Gleanings From The Word: January 2017

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

The Clamor of the Crowd

Later Simon and the others went out to find him. They said, “Everyone is asking for you.” (Mark 1:36 NLT)

Jesus is becoming a star. His disciples find him spending time with his Father and tell him that everybody is clamoring for him. His response; The Lord packs his bags and moves to a different location. Jesus is not motivated by what sways the world.

Fame can be a very intoxicating thing. For a Christian, success is much harder to deal with than failure. Success, if not put in perspective, through pride can lead to self-sufficiency and self-righteousness. Failure, on the other hand, can have a purifying effect on motives. It tends to take the scales off of our eyes and reveal to us why we do what we do. The unrestrained pursuit of success is like a quest that has no end. Achievement for the sake of achievement puts us on a treadmill in life that is unsustainable. The more we get, the more we have to have. It becomes a lust rather than love. Of course, we all want to be successful in life, but if it is more important to us than pleasing God, we have a false god in our lives. False gods always disappoint those who worship them.

Jesus was never motivated by the applause of man, or just by the needs of people, but by the will of his Father. This was the key to his success. Jesus kept the glimmer in his eye for approval from his Father in heaven more prominant than a glance from man. It’s all a matter of priority. Do we seek recognition from our heavenly Father, more than the clamor of the crowd ? It is simple, but not always easy to do.

Image used with permission by Microsoft.

Ken Barnes the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places” YWAM Publishing
Email: kenbarnes737@gmail.com
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Thursday, January 26, 2017

Give Grace A Chance

Donald J. Trump

When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand on Ephraim’s head he was displeased; so he took hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. (Genesis 48:17 NIV)

Joseph thought his father, Jacob, was making a mistake in blessing Ephraim, the younger son, first, before his older son, Manasseh. God is sovereign in who he picks and chooses. We should be very careful in trying to correct God, as Joseph did, about whom God shows his grace to on this earth.

The commentator Matthew Henry once wrote, “Grace does not follow the order of nature, nor does God use those whom we think most suitable to be used, but he does as he pleases.” The cultural norm of the time was for the first-born son to get the first blessing. The Bible is full of exceptions to this rule, Abel above Cain, Isaac above Ishmael, and Jacob above Esau, for a few.

God has made a statement of favor in our country. We have elected a new chief executive, Donald Trump. Many are upset about the election. For Christians, maybe we should ask ourselves a question. Did Jesus die on the Cross and give favor to us because of our goodness? God looks at us not as we are, but how we can be. To those who have received such grace, should we not also extend that to our political leaders?

If I read my Bible correctly, it tells us to pray for and submit to those in authority over us. We may not like everything Donald Trump does. God doesn’t like everything I do. Disagree with him where you must, but respectfully support our duly elected leader who God has placed over us. Give grace a chance.