I’m privileged today to be able to post a message by a friend of mine, a full-time missionary, Justin Spoonamore. Justin and his wife, April, pictured here, are currently back in the States, having come back for a few months to bring their new daughter into the world. In talking with Justin, I have come to understand that his worldview is very different from most American Christians, so I asked him to share some thoughts for today’s post. Enjoy!
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A Hindu said to a native missionary, "I am sure if I lead a good life and do what is right, giving up my bad habits, God will be pleased with me and receive me into heaven."
"That is the way most people reason today," replied the missionary. "You know the babul tree (a tree with long, sharp thorns). Now, suppose you break off from its branches a hundred or more of the nasty thorns, then will the tree cease to be a babul tree? Certainly not. Suppose you should apparently stop one or another or even many of your evil ways and habits, you would still remain the same like the babul tree. You must have an entirely new nature, must become a new man, in order to please God. Only Christ can give you a new heart."
The missionary's reply was sound and scriptural. The primary message of Christ to the world is that of sinful mankind's need of repentance.
Romans 6:10-13 “The death Jesus died, he died to sin once for all: but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.”
Ephesians 4:22-24 “You were taught with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
John 3:3 “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
I am sure that many of you have heard these verses before, but have you ever stopped and asked yourselves what they truly mean?
_________________________
A Hindu said to a native missionary, "I am sure if I lead a good life and do what is right, giving up my bad habits, God will be pleased with me and receive me into heaven."
"That is the way most people reason today," replied the missionary. "You know the babul tree (a tree with long, sharp thorns). Now, suppose you break off from its branches a hundred or more of the nasty thorns, then will the tree cease to be a babul tree? Certainly not. Suppose you should apparently stop one or another or even many of your evil ways and habits, you would still remain the same like the babul tree. You must have an entirely new nature, must become a new man, in order to please God. Only Christ can give you a new heart."
The missionary's reply was sound and scriptural. The primary message of Christ to the world is that of sinful mankind's need of repentance.
Romans 6:10-13 “The death Jesus died, he died to sin once for all: but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.”
Ephesians 4:22-24 “You were taught with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
John 3:3 “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
I am sure that many of you have heard these verses before, but have you ever stopped and asked yourselves what they truly mean?
Why is it that our new lives look so much like our old ones? If you are truly born again, shouldn’t your former way of life and every aspect of it truly be dead and gone? If we are given a new life, we have a new attitude and a new perspective on everything in this world. All the old views are gone; we are reliving everything looking through new eyes, thinking through a new mind, and feeling with a new heart created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
If I exit a Word document without saving it and open a new one, everything that was there before will be gone; it will be a new beginning. I challenge you all to take some time to look at everything you think, everything you do, every choice you make, every second you spend and ask yourself if they exhibit the true new birth you have been given. Are they truly righteous and holy?
Here’s a poem that articulates these truths:
You Tell on Yourself
You tell what you are by the friends you seek,
By the very manner in which you speak,
By the way you employ your leisure time,
By the use you make of dollar and dime.
You tell what you are by the things you wear,
By the spirit in which your burdens bear,
By the kind of things at which you laugh,
By records you play on the phonograph.
You tell what you are by the way you walk,
By the things of which you delight to talk,
By the manner in which you bear defeat,
By so simple a thing as how you eat.
By the books you choose from the well-filled shelf,
In these ways and more, you tell on yourself,
So there is really no particle of sense
In an effort to keep up false pretense.
Who are you living for? What does your life tell you? Who’s life is it anyway? Is Christ truly our foundation, or are we just saying that while continuing to live for ourselves?
2 Corinthians 5:15 “And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”
Make a decision today to live that new life, to let every part of who you were die and to make drastic differences in how you spend your time, how you think, and how you use the blessings that God has given you to manage: the life you live, the words you speak, the “free time hours,” the money you have, and the possibilities that living in the U.S.A. brings. After you have made these changes and continue to make them, read your life again. What does it say? Does your reborn life still look the same as it did before?
Tied to Old Habits
A drunken man entered his row boat one night to cross the river. He picked up the oars and pulled away, or so he thought. He rowed all night but did not reach the destination. When daylight came, he was surprised to find that he was just where he started the night before. He had forgotten to untie his boat.
So it is with many of the Lord's followers. They are tied to their habits, desires, wills, or some cherished idol or idols of the heart. Consequently, their lives are fruitless. Shorebound Christians never flourish and are of little or no help to others.
___________________
Wow. Powerful words, spoken from a person whose mission overseas has allowed him to experience a brand of Christianity so different than the shallow, self-serving one we have come to know in our Babylonian-like culture. May God forgive us for so abusing His grace that we treat it as common and a means to justify our self-indulgence.
Here’s a poem that articulates these truths:
You Tell on Yourself
You tell what you are by the friends you seek,
By the very manner in which you speak,
By the way you employ your leisure time,
By the use you make of dollar and dime.
You tell what you are by the things you wear,
By the spirit in which your burdens bear,
By the kind of things at which you laugh,
By records you play on the phonograph.
You tell what you are by the way you walk,
By the things of which you delight to talk,
By the manner in which you bear defeat,
By so simple a thing as how you eat.
By the books you choose from the well-filled shelf,
In these ways and more, you tell on yourself,
So there is really no particle of sense
In an effort to keep up false pretense.
Who are you living for? What does your life tell you? Who’s life is it anyway? Is Christ truly our foundation, or are we just saying that while continuing to live for ourselves?
2 Corinthians 5:15 “And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”
Make a decision today to live that new life, to let every part of who you were die and to make drastic differences in how you spend your time, how you think, and how you use the blessings that God has given you to manage: the life you live, the words you speak, the “free time hours,” the money you have, and the possibilities that living in the U.S.A. brings. After you have made these changes and continue to make them, read your life again. What does it say? Does your reborn life still look the same as it did before?
Tied to Old Habits
A drunken man entered his row boat one night to cross the river. He picked up the oars and pulled away, or so he thought. He rowed all night but did not reach the destination. When daylight came, he was surprised to find that he was just where he started the night before. He had forgotten to untie his boat.
So it is with many of the Lord's followers. They are tied to their habits, desires, wills, or some cherished idol or idols of the heart. Consequently, their lives are fruitless. Shorebound Christians never flourish and are of little or no help to others.
___________________
Wow. Powerful words, spoken from a person whose mission overseas has allowed him to experience a brand of Christianity so different than the shallow, self-serving one we have come to know in our Babylonian-like culture. May God forgive us for so abusing His grace that we treat it as common and a means to justify our self-indulgence.
2 comments:
Nice post.
It's intersting when you go out into the blogging world as well. Great mission field there. I'm always disturbed when I go onto a "Mommy Blog" and "Mommy" is using foul language, yearning for some beer and the old party days.
Yes, there is a mission field in cyberspace as well.
Boy, that's a sermon in and of itself, Sherry. It's exciting that God is using all different kinds of methods and means by which to communicate His truths to people. Thanks for reminding us that the mission field is all around us, everywhere.
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