Think On These Things

Earlier this morning, I was scrolling through Facebook, and happened upon a post from one of the pastors I follow about a politician who didn’t do things the way this person thought they should have done them. And several others, again, mostly pastors, chimed in with their opinions about how horrible they thought that leader was and expanded the discussion to others of that leader’s political party as well.

And I ALMOST entered the fray. I started typing MY opinion but then I felt a check in my spirit… and was reminded of something the Lord had spoken to me (not audibly… but you know) a few months ago.

It too was a day that started with my personal affront to what someone else had posted on social media that morning. I had started to respond, like today, and really felt the Spirit of God saying to me that I needed to pause and think (AND PRAY) before I responded.

So I closed my laptop and opened my Bible. I didn’t have any specific sense of where in the Bible to go, so I just opened it… and I was on the page which had Philippians 3:19 through the end of the book (chapter 4:23). And I simply started reading. When I got to Philippians 4:8, I felt like someone had hit me. I read these words (from the New Living Translation):
“And now dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure , and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”

I felt so embarrassed… and convicted. I have my opinions (which I am CERTAIN are correct!!!) and I am organized and logical (and trained as a teacher), so I want to help educate those with different opinions (and since I’m sure MY opinions and beliefs are RIGHT, then they must be wrong…). I want to lay out my case in order to help them “see the light” and come around to MY right beliefs and opinions.

But the truth is, NOBODY convinces ANYBODY of ANYTHING on social media. And the prevalent mood of most who see something contrary to their thoughts on social media quite often read those contrary posts as PERSONAL ATTACKS. And so, a good intentioned post can be taken as hateful comments or even hate speech.

And there I am, with Philippians 4:8 staring me in the face… challenging me to make sure the things I say (verbally or in print) pass the tests Paul listed in this verse.

The things that I’m to give my thoughts and attention to are things that are: true AND honorable AND right AND pure AND lovely AND admirable AND excellent AND worthy of praise.

We so often wonder what God’s will is, and here Paul point blank tells us what we are supposed to be focusing on and thinking about. And it doesn’t give me much wiggle room for badmouthing people in politics or in the extended church or in my local congregation or in my neighborhood.

AND…

As a Christian, I’m hoping and praying that the people who hear me speak or watch my actions OR READ MY ONLINE POSTS, will see and read and hear JESUS. And that affects my social media postings. If I spend my online social media time ripping apart others, then I’m letting people know that I believe verbally fighting and attacking others is the way I show what I truly believe. And NOBODY gets to see Jesus through me. Which means I have failed in my number one job as a Christian.

John Wesley once shared with the clergy leadership of the young Methodist movement that they had nothing to do except save souls. I’m coming to understand that includes Facebook and Twitter and Instagram and all the other social media platforms. Not that every post or status has to be an altar call kind of statement, but they need to be positive and connected to real life as I live with Christ. Not potty humor, or negative stuff, or attacking others, or sexual comments… If everything I write or say was put together in a book, I hope and pray that readers of that book would be able to see Jesus throughout its pages.

End Times Requirements

(sermon notes)

The Bible is FILLED with references to the END TIMES…

In the OLD Testament: “The Day of the Lord”

In the NEW Testament: “The Second Coming of Christ”

Are there requirements for those of us who desire to be on the Lord’s side when it comes to those END TIMES?

How did the Disciples and the New Testament writers see themselves?

Because that is probably a good indicator as to how WE ought to see ourselves.

JESUS

“whoever wants to be first among you must be your servant”

(Matthew 20:26) (NIV)

“Well done, good and faithful servant”

(Matthew 25:21 +) (NIV)

PAUL

“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus”

(Rom. 1:1) (NIV)

“Paul & Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus”

(Philippians 1:1) (NIV)

“Paul, a servant of God”

(Titus 1:1) (NIV)

JAMES

“James, a servant of God”

(James 1:1) (NIV)

PETER

“Simon Peter, a servant & apostle of Jesus Christ”

(2 Peter 1:1) (NIV)

JUDE

“Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ”

(Jude 1) (NIV)

THE REVELATION TO JOHN

“This is a revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants the events that must soon take place.”

(Revelation 1:1) (NIV)

In every one of these places where the English NIV translation reads: “servant” the New Testament, written in Greek, actually has the word: doulos. While the NIV translates it as “servant”, doulos is better translated as “slave.”

According to the NLT Study Bible, doulos (Strong’s: 1401) “… refers to a person who is the property of another person. A slave can be bought, sold, inherited, leased or jointly owned. This language is also used figuratively to identify something that exercises power over a person (e.g. “slave to sin”). In the NT, believers are often identified as slaves of Christ Jesus, with an emphasis on their identity with, obedience to, and humble service for their master.”

—NLT Study Bible (Tyndale: 2008) p. 2222

So… The attitude of the disciples and the writers of the New Testament was one of being SERVANTS, or more accurately, SLAVES. Ones that looked to their Master for direction, guidance, and commands.

As Servants of Jesus, what is expected of us as we approach the End Times?

In Luke 12, verses 35-48, we see a series of four servant/slave pictures that Jesus uses to emphasize the expectations of his followers as the end times get closer to the end.

As servants (or slaves) of Christ, looking for our role as we approach the End Times, we are expected to:

1. Be Ready for His Coming

35 “Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 as though you were waiting for your master to return from the wedding feast. Then you will be ready to open the door and let him in the moment he arrives and knocks. 37 The servants who are ready and waiting for his return will be rewarded. I tell you the truth, he himself will seat them, put on an apron, and serve them as they sit and eat! 38 He may come in the middle of the night or just before dawn. But whenever he comes, he will reward the servants who are ready.”

–LUKE 12:35-37 (NLT)

As servants (or slaves) of Christ, looking for our role as we approach the End Times, we are expected to:

2.       Be on Guard for the Enemy

39 “Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would not permit his house to be broken into. 40 You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.”

 –LUKE 12:39-40 (NLT)

As servants (or slaves) of Christ, looking for our role as we approach the End Times, we are expected to:

3.       Be Ready to Be Caught By the Master Doing Your Job

41 Peter asked, “Lord, is that illustration just for us or for everyone?“

42 And the Lord replied, “A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. 43 If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. 44 I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns. 45 But what if the servant thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’ and he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk? 46 The master will return unannounced and unexpected, and he will cut the servant in pieces and banish him with the unfaithful.

— LUKE 12-42-46 (NLT)

As servants (or slaves) of Christ, looking for our role as we approach the End Times, we are expected to:

4.       Be Aware of What the Master Wants… and Do It

47 “And a servant who knows what the master wants, but isn’t prepared and doesn’t carry out those instructions, will be severely punished. 48 But someone who does not know, and then does something wrong, will be punished only lightly. When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.

 — LUKE 12:47-48 (NLT)

SUMMARY:

As servants (or slaves) of Christ, looking for our role as we approach the End Times, we are expected to:

1. Be Ready for His coming
2. Be on Guard for the Enemy
3. Be Ready to Be Caught Doing Your Job by the Master
4. Be Aware of What the Master Wants… and Do It

“Only What We Can Handle”?

A couple of weeks ago I again heard someone claim “I know God won’t give me more than I can handle, but I wish He didn’t trust me so much!” This person was a good Christian, but they’re not alone… Christians (especially American Christians) often make reference to this belief that God won’t give you more than you can handle.

The problem, of course, is that it’s NOT true and it’s NOT even in the Bible!

If God only allowed what we could handle on our own, then we would NEVER NEED GOD!

As humans, the only times most of us remember to even seek God’s help is when we ARE overwhelmed… THAT’s when we need God the most!

I started thinking about all of this the other day when I stumbled upon an entry in a day by day kind of guide that highlights events on any given day.

JULY 28 (1960)

American Trappist monk Thomas Merton confesses in a letter, “I can depend less and less on my own power and sense of direction—as if I ever had any. But the Lord supports and guides me without my knowing how, more and more apart from my own action and even in contradiction to it.”

— from This Day in Christian History by William D. Blake (Barbour:2011), entry for “July 28.”

As I read it, I immediately thought of what the Bible DOES say… and I turned to the Apostle Paul’s words in Phillipians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (NKJV)

When I feel like I’ve been given too much to handle, THAT’s proof that God is still trying to woo and draw me closer to Him! He’s deliberately allowed all the stuff of life to build up and start to overwhelm me so that I can remember that I NEED His help!

The question is: “Will I turn to Him and ask for His help or will I try to ‘handle it’ all by myself?”