SOMETHING SUPERNATURAL THIS WAY COMES!

SOMETHING SUPERNATURAL THIS WAY COMES!

1 Cor 2:12-14

12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

John 4:24

24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

          We have reduced modern religion to a system more suited to a degree in Business Administration than in Theology. Fewer and fewer of our new ministers are respondents to a call from God and more and more of them have been simply recruited to a career. No such example can ever be found in the Bible. True, the Old Testament records that there were schools for prophets but it is clear that these individuals had a peculiar call and claim upon their lives by God. The result is that churches are increasingly being operated by religious CEO’s who are constantly running to one conference or another to learn the most popular way to attract customers.

          Paul explained to the Corinthians that his ministry among them was not based upon human wisdom taught and learned in some educational climate. No, his religious education was much more electric than that which might be received in some musty classroom. Paul was blasted from his saddle on the road to Damascus by a light so bright he was blinded for days. Moses ended his days as a shepherd because of a burning bush which called him by name. If you say “that is incredible” then you have just proven my point.

                If we can attract a crowd of worshippers to a temple built with a template, if we can lure them to participate in a program, and if we can elicit a predetermined response from them, then where is God and why do we need Him? Jesus said in John 6:44, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him.” The Greek word for “draw” is heikou and means “to drag!”

          If you ask the average church member why they chose their particular church, they will respond with a list of reasons. They came because of the beauty of the buildings or the friendliness of the people or the convenience of the programs for their children. Not many will say, “I was dragged here kicking and screaming!” To put it more gently, “It seems some invisible force led me here.” Such is the supernatural aspect of relationship with the Redeemer. He doesn’t just light the path I choose, He chooses the path.

          Religious ambition must give way to the will of the Master. Conferences on church growth must yield to consultation with the Christ. Programs must yield to prayer. The natural must yield to the supernatural.

Dear Lord, please lead me along the path you have chosen for me. Give me the necessary supplies needed for today. Let me be an instrument in your hand. Let me sense the supernatural. AMEN

iPress!

iPress!

Phil 3:13-14

13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

          Apple electronics has grown enormously rich by marketing almost anything with a name that begins with the lower case “i”. Soon after the success of their Macintosh computers (Apple, get it?), we were introduced to the iMac, the iBook, the iPhone, the iPod and the iPad. Each one has a proprietary operating system that requires the owner to purchase accessories only from the Apple company. Pretty neat if you are the Apple people. I would like to introduce, for the new year, a new theme. I call it the “iPress!”

          iPress comes equipped with a holy dissatisfaction with the status quo! Paul said “I count not myself to have apprehended.” The Greek word for “apprehended” is katalambano and refers to something not yet attained or possessed. What Paul was saying is that, although he is diligent in his efforts, he has not yet grasped his ultimate goal. iPress, as a Christian lifestyle, is dissatisfied with things as they are.

          iPress comes loaded with a single focus. Paul said “this one thing I do.” If we remember that Paul was one of the most educated and skilled of the apostles, we conclude that he could succeed at most anything. However, Paul chose to focus on only one thing and that was to successfully follow and obey the Lord Jesus. Being successful in his relationship with Christ and in accomplishing his mission was his sole focus. We must not be like the man who “ran off in all directions!”

                iPress comes equipped with a self-clearing memory. Paul said “forgetting those things which are behind.” Most of us are not wired to constantly live in the past! There is an allusion here undoubtedly to the Grecian races. One running to secure the prize would not stop to look behind him to see how much ground he had run over, or who of his competitors had fallen or lingered in the way. He would keep his eye steadily on the prize, and strain every nerve that he might obtain it. (from Barnes' Notes.) Living and thinking in the past will confuse the present and retard the future. Clear your memory of hurts for those memories are acid to the soul. Clear your memory also of all past accomplishments for these erode ambition.

          iPress comes equipped with wireless connectivity. Paul said that he was always “reaching forth unto those things which are before.” iPress is always searching for Christ’s signal; always reaching out to both know and to do His will. When Paul said “I press” he used the Greek word dioko which is a prolonged form of a verb which basically means “to run after.” The zeal of the athlete is implied here. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Christians pursued their Christian life as much as they did their sports hobbies?

          iPress comes with bonus points. Paul called it THE prize. In the Greek Olympics, the prize for the runner was a garland made of olive, laurel, pine or even apple. He wore it like a halo upon his head but after a short time it wilted and had to be discarded. This kept the runner from resting on his “laurels” (his previously attained laurel wreaths). Paul strained forward to win a crown that would not fade away.

1 Peter 5:4

4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

Dear Lord, the new year lays ahead of me like a course to be run. Help me to lay aside unnecessary weight and run the race with determination. Let me always look to you as my coach. AMEN

DARK IN THE DISTANCE!

DARK IN THE DISTANCE!

Ps 119:105

105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Ps 18:28

28 For thou wilt light my candle: the Lord  my God will enlighten my darkness.

I see not a step before me as I tread on another year;

But I've left the past in God's keeping-the future his mercy shall clear;

And what looks dark in the distance may brighten as I draw near.

Mary Gardiner Brainard (C. 1860)

                Mary Gardiner Brainard (June 19, 1837 – November 30, 1905) was an American writer of religious poetry. She was born in New London, Connecticut. She was daughter of William Fowler Brainard (1784-1844), a New London lawyer, whose younger brother was the poet John Gardiner Calkins Brainard, and his second wife Sarah Ann Prentis. Her poem "Not Knowing" first appeared in The Congregationalist, March 1869, and was set to music as a hymn by Philip Paul Bliss in the 1870s. It is based upon Paul’s comments in Acts 20:22.

Acts 20:22

22 And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there:

I know not what will befall me: God hangs a mist o’er my eyes;

And thus, each step of my onward path, He makes new scenes arise,

And every joy He sends to me comes like a sweet surprise.

I see not a step before me as I tread on another year;

But I’ve left the past in God’s keeping,—the future His mercy shall clear,

And what looks dark in the distance may brighten as I draw near.

For perhaps the dreaded future is less bitter than I think;

The Lord may sweeten the waters before I stoop to drink;

Or, if Marah must be Marah, He will stand beside its brink.

It may be He keeps waiting, for the coming of my feet,

Some gift of such rare blessedness, some joy so strangely sweet,

That my lips shall only tremble with the thanks they cannot speak.

O restful, blissful ignorance! ’t is blessed not to know;

It keeps me still in those mighty arms which will not let me go,

And lulls my weariness to rest on the bosom that loves me so.

So I go on not knowing,—I would not if I might;

I would rather walk in the dark with God than go alone in the light;

I would rather walk with Him by faith than walk alone by sight.

My heart shrinks back from trials which the future may disclose,

Yet I never had sorrow but what the dear Lord chose;

So I send the coming tears back with the whispered word, “He knows.”

          God’s lamp lights our feet and a bit further up the path but walking by faith means that it may be “dark in the distance.” Let us trust the lamp and walk in the light!

Dear Lord, today we take the first steps upon the path that is another year. It looks dark in the distance but we know that you are near and that you will guide each step with your lamp. AMEN