Nobility - Is It in You?

Today’s Scripture Readings:
OT: Isaiah 31-32
NT: Acts 18
W&W: Proverbs 26

Today’s Reflection:

Excerpted from New Webster’s Dictionary of the English Language; College Edition:

Nobility, n. The state or quality of being noble; noble birth or state; exalted moral excellence; admirable dignity; majesty or augustness.
Noble, a. Famous, illustrious or great; distinguished by birth, rank, or title; of an exalted moral character or excellence; admirable in dignity of conception, or in the manner of expression, execution, or composition; stately or magnificent; of an admirable high quality; fine; choice; notably superior.

Excerpted from the Bible; Isaiah 31.8, NIV:
“The noble man makes noble plans, and by noble deeds he stands.”

Nobility – is it in you? For the follower of Jesus Christ, the above verse answers the question:

• It starts with the person, what you are: “The noble man [woman]…” You must be first. For nobility to be in you, you must be a noble person. Look at the definitions above, and rejoice that you have been distinguished by the new birth. You have been conceived through the Holy Spirit in dignity and rank. You get the idea.
• It then works into your manner of thinking as exhibited in your plans: “makes noble plans …” When you are made noble through the new birth, all things become new, even your way of thinking. This happens by discipline and focus on moral and excellent truths and by exposure and relationship to the noble family of God. The more you focus on God and walk with Jesus, the more noble your plans (thinking) become.
• Nobility then is expressed in actions: “by noble deeds…” The noble intentions that spring from the heart of a noble man or woman end up in noble behavior. Again, look at the descriptors found in the above definitions. You are behaving as a member of the nobility.
• Such a man /woman continues in his/her nobility: “he stands.” Being a part of nobility is not something you do for a while and then move on to something else. The truly noble person stands in his nobility. His or her final state is assured and certain.

Be. Plan. Do. Stand. Nobility – is it in you?

This Week’s Scripture to Memorize:
1 John 1.5-6: This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.

Rest

Today’s Scripture Readings:
OT: Isaiah 30
NT: Acts 17
W&W: Proverbs 25

Today’s Reflection:
Yesterday I mentioned my concern over the haste with which our jpresident is pushing great changes through our government. Everything seems to be in crisis mode. I'm sure he isn't looking for advice from me, but I would counsel him and others - who like me are prone to hurry - listen to the prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah 30.15, 18 says, “In repentance and rest is your salvation; in quietness and trust is your strength… The Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him.”

Let these words soak into your soul today.

• Repentance
• Rest
• Quietness
• Trust
• Wait
• Strength
• Grace
• Compassion
• Justice
• Blessing

Don’t be in a hurry. Just have a great day!

This Week’s Scripture to Memorize:
1 John 1.5-6: This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.

Come Help Us!

Today’s Scripture Readings:
OT: Isaiah 29
NT: Acts 16
W&W: Proverbs 24

Today’s Reflection:
Acts 16.6-10, the story of Paul’s vision and call to Macedonia, provides some interesting perspectives on leadership and vision:

1. The vision came while the ministry team was hard at work while seeing little results. First, we should not expect a new vision until we are doing our best to fulfill what we know to do. But also, we should not let closed doors and discouragement prevent us from believing that God has a plan.
2. Paul, the leader, saw the vision. I heard one person say it like this: “God does not give visions to committees.” Study the Bible carefully and you will find that God – more often than not – speaks to individuals who must then in obedience and by faith share with the group. A notable exception is Acts 13.1-3 when God spoke to the entire leadership team about a missionary endeavor. However, the narrative is not clear as to how God spoke to them. There is room in the biblical account to believe that God impressed each heart individually, and then as they began to share they realized that God was telling them all the same thing. (See #5 below.)
3. God called Paul through the vision to a specific place. Visions that are to general, grand ideas are nice, but do not generally result in action. God wanted the group to take specific action: “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”
4. God called the rest of the ministry team through the leader. Paul had to be courageous and humble enough to share his dream with the group. The group had to be humble and courageous enough to realize that God was speaking to all of them through Paul. But, we need not read into this that the realization is automatic. Hence…
5. God used all of them in “concluding” that the vision was right. The Bible says to “test the spirits to see whether they are from God” (1 John 4.1). Leaders should not be intimidated when the group wants to determine that this really is the right way to go. (By way of illustration, I have been alarmed by all the haste our current president is pressing on our other elected officials…) Yet, while God is not in a hurry, we should also be careful not to stonewall progress. Test the spirits and then take action! Do it now!
6. Not only did all of them conclude that the vision was the right one; all of them “included” themselves in the vision. “We got ready…” “God had called us…” Just because the vision comes through the leader or through others does not mean that you are not included! Remember what Paul wrote elsewhere: “submit to one another out of reverence for Christ…” (Ephesians 5.21). Surely this includes the idea of vision and direction from God. Rejoice that God includes you in the vision!

I hope you have a great Wednesday!

This Week’s Scripture to Memorize:
1 John 1.5-6: This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.

Let God Choose

Today’s Scripture Readings:
OT: Isaiah 27-28
NT: Acts 15
W&W: Proverbs 23

Today’s Reflection:
In the early days of The Church, there arose a disagreement as to how Christians ought to live. There were some Jewish Christians who were teaching that Gentile Christians had to observe the Law in order to be saved. The early church met to decide the issue. The “minutes” of that meeting are found in Acts 15, and embedded in that story is the testimony of the Apostle Peter: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe” (Acts 15.7b).

As I read that I thought why we might have chosen Paul to be the first to take the gospel to the Gentiles. After all, Paul was:

• Known as the apostle to the Gentiles
• Clearly called of God to go to the Gentiles

But, how wise is our God in choosing Peter to open the door of the gospel to the Gentiles. Peter was:

• Recognized as the apostle to the Jews
• Zealous for the heritage of Judaism
• Respected by the Jerusalem church
• Validated as an eye-witness of Jesus’ ministry
• Accepted as a natural leader of the fledgling movement

Looking again at Paul, at the time the first Gentiles came to faith, he was:

• Probably viewed with skepticism or even suspicion
• Not “ready” to preach to the Gentiles when Cornelius sent for Peter (see Acts 10).
• Not yet recognized as the apostle to the Gentiles.
• Would need the “weight” of Peter’s apostleship to sway later Jewish Christians. (“Yes,” they might say, “that is what Paul thinks about how Christians ought to live, but he didn’t spend three years with Jesus!”)

There are at least three lessons to Christian workers in this story of God choosing Peter rather than Paul to open the door to the Gentiles:

1. Do not be dismayed or discouraged when the work proceeds along a different route from what makes immediate sense to you. (We would have chosen Paul).
2. Look for the threads of God’s wisdom and sovereignty and grace when things go differently from what you planned.
3. Celebrate and give glory to God for the mysteries of his grace!

This Week’s Scripture to Memorize:
1 John 1.5-6: This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.

Neither a Borrower nor a Lender Be

Today’s Scripture Readings:
OT: Isaiah 25-26
NT: Acts 14
W&W: Proverbs 22

Today’s Reflection:

Though at the time I didn’t know where it was from, I remember my mother quoting the line from Shakespeare’s Hamlet: “Neither a borrower nor a lender be.” Mom quoted it to me at times I would complain to her that one of my siblings either broke something I loaned them or wouldn’t return it. She was teaching me: “Don’t lend something you can’t afford to lose.” That’s a hard lesson to learn when you’re a kid.

The converse of that lesson is also true: Don’t borrow something you can’t afford to buy! The Wise Man in Proverbs teaches us something about borrowing and lending: “The borrower is servant to the lender” (Proverbs 22.7). How true that is! We are a nation of debtors, and we are working longer and longer to serve the debt. I’m afraid it is going to get worse.

Our politicians want to have it both ways. They are offering consumers easier, less responsible debt by making the creditors “give back” money to irresponsible debtors. The problem is that credit will get easier and borrowers will be less responsible in repaying their debts. Good debtors will be forced to pay for the spending habits of poor debtors (not monetarily poor, but poor in the sense of being unskilled at handling debt). President Obama and Congress feel compelled to offer this incentive to would-be debtors because they want us all to become even more consumeristic. But to whom are we becoming servants with all this debt?

We need to be very careful when we borrow. We will be servants to those we borrow from. Do we wish to serve:

• Banks and big business?
• China or other foreign governments?
• Our own over-sized government?
• A future of interest payments?

When we borrow, we open ourselves up to trouble. I read a church marquis this week that highlights our responsibility in debt-control: “Stay out of trouble: act your wage!”

So, thanks, Mom! Lord Polonius’ advice in Hamlet is sound: Neither a borrower nor a lender be. As much as possible, I intend to heed the admonition of the New Testament: “Let no debt remain outstanding but the continuing debt to love” (Romans 13.8a).

This Week’s Scripture to Memorize:
1 John 1.5-6: This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.

Get Ready and Relax!

Today’s Scripture Readings:
OT: Isaiah 24
NT: Acts 13
W&W: Proverbs 21

Today’s Reflection:
Earlier this week I was speaking with a new friend. She told me about the exercises that she is doing with her husband who suffered a stroke last fall. Daily she and he work together to move the limbs affected by the stroke. As she was telling me about the routine, she said something very interesting. I won’t get it exactly right, but I think I can get close: “We are doing our part, and we are trusting the Lord to do his part in healing my husband according to his will.”

That reminded me of the scripture that is part of today’s Worship and Wisdom reading: “The horse is made ready for the day of the battle, but victory rests with the Lord” (Proverbs 21.31). We must do our part, but then leave the results in God’s hands. If we don’t get ready for the “battle,” are we really trusting God to work? I heard one district superintendent explain it like this: “You say you want to have a hundred in service next Sunday. Good. How many chairs do you have? 50? You can pray all you want, but God won’t give you a hundred people in the service if you don’t prepare. He’s not the author of confusion and if 100 people show up and try to sit in 50 chairs, that would be confusion!”

As I begin my new ministry, God is urging me to prepare. Please pray with me and for me that God will help me have faith enough to get ready and then relax in him.

To what battle has God called you? Are you ready? If so, then you can relax!

This Week’s Scripture to Memorize:
1 John 1.1-4: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched – this we proclaim concerning the word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.

Deep Waters

Today’s Scripture Readings:
OT: Isaiah 23
NT: Acts 12
W&W: Proverbs 20

Today’s Reflection:
Proverbs 20.5 says, “The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out.” There are three observations I make from this truth:

1. It is my privilege – and even calling – to be a man of understanding to draw out the purposes of others’ hearts. As I get older (and I hope wiser!) I realize how important it is to give back to others what has been given to me through the wisdom and influence of godly men. As God has used many people to help me find my way, I want to be used of God to help others find their way. That does not need to be done in a formal way, but can often be accomplished in day-to-day conversation.
2. I need to have a man of understanding do the same for me. I have blind spots. I sometimes neglect the gifts I have been given. I desire to have Christian relationships that provide feedback, counsel, and encouragement.
3. I should seek to understand myself in order to know the purpose for which God created me. As I meditate and read scripture and pray, God will give me understanding into his purposes for me. Also, I have discovered a great instrument that has helped me become more self-aware – in a God-honoring way. It is called Strengthsfinders©, and it has been developed by Gallup. I would urge you to investigate Strengthsfinders© for yourself.

On one occasion, Jesus told Peter to head out into the deep waters where he would catch some fish. We discover our created purpose in the deep waters of understanding. Take time to do that for yourself and for others.

This Week’s Scripture to Memorize:
1 John 1.1-4: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched – this we proclaim concerning the word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.