Tuesday the 20th

Matthew 20: ¹³"But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? ¹⁴Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. ¹⁵Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?'

How great of a God we serve. We do not get what we deserve by worldly standard, our measure is not judged by how much work we do. The Lord pours out his blessing on each one of us. The ones who do great things, and the ones who do little things, the ones who dedicate their lives form childhood, and the fella that just showed up yesterday, we all get the same. Let me say that again because it bears repeating, the last is just as precious as the first. In this parable the land owner goes out several times throughout the day collecting workers for his field, then at the end of the day he pays each worker the same with ones who showed up first being paid the same as the ones who showed up last. I highlight the last part of the parable because it is where I find my biggest fault. Why must we always worry about what someone else has? Why must we feel as though we are being gypped because someone got the same thing we did? So often in life I realize that I have lost sight of what is important. We serve a God who does not care when you come home, he is just overjoyed that you came home. He loves the one who just walked through the door, just as much as the one who has been there for years. That is cause for joy, not for jealously. If God treats us so well, then why do we feel compelled to treat others any differently? Don’t we all do that to some extent? We measure the people in our lives by what they have done, by how long they have been around….by how much they can do for us. It is times like these I feel humbled, I feel weak, and I feel undeserving. You see, I have to admit, that sometimes I cannot….no I guess the better way to say it is, I will not…. pour out the same love that my Lord, and God pours out on me! Each person in our lives is important, each of them deserves the same love…..but man that can be hard…. no? If you think about it, I am sure that all of the workers in the field did not even do the same amount of work! Even those that were there for the same amount of time. Surely someone always works harder, or does more. Yet God still loves the ones that worked hard, the same as the ones who worked at a slower pace. It seems very evident that the important thing to the Lord is that you show up! The Lord calls each of us to His field, HE has told us that the harvest is plenty, but the workers are few. He is not concerned with when you get there, He is overjoyed that you made it. Just as each of us has been called to His field, the people around us have been called into our lives, and us into the lives of others. May we each learn to view each other as God does…not by when they got there, or how much they do, but may we learn to pour out our love on each and every person. Imagine a place where every time a person shows up, instead of them being measured by worldly standards, there was a celebration, a place where every person had value, and worth, a place where instead of asking what do you want when they walk through the door, there is a resounding shout of thank you for showing up shouted. Imagine that place, then make it your world. Do that and you would have a tiny glimpse of what life is like with the Lord.

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

The New Covenant Church

http://www.thenewcovenantchurch.com/

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Monday the 19th

John 6: ²⁷Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."  ²⁸Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?"  ²⁹Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.

 

We all go to different churches, we all have subtleties that make one church a little different from the next. The one thing we all have in common is to go out and do the work that God requires….and just what is that? Well Christ himself tells us right here…..believe in the one He has sent. Not go out and spread what we think our church means, but go out and preach Christ crucified!  We of faith are sometimes our own worst enemy, we get so far into the trees we cannot see the forest that surrounds us. The last study that was done on Christianity asked a very important question. What keeps you from being a Christian….any guess what the answer was?? Christians! When we look at the life of Christ we see love, all too often when we look at the works of some Christians  we see harshness. When we think of the life of Christ we think compassion, yet all to often we show more indifference than compassion. Christ set out to change the world by being a living example, so why do we so often condone the spread of Christianity by the use of bibles for clubs? What is the work that God requires? It is a very simple message, one that we should have no problem relaying to others. It is not what day we go to Church, it is not how often we celebrate the Lord’s supper, or what prayers you say,  and it is certainly not how many people we can get to come to Christ by hook or crook. It is all about the fact that God sent His only Son to hang on a cross, then defeat death, so that we all might have eternal life. That message will never come across clearly or convincingly, if we cannot learn to be living examples of the One living example. We serve the living God, our purpose is simple and clear, believe in the Lord, and let that belief sine into every corner of your life. So that you might radiate the love, the compassion, and the true concern for others that Christ so effortlessly graced this world with. This is our true work, this is our calling, let your belief be your calling card.

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

The New Covenant Church

www.thenewcovenantchurch.com

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Friday the 16th

Acts 5: ³⁸Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. ³⁹But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.

 

Let it run it’s course…..what great advise. How often that simple advise seems so hard to take. Have you ever stopped to think whom you might be fighting against when you are trying so hard to make something happen? Folks, guess what? You can’t stop God. If it is His will nothing in this world can change the outcome. Oh we might alter the path, we might make it drag out longer than it has to, but God’s will always comes through, and if it is not God’s will, all of the effort in the world will not sustain it. We read a lot in the bible about waiting, be still and see the great things the Lord will do, Jesus talks about 12 hours of daylight, Jesus deliberately waits before going to Lazarus. There is little doubt that God works on His own time table and it is typically much slower than ours.  I would think that one of the biggest hurdles that we as humans have to clear is learning patience. I don’t know about you, but man I hate waiting. I feel like I am wasting my time, sitting around waiting, watching, thinking, getting irritated that things are not moving fast enough…….but maybe that is not the problem, maybe the problem is that I am trying to move to fast, maybe I have been looking at it all wrong, and maybe, just maybe, the time that I am given should be used for something other than staring at the goal and hoping it moves closer to me. Maybe just as Gamaliel points out in this scripture, I should be watching to see where God is directing me to go. Maybe God is telling me that I need to watch and see what is crumbling around me, and what is withstanding the test of time. Perhaps things are moving slower than I would like, because I have a pretty good record of making the wrong choices when things are speeding towards me. I am sure in the end it comes down to realizing that I have spent more time fighting God than I have spent searching for where He needs me to go. Maybe I would not be so tired if I spent less time fighting, and more time praying?

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

The New Covenant Church

www.thenewcovenantchurch.com

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Thursday the 15th

Matthew 14:  ²⁹"Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" ³¹Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"

 

Why do we doubt? Whenever I read this I think how it reflects our spiritual life. When we first start following Christ we are surrounded by others in our boat. They support us, they teach us, they give us the confidence we need as we drink the milk of faith. Yet the time comes when we must move from the milk to the meat. We hear the Lord calling us to step out of our comfort of the boat, and go out into the world…..we have to step out onto the water and start moving towards the Lord. Just like Peter we can hear the Lord, in many ways we too can see him right there in front of us, arms outstretched and waiting……and just like Peter we start looking around, we see the waves of the world eager to swallow us up, we feel the winds beat at our face, and we worry that we might be blown away from the Lord…..and then we look down….and we notice that we are starting to sink. It is at that moment we make one of the most important choices in our life. Do we cry out for the Lord to save us, or do we allow ourselves to sink into the sea of the world? One might think it is an easy choice to make, but I can tell you, many choose to sink over cry out. Why would they do that? Honestly it has to do with effort….or lack of it. When Christ reaches out for Peter, the first thing He points out is the little amount of faith that Peter has at that moment…you of little faith…..and this is what I mean by effort. For us to stay above the water, it takes effort, for us to keep our faith strong we must continue to search out the meat. We must feed on the truth of the Lord. Many of us….without evening really thinking about it I might add, quit looking for the meat of the Word. We say things like well, I have learned all I can learn, or I am far enough along in my faith that I am safe, my favorite is I already know the Lord. Well, I would like to point our Peter knew the Lord pretty well, and yet he stumbled! Without putting much thought into it at all we allow the devil to convince us that our journey has ended, or at least slowed. That somehow, for some reason, we don’t have to search out the Lord as hard anymore. That could not be further form the truth! Now more then ever is the time to put your full measure into searching out the Lord, finding the path that He has for you, and making sure your feet are firmly planted on it! Do not allow the waves that crash, and the wind that blows to distract you and scare you. Don’t fall victim to the false belief that somehow you are done, or you have arrived. CRY OUT to the Lord, and he will catch you. Just like He did for Peter, He will pull you up and to safety. If you want to defeat the wind and the waves, if you want to keep yourself above water, then take the hand that the Lord has expended. You will find it far more comforting, that the comfort you felt in your boat. You will find more peace, more direction, more grace, more love, than you ever did when your feet were dry. Just remember, to reflect often to make sure you are focused on the Lord, make the choice to not sink!

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

The New Covenant Church

www.thenewcovenantchurch.com

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wed the 14th

John 3: ²⁰Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. ²¹But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

 

We all know John 3:16 and that God loves us so much that He sent His only Son. We forget sometimes how often John refers to Christ as the light. How true that fact is. To live a life in Christ is to live a life out in the open, exposed for all to see. When we think about it that way then look at our lives do we not find that we still have shadows in our life that we still clink away to? I think of my young life, when I was running as fast in the opposite direction from God as I could……you know I LOVED the darkness back then. The daylight was something to be tolerated until the shadows of the evening would start to stretch across the ground. It was not just the physical darkness that I enjoyed, but the darkness that comes with secrecy. The back room deals, the under the table dealings, the half truths, and the outright lies….the deception for personal gain….I have to admit I was quite good at it. When I think of that time in my life I always think of what Spurgeon said. I know that the Lord must have chosen me before I was born, because I gave little reason for him to choose me after. Of course my life is much different now, and I do try to live in the light, but when I read this last part of verse 20 I still think I must still struggle…..do you?…..for fear that his deeds will be exposed…..for I still get that tingle in the pit of my stomach when I am called on the carpet, what about the conversations that we have with people….what if they were all exposed….did I give the extra nickel back to the cashier when she made a mistake What about resentment?…..how much of that do we hold on to???? Oh sure, you might think well those don’t count….they are just little things…..but guess what, there are no little things to God. He hates the sin of the liar as much as the murder, He despises the sin of the gossip, as much as the thief. God hates all sin. It is the thought that it is just “small sin”, that allows the shadows to creep back into the edges of your life. May we all continue to drive the shadowed corners out of our life, may we all strive to let the truth and the light of Christ wash over us and illuminate our lives like the sun, casting all shadows and darkness out of our existence, so that it may be seen plainly that what we have done has been done through God. Amen

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

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Tuesday the 13th

John 16:  ³³"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

 

Here is Christ telling His disciples that he will be taken away, but will return. He tells them so that they might have peace, but notice He does not just tell them “hey don’t worry about it, I will leave, then return. He is telling them look things are changing, and they will never be the same again…know this, while I will be with you and give you peace……in this world you will have trouble. Not maybe, not possibly, not some of you……but He was telling them that they all would have trouble, life would be challenging, life would be tough, and it might seem at times unfair, but to remember Christ had overcome the world. If Christ could overcome the world, then how could anyone who followed Christ not find peace? How could they doubt the love God has for them, how could they worry about small troubles, when the Prince of Peace had endured, and conquered troubles far larger than any we might encounter. It all comes down to where we operate from. Christ wished for us to live with peace in our hearts, and that is where we have to start. We have to go out into he world with peace. I lived many years of my life angry, I did not realize it at the time, but looking back, I can see that anger was the driving force in my day. I know that some of you know exactly what I am talking about, and some of us still operate from a place of anger today. We are angry that we want more and cannot have it, angry that our lives have not become what we planned, angry that others have what we want. We have to learn to first go to Christ with our anger. Take it to Him, bare your soul to Him, allow Him to remove that anger and replace it with peace…..yeah, I know, sounds to easy, what is the catch right? There is no catch, all you have to do is ask Him to take it. Not only will the Lord remove it from you, but He will replace it with peace. The peace that only He can give, the peace that He wished for His disciples, and the peace that he wishes for each one of us. Take heart, life will get tough, but He has over come the world, so that we might all live, and operate form a place of peace!

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

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Monday the 12th

Judges 7: ² The LORD said to Gideon, "You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her.

You know, all too often I get down on myself. I look around and think I don’t have enough friends, there is not enough support….I don’t have a large enough group of people in my life to be successful or make a difference….sound familiar? We often look to those around us for the strength, and support that is freely given by God. When I read the story of Gideon I always think, “man, what else could you possibly need other than God? Think about this setting. Who else in your life would look at a situation like this and say hey…..you know what….you have to many people here, get rid of some of them so that we might be successful, and I can do my work. You do not need to be surrounded by people for support, you need to be surrounded by God! Let those around you be there to give the glory to God, and let God worry about the victory. When we try to stack up people around us to advance a goal, we find that those most willing to be with us, especially on a professional level, seem to all have something to gain by being next to us. Yet when we rely on God for our victory, He brings people to us that have the correct goal in mind….advancing the Word of God. It is when we rely of God fully, that we can truly experience full victory over any challenge in our lives. When we surround ourselves with those eager to serve us, we find ourselves in the company of the deceived. When we surround ourselves with God we find ourselves in the company of greatness. No matter the battle, no matter the size or scope of the obstacle in front of you, do not look to count the number of people next to you, look to make sure that the Holy Spirit is out in front leading, that God is in your heart and on your lips, and check to make sure that Christ is walking alongside of you. When you find yourself in that company, you find that it is the only company that you require…..the rest is just extra!

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

The New Covenant Church

http://www.thenewcovenantchurch.com/

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