Intentionally Diverse
The Lord directs the steps of the godly.
….He delights in every detail of their lives.
Though they stumble, they will never fall,
….for the Lord holds them by the hand. Psalm 37:23-24 NLT
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One of the tell-tale signs of spring’s arrival, at least in our area, is the arrival of the Red-winged Blackbirds. I have seen them for a few weeks now and in fact, saw one on the remains of a cattail this morning.
Intrigued, I did a little research and the thing that amazed me most was, like many birds, they are sexually dimorphic, meaning males and females have very different appearances. The picture above shows both together. Night and day! In their colorization at least, they look nothing alike! I’ve probably seen many females but never knew what they were.
I find it interesting that after people find out that I am a pastor that they assume that I am closer to God than they could possibly be. Just because I spend time preparing for each week’s service, and then get up and present a message that God has laid upon my heart, makes me no more spiritual than anyone else.
The body of Christ – the Church – is intentionally diverse.
The Apostle Paul hit the nail on the head when he wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:14-19,
Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?
But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange a body would be if it had only one part!
We all have important roles to play. A pastor may sometimes wear different hats – play different roles – but for the Church to have the greatest impact in the world around us, we each must seek out what God would have us do…each of us.
Without male and female Red-winged Blackbirds there would be no more of them at all! And not just for procreation! They each play a part in the whole cycle of life.
We in turn must do what God calls us to do. And to be most effective at it, we must draw close to God by speaking with Him regularly, reading the word He has so graciously given us, and then interacting with fellow believers to be encouraged and inspired on our faith journey. Lord, may it be so!
Apr 12th, 2021, Mon, 7:59 pm
The Choice Is Ours!
A full day, Father, but after church, Karen and I got to spend the whole day together. I am surely blessed! I would pray that You would give her rest this night of body, spirit, and mind. All praise to You, Almighty God, for Your wonderful gift!
John 3:16 (<<click here to read the passage)
The devil perverts everything with which he comes in contact. Things of beauty, things of honor, things of peace, and many others have been twisted to bring his will to fruition. Jesus’ words in the first part of John 10:10 readily apply to him.
The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. AMP
That is his sole goal. He hates what God loves with an insatiable hate. His ultimate goal is to decimate God’s beloved creation – you…and me.
We hear so many horror stories of when the devil controls the lives of people. We were talking the other day about a man who after an adulterous affair decided not just to divorce his expecting wife but instead, he took her life. And that’s not all! He then also murdered his two young daughters! It was awful! Those kinds of mindsets, those kinds of acts arise from the great deceiver himself!
Jesus’ words in John 8:44 apply not only to the Pharisees but also to those who like them reject Him and follow their own heart’s desires.
For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. NLT
But…the devil’s days are numbered…and he knows it! He is already defeated yet today, as every day throughout history, his goal is to take as many of us down with him as possible to an everlasting death – the ultimate condemnation!
But I know – and many of you do, as well – that we are most definitely not without hope!
Today’s verse is well known for it proclaims the truth of our salvation!
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 NKJV
Where the devil comes to steal and kill and destroy, Jesus came that [we] may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows]. John 10:10b
Because of Jesus’ great sacrifice in our stead, we escape the condemnation of eternal death and instead are blessed with eternal life. The Apostle Paul gives expression to how truly awesome this is!
But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57 NLT
All we have to do is to accept His generous gift. He has already paid the price. All we must do is believe! The choice is ours!
Now thanks be to God for His indescribable gift [which is precious beyond words]! 2 Corinthians 9:15 AMP
Apr 11th, 2021, Sun, 7:51 pm
Snakes!
Father, who but You will love us right where we are? Of course, we can not stay there, we must grow and move on to be what You made us to be. But I am grateful that I am accepted for who I am. I don’t have to reach some level of expectation before Your love is given – and that in abundance. There is such comfort in a relationship with You. May I do better in emulating that love toward others. Amen.
John 3:14-15 (<<click here to read the passage)
I am not terrified of snakes, but I am also not a huge fan of them. If I see one around our yard or maybe on a hike, they definitely give me a start, but I wouldn’t run away screaming. I might even choose to follow them to see where they slither off. Maybe because of this, I’ve always been intrigued by today’s passage of scripture.
The devil perverts God’s creation for his own devious reasons but I believe that God rules all. And snakes – or serpents as they are often referred to in Scripture – are one of those things.
At the very beginning, Eve, then Adam, were lured from God’s explicit directive when they yielded to the enticements set forth by the devil in the guise of a shrewd serpent (Genesis 3:1ff).
Then in Numbers 21:4-9 serpents take a key role. In their desert wanderings (due to their rebellion against the Lord) …the people of Israel…grew impatient with the long journey, and they began to speak against God and Moses. “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?” they complained. “There is nothing to eat here and nothing to drink. And we hate this horrible manna!” vs4b-5
Patient as He was, it was time for the Israelites to learn to respect all the Lord had done and continued to do for them. Due to their insolence, the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and many were bitten and died. v6
In pain and agony, they pleaded with Moses to intercede on their behalf before the Lord and the result was that He said to Moses, “Make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to a pole. All who are bitten will live if they simply look at it!” v8
I find it interesting that in Rabbinic literature it is held that God said: “Let the serpent who was the first to offend by ‘evil tongue’ inflict punishment on those who were guilty of the same sin and did not profit by the serpent’s example”.
The devil may have perverted a creature of God’s making for his own intent and purposes but God used it to bring healing to the Israelites in Numbers. Unfortunately, the bronze serpent of antiquity became an idol for later generations of Israelites (2 Kings 18:1-4) but Jesus affiliated it with His ultimate purpose in coming to live amongst us.
In today’s passage, He said,
“Just as Moses lifted up the [bronze] serpent in the desert [on a pole], so must the Son of Man be lifted up [on the cross], so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life [after physical death, and will actually live forever].” John 3:14-15AMP
Something that our enemy the devil perverted became a symbol of our ultimate salvation! But more on that in my next post!
Apr 8th, 2021, Thurs, 8:12 pm
Knowledge: Important but Not MOST Important
Father, even in the middle of all the insanity You bring sanity, calmness, and a wonderful sense of security and peace. My problem is not that You are not by my side but that far too often I forget that You are there. May I not wander from Your side but stay close enough to hear You whisper in my ear. Amen.
John 3:9-15 (<<click here to read the passage)
There is a woman, whom I would call a friend, who through this past Lenten season accepted a challenge to give up something. She emailed me to tell me that she decided to give up screen time (and other times) to read the Bible. She had read through the Bible cover-to-cover a few times in the past, but she had not done so in quite some time. She decided it would be a good time to start reading from the beginning once again.
When she shared her decision with me, she had already read from Genesis and was over three-quarters of the way through Jeremiah in just a couple of months!
One thing that I want to stress is that, yes, she is a well-educated person. She has a wealth of knowledge and even taught young children for many years as her chosen vocation. But knowledge only gets you so far. Experience and wisdom all factor into who we are and what we become.
Now that is all great for this earthly life but all of her knowledge, even adding in her dedication to faithfully reading God’s word would be as filthy rags in God’s sight if she did not know Him personally.
The first part of Isaiah 64:6 makes it very clear.
We are all infected and impure with sin.
….When we display our righteous deeds,
….they are nothing but filthy rags. NLT
My study Bible* says this regarding Nicodemus,
This Jewish teacher of the Bible knew the Old Testament thoroughly, but he didn’t understand what it said about the Messiah. Knowledge is not salvation. You should know the Bible, but even more important, you should understand the God whom the Bible reveals and the salvation that God offers.
I am grateful that my friend has knowledge. I am also grateful that she has taken up the challenge to read her Bible from beginning to end, for many things can be gleaned from such an endeavor. But most importantly, I am grateful that she knows Jesus as her Lord and Savior and strives daily to live out that relationship! May the Lord help us all to be as diligent in following Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength! Amen!
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
Apr 7th, 2021, Wed, 7:18 pm
Drawn to Death
Father, there are times where you use us, and we stand in amazement. Why there? Why then? Why me? It brings comfort to me knowing that regardless of what goes on in the world, that you are Sovereign of all!
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I wrote about buzzards less than a week ago (Stay Alert!…) but as I drove my route this morning, I saw a familiar sight…several turkey vultures sitting in the branches of a dead tree.
Some info about turkey vultures: According to Wikipedia they forage by smell. Most birds do not. By flying low to the ground, they can pick up the scent of ethyl mercaptan, a gas produced by the beginnings of decay in dead animals. The part of their brain the processes smells is particularly large compared to that of other animals. To survive they seek out death.
Where black vultures will kill to eat, almost exclusively, turkey vultures eat what is already dead. They are attracted to death. The reason this came to mind is that even in roosting, they are attracted to death. Dead trees are one of their favorite roosting spots. I see them quite often.
It’s morbid but God made them for a specific purpose. Like other vultures, they play an important role in the ecosystem by disposing of carrion, which would otherwise be a breeding ground for disease.
Humanity, on the other hand, was created for life. But much to our shame, we too are attracted to death. James 1:14-15 tells us,
But each one is tempted when he is dragged away, enticed and baited [to commit sin] by his own [worldly] desire (lust, passion). Then when the illicit desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin has run its course, it gives birth to death. AMP
Oh, we try to tell ourselves that we are just doing what we want to do. It is easy for us to only think of the immediate pleasure fulfilling our desires bring us. Much to our detriment, we don’t think far enough down the chain of events to realize that death is what awaits us. Yet too often we feel that to survive we must seek out that which brings us the greatest satisfaction, so in the long run to survive, we seek out death.
Turkey vultures are just doing what God created them to do. We, on the other hand, are going against that which God created us.
But we are not doomed. We’ve been given a choice. We make it difficult because we think we are giving up so much, but if we think it all the way through, we can realize that when we give up our choice of death, we truly receive an inestimable free gift!
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God [that is, His remarkable, overwhelming gift of grace to believers] is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 AMP
For those of us who have accepted this free gift, it is mind-numbing to think that others would refuse it, knowing what is truly at stake. But even we struggle and yield to those [worldly] desires. But we, as well as those who reject God’s gift are repeatedly given this option.
If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just [true to His own nature and promises], and will forgive our sins and cleanse us continually from all unrighteousness [our wrongdoing, everything not in conformity with His will and purpose]. 1 John 1:9 AMP
Lord Jesus, may we think it all the way through so much so that we wouldn’t think of rejecting the free gift so readily offered! Amen.
Apr 6th, 2021, Tues, 6:20 pm