Life

Just passing through

EireneLeave a comment

1 Peter 2:11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims…..

I haven’t done lots of traveling in my life, but when I have taken trips packing is a big deal. There are lots of things that provide comfort and ease of living at my home, but when I am traveling, most of these things must be left behind. Whether traveling by car or by plane, there is limited space to bring belongings along. So I must pack the things that I feel are most necessary for the place I’m going. The more things I bring with me, the more cumbersome toting them around becomes. Those who travel frequently learn to pack light. It just makes the trip easier. The trip is only temporary and we will return to our home soon. Oh if we could learn this lesson as believers regarding our life. We aren’t home. When we get home we will have comforts and pleasure in the heavenly glory such as we could not have imagined. We will not be lacking a single thing. But when we live on this earth as though this is all there is, as though it is preeminently important in this life to acquire and obtain for ourselves more and better comforts and pleasures, we will inevitably find our pilgrimage through this life encumbered and our life in God choked out. Even Solomon, gifted with exceeding wisdom by God and wealthy beyond what we can imagine, wrote about the vanity of acquiring things (Ecclesiastes 5)

We are sojourners and pilgrims traveling through this life. We are just passing through. Whatever we acquire here must be left behind when we graduate to heaven and frequently those things become the subject of quarrels among those whom we leave behind. Many of our precious treasures may be sold or given away to strangers. All the things we labored for and lived for in this life will testify against us in the next.

It is good for us to learn to travel light through this world. If we store up treasures, let it be those that will await us in heaven.

The Widow’s All

Eirene1 Comment

Mark 12:38-44 Then He said to them in His teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.” Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.”

The Pharisee loved to be noticed and to be prominent among men. His attire and his seating at events communicated that he was a notable personage. He craved the attention that his seemingly superior spiritual life attracted. He was so educated, a brilliant man, and everywhere he went he heard the greetings “rabbi, rabbi” and he secretly glanced around to see if others heard it too. His attainments in life gave him great advantage, so that he was a man of some means. He was the epitome of a holy man, respected by all…except God.

His eye was drawn elsewhere. He saw the little lady who had escaped the attention of everyone else. She was nothing special. Plain. Uneducated. Poor. But she loved God. Unknown and unnoticed by the Pharisees around her who so casually tipped God from the excess of their wealth, she left the temple having given everything to God. It was such a pitifully small amount, yet it was the most extravagant offering given. And it attracted the notice of God.

Many give some, but few give all. Which one will you be? The Pharisee seeking the accolades from the crowd for his spiritual attainments or the unknown widow, giving all.

 

Sharing the spoils of victory

EireneLeave a comment

David had been through many years of struggle. Anointed as king by Samuel and then chased all over Israel by King Saul, he now lived in Philistine territory as an apparent ally to Israel’s most hated enemy. He kept his military skills sharp by going out on raids, but during the absence of David and the men of war, their city, Ziklag, was raided and burned and all the inhabitants were taken captive by the Amalekites. At the Lord’s direction, David and his men pursued the Amalekites and not only recovered all of their own people and possessions, but they got extra because the Amalekites had invaded several areas prior to Ziklag. David could have kept all the spoil for himself, but instead it pleased him to share it with others.

1 Samuel 30:26 Now when David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the spoil to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, “Here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of the LORD”–

His victory wasn’t just for him. It was for the benefit of the people of God.

Although we don’t fight physical battles, we definitely are in a warfare and there are victories that we win and spoils of those victories that we acquire. And these spoils are not merely for us to celebrate, but they are for the help and benefit and encouragement of the people of God. The battles you have won—share the fruits of it with others. Share your story. Share your failures and share how Jesus brought you through it. Tell the testimonies of His grace and His power at work in your darkest days. And tell how He brought you out of that darkness. Somebody needs to hear it. Your victory wasn’t just for you.

1 Chronicles 26:27 Some of the spoils won in battles they dedicated to maintain the house of the LORD.

This is what your victory is for- to strengthen the people of God and to encourage them.

To tell the story of God’s victory means that you will have to tell the story of your failure. Don’t be ashamed. Everyone else has failed too. They just may be more concerned about protecting their reputation than sharing the spoils. Tell your story as often as you can and watch what God does.

 

Give it all

EireneLeave a comment

James 2:5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?

1 Corinthians 1:26-29 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.

Luke 21:1-4 And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; “for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”

Some have so much and give so little of it. Some have so little, yet give it all.

Guided by the eye or turned by the bridle

EireneLeave a comment

James 1:26 says that a man’s religion is useless unless he bridles his tongue. Religion is here defined as the ceremonial and external aspects of religion. However, the bridle is not God’s preferred way.

Psalm 32:8-9 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. Do not be like the horse or like the mule which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not come near yet.

The horse and mule are very good workers. They handle heavy burdens and get much done. But when the master wants to direct them in a certain way, he has to pull on the bridle so they know what to do. They cannot be guided by the eye for they are undiscerning and unresponsive to that.   And so the master remains out of their sight, utilizing the only method they will respond to – the pull of the reins from behind them. This is a picture of the religious man. He is busy with many spiritual looking things. He is such a hard worker, getting so much done. But for the master to get his attention and change his direction, he must be turned by the bridle.   He is much too busy to stop and wait to be guided by the eye. The spiritual man however, is busied with this one thing – gazing upon the master, not moving until he perceives that the master is directing him. Although this man may seem to be slothful when his activities are set alongside the feverish pace of the religious man, the things he does, having been uniquely directed by the master’s desire, are highly profitable.

You get to choose if you will be guided by the eye or turned by the bridle.

Don’t wait until it’s too late

EireneLeave a comment

I have a friend whose best friend was murdered this week.  She was only 48. My friend’s sorrow is compounded by the feeling that she left things unsaid and undone.  I’ve been thinking about that and I’m sure that if I happened to lose someone close to me unexpectedly, I would have the same response.  It makes me want to do things differently.  I was reminded about something I shared on here a few years ago.  It seems applicable now:

Several years ago I met a homeless man named Ricky. I see him almost every weekend on Third Street and he always comes over to chat. He has come to church with me several times and whenever he meets somebody that he thinks I can help, he will call me. It has been an unexpected friendship. One Friday night a couple of months ago I saw Ricky on Third Street and as usual he came over to visit for a while. And just out of the blue he began to share some kind words about how our friendship had affected his life. I didn’t really know what to say in response so I just stood there for a few moments in silence. He said “when people die, their friends and family will have flowers sent to the funeral home. The flowers will be laid on top of their grave but that person will never experience any enjoyment from those flowers. I wanted to give you a flower now.”

I think about these words often….and about how easy it is to leave things unsaid, sometimes until it is too late to say them. Don’t wait…..give out some flowers today.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God. (1 John 4:7)

We don’t understand the whole plan

EireneLeave a comment

Matthew 17:22-23 Now while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up.” And they were exceedingly sorrowful.

To their minds it would have seemed better for Jesus to stay among them. So many were being healed and set free. The truths of the kingdom were being preached to hungry souls. Twenty or thirty more years of this kind of ministry from Jesus would have made such a difference in Israel and the surrounding regions. The thought of Him being taken away was exceedingly grievous to them and seemed like the dashing of their hopes and dreams for the kingship of Jesus. But they didn’t understand that the plan of God was far more than Jesus reigning over a nation — He was to reign over ALL the nations and that could only be accomplished through his death and resurrection. The power to preach and bring healing and deliverance was to be an indwelling reality in multitudes who could take this blessing to the farthest corners of the earth, but the Spirit of God couldn’t come and abide where the blood had not cleansed. Had they understood at that time the scope of what was about to be accomplished, their sorrow would have been overshadowed by hope.

In the same way, we find ourselves in places of discouragement when our life isn’t going as expected. The plans we had for life, family and ministry didn’t go as planned and we look upon our lives as though all that remains is to sorrowfully endure until it’s time to go to heaven. But what if your greatest disappointment is just the precursor to your greatest opportunity? What if today’s rejection ushers you into a greater walk with God, the fruits of which affect the lives of those around you? What if today’s sorrow is about to be swallowed up in tomorrow’s overpowering joy?

The plan of God almost inevitably involves suffering. But it doesn’t end there. His plan is bigger and better than you have even imagined. Today, let your sorrow be overwhelmed by hope.

 

The Prepared Heart

EireneLeave a comment

2 Chronicles 12:14 And he did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the LORD.

Prepare (H3559) – to establish, make firm, make ready, set up, to fix, provide for, to direct toward, arrange

The prepared heart is our defense against entropy. If our heart is not fixed and made firm and directed towards seeking the Lord and our life is not ordered and arranged to make this a priority, it will not happen.

Every morning when I get up I take my thyroid medicine. I know that it provides something that I don’t naturally produce enough of, it is for the benefit of my health, and I have experienced the downgrade in my overall well-being when I don’t take it for a period of time.  I have it in a prominent place on my kitchen table and I have a routine that I follow.  I have learned the importance of making sure that I do this every day by the consequences I experience when I don’t.

I have learned this in my spiritual life as well.

If the heart isn’t fixed to seek the Lord, the Lord will not be sought. Ten thousand things an hour will scream for urgent attention, the tasks of the day will demand our focusing upon them, and the fatigue of our body will cry out for the pillow…thus days, weeks, and years go by spent in pursuits that have no eternal consequence.

The heart must be made firm, determined, that Jesus has preeminence in the life AND in the time, for this will need to be defended frequently from the cares of this life that will attempt to encroach upon it.

Is it possible that the heart is not made firm in these things because the benefit (and the absolute spiritual necessity) isn’t realized?  Oh God, help us to see how much we need You!

Building a life

EireneLeave a comment

Last night I was reading Deuteronomy 11 and I noticed several times the Lord revealed to the people how interrelated things are. Here are some examples of this process:

From Deuteronomy 11:1-9 —— Being aware of the acts of God and His power employed for the good of His people and the judgement He brings to the wicked –> obedience to His commands –> strength to possess and dwell in what has been promised by God.

From Deuteronomy 11:13-15 —— Loving the LORD your God and serving Him with all your heart and with all your soul –> provision for growth and satisfaction is given

From Deuteronomy 11:16-17 ——- You forget the Lord and serve and worship other things –> the blessing is withheld –> everything you once enjoyed withers up

I was thinking about these three examples and the progression that was involved in each. None of these happens in a single moment, but they come about through the process of time. But here’s the thing to keep in mind: the decisions we make and our obedience or disobedience to God today sets things in motion that we may not see the fruit of (whether good or bad) for days, months, or even years.

The things I desire in my spiritual life won’t be the result of a moment, but of a process. This is why every day matters, consistency matters, endurance matters. At the moment we begin the ascent to a closer place of intimacy with Jesus we may not sense anything has changed, but things are set in motion, the fruits of which may not be visible for some time.

My life is a continual sowing. It is being built one moment, one decision at a time. That which is not spiritual isn’t necessarily morally wicked. It could merely be carnal. In which case it just dies a quiet death, but brings forth nothing life-giving. And what is lost in the accumulation of those carnal sowings is the benefit that could have been brought if those sowings had rather been spiritual in nature.

I am reminded of this verse:

For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Galatians 6:8-9

The current situation in our world could possibly be a time of re-evaluation of our lives, what we are giving ourselves to, and what we are sowing into our future. Sow now what you desire to reap later.

Go deep in God

EireneLeave a comment

Today I was watching as a large bird was flying over the water, so close to the water that it seemed to be barely above it at times.  This bird was on a mission, searching for it’s next meal. The victim would be a fish that was swimming close to the surface and easy to snatch up. The bird can’t go into the fish’s environment to get it so it has to wait until the fish is close enough to the bird’s own environment. And the unsuspecting fish hanging out in the shallows becomes dinner.

Shallow living is dangerous for the fish in water and the Christian on earth. We have an enemy who walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.  For the believer safely abiding in Christ, the devil may not. But the believer who plays around in the shallows of this life rather than plunging deeply into intimacy with the Saviour, makes themselves an easy target as they live their lives on the fence called compromise.  They venture so close to the enemy’s environment that he snatches them up in an unsuspecting moment and they find themselves a captive to some sin or other…never knowing they had been so vulnerable.

Go deep in God, believer. And then go deeper still.