What's That Button For?

         I have several different Bible programs on my computer.  One of those programs provides free classes on how to operate the program and to get to learn all of the features.  I have been using the program for a number of years but thought I might as well try a couple of the courses since they were free anyway.  I took just two, so far, of about a dozen classes on various aspects of the program and was really surprised.  There are a number of features that I had no idea even existed.  Sometimes, it was just a number of the menu buttons that I had no idea what they did anyway, so just ignored them.  I am embarrassed to say that the classes were in the "beginner" stage.  I look forward now, to learning more about this program.  When I think about it, I am reminded about the following verses from the book of Ephesians.  Ephesians 3:20-21 says, "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,   Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." 
        We can know the basics of being a Disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, like salvation, heaven and living the Christian life.  There is however, that little clause that says, "...able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think..."  My knowledge of the things that God can do, has done, or will do is so much limited.   I am fascinated by the discourse between Job and the LORD in the final chapters of the Book of Job where God tells Job just a portion of the things that He has done and is doing even in Job's lifetime.  There are so many different things that I have not figured out how they take place, yet God does them and we only know just a portion of His working in the universe.  I don't know how God parted the Red Sea, or Joshua  watched the Jordan River stop flowing and allow the Israelites to cross over on dry ground, or the ascension took place or how the Holy City is going to ascend and hover above the earth or how God is going to life the depression or discouragement that is in our lives, but God does it all.  Then, to think that He even does more than we ask or think!   How is it that God can get a bunch of hornets to get into the armor of an advancing army?  I can't stand to have a bee in the car!   Yes, God is able to do a lot more than we even think about.  So, praise God today for His mighty acts that occur even in your own life.

Is Your Mail Box Full?

         Every now and then I get a message from my email devotions that one of the addresses could not be delivered and the reason given is that their mail box is full.  I know from past experience that a mailbox for email doesn't get filled with just a few pieces, but in some cases, it is thousands of emails.  Considering that we get just as much email junk mail as the physical mail box outside of your home, it takes a lot of time for the electronic one to be filled.  One can readily see that the recipient has not read the "daily" email for quite some time.  There are other reasons why it can be filled such as the person got a new email address and just failed to cancel the old address to you or to give you the new address.  The "full mail box" however does remind me of the average person sitting in the pew ot the average American church.  The blank stares and fidgeting indicate that "the mailbox is full.  return to sernder."  John 5:24 says, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."
        One of the inputs of the Word of God comes by hearing.  We have opportunities to "hear" the Word of God in church but also we can hear it on tape recorders, television, radio, computers and any other electronic devices you have including you smart phone.  So, hearing is not the problem but what comes next is often a step that is left out.  The verse reminds us to both hear and then to believe and when we believe, there is going to be a natural outpouring in your life which is the result of "doing" the Word as well.  How many things from God's Word can you do at the same time?  Can you both love and forgive at the same time?  Can you hear the Word and follow the Holy Spirit at the same time?  Can you be kind to one another and look for the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ at the same time?    It would seem as though there are many whose mail boxes are full.  They are so full, they are over flowing and the messages are not getting in to be processed in the hearts of those believers.  Peter reminded us at the end of his second epistle that we are to grow.  Growing requires hearing and doing of the principles of God's Word.  How are you doing today?  Is your mental mail box full and the messages bouncing back to the sender?  While we know that doesn't take place, it is similar to the same condition as the new material is not able to be processed because we are still working on that which we got yesterday, or last week, or even last year.  You and I have a copy of God's Word and we need to listen to what He says and then be obedient to it.  Praise God that He still speaks to us.  Just don't let it bounce back to Him being unanswered.

How Many Bibles Do You Have?

          Well, I was amazed again.  We had the opportunity to be present at the Wycliffe Associates banquet in our home town and to learn of just some of the things that went on since the last banquet and how the Word of God is being translated now compared to 50 years ago.  It was a bit sad to imagine myself living in certain villages around the world that still do not have a Bible.  I just glanced at my shelf in the bookcases that has my Bibles and there are fifteen of them.  Some of different translations and some of different languages.  This is not to mention the Bibles that are on my computer.  The program that I utilize the most is E-Sword, which is a free program, easy to use and one that presently has 57 different Bibles in English, Latin, Spanish, Greek and Hebrew.  So, what really amazes me or blows me away is that there are people who do not have one Bible.  This is what Wycliffe is all about.  There are, to my knowledge, which is indeed limited, only 3 or 4 agencies who are dedicated to translating the Bible into the language of a particular group of people who do not have it.  Many testimonies were given by people in various parts of the world as to what God did in their life through His Word.  Isaiah 55:11 says, "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."  
        It is possible to possess many copies of the Bible and still not know the message of how God is going to work in your life.  For years, we had a family Bible in our home but it was never read.  For one thing, it was in German and no one could read it.  My Father had a New Testament that was given to him when he was very young by the New Testament League.  The New Testament was in a drawer and never read.  The Scriptures remind us that we need to incorporate God's Word into our lives.  It doesn't get there by the process of osmosis, you have to read and apply the message of the Bible into your word.   Psalm 119 has 176 verses and 171 of those verses speak of how the Psalmist loved God's Word.  We can memorize Psalm 119 but still not have the Bible affecting our lives.  It would be mere head knowledge.  People come to know God by His Word and we are exhorted to take up the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.  How are we going to do that if we do not know about God's Word?  There are still people groups who do not have their first copy of God's Word.  They really get excited when they discover the message about God and His Word and have their own copy.  If you are reading this, you probably have your own Bible and perhaps several different ones around your home.  So, praise God today that you have His Word.  May you and I be just as excited about God's Word in our lives as those new believers that are coming to Him around the world.

Purpose and Mission

           While attending a class on sermon preparation, the teacher reminded us that a message should have one central idea.  Why do you want to preach a message to a specific group of people at that given time?  In the same manner,  I once heard the expression that a teacher should be able to put his or her lesson into one sentence and if they were not able to do so, they were not ready to teach.   What is it that you hope to teach?   This is the age of purpose statements and mission statements.  These are little sentences that express the basic reason why an organization exists.  I heard one man state that the main purpose for the Holy Bible could be summed up in four words.  Those four words are:  "Man's problem.  God's solution."  It is true that there are a lot more things in the Bible than those four words, but the words are basically true.  From the very beginning, we soon learn about man and the problems that occurred which separated man from God.  Then, the Bible traces the history of the Jewish people from that point on and how it was all going to lead to the coming of the Messiah.  John 3:16-17 says, "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.  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." 
        While we spent a lot of verses showing man's problem, we can now see in this verse what is God's solution to the whole problem.  This is also a prime example of our definition of "Biblical love" whereby it is expressed with the words, "Righteous acts to meet the needs of another."  We are the "another" in this verse and God's righteous act was the sending of His Son to die on the cross for our sins.  Now, we may have over simplified the purpose statement as the Bible goes on to state just how God came to the sending of His Son.  As Galatians 4:4 reminds us, it was at the "fullness of times."    The world was ripe for the sending of His Son and so the events at Calvary were accomplished that our problem might be solved.   Of course, that solution was guaranteed by the empty tomb.  We can now have eternal life simply by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.  So, praise God today for His goodness and especially for sending His Son to die for your sins.

Lifted Up

         While attending a lecture on "aging" at a local college in the area, an assignment came up where the leader asked us to identify how many assistive devices was in the opening scenes of "Up."    The movie is about an old man who has lost his wife and decides to journey to Brazil via a lot of balloons tied to his house.  In the opening scene, the old man has glasses, hearing aids, a four prong cane and a motorized chair for his stairs.  Now, some years later, I have a cane although not using it a lot, but I bought it for when I will need it.  I have glasses and hearing aids and my favorite one is what I call the "grabber."  It enables me to reach in to the back of the cabinet and get things and also to pick up even the smallest item off of the floor without the danger of falling on my head. Falling on the floor or getting on the floor to pick up something requires a lot of furniture to climb back up on.  So, the "grabber" gets most of the jobs.  In fact I have three of them strategically places throughout the house.  Spiritually speaking, we may find ourselves in need of being lifted up.  Notice the instruction that James gives us.  James 4:10 says, " Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up."
        In the spiritual sense, we get down and need to be lifted up.  It is like the sheep that gets "cast down" and can't get up on its own without the shepherd to help it.  As Philip Keller mentioned, once a sheep gets cast down it will do it again and again.  Sound familiar?    Being cast down for a sheep occurs when it gets on its back in a ditch to scratch its back.  It feels good.  However, it can't get back up due to extra wool and being a tad too big, so it is "cast down."  It felt good to the sheep before, but now has caused a problem which if not soon solved, will result in the blood leaving the legs of the sheep.  This is where the shepherd comes in.  The shepherd gets the sheep out of the ditch and begins to rubs its legs and soon the sheep is back to normal and heads back to where it is supposed to be, that is, for awhile and then it gets "cast down" again.  We are much the same and require our Great Shepherd to lift us up when we get cast down due to being in a ditch on our back with no way to get out except for our Great Shepherd.  Notice that we make our call to the Shepherd by humbling ourselves in the sight of the Lord.  We certainly try to get out on our own, but just can't do it.  Then, the LORD comes along and lifts us up, soothes us and we go on our way until we get "down" again.  Whenever we find ourselves in such a situation as does the sheep, we should be looking and calling our to the Great Shepherd to get us back to normal and what person is there who does not need to be lifted up now and then.  Praise God today that He is there to lift us up.

"More fish, please."

         Some people like to go to a particular restaurant because of the way they prepare their food.  We naturally tend to pick out an eating place due to their reputation for good food.  The other day, I was preparing a recipe and I decided to put some dumplings in it so found a recipe that was simple enough and made the dumplings.  The secret was not to take the lid off for fifteen minutes.  I followed the instructions and when I took the lid off, I was amazed and they tasted good with the meal that I had prepared.  I not an excellent cook but I like to use my spice cabinet and try new flavors.  This one hit it off and I hope I can remember it.  John 21:9 says, " As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread."
       There is no indication that the breakfast of fish and bread was catered by someone else.  The women were not there tending to the post resurrection needs of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Now, obviously, anything that God prepares is going to be the best.  Do you remember the wedding feast at Cana?  The wine that Jesus had made was the "best" wine and not just an average tasting wine.  I thought, "What was the breakfast like that was there on the seashore that morning?"  It would have been the best prepared food every to every one present.    There would be no one saying,  "My fish is not done?" or "This is a tad overcooked."  Everyone would have been satisfied and that is far more than anyone can say about a group going to a restaurant.  Someone surely will complain about something.  It seems to be our nature.  The food that morning, however, was the best and when you think about it, everything that the Lord Jesus Christ is involved in is going to be the best.  You will have no complaints about the "dwelling place" that He has prepared for you.  You will have no complaints about the provision that He brings to you in your time of need.  You will have no complaints in connection with the answers to a prayer that you have uttered.  You see, everything that God does is perfect so that would have been perfectly cooked fish and perfectly prepared bread.  If you would have been there and they had doggy bags, you would have wanted to take some home with you.  When you notice in God's Word about the promises that He has made, realize that they are going to be the best fulfillment possible and not just done half way.  So, Praise God today for providing the best things for all of us.

Your Final Address

          For many, when we think of an "earthly house" we think of a building.   I have to say that I have lived in a lot of places, three homes in Indiana, probably almost ten homes in Virginia, two homes in West Virginia, two homes in central Spain and maybe I missed a couple.  Yes, there were two homes in the District of Columbia.  We spend a lot of time finding and then adapting a physical structure to be our earthly home.  We have grown accustomed to having the right appliances, the right number of rooms and the best places to be able to have our entertainment center.  After all, our earthly home is the place where we are going to spend a lot of time.  To others, the "earthly home" is just a single room.  It may have four walls made of something that at least blocks the view of others.  It may also have a roof made of something that may keep out the rain or it may not.  When we look at the following verse more closely, we realize that we are not talking about the physical structure in which we live, but we are speaking of our physical bodies.  This physical body is the dwelling place for that which really makes up our character.  It is our soul and our spirit.   Second Corinthians 5:1 says,  "For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."   
       This earthly body is a temporary dwelling place and God has prepared another place which is far greater.  The older we get, the more re realize that this body is in a state of decay; that is, it is wearing out.  Some "dwelling places" will last longer than others, but that is not the most important issue.  As the Apostle Paul wrote in this verse, "If this earthly body is dissolved, we know that we have  a building of God.  That is the hope for which we all look ahead.  While God doesn't give us all of the details about this new dwelling place, he does give us enough information that we are comforted in the death of loved ones that know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  It is also an incentive to get out there and tell others about God and His plan for salvation.  So, you can realize today that you are living in "temporary housing" as God has been working on your permanent dwelling place.  John 14:1-6, Jesus gives us some wonderful instructions about our future dwelling place and it is a place that He has prepared for us.  You won't even have to paint it.   Praise God today for His continual work in your life and His preparations for the future.