:: To Worship Him ::

 

 

      “Now the serpent was craftier than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made.  He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”  (Genesis 3:1)

 

   I read where someone said that God is big on giving man freedom and boundaries, freedom to manage what He has entrusted to us, and boundaries to protect us from evil.  When we think of freedom we must consider boundaries as well.  There is no such thing as freedom without boundaries, otherwise it wouldn’t be freedom.  In the Garden of Eden we see boundaries.  The place, I believe, was walled-in and protected from the outside.  The boundaries were not set for the purpose of limiting Adam.  They were meant for his protection.  He got into trouble when he questioned those boundaries.  God had provided everything that Adam needed in the Garden and God entrusted Adam with the responsibility to manage and work the Garden.  God gave Adam freedom in that responsibility. 

 

   For safety sake, I am glad that we have both freedoms and boundaries in life.  If we are hired for a particular job, we must have the freedom to work within our job description.  We need to have the authority that is needed for that job.  This brings not only freedom but confidence as well.  We need to know where the fence is located.  We need to know where our authority ends and where someone else’s begins.  When this isn’t clearly taught and understood, then there is confusion.

 

   Jesus understood this principal.  Satan tempted Jesus to go outside His freedom and boundaries when He was tempted those forty days in the wilderness.  Jesus wisely came back with “It is written.”  Everyday we have the opportunity to live within our boundaries and freedom, or submit to the evil one who would have us rebel and reach for things that are forbidden.  We are the losers when we choose operating outside the will of God.  His boundaries for us are set up to bring about our ultimate freedom.  Why would we want to rebel against the will of God for our lives: The million dollar question that had been asked since the beginning of time?  Outside His will there is nothing of value for us,  yet we are always tempted to go beyond .  Can I hear a ‘well-duh’! 

 

 

 

   “We have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but be the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every men’s conscience in the sight of God.”  (2 Corinthians 4:2)

 

   I read about Horace Walpole, born in 1717, youngest son of Sir Robert Walpole, who was elected to the British Parliament in 1741.  He served until 1767.  In 1747, he acquired a country house near Twickenham, where he built a castle that became a major showplace.  He was a prolific writer, authoring works of both fiction and nonfiction.  Today, he is best known for the 3,000 letters he wrote, which provide an important portrait of England at the time.  Walpole also developed a reputation as a plagiarist.  He freely stole words and phrases from others, and used them as his own.  Famed 19th century historian and writer, T.B. Macaulay, once commented about Walpole, “his features were covered with mask within mask.  When the outer disguise of obvious affectation was removed, you were still as far as ever from seeing the real man.” 

 

  In Basel, Switzerland each year, the good protestant townspeople have a festival in which they all put on masks and go through the city doing things and going places they would never consider doing or going any other time.  The mask, which veiled their identity emboldened them to do those things.  One year, the Salvation Army, concerned about the abandonment of moral standards, put up signs all over the city, which read “God sees behind the mask.”  Reminds me of the yearly celebration in the city of New Orleans.  No wonder there is such debauchery at that time. 

 

   I suppose we all wear masks at some time or other.  We hide behind things to keep our real thoughts and character from being exposed.  Of course, there is no hiding from our Maker, and Lord.  He knows all things, even the intentions of our heart.  We can’t deceive or hide from Him, yet we somehow had rather He know us than others.  It takes guts to live transparently.  We are afraid of rejection, abuse and others harmful things, but as Paul taught us, if we have deceptive patterns we need to renounce them and find forgiveness.  We need to make sure we are not hiding behind any masks, but live honestly and open before the world.  In order for us to be examples of Christ, we must be pure in His sight and walk in integrity before our fellow man.

 

 

 

   “When he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord….for he thought, ‘Is it not so, if there will be peace and truth in my days?”  (2 Kings 20:2, 19)

 

   Hezekiah had been an honorable king who “did right in the sight of the Lord.’ (2 Kings 18:3)  He was told by the Lord that he was going to die and he pleaded for mercy, praying, weeping, and asking God to remember all the good things he had done.  His pleading was heard by the Lord, of course, and his petition was granted.  He lived another 15 years.

 

   Unfortunately the added years to Hezekiah’s life was not as honest and straightforward as his earlier life.  In reality, we see the opposite.  Hezekiah gave representatives from Babylon a tour of the treasures of the Kingdom.  As a result of this mistake, God said the king had paved the way for judgment.  This did not concern Hezekiah because he was only interested in ‘peace and truth’ in his day.  Certainly this is what we all want, but what about the future of our children and grandchildren?  Apparently this did not enter into Hezekiah’s equation. 

 

   We must not fall into the sin that snagged Hezekiah.  He thought only of himself, which is pride and one of the deadliest of sins.  Yes, we are our brother’s keeper.  If not physically, certainly in intercession.  Our future generations depends on it!

 

 

 

       ”But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.”  (Philippians 3:7)

 

   It is against our nature to have enjoyment in losses.  We prefer the profit side.  Actually when we think of it, it naturally depends on what profit and loss we are talking about.  It is easier to endure loss if we can come to the understanding that loss is better for us in the long run.  Paul thought so.  He had experienced the best that his day offered possibly, but after he met Christ, those things no longer meant anything to him.  That is the ultimate place that we Christians should desire.  Whether we have the finest or not, having Christ in our lives is the gain. 

 

   Much is written about George Mueller.  He certainly is a hero of mine.  He was into building orphanages in the mid-1800s.  He raised millions of dollars for his children during his lifetime, yet when he went to be with the Lord he had very little in his possession.  He gave this testimony that was passed on by Basil Miller. 

 

   “I was converted in November of 1825, but I only came into the full surrender of the heart four years later.  The love of money was gone, the love of place was gone, the love of position was gone, and the love of worldly pleasures and engagements was gone.  God alone became my portion.  I found my all in Him; I wanted nothing else.  And by the grace of God this has remained, and has made me a happy man, an exceedingly happy man, and it led me to care only about the things of God.”

 

   How will we know when we have experienced full surrender?  When we have given full surrender when power, money, and position no longer have meaning in our lives.  Paul experienced such a place.  A sacrificial life is a life free from having to have ‘things.’  That makes it a life of freedom.  Wonderful place to be!

 

 

 

                          “Blessed is the man who perseveres.”  (James 1:12)

 

   You have to wonder why some people have the ability to persevere while others seem to be ‘wimpy,’ with little to no ability to stay in for the long haul.  When you look at a litter of new pups, you can never really tell the ones that will be aggressive and a watch dog that maybe you are looking for in a pet.  Sometimes the runt of the litter turns out the champion.  Most likely it depends on the early training and the pressures that are applied in the training process. 

 

   I read that halfway up the Swiss Alps there is a popular rest house.  It’s a good day’s climb from the bottom to the top, but one can usually get to the rest house by lunchtime.  When you get there, that place separates the men from the boys, so to speak.  When some amateur climbers feel the warmth of the fire and smell the good cooking, they say to their companions, “I’ll just wait here while you go to the top.  When you come back down I’ll join you, and we’ll go to the base together.”  A glaze of satisfaction comes over them as they sit by the fire, or play the piano and sing mountain-climbing songs.  But at about 3:30 in the afternoon everything changes; they start looking toward the mountaintop as their friends reach it.  Suddenly the atmosphere in the rest house changes and they think, ‘If only I’d kept climbing!’

 

   There are several things that can cause us to lose sight of our God-given goals.  (1)  Weariness.  We all at some point get weary and at least think of giving up.  Jesus told Peter, “satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.  But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail.”  (Luke 22:31-32)  (2)  Fear.  Some days the mountain just seems too enormous and overwhelming and we are tempted to give up.  The Word tells us to “Be strong and courageous…for the Lord will be with you.”  (Joshua 1:9)  (3)  Comfort.  “Woe to you who are at ease and complacent in Zion.”  Conflict and hard times keep us on our toes, and on our knees.  But too much comfort can seduce us into settling short of our goal.  We must keep climbing and running for the prize that is awaiting us.  We must never, never give in but persevere!  Winning is for the champs, the ones who keep on keeping on!