...but I must decrease

Paul Sheppard

2009-04-30T09:37:00.001-04:00

I was listening to Paul Sheppard this morning on my way into work, and I thought I would share a couple of things with you that he talked about.

First of all, he was talking about the work that Christ and the Holy Spirit are doing in our lives, and likened it to a construction project. He was describing how messy and painful a project like this can be while it is underway, but that it is a necessary part of the process. We don't like the inconvenience and mess while it is underway, but we sure do like the finished product.

The second point I wanted to share with you from his message was that Jesus spent thirty years or so preparing for his three year ministry.

This is the account of his life from age 12 to age 30.

And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.
(Luk 2:52 ESV)

Paul's point was not to be discouraged if you felt like you weren't accomplishing as much as you thought you should be. Perhaps it is your time of preparation.

The Trinity Defined

2009-02-24T07:30:00.001-05:00

I listen to Chuck Swindoll most mornings on my daily commute. Today I was listening to his series on Ephesians 1. It is a good series so far, and I would recommend it to you if you have to the time to listen to it online or on the radio (see link above).

But what struck me the most was his succinct definition of the Trinity. I had never heard it put this way, but I thought it was profound and worth sharing with you.

He said that the Father was the Initiator, the Son was the Implementer, and the Spirit was the Empowerer.

Is that good or what?

Comments?

Rebellion in Egypt?

2008-10-21T08:14:00.001-04:00

In my devotions recently, I have been reading the book of Ezekiel. The other day I was reading in Chapter 20 when I saw the following passage.

"Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD, Is it to inquire of me that you come? As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you. Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Let them know the abominations of their fathers, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: On the day when I chose Israel, I swore to the offspring of the house of Jacob, making myself known to them in the land of Egypt; I swore to them, saying, I am the LORD your God. On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands. And I said to them, Cast away the detestable things your eyes feast on, every one of you, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the LORD your God. But they rebelled against me and were not willing to listen to me. None of them cast away the detestable things their eyes feasted on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. "Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt. So I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. I gave them my statutes and made known to them my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live.
(Eze 20:3-11 ESV)

What struck me about this passage was verse 8.

But they rebelled against me and were not willing to listen to me. None
of them cast away the detestable things their eyes feasted on, nor did
they forsake the idols of Egypt. "Then I said I would pour out my wrath
upon them and spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of
Egypt.

If I read this correctly, it says that God intended to punish the nation of Israel in Egypt for not giving up their idols and worshiping the one true God.

But instead of doing that, He delivered Israel out of Egypt culminating in the parting of the Red Sea.

When I go back and reread Exodus, I can't seem to pinpoint where these offenses against God are mentioned. I know we all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God, but I don't see their sins mentioned in Exodus.

I do see in Exodus 6:9 where they failed to listen to Moses, but that doesn't sound like idolatry to me.

Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.
(Exo 6:9 ESV)

So my question to you is where is the offense? This is not a rhetorical question. Ezekiel is relaying God's judgment against Egypt, and the offense appears to me to have taken place before the grumbling in the wilderness, and certainly before the golden calf in 32.

Any thoughts?

Who would Jesus vote for?

2008-10-01T08:35:00.002-04:00

As the Presidential election cycle heats up, more Christians are asking the question, "Who should I vote for?"

I won't pretend to say I know who Jesus would vote for in this election. What I do know is that he would not be a card carrying member of any political party. He does not seek the counsel of men.

So what are we to do come November 4 when we step into the voting booth?

I am basing my decision on who to vote for on the basis of the unchanging, inviolable word of God. I believe that as Christians we have an obligation to vote, first an foremost.

And they came and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are true and do
not care about anyone's opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?" But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, "Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it." And they brought one. And he said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" They said to him, "Caesar's." Jesus said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And they marveled at him.
(Mar 12:14-17 ESV)

We are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God. Likewise, both candidates are flawed, sinful people. Only when Christ returns in the Millenial Kingdom will we have the perfect ruler. However, did we vote for the person who most exemplifies the principles of God's word?

But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart."
(1Sa 16:7 ESV)

Are we prayerfully considering the candidates by the same criteria that God does?

I believe that we will be judged for our vote, so it is not something to enter into lightly.

James Chapter 2 discusses faith and works. So it is not enough to profess a belief in something, but rather there must be action. Do the candidates' actions match their rhetoric? Do they say one thing and do another, or can you trust them to keep their word. Do they put the needs of others above themselves?

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
(Php 2:3 ESV)

These are some of the criteria that I will be using to make my decision this election cycle.

And no matter who wins, I will respect the president, even though I will disagree with him.

"You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.
(Exo 22:28 ESV)

Sanctification

2008-09-18T08:18:00.001-04:00

I was once again listen to Chuck on my way into work this morning. He wasn't talking about sanctification per se, but it got me thinking about our sensitivity to sin. He was actually speaking on the Lordship of Christ in our lives. He was quoting another author (sorry I didn't catch who it was). This person was talking about Christ as an invited house guest and the house is our daily life. We invite Christ into our lives, but we often only invite Him into certain rooms of our house. Don't look in the closet, I have things in there you shouldn't see, or I am not ready to relinquish to your control Lord.

The "hidden" closets that we cling to reminded me of the sanctification process and hwo we become more sensitive to sin as we remove it from our lives. I thought of an analogy that I though illustrated the process quite well. When we were unsaved we lived in a garbage dump, and we didn't pay any attention to all the clutter (sin) around us. But after Christ stepped into our lives, he had us start on clearing out the junk in our lives that we don't need. After we clear away all the garbage, we now have a place to live in that looks more like a home. But we notice that we have dirt all over the floor. So we get out the broom and the mop and we sweep away the dirt and mop up the stuff we can see. So now we have a clean house to live in, but that kitchen counter isn't sanitary is it? I'd better get out the disinfectant before I prepare the meal.

I thought about extended that analogy to a laboratory and how clean that has to be, but I guess you get the point. Chirst's standard is perfection, and He won't stop working on us until He is satisfied.

So here I am Lord in my cluttered room Lord, where do I start? Do I need a swab, a mop or a bulldozer?

And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.

2008-09-09T09:23:00.001-04:00

I was reading Matthew 18 this morning and I came across verses 8 and 9.

And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.
(Mat 18:8-9 ESV)

I've always struggled with what Jesus meant by that. I knew he didn't really intend for us to maim ourselves, but I wasn't sure why he put it like that.

After rereading the passage today, it occurred to me that what he might mean is that our eyes and limbs do not cause us to sin, but rather it is our sinful nature that causes us to sin.

Chuck Swindoll was preaching this morning on our sinful nature and how we still have the capacity in us for all the ugly sins we've committed in the past.

James 4 talks about the source of our sins. It is from our hearts that sins come forth.

Back in Matthew 8 verse 7, it condemns the world for all its temptations, but yet it says that those temptations are necessary. I think about Muslims that force women to wear veils and ultraconservative clothing so that the men may not be tempted to lust after the women. They have taken it so far in some cultures that no part of a woman's body can be showing except for here eyes. We as Christians make similar demands on our women, but to a lesser degree to not wear provocative clothing. But that does nothing to address the real problem - the lustful eyes of men.

So getting back to verse 8, I think that what Jesus was getting at was that it is not our eyes and our limbs that CAUSE us to sin, but they are merely following orders from our sin stained hearts. When my son's arm hurts, I jokingly say "Do we need to cut it off?" I think that is what Jesus had in mind.

Comments?