Praise the Lord for the way He loves us. It is written in Romans: "But God shows His love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us." It is written again in 1 John 4: “We love, because He first loved us"
A pastor tells of a wife who came into his office full of hatred toward her husband. "I do not only want to get rid of him; I want to get even. Before I divorce him, I want to hurt him as much as he has me," the woman fumed. Crane suggested an ingenious plan. "Go home and act as if you really loved your husband. Tell him how much he means to you. Praise him for every decent trait. Go out of your way to be as kind, considerate, and generous as possible. Spare no efforts to please him, to enjoy him. Make him believe you love him. After you’ve convinced him of your undying love and that you cannot live without him, then drop the bomb. Tell him that you’re getting a divorce. That will really hurt him." With revenge in her eyes, she smiled and exclaimed, "Beautiful, beautiful. Will he ever be surprised!" And she did it with enthusiasm—acting as if. For two months she showed love, kindness, listening, giving, reinforcing, forgiveness, patience, sharing. When she didn’t return, Crane called. "Are you ready now to go through with the divorce?" "Divorce?!" she exclaimed. "Never! I discovered I really do love him."The Catholic Saint Francis de Sales said, “You learn to speak by speaking, to study by studying, to run by running, to work by working; and just so, you learn to love God and man by loving.”The Apostle Paul penned his Corinthian letter to a church in complete disarray and on the verge of imploding upon itself. The church was rife with public immorality, doctrinal confusion, divisions, party politics, petty bickering, believers suing other believers in secular courts, syncretism, divorce, and abuses of spiritual gifts and the sacraments. And the root causes all of those ills Paul subscribes to one deficiency: The Corinthians were not manifesting and exercising sacrificial love to each other in their common life. Following this diagnosis the Apostle then proceeds to prescribe the cure for the Corinthian troubles: Manifest and exercise sacrificial love to each other in your common life.The remedy is found in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, the familiar, much beloved, and popularly named “love chapter.” Yet I submit to you that our familiarity with 1 Corinthians 13 has not resulted in our incorporating its truths into our hearts and manifesting its principles in our lives—just the opposite. Perhaps our over-familiarity has desensitized us, and numbed us, to the scandal of the priority and power of sacrificial love in action. And it’s time for us to wake up. Paul begins his appeal to the addled Corinthians and us in the first 3 verses of chapter 13 by a declaration of the priority and primacy of sacrificial love for the every born again believer. His point is a simple one: Love is the premier virtue of the Christian life. It towers above all others in importance, and it must be the ground, the foundation, the first principle, of everything we as believers do and are. And notice how Paul uses hyperbole—exaggeration—to make his point so that we won’t miss it.The Apostle states rather matter-of-factly: “No matter how spiritual other Christians perceive me to be, or how much I accomplish for the kingdom, if it is not motivated by and accompanied with love, I am nothing and I accomplish absolutely nothing. If I exhibit supernatural, ecstatic utterances without love—worthless. If I memorize the Bible cover to cover, and know everything there is to know about God, and have supernatural faith, without love it is all meaningless. If I give everything I have for the poor, and even my own dearest possession, my life, as a martyr, and if either is loveless, it is also in God’s reckoning useless.”Paul’s point? Sacrificial love is the premier virtue of the Christian faith; and with that point implicitly comes this imperative: Do what you have to do to begin manifesting this love in your life. Genuine love does not envy. It does not parade itself—boast about what it is doing to receive recognition and acclaim. Love is not rude—that is, it is concerned with the feelings of others and doesn’t manifest itself in fits of meanness. It is not self-serving; it motivates us to forego our needs and concentrates rather on the needs of others. Love is not easily provoked; in trying situations it causes us to stop and seek a response that better serves our brother or sister than our own need to be right. It is difficult to incite a row with love. Love keeps no accounts of wrongs done to it. Husbands and wives, do you know when we play the “trump card” of our spouse’s past wrongs in a marital spat? When our case is weak and we are losing the argument. Love has a short memory of past injuries and refuses to bring them up again to hurt someone. And love doesn’t rejoice in evil, but finds its joy and contentment in what is good, and true, and righteous. Conversely, love suffers long; it holds off anger and is able to withstand wrongs. It is kind—tender, pleasant, and sweet-natured. Love bears all things. When we think of a “bearing” love our thoughts go immediately to Calvary; there our Lord, motivated by love, bore the cross, the shame, the abuse, the rejection of friends, and the sins of the world. Love believes all things. It hopes all things, continuing to look beyond the immediate circumstances to the future fulfillment of God’s promised blessings to the righteous. Love endures all things—. St. John says in 1 John 4:7-8: “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”Paul concludes his appeal to the Corinthians and us with the revelation of the permanence of love in verses 8-13.The sign gifts, like tongues, interpretation of tongues, special revelations, and the like, the Apostle says, will fade away in the life of the church. But love he says will never fade away. The obvious implications are that love is more important than these gifts, because that which is important endures. Paul says that there are 3 cardinal virtues in the Christian life—3 things we must possess and manifest if we are authentic heirs of everlasting life: Faith—a complete reliance upon the redemptive work of Christ; hope—the expectation of realizing the promises of God in the future which we only anticipate now; and love—the decision of our wills to put the needs and concerns of others before our own. And of these 3 essentials Paul says, the greatest is love. This harkens us back to Jesus’ teaching, doesn't it? “Rabbi,” the lawyer asked, “which is the greatest of all the commandments?” “Love God with all that you have and all that you are, and love your neighbor as you love yourself. On these 2 commandments hang God’s entire revelation and ethical imperative in the Old Covenant. There is no commandment greater than these.”What does love look like? It looks like this. In his book Loving God, Chuck Colson writes:It was a quiet December evening on Ward C43, the oncology unit at Georgetown University Hospital. Many of the rooms around the central nurse’s station were dark and empty, but in Room 11 a man lay critically ill.The patient was Jack Swigert, the man who had piloted the Apollo 13 lunar mission in 1970 and was now Congressman-elect from Colorado’s 6th Congressional district. Cancer, the great lever, now waged its deadly assault on his body.With the dying man was a tall, quiet visitor, sitting in the spot he had occupied almost every night since Swigert had been admitted. Though Bill Armstrong, U.S. Senator from Colorado and chairman of the Senate subcommittee handling Washington’s hottest issue, social security, was one of the busiest and most powerful men in Washington, he was not visiting this room night after night as a powerful politician. He was here as a deeply committed Christian and as Jack Swigert’s friend, fulfilling a responsibility he would not delegate or shirk, much as he disliked hospitals.This night Bill leaned over the bed and spoke quietly to his friend. “Jack, you’re going to be all right. God loves you. I love you. You’re surrounded by friends who are praying for you. You’re going to be all right.” The only response was Jack’s tortured and uneven breathing.Bill pulled his chair closer to the bed and opened his Bible. “Psalm 23,” he began to read in a steady voice. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want….”Time passed. “Psalm 150,” Bill began, then his skin prickled. Jack’s ragged breathing had stopped. He leaned down over the bed, then called for help. As he watched the nurse examining Jack, Bill knew there was nothing more he could do. His friend was dead.Politicians are busy people, Colson concludes, especially Senate committee chairmen. Yet it never occurred to Bill Armstrong that he was too busy to be at the hospital. Nothing dramatic or heroic about his decision—just a friend doing what he could.What more can be said except, “Go, and do thou likewise?”St. Augustine rightly opined that as a consequence of the Fall we are all born with natures, as he called them, incurvatis in se: “twisted in on themselves.” We are by nature selfish, self-absorbed, and blind to accurate self-analysis about just those realities.What then are we to do?Francis de Sales rightly said: We learn to love by loving. Period.I have spent long hours in the intensive care waiting room…watching with anguished people…listening to urgent questions: Will my husband make it? Will my child walk again? How do you live without your companion of thirty years?The intensive care waiting room is different from any other place in the world. And the people who wait are different. They can’t do enough for each other. No one is rude. The distinctions of race and class melt away. A person is a father first, a black man second. The garbage man loves his wife as much as the university professor loves his, and everyone understands this. Each person pulls for everyone else.In the intensive care waiting room, the world changes. Vanity and pretense vanish. The universe is focused on the doctor’s next report. If only it will show improvement. Everyone knows that loving someone else is what life is all about.Can you imagine how very different our homes and our church would be if we realized that our everyday life is in fact the crucible of the intensive care waiting room?In Jesus our Saviour
Brown
Friday, April 25, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Brown's Daily Word 4-24-08
Good morning,
Praise the Lord for His tender mercies and loving kindness. One of the salient characteristics of our God, who is revealed in the Person Jesus Christ, is Love. In 1 John, we read that there is no fear in love, and perfect love casts out all fear. His Love is amazing. It frees us, it heals us, and it fills us.
C.S. Lewis suggested that God’s love for us is a much safer subject to consider than our love for others. In 1 John 4 it is declared that people born of God are able to love, because love comes from God. It doesn’t come naturally for us. We confuse attraction and emotion with love. Our deluded world thinks love is something that makes people feel good, a “many-splendored thing.” The world is filled with people who are self-centered rather than love-centered. True love is unconditional acceptance and sacrificial commitment. While we can define love, it’s not something that can be learned. We are only able to love through the work of Holy Spirit, Who lives in us. People you know may not read the Bible, but they look at us to see whether we show genuine love and compassion; they are checking out “the Gospel According to You.” “God is love”(vs 7 & 16). Everything God does is an expression of love. What God does may not be for our immediate good but it is always for our ultimate good. We are part of a love story written by the Author and Finisher of our faith. God loves the unlovable and the undeserving, and He pursues them until they stop running--then blesses them! His love compels us to love others. Love is God’s nature, and our new nature as Christians. We become what God is, and God is love! This does not mean that “love is God”, which is being in love with love, making love an idol. It is entirely possible to have sound biblical beliefs, yet show little love toward others. When we enter into a living relationship with a loving God we are transformed into loving people. The true follower of Christ both believes and loves. “There’s an infinite difference between real Christianity and mere ideology” (Kreeft). Faith without works of love is dead (James 2:26). God’s word may reach our heads, but it has to also reach our hearts, and then our feet. D. L. Moody said that “Bibles ought to be bound in shoe leather!” We are to go beyond sentiment, all the way to action. Sentiment is merely “feeling without responsibility” (Wiersbe). Love, however, is compassion with a plan. I John 4:9 is reminiscent of John 3:16. “This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him.” The Cross is the ultimate expression of God’s love, extending beyond the boundaries of eternity. The Cross has your name written on it by the Hand of Love. Other loves cannot explain the Cross. Jesus was the visible presence of God in the world, the unveiling of God’s heart. We now serve as His visible presence. We do so imperfectly, yet we are nonetheless His body. We are His arms to a world in need of an accepting embrace. No one who has come to the Cross and experienced God’s undeserved love can return to a life of selfishness. “This is love: not that we loved God but that He loved us” (10). No mere definition of love is adequate. We must go to the Source. Love originates with God, and is manifested in the coming of His Son. He initiates love; He doesn’t wait for us to love Him. He loved us, and loves us still, at our worst. We can love because “God lives in us” (12). Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. In Old Testament times, the presence of God dwelt in the Holy of Holies within the Jewish Temple. In the same way, God’s Spirit now dwells within all believers. Our inner life is empowered, which changes our outer life. There is no true believer who can remain a casual Christian when the Holy Spirit is living and active within. John refers to Jesus as “the Savior of the world” (14). The Romans regarded Caesar as their savior; today, in North Korea, the people treat Kim Jung Il like a god. But we are loyal to One whose authority transcends any and all human liberators. We are rescued from oppression and the penalty of sin. Jesus, Who is love incarnate, is the true Savior. “We love because He first loved us,” verse 19. Loving one another is an essential part of truly loving God (Marshall). This epistle, I John, tells what true faith looks like. The chapter closes by stating that the test of our love for God is in how we treat the people in our lives. Real love for God exists only when we also love others. We are so grateful and grounded in God’s love that our lives are transformed. We are healed inwardly, making love towards others the natural outgrowth of the love we have experienced. God’s love is complete when it is reproduced in us. God’s love generates our love. When we love, we show that we are living in the Light.
In His Amazing Love,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NeKnC4WXCs
Praise the Lord for His tender mercies and loving kindness. One of the salient characteristics of our God, who is revealed in the Person Jesus Christ, is Love. In 1 John, we read that there is no fear in love, and perfect love casts out all fear. His Love is amazing. It frees us, it heals us, and it fills us.
C.S. Lewis suggested that God’s love for us is a much safer subject to consider than our love for others. In 1 John 4 it is declared that people born of God are able to love, because love comes from God. It doesn’t come naturally for us. We confuse attraction and emotion with love. Our deluded world thinks love is something that makes people feel good, a “many-splendored thing.” The world is filled with people who are self-centered rather than love-centered. True love is unconditional acceptance and sacrificial commitment. While we can define love, it’s not something that can be learned. We are only able to love through the work of Holy Spirit, Who lives in us. People you know may not read the Bible, but they look at us to see whether we show genuine love and compassion; they are checking out “the Gospel According to You.” “God is love”(vs 7 & 16). Everything God does is an expression of love. What God does may not be for our immediate good but it is always for our ultimate good. We are part of a love story written by the Author and Finisher of our faith. God loves the unlovable and the undeserving, and He pursues them until they stop running--then blesses them! His love compels us to love others. Love is God’s nature, and our new nature as Christians. We become what God is, and God is love! This does not mean that “love is God”, which is being in love with love, making love an idol. It is entirely possible to have sound biblical beliefs, yet show little love toward others. When we enter into a living relationship with a loving God we are transformed into loving people. The true follower of Christ both believes and loves. “There’s an infinite difference between real Christianity and mere ideology” (Kreeft). Faith without works of love is dead (James 2:26). God’s word may reach our heads, but it has to also reach our hearts, and then our feet. D. L. Moody said that “Bibles ought to be bound in shoe leather!” We are to go beyond sentiment, all the way to action. Sentiment is merely “feeling without responsibility” (Wiersbe). Love, however, is compassion with a plan. I John 4:9 is reminiscent of John 3:16. “This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him.” The Cross is the ultimate expression of God’s love, extending beyond the boundaries of eternity. The Cross has your name written on it by the Hand of Love. Other loves cannot explain the Cross. Jesus was the visible presence of God in the world, the unveiling of God’s heart. We now serve as His visible presence. We do so imperfectly, yet we are nonetheless His body. We are His arms to a world in need of an accepting embrace. No one who has come to the Cross and experienced God’s undeserved love can return to a life of selfishness. “This is love: not that we loved God but that He loved us” (10). No mere definition of love is adequate. We must go to the Source. Love originates with God, and is manifested in the coming of His Son. He initiates love; He doesn’t wait for us to love Him. He loved us, and loves us still, at our worst. We can love because “God lives in us” (12). Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. In Old Testament times, the presence of God dwelt in the Holy of Holies within the Jewish Temple. In the same way, God’s Spirit now dwells within all believers. Our inner life is empowered, which changes our outer life. There is no true believer who can remain a casual Christian when the Holy Spirit is living and active within. John refers to Jesus as “the Savior of the world” (14). The Romans regarded Caesar as their savior; today, in North Korea, the people treat Kim Jung Il like a god. But we are loyal to One whose authority transcends any and all human liberators. We are rescued from oppression and the penalty of sin. Jesus, Who is love incarnate, is the true Savior. “We love because He first loved us,” verse 19. Loving one another is an essential part of truly loving God (Marshall). This epistle, I John, tells what true faith looks like. The chapter closes by stating that the test of our love for God is in how we treat the people in our lives. Real love for God exists only when we also love others. We are so grateful and grounded in God’s love that our lives are transformed. We are healed inwardly, making love towards others the natural outgrowth of the love we have experienced. God’s love is complete when it is reproduced in us. God’s love generates our love. When we love, we show that we are living in the Light.
In His Amazing Love,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NeKnC4WXCs
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Brown's Daily Word 4-23-08
Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this beautiful day in NY. It is going to be hot and humid, it is my kind of day. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord for the way He gives us days on earth to love Him and to serve Him. Rick Warren, in his book, "Purpose Driven Life," says: "One day everyone will stand before the Lord and the Lord will ask two questions, 1. What have you done with my Son, Jesus Christ, 2. and what have you done with the talents, time and the treasures I have given you? Praise the Lord we can use our time, talents and treasures to make a difference in the world. The Lord calls us to be partners in His miracles so we can have joy of serving Him.
Occasionally we all wonder if our efforts are making a difference. It is easy to grow discouraged thinking that our acts of kindness are insignificant. Many Americans suffer from depression because they do not get a sense of the significance from their lives. People need to know that what they are doing counts. “Who despises the day of small things? Men will rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.”(Zech. 4:10) The Israelites faced a similar problem when they returned from Babylonian captivity and began to rebuild Jerusalem as they fell victim to despondency. The people were discouraged because their numbers were small and their efforts seemed feeble when compared with the accomplishments of their ancestors. When they started to rebuild the temple they only saw how meager their contributions would be and stopped working. Paul once wrote to the Galatians, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” (Gal. 6:9, 10) Our Lord can do a lot with a little. A little is much when the Lord is in it. Jesus fed five thousand people with five small barley loaves and two small fish. (John 6:10,11) Little becomes much when we place it in the Master’s hand. Trusting God means that we believe God can accomplish everything He wants through our lives no matter how insignificant it might appear in the eyes of people. Many people will not see the greater works that God has been working through their small acts of love until they get to heaven. The Lord is able to take the seeds of small acts of love, faith and truth telling and multiply them significantly. Jesus said, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matt. 17:20) Faith helps us see how God can use small faith to accomplish much for His purposes. Do not underestimate the power of a little act of faith to move away huge obstacles to progress. Jesus said, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” (Luke 16:10) People who fail to be trustworthy in showing love, kindness and service in little opportunities will not be given greater responsibilities in the future. Whoever serves God and does good with the little time, talents and resources they have, will be entrusted with more blessings. The person who hides their talents, resources or service abilities will never improve and grow stagnant. How can we expect God to enrich us with more if we do not serve Him with what He has already given? One man put it best, “Use it or lose it.” Jesus said, “The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants.” (Mark 4:30-32) Plant seeds of kindness, truth and love where ever you go. Give people hope that their lives are getting better in the Lord and it will change their outlook on a whole range of issues. Allow the Lord to use your seeds to expand His kingdom and righteousness in qualitative and quantitative ways. The work of grace is always small in the beginning but it becomes great in the end. The seeds of the Gospel may appear to be insignificant but will bring a harvest of righteousness. The Psalmist wrote, “He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.” (Psa. 126:6) It is just like Jesus to take the small, seemingly insignificant and weak people of the world and use them in a mighty way. Paul wrote, “Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him.” (I Cor. 1:26-29) The Lord does not see as men see. He is a better judge than we are of what instruments will best serve His purpose. Hudson Taylor was once asked, “Why do you think God chose you to start China Inland Mission. He replied, “God picked out somebody who was so weak that apart from Him I knew I could do nothing.” God despises the proud but gives grace to the humble of heart. He uses the people who realize they are small so that apart from His all-sufficient grace we are inadequate. Never overlook any person who might be used of God in a great way for His greater purposes. Jesus picked out little Zacchaeus and said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” (Luke 19:9,10) Jesus uses anyone who realizes they need Him every moment of every day. Jesus said of the widow’s two small copper coin offering. “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth, but she has out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” (Luke 21:1-4) Never underestimate how the Lord will multiply every gift you give for the advancement of His kingdom and righteousness around the world. God is far better able to multiply your giving than any mutual fund, certificate of deposit or hedge fund. Do you remember the Old Testament story of Gideon? Gideon led the army of Israel to defeat the Midianites who had invaded Israel with an army of 135,000. When God called Gideon to do this He didn’t pat Gideon on the back and say.... Now Gideon you can do this...YOU must believe in yourself...YOU CAN DO THIS! No, in fact God commanded Gideon to reduce his army from 32,000 to a mere 300. In so doing, Gideon was forced to trust in God...he was led from self-confidence to develop God-confidence. You see...You cannot be too small for God to use...but you can be too big. God always works in a powerful way in the lives of weak people. Allow the Lord to use your faithful few friends, disciples and companions to do great things through you. Jesus said, “He who believes in Me the works that I do, will he do also and greater works than these will he do because I go to the Father. And you can ask anything in My name and I will do it.” (John 14:12-14) Do not wait until you think an act of kindness is significant before serving someone. Nobody is able to determine if his or her actions will make a great or small impact on another. Prov. 21:31 says, “A horse is prepared for the day of battle, but the victory is in the hands of the Lord.” Let God use you in great ways, but realize He is the one who gives ultimate success, fruit and blessings. If you wait until you are asked to do something great, you might never be given these lofty opportunities. Be faithful in little things and God will make you faithful over much. (Luke 16:10) You may not think you are accomplishing a whole lot today but be like a farmer and realize that seeds planted today will yield a thirty, sixty and hundred fold harvest as God blesses.
Praise the Lord for His promises and for His power,
Brown
If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world. [C.S. Lewis]
I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, "Move from here to there" and it will move.Matthew 17:20:
For a small reward, a man will hurry away on a long journey; while for eternal life, many will hardly take a single step. ... Thomas a' Kempis (1380-1471)
Praise the Lord for this beautiful day in NY. It is going to be hot and humid, it is my kind of day. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord for the way He gives us days on earth to love Him and to serve Him. Rick Warren, in his book, "Purpose Driven Life," says: "One day everyone will stand before the Lord and the Lord will ask two questions, 1. What have you done with my Son, Jesus Christ, 2. and what have you done with the talents, time and the treasures I have given you? Praise the Lord we can use our time, talents and treasures to make a difference in the world. The Lord calls us to be partners in His miracles so we can have joy of serving Him.
Occasionally we all wonder if our efforts are making a difference. It is easy to grow discouraged thinking that our acts of kindness are insignificant. Many Americans suffer from depression because they do not get a sense of the significance from their lives. People need to know that what they are doing counts. “Who despises the day of small things? Men will rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.”(Zech. 4:10) The Israelites faced a similar problem when they returned from Babylonian captivity and began to rebuild Jerusalem as they fell victim to despondency. The people were discouraged because their numbers were small and their efforts seemed feeble when compared with the accomplishments of their ancestors. When they started to rebuild the temple they only saw how meager their contributions would be and stopped working. Paul once wrote to the Galatians, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” (Gal. 6:9, 10) Our Lord can do a lot with a little. A little is much when the Lord is in it. Jesus fed five thousand people with five small barley loaves and two small fish. (John 6:10,11) Little becomes much when we place it in the Master’s hand. Trusting God means that we believe God can accomplish everything He wants through our lives no matter how insignificant it might appear in the eyes of people. Many people will not see the greater works that God has been working through their small acts of love until they get to heaven. The Lord is able to take the seeds of small acts of love, faith and truth telling and multiply them significantly. Jesus said, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matt. 17:20) Faith helps us see how God can use small faith to accomplish much for His purposes. Do not underestimate the power of a little act of faith to move away huge obstacles to progress. Jesus said, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” (Luke 16:10) People who fail to be trustworthy in showing love, kindness and service in little opportunities will not be given greater responsibilities in the future. Whoever serves God and does good with the little time, talents and resources they have, will be entrusted with more blessings. The person who hides their talents, resources or service abilities will never improve and grow stagnant. How can we expect God to enrich us with more if we do not serve Him with what He has already given? One man put it best, “Use it or lose it.” Jesus said, “The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants.” (Mark 4:30-32) Plant seeds of kindness, truth and love where ever you go. Give people hope that their lives are getting better in the Lord and it will change their outlook on a whole range of issues. Allow the Lord to use your seeds to expand His kingdom and righteousness in qualitative and quantitative ways. The work of grace is always small in the beginning but it becomes great in the end. The seeds of the Gospel may appear to be insignificant but will bring a harvest of righteousness. The Psalmist wrote, “He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.” (Psa. 126:6) It is just like Jesus to take the small, seemingly insignificant and weak people of the world and use them in a mighty way. Paul wrote, “Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him.” (I Cor. 1:26-29) The Lord does not see as men see. He is a better judge than we are of what instruments will best serve His purpose. Hudson Taylor was once asked, “Why do you think God chose you to start China Inland Mission. He replied, “God picked out somebody who was so weak that apart from Him I knew I could do nothing.” God despises the proud but gives grace to the humble of heart. He uses the people who realize they are small so that apart from His all-sufficient grace we are inadequate. Never overlook any person who might be used of God in a great way for His greater purposes. Jesus picked out little Zacchaeus and said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” (Luke 19:9,10) Jesus uses anyone who realizes they need Him every moment of every day. Jesus said of the widow’s two small copper coin offering. “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth, but she has out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” (Luke 21:1-4) Never underestimate how the Lord will multiply every gift you give for the advancement of His kingdom and righteousness around the world. God is far better able to multiply your giving than any mutual fund, certificate of deposit or hedge fund. Do you remember the Old Testament story of Gideon? Gideon led the army of Israel to defeat the Midianites who had invaded Israel with an army of 135,000. When God called Gideon to do this He didn’t pat Gideon on the back and say.... Now Gideon you can do this...YOU must believe in yourself...YOU CAN DO THIS! No, in fact God commanded Gideon to reduce his army from 32,000 to a mere 300. In so doing, Gideon was forced to trust in God...he was led from self-confidence to develop God-confidence. You see...You cannot be too small for God to use...but you can be too big. God always works in a powerful way in the lives of weak people. Allow the Lord to use your faithful few friends, disciples and companions to do great things through you. Jesus said, “He who believes in Me the works that I do, will he do also and greater works than these will he do because I go to the Father. And you can ask anything in My name and I will do it.” (John 14:12-14) Do not wait until you think an act of kindness is significant before serving someone. Nobody is able to determine if his or her actions will make a great or small impact on another. Prov. 21:31 says, “A horse is prepared for the day of battle, but the victory is in the hands of the Lord.” Let God use you in great ways, but realize He is the one who gives ultimate success, fruit and blessings. If you wait until you are asked to do something great, you might never be given these lofty opportunities. Be faithful in little things and God will make you faithful over much. (Luke 16:10) You may not think you are accomplishing a whole lot today but be like a farmer and realize that seeds planted today will yield a thirty, sixty and hundred fold harvest as God blesses.
Praise the Lord for His promises and for His power,
Brown
If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world. [C.S. Lewis]
I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, "Move from here to there" and it will move.Matthew 17:20:
For a small reward, a man will hurry away on a long journey; while for eternal life, many will hardly take a single step. ... Thomas a' Kempis (1380-1471)
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Brown's Daily Word 4-22-08
Good morning,
One powerful portion of Scripture is found in Proverbs 3. We are called to trust the Lord with all of our hearts. Elijah is one man who trusted the Lord. We read in 1 Kings 17, "Then the word of the Lord came to him: 'Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food.' So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, 'Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?' As she was going to get it, he called, 'And bring me, please, a piece of bread.' 'As surely as the Lord your God lives,' she replied, 'I don’t have any bread — only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it — and die.' Elijah said to her, 'Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land.'' She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah." Elijah had been living down by the brook Kerith, and the ravens had been feeding him there, but the brook had dried up because of the drought. In order to survive he had to seek another resource. As he entered the city gate, he saw the widow gathering a few sticks. He called to her and asked for some water — the very thing that was in short supply throughout the land. Though there was a drought, without a word she proceeded to get him a drink. She obviously was a person of compassion rather than judgment. She recognized him as a man of God, but as she is on her way to get his water, he called to her to ask for bread also. She explained her situation, telling Elijah that, because she only had a little bit of flour, she was going to build a small fire to bake the last bit of bread for her and her son, and then prepare to die of starvation. Elijah then told her a marvelous thing, that the Lord promised that she would not run out of bread or oil until the drought was over, if she will only do what he has asked. Amazingly, she took him at his word, and found that her little, when blessed by God, would go a long way. This story reminds us of Jesus multiplying the loaves; it is a story that aligns him with Elijah the prophet. Why did God choose a poverty-stricken widow? It was because the rich can get along on their own, but she needed what only God can give. God chose a desperately poor widow because the rich, trusting in their riches, might not have shared with Elijah, as a poor person did. God chose a poor Gentile widow who was near death because the politics and conflict of governments meant nothing to her at this point. She was at a place where she has nothing to lose and not much to give, but she chose to give. The poor are often that way. Tony Campolo tells a story about meeting a man on an inner city street. The man was extremely dirty, and possibly psychotic. He was one of those people you are just not sure about. Maybe you would think him dangerous. He offered Tony a drink of his coffee from a grimy cup held in his filthy hand. Campolo suspected that he would be asked for money for the coffee, and he certainly had no desire to taste the coffee, but he decided to accept the man’s offer as an act of grace. Tony thanked the man for the coffee and offered him something, but he refused and said, “Naw, I don’t want nothin’. It is a cold night and the coffee is just so good; I just wanted to share it with somebody. If you want to give me something, give me a hug.” So Tony and a dirty homeless man stood hugging each other on a cold, dark winter night. It is in that kind of experience where we often encounter God. Those with the least to offer are often the most willing to give and, ironically, actually have the most to offer.
Only those who trust can dare to give. Trusting God results in gratitude. I think of the poor, nameless widow whom Jesus saw putting a couple of pennies in the temple offering. Was she putting it in because she was hoping to win the lottery, (As in, “If I give this to God, maybe he will send me a lot of money.”). I don’t think so. Jesus would not have lifted her up as an example if that was the case. Since Jesus knew it was her last two cents, he surely knew her motive as well. More likely, she trusted God and gave out of the gratitude she felt in her heart. She was not only grateful for what had been, but for what would be. Like her, when we respond to God with complete trust, then we get his attention. Whenever we deal with God, there must always be a transaction of trust. Trusting God means I have freedom from fear and the ability to live life with gratitude. It means that I have a confidence about life which other people do not seem to have It means that every day is a day of praise and thanksgiving. It means living with doxology. You simply cannot be thankful unless you can trust. For this reason, I am concerned for a culture that thrives on the grotesque. My heart aches for those who live in skepticism, suspicion, and cynicism. The rolled eyes and upturned lip of this culture, along with its exasperated sigh, make us strangers to joy. We are the opposite of the woman in the temple. We have more than enough of everything and give nothing. Though we have more than enough, we want to keep it all. Where there is no faith, there is no joy. Where there is no trust, there is no thankfulness. Where there is no thankfulness, there is no giving. Stingy spirits lack trust, resulting in grudging and ungrateful lifestyles. I think of the story of another woman — not a very nice woman. She had a very bad reputation, and she earned it. Yet, Jesus showed her respect, and offered her forgiveness and new life. With tears and sobbing that seemed to release all of her guilt and shame, she poured out her gratitude to Christ, washing his feet with her tears and wiping them with her hair. The most that the religious elite could do was to sneer at what they considered a repulsive emotional display that bordered on being sensual. Jesus said to them, “He who has been forgiven little loves little” (Luke 7:47). Those who trust God receive a new confidence. They live life with thankfulness and joy — they have good reason. Trusting God results in the blessing of God. For the widow of Zeraphath, trusting God meant receiving the blessing and provision of God. Without trust there would have been no blessing. Without the blessing she would not have survived. She gave the last of her flour and oil, and found that she couldn’t give it all, because she couldn’t use it up. The flour jar could not be used up, and the oil would not stop flowing. There was not only enough for her and her son, but enough for others as well. People who are trusting discover that God's supply never runs out. There is not only enough for them; there is enough for others as well. I love the story of Jesus multiplying the fish and loaves for the five thousand. Not only could the people not empty the baskets of bread and fish, but there was bread and fish to spare. Everyone had their fill, and there were twelve baskets of bread and fish left over. It is no mistake that the number of baskets was twelve — one for each of the tribes of Israel. It reminded them of Moses feeding the children of Israel in the desert. Each morning they went out to gather the manna that God sent them. It was there, as the Israelites were given the manna, the bread of heaven, that the Bible says, “He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little” (Exodus 16:18). We are a blessed people because we have a God who loves to bless, but the only way to experience the blessing of his provision is to live in trust. It is interesting that in the story of the widow in the temple, we don't know what happened with her. Jesus said that she gave, “out of her poverty, put in everything — all she had to live on.” Since that was true, how did she then live? Where did she get her next meal? Jesus did not tell her to go home and find unending flour and oil in her cupboard. What did she do? We don’t know, but we are led to believe she continued to trust. I believe that those who give their last and little, receive the unending and abundant resources of God.
In Him,
BrownTrust the past to God's mercy, the present to God's love and the future to God's providence. AugustineGod has wisely kept us in the dark concerning future events and reserved for himself the knowledge of them, that he may train us up in a dependence upon himself and a continued readiness for every event. Matthew HenrySuggestions for Fasting and Feasting: Fast from discontent; feast on thankfulness. Fast from worry; feast on trust. Fast from anger; feast on patience. Fast from self-concern; feast on compassion for others. Fast from unrelenting pressures; feast on unceasing prayers . Fast from bitterness; feast on forgiveness. Fast from discouragement, feast on hope. Fast from media hype, feast on the honesty of the Bible. Fast from idle gossip; feast on purposeful silence. Fast from problems that overwhelm; feast on prayer that undergirds. Anonymous
We often think of great faith as something that happens spontaneously so that we can be used for a miracle or healing. However, the greatest faith of all, and the most effective, is to live day by day trusting Him. It is trusting Him so much that we look at every problem as an opportunity to see His work in our life. It is not worrying, but rather trusting and abiding in the peace of God that will crush anything that Satan tries to do to us. If the Lord created the world out of chaos, He can easily deal with any problem that we have. Rick Joyner
One powerful portion of Scripture is found in Proverbs 3. We are called to trust the Lord with all of our hearts. Elijah is one man who trusted the Lord. We read in 1 Kings 17, "Then the word of the Lord came to him: 'Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food.' So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, 'Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?' As she was going to get it, he called, 'And bring me, please, a piece of bread.' 'As surely as the Lord your God lives,' she replied, 'I don’t have any bread — only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it — and die.' Elijah said to her, 'Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land.'' She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah." Elijah had been living down by the brook Kerith, and the ravens had been feeding him there, but the brook had dried up because of the drought. In order to survive he had to seek another resource. As he entered the city gate, he saw the widow gathering a few sticks. He called to her and asked for some water — the very thing that was in short supply throughout the land. Though there was a drought, without a word she proceeded to get him a drink. She obviously was a person of compassion rather than judgment. She recognized him as a man of God, but as she is on her way to get his water, he called to her to ask for bread also. She explained her situation, telling Elijah that, because she only had a little bit of flour, she was going to build a small fire to bake the last bit of bread for her and her son, and then prepare to die of starvation. Elijah then told her a marvelous thing, that the Lord promised that she would not run out of bread or oil until the drought was over, if she will only do what he has asked. Amazingly, she took him at his word, and found that her little, when blessed by God, would go a long way. This story reminds us of Jesus multiplying the loaves; it is a story that aligns him with Elijah the prophet. Why did God choose a poverty-stricken widow? It was because the rich can get along on their own, but she needed what only God can give. God chose a desperately poor widow because the rich, trusting in their riches, might not have shared with Elijah, as a poor person did. God chose a poor Gentile widow who was near death because the politics and conflict of governments meant nothing to her at this point. She was at a place where she has nothing to lose and not much to give, but she chose to give. The poor are often that way. Tony Campolo tells a story about meeting a man on an inner city street. The man was extremely dirty, and possibly psychotic. He was one of those people you are just not sure about. Maybe you would think him dangerous. He offered Tony a drink of his coffee from a grimy cup held in his filthy hand. Campolo suspected that he would be asked for money for the coffee, and he certainly had no desire to taste the coffee, but he decided to accept the man’s offer as an act of grace. Tony thanked the man for the coffee and offered him something, but he refused and said, “Naw, I don’t want nothin’. It is a cold night and the coffee is just so good; I just wanted to share it with somebody. If you want to give me something, give me a hug.” So Tony and a dirty homeless man stood hugging each other on a cold, dark winter night. It is in that kind of experience where we often encounter God. Those with the least to offer are often the most willing to give and, ironically, actually have the most to offer.
Only those who trust can dare to give. Trusting God results in gratitude. I think of the poor, nameless widow whom Jesus saw putting a couple of pennies in the temple offering. Was she putting it in because she was hoping to win the lottery, (As in, “If I give this to God, maybe he will send me a lot of money.”). I don’t think so. Jesus would not have lifted her up as an example if that was the case. Since Jesus knew it was her last two cents, he surely knew her motive as well. More likely, she trusted God and gave out of the gratitude she felt in her heart. She was not only grateful for what had been, but for what would be. Like her, when we respond to God with complete trust, then we get his attention. Whenever we deal with God, there must always be a transaction of trust. Trusting God means I have freedom from fear and the ability to live life with gratitude. It means that I have a confidence about life which other people do not seem to have It means that every day is a day of praise and thanksgiving. It means living with doxology. You simply cannot be thankful unless you can trust. For this reason, I am concerned for a culture that thrives on the grotesque. My heart aches for those who live in skepticism, suspicion, and cynicism. The rolled eyes and upturned lip of this culture, along with its exasperated sigh, make us strangers to joy. We are the opposite of the woman in the temple. We have more than enough of everything and give nothing. Though we have more than enough, we want to keep it all. Where there is no faith, there is no joy. Where there is no trust, there is no thankfulness. Where there is no thankfulness, there is no giving. Stingy spirits lack trust, resulting in grudging and ungrateful lifestyles. I think of the story of another woman — not a very nice woman. She had a very bad reputation, and she earned it. Yet, Jesus showed her respect, and offered her forgiveness and new life. With tears and sobbing that seemed to release all of her guilt and shame, she poured out her gratitude to Christ, washing his feet with her tears and wiping them with her hair. The most that the religious elite could do was to sneer at what they considered a repulsive emotional display that bordered on being sensual. Jesus said to them, “He who has been forgiven little loves little” (Luke 7:47). Those who trust God receive a new confidence. They live life with thankfulness and joy — they have good reason. Trusting God results in the blessing of God. For the widow of Zeraphath, trusting God meant receiving the blessing and provision of God. Without trust there would have been no blessing. Without the blessing she would not have survived. She gave the last of her flour and oil, and found that she couldn’t give it all, because she couldn’t use it up. The flour jar could not be used up, and the oil would not stop flowing. There was not only enough for her and her son, but enough for others as well. People who are trusting discover that God's supply never runs out. There is not only enough for them; there is enough for others as well. I love the story of Jesus multiplying the fish and loaves for the five thousand. Not only could the people not empty the baskets of bread and fish, but there was bread and fish to spare. Everyone had their fill, and there were twelve baskets of bread and fish left over. It is no mistake that the number of baskets was twelve — one for each of the tribes of Israel. It reminded them of Moses feeding the children of Israel in the desert. Each morning they went out to gather the manna that God sent them. It was there, as the Israelites were given the manna, the bread of heaven, that the Bible says, “He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little” (Exodus 16:18). We are a blessed people because we have a God who loves to bless, but the only way to experience the blessing of his provision is to live in trust. It is interesting that in the story of the widow in the temple, we don't know what happened with her. Jesus said that she gave, “out of her poverty, put in everything — all she had to live on.” Since that was true, how did she then live? Where did she get her next meal? Jesus did not tell her to go home and find unending flour and oil in her cupboard. What did she do? We don’t know, but we are led to believe she continued to trust. I believe that those who give their last and little, receive the unending and abundant resources of God.
In Him,
BrownTrust the past to God's mercy, the present to God's love and the future to God's providence. AugustineGod has wisely kept us in the dark concerning future events and reserved for himself the knowledge of them, that he may train us up in a dependence upon himself and a continued readiness for every event. Matthew HenrySuggestions for Fasting and Feasting: Fast from discontent; feast on thankfulness. Fast from worry; feast on trust. Fast from anger; feast on patience. Fast from self-concern; feast on compassion for others. Fast from unrelenting pressures; feast on unceasing prayers . Fast from bitterness; feast on forgiveness. Fast from discouragement, feast on hope. Fast from media hype, feast on the honesty of the Bible. Fast from idle gossip; feast on purposeful silence. Fast from problems that overwhelm; feast on prayer that undergirds. Anonymous
We often think of great faith as something that happens spontaneously so that we can be used for a miracle or healing. However, the greatest faith of all, and the most effective, is to live day by day trusting Him. It is trusting Him so much that we look at every problem as an opportunity to see His work in our life. It is not worrying, but rather trusting and abiding in the peace of God that will crush anything that Satan tries to do to us. If the Lord created the world out of chaos, He can easily deal with any problem that we have. Rick Joyner
Monday, April 21, 2008
Brown's Daily Word 4-21-08
Good morning,
Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord for He reigns and rules. He is sovereign. Saturday, April 19, began the Passover. Next Sunday is Easter in the Orthodox Churches. One of the readings for Sunday, April 20 was taken from Acts 7:55-60. As we reflect on the life and death of Stephen, the first Christian martyr, we can conclude that bad things happen to good people. Yet, our Lord is able bring out some thing good and winsome even from something that is tragic and brutal. He is able to transform tragedy into triumph.
What happens when someone dies? Quite often, the site of the remains of the person is marked with some sort of memorial. It may be a plaque or tombstone, or some other reminder that the body of one who once walked this earth is located at that place. Quite often these markers are inscribed with a brief sentence or two that sums up that person's life or contribution to humanity. I have included some samples of epitaphs for our edification,
"I told you I was sick!"
Ann Mann Here lies Ann Mann, Who lived an old maid But died an old Mann. Dec. 8, 1767
Here lies Johnny Yeast Pardon me For not rising
Sir John Strange Here lies an honest lawyer, And that is Strange. She always said her feet were killing her but nobody believed her. Under the sod and under the trees Lies the body of Jonathan Pease. He is not here, there’s only the pod: Pease shelled out and went to God. Born 1903--Died 1942 Looked up the elevator shaft to see if the car was on the way down. It was.
Death ultimately reveals who we really are. Consider the famous French philosopher, Voltaire, who boasted, “In twenty years Christianity will be no more. My single hand shall destroy the edifice it took twelve apostles to rear." Voltaire was proud, confident and cynical, but when he died, he cried in desperation, "I am abandoned by God and man! I give you half of what I am worth if you will give me six months life. Then I shall go to hell and you will go with me. O Christ! O Jesus Christ!" In contrast, the moment of death also sometimes reveals spiritual beauty. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, died full of counsel, exhortations, and praise for God. His final words were, "The best of all is, God is with us. The best of all is, God is with us. The best of all is, God is with us. Farewell!"
Adoniram Judson, great American missionary to Burma, suffering immensely at his death, said to those around, "I go with the gladness of a boy bounding away from school, I feel strong in Christ."
Jonathon Edwards, dying from smallpox, gave some final directions, bid his daughter good-by, and expired saying, "Where is Jesus, my never-failing friend?” (R Kent Hughes. Acts: The Church Afire. [Wheaton, ILL: Crossway Books, 1996] p.102) Acts 6:8- 7:60 shows us the final day in the life of a man named Stephen. It reveals how he lived, what he said, and how he died. Stephen stood tall in his faith when it counted. “And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. 9Then there arose some from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia), disputing with Stephen. 10And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke. 11Then they secretly induced men to say, "We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God." In verse eight of this chapter we have been again introduced to Stephen, one of the seven men chosen by the church to serve in the ministry of the local church in Jerusalem, and one of the first deacons. The church obviously chose well, for he was a man of unusual personal spiritual strength. Luke described him as a man “full of faith and power.” Though he was not one of the apostles, he manifested the ability to perform “great wonders and signs among the people”(v. 8). Such a man would be a magnet to those in need and a target for those who opposed the church. Resistance arose from a special synagogue made up of Hellenistic Jews like Stephen himself. Luke tells us that even the most intellectual and gifted of the Jews leaders found themselves “not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke” (v. 10). Since they could not resist his argument, they arranged to have false witnesses who would bring charges of blasphemy against him. 12 "And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes; and they came upon him, seized him, and brought him to the council. 13 They also set up false witnesses who said, 'This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law; 14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.' 15 And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel. Then the high priest said, 'Are these things so?' Stephen stood tall before the Council and he disabused the religious leaders of the fallacies under which they existed. He came down hard on the three pillars of their religion; the land, the law and the temple – three false bases for confidence before God. 54 When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. 55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, 56 and said, 'Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!' 57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; 58 and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' 60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, 'Lord, do not charge them with this sin.' And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” The reaction of the Sanhedrin was, “when they heard this they were cut to the heart.” The Greek word for “cut to the heart” conveys that they were furious; it means “to saw asunder, cut in two.” The logic of Stephen’s argument cut them in two, causing them great pain and anguish. They were filled with pain but it was not the pain of conviction. They were not crying out, “What must we do to be saved?” They were in pain because they hated what Stephen was saying and they hated him for saying it. They were in such pain that they “gnashed at him with their teeth.”
Sadly, “gnashing of teeth” is the description that the Bible uses to describe what people will be doing in hell. These religious leaders were so agitated that they acted like wild animals in their animosity toward Stephen. In verse 57 we are told, “at this they covered their ears and yelled at the top of their voices, they rushed at him.” The force of the Greek is that the members of the highest court in the land, “wailed in erratic, wild, jeering shouts of anger and hostility.” The phrase “rushed at him” is the same term used to describe the legions of demons who went into the pigs and caused them to run into the lake and drown (Luke 8:33). When logic fails then stones will do! F.F. Bruce, in his commentary, tells us, “Four Cubits from the stoning place the criminal is stripped….The drop from the stoning place was twice the height of a man. One of the witnesses pushes the criminal from behind, so that he falls face downward. He is then turned over on his back. If he dies from the fall, that is sufficient. If not, a second witness takes the stone and drops it on his heart. If this cause death that is sufficient; if not, he is stoned by all the congregation of Israel, until he is dead.” (F.F. Bruce. Commentary on the Book of Acts. [Grand Rapids: Eerdman’s Publishing, 1979] pp.170-171. 58 "And they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' 60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, 'Lord, do not charge them with this sin.' And when he had said this, he fell asleep." Though it may seem that Stephen ended his life in defeat, because he did not live to see the fruit of his ministry, God revealed later that his life had borne great fruit. A man who was present at the stoning of Stephen, a man named Saul, never forgot the witness of Stephen’s life and his death. Saul, who was later renamed Paul, near the end of his life clearly stated that he had added his vote to the Sanhedrin’s death sentence upon Stephen (Acts 26:10). Undoubtedly, Stephen’s death was a cause of gnawing questions in the heart of Saul of Tarsus that would prepare him for his confrontation with the risen Lord on the road to Damascus. I believe that when Jesus told Saul on the road to Damascus, “it is hard for you to kick against the goads,” (Acts 26:14) that one of the goads was the testimony of Stephen’s life. Death will ultimately reveal what each of us truly is. Stephen lived his last hours as Christ would and did. He died a martyr’s death as Christ did. He stood tall through the matchless grace of Jesus our Lord. If today were our final day, what would others write about us?” Would they say, “they stood tall when it counted”?
In Christ,
Brown
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose."Jim Elliott
Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord for He reigns and rules. He is sovereign. Saturday, April 19, began the Passover. Next Sunday is Easter in the Orthodox Churches. One of the readings for Sunday, April 20 was taken from Acts 7:55-60. As we reflect on the life and death of Stephen, the first Christian martyr, we can conclude that bad things happen to good people. Yet, our Lord is able bring out some thing good and winsome even from something that is tragic and brutal. He is able to transform tragedy into triumph.
What happens when someone dies? Quite often, the site of the remains of the person is marked with some sort of memorial. It may be a plaque or tombstone, or some other reminder that the body of one who once walked this earth is located at that place. Quite often these markers are inscribed with a brief sentence or two that sums up that person's life or contribution to humanity. I have included some samples of epitaphs for our edification,
"I told you I was sick!"
Ann Mann Here lies Ann Mann, Who lived an old maid But died an old Mann. Dec. 8, 1767
Here lies Johnny Yeast Pardon me For not rising
Sir John Strange Here lies an honest lawyer, And that is Strange. She always said her feet were killing her but nobody believed her. Under the sod and under the trees Lies the body of Jonathan Pease. He is not here, there’s only the pod: Pease shelled out and went to God. Born 1903--Died 1942 Looked up the elevator shaft to see if the car was on the way down. It was.
Death ultimately reveals who we really are. Consider the famous French philosopher, Voltaire, who boasted, “In twenty years Christianity will be no more. My single hand shall destroy the edifice it took twelve apostles to rear." Voltaire was proud, confident and cynical, but when he died, he cried in desperation, "I am abandoned by God and man! I give you half of what I am worth if you will give me six months life. Then I shall go to hell and you will go with me. O Christ! O Jesus Christ!" In contrast, the moment of death also sometimes reveals spiritual beauty. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, died full of counsel, exhortations, and praise for God. His final words were, "The best of all is, God is with us. The best of all is, God is with us. The best of all is, God is with us. Farewell!"
Adoniram Judson, great American missionary to Burma, suffering immensely at his death, said to those around, "I go with the gladness of a boy bounding away from school, I feel strong in Christ."
Jonathon Edwards, dying from smallpox, gave some final directions, bid his daughter good-by, and expired saying, "Where is Jesus, my never-failing friend?” (R Kent Hughes. Acts: The Church Afire. [Wheaton, ILL: Crossway Books, 1996] p.102) Acts 6:8- 7:60 shows us the final day in the life of a man named Stephen. It reveals how he lived, what he said, and how he died. Stephen stood tall in his faith when it counted. “And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. 9Then there arose some from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia), disputing with Stephen. 10And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke. 11Then they secretly induced men to say, "We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God." In verse eight of this chapter we have been again introduced to Stephen, one of the seven men chosen by the church to serve in the ministry of the local church in Jerusalem, and one of the first deacons. The church obviously chose well, for he was a man of unusual personal spiritual strength. Luke described him as a man “full of faith and power.” Though he was not one of the apostles, he manifested the ability to perform “great wonders and signs among the people”(v. 8). Such a man would be a magnet to those in need and a target for those who opposed the church. Resistance arose from a special synagogue made up of Hellenistic Jews like Stephen himself. Luke tells us that even the most intellectual and gifted of the Jews leaders found themselves “not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke” (v. 10). Since they could not resist his argument, they arranged to have false witnesses who would bring charges of blasphemy against him. 12 "And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes; and they came upon him, seized him, and brought him to the council. 13 They also set up false witnesses who said, 'This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law; 14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.' 15 And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel. Then the high priest said, 'Are these things so?' Stephen stood tall before the Council and he disabused the religious leaders of the fallacies under which they existed. He came down hard on the three pillars of their religion; the land, the law and the temple – three false bases for confidence before God. 54 When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. 55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, 56 and said, 'Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!' 57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; 58 and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' 60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, 'Lord, do not charge them with this sin.' And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” The reaction of the Sanhedrin was, “when they heard this they were cut to the heart.” The Greek word for “cut to the heart” conveys that they were furious; it means “to saw asunder, cut in two.” The logic of Stephen’s argument cut them in two, causing them great pain and anguish. They were filled with pain but it was not the pain of conviction. They were not crying out, “What must we do to be saved?” They were in pain because they hated what Stephen was saying and they hated him for saying it. They were in such pain that they “gnashed at him with their teeth.”
Sadly, “gnashing of teeth” is the description that the Bible uses to describe what people will be doing in hell. These religious leaders were so agitated that they acted like wild animals in their animosity toward Stephen. In verse 57 we are told, “at this they covered their ears and yelled at the top of their voices, they rushed at him.” The force of the Greek is that the members of the highest court in the land, “wailed in erratic, wild, jeering shouts of anger and hostility.” The phrase “rushed at him” is the same term used to describe the legions of demons who went into the pigs and caused them to run into the lake and drown (Luke 8:33). When logic fails then stones will do! F.F. Bruce, in his commentary, tells us, “Four Cubits from the stoning place the criminal is stripped….The drop from the stoning place was twice the height of a man. One of the witnesses pushes the criminal from behind, so that he falls face downward. He is then turned over on his back. If he dies from the fall, that is sufficient. If not, a second witness takes the stone and drops it on his heart. If this cause death that is sufficient; if not, he is stoned by all the congregation of Israel, until he is dead.” (F.F. Bruce. Commentary on the Book of Acts. [Grand Rapids: Eerdman’s Publishing, 1979] pp.170-171. 58 "And they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' 60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, 'Lord, do not charge them with this sin.' And when he had said this, he fell asleep." Though it may seem that Stephen ended his life in defeat, because he did not live to see the fruit of his ministry, God revealed later that his life had borne great fruit. A man who was present at the stoning of Stephen, a man named Saul, never forgot the witness of Stephen’s life and his death. Saul, who was later renamed Paul, near the end of his life clearly stated that he had added his vote to the Sanhedrin’s death sentence upon Stephen (Acts 26:10). Undoubtedly, Stephen’s death was a cause of gnawing questions in the heart of Saul of Tarsus that would prepare him for his confrontation with the risen Lord on the road to Damascus. I believe that when Jesus told Saul on the road to Damascus, “it is hard for you to kick against the goads,” (Acts 26:14) that one of the goads was the testimony of Stephen’s life. Death will ultimately reveal what each of us truly is. Stephen lived his last hours as Christ would and did. He died a martyr’s death as Christ did. He stood tall through the matchless grace of Jesus our Lord. If today were our final day, what would others write about us?” Would they say, “they stood tall when it counted”?
In Christ,
Brown
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose."Jim Elliott
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