How I Want To Treat Others

Romans 12 teaches us how to order our daily relationships.  In reading and studying Romans, I found some jewels from others which I want to share with you. It shows how I want to be through Christ. 

John Fletcher was a dear minister and a friend and defender of John Wesley.  The following incident speaks of Fletcher's loving Christ-like spirit.

Thomas Reader became so angry at John Fletcher's Last Check to Antimomianism that he traveled all the way to Madeley to rebuke the author.  Upon his arrival Fletcher exclaimed, "Come in, come in, thou blessed of the Lord!  Am I so honored as to receive a visit from so esteemed a servant of my Master?  Let us have a little prayer, while refreshments are getting ready."  Reader reported that he never so enjoyed three days of such spiritual and profitable conversation in all his life, but was never able to muster enough courage to even allude to the purpose of his visit.

I want to be so Christ-like and have so much of God's love that all around are drawn toward heavenly things and away from petty strife.  I want to be magnanimous with even my enemies.  Joseph Benson told us, "Be generous with our enemies.  Be patient with God.  Be humble toward self."

John Wesley wrote, "The longer I live, the larger allowances I make for human infirmities.  I exact more from myself and less from others."

This is similar to the words I have written in my Bible.  "To others a heart of love, to self a heart of steel, to God a heart of fire!"   

I want to bless ALL with my prayers; yes, even my enemies.  Adam Clarke said, "Pray for the same good for all which you desire for yourselves."

And to my brethren, I want to esteem them better than myself, I want to show them honor and preference.  I like how Clarke put it, "Consider all your brethren as more worthy than yourself."

When we walk in perfect love toward God and others, we will not return evil for evil, but rather good for evil.  And in so doing we will heap coals of fire on their head.  This will help lead them to repentance.  In reference to heaping coals of fire, Samuel Wesley wrote,

"So artists melt the sullen ore of lead,                                                                                 
By heaping coals of fire upon its head:                                                                                
In the kind warmth the metal learns to glow,                                                                    
And pure from dross the silver runs below."

The Amplified Bible mentions that heaping coals of fire is a picture of the ministry of the high priest on the day of atonement (Lev. 16:12).  The coals of fire created a fragrant cloud which covered the mercy seat and which God accepted for atonement.  I think that Romans 12 is hinting that by returning good for evil, we help save their souls.  We help save them, not only in the way that Moses prayed for those who were against him, turning God's wrath away from them.  But also as said Augustine, that the coals of fire heaped upon our enemies heads are the burning pangs of shame or anguish which lead them to repentance.

And remember, showing mercy and loving one who doesn't deserve it, makes us like God.  God in His great grace enables us to be like Him in order to show others how loving and merciful is God really is.

- Phillip

[some of the quotes found in A Fundamental Wesleyan Commentary on Romans, by Vic Reasoner]  

Thanks for praying; God was truly glorified!!!

Thank you, thank you for praying for our Colombian revival services last week with Bro. Becker and Bro. Eisenhart preaching!  I know that people from all over the world have been fasting and praying for this effort.  God has been glorified!  

The teaching and preaching were anointed of God.
God came with a special sense of His presence.  Nearly every service brought praying around the altar.  And most present sought after God, if not for themselves, in helping to pray for others.

God brought several new ones in and saved several souls from their sins and at least three more were sanctified wholly.  Tears, crying out to God, and victories marked the services.  Several ladies came from the beauty salons around the church and to my understanding two of the beauticians sought God around the altar and became believers.  Praise God for making them hungry for the beauty of holiness. 

How we appreciate your prayers!  God is answering them.  Let's keep praying!
            
- Phillip

Please pray, especially this week

I ask for your special prayers this coming week.

January 14, our pastor Carl Eisenhart and our mission director Mark Becker should arrive in Colombia to preach a revival effort through the week and teach Bible classes.  We desire God.  God has been answering your prayers.  Over and over again in these special efforts God has melted the church here with love, tears, and seeking after Him and His holiness.  Last time, when Joseph Smith and Stephanie Smith came various ones testified to God entirely sanctifying them.  Different ones walked in new light and visibly changed.  Since then we have been seeing more growth both spiritually and numerically.  Just in the last few weeks a couple with deep spiritual needs have started coming and plan to be at the revival effort.   

God's precious Holy Spirit is moving upon hearts so please continue to pray, and pray for our brothers preaching and teaching.  Pray for the one translating.  Pray for those listening.  Please continue to help us pray that Christ is enthroned in every heart and that all continue to grow in the knowledge, wisdom, and love of Jesus Christ.  If God enables you to fast too, that is always a great blessing.  May God save, entirely sanctify, and help every one possible to grow in Him.  Pray that holiness advances into other parts of Colombia and beyond!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart,

Phillip Dickinson 

Bible Standards of the Purified Remaining Church

Imagine!  When all industry promoting the last word in glamour around the world are destroyed by fire, when her supermodels and jet set have passed away like a trail of vapor, when all profane fashion designers are but dust and ashes, and when the makers, promoters, and sellers of jewelry, makeup, and sensual trends are perished from the earth, then the remaining church having passed through the fire will no longer concern themselves with their vanities.   

Salon sculpted eyebrows, the most recent eyeliner technique, or which makeup foundation seems most natural will be so old-world.  The cut and color -- obsolete -- will no longer be associated with women’s hairdos.  Instead, natural length, simple femininity, and glory will describe our ladies’ tresses.   

Name brands in vogue today will be decidedly passé to the remnant.  Words describing dress such as “hot,” “cool,” “trendy,” “sassy,” “curvy,” “leggy,” “revealing,” “split,” “low cut,” or “short” will be considered so yesterday.   

The new fashion will be quality which reflects modesty, humility, and sobriety.  And it will not be a passing seasonal fad.  The popular “name brand” on many items will be Holiness Unto The Lord™!   

The remaining church with a passion for this beauty of holiness will display Bible standards to the survivors on earth.  And this fashion standard will be backed by the Lawgiver who designed it.  For He will rule the nations with a rod of iron.

Note:  The coming fire means different things to the world and to the church.  To the world it will be judgment fire.  To the church it shall be refining fire.  All works of wood, hay, and stubble will eventually burn up and pass away.  Only works of gold, silver, and precious jewels will survive, be purified, and will shine even brighter throughout eternity.  
Remember, precious flock, the lesson found in the great flood, in the plagues of Egypt, and in Sodom.  Every time God’s judgments rained down upon the earth, God mercifully protected His elect.  Look up, for your redemption draweth nigh!   

- Some thoughts I had on January 13, 2013, 

- Phillip

What is the best thing that I can do to build the kingdom of God?

"Thy kingdom come."  - Matthew 6:10a

"For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink."  – Romans 14:17a

What is the best thing that I can do to build the kingdom of God?  Is it excellence in Christian education for my children?  Is it rich tradition and pinpoint doctrinal accuracy?  Is it warmly talking of our heritage in order to produce a love for this in others around us?   

As much as I love all of these, I have seen this often mistaken for what is best, for what is necessary.   

To build the kingdom of God, I must build the kingdom of God.  I know that this sounds silly, but many Christians do the first three points but never do anything to build the kingdom of God.   

• I can educate and refine my children until they be slick, CEO type, motor-mouths capable of running any Christian organization -- all vanity, unless they are humble and filled with the Holy Spirit. 
   
• I can lovingly publish, talk, and embrace our rich traditions and doctrines for my children and others until they be rooted in the richest traditions of the most orthodox doctrines -- good.  But they could also become formal and liturgically sound in their worship, thinking, and ways -- not good.   

•  I can gushingly tell of our heroes, saints, and ministers until our children love the same and follow them as they follow Christ.  And this is good.  

But unless I build the kingdom of God I am only building tradition and human machinations.   

What does it mean to build the kingdom of God?   

It first means to let this kingdom reign in my heart.  This means a clear testimony to salvation from all sins and a cleansing from all inbred sin.  This means forsaking all to follow Christ – forsaking self, lesser things that I love, comfort, rights, opinion, popularity, power, authority, and anything else that we humans try to manipulate to “build” our personal reputation, empire, or comfort zones rather than God’s kingdom.  This means praying and interceding much until I know what God wants me to do and be for Him, even at the cost of never being known or noticed.   It means to even then to continue to pray much and for others.  It means forsaking all in order for yourself and for others to know Christ and the power of His resurrection.   

We often speak of the act of forsaking all necessary to know Christ.  But so few after the initial forsaking, continue to forsake all in order to help as many as necessary know Christ.  But this very thing is building the kingdom of God.   

We often have not forsaken enough to spend much time in prayer or in seeking to know Him through His Word.  Nor have we forsaken enough to bring as many as possible to Christ.  Our lives are too cluttered and busy with other things we love.   

We love our fine education and other ways of bettering ourselves, our doctrines and theology, our traditions and our heritage, our comforts and our high culture, our reputations and self promotion, our fellowshipping and our mingling, our organizations and our planning to promote such.   

But in the end we have just that and no more.  Where is God's glory and presence?  Where am I?  Am I dead to sin and the flesh and alive unto God?  Where are the new souls won and discipled to Christian perfection and beyond?  Where are the new churches -- not new church buildings -- but rather where are the new congregations?  Where are the new mission fields, not hand-me-downs as precious and as needed as they be also?   

I know that many play a hidden part in such highly visual works and this is good, for God does not call many to full time ministry.  But we all must ascertain that all our passions are in building God’s kingdom and not in building pious but lesser interests.  Nor am I speaking against local church loyalty, for I know that God has ordained His kingdom to be advanced from the framework of loyalty to the local church.   

But our greatest longing and striving must be to love and glorify God, and then labor to bring souls to perfection in Him.  This alone will build the kingdom of God.     

- Phillip, July 19, 2010         

You – God’s SPECIAL creation

A nice house is cheapened

if painted the wrong colors;

no Jaguar needs “racing stripes.” 

You, as God’s SPECIAL creation,

cheapen your appearance with false colors

and/or earthy bangles.

 

 Credit: Edgar A. Bryan I, found on www.separateholy.wordpress.com