Posted by David on February 3, 2005 under Bulletin Articles
What is our greatest Christian influence in life? Words of condemnation or encouragement? Achievements? What we do for others? How we lead? How we follow? Our children? The money or property we acquire? Our lifestyle? Our death? How often we go to church? What we do for the church? Or something else?
On two occasions last week I heard the same statement in two situations. First, the statement was made regarding a couple as tribute to the way their lives served others. The second was from people attending a funeral regarding the lady who died.
The statement: “They are/were good people.” This was made in regard to the couple and to the deceased lady and her husband (who preceded her in death). In both instances, it was made by people whose lives were beneficially touched.
A striking reality I frequently encounter is this: people do not know how to live. Much of my life is spent sharing realities about life’s focus. As our culture “advances,” people’s challenges and problems become more (not less!) complex.
Two things astound me. First: numerous persons have little or no idea that choices and decisions produce consequences. Careless, thoughtless choices and decisions commonly produce bad consequences. It is astounding to witness how often people are shocked because choices or decisions made with little thought produce devastating consequences in their lives.
Second: people have a poor concept of God. With no disrespect intended, often people’s concept of God is the concept of an idol. He is what they make Him. They are definite about what He is and what He is not. They are certain about what He does and does not like. They are convicted about what He will and will not do for them (though most emphasis is on the “will”).
As a result, in each situation, God is commonly the “scapegoat” when something occurs they do not like. With strong conviction, they “know” the bad happening is God’s fault!
My life is spent as a preacher and writer. Obviously, I believe in the power of words. I have not lost confidence in the power of words (or I would not be writing this!).
Yet, I am convinced something is more powerful than words. A life well lived in faith is more powerful than words. I am not speaking of success-centered, or pleasure-centered, or fun-filled, or wealth-filled life. I speak of life well lived — a life that treats even an enemy with respect and kindness, that treats all with compassion, that draws his/her values and standards from God and lives by them, that understands faith is a 24/7 commitment, that understands Christ is reflected by service rather than control.
Only those who know how to live by faith know how to die by faith. These Christians teach people how to live! What do people learn about living from your life?
Posted by David on January 27, 2005 under Bulletin Articles
Unfortunately, Christians allow that attitude to explain much that happens among ourselves. If “I” do it, “my” reason is noble. However, if “you” do it, “you” are up to something. This attitude too often is adopted by Christians for numerous reasons. (1) There are con artists that use religion to work their cons. (2) Often people have “hidden agendas.” (3) Spiritual maturity is a demanding (often disturbing) journey-it is a journey, not a destination. (4) Maturing requires growth, and growth produces change. (5) Forming “emotional attachments” frequently attacks understanding. (6) It is hard to accept previously unknown information.
The pursuit of God’s will is a humbling, demanding challenge. The human finite mind will never fully comprehend the infinite God. That reality is distressing! The more we understand God, the more we are challenged. The more we are challenged, the more we grow. The more we grow, the more we confront the need to develop. As we spiritually develop, changes produced by improved understandings are certain.
As a result, the question, “What are they up to?” is horribly inadequate. Quite frequently, all that “they” are “up to” is allowing God’s will to transform them. That dedication often leads Christians to what other Christians declare to be the unthinkable.
Consider a first century example. Commonly, devout Jews did not approve of idol-worshipping Gentiles becoming 100% children in God’s family without converting to Judaism first. This disapproval was a major problem in the early church. Even Jewish Christians said, “Gentiles (1) have the wrong ancestry; (2) are not covenant people; and (3) come from the wrong moral/ethical background!” Justice is done to their concerns with these statements: “God would not do that! God does not think that way! God is upset! We demand things be done our way!”
Yet, it was God’s intent to bring all people to Him through Jesus Christ. While that is a common understanding to most of us, it was a radical, unthinkable, preposterous suggestion to first century Israel who were “the people who belong to God” for almost 1500 years. They were certain they understood God’s thinking, but they did not. May we accept the challenge to pursue God’s agenda and never call God’s values preposterous.
Posted by David on January 20, 2005 under Bulletin Articles
On occasions Jesus condemned the motives and desires of the most prestigious in Israel’s religious ranks. Jesus’ statements concerning these religiously prestigious persons was so unthinkable that his closest disciples were astounded. (See Matthew 15:12.)
Matthew 23:12 is among Jesus’ most critical statements of these people known as the Pharisees. Please note three things. (1) When they read scripture (i.e., “sat on Moses’ seat”), they should be heeded. They shared God’s instructions, not theirs. (2) Yet, they had no concern for people. They were judges of others’ weaknesses or failures. They were unconcerned about encouraging or helping. They enjoyed making loads heavy, not assisting in carrying loads. (3) They loved occupying positions of prestige. They were certain of their significance! They loved others confirming their significance.
Jesus’ directive is chilling! When they speak from scripture, listen. However, do not act like they act. God’s key to spiritual greatness is found in humility, not in prestige.
It is easy to criticize the Pharisees. It is equally easy to repeat their mistakes. God was humble enough to care about us while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:8). God was compassionate enough to send His son to us to direct us to Him (the way, the truth, the life-John 14:6, 7). God was (is) forgiving enough to cleanse us even when He knows we will fail again (1 John 1:5-10). None of us stand approved before God because we are so good, but because we are sanctified and justified in Jesus.
It is quite humbling to realize this: what God through Jesus Christ does for me each day He does for every other man and woman in Christ each day. No Christian is given the prerogative of judging those in Christ. Every Christian has the privilege of encouraging those in Christ. May the Lord say of each of us, “Follow his/her example.” Never let Him say of us, “Do not behave like he/she behaves.”
Posted by David on January 13, 2005 under Bulletin Articles
Jesus made this statement to the 12 Jewish disciples who had likely spent their entire lives in a Jewish community in a Jewish household as members of Jewish families. He said this to men who knew Jewish tradition and Jewish customs in the heart of Jewish culture.
Perhaps you ask, “David, why all this emphasis on ?Jewish, Jewish, Jewish’?” For this reason: it was too easy for them to place confidence in the fact that they were Jewish. “We are the right people! We do the right things! That is what makes us God’s people!”
Jesus said, “Wrong! There is an artificial distinction, and there is a godly distinction. To place spiritual confidence in ancestry and procedures is artificial. Rightful confidence comes from allowing God’s nature and character to become our nature and character. When we allow God’s nature and character to determine our nature and character, we will be different. It will not be produced by isolation, ancestry, or unique customs!
“Even the people you regard to be the height of wickedness (Jewish tax collectors collecting for Roman interests; idol worshippers)-even they like people who like them and greet people who approve of them. If we are kind only to people who like us, how are we different from people we regard to be wicked?
“Do we not realize that God is not that way? He lets the sun shine on and the rain water the crops of those who do not even acknowledge His existence. Let God be our guide and example! Let God determine how we act! Do not place confidence in human identity! Who we are is important, but what we are is even more important!”
How is Jesus’ statement relevant to Christians today? It is scary to see how may of us place our confidence in “where my membership is.” It is scary to see how often we allow the foundation of our faithfulness to stand on our preferences or on identity marks that are rooted in our past and not in scripture. It is scary to see how often we make scripture fit our convictions rather than allowing scripture to determine our convictions. It is scary to see how often we use only scriptures we are convinced support our convictions.
Jesus told the 12 not to do such things. Allow God’s nature and character to be your guide and example. That makes you radically different! Different enough to treat enemies with a kindness that rises from love! That’s hard! The objective of being Christian is to reflect God in whom and what we are. That’s hard! We praise God because He gives us this opportunity in Jesus Christ! Accepting that opportunity is demanding! It is easy to rest on the past! It is demanding to be a spiritual being!
Posted by David on January 6, 2005 under Bulletin Articles
In one of the most remarkable “turnarounds” in Jesus’ ministry, Peter went from the disciple to whom God revealed Jesus’ true identity (Matthew 16:18, 19) to the disciple used by Satan to tempt Jesus. Astounding! One moment he was a recipient of God’s special revelation declaring Jesus was the Christ. The next moment he was used by Satan as a means of tempting Jesus. In back-to-back incidents, he was used by God in a special way and then by Satan in a special way. That alarms us! The fact that God made use of him did not mean that it was impossible for Satan to use him!
One special insight is provided by the Greek word translated “stumbling block.” It literally means “a bait stick in a trap.” The common form of traps for animals in ancient times was a snare. For the snare to be effective, the animal must be lured inside the snare. Thus a stick was scented with a smell that either appealed to the animal or incited the animal’s curiosity. When the bait stick deceived an animal and lured it by smell into the snare, the animal was trapped and eventually lost its life.
It is fascinating that the person deemed fit for God’s special revelation was also deemed fit to be the “bait stick” (the lure) into a snare Satan set for Jesus! After Peter declared Jesus was the Christ, Jesus began to explain to the twelve that he would suffer, be killed, and be resurrected in Jerusalem. To Peter it was unthinkable that God’s promised Christ would suffer and be killed! He responded to Jesus’ information with, “This shall never happen to you.” At that moment, Satan used Peter as a “bait stick in a trap.” Satan through Peter said, “There is a route to being Lord that does not include suffering and crucifixion.” To Jesus, that possibility had appeal. Though Peter did not comprehend the significance of what he said, what he said was a deadly temptation to Jesus.
This world, temporarily under the control of evil, is filled with snares set for the righteous. It is easy for God’s man or woman to be deceptively lured into those snares-by materialism, by consumerism, by pleasure, by security, by fear, by ignorance, by arrogance, by pain, by jealousy, etc. We need each other’s help and encouragement as we walk through a life filled with snares.
Just as with Peter, the fact that God uses you for His purposes does not mean that Satan cannot use you for his purposes. We need each other! It is so easy to be deceived by evil! It is so easy to think evil is good! It is so easy for curiosity to destroy us! It is so easy for the “present moment” to blind us! It is so easy for us to substitute our expectations for God’s priorities!
We need each other’s spiritual encouragement. We need each other’s spiritual eyes and spiritual values. We need to help each other see the snares and avoid the “bait sticks.”
Please do not let Satan use you as his “bait stick”! Dare to be God’s encouragement!
Posted by David on December 30, 2004 under Bulletin Articles
Each of us lives in a world that considers devotion to God a low priority; that pursues pleasure, or materialism, or security, or success, or escapism as life’s purpose; that defines integrity differently from the man or woman serving Jesus Christ; and that subscribes to standards and values in genuine contrast to Christian standards and values.
Living daily among people and influences that do not regard God as life’s priority is hard! It always has been hard! In some societies it is hard because God is opposed with open hostility and physical danger. In our society, most Christians do not face open hostility and physical danger. Here the opposition is real but often subtle.
The fact that it is hard to follow God in a world that denies God as Creator, the Source of life, and the Eternal Destiny is not new. Two thousand years ago Paul wrote to Christians living in Thessalonica, “But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober” (1 Thessalonians 5:4-6). He wrote to Christians in Ephesus, “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:15-17). To the Christians in the province of Galatia he wrote, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen” (Galatians 1:3-5).
How do we as Christians react to our godless pressures and influences? Some react by creating an artificial division between “real life” and “religious life.” Some create a “going-to-church” habit. Some define personal faithfulness on the basis of physical presence at a place. Some wrestle with temptations and fail. Some struggle with guilt. Some seek to exist in isolation.
Regardless of personal reaction, we all need encouragement. Sunday evening in the auditorium will be devoted to supplying the encouragement to live. It will not be a duplication of Sunday morning. Sunday morning is primarily devoted to praising God. Sunday evening will primarily be devoted to challenging us to live for God. It will be devoted to providing us strength to live for Christ in our real worlds.
We will seek to make it uplifting. We will seek to make it helpful in a daily walk with God as we follow Christ. We will seek to make it “times of refreshing” coming “from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19). Come Sunday evenings to be encouraged and challenged!
[This is not an attempt to attract those who attend classes, life groups, Kids for Christ, etc., to the auditorium. We are not in competition with each other!]
Posted by David on December 19, 2004 under Bulletin Articles
Right about now daily life becomes so hectic that our focus is on surviving until December 25th, not on reflecting. Maybe that is a significant, contributing reason for the depression this time of the year. All the advertisements show smiling faces at smiling gatherings of families or friends or both. Yet, those advertisements do not depict many people’s reality. Too often this important commercial time of the year tries to remind people of what they do not have, not what they do have.
The same commercials deliberately (for commercial purposes) send a false message. The false message: (1) “Give people what they want and they will be happy,” or (2) “If you give this for a gift you can be sure the person will be happy.” The annual reminder arrives: happiness is not found in possessions. We often think “possessions” are a substitute for caring, loving “relationships.” How quickly “things” bore us. “Things” are a distraction with an extremely short life of effective distraction. Caring, loving “relationships” grow in meaning and often endure a life time.
Perspective is the engine of reflection. In recent days, a conversation, an e-mail, and a letter fueled my reflection. The conversation came from a missionary forced home because of a medical necessity. His comment: “For the first time, I am experiencing reverse culture shock.” Reverse culture shock occurs when you re-enter the home culture and feel like you do not fit. Why is he experiencing reverse culture shock? “Here this season is so commercial!” Its focus is on business, not on remembering!
The e-mail came from a Christian in another part of our world. In this region Christianity is looked upon with great suspicion. Powerful people regard Christians as evil people who are a dangerous threat to society. In simple eloquence, the person spoke of the hopelessness of many. They had only the here-and-now perspective. They struggled daily in a sense of personal desperation as existence became increasingly futile.
The letter came from a Christian friend working hard in an area so poverty stricken that the simplest medicines are unavailable. The average person cannot even obtain a Bible. In the past, he has written me often of the difficulty of helping people find hope in Jesus Christ when they do not even have a Bible to read.
This is a wonderful time of the year to show love. Please, never rely on “things” to declare your love. Show your love through your kindness and caring. Show your love through a living, continuing “relationship.” Because you are who you are in Jesus Christ, touch lives of others by allowing God to teach you how to love in every relationship. May it be evident in the way you treat others that God living in you through Jesus Christ makes the difference that cannot be ignored. May an accurate, grateful perspective on your countless blessings enlarge your perspective! May your perspective drive your relationships! Your memories and awareness are the fuel for your love!
Posted by David on December 12, 2004 under Bulletin Articles
One of the songs sung in my childhood congregation contained the statement, “Time is filled with swift transition.” Many times this past year I was reminded the song is filled with truth! From driver’s license to high school graduation, to college, to marriage, to first full-time work, to beginning a family, to graduate school, to three children, to mission work, to stateside work, to age 64 and counting, my life is change! As people in every generation, I look back wondering how it passed so quickly. As I lived, it did not seem to be flying by — but now it seems to have streaked by.
Let me share with you two things now occurring in my life. Sunday night I talked about the shipment of medical supplies, Bible study aids, and Bibles we plan to send to Eugene Elangwe in Cameroon, West Africa, in January, 2005. We have almost $7500 of the needed $10,000 shipping costs. We no longer seek funds for medicines [though much needed, they are too expensive]. C.U.R.E. donated over a ton of medical supplies you boxed for shipment. C.U.R.E. will utilize their network for shipping the supplies. Seven different Wum clinics will use those supplies. We will meet urgent physical needs and present Christians as compassionate people. Some there are suspicious of Christians.
I asked you to look at home and contribute Bible study aids (concordances, Bible dictionaries, reference books, commentaries, etc.), and Bibles (English is one of the basic languages there). Bible House book store in Searcy, AR, is making a significant contribution to that collection. The objective is to supply the preacher training school with some materials and to provide Bibles to congregations. There is plenty of room to ship books regardless of size or weight. Thanks for all your help, time, and generosity!
In the past month, with MUCH technical help from Debbie and Ron Belote, I opened a personal web site, www.davidchadwell.com . On that site, free, are bulletin articles, adult Bible class materials with guides for teachers, and sermons. (In time this will include sermons from Oxford, MS, and West-Ark.) I also hope to have all of my out-of-print books on the site as well as writing new material for the site. If you know of anyone who can make use of any of these materials, please let them know they are available for use free of charge. Right now I need a few people to scan some out-of-print books to become part of this site. If you have interest, time, and access to a scanner, please let me know.
I hope the site will be useful in numerous ways. It is a mission outreach — people around the world have access to the material. It can supply help to small congregations experiencing difficulty having a regular minister. Hopefully, it will stimulate the thinking of preachers who read the materials. Hopefully, it will stimulate Christian individuals in their personal studies. Hopefully, it will be something God can use in His great and wonderful purposes.
Posted by David on December 5, 2004 under Bulletin Articles
Prior to Jesus’ ministry, John declared, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2).
After Jesus’ encounter with Satan in the wilderness, Matthew generalizes the beginning of Jesus’ ministry with this statement: “Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people” (Matthew 4:23). The good news (gospel) Jesus declared was that the kingdom was coming soon.
As Jesus continued his ministry, this was a basic message: “Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness” (Matthew 9:35).
Near the close of his ministry, Jesus emphasized God’s kingdom in this manner: “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14).
To equate “the kingdom” as a simple substitute for “the church” (in our concept of “church”) is an oversimplification. In the context of Matthew, Jesus being on earth, Jesus’ mission in Israel, and Jesus’ message cannot be separated from “the good news of the coming of the kingdom.”
A kingdom is ruled by a monarch. All in the kingdom serve the monarch. Their reason for existing is to serve, advance, and champion the purposes of the monarch.
The concept was not based on an organization or membership in an institution. The concept was based on serving a king. Most Americans do not consider being a part of a monarchy as “good news.” How can serving a king to advance and champion his purposes be good news? We view a monarchy as restrictive and freedom-destroying. We consider democracy as liberating and “freedom-giving” — to us democracy is good news!
Jesus’ basic message for Israel and the world was strange. The “good news” is that people can make God their ruler? The “good news” is that anyone anywhere can make God his or her ruler? The “good news” is that God ruling a person is not a matter of ancestry, or functions based on traditions or rules, or the cultural religious rites of a specific people? The “good news” is that a person can come to God and make Him ruler by allowing Jesus to be the way, truth, and life as he guides us to God (John 14:6)?
The ultimate question when we give an account of how we used physical life on earth will not be, “Where did you go to church?” Or, “How often did you go to church?” Or, “What did you do to support the church?” Or, “Did you do worship correctly?” As essential as worship is, it will not be the foundation of the ultimate question. The foundation of the ultimate question: “Who ruled your daily life as you lived on earth?”
Posted by David on November 21, 2004 under Bulletin Articles
Making a message multi-cultural and relevant for successive generations over hundreds of years is extremely difficult. Generations have different priorities and concerns. As time produces changes, it is easy for a current generation to transpose its current concerns on the old message.
That always has been true. The gospels’ Judaism and the Judaism at the end of the Old Testament are distinctly different. Approximately 400 years (and a lot of history!) passed between the last writing in the last Old Testament and Jesus’ birth. When Jesus’ message directed Judaism’s leaders to a God-centered understanding, he met resentment and ridicule. Jesus’ concerns and first century Judaism’s concerns were radically different. God’s intent and first century Judaism’s concerns frequently were unrelated!
In the first century Roman Empire, the exposure of infants was an accepted practice. In this practice, a newborn infant was abandoned to the elements to die. We call that murder. Though a sanctioned cultural practice, a discussion of this horrible custom is not mentioned in the New Testament.
Slavery is mentioned — as a fact, a reality. Yet, the slavery then was distinctly different to early American slavery. Their slavery was not a racial matter. Some of their most accomplished people were slaves — and some of those slaves actually owned slaves! Though the New Testament makes it obvious that slavery did not prevent one from becoming a Christian, it never condemns slavery.
Horrific circumstances produced incredible opportunities. Christian values displayed in daily life successfully opposed exposure of infants. The values demonstrated in daily existence successfully opposed slavery.
If you love people (even if they are enemies!), your daily existence rejects exposure. (See Matthew 5:44, 45 and 1 Corinthians 13:13.) Are you a Christian slave? Use your slavery to glorify God! (See 1 Corinthians 7:21, 22.) Is your faith in Christ causing suffering? Use your suffering to illustrate your hope! (See 1 Peter 3:14, 15.)
The American dream is wonderful! American freedom is a priceless gift! But do not interchange commitment to God and Christ with the American dream. Christian faith is not declared because “everything goes right.” Christian faith is declared by our behavior when things are not right. Christian faith is not declared by a pain free life. Christian faith is declared by the way Christians react to suffering.
Worship gives Christians strength to live daily life! Daily life reveals the value of faith in God and His resurrected Son! It is through living daily life that we reveal what it means to be the temple of the Holy Spirit.
The primary issue is not, “Do I worship?” It is, “Who does trust in Christ make me?”
