Friday, December 31, 2010

Have You Ever Seen God's Glory?

Today marks my 80th blog message. I take no credit for it, but am thankful for the Spirit of God's leading. As I enter a new year, I feel blessed and I trust that you are also feeling that way too!

We are indeed blessed to be a blessing.

I was blessed today to catch a Watch Night service on the Internet at a former church in Virginia I used to attend. The Pastor preached a wonderful sermon about Moses and the people he was going to lead into the promise land. The choir was singing songs, "God has Been Good to Me," and "If It Had Not Been for the Lord on My Side," now I may not have the titles to the songs correct, but they go something like that.

Both the story of Moses and the songs are great reminders to me of just how good God has been to me and my family and I know He has been on our side.

The passage of Scripture used comes from Numbers 20:2-13, which states in part, v. 6-8, "Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. The Lord said to Moses, "Take the staff, and you and your brother, Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink."

Can you imagine seeing the glory of the Lord? Have you ever seen the glory of the Lord in your life? Here Moses, and his brother, Aaron, the high priest, were privilege to see the glory of the Lord. None of the people in the community were allowed this privilege. Only God's prophet and His high priest could even approach the Tent of Meeting.

God gave Moses specific instructions to "speak" to the rock (God's creation) but Moses decided he would do like he had done before and he struck the rock, like he did in the book of Exodus.

Follow me for a moment. God is very specific in his instructions to his people. How can you see the glory of God when you decide to do it your way? God wants to receive all the glory for everything that happens or has happened in your life.

The glory of the Lord appeared to Moses and Aaron. They were told to take the staff, the very same staff that had budded, blossomed, and produce almonds to prove to the chosen people that Aaron would be God's choice to be high priest. (Numbers 17:8) Aaron's staff was to be a sign to a rebellious people; a constant reminder to those who chose to question God's authority or the person He selects.

If you drop down to Numbers 20:12, God says to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the people (Israelites), you will not bring this community into the land I gave them."

Wow! Moses and Aaron disobedience to God's specific instructions would cause them not to see the land He had promised them 39 years ago. Moses and Aaron had been with the people they led out of Egypt for 39 years wondering around in the desert, trying to get to the promised land. The Bible continues to tell us that both Moses and Aaron died and did not enter the promise land because of their disobedience.

You don't want to miss your blessing because of DISOBEDIENCE! God desires to take us a place he has promised; a place where the streets are paved with gold; where there are no tears, sickness or sorrow. Will you see God's glory because you respect Him enough to be obedient and to give Him the honor for doing everything in your life?

Don't go into a new year, as Moses did, being bitter or angry or annoyed because something didn't go your way, or did not go as you expected. Tomorrow is not promised to us and God is in complete control. If you think that everything that has happened to you in this past year was a result of your own doing; well, think again. You might not make to see the next year.

God wants all the credit for all the miracles in our lives. The Lord told Moses to speak to the rock; however, Moses struck it, not once, but twice. God did the miracle, yet Moses was taking credit for it when he said to the people, "we bring you water out of this rock." (Numbers 20: 10)

Everything that happens that is good, God did it! Remember that. We are God's creations and He is the Creator. We don't get credit for anything, other than obedience to His word. His word is specific and His promises are true. He wants us to get to the palce He promised.

Thought for Today: God will not tolerate disobedience, especially when He gives a direct command.

Monday, December 27, 2010

The Golden Rule

Recently, I had a dialogue with a neighbor about the Golden Rule. She had no religious association and of course, she now knows that I am a Christian. Our beliefs in the existence of God are different. It is her belief that God does not exist because she cannot visibly see him. In the same breath, she claims that she tries to live her life by the Golden Rule.

I started reflecting on my neighbors comments and started thinking exactly what is the Golden Rule. I have read that the "Golden Rule" is the name given by Bible translators to a principle taught in His Sermon on the Mount. That is to say, the actual words, "golden rule" are not found in Scripture, nor are the words, "sermon on the mount" are also not found. These titles were later added by Bible translation teams when describing different passes of Scripture in order to make Bible study a little easier. (Got Questions Ministries)

I guess what startles me about my neighbor is the fact that she was raised as a Jew but does not believe in the existence of God. "Agnostic" I think is the term for those who don't believe in God's existence. Yet she states that she was raised by her father to believe in the Golden Rule.

I guess I am confused and it is apparent that the Golden Rule means different things to different people.

What most Christians call the Golden Rule, myself included, is mention in the book of Matthew, chapter 7, verse 12 which states: "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."

The gospel according to Matthew is in the New Testament.

In the Old Testament, a similar principle is found in Leviticus 19:18 which states, "Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord." This is God speaking to His chosen people, the Jews, those who were lead by Moses.

Jesus knew the human heart and its selfishness. In fact, in the preceding verse, He describes human beings as "you who are evil." This is important to grasp because, as He continues to say in verse 16, human beings still know how to give good gifts to their children even though they are evil and selfish by nature. This verse leads into the Golden Rule which says to actively pursue and treat others as we would like to be treated in all things.

In Leviticus, we again see the implication that people are naturally self-lovers due to sin, so it gave the audience a place to start in how they should treat others and how they want to be treated.

As good as the Golden Rule is in its command to treat others, it also reminds us how selfish we really are! Jesus audience could relate to this command (as the Jews of Moses' day could) because people universally demand respect, love, and appreciation regardless of whether they deserve it or not. Jesus knew this and used it to show how His people should treat others: how they themselves wanted to be loved, respected, and appreciated.

What is my point? This rule to treat others with such high regard is also the second in the greatest of commandments, followed only by the command to love God Himself.

The Golden Rule as stated by Jesus is radically different in that it is an active, positive command to do good to others, as opposed to the negative, restraining commands to not hurt others.

The command to love is what separates the Christian ethic from every other religion's ethic. In fact, the Bible is so radical in its command to actively love that Christians are told to love even their enemies, something that other religions do not practice.

Obeying the Christian ethic and imperative to love others is a mark of a true Christian (John 13:35). In fact, Christians cannot claim to love God if they don't love other people as well.

If someone says, "I love God" and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. (1 John 4:20)

The Golden Rule encapsulates this idea and is unique to the Judeo-Christian Scriptures.

How can a person abide by the Golden Rule when they don't believe that God exists? The Golden Rule is about love. You must first love God. The problem isn't that such people prefer to think about "love." The problem is that they don't love God, who is a God of great love, nor can they understand His law, which is summed up in the command to love our neighbor as ourself.

We can't pretend to live by Golden Rule, which a command of God, if we don't believe He exists.

Thought for Today: God is real even if we can't see Him; He does exist, and He does love all of his creation, even those who doubt his existence.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Make Good Choices

Do you think you make good choices? What exactly does that mean? Make good choices. I used to serve in my church's day care nursery and one of the ladies in the nursery would tell the children upon their departure, "make good choices."

I want to reflect on her comment.

The freedom to make our own choices is a very important issue in our society. Every day, each of us chooses to do the things that we do, unless we are limited to the authorities' decisions and rules, such as in the military.

No matter what our choices are today, they are ultimately creating our future because every choice we make will either cause us to be blessed or cursed.

I have a grandson who hates to go to school. I am now trying to convince him that by not going to school or cutting classes, he is affecting his future, his diploma, getting a job, or joining the military, which he says he would like to do. He has a rebellious spirit which will eventually lead him to death (curses).

The Bible tells us that we can choose life or death. This is a part of making good choices. All choices have consequences. These consequences will be for our betterment or will work to destroy us. Satan, as I know him, is a destroyer and he roams the earth seeking and looking for individuals he can destroy.

We better be careful with the choices we make!

The Bible challenges us in the book of Deuteronomy 30:19, where God is telling his chosen people, "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore chose life, that both you and your children might live..." All who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior are God's chosen people, and we admonished to chose life or death, so that we and our children might live!

I constantly warn my children to be careful what they watch, listen or read. Many messages going forth in our society today have stressed our "right to chose" but have not balanced it with the message that our choices have consequences (especially in the area of lust and selfishness). For instance, most movies have glamorized many things that are bad for us and have not generally shown the destructive results of smoking, drinking, adultery, fornication, gambling, abortion, etc. These things don't come home to roost until something tragic occurs in our life.

God did give humans the opportunity to make choices that genuinely affect their destiny and because God created mankind in His own image, that included the ability to choose. Making good choices is making good sense, exercising good judgment and discipline. We are going to be held accountable for the choices we make.

As Christians, we are to develop the attributes of Christ and become like Him. Because much of our personalities are formed through our choices, we have to make new choices to let go of the old nature and receive the new. Our new natures are formed by the truths from the Word of God.

The mind is the intellect, with reasoning being the "voice" of the mind. If the mind remains unrenewed, not "healed," it will continue to think carnal thoughts, believe false information, and result in fleshly speaking and living.

Our future is determined by all the choices we are making today. Let us bring God into helping us make our decisions. In doing so, it will determine whether our future will be secure and will have God's blessing on it.

Let us be as Joshua was and declare: "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." God promised Joshua good success if he obeyed the words of the Law and chose to follow Him. Joshua and his family were blessed because he made the right choices; even though he went through many battles, God was with him. He was an overcomer. And you can be too!

It took me a while to grasp what my fellow day care co-worker meant, but the more I study the Word of God, the more it becomes a lamp and light to my path. Making good choices seems like a smart thing to do.

Thought for Today: Be smart and be obedient. Make good choices so you can have life.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

The Power of God

When we consider creation we can't help but wonder about the omnipotence of the God who brought it into being. All we see and know of His creation was called into existence by His Word. He created substance from nothing. (Genesis 1:1-2:3)

Our God hasn't changed. The God of creation is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His power hasn't diminished. In the book of Jeremiah, it states, "Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heaven and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you." (Jeremiah 32:16-29)

We are really blessed to know that we belong to a God such as this! But often because we are human and get busy with our day to day things, we forget about the awesome power of God. We become too busy with busyness that we take little time out of our schedule or activities to reflect about the goodness of God and just how awesome God is!

Have you ever looked at a sunset or a sunrise? Do you think man could have created such a thing? What a wonder! I think there is a song that goes like that by CeCe Winan, "He's a wonder, He's a wonder!" Our God is a wonder!

Most of all, as the author, Diane Head, says, "I forget what God can do for me; I forget He has the power to change those areas in my life that desperately need His touch. There are always a few undesirables that need to be discarded---gossip, yelling, gluttony, complaining, bitterness, fretting, jealousy, worry, pride, uncommitted struggles, impatience---all jammed way back into the corners (shudder!) (NIV, His Power)

Our lives are like closets that need to be cleaned and straightened out. But, by our own power, we just can't seem to change our lives. To bring about a permanent change of heart, we need more power than our tired, human selves can muster.

God reminds us in His Word that He is the door, all we have to do is knock and come on in. In Jeremiah 29:13, God tells His people, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

We have to desire to seek God and when we do, we can find Him. God doesn't hide or step away from us, we hide and step away from Him.

When we open the door and allow God's life changing power to enter in...step by step, moment by moment...He begins a good work in us.

As Ms. Head states, "Deadwood is cut out. Discipline is applied. Priorities are rearranged. In some areas, He works quickly. In others, painfully slow. But His timing is always perfect."

God works in His time and in His way, but we must be willing to trust Him with our lives.

It is hard to trust someone you don't know, but the Word of God says that door is always open. This mean He is always available to you. Also you can swing wide open those "closet doors" to your heart and let Jesus Christ exert His resurrection power, tenderly cleaning and straightening out your lives.

God desires that no one should perish, but should come into the revelation that the God who created the universe and created us, only desires the best for our lives. He wants us to live in eternity with Him.

Thought for Today: God's power is awesome! Once you experience His power, you will know it too.





Saturday, December 4, 2010

The Excuses We Make

Very often I hear people say they can't find a church or church's membership is too old, or they don't like the music, it is not their kind of music, or any old excuse not to attend church services.

It is so funny to me because church is not about you! Church is about honoring and worshipping God; giving him glory and thanks. We seem to think that church is about us. God instituted the church worship for Himself! We are to discover the Word of God for God's people. We are God's church, each one of us, individually and collectively.

Folks will say, "well, I watch church services on television," and "that is all the church I need."

How selfish is that? We feel comfortable when we don't have to interact with anyone and we can sit in our comfortable and private homes and watch church services. Don't feel like talking or meeting anyone? Well, oddly enough, God did not expect us to be vacuum unto ourselves.

I was reading in today's paper an article by Rev. Billy Graham and someone wrote him and asked the question,"what would be wrong with just watching services on television?"

His response was that church services on television have their place, and specifically for older people who can't get out to attend, but when you can get to church, you should take advantage of the opportunities God will give you there.

Many folks are looking for a church like the one they used to have, but rarely when you move from city to city, state to state, one part of a state to another part, will you ever find a church like the one you used to have.

In Hebrews 10:25, the bible says, "let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another."

As Christians we need each other. God didn't intend for us to be isolated from other believers. So if you call yourself a Christian, stop being selfish, and go to church. There is someone who needs to see you, to hear your voice, or receive a touch from you! Some of us have a healing touch. Someone might be ill and you have that healing touch, that gift that God gave you! And you don't want to share it; you want to sit comfortably back in your TV chair and watch service on TV. Get up and get out of that chair!

Sometimes we visit a church and one visit we say, "I don't like that church or they were singing my kind of music." The bible tells us to "sing a joyful noise unto the Lord." The bible doesn't specify what kind of music. Maybe the people in the church aren't that friendly, huh? Well, shame on them! They should be friendly. God has blessed them and got them up out of their beds and they should be joyfully singing God's praises, right? Everyone should be greeted with a smile. Guess what? You could be that person. If you are cheerful person and God has blessed that way, you should come to church and cheerful great other Christians.

You can't judge a church only by a single visit. However, my husband and I did. We join our church on the same day we visited. We were greeted warmly, we went to Sunday School class and everyone was friendly and we liked the Sunday School teacher, and then the Pastor came and greeted us personally. True he had heard we were in town, but he didn't know what day we would visit. To top it all, we enjoyed the Pastor's sermon, the message from God that he brought to the congregation.

When you visit a church, look to see how you can contribute to it and not so much what you can take from the church. God has blessed you with specific gifts and He expects you to share your gifts with the body of Christ. We are created for God's purposes, and not the other way around.

Ask God to lead you to a church where Christ is preached and the Word of God is taught, and where you can fellowship with other believers. There are no perfect people in church. Jesus Christ was the only perfect person. We are to imitate Him; no way we can be just like Him.

Thought for Today: Don't pre-jude or judge a church on only one or two visits. Ask God to guide you, for He knows what is best for you!