Let's all 'do good works'

Today’s verse of the day from Bible Gateway is  
Ephesians 2:10 (NIV) For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

As I read this verse, penned by the Apostle Paul in his letter to believers in Ephesus, a city in modern-day Turkey, the folks of God’s Country Cooperative Parish (GCCP) came to mind.

Locally, GCCP volunteers work hard every summer to fulfill Paul’s directive.

GCCP, which brings together United Methodist churches in Newberry, Paradise, Hulbert, Engadine, McMillan, Grand Marais and Germfask, coordinates with Volunteers in Mission (VIM) teams from throughout Michigan and the rest of the country to assist local folks in need.

This group of Christian volunteers takes time from their summer vacations to make minor repairs to homes located in the GCCP area. VIM groups of United Methodists, coordinated by GCCP church and community worker Randy Hildebrandt, share their expertise throughout the 2,500 square mile area that encompasses these churches that operate under the GCCP umbrella.

According to the GCCP administrator’s Facebook page, “We are happy to host mission teams from all over Michigan and beyond to assist in sharing God's love with our hands and feet in minor home repairs - all summer long. We share God's love with a variety of outreach ministries in our seven communities.”

Basically, GCCP’s Mission Statement says it all, “God’s Country Cooperative Parish is to bring together people of the seven churches to provide mutual love and support for a greater impact serving Christ, community, and mission to all.”

Want to know more about this Christian team of workers, find them on Facebook by clicking here.  Be sure to take time to peruse the photographs from this summer’s projects. I promise, you will be impressed.

Perhaps each and every one of us can find a way, however small, to fulfill Paul’s directive as the folks of the United Methodist Church have done this summer.

May God bless each and every one of you every day in every way.

Do you really need to go to church?

Part 1 of ?

Do you really need to go to church?

I think – no.

Why?

Because, in my humble opinion, the people who populate church pews today seem to have adopted the holier-than-thou mentality, an attitude that does not belong in a God-fearing, Bible-professing group of Christians.

Jesus sure did not act that way.

Last I read the Good Book, Jesus came to save the sinners, not the righteous. Even the apostle Paul recognized this and confessed, “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.” 1 Timothy 1:15 (NIV)

Why go to church if you come away upset? And, I am not talking about the upset that occurs when the pastor’s message hits too close to home, convicting me of my sin. I am talking the kind of upset that happens when your fellow Christians act in an un-Christian manner.

Why go to church if you spend the next week wondering what you did to deserve such treatment?

Why go to church if your fellow parishioners are cold and lack understanding?

Why go to church, if, when you need them most, your fellow Christians choose to turn their collective backs on your misery?

Think about it folks. What would Jesus have done? Would He have humiliated, intimidated, ignored His flock?

The answer is simple, no, He would not.

What Jesus did was take on our sins, all of our sins – yours and mine – nailed them to the cross, ensuring eternal life in Him, if only we believe.

Belief, however, comes with responsibilities.

We’ll explore some of those responsibilities as we work through this series in the next few weeks.

As you go about your day, I offer this prayer, Psalm 67 (NIV), for you and me –

1 May God be gracious to us and bless us
    and make his face shine on us—
2 so that your ways may be known on earth,
    your salvation among all nations.
3 May the peoples praise you, God;
    may all the peoples praise you.
4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
    for you rule the peoples with equity
    and guide the nations of the earth.
5 May the peoples praise you, God;
    may all the peoples praise you.
6 The land yields its harvest;
    God, our God, blesses us.
7 May God bless us still,
    so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.
Amen

Just who can be against you?

Paul, the apostle of Jesus

The apostle Paul wrote in his epistle, Romans 8:31-39 (NIV)

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

I ask you, "If God is for you, who can be against you?"

 

Good question to ponder over the weekend...

 

My God bless you every day in every way. Amen!

Be Happy

In the new year, I have decided to adopt a positive attitude in all aspects of my life. Seems to me that by doing so, it will be easier to adopt God’s plan, and to be a true follower of His way.

Proverbs, most of which was written by King Solomon, the wisest monarch to ever rule Israel, writes in Chapter 15, Verse 13 (NIV) A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.

Now I know everyone prefers a happy heart and I also know it’s better to walk around with a smile on your face rather than a frown, but the big question is how to accomplish “happy.” Who wants a crushed spirit anyway? Certainly not me, and I am pretty sure you would agree.

In my 63+ years, I have found happiness is definitely a state of mind adopted with considerable effort on some days, less on others.

If I begin my day in God’s Word, it seems the day starts off on the right foot and stays there. Writing this blog requires that I focus on God and his authoritative Word every morning – first thing.

To be honest, I never thought of studying God’s Word as an avenue to happiness, but in this, only the third day of my Retreat to Belief adventure, I have found that His Word just may be the key to the ultimate form of happiness – surrender to Him.

Make His plans for you, your plans for you. I sincerely believe that finding true happiness starts in the Bible and stays there as we follow its precepts. As I searched my Bible this morning I came across a verse that certifies my assumption. Again it’s Proverbs - Proverbs 16:20 (NKJV) to be exact, He who heeds the word wisely will find good, And whoever trusts in the Lord, happy is he.

I always end my day in the Bible too. For more than 40 years I have gone to sleep with words of wisdom from the Our Daily Bread devotional. Several years ago (and I don’t remember when) I took a page out of the January booklet, the title – How to be Happy. Richard De Haan, a member of the RBC Ministries founding family, offers these Ten Rules for Happier Living:

            1.     Give something away.

2.     Do a kindness

3.     Give thanks always.

4.     Work with vim and vigor.

5.     Visit the elderly and learn from their experience.

6.     Look intently into the face of a baby and marvel.

7.     Laugh often – it’s life’s lubricant.

8.     Pray to know God’s way.

9.     Plan as though you will live forever – you will.

10.  Live as though today is your last day on earth.

Read your Bible. Pray often. Give thanks. Be happy in Him.

And, may God bless each and every one of you every day in every way. Amen. 

Thinking about a resolution?

Resolution; a resolve; a decision or determination: “to make a firm resolve to do something.”

Daniel refuses food from the king's table.

With the new year upon us, I could not help but think about the perennial act of making New Year’s resolutions. Many of us resolve to lose weight and get in shape. Seems I make that resolution every year! And, I always begin with good intentions, but then life happens. Living gets in the way of my resolve, causing me to break that resolution I was so intent on keeping.

Has that happened to you?

This year, my resolutions include the get fit and lose weight ones, as always, but I have added more resolutions that I feel are much more important to me, and maybe to you as well.

This year I plan to author these blog posts on a consistent basis, delving into God’s Word to learn more about his plans for us. When a blog subject comes to me, my first source of reference will be my Bible. Seems God has left his mark of guidance on every aspect of the human condition right there, in His Word.

My prayer is that you will be positively impacted by what I write, take the guidance provided in His infallible Word and use it to grow your faith and commitment to God.

 Understanding my commitment to God and you, I begin with…

 Who better to write about resolutions than Daniel?

Daniel, who was quite possibly a member of the Judah royal family, was one of those singled out by King Nebuchadnezzar to eat food and wine from the king’s own table.

Of course, the king had a reason for sharing his plenty with a captive. Nebuchadnezzar planned to train these young men from the royal family, men, “without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace.” (Daniel 1:4 NIV) After these men were trained for three years, they would enter into the king’s service.

Even though the royal fare would have been much more satisfying than that prepared for other captives from Judah, Daniel made a commitment to not drink or eat from the king’s table, thereby honoring the one true God.

You’ll find Daniel’s resolution in Daniel 1:8 (NIV)

But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.

One has to believe that food on the pagan king’s table would have included that which had been sacrificed to idols, which was forbidden fodder for the Jewish people (Exodus 34:15).

Also, Jewish dietary laws set strict parameters for food preparation and the Babylonian cooks would have never adhered to these rules, making it impossible for Daniel to eat the king’s largess (Exodus 12:8-9 NIV).

Not only that, but it would not be unbelievable to understand that the Babylonian diet would have included meats forbidden for Jewish consumption (Leviticus 11:4 NKJV).

Because there were no laws prohibiting the consumption of any type of vegetable, Daniel and three other Judean captives ate only vegetables and drank only water during their time of captivity.

Such resolve under less-than-optimum conditions makes me believe, that if we, as human as Daniel, really put our hearts, minds and souls to a resolution, especially one that involves growing our faith through reading and absorbing His Word, we will persevere and be the better for it.

Want to read more about Daniel and how he overcame a foreign environment through his faith? If so, you can read the entire Old Testament book by clicking here.

Make your commitment to God, and yourself, today. I did.

May God bless each and every one of you every day in every way. Amen!