Only one adequate plan has ever appeared in the world, and that is the Christian dispensation.
John Jay - First US Supreme Court Chief Justice
Wednesday's Word: May 2007

Wednesday's Word

Welcome friends, feel free to look around, make comments and whatnot. I'll try and keep this thing updated with interesting pics, stories and other odds & ends. Feel free to criticize, but please share the 'truth in love'. No reason to be purposefully offensive. Enjoy!

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Wait Watchers

Here’s the Word:
Psalm 37:7 -9 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass. 8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. 9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
Ephesians 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
I don’t know who started it, but it seems that somewhere along the line the word wait became synonymous with stop, as in, do nothing. Even the Christian cliché ‘Let Go and let God’ seems to imply “I’m doing nothing except waiting on God.” Nothing at all?
Call me crazy, but Spiritually, I believe that waiting is more a mental issue than a physical one. I know that when troubles come, they seem to take center-stage, demanding immediate attention. When I’m waiting patiently on God to weigh-in on an area of my life (open a door, provide an answer, kill an enemy (just kiddin’) etc.) It’s really just a matter of changing focus from an anxious desire for quick resolve to cultivating spiritual maturity and allowing God to do only what God can do. As a personal testimony, I’m busy waiting on God right now for resolve on my next job. I’ve got my resume in able hands, I’m staying current in the technology, I’m studying to present myself well (technically and personally) at an interview, and aside of that, my place in the Body of Christ finds me studying, praying, preparing to teach, sharing the Gospel & showing the Love of Christ. I’m handling the natural aspects while God works behind the scenes on the Supernatural.

In closing; Hebrews 12:l 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,
Lose Weight while you wait & watch what God does.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Perfected Until Perfection

We’re now reaching the end of graduation time at Colleges and Universities. Broadcast news outlets have shown the likes of Senators, reputable businessmen and others held in high regard giving commencement speeches at institutions of higher learning. Whenever I see all of the pomp and circumstance, my mind tends to drift to that day in Glory when we, The Saints, will reach perfection. For those graduating students; each year, each final exam, each mid-term, each test, each pop-quiz, even each lecture was perfecting them little by little until reaching Perfection. The same goes for us. We’re in the ‘perfecting’ process. We need to mindfully give ourselves to the application of what we’ve learned so far, as well as the dutiful preparation to persevere and excel in the lessons to come.
Here’s the word:
Matthew 5: 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Philippians 3:13b-15a this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus 15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded:
Some people tend to shy way from the word ‘perfect’. It seems to bring with it a sense of ‘impossibility’ causing many Christians to stay close to the comfort of elementary teachings. Few boldly march on to maturity. As a first year college student, we’re not expected to be able to pass the senior year final exam and get a degree, but we can be perfectly on track to reach Perfection. How are we to be perfected until perfection? It’s not impossible.
     Be Blameless – Psalm 119
     Be Fearless – 2 Timothy 1:7
     Be Loving – John 13:35
     Be Prayerful – 1 Thessalonians 5:16
     Be Content – Philippians 4:11
Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

There is a difference between being perfected and reaching perfection And if we’re in Christ, nothing can separate us from His love and we can have joy unspeakable as we’re being perfected to Perfection.

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

In the Immortal Words of ...

Man, who doesn't love a good quote to sum up an appropriate situation. It’s utterly amazing how simple words can stand the test of time. One of my favorites is from Napoleon in regards to Jesus:
'I know men, and Jesus Christ was no man.'
Napoleon’s been dead for about 186 years, but somehow his words live on. It’s the same with all of us. Actions indeed speak louder than words, but your words speak volumes about the person you are. If someone were imitating you just for fun, what words would express your personality? Complaining, degrading, disrespectful & gossipy OR humble, encouraging, empathetic & affirming?
Our words live on, and not only do they affect our immediate situations, but they’ll be waiting on us at judgment.
Here’s the Word:

Ecclesiastes 5:2
Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few

Matthew 12:36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

I’ve wondered. Does this apply to things like songs I sing in my car, or
words said when no one else is around? In light of these Scriptures, it
seems likely huh? In keeping with things being done decent and in order i.e. admonishing & correcting, I’ve tried to develop better word habits, and it kinda goes along with an old quote I remember that goes something like…. If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.