Monday, March 26, 2012

Praise Me

1 Thessalonians 2:6 
We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority. (NIV)

When we were children we were were praised for everything we did. That raise gave us confidence and showed us how proud they were of us. Yet, when we grew up and went to school the times of praise seemed to lesson as the years went on.

Our accomplishments were expected and we were told more of what we were doing wrong that was holding us back from that next level. Instead of praising us through our challenges as our parents did when we were young, we found ourselves having our misadventures being exalted. Even so we continued to look for praise from people. Praise is comforting.

Praise is like our reward for doing or accomplishing something good. When we are doing the work the Lord had called us to do, the work in itself is the reward. There is no need to brag about it to others or even to report in to others about what we have done. That is between us and Father God and will be stored up in Heaven.

Our praise is to the Father and not to us. It is not Praise Me, but rather Praise Him!

Monday, March 19, 2012

Who You Follow

Matthew 15:13-14 
[Jesus] replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit." (NIV)

Remember playing follow the leader or even Simon says when you were a young child?

We have all been someplace where we followed someone else. They were the leader and we looked up to them. They knew things we did not and we could learn from them. And I am not talking about those we were forced to follow like our teachers in school or out boss at work.

What I am thinking about is more like the clicks we found ourselves in. A leader always rose to the top and we followed. For some this may have even been a gang or just a group of kids that hung around together at school.

Now that we are older, we may find ourselves spending a lot of time with other groups. They might be groups at church, a bowling team, or even just a group of neighbors.

As Christians we have to be sure we stay focused on God and that when we do look to following man that all we do lines up with the Father's will for our life. Satan is a sneaky serpent and loves to woo us into something new to take us away from God's plan for us.

So be careful of who you line yourself up with. Be sure their ways line up with His ways.You do not want to be led by the blind into destruction.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Secrets of the Kingdom

Matthew 13:11-12
He replied, "Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. (NIV)

Each of us has a particular interest in things of this life. For many it is work related as most of our time is spent there. Perhaps you have a hobby like gardening, biking, or even stamp collecting. Maybe you just like to sit back and watch old movies or enjoy playing cards or board games.

When you are with others having the same interest, you all talk that language--that is using words associated with that particular thing. If it is old movies, you can recite lines from various movies and know all the actors by name. If it is computers, you are comfortable chatting about bits and bytes, backups, malware attacks, and more. Yet your computerize is meaningless to others.

As believers we have been given the secrets of the kingdom of heaven. Just as I would be ignorant of what was being discussed in a group of gardeners, nonbelievers have no idea what we are talking about in our Christian conversations.

As we walk out in faith doing what our Father God has called us to, we are given more. As those we reach out to with the Word, the message of the Gospel, and they reject us the further away from everlasting life they become.

It is not our wonderfully wordsmithed words that bring someone into the Kingdom. It is God opening their ears to hear and their hearts to receive. Then they too will have knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven given to them.

Monday, March 05, 2012

Identify

Matthew 7:20 
Just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. (NLT) 

It is rare that someone we meet is the person we think they are. Circumstances play a big part in our perception. Add to that what others have to say about them and our opinion of them can change drastically.

That old adage that says you can tell a book by its cover is far from true. It is what is inside a person that truly counts. And as one builds a relationship with God allowing Christ within, the Holy Spirit to teach them and mold them like the potter's clay, the inside changes.

What we were before we met Jesus has changed. He changes us into the person we were destined to be. We take on a new identity. The fruit in our lives changes.

However, the Lord uses our past for us to identify with others in similar circumstances to help them see their way out of the old life. We become the light at the end of their tunnel. We become the possibility they never thought existed.

So how we dress and what words we speak does not identify who we really are. It is the fruit that falls to the ground all around us as we walk through this life hand in hand with Holy Spirit. It is the result of how we interact with others showing God's love in all we do.