Category: Free 4 All

You don’t need me or anyone else telling you it’s been quite a year (2020, that is). Just one year ago, no one could have predicted what was coming and what we would face just mere weeks into 2020. Pandemic. Novel coronavirus. Shutdowns. Slow the spread. Quarantines. Life as we know it was shifted upside-down and on its head.

All of a sudden, decisions had to be made. Ones that impacted families in ways that had never been experienced before. They surrounded just about every aspect of life, school, and work. No textbook, no written procedure, and no experience in this type of situation has left so many wondering, “Will things ever be the same again, and when will some degree of normalcy ever return?”

I have taken the past few days to reflect on Advent, and how this very season we are in now, can help us (if we will allow it to).

I think of Joseph and Mary, and what they endured some 2,000 years ago in a season of life that presented deep challenge at nearly every turn. A Jewish couple living under the oppression of the Roman Empire. A dangerous journey, on foot, for the purpose of a census so they could be counted and pay tax. News that was exciting, life changing, yet, terrifying and worrisome at the same time. Ponder it for a moment.

The great news that God was sending His Son, that favor had come to Mary and Joseph, and that they would be a part of God’s divine plan to save the world. But in the world, in the systems of the world, we know: A girl who became pregnant, without first being married, was subject to severe punishment under Jewish Law. The punishment was stoning–it was a death sentence.

Why are you bringing this up? – you may be asking.

Because it is Advent, and as we translate this word back, we are reminded that it means: longing, preparing, and waiting. Advent is about the world and the people of the world, waiting for the Long-Expected Messiah. The One Who could, and would, deliver them and provide everything needed. He would be the One Who would both redeem and restore the relationship that was severed with God.

Today, we are between Advents. That is, the 1st Advent of Jesus has already occurred. It is a fact. He arrived on that first Christmas and fulfilled all things that He came to fulfill. Now, we await His 2nd Advent, which could come at any time. We are between the two Advents. Our charge…our marching orders, if you will, is this: We must be prepared and ready because He could literally come at any moment.

So, are you ready? Have you done the right preparation? Do you even know Him?

It is my deepest prayer that if you don’t know Him–that you will come to know Him intimately, passionately, and with zeal [go look that word up]. Don’t allow another day, hour, minute to pass without Him in your life. We all need hope, peace, joy, and love, and the Lord delivers like no one else can or will. In this Advent Season, do what must be done to make the Lord Jesus Christ the Lord of your life. He is more than able–are you willing?

More to come…stay tuned…

Merry Christmas!

Porter

³⁵ That evening, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side. ³⁶ Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus along in a boat just as he was. Other boats were with him. ³⁷ A violent windstorm came up. The waves were breaking into the boat so that it was quickly filling up. ³⁸ But he was sleeping on a cushion in the back of the boat. So they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to die?” ³⁹ Then he got up, ordered the wind to stop, and said to the sea, “Be still, absolutely still!” The wind stopped blowing, and the sea became very calm. ⁴⁰ He asked them, “Why are you so afraid? Don’t you have any faith yet?” ⁴¹ They were overcome with fear and asked each other, “Who is this man? Even the wind and the sea obey him!” (Mark 4, vv.35-41)

There is no doubt fear is one of the enemy’s most often used “go-to” in order to get us off course. Sometimes the progression follows this model: Worry > Anxiety > Stress > Fear. Sooner rather than later, it may even seem like we are frozen, under a cloud of darkness, wondering what we should do, if anything.

For several months now, much has been going on all around us. No one can (or would) deny it. All you have to do is read the paper, follow some blogs, watch the news, or engage in a chat with a friend. There are stress points and things we should be concerned about. Many are asking questions that we may, this side of glory, never have answers for.

There are conflicts, crimes, deaths, diseases, divisions, financial woes, natural disasters, persecutions, terrorist acts, unemployment, and wars. We wonder about what kind of nation and world we will pass on to future generations. We worry about our families, our friends, everything familiar, and life itself. It is seen and observed daily, in real time.

But what does worry add? What can fear, really do? Jesus was consistent in His direct confrontation on “fear,” when He stated this question: “Can any of you, by worrying, add a single hour to your life?” (Matthew 6, v.27). He goes on there, in that segment of The Sermon on the Mount, to call out some of the things we may/might/do worry about. He asks us the same question(s) today.

Most of us have struggled (or are struggling) with fear, of some sort. It would be almost unnatural and impossible not to. But through a saving faith and with the undeniable presence of God helping me, He has taught me that the spiral to fear need not happen. The truth: He is in control; He’s got it. Now, that may not be popular or comfy-cozy at first or second bite, but it is true. Either all things are in His hands or nothing is. I’ve decided it’s all things, and I’m sticking with it.

I want to assure you…and myself too…that no matter where you are in or on your faith journey, that in time and only with God’s help, as you grow in His grace and learn more about Him: anxious thoughts will diminish; worry will descend; stress levels will be brought down; and although fear may come in and be experienced from time to time, it will not have control. With God in you, and working through you, you won’t be moved or paralyzed.

The Word of God gives life and truth, in fullness. His Word does not come back void. Often times, our belief is tested in our response: the choices we make, the decisions we cast, in the priorities we give. While we may have no idea what is coming or what the future may hold, we know the One Who does, and He knows us. Paul writes in Romans 8, v.31: “What should we say in response to this? If God is for us, who (or what) can be against us?” He gives the clear answer starting in v.32, and I encourage you to read it and saturate on it, that it would seep deeply in your very soul.

Let us be grateful, and humbled, that God is for us, because He is!

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing, and perfect will.” (Romans 12, v.2)

Every once in a while, you get asked a question that will take you a bit off guard. I should qualify that: the longer you’ve been around, the more prone you become to questions that can seemingly come out of no where, and occasionally, take you aback. Once such question came my way, yesterday, about 15 minutes after our corporate worship ended.

As I was greeting people, interacting, and after handing off a precious 3-month old baby, it came soon after. Here is how it was presented to me, after delivering a Message on “Being a Holy Church” and sharing in The Lord’s Table, together: “Do you think it is possible that some who call themsevles believers go through all the motions, do and say all the right things, but haven’t made Jesus the Lord of their life?”

My direct response: “As heartbreaking as that is to even think about, yes – it is possible and it does happen.” Then I offered this, “We must pray that we do everything we can, with God’s help, to eliminate its possibility.”

I pondered that on the way home from worship on Sunday, through the afternoon and evening at different points, and here I am writing about it on a Monday afternoon. I must say: it is one of the things that will keep you up and weigh heavily on your heart. Not that we, any of us really, are responsible for the actions or inactions of others. We can’t decide for anyone else, although at times we would very much like to do so. Yet, we have a desperate, urgent responsibility to magnify Jesus Christ and be His hands and feet to a lost and fallen world, at every instant. We are His Church, His representatives, His brothers and sisters charged with taking His mission outwardly and giving it away. We are delivery and logistics. We are to be “broken bread and poured out wine in His Name,” as Oswald Chambers states.

How do we do this? How can it possibly be accomplished in an effective way?

Read that passage again, at the top: Romans 12, v.2.  We have to be renewed, we have to be transformed. We have to be reborn by and into the Spirit of the living God, by way of the saving grace of Jesus Christ. We are renewed in His image; that is how! Because it is at this point where we can fulfill our God-given purposes, according to His will (not ours).

Together, we are the Church: His body, His bride, His children, and His people.

Together, we honor Him, love Him, serve Him, and worship Him.

Together, we are available to each other, build one another up, pray for the needs of others, and serve alongside our brothers and sisters to further His Kingdom. Sure – we do much more than this, but this is a beginning. It is to be continued moment by moment, day by day, week in and week out.

It begins with being renewed, allowing the transforming power of God to make us into who He truly desires us to be. Our God is faithful and His invitation has been extended to you and to me. Let me encourage you: It will change your life, forever (in the best way possible). I’ll leave you with this passage, and I invite you to reach out at any time if you would like to learn more: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, so that whosoever would believe in Him would not perish, but would have everlasting life” (John 3, v.16). Now, insert your name where “whosoever” appears. It is that personal, and it is that fulfilling.

Be blessed in the renewal only He can deliver and give!

Porter

 

The post today is credited to the great man of the faith, A.W. Tozer. He was a key figure in the Christian and Missionary Alliance and was known for his “deeper life movement.” The excerpt shared below was posted recently on a page that I follow, and I felt compelled to share it. Not to discourage, but to have us really examine the essence of what he is alluding to: heart and life transformation. From a Message he delivered, titled: “Game of Pious Words,” here is Tozer in his own words. May the Lord use them to saturate our souls and move us to holiness:

“Do you realize that most men play at religion as they play at games? Religion itself, being of all games the one most universally played. The Church has its ‘fields’ and its ‘rules’ and its equipment for playing the game of pious words. It has its devotees, both laymen and professionals, who support the game with their money and encourage it with their presence, but who are no different in life or character from many who take no interest in religion at all.

As an athlete uses a ball, so do many of us use words: words spoken and words sung, words written and words uttered in prayer. We throw them swiftly across the field; we learn to handle them with dexterity and grace – and gain as our reward the applause of those who have enjoyed the game. In the games men play there are no moral roots. It is a pleasant activity which changes nothing and settles nothing, at last. Sadly, in the religious game of pious words, after the pleasant meeting no one is basically any different from what he has been before.”