The “Best” Gifts

One of my students remarked that her journey with Christ during childhood took her through a Pentacostal church, where she was told that she needed to speak in tongues in order to be baptized and saved. At her age, she decided to mumble some gibberish just to get it over with.

Other people will complain that their gifts are not glamorous. They don’t feel they have a gift for evangelism, and unless they’re out there winning souls for Jesus Christ, they feel that they’re doing nothing for the Kingdom. Others will complain that they are not teachers or preachers or in a position to do so. Sometimes, I wonder even if the complaints are less about doing work for our Lord and more about not getting recognized for doing work for our Lord.

One of the first things I learned as a new Christian (and I’m glad that I learned it) was to realize that everything I did was to be done for God, and that if I looked hard enough in what I was doing, I could see God’s work being accomplished through me with the gifts He has blessed me with. For example, I am using the gifts of writing and communication right now to talk to you about these things. I might not have as much impact trying to speak it aloud in person, and I have a greater capability of far-reaching communication by placing this on the internet. I thank God that He has given me these gifts to compose such a message, that He has given me a message to communicate at all, and that He has provided a means to do so where I can use my gift and be expressive.

Even if your gift is working behind the scenes somewhere as an administrator or someone who cleans or someone who takes notes, you are accomplishing the work of God by allowing churches to run smoothly, events to run easily, and needs to be met. You never know if a new believer might come to your church some day and take notice of what you’re doing, and you don’t even know it. That is why we cannot be proud or boastful of the gifts we have in comparison to others, sowing seeds of envy among them, and likewise we cannot diminish the gifts God has given us and minimize them in comparison to the gifts that others have. We must utilize our own gifts to the fullest for the glory of God.

A Church That Cares

If you’re not a part of a church, I would encourage you to find a church somewhere that preaches from the Bible, has a program that reaches out into the local community or world through missions, has a program that teaches children solidly from the Bible in an engaging way (if you have children), and has a program that reaches within the church to build community between its members and to support individual members of the congregation through both the good and bad times.

Even then, your class can be a community in itself. I encourage you to develop community through your classroom in order to help all your classmates get through school both mentally and spiritually. Here is an example of how a church community can be so beneficial:

What, Me Worry?

I’ve always equated worry to the fear of the future and fear of God not protecting us from what we will face, but there are some other possible reasons for worry that I found interesting.

Worry may be a symptom of a bigger problem. Sometimes it’s a lack of gratitude for the way God has cared for us in the past. Or perhaps it’s a lack of faith that God really is trustworthy. Or it may be a refusal to depend on God instead of ourselves… Don’t let worries hold you back from what God may be trying to teach you. He invites you to bring your anxious thoughts directly to Him (Phil. 4:6).

My Heart, Christ’s Home

My wife and I were discussing this devotion I found a few weeks ago and how it related to our relationship with Jesus, that He doesn’t just simply dwell in a church or our house, but He lives in our hearts and goes with us wherever we go. She is part of the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group at church, and yesterday she received a packet of information. Enclosed with that packet was a short devotion called My Heart, Christ’s Home by Robert Boyd Munger. If you’re intrepid enough, you can probably find it on the internet, but your local Christian bookstore should have it very cheaply.

Anyway, I would recommend seeking it out. It will profoundly open your eyes to the work Jesus does for us. The story is about the narrator and Jesus walking through various rooms of a house (a metaphor for ourselves), discussing what is in each room and their condition.

Being an Ambassador

I think we forget that reaching people for Christ doesn’t always mean reaching the unsaved. We need to reach the saved as well, especially when they are going through difficult trials such as the ones described in this story.

After visiting a homeless shelter, a group of teenagers couldn’t wait to express what they had experienced. Excitedly, they wrote about their visits with men and women of all ages who were poor and destitute.

One teen wrote: “I talked with a Vietnam vet and told him that in heaven he would have a new body. I was able to reassure him in his faith.”

Another said, “A guy named Michael showed me that even though he was living in a homeless shelter, having faith made all the difference.”

Still another wrote: “I talked with a man who had almost stopped believing in God. I tried to [encourage him in his faith].”

While desiring to share God’s message of reconciliation, these teens were surprised to find that some of the people already knew God. By cutting through the discomfort of their differences, the kids discovered people who needed the reassurance that God still cared for them. The teens’ roles changed from sharing the good news to guiding their new friends toward a deeper faith. Being “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Cor. 5:20) opens doors of opportunity both to share the gospel and to strengthen the struggling.

The Enduring Word

When you think about all the catastrophes and natural disasters that we’ve endured lately, it’s nice to know that some things will always remain. Floods may destroy crops, wildfires may destroy forests, tornadoes may destroy homes, terrorists may destroy buildings and airplanes, but God’s Word remains eternal, both in its wisdom and presence. It is not by accident that we still have the original manuscripts of the Bible, but by design.

At Dublin Castle in Ireland is the Chester Beatty Library, named for an industrialist who gave generously to charity. The beautiful library includes a quaint coffee shop and a variety of exhibits.

The exhibit that grabbed my attention was the ancient manuscripts. I slowly walked through the area and viewed fragments of the New Testament Gospels dating back to the third century ad. The scrolls were among the oldest known biblical texts until the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the mid-20th century. God’s Word, preserved through the years!

As I looked at those portions of inspired text, I was moved by the permanence of the Word of God. It is because of the enduring nature of God’s Word that we can have confidence in the message it contains. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Mark 13:31). Later, Jesus’ disciple Peter would write, “All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the Word of the Lord endures forever” (1 Peter 1:24-25).

Applying for Heaven

How would you answer the questions if you were filling out an application to get into Heaven? Better yet, what questions would be on the paperwork?

Let Jesus Pay It

If you’re not familiar with The Wittenburg Door, it is a Christian comedy and satire magazine. While it sometimes bends a little too liberal with its theology for my tastes, I enjoy some of the non-comic articles and interviews, as well as their position as a watchdog of the televangelist movement. The name of the magazine is a misspelling of the Wittenberg Door that Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses upon, which sparked the Protestant Reformation.

To me, this story exemplifies one of the challenges to witnessing to non-Christians. I’ve posted a few articles now on how Christians witness through their business, as well as an example of a Christian who witnessed in a graceless manner and got in trouble for it.

I received a piece of hate mail on that article that I have long since deleted, but the essence of the message was that Christians in business are abusing religion to make a profit. I’m not sure I agree with that opinion, although I do wonder sometimes if some Christians who overtly advertise themselves with crosses and Ichthys symbols are doing so.

Anyway, it’s no wonder that a false belief about Christians such as the one in this story is pervasive in the culture. It is difficult to share the truth with love to people that only know about Bible-beaters and judgmental Christians. Here is an example of a Christian who was able to share the truth with someone, yet was knowledgeable enough with the Scriptures not to roll over and take abuse from this customer.

What Did He Say?

I don’t think there is much for me to add to this. May we all cultivate such a longing to spend time in God’s Word.

Because our son Steve spent most of his teen years connected to a cell phone, it was a bit of a shock for us when we couldn’t talk with him for long periods of time after he joined the US Navy. First at boot camp and later while he trained as a hospital corpsman, we endured long periods of time without any communication. So it was a treat whenever we finally did hear from him.

After one of us would get his call, the first question from the other was always, “What did he say?” We hung on every word to hear how he was doing, what he was thinking, and what the Navy was planning for him.

It’s natural to respond like this to the words of those who are important to us. We eagerly anticipate hearing from them. Are we like that with the Word of God? Are we eager to communicate with Him—to look carefully into His Book to ask, “What did He say?” Unlike the infrequent calls from a son in the military, God’s words of encouragement and guidance are always available to us. We just have to listen.

Why We Like Superheroes by Jonathan Daugherty

The summer’s here, which means there are three or four films out this season based on comic book characters and superheroes. In fact, I think I mentioned to a few of my classes that I wrote a script for our Vacation Bible School play this year, and it’s entitled “Jesus Is My Super-Hero”. So, what’s the fascination?