December
The End of the Matter by Cynthia Saladin
The end of the growing season. The end of the harvest season. The end of the holy days for this year. The end of man’s calendar year.
Most of the leaves have fallen from the tree branches. The late root vegetables are done. The busy-ness of going to the Feast of Tabernacles and then getting caught up again is past. There is still plenty to do. There’s always plenty to do. But there’s a slower pace to the days. There’s more time spent sitting in front of the fire, more time spent on projects that were put away last spring when we really got busy. There’s more time to think, more time to reflect, more time to consider.
That’s good. One of the things which works against an ever-increasing intimacy with our Lord and Savior is the craziness, the busy-ness in which we engage ourselves. It’s very good to sit and think and contemplate. It is not a coincidence that God tells us to celebrate the Feast at the end of the harvest. It is not just happenstance that we’re told to remember to thank God for what He has done, lest we somehow think that we’ve accomplished these blessings by our own efforts (Deuteronomy 8:11-20). And God, in His great mercy to us, makes it easy! It is natural, when the work is done, to celebrate. It’s a natural extension to celebrate and praise and honor the One who has made these blessings possible, Who gave us the strength and wisdom to accomplish the goal, the One Who blessed us in the first place.
But is that it?
Do we just thank God and then merrily go about our business, pouring over seed catalogs for the next planting season and drawing up plans for the next project?
Oh, I hope not!
I hope that we spend some time thinking about what God has taught us during this past season. I hope that we think, not only about new ways to improve our physical lives, but also concrete ways to draw closer to the One who blessed us. I hope we prioritize and get rid of activities which are not profitable for the kingdom. I hope we have learned, really learned, something this year - enough to have made a significant difference in our relationship with God!
I think that’s what Solomon did. He sat down and contemplated his life, what he’d done, the choices he made, the lessons he learned. At the end of it all, the wisest man (outside of Jesus Christ) determined this: fear God and keep His commandments for this is the whole duty of man. Fear God. Reverence Him. Show Him respect and awe and unquestioning loyalty. And how do you do that? You do what He says. You obey Him. You keep His commandments. Those commandments are for your good. They help make life work smoothly. They are given to you by God for your benefit. And when you do what God says to do, you demonstrate your reverence and fear for Him.
So then, when you fear God and keep His commandments, you are doing your duty. . . . which makes you an unprofitable servant, according to Jesus (Luke 17:10). Fearing God and obeying Him is only what you’re supposed to do. Maybe we’d better spend some more time thinking about what it is that makes us profitable servants of our God.
"I didn't go to religion to make me 'happy.' I always knew a bottle of Port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don't recommend Christianity.”
-C. S. Lewis
Yes, There Is Good News (Part 9) by Bill Rollins
I was raised in a church organization that discouraged the lay people from reading the Bible. Having left that church some 46 years ago, I find it somewhat ironic that today I am striving to encourage people to pick up God’s word, read and study it, so as to be comforted, edified and instructed by these words of life.
From Genesis to Revelation there is an abundant joy and amazing wisdom to be found. Would you please pick up God’s word and read it? And as you commit yourself to do this, may I suggest that we look at one particular scripture together?
Zechariah 3:10 “In that day each of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and fig tree, declares the Lord Almighty.” Let me invite you, my neighbor, to sit under your vine and fig tree with me! For perhaps we are in “that day” today - that day of “invitation.”
“But I don’t have a vine or fig tree,” you say? Oh! Let us see if we can locate them for you.
This symbol of the vine and fig tree can be reckoned as an idiomatic expression. In other words, these things stand as a type of something else - something the Israelites would have recognized and understood right away. Let’s ponder the question, “What was of utmost importance to these people who lived several thousand years ago?”
The answer is simple - food and water! One only has to look at the Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years - what did they worry and grumble about? “Where will we get water to drink and food to eat?” (See Exodus 16: 1 - 3 and 17: 1-3). These people were not so concerned about cable TV or Internet reception back then. Physical life itself was bound up in their concern for food and water.
God promised Moses that He would rescue the Israelites from their bondage to the Egyptians and take them to “a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.” “Milk and honey was another expression to say that they would have an abundance or fertile land for the cattle and plenty of flowering fruit trees for the bees to make honey. Food was important.
Okay! So Let’s get back to the “vine and fig tree” of Zechariah. This expression is used to indicate what kind of life
the people would have under the rule of King Solomon. “During Solomon’s lifetime, Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba (i.e. from the northern border to the southern) lived in safety, each man under his own vine and fig tree.” Ah! So we have safety and everyone’s eating grapes and figs. Sounds like good news for the people under Solomon’s rule.
So, I began this article by stating that today “I strive to encourage people to pick up God’s word, read it and study it, so as to be comforted, edified and instructed by these words of life.” Why? I suppose this is one of those curious cases were the answer to the question is sort of stated within the question.
If you were the winner of some $100 million lottery, wouldn’t you want to share it at least with the ones you love? Well, I have something worth more than a paltry monetary figure and, of course, I would like to share it with those I love. The second great commandment is to “love your neighbor as yourself.” I find more than “comfort, edification and instruction” in these words of life in the Bible; I find joy and I find “the fear of the Lord.” You are my neighbor and I desire to share the fear of the Lord (which is a great treasure) with you. How do I do that?
Well, let’s piece some things together - Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Okay, so what does the Bible say about wisdom? Proverbs 8:11 says, “Wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.” So if I put 2 and 2 together, I find that this $100 million jackpot can’t compare with the wisdom I may obtain from fearing the Lord! And where do I find this wisdom? The scriptures are replete with wisdom. From one end to the other wisdom may be reaped.
Let us take a look at one chapter in the book of Proverbs - chapter eight. Here we find Solomon personifying the idea of wisdom. Would you please read this chapter? And while you are at it, please read chapter one. Chapter one gives us the whole reason for Solomon penning this book of wisdom.
I think that we are all intrigued with the idea of winning the lottery. What could we do with multiple millions of dollars? Yet we all know what the odds are of winning. And we have all read the stories about those who have won and have in some way destroyed their lives. Earthly riches never bring true happiness. Yet God says that we can have great gain! It is more than riches and wealth. We can have a close relationship with the One who created the Universe, the One who is life itself and who gives this life unto us, His creatures. And yet, this physical world is not all He wants to give us. He has more! And just as any engineer includes a set of instructions with the product he created, God gives us a manual for life - the Bible - wherein we may seek wisdom and true riches.
In this book of Proverbs, in Chapter 3, verse 5 and 6 says: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your path straight.”
It goes on from there with some beautiful instruction but let’s start with just these two verses. “Trust” comes from a Hebrew word that means “to be reliant, to trust, to hasten toward refuge.” And the word for “heart” literally means “the center of something.” To go a little further with this word, we can see that the organ that pumps blood is somewhat at the center of our bodies. But this word also includes the center of who we are. By definition in Hebrew, it includes our “motives, feelings, affections, desires principles and thoughts.” This is really a huge word. It encompasses the entirety of our personality.
This suggestion that we “trust the Lord with all our heart” looms large in our devotion to the Creator. At what point do we leave His understanding out of our lives? When do we not accept His instruction, or wisdom? Does he not know all things?
Does He not see all things? In Psalm 139:4 it says, “before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord.” If we desire to have a relationship with the Creator and Sustainer of all things and He tells us to “trust in Him with all that we are,” I believe we shall find this to be a good thing. Oh, and by the way, if you find this to be news to you, then let’s just call it “good news.”
This is a powerful statement, my friends and neighbors. Let me say that it takes guts and determination to put all of your trust in God. So what does the second part of this statement in Proverbs say? “In all your ways acknowledge Him ...” The words “all your ways,” is another way of saying “with all your heart.” Once we have put our trust in Him and asked for His advice and guidance, as we come out the other side of that situation, I do believe we must acknowledge His leading, and help.
Then what happens? The next part of this scripture states “and He will make your paths straight.” This word straight has the sense of being smooth, pleasant or prosperous.
Doesn’t it seem obvious that we would want our paths to be pleasant or prosperous? Why would we want it any other way? Our God desires good things for those who trust and acknowledge Him. And that, of course, is “good news.”
Poster found in a church in France (translated)
“When you enter this church it may be possible that you hear “the call of God.” However, it is unlikely that He will call you on your mobile. Thank you for turning off your phones. If you want to talk to God, enter, choose a quiet place and talk to Him. If you want to see Him, send Him a text while driving.
"While it looks like things are out of control, behind the scenes there is a God who hasn't surrendered His authority." - A. W. Tozer
The End of the Matter by Cynthia Saladin
The end of the growing season. The end of the harvest season. The end of the holy days for this year. The end of man’s calendar year.
Most of the leaves have fallen from the tree branches. The late root vegetables are done. The busy-ness of going to the Feast of Tabernacles and then getting caught up again is past. There is still plenty to do. There’s always plenty to do. But there’s a slower pace to the days. There’s more time spent sitting in front of the fire, more time spent on projects that were put away last spring when we really got busy. There’s more time to think, more time to reflect, more time to consider.
That’s good. One of the things which works against an ever-increasing intimacy with our Lord and Savior is the craziness, the busy-ness in which we engage ourselves. It’s very good to sit and think and contemplate. It is not a coincidence that God tells us to celebrate the Feast at the end of the harvest. It is not just happenstance that we’re told to remember to thank God for what He has done, lest we somehow think that we’ve accomplished these blessings by our own efforts (Deuteronomy 8:11-20). And God, in His great mercy to us, makes it easy! It is natural, when the work is done, to celebrate. It’s a natural extension to celebrate and praise and honor the One who has made these blessings possible, Who gave us the strength and wisdom to accomplish the goal, the One Who blessed us in the first place.
But is that it?
Do we just thank God and then merrily go about our business, pouring over seed catalogs for the next planting season and drawing up plans for the next project?
Oh, I hope not!
I hope that we spend some time thinking about what God has taught us during this past season. I hope that we think, not only about new ways to improve our physical lives, but also concrete ways to draw closer to the One who blessed us. I hope we prioritize and get rid of activities which are not profitable for the kingdom. I hope we have learned, really learned, something this year - enough to have made a significant difference in our relationship with God!
I think that’s what Solomon did. He sat down and contemplated his life, what he’d done, the choices he made, the lessons he learned. At the end of it all, the wisest man (outside of Jesus Christ) determined this: fear God and keep His commandments for this is the whole duty of man. Fear God. Reverence Him. Show Him respect and awe and unquestioning loyalty. And how do you do that? You do what He says. You obey Him. You keep His commandments. Those commandments are for your good. They help make life work smoothly. They are given to you by God for your benefit. And when you do what God says to do, you demonstrate your reverence and fear for Him.
So then, when you fear God and keep His commandments, you are doing your duty. . . . which makes you an unprofitable servant, according to Jesus (Luke 17:10). Fearing God and obeying Him is only what you’re supposed to do. Maybe we’d better spend some more time thinking about what it is that makes us profitable servants of our God.
"I didn't go to religion to make me 'happy.' I always knew a bottle of Port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don't recommend Christianity.”
-C. S. Lewis
Yes, There Is Good News (Part 9) by Bill Rollins
I was raised in a church organization that discouraged the lay people from reading the Bible. Having left that church some 46 years ago, I find it somewhat ironic that today I am striving to encourage people to pick up God’s word, read and study it, so as to be comforted, edified and instructed by these words of life.
From Genesis to Revelation there is an abundant joy and amazing wisdom to be found. Would you please pick up God’s word and read it? And as you commit yourself to do this, may I suggest that we look at one particular scripture together?
Zechariah 3:10 “In that day each of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and fig tree, declares the Lord Almighty.” Let me invite you, my neighbor, to sit under your vine and fig tree with me! For perhaps we are in “that day” today - that day of “invitation.”
“But I don’t have a vine or fig tree,” you say? Oh! Let us see if we can locate them for you.
This symbol of the vine and fig tree can be reckoned as an idiomatic expression. In other words, these things stand as a type of something else - something the Israelites would have recognized and understood right away. Let’s ponder the question, “What was of utmost importance to these people who lived several thousand years ago?”
The answer is simple - food and water! One only has to look at the Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years - what did they worry and grumble about? “Where will we get water to drink and food to eat?” (See Exodus 16: 1 - 3 and 17: 1-3). These people were not so concerned about cable TV or Internet reception back then. Physical life itself was bound up in their concern for food and water.
God promised Moses that He would rescue the Israelites from their bondage to the Egyptians and take them to “a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.” “Milk and honey was another expression to say that they would have an abundance or fertile land for the cattle and plenty of flowering fruit trees for the bees to make honey. Food was important.
Okay! So Let’s get back to the “vine and fig tree” of Zechariah. This expression is used to indicate what kind of life
the people would have under the rule of King Solomon. “During Solomon’s lifetime, Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba (i.e. from the northern border to the southern) lived in safety, each man under his own vine and fig tree.” Ah! So we have safety and everyone’s eating grapes and figs. Sounds like good news for the people under Solomon’s rule.
So, I began this article by stating that today “I strive to encourage people to pick up God’s word, read it and study it, so as to be comforted, edified and instructed by these words of life.” Why? I suppose this is one of those curious cases were the answer to the question is sort of stated within the question.
If you were the winner of some $100 million lottery, wouldn’t you want to share it at least with the ones you love? Well, I have something worth more than a paltry monetary figure and, of course, I would like to share it with those I love. The second great commandment is to “love your neighbor as yourself.” I find more than “comfort, edification and instruction” in these words of life in the Bible; I find joy and I find “the fear of the Lord.” You are my neighbor and I desire to share the fear of the Lord (which is a great treasure) with you. How do I do that?
Well, let’s piece some things together - Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Okay, so what does the Bible say about wisdom? Proverbs 8:11 says, “Wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.” So if I put 2 and 2 together, I find that this $100 million jackpot can’t compare with the wisdom I may obtain from fearing the Lord! And where do I find this wisdom? The scriptures are replete with wisdom. From one end to the other wisdom may be reaped.
Let us take a look at one chapter in the book of Proverbs - chapter eight. Here we find Solomon personifying the idea of wisdom. Would you please read this chapter? And while you are at it, please read chapter one. Chapter one gives us the whole reason for Solomon penning this book of wisdom.
I think that we are all intrigued with the idea of winning the lottery. What could we do with multiple millions of dollars? Yet we all know what the odds are of winning. And we have all read the stories about those who have won and have in some way destroyed their lives. Earthly riches never bring true happiness. Yet God says that we can have great gain! It is more than riches and wealth. We can have a close relationship with the One who created the Universe, the One who is life itself and who gives this life unto us, His creatures. And yet, this physical world is not all He wants to give us. He has more! And just as any engineer includes a set of instructions with the product he created, God gives us a manual for life - the Bible - wherein we may seek wisdom and true riches.
In this book of Proverbs, in Chapter 3, verse 5 and 6 says: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your path straight.”
It goes on from there with some beautiful instruction but let’s start with just these two verses. “Trust” comes from a Hebrew word that means “to be reliant, to trust, to hasten toward refuge.” And the word for “heart” literally means “the center of something.” To go a little further with this word, we can see that the organ that pumps blood is somewhat at the center of our bodies. But this word also includes the center of who we are. By definition in Hebrew, it includes our “motives, feelings, affections, desires principles and thoughts.” This is really a huge word. It encompasses the entirety of our personality.
This suggestion that we “trust the Lord with all our heart” looms large in our devotion to the Creator. At what point do we leave His understanding out of our lives? When do we not accept His instruction, or wisdom? Does he not know all things?
Does He not see all things? In Psalm 139:4 it says, “before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord.” If we desire to have a relationship with the Creator and Sustainer of all things and He tells us to “trust in Him with all that we are,” I believe we shall find this to be a good thing. Oh, and by the way, if you find this to be news to you, then let’s just call it “good news.”
This is a powerful statement, my friends and neighbors. Let me say that it takes guts and determination to put all of your trust in God. So what does the second part of this statement in Proverbs say? “In all your ways acknowledge Him ...” The words “all your ways,” is another way of saying “with all your heart.” Once we have put our trust in Him and asked for His advice and guidance, as we come out the other side of that situation, I do believe we must acknowledge His leading, and help.
Then what happens? The next part of this scripture states “and He will make your paths straight.” This word straight has the sense of being smooth, pleasant or prosperous.
Doesn’t it seem obvious that we would want our paths to be pleasant or prosperous? Why would we want it any other way? Our God desires good things for those who trust and acknowledge Him. And that, of course, is “good news.”
Poster found in a church in France (translated)
“When you enter this church it may be possible that you hear “the call of God.” However, it is unlikely that He will call you on your mobile. Thank you for turning off your phones. If you want to talk to God, enter, choose a quiet place and talk to Him. If you want to see Him, send Him a text while driving.
"While it looks like things are out of control, behind the scenes there is a God who hasn't surrendered His authority." - A. W. Tozer
