Presence

Presence
November 12, 2012
Mark 7:24  ". . .  He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret."

There are certain people who enter a room and you definitely know it.  They have a personality that cannot be hidden; it is clear upon arrival.  They may be bubbly people who get noticed for their outgoing personality, or they may be obnoxious and loud and difficult to ignore.  People like this are hard to conceal in a room.  They MUST be made known.  Jesus, though, didn't have that kind of personality.  He wasn't a loud and boisterous person.  His demeanor wasn't gregarious or obnoxious.  He wasn't obtuse or ever overbearing.  If Jesus entered a room, however, you would still know it.

Jesus was made known in a room because of His presence, not His personality.  In fact, there were times when Jesus just wanted to be in a room and blend into the walls.  But that wasn't possible; Jesus stuck out because of His presence.  There wasn't anything notable about His personality, at least as far as we can tell from Scripture, but His presence was the Presence of the Lord Almighty.  If you consider what we know of Jesus: an even tempered, mild mannered person could easily blend in if he tried.  But Jesus couldn't blend in because His presence was strong, since He carried with Him the presence of the Lord.

You and I are supposed to be like Jesus.  Despite your personality, it should not be YOU that is made known in a room; it should be your presence, the presence that exudes through you from Above.  The Lord isn't interested in having you made known; He is interested in revealing Himself through you.  You know what I mean, because you've felt the presence of the Lord through other people, too.  You have noticed something different about them.  You're attracted to their presence, not because they are loud or outgoing or charismatic, but because they carry the presence of the Lord with them; the appearance of God is evident in their lives.  If you spent much time alone with the Lord, like Jesus did, you'd always be filled with the Lord's presence.  His presence would be a part of you, and you would carry it with you at all times.

Examine yourself for a moment and consider what other people see and feel when you enter a room.  Do they see and feel your personality, or do they see the Lord living through you?  Is the presence of the Lord strong enough in your life as evidenced by those around you?  Are you Jesus with skin on, or do people cringe when you enter the room because you demand attention?  It is OK to be known in a room, but what are you known for?  The more attention you get, the less attention the Lord gets through your life.

When people were drawn to Jesus, it wasn't because of His personality, it was the Heavenly presence they felt through Him.
 
Don't take my word for it; look it up:   Luke 2:52, Luke 24:32, John 3:30, John 10:38, John 14:7

Trustworthy Servants

Trustworthy Servants
November 5, 2012
Nehemiah 1:11  "'. . . Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.'  I was cup-bearer to the king."

Nehemiah was a boy when his country was invaded by an evil king; he was subsequently exiled from his homeland, from his home in Israel.  He grew up away from familiar and was forced into servitude to other rulers who were foreign and hostile to his people and religion.  Years later, another king invaded and took Nehemiah into yet another place of exile, this time to Persia.  Nehemiah eventually found himself in the position of cup-bearer to the king of Persia.  Nehemiah, a Jew, was in a position of influence to the king of Persia (Persia, which would one day become modern day Iran).

It is interesting that the king of Persia would trust a Jew into such a high position.  Being a cup-bearer was a position of honor and trust.  It was the chief butler position and Nehemiah had to risk his life often for the job.  Because kings were a high target for assassination attempts, one couldn't be too careful.  A cup-bearer was responsible for drinking from the king's cup first, proving it didn't contain poison.  Nehemiah performed his duties with the utmost of responsibility and honor.  You'd think he might have disliked the ruler whom he served.  Yet he did his job in a respectful, trustworthy manner for a king who was not a known friend to the children of Israel, a nation of Jews.

Nehemiah teaches us a lot about being a true servant and later an effective leader.  Eventually Nehemiah would lead his people into rebuilding their country and becoming a governor.  But before that, he was a cup-bearer to a hostile king.  He had to serve another man who did not uphold the same values that were dear to Nehemiah.  He had to risk his life for another man who did not respect the Lord or His people.  If you read the first few lines from the book of Nehemiah, you'll see that he prayed fervently that the Lord would grant him favor with this foreign king.  Nehemiah didn't try to assassinate the king, he served him as if he was serving the Lord.  Nehemiah, before he proved he could be a leader, proved he was trustworthy as a servant in a world where character didn't matter.  Nehemiah knew that character was important to the Lord and so he lived his life in such a way as to prove that character every day during his service.  Nehemiah proved that everyone, even a hostile king, could trust him with their lives.

Today, there are very few political leaders that I would suggest we could trust with our lives.  But the question is, can they trust you and me with THEIR lives.  Would we serve them like Nehemiah did for the king?  Are we servants of the same caliber as Nehemiah?  If a modern day king, who was not a fan of your values, asked you for your trustworthy service, would you grant it?  Would you serve him like you serve the Lord?  The Bible says that we are to respect those in authority over us and serve them as trustworthy servants of the Lord.  Being a trustworthy servant is the first step to becoming a noble leader.

Don't take my word for it; look it up:   Nehemiah 1, Romans 13:1-4, 1 Tim 2:1-3,  Heb 13:7, Peter 2:13

Pressed Together

Pressed Together
Oct 29, 2012
Luke 6:38  "Give, and it will be given to you. A large quantity, pressed together, shaken down, and running over will be put into your lap, because you will be evaluated by the same standard with which you evaluate others"

It is such an amazing phrase: "give and it will be given to you."  It represents the spirit of reciprocity.  The Bible is chock full of terminology and examples of sowing and reaping, giving and receiving.  The principle of reciprocity is taught thoroughly throughout Scripture.  Jesus even said the famous words found in Luke 6:38, "Give, and it will be given to you. A large quantity, pressed together, shaken down, and running over will be put into your lap, because you will be evaluated by the same standard with which you evaluate others." He taught us that our human actions are being watched from above and that the Lord will be certain to invoke reciprocity.  It isn't karma and it isn't the universe bringing balance; it is the Lord enforcing reciprocity.

To understand the meaning of the measure "pressed together, shaken down, and running over" fully,  you must read another example of giving, as described by Jesus.  It is the story of a poverty stricken widow found in Mark 12:41-44:
    "Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts.  But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling His disciples to Him, Jesus said, 'Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on."'

Jesus was watching "who" put "what" into the offering.  He knew each and every person's circumstances and He saw their hearts.  While the offerings presented by the wealthy were more in terms of value than the poor widow's, hers was an enormous amount in comparison to the total of her possessions.  It wasn't the size of the offering that Jesus was referring to but the measure of meaning in regard to the gift.  This measure is what Jesus talked about when He said "pressed together, shaken down, and running over."  Just as Jesus watched what the widow gave, He is watching you and I when we give.  When we give to others, it is akin to giving to the Lord and He is overseeing and evaluating your measure, not the face value, but the measure of it.  He knows your circumstances and the heart behind your gift, to Him and to others.

The Lord is the enforcer of reciprocity and He sees all that you have done on behalf of others.  Some of you have given generously and some of you have withheld.  When you withhold in your giving, you are short changing yourself from the Lord's bounty when He invokes reciprocity over your life.  I, personally, would rather experience the Lord's gift to me "pressed together, shaken down, and running over."  But this requires a larger gift to others, far more than you think they deserve.  Remember that the Lord is evaluating your measure and will implement that same measure over your life when the time comes.

Don't take my word for it; look it up:   Mark 11:24, Mark 12:41-44, Luke 21:1-4, Acts 20:35, 2 Cor 9:6