Tag Archives: Christ

Greatest Valentine of All

Church Bulletin, ,

Valentine’s Day in the United States is a busy day for people in love. Greeting card manufacturers peg it as the second largest card giving day behind Christmas. It’s a busy time for the candy business and the restaurant industry too. For what it’s worth, experts note that men spend about twice as much on Valentine’s Day as women. In any case it’s a fun holiday that comes to us from Great Britain where the idea of giving special cards seems to have originated. Often the cards were quite ornate and very expensive. They were sometimes crafted by specialists hired especially for the job. Later the holiday was formalized and given a name after several early Christian martyrs. The name Valens simply means “worthy.” It’s a holiday that brings warmth and love back into the forefront of our busy, self-centered culture.

The Bible predates Valentine’s Day by many, many centuries. It is the original Valentine and the greatest Valentine ever sent. It is a message of undying, eternal love coupled with a reminder of all of the concrete, tangible evidences of that love shown to multitudes since the world began.

Consider the source of the Bible, God. Sent by the instrument of the Holy Spirit to holy and inspired men (2 Peter 1:21) the Bible records the efforts and intervention of God into time to save men from their sins. The Bible itself teaches us that “God is love” (1 John 4:8) and that he is the origin of love. Further, we learned to love others ourselves through him who loved us first (1 John 4:19). Our Valentine, the Bible, comes to us from the source of all love, God!

While our present day Valentines are often adorned with silly sayings, funny frou-frou like pictures and calorie laden candies, the Bible speaks and demonstrates real love. We often suggest that man rightfully should have been destroyed just shortly after he was created. Having willfully and deliberately offended the divine holiness of his creator, man deserved eternal damnation. Instead he was granted a reprieve – a second chance to be reunited with the one who loved him deeply. Amazingly, mankind’s rebellion was not a surprise to God. Paul writes that God chose man “before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4; also Matthew 25:34; 1 Peter 1:20)! One necessary characteristic of the divine is to know all things. That is, to have perfect knowledge of things before, at present and in the future. Such is the ability to grant prophetic utterances. Therefore, God knew man would sin and God knew that it would cost the life of Jesus, “his only begotten son” (John 3:16), for the salvation of wayward man. It was this giving of Jesus at Calvary that proves or demonstrates God’s love (Romans 5:8).

Apart from the Bible, man would never know of God’s love for him. He would be aware of a creator (Romans 1: 19-20) but never aware of his great personal love for every being. It is only through the Bible that we learn of God’s early preparations for man and for his ongoing love and care for him throughout time. Without the Bible we would never know that God was willing and purposed to give up his dearly beloved son for each of us. Apart from the Bible we would never know how to properly return the love that God has shown to us.

Typically, Valentine’s Day sees expressions of love and joy from both the giver and the receiver of the card or gift. Shouldn’t God’s great valentine be similarly met with a return of affection? How will you show your love for God today?

Discipleship Revisited

Church, Evangelism, ,

It’s useful to regularly look at what we are doing as the body of Christ and ask two important questions.

  1. Are we absolutely faithful to our Lord in both our teaching and in our deeds?
  2. Are we employing the best methods possible to expand the body and reach the lost?

Let’s first ask if we are absolutely faithful to the Lord.

A man once asked what would be expected of him if he became a faithful member of the Lord’s church. I guess he was “counting the cost” (Luke 14:25-33) which is good. But my answer was a jumbled mess of talking about regular attendance and participation, which is important, but misses the bigger  picture. The correct answer was very simple. What is expected of a man when he enters the body of Christ? His entire life! Jesus himself said:

“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

Matthew 16:24-25

It may be that we have lost sight of the total nature of our commitment to Christ and have, instead, relegated our faith to a couple of hours most Sundays. The Bible teaches that once in Christ, we cease to exist – we die. As Paul said, “I am crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20). My interests, my desires become suppressed as I seek to serve the Lord. Whatever he says, I do. Whatever he wants, I want. I must be completely subservient to Jesus. If there is any area of life that we withhold from him, we cannot claim to be his servant.

One area that we are woefully lacking in is personal evangelism. Although Jesus said “Go ye into all nations and preach the gospel…” (Mark 16:15), we do not. Evangelism is no more optional than prayer. It is no more to be set aside than the confession of faith in Jesus as the son of God. Nevertheless we ignore evangelism and rationalize it away.

How many years since you engaged someone in a planned, systematic method of Bible study? Too long? Some think we can indirectly evangelize by paying a preacher and by supporting a missionary in a foreign work but the Bible knows no such plan.

Every Christian must be seeking to make disciples as it is the only way the church will grow!

A Stable Faith

Colossians,

The need for a firm foundation in any endeavor is unquestioned. Our homes, our office buildings and even our street and highways are formed upon a solid base or foundation. We recognize that a successful future requires a good educational foundation for a career or trade.

It is also true that stability from a firm foundation is required for our spiritual lives. In Colossians 3:5-7, the apostle Paul speaks of the necessity of that foundation.

“For even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ. Therefore,as you have received Jesus Christ the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.”

(Colossians 3:5-7, NASB, underlining added)

Long before Paul, we find wise Solomon extolling the foundation of God. He writes, “When the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more, But the righteous has an everlasting foundation” (Proverbs 10:25). Later Paul would speak of the “firm foundation” (2 Timothy 2:19) sealed by God’s promise of faithful redemption and our task of fleeing iniquity. Our children know well the story of the Wise and Foolish Men of Matthew 7:24-29. Wisdom demands that we build securely on an unchanging, stable foundation.

True stability cannot be found in modern philosophies. Paul condemned them to the Colossian Christians (Colossians 2:3-4, 8). The new best seller will soon find itself on the clearance table when a new, more modern philosophy rises to replace it.

True stability cannot be found in the depths of the sciences which are ever changing. For all of its accomplishments, science is not stable in the least but always subject to re-thinking and adjustment.

True stability cannot be found in fleeting human relationships. As many as 40% of marriages end in divorce. Others who do not marry buy live together come and go with no record of their instability. Apart from faith and trust in Jesus Christ, there is no absolutely, always certain security in human relationships. The certainty of death guarantees unstable times in human relationships.

The only absolute stability in life comes from a knowledge of and a commitment to God’s word. The Colossians, through their faithfulness, had come to a “true knowledge” God’s message (Colossians 2:2). Paul sought to insure their faithfulness and continued stability by warning them of new philosophies.

Let me offer some help in building your spiritual foundation.

  1. Immerse yourself in a study of God’s word. There is simply no other discipline that will profit you as much.
  2. Surround yourself with sound Christian literature. Many have given all of their lives to a study of God’s word and now are giving that knowledge to you through solid studies. Read everything you can get your hands on.
  3. Make your Christian brothers and sisters your best friends. Christian fellowship is part of that foundation that will serve you endlessly. Such fellowship includes, but is not limited to, worshiping with your brethren. Can you really expect to build relationships with people you see only occasionally?
  4. Make changes in your life. Cracks in a foundation indicate weakness and foreshadow future problems. Seal the cracks in your life.

Jesus Christ is the foundation (1 Corinthians 3:11). We build upon Him. Will you stand with him?

What are your thoughts?

Incarnation

John

“And the word became flesh…” (John 1:14)

There may be no more powerful statement that the phrase above. “The word became flesh” encompasses everything we know about God’s love and about his plan for mankind. Let’s look carefully and dig a little deeper here.

“The word…” John writes here of something called the “word.” We need go back only a few verses to understand what he means. “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. He was in the beginning with God” (John 1:1). Translating the Greek word LOGOS, we would normally understand it to mean Continue reading Incarnation →

Freedom

Matthew, Romans, , , ,

Romans 5:6, 15-17

Matthew 18:21-35

Independence Day is upon us and we celebrate the founding of our great nation. Marked by outdoor parties with mounds of ribs, beans and potato salad we will stuff ourselves immensely and then settle down to watch a sky-show of fireworks. Many will hardly consider the cost of our Declaration of Independence in 1776. It’s was the ever wise Benjamin Franklin who warned his fellow freedom seekers “We must hang together , gentlemen…else, we shall most assuredly hang separately.” Freedom always comes with a steep price.

As followers of Christ, we are bought with a steep price: Continue reading Freedom →

Dead and Gone

Colossians,

“For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:3)

While preparing for lessons to be delivered at Indian Creek Youth Camp I came across this short but very powerful verse. It seems to strike at the very heart of Christian living. In fact, if we can ever fully appreciate what it says we will be changed.

In the context, the apostle Paul writes to Christians who were being slowly drawn back into the ancient Law of Moses. In the preceding chapter Paul warned them not to leave Christ for the old ways which could not save but instead to remain firm in their commitment and dedication to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is in this context that Paul delivers the statement above.

The Christian man or woman no longer belongs to themselves; Continue reading Dead and Gone →