Ecclesiastes 11:9 thru 12:7

"But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence?" 

Luke 23:40 (NIV) 

Three men are dying!

One of them is our Lord Jesus - fully man and fully God, dying in our place, for our sins, dying under the curse of the Law, at the hands of Gentiles for crimes He did not commit. The other two men are dying for their own sins, dying under the curse of the law, at the hands of Gentiles for their own crimes. One of those two looked at our Lord and believed in Him and was saved. Not saved from physical death - NO - but saved in the sense that our Lord told that he would be in paradise after physical death.

Both men were criminals, but one was saved. One went to Paradise and one went to Hades. Both men had the same opportunity, both of them had the same honour, and yet only one of them had the faith to trust in the Lord and be saved.

FEAR made the difference! The one who was saved asked the other, “Don’t you FEAR God?” The one who was saved knew he was dying and he knew something else – he knew that he was going to face God after death and he was afraid. This FEAR moved him to an act of faith. This FEAR is the FEAR that our Lord spoke to us about in Matthew 10:28: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Be afraid. Be very afraid and then you will have the faith to flee to Christ and be saved. Be bold, and strong in your own ability to stand before God, and you will scorn Christ and die in hell.

In 1748, a man named John Newton experienced this FEAR of the Lord, and he was saved. He penned the hymn "Amazing Grace" and the second stanza testifies to the power of FEAR: “’Twas grace that taught my heart to FEAR, And grace my fears relieved; How precious did that grace appear The hour I first believed.”

Oh friend do you remember the hour you first believed?

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Hebrews 12:18-29

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." 

Proverbs 9:10 (NIV) 

How do you define the FEAR of the LORD?

A good friend of mine and I have an ongoing discussion about what the FEAR of the LORD is. I will always bring up the first part of this verse and say, “You could be the most brilliant person in the entire world, but if you don’t understand that God made you, and that He holds your life in His hands, then you are dumber than the dumbest person.” He will always end up saying, “I think FEAR of God is about respect - not FEAR as we experience fright. FEAR is negative, and respect is a positive emotion.” He is older than me, so I always let him have the last word.

The Bible gives us a definition of the FEAR of God in Hebrews 12:28: “let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe”. The verses before this verse contrast the FEAR, the abject terror that Moses and the people felt at Mount Sinai, with our experience in Christ. And what a wonderful experience we have; the heavenly Jerusalem, thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, God, the Judge of all the spirits, the righteous made perfect, the Mediator of the New Covenant, and the sprinkled blood of Christ that makes us perfect!

What a wonderful experience we have in Christ, and yet the text tells us that we still need to LISTEN; we still need to FEAR. What is New Covenant FEAR? The worship of God in reverence and awe, this is FEAR of the LORD. Do I draw near to Him in the attitude of reverence and awe? Do I see Him as He really is, or do I treat Him like He is one of my human friends? Oh friend, He is the Holy One. May we draw near to Him in reverence and awe this day.

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Psalm 93

"Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear: Should you not fear me?", declares the LORD. "Should you not tremble in my presence? I made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it cannot cross. The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail; they may roar, but they cannot cross it." 

Jeremiah 5:21,22 (NIV) 

I think many Christians feel that FEARING God is something that Old Testament saints did, but that those of us in Christ, have passed from fear to love (1 Jn 4:18). Our prayer language has changed from “Dear Lord Jesus” to “Hey Jesus”. From “Our heavenly Father, Lord God Almighty” to “Hi God”. In many ways it seems old fashioned, and archaic to speak to God in reverent, almost formal word. We seem to feel that it communicates a distance between us and God, and we don’t like that; we want to be close to God, and we want God to be close to us, so we use very common familiar language, after all Jesus came to earth to be “with us” (Immanuel). We ignore that fact that everyone who spoke to Him used a title.

FEAR of God is not old fashioned, nor is it Old Testament only. Hebrews 12 teaches us about the FEAR of God, and the book of Acts teaches us that only those who FEARED God responded in faith to the gospel. These two verses in Jeremiah are special because they give us the solution to the problem of the soils as outlined by our Lord. The Lord told us that He spoke in parables so that, “though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.”, and we wonder how we can avoid being people whose hearts will not receive the Word of God. The answer is FEAR. FEAR God, for He is the One whom the sea obeys.
The sea is a frightful power, it has the ability to tear huge ships in two, and to overwhelm humans and make them disappear. The tsunamis in recent memory make this passage very meaningful. Where would we be if the sea did not obey the boundary set by the LORD?

Contemplate the sea, the power of the sea, and its uncontrollable nature. Then realize the truth that waves obey His voice, they honour His boundary for He is greater than the sea.

FEAR Him who rules the sea.

"Put Your Hand In The Hand", Anne Murray, via YouTube

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Hebrews 3

"Blessed is the one who always trembles before God, but whoever hardens their heart falls into trouble."

Proverbs 28:14 (NIV)  

If we think somehow that the parable of the soil teaches that God is the One who decides who will listen to His Word and who won’t listen, we will have missed a whole body of Scripture. Much is made of the many verses that teach that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, (Ex 4:21, 7:3; etc,  Josh 11:20) yet the verses that teach that Pharaoh hardened his own heart are ignored (Ex 8:15,32; 9:34; 1 Sam 6:6). 

Pharaoh and his people were a pagan people, who worshipped false gods, and who lived their entire lives in bondage to demons. Yet when they were confronted with God’s Word, and God’s power, they were able to make a decision not to listen, not to tremble nor yield - however limited their freedom to make decisions was. On the other hand, God’s people, those who worship Him, who have been born again and have the Holy Spirit present within them, who have been set free and can now make true choices - how much more capable are we to either harden our hearts, or break our hearts down at the sound of God’s Word? 

What is being discussed in Hebrews 3 & 4 is the responsibility of God’s people to care for the soil of their heart. We are to learn from those who made the mistake of hardening their hearts. We are to learn from their bad example and work hard at keeping our heart tender and open so that God’s Word can penetrate, gain root and produce fruit. We have the responsibility. We have a saying: “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink” – well - you can read the Word to a person, give them Bibles, watch gifted preachers and singers, listen to sermon after sermon by Holy Spirit anointed people, and yet if you refuse to listen, if you refuse to apply, to tremble before God’s Word and you harden your heart and the Word will not bear fruit. 

The warning is there for all of us: take heed lest you fall. Do you tremble at the Word of God? Do you open your heart - that place where facts, emotions and will meet together and accept God’s Word into your inner being? Will you make His Word the primary influence in your life? Oh Friend may it be so - for BLESSED is the one who always trembles before God!

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Luke 8:4-15

 "The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening." 

1 Samuel 3:10 (NIV)

The connection between our hearts and our ears is made crystal clear by our Lord’s parable of the soil. Just as a sower places the seed onto the ground, so our Lord places His Word in our hearts. The Word gets into us through our ears and our eyes; they are the entry point of God’s Word into our hearts. This makes LISTENING so important! I suppose that God could have come up with another way to change our hearts; we seem to pray that God would miraculously change our loved ones hearts, however the Bible is very clear from the very first account of Adam and Eve in Genesis though to Revelation 22:17, that God has chosen to do His work in our hearts through speaking to us, and waiting for us to LISTEN or as our Lord says: “have EARS to HEAR”.

Adam was given a verbal instruction – he didn’t have EARS to HEAR; he didn’t LISTEN. The Bible tells us that he LISTENED to his wife, instead of listening to his God. The Bible ends with the Spirit and the bride (the church) calling, "COME. Accept the free gift of life", and yet only those who have EARS to HEAR will come.  

We want a special sign. We want God to split the heavens and reveal His power; bring us to our knees and yet, the way God has chosen to bring His grace into our lives is through us using our EARS to LISTEN, our MINDS to UNDERSTAND, and our HEARTS to RECEIVE His life-giving Words. This seems so basic of a truth that we don’t talk about it much. We take the written Word for granted. We take our assembly for granted, and to our shame we take the Holy Spirit for granted.

The grace of God to make His Words available to us in our own language is mind boggling. Why would He bother speaking to us at all when the majority of what He says we ignore? Yet He speaks and speaks, tenderly and softly.

How did you start this morning with the Words of God? Did you check your email, your Twitter, your Facebook? Did you sit and listen to your kids or spouse talk to you about their day? Did you turn on CNN and listen to the headlines? None of these things are bad, but there is something much better! Oh that we learn from this little boy Samuel; that we may rise in the morning and open the Bible, say to the LORD “Speak for your servant is listening” and then READ, UNDERSTAND and RECEIVE His Words into our hearts!

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2 Chronicles 6:36 thru 7:14

"And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever." 

1 Chronicles 28:9 (NIV) 

We should pay attention to what David tells us about the heart!

God told Saul that He would remove him as king and replace him with a king after His own heart. (1 Sam 13:14) Then when Samuel in obedience to God, went to Jesse's home to anoint this next king, God reminded Samuel that the LORD looks on the heart, and that even though these sons of Jesse look good from the outside to Samuel who can’t see their hearts, God wanted Jesse's youngest son because of his heart.

David knows about a heart that is pleasing to God, and he knows the importance of having a good heart!

Son LISTEN UP!

ACKNOWLEDGE God - Solomon got this one right and penned these Words: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart  and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5,6 -  If you acknowledge God as Lord, you will submit to Him.

SERVE God – not begrudgingly, nor miserly, but willingly and with all of your devotion. Solomon received these words, as you can tell from his early prayers, but the 1 Kings 11:4 records that: “As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been.”

SEEK God - Solomon got this one right and penned these Words in 2 Chronicles 7:14 that were taught to me years ago by my Sunday School teachers, and that impacted me and bore fruit in life as an adult: “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

From these verses we can see clearly that our heart contains the mind, devotion (emotion) and desire. I wonder as I look at what the Word tells us about Solomon and how he did with his heart. I wonder what will the Lord reveal to me at the Bema seat (2 Cor. 5:11), when I stand before Him and He and I look back over my life in Christ? May He be gracious to me now, and search my heart and reveal to me now the places where I seek other things, where I seek approval from myself or from others. May I seek Him with a fully devoted heart! 

"Godpleaser", Petra, via YouTube

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Proverbs 4

"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do, flows from it." 

Proverbs 4:23 (NIV) 

Solomon knew the relationship of words and the heart. His book of Proverbs is full of warnings against listening to foolishness and full of encouragement to listen closely to words of wisdom.

In this chapter he tells us: to TAKE HOLD, to KEEP, to GET, to LOVE, to CHERISH, to EMBRACE, to ACCEPT, to HOLD ONTO, to GUARD. He describes our lives as a journey on a path, where we sometimes walk and sometimes run, but we are always in danger of stumbling. This path is the life we live here and now before God and humans; becoming the righteousness we are meant to be. What he tells us to do is to receive God’s Words into our hearts, accept them as facts, and allow them to meet our emotions and affect our will.

If we stop for a moment and think back over the last 24 hours - what did we allow to affect our will?

What influenced our decisions? What influenced our actions? What caused us to say the words we said? What did we allow into our heart? GUARD your heart, don’t allow foolishness to enter that area that is the centre of who you are and what you do. Reject the lies of the world and the lies of your own desires. Choose your counselors carefully! Who do you listen to? Why do I dress the way I dress? Why do I walk the way I walk? Why do I spend the way I spend? Why do I relax the way I relax? Why do I treat my kids the way I treat my kids? Why did I speak that way to my spouse, or to my friend? To GUARD our hearts means that we examine what influences our actions, and reject some and allow others in. Solomon knew that every single thing that I do, that I say and that I am flows from my heart.

Oh may we be those who put the Word of God deep within our hearts. May we hide His Words and His Wisdom in the depths of our hearts! May we keep the dastardly words of our enemies far from the centre of our being.

Click here for a challenge this week to memorize Revelation 15:3,4 with a visual reminder of the verse to carry with you. 
 

"Hello My Name Is", Matthew West, via YouTube

 

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Revelation 15

"I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." 

Psalm 119: 11 (NIV) 

When was the last time you memorized Scripture? Most of the Scripture that I remember today, I learned as child. We were encouraged to memorize; it was part of how Parkdale trained up children. In these days at Parkdale, Awana is doing this with gusto, and it is great to see, for I know firsthand the tremendous benefit in a person’s life from having the Words of God easily come to mind.

When we consider this verse in Psalm 119, we can see very easily that it isn’t talking about our mind - it is speaking about our heart. Now when we talk mind and heart we think about our organs - our brain and our blood pump - but when God speaks of our heart, He is speaking of that centre of our being. He is talking about that place where facts, emotion and will come together.

When a child memorizes Scripture they are memorizing “facts”, but it is only as we grow older, and experience emotions and start to make decisions (exercising our will), that this verse can begin to be truly applied. It starts as a mind thing - simple memorization of Words, and then it moves to a belief thing: do I believe these Words are actually facts? Then it moves to a will thing: can I align my actions with these Words despite my emotions?

Revelation 15:3 and 4 are an exception in my life, in the sense that as an adult I purposefully, and intentionally (at the urging of an older Christian brother) memorized these two verses. I found this extremely difficult to do. Even this morning as I recited these Words, before preparing to write this blog, I found myself unsure of the exact wording. But I must tell you that this intentional work on my part has brought about tremendous blessing in my life. It has caused me to worship my God in ways that I never did before. In the midst of dire circumstances, in the midst of great disappointment, to simply “bow” before my Lord and speak these Words to Him, has done and will continue to do a tremendous work in my heart.

Oh friend, will you join me and memorize Revelation 15:3,4 this week? Will you begin the long journey of putting this Scripture into your heart? It will be hard difficult work and yet you will be blessed beyond measure, as this verse meets your emotions and your will.

(Right click to save the image above to your computer, phone, or print it off to help you as you memorize.) 

"Song of Moses", They Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, via YouTube

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Genesis 15

"Then the LORD said to him, "Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there." 

Genesis 15:13 (NIV) 

I am always encouraged when I read Genesis 15 and the record of the great promise of God to the man Abram! I get encouraged because this promise brought me salvation. God’s irrevocable promise to a sinful man made righteous by faith fills me with hope!

Romans 4:21-25 makes this comparison between us and Abram:

"Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification."

Not by works, but by faith. God said it – so we believe it and are saved! But I must confess that my spirit of encouragement wavers when I get to verse 13 of Genesis 15. I wonder WHY? Why would God’s good, pleasing and perfect will involve suffering for Abram’s children? If I am part of that promise by faith, then I wonder if I am part of this prophecy of suffering. The Egyptians were brutal to the Israelites, they were slaves and were mistreated – and I wonder - why was this part of God’s plan? To be aliens - separated from the promised land - and then mistreated as slaves for a long period of time - how can this be part of the glorious promise of God? WHY is suffering part of the promise?

This article gives us an idea of how things in Egypt haven’t changed very much over these thousands of years.

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Acts 2:27-41

^"Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”"

Luke 7:50 (NIV)

She left with her sins forgiven; she left SAVED! Her faith was focused on the person of Jesus. She believed that He was the One who forgives sin. Luke makes sure that we recognize this truth by putting the question, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” on the lips of the guests. They were sitting with Jesus, they had watched His miracles, they had heard Him speak, they enjoyed His physical Presence in their midst, and yet only the woman was SAVED! 

To be SAVED is to be born again. To be SAVED is to be a child of the Most High God. To be SAVED is to be assured of your place in eternity with God. To be SAVED is to know that you will escape the coming wrath of God revealed in Revelation. 

The world mocks us, and jeeringly talks of being SAVED as if it was nonsense, and yet they are only like this because they have been deceived about the coming wrath of God. They don’t believe that they stand condemned. They don’t believe that they are sinners; actually they believe that God thinks well of them, and some of them even believe that God owes them an explanation for His behaviour in their lives. They have no knowledge of the debt they owe, they have no knowledge of the dire strait they are in nor of their need for God’s mercy and forgiveness. They are absolutely blind to their need. 

We wonder what can we do about this sad state of affairs in our loved one’s lives? The good news is that we have a Helper...or are we the helper of God? However you state it, the Bible teaches that both the Spirit and the bride call “Come”. It is the Holy Spirit who convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, as we proclaim! What a powerful example we have of this ‘partnership’ between the Holy Spirit and the church recorded in Acts 2! The Holy Spirit came in power, they all spoke in foreign languages, Peter preached, and the other people were “cut to the heart”. “What shall we do they asked?” With many words Peter pleaded with them to “save themselves”. Just like the woman who washed our Lord’s feet, their faith will save them. They repented and were baptized, they are now SAVED! 

God is so good to us. Just believe that Jesus is the One who forgives sin. Turn towards Him in an act of faith and you will be SAVED!

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Luke 18:9-14

 "Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." 

Luke 7:48 (NIV) 

The key similarity between our Lord’s story of the Pharisee and the tax collector, and Luke’s account of our Lord and Simon the Pharisee and the sinful woman, is that only one person left the Lord’s Presence, forgiven. In this sense, both of these accounts are tragic. Two people meet God; they go the effort of making time in their day. They both speak to God and yet only one of them leaves forgiven.

Friend, do you need to be forgiven? Is it truly your greatest need this moment? When it isn’t, then we have a problem. You say: “Come on John. I am forgiven. I was forgiven all my sins past, present and future when I gave my life to Christ Jesus.” Ah that is so true, and it so good to have that peace with God through His Son. Yet the apostle John in 1 John 1 teaches us that we still sin, and we still need forgiveness. Do you need to be forgiven? Is it truly your greatest need this moment?

The woman knew that she needed forgiveness. The tax collector knew that he needed forgiveness. Only Pharisees believe that they don’t need forgiveness. Oh friend, may God reveal our sin to each of us, right now - wherever we are and whatever we are doing – may He open our eyes that we may see the sin that so easily entangles us! Then let us agree with Him. Let us confess our sin and have our righteousness restored, and that blessed sweet fellowship with the Trinity restored. Let us respond to His knock on our heart and let us get up, open the door and experience the close fellowship of our beautiful Lord and Saviour.

"I Come to the Garden Alone", via YouTube

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2 Samuel 12

"Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you." "Tell me, teacher," he said." 

Luke 7:40 (NIV) 

Our Lord’s approach to Simon is very similar to Nathan’s approach to David as recorded in 2 Samuel 12. David and Simon had the same problem, not the same sin of course, but the same problem. Their problem was that they couldn’t see their own sin. The Bible refers to this inability to see your own sin as blindness. We question this blindness in the account of David, for we cannot imagine how a man of God – a man whose heart is after God - could commit adultery and murder and not be able to see his actions as sin. Yet spiritual blindness can be self-inflicted, and once we have this blindness we need God’s help; we need His healing.

It is interesting that Nathan's story uses David’s ability to recognize grievous sin in others to bring him to his senses. This ability to recognize sin in others and to condemn them for their sin, is also apparent in Simon, for he writes off the sinful woman. Our Lord warned us in the parable of the splinter and the log (Lk 6:41,42) that this ability to spot sin in other people, is a sign that we have sin in ourselves that we need to deal with.

David was forced by the story to see his actions through the eyes of his Holy God, and when David’s eyes saw what God saw, he immediately identified his actions as sin. He admitted to Nathan and God that he had sin. He agreed with God’s verdict on his actions. This is confession, and lest you wonder if it was just going through the motions, we have Psalm 32 and 51 to reveal David’s journey and heart through this period of spiritual blindness and then deliverance.

We don’t know what happened to Simon. I have great hope for him, based on David’s recovery, yet we are not told because that is not the point. The point is that a person can know the Bible, can live a righteous life, can be hospitable to Christians, can do all the things they are supposed to do, and yet be completely spiritually blind; not see their sin and live their entire lives in a state of unforgiveness. Oh friend, may we not be among them! May the prayer of David be our prayer each and every hour: Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. (Ps 139:23)

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Luke 7:36-50

"But the Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God's purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John." 

Luke 7:30 (NIV)

Why would this Pharisee who has rejected God’s purpose for himself, invite Jesus to his home? There are those who embrace God’s Way; they listen to His prophets and repent. They draw near to God continually. There are those who reject God’s Way; they won’t listen to the prophets for they are confident of their own righteousness before God. 

Why would a person who rejects God’s Way, invite Jesus to his home? The fact that Jesus accepted his invitation and sat at his table and ate with him, demonstrates that Jesus is truly the friend of all sinners. Not only a friend of those who are the down and out sinners, but also a friend to those who are self-righteous, the best of the best in society sinners. Jesus doesn’t condemn this man; He calls him by name and teaches him gently, and the text leaves us hope for this man by pointing out the other people’s reaction to Jesus forgiving sins. 

However I keep wondering about this man inviting Jesus to his home. Was he curious? Was he malicious? Possibly seeking to find a reason to dismiss Jesus? Was he seeking to enhance his own status? Was his home a happening place where the movers and shakers gathered? Or was he keeping up appearances, going through the motions, doing his good deeds, keeping his part of the ‘horse trade bargain’ that he was making with God for his own salvation? 

Jesus chose to teach him by using a ‘marketplace’ example. Jesus spoke to him in the language that this man could understand; money owed, the inability to pay what was owed, and the act of cancelling a financial debt. Jesus spoke to him in his language, but the lesson was about grace and forgiveness and love and faith. 

I hope this man received the Words of Christ and realized that he owed a debt he couldn’t pay. I hope and pray that all who ‘hang around Jesus’ in our church, will have their eyes opened to the truth that they owe a debt they can’t pay, and that they embrace God’s Way - the way of repentance, the way of faith in God’s Son the Lord Jesus Christ, and His finished work on their behalf!

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Luke 12:35-59

"It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them." 

Luke 12:37 (NIV) 

It seems backwards for a Master to wait upon His servants! Peter thought that it was backwards and he didn’t want to allow the Master to wash his feet. Do we make the same mistake? I have heard a number of messages about ‘servant leadership’ out of the account of the washing of the feet, and each time it was emphasized that Jesus did it as an example for the disciples – almost as if Jesus ‘modeled’ the behaviour He expected of His disciples. There is truth in that emphasis, but don’t make the mistake in thinking that our Lord was acting! NO – He was demonstrating His true character for He is humble in heart (Mt 11:29).

This text teaches that our Lord serves those whom He finds watching when He comes. Most of us can agree that the Lord Jesus came humbly and as a servant in His incarnation. He humbled Himself even to the point of death, but what about the 2nd coming, when He comes in power, authority and fiery judgment? This text teaches that He will also come as a servant for those He finds watching.  Watching is defined through this passage, as having your clothes on (righteous acts) and having your lamp burning (living by the Spirit). If we just stop and think for a moment about the truth that the Spirit brings gifts in our lives to do the works, that the Spirit equips us to do the works, and that the Spirit gives us the energy (unction) to do these works which were prepared in advance for us (Eph 2:10), we soon realize that these righteous acts are really done by God, but we get credit for them.

The Christian life is a matter of abiding in Him, resting in Him, surrendering to Him, producing fruit in Him, and trusting in Him. Friend – will you allow Him to serve you today? Do you have it backwards? Are you rushing around loaded down with a to-do list? Perhaps a list of dos and don’ts, or a list of works that you have to do in order to please the Lord. Don’t make the mistake of Martha; what she did was good, but what Mary did was better! All Mary did was draw near to the Lord, sit at His feet and listen to His Words (Lk 10:38-42). Oh friend, don’t be like Peter, or like Martha today.  Be like Mary and allow the Lord to serve you in your own house, in your own life, in your own situation! He is standing at the door waiting to come in.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Mt 11:28-30)

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Philippians 2:1-8

"In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus..." 

Philippians 2:5 (NIV)

It appears that the new NIV added the English word “relationships” to this verse. The translators will have to answer to God for adding words to the Bible (I am sure they do their important work with fear and trembling), but this addition helps focus our attention on the central message of this text.

The focus of this passage is on our relationships with each other, not about our relationship to God. It is about actions, and words that come from Christ’s mind, not just simply thinking good thoughts. The command presupposes that we have relationships with other Christians, which of course means that we are part of an assembly or local church. It is based on the blessings and benefits we have through our spiritual union with Christ, and the presence of the Holy Spirit in our life. Paul is reminding us that the humility of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, should be evident in our relationships, and it starts with our mindset towards other Christians!

Are we concerned about our status? Are we muttering about a lack of respect? Do we filter every interaction with others through “somehow this must work to my advantage”? Will we truly serve others? That is - will we help them? Will we do or pray or work so that they can advance in their life and walk with God? Will we meet them at their level without condemnation, and rejoice with them as they take whatever baby step they should have taken years ago? Will we overlook their sin and encourage them to build their faith? Are we willing to go to the cross for them? That is - are we willing to die to our own desires, our own agenda, our own preferences, our own comfort so that someone else can advance in their own faith walk?

As I write this, it seems to me that this is a description of good parenting, and most of us will do this for our own children. What is being communicated in this text is that God expects us to treat all of His children, the way we treat our own children!

Last of all, are we obedient? Not obedient to those brothers and sisters around us. NO - that could be deadly! But obedient to their Father, our Father, and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We are to be the servants of each other, but we must always remember that the Lord is our boss.

Oh friend, can you imagine what Parkdale would be like if we worked hard at obeying this command? It starts with me and it starts with you! Let us have the mindset of Christ in our relationships with each other.

Help us Lord Jesus. Change us. Break us of our pride and selfishness this day. Help me to see the people of Parkdale through your eyes.

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Jeremiah 6:10-20

"To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the LORD is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it." 

Jeremiah 6:10 (NIV) 

The word of the LORD is offensive to them!

I wonder if you ever examine your thoughts as you read the Word. Are you able to identify what your innermost thoughts are when you read a passage? I have actually caught myself mid-thought as I read a text when my thoughts were unpleasant; I think, “Well I don’t agree with that!” or “That’s crazy, that’s can’t be true.” WOAH Baby - STOP the train! If you catch yourself thinking thoughts like that while reading Scripture, STOP right there. Pray and ask God to open your eyes, your mind and your heart that you might see, understand and find rest.

God’s Words are Life, and the whole Bible is truth for me and you. Our sin nature and the demons all whisper to us that God’s Words are wrong, and if we accept their lies we become the people that Jeremiah 6 is describing. I heard a preacher say one time that “you can’t stop the birds flying over your head, but you can stop them from building a nest in your hair!” Don’t get upset when you have evil thoughts about God’s Word as you read it, just deal with those thoughts. Don’t let them get a foothold and don’t let them lead you into death.

This text in Jeremiah accurately describes the issue with the leaders that refused to listen to John the Baptist and Jesus. Two completely different men, two different teaching styles, with two different lifestyles, and yet they had the same message: REPENT. But the leaders refused to listen; the Words of God were offensive to them. Oh friend, may we run as far away from their attitude as we can.

A dear older lady whom I love and respect, used to say to me, “Well that is just Paul’s opinion. I listen to Jesus.” Paul is different than Jesus; two different men, two different teaching styles, two different life styles, and yet God’s Word is God’s Word!

Will we listen to the LORD through His prophets, His Messiah and His apostles or will we find the LORD’s Words offensive?

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Luke 7:24-35

"The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails - given by one shepherd." 

Ecclesiastes 12:11 (NIV)

When I get to Luke 7:24-35, I wonder what happened to Luke, for it has been extremely easy to follow his train of thought, but this passage seems to be disjointed and hard to connect and hard to understand. I have to remind myself that this is a connected series of wise sayings. Wise sayings are designed to stick sideways in our heads. Solomon calls them goads. They sit sideways and poke and irritate us and therefore they are hard to integrate into our thoughts. You can’t come up with an easy application, instead we have to puzzle over them and allow them to do their work in our minds and heart.

Wise sayings do the work for us, all we have to do is be willing to allow them to penetrate our minds and then examine them from as many angles as we are able to. It isn’t a memorization technique, it is a willing surrender to God’s Word; it is a step of trust in the Holy Spirit, and it requires patience. But the reward is tremendous, for when we submit to the Spirit, trusting that these Words of Jesus will bear fruit in our lives, He will show us the application and we will remember it better than any other lesson, for the Holy Spirit will have firmly embedded them into us like nails into wood!

So here are the wise sayings. May God do a great work in us as we allow Him to embed them into us:

“Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.” (Matthew 11:6)

“I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” (Luke 7:28)

“They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other” (Luke 7:32)

"We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not cry” (Matthew 11:17)

“But wisdom is proved right by all her children.” (Luke 7:35)

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