Love Divine, All Loves Excelling

We end the week with a great hymn by Charles Westley, Love Divine, All Loves Excelling. This is a great hymn about how God's love is so much greater than anything we can conceive here on earth.

The last stanza:

Finish, then, thy new creation; pure and spotless let us be;
Let us see thy great salavation, perfectly restored in thee;
Changed from glory into glory, till in heav'n we take our place;
Till we cast our crowns before Thee, lost in wonder, love, and praise.

What a day that will be when God restores His people to the fellowhip He has planned for eternity.

Blessings and remember that you will be missed if you skip church this weekend.

Mark

Open Your Eyes

John 4:35 Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.

The story is told of a job posting for a telegraph operator in the American west during the mid 1800's. Prospective applicants waited for an interview in a crowded waiting room with the noise of a telegraph machine in the background. As this was a high paying, skilled position, many expected a lot of competition for the only opening listed. 20 or so men waited for quite some time but no one in charge ever entered the room to acknowledge their presence. A young man entered and found a seat but after only a few minutes, he got up, went through a door in the room towards the sound of the telegraph. Within a few minutes the telegraph station manager came into the waiting room to announce that the position had been filled. How could that be, demanded the crowd. No one was interviewed. Not so, stated the manager. You see, the telegraph in the other room had been sending out a Morse code message stating that if you could understand this message, come through the door and the job would be yours.

How many times do we miss the messages that God is sending to us? Is he trying to tell you something now but like the other people in the waiting room, you are missing God's message in the background noise? Only the one young man was listening to what was going on around him. We should strive to be more like that. But how do you do it? Some things to consider:

* Prayer - are you talking with God? God does speak in times of prayer and quietness.
* Study - is your Bible covered with dust? Is your only Biblical training for 15 minutes on Sunday morning? God will speak through his Word.
* Fellowship - do you regularly attend church and have close relationships with other believers? God does speak through your friends and family.

Only when we look and listen for God can we know what he is saying to us and how we are to serve him.

Blessings
Mark

Oh, The Stars!

Psalm 8:1-3
O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies to silence the foe and the avenger. When I consider the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?

One night on my family's mission trip to Malawi, Africa this summer, we were enjoying some company in a very remote area. We spent hours staring into the sky, amazed at the number of stars that are visible. We saw dozens of shooting stars, the edges of the Milky Way galaxy and more stars than we had ever imagined, so many it was almost impossible to make out the constellations that we knew. We saw God's best light show that evening featuring all of his glory and majesty.

Back home, we can't see many stars or planets even on clear nights because of what is called light pollution. There are so many lights around that they wash out the sky and only a few bright stars or close planets are visible.

This got me to thinking about the "light pollution" in our lives that keep us from fully seeing the glory of God and serving Him fully. We all have it, something that gets in the way from us fulfilling the plan that God has for us.

What is in your way? Repent and ask God to help you remove that pollution so that His kingdom may be glorified.

Blessings
Mark

Whose Money Is It Anyway?

Mark 12:41-44
Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything - all that she had to live on."

By now, many readers have already hit delete. Who wants to read about giving? It is an uncomfortable topic, one that Jesus spoke more about than anything else. Why are we uncomfortable? Perhaps we know that we fall short in this area. Is your attitude about giving similar to this?

Three brothers were together talking about how much they gave to their church. The first brother drew a circle on the ground and stated that he threw all of his money into the air and whatever fell within the circle he gave to the church. The second brother stated that he did the same thing except that whatever fell outside of the circle he gave to the church. The last brother state that he threw his money into the air and whatever God wanted God could catch!

How do you decide how much to give? 10% (Mark, is that before or after taxes?), more, less, a set dollar amount? Perhaps you focus on your own needs and then give to God. Maybe you give to God first then focus on your needs. What does our text say? Jesus points out a woman who gave her literal last penny. Does this mean that we are to do the same?

I think what we are seeing here is that the focus should not be on how much we choose to give but rather how much we choose to keep. The widow gave as a sacrifice, a true reckless faith. She would now have nothing but yet did so just the same trusting that the Lord would provide for her needs. This kind of faith is easy to talk about but very hard to live.

The amount you give now, is that a sacrifice? Honestly? Are you being obedient to what God is calling you to do? Are you giving to make yourself famous? When you give a gift, do you expect a plaque or recognition?

Our giving is to be:

Regular - I Corinthians 16:2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money…

Secret - Matthew 6: 3-4 But when you do give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

How much should you give in serving God? Again, perhaps the questions should be, How much should I keep?

Blessings

Mark

Tax Collector and Pharisee

Luke 18:9-14

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: "God, I thank you that I am not like other men-robbers, evildoers, adulterers-or even this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'

But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God have mercy on me, a sinner.'

"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

At first glance, you would think that the Pharisee would be a more righteous man. Tax collectors were considered to be some of the lowest of the low in Biblical times. You see, the Romans were smart when they occupied a land. They wanted their tax but they found a local to collect it for them. The typical tax was 5% but the local would know what income and property people of a town would have. The tax rules allowed for the collector to take the 5% and anything else they wanted resulting in tax collectors who could be extremely wealthy and despised.

Notice the Pharisee and how he prayed about himself (verse 11). He makes a big deal out of his "righteousness" through fasting twice a week (Mosaic law only required fasting on the Day of Atonement) and giving 10% of everything he got. The tax collector, on the other hand, can not even bear to look towards heaven and admits that he needs God's mercy.

In the end, Jesus tells us that the Pharisee did not think he needed mercy and got none. The tax collector knew he needed mercy and got it, perhaps a great lesson for us to keep in mind.

Blessings

Mark