January 21, 2001 Volume 2 Number 3
|
Scripture speaks of many qualities that bring about blessings. The Beatitudes in Matt 5 speak of being blessed if you are poor in spirit, if you mourn, if you are meek, if you hunger and thirst for righteousness, if you are merciful, if you are pure in heart, if you are a peacemaker, and if you are persecuted for righteousness sake. We also see those individuals whose eyes see and ears hear are blessed because they are open to God’s Will. Blessed are those who are forgiven, who do not have their sins imputed upon them. We can find reference after reference that would indicate this point. In James 1:12 the author says, “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” To endure is to “abide under,” to “remain in a place instead of leaving it, to stay behind,” to “persevere.” In the Bible we find this word attached to such phrases as “to the end” as in Matt 10:22, “And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.” Or attached to thoughts of enduring bravely or patiently. In Hebrews 12:2 it says, “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Endurance is an admirable and essential quality for the child of God. It is the quality of remaining steady, of not moving no matter what comes our way. In fact after writing of those faithful men in women in Heb 11 such as Abel, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses, etc. the writer concludes by saying in Ch. 12:1, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” He not only uses these men and women to give us an example but He uses our Lord as an example We read earlier in vs. 2 of Hebrews 12, “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Notice, it is the “author and finisher of our faith,” who set His eyes past the immediate suffering and looked heavenward. The Hebrew writer also states in verse 3, “For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.” Many have endured the race before us, how will we do? Our text says, “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” The man who adheres to the way prescribed by scripture, who does not apostatize, but remains patient and submissive to God’s Will, will be blessed. The apostle Paul stated in 2Tim 4:7-8, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” Paul’s way of life should be ours. The reward he mentions is the same that James writes of…”a crown of life (righteousness as Paul writes).” Passages such as Rom 15:4 help us in regard to endurance. Paul writes, “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” He also writes in 1 Cor 10:11, “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages have come. Brethren, there is no reason to think we can’t endure. Too many people including our Lord have endured. We can also be considered “approved” by God if we too endure. It is a matter of choices and actions. In Rom 2:7-12 Paul writes, “eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness--indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.” We know of Job’s patience, in fact, James writes of his patience in Ch. 5:11 of his epistle, “Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord--that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.” Job did not receive an answer to his woes he was merely blessed. Let us endure to the end so that we might be blessed.
[The following excellent article came to my attention some 35 years ago. I have made frequent references to it. I have just "re-found" it and wish to share it with you in its entirety. It originally appeared in the Chicago Daily News and then in the Readers Digest. - RHW] I walked with my friend, a Quaker, to the news-stand the other night, and he bought a paper, thanking the newsie politely. The newsie didn't even acknowledge it. "A sullen fellow, isn't he?" I commented. "Oh, he's that way every night," shrugged my friend. "Then why do you continue to be so polite to him?" I asked. "Why not?" inquired my friend. "Why should I let him decide how I'm going to act?" As I thought about this incident later, it occurred to me that the important word was "act." My friend acts toward people; most of us react toward them. He has a sense of inner balance which is lacking in most of us; he knows who he is, what he stands for, how he should behave. He refuses to return incivility for incivility, because then he would no longer be in command of his own conduct. When we are enjoined in the Bible to return good for evil, we look upon this as a moral injunction - which it is. But it is also a psychological prescription for our emotional health. Nobody is unhappier than the perpetual reactor. His center of emotional gravity is not rooted within himself, where it belongs, but in the world outside him. His spiritual temperature is always being raised or lowered by the social climate around him, and he is a mere creature at the mercy of these elements. Praise gives him a feeling of euphoria, which is false, because it does not last and it does not come from self-approval. Criticism depresses him more than it should, because it confirms his own secret shaky opinion of himself. Snubs hurt him, and the merest suspicion of unpopularity in any quarter rouses him to bitterness. A serenity of spirit cannot be achieved until we become the masters of our own actions and attitudes. To let another determine whether we shall be rude or gracious, elated or depressed, is to relinquish control over our own personalities, which is ultimately all we possess....The only true possession is self-possession. [NOTE: Isn't that a dandy article? Why not read it over again and then ask yourself, "Am I acting or reacting?" "Am I in complete possession of my emotions and actions or am I letting my friends and brethren make a balloon out of me which explodes at the slightest prick?" Now we should not be hypocritical in our actions. But we should cultivate an even-keeled emotional stability which will enable us to take "snubs": and hurtful words or deeds without "upsetting our boat" and causing everyone else to get wet in the process. - RHW] – ~from The Milpitas Messenger THREE MARBLES During the waning years of the depression in a small south eastern Idaho community, I used to stop by Brother Miller's roadside stand for farm-fresh produce as the season made it available. Food and money were still extremely scarce and bartering was used, extensively. One particular day Brother Miller was bagging some early potatoes for me. I noticed a small boy, delicate of bone and feature, ragged but clean, hungrily appraising a basket of freshly picked green peas. I paid for my potatoes but was also drawn to the display of fresh green peas. I am a pushover
for creamed peas and new potatoes. Pondering the peas, I couldn't help
overhearing the conversation between Brother Miller and the ragged boy
next to me. "H'lo, Mr. Miller. Fine, thank ya. Jus' admirin' them peas......sure look good." "They are good, Barry. How's your Ma?" "Fine. Gittin' stronger alla' time." "Good. Anything I can help you with?" "No, Sir. Jus' admirin' them peas." "Would you like to take some home?" "No, Sir. Got nuthin' to pay for 'em with." "Well, what have you to trade me for some of those peas?" "All I got's my prize marble here." "Is that right? Let me see it." "Here 'tis. She's a dandy." "I can see that. Hmmmm, only thing is this one is blue and I sort of go for red. Do you have a red one like this at home?" "Not 'zackley . . . but, almost." "Tell you what. Take this sack of peas home with you and next trip this way let me look at that red marble." "Sure will. Thanks, Mr. Miller." Mrs. Miller, who had been standing nearby, came over to help me. With a smile she said: "There are two other boys like him in our community, all three are in very poor circumstances. Jim just loves to bargain with them for peas, apples, tomatoes or whatever. When they come back with their red marbles, and they always do, he decides he doesn't like red after all and he sends them home with a bag of produce for a green marble or an orange one, perhaps. "I left the stand, smiling to myself, impressed with this man. A short time later I moved to Utah but I never forgot the story of this man, the boys and their bartering. Several years went by each more rapid than the previous one. Just recently I had occasion to visit some old friends in that Idaho community and while I was there learned that Brother Miller had died. They were having his viewin’ that evening and knowing my friends wanted to go, I agreed to accompany them. Upon our arrival at the mortuary we fell into line to meet the relatives of the deceased and to offer whatever words of comfort we could. Ahead of us in line were three young men. One was in an army uniform and the other wore nice haircuts, dark suits and white shirts . . . very professional looking. They approached Mrs. Miller, standing smiling and composed, by her husband's casket. Each of the young men hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke briefly with her and moved onto the casket. Her misty light blue eyes followed them as, one by one, each young man stopped briefly and placed his own warm hand over the cold pale hand in the casket. Each left the mortuary, awkwardly, wiping his eyes. Our turn came to
meet Mrs. Miller. I told her who I was and mentioned Resting underneath were three, magnificently shiny, red marbles. Moral: We will not be remembered by our words, but by our kind deeds. Food For Thought “If each member of the church prayed or studied or gave or attended or helped like you . . . what would the church be like? ” We
hope you find this bulletin useful in your Bible study. 2
Sam 22:31
|
