SOLID FOOD

February 25, 2020 | lindamowles

We enjoy eating in various restaurants, as our widening girth exhibits. We travel in a recreational vehicle (RV) for long trips, and we eat “at home” in the RV dining room or outside on the patio. Occasionally, however, we like to try the local cuisine in a restaurant.

In Wisconsin, for example, we ate at Bullhead’s Restaurant. Bill had pork ribs and sausage and all its trimmings.

Pork sausage food — Pork dinner at Bullhead’s Restaurant

I had broasted chicken.

Broasted chicken food — Broasted chicken at Bullhnead’s Restaurant

The meals were delicious and, in fact, the second night we were at that campground, we went to Bullhead’s again and repeated our order from the prior day!

The point, however, is that these meals were solid food. We are adults, way past the age of infancy. Infants could not enjoy these meals because infants cannot eat solid food.

In Hebrews 5:12-14, the writer of Hebrews chastises the people because they were acting as infants in the Lord, needing milk because they were incapable of eating solid food.

You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

Milk is good, I like it and have it often with my breakfast. But solid food is sooooo much better than just milk.

How does the writer of Hebrews identify the mature Christian, the one who can, and does, eat solid food?

It is the person who has trained his/her powers of discernment to distinguish good from evil.

And how did they train their ability to be discerning?

By constant practice.

We all start this life as infants who can feed only on milk. We graduate to infant oatmeal and other cereals and then to baby food. After the infant’s teeth arrive, some solid food is given.

As Christians, we are born into the family of God as infants who need milk to survive. But the Christian life is not determined by calendar age. Someone in their teens may have been a Christian longer and studied the Word more than an individual who came to faith in Christ in their 70s.

In short, maturity in the Christian is determined by the ability of the individual to eat solid food. The ability to develop and repeatedly practice his/her discernment so that he/she can tell what is good and what is evil. The ability to discern when a teaching is leading them away from the straight and narrow road. The mature Christians do their best to present themselves to God as workers who have “no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15

Beloved, don’t be a Christian who is stuck “dining on milk alone”. Read the Scripture, listen to sound teaching, study the Bible and develop a discerning spirit so that you can identify when teaching is leading you astray.

In the Christian classic Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan presents a picture of a man named Christian and his journey from being Graceless to his entrance in the Celestial City. At one point, Christian is walking the road called Salvation. It is described like this:

Now I saw in my dream that the highway up which Christian was to travel was fenced on either side with a wall, and that wall was called Salvation. Up this way, therefore, Christian did run, but not without great difficulty because of the load on his back.

This picture is described in the writing of the prophet Isaiah where God says;

In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city; he sets up salvation as walls and bulwarks.

Isaiah 26:1

Further along in Isaiah’s prophesy he says this:

And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.

Isaiah 35:8

Jesus spoke of the way of salvation, characterizing it as having a narrow gate that is hard to find but which leads to life eternal.

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Matthew 7:13-14

Beloved, develop a discerning spirit that can show you right from wrong. Don’t walk along the wide road to destruction – follow the straight road of salvation that leads to eternal life. Don’t be satisfied with milk. Become mature Christians who can feast on the Word of God, who study so that they will know their God and Savior through the power of the Holy Spirit, and who stay on the narrow road. It will be hard, but nothing worthwhile is easy!

Blessings to you as you walk along the Way.

Father, thank You for Scripture that tells us how to grow and mature into Christians who are discerning and who refuse to leave the narrow road in favor of the easier one. I pray that I would have the dedication and purpose to be steadfast in my walk with my Lord.

AGAINST ALL ODDS

September 7, 2018September 8, 2018 | lindamowles

The Arlington International Racecourse is located in Arlington Heights, Illinois. The track officially opened in 1927 with 20,000 people as Jockey Joe Boliero won riding a horse named Luxembourg to victory.

In 1981 Arlington was the home of the world’s first million-dollar thoroughbred race: The Arlington Million.

The result of that race is immortalized in bronze at the top of the paddock at Arlington, where a statue shows jockey Bill Shoemaker riding John Henry as the horse charged down the stretch, coming from way back, to catch The Bart at the wire.

It was a thrilling come-from-behind victory over the 40 to 1 long shot, and the statue celebrates Thoroughbred racing’s inaugural million dollar race. The sculpture’s name is “Against All Odds.”

The sculpture is captivating; it is mesmerizing. You can feel the tension, hear the crowd, see the strain and effort of both horse and jockey. The horse ran the race and, against all odds, became the champion, receiving the victor’s crown at the end.

Running the race is, of course, a paramount objective at Arlington. It is also a paramount objective of the Christian. I don’t mean that each of us must go to a race track and run a marathon, sprint, or even a trip around the track’s oval.

Rather, I am referring to running the race in our witness and daily walk with the Lord.

The Apostle Paul uses the race analogy often in his letters to the churches of his day as an illustration of the dedication and focus the Christian should have in spreading the gospel of Christ. Consider the following passages:

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. but I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

“An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.”

2 Timothy 2:5

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,“

Hebrews 12:1

Ultimately, Paul says:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

2 Timothy 4:7

The horses competing in the race rely on the jockey and their training to carry them through at the race. They only have their own resources to rely upon, and on that day in 1981, John Henry pulled out the stops and won the race, receiving his crown. It was a perishable crown, but that is not what the Christian race is all about. The Christian’s crown will be presented by the Lord Jesus Christ and it will be an imperishable crown. In the words of our Lord:

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Matthew 6:19-21

Train yourself physically, mentally, and spiritually for the race that is set before you. Keep running the race even when it is hard and you are tired. Remember that you have the Holy Spirit to strengthen you, to guide you and to give you the words to speak as you witness to others of Jesus and His love.

The race we are in as Christians is not one on which to wager. Our running is secure in Jesus and through His grace, power and might we will, like Paul, fight the good fight, finish the race, and keep the faith.

Father, I pray that You would enable me to finish the race You have set before me. I pray, too, that I would keep the faith You have given me and that I would persevere to the end as Your child, through Jesus Christ my Lord and my Redeemer.

ARE YOU A SOLDIER?

August 28, 2018August 28, 2018 | lindamowles

We love to take pictures of courthouses as we travel. It is understandable since I spent 30 years in the practice of law and was in many courthouses throughout the Southeast United States.

On a visit to Vicksburg, Mississippi, we saw the old Warren County Courthouse and decided to look around. As we were leaving the courthouse, we saw a plaque in honor of the soldiers from Vicksburg and Warren County, Mississippi, who fought in World War II. The poem at the top of the granite block is entitled SOLDIERS and it reads:

We were that which others did not want to be, we went where others feared to go, and did what others failed to do. We were … AMERICAN SOLDIERS.

Monument to american soldiers outside vicksburg old courthouse — Monument in Vicksburg, Mississippi

The word “soldier” brings up many different emotions, memories, experiences to people, but I suspect that for the vast majority of people, the word “soldier” encompasses the concept of one who is willing to deny themselves for the benefit of others. That is certainly what is within the words on the Warren County monument to Company B of the 106^th Engineer (Combat) Battalion, 31st Infantry (Dixie) Division of the Mississippi National Guard in the 1940s.

The Apostle Paul was certainly well acquainted with the role that soldiers had in the Roman world. He, after all, was imprisoned on more than one occasion, and each time there were soldiers who guarded him who undoubtedly heard Paul’s witness for Christ.

“And when we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who guarded him.”

Acts 28:16

Therefore, it is not surprising that Paul used the analogy of being a soldier when referring to serving Christ Jesus in our walk through this life. Specifically, in 2 Timothy, Paul told the young preacher:

“Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.”

2 Timothy 2:3-4

Being a soldier for Jesus reminds me of a song that I sang as a young child. It was sung to the tune of The Old Gray Mare and the words went like this:

I may never march in the infantry; Ride in the cavalry; .Shoot the artillery.

I may never fly o’er the enemy; But I’m in the Lord’s army!

Yes Sir! [with a child’s salute]

The concept of being a soldier is especially strong in my heart today as, this past weekend, one of our congregation’s covenant children and a recent high school graduate left our town and flew to the other side of the world so she could work with a mission organization in Asia.

She will be in a culture totally foreign to her, away from her family, for a year. She is, in the truest sense of the term, a soldier for Jesus Christ in a foreign land.

I pray that the Lord will bless her work and will bring many to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ because of her witness. I pray that the Lord will give her peace and comfort as she is away from home for such a long time, and I pray that she will be supported through the prayers of the congregation that she left in our town. [As a parent, I pray too that the Lord will give grace, comfort and peace to her family who will miss her presence daily.]

But, the fact that she left to do her work in the Lord’s army does not mean that there is no such work for me, or for you, to do. We are all called to be soldiers for Jesus, no matter if it is in a foreign land or across the street. To paraphrase the Vicksburg granite monument,

We are called to love those who others would not, we will go where others fear to go, and we will give witness even when others fail to do so. We are … SOLDIERS OF THE KING.

Listen to my husband’s favorite hymn as presented by 101 Strings on the album Amazing Grace Songs of Faith and Inspiration, “Onward Christian Soldiers”.

Father, I praise You for giving us the gift of Jesus Christ as our Savior, Redeemer and King. I pray that I would be a soldier in your army who operates in accordance with your orders, and that I would be fruitful in my witness as I do your work in my world.

Pedal! and Perseverance

August 16, 2016 | lindamowles

There is a story that I came across many years ago, and it speaks to me as I consider my journey with Jesus Christ. It has been duplicated numerous times so you may already have heard it, but I do ask that you read it and think, again, about your own perseverance in the Christian walk.

At first I saw God as my observer, my judge, keeping track of the things I did wrong, so as to know whether I merited heaven or hell when I die. He was out there sort of like a president. I recognized His picture when I saw it, but I really didn’t KNOW him.

But later on when I met Christ, it seemed as though life was rather like a bike ride, but it was a tandem bike, and I noticed Christ was in the back helping me pedal. I don’t know just when it was that He suggested that we change places, but life has not been the same since he took over steering the bike.

When I had control, I knew the way. It was rather boring, but predictable… it was the shortest distance between two points. But when He took the lead, He knew delightful long cuts, up mountains, and through rocky places at breakneck speeds, it was all I could do to hang on! Even though it looked like madness, He said “Pedal”.

I worried and was anxious and asked, “Where are you taking me?” He laughed and didn’t answer, and I started to learn trust. I forgot my boring life and entered into the adventure. And when I’d say, “I’m scared,” He would lean back and touch my hand.

He took me to people with gifts that I needed, gifts of healing, acceptance and joy. They gave me gifts to take on my journey, my Lord’s and mine. And we were off again. He said “Give the gifts away, they’re extra baggage, too much weight.” So I did, to the people we met, and I found that in giving I received, and yet still our burden was light.

I did not trust Him, at first, in control of my life. I thought He’d wreck it; but He knows bike secrets, knows how to make it bend to take sharp corners, knows how to jump to clear high rocks, knows how to fly to shorten scary passages. And I am learning to shut up and pedal in the strangest places, and I’m beginning to enjoy the view and the cool breeze on my face with my delightful constant companion, Jesus Christ.

And when I’m sure I just can’t do anymore, He just smiles and says … “Pedal!”

(Author unknown)

There are many theological words we could insert into this story, but the verbal picture drawn for us is sufficient for our purposes. Life is hard – the Christian life is harder, especially if you try to do it on your own. Your way is simply not good enough … we cannot live a sinless life. That is the reason that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was necessary. We need to come to the Lord Jesus Christ in faith and repentance, and only then can we rely on His strength to enable us to persevere.

In Second Timothy Paul encourages the young pastor to endure even when the “going gets tough”. In these days of the Olympics in Rio, we can more fully understand Paul’s reference:

An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.

2 Timothy 2:5.

It is foolish for us to think we can satisfy God on our own, that we can compete in this world according to our rules and not those of the Creator God as established in the Bible. Do we really think we are bigger and know better than God? REALLY?

Sin has broken the connection between us and the Creator God. There simply is nothing that we can do to fix that situation because anything we do is just as dirty and sinful as we are. There must be Someone Who lived a perfect, sinless life, and Who was willing to be the sacrifice to pay for the sins that we have committed, so that we could be reunited with God. That Person is Jesus Christ, the Lord of Lords and King of Kings.

The Apostle Paul says:

And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

2 Corinthians 1:21-22. The Holy Spirit is our guarantee of salvation and perseverance. What a blessing!

Jesus describes our security in Him as we persevere in our walk with Him in the Gospel of John:

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

John 6:37-40.

The Apostle John reiterates that which Jesus spoke in the Revelation of Jesus Christ. Regarding Jesus presenting us to His Father in Heaven if we are faithful to Him, Revelation 3:5 states:

The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.

Perseverance in the Christian life. It really is not based on our own efforts. We must yield control of our life to Christ, but even that we cannot do on our own! Rather it is an ability that we receive from the Lord as the Holy Spirit indwells us and supplies the power that we personally do not have.

We still must run the race and exert as much effort that we can muster, as if we were athletes competing in the Olympics, but at the end of the day we must recognize that it is God who worked through us. The Apostle Paul reminds us:

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

1 Corinthians 3:6-7.

So, when you want to give up on your Christian walk, when you feel totally inadequate, when you think that you can give no more … listen to Jesus say “Pedal”. Rely on Him and He will see you through as He uses you for His purposes, all to His glory and honor.

Father, forgive me when I have foolishly tried to do Your work in my own strength. What folly! Enable me to see when I am grabbing control and let me release my grip and rely on You. May my reliance on You be my first choice, instead of my last resort. Forgive me, Lord. Your way is always the best, most beautiful and enduring way there could possibly be. Thank you Father for calling me and for granting me the blessing of a relationship with Your Son and the presence of Your Holy Spirit.