Thursday, May 31, 2012
Wholly Follow the Lord!
“And the LORD heard your words and was angered, and he swore, ‘Not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land that I swore to give to your fathers, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh. He shall see it, and to him and to his children I will give the land on which he has trodden, because he has wholly followed the LORD!'" ~Deuteronomy 1:34-36
How much can it be said of American Christians that we wholly follow the Lord? How often do we take a stand against the world, or speak out against the status-quo? Are we too afraid of critique, punishment, or ill-repute? Let us be few among many in a stand for truth and the Gospel. Let us be aliens among our home town, and despised by the world. Are we going to stand idly by frowning upon the corruption of this world of ours, or are we going to stand up and present the glorious alternative that has been made available to all? Let us wholly follow the Lord.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Food and Clothing?
How many Christians are satisfied with food and clothing?
"But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction." ~1 Timothy 6:6-9
At the same time,
"As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life." ~1 Timothy 6:17-19
Are we satisfied with godliness and contentment, or are we seeking our best life now? Are we pouring our comparatively superfluous resources into things that matter or are we storing up treasures on this earth that we lose when we die?
"But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction." ~1 Timothy 6:6-9
At the same time,
"As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life." ~1 Timothy 6:17-19
Are we satisfied with godliness and contentment, or are we seeking our best life now? Are we pouring our comparatively superfluous resources into things that matter or are we storing up treasures on this earth that we lose when we die?
Friday, May 18, 2012
Bronze Serpent
Upon seeing this post some may fall into a state of shock after thinking for so long that I must be dead :). I could give a whole bunch of excuses of why I haven't been writing (i.e.. "I've been too busy"), but in reality I have actually just been a lazy writer. After looking through my past posts I began to miss recording and noting things in my web log, so here is the first of (hopefully) many.
I was reading this morning in Numbers chapter 21 about when the Israelites "spoke against God and against Moses" because there was no food or water. This situation is seen a lot; the people rebelling and looking back to the false refuge of Egypt, and forgetting God's past and present deeds. For example, they did not think about how God had just supplied them with the miraculous waters of Maribah. One need not imagine the Lord's frustration towards the people's lack of faith, as he promptly disciplined them by sending "fiery serpents" among them. However, an interesting thing about this incident is that the Lord provided a succor in the form of their oppression. All the people needed to do was look at a bronze serpent that God directed Moses to erect on a pole, and they were healed. Such a simple alteration of a mortal problem. Millions today are in the same boat. Christ, also raised on a pole (cross), has given every sinner (all of us) a chance of healing and forgiveness from our mortal problem (the penalty of sin). Just as with the bronze serpent, one need only to look to Christ as his only salvation and Lord, and he will be saved (Romans 10:9). So let us mull on this truth for a little while, and perhaps you will realize sinner what deliverance is yours, and realize Christian what news you have to bring! Are you going to sit still and leave your savior upraised? That is what we were created to do. And remember, I am totally speaking to myself as I am anybody. I have realized how inadequately we have worshiped and dissipated the name of our Savior, and I hope that this post will be the means of conviction to someone, somewhere, as it was for me.
~ Hunter Hardwick
I was reading this morning in Numbers chapter 21 about when the Israelites "spoke against God and against Moses" because there was no food or water. This situation is seen a lot; the people rebelling and looking back to the false refuge of Egypt, and forgetting God's past and present deeds. For example, they did not think about how God had just supplied them with the miraculous waters of Maribah. One need not imagine the Lord's frustration towards the people's lack of faith, as he promptly disciplined them by sending "fiery serpents" among them. However, an interesting thing about this incident is that the Lord provided a succor in the form of their oppression. All the people needed to do was look at a bronze serpent that God directed Moses to erect on a pole, and they were healed. Such a simple alteration of a mortal problem. Millions today are in the same boat. Christ, also raised on a pole (cross), has given every sinner (all of us) a chance of healing and forgiveness from our mortal problem (the penalty of sin). Just as with the bronze serpent, one need only to look to Christ as his only salvation and Lord, and he will be saved (Romans 10:9). So let us mull on this truth for a little while, and perhaps you will realize sinner what deliverance is yours, and realize Christian what news you have to bring! Are you going to sit still and leave your savior upraised? That is what we were created to do. And remember, I am totally speaking to myself as I am anybody. I have realized how inadequately we have worshiped and dissipated the name of our Savior, and I hope that this post will be the means of conviction to someone, somewhere, as it was for me.
~ Hunter Hardwick
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)