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Mary’s Song

November 24, 2010 by bjcorbin

In these days leading to our celebration of Christmas, I find myself drawn to the words of “Mary’s Song”, from the gospel of Luke (1:46-55).  Within this passage Mary is responding to her cousin Elizabeth’s extraordinary greeting as she exclaims, “my soul doth magnify the Lord and my spirit hath rejoiced in God, my Savior”.  As I’ve meditated on those words, their profound nature has become more apparent to me.  I find myself wanting to understand exactly what it is to “magnify the Lord” and to truly abide in His joy.  While I’ve certainly walked with the Lord long enough to give a passable explanation of these things, I have to wonder if I’ve ever actually experienced them first hand. 

The Bible says that the joy of the Lord is our strength and while few of us would consider ourselves to be deficient in the area of joy, how many of us have complained about our fatigue (e.g. stress, burn out, exhaustion…).  It is unlikely that we as Christians would describe ourselves as joyless, but that seems to be a common adjective used by Non-Christians to describe us.  I believe that part of this can be attributed to the fact that we generally mistake happiness for joy; but happiness is a fleeting emotion that is driven largely by circumstance and is easily changed.  Joy on the other hand is experienced in our spirit and is rooted in our response to God as opposed to our circumstances; this makes joy more profound, transcendent and sustaining.  Happiness is generally something we pursue, while joy is found in our surrender to Gods plan.  Mary had surrendered to God’s plan and the joy that she was experiencing caused her own cousin to view her in a totally different light.  Undoubtedly this would be the effect on our family, friends and neighbors if we similarly succumbed to the joy that the Lord has afforded us.

Arguably the concept of “magnifying” the Lord is even more vital than that of partaking of His joy.  The scripture tells us that our destiny is to be transformed into the image of Christ and that He is faithful to complete the good work that He has begun in us.  Based on these verses it would seem that the committed Christian should expect to grow more Christ-like with each passing year of their journey, but from my experience that is rarely true.  As I ponder the reasons for this, I wonder if this is even one of our goals and I shudder at the thought of what our souls are magnifying if it is not the Lord.  The idea of magnifying is that a clearer, more defined picture will emerge from our interaction and that begs the question of what picture is emerging from the worlds interaction with the church.  Jesus is the “light of the world” and He’s called us to reflect that light to a fallen world; but how will that ever be accomplished if His light cannot be seen in us.

Mary understood that something of heaven had been deposited within her and that Gods intent was not simply for her to enjoy the sensations of the baby in her womb or to bestow upon her honor amongst women; but that it was to bring forth that life when the time came.  The same is true of believers today, as the Lord has once again deposited Himself within us, not just for our own edification, but so that we will allow Him to come forth at His appointed times.  This Christmas I pray that His people everywhere will respond as Mary did when she told the angel, I am the Lord’s servant, let it be as you have said.  I pray that we will truly magnify the Lord and genuinely rejoice in Him.  God bless you and your family this Christmas.

Posted in Christmas, Commentaries | Leave a Comment »

Giving Thanks

November 19, 2010 by bjcorbin

It’s amazing to realize that “Thanksgiving” is already upon us.  As I’ve gotten older, I’ve noticed that while the days don’t pass any quicker, the months and years seem to fly by.  This year has moved by so rapidly that I feel as though I’ve missed much of it.  As we come into what ought to be a special season, I can already sense the dread that many people feel during this time of year.  On the surface it all seems bright and shiny, but in recent years I’ve begun to notice how few people really seem to enjoy it.  Though our calendars fill up with “special” activities, I don’t sense much “peace on earth”, “goodwill toward man” or “joy to the world”.  Even within the church, I don’t see a lot of genuine excitement at what should be, for Christians, a time of worship and celebration.

Sadly, we all tend to get caught up in the busyness (e.g. cooking, baking, shopping, holiday parties, traveling, guests, holiday programs…) and miss much of the richness this season has to offer.  While we’ll be the first to proclaim that “Jesus is the reason for the season”, He doesn’t always get a place of prominence in our holiday activities.  So as we launch into yet another holiday season, God put it on my heart to stop long enough to gain some perspective.

I believe that at the root of much of the seasonal angst is unfulfilled expectation; whether that comes in the form of past disappointments or the present dissatisfaction with where we find ourselves.  The inherently nostalgic quality of the season can often stir up more painful memories than warm thoughts.  Those who grew up in dysfunctional homes often come face to face with that dysfunction again, whether it is gathering with their families or intentionally avoiding the pain of such a reunion.  Those who are in the midst of difficult situations often feel more isolated in this time, because presumably everyone else is full of holiday cheer.  Those of limited means struggle, because we’ve all come to believe that Christmas cannot be complete unless it comes with boxes and ribbons.  Many of us wrestle with the notion that if we can’t give our kids what all the other kids have, we’ve somehow failed them.  For others, it can be the uncertainties of a new year that keep them from partaking of the joy set before them.  Ultimately, if we are dreading the holidays, we will almost certainly have a dreadful holiday season.  For those who are in the world, these are simply the seas which toss souls about; but what about the children of God?  Are these the forces that should be shaping our perspective?

If we could look at the reality of where we are today, apart from the disappointments of the past and our fears for the future, we might see that we are a genuinely blessed people.  Regardless of our situations, God has provided for us and continues to sustain us.  We may feel as though we have lack, but if we can see past what we don’t have, we will likely find that we have unnoticed abundance all around us.  The Psalmist spoke of how God wants to teach us of His ways and he beseeches that we not be like the horse or mule, which must be controlled using a bit and bridle.  That picture is one of needing to use pain as a way to get our attention.  I believe that if we will look for the blessings He’s laid aside for today, we will find them; if not, we often must suffer a painful lose before we can understand how truly blessed we were yesterday.

Do we really have to become homeless before we can be thankful for a warm house; even if it isn’t as big or as nice as we’d like.  Do we really have to lose someone we love before we can be thankful for the other people in our lives?  Do we really have to get sick before we can be thankful for our health?  Do we really have to become fugitives or prisoners before we can rejoice in our freedom?  Sadly, most of us tend not to appreciate what we have until we lose it, but this season offers us an opportunity to live differently.

Truthfully, this season was never really meant to be about us anyway.  We’ve unconsciously allowed the world’s thinking to distract us from the central issue, which is Jesus.  While some might regard that as rather obvious, I would guess that most of our holiday attitudes don’t reflect it.  When we talk about the sacrifice that Jesus made, we most often speak of the cross.  Rightfully so, but before His sacrifice on the cross, Jesus sacrificed His deity; not only to become a man, but to become a man of sorrows, who was acquainted with grief.  He sacrificed His perfect fellowship with the Father to come to this earth as a sacrificial lamb.  He sacrificed the glory of heaven for a manger, the rejection of man and a cross.  Make no mistake; the sacrifice Jesus made at Christmas is no less profound than the one He made at Easter.  It was the day that our redemption was set in motion and it certainly warrants a seasons worth of rejoicing.

So as we step into this season, I feel the Lord challenging our motivations and asking what will drive us in this time.  Will it be the hurts and disappointment of seasons past; will it be the struggles that we’re facing today, or maybe our fears about what awaits us down the road.  Maybe it will be the vain hope that if we just find the right combination of songs & gifts & food & people & decorations, we’ll find the joy of the season.  I’d submit that the Lord would like this season to be a season of awe and wonder at the love of our Father in heaven; a season of gratitude for all that He is and all that He’s done for us; a season of renewed relationship with Him and those He’s brought around us.

Who knows what the New Year will bring, but as I stand here today, I am blessed and thankful.  He has given and done more than I ever deserved and more than I ever could have hoped for.  I pray that you and your family will find His joy and have a wonderful holiday season.  God bless you

Posted in Christmas, Commentaries, Opinions | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Thought for the Day – Thinking Outside of the Box

November 17, 2010 by bjcorbin

“Thinking ‘outside of the box’ only becomes worthwhile when you find a way to fit your new ideas into the box, or a way to expand the box to accommodate those new ideas.  Simply ignoring the reality of the box amounts to little more than fantasizing.  Ultimately, there’s a world of difference between a man with ideas and a man with a plan.”

Posted in Opinions, Thought for the Day / Quotes | Leave a Comment »

Thought for the Day – Hearing God’s Voice

November 16, 2010 by bjcorbin

“I’ve come to believe that not only does God speak to us, but that He speaks in a way that we can understand.  I’ve also come to believe that the reason most of us feel as though we can’t recognize His voice is because He is so often saying things that we don’t want to hear.”

Posted in Opinions, Thought for the Day / Quotes | 1 Comment »

Little Princess

November 12, 2010 by bjcorbin

[For my precious daughter Rebekah]

 

Little princess, I was there

When the Maker of the Stars passed you down

 

It was His very hand that delivered you to me

Though I knew you would always be His

 

Precious girl, you had my heart

The very first time I looked into your eyes

 

Even then, I could see the strength He’d put in you

And I worried at what it might be for

 

Those early days were filled with smiles

And our borders were hedged in love

 

But now, as we’ve ventured outside of the gates

We’ve begun to find the cruelty of the road

 

I’ve seen them pulling at your crown

And I’ve noticed the frayed edges of your cloak

 

I thought I understood the meanness of the streets

But I can’t fathom their desire to crush you

 

I’ve caught the hounds gnawing at you in the night

And the hurt in your eyes stirs murder in my heart

 

But the truth is that your Father really is the King

And He’s not abandoned your defense to my paltry hands

 

He is with you, He is for you and He goes before you

He’s poured His strength into your heart

 

When the climb seems more than you can bear, look into His eyes

See that He’s given you a crown that can’t be taken from you

 

And when you need someone to remind you of your royalty

My arms will always be waiting for you

Posted in Free Verse / Poetry, Parenting / Family, Personal | 2 Comments »

Talking Politics with a 5th Grader

November 9, 2010 by bjcorbin

Last Wednesday morning (11/03/2010), as the results of the mid-term elections were announced on the car radio, I noticed that my 10 year old son was watching for my reaction.  Apparently my lack of response stirred his curiosity and we had a conversation that went something like this:

“Dad, are we Republicans or Democrats?” he asked.

“Neither,” I replied.

“Don’t you have to be one or the other?” he continued.

“No, you don’t have to be a member of a political party if you don’t want to be,” I said.

“Don’t you like any of them?” he said.

“I don’t like any of them enough to join them or to vote for their candidate’s every time.  None of them really represent what I believe in, so it’s better for me to look at every candidate and to decide which is the one I want to vote for,” I explained.

“What’s the difference between the Republicans and the Democrats?” he asked.

I had to smile at that question, as I answered, “It’s not always clear son.  Generally, Republicans feel like less government means more freedom, so they tend to want to limit how involved the government gets in the lives of the people; while Democrats tend to be more concerned about social issues and feel as though the government has a duty to get involved in the lives of the people.  As you can imagine, these differing ideas cause them to disagree a lot.”

“Which idea do you think is right?” he asked.

“Actually, I see value in both ideas.  Like the Republicans, I generally feel that less government is better; but like the Democrats, I feel like the government should provide some help for people who really need it.  It’s just a question of balancing those two ideas.  If we make the government too small, there may be people who won’t get the help that they genuinely need; and if we make it too big, it could start to interfere with our freedom and become difficult to pay for,” I replied. 

With a puzzled look on his face, he asked, “Doesn’t the government just print up the money it needs?”

I chuckled, as I said, “Well they do print the money, but the truth is that the people pay the bills for the government; if we want them to do more, than we have to be willing to pay more for it.  If you hear a candidate promise to do more, without the cost going up, you’ll know that they’re not being honest about it.”

“So since the Republicans won last night, do you think the government is going to get smaller now?” he continued.

“Unfortunately, that’s probably not how it’s going to work; because neither side is willing to work with the other.  It’s like when the kids in the neighborhood get together for a football game; both sides want to win so badly that the minute one team starts to get ahead, the other one takes their ball and goes home.  For that last couple of years the Democrats had enough people in office that they didn’t even need the Republicans to play; but now that it’s closer to even, I expect that they’ll spend a lot of time fighting with each other and trying to convince the people that the other side is the reason for their lack of progress.  The truth is that their lack of progress is really caused by their unwillingness to work together to address the problems.”

“All the guys on TV said that they were going to make jobs for everyone; won’t that make things better?” he asked.

“It would help, if they actually had the ability to keep that promise.  The problem is that they can’t.  The government doesn’t make jobs, business and industry do that.  Though they can spend some of the people’s money to give a few people some temporary jobs, they can’t create the kind of job it takes to raise a family on,” I said grimly.

“Why do they promise things that they know they can’t deliver?” he asked angrily.

“Sadly, because they know that people are really hurting for jobs and that it’s what they want to hear,” I replied.

“But haven’t the people figured out that they’re lying?” he said.

“I guess not; it seems like a lot of people are still expecting someone in the government to deliver the jobs they promised.  You see, the government was meant to serve the people in certain limited ways, but it was never meant to take care of the people.  Now that things are getting hard, a lot of people seem to want the government to take care of them and it wasn’t built to do that.  It would be like me hiring a maid and paying her to serve me.  The more I pay her, the more she’s willing to do.  But if I lost my job and I can’t pay her anymore, should I expect that she’s now going to take care of me for free until things get better?” I said.

Shaking his head, he said, “No way, if you don’t have any money, she probably won’t do anything for you.”

“That’s right, she’s my servant, not my mother; but there are a lot of people in America who seem to think that our servant (i.e. the government) ought to take care of them like a mother.  At this point, “We the People” can either decide to rise to our new challenges, like we have many times before in our history or we can keep crying out for more government help, which will eventually result in a government that we serve.  The reason America has done so well, for so long, is because its people have been willing to rise to new challenges and we’re once again in one of those times.  It’s up to the people, not the government, to do things differently,” I replied.

“So is this why you don’t seem very excited about this election?” he asked.

I smiled, as I replied, “That’s right son, my hope isn’t that the government is going to save me or our family.  If it was, I’d be miserable.  Our hope needs to be invested in better promises than the ones you’ve heard on TV.”

“So, should I even bother to vote when I get older?” he asked.

“Absolutely, you have been blessed to grow up in a country where the people have a voice in their government and as a citizen; you have a responsibility to participate in that process.  I don’t want you to think that it doesn’t matter, because even if the government is just a servant, it affects your life and the lives of people you care about.  You definitely need to take your rights as a citizen seriously, but don’t lose sight of the fact that the government can’t deliver peace and prosperity to your life.  Those things will depend on the choices that you make.”

At that moment, we drove up in front of the school and the conversation ended.

Posted in Commentaries, Opinions, Parenting / Family, Personal, Social / Political | 9 Comments »

Thought for the Day – The Proof & the Pudding

November 8, 2010 by bjcorbin

“I would rather live by principles that brand me naïve and lead to hope, than to adopt a philosophy that can be empirically defended, yet results in despair.”

Posted in Opinions, Personal, Thought for the Day / Quotes | Leave a Comment »

Flunking a Mid-Term

November 2, 2010 by bjcorbin

The Bible says that “the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure”; it goes on to ask rhetorically, “who can know it?”  The magnitude of this truth grows as we consider that it also says that God will judge every man based on what is in their heart.  If I understand this correctly, it means that I will have a difficult time being honest with myself (and anyone else) about what is in my heart, yet it will be wholly known to God and used to determine my eternal destiny.  I believe that it was with this understanding that David cried out in the Psalms, “Search me, O God and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting”.  As that cry becomes my own, I wonder at how anyone can truthfully assess what is in their own heart.

In pondering this, it must first be established exactly what the scripture is referring to when it says, “heart”.  To be sure, it is not describing the blood pump that resides in our chest, but instead is speaking of the very core of our being (i.e. soul).  While the scripture doesn’t necessarily explain itself on this matter, I believe that the picture that emerges is that place within our souls where our mind, will and emotions intersect.  The Word speaks of how a man thinks in his heart (mind); what he purposes in his heart (will); the cry of his heart (emotions) and ultimately tells us that it is with our hearts that we believe and are justified.  This is significant, because it draws a distinction between what we know on an intellectual level (i.e. in our minds) and what we “believe” in our hearts.  I believe that when a truth transcends merely being present within our minds and actually penetrates our hearts, there is an emotional response and an impact to our will.  In the book of Proverbs it says that as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.

Within my own testimony is an example of this.  I was raised in a Christian home and there has never been a day since my childhood that I did not believe that Jesus Christ was in fact the Son of God, who came and died for my sins.  In some peoples estimation this means that I’ve been “saved” since my childhood.  But as I became an adult, it was clear that I had not yielded my heart to God at all.  I worked throughout my teens, twenties and into my thirties, actively pursuing a friendly relationship with the world and its pleasures.  It was not until the life that I’d so carefully constructed came crashing down that I finally turned and saw Him there.  At that point my heart was wide open, I knew that I couldn’t go on alone and when that understanding took root in my heart, everything changed.  I could no longer be ambivalent about what He’s done for me and the desire for my will to conform to His began to burn.  Though I’d been provided with the right information from the beginning, it took over thirty years for it to move into my heart.  In that moment, God stopped being an image, an idea, or a philosophy and instead He became a reality to me.

While the outward signs of coming into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ were pretty dramatic, endeavoring to understand other issues within our hearts is generally a bit more subtle.  Often the only way for us to truly understand whether there has been a change in our hearts is for it to be tested.  I can know that I should forgive those who’ve hurt me and I can purpose to do that; but often the only way to be sure that it has been accomplished is to come face to face with that person again.  I can say that I’ve repented of sexual sin and turned from things like pornography; but often won’t know for sure until I have that opportunity again and walk away from it.  Just as it is with any learning process, there are periods of learning, followed by periods of testing.  How we respond to these tests can give us insight into what’s truly in our hearts, but this will only come about if we choose to grade them for ourselves.  God does not allow this testing so that He can see what is in our hearts; He already knows; these tests are for us.

I don’t know anyone who likes tests, but like it or not, they’re an essential part of learning.  Even worse than the regularly scheduled exam, is the “pop quiz”; though the consequences of flunking such a quiz are generally less severe.  It’s one thing to flunk a pop quiz, that you didn’t see coming, but it’s a whole other thing to flunk a test that you knew all about and even studied for.  Not many years ago, I miserably failed such a life test, as tremendous anger rose up out of me.  Like the Apostle Paul spoke about, the very thing that I set out not to do is what I did.  I could probably rationalize that behavior and maybe even present a decent sounding argument for it, but as I stand before a righteous God, there is no way to justify it.  It is very much the nature of man to use our God given cognitive ability to manipulate the truth in our favor, but God is truth and He will not be mocked. 

I find it somewhat ironic how often I’ve heard Christian leaders warn about the dangers of emotionalism and of how our emotions can easily be manipulated to lead us astray; yet I’ve heard no such warnings about our intellect.  Our intellect is just as much a part of our soul and as such is at least as susceptible to deception.  As a matter of fact, the scripture speaks far more about what goes on in our mind than about our emotions.  When Eve was questioned about the forbidden fruit, she rationalized that it was the serpents fault.  When Adam was questioned, he rationalized that it was Eve’s fault and even Gods fault for sending Eve in the first place.  We are much the same when we fail a test.  We want to talk about what “they” did or what “they” didn’t do or the “circumstances” surrounding the event…  But deferring responsibility for our actions only keeps us from seeing the truth of our own hearts.  I’m reminded of the time when I was first feeling the drawing of the Lord.  I heard something on the radio about the “judgment to come” and I saw myself standing before God.  In the vision I knew that I’d not lived like I was supposed to and I was trying to justify why I hadn’t been to church in years.  I explained to the Lord that it wasn’t because of Him, but it was because the church was filled with hypocrites.  To my surprise, He agreed, but then He said, “But what does that have to do with you and Me”?  I had no answer and I still don’t.  Maybe people have legitimately wronged me, taken advantage of me and even hurt me, but if my heart truly belongs to the Lord then why would I hold onto anything but Him.  If I’m unwilling to let go of the damaging, hurtful and sinful things of the past, then I’ll be unable to grab hold of the healing, joyful and life giving things that Jesus died to give me.

While people and circumstances played a part in the rage that erupted out of me on that day, they did not create that anger within my heart.  God simply allowed these things to show me what was inside of me.  The scripture says that from the lips comes the overflow of the heart and so I cannot deny what was seen or heard.  If I rationalize, blame, justify… those things will remain in my heart and they will continue to have influence in my life.  Jesus died a gruesome death, so that I would not have walk under that kind of yoke.  I could beat myself up over this failure, but that is of no value to the Lord, who says that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  The scripture tells us that when we repent, God throws these things into the sea of forgetfulness; so instead of focusing on the failure, I just need to focus on the turning from it.  I could spend a lot of time and energy trying to fix the circumstances and people involved, but ultimately God has not called me to or equipped me for that.  Instead He has invited me to come boldly before the throne of grace, to trade my heavy yoke for His rest and my sorrows for His joy.  Somewhere down the line, I’m going to get a chance to take this test again and I desperately want the results to be different.  The longer that I walk on this journey of faith, the more I realize that it’s not people or situations or even the enemy that I’m struggling with, but it is those things that I’ve held within my heart that aren’t from God.  Those are the things that allow people, situations and the enemy to influence my path.  As these things come to the surface, I want to be quick to acknowledge them and to hand them over.  Once again I come into agreement with David’s prayer, “Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my inequity.  Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Do not cast me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me”.  Amen.

Posted in Commentaries, Personal | 1 Comment »

10 Scriptures That Ought to Bring About Fear & Trembling

November 1, 2010 by bjcorbin

Here are ten pieces of New Testament scripture that ought to make us take a hard look at where we’re at in our relationship with the Lord and His people.  These scriptures would seem to challenge many of today’s most popular doctrines, which seem to be aimed at making us feel comfortable about our eternity.

  1. The man who says, “I know Him (i.e. Jesus)”, but does not do what he commands is a liar and the truth is not in him (1John 2:4).  Later in this epistle John says, “This is love for God, to obey His commands” (1John 5:3).  While a large majority of Americans describe themselves as “Christians”, how many could claim a working knowledge of what God commands and/or that they are endeavoring to live by those tenets?  James epistle tells us, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says” (James 1:22).  How many of us who are familiar with what God commands would classify ourselves as “Doers” of His word?
  2. If anyone says, “I love God”, yet hates his brother, he is a liar (1John 4:20).  In today’s culture we seem to have bought into the notion that families are supposed to be dysfunctional and we’ve largely carried that mindset into the family of God (i.e. the Church).  Based on the scripture, it doesn’t appear as though God accepts that premise.
  3. Men will have to give an account on the Day of Judgment for every careless word they have spoken (Matthew 12:36).  No explanation needed.
  4. In the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you (Matthew 7:1-2).  To fully appreciate the impact of this scripture, we must consider how we’ve responded to people who’ve let us down or even hurt us.  While we may feel justified in our feelings, do we want that measure to be applied to us for our trespasses?
  5. If you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins (Matthew 6:15).  If our sins are not forgiven, where are we?
  6. Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God (James 4:4).  This scripture puts the church in America in serious jeopardy.  Many of our efforts to be relevant to, and to reach, “the world” have resulted in the church becoming worldly.   While we may rationalize that the end justifies the means, from Gods perspective I believe that it is simply looks like compromise.  Statistics for things like divorce and addiction to pornography seem to indicate that the church is becoming largely indistinguishable from the world.  Based on what the scripture says about what our relationship with the world should be, this ought to make us tremble.
  7. Faith without works is useless (James 2:20).  I don’t believe that James meant “good works” but instead works of faith.  We can do many “good” things that don’t require any faith at all.  From what this scripture says, it doesn’t appear as though those works will be accounted as righteousness.  The Hebrew writer tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6) and Paul goes a step further when he says that, “everything that does not come from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23).  These scriptures challenge me to question how often I really act in faith and the value of the things that I’m doing that don’t require it.
  8. He (i.e. the Father) cuts off every branch in me (i.e. Jesus) that bears no fruit (John 15:2)… such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned (John 15:6).  While many of us claim to be Christian, how many of us would be anxious to present our fruitfulness as the evidence of that?
  9. Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?  Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you.  Away from me you evildoers!”  (Matthew 7:21-23).  This scripture is speaking directly to “Believers”, because someone who doesn’t believe wouldn’t be doing things in His name.  This indicates that “many” who believe that their eternity is secure are mistaken.
  10. Enter through the narrow gate.  For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life and only a few find it (Matthew 7:13-14).  In today’s atmosphere of tolerance and inclusion, it may be perceived as offensive to point this scripture out, but based on what it says; maybe making everyone feel good about their eternity was never meant to be the mission.

 

While gathering these scriptures in one place could be viewed as a negative thing, I think that it brings some much needed balance.  Though we are saved by His grace, the scripture reminds us that our access to that grace is “through faith” (Ephesians 2:8).  God was fully aware of the provision of His grace when He inspired the above scriptures.  I believe that we have often tried to use His grace like a stolen credit card, but His grace does not nullify His word.  While God does not require perfection, He does expect sincerity.  We know that He rewards those who “diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6); these scriptures can help us to remain diligent.   God bless.

Posted in Commentaries, Lists | 2 Comments »

Thought for the Day – Self Image

October 29, 2010 by bjcorbin

What other people believe about you isn’t as important as what you believe about yourself.  Only those things which we accept as being truth have the ability to genuinely impact how we live.  Therefore the only words (positive or negative) that have the power to move us are those which we view as being true.  If a man concludes in his heart that he is a failure, no amount of praise or encouragement can bring him to victory; and if a man concludes that he is an over-comer, no amount of criticism can hold him back.  While we are generally powerless to keep others from speaking about us, we possess the ultimate responsibility for what we choose to accept as truth.

Posted in Thought for the Day / Quotes | 2 Comments »

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