Alone In The Field

Scripture Reading: I Kings 19:4-18

Do you ever feel as if you are the only Christian on the planet? Maybe at times you may feel as if you're the only Christian still committed to the Faith while others are making tragic compromises. We all make allusions to what it is like to be a Christian or a servant of the Lord. I have likened the life of service as a Christian in most cases as a soldier, possibly a Knight or one of the "mighty men" as described about in the Bible. Paul used this allusion when he wrote to Timothy, "endure harness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." So oftne we get caught up in the battle of trying to maintain our lives in the present evil world while balancing a life that should witness for Christ, that we feel discouraged as a soldier does when he or she feels cut off.
The picture above sort of illustrates this feeling we have from time to time. The other day I was parking my car in the work lot as usual. While getting out and going to the office door I spied what I thought was a little green army man. I had to do a double take to make sure. Sure enough, there this little soldier all of 3/4 inch tall was laying on his side in what was to his scale a massive territory of asphalt. All alone he was holding up his gun looking around for the enemy (ok not really) but you get the idea. So I picked him up and he now sits on my desk.
Many times in a battle, a squad or company of soldiers will fan out to take charge of an area. Many times though they can stray too far away from the others and not visibly see or be seen by their comrades. They fear the worst. "I am alone to fight as the rest of my comrades have already fallen."

Seeing that little guy reminds me of how it can look to us in life. There is this huge seemingly endless world of evil and we are the tiny speck of Christ's Light. We should be on the offensive, but we cower in fear most times on the defensive. We huddle in our Spiritual fox holes as the enemy is all around us. Should this be our viewpoint? Certainly not.

You will recall the time the prophet Elijah had won a tremendous victory over the Devil and his hosts at Mt. Carmel. God had just sent fire down and consumed a burnt offering and the altar it was on. Later, Elijsh ran from the wicked Queen Jezabel and hid himself in a cave. He feared for his life, he feared it was over, but God had a different asnwer. He told Elijah there was yet 7,000 faithful followers of God that had not gone over to Baal. In facing stern worldly opposition, what can we learn by this "lone soldier's" account to put into practice in our lives today.
First, God is mightier than the hosts of evil.
Elijah saw something on Mt. Carmel that none had seen before. The awesome display of God's power over puny mortal idol worshippers was astounding. The Enemy, Satan, is strong and cannot be defeated by ourselves. Yet the Scriptures say that demons tremble in fear (greatly afraid) of the same God who is on OUR side. The reason for the apparent increase of evil in our day and time is that Satan knows his time is short to afflict the Church. Yet in all this we can boldly say because of Jesus Christ, "Greater is He that is within me, than he that is in the world." If you have any doubts that evil will seize the day, read the book of Revelation, it graphically spells out the horrible doom of all those who oppose Christ and His Church. Martin Luther said in his famous hymn, "the prince of darkness grimm, we tremble not at him, his rage we can endure, for lo his doom is sure. One little word shall fell him."
Second, God will not be without a faithful remnant.
No matter what time period or event that takes place in the Bible, God is never completely destitute of true faithful followers. Even when times seem the darkest, like today, there is still a mighty army present. It is my personal belief that the reason why evil has not conquered more of the world than it has is because the church is still in the world holding the onslaught at bay. Once removed in the Rapture, the man of sin, the Anti-Christ will be revealed and despair will take on new meaning. Not for us the church. We will be literally "Air Lifted" out of the battle zone and shall return victorious as we watch our matchless King of Kings speak the evil world out of existence. In the meantime, where are all the Christians? It is true that some who profess to be are turning away from the Lord, never really being one of His. There are others who are fearful not knowing the power of the Lord. There are those who have compromised the faith and have let evil run over them, and there are those who stand unashamed to proclaim the Gospel as it is written for the Lord has His remnant. Are you a part of this remnant? Do you stand firm for the faith? If you do, seek out the discouraged and encourage them to stand firm too.
Lastly, God will encourage us when no one else will.
Look who came to minister to Elijah holed up in the cave and in the wilderness. First God sent His angel to bring him food. Secondly God spoke audibly to Elijsh and personally told him where he stood in numbers after Elijah surely knew he was the last one left. I am not knocking Elijsh. I can honestly say though I have never felt totally alone in spiritual battle (though I have felt this way many times about other matters) but I have noticed our numbers of the faithful shrinking. I am seeing many good churches close because it was not popular to attend there. I have heard sermons get politically correct and never mention Hell because it was no longer popular. I have seen worship songs go from majestic hymns to pop culture entertainment. I could go on. However, its important to remember that Jesus said in Matt 28:20, "I will be with you to the end of the world." So no matter how loud sin booms around us, no matter how many brethren falter, God will encourage us through His Word and the Holy Spirit. We know we are not cut off from Headquarters when we hear the voice of the Spirit of God within us. He urges us to hold on a little longer and serve Him faithfully. One thing we know for sure is that God will not judge us by the group, but by our individual faithfulness to Him. So keep on.

I know at times we find ourselves seemingly cut off from all things Godly. Even now it seems that some Chrisitans don't know what Truth of Godliness even is. We dare not boast ourselves of having arrived, rather, we need to encourage one another to fight another day for the King. Do you feel cut off as if there is no one out there to have comradery with? This is one of the reasons why I write this blog every week. I don't know how many subscribers there are, but as many as get this, please forward it on to saved and lost people alike. Don't isolate yourself from others, help the broken, lift up the fallen, remind them of Jesus by bearing His heart and Spirit in you. Get involved in the local church, go to Prayer Meetings, come back to Sunday PM services. You will be blessed and you will not feel so alone in the battle.

Heavenly Father, I know I feel very lonely at times, I am sure others do too. Help us Lord to look to You. Take away our fears of the enemy and help us to stand firm in You. In Your Name, Amen.

He Who Sees In Secret

Scripture Reading: Luke 21:1-3

Further Reading on this topic see Colossians 3

Once there was a missionary coming home to America from Africa. He had spent most of his life in Africa, he had labored so long and hard, even leaving behind a wife and his children buried there due to a small pox epidemic. Travel in those days was by ocean liner. As the missionary's ship pulled into the harbor port he noticed crowds all gathered on the piers waving flags and cheering. He had no idea what it was all about. As he departed the ship he per chance thought somehow maybe it could be for him, but he knew that was not at all likely. After disembarking he found out that Teddy Roosevelt was also on that ship and that the crowds were cheering for him. Mr. Roosevelt had returned from a long hunting safari in Africa. With this knowledge, the missionary got away from the crowd and went down an alley and sat on a box. He looked up to Heaven and asked God why couldn't he receive such a "Welcome Home" celebration. After all Mr. Roosevelt was only over there a month and was only hunting. The missionary spent the better part of his life there in God's service and there was no one to even say hello to him. Then the missionary recounted how God simply told him in his heart, "The reason why is because you are not home yet."

How many times have you done something in service to the Lord and asked yourself the question, "is what I am doing really mattering to God?" I am sure that is a question that often enters the Christian mind. We don't always know or see any good come from what we have labored to do for Christ. Such I believe also entered the mind of the woman who gave her last two pennies to the temple treasury.

The illustration by Gustave Dore of the Widow's Mites says a lot about God who sees in secret. Jesus is calling attention, His attention, to the disciples about the event transpiring. No doubt the disciples seeing many folks pouring lots of money into the treasury of the temple thought these two pennies had no real value or help. Jesus knew differently. Here is why our seemingly small service is valuable to God:

First, Jesus looks at the heart before He looks at the service or gift. This woman only had two mites to put in. She had no other money anywhere in the world. This was it. She could have kept them back but she desired to give to God. We see that money is not really what God wants, He can accomplish His purposes easily without some printed piece of metal. What God desires is that we value Him more than what we value in the world. What we see as valuable in this life should not be put ahead of God. To do so would be idolatry. Therefore, when we serve God we should do it with a heart that is willing and joyous to make a contribution to His work. Size does not matter to Him, but because we are willing to please Him shows our love for Him that is loyal and far more valuable.

Secondly, works done without the praise of men are valued by the Lord. Here is where the rubber really meets the road as it were. We often think because no one saw or complimented us as we did something for the Lord "behind the scenes" as it were that its not important. We gauge the success or failure of some deed on the appreciation man shows to it. No one came up to the woman later and said, "bless you sister, you have done so much by giving us everything that we wold like to write your name on the temple wall and have a portrait of you made for the next Sabbath's synagogue lesson on giving." Her offering went unnoticed and largely unheard to men because of its small size. The Lord however tells us that it is the weak or baser thongs of this world He uses to confuse the tall and mighty. The Lord who sees in secret has a larger reward awaiting us because we did not do something that would have benefited us for the short term having the praise of men attributed to us. This is not to say if you do receive some recognition that it is bad, but it should not be your motive.

Thirdly, an act of love and service to God is used in ways only He can direct. What seems to you as small can be used to fulfilling a need that only your work can do. If a goal is to be reached say of $100.00 then $99.98 will not do. That total of your contribution added to others giving many dollars is just as important. The need cannot be met without their contributions nor can it be met without yours. Jesus did not balk at the small boys lunch which was only enough to feed the boy and not five thousand, yet this is what He used and not only used but multiplied. Though your work may be small in your eyes it can be multiplied in ways we don't know about when we do it for the Lord. For example, you may be folding bulletins. You do this by yourself, not a soul watching, but if those bulletins had not been folded, no one next Sunday would have received them, and no one would have been blessed because they didn't receive them. You are an important link in that chain. Suppose the bathrooms were not cleaned by you this week. What does that say about the Lord's house and the testimony of Him? He delights when we do the tasks nobody desires, because that is what He did repeatedly, its His heart.

Lastly, we need to realize that the Kingdom cannot function as long as we're looking for an easier way. I remember trying to make a scale plastic model of a sailing ship. My favorite part was the cannons that protruded from the decks. I wanted to assemble that part first. Well according to directions if I did that the rest of the model would not fit right. That is the same way with the Christian service. We like to do things that we know will make us look good or shortcut some difficult task. We don't like to be menial task people. I think its funny watching home repair shows on TV. You see all this work done in 30 minutes but you never see the hours of labor it took to get to that point. The small grunt work must take place first. BUT we say, how come others get to reap the benefits and be in the spotlight when I did all the hard unwanted work??? It goes back to our priorities. Do we really find our satisfaction in pleasing Christ or in pleasing us? We need to realize joyfully though that we doing all the grunt work may seem ineffective now, but God does not soon forget this work. He sees our hearts as well as our hands. A reward is coming, far greater than what we could have received on Earth. But we need to do the work as He gives it to do.

To wrap up, there still is that nagging question again, "does what I do really matter?" Simply answered it matters to God or He would not have us do it. A slave master has no regard for the hardship he or she puts on those under them. However Jesus told us that we were not slaves to Him, but His personal Friends. Friends shall be rewarded. Not just by some high honor or royal display, but by seeing a pleased face of the Master and seeing the benefit in the lives represented in the courts of Heaven. A life changed is far more rewarding than a trophy on the shelf or a name in the bulletin. Jesus said that one person sows the seed, another waters, but God gives the increase. What you do may seem so insignificant, but like a 1000 piece puzzle, it is not complete without your one little piece put it.

A former pastor of mine once said, "if there is a front row in Heaven, those of us in public ministry will not sit there, but it will be for the ones who labored long and hard and were never seen."

Your service matters. It means everything to God. Though you do not see all that is going on, know this, it is God we are serving, He sees in secret and rewards in public. That public is all of the Heavenly congregation for all eternity.

Father, thank you for allowing us to be serving you. Lord, so many times we have hearts for service but our flesh gets so discouraged. Uplift us and refocus our attention on what is really important and know that you do not forget us, nor do you intend for us to go unrewarded in great measure as it has been given to you. Encourage us this day. May we continue to serve with the right heart and right motives. In your name we praise you. Amen.

A reminder to keep your eyes upon the skies, Jesus is coming soon!

Support For The Road Ahead

Scripture Reading: Joshua 1

The day is April 12th 1945. The place, the White House. Vice President Harry S. Truman had been summoned there. In Warm Springs Georgia, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was sitting for a portrait and grabbed his head and fell over. The situation did not look good. A White House aide came to find the Vice President in the White House gardens. The message was important. The President of the United States was dead. All of the sudden this huge weight of leading the nation, still caught up in the Second World War came to Harry Truman. He found a very saddened Eleanor Roosevelt in the White House corridor. Harry was heartfully sorry for her, and asked her gently if there was anything he could do for her. Despite her grief she replied, "is there anything we can do for you Harry, you are the President now."
As the historical photo shows, Harry S. Truman was soon sworn in as the Commander in Chief after a long legacy of FDR, a man who had reshaped America and had been the longest elected President in our nation's history. What a moment that must have been for Mr. Truman.

Similarly this account reminds me of what Joshua the servant of the Most High God faced as God told Joshua that Moses, the nations only leader was dead. Now Joshua was to be the leader of Israel. I wonder if Joshua and Harry Truman found some common emotional ground here? Nevertheless, the profound statement Eleanor Roosevelt made I believe should be the supportive cry of us all when our earthly leaders leave us.

As Christians we need to realize that these bodies we live in are only temporary and are only tools for God's use. When the tool has finished its usefulness, the soul leaves to its reward. However that does not mean all that one has done needs be left to rot. God's servants leave behind a work unfinished or at least finished as far as they can take it. Now it is up to someone else to carry on that work. What can we do when this happens?

First, depending on our position and relation to the leader that has left, we are to step up and fill the gap as our abilities and the Lord's will sees fit. We cannot sit back and let the burdens all fall directly on one person. One great aspect of the church I attend is that we have such a great team of leadership that when one person leaves for whatever reason, there are plenty ready to pitch in and fill the gap until a new member who best suits the missing position is found. So many churches falter because no one is willing to take on responsibility. Our Lord told the 11 disciples before His Ascension to make disciples of all men. That is to make those who will carry on the work of God after the 11 had passed on to Glory. That is precisely our role today, to carry on in the nursery, the parking lots, the deacon/elder board, the greeting team, the ushers, the custodians, the outreach group, the benevolence ministry, etc. Keep on, keeping on. God's ministry has not yet been finished, it relies on you.

Secondly, we need to be verbally and actively supportive of our leadership. The saying goes, we can't all be the boss, certainly applies. The church is strong because of its leaders and workers combined. But if you are involved in leadership you know how valuable it is to know that your team is behind you. Like Harry Truman, in the hardest hour, what a comfort it is to know you're not without help or support. How do we support our leaders. Here are a few suggestions:

• Most importantly, keep them in constant prayer
• Inquire what you can do to help them, either in ministry or in their personal lives (i.e. run errands, help with house repairs, help with smaller tasks so they can focus on larger ones. etc.)
• Encourage them when you see they may be going through some deep waters
• Show acts of kindness to them as the Lord directs

Just as it is wonderful to know that the Lord Jesus stands for you and behind you, so it is with our human relationships to know that we are behind our leaders ready to help, ready to support, ready to throw in our words and actions of support. The Bible is full of such accounts of human relation support. Let's take the same action as the saints of old.

The support we give honors our Lord and Master and we help grow His church, come what may.

It was in the days of old as an army marched toward its foes, it did so in a long straight horizontal line. As an artillery shell or some other weapon blasted a hole in this line, the men would come up from rear ranks and fill the gap, reinforcing the battle line. What a picture of Christian service!

Layperson, as long as we are in the world our leaders will come and go. Our mission and work though stays the same, stand and serve. If you find yourself a leader now facing a new challenge in the sudden absence of your leader, look ahead in confidence, the Lord Himself is going before you, and we the workers stand behind you.

If this post has been a blessing to you, forward it to a friend. Keep your eyes upon the sky, Jesus is coming soon.

Every Life A Purpose

Do you play the Piano?  Maybe you know someone who does.  The photo you see at the left is from my church's Grand Piano played every Sunday.  We are looking at part of the Resonator Board (where the sound is produced) plus we can see some of the strings.  A Grand Piano has over 200 strings of various widths and lengths.  When the hammer strikes on the strings that note is produced.  Suppose you had a piano like this one and most of your strings sounded, but a few did not.  They did not because they were not there.  That would be a huge problem as no song could be played correctly without all the notes in all the octaves present.  Each string has its own place, design, sound and purpose.  The Bible tells us that we are just as important as all of these strings.  In 1st Corinthians 12, Paul tells us that each member of Christ's church is like a member or part of the human body.  We can't all be eyes lest we have no feet to walk.  We cannot be all hands lest we do not have ears to hear.  The verse that sums up what I am trying to say is verse 27, "Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular." The phrase, "members in particular," is so vastly important for Christians to understand.  We tend to compare ourselves to anyone we deem successful and/or spiritual.  The truth is, contrary to some opinion, there is no part of the body of believers more important than others.  When I think of someone "high" on the spiritual ladder, I think of two people...(there are many more)....Jacqueline Henderson (now with the Lord) and Dr. Billy Graham.  The two have nothing in common as far as ministry goes.  Jackie, as she was known, spent long hours every week keeping a little church decorated for every occasion so God's people would have a nice place to worship in.  Billy Graham has preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ to more people than any man in human history.   Jackie was responsible for making sure the bulletins were neatly displayed and the flowers were arranged nice on the communion table.  Billy Graham has possibly more than several million souls that he has won to Christ.  Doesn't seem to be much similarity between the two, the choice of who is more important in the kingdom should be obvious, but it isn't.  

The fact is both are of equal importance.  The body of Christ cannot function without behind the scenes souls like Jackie, nor can it spread the Good News without those like Billy Graham.  In God's eyes both are dear and equally important.  Would God bless a hard working, eloquent speaker, and then forget the hard work an unknown servant does?  Never.  Perhaps you serve in a small ministry.  Maybe no one but God knows what you do.  Maybe no one ever thanks you or recognizes what you do.  Take cheer, its hard, but you haven't seen the Master yet.  Nor do you know of the rewards He has for those who truly do things for His glory only.  

Know this, no piano plays correctly without all its strings.  Whether you're a tiny short high string, or a deep sounding bass note, God is depending on your faithfulness and its He who is conducting the concerto.