This is the second of the blogs under the heading…”there are at least six things we must have straight in our thinking if we are going to progress in our walk with God”. I will review 2^nd now and the 3^rd one before the end of the year. I pray they are of value to you.

The six are:

1. The scripture is the infallible Word of God.
2. God has a purpose for my life and I can know it.
3. We are the Priesthood of Believers.
4. God’s plan for our life is to be God’s person and prepare for our return to Heaven.
5. Learning how to think biblically through Studying, Interpreting and Applying the Bible.
6. Accountability

This time my emphasis is that we all embrace our role as a Priest and get our objective in life/purpose straight.

Good thinking to you…Rom 12:2

Gayle

3. As believing men we are all “chosen” to the Priesthood of Believers

1 Pet 2:5 you also as living stones are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

1 Pet 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for possession, so that you might speak of the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

The job of the Prophet was to bring God to the people.

The job of the Priest was to bring the people to God.

Definition of Priest from Webster: “a person ordained to the sacerdotal or pastoral office; a member of the clergy; minister”.

Examples of modern priest would be

• Pastors
• Sunday School teachers
• Fathers
• Husbands
• Disciple maker
• Etc.

Observations:

1. As male believers we are all chosen to the Priesthood. Priesthood: the priestly fraternity, that is, a sacerdotal order.
2. We are chosen, we didn’t join or make the selection.
3. We are a royal group… kingly (in nature).
4. We are a Holy Nation.

Holy: sacred (physically pure, morally blameless or religious, ceremonially consecrated)
Nation: a race, that is, a tribe; specifically, a foreign

Questions from these verses:

1. We are the stones that Christ is using to build His Spiritual House. Am I a good stone or sandstone?
2. If I am of a “fraternity” of Priest, do I respect and support other expressions of the ministry with other Priest? Do I look down on other expressions of the ministry? Do I respect other expressions? Do I encourage others in their expression? God is doing a lot of things and I am privileged to be chosen for the small part I have.
3.  What am I doing to enhance my gifts as a Priest?
4. What am I doing to enhance my fellow priest gifts as a Priest?
5. Is my focus on Jesus or my own fame?

Application:

1. Pray for your development (Spiritual House) as a Priest and surround yourself with people that will help you to be a more effective Priest.
2. Pray and encourage/support some of the many ministries of God:
   1. The local Church
   2. Missions around the world and the USA.
   3. Ministries to the aged.
   4. Ministries to the disadvantaged children.
   5. Ministries to the disadvantaged adults.
   6. Ministries to teenagers.
   7. Etc.

Expose and engage yourself with other ministries, looking for ways to support them.

3. Make a Spiritual Sacrifice. This would probably mean giving up your life and ambition.
4. God’s plan for our life is for us to be God’s person and prepare for our return to Heaven-not to give our life and talents to things of the world.

Over the last year I have lost many close friends, dying. At my age the thought of dying is preeminent and I have to rehearse daily my objective in life. This was Solomon’s conclusion in Ecclesiastics. Ecc 12:13-14.

Ecc 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God, and keep His commandments. For this is the whole duty of man.

Ecc 12:14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it is good, or whether evil.

Most of my Christian walk has been preoccupied with how to straighten out my life and live a more, better moral life as a husband, father, citizen, child, parent, employee, etc. But as an aging man I have no children under my authority, no job, reduced citizenship, no parents, etc. But I have realized God’s plan for our life is to be God’s person and prepare for my return to Heaven

But as I view old age with major diminished capacity, I have to answer this question, is life to just feed on my memories and wile away the hours or is there still a way I can serve God? I will see Him soon and what will He say to me? What is God’s point of view? The answer is still, serve God with the giftedness He gave you.

Luke 12:16-21

¹⁶ And He spoke a parable to them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully.

¹⁷ And he thought within himself, saying, what shall I do, because I have no room in which to store my fruits?

¹⁸ And he said, I will do this. I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones, and I will store all my fruits and my goods there.

19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease, eat drink and be merry.

²⁰ But God said to him, Fool! This night your soul shall be required of you, then whose shall be those things which you have prepared?

²¹ So is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.

We must not forget or lose sight of what Solomon said, “For God shall bring every work into judgment”. God will review with us our life and how we invested it (not spent it). There is a judgement seat with rewards and losses with God and so can we continue to invest our life in older age? Answer yes.

Let me quote my last Blog,

We need to stay in serving God to the very end. Don’t get caught up in your legacy and memories, they are “vapors”.

Jas 4:14 who do not know of the morrow. For what is your life? For it is a vapor, which appears for a little time, and then disappears.

Start every day with a prayer

1. God show me how I can serve you today.
2. Let me bless those around me.
3. Thanks God that you are in Control and have my best Interest at heart.

Verse in ending,

Psa 71:17 O God, You have taught me from my youth; and before now I have declared Your wonderful works.

Psa 71:18 And now when I am old and gray-headed, O God, do not leave me; until I have declared Your strength to this generation, and Your power to everyone who is to come.

Mission statement of this blog

These blogs are to stimulate your biblical thinking to become Issachar’s of our time.

1 Chr 12:32 and from the sons of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do…

These blogs are an attempt to articulate key biblical issues of our day so that we can

1. Learn and understand the propositions of the Bible concerning our life
2. We can apply the truth in our life in the sanctification process
3. Contend/defend against heresy or apostasy.
4. We can draw closer to God

We now have a Web site for the blog. Thanks to Mr. Matt MacMillan we are now modern era. Here are some facts on the site

1. The address is JacksonsJournal.com
2. No password is required
3. You may print any document.
4. If you want to correct one, you must first pass it past me.

I hope these bless you….Gayle