A New Guitar

Matthew Fry — Wed, 25 May 2011 05:00:32 +0000

“15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.” – 1 John 2:15-17

I bought my acoustic guitar when I was a freshman in college. The company that produces it makes each guitar by hand and they had an increase in orders and got behind. My guitar arrived to campus within days of the finishing touches be put on it. I opened the box and could smell the newness of the wood. I played it a little bit and then sat it on a guitar stand and went to class. When I came back to my dorm room and opened the door I walked into a room that was filled with the smell of fresh wood. I loved the smell, but after a few months the newness wore off and the fresh wood smell was replaced with the smell of dirty laundry and milk that had expired.

Who doesn’t like having something new? If I was giving you any car you wanted…you would probably choose a brand new car as opposed to a 2004 model. It is natural to desire nice and new things, but we run into trouble when we love those things more than we love God.

“22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” -1 John 2:15-17

Jesus tells the rich man here to sell everything because the rich man didn’t know what it meant to depend on God. It is easier for us to cling to our new and nice things than to cling to God. What is the things in your life that you’d have trouble giving up? When I first got my guitar if Jesus approached me and asked me to give it up in order to follow Him…I would have felt the same way that the rich man did.

Are Christians Called to Suffer?

Chris Roberts — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 15:10:44 +0000

But the Lord has said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”
Acts 9:15-16

We are inclined to choose the easy path. When faced with a decision about the Lord’s will we let potential hardship sway our choice. But God had determined that Paul’s path would run through hardship and suffering. He is a chosen instrument of mine, declared the Lord, to carry my name… Paul would carry the name of Christ through many lands but in the process he must suffer for the sake of my name.

There are times when God calls for his children to suffer. Sometimes the suffering comes from forces we cannot avoid: a hurricane, an earthquake, the wickedness of others. But sometimes we are called to put ourselves in the path of suffering. We go to lands where Christianity is outlawed, carrying our possessions in a coffin for we know this is a one-way trip. We move into the inner city to bring light into the darkness. We visit housing projects to share the love of Christ. And we give up fame, fortune, and prestige, all for the glory of God.

In Peru there is a native Quechua pastor named Joshua Sauñe spreading the gospel among people scattered throughout the Andes mountains. He once said, “I do not always understand missionaries. They come in but leave when troubles grow. I want to ask them, ‘What, are you afraid of going to Heaven?’”

Christian, the Lord does not always call you to easy things. He will often call you to suffer for the sake of his name. But do not let such hardships stop you from obeying the Lord’s will. Live instead like those saints in Hebrews 11:16 who desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

This world is not my home and in the Lord I find my comfort and safety. Therefore I will follow him wherever he leads, even if it be through the valley of the shadow of death.

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A New Guitar

Are Christians Called to Suffer?