The Last Time and Nobody Knew It
I have been distracted by many things but need to sit and quiet my heart and listen to You, Father. Nothing else matters. Enable me to focus on Your words. Amen.
Acts 1:6-11(<<click here to read the passage)
There’s a meme that’s been circulating on Facebook. It’ll have different pictures associated with it but the words that accompany it are pretty much the same.
At some point in your childhood, you and your friends went outside to play together for the last time, and nobody knew it.
Being my dad was a pastor, we moved frequently, never living in one place for very long. I think the longest we ever lived anywhere was four years. Most often it was two. Thankfully, it never bothered me very much. I seemed to readily make friends. I can remember many of my childhood friends.
There was Louie in Quick, WV – I was there for 1st grade and part of 2nd. There was Darla from the church in Archdale, NC – the rest of 2nd grade through part of 5th. In Mason, OH, Richie Davis and I become good friends. (He kept two eggs in a coffee can for a very long time for whatever reason. I was always afraid they would break!) We lived there through my freshman year in high school. Then we moved to Parsons, WV where my best friend was Rob Klein. He introduced me to The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, crepes and wassail at Christmastime, and the board game RISK (which I still love playing!)
Some of those relationships may have had more formal closure but I’m sure there were many relationships over the years where we did our thing and that was the last time, and we never saw each other again.
The disciples were with Jesus and asking when He would free Israel and restore our kingdom. Only the Father knew the answer to the question and after He once more reminded them of the Holy Spirit’s coming upon them…He was taken up into a cloud before their very eyes! One minute they were talking together, the next He was gone! And while they would soon have the Holy Spirit, they never saw Jesus again as they had for the last three and a half years.
Would they have asked different questions if they had known this was the last time? Would they have hugged Him (if men hugged in that era)? May they have sat down for one last meal with Him? What might they have done differently?
We never know when our “last” day will take place? I could be much closer than we think, or I might be many years down the road. We can’t really know, so we need to make sure everything is in place as far as our relationship with Jesus is concerned. It’s something we can’t afford to put off. Our decision needs to be made and we need to live our lives taking that relationship seriously. May we never forget that today may be our last day, and we won’t even know it.
Dec 9th, 2021, Thurs, 7:09 pm
A Hodgepodge Collection
HillBilly Mall, Tuskegee, Alabama is built with recycled materials trees from the last big storm in Notasulga, used rusty tin from an old, demolished house, and leftover materials gathered from here and there.
Another beautiful soul laid to rest today. Thank You, Father, for the opportunity to pass along words of encouragement and the certainty of the hope we have in You!
Acts 1:4-5 (<<click here to read the passage)
In our area, it seems that new homes are being built just about everywhere! And usually, it doesn’t take them too awful long to go up. As I travel, I can watch the progress from the lot being excavated, to the foundation being laid, to deliveries of building trusses and lumber, until the house is completed, and the new owners move in.
I’ve yet to see a new home be built with a hodgepodge collection of this and that from wherever it could be scrounged up. (The back room of our almost 50-year-old home, was finished off that way! It used to be a carport and a previous owner put up walls using cast-off two by fours – on the outside wall not a single one is complete. When we redid the room a few years back I had to shim them all to put drywall up!)
New homes are not built that way, but what about God’s house? I’m not talking about our church buildings. I’m talking about us. Jesus told the disciples to wait for the Father’s promised Holy Spirit. And though John baptized with water, they (and we!) were to be baptized and empowered and united with Him.
The notes in my Life Application Study Bible spoke of how the Spirit unites the Christian community in Christ and pointed to Ephesians 2:19-22.
Paul, in this passage, wrote to the Church in Ephesus. It had a fairly good-sized Jewish population but was predominantly inhabited by non-Jewish peoples (Gentiles – that includes most of us too!) In God’s Kingdom, those divisions become non-existent! We are no longer strangers and foreigners. We are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. We are members of God’s family. v19
But here’s what I want to focus on today. Verses 20-22 read,
Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit. NLT [emphasis mine]
Talk about a hodgepodge collection! That’d be it! I know we struggle. We have issues. The history of the Church is replete with division. I have no idea how many denominations there are in the world, and then we have all the little independent churches scattered everywhere across the globe. We are all-out determined to separate! But not the Holy Spirit!
In Him we are u-n-i-t-e-d…UNITED! Not divided, not separated! United! From God’s perspective, we are one.
Here is Jesus’ expectation. So, let’s get at it!
“I am praying…for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.
“I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. John 17:20-23 NLT
Dec 8th, 2021, Wed, 5:20 pm
No Better Place than Here
[It’s one of those days that I feel it best to share a post from the past. So here is one from September 2015. I had only been writing for a few months at that point, but this is where I was. – Dec 7th, 2021, Tues, 7:42 pm ]
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Father, after all these weeks I am still amazed and overwhelmingly blessed that You so gently wake me for our time together. Thank You, for You love. Thank You for the great privilege of spending one-on-one time with the Creator of all that is! It’s hard to wrap my brain around the concept that You really want to spend time with me! Praise Your Holy Name!!
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Lord, Jesus, this morning I feel compelled to save the next portion of scripture for the next time we come together. I feel the need to just write this morning. As I look back over my life, Lord, You have been there every step of the way. Through every heartache and trial, through every victory and all the joy, You have been by my side. I have been obedient, and I have rebelled, but You have never given up on me. The word “grateful” doesn’t even begin to express how I feel.
As I wondrously proclaim, “Even before You made the world, You loved me and chose me in You to be holy and without fault in Your eyes.” (Ephesians 1:4 NLT) That’s like forever but I honestly cannot recall a time in my life when I didn’t know You or at least when I didn’t know of You. I was blessed to be born into a family the loved and wholeheartedly strove to serve You. And it went beyond Mom and Dad, four of my grandparents and every one of my aunts and uncles were of the same heart and mind. What a heritage! What a foundation on which to build my life! All the building blocks under me were solidly, securely placed on You! (Ephesians 2:11-22)
Now clearly, I did not pop out of the womb perfect and without fault (Lord, You know that is true!) but Your hand has guided me. You have aligned my heart with Yours. Over the course of my life, I have wandered, I have blatantly sinned, I have hurt You and dirtied Your name in the process, but I could never go beyond Your reach. The pull of Your love has always brought me back.
After 50+ years of living, some may look at who I am and what I’ve accomplished, and they may shake their heads and think that I really haven’t done a whole lot with my life. I don’t have a huge bank account, I live in a nice but modest home, I have not ascended the ladder of success (by human standards) in the business world or in any denomination I have served. But Lord… I am where You have placed me. I faithfully serve as Your child in my home, at my job, and in the two churches with which You have blessed me.
No, I am definitely not perfect. I stumble. I fall. But I am not defeated. Lord, You patiently work with me each and every day. You encourage me. You direct me. You help me. You encourage me. I am blessed beyond measure!
I am full of joy! I am content – but not to the point of complacency. I would follow You anywhere You would lead me, but for now, I am where You want me to be – in the center of Your will. Help me to listen. Help me to continue to expand my horizons in You – to draw closer to You, to more and more be able to hear Your direction, and to have the courage and wisdom to do and be all that you desire for me to do and be. There is no better place than here!
Sept 20th, 2015, Sun, 6:41 am
EMPOWERED!
A long but good day, Father. Thank You for your blessing upon the service this afternoon. I would pray that the words shared will stick in the hearts and minds of those there. Amen.
Acts 1:4-5 (<<click here to read the passage)
On our way home tonight Karen and I noticed numerous homes decked out with lights for Christmas. Some were simple, some obviously took a lot of time and effort. Each to his own. As a collective, they are all beautiful in their own right. Just seeing lit Christmas trees through windows of homes was a beautiful sight all its own!
Each home we passed has the capability of shining lights as they choose. Some go to great lengths. Some are satisfied with modest displays. And many others have no interest whatsoever in doing anything at all!
In verse 5 Jesus foretells the coming of the Holy Spirit stating that we will be empowered with Him. Each life has the capability of spiritually shining forth. We all are created in the image of our Creator. We were made with the ability to shine but just like the many homes around us, they have to have a solid power source. They can set out as many lights as they want, but without access to power, all of their efforts will be in vain.
The Holy Spirit is our power source when it comes to our spiritually shining forth! He gives us everything we need to do so. But the problem lies in the fact that still, we can choose to not do a thing to show the world around us that we are empowered. Some may feel that they don’t have much to offer but will still put out a modest display of a life lived humbly under the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Others put a great amount of time and effort into living their lives to the fullest under the Holy Spirit’s tutelage. They eagerly pursue His every leading!
But others are just satisfied with the fact that their sins are forgiven, and they are headed to a heavenly reward. They have no desire to put forth any effort for the Kingdom and basically just enjoy the work of others, soaking it all in.
Many people that warm their seats every week in a local place of worship feel that way. Feed me. Entertain me. Make me feel good, just because I showed up. They have a “glad you got to see me” mentality. But, oh, they could all be so much more. Yes, it’s tough to switch out some of our priorities but which is better to invest in something that will pass with time, something that will blow away or burn to a cinder or wash downstream when the floodwaters of life come? Wouldn’t it be so much better to put forth the effort with the empowerment we have to strive for eternal impact and not just the temporal, short-lived stuff we put so much energy and resources into?
Lord Jesus, may we embrace the fact that we are empowered with the might and unlimited possibilities of the Holy Spirit! Light a fire under us so that we will be compelled to do all we can to further Your Kingdom to impact those around us with Your best interests in mind!
Dec 6th, 2021, Mon, 8:36 pm
Join the Club!
Thank You, Father, first of all for good times of worship today. May Your word bring forth much fruit. Also, I am grateful for Your enabling me to accomplish a few things this afternoon and for Your inspiration in preparing for a special service tomorrow.
Acts 1:4-5 (<<click here to read the passage)
I know of a young man that when he was a child to say that he was very detail-oriented, would be a great understatement. For example, at one point he put together an Excel spreadsheet that included all of the t-shirts he wore. It was to make sure that he wore them all and didn’t repeat any before he had done so.
One thing he really wanted to do was to start a boys-only club, but his parents never let him move forward with it because they knew from initial conversations that it was going to be a very detailed organization. “At 7:00 we will be. At 7:03 we will do this. At 7:05 we will do that”. Yes, it would have been a very organized organization!
Orderly associations for the most part function quite efficiently. There are rules to be adhered to and often many things from which to abstain. That’s the way they work.
When we choose to follow Jesus, we join a well-organized body of believers, as the Bible says. When we accept Christ as our Savior, we receive the Holy Spirit. That’s what being a part of this “body” means and moving forward we are under His guidance and direction.
Before Jesus returned to the Father
“…he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Of which,” He said, “you have heard Me speak. For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized and empowered and united with the Holy Spirit, not long from now.”
There are a few things that we need to make sure we understand as Jesus’ followers.
We cannot be Christians without his Spirit…
But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) Romans 8:9 NLT
…we cannot be joined to Christ without his Spirit…
But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him. 1 Corinthians 6:17 NLT
…we cannot be adopted as his children without his Spirit…
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.
So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. Romans 8:14-17 NLT
…we cannot be in the body of Christ except by baptism in the Spirit.
Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:13 NLT
The Holy Spirit is our companion and friend. We can overcome the obstacles in our spiritual journey through life because He is with us to guide and direct us. May we pray that we will be attentive and once we hear that we will not hesitate to obey.
*Life Application Study Bible
Dec 5th, 2021, Sun, 6:41 pm