Learning

 

     There is that expression, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks."  There ought to be another expression that goes, "You can't teach a cat any tricks."  We recently got a new kitten which is fun to watch and I have been trying to teach it to shake hands, or paws if you wish.  The kitten just gets an agitated look on it and walks away.  So far, the only thing it will do is to stand up for treats especially potato chips, bacon and a few other things.  Some animals are not in agreement with learning of any kind.  This kitten does know where the box is and the food and water dishes.  So, it has learned some of the basic necessities but no parlor tricks for the kitty.  Psalm 119:73 says, "Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments."  

      We should be a little different in our attitude for learning.  This verse reminds us that we have been fashioned by God in order to learn.  He has given us understanding and made us so that we might learn His commandments.  When we think of His commandments, we of course, think of the Ten commandments but there are also many other things that go into a finer detail as to how we should live this life and where our eternal destiny lies.   You won't see any animals sitting and reading a book.  You should, however, see people of God reading His Word that they might learn more about Him.  We have learned to waste time in many different ways while our Bibles are gathering dust on the end table, desk, car and night stand.  It doesn't take us long to find so many ways in our lives spend our time that do not necessarily glorify God especially when those times have replaced our desire to be in His Word.  We have twenty four hours in every day where approximately 8 of them are spent in sleeping.  Now, what are we going to do with the sixteen hours or more in which we are awake?  How will you be a man or woman of God without spending time learning about Him in His Word?   It is necessary for us to read the Scriptures in order to learn more about God.  We all can observe His handiwork on the golf course, in the fishing boat, mountain climbing or on the beach but we are not learning His commandments.  So, spend a little more time this week in His Word and learn of His commandments.  We can learn new tricks.  Praise God today for His Word.

Good News

          I can't afford to pay the fees for a non advertising email handler and since Google was going to shut me off for sending spam, I went to Yahoo.  When I open the program, I am confronted with a barrage of the sorriest news stories I have ever seen.  Actually, none of them seem credible and none of them are of any interest to me.  It reminds me of the time I would spend at supermarket check out lines and seeing the latest issue of "The National Enquirer."  This is the one that said, "Inquiring minds want to know."  It told the startling fact of the celebrities and their diets, who was "with child," and the fact that they had found a B-29 on the moon.  We are forever confronted with information that makes no real sense, is invaluable and nothing more than a nuisance.  What is "good news" and where can you really get it.  You know what my answer is going to be, you get good news from the Bible, God's Holy Word, our Guide book for getting through this life and then arriving at the next.  First Corinthians 15:3-4 says, " For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;  And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:" 
      The Apostle Paul spelled out rather clearly what "good news" really is.  The definition of the word "gospel" is "good news."  All of chapter 15 is good news but the core of it is contained in these two verses.  All three are necessary.  Certainly, Christ died for our sins.  He is the only sacrifice that was acceptable to pay the price for our sins.  Secondly, He didn't just pass out on the cross and become awake in the tomb later.  He died.  The Roman soldier thrust a spear into Him.  When He was taken down from the cross, He was physically and medically dead.  That, however, didn't stop Him and the plan for our salvation.  He conquered death and He conquered the grave.  He was resurrected and many were around for the next 40 days to testify to that fact.  So, the Good News cannot be found in the Supermarket check out lane or on Yahoo or Google, but in God's Word.  We can laugh at the feeble attempts to make you purchase a tabloid or use a certain search engine but real news, really good news, only come from God's Word.  Praise God today for the Risen Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Sextant

          Have you ever had the feeling that you were lost and didn't know which way to go to get home?  For the most part, I haven't been in that situation, but I have been in situations where I had no idea where I was were it not for a loudspeaker of the captain's voice telling me where we were.  I was on a destroyer in the South Atlantic while on a cruise with a navy band consisting of 13 instrumentalists and a leader.  When you are out in the ocean, there are no road signs, no trees, in fact, no roads at all.  There are no landmarks in the distance and all you can see is miles and miles of water that just fade into the horizon.  The captain would come on the loudspeaker every now and then and give us an update and other than that, the only one who knew where we were was the man with the sextant who would be out on the quarter deck in the middle of the night looking at stars.  Proverbs 3:5-6 says, " Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." 
     We have a Captain with us now that not only tells us were we are, but tells where we have been and where we are going.  He doesn't come up on a loudspeaker to inform us of our position but does tell us in His Book where we are and where we are going.  He guides us all along in our lives.  In our spiritual lives, we need to trust our Captain with our destination.  Our Captain is of course, God Himself.  There is no doubt that we need to trust the LORD with all of our heart and certainly not to look for any understanding that comes from us.  Being in the woods is somewhat like being in the middle of the ocean.  I was in a forest once while hunting and got turned around.  There was no trail to speak of and a lot of trees that, to be honest, all looked to be the same.  The sun was hidden, so that was no help.  I was lost and finally made it to high ground to see where I was and where I needed to go.  God does that for us in our spiritual lives.  We find the guidance that we need in His Word.  The Bible becomes our sextant and we have no need to follow the light of the North Star, but follow the Light of the Savior in all that we do.  So, praise God today that He is still in the business of guiding us.  He will always direct our paths.

The Humble Road

        I recently received a quote from C. S. Lewis in his book, "Mere Christianity" about pride.  He made the following statement:  "Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next person. We say that people are proud of being rich, or clever, or good-looking, but they are not. They are proud of being richer, or cleverer, or better-looking than others. If everyone became equally rich, or clever, or good-looking there would be nothing to be proud about... It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition is gone, pride is gone.   First john 2:16 says, "1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world."  
     What C. S. Lewis says is so true.  If the competition was removed, there would be no pride.  It is so easy to become proud of our accomplishments and we begin to rate ourselves  in regard to our fellow men and women.   If we seem to become good in our accomplishments when compared to others who seem to fail, then we begin to follow the trail of pride in our lives.  We begin to proclaim, "Get out of the way world, here comes the expert."  It makes no difference in the area of expertise.  We seem to measure ourselves in regard to the person next door or the business in the middle of town and rate our achievements above theirs and so begins the trail of pride.  We might ask ourselves if pride is an issue with us.  Satan used the three issues in the garden of Eden that are mentioned in First John 2:16.  He also used the same three avenues to tempt the Lord Jesus Christ in the garden of Eden. Guess What!  Satan is using the same methodology today in the lives of humanity.  So, yes, pride is an issue.   It is difficult to find a person that is standing before others who is not battling with the sin of pride.  This is true in the area of performing arts, such as music.  We often say that a person is to strive for the opposite of pride which comes out to be humility.  This is a foreign concept for many as the world want us to think of ourselves as great and that we have pulled ourselves up by our own boot straps.  It is God, however, that does the exaltation and not us.  It may sound ridiculous, but there are those that, all of a sudden, become proud of their humility.  Hence, the circle begins once again.  Once you think you have gained humility, you have lost it.  The answer is to stay close to God and to follow His instructions in all that we do, to trust Him with all of our heart, all of our soul, all of our mind and all of our strength.  Praise God that He is still working in our lives.

No Third Choice

      We may have a lot of choices in the world in regard to socks but there are only two basic groups.  You are going to wear socks or you are not going to wear socks.  The kind doesn't matter in socks.  You are either in or you are out.  There always seems to be two groups that exist in the world.  You seem to fit into one of those two groups.   When it comes to plans,  you are either in one group or you are in the other.  You are either a member or a non member.  And so the list goes on and on.  The same is basically true of religious things.  You are either saved or you are lost.  There is never a third group.  No matter how close you might be, you are still on the other side or in the case of Christ, you are still lost.  Psalm 53 begins with a familiar phrase that was also seen in Psalm 14.  Psalm 53:1-3 says, "To the chief Musician upon Mahalath, Maschil, A Psalm of David.  The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.  God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God. Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one."   
     God looks at us and sees one of two conditions.  Either we are saved or lost.  One thing is sure as He has said in His Word, there is none that doeth good and elsewhere He has said that there is none that seeketh after God.  The fool, which may also be described as an atheist, is one who has said that there is no God.  If you can't get into the group in your own way, then just say that the group doesn't exist.  Of course, you are also saying that millions of people have become a part of a group that is following after someone who does not exist.  For the believer, there is no doubt nor is there any problem about God's existence.  You see, you can look around you and find testimony of the fact that God does indeed exist.  You can look at the smallest of God's creations and at the largest of God's creations and all of them will bear witness to the fact that God exists.  So, there are still two groups and you are either in or you are out.  You are either a Christian or a non Christian.  You are either a believer or a non believer.  The final destination is either heaven or hell.    Praise God that He does exist and that He is actively working in your life today.

Batteries Included

     When you purchase something that has to be turned on, or to run, there will be a little phrase that will say either, "Batteries included" or "batteries not included."   There are somethings that do come with batteries in them.  I recently purchased a "kitchen food scale."  When it came, there was a sentence on the box, "batteries included."  I did have to pull the plastic tab out which then made the batteries able to make contact with the metal tips.  It's nice when the batteries are included.  Without the batteries, there would be no power to run the device until you went out and purchased them or rummaged around in a drawer looking for the right type of battery.  Matthew 6:33-34 says, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." 
     The spiritual life won't use batteries, but it is comforting to know that there is One Who supplies the power that we need to make our "life" function in this world.  While it is true that we look forward to heaven and all of its wonderful attributes, God has not left us powerless  in this life.  We can function as we rely on Him.  The above passage simply reminds us that we have the assurance of being endowed with the things that we need in this life.  The passage also gives us a simple reminder that we are to trust God for all of these things in our lives and not to trust ourselves.  In this case, we are to seek God and His righteousness.  Sounds like a pretty easy thing to do especially with the rewards that would follow.  Food and raiment are important, that's for sure, but trusting God is all that we need to do.  What is so amazing is that as you do trust Him and seek His righteousness, we see Him working in our lives in ways that we never imagined.  Nor only is your own life blessed, but you become the blessing for others.  God may direct you to do something, share something or to help someone else and you may not know why, but that same individual has already sought to do God's will and to seek His righteousness in their life.  God's working in all of our lives is so amazing and above our comprehension but we still glory in what He is doing.  Praise God that He supplies all of our needs, all of the time.

The Gospel Message

       I recall one time when I had applied for work with a company, that I had to be investigated to make sure I was of sound enough reputation to be entrusted with the responsibilities that I would have if accepted.  The process took a long time and finally, I was admitted into the facility.  My new responsibility had entrusted me with a lot of different things.  We often find that our jobs will give us access to a lot of company information as well as material things.  We may even get keys to the building and the vehicles.  God has also entrusted us with something.  He has entrusted us with the Gospel message.  First Thessalonians 2:4 says, "But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts." 
      God has chosen to use men and women, boys and girls, to get the message out to those who do not know Him.  He has entrusted us with the gospel in order that our friends, our family and even people around the world might hear the gospel and be saved.  God could have done it another way.  He could have just saved all those He wanted to, if not every person on the face of the earth.  But, that was not His plan.  Instead, He chose to have the gospel message spread from one person to another.  Paul and Silas were in the city of Thessalonica and were preaching about the gospel to that city.  They spoke with the idea of not just pleasing men but pleasing God.  It was God who had trusted them with the message and so they had to please Him rather than soft coating the message to please the ears of the Thessalonians.  We have the same obligation today.  Our message is not one that will please men but it will please God if we keep to the facts of the Scripture.  There was a TV show years ago where the interviewing detective would say, "Just the facts, mam."  We need to make sure that we are giving just the facts about the Gospel message as God has given them to us.  We don't teach the message in such a way as to make the hearer feel good but rather to give them the chance to make a clear decision about the offer of salvation, by what we have said.  So, while we have a desire to be popular and well liked by all that we know, there is still the responsibility to give a clear gospel message.  Is your message clear to those around you?  Praise God today that He has given us the gospel, that Jesus died, was buried and rose again according to the Scriptures.