Good morning! We had a blizzard yesterday morning and beautiful sun today, how the weather changes from day to day. The glory of the Lord shines through both the inclement weather and the nice days.
“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.” The world has a different view; in the world we are told to let our talents and strengths be known to all. Why does the Lord, through Paul’s letter to the Philippians, tell us to let our gentleness be known? We already know that the wisdom of the Lord and the wisdom of the world are opposed to one another. We should not be surprised when the Lord calls us to let our gentleness be known. How can our Lord be glorified in our strength? Building strong buildings and huge cathedrals does not bring glory to the Lord like the love the goes into such projects. We tend to see a major accomplishment; we’ll use a new church building as an example, as the glorification of God. However, God may see the individual efforts, no matter how small by our standards, as the greater offering to his glory. Is it a greater glory to God when one wealthy person donates the church or when dozens, perhaps hundreds, of persons save diligently to each donate a small amount?
We have all heard that little whisper in our ear, “Look how much Mr. & Mrs. Jones gave, look at how often they are volunteering…” and we have a tendency to think that God will somehow give them more credit or love them more than us. Beware; this thinking leads us down that path where we start thinking that we can earn our salvation! God does not judge by our standards; we must remember always the parable of the widow’s two mites. Comparing yourself to others is not the way to happiness. There will always be someone who exceeds us in some endeavor or talent; that is just the way of the world. Athletic records are surpassed, strong men and women age and grow old, new prodigies appear in the world of music and art, and the latest “star” appears in Hollywood or on television. Nothing really lasts on this earth; the pyramids and ziggurats around the world decay on a daily basis and even the mountains will eventually be flattened. Why then would we even think of trusting any one or any thing other than our Lord Jesus?
The argument in these days of human wisdom that the founding fathers did not mention God in the Constitution because they wanted a secular government, is it possible that the founding fathers simply could not conceive of a time that anyone would even think of leaving God out of government? We often make the mistake of not mentioning something that is obvious to us, maybe that is what occurred during the Constitutional Convention. The argument over belief in Christ among the founding fathers is like the arguments over Jesus. Yes to both sides. How can I say this? Easy, if you choose to believe in Jesus, then all will fall into place and you will see God’s work among all of Creation. If you choose to reject Jesus, then you will find all of the evidence you need to support your unbelief. It is not about how simple or intellectual we are, not about our circumstances, and not about the facts; it is simply a choice: to believe in Jesus or to believe in something else. I believe in Jesus, and I am glad that you do too!
God bless you all!
Bucky
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