May 12, 2011 … Trials’ Lessons: No Partiality

Passages of the Day: James 1: 9 – 10 … 9 The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. 10 But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower.

See also 1st Peter 1: 3 – 6 … 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.

My Journal for Today: Today (above) we have two passages to consider, which both convey two elements of a powerful message of truth. Taking these messages together, we see that rich and poor, as well as the powerful and the weak in this world, are loved and served equally by God. Aren’t you glad? I sure am.

Take note of what happened on Christmas Eve in 2004 with the incredible devastation of the far-eastern tsunami. Many rich and powerful tourists were swept away, along with the poorer and less powerful residents in those areas affected. It is true that the rain falls on the rich and poor alike when it falls, just like the love and grace of God showers all equally; … the worldly powerful and the worldly weak are covered equally by the love and grace of God. Again … praise the Lord for this truth!

And as we read above from Peter’s praise, the poor and disenfranchised of the world can take hope – great hope – in the resurrection power of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. ALL believers, no matter what our social status may be, can, and actually, must revel in the glory of our future inheritance as believers in Christ. Read of this in Ephesians 1: 11 – 14 …

SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 1: 11 – 14 … 11 In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 Who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory.

However, after taking in this truth of God’s impartial love and grace being offered to all who would receive it, we also have to consider the other side of this spiritual coin, where the opposite and horrible truth resides for those who choose not to believe in and receive Christ as Savior and Lord. Whether these non-believers be rich or poor, powerful or not, they will one day, BY THEIR CHOICE to reject Christ, be living together and eternally in the fires of hell, which is separation from the same God Who would have visited His glory on them had they chosen to receive His saving grace..

So, may we all – rich and poor – powerful and week - come to the Cross to receive the glorious inheritance which awaits us from our faith in the resurrected Christ. Oh, how I pray you have joined me here.

My Prayer Today: You, Lord, are my only hope and refuge. Amen

2010 – November 9 – Eunuchs for the Kingdom

Study from God’s Word… [Jesus moves from Ephraim, through Jericho and Bethany, on to Jerusalem and the trek to Calvary] Matt 19: 3-9 [Mk 10: 2-9]; Mt 19: 10-12 and Mk 10: 10-12; Mk 19: 13-16 [Mt 19: 13-15 & Lk 18: 15-17]; Mk 10: 17-22 [Mt 19: 16-22 & Lk 18: 18-23]; Mk 10: 23-27 [Mt 19: 23-26 & Lk 18: 24-27]; Mk 10: 32-24 & Lk 18: 31-14 [Mt 20: 17-19]; Mt 20: 20-23 & Mk 10: 35-40]; Mk 10: 41-45 [Mt 20: 24-28]; Lk 19: 1-10; Mk 10: 46-52 & Lk 18: 25-43 [Mt 20: 29-34]; Lk 19: 11-27; Lk 19: 25; Lk 11: 55-57; Mt 26: 6-13 & Mk 14: 3-9 & Jn :12: 1-8; Jn 12: 9-11 … Passage for Reflection: Matthew 19: 12 … NIV [Jesus] “For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”

My Journal for Today: Today’s text is taken from the context of Jesus discussing God’s position on divorce and remarriage; and we certainly know that the Lord took a hard line on this issue, which is pressing even more now in the Church than in the 1st century. So, what, in the midst of a discussion of the divorce issue with Jesus’ Disciples does the Lord bring up the subject of eunuchs?

Well, eunuchs (i.e., those who are rendered impotent physiologically at birth or surgically later in life), were generally not living that way in Jesus’ day because they wanted to be eunuchs. Hence, Jesus was using this example to illustrate that there are people who are involved in such life situations, such as divorce. Some were involved in divorce – and may be today- because of past sin or from a past marriage which was not covered by Jesus’ reflection on Moses’ teaching on divorce. In other words, in those days (and most certainly now) there are those who are divorced and would desire to be remarried (and some do) but should not be remarried because it would be consciously sinful and, according to Christ, tantamount to adultery. Tough stuff, isn’t it?

What Jesus was saying to His Disciples by using the example of eunuchs was summarized by Dr. LaGard Smith in his devotional entry for today; and let me quote what he said …

>>> Dr. LaGard Smith from The Daily Bible Devotional for November 9: “… Jesus insists that there are hard choices to be made for the sake of the kingdom. Maybe it has to do with not remarrying in the wake of (a biblically) unauthorized divorce. Maybe it has to do with not entering into (biblically) forbidden sexual relationships despite urges to do so, or turning down that lucrative job requiring a compromise of integrity. Whatever great personal price one has to pay to maintain kingdom values, God never promised us a spiritual rose garden.”

And Dr. Smith’s hard question for today, at the end of his devotional entry is this: ”What difficult choices am I willing to make FOR THE SAKE OF GOD’S KINGDOM.”

And I don’t know about you; but there are choices I must make – sometimes daily - in light of my personal and sinful desires and my default sin nature that I need to make to be able to do what Christ exhorted His disciples in Matt. 5: 16 … to shine HIS LIGHT for all to see my good works in order to glorify my Heavenly Father and to show off His Kingdom values. You’ll have to deal with this hard word and Dr. Smith’s question above on your own; but we all need to do this kind of value inventory … and in a sense become “eunuchs” for Christ in this world.

My Prayer for Today: Lord, I need Your strength to be Your “eunuch” as I choose to shine Your light in this ever darkening world. Amen