A Curse Common to my Occupation

 

3 John 1- 8

I’ve lived with a curse for all of my professional life and it a curse common to the occupation that God called me to, the curse of being in sales.  Now it may be more common than I understand, it may have happen to you, but this I know, it drove me to excel and it also left a void when I had excelled and it did not happen.  The curse has a name; it is recognition, being acknowledged, and appreciated for your achievements.  For me it was a greater motivator than compensation, but if you’re a sale’s manager reading this, let me be quick to say compensation was a close second. 

Maybe it was just in my DNA or is this curse common to most men, not sure about girls or ladies, but even as a small child, I would run to mother and say watch what I can do, and the do ran the gamut from throwing a ball to hammering nails into a piece of wood.  I still do it today with my bride, Jan, I want her approval, I want to know that she believes in me that she respects and acknowledges my achievements, even when it’s something as unimportant as making a bed or sweeping the floors without being ask. 

So others can easily manipulate this curse, and it can also be one big flesh trip, but in sales, a good manager might let you bask in your achievements for a full day, before reminding you that they are expecting the same or better the next month.  And that brings me to John the elder, and his acknowledgement and appreciation of a man called Gaius.  Now Gaius was a Roman name, so more than likely he is a Gentile believer in the truth, and we understand that “Truth” and Jesus Christ are the same, Jesus is truth.  First the apostle John tells Gaius in his letter that he prays that all goes well for him, with his soul and with his health.  He then recounts what has been told him by others in the faith that had experienced the love shown by Gaius.  Verse 3, “For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth.”  The elder John then acknowledges that Gaius was one of his children, and I take from that he is referring to him being a convert of John’s ministry.

All the rewards, all the trips, all the plaques and acknowledgements I received are history and they are forgotten.  But Gaius was not looking for the acknowledgement of the elder, no he was a kingdom minded man, and he was and will be recognized by the King of Kings and Lord of Lord’s, the second man, Jesus Christ.  Verses 5-7, “Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, who testified to your love before the church.  You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God.  For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles.”  Gaius hit a homerun in the kingdom of God, what a goal for each of us who walk in “Truth.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

A God who is Outside of Time

 

2 John 1-13

In John’s second letter to the church at Ephesus, it begins in this way “The elder to the elect lady and her children.”  It would be like your pastor sending a letter to the church and it began, “The pastor,” but many wonder if John is addressing a Christian woman and her family or that of a church and its members are being personified.  I sure do not have any insight to that dispute, and is that what is important in this letter?

If you will take a few minutes to read this short letter, two words dominate the letter, truth and love.  If we hope to be light in this present darkness, in this culture of empty platitudes, it will require that we are driven by truth, and that we share that truth in love.  Our Redeemer Jesus Christ the Son of God often spoke to the meaning of these two words.  When Pilate was interrogating Jesus, Jesus made this statement, my kingdom is not of this world, so Pilate ask, “So are you a king” and this was Jesus reply; “You say that I am a king.  For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world – to bear witness to the truth.  Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” (John 18:37-38)  Pilate’s reply to Jesus was much like many in this present darkness, “What is truth?”

Often, we forget or cannot conceive of or contemplate a God who is outside of time, who understands tomorrow before you or I have acted or given thought to what we call future.  There is an old saying, “A word to the wise is sufficient” and so listen who Jesus is calling “Truth.”  “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”  I had a few people tell me that’s a show stopper, let me give you something to think about, “Before Creator God spoke the world into being, before He formed man out of the dust of the earth and breathed life into him, our Creator knew that man would rebel, that man would choose to live independent of God, and that His only Son would take on flesh, and become lower than the angels and die for our sins, now that’s beyond my understanding, but not beyond my ability to believe.  In fact, that sums up the word love, “God is Love,” and love always shows up as an action.  What voices are you listening to?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

A Surprise about Idols

 

1 John 5: 19-21

“We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.  And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ.  He is the true God and eternal life.  Little Children, keep yourselves from idols.”

When you read the Scripture above what jumps off the page, for me it is the world is not a fun place for Christians, it’s the enemy’s territory, and a war is raging for the minds and hearts of everyone who has chosen light over darkness.  My thoughts went to what the Lord said in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.  I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”  But there was something else that jumped off the page and that is John’s warning, “keep yourselves from idols.” 

It is clear that in John’s time on the planet people had house gods, and the Gentile had many such idols or false gods such as Dagon, Diana, Molech, and we also know they worshiped objects like the gold calf and heavenly bodies.  We also understand that those things still happen in some parts of the globe, but not in the United States of America.  I can say with full assurance that the Rice family has never had an idol in our house that we bowed to, we were not big on statutes or anything that looked like an idol.  So maybe John was not referring to us who live in a more enlightened time?

One of the advantages of not having a lot of education is I often look up words to make sure I understand the meaning, and hopefully to use the word correctly.  What does the dictionary tell us about idols: “An idol is an image or other material object representing a deity to which religious worship is addressed or any person or thing regarded with blind admiration, adoration, or devotion.”

After reading that, I’m not so sure the Rice’s were not idol worshippers!  As I stated above, we did not do images or other material objects representing a deity that we worshipped, but what about football players?  In my case, it may have been any of these guys; Tony Dorsett, Bob Hayes, Michael Irvin, Tom Landry, Bob Lilly, Mel Renfro, Tex Schramm, Emmitt Smith, Roger Staubach, Randy White, they all fit the definition of “any person or thing regarded with blind admiration, adoration, or devotion.” 

It is easy to have an idol, it could be your family, wife, friend, children, job, food, sports, golf, or fishing; yes, an idol is anything that takes the place of God in your actions and your thought life.  The apostle John, under the control of the Spirit, spoke a warning to us, “Little Children, keep yourselves from idols.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Is Prayer a last Hope Thing?

 

1 John 5:15-16

“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.”

Confidence, is that what is lacking in my life and maybe yours when it comes to prayer?  Is prayer a last hope thing, does the need have to be so great before we stop and pray?  And when we pray do we believe God cares about us, about you?  If we are intellectually honest, then it is clear that God knows all, is always present, and is all-powerful, knows our thoughts, our needs, and our circumstances, so that being true, why are our prayers not being answered?   My first thought is he just does not care, have you ever come to that conclusion?  If those thoughts are invading your mind look to the Scriptures and see if that voice is in agreement with the word of God:

• God continually calls us to come to Him with our burdens and find rest for our souls. (Matthew 11:28 & 29)

• He invites us to cast our worries on Him because He cares. (1 Peter 5:7)
• He invites us to come to His throne and ask for mercy and grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)
• He will be our Comforter in sorrow when our heart is faint. (Jeremiah 8:18)
• He offers strength when we are weak. (Philippians 4:13)
• He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds. (Psalm 147:3)

So if he cares why are my prayers going unheard, could the problem be my lack of confidence when I pray, or could it be some other reason:

• Husbands should always know that God will not answer the prayers of a husband who is not showing honor to his wife.  1Peter 3:7 

• Unbelief will keep God from listening to your request; Matthew 21:22, James 1:6-8

• We ask with wrong motives: James 4:3

• Unconfessed sin keep God from hearing our prayers: Isaiah 59:1-2

• When we have the ability to help someone in need and don’t God tells us He will not answer our prayers: Proverbs 21:13

• We don’t remain in God, then His word does not remain in us, and without that we have no confidence, and our prayers go no where: John 15:7
•  

If you and I are abiding, in agreement with Scripture then we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, and we know we have the requests that we ask of Him, so it’s time to be thankful, with confidence that your prayer is answered.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The Red Fire Truck at Plimper's Hardware

 

1 John 5:13, 14

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know you have eternal life.  And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.”

Can you remember a time as a small child when you wanted something, you even ask for it, but deep down you knew it was not going to happen, but then somehow it happened and you were so thrilled.  For me, it was that big red fire truck that I had seen at Plimper’s hardware, I was six and foolish enough to believe that somehow it could be mine.  I remember mother saying something like that’s a nice fire truck, but we do not have that kind of money, you need to look for something smaller and she meant something that cost a lot less.  I knew Christmas was only months away and for the Rice family that meant getting an apple or orange and a very small inexpensive gift.  Many times it was something that mother had made for us.  Did I pray for that red fire engine?   I’m sure I did, and yet Christmas came and went and the fire truck was still sitting on display at the store; my birthday also came and yet no fire engine, I was loosing hope, but each time we walked by Plimper’s hardware I would run to the window and see that marvelous red fire engine on display.  But death came to my dream, it was the lowest moment of life for a 6 ½ year old, we had looked into the window at Plimper’s and that spectacular red fire engine was no longer in the window, someone owned my dream, it was death to a vision.  I do not recall what happened at that moment, but I do know this I quit praying for that truck, it was out of the window, it was no longer there, all my hopes and prayers had been wasted.  Have you ever felt that way?

Christmas came with no real expectation, others on my street would get nice presents, but not us, this year would be just like last year.  And was I right, my sister got a dress mother had made and maybe some socks or shoes she needed for school, my brother got an orange in his stocking and some small items that made him happy, and all I had gotten was an orange in my stocking, the few gifts were opened, the little tree was sitting in the corner of the living room and Christmas was over.  I will never forget when my daddy came down the hall carrying a large box and said Bobby, it seems we overlooked this, it has your name on it, and he was smiling and as I looked at mother she also was smiling and so was my brother and sister, they knew what was in the box, it was the biggest box I had ever seen, and yes, inside was my marvelous red fire truck!  I found out later that mother and dad had been paying on that truck for over a year, back then we called that lay-away.  It had been bought and paid for by mother and dad, who give up something each month so that I could have my dream.  It had been like many of my prayers, on lay-away till God knew the time was right.

The gift of eternal life came to us at a price impossible to pay, God’s lay-away plan happened some 2000 years ago when Jesus paid for our sin.  It was a grace lay-away, and it requires you by faith to receive your gift of salvation.  It is explained in Ephesians 2:8&9, “For by grace you have been saved though faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

As a child I never wanted God’s will, unless His will agreed with mine, or when it came to red fire engines.  I wonder, could that be our problem as Christians?  That we no longer believe His will for exceeds anything we could dream of.  The Holy Spirit addresses this problem in James 4, and it is a prayer stopper, and not only are we told why our prayers are not answered, we are given the answer to wanting the will of God over our will.  In fact, when verse 10 is lived out in our life, our desires will be not my will, but my Father’s will. 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The Vapor life Part II

 

1 John 5:6-12

It was not that long ago we discussed the vapor life, that life is common to all people, it’s much like a flower, one day it is blooming and the next it is dead; Jesus tells us that is the best we can hope for without Him.  In 1John 5:6-12 we have a testimony concerning the Son of God, and in that account we have a guarantee of eternal life. 

Before addressing the eternal life, what does the vapor life look like?  Like all life it begins at conception and then birth, and it goes something like this for most people; at birth there is need for nurturing, then to simplify this time line, you get your first haircut, you go to school, you get a job or you get married, you buy a home or you rent, you have children, or maybe you don’t, and then you retire, and at the end of your time line you once more need care and nurturing, and you die, that is the vapor life.  The center of the vapor life is you and it is void of authority, as old Blue Eyes sang this song, “You did it your way!”

The eternal life addresses all the same things as the vapor life, with this exception, at some point in that time line you come to understand that the vapor life is empty, it has no hope, and often at this point we begin to search for meaning, and often we try to fill that hole in our hearts with stuff or people, or it may be religion, but to have eternal life, that life is found only in Jesus Christ.  The apostle John states in verses 10-12, these words: “Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself.   Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son.  And this is the testimony that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

One of the most quoted verses in the Bible is John 3:16, and to transfer from the vapor life to the eternal life requires a person to put faith in what that verse imparts.  But Jesus goes on after verse 16 to share why many will not leave the vapor life and put their faith and hope in the Him.  Jesus addressed the why in verses 19 & 20, “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.”  Note: it is so important that we understand Jesus is talking from God’s view, not the worlds, and surely not man’s.)  “For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.”  It comes down to, will I do it my way and enter eternity void of a relationship with God, never knowing the peace and joy that He has to offer, or to at some point, and I pray that may be today, to bow your knee and confess that the vapor life is at best empty, and that you want to enter into God’s time line, by having this testimony that God gave us eternal life and this life is in his Son.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Parcel Abiding

 

1 John 5:1-5

“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.”

Jan and I enjoy Colorado, some of our dearest friends live in Golden, and we always look forward to spending time with them.  This is how those visits go; we bask in fellowship and comfort of John and Brenda’s home in the foothills of Golden, Colorado.  If the visit takes place in the spring of the year, I awake to a morning of beauty, as I look out into the valley below all I can see is green grass down in the meadows and it will be in the low 60’s.  For the few days of each trip we abide together, we walk and talk, we pray, we share, we eat often and play games, it is refreshing and John reminds me that what we are enjoying is what God desires with us, each and every day.  We have been abiding, and to believe that reading a few verses in the morning, and then going about your day with no fellowship with the Father is abiding, that would be a poor understanding of what the Scripture is telling us.

So it seems that many of us who believe by faith that God has given us eternal life; that Jesus Christ took on flesh and became lower than His Creation to buy us back out of the control of sin, still do not abide.  Could that be the answer to why so many are easily taken captive by the worlds system and by the deception of the evil one?  I often blame it on being raised Baptist, because most Baptists believe that doing makes you Christ like.  But after years of doing and doing, I’ve come to the understanding that it is almost impossible to abide while trying to do so much for God.  Oswald Chambers had this to say on doing: “To-day in Christian work we are suffering from a phase of spiritual dyspepsia that emphasizes doing.  The great thing to do is to be a believer in Jesus.  With Jesus it is never “Do, do,” but “Be, be and I will do through you.”   By abiding we become what God has planed for us. Verse two states; “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.”  John goes on to explain the love of God, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.  And his commandments are not burdensome.” 

As I reflect on the above Scriptures, it become clear that not abiding leads to not keeping His commandments and the end of that is a wide road to running my own show, and living independently of God’s authority.  Our victory comes from abiding, from fellowship with the Father, from confession and agreement that we need and we trust His hand and we desire His face.  Verse four tells us who we are and God is clear on this, we are over-comers, we are victorious over life and death, because of our faith.  Verse five states, “Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice