10/2 Grow

A Mother's Gift 2

So often the question will come up about the time a person became a Christian. To many there is a specific day, a specific moment when they turned their lives over to God. There may be a precise memory of that realization that they desired salvation and they accepted Christ as Savior and Lord.

For myself, I can’t remember the first day that I confessed Christ as Savior. What I recall is that I was raised in the church. It was simply part of who we were as a family. We always attended church.

In Acts 10 there is a lengthy account of the disciple Peter and a Roman centurion named Cornelius. God has spoken to Peter about expanding his ministry beyond those of the Jewish faith, reaching out to Gentiles. At the same time an angel sent a message to Cornelius to summon Peter to his home.

What happened in Cornelius’ house? Who was the Holy Spirit reaching? What did Peter want to do?

This was a profound moment in the life of the early church. Prior to this event those who had come to follow Jesus as the Christ were Jewish believers who saw Jesus as the Messiah. Now God was reaching out to the Gentiles, the non-Jewish. Christ’s salvation was being offered to all people in all the world. The sacrament of Baptism, the act that signifies a commitment to the Lord and a life of faith, would be offered to all people.

This monumental shift in faith was able to happen because Cornelius was willing to obey the Lord and host the disciple Peter. Cornelius allowed a relationship with God to come into his house.

As we consider our relationships with other members of our family as well as our relationship of faith with the Lord, we must remember that each of us has the responsibility to be obedient to God. Each of us must be willing to allow God and the Holy Spirit to work in the lives of those we love. Our devotion to God as a parent, a brother, a sister, may open up a life of faith in others.

DAILY CHALLENGE: What can you do to help others find salvation?

A Mother's Gift 1

2 Timothy 1:5-7

I recall vividly the day I went to my mother’s house to ask for money that I might enroll in a seminary class so I could begin in ministry. She willingly handed me a check for what I needed and told me, “This is from your grandmother.”

I asked her to explain. She told me that her mother had always wanted one of her grandchildren to enter into the ministry, so the money, in a sense, was coming from my grandmother so that I might fulfill her desire.

Today’s passage comes from the second letter to the young man, Timothy, as he develops his faith. Where does Timothy’s faith come from? What should Timothy do? What type of attitude should he have in his faith?

When looking at our faith we may feel that we are completely on our own with our relationship with God. And in many ways we are indeed alone in our walk of faith. It is up to each of us to determine what type of connection we will have with our Lord.

But we cannot dismiss the influence of our heritage. Our faith, for good or for bad, is influenced by the family that has come before us. Those who are our parents, our brothers and sisters, cousins and grandparents all have a bearing on what type of faith we will have.

Timothy is a young man of growing faith. His faith is not just his own, however. His connection to the Lord began with his grandmother and lived also in his mother. Through the influence of these women Timothy was able to have a powerful faith.

Our family will have an influence on our eagerness to be with God. Our family’s attitude can affect how deep we will go in our beliefs and how we will live out our faith in Jesus.

Those of us who are parents must keep in mind the influence we will have on our children. Will we by the example of our lives guide our children into a holy attitude and faithful life? Even if we are not parents we can influence how other relatives will connect to God.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you remember where your faith comes from?

Kingdom of God 3

Hebrews 12:28-29

The fear of fire is something very real to me. There are many homes in our community which have unfortunately been destroyed by fire over the past several years. The thought of the destruction a fire can bring is very disturbing. What would we do if we had a fire? How could we go on when so many things that are precious to us have been taken away through fire?

The author of Hebrews makes a comment on the Kingdom of God. How is this kingdom described? How should we respond? What is said of God?

Our faith, the Kingdom of God which exists within us, is an unshakable kingdom. No amount of trouble or fear, no amount of temptation or struggle can break the faith that true believers hold. It is this faith that gives us strength to make it through the difficult times in life, and also that adds to the delight of the joys in life.

Knowing this we should give thanks to God. He is the source and builder of this unshakable, unbreakable kingdom of faith.

But God is also described as being a consuming fire. The image of a fire can be disturbing. A fire can rage through our lives and destroy, taking away all that is precious and irreplaceable in our lives.

The description of God as a consuming fire (based on Deuteronomy 4:24) may be intended to strike fear in our hearts. God will consume and destroy those who are not faithful.

But there is a good side to that consuming fire. The Kingdom of God can be a consuming fire – that is, it can consume our thoughts and emotions. It can be the center of our attention, the center of what we think and what we desire.

But like a consuming fire the Kingdom of God, our faith which lives within us, can destroy all the negative parts of our lives and our thoughts. When we are part of the Kingdom of God, when our faith is deeply rooted within us, then all the fears and worries of life can be burned away so that we are left with nothing but that true faith, that deep connection and trust in the Lord.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you allow your faith to consume all that is negative within you?

Kingdom of God 2

Philippians 3:10-11

I recently purchased the best seller The Man from Beijing. An excerpt from the book led me to believe it would be an interesting thriller, a story of intrigue, espionage and murder. But I was sadly disappointed in the book. It left several questions unanswered and led me through a story that wandered far and wide away from what I was expecting.

I think life can be that way. We expect great things. We anticipate some thrills and fascinating revelations. Yet life can take us far from what we expected, and in the end we can find ourselves left with many unanswered questions.

In his letter to the Philippians Paul makes a powerful statement about his desires. What does he desire? What does he hope to attain?

I believe life is something that is a tremendous gift from God. I believe that it is something we should enjoy, something filled with wonderful delights that God has provided. Yet we can often feel that there must be more to existence than the brief years we live on earth. What more is there?

I believe Paul has a special perspective on the Kingdom of God, that faith and godly living we are called to. If we have the Kingdom of God within us, if we are able to have strong faith and to live a life that imitates Jesus, then we will know and understand the power that is Christ. We will be in fellowship with Jesus, sharing in his suffering but also sharing in the resurrection that is sure to come.

What more is there? There is the promise of eternal life through the salvation and grace of Jesus. As we move forward in our lives, as we approach that day when we will be gathered up to God, we must live with the Kingdom of God firmly rooted in our hearts and souls. We must live with a strong faith that trusts in the love and mercy of God, and a faith that knows – is aware of and is in constant communion with – the eternal presence of the Lord.

We can anticipate the glorious reward God has in store for us. And as we wait, as we move through life, we can delight in the constant presence of God, His comfort, His strength, His compassion. And having this awareness, having the Kingdom of God inside us, can make life so much more full and rewarding.

DAILY CHALLENGE: What can remind you of the fellowship of Christ which is part of your life today?

Kingdom of God 1

Mark 4:30-32

When I was a child we had a pine tree at the back corner of our house. It was a big tree, one you could see for quite a distance. At that time I believe it was one of the tallest trees on our block.

The tree was the first Christmas tree my parents had when they bought the house I grew up in. My dad said after Christmas he tossed it out in the back yard to wait until the weather warmed up so he could plant it. Eventually he did plant it, after it had weathered a fierce winter. He didn’t expect it to survive, but it did and grew to be a tremendous tree.

This can be like our faith. It is something we are given by God, something important to us, something we may hold onto for comfort and strength. Over time our faith may have to endure the trials of life, the strains of worry and fear. But if we can plant it in our hearts and nurture it, our faith can grow to be something mighty and strong.

Often people will make reference to the Kingdom of God, and it is frequently interpreted to mean “heaven.” But Jesus makes a comment about the Kingdom of God. What does he compare it to? How does the smallest seed grow? What is the result?

This observation from Jesus is clearly not a comment on heaven. It seems rather to be a comment on our faith. Our faith may seem small at the outset. It can be a fragile thing, something we fear we might easily lose. We may have those times when we think our faith cannot survive.

But if our faith is nurtured and allowed to grow it can be like the mustard plant. Our faith can grow to be so big that it is a place of refuge and comfort.

In Luke 17:21 Jesus says, “the kingdom of God is within you.” The Kingdom of God is the living out of God’s love in the here and now. It is not just the glorious reward of God’s grace and mercy – heaven – but the comfort and strength of our faith in God that grows within us and becomes powerful. Our faith can grow to be strong enough to help us endure the assaults and temptations of the world.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How can your faith grow?