A S P E C T S - a monthly devotional journal For subscription information on receiving Aspects every month via e-mail, or the laser-printed edition by mail, see NOTES, COPYRIGHT & SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION near the end of this file. Aspects is written by David S. Lampel. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Issue #26, January 1993 (Internet Edition) T H E G L O R I O U S S E R V A N T : R I G H T F U L O W N E R S H I P ----------------------------------------------------------------- In this issue: Perspective 1 - Fearfully and Wonderfully Made Perspective 2 - Finger of the Hand Divine Perspective 3 - Rightful Deed So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. -1 Cor 4:1-2 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Several years back, my drama group in San Diego, His Company, required the services of a sound man who was not a member of the troupe and had never worked with us before. At our first meeting, while I was explaining the production to him and those things that would be required of him, the sound man stopped me with his condition for this "service;" he would be happy to work with us--as long as he got a line of credit in the printed program. As it was a small thing (and I had planned on doing it anyway) I heartily agreed. >From that point on I always felt a little sadness for the sound man. His work for us was exemplary; he was always on time for rehearsals and on cue with the mics. But I knew that in his heart the motives were wrong. And he had foolishly exchanged the eternal reward of the Father for the fleeting glory of man. Let's get right down to it. Let's stand in front of the mirror and ask ourselves--with a hard, unflinching stare in the mirror, let's ask ourselves the very important question: Are we going to live what we say, or just say the words? When we stand in our neat, pew-aligned rows on Sunday morning and sing the words up to God, do we really mean them--or are we just killing time until the pot roast? "To God Be the glory" "Glory Be To the Father" "O Master, Let Me Walk With Thee (in lowly paths of service free)" "I Will Serve Thee Because I Love Thee" "I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go" "Now I Belong to Jesus" Do you mean it when you sing those words? Are you living for God's glory or your own? When we bow our heads in our private prayer closet and speak our innermost thoughts to the Father, do we really mean what we say? Is it honesty or simply well-rehearsed platitudes? "Your will be done . . ." "Everything I have is Yours . . ." ". . . and I'll give You all the glory" ". . . and for Jesus' sake . . ." "Amen." When you speak such phrases, do you actually see the words as separate, purposely selected thoughts that put voice to your heart--or do they slip out from between your lips without any conscious effort whatsoever? I challenge all of us to dare to be different--yes, different from the majority of those claiming to be part of the Kingdom. I challenge all of us to mean what we say and to accept our true position in Christ: Bought and paid for. * We were not created out of biology alone, but by the science of a God who knitted us together in our mother's womb. * We have not invented our abilities, but are nurtured by a quickening, comforting Spirit who uses us for the Father's glory. * We do not own ourselves, but are owned by the One who gave His life that we might serve the Kingdom and its King. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Perspective 1: F E A R F U L L Y A N D W O N D E R F U L L Y M A D E ------------- Can the thing created take credit for being what it is? ____________________________ "There is no greater glory for a man as long as he lives, than that which he wins by his own hands and feet." (The Odyssey,viii, 46) "Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of Thy love / At the impulse of Thy love. / Take my feet, and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee."(1) ____________________________ The ancient Greek lived for the praise and adulation of others. The Greek athlete ran his race to attain a crown of wild olive, yet the laurel wreath was only the tangible badge of the honor he so craved. To receive doxa--the honor and praise of others--was everything. "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever."(2) Bill Cosby delivers one of my favorite lines in the very first episode of his long-running family sitcom. His son, Theo, has been giving him grief with his rationalization for some particularly low grades. Much effort is given to persuading him differently, but when all else fails, the Coz takes Theo firmly by the shoulders and warns: "I brought you into this world; I can take you out." God said as much to the oppressed Job: "Who has given to Me that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine."(3) There is a profound peace that comes over anyone willing to accept two important facts: * God made me. * As my Maker, He may do with me whatever He so desires. We are what God has made us: our talents have been gifted us from above; our skills and abilities have been nurtured by a patient Father; our accomplishments have been planned and crafted by someone greater than ourselves. What glory, then, is due us? God's favorite illustration of this relationship is that of the potter and his pot. The potter begins with a lifeless, shapeless lump of clay and from it fashions a pot: a utilitarian vessel. The potter can make the pot tall and graceful, beautiful to behold, or he can make it squat and crude, too ugly for words; he can paint it in brilliant, attractive colors or he can leave it a pasty brown; he can fill the pot with fresh new wine, or even priceless jewels, or he can fill it with refuse for the dung heap. But these are all decisions made by the potter--not the pot. But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?'" Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use? (4) Into the Word ------------- For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. -PSA 139:13-14 JOB 10:8-22 ______________________________ PSA 100:1-3 ______________________________ PSA 104:24 ______________________________ ISA 29:15-16 ______________________________ ISA 45:9-12 ______________________________ ISA 64:8 ______________________________ JER 18:1-6 ______________________________ JER 19:1-12 ______________________________ JOH 15:19 ______________________________ ROM 9:19-21 ______________________________ ROM 14:7-8 ______________________________ EPH 2:10 ______________________________ COL 1:16 ______________________________ REV 4:11 ______________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------- Digging Deeper--Moving Higher ----------------------------- Lavish Love, Abundant Beauty Lavish love, abundant beauty, gracious gifts for heart and hand, Life that fills the soul and senses--all burst forth at Your command. Lord, our Lord, Eternal Father, Great Creator, God and Friend, Boundless pow'r gave full expression to Your love which knows no end. Who am I that You should love me, meet my ev'ry need from birth? Why invest Yourself so fully in a creature made of earth? In Your loving heart You planned me, fashioned me with greatest care; Through my soul You breathed Your Spirit, planted Your own image there. I am Yours, Eternal Father, all my body, mind and heart. Take and use me to Your glory, form Yourself in ev'ry part. Lord, Your love brings joy and gladness flowing forth within my soul. May my very breath and being rise to You, their source and goal?(5) Making it Personal ------------------ In military boot camp they would refer to the recruits as "worms," meaning nothing but lowly slime. Is that how God sees us? Does God's concept of servanthood mean that we are really as worthless as common clay? Find some Scripture references that support your answer. If God made us, including everything that we are today, where does life experience fit into the picture? Do we add to what God creates during our lifetime? What does the following line from the hymn above mean to you: "Take and use me to Your glory, form Yourself in ev'ry part"? During this month, spend some time meditating on the following line from the hymn above: "I am Yours, Eternal Father, all my body, mind and heart." Can you say that to your heavenly Father? Are there any corners of your life that have not been relinquished to Him? If so give them back to Him. Are you not sure? Spend time in prayer, asking God to reveal them to you. Into the Word ------------- Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a *servant*, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross! -PHI 2:5-8 NIV Paul, a *bond-servant* of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness . . . -TITUS 1:1 NASB *Slaves*, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. -EPH 6:5 NIV The three words highlighted above are all translated from the same Greek word: DUOLOS. From the Scriptural context, what is your personal definition of this word? The duty of the ancient Greek was to himself, to achieve his own potential for excellence. To him this concept of service would have been shameful. What about you? The word translated bond-servant or slave includes the idea of an absolute subjection of one's will to another.(6) Can you picture yourself in this role? When you do, do you discover some lingering pride that remains as a barrier between you and true servanthood? Do you want to be like Christ? ----------------------------------------------------------------- Perspective 2: F I N G E R O F T H E H A N D D I V I N E ------------- Can the thing energized take credit for the power by which it runs? ____________________________ "As the soul does not live idly in the body, but gives motion and vigour to every member and part, so the Spirit of God cannot dwell in us without manifesting Himself by the outward effects." (John Calvin) ____________________________ The word "quicken" is seldom used these days, but it describes perfectly the work of the Holy Spirit in the believer. He brings us to life, animates us, energizes us. The Spirit is our link to God, our umbilical; He is our eyeglasses--as Thomas Manton said: "God's mind is revealed in Scripture, but we can see nothing without the spectacles of the Holy Ghost." Trace the Holy Spirit through Scripture and you will see evidence of Him performing God's work through mankind. Before Christ's atonement, the Spirit would come and go, as it became necessary for God to have Him perform some specific, momentary task. But now after Pentecost(7) (when the Spirit first came to indwell believers permanently) He becomes a part of us when we receive Christ as Lord. The story of Daniel is a beautiful illustration of a true servant of God who understood from Whom his powers came. Daniel had a particularly timely gift for interpreting dreams, but before he used them in service to his earthly king, Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel worshipped God with the following blessing: "Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him. I thank and praise you, O God of my fathers: You have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the dream of the king." (8) Whatever we accomplish in the name of Jesus Christ--in other words, only that which will survive for eternity(9)--is empowered by the Spirit; without Him it would be worthless, empty. ____________________________ A light bulb begins life as lowly sand. This earthly material is heated and formed into a fragile glass sphere. The hand of a superior being then screws the bulb into a threaded socket and flips a switch. Electricity instantly floods into the bulb's circuitry, causing its internal filaments to glow, bringing brilliant light into a darkened room. For what should the bulb take credit? Into the Word ------------- I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. -EZE 36:26-27 EXO 31:2-5 ______________________________ DEU 34:9 ______________________________ JDG 14:5-6 ______________________________ 1SA 10:5-7 ______________________________ 1SA 16:14 ______________________________ 2SA 23:1-4 ______________________________ PSA 143:10 ______________________________ ISA 11:1-5 ______________________________ ISA 59:21 ______________________________ ISA 61:1-3 ______________________________ EZE 36:22-27 ______________________________ MAT 10:16-20 ______________________________ MAR 1:7-8 ______________________________ MAR 13:11 ______________________________ LUK 1:41 ______________________________ LUK 1:67 ______________________________ LUK 2:25-32 ______________________________ LUK 4:1-2 ______________________________ JOH 3:34 ______________________________ JOH 6:63 ______________________________ JOH 14:26 ______________________________ JOH 15:26 ______________________________ JOH 16:13 ______________________________ ACT 1:8 ______________________________ ACT 2:4 ______________________________ ACT 8:26-39 ______________________________ ACT 16:6-7 ______________________________ ACT 20:22-23 ______________________________ ROM 8:5-16 ______________________________ 1CO 2:9-14 ______________________________ 1CO 3:16-23 ______________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------- Digging Deeper--Moving Higher ----------------------------- Come, Holy Ghost, Creator Blest Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest, vouchsafe(10) within our souls to rest; Come with Thy grace and heav'nly aid, and fill the hearts which Thou has made. To Thee, the Comforter, we cry; to Thee, the Gift of God most high; The Fount of life, the Fire of love, the soul's Anointing from above. The sev'nfold gifts of grace are Thine, O Finger of the Hand Divine; True Promise of the Father Thou, who dost the tongue with speech endow. Thy light to every sense impart, and shed Thy love in every heart; Thy own unfailing might supply to strengthen our infirmity.(11) Making it Personal ------------------ There are quite a number of synonyms for the Holy Spirit in Scripture (i.e., Helper). What are they? Now, add to these your personal synonyms for the Spirit to describe what He means to you and how He works in your life. How do you normally think of the Holy Spirit? Do you think of the Spirit as an "It" or a "He?" "When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me."(12) Is the Holy Spirit an "It" or a "He?" Probably the most common (and easily recognized) activities of the Spirit are His comforting and counseling. Based on who He is, what else does the Holy Spirit accomplish in your own life? What are His activities? How does He empower you? ____________________________ "It is hard for us sons of the Machine Age to remember that there is no power apart from God. Whether physical, intellectual, moral or spiritual, power is contained in God, flows out from Him and returns to Him again. The power that works throughout His creation remains in Him even while it operates in an atom or a galaxy. The notion that power is something God separates from Himself and tosses out to work apart from Him is erroneous. The power of God is not something God has; it is something God is. The power of God is one with God's will, and works only as He wills that it should. Whatever God is He is infinitely. In Him lies all the power there is; any power at work anywhere is His."(13) (A.W. Tozer) Into the Word ------------- Read the first 6 chapters of the book of Daniel. Daniel not only knew that he ultimately served the God of Israel (no matter the present Babylonian king) and that all his special gifts were empowered by Him, but he was also determined to live by his God's rules. As to Daniel's determination to give God all the glory for his actions, see especially: DAN 2:19-23, 27-30, 47 DAN 5: 13-17 Scripture tells us that when we serve God with the right intentions, looking for no earthly reward or glory, we will instead receive an eternal reward in heaven. But in the story of Daniel we see that God can also authorize earthly rewards for those who serve Him with a pure heart. See especially: DAN 1:9 DAN 2:46-49 DAN 3:30 DAN 5:29 DAN 6:28 Finally, when we live our lives righteously, no matter the cost, even those in high places can come to worship the one true God. Find the verses in this passage (DAN 1-6) that speak of this. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Perspective 3: R I G H T F U L D E E D ------------- Can the thing purchased own what it is or has? ____________________________ "Maturity in grace makes us willing to part with earthly goods. The green apple needs a sharp twist to separate it from the bough, but the ripe fruit parts readily from the wood. Maturity in grace makes it easier to part with life itself. The unripe pear is scarcely beaten down with much labor, while its mellow companion drops readily into the hand with the slightest shake. Rest assured that love for the things of this life and cleaving to this present state are sure indications of immaturity in the divine life."(14) (C.H. Spurgeon) ____________________________ The closest I have come to feeling like a slave was during four very long years in the U.S. Navy. As a member of the Armed Forces (armed only by a trombone) I was obliged to wear what others told me to wear, be where others told me to be, and to do what others told me to do. I was told how long my hair could be; I was told to keep my shoes shined and my clothes pressed. I was assigned a number (several, actually) with which I was generally referenced by my superiors. If they needed a body at a certain place at a certain time, I was sent; no one bothered to ask my feelings on the matter. No one really cared whether I wanted to do what they ordered--they just ordered. For four years I was owned by the United States Government. What they didn't care to know was that I was already owned by someone else. When, at the tender age of 8, I asked Jesus to be my Savior, God took possession of my pink slip. And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.(15) My heavenly Father has just as many privileges with me as the Navy. He can tell me what and what not to wear; He can send me here and send me there, and doesn't really consult with me on the matter. But God's privileges extend even further. At His will, he can take away my life--or the life of someone dear to me--and, unlike those in the employ of the government, He would not have to stand trial for the offense. For in the Father's case it would not be an offense; it would just be His will. So I have had the opportunity to compare owners--Masters, if you will. I had four long years to be under the thumb of the one and almost my lifetime to be in subjection to the other. I've weighed the pros and cons, benefits and liabilities to both; I've experienced the best and the worst from both owners. And I've decided that I prefer the one who could even take my life if He so desired. As if I had a choice. Into the Word ------------- You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. -1CO 6:19b-20 PSA 74:2 ______________________________ JOH 17:6-26 ______________________________ ACT 20:28 ______________________________ ROM 1:1-6 ______________________________ ROM 7:4 ______________________________ 1CO 6:19-20 ______________________________ 1CO 7:23 ______________________________ GAL 3:13 ______________________________ GAL 4:4-7 ______________________________ COL 1:13-14 ______________________________ 2PE 2:1 ______________________________ REV 5:9 ______________________________ REV 14:4 ______________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------- Digging Deeper--Moving Higher ----------------------------- We Give Thee But Thine Own We give Thee but Thine own, whate'er the gift may be; All that we have is Thine alone, a trust, O Lord, from Thee. May we Thy bounties thus as stewards true receive, And gladly, as Thou blessest us, to Thee our first-fruits give. And we believe Thy word, though dim our faith may be: Whate'er for Thine we do, O Lord, we do it unto Thee.(16) Making it Personal ------------------ Consider the following text on ancient Roman slavery: "Because a slave was owned property, he was an inferior being. And since this inferiority of one man made another man, his owner, a man of power, the master, confident of his majesty, consecrated that power by holding that the slave's inferiority was a fact of nature. Today's closest psychological analogy to ancient slavery is racism."(17) Is this how God sees us? Why? What's the difference? What words in the quotation above do or do not apply to God and His relationship with His slaves? Into the Word ------------- Read what the Old Testament has to say about tithing. LEV 27:30-32 NEH 10:37-38 NUM 18:21-28 NEH 12:44 DEU 12:6-17 NEH 13:5-12 DEU 14:23-28 AMO 4:4 DEU 26:12 MAL 3:8-10 2CH 31:5-12 Now, what does the New Testament say about tithing and offerings? All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. -ACT 2:44-47 NIV Some Bible critics have called this picture of the early church "communism." What do you call it? What does this passage say to you about your relationship with others in the Kingdom? What does it say to you about yourself? A Final Thought --------------- I would like to put forward what to some might be an heretical conclusion. It is this: We have nothing to "give" to God, because the very nature of giving suggests a change in ownership of the thing being given. We have seen from Scripture that God created us; we are beings fashioned and planned by Him. Then, when we take Christ as our Savior--thereby accepting the fact that His death was on our behalf--the Holy Spirit makes His home in us, empowering, counseling and sustaining. Finally, because at the cross Jesus not only saved us but actually purchased us for God, we--as Christians--are owned, lock stock and barrel, by God. Based on this, what have we to "give" God? More to the point, what have we to hold back from Him? If all my possessions, my wealth, my property; if my loved ones, family and friends; if my body, the very breath in my body, life itself--if everything I am, have, accomplish and will be is a gracious gift from a loving heavenly Father, then who am I to deny even the smallest portion to Him? ======================================================================== NOTES, COPYRIGHT & SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION Notes ----- 1 Frances R. Havergal (1836 - 1879), "Take My Life and Let it Be." 2 1PE 1:24-25a. 3 JOB 41:11 NASB. 4 ROM 9:20-21. 5 Peter Ellis (1950 - ); Copyright 1986 WORD MUSIC. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured. 6 from Lawrence O. Richards, Expository Dictionary of Bible Words (Zondervan, 1985), p.311. 7 ACT 2:1-47. 8 DAN 2:20-23 NIV. 9 1CO 3:11-15. 10 "Vouchsafe": to be gracious enough or condescend to give or grant. 11 Latin, 9th Century. 12 JOH 15:26. 13 A.W. Tozer, from Born After Midnight (Christian Publications, 1959), p.24-26. 14 Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Quotable Spurgeon (Shaw, 1990), p.373. 15 REV 5:9. 16 William W. How (1823 - 1897). 17 Paul Veyne in A History of Private Life: From Pagan Rome to Byzantium (Harvard University Press, 1987), p.52. Copyright Information --------------------- All original material in Aspects is Copyright (C) 1995 David S. Lampel. This data file is the sole property of David S. Lampel. It may not be altered or edited in any way. It may be reproduced only in its entirety for circulation as "freeware," without charge. All reproductions of this data file must contain the copyright notice (i.e., "Copyright (C) 1995 David S. Lampel."). This data file may not be used without the permission of David S. Lampel for resale or the enhancement of any other product sold. This includes all of its content. Brief quotations not to exceed more than 500 words may be used, with the appropriate copyright notice, to enhance or supplement personal or church devotions, newsletters, journals, or spoken messages. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture is from the New International Version. NIV quotations are from the Holy Bible: New International Version, Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission. NASB quotations are from the New American Standard Bible (C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Subscription Information ------------------------ Aspects is published monthly. There are two preferred methods of receiving it on a regular basis: 1) You may subscribe to the laser-printed (hard copy) edition, which is sent out via regular mail. This edition is different from this file you are reading in the following ways: - a "typeset" look, with italics, larger titles and headings, etc. - Scripture text and quotations are more obviously set apart - lines printed for your notes after each question - arrives pre-punched for a 3-ring binder - generally looks better 2) You may subscribe to the e-mail edition, which will be "mailed" to you directly each month. This edition will be formatted just like this file you are now reading--which still contains all the text of the printed edition. There is no charge for either option. For a free subscription to Aspects, send a note to "dlampel@dlampel.com" Please specify the method by which you wish to receive Aspects. Be sure to include your postal mailing address if you choose the printed edition. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Aspects is distributed free-of-charge, without obligation, in service to our Lord and to His glory. Reader opinions are always welcome, as are insights into the published material. Send all comments to the above address. We always appreciate hearing when someone has been edified by this work. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Notes on the "online" Format ---------------------------- Certain adaptations to the text are necessary for distribution of this ASCII edition of Aspects. Endnote reference numbers are enclosed in parentheses (); quotations are enclosed by quotation marks " ", and are further set apart from original text by indentation and the presence of a following endnote reference; Scripture references are indented, and either cite the reference or are accompanied by a following endnote reference. If you would prefer reading Aspects in its more native, printed form, we would encourage you to subscribe to the edition that is mailed out every month. ---------------------------------------------- file: /pub/resources/text/aspects: asp-026.txt