A word spoken at the right time

NORSK, русский, Română, ქართული, Українська

King Solomon is the author of today’s headline, and the full proverb goes like this:

Like apples of gold in settings of silver
Is a word spoken at the right time.
Prov 25:11

It is simple to envisage the beauty and value of this jewellery or piece of art, and if you really have experienced being helped by a word spoken at the right time, you know that it can be more valuable than both gold and silver.

It has happened to me many times d uring my life, and that is why I also want God to speak through me so that other people can experience the blessing of being affirmed by God.

When I was a young lieutenant I got married to a beautiful young salvationist. It was love at first sight and we have been married for more than 40 years. The only inconvenience with the arrangement was that Magna was not an officer when we got married, which meant that I had to resign my officership. However, together we continued to serve as corps-leaders, and even though I was told that I had let the Army down I did not feel that had let God down in any way. That feeling came strongly a few months later. I was driving my car and lost control over it, and ended up in a severe accident. Magna escaped without a scratch, but I was seriously injured – and ended up in hospital for several weeks and had to undergo surgery twice. The reason why I felt I had let God down – and thereby confirmed that I also had let the Army down, was that I did not have a driving licence. I felt like a complete failure and that God never could use me anymore.

After being released from hospital and still on crutches I attended a large camp-meeting. There must have been 5-10.000 people in the congregation. Low in spirit we found some places far back in the hall. When the pastor Stanley Sjøberg from Sweden stood up to preach he said something like this:

Before I start my sermon this evening I have a message to a person in the congregation. You think that God has rejected you and that he will never be able to use you because you have broken the law, driven a car without a license and injured yourself in so doing. God wants you to know that you are forgiven and he will restore you into ministry.

For me these words were “like apples of gold in settings of silver” – therefore, I also know how important it is to eagerly desire to speak words that can bring healing to broken people.

‘Manna’ for today:

I want to speak a word in the right time!

Do you?
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Knowing the will of God - a step on the journey

NORSK
He thought he understood more than he understood. He wanted only the very best for his friend. He was ready to line up to fight for him. Didn’t the Master understand? I am referring to Peter and the event is well-known for Bible-readers.

When Peter in his confession had confirmed that the disciples knew who Jesus was; Jesus immediately began to teach that he had to go to Jerusalem to suffer persecution and die, and then to be raised from the dead on the third day. Peter’s reaction is spontaneous:

Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
Matt 16:22-23

I find these verses difficult, and I can only imagine with how difficult it must have been for Peter. But maybe he understood that Jesus was talking to Satan and not to him? Surely, it was Peter who had verbalised Satan's temptation for Jesus to choose a different path. 

However, this did not turn Peter into Satan, but manifested how typically human Peter was. The sin of the world is not all the consequences of sin, they are only symptoms; the sin is that people choose their own way rather than God's. Therefore, Peter was given a lesson in how important it is to seek the will of God before arriving at any solution based solely on the human lack of judgment.

‘Manna’ for today:

Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. (1)

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(1) Prov 3:6

Face and heart

NORSK
The verse I focus on today is from the section on self-centeredness which Paul encouraged Timothy to be aware off, and he had more to say about people of the last days: They are

Having an appearance indeed of godliness, but denying the power thereof
2 Tim 3:5a  

When we watch the world today it is easy to think these words with political leaders who are trying to play their cards to please the largest religious groups in their countries. Yet it is important to bear in mind that it is God who is the judge of human hearts. My task is to pray for governments and leaders, even for those with whom I disagree. We have a God who is far greater than any power in this world, and I believe in his influence. 

However, I want to take this down to my level. I have an appearance that signals godliness both through wearing the uniform of the Salvation Army and e.g. on Facebook with my reflection on Christian living and godliness. With regard to my personal relationship with God, appearance counts for nothing if the power of godliness is not working in my heart. 

In his proverbs, Solomon (another mentor) told his son to keep the good words he had learned in his heart, and then he wrote:

Above everything else guard your heart,
because from it flow the springs of life.
Proverbs 4:23 

It is completely in line with the core in Paul’s mentoring of Timothy.

With regard to finding a cure for self-centredness, this is the right medication: It is more important to save heart than face.

‘Manna’ for today

Focus on the heart, because from it flows the springs of life

A mentor is clear and direct

NORSK
The relationship between mentor and disciple is based on mutual trust. This means that they can speak clearly and directly with each other. Paul himself had a long period where Barnabas was his mentor. 

The relationship between them was not without conflicts. Barnabas made it clear that he would bring John Mark on their second mission-tour, Paul disagreed. This was the reason why they parted. Luke came on Paul’s team shortly after this incident, and he describes it as a bitter dispute (1). However, something good can arise from such situations: Instead of one team, they now had two good teams fighting for the same cause. It is confirmed by this verse:

As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.
Prov 27:17

It is apparent that Timothy experienced times of discouragement. Paul went directly to the cause:

I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.
2 Timothy 1:6-7

Paul understood that the reason for Timothy’s timid spirit, was that he did not operate in the gift he had received. I think the gifts are part of the precious treasure that God has given us with the gospel. There's nothing more refreshing than to give room for the Spirit and let him use my body as an instrument to work through. When that happens discouragement disappears, and I am filled with power, love and wisdom. The key sits with me!

The best thing I can say about discouragement, is that I am 100% sure that it does not come from God.

Today 'manna':

A mentor is always clear and direct.

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(1) Acts 15:39

It is about fruit that gives life

NORSK
Three weeks ago I wrote that holiness is about reproduction,  and some days later about the dream about fruit in abundance. Both reflections point towards the great possibility and quality of the fruit Solomon describes:

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life
Proverbs 11:30

A tree of life is synonym with eternal life (1). The fruit of a life lived in intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit, is to communicate eternal life to others. Then we really start talking about producing ‘fruit in keeping with repentance’ (2).

I have met people who are like a “tree of life” in the world. 
Last week I had the honour of being present at the funeral of Pavel Ivanovitch Bukalov (picture). He was that kind of tree. In the large congregation of 2-300 people, many were a direct fruit of Pavel’s passion to see people saved. In addition I know many who today are spread all over the world, whom Pavel by God’s grace has led to eternal life and who looks upon him as their spiritual father.

More than ever the world needs people whose fruit is a tree of life.

‘Manna’ for today:

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life

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(1) Gen 3:24
(2) Matt 3:8

It is about a fruit that is also a gift

NORSK
May be it would have been sensible to move on to another theme after yesterday having finished Paul’s list of qualities of the fruit of the Spirit (1), but I continue. That is because there are more qualities of the fruit which deserve a focus. This verse is an example:

From the mouth of the righteous comes the fruit of wisdom
Proverbs 10:31

An experienced Bible-reader is likely to immediately see that wisdom is also a gift of the Spirit. There will also be some who straight away see the connection between God’s Spirit and God’s wisdom, which are more or less used as synonyms in the Old Testament. And – in principle there is next to nothing that separates righteousness from holiness.

I do not think that it is important to make a distinction between wisdom as fruit and wisdom as a gift of the Spirit, but if I should dare a very simple explanation, it will be as follows:
All fruit, including the fruit of wisdom, come as a natural consequence of the intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit, whilst one who ‘is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom’ (2) receives the gift as a kind of revelation in a given situation.

Either way, wisdom is one of the qualities that God cherishes (3), and that which he cherishes, is also my uttermost desire.

‘Manna’ for today:

Holiness is about the fruit of God’s wisdom

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(1) Gal 5:22-23
(2) 1 Cor 12:8
(3) Here are a couple of examples:

• When God said to Solomon: “Ask whatever you want me to give you” – Solomon prayed for wisdom, and the prayer pleased God. The passage is found in 1 Kings 3:5-15
• See also: ‘God’s Wisdom Revealed by the Spirit’ in 1 Cor 2:6-16

It is about knowing, as in…. #1

NORSK
I am going to play on the word knowing for a couple of days. The chorus I quoted yesterday contains the word, which in Norwegian can have at least three interpretations, and since all are important when I explore the well of holiness. The line I am referring to is:

“Be at rest and know that I am the Lord!”

Today, it is about knowing as in “learning”, meaning seeking knowledge about the Lord. If I want to be holy, I need to know as much as possible about the Lord. There are several ways of doing that. A good way is to start early, as in the example of Timothy:

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Tim 3:14-17  

I was fortunate to have this kind of upbringing, and I praise God for it. If you have not been in the same position, the well I drank from – “All Scripture” = The Bible – is still available as the most important source to give knowledge about God and his holiness. 

The process of knowing should never stop with knowledge about God – therefore all the aspects of knowing needs to be explored, but we should never forget the importance of learning:

Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it.
Prov 22:6  

‘Manna’ for today:

Learning is an important part of knowing!

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