1444AFC110114 – Delighted to be here
Read it online here, please.
Romans 5:5 – Now this hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
Good morning, Beloved. Here we are at the end of October. It seems this year has flown by so quickly; that supports the old adage “Time flies when you’re having fun.” It has been an enjoyable year for Crucita and me. Today, 10/31/14, is the 304th day of 2014, and also the 304th day of “retirement.” Many of you know I still put in 16 hours a week at Hawaii Home Infusion Associates, so I’m not completely out of the workforce; but still, I’m not working 40+ hours a week either. It’s nice. One of the best things about it is that we get to sleep longer – and more often – than we did when we were working full time. It was one of the things I was really looking forward to as we planned our retirement date. Another really great aspect of this new lifestyle is that we spend more time together, and that was another benefit we looked forward to. We got a lot of what we hoped for, and to our surprise, not as much of what might have given us apprehension. In fact, as we look back over the year, we have been blessed in unexpected ways, in ways we could not have hoped for because we didn’t even know about them. God did, though, and blessings definitely changed our lives. Those changes open the way to even more blessings.
Perhaps you are thinking now that it’s a little out of character to point this out. As Christians, we’re not really supposed to brag about what God has given us. All of us are given gifts – we’ve shown that many times in these messages – and all of us make choices about if, when, where, and how we use those gifts. Crucita and I have been given many gifts. One of the best gifts is to understand the necessity of using those gifts. It almost becomes redundant to talk about being gifted with the gift of gifts which can be gifted to others. Try saying that three times fast! But this is a concept that is Biblical – gifts are multiplied. Let’s look at John 1:16 – From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. Perhaps this could mean we have received the grace of being in Christ instead of under the Law. I can see that point of view; however, for me it feels more like we are given the grace – the unmerited favor – to receive grace. When we choose to accept that grace to receive grace we are open to additional gifts of grace so that the graces we have are always greater than our capacity to receive them – our cup overflows. This super-abundant provision of blessings is God’s modus operandi; is just the way he rolls. His blessings are always available to us. We have only to accept them, and they are ours.
Let’s look back at Jeremiah 9:23-24 where we read – Thus says the Lord: Do not let the wise boast in their wisdom, do not let the mighty boast in their might, do not let the wealthy boast in their wealth; but let those who boast boast in this, that they understand and know me, that I am the Lord; I act with steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the Lord. Living within the blessings of God entails obedience; for the people living under the First Covenant of the Law, it meant obeying the Law – and as we saw last week that Law was based on love of God and neighbor. When God chose a People for his own, he wanted them to live in his blessing and grace; they were to show the rest of the world the goodness and wisdom of God. Other nations would look at Israel and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ (See Deuteronomy 4:6-8 and 2 Samuel 7:23).
In Isaiah 60:3 God tells Israel “All nations will come to your light; mighty kings will come to see your radiance.” God wants to be known by all nations. He chose Israel as his elect people to become a nation of “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (See Exodus 19:6) God’s plan of Salvation – the covenant spoke to Adam and Eve in Eden – included all people of all times and all places, of all nations and all souls. God’s intent was that Israel would inspire other nations to recognize, love, honor, and obey him. In so doing they – Israel – would be blessed because they brought blessings to the entire world and all of history. It seems like an incredibly simple plan: Act with righteousness and you will be righteous. Show others your righteousness and they will desire righteousness. Those who desire righteousness will receive it and much, much more. Jesus summed it up this way: In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. (See Matthew 5:14-16) Crucita and I have been blessed to be candles lit and placed on the lampstand. It is grace upon grace. It is more than we could have ever hoped for.
Therefore, of course, we are not disappointed but instead delighted because we are so blessed. I want to share with you what that means the way it appears in scripture. In the Old Testament the word used is אֶשֶׁר ʼesher { eh’-sher} as in Deuteronomy 33:29 – Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord, the shield of your help, and the sword of your triumph! Your enemies shall come fawning to you, and you shall tread on their backs. It is happiness. That is true in the New Testament as well, as in The Beatitudes – ” Blessed are” is μακάριος (makários) { mak-ar’-ee-os} – to be happy because God has conferred his benefits in advantageous ways. Because of his extravagant generosity, those benefits and the happiness they bring are blatantly obvious to the people around us. Should we ever for some ridiculous reason decide we wanted to hide our happiness we derive from him, it would be impossible. Let me give you an example from a recent Bible study at our church.
There was a question about what we were reading in 1 Peter. The commentator asked “What are some admirable traits you recognize in … non-Christians in your civic community.” In our discussion we listed many of the same traits – graces – that we see (or expect) in Christians. One member in the group stated that some non-Christians are more “Christian” than some of us who claim to be Christian. Does that sound familiar? It is called secular ethics or secular moralism. It purportedly comes from human abilities such as logic, what some would call moral intuition, and is not derived from any external supernatural power (well, maybe “The Force” for some folks). There are lots and lots of good, moral, upstanding, gentle, kind, and loving people who want nothing to do with God; they reject the idea and the necessity of God and believe that what they are is entirely internal to themselves. Their inner nature is a god which is mightier in their lives than the God worshipped in the Abrahamic religions. What they do not know is that it is God – not themselves – who has blessed them with these graces which they choose to accept and use without acknowledging the Giver of all Good Gifts. They are happy, they make others happy, but they do not make God happy because they deny his impact on and authority in their lives. We know better than that, you and I, because we know the Trinity and their place in our lives.
Paul tells us that is “ because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Last week we ended with Jesus’ command to “Repent, and believe in the gospel.” The week before we concluded that our hope is in trusting that God has the power and intent to keep his promises. This week our conclusion is that God blesses us because it pleases him to do so – it makes him happy. Did you know you can do that – you can make God happy? In the Old Testament it is to kneel down – בּרך (bârak) { baw-rak’} before him in adoration thereby humbly acknowledging his Majesty and Glory shown through his blessing and protection. In the New Testament it is εὐλογία (eulogia) {yoo-log-ee’-ah} from eu “good” and logia “words” we have acts and speech which is eloquent adoration, celebration through praise.
You might recognize this as the root of the word eulogy. We make God happy by giving him praise – simply acknowledging and using the graces he has poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. When you say, “God has certainly blessed you / him / her / us / them / me,” you are delighting (blessing) God – making him happy –and for that God will delight you with another blessing for you. Is that cool or what?!?! This Little Light of mine can’t help but shine, shine, shine because I/you/we can – as the Psalmist said in Psalm 103:1-2 – Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits!
And now you know why my emails end with America Bless God!
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Beloved!
Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
1444AFC110114 – Delighted to be here
Read it online here, please.
Romans 5:5 – Now this hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
Good morning, Beloved. Here we are at the end of October. It seems this year has flown by so quickly; that supports the old adage “Time flies when you’re having fun.” It has been an enjoyable year for Crucita and me. Today, 10/31/14, is the 304th day of 2014, and also the 304th day of “retirement.” Many of you know I still put in 16 hours a week at Hawaii Home Infusion Associates, so I’m not completely out of the workforce; but still, I’m not working 40+ hours a week either. It’s nice. One of the best things about it is that we get to sleep longer – and more often – than we did when we were working full time. It was one of the things I was really looking forward to as we planned our retirement date. Another really great aspect of this new lifestyle is that we spend more time together, and that was another benefit we looked forward to. We got a lot of what we hoped for, and to our surprise, not as much of what might have given us apprehension. In fact, as we look back over the year, we have been blessed in unexpected ways, in ways we could not have hoped for because we didn’t even know about them. God did, though, and blessings definitely changed our lives. Those changes open the way to even more blessings.
Perhaps you are thinking now that it’s a little out of character to point this out. As Christians, we’re not really supposed to brag about what God has given us. All of us are given gifts – we’ve shown that many times in these messages – and all of us make choices about if, when, where, and how we use those gifts. Crucita and I have been given many gifts. One of the best gifts is to understand the necessity of using those gifts. It almost becomes redundant to talk about being gifted with the gift of gifts which can be gifted to others. Try saying that three times fast! But this is a concept that is Biblical – gifts are multiplied. Let’s look at John 1:16 – From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. Perhaps this could mean we have received the grace of being in Christ instead of under the Law. I can see that point of view; however, for me it feels more like we are given the grace – the unmerited favor – to receive grace. When we choose to accept that grace to receive grace we are open to additional gifts of grace so that the graces we have are always greater than our capacity to receive them – our cup overflows. This super-abundant provision of blessings is God’s modus operandi; is just the way he rolls. His blessings are always available to us. We have only to accept them, and they are ours.
Let’s look back at Jeremiah 9:23-24 where we read – Thus says the Lord: Do not let the wise boast in their wisdom, do not let the mighty boast in their might, do not let the wealthy boast in their wealth; but let those who boast boast in this, that they understand and know me, that I am the Lord; I act with steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the Lord. Living within the blessings of God entails obedience; for the people living under the First Covenant of the Law, it meant obeying the Law – and as we saw last week that Law was based on love of God and neighbor. When God chose a People for his own, he wanted them to live in his blessing and grace; they were to show the rest of the world the goodness and wisdom of God. Other nations would look at Israel and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ (See Deuteronomy 4:6-8 and 2 Samuel 7:23).
In Isaiah 60:3 God tells Israel “All nations will come to your light; mighty kings will come to see your radiance.” God wants to be known by all nations. He chose Israel as his elect people to become a nation of “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (See Exodus 19:6) God’s plan of Salvation – the covenant spoke to Adam and Eve in Eden – included all people of all times and all places, of all nations and all souls. God’s intent was that Israel would inspire other nations to recognize, love, honor, and obey him. In so doing they – Israel – would be blessed because they brought blessings to the entire world and all of history. It seems like an incredibly simple plan: Act with righteousness and you will be righteous. Show others your righteousness and they will desire righteousness. Those who desire righteousness will receive it and much, much more. Jesus summed it up this way: In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. (See Matthew 5:14-16) Crucita and I have been blessed to be candles lit and placed on the lampstand. It is grace upon grace. It is more than we could have ever hoped for.
Therefore, of course, we are not disappointed but instead delighted because we are so blessed. I want to share with you what that means the way it appears in scripture. In the Old Testament the word used is אֶשֶׁר ʼesher { eh’-sher} as in Deuteronomy 33:29 – Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord, the shield of your help, and the sword of your triumph! Your enemies shall come fawning to you, and you shall tread on their backs. It is happiness. That is true in the New Testament as well, as in The Beatitudes – ” Blessed are” is μακάριος (makários) { mak-ar’-ee-os} – to be happy because God has conferred his benefits in advantageous ways. Because of his extravagant generosity, those benefits and the happiness they bring are blatantly obvious to the people around us. Should we ever for some ridiculous reason decide we wanted to hide our happiness we derive from him, it would be impossible. Let me give you an example from a recent Bible study at our church.
There was a question about what we were reading in 1 Peter. The commentator asked “What are some admirable traits you recognize in … non-Christians in your civic community.” In our discussion we listed many of the same traits – graces – that we see (or expect) in Christians. One member in the group stated that some non-Christians are more “Christian” than some of us who claim to be Christian. Does that sound familiar? It is called secular ethics or secular moralism. It purportedly comes from human abilities such as logic, what some would call moral intuition, and is not derived from any external supernatural power (well, maybe “The Force” for some folks). There are lots and lots of good, moral, upstanding, gentle, kind, and loving people who want nothing to do with God; they reject the idea and the necessity of God and believe that what they are is entirely internal to themselves. Their inner nature is a god which is mightier in their lives than the God worshipped in the Abrahamic religions. What they do not know is that it is God – not themselves – who has blessed them with these graces which they choose to accept and use without acknowledging the Giver of all Good Gifts. They are happy, they make others happy, but they do not make God happy because they deny his impact on and authority in their lives. We know better than that, you and I, because we know the Trinity and their place in our lives.
Paul tells us that is “ because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Last week we ended with Jesus’ command to “Repent, and believe in the gospel.” The week before we concluded that our hope is in trusting that God has the power and intent to keep his promises. This week our conclusion is that God blesses us because it pleases him to do so – it makes him happy. Did you know you can do that – you can make God happy? In the Old Testament it is to kneel down – בּרך (bârak) { baw-rak’} before him in adoration thereby humbly acknowledging his Majesty and Glory shown through his blessing and protection. In the New Testament it is εὐλογία (eulogia) {yoo-log-ee’-ah} from eu “good” and logia “words” we have acts and speech which is eloquent adoration, celebration through praise.
You might recognize this as the root of the word eulogy. We make God happy by giving him praise – simply acknowledging and using the graces he has poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. When you say, “God has certainly blessed you / him / her / us / them / me,” you are delighting (blessing) God – making him happy –and for that God will delight you with another blessing for you. Is that cool or what?!?! This Little Light of mine can’t help but shine, shine, shine because I/you/we can – as the Psalmist said in Psalm 103:1-2 – Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits!
And now you know why my emails end with America Bless God!
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Beloved!
Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
About Chick Todd
American Roman Catholic reared as a "Baptiterian" in Denver Colorado. Now living on Kauaʻi. USAF Vet. Married for over 50 years. Scripture study has been my passion ever since my first "Bible talk" at age 6 in VBS.
