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This page is dedicated to bringing encouragement and insight to God's people and reaching the lost for Christ.
I have a favorite Old Testament verse that many will probably find odd: "Man that is born of woman is of a few days full of trouble. Job 14:1 The reason it is my favorite is because it helps to explain why there is so much suffering in my life and in the world. It can be my favorite bible verse because of my favorite New Testament verse: " In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." John 16:33 Be certain that troubles will continue. But we can be more certain that when we put our trust in the Lord Jesus, we are able to overcome the troubles and trials and tribulations of this life.
Don't Let The Story of the Unprofitable Servant Be Yours
Don't Let The Story of the Unprofitable Servant Be Yours
Take advantage of every opportunity-do it for others not for myself.
Begun April 21, 2023
Revisited on June 5, 2023
Eph. 5:15-16 “Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” NIV
I like how the NASB expresses it, “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.”
I cannot recall the original source of this message, except to note that it was around the time that I began to try to come up with topics that I have wanted to write on for quite some time but never seemed to have the time.
The fact is, as illusive as time is, I do always have enough time. The issue is always my management of my time. Too often I have allowed myself to be drawn into unproductive activities that tend to pull me away from more spiritually enlightening (beneficial) pursuits. Once I began the process of writing in July of last year, I made a promise to myself that I would stick to it this time and stay focused and produce materials for the website to share with anyone who will take the time to read the website. I was too aware of my history of beginning but flaking out when the material did not seem to flow or required too much of my time. I particularly recall allowing some helpful criticism to sidetrack me. I am resolved to labor at this until the Lord himself says it is enough.
My thought then of taking every advantage is a combination of an axiom that the great abolitionist Frederick Douglass was fond of saying, Believe in yourself, take advantage of every opportunity, and use the power of the written and spoken word to improve life for yourself and others. The other part of the combination is the idea that I owe Jesus my best effort at whatever I do. I cannot give up and give in just because the chore is difficult or time consuming or because I feel too inadequate. I must persevere because it is a labor for Christ and for his body. I am reminded of Paul’s proclamation, “I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.” Romans 1:14 Paul is proclaiming that with the grace of God and gifting of the Holy Spirit in his life he is under an obligation to reach as many as he is able with the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Oh, how I wished I had grasped the recognition of this obligation sooner. I have been as faithful as I know how to be in many things related to this Christian life. But it has only been recently that I have understood what Paul was expressing.
I have heard my pastor say, “we have this treasure in earthen vessels” and he would relate to us how we are to treat it as a sacred responsibility to share it with others. But for the longest time I did not perceive the urgency of this call.
Many distracting thoughts dull our hearing at times. Thoughts like, it would be nice to share the Word of the Lord, but people so often don’t want to hear it so how do I do it? I don’t do well talking to perfect strangers about something so personal as their religious beliefs. And for some who say, I am not a preacher. I don’t know how to preach to the lost. Or my favorite “who am I?” These have replaced the acknowledgement of the urgency of accepting and fulfilling the call of God to be his willing servant and being compelled by obligation to share in the ministry of reaching souls for the Kingdom of heaven.
Every believer has the Holy Spirit of God dwelling within us to help us to not only hear God’s call of salvation for ourselves, but the same spirit is responsible for helping us share the message of the Grace of God, the Mercy of God, the Gift of Salvation. We need to hear the urgency of the obligation.
1 Corinthians 9: 16-23 Paul explains this obligation. Paul explains the urgency of his preaching the Gospel. “For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship” Paul says there is a stewardship that is placed upon him by God. A stewardship to preach the Gospel. So, you may say well I am not a minister, I am not a pastor, I am not an evangelist, I am not an apostle. You may not be any of those things, but you are a son or daughter of God if you are born again. You have a responsibility to the Father to represent him as Jesus did; always doing what he saw the Father doing. We have this treasure within us, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the message of salvation, we need to be faithful stewards of this treasure. We cannot be like the unfaithful servant who hid his talent so that he could return it to his master when he calls him to take account of his service.
Hopefully you remember the story that Jesus told of the great lord who gave talents to 3 of his servants before going on a long journey. This story is found in Matthew 25:14-30. Jesus said, "To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey.” The first two invested their lord’s talents and gain additional talents. So that when the lord returned, he rewarded them for their faithfulness in being good stewards of what talents he had given them. But the third guy who received only 1 talent, replied to his master, “Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. And I was afraid and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.” The fate of the unfaithful servant was that what he had was taken from him and he was cast out into the darkness. Woe to us if we are not good stewards of the talents (abilities) that God give each of us. I think it is good to point out that the lord knew the abilities of the 3 men. So too our Lord knows what he can expect from each of us. He will not put on us what we cannot bear or follow through with.
I think urgency has been lacking in my Christian walk. I have always felt the gifting of God to sing, preach and teach his word. But I have never felt the urgency of it. There is a difference. I believe it is partly because I have had fewer opportunities to sing and preach than I used to have. And as I have gotten older the brevity of my life itself has become even more of a reminder of how little I have done for the kingdom of God. I am compelled to pray for and seek out more ways to be used by God. Thus, the writing and the website. They become an outlet for sharing what the Lord has given me.
Peter offers us another view of why we ought to be diligent to take advantage of every opportunity the Lord gives us to partner with him in the furtherance of the Gospel. Peter points out that we have been redeemed from an empty and unproductive life by the “precious blood of Christ”. Listen to his reasoning, “Since you call on a Father, who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” (1Peter 1:17-19 NIV)
Listen to the Amplified Bible rendition of the same verse: “If you address as Father, the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in [reverent] fear [of Him] and with profound respect for Him throughout the time of your stay on earth. 18For you know that you were not redeemed from your useless [spiritually unproductive] way of life inherited [by tradition] from your forefathers with perishable things like silver and gold, 19but [you were actually purchased] with precious blood, like that of a [sacrificial] lamb unblemished and spotless, the priceless blood of Christ.”
Peter knew the history of his own people. Israel was a people chosen by God. They were delivered from Egyptian bondage. They traveled 40 years through desert and wilderness, a journey that should have been only 11 days had the people put their trust in their God. (See Deuteronomy 1:2) He also knew the hardness of the spiritual leaders, the Pharisees and Sadducees. He knew that it was the leaders who had conspired for the death of Jesus. Peter recognized obstinance and disobedience as a hinderance to faith and the blessing of the Lord. Therefore, he is able to exhort his readers on the dangers of spiritual unproductive living. Peter reminds his readers, those who have put their trust in the saving grace of God through Jesus, that since we have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ Jesus, we are to be diligent to take advantage of demonstrating our gratefulness for God’s great salvation. We are to choose to live and work out our soul salvation in fear and trembling, in a manner that honors God, that reveres Him.
In reading about the unprofitable servant, I also read The Parable Of The Ten Talents; Bible Verses about Gifts & Talents; Don’t Take Your Blessings For Granted. The story was taken from the New Living Translation. Luke 19:26 In the story, the King explains why he ordered the talents to be taken from the worthless servant and given to his most faithful servant who already had 10 talents. The King replied, “to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.” SELAH
There is no mystery. If you and I wish to be rewarded by the Lord, our King, we must be diligent to use the gifts that he entrusts to us faithfully. We must be diligent to take advantage of every opportunity that our Lord gives us to serve him.
There are two words that are to be an anathema for us who are determined to do the will of the Lord: Apathy and Neglect. Beware of both “Neglect, failure to do what ought to have been done!” And “Apathy-Who cares? We must care!” (C. Swindoll)
June 12, 2023
From a heart of love and compassion share the gospel
From a heart of love and compassion share the gospel
Your Christian life may be the only Gospel they will know
Pray and put the results of your sharing in God's hands
Pray and put the results of your sharing in God's hands
As the wind blows we cannot see where it goes, so is the working of the Spirit of the Living God
Father, I thank you for the timelessness of your Word and your Promises. I pray you will use these words to encourage your children as they grow in their relationship with you. I pray that you will work in the heart of every person who does not know you as Lord to bring them to yourself, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
If you have questions about the message or about being saved or need further understanding of the plan of salvation that Christ Jesus offers please send your questions or requests through the Review Page of this website.
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To whom much is given, much is required.
Ephesians Model
Ephesians Model
The Ephesians Model
Jesus said, “Upon this rock I will build my church.” (Matt. 16:18) It is probably not news to you that Jesus is referring to the confession of Peter’s that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Have you considered what it means to have Jesus as that solid rock, the solid foundation of your faith? Stop reading and take a moment to consider what does it mean to you to have Jesus as the rock of your faith?
Did you think about the fact that Jesus supports every work that you do in his name?
Did you consider that no matter what you feel are your short-comings, Jesus has the power to transform them for his use?
You may not have a clue as to what it means to have Jesus as the rock of your faith. You may be so new in Christ that you have not had time to ponder what the possibilities or consequences are.
You may have come to the Lord trying to escape the troubles and trials of life and have not considered the obligation that being a believer in Christ entails. Jesus made it perfectly clear to his followers that to whom much is given much is required (Luke 12:48) Those of us who have been accepted by the Father in Jesus’ name owe much. We are called to a walk of love.
Gifting from God in your life has an outward purpose.
We are called to a walk of obedience that sets us apart from non-believers Read chapter 15 of the Gospel of John. Be sure to take in verses 9 through 14. In these verses Jesus frankly tells his disciples that he loves them even as his father loves him. Then he tells them to remain (abide) in his love. How will we know that we are in his love? We know that we are abiding in his love if we are imitating the life he lived in service to others.
If you are able to stop here and open your bible to John 15:9-14 - think deeply about what it means to you to remain or continue in Jesus’ love. For me I know that I am continuing in Jesus’ love when I am obedient to do the things that I know that Jesus would have me do. It is not in speaking but in doing that our love is observed. Our love is not only observed by God, but it is also observed by those around us.
It is not in saying I have faith, or I believe but it is in demonstrating that faith by doing the works of faith that our witness has its greatest effect. James tells us faith without works is dead. (James 2:14-20) Instead of saying be warm and filled and walking away we are called to make that warmth possible if it is in our means; make that filling possible if it is within your means. As Jesus was obedient to the Father and demonstrated the Love the Father had for his creation, you and I are called to the same work of ministry. The only thing that may be different about our calling to ministry will be found in how that call is manifested. This is where the Ephesian Model comes in: The Apostle Paul tells us that God has given to each of us a certain amount of grace that accompanies individual gifting(s). The grace is so that you will be able to use that gift for the benefit of others. Were it not for that measure of grace we would consume the gift for our own needs and gratifications. But along with the gifting, God has included a portion of his grace. We are able to act selflessly because of the grace of God at work in our lives. We are able to excel in meeting the needs of others because of the grace of God that has accompanied his gifting.
Regardless of what the gifting from God is in your life it has an outward not an inward purpose. We can derive the greatest joy, the greatest blessing, the greatest pleasure when we have focused our gift toward those in need. The grace and gifts from God have a three-fold purpose according to Paul: 1. The perfecting of the saints-that is the maturing of the saints of God into the servant-heirs of his kingdom 2. The work of the ministry - the obligation, responsibility, duty of all God’s children is to continue the work that Jesus began. Teaching men to know the good news of the Father’s love and sacrifice and coming judgement is an ongoing work until Jesus returns. 3. The edifying of the body of Christ- Instead of finding and exposing one another’s faults we need to be supporting one another’s growth in the Lord. If we find a brother or sister overcome by a fault, failure, or sin we are to help them to restoration. (Gal. 6:1) When we fulfill the scriptures that admonishes us to bear one another’s burdens, we make it possible for the true work of Christ to be done. Men will know that we are his disciples by our love one for another. (Jo 13:35) What will you do to promote the Ephesians Model in your own life and church? selah
Believe That God Is
Believe That God Is
June 26, 2023
We believe that God is
and because we believe he is God, we put our trust in him.
We trust him for salvation of our souls,
We trust him for healing of our bodies and souls,
We trust him for deliverance:
deliverance from persecution,
from sorrow,
grief,
pain, trouble and trials.
Because God is, and he is a rewarder of those who trust him-we trust him.
Our relationship with God has an even greater need than trust-Faithfulness.
We must be faithful to trust him even when there is nothing about our circumstances to make us think we ought to.
We must be faithful to trust him even when we are alone in our trust.
We must be faithful to trust him even when it seems as though what we are trusting him for is never going to happen.
"God is and he is a rewarder of those who Diligently seek him." Hebrews 11:6 KJV Selah
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