Tuesday - August 28, 2007
Grace had its annual ice cream social Sunday night. We spent two hours eating all flavors of ice cream, had silly entertainment, heard a group that played old rock music, and had a great time fellowshipping with as many people as possible. Some Christians feel like this is carnal and think we should make each meeting into a Bible study or prayer time.
I think of the dinners Jesus attended. They were not all Bible studies and prayer meetings. There was certainly time for them, but there were also times of fellowship. Jesus went to a dinner at the house of Matthew and it was attended by tax collectors and prostitutes who had given their lives to Jesus. Many of the disciples of John the Baptist were offended and questioned the disciples why they did not march with them and join them in fasting. Jesus told them there would be time for that later, but for now they should feel free to rejoice with the Lord.
One of the things which made the early church successful, along with doctrine and prayers, was fellowship and breaking bread. This means evenings of talk around a meal. Church has always been successful when there was a season for everything, including both Bible study and fellowship, and prayer and meals. Heaven will be filled with praise, worship and fellowship with the saints from all ages. I wonder if anyone in heaven will want to turn the Marriage Supper of the Lamb into a prayer meeting? It won't be me!
The PGA was held in Tulsa two weeks ago and of course, Tiger Woods won. It was the hottest temperature ever recorded for a PGA tournament. The golfers were drenched in their own sweat and had to change socks more than once a day because the sweat dripped down their body to their feet. Yet, for a large amount of money and prestige, they continued on through the heat chasing a golf ball from hole to hole.
Jesus told us in John 4 that God had called Him into the earth with an assignment to do the will of God and finish His work. Many Christians begin their walk with God, but few finish the work God has for them. Paul said at the end of his life, "I have finished my course." What a great testimony. Paul also told us we are not in the Christian race for a corruptible, but for an incorruptible crown. We are here for more than money and fame; our motivation is to reap eternal rewards. In heaven, golf won't be mentioned and the rewards given on earth will not matter at all, but what we did on earth, finishing our work here, will bring us crowns of life, robes of rulership, and thrones around God's own throne.
I know trouble comes and trials seem to be too numerous to number, but stay with it. Change socks and stick with it to the end. There is laid up for you incorruptible rewards which will not fade away.
Romans 2:4: ...the goodness of God leads you to repentance.
If you really consider the meaning of this verse, you begin to understand that God does not look at the unbeliever like we do. We see them for their sins, rebellious attitude toward God and the church, and their dislike for Christians. We look critically at sinners. God looks at them in goodness and love.
A good thing to do this week is to begin to look at the world through God's eyes. A love bath would be in order. We need to wash ourselves of our critical attitude toward those who live in the world. Compassion toward the lost never comes by looking critically at them. Seeing them through the eyes of God gives us a love for the world and then, the compassion of God can take over. Jesus did not preach or heal the multitudes without first being moved with compassion. Love guided His preaching and teaching. Love needs to guide our conversation and witnessing to those who do not know the Lord.
Perhaps the miracle does not begin in the heart of the person needing salvation. The miracle begins in us, the person leading them to Jesus. The goodness of God in us will lead them to repentance.
Paul, in referring to his own ministry, said in Galatians 1:1 that he was an apostle, “not of men, nor by man, but by the Lord Jesus Christ, and God the Father who raised him from the dead”.
Paul statement was in argument against so many religious men who said Paul was not put into the ministry by known leaders of that day. He was not approved by the board from Jerusalem or any counsel. This was true. Paul was recognized as a minister by the long list of accomplishments he saw in Gentile countries and cities as well as personal testimonies of those delivered through his preaching. Paul also had a team of ministers with him he found on the road and brought them into his traveling school of ministry. Paul may have brought them into his fold, but God called them into ministry. Paul only recognized in them what he saw in himself. Men cannot place a calling or a ministry office in you. Paul’s credentials for being in the ministry went back to a supernatural encounter with Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus.
Paul also was brought into many cities to preach and later, after revival broke out, asked to leave for causing an uproar. Yet, he did not leave the ministry. People may have brought him in to minister, but they did not make him a minister. God did.
The same is true with you. You have a calling on your life, whether behind a pulpit, behind a desk or at an assembly line. You may be a blue collar or white collar minister. You may have been hired by men, but you are gifted and called by God. Rejection is part of the Christian life and is difficult to face. Yet, rejection should not cause you to forsake your calling. God called you and, like Paul, you must rise back up and keep pressing toward the mark of your high calling. If God be for you, who can be against you?
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