Perspective

Positive or negative. Are you discouraged, or looking for encouragement?

Are you falling behind, or reaching for your goal?

Do you make time, or do you have time?

Do you have to go, or do you get to go?

It’s a matter of perspective, with one view sounding negative and one positive.

The Bible tells of people with both viewpoints, but the one thing the Bible is consistently telling us is that the outcome can be positive. The deciding factor is ourselves.

Luke 15:11-32 tells of three men, each with a different perspective, and each deciding what to do about being positive or negative.

The youngest son was very positive that a lifestyle change was just what he needed. He soon found out how true the proverb really was:

There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. (Proverbs 14:12 KJV)

We’re not told the father’s perspective when his youngest left home, but we read of his compassion and joy at his son’s return.

It’s the older son I wonder about. I’ve seen the likes of him in church. A person with a sullied reputation comes forward to accept Christ as their savior, and the older brother looks askance. A long-time member, perhaps from childhood, always faithful to church, family, righteously living in the community, who with the older brother wonders:

And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: (Luke 15:29 KJV)

Still positive, the father does not berate his son, but confirms:

And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found. (Luke 15:31-32 KJV)

This parable was given with two others, and Christ twice stated the theme:

I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. (Luke 15:7 KJV)

Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. (Luke 15:10 KJV)

Have you provided joy for the angels in heaven? Tell about it.

Darius

I spoke earlier of the best and brightest young men Judah had to offer: Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: (Daniel 1:6)

At first capture, they were living together. It was through their diet that we read first of their commitment to God. But later on they must have been separated, for Daniel is not found in the story of the fiery furnace, and those three are not found in the story of the lion’s den.

Every child that has set foot in a Sunday School class has an inkling of the lion’s den story. It catches their imagination so very quickly. It is easily illustrated. For the newcomer it has an air of mystery – will Daniel be eaten by the lion? And, the triumphant ending where Daniel is saved.

That’s such a small part of the story. Let’s revisit for a moment.

By this time in his life, Daniel was one of three presidents of his conqueror’s country. Quite an achievement, but it had been done before in Egypt by Joseph. And, as in Egypt, envy and deceit were part of the political scene:

Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. (Daniel 6:3-4)

See, we aren’t the only ones to be bedeviled by those seeking to find occasion against us! Oh, you haven’t felt that way? I’ll admit there was no concept of setting me over the whole realm, but there were times my job appeared to be in jeopardy from other’s actions. Or inaction, in a couple of instances.

Faithful, no error, no fault. How seldom is that found! Yet, Darius fell into that trap that caught Esther and her people – creating a law of the Medes and Persians that cannot be changed. For Daniel, there was no alternative, no court of appeal. Darius looked for it:

Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him. (Daniel 6:14)

And, Darius knew Daniel well enough that he could state firmly:

Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee. (Daniel 6:16)

Are we as certain as the king of the Medes and Persians?

What Would It Take

A foot is just a small step for a man. When measured against 1,400 miles, it’s nothing. But, when it is the South Island of New Zealand moving a full foot toward Australia, it’s news. You can find the full article here.

Another way to view it is that New Zealand got a bit larger – the southwest portion moved 30 centimeters, the east coast moved only one, so there’s a stretching of 29 centimeters between the coasts.

It took an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 to make that move.

What would it take to make a man move a step closer to Christ?

For Nathanael it was a simple phrase:

Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. (John 1:48-49 KJV)

For Paul it was a blinding event:

And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. (Acts 9:4-6 KJV)

Paul spends three days in blindness before Ananias comes to him at God’s command. I wonder if he were even more shocked by what he was shown:

For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake. (Acts 9:16 KJV)

Will it take a massive movement of our lives, in similarity to an earthquake, or will it take the word of God telling us what we already know about ourselves? The Bible shows the road to Christ:

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23 KJV)

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23 KJV)

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8 KJV)

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:13 KJV)

How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? (Romans 10:14 KJV)

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17 KJV)

Put On

People see what you put on. And we usually put on what we want people to see. Decisions are made daily about what we put on our hair. Decisions about what we put on to cover our body (or not so much, in many cases, if you’ll notice.) We make decisions about the color, the texture, the number of layers.

People see these things we put on. Most of the time we want to them to. A peeking slip would not fall into that category, but from barrettes in the hair for ladies or ties for guys down to the selection of shoes, we expect people to see, if not notice, what we have put on.

That’s what makes the following verse stand out to me:

But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, (Romans 13:14a KJV)

Consider for a moment that we would be putting on in order that everyone sees Christ when they look at us. How well do we wear Christ? Do we display Him as a complete package, or are there gaps? Do we allow portions of ourselves show through that clash with Him?

We are told what to put on in another reference, and we are told why:

Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (Ephesians 6:11 KJV)

There are two completely separate reasons for these two verses.

The first is for us to put on Christ in order that we may show Him to others through our own lives. The second is to put on God’s armor to protect us. These are not incompatible verses – we need to do both.

How in the world can we witness to others about Christ’s work in our lives if we are incapable of showing Him in our lives? It is hypocritical to tell someone they need Christ when they cannot see Him in us. When we love Him, we want to introduce others to Him. We understand that without Christ, their eternal souls are in jeopardy.

It becomes very personal when it is someone we love, a family member who knows our foibles, our failures and yet we need to show them Christ. We are so imperfect that we cannot do this without His help. We have His words:

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6 KJV)

But – what if we’re wrong? Well, Paul said it best two thousand years ago: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. (1 Corinthians 15:14 KJV)

He repeats that – for it bears repeating: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. (1 Corinthians 15:17 KJV)

He goes a step further a verse down: If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. (1 Corinthians 15:19 KJV)

Paul found the answer, and shared it, as we do today: But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:57 KJV)

Come, join in the victory celebration in your life.

Brightest and Best

Reginald Heber, a hymn writing Church of England bishop, used a phrase in a hymn in 1811:

Brightest and best of the sons of the morning,
Dawn now our darkness, and lend us thine aid.

David Halberstam used a similar phrase for the title of his book on the origins of the war the United States fought in Vietnam: The Best and The Brightest.

More than 2,500 years ago, Nebuchadnezzar described the children he was looking for in quite similar terms:

And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes; Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans. (Daniel 1:3-4 KJV)

Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: (Daniel 1:6 KJV)

Never heard of Hananiah? Mishael? Azariah? How about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? If you enjoy jazz, check out Louis Armstrong’s rendition of the story.

We know of them, too, through Josephus’ Antiquities of the Jews, Book 10, Chapter 10, Section 1:

Now among these there were four of the family of Zedekiah, of most excellent dispositions, one of whom was called Daniel, another was called Ananias, another Misael, and the fourth Azarias; and the king of Babylon changed their names, and commanded that they should make use of other names. Daniel he called Baltasar; Ananias, Shadrach; Misael, Meshach; and Azarias, Abednego. These the king had in esteem, and continued to love, because of the very excellent temper they were of, and because of their application to learning, and the profess they had made in wisdom.

No blemish, skillful in wisdom, cunning in knowledge, understanding science – or as Josephus puts it, excellent temper, application to learning and professing wisdom. Laying aside the royalty bit, how many of us would have been considered worthy for the king’s court?

Right now all of us are considered worthy to live forever in the King of Kings’ court. We will not be carried away as captives, though, for we can refuse to participate. God has fewer requirements in coming to serve Him, and He offers greater rewards.

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28 KJV)

Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:30b-31 KJV)

Not only do we have God’s word as a written invitation, He sends ministers to tell us Christ’s words:

For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10 KJV)

Ezekiel

This week in our yearlong journey through the Bible we’re studying Ezekiel. A lot of people get side tracked in the first chapter. How would you describe your vision of God?

And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings. (Ezekiel 1:6 KJV)

as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel. (Ezekiel 1:16b KJV)

Authors have described this event as everything from an interstellar spaceship to analogies of the coming messiah. I doubt either extreme holds the whole truth.

As Ezekiel describes it, he used what words he knew to describe the awesome glory of God. Our own limitations keep us from describing what God means to us.

Some find it easy to describe their relationship to God simply by saying He does not exist. Therefore they need not concern themselves with describing His interaction in their lives.

For those of us who do believe, we’re limited to words and small deeds to acknowledge the result of God’s work in our lives. Some make tremendous changes when they come to know the Lord as their savior. They change where they spend their time. They spend their time and their money differently, much of it going to support their local church. Others don’t change much at all. They continue assisting people around them, speaking more of Christ in their lives than before, but they’ve always done good deeds.

Our words are somewhat limited, too. We say we ‘love’ the Lord, and we don’t mean the same thing as when we say we ‘love’ ice cream. Our words are over used, and there are not the nuances found in other languages.

In the New Testament there were three Greek words for love. Brotherly love (phileos), physical love (eros) and the spiritual love between man and god (agape.) An example of the difference in nuance is in the 21st chapter of John where Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. (John 21:12 KJV)

So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest (agapao) thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love (phileo) thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. (John 21:15 KJV)

The same question is asked again, with the same answer in verse 16. In verse 17, Christ changes the question a bit:

He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest (phileo) thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love (phileo) thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. (John 21:17 KJV)

Just as today, God reaches us though our vocabulary is limited and our abilities to receive His messages are just as limited. He continues to reach us, not allowing His glory to keep us away from Him.

How would you describe your vision of God?

Family

Friday night we had all three of our children, their spouses, three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren celebrating our grandson’s 18th birthday. He’s an exceptional young man. He loves cars and mechanical devices. He’s taking shop his senior year and intends to rebuild a car just for himself. He enjoys time with his uncle, Second Daughter’s husband, who builds race cars.

He’s exceptional in another way – he owns his own business. Years ago young men earned ‘spending money’ by mowing lawns in the neighborhood. Not so much any more. Not only does Grandson earn money by mowing, he owns the company. He has several zero-turn lawn mowers and has employees. He’ll graduate from high school next spring.

He is an ‘acquired’ grandson, the result of a ‘blended’ family, and we are so proud of his accomplishments. It is grand having him in our family.

We have many others, too, who have become part of a ‘blended’ family through Christ. He said: For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother. (Mark 3:35 KJV)

All of this is given to us through the mercy of a loving God who has offered us the opportunity to be joint heirs with Christ.

For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; (Romans 8:15-17a KJV)

There is more to the verse and we should be aware of it going into this family of God:

if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. (Romans 8:17b KJV)

We are promised His support, but we are not promised total comfort. We are to be a people set apart, but we are not removed from this world and the natural consequences of living here.

The Bible provides tools for our work within this glorious family just as it provides glimpses of the promises of heaven. We want to share this with those we love. Come, please, enjoy God's family.