168 Hours in This Week - What Shall We Do?

John 13:34 “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.”

Titus 3:1-7 Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men.  For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.  But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Paul tells us to remember where we have come from. Notice he said to show humility to all men and speak evil of no one. Why?  For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. It is amazing how people in the church forget what they were like before the grace of God came into their life.  When that happens they tend to get very haughty and judgmental towards those still lost in their sin.

…But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us…

…the kindness and the love of God our Savior… according to His mercy…these are ways of our Lord God, these are the attitudes and acts bestowed upon us by Him …not by works of righteousness which we have done…If God had waited till we ‘earned’ or ‘deserved’ His kindness, love and mercy, we would never know them, for we are not – cannot - be worthy.

What are WE doing to show that same kindness, love and mercy to others? As His emissaries to the world, how do we reflect Him to those around us? Can passersby tell you follow Jesus just by the demeanor you present in the grocery store line? Do we fight for a parking space or defer to the other driver while our Christian bumper sticker rides on the back of the car? Does our impatience with other drivers come out swinging in traffic and we default to impatient driving ourselves ‘to show them’. Does the cross hanging around our necks send one message while the words of our mouths say another? Are we ‘sharing’ juicy information with other Christians in the name of ‘caring’? Do we determine we are judge and jury condemning others for their sins as we sweep our own under the rug so no one can see? Are we “too busy” to go to church and worship the Lord, serve others, or share the Gospel? What have we done lately for someone out of complete selflessness and love?

People are dying all around us in this world, in our families, in our workplace, and in our neighborhoods without benefit of knowing Jesus Christ. Can we really be so self-important and/or judgmental that we stand back and let this happen when we ourselves are beneficiaries of  …the kindness and the love of God our Savior… according to His mercy…? No Christian should ever be so busy as to ignore the senseless spiritual deaths going on all around us. Ask God to give you opportunities to redeem the 168 hours He has given you this week in selfless acts of love for others.

Dead Sea or Living Waters?

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.” —Matthew 16:24-27

A few miles south of Jerusalem, the Dead Sea is the lowest place on earth—1,476 feet below sea level. Six and a half million tons of water flow into it every day from the Jordan River. But the Dead Sea has no outlet. Everything flows in—nothing flows out. Because of that, the water has become incredibly salty and absolutely nothing can live there. Plant life cannot exist. If a fish flows into the Dead Sea, it dies almost immediately. The whole thing is completely dead.

A lot of Christians are just like the Dead Sea; stuff flows into them like crazy, but nothing flows out. The way to grow spiritually is not to pack every study, every sermon, and every lesson into your skull and store it. You might think you are some great Bible scholar but more Bible information in your cranium than anyone around does not make you spiritually strong. You’ve got to transfer truth to others in order for it to make a difference in your own life by living your faith out loud. Maybe that’s the reason why many don’t have a clue what it means to live in the Lord’s strength. They hoard their knowledge of Christ and salvation rather than sharing it with a neighbor, co-worker, and family…every nation, tongue and creature. Sound familiar?

How about this: find someone next week and entrust to them an insight God has shown you. Talk about what you’re learning in your Christian life over lunch or in a phone call. How about it? Don’t become ‘The Dead Sea’ of the Word. Jesus taught His disciples and told them to go tell everyone else what He shared with them. Jesus is alive! The Word is alive! Keep it flowing in and out of you. Be a living witness in the dead world around you.

Living Sacrifice

Romans 12:1–2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

We are all sinners separated from a holy God. But God loves us and had mercy on us. And despite our sin, He has forgiven us. The words “living sacrifice” in the reference scripture tends to remind us the Old Testament offerings were dead. If a sacrifice were alive, I think it would have a tendency to squirm off the altar. Maybe we tend to get a little squirmy on the altar, too.

In the same way, sometimes we give something to God, only to take it back later. Have you ever done that? I have. I have prayed about things and committed them to God. And then, only a short time later, I start worrying about them again.

The Bible tells us that we are to present our bodies to God—and that means everything, including our minds as well. It means that we need to fill our minds with God’s truth and not the twisted worldview of our culture. It means we need to think about godly things more.

My brother, Michael, is here on ministry business. Truth in Love World Ministries, from whence Truth in the Morning was spawned, is donating musical equipment to his music ministry, White Horse. I love visiting with Michael, he and I are the last of our family of origin and that bond is important to both of us. However, it is the common bond of our Lord God that is what makes our time together so wonderful. We can talk about our struggles, our ministry work, our extended families, everything and it is all covered by our mutual commitment to serving God as a living sacrifice. On paper, neither he nor I look impressive in a world view; we know this and neither of us care. Our conversations, regardless of topic, are filled with praise to God. It lifts me up to be around him. We encourage one another, giving God all the glory. The word ‘faith’ is spoken often.

If as ‘a living sacrifice’ we are to give God everything, including our minds, words and actions then being around others that share this mentality and lifestyle is vital. If you hang around people that speak coarsely, godly words won’t fill your conversations. We tend to emulate those around us too easily. For instance, we just passed St. Patrick’s Day, I have Irish roots. There were shows on TV about St Paddy’s day and every time I heard someone speaking with an Irish accent, the thoughts in my head sounded Irish! No joke, the thoughts in my head became Irish. I cannot watch Fiddler on the Roof without taking on the heavy accent of Tevye. Like it or not, we are swayed by those around us.

I am blessed to have many godly people in my world and I need them. Walking the narrow path of a committed Christian isn’t the most popular or common choice around. I have lost friends along the way because they chose another direction. Visiting with Michael has been a booster shot, a divine appointment. Reach out to all nations and tongues to those that need to know Jesus as His emissary but choose your inner circle of companions from those committed to be a living sacrifice. You speak the same spiritual language.

Take Another Look

Matt 25:35-36 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.

We’ve all heard and read this scripture. At first read, it seems to be talking about addressing the physical needs of people. Reading it today, I saw an expanded version of it. I do not believe in adding to or taking away from the Word of God, yet this morning it read a little differently. Jesus spoke in parables, using verbiage common to those in the day and time. Maybe, what I saw was God expanding my understanding beyond the obvious. Bear with me as I share what was revealed to me.

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat – For I was hungry for something real and relevant to nurture my soul and You gave me the Word of God to feed me truth and salvation.

I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink – For I was thirsty from living in the barren desert of this worldly life and You gave me the overflowing cup of Living Waters to satisfy my thirst and I will never thirst again.

I was a stranger and you invited me in – For I was a stranger, alone and lonely, as I walked through my life and You invited me and made me the adopted child of the Living God.

I needed clothes and you clothed me – I needed clothes that were not the filthy rags of sin I had worn so long and You washed me white as snow and clothed me in a robe of Your righteousness.

I was sick and you looked after me – I was sick and defeated by the evils of this world, man’s striving for power, position and possessions and You looked after me and my eternal soul with Your mercy, grace and love.

I was in prison and you came to visit me.  – I was imprisoned by sin, depravations and strongholds holding my mind and spirit captive and You came to visit me to set me free from the law, my sin and condemnation.

Jesus was talking in these scriptures. Everywhere we look there are people in need physically and spiritually. Jesus cares about the person as a whole. Their spiritual needs take care of them for eternity; physical needs, while important, are temporary. If we are to strive to be more Christ-like, we, too, need to care about both and seek to help where and how we can. There is no greater love or help than sharing the gospel and love story of Jesus Christ with those in need.

Matt 25:40 The King will reply, `I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

John 13:34-35 A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

Let It Shine

Revelation 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

The following is an excerpt from Moody's Anecdotes, a must read.

"A young man enlisted, and was sent to his regiment. The first night he was in the barracks with about fifteen other young men, who passed the time playing cards and gambling. Before retiring, he fell on his knees and prayed, and they began to curse him and jeer at him and throw boots at him. So it went on the next night and the next, and finally the young man went and told the chaplain what had taken place, and asked what he should do. 'Well,' said the chaplain, 'you are not at home now, and the other men have just as much right to the barracks as you have. It makes them mad to hear you pray, and the Lord will hear you just as well if you say your prayers in bed and don't provoke them.'

For weeks after the chaplain did not see the young man again, but one day he met him, and asked – 'By the way, did you take my advice?' 'I did, for two or three nights,' [the soldier answered.] 'How did it work?' 'Well,' said the young man, 'I felt like a whipped hound and the third night I got out of bed, knelt down and prayed.' 'Well,' asked the chaplain, 'How did that work?' The young soldier answered: 'We have a prayer meeting there now every night, three have been converted, and we are praying for the rest.'

When we see people praying over their meal in public, it warms my heart and boost my faith. I know there are those that don’t feel comfortable praying over a meal in a restaurant, or quietly bow their head. We hold hands and my Honey says a brief prayer. We do not want to make others feel uncomfortable about it nor do we want to bow down to pressure not to give thanks together just because they might. Jesus publicly prayed over food before thousands. But I'm not just talking about blessing our meals, I'm talking about the life we live out-loud.

Our children are taught a little song in Sunday School classes that we need remember to apply to out adult lives…This Little Light of Mine! Here are, as a reminder, the nuggets of the song.

This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine…Let it shine, all the time, let it shine

All around the neighborhood, I'm going to let it shine…Let it shine, all the time, let it shine.

Hide it under a bushel? No! I'm going to let it shine…Let it shine, all the time, let it shine.

Don't let Satan [blow] it out! I'm going to let it shine…Let it shine, all the time, let it shine

Our public witness is not something to take lightly. Our actions and words speak for us. And shouldn’t they? I am a Christian proud to call Jesus my Lord and of the Jewish foundation of my faith 24/7. People, let us be out and out for Christ; let us give no uncertain speech or action. If the world wants to call us fools, let them do it! It is only a little while; the crowning day is coming. Thank God for the privilege we have of confessing Christ.

If the Apostle Paul can sit in chains proclaiming his faith and Christ Lord from the depths of the dungeon and his actions and words get people saved, being a public witness for Christ in my neighborhood, schools, grocery store, etc is a cakewalk comparatively speaking. Need I say more?

Let's ask the Lord to touch our lives with power today. That we may be released from our stresses, our problems, our own desires, and certainly our inhibitions — that we may become focused on being available for the task of sharing Jesus all the time. Let it shine, People, let it shine!