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As I’ve stated in Bible classes, I recommend getting up every morning and reading the Bible. Once you’ve got your mind straight go immediately to God in prayer.
One of the important things to be done in prayer is to take a deep look at yourself… where you have been, where you are and where you want to be.
In addition, critical self-examination is important. Make a list of all your short comings… like am I quick to anger, am I too negative, am I a know-it-all, do I listen to others, etc. This should also include the negative things people say about you… their perceptions whether they be true or false.
Once you know who you are then you can start working (with God’s help) on who you want to be.
It’s easy to find fault in others. Start with yourself. We have a powerful God.
There’s a misguided concept among some Christians that when we come to worship services we should wear the best we have to honor God. Let’s think about that.
In 1 Timothy 2:9-10, the scripture states that Christian women should not be dressed with “gold and pearls, expensive clothing and braided hair but rather modestly that her good works might shine”. That verse, by the way, is not gender specific. The man should not be dressed in extravagant suits and ties and expensive things either. Why is that? Because expensive and extravagant dress, mask what we should really be showing… good works and humility.
Consider James 2:1-3, a man comes into the assembly “with a gold ring and fine clothing”. What happens? Brethern, impressed with what he looks like externally, honor that man and neglect the man who looks poor and we become respecters and profilers of God’s children.
I know for a fact that visitors have come into our congregation and felt like they couldn’t fit in with the church people because they felt different because they looked different.
God doesn’t want us to honor him with our clothing he wants us to honor him our hearts. Don’t hide who you are with expensive and extravagant clothing… because that’s all that some people can see.
The Apostle Paul gave criteria to Timothy and Titus by which men could be made Elders (Bishops, Pastors) in the congregations they worked with. The interesting thing to me is that these criteria or qualifications given to these two men are not the same and in some ways not even close. Let’s look at the differences.
A simplistic look would reveal that Timothy’s instructions contain 107 words while Titus’ instructions contain 87 words. Looking deeper into the 16 or so criteria given to Timothy only seven of these are replicated in the instructions given to Titus… one wife, sober minded, hospitality, No brawler, no striker, no love of money and faithful children. Some might say that since these are the ones held in common that perhaps they are the most important ones.
A lot of the attributes that are not exactly repeated are similar. For example, Timothy has “temperate” while Titus has “not soon angry”. However, there are some stark criteria mentioned to Timothy but missing in the instructions to Titus. For instance, the men Titus would be helping to qualify did not have to have a “good testimony from them that are without” not did they have to be “teachers”. Both attributes that Paul told Timothy but did not repeat to Titus. Hmmm.
In addition, the qualifications are different stylistically. To Titus Paul uses an antithetical device that we think of as not/but. Not self-willed… (5 things total) but given to hospitality (6 things total). This type of device creates a contrast to emphasize the positive things. It is only used once to Timothy… no brawler but gentle.
It may be that the qualifications were different because of specific problems in a given locale. Note to Titus Paul writes that the Elder must be able to “exhort and convict” (which by the way is not “teaching” but implies a high knowledge level) because of “vain talkers, deceivers, etc.” This is not mentioned to Timothy at all.
In summary, Timothy and Titus were given criteria that had some differences but which could be used independently of each other to select men in their respective congregations. Why were they different? Perhaps because of different problems in different congregations or perhaps because these criteria to select men were just generalizations to help in the process of selecting men.
Remember that most of these criteria are character driven and are not the only criteria to be used in the selection of men to become Elders… Knowledge and understanding of the mission of the church and the process by which Christians mature are critical criteria and perhaps so critical that most would realize that a man would not seek a job he didn’t understand… and therefore so obvious that they are not directly stated.
I’ve been studying the qualifications for Elders recently and thought it might be a good exercise based upon those studies to write down a few qualities that I would like to see in an Elder.
1. Someone who is a skilled and effective Bible teacher who inspires me with their knowledge and wisdom.
2. Someone who is not selfish but lives to help others.
3. Someone who can listen to both sides of an issue.
4. Someone who inspires me with their prayers.
5. Someone who sacrifices everything for the benefit of the congregation.
6. Someone who knows me and demonstrates personal concern and love for me.
7. Someone who has a marriage that inspires me and whose children love and respect them.
8. Someone who cares about the lost.
9. Someone who I can laugh and cry with.
10. Someone who I look up to and would like to be like.
11. Someone who believes the best about everyone.
If you see me riding my riding lawnmower you might notice that I occasionally cry. I’m not sad about harming the grass but it is a time when I’m engaged in a mindless activity and can reflect on things. This morning I was reflecting on my mother… Naomi Geviene Norris Perkins. I guess growing up I didn’t really fully appreciate how special she was. We kind of got to grow up together. She had me 4 days before her 17th birthday.
A lot of people were always attracted to mom. She was always the most beautiful mom but the best part of her was her engaging personality. She was always full of life and fun. She made friends at the drop of a hat. . We lived all over the country (California, Utah, Alabama, Virginia and Texas) and she made life-long friends wherever we lived. Many people coming to Houston for treatment at MD Anderson stayed in the home of my parents. One summer two college students were selling dictionaries and they ended up living with us for a summer. We also had a foster child living with us for a while
She was always interested in things. She grew and cultivated African Violets, she designed and modeled dresses and she loved to cook.
She was our Bible class teacher, our Den Mother and was active in the PTA. She would whip us when we were bad and laugh with us and hug us. There was a lot of love in our family. She taught us early on how to cut up a chicken. And she was hospitable. It seemed like every Sunday after church she and dad were bringing someone home for lunch. And every Thanksgiving and Christmas we had company.
She loved my Dad’s family. She called Dad’s parents “Ma and Pa”. All the nephews and nieces, because they couldn’t pronounce “Aunt Geviene” very well, call her. “Aunt Weenie”.
We never missed church… ever! In fact when mom was a new Christian and I was in the hospital to get my tonsils out… left the hospital so she could attend Wednesday night Bible study. Of course now she can’t believe she did that.
A lot of people wished my mom was their mom. And for a lot of them she was.
Mom is incredibly compassionate and forgiving and always wants to believe the best in people. Some people have treated her awfully but she forgives and forgets.
She has buried two husbands who loved and adored her… Bob Perkins and Darrel Roberts.
And now as she has aged and weathered all these years and can no longer live in her home. A home full of memories and treasures must be said goodbye to. I’ve hauled a lot of things to my home that some would consider junk but each item, like the old pogo stick, has a special memory for me. To say it’s traumatic would be an understatement. But the two most important things in Mom’s life are family and church. She’ll live just down the road from Greg and Kristi and many grandchildren and be able to go to church with them three times a week. And she’ll have family to take her to the doctors and care for her.
I have an incredible mom and today is her birthday. A large part of who I am is because of her and I know it very well. Happy birthday to an incredible Mom.
I turned 61 the other day. For perspectives sake when my Dad was 61 he was fighting cancer and had about a year to live. When my mom was 61 she was completing her first year of widowhood. No one had anticipated this huge change in their lives. It all started when Dad had a cough that wouldn’t go away and went to go see the doctor. Of course the doctor told him he had 14 months to live.
As I contemplate these things I realize I could wake up one day and have a doctor give me equally life changing and devastating news. I’ve got a year to live or Julie has a year to live.
So for me that means not to get too caught up in life and pleasure but to keep all things in perspective and live a life that emphasizes godliness and service to others.
Life is a big school and has taught me how to deal with the abrupt loss of an active parent at a relatively young age and now is teaching me the lesson of slowly losing a parent through the aging process.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Matthew 25:42-45 demonstrates a principle that when we do good for other people it is the same as doing good for Jesus Christ. For example, if we go visit a widow… it’s like visiting Jesus. If we buy someone a hamburger… so forth and so on.
Acts 9:4-5 demonstrates a similar principal… when we mistreat other people it’s like mistreating Jesus. For example, you let a widow wallow in loneliness, ignore the hungry, etc… you did it to Jesus. Jesus I’m too busy and important to waste time on you.
OK, generally we get those principles but as is sometimes said “the devil is in the details”.
It’s easy to help a kindly well-kept old lady who has fallen on a run of bad luck. Why? Because she kind of looks like Jesus.
But how easy is it to help someone who looks bad and smells bad or who because of a low I.Q or mental illness or drug cooked brain continually makes bad decisions? Maybe, who is in some ways, like a modern day Lazarus. Could that be Jesus in disguise?
Whether we treat someone well, ignore them or mistreat them the reality is that they are Jesus Christ. Don’t ever forget that because Jesus won’t.
