Tag: Thought to Ponder

“What think ye of Christ?” –Matthew 22:42

Who really is Jesus? Was he some psycho who wanted to get attention? Was he a great humanistic teacher? Was he a good moral role model but nothing more? Was he God? Is he God? Who is he? Why should we even care?

We are called to know Jesus as “THE way, THE truth, and THE life,” but can we really know what that means? We get so wrapped up in our theology security blankets and think that our salvation is secured because we have the right things to say in every circumstance, but is that “THE way” to find “THE truth” for “THE life” that we are supposed to long for?

Unwrap yourself from and quit bickering about the philosophy and theology of Jesus and start leaning about him from him. If we live by the Spirit, we will keep in step. We don’t keep in step by our doctrines but by who Christ is in us. You can have the most theologically sound and orthodox doctrines and dogmas that you follow, but if you don’t know Christ, it’s worthless.

This is from one of my dailies (My Utmost for his Highest to be exact).I enjoyed it so much I decided to quote it verbatim:

“[Jesus] said unto him the third time, lovest thou me?” –John 21:17

Have you felt the hurt of the Lord to the uncovered quick, the place where the real sensitiveness of your life is lodged?The devil never hurts there, neither sin nor human affection hurts there, nothing goes through to that place but the word of God.“Peter was grieved because Jesus said unto him the third time…”He was awakening to the fact that in the real true center of his personal life he was devoted to Jesus, and he began to see what the patient questioning meant.There was not the slightest strand of delusion left in Peter’s mind, he never could be deluded again.There was no room for passionate utterance, no room for exhilaration or sentiment.It was a revelation to him to realize how much he did love Jesus; but he did not say, “Look at this or that to confirm it.”Peter was beginning to discover to himself how much he did love the Lord, that there was no one in heaven above or upon earth beneath beside Jesus Christ; but he did not know it until the probing, hurting questions of the Lord came.The Lord’s questions always reveal me to myself.

The patient directness and skill of Jesus Christ with Peter!Our Lord never asks questions until the right time.Rarely, but probably at least once, He will get us into a corner where he will hurt us with His undeviating questions, and we will realize that we do love him far more deeply than any profession can ever show.

I’m being chased. Recently, all of the material I’ve been reading (from four different books mind you) and listening to have been focused around a single theme: being filled with the spirit. I took a break from reading The King’s Daughter by Diana Hagee but picked it up again the day before yesterday. The next chapter in the book is entitled “The Holy Spirit and Me” There’s a prayer at the end of the chapter that I would like to share you.

Father, I ask that You reveal Yourself to me in a way I have never known before. If there is something You have for me that I have not expierenced, then show me now. I ask You to pour Your Holy Spirit into my heart. With this infilling, I ask you to impart in me the passion to witness as Your disciples did on the day of pentecost. I ask that You help me with my prayer life, lifting me to levels far beyond my natural strength and understanding. When I pray, I want the authority and the power of the living God. Guide me through Your Holy Spirit, in the path You would have me go. Father, I ask that you pour into my heart a love so rich that it can be described only as agape love. A love that is so pure that its only source can be the throne of the living God. Lord, if htere is more of You, then I want to have it. Amen.

Here are also a couple of things that I underlined in the chapter that really caught my attention:
1. First, the infilling of the Holy Spirit gives us added powere to be effective witnesses. Second, the Holy Spirit gives us the powere to pray according to the will of God. And third, the Holy Spirit becomes our guide and Teacher when we read the Word of God.
2. Salvation is your foundation. The infilling of the Holy Spiritand the fruit of the Spirit build your spiritual house. You live in this house; all of these parts make your Christian walk functional.
3. This is the response of an Orthodox rabbi when asked the question ‘What do you believe about the Word of God?’
“The Word of God is the protoplasm of all living things. It is the basis of all creation. The Word was spoken and life was. There is also a dynamic to the Word. It knows what you need at any given time. In Hebrew writing, the letters leap upward like cloven tongues of fire. This represents the dynamics of the Word. It is never stagnant. That is why you can read something one day and it means one thing to you, and you read the same passage of Scripture nthe next day and it means something totally different. It meets the needs of the individual at any given time. The Word has power. The Word has discernment. The Word of God is alive.”

If an Orthodox rabbi can feel so fervently about the lifing Word of God, how much more should we, as Christians know this fervor? “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us;” he taught us what to do and gave us the power to do it. If we are to be effective tools for a living God, we need to read his living and life giving Word and let His Spirit fill our lives like “a hand in a glove” so that we can do what we are being directed to do.

I can’t stand to have people upset with me and can’t stay upset with someone else for very long. I end up getting eaten alive by my anxiety because I have a tendency to ruminate on things, which means that I am well aware of the importance of the message, “let not the sun go down on your anger” (Ephesians 4:26) whether it be mine or someone else’s. Since I am a relatively passive person my heart resounds with the question that ‘a child once asked: “Must we wait till the evening to be forgiven?”’ I couldn’t help thinking:

How often do we remember that we don’t have to wait, and should not wait, to forgive or ask for forgiveness? Our availability of forgiveness from God is just a thought or a breath away. But how available do we make our forgiveness of others? Do we let it sit and fester a bit or do our hearts ache until we forgive what other have done?

“The Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?’
And Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

Don’t hesitate in your forgiveness of others, and don’t say something with your mouth that does not echo in your heart. You spread the hurt and resentment in either of the cases.

My sould is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word (Psalm 119:28). When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who know my way (Psalm 142:3). Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me (Psalm 119:133). Search me, O God, and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thought. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23-24). Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground (Psalm 143:10). Though (my) sorrow may remain for a night, rejoicing will come in the morning (Psalm 30:5b). In my anguish I cried to the Lord, and he answered by setting me free (Psalm 118:5). When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul (Psalm 94:19). Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me (Psalm 51:10-12). You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word (Psalm 119:114).

“No matter how right your doctrine is, if you’re a jerk, you’re wrong.” –Scott Welch (Assoc. Pastor at my church)

I only have one thing to add to this. Without love there is no true doctrine because Christ’s message was a message of love. We need to remember to approach all things and people with an attitude of love. We can’t be effective if we can’t love our enemies as ourselves.

This wasn’t going to be my original Thought to Ponder for today; but I think it’s worth the read.

Allah or Jesus

By Rick Mathes, prison ministry leader

Last month I attended my annual training session that’s required for maintaining my state prison security clearance. During the training session there was a presentation by three speakers representing the Roman Catholic, Protestant and Muslim faiths who explained their belief systems. I was particularly interested in what the Islamic Imam had to say. The Imam gave a great presentation of the basics of Islam, complete with a video. After the presentations, time was provided for questions and answers.

When it was my turn, I directed my question to the Imam and asked: “Please, correct me if I’m wrong, but I understand that most Imams and clerics of Islam have declared a holy jihad [Holy war] against the infidels of the world. And, that by killing an infidel, which is a command to all Muslims, they are assured of a place in heaven. If that’s the case, can you give me the definition of an infidel?”

There was no disagreement with my statements and without hesitation he replied, “Non-believers!” I responded, “So, let me make sure I have this straight. All followers of Allah have been commanded to kill everyone who is not of your faith so they can go to Heaven. Is that correct?” The expression on his face changed from one of authority and command to that of a little boy who had just gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He sheepishly replied, “Yes.”

I then stated, “Well, sir, I have a real problem trying to imagine Pope John Paul commanding all Catholics to kill those of your faith or Pat Robertson or Dr. Stanley ordering Protestants to do the same in order to go to Heaven!” The Imam was speechless. I continued, “I also have problem with being your friend when you and your brother clerics are telling your followers to kill me. Let me ask you a question. Would you rather have your Allah who tells you to kill me in order to go to Heaven or my Jesus who tells me to love you because I am going to Heaven and wants you to be with me?”

You could have heard a pin drop as the Imam hung his head in shame. Chuck Colson once told me something that has sustained me these 20 years of prison ministry. He said to me, “Rick, remember that the truth will prevail.” And it will!”

My two devotionals for today overlapped a bit, or at least they did in my mind. One verse came from Matthew 12:13, “Then he (Jesus) said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other.” The second verse was from Isaiah 6:8, “’Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then said I, ‘Here am I; send me.’”

Both of these verses, while in very different contexts, require faith. If we listen to the undercurrent of God’s voice in our lives, we realize that God is not pleading for our help but is asking for people to stretch out to him in faith for personal restoration and through that restoration of those around us.

When we stretch out in faith towards our source of life, we become filled with that source and can affect others by supplying for their needs. The question is are we stretching enough?

I’m trying to get back in the habit of reading my Bible daily again and have decided to also read two daily devotional books, or “dailies,” simultaneously. One of the dailies is the well know book My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers. The other daily is A Gentle Spirit: Devotional Selections for Today’s Christian Woman which is a compilation of several inspiring women such as Joni Eareckson Tada, Sheila Walsh, Twila Paris, Amy Carmichael, Elisabeth Elliot, Ruth Bell Graham, Corrie ten Boom, etc. So far everything is going well.

Today’s thought comes from My Utmost for His Highest. The verse was, “And [he] pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west and Hai on the east; and there he builded (sic) an alter.” – Genesis 12:8

Oswald went on to discuss worship and how we are called to give back fully the things he has blessed us with as a love offering. When we give back the blessing it’s a deliberate act of worship that can be used to bless others. If we insist on hoarding the blessings he’s given to us, the blessings will become dry and will be like the manna that rotted when the Israelites tried to “save some for later” instead of depending on God to replenish their supply.

Oswald then continued to discuss the verse reminding that Bethel was a symbol of communion with God and Hai is a symbol for the world. The only way we can honestly do any good in this world is to have communication with God. It’s true that we “cannot live by bread alone” and must consume the “word” of God thought our communion with him, but we must also remember that we cannot be effective tools for his glory and purpose if we completely divorce ourselves from the world by trying to set up our tents solely on the ground of Bethel. We can’t sit there and say, “Ok this is God’s spot in my day and that’s when I’ll have my quiet time.” Instead we should work towards having a continuous quiet time/communion despite the constant batter of noise that we receive from the world. We need to quite jumping around in our lives like “spiritual frogs” from worship to waiting to work and let God create in us an ever bubbling fountain of life to fuel our worship and work.

Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. – Genesis 2:19-20

Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. – Genesis 3:20

Have you noticed that we are still shaping our lives with names? For example, I am called daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece, Constance, Pumpkin, Spaghetti-head, sis, cousin, and Val by my family. But those are only a small part defining who I am. What if I were to add things like friend, scholar, student, listener, babysitter, roommate, confidant, singer, musician, artist, Christian…? Do you begin to see the importance of a name? I am not one or two of these, but all. They shape who I am and as I grow and my life changes I will acquire even more names like doctor, co-worker, employee, wife, mother, aunt, grandmother, sister-in-law…. Each name shows a different facet of who I am and who I am to become, but they all must be looked at together to see me.

But just like all these names define who I am, my names for other people define who they are. I think that one of the greatest gifts that God has given us is the ability to shape with words and names. Why are we so flippant with our gifts? Are we blinded to affects of the names we place on people?

The tongue is also a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and in itself set fire by hell. All kinds of animals are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. – James 4:12

We have a choice to heap blessings or curses on people with a single name. Names like son, daughter, or friend can bring joy, acceptance, thanksgiving, and love. And names like liar, betrayer, or fool bring condemnation, hate, and disregard.

Be careful what you say in anger or out of hurt because a name goes a very long way; it can build up or destroy. Which will you choose?