Martial Arts

                                                   

      

Aloha Dearest Family,

            Lately I’ve been watching video clips of Martial Arts movies. It’s fun to watch the hero “Kung-Fu” artists like Bruce Lee, Steven Segal, Jean-Claude Van Damme or Donnie Yen playing Ip Man, kicking butt. And it seems that everyone else in the fight also knows some form of Martial Arts. But no matter how badly the bad guys get beat, they always go back for more punishment.

            But I’ve also noticed that the hero wins (eventually) because of his own unmatched skill. It’s obvious that he or she had learned more fighting techniques, had more expert training or spent some time in a Shaolin temple, so he or she has more skill than the thugs that they are fighting. But that’s what makes these movies fun.

            However, when God calls us, He knows that we are not trained for the calling. He didn’t call us because of our skill, talent or natural ability (or Kung Fu moves). When God called us to the faith, He looked upon our heart and saw someone He could work with; someone who was teachable and would obey Him. God knows that HE is all that we would ever need; and with Him, we could accomplish what He has called us to do.

            I think of Joshua and Caleb after they had helped spy out the Promised Land. Ten men came back with a dire report about the inhabitants of the land which made the people afraid. But Joshua and Caleb had a different attitude. They were excited about going in and taking the land at once.

             “Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” (Numbers 13:30)

             “..and (Joshua) said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.” (Numbers 14:7-9)

 How could they be so confidant? Was it because Joshua and Caleb were experienced soldiers and great fighters? Had they worked out an unbeatable strategy of how to take the land? Remember that 11 days earlier they were slaves in Egypt. It must have been that they recognized that God was with them and would fight with them. They would certainly win any battle if God was involved. But as the Bible records, Joshua and Caleb were ignored and the people believed the report of the 10 who were afraid to go. Israel then spent the next 40 years in the wilderness because of it.

            If you look at all the men and women in the Bible that God called, NONE of them had the natural abilities to do what He called them to do.

        Joseph, Moses and David were shepherds.

Jeremiah was the son of a priest.

Nehemiah was the king’s cup-bearer.

Peter, Andrew, James and John were fishermen.

Paul was a saddle-maker by trade.

 God worked with these individuals and helped them grow in their believing and their trust in the one who called them. This makes all the difference. God would equip them and be their helper in whatever He called them to do.

           “Now may the God of peace.. equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.“ (Hebrews 13:20a-21)

             God has not changed. He still works the same way today. We ALL have a calling but we do not need to be concerned accomplishing it in OUR OWN ability. He equips us with His strength and wisdom and we rely on HIS ability. HE is our sufficiency. He is a Creator that specializes in bringing the impossible to pass. He is all we will ever need.               

       “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;” (II Corinthians 3:5)

                       Love Always, Ray

             “God doesn’t call the equipped. He equips the called.” 

The Earnest of the Spirit

                                                                                                      

Aloha Dearest Family,

                In the King James Version of the Bible there is a phrase that is not easily understood. In fact, for many years, I skimmed over these words not really understanding what they meant. The phrase “earnest of the Spirit” remained a mystery to me until someone opened my eyes to the complete meaning. This phrase is used only three times in the New Testament and when understood they are very exciting for the Christian believer.

         “Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.” (II Corinthians 7:22)

         “Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.” (II Corinthians 5:55)

            "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”  (Ephesians 1:13 and 14)

                 If you are still confused, maybe you first need to understand the word “earnest.”  This word simply means a pledge.  In the times when the Bible was written, when someone wanted to purchase a piece of land, they would need to put down a deposit or earnest money for the land. This earnest money is similar to a down payment, guaranteeing that one day you would possess what you are purchasing. The idea of having an item in earnest means that this is just the first installment. I found a good definition: “A foretaste, installment, pledge, of anything afterwards to be received in greater abundance.” In spiritual terms, it refers to the spirit we received from God when we confessed Jesus Christ as our Lord and believed that God raised him from the dead, as being the first installment of something greater to come. When we were born again, God placed in us His gift of holy spirit. This spirit is a deposit, our guarantee that we will absolutely have a greater inheritance to come. This is the greatness of the word “earnest”. It is a little taste of the inheritance that is ours.

              I would now like to go back to the scriptures I used earlier, but this time from the New International Version. These give a better translation of the guarantee we have because of God’s spirit within us.

        “(God) set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”  (II Corinthians 1:22)

         “Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” (II Corinthians 5:5)

           “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, that is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:13 and 14)

 This is very exciting! Because the spirit within us, we have a deposit guaranteeing us an inheritance in God’s kingdom. YIPEE!! This inheritance cannot perish, spoil or fade away.

                 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you,..” (I Peter 1:3 and 4)

          Insert your own name into the word “you” because one day when Christ returns for us, we (you and I) will share in the inheritance that we didn’t earn. It was earned by Jesus Christ. He is the heir. But God says that WE are joint heirs with him.

         “The spirit itself bearing witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. And if children, their heirs of God, and joint-hears with Christ…” (Romans 8:16 and 17a)

 There’s no time to be down-hearted or discouraged today. God has given us His spirit and made us heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. This truth will never, ever change because it is God Almighty who declared it. 

                               

Love Always, Ray