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Taking Divine Opportunities

March 9, 2010 by Fritz

And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them. – Luke 5:17 (KJV)

There is a lot of meaning in small words like, “them”, which can be easily passed over by even the best scholars. The King James literally uses “them” whereas other interpretive versions paraphrase.

Luke emphasizes the point that when Jesus was gathered with the PhD’s (smart people) and the religious the power of God was available to heal “them”. But the only one healed was a poor uneducated paralytic carried in by four friends.

So, just having divine intervention available does NOT mean it is taken.

The focus of teaching must be experiencing. I want to learn, it is essential, but the purpose of learning is to experience – to move beyond knowing Jesus changes lives but to say, “Jesus, change me!”; beyond knowing Jesus heals but to say, “Lord, heal me in every way I need it and whatever it takes!”; to be a friend and help a friend experience Christ in every way possible.

– Fritz

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Getting Noticed in a Crowd

March 4, 2010 by Fritz

 

Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; – Philippians 2:14-15 (KJV)

Every religious group wants their adherents to be different from society.

Christians are no different in that respect; God want us to be “lights” in the darkness for Christ.

Many groups try to accomplish this by instructing their followers to wear unique clothing, or groom in a special way, all with the goal of being counter-culture. Some non-religious groups also want their adherents to be identifiable by either a pin, or a sticker, one thing or another; something to give them a sense of identity and/or pride.

Paul tells followers of Jesus to stand out in a different way; not by what they wear, but by what they do.

By not complaining (“without murmurings“) not being argumentative (“without disputings“), choosing to do the moral and honest thing (“blameless“) even when no one is looking, and not hurting people (“harmless“) even when they have hurt you, you’ll stand out for Christ just fine! That, in itself, shall identify you; not as a member of a particular group but as a follower of Christ and not to indicate you are special, but that Jesus is special.

-Fritz

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>4 Quick Lessons from 2 Short Verses…

March 3, 2010 by Fritz

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Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons…(I am)confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:– Philippians 1:1, 6b (KJV)

Lesson #1:
Ordinary believers are “the Saints” not just the Bishops and Deacons. If you have thrown your lot in with Christ and his Church you qualify no matter how imperfect you are; if you haven’t you don’t qualify no matter who good you are. It’s just one of those things; Jesus is the dividing line not our personal competence.

Lesson #2:
Life is not an aimless string of days, weeks, and years; there is a “Day” coming when a real change happens; its called “the Day of Jesus Christ”.

My dad once described me as a “Professional Student”. It seemed so far off but, still, I believed in a graduation. I couldn’t say for sure when or how but I held on to that belief and took each day as it came, not giving up hope or effort. One day it actually happened, I am living proof!

Lesson #3:
God is doing a “Good” work in you; choose to have a little faith in that and try to cooperate, will you? One shouldn’t judge an artist’s work by looking at his initial sketches, nor should we conclude God is not very good at what he does when he has only just begun.

Lesson #4:
God has NOT put you down and moved on to someone easier to work with no matter what you may be feeling at the moment. Has the “Day of Jesus Christ” happened? (“No” is the correct answer) Well then, I guess He’s still at it!

– Fritz

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