Valuable

DAD'S  RAMBLINGS -- VALUABLE
Matthew 10:29-31

" 'Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?  And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will.  But the very hairs on your head are all numbered.  Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.' "

I am of great value to God.  He created me in His image, and He loved me so much that He died for me.  That means I am very special to Him.  

TODAY'S PRINCIPLE:  The human soul is of great value to God.

Have a "valued" day.  Love, Dad

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- OUT OF THE CLOSET

OUT OF THE CLOSET
Matthew 10:27-28
 
" 'Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you her in the ear, preach on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.' "
 
What keeps me from speaking God's revealed truth? It is fear. I am more afraid of what man can do to me than God. So I keep the truth hidden in the darkness of the closet of my heart. O God, give me boldness to come out of the closet to declare from the housetops Your marvelous Word – to bring Your truth out of the darkness into the light.
 
TODAY'S PRINCIPLE: It takes boldness to come out of the closet to declare God's truth.
 
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Have an "out" day. Love you.
 

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- HIDDEN MOTIVES OF THE HEART

 HIDDEN MOTIVES OF THE HEART
Matthew 10:26
 
"Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be made known."

A person who lives by His faith in the Lord Jesus and his convictions about godliness will be misunderstood and criticized by the world and even by other Christians. He will be thought of as being old-fashioned and out of touch with reality. He will be called a hypocrite or worse. He will be considered to be ignorant because he does not follow the philosophies of the world. It can be a somewhat lonely life. But I don't need to fear what others think, because God knows the deep and hidden things of my heart. He understands my desire to please Him, and what He thinks about me is more important than pleasing other people. Heaven will reveal the hidden things of my life. "Therefore judge nothing before the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels (NIV: motives) of the heart. Then each one's praise will come from God" (I Corinthians 4:5).
 
TODAY'S PRINCIPLE: Though misunderstood and criticized by the world, the Christian's motives are known to God.
 
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Have a God-pleasing day. Love you.

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- MARKED

 MARKED
Matthew 10:24-25
 
" 'A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for a disciple to be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household?' "
 
As a Christian, I am a marked man. I have a bulls-eye on my chest that identifies me as a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. As His follower, I can expect to be treated like He was. If I am truly identified as belonging to Jesus, what makes me think I will be treated any differently by His antagonists? If they called Him names, if they denigrated Him and vilified Him, if they rejected Him and mistreated Him, if they crucified Him, why should I be treated any better than He was? His enemies are my enemies, and they will do to me what they did to Him because their lord – the god of this world – is the same as the one who attacked Jesus. "As He is, so are we in this world" (I John 4:17b). But praise be to God, the war is not over, and Jesus will reign!!! If Jesus endured and conquered, so can I.
 
TODAY'S PRINCIPLE: To be a disciple of Jesus is to be treated as He was.
 
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Have a marked day. Love you.

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- TO STAND OR TO FLEE

 TO STAND OR FLEE
Matthew 10:23
 
" 'When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.' "
 
We have a worldwide refugee problem, but it is not new. People fleeing from one place to another is as old as man. It began with Cain, who "went out from the presence of the LORD" as a "fugitive and vagabond" (Genesis 4:12-16). The story stretches through the nation of Israel which was often dispersed. After Stephen was martyred because he stood his ground to witness about Jesus (Acts 6-7), there was great persecution, and the early Church was scattered (Acts 8:1), but God used that dispersion to spread the GospeJ.  Jesus said that we sometimes need to flee from persecution. There is a time to stand and there is a time to flee. The Apostle Paul recognized this because sometimes he took beatings for his testimony, and other times he fled. As I face resistance to the Gospel of Jesus, I need to understand that there are times I need to turn and  run away from the situation. It is not always wrong to flee. He has purposes for both staying to face the persecution and running away. To know the difference is to be led by the Holy Spirit. 
 
TODAY'S PRINCIPLE: In God's purposes, He sometimes calls us to stand and endure persecution and sometimes He calls us to flee.
 
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Have a Spirit-led day. Love you.

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- THE PERSECUTED CHURCH

 THE PERSECUTED CHURCH
Matthew 10:17, 19 - 22
 
" 'But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to the councils and scourge you in the synagogues ... But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given you in that hour what you should speak. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.
And you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.' "
 
The history of the Church is the story of martyrs who stood the test to the end and did not shrink from their faith in the Lord Jesus, even in persecution. I know nothing of suffering and persecution for my faith, and I don't know how I would respond to being tortured for being a Christian. But I know that God is faithful and would give grace to "endure to the end." My heart goes out to my brothers and sisters around the world who today are suffering, who have been attacked by the world and forsaken by others – even their families. The Heros of the Faith listed in Hebrews includes the those who "were tortured ... still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented – of whom the world was not worthy" (Hebrews 11:35b-38a). Though these martyrs are treated as the scum of the earth, this world is not worthy of the people who are persecuted for the name of Jesus.
 
TODAY'S PRINCIPLE: Though all others forsake, God is present in the suffering of the persecuted church.
 
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Have a "remembering the persecuted" day. Love you.

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- WISE AND HARMLESS

 WISE AND HARMLESS
Matthew 10:16
 
" 'Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.' "
 
How do I live in this world as a sheep among wolves? Wolves attack and fight and devour. Sheep are not fighters; they are harmless. My natural response to attack is to fight back. But God does not call me to fight wolves. Sheep do not have natural defenses, so they must rely on other resources, like staying in the middle of the flock  near the shepherd for their protection. In fact, all of the armor of the Christian is defensive – the waist band of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of peace, the shield of faith. Even the sword of the Word of God is defensive. The only offensive weapon is prayer (Ephesians 6:14-18), and even prayer is relying on the Shepherd for my defense. So God does not call me to fight with my own strength and brute force. Rather he calls me to respond intelligently with wisdom. This "wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy" (James 3:17). This is wise Christian living in the midst of wolves.
 
TODAY'S PRINCIPLE: The Christian's defense is not fighting but trusting the Shepherd.
 
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Have a wise and harmless day. Love you.