Posted by David on July 13, 2006 under Bulletin Articles
God is to be accepted and praised rather than measured by human values and understanding. When Paul wrote the letter to Christians in Rome [we know as the book of Romans in the New Testament], he wrote to Jewish Christians who questioned gentile Christian procedures, and gentile Christians who resented Jewish Christians. He wrote to a situation that harbored more brotherly resentment than brotherly love!
Gentile Christians resented the arrogance of Jewish Christians, and Jewish Christians questioned the legitimacy of the gentiles’ salvation. In the presence of all this ill will in the Christian community at Rome, Paul discussed some astounding principles in salvation. He discussed the fact that Abraham was justified by faith just as we are (4:1-5). He used David to prove there was a relationship with God in which God ignores sin (4:6-8). He declared the Christian can be at peace with God because of the trust he/she places in God (5:1). He said the Christian deliberately died to sin [rather than continuing to do sinful things] in order to be alive to God through Christ (6). He said the Christian chose to live in the release of God’s Spirit rather than the defeating slavery of legalistic human behavior (7, 8). He declared God could pursue His own purposes without being unjust even if humans did not grasp His choices (9:14-33). He affirmed that God was not trying to destroy the Jewish people in offering salvation to gentile people (11).
Jewish Christians could have easily reacted by saying, “God would not pursue salvation in that manner!” Gentile Christians could have easily reacted by saying, “God loves us more than He loves you!” Paul said to both groups, “Do not go there! If you do, you miss the primary point of God’s salvation!” As Paul explained in 12-15, appreciation of God’s salvation is to be seen in Christian behavior, not in a human evaluation of God’s actions.
Paul ended his inspired insights into God’s work in salvation with our opening scripture. In essence, Paul declared, “When I consider all God did for us in our salvation through Jesus Christ, I am overwhelmed! I want to praise the God deserving of all glory! I want to declare He is beyond our understanding and worthy of our glorification! God is God-and we will never be His equal!”
Does your life declare every day that God is God and we are not? Is your life a continuing worship of God? When you gather with others in Christ, are you filled with a desire to praise and glorify God in appreciation for all He has done in making forgiveness and relationship with Him possible? Does your faith depend on your understanding, or does your understanding depend on your faith?
Posted by David on July 6, 2006 under Bulletin Articles
Someone always has to be the first! I remember driving out West and seeing a sign that read, “20 miles to the world’s tallest bridge.” We were driving on a very flat plain. In the distance to the right were some mountains. I thought the road would abruptly turn to the mountains–where else would a tall bridge be located?
The road did not turn, and in a few minutes I saw a sign that said, “1 Mile to the world’s tallest bridge.” Skeptically I said to myself, “Sure! Out here in the middle of nowhere on a flat, flat plain!” Suddenly, there the bridge was on the flat, flat plain. How unimpressive the bridge looked as we approached it, but the bottom of a narrow canyon was hundreds of feet below it.
The canyon was like a huge crack in the plain with that same level plain continuing on the other side of this short bridge. Unbelievable! It was the world’s tallest bridge [at least when it was built] simply because ?the bottom fell out’ of a level plain, not because the bridge was high in the mountains spanning some small, deep valley.
I wondered about the first person who saw this crack. I wondered if an adventurer going west happened upon it and said, “Oops! Where do we go now?” I wondered if some Indian guide said, “Do not travel what looks to be the easy way!” I wondered how many looked at the canyon from the west side and said, “Whew! Thanks!”
We owe a special debt to those brave enough to blaze trails for us to follow. The blazed trail for reasons says silently, “Go this way! It may be difficult, but it avoids the dangers and disappointments of the other way.” It also occurs to me that trail blazing always came at a price.
Thank you, Jesus, for trail blazing for us the way to God in the wilderness of an evil existence! Thank you for knowing the dangers of futile ways, having the courage to pay the price, and showing us the safe and certain way to the Father. Without your trail blazing, how lost we would be! How wasted our efforts would be! How quickly our dreams would become hopelessness! How futile a wasted life would be!
John 14:6,10 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. … Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.”
Posted by David on June 29, 2006 under Bulletin Articles
Matthew 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 15:8 (Isaiah 29:13) “This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me.”
Matthew 15:16-20 “Are you still lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated? But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”
Matthew 22:37 (Deuteronomy 6:5) “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”
As we grow more spiritually mature, our perspective on spirituality changes. When we are first converted, we commonly link spirituality totally with behavior. Most of those links are with ?what we do not do.’ Quite often righteousness is defined in terms of ?what we are not.’ For example, “We don’t drink! We don’t lust! We don’t curse! We don’t steal!” [Certainly, these thoughts in no way encourage drunkenness, lusting, cursing, or stealing!] It is all about the Christian controlling his/her behavior and the community of Christians controlling the behavior of all in it. Faithfulness is reduced to (1) identifying the correct hurdles and (2) jumping over them. If we are not careful, this concept of control extends from the individual to the congregation, from the congregation to our segment of society, from our segment of society to our entire culture, and from our entire culture to the whole world.
At some point in the spiritual maturing process, we hopefully realize that the foundation of spiritual maturity is a deep faith in God. The companion awareness is that one can yield to human control without any faith in God. Thus if one ?does’ the expected routines, he/she is ?in’. He/she does not have to have an abiding faith in God. He/she just has to conform to human external controls.
Thus when serious sickness attacks the family, or financial reverses visit the person, or any form of hardship befalls him/her, life falls apart. Confidence was in a routine, not in God. Hope was in protection from adversity, not in the strength to face adversity. That which threatens life or makes us physically miserable becomes a desperate clinging to the physical rather than a transition to a superior eternal. The comfort was in conformity, not in God who gave us Jesus Christ.
Spiritual maturity is found in expressing faith through behavior, not in substituting behavior for faith. Does the way you live reveal your faith?
Posted by David on June 22, 2006 under Bulletin Articles
We increasingly live in a society in which godly behavior does not make sense. There was a time when godly behavior seemed to be a way of life many of the industrious disadvantaged embraced. That time was followed by a period when the industrious disadvantaged prospered. As these people prospered, the church prospered. In fact, that period was followed by a time when the church was filled with the successful middle class. It is amazing to note what congregations could afford in 1975 that they could not afford in 1945! It is equally amazing to note how the lifestyle of the typical Christian family changed during that same time period in this society!
But, again, times have changed. The time when godliness was admired and rewarded has passed. We increasingly live in a period when godliness is looked upon as foolish, and when many Christians think the path to godliness lies in political control rather than godly behavior. Too often we allow society rather than God to define the meaning of key words-fun, pleasure, success, prosperity, ambition, commitment, love, etc.
Perhaps there are two things in our awareness we need to awaken. (1) The realization that someone else notes how we live. (2) The realization that our struggle is against something much bigger than the ?here and now.’
Just in case someone asks about the way you live, please do not begin your response with, “I belong to the Church of Christ?” Begin with, “I belong to the God who gave me Jesus Christ.” Honor God and Jesus in your lifestyle.
Posted by David on June 15, 2006 under Bulletin Articles
Ephesians 4:30 “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
God wants you to be all you are capable of being in Jesus Christ. Why? God wants you to intentionally focus your physical existence on the time that occurred when He surveyed all He made and said, “It is good!” Your distant ancestors were included in that statement!
There seems to be at least three classifications of people. (1) Those who have no interest in spiritual matters. To them, the only important consideration in existence is the physical. They prefer to indulge the physical while giving little thought to the spiritual.
(2) Those who wish to give just enough consideration to the spiritual to avoid disaster. It is not so much that they are afraid of hell as it is that they do not wish to go to hell if it exists. It is not so much that they wish to go to heaven, but they would like heaven to be their ?fall back’ plan if there happens to be an eternity and heaven.
(3) Those who wish to use physical realities to enhance spiritual realities. These are fully convinced that we humans are spiritual beings designed to exist with God Himself. They view life as an investment. By choice, they invest the physical in the spiritual.
In a huge oversimplification, among those who acknowledge spiritual existence is at least a possibility, there seems to be two general classifications [with many hybrid classifications]: Those who wish to be spiritual by accident, and those who wish to be spiritual on purpose. Christians seek to be spiritual on purpose.
For a moment, consider spiritual existence from a genuine Christian perspective [with so many counterfeit perspectives declaring to be Christian, this is not a simple challenge]. From the genuine Christian perspective, the physical is temporary and the spiritual is eternal. The spiritual, not the physical, addresses who we really are-to the extent that the spiritual defines the physical rather than the physical defining the spiritual. The goal is complex but also simple: the goal is to allow God to define who and what we are.
Paul’s admonition to Christians in Thessalonia and Ephesus: “Do not resist God’s influence in your lives.” To them, God’s Spirit was God’s influence as they lived in corrupt environments, corrupt societies, and corrupt communities. On many occasions, it was easier to hide God’s influence on them than display God’s influence on them. Often it was simpler to behave in ways that made it harder for God to be a living influence in them. It is just so much more convenient to be ungodly in an ?unspiritual’ environment!
What about you? Are you spiritual in all environments because that is what you want?
Posted by David on June 1, 2006 under Bulletin Articles
Children who resent control commonly test the boundaries of any control placed on them. “Will I really be in trouble when my parent counts to three, or can I push him [or her] to four, five, or six? Will a temper tantrum control the situation by putting me in charge by embarrassing my parents? Can I defy my teacher’s instructions because he/she is afraid of my parents who are certain to rescue me and be on my side?” Etc.
All limiting instructions are a game. The object of this game is to determine who is in control. To find out the limits of “my” control, I deliberately “push the edge” to see how far I can go and what I can “get away with.”
There are adults with that same attitude. Two sets of rules exist. One set for “me,” and the other set for everyone else. This person operates on the attitude and thesis-in-life that “rules are made for me to break! If the speed limit is 30, I will go 45. If I am supposed to be thoughtful of my spouse on this occasion, I will ignore my spouse. If I am supposed to do things “Y” way in my work, I will do them “X” way. No one is allowed to tell me no, and no one is allowed to restrict me! I know what I am doing, so just get out of my way! If you cross me, I guarantee you, you will regret it! Life is always about “me,” “my” pleasure, “my” ambitions, and “my” objectives. “You” exist to please “me,” and don’t “you” forget that fact!
Such attitudes have no desire to know God in any genuine sense, because God always is viewed inwardly as a rival Who places restrictions on people. In Deuteronomy 6:16-19, Moses warned Israel not to put God to the test. God does not bless us for us to “push His boundaries” in our relationship with Him.
To illustrate the point, Moses referred to the incident at Massah. The incident is recorded in Exodus 17:1-7. It was there that the thirsty people of Israel asked, “Is the Lord among us, or not?”
The question was needless. The issue was self-evident. God delivered them from slavery. God rescued them from a hostile army by deliverance across a sea. God made the waters at Marah drinkable. God gave them quail and manna to eat. Why should they doubt God would provide them water? Yet, instead of a faith reaction, they demanded for God to perform once again.
Moses made the point that Israel should obey God because they had confidence in God, not because God performed as they wished. He said if they obeyed God, (1) it would be well with them, and (2) they would possess the good land God promised them. Good things happening to them depended on their confidence in God!
Life is filled with undesirable circumstances and undesirable happenings. Each time the undesirable occurs, our issue remains the same: do I or do I not trust God? Does God truly know what is best for me? Will He in actuality keep His promises to me?
In each undesirable occurrence, the temptation remains the same: the temptation to demand that God perform in the manner we desire. Instead of trusting Him in the face of the frightening, we too often demand that “God do something immediately about this” regardless of what He has done for us in the past. Thus instead of the crisis becoming a time of confidence in God, it becomes a time to doubt God. In our arrogance, our importance constantly escalates as God’s importance constantly diminishes.
Perhaps no conviction lies at the heart of faith in God more than does this conviction: God has my best interest on His heart!
Posted by David on May 25, 2006 under Bulletin Articles
The above words were written of the Christian Barnabas. While not a perfect man (Galatians 2:13), he was an exceptionally good man. He was one of the few Jews in his age that could see God at work among people who were not Jews. Not only could he see God’s grace at work, but he could be delighted that God’s work was obviously being done among people who were not proselytes!
His exceptional commitment was obvious in four ways. (1) He was an encourager. He helped people come even closer to the Lord Jesus. (2) He was a “good man.” Knowing the Lord only magnified his commitment to being a “good man.” (3) He was full of the Holy Spirit. He encouraged God’s influence in his life. [See 1 Thessalonians 5:19.] (4) He was full of faith in God’s work in Jesus. Perhaps the reasons for his being a good man were found in these facts: (a) he did not resist God’s influence in his life, and (b) he encouraged within himself faith in God’s purposes in Jesus Christ.
Some commitments are fairly easy, and some commitments are extremely difficult. May I make five observations about hard commitments. [Commonly, hard commitments are commitments which are unpopular.] If a person is to make a hard commitment, there are five stages when he or she may encounter difficulty.
(1) Simply getting started, actually beginning.
(2) Continuing in the face of discouragement.
(3) Continuing in the reality of opposition.
(4) Knowing when to pass the torch to another.
(5) Knowing when you have achieved your goal.
The last two may not seem to belong in the list. However, hard commitments are usually commitments to something bigger than yourself. If that is true of your difficult commitment, inevitably it means you must know when to step aside. I always admired John because he knew someone greater than he would fulfill a greater purpose (Matthew 3:11; Luke 3:16; John 3:27-30). Fulfilling a personal goal to be useful to God’s purposes does not preclude passing the torch. We must never forget that God’s purposes do not begin and end with us! For us, thankfully, God’s purposes did not end in the first century. It is enough to aid God’s purpose without being God’s purpose! Never be deceived by your own arrogance! Lowliness blesses, but arrogance curses!
Posted by David on May 18, 2006 under Bulletin Articles
From a materialistic perspective, Paul went from “having it made” to “losing everything.” Before he became a Christian, he walked with the powerful. After he became a Christian, he walked with the outcasts and oppressed. Yet, his attitude of compassion and gratitude was amazing. Though he suffered much, he never stopped rejoicing!
Consider his encouragements to the congregation in Thessalonica: For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed-God is witness-nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority. But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children. Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us. (1 Thessalonians 2:5-8)
Listen to his words when God refused to give him relief: Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me-to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. (2 Corinthians 12:7-9)
Why did Paul accept enormous loss? (1) He appreciated God’s forgiveness. (2) He valued what God did in Jesus Christ. (3) He wanted to be part of the eternal.
Why do you endure suffering in order to belong to Jesus Christ?
Posted by David on May 11, 2006 under Bulletin Articles
But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. (Ephesians 4:20-24)
Acts 2:37 is Luke’s record of the response of Jews who were not Christians realizing they abandoned the Messiah. Ephesians 4:20-24 is Paul’s declaration to gentile Christians. The first had not yet become Christians. The second had been Christians for a while.
Those who were not Christians reacted in terror when they realized they abandoned God’s Messiah. The Christians were to accept the responsibility of their privilege.
The fear of terror is not to be confused with the reverence of faith. Both proceed from a profound sense of awe. Yet, the first proceeds from an understanding. The second proceeds from a sense of gratitude. The immature are terrified. The mature are grateful. To oppose God is terrifying. To be blessed by God fills the person with gratitude.
Terror in anticipation of punishment is insufficient to sustain a lifetime of devotion. Even the finest people get weary of terror and eventually rebel. Gratitude sustains a lifetime of devotion. Time makes gratitude deeper, richer. He or she who is grateful only becomes more grateful as the sense of privilege deepens.
It is one thing to stand helplessly in a sense of need generated by acknowledged failure. It is quite another to accept the responsibility of privilege. Being in Christ is being a new creature. New creatures exist by God’s forgiveness through Christ Jesus. Realizing what God did and does for us in Christ produces gratitude. Gratitude produces responsibility.
It is grossly insufficient merely to say, “Thank you, thank you, thank you, Lord!” It is only appropriate for new creatures to live and act like new creatures. Knowing Jesus’ identity does not terrify you before God. Knowing Jesus’ identity makes you willingly responsible to live and act like the forgiven person God made you.
Thus, new creatures do not deceive. They get over anger quickly. Instead of exploiting people, they help people. They speak as godly people when they talk instead of speaking crudely as the ungodly. People are encouraged by their words instead of being discouraged. They are committed to encouraging the work of God’s Spirit within them instead of causing God’s Spirit grief. They refuse to be ruled by negative, ungodly emotions. Instead they want God’s forgiveness to make their hearts tender.
Do you serve God in failure’s terror or gratitude’s responsibility? It’s a matter of spiritual maturity.
Posted by David on May 4, 2006 under Bulletin Articles
Romans 15:4 For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Ask John Paul Hundley how fragile life is. Be prepared for a long talk. His unexpected need for by-pass surgery recently powerfully reminded him that life is very fragile. The lessons he learned from that experience combined with the lessons he remembered serve as the basis of much of his mission effort now.
Life changes, sometimes quickly. It is amazing how quickly a health problem or a death can alter life irreversibly. One moment you are confident about your future as you think you are in full control. The next moment those plans are impossible and look ridiculous.
Consider some of our arrogant presumptions.
“I am in control of my life!”
“I know what I am going to do with my life!”
“I know what my future holds!”
“What I make of myself is up to me!”
Jesus once said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21). Life has two primary banks that receive deposits. Be careful about which you select to receive your deposits. One pays interest only during the years of physical existence. One pays its dividends after death.
How much would the price of gasoline have to rise to alter your job/career dramatically? How much would the price of natural gas have to increase to make the temperature in your home fall or cause you to take cooler showers or baths? How scarce would water have to be for you to return to a single bathroom? How expensive would electricity have to be before we unplugged many of our technological advances?
When we place our trust in the physical, life becomes more uncertain the longer we live. When we are young, we are easily deceived. Too commonly life is summed up in the words, “If I only had …” Then the day comes when we say, “If I could only do …” Then comes the time when we know having is meaningless and doing is pointless. Is it not fascinating to realize that advertisements concerning the “golden years” seek to explain what we are missing by using situations we never had?
God informs us existence in this world is not what He intended. He also informs us that a life is coming that is what He intends. As certain as God exists, He assures us that existence exists! He assures us that this delightful, secure existence is worth the investment of this imperfect, insecure existence. We make this existence imperfect and insecure! He will make that existence delightful and secure!
