"Doing the Most Good"

 

“Doing the Most Good”

 

About 40 years ago I was asked to conduct a Wednesday morning service at a nursing home in a neighboring town. It was held in the facility’s day room and Karen and I stood at the door greeting residents as they came in. One gentleman approached the entrance but “drove” his wheelchair past the meeting place. A staff member saw him do so and this conversation ensued:

Staffer: “Mr. Smith (not his real name), don’t you want to go to church?”

Mr. Smith (emphatically): “NO!!”

Staffer: “But why not? It’d be good for you.”

Mr. Smith (emphatically): “I know! That’s why I don’t want to go!”

This remains one of my favorite ministry stories which I’ve told many times since it happened (it really did!).

This incident illustrates how we sometimes don’t want to do what’s good for us any more than Mr. Smith did. We know it’s to our benefit not to eat certain foods but we do anyway then bemoan adding extra pounds. We know we should exercise but take the attitude “When I feel like exercising I lie down until the feeling goes away.”—then wonder why our energy level isn’t what we wish it was. And we’re careless with our finances and can’t understand why there’s more month than money. The common denominator: lack of self-discipline which sooner or later will catch up with us.

Disregarding what’s good for us physically and financially certainly isn’t to our advantage—and neither is neglecting spiritual practices like reading God’s Word, meditating on its truth and prayer. Paul wrote to his protégé, “…Focus on reading the Scriptures to the church….” (1 Timothy 4:14, NLT, emphasis added). (This was especially crucial in the early church as few had their own copies of God’s Word but the principle remains valid for us today.) The psalmist observed, “…(The godly person’s) delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law (one) meditates day and night.” (Psalm 1:2, emphasis added). And Paul instructed, “Never stop praying.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17, PH, emphasis added). We likely realize that these are good habits to establish but are we working on it? Let’s remember the words of our Lord’s brother: “Anyone…who knows the good (one) ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.” (James 4:17).

The Salvation Army, a ministry I greatly respect, has as its motto, “Doing the Most Good”. Taking some liberties in application, are we doing the most good for ourselves in the way we live?

 

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan

"Spotlights and Floodlights"

 

“Spotlights and Floodlights”

 

Our Florida house came with a backyard patio where we keep our grill. When we first turned on the light we discovered it was a spotlight which only illuminated the patio area. When we replaced it with a floodlight we could see a good portion of the yard, including nocturnal creatures looking for their next meal. Similarly, in a stage production a spotlight is used to call attention to the featured performer(s) while floodlights cover a much larger area. Each has its place to provide visibility as needed.

In Psalm 119:105 we read, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” (Emphasis added). The Hebrew word for “lamp” is also translated candle and suggests a limited range of illumination (like a spotlight). By contrast, “light” has the idea of brightening a far larger area (like a floodlight—it’s used in Genesis 1:3 where “…God said, ‘Let there be light….’”). When we’re walking on a dark night both are important to avoid danger.

Some truths of Scripture remind us of spotlights and others of floodlights. In Philippians 3:13 Paul writes, “…One thing I do…I press toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called ne heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Emphasis added). This was centered on “…the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” (Acts 20:24). Job told his “friends”, “(God’s) hands shaped me and made me.” (Job 10:8) as He has each of us to fulfill His purposes through us. Perhaps D.L. Moody summed it up best when he said, “Give me this one thing I do rather than these fifty I dabble in.” Yes, we all have a spotlight for our ministry.

But God’s Word also speaks in floodlight terms when it tells us that the gospel message is for the entire world and each person in it. At the outset of Jesus’ earthly ministry John the Baptist introduced Him as the “…Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29, emphasis added). Later His friend and apostle wrote, "(Jesus) is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:2, emphasis added). Just as a floodlight covers a large area, Christ’s sacrifice is sufficient for all.

Jesus said, “You are the light of the world.” (Matthew 5:14). To someone I’m a spotlight; with the family of God I’m part of a floodlight. I pray I’ll radiate Him in both roles.

 

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan

"Secret Giving"

 

“Secret Giving”

 

One of the most popular early TV series was “The Millionaire”, which aired between 1955 and 1960. The show involved a wealthy benefactor’s “hobby” of anonymously giving a million tax-free dollars to individuals and following the results in the recipients’ lives. Most wanted to know the source of their good fortune but the giver remained a mystery to them.

A recent devotional in Our Daily Bread brought several examples of secret giving to my mind. During my college days each of the four issues of Tower, the school’s yearbook, published while I was there had a full page in the advertising section which said simply, “Congratulations to the Class of (in my case) 1965” and underneath in small print “Compliments of a friend of the College”. Early in my ministry I was given an envelope from the offering on which was written, “Pastor McMillan—Personal” and when I opened it there was a $20 bill inside. And from time to time a gentleman in one of our churches would give an envelope to Karen to be passed on to someone he’d heard had a need with instructions not to reveal its source. In a world in which people “…(love) human praise….” (John 12:43) these acts of generosity are to be appreciated by us and are honored by God.

Jesus addressed a crowd gathered to hear what we refer to as His “Sermon on the Mount” in which He spoke on a number of subjects surrounding godly living. One issue He covered was giving to the poor: “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before (people), to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by (people). I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”(Matthew 6:1-4, emphasis added). I don’t think Jesus was saying that only secretly sharing our resources is God-honoring (Paul counseled believers to bring their donations to the church meetings on the Lord’s Day—see 1 Corinthians 16:2) but that our motivation not be to call attention to ourselves as appears to be the case in Luke 21:1-4; rather, “You must each make up your own mind as to how much you should give…For God loves the person who gives cheerfully.” (2 Corinthians 9:7, NLT),

So do I give (or serve) to be seen or to honor God? I must remember, “…Whatever (I) do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

 

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan

"Bible Central"

 

“Bible Central”

 

I didn’t have much to do one day recently so I researched some interesting facts about the Bible:

*In the KJV its 66 books have 1189 chapters, 31,102 verses and 783,137 words. (Other translations vary widely in the number of words.)

*The middle chapter is Psalm 117, which is also the shortest (2 verses).

*The longest chapter is Psalm 119. Its 176 verses are divided into 22 stanzas of 8 verses each, almost all of which refer to God’s Word in some fashion.

*The mid-point is between Psalm 103:1-2 (“Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits….”).

*Over 450 English translations have been done with probably several dozen commonly used today.

We must be careful not to read too much into these numbers because the Bible’s original manuscripts weren’t divided into chapters and verses. Verses first appeared in a translation by William Whittingham in 1557 and chapters were added in the Geneva Bible of 1560. But let’s not forget that Psalms is the mid-point of Scripture. The primary Hebrew word used means to praise or make music. So central to our faith is our recognizing who God is and what He does for us.

But lest we get sidetracked by numbers let’s not miss Scripture’s central message: God’s plan of redemption. After Adam’s and Eve’s sin in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:6) God promised to provide a Redeemer so that this fractured relationship might be restored (see Genesis 3:15 and Romans 5:12-21). This basic truth is summarized by the Apostle Paul in what some Bible teachers believe was an early Christian creed: “…What I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures….” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4, emphasis added). What Old Testament passages teach these facts? Many but none as plainly as God’s prophet does in Isaiah 53: “For he was cut off from the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death…After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied….” (Verses 8,9,11). So the events of that first “Death and Resurrection” weekend were predicted seven centuries before they happened. And they were all for us. Is the Bible’s central message central in your heart and life today?

 

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan