Posted by David on November 10, 2005 under Bulletin Articles
Jewish Christians did not oppose people who were not Jews converting to Christ. Jews led people to the living God before Christianity existed (see Matthew 23:15). That process produced proselytes.
For example, if an idol worshipper (a) underwent careful indoctrination, (b) expressed faith in the teachings by becoming a proselyte, and (c) then became a Christian, that was wonderful. However, such a person must be a proselyte to Judaism before he/she became a Christian (see Acts 11:1-3 and 15:1-5).
When Paul wrote the book of Romans to Christians in the city of Rome, there were Jewish and gentile Christians. The background of each group was distinctly different!
In chapters 1-11 Paul stressed it always was God’s intent to save people who were not Jews (see Genesis 12:3). While that is welcome news to most of us, it was not welcome news to many first century Jewish Christians. One of their chief complaints: “How can people who did not know Who the living God was suddenly behave and function as God’s people?”
In chapters 12-15, Paul described what a gentile Christian would look and act like in the environment of Rome. Rome was then the seat of power and the center of commerce in the Mediterranean world. How would a Christian man or woman exposed to all Rome’s influences behave and act?
To me that continues as a relevant question. We often live in corrupt communities in a corrupt nation. Surely there are worse places. However, there are improvements we all would like to see here.
Sometimes Christians look so much like the part of society who does not know God, we cannot tell the Christian from the person who is not a Christian. Aside from the Christian “going to church,” they often are quite similar in behavior and goals. I am not talking about artificial differences. I am talking about godly dedication to stable marriages and homes, or not being sexually active outside of marriage, or not being greed led or power ruled.
Our society needs to “see” what a Christian looks like. Can it look at you and “see”?
Posted by David on November 3, 2005 under Bulletin Articles
Consider your view of God. Compare what you think God is like with some of the declarations of scripture.
One time Moses asked God to show Himself to him. God explained Moses’ request was impossible because if human Moses looked upon the holy God, he would die. God did allow Moses to view His glory. In that episode, God gave this self-description: Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations” (Exodus 34:6, 7).
Near the end of his life, Moses made this statement to Israel: “For the Lord your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them” (Deuteronomy 4:31).
Centuries later Nehemiah encouraged a renewal of faith in God among returning Israelites. Nehemiah 9 is an “honesty session” that assumes human responsibility and declares God’s greatness. As a part of the renewal, the people confessed their sins and acknowledged the iniquities of their ancestors. In speaking of their ancestors and their God, Nehemiah 9:17 states, “They refused to listen, and did not remember Your wondrous deeds which You had performed among them; so they became stubborn and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But You are a God of forgiveness, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness; and You did not forsake them.”
Paraphrased: “Our ancestors who left Egypt forgot what You did for them. In their stubbornness and arrogance, they thought they could solve their discontentment by returning. They were utter spiritual failures. In Your compassion and graciousness, You forgave. You were slow to anger and filled with mercy. They failed You, but You refused to forsake them.”
Interestingly, in our view of God we stress His vengeful, exacting nature when He who is “slow to anger” was angered. We see His vengeance. In the same instances they saw His mercy and forgiveness. Who sees God the most accurately?
Posted by David on October 20, 2005 under Bulletin Articles
There are lots of things to complain about! The world is filled with such things! Most lives have an abundance of such things! There are some people who look at the entire world as a great big dumpster! Nothing is “right”! There are no blessings! Something is wrong with everything! Mention any good thing and the complaining person responds, “That is true, but ?”
I hope you have the joy and pleasure of knowing several inspirational people. Chances are if you experience that joy, among those inspirational people is at least one person that you ask, “Why is she (he) so happy?” From all visible circumstances, she (he) has much to complain about. But she (he) does not complain. She (he) sees blessings. She (he) not only sees blessings, but makes blessings visible for others to note.
God waited patiently for thousands of years to send us His son. That son was rejected by those who were supposed to know God. Rejection-what a dumpster! Finally, the son was arrested and condemned on false charges. Injustice-what a dumpster! Then the son was executed. Execution-what a dumpster! Then the son was buried by the pitiful few who were not ashamed of him. Death-what a dumpster!
Then God raised him to life. Resurrection-what a blessing! Through his resurrection, God gave us hope. Hope-what a blessing! Through his execution, God gave us redemption. Redemption-what a blessing! Through injustice, God gave us atonement. Atonement-what a blessing! Through his rejection, God gave us forgiveness. Forgiveness-what a blessing! God’s patience persevered until we could have salvation. Salvation-what a blessing!
Which are you more likely to do-see all that is wrong with everything or see blessings everywhere? God is more likely to produce blessings! His children are more likely to see the blessings He produces!
Since evil became a part of this world’s reality, there always has been more that is wrong than is right. It always is easy to criticize. It takes special vision to see blessings. God has that vision. Let Him teach you how “to see.” You might be amazed to see all the blessings that surround you!
Posted by David on October 6, 2005 under Bulletin Articles
Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ?You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:43-48)
AND “Whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.”
AND “Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.” (Matthew 25:40)
Paul wrote, “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6-8)
The storms have come and gone. The horrible pictures that filled the TV screen and newspaper for days have been replaced with other concerns of the moment. Yet, much of the destruction remains. Homes are destroyed. People are displaced. Jobs have vanished. Folks, just like us, struggle every single day to survive with no income, home, or end in sight. Their material hopes are the remembrances and generosity of people they will never meet.
Hunger is hunger. No electricity is the same for everyone. No running water is disaster for anyone. No sewage system is a nightmare for any family. No gasoline-what do you mean no gasoline?
Keep your hearts open. Pray for our drivers as they haul supplies to the Gulf. Help any and every way you can. Caring for those in need is not all of righteousness, but it is definitely a huge part of it.
Posted by David on September 29, 2005 under Bulletin Articles
For example, take the word “righteous.” In many minds the concept associated with “righteous” is “morally perfect.” Therefore a call to righteousness is a call to perfection. In some minds the word “righteous” is associated with the concept of “hypocrisy.” To these the call to righteousness is the call to insincere pretense. “Righteous” people are “hypocrites” who pretend to be something they obviously are not-morally perfect.
Luke 1:6 says Zacharias and Elizabeth both were “righteous in the sight of God walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.” Matthew 1:19 says that Joseph was “a righteous man” because he did not wish to disgrace Mary when he discovered her pregnancy. In Luke 1:28 an angel called Mary God’s “favored one” [or richly blessed one]. Luke 2:25 referred to Simeon as “righteous and devout.”
These are not the only people who were called “righteous” or “highly favored.” In these, consider some obvious things. (1) They were extremely sensitive to God. (2) They were conscientious in devoting themselves to God’s ways. (3) Their understanding of God’s ways was flexible enough to surrender to God’s purposes rather than question His acts.
If your wife was 50 years old (used only for illustration purposes), how would you feel if she told you she was pregnant? If your fiance? was pregnant and you had never been intimately involved with her, what would you think? If an angel told unmarried you that you would be pregnant before marriage, would you say, “Behold, the bondservant of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38)? If God revealed to you that you would see His most wondrous act before death, would you recognize His act in the baby’s birth who offered hope to people regarded as your enemies (Luke 2:26-33)?
Being righteous before God is more than knowing a “thus says the Lord.” It is more than singing a cappella, taking communion weekly, and worshipping in our order. It is more than names, words, and vocabulary. It is more than “issues” and “theological stances.”
It is also expressing compassion for the victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. It is also caring about those who suffer around us. It is also seeing God at work in ways and matters we do not usually associate with God’s work. It is allowing the Sovereign God to be sovereign as He pursues His purposes. It is also being God’s servant who serves-even in the face of the unusual!
Are we righteous?
Posted by David on September 22, 2005 under Bulletin Articles
Because this society provides a high standard of living for so many, people in this society often forget they live in a war zone. That is not the voice of paranoia. There is the war against poverty, the war against forces that threaten the physical environment, the war against self-serving political forces, the wars against addictions, the war against suffering, etc. There are as many wars as there are injustices!
Most of those wars directly involve only a segment of society. While the wars target real problems, those real problems are perceived by only a fragment of society. While proponents of those wars shout all society is at risk, all society does not feel at risk.
There is a war that is more massive in scope than all other forms of war. It is the war between good and evil (Ephesians 6:10-12). While this war shares some things in common with other wars (for example, not all society feels threatened), there are some distinct, unique qualities about this war. (1) Even though all society does not feel at risk, it often makes immediate casualties of the unsuspecting. (2) The consequences and carnage of this war surround us on a daily basis. (3) This war is much more complex than human greed, human arrogance, human selfishness, and the lust for human power. (4) Even the finest of human efforts and intents will not and cannot end this war.
It is not fun to live in a war zone! The first casualty of war is peace. War by nature brings conflict, death, insecurity, hardship, injustice, fear, and constant uncertainty. It is because wars by their nature are destructive that people always prefer to fight them “in the other man’s territory.”
However, the war between good and evil is fought in human minds and motives. We are the battleground! When we try to make “sense” out of the “senseless” occurrences in our lives, how do we generate hope instead of despair?
(1) We accept as truth that we do indeed live in a war zone. (2) We prepare ourselves to survive the heat of war (Ephesians 6:13-18). (3) We understand God’s purposes in defending good are greater than our desires as the battleground. (4) We also realize that evil is not without its resources. (5) We understand that success is not determined by physical desire but by eternal destination.
There are some things we will never understand in this physical world. However, that is okay. Why? It is okay because we know the One who will defeat evil. When evil is defeated, the senseless will make sense-as surely as Jesus’ death NOW makes sense!
Posted by David on September 15, 2005 under Bulletin Articles
“David, where are you going?” To the wilderness. “Why?” Saul is trying to kill me! “Why?” I don’t know-it does not make sense to me! “How long will you be gone?” I don’t know! “Where will you stay?” I don’t know! “Will you be okay?” Surely-I am going to the wilderness; I am not leaving God. God is there, too, you know.
“Why do you look so confused, Habakkuk?” I am trying to figure out what God is doing! “What is going on?” God constantly gives me visions of horrible destruction on His people! “Ah, I understand!” I doubt it! He will use the fierce, arrogant, wicked Babylonians to destroy Judah. How can God use a people more wicked than Judah to destroy Judah. Judah surely are not angels, but they are not as evil as the Babylonians. Sorry; I must go-I have to figure this out!
“Why are you so despondent, Jesus?” I am on my way to my execution. “If you know where you are going, why go?” God wants me to go. “Aren’t your desires bigger than God’s will?” No! “Why?” Simple-God’s purposes are significantly greater than my desires. My desires focus on now. God’s purposes focus on forever as He wars against evil. My body and mind scream ?don’t die,’ but my understanding realizes God’s purposes are bigger than me.
“Where are you going, Paul?” I am going to my beating, or my shipwreck, or my stoning, or to my next dangerous journey, or my next personal struggle-take your pick. “Paul, why knowingly have any of those experiences?” Simple-I understand what God did for me in Jesus Christ. God’s gift and Jesus’ sacrifice far exceed my discomfort. Besides, everyone needs to know what God did for him or her in Jesus!
Where are you going? You don’t know? You don’t even understand why? You struggle to grasp the ?eternal’ is bigger than the ?now’-especially when ?now’ seems real and the ?eternal’ seems artificial? Don’t be distressed by your confusion or your struggle! Why? For two reasons: (1) You are in good company; (2) God is there as surely as He is here.
Psalms 139:7-12 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night,” even darkness is not dark to You, and night is bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.
Posted by David on September 8, 2005 under Bulletin Articles
Abraham was a nomad. Isaac was blind. Jacob lived with frustration of having two wives who were jealous sisters. Moses endured the ceaseless complaining and discontent of an entire people. Samuel knew the sting of rejection. David lived the life of a fugitive. Isaiah was to prophecy until there was total devastation. Jeremiah delivered messages no one wished to hear. Jesus died the death of a criminal.
Paul understood God is not a one dimensional God. God did the unthinkable through ways that defied believability. Though He promised Abraham that He would bring a blessing to all humanity (Genesis 12:3), not even the angels understood what God sought to accomplish in Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:10-12).
What was this incredible thing God did? He unleashed a power on earth that could allow any man or woman (regardless of culture, education, or background) to become one of the called out people of God. Any man or woman who had the courage to allow God to teach him or her the purpose and focus of life could belong to God. Those who have the courage to be “the called out for God” are to be living testimonies to God’s great wisdom and power.
Could God free slaves from one of the world’s most powerful nations? Yes! Could God make a nation from those slaves? Yes! Could God send His son through that nation? Yes! Could God provide the atonement for all the evil humanity commits through the blood of His son? Yes! Could God raise His son from death? Yes! Could God forgive anyone who accepts His sacrifice and trusts His promises? Yes! Can God forgive you? Yes!
That is the mystery God revealed in Jesus Christ! The astounding thing is not what we have done! The astounding thing is what God has done! Astoundingly, God did it through a death and resurrection!
This was not just any death. It was the death of a son totally devoted to God’s will. It was not just any resurrection (resurrections had occurred before through God’s power). This resurrection was unique. It was the permanent defeat of death. It still stands as the proof that death is never the end of the man or woman with the courage to belong to God.
No one but God can defeat OUR death. Let all human power take note-only God defeats death permanently! God demonstrated this truth in Jesus’ resurrection!
Posted by David on September 1, 2005 under Bulletin Articles
All evening the pager vibrated until I turned it off at 10:30 p.m. A little after 6:00 a.m. Tuesday morning, I turned it on. Five prayers were uttered for me prior to my turning it on, and it went off in my hand! (I jumped again!) I knew I would never get my work done if I jumped every time it went off, so when I got to work I placed it close by. I hear it every time it vibrates-which is often!
I find it very humbling to realize so many offer prayers in my behalf! I never doubted that fact, but the pager surely puts an underline beneath that fact! Thank you so much for constantly reminding me (1) of your relationship with God and (2) your loving concern for us.
One of the most encouraging, heartening things for me in my “prayer pager experience” is this: receiving specific evidence of how prayerful this congregation is! Things happen because God acts, not because we are powerful. God uses us for His eternal purposes! We do not use God for our momentary purposes!
Hopefully you understand that Joyce and I do not care who knows about my health challenges. While the cause has not yet been determined, we understand (1) the conditions likely will slowly progress; (2) therapy should help symptoms; and (3) I must have considerable training/learning. Though the situation has just been discovered, it possibly has been progressing for a long time. It is unlikely anything will happen quickly (which is one reason we have not wanted to give my situation a high profile).
In your prayers, I have three requests. (1) Pray the progression will not rob me of my personality. (2) Pray I will respond well to therapy. (3) Pray God’s purposes will be served in ways that honor Him.
Thank you for your many kindnesses and thoughtfulness! Joyce and I are overwhelmed by the caring and love of so many here and elsewhere! Every day we are surrounded by so many blessings! Be patient with us-this is a marathon race, not a hundred yard dash!
If I just will not fall again; I hope to cease providing you visual reminders! Slings tend to attract attention! Slow movement does not mean I am worse-just that I am trying to be more deliberate in my actions. Joyce and I both deeply appreciate the prayers and encouragements! Being in Christ with you is a wonderful experience!
Posted by David on August 22, 2005 under Bulletin Articles
Humans often reason that “God works through the best.” Therefore, those who follow God can be deceived into trying to become/be “the best” in a human attempt to obligate God to accept them and to work through them. Certainly, those who belong to God seek to learn and to embrace God’s higher level of morality declared through their behavior. They willingly accept God’s moral views as the standards for their motives and their behavior.
However, those who follow God have no illusions about their personal dependence on God. It is God’s grace that allows them to belong to God, not their own personal goodness. Following God is not an attempt to obligate God, but an acknowledgement of one’s own unworthiness. The person who belongs to God can come boldly to God’s throne confidently seeking God’s grace (Hebrews 4:16) not because of his or her worthiness, but because of God’s goodness. Those who belong to God seek to be a good example, but they do so to reflect God’s true goodness, not their own pseudo goodness (Matthew 5:16).
One important realization Christians need to grasp is this: it always has been about God’s greatness and His honorable Name, not about elevating the status of bad humans into incredible humans. In the context of each situation, consider these statements: Exodus 32:9-14; Numbers 14:13-19; Psalm 25:11; and Jeremiah 14:7, 21. God acts because of Who God is to reveal His honorable nature. Christians exist to declare Who God is (Acts 17:16-31; 1 Peter 2:9, 10).
Jacob was not God’s ideal “poster boy.” Jacob was a liar, a deceiver, and an untrustworthy schemer. Consider Genesis 27:9-29; 30:27-42; and 31:17-28. He often schemed deceptively to achieve his purposes. He lived up to his birth name in Genesis 25:21-26 — the one who takes by the heel or surplants.
However, he suffered and endured many things because of his untrustworhy character. He endured the hatred of his twin brother; separation from his immediate family; being deceived by his father-in-law; being married to two wives who were jealous sisters; the rivalry of his sons; the horrible judgment of his sons; and deception by some sons concerning their declaration that the son he most loved died. Jacob’s life was a life of distress and unpleasantness throughout most of his adult years.
Late in his adult life Jacob was introduced to the ruler of Egypt. The ruler of Egypt was impressed by Jacob’s long life. When the ruler inquired how old Jacob was, Jacob responded with these words:
“The years of my sojourning are one hundred and thirty; few and unpleasant [literally, evil] have been the years of my life, nor have they attained the years that my fathers lived during the days of their sojourning” (Genesis 47:9, NAS).
Jacob lived a long life, but not an enjoyable life.
God used Jacob to accomplish His purposes and fulfill His promises. Jacob was not the ideal follower of God nor a wonderful example of moral integrity. God achieved His purposes through Jacob because of who God is, not because Jacob was an incredible man of righteousness.
May God achieve His purposes through you with your full cooperation and devotion, not in spite of your weakness and poor character.
