by Os Hillman
Now then, tell my servant David, 'This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and from following the flock to be ruler over my people Israel'" (2 Samuel 7:8).
David was nearing the end of his life. The prophet Nathan was responding to David's idea to build a temple where the Ark of the Covenant would stay. God reminded David through the prophet of his roots and where He had brought him. God took David from the fields of pasturing sheep to pastoring a nation. God reminded David that He cut off all of David's enemies for his sake and the sake of his nation. David never lost a battle.
Have you ever felt tempted to look at your accomplishments with pride as if you were the reason for your success? Have you ever thought your prosperity was due to your ingenuity? Has your material success been a testimony to others that God is the ruler of all aspects of your life, even the material side?
The greatest temptation some of us will ever face is pride of ownership. If we think our success is a result of our own effort we affront God and open the door to pride. "A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor" (Prov 29:23).
Success can be a greater test than adversity. "Not every man can carry a full cup. Sudden elevation frequently leads to pride and a fall. The most exacting test of all to survive is prosperity," said Oswald Chambers. Success can be a breeding ground for complacency with God and pride of ownership.
Do you have a proper understanding of who you are? Do you understand that it is God who has given you the ability to work and achieve? He is the source of all good things. Ask God today if your life models this belief.
Monday, November 23, 2009
A MOMENT OF THANKS
By Dr. David Jeremiah
Life is hard, and every day is challenging. You may be wondering just now if you can go on. Perhaps another person is vexing you. Perhaps you've been maligned or criticized. You're discouraged with unanswered prayer. Maybe you're feeling like Elijah under the broom tree, wanting to die.
Try praying with thanksgiving. A thankful attitude is the cure for many emotional ailments. Take depression, for example. What is depression or discouragement except the total collapse of thanksgiving in our lives?
Thanksgiving is also the opposite of discontent. It's easy for us to become disgruntled with various factors in our lives; but let's be like one man who was thankful...
*For the clothes that fit a little too snug because it means I have enough to eat.
* For all the complaining I hear about the government because it means that I have freedom of speech.
* For the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because it means that I am alive.
* For the teenager who is not doing dishes but is watching TV because that means he is at home and not on the streets.
* For the taxes that I pay because it means that I'm employed.
* For the lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home.
* For weariness at the end of the day because it means I have been capable of working hard.
* For the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot because it means I am capable of walking and that I have been blessed with transportation.
Thanksgiving is the opposite of anxiety. Philippians 4:6: "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God." Worship and worry cannot live in the same heart. They are mutually exclusive, according to Ruth Graham.
Thanksgiving is also the corrective for sadness and even grief. While working on a message from Psalm 100, my phone rang. It was from a family dear to me. Our children were about the same age and had played together growing up.
The caller told me there had been an accident in the woods, and a portion of a tree had fallen on one of the boys. He'd been pinned for over an hour before the ambulance arrived, and it appeared the young man would be paralyzed from the waist down. His spinal cord had been crushed.
Well, that just destroyed my afternoon. I couldn't get it out of my mind. This was a blond-headed kid, very athletic, full of life; and in one moment, his life was shattered and changed. I wrestled with my own thoughts and emotions until evening, then I placed a call to the intensive care unit of the hospital. Frankly, I didn't know what to say; but I didn't have to say much at all. The boy's father ended up comforting me.
He said, "Pastor, I want you to know that my wife and I are, first of all, thankful that our son is alive. Second, we're thanking God that it wasn't the upper part of his body that was paralyzed. And thirdly, though we don't understand why, we know God is good and that somehow in the midst of this, He has a plan for our son's life that must go beyond anything we can imagine. Though it's hard and we wish it hadn't happened, we have committed it to our God, for He is good."
Is the race of life wearing you down? Try a moment of thanks.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
THE PRAYING LIFE OF JESUS
By: Jennifer Kennedy Dean
Most of us categorize our lives in segments: home life, work life, leisure life and even prayer life. Years ago God began to show me that I didn’t have to settle for just “having a prayer life.” Instead, I could live a praying life.
What is a praying life? It is a dimension of living in which you experience minute-by-minute the flow of God’s provision.
You are met at every step with the progressive unfolding of His tailor-made plan for your life (see Eph. 2:10). You cease your struggle to find the will of God because the will of God has found you.
Prayer is no longer the means by which you attempt to get God to perform for you. Instead, it becomes the means by which you assimilate His heart and mind.
Living life open to the Spirit—actively and intentionally cooperating with God on an everyday basis—is possible. Jesus showed the way. In fact, He is the way.
Jesus’ disciples had an opportunity to observe the Master’s habits firsthand. These 12 men witnessed the depths of the Man who didn’t just set aside time for prayer. He lived prayer. But one of the disciples still asked Him: “‘Lord, teach us to pray’” (Luke 11:1, NIV).
When Jesus outlined what we now call the Lord’s Prayer, His were not merely a set of words sandwiched between “Our Father” and “Amen.” They were the dynamic of His daily living. The settled peace in which He lived and the power with which He operated both had their roots in Jesus’ ongoing prayer relationship with His Father.
As we examine the Lord’s Prayer in that light, we will learn from Him the secret to living in supernatural power and provision with a soul at rest.
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name (Matt. 6:9). When Jesus responded to the request “‘Lord, teach us to pray,’” He first taught the disciples to acknowledge God’s holiness. Later, as His crucifixion drew near, Jesus continued the praying life. While He struggled with His emotions, He admitted to His disciples, “‘Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? “Father, save Me from this hour”?’” (John 12:27).
Jesus’ true heart’s cry was revealed as He hallowed God’s name. “‘No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name!’” (v. 28).
In His humanity, Jesus longed for an easier way. But His struggle was put to rest as He subjugated His agitated emotions to the purpose of the Father. Because He wanted to see the Father’s name glorified, His emotions did not rule His actions.
As Christ in us molds us into His image, He fashions a heart that desires the Father’s glory. Underneath all our swirling emotions and the pull of our human nature is the Spirit of the Son, sent into our hearts.
We find a settled peace as we surrender to our true heart’s cry: “Whatever path You set me on; whatever flesh pattern must go to the cross; Father, glorify Your name!”
Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matt. 6:10). With these few words, the Prayer Teacher shows us an astounding truth about the role of prayer. Prayer is the conduit that brings the direct, intervening, specific power and provision of God into the circumstances of the earth.
In the hours before His arrest, Jesus endured deep agony over the will of God. “He began to be sorrowful and troubled.” Then He told His disciples, “‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death’” (Matt. 26:37-38).
His agonizing prayer continued throughout the night as His human emotions lined up with God’s plan. “‘My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may Your will be done’” (v. 42).
When the time came for His arrest, Jesus declared, “‘Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us go! Here comes My betrayer!’” (vv. 45-46). His soul had found such rest in God’s will that He could meet that which He so dreaded head-on.
Just as it did for Jesus, the praying life gives God access to our hearts and minds, helping us accept the realities of God’s will:
* He is in control. No one else has power over us or our circumstances (see John 19:11).
* His plan has been in place since before the world began (see John 12:27; Acts 2:22-24).
* We can look forward to the results (see Heb. 12:2).
* Our obedience will give God the opportunity to glorify Himself (see John 12:28).
Though we may never come close to Jesus’ experience, the foundation of a praying life brings us the same peace and courage to say, “‘Your will be done’” (Matt. 26:42).
Give us today our daily bread (Matt. 6:11). God could have created us to be self-contained, but instead, He created us with daily physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs. “Meet today’s needs,” Jesus taught us to pray.
I hear the Father whisper: “Jennifer, nothing will come into your life today for which I have not already put provision in place. Just be alert and watchful. Look to Me first; I will point you to the supply.” He takes great pleasure in providing us with everything we require.
Jesus tells the parable of the prodigal son which is, among other things, a story of the Father’s provision. We know well His stunning display of lavish love as He welcomed home the prodigal son. My heart is captured, though, by the words He spoke to the elder son: “‘“My son,” the father said, “you are always with me, and everything I have is yours”’” (Luke 15:31).
Do you see that? “Everything I have is yours.” Any time the elder brother wanted a robe on his shoulders or a ring on his finger or sandals on his feet—any time he wanted to celebrate and eat a fattened calf—it was his for the asking. He just never asked.
Everything the Father has is ours. “All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God” (1 Cor. 3:21-23). Just ask.
We see Jesus, when He had needs either big or small, simply reaching out and taking hold of the Father’s provision. Did He need money to pay His taxes? Did He need a donkey on which to ride into Jerusalem? Did He need a room in which to observe the Passover with His disciples? The provision was always waiting.
Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors (Matt. 6:12). When Jesus took on the weight of our sin and carried it to the cross, at the same time, He carried the sins committed against us. When we insist on holding on to the hurts inflicted by others, we are denying the power of His crucifixion.
He died for sinners, for the ungodly. “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly....But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:6,8).
Is your offender a sinner? Christ died for his sins. Is your offender ungodly? Christ died for her ungodliness. The praying life extends grace—the same grace that was extended to us.
There is more good news. Not only did He carry our sin but He also bore the weight of our grief and sorrows. He bore the hurt of the sins committed against us.
By bearing the weight of our own hurt, we are allowing the offense to continue and to multiply its effect on us. “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many” (Heb. 12:15).
As we pass the hurt along to others in our life, the offense grows and spreads. If bitterness is allowed to take root, it will begin to grow fruit. It will create bitterness in those who are exposed to it.
As you live the praying life, let the Spirit of the Son in you cry out: “‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing’” (Luke 23:34).
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one (Matt. 6:13). During the emotionally charged hours before His arrest, Jesus urgently reminded His disciples to strengthen themselves—through prayer—against the onslaught of testing headed their way. At least twice during His prayer vigil Jesus admonished His disciples with these words: “‘Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation’” (Luke 22:46).
The Greek word for “temptation” also means “testing, trial, proving.” A fierce spiritual battle was taking place in which Jesus’ mission was tested and proven. As Jesus agonized in prayer, He received from the Father the strength, assurance, endurance, courage and confidence to successfully face not only the temptation but also the trial.
Jesus’ mental, emotional, and spiritual serenity throughout His crucifixion experience was birthed in the hours of prayer and the life of prayer that led up to these events. It was that openness to the flow of God’s power and provision that would provide the victory in the moment of testing for Jesus.
His example shows us that, in a praying life, the battle is won before the attack even occurs. In the moment of battle, the praying person simply stands his ground and enforces the victory.
In his book The Secret of Believing Prayer evangelist Andrew Murray’s words echo why and how the praying life takes place in the believer: “We do this because we are partakers of His life—‘Christ is our life’; ‘No longer I, but Christ liveth in me.’ The life in Him and in us is one and the same. His life in heaven is an ever-praying life. When it descends and takes possession of us, in us, too, it is an ever-praying life—a life that without ceasing asks and receives from God.”
We can live the power- and peace-filled praying life because it isn’t a thing; it’s a Person. Jesus lives in us—and is longing to express His praying life through us.
What is a praying life? It is a dimension of living in which you experience minute-by-minute the flow of God’s provision.
You are met at every step with the progressive unfolding of His tailor-made plan for your life (see Eph. 2:10). You cease your struggle to find the will of God because the will of God has found you.
Prayer is no longer the means by which you attempt to get God to perform for you. Instead, it becomes the means by which you assimilate His heart and mind.
Living life open to the Spirit—actively and intentionally cooperating with God on an everyday basis—is possible. Jesus showed the way. In fact, He is the way.
Jesus’ disciples had an opportunity to observe the Master’s habits firsthand. These 12 men witnessed the depths of the Man who didn’t just set aside time for prayer. He lived prayer. But one of the disciples still asked Him: “‘Lord, teach us to pray’” (Luke 11:1, NIV).
When Jesus outlined what we now call the Lord’s Prayer, His were not merely a set of words sandwiched between “Our Father” and “Amen.” They were the dynamic of His daily living. The settled peace in which He lived and the power with which He operated both had their roots in Jesus’ ongoing prayer relationship with His Father.
As we examine the Lord’s Prayer in that light, we will learn from Him the secret to living in supernatural power and provision with a soul at rest.
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name (Matt. 6:9). When Jesus responded to the request “‘Lord, teach us to pray,’” He first taught the disciples to acknowledge God’s holiness. Later, as His crucifixion drew near, Jesus continued the praying life. While He struggled with His emotions, He admitted to His disciples, “‘Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? “Father, save Me from this hour”?’” (John 12:27).
Jesus’ true heart’s cry was revealed as He hallowed God’s name. “‘No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name!’” (v. 28).
In His humanity, Jesus longed for an easier way. But His struggle was put to rest as He subjugated His agitated emotions to the purpose of the Father. Because He wanted to see the Father’s name glorified, His emotions did not rule His actions.
As Christ in us molds us into His image, He fashions a heart that desires the Father’s glory. Underneath all our swirling emotions and the pull of our human nature is the Spirit of the Son, sent into our hearts.
We find a settled peace as we surrender to our true heart’s cry: “Whatever path You set me on; whatever flesh pattern must go to the cross; Father, glorify Your name!”
Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matt. 6:10). With these few words, the Prayer Teacher shows us an astounding truth about the role of prayer. Prayer is the conduit that brings the direct, intervening, specific power and provision of God into the circumstances of the earth.
In the hours before His arrest, Jesus endured deep agony over the will of God. “He began to be sorrowful and troubled.” Then He told His disciples, “‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death’” (Matt. 26:37-38).
His agonizing prayer continued throughout the night as His human emotions lined up with God’s plan. “‘My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may Your will be done’” (v. 42).
When the time came for His arrest, Jesus declared, “‘Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us go! Here comes My betrayer!’” (vv. 45-46). His soul had found such rest in God’s will that He could meet that which He so dreaded head-on.
Just as it did for Jesus, the praying life gives God access to our hearts and minds, helping us accept the realities of God’s will:
* He is in control. No one else has power over us or our circumstances (see John 19:11).
* His plan has been in place since before the world began (see John 12:27; Acts 2:22-24).
* We can look forward to the results (see Heb. 12:2).
* Our obedience will give God the opportunity to glorify Himself (see John 12:28).
Though we may never come close to Jesus’ experience, the foundation of a praying life brings us the same peace and courage to say, “‘Your will be done’” (Matt. 26:42).
Give us today our daily bread (Matt. 6:11). God could have created us to be self-contained, but instead, He created us with daily physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs. “Meet today’s needs,” Jesus taught us to pray.
I hear the Father whisper: “Jennifer, nothing will come into your life today for which I have not already put provision in place. Just be alert and watchful. Look to Me first; I will point you to the supply.” He takes great pleasure in providing us with everything we require.
Jesus tells the parable of the prodigal son which is, among other things, a story of the Father’s provision. We know well His stunning display of lavish love as He welcomed home the prodigal son. My heart is captured, though, by the words He spoke to the elder son: “‘“My son,” the father said, “you are always with me, and everything I have is yours”’” (Luke 15:31).
Do you see that? “Everything I have is yours.” Any time the elder brother wanted a robe on his shoulders or a ring on his finger or sandals on his feet—any time he wanted to celebrate and eat a fattened calf—it was his for the asking. He just never asked.
Everything the Father has is ours. “All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God” (1 Cor. 3:21-23). Just ask.
We see Jesus, when He had needs either big or small, simply reaching out and taking hold of the Father’s provision. Did He need money to pay His taxes? Did He need a donkey on which to ride into Jerusalem? Did He need a room in which to observe the Passover with His disciples? The provision was always waiting.
Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors (Matt. 6:12). When Jesus took on the weight of our sin and carried it to the cross, at the same time, He carried the sins committed against us. When we insist on holding on to the hurts inflicted by others, we are denying the power of His crucifixion.
He died for sinners, for the ungodly. “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly....But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:6,8).
Is your offender a sinner? Christ died for his sins. Is your offender ungodly? Christ died for her ungodliness. The praying life extends grace—the same grace that was extended to us.
There is more good news. Not only did He carry our sin but He also bore the weight of our grief and sorrows. He bore the hurt of the sins committed against us.
By bearing the weight of our own hurt, we are allowing the offense to continue and to multiply its effect on us. “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many” (Heb. 12:15).
As we pass the hurt along to others in our life, the offense grows and spreads. If bitterness is allowed to take root, it will begin to grow fruit. It will create bitterness in those who are exposed to it.
As you live the praying life, let the Spirit of the Son in you cry out: “‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing’” (Luke 23:34).
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one (Matt. 6:13). During the emotionally charged hours before His arrest, Jesus urgently reminded His disciples to strengthen themselves—through prayer—against the onslaught of testing headed their way. At least twice during His prayer vigil Jesus admonished His disciples with these words: “‘Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation’” (Luke 22:46).
The Greek word for “temptation” also means “testing, trial, proving.” A fierce spiritual battle was taking place in which Jesus’ mission was tested and proven. As Jesus agonized in prayer, He received from the Father the strength, assurance, endurance, courage and confidence to successfully face not only the temptation but also the trial.
Jesus’ mental, emotional, and spiritual serenity throughout His crucifixion experience was birthed in the hours of prayer and the life of prayer that led up to these events. It was that openness to the flow of God’s power and provision that would provide the victory in the moment of testing for Jesus.
His example shows us that, in a praying life, the battle is won before the attack even occurs. In the moment of battle, the praying person simply stands his ground and enforces the victory.
In his book The Secret of Believing Prayer evangelist Andrew Murray’s words echo why and how the praying life takes place in the believer: “We do this because we are partakers of His life—‘Christ is our life’; ‘No longer I, but Christ liveth in me.’ The life in Him and in us is one and the same. His life in heaven is an ever-praying life. When it descends and takes possession of us, in us, too, it is an ever-praying life—a life that without ceasing asks and receives from God.”
We can live the power- and peace-filled praying life because it isn’t a thing; it’s a Person. Jesus lives in us—and is longing to express His praying life through us.
Monday, November 16, 2009
GRACE ABOUNDS
by Os Hillman
"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work" (2 Corinthians 9:8).
God always knows what we need before we even ask. I recall a few years ago when God was allowing my business to dry up - it happened in order to lead me to an entirely new calling. Lack of provision is one way God leads us to a new place. This was a scary proposition because I had many outstanding obligations to banks and others, and I had to have some significant cash flow to make these payments.
I was ending a consulting contract with a client and saw no prospects for replacing it. Days before the contract expired, I received a call from a new ministry that was consistent with the calling I sensed God was leading me to. They asked me to consult with them for the next year. At the end of that year, I learned that God spoke to the ministry's founder to pay my entire salary out of his own pocket in order to meet the needs I had at that time. This was no insignificant amount either.
At the conclusion of my contract with them, I was wondering where my income was going to come from for the next year. The day before I was informed that their commitment would decrease by 50%, I received a call from the administrator of our foundation. They informed me that a supporter had just given $20,000 to our ministry. God encouraged me through this gift to know that He was my provider.
God equips us to fulfill the mission He has for us. Whenever there is a lack of resources, God is either teaching us to trust Him in greater ways or He is using this to direct our path to new sources of income. Trust the Lord to bring you what you need in the timing that He determines.
"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work" (2 Corinthians 9:8).
God always knows what we need before we even ask. I recall a few years ago when God was allowing my business to dry up - it happened in order to lead me to an entirely new calling. Lack of provision is one way God leads us to a new place. This was a scary proposition because I had many outstanding obligations to banks and others, and I had to have some significant cash flow to make these payments.
I was ending a consulting contract with a client and saw no prospects for replacing it. Days before the contract expired, I received a call from a new ministry that was consistent with the calling I sensed God was leading me to. They asked me to consult with them for the next year. At the end of that year, I learned that God spoke to the ministry's founder to pay my entire salary out of his own pocket in order to meet the needs I had at that time. This was no insignificant amount either.
At the conclusion of my contract with them, I was wondering where my income was going to come from for the next year. The day before I was informed that their commitment would decrease by 50%, I received a call from the administrator of our foundation. They informed me that a supporter had just given $20,000 to our ministry. God encouraged me through this gift to know that He was my provider.
God equips us to fulfill the mission He has for us. Whenever there is a lack of resources, God is either teaching us to trust Him in greater ways or He is using this to direct our path to new sources of income. Trust the Lord to bring you what you need in the timing that He determines.
THE FRAME OF FAITH
Hebrews 11:1-16 We recently purchased some beautiful oil paintings painted by some Israeli art students. These students were temporarily in the United States selling their paintings to earn money for their art school in Jerusalem. They went door to door and also had a few shows in the U.S. The paintings were not framed, but we had the promise of these students that a fellow student would call us who could give us a good price on framing the pictures for us. We waited and waited for this call. Meanwhile our beautiful pictures were gathering dust while they were stored under our bed. No one knew we had such beautiful paintings because they were not framed yet and we could not display them on our walls.
Our reading in Hebrews today describes the beautiful lives painted through history by men and women of faith. As we read about those heroes of our faith, we can picture in our minds the scene of Noah who by faith prepared the ark; Abraham who by faith left his homeland to go to a strange land; Sarah who by faith gave herself to Abraham when she was ninety because of the promise of a child; and on and on the scenes pass through our minds.
We learn in Hebrews 11:3 that there is a very special frame for these pictures of faith: "By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible."
Through faith the Word of God framed the worlds. God sees to it that when we are presented with His artwork there is already a frame for each masterpiece. Just as our paintings could not be displayed until they were framed, these scenes of great faith painted by our Bible heroes could not be displayed without the Word of God framing these scenes. It is through the Word of God that we are able to read these wonderful stories that inspire us to greater faith. In every scene of faith conveyed in chapter 11 of Hebrews, we see how these men and women of faith received and acted upon the Word of God. They attached themselves firmly to the frame of God's Word and then displayed His Spirit, character, power and works to the world. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. God has framed the masterpiece of your life in the golden frame of His Word. Without His Word, we could never display the faith that works by love and moves mountains to the world.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
THE SOUND OF GRACE
By: Milan Ford
I'm sure you'll agree that one of the greatest (and most familiar) hymns of the church is Amazing Grace, written by John Newton. I don't believe there has ever been a song written that captures the very essence of the transforming power God has over our lives as believers quite like that hymn.
However, I must admit that as a child, every time I would hear this hymn sung in church, there was one phrase that would always leave me confused. Just didn't make much sense to me.
"Amazing Grace,How Sweet The Sound,That Saved A Wretch Like Me..."Wait just one minute! Did anyone hear what I just heard?Amazing Grace... How Sweet The Sound? Huh?
Every time I heard that phrase I would look up and around at all the grownups singing, just to see if anyone was as puzzled as I was. Never found one.
Finally, I mustered enough courage to ask someone. But not just anyone.I went to see Leola Ford (no relation). She was one of the senior members of our church's choir.
Leola was somewhat of a source of inspiration for our church, and especially for me. Strangely enough, it was not because of her singing. But rather it was because Leola Ford...was blind.
After service one day, I asked her a question that my inquiring mind just had to know. She seemed like the right person to ask.The Question: Does Grace Have A Sound?
I remember the look on her face like it was yesterday. But more importantly, I remember the answer she gave me. It is one that has stayed with me for quite some time. Leola reached out to locate the top of my head, and as she gave me a few light pats, she leaned over and whispered these words:
"Live A Little Longer, Milan. You'll Hear It."
While it didn't make sense to me then, fast forward several years, and I now understand exactly what she meant. Grace indeed has a sound.
It's the sound my minivan made last week, just as I slammed on the brakes to avoid colliding with that metal object that flew off the back of a truck in front of me.
It's the sound of my wife's 87-year old grandmother blowing out the candles on her birthday cake last month, as she endures the inconvenience of dialysis treatment every week.
It's the sound my new neighbor's keys make, as she opens the door to a home that someone else last summer no longer had the money to keep.
It's the sound of yet another grocery receipt being printing out, after my wife and I spent the night before racking our brains as to how we were going to fill the fridge.
The sounds of grace are all around us. If we could ever (as believers) become blind to some of the things we complain about regarding our lives, and open our ears towards a faithful God, we may be surprised to discover a symphony of grace and salvation.
God's grace is more than amazing. It's the sweetest sound I know.
Monday, November 9, 2009
PLAYING TO ONE CONDUCTOR
TGIF Today God Is First
by Os Hillman
"The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I don't need you!' And the head cannot say to the feet, 'I don't need you!' On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor" (1 Cor 12:21-23).
I watched as the conductor looked over to the violin section, then the percussion, then there was a seemingly insignificant lady standing way back in the corner waiting to play her one or two notes on a chime-looking instrument. "Who would even notice if she didn't play her instrument?" I wondered to myself. "The conductor would," said the still voice in my spirit.
An orchestra is a great picture of the way the Body of Christ should operate. It is made up of different people with different gifts, all being led by the one Great Conductor, telling us when to use our gift in the right time. I am sure the lady in the back of the room who only plays a few notes must think she doesn't measure up to the great violinist who sits right up close to the conductor.
However, imagine if you slowly removed each member of the orchestra, one at a time. At first you may not notice any difference without a trained ear. But as you remove each member of the orchestra, you will begin to miss the powerful and melodic sound of many instruments playing together. Finally, when all but a few of the instruments are removed, you notice a big difference in the sound and the void left from key instruments.
Imagine if these instruments tried to go out and play songs all by themselves. Imagine if the tuba tried to play a solo. Or the oboe did the same. You get the idea.
Every member of the Body of Christ matters. Every job matters to God and contributes to our great Conductor's grand plan to fulfill His purposes on the earth. Your contribution matters to God and has no hierarchy of importance.
Play your instrument to the glory of God in unison with the other instruments God has raised up for His purposes.
by Os Hillman
"The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I don't need you!' And the head cannot say to the feet, 'I don't need you!' On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor" (1 Cor 12:21-23).
I watched as the conductor looked over to the violin section, then the percussion, then there was a seemingly insignificant lady standing way back in the corner waiting to play her one or two notes on a chime-looking instrument. "Who would even notice if she didn't play her instrument?" I wondered to myself. "The conductor would," said the still voice in my spirit.
An orchestra is a great picture of the way the Body of Christ should operate. It is made up of different people with different gifts, all being led by the one Great Conductor, telling us when to use our gift in the right time. I am sure the lady in the back of the room who only plays a few notes must think she doesn't measure up to the great violinist who sits right up close to the conductor.
However, imagine if you slowly removed each member of the orchestra, one at a time. At first you may not notice any difference without a trained ear. But as you remove each member of the orchestra, you will begin to miss the powerful and melodic sound of many instruments playing together. Finally, when all but a few of the instruments are removed, you notice a big difference in the sound and the void left from key instruments.
Imagine if these instruments tried to go out and play songs all by themselves. Imagine if the tuba tried to play a solo. Or the oboe did the same. You get the idea.
Every member of the Body of Christ matters. Every job matters to God and contributes to our great Conductor's grand plan to fulfill His purposes on the earth. Your contribution matters to God and has no hierarchy of importance.
Play your instrument to the glory of God in unison with the other instruments God has raised up for His purposes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)