Sowing and Reaping

Saturday, October 08, 2011, 6:00 a.m. – The song, “When I’m With You,” was playing in my mind when I awoke this morning.

When I’m With You / An Original Work / April 22, 2011

When I’m with You, Lord, hear my cries.
Soon I’ll be with You, by Your side.
Harken to me; Lord, hear my plea
When I’m with You and You’re with me

Precious Savior, Lord, and my friend,
Life with You has no final end.
I’ll reign with You eternally
When I’m with You and You’re with me.

Father, God, my only desire.
Your word is in me like a fire.
I’ll sing Your praise all of my days
When I’m with You and You’re with me.

Song Lyrics @ Public Domain

Audio, song lyrics and sheet music at:
https://sites.google.com/site/psalmshymnssongs/home/songs/when-i-m-with-you

YouTube video of song at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYi_-8oW8TI

I read on the subject of giving from 2 Corinthians 8-9 (quoting 9:6-15):

Sowing Generously

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written:
“He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever.”

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

My Understanding: As I read chapter 8 on the subject of giving, it was very clear to me that this passage was covering the subject of financial giving. Yet, as I got into chapter 9, the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart on yet another aspect of this giving, and that is in the giving of our time, talents, spiritual gifts, resources, etc. to God and to his service.

In Matthew 25 we read the Parable of the Talents. Now, a talent was a unit of money, so this was speaking of money, yet it is to be applied far beyond just the giving of money, I believe, based upon the other parables in this chapter of Matthew’s gospel, and based upon the end results that accompanied the use of the talents given the servants. God first of all gave us his Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Savior and Lord. He gave us his salvation through Jesus’ shed blood on the cross for our sins and via his resurrection from the dead in conquering death, hell, Satan and sin. We are saved from our sins so that we no longer have to be controlled by sin any longer but we can live under the control of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We are free to walk in fellowship with Jesus and to obey him in all things.

He gave us the word of God, the Bible, and he gave us his gospel message to share with the world. He gave us his Holy Spirit within us as a deposit guaranteeing our eternal life in heaven with God. The presence of the Holy Spirit within us is God’s Spirit within us so that we are now God’s temple, Christ’s body, and the Holy of Holies now dwells within us. So, he has given us, his servants, personal relationships with God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – so that we can come daily into His presence, we can commune with him, and we can worship him in spirit and in truth. The Holy Spirit also is our guide, counselor, teacher, and encourager; he convicts of sin, etc. He gives us strength, power, understanding, etc., i.e. he gives us all we need within us to live, serve and to work for God in full obedience and love. And, he gives us spiritual gifts within us to be used for the edification and the building up of the body of Christ.

So, these servants in the Matthew parable were each given a measure of talents. Two of them multiplied their talents and the third buried his. To the ones who multiplied what they were given, they were given more and were also given God’s approval: “Well done, good and faithful servant!” Yet, to the one who buried his talent, even what he had was taken away from him. He was to be thrown out into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. This is speaking about our salvation and all the spiritual riches God has given us in Christ Jesus (as listed above). Salvation is given to us by God’s grace and we do nothing to earn it, yet God expects that we prove the genuineness of our relationships with him via repentance, obedience, bearing fruit and via good works. This is the way in which we give back to God in thanksgiving for all that he has given to us.

So, when Paul states here in 2 Corinthians that whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly and he who sows generously will reap generously, he is speaking of much more than just this service of financial giving. This has to do with the spiritual seed we have been given to be sown in our own hearts and for us to sow in other people’s lives, in order to reap a spiritual harvest in our own hearts and in the lives of others. So, this has to do with the gifts given to us of Jesus Christ, his salvation, his Word, the gospel, our personal relationships with Jesus Christ via God’s grace and our faith, the Holy Spirit within us, and all that the Holy Spirit does for us and all that he has given to us, including our spiritual gifts. These have been sown into our lives by God in order to produce a spiritual harvest in our own hearts. We are to share Jesus, his gospel, his word and the gifts within us with the world and with the body of Christ, the church, in order to reap a harvest in other’s lives.

This, as well, is our grace of giving that we are to do cheerfully and willingly. And, it is God who makes the seed grow and multiply in people’s hearts and lives. And, it is God who will enlarge the harvest of our righteousness. Our job is just to be faithful as servants of the Lord in sowing all we have been given so that God may increase our harvest of righteousness. As a result of our obedience, men will praise God and will give thanks to God for his “indescribable gift,” the gift of his Son, Jesus Christ.

The following song is a prayer, mostly, for the Holy Spirit of God to fill us, and to help us to follow Jesus Christ with our lives so that we are his obedient servants in sharing with others his kindness, his generous compassion, his word, the gospel, his love and whatever blessings and gifts the Lord has given to us from above to share with others. I pray this will be your prayer, too. It is my prayer for my life.

My Prayer / An Original Work / May 30, 2011

“Fill me with Your Spirit; help me to love others;
Let me know Your power; be an overcomer.
Show me how to follow Jesus Christ, my Savior;
Be His faithful servant to obey Him always.

“Lead me with Your presence; help me know the right way;
Teach me love and kindness, generous compassion.
Give me grace and courage to be Jesus’ witness,
Teaching His salvation to a world who needs Him.”

Won’t you come and follow Jesus Christ, your Savior?
He died so you’d be free of control of your sin;
Free to follow His ways in complete surrender;
Living sacrifices – let His grace transform you.

Song Lyrics @ Public Domain

Audio, song lyrics and sheet music:
https://sites.google.com/site/psalmshymnssongs/home/songs/my-prayer

Song on video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4hFxxfJ8DA

Loneliness and Longing

Friday, October 07, 2011, 6:16 a.m. – The song, “When You’re Lonely,” was playing in my mind when I awoke this morning. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read 2 Corinthians 7:2-16:

Paul’s Joy

Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have exploited no one. I do not say this to condemn you; I have said before that you have such a place in our hearts that we would live or die with you. I have great confidence in you; I take great pride in you. I am greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds.

For when we came into Macedonia, this body of ours had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn—conflicts on the outside, fears within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort you had given him. He told us about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me, so that my joy was greater than ever.

Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while— yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter. So even though I wrote to you, it was not on account of the one who did the wrong or of the injured party, but rather that before God you could see for yourselves how devoted to us you are. By all this we are encouraged.

In addition to our own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was, because his spirit has been refreshed by all of you. I had boasted to him about you, and you have not embarrassed me. But just as everything we said to you was true, so our boasting about you to Titus has proved to be true as well. And his affection for you is all the greater when he remembers that you were all obedient, receiving him with fear and trembling. I am glad I can have complete confidence in you.

My Understanding: The early church did not have the New Testament of the Bible as we now possess and have as our guide for Christian living. The Apostles were, thus, the New Testament to the church of that time, as their writings became what we now know as the New Testament of the Bible, God’s God-breathed words to us, his church. So, Paul’s words carried with them the authority of scripture and the authority of Almighty God. Yet, Paul was a man and thus he faced the same kinds of things that any of us might face. His words, i.e. the words of God, were not always well received by the people. And, he was not always readily accepted by the people any more than Jesus was when he walked this earth. Jesus had his enemies – his accusers, attackers, etc. – and Paul had opposition to his ministry, as well. And, just as Jesus warned his disciples to guard against the yeast of the Pharisee’s teachings, Paul faced the same concerns over his disciples, in that some of them were apparently giving credence to or, at the least, were giving consideration to some false accusations against Paul and against his character, and this “yeast” was working its way through the whole batch of dough (through the whole congregation).

So, Paul was writing the Corinthian church here to appeal to them to not let this accuser of Paul to lead them to the wrong conclusions and thus for them to exclude Paul as a true apostle of God. Evidently, Paul’s accuser was charging him with corruption and exploitation of the Corinthian church, so he refuted those charges. Yet, Paul was not saying this to condemn the Corinthian believers in Jesus. Instead, his goal was to reaffirm his love for them, his concern for them, and his great passion of heart for them as followers of Jesus Christ; and as his spiritual children in the Lord, with him as their spiritual father. And, he was asking for them to reaffirm their love for him, too.

And, then he let them know how he felt about them. He had great confidence in their relationship with the Lord Jesus and he was, as well, greatly encouraged by how they had grown in their spiritual understanding, which is why he was so concerned about them now that they not let this accuser of Paul lead them away, not just from devotion to Paul, but away from pure devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ as his followers. I believe he was concerned that these false accusations might lead the Corinthians to question Paul’s teaching, which was from the Lord, and thus to make them easy targets for being led into a false gospel. Paul’s concern for them went way beyond his personal relationship with them, but went always to the issue of their relationship with Jesus Christ and with their obedience to God’s truths and to his words.

Paul was distressed over this situation in the Corinthian church to where he was restless in his spirit over them and thus did not get much physical rest. He anguished in heart over this situation with the church so much that he was downcast (sad; depressed; disheartened) in his spirit. Yet, he recognized that it is God who comforts (encourages and strengthens) the downcast, and God chose to comfort him by the good report from Titus concerning the Corinthian church. Titus was comforted by what he saw in the church when he visited with them, and he told Paul about the Corinthian believers’ longing for Paul, and their deep sorrow over the situation and perhaps over how they (some of them) had initially responded to the false accusations. He also told Paul that the believers had passionate concern for Paul. And, this report from Titus concerning the church gave Paul much joy and comfort.

Paul had evidently written a very difficult letter previously to the church which had caused them much sorrow of heart. He was often accused of having “weighty” words. God used him as his mouthpiece to speak the words of God to the people, and sometimes those words were hard for the people to hear and they were very convicting, and perhaps not always well received. It can be a very lonely job to be God’s mouthpiece, as the prophets before Paul had experienced many times over. When a person speaks God’s words to the church and those words are hard words that bring with them convicting power, if the church is not receptive to hear them, the church may reject God’s messengers. They rejected the prophets. They rejected Jesus. So, Paul should not have been surprised that they would reject him, too. And, his concern was not so much over his personal rejection, though obviously that was present in his concerns, too, but that, in receiving the lies, they were rejecting the very words of God that God had for them to hear and to follow.

Paul was not without compassion, though. I think sometimes that when a person is given a gift of prophecy and that person, thus, is given hard messages from God for the church to hear, that people easily draw their own conclusions and assume the person giving the messages is without feeling or that the person just enjoys confrontation because it is in his or her personality to be a confrontive person. People might even see these kinds of messages as lacking in love and concern for the people when just the opposite is true. Paul hurt that he had to hurt the people. He felt their hurt. He did not enjoy this. Yet, he knew that this was necessary and that the ultimate goal of the pain had to be of greater worth than the pain of having to be the bearer or receiver of bad news. The ultimate goal, that was of greater value than the temporary pain his letter would cause, was that the people would be brought to repentance, and that was accomplished, so Paul was joyful over that.

Then, Paul went on to teach on this subject of sorrow and the kind of sorrow that leads to repentance. Sometimes people can be sorry that they got caught, or sorry that they caused pain because of the discomfort of the situation or because they suffered the rejection of the other party in some way and yet that sorrow is only an emotion and temporary and it does not lead to repentance and to the righteous response that God requires of us all. He told them that the kind of sorrow they had that leads to repentance leads to salvation and eternal life with God in heaven, but worldly (emotional only) sorrow leads to death because it does not produce change of heart and mind. It just feels badly about the situation and the discomfort of it all, but it does not produce change. So, we can be sorry we sinned, but if that sorrow does not lead to a changed life, then it is worldly sorrow, not godly sorrow.

Paul then encouraged the church by expressing to them the fruit that he saw from their godly sorrow and repentance. He saw earnestness in them to clear themselves in this matter. He saw indignation in them concerning the reality of the situation. Perhaps when they saw how easily they were being duped by this accuser of Paul into believing lies about him that they were angered over the lies and perhaps angered over their own wrong responses to the lies initially, i.e. concerning their gullibility. I believe that we have to come to the point to where we hate the sins in our lives if we are truly to repent (turn from sin). As long as we still love the sin and we still long for the sin in our lives we will have great difficulty truly turning from sin. When we truly and honestly are confronted with the ugliness of our sin and what it does to our lives, to the lives of those we love, and to our witness for Jesus Christ, we should be brought to the place of this kind of repentance spoken of here by Paul to where we are indignant about the sin and where we long to live obedient and godly lives free from the control of sin over our lives.

Loneliness

The Lord gave me the song this morning, “When You’re Lonely.” We get lonely when we feel abandoned (physically and/or emotionally) and rejected by those we love and/or by those who should love us; when things in this life don’t turn out like we think they ought to; when we lose those we love to death or through divorce; or due to sin in our lives that separates us from pure devotion to and fellowship with God and others. Paul felt lonely and abandoned by those he loved and by those to whom he gave his heart and service of love in the Lord. He was deeply concerned over the real possibility of them permanently rejecting him and his ministry in the Lord. Yet, I do believe his greater concern was how this might translate into their rejection of God’s words to them and how it might lead them away from pure devotion to Jesus Christ. And, perhaps the people in Corinth also felt loneliness when they considered the lies of Paul’s accuser – considering that the accusations against Paul might be true. And, perhaps they were feeling betrayed by Paul and were questioning their own belief system and their own trust of Paul and his words and his motives. All of these types of situations, and others, and these kinds of responses to circumstances can lead to loneliness.

Paul, when in this state of loneliness and longing for some kind of assurance of love knew that it was God who comforts the downcast. God chose to send an encourager to Paul and he chose to have him bring good news and to alleviate Paul’s fears, yet that won’t always happen. Sometimes what we fear is really true and we get no words of comfort or encouragement that what we feel inside to be true is not true, and, in fact, we may receive much confirmation that what we fear is very much a reality.

Jesus received no encouragement that what he knew must take place would not have to take place after all. His friends and companions all abandoned him when he was arrested and very few came to his support when they hung him on the cross for our sins. And, even the Father had to look away from him when the sins of the whole world were put upon him so that he could crucify our sins with him and could then triumph over our sins via his resurrection to life. Yet, this had to take place so that we could be free from our sins.

So, if we are going through a time in which we feel lonely and abandoned, emotionally or physically, we must know, too, that it is God who comforts the downcast, and we must also know that he will not always comfort us with news that what we are concerned over is not true, though he may choose to send us encouragers, too, to alleviate our concerns. He may not bring the dead back to life, for instance, and the reality that we are alone may not change. Yet, God is still very much the God of compassion and the God of all comfort and he will comfort us in our times of loneliness with the comfort he knows we need.

Sometimes he comforts us with a rod and a staff (see Psalm 23) and other times he comforts us with emotional and spiritual hugs and with words of much encouragement. He can fill us with his peace within us even when we are facing conflicts on the outside and fears within. The main way in which he comforts us, I believe, is with his presence and with the knowledge that he has us in his care and that nothing in our lives escapes his notice, and he is very much in control. He allows us to go through whatever we go through to teach, train, strengthen, purify and to make us holy. So, when we yield to his sovereign will in our lives and we allow him to fill the voids and emptiness in our hearts, he will bring much peace and joy even in the direst of circumstances. We just have to call upon him to meet our needs and to fill our holes in our hearts and to not turn to sin or to wrong relationships to falsely meet those needs, and then he will give us all we need.

When You’re Lonely / An Original Work / May 14, 2011

When you are lonely, needing a friend,
His love will comfort you; give peace within;
Providing His grace; keep you from sin;
Jesus, our Savior, Master and friend.

If you will call Him to meet your need,
He will be there to bring understanding;
Offering His love and compassion,
As we seek Jesus, turning from sin.

He wants your whole heart and devotion
Committed to Him in full obedience.
Give Him your whole life, a sacrifice,
Forsaking the world; live to please God.

Song Lyrics @ Public Domain

Audio, song lyrics and sheet music:
https://sites.google.com/site/psalmshymnssongs/home/songs/when-you-re-lonely

Song on video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I14HqhVDKLo

Fit for Service

Fit for Service / An Original Work / October 5, 2011

Holy Spirit, come within us.
Cleanse our hearts,
and from sin free us.
Make us holy vessels fit
for service to the King.
Fill us with Your love and power.
Anoint us within this hour
To be living witnesses
For Jesus Christ, our King.
Our praise to Him bring.

Father God, our heart’s desire,
Come and speak to us in power.
Revive our hearts to obey You;
Live for You always.
May we love and serve You only,
Walking with You;
Not a phony.
May we always tell the truth,
And show integrity.
Your true servants be.

Jesus, Savior, sanctify us.
Purify our hearts within us;
Be transformed into Your likeness,
Holy unto You.
May we always listen to You
Speaking Your words
Now within us.
May we heed Your counsel to us;
Follow You today.
Do all that You say.

Song Lyrics @ Public Domain

Audio, song lyrics and sheet music at

Song on video

Characteristics of a Servant

Thursday, October 06, 2011, 6:56 a.m. – The song, “Your Servant,” was playing in my mind when I awoke this morning, and throughout the day. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read 2 Corinthians 5-6:13 (quoting selected verses):

The Ministry of Reconciliation

Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says,

“In the time of my favor I heard you,
and in the day of salvation I helped you.”

I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.

Paul’s Hardships

We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians, and opened wide our hearts to you. We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us. As a fair exchange—I speak as to my children—open wide your hearts also.

My Understanding: Paul began this section of his letter to the Corinthian church by speaking on the subject of our earthly dwelling versus our heavenly dwelling. He said that while we are in these earthly bodies we groan for our heavenly bodies. And, we have the hope, as believers in Jesus Christ, that one day we will be in those heavenly bodies when we die or when Jesus Christ returns for his bride, the church. The Holy Spirit was given to us by God the Father as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Thus, we live by faith, not by sight, Paul said. And, while we are in these earthly bodies, he said that we make it our goal to please God, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. So, when I read this, the first thing that stood out to me about being the Lord’s servant is that we make it our goal to please him, which means we need to find out what pleases or displeases him, and we need to then do what we know pleases him, and avoid what displeases him.

The second characteristic of a servant of the Lord that stood out to me in this passage is that a servant of the Lord fears the Lord and tries to persuade men to also fear the Lord. This is not speaking of fear as in being afraid of God, but it is speaking of awe, respect, honor, submission, worship, obedience and reverence of God, in humility before him. When we truly come to know who God is and we experience him in all his fullness and majesty within our lives and our hearts and we grow to love and adore him, we can’t help but want to tell others about him, too, so that they may also know him and fear him with this kind of awe, honor and respect accompanied by love, affection and fellowship with our Lord Jesus. Christ’s love for us in dying for us on the cross for our sins and being raised victoriously from the grave in conquering death, hell, Satan and sin compels and inspires us to want to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with others so that they will come to know him, too, no longer living to please themselves, but to live for him who gave himself up for them/us.

The third characteristic I saw here of a servant of the Lord is that he or she is an ambassador for Jesus Christ, as though God were making his appeal through us. When Jesus Christ left this earth, he sent his Holy Spirit to dwell and to work in and through the lives of the followers of Jesus Christ. Jesus told his disciples that they would be witnesses throughout the earth when the Holy Spirit came upon them. And, he commissioned them before he left this earth to go and to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to observe (or obey) all that the Lord commanded us. So, in essence, we are now not only carrying within us Jesus Christ in the form of the Holy Spirit so that God’s temple dwells within us, but we are the body of Christ and are thus commissioned to carry on in the Spirit’s power the work that Jesus began when he was on the earth. So, when we speak to folks about faith in Jesus Christ and we share with them the gospel and we tell them of their need to repent of sin and to turn to God in faith and obedience to Jesus Christ, we are serving as God’s messengers, as though he were speaking through us and as though he were making his appeal to the people of this world to forsake sin and to turn to Christ.

The fourth characteristic I saw of a servant of the Lord, and this takes us into chapter 6, is that a servant of the Lord puts no “stumbling block” in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. Basically, this means that we daily go before the Lord and we ask him to search our hearts and to reveal within us any unconfessed sin, any wrong attitudes, and words we misspoke, etc. so that we can repent, make things right where necessary, and we can have our hearts cleansed and purified, made ready for the Lord to speak to us and through us. We cannot afford to have even a hint of anything impure in our lives or a hint of loss of integrity, etc. If God points out something in our lives, we need to make it right with God so that our ministry is not discredited because our actions do not match our words. We need to be willing to go through whatever the Lord decides to take us through and to come through it with our faith tested, tried and proved genuine. We, basically, need the grace of God and the working and power of the Holy Spirit within us to give us what we need, so we have correct responses to our circumstances; and so that our witness for him is not harmed.

Lastly, the characteristic I noted of a servant of the Lord is not only endurance through suffering, mistreatment, false accusations, etc., but a servant of the Lord loves others even when love is not returned. Paul said that they opened their hearts wide to the Corinthian church and that the apostles were not withholding their love from the Corinthian church, but that the church was withholding their love from the apostles. So, Paul was encouraging them to open wide their hearts, too, and to receive Paul and the other apostles as servants of the Lord and as ministers of the new covenant and as ambassadors for Jesus Christ. There is much rejection of the Lord’s servants going on within the church today as we live in a culture that excludes and rejects people by the world’s standards, even in the church. How very sad this is that many of the Lord’s servants today are still experiencing what Paul and his fellow workers experienced at the onset of the church. Yet, even when rejected, we must love in return and must open wide our hearts to others, even if it hurts.

In Summary

A servant of the Lord:

• Makes it his or her goal to please God
• Fears God and tries to persuade men and women to fear God
• Is an ambassador for Jesus Christ – Christ making his appeal through him or her
• Puts no stumbling block in anyone’s path so that his or her ministry is not discredited
• Loves others and opens wide his or her heart to others even when love is not returned

This is a servant prayer the Lord Jesus gave me in song, asking the Lord to help me to be his obedient and loving servant. I pray this would be your heart’s prayer, too:

Your Servant / An Original Work / September 21, 2011

Lord, I love to have You near me
As I go throughout my day,
Walking daily in Your footsteps,
As I humbly pray.
List’ning to You, hear You teaching
Me to live and work for You,
Lord, I pray You lead and guide me
Daily in Your truth.

Lord, I want to be Your witness,
Telling others of Your grace;
Telling how they can be set free
Of their sins today;
Share with them the love of Jesus,
He died on a cruel tree,
So that we’d be forgiven
For all eternity.

Lord, I want to serve You only,
As I bow on bended knee,
Making You my Lord and master,
And Your servant be.
Humbly walking in obedience,
Doing what You say to me,
Lord, may I be an example
Of one who’s set free.

Song lyrics @ Public Domain

Audio, song lyrics and sheet music:
https://sites.google.com/site/psalmshymnssongs2/home/songs/your-servant

Song on video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=io7ncxAL15Q

Cheating the System

Wednesday, October 05, 2011, 5:45 a.m. – The song, “Family of God,” was playing in my mind when I awoke this morning.

Family of God / William J. Gaither

I'm so glad I'm a part of the Family of God,
I've been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His Blood!
Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod,
For I'm part of the family,
The Family of God

Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read 2 Corinthians 4:

Treasures in Jars of Clay

Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

I also woke this morning from A DREAM: Everyone was given an assigned number to wear. My number was #35 or it contained the number 35. I had to gain weight until I got up to that number, which meant I would have to eat constantly, or continuously, until I got very huge, the thought of which was not very appealing to me. One of my concerns was that I would throw up, because I am not a big eater, and I have space limits in my body for food intake. Another concern was that I would become unattractive to someone who sat to my left. I pictured in my mind that I would have elephant-like legs.

Anyway, there were people who were adding what appeared to be miniature tables (round ones) to my back. The tables were yellow or gold in color. Somehow these were adding the needed weight to my body, yet I felt as though this was somehow cheating the system. I was concerned that I would get caught cheating or that they would realize that I had not really gained the required weight. END

My Understanding: I read several news stories, which I will reference below. The Lord used this dream, I believe, to reveal to me, his servant, what is really going on behind the scenes in these stories and also for the purpose of exposing the lies in these news stories. So, I will share with you the understanding of this dream, in relation to these news stories, the songs and the scripture, which I believe the Lord has given to me, his servant, today.

All through this reading of these news stories I kept wondering what was meant by the number “35.” It was not until the end of the last story that I learned its significance. The number 35 represents prisoners or people in general throughout the world considered by our government in the USA (in cooperation with the N.W.O.) to be “terrorists” who would inevitably face war crime charges against them. I believe, as well, that my body represents the USA and/or the church in the USA, and it is the church throughout the world that is being targeted as “terrorists” for imprisonment and for extinction. Having an assigned number to wear brought to mind Hitler’s regime where certain people groups were targeted for capture and extinction. This is coming to America, too, and I believe it is soon.

I was being forced to gain weight via consumption of food on a continuous basis. What I learned concerning this weight gain is that it has to do with the US/NATO/N.W.O. Alliance in Iraq and Afghanistan and throughout the world. The weight gain being forced upon me, which required continuous eating, is represented in these increasingly shameless attacks against innocent civilians as well as against NATO troops, in widespread and increased government corruption (worldwide), in war crimes committed by US/NATO/N.W.O. leaders and troops, in confiscating nations’ natural resources and lands, in the spread of insurgency at the hands of the US/NATO/N.W.O. Alliance, in human lives continuously being put in danger, in the alarming increase in the number of violent attacks against civilians and troops, and the increase of deaths of civilians and troops (6,200 US troops killed); in widespread fraud at the hands of the Alliance, and in our government’s HUGE budget deficit.

I was concerned about this assignment of the number, the forced weight gain, the constant eating (consuming; devouring of life) that would be required to gain the weight, and the cheating of the system to get to that required weight gain. I saw that this concern was equal to the length of time in these wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and to the loss of human life; to concern over government corruption, particularly in the US Government, and these increased attacks on civilians and soldiers alike; concern over the unprecedented pressure on the “enemies” of the N.W.O. who are against what they/we are doing worldwide; our government’s HUGE budget deficit and Obama’s jobs bill; concerns over detainee provisions and civil liberties being violated; concern over turning our military into judge, jury, and jail for “terrorist” suspects, i.e. for you and me; and concern over these “supplemental” police forces being added on (the tables), which partners local and federal police together with the military into secretive SS (Hitler’s) squads operating throughout the world and within the US, too. I was also concerned about “throwing up,” i.e. concern about a state of despair.

There were people who were adding tables (gold colored and round) to my back as a supplement to my eating and as a means of cheating the system. I believe this is represented primarily in the takeover of the world by the N.W.O. and in these private police (equal to Hitler’s SS) military units being placed throughout the world behind the backs of the people of these nations, in particular behind the backs of the people in the USA and behind the back of the church in the USA, which falls under the authority (the mouth and head doing all the eating) of the US government. This is also represented in these “thugs” on every street corner around the world and in every nation; in more regions throughout the world and the US coming under “Taliban,” i.e. N.W.O. control; in the N.W.O. (the Alliance) secretly arming once again (a reprise of Hitler’s regime, only worldwide); in the cheating of the system (our present form of government and laws); and in all money (the gold color of the tables) going into the hands of military leaders and government bureaucrats (this secret police and government taking place and control), i.e. our taxes are paying for this.

This adding of these round, gold-colored, tables to my back as a supplement to my eating is also represented in public support of the war, i.e. when we support our government and troops, we are supporting the takeover of the world by the “beast” and we are supporting the killing of innocents and the killing of believers in Jesus Christ. We, the American public, have little understanding of the problems that these wars have created, i.e. most Americans have no knowledge of what is really going on behind the scenes and what they are really supporting when they pledge allegiance to the USA flag and our government system and when they support our US troops and what we are doing in these wars. We, as Americans, are generally blinded to what all our government and troops are involved in with this takeover of the world, including inside the USA, but soon all will be in place and it will become a stark reality, and there will be much despair when the truth comes out.

The subtle party unity spoken of in the article about Obama’s bill has to do with my body with these tables on and behind my back. These tables also represent a balanced way to guarantee everyone contributes their reasonable part, spoken about in this article, which includes this being done in secret, behind the backs of the American public and is supported through lies, deception, government corruption and the cheating of the system in order for the N.W.O. to take a firm hold in the USA. And, many of our leaders in Congress are behind this and are supporting this takeover of the USA by the N.W.O. and by force.

To The Word

Paul is speaking here, in 2 Corinthians 4, concerning the ministry of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is through God’s mercy that we, God’s true servants, have this ministry of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world. We, as the Lord’s servants, do not or should not use deception, nor do we or should we distort the word of God. Rather, we have renounced or should renounce secret and shameful ways. We should set forth the truth plainly and in so doing, we should commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. We should not preach ourselves, i.e. we should not glorify our own selves but rather we should give all the glory, honor and praise to God, and we should do the work of servants of the Lord, i.e. we are merely the vessels through whom God does his work.

We must always have an honest picture of our own selves, i.e. that God has placed this ministry of sharing the gospel within clay vessels, i.e. we are human beings who are subject to failure and human weakness. God places his ministry within us to show that the power of the gospel to change human lives does not come from us and from our human wisdom and understanding, but it comes from God. I believe that is why God often gives believers tasks and spiritual gifts that are different and perhaps even opposite of their natural abilities, in order to show that the power of the gospel comes from God and not from us.

There will be people who will accept the message of the gospel, yet there will also be many who will reject the gospel message. Satan has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. They do not understand the truth of the gospel message because they have been blinded and thus they are perishing in their sins. And, there will be among these unbelievers those whom Satan will use as his instruments to come against the Lord’s servants to persecute, to pressure, to crush, to try to bring to despair, to strike down (kill) and to try to destroy God’s true church made up of his true servants who have not abandoned Christ or his gospel.

Yet, we are to be encouraged, and we are not to lose heart when these things take place, and they will take place because the Bible says they will. We are God’s children and thus Satan has no real power over us nor do his followers. They may be able to kill us in body, but they cannot destroy our souls or separate us from God’s love. We, as followers of Jesus Christ and we, as his servants, will always carry around with us, in our body, the death of Christ, which is what this dream is about, i.e. the persecution and killing of Christ’s followers, especially those who are sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, which stands as a direct affront and threat to Satan and to his kingdom here on this earth.

Yet, God allows this to take place just like he allowed his only Son to die on the cross, because when we are persecuted for our faith in Jesus Christ, the life of Christ is ever more revealed in our lives by how we respond to those persecutions. We have the hope of eternal life, so we should never despair even in the direst of circumstances. Though outwardly we may waste away, yet inwardly we can be renewed day by day via the Holy Spirit’s grace at work within us. Although Paul and his fellow servants went through great suffering for their faith and their witness for Jesus Christ, he described his present suffering as “light and momentary troubles” that were achieving for them an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So, this weight gain in this dream also represents these troubles that many are facing now and that we, in America, will soon be facing, too. Yet, we are always to keep the perspective of eternity and to realize that what we have awaiting us on the other side far outweighs the troubles we will go through in this life.

So, we fix our eyes not on what is seen, i.e. the troubles we will encounter in this life, but we fix our eyes on Jesus and on eternity. What we will face in this life, no matter how difficult, is temporary, but what we have awaiting us with Jesus in heaven is eternal, so we should never, ever give up to the enemy of our souls in despair, but we should remain strong in the Lord Jesus Christ and in his power within us to conquer our foe and to be victorious even in the greatest suffering we will ever experience in our lives.

Jesus, Rescue Me / An Original Work / September 18, 2011

Based off of Romans 7:7-8:39

Jesus, rescue me today.
Listen while I bow and pray.
I need Your help to obey You;
Live for You always.
Meet me in my hour of need, Lord,
As I pray to You.
Help me walk in fellowship, Lord,
Living in Your truth.
Jesus, how I long for You to
Change my heart anew.

Father, God, my heart’s desire
Is to live for You this hour
In Your Holy Spirit’s power
Living in me now.
Teach me to walk in Your love, Lord,
Guiding me each day.
Help me to show love and kindness
To the lost, I pray.
Father, teach me to love others
As You love always.

Holy Spirit come in pow’r.
Revive our hearts in this hour.
Change our hearts to be like You, Lord;
Live for You each day.
Help us to forsake our sins, Lord,
As we humbly pray.
Teach us how to live for You, Lord,
Obey You always.
Holy Spirit come in power,
Revive us today.

Song Lyrics @ Public Domain

Audio, song lyrics and sheet music

Song on video


Resources/New Stories:

10 years on and life grim for Afghans
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_AFGHAN_WAR_10_YEARS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-10-05-03-59-06

Poll: 1 in 3 vets sees Iraq, Afghan wars as wastes
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MILITARY_POLL?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-10-05-03-45-09

Senate Democrats rewrite Obama's jobs bill taxes
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBAMA_JOBS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-10-05-14-49-39

APNewsBreak: Hundreds of Nazi probes reopened
http://news.yahoo.com/apnewsbreak-hundreds-nazi-probes-reopened-061508463.html

Obama, Congress divided over terror suspects
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CONGRESS_TERROR_SUSPECTS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-10-05-03-17-37

Grief in Trials

Tuesday, October 04, 2011, 8:11 a.m. – The song, “He Giveth More Grace,” was playing in my mind when I awoke this morning. Speak, Lord, your words of comfort and encouragement to my heart this morning. Strengthen me within to be your servant in speaking your words with boldness, yet in love. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

He Giveth More Grace / Annie J. Flint

He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase;
To added affliction He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.

His love has no limit, His grace has no measure,
His power has no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.

I read 2 Corinthians 1:1-11 for my quiet time with the Lord this morning:

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The God of All Comfort

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

My Understanding: In this life we will face many hardships, testings of our faith, trials, tribulations, temptations, sadness, difficulties, and relationship problems, etc. The book of James, in the New Testament of the Holy Bible, chapter 1, states that we should consider it all joy whenever we face trials of many kinds, because the testing of our faith develops perseverance. “Perseverance must finish its work” in us so that we may “be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” The book of Romans, chapter 5, states something similar when it says that we should rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that “suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” And, in the book of 1 Peter, chapter 1, we learn this principle: “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

So, based on these passages, when we face difficulties in this life, we should remember to:

• Rejoice! Consider the difficulties all joy; greatly rejoice!
• Understand the purpose of our trials – to develop within us godly character
• Persevere in the trial and allow God to do his work of transformation in our hearts

Then, in 2 Corinthians 1, we learn even more of why we face difficulties and trials and how we are to respond to these times of testing in our lives. The first thing we learn is that God the Father is the God of all compassion and comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles. So, when we are going through hardships of any kind, first of all we should turn to our Lord and allow him to bring comfort to our hearts. Yet, we must understand that, at times, his comfort may bring with it some difficult words for us to hear or even extended difficulties, because he knows what we really need. Just like a shepherd uses a rod and a staff with his sheep to protect, to prod straying sheep, to encourage the sheep back into the fold, to correct and to guide them (see Psalm 23), Jesus is our shepherd who will also use a rod and a staff to comfort us, though we may not recognize it as his comfort at the time he inflicts the pain upon us. Yet, this is often the way in which he chooses to bring comfort. Yet, he also carries us, takes us in his arms, and he gives us many, many words and messages of affection, love, care and concern for us, too, for which I am most thankful.

Another reason we go through hardships and difficulties in this life, is so that we can be compassionate with those going through similar sufferings and we can bring to them much needed words of comfort, as God has often comforted us in our times of need. God comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort those in trouble with the comfort we ourselves received from God. If this is true in all respects of how Jesus, as our Good Shepherd, comforts us with his rod and his staff, then we must realize that the way in which we are to comfort others is not always with a hug or a pat on the back, but the ways in which we are to comfort others are the same ways in which God comforts us, his sheep, and that sometimes that might involve a prodding, a strong encouragement, and/or a word of correction, though hopefully the Lord presents us with many opportunities to give hugs and words that bring the kind of comfort that we normally think of when we use that term, too.

Lastly, we learn that the reason we go through such times of suffering is that we are sharing in the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings, becoming like him in his death (see Philippians 3:10). Paul said that all their sufferings were not only so that they could be compassionate and could comfort others with the comfort they received from God, but that they might not rely on themselves but on God. When things are going well in our lives, it is easy to become complacent about our relationship with the Lord, to become self-sufficient, and to become lazy about our spiritual walk and witness for the Lord. So, sometimes God allows us to go through difficult circumstances in our lives to humble us, to remind us of who God is and what he did for us in dying on the cross for our sins, and to get us to place our dependency in him for all things in our lives instead of relying upon our own resources. Yet, in all this suffering, God is with those who are his, and he will deliver us, not necessarily from the circumstances themselves, but he will provide a way out from under the weight of the suffering when we place our complete trust in him.

In Summary

We will face difficulties in this life. That is a given! We should consider it all joy, and we should rejoice when we go through various trials. We should search out the scriptures to learn God’s purposes always in the adverse situations in our lives, and we should yield to God’s divine will for our lives and should be willing to have him teach us what he wants us to learn through the troubles we face. We ought to persevere and not give up on our faith or yield to the circumstances themselves, but we ought to find out what the Lord’s will is for us in our struggles, and then we ought to allow God to change us and to transform our hearts through what we are experiencing. We should accept God’s comfort, which frequently will bring with it his rod and his staff to strongly encourage us, to prod us back into the fold, to correct wrong thinking or behavior, and to lead and guide us in the way he wants us to go. And, then, when we have gone through the circumstances, we have accepted God’s rod and staff to comfort us through them, and we have learned what we needed to learn, we can then comfort others in the same way God comforted us in all our troubles.

The following is a song the Lord gave me last month. It is a prayer to him that I prayed back to him when I was going through a difficult trial, which was testing my faith. As soon as I sat down to write out my understanding of this passage of scripture, the Lord placed this song in my mind and heart again. I pray he will use this song to encourage your hearts with the same comfort I received from him through it when I was struggling to know and to understand his will, and to know best how to obey his will for my life in a given situation.

When in The Stillness / An Original Work / September 26, 2011

When in the stillness
Of this moment,
Speak to me, Lord,
I humbly pray.
Be my desire,
Set me on fire,
Teach me to love always.
Help me to walk in
Fellowship with You,
Listening to You;
Sit at Your feet.
Whisper Your words to me,
Oh, how gently,
Guiding me in Your truth.

While we are waiting
For Your blessing,
Lord, in our hearts
Be King today.
Help us to live for
You ev’ry moment,
List’ning to what You say.
May we not stray from
Your word within us,
Help us obey You,
Lord, in all things,
Walking each moment,
Lord, in Your presence,
Our off’rings to You bring.

Help us to love You,
Lord, our master;
Be an example
Of Your love,
Helping the hurting,
Lift up the fallen,
Showing them Your great love.
Teach them to love You,
Follow You always,
Bearing their cross and
Turning from sin;
Walking in daily
Fellowship with You,
Making You Lord and King.

Song lyrics @ Public Domain

Audio, song lyrics and sheet music at:
https://sites.google.com/site/psalmshymnssongs2/home/songs/when-in-the-stillness

Song on video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKHKzBTMigw

The Way of Love II

Saturday, October 01, 2011, 7:47 a.m. – The song, “When in The Stillness,” was playing in my mind when I awoke this morning. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read 1 Corinthians 14. As I was prayerfully reading through this passage of scripture I recalled that the Lord had given me a devotional on this subject just recently, so this is a repost:

The Way of Love

Friday, March 04, 2011, 7:20 a.m. – When I awoke this morning, the song, “Because of Who You Are” was playing in my mind again. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read I Corinthians 14:1-25 for my quiet time with the Lord this morning.

Gifts of Prophecy and Tongues
1 Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. 2 For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit. 3 But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. 4 He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. 5 I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified.

6 Now, brothers, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction? 7 Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the flute or harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes? 8 Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? 9 So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. 10 Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. 11 If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and he is a foreigner to me. 12 So it is with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church.

13 For this reason anyone who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret what he says. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15 So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind. 16 If you are praising God with your spirit, how can one who finds himself among those who do not understand say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying? 17 You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified.

18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19 But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.

20 Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults. 21 In the Law it is written:

“Through men of strange tongues
and through the lips of foreigners
I will speak to this people,
but even then they will not listen to me,”
says the Lord.

22 Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers. 23 So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? 24 But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, 25 and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”

My Understanding: This passage begins by saying, “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.” The first thing mentioned here is that we need to “follow the way of love.” I Corinthians 13 teaches us that if we speak in tongues or we prophesy, et al, but we don’t have love, that we are nothing; we are like a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal, i.e. it is just a bunch of noise. Then, it says that love is patient, kind, not self-seeking, and does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth, etc. So, for us to exercise the gifts God has given to us, the prerequisite is that we follow the way of love laid out for us in this passage in I Corinthians 13 and in the rest of the Bible.

Then, the passage says that we should eagerly desire spiritual gifts. To desire something is to want, yearn, and long for it, to make it a personal ambition, goal and/or objective, to hope for it, and/or to request or to ask for it. We learned in I Co. 12 that “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.” So, even though we are to desire spiritual gifts, it is the Holy Spirit of God who gives the gifts to each one of us just as he determines. We cannot determine which gifts we will ultimately receive, yet we are encouraged to desire them, especially the gift of prophecy.

From this passage in I Corinthians 14, I saw these specific characteristics of the spiritual gift of prophecy in the New Testament. The person with the gift of prophecy:

• Speaks to men (and women) for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort
• Edifies (informs; educates; instructs; and/or improves spiritually) the church
• Gives a clear and distinctive call to get people ready for spiritual warfare
• Builds up (inspires; gives hope; nurtures; cultivates; and develops) the church
• Speaks to believers in Jesus Christ
• Convinces of sin

Gift of Prophecy: “A person with this gift, like its Old Testament counterpart, has a keen awareness of current events and the cultural implications of not following God’s word. This is important because each church is made up of people, customs, and circumstances that are different from others. Prophecy helps us apply the scriptures to where we live. A person with this gift has a burden to warn of God’s judgment and the need for us to repent... This gift helps the church live holy in the culture and time that they are appointed. It rebukes, strengthens and encourages believers. The gift also helps the church in long-term planning and seeking God for His guidance.” http://spiritualgifts.wordpress.com/2007/06/27/65/

This passage in I Corinthians 14 also contrasted the spiritual gift of prophecy with the spiritual gift of speaking in tongues. The person with the gift of tongues:

• Speaks to God, not to men
• Mutters mysteries with his spirit
• Edifies the tongues’ speaker
• Has a lesser spiritual gift
• Needs an interpretation of the tongues so that the church can be edified
• Is a sign for unbelievers

Paul’s reasoning for making this comparison appears to be that a problem had arisen in the Corinthian church where the gift of tongues was being elevated above the other gifts, and where it was being misused within the church meetings. So, Paul gave these instructions on the gifts, in particular these two gifts, so that the church would understand the appropriate order of the gifts and the proper usage of them.

It appears, as well, that the purpose of the gift of tongues was two-fold: 1) As a sign for unbelievers, such as we have recorded for us in the book of Acts on the Day of Pentecost where the people all heard the gospel in their own languages. So, it was for the spreading of the gospel and for the salvation of people of many languages, and 2) As a private prayer language between the individual and God.

It had use in gatherings of the church only if it was followed by interpretation and it served to edify and to strengthen the church. I Corinthians 14:26-28 said:

What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. 27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. 28 If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God.

So, tongues should not be used in the public gathering of the church unless it is followed by interpretation and it is for the strengthening of the church. In addition to that, if anyone speaks in a tongue with interpretation, there should be a limit on the number of people speaking and they should speak one at a time. There are many church congregations today where this is not followed and where tongues are spoken without interpretation, where they are spoken by the masses in the congregation, and where they are spoken all at once. Also, tongues is elevated in many of these congregations above all the other gifts and is given a place of honor as the evidence of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. This goes against, not only this passage here in I Co. 14, but other teachings on the gift of tongues throughout scripture where it is taught as a lesser gift and where it is taught that we do not all have the same gifts. So, if God has given you this gift, please make certain that you are exercising it according to the teachings of scripture.

Paul was not against this gift, nonetheless. In fact, he had this gift and he wished everyone could speak in tongues (the implication that not all did), but he would rather that they prophesy so that the church may be edified. One who edifies informs; educates; instructs; and/or improves spiritually his or her listeners. And, Paul said that the gift of prophecy is a gift that edifies the church. One of the reasons for this was that it gives a clear call for battle, i.e. it prepares us for spiritual warfare against the enemy of our souls and it prepares us to live out the Christian life as God intended us to live it in full surrender and obedience to him. Paul went on to state that if someone who does not understand or if an unbeliever comes into our meetings and hears people speaking in tongues they might think that we are out of our minds. Yet, if they come into our meetings and someone is prophesying, the listener will be convinced by all that he is sinner, the secrets of his heart will be laid bare before God, and he will fall down and worship God. That does not mean that all will respond in this way, as we know not all do, but rather that the gift of prophecy is one that presents the sinner with his sin, that calls him to repentance, and that encourages him toward full surrender of his life to Jesus Christ in all humility and obedience to God’s commands.

When in The Stillness / An Original Work / September 26, 2011

When in the stillness
Of this moment,
Speak to me, Lord,
I humbly pray.
Be my desire,
Set me on fire,
Teach me to love always.
Help me to walk in
Fellowship with You,
Listening to You;
Sit at Your feet.
Whisper Your words to me,
Oh, how gently,
Guiding me in Your truth.

While we are waiting
For Your blessing,
Lord, in our hearts
Be King today.
Help us to live for
You ev’ry moment,
List’ning to what You say.
May we not stray from
Your word within us,
Help us obey You,
Lord, in all things,
Walking each moment,
Lord, in Your presence,
Our off’rings to You bring.

Help us to love You,
Lord, our master;
Be an example
Of Your love,
Helping the hurting,
Lift up the fallen,
Showing them Your great love.
Teach them to love You,
Follow You always,
Bearing their cross and
Turning from sin;
Walking in daily
Fellowship with You,
Making You Lord and King.

Song lyrics @ Public Domain

Audio, song lyrics and sheet music at:
https://sites.google.com/site/psalmshymnssongs2/home/songs/when-in-the-stillness

Song on video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKHKzBTMigw