Bland

I made a loaf of bread today from a familiar recipe. I knew the ingredients by heart. It sometimes takes many hours for bread to rise and be ready to bake in the oven. It came out piping hot and lovely. I sliced a piece from the end, tasted it, and then I realized that I had left out the salt. The bread was good, but bland and pasty to taste. It had lost it's savor.

Mat 5:13  Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. 

How do we lose our salt as a Christian? Some thoughts on this; by our bad testimony and willful sins we bring shame to the faith. Often we are fearful and do not speak when we should. Still another thought is we speak but not from God's inspired word. Or when we share the word,  we are dull and lacking the conviction of the Holy Spirit in what we say. The word is alive, so we should be alive when we share it. Speak boldly, with zeal.

Eph 6:18  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; 
Eph 6:19  And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, 
Eph 6:20  For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. 

Funny Fawn

I came upon a young fawn last evening. She had two older sisters on the other side of us up on a higher hill. There were several families walking the trails with children calling to each other, swinging on old branches and exploring the outdoors. This youngster was exploring as well.

I walked slowly towards her, trying to focus the camera lens and to hold the camera steady in the dim light. Friend or foe? the fawn seemed to be thinking?

Eph 5:15  See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 

Eph 5:16  Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 

Eph 5:17  Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. 

The fawn moved and grazed a little but when she saw me getting closer; on no! there was a look of astonishment or dread on her face before she ran into the thickets. I needed a closer look at this picture.

Psa 43:5  Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

Countenance : pä·nēm, a face; an angels face, or an animals face.

The silly looking smile was an apple core that the deer found near the trail! An apple core smile, now that was something new and unexpected! I had misinterpreted her face. That happens to me all the time. May your smiles be real and your life a joy to the Lord and those who come your way. We are often making judgments on what we see, but appearances can be wrong. 

Jas 1:19  Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: 

Jas 1:20  For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. 

Be slow to speak

 

We must give room for ministry. One of the problems with denominations and non denominational churches is their feeling of exclusiveness, that they have the truth and question the ways of some of the other churches. As a child I attended a school where once a week all the children were given a choice to attend a Baptist church or a Catholic church. I still remember the pastor of one of these churches shaking his fist at the other church across town. Do we expect too much? Not all people are alike, nor do they serve God the same way. Give them room and always speak of Jesus as the center of our faith.

 

Jas 1:19  Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
Jas 1:20  For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

 

Rom 14:4  Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.

Rom 14:10  But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
Rom 14:11  For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
Rom 14:12  So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

 

Churches can be as different as the people who attend them, even in a particular denomination. It is being in Jesus Christ that brings us together. We can come together if he is held up and worshipped as our Lord and savior. God the Father, has given authority to his son to judge all things. If Jesus is not worshipped as God, then the church probably is not a Christian church. Some claim to know Jesus, but not as Lord. Jesus must be exalted in the churches along with God the Father. The Holy Spirit is God, but he exalts the Father and the Son. We worship by the Spirit and through the Spirit. If the Spirit exalts Jesus, than so should we. We are to honor men, but not to exalt them. We are not to exalt a denomination as "the only true church." The focus is on Jesus and the cross and his resurrection. He is the foundation of the church that we build upon.