“For the moment, all discipline seems not to be pleasant, but painful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (Hebrews 12.11 NASB).
My lumbar muscles started spasming as I sat in the infusion chair. This was also the case the last time I took this medication. My body must get used to the medicine before these side- effects disappear. Unfortunately, I had to restart the drug due to abscesses that had formed in my abdomen. Since my treatment weakens my immune system, any bacteria in abscesses may get more robust and harder to treat. So, I have to start over and take the loading dose before switching to getting an infusion every eight weeks.
These anti-inflammatory drugs target a tumor necrosis factor protein. The normal function of TNF is beneficial because it eliminates necrotic (dead) tissue. Necrotic tissue is absent, however, in autoimmune disorders. However, a rogue inflammatory response causes the body to attack itself regardless. When the immune system kills healthy cells instead of invaders, it puts the body under a lot of stress. So, you have no choice but to take what might seem like an extreme step to fix your health problem, which will hurt your immune system in the long run. However, autoimmune diseases are unusual and necessitate drastic measures.
In Hebrews 12.4–11, the inspired author discusses God’s discipline and compares it to the discipline people receive from their earthly fathers, which is not always good. Even though we know they aren’t perfect, we usually don’t hold them accountable when they discipline us because we think it’s for our good. If this is the case with a physical father, it must be even more so with the Father of our spirits. Indeed, our heavenly Father disciplines us so that we can become holy and live righteously. That’s why, although this form of discipline isn’t fun and may even be uncomfortable at times, we can’t help but value the result.
So, the next time you have “conscience spasms,” consider how they are a sign that God’s medicine is purging you of impurity.
On June 14, 1921, Winston Churchill warned the British House of Commons about a looming threat that took a little over 80 years to see come to fruition in a graphic way: “The Wahabis profess a life of exceeding austerity, and what they practise themselves they rigorously enforce on others. They hold it as an article of duty, as well as faith, to kill all who do not share their opinions and to make slaves of their wives and children” (Churchill, “Never Give In,” p. 83). These ones he called “bloodthirsty” were ancestors of many of today’s radical Islamic fundamentalists.
It is eerie to see how accurate Churchill’s concern was and how timeless his warning. He warned of a threat that few saw as looming in the days immediately following World War I. If politicians and military strategists had given deeper consideration to his warnings, lives would have been saved. Often, though, warnings are more dutifully considered in the rearview mirror.
In the last chapter of the Bible, John relays a heavenly warning and an invitation. The warning is against tampering with the word of God (18-19). It will bring about spiritually fatal results, whether one adds to what God says (cf. Prov. 30:6) or takes away from what God says (Deut. 4:2). Adding to divine truth adds torment to the soul; taking away from divine truth results in one having taken away from him the promises and hope of heaven. In both testaments, God warns man not to change His word.
Yet with this warning is also an invitation (17). It is an invitation to share in a gift undeserved and yet unreservedly given. It is for all who are willing and who come. Those who hear this invitation and properly respond need not worry about the warning. “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ” will be with them (Rev. 22:21). We are wise to consider the validity of the warning and prepare our lives convicted of its power and reality. In turning from iniquity, though, let us turn toward the one who invites and live.
I Thessalonians 5.12-13a — Church Leadership Helps Keep Us on Track
We have to recognize their value because elders are a critical part of setting the tone of a church family.
Because of their work, God expects us to consider them the MVPs of our congregations.
God will personally reward elders who do good work (I Pt 5.4; Hb 13.17; Acts 20.32).
God expects us to show elders the highest respect and love. We’re all human and we’re all going to mess up. Last anyone checked, elders are human too. God hands out grace generously, and demands we do the same for his elders.
5.13b-22 — God Expects Us to Do Some Things…
Live peacefully with each other.
Keep each other accountable.
Patiently work with weak Christians.
Stay on top of doing good things for people.
Stay happy.
Keep praying.
Be grateful.
Don’t put a wet blanket on God’s work.
Make sure everything we teach is legit.
Avoid evil proactively.
5.23-28 — If We Try Our Best, God Will Make Sure We’re Ready When Jesus Comes Back
We can trust him to make us ready when he comes back because his grace is extremely powerful. We know what we struggle with, but God is more powerful than our guilty hearts (I Jn 3.20). He’ll make sure we’re ready when he returns.
In the meantime, he expects us to stay on good terms with each other.
Summary:
Everything we do has the last day in mind. It’s why we don’t live the way we might want to.
It’s why we love people when they’re often not easy to love.
It’s why we go through pain with our heads held high.
We want to wake from death’s sleep to the incredible sight of Jesus’s angels bringing us to him (Mt 24.31; I Thess 4.17).
What does it mean to cry out to God? The Hebrew wordpaints a colorful picture of what goes on in the hearts and minds of those that have cried out in the past, but before we look at the meaning— here are three examples found in scripture.
Ex. 2.23
“Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry for help because of their bondage rose up to God.”
Judges 6.7
“The Israelites cried out to the LORD because of Midian”
Ps. 107.19
“Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.”
The word is זָעַק (pronounced zaw-ak’) and it means, “to proclaim/summon together.”
It’s interesting to note that when God’s people cried out to Him in the examples given above, as well as on many other occasions, God brought salvation.
From the definition, we can make at least three practical applications.
God brings positive and radical change when His people cry out in a unified manner. Many congregations assemble each year to have special services dedicated to prayer. Some may not appreciate the power and potential these kinds of events can bring about.
We can move God to action by summoning Him. There are countless testimonies of desperate prayers answered by those who turned to God for answers. There’s always a need to be reminded that talking to God is not simply talking to yourself or yelling into a void. Pray often.
God returns to His people when His people return to Him. In the Bible we often see a unified cry to the Lord take place, once His people have hit rock bottom. From that we learn that God hears the prayers of the distressed— but we also see that being away from God is distressing. The moment God answers, they’re free from captivity. Sin has taken many captive and some feel that God is One who enslaves with Law and commands, but the opposite is true. Freedom is found in Him and He’s faithful to the faithful.
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
Flint, Michigan. Dupont, West Virginia. Marlin County, Kentucky. East Orosi, California. Hoosick Falls, New York. These are just a few of the infamous places. In fact, the more you search, the more places you find. The story is always similar. Harmful chemicals and elements seep into the water supply, making people sick, producing fatal conditions, and even outright killing those who drink it. Large lawsuits and even criminal charges are leveled against the offenders. Water is a basic building block of life. We want it to be as pure as possible. Whether ineptitude, laziness, or even willful neglect is the reason why contamination occurs, we find it inexcusable.
Webster’s Dictionary defines eisegesis as the interpretation of a text by reading into it one’s own ideas. Whereas exegesis is an effort to objectively approach a text, eisegesis is subjective. Nowhere is this more dangerous than when approaching the text of Scripture. We can bring so many deadly contaminants to the process, like presuppositions, prejudices, the religious views of others, and existing preferences and desires. In fact, this most often happens when we make up our mind before we even come to the Bible. The Bible actually describes the harmful effect of this approach as to “twist” (ESV, NKJ, NLT) or “distort” (NAS, NIV) the Scriptures (2 Pet. 3:16). God accused the wicked of perverting His words (Jer. 23:36). In the strongest terms, He disapproves of those who contaminate the purity of His Word with their own thoughts and ways (Isa. 55:7-9).
John especially highlights Jesus’ offer of “living water” (John 4:10,14; 7:37; Rev. 7:17; 21:6; 22:1,17). While His metaphor concerns eternal life rather than Scripture, we ask an all-important question. How do we get access to this living water? We have to come to Scripture to find the answer. Our buckets must be empty. Our ladles must be clean. Biases are harmful contaminants!
On a mission trip to Tanzania in 2005, Kathy and another campaigner came in contact with water contaminated with the bacteria that causes typhoid fever. I have never seen her sicker. Her temperature repeatedly spiked to 104 degrees. She was weak, lethargic, had severe headaches, and even suffered hallucinations. Thankfully, she recovered. One in five die from it and survivors sometimes suffer complications. The best guess is that a food they ate was rinsed in contaminated water.
When it comes to God’s truth, we cannot allow it to be tainted with the aforementioned contaminants. This means we must go to Scripture, read it in its context, and mine out of it the intended meaning. We cannot afford to let anything seep into the process that prevents a proper understanding and interpretation of the Bible. Eternal life is at stake!
On more than one occasion, Jesus compared the kingdom of heaven to a wedding feast. I’d like to focus on the parable contained in Matthew chapter 22 specifically. Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted calf are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.”’ But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.
“But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to his servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:2-14).
Looking back on this parable with the benefit of hindsight, knowing the centuries of the Church’s history, it’s easy to understand most of what Jesus is saying. The king had an initial group of people that were invited to wedding, but refused the invitation. In the same way, the invitation of the gospel was initially given to Jews only. However, especially among the religious establishment—Pharisees and Sadducees—there was widespread rejection of that invitation. So, the king opens up the invitation to everyone in the highways, both bad and good, just as the invitation of the gospel was extended to Gentiles and Jews alike—everyone is invited.
However, there’s the strange detail near the end that can confuse us in our modern times, living so far detached from the culture that Jesus gave the parable to. We see a man at the wedding who doesn’t have wedding clothes on, and he gets kicked out of the wedding because of it! In our culture, we might wonder about this man, perhaps even feel sorry for him. Perhaps he didn’t have good clothes for a wedding because he was poor and couldn’t afford them. But the way we do weddings is different from the way they did weddings in Jesus’ time and culture. Back in that day, the master of the wedding feast would provide garments for all of the wedding guests. In fact, it would be a great insult for someone to refuse to wear wedding garments at the feast. That’s why the man is speechless when the king asks him how he got in there without wedding garments.
What does that represent? Baptism. As many of us as are baptized into Christ have put on Christ (paraphrase Galatians 3:27). Just as the master of the feast provides wedding clothes for the guests, God provided baptism for us. And just as the man without wedding garments was thrown out, none of us should expect to attend the wedding feast if we aren’t wearing the garments God provided at His own cost.
We know little about the treasurer from “Ethiopia,” introduced in Acts 8. How did he come to believe in Judaism? What was his given name? What happened to him after Phillip baptized him into Christ? A study of this enigmatic figure is fascinating.
Did you know that the treasurer’s homeland was known as the “Kingdom of Meroe”? The remnant of the once-powerful Kingdom of Kush ruled over even their Egyptian neighbors for a time. If you recognize the name “Kush,” it is because Noah had a grandson named “Cush” (cf. Genesis 10.6-8; Daniel 11.43). The “Ethiopians” are Cush’s descendants.
The “Kandake” line of queens ruled over Meroe. It is known as “Candace” in English Bible translations. The sequence of queens is likely named Candace, a famous empress who ruled the Kushites during Alexander the Great’s conquest. She was a well-known military general and tactician. According to legend, Alexander refused to invade “Nubia” for fear of being defeated by her.
The Ethiopian eunuch, as treasurer, would overlook an impressive treasury. Meroe was a prosperous kingdom due to her trade with the Romans and African tribes from Africa’s western grasslands. They traded with the Romans for gold and other sub-Saharan products until the third century AD. Meroe maintained prominence after their trade with the Romans declined in the early third century due to her ability to smelt iron. Meroe’s workers’ tools and weapons were sought after by her neighbors. Meroe eventually fell from grace and was conquered by her southern neighbor, Axum. This formerly independent state is now an integral part of Sudan.
Meroe’s inhabitants worshiped Egyptian gods and a few gods of their creation. Someone proselytized people in the region at an unknown point in antiquity. According to the Old Testament book of Jeremiah, Jews were living in lower Egypt just before Judah and Benjamin’s Babylonian captivity (cf. Jeremiah 44.1ff). God foresaw those fleeing south to avoid the Babylonians and warned them against their actions (cf. Jeremiah 42.19ff). The treasurer is an example of someone who converted to Judaism. There remain adherents to Judaism in the region today.
What distance did the treasurer go to worship God? Meroe to Jerusalem was about 3,000 miles round trip. So, the treasurer was devout. And consider that once in Jerusalem, the Old Law prohibited his entry into the Temple proper because he was a eunuch and forbade entry. Thus, his desire to be close to God was strong!
Though we do not know the treasurer’s name, we know some of the Meroitic men’s surnames. Arkinidad, Amanislo, Pakheme, Shorkaror, Teritegas, and Yesbokheamani were some of their names. Such names are foreign to the English-speaking ear. It’s possible that the treasurer’s name sounded strange to Philip as well.
What happened to the Ethiopian treasurer after he became a Christian? The treasurer returned to Meroe and converted Queen Candace and many of his fellow Meroites, according to Irenaeus and Eusebius, two Christian writers of the second century AD. They also stated that the treasurer was a martyr dying in Ceylon after preaching the Gospel throughout Arabia Felix (i.e., Yemen). Though we cannot verify the information of Irenaeus and Eusebius, it is consistent with the character introduced on the sacred page.
When I was younger I used to lay in bed at night and try to imagine what God looked like. I would try to put a face to Him, I’d wonder what He was doing, and I would ask myself if God knew that I was thinking about Him. I still ask those same questions to this day. It is likely that most, if not all of you, who are reading this article believe that there is a God and that He can see and hear all that we say. So the question I’d like us to ask ourselves in this article is this; since there is a God that has all power, why do we sometimes have difficulty following the commands that we find in the Bible?
Jeremiah 10:12 says, “It is He who made the earth by His power, who established the world by His wisdom; and by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens.”
God has ALL power. There isn’t an area that He is lacking power in. He controls the weather, He created us, and as Jeremiah said, “He made this earth” and we are inhabitants of His world. As humans, we sometimes forget just how powerful God truly is. Since God has all power, shouldn’t we be following what the Creator of everything has told us to do? In seven days He thought of everything we see around us.
Did you know that no one has ever had an original thought? For example, I could say that I’m the only person to have ever thought about a blue turtle. But before I thought of blue turtle, there was such thing as the color blue, and there were turtles before I thought of them. So what I’m actually doing is taking two things that God created and putting them together. We aren’t original; we just use what our Creator has already made. This God, the one who spoke everything into being, has given us specific commands to follow as Christians.
Since God has given us rules on how to live, we shouldn’t have a problem following them. They may be difficult, but God knows how to take care of His creation. The thought of the God of the universe watching out and guiding me through life is a great comfort! But on the flip side, what if we aren’t following what God has told us to do? There’s a saying, “Actions speak louder than words.” Our actions are a direct window into how we truly feel. If we don’t do what God has commanded, then that’s like us saying to God, “I don’t truly believe that there are consequences to my actions.” But that is a deadly place for us to be, because God IS real and there ARE consequences to our actions. God is real and the consequences of our actions are as well.
In the end it comes down to this: Not obeying what God has said is a reflection of how real we make God out to be. If we truly believe He is real, then we shouldn’t have a problem doing what He tells us to do. As Christians we serve the One true God, and He is ever present in the world. I pray that this fact will push us to do the commands He has given us because our God is alive and we all have an eternity with Him if we do what He tells us to do.
Looking back at when I was younger, I’ve realized that I asked the right question, but the most important part of those questions is how I answer them. Will I show through my actions that I truly believe He is alive? Or do I doubt the reality of God by not taking His commands seriously? Let’s try to always prove God is alive by following what He has told us to do!
I Thessalonians 4.1-8 — Moral Purity Involves Self-Control
It means avoiding sexual sins. It means being honest and ethical with each other.
4.9-11 — Moral Purity Is Built on Love
This love is for all Christians everywhere. We’re a global family; we know from the epistles that we’re actually a unique “ethnicity”. It has nothing to do with race, since our identifying characteristic is our relationship with God. It’s far more fundamental than just culture or genetics. We’re supposed to grow our love all the time. This proves that we’re never going to arrive or perfect our love. This is why we have to always work on it. We’ll never reach God’s level, but that shouldn’t keep us from trying.
4.11-12 — Moral Purity Means Living Peacefully
This means we don’t cause trouble. When the world thinks of peaceful people who don’t cause trouble, who do they think of? Usually Buddhists. This shouldn’t be the case. I can say from experience that Buddhists aren’t all peaceful (try converting to Christianity in lower Cambodia). But most of them keep to themselves and we never really hear anything about them — except that they have a reputation for being peaceful and living quiet lives. Satan has done a fantastic job (historically) of gaining followers who claim to be Christian, only to do horrible things like the Salem Witch Trials or condoning slavery or loudly protesting every sinful thing that happens in our sinful world.
God expects us to stand up for morality, but he also expects us to live quiet, peaceful, unassuming lives. When people think of Christians, they should picture a low-key group of people who do good things for others and live quiet lives. This is extremely appealing to our culture, which is drowning in existential crisis and self-indulgence. They’re desperate for purpose and meaning. If we follow the commands of I Thessalonians 4.11-12 and I Timothy 2, our example alone could very well lead those people to God.
This means we mind our own business. This means we don’t place unnecessary burdens on other people. Non-believers will at least respect our lifestyle, even if they don’t agree with it.
4.13-18 — We Have a Reason for Pursuing Moral Purity
We have hope because Jesus came back to life, proving that death is only the beginning. Jesus will personally come back for his family and we’ll be with him forever.
5.1-11 — We Have to Keep Living Pure Lives if We Want to Leave with Him
The world isn’t looking for the end, so it’ll catch them off guard. Luke 21.25 says everyone will panic when Jesus returns because they won’t have a clue what’s going on. The reminder to Christians in that passage is that we should look up and be strong because our rescuer is coming. We may not know the exact day, but when it happens we’ll know what’s really going on. We should always watch for his return because our hope of escaping earth’s fate is what keeps us going.
Around 6,000 years ago a single snowflake was drifting through the sky.
As it crystallizes more snowflakes latch on until it becomes too heavy and gravity takes this small mass of snow to the ground.
For generations snow would fall in this particular region of the world. Eventually layers of ice would build up until the weight of the thick glacier sheet would slide off the side of a cliff and splash in the waters below.
From a snowflake, to glacier, to an iceberg at last— now adrift on the ocean. As years would pass it grew closer to warmer seas shrinking in size. In just two weeks it would melt into the surrounding waters. That’s what happens to most icebergs, but this particular one wouldn’t melt before going down in history.
The ancient iceberg would be hit by a massive ship. The infamous Titanic– hit by an accident thousands of years in the making. It all started with a single snowflake.
We’re all building something. Every day we scheme, think, and make decisions that contribute to a final outcome.
Paul echoes this in Galatians.
“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”
(Gal. 6.7-8)
Three Quick Lessons
A person gets out of life what he puts into it— this life and the next.
I’m either working towards my own destruction,
Or I’m working towards an eternal life in the presence of God.
There should be hope found in each hour, a blessing with each breath, because to die now— is life after death.
May we always be mindful of what we’re sowing, and always thankful for the patience and grace of our God.
We are so excited this week to have a special guest…a friend who will encourage you to look up and see the blessings even in hard things! We know you will love her just as we do when you hear what she has to say.Let us know what you think, and if you have questions for her!
It is commonly cited that human beings are only born with two fears–the fear of loud sounds and the fear of falling. These are called “innate fears” (Chaoran and Quin, nih.gov). An interesting word is found ten times in the New Testament. The word has a range of meanings, including to fall from some point to another, to be blown off course and run aground, to change from better to worse, or become inadequate for some function (BDAG, 308). The word is used three times in Acts 27 in the nautical sense, describing Paul’s ship running aground. It is used two other times in Acts to speak of something falling off, either Peter’s chains (12:7) or the ship’s ropes (27:32). Two times in the epistles, the word is used of flowers falling off (Jas. 1:11; 1 Pet. 1:24). Once, Paul says that God’s word has not, will not, and cannot become inadequate (Rom. 9:6).
The other two occurrences, Galatians 5:4 and 2 Peter 3:17, speak of a possibility of another type of falling and failing. Paul mentions “falling from grace” and Peter “falling from your own steadfastness.” This is a synonymous idea.
Paul tells the Galatians that they were free (Gal. 5:1). By faith, they had hope (Gal. 5:5) and they were running well (Gal. 5:7). But they were allowing themselves to be enslaved (Gal. 5:1), under obligation (Gal. 5:3), hindered (Gal. 5:7), and the like. In verse four, Paul says, “You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.” In their case, the temptation was trying to be saved by something other than the sacrifice of Christ. Such an effort led them to fall from grace.
Peter tells his audience to live holy, godly lives (2 Pet. 3:11) anticipating Christ’s return (2 Pet. 3:12). Christ is coming again and this earth and universe will be burned up (2 Pet. 3:10). We look for new heavens and a new earth (2 Pet. 3:13), seeking to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless (2 Pet. 3:14) and growing in grace and knowledge (2 Pet. 3:18). However, if we are susceptible to those who distort the truth (2 Pet. 3:16), we could be carried away by unprincipled men and “fall from [our] own steadfastness” (2 Pet. 3:17).
In these two passages, these apostles are trying to instill a healthy fear of falling into these Christians. No, they did not want them cowering in fear and ever uncertain about their spiritual condition. They wanted them to reject false ideas and teachings that would lead them to fall from steadfastness and grace to instability and condemnation (cf. 1 Tim. 3:6). They did not want them blown off spiritual course and shipwreck their faith (cf. 1 Tim. 1:19). They did not want them to change from saved to lost (cf. 2 Pet. 2:20). They did not want them disqualified from their spiritual inheritance (cf. 1 Cor. 9:27).
The fear of falling that is so natural to a child should live inside of us to keep us from venturing beyond the bounds of spiritual safety. It should also drive us deeper into the loving arms of divine protection. Jesus makes a beautiful statement that eliminates fear of falling if it keeps us trusting in God’s guiding hand. Jesus wrote, “And I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (John 10:28-29). What safer place is there? Let’s stay in His hand and eliminate the fear of falling!
Salvation is by faith, but not by faith alone (James 2.14–24). Faith without obedience is not a saving faith. Every example of saving faith emphasizes obedience (see Hebrews 11). The demons are the only group identified as possessing a type of faith without works (James 2.19). But “saving faith” produces good works (Ephesians 2.8-10).
But what of other types of faith? Indeed, the New Testament discusses various types of faith, not just the saving kind.
According to Matthew 8.10, there is “great faith.” Jesus praised a centurion for believing that Jesus could heal his sick servant from afar. Jesus remarked that He had not encountered such faith in anyone in Israel.
Paul writes that Abraham had “strong faith” (Romans 4.20). Abraham, a devoted follower of God, trusted the Lord’s promise to bless him and make him the father of many nations. Paul says that Abraham believed God’s promise to him and acted accordingly; his faith never wavered, even after being asked to sacrifice the son for whom he had waited.
Peter serves as an example of “little faith” on one occasion. Jesus invited Peter to walk on water with him in Matthew 14. Before Peter took his focus off of Jesus and onto the raging sea, he was doing fine. However, after taking his gaze off Jesus, he found himself sinking. Peter begged Jesus to rescue him. Jesus did so but rebuked him for his lack of faith (Matthew 14.31).
Romans 14.1 informs us that there is “weak faith.” A weak faith belongs to a brother or sister who stumbles over his brethren’s scruples in judgment rather than doctrine. It’s worth noting that Paul says that the stronger brother should keep his or her freedom in check so that the weaker brother doesn’t stumble. Paul says they shouldn’t argue about it or condemn a weaker brother for having a different view. We can easily see the compassionate nature of Christianity in this, as one would typically expect the one with weak faith to capitulate to the one with stronger faith.
Lastly, there is a dead faith. James reminds us that faith without works is dead (James 2.17). We should have faith that manifests itself in our actions rather than just words, as this shows others that we are sincere in our beliefs. In 2.16, James says that seeing someone hungry but telling them to be filled rather than feeding them is an example of ineffective (i.e., dead) faith.
Though not called “living faith,” we realize that the New Testament also implies the existence of living faith. Fruit is proof that the plant producing it is alive. In Galatians 5.22-23, faithfulness is a part of the fruit of the Spirit. Those led by the Spirit will possess this living faith.
While thinkers like Martin Luther and John Calvin have indeed clouded the waters when defining faith, we must be careful not to underestimate its significance. Faith saves us. All we have to do is make sure we’re on the same page about faith and how to explain it to others.
Regarding the various faiths we’ve seen, a weak believer can strengthen his faith. One with little faith can embiggen it. A person with dead faith can resurrect it through repentance and obedience. But a demon cannot rehabilitate his faith. Demons are powerless to change their fate as a result of their punishment. So, let’s check our faith to ensure it’s still living and saving so that other people can see that we have a great and strong faith.
1 Peter 5:10 says, “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”
The entire purpose of 1 Peter is to encourage and exhort Christians in their suffering. Peter ends the entire book with a promise that God will make them strong, firm and steadfast. This same God has called us into His eternal glory in Christ. John Gill once said, “This call is not a mere external one by the ministry of the word, which is not always effectual and unto salvation; but an internal, special, and efficacious one, and which is high, holy, heavenly, and unchangeable.”
This call is what labeled us as Christians, what saved us from darkness, and what gave us God’s Son. We can learn so much about who we are as Christians by studying this word in the New Testament. The Greek word kaleo is used by several authors to explain our spiritual state.This word teaches us what we used to be without Christ. Without being called we would not be holy, we would still be in the darkness, without being called we would not be labeled as God’s children, and without being called we would not be in the eternal glory in Christ.
Peter’s use of the word “called” in his letter is through inspiration. It helps us recognize our condition outside of Christ. It shows servants how to endure suffering. It gives an example to wives on how to submit to their husbands. We can see that we were outside of Christ and the blessings of the light before being called.
In 1 Peter, almost every use of the word “called” is followed by a definite article. Five times out of six “you” is said immediately following the word “called.” This call is directed towards us as Christians. We are called to do or be these various things for God. God also has called us. Peter writes that God is the one calling which implies that we must do the answering. So when are we going to answer the call from God?
As we live our Christian lives we must keep in mind our former condition, and be thankful for where we are now. God has truly blessed us by calling us as Christians. So do we give thanks to Him for what He has done? Do we carry out the standards that are in place by being called out? We must evaluate our christian walk and see if we are living up to our call to be separated from the world, and connected to Christ.
I Thessalonians 2.17-3.5 proves that Satan will always try to interfere with our work. He will do everything within his power to keep us from encouraging each other. It’s very interesting that of all the things to target, he’s identified our encouraging each other as most threatening to his goals.
He’ll also do everything in his power to destroy our confidence in God. For reasons I don’t fully understand, Satan has it out for the human race. This is pure conjecture, but perhaps jealousy has something to do with it. We know from scripture that angels really wanted to know what God was doing with his plan to save humanity (I Pt 1.12). Angels don’t get any kind of grace when they mess up (Jd 6; II Pt 2). Maybe Satan – as a bad-guy angel – doesn’t like that God gives preferential treatment to inferior living beings.
1 Thessalonians 3.6-13 contains a guide for avoiding burnout in our faith. If we start to run out of steam, we should remember how important our work is. It’s also encouraging to think about the lives we’ve impacted. This is grounding, and it’s a tangible reminder of how important our work is. We also learn that it’s important to focus exclusively on other people. This is even used in behavioral therapy to help manage depression and anxiety–doing things for others is very beneficial for our own mental health.
When we start to burn out, we can also pray constantly. Even though the conversation is one-sided (from our perspective at least), prayer is how we communicate with God. When we get burnt out. God will give us the oomph we need if we just ask for it. Our ultimate goal is to be morally pure when Jesus comes back, and the only way we’ll be able to make that happen is with his help.
Herodotus casually mentions that there were snakes that would fly from Egypt every year from the Sinai wilderness (Herodotus 2.75-76). This may strike fear in the heart of any snake-fearing person, but it sure is interesting. Marco Polo would also write in his travel log about flying venomous “birds” as well as snakes of gigantic proportions as he explored Asia.
The Bible records several strange serpents and one passage in particular is especially fascinating.
In the book of Numbers there’s an account that’s made many readers scratch their heads as they wonder what these fiery serpents are (21:6-9) that God sent to plague the Israelites.
“TheLord sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people so that many people died in Israel. So the people came to moses and said “we have sinned because we have spoken against the Lord and you; intercede with the Lord, that He may remove the serpents from us. And Moses interceded for the people. Then the Lord said to Moses make a fiery serpent and set it on a standard, and it shall come about that everyone who is bitten when he looks at it he shall live. And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard and it came about that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked at the bronze serpent he lived.”
Some commentators have suggested that perhaps the strange description is of a particular kind of venomous snake. Others have made the observation that the Hebrew word for serpent here (Saraph) could be symbolic to indicate their color since it means “burning ones.” Interestingly enough there are bronze colored serpents around today in Australia that are incredibly poisonous. Perhaps there’s something to this based on the Lord’s instruction to Moses to fashion a serpent made of brass. Of course this description could also literally be taken to mean snakes which either breathed fire, or were somehow on fire. God was, after all, punishing a people who had complained of their miraculous meals of manna.
Though the identity of these fiery serpents may always be a mystery, the lessons taught to us through this event are powerful. The connections John will make (Jn. 3.14-15) as well as the Hebrew writer (12.2) focus on the crucifixion and the concept of looking to Jesus for our salvation.
The relationship between belief and action here are also telling. Those Israelites that believed were led by that same belief to look— then were healed. If we believe Jesus can and will heal us of our sins, then that belief must lead us to the water (Act 2.38, Mk. 16.16).
I have preached nearly 100 funerals in my 31 years of full-time preaching. That includes funerals for still-borns all the way up to those 100 years old. It includes services for those who committed suicide or died in accidents, but also a great many who were able to prepare for the process of dying.
In the course of sitting down with families who have just lost a loved one, it is commonplace to talk about the deceased. Sometimes, I have known and been closely tied to the one whose service I was doing. Other times, I have not known them well and it is not uncommon to perform a service for someone I’ve never even met. Meeting with the family is a great way, especially in these situations, to find out who their loved one was.
The longer they talk and the more they say, the more clearly they paint a picture of what the dear departed prioritized. The stories center around that theme. All of them want the preacher to know some “faith fact(s)” about them–they were raised in the church, they believed in God, they read (or had) a Bible, etc. Some of them have an abundance of stories about a Christ-centered life. All roads seem to lead back to that: Family stories, work stories, and church stories.
Sadly, others paint a picture of other things predominating their time, passion, talent, and interest. At a time when people are going to say the nicest things about a person, they are also going to give away what mattered most to them–during the visitation, before, during, and after the service, at the graveside, and otherwise. It always happens.
Most days, our funeral is the farthest thing from our minds. We are busy living life. Yet, we are building, day by day and decision by decision, what our legacy will be. In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon talks about the many things that are “vanity.” He uses the word 38 times in 30 verses, at times using the phrase “vanity of vanities” to express utter futility and worthlessness. Work, knowledge, pleasure, competition, money, everything, apart from God, is like chasing the wind.
At the end of his sermon, this wise king says, “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil” (12:13-14). What an encouragement to you and me to build a God-centered legacy. That requires embracing what Jesus taught, to seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness (Mat. 6:33). Don’t we want others, most importantly God, to say, our faith defined us? Nothing matters more!
I recently preached a sermon based on an idea I took from Paul Harvey’s “If I Were the Devil.” My inspiration came from reading in John 15.18-25 about Jesus’ words to His disciples shortly before His betrayal about how the world would hate Christians as much as they hated Him. I immediately thought of Andrew Carnegie’s book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, for reasons I can only attribute to my ADHD. God created us to be social creatures. Remember, God said it was not good for man to be alone (Genesis 2.18). So I expected the devil to twist Jesus’ words to persuade potential converts that their desires should be more like Carnegie’s and less like Christ’s. In other words, he’d write a self-help book about how to make the rest of the world fall in love with you rather than hate you.
So, if the devil had a self-help book, he’d write, “If you are of the world, the world loves its own.” (Compare John 15.19) Rather than risking the world’s wrath by becoming a disciple, make friends with it. Ignore James’ statement that being friendly with the world makes you an enemy of God (James 4.4). Instead, give in to your flesh’s desires, even if it means separating yourself from God (Romans 8.5-8). Yes, give in to the desires of your flesh, eyes, and pride, and forget that God will destroy this world and its lusts in the end (1 John 2.15-17). The pleasure of sin is yours for the taking if you’re willing to go to such lengths, unlike poor old Moses (Hebrews 11.25). The world will make it worthwhile until you pay for all the fun (Romans 6.23).
The devil will try to convince readers that serving yourself is better than following another, especially if there are no tangible benefits from subservience, such as better treatment than your master. (Compare John 15.20). So it’s best to go your way, to be free to choose for yourself, without being yoked (Matthew 11.28-30). This restraint is especially true when one considers that Jesus steers him down a “constricted” path (Matthew 7.13-14 NASB). But there is an alternative highway that is easy. And the way must be correct if it seems fitting (Proverbs 14.12). Besides, who needs some dusty old road from a long time ago when men have built newer roads since then (Jeremiah 6.15-17)? So, be your own man or woman; aim to be autonomous.
Finally, the devil would remind his readers that Jesus revealed that people treated Him cruelly “simply because they could.” (Compare John 15.25) What Jesus did, did not matter. There were just those who despised Him. So, what was Christ’s compensation for being loyal to His Father, healing the sick, and raising the dead? The people crucified Him. Why take the risk that someone will persecute or despise you even though you are doing good? It just seems like too much trouble. Avoid worrying about the welfare of others and focus on your interests instead (Philippians 2.4). It’s the proverbially “dog eat dog” world. The iron rule of “might makes right” is what people practice, not the golden rule (Matthew 7.12).
Yes, the devil will try to convince you that he has your best interests at heart. The apparent problem with the devil’s self-help book is that it is full of lies and mistruths. Jesus reminds us that the devil is the father of lies (John 8.44). Thus, lies are all that the devil can authoritatively speak. Jesus was honest with us, not discouraging or scaring us away when He gave us His warning about how the world would receive us. And Paul told Timothy that “all who want to live in a godly way in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3.12 NASB). If the world hates us, that is a good thing, as long as their reason for hating us is because we are one of God’s “peculiar people” (1 Peter 2.9 KJV).
Death was not the end for Jesus, and He assures us that it will not be the end for us, either. The author of Hebrews reminds us that Jesus was able to endure the cross and disregard its shame because of the joy set before Him (i.e., His return to Heaven)—Hebrews 12.2. So likewise, there is no reason for us to sorrow regardless of what may occur. And those of us in the United States have yet to put our lives in danger as a result of practicing our faith (cf. Hebrews 12.4). At most, men may take our lives, but they cannot take our eternal reward (Matthew 10.28). And for those facing physical persecution as those of olden Christians, we take heart from Paul’s words to the Corinthians:
“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh” (2 Corinthians 4.7-11 NASB95).
If you want to make friends and influence people, stick with the Bible. It truly is the best book on the subject. And, wherein his principles find a Scriptural foundation, also consult Mr. Carnegie’s work for the business world. But avoid those books on the subject written by the adversary (1 Peter 5.8). Instead, he writes self-help books that are how-to guides for self-immolation(cf. Revelation 20.14-15).
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