Good Leaders Are Worth Waiting For

"And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles." Acts 1:26

     As I sit and reflect on this weekends message I can't help but see myself in Peters decision to fill an empty position with haste. I have done this same thing and always regret it. Why do we feel that we need to help God out and why do we often act in haste with something so important?
To get the answer we must look at the text in Acts 1:9-26. There we see that Jesus commanded the disciples to go and wait for the filling of the Holy Spirit. So they did...120 of them squeezed into the upper room and waited...and waited... and waited...for 10 days they waited for the promise to come. But, it's never easy to wait. Maybe the first few days were easier as we're told they all continued "with one accord in prayer and supplication." But, at some point in the 10 days of waiting Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples and suggested that they fill the position left by Judas. At first reading we see nothing wrong with this, but when we look more closely at the principle, the process and the price we discover a whole different side to this decision and one that we all can learn from.

The Principle was simple...fill the position that was left by Judas the betrayer therefore fulfilling scripture. Peter remembered that Jesus spoke of the 12 tribes sitting upon the 12 thrones in heaven and of course thought he, as the leader of the Early Church, was responsible for filling that empty spot. Not knowing when Jesus would return, Peter took it upon himself to fill this position. The Process he used was casting lots. This process was derived from the Old Testament and was last used in the New Testament when the soldiers cast lots for Jesus garments. Mark tells us..."And they crucified Him, dividing up His clothes, they cast lots to see what each  would get." Mark 15:24. As Peter used this method to chose the twelfth apostle, the lot fell on Matthias who is never again mentioned in the Bible. We can't help but wonder if Peter was operating in the Spirit or in his flesh. Meaning well, but not yet baptized with the Spirit, it's possible that Peter once again would pay the Price for acting impulsively. 

Many believe that Peter selected the wrong man, and should have waited to chose Paul as the twelfth apostle. Paul certainly proved himself worthy of being called one of the twelve. We read of Paul's conversion, ministry, and missionary journeys which make up more than half of the Book of Acts and the majority of the New Testament. To say that he was anointed and used by God is an understatement! Even though Paul had a rough start with the other apostles, he knew that God hand selected him for a special purpose...using the "foolish things of the world to confound the wise."

 We can learn several lessons from this possible mistake of Peter's. First, we learn that it's important to wait on God for His approval before selecting a leader. Next, we see that although Peter did select Matthias out of necessity, God chose Paul out of obscurity. And finally, we should remember that haste always makes waste. When we're tempted to act impulsively we must remember that there are always consequences to making hasty decisions. Sometimes we, like Peter, can feel the need to act upon an impulse, but do yourself a favor and DON'T! Rather, WAIT upon the Lord to reveal His perfect will in His perfect timing and with His perfect resources. Remembering that God won't always chose the most obvious people to serve Him in radical ways, but will often use the ones waiting in the wings who are being prepared to rock this world...if we will but wait for them!

His Return Is Near

"Now I saw heaven opened and behold a while horse. And He who sat on him was called "Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war." Revelation 19:11

   As I stood on the Mount of Olives in Israel this past week I once again had an overwhelming sense of the nearness of the return of Jesus. Right behind me in the top picture is the Temple Mount with the Dome of the Rock on top, a Muslim temple. To the right of that is the Eastern Gate. The gate in which Revelation tells us that Jesus will enter at His Second Coming and put His foot on the Mount of Olives... where I am standing and it will split in two from east to west. "And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives will be spilt in two, from east to west, making a very large valley. Half the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south." Zechariah 14:4

 It's a sobering, yet exciting experience to be standing in the very spot that all of this will take place. To make everything just a little more real, we saw a beautiful white horse standing posed for us to take it's picture on a hill above the Easter Gate. It hit me like a ton of bricks..."this is real and it will take place right here". It brings tears to your eyes. Tears of joy for us, but tears of sorrow for all who will not chose Jesus. Lord help us to be those who are not ashamed of the gospel. Those that are busy about our Fathers business. Those that are doing all we can to fulfill the Great Commission. May we not grow weary while doing good for in due season we will reap the harvest. Be encouraged today to continue the good work of the Lord...for He is coming soon!

Growing In LOVE...just in time for Valentines Day!

"...but the greatest of these is LOVE."
    1 Corinthians 13:13

      Jesus gave us the definition of LOVE in 1 Corinthians 13, although not many of us could see ourselves in that definition. As believers, we are to seek to grow in love...not that we have obtained it as Paul said, but that we press forward in our upward call to LOVE as JESUS loved. This is not an easy task and becomes obvious when we insert our name in 1 Corinthians 13 in the place of the word LOVE. It's then, that we discover that we aren't really as loving as we thought. When Jesus is our standard of love we see love as it was intended to be...perfect, complete and lacking nothing. As we grow in our relationship with Jesus, we naturally grow in the area of LOVE also. We become more patient and kind, more humble and polite, more others minded and less us minded, more holy, more truthful, we have more faith, more hope and more endurance. Instead of inserting just my name...it would be more appropriate if I inserted my name and the word "more". Then, it would read; "Michelle is "more" patient and kind...and so on...understanding the fact that we're all under construction helps us to be patient with the work that God is doing in us...knowing that He has begun a good work in us and promises to see it though to the end. But, how is this accomplished...how do I grow more in the area LOVE? I want to love my spouse more, my kids more, my family more, my neighbors, and co-workers and others more, but I'm in this flesh and at war daily with it! How do I win, you might say?

There is hope! Praise God...there's hope! We don't have to settle for half- hearted love, complacent love or hypocritical love. We can have real genuine love...love that come straight from Jesus. But, it does cost. It's costs your pride, it costs your time, it costs your flesh...to love as Jesus loved requires death. For God demonstrated what real love truly looks like when He sent His only Son to the earth to die for us. Real love takes death. The more you die the better! Paul said  in Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ, I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." The more we die to our flesh the less we recognize the old person and the more we look like a new creature in Christ. Because we have seen what real love looks like, we have a model that we are to strive for. As we die to our flesh and begin to abide in faith and hope, love is the natural byproduct. We are to live, dwell and remain in the Word, in prayer, in fellowship, and in service...and the more we live there in that place... the more we become like Jesus...who is the definition of love. Will we ever attain perfect love? No...not while we are here on earth, but we are to seek to be more like Jesus in the area of love while we are here...until we see Him face to face, then we will be perfected. Until then...we can remember a little acronym for
LOVE to better help us ...

L...less of me
O...others first
V...valentines
E...everyday

May the Lord fill us with His Spirit and empower us to love as He loved!

Unattractive Wrappings...the diamond within

   Have you ever been at a Christmas party where there is a white elephant gift exchange? Does anybody really know what one of those is anyway? Is it a joke gift, a used gift, or a gift under $10?  Regardless, when I chose a gift, I usually go for the one with the nicest wrapping. But, that’s not always a good indication of what’s inside. Often times it will be an old sock or a broken coffee mug.  But with the Lord, its often the other way around…ugly, detestable wrapping with a beautiful priceless gem on the inside.

This is the case with diamonds. They are found in the rough, meaning that they are unpolished and their beauty is unseen. They appear in their natural form as an ugly grey stone that most people would skip right over. They haven’t reached their full potential and only a skilled craftsman can see the beauty of the rough grey stone.  
I recently read about the discovery of the  most magnificent diamond in the history of the world. It was found in an African mine, and presented to the king of England to embellish his crown.  The King sent it to Amsterdam to be cut by an expert stonecutter. The expert took the stone of priceless value and cut a notch in it. Then he struck it one hard time with his hammer, and the majestic jewel fell into his hand, broken in two.

Most of us would look at this act as careless and foolish, but what we fail to see is that the expert studied and planned for days, even weeks how exactly with one blow of the hammer he would create not only one, but two magnificent stones. Only in the hands of a skilled professional could this be accomplished. The highly skilled stonecutter saw what others couldn’t see. He saw the full potential of the diamond. He saw that deep within the diamond were actually two priceless stones on not just one.

Likewise, the Lord alone can see our full potential. He sees a diamond in the rough and what's really on the inside. He allows a stinging blow to fall upon us. We feel the pain and agony of discomfort, we think; “this must be a mistake”, but it’s not. God allows discomfort and pain to form us into the most precious jewels in the world, for He is the most skilled stonecutter in the universe.  And one day, when He’s done with His chiseling and hammering,  we’ll be a beautiful jewel adorning the crown of the King of Kings. Hang in there if you are in the midst of some discomfort today...know that the Master Craftsman is making you into something only He can see, something very  beautiful...a refection of Himself. "I know the plans I have for you", says the Lord, "…plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11. Trust Him...He knows what He's doing!

                     

                                                                          

It's That TIme Again...an encouraging word on pruning

   Today is pruning day! I've been putting this off for almost a

 month now, and I can put it off no longer. If I want my rose bushes to be healthy and produce more flowers I need to prune them. The problem with this process is that it hurts and it's ugly. I often get poked through my gloves by the sharp thorns which sting and when I'm all done my rose bushes look naked...just stumps. Every year as I prune my roses I can't help but think of our lives as Believers and how our loving heavenly Father prunes us from time to time in order that we might bear even more fruit in our lives.

John 15 tells us that He is the vine and we are the branches. He is the vinedresser who takes care of His crop. He waters, fertilizes and yes, He cuts off what will no longer produce fruit, that we may bear even more fruit. This can be a painful process in a believer’s life and one that can either be received or rejected.  As our heavenly gardener, the Lord, certainly knows what to trim and what to leave. He is in control of the pruning. Even though this can be hard, uncomfortable, difficult, and down right painful, we must trust that the Lord knows what He’s doing. We must yield to the pruning process knowing that the fruit is greater then the pain of the pruning.

L.B. Cowman said; “Many of the richest blessings we have inherited are the fruit of sorrow or pain. We should never forget that redemption, the world’s greatest blessing, is the fruit of the world’s greatest sorrow. And whenever a time of deep pruning comes and the knife cuts deeply and the pain is severe, what an inexpressible comfort it is to know, My Father is the gardener.”

    

As I prune my roses of all their beauty...taking them down to just a bare stump, I think of my own life and how necessary it is for the Lord, my heavenly gardener, to rid me of certain things that may hinder my growth in Him. I realize that although pruning is painful at times, it’s most necessary in order to bear more fruit each year. I also realize that pruning is just as necessary as planting. In fact, it’s in the pruning stage that I’ve personally grown the most in my walk with the Lord. I can honestly say that I've learned to appreciate the process, even though I cannot say that I enjoy it.  I see that that there is even reason for the thorns that often prick me, as they are the things that protect the beautiful delicate roses from predators that are out to destroy them.

Someone once said; "There are many blessings we will never receive until we are ready to pay the price of pain, for often suffering is the way to reach them." When asked about the necessity of sorrow...Charles Spurgeon responded; “How would you like to be the one standing in heaven and be pointed out as the only saint who never experienced sorrow? Never! You would feel like a stranger in the midst of a sacred fellowship. Therefore may we be content to share in the battle, for we will soon wear a crown of reward and wave a palm branch of praise.” Be encouraged today if you are in a time of pruning that there is a divine gardener behind every cut. He is making sure that the cut is accomplishing what He set out for it to...that in the end we would become more like Him. Although the price of pruning may be great... the benefits are beautiful! Hang in there and watch as your life produces more and more fruit. "I am the true vine and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit." John 15:1-2