A Dead, Hollow Tree

I'm moving on through the wonderful Romans 12 and focusing on verse 11 today.

11Do not lag in zeal, be enthusiastic in spirit, serve the Lord.

Thinking on this scripture verse I was reminded of a dead tree.

Yesterday afternoon after church a friend called to ask if I wanted to go see that new movie, "Miracles from Heaven".  Delightedly, I said "yes".  We also dragged our Hubsters along.

Spoiler alert!  If you have not heard anything about this movie and don't want to know, stop reading now!

So, the gist of the movie is that this very, very sick little girl...sick to the point of death fell headfirst 3 stories down through a dead, hollow tree, and was miraculously healed by God.  Crazy, huh?  Based on a true story...  Crazier still!

What does this have to do with today's verse?

Remember that Paul was talking to believers, Christians.  In this verse he was exhorting them to use their time, gifts and talents in service to the Lord.  Most of the time, most Christians have no problem doing that.  They actually long to do that.  Other times, though, usually because of adverse life circumstances, Christians believe they no longer have anything to offer.

The little girl in the movie, for instance, Annabelle Beam.  She told her mother she wanted to die, because of her ever-present pain.  Yet, at the time she thought she had nothing more to offer, God used her life to touch the lives of millions.

The mother, Christi Beam, temporarily lost her faith during this time of dealing with her daughter's devastating illness.

Yesterday I was reading a testimony from a friend who lost her beloved husband, her dearest friend, six months ago.  Another hollow-tree experience.

Did you catch that the title of the movie is "Miracles from Heaven"?  The healing of Abby was not the only miracle.  The movie was full of miracles, brought about from ordinary people allowing God to use them.

Aren't you glad God uses ordinary, flawed people?  (In fact, that's the only kind He creates...) The Bible is full of stories of God choosing to use Everyday Man, Typical Woman.  Then, He makes them extraordinary, by His saving grace and power!

He can even use someone who appears to be "dead", because He raises the dead in the same way He raised His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ!

Some truly ARE dead, as the Bible says, "dead in our sins".  I pray that if you have not yet encountered Jesus Christ and accepted Him as your Savior, that you will do that today.  I just can't back away from this because it is absolutely foundation, inescapable and crucial!  There is no true joy apart from Jesus Christ, only pale imitations.  He is the only One who can bring the dead to life, forgive our sins eternally and make us spiritually alive in Him.  This is life's GREATEST miracle!

…4But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,…

Ephesians 2:4-6 

One final point to Christians:  Note that Paul did not exhort the Christians to wait until they felt good about zealously serving the Lord.  If we wait until we "feel like it", we won't step out in obedience. You are not going to necessarily have that "joy from serving Jesus" until AFTER you allow yourself to be filled with the Spirit and used for His glory.

Do you feel like that big, dead, hollow tree today?  In the movie, Anna asked her mother why God had not healed her.  As Christi told Anna in the movie:  "There are so many things I don't know.  But, I know God loves you!"  Amen to that, and praise Him for His miraculous love!

Loving Father, I was dead, so dead in my sins until You rescued me!  I can't thank you enough for saving my soul, making me alive through Jesus.  It's hard to explain and even harder to understand how that works in the spiritual realm.  But, then, we don't have to understand everything.  Faith means taking you at Your word, trusting in Your promises.  I pray specifically this day for those who have never met Jesus, have never thrown all their sins on Him, who feel hopelessly trapped.  Speak to them, Father, through Your holy Word, by Your Holy Spirit and/or through one of Your redeemed, one of Your beloved.  I pray that these will find Your love to be inescapable!  For those beloved who already know You as Savior, but who yet feel like that huge, dead tree, speak to them today also, in the depths of their hearts.  Reaffirm Your love for them in tangible ways that let them know You have not left or forsaken them.  And, empower us all, Father, to step out in obedient service to You so that Satan's adversity which beats and bruises us does not overcome us. (Revelation 12:11) In Jesus' name, amen.

Source:

http://www.enzasbargains.com/miracles-from-heaven-movie-quotes/

Paul's Calling

Good morning!

Today's reading is from the book of Titus, chapter 1:1-4.  This morning I was reading from The Message version.

I realize that I sometimes get long-winded in my blog posts.  They tend to be longer than most posts of this type you see here and there on the internet.  My posts are intended to give you a morning spiritual meal, not a snack.  As I feed myself each morning, I share with you.  I hope that this blog nourishes you spiritually, as that is what I have felt led by the Lord to do: to share my morning spiritual food with you each day.  I'll be honest.  It is against my nature to do a blog, as I lack self-discipline in this area. But, I am trying to walk in obedience to the Lord in doing it, so as to glorify Him.

Paul introduces himself at the beginning of each of his New Testament letters.  While that may seem egotistical to you, remember that for a long time he was seen as "Public Enemy #1 of the Early Church".  He was a fanatical Jewish leader, who was committed to exterminating the Christian movement by going around killing Christians wherever he found them.  He was a one-man Inquisition and Executioner!  The beautiful thing about after Saul (he was called Saul then) was converted is that that very same passion and zeal carried over into his new life in Christ!  He turned from killing Christians to "birthing" disciples in Christ!  Sometimes, I encounter very passionate people who are headed off in a destructive direction and I think, "Oh, if only they could meet the living God!  I just know that passion would change the world for Christ!"  Jesus, in His sovereignty, chose to "slap Paul upside the head with His awesomeness", and the world is forever changed by this man who was "on fire" for Jesus. You can find the story of Saul's conversion in Acts 9.

 From Paul, a slave of God and apostle of Jesus Christ, to further the faith of God’s chosen ones and the knowledge of the truth that is in keeping with godliness, 2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before time began. 3 But now in his own time he has made his message evident through the preaching I was entrusted with according to the command of God our Savior.4 To Titus, my genuine son in a common faith. Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior!

Titus 1:1-4 (NET)

So, at the beginning of Titus, look at how Paul describes himself:
1.  God's slave
2.  Christ's agent (apostle)
With this declaration, Paul is declaring the Jewish religion as being the foundation of Christianity.  The two faiths are inextricably linked, and the members of the early Church were encouraged to not reject the major tenets of Judaism, but to let the Jewish faith point them to Jesus.  Even Jesus said that he did not come to abolish the Old Testament law of Moses, but to fulfill it.  (Matthew 5:17)

Paul further states here that his calling is to:
1.  promote the faith among God's chosen people
2.  get out the word accurately and how to respond rightly to it
3.  point the way to life without end
     Let's dig here.  Who are God's chosen people?  God's chosen people in this Church age are those who accept God's Son, Jesus Christ, as their Savior.  If you read that and think, "Well, I'm not one of those chosen ones, then it is you who are deciding to reject Jesus, not God making that decision for you.  When the Scriptures say (Jesus' words)  in Matthew 22:14,  "Many are called, but few are chosen", it means the invitation is extended to everyone.  "The chosen" are those who respond to the Holy Spirit's prompting, who refuse to harden their hearts to God, and who accept God's gracious invitation of His Son, Jesus.
     Many have said, and I agree with them, that Jesus came at just the perfect time in history to allow the early Church to grow and flourish.  One of the evidences is here in Paul's next phrase ("get out the word accurately...).  While, to us, it seems that communication was very limited (foot travel/messenger or written letter or both) these "antiquated" modes of communication allowed Paul and the other early Church fathers to correct error as they encountered it.  There was plenty of it!  Because Christianity was born out of Judaism, and the Jews of that day were ultra-bound up in their legalistic traditions, it was difficult for Paul and the other Church leaders to "root that out".  BUT, can you imagine all the error that would have been spread in this modern world, via TV, email, Twitter, Facebook, etc.? (blogs?  lol...) had Jesus been born and lived today?  We still use Paul's New Testament letters (and also those of other eyewitness apostles) today.  How great is our God and how wise!
     "Life without end" - - - if I try to grasp that concept it quickly kinks up my brain.  Can't grasp it.  But, what a thought!  We who know Jesus will be in Heaven forever and ever and ever.  And, those who do not know him, well, they will exist in an eternity apart from God, which the Bible records as being a place of eternal torment.  The best example of this is the story of the wise man and Lazarus, whose deaths are retold by Jesus in Luke 16:19-31.  We'll talk in more detail about that tomorrow.
     Paul's calling is the calling of every Christian pastor and Bible teacher, but wait....hold on now, before you push that aside, it is also the calling of every Christian!  God has gifted every Christian with the spiritual gifts unique to him or her, so that each of us can fulfill these purposes by using our spiritual gifts!  (Spiritual gifts are a multi-blogpost topic...)

In verse 4, Paul admonishes Titus to "receive everything God our Father and Jesus our Savior give you"!  That admonition applies to every Christian also.  I hope that I will and I hope that you will, Christ follower, embrace that in your life.  Today, receive everything God has given you in Christ, whether it is easy or not, whether it is "your plan" or not!  If you do, you will be ... resplendent!

Father, thank you for the example You gave us in your Word, the example of the apostle Paul.  While we do not possess the same set of spiritual gifts he did, You have created each of us beautiful in your sight.  Through Christ, you see us as bought back, redeemed, perfect, resplendent!  Help us to embrace the calling You have given to each one of us and also to use our set of gifts to honor and glorify You today and every day.  I love you, Lord!  In Jesus' name, amen.