A Thirst for God's Word

2 Corinthians 10:6-12

Verse seven is one that requires each of us to ponder, to get still and quiet and reflect on what is being said: “Look at what is before your eyes. If anyone is confident that he is Christ's, let him remind himself that just as he is Christ's, so also are we.”  We are also reminded of this in 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” 

Now you may not understand what is on the examine so let me give some insight from the Word of God, 1 Peter 2:2 says, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.”  Being a new creation in Christ, one should have a thirst for the Word of God, hunger to be fed and to grow in their relationship with a Father who is totally in love with them.  Romans 8:16,

In Romans Paul says, The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children so one should have on the test Romans 8:14-16;  ^“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” Talking with the Father does not come without an understanding of and a desire to want more than His hand, a yearning to know that He will walk with you through the valley of death, and you will fear no evil, for He is with you.

Paul is very clear that the ground at the Cross is level no one is elevated above another, but that God has assigned leadership roles and the job of your priest or preacher is to build-up never tearing-down.  It seems the false teachers were making a big deal about how bold Paul was in his letter and yet his physical appearance and speaking gifts were not all that impressive.

It also seems that the false teachers were big on promoting themselves and using themselves as the standard instead of Christ and His Cross, so be aware of such teachers.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Fulfill the vows you have made

August 20, 2016

2 Corinthians 10:1-5

Paul tells us the following in verse one; "I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!"  Paul, the apostle, is entreating the body of Christ to earnestly and anxiously obey the teaching he has shared with them and to fulfill the vows they have taken.  How wise and what a blessing if we would learn to approach those in our circle of influence with the meekness and gentleness of Christ. 

We see Paul now on the offense; some of the people have believed the false teachers and think Paul is behaving in an unspiritual way. 

In verses 2-5, one needs to give much thought before going forward, for we live in a time of false teachers.  Many have tried to return God’s favor in making man in His image and have sought to fashion God into their image.  So let deliberate on what was said in verses 2-5; "I beg of you that when I am present, I may not have to show boldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh. For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete."

How we fight our battles and we all have battles tells much about us, for God knows that we are people who have a tendency to adopt the habits of our culture. When you have the number of years that I've spent on planet earth, you have a history to look back on and realize how far we have moved as a culture, as a nation from the teaching of the Bible.  Have you heard about those who claim to be Christian but will kill doctors and others, because they are in the business of killing the unborn?  Those are not the weapons of warfare Paul is teaching!  We see others try to destroy a person who they disagree with by gossip or an all out attack on their individual character, none of which are the weapons of our Lord.

When you enter into a spiritual battle first and foremost understand it is not a winnable battle in your wisdom or abilities.  Do you recall the account given by a good king of Judea in 2 Kings chapter 18-19, when "In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them? And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, "I have done wrong; withdraw from me. Whatever you impose on me I will bear."  But bullies and the king of Assyria was one, took all the gold and then came back later for the kingdom.  And this is what his commander told the people: "And do not listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you by saying, "The Lord will deliver us." Has any of the gods of the nations ever delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?"  Now as you read chapter 19, ponder on Hezekiah’s actions and his prayer, then you will see the only way to fight the battles that come into your life.  "Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said: "O Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; and listen to the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, but the work of men's hands, wood, and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. So now, O Lord our God, save us, please, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O Lord, are God alone."

The answer to Hezekiah’s prayer was by way of Isaiah the prophet: "Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there, or come before it with a shield or cast up a siege mound against it. By the way that he came, by the same, he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, declares the Lord. For I will defend this city to save it, for my sake and the sake of my servant David."

And that night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went home and lived at Nineveh."

One angel of the LORD sent by the Father, and 185,000 dead bodies changed the mind of Sennacherib king of Assyria, and later one of his sons killed him in the temple where he worshiped a little god who could not save him.  How I need this lesson, how the church needs this lesson for this is the only way to engage our enemies.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

We are only managers

2 Corinthians 9:6-9 &10-15

“The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written,

“He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”

What should a person do when he finds himself in a culture of reaping sparingly?  That culture is not a new thing and is found in the workplace, families, in churches, and the best example is in government.  Let me use the U.S. Postal Services as example number one.  With taxpayers pouring millions into it and still it is in the red and cannot compete with a private non-funded business that understands the need to sow bountifully so that they can reap bountifully.  The examples in families, business, and churches could take up the remainder of this paper but then we would miss the point of what the apostle is sharing with us; that we are only managers of what our Father has entrusted to our care.

Many in and out of the church have become slaves to the lender and are not even open to this teaching because they pay no attention to the Scriptures on debt.  In Proverbs 22:7, “The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower becomes the lender's slave.”  As a follower of Jesus, this should be the desire of our hearts found in Romans 13:8, “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.”

If the lust of your flesh has put you in debt are you enjoying the stuff you still owe on, over the contentment of not being in debt?  There is good news, you can be free, it is no different than one who is a slave to food and has allowed it to steal their health, you need to quit putting the wrong stuff in your mouth and reduce the amounts also; and the same goes with your desire for more stuff.

Now what about many of us who have been savers, do you find yourself willing to trust God with what He has put into your trust?  If you trust Him to do all that He has promised, you will find 2 Corinthians 9:10-15 exciting.

Let me share it with you: “He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

High expectation leads to Higher performance

2 Corinthians 9:1-5

Making a living in sales one learns a few important truths about life; high expectation leads to higher performance and low expectation will return low performance.  Having a leader as your manager that sets obtainable goals that require a salesperson to give his very best is the first step.  But more important is that the leader or managers convey they believe in the one that has been given the goal and know they have the ability to reach it. 

Early in my career at 3M, I worked for such a man, Duane inherited a sales force and many of them were just coasting looking forward to retiring or a better opportunity.  It was my first sales job and the only thing I had to offer was to work hard and do what I was told.  We were told to make ten cold calls per day and three demos.  Duane never fired any of the thirteen sales persons, but many quit because they knew what was expected was reachable but they were not willing to meet the requirements.

A leader such as apostle Paul knew this truth it is clear in the way he spoke so fondly of the Corinthian believers and the churches at Corinth.  He made clear what was expected of them, and reminded them of the commitments or pledge they had made earlier, you can find this being referred to in 1 Corinthians 16:1-4.

Now the Macedonians lived in a province north of Achaia, and Corinth was the capital of this Roman province.  In that the churches of Corinth had pledged to take an offering on the first day of the week in regards to how they had prosper, so that when Paul came back they could go with him to take it to Jerusalem to give relief to the under-resourced, the poor and the widow in the church of Jerusalem.  So Paul is sending Titus and others ahead to let the church at Corinth know that he will be coming and he wants to make sure they have met the agreement about the pledge.  A leader is wise in doing such, for it is the last thing one wants to show up and find the one that has promised has not met the requirement.  Both the churches at Corinth and Paul would have been humiliated.

It is my belief that the Church of today needs to be taught about the importance of keeping vows, especially to our LORD.  These are two of many verses that need to be taught. "If a man makes a vow to the LORD, or takes an oath to bind himself with a binding obligation, he shall not violate his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.” (Numbers 30:2)  Now look at Ecclesiastes 5:4-6, “When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. Let not your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands?”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

What about Giving?

2 Corinthians 8:16-24

Why was Paul giving commendation to Titus?  It was because he was not a paid volunteer because out of his own heart desire he was willing without being asked to go back to the Corinthian churches and raise money to help the poor and needy in Jerusalem.  He, like Paul, knew a paramount truth that God does not prosper us so that we acquire vast wealth to hoard.  

Do you recall these words of Jesus found in the Gospel of Luke 6:38, “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”  What about this word from the lips of Paul the apostle to the churches at Corinth; “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”   Your wealth is a gift, you’re the manager not the owner, and many have learned this truth from the Scriptures.  Found in Acts 20:35, “In all things, I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

It may come as a surprise to the men who learned and applied this truth, look at this quote from Winston Churchill, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”  Denzel Washington had this to say, “At the end of the day it’s not about what you have or even what you’ve accomplished . . . it’s about who you’ve lifted up, who you’ve made better.  It’s about what you’ve given back.”

Titus did not go begging, not even close, none of the lines we often hear today that if you do not give to the Lord’s work it will not be done, what a bunch of bull!  As if God was in need, folks we have seen that He can put all the gold required in a fishes mouth, it is not that God needs what He has given us, but how He desires that we get in on the blessing of being a cheerful giver.  The apostle John gives this insight into grace and giving: “By this, we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Relationships

It is Christmas day, and I was thinking about each of you and what you mean to Jan and I. And the word “Relationship” came into my mind, and how without relationship we will not show love for one another.  The apostle John may have been the master teacher when it comes to love.  Ponder on this thought from 1 John 4:7-8, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God because God is love.”

The greatest of Relationship was when God who took on flesh and lived with us so all people could have a personal relationship with the Father.

“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us, a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder.  And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of His government and peace, There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever.”— Isaiah 9:6-7

It is essential for you and me to love, to have an in-depth and lasting relationships.  We must have a relationship with the Father and His Son.  And when we have the Sprit of Christ in us we will desire to do 1 John 4:11, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” 

So this is our prayer for each of us, that we allow first God to show Himself to each of us, and that as we enter a relationship with Him, we allow that love to grow in each of our hearts, and for each other and others in our circle of influence.

Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year,

Jan & Bob

Forgiven Much - Loves Much

2 Corinthians 8:1-15

Do you recall the account of Jesus being invited by Simon the Pharisee to his home for a meal, and a known woman of the city, a sinner came and weeping her tears covered Jesus' feet, and she wiped them with her long hair and kissed his feet and anointed them with very expensive ointment.  And Simon was sure that Jesus had to know what kind of woman was doing this and it proved he was not a prophet.  That story is found in Luke 7:36-50 and do you recall Jesus telling Simon about a story of a certain moneylender who had two debtors?  “One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.  When they could not pay, he canceled the debt of both. Now, which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he canceled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

As I read Paul’s account of the churches of Macedonia giving above and beyond their ability to help and support the church at Jerusalem, it made me wonder were they more grateful than the church of today?  With all the tools the current church has, and it has many books and lessons on grace and the love of God.  Most families that go by the title of Christian have more than one Bible and the resources to sermons, and teaching is everywhere, but these Macedonians who had so little had the same spirit of this woman Jesus is telling us about in Luke’s gospel.

Did you grasp who a part of these churches in Macedonia was?  They were churches in extreme poverty, but full of joy and Paul testifies that they gave according to their means, and beyond their means, of their own free will.  They were excited that God had allowed them to be part of His plan to help those in need.  And now Paul is asking the churches in Corinth to have the same heart as Titus comes to take an offering for the needs of the churches in Jerusalem.  In that the churches in Jerusalem were house churches, it was not to build a building but to help those in great need.

Paul tells us they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then they had no difficulty in offering their material resources.  Could that be what is missing in today’s church, we have not first given ourselves?

Maybe grace has somehow not become a reality in today’s church, if that is true, then you have bought into a lie, that it is your ability, your religion, your acts of righteousness that earn you a place in God’s heaven, and in fellowship with the Lord Jesus.  Listen to this quote from Charles Spurgeon: “If heaven were by merit, it would never be heaven to me, for if I were in it, I should say, ‘I am sure I am here by mistake; I am sure this is not my place; I have no claim to it.’ But if it be of grace and not of works, then we may walk into heaven with boldness.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

It's all Good

2 Corinthians 7:8-16

In my business life, one of my boss’s often would say be very careful about what you say in an email.  Letters and often emails sent without much thought can carry a message that was not the intent of the sender, and yet the old saying is true; perception or interpretation is the way it is.

As stated earlier false teachers have challenged the apostle Paul’s apostleship and integrity after he has left Corinth.  As the reports come to him, he sends them a letter and that letter is now lost and yet it addressed the lies being told about him, that he had wronged and defrauded the Corinthians and that he was corrupted?  Titus was sent by Paul to address the false teaching and to share Paul’s letter, and it must have been a good one that discusses truth, in that Paul was concerned about the believer’s spiritual growth and sanctification. 

The letter brought about grieving, shall we pick up Paul’s account in verses 8-13, “For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief so that you suffered no loss through us.

For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point, you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter. So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one who did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God. Therefore we are comforted.”

This grief did produce a repentant heart, and it was used by God to encourage not only the young church but also Titus.  As you read this account and Paul’s attitude of how things turned out it reminds me of my friend David Bush and his famous words; “It’s all good.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Grooves the Scriptures put into your mind

2 Corinthians 7:2-4

“Make room in your hearts for us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one. I do not say this to condemn you, for I said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. I am acting with great boldness toward you; I have great pride in you; I am filled with comfort. In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy.”

You and I understand that Paul is writing to the church at Corinth, but why is he asking them to make room in their hearts for him and others whom he has sent to bring the teaching of Jesus Christ to them?  And no sooner than Paul left false teachers came in with a Jesus plus gospel, they implied Paul was wrong at best in his teaching, and many said he was a heretic.  They claimed that to be a Christ follower one must obey and live according to Mosaic regulations.  On Paul’s second visit to Corinth, it was not a good visit; it was very painful what he encountered for the false teachers had been very successful at getting the Corinthians to disown Paul.

It seems clear that Paul wrote a now lost letter of rebuke (2 Corinthians 2:3-4, 9) and sent it by Titus.  When Titus returned to Paul, he came with good news that many in the church had repented, and now accepted Paul as an apostle of Jesus Christ as is recorded in verses 5-7 of this chapter.

Had Jesus not taught that false prophets and the teacher would come to the church in Matthew 24:10-12, “And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.”  And in Romans 16:17-18, are we not given this instruction: “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.”  And in Colossians 2:8, we have this wise counsel; “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”

This past week Jan and I drove to Corpus Christi and as I was driving I got into those small grooves at the far right side of the road that can wake you up and keep you from danger.  This thought came to my mind; that is what happens when I put the word of God into my mind and when I hear a teacher or preacher misusing the Scriptures the Holy Spirit brings to my soul, I’m hitting the groove, wake-up.  As a follower of Christ, you need the warnings that Scripture puts into your memory and how they guide you in a world of deception and false teachers.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

If you are a culture Christian,

2 Corinthians 7:1

“Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.”

Paul is reminding the church at Corinth and us that we have promises from our LORD that are irrevocable made from a God who cannot lie and who changes not.  But we earth critters forget who is in charge and this quote from Frank Wedekind is profound; “God made man in his image, and the man returned the favor.”   

I’m fearful that the god of many who goes by the title Christian serve a god who changes with the culture.  When one enters into a relationship with the living Christ, His grace has no strings attached, for God’s grace comes free of charge.  Philip Yancey gives this insight in his book “What’s so Amazing about Grace?” on page 45, “Only Christianity dares to make God’s love unconditional.”  In the gospel of John chapter 13:10, Jesus is making sure we understand once in Christ we are secure, and it has not one thing to do with our performance but His grace.  Now the bad news as we visit John 13:10, “Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.”  Jesus Christ, the unchangeable God, sees your heart knows all about you even the most secret thoughts and still loves you.  I have no doubt it broke his heart knowing that Judas cared more about money and power than to enter into a relationship with Him, but that is where free will comes into play.  So if you are a culture Christian, how’s that working out, is your image of the God you desire big, I mean enormous, can your model extend grace when your world turns upside down?

If not, are you willing to come to Jesus and share with Him for He is the Father who has watched the road of your life waiting for you to turn around and He will not just meet you half way, He will run and embrace you His child who was lost and is now found?

And all of us who follow Christ should we not desire to give up our hope and desire if they do not line up with the teaching of our LORD?  Maturing in Christ becoming more like Him in our home, our neighborhoods and in the marketplace should be the goal, the desire of our hearts.  Grace is free, but it came at a high price for both our Father and the Son, His only Son, He gave to buy us out of the control of sin.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

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Light and Darkness do not mix

2 Corinthians 6:14-16

“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols?”

I have read that this is about believers and false teachers or apostles, and if so that's a good message.  One of our young pastors referred to them in a sermon last week, saying many pastors were cruise directors where you received subpar food, entertainment, and things you did not want or need without ever being told the ship had a virus that was highly contagious.  Now those were not his words but my take away from the message.

I’m a long way from a scholar in Biblical Studies, and I’m sure what I’m about to say does not play well in this present darkness in which we find ourselves living.  Every follower of Christ must address this issue.  “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers.”  My first thought is, it’s dishonest; you are going to not be faithful in words or deeds to the one you are marrying.  From day one you are going to want them to know Christ, you are going to pray that they go to church with you, that he/she will raise your future children under the authority of Christ and that you share a similar faith.  Now I believe it was Andy Stanley that said "if you’re an unbeliever the last thing you want is someone from day one who plans to drag you to church but is not honest about what is in their heart.  Now if you say, I would never do that, I do not care if he/she comes into a relationship with Christ.  I do not care if our children are raised in the church; you go on and marry the non-believer.  But I can tell you on the authority of Scripture you have a title without any meaning.

Paul goes on to make a strong case for not entering into a union with a non-believer as your life partner, or your business partner.  These are the reasons; “For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols?”  If you are entering into a relationship that you hope to last, it sure helps to have transparency, respect, love, honor, and the ability to share your heart with one another, righteousness is going to be a real issue in a relationship with a partner that has no desire for being righteous.  Light and darkness do not mix, nor does Christ ever compromise with wicked people or corrupt people, that is what is meant by the word Belial.  A non-believer will have little gods, it may be you their mate, but at some point, your Father in heaven will put an end to your godship and all kinds of hell will take place in your relationship.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Masquerade for Jesus Christ?

2 Corinthians 6:3-10

 “We put no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well-known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.”

Maybe a long time before the mirror is required before and after reading this, it was for me.  As a follower of Christ and a minister of the gospel masquerading as a salesperson, if you were my competitor I would have put an obstacle in your way of knowing Christ by my actions.  I’m not proud of that, but I had nothing to do with the competitor, he was the enemy.  Now I’m masquerading as a guy between jobs, and at some point, I’m going to own up to being retired at making a living but never at living life, so how should an older guy out of work for pay; retired person masquerade for Jesus Christ?

Could these words above from the apostle Paul be a great guideline?  First, by being involved in your neighborhood, knowing your neighbors, caring for them and never being an obstacle in anyone’s way.  What a needed ministry we live on a street that is a mile long, and at one time I knew most of the people, but today we have many new neighbors, and we have not yet had the pleasure of having them in our home.  Jan and I must do better, how can we love our neighbors as our self if we do not get involved and know what life has brought to their doorstep.

The apostle Paul shares what he experienced in sharing Christ, and we pray it is never required of us, but let's look at the ones we can ask God to put into our lives as a minister of the gospel masquerading as a housewife, working mom, doctor, lawyer, or even politician.  What about:  by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well-known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.”

I’m not sure of your role but this I know that if you are in Christ, you are a minister of the gospel.  Now you may not be a good one as I’ve owned up to, but God has a good plan for each of us if we will just be still and seek His face.  As I've stated often, we have a poor understanding of the word love.   So when told by Jesus that these are two of the greatest commandments found in Mark 12:28-31, love God with all that is in you, your mind, will, and emotions and love your neighbor as yourself.  Is the church paying attention, and you are the church!

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Behold, now is the favorable time

2 Corinthians 6:1-2

“Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says,

“In a favorable time, I listened to you,
 and in a day of salvation, I have helped you.”

Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

Have you given thought to receiving the grace of God in vain, who and how would one do such a thing?  I believe a simple answer is a person in a big jam, one who needs a quick fix but does not desire losing control of their desires but wants to be in total control of life after getting out of the jam.  Such a person is unable to grasp the reality of grace. 

When I was a young man one of the neighbors sons got very sick, the parents were sure he was going to die and they ask to meet with the local pastor and boy did they make promises if God would only save their son, they would come to church, they would change their lifestyle, but it was conditional, God had to save their boy.  The boy had a big change in the next few days but the parents did not honor one of their promises, is that not receiving the grace of God in vain?

But what about us who follow Christ, do we denigrate grace when we are not graceful to those we live with, our families, our parents, our teachers, those who work for us or whom we work for?  When you have identified yourself as a follower of Christ, and someone asks this question of you that was ask of me many years ago, now the question was from my friend Ronnie.  It was at a time I was going for what I wanted at that moment, and Ronnie said I thought you said you were a Christian, is that action in keeping with your faith?  My action was not and I’m so glad Ronnie ask that question, it has stuck with me all these years.

From the fall of mankind God as been extending His grace to men, but over and over they have heard another voice, I call it Channel One the deceptive channel, and it always says later, not today, it’s time to have fun to break the rules and get your needs met outside of God.  And that voice has been responsible for millions to never experience the grace of God.  But there is another voice, and it is much softer, in fact, one has to be still to hear it, and I call it Channel Two, the Holy Spirit of God.  It is saying; “Behold, now is the favorable time; behold now is the day of salvation.”  Two voices, one is deceptive, the other wants only that you will receive the free gift of Grace, and be made new.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

For Our Sake

2 Corinthians 5:21

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

How often have you believed a feeling?  I’ve allowed feelings to make me feel as if my worth would be decided on how well I performed, and especially when it came to God.  So reading 2 Corinthians 5:21, when it states that Jesus who is pure, Holy, Creator, and the Messiah the one John the Baptist calls the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world; states that for your sake and mine He, Jesus, became sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God, I find no performance on my part.
That’s beyond human understanding, because since the fall of man people have been making up religions and objecting to worship, and those rules and religion are designed around how well they perform.  Even the atheist has an object of worship, it’s called self and his rules are against any moral authority. 

So each of us who seeks truth must want answers as to why would God allow His Son, His only Son to step out of the glory of being worshiped in heaven and come to earth and die for the sins of someone like me?  As we look into this you are going to be amazed that God loves you not based on your goodness, not on your wealth or lack of, not on your nationality, but just because He desires to have a relationship with you.

Do your recall the prophet Jeremiah when the Lord said to him as a youth, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5)  And what about the apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians 1:3-4, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.  For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence.”  That is not logical to my mind, that God would choose us before He created the world knowing we would sin, knowing we would reject His Son, knowing the price that His Son would have to pay to redeem you and I.  Yet God has been very clear to all who will listen: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”  (Isaiah 55:8-9)

Do you recall the apostle John telling us these words: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God because God is love. In this, the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”  (1 John 4:7-10)

Love is the only answer to the question “Why” Have you a desire to be loved not based on your performance, or anything but that our Father wants to have you know Him and long to be in a Father-son/daughter relationship with Him?

From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice