Saturday, August 29, 2015

WHO IS THIS LORD?

As we continue our 19th Anniversary series "ALL FOR HIM!" we are doing our best "TO MAKE READY A PEOPLE PREPARED FOR THE LORD."

In a very real sense, all of our lives are spent preparing for that great day when we see Jesus. The Scriptures tell us, "Every eye shall see Him." "We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ." Peter urges us to "Be diligent that we may be found of Him in peace."

But who is this LORD? When the Lord himself asked the disciples, "Whom do men say that I am?" they answered, "Some think you are Elijah, others think you are John the Baptist, and others think you’re Jeremiah or a prophet."

Then the LORD directed the question to his 12 disciples. "Whom say ye that I am?"

It is one of life’s most important questions. Peter didn’t hesitate to answer. He testified, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Amen!

When he testified, "THOU ART THE CHRIST" he was identifying JESUS of Nazareth as the Messiah--God’s Anointed Savior.

When he called Him, "THE SON" he was exalting His Divine and Human nature. And when he called Him "THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD" he was making clear that the LORD was not conjured up in the imaginations of the Ancients, nor was He made in the image of man. Ah this LORD was the SON OF THE LIVING GOD! The One who is. The One who was. The One who will always be.

Peter’s testimony drew a most interesting response from the Lord Jesus. Hear Jesus saying, "Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you!" Men and women who see the LORD for who He is do not see HIM on account of His miracles. They do not understand HIM because of His superb teachings. They do not recognize His authority because of His gracious acts of compassion. They see HIM because THE FATHER IN HEAVEN reveals it to them.

This revelation is offered universally, but it is only received individually.

Our answer to our LORD"s question, "Who do you say I am?" will finally determine the answer to our own identity. One day the Judge of all the earth will reveal who we are to all the world.

You see, our answer to Who He Is, determinesthe answer to Who We Are.

Monday, August 3, 2015

YOU THINK DISTRACTED DRIVING IS BAD? CONSIDER THIS...


2 PETER 3:13,14 We, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.  Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.

This past week the highly acclaimed business guru, John Maxwell, emailed an invitation to watch a video on “Successful Thinking.”  The theme of this segment was “Successful thinkers are focused thinkers.”  I took the bait and listened to what he had to say.

I learned great things like, “unsuccessful people go in too many directions, successful people focus on the main thing.”  Wow!  What a revelation.  Actually there were some good reminders in Maxwell’s presentation.  “Believe while others are doubting.  Plan while other playing. Study while others are sleeping. Begin while other procrastinate. Save while others are wasting.  Smile while others are frowning. Persist while others are quitting.”

As Maxwell stressed the importance of focus, I began to think about our focus on faith.  There are so many distractions to the life of faith. Tim Challies from Toronto is right.  “If we are a distracted people, a distracted society, it stands to reason that we would also be a distracted church, a church with a diminished ability to think deeply, to cultivate concentration, to emphasize slow, deliberate, thoughtful meditation.” 

I’m thinking Tony Reinke is seeing the same thing that I’m seeing, “Our spiritual condition is one of having spiritual ADD...We are more easily distracted from the important issues of our lives moment by moment.”

So at the precise moment when we ought to be looking up to the Savior, we’re staring down a screen.  When we are only a heartbeat away from eternity, we’re lost in the world of “Beats.”  While godlessness increases around us, godliness is ignored or rejected within us.  If the devil can’t defeat us, he will distract us.

In the last chapter of his last letter to the Church, the Apostle Peter urged,  “Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.”  2 Peter 3:14.

This diligence, or focus, is our desperate need.  Jesus reproved the busyness of Martha and blessed her Christ-focused sister Mary saying, “She hath chosen the better part.” 

Distraction leads us to shallow thinking, and shallow thinking produces shallow living.

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the Light of His glory and grace!”