HUMILITY PERSONIFIED

I wrote yesterday regarding humility and the lack of it in our world today….yet, it is still at the heart of service to our Lord and the very essence of who Christ was. In Philippians 2: 6-8 we read, “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

Being a servant is not an easy profession; and one that very few would aspire to. But, our Lord came to earth with that express mission…to humble himself and serve. From the earliest days of his ministry on earth, he served the lowly and down-trodden. He healed their infirmities, restored their sight, cured their diseases and raised their children from the dead. He even went so far as to wash the feet of His disciples when no one else would stoop so low. He, the Maker of Heaven and earth, with a towel girded about His waist, washed the dusty, dirty feet of those He loved…just to demonstrate how we are to serve. Humbly, quietly, without flash or fanfare, giving unselfishly, he lowered himself to us so that in our faith and trust, we could be raised to Him.

He, Gloriously…Magnificently…Seated on high...and we in a servant’s rightful place, next to our Master. Do we consider ourselves better than our Savior or are we just making excuses when we fail to serve? Is the example that our Savior gave us to hard to follow or are we just too proud and haughty? If we are to call ourselves Christians, then we must be Christ-like and that means…. we must be a servant!

Humble yourself to the position of “faithful servant” and see how God is exalted in your life…you’ll enjoy the view from on high, seated next to your Savior in glory.

Salt & Light Quote:
Never is a man so exalted as when he has humbled himself before the Lord…. nor can he bend so low that God will not raise him on high.

Serving my Savior…Humbled by His Grace,

WPQ

Thought for the day:

If you want to be like Jesus,

The very best place to start

Is to do for other's unselfishly

With a servant's humble heart.

Just serve the Lord with a humble heart

And in all you say and do;

When you bless others in service for Him

They will see our Lord in You! 

HUMILITY ....A LOST ART

There was a time before the “you can do anything” promoters in this world that humility was actually considered a desirable characteristic. A time before the heavyweight fighter, Muhammad Ali, proclaimed that he was the greatest and we all began to make similar claims. We were told and taught to believe that there was nothing that we could not accomplish if we just set our minds to the task before us ….and that it was okay; no, it was mandatory that we tell everyone just how great we were and how we deserve the very best of everything. That thinking has corrupted our younger generation and has left them gasping for breath as they race around in life trying to have it all.

The Bible speaks at great length to extol the virtues of humility …and it’s a word that is timely for all of us today. From the wisdom of Solomon in Proverbs 15:33, we read, “The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.” And in just the next chapter, Solomon continues to instruct us in verse 18, when he says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Haughty is a word we don’t hear very much anymore because it defames our character. When we take a closer look at what it means, words like proud, arrogant, conceited, snooty, stuck-up, overconfident and high and mighty come to mind ….and those are words that no one likes to have associated with them and their character.

No, no one wants to think of themselves as haughty or as Paul admonishes in Romans 12:3, “I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith God has assigned.”

So that brings us back to humility….how do we get it and how can we hang on to it? In James 4: 6, we read that God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble and then in verse 10, he tells us to “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

Humble ourselves before the Lord…. the Creator of the Universe, the GREAT I AM, the ALPHA and the OMEGA, the BEGINNING and the END, the Name above EVERY Name. How could we NOT humble ourselves before our Maker?

Haughty or Humble…..the choice is yours? More tomorrow on how to be humble!

Seeking to be humble…Bold for my Savior,

WPQ

Thought for the day:

Lord, make my life a guiding light

So that my neighbors might see;

May they be lead to seek your face

Because of what they’ve seen in me.

Do You Yearn for the Urn?

Does the question posed above strike at the heart of where you are in your life? For many people in our culture today, they find themselves “scraping the bottom of the barrel” or at “the end of their rope’……Hapless…Helpless…Hopeless. Many truly believe that life is not worth living…. they often feel they would be better off if Death escorted them from this planet.

But for those of us who follow Christ, we find ourselves caught in the conundrum of a different nature ….living joyfully in this world, yet longing for the world to come. The apostle Paul went to great lengths to help the Corinthians understand this new “feeling” that seemed to overwhelm them as they began to walk ever closer with their Savior, Jesus Christ.

He wrote in I Corinthians 5:1-6, “Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile, we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal is swallowed up in life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us his Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Therefore, we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in this body, we are away from the Lord.”

Let that scripture sink in …let it permeate the core of your being and bubble up in your deepest soul….YOU WERE MADE TO BE WITH GOD….anything else will leave you feeling desperate, diminished, despondent; even downright depressed…..but God has made a Deposit in you to guarantee what is to come….His Holy Spirit indwells….living in you so that you can live in and through His power.

Yes, this world is NOT our home! Our very spirit groans to be with Jesus; to be at home in Heaven, resting peacefully in His loving arms. Paul tells us that our mind should be set on Him…that we should long to leave this world to be with Jesus….but what about our earthly feelings to love those God has given us; to enjoy the beauty of His creation; to rise above our circumstance to serve our Savior? The rest of this passage gives us the insight we need to live as God intended in these last days.

“WE LIVE BY FAITH, NOT BY SIGHT. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please Him whether we are at home in the body or away from it.”

What are you doing to please the Lord? How are you living in the light of the trials, tribulations and circumstances that confront and compound you on every side? What message of hope do you offer in the way that you live…do others truly see the light and hope of Jesus in your life? Each of these questions begs to be answered by a Christian witness…sold out to Jesus….living within the confines of this world, but confident in the world that awaits each and every believer in Christ.

Yes, we as His children want to, long for and anxiously await the day that we leave this body to be with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ….we yearn for the urn; but until that day comes, we are to be working, not just waiting; watching, not just wishing; pleasing Him, not pouting about our problems.

Our anthem should mirror the words of Christian songwriter, Steven Curtis Chapman, who wrote….

We are not home yet…we are not home yet;

Keep on looking ahead; let your heart not forget,

WE ARE NOT HOME YET……

Until then, remember….A Tisket, A Tasket; you should long for your casket…..

For it is better to be absent from the body so that you might be at home with the Lord…..

Longing to leave….praying to please my Savior,

WPQ

IT ONLY TAKES A MOMENT

It’s amazing how long it takes to build a reputation. In most cases, it takes years and years of hard work and perseverance to establish a reputation that is befitting a man or woman of character; and yet, it only takes a moment to undo all that hard work, sacrifice and achievement by a careless word or deed.

Take the apostle Thomas….a hard working, sincere follower of Christ, one of the chosen twelve; a native of Galilee and probably a fisherman by trade. The first three gospels barely make mention of this man, only taking a moment to list him as one of the original apostles; but the gospel of John makes quite a fuss about Thomas. You first get an idea of the strength of this emotionally passionate man when the disciples are debating with Jesus regarding his return to Bethany. They know the Jews are just waiting to take Jesus and do Him harm and they all agree that it would be best to just stay put….all except Thomas, who implores them to go with the Master, even unto death. If only his story ended here, Thomas might have been one of the most revered disciples for his allegiance and commitment to follow the Lord, no matter the cost.

But, in John 20: 24-29, we see that it only takes a moment to have the walls come crashing down. The risen Christ had appeared to the disciples, holed up in a locked room for fear of the Jews; yet, Thomas was not with the brethren. His statement when he heard the other disciples excited report that they had seen the Lord…."Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I WILL NEVER BELIEVE.” (ESV translation)

In only a moment, all that had been a part of the wonderful reputation that he had been building as an ardent follower, a committed disciple and a tried and trusted friend of Christ seemed to evaporate in his unbelief…..and if Christ had not returned to that room eight days later, that is probably where our story of Thomas would have ended. The damage to his reputation had been done and he would have been forever labeled as “Doubting Thomas”; but Christ came back so Thomas could see for himself the glory of His Risen Savior and thus proclaim, “MY LORD and MY GOD”.

Make sure that today you are not anything like Thomas…for in just a moment of time, you can undo all that God has done in your life by letting doubt or fear or worry take a stronghold as it begins to unravel your beliefs and erode your faith….BE STRONG IN THE LORD and commit your ways to Him…..after all,

IT ONLY TAKES A MOMENT!!!!!

Living in the moment…building a lifetime reputation as a child of the King,

WPQ

Thought for the day…

R U ARGUING WITH GOD?

The following is a letter written to my daughter who  is struggling with the ups and downs in her life and needed a word of correction and encouragement. My prayer is that this may touch your spirit  should  you be struggling in your life as well...remember God loves you so much that He has already given his Son in death so that you might forever live with Him....HALLEUJAH!

Good Morning Little One...

I am compelled to write to you after reading your blog post of yesterday and talking with your Mom, who was visibly disturbed after her reading. It seems that you are going through a valley in your life at this time and may be struggling to find your way in this maze we call life...or you just may be a emerging cynic who is becoming the "town crier," running about the village shouting the alarm that your sky is falling. In either case, let me try and share a word or two of encouragement and correction as I deem appropriate.

First, congrats on your "baptismal birthday;" however, in the grand scheme of life it does not make you anymore "saved" than someone that doesn't know when they accepted Christ, got baptized or failed to follow in the ordinance of baptism. The act of baptism was NEVER meant to be a goal line or a measuring stick of your arrival into the Kingdom...it was always meant to be an outward expression of an inward decision in obedience to the Lord's direction. So if you have asked Jesus into your heart to be the LORD and SAVIOR of your life, then nothing else is required. With that said, here's the rub...Most of us get the fact that we NEED A SAVIOR; all we have to do is look at our life and see that we have made a mess of it and we fail to live a holy and righteous life that is required to be a child of God. It is a life that no one can live; one that is pure and blameless. So, we willingly and wonderfully accept what Christ did for us on the cross and count ourselves as blessed because Jesus was willing to trade his life for ours...that's where we get the "warm and fuzzies."

It is the other part, making Jesus Lord of our life, that creates all the hassles and heartaches of life. We want to give God control of our lives, especially since He has promised us an "abundant life" but giving up control of who we are and what WE want; well, that's not so easily accomplished.

In fact, that is where the conflicts and the arguments begin. We TELL God what we want and then we pray as if there is no other alternative that could possibly be right for us. So when God does not value our opinion and give us the desires of our heart, we begin to doubt His love and His commitment to take care of us and provide for us. In fact, if we are not careful in this way of thinking, rebellion rears its ugly head and we find ourselves at odds with God...us seeking to go in our direction and God pulling, prodding and provoking us to follow Him where He leads. This conflict leads to great tension in our relationship with Him and often can lead to a total breakup...us going our own way and leaving God out of our lives altogether.

It sounds to me in reading your blog that you are engaged in an argument with God about your life. This happened and that happened and that made you unhappy and wrecked your life and so on and so on.  Let me say this to you in great love and affection, arguing with God about what has happened in your life to date is an argument that you can't win....simply because GOD IS SOVEREIGN and YOU ARE NOT!!!

This simple lesson took me years and many heartaches to learn...and my hope is that I might spare you from some of that heartache. I would ask you to do me this favor. Pull out your Bible and go to the book of Job and start reading at Chapter 37 through Chapter 40, with particular attention to verses 1 and 2 of chapter 40. It calmly asks, "Will the one who argues with the Almighty correct Him?"

It is sooo easy to look at our life and lament about how it has turned out so far and to want to question God and argue with Him about what He has allowed to happen and why we find ourselves in such "bad" place. We fuss and fume about what He has or has not given us and continually try to correct His way of thinking so that He will get back to our "plan" for our life and we can once again be happy.

Here's the truth about our happiness and God...He is not interested in making you or me happy in the living of our lives; however, He has promised that when we seek HIS WILL FOR OUR LIVES that all the things we need and many of the things we want (that would make us happy)....HE WILL ABUNDANTLY SUPPLY....and the caveat, He will supply all our needs in HIS TIME!!!!

So my prayer for you is simple....quit arguing with God about the past or even the present and begin to trust Him with the child-like faith that says, GOD YOU ARE THE SOVEREIGN BEING IN MY LIFE AND I SUBMIT MY WILL TO YOU SO THAT YOU MAY LEAD ME WHERE YOU WANT ME TO GO. MAY MY LIFE BE A TRUE REFLECTION OF YOUR SON AND HIS LOVE AND MAY I QUIT GRUMBLING ABOUT HOW BAD THINGS MAY HAVE BEEN IN MY PAST OR MAY BE IN MY FUTURE. HELP ME TO KNOW THAT YOUR LOVE IS SUFFICIENT FOR ME AND WILL ALWAYS SEE ME THROUGH TO A BETTER AND BRIGHTER FUTURE, ORDAINED BY YOU TO BRING YOU HONOR AND GLORY...AND IN THAT I WILL FIND TRUE HAPPINESS.

AMEN!

May God Hold You In His Loving Arms as You Surrender to Him,

WPQ

The Love of God.... R U  Worthy?

There are many that believe that God loves them because they "have been good;" however, Scriptures tells us there is only one that is good. So let me break it to your gently...God does not love you because you are good or because you are making EVERY EFFORT  to be good.

GOD LOVES YOU....because HE IS GOOD!!!!!

In fact, there are many that believe the following which is a reprint of an earlier post...why not read on to see if you indeed find your reflection in this "mirror of the soul." If so, it's time to change your thinking and come to the stark realization that God loves you not because of who you are...BUT IN SPITE OF WHO YOU ARE....

Just Like Me...

That's how everyone should be!

I don’t know about you, but I often get the hankering for the world to be a better place; in fact, A PERFECT PLACE. I have given this a considerable amount of thought and have come to the conclusion that this could best be accomplished if every one was just like me.

Now, I am not always right, but I am seldom wrong. I always have the best intentions, although, things don’t always turn out the way I intended. I am generous to a fault as long as the sacrifice doesn’t hit to close to home….and I have been known to pay others a sincere compliment with no thought of what’s in it for me. That’s about as close to perfect as it gets….RIGHT?

I’m sure that by now, you know that all this is tongue-in-cheek….but isn’t it interesting to note that there are those who think, act and live as if this scenario above would make the world a perfect place. There is no hope that this will happen, yet many are living a life of strife and turmoil because they have not come to that conclusion….for those living in despair and hopelessness because the world will NOT conform to your ways, this poem is for you….

A PERFECT PLACE

Oh, how I wish the world to be

A perfect place for you and me.

A world where all is total bliss

‘Cause nothing ever is amiss.

For this to happen, we must all agree

Everyone has to be just like me.

Then I would control what you wear

How you style and cut your hair;

What you eat and what you bake

And how you treat a stomach ache.

All debates would quickly end

And everyone would be my friend.

I’d gladly mandate your movie picks

And give you advice on your politics.

No loud music with boisterous beat,

No double parking on one-way streets.

I’d pick the songs that you could hum 

And even choose your bubble gum.

All this I’d do and all for free

So everyone would be like me.

At church we’d sing my favorite songs

The pastor would preach on my favorite wrongs.

We’d start the service right on time

And I could leave and not spend a dime.

Yes, church would be the perfect dream

 And I get back home to cheer my team.

Yes, all would share my point of view

And nothing would ever seem askew.

There’s not a problem that I can see

If everyone were just like me …..

Just one small thing that dwells within

My ugly faults….God calls them sin.

So what’s a perfect world to do

When I’m a sinner and you are too;

To make this world what is should be

No one should ever be just like me.

A higher standard we must find

If we’re to be pure in heart and mind.

God’s plan is clear for us to know

He sent His Son, His love to show.

If we trust in Jesus, then we’ll see

Our sins were borne at Calvary;

With His perfect life He did atone

And now He reigns on heaven’s throne.

A perfect place one day we’ll see;

He’s coming back for you and me.

How sweet the song on that day we’ll sing

In praise and honor for our King;

Then you and I will know true bliss

Upon our cheek, our Savior’s kiss;

For there in glory, we shall see His face

At last…at home…in His Perfect Place.

W. PATRICK QUEEN

Copyright August 2008

The Two G's of God...

In today's fast-paced, over-indulged society in which we live, we have to have all of our information coming through to us faster than the speed of light. That's why there is the ever-growing obsession to have our computers, our laptops, tablets and most of all, our cell phones able to download photos, apps and other assorted data at the fastest speeds possible...thus everyone's desire to have the latest and greatest cell phone that is on the 5G network.

Now me, personally, I am okay with my somewhat outdated Samsung that is a 3G phone. It allows me to send and receive emails, phone calls and the occasional text (I am not good with my thumbs, so I don't text). All in all, I am totally satisfied with things moving at a slower pace. But here's something for you to ponder....God is only interested in the 2G network; and I'm not talking about the speed at which God works or accomplishes His will among the nations and people of the world.

I am speaking about the 2 G's that matter most to God...your GOOD and His GLORY ! Since the beginning of creation, in every encounter with mankind, GOD HAS BEEN INTERESTED IN THE OUTCOME OF MAN'S GOOD AND HIS GLORY.

Take the experience of the Garden of Eden...God created the world and all therein and when He created man and saw that he was all alone He said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him." Genesis 2:18    God saw that it was not good for man to be alone and in his last act of creation, he created the woman. The man was created for the glory of God and the woman as the glory for man. The two became one flesh, so that all mankind would be forever made in the image of God...the Glory of the Eternal One.

Then there is the story of Noah, the only righteous one among "a world where all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth." God set upon His plan to destroy "all flesh," but He first made a way to save his faithful servant Noah and his family....Noah's good demonstrated God's Glory and he and his family rode out the storm to once again establish man's rule upon God's glorious creation.

Or who can question the story of Joseph...bitterly hated by his brothers; sold into slavery and taken to Egypt; imprisoned by the Egyptian captain Potiphar and then released to interpret the dreams of Pharaoh…all this to be placed in charge over all of Egypt and to be second only to Pharaoh….Joseph's journey to be placed at the right hand of Pharaoh ….HIS GOOD …ALL TO GOD'S GLORY!!!!

I could sit here and write page after page after page of examples from the Bible or the annals of history and one undeniable theme would continue to present itself….GOD WORKS TO PRODUCE GOOD FOR THOSE HE LOVES AND HAVE BEEN CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE (Your Good/Romans 8:28) and to see that HIS SON HAS BEEN LIFTED UP (His Glory/John 12:27-32).

God has set upon this great task for you as a follower of His Son, Jesus Christ…to see that each day you become more like Jesus as you cast off the world and abide in HIM….this is for your GOOD!  And, as those that come in contact with you will see the change that living in Jesus and not just for Him makes in your life, they will see your good works and GLORIFY YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN….and that will complete the 2G circuit…your Good will bring about His Glory.

So, if you are ever in a quandary of what to do in ANY SITUATION, you can ask yourself this simple question… IS THIS FOR  GOD'S GLORY OR MY GOOD...IF YOU DO IT FOR GOD'S GLORY, THEN, IN GOD'S EYES IT'S THE SAME QUESTION!

Happy to share,

WPQ

POEM FOR THE DAY….

Living for Jesus in this day and age can be quite hard to do;

Especially when the pressure's on and it all depends on you…

So take a moment to confess, no matter the end of your story;

God is at work to bring you good and in that receive His glory.

WPQ@August 2013

Anointed to Preach....One in the Spirit?

When Jesus returned to his hometown of Nazareth in the early days of his ministry, he did what all Jews did on the Sabbath... he went to the synagogue. But that day was unlike any other when he was handed the scroll of Isaiah and he read the prophecy about himself, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty  to the captives and recovering sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."  Luke 4:18-19

And with every eye in the place on him, he rolled up the scroll and sat down...but not before telling the attendees that "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

At this point in His new-fledgling ministry, Christ let the hometown folks know what He was all about, in no uncertain terms...but better than that, He told them who was in charge. With the Spirit of the Most High anointing Him, he would be conducting himself accordingly.

Which leads me to my questions...what is your ministry and who is in charge? For us as followers of Jesus, we too have been anointed with the same Spirit and set apart to accomplish the same work....to proclaim the good news that the bonds of sin and the death that follows have been broken and that Jesus saves....and He saves eternally!

We can proclaim to those held captive by a drug habit or a sexual perversion that they are no longer bound, but through Christ there is release and forgiveness. Anyone who is enslaved to work and status can find love, rest and acceptance through the Spirit that comes to indwell in the heart of a new believer.  Those blinded by the allure of sin and its temporal pleasure can find everlasting joy at the feet of the Savior and forevermore there is freedom in the forgiveness and redemptive power in the shed blood of Jesus...there is a new life that awaits in the power of the Holy Spirit.

We each have been anointed to share our good news and to tell others that we are His children...warts and all....not because of anything that we have or might do, but all because of what Jesus did for us while we wallowed in our own sin and destruction. We are filled with His Spirit, anointed to share and proclaim...and even more, we are empowered to be more like our Savior by resisting the wiles of the devil and living as one anointed to preach.

The message is simple....the congregation is enormous....and the time is short! We must get busy while it is light, for the darkness is coming when no man can work. Take time to day to speak the name of Jesus to someone in darkness and share with them, Jesus...The Light of the World.

Anointed....preaching...sharing what He has done for me,

WPQ