Titus 3:1-2

“Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men” (NKJV).

Last night I was at the mall, picking up a can of nutrients at the health foods store. As I got in line, a man was in front of me. The two cashiers were flirting with him, saying that they guessed he was a marine. When he asked how they knew, they proceeded to tell him that a lot of military men came into the store and they could always pick out the soldiers (Army) and the marines. He asked them how they could tell the two apart and they said that the soldiers were softer, less muscular.

Now, I’m an Army mom and absolutely convinced that my son is a best soldier in the world. My first response was to immediately begin to protest; that comment about soldiers being soft really got my hackles up.

And then I stopped.

What would I truly be doing if I rebuke those girls, particularly in front of the man they were trying to impress? Would my words be uplifting and Christlike? Or, in my belief that soldiers needed my defending, would I crush those girls? Which was the loving response?

Some things in life need correcting. If someone is driving down a road where I know the bridge is washed out, I need to try to stop them. But if a person is simply misinformed about a fact that isn’t crucial either to their life or their eternal salvation, then am I truly loving them by demonstrating that I’m right and they’re wrong?

Titus reminds us “to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men.” Ecclesiastes 5:2 says: “Do not be rash with your mouth. Let your words be few.” Proverbs 12:18 says: “There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, gut the tongue of the wise promotes health.”

When we correct or criticize, we need to ask ourselves if we are promoting health in the life of those who are listening to us? James reminds us: “If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless” (James 1:26).

I know that the lesson I learned last night from the Lord I will remember. Even at 55 (almost 56), I still have a long way to go to become the woman that He wants me to be.

© 2010 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

From A. W. Tozer

"Within the precepts of religion are sometimes founnd certain sins which I want here to mention. These may be classified under three heads: Sins committed out of weakness, respectable sins more or less allowed by everyone, and sins that have been woven into the religious fabric until they have become a necessary part of it. . . .

"Sins of the second category are those that exist with the sanction of or at least the connivance of the church, such as pride, vanity, self-centeredness, levity, worldliness, gluttony, the telling of 'white' lies, borderline dishonesty, lack of compassion for the unfortunate, complacency, absorption in the affairs of this life, love of pleasure, the holding of grudges, stinginess, gossiping, and various dirty habits not expressly forbidden by name in Scriptures." (p. 156).

from The Warfare of the Spirit: Developing Spiritual Maturity, 1993, Christian Publications, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.

James 2:1-5

“My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, ‘You sit here in a good place,’ and say to the poor man, ‘You stand there,’ or, ‘Sit here at my footstool,’ have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?”

The gospel we believe, we hold to, we live by must, by definition, be the same for both rich and poor or it is not the gospel.

I remember hearing that or reading that a number of years ago. I agreed with it, but it didn’t make a huge impression on my life. Not until recently when my husband and I, by virtue of his losing his job, became among the poor. By federal definitions, my husband and I are homeless because we live in our RV. Our savings is gone, spent trying to hang onto our previous house while my husband looked for work that never materialized. I am so grateful for what the Lord has provided, but we are living among the poor. One car. No money for vacations or clothing or emergencies. Trusting the Lord one day at a time.

Notice the description of the poor man in the passage: “a poor man in filthy clothes.” There is a state of life where one is so poor as to be unable to remain clean, to lack such resources as to simply have the clothes on ones back. And this state can be for a person who is a Christian. When you have no more resources upon which to fall, you trust the Lord for each provision, for what is needed for life each day. And there is a richness in that! Learning that God will not desert us and that being successful in this life (however one defines that) is far less important than looking with anticipation toward the next life.

Some of us have doctrines which would literally cause our faith to fade if we found ourselves in such circumstances. We have convinced ourselves that God has promised us financial prosperity in this life. But if that were true, why would James say what he has said? The fact is that we are rich compared to many in the world and stingy with money that we could give generously to others.

There is a scripture that pastors often use in church to encourage their parishioners to put more into the offering:

“But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work” (2 Cor. 9:6-8 NKJ).

What’s interesting is that the context of these verses isn’t about giving to the local church at all, but rather preparing a gift to give to a group of people who are poor. The Lord Jesus taught:

“Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'” (Matthew 25:34-36 NKJ).

The Lord Jesus wants us to reach out and minister to the poor, not only because they are poor, but because they are our brothers and sisters. He wants the gospel to include those who are dirty and frightened, homeless and hungry. If our gospel doesn’t include everyone in every situation, then it can’t be the gospel, the good news. For who needs the good news more than the person who has no hope for this life and needs hope for the next?

© 2010 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Hebrews 2:17-18

“Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted” (NKJ)

Temptation isn’t talked about a lot anymore in church. In fact, we honestly don’t talk about sin a lot. And yet, this is something we need to talk about because it is woven into the very fabric of our lives. We may want to ignore it, but the fact is, we sin. We are sinners and we sin. Just because we don’t talk about it, doesn’t mean that the problem doesn’t exist. Ben Witherington writes:

“One recent poll shows that 51% of all ministers admit to having at least occasionally looked at pornography on the net, and some 37% admit to having a problem with this matter” (http://benwitherington.blogspot.com/2006/09/pastors-and-pornography-dirty-little.html)

Most of us would say that looking at pornography is a horrible sin, and yet, my guess is that everyone who’s been on the Internet has seen inappropriate pictures at one time or another. Would we call it a sin? How about talking about that person who made us mad? Would we call it gossip? How about eating to the point that we hurt? Would we call it gluttony?

The fact is, if we don’t admit that we sin, then we don’t need salvation. But the Lord Jesus didn’t just die for “sins” in a general sense. He died for each sin that we commit, the sins that we could (and should) name. As a human being, He Himself was tempted and through that temptation suffered.

To be tempted can be painful and it can be long lasting. Paul writes:

“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13 NKJ).

“That you may be able to bear it.” The Greek word translated here “bear” means to undergo hardship, to bear, to endure (Strong’s 5297). Temptation isn’t something that is quick, but may actually be something we must endure. I know that I often think, okay, here’s the temptation, now it should go away. And when it doesn’t, I give in. The Lord Jesus told His disciples (and us):

“Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." (Mark 14:38 NKJ).

In other words, we can avoid even getting close to temptation by watching and praying. For me, the watching is keeping tabs on my own emotions, expectations, and behavior. I know the things that often lead me into sin (self pity, boredom, envy, anger). I have the choice to go to the Lord in prayer as soon as one of those begins! I have the choice to even avoid the temptation. But even when I’m tempted, I can still go to the Lord in prayer and endure the temptation without sinning. Only I have to choose to pray rather than to give in.

“Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. . . . praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints” (Eph. 6: 13, 18, NKJ)

If I want to avoid sin, I need to learn to watch and pray. And in my prayers, I can also pray for you to avoid temptation. The key to conquering sin is prayer.

© 2010 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Hebrews 2:10-11

“For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren” (NKJ).

Salvation is more than just a ticket to heaven. The Lord Jesus became like us, a human being, suffering everything that we might suffer. He suffered being alone, being rejected by His earthly family (and by His heavenly Father), being hungry, being thirsty, being tired, being poor. And He became the perfect “captain” of our salvation through these sufferings because He can now relate to everything in our lives. He has been there and overcome. And because He has overcome, we can too through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Lord Jesus experienced all that He went through so that we might be saved, sanctified and glorified with Him.

John 17:19 (NKJ): “And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.”

Ephesians 5:25b-27 (NKJ): “Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.”

What does it mean to be “sanctified?” It means that the Lord Jesus freed us from sin for the purpose of our being set apart for God. Our lives are no longer our own, but belong to Father God. Everything that we do must be for His purposes. We become one with Him and in that oneness, our life purpose changes. We now exist to serve Him, to do His will and His will alone.

Often that means that we will do things that are contrary to what the world thinks is wise or what we believe is logical or common sense. The Lord’s ways are not our ways. For example, we may need to eat something that we don’t like (or something that isn’t healthy) if it means in doing so we are ministering to someone else with whom we are sharing that food. It may mean giving away what we have saved in order to help the poor, hungry, or hurting. It may mean giving up a new job or turning down a promotion so that someone else can be blessed. But in all these things, we can trust that the Lord will take care of us. I know that I am also comforted when I remember that this life is simply a hiccup in eternity; the sufferings I bear here are small and won’t matter at all when I reach heaven.

The apostle Paul wrote:

“But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 15:20 NKJ).

Our hope is always in the resurrection and in our home in heaven. What we do here should always be done with the mind that we bring glory to the Father. Our reward is already guaranteed.

© 2010 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Hebrews 2:9

“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.” (NKJ).

It seems like we Americans are transfixed with death, not that we are interested in experiencing it, but that we want to avoid it. One of the big topics of conversation about universal healthcare is the idea of people not receiving “certain” care and thus dying. It’s always interesting to me that we think that there is a medicine, a procedure, or a doctor that can prevent our death.

Euripedes said “but learn that to die is a debt we must all pay.” The fact is, everyone is afraid of death. That was the point! What the unsaved failed to understand is that “the sting of death is sin” (1 Cor. 15:56 NKJ). For even those who deny that there is anything after death, within their hearts there is the fear of what they may have to face after death.

Perhaps one of the things we fear about death is a loss of control, of power. Ecc. 8:8 (NKJ) states that “no one has power in the day of death.” Everyone dies and yet no one can control whether or not (or when) she dies. Even those who attempt suicide are not always successful. Why? Because no person has power over death. And that feeling of powerlessness is frightening.

Death and sin are inextricably linked. Genesis 2:17 gave the consequence of sin: death. Death was not something we were created to experience; thus, it is not natural. It is a result of the sin on the earth and the sin in our lives.

The Lord Jesus broke the power of death. Verse 9 tells us that he “might taste death.” When we taste something, it is a limited experience. At some point, the taste either dissipates or we swallow. John Wesley writes:

“That by the grace of God, he might taste death - An expression denoting both the reality of his death, and the shortness of its continuance.”

The Lord Jesus had victory over death because He died and then rose again. His resurrection fulfilled two purposes: (1) it conquered death; and (2) it forgave our sins. His resurrection is the assurance that we are forgiven: “And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!” (1 Cor. 15:17 NKJ). His resurrection changed death from a punishment to a transformation. When we accept what He has done for us, death is changed from a dreaded event into a blessed one. When believers die, they are given eternal life. We die once, never to die again.

Until Then
by Stuart Hamblin

My heart can sing when I pause to remember
A heartache here is but a stepping stone
Along a trail that's winding always upward,
This troubled world is not my final home.

The things of earth will dim and lose their value
If we recall they're borrowed for awhile;
And things of earth that cause the heart to tremble,
Remembered there will only bring a smile.

This weary world with all its toil and struggle
May take its toll of misery and strife;
The soul of man is like a waiting falcon;
When it's released, it's destined for the skies.

But until then my heart will go on singing,
Until then with joy I'll carry on,
Until the day my eyes behold the city,
Until the day God calls me home.

Do we see heaven as home? If so, then we should be looking forward to the day when we make that journey, when—through death—we are finally with our Lord and Savior. For the believer, there is nothing to fear when this life ends. And that’s something worth sharing with everyone else!

© 2010 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Hebrews 2:8b

“For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him.” (NKJ)

One of the hardest things about being a Christian is living in a world that is still struggling under the weight of sin. We know that God is in control for all things are subjugated to the Lord Jesus, but we do not yet see it. What is true in the spiritual isn’t yet evident in the physical.

It is the same in our own lives. We agree with Paul (Romans 7:15) that we do what we know we shouldn’t do. And yet we also know because of the grace of God that when we repent (1 John 1:9), our sins are forgiven and forgotten and we can move on in victory. The fact that we can find forgiveness at the Throne is perhaps the greatest wonder and joy of all. The fact that I don’t have to live with the burden of my sins, but can have them totally wiped away is amazing and wonderful.

Psalm 103:12 (NKJ) tells us that “as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” I just took that at face value until I looked at it using a world globe. If you start at any location on a globe, go north, and continue on, you will eventually begin to go south. South meets north one step past the north pole. It’s the same if you go south. But if you go east, you continue to go east (and east and east) never going west. It’s the same if you go west. While north and south meet at the poles, east and west never meet. In other words, once we are forgiven, our sins are so far away that we will never encounter them again. Of course, we may encounter consequences, but those only if the Lord chooses and then for our good discipline.

The fact that we don’t yet see creation subjugated to the Lord Jesus doesn’t mean that it isn’t. The apostle Paul wrote “for now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known” (1 Cor. 13:12 NKJ). Have you ever looked into a dim mirror? Sometimes when I’m in an antique store, I’ll find a mirror that has lost much of its shine. It’s difficult to see my reflection because the mirror is dim. Now, in this life, I see dimly, but one day I will see the Lord face to face. Then, all that I have believed (without seeing) I will see clearly! But in the meantime, I need to continue to believe without seeing. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1 NKJ). My faith exists because I cannot see. So for now I have faith that all things are subject to the Lord Jesus; one day I will see that it is so.

© 2010 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Luke 23:39-46

Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, "If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us." But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, "Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong." Then he said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom." And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise." Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, "Father, 'into Your hands I commit My spirit.' " Having said this, He breathed His last. (NKJV)

As people, the last thing we want to do is suffer. As Christians, we know that we will suffer whether due to God’s discipline (Hebrews 12:7-8), due to the sin in this world, or due to suffer for the cause of Christ (Phil. 1:29). What we need to learn—what I need to learn—is how to live during the suffering.

My tendency is to close in on myself. There is a sense where I think that, when I am suffering, I don’t even have enough resources for myself, no less have the energy or effort for others. So instead of reaching out, I tend to draw in. I cloister myself and, to be honest, try to reward myself with something that feels good . . . food, TV, books, my dogs, something. This is a natural tendency. When we get physically hurt, our bodies focus all of our attention on the hurt spot. Have you ever noticed that? If you had a back ache and you suddenly burn a small spot on your hand, all of your attention goes to your hand and your back suddenly doesn’t “hurt.” Oh, it still hurts, but your focus is on the more immediate injury.

When we hurt emotionally, our tendency is to focus on ourselves and that means we aren’t focusing on the hurts and pains of others. But the Lord Jesus, even during the greatest trial—the greatest suffering—of His life turned His thoughts to others. Shortly before His death on the cross, He turned to the thief and said, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise.” He didn’t focus on what was happening to Him, but rather the needs of those around Him. In fact, out of the seven phrases that He uttered on the cross, two were for the needs of others (one in concern for his mother, one to the thief).

Why was the Lord Jesus able to do this? I think it was because He fully trusted God. Rather than looking at His circumstances, He looked at the character of the Father and knew that Father God was trustworthy. The Lord Jesus realized that the circumstances, the suffering, the pain didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was trusting God and following His will.

Are we willing to follow the Lord’s will, even to the point of suffering? Psalm 23:4 states: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” Even when faced with the possibility of death, the psalmist didn’t fear, but trusted the Lord. He understood that wherever we go, the Lord goes there with us. And if the Lord is there with us, we don’t need to focus on ourselves; we can focus on the needs of others, trusting God to take care of us.

© 2010 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Hebrews 2:1, 3

“Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. . . . how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him” (NKJ)

There was a time in the American Church when we didn’t believe that salvation was simply a one-time experience that we could do, forget about, and still retain. There was a time (and in my lifetime) when those who attended church understood that their behavior was an important part of the salvation process, not that we earn our salvation, but that we appropriate it through our choices day by day.

• “We must give the more earnest heed.” The NRSV translates it: “We must pay greater attention.” How do we measure how much attention we give something? For me, it means what I think about, what I focus on. Do we spend time focusing on the things we have heard (meaning the Bible and the things of God)? Or do we spend time on other pursuits? How much do we know about the Bible compared to other things we know about? What consumes our conversations?

• “Lest we drift away . . . how shall we escape.” The Lord Jesus Himself warned that it was possible for believers to be swept away by the cares and pleasures of the world: "But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man." (Luke 21:34-36 NKJ). We are counted worthy because we have accepted the gift of salvation. But if we neglect that gift, how can we say that we have it? James wrote: “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. . . . But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” (James 1:12, 14-15 NKJ). It isn’t wrong to be tempted; it is wrong to give into temptation.

It is hard sometimes, I think, for American Christians to fully recognize temptations because our hearts are deadened to the excesses in which we live. A. W. Tozer writes:

“Were I to select a word which I felt best described the modern American temper that word would be excess. . . . Without doubt we are out of control and it may be that we have reached the point of no return. We may never recover from our mighty binge. . . . If the work of redemption is to be complete our basic propensity toward perversion and excess must be reversed. All our powers must be sanctified and brought under the direction of the Spirit” (The Warfare of the Spirit: Developing Spiritual Maturity, pp. 86-87, 89).

I think that we want an easy salvation so that we don’t have to confront our sins. How often are we taught from the pulpit to confess specific sins each day in our prayers? How many of us can even identify (or will identify) the sins we committed that day (or the day before)? And yet how much of our lifestyles are given to neglecting our salvation and focusing on those things which have no eternal value?

I know that I must learn to pay more attention to the Word than to anything else, to fill my mind with His Words and His will to the exclusion of much of what is around me. Tozer says that such a man or woman will be “very much out of step with the world” (p. 90). I think that I’d rather be very much in step with the Lord Jesus.

© 2010 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Hebrews 1:2b-4

“His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.”

Why did God make the Lord Jesus heir of all things? Didn’t God create everything? Yes. Hebrews says that: “through whom also He made the worlds.” But sin has taken possession of creation. Romans 8:20-22 (NKJ): “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.” The Lord Jesus has been made heir because creation will be released from this corruption; there will be a new heaven and a new earth! And we will share as heirs with the Lord Jesus in this new creation.

I often wonder about our perspective as Christians, why we so often shrink from death when it is death which actually brings life to us? We hold onto this life with a death-grip, as if there is something in this life that has great value. The Lord has told us, over and over, that all of this will be destroyed in favor of a creation that is much greater. These bodies will be destroyed in favor of better bodies. Shouldn’t we all want that? The apostle Paul writes:

“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." (I Corinthians 15:52-54 NKJ).

Death is defeated because death is simply a door, a graduation to a better life! And the Lord Jesus is heir to all this because He Himself purged our sins.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I struggle with my sins. I feel like Paul that I do what I don’t want to do, as if this body had a mind of its own. And yet, I know that the mind in control here is mine and that I choose to sin. It is a battle, a battle whether or not I would do the Lord’s will or my own. I am so grateful that the Lord Jesus has purged all of these sins and that He has promised me a new body that will not rebel against His will. I long for the day when I don’t struggle to do His will, but when His will reigns totally with no opposing force. It amazes me how much God loves us, that He has allowed this rebellion to continue throughout the years so that all who will would end up saying “yes” to salvation. The Lord tarries His judgment because He loves us! He often even stays His hand of temporary judgment for our sins simply because He loves us. We have the “heir of all things” as our advocate before the throne. It is amazing to me and something I think we should not forget.

Lead Me to Calvary
by Jennie Hussey and William Kirkpatrick

King of my life, I crown Thee now, Thine shall the glory be;
Lest I forget Thy thorn crowned brow, lead me to Calvary.

Show me the tomb where Thou wast laid, tenderly mourned and wept;
Angels in robes of light arrayed guarded Thee whilst Thou slept.

Let me like Mary, through the gloom, come with a gift to Thee;
Show to me now the empty tomb, lead me to Calvary.

May I be willing, Lord, to bear daily my cross for Thee;
Even Thy cup of grief to share, Thou hast borne all for me.

Lest I forget Gethsemane, lest I forget Thine agony;
Lest I forget Thy love for me, dead me to Calvary.

© 2010 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Hebrews 1:1-2a

“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son;” (NKJ)

God, as creator and ruler of the universe, wasn’t obligated in any fashion to speak to us, his creation, at all. The fact is that once sin came into the world, God could have legally and ethically destroyed everything and started over. He didn’t. Instead, He chose to speak to us over and over again, doing everything He could to compel us to Him.

This kind of perseverance is described in a parable in Matthew 21:

"Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.' So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?" (v. 33-40 NKJ).

There are some important things in this parable:

• The vineyard was only leased to the vinedressers. It was owned by the landowner who had spent his own money making the necessary improvements that it might be a successful business.
• The vinedressers only cultivated and pruned the vines. Their contribution was minimal compared to the contribution of the landowner.
• As part of the arrangement, the landowner sent his representatives to the vinedressers to receive the profits from the land, but the vinedressers had become focused on their rights rather than their responsibilities and did everything they could to retain those rights to the point of murder.

We often think that because we live in these bodies, that we own them. Or because we live in our homes or have a job or have possession of a car that we own them. The fact is that everything is the Lord’s to do with as He pleases. Ownership, as we understand it, is a transitory thing. The Lord gives us temporary custody of things, but He is the ultimate owner and it is to Him that we owe an accounting of what we do with the things with which He has entrusted us.

God has spoken to us in these days through the words and life of His Son, the Lord Jesus. God loved us so much that He sent His very own Son not only to speak to us, but to die for us. I think it’s important that we never lose sight of the preciousness or significance of that truth. The Lord has been so patient with mankind—with each of us—sending in these last days even His Son to contend with our rebelliousness. At some point, we need to, at the least, fully surrender in acknowledgment of His right of ownership. And even greater act would be to bow in worship, thanksgiving, and love.

© 2010 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

2 Peter 3:11-12

“Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?”

What manner of persons ought we to be?

I think that we, as Christians, sometimes are so inundated with the “stuff” of modern Christianity that we often forget the things that are most basic and most important in our faith, those things which separate us from the rest of the world. It is those things which define the manner of persons we ought to be, those things which define “holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God.”

One of the basic, fundamental ideas is that Christ lives in us. The God of heaven, the Creator of all things, has chosen to place His very Spirit within me. It is a mystery which I will never fully understand, but a truth which I must grasp. In Galatians, Paul writes:

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (2:20 KJV).

Within this human body, Christ lives. Just as He once lived in His own fleshly body, He has chosen now to live in mine. And what I do in this body, He does with me. What I do with this body, He lives with. Matthew 10:30 and Luke 12:7 tell us that the very hairs on our head are numbered. Christ knows everything there is to know about our bodies; He is aware of every cell. Do we force Him to live in a toxic “home” by filling our bodies with physical and emotional junk food? Do we treat our bodies as belonging to ourselves, rather than belonging to Him?

Perhaps one very basic question we could add to our vocabulary this year in an effort to live in holy conduct and godliness: Why am I choosing this food for my body? Is it because it satisfies my cravings and taste buds? Or is it because it is healthy for this body? I think that, as Americans, we are so unaware of how self-centered (rather than Christ-centered) the most basic decisions are. We often go into a restaurant with the mindset “What do I want to eat?” rather than asking ourselves “What is here that is healthy for this body?”

John Wesley writes:

“God has entrusted us with our bodies as well as our souls. He has entrusted us with an exquisitely wrought machine and all the powers and members of it. We have the organs of sense—sight, hearing, and the rest. But none of these are our own. None of these are lent to use in such a sense as to leave us at liberty to use them as we please even for a season! No! We have received them on the terms that we employ them all in the very manner which He appoints.”

As we approach this new year, I challenge myself to ask with each bite of food, “Is this creating a healthy or a toxic home within which the Spirit of God will dwell?”

© 2010 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

2 Peter 3:10

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. (NKJ)

It’s easy to become so absorbed by the daily duties of life that we forget the most important thing . . . all of this is one day going to be destroyed. Rev. 21:1 (NKJ): “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.” The Bible tells us clearly that this earth and everything in it will be replaced by a new earth, an earth not affected by the ravages of sin.

Larry Norman, in the 70's I believe, wrote a song, “I Wish We’d All Been Ready.” The first verse says: “Life was filled with guns and war, and everyone got trampled on the floor. I wish we’d all been ready. Children died, the days grew cold, a piece of bread could buy a bag of gold, I wish we’d all been ready.” Sound familiar? We may or may not be living in those last days, but the fact is that the Lord is coming for each and every one of us like a thief in the night.

The Lord Jesus told this parable:

"The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?' So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry." ' But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?' So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." (Luke 12:16b-21 NKJ).

What’s interesting is that, if we don’t read the end of the parable, it sounds as if the man has done well by himself. He worked and gathered in crops. He had no room for all of them, so he decided to build bigger barns so that he would be able to store the crops for future use. But notice, it doesn’t say that the man worked hard, but rather than the ground yielded plentifully. In other words, the Lord had blessed him. Rather than keep his bounty for himself, the Lord expected him to share it with others. And even though the man had good financial planning, it did him no good because that very night the Lord came for him!

What does the Lord expect us to do with the time and resources that He provides?

Isaiah 58:6-9a (NKJ): “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; when you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.'”

The Lord Jesus echoed these words in Matthew 25:

“Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'” (v. 34-36 NKJ).

The time for us to reach out to others is now. The Lord is coming for each and every one of us. He may come in the rapture, gathering the believers at one time, or He may come for us in death, coming for us individually. And certainly we will not know the day or time that He comes for us. But He will come like a thief in the night. Our responsibility is what we will do with what He gives us today.

© 2010 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Isaiah 26:3

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. (NKJV).

There are many of us, I think, who never thought we would see the first day of 2010. I can remember in high school thinking that I would likely not reach, but certainly not survive, my 20's. We grew up in the cold war when then went to the street wars. The world was beginning to go mad. How could anyone survive?

When we approached 2000, the madness again raised its ugly head, but this time, I think, without much relief. The past decade has been, plainly put, crazy in all of its disasters. Having easy access to world news through the Internet has increased the idea that events are moving beyond a pace with which we can deal. There truly is a call for peace, but no where to find it.

Except in the presence of the Almighty.

I know that I long for perfect peace. There are so many decisions to make and the likelihood of making even one that is successful grows dimmer and dimmer. This year has the potential to make great changes in my life and, for possibly the first time, I really only want what the Lord wants, His will and nothing more. I want to “stay” my mind on Him. There is a sense when staying of waiting. To simply go to the throne and wait to see what it is He will say, to see what He will do. And I do that because I trust Him, truly trust Him. I can wait on Him because He will answer in the right time, at the right moment, with the right answer!

The first day of the year is the day we often take time to think about the new year. What is it we want out of life, out of this year? For me, I think it is more of God. I want more of Jesus, more of the Spirit. I want my capacity to have more of Him in my life to expand greatly, to so expand that I push out all of me and become more and more of Him. John 3:30: “He must increase. I must decrease.” I want to decrease so that the Lord Jesus increases in my walk, my words, my actions, my life. I want others, when they look at me, to only see Him!

More about Jesus
by Eliza E. Hewitt & John R. Sweney

More about Jesus would I know, More of His grace to others show;
More of His saving fullness see, More of His love Who died for me.

More about Jesus let me learn, More of His holy will discern;
Spirit of God, my teacher be, Showing the things of Christ to me.

More about Jesus; in His Word, Holding communion with my Lord;
Hearing His voice in every line, Making each faithful saying mine.

More about Jesus; on His throne, Riches in glory all His own;
More of His kingdom’s sure increase; More of His coming, Prince of Peace.

More, more about Jesus, More, more about Jesus;
More of His saving fullness see, More of His love Who died for me.

© 2010 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.