wait on Him... 1 Thessalonians 1:8-10...

For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you

in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth

everywhere, so that we need not say anything.

For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception

we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols

to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven,

whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

1 Thessalonians 1:8-10 ESV

Paul commended the faith of the church at Thessalonica... 

the Word of the Lord sounded forth from them...

they turned from idols... to serve the living God...

and waited... for Jesus to return...

How faithful are you...? according to these parameters...?

Does the Word of the Lord sound forth from your life...? in speech...? in action...?

Who are you serving...? idols...? or the true and living God...?

What are you waiting for...?

Waiting on Him to return...

sharing His Word...

serving Him...

this is faith...

lean on Him... Psalm 40:1-3...

I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.

He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog,

and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.

He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.

Psalm 40:1-3 ESV

In an earlier lean on Him... post... we saw waiting as a sign of trust in God...

We don't wait for people who aren't going to show up...

Here... in Psalm 40... the psalmist waited patiently for the Lord...

he waited in a pit... a miry bog...

he called out to God... trusting Him...

and He acted...

God drew Him out...

set him in a secure place...

on a rock... 

the Rock...

Trusting in God... waiting on Him...

resulted in His action...

and the psalmist was filled with a new song of praise...

But the greatest benefit... in addition to being rescued...

was the witness he gave to those in his circle of influence...

The psalmist's trust in God...

led many others to trust in Him too...

How amazing...

Our patient trust in Him...

draws others to Him...

Don't ever think people aren't watching...

to see if you believe... trust... rely on... Him...

because they are...

and in that pit... whatever pit it might be...

you have an opportunity to witness to others...

just how great He is...

All authority in heaven and earth has been given to Him...

go therefore and make disciples...

by living out your trusting faith in Him...

Amen...

unless we are transparent...

I challenged her when she came in the shop to pick up Bible study material...

We talked about the importance of having a safe place for Believers to witness to one another about faith... share the things He's done in our lives... even the hard things... our own sin... others' sins against us... and how He's used it... healed it...

She said... That's the stuff I shove to the back...

I said... Unless we are transparent... others can't see Jesus in us...

Unless we are transparent... open... about our lives...
past struggles... failures... abuses...
others can't see where He's walked us through to the other side...

Unless we are transparent... open... about our lives...
current struggles... failures... abuses...
others can't offer... their stories of healing...

The next day... after I challenged her...
an opportunity came... for Him to challenge me...
Be transparent...

I failed to seize the moment...
but the challenge is planted...
and I'm sure... I will... take the step to...
be... transparent...

...Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Colossians 1:27 ESV

full day... full heart...

A full day...
in His presence...
serving Him...
sharing what He's done in me...
encouraging another with His Word...
leaves me with a full heart...

So full... there aren't really words...
humbled... blessed... filled with thanks...

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,

teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom,

singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,

with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Colossians 3:16 ESV

Think I covered all this today... 

except for the singing...

so here we go...

[email subscribers... click here to sing along... or click the post title to view on Jeremiah's Menu...]

and here's another...

[email subscribers... ditto above... click here or post title...]

who's watching...?

Thoughts from Sunday... trigger thoughts here... for today...

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 ESV

Believers... we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses... that these watchful eyes... should inspire the laying aside of everything dragging us down... and sin that binds...

In context... this verse follows the great list of faithful... the witnesses referred to here... those done running... successfully lived out lives of faith... endured... and they should encourage us to run well too... but I just wonder... 

Who else is watching...?

A world of unbelievers watches... our performance in the race reveals the validity of what we say we believe... 

The most important of these unbelievers... our own children... grandchildren... nieces... nephews... those running after us...

No one comes into this world believing (with the exception of Jesus)... we all must come to a point where we decide what we believe based on the evidence laid out before us...

What have your children witnessed in your life...?

What about neighbors...? coworkers...? friends...?

It makes me squirm... just a bit... to consider what others see in me as evidence of faith...?

Have I laid down every weight...? fear...? anxiety...? 

These things I used to power lift...

Have I replaced them with trust in Him...? 

Oh... and sin... that which clings... entangles... 

What is seen...? selfishness...? sarcasm...? words that bite...? arrogance...? (That's as far as I'll go here...)

Have I been growing in holiness...? 

Do I walk the walk...? or just talk the talk...?

Who is watching...?

He's watching...

Fear of the Lord should definitely inspire endurance... 

but most of all... 

His love... 

the love that motivated Him... 

to endure... 

for the joy set before Him...

So how do we run... surrounded by onlookers... witnesses...?

... looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith,

who for the joy set before him endured the cross...

Hebrews 12:2 ESV

Let His love for you... 

ignite love for Him... 

and in turn love for others...

You can't run the race... any better than this...

Just keep asking yourself... Who's watching...?