Wings of the Wind

Welcome Jerry.

Jerry and I have met online and Jerry is a Christian.  He tells me that things are similar in his country.  Many people call themselves Christians but don’t act like Christians.  He also tells me that many are believing in different parts of the world.

It’s always nice to have a new Christian friend.

CR

“When I was about fifteen or sixteen years of age, I wanted a Savior, and I heard the gospel preached by a poor man, who said in the name of Jesus—’Look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth.; It was very plain English, and I understood it, and obeyed it and found rest.

I owe all my happiness since then to the same plain doctrine.

Now, suppose that I were to say, ‘I have read a great many books, and there are a great many people willing to hear me. I really could not preach such a commonplace gospel as I did at the first. I must put it in a sophisticated way, so that none but the elite can understand me.’
I should be—what should I be? I should be a fool, writ large.

I should be worse than that, I should be a traitor to my God; for if I was saved by a simple gospel, then I am bound to preach that same simple gospel till I die, so that others too may be saved by it.

When I cease to preach salvation by faith in Jesus put me into a lunatic asylum, for you may be sure that my mind is gone.”

-Charles Spurgeon

Source: http://teampyro.blogspot.com/2012/04/simple-gospel.html

The answer to the question is: YES.  And I’ll prove it.

Are we better than the 12 that Jesus chose to be His disciples?  I don’t think so.

If you can tolerate it, read a bit further.

Jesus was having a final meal with the 12; the final meal before he would be arrested.

He told them:

“I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.”

He was telling them that he was about to suffer.

Not more than a few minutes later the men were disputing “among them as to which one of them was regarded to be the greatest.” (Luke 22:24)

What would you and I do in such a situation?  I don’t know what you would do but I would get heated.  How could they be so dense?

Jesus had heard them arguing on the same topic at least once before (Mark 9:34).

On that occasion, He had told them:

“If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.”

Now they are at it again and their timing couldn’t identify the human condition more.

How many times do we miss the thing that is directly before our eyes?

What is Jesus’ response?

See the mercy of God.

He says:

“The greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant.”

“You are those who have stood by Me in My trials; and just as My Father has granted me a kingdom, I grant that you may eat and drink at My table in My Kingdom.”

I anticipate that the scholar will say, “We are not like the 12.  We have been sent the Comforter.”

I would reply, “Yes, but have you been given ‘authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness?’” (Matt. 10:1)

The disciples had been with Jesus three years.  They had seen his power and they were given power themselves.

And look at how they act. And look at his love for them; his mercy.  In spite of their thoughtless words, he again attempts to gently teach them and speaks of the gift He will give.

There is no question that the disciples loved Jesus.  However, they were so very dense at times.  We are no different.

Praise God for his wonderful mercy!

“However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him—” – 1 Corinthians 2:9

 Chris Reimers

“dense” – slow to learn or understand

There’s not a person on the planet who had a perfect year in 2010.  Every one could tell you that bad things happened.  They could tell you of good things.  One thing is certain:

If you are reading this, you are alive.  Since no one under a year old can read this, God has given you another year of life.

We have been given a gift.

Will all who read this be alive to say the same thing when the last few hours of 2011 wind down?

Only God knows.

A good question to ask would be about how we’ve used this gift.  This post is going to leave that topic alone and only focus on the gift itself.

2011 holds no guarantees of life for anyone.

For some, 2010 has been pretty tough.  I’m over 50.  I understand, a bit, what tough times are.  The butterfly that follows me around the internet represents a real one that appeared during a tough day that happened years ago.

I don’t put a great deal of emphasis on whether God caused that butterfly to flutter by on that tough day.  I do put a great deal of importance on the Words of God which the butterfly reminded me of.

You have had tough days like that.  What do you turn to at such times?

You probably know people who are sick and poor.  You probably know people who are very sad.  Their sadness may come from their family problems or their loneliness.  You may even know someone who has been told by doctors they have less than a year to live.

I got a phone call today about a family member in such a situation.

In the greatest sermon ever preached, Jesus said, “Do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself.” (1)

No one knows what 2011 will bring.

We do know that God allowed us life in 2010.

There is a flip side to these comments about life.

Can we say with the great Apostle: “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain?” (2)

What an excellent way to live!!!

How does one have such an attitude?

The fruits of the Holy Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (3)

Faith comes from one source.

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” (4)

Praise be to God for His Word and for the gift of 2010!!!

Chris Reimers

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(1)  Matt. 6:34

(2)  Philippians 1:21

(3)  Galatians 5:22-23

(4)  Romans 10:17

(5) http://apprising.org/2010/12/30/the-emerging-church-is-unaware-its-dead

Note: Today, an internet post by an “emergent” source used a picture of a butterfly.  I am in strong opposition to the movement within many “Christian” churches called “Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism” that hides itself behind various names.  It has taken the focus off of Biblical Christianity and has put emphasis upon mere subjective feelings.  Many of these “emerging” practices are Buddhist, Hindu, and “New Age” in nature. (5)

J.B. sent this to me calling it “very provocative and thought provoking.”  I could not agree more.

It is always a good thing to put any subject in perspective.  One may make a number of conclusions from this short video on a subject that has been in so many of our headlines lately.

Even if you disagree with the comment following, I hope you watch this video and come to your own conclusion.

Immigration, Poverty, and Gumballs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPjzfGChGlE

Roy Beck has made some interesting conclusions with his bottles of gumballs.  He definitely gives the issue perspective.  He seems to be making the claim that we should stop immigration altogether.  If this is the case, I disagree strongly.  I do agree with the basic general argument that for any change to come to a country, it has to be from within.

In my perfect world, God’s Word would be given the most important place in our lives.  Christian prayer would not have been removed from the public square in the U.S., nor the Ten Commandments from the walls of our public institutions.

Roy shows the number of immigrants allowed into our country legally each year.  The number is roughly equal to the number of annual U.S. abortions. Imagine if, in the last 50 years, America had chosen to be more concerned about the words of Jesus to “Go into all of the world.”  Imagine if we had sent the number of missionaries abroad each year equaling the number of aborted children since 1973. These missionaries would have been equipped with many of our modern technologies and a goal of helping those living in poverty to have the tools to make their lives better.

If we had chosen the above route, we would be nearing 40,000,000 missionaries in hundreds of different countries throughout the world.  Imagine how much better those lives, and ours, would be.  Our population would be no different than it is now.

Imagine.

Instead of the above possibility, we now find ourselves facing a possible financial crisis.  Could it be because we have generally forgotten God and have become greedy and self-absorbed that we find ourselves in our current position?

Immigration, abortion, and the “black horse” of Revelation in the same post?

Yep.

The following article discusses food and dollar inflation.  It is an interesting look at where we are from a prophetic viewpoint.

Behold the Black Horse:

http://www.bibleprophecyblog.com/2010/11/behold-black-horse.html

Here’s part of the post:

“The median household income in the U.S. was $11,800 in 1975 and today is $49,777. If you go by the government’s CPI, $11,800 in 1975 dollars equals $47,208 in today’s dollars. That would seem to indicate that Americans are earning slightly higher real incomes today than 35 years ago. However, the truth is, once you discount the effects of geometric weighting, the median household income in 1975 of $11,800 actually equals $154,000 in today’s dollars. This explains how in 1975, a father was able to support a family on just one income and college students were able to afford their own tuition with just a summer job. Today, in many cases both parents need to work to support their family, and students need to go deeply into debt to fund their education.”

There is a natural and spiritual law that says “You reap what you sow.”  Fortunately, the message in the Christian faith is that there is always hope.

Jesus told a story about a young man who foolishly asked for his inheritance before he had the wisdom to know what to do with it.  It’s not a pretty story.  The young man squanders all that he has been given.

Eventually, he returned to his father and said: “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.”

The story that Jesus told has a happy ending.  The Father restores his son and once again the son has hope.  This is a theme found throughout the Bible.

It is never too late to ask God to forgive us for our selfish ways and to help others.

Chris Reimers

You can find the story of the prodigal son here:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+15&version=NASB