Hidden Gems #2

This is the second blog in which I share with you the 'hidden gems' I have quarried from the Scriptures -- profound truths that are not often preached on or quoted or memorized, but when discovered they have brought great treasure to my life.

Consider these:

Daniel 11:32 b,New American Standard Version:
"...but the people who know their God will display strength and take action."

Lamentations 3:39, New American Standard Version:
"Why should any living mortal or any man offer complaint in view of his sins?"

Psalms 50:21b, New American Standard Version:
God says:  "...you thought that I was just like you..."


Click here to go to Hidden Gems #1.

Growing

Fear of the LORD is the foundation of true wisdom. All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom. Praise him forever! Psalm 111:10 (NLT) 

You know the experience. You look in the mirror at some point and think, "Wow, I need a hair cut!" Or for some of us the revelation comes through a nudge from spouse or sibling, "Hmm. Time for a trim, eh?" The fact is, you never really s-a-w the hair growing, even though every moment of every day it was. While you were busy tending to the rest of life, growth happened.

Spiritual growth can be like that too. Someday we have an encounter and think, "Ah. I don't get frustrated with that person like I used to," or, "I'm looking forward to reading the Bible these days." Or someone else comments, "You sure seem to be more at peace."

Like with my hair, I'm not responsible for my spiritual growth. The Holy Spirit does that. But it is my job to do the things that encourage growth and to be sure I don't impede it. So, I just as I help my hair stay healthy by washing it regularly, and not putting harsh chemicals on it, for my spirit's well-being I avoid things that stunts its growth -- deterrents like gossip, bitterness, grumbling, isolation, and unbelief. Instead I participate in the things that foster spiritual growth: worship, obedience, confession, service, thanksgiving, partaking in the sacraments.


PS -- Happy Birthday to my precious one whose spirit (and hair!)  is growing more and more beautiful every day.

Not quite dead

So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you.  Colossians 3:5 (NLT)

My cat brings me dead things. Lizards, moles, snakes, rats.  She brings them to me to demonstrate that she has been the conquerer. She has put to death the pests lurking in my yard.  I tell her I am so proud of her and together we celebrate.

But sometimes she brings me almost-dead things...still squirming, sometimes squealing. It's not pretty and I'm not proud.

And then I have to wonder, what sinful, earthly things lurking in me have I taken to God to say, "Look, victory" only to see Him point out that it is not quite dead.

The waiting room

I sit down comfortably in the familiar chair for the daily appointment. The room is filled with many others I know well. We imagine what things will be like when our problem is solved, our burden lifted, our request fulfilled. We sit waiting quietly, expectantly, with full confidence in the one on whom we wait.

To my left is the prayer about the friend's son struggling with drug addiction, to the right the prayer for my daughter's job needs. I nod across the room at the long standing prayer for a loved one who has forgotten how much he is loved. And here I sit ready to present a few new prayers to join these and others, in the waiting room.

Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly. Psalm 5:3 (NLT)

A Re-do

 A Re-do (with apologies to St. Paul).  

 Portions from Ephesians 4:1-32 (NLT) 

Lead a life worthy of your calling,  [WHY? for you have been called by God.] Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. [WHY? For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.]

Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by 1) lust and 2) deception.  Live no longer as the Gentiles do,  [WHY?  for they are hopelessly confused.]

• their minds are full of darkness;
• they wander far from the life God gives [WHY? because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him.]
• They have no sense of shame.
• They live for lustful pleasure
• and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.
• influenced by people who try to trick with lies so clever they sound like the truth.

Don’t be immature, like children, tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching.

Instead, be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

Don’t be a thief; quit stealing.

Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need.

Don’t use foul or abusive language.

Instead, let everything you say be good and helpful  [WHY? so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.] 

Don’t lie.

Instead, speak the truth in love. Let us tell our neighbors the truth. [WHY? for we are all parts of the same body ever since you heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him.]

Don’t let anger control you and don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry. [WHY? for anger gives a foothold to the devil.] 

Instead, be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults. [WHY? because of your love.]

Don’t hang on to

• bitterness,
• rage,
• anger,
• harsh words,
• slander,
• all types of evil behavior

Instead

• be humble
• and gentle
• be kind to each other,
• tenderhearted,
• forgiving one another [WHY? because God through Christ has forgiven you.]

In summary,

Don’t bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live.

Instead, remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

IF you are

Matthew chapter 3 begins with God's declaration that Jesus is His son.  In Matthew chapter 4 the devil challenges that: "Jesus, IF you are the Son of God then prove it by doing things my way." But Jesus didn't have to prove He was the Son of God.  God the Father had already declared Him to be so. God's word, God's testimony, was enough.

Sometimes I join in the accuser's chorus, by demanding that Jesus prove himself to me.  My verse to that song goes, "Jesus, IF you really loved me you would..."

But Jesus doesn't need to defend his love for me. God the Father has already declared it.  "For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son that those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life."

Real Love

My dear children, let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love. 1 John 3:18 (MSG)

REAL LOVE . . .

• is patient and kind. 
• is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. 
• does not demand its own way. 
• is not irritable.
• keeps no record of being wronged. 
• does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 
• never gives up. 
• never loses faith.
• is always hopeful.
• endures through every circumstance. 
• does no wrong to a neighbor.
• edifies.
• is the perfect bond of unity. 
• covers a multitude of sins. 
• is the more excellent way.

Happy 33rd anniversary to the one who keeps teaching me, by example, what real love really is.

Full

When we think of something being full or filled, it means there is no space left. There is no more room for anything else. We understand that when we say, "I filled up the gas tank" that we put as much gas in the tank as it would hold. It will hold no more. After a meal we say, "I am full" or "I couldn't eat another bite." There is no more space in the stomach to be filled.

Scriptures speak of being filled with various things such as: the fruit of your salvation, the Holy Spirit, all the fullness of God, the knowledge of His will, joy.  If I am full of these, then there is no room for the things that are not beneficial or sinful.

God's House

1 Chronicles 16:28-29 (NLT) O nations of the world, recognize the LORD, recognize that the LORD is glorious and strong. Give to the LORD the glory he deserves! Bring your offering and come into his presence. Worship the LORD in all his holy splendor.

For several weeks Maasai John had been our contact with the local Maasai community as a number of them assisted us and dozens of other families to learn to live in a rural East African setting.
At night the men patrolled our campsite to ward off the leopards eager to hunt the plump baboons that slept in the fig trees towering above our tents. In the mornings, women carried our laundry in tubs on their heads to the stream to wash our clothes, and their children. Toward the end of our time together, Maasai John invited our family and one other to join him and his family for chai, or afternoon tea, in their compound.

The manatta (homestead) consisted of several dung and mud huts with stick covered roofs, forming a circle around an inner corral where a few cattle and restless goats were housed at night. These animals, gaunt and haggard, represented the full wealth and honor of John, his brothers and their families.  We were welcomed with grace and kindness into one of the huts, offered small stools to sit upon and drank together hot tea mixed with smoked milk and cups of sugar.  His wife showered me with shy grins and gifts of beaded jewelry.

Though John spoke English, his family and our family did not speak a common language but we shared a common love -- a love for Jesus and in just a few hours, a love for one another.

As we made our way back to the jeep, John invited us to stop into one more house. This one was made of cinder blocks and cement with a tin roof.  It had several benches and open spaced-windows. This was God’s house. John built it for his family to gather each week to worship God, study His word, and learn to follow His Son.

Shortly after that holy afternoon, I learned that the common perception in the local rural area is that if you are poor, you live in a mud hut; if you are more well-off, you live in a wooden structure; and if you are wealthy, you live in a stone house.And so it was that John had built for God, his King, a stone palace, while he and his loved ones continued to live in their humble huts.

The gentle grace

It is a mighty grace to look at an offense through the lens of forgiveness.
It is a gentle grace to overlook the offense in the first place.

Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Colossians 3:13 (NLT)