the same thing -- "Be not weary in well doing, for in due season ye shall reap if ye faint not." (Galatians 6:9)
Many other verses encourage us to remain faithful and I love them all, for they are so encouraging and uplifting.
I Corinthians 15:57-58: "But thanks be to God, which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord."
Hebrews 3:14 - "For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end;"
Hebrews 12:1 -- "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,"
Although there are others, we can see from these verses alone that God does not want us to give up. The Holy Spirit tells us through the scriptures that if we keep doing good, we will reap our reward. Just don't give up. We have victory through Christ if remain steadfast, if our faith never wavers and if we continue to abound in the work of the Lord. Just don't give up.
When we become Christians we gain a new hope and a new confidence in Christ our Lord. We have confessed that He is the Son of God. We have repented of our past sins, been buried with Christ and raised to walk in newness of life. So we have this wonderful confidence that He will be with us as we commit our lives to Him! Our hearts are filled with enthusiasm and love for our God. I love being around new Christians because they are so joyful and so zealous. But we are all supposed to be that zealous. It is easy to be excited about the Christian life in the beginning. We are new in Christ - but the world hasn't changed. We still have to live, work and survive in the same old world. Our attitudes, mind set and life style has changed -- but as time goes on our enthusiasm may wane. Hang in there. Remember Hebrews 3:14 - we have to "hold the beginning of our confidence to the end." In other words, just don't give up and you can be a "partaker with Christ."
Lay aside the weights of sin - do not let them "beset" you. Have patience. Persevere - run the race that is set before you. Remember all of those faithful followers of God who never gave up. As He gives us the examples of those who had faith in Him - those He rewarded because they diligently sought Him - I think God is trying to tell us -- "Look, these folks did it - you can, too! You can run your own race. Just don't give up!"
You see my friends, if we start this race - this journey with our Lord - and then we stop in the middle of it -- well it won't matter how far we had gotten if we don't cross the finish line. If we give up on our Christian lives all that we have done will be lost and so will we!! We will be no better off than if we had never started to run! In fact, God's word tells us that after knowing and obeying God's will and then turning back to our old life, we will actually be worse off than in the beginning. How sad that would be! Don't allow yourself to lose what you have gained.
One more passage from God's word, Matthew 24:10-13 -"And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." The promises are there and God is faithful to keep His promises.
Just don't give up - ever.
Christ above all things,
Robin
Sunday, March 17, 2013
A Home With Jesus
If you could live anywhere you wanted - where would it be? If you could bring anyone you wanted to live with you - who would it be? What would you think if someone told you God wanted to come live with you today and that His Son Jesus was coming with him, and maybe the Holy Spirit, too? What would you do if you knew that were really possible? Would you rush around in some kind of frantic preparation mode? Would you be nervous, thinking there is no way you could ever make your home good enough for the Heavenly Father and His Holy Son? If our hearts are right, if we have studied the scriptures and obeyed our God's commandments brothers and sisters, then God and Jesus, as well as the Holy Spirit are well and alive within us already - right now --TODAY. Isn't that an awesome thought?
In John 14 Jesus made several beautiful promises to His followers. Many Christians are familiar with the first few verses of this chapter for they find them a great comfort in trying times. These verses have also probably been read at many funeral services. "Let not your heart be troubled, you believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you." Jesus has promised us a mansion in heaven -- but I am thinking we only get to live with Him in heaven if we have allowed Him to live with us while we are here on earth.
Jesus tells us in verse 15 of this very same chapter - "If you love me, keep my commandments." In the very next verses, Jesus makes another promise - "And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of Truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortles; I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more, but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day, ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me and I in you." (v. 16-20)
So we can see in these few verses alone that Jesus promises His apostles that He is sending the Holy Spirit to comfort them. Then He says that even though the world will see Him no more that he will still be with them. And we know - we know that Jesus keeps His promises.
We know that the apostles did indeed prove their love for Jesus. They kept His commandments and He sent them another Comforter. The apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit and boldly testified of the resurrection of Christ. Jesus was with them, just as He had promised. God gave them the strength to do this -even in the face of great tribulation and eventually death (for all but John).
If we love Him and keep His commandments, Jesus will come and live with us too. Read John 15:21 - "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him." And in v. 23: "Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him."
See! There it is -there is the promise for us, too. Jesus and our Heavenly Father can and will come and live with us too. Oh, not in our houses -- but in the home of our hearts -in our innermost being. He will give us the strength we need to live for Him. The promise is true - and glorious; but it is conditional. We must never forget that. We must always remember that God's will must be followed.
I John 2:24b says, "If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father." And then in I Corinthians 1:9 - Paul tells us "God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord."
So my friends, if we keep His commandments if we seek Him - He will come and abide with us here while we live on earth. Then - we will get to go with Jesus to most beautiful home we could ever imagine! We will go the place He has prepared for us!!
Christ above all things,
Robin
Thursday, March 14, 2013
"I Love My Poppa"
A few weeks ago during Bible class, my young students and I were discussing how God made our families and how God loves everyone in our families. Little children love to call by name all the people they know that God loves. Naturally it is the same list of people that they have learned to love. It is very heartwarming to hear these young children name all the members of their family. Children at this age are like little sponges. Their minds are so alert and soak in so much knowledge at this age. It is so uplifting to understand how much these young ones have already learned about love. It get a good feeling knowing that these children are from such loving Christian families. How wonderful to think that they will grow up to share God's love and bring their own special lights to the world!!
One student was naming all his family members: Momma, Daddy, big brother, big sister, Poppa -- and when he got to Poppa, he stopped and said, "I love my Poppa. He takes me hunting." As that sweet young child said that, I instantly thought of I John 4:19 --"We love Him because He first loved us." Little did he know it - but my young student was expressing almost the exact same sentiment. It was a great illustration for me. Why did this young man love his poppa? Because Poppa took him hunting. But his Poppa took him hunting because he loved his grandson. We love God because of all the blessing He bestows upon us -- most of all the blessing of His Son's sacrifice for our sins. Why did God send Jesus to save us in this manner? Because He first loved us. See -- or was I rambling?
God loved us, so He sent His Son to die for our sins. As we read and study the Bible we come to understand that Christ gave Himself for us because of His love for us. So we love Him because He did that. But He did that because He loved us. It seems like some wonderful unending circle. Wonderful!! God is so good.
Consider a few more scriptures which show us God's great love for us:
Romans 5:8 - "But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us."
Ephesians 2:4-5: "But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He
loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ,
(by grace are ye saved;)"
I John 3:1 - "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we
should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it
knew Him not."
I John 4:16 - "And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us, God is love;
and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him."
The scriptures make it very clear that God loves us. It is also clear just how that love was manifested -- through the precious price of Christ's blood.
Love does not come naturally, except to God; for John says that God is love. However, for us love is a learned behavior. We learn to love our parents - why? Because they love us -- how do we know that? Because they take care of us. As we grow - our world of love grows to include siblings, grandparents, and other family members. It is not long before we also learn to love friends. We still have to learn this behavior. Love is not an emotion. It is action -- it is a show of devotion. Love means giving, serving - doing something for the one you love or acting in that person's best interest - even when you don't feel like it - even when it means foregoing something for yourself.
How do we teach this? Children are learning to love when they learn to share and take turns. They are learning to love when they are being taught to say "please" and "thank you" or "ma'am" and "sir." I could go on and on, but you get the point. We are still learning to love even when we are young married couples - for the older women are exhorted to teach the younger women to love their husbands and husbands are taught to love their wives as Christ loved the church. The learning continues as we become parents. God's word gives us guidance and instruction even in this. Mothers are taught to be chaste and keepers at home; we also have the example of the virtuous woman in Proverbs 31. Fathers are told not to provoke their children to wrath. And we all are instructed to bring our children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. I'm not citing scripture references here. We are all familiar with these passages. Most of us know where to turn in God's word to read these instructions.
The learning process continues as long as we live. We are commanded to love our neighbor as ourselves and to provoke one another to love and good works. And there are many, many scriptures which teach us how to show our love for God.
One of my Dad's favorite scriptures (it is probably a favorite of many) is Romans 12:1-2.
I think this passage is a perfect example of what to do show our love for God. "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may able to prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God." OK -- to put it quite simply -- If Christ died for us, how can we help but live for Him?
My friends - keep God's love alive by living for Him.
And please keep on learning about love and loving to learn.
Christ above all things,
Robin
One student was naming all his family members: Momma, Daddy, big brother, big sister, Poppa -- and when he got to Poppa, he stopped and said, "I love my Poppa. He takes me hunting." As that sweet young child said that, I instantly thought of I John 4:19 --"We love Him because He first loved us." Little did he know it - but my young student was expressing almost the exact same sentiment. It was a great illustration for me. Why did this young man love his poppa? Because Poppa took him hunting. But his Poppa took him hunting because he loved his grandson. We love God because of all the blessing He bestows upon us -- most of all the blessing of His Son's sacrifice for our sins. Why did God send Jesus to save us in this manner? Because He first loved us. See -- or was I rambling?
God loved us, so He sent His Son to die for our sins. As we read and study the Bible we come to understand that Christ gave Himself for us because of His love for us. So we love Him because He did that. But He did that because He loved us. It seems like some wonderful unending circle. Wonderful!! God is so good.
Consider a few more scriptures which show us God's great love for us:
Romans 5:8 - "But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us."
Ephesians 2:4-5: "But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He
loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ,
(by grace are ye saved;)"
I John 3:1 - "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we
should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it
knew Him not."
I John 4:16 - "And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us, God is love;
and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him."
The scriptures make it very clear that God loves us. It is also clear just how that love was manifested -- through the precious price of Christ's blood.
Love does not come naturally, except to God; for John says that God is love. However, for us love is a learned behavior. We learn to love our parents - why? Because they love us -- how do we know that? Because they take care of us. As we grow - our world of love grows to include siblings, grandparents, and other family members. It is not long before we also learn to love friends. We still have to learn this behavior. Love is not an emotion. It is action -- it is a show of devotion. Love means giving, serving - doing something for the one you love or acting in that person's best interest - even when you don't feel like it - even when it means foregoing something for yourself.
How do we teach this? Children are learning to love when they learn to share and take turns. They are learning to love when they are being taught to say "please" and "thank you" or "ma'am" and "sir." I could go on and on, but you get the point. We are still learning to love even when we are young married couples - for the older women are exhorted to teach the younger women to love their husbands and husbands are taught to love their wives as Christ loved the church. The learning continues as we become parents. God's word gives us guidance and instruction even in this. Mothers are taught to be chaste and keepers at home; we also have the example of the virtuous woman in Proverbs 31. Fathers are told not to provoke their children to wrath. And we all are instructed to bring our children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. I'm not citing scripture references here. We are all familiar with these passages. Most of us know where to turn in God's word to read these instructions.
The learning process continues as long as we live. We are commanded to love our neighbor as ourselves and to provoke one another to love and good works. And there are many, many scriptures which teach us how to show our love for God.
One of my Dad's favorite scriptures (it is probably a favorite of many) is Romans 12:1-2.
I think this passage is a perfect example of what to do show our love for God. "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may able to prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God." OK -- to put it quite simply -- If Christ died for us, how can we help but live for Him?
My friends - keep God's love alive by living for Him.
And please keep on learning about love and loving to learn.
Christ above all things,
Robin
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
An Incredibly Blessed Woo Hoo Day!!
I meant to write about something else today, but I am so excited I just have to share. Have you ever had one of those days that were just filled with blessings at every turn? You know the kind of day I'm talking about. It's one of those kinds of days where everything goes just right and - it is just "your day." Well, today was my day -- an incredibly blessed wonderful kind of Woo Hoo day!!!
For starters, the sun was shining this morning. I love the bright sunlight. I love to look at God's beautiful sky on a bright sunny day! Seeing the sun just gives me a good feeling. I don't think there is anything better than being able to look at the sky while praying to God in the mornings on my way to work. What a great way to start the day!
OK - honestly the day was not perfect. I didn't come into a bunch of money or come up with the next greatest invention for mankind. I went through my very normal routine. I had to work which is OK in and of itself; but still it was work. On my lunch break, however, I had enough time to go by and see a good Christian friend that I haven't seen for a while. She is dear to me and I've missed her. We usually see each other once a week at our prayer group meeting; but she has been unable to come for a while now because of her business. Soooo I decided if she couldn't come to us that I would go to her. We only got to visit briefly, but I did get a good hug. Just being able to see each other was a blessing for both of us. I cannot tell you how much it lifted my spirits!
Then tonight, I had the opportunity to attend our prayer group meeting and it was absolutely wonderful! We usually have several ladies with us; but tonight there were only three of us. I am sure you are familiar with the words of Jesus recorded in Matthew 18:19-20 --"Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." I do not know if any of you have experienced the truth of this promise; but I can tell you that as part of a prayer group these words have a much deeper meaning for me now than they ever have before. We have watched faith grow, gained strength from one another and seen prayers answered.
As Christians gather together in large or small groups because of our common love for Christ, then we see the love of Christ in each other. When we, as Christians -- gather in His name and share the bond of His sacrifice --then we are truly experiencing the love of God in our lives. Christ has shed His precious blood to redeem us all - if we only believe and obey His commandments. When we come together in fellowship and prayer as obedient believers bound by the thing we have in common - which is His love manifested through His sacrifice for us - then we have Him -- the very Son of God in our midst. This is truly a blessing -- one of the best "fringe benefits" we have of living the Christian life!
Believe me, the bond between Christians grows even stronger when a group prays together. So we were not discouraged that there were only three of us there tonight for we know that there was one more among us. Christ was there. He understood our concerns, rejoiced as we were grateful for His blessings; laughed with us as we shared a few funny stories and then mediated for us when we bowed our heads in prayer. Oh yes, He was there. He heard our prayers for those who couldn't be with us tonight. He saw the faith we had that we will soon see them with us again in prayer group. We have faith that God will continue to work in all our lives until we meet again.
Perhaps the icing on the cake was that as we were leaving, another one of our sisters showed up just in time to give hugs all around and let us know that the grandmother she has been sitting with (which is why she couldn't be with us earlier) was beginning to feel a little better. These are more prayers answered. God is so good. Then finally another lady from the congregation came to tell us that her husband had just completed a Bible study with a young couple and had baptized both of them into the body of Christ. Now that was truly a way to end a night!!
I realize this post has been a little different than most of the ones I write. I have talked more about me than I usually do. I couldn't help it - I was so "full" of His love and His Spirit that I needed to share. We truly serve an awesome God!!!
As I sit here full of joy over the incredible blessings of the day I am extremely thankful that God has blessed me so richly. I know that not all days will be this wonderful. I know there will be burdens to bear, battles to wage and storms to weather. But just as I know not all days will be as great as today was, I also know that not all days will be bad either. Most of them will just be regular routine days. Yet, I know that as long as I am walking in the pathway of light, God goes with me through all my days whether they are good, bad or somewhere in between. He will be there to guide me, strengthen me and love me.
Christ above all things,
Robin
For starters, the sun was shining this morning. I love the bright sunlight. I love to look at God's beautiful sky on a bright sunny day! Seeing the sun just gives me a good feeling. I don't think there is anything better than being able to look at the sky while praying to God in the mornings on my way to work. What a great way to start the day!
OK - honestly the day was not perfect. I didn't come into a bunch of money or come up with the next greatest invention for mankind. I went through my very normal routine. I had to work which is OK in and of itself; but still it was work. On my lunch break, however, I had enough time to go by and see a good Christian friend that I haven't seen for a while. She is dear to me and I've missed her. We usually see each other once a week at our prayer group meeting; but she has been unable to come for a while now because of her business. Soooo I decided if she couldn't come to us that I would go to her. We only got to visit briefly, but I did get a good hug. Just being able to see each other was a blessing for both of us. I cannot tell you how much it lifted my spirits!
Then tonight, I had the opportunity to attend our prayer group meeting and it was absolutely wonderful! We usually have several ladies with us; but tonight there were only three of us. I am sure you are familiar with the words of Jesus recorded in Matthew 18:19-20 --"Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." I do not know if any of you have experienced the truth of this promise; but I can tell you that as part of a prayer group these words have a much deeper meaning for me now than they ever have before. We have watched faith grow, gained strength from one another and seen prayers answered.
As Christians gather together in large or small groups because of our common love for Christ, then we see the love of Christ in each other. When we, as Christians -- gather in His name and share the bond of His sacrifice --then we are truly experiencing the love of God in our lives. Christ has shed His precious blood to redeem us all - if we only believe and obey His commandments. When we come together in fellowship and prayer as obedient believers bound by the thing we have in common - which is His love manifested through His sacrifice for us - then we have Him -- the very Son of God in our midst. This is truly a blessing -- one of the best "fringe benefits" we have of living the Christian life!
Believe me, the bond between Christians grows even stronger when a group prays together. So we were not discouraged that there were only three of us there tonight for we know that there was one more among us. Christ was there. He understood our concerns, rejoiced as we were grateful for His blessings; laughed with us as we shared a few funny stories and then mediated for us when we bowed our heads in prayer. Oh yes, He was there. He heard our prayers for those who couldn't be with us tonight. He saw the faith we had that we will soon see them with us again in prayer group. We have faith that God will continue to work in all our lives until we meet again.
Perhaps the icing on the cake was that as we were leaving, another one of our sisters showed up just in time to give hugs all around and let us know that the grandmother she has been sitting with (which is why she couldn't be with us earlier) was beginning to feel a little better. These are more prayers answered. God is so good. Then finally another lady from the congregation came to tell us that her husband had just completed a Bible study with a young couple and had baptized both of them into the body of Christ. Now that was truly a way to end a night!!
I realize this post has been a little different than most of the ones I write. I have talked more about me than I usually do. I couldn't help it - I was so "full" of His love and His Spirit that I needed to share. We truly serve an awesome God!!!
As I sit here full of joy over the incredible blessings of the day I am extremely thankful that God has blessed me so richly. I know that not all days will be this wonderful. I know there will be burdens to bear, battles to wage and storms to weather. But just as I know not all days will be as great as today was, I also know that not all days will be bad either. Most of them will just be regular routine days. Yet, I know that as long as I am walking in the pathway of light, God goes with me through all my days whether they are good, bad or somewhere in between. He will be there to guide me, strengthen me and love me.
Christ above all things,
Robin
Monday, March 11, 2013
Jesus the Son of God
Yesterday, our ladies' Sunday school class discussed the divinity of Jesus. The discussion actually centered around the sad fact that so many of the Jewish leaders did not believe -- refused to see that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. They could not understand that the man who had fulfilled all the Old Testament prophecies, healed all kinds of sicknesses and deformities, cast out demons and even controlled nature was exactly who He claimed to be. As Jesus said, "seeing you see not and hearing, you hear not."
Those who did not believe were jealous and afraid of His power.
In John Chapter 5 Jesus gives us an excellent defense of His own divinity. Consider verses 17 -19 - "But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill Him, because He not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was His Father, making himself equal with God. Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what He seeth the Father do: for what things soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise." Then in verse 30 Jesus says, "I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me."
Jesus goes on to tell the Jews that He is not "bearing witness" of Himself. He said that John the Baptist bear witness unto the truth (v. 33) and that the Father himself has borne witness of Him. (v. 37) Finally, verse 39 says - "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."
We can see then, that in John chapter 5, our Lord offers 4 separate proofs of His divinity. This is a logical, credible and provable defense. First, He mentions His own works. He tells them there is no way He could perform the miracles He has performed unless He was God's Son; for no man could do these things unless the power of God was in Him. The miraculous works of our Lord should have been proofs in themselves of who Jesus was.
Secondly, Jesus says that He is not the only one who is claiming who He is. Christ says that John was his witness. Truly, John the Baptist did proclaim Jesus as the "Lamb of God." He gives John credibility as a witness by reminding them that "he was a burning and shining light and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light." (John 5:35)
Next Christ tells the Jews that the Heavenly Father bears witness of His Son. Here Christ is referring to to His own baptism by John when a voice from heaven proclaimed "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:17) It seems that at least some of the ones he addresses here were present at His baptism. If not, then most certainly, a "great voice from heaven" would have been a well known event. To me this is a powerful point. To think that people could actually have heard this voice and then later questioned God Himself by refusing to believe in His Son is sad to me. But then again, remember Moses at the burning bush? How many times did Moses argue before he finally took God at His word, obeyed Him and went back to Egypt?
Finally, Jesus tells them to search the Scriptures. The prophecies in the scriptures - they testify of Christ. His life fulfilled every one of them. Jesus promised in Matthew 5:17-18 - "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." In going back to John 5 - we see that by this time, Jesus is frustrated. He tells them that "you think you have eternal life." But then He tells them -"And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life." (verse 40)
Do you think maybe Christ was just a little frustrated here? He knew the hearts of these people. He knew that no matter how credible His statements are - no matter that He is making perfect sense these people have hardened their hearts and He will not be able to convince them that He is the Christ. They are literally looking at the Messiah in the face. I can't even begin to imagine how our Lord and Savior felt having to defend his actions and His very identity at every turn. Nor can I imagine how it might feel knowing that there were people who constantly sought for an opportunity to kill Him. Our Lord came to wash our sins away because of the great love and compassion He had for us. Yet, we should have compassion for what He went through. I am not only referring to His death the cross - but also what He went through during His ministry.
Jesus was the Son of God. We believe that. We live our lives based on this fundamental belief. The gospels are wonderful accounts of our wonderful Savior. I can't say it any better than the inspired words of John.
"And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name." John 20:30-31
Christ above all things,
Robin
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Can You Fix It?
A mom once wondered why her two young sons were suddenly so quiet in the playroom. She decided to check on them amd as she headed down the hallway she could hear the younger one say, "Can you fix it?" Somewhat concerned, but also curious - she decided to slow down and stay quiet to see just where this conversation was going.
The older brother said - "I don't think I can."
The little brother replied, "But you always fix everything."
"Yeah, but this is pretty bad."
"So that means we are going to have tell Mom and Dad."
"I think so - I can fix stuff - I can't fix you."
At that point, Mom was beginning to worry so she rushed into the room to see what was going on with her children. She found them sitting side by side on the bench seat. Everything seemed OK until she noticed that the youngest son was holding his foot one of his toes was pointed at a strange angle. It turns out that toe was broken.
Eventually, his toe healed and everything was fine. The mom said later that obviously it would take a lot more than a broken toe to slow down her little one. For some reason, though I do love this story. Maybe I like it because of the faith little brother had in big brother to "fix everything;" or maybe it is the certainty that big brother would have fixed his brother up if he could have, or maybe it was the calm that existed between the two boys. Anyway, I have always enjoyed this story.
Perhaps the real reason I like it story so well is because it reminds me of Jesus - our great Healer, the perfect "fixer." First and foremost, He has healed our sin sick souls by the blood that He shed. I Peter 2:24-25-- "Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness, by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls." Beautiful!! Our sweet Jesus, the Son of God made our souls clean. You see, we were dead to God because of our sins; but Christ's precious blood gave us back our relationship with God. The Son of God, made us God's sons and daughters. If we learn His will and obey Him, He will cleanse us - make us whole again and restore us to the Father.
Jesus is truly our great Redeemer and because He has lived on earth as a man --He knows what we go through in our lives. And He cares. He really does care. Do you think He would have come to live as a man - give up heaven and live on earth from birth to His death on the cross - if He didn't care? Oh, yes Robin - I know He loves us and sacrificed His life for us -- so that we could have eternal life. True enough, but His entire life experience means that He knows what we feel -- so He understands all our heartaches and our pains. And through our faith in Him - through our new life through Him we come to understand that life might hit us pretty hard sometimes, but He is always there for us. We have the Son of God on our side!!!
We can be complete faith in Jesus. We can be confident knowing that He really can "fix it." We can trust the fact that He is our big brother in the truest sense of the word and He is totally willing and able to heal us - comfort us -- to ease all the pain in our hearts. We can have that wonderful peaceful relationship with HIm. Our relationship with Him will heal our broken hearts and give us a hope of heaven with Him.
So the next time you feel lost and all alone, understand that you are a joint-heir with Jesus Christ Himself and that your "big Brother" really can fix anything.
Christ above all things,
Robin
The older brother said - "I don't think I can."
The little brother replied, "But you always fix everything."
"Yeah, but this is pretty bad."
"So that means we are going to have tell Mom and Dad."
"I think so - I can fix stuff - I can't fix you."
At that point, Mom was beginning to worry so she rushed into the room to see what was going on with her children. She found them sitting side by side on the bench seat. Everything seemed OK until she noticed that the youngest son was holding his foot one of his toes was pointed at a strange angle. It turns out that toe was broken.
Eventually, his toe healed and everything was fine. The mom said later that obviously it would take a lot more than a broken toe to slow down her little one. For some reason, though I do love this story. Maybe I like it because of the faith little brother had in big brother to "fix everything;" or maybe it is the certainty that big brother would have fixed his brother up if he could have, or maybe it was the calm that existed between the two boys. Anyway, I have always enjoyed this story.
Perhaps the real reason I like it story so well is because it reminds me of Jesus - our great Healer, the perfect "fixer." First and foremost, He has healed our sin sick souls by the blood that He shed. I Peter 2:24-25-- "Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness, by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls." Beautiful!! Our sweet Jesus, the Son of God made our souls clean. You see, we were dead to God because of our sins; but Christ's precious blood gave us back our relationship with God. The Son of God, made us God's sons and daughters. If we learn His will and obey Him, He will cleanse us - make us whole again and restore us to the Father.
Jesus is truly our great Redeemer and because He has lived on earth as a man --He knows what we go through in our lives. And He cares. He really does care. Do you think He would have come to live as a man - give up heaven and live on earth from birth to His death on the cross - if He didn't care? Oh, yes Robin - I know He loves us and sacrificed His life for us -- so that we could have eternal life. True enough, but His entire life experience means that He knows what we feel -- so He understands all our heartaches and our pains. And through our faith in Him - through our new life through Him we come to understand that life might hit us pretty hard sometimes, but He is always there for us. We have the Son of God on our side!!!
We can be complete faith in Jesus. We can be confident knowing that He really can "fix it." We can trust the fact that He is our big brother in the truest sense of the word and He is totally willing and able to heal us - comfort us -- to ease all the pain in our hearts. We can have that wonderful peaceful relationship with HIm. Our relationship with Him will heal our broken hearts and give us a hope of heaven with Him.
So the next time you feel lost and all alone, understand that you are a joint-heir with Jesus Christ Himself and that your "big Brother" really can fix anything.
Christ above all things,
Robin
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Building Up Our Faith Muscles
I once saw a sign in front of a church building that said, "Prayer is the excercise, faith is the muscle." I really like that. It is so true. As we pray to our Heavenly Father and we see His work in our lives our faith is built up. We become stronger in the Lord each day. Having a true relationship with the Father is very much a blessing. Our relationship with Him gives an added dimension to our lives. Our faith increases in strength every day.
Several years ago, I had the rare opportunity to spend a whole day with my youngest son. It was time for Aaron to get his driver's permit. He needed it before he could take Drivers' Ed class in the fall. The day, however, involved much more than just taking him to take his test. We didn't have a copy of his social security card anymore, so we had a visit to make at the social security office. We also had to obtain a notarized statement from the school that proved he was enrolled in school. So there were several stops to make.
Before we even left the house - we decided to pray. We asked God to bless us with a good day. We prayed that we would not run into any obstacles along the way and that we would be able to get each chore accomplished until the ultimate goal was met - which was obtaining his learner's permit. As for me, I was thankful for the opportunity to be with my son. We prayed and then we were off to begin our day.
Our first stop was the school. We needed to get that notarized form. When we parked at the school, we decided to pray again. We asked God that the right person would actually be at school in order for us to be able to get what we needed. And then in we went. Naturally, the lady was there and we were able to get the notarized statement. When we got back in the car, we prayed again thanking the Lord that we were able to mark one chore off our list so easily.
The next stop was the social security office and we followed the same routine. Our wait was short, the lady was helpful, and we got a new card ordered for Aaron. We also got the print out we needed to have so he could take his test. We had prayed both before and after we were in that office. Then we drove to the center for him to take his test. Again, we prayed before we went in. Each prayer had been answered so far. Aaron took his test and got his permit. He was very proud of himself because some of his friends had to take the test 2 or 3 times before they passed. Once we left the driver's license center, we were both so happy.
This was a wonderful day for both of us. It was very good for Aaron. A day we spent together and a large portion of it centered around prayer is a wonderful memory for me. The exercise of asking for a particular blessing and having it answered was an awesome experience for him. His faith was truly built up and so was mine. I hope I never forget that beautiful day. Isn't it wonderful to think about the awesome God we serve? What an amazing comforting thought to realize His love for us. He does care about us as individuals. He cares what is happening in our day! God wants us to live a blessed life. God wants to have the "abundant" life that He promised us.
Read John 10:10 - "The thief cometh not but for to steal and to kill and destry: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." I truly believe that a stong and consistent prayer life leading to a loving relationship with God is a major part of that abundant life. There is great joy in knowing that God is your best friend.
Jesus gives us a hint about the blessing of a faithful prayer life in Matthew 21:22 -
"And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."
I John 3:22 - "And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight."
John 15:7 - "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you."
One more --Ephesians 3:20-21 - "Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages world without end."
So do your exercises, build your muscles and claim that abundant life.
Christ above all things,
Robin
Several years ago, I had the rare opportunity to spend a whole day with my youngest son. It was time for Aaron to get his driver's permit. He needed it before he could take Drivers' Ed class in the fall. The day, however, involved much more than just taking him to take his test. We didn't have a copy of his social security card anymore, so we had a visit to make at the social security office. We also had to obtain a notarized statement from the school that proved he was enrolled in school. So there were several stops to make.
Before we even left the house - we decided to pray. We asked God to bless us with a good day. We prayed that we would not run into any obstacles along the way and that we would be able to get each chore accomplished until the ultimate goal was met - which was obtaining his learner's permit. As for me, I was thankful for the opportunity to be with my son. We prayed and then we were off to begin our day.
Our first stop was the school. We needed to get that notarized form. When we parked at the school, we decided to pray again. We asked God that the right person would actually be at school in order for us to be able to get what we needed. And then in we went. Naturally, the lady was there and we were able to get the notarized statement. When we got back in the car, we prayed again thanking the Lord that we were able to mark one chore off our list so easily.
The next stop was the social security office and we followed the same routine. Our wait was short, the lady was helpful, and we got a new card ordered for Aaron. We also got the print out we needed to have so he could take his test. We had prayed both before and after we were in that office. Then we drove to the center for him to take his test. Again, we prayed before we went in. Each prayer had been answered so far. Aaron took his test and got his permit. He was very proud of himself because some of his friends had to take the test 2 or 3 times before they passed. Once we left the driver's license center, we were both so happy.
This was a wonderful day for both of us. It was very good for Aaron. A day we spent together and a large portion of it centered around prayer is a wonderful memory for me. The exercise of asking for a particular blessing and having it answered was an awesome experience for him. His faith was truly built up and so was mine. I hope I never forget that beautiful day. Isn't it wonderful to think about the awesome God we serve? What an amazing comforting thought to realize His love for us. He does care about us as individuals. He cares what is happening in our day! God wants us to live a blessed life. God wants to have the "abundant" life that He promised us.
Read John 10:10 - "The thief cometh not but for to steal and to kill and destry: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." I truly believe that a stong and consistent prayer life leading to a loving relationship with God is a major part of that abundant life. There is great joy in knowing that God is your best friend.
Jesus gives us a hint about the blessing of a faithful prayer life in Matthew 21:22 -
"And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."
I John 3:22 - "And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight."
John 15:7 - "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you."
One more --Ephesians 3:20-21 - "Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages world without end."
So do your exercises, build your muscles and claim that abundant life.
Christ above all things,
Robin
Friday, March 8, 2013
Giving Thanks Always!
I have been teaching pre-school children off and on for many years now -- long enough that some of my former students are adults -married with children of their own. I guess I am aging myself here -- but that's OK. It just means that I have this rich collection of memories stored up in my heart. Teaching the Bible to anyone is a challenge; but the reward is well worth it.
Once I was attempting to teach a group of young children about being thankful. I wanted to focus on all the blessings we get from God. However, I am not sure ever got there with this one little girl in my class. I love the pure innocence of children. I told the class that we should be thankful for our food and other things and then I asked them about their clothes.
"Where do your clothes come from?" I asked
"From Wal Mart," came this young lady's reply.
" But how did you get them from Wal Mart?"
"My Daddy buys them for me."
"How does your daddy get the money to pay for your clothes?"
"Well, he just pulls his wallet out of his pocket and gets the money out."
I think it was at that point that I just gave up and tried to explain it without asking any more questions. Obviously, I was going the long way around to get to the point that God blesses us to earn money so we can buy our clothes and other things we need. Some things are harder to explain than others. I have learned more about teaching since then. But that sweet little girl was only telling me exactly what she knew. Children at that age think so literally that it did not dawn on her to think about clothing being a blessing from God.
What about us though? Do we understand that everything we have --EVERYTHING comes from God? Or do we get so busy putting so much time in at work earning our paycheck, that we begin to think we have done it our own? Do we begin to think that what we have accomplished has nothing to do with God blessing us? Be careful.. I don't think this feeling makes God very happy.
James 1:17 says "Every good and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."
John 3:27 - "John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven."
OK folks according to the scriptures every good and perfect comes from God. How much clearer than John 3:27 be? If you have something. God has given it to you. Now that doesn't mean that we just sit down where we are and never do anything else. We can't just wait for God to come by and just drop blessings right in our lap. We are expected to work and earn our keep. But it is God who blessed you so that you have the job you have; and that you have the strength and ability to do your work. Everything we have goes back to God one way or another, so we should evermore be thankful to Him for all our blessings. It is what God expects us to do. Being thankful comes with its own blessings. The more thankful you are, the more you think about everything God has given you. Knowing that God loves you enough to bestow all these blessings and understanding that He blesses us even as we are going through some of the hardest and saddest times of our lives -- He is still blessing us -loving us and hoping that we will reach out to Him. The more you realize and appreciate all your blessings, the happier you are. But being thankful also humbles us a little and makes us realize that if God is blessing us in any way - we should use those blessings to help other people.
Let's look at a couple of more scriptures and I will step down off the soap box for the night. Consider Ephesians 5:20 - "Giving thanks always for all things unto God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."
I Thessalonians 5:18 - "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of Christ in Christ Jesus concerning you." It is the Savior's will that we give thanks for everything -- for all things. If we fail to be thankful - then we fail Him. Let's try our best not to disappoint Him.
My Dad has shared this thought with me ... What if you woke up one morning and all you had was what you had been thankful for the day before? Good question!
Learn to be thankful. It is God's will. Let's not disappoint him.
Christ above all things,
Robin
Once I was attempting to teach a group of young children about being thankful. I wanted to focus on all the blessings we get from God. However, I am not sure ever got there with this one little girl in my class. I love the pure innocence of children. I told the class that we should be thankful for our food and other things and then I asked them about their clothes.
"Where do your clothes come from?" I asked
"From Wal Mart," came this young lady's reply.
" But how did you get them from Wal Mart?"
"My Daddy buys them for me."
"How does your daddy get the money to pay for your clothes?"
"Well, he just pulls his wallet out of his pocket and gets the money out."
I think it was at that point that I just gave up and tried to explain it without asking any more questions. Obviously, I was going the long way around to get to the point that God blesses us to earn money so we can buy our clothes and other things we need. Some things are harder to explain than others. I have learned more about teaching since then. But that sweet little girl was only telling me exactly what she knew. Children at that age think so literally that it did not dawn on her to think about clothing being a blessing from God.
What about us though? Do we understand that everything we have --EVERYTHING comes from God? Or do we get so busy putting so much time in at work earning our paycheck, that we begin to think we have done it our own? Do we begin to think that what we have accomplished has nothing to do with God blessing us? Be careful.. I don't think this feeling makes God very happy.
James 1:17 says "Every good and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."
John 3:27 - "John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven."
OK folks according to the scriptures every good and perfect comes from God. How much clearer than John 3:27 be? If you have something. God has given it to you. Now that doesn't mean that we just sit down where we are and never do anything else. We can't just wait for God to come by and just drop blessings right in our lap. We are expected to work and earn our keep. But it is God who blessed you so that you have the job you have; and that you have the strength and ability to do your work. Everything we have goes back to God one way or another, so we should evermore be thankful to Him for all our blessings. It is what God expects us to do. Being thankful comes with its own blessings. The more thankful you are, the more you think about everything God has given you. Knowing that God loves you enough to bestow all these blessings and understanding that He blesses us even as we are going through some of the hardest and saddest times of our lives -- He is still blessing us -loving us and hoping that we will reach out to Him. The more you realize and appreciate all your blessings, the happier you are. But being thankful also humbles us a little and makes us realize that if God is blessing us in any way - we should use those blessings to help other people.
Let's look at a couple of more scriptures and I will step down off the soap box for the night. Consider Ephesians 5:20 - "Giving thanks always for all things unto God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."
I Thessalonians 5:18 - "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of Christ in Christ Jesus concerning you." It is the Savior's will that we give thanks for everything -- for all things. If we fail to be thankful - then we fail Him. Let's try our best not to disappoint Him.
My Dad has shared this thought with me ... What if you woke up one morning and all you had was what you had been thankful for the day before? Good question!
Learn to be thankful. It is God's will. Let's not disappoint him.
Christ above all things,
Robin
"A Friend Loveth at All Times"
Once several years ago (longer than I would like to think about) my Dad spoke at the funeral of a man who was a member of the congregation where Dad was the minister. The gentleman was a fine Christian mine and a good friend of Dad's. He had loved him dearly. I will always remember Dad's beginning remarks. He said - with tears in his eyes - "A friend loveth at all times, and Brother So and So (choosing not to reveal names) was my friend. I loved him and I will miss him." Then Dad went on with the rest of his message. I don't remember anything else he said; but I will always remember that he called this fellow Christian a friend. Of course, we all know that "a friend loveth at all times" is from Proverbs 17:17. What a great tribute it is to be known as a good friend of others.
We all need the love and support of friendship in our lives. We've talked about how special friendship is before. I'm not saying anything new here -- just sharing a few observations and memories. We know that God created man in His image. He gave us free will because He wanted us to desire to obey Him, follow Him, be with Him all of our own accord. He made us as social creatures with emotions. God created the family unit for a purpose. He wanted His children to have love, comfort and companionship from their family members. And he wanted us to have friendships too - for the second commandment is "Love thy neighbor as thyself."
Think about it - how can we understand that "God is love" if we have never felt the emotion of love before? How can we know how love feels unless we have experienced that with people we can see, hear and touch. God knew that we would need these emotional ties with family and friends in order get through life. To even begin to understand the grand scale of God's great love we have to experience and understand love on our own human scale. As we value love and friendship in our earthly lives, we learn to value even more the love of a Supreme Heavenly Father.
Jesus used friendship of others to try and explain His great love for the apostles. Listen to His words in John 15:12-15 - "This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends if you do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord does; but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known to you." Jesus was about to die on the cross. He wanted them to love one another - to hold fast to each other - for they would need that great support from each other. But most importantly He wanted them to understand how much He loved them. He was going to die for them. He challenged them then to do what He had commanded them. He is calling them friends - He has shared with them about the Heavenly Father. I think these verses are beautiful. Just to see some little bit of the relationship Jesus had with these man who had been with Him almost constantly for about three years now. He must have had a great deal of love for them.
Friendship can be - is a huge part of a person's life. Yes, family is very, very important. I am not trying to downplay that in the least. Friends just enhance and enrich our lives in so many ways. I am so happy to have good friends in my life. People I know I can depend on if I ever need anything. These are friends who are always there for me -- that are happy when I am happy and sad when I am sad.
I have friends that just make me smile when I think of them. I just get a feeling of warmth and love just by being around them. I have in mind two such friends right now. They mean the world to me. They are both part of the church family where I attend. One of these friends is only 4 years old. The other is about 80. Both of them have been a wonderful blessing in my life and I hope and pray that I will always remember them.
My little 4 year old friend is a former Bible class student. I teach 2's and 3's so he was "promoted" at the beginning of the school year. I miss him being in my class. This child has one of the sweetest natures I have ever known. He always has a smile on his face. He has a very gentle way about him. He is a cuddly little fella too. He isn't in my class anymore, but when services are over he will seek me out. He always gives me a big hug and sometimes a little kiss on the cheek. He will smile and say, "Hi Mrs. Robin." We usually exchange a few words and then he is ready to go on his way. That hug, that smile and those little conversations we have are truly a blessing to me. It is my earnest prayer that this young man will always have this wonderful sweet nature of his. If he is able to hang onto this, he will be a great blessing and influence for other people.
My other friend is also very sweet and gentle and always has a smile on his face. This fine Christian had been an elder and served the Lord and His church faithfully for many years. He retired as an elder a few years back because of his health; but he is still one of the backbones of our congregation. He stays very active and still gardens during the summer. I was pleased to have tomatoes from his garden several times this past summer. Young children have always loved this man. He is nice and tall - and like I already said very gentle. I think children feel safe with him. Over the years, I have seen children calm down after they are handed off to this wonderful man. He is a widower now, and has been for several years. That has never kept him from being faithful to the Lord. He rarely ever misses a service.
Just this past Sunday after services, my friend got up and spoke to the congregation. His message was brief, but it had a great impact on all of us. He thanked a couple of people for helping him with something when he was sick. Then he thanked the entire congregation for showing him so much love and support throughout the years. In return, he pledged his love for the whole congregation. He told us he never want to be anywhere else -- that he couldn't think of a better place to be. He plans to live out his life as part of that congregation.
Well, our church was so uplifted by our brother's sweet words. You can't imagine how good it made us all feel to know how dedicated he is to his church family. He really did uplift us all. It had an affect on us -- when I went to the foyer - I just stood back for a moment to soak it all in because of all the love and sharing that was going on that day. People were talking, laughing and communicating with one another. Love and encouragement was in the air. I just loved being able to witness that. And I thank my friend because he truly blessed the congregation that day.
It is easy to see from these personal examples and from the few scriptures I cited, how important friendships should be. It is something we long for. It enriches our lives beyond measure.
I saw this on a church sign once -- "The best vitamin for friendship is B1." So if you have good friends count your blessings and thank your God. Then make some new friends, too. It's not difficult - just remember to take your vitamin and B1.
Christ above all things,
Robin
We all need the love and support of friendship in our lives. We've talked about how special friendship is before. I'm not saying anything new here -- just sharing a few observations and memories. We know that God created man in His image. He gave us free will because He wanted us to desire to obey Him, follow Him, be with Him all of our own accord. He made us as social creatures with emotions. God created the family unit for a purpose. He wanted His children to have love, comfort and companionship from their family members. And he wanted us to have friendships too - for the second commandment is "Love thy neighbor as thyself."
Think about it - how can we understand that "God is love" if we have never felt the emotion of love before? How can we know how love feels unless we have experienced that with people we can see, hear and touch. God knew that we would need these emotional ties with family and friends in order get through life. To even begin to understand the grand scale of God's great love we have to experience and understand love on our own human scale. As we value love and friendship in our earthly lives, we learn to value even more the love of a Supreme Heavenly Father.
Jesus used friendship of others to try and explain His great love for the apostles. Listen to His words in John 15:12-15 - "This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends if you do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord does; but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known to you." Jesus was about to die on the cross. He wanted them to love one another - to hold fast to each other - for they would need that great support from each other. But most importantly He wanted them to understand how much He loved them. He was going to die for them. He challenged them then to do what He had commanded them. He is calling them friends - He has shared with them about the Heavenly Father. I think these verses are beautiful. Just to see some little bit of the relationship Jesus had with these man who had been with Him almost constantly for about three years now. He must have had a great deal of love for them.
Friendship can be - is a huge part of a person's life. Yes, family is very, very important. I am not trying to downplay that in the least. Friends just enhance and enrich our lives in so many ways. I am so happy to have good friends in my life. People I know I can depend on if I ever need anything. These are friends who are always there for me -- that are happy when I am happy and sad when I am sad.
I have friends that just make me smile when I think of them. I just get a feeling of warmth and love just by being around them. I have in mind two such friends right now. They mean the world to me. They are both part of the church family where I attend. One of these friends is only 4 years old. The other is about 80. Both of them have been a wonderful blessing in my life and I hope and pray that I will always remember them.
My little 4 year old friend is a former Bible class student. I teach 2's and 3's so he was "promoted" at the beginning of the school year. I miss him being in my class. This child has one of the sweetest natures I have ever known. He always has a smile on his face. He has a very gentle way about him. He is a cuddly little fella too. He isn't in my class anymore, but when services are over he will seek me out. He always gives me a big hug and sometimes a little kiss on the cheek. He will smile and say, "Hi Mrs. Robin." We usually exchange a few words and then he is ready to go on his way. That hug, that smile and those little conversations we have are truly a blessing to me. It is my earnest prayer that this young man will always have this wonderful sweet nature of his. If he is able to hang onto this, he will be a great blessing and influence for other people.
My other friend is also very sweet and gentle and always has a smile on his face. This fine Christian had been an elder and served the Lord and His church faithfully for many years. He retired as an elder a few years back because of his health; but he is still one of the backbones of our congregation. He stays very active and still gardens during the summer. I was pleased to have tomatoes from his garden several times this past summer. Young children have always loved this man. He is nice and tall - and like I already said very gentle. I think children feel safe with him. Over the years, I have seen children calm down after they are handed off to this wonderful man. He is a widower now, and has been for several years. That has never kept him from being faithful to the Lord. He rarely ever misses a service.
Just this past Sunday after services, my friend got up and spoke to the congregation. His message was brief, but it had a great impact on all of us. He thanked a couple of people for helping him with something when he was sick. Then he thanked the entire congregation for showing him so much love and support throughout the years. In return, he pledged his love for the whole congregation. He told us he never want to be anywhere else -- that he couldn't think of a better place to be. He plans to live out his life as part of that congregation.
Well, our church was so uplifted by our brother's sweet words. You can't imagine how good it made us all feel to know how dedicated he is to his church family. He really did uplift us all. It had an affect on us -- when I went to the foyer - I just stood back for a moment to soak it all in because of all the love and sharing that was going on that day. People were talking, laughing and communicating with one another. Love and encouragement was in the air. I just loved being able to witness that. And I thank my friend because he truly blessed the congregation that day.
It is easy to see from these personal examples and from the few scriptures I cited, how important friendships should be. It is something we long for. It enriches our lives beyond measure.
I saw this on a church sign once -- "The best vitamin for friendship is B1." So if you have good friends count your blessings and thank your God. Then make some new friends, too. It's not difficult - just remember to take your vitamin and B1.
Christ above all things,
Robin
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Common Courtesy - Making the World a Better Place
Do you know what common courtesy is? Have you ever heard the term or is it outdated? What about "proper etiquette?" It seems to me it is certainly in short supply these days. Have we lost touch of part of something that was best in all of us?
Mom was a teacher at the same elementary school that all three of my boys attended. Since we live right next door, the boys were blessed to be able to ride back and forth to school with her instead of riding the school bus. One afternoon on the way home Grandmother and Alex (our middle son) had a pretty serious conversation. I don't remember how old he was -- probably only in first grade. Mom asked Alex what kind of day he had. He told her he had "kinda gotten in trouble today." Naturally she was curious and asked what happened. I wasn't there, but from what I was told and what I remember - the conversation when something like this.
Alex said, "Well the teacher got on to me for answering all the questions out loud. But I knew all the answers."
"What did she say?" Mom asked.
"She said I should give someone else a chance. She told me even if I knew all the answers I shouldn't say them all. I should let others have a turn."
"Well, I can understand that," Mom replied. "When you say all the answers, it's kind of like stealing. You are taking someone else's turn - someone else's chance to answer. We have to learn to think about others and let them answer questions, too."
Nothing much was said after that. But Alex was staying with Mom until Robert and I got home from work. My Dad came home before we did. When he saw Alex, he asked him how his day had been - and Alex said, "Well I got in trouble for stealing today."
Dad was incredulous. I can only imagine the look on his face. "What did you say?" He was in a slight panic until Mom came in the room and quickly explained what really happened.
Mom had taught Alex to be courteous and considerate of others. Thank you, Mom!! It seems like so many children today don't even know what "manners" are. They don't understand that it is polite to ask for something nicely and then say "Please." Nor do they realize that saying"thank you," and "you're welcome" are totally appropriate. It is what used to be called common courtesy. I was taught to treat others with respect; to let others have their turn; to be considerate of other people's feelings; to use the magic words. (Please, thank you, you're welcome, ma'am and sir to name a few).
A few years after the "stealing" conversation, Alex was with me one afternoon and we were going through a drive through restaurant. He was about 12 or 13 -- you know the age your kids are when all of a sudden you became a total idiot in their eyes. To top it off they somehow magically, as if almost overnight - they have been endowed with all knowledge from all the ages. They know everything. If you have ever had teenagers, you know what I am talking about.
Anyway, back to the story - we were in the drive through and I was placing our order. The lady who was taking my order - repeated it back to me -- and asked if that would be all I needed -- you know the drill. During the conversation, I said "yes ma'am" and "no ma'am" as I spoke to her. While driving around to get our food Alex said, "Mom, you know the person in there is probably only 16 or 17 years old and you are a grown up person and you were saying ma'am to her." I told Alex that it didn't matter what age someone was -- that being courteous and showing respect to others is always the right thing to do.
OK Robin that's all well and good. Where are the scriptures to back you up on all this common courtesy and manners and stuff? Well how about the Golden Rule for one?
That's in Matthew 7:12. "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." There are many many other verses, but it is getting late so I will only share a couple more.
Romans 5:14 - "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
Philippians 2:3 - "Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory: but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves."
Common courtesy is nothing more than being kind to one another. It is showing respect to each other (esteeming each other). It is treating others as you would them treat you. And it is all scriptural! It is just the way Christ wants us to treat others. Not to mention the fact that you reap what you sow and simple kindnesses will come back to you tenfold.
Can you imagine how much better our world would be if everyone showed consideration toward others like they should? Why don't we try it? It won't take much to get started. And our life on our earth will be blessed because we have made the world a better place.
Christ above all things,
Robin
Mom was a teacher at the same elementary school that all three of my boys attended. Since we live right next door, the boys were blessed to be able to ride back and forth to school with her instead of riding the school bus. One afternoon on the way home Grandmother and Alex (our middle son) had a pretty serious conversation. I don't remember how old he was -- probably only in first grade. Mom asked Alex what kind of day he had. He told her he had "kinda gotten in trouble today." Naturally she was curious and asked what happened. I wasn't there, but from what I was told and what I remember - the conversation when something like this.
Alex said, "Well the teacher got on to me for answering all the questions out loud. But I knew all the answers."
"What did she say?" Mom asked.
"She said I should give someone else a chance. She told me even if I knew all the answers I shouldn't say them all. I should let others have a turn."
"Well, I can understand that," Mom replied. "When you say all the answers, it's kind of like stealing. You are taking someone else's turn - someone else's chance to answer. We have to learn to think about others and let them answer questions, too."
Nothing much was said after that. But Alex was staying with Mom until Robert and I got home from work. My Dad came home before we did. When he saw Alex, he asked him how his day had been - and Alex said, "Well I got in trouble for stealing today."
Dad was incredulous. I can only imagine the look on his face. "What did you say?" He was in a slight panic until Mom came in the room and quickly explained what really happened.
Mom had taught Alex to be courteous and considerate of others. Thank you, Mom!! It seems like so many children today don't even know what "manners" are. They don't understand that it is polite to ask for something nicely and then say "Please." Nor do they realize that saying"thank you," and "you're welcome" are totally appropriate. It is what used to be called common courtesy. I was taught to treat others with respect; to let others have their turn; to be considerate of other people's feelings; to use the magic words. (Please, thank you, you're welcome, ma'am and sir to name a few).
A few years after the "stealing" conversation, Alex was with me one afternoon and we were going through a drive through restaurant. He was about 12 or 13 -- you know the age your kids are when all of a sudden you became a total idiot in their eyes. To top it off they somehow magically, as if almost overnight - they have been endowed with all knowledge from all the ages. They know everything. If you have ever had teenagers, you know what I am talking about.
Anyway, back to the story - we were in the drive through and I was placing our order. The lady who was taking my order - repeated it back to me -- and asked if that would be all I needed -- you know the drill. During the conversation, I said "yes ma'am" and "no ma'am" as I spoke to her. While driving around to get our food Alex said, "Mom, you know the person in there is probably only 16 or 17 years old and you are a grown up person and you were saying ma'am to her." I told Alex that it didn't matter what age someone was -- that being courteous and showing respect to others is always the right thing to do.
OK Robin that's all well and good. Where are the scriptures to back you up on all this common courtesy and manners and stuff? Well how about the Golden Rule for one?
That's in Matthew 7:12. "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." There are many many other verses, but it is getting late so I will only share a couple more.
Romans 5:14 - "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
Philippians 2:3 - "Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory: but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves."
Common courtesy is nothing more than being kind to one another. It is showing respect to each other (esteeming each other). It is treating others as you would them treat you. And it is all scriptural! It is just the way Christ wants us to treat others. Not to mention the fact that you reap what you sow and simple kindnesses will come back to you tenfold.
Can you imagine how much better our world would be if everyone showed consideration toward others like they should? Why don't we try it? It won't take much to get started. And our life on our earth will be blessed because we have made the world a better place.
Christ above all things,
Robin
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)