And it came to pass, as he (Jesus) spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked.
But he (Jesus) said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.
Luke 11:27 & 28
…let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…
There were present at that season some that told him (Jesus) of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?
I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwell in Jerusalem?
I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Luke 13:1-5
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:16
When we pray, we often have an outcome in mind that we want God to bring about. Our outcome however, is not necessarily what God has in mind. It is not difficult to figure out whose outcome is best.
When I was a young believer, I had a vision or dream as to how I would serve the Lord throughout my life. I would get a Doctorate degree and teach on the college level in a Christian environment. That was my dream. It did not happen.
God created a sinless Adam and Eve and placed them in a perfect environment with instructions as to what to eat and what not to eat. They disobeyed. They fell. There were consequences!
But God……knowing the end from the beginning, sent forth His Son, the Lamb of God, slain before the foundation of the world to redeem us from the penalty of our sin.
I used to say that I did not want to live my life over again, because I was afraid that when I came again to the cross roads of decision, I might not trust Christ the second time through. I didn’t trust myself to make the right decision a second time.
A wise person heard me say that and reminded me that I did not find Him, He found me. I did not seek Him, He sought me. I did not choose Him, He chose me……..failures, shortcomings and all!
Who fails God? We do. Who chooses the place of our calling, knowing full well what lay ahead? God does! Praise His name!!!
Knowing that God is sovereign and that He is in control of all things, good or bad, enables us to yield and accept His will even when it is not what we expected.
The death of a believer’s dream or vision is simply the closing of a door. It is the narrowing down of our choices. It is one less thing with which we need to concern ourselves. It is God giving us direction.
Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done.
Note: Disobedience and bad decisions have consequences and the thoughts expressed above were not written to minimize those consequences.
The death of a dream can be painful and the pain is not soon forgotten, whether it is due to disobedience, bad decision making, or just not being God’s will.
The outcome that matters is not necessarily what we dream of or envision for God. The outcome that matters is God’s.
My dad could have been perceived to be a quiet man and an introvert, but he really wasn’t. He loved people and he loved to visit. I only learned when I became an adult that Dad stuttered.
I had to learn that from others because I rarely heard him stutter. He had learned to choose alternate words in conversation if he couldn’t get the first one out. He talked slowly and deliberately, carefully choosing his words without stuttering. If you didn’t know him as a kid, you would not know how bad it was until he learned to cope with it by picking and choosing his words carefully as an adult.
As a parent and a believer, I am still learning to pick and choose words carefully. Too often our words are used as darts or clubs to defend ourselves rather than to edify others. The wonderful thing about texting and email is that before we push the send button, we can edit out the emotion and the hurtful things we often say before thinking it through.
Dad loved people and he loved to visit with people. I often found myself standing on a street corner in the city with Dad waiting for mom to finish shopping. We rarely stood there alone because people would stop and visit with him on their way by. I remember asking him, who was that? He usually couldn’t tell me a name, but he knew where they lived. I met my great Uncle Earl on that street corner.
He would take me along to visit elderly relatives. I came to know some of my great Aunts and Uncles through these visits. Aunt Esther always had some chocolate cake and coffee ready when we stopped. Farrell and Mary (grandma’s brother) ran a small restaurant in the city called Red’s. Dad often stopped there for coffee with me along. Grandma lived just down the street from us in our small rural village. When visitors came on the weekends, I would sit on the living room floor and listen to Dad visit with aunts, uncles and cousins.
As believers, we should love people too. After all each individual is someone for whom Christ died. While we don’t know who the Lord maybe dealing with about their soul, we have a responsibility to declare the hope within us to those with whom we cross paths. Often people can become an irritant to us in our busy world, rather than an opportunity to tell of the hope within us. We should slow down some and listen to the hearts of those around us.
When I trusted Christ at the age of nineteen, I became zealous for the things of God. I began to regard Dad as too laid back. In my opinion, I thought he should be more of a spiritual leader and I often had a critical attitude toward him concerning this. Then one day I found out that he was the first one in our immediate family to make a decision for Christ.
Dad attended a revival meeting in our small town back in the mid nineteen forties. It was there that he made a decision for Christ. Mom didn’t like it, but the next night of the revival meeting Dad stayed home with my two older sisters and mom attended with her best friend and they both made decisions to trust Christ as their own personal Saviour.
Dad was our spiritual leader in spite of what I may have thought in my uninformed zeal. He responded to the Holy Spirit’s conviction first and as a result had an eternal impact on the rest of us.
Are you the spiritual leader in your home? Is God tugging at your heart to make a decision to receive His gift of forgiveness and eternal life through the merit and work of Jesus Christ alone? The Scripture says that today is the day of salvation! Trust Him now.
Thanks Dad!……Happy Father’s Day!
Note: Dad went to be with the Lord within thirty days of my family moving back to the Midwest in 1994. We had less than thirty days with him after living in the southeast for twenty-two years. I had the privilege of preaching his funeral.
Church activity does not make one spiritual. God does.
A Christian does not work to become spiritual. He works because he is spiritual.
Humans are not physical beings who happen to have a spirit. Humans are spiritual beings who happen to have a body.
Salvation results in eternal life. As long as one lives willfully in sin, there is no evidence of either one.
Works are not stair steps to righteousness. Works are simply evidence (fruit) of righteousness or unrighteousness.
God the Holy Spirit is the author of Scripture. God cannot lie, therefore, the Holy Spirit will never lead contrary to Scripture.
Since God is the Creator, good science will never contradict Scripture.
Hope is not the wringing of the hands. Hope is confident assurance.
Hope is not about holding on. It is about being held.
Love is not about feelings. Love is about making right choices.
Love is not about feeling warm and fuzzy. It is about obedience.
Love is not about physical desire. Love is about choosing the highest good for the one loved.
Faith should not be placed randomly. Faith can be misplaced.
Faith is the gangplank used to board the ship of grace. Misplaced faith can be used to board the wrong ship.
Faith is not a leap in the dark. Faith is a firm persuasion or conviction based upon hearing*………and hearing by the word of God.
Saving faith is based upon only one thing. It is based upon the finished work and merit of Jesus Christ alone.
Salvation is a gift from God, but it came at great price.
God chastises His own children and oft times severely (sickness and death). What then of those who reject His unspeakable gift?
A small child playing with a toy train will get things get mixed up. Everyone knows that the engine goes up front and the caboose is at the back with the other cars in between.
I’m sure there is an order for the other train cars as well, but it doesn’t make much of a difference to a child which order they are in. He/she is just enjoying the experience. We can ruin that experience by insisting the small child order the train correctly even though he/she doesn’t yet understand.
As babes in Christ, young believers sometimes get handed a lot of Bible truth in a short period. It takes time to grow spiritual teeth and to become capable of digesting the meat of God’s word.
Initially it is enough for the young believer to simply rejoice in the milk and honey of God’s word. After a time however, the many teachings of Scripture and biblical principle can be organized by the Holy Spirit into a fortress of truth in the maturing believer through good Bible preaching, discipling and personal study.
Allowing the word of Christ to dwell in us richly enables believers to mature spiritually, to walk in the Spirit, and to think biblically.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10
………And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
What are you thinking?
*W.E Vine’s Expository Dictionary of NT Words.
Note: The statements above are Bible doctrine condensed into one simple statement of biblical principle. I would like to give credit to the ones who taught these principles to me through their teaching and preaching, but I cannot name, for many of them, the specific individuals who imparted these truths to me.
I can say that clearly one third of the statements above can be attributed to the ministry of our teaching elder at my home church. I am not simply restating biblical principle. These are Bible truths that I have fully embraced. Thank you Larry for being a true student of the Word and for your dedicated ministry to the flock.
The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the honey comb.
Moreover by them is thy servant warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward.
Who can understand his errors?
Cleanse me from secret faults.
Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
Let them not have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
And I shall be innocent of great transgression.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.
Psalm 19:7 – 14
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly………
Are you trying to live the Christian life without the Bible?
Would you try to cross a desert without water?
As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: I Peter 2:2
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Joshua 1:8
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Psalm 1:1-3
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly………..
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. I Peter 1:23
You are born again. You have important decisions to make in your life. You have prayed and asked God to help you make right decisions. There are multiple opportunities being presented to you. Which choice do you make? Which opportunity is right?
Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Psalm 37:4 (He will place His desires within you as you delight in Him.)
These (the scriptures) are they which testify of me….
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly……..
Thy word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against thee.
Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
Delight yourself in the Lord, walk in the Spirit, hide God’s word in your heart, wash yourself in the water of the written word, and then,……. do what you desire.*
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:5&6
This means that if you and I bring God into our decision making by trusting Him completely and acknowledging Him in all our ways, then even when we lift our foot to take a step, not knowing for sure where to put it back down, He will direct us.
*I am hesitant to make lists of things to help spiritually because I think many of us just check off the items and then expect God’s blessing. The things listed in the paragraph above are a way of life, not a one time emergency procedure.
I must also caution you to be honest with yourself and God. You can feign spirituality by doing a list of items in order to convince yourself of God’s will in a matter that you have already decided.
Measure everything by this rule; the Holy Spirit will never lead you contrary to Scripture.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly….
Teach Me Thy Way, O Lord
“Teach me Thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.” Psalm 27:11
Teach me Thy way, O Lord, Teach me Thy way!
Thy guiding grace afford, Teach me Thy way!
Help me to walk aright, More by faith, less by sight;
Lead me with heavenly light, Teach me Thy way!
When I am sad at heart, Teach me Thy way!
When earthly joys depart, Teach me Thy way!
In hours of loneliness, In times of dire distress,
In failure or success, Teach me Thy way!
When doubts and fears arise, Teach me Thy way!
When storms o’er spread the skies, Teach me Thy way!
Shine through the cloud and rain, Through sorrow, toil, and pain;
Make Thou my pathway plain, Teach me Thy way!
Long as my life shall last, Teach me Thy way!
Where e’er my lot be cast, Teach me Thy way!
Until the race is won, until the journeys done,
Until the crown is won, Teach me Thy way!
Words and Music by B. Mansell Ramsey, 1849 – 1923
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Psalm 119:105
The Scriptures indicate that the following acts of Christ were performed only one time. Why? Because the Father was satisfied with the Son’s work. It was perfect and complete. We can add nothing to it. This is the New Covenant.
By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament. And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death: But this man, because he continueth ever (lives forever), hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.
For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore. Hebrews 7:21 – 27
But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. Hebrews 9:11 & 12
For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. Hebrews 9:24 – 28
By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Hebrews 10:10 – 14
For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened (made alive) by the Spirit: I Peter 3:18
Are you still living under the Old Covenant?