Be Ordinary

Oh!!! I hate even the idea.

But where does this desire to be out of the ordinary come from?

Is it biblically based? No.

I almost typed, "How can I be ordinary when Jesus was not?"

Excuse me?

Jesus was ordinary.
That's part of the greatness of His incarnation.

What made Him extra-ordinary was His identity and His obedience to the Father.

REPEATEDLY in my life I have asked this question, "What is being FULLY faithful?"

Praise the Lord for His kind and overwhelming grace!

I have been asking the wrong question because I have had the wrong perspective. It's not my self-made zeal and/or my FULLY faithful faithfulness He is interested in seeing. It's Him in and through us working out what He has worked in, (all the riches in the heavenly places) and us walking in the good works HE Himself has prepared since the foundation of the world.

ALL glory (!!) to Him!

Our (my) being "fully faithful" is only limited by God's faithfulness to us and His Name. ("all the riches in the heavenly places.")

THOUGH it IS dependent on our submission and obedience to Him. (Philippians 2) It will and does require pain and sacrifice, but the reward far outweighs the pain. (2nd Corinthians 5 and 1st Peter 1 and 3, in particular)

Therefore, let us focus all our sight, mind, and strength on our Heavenly home, forever with HIM!!!

What wondrous fruit could He grow from us then? How can we bring glory to His name as the ones in whom He has chosen to delight? How can we, as part of our salvation, be continuously pursuing holiness?

(Wait on Him and see.)

The Prize!!!

As I look into the faces shown on my computer screen I suddenly realize with a greater conviction than ever before that these are the particular ones the Lord has given to me now, presently, for today.

At His right hand is pleasure forevermore. In His presence is fullness of joy. I have His Holy Spirit. I am in His presence. His fullness of joy and His pleasure is mine, now. Will I walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the lusts of the flesh?

Pleasures FOR EVER more.

How stupid and eternal-less I have been.

David was oppressed. David entrusted himself to God. He did not cry out for other people to save Him. He called out and put His trust in God.

The poor, the lost, the hungry, the enslaved are all God’s responsibility to save and to justify.

It is not mine. It is not the white Westerner’s responsibility. Though we may hold responsibility in their poverty, we do not need guilt to compel us to go out to change their situations.

Rather, we should be compelled to go out and love and serve the poor because we are Christ’s ambassadors and how will they believe unless they hear? And if we are telling them about the Savior who so loved them that He died for them, how can we say, “’Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but […] do not give them the things which are needed for the body”? (James 2:16)

After all, what is pure and undefiled religion, but “to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world”? (James 1:27)

This is what should compel us. We must recognize our identity in Jesus – the One we represent. We must know Him and His love and then be compelled by Him to go out and walk in the good works that He has prepared beforehand. We must be zealous in these good works. We must be serious in prayer and always watchful. We must be redeeming the time. We must be active and alive in our communities. We must be committed to godly families and strong doctrine. We must be exhorting and encouraging each other with the words that Jesus is coming back and with Him comes His reward and punishment.

The prize is not to end social injustice throughout the world. Our purpose is not to bring global peace. That is finished in Him. We are here because all His delight is in us. His delight is in us because He has chosen to use us (His Church) to summarize His wisdom. (!!)

Our blameless presentation is the prize. Our eternal inheritance is what we must strain for.

If this happens, there will be no poor in our neighborhoods. Then we would care for those we see "while we are going" because our worldly eyes would have been exchanged for His eternal eyes. Changed by Him, we would “regard no one according to the flesh,” but depend on the Father of Good Gifts to guide us and meet all our needs.

Do not lose sight of the prize for which we live! Do not forget He who is the One we have been chosen to serve. The One who shines brighter than the sun. The One whose eyes are like burning flames of fire. The One whose name is Faithful and True, the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last; the only One who is worthy to open the seals of the scroll.

Praise Him, today. Delight in His holiness and omnipotence, today. Know His love and the delight He has chosen to place on His Church, today. Love Him, now.

Though we are faithless, He is faithful and will present us faultless.

"To God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power both now and forever. Amen."

To the One whose voice is like the sound of mighty, rushing waters.

GLORY!!!