I have posted close to 100 times on a secular site since last summer. I have posted on Biblical topics economic issues, disasters, politics, ethical dilemmas and even sports. Although viewed by close to 10,000 people, there have only been two posts which have ever generated attacks on me personally and my beliefs.
The first was when I dared write on a bill signed into law last fall in California virtually eliminating the usage of “mom and dad” in schools lest it upset same-sex couples. I was ripped by every group possible for my non-progressive views and intolerance for complaining about the bill. Not one conservative Christian ever came to my defense. Every comment was punishing and extremely personal as to its vindictiveness. These types of people do not take kindly to someone saying their devilish lifestyle is sin.
The other day I wrote a post daring to expose the “Global Warming/Climate Change” hoax for what it is and possibly linking the movement and its grand guru Mr. Gore to Revelation 13. I have evidently hit the hottest button of them all. Within minutes of the post, I was flooded with comment requests from mainly Christians vehemently upset that I dared state there was a rapture of the church coming and after the thousand year reign of Christ, God would destroy this earth and create a new one. Oh my, this evidently is pure blasphemy.
Within a few hours I have been called every imaginable name in the books for daring to say that “Global warming/climate change” might be now considered a religion due to the fervent behavior of it adherents and that there might be a rapture. No one is complaining that I hint that the movement might be the worldwide religion of the Book of Revelation. No one is complaining that I hint that Al Gore could qualify for the false prophet job. No one cares about anything important. They only care to trash a fundamentalist belief (the rapture) and a perceived destroyer of the environment.
A recent comment railed on me for being lazy and that I was the reason the environmental revolutionaries will rise up and squash people like me for being the source of the problem. In other words, since I dare to disagree I am now guiltier than the corporations that dump tons of pollutants into the air and rivers? I am guiltier than the countries with NO environmental policies? I guess I am a much more important fellow than I thought I was.
I could honestly care less about a lot of this stuff, but I do care deeply about Christian issues and especially the venom being displayed by those who do not believe in the rapture toward those of us who do. Somehow, we are the villains for wanting to not spend the rest of our lives saving this planet from all the evil man has done to it. It all sounds good, just as many religions do; but at the root of it is worship of earth vs worship of God.
God expects us to be good stewards of this earth. That is not the issue. The issue is a carefully crafted lie that is now universally considered by most people to be true—global warming. Thus, since this is now the perceived truth, anyone not on its bandwagon or fighting against it is a heretic and should be punished. This is real stuff, folks and not just me venting steam. There are people out there who would gladly hunt down and kill people like me for speaking out against their “religion”.
I am simply stating the truth from God’s Word that saving this planet is not our reason for being here. Saving this earth’s inhabitants from suffering an eternity in hell might be, but not saving this planet. I am not going to start hugging trees or participating in any of the ever increasing religious rituals tied into the new “global warming/climate change” religion. I am not shutting my lights off for an hour nor am I going to spend all my time worrying about how many feet the ocean might rise a hundred years from now.
Global warming is a myth and a man-made hoax. All current scientific data states conclusively that we have been in a period of global cooling for ten years. Most scientists not sold out to the myth are far more afraid of global cooling than warming. An ice sheet over New York or Chicago might be more difficult to handle than a 3 inch rise of the oceans.
Green Police can come to my door today and demand I recant my blasphemous words against their religion, but I never will. A multitude of angry “Christian” soldiers can come and demand I recant my statements about the rapture, but I never will. Truth is truth and unless you are willing to stand up for the truth and speak it, then you are part of the lie. I refuse to bow to those who shortly will rule this planet during the Great Tribulation. I refuse to yield to those so called Christians who have compromised THE faith to promote THE lie.
Reluctantly I deleted the post that prompted all this. I simply do not have the time or desire to engage in relentless arguments with people totally unwilling to listen. The issues confronting us all are far bigger and more important than the temperature of our atmosphere.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
The Day is Fast Approaching: A Word to the Church
There are numerous indications that there may be an attack on Israel before the 60th anniversary of her formation on May 14th. There are numerous “soft” versions of this story floating around news outlets this morning, but please read the following from a reputable source:
“Military sources disclose that Hizballah has built up its rocket arsenal to three and-a-half times its pre-2006 Lebanon War stocks. Some of the 40,000 rockets of Syrian and Iranian manufacture can hit Israel targets as far south as Beersheba, 350 km. away from the Shiite terror group’s launching pads north of Lebanon’s Litani River.
Not only has Tel Aviv come within range, but Hizballah and the Palestinian Hamas in Gaza can between them cover most of Israel except for its southernmost tip at Eilat. Using these two surrogates, Tehran can therefore make war on Israel and keep its hands clean ... military sources report the lion’s share of rockets smuggled to Hizballah in recent months are Syrian-made. Damascus has also shipped to Hizballah quantities of anti-air weapons, including shoulder-borne rockets and scores of Russian-made anti-aircraft ZSU-100 automatic 14.4 mm caliber cannon, which are most effective against low-flying aircraft, helicopters and drones."
The prophetic clock is not any way linked to events taking place in the United States of America. From God’s point of view, the only place to look to see where that clock is at is ISRAEL. News such as that written above has little to do with 99.9999999% of the world’s population for they do not live in Israel. But, from God’s point of view, what happens in that little country has a direct impact on 100% of every living person in the world.
God’s prophets in the Old Testament spoke clearly of the approaching “Day of the Lord”. The things spoken of obviously did not take place when Christ came to this earth 2,000 years ago. All things prophetic relating to “The Day of the Lord” refer to events leading up to His second coming when Jesus Christ comes as Lord of Lords and King of Kings to establish His Kingdom on earth from Jerusalem.
The book of Revelation gives graphic details as to the events leading up to this glorious day. Daniel’s prophecy speaks of a final week of seven years immediately preceding the return of Christ. Mid-way in that seven years Revelation speaks of the Antichrist rising to power and becoming the supreme world ruler. Starting in Revelation 13, the final three and one half years before the coming of Christ are chronicled in graphic detail.
When combining the events recorded in Revelation together with all the prophecies in the Old Testament, it is very obvious there are extremely troubling times in store for Israel before Christ returns. That is why news stories such as the one above are important to not only those who live in Israel, but to all who wait patiently for the rapture of the church which happens some time before the wrath of God is poured out in Revelation 16. The book of Romans assures us that we have been saved from the wrath which is to come.
No man knows when Christ is coming back to either gather His bride or to establish His reign on earth in Jerusalem. But, we know from Matthew 24 general things to look for to know if the end is near. We know from reading Old Testament prophecies in the books of the Prophets what will comes directly before that great and notable Day of the Lord. He who has eyes to see and ears to hear should be able to see clearly that the end is fast approaching.
As Christians we need to take heed to the warnings in sections of scripture such as Romans 13 where it says:
“Knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.
The night if far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.
Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy.
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”
Romans 13:11-14 NKJV
When Jesus was here on earth he spoke of “The Kingdom of Heaven was AT HAND”. Romans 13 tells us “THE DAY” is at hand. The Day is the day of Christ’s return. What are we to do before then? We are to cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. We are to walk properly and ethically as in the day, and not in drunkenness, revelry, lewdness, lust, envy and strife which are done by those in the night. In all matters we are to put on the Lord Jesus Christ in our minds and make NO provisions for the flesh to fulfill its lusts.
I leave you with the Lord’s Word to His church in these critical hours before His imminent return:
“For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.
For when they say, “Peace and safety” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.
But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.
You are all sons of light and sons of he day. We are not of the night nor of the darkness.
Threfore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.
For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night.
But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.
For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.
Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.”
1 Thessalonians 5:2-11 NKJV
“Military sources disclose that Hizballah has built up its rocket arsenal to three and-a-half times its pre-2006 Lebanon War stocks. Some of the 40,000 rockets of Syrian and Iranian manufacture can hit Israel targets as far south as Beersheba, 350 km. away from the Shiite terror group’s launching pads north of Lebanon’s Litani River.
Not only has Tel Aviv come within range, but Hizballah and the Palestinian Hamas in Gaza can between them cover most of Israel except for its southernmost tip at Eilat. Using these two surrogates, Tehran can therefore make war on Israel and keep its hands clean ... military sources report the lion’s share of rockets smuggled to Hizballah in recent months are Syrian-made. Damascus has also shipped to Hizballah quantities of anti-air weapons, including shoulder-borne rockets and scores of Russian-made anti-aircraft ZSU-100 automatic 14.4 mm caliber cannon, which are most effective against low-flying aircraft, helicopters and drones."
The prophetic clock is not any way linked to events taking place in the United States of America. From God’s point of view, the only place to look to see where that clock is at is ISRAEL. News such as that written above has little to do with 99.9999999% of the world’s population for they do not live in Israel. But, from God’s point of view, what happens in that little country has a direct impact on 100% of every living person in the world.
God’s prophets in the Old Testament spoke clearly of the approaching “Day of the Lord”. The things spoken of obviously did not take place when Christ came to this earth 2,000 years ago. All things prophetic relating to “The Day of the Lord” refer to events leading up to His second coming when Jesus Christ comes as Lord of Lords and King of Kings to establish His Kingdom on earth from Jerusalem.
The book of Revelation gives graphic details as to the events leading up to this glorious day. Daniel’s prophecy speaks of a final week of seven years immediately preceding the return of Christ. Mid-way in that seven years Revelation speaks of the Antichrist rising to power and becoming the supreme world ruler. Starting in Revelation 13, the final three and one half years before the coming of Christ are chronicled in graphic detail.
When combining the events recorded in Revelation together with all the prophecies in the Old Testament, it is very obvious there are extremely troubling times in store for Israel before Christ returns. That is why news stories such as the one above are important to not only those who live in Israel, but to all who wait patiently for the rapture of the church which happens some time before the wrath of God is poured out in Revelation 16. The book of Romans assures us that we have been saved from the wrath which is to come.
No man knows when Christ is coming back to either gather His bride or to establish His reign on earth in Jerusalem. But, we know from Matthew 24 general things to look for to know if the end is near. We know from reading Old Testament prophecies in the books of the Prophets what will comes directly before that great and notable Day of the Lord. He who has eyes to see and ears to hear should be able to see clearly that the end is fast approaching.
As Christians we need to take heed to the warnings in sections of scripture such as Romans 13 where it says:
“Knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.
The night if far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.
Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy.
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”
Romans 13:11-14 NKJV
When Jesus was here on earth he spoke of “The Kingdom of Heaven was AT HAND”. Romans 13 tells us “THE DAY” is at hand. The Day is the day of Christ’s return. What are we to do before then? We are to cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. We are to walk properly and ethically as in the day, and not in drunkenness, revelry, lewdness, lust, envy and strife which are done by those in the night. In all matters we are to put on the Lord Jesus Christ in our minds and make NO provisions for the flesh to fulfill its lusts.
I leave you with the Lord’s Word to His church in these critical hours before His imminent return:
“For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.
For when they say, “Peace and safety” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.
But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.
You are all sons of light and sons of he day. We are not of the night nor of the darkness.
Threfore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.
For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night.
But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.
For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.
Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.”
1 Thessalonians 5:2-11 NKJV
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Too Proud to Help? Who Will Help You?
Here is the question; why should I help some poor bum who sits at home all day drinking cheap wine or shooting himself up with crack and gets monthly benefits from various government programs? Next question: Why should I share of my resources with someone who was stupid enough to live next to a river, over a fault line, on the coast or in a part of the country prone to tornadoes? Final question: Why should I feel it is my responsibility to act as a social worker, psychologist, lawyer, nurse or chauffeur for someone I don’t know, am not related to or have nothing in common with?
These three questions form the basis of why we are seeing a crisis in the care-giving community. More and more people are taking the “hands off” approach to sharing as a direct result of problems in their own lives. The sad reality of this quiz is that if there is no good reason to do any of the above; other than if private citizens don’t do these things, the responsibility will be transferred to various levels of government which will entail raising taxes to pay for more services.
Let there be no mistake about this; the vast majority of Americans would rather walk naked down main street eating cockroaches than personally get involved helping someone they don’t know or are related to. Yet, these same people will without hesitation write a check to a major charity to provide help for these people. What is the deal here? Why is it so repulsive to think of personally helping another yet it is so fulfilling to “write a check”?
Look at this way, if a bum approached you on the street; which would you rather him say: “Got a dollar you can spare” or “Can I come work for you in return for a hot meal”? Of course 99% of all people would prefer the request for the dollar. No one wants to say no to a person trying to do the right thing, but no one wants a stranger coming to his house and stealing him blind, killing his kids and burning his house down either. As much as no one really wants to give a dollar to a stranger, it is much easier to do than face the possible scenarios of dragging a bum home.
My wife and I watched an old episode of “Leave It To Beaver” the other night. The storyline was simply one of a lost cat who kept being fed by Beaver and even after being taken home to its owner, would escape and come right back. The moral of the story was that if you put food out for a cat, it will keep coming back to get fed. The same moral would be true of helping those who are downtrodden and downcast.
Far too many programs are set up to simply provide a bowl of food for people. Of course it is appreciated, but what is really being accomplished? Pavlov proved many years ago that dogs and people are conditioned to respond a certain way. Put the bowl of food out at the same place at the same time every day and the dog or cat will become a permanent guest within a few days. The unfortunate reality of many charity and most government programs is that it amounts to setting a bowl of food on the porch daily.
Simply writing a check to the Red Cross or having money payroll deducted for the United Way sounds good, but does the person have a clue where the money is going or whether it is helping anyone? Yet, by “giving” this way, the personal responsibility is removed from having to actually get involved with other’s lives. Refusing to help “the bums” who won’t work sounds noble, but if taxes are being paid, the person is “helping” anyway through massive governmental welfare programs.
Studies indicate there is a huge number of very angry people in this country who detest the idea of providing any help to the downtrodden. Most of these angry people are white men who can’t stand the idea of any of their money helping some lazy black or Mexican man. I appreciate this sentiment, but it does not make it right. First of all it is extremely prejudicial and racial in tone. Second of all it is incredibly short-sighted and narrow minded in scope. And finally it flies in the face of the attitude of charity this country was built on and which has allowed it to survive and prosper through the years.
These same people who self-righteously proclaim their resistance to helping others because of the color of their skin or nationality will gladly offer help to one of their “good buddies” or their families. They will go to church and offer to fix the roof on the building or donate lumber for a Sunday School room addition. In their minds, this giving is allowable for it is helping the church. But, the idea of giving to help a poor person is “anathema” to them.
Here is the truth in all this. If the church would crawl out of its hallowed walled chambers and get involved helping people in their community; there would be no need for expensive government programs and no need for all the humanitarian charities to be begging for money all the time. If the church started offering programs to help the disadvantaged learn skills and receive tutoring in basic elements of surviving then these people could learn to stand on their own feet and not need others to help them all the time.
But no, the church is too busy buying new pews and putting new carpet down to worry about helping the bum down the street. The church is too busy hosting wedding receptions, baby showers, 50th anniversary celebrations, funerals and teas to spend a lousy dime to keep the kids down the street from dying of malnutrition. The church is too busy locking its doors all but a few hours a week rather than have someone there to counsel and help a person facing a life changing crisis.
Somehow many churches think all they are there for is to provide a place for people to show up to on Sunday mornings. These types of churches have totally missed the point of their very existence. The church is there to help people. Sure, part of that help is spiritual feeding through services and programs, but help is much more than a sermon once a week. Genuine help involves getting involved with a person’s life to the point needs can be established and then met.
For those who are far too angry to help anyone get out of the mess their life has become; I ask you to pause and think about who is going to help YOU when the world caves in around you? I know you say it never will, but sooner or later everyone will have to face the day in their lives when the music ends and friends depart, when death of a loved one causes pain too hard to bear and disease saps the once strong body of all life and energy. Sooner or later everyone faces the day of reckoning in their lives when all they once took pride in fades and all that once made them so arrogant melts before their eyes.
Who is going to help you then I ask of you who are too proud to help another now? When you are old and crippled and can’t even clean yourself up after soiling your diaper, who is going to want to care for that “nasty old codger” who would never give a dime to help all those “lazy bums”. What goes around, comes around and that is a fact. For those too proud, arrogant of selfish to reach out to help others now, don’t be expecting anyone to help you later when you need it.
These three questions form the basis of why we are seeing a crisis in the care-giving community. More and more people are taking the “hands off” approach to sharing as a direct result of problems in their own lives. The sad reality of this quiz is that if there is no good reason to do any of the above; other than if private citizens don’t do these things, the responsibility will be transferred to various levels of government which will entail raising taxes to pay for more services.
Let there be no mistake about this; the vast majority of Americans would rather walk naked down main street eating cockroaches than personally get involved helping someone they don’t know or are related to. Yet, these same people will without hesitation write a check to a major charity to provide help for these people. What is the deal here? Why is it so repulsive to think of personally helping another yet it is so fulfilling to “write a check”?
Look at this way, if a bum approached you on the street; which would you rather him say: “Got a dollar you can spare” or “Can I come work for you in return for a hot meal”? Of course 99% of all people would prefer the request for the dollar. No one wants to say no to a person trying to do the right thing, but no one wants a stranger coming to his house and stealing him blind, killing his kids and burning his house down either. As much as no one really wants to give a dollar to a stranger, it is much easier to do than face the possible scenarios of dragging a bum home.
My wife and I watched an old episode of “Leave It To Beaver” the other night. The storyline was simply one of a lost cat who kept being fed by Beaver and even after being taken home to its owner, would escape and come right back. The moral of the story was that if you put food out for a cat, it will keep coming back to get fed. The same moral would be true of helping those who are downtrodden and downcast.
Far too many programs are set up to simply provide a bowl of food for people. Of course it is appreciated, but what is really being accomplished? Pavlov proved many years ago that dogs and people are conditioned to respond a certain way. Put the bowl of food out at the same place at the same time every day and the dog or cat will become a permanent guest within a few days. The unfortunate reality of many charity and most government programs is that it amounts to setting a bowl of food on the porch daily.
Simply writing a check to the Red Cross or having money payroll deducted for the United Way sounds good, but does the person have a clue where the money is going or whether it is helping anyone? Yet, by “giving” this way, the personal responsibility is removed from having to actually get involved with other’s lives. Refusing to help “the bums” who won’t work sounds noble, but if taxes are being paid, the person is “helping” anyway through massive governmental welfare programs.
Studies indicate there is a huge number of very angry people in this country who detest the idea of providing any help to the downtrodden. Most of these angry people are white men who can’t stand the idea of any of their money helping some lazy black or Mexican man. I appreciate this sentiment, but it does not make it right. First of all it is extremely prejudicial and racial in tone. Second of all it is incredibly short-sighted and narrow minded in scope. And finally it flies in the face of the attitude of charity this country was built on and which has allowed it to survive and prosper through the years.
These same people who self-righteously proclaim their resistance to helping others because of the color of their skin or nationality will gladly offer help to one of their “good buddies” or their families. They will go to church and offer to fix the roof on the building or donate lumber for a Sunday School room addition. In their minds, this giving is allowable for it is helping the church. But, the idea of giving to help a poor person is “anathema” to them.
Here is the truth in all this. If the church would crawl out of its hallowed walled chambers and get involved helping people in their community; there would be no need for expensive government programs and no need for all the humanitarian charities to be begging for money all the time. If the church started offering programs to help the disadvantaged learn skills and receive tutoring in basic elements of surviving then these people could learn to stand on their own feet and not need others to help them all the time.
But no, the church is too busy buying new pews and putting new carpet down to worry about helping the bum down the street. The church is too busy hosting wedding receptions, baby showers, 50th anniversary celebrations, funerals and teas to spend a lousy dime to keep the kids down the street from dying of malnutrition. The church is too busy locking its doors all but a few hours a week rather than have someone there to counsel and help a person facing a life changing crisis.
Somehow many churches think all they are there for is to provide a place for people to show up to on Sunday mornings. These types of churches have totally missed the point of their very existence. The church is there to help people. Sure, part of that help is spiritual feeding through services and programs, but help is much more than a sermon once a week. Genuine help involves getting involved with a person’s life to the point needs can be established and then met.
For those who are far too angry to help anyone get out of the mess their life has become; I ask you to pause and think about who is going to help YOU when the world caves in around you? I know you say it never will, but sooner or later everyone will have to face the day in their lives when the music ends and friends depart, when death of a loved one causes pain too hard to bear and disease saps the once strong body of all life and energy. Sooner or later everyone faces the day of reckoning in their lives when all they once took pride in fades and all that once made them so arrogant melts before their eyes.
Who is going to help you then I ask of you who are too proud to help another now? When you are old and crippled and can’t even clean yourself up after soiling your diaper, who is going to want to care for that “nasty old codger” who would never give a dime to help all those “lazy bums”. What goes around, comes around and that is a fact. For those too proud, arrogant of selfish to reach out to help others now, don’t be expecting anyone to help you later when you need it.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Servants of Jesus Christ Serving Each Other
Jesus Christ is to be our MASTER. Jesus, himself, said “no man can serve two masters.” In the same section Jesus also talks about “the eye being single”. This is referring to the single minded attention a servant must have toward his master. We only have two eyes and they cannot be focused on two things at once.
When we carried out God’s instructions in Romans 10:9 and 10; we SAID (confessed) that Jesus is LORD. We said (confessed) that Jesus is the Master and that we wanted Him to be OUR MASTER. If Jesus is indeed our MASTER, then we cannot serve both HIM and ourselves at the same time. If Jesus is our Lord and Master, then we are under obligation to DO as He says and to obey His voice. If we are going to be able to really serve Him, we must make Him the object of our devotion and attention.
The New Testament is full of references to us “serving each other”. Not only are we servants of our Lord Jesus Christ; we are to serve each other in love. The great and simple key to understanding is that we are SERVANTS of Jesus Christ as we SERVE one another in love. We look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith to know how to best serve each other within the body of Christ.
We cannot serve Christ, for He is not here to place a blanket around or bring a cup of hot tea. We are His servants, but the ones we are to serve are His people. The last night he was with his disciples, he gave them an example of service which was to carry them through the upcoming years. He got on the floor and cleaned their feet. He lovingly cleansed the dirt and the grime off the most disgusting part of the human body. In Oriental culture, there was no greater way of showing humility towards another than to wash their feet.
Service takes humility. There is NO room for pride, arrogance or haughtiness in service. Christian service demands placing one’s own needs and desires in complete subjection to the desires of the master. The Master’s desire is to see his people blessed, fed, healed and comforted. To do this takes getting down on the floor and washing their feet.
It has taken me my whole life to learn this lesson I am sharing with you now. When we got born again, we made a commitment to make Jesus Christ Lord in our lives. To do this demands subjection of our will and desires to HIS. We have to become His servants and not servants to ourselves, our jobs or SIN. Learning to obey is learning how to be His servant. Learning to look at HIM and not at the world, or at people or ourselves is HOW we learn the heart of a servant.
Once we learn HOW to live our lives looking at Him, then we can serve others as He would if He were here. We are His servants in the sense that we are His hands, and feet. We are to be to others, exactly what He would be if He were here. That is the meaning of being an “ambassador for Christ” and this is what Christian service is to be all about. We are to be the ones on the floor gently cleaning the filth of this world off the feet of those who want to be made clean.
We cannot “save” anyone, for that is God’s job. We cannot “heal” anyone, for only God can do that. We can only do what our Lord left for us as an example, and that is to be broken bread for those who are hungry and examples of our Lord’s life and love. Helping others is not always a matter of “beating them over the head with the Gospel”. Many times it is simply manifesting the sincere love of God through lending a hand or offering help when needed.
A voice from the fourteenth century, St. Teresa of Avila, reminds us that WE are God's hands.
"God has no hands but our hands to do his work today; God has no feet but our feet to lead others in his way; God has no voice but our voice to tell others how he died; and, God has no help but our help to lead them to his side."
A gentleman once took the liberty of refining St. Teresa’s prayer as follows:
"God has no hands but our handswith which to give His people bread.God has no feet but our feetwith which to walk among the almost dead.We say that we are His, and He is ours.Deeds are the proof of this, not words,And these are the proving hours."
Oswald Chambers asks the question, "Are we willing to be broken bread and poured out wine in Jesus Christ's hands for others?" I pray our answer is YES on all counts.
When we carried out God’s instructions in Romans 10:9 and 10; we SAID (confessed) that Jesus is LORD. We said (confessed) that Jesus is the Master and that we wanted Him to be OUR MASTER. If Jesus is indeed our MASTER, then we cannot serve both HIM and ourselves at the same time. If Jesus is our Lord and Master, then we are under obligation to DO as He says and to obey His voice. If we are going to be able to really serve Him, we must make Him the object of our devotion and attention.
The New Testament is full of references to us “serving each other”. Not only are we servants of our Lord Jesus Christ; we are to serve each other in love. The great and simple key to understanding is that we are SERVANTS of Jesus Christ as we SERVE one another in love. We look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith to know how to best serve each other within the body of Christ.
We cannot serve Christ, for He is not here to place a blanket around or bring a cup of hot tea. We are His servants, but the ones we are to serve are His people. The last night he was with his disciples, he gave them an example of service which was to carry them through the upcoming years. He got on the floor and cleaned their feet. He lovingly cleansed the dirt and the grime off the most disgusting part of the human body. In Oriental culture, there was no greater way of showing humility towards another than to wash their feet.
Service takes humility. There is NO room for pride, arrogance or haughtiness in service. Christian service demands placing one’s own needs and desires in complete subjection to the desires of the master. The Master’s desire is to see his people blessed, fed, healed and comforted. To do this takes getting down on the floor and washing their feet.
It has taken me my whole life to learn this lesson I am sharing with you now. When we got born again, we made a commitment to make Jesus Christ Lord in our lives. To do this demands subjection of our will and desires to HIS. We have to become His servants and not servants to ourselves, our jobs or SIN. Learning to obey is learning how to be His servant. Learning to look at HIM and not at the world, or at people or ourselves is HOW we learn the heart of a servant.
Once we learn HOW to live our lives looking at Him, then we can serve others as He would if He were here. We are His servants in the sense that we are His hands, and feet. We are to be to others, exactly what He would be if He were here. That is the meaning of being an “ambassador for Christ” and this is what Christian service is to be all about. We are to be the ones on the floor gently cleaning the filth of this world off the feet of those who want to be made clean.
We cannot “save” anyone, for that is God’s job. We cannot “heal” anyone, for only God can do that. We can only do what our Lord left for us as an example, and that is to be broken bread for those who are hungry and examples of our Lord’s life and love. Helping others is not always a matter of “beating them over the head with the Gospel”. Many times it is simply manifesting the sincere love of God through lending a hand or offering help when needed.
A voice from the fourteenth century, St. Teresa of Avila, reminds us that WE are God's hands.
"God has no hands but our hands to do his work today; God has no feet but our feet to lead others in his way; God has no voice but our voice to tell others how he died; and, God has no help but our help to lead them to his side."
A gentleman once took the liberty of refining St. Teresa’s prayer as follows:
"God has no hands but our handswith which to give His people bread.God has no feet but our feetwith which to walk among the almost dead.We say that we are His, and He is ours.Deeds are the proof of this, not words,And these are the proving hours."
Oswald Chambers asks the question, "Are we willing to be broken bread and poured out wine in Jesus Christ's hands for others?" I pray our answer is YES on all counts.
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