Thursday, June 05, 2008
Praising God Through Unity - Keith Brenton
posted by Keith Brenton
How we relate to each other as followers of Christ is worship to the Father. - Or not.Having hearts for unity with - and accepting - other believers imitates Christ, Paul writes to Rome:"May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God." ~ Romans 15:5-7
It isn't always going to be easy. God made each of us unique. We have different points of view. So He gives "endurance and encouragement" because we need it in order to live together peacefully (Ephesians 4:3) - but it is up to us to keep what He has given us.
If we do not have a spirit of unity, Paul implies, we do not have the Holy Spirit by whom we worship God (Philippians 3:31).
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Do They Know They Are Free? Tom Norvell
Do They Know They Are Free?
On a rainy day while during our vacation at the beach we decided to tour the area and visit some of the shops on the island. While the ladies were checking out the dresses and the tee shirts I sat outside watching three very colorful birds perched on swings and limbs of a tree in a courtyard outside the shops. These were no ordinary birds. They were intelligent. When children waved they spoke. When people said “Hello” they said “Hello.” They spoke any number of conversational words and could recite on cue ... or when they were in the mood.
It was quite interesting! Children were astonished and amazed.
Grownups where humored and entertained.
However, as I sat there watching the birds , the thought occurred to me, “Why don’t these beautiful birds fly away?” “What keeps them sitting here on the perch?” “Is it the audience they attract?” “Is it the seeds that are readily available to them?” “Have they been trained in such a way that they do not want to fly away?” “Have they forgotten how to fly?” “Or, have they accepted fact that although they were created to fly, they cannot or should not fly?”
The birds reminded me of people who have learned, been trained, or been brainwashed to accept life at a level that is much lower than they were created to enjoy.
Paul addressed when he wrote: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. “(Galatians 5:1, NIV)
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free but so often we choose to live in bondage, or we settle for a life in prison. Are we afraid to fly? Are we convinced that staying on the perch is safer, more comfortable, or where we belong? Have we been frightened into thinking that if we get off our perch something bad will happen: we will get hurt, we will get lost, or we will not find the nourishment we need? Why? Why do we settle for the superficial entertainment of strangers when we could be experiencing the freedom that Christ planned for us?
I know very little about birds, so there is probably a very logical explanation for why these birds choose to sit on a perch and entertain strangers instead of soaring through the air. But, I cannot understand why as God’s creations we choose to settle for life on perch. Surely He had something more planned for us.
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. “
On a rainy day while during our vacation at the beach we decided to tour the area and visit some of the shops on the island. While the ladies were checking out the dresses and the tee shirts I sat outside watching three very colorful birds perched on swings and limbs of a tree in a courtyard outside the shops. These were no ordinary birds. They were intelligent. When children waved they spoke. When people said “Hello” they said “Hello.” They spoke any number of conversational words and could recite on cue ... or when they were in the mood.
It was quite interesting! Children were astonished and amazed.
Grownups where humored and entertained.
However, as I sat there watching the birds , the thought occurred to me, “Why don’t these beautiful birds fly away?” “What keeps them sitting here on the perch?” “Is it the audience they attract?” “Is it the seeds that are readily available to them?” “Have they been trained in such a way that they do not want to fly away?” “Have they forgotten how to fly?” “Or, have they accepted fact that although they were created to fly, they cannot or should not fly?”
The birds reminded me of people who have learned, been trained, or been brainwashed to accept life at a level that is much lower than they were created to enjoy.
Paul addressed when he wrote: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. “(Galatians 5:1, NIV)
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free but so often we choose to live in bondage, or we settle for a life in prison. Are we afraid to fly? Are we convinced that staying on the perch is safer, more comfortable, or where we belong? Have we been frightened into thinking that if we get off our perch something bad will happen: we will get hurt, we will get lost, or we will not find the nourishment we need? Why? Why do we settle for the superficial entertainment of strangers when we could be experiencing the freedom that Christ planned for us?
I know very little about birds, so there is probably a very logical explanation for why these birds choose to sit on a perch and entertain strangers instead of soaring through the air. But, I cannot understand why as God’s creations we choose to settle for life on perch. Surely He had something more planned for us.
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. “
Monday, June 02, 2008
Doing the Best I Can by Mike Barres
Doing the Best I Can
by Mike Barres
Sometimes, I'm just doing the best I can: I might be at the end of my rope, but I just try to tie a knot and hold on! Many of us are familiar with a couple of the old sayings about this kind of commitment:
"When the going gets tough, the tough get going!" "Quitters never win, and winners never quit."
We talk about this attitude and commitment in terms of perseverance. Webster's Dictionary defines perseverance this way:
continued, patient effort. (It) implies a continuing to do something in spite of difficulties, obstacles etc.
Our church was on a fast, and I noticed something. There were some things that I had been trying to "pressing on through." Then the Lord took care of this situation, and I believe it is because I had prayed about them during our fast. You see I had been persevering, but not praying.
Perseverance is good, but we must not forget to pray about our burdens and struggles. James said to us many years ago: "[Y]ou do not have because you do not ask" (James 4:2 NKJV). God can handle things that we are powerless to change. The disciples had been trying to cast out a demon and were not successful. When they asked Jesus why they couldn't do it and He could, the Lord told them: "This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting" (Matthew 17:21).
Don't despair and don't quit!When we talk about someone doing things in terms of "his own strength," we are usually referring to a person who is proud and self sufficient. However, this can also apply to those of us who "keep pressing on," but don't ask the Lord to help us with our trial or burden.
If we aren't careful and keep trying to walk in our own strength, we can get in to a defeated, victim mentality when things don't work out. We might think, "Why is all of this happening to me? There's nothing I can do about it! I'm struggling, but I'm just going to keep doing the best I can."
Let's remember that there is something else we can do in our times of struggle and defeat. We can pray and believe that God can and will do what we can't.
If you are in the middle of a tough season and facing a trying time, don't despair and don't quit. You need to persevere, but don't forget to fast and pray, trusting that God can do those things that you can't do. Just watch and see!
"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." (1 Peter 5:6-7)
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Stop Look & Listen
“Is it too much to say that Stop, Look, and Listen is also the most basic lesson that the Judeo-Christian tradition teaches us? Listen to history is the cry of the ancient prophets of Israel. Listen to social injustice, says Amos; to head-in-the-sand religiosity, says Jeremiah; to international treacheries and power-plays, says Isaiah; because it is precisely through them that God speaks his word of judgment and command.
“And when Jesus comes along saying that the greatest command of all is to love God and to love our neighbor, he too is asking us to pay attention. If we are to love God, we must first stop, look, and listen for him in what is happening around us and inside us. If we are to love our neighbors, before doing anything else we must see our neighbors. With our imagination as well as our eyes, that is to say like artists, we must see not just their faces but the life behind and within their faces. Here it is love that is the frame we see them in.
“In a letter to a friend Emily Dickinson wrote that ‘Consider the lilies of the field’ was the only commandment she never broke. She could have done a lot worse. Consider the lilies. It is the sine qua non of art and religion both.”
- Frederick Buechner
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