Total Pageviews

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Our testimony...

"But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in the synagogues; and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles." -- Matthew 10:17-18.  Here Jesus describes the fact that as a result of preaching Him and His word will bring persecution even when we are "shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves" as described in Matthew 10:16.  However, Jesus closes this particular statement off by saying this persecution will serve as a testimony to those men.

Our testimony.  Typically when we think of a person's testimony we are inclined to think of the story of a person's circumstances that brought them to Christ.  However, here we see that there is more to a testimony of a person's faith than just how they came to obey the gospel.  Here we see that the persecution a person endures as a result of that faith is also a part of their testimony.

Our testimony.  The word for testimony that is used here in the original Greek has to do with something which serves as a proof of something (BDAG 619).  So this of course begs the question, how can persecution be a testimony or proof of our faith?

Our testimony.  Of course here in the United States we as Christians do not have to fear the persecution that the early church did.  However, we still need to ask ourselves how much are we willing to stand up for Christ and what He says in His Word, the Bible?

Our testimony.  To illustrate the point I am trying to make a little bit, consider this.  The majority of America admires our men and women in the armed services but why?  We admire them because they are willing to put their lives on the line out on the front lines which no one will argue is a tremendous act of courage and commitment and not to mention sacrifice that not many people are willing to do.  This serves as a testimony to their character and to the kind of people that they are.

Our testimony.  So what about us as Christians?  What kind of sacrifices are we willing to make for the cause of Christ?  Allow me to remind us all that one of the main reasons we can point to that Christ was and is the Son of God is because He went to the cross not wavering from what the Lord called Him to do all so that you and I might have a chance at eternal life.  Author C.S. Lewis said it well of Jesus in his book Mere Christianity: "A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic -- on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg -- or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." (40-41).  This among so many other evidences was proof or testimony that Christ is and was truly the only Son of God.  As a result this makes Christianity just as real.  


Our testimony.  So what do I mean?  Fact is when we know something is a cold hard fact, we do all we can to defend it even if it is at a price.  So again I ask if we truly believe what we claim to believe, are we willing to stand up for that belief at any and all costs as a testimony to the world of that faith?  


Our testimony.  So what is keeping us, myself included, from preaching the way Christ and the early apostles preached?  We have everything we need simply with His inspired written word at our disposal so what is stopping us from standing up for Christ the way we should?  Is it pride? Is it fear?  Is it doubt? Is it time or the lack thereof?  Whatever the case, we must overcome our pride but first humbling ourselves before God and being of the mindset "Not my will but Your will be done."  We must face our fears by simply taking that first step of faith and deciding to talk to that person we know is lost.  If we have doubts we must take steps to investigate and ask questions in order to overcome that doubt.  If we are sincerely looking for answers to our questions, God will not disappoint in providing us with answers.  If it is time that you don't have, excuse my bluntness but MAKE TIME! Again, are we willing to stand up for our faith and for what God's word says at any and all costs even if it might mean losing our very job?  This is the kind of commitment Christ calls us to but if we truly claim to love Christ, any loss we might suffer here on earth is nothing compared to the reward we will receive in heaven.  Whatever is stopping you from being the Christian you know you need to be, take steps to overcome that and this will ultimately serve as a testimony to the world and even to your fellow Christians around you but ultimately all glory be to God because it is Him and Him alone that we serve.  


In closing, I leave you with a familiar statement from the Scriptures, "What does it a profit a man if he gains the whole world but forfeits his soul?"  May we all consider our testimony...


DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS! 


Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Among wolves...



"Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves." -- Matthew 10:16.  Jesus, describing the difficulties that come with discipleship.  He has told them to go preach and now Hew warns them that the road will not be easy.  Due to the difficulty, we see here that as Christians, it is like we are living like sheep among wolves. 

Among wolves.  I don't know if you have ever found yourself in a dangerous situation before or in a situation that required great wisdom on your part so as not to put yourself or others in unnecessary danger.  These are the type of situations the early disciples would find themselves in. But why this terminology of sheep among wolves?

Among wolves.  As many of us know, sheep are the most harmless, helpless and defenseless animals known to man.  They are easy prey for any animal that seeks to devour it if the sheep is not careful.  As Christians, if we are not shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves, our fate could be the same when we are among wolves. 

Among wolves.  The word shrewd here has to do with exercising wisdom and the word innocent has to do with maintaining purity.  As Christians, we know when dealing with the "wolves" our approach with every person has to be different because if not we can set ourselves up for attack and put ourselves in unnecessary danger.  We must be innocent.  We can't give the "wolves" any room to unnecessarily slander the name of Christ.  

Among wolves.  So who are these wolves?  It would be easy to say these wolves are "non-Christians."  However, it goes deeper than just that.  We know wolves are predators.  The wolves we deal with as Christians are not much different. The wolves we encounter are simply out hunting and looking for that opportunity to attack us.  While the majority of the world is like this, not everyone is necessarily a wolf.  Many people are simply lost sheep in need of rescuing that are also among wolves. 

Among wolves.  What we must remember is that some people even if we maintain our shrewdness and innocence, they are still going to do all they can to attack Christianity.  We see evidence of this in today's world in people's attempt to remove God and Jesus from the classroom at all costs.  Dealing with the wolves can be discouraging.  We must not give up though simply because among those wolves are the lost sheep that are in need of rescuing.  

This morning my encouragement to you is this.  Take a look around you as you go about your day today.  As you do, try to find those sheep that are in need of rescuing from among the wolves.  If there is someone that you know right now that needs rescuing, go and make that rescue attempt.  More than once if necessary.  Is it easy?  Of course not.  This section is clear evidence of that.  However, the job must still be done.  This is part of being a disciple of Christ. 

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS! 

Monday, December 19, 2011

Preach...

"And as you go, preach..." -- Matthew 10:7.  Here Jesus sends out the twelve on what some have called "The Limited Commission."  Jesus gives them a variety of instructions from Matthew 10:7-14 but those instructions are initiated with the instructions to preach.

Preach.  I recently started reading a book called "He Is Not Silent" by R. Albert Mohler Jr.  In the foreword to his book, Mohler speaks of the fact that many of us today have gotten away from preaching in that we try any number of evangelistic methods in order to bring people to Christ and leave preaching as a last resort.  Please bear with me as I am in no way trying to suggest other evangelistic methods are wrong as the Bible does not give us specifics as to how to evangelize, it just tells us to do it, how is up to us.  However, it is interesting that Jesus' initial instructions when sending the apostles out is to preach.

Preach.  This week's series of blogs is going to have to do with what our responsibility as disciples of Christ is given that Matthew 10 is primarily about discipleship. We see from Matthew 10:7 that our first task as disciples is to preach.

Preach. So what all is involved in preaching?  This is a loaded question so in the interest of your valuable time reader I will do my best to be concise.  Beginning here in Matthew 10, we can see that preaching first involves being equipped.  Jesus equipped the apostles with everything they needed.  It is interesting to note that Jesus did not equip them with material items.  Quite the opposite in fact, in Matthew 10:9-10, Jesus tells them NOT to take any material items but to rely on the material support of any gracious individuals the apostles might encounter along the way.  What Jesus did equip the apostles with was the authority to heal sicknesses, cleanse leprosy, cast out demons and even raise the dead! This was all by the power and authority of Christ.  Of course we do not have this capability today but that is another discussion for another time.  However, just because we don't have these miraculous abilities, this does not mean we cannot be equipped to preach.

Preach.  When we look through the Scriptures, we see that the miracles performed and other similar signs were meant to support and confirm the message of Christ and the apostles.  Given that the miracles and signs acted as a support, we can gather that the primary emphasis was the message itself.  We can further gather that you can't have a message without a messenger.  In other words, you can't have a message without a preacher to preach the message.  Our main task as Christians is to preach!

Preach.  Again, as we look through the Scriptures, the main reason the Lord's church grew was quite simply because of the preaching.  Again though, in order to preach we must be properly equipped. Any good preacher will tell you that preaching is by no means easy contrary to what many might believe.  I still find it amazing that some men who have been preaching for upwards of 20 years still search the Scriptures diligently to make sure what they are preaching is the truth, the absolute truth that God intended to convey to us through His Word so that that truth might be passed on in order to bring more people to Christ.  The simple fact is, the power to bring people to Christ is found primarily in preaching God's Word, plain and simple!

Preach.  Our command is to preach.  This command is one where we are not told specifically how to do it.  So you might be saying to yourself "I can't preach" or maybe you might be a woman saying "Preaching is for the men to do."  For the latter, granted in specific contexts this is true that men are the ones that need to do the preaching.  However, today this is not the point.  The point is no one man or woman is exempt from preaching God's word to others.  There are a number of avenues we can use to get God's Word out to the world.  A blog such as this one is one of many methods a person can use to get God's word out to the world.  You can use Facebook or other social media such as Twitter or podcasts to get God's word out to the world.  And of course men, there is a vast need for men to stand up and be men and fill our pulpits.  Ladies, you too can get God's Word out by taking full advantage of events such as Ladies' Day's with your congregation and inviting other ladies to come to those that you might be trying to reach with the gospel message.  The point is no matter how we do it we have a command to follow and that command is to preach!

So in closing, I leave with two simple words that I once heard from a fellow preacher, "Just preach!" :) but most importantly I leave you with the words of Jesus, "And as you go, PREACH..." (Emphasis added)

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!  

Friday, December 16, 2011

The Harvest...


Image courtesy of Simon Howden

"Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest." -- Matthew 9:37-38.  Jesus, after having looked around at all the people who were broken down be it physically, spiritually, or both realizes the great need that exists.  There are people screaming out that are in desperate need of help.  The harvest is ready.  The problem?  There are not enough workers to meet all the needs that need to be met.  Therefore, Jesus instructs His disciples to beseech or to petition God to send workers out into the harvest.  

The harvest.  I have an uncle who owns a produce distribution company.  He grows his crops on my grandma's farm.  Although I have never worked in the fields alongside my uncle, I understand that at harvest time you need to get on top of things so you don't lose the crop.  This is a crucial element of the harvest. 

The harvest.  Of course here in Matthew 9:37-38, Jesus is not talking about a literal harvest but the harvest that needs to be worked in terms of saving souls that are crying out for help.  Again, these people are broken down, they need help.

The harvest.  So the question we need to ask is there a harvest today?  You bet there is.  The problem is the same though, there is not enough people to work it.  There are billions of souls around the world, including in our own backyard that are crying out for help. They need healing.  There might be emotional healing that is needed, maybe physical healing but most importantly there may be spiritual healing that is needed.  These people are all part of the harvest that we must tend to before we lose them for eternity.  

The harvest.  Jesus instructs us to pray that God send workers out into the field.  What is really neat about this is the fact that you and I can be the answer to our own prayer.  As Christians God has given us a responsibility to go out into the harvest and meet the necessary needs with the ultimate purpose of saving souls.  You may be thinking you are just one person and asking what difference you could possibly make.  If this is the case, I encourage you to remember the apostle Paul who converted almost the entire Gentile world.  One man made all the difference in the harvest. 

The harvest.  Converting whole communities starts with just reaching one.  This is my encouragement to you.  If you know there is someone in need of help be it emotional, physical, or spiritual, go to that person and find out what you can to do help.  It might mean giving them a simple hug or helping them with something around the house.  But most importantly, if the opportunity is there, do not hesitate to share with them the gospel message.  

I leave you this morning with the words of Jesus "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few."  Will you go out into the harvest?

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS! 

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Broken Down...

"Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd." -- Matthew 9:36.  As Matthew 9 comes to its closing verses, we see Jesus looking around.  He looks around and sees that people are distressed which according to BDAG means weary or harassed in the original Greek (933), they are dispirited which in the Greek means to be thrown down (BDAG 933) and finally they were like sheep without a shepherd.  They were broken down.

Broken down.  Not long before I started writing this this morning I saw a post from one of my classmates about how ready he is to be done with school simply because he is tired.  This is understandable because this quarter has been particularly tough due to the workload place upon us and it has several of us broken down.  However, this is not what Jesus was noticing, just a bunch of tired people.  These people were harassed.  These people were beaten down.  These people needed guidance.  Again, they were utterly broken down.

Broken down.  The people were harassed.  Many of the people that Jesus came into contact with were the people that society looked down upon.  Among them were the diseased, the blind, the poor, and of course in Jewish culture, even the women.  Society as a whole wanted nothing to do with these sort of people.  In the eyes of many, these people were inferior and useless to society.  Society as a whole harassed these people.

Broken down.  Second these people were thrown down.  What I mean by this builds on the fact that society was just tossing the diseased, blind, poor and to a certain extent the women to the side.  Those who seemed weak or inferior in some way were given no attention.

Broken down.  Finally, the last thing we note as Jesus looks around is that the people were like sheep without a shepherd.  They needed guidance.  They needed care.  They needed someone who would meet their needs, spiritual and in some cases also physical.  These people were broken down in every way.

Broken down.  Let me ask you this, do the above three scenarios sound familiar to you at all?  Although its not as prevalent, there are cases where the sick and ailing are simply cast aside.  Having two parents worked around healthcare facilities, it pained me to hear that many of the residents of those facilities are simply left there by their families and neglected until it comes time for their life to end and then the family shows up.  To make matters worse many times they only show up to see what they will be getting from this person's death. It's a grim picture I know but this is the reality Jesus faced and this is the reality we as Christians must face today.  People are broken down.

Broken down.  Have you ever seen a sheep without a shepherd?  We know there are children out there who don't have parents.  There are children out there who have parents but don't have the kind of parents that will give them love and guidance.  There are people out there who are looking for a way out of their current lifestyle.  What they are screaming for is help.  They too are broken down.

So how do we respond?  Granted, the above scenarios are not something that can be fixed overnight. Within the last two weeks alone, I have heard of people that would fall directly into one of the three categories defined here in Matthew 9:36.  There are people that are getting tossed aside and being harassed by society.  There are people that are in need of a shepherd.  There are people that are screaming for help.  They need hope.  They need salvation.  That's where you and I come in.  As Christians, we have an opportunity, we have a responsibility to go to those who society casts aside.  The bottom line is all of these are souls in need of God's saving grace regardless of their physical condition.  These people young and old alike are screaming for help.  This morning I am simply here to offer a reality check to remind us of the responsibility we have as Christians.  We have a responsibility to serve.  We have a responsibility to reach out to a dying world.  Ultimately we have a responsibility to make disciples by baptizing them and teaching them to obey all that Christ has commanded per Matthew 28:18-20.  This is not an easy task but whether you are a teacher, a parent, a preacher, a business man or woman, or a student as a Christian we all have a responsibility.  No matter what role we fill, that role is our ministry.  Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:5 to fulfill his ministry.  And that is my encouragement to you this morning. No matter what role you fill be it teacher, preacher, parent, or student that is your ministry, it is our ministry.  We must fulfill it with the ultimate purpose of bringing people into a relationship with Christ, saving souls, and keeping the saved...saved.  Start small, take time to reach out to one individual by serving them in some way and if possible study the Bible with that person.  Tomorrow we will look deeper into what our responsibility is when we bring Matthew 9 to a close.

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Touching Jesus...


"For she was saying to herself, 'If I only touch His garment, I will get well." -- Matthew 9:21.  Here we find another familiar account which has a more detailed parallel account in Mark 5:25-34.  This is the account of the woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years.  She knew that if she simply touched Jesus' garment, she would be healed.  With all the crowds pressing in around Jesus, she probably was not sure if she would reach Him.  In order to get well, she only needed to touch Jesus.

Touching Jesus. This is a very interesting account simply because of the nature of it.  Imagine for a moment you are walking through a crowd, people bumping in to you left and right but then apart from the crowds, you feel something else touch you that gave you a whole different sensation.  This is what happened with Jesus.  There is a certain beauty about this account because we can see one of the qualities of Jesus and thereby God simply because one person reached out to touch Jesus.

Touching Jesus.  We know from Mark 5:30 that Jesus felt the power drain from Him.  It is then that He looks on the woman and says 'Daughter take courage, your faith has made you well.'  The woman was so determined that she was going to get to Jesus because she knew He and only He could heal her of her sickness simply by touching Jesus.

Touching Jesus.  My question to you this morning is how determined are you to touch Jesus?  When we read this account and appreciate what is happening here, we can see that the woman was desperate.  She wanted to get well and she knew the only way to do that was by coming into contact with Christ, even if it was just the clothes He was wearing.  Jesus may not have initially seen her until she touched Him but one thing is for sure we know God the Father saw her amidst all the crowds and this is the beauty of how Christ, how God sees us today.  We don't get lost in the crowd, He knows each one of us individually by name.  Scripture tells us He knows the number of hairs on our head, which I know I have less than others :).  Even so though, God knows us more intimately than we know ourselves and wants to save each and every one of us from our ailment, the ailment of sin.  In order for that to happen, we must touch Jesus.

Touching Jesus.  How determined are we to touch Jesus?  The crowds were getting in the way of this woman trying to touch Jesus but she was not going to let that stop her.  What crowds are getting in the way of you touching Jesus?  Is there something trying to crowd Jesus out of your life?  Is it money?  Is it your job?  Is it some hobby or form of entertainment that takes precedence over your relationship with the Lord? Is it a person that is dragging you down as opposed to lifting you up in your faith?  Is it sports? The list goes on and on.  The question we need to ask ourselves is how determined are we to touch Jesus?  Are we willing to sacrifice time, energy and dare I say it, money if necessary just in order to touch Jesus and get a taste of what He can do for us?  Touching Jesus requires determination.  We cannot let anything come between us and our Lord.

But how do we do it?  How do we touch Jesus today?  Of course, we can't find Him out there on the streets today, or can we?  We will answer that question in a brief moment but first touching Jesus involves first coming into contact with His blood through baptism per Romans 6:1-7 and making Him our Lord per Romans 6:8-14 so that the ailment called sin might be healed.  This is only the beginning of touching Jesus.  Touching Jesus involves service to Him and service to others before self.  No, we can't physically find Jesus Himself on the street like the Jews of His day could.  However, we can find Jesus in the face of an innocent child in need of love.  We can find Jesus in the eyes of a hungry man or woman on the street or even in the face of a struggling member of our congregations, believe me they are there.  We can find Jesus in the face of a person who has lost a loved one such as a child or a parent.  The point is what will you do when you come into contact with Christ?  Will you obey His will and make Him your Lord by obeying the gospel?  Will you make it a point to touch Him by touching others who are in need of healing, be it emotional or physical?  Seek out those who are hurting especially at this time of year.  One thing you can do is possibly get a gift for a child you do not even know or do not know well.  This can make all the difference in a child's life.  Take time to encourage the hurting.  If you know someone who is in need of food, feed that person by providing them with an extra meal or buying them some groceries.  There is countless ways we can touch Jesus today with the ultimate purpose of saving souls.  How determined are you to touch Jesus?

In closing I leave you this time with the words of the woman "If only I touch His garment, I will get well."  Touch Jesus today.  

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

The sick: Part 2


Image courtesy of Graur Razvan Ionut

"When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, 'Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?'  But when Jesus heard this, He said 'It is not those who are healthy who need a physician but those who are sick.' -- Matthew 9:11-12. Jesus, drawing a contrast in what His attitude toward sinners is versus what the Pharisees attitude toward sinners is. He reveals the Pharisees' attitude toward the sick.

The sick.  As mentioned in part 1 of this devo, this is that time of year when a lot of people start getting sick.  As a matter of fact at school, yesterday we had two people out sick.  Given that this is that time of year, people either stay home or keep their distance from people in order to avoid getting sick or getting others sick.  To a certain extent, this same principle is true of the spiritually sick. This morning we will look briefly at the fact that sometimes it is the spiritually sick that avoid the "healthy" but sometimes it is the "healthy" that avoid the spiritually sick.

The sick.  I find it amusing when I come in contact with a sick person, they say something along the lines of "You might not want to get too close to me, I am sick and I don't want to get you sick."  To be quite honest I normally still shake their hand or give them a hug anyway.  Although it's only been a handful of times, I have run into these sort of people in my ministry who think because they are spiritually sick, they don't think they deserve the love of God displayed through Jesus Christ and are therefore unwilling to receive it through obedience to the gospel.  This puts anyone in a predicament, simply because they recognize that they need help but they don't want the eternal help that is offered to them.  These are the people that require the most patience and encouragement on our part. But then we have the fact that many Christians simply avoid the sick altogether.

The sick.  Jesus was questioned as to why He was eating with tax collectors and sinners.  The Pharisees we know avoided these kind of people altogether and were petrified at the fact that Jesus would associate with all these people.  I hate to admit that there have been times where I have been guilty of this myself and it is something that all Christians need to be careful of, avoiding the sick just because they are sick.

The sick.  Given that this concludes our series on the sick, we simply need to ask ourselves what is our attitude toward the sick?  What will happen more often than not, we will see someone deep in their own sin and in our minds think the situation is hopeless.  Or how about this scenario? We see someone who is just a little different than us and avoid them or worse not take the initiative to share Christ with them simply because they are a little bit "different."  The approach with every person needs to be different but as I have mentioned in previous blogs, the gospel is for everybody.  John 3:16 tells us that God so loved THE WORLD that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  Given that God gave His Son for the entire world in itself shows that the gospel is for everybody.  We cannot be like the Pharisees who would avoid certain people simply because they were "different" or so deep in their own sin that it seemed impossible for God to love them.

My encouragement to you this morning is this, encourage the sick, help the sick out of their sin sickness by helping them take steps to get out of their sin.  Share the gospel with the sick and most importantly remember the words of Jesus "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician but those who are sick."  

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!

Monday, December 12, 2011

The sick: Part 1


Image courtesy of Graur Razvan Ionut

"But when Jesus heard this, He said 'It is not those who are healthy who need a physician but those who are sick.'" -- Matthew 9:12.  Jesus, responding to the Pharisees' question as to why Jesus was eating with "tax collectors and sinners."  Furthermore, in Matthew 9:13, Jesus says He did not come to call the righteous but sinners.  Jesus came to heal the sick. 

The sick.  Given that we are at this point in Matthew, I think this concept of the sick is one we can all relate to at this time of year.  As I look around me, it seems that this cold weather is causing a lot of people to get sick in one form or another.  So far I have been blessed and have managed to avoid getting sick but I am most definitely not immune to the possibility.  Of course in Jesus' time, we know that people then were not much different than they are today in that they too got sick.  Makes me wonder if there was ever a time where Jesus healed a common cold? However, while we know Jesus healed many diseases including paralysis as found in Matthew 9:1-8, Jesus came to heal primarily spiritual sickness.  

The sick.  Matthew 9:13 explains to us who "the sick" are and Jesus contrasts it with "the righteous" which I find somewhat amusing simply because Romans 3:10 tells us that there is none righteous, not even one.  We know the Pharisees were self righteous.  A point we will look at in a moment when we tie Matthew 9:13 into all this.  But for now we will focus on the sick. 

The sick. Many times when we are first getting sick, there is a tendency to ignore the fact that we are getting sick.  Minor symptoms might show up but we think it will pass on its own and sometimes it does but more often than not, the sickness gets worse.  It is only when it gets worse that we do something about it as opposed to doing something about it early on.  The point is the first step to healing sickness is acknowledging that you are sick.  When it comes to our spiritual sickness or more specifically our sin, it's acknowledging that we have what many Christians call "a sin problem."  

The sick.  There is a second problem many of us run into when we are physically sick.  Even after acknowledging that we are sick, we have a tendency to try to fight it off on our own thinking it will pass.  Sometimes it does, but sometimes it does not.  The same is true with our spiritual sickness.  We tend to want to fight our spiritual sickness on our own thinking we can somehow get rid of our sin problem on our own.  This fails 9 times out of 10.  Actually, 10 times out of 10 because the fact is only Jesus, the Great Physician, can heal our sin sickness.  

The sick.  All that being said though, we have to go back to the fact that the first step in taking care of sickness is acknowledging that we are sick. Again the same is true with our sin, the first step to taking care of sin, is acknowledging that we have a sin sickness.  It is those who acknowledge that they have a sin sickness that Jesus came to call.  This was the problem that the Pharisees had.  They didn't think they had a sin sickness.  They thought they were righteous.  We know from Matthew 9:13, Jesus did not come to call those who thought they were already righteous but those who knew they needed healing from their sin sickness.  

So what does this mean to us?  To close off in keeping with the sickness analogy, another common phrase we will hear from someone who is getting sick is "I'm fine" when they are clearly sick or on their way to getting sick.  Sometimes this is our attitude when it comes to our sin sickness.  In order to avoid this "I'm fine" mentality we need to be realistic with ourselves and take a look at the symptoms.  The same is true with our sin.  Sin sickness also has symptoms.  Galatians 5:19-21 tells us what the deeds of the flesh or the acts of the sinful nature are.  These are symptoms of our sin sickness.  At the end of your day today, take some time to look at Galatians 5:19-21 and see if at any point today you displayed any of those "symptoms" of sin sickness.  If you have, acknowledge that you have and take steps to get rid of that particular sin in your life.  It might mean removing yourself from a situation.  It might mean having to get rid of something in your house that is causing you to sin in that area.  Whatever the case, the first step to healing our sin sickness is acknowledging that we are sick.  When we do that, Jesus, the Great Physician is more than willing to heal of us of that sin sickness.  If you haven't done so and are tired of being sin sick, healing begins with belief, repentance, and obedience to the gospel.   Don't try to fight sin sickness off on your own, fact is we can't do it.  Come to Jesus who is the Great Physician who "did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."  Tomorrow we will look at what our attitude toward "the sick" should be in relation to this same passage. In the meantime I leave you with the words of Jesus, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick."

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS! 


Friday, December 9, 2011

There's something about Jesus...

"And behold the city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they implored Him to leave their region." -- Matthew 8:34.  Here in Matthew 8:28-34 we find the account of Jesus casting out demons out from two demon possessed men.  This is a familiar account to many because the demons are cast into a herd of pigs that throw themselves into the water. A parallel account can be found in Luke 8:26-37.  However, what I would like to focus on this morning is the response of the city to this event.  The men were thankful for what Jesus had done but the city implored Jesus to leave. With the way people responded to Him, we see here there was something about Jesus...

There's something about Jesus.  As I looked at this verse, I started asking why did the city respond to Jesus in this way?  Why did they "implore" Jesus to leave?  Before we explore this question, one of the key thoughts in this verse is the fact that the people implored Jesus to leave.  The Greek word for implore (parakaleo) that is used here means to make a strong request for something (BDAG 765).  Based on the force of this word, the people were essentially begging Jesus to leave this area. But why?

There's something about Jesus.  Luke 8:37 tells us that the people were gripped with great fear in response to what Jesus had done.  They knew there was something about Jesus that they had probably never encountered before and for good reason, it caused them to be afraid of Jesus and what He could do.  As opposed to being drawn to His power, the people were intimidated by it and did not want to be in the presence of such power.  Therefore, they implored or begged Jesus to leave.

So what does this mean to us?  The fact is even today there is something about Jesus that intimidates a lot of people.  The fact is one of the many facts that sets Jesus apart from any other god of this world is the fact that Jesus challenges who we are.  The fact is a lot of the reason people choose not to obey the gospel is because one thing that being a Christian demands is a change in lifestyle. See Romans 6:1-14.  However, I don't see it as a challenge.  As Christians, we need to understand that while the Christian life has its challenges, we ought not to see them as challenges but opportunities.  The people in Matthew 8:34 saw Jesus' power as something that challenged their lifestyle and it was something that intimidated them.  Therefore, they implored Jesus to leave.

So again, what about us, what do we do with the challenge or the opportunity Jesus presents us with?  One of the most important facts about Jesus that sets Him apart from all other gods is the fact that Jesus gives us the opportunity at eternal life.  Jesus is our second chance and our last and only chance at getting right and staying right with God.  While His teachings are crucial, the most important element of Christianity is the man Himself, Christ Jesus who some have called the Godman.  He is 100% man and He is 100% God.  See John 1:1-14.

Today, there is something about Jesus.  There is something about Jesus that causes people to doubt.  There is something about Jesus that causes people to reject His message and implore He and His messengers to leave their city.  On the other hand there is something about Jesus that gives us hope of something beyond this life much better than we could have ever imagined.  There is something about Jesus that motivates us to change our lifestyles.  There is something about Jesus that takes care of our sin problem and gives us a chance at eternal life.  If we will put our trust in Him and follow Him everyday, we can discover that a life lived for Christ makes all the good times and the trials worth every second because there is something about Jesus that makes us look forward to each and every day because it is yet another opportunity to let His light shine through us.

There is something about Jesus...Take time this weekend to discover what that is by taking some of the teachings we have looked at in this weeks blogs and putting them into practice.

THANKS FOR READING THIS WEEK EVERYONE! DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS! SEE YOU NEXT WEEK!    

Thursday, December 8, 2011

A disciple...

"Another of the disciples said to Him 'Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.'  But Jesus said to him, 'Follow me and allow the dead to bury their own dead.'" -- Matthew 8:21-22.  Jesus, giving an example of what it means to be a follower of Him.  Here we see a glimpse of the commitment Christ calls us to.  We see a glimpse of what it means to be a disciple.

A disciple.  I have always found this to be a really interesting passage based on what Jesus tells this particular person.  Our initial reaction might be why does Jesus seem to be so insensitive to the fact that this man wanted to bury his father?  However, what we have to understand is that unlike today, when someone died in Jesus' time, they had to be buried immediately.  Therefore, chances are this man's father was simply sick and had not actually died yet.  But even so, one might ask shouldn't this be something Jesus should have been sensitive to?  It's a fair question to ask and the fact is I have had to deal with it personally within the last two years in my own life.  Therefore, as we explore this question I can speak from personal experience and we can get a better idea of what it really means to not just be a Christian, but to be a disciple of Christ.

A disciple. A disciple is more than just a follower.  A disciple is someone who strives to mimic everything about the person he or she is following. This of course involves commitment.  Commitment by default might mean having to give up certain things and leave certain things behind for something bigger and better.  This might include family.  The situation described here is an example of said commitment. As I mentioned, I struggled with leaving family behind because of my commitment to Christ.  Prior to my coming to the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver, I had a very sick father.  In addition to that there were other circumstances I was dealing with in my life.  When I made the decision to attend here almost two years ago, it was not made lightly.  I asked myself do I stay in California or do I go knowing my father will be taken care of.  Of course I chose the latter.  The timing was right.  The circumstances were right and looking back I know God brought the circumstances I was dealing with to take me somewhere bigger and better but the choice was mine.  Of course I chose the latter.  On a side note, my father did end up passing away around this time last year.  I was fortunate to have made it to his side before he passed by the grace of God but it did not deter me from my commitment to Christ and what I am doing here at BVBID.  My point is this is the sort of commitment Christ calls us to in order to be a disciple.

A disciple.  In Luke 14:26, Jesus enlightens us further with the commitment He expects from us.  He tells us that if we don't hate our father, mother, brother, and sister we cannot be His disciple.  What is He saying?! Is Jesus asking us to literally hate our family?! The answer is no! The word hate as used here means to have preference for one thing over another.  The fact is Christ comes before our very family.  This is easy when your whole family are faithful Christians.  However, when they are not, that is when discipleship is really tested.  The fact is sometimes following Christ means having to leave our family behind despite what they might think.  Prior to my move to Denver, there was one or two individuals who tried to use my dad's situation to stop me from coming to Denver but I knew with the way things were working out, this is what God was calling me to.  When we choose Christ, we will sometimes face opposition but this is part of being committed to Christ and part of being a disciple.

A disciple.  So what about you?  How is your commitment to Christ?  Are you simply a follower or are you a disciple?  Is there something holding you back from following Christ the way you should?  Is there something bigger that God is calling you to?  Is something holding you back from responding to that call?  Whatever the case, my encouragement to you is this.  Realize that when God calls us to something, it is ALWAYS because He has something better than we ever imagined in store for us.  While it was difficult leaving my dad and family behind, words cannot begin to describe how blessed I have been since I made the move to Denver.  The greatest blessing I have received is that of a relationship with the most amazing girl that I would never have met had I chosen not to respond to God's call for me to come to Denver.  I am not saying that commitment to Christ is always going to be easy or that it will always be a smooth road.  Discipleship involves trusting Jesus even when the going gets tough.  In Matthew 8:23-27, we see that those who followed Jesus were caught in a storm.  Jesus calmed the storm.  Within the last two years, my commitment to Christ has been tested through a series of storms.  Within the last two years I have seen my dad pass away, I lost a pet that I had for ten years and to top it off I lost another dear family member.  Our commitment to Christ will have its share of trials but we cannot let it get in the way of not only being a follower of Christ but being a disciple of Christ.  As I close, I leave you with the words of Paul to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 4:17 -- "For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison."  Today, Christ is calling you to follow Him.  As Christians, we cannot forget that according to Matthew 28:18-20, our duty is to make disciples by baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey all that Christ has commanded.  Don't let anything hold you back, respond to the call today.  Trust God, you won't regret it.

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

An unlikely example of faith...

""Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following 'Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel."-- Matthew 8:10. This verse is part of what I find to be a really neat account.  In short, we have a Roman centurion with a sick servant (likely a Jewish servant) and he knows Jesus can heal the servant with only a word.  We find here a very unlikely example of faith.

An unlikely example of faith.  Most often when we think of the great heroes of faith we think of Hebrews 11 and look at other great examples of faith such as Noah, Abraham, and Moses.  These are indeed great examples of faith but here in Matthew 8:5-13, in a span of 9 little verses along with a parallel account in Luke 7:1-10, we see this unlikely example of faith.

An unlikely example of faith.  What we have to understand about this situation is that Jesus draws a contrast between the centurion who is not of a Jewish background and the Jews themselves who knew God on a more intimate level than the Gentiles e.g. the centurion.  The Jews at this point had around 4000 years of history behind them from Abraham to Moses to the time of Jesus and knowing what God expected of them.  However, along the way something was lost.  God did not go anywhere.  His expectations did not change.  What happened was that obeying God became strictly based on works, rules, and regulations made by man and was no longer a matter of faith.  Many of the Jews were of the mindset that if they did x, y, and z they were right in God's eyes.  What they lost among other things was faith and in this instance they would be put to shame by a Gentile of all people, an unlikely example of faith.

An unlikely example of faith. Jesus would go on to say in Matthew 8:11-13 that many (Gentiles) would come from afar and sit among those great examples of faith such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  However, many of those that were "sons of the kingdom" (Jews) would be cast out into outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

So what does this unlikely example of faith mean to us?  First of all, I can't say if the Roman centurion ever became a follower of Christ since Scripture does not tell us but there is a good reason this account is included in both the gospels of Matthew and Luke.  The fact is more often than not it is the most unlikely of people who turn out to be the greatest Christians we have ever seen.  From Scripture, the most outstanding example is the apostle Paul formerly known as Saul.  As we know he was one of the greatest persecutors of Christians but one encounter with Christ would lead him to become one of the greatest preachers of the gospel the world has ever known.  My point is we should never withhold the gospel message from anyone for any reason.  People might be deep into their own sin but this does not mean they are without hope.  I have the privilege of knowing someone who was so deep in his own sin but an encounter with Christ caused him to turn his life completely around and in the short time that I have been in school with him at the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver, he has been a shining example of what it means to follow Christ and also sharing the gospel message with others.  God bless you Scott!

So what about us? What about you and me?  Whether we have been a Christian for years or we are a new convert one of the most important, if not the most important aspect of who we are is faith in our Lord and Savior.  Hebrews 11:6 that without faith is it impossible to please God.  We might be doing what the Bible says and "faithfully" attending church services every week but if we are not obeying out of faith, then it is pointless and we are not pleasing God.  Take some time this morning as you read this to examine your faith. Share your faith with others.  Go out of your way this week to talk to someone about Christ that the rest of the world might not want anything to do with. Remember the Roman Centurion and the great example he set for us.  In closing remember the words of Jesus "Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel."

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!


Friday, December 2, 2011

Simply Amazing...

"When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes."--Matthew 7:28-29.  These two verses conclude the Sermon on the  Mount which is considered to be the greatest sermon ever preached in the history of mankind. What Jesus has taught here is takes the righteousness of men and shows us that the righteousness of men stands in stark contrast to the righteousness of God.  Jesus shows us that God holds us to a standard that is much higher than man's.  When Jesus finishes teaching these things, the crowds find it simply amazing.

Simply amazing.  Has there ever been in a time in your life where something happens and you are simply awestruck at how powerfully God has worked (or is working) in that situation?  There have only been a handful of times where this has been the case for me.  Maybe such as is the case here, it was a sermon preached that just totally changed you in such a way that you became a stronger and more zealous servant of God.

Simply amazing.  In some ways, this was the reaction of the people to the Sermon on the Mount.  The crowds were amazed.  This begs the question, what was so amazing about Jesus' teaching?

Simply amazing.  We know from Matthew 7:28-29 that one reason the crowds were so amazed was because Jesus taught as one having authority.  Jesus was not simply repeating what past teachers had taught.  Jesus was teaching them that living a godly life was more than just following the rules.  Living a godly life means completely changing your lifestyle as you obey the commandments of God.  This is another aspect of the Sermon on the Mount that is simply amazing.

Simply amazing.  Another aspect of the Sermon on the Mount that is simply amazing is the fact that acting on what Jesus taught would give us solid footing in our relationship with God.  In Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus tells us that if we act on the words of Jesus and apply them to our lives, we will be like the man who built his house on the rock and when the storms come, we will be able to stand firm.  On the other hand, if we fail to apply Jesus' words to our lives, we will be like the man who built his house on the sand and when the storms come, we will be knocked off our feet.

Simply amazing.  The final aspect of why the Sermon on the Mount amazed the crowds is found at the tail end of Matthew 7:29 where we see that Jesus' taught "not as their scribes."  What Jesus laid out before them was not just a set of do's and don'ts.  No, what Jesus said out before them was simply a list of do's in order to live a righteous life.  What the scribes were doing stood in stark contrast.  They were simply adding rules and traditions that only appeared to be righteous but really had nothing to do with living a godly life.  This was what was so amazing about the Sermon on the Mount.

Simply amazing.  The Sermon on the Mount gives all Christians direction in every aspect of life including personal relationships, prayer, charity, money, worry, dealing with our brethren and people in general, and eternal life.  Putting the lessons Jesus shows us here into action in our walk with Him can and will give us a solid footing in our relationship with God.  This is simply amazing.

Simply amazing.  So my encouragement to you is this.  Go back through Matthew 5-7 and look at the different areas of life Jesus covers and find out where you need to improve.  Is it your personal relationships?  Do or say something for the people in your life that will aid in building that relationship such as serving or simply telling them how much you love them.  Is it prayer that needs work?  Spend some time before getting your day started today with Him in prayer.  How about money? Look at your budget and see if there is ways you can use your money for the glory of God even if it means cutting something out that you don't necessarily need.  Whatever area of life, take time to adjust those areas so that they fit into what Jesus teaches us in the Sermon on the Mount.

In closing, I leave you with the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:24 -- "Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock."

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Fruit...


Image courtesy of Ambro

"So then, you will know them by their fruits."--Matthew 7:20.  Jesus, describing those who appear to be righteous but as stated in Matthew 7:15 "inwardly are ravenous wolves."  Jesus goes on to say that we can recognize these ravenous wolves by their fruit and that only a good tree can bear good fruit and only a bad tree bears bad fruit.    

Fruit.  Consider the image above.  A basket full of delicious looking fruit.  We all know that not all fruit looks that good all the time.  Even when we are shopping for said fruit, we look to see if it is good or not for eating.  Many times good and bad fruit will have a distinctive appearance or distinctive marks on it that are a good indicator of whether or not they are bad.  When we look at the context of Matthew 7:15-23, we see that the fruit of those who claim to be followers of Christ are also good indicators of whether or not they really are.  

Fruit.  Earlier in Matthew 7 Jesus was talking about watching how we judge.  One way to make good judgment calls on people is looking at the fruit they bear.  As Christians, we need to be reminded that Christianity is a growing process.  In the same way a tree starts out with a small little seed and grows into something beautiful and bears fruit, so must Christians do the same.  Our walk with God begins with the seed of  the gospel message and then should go on to grow into something beautiful but the question is how can that seed grow into something beautiful and bear fruit?

Fruit.  In Matthew 5:17, Jesus describes the good tree and the bad tree.  A seed, in order for it to grow into what it was intended to grow into must receive proper nourishment such as sunlight, water, and plant food.  So, as Christians we too must receive the proper nourishment if we expect to grow and bear good fruit.  This nourishment is received by studying (not just reading, there is a difference) God's Word, being willing to ask questions about what has been studying and most importantly being diligent (2 Peter 1:5-9) to apply what has been studied in our own lives.  It honestly pains me to see people who have been Christians for years and who are still not much beyond the seed stage in their walk with God.  But the fact is some who claim to be Christians are either going to bear bad fruit or good fruit.  

Fruit.  Whether or not Christians bear good fruit is dependent ultimately on their heart.  Bearing fruit is a heart issue.  Something we can do for ourselves is to make an assessment.  Where are we in our walk with God?  Are we more mature in our walk with Him than we were six months ago? A year ago?  Bearing fruit is not restricted to soul winning as some might claim.  Bearing fruit is building on the foundation and being diligent to employ the fruits of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23 and also the Christian virtues found in 2 Peter 1:5-9 in our own lives.  Employing these simple qualities in our walk with God can make a world of difference among our brethren and can even help bring lost souls to an obedience of the gospel.  But again, this is dependent on the heart.  Jesus said we will know them by their fruit. 

Fruit.  So just like we examine fruit in the grocery store, if someone claims to be a Christian, their fruit is a good indicator if they are truly desiring to follow Christ.  Again, a tree does not bear fruit overnight so this is why we must be patient with people.  We have a responsibility to give people, especially new Christians the proper nourishment they need so that they will bear good fruit for the kingdom of God down the road. 

So my encouragement to you is this.  In what's left of this week, make it a point to to go out of your way to encourage someone in their walk with God by maybe studying a passage of Scripture, such as this one, with them.  May we all be diligent to bear good fruit.  In closing I leave you with the sobering fact that Jesus closes this discussion with in Matthew 7:21 -- "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven will enter." (NASB)

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!