Living in a Vaccum

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.  For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.  For

“All people are like grass,
    and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
    but the word of the Lord endures forever.”  1 Peter 1:22-25

One of the favorite lessons my mom taught me was an action speaks louder than words.  Many times, I will read a particular book on  leadership or business, and someone will share various tips or steps on how to be successful.  While it always sounds good on paper, it can at times become really difficult to apply to real life situations.  After all, everyone would do it if it were so easy, right?  This brought me to God’s word.  We read God’s word, but is it active in our lives?  Or does it stay in a vacuum fully active in the ‘God zone’ and idle in the ‘real world?’

God’s word is intended to live through us at all times.  I love the many lessons in the Bible that allow for true life application.  However, there are times we just love the word but struggle to apply it for various reasons.  Our journey of faith is one just like the Bible itself; living.  It is not something that we should simply read to say, “Gee, that makes sense.”  It is something that requires us to both think and respond to.  The reason why the Bible is called the ‘Living Word of God’ is because it lives within anyone who reads it, takes it to heart, and applies it in their own lives.  This does not mean just shaking our heads in agreement.  It requires actively living it out.  No staying on the sidelines.

Jesus was a man of action.  While He spent much of His time teaching, He went out, and performed many miracles and acts of grace and kindness.  We are given a new life both through God’s truth in His word and Christ’s love for us.  Do not let it just sit idle.  Be courageous, and live it out each and every day to all whom you touch.  Does your Bible readings guide and change  your behavior prior to reading it?  Does it reaffirm and/or encourage you to act?  My prayer is that we actively live out the teachings of the Bible and not live in a vacuum.  Amen.

Tues Devo: The Pressure Washer II

Hebrews 4:12-13 “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” (NASB)

Hello,

Last week I talked about the pressure washer and getting cleaner. But it also made me think about we often don’t even know we need cleaning because we are comparing ourselves to other dirty wood – instead of the clean original that we ought to be comparing ourselves against. To get that right comparative, we need to be in His word continually, getting that look at the standard.

Wait, did I say continually? Ouch. But yes! Evaluation against the standard God has put forth is something we must keep on doing. Just one look and then an adjustment doesn’t mean the end is there. We have to keep evaluating as we go.

Some work? Sure, but the rewards to being what God has asked us to be are phenomenal.

Have a blessed day,

Will Hill

The Five Solas: A Cry for Truth! (Part 3 of 5)‏

Hello Friends!

Welcome back to part three of The Five Solas: A Cry for Truth!

This week we will investigate the third Sola known as SOLA CHRISTUS…

The Five Solas: #3 – Sola Christus

By Christ alone is from the Latin Sola Christus. Our salvation is accomplished by the mediatorial work of Jesus Christ the Son of God alone. His sinless life and substitutionary atonement alone are sufficient for our justification and reconciliation to God the Father. It is denied that the gospel is preached if Jesus Christ's substitutionary work is not declared and faith in Him and His work is not solicited for the forgiveness of sins. 

Jesus Christ's life, death and resurrection is chronicled perfectly in the sixty-six books – the Holy Scriptures. Only from Scripture is it possible to derive any knowledge of His saving work. The knowledge of Jesus Christ's redeeming work is made accessible to man in spite of his hardened heart, which views the gospel as " foolishness" 

But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned – 1 Corinthians 2:14

Grace produces faith, which brings actual eternal salvation upon the believing sinner. Jesus Christ is glorified whenever someone believes in His redeeming work. His resurrection is often referred to the glorification of His mission on earth.

Thank you for reading! Don’t miss next week’s edition as we investigate Sola #4 – SOLA GRATIA…

May the Lord Jesus Christ continue to bless you with His perfect love, mercy and grace!

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!

Blessings!

Shane <><

The First Princess

15 When the turn came for Esther (the young woman Mordecai had adopted, the daughter of his uncle Abihail) to go to the king, she asked for nothing other than what Hegai, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the harem, suggested. And Esther won the favor of everyone who saw her. Esther 2

A few years ago, after a sleep over at a friend's house, a group of us were sitting at the kitchen table drinking our coffee and nibbling on breakfast.  Somehow, favorite books of the bible came up.  Mine was Acts, another girl's was Romans, another girl was undecided, and one exclaimed, "I love Esther!"

Ok, the Romans I could understand, and I could get the undecided person, but I really didn't get Esther.  It was a forgettable book to me.  I had read it, but I honestly at the time could not even think of what the storyline in Esther was about.  I had lumped it together with the "dry-historical" books of the bible with Chronicles and Kings.

Interesting fact: it is actually typically grouped together in the "historical" books of the bible, which does include Chronicles and Kings, but that's not the point here.

So as I'm slowly making my way through the books of the bible alphabetically (for those of you new here, I have slight OCD tendencies) and Esther was next up.  I wasn't exactly thrilled about it, but I kept remembering the one girl's excitement over the book of Esther and thought that I should at least try to find what she loved so much about it.

I'm only two chapters into the book, and I haven't yet found the love and appreciation for the book.  However, I can say that by reading it slower, with a study guide, I'm understanding it a bit more and I'll retain it much better.

In short, I'm taking it as the first Disney Princess story.  Yep, you heard that right.

To summarize in Disney terms: A king and queen got into a fight.  What the queen did was so upsetting to the king, that he stripped her of her title.  However, he required a queen to take her place.  So, he searched the kingdom for eligible girls, put them through a year of beauty treatments each and had each one presented to him.  Esther was a girl whose parents had died and was being raised by her cousin Mordecai, who treated her as his own child.  Esther was taken to the palace with other women and when the king saw Esther, he immediately was won over by her beauty and she was announced as Queen.

Esther had it easy.  No fighting ice powers she didn't know how to control.  No pricking fingers on spindles.  No poisoned apples.  No losing the ability to speak.  No wicked step-family.  She went through a year-long spa day and came out the other side a queen.  Ta-daaa!

God always has a plan for us.  Sometimes it's really far-fetched from what we're thinking and seeing for ourselves.  I doubt Esther woke up one morning and thought, "I should be queen some day, better start my etiquette lessons."  It was so far beyond what she and Mordecai had envisioned that it came as a huge shock to both of them.

Nothing is impossible, because through God, all things are possible.

Focusing On The Gifts

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.  There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.  There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.  1 Corinthians 12:4-6

  

This past week, I had a opportunity to teach a class that I somewhat feel was made for me.  I focuses on understanding and developing your strengths.  The basis of the class is very simple.  We are all gifted with certain things that we do  exceedingly well.  The key to personal success lies in our ability to both understand and master use of those strengths.  It always made me focus on one simple question; why did God give us all different strengths (or gifts)?

We are given different strengths so that we can see others as God sees us.  We spend a great deal of our lives trying to focus on the things we are not.  Maybe we are not the smartest person or perhaps we do not look as good as we think we should.  These are stories the world tells us.  However, God does not see us for our imperfections.  He sees us as His children.  This is not to say we are perfect, but instead, we are His greatest creation.  His masterpiece.  God sees the beauty in us all, and when we are indeed connected to Him and utilizing the gifts God has given us, we are a perfect reflection of Him.

God created mankind in His own image (see Genesis 1:27).  We are given gifts as a reminder of His brilliance for all of us to see.  If we as Christians can see people for the things they are rather than focusing on those things they are not, we will have grown spiritually by leaps and bounds.  God wants the best from all of us.  What is stopping you from releasing it?  Do you know the gifts God has given you?  My prayer is that we focus on the gifts God has given each and every one of us.  Amen.

Tues Devo: The pressure washer

Daniel 11:35 “Some of those who have insight will fall, in order to refine, purge and make them pure until the end time; because it is still to come at the appointed time.” (NASB)

2 Corinthians 7:9 “I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us.” (NASB)

Hello,

This last weekend I used a pressure washer to clean off the deck. It was interesting to watch what it took to clean that deck. If the wood had feelings, it would have hurt! The higher the pressure, the cleaner the wood – but that means more pain. Sometimes, I had to switch directions and go against the grain….not natural and also painful for the wood. But in the end – it looked much better! Sometimes God allows the painful into our lives to get rid of the junk that has built up on us. Sometimes the build up is strong and deep enough that the pressure has to be turned way up, or things have to get flipped around on us (go against the grain). While the process may not be fun – the end result is amazing. We have the opportunity to be what God has created and designed us to be –now isn’t that worth the pressure?

Have a blessed day,

Will Hill

The Five Solas: A Cry for Truth! (Part 2 of 5)‏

Hello Friends!

Welcome back to part two of The Five Solas: A Cry for Truth!

This week we will investigate the second Sola known as SOLA SCRIPTURA…

The Five Solas: #2 – Sola Scriptura

The inerrant Old and New Testament Scripture – The Holy Bible – is the sole source of written divine revelation, which alone can bind the conscience. The sixty-six books of the Bible alone teaches all that is necessary for our eternal salvation from sin and is the standard by which all Christian behavior must be measured. It is denied that any creed, council or individual may bind a Christian's conscience, that the Holy Spirit speaks independently of – or contrary to – what is set forth in the Bible. Also, personal, subjective spiritual experience can never be a vehicle of revelation outside of the Holy Scripture. All experiences must be tested and validated by the Scriptures!

Scripture alone (Sola Scriptura) is the teaching that Scripture is the Church's – Bride of Christ – only infallible and sufficient rule for deciding issues of faith and practices which involve doctrines. While the Bible does not contain all "general" knowledge, it does contain and is the ONLY source of that which is necessary for eternal salvation of the soul. Indeed, if something is not found in Scripture, it is not binding upon the believer. This view does not deny that any born-again Christian has the authority to teach God's Word. Furthermore, while tradition itself may indeed be valuable, it too must be tested and approved by the higher authority of the Scriptures.

Sola Scriptura:

"does not mean that the Reformers rejected everything that every Christian in earlier ages has said: indeed, they often cited the early Christians as supporters of their own positions. However, they recognized that those earlier believers were not inspired, were not inerrant, and, in fact, quite often made errors in their judgments and beliefs, just as people do today. The only infallible rule of faith, they argued, is found in the pages of Holy Writ." – The Shape of Sola Scriptura, by Keith A. Mathison

In all of this, the role of the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, is critically vital. The Word of God can only be received and obeyed by the power Holy Spirit within the believer.

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work – 2 Timothy 3:16-17

The Roman Catholic position on Sola Scriptura differs from Protestantism. Roman Catholicism teaches that their Bible is inspired and the infallible original manuscripts. Official Catholic doctrine does not believe in Sola Scriptura due to the fact that there is no guide to decipher important theological issues without their Church system. The Roman Catholic Church also teaches that it collected and organized the Holy Scriptures via Tradition and has the Papal Office guiding and helping decipher important scripture verses…

Thank you for reading! Don’t miss next week’s edition as we investigate Sola #3 – SOLA CHRISTUS…

May the Lord Jesus Christ continue to bless you with His perfect love, mercy and grace!

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!

 

Blessings!

Shane <><

No Sun, Moon or Stars

Do you know what will happen immediately before Jesus returns?

A few weeks ago my sister was admiring the bright sun rays streaming through and around some clouds. She told my 5 year old niece that whenever she sees the bright streams of sun shining like that, it makes her wonder if Jesus is coming back. My niece immediately exclaimed: “No, Mom! Jesus won’t come back until after the sun and moon are darkened and the stars fall from the sky!”

My niece had just been studying Matthew chapter 24 and clearly remembered the following verses! ☺

Matthew 24:29-31         ²⁹ “Immediately after the distress of those days

“‘the sun will be darkened,

and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’

³⁰ “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. ³¹ And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

Jesus will return on the clouds, it will be visible to all (as we read a few weeks ago), and it will be glorious! I wonder if God plans to darken the sun and moon first because believers won’t need created light anymore once we are with the Creator at all times. Maybe it will also be a foretaste of Hell for non-believers. They will exist without the presence of God, His light, and His blessings. No wonder they will be mourning (as in verse 30). They will lament the fact that they previously gave no credence to Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

When Jesus returns, will you be mourning or rejoicing?

What about those around you and me?

Who might God want you and me to share His truths with this week?

Alice

Beyond the Surface

For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.  John 1:17-18

As Christians, we struggle to talk openly about Jesus Christ to nonbelievers.  The question that we tend to fight with is how best do we do this?    Through devotionals, I do my best to promote Him through my writings, but this only supports those who already believe.  If I shout out to the rooftops about what God has done for me, anyone who does not know God would think I might be a little off (some of you might already think that  J).  I understand that if it is what God compelled me to do, seeming a little crazy should not matter.  However, one true way to share Christ with others that tends to never fail is simply by getting to know them.  It is easy from a distance to say someone is following a wrongful and destructive path because that does not require any commitment to our having a relationship with them.  But who truly has the power to change another?  Is it someone who yells from afar ‘repent’ or someone who knows you deep inside and out who says, “This must change?”

Transformative relationships requires a sound relationship with Christ.  Jesus Christ speaks numerous times not only about knowing us (i.e. the shepherd) but also knowing God from the beginning.   Through His relationship with God, He was able to build deep relationships that changed others’ lives.  While we ourselves are certainly not God the Father or Son, we do carry the power of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us.  Through our relationship with Christ, we can share His love, truth, power, and grace to both believers and nonbelievers.  It is through sharing these things that will build a foundation by which any conversation, either faith based or influential, is indeed possible.

God is made known through those who know Him best.  Jesus asked His disciples to follow Him, but did so after giving to others through miracles and acts of kindness and grace.  We are to give of ourselves so as to win others over.  Apostle Paul said, “I became like one not having the law, so as to win those not having the law.” (1 Corinthians 9:21)  He is certainly not condoning lawlessness.  Rather he is saying that because he knows Christ, he can reach out to those without the law in their hearts and connect with them to share the Gospel.  It’s the connection that matters.  Is your relationship with Christ strong enough to reach out to others?  What relationship can you foster toward a mutual understanding of Jesus Christ?  My prayer is that we go beyond the surface to build meaningful relationships with others through Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Tues Devo: Trust comes first

Psalm 37:3-5 “Trust in the Lord and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it.”(NASB)

Hello,

Ever feel like things just aren’t moving fast enough? You have a plan – and you want it in place now! But “now” doesn’t happen. Instead, you begin to see days, months, years go by….doubt may set in, or you may just give up on the idea.

But look at the order above. We are not to tell Him our way and then He does it, and then we delight ourselves in Him. But rather, we are to first put our trust in God. Then we are to obey Him and make Him our delight – then we are truly able to commit our way to the Lord. This isn’t about do one thing in order to get another – God is not a vending machine – but this is about understanding what pleases Him, and letting the commitment follow that.

Also notice, there is no timeframe here. God’s timing is perfect – even though we may find it perfectly frustrating. But again, once we have trusted Him and made Him our delight first, we will be able to wait more easily on Him timing

Have a blessed day,

Will Hill