A BALANCED LIFE OF GIVING

Christians are considered citizens of another kingdom, kids of another family and residents of another world or realm - all while living in this one. There is an amazing balance act required by the Follower of Christ when he/she accepts Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. 

You have heard the expression - The Believer has to be in the world but not of the world. This truth tells of the requirement met for living out the Christian life (not being of the world) while meeting the condition for living in a temporary place (having to dwell for the time being in the world).

In Matthew 22:15-22, Jesus is approached by Pharisees with an entrapping question - "Is it right to pay the Imperial Tax to Caesar or not?" The Imperial Tax was a special tax levied on subject peoples and not the Roman citizens. Referring to the coin used for payment in those days, Jesus answered, "Whose image is this? And whose inscription?" The Pharisees replied, "Caesar's." Jesus responded, "So, give back to Casesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's."

Notice that the Pharisees only asked about what is owed to Caesar. They got a bonus answer when Christ included God in the picture - "give back to God what is God's".

This is part of a delicate balancing act that Christians live out while in this world, but not of it. We adhere to the laws that govern our society and culture, but we should also be following the precepts, instruction and lifestyle example of Jesus Christ. Giving back to the community, county, state or country is logical. But, how do you give back to God?

Even though God owns everything, giving back to Him is a sign of acknowledging that He has entrusted us with His blessing. For us to get in the way and stop the flow of His plan, His favor and His mercies is absurd. We earnestly need His input, His counsel and His guidance since He bestowed the favor to begin with. 

Many, if not most, of the world owe somebody money, goods and/or services - so we work in order to satisfy all those that demand this of us. Christians owe our lives to Christ our Savior. He paid our sin debt, restored our relationship with Father God and secured eternity with Him forever. 

This life is a life of giving out of necessity. However, I also give back to The Lord not only due to the tremendous gift of salvation, but of the awesome favor He blesses me with continually. He allows me to steward His grace upon my life and in turn I give it back.

In this world we are somewhat free to manage our money as long as come tax season we pay our required amount of taxes. In God's kingdom, giving back to God means you continue in His favor as you trust Him with the original design. In this life we are called to live - A Balanced Life Of Giving.

LIVING STONES

Throughout Scripture everyday analogies are given to communicate a spiritual truth. For example - 

• "They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream." (Jeremiah 17:8)
• "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field." (Matt. 13:24)
• "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough." (Matt. 13:33)
• "The kingdom is like a treasure hidden in a field." (Matt. 13:44)
• "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls." (Matt. 13:45)

One of the analogies that I believe believers may want to stop and research is the analogy of us as Living Stones. However, let us first look at Jesus pictured as a rock or stone.

There are many references to Christ as The Rock, The Stone or The Cornerstone. In Matthew 16:18 when Jesus was talking to the little rock or Peter, I believe Jesus pointed with His finger at Himself and said, "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." Why? Because there is no other person the church is built upon than Christ Jesus. No other person does the gates of Hades wither at the name of than Christ Jesus. Peter did help build the church, but it was not built UPON him. Peter did make a great sacrifice with his life, but he did not overcome death, Hades and the grave as Jesus did. The church is built UPON Christ Jesus, The Son of the Living God.

Another reference to Jesus as a Rock is found in Daniel 2:33-35. In this passage a supernatural rock becomes a mountain that engulfs the entire earth. This prophetic literature describes the return of Jesus in a militaristic fashion when He will subdue all worldly kingdoms and set up His own for a thousand years before making things new.

Speaking of mountains, that is what rocks form. In mountains, specifically Mount Zion, we can see The Mountain or Kingdom made out of relationships at the cost of Chirst's life. God sits upon the top as King of the Mountain and He is also the Root of the Mountain. In this same way, we were placed in The Temple as stones of His House, His Kingdom and His Family. However, Christ is The Chief Cornerstone. 

Cornerstones are important in the building of a physical structure, even moreso our spiritual lives. The functions of the cornerstones are to set the boundaries, give direction and support the load of the structure. All of the cornerstones matter in our lives, but one matters most - The Chief Cornerstone.

What makes The Chief Cornerstone different from the remaining three? The first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, which is analogous to our spiritual foundation, is important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, including the other cornerstones, thus determining the position of the entire structure.

So, where does that leave us? 1 Peter 2:4-8 brings the challenge to be "like living stones" front and center - a supportive, Christlike person with structure and character whose life and service always points to his/her Chief Cornerstone - Christ Jesus. The passage reads - 

"As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says:

'See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.'

Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

'The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,' and, 'A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.'

They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for."

Within this passage, Peter re-emphasized a prophecy about Christ and His opponents from David in Psalm 118:22 - "The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone". This would be fulfilled by the Jewish religious leaders of Christ Jesus. Rejected by "the builders", the Pharisees and Saducees took ownership of the Temple. Their positions, roles and responsibilities were too precious to them so they kept God, as The Head of His House, even in His prophetic Scripture of a coming Servant Messiah - Out! 

Notice, "the builders" here are men, not God. The religious Jewish leaders proved that with the rejection in John 11:48. They said, "If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation." There was the concern. They said, "our temple" and not God's temple. 

Then the High Priest declared and prophesied - "better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish." (John 11:50) This was the Jewish answer. 

Then they waited and schemed for their prime opportunity to take Jesus of Nazareth out of the picture. "So from that day on they plotted to take his life." (Jn. 11:53) This became their plan.

Listen! If Christ as the Chief Cornerstone was rejected, we can be sure rejection as being part of His household is guaranteed. John remembers Jesus saying, "If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also." (John 15:20) People, inside and outside Christianity, will look for flaws in us. We must abide in Christ. We must always point back to The Cornerstone and the price paid for His prominent placement in our lives and in The Family of God.

I know we don't think much of rocks as being living or even active. On the contrary, rocks are usually active when they are acted upon by an outside force like water, wind, lava, gravity and so forth. However, believers are being called to be proactive. Notice the section - "you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house...". The phrase "are being built" implies a process. Yes, Jesus Paid It All, but now sing the rest of that - All To Him I Owe. Christ has Redeemed us with His life and claimed the victory through His Resurrection. However, our part now remains to live a devoted life to Him, hopefully seeing our physical manifestation glorified soon, upon His Return.

Christ is The Creator and Sustainer of everything. Who or What is The Chief Cornerstone of your life? Who is the governing force, anchor, moral compass, peace and security in your life? I pray your answer is Christ Jesus. If He is, then alignment with Him in every facet of your life along with shoulder-to-should service with fellow believers and expected times of persecution is how we can view ourselves as - Living Stones.

FOOTHOLD

Imagine yourself a mountain that moves. Who or what is king of the mountain? Who or what is king of you? Is it a fleeting emotion? Is it a relative, friend or thing?

Imagine again, but this time picture yourself as a portable room. Who have you let in your door? Who or what are you letting in your door currently? 

Ephesians 4:26-28 mentions the word "foothold" as a condition brought about by the enemy of our souls that has given him possible strategic advantage over our lives. The verse reads - 

• "'In your anger do not sin': Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold." 

The original word for "foothold" here is topos. It is likely where we get our word topography - the study of land or places. Topos can refer to a specific advantageous location, like a foot in the door or right placement of the foot on a mountain outcropping. Some would say this is being in the right place at the right time. Foothold can also refer to a condition or advantageous opportunity the the likes of anger and other passionate emotions which can turn negative or positive depending on the user.

The instruction in the verse is three-fold:

1. Do not allow the condition to get to you and lead you to sin. ('In your anger do not sin')
2. Do not allow the day to end with the condition still unresolved. (Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry)
3. Kick the devil off your mountain or out of your door/home! (do not give the devil a foothold.)

The how-to defeat or avoid this scenario altogether is to perform preemptive work. We all need to be more sensitive, more considerate, more attentive and more aware of ourselves, others and our surroundings. We need to be more proactive. If we have our antenna up and tuned to these and most importantly The Holy Spirit, far and few between will be the Foothold.  

SILENCE

There is a song by Simon and Garfunkel entitled "The Sound of Silence". Some say it was written in the void left by the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. There are times when even with the best intentions of desiring to reach for the words to say to someone, we would be better served if our mouths stay shut. Then there are other instances where something said is totally appropriate and would drive the sheer awkwardness of silence away. 

There is plenty in Scripture to draw from on this topic. However, allow me to lift from three verses. The first is Proverbs 17:28 - 

• "Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues." 

So here, we have somebody or a group of people that are known in the community as "fools". The thought is one that is not written down but inferred by what is stated - if fools are wise enough to keep silent and discerning enough to hold their tongue, then how much more should the non-foolish already be doing this? Hopefully you are counted among the non-foolish and are exercising restraint of the tongue. 

Ecclesiastes 3:7 is the next verse and it states there is - "a time to be silent and a time to speak". This is pretty straight forward logic but we fail miserably with the timing of when to speak at times. I have put my foot in my mouth or wished I had to stop me from talking a few times in my life. This is certainly a prayer bullet to have on your list of things to ask The Lord for help on a daily basis. A little extra Scripture here provides one of my favorite verses that applies to this situation of when to speak - "A person finds joy in giving an apt reply—and how good is a timely word!" (Proverbs 15:23)

Esther 4:14 is the final main verse I had in mind for this subject. This verse reads - "For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?" Nothing like the extermination of you and your people to stir you to action. Mordecai not only saw the leaders of their land as the threat to their demise, but inaction or worse yet - Silence. 

Mordecai's cousin, Esther, is who the above passage is addressing and encouraging to use her opportunity of position, beauty, charm and reason to save the Jews from obliteration. In other words, if ever there was a time to speak-up and not be silent - now was the time. And Esther came through in flying colors.

God's discerning Spirit within the Believer is of utmost importance here. Think before you speak is still a common challenge for us all. Some have this issue more than others and need a heavy dose of the Holy Spirit as their discerning guide. 

When I graduated from college many moons ago, I was blessed with a job in radio. I worked as a Producer/Director or Board Operator for a local talk radio station. For each talk show host on my shift my responsibility was essentially a "Screener". I would use a simple computer program to capture name, age, location and subject desired to talk about. This information was displayed on another computer monitor in the host's studio in front of me through a glass window. In addition, if the host selected anybody and the person went off track from the information provided and was nasty, I had a Red Delay Button (of 6 seconds) that would drop any undesirable content and rebuild that delay for a next time.

The Holy Spirit does the same for us mentally, physically and spiritually. God gave David a powerful and anointed prayer in Psalm 141:3 - "Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips." Because once the words are out - they are out. If we allow Him, The Holy Spirit can be our Screener. Jesus told His disciples that He would give them the words to say via The Holy Spirit when they were arrested (Matthew 10:19) How much more do you think He would give us the right words, at the right time to be an encouragement or help to others if we seek His counsel and leading? 

If you are a considerate person, one that does not blab or speak every, single thing that is on your mind, then knowing when to speak or not is still a challenge, but at least you give Pause; at least you are sensitive to a given conversation. My encouragement today is to practice conferring with The Holy Spirit before we open our mouths. And even sometimes with His counsel He may want us to exercise - Silence. 

THE KEYS TO GOD'S MANIFEST PRESENCE

God is everywhere, at all times - omnipresent. However, as believers in Christ Jesus, God's Son, we can have a more intimate experience of God's manifest presence. The keys to God's manifest presence are thanksgiving and praise.

My Pastor's son, Logan, taught recently on this subject and stated, "The password into His presence is 'Thank You'." Psalm 100:4 says, "Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name." This is a simple mindset, attitude and lifestyle we can adopt but often forget or neglect. God has blessed us with everything, now do we return to The Giver on a regular basis with thanks and entrust back into His hands what was already His? For many Christians this is a grateful lifestyle that is lived out daily.

However, Lord help us to never be so consumed by ourselves, others, society, our culture or things that we revert back to what the Israelites did - they forgot you! In Judges 3:7, 1 Samuel 12:9 and Jeremiah 3:21 the phrase "they forgot the Lord their God" is used to describe the Israelites condition. And in Judges 8:33-35 the phrase - "and did not remember the Lord their God" is used for the same condition. Again, Lord help us never to forget you. Help us to learn from King David, as he said, "Bless the Lord, O my soul and forget not all His benefits." (Psalm 103:2) In this command to his own soul, David had the right mindset, the right attitude and right lifestyle - to never forget, to always be thankful to the Lord and praise or "bless" His name.

The should'ves, could'ves and would'ves of life are tools of the enemy who target our joy and progress. Unfortunately, our society focuses on what they do not have and has an I deserve attitude or spirit of entitlement that flies in the spirit of humility which is a fruit of a thankful heart. 

Mr. Rick Renner stated in his Sparkling Gems From the Greek 2, "Thankfulness is a prerequisite to happiness because only a thankful heart can be a happy heart." (p.467) 

Acquiring and keeping a grateful and thankful attitude not only reminds us of past and recent blessings, but of God's promises - His projected blessings yet to come. A focused perspective is the key. Keep your focus on God's Faithfulness (God's Track Record) and your attitude and future will immediately brighten beyond belief.

"If society focused its gaze on God and kept Him in their minds, it would be more difficult for Satan's deception to work its plan in the world. But when man becomes unthankful - ceasing to acknowledge God and to be thankful for His abundant blessings - that is when he begins to sink into decadence." (Renner, page 468)

"You see, a Christian may not slide into the same sins to which the world quickly succumbs, but ungratefulness, bitterness and other heart-hardening attitudes will worm their way into your soul if you do not maintain an attitude of thankfulness and constantly recognize God's goodness in your life." (Renner, page 469)

I watched a three-part movie series recently called "Death Comes to Pemberley" (attached to the "Pride and Prejudice" story). In the final installment, the female lead, Anna Martin playing Elizabeth Darcy was speaking with her beloved about perspective and said, "Let's look to the past only as it gives us pleasure. And to the future only as it gives us hope."

The Hebrew people did this eons before Elizabeth Darcy arrived on the scene. As God's people would travel from place to place experiencing the many facets of God's favor - altars of stone would be built to commemorate or commit to memory what The Lord had done for them there. In addition, they would not only build the altar, they would name the altar, like The Lord is My Shelter (protection).

Gratitude is a purposeful, humble, mature act of recognizing and appreciating The Giver. One of the ten men with leprosy in Luke 17:11-19 is an excellent example of this deliberate return to The Blesser, Healer and Giver - Jesus. We desperately need to remember and not forget The Lord as He continually blesses us whether we see it or not. Then as we remember "all His benefits", as David said, we can enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise as we use - The Keys to God's Manifest Presence.