The cotoneaster is a garden shrub that I chose in landscaping my new home. I knew nothing except that I liked the one picture I saw of it. I have three. I had no idea how wild they would be without proper knowledge of their upkeep. After eight years of wild and crazy, I finally educated myself, cut them way low and am looking forward to the beautiful plant they were meant to be.
One of the tips given in my research was "Always cut off the growth that shoots straight up. Nothing good ever comes from those branches." As I began to take off these shoots, I began thinking of pride: the pride that exists in a man and the desire he has to rise up above his peers. And taken to the extreme to rise above his Creator, as Satan did, enticing God's crowning creation, man, to do as well. To go beyond what God has prescribed has been the problem of man since the fall. It's called sin.
Pride is defined as a foolishly and irrationally corrupt sense of ones own personal value, status or accomplishments used synonomously with hubris. Hubris, in its ancient Greek context, typically defines behavior that challenge the gods and brings about the downfall of the perpetrator. That about sums up man's predicament. And for those who still have breath, the gospel of Jesus Christ opens a way to save man from the fatal predicament to which he is headed.
Man wants to rise above His creator, to malign God's Word as though it is not relevant for him. The person who will not have God rule over him or who redefines God's Word to suit himself is like that branch that grows straight up. He has lost sight of what he truly is and will be cut off to die, disconnected from all that he could have become. "Nothing good ever comes from those branches."
Friday, April 19, 2019
Warning! Beware!
Over the years, from my own experiences and the experiences of other Christians, I have heard varied responses to sharing Christ. One of the big ones, and it is what I used before I was saved, is that the church is full of hypocrites. After I was saved, my response back was, "yes, where else would they be?"
But my short post today is about another response: "You are judging me." For any believers familiar with God's Word (and I hope all believers are students of the Word), we know that God is the Judge and the Word delivers His judgment. Our answer must be: "No! I am not your judge nor do I judge, as I am also judged by the Word of God. I am warning you. I'm your friend. I care. Please pay attention." Christians are not in the business of judging but of warning. This is loving, not hateful!
But my short post today is about another response: "You are judging me." For any believers familiar with God's Word (and I hope all believers are students of the Word), we know that God is the Judge and the Word delivers His judgment. Our answer must be: "No! I am not your judge nor do I judge, as I am also judged by the Word of God. I am warning you. I'm your friend. I care. Please pay attention." Christians are not in the business of judging but of warning. This is loving, not hateful!
Thursday, April 11, 2019
Futility
In my last post, ambition and the only right ambition was the subject. Running after the wrong kind of ambition leads to futility. What is futility? The inability to achieve a goal or purpose; pointless, useless, fruitless, vanity, ineffective. How tragic! Romans 8:20 says, "the whole creation was subjected to futility..." Why? No part of creation fulfills God's original purpose. "The whole creation groans."
In watching a battle scene in a movie, the commander of the loosing side, after a long, hard fight in the rain, yells, "RETREAT"! What would cause a commander, after all that fighting, to utter those words? They were not cowards or wimpy men. No! They were strong, brave and determined to win even though they knew they were few compared to the enemy. But their few hundreds against thousands became fewer still. Futility!
We live in an abnormal world. Sin and guilt have shattered the normal relationship between Creator and creation. That's why creation groans. That's why we groan. But believers have been given hope, hope that encourages our strength and stamina; that gives us the power not to yell "Retreat"! Romans goes on to say in verse 21, "it will be delivered from bondage. It was subjected in hope."
Hope! That's the freedom from futility. Not a "hope so" hope, but a sure hope as expressed in the latter part of Romans 8. Christians are to be a doxology! "Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!" Christians live to establish the credibility of the Christian faith. Verse 37: "In all these things, we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us."
[Note: There is nothing original with me. These notes were taken from some past study I've done. And there are many Godly men whom God has used to teach me. And ultimately, He gets all the glory anyway. For apart from Him, we can do nothing. Forgive any uncredited quote.]
In watching a battle scene in a movie, the commander of the loosing side, after a long, hard fight in the rain, yells, "RETREAT"! What would cause a commander, after all that fighting, to utter those words? They were not cowards or wimpy men. No! They were strong, brave and determined to win even though they knew they were few compared to the enemy. But their few hundreds against thousands became fewer still. Futility!
We live in an abnormal world. Sin and guilt have shattered the normal relationship between Creator and creation. That's why creation groans. That's why we groan. But believers have been given hope, hope that encourages our strength and stamina; that gives us the power not to yell "Retreat"! Romans goes on to say in verse 21, "it will be delivered from bondage. It was subjected in hope."
Hope! That's the freedom from futility. Not a "hope so" hope, but a sure hope as expressed in the latter part of Romans 8. Christians are to be a doxology! "Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!" Christians live to establish the credibility of the Christian faith. Verse 37: "In all these things, we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us."
[Note: There is nothing original with me. These notes were taken from some past study I've done. And there are many Godly men whom God has used to teach me. And ultimately, He gets all the glory anyway. For apart from Him, we can do nothing. Forgive any uncredited quote.]
Ambition
Ambition is truly an escalated and driving force in our world today. It's really not new, for it's drive has been the stuff of which stories are made not to mention epic movies, T.V. series, soap operas and reality shows. What is ambition: strong desire to do or to achieve something; a desire and determination to achieve success. So what is success?
The world looks at success the same old way it's always looked at success: fame, power, money, stuff, looks, etc. etc. etc. But once those things are acquired, the result is far less fulfilling than the person seeking them thought. The Bible makes it clear in one short verse what our ambition and ultimate success can be. And with that change that only God can make, come joys and lasting fulfillment.
"Therefore, we also have as our ambition...to be pleasing to Him." (2 Corinthians 5:9 NASB) Pretty simple verse yet amazingly profound. Our ambition in every area of our life is one that is checked at every turn by God's directives through His word. William Law: "If you have not chosen the Kingdom of God, it will make in the end no difference what you have chosen instead."
The world looks at success the same old way it's always looked at success: fame, power, money, stuff, looks, etc. etc. etc. But once those things are acquired, the result is far less fulfilling than the person seeking them thought. The Bible makes it clear in one short verse what our ambition and ultimate success can be. And with that change that only God can make, come joys and lasting fulfillment.
"Therefore, we also have as our ambition...to be pleasing to Him." (2 Corinthians 5:9 NASB) Pretty simple verse yet amazingly profound. Our ambition in every area of our life is one that is checked at every turn by God's directives through His word. William Law: "If you have not chosen the Kingdom of God, it will make in the end no difference what you have chosen instead."
Tuesday, April 9, 2019
Gracious Dispensation
A dispensation is a system of order; a distinct arrangement or period in history that forms the framework through which God relates to man. Mark 1:14 says, "Jesus came preaching....the time is fulfilled": the time determined of God for the revelation of the Messiah and the grace of the gospel through Him. The dispensation of the fullness of time, the kingdom of God is at hand.
Everything from the beginning of creation looked toward this time and everything after the resurrection looked backward to that time. And again, I am using Matthew Poole's commentary in my writing. He calls this "the gracious dispensation of God"; the gracious period of history that forms the framework for open communication between Creator and His most prized trophy of creation, man.
And Jesus, the Name above all Names, was born, preached, died and did something no person could do, satisfy the wrath of God and then conquered death. And in His life here, while many love to exalt the miracles, our gracious Lord preached. He had compassion in His short time here. He wanted men to hear and understand.
He said, "Repent"! What is that? To know you are a sinner and to have great sorrow over it and turn from that wickedness. "Believe"! To believe the gospel is one thing but to "believe in" the gospel is another. Many who heard Jesus believed but it was no more than a firm and fixed assent to the proposition of the gospel. But to "believe in" is to place our hope of salvation in the doctrine and promises of the gospel, that flows from the sense of the love of God in Christ.
While many admired and were amazed and astonished at Jesus, they did not believe in Him. The gospel did not affect their cold, lifeless, and powerless hearts any more than the dull telling of a tale. But those who did and do place their life in the hope He has laid out for us in His word, will find He fills us with a power that affects everything. Everything we think, do and say can no longer be flippant or unaffected by the power of His word. Gracious Dispensation! Let us look back in hope, love and adoration of the order of our great God and His plan of love for His creatures.
Everything from the beginning of creation looked toward this time and everything after the resurrection looked backward to that time. And again, I am using Matthew Poole's commentary in my writing. He calls this "the gracious dispensation of God"; the gracious period of history that forms the framework for open communication between Creator and His most prized trophy of creation, man.
And Jesus, the Name above all Names, was born, preached, died and did something no person could do, satisfy the wrath of God and then conquered death. And in His life here, while many love to exalt the miracles, our gracious Lord preached. He had compassion in His short time here. He wanted men to hear and understand.
He said, "Repent"! What is that? To know you are a sinner and to have great sorrow over it and turn from that wickedness. "Believe"! To believe the gospel is one thing but to "believe in" the gospel is another. Many who heard Jesus believed but it was no more than a firm and fixed assent to the proposition of the gospel. But to "believe in" is to place our hope of salvation in the doctrine and promises of the gospel, that flows from the sense of the love of God in Christ.
While many admired and were amazed and astonished at Jesus, they did not believe in Him. The gospel did not affect their cold, lifeless, and powerless hearts any more than the dull telling of a tale. But those who did and do place their life in the hope He has laid out for us in His word, will find He fills us with a power that affects everything. Everything we think, do and say can no longer be flippant or unaffected by the power of His word. Gracious Dispensation! Let us look back in hope, love and adoration of the order of our great God and His plan of love for His creatures.
Simpletons
Malice reveals how "simple" people can be. (So says Matthew Poole, a commentator I've mentioned in previous posts.) Malice is the intention or desire to do evil. And while the meaning here of "simple"is a lack of intelligence, the meaning of "simpleton" is foolish and gullible (categories both of which the two following groups fell). Mr. Poole gives commentary on the soldier's report to the priests, and the priests plan regarding the resurrection of Jesus Christ. (Matthew 28:12-15)
"What a story was here! If they were asleep, how could they know that Christ's disciples came by night and stole Him away? Would no noise of rolling away the stone wake them? Malice will not allow men deliberation enough to show themselves wise!"
Nuff said! (me not Matt)
"What a story was here! If they were asleep, how could they know that Christ's disciples came by night and stole Him away? Would no noise of rolling away the stone wake them? Malice will not allow men deliberation enough to show themselves wise!"
Nuff said! (me not Matt)
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