". . . his sheep follow him because they know his voice" (John 10:4).
What does the Good Shepherd's voice sound like?
You can tell a lot about a person simply by listening to the sound of their voice. From the quality of a person's voice a one can estimate height, weight and age as accurately as from viewing a photo--an have a very good estimation of physical attractiveness too.
Physically attractive people tend to have more attractive voices, so when you are working on your body image do not forget your voice image. To get an idea of what you sound like to others, audio record, better yet, video record yourself. Attractive voices are variable from dynamic to soft and even monotone if needed, depending on the situation at hand. Authoritative, assertive voices drop in pitch. The voices of intimidated people tend to rise in pitch.
The voice of the Good Shepherd is the voice of authority. The voice of the Good Shepherd is the voice of truth. The voice of the Good Shepherd is the voice of love and tenderness. His voice has the full range of expression. What is your voice like?
Grace&Peace,
Tom
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!
Today is the 37th anniversary of the marriage of Thomas E. Steele to Helen M. Steele. I posted this so that you could, in the words of my friend Zach, 'cheer us on.' I mumble and grumble a lot, but the truth be told, most of the best things in my life I owe to Helen--really the God who made provision that we should be together. Helen is probably the only woman in the world who could deal with me, the rest of them would have said, "I'm outta here" a long time ago.
Grace&Peace,
Tom
Grace&Peace,
Tom
DISCIPLINE UNDER THE NEW COVENANT
"But if you are led by the Spirit you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are plain: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing and the like. I warn you , as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" (Galatians 5:18-24).
Probably the most salient reason why church folks want to be under the law is the fear of lawlessness if there is no law. But, are our people in the churches or the culture at large following the law any way? No! The reason they are not has nothing to do with the lack of10 commandment preaching. It has everything to do with bringing folks to Christ with unchanged hearts. They continue to be creatures of the culture at large first concerned with matters of the flesh rather than matters of the Spirit.
Living by the law of love seems to be too "loosy goosy" for a lot of folks; they want something with more structure. The problem is that they disregard the structure anyway. The new covenant is not with out law and structure. None of the old covenant is in force except what Jesus and the apostles brought into the new covenant. An this is the law that has always been in force, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all you soul and with all your mind.' This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, 'you shall love your neighbor as yourself'"(Matthew 22:36-39). Or, as Paul stated about love for neighbor, he said, "Bear one an other's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2).
Living by the law of love is living by the Spirit. That is a little too subjective for a lot of folks since we can all make the claim that love had something to do with our actions. So when discipline under the new covenant has to be done--and it does even though discipline is seldom, if ever, done any more in the churches, Paul shows us what is of the flesh and what is of the Spirit. If there are personal problems or church problems, those who are mature need to ask, "Where is this problem coming from? The Spirit or the flesh?" Let those who are involved answer. After reading this text the answer should be self evident. Those who love the Lord will ask forgiveness. They may need some help with skill development, but they are teachable. Those who only have excuses and blame are unworkable. These are the ones who still live by the flesh and there is little hope for them.
Grace&Peace,
Tom
Probably the most salient reason why church folks want to be under the law is the fear of lawlessness if there is no law. But, are our people in the churches or the culture at large following the law any way? No! The reason they are not has nothing to do with the lack of10 commandment preaching. It has everything to do with bringing folks to Christ with unchanged hearts. They continue to be creatures of the culture at large first concerned with matters of the flesh rather than matters of the Spirit.
Living by the law of love seems to be too "loosy goosy" for a lot of folks; they want something with more structure. The problem is that they disregard the structure anyway. The new covenant is not with out law and structure. None of the old covenant is in force except what Jesus and the apostles brought into the new covenant. An this is the law that has always been in force, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all you soul and with all your mind.' This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, 'you shall love your neighbor as yourself'"(Matthew 22:36-39). Or, as Paul stated about love for neighbor, he said, "Bear one an other's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2).
Living by the law of love is living by the Spirit. That is a little too subjective for a lot of folks since we can all make the claim that love had something to do with our actions. So when discipline under the new covenant has to be done--and it does even though discipline is seldom, if ever, done any more in the churches, Paul shows us what is of the flesh and what is of the Spirit. If there are personal problems or church problems, those who are mature need to ask, "Where is this problem coming from? The Spirit or the flesh?" Let those who are involved answer. After reading this text the answer should be self evident. Those who love the Lord will ask forgiveness. They may need some help with skill development, but they are teachable. Those who only have excuses and blame are unworkable. These are the ones who still live by the flesh and there is little hope for them.
Grace&Peace,
Tom
Monday, August 20, 2007
LIVING UNDER THE NEW COVENANT
In the last few weeks I have managed to alienate most of the people around me. I thought I would write this and finish the job of alienating every one. A week ago I preached a sermon called, The Law of Moses and Salvation. Afterwards a couple of leaders from the congregation came to me disagreeing with what I said. They contended that the Law is still in force--it has not been done away. I again cited to them the words of Paul in Galatians 5:4 "....you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace." Anyone who trusts in his own good works for salvation has fallen from grace. We might live very good lives, but as James said, "For who ever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all" (James 2:10). That is why every one of us needs a savior! We all stand guilty before God! In Revelation 21:8 there are some frightening words, "But for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, as for murderers, fornicators, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their lot shall be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." With out Jesus, that is what we all are--we are guilty! Hell is our destination! Law keeping cannot save us! "For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did; sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh as an offering for sin. He condemned sin in the flesh so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit" (Romans 8:3-4).
Jesus did not come into the world to slap a new patch on an old system or to pour new wine into old containers--it just would not work! (Matthew 9:16-17). The problem with the Law was that it could not change hearts! As God said through Jeremiah about His people, "Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked each one in the stubbornness of his evil heart. . ." (11:8). God says about humanity in general, "The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick. Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9). So, a heart change is necessary! That could only happen with a new covenant--all new.
God is after our hearts and the way that He gets them is through the great expression of His love. He created us because He loves us. He redeemed us through the great sacrifice of Jesus Christ because He loves us. If His love does not draw us, nothing will. If His love does not motivate us to serve Him, nothing will, even the threat of hell. As Paul said, "For the love of Christ controls us...he died for all so that they who live might no longer liver for themselves but for Him who died on their behalf" (II Corinthians 5:14-15).
Christians serve God from their hearts. If they serve under threat of Divine punishment then their service is of law rather than grace and is of no credit to them. God wants willing service from our hearts. Jesus said to the woman at the well in John 4:23, "But an hour is coming, and now is, when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshippers." Worshipping God in spirit has to do with our spirit--it is from our heart. True worship comes from the heart! Paul says something similar about giving our offerings, "Each must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver" (IICorinthians 9:7). We are not under the law to be held accountable for tithing--God wants us to give generously from the heart!
Living under the new covenant is wonderful--we have freedom and infinite pardon. We enter it because of God's love for us and we respond in faith to it. We enter it something like marriage, because we respond to God's love in Jesus and we love Him. We trust in Him. We make a commitment to Him in that our flesh no longer has the first claim on our lives, but God does. And both God and us sign the covenant agreement in the blood of Jesus in Christian baptism (I Peter 3:21).
Grace&Peace;
Tom
Jesus did not come into the world to slap a new patch on an old system or to pour new wine into old containers--it just would not work! (Matthew 9:16-17). The problem with the Law was that it could not change hearts! As God said through Jeremiah about His people, "Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked each one in the stubbornness of his evil heart. . ." (11:8). God says about humanity in general, "The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick. Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9). So, a heart change is necessary! That could only happen with a new covenant--all new.
God is after our hearts and the way that He gets them is through the great expression of His love. He created us because He loves us. He redeemed us through the great sacrifice of Jesus Christ because He loves us. If His love does not draw us, nothing will. If His love does not motivate us to serve Him, nothing will, even the threat of hell. As Paul said, "For the love of Christ controls us...he died for all so that they who live might no longer liver for themselves but for Him who died on their behalf" (II Corinthians 5:14-15).
Christians serve God from their hearts. If they serve under threat of Divine punishment then their service is of law rather than grace and is of no credit to them. God wants willing service from our hearts. Jesus said to the woman at the well in John 4:23, "But an hour is coming, and now is, when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshippers." Worshipping God in spirit has to do with our spirit--it is from our heart. True worship comes from the heart! Paul says something similar about giving our offerings, "Each must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver" (IICorinthians 9:7). We are not under the law to be held accountable for tithing--God wants us to give generously from the heart!
Living under the new covenant is wonderful--we have freedom and infinite pardon. We enter it because of God's love for us and we respond in faith to it. We enter it something like marriage, because we respond to God's love in Jesus and we love Him. We trust in Him. We make a commitment to Him in that our flesh no longer has the first claim on our lives, but God does. And both God and us sign the covenant agreement in the blood of Jesus in Christian baptism (I Peter 3:21).
Grace&Peace;
Tom
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
GOD'S POLITICS
How quickly a month passes! I'm sorry it has been so long since my last post--I have had a lot on my plate that has occupied my mind. Even this post is short, but one that I found amusing and wanted to pass along to you.
"A wise man's heart inclines him toward the right, but a fool's heart toward the left" (Ecclesiastes 10:2).
Enough said.
Grace&Peace,
Tom
"A wise man's heart inclines him toward the right, but a fool's heart toward the left" (Ecclesiastes 10:2).
Enough said.
Grace&Peace,
Tom
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