by donfinto | Aug 9, 2017 | The Good Report
First things first!
I’ll never forget Bob Benson’s illustration about the buttons on a shirt. Get the first button right, and all the others will be in line. Get that first button wrong, and the whole shirt will be lop-sided.
Some things Godly are more important than other things. If we get these first things first, then life lines up correctly. If not, our whole lives are misaligned.
Jesus said that if we will first seek the kingdom and His righteousness, everything regarding life will come into order (See Matthew 6:25-33) – food, clothing, houses, jobs. Is your life somewhat askew? Check your “firsts.”
Some examples of “first things first” right alignment:
Jesus also advises, when we enter into worship with our tithes and offerings – if we remember that someone has something against us (we have wronged someone), we are first to go immediately to right that wrong, and then offer our gift (See Matthew 5:23-24). That’s pretty radical. Do we? Will we?
He also told us that if we really want to be great in the Lord (and I hope you do), we must become servants – an inverted triangle of an authority structure (See Matthew 20:24-28). Is this my desire? Do my actions show servanthood? Do yours show this?
Or how about this one? When asked to comment on the 613 commandments given in the Law, which is most important, Jesus responded without hesitation, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matt. 22:34-40).
Easy said, but how do we do that? John gives us that answer in his first letter, “We love because He first loved us” (4:19). In other words, ponder and meditate on how much God loves you, and respond to Him with your whole being your desire to love him back.
Get that first button of your life properly aligned, and your whole life comes into order. Have a blessed day!
by donfinto | Aug 2, 2017 | The Good Report
A part of my own personal vision statement is, “I do not dwell on the past.” The key
word here is “dwell!”
If I need to confess, I confess, but then I let go of it. The Lord does not want me to
live in shame or guilt. He wants me to be convicted so that I can confess, and He can
purify (Remember 1 John 1:9!).
If I need to forgive, I speak forgiveness in the Name of Jesus.
If I am grieving, then I will grieve, but I will not dwell on the grief. I will remember
the good.
The Lord tells us to “forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am
doing a new thing” (Isaiah 43:18-19). But then in the same chapter, He says, “Review
the past with me” (v. 26).
There is a time to forget, but…..there is also a time to remember.
I want to remember anything that helps me dwell on the goodness of the Lord, and
anything that builds my faith. When I am about to pray for someone to be healed, I
want to remember biblical examples of healing as well as other times when we have
prayed and people were healed. This is faith building.
I love rainbows, because God told Noah: “Whenever the rainbow appears in the
clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all
living creatures of every kind on the earth” (Gen. 9:16). I know that when I look at
that rainbow, my eyes are locked together with God’s! He’s also looking at it and
remembering His promise!
After David had successfully brought the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem to be
placed in the tent designed for it, he broke out in praise, “Give thanks to the LORD!”
Then he said, “Remember the wonders He has done, the miracles…” (1 Chron.
16:12).
As I recently read these words, I began to remember God-moments in my life, times
I never want to forget. For example, the time when I involuntarily fell under the
power of God while standing in line waiting for prayer, but no one touched me. Or
the time when I was about to be assaulted, as I called on the name of Jesus, and the
man fell unconscious at my feet. I want to remember my first visit to Mozambique in
the bush when I saw the deaf mute speak, the lame woman who walked, and the
blind man who began to see. I want to remember the good years Martha and I had,
and the many good times we enjoyed with our children and grandchildren. I want to
remember the times when we were in deep financial need, some of it our own fault,
and without talking to anyone about it, the Lord blessed us astonishingly.
“Remember the former things,” Isaiah admonishes, “those of long ago. I am God, and
there is no other; I am God and there is none like me… My purpose will stand and I
will do all that I please” (46:9).
Remembering the God-moments of the past – God moments from Scripture, God-
moments in history, God-moments in your own life – adds strength to our faith.
Some things are best forgotten, but some things need to be remembered! Have a
blessed day!
by donfinto | Jul 18, 2017 | The Good Report
Nothing new here, but using the King James translation (as well as the Tree of Life Version translation) for the Greek word meno has been hanging onto me for days. I keep going back to it. Trying to pull everything I can pull into me, wanting to “hang” more in/ with the Lord.
Listen to Strong’s Greek definition for the word meno, and then let’s apply this definition to some of the verses in John 15, where Jesus told His disciples that He is the Vine and we are the branches. Meno – “to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy) – abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry.” Now let’s listen to Jesus with that definition of
Meno – “to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy) – abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry.” Now let’s listen to Jesus with that definition of
Now let’s listen to Jesus with that definition of meno: John 15:4, “Abide (continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry, stay in that place of expectancy) in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear
John 15:4, “Abide (continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry, stay in that place of expectancy) in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide (tarry, stay, be present) in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide (continue, dwell, tarry) in me!”
John 15:5, “He that abideth (continues, is present, tarries) in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”
John 15:6, “If a man abide not (does not continue, does not dwell, is not present, does not tarry, does not stay in the place of expectancy) in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered…”
John 15:7, “If ye abide (are present, tarry, dwell, stay) in me, and my words abide (remain, endure, are present, tarry) in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
Ah, yes, Lord! Help us Jesus, to be present in Your Presence. To stay, to remain, to dwell, and to tarry!
