Have it Your Way

A Series on Living in the Wilderness
 (Use the link below to read the verses.)
Genesis 3:1-19

 [In this series we will be looking at people who lived in the wilderness. Not necessarily a wilderness of natural creation, but a wilderness of their own creation. In fact, there are times when we all feel like we are living in the wilderness. During those times, it’s important to remember that the Lord is still with us.]

 

In 2014, Burger King scrapped its 40-year-old slogan of "Have It Your Way" in favor of the more personal motto, "Be Your Way." At the time they released a statement that the new motto is intended to remind people that "they can and should live how they want anytime”. Hmm. Interesting.

 

Don’t both of these slogans seem to appeal to an entitled consumer? Have it your way because you’re entitled. “You deserve a break today”, to quote another burger chain slogan. If I deserve to have it my way, what else do I deserve? That could be the question that Adam and Eve asked themselves in the Garden.

 

They lived in perfect harmony with nature, each other and the Lord who created them. He provided everything they needed. They felt no guilt or shame; no jealousy or envy; no hate or vengefulness. Their life was perfect. They had everything they needed or wanted. But apparently it wasn’t enough. They still felt entitled.

 

⁴ “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. ⁵ “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”

⁶ The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too.           NLT

 

What was the result of their actions of entitlement? Adam and Eve were thrown out of paradise, and into the wilderness. Why would they do such a thing? Certainly, you nor I would have. Wrong!

 

Who hasn’t felt entitled to cut someone off in traffic; to say something hurtful to someone; to tell a half truth, or leave out the whole truth, when it’s to our benefit; to act out a self-serving behavior that gets us what we want. And, like Adam and Eve, entitlement can result in us living in the wilderness.

 

Thankfully, the Lord has promised a new home for us to go to that will be every much as perfect as Eden. Not because we are entitled to it, but because He loves us no matter what. And because of that love, He sent His one and only son to make it possible.

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams

 

 

You can Change the World

A Series on Women in the Bible
 (Use the link below to read the verses.)
2 Kings 11:1-12

 [God worked in and through the lives of countless women in the Bible. These women played significant, if not critical roles in the Lord’s plan of Redemption. In this series, we will look at the faithfulness of some of these God fearing women.]

 

² But Ahaziah’s sister Jehosheba… took Ahaziah’s infant son, Joash, and stole him away from among the rest of the king’s children, who were about to be killed. She put Joash and his nurse in a bedroom, and they hid him… so the child was not murdered.        NLT

 

Jehosheba was a hero who, at great risk to herself, not only saved the life of a prince, but also preserved the covenant line of David. It was a time of political intrigue, prophetic cleansing and social upheaval. But, I’m getting ahead of myself. Jehosheba’s story started long before this.

 

The Lord made an covenant with David that his lineage would result in an eternal kingdom. Following the death of David’s son Solomon, the nation of Israel was divided into two; Israel in the north and Judah in the south.

 

From that point forward, the kings who ruled both nations were rated good or bad, depending on whether they were faithful to the Lord. The book of 1 Kings closes with a great conflict between Elijah the prophet and Ahab, the king of Israel.

 

Joram, who was the son of Ahab, eventually became king of Israel. At the same time Ahaziah, who was related to Ahab by marriage, was the king of Judah. Like Ahab, they both did evil in the sight of the Lord.

 

Meanwhile, the prophet Elisha sent another prophet to anoint Jehu as the king of Israel with the mission to destroy the house of Ahab, including Joram the king. Once anointed, Jehu did just that by killing both Joram and Ahaziah.

 

When Athaliah, the mother of King Ahaziah, learned that her son was dead, she began to destroy the rest of the royal family which included the children of Ahaziah; her own grandchildren.

 

Jehosheba was the sister of Ahaziah. When she learned of the plot to kill all the children, she rescued Joash, her brother’s son and her nephew. Seven years later, a plan was developed to bring Joash to power as the king of Israel.

 

In so doing, they averted Athaliah’s attempt to destroy the house of David which was a direct attack on God’s redemptive plan. Jehosheba’s quick actions helped change the world.

 

The Lord will provide you and me opportunities to do the same thing; to change the world. We may not change the world on a global scale, but our actions can change the world of another individual. Just like Jehosheba did.

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams

 

 

A Clean Desk is a Sign of a Sick Mind

A Series on Women in the Bible
 (Use the link below to read the verses.)
John 11:17-44

[God worked in and through the lives of countless women in the Bible. These women played significant, if not critical roles in the Lord’s plan of Redemption. In this series, we will look at the faithfulness of some of these God fearing women.]

  

There are two types of people in this world; those that are organized, and those that aren’t. 

You can easily identify which category a person falls into by looking at their desk. Over the years, I’ve come across people whose desk looked like a tornado hit it. Their belief seems to be, “A clean desk is a sign of a sick mind!”

 

In contrast, the desk of an organized person is very… organized. Everything is in its proper place; in neat piles, systematically located for the right time. If somebody dares to move something on their desk, the organized person can tell immediately.

 

Both of these types of individuals fulfill a role in society; both have gifts to be utilized; both also have a part to play in God’s plan. Last week I wrote about Mary of Bethany. She had a sister by the name of Martha, who would probably be considered organized; or at the very least, functional.

 

In John 11, Martha had a very functional, if not theological discussion with Jesus. This was during the pain and grief following the death of her brother Lazarus.

 

²¹ Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died…

²⁵ Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me
will live, even after dying. ²⁶ Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?”

²⁷ “Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.”          NLT

 

A little later, when Jesus was about to call Lazarus out from the dead, this exchange took place between Jesus and Martha, making you wonder if she would ever truly get it.

 

³⁸ Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. ³⁹ “Take away the stone,” he said.

“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”                  

⁴⁰ Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”            NIV

 

Yes, Martha was very functional, pragmatic and analytic; dealt in the realm of ideas more than feelings or relationships; liked to keep busy with her hands rather than to contemplate; was highly organized, and maybe even a little OCD.

And yet, she was a child of God; someone who knew Jesus personally. She had a role and a purpose in his brief ministry on earth. She was a follower of Jesus who knew who he was, and what his mission was.

 

Time and again, Jesus showed Martha grace and mercy; the same grace and mercy that he shows us.

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams

 

 

From the Heart

A Series on Women in the Bible
 (Use the link below to read the verses.)
John 12:1-11

 [God worked in and through the lives of countless women in the Bible. These women played significant, if not critical roles in the Lord’s plan of Redemption. In this series, we will look at the faithfulness of some of these God fearing women.]

  

This year will be my wife and my 47^th wedding anniversary! I’ve never paid much attention to what you’re supposed to give your wife for an anniversary gift based on the year. However, apparently, year # 48 is “home improvement”. We did that this year by having our bathroom remodeled. Can that count for our 47^th?

 

This does raise the question of, “How do you show your love to someone special”?

 

The obvious answer is that you try to make them feel special by spending time with them, giving them a thoughtful gift and telling them how much you love them. However, sometimes the most effective way of saying “I love you”, is not using words, but a spontaneous expression from the heart. That’s what Mary of Bethany did.

 

Six days before the Passover, when Jesus would be crucified, he went to Bethany to visit his good friends Mary, Martha and Lazarus. They were having a dinner in Jesus’ honor; something about raising Lazarus from the dead. During the dinner, Martha was busy serving, but not Mary.

 

³ Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.          NLT

 

The value of the perfume was nearly a year’s wage for a laborer. In today’s economy, that could be $50,000 or more. But it wasn’t the size of the gift that mattered, it was Mary’s heart; and Mary had a tender heart.

 

Previously, when Lazarus had died and Mary approached Jesus, she was so overcome with emotion that she fell at his feet and cried.

 

³³ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled… ³⁵ Jesus wept.           John 11 NIV

 

Mary was showing her love and grief, not because it was the right thing to do, or because it was expected, but because it was a natural expression of her heart.

 

How easy it is to lose sight of our heart; to show our faith out of habit; to think, “I’m a good Christian. I go to church, serve on a committee, pray, read my Bible and tithe”. But our Heavenly Father doesn’t want those things as much he wants our heart.

 

I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings.        Hosea 6:6 NLT

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams

 

 

 

Once Upon a Time… The End

A Series on Women in the Bible
 (Use the link below to read the verses.)
Acts 18:1-26

 [God worked in and through the lives of countless women in the Bible. These women played significant, if not critical roles in the Lord’s plan of Redemption. In this series, we will look at the faithfulness of some of these God fearing women.]

  

“Once upon a time” is the proper way to start a story.

 

Of course, we all have a story to tell. It’s a story about events, circumstances and people whose lives have intersected with ours. People who have had an impact on us, and we on them. For me, it was people like Greg, Lynn, Ken, Allan, Dick, Mark, Bob and others. You can probably come up with your own list for your story.

 

People come into our lives and we have no idea how their life will change ours; or how we will change their life. This was the case of Priscilla and Aquila, husband and wife, and Paul, with whom they happened to cross paths.

 

Priscilla and Aquila had lived in Italy but were deported when all the Jews were forced to leave. They went to Corinth where they met Paul during his third missionary trip. Because they were both tent makers, they hit it off and worked together. Not only did they make tents, but they also spread the Gospel.

 

When Paul left Corinth to continue his missionary trip, Priscilla and Aquila went with him. Their next stop was Ephesus, where eventually Priscilla and Aquila stayed when Paul left.

 

While in Ephesus, a Jewish believer named Apollos arrived and began to speak boldly about Jesus. However, his understanding of the Gospel was incomplete. Here’s how God used Priscilla and Aquila in his life.

 

²⁵ Apollos had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. ²⁶ He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.            NIV

 

Priscilla and Aquila were also well known throughout the Christian world because they had been committed to sharing the Gospel. Paul spoke of them as his “co-workers in Christ”; all because they crossed paths in Corinth with Paul.

 

“The End” is the proper way to finish a story. 

Back in the day, all the movies finished with a big finish which included the words “The End” prominently displayed on the screen. But for you and me, as long as we’re still kicking, our story continues; it’s not “The End”.

 

So the question for us, is who has the Lord brought into our life? Whose life will we build into today for Jesus?

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams