The value of an object is often reflected by the price we are willing to pay for it. Have you ever considered what God was willing to ‘pay’ for you?” … “God ‘ransomed’ you with the most valuable thing He had, His Son, to die for our sins. God paid the highest price possible to redeem our souls. That ought to tell us something.”
Category Archives: Value
Do You Prefer Discipline or Neglect?
Running with endurance
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“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by Him; for those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives.” Hebrews 12:5-6
Life can seem to be trying and wearisome at times. This summer is the third summer in a row that my wife has had to use crutches due to injury. My own health issues have been more challenging this year. I have added two new specialists to my list of doctors and will likely add a third by the end of the year. And yet, despite our struggles and their related frustration and fatigue, we consider ourselves quite fortunate having learned over time that: our situation could be much worse; our trials are truly “light and momentary”; and God is faithful to sustain us. It doesn’t make the endurance an easy thing, but it does encourage us and provide a healthier perspective than our culture offers. With this understanding, we further recognize that the discipline and sustaining grace of God is infinitely better than being neglected.
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Enduring Love
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We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. 1 John 4:16-17
We all like to be reminded that we are loved…especially by those who are dear to us. My wife was out of town this weekend and I wasn’t feeling the greatest on several levels. At one point, I considered staying home from church on Sunday morning. However, realizing that it was not a wise choice in that moment and that there are others who would love to attend a worship service, but are unable, I rose to the occasion and went. During the praise time, the worship team led us in “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us”. For various reasons, I desperately needed to hear those words.
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Mighty vs. Might
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“And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins. And He said, ‘Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on.’” Luke 21:1-4
In the wake of Billy Graham’s departure from this world, the atmosphere seems a tad darker. He was truly a mighty man of God who was used to reach all levels of society around the globe. Not only did he touch the lives of many great and influential people not the least of which were several US presidents, but he also touched the lives of the humble such as my grandmother who accepted Christ sitting in her apartment watching one of his crusades on her television. In that light, take a look at the picture described in Luke 21. A poor woman who has next to nothing is noticed by the Lord of all that exists. He doesn’t look down on her as someone who is insignificant. Quite the opposite, He recognizes that her small offering or her “mite” is a mighty act of faith as she is giving all that she has; He acknowledges that she has contributed more than those who have given much larger offerings out of their surplus. When I consider the opportunities, wealth, talents or spiritual gifts of the mighty and those with no more than a mite, three points come to mind: jealousy, attitude and value.
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Jesus tends to his people individually. He personally sees to our needs. We all receive Jesus’ touch. We experience his care.
Clay Pots Revisited
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For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Ephesians 2:10
Producing art, whether for functional use, aesthetic value, or some combination of the two, takes effort and skill. In my youth I used to tool leather. I made belts, purses, bible covers, etc. At times I used kits, regularly I used precut pieces such as belt blanks while the remainder of the time I started with a piece of tanned hide. Obviously the latter required the most effort in that I had to decide what I was making, its intended purpose, its shape, and its dimensions. From there the cutting had to be precise which was not easy with a utility knife. Once cut, the leather had to be moistened to keep it pliable so that the stamping and carving could be done properly and evenly. After being tooled it had to be died and finished. Each piece was unique and an investment of time, effort, and creativity. The process was a very faint imitation of how God has created each of us.
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If this is to be a Happy New Year, a year of usefulness, a year in which we shall live to make this earth better, it is because God will direct our pathway. How important then, to feel our dependence upon Him!
Thanksgiving Part 2
People
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Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 1 John 4:7
The call to live and to die well especially in the face of adversity, i.e. according to God’s will, has at least three purposes: it strengthens our relationship with our Lord, it provides us a better quality of life and it strengthens the body of Christ. With respect to the latter, sometimes we learn from studying scripture and sometimes we learn from and are encouraged by watching others as they live by faith. For this post, rather than presenting a discussion of the precepts that encourage healthy relationships for which we can be thankful, I’d like to present evidence of God working through the body of Christ.
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With what little time we have left for making life meaningful, too many of us find ourselves going through the motions and achieving very little of lasting value. We live as if we have all the time in the world, when the truth of the matter is that our time on earth is short. We truly are ‘here today, gone tomorrow,’ making every second precious.
Faithful Service
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As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 1 Peter 4:10
We are a soccer family. My wife was a soccer manager in college; our daughters started playing in elementary school and continue to play, our younger daughter met her husband through soccer; and our grandsons have recently started playing. Christine and Corey love to play defense on the soccer field. Their motto is: “forwards win games; defensive players win championships”. The point is that the players in the background preventing the other team from scoring are as important as those scoring the goals. It takes the whole team…not just the ones in the limelight. It’s like that in the church body as well.
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