Jim Wilson's Blog, page 23

Barnabas

“He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and agreat number of people were brought to the Lord” (Acts 11:24).

This is speaking of Barnabas. The preceding verse tells usthat "he was glad and encouraged them all.” In chapter four, we find thathis name means son of encouragement. We also find that he "sold afield he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet."When he was with Paul, he was not the chief speaker (Acts 14:12), although inActs 14:1, we see, “There they spoke so effectively that a great numberof Jews and Gentiles believed."

Barnabas was good, full of the Holy Spirit, full of faith,glad, encouraging, generous, and unashamed to speak the gospel. The result wasthat great numbers were brought to the Lord. If we are not seeing great numbersturning to the Lord, it may be that we are lacking the other characteristicswhich were in Barnabas’ life.

 

Written October 1990.

This post coordinates with today and tomorrow's readings in the SamePage Summer Bible Reading Challenge. If you are not in a daily readingplan, please join us at TotheWord.com. We would love to have you reading withus.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships

A Man Named Stephen

I would like to draw your attention to a man named Stephen,whom we meet in the Book of Acts.

“Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known tobe full of the Spirit and wisdom” (Acts 6:3).

“They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the HolySpirit” (Acts 6:5).

“Now, Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, didgreat wonders and miraculous signs among the people" (Acts 6:8).

“These men began to argue with Stephen, but they could notstand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by which he spoke" (Acts6:9-10).

"All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intentlyat Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel” (Acts 6:15).

Stephen started his defense with the God of Glory andended his message in this manner and with these words: “But Stephen, full ofthe Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesusstanding at the right hand of God. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I see heaven open and theSon of Man standing at the right hand of God’” (Acts 7:55-56).

His last two utterances were, "Lord Jesus, receive myspirit," and, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them."

This kind of man with this kind of speech gets two kinds ofresponses—violent anger and conversions. Both responses he got from Saul ofTarsus. Stephen's short but very powerful life has resulted in millions ofconversions.

 

Written February 1994.

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Walking in the Light

One of my co-workers once spoke of the effect oflight on different kinds of insects. Moths fly to the light, and cockroachesrun from it. He was simply saying that light attracts and light repels. It isthe same light in both cases.

The title of this paper comes from the seventh verse of thefirst chapter of John: “But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, wehave fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies usfrom all sin.”

However, the definition of light is found two versesearlier. “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God islight; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship withhim yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth” (1 John1:5-6).

God is light, andin Him there is no darkness at all.Some of us have been in places where there is no light at all. Even for those who are not afraid of the dark, aftera short while they begin to get scared.

However, none of us has ever been in a place where there isno darkness at all. We like to be in places that are a mixture of sunshine andshadows, light and darkness. God uses these expressions to tell us spiritualtruth. For instance, “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that youmay become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked anddepraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you holdout the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I didnot run or labor for nothing” (Phil. 2:14-16).

If you have been on a U.S. Navy ship at sea or if you havebeen in a teacher’s room at an elementary school, or in any office, or in anymanufacturing plant or in any home or church or anywhere where there are two or more people, you have almostcertainly heard and/or participated in complaining.

Complaining seems to be a social norm rather than aphenomenon. “In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron”(Exodus 16:2).

One of the most common complaints is, “That’s not fair.”This is a thought that supposedly appeals to the highest standards of virtue ormorality, i.e. fairness. This may be a shock to you, but fairness is not aquality of God, nor is it from God.It is not like the fruit of the Spirit, nor is it justice or mercy. It ishumanism. When we use the phrase “that’s not fair,” we are saying thateverything is not equal, but it should be equal. The person who says, “That’snot fair, has suddenly set themselves up as the judge of right and wrong. Hehas also become the judge of everyone else—God, father, mother, boss, roommate,and anyone else who doled out this “unfairness.”

As an exercise in studying Jesus’ view of fairness, pleaseread the following:

     For the kingdom of heaven is like alandowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day andsent them into his vineyard. About nine in the morninghe went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will payyou whatever is right.’ So they went.

     He went out again about noon and aboutthree in the afternoon and did the same thing. Aboutfive in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. Heasked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’

       ‘Because no one has hired us,’ theyanswered.

     He said to them, ‘You also go and work inmy vineyard.’

       When evening came, the owner of thevineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages,beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’

       The workers who were hired aboutfive in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receivemore. But each one of them also received a denarius. Whenthey received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and youhave made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heatof the day.’

       But he answered one of them, ‘I amnot being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius?Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired lastthe same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to dowhat I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

       So the last will be first, and thefirst will be last. (Matt. 20:1-16)

Did you identify with the complainers, ordid you identify with Jesus? If you start with fairness as the standard, therewill be many things that you will not like about God.

Some years ago, a man was executed in thestate of Washington. There were two groups of protestors outside the locationof the execution. One group was very much against capital punishment. The othergroup was, at least in this case, very much for the death sentence.

Before the man was executed, he was shown ontelevision. He said that he had received Jesus Christ in prison and that he hadbeen forgiven by God and was going to heaven. This made the people who were forhis execution very angry. They did not want him to go to heaven. The othergroup also was not happy because he died physically. To them, life on earth wasmore important than everlasting life. Neither group thought it was fair. ButGod’s view of justice and mercy isnever the same as fairness.

There is a solution for complaining aboutfairness.

"Do everythingwithout complaining or arguing." (Phil. 2:14) 

"And whatever youdo, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, givingthanks to God the Father through him." (Col. 3:17)

"Whatever you do,work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." (Col.3:23)

"Give thanks in allcircumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thess. 5:18)

The solutions are simple: 1) do everythingin the name of the Lord Jesus, 2) to the Lord Jesus, and 3) give thanks ineverything. It is difficult to complain when you are doing these things.

However, you may find this difficult topractice, even if you realize the truth of it and the need for it. If you arecoming out of years of complaining about everything, then giving thanks in everythingis a big turn-around.

Before you can start giving thanks, you needto repent of your years of complaining. Confess and forsake the complaining.Otherwise, you will be trying to obey on top of a pile of unforgivendisobedience. That just will not work.

Once you are clean, then you can give thanksand do it in the name of the Lord Jesus.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships

Christians & Persecution

You may be aware that more and more Christians are being killedtoday for their faith in Jesus Christ than in all generations prior to thisone. We do not know how many have denied their faith in order to stay alive.

In my 71 years as a Christian, I have seen many who have notdenied their faith and many more who have confessed their faith underpersecution.

Over the years, I have asked many Christians if they wanted tobe godly. It is an embarrassing question. They do not want to answer it. Ifthey answered no, it wouldn’t sound right, even though it would be the truthfulanswer. They don’t want to answer yes, either. It would not be truthful, and ifthey said yes, God might help them be godly! They would lose most of theirChristian friends.

In Luke 9:23, Jesus said, “Take up the means of your ownexecution and follow Me.” So many Christians have compromised on little things.I am not sure how they would fare in a life-and-death decision.

Written January 23, 2018.

This post coordinates with today's reading in the SamePage Summer Bible Reading Challenge. If you are not in a daily readingplan, please join us at TotheWord.com. We would love to have you reading withus.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships

The Real Solution to This Country’s Problems

“When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquenceor superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For Iresolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and himcrucified…. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasivewords, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith mightnot rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power” (1 Corinthians 2:1-2, 4-5).

“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers,intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those inauthority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness andholiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to besaved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:1-4).

These two texts bring us back to first priorities: preachingthe cross and praying for kings. Both of these texts have to do with thesalvation of men. God in his wisdom decided that proclaiming and praying wasour partnership in the Gospel. It is easy to get side-tracked to things likeconstitutional amendments on abortion or a balanced budget and a Christiangovernment. Paul did not have that luxury; neither does most of the worldtoday. These things are important, but they will not have a lasting effect if they are done on their own apart from the real solution. Let’s get our focus back on that real solution, the gospel of JesusChrist. Let us change the nation by proclaiming and praying.

 

Written November 1992.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships

The Closeness of God

The last sentence in Ezekiel is, “And the name of the cityfrom that time on will be: THE LORD IS THERE.” What a wonderful name for acity!

When He came to earth as a baby, Jesus fulfilled theprophecy recorded in Matthew 1:23: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear ason, and his name shall be called Emmanuel (which means ‘God with us’).”

Then in Revelation 21:3, “A great voice from the thronesaying, ‘Behold the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, andthey shall be His people, and God himself will be with them.’”

Finally, we have the promise in Hebrews 13:5, “I will neverleave you, nor forsake you.” At least three of these texts are speaking ofGod’s close relationship with His church. They speak of His faithfulness in Hisimminence. Thank God!

 

Written November 1990.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships

Are You a Father Like Paul?

“We were not looking for praise from men, not from you oranyone else. As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, but wewere gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children…. For youknow that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children,encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who callsyou into his kingdom and glory” (1 Thess. 2:6-7, 11-12).

Did you know that the Apostle Paul likens himself to a gentle,nursing mother and like a father who encourages and comforts? Areyou that kind of a father to your own children? Are you that kind of father toyour spiritual children?

 

Written March 1994.

This post coordinates with today's reading in the SamePage Summer Bible Reading Challenge. If you are not in a daily readingplan, please join us at TotheWord.com. We would love to have you reading withus.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships

Happiness & Joy: Two Views

According to the dictionary, joy and happiness are almostsynonyms.

Since Christians live in the English-speaking world, they arelargely influenced by the world’s definitions. The cover story in the mostrecent issue* of National GeographicMagazine is “The Search for Happiness.” The subtitle is, “What we can learnfrom Costa Rica, Denmark, and Singapore—the most joyful places on the planet.”

In each of these “happiest” places, the government has providedfor people’s salaries, living, healthcare, and other physical provisionsthrough high taxes. In other words, “happiness” is not having anyresponsibilities to be anxious about.

That is the world’s view. There is a biblical solution toanxiety which is entirely different, and which the world cannot understand. Itis love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,and self-control. These words are in the world’s vocabulary, but anybody who isnot a Christian cannot have any of them as part of his life. If they have them,it is with a different definition.

The joy the Christian receives has nothing to do with entertainmentor recreation. It is based on his relationship and fellowship with God, basedupon his sins being forgiven.

Non-Christians cannot have this joy or love or peace. They areonly given by the Holy Spirit. Christians can experience them, but many don’tbecause they disobey God and do not confess their disobedience in order to beforgiven and have joy again.

There is a sequence of obedience that sets you free fromanxiety.

Rejoice always,pray continually, give thanks in allcircumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thess.5:16-18) 

 Rejoicein the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!... Do not be anxious aboutanything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,present your requests to God. And the peace of God,which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds inChrist Jesus. (Phil. 4:4, 6-7)

If you are thanking God in all circumstances,you are also rejoicing in the Lord always. If you are rejoicing in the Lordalways, you are anxious for nothing, and the peace of God guards your heart.

The non-Christian who desires this state mustsettle for the world’s solution or call upon the Lord for salvation.

The reason the world thinks joy and happinessare the same is they think that they are both feelings based uponcircumstances. Joy in the Bible is only based upon relationship and fellowshipwith God because of the forgiveness of sins. Besides being there because offellowship, joy should be expressed by obeying the command.

 

*Written November 2017.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships

Getting Old

This is apost for those who are getting old or considering themselves old, from 65-100.

Right now, I am 91.* I will be 92 inOctober. I have my own house, but I cannot live in it alone because of myphysical inability to move around. One of my sons lives with me.

All of us will have to make someadjustments. That includes money, relatives, your own ability and willpower tostay independent, etc. My advice is if physically and financially you can liveindependently, you should certainly do that. If you do, you will still need tohave visits from your family frequently. You need your family. Even if youdon’t need them to take care of you, you need them for the fellowship. The morefellowship you have, the longer you’ll live. If you can stay independent do it,but only if friends and relatives can see you often.

In my case, I can’t walk, and I can’tdo much physically. So, whether I like it or not, someone else has to get meup, get me showered, and get me dressed. I am blessed to have three sons whotake turns doing that.

The next best thing is to move inwith one of your children or one of your brothers or sisters. That may be ahardship for them, so if you have any money at all, contribute to the upkeepthat you require.

When you get to this age, you haveto make decisions. It is very likely that you won’t want the decisions thatyour children make for you. I don’t have a solution for that. Whatever you do,don’t do it in rebellion. Do it very positively. Whatever the solution is, takeit as God’s provision.

Whether you stay at home or insomeone else’s home or in an elder care residence, participate in any Biblestudies or worship services that you can. If you’ve never been interested inthat, you might want to get interested. These people are Christians. They maybe very warm Christians, and you need that warmth and fellowship. Even if you haven’tbeen to church or a Bible study before, go for it.

If your relatives are not in thesame town, stay in touch with them, either by writing to them or by telephone.You need that contact.

I have a friend I’ve known formany, many years. She was a Navy nurse in Japan and became a Christian at thattime. She’s now 96 years old and lives in Charleston, SC. Periodically, shecalls me. I’m in Moscow, Idaho. She doesn’t call me because we’re relatives(we’re not). She calls me because we are friends, and she needs to stay intouch with her friends. It’s a healthy thing. It’s very easy to live your lifewithout friends. Pretty soon, they just disappear from your life. That is not ahealthy thing. Stay in touch with your friends. Some of your friends may havebecome widows or widowers, and perhaps they have married someone else that youdon’t know. Reach out and get to know your friends’ new spouses. They need youas much as you need them.

If your relatives’ children livesome distance from you, telephone and write to them often. If you reach out tothem often, they will respond to you often. When you are in touch with them,ask them all kinds of questions about all of their children and all of theirrelatives so you get the news about everyone you used to know well.

The major thing in all this is thatyou are a human being, and people are created by God to be with other people.Make it a point to stay in touch. Even if it’s only one person, it will be alifeline.

*Written July 2, 2019.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships

Gracious Words

 

Several passages of Scripture have been in my meditation thelast few weeks.*

“For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. Thegood man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil manbrings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that menwill have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word theyhave spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words youwill be condemned” (Matthew 12:34b-37).

“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasonedwith salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” (Colossians 4:6).

During the last few months,* I have been conscious that mywords have not been always gracious. Apparently, my heart has not been storedwith good things, or the overflow would have been gracious words. I haveconfessed and now want to store my heart so full of good that the overflow willbe always good.

 

*Written November 1988.

This post coordinates with today's reading in the Tothe Word! Bible Reading Challenge. If you are not in a daily reading plan,please join us at TotheWord.com. We would love to have you reading with us.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships