Good..Better..Best
08-26-16
Psalm 127:1 (ESV) 1
Unless the
LORD builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD
watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in
vain.
Probably my favorite verse in the entire
Bible. If you have been in a Sears store in the last 20-30 years, or in fact in
any number of retail outlets over the years, then you are familiar with the
title of this message. The slogan,on signs throughout the store giving the
consumer a choice of three qualities of products. One can by the good one for
the least expensive (never say cheapest) amount. Or one can upgrade to the
better model, of course for a little more money. Finally, the "Cadillac" is
offered when only the best is good enough.
I was reading an article this week about
redeeming the time. But,it was one statement in the article that was relevant to
me and hence this message today.It went like this:
"Often it is not evil pursuits that rob
us....Rather,the temptation is to sacrifice what is best for what is
good." When I read that, the above verse in Psalms popped into my head.
The above Scripture was one of the first
concepts that as a young Christian I learned in my head,but not in my heart. The
most difficult path to traverse in this life is the distance between our head
and our heart. I can personally attest to the truthfulness of this
statement after forty or so years of experience. It is one thing to read about
it in a book;quite another to translate the teaching into the practical aspects
of our lives isn't it? Becoming a doer and not a hearer only is
most times difficult and costly.
I remember MANY moons ago,reading a book
on discerning the will of God for our lives entitled "Fifteen Steps Out." The
one precept that still stands out to me is determining the wisdom of God.
You remember don't you? James 3:17
James 3:17 (ESV) 17 But the wisdom
from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy
and good fruits, impartial and sincere.
Without going into detail,our decisions
should be based upon and indeed line up with three tests. The Word Of God,
Circumstances, and Inner Witness or prompting of the Holy Ghost. They ALL THREE
had to line up and be in harmony. If for instance you had a strong inner
witness, an inward feeling or leading about going a certain direction and it did
not contradict what the Bible said, BUT it did not line up with your particular
circumstances,then you needed to step back and take another look. Look again at
the verse. It must be pure(not contradictory to the written word),it must be
peaceable and gentle(inner witness) and it must be open to reason. That phrase
means it is easy to talk over with others.When seeking counsel,while their may
be a dissenting voice, the general reaction of those around you will be
favorable.While there are exceptions, this is generally a good test to
examine the direction you are contemplating.
A good example of this is the story about
the young man on fire for God. Happily married with a couple of kids, one day he
comes in from work and declares to his wife that God has called him to the
mission field on the other side of the world. All seems right with this until
the facts of his circumstances are examined. Wife and two children to raise and
God is calling him elsewhere? Maybe,but not likely. He might need to take a
long,long look at what he is thinking about doing. Extreme example yes,but
you're getting my drift.
And herein lieth the lesson.
Many times in this life we are presented
with opportunities that appear very attractive. Job,ministry etc.,etc., And many
times this is what we do. We take a couple of verses out of context and convince
ourselves that the Lord spoke them to our heart concerning our decision. But,
if...IF we subject it to the scrutiny of the whole counsel of God, we get a
different picture. Or we allow that inner witness to overwhelm and cancel out
Scripture or the wise counsel of others. We find out later that it was nothing
but our unbridled desires or ambition controlling our decisions.
Finally,sometimes it looks so right that we just charge headlong into the
melee,disregarding all the warning signs; and most times like clockwork,some
time later,we sit blind sided and wondering what happened.
Brothers and sisters,if we allow the Lord
to build the house, we avoid the pitfalls and set backs that come with us doing
it our way. Sometimes sitting steady in the boat can be maddening as we watch
what we think is our life passing in front of us. But rest assured,while it may
seem slow and painful, if the Lord is building the house,it will be built on
solid ground and will not fail in times of trouble.
Psalm 54:4 (ESV) 4 Behold, God is
my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life.
God Bless
Right Shell
Shell? 08-19-16
Matthew 10:42 (ESV) 42 And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold
water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose
his reward.”
The title to my message is a phrase that
I hear at least fifty times a day. Shell Shell is the name given to my wife
Shelley by the little pipsqueak as I call her,Chloe.Whenever Chloe is talking,
and especially when talking to Shell Shell, she ends almost every comment with
"Right Shell Shell?" A statement of fact, a question about anything, an opinion
ALWAYS is followed by "Right Shell Shell?" "The sky is blue,right Shell
Shell? The sun is hot,right Shell Shell? Ronnie just needs to leave us
alone,right Shell Shell?" You're gettin' my drift here right?
Well, that set me to thinking. Chloe
loves Shell Shell and trusts her implicitly.As I thought about that today the
above verse came across my mind.You see Shell Shell has never written a book. As
far as I know,she has never gotten into a pulpit and preached to a
congregation.I have never seen her on TBN or Daystar being interviewed or
whatnot.God has not to my knowledge given her a new "revelation" to be shared
with the church world over the airwaves. No,no.
But....BUT.... Shell Shell has made more
of an IMPACT on a life than me or anyone else I know. No, I am not preaching
about the greatness of Shell Shell. The Lord Jesus is the cause of it all, and
herein lieth the lesson.
You see,I have listened to preachers in
mega churches deliver great messages to hundreds,even thousands,but would not
know my or your name if we walked through their front door. No,that is not a
criticism by any stretch. It is just a statement of fact. It's well nigh
impossible to know the thousands in their churches on a first name basis. And
that is my point today. Ministry,.. true,effective ministry is one on one isn't
it?
The enemy of our souls will try to
discourage us in our walk with Jesus.He will whisper to us in the midnight hour
that we aren't doing anything for the Lord. He will tell us riding down the
road what is the use, we have failed. He will scream at us on the job that God
is not pleased with us and why don't we just give up and throw in the towel.
Nobody sees nor even cares about what we are doing. Does that ring a bell with
you?
Yeah I feel ya' But, those words and
accusations are lies from the pit of hell.
Zechariah 3:1 (ESV) 1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of
the LORD, and Satan standing at
his right hand to accuse him.
The accuser of the
brethren.This
is what the enemy does best. He's had a lot of time to get it right, and he's
very good at it.
Listen brothers and sisters, your efforts
and labors in the Lord are not going unnoticed.As much as the devil may tell you
that you are worthless and wasting your time, the Lord Jesus sees it a little
differently.Even the small,seemingly insignificant kindnesses are recorded
aren't they? Your efforts ARE having an impact in the lives of others, whether
you realize it or not.
I can say with a certainty that it was
not a big gift,or a handful of money that impacted the life of that little girl.
No, no. It was all the hugs, the "I love you's"a trip to the ice cream store and
all the other "cups of cold water"that touched that child.
Let this verse sink down into your
spirit.
Hebrews 6:10 (ESV) 10 For God is not
unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name
in serving the saints, as you still do.
God does not forget. Your labors are not
in vain. Jesus is coming back and He is bringing His reward with Him to all that
are looking for His blessed return. Keep doing what you know to do.
Right Shell Shell?
Psalm 128:1-2 (ESV) 1
Blessed is
everyone who fears the LORD, who
walks in his ways!
2 You
shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be
blessed, and it shall be well with you.
God Bless
It's What Got Us
Here 08-12-16
2 Timothy 2:4 (ESV) 4 No soldier gets
entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted
him.
This verse from last week's blog ambled
around in my mind all week. I could not shed the idea of the danger and ease
of becoming entangled in this life. It's sooooooooo easy isn't it? Hear me out
please.
I have watched, on ESPN, countless
interviews with coaches and players as a particularly big game approached.
Invariably the reporter/interviewer will pose this question. " How do you intend
to deal with (fill in the blank), do you intend to do anything differently?"
And just as surely as the question being asked, this is almost always the
coach's or player's reply. "Well, we don't plan to do anything differently, THIS
IS WHAT GOT US HERE." They weren't going to change their game plan, it was
working for them.I was talking with my friend this week and that very phrase
came up in the course of our conversation. "It's what got us here." Now there's
a spiritual truth lurking around those words isn't there? Those words have a
positive AND a negative application to our lives don't they? And herein lieth
the lesson.
You know how it goes don't you? Here you
are, you have been faithfully supporting God's work with your pocketbook and God
begins to bless you back. All of a sudden you have plenty of money because you
can't outgive God can you? Oh no,no,no.You begin to pay off all your bills, you
don't have to check the restaurant menu to see how much that entree costs, life
is good. One day you look around and discover that you are in the best financial
shape of your life. You can't really put a finger on it, all you know is that as
you committed to giving, God started giving back. Praise God let the God times
roll!! When interviewed by friends and family as to how you attained this lofty
estate, all you can reply is," Well, I don't really know how it happened. I
started giving and God blessed me. IT'S WHAT GOT ME HERE!"
Now let's fast forward a little bit in
our lives and if we are not very careful, this is what we will find. That
person, who just a short while ago had the world by the tail, is in a mess. What
in the world happened? What transpired to bring him or her to this lowly
estate? Here is what so many times is the answer. "Well, God blessed my socks
off. I had all that I needed or even wanted. If I wanted something, I just went
out and bought it. Donald Trump didn't have anything on me! But, all of a sudden
the one or two year old car didn't satisfy. I had to have a new one every year.
Then the one or two year old SECOND car wasn't good enough. I had to have a new
one every year. But, you know something, driving those new cars around lost it's
glitter once the "new" wore off. For some reason they just didn't satisfy me
anymore. Then, all of a sudden, the house that I had been living in lo these
many years began to shrink. It just wasn't big enough anymore. So, I went out
and bought a bigger one. And on, and on, and on......Until one day I woke up and
the bills were piled to the ceiling. I was working myself to death just to stay
even. I even had to pick up a part time job. There wasn't enough money to go
around and now I can't afford to give to God's work anymore. I abused God's
provision and got greedy. THAT'S WHAT GOT ME HERE!"
Look at this.The most
precarious seed.
Matthew 13:22 (ESV) 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears
the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the
word, and it proves unfruitful.
Sound extreme? Maybe, but personally I
don't think so. The point ,brothers and sisters, is this. Rarely does the sky
fall on us. Now, it sometimes happens, but that is the exception rather than the
rule.Most times we become entangled and enslaved gradually, almost
imperceptibly. It's like being in the clutches of a python. I watch those animal
attack videos all the time. The python wraps itself around it's prey and simply
waits. As the prey struggles and struggles the python simply tightens it's grip
until eventually the poor animal can't breathe anymore and suffocates. I have
seen these snakes kill a lion like this.
That's our danger isn't it? Normally, we
don't get run over by a truck, we just get ourselves into predicaments that
squeeze the life out of us. It doesn't have to be money, it can be almost
anything. Job, school, whatever.How do we break free? I will close with this
anecdote from my own life.
Some years ago I had allowed myself to
become entangled. I had gotten off track and was struggling. Literally, as I was
driving down the road, distraught over my circumstances the Lord spoke these
words to my heart. "Go back to where you left off, and do what you know to do."
That is an exact quote and even now I can remember perfectly riding down
the road that day. I got alone with God and He showed me where I had gone wrong
and what to do about it. It wasn't a great revelation. A simple act of obedience
actually. But, that disobedience had slowly but surely strangled the life out of
me. IT WAS WHAT GOT ME TO WHERE I WAS!!
IF you are hurting, struggling, entangled
etc., get alone with God and find out what got you there. It could be that you
are right where God wants you and He wants to encourage and strengthen you. Or
it could be that you have derailed yourself and the life is being pressed out of
you. At any rate what is important is finding out what got you
there. Amen?
Psalm 119:71 (ESV) 71 It is good for
me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your
statutes.
God Bless
Entangled Or
Entrusted? 08-05-16
2 Timothy 2:4 (ESV) 4 No soldier gets
entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted
him.
I know, I know.....I hear you LOUD AND
CLEAR! There aren't enough hours in the day are there? It's not as if they have
you for eight, nine, ten or maybe more hours in the day. No, no that isn't
enough. They feel it necessary to call you on the phone at home to ask about a
problem at work. Just heard a story at my work about a man I know personally.
His father died last Sunday night past, but his employer required him to be at a
Monday morning7A.M. meeting or lose his job.
You and I may think "How cruel and
heartless, I would tell them to take that job and.........." I hear ya. But
maybe he's got a couple of small children who would enjoy having some corn
flakes or bacon and eggs to eat tomorrow for breakfast.You see the above is easy
for us to say but a little harder for him,.. he's got skin in the
game.
You see there's a difference between
being entangled and entrusted. I hope I can make some sense here. Please take
a look at the previous verses in this passage.
2 Timothy 2:1-3 (ESV) 1 You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace
that is in Christ Jesus,
2 and what
you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men
who will be able to teach others also.
3
Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
Pay particular attention to vs.
2
".....what you have heard from
me............ENTRUST to FAITHFUL (caps mine) men who will be able to teach t
others also."
When I was a young Christian I was led to
attend a Saturday morning prayer meeting at the home of my friend Pastor Doug.
If memory serves, we would meet in a concrete shed in his back yard every
Saturday morning at 4A.M. and pray for a couple of hours. I don't remember the
number of men, about five or six I think. The prayer meeting was based
on 2 Timothy 2:2. Some of us drove 50 or more miles to attend this
prayer meeting and over the course of a couple of years we had some mighty,
mighty answers to prayer. Let me assure you that 4 A.M. came very early in the
cold of winter; and, many times I would question my sanity while driving to that
little prayer meeting. But, I was COMPELLED to attend. No, Pastor Doug didn't
require my attendance. The Holy Spirit did. It was something on the inside of me
that urged me on, many times IN SPITE of myself.
God had entrusted that prayer meeting to
me,along with the other men who gathered on those Saturday mornings.He taught me
something in that prayer meeting.
Sometimes,.. no ALL the time it was hard
to roll out of bed that early. It was difficult just to get to that place of
prayer, and my flesh wanted no part of it. It was easy to get puffed up and
consider what a great "sacrifice" I was making. But as God showed me as only He
can,it was not a sacrifice, but a PRIVILEGE to gather together and seek His
face. Not only a privilege, but an OPPORTUNITY to be blessed mightily. And so I
was. Had I been unfaithful to His prompting, I would have missed witnessing the
many answers and outright miracles that God wrought in that gathering. And
herein lieth the lesson.
Has God entrusted something to your
care? Just like my friend at work, the circumstances may be difficult. If God
has given you a responsibility, if He has entrusted your faithfulness, then more
than likely your flesh is going to war against it, and the enemy is going to
attack it. It may get difficult and trying at times. But look at vs. 1 again. If
God has entrusted and compelled you to do something, He's going to enable you to
complete the task.
2 Timothy 2:1 (ESV) 1 You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ
Jesus,
His grace will strengthen
you inside and out.
So your world is a little
haywire right now huh? It's a wee bit frantic and unsettling. You are tempted,
like the pinball machine to flash TILT! I FEEL YAH!!
Hang in
there, whatever it is, it may seem like a great sacrifice
now, it may seem absolutely off the chain, but TRUST GOD, He will turn your
faithfulness into a great opportunity for
YOUR blessing.
Psalm 20:4 (ESV) 4 May he grant you
your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans!
God
Bless