Use Them

Rom. 12:6  Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them...

An antique mantel clock sits atop our living room fireplace.  It once belong to my uncle but found it's way into our home shortly after he moved..  We don't wind it, in fact, we're not ever sure it will keep time.  So there it sits ignored and unused.  Other than looking pretty, it benefits no one.

While taking down our Christmas decorations, my wife moved the clock ever so slightly and it began to chime.  We both knew it had that ability, but because it sat for so long, you could say that we lost sight of it's potential and purpose.  At one time, when it was being used, it produced a beautiful melody every day.

In Mt. 25:14-30 we find the Parable of the Talents where the master "delivered his goods" (v. 14) to three of his servants.  In other words, he entrusted, loaned and expected a return on that which he gave them to invest.  Each servant was given something to use.  We read that two out of the three did so, but the third ignored or squandered what he had been given.

We must not be ignorant or selfish when it comes to God's plan for our lives.  We have the potential and purpose to make a difference with what He has "delivered" to us.  He gave us gifts to benefit and bless others, glorify Him and produce a beautiful melody every single day.  Don't squander what you've been given to invest.  Recognize your talents, be a good steward (1 Pet. 4:10) and use them!


Sock Monkey Snippet:  Use you talents and abilities to reach your potential, fulfill your purpose and glorify God.

Creating Something New

Isa. 43:19  I am creating something new.  There it is!  Do you not see it?  I have put roads in deserts, streams in thirsty lands. (CEV)

Considering the heavens and the earth, and all they contain (including us), it would be understandable to think that God's full-time job is just maintaining or managing that which already exists.  And He does do that, but I think we sometimes limit our present-day view of God to only that of being a manager and no longer a creator.

The fact of the matter, however, is that God still continues to create.  In the visible as well as the invisible realms (Col. 1:16).  And His creations are new and unique.  They are wondrous and awe-inspiring, confirming His glory (Ps. 19:1).  Also, each and every one of God's creations has purpose.  Look around you.  For obvious things like snowflakes, clouds and newborn babies.  For perhaps less obvious things like new friends, a new home or a new job.  As Isaiah 43:19 asks, "Do you not see them?"

In our daily lives, it's easy to become discouraged and overlook or stop looking altogether for the continuing, purposeful creations of God that are meant for us.  So, what are you looking for?  What unique need do you have in your life right now that God can and will creatively fill?  Look for Him to do it.  God still is, and will forever be, in the business of creating something new!


Sock Monkey Snippet:  God is creating something new for you.  Look for it.

Not A Man

Num. 23:19  God is not a man, that He should lie, nor the son of man that He should repent.  Has He said, and will He not do?  Or has He spoken and will He not make it good?

I bought cereal recently.  What caused me to buy this particular brand was the picture on the box of a highly magnified spoon piled high with golden bran flakes, plump raisins and crunchy, oversized granola clusters.  I could hardly believe that a single spoon could hold the promise of such abundance.

But once I opened the box and began to pour, I quickly realized that I had been misled and deceived.  Boy, was I disappointed!  What I found as I filled my bowl was not-so-golden bran flakes, fewer and much skinnier raisins, and microscopic granola clusters.  How could what I was promised be so far from what I received?

The point I want to make is this.  Man can and will disappoint.  All of us, at one time or another, have been disappointed by someone or have been lied to by another.  And sometimes it's those who are closest to us, our friends, that let us down.  Our trust can easily be misplaced and betrayed by the half-hearted promises or downright lies of men.

But God is not a man.  He is not capable of telling a lie.  That's just who He is.  Every word He speaks is truth.  Every word He speaks finds fulfillment and is accomplished (Isa. 55:11).  His promises are always yes and amen (2 Cor. 1:20).  So, our trust in Him will never be misplaced.  What God says in His Word, He will do.  What God has spoken, He will bring to pass.  There is no greater assurance we can have than knowing with absolute certainty that we can trust God simply because of who He is.  He is not a man!


Sock Monkey Snippet:   We can trust God simply because of who He is.

Seeing Salvation

Lk. 2:30-31  With my own eyes I've seen Your salvation; it's now out in the open for everyone to see... (MSG)

The Holy Spirit revealed to Simeon that he would not die without first beholding our Savior.  And being led by this same Spirit to the temple, sure enough he saw the Child Jesus.  Realizing that what had been revealed by the Spirit had now been fulfilled, Simeon (v.28) took Jesus in his arms and blessed God.  Not only did he get to see Jesus, he held and embraced Him.  I suppose at that moment Simeon must have felt inadequate or unworthy to be given such an honor and privilege.  Can you imagine holding the very Son of God in your hands?

Simeon rejoiced, acknowledging not only his Savior but the Savior of us all.  The Holy Spirit led him to Jesus and he now joyously proclaimed that this Savior was available for all to see. 

Christmas is the busiest time of the year for most of us.  Between the shopping, traveling, cooking and cleaning, in addition to our normal routine or schedule, it is very easy to lose sight of that which is most important.  So let's take time this holiday season to reflect and acknowledge that the birth of Jesus Christ provided the gift of God's salvation for us all.  By the leading and revelation of the Holy Spirit, we can see it and understand it just like Simeon did.  And may we, likewise, embrace Jesus and joyfully give thanks to the Father.  For when we behold the Child, we are seeing salvation!

Have a Merry and Blessed Christmas!


Sock Monkey Snippet:  When we behold the Child, we are seeing salvation.

Engraved

Isa. 49:16  See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands...

Engraving is the process of cutting or incising, usually letters, into a surface so as to create a permanent, unchangeable reminder.  Think of the many things that we engrave.  Jewelry, plaques, even the headstones that fill our cemeteries.  Our intention is that a person, an event or other important information is not forgotten.  Even the Ten Commandments were cut by God into tablets of stone.

I am engraved (inscribed) on God's hands.  YOU are engraved on God's hands.  What an amazing thought!  He can not and will not forget us.  We are so important to Him and so loved by Him that He forever remembers us.  He has established a permanent and unchangeable reminder, an engraving that is ever before Him.  He can't and won't stop thinking about you and me.

We have the constant attention of the God of all creation!  Think about that for a while.


Sock Monkey Snippet:  God can not and will not forget us.

Looking Ahead

Exod. 16:2-3  Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.  And the children of Israel said to them, "Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full!  For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."

In the middle of a trial, have you ever found yourself wondering why things couldn't just go back to being like they were before?  So did the Israelites.  These people had seen God, in the not too distant past, deliver them in a miraculous way through the plagues on Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea.  Undeniably, God had a plan for them and was moving on their behalf.  And yet here they were, wishing to be back in bondage only that they might have something to eat.  Oh, if only things could be like they once were.  But the promised land, God's intended blessing for them, wouldn't be found by looking back.  Only by trusting Him and looking ahead.

Our deliverance lies in our future and not in our past.

God has a plan for our lives.  Can we not see Him moving on our behalf?  Are we blind to the miraculous things He does for us?  When we find ourselves in a wilderness situation, we need to trust God for what lies ahead without complaining or wishing things could be as they once were.  He will deliver us.  Our promised blessing awaits.  Trust Him that we might see it by looking and moving ahead.


Sock Monkey Snippet:  Our deliverance lies in our future and not in our past. 

Make A Statement

Ps. 3:3  But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory and the One who lifts up my head.

What does it mean to "make a statement"?  It is to declare fact.  And it is important to do so because our position on a matter may be unclear or uncertain to others or even to ourselves.  But the timing of the statement can be equally as important.  Words fitly spoken (said at the right time) make a difference (Prov. 25:11).

David is surrounded by trouble.  He is on the run and being hunted down that he might be killed.  His enemies increase in number while his friends seem to be few.  Both camps are wondering if God has forgotten him.  David has to be wondering, too.

So, David chooses to make a statement.  In the middle of everything that is going on, he declares what he knows to be true.  That God is his protection (surrounding shield), his praise (glory), and his promotion (the One who lifts up his head with joy).  He expresses his confidence and faith in God.  With perfect timing.

In times when trouble seems to surround us and we wonder if God has forgotten us, let us remember David's example here.  Let us choose to declare what we know to be true, what we believe.  That God is our shield, our glory and the lifter of our heads.  Our protection, our praise and our promotion.  When trouble surrounds you, declare God's truth.  Make a statement!


Sock Monkey Snippet:  When trouble surrounds you, declare God's truth.