Daily Butter: Not It

Not It

 

My little addition to Our Daily Bead (6/29/13)

For You have made me rejoice, Lord,
by what You have done;
I will shout for joy
because of the works of Your hands.
(Psalm 92:4  HCSB)

I struggled to grasp for a profound insight or timely reminder to draw from this Psalm. I kept rereading it and listening to it in different translations in different voices and still nothing. Stepping back and feeling entirely like the "fool [who] does not understand this" (v6) I finally heard it after about the dozenth time: it's not about me. Joy is from Him. Joy is because of what He has done. So long as my focus is stuck on myself and my surroundings, joy will always be elusive.

 

Lord, help me to remember that You are the source of my joy. Help me remember to fix my eyes on You and not be drawn in by my surroundings.

 

in His Service

Andy Jentes

Daily Butter: Wait for it

Wait for it

My little addition to "Our Daily Bread" (6/24/13)

But He strictly warned and instructed them to tell this to no one, saying, "The Son

of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and

scribes, be killed, and be raised the third day."

(Luke 9:21-22 HCSB)

Throughout the gospels, Christ's warned His disciples and those He had just set free of bondage or infirmity not tell others the truth of His identity. I struggled so much with why such a command would be given, but these verses in a private discussion with the chosen twelve provided some insight that I had previously missed. In spite of the fact that the Jewish leaders were seeking to kill Him, generations of Hebrews had been hoping, longing and praying for the coming of their Messiah. While the grass-roots movement begun by these men after Christ's ascension was vital to His plan for salvation of the world, it could not begin until after He declared "It is Finished!" (John 19:30)

 

I cannot imagine the difficulty of "keeping the lid" on such an earth-shattering truth must have been. I am eternally grateful that these faithful men were obedient when Christ told them to stay quiet AND when the Holy Spirit prompted them tho speak out and write it down.

 

May I be sensitive to His prompting and His timing.

 

in His service,
Andy Jentes

Daily Butter: Unseen Strength

Unseen Strength

My little addition to Our Daily Bread (6/27)

But even more, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are necessary.

And those parts of the body that we think to be less honorable, we clothe these

with greater honor, and our unpresentable parts have a better presentation.

(1 Corinthians 12:22-23 HCSB)

Centuries after Paul wrote about the parts of the body and we know a bit more about anatomy and physiology it is even more apparent that the unseen parts (internal organs) even more than the "clothed" parts are vital. Even with this knowledge of our own bodies, the health of our internal organs is most often taken for granted unless one becomes an undeniable source of pain.

 

Unfortunately, our human nature is still drawn to think that the leaders in our worship services, our Bible study groups, even those who make up the office staff are the important part of the church. The prayer warriors in every vibrant church that I've been a part of are the circulatory system that carry the life-blood of Christ to each and every part of His body. While often overlooked (except when injury to one part or another requires increased blood flow), the body of Christ would be suffer maladies and lose all effectiveness. All parts of the body need to be a part of this process of allowing the blood to flow too us an through us.

 

My brother challenged me by his example in this. As we had a rare opportunity to worship together visiting the church in which we grew up, his iPhone made a "Ding-Dong" doorbell chime in class at 10:02am. The teacher asked if all was okay and he pointed out that it was a reminder for him. Given the opportunity to explain, he told the class that it is a reminder of Christ's own words recorded in Luke 10:2.

He told them: "The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore,

pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.

(Luke 10:2 HCSB)

If Christ's own words command us to pray, we truly ought to obey. Today, as I look further into the passage, I notice the very next verse is "Now go; I'm sending you out like lambs among wolves." (HCSB) I have been challenged the past few days in this exercise that while I have had decades of "training," I must get out of the starting blocks. I am not sure what this means, but I know that I need as I wrote yesterday to "renew my commitment to seek His plan." This starts first and foremost with seeking Him in prayer. For any that would join me I would appreciate your prayers and words of encouragement as I look to see what the next steps in His plan for me will look like.

 

in His service,

Andy Jentes

Daily Butter 6/26: Unforgotten

Unforgotten

My little addition to Our Daily Bread (6/26)

What is man, that You think so highly of him
and pay so much attention to him?
You inspect him every morning,
and put him to the test every moment.
Will You ever look away from me,
or leave me alone long enough to swallow?
(Job 7:17-19 HCSB)

How much different the comfort we receive from the Lord's promise that "I will never leave you or forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5). Job's cry comes from the mistaken perspective (reinforced by his "friends") that his suffering must be a judgement for sin. He just wanted a respite from the suffering. How often I am tempted to ask God to just "look the other way" while I try to do something my way knowing it is not His plan.

No, Job, I have no idea why God chooses to pay such close attention to men, but I've come to see that it's only the ones He has chosen that feel His scrutiny. I know I really didn't do anything to deserve His choosing, but having seen his hand throughout my life, I know I would want it no other way and renew my commitment to seek His plan.

in His service,

Andy Jentes

Daily Butter: Ready ... Set ...

 

Ready ... Set ...

 

My little addition to "Our Daily Bread" (6/25/13)

Let this same attitude and purpose and [humble] mind be in you
which was in Christ Jesus: [Let Him be your example in humility:]
   (Philippians 2:5 Amplified version)

Imagine watching the Olympics and seeing all the the 100m dash competitors at the starting line. Having finished their stretches and started to get situated in the starting blocks you hear  the official say "On your marks... ready.. set..." but instead of a gunshot signalling the start, it cuts to commercial. Something is very wrong with this picture.

After the challenge of yesterday that it's about wisdom rather than knowledge, this familiar and beloved passage showed me one nugget of truth that I seem to forget:  The verses that follow (vv6-11) are not about the intellectual reasoning Christ shared on this earth and (without taking a thorough survey) less than half the words in the Gospels are in red. It wasn't about what He knew or thought or even taught, but rather what He did and how He did it and the example He set.

In the same way faith, if it doesn't have works, is dead by itself.
(James 2:17 HCSB)

So, what am I going to do about it?
Seeing may be believing, but Doing is Faith.

in His service,

Andy Jentes

"Daily" Butter: Finally

I felt a bit tag-teamed after Sunday services at First Baptist Gallatin with discussion in my small group and the message all echoing the Spirit's tug on my heart that "not having time" is no excuse for my recent lack of prayer and time in the Word. So I answer by getting back to my original intent for this blog/exercise of "making the most of the time" (Eph. 5:15-16) that I have. Thanks again to RBC for the "Our Daily Bread" pointing to the passages from which these thoughts find their springboard.

Finally

My little addition to "Our Daily Bread" (6/24/13)

Then his disciples said, "At last you are speaking plainly and not figuratively.

Now we understand that you know everything, and there's no need to question you.

From this we believe that you came from God."

Jesus asked, "Do you finally believe? But the time is coming—indeed it's here now

—when you will be scattered, each one going his own way, leaving me alone."

(John 16:30-32a NLT)

Sitting around the table at their last meal together, the eleven disciples (since Judas had already left - John 13:26-30) say that "now we get it." I guess having been raised under Biblical teaching for decades, I have less excuse than them (and absolutely no room to judge). Digging into the book of Job in our small group class, our teacher raised the question of the difference between knowledge and wisdom. Others in the class agreed with me that, though trained in Biblical literacy and surrounded by Godly examples, the accumulated knowledge of the "data" of the Bible is not wisdom. Wisdom requires action; an application of the knowledge with discernment as to how it should be applied. Oh that I would take the effort to seek wisdom and not just the accumulation of knowledge.

Jesus warned His chosen followers that training camp is over and "the real deal" begins, well, "now." Yet, in the scope of eternity, my decades here are just the pre-game stretching. Time is limited and I must CHOOSE to place a priority on being about those things of eternal importance. He is using everything to shape me into who I will be with Him for Eternity. He is the potter and I the clay and the environment He uses to shape His creation is up to Him. The process may involve an uncomfortable chisel to reshape some of the rigid habits that have developed or perhaps even a breaking down of portions (or all) to powder only to be re-constituted and fashioned into the image He desires. May I remain immersed in the Living Water so that I may remain pliable and mailable in His hands.

My dear friend suggested the "One Man's Walk" subtitle to my blog and, as my classmate mentioned Sunday morning, I don't know your life enough to be getting "into your business." I am recording what the Spirit lays on my heart from these passages, and my lecturing is aimed at myself. I use this blog to measure my own consistency (or lack thereof), and share so that it might be used by Him to shed some light for others.

in His service,
Andy Jentes