Resolutions A Leader Commits Adultery Keeping Score Starting the Day Sowing Seeds Trials and Temptations Temples How Do We Want To Be Helped? You can't see it, but you can "see" it Big Rocks First Remember the basics At the Movies
January
It is the first month of the New Year. As usual it is customary to make (or talk of making) all our new year’s resolutions wherein we commit to doing things differently in the upcoming year.
Our intention is to start the year right by changing our bad habits, beginning new habits and implementing new plans of action for ourselves and our families. Usually we throw in a few "black-eyed peas" for a touch of good luck in starting off the new year.
We do this every year. We vow to get a better job, make more money, get out of debt, go on diets, love our families more, fix up the house, treat our neighbors better. ..
Usually, our new year resolutions are centered around our material desires . . . we want more money to do these things.
I worry about making enough money to adequately feed and clothe my family and keep them comfortable in a particular lifestyle that I have in mind. I have to calculate out how I will pay my bills and worry how to make all the ends meet by the end of the month, the quarter, and the year.
This is natural for us. We worry about tomorrow and next week. We speculate now how we will get to the end of the year with our material concerns.
We have a lesson on this subject that is found in the greatest "lesson" of all time. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talks of this very issue and how to address it.
"Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on." Matt. 6:25.
Jesus tears apart our concern over good-intentioned resolutions for our material concerns for tomorrow and next week. He tells us what our new year’s resolution should be.
Toward the end of the 6th chapter of Matthew in His well-known Sermon, Jesus teaches us how we should resolve our daily lives. He first describes the actions of the Lord in caring for His creations such as the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. He tells us to follow the example and shun worrying about tomorrow: "Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?" Matt. 6:27.
Jesus tells us that God, as he has taken care of his other creations, will also take care of us. We are not to be overly concerned with materials worries. God already knows our needs.
"For after all these things do the Gentiles seek: for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things." Matt. 6:32.
Then Jesus teaches us the only "resolution" we ever need to observe:
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." Matt. 6:33-34.
That is simple guidance — but too many of us cannot seem to follow it. The Lord knows our material needs. If we put him first and seek his kingdom, he will provide for us ("...all these things shall be added unto you.")
Whether we need clothes for us and our families, money to pay debts, food for our children. We should put the kingdom of God and his righteousness first. The Lord will take care of us thereafter.
We are not taught here to be sloth and lazy and ignore basic needs of our families, ourselves and our neighbors. We are not instructed to forego basic planning and paying our daily bills. We are given the "security" and clear conscience that comes when we seek the kingdom first. When we put the kingdom of God first and follow the guidance and example of His righteousness, then we will enjoy, and be supplied with, the daily material things that we have need of.
We must trust in the Lord to care for us. That trust always comes to us when we first seek His kingdom. With that our daily worries go away. We are secure in the blessings provided to us by the Lord, and not dependent on our own insecurities, our own inabilities, and our own failures.
The best way for us to be comfortable in this world, is to set our sights on the kingdom of God and the promises he has already made to us for another world.
That’s the only resolution we need.
February
We all have certain traits of our personalities. There are two that I want to discuss in this column. Individuals who know me well know that I have very strong, personal, religious feelings. Those individuals also know that I greatly enjoy, and am a student of governmental politics.
The paradox of this situation is that I also strongly feel the two should not mix. Some things get by us occasionally, but hopefully, the readers of The Banner of Love do not find themselves subject to political debate about governmental party politics. We have attempted to insure that political parties have no influence into the basic articles of doctrine and faith that we hope to present in the newspaper.
With this in mind, there is one point, however, that we feel burdened to discuss. Look at the following political scenario with us.
The leader of the nation has committed adultery. He saw a beautiful young woman, lusted after her, summoned her to his private quarters and there committed adultery. In subsequent actions, he attempted to cover it up. In so doing, he committed a criminal act as great or greater than the adultery.
How should this situation be addressed? Should he be removed from office for the incident? What would you do? How do you feel about this kind of a leader?
As things work out let’s also assume he follows up with a series of writings or books that confess to his misdeeds. Would you buy a copy and read all about it?
Hopefully, you have already done so and read about it. And, also hopefully, you recognize the head of the nation I am discussing is not any present day leader; but was one of history’s greatest leaders — King David. Our biblical history teaches us that David was the young man who led the fight against the Philistines and killed the giant with his sling and rocks.
Turn now to the two old testament books of Samuel. Therein we learn that David, became king over Judah and all Israel, and was the greatest king in biblical history. Undoubtedly, he possessed great leadership skills in leading this tremendous nation. He simply also had to possess great political skills to understand his people and provide the leadership required of him as king.
Now turn to 2 Samuel, 11th chapter. Therein, we learn that King David rose one night and went up to the rooftop of his house. He spotted Bath-sheba, a beautiful young, married woman who was bathing. He lusted after her. He summoned her to his room and committed adultery that resulted in Bath-sheba becoming pregnant.
To help cover up this situation, David summoned Bath-sheba’s husband, Uriah who was a faithful soldier to David. To help his personal situation with Bath-sheba, David sent Uriah to the front lines of battle where he was soon killed. David then married the widow Bath-sheba. The child of this relationship died as a baby, but we also know it later produced other children, including the baby Solomon, who became another great king.
As we all know, David was one of the Bible’s great inspired writers through the 150 Psalms. Look at Psalms 32, especially verses 3-5. Look at Psalms 51. Therein David is confessing to the great sins he committed with his lust of Bath-sheba.
Should David have been removed from his office as king? Should we be reading his writings?
I do not pose these questions in any attempt whatsoever to justify any immoral actions of anyone. Whoever commits adultery, or other moral indiscretions, has committed a sin, and will be held responsible. I bring up this point to say that such a situation is not a new development. It happens more than we would like to be aware. And political party affiliation is really irrelevant. Having had the opportunity to live in Washington, D.C. for several years and to work at the Capitol, Melba and I saw a number of examples of such activity from members of both major political parties.
Good morals are truly a qualification for political office. Religious credentials are not. Yet we have numerous well-known religious leaders, in their official church capacities, actively involved encouraging and invoking political agendas, based on their interpretation of facts. Too many times, facts are seriously distorted to achieve political agendas, including those official church leaders who allow themselves to be "lusted" into the world of politics.
I privately encourage political involvement by whom I believe to be good, moral people. And I encourage the acknowledgment of religious beliefs. What disturbs me too often is direct "political" involvement by individuals acting in their "official" church capacity. They bring their church credentials and resume to the forefront of their "political" agenda. I do not discourage political involvement, in fact I privately encourage active and direct political involvement with whatever party or cause with which you feel guided to be involved. There are numerous examples of good, moral people running for and serving in political office. We need more of them. We should just remember that worldly politics and political agendas do not mix with personal religion.
When we attempt to invoke our personal religious credentials as qualifications for political affairs, we have then lowered our religious beliefs to the level of politics. We make our religious beliefs a part of the political debate. We thus cast the precious pearls of our religious beliefs into the political pig sty. ("Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. Matt. 7:6) Your political opponents will use your very personal religious beliefs against you. When we invoke our religious credentials as qualifications for politics, we open ourselves up to political ridicule of our religion.
The Lord has his own way of correcting immoral situations. He is a better judge than you or I of those activities. The Lord can correctly judge the true facts and matters of the individual’s heart, without relying on the 10 o’clock news, or the supermarket tabloids.
The very best way we individually can correct such matters is to offer effectual, fervent prayer (James 5:16). I encourage responsible, moral voting in political elections. I have missed very few ballot opportunities and am always unsure whether I voted properly. I do much better when I first ask the Lord for guidance.
In the upcoming elections, I currently intend to vote for various candidates in the best personal judgment I know. One candidate I support is one I know is privately a minister. He enjoys a reputation for good moral credentials, but does not offer his official religious capacity as a political qualification. I also presently plan to support candidates for which I am unaware of their religious affiliation, if any.
The way we should vote responsibly is to privately ask the Lord for guidance, and to constantly pray that our nation’s leaders, once in office, are themselves inspired by the Lord.
There is no good political answer to many problems of this world. The solution in Iraq seems out of sight, the problems of third world countries, and proliferation of the small third world countries to warfare seems unsolvable. But I once thought that way about the famous Berlin Wall.
The Lord has the best "political" answers to our political problems. He can provide political leaders for us. He has done so in the past, as He did with King David. Have we asked the Lord to provide us good, moral leaders. Have we asked the Lord to guide and inspire the leaders (of all parties) that we currently have? Have we prayed for our enemies? (Matt. 5:44). Have we prayed for Saddam Hussein?
Our political problems are no different than those of our biblical ancestors. Our answers should be no different: pray for the Lord’s guidance and inspiration for ourselves at the ballot box, and pray for those who seek and hold political office, regardless of political affiliation.
March
We all know how important "keeping score" is in our society. As we write this, there is much publicity about "March Madness" — the annual national basketball tournament among the nation’s best college teams. Keeping score is an important part of that process, and often involves considerable controversy with regard to whether the score has been properly kept according to the established rules.
We keep score in all our sporting events. In our son’s initial little league ball games (where the young kids hit off a T instead of a pitcher) we were not supposed to keep score, but just learn the fundamentals of the game. But practically every child playing, and every parent watching, kept the "unofficial" score of the game.
We keep "score" every day. We do it at work where we watch to make sure our fellow workers get paid and achieve merit on the same level and under the same rules as we think we merit. Unfortunately, we keep keep score among our friends and family. We remember the good and the bad (especially the bad) about our friends and family. We remember all those things our brothers and sisters and friends have done to offend us. We even many times hear of score lists as to who sent, or returned a Christmas card. We all know that Santa Claus even keeps a list of his own, and that he checks it twice.
We do the same with our own lists. We keep a score on our family and friends. Whenever we are offended, we instantly produce the scorecard and remind ourselves of the past instances on the record. In two many family arguments, family members bring up the scorecards of the past to hold against their spouses and their children or parents.
There are some that will tell you that God also keeps a list. We hear that God keeps a scorecard on us. Our daily performance will be held accountable on us when it comes to our eternal salvation. A lot of people live in fear of such a scorecard by God, and they worry about their accountability to the extent that their entire salvation is conditioned on it.
My God does not keep such a scorecard. And it is an example we should learn from. However, few of us ever do learn from it.
"For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their inequities will I remember no more." Hebrews 8:12 and Jeremiah 31:34: "for I will forgive their inequity, and I will remember their sin no more."
The Lord tells us here that he has thrown away the scorecard on us. There is no need of our fear or insecurity that our salvation is conditioned on old scorecards being used against us. "For God hath not given us the spirit of ferar, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." I Tim. 1:7.
God’s plan is forgiveness and of throwing away the scorecard. Our salvation is not conditioned on the actions, words, deeds, or thoughts of ourselves. God has "saved us, and called us with a hold calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." II Tim. 1:9.
"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." Rom. 8:2.
The Lord, through the sacrifice of Jesus, has resulted in the scorecard being thrown away. The Lord has forgiven us of our inequities and will remember them no more.
Can we do the same? Can we throw away and forget the scorecard we hold against each other, against our spouses, against our friends. If we expect the forgiveness of the Lord, should we not demand forgiveness by ourselves.
If any of us holds scorecards on each other, it is time to throw them away.
April
It is not too mentally easy these days to get up and start off the morning. It seems as soon as I wake up my mind starts being occupied with the always-growing lists of matters that I must address and resolve. Too many times it seems I wake up early and cannot get out of bed before I have already started organizing my day.
I think about the problems at my job and the list of items that I must get resolved. I start a priority list in my head, and many times will start a to-do list to make sure I do not overlook and important matter.
It is not but a few minutes on a work day before I have already realized that I have a full day with lots of decisions and worries. This makes me know that I must get moving and not lose a minute in order to complete my tasks.
By mid morning I generally have added other things to my list or have allowed others to add onto my list. Hopefully, I will move some off during the day; but there are days when my list of priorities is longer at the end of the day than when I started the day. At night I find I have grown tired, mentally and physically, and want time off to relax without having to read or think or talk.
Because of everything I have going on, it is difficult to work in any Bible reading or meditation. I know I utter little prayers at various times throughout the day, but I simply do not have the time to stop and meditate in prayer — there are so many things going on I really have not had time to think about it.
Do you ever find yourself in that boat? We know we should take time to read the Bible, and to thoughtfully pray, but we find ourselves at the end of the day without the physical or mental stamina to follow through.
Jesus outlines a simple solution for this problem if we will just take heed. In the middle of his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives us simple guidance that we let get by us everyday.
In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus is discussing the tendency of man to worry about problems of life, stature, food, water, clothing — all the material things we need to sustain us in life. For those of us who worry about the daily chores of life, Jesus tells us: "O ye of little faith." Matt. 6:30.
Jesus tells us not to take thought or worry about such material things in our lives; because the Lord is already aware of our problems. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you." Matt. 6:33.
Let’s start off the day a little differently tomorrow. Let’s start off the day with prayer. Not just a little prayer, but let’s stop and pray like we know we should. Let us praise God and his glory, and thank him for all his current blessings of life and family. Let’s thoughtfully pray for our friends and colleagues that need help. Ask the Lord to guide our local and national and world leaders for peace.
If you have personal problems, take them directly to the Lord. Ask the Lord for guidance before we try to solve them ourselves without His help.
Seek the Lord first, not put it off to the end of the day. Refuse to think about any other things until you have spoken with the Lord. While you are laying in bed in the early morning, in the shower, drinking that first cup of coffee, or stepping out on the back porch. Start your day with the Lord, not with material worries.
"Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee..." Psalm 55:22. If you have that unsolvable problem, start first in the morning by asking His help. If you have a priority list, put prayer and meditation number one on that list. It is amazing how the other pressing and rushed problems will still fit in if we start off with the Lord.
Make God your priority every day. The rest of the troubles can be moved down one spot on your list.
You will find that you still have plenty of time to address all your concerns. You also will find that you can address those other concerns more relaxed and secure. The proper priority has an amazing way of resolving your worries.
Seek ye first the kingdom of God — all other material things will be added.
Start you day off right. Start it with the Lord.
May
One of the primary teaching tools used by Jesus was the parable. Jesus used up to a dozen parables to provide instruction to the people to explain the kingdom of heaven.
One I always find interesting in the parable of the sower. It depicts well the various states of people who hear the gospel preached.
This parable is covered in the gospel of Matthew, Chapter 13. Jesus had traveled to be near the seaside and a multitude of people formed to hear him. He moved to a ship on the edge of the water while the people stood on the shore and listened to him.
In the parable, four types of people are described. It is the four types of people who hear the gospel preached. See if you can recognize those times you have seen the four types of people.
First, a sower of seeds sowed and some of the seeds "fell by the way side." The birds came and devoured these seeds. This depicts the gospel being preached to those who do not understand it. It simply never takes root. The wicked come along and easily lead them astray.
Secondly, the sower sows some seeds in stoney places where there is some soil, but very little. This is like the patches of soil that gathered on the side of a stone mountain. The seeds germinate quickly in the warm thin soil and grow, but because of the lack of a deep root system, the plant easily dies in the hot sun. This is like the person who hears the gospel and understands it, and then rejoices in it for a short while. But when trouble prevails, because there is no depth of understanding, he is quickly lost to the world. We see people in this category who seem to come and go quickly — they are immediately "high" on religion, but quickly lose their enthusiasm at the first hint of problem or conflict with the world.
Third, involves the sower putting seeds out among the heavy patches of thorns. The thorns are so heavy the seed is quickly choked out and cannot make root. This may be someone who hears the gospel and understands it, but so enjoys the material things of the world that he can never really break with worldly pleasures. He is choked out by the world and its material pleasures.
Finally, the sower sows his seeds on fertile soil. This is good, plowed ground which is ready and prepared to hear the word. The seed takes root, get plenty of water and has the richness of soil to fully develop. The seed grows and reproduces and bears fruit. This is like the individual who is prepared to hear the word. They come to church praying for the Lord’s blessing and they follow it regularly by reading. They enjoy the singing and are ready to accept the seed in all its richness with fertile ground. By reading their Bible regularly they are more prepared to accept the word, divide it properly and understand it and apply it. This is fertile soil which will cause the seed to bear fruit. The best way to know and understand the gospel is to be already generally familiar with the text chosen by the minister. Our mind is in the right frame because we are praying to God to bless the minister in his delivery. We participate in the singing because this takes us emotionally into the frame of mind to accept the seed.
This is the importance of our individual study of the Bible and the Word of God, and our constant prayer to God. We need to go to church with the right attitude and put our troubles with the world aside. We need to properly instruct our children so they are better prepared to be as fertile soil.
The benefits of this: we get to enjoy the kingdom of heaven while we live on earth. We get the opportunity to escape our daily troubles and see the eternal benefits already established for us. It provides great peace of mind and understanding of the blessings the Lord provides to us daily.
June
Does it seem that trials and temptations are a major part of your life? They sure seem to play a major continuing role in my life.
Why is it that God seems to pick on me or let bad things happen to me — while letting people around me enjoy the lusts and material pleasures of life?
There is a song verse with which I really do identify. Tempted and tried, I’m oft made to wonder why others are never molested though in the wrong. Why is it I am allowed to suffer while others prosper even though they live so wicked year after year. The song tells me that I will understand it "farther along."
Trials and temptations seem to play a major role in my life. I keep thinking that one of these days I will get past my troubles, overcome my adversities, and turn away the temptations. Only problem is — I keep thinking this year after year — and I have been thinking it for many years.
Why is it that we are allowed to suffer in our daily lives? Why are we picked out to bear pain, sorrow and asked to deny pleasurable and lusty temptations — when we see others enjoying the fruits of worldly pleasures?
First, let us look to the words of the Apostle Paul in I Corinthians 10:13:
"There hath no temptation taken you but such is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."
We do not have any temptations and trials that are not common to everyone. People many times do a good job of hiding their troubles from their friends and colleagues. How many times have we seen and envied lots of prosperous-looking people, only to find out they have numerous personal and/or family and business problems.
The Lord is aware of our problems and our temptations, and He will not allow us to suffer more than we have the ability to withstand. But why are we allowed even to suffer in the first place?
We get guidance in the epistle of James regarding the reasons for our personal trials and temptations.
"My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience." James 1:2-3.
James tells us that we are to work through our troubles. These negative experiences are to be accepted with great joy — not for the pain and suffering, but for the sake of the positive work of God that can result therefrom.
We are made to understand that it is not our trials that are the benefit, but it is our victory over those trials for which we receive the real benefit in spiritual growth and maturity.
But James continues on with his teachings, and I encourage you to read the first few verses of James in their entirety to get the full message being taught here:
"But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." James 1:4. Our natural instinct is to attempt to escape all our troubles. But here James teaches to endure and overcome our problems.
"Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tired, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him." James 1:12.
James then takes a slightly different instruction to us beginning in verse 13: we are taught about temptations resulting from outside influences. We are not to blame God with our temptations:
"Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.
My first reaction too many times when I face problems and temptations is to blame God. I become convinced that God either allowed the temptations or allowed me to suffer for what I believe to be the same acts for which others are allowed to prosper. We too many times blame pain and tragedy as the curse of God. Job’s friends certainly felt that way. See Job chapters 4-6.
We should look upon our trials as a means for God’s long-term blessings. Our patience, endurance and forbearance in achieving victory over our problems matures us in the spirit and truth of God’s plan of grace for us. We are not to turn to avenues to "escape" our problems — especially not in the avenues of worldly lusts and pleasures such as through drugs and alcohol. That’s no real escape.
Our real escape is our patience and understanding that God will not allow us to suffer or be tempted more than we can bear. Our blessings comes with this understanding and following it. When we get to feeling sorry for ourselves because of our pain and suffering when those around us prosper, we should re-read James 1:12 and Deuteronomy 8:16.
"Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him." James 1:12.
And then turn to Deuteronomy to read about the Lord’s oversight of the people in the wilderness of the desert for 40 years following the exodus from Egypt before thei return to the Holy Land.
We are told the Lord allows us these tribulations in order to "humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no" ... and that the Lord "do thee good at thy latter end." Deut.: 8:2 and 16.
We are going to have trials, troubles and temptations, regardless of our station in life. We are taught to have patience, to endure and grow in our problems. Cheer up, we will understand it all by and by.
July
My thoughts on this column arose recently on a business trip. My most recent travels carried me into southwestern Missouri and to return home I traveled back through northeastern Oklahoma to catch a plane out of Tulsa. On this trip I was in front of Oral Roberts University and observed to the well-known giant "praying hands" at the university’s entrance and saw the tower of prayer in the center of the university.
On the plane ride home, my mind was on the things that men do to publicly display our religious belief. My thoughts roamed to other such related public displays.
In my business-related travels I have had the opportunity to view a number of the nation’s structures that were constructed for the purposes of worshiping God.
There are many magnificent buildings, statues and shrines throughout our nation, and the world which are recognized as places which man has constructed and dedicated as temples for worshiping God. These places are ornate, have beautiful architectural design or are centuries old, or may be towering facilities that dominate the landscape. Man has been known to go to great lengths to publicly display conviction toward God.
I have personally visited a number of these well-known and historic places in the United States, and others around the world are similarly recognized. There are numerous famous cathedrals such as St. Patrick’s in New York and St. Paul’s in Minnesota; there is the Crystal Cathedral in California, the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., and the famous Notre Dame of Paris. We have the Mormon Tabernacle in Utah and the gigantic National Cathedral in Mexico City. We have all seen the numerous beautiful Buddhist temples of the Far East, Westminster Abbey in London, the gold-domed churches of St. Petersburg, and the Vatican in Rome, which has its St. Peter’s Basilica and Sistine Chapel painted by Michael Angelo. We could go on and on with this list of recognized buildings, synagogues and mountain-top convents. The structures dedicated by man to the worship of God are some of the most historic and well-known.
It seems we go to a lot of work, sweat, and expense to publicly display our religion. We have built magnificent structures in, what it appears to me, are our attempts to publicly display our faith. We build these wonderful and beautiful man-made structures in our attempts to enjoy and display the Kingdom of God on earth — we want to show the world our faith. We want a place we can walk into and know that we are in a temple and in the Kingdom of God.
My thoughts on this subject always lead me back to the story of Babel in the 11th Chapter of Genesis.
"And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach into heaven; and let us make us a name..." Gen. 11:4.
I do not write to criticize any attempt to build and enjoy a nice church building where we can jointly meet to worship and enjoy the fruits of the Kingdom of Heaven. I do question the motives of man in spending great sums of money with great fanfare for buildings and structures. This is done too many times with the same motives as the people of the city of Babel. To show our faith and our good works, we point to the building instead of ourselves. For our good works, we point to a building or a statue.
Our primary focus should always remain on Christ and him crucified and following the commandments and directions spelled out for us. Our New Testament instruction places emphasis on us as individuals, not on our attempts to remove our guilt for sins by the worship of buildings and structures.
We are told that our enjoyment of the kingdom of God comes from within, not by our presence or tribute to such structures. Yet instead of focusing to ourselves and our actions on being the type of persons directed by Christ, we focus on material matters of the world in our attempt to please God. God made us as His temples, yet we spend so little time working on ourselves, but attempt instead to cover ourselves by our material opportunities to hide our inequities within.
"The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! Or, lo there! For, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." Luke 17:20-21.
"For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." Rom. 14:17.
"What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?" I Cor. 6:19.
We ourselves are temples. We are God-made temples. Should we not spend as much time and attention on improving ourselves dedicated as temples as we do on man-made temples? Should we not first focus on cleansing the temples within us that God has made, before we worship the man-made temples of the world? As God-made temples we have already been purchased with a price. Our bodies, our minds and our souls were made by God, for God. Let us put our priorities on the temples God has put His priority on. Let us cleanse our temples, let us put our temples to work as God has directed — toward worship of Him, following His commandments, his direction through the gospels, and toward grace for our fellow man.
Let us focus our thoughts and our attentions to the temple of the Holy Spirit that is within us. We will not gain our satisfaction from the man-made temples of the world, for "behold, the kingdom of God is within you."
Let us focus on our inner selves, our actions, our priorities, our focus on Christ and service to our fellow man. No man-made temple will give us the pleasures contained in the kingdom of God, that we can obtain ourselves through a clear conscious and sound mind which comes by dedicating ourselves as the God-made temples that we are. Our temples are already bought and paid for — let’s put them to use first.
August
What do you ask from the Lord? How do you expect Him to help you? What do you really want — what do you really need?
I find that over the years I have wished for a lot of things — mostly material things. I have prayed for a large variety of my desires: from the very simply, minor things that I encounter or think of daily, to the most major changes that I desire to occur in my life.
The question I want to think about today is: What would I really ask for if Jesus confronted me today and ask what I wanted. That lesson is given to us in the Gospel of Mark. I think it is a good lesson for us to be placed in the position of the man that had the opportunity to ask for exactly what he wanted.
At the 10th chapter of Mark, Jesus is said to be walking into Jericho from Jerusalem. Beginning with the 46th verse, we learn He is leaving Jericho and encounters Bartimeus, the blind man, who is sitting next to the highway begging. When Bartimeus hears that it is Jesus of Nazareth who is approaching, Bartimeus starts crying out for help. Many of those traveling with Jesus attempt to get Bartimeus to remain quiet, but he cries out more.
Beginning at the 49th verse of Mark chapter 10, Jesus stops and commanded that the blind man be brought before him. Jesus asked him "What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?" The blind man asked for his eyesight. Jesus responded: "Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole." The man’s sight was restored.
There are a couple of good lessons in this story from the Gospel of Mark. First, let’s put ourselves in the shoes of this blind man. If Jesus walked up to you right this minute — right now -- and asked: "What can I do for you?" — what would your answer be? You are given the opportunity for a direct face-to-face meeting with Jesus and he is asking you how he can help you. What is your answer?
Do you ask to be allowed to win the lottery? Do you ask for political power and influence? Do you ask that all your personal enemies be punished?
What would you ask for? This would not be a time to be tongue-tied and stammering. We ought to know right now exactly what it is we really want from Jesus. We need to think about what we would really ask for.
Secondly, there is a lesson in how Jesus granted the blind man’s request to be able to see: "Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole."
We are told in Isaiah that the Lord waits to be gracious to us. Isaiah 30:18. If we have faith and wait on the Lord, He will provide us His grace:
"And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him." Isaiah 30:18.
If we have problems that we feel we cannot handle; If we have hatred in our heart because of some matter that happen in our lives; If we have bitterness to someone or over some problem, do we find ourselves asking Jesus that it be automatically solved?
Look at Jesus’ answer to the blind man: "Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole."
We must first learn to give our problem to the Lord. Trust the Lord with your problem, whatever it is. Trust in His judgment and put yourself in His hands. Have faith in the Lord. Putting the problem in the Lord’s hands is the first step to solving it.
If I find myself bitter at someone over a problem, I have learned the hard way too many times that I cannot solve the problem. My bitterness, and actions therefrom, only create more problems. When I decide that I will let the Lord handle the problem is when the problem is removed. When I finally acknowledge and have faith that the Lord can handle this problem and that I cannot — that is when the problem seems to no longer become a problem for me.
Our lives will change dramatically once we turn our problems over to the Lord. Like the blind man who had faith that the Lord could solve his problem, new opportunities develop once we are able to see clearly.
We develop blindness to solving our own problems. Trusting the Lord is the medicine that cures that blindness. Our faith makes us whole.
Read the lesson of Jesus in Mark of the blind man’s request and how Jesus responded. It is a lesson for us in how our problems are solved:
What would you say if Jesus asked you right now how he could help you?
September
I was reminded recently of an overnight camping trip I took a couple of years ago with my son Reid. As a part of the Saturday morning activities, a group of the young 8-year-old boys, each with a parent, were led by the adult scout leader on a lengthy hike through a canyon nearby the scout camp site.
The purpose of the hike, of course, was to expose these young "city" boys to the great outdoors and to view the plant and wildlife and learn to identify things in the nature. I was impressed by the Scout leader and his apparent real desire to educate these young men in the natural beauty of the rugged canyon, and to call their attention to the great number of details in plants, rocks and such things as the many bugs and small animals that roam through the outdoor outgrowth.
At one point, we stopped at a resting place along the canyon wall, with a good view across the small canyon. Even as we rested, this scout leader was ever the teacher, requiring us to observe as we rested and enjoyed a sip of the water we carried with us.
"Be silent," he would tell us, "and watch nature through the movement of the tree tops, and the grass and weeds. You can see the wind blowing." Then he corrected himself. "No, you cannot see the actual wind blowing, but you have proof the wind is blowing because you can feel it, and you can see the result of it because of the movement of the trees and grass."
He then demonstrated that the wind comes in waves, much in thought like the waves that break into the seashore. We could feel and see the waves of the wind come by in gusts, very reminiscent of the waves of ocean water rolling into the beach.
As I sat there with my son, leaning on a large rock in the canyon wall, his description in teaching us how to "watch" the wind reminded me of a favorite description my father used numerous occasions in his ministry. He often used the analogy of the wind to describe "faith." "You may not be able to `see’ faith, but you can see the evidence that its there." my father would preach. He would compare the existence and actions of "faith" to the wind. "You cannot visibly see it, but you see great evidence that it is there and the power and strength of its working."
Another example is like the air in a balloon. We cannot see the air, but it is only that air that gives a balloon its size and shape. Let the air out, and the balloon collapses. Does the air exists? Absolutely. Can we visibly see it? No. But we can be absolutely sure it is there, because we can see the effect and impact of the air, and we see the results when it is there, and where it is not there. We know we can believe in the air, and the wind when the air is moving.
I have recently had a close friend discover a major medical problem. Like all of us, such a sudden discovery can be somewhat traumatic on us an our family and friends. But then is when we "see" the strength of a person’s faith. You see the great evidence of a person’s faith, and it can be impressive. It comes across like the wind and impacts everyone around.
As people visit my friend in the hospital, they all have returned and have all been buoyed by the demonstrations of his "strong faith." His faith is not hidden, but can be seen, and is demonstrated by his words, actions and deeds. You cannot miss "seeing" it. You cannot avoid being "stricken" by it.
How many times have you visited someone ill, only to be yourself greatly surprised and encouraged by the person’s tremendous faith. Can you "see" that faith. No. But you see the tremendous evidence of it. You literally feel it. You can see its impact as it "rolls" out from the person and strikes the faces, and hearts, of other people.
You see such evidence by the "works" of the individuals with such faith already in them. Their demonstrations of their faith, by their actions and words, makes those around them marvel and realize the power of security such faith can provide.
As is stated in the second chapter of James, we can see the difference in someone who professes faith, but there is no works to demonstrate that faith.
"What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him?" James 2:14. ... "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone". James 2:17.
"Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?"
We are indeed saved by God’s free grace "through faith". Eph. 2:8.
We talk about how we cope with our problems, only because of the strength of our "faith." Such demonstrations of faith by our words, our actions, our deeds, our responses to adverse situations, proves to all those around that "faith" is real — and it is saving.
Faith not only is a blessing of God to each of us; demonstrations of our faith provides blessings to all those around us.
October
There was a recent demonstration involving a large glass jar and several rocks. The man doing the demonstration started by filling up the glass jar with the rocks until the level of rocks was at the top of the glass jar.
He asked the audience if the glass was full. Several responded, yes it was. He stated, no it was not.
He then took a handful of smaller rocks the size of marbles. He dropped then into the jar to let them fill the spaces around the large rocks. Is it full now, he asked? Many said yes.
He then took handfuls of gravel, and dropped into the jar to fill the gaps around the large rocks and smaller rocks.
Is the glass jar full now? A few responded "yes" while others held their judgment. He reached and picked up cupfuls of sand and poured quite a bit of sand into the glass jar. The sand filled into the remaining gaps around the rocks and gravel. He fill the sand up level with the brim of the glass jar.
Now, is it full? Many responded, "yes", it was now full.
"Not quite yet" he said. He then reached and picked up a pitcher of water and started pouring the water through the sand until the water level was at the jar’s rim.
"Now it is truly full."
It was an interesting and thoughtful demonstration, but few in the audience could figure out the point he was apparently attempting to make.
"This jar is like your life. You can do many things with your life. You can add lots of things to you life, even when your life otherwise looks full, just like this jar. But there is one point more important than just that."
"In what order did I fill the glass jar. Could I have put the water in first? Or the sand, or the gravel? What could I have gotten into the jar if I had put in it first the water or sand? The answer is very little.
"The glass jar held so much more than we all thought it would for only one reason — we put the big rocks in first. By doing that, all the other smaller rocks, gravel, sand and water all filled in the appropriate spaces."
"Put in the big rocks first."
This was a wonderful demonstration that had an immediate impact on me. It was such a simple demonstration as to how we should operate our life, but is so simple we too many times miss it: Put in the big rocks first.
We should remember that with the priorities in our life. Start with the big rocks.
In the 6th chapter of Matthew in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, he is providing us valuable guidance for our lives. That Sermon is filled with great instruction that, if we followed it, would greatly relieve us of many problems we face.
In the later part of the 6th chapter of Matthew Jesus gives us guidance about our daily substance. He discusses our worldly concerns for food, drink, clothing and our stature in life. He tells us how we can do this:
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matt. 6:33.
Just like the rocks and the glass jar, we can have all we need (and more than we would believe) if we put our life in the proper priority: by putting in the big rocks first. Then all other things (more than we would believe) will fit in around the big rocks. If you put all other things first, then there is no room for the big rocks. The church is no different.
Worshiping, acknowledging and trusting our Lord should be our first priority. If we make it so, then we are amazed at how many other things we can add in around that. If we go with the little things first, the big rock will not fit in.
In your life, put in the big rocks first. Then amaze yourself at how many other things you can do, and do them well.
Put the Lord first, "and all these things shall be added unto you."
November
It’s Thanksgiving. Soon it will be Christmas, and New Year’s. We are in the annual "holiday season."
While we traditionally think of this time of year as one of fun, food, fellowship, and family gatherings, we also know it is generally a time of great stress and depression for a lot of people. It should be a time of wonderful memories. That is what the season is for.
It also is the direct reason why we also see much stress and depression. A lot of pressure is placed on a lot of people by themselves, and inadvertently by those around them, by their "desires" for the season. Some of us feel financial pressures to provide food and gift for those whom we believe expect that from us. We also feel stress and are disappointed when we do not have the visitors and fellowship that we associate with all the fun times of holidays of our youth and of those holidays long past.
If we feel stress and pressure, from whatever source, it is because we have allowed it to happen. It is wrong for us to allow it to ourselves and our family, and wrong if we allow such stress and pressure to be passed along to our children.
Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s are indeed a time for fellowship. We need to focus on the real meaning of the season, not some artificial, material and shallow meaning. How do we do that?
The absolute best way to avoid the stress and pressure is to focus on the good stuff. Prepare your mind. Read the Bible. Pass that stress on to someone who knows how to handle it much better than us.
Try the 4th chapter of Philippians. The Apostle Paul gives us sound advice for getting through the holiday season. He tells us how to come to peace with ourselves.
"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God."
"And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Phil. 4:6-7.
The way to remove anxiety is to be prayerful in every thing, with regard to every facet in your life.
One of the most important things that the Apostle Paul teaches us in this chapter comes in verse 11:
"...for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content."
The Apostle Paul tells us he has suffered great abuse, and be abound with riches. But the lesson is, to be content with yourselves regardless of your state.
This season, let’s go back to the basics. First, let’s be prayerful in all that we do. Let’s acknowledge that the Lord can resolve all our problems, can remove our anxiety and stress. Trust Him to do so.
Trust in the peace of God — it indeed passes all understanding.
Take note of your blessings. Whatever your state of life, look at the blessings you have. Count them.
Finally, be content with yourselves. Know that the Lord is watching and reading your thoughts, your worries and your pressures.
Instead of focusing on the pressures of ourselves, let’s make it a point to help relieve the pressure from someone else. Do a private or anonymous good deed for someone. Try to do it spending very little, if any, money. Write notes to your family and friends. Tell them how much your appreciate the good things in them, or how much they have meant in your life.
Teach your children, grandchildren and neighbors how to be content, and thankful for what they have. Teach your children the joys of almsgiving — especially of the giving of themselves to others.
If you want to really enjoy this holiday season — get back to the basics. Make sure someone you know enjoys the season a little more because of something you do or say. Don’t turn just to material gifts. Pray for them, visit them, smile at them, laugh with them, write them, and most of all, teach them to be content as the Apostle Paul was.
Have a wonderful, thankful Thanksgiving! You know who to thank. Give the best Christmas gift ever — give yourself unselfishly not expecting anything in return, as Christ gave himself unselfishly for us.
Do these things, and the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall be yours.
December
A lot of publicity is generated at various times over the actions of Hollywood’s movie producers. We have seen various types of public protests over the years because some group disapproves of a particular movie, or disagrees with the general philosophy of a movie or television production company. We see publicity being generated now over a new upcoming animated movie based on the biblical theme about Moses: "The Prince of Egypt."
We know very little about this new movie, having only see brief previews and witnessed early publicity. It is sure to generate broad discussion, and perhaps comments or protests from religious-based groups.
We have witnessed various attempts over the years as great protests are announced, only to result in increased publicity, therefore increased attendance by curious members of the public. I am somewhat cynical about such high-profile protests, because the publicity generated oft-times helps the protested cause, rather than achieves the intended result. A large part of my philosophy is undoubtedly influenced because of my background and education in the field of journalism.
Growing up in the print back shop of my father’s weekly newspaper plants, I vividly remember his instruction and guidance to me as he shared with me his philosophy about such events. As a newspaper we numerous times reported on such local events and were able to witness the results. Too many times we saw a public protest actually generate greater publicity for a protested event than it would have ever obtained without the protest. Curious members of the public became involved who would not otherwise have known about it.
As I went through schooling I remember one vivid example where my father’s guidance rang true. In college a small group of very liberal students formed a new organization and sought recognizable status. Initially they had less than half a dozen organizers and virtually no resources. A major protest was made against the formation of the group, with the protesters generating substantially more publicity than the original organizing group. Within a week dozens of more students joined the protested cause. Soon an attorney donated his services to the group. It soon became a major organization with all the publicity that it could not originally have paid for.
I did not personally care for the basic philosophy of the protested group. It was a cause for which my parents had specifically discussed with me prior to my ever attending college. The philosophy of the group was wholly inconsistent with the instruction of my parents. That’s where our basic duty as parents lies — instruction, not useless protest.
We are reminded of the tried and true saying at Prov. 22:6:
"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
Combine that with the teachings of Christ at the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount in chapter 7 of Matthew. We are told to beware of "false prophets" who appear friendly in "sheep’s clothing", but inwardly are "raving wolves." Then Christ provides us the real guidance for life. Read and study His words and teachings to prepare yourself a proper "foundation" for life. The wolves and false prophets will show up in our lives from time to time. If we know and a familiar with Christ’s teachings, then we have the proper foundation to withstand the ill winds that blow from time to time and fend off the wolves. Without that proper foundation, we can be easily fooled by those wolves in sheep’s clothing.
It all starts with getting a "good foundation" in our youth. If we teach our children properly, then we won’t have to worry about them when they are faced with temptations, half truths and untruths.
From all the publicity being generated prior to its official release (which may occur by the time you are reading this) a lot of people will be going to see this new animated movie about the life of Moses. I have read reports it is "reasonably" accurate by biblical historical standards. I know my own children already have expressed interest in seeing it.
I know by Hollywood standards it probably will be dramatized and fictionalized for effect.
Our duty as parents, as outlined in the Scriptures, is to properly instruct our children and give them the foundation they need to go through life. Give them the tools so they can recognize those wolves, even in sheep’s clothing. Give them the proper foundation to withstand the hard winds that will blow in their lives. If all parents would do so, there would be no need for protests to educate other people and other people’s children— our children will recognize wrong by themselves.
For this particular movie being released and appealed to children, before you go to it, read the second book in the front of the Bible, the Book of Exodus about the accurate historical story of Moses. Then tell it to your children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Lay in them the appropriate foundation. That is much more important and a better example than a public protest.
This is a good starting point. Give your children the benefit of your experience and guidance. Give them the truth.
Do that with all movies. Instruct your children with the proper foundation — whether its fact, fiction, horror or violent.
Give them that guidance with life. Give them the foundation set out by the Lord’s instruction. It is a lifetime lasting gift.