Walk Worthy of the Lord, Fully Pleasing to Him (Colossians 1:10)

Some of the Bible’s most intimidating phrases are: "worthy of God" and "worthy of the Lord" and "worthy of the gospel" and "worthy of the calling." Why do those phrases scare us?  In my opinion: it’s the unspoken pronoun “you” that causes our concern.  The bottom line is we don’t feel worthy.  By our actions we AREN’T worthy.  Yet, worthiness is an expectation God seems to have of us.

Deep down we realize that we are anything but worthy.  We might even feel hopeless, IF we don’t understand where our worthiness comes from.  Here’s how we often think: For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. …Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. (Romans 7:18-25)

See, our struggles are no surprise to God. He made us and loves us and desires to draw us to Himself.  My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:1-2)  This word, “propitiation,” carries the basic idea of appeasement, or satisfaction, specifically towards God. It’s the principle that Christ, by enduring the cross, satisfied God’s demands of justice for our sins.  

THIS is the only way our “walk” could EVER be considered “worthy.”  But you ARE worthy if you’ve appealed to God through the blood of Jesus and you are walking…you’re actively moving toward God…following Him.

-Darrell

Bringing Them In and Laying Them Before Jesus

“Jesus is here, and He is healing many!” People all over began to exclaim as word spread about the presence of the Lord.  For one group of friends, their thoughts quickly shifted to their paralyzed friend.  This was their chance to really help him.  But it would not be easy.  The crowd would be dense and desperate, but they might never have another chance like this.  So, one by one they began arriving at their friend’s home with hopeful looks and determination that they would finally see this good man made physically whole.

In their excitement, they each grabbed a corner of the man’s bed and lifted him, carrying him to the place where Jesus was.  As expected, the crowd was overwhelming.  There was no line, just a mob of people pressing against the door to the house.  The paralytic sighed, “I want to thank each of you for trying to help me.  I don’t want you to feel bad that it would be impossible to get me through this crowd.”  The friends’ eyes met above the man and a moment of silence is interrupted by their reassurance, “You will see Jesus tonight and you will be healed.”

They picked up some rope and tied it to the corners of the bed.  Some of the friends climbed up on the roof while others lifted the bed over their heads and handed it up.  Once they were all on top of the house, they began removing tiles and digging through until the hole was big enough to lower the bed and their friend down to the Son of God.  Jesus surprised them all when he showed that the man’s greatest need was not to walk, but to be forgiven.  Then, he looked at the man and said, “Rise, pick up your bed, and go home.”  Their excitement and gratitude spilled out of the home as everyone cheered and rejoiced.  He would no longer be known as the paralytic, but as the one who was forgiven and healed by Jesus himself. (see Luke 5:15ff.)

Is your mind shifting to a friend who needs to see Jesus?  If you believed that your friend’s greatest need could be satisfied by Christ, would you drop everything and do your best to carry her to Him.  Can Christ be seen in you?  Is your love for your friend and for the Lord evident in the importance you place on them?  Bring them in and lay them before Jesus!

--Darrell

Reconciliation

When I was a tweenager, my cousin, Brint, carried a poem around in his wallet.  I believe his was “Still Here,” by Langston Hughes.  Naturally, I decided I should find a poem of my own to carry around and before long, dad printed one in the church bulletin.  There was no profundity in my choice, but God has used that poem many times in my life to shake me awake to the reality of sin, peel me off the floor after I’ve been broken, and warm my heart when darkness loomed heavily.  I’ll leave the poem here for you and hope that it brings you closer to The Father:

“Reconciliation”  By: Owen Cosgrove

Sin cried out, "I'm sorry!" Grace answered, "I forgive."
Wrong said, "I deserve to die." Love said, "Repent and live."
Guilt said, "I am torn inside." Truth said, "Confess and be made free."
Life said, "I am heavy laden." The Lord, "Come to me."
The weary said, "Where can I go? With evil's burdens sore?"
God said, "My child, obey My word, and live forevermore."

-Darrell

God Cares

The Bible says, “Cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (I Peter 5:7).  This is such a warm thought, but it’s easier said than done, isn’t it?  Of course, when we can find it within ourselves to let go and trust in the Lord, it just brings all sorts of blessings.  We can be sure that He tends to our physical needs when we are seekers of His kingdom (Matthew 6:33).  We can be sure that He guards us in a spiritual sense when we are willing to obey Him and submit to His care (I Peter 5:7; Matthew 11:28-30).  And we can be certain that He will bring with Him to heaven those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).

You aren’t alone if you fret over the cares of this world.  How will the contents of my bank account get me through this month?  What if my health is failing?  You can count one these trials to come.  However, by “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith,” we should be able to keep from becoming consumed by these discouragements.  (Hebrews 12:2-3.)  Paul said our “light affliction,” which only lasts for a moment helps to build for us an exceeding and eternal weight of glory (II Corinthians 4:17).  Therefore, let us turn those worries into joy for the hope that is set before us.

Each day the devil tries to connive, scheme, and trick each of us into the dreary depths of sin.  The picture he paints is one of beauty and endless pleasure, but the reality that lies beneath is an ugly and gruesome sight.  At times temptations seem unbearable, but be sure that our God is faithful and will always leave for us a way of escape when overwhelming desires come knocking (I Corinthians 10:13).  In all our spiritual trials, there is one who is constant, unchanging, and who will always be there to protect us from the death Satan brings.  Look to our almighty God and Father when anxieties are highest.

Let's strive to live in such a way that when the end comes we will be able to say, “I did my best to obey God, and then I trusted in Him to do the rest.”  He most certainly will keep His promises.  Have faith and know that God cares about you.

----Darrell

Have you met Cornelius?

            In Acts the tenth chapter, we read a wonderful story about a man named Cornelius.  He was not a Christian yet, since the Gentiles had not received the gospel at that point.  But he was described as a centurion who was God-fearing, devout, upright, a generous giver, prayerful, and “well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation” (Acts 10: 1-2; 22).  Cornelius was a great example for his household, his community, the people of God, and even all people two thousand years later.  He was a man who lived the kind of life every Christian should live.  What can we learn from Cornelius?

            The story of Cornelius teaches us that there are great men and women in our world that are trying to obey God.  What if your neighbor is like Cornelius?  I’ve heard Christians talk about reasons why certain people “would not be responsive to the gospel even if they were taught.”  But even though the Bible teaches us that the way to heaven is difficult and there will be few who follow it (Matt 7:14), it also teaches that we are to spread the gospel to all people without partiality (Mark 16:15-16). 

            Cornelius’s story also shows that if there is a non-Christian’s prayer that God will answer, it is a genuine prayer of one who is trying to “feel their way toward [God]” (Acts 17:27) and who desires to obey Him as Lord (Acts 10:31).  God will not save a person based on prayer alone (For example, Saul of Tarsus prayed and fasted 3 days and nights and his sins were not yet forgiven – Acts 9:9,11; 22:16), but sincere prayers for help in finding the will of God will be heard.

            Finally, this story teaches us that water baptism is a command of God that must be obeyed.  Even though Cornelius’s case involved a special encounter with the Holy Spirit (like had only been seen one other time in Acts 2), Peter still commanded Cornelius and his household to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.  God expects the same reaction from people to day when they are ready to make Him Lord of their life.  A sad ending for a person like Cornelius would be that they look for Jesus, hear what he expects from them, but are unwilling to move on what He asks of them. How have you responded when God has answered your prayers?

----Darrell Powell 

On a Walk with God

 Picture a child following her parent.  She wants to follow, but her little legs sometimes must take 2-3 steps for her daddy’s one.  She wants to follow, but gets distracted and takes her eyes off him.  She strays off the path or stops.  She wants to follow, but gets tired and has to rest.  Now, her daddy knows all these things are likely to happen.  He’s seen it over and over because he has lots of children.  So, when she can’t keep up, he slows down.  When she rests, he waits for her to get up and start walking again.  When she gets distracted, he sometimes calls out to her to show her where he is and what direction she needs to go.  Keeping in step with her father takes constant effort for the little girl. But the thought of leaving her behind never crosses her daddy’s mind.  He will always be there.

Is it just a coincidence that God calls Himself our Father?  Surely He knows just how we would struggle when trying to walk with Him.  He asks us to walk in the light with Him (I John 1:7).  He tells us that we aren’t capable of successfully directing our own steps (Proverbs 3:5-6).  He wants us to have even more confidence in Him than a little child has in her daddy.  He tells us to have so much faith in Him that we walk by faith in Him, not by our own sight and understanding (II Corinthians 5:7).  So, when we think about keeping in step with God, it'll please him if we remember how deeply He wants us with Him.  His desire for us is much like a father’s desire to protect and sustain his child. 

The part for us to dwell on is that we, the children, have to keep wanting to be with God, the father.  When a child decides she knows better than Dad, sometimes she heads out on her own path and leaves her father behind.  Someone reading this is thinking, “I’ve left my heavenly Father behind.”  But He’s never far from any of us (Acts 17:26).  When you reach for Him, He will be there.  And, He will even slow down when you stumble.

----Darrell Powell

The Thickening Darkness

Darkness.  It was upon the face of the deep before God spoke the universe into existence (Genesis 1:2). Then God separated the light from the darkness (Genesis 1:4). Soon, darkness came to represent more than just the lack of physical light.  Darkness would now describe the lack of spiritual light and indicate a separation from God Who is the Light.  Samuel wrote: "For you are my lamp, O LORD, and my God lightens my darkness. (II Samuel 22:29) God's will is that we live in the light, in righteousness (I John 1:7). But at times, the thickening darkness can envelope our spirits and smother us as a heavy blanket.

            Solomon described people "who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness "(Proverbs 2:13).  Would anyone really choose darkness over light? Are there those who "call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!" (Isaiah 5:20)? But the truth is that each of us was once full of darkness.  We were living in the "domain of darkness." (Colossians 1:13)  But God has "called us out of darkness into His marvelous light" (I Peter 2:9).  

            You may feel encompassed by darkness. Dark thoughts or a dark past, but there is a light that overpowers the darkest of places.  Jesus Christ has "come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in [Him] may not remain in darkness." (John 12:46) The darkness in your life and the darkness that dwells in you can become bright like the sun by the power of the Son!  Jesus sent Paul to preach to the Gentiles (us) "to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.' (Acts 26:18)

            Now, "The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light (Romans 13:12).  The darkness of the world and of the devil, do not win! "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:57) It's time to stop being afraid of the dark and love and live in the Light!

----Darrell Powell