Category: Building a Faith-filled Life

God Intended It For Good

 

As I read the Bible, I like to see how we can use the stories in our lives. This is a story of Joseph and his rise to the top. As Jacob deceived his father Isaac, with his mother’s help, he was deceived several times in his life by those who loved him. Laban deceived him and had him marry Leah and then Rachel. His children deceived him when they told him that Joseph had been killed and he lived many years not realizing that his son was alive and sold into slavery. The story of Joseph is fascinating, we can see in the story how one thing leads to another and that God was using him in every situation.  He is sold as a slave and then Potiphar buys him, he is put in control of Potiphar’s household, then wrongfully accused by Potiphar’s wife, because he is a man of honor and will not sleep with her. The prison guard is partial to him and puts him in charge of all the other prisoners. Then he interprets some dreams correctly, later Pharaoh needs someone to interpret his dream and the butler tells him about Joseph. He, through God, correctly interprets the dream and Pharaoh makes him second in command of his kingdom. He then is in the position to not only save millions but also to save his family. I love this verse and think we would all do well to memorize it, Genesis 50:20:

god intended for good

I think sometimes we feel like we are not as important as the people that we read about in the Bible but God uses regular people to make an impact on their family and community. If we allow God to use us, he will take everything in our lives and use it to accomplish His will and it will be used for Good. Another great verse to memorize is Romans 8:28: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Everything that we go through in our lives is not good, but everything will be used for good. In the Kingdom all things will once again be very good.

Sherry Alcumbrack

 

 

Radiating Jesus

Hebrews 1 3 (1).png

Jesus > Angels.    Jesus > Moses.   Jesus > the Old Law.
Jesus > everything – except God, His Father.

Hebrews was written to convince its readers (mostly Jewish Christians) that there is none like Jesus.   Some Jewish Christians were being ridiculed and persecuted and rejected by Jews (perhaps family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, classmates) who did not accept Jesus as the Son of God, mediator, Savior, Coming King.   In order to remain strong in their faith while surrounded by doubts and persecution and false doctrine they were in need of a refresher course on the superiority of Jesus, and why it matters.   And, God supplied to them – and to us – the Book of Hebrews.

There is none like Jesus!  No one can do the job he does.  No one else can be the sinless Son of God who died for our sins and rose again.  No one else can mediate between God and man.  No one else can come again to set up God’s Kingdom on Earth.  There is none like Jesus!

One verse in chapter one has grabbed my attention several times before.  It begins, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory.” (1:3).  Remember when Moses asked to be allowed to see God’s glory. (Exodus 33:18)   And God allowed Moses to see God’s back – but not his face because no one can look on God’s face and live.  And then, years later – Jesus enters the scene.  He is not God Almighty, but he is God’s Son.  Heeradiates God’s glory and so when people see Jesus – they know what God is like.  They see God’s glory when they look at Jesus.

Sadly, there is a large chunk of the world today (as throughout history) who has never seen or acknowledged God’s glory.  They have missed seeing God, and they have not seen His Son.  It is time to get busy.  We have a job to do.  And I was reminded of that a few years ago when the public school principal commended our daughter for “Radiating Jesus”.   What beautiful words to speak of another.  What a goal to live for.

Jesus was radiating God – because frail humanity can’t look directly at the fullness of God’s goodness and majesty and live through it.  Thank God for Jesus – who shows us God – better than Moses and the prophets and the Old Testament law and even angels ever could.    We have seen Jesus through the pages of the gospel writers and now it is our job to radiate Jesus.  For when we help them see Jesus, they will see God’s glory, too.

Marcia Railton

On God’s Time Clock

Col 3 23 (1)

Yesterday I went to the funeral of a dear man of God.  Don Kizer, husband to one – for 70 years (WOW!), father to 3 – plus 2, grandpa to 7, great-grandpa to 15 – he was so proud of all his babies of all ages.  And, most importantly – servant of God.  He gave and he gave and he gave.  Never begrudgingly.

No one ever asked Don for anything – they didn’t have to – he beat them to it.  My father-in-law, Don’s pastor for many years, tells of a time when he told the church board he would need to take a week of vacation time to re-roof his house.  Early Monday morning, Don pulled up in front of his pastor’s house with his tools.  He was ready to work.  And work he did.  This retired workhorse came back every day until the job was done – drove an hour home and was back the next morning – all week long.  Not because he had been asked to help – only because he wanted to.

His granddaughter similarly tells of a time she was painting in the basement when she was scared by footsteps in her supposedly empty house.  Armed with a baseball bat, relief flooded over her when Grandpa rounded the corner.  He explained, “You said you were going to be painting, right?”

When we bought our first house it had some work to be done – including adding a shower to the bathroom.  Don to the rescue, again.

Don showed up for others – always serving, always giving, always working.  The church yard received his loving care for years and years.  He was even more dedicated to the people in his life – 70 years with his lovely wife Norma.  Life was not always easy for them.  But they remained dedicated to each other and the God they served.

The verses that come to mind when I think of Don are from Colossians 3.  “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,  since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” (3:23,24).  Don didn’t need to check with his pastor about roofing his house, or with his granddaughter about painting, or any of the other people he just showed up for.  He was on God’s time clock, and he showed up for work, again and again.

Don is done working now.  He is awaiting his inheritance from the Lord which he will receive when the dead are raised and the Lord’s New Kingdom will begin (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

You might not be a roofer, or painter, or plumber, or lawn care specialist, or able to fix anything and everything with some wire and duct tape.   But, you ARE gifted by God to serve.  So, get out there and get to work.  Work as if you were working for the Lord (because you are when you serve others).  Work as if you were working alongside Don.  Keep at it!  Your reward may be closer than you know, or you may be given 89 (or more) years to serve.  Either way, do it with all your heart.

Thank you, God, for the gift of knowing Don.  May I work as he worked – on your time clock.

-Marcia Railton

More and More

2 thess 1 3

I love Paul’s prayers!  They are some of my favorite parts of his letters.  You don’t find him praying about the weather (you know, those ‘no rain so we have a nice picnic’ prayers) and not too often about health needs – but always about spiritual growth and Godly matters.   One example of Paul praying for the church is found in 2 Thessalonians 1:3-12.  He starts out thanking God that the Thessalonian’s faith is growing MORE AND MORE.  How could your pastor or a church member be able to gauge the growth of your faith – is yours growing or shrinking?  How can you tell?  How can others tell?  Next he thanks God that their love for one another is growing.  Can you say the same for your love for your brothers and sisters in Christ?  How can you tell?  How can others tell?

How many of you have heard people complain that God is not just – if he was He wouldn’t allow evil and trouble.  I love Paul’s answer.  “God IS just:  He will pay back…and give relief…This WILL HAPPEN when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven.”  (1:6,7) No need to question God’s justice.  His clock is better than ours anyways.  God IS Just.

In 1st Thessalonians Paul tells us to encourage one another with the message that Jesus is coming to earth again!  2nd Thessalonians reminds us to not be deceived, for the Man of Lawlessness – the Anti-God – will be coming too, and will deceive many who have refused to love the truth.  In order to stand firm for Jesus’s return – we must be loving the truth and prepared for evil and lawlessness and deception.  “So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you.” (2:15)  Learn those teachings well – and cling to them – and pass them on to others.

Thank you God for your words through your servants.  Help me to hear, learn, live and pass along your words and your way.
Marcia Railton

Apprentice – Pass it On!

2 Tim 2 2 (1)

When Paul writes II Timothy he is in Rome.  In Prison.  Piecing together his life from Acts and his letters, it is believed that during his first trip to Rome he was under house arrest – and then released and able to take his final missionary journey.  But, back to Rome he goes, and this time he ends up in prison.  Real prison.  In chains.  And, he is now writing about having “fought the good fight and finished the race.”  (4:7).   The end is in sight.  And Paul has no regrets.  In fact, he still has hope for the future – “a crown of righteousness” (4:8).

I was blessed by the opportunity to go to Rome with Jason several years ago while he was on a business trip.  While he worked, I walked.  It was incredible to walk through the ruins and roads where Paul very well may have walked before his chains.  Courthouses, palaces, the temples of foreign gods, and in their midst, the Mamertine prison which according to tradition housed the apostle Paul, as well as Peter, before they each died for their faith.   Perhaps it was a different prison, hard to be certain.  But I do know that there was a real prison with real chains.  Real places.  Real people.  And a very real God who was at work then (and long before) and is still at work now – and for all eternity.

A God worthy of serving with our life and if necessary our death.  A God who does not give a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, love and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7) – and I sure need that!  A God who breathed out the Scriptures for us so we would have his wisdom and words – so useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.  (2 Timothy 3:16)  Without them we can not be thoroughly equipped for the work he has for us to do.  (2 Timothy 3:17).

A few years ago our theme at Family Camp was Apprentice.  How to pass along a craft – an art – from one master artisan to the next generation.   Paul said, “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.”  (2 Timothy 2:2)  How are you contributing to the cycle?

Paul has many powerful words to Timothy about his duties as a young preacher, and what he is to pass on to others.  And they become even more powerful when you pause to remember that they are being written by Paul, the mighty apostle and missionary, now chained and in prison, near the end of his life.  According to tradition, soon to be beheaded for his faith.  He writes, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”  (2 Timothy 2:15)  Are you doing your best?  What can you do to improve how you present yourself to God?  Is it evident you are a workman for God?  Any areas of shame that need to be addressed?  How are you handling the word of truth?

I think it would be fascinating to see documented how the Word of God was passed down from Jesus to Paul, and on to Timothy and then to Timothy’s church, etc …. Through the ages … across the oceans … from generation to generation . . . to you.  Your spiritual genealogy.  What will you do with it?  How will you pass it on?  “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved.”

In Christ,
Marcia

Happy Grandparents Day!

Leviticus 19 32

 

It doesn’t get the hype of Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, but here it is, every September – Grandparents Day – a day to remember to honor and respect and heap love upon the grandparents amongst us – they don’t even have to be your own grandparents – but extra bonus if they are.

 

We live in a culture that places a high value on youthfulness, beauty and athleticism.  Wrinkles and gray hair are seen as a curse to be fixed at any cost.  However, in his wisdom, Solomon saw great value in old age which would bring with it wrinkles and gray hair.  Proverbs 16:31 says, “Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life.”  One who lived long enough for gray hair could revel in their beautiful silver crown – and be honored and respected by others.  And years before Solomon, God told Moses to instruct the people to, “Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God.  I am the LORD.” (Leviticus 19:32).

 

This week – watch for ways you can show honor and respect to the silver crowned people in your life – as well as those in the grocery store.

 

-Marcia Railton

 

(Whoops!  This was typed and I thought I had sent it yesterday, but apparently not.  My grandma and my children’s grandma (my mom) are visiting and we’ve been having such a great time together – I wasn’t paying great attention to my email I guess.  Well – keep celebrating Grandparents Day – I think God would like it to be a daily celebration!)

We are His Tools

Ezekiel 3 17

How many of you like to watch something. The home that I’m working at this week has tons of bird feeders. The owner is constantly making sure the feeders are clean and full of food and then she sits back with binoculars and watches. I have to admit I’ve been watching too, especially the hummingbirds, and I usually don’t have time to notice. Ezekiel 3 tells us that we are a watchman for each other. The job of a watchman was to stay alert and sound the alarm to save his people. In fact our job is a matter of life and death. This may make some uncomfortable, but today in this world of live and let live or judge not least you be judged, we still have a responsibility from God.

Now let’s set some parameters: 1) The Bible is clear that we must do everything in love. I’m convinced that the care shown to the woman at the well was Jesus showing us how to be truthful and loving.  2) Jesus also instructs us to take the log out of our eye so we can see clearly to inspect someone else’s eye. 3) We need to have biblical solutions and be willing to help. If we keep these in mind, then look around and see who God has put in your line of sight. God is clear that he wants ALL to come to salvation through Jesus and we are his tools to make that happen. During the 200 years after Jesus had established his church, the Romans took note of something. Tertullian reported that they said ” Look how they love one another”. If our goal is to watch, love, and help like Ezekiel says then others will notice. Today, pray that God will purify us to be a watchman for his kingdom and to glorify the one who can save.

-Joseph Partain

How to Avoid Belly Aches

Prov 21 2

I’ve always worked around construction sites. From the age of 5, my dad would have me help where I could and talk to the workers. I remember when I was 8 I saw a brickmason with what I thought was candy and asked for a piece. What he had was a can of tobacco but as an 8 yr. old I was convinced I was right because I was 8 and knew everything. Some of us never grow out of this and religious people are no different.

The Pharisees, Saul, David, and others thought they were right. Proverbs 16:2 says, “All a person’s ways seem right to them but motives are weighed by God.” And just in case you’re like me, Solomon says something similar in 21:2. How do we, as believers, keep our motives pure. Proverbs 3:5,6 says to lean on God and not on our understanding and he will make straight paths for us. We do this by reading God’s words: Psalms 12:6 says God’s word is flawless. The Psalms and Proverbs are big on that theme. In Hebrews 4:12 we see God’s word is active and when used, judges our thoughts so that, if we aren’t stubborn, we can make Godly choices.

At 43, I can still channel my 8 yr. old self. After so many times of telling the brickmason I was right, my dad said let him have one. I swallowed that and got sick for the next 30 min, but never have tried that again. I pray that today we acknowledge God first and his word and live by the Spirit that brings life. Try his word today and avoid some of the “belly aches” that come from thinking we have the answers. God bless you.

-Joseph Partain

Plan for Eternity – Seek Today!

Matt 6 33

In Matthew 6:33 we are instructed to seek first the kingdom of God.

Now that you have that song in your mind, let’s take a Biblical journey of what that means. Ever since Adam and Eve exited the garden, man has wanted to get that place with God back. God made a promise to Abraham that one day his seed would again inherit the earth and that is what Jesus tells us to seek first. It’s not just the land we seek but a place where we can walk with God as Adam did. Deuteronomy 6 says that closeness with God should be with Him on our mind at all times of the day. Are you and I seeking that first?

I think it is the importance of that kingdom which drives us to be different. For Abraham it was leaving everything he knew behind, for Moses it was trusting God was in control, for Joseph it was facing trials and success knowing God has a plan, for David it was facing a giant, for Jesus it was giving up this life for others, and for you and I it is living a life to show others that light.

That joy that we are a part of causes us to think: what will I do in my first 100 years. We focus our finances in a way to live out our retirement here on earth, how much more should we think and plan for eternity. Start today by selling God for you and others and maybe we can keep that campfire song in our mind as a reminder of what God through Jesus has in store.

-Joseph Partain

God’s Will in Just 6 Words

Phil 2 14 15

Have you noticed that there is a book about every subject. There are books on marriage, parenting, preaching, finding God’s will for our lives, etc. I listen to Christian talk radio and it seems like everyone that preaches or speaks has a book to sell or give you for a donation. What about the book that God wrote. Many people buy books on God’s will like: Do Something, God’s Will for your life, and any number of books promising to find that specific thing that is just for you.

Philippians 2 gives us a seemingly simple yet admittedly hard will that God has for all of our lives. In fact, if done, promises that our light for God will shine like the stars in the sky. Philippians 2:14 says to do everything without arguing or complaining. God’s word always seems to get to the point and save you hundreds at Barnes and Nobles. This verse, if followed, promises that we will not have labored in vain on the day of Christ.

Is God’s will for our life really just 6 words? Try it. Today just listen to what is going on around you. There is complaining and arguing on politics, religion, driving skills or lack thereof, and the speed at which we get our fast food and God hates it. In Numbers 14 this issue kept the children of Israel out of the promised land. The place that God had planned for them. What “promised lands” are we missing out on due to our attitude.

Just yesterday as our work crew pulled up to the construction site, one of the workers from the other crew met us and said, “The Christians are here”. He said he was listening to the preaching and music we were listening to and was enjoying it. You can shine in this world if we focus on God and his son. Like the song says, “The things of this world will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.”

-Joseph Partain