Who Gets the Credit?

                                                                           by Dr. D. James Kennedy

“Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory…”
— Psalm 115:1 kjv

Chuck Swindoll once pointed out that President Reagan had this saying on a plaque on his desk: “There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit.”

In contrast, envy limits itself to that for which we will get the glory. Think of all the times the apostles argued among themselves over one thing—which of them was the greatest? Jesus rebuked them for that and told them that the greatest among them was the servant of all.

If anybody just sits on their God-given gifts because they are concerned that maybe people will not praise them, they are sinning. We should use the talents and opportunities God has gifted us with on a regular basis. If you’re concerned about who gets the credit, then remember what we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “… For Thine is…the glory.” What is the point of any of our accomplishments? The Psalmist tells us: “Not unto us, Oh Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory.” If we live free from the worry of who gets top billing, of who notices us, of how well we are doing by some worldly status criterion, we can do much more work for the Lord.

So whatever task you find at hand, do it with all your might. And do it for God’s glory and others’ good. God knows what you do, and He will repay you.

Father God, give us strength for today to serve You diligently, even if we aren’t always recognized for it here on earth. Thank You, Lord, You who sees all, for being a just God. Let everything we do be truly for Your glory…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN
SERVE ANONYMOUSLY.

 

Worry

 WORRY -- assuming responsibilities GOD never intended me to have.

 

Who Am I To Do This, Lord?

“I will never l        eave you, nor forsake you.”      Hebrews 13:5

I think I have heard almost every excuse as to why people can’t share the Gospel with others. Moses made excuses to wriggle out of His task. He asked God, “Who am I to do this?”

Excuses are as old as the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve excused their sin, blaming someone else. But like Moses we have said, and I know that I have said, because I can hear myself echoing in these things: “Who am I that I should do this? Who am I that I should go into the ministry? Who am I that I should go to someone’s home and attempt to bring him out of the bondage of sin, into the light everlasting? I am not capable of doing this. I know how strong the power and bondage of Satan and his minions and cohorts are.”

No doubt Moses thought, “I tried before and I failed,” and he most certainly did. His attempt was a miserable failure. Perhaps you have thought the same. I have. I remember when I first tried here in Fort Lauderdale, and it was a miserable failure, and I was mortified by the attempt and determined that this obviously was something I was incapable of doing. “Who am I? I am obviously not cut out to do this sort of thing, to bring God’s people out of Egypt.” And the answer that God gives is very simple: “I will be with you, and that is the all sufficient reason.”

Lord, give me strength for today to do what is before me and to do it well. Guide me, Oh Thou Great Jehovah. Thank You, Lord, for Your vast kingdom and all the opportunities to serve…

A Brief History of Government

 A BRIEF HISTORY of GOVERNMENT by Bill Federer

The most common form of government in world history is kings. Their subjects did not vote.

The first well-recorded instance of millions of people living without a king was Ancient Israel’s Republic, circa 1,400 to 1,000 B.C., that initial 400-year period after they left Egypt.

The Bible does not give details, but each tribe and city chose their own elders, as Moses stated:

Exodus 18:21 "Thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens”; and

Deuteronomy 1:3–13 "Take you wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes"; and

Deuteronomy 16:18–19 "Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates.”

Since the goal was to choose individuals that God wanted, one method of selection was “by lot.” Proverbs 16:33 “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.”

The Greek word for “lot” is “kleros,” from which the words clergy, cleric, and clerk come from.

Levite priests were chosen by lot to minister in the Temple, as Zechariah was, the father of John the Baptist. Acts 1:26 described how the apostles “drew lots” to determine who God wanted to replace Judas.”

“Kleros” were pieces of wood used for casting lots. Deciding offices by casting lots is where the word “allotment” comes from, and is the origin of the random selection process used to pick jurors from a jury pool in a trial.

In Ancient Athens, 480-323 B.C., instead of casting lots, each Greek citizen placed a pebble in one of two urns to indicate who was chosen. The Greek word for “pebble” was psēphos - (pronounced “say fos”) from which comes the word “vote.” The study of voting is called “psephology.”

Pebbles were replaced with citizens marking a name on small broken pieces of pottery.

Romans used marbles or little clay balls, which voters dropped into boxes. The word for little ball in Italian is “ballota,” in French “ballotte,” from which comes the word “ballot.”

Ancient India, around 920 A.D., used the Kudavolai system, where villagers wrote a candidate’s name on palm leaves which were put inside a mud pot.

In Russia’s Republic of Novgorod, 12th through 15 centuries, citizens gathered in the city square and shouted for their candidate.

The first use of paper ballots in America was in church. The Massachusetts Bay Colony used paper ballots in 1629 to select a pastor for the Salem Church.

Since the goal was God’s will, instead casting lots, church members fasted and prayed, then cast their ballots, thus participating in having God’s will be done through them.

The belief was, that God had preordained someone to be their pastor and church members were simply to recognize the one God had chosen.

Being chosen by God was called being “the elect.” First Peter 1:1-2 “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to God’s elect.”

Paul wrote in Colossians 3:12 “As the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies”; and Second Timothy 2:10: “I endure all things for the elect's sakes.”

Mark 13:20 described the last days: “And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.”

The process of putting down the name of God’s “elect” was called an “election.”

Quote from President Coolidge

 "The whole system of American Government rests on the ballot box" President Calvin Coolidge

The Root of a Tree

 Led By Even the Root of a Tree by Dr. D. James Kennedy

“…for He who has mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water He shall guide them.” Isaiah 49:10

How important it is and how blessed we are to follow God’s guidance for our lives. You may remember the story of Peter Marshall who was the Chaplain of the Senate some years ago. His life story was made into the film A Man Called Peter.

If you recall, as a young man in Scotland, not really knowing what God would have him to do, he was walking across a moor one day and there was dense fog. He could hardly see the ground at all, and then suddenly he tripped and fell flat on his face. When he started to push himself up, one of his hands went right over the edge of the cliff that he would have been looking down into if he could have seen. Then as the fog cleared a little bit he saw, indeed, that he was right on the very edge of a deep precipice that would most certainly have cost him his life if he hadn’t tripped over the root of a tree.

He was convinced that in this circumstance God was guiding him and later brought him to America, to Columbia Seminary, where I also studied some time later. Finally, Peter Marshall felt led to the high position of the Chaplaincy of the Senate of the United States.

The Lord guides the steps of the righteous—in this case, it was literally so. We need not fear the future, but only entrust our future to Him.

Dear Father, give us strength for today to seek after You with our whole heart. Thank You that You are sovereign. Help us to not be like a parked car, waiting to be steered. Instead, help us to trust in Your guidance and to put it into practice…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE FOLLOW

HIM WHEREVER HE LEAD

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By GOD'S Strength

 

Faith vs. Unbelief

“And without faith it is impossible to please God…”
—Hebrews 11:6

One great philosopher said that the greatest theme in all of history, which makes every other theme seem insignificant, is the great contest that has gone on from time immemorial between faith and unbelief. All conflicts in the world are really just variations of this big war.

This contest even happens at a small level each day. For example, you get up in the morning, get dressed, go out, and you meet someone. What do they say? They say, “How are you today?” Faith says, “I am redeemed, saved, justified, and sanctified. I am on my way to Paradise. I am fantastic.” But unbelief says, “Oh, pretty good, thank you.” But faith knows the answer. “God is doing wonderful things. He is not even finished with me yet. The greatest is yet to come.”

So faith and unbelief begin their war every day in your life. Unbelief might try to make us go back to bed for fear of the day that lies before us. But faith realizes that we can do all things through Christ. Paul tells Timothy to stand firm. He tells him, “For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7).

The writer of Hebrews noted that without faith, it is impossible to please God. In this life, unbelief will rob us of many spiritual riches God wants to bestow on us. May He grant us faith to trust Him in all things.

Dear Lord, increase our faith. Give us strength for today to see who You are and what You have done in Christ. Forgive our unbelief. Lord, we do believe—help our unbelief…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE BELIEVE
HIM AND HIS PROMISES.