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| Don't Neglect Your Hugs!
Hebrews 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
I heard a story about a young woman named Linda who was traveling alone up the rugged highway from Alberta to the Yukon. The first evening she found a room at a small-town Inn in the mountains and figured she'd continue her journey bright and fresh, early the next morning. But strangley, when she called down to the front desk and asked for a wakeup call at 5 AM the clerk sounded puzzled by her request.
She awoke bright and early as she intended, and suddenly realized the reason for the clerks reaction the night before. A thick fog covered the mountain tops -- it was not the kind of weather in which you'd want to take a Sunday drive. Not wanting to look foolish, however, she got her things together and went to breakfast. There, she met two friendly truck drivers and who invited her to join them. "So, where are you headed?" one of the truckers asked. "Whitehorse", Linda replied.
"You're not planning on driving that little car are you?" he said chuckling and pointing outside at the only little car among several eighteen-wheelers in the parking lot. "This pass is dangerous in weather like this!" "Well," said Linda, "I'm determined to try." "Well then -- I guess we're just going to have to hug you," the other trucker suggested. "What?!" Linda gasped, "I don't think that would be appropriate!"
"Not like that!" the two truckdrivers laughed heartily. "We'll put one truck in front of you and one in the rear. In that way, we'll get you through the mountains." All that foggy morning, Linda followed the two red dots in front of her and had the reassurance of a big escort behind as they made their way safely through the mountains.
Just as Linda did, we often feel confident that we can get by on our own, without any help from anyone else -- and before we know it, we're lost in the thick fog of the mountain of life. Rivka and I have seen so many people leave the fellowship of believers and go off on their own, becoming bitter against a brother or sister, or pastor and believing they'll be better off doing their own thing. Many of these have sadly never come back to the fold. But this is yet another way the enemy of our souls seeks to draw us away from the Lord. As brothers and sisters in Messiah, we need to be closely knit with one another, helping eachother and giving and receiving compassion and love. We need one another! | | |
| That rebellious tongue
James 1: 26
"If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless."
What comes out of the heart are desires, thoughts, attitudes, actions and words. Why does James put the emphasis on words here? Because our words create desires, thoughts, attitudes, and re-actions in others. Our words aren't internal like thoughts, and they aren't just examples either. Our words convey what's in us to others. And others are affected; it is impossible not to be. Just as we give with our service, we are giving something to someone every time we open our lips in their presence. What are we giving them?
When someone calls me a name, I may have thick skin, but there is still a hurt. When I am flattered, my humility gets challenged and there is a temptation to be puffed up. Someone else's perspective has entered my world and I am not the same as a result.
It is a wise person who uses their lips for the purposes that God intended. That wisdom in my life has come from many mistakes and lots and lots of reflection about the results of my speech.
Paul, in his letter the Ephesians said this in chapter 4, verse 29, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."
Wow! Using our lips wisely is an awesome responsibility. And that doesn't happen by accident. It happens with careful reflection on what our words are doing in the lives of others and careful attention to how we might re-engineer our speech to build people up and benefit them. That's why James goes on to say later in his book:
"Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check." (James 3:1-2)
When I first repented of unwholesome talk, and began desiring to speak in God's way, I wasn't even aware of my failings. Then I began keeping a log of my major conversations of the day, what I'd said, and what I thought the effect on others had been. It was an eye-opener, like finding out how much sugar you consume in a day without thinking about it. But like anything else that God commands us to do, He provides the grace to make the change. Give your lips to God, and watch Him change your speech forever, for His purposes.
Pastor John | | |
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CHRIST: THE OBJECT OF OUR DESIRE
"And [Jesus] said to them all, 'If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me'"
Luke 9:23
Thank God for the Cross of Jesus Christ! For it is there that my sins are forgiven; it is there that the "old man" died. Yet is is also true that there is something as wicked, if not more wicked, than sin, and that is Self.
It is true that every sin is rooted in Self. As we must initially accept His death for sin, so we must daily accept our death to Self. As we are once crucified with Him for the remission of sins, so we must daily take up the cross, deny our Self, and follow Him.
We walk in the narrow Way just as we entered the narrow Gate -
by way of the cross.
by Chip Brogden | | |
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WHY GO TO CHURCH?
A Church goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper
and complained that it made no sense to go to church
every Sunday. "I've gone for 30 years now," he wrote,
"and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons.
But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them...
So, I think I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting
theirs by giving sermons at all."
This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the Editor"
column, much to the delight of the editor.
It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:
"I've been married for 30 years now.
In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals.
But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire
menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this...
They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed
to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals,
I would be physically dead today.
Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment,
I would be spiritually dead today!"
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| GIVE THANKS DAILY
"There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger."
LUKE 17:11-18
Relatively few people who receive the goodness of the Lord return to give Him thanks for what He has done. That does not keep the Lord from doing what is right for us. He healed all ten of these lepers according to their request - not just the one who was thankful. However, there was only one out of the ten that was made "whole."
The Lord desires that we prosper in spirit, soul, and body. He wants us to be whole - not just healed. Part of the reason God meets our physical needs is to prove to us His willingness and ability to meet our emotional and spiritual needs. The Lord is concerned about our temporal needs (Mt. 6:30), but He is even more concerned about our eternal needs. All of these lepers needed physical healing and the Lord was moved with compassion and met their need.
He was also desiring to meet their spiritual needs, but only one out of the ten came back for that.
Being unthankful is always a sign that self is exalting itself above God. A selfless person can be content with very little. A self-centered person cannot be satisfied. Thankfulness is a sign of humility and cultivating a life of thankfulness will help keep "self" in its proper place.
Thankfulness to the Lord for what He is and what He has done is a very important part of the Christian life. One of the many benefits of thanksgiving and praise is that they keep us from being "self" oriented.
Giving thanks is a totally unselfish action and is a key to relationship with the Father that makes us "whole" and not just "healed."
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