“He also that received seed among the thorns is he that hears the word, and the care of this world, and deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.”
I imagine that most of you reading this are familiar with the parable of the sower. It is a parable that Jesus gave to the crowd of people who came to the seaside to hear Him speak. The parable was about a farmer who went out to sow his seed. Some of the seed fell by the wayside, or the hard-packed dirt around the field, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seed fell on rocky ground where the seed could not take root in the shallow soil. Some fell in the thorns, where they were able to take root but were choked by the thorn bushes. Other seed fell of good ground, took root and brought forth a crop. Jesus referred to the seed as the word of God and the soils were like people who received the word. My focus for our purposes is on what happened to the seed in the thorny ground. In this case the word of God takes hold and takes root, but the thorns hinder its growth and keep it from bearing fruit. This happens all too often and we need to be careful that we do not get caught in the thorns. In this case, the person hears the word and becomes overly concerned about “the care of the world.” This is a common problem because we live in the world and the world is fraught with cares that can call our attention away from the Lord. This is illustrated in Luke 10:38-42 where Jesus visited with His good friend Lazarus and Lazarus’ two sisters, Mary and Martha. Martha was busy, no doubt preparing a great meal for Jesus – at least that’s my guess. Meanwhile, Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus, learning from Him and worshiping Him. Martha told Mary that she should come and help her, but Jesus reprimanded Martha. He told her: “Martha, Martha, you are careful and troubled about many things, but Mary has chosen that good part which cannot be taken away from her.” In a sense, Martha couldn’t enjoy the visit of the Savior, because she was caught up in the cares of that moment. I think that this is what happens in people’s lives sometimes. They get so caught up with the temporal that they do not give adequate attention to the eternal. Don’t let the cares of this world rob of you of the joy that Jesus can bring into your life. Like Mary, sit as His feet, worship Him and learn from Him. Jesus also said that in the case of the people in thorny ground, they were choked by “the deceitfulness of riches.” Understand that you don’t have to try to get rich to be choked by the deceitfulness of riches. All you have to do is to live your life with the drive and determination to get money, to buy things, to dress well, to drive big cars, etc. There is nothing wrong with these things if they are not robbing us of our joy in Jesus and our worship of Him. “Riches” are deceitful because they promise fulfillment that they cannot deliver. I think that we can replace “riches” with “things.” What thing have you ever bought that brought real fulfillment to your life? When we base our lives on the abundance of things that we possess, we are choking out the word of God. I am not saying that possessions and bank accounts are unimportant. What I am saying is that they are not all-important. When we are possessed by our possessions, we are getting choked and robbing ourselves of a better relationship with God. For that matter, we are also robbing ourselves of a better relationship with our Christian friends. If you feel that you are not as close to God as you once were, you need to take stock of your life and see if you have landed among the thorns. There is always tension between living and making it in this world, and maintaining a viable Christian witness, but it is not impossible. Do not let yourself get caught up by the cares of life and the things that you possess. Take a lesson from Mary and sit at the feet of Jesus. Bro. Joe
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Meekness is also translated as “gentleness.” No matter how we translate the word, “proates” in the Greek, it does not mean weak. In our day “meekness” could well be spelled “weakness,” but that is definitely not the meaning of meekness as translated from the Greek. We generally refer to a meek person as a weak person, but that perception is wrong. The word has three main meanings in the New Testament. (This was derived from The Daily Study Bible.)
Meekness means submission to the will of God. The “meek” that are mentioned in Matthew 5:5 are an example of what this means. “Blessed are the meek” means “blessed are those who are submitted to the will of God.” Matthew 5:5 tells us that the meek “will inherit the earth.” People who will inherit the earth are not wilting flowers that are afraid of their shadows, Instead they are people of faith who have submitted to God’s will for their lives. This means that they are under God’s control, not the control of the world. They are like horses that have been broken. They still have their innate strength, but that strength is channeled in a more creative way. Their strength is now at the command of God instead of self or Satan. Meekness means that one is teachable. A meek person is one who is not too proud to learn. A meek person would certainly not be a know-it-all who never has anything to learn. James 1:21 refers to this: “Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and evil that is so prevalent and humbly (meekly) accept the word planted in you, which can save you.” The meek person is quick to see the error of his or her way, and turn from it. The meek person is willing to learn, even if he or she has to change his or her mind based on what he or she has learned. Indeed, the Holy Spirit makes us teachable – if we will let Him. The meek person is aware of the whispering of the Holy Spirit when he or she is about to go the wrong way. The meek person realizes that we never reach a point in life when we have nothing new to learn. I have been reading and studying the Bible for many years, but each time I go through it, I learn a whole lot of new things. Only God is omniscient – all-knowing - and the meek person knows that. Meekness means that one is considerate. According to scholars, this is the way meek is used most often. In 1Corinthians 4:21, Paul used the word in this way: “What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a whip or in love with a gentle (meek) spirit?” The meaning: "Shall I 'clean your plow,' or shall I be considerate?" Jesus is the best example of meekness as considerateness. This meekness is beautifully illustrated in Jesus’ consideration for His mother, Mary, at the cross. He gave her over to the care of the beloved apostle John. Think of how different things would be in our churches if we practiced being considerate to each other. If we follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit in our fellowship, we will be considerate of each other. I think that we could say that meekness should be a mixture of all three of these qualities. The Holy Spirit teaches us, and leads us to be submissive to God’s will, teachable and considerate to each other. The truly meek person will have each of these qualities. We need all three of these qualities if we are to be the best witnesses for Jesus Christ that we can be. This is certainly the aim of the Holy Spirit who is at work in our lives. Bro. Joe The Greek word used for faith here is “pistis.” It is the word that we normally translate as “belief” or “faith.” There are several shades of meaning to this word, and all of them probably apply to this text. The Point is that the Holy Spirit gives us faith for every aspect of our lives – for everything that we might face in our lives. What are these shades of meaning?
Belief The Holy Spirit simply leads us to believe. He leads us to believe in Jesus in order to be saved. He leads us to believe in the Bible and Bible doctrines. Vines wrote that “pistis” primarily denotes firm persuasion or conviction. This is the kind of belief that is commanded in the Bible. We are never told that we should take our commitment to Jesus lightly. In fact, it is always the exact opposite. For example, because they believed firmly in Jesus, the early disciples gave up everything in order to follow Him. One of the main tasks of the Holy Spirit is to remove doubt and to put it in its place the firm persuasion that Jesus indeed died for the sins of the world – including ours. If we believe in Him with our whole hearts we will be saved. Also, the Holy Spirit is our guide to believing that the word of God is true. The Holy Spirit makes believers out of us. Faithfulness It is by the leadership of the Holy Spirit that we become faithful servants of Jesus Christ. If we will pay attention to the urging of the Holy Spirit, we will be faithful. By the Spirit’s leadership we become loyal to Jesus. We do not want to deny Him, as Peter did, or betray Him as Judas did. If we follow the Spirit’s leadership we will not want to do anything that would be unfaithful to Christ’s high calling on our lives. I don’t imagine that any of us live up to this 100%, but we should surely try. Jesus saves us and puts His mark on our lives; therefore, we belong to Him totally. We need to depend on the Holy Spirit to make us the loyal servants that Jesus called us to be. Like Peter, we need to overcome any denials of Jesus’ lordship in our lives and go in great service for Him. The Bible never shows us people who serve as perfect examples of loyalty, but there are a lot of people, like Barnabas, who show us the importance of faithfulness. Trustworthiness Our faith in Jesus leads us to be reliable, and we can give the Holy Spirit credit for that. With the leadership of the Spirit, God can trust us with responsibilities in His church and in the community. People can trust us to do right by them. Surely, if we follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit, we will be trustworthy. If we live by faith in Jesus Christ, we will be trustworthy. Too many people are like Demas in 2Timothy 4:10 who, because he loved the world too much, forsook Paul while Paul was in prison. We need more people like Timothy, Titus, Ephaproditus and tychicus, who faithfully stood by the great apostle during his imprisonment. Understand that their loyalty to Paul was borne of their faith in Jesus and by the leadership of the Holy Spirit. This is the same reason why we can stand by each other, and trust each other, as we serve Jesus in our time. Can Jesus trust you to do His bidding, even if it might make you unpopular with those around you? Can your Christian friends, your church, trust you to serve in a trustworthy manner? If you will follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit, you will be trustworthy. The Holy Spirit has given us all of the faith that we need to do whatever we need to do. He can deepen our belief and lead us to greater faithfulness and trustworthiness. Let it be so in our lives. Bro. Joe I want to be very careful when I write about goodness. We are all aware of what Jesus said in Matthew 19:17: “And (Jesus) said unto him, why call thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God…” If Jesus would not claim goodness while here, we need to be careful about it ourselves. Yet, one aspect of the fruit of the Spirit is goodness. Jesus was referring to the fact that people are sinners: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)While Jesus never sinned, He would still not allow people to call Him good while in the flesh. What Galatians 5:22 is referring to is that people, though sinners all, are capable of doing good, and the Holy Spirit leads us to do good. A quick study of the Greek word (agathos) used for “goodness” here revealed some key words that I will refer to in this post to illustrate what this fruit means.
The first word is generous. I think that everyone would agree that a Christian person should be generous instead of stingy. Our stewardship responsibilities demand us to be generous. One of the basic disciplines of the Christian faith is the tithe. Besides that we are expected as Christians to be generous in giving to causes that help people who cannot help themselves. I agree that we need to be careful that our generosity not be misused, but if in doubt, we should still be generous. We should not just be generous with our finances, but we should also be generous with our time - our lives. We should take the time to do good things for people. We should be generous with our love. We should also be generous with our forgiveness. Remember, the Holy Spirit has given us this fruit; we just need to claim it. The second word is (50 cent word warning) beneficence. A beneficent person is one who does not hesitate to do good, even if it is difficult to do so. The dictionary definition of the word is “the habitual practice of doing good.” Jesus was certainly a beneficent person by this definition. Look at all that Jesus did while on ministry here. At one point, Jesus actually touched a leper in order to heal him. John did not use the word beneficence in 1 John 3:17-18, but he certainly defined it: “But whoso hath this world’s goods, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him. 18. My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and truth.” The third word is virtuous. The dictionary definition of this word is “moral excellence, merit, power or efficacy.” According to this definition there is power in goodness. Efficacy means to “produce the desired effect.” I have always heard that you can draw more flies with sugar than with vinegar. If we want to impress people about life in Christ, it would be efficacious for us to do good. In other words, we are better witnesses for Jesus when we do good than when we do badly, or when we are indifferent about human suffering, or lostness, around us. The Holy Spirit has implanted virtue within us by His presence in our lives. When the woman who had the issue of blood touched the hem of Jesus’ garment, He said that the felt virtue go out of Him. That virtue was the power of His great capacity to do good. We have the power to do good or to do evil. Under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, we should choose to do good. The fourth word is uprightness. An upright person is an honest person who would not think of doing anything dishonest. An upright person is a generous, beneficent, virtuous person that you can trust. One of the greatest compliments that I give to people is that I would buy a used car from them. A person who has the fruit of goodness provided by the Holy Spirit is a trustworthy person that you can depend on in all circumstances. May their tribe increase!!!! Bro. Joe All of the elements of the fruit of the Spirit are important, but none are more important than kindness. I think you will agree that we really, really, really need more kindness in the world today. We have a daily dose of bitterness and unkindness from our political leaders, and from others, every day. It seems that the more we try not to offend anyone, the more offensive and unkind we become. The Holy Spirit has put kindness in our lives, now we need to claim it. The Greek word is “chrestotes” (chres-to-tees), which means goodness of heart – or kindess. It can mean “warm-hearted” as opposed to “cold-hearted.” Christians, of all people, should be warm-hearted. William Barclay suggested the following words in reference to chrestotes – gentleness, kindness.
The first word is “gentleness.” Jesus is the supreme example of this aspect of the fruit of the Spirit. When Jesus saw sick people, even lepers, He reached out and touched them. He was even gentle and kind with the woman caught in the act of adultery in John 8:1-11. Jesus’ first words from the cross gave evidence of His gentle kindness: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” We can call this confession time: I know that I need to be more like this. Will you make the same confession? There is far too much harshness towards each other in our country today, and, I might add, there is far too much harshness towards one another in our churches. The second word is “sweetness.” Before you gag on this word, read on: Why do we belittle sweetness of spirit and attitude today? If you had to be around someone for hours every day, would you prefer that they be irritable or sweet? I’ve worked with both and I choose sweet hands down! While Paul’s irascibility is sometimes evident, he also portrayed a sweetness of attitude and spirit. (For an example of this, read Philippians 1:3-8.) If you had a choice of being remembered as being irritable and mean or sweet and kind, which would you choose? Who in the world wants a reputation of being irritable and mean? It would certainly be a poor witness for a Christian. The Holy Spirit has given us a sweet spirit. Let’s claim it and live it out before the world. I think that sweetness of spirit would make a great impression on this thorny society in which we live. We could start by practicing it in our churches. Just saying! The third word is “mellowness.” The Greek word for yoke in Matthew 11:30 is close to our word for gentleness or kindness. According to Barclay: “Christ’s yoke is called chrestos, that is, it does not chafe and irk and gall.” Jesus calls us to serve and obey Him, but He does not make it irksome. If it appears to be irksome to other people, maybe we need to check our attitudes. In fact, Jesus makes service to and for him joyful. Why? Because Jesus is kind and gentle, and kind and gentle people are not irksome people. Like Jesus, Christian people should be a joy to be around –mellow. This doesn’t mean that we nod agreement to unchristian and unbiblical behavior. It does mean that a winsome and kind spirit will win people to Jesus quicker than a sarcastic and ugly spirit. We can be kind, gentle, sweet and mellow people because the Holy Spirit has given us gentleness and kindness. We need to claim it. People need to see the kindness and gentleness of Jesus in us and in our churches. Bro. Joe Modern versions of the Bible translate the word for “long-suffering” as “patience," but there are some subtle differences between the usual word for patience and the word for long-suffering. The normal New Testament Greek word for patience is hupomene (hoopomenay) which means to passively wait. This is the way we normally use the word patience. It is used a lot in reference to trials, as in "we just have to wait until it is over." The Greek word used here for long-suffering is "makrothermia.” Makrothermia literally means to be able to suffer long and bear it in strength and courage without complaint, knowing that God sees and knows and resolves these things in His time. Pardon the Greek lesson, but the subtlety of the language is important here since there is a difference in waiting on someone or something and bearing up under suffering. I want to share some words that come to mind when I think of the meaning of long-suffering.
The first word is endurance. The Holy Spirit helps us endure all slings and arrows and pains of life without losing patience and without the desire to retaliate. This is the kind of endurance Jesus needed to go to the cross. It was this holy endurance that led Jesus to say, “Not my will, but thy will be done.” It is the kind of endurance that early Christians needed as they faced various forms of persecution from both unbelieving Jews and Romans. It is the kind of endurance that we need to face life in the twenty-first century. The good news is that we have this endurance, because the Holy Spirit has given it to us. The second word is persistence. It is the Holy Spirit who enables us to persist in serving Jesus under any circumstances that we might face in life. In my lifetime I have seen a change in the public attitude toward the Christian faith. I think that most people are at least sympathetic to the Christian faith, but the fear of offending people has caused some powerful forces to try to keep us quiet about Jesus. Before it is all over, we might learn the real meaning of long-suffering. This is the kind of patience that keeps on until the job is done, no matter what public opinion is or what obstacles we face. Paul certainly had this fruit in his life as he went from place-to-place establishing churches, meeting opposition in every place. Persistence in our faith is necessary if we plan to reach our sophisticated world today. The third word is restraint. The Holy Spirit gives us a spirit of restraint when we need it. “Long suffering is that quality of self-restraint in the face of provocation which does not hastily retaliate or promptly punish.” (Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, page 604) Jesus certainly illustrated this aspect of long-suffering when He was slapped, beaten and spat upon without retaliating. It is important for us to realize that the Holy Spirit makes restraint possible for us too. I fully understand the desire to retaliate, but I have learned that all retaliation does is complicate the matter at hand. Keep in mind that the Holy Spirit has given you all of the endurance, persistence and restraint that you need to live for and to serve Jesus. When you find yourself in situations where you need this fruit of long-suffering, remind yourself that the Holy Spirit is at work in you helping you to endure, persist, or restrain yourself. The wonderful thing about this is that you do not have to ask for long-suffering –just claim it and practice it. The Holy Spirit is with you at all times and He will not let you down. When you feel yourself weakening under pressure, desiring to quit or to retaliate, remember that you have the power to undergo all of it. Bro. Joe In his commentary on this text, William Barclay wrote: "In the New Testament ‘eirene’ (eiraynee), the Greek word for peace used here, stands for the Hebrew word 'Shalom.' This word does not just mean freedom from trouble, but everything that makes for a man’s highest and best and good." Peace as a fruit of the Spirit does not just mean an absence of conflict, but denotes a positive, upbeat, benevolent view of all of life. We would say that when a person has this peace, he or she is at peace with the world and with their circumstances, though there might be trouble all around. Paul certainly knew the meaning of this peace as he dealt with all of the troubles that he encountered. We need to look at three results, though there is more than that, of the “eirene” peace in our lives.
It is peace with God. In 1 Thessalonians 3:16, Paul wrote: “Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way.” (NIV) The idea is that the Holy Spirit does not just give us peace; rather, it means that He is peace within us. Peace with God is part and parcel with being a Christian. Peace with God is not something that we merely hope for. It is a fact because it is the fruit of the Holy Spirit who indwells us. It is a peace that we can claim in all aspects of our lives. We can claim it when things are going well and when things are not going well. We need to remember this and claim it. It is peace with ourselves. Pogo (Remember him?) was right when he said: “We has met the enemy and he is us.” Sometimes in the matter of peace of mind and heart we are our own worst enemies. As alluded to above, quite often we Christians do not claim the peace that we possess because we are unaware that we already have it. Paul encouraged the Philippians, and us, to claim it: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present request to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV) We need to remember this as we deal with ourselves. We can be awfully rough on ourselves, particularly when we know that we are not doing our best, and, perhaps, we should be, but somewhere along the line we need to forgive ourselves and be at peace with ourselves. When life has us down and it does not feel worth living, we need to remember that God loves us, has, or will, forgive us, and that He has given us the peace that only His Holy Spirit can give you. This peace either is or can be yours in Jesus. It is peace with others. If the Holy Spirit can give us peace with God and with ourselves, He can surely give us peace with other people. Again, it is a matter of claiming it. Paul encouraged the Thessalonians to “live in peace with each other.” (1Thessalonians 5:13b NIV) In Romans 5:13 Paul wrote: “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all (people).” In other words, if there is no peace between you and another person, don’t let it be your fault. You can’t control the other person, but you can let the Spirit control you. If we really and truly lived at peace with God, we would have peace within ourselves, and if we have peace within ourselves we should not need to be reminded that we should live at peace with other people. But the advice is still necessary, because we Christian human beings need to be reminded that we are to live at peace with others. Think of what would happen if every Christian suddenly claimed peace with others. Oh Lord let it be so --- and soon. Bro. Joe The Greek word translated joy is “chara.” This is very close to the Greek word translated grace, which is “charis.” Joy and grace are certainly related. Chara is used in the New Testament primarily to tell of a joy the basis of which is God. The Holy Spirit brings the joy of Jesus with Him when He enters our lives. Perhaps that is what Jesus meant in John 15:11: “My joy I give unto you that your joy might be full.” All of which leads me to the following observations about “chara joy.”
Chara is a lasting joy. This kind of joy is not circumstancial. Perhaps we can differentiate between joy and happiness. Happiness depends on circumstances, while joy depends on God. Joy is in the heart of believers as a fruit, or a gift, of the Holy Spirit. It is a joy that no person or circumstance can take away from us. The staying power of chara is illustrated by Jesus in John 16:22: “Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.” Chara is a fulfilling joy. In reference to Jesus, Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:8: “Whom having not seen, ye love, in whom though now you see him not, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.” What could be more fulfilling in life than unabated joy, unspeakable and glorious? Isn’t this what people are looking for in drugs, alcohol, sex, money, etc.? Little do most people know that the joy that they seek in the world’s seeming delights can only come by the entrance of the Holy Spirit into their lives. That, however, is the last thing they want, and then they wonder why fulfilling joy eludes them. Chara is overcoming joy. While speaking of His coming death and resurrection, Jesus said to His disciples: “You will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will be turned to joy.” This is the way life is, or should be, in the lives of Christians. (Remember that we are not writing about circumstantial happiness, but eternal joy.) Sorrow is continually turned to joy, because the Holy Spirit sees to it. This presupposes that sorrow will come into our lives, but it will not make itself at home in our lives. If we will turn sorrow and defeat over to Him, the Holy Spirit will turn them into deep and lasting joy. This does not mean that we will never have seasons of grief or sorrow, for those times surely come to all people. Again, they do not make themselves at home in our hearts and minds. We overcome by faith, but that faith is certainly mingled with the fruit of the Spirit that is called “chara joy.” If you are a Christian, you have the Holy Spirit in your life; therefore, you have the joy of Christ in your life. Notice that as a fruit of the Spirit you do have joy, not that you can have it. It is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, given to you the day that you were saved. This means that the joy of life can be yours for the asking. We have this joy embedded in our hearts, but we have to claim this joy. Too often self-pity and depression claim the joy that we should have in our hearts. This is one reason why the world gets turned off by our lives and our worship. People want to be where real joy is. There is joy in the heart of every Christian. I look forward to seeing what would happen if we unleashed all of the spiritual joy that we have in our hearts, in our lives, and in our worship. Claim the joy that the Spirit has given you!!! Bro. Joe “Whatsoever thy hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave whither thou goest.”
My fascination with Solomon’s book of Ecclesiastes continues. At first a lot of what Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes seems to be pessimistic or downright agnostic. But if one gives some thought to what he has written, he can see the common sense in it. Ecclesiastes 9:10 is a case in point. When I read it for the “humpteenth” time the truth of it came to me, and that truth is in our title: “Live While You Are Alive.” The first thing that I note here is that Solomon was advising us not to waste this life that God has given us. Many people spend their time here worrying and fretting about things, while time passes by and they get nothing done. I think that this verse tells us not to waste the time that we have been given here. This reminds me of an adage that I have heard many times, i.e., “make hay while the sun shines.” Solomon is reminding us here that time is valuable and should not be wasted. This does not mean that we should never take time off from our daily work, but it means that we need to use our time wisely. Paul reminded us of basically the same thing in Ephesians 5:15-16: “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16. “Redeeming the time, for the days are evil.” A more modern translation of “redeeming the time” is “making the best use of your time." Sometimes making the best use of our time, means to take some time off and rest. The second thing that I note here is that Solomon believed that when we do a job, we should “do it with all of (our) might.” I interpret this to mean that if we are going to do something we need to do the best that we can. I read on my Email this morning about a sermon that Dr. Martin Luther King preached called “The Street Sweeper.” His idea was that if you are going to be a street sweeper, be the best street sweeper that you can be. He wrote something like: “Be the Shakespeare of street sweeping.” This is not verbatim, but it is in agreement with the statement that he made. If you are going to be a Sunday School teacher, be the best Sunday School teacher that you can be. If you are going to sing in the choir, be the very best singer that you can be. (That’s why some people do not sing in the choir. Lol) If you are going to be an usher in your church, be the very best usher that you can be and really make people feel welcome at your church. I have known men who were called into the ministry who had no noticeable speaking ability, but with hard work and deep study they have become effective preachers of the gospel. Of course this hard work included a lot of prayer and Bible study, which should apply to any Christian endeavor. The final thing that I note here is that we need to be aware that we are going to die and after we are dead our work is done. This does not mean that everything that we did in life was in vain. When we do the best we can with what God has given us to do, we leave a legacy that other people can build on. When we die we will have no personal influence on anything that happens on earth, but if we have lived life to the fullest, and have done what we have done “with all of (our) might,” we will leave an influence that will live on. For example, Hebrews 11:4 tells us about Abel: “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.” (I think of this every time I hear the late Adrian Rogers preach on the radio.) Live life to the fullest while you are alive, and place in faith in Christ in order to live eternally. Bro. Joe “Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray…”
We drove by the Nazarene Church on Liberty Expressway a few days ago, and, as usual, their bulletin board had a great saying that gave me an idea for an article. It read: “When life knocks you to your knees, stay there and pray.” That is not an exact quote but it is very close. I love the message because it is so true. People have a tendency to give up and throw in the towel when life puts them in a hard place. This is as true of people in churches as it is of people who do not attend church. We Christians should realize that we have a profound resource to help us through the down times of life. We somehow have gotten the idea that life should always be to our pleasing, but that is not the way the world works. A man who had everything that his world offered, named Solomon, looked at life and declared, “vanity, vanity all is vanity.” What he meant was that life is empty when God is left out of the loop. Why would we not pray when life knocks us to our knees? I think that too many people, even Christians, want to be considered self-sufficient. The world in which we live has a tendency to look down on people who need God to help them through life. Having faith in God, and depending on Him, is considered to be weakness instead of strength. We have a high view of human strength, and I am amazed at times at the strength of character and perseverance that we humans can have. It is good to be a person who does not fold when life caves in. The problem that I have is when we think that we have to face life without God’s help if we are to be considered strong. I think that it is God’s strength that makes all of the difference when we get knocked to our knees. I know that I do not want to face life’s hardships without knowing that God is with me and giving me His strength. Sometimes people feel that God does not care whether or not they have problems in life. If you are reluctant to call on God when you are knocked to your knees, understand that God does care what you are facing in your life. I think of an incident in the book of 1 Kings 17 concerning the prophet Elijah and a widow who lived in Zarephath. She and her son were about to starve to death. The Lord used Elijah to provide her with the means to survive. (You can read about it in 1st Kings 17:9-16.) My present purpose is to point out that God did care what happened to this poor, seemingly insignificant widow and her son. The Bible is filled with how God cares for people and is willing to help them through all of life. There are people who do not feel that they are good enough for God to help them. Understand that everything that God does for us is based on His grace and not on merit. Jesus revealed this when He went into the city of Jericho and encountered one of the most hated citizens of that town, whose name was Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was hated because he was a chief tax collector who made his riches on the backs of the people of Jericho by collecting the hated Roman tax. Zacchaeus was short of stature and had to climb up into a sycamore tree to see Jesus. Jesus saw Zacchaeus, called him down from the tree, went home with him and in the process saved him. Zacchaeus demonstrated his conversion by restoring much of his wealth to the citizens of Jericho from whom he had collected taxes. Zacchaeus was certainly not “good enough” for Jesus to accompany him to his home and do a work of grace in his life, but that is what happened. No one reading this is as unworthy of God’s blessings as Zacchaeus. Throw yourself on the love and mercy of God and see what He will do in your life. Remember: “When life knocks you to your knees, stay there and pray.” That is not just good advice, it is necessary advice. Heed it! Bro. Joe |
AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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