We can absolutely do better, or we cannot grow. “That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:10 KJV). Until we stand in the presence of our Lord, we will be constrained by the limitations of our earthly circumstances. We will ache, become weary, mishear, misunderstand, and even miss our intended target. We certainly need a supernatural, good shepherd. LORD, lead us in the paths of righteousness for Your name’s sake. Amen and amen.
Fruitfulness
Aging of America
The aging of America will become more predominant in our thoughts, as the birth rate of most nations shrinks — except India and the Third World. Who is looking after the world? Who’s going to take care of all the elderly? Whose idea was it to populate the earth? “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28 KJV). I still remember — almost a half century ago — the disdain of my state college professor towards that Scripture reference, when a vast auditorium went dark, and he displayed Genesis 1:28 to a large audience with sound, music, and an overwhelming pictorial montage of industrial pollution, overpopulation, urban sprawl, garbage, crime-ridden neighborhoods — the festering sores of humanity. Jesus answered the question of who would take care of everyone — God would. Humans must cooperate with God, but the buck stops at His desk to make everything work. “25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof” (Matthew 6:25, 33-34 KJV). For our aging disciples, the LORD promises, “And even to your old age I am He; and even to hoar [gray] hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you” (Isaiah 46:4 KJV). Hope lives where God reigns!
Why Doesn’t Everyone Finish?
Why doesn’t everyone finish their Pilgrim’s Progress journey to the Celestial City? “For many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14 KJV). A common saying in the world, ‘If it were easy, everyone would do it,’ makes a lot of practical sense. How does anyone know they are His chosen few? Peter answers that question. “2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 3 According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity [Greek, agapē, love]. 8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. 10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall” (2Peter 1:2-10 KJV). Maranatha!
Like Jesus
Growing up as a teenaged, American youth in the late 1960s to early 1970s, I witnessed from a Middle America, Southern California perspective, the counterculture’s effect upon mainline, evangelical Christianity. Pianos and organs of traditional Christian music were introduced to guitars and drums of popular music. White shirts and ties gave way to leisure suits. Hal Lindsey’s “Late, Great Planet Earth” (1970) was preparing for the Rapture. The Charismatic Movement was promoting the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in both Protestant and Roman Catholic circles. Chuck Smith’s Calvary Chapel movement was making headway in emphasizing personal evangelism, planting local churches, and promoting Bible study. Fundamentalists were resisting the tides of change. The Crossroads Church of Christ (FL) — later the ICOC — was emphasizing the necessity of baptism to be saved, partly responding to an emphasis on Easy Believism Salvation. Anti-war (Vietnam), drugs, sex, and rebellion were responses not only to society’s morality, but the Professed Church’s failure. Not all change was bad; and, upon reflection, the Jesus People (sometimes called Jesus Freaks) seemed to best epitomize that period’s struggle to return to a more primitive Christianity. “These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also” (Acts 17:6 KJV).
Continue reading
We Need A Miracle 