Bible Ballistics: “BBs”     Confidence ????    #39

When the storms of life come at us, where do we run for help?  Jesus said in Matthew 7 that when, not if, the storms come we must have our house built on the rock.  Of course, that rock is Jesus.  But we must not only have our foundation in Jesus, we must maintain our own personal stability through HIS word.  His word which keeps my heart and mind fixed on Jesus and His ways.

Psalm  119:9, ‘Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.”

Let’s look at what else Psalm 119 tells us about the word, and it’s sufficiency to build our confidence in that ROCK. That which will help us to walk right with God.  Let’s observe just a few of the verses from this great Psalm. (It will be worth your time to read the entire Psalm through at one sitting and note each paragraph’s focus).

Psalm 119:113-115, “I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love. 114 Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word. 115 Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the commandments of my God.”

Psalm 119:81, “My soul fainteth for thy salvation: but I hope in thy word.”

Psalm 119:146-148, “I cried unto thee; save me, and I shall keep thy testimonies. 147 I prevented the dawning of the morning, and cried: I hoped in thy word. 148 Mine eyes prevent the night watches, that I might meditate in thy word.”

So?? Get into the WORD!!!

Take heed to it—

love it—

hope in it—

keep it—

meditate on it—that means:

Read it—daily

study it—continually and deeply

understand it—by the insight of the Holy Spirit

obey it—in every thing !!!!

Then you can confidently Stand on your foundation—

Jesus and

HIS WORD!!

Bible Ballistics:Who’s Servant? March 2, 2014 Vol.3 No.16

Our title may seem a little strange, but then this article is a little strange for me to write.  Sometimes we are brought face to face with our own weakness, prejudices, convictions or understandings.  When those times come, what are we to do?  That’s the question I’d like us to consider today.  In a little different format, I’d like us simply to peruse two portions of Paul’s letter to the Romans, with very little commentary. I’ll format the verses in a way that will help us simply walk through them and consider what God is saying– to me and to you through this powerful text.

Romans chapters 12-15 give some practical help in dealing with government, other believers and our gifts and convictions.  I pray that this will speak to each of us, and that we will be able to walk right before God and others in all that we do.  That we will respond to others with grace and love, without compromising our beliefs and convictions from the Word of God.

Romans 13:7-14,

“Render therefore to all their dues:

tribute to whom tribute is due;

custom to whom custom;

fear to whom fear;

honour to whom honour.

 8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another:

for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

9 For this,

Thou shalt not commit adultery,                  

Thou shalt not kill,

Thou shalt not steal,

Thou shalt not bear false witness,

Thou shalt not covet;

and if there be any other commandment,

 it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely,

Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour:

therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep:

for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.

12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand:

let us therefore cast off the works of darkness,

and let us put on the armour of light.

13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day;

not in rioting and drunkenness,

not in chambering and wantonness,

not in strife and envying.

14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ,

and make not provision for the flesh,

to fulfil the lusts thereof.”

Paul continues right on into chapter 14 to show us how to relate to other believers with whom we may not always agree on things other than the ‘fundamentals’ of salvation.

Romans 14:1-14, 16 & 19

“Him that is weak in the faith receive ye,

but not to doubtful disputations.

2 For one believeth that he may eat all things:

another, who is weak, eateth herbs.

 3 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not;

and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth:

for God hath received him.

4 Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant?

to his own master he standeth or falleth.

Yea, he shall be holden up:

for God is able to make him stand.

5 One man esteemeth one day above another:

 another esteemeth every day alike.

Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.

6 He that regardeth the day,

regardeth it unto the Lord;

and he that regardeth not the day,

to the Lord he doth not regard it.

He that eateth, eateth to the Lord,

for he giveth God thanks;

and he that eateth not,

to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.

7 For none of us liveth to himself,

and no man dieth to himself.

8 For whether we live,

we live unto the Lord;

and whether we die,

we die unto the Lord:

whether we live therefore, or die,

we are the Lord’s.

9 For to this end Christ both died,

and rose,

 and revived,

 that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.

10 But why dost thou judge thy brother?

or why dost thou set at nought thy brother?

for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

11 For it is written,

As I live, saith the Lord,

every knee shall bow to me,

and every tongue shall confess to God.

12 So then every one of us shall give account

 of himself to God.

13 Let us not therefore judge one another any more:

but judge this rather,

that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.

14 I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus,

that there is nothing unclean of itself:

but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean………

16 Let not then your good be evil spoken of:……

19 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace,

and things wherewith one may edify another.”

May God open our eyes, ears and hearts to know HIM and HIS will and way.  To follow HIM whose servant I am, and leave HIS other servants to HIS care on the secondary issues.

Bible Ballistics: “BBs”    HOPE??? Pt. 2  #38

I just couldn’t share all that I had in the Wednesday post so I wanted to continue our look at ‘hope’.  We all know that difficult days are surrounding us and will get even worse.  What is our hope?  Our hope is in the sovereign God in whom we trust and His son Jesus Christ.

What is the basis of our confidence? Romans 5:1-5,

“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. 6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.”

First and foremost we must give our life to Jesus—You must Repent and trust HIS death for you, that His death is  sufficient to pay for all sin.  The result, as Paul says above, we are ‘justified’ by that very faith in Jesus—given a right standing with God.

2 Corinthians 5:21, ‘For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” 

We now have ‘peace’ with God—the forgiveness of sins.

Colossians 1:14, “ In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:” 

And because of that, we live in His grace and the hope of glory–.  Because of Him, we can glory in the trials because:

tribulation worketh patience—

patience worketh experience—

experience confirms our HOPE—

HOPE confirmed,

reinforces our confidence in HIM.

All this by the precious Holy Spirit who is given to each one who puts their trust in Jesus–because

“Christ died for the ungodly”!!!

And because HE died for me—I can say with Paul —

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. 8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;” 2 Corinthians 4:7-9.

So?? Make sure your hope is in the right place!!!  Your faith, your hope is only as good as the object in which it is placed.  Jesus delivers—place your trust in HIM, today!!!!

 

Bible Ballistics: “BBs”    HOPE???  #37

Spring keeps pushing her way in and I am so glad that God has designed the seasons to enjoy.  The seasons of the year and the differences of each, bring to mind the seasons that we encounter in life.  It brought to mind Lamentations 3:22-24,

“ It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. 24 The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.”

Jeremiah proclaimed this hope at the end of a 40-year ministry of calling his people to repentance.  As a whole they did NOT listen, and the kingdom of Judah fell captive to the Babylonians.  His message was not popular, nor was he, but he cared enough to preach it anyway.  God had called him to this task and he was faithful to it.  Yet, in the end HIS hope was still in HIS GOD!!!

How about us? What task has God called me/you to?  What season are you in right now?

Prosperous—‘trust in the Lord and do good’.

In financial straights—‘Commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in HIM’.

Being mistreated—‘fret not thyself because of evil doers’.

Full of sorrow or pain—‘delight thyself also in the Lord’.

Just plain tired of all the battles—‘rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for HIM’. 

Angry about ___—‘Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.’ 

Pious platitudes? No, it’s the comfort and direction of God’s Word (see Psalm 37).

I’m sure Jeremiah felt all of those things at various times during his ministry, yet after seeing his people, his nation and his precious Jerusalem destroyed he penned these wonderful, encouraging and precious words of HOPE!!!

So?  Remember –

His mercies are new every morning—

His compasssion fails NOT—

Great is our God’s faithfulness—

REAL HOPE IS ALWAYS IN HIM!!

So?  Look up—

Look to the Lord not at the lions—

our redemption draweth nigh.

 

Bible Ballistics:Cross or Manger? February 23, 2014 Vol.3 No.15

I know this is our usual Q&A week, but after the events of the last couple of weeks, I decided to postpone till next month. I’d’ like to consider what Jesus said in Luke 9:22-25,

“Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day. 23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. 25 For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?”

Jesus was preparing his disciples for His impending death on the cross, that He would

 ‘suffer….

be rejected….

be slain… ..

and raised the third day…’

All for YOU and ME!! Although they didn’t fully understand what was coming, Jesus called them to carry their own “cross”.  Why?  He makes it clear that for those who would “come after” Him, the cost would be self-denial.  We are to take up the “cross” daily, and follow Jesus.  To  ‘…loose his life for my sake’  to  ‘…. save it….’.   Saved for eternity—living for Jesus by dying to myself.  To give up little to gain all.

What does Jesus mean when He says ‘take up his cross’?  Does He mean our conflicts, difficulties, and general challenges of living? Or is He referring to something else?  Is He talking about our kids, our rheumatics, our jobs and such or something more?  To answer this we must consider what the ‘cross’ is.  In much of our American culture we have minimalized the cross and made it an ornament rather than the symbol of our salvation.  We decorate with crosses, we wear them around our necks, in our ears, on our dashboards and bumpers.  But what is the cross?  It was an instrument of death, an instrument of cruel torture used by the Romans as a method of execution.  For our Savior, the cost of our salvation.  HIS death was of eternal import, the price for our salvation.  What is He calling us to do?  To take up our cross, is to do as Paul explains in Galatians 2:20,

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” 

I am to identify with Jesus, and take up my cross –to die to myself.  Yet Paul says, my death is to be unto Christ, as HE will live “in me”, in the person of the Holy Spirit.  As we see in Colossians 1:27,

“To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:”  Jesus dwelling in us, ‘the hope of glory….”

That I can come to learn that the Spirit of Christ is living and working in me, Romans 8:28-31,

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. 31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” 

To know that God is working in my heart and life, to make me more and more like Jesus; that when God saves me, He has a plan to bring me to ‘glory’.  To have confidence in the one who “called”, “justified”, and will “glorify” me,  through His own Son’s sacrifice for my Sin.  A confidence that reminds me,

“If God be for us, who can be against us?”

The cross bought our salvation and calls us to ‘give ourselves’ to Him, for His glory, our present good, and eternal glory with HIM in heaven one day.

And the ‘manger’?  Jesus was born and placed in a manger and we love that story.  We know that the eternal God of the universe left the throne of His father to come and live in a body of flesh, to show us the Father, and to DIE for our sins.

Matthew 1:21, “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.” 

And Luke 2:7, “And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.” 

Mary gave birth to the Savior of the world and laid Him in a ‘manger’.  A trough for feeding became the cradle for the King of Glory.  Yet Jesus didn’t call us to take up our ‘manger’– to sleep, to rest—He called us to take up our ‘Cross’!!!  To die to ourselves and ‘LIVE’ for HIM—to live for His glory, 1 Cor. 10:31,

“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” 

Why?  Because I love Him and am grateful for what He did for me. But also because He has called me to ‘follow HIM’!!  He went to death for me—I am to die to ‘myself’ for HIM.   To be a testimony of what Jesus can do through someone devoted to HIM–

So what are you doing?  Are you resting in your ‘manger’ or taking up your ‘cross’?  Although we are to ‘rest in the Lord’ by faith, we are also to die to ourselves and ‘take up our cross’ and follow HIM to the cross.  To follow Him to death, if necessary, but to follow HIM.  To know that it’s ‘not I but Christ’—to focus on HIM not me.  Where is your focus?  Resting in the manger, or carrying your ‘cross’?

How?

Phil. 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me..”   

It’s all about HIM—not about me.  Living in His strength alone!  Am I denying myself—or denying Jesus?  Food for thought as we walk through this week. Carrying our cross?  May others see Jesus in me.