Civic Duty

"Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people"- 1 Peter 2:13-15 (NIV).

If my brother doesn't get called tomorrow, he's made it through the week without having his number pulled for jury duty. Serving on a jury is the civic duty of every citizen. Have you ever served? Every time I've been called I've been dismissed. In the beginning, it was due to being the mother of small children. Later, I was excused for being in education. I would not have minded serving; it's my civic duty, but don't we all just sigh when we get that letter and then hope, and possibly pray, we don't have to serve. We can equate this to the times when the Lord calls us to serve. What does not fit "our" plan is subject to being skirted, refused, or requested to be excused. Moses asked to be excused from his calling to return to Egypt to lead his people out of bondage. Wasn't on his to-do list. We are citizens of this life, but most importantly, citizens of God's realm. Would you refuse Him? The fruit of obedience to God, which includes submitting to human authority, is to silence the ignorant talk of foolish people by doing good, by doing our duty; if not, we can be included as one of the foolish people.   

Your Condition

"The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray"- 1 Peter 4:7 (NIV).

I watched my father drink alcohol up until his final years. He loved scotch, whiskey and beer. As a teacher of ancient history, I can tell you there is evidence of alcohol consumption as far back as we can trace mankind. The wrong or right of drinking has long divided marriages, families, friends, and congregations. The most used argument in favor of drinking is Jesus' first miracle, turning water into wine; yet, drinking caused a lot of problems for Noah and Lot. Then there are the arguments over the differences between "old" wine and "new" wine, but the prophet Hosea says, "Old wine and new wine [both] take away their understanding" (4:11). The question should be taken off of the "right" and "wrong" of drinking and personally asking ourselves if our drinking glorifies the Lord, because, in all that we say and do, we either glorify God or we do not. Do we weaken or strengthen others in our drinking? Do we weaken or strengthen the temple God has given our spirit to reside in? Are we spiritually watching, paying attention, when we are drinking? Let your own conscience respond to those questions. Then ask yourself, if the answers are negative, do you have the ability to stop? If you're still getting a negative answer, pray and ask God for help. Jesus says, "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matthew 26:41). What condition do you want to be in when the Lord returns?  

A Time Of Need

"Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need"- Hebrews 4:16 (NIV).

Esther was queen, but she could not approach her husband, the king, with her problem. She was restricted, like everyone else, from approaching the king without being summoned. The violation of that law meant death, unless the king extended his golden scepter, which spared them their life (Esther 4:11). The king, did so and offered grace to Esther for her "time such as this" (v.14). As followers of Christ, we have been granted immeasurable grace, but we did not earn it. In fact, you cannot earn God's grace. You cannot be good enough, give enough, or work hard enough to earn God's grace. Grace is afforded you through faith. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8). Approaching God's throne is your right as His child once you have come to faith. You do not have to tremble, or wait for an extended golden scepter; you will only find Love waiting for you. God invites you to approach His throne with confidence, at any time, receiving mercy and finding grace to help you in your time of need.

It Is Time

"Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until He comes and showers His righteousness on you"- Hosea 10:12 (NIV).

The story goes of two farmers during a drought. Both prayed for rain, but only one got on his tractor, plowed and prepared for the rain. Which of the two has sown righteousness for himself; which of the two will reap the fruit of the harvest, which is God's unfailing love? The answer is, the one who prepared for the rain, breaking up the dry, dusty hard ground. I'm sure, if a true story, he would have been scoffed at by others. This analogy, applied to today's Scripture, is saying it is time to seek the Lord, for He is coming, bringing with Him showers of His righteousness. Waiting is a terrible mistake. Did Noah wait until he saw the first raindrops to begin the ark? Were the ten virgins in Matthew 25, who were waiting for the Groom  to appear, prepared for His arrival? No. We prepare by seeking the Lord and it is time to seek the Lord. Our Heavenly Father says, "I love those who love Me, and those who seek Me find Me" (Proverbs 8:17). But, how do I prepare, you may ask? How do I seek Him? Ask yourself: If I knew Jesus was coming back tomorrow at 3:00, what would I do differently between this very moment until His return? Now go and get on your tractor.

Gloriously Gift-less

"But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me"- 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV).

Some people are so blessed to have certain gifts: leadership, wealth, entertainment, sports, intellect, beauty, speaking, writing, artistic, and languages. The list could go on and on. If I had any of them, I would use them for the Lord and for His kingdom. However, I'm not endowed with any special gift. Isn't that wonderful! Anything good that comes from me can only go to the glory of the Father. It becomes my own edification, unless I share with others that I don't possess any of the resources to make things happen. It's amazing when God works through me and, oh, so obvious. A gifted person may wonder if it was from his gift or if God worked through him at that moment. Granted, all the gifts come from God, but over time, as the gift is used, you can begin to wonder, was that me or was that God? A gift-less person never wonders about such things. It's all God. All things go to the glory of God, but I'm feeling blessed to be gloriously gift-less today.