Heart Tracks - Random Things

There are some random thoughts and questions running through my mind today. I thought I might share them with you as I think they're thoughts and questions we really need to address and face. Here they are......

"And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." Colossians 1:17.....Question: Who is that holds your world together? Another question would be, just what is it that makes for "your world?" What is it founded upon and what does it consist of? Is it a world grounded in His life or yours? Is it rooted in His unshakable Kingdom, or your very fragile house of straw? In the Tsunamis, earthquakes, and hurricanes of life, what is it that you are depending upon to hold that world together? Don't answer with what your lips might say. What do your heart, life, and values say? Do we live, in the midst of all the unknown, in a world that is passing away, has always been passing away? Or in the sure knowledge, peace, and comfort, that all things, and especially ourselves, are held together in Christ? If a kind of "atomic bomb" exploded in your life today, in who and what would you be trusting in? Who and what are you trusting in right now? Who really holds your world together? Are you living in houses made of sticks and straw, or in one built upon Christ and with the "bricks" of His Kingdom?

"And Jesus answered and said to them, 'Go and report to John the things which you see and hear; the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear and the dead are raised up and the poor have the Gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who keeps from stumbling over Me.' " Matthew 11:4-6....Question: What is it that you and I have seen and heard? John the Baptist, imprisoned, sent some of his followers to ask Jesus if He was truly the Messiah. The above is the answer Jesus gave them for John. They had seen with their own eyes His miracles, and heard with their ears His words. Jesus directed them to share what they had seen and heard. He does the same with you and I. Just what is it that we have seen and heard? We are surrounded by a culture that is in parts apathetic, ignorant, skeptical, rejecting, and wholly unbelieving as concerns Jesus as Savior. We can crank up our outreach mechanisms, but when we reach out, what is it that we can tell those we reach to of what we have seen and heard of and from this One named Jesus? Not what we have heard others say about Him, or seen of Him. What have we? The world doesn't need another outreach method or plan. It needs a people who have "seen" with spiritual eyes the risen Christ, and heard with spiritual ears His voice. Are we such people. What can we tell our unbelieving world of His life and words? Where have we seen not just hands raised agreeing to accept Christ, but the blind seeing, the lepers cleaned, and dead raised up? What can we witness to in our lives and those we say we minister to?

"But He answered them, 'My Father is always working, and I Myself am working." John 5:17....A friend said recently that we are prone to make the statement, "I'm doing God's work." He said, "Only God can do God's work." Do we understand the truth and depth of that? I think we are trying to do what only God can do. We seem to think that people coming to Christ is only a matter of hitting upon the right plan or approach. We're always looking for a key. We're always thinking of a better way, a better means. I'm not removing our responsibility, but only He can do a work of grace, a miracle, make a transformed life. God builds His Church, not us. And He chooses the means and results. Again, not us. Christ said He was always working. What was the end of His earthly ministry? Betrayal, denial, and a scattered following. It appeared He built nothing in the end. Yet all the while the Father was building, though it looked completely the opposite to the eyes of flesh. He is always working, but His deepest and greatest work is in us. Than through us. What is He working in and through you and me?

Just some thoughts to share. And questions to be answered. How do we ponder and answer?

Blessings,
Pastor O