Baa Or But?

Matthew 25:31-33 (NRSVB)  "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.”

As I was I in prayer this week over a dear sister who has befallen into dire physical complications, already spending many weeks in the hospital, with seemingly more weeks yet to come, I was not only distraught about her condition, but also about the growing indifference of believers who declare they are too busy to visit her or even give her a call.  This sister has been a member of our church for twenty years, so it’s not that she is new and relatively unknown, and sadly, this is not the only case that I’ve noticed this growing dilemma.  When asked if they’ve called or been able to drop by, they excuse themselves because their lives are so busy; jobs, children, grandchildren, etc.  If anyone understands busy, I do, and I must admit my own shortcomings, too, that I haven’t always been as outreaching either.

As I was praying over this matter, this scripture in Matthew came to my mind.  I looked it up and even though I remembered basically what it said, I was quite taken aback for the distinction it made between the sheep and the goats.  Let’s read on.

 34 “Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.”

Now I’m sure you have heard this scripture taught many times, just as I have, and it is usually during a mission outreach or missions fundraising effort, reminding us that as we give to send missionaries out, they are doing these things, and there is truth in that.  I can’t go to India and Africa, or to the Amazon, but I can help send someone else and thus, I have a part in it.  But in the next verses, it appears that Christ is talking about something far closer to home.

“37 Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' 40 And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”

In the King James Version of the Bible, verse 40 says, “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”  The New Revised Standard Version of the Bible says, “members of my family”.  It appears that Jesus is speaking about our brothers and sisters in Christ!

So these are the people who are seated at the right hand of Jesus in Glory, the sheep who know the voice of their Shepherd and follow where He leads, John 10:27.  What would Jesus Do?  He would visit the sick, encourage the downtrodden, give to one who has a need, make a stranger feel welcome, visit those in prison.  As Christians (like Christ) we follow our Shepherd and obey His voice when we do these things. 

What are the characteristics of goats?  Well, let me tell you, if you want to deal with something that is exasperating and annoying, deal with a goat!  We have raised a few goats in our time and even used our Billy goat in a couple of church dramas.  That Billy never did what we needed him to do when he was supposed to do it.  In one drama, just as the shepherd character walked in front of the congregation with Billy, he just fell down on the floor and laid there!  The guy finally had to pick him up and drag him to the spot where he was supposed to stand!  Then Billy stood beside the shepherd and tried to eat the scenery and chewed on the shepherd’s robe the entire time.

Our goats would continually press their boundaries, even though we had electrical wire fencing in front of the regular fence.  Eventually they would make a way to get out.  They also climbed trees or anything else that would get them higher than the ground, and there’s nothing worse than the sound of a silly goat who is not a happy camper! 

Goats are "restless" and like to roam. Goats constantly challenge the boundaries set by the Shepherd. (They are never satisfied with where they are) In Jeremiah, God speaks of his sheep being scattered in the mountains like he-goats before the flock.

Goats are very curious, always looking for something to get into. Psalms 104:18 The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats;

 Goats don't like to follow, they like to lead, always have to be out in front. They are always sure "they" know where the flock needs to go.

 “41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' 44 Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?' 45 Then he will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.”

John 13:12 – 17 (NIV)  “When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. ¹³ “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. ¹⁴ Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. ¹⁶ Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷ Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”

So the Great Shepherd is asking us today – which section do we want to be seated in, the Goat Section or the Sheep Section?   I pray that we will be His sheep!

A Holy Beauty Pageant

Esther 4:14 (NIV) “And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”

Esther was one of those girls who happened to be at the right place at the right time with the right looks.  She was obviously very beautiful, young and desirable, however, God had His hand on her, which counted for more than anything she possessed.  She was a Jew and one of many who were a foreign people in the land where King Ahasuerus reigned over 127 provinces, from India to Ethiopia.  She lived with her uncle, Mordecai, because her parents were deceased, and he entered her in a beauty contest which would determine the new queen for King Ahasuerus.

Mordecai instructed Esther to keep her ethnicity secret and tell no one that she was Jewish.  Of all the many, many beautiful young ladies who the king could have picked, Esther stole his heart.  What a Cinderella story!  A young girl who had no royal bloodline, who was a foreigner, who came from a lowly family, who would have normally had no exposure to a king’s consideration of her is now the queen!

Before long, however, it became apparent why God had made this arrangement possible.  There was more at stake than just the ‘dream come true’ life of a young girl.  A plot became plan to annihilate all the Jews from King Ahasuerus’ kingdom.  When Mordecai learned of this evil scheme, he got word to Esther.  She reminded her uncle that she could not approach the king unless he allowed it and that he had no idea that she was a Jew.  That is when Mordecai reminded her with the words in this scripture “and who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this”. 

Esther called for all her people to fast and pray with her for God to give her favor with the king, which he did.  The king ordered the man responsible for the plot to be hanged and wrote a decree which allowed the Jews to be able to defend themselves against anyone who would try to harm them.  God used a young girl from a lowly family to save a nation!

You and I are just as valuable in God’s hands.  Whatever or wherever we may be; our job, our neighborhood, our school, our family, etc., could be a divine appointment – for how do we not know that we have been put there ‘for such a time as this’! 

When I Am Afraid

Isaiah 43:1-2 (NIV)  “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.  I have called you by name; you are mine.  When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you.  When you go through rivers of great difficulty, you will not drown!”

Some people are mistaken to think that Christians will never have troubles in their life if they have enough faith.  Some of this is because of ministers who have preached and taught this kind of message.  The truth is, God promised he would help us through troubles, not completely avoid them.  There are some things in life that will come our way simply because of this fallen world where troubles reside.  We are born into bodies that are not created to live forever.  There is evil lurking around every corner, but, God says, “Do not be afraid!”  In fact, the words ‘fear not’ or ‘do not be afraid’ appear in the Bible 365 times – one for each day of the year, including leap year so that we will daily be reminded to put our trust in God! 

When I was a child, I was afraid of the unseen things in the dark.  Now that I am an adult, my fears are about bigger things in life – how to pay the bills, the safety of my kids and grandkids, growing old and becoming unable to care for myself, etc.  Many things that I was once afraid about have now come and gone – being financially stable, being a good parent and raising my children, losing my parents to death, my children growing up and leaving home, etc.  Then there are those things that present fear to us in the moment – my husband is late could he have had an accident, what will the economy do to our financial situation, my job has been terminated, my child is sick, I may have cancer, etc.  Fear IS the unseen thing lurking in the dark, waiting to jump out at any time.   Fear IS the dark shadow in the corner.  Fear IS the thing hiding under the bed, but God says, “Do not be afraid”!

When I was a child and I became afraid, I always cried out for my mother.  I’m sure that you did, too, or maybe it was your dad who you would call for, either way, we knew that parent would come to us and make everything better.  Why?  Because we were their child!  Their love for us would have caused them to sacrifice whatever necessary for our well being, and that’s why we trusted them.  They were bigger and wiser and we knew they would know what to do.  God says in this verse that the reason why we should not be afraid is because he has ransomed (redeemed, bought back, paid a big price for) us.  In other words, we’re his child AND he knows us by our name.  We’re not merely a product number from an assembly line, no, each one of us are to God just as important as either one of my three daughters are to me.  He is Father God!  

We can be assured that when we are afraid, we can call out for him, he will come to us and make everything better.  He will walk us through the dark times, through the sad times, through the hard times, through lack, through pain, through it all.   He is bigger and wiser and his love for us has already caused him to sacrifice whatever was necessary for our good, that’s why we can trust him.

We Walk Together

I call,
You come,
We walk
Together.

I rest,
You caress,
Wipe away
My tears.

It's here,
In this place,
I can almost
See Your face.

I feel
Your eyes,
Full of love,
Time's erased.

I'm swept up in,
A moment when,
My heart begins,
To live again!

You fill me up,
Build me up,
Put me back
On solid ground.

Even though
I give you all,
You always give
Me more.

I go,
You wait,
We talk
After.

It's near
In my heart,
When I almost
Saw Your face.

I must return,
My longing burns,
Your grace
Leads me back to the place,

Where we walk together.

Copyright 2012  Tracia Bussey

Paint With Love

I Peter 4:8 (NIV)  “Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.”

There’s an amazing product on the market to help cover unsightly blemishes on walls and surfaces.  This product is called Kilz.  If you have an interior or exterior wall or ceiling which has something on it that regular paint will not cover, this product will be your best help to resolve your issue.  The label reads, “Kilz is a fast drying, water-based multi-purpose primer, sealer and stain blocker that has a very mild odor and blocks out most light stains including water, rust, grease, ink, pencil and felt marker.”  This reminds me of the verse in I Peter where the writer is encouraging Christians to exhibit ‘deep’ love for one another, because love covers all kinds of sin.  Just like Kilz will cover all kinds of stains, love acts like a multi-purpose primer, sealer and stain blocker!

There’s no better biblical description of love than the scripture in Ephesians 13, fondly referred to as ‘the love chapter’.   The Message Bible gives a great understanding to the first three verses in this chapter and the New Living Translation gives the clearest understanding of verses 4-8.

Ephesians 13:1-3 (The Message)  “If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.  If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all His mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing.  If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere.  So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.”

Ephesians 13:4-8 (New Living Translation)  “Love is patient and kind.  Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.  It does not demand its own way.  It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.  It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.  Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance…love will last forever!”

There is no greater love than the love that God the Father has shown to us, in that He gave His only Son, Jesus, as a sacrifice for us, so that we can be made righteous and be saved.  The blood of His dear Son covers our sins.  Revelation 1:5 “…unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.”  Likewise, when we have love for others, and the kind of love that is described in this scripture only comes with the empowerment of God Almighty, we show the goodness of God.  There is a time to speak the truth of God, but only with love as the motivation, otherwise it will not display God’s character.  We can’t lead people to repentance, only the goodness and kindness of God’s love draws people to God.

Romans 2:4 (God’s Word Translation)  “Do you have contempt for God, who is very kind to you, puts up with you, and deals patiently with you?  Don’t you realize that it is God’s kindness that is trying to lead you to him and change the way you think and act?”

We need to paint with Kilz when there are stains on our walls, and we need to love one another when there are stains on our sisters and brothers!

Between A Rock And A Hard Place

Exodus 14:19-29 (NIV) “Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them.  The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel.  Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other; so neither went near the other all night long.”

After many plagues and hardships had come upon Egypt through the stubbornness of the Pharoah not releasing the children of Israel, they were finally on their way to the promise land.  The Pharoah had gladly set the people free from their bondage when his first born son died from the death angel passing over Egypt, the last plague, however, after the Israelites left, the Pharoah became angry and gathered his army together to pursue Israel and punish them for his sorrow.   The Egyptian army came upon Israel as they were camped by the Red Sea.  I would say they were caught ‘between a rock and a hard place’!

The Israelites were afraid as they saw the Egyptian army drawing near.  There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, it appeared they would all be slaughtered in the dessert or at best, taken back to Egypt to live once more as slaves.  But God had a different plan!

The angel of the Lord came between the Israelites and the Egyptian army, causing a cloud to remain there all night.  This cloud caused darkness to the Egyptians but gave light to the Israelites.  God instructed Moses to hold out his staff to the water and God parted the sea, causing the waters to roll back and make a path for the people to cross on dry ground.  They had light from the cloud all night so they could travel to the other side of the sea.  After they had arrived on the other shore, God allowed the cloud to lift and Pharoah with his army charged after the Israelites.  God released the waters upon the Egyptian army, including the Pharoah, and they were all drowned.  The Israelites were saved and free to continue their journey to the land of Canaan, never to be pursued by the Egyptians again.

There are times when we are ‘between a rock and a hard place’ in life.  Times when there’s nowhere to run and nowhere to hide from troubles.  Times when the enemy and all of his demons are charging us, planning to slaughter us or take us captive as slaves, times when it is an impossible situation with no visible solution.  But God has another plan!

The same cloud that will darken the enemy’s sight will give us light.  The same waters that are parted for us to escape will crush our attackers.  God is both beautiful and terrible.  It just depends on which side of the cloud you are on!

We should remember that there’s never anything too hard for God.  Regardless of what our ‘rock’ or our ‘hard place’ may be, God has another plan!

What Did Jesus Say?

Colossians 3:16 – 17 (NIV) “Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise.  Use his words to teach and counsel each other.  Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.  And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus.”

Many years ago, a popular saying among Christians was,  ”What Would Jesus Do?”  This little question was shortened to WWJD and put on bracelets, t-shirts, hats, buttons and other items with the intent of reminding us to be a representative of Jesus in our actions and words.  There’s no doubt that it helped Christians to rethink some things and maybe even redo something that was not right, but mere letters on a bracelet are a short lived solution to being a representative of Jesus Christ. 

Here, Paul encourages us to first, have the words of Jesus living in our inner most being, our heart.  This would be more than just wearing a popular acronym on our wrist, it would be allowing the Word of God to be our way of life.  Notice he says also that those words will make us wise, or in other words, will help us make wise choices.  There are times when we may need a bracelet with the letters WDJS on it (What Did Jesus Say?) before we made certain decisions and choices, so that we would stop, pray and listen to Him before we acted.

“Use his words to teach and counsel each other”.  Too often, we offer advice to others that is simply our opinions, when our opinions will never have the power to help someone as much as the words of Jesus, especially when a friend or coworker is facing a serious dilemma in life.  Jesus was always loaded with just the right thing to say when he encountered someone who was in a desperate situation.  Of course, it was not because he was so smart, but because he was always led by the Holy Spirit.  Jesus told his disciples that it was expedient for him to go to the Father, so that the Holy Spirit could come.  The same Holy Spirit that guided Jesus, is in every Christian, to the measure that we yield to him and allow him to direct and guide our lives.  He will always show us truth and lead us in the paths of righteousness.  He will give us the words to say when the time is needed and will reveal to us when that time is right.  Luke 12:12 (NIV)  “for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”  John 16:13 (NIV) “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.  He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”

“Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.”  That reminds me of a little song we used to sing in the early days of our Christian walk.  A close minister friend of ours calls these types of songs “Kitchen Choruses” since we would gather in each other’s homes and study the Bible together, many times at the kitchen table, and sing choruses to the Lord.  This one goes like this…

I’ve got a river of life flowing out of me

Makes the lame to walk and the blind to see

Opens prison doors, sets the captives free

I’ve got a river of life flowing out of me

Spring up, oh well, within my soul

Spring up, oh well, and make me whole

Spring up, oh well, and give to me

That life, abundantly.

When we have a song in our heart that is bubbling out from a well of thanksgiving to God, we seem to soar over every bump and pot hole in life’s road.  There’s something extremely powerful about that river of life that only comes from God. 

So to sum up this verse…

Live like Jesus, with a song of praise & thanksgiving flowing from our hearts, seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance in everything we say and do, and benefit from wisdom that only comes from God.