The Fountain

We can learn a lot about God by the way he dealt with his chosen people in Old Testament times. The children of Israel had many of the same problems we have, in remaining faithful to the Heavenly Father. Most of the prophetic writings of the Old Testament not only give us glimpses of the coming Jesus, Messiah, but also let us see some very specific qualities of God that we might otherwise miss.

Jeremiah was the prophet chosen by God to proclaim messages which contained doom and destruction to the unfaithful, and messages which portrayed God as one who longed for his people to return to him, and seek his forgiveness for their disobedience.

We've looked at some of this before and noted Jeremiah's message from God to the people included the mentioning of the Israelites defiling the land, they followed after worthless idols, they did not seek God, and even their leaders, the teachers of the law, were in rebellion. 

Jeremiah 2 gives the message and the picture for Israel looks bleak. The people who had known of God's deliverance and his provision, were now turning their backs on God and practicing idolatry. God is so displeased with them he and lets them know about it.  He asks this question, "Has a nation ever changed its gods?" (Yet the gods they turn to are not really gods at all.)  We can sense the sorrow and sadness from the throne of God to the entirety of Israel.  And yet, through God's displeasure, he still wants to show his love and forgiveness to  every one of them. 

Through the sins of the people itemized to this point, we can understand why God expresses his displeasure. Further down in Jeremiah 2, God sums up the root of their problem.  Verse 13:

“My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me, the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water." Jeremiah 2:13

There are the two sins. They have forsaken God, the spring of living water, and they dug their own cisterns, that cannot hold water.  Both the Old and New Testaments have examples of the life giving source of spirituality illustrated by the provision of water. These people could have turned to God at any time and enjoyed an  awakening to the spiritual blessings from above.  Instead, he said they built their own cisterns that cannot hold water, a demonstration of their lack of trust and faith in God. 

Mankind still refuses to drink the water of life from God, the only sustaining source. We still like to call all the shots and make all the decisions.  We, like Israel in Jeremiah's day, need to learn the calamity that awaits when we choose our own way, our own abilities, our own strength.  The grace of God gives us the better perspective of knowing him, loving him, and following his direction. 

Come to the fountain, the source of the water of life, and drink from the spring of living water. 

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Giving an Answer

^"8 Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. ⁹ Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing."  1 Peter 3:8-9

The writing of Peter is always a source of instruction and admonition.  The selected verses above are no exception.  In them, we are encouraged to possess the qualities of sympathy, love, compassion and humility, in our dealings with each other. And did you notice the promise?  We are told to be a blessing, because we shall inherit a blessing. I included the above verses because they serve as an introduction to a section of Scripture which we have read and heard quoted, but we all share in the need to be reminded. Here is the supporting verse:

^"15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have."  1 Peter 3:15

We live in days of uncertainty from numerous directions. We deal with the fear of terrorism, and shudder with newscasts when we hear of tragedies. Perhaps our jobs are shaky and we wonder what would happen if our paychecks suddenly stopped. We suffer with illnesses, not knowing how we are going to make it through this setback.  On and on, times of trouble continue to surface. 

With that in your mind, let me ask......Are there people that come up to you and ask how you, as a Christian, maintain your confidence and hope?  What preparation do you need to make so you can always be ready to give an answer?

Look at it this way. The child of God who faces problems and perplexities in his life with a confident faith will probably hear something like, "how do you stay so strong?" or "tell me your secret."   Peter says we need to be ready to give them an answer. When we do that, we are not only giving our testimony about Jesus living in us, but we are also given the opportunity to lead them in the right spiritual direction. 

I can almost hear some of you. "I never know what to say."  I will readily admit there are some who just seem to be gifted for conversations like that, but in reality, each of us should be prepared to give a good answer.  Sometimes, words are not necessary, as is seen in this borrowed story.

A non-believer lived in a small town, owning a retail business, and known by everyone in town. One by one, preachers from each church had visited the man in an attempt to win him for the Lord. It became obvious to the man as preachers came, realized they were getting nowhere with him, then left, that he was proud of his ability to put them all in their place.  This went on for a couple of years and one day, out of the blue, the man showed up in a local church one Sunday morning. Following that, he went back every Sunday and became a strong addition to the congregation.  He then confessed that during those years when the preachers were working on him, he had noticed a pretty young lady that walked past his house every Sunday, rain or shine, in snow, in mud, even in the summer's heat, walking to the little church on the corner.  He followed her one day to see why she was so dedicated and faithful in her church attendance. He returned on subsequent Sundays.  About a year later, he and the pretty lady were married, and he told in his testimony how she led him to the Lord, with her example. 

Be ready with your answer, whether by words of teaching, or better yet, with your example. 

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The Worship Assembly

Psalm 100

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
    Worship the Lord with gladness;
    come before him with joyful songs.
 Know that the Lord is God.
    It is he who made us, and we are his;
    we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. 

 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
    and his courts with praise;
    give thanks to him and praise his name.
 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
    his faithfulness continues through all generations.

We live in an age of planned and rehearsed worship. Everyone has likes and dislikes with regard to how worship should be. Some would prefer the more formal and constantly solemn approach to the Sunday assembly, while others are  inclined to be moved by the more open and experiential worship. 

As far as I can tell, the scripture doesn't give us a step by step plan from a playbook concerning every aspect of the assembly. We know from scripture and tradition our meeting together includes singing, praying, preaching, communion, and giving, however even those elements of the assembly are not specifically described. 

When Psalm 100 is read in its entirety, the psalmist is producing a picture of the attitude of worship, and the involvement of the assembled crowd in sharing their emotions, feelings and beliefs.  I must say that while my preference is just that, my preference, I am more inclined to enter the presence of God with a sense of awe and respect. 

 That being said, I now confess to you my yearning to also shout for joy and worship the Lord with gladness. Other admonitions from the psalm include entering his gates with thanksgiving and praise, knowing his goodness, his enduring love, and the continuation of his faithfulness.  These are the "meat" of worship that please God.  These things come, not from a weekly ritual of repeating the same things or even the same order of things and calling it worship, they come from hearts that are united in seeking a deeper relationship with God while encouraging others in their spiritual journey. 

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The Heavenly Calling

"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ³ For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory."  Colossians 3:1-4

Paul is writing to the Colossian church, instructing them about the new direction of their lives. There are things all of us can learn from the first half of this chapter, and most of it is given to remind us when we become followers of Jesus, there should be a remarkable change in the way we live. 

Contrasts are given in numerous Bible passages showing this truth, but the one here happens to contrast our hearts and minds, no longer being motivated by earthly things, but rather by things above.  In your conversion experience, you identified with Jesus in his death, burial and resurrection, and as Paul describes it to the Romans, the old you died, and you became a new person. We need to be thinking, planning, and preparing for massive changes which will involve our glorious appearance with Jesus when he returns. 

Paul continues to remind us of contrasts and more changes in the verses which follow those printed above.  We will do well to read and study those, taking heed to keep focused on things above, on the heavenly home that awaits. 

An important change in the Christian's life involves "putting to death" everything that belongs to your earthly nature.  Paul runs the list by us, including immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed. He says simply, "Get rid of it."  It has no place in your life now, and certainly has no place in the life anticipating heavenly citizenship. 

That list includes some mighty severe sins. It's easy for us to see why Paul would stress the need for us to keep our lives free from those.  But he then hits us with another list, most of which we have a tendency to classify as less severs sins. Check this list: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.

 

Remember we are contrasting earthly things with heavenly things, and have been encouraged by Paul to put to death those things that are not heavenly. He reminds the Colossians they are not the same persons they were before coming to Jesus. Their old self is gone, and the new self needs to manifest itself "in knowledge in the image of its Creator."  We are being changed into his likeness and as we become more and more like Jesus, we no longer allow earthly things to control us. That's when we start taking on the very image of the Son of God.

The next verses add the icing....... " ¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

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The pep-talk

Lance Gunn played for the Texas Longhorns in the early 1990's and amassed numerous defensive records, ultimately becoming an All-American. Because of his success in college football, he was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals.  He then played for the New Orleans Saints and ultimately ended up playing in the European NFL for the Frankfort Galaxy. His ultimate goal was to play in the Canadian Football League and work his way back into the NFL here in the states.  Then, in 1996 a life-changing event happened.

Lance's father became very ill and to save his life, Lance donated a kidney to his father. This meant an end to playing football, and an end to his high paying salary, and an end to his dreams and plans of working through the ranks to become among the best of the best in the NFL. "I felt very fortunate to be able to add that quality to my dad's life, the person who gave me life," Lance said. "It was a no-brainer decision." 

I recently watched a video where Lance was giving a pre-game pep talk to a present-day team from UT, and his insight prompted me to share three points with you. 

1.  We are connected.  Lance wanted the team to know they were connected to each other, and that connection included winning games, becoming good at the job they were called to do, and be a better person through reaching common goals. 

2.  They think they know, but they have no idea. He was referring to the opposing team. They may think they know us, through our history or perhaps watching game films, but they have no idea what we can accomplish when our hearts, minds and bodies are set on being successful. 

3.  Accomplish this task for yourself.  Lance went on to explain this was not in the sense of being stingy, but that making sure we were accomplishing something for ourselves actually explodes into winning for the team, the school, and the community.

Now look at how closely these three points can relate to your Christian life. Think and pray about them.

1.  We, too, are connected.  In spite of the variety of our personalities, occupations, backgrounds, etc., we are connected in the Body of Christ. It is through the gifts of the Holy Spirit that all our differences can come together as "one," and we become a force for doing God's work.

2.  Satan may think he knows us, but he has no idea where God wants to lead us and the sense of eternal security, personal dedication, and our determination to be victorious over anything the devil sends our way. 

3.  Accomplish this task for yourself.  Not to be boastful in our accomplishments, but to know the things we do and the words we say just might be the determining factor for others coming to Jesus.  It is as though we are building a spiritual legacy to pass to those that follow us, as we function in the life of the church, always giving God the glory. 

Oh, and Lance is currently using his marketing degree and is the Director of Sales for Frito-Lay in central Texas.  You can thank him for his example, and for the pep-talk we all need from time to time.

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