Blessed Birthday - Regretful Reality!

Within a few hours my 27th birthday will be here. I have no problem with the idea of getting older so the numbers do not bother me. I am thankful to God for the chance to serve Him while on this earth and for another year to do so. I am not looking for gifts or "Happy Birthdays" from all whom I see, but I seek something of much greater and lasting value. Sadly I do not think that I will receive this gift this year. The title is Blessed Birthday but a Regretful Reality for me. I am not trying to be pessimistic but it is edifying to take a look at your own life to see what God sees and not just what you want to see. What I want for my birthday is for God to be able to say "Well done, good and faithful servant." Those words would be an unimaginable pleasure to hear but I fear that God would have other words for me - maybe questions: How much have you loved My Word? How many of My people have you served and loved? Who have you told of the gift (salvation) that I made for you? Is there less of you and more of Me showing in your life than last year? What kind of steward have you been of the resources and talents that I have given you? Where is your treasure - in Me or in the fading flowers of the field? I could go on but I think that you get the picture. Do not get me wrong, I am extremely thankful for the blessings and grace that God has given me to live this past year but I regretfully admit that I have not pleased God in the way in which He deserves. Do not pity me in this confession but use this as a plumb line for your own life. How would you be able to answer the questions of God? We must seek to die to ourselves daily and to glorify Him in all things. It is a life long process but complacency always seeks to hinder our progress. Self examination by the Word of God is one of our greatest weapons against it. "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?" (2 Cor 13:5 -NASB)

Living Magnifyingly!

1 Sing to the LORD a new song;
Sing to the LORD, all the earth. 2 Sing to the LORD, bless His name;
Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day. 3 Tell of His glory among the nations,
His wonderful deeds among all the peoples. 4 For great is the LORD and greatly to be praised;
He is to be feared above all gods. 5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols ,
But the LORD made the heavens. 6 Splendor and majesty are before Him,
Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,
Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. 8 Ascribe to the LORD the glory of His name;
Bring an offering and come into His courts. 9 Worship the LORD in holy attire;
Tremble before Him, all the earth. 10 Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns;
Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved;
He will judge the peoples with equity ."

- Psalms 96:1-10 (NASB)

Before I begin I must give credit where credit is due: I must thank and acknowledge John Piper as the originator of this illustration. It is a wondrous picture of the differences of how many of us reveal God to the world and how it ought to be done.

When we think of the word magnify, our minds tend toward the use of a microscope. In using, we place a tiny specimen underneath the eye of the microscope to bring it to the point of human comprehension. It is so small originally that the human mind cannot conceive of its attributes. For many of us (especially unknowingly - though not an excuse) this is how we portray God to the world. Our lives are tuned a microscopes because our view of and love for God is so small. So when the world looks through us (our lives) they see a small God not worthy of glory and praise. No wonder the world thinks followers of Christ are stupid and merely filling an emotional void. But there is another way in which we can magnify. The telescope accomplishes this purpose. When we aim a telescope at an unfathomably sized object in space, the object seen through the scope is seen in a comprehensible way. We are able to view gigantic planets and stars bigger than anyone could imagine and further away than technology can take us. This is how the Christian's life ought to be. Our lives should be as telescopes to the beauty and power of the God of the Bible whom no human mind can completely grasp. That is why we are to be telescopes - so that the lost world can see the God who created all things and is sustaining all things by His ultimate strength. When we act as though there is no hope the world sees God as small but when we live hoping in the wondrous promises of the Faithful Lord in all circumstances we reveal how truly amazing and worthy of all honor and praise God truly is. So I ask you: Is your life a microscope or a telescope revealing God to a lost world?

Why Is It Good News?

Paul declared to the Athenians:


"The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist , as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His children.' "Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead."
- Acts 17:24-31 (NASB)

What a beautiful presentation of the gospel! For ages past the word "gospel" has been portrayed as meaning "good news," and I agree with this definition. My problem lies in the way in which we have offered this "good news" to the lost. For so long we have sought to make the "good news" more desirable by adding to the message of the "gospel." We have attempted remove the wrath of God, that abides upon every unbeliever (Romans 2:1-11), from the "good news" and replaced it with the question of "don't you want to go to heaven, or don't you want to be happy or have joy and peace?" Where is the "good news" when there is no bad news. How can a person rejoice and embrace the "good news" if they had no idea that there was something bad awaiting them? The "good news" would not be good at all but merely strange or silly talk. Look at Paul's message: First, it begins by establishing who God is - the Creator of all things, the Sustainer of all things, the Sovereign over all things and Supreme God over all things. Secondly, Paul admonishes the Athenians to repent, but he does not stop there. He goes on to explain why - they must repent because God will judge all people everywhere according to righteousness through Jesus Christ. Then Paul finishes by establishing who Christ is and what took place. How dare Paul tell them that God is going to judge them. Would not that make them turn away from the "good news?" The fact that Jesus Christ died on the cross for us so that we could go to heaven would not be "good news" if we did not understand that the wrath of God was storing up against us because of our sin. That is key to the "gospel." It is not "good news" to a person that does not know that there is a problem. The problem is their sin, which is first and foremost against God. Once this is presented, which can be done through the presentation of the Law of God (Ten Commandments - Gal. 3:24) then the "gospel" of Christ's life, death and resurrection for our salvation to remove the wrath of God from us, will be such glorious news that they will cling to it as the most precious treasure (Matt. 13:44-46). That is the biblical way to present the "good news" and the only true way. Search the Word, see how Christ did it, and begin loving others enough that you deliver to them the true "gospel" of salvation.

Learning From A Horse

The other day I watched as a horse stuck its head and neck through a barbed wire fence to reach a patch of grass growing on the opposite side. The distance between the layers were not very far apart and I could not help but wonder how much pain the horse was putting itself in just for a small bit of grass. As I began to think about this, I realized that the very thing I was wondering about the horse, in an abstract way, applied to myself. How much pain do I put myself in just to satisfy a desire to sin. God has given me green pastures with flowing streams (His grace, love, and wisdom) to live in and a protective fence (His commandments) not to keep me in but to protect me from that which is on the outside. Yet there are many times when I find myself sticking my head through the barbed wire fence, causing great pain, just to feed on the sins of the world. Why do I do this? The only answer that I can think of is this; I do not know/understand all that God is and all that He has for me in this life and the life to come, so I look beyond the pasture of God's treasure to the distraction and imitations that the world offers. Just as a horse harms itself to reach the grass outside the fence because it does not realize all its master has provided, so do I cause much pain to myself, others and especially God when I am not satisfied in Him alone. What sin/desire/lust are you sticking your head through the fence for? It is not worth the pain and anguish that comes with its fulfillment! Seek to know and understand God and all that He offers and you will find all that you could ever want.

1 The Lord is my shepherd,

I shall not want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside quiet waters.

3 He restores my soul;

He guides me in the paths of righteousness

For His name’s sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I fear no evil, for You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You have anointed my head with oil;

My cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23 (NASB)

Have You Ever Wondered...

1 Peter 3:15 says, "But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you..." What a compelling verse! It makes us strive to be diligent in studying the Bible to make sure we know the right thing to say when we are asked. BUT, have you ever wondered why people do not regularly ask us to give a defense for the hope that is in us? I have many times. Just the other day I was listening to John Piper, the pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church and founder of the Desiring God Ministry. The message was "Don't Waste Your Life". Piper asks "Has anybody asks you recently for a reason for the hope that is in you? Do you know why they haven't? Because it looks like you hope in the same things that the world is hoping in!" That's why! Where is your hope? Is it in the things of this world (money, success, material possessions, friends, family, looks, intelligence, etc.)? If our lives appear to be rested on the things of this word and not God in Christ and the work that He did and is doing in and through you then the world has no reason to ask.

So think about it! Does your life reveal that there is a supernatural hope living within you or are you just like everybody else? Yes, you may be a fairly moral person who goes to church, helps others, and the like but so do may other people that are destined for hell (Mormons, Buddhists, Muslims and many others that are without Christ). So what sets you apart? Are you living a life so radically sold out for Christ that everything you do is pointing to a hope that only can come through Him? It is not too late! Christ is worthy of all that we have and all that we are, so start giving Him your all right NOW!

Beware of Light Reading!

"Shun novels; they are the literary curse of
the age. If you are a parent, keep novels
out of the way of your children. But whether
you are a parent or not, neither read them
yourself, nor set an example of novel reading
to others. Don't let novels lie on your table,
or be seen in your hand. This light reading
has done deep injury to many a young man
and woman.

The light literature of the day is working
a world of harm; vitiating the taste of the
young, enervating their minds, unfitting
them for life's plain work, eating out their
love of the Bible, teaching them a false
morality, and creating in the soul an unreal
standard of truth, and beauty, and love.

Let your reading be always select; and
whatever you read, begin with seeking
God's blessing on it.

But see that your relish for the Bible be above
every other enjoyment, and the moment you
begin to feel greater relish for any other book,
lay it down till you have sought deliverance from
such a snare, and obtained from the Holy Spirit
an intenser relish, a keener appetite for the
Word of God."

- Horatius Bonar (1808-1889) From his book Follow the Lamb. Found at Grace Gems.

There are many things that are essentially good, but when given preference over the things of God, they become tools of the devil. What earthly devices are stealing your affections away from the things of God?

Meditate On Such Things:

"All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them." - Hebrews 11:13-16

The verses are speaking of Abraham, Sarah, Issac and Jacob in the context of the great chapter of faith in Hebrews 11. It is referring to their obedient faith in following God, no matter what the cost. Because of faith, which was revealed by their obedience, God said that He was not ashamed to be their God. That is an amazing thing to have said about someone. Of course, most of us would say "Sure God is not ashamed to be my God. I go to church, pray some, read His word some, tithe, etc." While all those things are great and godly from a right attitude/motive but that is no reason for God to be proud to be our God, because there are some many lost people doing those things while thinking God is proud to be called their own. Abraham and the others were commended by God for their complete self-denial and total (besides a few flops -it's a given) submission in all things to God Himself. I would ask you to ask yourself "Is God ashamed or proud to be called your God?" Don't just ask yourself, ask God over and over if He is ashamed or not to be called your God. It is not an easy thing to do but an important and necessary discipline for spiritual maturity.

"For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels." - Luke 9:26