Call Upon the Lord

Oh give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name;

Make known His deeds among the peoples.

Sing to Him, sing praises to Him;

Speak of all His wonders.

Glory in His holy name;

Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad.

Seek the Lord and His strength;

Seek His face continually.

Remember His wonders which He has done….

Psalm 105:1-5

Do Good Anyway

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10

As Christians we do good works because we have this irresistible urge to make the world a better place for everyone.  We may be thanked and we may not; it really doesn’t matter.  We do what we do, because this is what God made us for. 

Mother Teresa said, “The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow.  Do good anyway.”

Serve Up The Gospel With The Fruit of the Spirit

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.  If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

Galatians 5:25

David L. Brooks wrote an article “Perceptions of religion collide with inner faith” (Toledo Blade. January 29, 2014. P. 9).  Mr. Brooks said that religious people often behave in ways that contrast with the faith they profess to possess and that is why they are often considered to be “judgmental, hypocritical, old fashioned, and out of touch.”  I think he is right to some extent.  We may seem too holy or too busy being martyred to be taken seriously.  Or, worse yet, we may take being right as being more important than being merciful. 

In any case, if we Christians want to shake things up regarding popular opinions of “religious people” then the way to do it is to be the best that Christianity has for us.  When we reek of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, we show the world the love of God and the love of Jesus and that is something that is hard to argue with and hard to resist.

We are called to take the Gospel to the world, and a good way to do that is to serve it up with the fruit of the Spirit.

Roundabouts

It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.

Psalm 118:8

The latest innovation in traffic control here in Ohio is the roundabout or traffic circle.  Until a few years ago, these were unknown in Ohio; then the Highway Department started building them and roundabouts became the darling of road construction. 

Roundabouts are easy to navigate, but many drivers are confounded by them.  They do not understand that all traffic flows to the right and that they must turn right to get onto the circle and turn right to get off the circle.  All the signs point to the right, but drivers still go the wrong way. 

Sometimes that’s what happens to us when we find ourselves in a new situation.  All the signs point us in the right direction, but we can’t decide what to do because we are over advised by friends and foes.  That’s when it is a good time to take a break and pray for guidance. 

When we look to God, He will point us in the right direction.

Doing The Right Thing

Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men.

For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. 

But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Titus 3:1-7

Sometimes the right thing is not what we want to do.  Maybe it is because it is not convenient or maybe it is because we are lazy or maybe it is because it will benefit someone we don’t particularly like.  It does not matter why we don’t want to do the right thing, what matters is that in spite of our personal feelings that we do the right thing.

We were not very likable, and yet, Jesus saved us, regenerated us, and renewed us.  This being said, is it too much to expect that we show consideration for all men and women by doing the right thing?

Not Exactly Who We Expected

John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sin.

And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem: and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.

John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist, and his diet was locusts and wild honey.

And he was preaching and saying, “After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals.

I baptize you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

Mark 1:4-9

God chooses who He chooses to be His messenger.  We can get so wrapped up in the image we want for our church or our Christianity that we miss what God is trying to tell us.

John the Baptist was outlandish in his appearance, but the words of his message were ordained by God and brought people to Christ. 

When it comes to the message of the Gospel, it is more important that it is delivered than who makes the delivery.  If someone’s appearance is not to our liking, perhaps we need to close our eyes and listen to what they have to say.  We might be surprised to find that the one who is not exactly who we expected has a message from God we need.