Message from Scripture: 8/7/2020

Today’s message from Scripture comes from 2 Tim. 4:5: “But you, be sober in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fully carry out your ministry.”

In this last letter of Paul, written to his child in the faith, Timothy, Paul wanted him to carry out the work God had for him to do in preaching the gospel. Even though there would be trials and hardships in the process, it was what God wanted and needed from him. Timothy needed to take seriously the role he had in the kingdom, to fully, completely, do what God had assigned him to do.

Everyone who obeys the gospel has a role in the kingdom of God. When it comes to leadership, men are to exercise spiritual headship, while women are to be in submission (1 Tim. 2:8; 1 Tim. 2:11-12). Within these roles, we should use the talents and abilities God provides each of us to serve. Peter reminds us, “Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve others, as good stewards of the varied grace of God” (1 Pet. 4:10).

There are ways we each can be involved, even in times like this, for the sake of the kingdom. We can pray, for our nation, for the church in a sinful world, for the needs brothers and sisters in Christ, for opportunities to share the gospel with the lost. We can spend time in Scripture to keep our spiritual focus. We can make phone calls to encourage others. No matter how little it may seem to us, when done for the Lord, it is of eternal value.

On the other hand, there is never a time to stop serving God, to go on vacation from Christian living, to decide deeds of the past will be sufficient when there is still a life to be lived for God. The charge of the Lord in Rev. 2:10, “be faithful until death,” means until the day of death, not to stop before. Within the role God has given each of us, are you seeking to carry out your ministry, your service, to Christ? What can you do today be fruitful in the kingdom, to bless others and find blessings for yourself? Have a great day. God bless.

Robert

 

Message from Scripture: 8/6/2020

Today’s message from Scripture comes from Psa. 46:1: “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.”

In this passage from the Psalms, God wants us to know about His nature. We not only find comfort in Him, but His active care and concern for us as well.

First, God is our refuge. He is our place of safety and security, our protection in the difficulties and trials we face in life. He is also our strength, our source of strength. He is the one who empowers us to succeed against all that life throws against us. Because of these qualities, He is definitely our help. We can have confidence God is on our side, and provides us with what we need to be victorious. We have a unique relationship with Him as His special people, as the psalmist speaks of what God offers those in a covenant relationship with Him in  Psa. 44:26; “Rise up, be our help, And redeem us for the sake of Your lovingkindness.”

Because of this, the psalmist continues, “Therefore, we will not fear…” (Psa. 46:2). The Hebrew word for fear means frightened, terrified, or intimidated. This last meaning is what happens to so many people facing challenges in life, to be daunted or bullied so to speak, coerced into responding in a way that is contrary to what the child of God should be. This what Satan wants to happen, to doubt the goodness of God, to take an alternate route in life that only brings about ruin. God offers us His strength to rely on, His security to trust in, His help to overcome by faith and remain focused on the goal we live for.

God truly does care for us as a tender and loving Father, providing all we need to overcome sin and remain secure in His love. All this is available to us if we live in Him and for Him. Is your life anchored securely in Him? Have a great day today. God bless.

Robert

 

Message from Scripture: 8/5/2020

Today’s message from Scripture comes from Gen. 32:24: “Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.”

In examining the life of Jacob, few of us would have chosen him for great honor, because he spent a good deal of his life deceiving others and cheating to get his way. Throughout his life, Jacob displayed a disturbing tendency to rely on himself and not on the Lord’s presence and power.

All that changed when he wrestled with “a man” on the borders of the Promised Land. Hosea, by inspiration, tells us he was actually wrestling with God through His angel, perhaps an appearance of the pre-incarnate Christ (Hosea 12:3-4). Jacob came to learn that he had been wrestling face to face with God Himself (Gen. 32:30-32). Jacob’s name was changed, from Jacob, meaning “heel grabber,” to Israel, meaning “he who struggles with God,” the name by which God’s people would be known.

 

As Jacob literally struggled with God, which led him to a more personal, intimate relationship with God, so do we figuratively. We struggle as we seek to fight our way out of sin into a relationship with Him. At times it may seem Satan is winning the battle, but if we submit to the Lord and His will for us, we have a new name too, the name Christian. We leave the territory of sin for the citizenship God offers us in Christ. We become strangers and sojourners today that we might have a homeland to enter after this life is over (1 Pet. 2:11-12). Like Paul, we may have the scars that dealing with sin brings today (Gal. 6:17), but there is healing God offers in eternity (Rev. 22:2).

May we count as more precious to us what God has prepared in heaven, than anything this world has to offer. Who or what are you struggling with today? Won’t it be great to hear Him call us His own on that day? Have a great day. God bless.

Robert

Message from Scripture: 8/4/2020

Today’s message from Scripture comes from Rom. 6:3-4: “ Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

We are familiar with what Scripture teaches about being immersed into Christ. It is here that our sins are washed away and become a new creation, rid of the condemnation sin brings with it. This is what Paul is emphasizing in this passage. Like the physical body when it dies, the old man of sin is to be put to death, symbolized by our going into the water to be buried to die with Christ, that is, to be joined in the likeness of His death and gain the benefits it provides. We are then raised up from the water a different person, no longer a slave to sin, but having a new life in Christ, one of holiness and righteousness.

Our being immersed is a perfect figure of what happens to us through Christ. It also is a reflection of our letting go of self, to let God create us anew, thus the imagery of being born again (John 3:3; 1 Pet. 1:3). We are immersed by another, which reminds us we cannot save ourselves, it is the work of God in our submission to His will. People tend to want stay in control of every situation they possibly can, and it’s no different when it comes to being saved from sin. All the variations found in the religious world of what to do to be saved (confess Christ as one’s personal Savior, repeat the sinner’s prayer, go through some ritual prescribed by another person) are reflections of one wanting to pick how one should be saved, no matter what the will of God may actually be. It is a reflection of sin still being operative in a person’s life, those selfish desires still at work in the heart and mind.

Being immersed by another is a sign of submission to God, of letting go of the notion we’re still in control, as all that has done is lead to sin and more sin. We surrender our will to God, allowing another to plunge in the waters of immersion, that we might rise cleansed, a child of God. It is how God emphasizes to us it is what He is doing for us in Christ, not what we want for ourselves. That surrender continues throughout the course of our lives, in echoing the words of Jesus, “Not my will be yours be done.” Don’t surrender to Christ only in being immersed, just to cling to sin in the life that follows. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven (Matt. 7:21). Does that describe your life in Christ? God bless.

 

Robert

 

Message from Scripture: 8/3/2020

 Today’s message from Scripture comes from 2 Thess. 2:11: “Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false.”

 When Paul wrote his first letter to the church in Thessalonica, he addressed a concern they had, thinking Jesus’ return was to be very soon, so much so some had quit work, needed to be supported by others, and had become a hindrance to others (2 Thess. 3:11). In correcting this misconception, he pointed out there would be those who would reject the truth and perish. If you don’t believe in the truth, then error is all that is left to believe. By God’s permissive will, many will believe the lie, and be condemned, because they rejected the truth to find pleasure in sin. It is sad there are those who would rather believe the lie, which only condemns, instead of the truth, which offers salvation.

 For example, there are those who believe there is not God. They may think it liberates them to live however they want, but it’s a lie that is foolishness and will only condemn (Psa. 14:1). There are those who believe there are many ways to be saved, which they think allows them to approach God however they feel. It is a lie, though, that denies Jesus is the only way to the Father (John 14:6). There are those who believe they can worship God anyway that suits or pleases, them. It is a lie, as Jesus said one must worship God in spirit and in truth, the truth He reveals in His word (John 4:24). There are those who believe everyone will go to heaven. It is a lie, however, as Jesus said not everyone who calls Him Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but those who do the will of His Father who is in heaven (Matt. 7:21).

 What is sad about this is no one has to doubt there is truth, or what that truth is. Jesus tells us His word is truth. If we spend time in His word, we will know God and His Son, we will know the truth, and we will be set free from sin into life (John 8:31-32). Make Scripture an integral part of your everyday life, and you will not be deceived into forfeiting God’s promises for eternity. God bless.

 Robert

 

Message from Scripture: 8/1/2020

Today’s message from Scripture comes from Lam. 3:22: “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end.”

Jeremiah, after the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army, even with the desperate conditions the remnant left in the land had to face, could speak about God’s faithful love, about His mercies, about how constant and true God was for His people even in difficult times. The Hebrew term for steadfast love is the word “hesed,” which means God’s covenant love with His people, Israel. as the foundation of God’s actions and character. It underlies His goodness and mercy, and it supports His unchallenged position as God and Lord. It’s the basis for His great and wonderous acts, such as creation, delivering Israel from Egypt, His gift of the land to Israel, and His continued deliverance of His people. All that has happened, and will continue to happen, is because of the Lord’s covenant faithfulness and kindness.

For us as Christians, even in the difficult times we face, we can know, through the blood of Christ, God is as faithful to us as He was to His people in times past. In the New Testament, the Greek word agape is our assurance that God loves us in Christ, and will not give up on us. Paul reminds us of this when we read his words in Rom. 8:38-39. “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

We are in a covenant relationship with God through Christ, through His shed blood for us. It’s our assurance God will never stop loving us, never forget us, never give up on us. No matter what we face, His steadfast love never ceases, His mercies never come to an end. Never let go of Him. God bless.

Robert

Who Is on the Lord’s Side?

 Our nation is changing right before our eyes, and not in positive ways. It is evident in the decline of morality, in the celebration of wickedness and the rejection of holiness. A Massachusetts town has legalized polyamory, which involves polygamy and multi-partner relationships, granting such the same status as monogamous heterosexual relationships. Teens and young adults are addicted to porn, with 68% seeking it out daily. They regard viewing pornographic images less wrong than not recycling or using excessive amounts of electricity.

 The decline of morality is obvious in the eroding respect God, and the body of Christ, have in the estimate of many, not only in our nation, but across the globe. Decisions are being made in our nation that erode the liberty that is contained in Bill of Rights. Secular society is being treated with partiality, while people who claim allegiance to Christ are finding greater restrictions being placed on their ability to assemble and worship. How does this affect us in the Lord’s church? Is our faith of such a nature that we will be faithful even in times of distress?

 Jesus prayed to the Father before facing the cross regarding His followers, “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one” (John 17:14-15). To the church in Smyrna, He says, “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Rev. 2:10). The preposition “until” here carries the meaning of a point in time, with the time referenced in this verse being one’s death. Whether by natural causes, or by persecution (the tribulation spoken of earlier in Rev. 2:10), being faithful is the charge laid on every Christian throughout his or her life. This is why later on in Revelation, John would write of the faithful, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the point of death” (Rev. 12:11).

 If we are called to stand up for our faith in times of distress, in days of adversity, when doing so would cause us to stand in opposition to the powers that be, or of popular opinion, what will our response be? Perhaps the answer is found in how we respond to the will of God in times of relative ease. If we find it difficult to be faithful now, would we stand up for what’s right then? If it’s hard to assemble, to serve, to give, to love, to live for Christ, while we still have the freedom to do so, will we really have the strength, the conviction, the determination to do so when there could be real penalties, including suffering? Would we instead choose quietly to do nothing, until there was little to no faith left within us to defend, to take a stand for? We should consider the hymn Frances Havergal wrote, which we often sing; “I gave My life for thee, My precious blood I shed, That thou might ransomed be, And raised up from the dead; I gave, I gave My life for thee, What hast thou giv’n for Me? I gave, I gave My life for thee, What hast thou giv’n for Me?”

 Paul reminded Timothy, “In fact, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted’ (2 Tim. 3:12). Whatever comes our way, may our faith be committed to our Lord, who loved us even to death. In view of what lies ahead beyond the here and now, it is worth it. Are we willing to love with the measure Christ has loved us? “Be alert, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong. Do everything in love” (1 Cor. 16:33-34).

 “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”

Robert