One Step Closer to the Precipice
Father, I need You tonight. Things have been a little tough today. Personal stuff has taken a few bites out of me – some things I’ve brought upon myself and other things are, unfortunately, just a part of where life finds me. I cast myself upon your mercy and grace.
John 3:31-36 (<<click here to read the passage)
Life is all about choices. We can’t choose what life throws at us but each day we chose how we will respond to what life gives us. Many of us wield more power than we think. Someone tells us we need to do something, and we can acquiesce and go along but it is equally within our power to not cooperate. No matter how insane our choices might be, we ultimately decide.
Now I realize there are extenuating circumstances, but your average man and woman determine what they will and will not do…
I caught the glimpse of a video today in which someone asked the question, “Would a loving God really send anyone to the eternal damnation of hell?” The person being questioned answered, “No.” And you may be shocked but that was an absolutely correct answer!
By our own choice, we are condemned. Every person to ever walk this earth by the very nature of our being is separated from God. Just a few verses back, John stated,
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. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3:16-17 NKJV
But you see there is the catch…that is where we draw the line. We don’t want to believe in His only begotten Son. Every second of our lives we are one step closer to being swept over the precipice which will cast us into eternity. It is as if we are flailing about in the overwhelming current of life, screaming, “I can do it myself! I don’t need Your help! Others will help me!” …but there is no one else…for everyone else finds themselves in the same predicament in which we find ourselves.
And all we have to do is believe!
…anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.” John 3:36 NLT
Far too often we chose to white-knuckle grip all of the things we have amassed, all the worldly things that time will destroy. Our wealth, our cars, our homes…in the end they are utterly worthless. But time and time again we sacrifice not only the love that others have for us but most importantly God’s love as well! All because we will not yield to love!
God sends no one to their eternal condemnation. We alone determine that.
Lord Jesus, may we give up our selfishness and pride in submission to love. For as the Apostle John said in his epistle,
The one who does not love has not become acquainted with God [does not and never did know Him], for God is love. [He is the originator of love, and it is an enduring attribute of His nature.] 1 John 4:8 AMP
Read that again!
True love is all about giving ourselves over to God’s love. Selfishness cannot coexist with it! Pride is cast out in its presence! You cannot do it on your own! Submit to God and live! He is your only hope!
Apr 25th, 2021, Sun, 8:19 pm
Out of the Deep Miry Clay!
I waited patiently for the Lord to help me,
….and he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the pit of despair,
….out of the mud and the mire.
He set my feet on solid ground
….and steadied me as I walked along.
He has given me a new song to sing,
….a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see what he has done and be amazed.
….They will put their trust in the Lord. Psalm 40:1-3 NLT
There are times when I feel it’s just better to share a psalm to open my writing time and tonight was one to those times. As I read through the text, as is often the case, it brought a song to mind, an old hymn to be exact.
The hymn is entitled, He Brought Me Out. The text was written by Henry J. Zelley in 1898 with its refrain penned by Henry Gilmour, who by the way also wrote its tune.
This particular hymn became a favorite of mine in my youth. Growing up in the Church of the Nazarene, at least in the area in which I lived, we added some extra words to the refrain… (they are noted in the brackets)
He brought me out of the [deep] miry clay,
He set my feet on the [solid] Rock to stay;
He puts a song in my [happy] soul today,
A song of praise, hallelujah!
It has a very upbeat tune while clearly proclaiming truths of our salvation.
So many of the songs we sing both traditional and contemporary convey the truth of scripture giving us a means of praising God for His mighty attributes, as well as, giving vibrant testimony of the transforming work of God in our lives. Our music also encourages us to pass along those things – God’s attributes and our testimony – to the world around us.
Living out our faith is key! Being a facsimile of that faith is not nearly as impacting! The world needs a genuine article, not a cheap copy. Just going through the motions accomplishes very little but even the smallest things we do that are the real deal can have life long-lasting influence on the people we interact with day-in and day-out.
We were born in sin and could not escape on our own – the deep miry clay.
But thanks be to God, He brought us out and set our feet on the solid rock to stay.
And because of that, He puts a song in our happy soul today…a song of praise, hallelujah!
If we do that…
Many will see what he has done and be amazed.
….They will put their trust in the Lord. Psalm 40:3 NLT
(If you’d like to hear a pretty decent rendition of it, click the title below to listen to a video of the First Assembly of God Church in Van Buren, Arkansas singing it – though they don’t add the extra text.)
My heart was distressed
’Neath Jehovah’s dread frown,
And low in the pit where my sins dragged me down;
I cried to the Lord from the deep miry clay,
Who tenderly brought me out to golden day.
Refrain
He brought me out of the miry clay,
He set my feet on the Rock to stay;
He puts a song in my soul today,
A song of praise, hallelujah!
He placed me upon the strong Rock by His side,
My steps were established and here I’ll abide;
No danger of falling while here I remain,
But stand by His grace until the crown I gain.
Refrain
He gave me a song, ’twas a new song of praise;
By day and by night its sweet notes I will raise;
My heart’s overflowing, I’m happy and free.
I’ll praise my Redeemer, who has rescued me.
Refrain
I’ll sing of His wonderful mercy to me,
I’ll praise Him till all men His goodness shall see;
I’ll sing of salvation at home and abroad,
Till many shall hear the truth and trust in God.
Refrain
Apr 22nd, 2021, Thurs, 8:40 pm
Unique Amongst the Millions!
Many may frown but though it is spring snow is a beautiful blanket over Your creation, Father. Thank You for the reminder that though we control so much, that You are sovereign overall!
********
As I drove my route this morning, I saw field after field of white, it got me thinking. Now there may be some very technically detailed people who would disagree but all in all, pretty much every single flake that made it to the ground was unique! And that got me to thinking, how many snowflakes would it take to add up to what we got last night? That involves quite a bit of math, but I found an interesting video clip put out about a year ago by COSI, officially the Center of Science and Industry. It is a science museum and research center in Columbus, Ohio (just down the road a bit from home!) The video clip was entitled, “How Many Snowflakes Make an Inch of Snow?” (<<Click on the title to watch it. It’s geared toward kids, so it’s about 3½ minutes long.)
Director of Science Content, Marci Howdyshell, greatly simplified the math but it works well enough to give us an idea of how many snowflakes make up a snowfall. She, for comprehension’s sake, guesstimated that one square inch of snow would comprise 1,000 snowflakes. I did the calculations and discovered that if we had 4¼ inches of snow last night on our 5.1-acre lot alone, that would add up to 136 billion snowflakes! (136 with 9 zeros!) That’s just crazy!
I put about 40 miles on my bus this morning! Just think, there were probably billions upon billions of snowflakes on the ground just within my sight! And to realize that for the most part, every single one of them was unique!
You…and I…we are unique – every single one of us! It is easy to get it in our heads that we are just one of millions. We are, but we are unique! God made us – each of us – to be exactly who we were made to be. There are no mistakes. We are special. He made us to love Him. And He made us to live out our lives on this old earth with a purpose! Besides loving Him, we are to love one another. There are so many people who need love – many don’t feel loved at all.
We are called to point others to God by how we live. If we are devoted to following God with everything we have – loving Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength – that love will radiate out from us drawing people to God. And just like snowflakes, if we joined our efforts for God’s Kingdom, we could cover the whole world with His love! Amen! (And that means “so be it”!)
For You formed my innermost parts;
….You knit me [together] in my mother’s womb.
I will give thanks and praise to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
….Wonderful are Your works,
……..And my soul knows it very well. Psalm 139:13-14 AMP
Apr 21st, 2021, Wed, 12:45 pm
An Apples to Oranges Comparison
Father, as we anticipate another wintery blast tonight after so many days enjoying the beauty of spring may we not be dependent on warmth anywhere but in Your presence. We find security in Your love and the sacrifice that enabled us to embrace it. Amen.
John 3:22-30 (<<click here to read the passage)
There is a pastoral acquaintance of mine whom I hold in the highest regard. He has been serving at a nice size church not too awful far away from where I am. He is young. He is creative. He has a charisma about him that makes people want to get on board and follow him wherever he may lead. He is inspirational in the way he leads his parish and to his fellow pastors…at least to me.
I would guess that I am 15 to 20 years his senior and though I have faithfully served my one church for almost twenty years, I’ve seen nothing take place as he has. In a lot of ways, it’s an apples to oranges comparison, and really it is not fair to even begin comparing them to each other.
He and I are different people with different gifts and abilities. Our congregations differ as well. It would be so easy to feel downhearted or, even worse, jealous of what he has accomplished in just a few years. But I don’t feel that way.
If anything, it brings me great joy to see him at his calling (I’ve watched a few of his virtual services). He is exuberant and in reality, it is contagious! It is exceedingly obvious that the Lord is with him. The genuineness of his faith in Christ exudes a glorious life that one cannot help but be drawn, too. I pray the Lord continues to fill and bless his ministry for years to come!
John was first on the scene, as well. At this point in his life, Jesus was moving forward with His calling and John’s ministry was shifting. Unbeknownst to him, very soon his life would be forfeit much in part because of his obedience to his calling.
But, please note, he most definitely was not discouraged and the green tinge of envy coloring nothing of his persona whatsoever. John’s reply when Jesus’ success was brought to his attention?
“No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven. You yourselves know how plainly I told you, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.’ It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the bridegroom’s friend is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success. He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.” John 3:27-30 AMP
Lord Jesus, may we avoid feeding jealousy in our lives. May we instead focus on the calling You have given us and be filled with joy at the success You give to others. Each of us has our callings to fulfill! Amen.
Apr 20th, 2021, 7:55 pm
Light Needed
A beautiful day, oh Father, Creator of all! And to think I am so blessed as to be able to take part in it these moments – walking through Your vastly intricate handiwork! All praise to You!
John 3:19-21 (<<click here to read the passage)
I would really struggle at being the school bus driver I need to be if I attempted to do my job without a good flashlight. You may have never thought about it, but school bus drivers are at it way before the crack of dawn.
I don’t know if my schedule is typical, but I am up most mornings a little after 4:00 a.m., which is time enough to wake up, get ready, have a bite of breakfast, and then be at the bus compound by 5:30 or so. Even on the students’ last day of school this year, sunrise still won’t take place until 6:04 a.m.
So, when we go to prep our buses for the day (we call it a pre-trip) it is still dark. And we have to see all kinds of things under the hood alone. Without light, I can’t tell if the wiring is in good shape or if something has burned or broken. I can’t read the oil level on my dipstick. I can’t make sure steering fluid is at the correct level…just to name a couple of things we check every day before we take students anywhere!
Remember when we looked at John 1:4-5? And don’t forget the “Him” John is talking about, the Light he is referring to, is Jesus.
In Him was life [and the power to bestow life], and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness did not understand it or overpower it or appropriate it or absorb it [and is unreceptive to it]. AMP
If a bus were a person, it would probably not like to be examined so closely on a regular basis. When something is found, it is poked and prodded until the issue is resolved. Just this year alone a few things on my bus have needed addressed – low coolant, wear on my fan belt, and seeing a consistent small decrease in oil level led our mechanics to find out that I need an O-ring replaced.
We don’t like it when others see our faults and our issues. It’s bad enough when they’re physical issues but most of us don’t volunteer to have a light brightly shone on our spiritual lives…but that is what Jesus, as the Light, does.
Here John helps us understand why we have issues
This is the judgment [that is, the cause for indictment, the test by which people are judged, the basis for the sentence]: the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For every wrongdoer hates the Light, and does not come to the Light [but shrinks from it] for fear that his [sinful, worthless] activities will be exposed and condemned. vs19-20 AMP
Then on the flip side, when we yield to Light shining on our lives, we accomplish what He wants for His Kingdom.
But whoever practices truth [and does what is right—morally, ethically, spiritually] comes to the Light, so that his works may be plainly shown to be what they are—accomplished in God [divinely prompted, done with God’s help, in dependence on Him].” v21 AMP
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Apr 19th, 2021, Mon, 7:09 pm