Don't just send flowers

En·cour·age: to inspire with hope, courage, or confidence; hearten. To give support to; foster: policies designed to encourage private investment. To stimulate growth; spur onward in personal development
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I was 22, far from home, following a dream with my wife and infant son, broke, and exhausted.  God sent a friend, Tom Johnson, who was the epitome of an encourager.  Tom gained nothing by befriending me. But, he was filled with the love of Christ Jesus, and love simply overflowed from his heart.  One day, in October, 1977, knowing I needed a better job to support my family and follow my calling, he took me to meet his supervisor, told that man that I was a good guy, then quit on the spot, recommending me for his job!  

The book of Acts tells the story of a man first known to the church by his real name, Joseph. He sold his possessions and gave the money to the church to help those in need. He came alongside of Paul, when the church was still very suspicious of the motives of the former Pharisee and offered his endorsement.  Over time, people forgot Joe’s real name and he is known to us by his nickname: Barnabas.  Why that name? "Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means “Son of Encouragement”). He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus." (Acts 4:36, NLT)    Son of Encouragement!

The world is filled with critics, complainers, and mean people. Even those who are not actively hurting anyone are sometimes so absorbed in their own lives that they take no note of the people who are living and working around them.  Because God’s Spirit lives in you and in me, because He is loving, because we are loved – we need to be like Barnabas.

Let’s look for opportunities to lend courage, hope, and confidence to others.  It isn't enough to passively love each other. The Bible says, “If your gift is to encourage others, do it! . . . And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. Don't just pretend that you love others. Really love them. . . Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.” (Romans 12:8-10)  Another passage teaches us to be creative in the ministry of encouragement! "Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds." (Hebrews 10:24, NLT) Don't just send flowers!

Need some practical suggestions about how you might be an encourager today?

a. Send a note of sincere appreciation to someone who has served you sacrificially.
b. Take note of a person who's work is 'behind the scenes' and sincerely compliment their efforts.
c. Offer to pray with a friend that seems overwhelmed by life, then pray a positive prayer full of words of blessing.  Don’t preach a sermon disguised as a prayer!
d. Roll up your sleeves and lift someone's burden for a couple of hours. Mow their lawn, watch their kids, cook their dinner, or take them to a movie.
e. Actively listen when someone opens their heart. Don’t ‘fix’ them with advice, just let them unburden their heart to you.

It is easy to point out another's flaws. It is easy to 'see' (in our self-important opinion) why our sister is in the jam she's in. We are tempted to excuse ourselves from caring, aren’t we?  After all, we reason, "She made her own bed, let her lie in it."  That’s exactly what Barnabas would have thought, right?   No, I don’t think so.

Here’s the word from the Word - “Encourage one another and build each other up,  just as in fact you are doing.”  1 Thessalonians 5:11

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We Will Stand

 

But I I don't care what label you may wear,

If you believe in Jesus you belong with me.

The bond we share is all I care to see

And we'll change the world forever,

If you will join with me,

Join and sing,

Sing.

You're my brother, you're my sister,

So take me by the hand,

Together, we will work until He comes!

There's no foe that can defeat us

When we're walking side by side,

As long as there is love,

We will stand.

The day will come when we will be as one

And with a mighty voice

Together we will proclaim that Jesus

Jesus is King

It will echo through the earth

It will shake the nations

And the world will see

See that

You're my brother, you're my sister,

So take me by the hand,

Together, we will work until He comes!

There's no foe that can defeat us

When we're walking side by side,

As long as there is love,

We will stand.

James Hollihan | Russ Taff | Tori Taff

© 1983 Word Music, LLC (a div. of Word Music Group, Inc.)

CCLI License # 810055

Living in the kiddie pool of life?

“He’s a mile wide and an inch deep,” somebody said, when describing a man with interests ranging from music, to philosophy, to motorcycles, to technological gadgets, to God, … and the list goes on. He dabbles in many things but never gets past the surface, never really digs in to become an expert.  Are you a dabbler or a person of depth?  Chuck Swindoll, pastor and author, writes: "What we need today is  not smarter people or busier people. A far greater need is deeper  people. Deep people will always have a ministry."  Sounds  good. What's it mean?

Is depth the same as sincerity or seriousness?  Those who love to laugh are often regarded as shallow, but are they?  Intellectuals are assumed to have depth.  But, knowing many things does not mean a person understands what those things mean. Depth is sometimes confused with performance, too. A person who carries a lot of responsibility in multiple organizations is often assumed to be a person of depth.

Depth involves taking on challenges, wrestling with solutions, and applying oneself to become a part of those solutions. And, yet, there is more to it. We can begin to understand depth by looking at its antonym – superficiality, which is the curse of the age. How many people do you know that believe success is the same as ‘image,’ that it is about staying 'interesting.'  If we choose to aim at looking good, speaking well, and keeping our heads full of the latest sports scores, fashions, and headlines; we will live on the surface of life. The hard question is not what, but why.  Why introduces uncertainty, makes us look at the pain – in ourselves and in our world.

Depth involves pursuing God's plans and purposes. They are seldom just lying around in plain sight.  We must mine the depths of our soul and His Word to learn to conform to His ways. While we need not forget how to laugh or play, if we desire depth, we will learn to stop the whirl of activity, to turn off the noise, to retreat from our schedules, and to listen. God speaks, all the time, but usually not in thunderous tones, nor with the command voice of a general. Elijah learned that His was a  'still, small voice.'

Then, too, depth develops when we allow life's pain to touch us. Remember Carly Simon's song "I Haven't Got Time for the Pain"? (showing my age there, aren’t I?) Mostly; we don't!
Got a headache? Take an Advil.  Got a heartache? Find some anesthetic to numb it - pleasure, diversion, apathy- are some that work, for a time. Pain is not generally valued, is it? God designed us so that physical pain is the body's alarm system. Touch a hot surface and the instant sensation of pain causes you to pull your hand away before serious damage is done. Emotional pain signals a problem, too. When our heart aches, it alerts us to a need, more subtly perhaps, but a need exists nonetheless. When we let ourselves feel the pain, it will drive us to become thoughtful and hopefully, prayerful! The Spirit of God will show us how to be healed. His prescription really works.

If we desire to live deeply with God, we must learn to ‘share in His sufferings.’   The full quote says, "Since we are his children, we will share his treasures—for everything God gives to his Son, Christ, is ours, too. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering." (Romans 8:17, NLT)  When we see at the suffering that stalks our world (and us personally) because of greed, religious pride, and selfishness, through Jesus’ eyes, the pain of the resulting revelation will leave us groaning -- "Oh, God, help me!"   Bob Pierce, founder of World Vision, the ministry that meets people at the point of their need and cares for millions, penned this prayer on the flyleaf of his Bible when we first found himself confronted with terrible poverty. "Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God."  Out of that pain, came a vision, and from that vision, emerged a mission. God will take us deeper – if we allow Him to own us – heart, soul, mind, and strength! We will stop living for our stomachs, our bank accounts, and our public image. We will lose the pre-occupation with what we wear, eat, and drive! People will matter most.

Here’s the word from the Word.  Jesus said,  “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule. “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you. … You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat." (Matthew 5:2-4, 6, The Message)

When you have tasted the rich food of God's table, when you've felt the pain and experienced His succor, you are on the way to depth. And, as Swindoll said, "Deep people will always have a ministry."  Your life will radiate a quality so wonderful, GENUINE LOVE, that others will want to be with you and you will have all kinds of opportunities for doing godly work.

Go deeper - starting today.

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Deeper, Deeper

Deeper, deeper, in the love of Jesus,

Daily let me go;

Higher, higher, in the school of wisdom,

More of grace to know.

Deeper, deeper, blessed Holy Spirit,

Take me deeper still,

‘Till my life is wholly lost in Jesus

And His perfect will.

Deeper, higher, ev'ry day in Jesus

‘Till all conflict past,

Finds me conqu'ror and in His own image

Perfected at last.

O deeper yet I pray,

And higher ev'ry day,

And wiser, blessed Lord,

In Thy precious holy Word.

Charles P. Jones

Public Domain

Snake Salvation?

Sincerely wrong

“Snake Salvation” has to be one of the strangest programs on TV. National Geographic Channel follows two snake-handling preachers from Kentucky in their quest for spiritual ecstasy.  They lead highly emotional religious services that include dancing while holding snakes. At least 100, perhaps more, snake handling holiness churches exist in the United States. They claim the practice is commanded by Jesus, based on this passage: "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." (Mark 16:17-18, KJV)

Some like to poke fun at these people. I don’t. They are earnest in their quest to please God.  Their congregations are tiny and impoverished, no megachurches there; so it can’t be money or fame that motivates them. There is a kind of euphoria evident in their ‘worship.’  The charged atmosphere, repetitious music, anticipation of danger, the shared ritual – all combine to produce a trance-like state that alters brain chemistry.  Mix that emotional high with religious conviction and yes, some kind of experience of God’s Spirit, and you find that they have a compelling reason to do something most of us see as quite weird.

The greater tragedy is their misunderstanding of the Scripture that turns a promise of God’s sovereign protection into a command to put themselves into a place of tempting the Lord by ‘proving’ their faith!  One of the preachers declares emphatically, “If I don’t handle snakes, I am disobeying God and will go straight to Hell.”  In this, more than anything else, they are sincerely wrong!  Faith is not proven, it is accepted as a gift of God. We are called to ‘live by faith’ but not to prove anything to God, others, or ourselves.  Rather, faith allows us to live within the embrace of our loving Abba. No amount of snake handling can prove a person worthy of the favor of the Lord.

The fact is that there is only a matter of decrees of fanaticism between the Kentucky snake handlers and many others who claim to be Christians.  We might not dance with rattlesnakes to prove the depth of our faith, but many of us work hard at doing good, giving more, going to church, reading a set amount of the Bible every day, carefully noting minutes in prayer – not as a means of loving Him, but as a religious duty.

In whom does your faith find its foundation?

Does it rest on God and His promise or your attempts at religion?

Before you wave off the snake handlers as silly men, deluded fools, or ignorant bumpkins; ask God if there are shadows of their error in your Christianity.  Then, put your faith in Him! For the ‘just will live by faith!’

Here’s a word from the Word. "And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.  … So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised. “For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. And my righteous ones will live by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.” (Hebrews 10:19-22,35-38, NLT)

The Tyranny of the Urgent

Life fills up with activities, responsibilities, and obligations that have little or no consequence… if we allow that to happen. Do you frequently tell people, “I just can’t do __________ (fill in the blank) because I am too busy?” You may have succumbed to the tyranny of the urgent.  Entire weeks may pass without any real forward progress though filled with meetings, calls, and conversation if a person is unable or unwilling to impose order on the demands of his life.  In order to live in a way that is most effective we must be prepared to say “No,” as well as “Yes.”  For example, on Friday mornings, if you call my church office, the young lady who answers the phone will tell you that I am not available.  That morning I am focused exclusively on finishing my message for Sunday.  Only an emergency pulls my attention from that priority.  I want to be available to those who call, but realize a “no” is required so that I can say “yes” to what is of greater importance that day.

A core belief of Christianity is that Jesus Christ will return to bring about the conclusion of history and to call the world to judgment.  This promise awaits fulfillment and the delay causes many Christians to forget the importance of it.  What we must remember is that even if Jesus does not return in His Glory, every one of us faces the end of life, which will come much sooner than we think.  That fact is grim to some, of great hope to others.  The return of Christ should never be a source of dread for the Spirit-filled Christian. If our lives are shaped around the will of God, focused on Heaven’s priorities, we will anticipate Christ’s return.  It really will be our ‘ Blessed Hope.’  

But, we run the risk of getting sidetracked. Jesus warns us “Watch out! Don’t let me find you living in careless ease and drunkenness, and filled with the worries of this life. Don’t let that day catch you unaware, as in a trap. For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth. Keep a constant watch. And pray that, if possible, you may escape these horrors and stand before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:34-36, NLT)  

End Times prophecy has never been a favorite topic for me.  Some Believers get so caught up in weaving scenarios about what’s next, they forget to live the Kingdom life right now. Others retreat from the work of the Gospel to wait for Jesus to rescue them from this present world.  And, yes, there are those who twist the Bible’s teaching into such ridiculous schemes that the whole subject becomes a lot of speculative silliness!  Never the less,  we cannot forget that Jesus said He would return, told us that the world would go from bad to worse in the times before His return, and that we risk being so taken up with the urgent that we lose sight of the important.

Each of us needs to ask ourselves if we have done the things today that we would do if it were our last day before His return or before our life came to an end.  “That’s awfully grim,” you say?  For me, it is a way to stay in touch with the truly important: loving God, loving others, forgiving those who wrong, sharing hope with those who are hurting, using things but not falling in love with them.

Here’s the word from the Word.  May it free you from the tyranny of the urgent! "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good." (Titus 2:11-14, NIV)

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Rejoice The Lord Is King

Rejoice, the Lord is King,

Your Lord and King adore!

Rejoice, give thanks, and sing,

And triumph evermore.

Lift up your heart;

Lift up your voice,

Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!

Rejoice in glorious hope,

Our Lord the judge shall come

And take His servants up

To their eternal home.

Lift up your heart,

Lift up your voice,

Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!

Charles Wesley | John Darwall

Public Domain

Waiting Patiently?

Phil built one airplane (yes, a real one!) in his garage 10 years ago. Last week he showed me the first pieces he is fabricating into yet another one. The first project took about 5 years to complete and he’s looking at a few years on this one, too. He assured me that this time it would go faster because of his experience.  The work is detailed, repetitious, and exacting.  He’s building a machine to which he will entrust his life, so there is no rushing, no shortcuts in the work.  Starting something like this requires passion, vision, and above all; patience!  If the  partially completed airplanes available on Ebay are any indicator, there are some who start and don’t finish.

I am so thankful for the Lord’s patience. Do you know that He is a patient God? 

Gideon was a fearful farmer in Israel during a time of repeated invasions by the Midianite people.  Each year, at harvest time, the raiders would sweep through Israel, stealing their crops, leaving the nation to starve.  After several years of this, Israel cried out to God for deliverance.  The LORD answered by calling Gideon to leadership, but the young man was having none of it. When God’s messenger appeared to him, addressing him as ‘Mighty Warrior,’ Gideon argued that He had found the wrong man.  “Me, my master? How and with what could I ever save Israel? Look at me. My clan’s the weakest in Manasseh and I’m the runt of the litter.”  (Judges 6:15, The Message)  After further conversation, Gideon asked for time to go and prepare an offering, a sacrifice.  It would take hours. Would God wait?  "Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.” And the LORD said, “I will wait until you return.” (Judges 6:18, NIV)  Gideon did return, God did reveal His power, and Israel got a new leader, empowered by the Spirit!

Is the Spirit of God birthing a new vision in you, leading you into a new endeavor for which you feel unprepared?  Are you wrestling with fear or doubt, unsure of how to proceed? The Lord will wait! No, I am not suggesting we should test Him or that it is wise to refuse His will. But, we need not think that if we don’t jump at the first impulse that He will pass us by!  We must not be deceived by the rapid pace of our lives into thinking that if we are not super-saints overnight, if we fail to conquer some sinful habit in a month, if faith slips from our grasp from time to time – that God will drop us and move on.  He loves us so much that He is patient. His desire is to transform us, working persistently and patiently.  The Word says, “When God is personally present, a living Spirit, … we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like Him.” (The Message 2 Cor. 3:17-18)

Tell Him you want to be like Jesus! Ask Him for ever-increasing faith! Pray faithfully.  And, yes, trust His willing to wait patiently for you.  "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9, NIV)

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Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

O soul are you weary and troubled,

No light in the darkness you see?

There's light for a look at the Savior,

And life more abundant and free.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus.

Look full in His wonderful face.

And the things of earth,

Will grow strangely dim,

In the light of His glory and grace!

Helen H. Lemmel

© Words: 1922 New Spring

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Jerry D. Scott, Pastor

Faith Discovery Church

Washington, NJ  07882

http://www.FaithDiscovery.com