Hearing God's Call

Good Morning! 

The Bible contains many beautiful stories that God uses to help us understand His desires for us.  One of my favorites concerns the prophet Samuel. You remember that Samuel was committed to the Lord by his mother, Hannah.  He became a servant to Eli who was a priest in Israel.  In 1^st Samuel 3, we read of how God called to Samuel …

3 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.

² At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. ³ The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.

⁴ Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!” ⁵ and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down.

⁶ And the Lord called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” ⁷ Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

⁸ And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. ⁹ Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

¹⁰ And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.” ¹¹ Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. ¹² On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. ¹³ And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God,^[a] and he did not restrain them. ¹⁴ Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”

¹⁵ Samuel lay until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. ¹⁶ But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.” ¹⁷ And Eli said, “What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.” ¹⁸ So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him.”

¹⁹ And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. ²⁰ And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord. ²¹ And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.

Footnotes:

1 Samuel 3:13 Or blaspheming for themselves

I underlined a few of the words in the passage.  First, Israel was in a funk … it had no vision; it was just living from one day to the next, not doing anything that fulfilled their mission.  Take a moment to think about YOUR vision … do you have one?  I frequently ask myself if I am actively pursuing the vision God has for me … or if I am just existing from one day to the next.  God has a vision for YOUR life. Find it. Pursue it.

Second, God came to Samuel BEFORE Samuel knew Him.  We tend to forget that God knows EVERYTHING about us.  As the Psalmist says: Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. God knows YOUR tomorrow … and He wants you to give Him that tomorrow for His purpose.

Third, Eli was willing to hear what God had said to Samuel … and to accept God’s judgment upon him.  And Samuel complied with Eli’s request.  I cannot imagine how difficult it was for Samuel to say to Eli what God had said to him.  And I also cannot imagine how difficult it was for Eli to hear what God had said concerning him and his descendants.  It leads me to ask of God where I stand.  I think it’s okay to ask that question … and to be ready to hear His response.

The result of Samuel’s obedience is that he grew, God sustained him and established him as a prophet … and God revealed Himself to Samuel.  I believe God can and does do the same thing for us when we are obedient.

Well, blessings to all of you on this very frigid day.

Agape’

Mr. Jim

  

Prayer:  Father, I pray that You will speak to me as You spoke to Samuel … and that I will be willing to listen and accept Your Word as Eli did. Thank You for being my God and my Father and for giving me this good day.   In the precious Name of Jesus. Amen.

Scripture for today:  1^st Samuel 3, Psalms 139:16

Rain

Good Morning! 

Okay … who left the freezer door open yesterday?  Wow! What a contrast a few days can make in January.  Thursday I am playing golf in my shirt-sleeves … Monday I am wondering how many layers I will need to stay warm when walking to the car.  Brrrr!!!

I want to offer a word of praise to our Father, God, this Good Morning.  Every third Saturday of the month, Helen First gives away food to people in need in White County Georgia.  The amount of food a person receives is dependent upon family size … 2 or fewer in a family is one unit; 3 to 5 receives 2 units, more than 5 receives 3 units.  Saturday, we distributed 121 units of food to folks.  But the praise belongs to God.  If you remember, the weather for Saturday called for rain with temperatures hovering in the mid-thirties.  And we did have rain on Saturday … but not until after the food was distributed.  God is so good.

Speaking of rain, I am reminded of the time that Elijah faced off with the prophets of Baal.  The story is found in 1^st Kings 18.  In summary, it had not rained in Samaria for three years … and things were looking pretty bleak – no food to eat, no water to drink.  The reason it hadn’t rained was because God was punishing Israel for worshipping Baal … the chief culprits being King Ahab who was influenced by his wife, Jezebel.  They were so bad that King Ahab was killing any prophet of God he could find.  So, God SENDS Elijah to confront Ahab!!!  Long story short, Ahab doesn’t kill Elijah but accepts a contest between Elijah and 450 prophets of Baal.  Despite all their antics, the poor old prophets of Baal could not get God to accept their offering.  Elijah, on the other hand, poured water all over his offering … and God sent fire to accept the sacrifice.  Elijah won … and shortly thereafter, God sent rain to replenish the ground.

When I was a youth (okay, we are talking 50 plus years ago), I was a student counselor at Camp Joyful Baileywick. One of our church members at Druid Hills Presbyterian Church offered their summer retreat home in north Atlanta for us to have a children’s summer camp for two weeks. The last Friday was a sleep-over with a big campfire.  The student counselors reenacted the story.  Of course, we used kerosene for water and a roll of toilet paper for the fire from heaven, so it was quite a display.

What is my point for today?  Why can I give God praise for holding off the rain Saturday? Isn’t it just a coincidence … a point of nature?  Well, our church has been giving out food for five years. In the five years, there have been many Saturdays where rain has been in the offing … and we have yet to have a rain-out.  We did have one instance where there was some ice and the food truck couldn’t make it … but that is the only instance in five years where we could not keep our commitment to the people in need in White County.  In that situation, we held the food distribution the next week.

Sometimes the miracles from God go unnoticed because we fail to be aware of His hand moving in our midst. Spend a few minutes this good day thinking about how God has blessed you in small ways as well as big ways.  And then, spend even more time in prayer and praise.

Agape’

Mr. Jim

  

Prayer:  Open my eyes … illumine me, dear Father God, so that I might give You the praise that You deserve for Your great love for me. Teach me to be sensitive to Your working in my life each day. Give me the words to express my gratitude for You.  In the precious Name of Jesus. Amen.

Scripture for today:  1^st Kings 18

Plea for Descendants

Good Morning! 

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

This statement found in 3^rd John 4 states clearly how I feel about my children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.  I am sure this is true for you as well.  My hope is that all of my descendants will know Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior; learning to walk in the Light of Christ and live as true servants to God. 

There are only two things I can do towards this hope.  The first is to live a life before my descendants that honors the One who I claim as Lord. Before I can make my talk, I need to show my commitment by my walk. Each child should see my devotion in the study of God’s Word and the choices I make as a result.  They should hear me talk about how God has blessed me. They should witness my reaction to life’s many challenges as I trust God and seek His face. And they should hear the gospel message from my lips either directly or indirectly.  I believe as they see the witness of their father, grandfather or great-grandfather, they will make the decision to follow Jesus.

The good old hymn “Trust and Obey” says it best …

When we walk with the Lord
in the light of his word,
what a glory he sheds on our way!
While we do his good will,
he abides with us still,
and with all who will trust and obey. 

Let us purpose to walk with the Lord this very day …

Agape’

Mr. Jim

  

Prayer:  Father, I trust in You. I plea for my children, asking that You will intervene should they stray from You. I plea for my grandchildren and great-grandchildren, asking that You work in the lives of their parents so they might know You as I know You. Teach each one of us … me, my children, and all their descendants … to walk in Truth and thus honor You.  In the precious Name of Jesus. Amen.

Scripture for today:  3^rd John 1:4

Leaven

Good Morning! 

The usual use of the term “leaven” in Scripture is about its insidious nature to corrupt.  But, as I read Matthew 13, I note that Jesus speaks of leaven in a less derogatory way.  Let’s read …

Matthew 13:31-33 English Standard Version (ESV)

The Mustard Seed and the Leaven

³¹ He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. ³² It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

³³ He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”

I like both parables … both that Jesus uses to describe the kingdom of heaven.  My thoughts turn to Christ as being the true vine from which branches spring.  You remember what He told us … “I am the vine, you are the branches …”.  I  remember how the eleven remaining disciples cowered in a small room in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit empowered them to speak … and, in one day, over 3,000 men believing the message of Christ Jesus.  And it didn’t stop there … until the message was known throughout the known world.  Talk about a tree springing forth out of the ground!!! Wow!!! And it is STILL GROWING!!!

But let’s focus on verse 33 for a moment.  In my thinking, one of the applications here is about the Word of God.  Like the chemical reaction of yeast to water and sugar, the Word of God inserted in our lives with the power of the Holy Spirit within produces the positive result of a sanctified life.  Jesus told us … “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. “ I think it amazing that, after more than eleven years of writing Good Mornings, I can still open a passage of Scripture and find a fresh meaning.  The Word of God is a living testament to our Father who is in Heaven.  The more we study and meditate on this testament, the more it permeates our being and brings us closer to the true Bread of Life.

God bless each one of you this good, good day.  May He reveal Himself to you in word and deed.

Agape’

Mr. Jim

  

Prayer:  Father, work in me as You have spoken. Permeate my whole being so that I might be worthy to be Your representative. In the precious Name of Jesus. Amen.

Scripture for today:  Matthew 13:31-33

Stay Out of the Weeds

Good Morning! 

Can you believe we are already fifteen days into the new year?  It seems the days just pass by so quickly.

Yesterday was very rainy in the early morning.  I decided that my usual activity (golf0 wasn’t a possibility … so I used the day to get an upgrade on my Iphone.  My last upgrade was in 2014 or 2015 … so long ago that I didn’t remember how long it took to switch information from one phone to another.  Our local phone store uses a internet provider with a checkered history for service … often very slow … which was true in my case.  But now I have a phone that I think may be useful for many, many years.

Later, I gathered with some of the cast of the latest play I am involved in at Habersham Community Theatre. The play is entitled “Number the Stars” and involves quite a number of young people.  The play comes from a book with a similar title and is a fictional account about historical events occurring in Denmark during World War II.  We were privileged to have a Swedish lady as a dialect coach and who was very familiar with the coalition of people cooperating together in both Denmark and Sweden in helping protect Jews during the period.  The play is quite good … and, if you live in the area, I encourage you to get tickets.  Our theatre holds just over one hundred seats … and I am convinced they will be gone soon.

Enough about the daily adventures of an old man!  As often happens, I awoke this morning with a blank slate when it comes to a subject for our Good Morning posting.  I began a quick review of some of the passages I have been reading in Matthew this month.  In Monday’s reading, there were several parables that Christ spoke to the people who were following Him.  One of the parables stood out to me this morning … the Parable of the Weeds.  Let’s take a look …

Matthew 13:24-30 English Standard Version (ESV)

The Parable of the Weeds

²⁴ He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, ²⁵ but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds^[a] among the wheat and went away. ²⁶ So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. ²⁷ And the servants^[b] of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ ²⁸ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ ²⁹ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. ³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

Footnotes:

Matthew 13:25 Probably darnel, a wheat-like weed

Matthew 13:27 Or bondservants; also verse 28

Later, His disciples would come to Jesus, seeking an explanation about what the parable meant. Here is His explanation …

Matthew 13:36-43 English Standard Version (ESV)

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

³⁶ Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” ³⁷ He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸ The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, ³⁹ and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰ Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, ⁴² and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³ Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

The weeds (tares) are probably darnel.  Here is a definition:

www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/tares

Tares. There can be little doubt that the zizania of the parable, ( Matthew 13:25) denotes the weed called "darnel" (Lolium temulentum).The darnel before it comes into ear is very similar in appearance to wheat; hence the command that the zizania should be left to the harvest, lest while men plucked up the tares "they should root up also the wheat with them."

Darnel is a host to a fungus that is poisonous to animals that consume it.  In the parable, the farmer is planting wheat that is to be harvested later.  Jesus (the Son of Man) is planting good seed that will bring about a rich harvest.  The enemy (the devil) comes along afterwards, sowing darnel in an attempt to taint the harvest.  The sower’s instructions to the reapers is to wait until the harvest to separate the weeds from the good wheat.  Then, the weeds will be separated and bundled and tossed in the fire that burns forever.

For me, the parable is a warning to all who would seek to pervert the gospel message of Christ Jesus as Lord. This includes those who preach and teach “Jesus plus”.  The gospel is simple. Jesus is the one and only way for each human to be saved.  It tells me to “stay out of the weeds” … not try to add to or subtract from that simple truth … believe on Jesus and you will be saved.

My prayer is that God will be close to you this good, good day and provide you with peace and joy through out the day.

Agape’

Mr. Jim

  

Prayer:  Father, thank You for reminding me that You guide the harvest … and that You will separate the good from the bad. Help me, dear Father, to keep the weed seed out of the teaching of Your Word. I realize that I am only a human who needs Your guidance moment by moment to handle Your Truth carefully. Guide my mind. Give me the words You want conveyed. Help me lift up Christ in all.  I ask this in the precious Name of Jesus. Amen.

Scripture for today:  Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43

In Christ

Good Morning! 

College football came to an end last night when LSU defeated Clemson for the national title. Our preacher is a graduate of LSU … and a real fan.  He warned us Sunday that he expects to be obnoxious about the Tigers this coming week. I fully expect to see him with purple and gold hair, wearing LSU garments from head to toe.  And … it will all be in good fun.  

He also brought a great sermon Sunday from 2^nd Corinthians 5:17. You will recognize the verse:

2 Corinthians 5:17 English Standard Version (ESV)

¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.^[a] The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Footnotes:

2 Corinthians 5:17 Or creature

What does it mean to be “in Christ”?  God presents to each human being the challenge of being “in Christ”.  Many people assume that they are “children of God” just because they were born. We are not. John, in his gospel, points out that God has given us the opportunity to become children of God … but only “in Christ” (John 1:12-13).  Instead, until we believe (place our trust for our salvation in the completed work of Christ Jesus) we are creations of God.

When we reach back into the story of the creation of all we know as this world, we find that God created man from the dust of the ground and breathed life into His creation.  God would later take from that creation a rib to form woman.  He placed His creation into a perfect place with a perfect plan. But man chose to disobey … and sIn was born in man … a rebellious nature that makes man want to be on an equal plane as his Creator.  Sin separates.  And thus the creature was separated from the Creator. 

For a person to be “in Christ”, he or she must first recognize that he or she is separated from God by his or her rebellious nature.  Our desire for self … be it pleasure or any other emotion … creates enmity between us and God.  

For a person to be “in Christ”, he or she must realize that nothing he or she can or will do (other than to receive Christ as Lord and Savior) can change that rebellious nature. We can’t work it out. We can’t give it out.  We can’t live it out. 

For a person to be “in Christ”, he or she must embrace the finished work of the God-man, Jesus of Nazareth who is God made flesh.  He is the perfect sacrifice offered for the sIn of humankind. All who will place their trust in Him will be “born again” … a new creation of God with all the old things passed away.  Jesus is the ONLY sacrifice that is sufficient.

The question each of us must face this good day is “am I in Christ?”  Have I recognized, realized and embraced Jesus as my Lord and my Savior?  Am I a new creation … with my rebellious nature placed under the blood that Jesus shed for me? 

I realize that when I write this post, I am speaking to many who are “already in the choir” … people who have placed their trust in Christ Jesus.  But, perhaps, there is one who is still searching … not knowing for certain … living in fear of the future.  If you that one, let me share with you that you can be in Christ this very day.  The prayer I will offer today is often referred to as “the sinner’s prayer” … simple words asking God to change the person’s heart so that he or she can become a child of God … and a new creation.  Pray that prayer … believing in our Savior, Christ Jesus.

Agape’

Mr. Jim

  

Prayer:  Father, I now know that I am a sinner.  I turn away from my sin, trusting in Jesus as my Lord and as my Savior … claiming Your promise that if I confess with my mouth and believe in my heart that Jesus is Lord, I will be saved.  I believe … help me in my unbelief.  I ask this in the precious Name of Jesus. Amen.

Scripture for today:  2^nd Corinthians 5:17