"The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. God, You will not despise a broken and humbled heart."One day as my wife and I approached a local on ramp to the I-10 in Pomona, California, we were almost blind-sided by another driver. The on ramp was a double-lane on ramp.Psalms 51:17 [HCSB]
We had been stopped at a light across the street from the access ramp and approached it with other traffic from both traffic lanes. For some reason the car to our left and in front pulled into our lane … evidently believing the lane to be empty.
We assume he didn’t realize our lane could enter the freeway along with his. We also assume, he couldn’t see us due to a blind spot. At any rate, he almost sideswiped us.
Blind spots are areas of reality not directly observable for one reason or another.
Philosophical and theological blind spots are inconsistencies in the thought process and are not partial to the host. We have them in every walk and activity of life; many can only be revealed by God … but all are hazardous to out health.
In fact, the highways of life are littered with wrecks caused by both kinds (e.g., cults, false religions, despotism, fascism, TM, psycho-babble, political correctness, activist justices, the United Nations, peace in Jerusalem, the Inquisition, etc.).
The most certain antidote for blind spots available to man is humility and circumspection.
Showing posts with label Humility. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Humility. Show all posts
Friday, January 25, 2008
HUMILITY: Reality is not always observable!
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
HUMILITY: A Very Present Help!
“that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need."Missouri has one of the greatest tourist attractions in America. It’s called Pro Bass Shop, which is located in Springfield. This place is a sportsman’s paradise.Hebrews 4:16
Any sportsman who goes there will think he has died and gone to heaven. The store must cover a hundred acres: it has live fish ponds, indoors; a full-service McDonald’s, indoors; an indoor firing range for your new deer rifle; small cabin cruisers, also indoors; and every fishing lure known to modern man.
On one of our two trips to this sportsmen’s smorgasbord, we sat by a live fish pond; one with decorative stumps and rocks for turtle sunbathing. Only they were indoors, so I guess they were “fluorescenting” themselves.
At any rate, we were all chuckling at this one turtle perched on top of a wooden pole. Now the turtle’s little legs hung over the edge of the pole and it was at least 18 inches out of the water.
Every time I think of that little critter I’m reminded of a turtle on a lamp-post in Alex Haley’s office. Haley, author of Roots, said it was there to remind him it needed help to get there, he didn’t do it on his own. So too, the turtle at the Pro Bass Shop.
We must all remember that we didn't get where we are by ourselves … we don’t live or exist in a vacuum. Priscilla and Aquila needed Paul’s help; Paul needed Barnabas and Silas; and so on! We all need God’s help.
NEIGHBORS: Silent discrimination!
"Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands?"Listening to BreakPoint a couple of years ago, I heard Chuck Colson tell a story concerning the membership of a Florida church. Colson had been in the church when the pastor asked, “Do you remember the day the Brown family joined the church?” Many “amens” were heard among the people. The pastor continued, “Wasn’t that a great day for our church? (More amens.) He continued. “What with their financial support, their participation, and their children, it was a good day!”Luke 10:36
Then he asked, “Do you remember the other person that joined our church that day?” No one could; they blankly looked at each another. “His name was (insert name)! He joined the same morning as the Browns. We all got busy and put the Browns to work. I visited them! They’ve even become close friends. But we lost track of young (insert name)!”
The pastor then held up a newspaper with a picture of someone on the front page. “This is what has happened to young (insert name); he was arrested for murder last Wednesday.”
The story of King David’s treatment of Mephibosheth is classic and useful for understanding the treatment of others. David set aside all that would differentiate himself from Saul’s only heir. It is imperative we notice Mephiboseth’s demeanor.
To those who humble themselves before Him, to those who acknowledge their Master’s sovereignty, and commit themselves to His rule, He returns their forfeited inheritance, restores their pedigree, and provides that they should dine at His table with Him, not as one to be pitied, but rather as a member of the King’s family!
Who are we then to decide that these are somehow unworthy of our time and attention?
WOMAN: Sex of the battlers!
"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless."The English professor wrote on the chalkboard: punctuate this word string: “woman-without-her-man-is-nothing”!Ephesians 5:25-27
Male students wrote: “Woman, without her man, is nothing.”
Female students wrote: “Woman! Without her, man is nothing.”
[Adapted from Coolsigs]
Saturday, March 05, 2005
SANCTIFICATION - Our hand in His hand!
AIMING FOR THE CENTER OF HIS WILL! [Matthew 7:13,14; other topics - Walk, Way (The), Will (of God)]
In order to keep my car in the middle of the lane, I was taught (by a farmer) to “aim” the vehicle down the road.The Christian walk is like that: God doesn’t want us veering to the right or the left; He wants us on the straight and narrow. Paul says we should focus on things above and in so doing we’ll keep right in the middle of His Way. For me the narrow gate figuratively represents “things above.”
Praise His holy name. (added 2/15/2006)
AIR SPEED! [James 4:4-10]
All winged aircraft have one thing in common, they must maintain air speed or they will go into a stall and nose-over. From time to time, our walk seems to nose-over, our forward progress being insufficient to sustain the "lift" needed. We must
1. be prepared for His presence
2. respond to his presence, and
3. experience His presence!
HEAVEN ON EARTH! [Various; Life (True), Heaven]Heaven may be compared to the dining hall of a great king. Where, for now, we’re all outside his castle waiting to be let into the Great Hall. Everyone has received an invitation to come to the royal table and join in consuming his royal feast, only not all will accept his invitation. [Mark D. Roberts, After I Believe (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002), 19]
The interesting aspect is the Christian life this side of eternity future; its like the “Heavenly Cook [letting] us stick our fingers into the batter of heaven while it’s being prepared. The Christian Life happens not just in the future but right now.” (added 2/15/2006)
HUMAN BOOKCASES! [James 1:22-25; other topics - Knowledge; Word; Works]
When I was in elementary school I recall the big deal my mom and dad made over money, how tight it was. But then they bought a set of Collier’s Encyclopedias on an installment plan because they thought my sisters and I could use the knowledge.
The buyer received a complete set of books at the time of purchase, with updates coming every year. You also received a small doubled-shelved, wooden bookcase. It was designed specifically for the books.
I was about 22-years old when those books went for $10.00 at a yard sale. I don’t ever remember opening any of them; I don’t ever remember my sisters opening any of those books.
In fact, I don’t ever remember my mom or dad opening any of those books ... except the first couple of nights, to show us how they were full of facts and knowledge and other useless stuff.
Sadly, many Christians are like that little bookcase. They’re crammed full of information, facts and knowledge ... but it never gets applied.
Christianity is intended to be applied. Like those books filled with all that powerful knowledge, Christians whose heads are full of knowledge are useless, unless some of that learning seeps down into the heart, where knowledge gets applied.MASTER BUILDER! [Romans 6:19]
A master shipbuilder steps out into his yard and looks around him. There are vast skeletons of ships in the process of completion; there are others nearing completion. But there is nothing in the scene to satisfy, nothing is as he envisions. The big hulls are at present good for nothing. A thousand hammers pounding a thousand rivets into place like a thousand woodpeckers from hell. The yard is strewn with scrap and jigs.
And a short distance is the public harbor, with its fancy and not so fancy boats, of every size and shape; and near it is the grave yard ... decaying, rotting, half-sunk craft ... abandoned and doomed to one day be taken away to a fiery pit.
Yet the owner stands content amid the imperfection. He never thinks of doubting the process he commands. In his mind he knows the ideal, the perfect ship, and he justifies these imperfect vessels by imputing to them that ideal.
God is like that master shipbuilder. The ideal servant exists in His mind. He has the Blueprint; man is jut the image of what is to be. When God looks at him He does not despair, because He knows what the Perfect Man is like and smiles at the thought of His Son.
Attribution: e-Sword Ministries' (2000+ Illustrations)
PARADOX OF CHRISTIAN GROWTH! [John 3:30; Discipleship, growth, humility]Someone once said they knew when a believer was growing because:
SPIRITUAL NAVIGATION SYSTEMS! [Romans 1:18-20; other topics - Attributes (of God), creation, discipleship, nature, revelation, witnessing]
“Get ready! You’re going to have fewer excuses for getting lost on the road.” This sure sounds like it might be from a tract on the Roman Road, doesn’t it?
No, it isn’t! Actually it’s ad copy from an Internet advertisement for “on-board navigation systems” from the automobile industry. These “NAVS,” as they are called, use GPS (Global Positioning Satellite technology) to locate a position precisely; the same technology used recently by scientists to determine the exact height of the Washington Monument.
As model years pass, more new cars are being offered with onboard navigation systems, which help you map your route to important meetings, or to that favorite vacation spot near grandma’s, or to a restaurant whose address you’ve forgotten. NAVS can even help direct you to a local automated teller machine (ATM) or nearest hospital or your next job interview.
Now there’s no real excuse for getting lost, even if you’re one of those guys who refuses to ask for directions.
God has been far ahead of modern technology. In Romans 1:19 Paul says,For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.God’s plan has always been to provide man with a spiritual navigation system. In fact, Paul clearly says just that. God has given mankind all they need to know to know where they are in relationship to Him: general and special revelation - not to mention the conscience, which the Holy Spirit uses to convict us and guide us.
THE LORD’S LEASH! [Luke 15:17a; Discipleship, discipline, obedience, submission (surrender)]
Recently, I took my dog for a walk just as I do every morning. When I leave the entrance of our housing development, I always look both ways to see who else is out walking their dog. A few are pests: both owners and dogs.
Up the block, I saw the man with the golf cart and his little grey poodle; both are regulars. I noticed his dog was off the leash again, so I crossed the street and walked the other way. When I reached Foothill Boulevard, two blocks away, I crossed to the other side and headed home.
That’s when I heard an anxious voice calling a dog. I looked up and saw this vicious, bloodthirsty, 9½ lb. grey speck burning rubber in my direction, a block away, his owner in hot pursuit. I tried to scare the little speck away but he made an end-run, stood up, danced over, put his paws on my dog’s face, and bit him on the forehead. Well, my dog, Buck, doesn’t like to be bit, but he likes boy dogs even less.
I was able to pull the little dog from Buck’s mouth before he swallowed but not before the little fur ball twisted and tore the back of my hand up. As bad as my hand was, what the poodle got for his efforts was much worse.
The moral: don’t covet being off the Lord’s leash or even at the end of his leash (Parents, pay special attention: don’t let your kids off their leash until you’re certain they have the spirit God wants for them.).
Moving farther away from your Master than your Master gives you leash is not wise at all: not only might you get hurt, or killed, but you’ll certainly bring pain and suffering to others. This latter point is worthy of emphasis.
Too often, we are lulled into seeing the Leash of the Lord as “for our benefit alone,” we rarely give thought to the benefits others reap from our being tethered. Consider that my dog was on a leash and we were both minding our own business, yet we were both bitten and I’m out over $100.
Also, consider the consequences to the owner of that little beast; he’s out over $600. And my dog? He’s real upset that I interrupted his meal. And Shadow (that’s the perpetrator’s name)? Well, he is just now able to face the great outdoors.
Look back, beloved, at all the time off the Lord’s Leash and witness the devastation of that time.
THE JOY OF THE JOURNEY! [Romans 6:19-22]
George, let’s call him George, was a very busy and very successful younger man. In fact, he had done so well that he decided to surprise his wife with a trip to Tahiti over the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend. On his lunch hour, he hurried to his agent’s office and picked up the tickets.
In early December George stopped at the dry cleaners on his way home to pick up his suits and was surprised when the manager handed him an envelop with two unused tickets to Tahiti. After he had purchased the tickets he had put them in his jacket pocket and immediately went back to his normal routine … he forgot the entire event.
Many people are just like George. They pray to God for forgiveness and promise to do better but immediately, they forget what they’ve done and return to their normal routine. Even some genuine believers accept a ticket to eternity, put it away, and never seem to experience the marvelous journey laid out before them.
The salvation event ought to be like the ideal marriage event, where two distinct and independent individuals agree to unite and journey through life together. Instead, far too many salvation experiences are like far too many marriages: the uniting occurs but the couple never experiences the journey’s joy, and often end in separation.
It is true that all we must do is “call upon the name of the Lord” [Romans 10:13], but God never intended the journey to end there, just as a marriage is not supposed to stop on the trip home from the honeymoon.
VOLCANO STEW!
On the isle of São Miguel, in the Azores, a powerful and popular dish, cozido, is prepared in an interesting way: mix beef, chicken, pork, sausages, and vegetables together in an aluminum-cooking utensil, place this in a cloth bag, bury it all in the ground near Lake Furnas, and let it steam naturally for approximately six hours.
The volcano Furnas created Lake Furnas when it erupted thousands of years ago; soil surrounding the lake can reach a temperature of 208 degrees Fahrenheit, providing villagers with an unique natural oven. [Adapted from National Geographic; cited in Reader’s Digest, “Notes From All Over, p.204, nd.]
God could have chosen another way to deal with rebirth, perhaps taking us up to glory immediately. For reasons He and He alone knows He decided to leave us where we were to prepare us according to His receipe and His time. Perfect in the end!TAGS: Bible, Christianity, Illustrations, Sanctification, Sermons, Religion
Friday, March 04, 2005
EASTER - The day to end all days!
BEHOLD, THE LAMB OF GOD! [John 1:29, 36; Other topics - Humility, Jesus, Lamb of God, Salvation]
A few years ago our church decided to change the traditional Easter decorations in the sanctuary.
My wife, Rita, volunteered to find a ceramic lamb for the altar decoration. She searched and searched every craft and church supply store in the area; she spent days looking; she found standing lambs, knelling lambs, and grazing lambs but not one like we wanted. Ours would be a lying down lamb, a cute and “innocent” little, reposing lamb.
Being a Shepherd, I decided I might add just the right spiritual element as she headed to the last store. We examined every self in the place; hoping perhaps one might be hidden behind something. Frustrated, we both headed for the exit, dejected, heads down … then we saw it, on the floor, in a corner, under a shelf, unattended, dirty, ignored, alone. It was perfect! And it was on sale!
The world has also been searching for a lamb to save them from their sins. They’ve been looking for 6,000 years.
They too are looking in all the wrong places, heads up, proud, money no object. They’ve found all kinds of saviors: standing ones, knelling ones, grazing ones and many others as well. But not one turned out to be the “perfect” one!
We have to give them credit, they have looked everywhere imaginable. But, it is only when they seem to have lost all hope, when their heads are down, humbled, and through with doing it themselves that they find Him … Jesus, the Lamb of God!
Jesus was likewise rejected and ignored, the world trying to shove Him out of the way, into a corner or under a shelf.
How much does the Lamb of God cost? The tag says, “Priceless.” He has paid it Himself. This Lamb gave His life for those who rejected Him.
BLESSINGS TOO NUMEROUS! [Psalm 107:31; other topics - Blessings, Conviction, Self-examination]Pastor Jack Hinton from New Bern, NC was leading worship music at a leper colony in Tobago; time allowed for one more congregational selection. A woman in the congregation, who’d been turned away, turned to face Hinton, revealing a most “hideous” face. The lady’s nose and ears were gone; most of her lips had worn away as well. She lifted a hand, more stub than hand, and asked, “Can we sing ‘Count Your Blessings’”?
Overcome by the situation Hinton fled the room, followed by another team member. The man tried to comfort the distraught song leader, “I guess you’ll never be able to sing that song again”? “Oh, yes I will,” he responded, “but never the same way.”
Warren Wiersbie is credited for saying, “Life is a school in which God trains us for eternity. Trials are ... God’s textbooks in this school of Christian experience.” It often takes the deficiency of another to reveal our own; but in the revelation, we can find fruit for nourishment.Pastor’s Update; FMB of the Southern Baptist Convention; Richmond, VA, May 1996, p.4; Sermon-Illustrations-Each-Week, 991004-6]
MORE THAN AN IMAGE IS NEEDED! [1 Peter 1:14-19; Atonement, Lamb of God, Blood (the)]
Evidently Peruvian authorities have begun dressing up walls along their nation’s filthiest streets with pictures of Jesus Christ; the purpose seems to be to shame those illegally dumping trash along the streets.Apparently, just the image of our Lord is believed to have such importance among the general Peruvian population.Oh that the mere image of the Lord would clean up the streets of our minds and hearts. But it takes the precious blood of the Lamb to cleanse the heart and mind of a sinner.
Oh that it had not been necessary for the Son of God to give His life an atonement for man’s sins … but it was.The Father tried everything; but we rejected His miracles, rejected His word, killed His prophets, and turned our backs on Him … it was oh so necessary to send His Son.You see, an image could never pay the ransom … the Jews tried that in the temple for centuries … only the priceless and spotless Lamb of God in person was worthy [Revelation 5:12].
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