Gift Giving

One of the reasons we celebrate Christmas is to be reminded of the great Gift the Father gave us in His Son. As I prepare for Christmas this year, I'm focusing on another Gift given to us.

Jesus prepares us for this gift in John 16:7 and Luke records the delivery in Acts 2:1-4. Take a minute and read these verses of Scripture for yourself. What an incredible gift they received that day. It was truly "Christmas" in Jerusalem.

The truth is that the same Gift is given to us. How sad, when we refuse delivery of the Gift or simply tuck it away in a dark corner.

Prosperity of the Wicked

Psalm 73 is one of many Psalms in which the apparent prosperity of the "wicked" is addressed. In verse 3 the author even confesses that he was envious of the wicked who are boastful and prosperous. It is not the prosperity that makes one wicked. It is the lack of character.

Verse 6 speaks of their pride and violence. Their arrogance causes them to speak wickedly and even set their mouth against heaven and earth in verses 8 & 9. Most highly successful people are cold hearted and focused only on their own goals. Jeremiah saw this when he said to God, "You are in their mouth, but far from their mind" [literally, secret place of the heart - their soul] (Jer. 12:2).

This was a mystery to Asaph, author of Psalm 73, until he entered the sanctuary of God, His intimate presence. Then it was like the blinders fell off and he saw that instead of being at peace and ease the wicked are on a slippery slope to destruction and filled with terrors (vv. 18-19). By contrast he says in verse 26, "My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." He grieved over the wicked and his own ignorance, but quickly turned to the joy and peace of worshipping God.

When the Church is THE Church

I always turn to the end of the 2nd chapter of Acts to get a picture of what the Biblical Church ought to be doing. As Peter testified and encouraged people to be saved from the perverse generation in which they lived, thousands believed in Christ, were baptized and were added to the body of believers (verses 40-41).

The Holy Spirit was given for us to be empowered to be witnesses of Him [testify] (Acts 1:8). If we used this power correctly, thousands would turn to Him as "both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36). This resulted in "signs and wonders" through the gifts of the Spirit (v. 43), but the purpose of the spirit was empowerment to be a witness. It was not to bring people to church, but to bring them to Jesus. Then the Church went to work.

As the Church gathered, they learned the Apostles teaching [discipleship], had fellowship [true sharing/"bonding"], ate together, prayed, met each others financial needs, and praised God [worship] (verses 42-47). I find the hardest part being in the financial area. It is hard to give away something that is so hard to get and so necessary for ourselves and family - especially in difficult economic times. I heard about it happening at Church of LIFE this last Sunday, as people gave after the offering to meet the needs of a young family.

It was "the Church of LIFE being THE Church."

Whom do you SEEK and SEE?

This week I've had conversations, thoughts, dreams and confirming Scripture about a real concern of mine. The concern is about the fact that very few Christians look beyond people (family, friends, pastors, Christian teachers, etc.) for help with their problems. In a dream I was directed to Psalm 9 and focused on verses 9&10: The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed. A refuge in times of trouble. And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; for you, Lord, have not forsaken those WHO SEEK YOU.

Then I saw it again in a study of Deuteronomy (31:6) in which Moses addresses Israel, God's people: "Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. he will not leave you nor forsake you." Moses did not say he, Joshua, or anyone else would be with them. In fact, people will disappoint, leave and otherwise forsake you, but not the Lord God. In verse 3 he had said that the Lord would also go before them, then Joshua. People are very important and God's instruments and ministers to point us to Him, but we must not put them in God's place.

Let's be sure we are looking beyond people, even Godly people, to seek and see God Himself!!

Individuals in the Body of Christ

Recently, I've set in meetings about accomplishing expansion of the Kingdom of God through planting new churches. There is always interesting discussion about defining when you have a church. We've come up with some pretty good lists, but there is still an element that may be unanswerable.

It has to do with individual commitment. I realize this is always a problem because we are dealing with people, and each one is an individual that expresses himself/herself differently. Yet, there is one thing that keeps coming up - a "hunger," "deep desire," "need," "desperation," or someting that says one wants ongoing, sincere, 24/7 relationship with the Lord and is commited to it.

This cannot be measured by attendance at meetings, money given, or amount of activity. It truly is something of the heart that is found in the depth of true "friends" that are willing to lay down their lives for one another (John 15).

Proverbs 3:31-35, God's Secret Counsel

When I read these last verses of Prov. 3, it would be easy to judge others, but they make me judge myself. I could easily proclaim judgment on the wicked, but I find myself looking at the wickedness in my flesh.

I am driven to the second part of verse 32 that says, "His (God's) secret counsel is with the upright." My only hope for "uprightness" is in the secret counsel of God, which can only be found through intimate relationship with Him. It is what Adam had walking in the Garden with Him before the rebellion. It is what Paul calls for in Romans 12:2, to know the "perfect will of God."

God's "perfect will" is shown in verse 1 of Romans 12. It is that we have intimate relationship with Him through the sacrifice of our body and "service" to Him, which is worship, not religious activity directed toward men.

My hope is to seek His secret counsel through intimate relationship. I must go now and be with Him!

Proverbs 3:27-30, It's really about us

When asked about the greatest commandment, Jesus gave two. He said the first is loving God with our whole being and the second is loving our neighbor, "as we love ourselves." This proverb directly address the 2nd, which cannot be accomplished without the first.

Withholding good, delaying payment, devising evil against our neighbor and "striving without a cause" are all actions that are taken when we do not love our neighbor. Doing any (or all) of these things puts us at odds with the Father, with peole and even with ourselves. When Jesus added "as we love ourselves," He indicated a very deep truth. We can only do for others what we already have within ourselves.

Doing evil against another is rooted in the evil we really feel we deserve for ourselves. For me, the best one word definition of love is acceptance. For a Christian, loving ourselves is not accepting who we have always been but accepting who we are in Christ - a new creation, recreated in the image of Christ Himself. So, fulfilling this proverb and Jesus statement is really about us and how we accept ourselves, not about others.