thepilgrim111
Member
- Feb 19, 2016
- 10
- 13
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I Was sitting out here (in my backyard) last evening talking to a friend while the ladies had one of their meetings in the house. A hen party is actually what it was (you ladies out their will have to excuse my tendency toward male chauvinism, but you must remember how brain washed my generation is). Anyhow, we were sitting out here having a conversation, when the sky clouded up and the thunder crashed (didn’t see the lightning though) and it brought to my mind the book of Job; a book that the wife and I are just now reading through in our daily readings.
My Savior, my God, what a mighty God He is. And then this morning I read a post by a friend on Facebook whose post was about the glory of God; how high He is, How much higher than all the mighty host of heaven, and all. It was from the writings of Alexander MacClaren; a writer not of our generation, but of another time. And in my estimation a time when there were far more men who were truly in awe of God in the pulpits of the churches, than there are today; (again you must forgive me for being old and set in my ways) They were men who did not think it a weakness on their part to wax poetic over their love and reverence for a mighty God.
If I had the talent of those men, I would do the same,
Sadly God has not gifted me with such a talent;
So my writing unfortunately, may seem rather inane,
But to be a poet, I Was not called, so I must relent.
As you can see from the things I write including my poetry, God did not make me really very good at anything. But then, I am very thankful to God that He does not use only the things that are great and powerful and gifted in the world’s gifts; but God uses the weak and beggarly elements, the things that don’t seem like so much in the world’s estimation, to accomplish His purposes. If you want to get an idea of who it is He uses, go back to the Bible and read The Sermon on the Mount. In the beginning of the sermon of Jesus that day you will see who it is He uses.
Matt 5:1-16 “When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven”. (NASB)
Those just described in these Scriptures are the ones the Lord uses for His purposes; these are the ones who are called, brought to Christ, never to be lost. The person who does not think to highly of him or herself, who does not desire their own good but the good of others and God; they desire the glory of God. These are the ones God uses. There are many who claim to be God’s children, who desire good of others and God; they desire the glory of God. These are the ones God uses. There are many that claim to be God’s servants who in truth are not. If you read their writings or listen to their words closely with a Bible close by (or better yet in hand) you can tell the difference between these two different types of people: Thera are some in God’s church who are called to lead God’s flock and unfortunately there are some are not.
Myself; I got ahead of myself; yes, and ahead of God. Once upon a time I thought I was qualified to lead a church. I learned quickly enough that I was not of the caliber required for such a position in Christ’s church. I discovered I was a 22 cal. when what is required is a 45 cal. God equips those He calls to a job, with the talent or the gift required to do the Job. And I was not equipped to be a pastor. What He has equipped me for, I finally found out, was to be way back in the background exhorting the people of the Church to get up off their pews and get to doing whatever it is God has equipped them to do. I seriously do not believe that pew sitting is a God given talent; I think it is probably just a natural born inclination we all have.
I’m sorry it seems I have gone off into one of my rants again. You know, get up, get out, and do something for God. Seems like I always end up doing that. Then again, why should I be sorry? It is what God has gifted me to do. Now I ask you the question; What is it God has gifted you to do. Just what is it you do well enough that God can use it in His great work; the salvation of Men’s souls. There is something in you, just as there is something in all of God’s other children there is something He has put there; He has certainly put the Holy Spirit within you; What other gift has He put within you? Find out. Get on your knees and pray to your Heavenly Father for an answer to your plea.
And never forget what Christians of past knew, they knew their position before a holy and righteous God; and so must we. We prostrate ourselves before a holy and righteous God. Would you ever presume to arrogantly approach an earthly potentate, king, queen or whatever and demand something? If you would you are a fool. Yet people will approach God in such a manner; as though they were on somewhat equal footing; as if God were just another friend or acquaintance. I see and hear this so much in the “name it and claim it” churches today. Sacrilege or blasphemy is what I call it. You cannot presume upon God; we plead our case and we wait upon Him; For He is a Just God. He is “high and holy and lifted up.”
Now go humbly to God and ask him how He will use you and He will show you. Just as He showed you the way to Christ and salvation; He will show you what to do now.
God bless, Lawrence saintsall.com
I Was sitting out here (in my backyard) last evening talking to a friend while the ladies had one of their meetings in the house. A hen party is actually what it was (you ladies out their will have to excuse my tendency toward male chauvinism, but you must remember how brain washed my generation is). Anyhow, we were sitting out here having a conversation, when the sky clouded up and the thunder crashed (didn’t see the lightning though) and it brought to my mind the book of Job; a book that the wife and I are just now reading through in our daily readings.
My Savior, my God, what a mighty God He is. And then this morning I read a post by a friend on Facebook whose post was about the glory of God; how high He is, How much higher than all the mighty host of heaven, and all. It was from the writings of Alexander MacClaren; a writer not of our generation, but of another time. And in my estimation a time when there were far more men who were truly in awe of God in the pulpits of the churches, than there are today; (again you must forgive me for being old and set in my ways) They were men who did not think it a weakness on their part to wax poetic over their love and reverence for a mighty God.
If I had the talent of those men, I would do the same,
Sadly God has not gifted me with such a talent;
So my writing unfortunately, may seem rather inane,
But to be a poet, I Was not called, so I must relent.
As you can see from the things I write including my poetry, God did not make me really very good at anything. But then, I am very thankful to God that He does not use only the things that are great and powerful and gifted in the world’s gifts; but God uses the weak and beggarly elements, the things that don’t seem like so much in the world’s estimation, to accomplish His purposes. If you want to get an idea of who it is He uses, go back to the Bible and read The Sermon on the Mount. In the beginning of the sermon of Jesus that day you will see who it is He uses.
Matt 5:1-16 “When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven”. (NASB)
Those just described in these Scriptures are the ones the Lord uses for His purposes; these are the ones who are called, brought to Christ, never to be lost. The person who does not think to highly of him or herself, who does not desire their own good but the good of others and God; they desire the glory of God. These are the ones God uses. There are many who claim to be God’s children, who desire good of others and God; they desire the glory of God. These are the ones God uses. There are many that claim to be God’s servants who in truth are not. If you read their writings or listen to their words closely with a Bible close by (or better yet in hand) you can tell the difference between these two different types of people: Thera are some in God’s church who are called to lead God’s flock and unfortunately there are some are not.
Myself; I got ahead of myself; yes, and ahead of God. Once upon a time I thought I was qualified to lead a church. I learned quickly enough that I was not of the caliber required for such a position in Christ’s church. I discovered I was a 22 cal. when what is required is a 45 cal. God equips those He calls to a job, with the talent or the gift required to do the Job. And I was not equipped to be a pastor. What He has equipped me for, I finally found out, was to be way back in the background exhorting the people of the Church to get up off their pews and get to doing whatever it is God has equipped them to do. I seriously do not believe that pew sitting is a God given talent; I think it is probably just a natural born inclination we all have.
I’m sorry it seems I have gone off into one of my rants again. You know, get up, get out, and do something for God. Seems like I always end up doing that. Then again, why should I be sorry? It is what God has gifted me to do. Now I ask you the question; What is it God has gifted you to do. Just what is it you do well enough that God can use it in His great work; the salvation of Men’s souls. There is something in you, just as there is something in all of God’s other children there is something He has put there; He has certainly put the Holy Spirit within you; What other gift has He put within you? Find out. Get on your knees and pray to your Heavenly Father for an answer to your plea.
And never forget what Christians of past knew, they knew their position before a holy and righteous God; and so must we. We prostrate ourselves before a holy and righteous God. Would you ever presume to arrogantly approach an earthly potentate, king, queen or whatever and demand something? If you would you are a fool. Yet people will approach God in such a manner; as though they were on somewhat equal footing; as if God were just another friend or acquaintance. I see and hear this so much in the “name it and claim it” churches today. Sacrilege or blasphemy is what I call it. You cannot presume upon God; we plead our case and we wait upon Him; For He is a Just God. He is “high and holy and lifted up.”
Now go humbly to God and ask him how He will use you and He will show you. Just as He showed you the way to Christ and salvation; He will show you what to do now.
God bless, Lawrence saintsall.com
