Dead Stop Statements

... for we can call nothing our own, but sin. There it is, dear reader, one of those dead stop statements that make it almost impossible to move forward past the thoughts that crowd into the mind and stampede the heart. What a startling and heart rending concept.

Here I directly quote Matthew Henry as he gives commentary regarding the first and freshest Christians, that immediately experienced the newness of life following the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, the Redeemer. 

They did not take away property, but they were indifferent to it. They did no call what they had their own, in a way of pride and vainglory, boasting of it, or trusting in it. They did not call it their own, because they had in affection, forsaken all for Christ, and were continually expecting to be stripped of all for their adherence to him. They did not say that aught was their own, for we can call nothing our own but sin. What we have in the world is more God's than our own, we have it from him, must use it for him, and are accountable for it to him (Matthew Henry, Acts to Revelation, page 42).

My mom told a story recently of a relative that cried when she was out in the open market in their home town. When the relative was asked why she was crying, she replied, I want it all. All she saw was all she wanted. Do you find this strange, or can you relate? Mine, all mine, is a sickness that needs curing; emptiness that needs filling cannot be fixed with things, or experiences, or people. Void is ravenous, and impossible to satiate. 

When I read about the first Christ followers, I long for their zeal and fellowship. They were one in the spirit, they were one in the Lord, and while they walked the earth, they were on a heavenly mission; knowing God personally made everything else fade into insignificance. Striving, establishing, accumulating, making a name and reputation as a very important person (VIP), being some kind of big deal and proving worth, just didn't matter to these guys and gals that were filled with God's grace. 

● How attached are you, dear reader, to the pride of life that screams of vainglory and self-importance? 

● Do things matter to you more than God's will and way for you?

Matthew Henry humbles me in his humility. Let us look again, at what he observed and recounted regarding the earliest of believers:

They did not take away property, but they were indifferent to it. Have you heard the expression, sharing is caring? It is somewhat easy to sell and give away what you and I have, if we know that what we have, was freely given to us first, and that it all comes from God. I recently prayed to not be attached to things, to not have affection for stuff that I like: imagine Job with me, dear reader ... many a person has lived through Job like experiences, and it is admirable when they refuse to forsake God, and cling to him all the more, in their times of trouble and tribulation. The disciples were indifferent to property, seeing it as disposable and the proceeds distributable to those in need. They showed their caring when they were sharing as family members with Christ as their head. 

● Do you say these words when severely challenged, Your will, not mine Lord?

They did not call what they had their own, in a way of pride and vainglory, boasting of it, or trusting in it. Man alive, the earliest of believers saw past themselves didn't they? Ownership, pride, vainglory, boasting, trusting in what they had, were the furthest things from them! I scrunch my face and clench my teeth while wrinkling my nose at the thought of bragging ... I have been prideful in the past, but about eight years ago, I got flattened out, and in my minds eye, I see myself splattered and stuck to the floor in my basement office. I was made inept, incapable, helpless, and almost hopeless, stripped bare of any delusion that I could fix what was broken. God was my spatula, and scraped me up and off that floor, and I know it was his voice instructing me every step of the way, that revived me, giving me the strength to take tiny steps toward restoration. I learned poignantly then, what I know unquestionably now: but for God go I, and I thank him for all that I have every single day. 

● If you had ten minutes to take whatever you wanted from your home before it got pulverized, what would you retrieve? 

● What do you hold so dear that parting with it would hurt your heart?

They did not call it their own, because they had in affection, forsaken all for Christ, and were continually expecting to be stripped of all for their adherence to him. Can you relate to this statement, dear reader? My son is 28 years old today, and I recall thanking God for him and saying, He is not mine, God, he is yours. Thank-You for giving him to me to raise! I have given my son to God over and over again throughout the years, knowing he belongs to his Creator, just as you and I do. We cannot love our children more than God does, but we sure can love them enough to trust that God the Father has their best in mind, and when we pray for our children, wanting them to be like their Saviour, we can know and believe that God hears our prayers; we can trust too, that putting our children figuratively into the hands of the Almighty, is the best place for them. I realize that is not what Matthew Henry is referencing here, but I do think it necessary to remind parents that their children are not possessions; children are precious gifts from God, and it is our duty to raise them up according to God's commandments. 

My very best examples of losing our affection for the world and what we can accomplish and accumulate while in it, is forsaking all for Christ when we simply cannot, will not, refuse to, stop speaking about him, no matter the threats or consequences. My marriage ended because I spoke the words I love Jesus more than anyone and anything; my businesses took a massive hit when I refused to collude with the covid criminality; I was ejected from a board of directors for publicly speaking out against the second greatest hoax committed in human history, again referring to covid (the first greatest hoax occurred in the garden of Eden, when a slithery snake convinced Eve to take and eat forbidden fruit, and man alive, we the people have followed in our parental footsteps ever since, haven't we?); my Bible study attendees slowly one-by-one, backed out from gathering together, preferring the safety of hiding behind screens to study God's Word, rather than boldly continuing to meet; lastly, the church we attended as a family made it clear that they belonged to the devil, when they shut the church, pretending to continue worshipping Jesus on Sundays via the internet, and eventually opened up as an injection location for the administering of covid shots. Imagine that, it wasn't safe to stand side-by-side to hear scripture read or sing in unison while worshipping God, but it was safe for would-be-sick people to line up, masked, and readied to be injected with poison. Sounds like a synagogue of Satan event to me. 

Dear reader, I expect to be stripped of all for my adherence to Christ, because it is promised in The Bible that this very thing will happen, as it did to the first followers, and to every generation that came after them. God's people would rather die than bow to the god of this world, or his minions for that matter.  

● Do you, dear reader, cling to your King, forsaking all, come what may?

They did not say that aught was their own, for we can call nothing our own but sin. This is the dead stop statement that had me weeping in contrition. My sin is my own, and so is yours. What a concept. I own all I have said and done, since I chose every word, every deed. Oh yikes, this brings to mind of a fresh, some of my lip curling ugly choices that make me want to hide in shame! Ha, thank God for our conscience, repentance, confession, and forgiveness ... I am washed in the blood of Christ, and redeemed from having been wicked and wayward. I am still here to live another day to glorify God, and for this, I am grateful. 

What we have in the world is more God's than our own, we have it from him, must use it for him, and are accountable for it to him. This last sentence slows my thinking and typing down. Do you agree with Matthew Henry? He is speaking Biblical truth, and yet, we must decide if what we are reading makes sense rationally. I start this discussion on this last point with my son, delivered this day 28 years ago. I did not knit him in my womb, I am incapable of this feat, but I did feed, clothe, and shelter him. Am I responsible for all he says and does? Is it me, or is it him? I do not pump his heart with oxygen rich blood, or help him fall asleep and then rise in the morning. I cannot control his thoughts or what he does ... he is an entity unto himself, making decisions all the live long day. He is mine and yet he does not belong to me. 

● Do I or don't I take credit, or blame, for how he turns out? 

● Do you or don't you take credit, or blame, for how your children turn out? 

Here is what The Bible says in the book of James 1:17:

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

• What you and I have in the world is more God's then our own
• What you and I have, we have from the Father of lights
• Every good gift and perfect gift is from above
• We must use these gifts for God's glory
• We must be accountable to him
• He never varies and there is no dark shadow he can cast

I ask you, dear one, Are you willing to forsake all you have for Christ, speaking of him as oft as possible, because you love him more than life, more than liberty, more then property and possession, and all for the sake of souls that need saving? 

Imagine the days leading up to the crucification. Was there a sense of foreboding? Now imagine the days following the resurrection. Was there a sense that the kingdom of heaven was indeed, at hand, and near?

Dear reader, I have a sense of foreboding mixed with a sense of hope as the days march on. We are still here, and that means there are souls that have yet to be claimed for the kingdom. Believers were given a ministry of reconciliation, and it is a delightful duty, to share the gospel, and pray that God's words go directly into waiting ears, opening up the mind and soothing the soul with holy truth. 

The foreboding is that feeling that pertains to the lost ... many seem to prefer wandering in the wilderness over the security of salvation. 

Hope is the feeling that many will hear the gospel and just like the very first Christians, they will feel sorrow for sinning against God, ask What can we do, and will repent and sin no more, willing to forsake all they have as they adhere for their lives, to Christ. 

Where, are you, in the mix?