Swimming Upstream

If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king.  But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”  (Daniel 3:17-18 NASB)

 

The three Hebrew boys, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, were firm in their faith. They had learned that in an adversarial culture, you must learn to swim upstream.

All cultures have a way of conforming us to its precepts. We resist by refusing to submit to anything that is lifted up against the knowledge of God. First, when the delicacies of food and drink of Babylon tested the three Hebrew boys, they chose to remain faithful to the dietary restrictions they practiced in Israel.  Second, when confronted with the idolatry of worshiping King Nebuchadnezzar, they remained committed to the one true God. They believed that God could deliver them, but if he didn’t, they still would not bow down to the golden image. Revelation 12:11 (NASB) says, “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.” They refused to cling to that last great idol, life itself.

In an increasingly hostile environment in which we live, Christians must learn to swim upstream. God has created in the salmon the need to travel up-river to fulfill the procreation of their species. In like manner, God has put in the hearts of believers the desire to endure the trials of our up-hill battle to receive our reward, the soon return of Christ.

Ken Barnes, the author of  “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places”  YWAM Publishing
Email:  kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: Ken Barnes' Book Site
Blogs: http://kensblog757.blogspot.com
            http://gleanings757.blogspot.com

Image used with permission by Microsoft.

 

The Testing of Praise

The crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold,
And each is tested by the praise accorded him.  (Proverbs 27:21 NASB)

Most people enjoy a good compliment, yet the praise afforded you, if not appropriately received, can be more detrimental to your character than your trials.

Trials such as uncomplimentary things people may say about us, by nature, often produce humility in our lives. On the other hand, tributes given to us can sometimes engender pride in our hearts. It is not so much the praise that is problematic, but how we start to conclude that we deserve this public applause. The Christian life is a cooperative effort between God and man, but at times our thinking about what we do and God does, becomes a little skewed. We start to take added credit for our success than is warranted.   Our arrogance becomes clear when we lose a measure of gratefulness to God and others who have generally been part of our success. When we are on this slippery slope, others can see it in us, but we cannot see it in ourselves. Pride always blinds us to our faults.   Due to our vanity, we need someone around us that loves us enough to tell us the truth

Am I saying that you can never receive a sincere compliment, of course not? We are called to affirm each other. A simple thank you will suffice for any commendation, yet we must also realize that all blessings ultimately come from God, and without him, we can do nothing.

Publically confessing that we have a propensity to take God’s glory is the antidote to pride. You will only be telling people what they already know.  They will be glad that you recognize it also.

Ken Barnes, the author of  “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places”  YWAM Publishing
Email:  kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: Ken Barnes' Book Site
Blogs: http://kensblog757.blogspot.com
            http://gleanings757.blogspot.com

Habakkuk

Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. For each one will bear his own load.  (Galatians 6:2,5 NASB) 

 

There seems to be an apparent contradiction between verses two and five. There are times when we all have burdens so oppressive that we need some help, yet we should never let our dependence on someone, other than Christ, become a lifestyle.

Clarity comes to this portion of Scripture when we understand that there is a collective and individual responsibility we have as Christians. The Greek word for burden (v. 2) expresses an overwhelming or excessive weight that any person would have difficulty bearing. In this case, we, as Christians, must fulfill the law of Christ and help bear their burden. In (v. 5), the Greek word used for the load was often used to refer to a soldier’s pack that everyone in the army was expected to carry.

There are certain burdens or loads that we must help the brethren bear and others for which we should not take responsibility. Doing something consistently, for some who can do it for themselves, is not loving them. In our desire to love and serve people, we can unwittingly become part of their problem rather than the solution.

Have you heard of the little boy who found a cocoon? He waited expectantly for the butterfly to emerge. A hole appeared in the envelope, and the butterfly was struggling to get out. The butterfly seemed so desperate that the boy took scissors and clipped the cocoon, the butterfly emerged, but it spent the rest of its life crawling around, never being able to fly. The struggle a butterfly incurs in freeing itself prepares it for living outside of the cocoon.

Are you serving or enabling people?

Image used with permission by Microsoft.

Ken Barnes, the author of  “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places”  YWAM Publishing
Email:  kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: Ken Barnes' Book Site
Blogs: http://kensblog757.blogspot.com
            http://gleanings757.blogspot.com

Serving or Enabling

Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. For each one will bear his own load.  (Galatians 6:2,5 NASB) 

 

There seems to be an apparent contradiction between verses two and five. There are times when we all have burdens so oppressive that we need some help, yet we should never let our dependence on someone, other than Christ, become a lifestyle.

Clarity comes to this portion of Scripture when we understand that there is a collective and individual responsibility we have as Christians. The Greek word for burden (v. 2) expresses an overwhelming or excessive weight that any person would have difficulty bearing. In this case, we, as Christians, must fulfill the law of Christ and help bear their burden. In (v. 5), the Greek word used for the load was often used to refer to a soldier’s pack that everyone in the army was expected to carry.

There are certain burdens or loads that we must help the brethren bear and others for which we should not take responsibility. Doing something consistently, for some who can do it for themselves, is not loving them. In our desire to love and serve people, we can unwittingly become part of their problem rather than the solution.

Have you heard of the little boy who found a cocoon? He waited expectantly for the butterfly to emerge. A hole appeared in the envelope, and the butterfly was struggling to get out. The butterfly seemed so desperate that the boy took scissors and clipped the cocoon, the butterfly emerged, but it spent the rest of its life crawling around, never being able to fly. The struggle a butterfly incurs in freeing itself prepares it for living outside of the cocoon.

Are you serving or enabling people?

Image used with permission by Microsoft.

Ken Barnes, the author of  “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places”  YWAM Publishing
Email:  kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: Ken Barnes' Book Site
Blogs: http://kensblog757.blogspot.com
            http://gleanings757.blogspot.com