Posted by David on July 12, 2009 under Bulletin Articles
A collection of people are hard to lead. Why? All collections are composed of numerous groups. Even groups who are similar think and behave differently. In fact, it seems similar groups magnify their differences. Preferences become matters of correctness. The deeper the preferences, the more correct the preferences become. Thus, the more divergent the groups become. The end result: even similar people become unleadable.
Want a mess? Be a leader! A president, governor, corporate head, mayor, alderman, chairman, director-it matters not. There are always groups, and each group is certain it is correct. The joys of leading (they exist!) are not found in people’s preferences!
And we as a church think it is complex today? Early Christians did not agree on how many gods existed or how gods were honored. Ironically, the central issue was not the number of gods or how gods were honored. The beginning, the center, and the end of spirituality was this: Is your confidence placed in the resurrected Jesus Christ? Do you let who you are, what you do, and how you respect people be determined by Jesus Christ?
Christians could be wrong about the number of gods or how deity was honored, but they could not be wrong about Jesus’ identity. God may shake His head at our preferences. God never shakes His head at the person who shapes life and the use of life by Jesus Christ. Nether should we-whether we are young or old, conservative or progressive, educated or uneducated, rich or poor, experienced or inexperienced. The cotter pin that holds us together in our diversity is faith in the risen Jesus Christ. Lives given to Jesus Christ are worthy of respect-personal preferences aside! Do not shun Christians because of preferences! Our human preferences do not determine God’s focus!
Posted by David on July 5, 2009 under Bulletin Articles
The above is the last verse of 1 Corinthians 15. It concludes Paul’s long discussion of the importance of Jesus’ resurrection. In specific, Paul declared Jesus’ resurrection is important because His resurrection affirms our resurrection. The indication is this: Paul answered their question about the importance of accepting resurrection as a fact.
Paul affirmed belief in resurrection is at the core of placing faith in Jesus. He said if there is no resurrection, Christianity is a sham without integrity. If resurrection is not real, Christianity is based on a lie knowingly promoted by lying men.
The reason for Paul’s challenge in 1 Corinthians 15:58 to be steadfast is the reality of resurrection. Little is more devastating than reaching the end of life, realizing that you have wasted life, and realizing your life cannot be rescued.
Please note that hardship produced by placing faith in Jesus’ resurrection is NOT a modern problem! It is as old as Christianity! Anti-spiritual people always have said, “Dead is dead! Death is the total end of life! Anticipating resurrection is nothing more than foolishly hoping against reality!”
Working for the Lord is just that-work. It is demanding, often challenging work. It can be rightfully defined as toil-just plain hard work.
Note also that though it may be hard work, it is not vain work. It is never wasted effort. Why? Resurrection is real! We work for more than the church’s success, for more than defense of a position, or for more than a name, a mission, or a principle. What is more than all those? The resurrection is more than those!
It is resurrection (a) that gives a never ending reason to be steadfast and immovable when our world declares we are foolishness, and (b) that gives us reason to abound in the work our world calls wasted energy. Does your faith in Jesus’ resurrection make your work for the Lord worth the effort? Do you live in the confidence of your resurrection?
Posted by David on June 28, 2009 under Bulletin Articles
The above statement was written by Luke as Paul’s statement to King Agrippa. The Lord Jesus spoke to Paul when the resurrected Jesus appeared to Paul near Damascus. Note these things: (1) the unconverted Paul’s acts of persecution against Christians abused the Lord Jesus himself. (2) The infinitely Jewish Paul (Galatians 1:13, 14) was sent to the gentiles as a minister and witness. (3) The converted Paul’s objective to gentiles was fourfold: to open their eyes, to direct from Satan’s dominion to God’s, to extend to them forgiveness of sins, and to make them eligible for the divine inheritance.
How would this be accomplished? The gentiles would be sanctified by faith in Jesus as being the Christ that God sent. The foundation of their faith would be God’s work in Jesus. How would the gentiles, these idol-worshipping people, see the light? They placed their faith in God’s work in Jesus. How would these people leave Satan’s control and place themselves under God’s control? They placed their faith in God’s work in Jesus. How would they receive forgiveness of sins and the inheritance? They placed their faith in God’s work in Jesus.
The beginning point of holiness for these unholy idol-worshippers was to place faith in God’s accomplishments in Jesus. Faith does not come from obedience. Obedience comes from faith. Faith in Jesus gives obedience meaning and significance. The person who trusts Jesus obeys Jesus. Without faith in Jesus, acts are just acts. A person obeys because the person trusts God’s acts in Jesus. Why do you obey? Do you trust Jesus?
Posted by David on June 14, 2009 under Bulletin Articles
Numerous things are beyond my imagination. My life would change profoundly without Joyce (my wife), my children, or my extended family. I cannot imagine the change if my friends or this country disappeared! If the lifestyle and opportunities of many people I knew in other countries were mine, I would be dead. This is not all my unimaginable!
While many unimaginable circumstances exist for me, number one is forever the same. I cannot imagine living in a world untouched by Jesus Christ. Do you ever consider how radically our world would change if there was zero influence of Jesus on it?
If there was no Jesus influence, the unimaginable would be commonplace! The concepts of freedom, of rights, of morality, of justice, and of people exploitation would change-at the conceptual level, not merely the application level. Evil would become good, wrong would become right, and we would exist to be used and discarded.
“David, why would you think that?” Consider this in the context of our world: As God’s influence through Jesus decreases anywhere, the evil treatment of people increases. When good departs, there is no vacuum! Evil behavior quickly fills the hole!
Is the situation perfect? Far from it! Is Jesus’ influence exploited or abused? Certainly! Are many disillusioned by the behavior of some who claim to be Christians? Absolutely! Must the situation be improved? Surely!
The understandings of what God does through Jesus Christ, the commitment of faith in God, the abundant life, the trustworthiness of human promises, the God-given value of people, behavior transformation, and the proper measurements of life’s purpose are more valuable than most realize. Understanding Jesus changes people-for the better!
Will Christian influence exist without my commitment and support? It’s our choice!
Posted by David on June 7, 2009 under Bulletin Articles
When someone does the incredible for you, how do you say, “Thanks”? There is no way you can return the favor you received on the same level! In fact, anything you are able to do for your benefactor appears “down-right wimpy” in comparison. So what do you do?
First, you do not shirk expressing your gratitude because “you can not repay in kind.” Second, you do what you can do (not what you wish you could do). Third, you understand that your benefactor did what he (she) wanted to do for you. It is this heartfelt desire that made the needed gift the more precious! Fourth, you realize your response must come from your heart-not a sense of obligation. You declare gratitude because you feel gratitude!
Need at times teaches valuable lessons! Because a congregation is “big” (as compared to what?) does not mean it has endless resources, endless programs, or endless finances which enable it to do anything it wishes. Size merely increases need!
This week we were told that in actual spending (merely meeting commitments) we are running $3190 a week below budget. As a congregation, we handle finances responsibly-no one wastes! It will be 22 weeks before our fiscal commitments end. Multiply 22 times $3190, consider the picture, and realize that is only to “break even.”
What is the answer? Each realizes what God and Christ do for us. Each is humbly grateful. Each does what he or she can. That will be far more than enough! Perhaps need teaches some how to say, “Thank you!” to God and Christ.
Posted by David on May 24, 2009 under Bulletin Articles
On Monday of this week, Brian Perkins forwarded me a story sent to him by one of his Iraqi interpreters who served with him. My immediate thought was how much our world has shrunk since my family and I were in West Africa (1970-74). Then the best we could do was send an aerogram (an air mail letter of one sheet limited to a page and a quarter of writing). If someone in our group was going to the airport (80 miles away, over 4 hours of driving time one way), the letter would reach the USA in three weeks. If the recipient replied immediately, we could hear from the USA recipient in 6 weeks. There were two telephones in our population area of 50,000 people. However, we would not dare call-the connection (routed through Europe) broke too often.
Now with a hand-carried computer and an e-mail address, one can be in contact anywhere in the world (with color pictures and sound as well as dialogue) in a matter of seconds. What a change in much less than 50 years!
Things can be communicated so fast today that it is a challenge for most older people to cope, and a challenge for most young people to imagine how things were. That which is “current” is out-of-date in a finger’s snap. Most everything that “was” has been made ancient by what “is.” Often the challenge is to know what changed this week!
God does not change! The more we try to outdate His values, the bigger the mess we make of individual existence, human relationships, and the value of human life. For examples, depression constantly grows, commitment in marriage dwindles, and people are destructively used to satisfy someone’s sense of convenience. Perhaps the biggest shock of all is found in the fact that many people do not understand why such things happen.
James focused on three things: (1) God is the source of good; (2) God does not change (He does not need to change); and (3) God wants to bless us. Consider three questions: (1) Do you understand God will work with you to make life meaningful? (2) Do you understand God does not change His values? (3) Is your hope in God?
Posted by David on May 17, 2009 under Bulletin Articles
The occasion of the above reading involved a strong disagreement among Jewish Christians about the need for gentile converts to accept Jewish practices. Many Christian Jews thought that if a gentile converted first to Judaism, then the gentile was “qualified” to convert also to Jesus Christ. After all, most gentiles knew only idolatry, not the living God the Jewish people knew. Many gentiles had terrible concepts about divinity-the Jews thought they could destroy those terrible concepts and prepare gentiles for having the lives they should live.
Interestingly, the disagreement 2,000 years ago is very similar to our disagreement today: What is the foundation of salvation? Is the foundation our acts or God’s acts? The primary difference in their discussion and ours was (is) this: their discussion focused on background and our discussion usually focuses on the necessity of obedience.
Peter said to them and would say to us, “Your concerns miss the point!” Salvation is able to exist because of what God did in Jesus’ death and resurrection. Any human response to what God did is just that-a response, not a foundation. Faithless salvation does not exist: the person must place total confidence in what God did in Jesus’ death and resurrection. That is the foundation of salvation: the foundation of forgiveness, of sanctification, of redemption, of righteousness. That is God propitiating for our failures.
Every act of obedience is merely a response to what God did in Jesus. Obedience is a huge, believing, “thank you” to God that declares appreciation to God for what He did for us. Obedience is not a “question mark” or an unbelieving manipulation (“I did the right acts so You, God, have to save me!”) Human acts can never manipulate God!
“Thank you, God, for not making our salvation dependent on a human’s or group of humans’ approval. Our hope is in what You did for us, not in what we do.”
Posted by David on May 10, 2009 under Bulletin Articles
Paul’s situation for writing those words focused on Jew and gentile (any non-Jew from any nation) relationships. Paul’s point: any gentile placing trust in God through Christ was loved by God as much as any Jewish person placing trust in God through Christ. There are no superior and inferior Christians. The key is not “where you came from,” but “do you place your trust in what God did in Jesus Christ.” Faith in Christ is the key to salvation, not lineage. Superiority attitudes have no place in coming to God through Christ. All who trust God’s work in Christ are important.
In the salvation concept, Paul made these statements: Salvation is the direct result of God’s attitude toward people. Salvation exists because of God’s incredible kindness. It is God’s gift, not a human achievement. Salvation’s firm foundation rests on what God did in Jesus Christ. It is not the result of a human act or activity. Human acts are not salvation’s foundation. Always, it is God, not us.
People believe Jesus Christ is an act of God [not a fortunate happening], and respond to what God does in Jesus Christ. Why? They trust God’s work in Jesus. How? They become crafted by God. They are willing to be God-made in Christ. How do they show this? Believers spend their lives learning what God’s good works are, and doing those works. Why? (1) They believe God was at work in Jesus. (2) They are God’s craftsmanship. (3) Christians are God-designed to do God’s good works.
Recently I listened to godly people in Christ share heart views. Their concerns in Jesus Christ are genuine. Their dedication to doing God’s good work in Christ is heartfelt. They totally believe in Jesus. They agree a person must come to Christ. They agree the foundation of everything is confidence in God’s work in Christ. They agree on the importance and roles of repentance and baptism. They agree on transformation in Christ. They agree on passionate devotion to God’s good works. However, they often differ on how to implement passionate devotion to Christ.
We live in complex times in a complex world and a complex society. The result: complex lives, relationships, and needs. Only by God’s grace can salvation exist! Salvation is not founded on our agreement, but God’s kindness! Thank you, God!
Posted by David on May 3, 2009 under Bulletin Articles
Today’s need for commitment is overwhelming! The failure to grasp the meaning of commitment provides many false concepts of loyalty! It seems selfish attitudes control more of our actions and behaviors than does the concept of commitment. Today people seem more concerned about personal pleasure, freedom from difficulty, or convenience than in being a person God or others can trust. “Is it fun?” or, “What’s in it for me?” seem to be the important questions, not, “Do I keep my promises?” or, “Is my word valuable?”
In the concept of marriage, in the bond of the parent-child relationships, in employment, in being friends, or in being caring neighbors, are human-to-human relationships based on commitment or selfishness? In matters of faith in God, is the human-divine relationship sustained by commitment or by selfishness?
Discipleship to Jesus Christ is based on service. Service is based on unselfishness. Paul wrote the Christians at Philippi, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3, 4). Service to God means less of me and more of others-just as it did in Jesus!
Think of this in another way. If God used my concept of commitment to forgive me, to redeem me, to sanctify me, to provide me grace, or to show me mercy, would I be blessed or cursed? Look at Jesus’ cross and justify your behavior. Look at Jesus’ tomb and explain a selfish attitude. An unselfish God does not lead a band of selfish disciples!
Even the incredible apostle Paul knew times of fear, yet he never forgot his commitment. Read 2 Timothy 2:1-13. Remember that Paul, while facing certain death, wrote this to encourage Timothy. Serving Jesus killed Paul, but he knew it was worth it!
You are a Christian? Wonderful! Serve God in a spirit of commitment, not a spirit of selfishness. Be a servant, not a watchdog! While the world barks, Christians serve.
Posted by David on April 26, 2009 under Bulletin Articles
The above text is among the curious gospel statements about Jesus. Jesus and the 12 toured Jewish cities and villages teaching about the kingdom of heaven. A group of women accompanied who helped support these men by contributing from private funds. On this tour the women were among those who had been healed of demonic possession and sicknesses. Mary Magdalene also was mentioned as being among the group of women from Galilee who followed Jesus at the time of his crucifixion (see Matthew 27:55, 56; Luke 23:49).
That produces some interesting questions. Why did Jesus allow these women to associate with him in public? In Jewish society then, a woman was not to be in public with a man. This socially unacceptable practice was forbidden and contained enormous danger for misunderstanding. Whyever would Jesus permit that?
Why those kinds of women? Most of what we know about biblical references to evil spirits is speculation. Evidently, unclean spirits, demonic spirits, and evil spirits refer to the same phenomena. Though there are differing views about whom these evil spirits entered or why evil spirits entered such persons, there is common consensus that evil spirits represented Satan and his interests, not God and His interests.
Were you a person possessed of an evil spirit in Jesus’ ministry, and Jesus cast that spirit out of you, how grateful would you be? Were you a Jewish woman who was so blessed, and were you restricted in ways to express your gratitude, what would you do?
A way to express gratitude in keeping with the good received was to minister to Jesus and his work. Would you be grateful? Oh, yes! Would you wish to show your gratitude? Oh, yes! Would you wish to express gratitude in keeping with the good you received? Oh, yes! Interestingly, these women served, they served honorably, and they expressed their gratitude in serving Jesus and the 12 as these men taught about God’s kingdom. Mary had seven of these evil spirits removed!
Lessons: (1) Jesus permitted gratitude. (2) Gratitude was expressed in service. (3) No one had been too bad to help! (4) Great helpfulness produced profound gratitude! Is that also true with you?
