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Moments of Inspiration
Volume 24 January, 2016
To God be the glory for providing all that was neededour Jehovah Jireh
Dedicated to all the ones, living and deceased, for making a difference in my earthly journey. Harry Bain 2
Fruit “That you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples” (John 15:8*) At one point in his ministry, the Apostle worked with a young man, Timothy, to instruct and encourage so that Timothy would then be able to minister to others. By divine selection, Timothy was instructed by his mother and grandmother in Godly matters. “For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well. And for this reason, I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord " (II Timothy 1: 5 – 8 *). The Apostle knew the training given to Timothy, resulting from the experiences of two generations of faithful women. The faith of the women left Timothy without excuse to evidence other than a fruitful life. He surely had seen the power of God in the lives of his close family and had profited from it. The old truth comes to mind, “There are no privileges without responsibility”
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The Apostle had apparently invested much of his own life in Timothy and was now calling on him to not be ashamed. Was Timothy ashamed of the Apostle? Was Timothy being influenced by what others were saying? The governor declared that Paul was beside himself, that his much learning in Scriptural matters had pushed him into insanity. Paul reminded Timothy that. “I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. For this reason, I also suffer these things but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day. Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you" (II Timothy 1: 11 – 14 *). We find that not all who profess Christ are motivated to the same degree. Some may give little evidence of being motivated to move up in their Christian experience as they work to bear fruit. Perhaps, Paul’s bitter disappointment was the one that comes when one invests their lives in another whose life, in turn, bears little fruit. God’s efforts in all of our lives are to, “bear much fruit." For a moment let us consider how the orchard owner feels when he receives no fruit for the investment he has made in time, money and effort in expecting a bountiful harvest. He is interested in one thing—fruit! It takes time to develop a fruit-bearing orchard. Every hour spent in pruning and encouraging a fruitless tree or vine is wasted. The owner is not interested in “leaves" ---he needs fruit. Every day spent working and waiting for the harvest from a fruitless tree is of no profit for him. The sooner he can uproot the useless tree and put another in its place, the sooner he will get the desired fruit. Jesus is the true vine, and His father is the orchard owner.
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“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vine dresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it, that it may bear more fruit. I am the vine; you are the branches, he who abides in Me, and I in him bears much fruit; for apart from Me, you can do nothing” (John 15: 1 – 2, 5 *) Our fruit-bearing is dependent upon our attitude toward His Word, and our reaction to it. “And for this reason, we also constantly thank God that when you received from us the word of God’s message, you accepted it not as the word of men, but what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe" (I Thessalonians 1: 13 *). Jesus said that God’s Word was the seed. He added that “The words that I say to you, I do not speak on My own initiative but the Father abiding in me does His works" (John 14:10*). Locked up in every seed, there is an invisible spiritual force we call “life” which remains dormant until the seed is placed in good soil. The spirit of life then reaches out and transforms the earth into the likeness of that which bore the fruit from which the seed itself came. We do not plant cucumber seeds just to get cucumber vines. The fruit on the vine - that is what we want. All fruit-bearing branches must abide (hold fast to) in the vine or main trunk of the tree. The union enables the life-producing sap to transform the dormant bud into the blossom, then the desired fruit. Here is the spiritual law of fruit-bearing. We must abide in Jesus Christ and when the union is genuine, His Spirit, invisible to the natural man, locked up in the seed, (the Word of God) will transform us into His likeness. Others will see “the fruit of the spirit” as they associate with us. God, and others, are looking for the fruit of His Spirit in our lives, not the leaves of some religion. The fruit of the Spirit—“love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5: 22 – 23 *)
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We know people who pride themselves in what they know about the Bible. The “leaves” of their lives are like trophies. There is nothing wrong in what they have obtained in facts, but what good are facts when there is no fruit? Paul wrote about those who were, “Always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth" (II Thessalonians 3:7 *). Others are waiting for our lives to begin showing the fruit that our Heavenly Father is interested in seeing. At some point in our Christian walk, we must learn the difference between “ever learning” and gaining, “the knowledge of the truth”. How will it happen that The Truth will bring forth fruit before the world in our individual lives? God knows. As we search the Scriptures to learn more about the subject, we will find the transforming power that will make all the difference. As God leads, we will remember that the greater our knowledge, the greater our responsibility to manifest our fruit. * New American Standard Bible
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Born in Bethlehem – Part 1 “And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; for out of you shall come forth a ruler, who will shepherd My people Israel" (Matthew 2: 6 *). Sometime near the birth of Jesus, the king of Judea asked a group of traveling magi where the Christ was born. We encourage the reader to think with us as we probe beneath the surface a little. The magi, according to historians, were experts in various fields of study…first in a belief system that holds there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world. We think of scholars who tell of a certain configuration of the heavenly bodies in the season of Jesus’ birth and the mystery of the guiding star that led the magi to the young child. One of the magi was expert in medicine. We think of the apparent human impossibility of a child born to a virgin, without Divine intervention. Another of the magi was expert in natural science... the branches of study dealing with the interaction between the natural world and man’s scientific methods. Our God made the rules for every endeavor of man, and He allows mankind to prove them by “scientific methods."
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We note that the magi were from the east, and therein lay important symbolic signs. Even as the sun rises from our east to announce the beginning of a new day, there was a new day dawning for the redemption of mankind. The old system of animal sacrifice was on its way out and the blessed new age of God’s sacrificial offering of His only beloved Son to atone for the sins of the whole world was at the door. If the magi were coming from the east, then they were headed westward. Space and time does not permit our telling of the importance of the westward migration of God’s people. While fulfilling prophesies, they were also being led to a greater future fulfillment of a national destiny. By the birth of Jesus came inclusion of anyone who will “believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing, you (they) may have life in His name. (John 20:31 *) There must have been quite a crowd at the meeting of the king and the magi because the king invited the church leaders, the historians and wise men of the day. The magi, quoting from the prophet Micah told the people that the One destined to become the new ruler and great shepherd was to be born in Bethlehem. After this, the king met secretly with the magi, trying to make a deal to identify the One who would fulfill prophesy and sit upon a throne that He ceded to the desires of His people in an earlier time. Beyond this transitory event, words are inadequate to describe the majesty of the benefits that will come to all God’s creation when, His will IS done on earth as it is in heaven! God has declared that He will be, “all in all” (I Corinthians 15: 28 *) The magi continued their journey toward the east in search of the Child and upon finding Him in a house with his mother, they knelt and worshiped Him. The Bible tells us that, “they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy" (Matthew 2: 10*). Scholars say that the magi were kings.
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One wonders why they would kneel in the presence of a child and worship Him. Perhaps the magi knew of a future time when Jesus would become the “King of kings and the Lord of Lords" (Revelation 19:16*). Certainly, the magi were seeking the Christ under the motivation of a spiritual power, Who was directing their steps. The reason for their search is not all revealed to us here, but the inquiring mind will seek as God leads. Some scholars believe that the treasures presented at the time, the gold, frankincense and myrrh were adequate to finance the ministry of Jesus during His time here on earth. God never asks that we do something, except He provides all needed to get the job done. When He puts us in a position, even if the ones in command shirk their responsibility to equip us for success, God in the persona of Jehovah-jireh will provide the believer all that is needed. If God gives us humans all that is needed, He surely would not send His only-begotten Son into the world for the greatest mission ever given to man, without first providing for His every need. Almighty God worked for some 4000 years, (which we know about through the historians), to carry out His plan for the next 33 years in the life of Jesus. He worked through beings and circumstance in all the created universes to bring to pass that which lay immediately ahead. Scholars do not agree on the meaning of the gifts, but most agree that the gifts point to the present spiritual and future kingship of Jesus. Perhaps the mental picture we have of a poor carpenter leading a band of equally destitute fisherman and social outcasts is not accurate. As recorded both in the Old Testament prophecies and the New Testament accounts, Jesus was born in the city of Bethlehem. “Today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2: 11*) The Hebrew word for Bethlehem means, “House of Bread” It was from Bethlehem that the Source of spiritual bread changed forever the manner of redemption from sin.
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The nation saw food fall from heaven while traveling through the wilderness. In a physical sense, the manna fed the people and filled their empty stomachs. The Psalmist tells us that the LORD “satisfied them with the bread of heaven" (Psalm 105: 40*). The birth in Bethlehem brought with it a new way for mankind to consume spiritual bread and in so doing, to be restored to a right relationship with the Father. Jesus Himself proclaimed that He was, “the bread of life” (John 6:35 *) He told the church leaders, “Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This (Jesus) is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread also which I give for the life of the world is My flesh" (John 6: 49-51*). The leaders and some of the disciples found the idea of eating Jesus’ flesh offensive and left the crowds that followed Him. Their mind was on the physical, Jesus was revealing spiritual truth. They apparently went back to the old ways and missed out, for a time, on eternal life. The question for us is; what will we do with Jesus? What will we do with the “bread of life," this One born in Bethlehem, and His offer of eternal life? King David, Jesus’ grandfather, 28 or so generations removed, was born in Bethlehem. His birthplace became known as the “city of David” It was no coincidence that David was not only born there, but he was later anointed king in Bethlehem. (I Samuel 16: 12-13 *) It is interesting also to note that Rachel, the mother of Joseph, after dying in childbirth with her 2nd son, was buried in a region of Bethlehem.
* New American Standard Bible
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Born in Bethlehem-Part 2 “And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; for out of you shall come forth a ruler, who will shepherd My people Israel" (Matthew 2: 6 *). This is the conclusion of a two-part study on the importance of the events at Bethlehem in the great plan of God. We go back in time to Rachel, the wife of Jacob. She was a shepherdess, and the love story with Jacob can be found at Genesis 29. The story begins with tending sheep, the symbolism reaching fulfillment with her descendent, many generations in the future, Jesus, and then His followers. The account continues with Rachel giving birth near Bethlehem. Her last breaths were used in naming her son Benoni (the son of my sorrow). The writer of Matthew’s gospel recalls a greater fulfillment of Rachel’s sorrow when the king of Judah slew all male children less than two years of age. “A voice was heard in Ramah, (a part of Bethlehem), weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; and she refused to be comforted because they were no more" (Matthew 2:18*).
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Next, we return to Bethlehem in the time of David, Jesus’ grandfather, 28 generations removed. When King Saul disobeyed the LORD and was found unworthy to continue ruling the nation, Samuel was sent to seek the one who would next rule the nation, among the sons of Jesse, a Bethlehemite. At the sacrificial ceremony, the first son of Jesse was not acceptable to God. The LORD cautioned Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart" (I Samuel 16:7*). The process of selecting a king to replace Saul continued through the seven sons of Jesse, who were present at the time. Jesse, when pressed by Samuel, admitted there was yet one son not present. David, the youngest, and a sheepherder was called, selected, and later anointed. We are told that, “the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward" (I Samuel 16:13*). There was a physical event, the anointing, that preceded the Spirit coming down upon David. Likewise, when Jesus was baptized in the physical, the Spirit descended upon Him. David tended sheep in his youth and became a great ruler of a nation. Jesus became the great shepherd and will be the King of kings over all nations. We are reminded of an episode in David’s life that points to the time of Jesus. Bethlehem was conquered by the enemy Philistines. The Philistines moved their headquarters to Bethlehem, and David was in exile with his leaders in a cave. David must have thought often of the situation and grieved for his homeland. One day, he shared his thoughts. “And David had a craving, and said, “Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem!” (I Chronicles 11:17*) We have heard it said, if only I could go home again.
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Three of the men heard David’s request and set out to do something about it. The three men risked their very lives to honor David’s request. During Jesus’ youth, it was a group of magi that set about to do something about what had been revealed to them. They paid a visit to the Christ Child, worshiped him, and gave three very expensive gifts. It is no coincidence that there were three men in David’s day, and the magi in Jesus’ day gave three gifts. David’s three men dared to break into the camp of the Philistines and brought water from the well to David. David was before the LORD when he recognized the value of the water offered to him. He thought of its potential cost in lost human lives, and so David would not drink the water. Instead, he poured it out to the LORD, saying, “Be it far from me before my God that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of these men who went at the risk of their lives? For at the risk of their lives they brought it. Therefore, he would not drink it" (Verse 19). David had a need for water. He knew there was water in the well at Bethlehem, but he could not get to the water because the enemy was occupying the land. They only way to get the water was for men to risk their lives. However, when David received the water, he realized that it represented the lives of the men who had obtained it. He considered the water too precious to drink and instead, poured it out as an offering to God. Pouring out the water was a picture of the time when David’s grandson, 28 generations later, would repeat the act in a greater fulfillment. The prophet foretold that, “He (Jesus) poured out Himself to death" (Isaiah 53: 12*), the greatest ever sacrifice to settle the sin question for not only a nation but for all mankind. Just before that, Jesus went with His disciples to a place called Gethsemane. They had just finished their last meal together while Jesus was in his earthly body, the body that was of the lineage that awaited the Messiah. Jesus and his followers stopped at the Mount of Olives. On that occasion, Jesus repeated the words of an ancient prophet.
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, “I will strike down the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered" (Zechariah 13:7*). Jesus also knew that, “out of you, (Bethlehem) shall come a ruler, who will shepherd” God’s people. (Matthew 2: 6*) Jesus was aware that after His resurrection, the prophesy would reach fulfillment as he became the Great Shepherd and the later fulfillment as King of kings. Even as it took the willingness of the three men in David’s time to risk all to reach the water, it took the willingness of Jesus to become the means whereby all mankind could be restored to a right relationship with the Father. The water in the well of Bethlehem was reachable only through potential sacrifice. The way to the “living water” was gained by the sacrifice of the giver of eternal life. Jesus had the struggle of His life as He prayed alone there in the garden. Your author remembers a time in his own life that our dear Lord was the only real comfort, as he tarried in a literal garden, to deal with the forces that would affect his life the next day. The words of the old hymn, In the Garden came alive and remain so to him. Jesus was alone in the Garden of Gethsemane as He talked with the Father in fervent prayer. We are told that “His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground" (Luke 22: 44 *). Jesus and the Father must have communed about the plan for all mankind. Jesus, always setting the pattern for us, surrendered all and released Himself to the Father’s will. We think, particularly at this special time of the year, of the One born in Bethlehem. We think of His last struggle with forces beyond our comprehension and of His triumphant victory over them. Thank God that Jesus prevailed and became the sacrifice that was necessary for our salvation and the way of redemption of all mankind! * New American Standard Bible
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No One Lives Alone “For not one of us lives for himself” (Romans 14: 7 *) Sometimes we may be led into a state of mind known as ‘self-pity’ where we reason that whatever we think, say or do have no effect on the lives of those around us. We picture ourselves as the ‘lone ranger’ going along all by ourselves. If worse comes to worse, we will only be hurting ourselves. These kinds of thoughts have caused some to pull up stakes, forsake all around them, and try to find release from the responsibilities by moving to some remote place. We have heard of whole families who set sail for some uninhabited island in the middle of nowhere. They sought to break ties with friends, associates and family, convinced that withdrawing from society would not leave a scar on other lives. The Bible reminds us, “For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself" (Romans 14: 7 *). God has so arranged it that the words we speak, the things we do, and even the thoughts we think, influence others for good or bad. Others have made an investment in our lives, and what we are and what we do impacts on their lives. Some say that man is not an island.
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In the beginning, God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him" (Genesis 2: 18*). Not long afterward, Adam said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man" (Genesis 2: 23 *). Jesus Christ later said, “For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and the two shall become one flesh. Consequently, they are no more two, but one flesh. What, therefore, God has joined together let no man separate.” (Matthew 19; 5 -6 *) No one is an island. What one does, directly affects the other. “Not one of us lives for himself” because each of us is either directly or indirectly related to the other. We are but an individual part of the whole. In the beginning, God created man. Every one since following has inherited some of the qualities of the creation. Our roots reach back a long way. In God’s sight, we are inseparable parts of the whole. “For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” ( Philippians 2:13*) God is using each of us in our relationship to each other so that His will is finally going to be accomplished. No man lives for himself. Our origin and our destiny do not isolate us; how can we take it upon ourselves to try to isolate ourselves? In the world all around us, we find challenges in the boldness of sin. People no longer pull down the blinds of their lives. They feel that what they think and do is no one else’s business. They are simply doing as they please, when they please and how they please. Their personal selfishness is blinding them to the hurt and harm they heap upon the innocent. Many of us may have grieved for the couple who lasted it out only until the children left home.
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Our hearts ache for the innocent children whose parents never really grew up enough to act as responsible adults. We all lack something in our lives. Somehow, somewhere, our parents failed us and even as we failed our children. The casual observer senses a lack in our lives because someone along the way failed us, perhaps in a moment of personal selfishness. The body of Christ is not one member but many. If we claim to be born of God’s Spirit, then, “Now we are Christ’s body, and individually members of it" (I Corinthians 12: 27*) If that is true, “There should be no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. ” (I Verses 25-26) As our profession of faith in Jesus Christ becomes more real with maturity, we cannot continue to have an existence outside of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Again, we are members of the same body of Christ. If a brother falls into sin and brings disgrace upon the name of Jesus, we are all shown before the world as phonies!
If the preacher runs off with the secretary, the whole assembly is disgraced and the people who have faithfully supported him are thought to be fools by the world. We think of church fights, arguments between members, exploration of one another for personal gain, cheating in business…and know that not only the guilty parties suffer. It is true that “not one dies to himself.” There are times when people may be happy to see certain others leave the world. However, even in death we reach out and have an influence on others. We have all seen the preacher escort the weeping and distraught widow to her waiting car.
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Few are the ones who speak much about anything other than their personal loss of a loved one. We are told that even the soldier who watched Jesus die, bore witness of the loss. The resurrection of Jesus opened the way whereby the very life of God was made available to us. We are now the means, the temple of the Holy Spirit through which God exhibits His love and mercy. Jesus did not ask us to withdraw ourselves to an island or into some difficult-to-reach place. Instead, He has asked us to go forth unto the ends of the earth and carry the good news of God’s reconciliation of mankind to Himself. We all have problems and there will come moments of great discouragement as the situation of the moment seeks to have us slink back into ourselves and have our only little pity-party. We find that we cannot run away from those moments. An associate used to say, “We can sweep the situation under the carpet, but after a while, it makes the biggest lump." Our immediate situation can be God’s opportunity to prove Himself yet again in our lives. Instead of hurting and wounding the spirit of the ones who believe in us, with God’s help, we can overcome the situation and glorify God. In times of testing, it helps to remember, “We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28 *). God loves us with a love so intense that mere words cannot express the magnitude of it, and our mortal minds cannot really “get it." God wants only the best for His children. He wants us to live not for ourselves, but for others. God will see to it that things work out for our good when we cease living and dying for self.
* New American Standard Bible
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