GRATEFUL

The Good Shepherd

Posted on March 22, 2019 by heartcalm7

Do you feel lost sometimes? At times vulnerable and confused? That is the way Jesus saw the multitudes around him, “distressed and downcast, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36) He knows that some of the trouble we find ourselves in we have brought upon ourselves. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way.” (Isaiah 53:6) He knows our desperation. But He feels compassion for us and welcomes our dependence, as He considers Himself our rightful Good Shepherd (John 10:11). So He opens His arms to us in welcome.

His role as Shepherd-Messiah was prophesied from long past:

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“He will feed his flock like a shepherd.
He will carry the lambs in his arms,
holding them close to his heart.
He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.” Isaiah 40:11

This nurturing, protecting role is natural for Messiah, as it is what God the Father has done for eternity for those choose to follow Him:

“I have cared for you since you were born.
    Yes, I carried you before you were born.
I will be your God throughout your lifetime—
    until your hair is white with age.
I made you, and I will care for you.
    I will carry you along and save you.” Isaiah 46:3-4

Thank You, dear Lord, for Your great patience, Your loving pursuit of me, for putting me on Your shoulder to carry me back home again, and Your faithful, tender care along the way.

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.” John 10:27-30

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Evangelism

Posted on March 19, 2019 by heartcalm7

In Acts 17, Paul’s usual strategy is repeated three times – that of starting his ministry to the population of a town at the Jewish synagogue (2, 10, 17). This may have been a calculated decision to begin with the “low-hanging fruit,” those who are already God-seekers, open to an unseen world beyond their own senses and to Someone who has set the rules for life and holds them accountable. That is a reasonable strategy. Not that others should be ignored – God can move whomever He wants to seek and find Him – but it is reasonable to start with the ones God has already been working with, those whom He has made responsive to Him.

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A second strategy Paul used in evangelism was in the content of his message. As Jesus did with the men on the road to Emmaus, Paul explained the prophecies of the Messiah and how these were teaching about Jesus. He encouraged them to gladly welcome the long awaited, promised Messiah, who was Jesus, recently crucified and raised from the dead.

We should be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks us to explain our faith to them. (1 Peter 3:15) But we must also be alert for those seekers God has already prepared for us to engage, that we may finish the job that the Lord started in their hearts. This is the teamwork He has called us to.

Posted in evangelism, witness | Tagged evangelism, witnessing | 1 Comment

But I am a clumsy speaker!

Posted on March 15, 2019 by heartcalm7

In Exodus 6, Moses repeats his complaint that God has chosen the wrong man for the job of leading His people out of Egypt. He is clumsy of speech, Moses says. Neither Pharaoh nor his own people will listen to him, he thinks. In his opinion, he has no credibility. Furthermore, his people are no longer interested in leaving, but only to be relieved of their suffering as abused slaves.

The Great Commander who issued Moses’ orders had previously said, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.” (Exodus 4:11-12)

Moses’ concern is also our natural response, if we focus on our human resources, rather than the supernatural empowerment of God within us. The Lord tried to help Moses beyond this thinking by highlighting the new name by which He addresses him – Yahweh, the Lord, their personal, caring, hearing, seeing, empathetic Father. Yahweh speaks to Moses from a different posture than that of El Shaddai, God Almighty, by which He was known by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Then He reminds Moses of all that relationship entails: I will free you, rescue you, redeem you, claim you as My own, and give you the land I promised you. He speaks reassuringly to Moses, as a very personal God, who will Himself see to their perpetual care.

Other wonderful giants in Bible history have had mission-threatening fears and self-doubt, such as Jonah and Jeremiah. Isaiah is encouraging:

” But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you.
    O Israel, the one who formed you says,
“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
    I have called you by name; you are mine.
When you go through deep waters,
    I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
    you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
    you will not be burned up;
    the flames will not consume you.
For I am the Lord, your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” Isaiah 43:1-3

Help us, Lord, not to wring our hands over our human powerlessness. Help us to realize the battle is not ours to fight, but Yours. Help us to lean into You, watching expectantly for Your power to work through us to accomplish what You desire.

Posted in powerless, witness | Tagged boldness, confidence, empowerment, powerlessness, representing God, speaking, weakness | Leave a comment

Legalism

Posted on March 12, 2019 by heartcalm7

In Acts 15, the legalists came from Jerusalem with their unsolicited and unendorsed opinion that Gentile converts must be circumcised and follow the other laws of Moses to be forgiven and to have eternal life. This doctrinal challenge spurred the first church council in Jerusalem to arrive at an official opinion regarding the essentials of saving faith. Peter, after the long discussion among church leaders, summarized their conclusions succinctly that, “We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.” 11. He pointed out that God made no distinction between Gentiles and Jews in the way they received forgiveness and eternal life. “So why are you now challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers with a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear?” 9-10

Today, we also need to guard against the well-meaning tendency to load additional, non-essential burdens on new believers, extra baggage we attach to the gospel we share with seekers. Sadly, this can keep them from being able to rejoice in the free grace of God. We naturally develop personal habits that we think help us to live the life He wants for us — things that we think will help us be better children of God, more useful servants of His. But we get so earnest in keeping our new applications of practical faith, that they become a set of rules which we then press others to do. We are sure that what has helped us in our Christian walk will help them, too. We inadvertently create a new religion of rule-keeping that can take us and our disciples far from joyful gratitude for grace.

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“They had been with Jesus.”

Posted on February 28, 2019 by heartcalm7

After healing a man lame from birth in Acts 3-4, Peter and John are arrested by Jewish priests and Sadducees and challenged as to what authority guided this action and their teachings. They were forbidden to preach Jesus any longer.

Peter healing lame

Yet, these officials were amazed at their boldness and confidence, seeing the transforming power of the Holy Spirit within them. “. . . and they began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.” Does this mean that they recognized the same inexplicable power, confidence, and quiet authority in the teachings and manner of their Master? Under the threats of the religious leaders (who had just railroaded the crucifixion of Jesus), these disciples did not pray for their own safety, but for boldness in continued preaching of God’s word.

Lord, give me, too, this same boldness and confidence!

Posted in authority, boldness, witness | Tagged authority, boldness, confidence, witness | 2 Comments

Wait’ll they see this!

Posted on February 25, 2019 by heartcalm7

As I walk into the room in the Norton Art Gallery in Shreveport, LA, that is dedicated largely to the paintings of Peter Ellenshaw, I stop in my tracks, catching my breath. I stop, stunned speechless in wonder at the majesty of his painting of the Himalayas, which occupies all of one wall. Besides being arrested by the natural beauty depicted, I immediately want to know, “Who painted this?” Did he spend time there? How did he come upon this particular captivating view? What is he trying to say?

God speaks to us in the same way — through what He has created. He places us in His museum of Creation, hoping that we will pause and want to know the Creator of all of it. I can imagine Him saying, as He takes great pleasure in creating unusual and clever designs, “Wait’ll they see this!” — with a grin on His face.

“For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.” Romans 1:20

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Misusing God’s Good Gifts

Posted on February 21, 2019 by heartcalm7

In Genesis 3, Eve is tempted by the Serpent to doubt God’s word and to doubt His character (vv 1, 4-5). Likewise, we tend to think that God is a kill-joy, keeping us from enjoying things that seem attractive to us, not knowing that they can kill us and kill our relationship with Him.

When they ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, “their eyes were opened,” then realizing they were naked. This realization could have been sudden, or gradual. Why did it not previously occur to them that they were naked? Perhaps in their innocence, they just appreciated their differences and welcomed them as God’s loving plan for them. One would assume the thought never crossed their minds, before the Fall, to misuse God’s good gifts to them. As they became aware of their nakedness did the man insatiably hunger for sexual satisfaction and abuse his strength, pressuring Eve provide herself for his pleasure any time he wished? Or was Eve tempted to misuse her seductive power over Adam, manipulating him with sexual attraction to get him to do as she wished? If this were the case, they would be selfishly using God’s good gifts for their own purposes, becoming their own little gods. It would be too dangerous to the world for such selfish little gods to live forever by eating the fruit of the Tree of Life, so the reluctant Father banished them from the Garden – temporarily.

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First Responders

Posted on February 18, 2019 by heartcalm7

As God’s ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:18-20), we have the undeserved privilege, joy, and responsibility of addressing the many needs around us in this broken, dangerous world. We all live in a battlefield of sorts, in harm’s way, bullets whizzing by our heads. There are casualties all around us. Brokenness. God’s word designates us priests of God (1 Peter 2:9, Revelation 20:6), with the responsibility of interpreting His truth to the suffering and confused around us, helping them to understand God’s perspective on what is happening in this world. Some characteristics of First Responders might be:

Ready to offer needed help
Visible to those who might recognize their need and express their desire for help
Practiced at giving the expert help that is needed

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“Deliver those who are being taken away to death,
And those who are staggering to slaughter, Oh hold them back.
If you say, “See, we did not know this,”
Does He not consider it who weighs the hearts?
And does He not know it who keeps your soul?
And will He not render to man according to his work?” Proverbs 24:11-12

“Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.” 2 Timothy 4:2

“For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will. Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.” Matthew 24:44-47

“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

“Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.” Acts 4:13

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15

Posted in ambassadors of Christ, priest of God | Tagged ambassador for Christ, counsel, encouragement, priest of God, representing God | Leave a comment

New beginnings

Posted on December 29, 2018 by heartcalm7

As we begin the new year, we have the pleasure of leaving behind us previous hurts and mistakes (hopefully learning from them) and looking ahead to what sort of new life God has in store for us.

“Do not call to mind the former things,
Or ponder things of the past.
“Behold, I will do something new,
Now it will spring forth;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:18-19

God does not wish us to continue to dwell on our past mistakes, because He does not. “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” Isaiah 43:25 Rather, He is focused upon what He is doing through the New Life He has planted within us.

Jesus’ charge to the woman caught in adultery, after forgiving her, was, “Go, and sin no more.” Warmed and grateful from Jesus’ self-invitation to his house, Zacchaeus vows to turn over a new life:

“Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham.” Luke 19:8-9

“For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” Luke 7:47

Like her, let us begin this new year full of the eager anticipation, gratitude, and energy that forgiveness brings.

“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” Romans 12:1

Posted in forgiveness, gratitude | Tagged confidence, courage, forgiveness, gratitude, new life, repentance, shame | Leave a comment

“Those who sit in darkness . . .”

Posted on December 14, 2018 by heartcalm7

Our painful circumstances feel more acute this time of year, when others seem to be so happy and light-hearted. Our present and future seem dreadful. Job, who suffered (he thought) so senselessly, felt his pain more acutely, not knowing the wider picture of the contest going on in heaven over his response to his suffering. But we can learn from his attitude. “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him.” (Job 13:15) And O Lord, give us the hope of the prophet Habakkuk:

“Though the fig tree should not blossom
And there be no fruit on the vines,
Though the yield of the olive should fail
And the fields produce no food,
Though the flock should be cut off from the fold
And there be no cattle in the stalls,
Yet I will exult in the Lord,
I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.
The Lord God is my strength,
And He has made my feet like hinds’ feet,
And makes me walk on my high places.” Habakkuk 3:17-19

Job’s and Habakkuk’s hope was not based on circumstances or human reason. Rather, it was based only upon a deeper understanding of the character of Him who holds our lives in His hand. God’s character breeds confidence. Confidence like sheep have in their shepherd.

“Then I will make up to you for the years
That the swarming locust has eaten . . . .
“You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied
And praise the name of the Lord your God,
Who has dealt wondrously with you;
Then My people will never be put to shame.
“Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel,
And that I am the Lord your God,
And there is no other;
And My people will never be put to shame. Joel 2:25-27

He may make our losses up to us and make it make sense in this world. But it may not be until the next world, when we are given clearer sight and a mind that thinks like His. Meanwhile, let us show our confidence in our Shepherd by praising Him through our tears and limping along the path in which He leads us.

At this time of the year, let us cling to the Light that shines in our darkness.

“The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.” Isaiah 9:2

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