More Like the Master

 "Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love..." Ephesians 5:1-2a

Every morning before I read my devotion, I read, sing or hum a Hymn.  Today's Hymn was titled,

More Like the Master by Charles H. Gabriel.

It goes like this:

Verse 1-More like the Master I would ever be, More of His meekness, more humility; More zeal to labor, more courage to be true; More consecration for work He bids me do.

Verse 2- More like the Master is my daily prayer; More strength to carry crosses I must bear; More earnest effort to rescue souls from sin; More of His Spirit, the wanderer to win.

Verse 3- More like the Master I would live and grow; More of His love to others I would show; More self-denial, like His in Galilee, More like the Master I long to ever be.

Chorus- Take Thou my heart, I would be Thine alone; Take Thou my heart and make it all Thine own; Purge me from sin, O Lord, I no implore, Wash me and keep me, Thine forever more.

2024 is a few days away.  As the world plans their New Years Eve parties and prepare ways to succeed in their New Years Resolutions, I want to purpose in my heart to be more like the Master.  In this New Year, I want to be more like my Saviour.  So how can I achieve this goal?

    By prayer and bible reading...one day at a time.

    By putting off the old man and putting on righteousness...one day at a time. 

(Ephesians 4:22-23)

    And by keeping my eyes on Jesus. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

These goals are not resolutions...

    It's a change of life and purpose...

        But that's just me!

"If I am not today all that I hope to be, Yet I see Jesus, and that assures me that I shall one day be like Him."  Charles Spurgeon

One-Up

Have you ever had a conversation with someone who thought they knew more about a situation than you?  I'm not talking about 'gossip' but just about topics?  Or how about asking someone a general question expecting a one-line answer and find yourself trapped in place for a five-minute dialogue that sounded more like a resume?

Both happened to me today.

But do you know what's even worse than those two situations?  Giving place to the devil by trying to One-Up the One-Upper!

Obviously, my patience had run out after my first conversation, because I took it upon myself to 'politely' correct the One-Upper by One-Upping them.  Sigh.

Oh, it felt kind of good at the time, but as soon as I turned around and walked away, the Lord smote my heart and chastised my behavior.  I could almost hear my Saviour's still-small voice saying, "Feel better now?  Yes, you put them in their place, but before I can deal with them, I must deal with you now."  

I had to confess to doing the very thing that irritated me the most.

Romans 11:20b "...Be not high-minded but fear:"

1 Peter 5:5b-6 "...for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.  Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:"

Ok, Lord...lesson learned.

The next time I find myself in a conversation with a 'One-Upper...'

    I will purpose in my heart to lay down my pride...

        But that's just me!

"Wisdom is the right use of knowledge.  To know is not to be wise.  Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it.  There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool.  But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom."  Charles Spurgeon

"The Christmas Blahs"

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.  And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."  Luke 2:8-14

I've spoken to a lot of friends this past week and they all seem to share one thing in common,

The Christmas Blahs.

In 1965 "A Charlie Brown Christmas" debuted, and even back then, people seemed to get side-tracked from the true meaning of Christmas.

There are presents to buy and wrap, trees to decorate, cookies to bake, Cantata's and Church Programs and Plays to attend, families to visit, traditions to keep.  By the time every 'have-to' is finished we are so tired and burned out, we are ready for the holiday meal to be over, the tree set out by the curb and our decorations boxed up till next year.

I confess, this year, I have the Christmas Blahs.

Why is that?

Maybe it's because we have placed too much emphasis and physical effort on keeping our family traditions and fulfilling everyone else's expectations of us, that as we grow older it just becomes too much?

Maybe it's because we are spending too much time standing in the check-out line waiting to purchase that last-minute gift for the person, we almost forgot this year?

Or maybe it's because we have not rested in the Spiritual worship of our Saviour.

In our busyness we have forgotten the Reason of the Season.

Perhaps it's time to let go of the stressful expectations of others-

maybe it's time to let go of old traditions and make new ones-

One's with less materialism, to ones with more worship.

After all...

    Jesus is the Reason...

        For the Season...

            But that's just me!

"That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."  Linus Van Pelt

Stagnant

"My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word." Psalm 119:25

"For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, to revive the heart of the contrite ones."  Isaiah 57:15

I was reading the Weather Channel App the other night, comparing our current weather to the weather in other States where some of my family live.  I have family in Oregon and Idaho, and right now, they are under what is called an 'Air Stagnation Advisory.'  It means that there is a buildup of pollutants near the surface.  Outdoor burning and vehicle emissions have a lot to do with their air quality.  

As soon as I read the word, 'Stagnation' I immediately thought of the form of this word; 'stagnant.'

Webster defines 'stagnant' as: stale.  Long disuse had made the air stagnant and foul.  It also means, not advancing, or developing; not flowing.

As Christians, we can become stagnant, stale and foul.  When we stop reading our bibles, when we stop praying, and when we begin to skip church, our Christian growth stops advancing and stops growing.

Soon, our 'salt' will lose its savor and our 'light' will grow dim.  Mechanics set in; going through the motions, we begin to feel burned out!

We have allowed the pollutants of this world to creep into our lives.

So, what do we do?

We recognize our condition-

We repent of our condition-

We return to the Lord-

And request revival!

Psalm 51:1- 12 says, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.  Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.  Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit."

When your spiritual life becomes stagnant and begins to stink...

        Ask God to stir the waters of your soul...

            He will.

                But that's just me!

Left in the Manger

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."

Luke 2:11-12

It's that time of year when we as Christians celebrate the birth of our Saviour.

It's that time of year when the world celebrates a holiday vacation.

The world gladly accepts this holiday with its party's and presents and they leave baby Jesus lying in a manger.

When left in a manger, they don't have to think about how this baby grew up to be the Saviour of the world.  They don't have to think about how this child grew and went about His Father's business,

(Luke 2:49) or how as the Son of man, He turned the water into wine.  (John 2:6-11)

When the world keeps Jesus as a baby in the manger, they don't have to think about how He fed the five thousand, (John 6:1-13) or how He raised Lazarus from the dead.  (John 11:1-44)

They can ignore the blind, the deaf and the lame that were healed by The Son of God, and that He set His face towards the cross to die for their sins, (John 19:17-30) and that He rose again, (Luke 24:6) and that He will one day return!  (Acts 1:11)

When the world leaves Jesus as a babe lying in a manger, they can ignore the fact that the very reason why He was born, was so that He could die; for me and for you. (John 18:37)

Christian, have you left Jesus in the manger?  Have you been distracted by the busy-ness of Christmas that as you shop and bake and visit family and friends, you leave out the Saviour?  Do you forget to tell others about this babe in the manger, who didn't stay in the manager, but grew up to be our Saviour?  A Saviour who gives us purpose for our everyday living, and our hope for our future in Heaven?

As we reflect the Miraculous birth of our Saviour this year, may we remember He is no longer in a manger, but is seated at the right hand our Heavenly Father.

The babe in the manger is not the end of the story...

    It was only the beginning...

        But that's just me!

"Jesus was so much more than just a baby, and the fulness of His power and the glory will be displayed when He returns."  Dr. Paul Chappell

Zingers

"As a mad man who casteth firebrands, arrows, and death,

So is the man that deceiveth his neighbor, and saith, Am not I in sport?"

Proverbs 26:18-19

Webster defines a zinger as:  something causing or meant to cause interest, surprise, or shock.  A pointed witty remark or retort.

I was 'zinged' yesterday.  In the last place I should expect to be zinged, I fell victim of a sarcastic remark that ended with the person saying, "I'm just kidding."

It didn't feel like they were just kidding.  In fact, I believe that they wanted to hurt me but quickly wrapped up their sinful wit with laughter.

Now, I'm all for good fun.  I think it's important to be able to laugh at ourselves, after all, humans are funny people.  I even grew up in a very sarcastic family where we labeled, 'Sarcasm as another word for love.'  But this person wanted to say something mean and call it a joke.

I immediately thought of Proverbs 26.  These two verses describe this type of a person as a 'mad man.'  A berserk archer, who is a troublemaker.  He deceives his neighbor but tries to avoid being accused of being a troublemaker by saying he was only joking.

Friend-that is bad humor and nothing to laugh about.  Deception and evil speaking are like a deadly arrow, and when it hits its mark, damage has already been done.

On the flip side, I can look back and remember times when I was the zinger.  I wanted to set somebody straight about something, so I wrapped up a little truth in comedy and shot my arrow straight to their heart.

God forgive me.

What about you?  Have you been 'zinged?'  Or do you tend to be the 'zinger?'

If you want to shoot arrows...

            shoot arrows of mercy...

                        But that's just me!