Real Think Inc.

“Many were called, few were chosen.” (Matthew 22:14)

We know by history and by present conditions, the factuality of this stated Gospel truth.

What is the calling?

• The calling is to volunteer to join the “Cloud  of witnesses.” (Hebrews Chapter 11)
• To “receive” the Holy Spirit as Jesus told His disciples.
• To become witnesses as a result of this outpouring forever given the church since Pentecost.
• To “walk in the Spirit” and be led by the Spirit.

These are the “A,” “B,” “C’s” of the authentic Christian life.

Many will say in that day of reckoning, “Lord, Lord,” but He will say to them, “I never knew you; depart from me.”  Few are chosen indeed. These are His words. (Matthew 7:23)

We know Packer fans, Viking fans, those who love the Bears; and we hear their fervor, the exclamations, their anger if their team is derided, their boasting when their team wins.  None of these fans are even really part of the team. They’re hitch-hikers’, they’ve decided to attach themselves, though they can’t.

With Jesus the opposite is true. He sought, and, through the incessant work of the Holy Spirit still seeks the lonely soul.

We are not hitch-hikers’, we are His adopted children, because Jesus saw fit to share His inheritance – without preconditions – to us!

“Just as I am I come to Thee; Oh Lamb of God, without one plea”

We are called to holiness, “without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrew 12:14). This cannot be otherwise and this makes it clear that only His righteousness will suffice.

Can you take it in that He exchanged His holiness for our filth?

Please excuse me if I have difficulty being a Packer, Viking or Bears fan, but have no difficulty being a Jesus fan. I can’t help myself.

Please forgive me if I am as an offense. “The preaching of the cross is (always) an offense to those who will perish; but to we who are saved, it is (and it proves itself to those willing to follow their calling) it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18)

Repentance is natural in the wake of the cleansing flood; and being a witness as natural as well-formed bulb lighting when the power source is on. Something is very wrong when the lights go out given the fact that He is the Light of the world.

Think about it, is not the love of Jesus – to you – simply wonderful?

Don’t keep it a secret, whatever you do.

Buddy

Today, December 21, is the last day for the world, according to the Mayan’s calendar.

Tomorrow, some time not known by anyone other than God is the last day for the un-repaired world.  It will be the day of reckoning for all who have relied on their own opinions concerning right and wrong; who have refused to heed that which is right in God’s eyes.

Is it not true that each of us do that which is right – even the wrong we justify – in our own eyes?

Adam is everyman’s encounter with God.  In Genesis 2:9-17, He is saying to humanity:  “And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground–trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil”

“You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”

The tree of life is there for us.  Life in a fullness we cannot conceive; everlasting life; a forever life which shall never know sorrow and shall always be as a cup overflowing. We cannot create it; not with government or without, can we make a better world than the Lord did long ago.

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil brought forth evil which, having mixed itself with good, spoiled the whole.  We need salvation from the result of trying it without following God’s recipe; from “. . . every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes.” (Deuteronomy 12:8)

Independent thinking is most subtle, is it not? “Hire a teenager while he knows everything,” is written on Danny’s restaurant window in Kenosha.  Do we think we know better than God? We have been deceived in our thinking.

Whether we know it or not, “We live and move and have our being in Him. ” (Acts 17:28)

Before we came to know so, the earth was a globe, not a flat structure.

Before we came to know, infection was spread by bacteria.

Before we came to know, it’s a common human characteristic that we say sometimes, “If I had only known.” And this we still do after centuries of knowledge gathering and clarifying.

We were not created capable enough mentally to go it alone, to do “that which” (temporarily) seemed right in our own eyes.

“Has God said,” is the sound of Satan. (Genesis 3:1)

God “saves to the uttermost” because when we look to Him alone we grant to Him that we will be His workmanship.

Jesus, Savior, is the Tree of Life. The cross has been since and is the emblem of new and eternal life.   But, He is the “way” of life as well.  (John 14:6)

We should not be afraid of guilt.  God’s word says every person has strayed from the LORD.  Every one of us, are like sheep that have gone astray.  We are all the focus of the Great Shepherd, who alone can redeem us from our wandering.

Oh Lord, “Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, Seal it to Thy courts above.”

Buddy

An awful thing, and one leading a person into the life-paths of destruction is that point in a person’s life when they “will not” heed wisdom.

Heeding wisdom is learning in one of those teachable moments when the truth has found us out.   Many grasp at a stubborn pride of defiance rather than turning in repentance.

Be wise, take heed of the word of our LORD:  “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it” (Matthew 7:13).

God created us knowing that some of us, when we realized our folly, would turn to Him. There is joy a person experiences when He turns, and repents during a teachable moment.

The joy of a new Christian is God’s amazing love reciprocating between God and man.

“Come unto me,” Jesus said representing the Father’s will for us all. (Matthew 11:28)

“The LORD is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

During a teachable moment, in a split second sometimes, is an opportunity to repent, to reconsider in that light which has broken in on us.

“But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, and demonic, for where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. ” (James 3:14-16)

“But the 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.  Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” (James 3:18)

Teachable moments are wonderful. They can be, as it was with the prodigal son who realized he was groveling in a mess of his own making and returned to a welcome home by his father.  (Luke 15:11-32)

Every day God will see to it that we have teachable moments. If we seek Him, we will position ourselves to hear this wisdom from above. God is faithful.  He will come to a seeking heart.

Today, we face as a nation, a teachable moment. Like Columbine, it will become more a faded thought.   We live in an America where today it is being made difficult to give sound, Christian, Biblical counsel to young people. Education has become a closed door to this vital influence once there in abundance.

We cannot remove the life of Christ from history. Why would we want to?  Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” (Proverbs 14:34)

What could be wrong with our telling of the wondrous, forgiving, and merciful God whose hand upon us saves us from ruined lives and destroying the lives of others?

We would be foolish to believe God put it into the mind to murder a teacher, mother and children in a school. We would be wise to see that somehow in the life of any of us, evil would have it that we betray our marriage partner, lie to our employer or to anyone.  Evil can hurt, victimize, and do so with brazen cowardliness.

Yes, we will have tribulation because some people simply “will not” be captured by God during their teachable moments; and because we must live through this world impacted by the consequences of choices of others.

Tell everyone you meet of God’s wonderful message to a messed up world. Telling will only offend some; but will be heard gladly by those who want to find the life that wins. (1 Corinthians 18)

Buddy