Morning Musings with the boys at breakfast...
Open wide your hearts; relationships are a two-way street. In 2 Corinthians 6:11-13 we read about Paul speaking to the Corinthians "as to my children." He opens his heart to them and wants that reciprocated. A relationship takes effort and input and needs to be ongoing and sustained to keep it vibrant.
Don't withhold affection from each other (appropriate manner, of course). Same with our Heavenly Father. He has given us so much, how do we respond? Ignore or engage?
The Corinthians were ignoring and outright disowning that they even knew Paul and Timothy. Yet Paul was the one who had brought them the Gospel message of Jesus in the first place. He had taught them the way of Jesus!
Paul suffered many hardships doing that too and this on their behalf. They knew it, yet, again, they were regarding Paul and Timothy as impostors!
Thus Paul's very direct and blunt exhortations and admonitions to them. He topped those with a softening appeal for them to open their hearts wide to Timothy and himself, as brothers-in-Christ and as friends and to a relationship of mutual affection. This was Paul, as father to his spiritual children.
Similarly we can establish such two-way relationships with our children; or as children, with your parents. God loves to work in families. It takes time and trust but they can develop over time.
A second plane is to open wide our hearts, as children of God, to Him, and build up this relationship. It is the most important one in the whole wide world, universe, and all of creation for that matter. God seeks to commune with us. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. He has gone all out for you, will you go all out for Him; with Him?
For those of us in the family of God, we need to reach out to each other too; especially within your local church. I read one writer once (sorry I can't recall which book or writer) who asked if you know your church members well enough to even know the name of their cat! This is not in the busybody manner; far be the thought! However do we care about each other enough to get to know them and their cares and concerns so that we can help each other mature in Christ and give help in time of need? Console and mourn when they mourn? Rejoice when they rejoice? This too, is a two-way street. Do we allow others into our life to accept their care for us?
May the Lord enable us all in our relationships to take the time, make the effort and give the care as well as to receive it.
~ERC 2016~
Morning Musings With The Boys At Breakfast....
Sometimes we feel like we have been forgotten and left to ourselves; what do you think? Did Jesus leave us to fend for ourselves? As we age our "earthly tent" is being "destroyed" with the ravages of life and sin, sickness or just age. In this we look more and more to our "heavenly body"; longing to be "away from the body and at home with the Lord" It seems like a long time.
Maybe not for young guys like you but you will see as you get older and the wear and tear of life comes over you. Will you wish to be "...home with the Lord?" Do you? Do I? What do we do in the meantime despite our weaknesses? Bemoan them or live life in the confidence and knowledge that we have a purpose and that even when we feel heaven is silent we still have the faith to continue on? What promises are there that we are remembered?
The purposes and the promise...we will meet our Maker some day although no one knows the day or hour. However, we must live life to please the Lord with the help of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the deposit or the "guarantee" we will be with Jesus some day. Check out 2 Corinthians 5:1-10. God is faithful and these are no idle promises. We will be with Him someday and be clothed with new bodies that don't wear out; "imperishable" and that don't "fade away". We will meet Him and be with Him to meet to part no more.
God's kindness and goodness gives us His loving guarantee we have not been abandoned here on earth and there are better things to come. Out of love we can give back to Him, make it our goal to please Him and show Him our gratitude. If you look at 2 Cor 5:21 you'll see God did this for us; in Jesus, we have the righteousness of God.
It is here and now on earth that we can please Him because of that. Can we please God if we are "away from the body" (vs 9). Don't let our spirits roam around and do evil. Don't receive God's grace in vain. Don't receive it and then don't bother living the Christian life. No. We must live our life as new creatures in Christ.
We need to live this way, no matter what; even if it feels like we've been forgotten. Remember we have God's Holy Spirit indwelling us, leading and guiding us. God's not ever going to forget.
~ERC 2016~
Morning Musing with the boys at breakfast....
This is about those brothers and sisters in Christ who share God's Word but not for profit. 2 Corinthians 2:17 talks about "they did not peddle the word of God for profit;" Paul and some of his companions were tent makers and so funded much of their own mission work themselves. If he were to preach for profit, he feared the truth could be distorted and speak what they think their hearers wanted to hear (having their ears tickled). Instead, speaking the truth in love, even if very difficult and distressing and causing grief. The intent though was to gain repentance and forgiveness for the end good and benefit of the individuals and/or groups.
As the words to one song go...something like this, that is:
Jesus paid it all
All to Him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed me white as snow.
Let us preach the pure word of God to gain treasure in heaven and not in our pockets.
~ERC 2016~
Morning Musings With the Boys at Breakfast...
It can seem like there are often more negatives than positives in our lives and in the world and that we pray about those negatives. We forget the positives. Pray about the negatives, for sure, BUT remember to thank our Heavenly Father, God, for the positives. Thank Him especially for all the answers to the prayers of the many who do pray for us. (2 Corinthians 1:3-11)
~ERC 2015~
Morning Musings With the Boys at Breakfast....
Just a few questions pop into my mind after reading 1 Corinthians 16:1-4. Questions such as: Are we being stingy or generous in giving? Are we cheerful when giving? Are we giving in keeping with our income and means?
Now, I'm talking to my boys who don't earn much of anything at this point in time but there's giving of $$ and cents and there's giving of time, and energy and the like. The principles are the same. In 2 Corinthians 8:10 it says to give but also with the desire to do so with willingness. These verses are quite literally dealing with the $$ and cents aspect. However, when you look at 2 Cor 8:5, you'll see the Corinthians gave themselves first and foremost; this was their mindset and attitude, from there the monetary gifts would follow.
The spiritual gifts were used too without any withholding and in keeping with how Jesus told those who asked Him on the subject; "what belongs to God, give to God and what belongs to Caesar, give to Caesar. Similarly, that which belongs to our family we give to our family.
This could mean our immediate family but also to those of God's family as we see the needs arise. God Himself was all out generous with us in sending His one and only Son Jesus to earth; even to the sacrifice of death upon the cross to earn salvation for any and all who wish it. Jesus is our Supreme example in giving.
So let us "set aside a sum of money in keeping with our income" so we have something to give at a moment's notice and so that our attitudes can be ongoing in generosity, and in cheerfulness. Make those gifts acceptable by giving according to your means, not to what you do not have. Decide to give. Decide how much to give, not sparingly, and give cheerfully.
The key is willingness to give. Let us reach others with that same limitless grace of giving, that God in His act of grace, reached and gave to us. Let us excel in the grace of giving.
"Oh, Lord, help! Thank you for your Holy Spirit's help. Give me that willing, generous heart and mindset and attitude. Amen.
Happy giving everybody!
~ERC 2015~
Morning Musings with the boys at breakfast...
Most people know the "love chapter" is considered to be 1 Corinthians 13. In this chapter God's love is described and is that type of love which we, all followers of Jesus Christ, need to have and use in all we do. It's the type of love that "oils" all our relationships, so lubricate liberally with it by God's grace.
Get that glimpse of God's love. How He was/is always reaching out to mankind. From the Garden of Eden where He came down to walk there and to spend time with Adam and Eve, communing with them; to the Israelites roaming through the wilderness all the way from Egypt to Canaan: God being in their midst the whole time in the pillar of cloud and fire, in the Tabernacle, and later in the Temple; residing in various Old Testament individuals temporarily so they could complete specialized tasks; to King Saul once being indwelt by the Holy Spirit yet due to Saul's disobedience, the Spirit had to leave...God was really trying His best to get His love message across.
King David was also indwelt by the Holy Spirit and he must have remembered what had happened to King Saul and at one point begged and pleaded with God not to remove the Holy Spirit from him when he had committed some terrible sins (Psalm 51:11). David valued God's presence within him.
There were four hundred silent years between the Old Testament and the New Testament where there appeared to be no interest from God towards His human beings. This must have been a painful time on God's part, so to speak--heartbroken over His people who hadn't much interest in Him.
God does go on to prove His love to human kind by sending Jesus to earth. Jesus death and resurrection and taking that punishment for the sins of earth's people was God's way of speaking loudly and clearly. Furthermore when Jesus went back to Heaven He sent the Holy Spirit to live in His children permanently while they (we) reside on Earth. He went to great lengths so He could establish and maintain (if we so choose), that relationship of communion with Him. He wants us. Let us delight ourselves in Him and His presence and His love.
Speaking of this love we are to extend it to our fellow human beings. In 1 John 4:7-11, God the Source of love shows and gives His love, and we ought to love one another. When we do this, His love is made complete in us. Don't keep His love to yourself.
This love can make us kinder, gentler, more good. We can show greater grace to others, through the Holy Spirit's help as we learn to be more patient, kind, to show no envy, not to boast, not to be proud, not to be rude or self-seeking, not to be easily angered, not to keep records of wrongs, not to delight in evil, to rejoice in the truth, to protect, to always trust, hope and persevere, and to never fail. God's kind of love is the greatest thing.
~ERC 2015~
P.S. Do feel free to comment constructively. TQ.
