PLUS

I Peter 2:1-3 “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby; If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.”

Hebrews 12:14-15 “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled”

Hebrews 12:1-2 “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Galatians 5:22-24 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against which there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.”

There is so much to be concerned with in our lives and in the world around us. There are plenty of reasons to be anxious, concerned, shocked, angered, and embittered. We have been wronged, we have been maligned, and we have been marginalized. We have been underappreciated and we have been unsupported.

We could respond with malice, guile, hypocrisies, envies, and evil speakings. We could be troubled by bitterness and defiled by an attitude of revenge. Our energy could be sapped and our effectiveness could be subdued. But, God has a far better plan! It is the path that Christ followed as He endured the cross and despised the shame.

The Lord directs us to keep our gaze focused on Him, regardless of the plentiful distractions that would otherwise divert it. He wanted us to grow through the milk of His Word. He calls us towards holiness and peace with all men. He recommends that we lay aside all the weights that are hindering our forward progress.

And, He seeks for us to enjoy the rich fruits of the Spirit that taste and nourish far better than the bitter morsels offered by secular society.

PLEASE PRAY THAT AS AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WE WOULD FOLLOW A CHRISTLIKE RESPONSE TO THE CHALLENGES THAT WE FACE IN OUR DAILY LIVES. The rich fruits of the Christian life come from a counter-cultural, Christ-like response to adversity.

II Timothy 3:16-17 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

Psalm 119:105 “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

Job 23:12 “Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.”

In days during early World War II when victory was far from assured and the foundational elements of human society were shaken due to world-wide conflict, Pastor Hugh Elmer Brown wrote the following as recorded in “Strength for Service”:

“For cleansing, for comfort, and for command, the Bible has no equal. It is the moral radium of the world. It is Everybody’s Book. Put your ear to it and you hear universal man as he sobs, and sings, as he sighs, swears, and supplicates. Coffins and cradles, glories and glooms, comedies and tragedies, all the ups and downs of human experience are in the Bible.

The Bible is the most hopeful book in the world. It is full of the spirit of the morning. It has splendid ‘eyes for the dawn.’ No literature matches it for pure sunniness. It snatches the crepe from the door of death. It looks for the latent good in bad men. It has a Gospel for the Gutter. It peoples Eternity with singing men and women.

The Bible is the most helpful book in the world. It teaches how to think about life – feeds the heart with vision and ideal, and reveals the superb pattern of manhood in Jesus. It is a lantern for our feet in any situation in life. It gives valor to our dreams of good and maps the road to civilization of brotherly men. Its religious truths are essential to man’s health in character, man’s hope in service, and man’s triumph in death. It is a telescope through which we can see the living God.”

Pastor Brown provides us a superb reminder of the preeminent importance of the Word of God. It is to be treasured; it is to be trusted. It is truly profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. It is a light unto our feet and a lamp unto our path.

Job reminds us all of its power. He faithfully followed it, because he rightfully elevated it. In the midst his own extreme challenges when victory was far from assured and the foundational elements of his life were shaken by conflict, he declared that those words were more esteemed than his necessary food.

PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD PROPERLY ELEVATE AND ESTEEM GOD’S WORD. As Everybody’s Book, it has no equal!

ADMIN: There will not be a PLUS post next weekend, but please continue to faithfully and fervently pray for revival in our land.

Joshua 4:21-24 “And he spake unto the children of Israel saying, when your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. For the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over: That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever.”

Hebrews 11:32-34 “And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.”

In my previous post, I shared the importance of Christians looking forward and upward instead of down and backwards. There is a notable exception, however.

God would have us to look backwards when doing so would successfully and faithfully drive us forward. Letting our gaze drift backwards to recognize God’s persistent faithfulness will help us successfully tackle the challenges we will face serving Him in the future. The enduring memorial of stones taken from the midst of the Jordan River played this role for the Israelites. It was done so that “all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever.” Relatedly, allowing our vision to linger on the past faithfulness of our forefathers will help provide the inspiration we need to carry on their powerful legacy into an uncertain future. Sections of the Bible like Hebrews 11 provide such a powerful memorial of faithfulness for us today.

Memorial Day was established as a widespread commemoration in the United States of America on May 30, 1868. Yet, four and a half years earlier President Abraham Lincoln gave some of the most powerful words of memorial ever spoken at what is now known as the Gettysburg Address. It included the following:

“We can not dedicate – we can not consecrate – we can not hollow – this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us – that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion – that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD LOOK TO OUR PAST TO REMEMBER THE POWER OF GOD AND THE FAITHFULNESS OF OUR FOREFATHERS. May we today be dedicated to further the unfinished work in our land!

Please see the following for related posts:

An Enduring Memorial

Hold It High

Us the Living

Genesis 19:25-26 “And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

Luke 9:62 “And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Psalm 121:1-2 “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.”

Colossians 3:2 “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”

Hebrews 12:1-2 “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Our investment documents often contain the following legal caveat – “past performance is no indication of future results.” It is the fine-print of the financial industry, providing investment companies legal cover.  As they entice us to purchase their products based on their dazzling past results, they are not guaranteeing that the future will be as successful as the past. That warning is true as it applies to the many facets of our lives – our successes of the past won’t automatically assure a bright future.

It is also true that past stumbles, sins, shortcomings, enticements, or distractions will necessarily doom us to future failure, especially with an all-powerful, all-loving God in the midst of our lives and on the throne of our hearts. Yet, sometimes an errant gaze locked on the past prevents us from achieving a God-ordained future. It happened to Lot’s wife, and it happened to a man who inquired to Jesus about discipleship. It happens to people all around us every day, and it can even happen in our own lives as we look backward and downward.

God directs us to carefully affix our gaze forward and upwards towards Him. We are to set our affection on things above, not on things on the earth. We are to lift up our eyes unto the hills. We are to lay aside the weights and sins that so easily beset us, and look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. It is then that we can properly and faithfully shed our past and strive towards a brighter future.

PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD LIFT UP OUR EYES UNTO THE HILLS. It is there that we will find our help from the One who made heaven and earth!

II Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

Isaiah 6:8 “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.”

I Peter 4:17 “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?”

II Kings 22:19 “Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the LORD, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the LORD.”

This story from “The Innovator’s Way” has a powerful spiritual application:

“It is the year 1720. You, a traveler, arrive in the Italian town of Cremona in search of the best violins made. You look on the street of the violin shops. At the mouth of the street, immediately to the left, you see the shop of the Guarneri family. In its window is a very large sign with majestic calligraphy: ‘Best Violins in All of Italy.’ Farther down on the right you see the shop belonging to the Gagliano family. In its window is an even grander sign: ‘Best Violins in the Whole World.’ Down at the far end of the street, tucked in the shady cul-de-sac, you find a small shop belonging to the Stradivarius family. In its window there is a small card. You have to lean over and squint to read the handwritten message: ‘Best Violins on This Street.’”

The author goes on to provide his own application from this story: “The lesson is that being excellent on a global scale begins with being excellent in the neighborhood. That excellence begins with yourself.”

This is true of temporal excellence, it is true of spiritual excellence, and it is true of revival!

We quickly lament the global problems of our day. We yearn for worldwide and nationwide revival. We seek a return of America back to its Christ-centered foundation. We are grieved by institutional and corporate sin. But yet, we quickly forget that such change begins on our own street and in our own neighborhood. It starts in our own Christian community, in our own church, in our own family, and in our own lives. It begins with us!

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO SEEK PERSONAL REVIVAL AS A NECESSARY PRECURSOR TO NATIONWIDE REVIVAL. Excellence and revival begins with myself and yourself.