Tag: deeds

Assurance Of Truth

Carl Pollard

A few years back, my dad and I traveled to Cambodia for a mission trip. One evening, we wandered through the night market, looking at all the different shops. They had everything from designer clothes to headphones like Beats, Gucci belts, and even iPhones—all unbelievably cheap! I mean, we’re talking $5 for a Casio watch, $10 for an iPhone, and $12 for an iPad. 

At first, it felt like a dream, but the longer we looked, the more we realized something was off. Those “Beats By Dre” headphones actually said “Beats By Bray,” and the Ray-Ban sunglasses actually said “Roy-Bans.” The Casio watch I bought? It seemed legit but died after a few weeks. These knockoffs looked real at first glance, but upon closer inspection, the truth was clear. 

These fake items exist because somewhere, genuine designer products are out there, creating a market for the fakes. Just like those counterfeits, false truths abound today. Jesus warned us about false prophets, and we see their influence everywhere. Satan takes what’s valuable and crafts knockoffs that seem real but lack true worth. As Buddy the Elf famously said, “You sit on a throne of lies.”

In a world filled with deception, false teachings threaten our faith. Yet, John, the apostle Jesus loved, assured early believers that they could have confidence in their relationship with God. There’s no reason to fear; we can have the assurance of truth. God desires for us to feel secure in our faith, knowing that we are saved, a privilege not extended to those outside of Christ.

John makes it clear why he wrote his letters. In 1 John 5:13, he states, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.” This assurance isn’t a gamble; it’s a certainty for those who believe.

John encourages us to evaluate our faith through three tests. First, do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God? 1 John 4:9-10 emphasizes God’s love for us, even when we were unlovable. He sacrificed His Son so we could live through Him. Recognizing this love is crucial.

Next, do you obey God’s commands? 1 John 2:3-6 tells us that knowing Him means keeping His commandments. Obedience isn’t just about fear; it’s rooted in love. We must trust and obey God, finding assurance in our faith through our actions.

Lastly, do you show love toward others? 1 John 3:14 states that love for our brothers and sisters shows we’ve passed from death to life. Love is an active choice, demonstrated through our actions and sacrifices. 1 John 3:18-24 challenges us to love not just in words but in deeds. 

In summary, ask yourself three essential questions: Do you believe in Jesus? Do you obey the Father? Do you love others? If you answered no to any, you may not be right with God. But there’s hope. With a repentant heart, God is ready to forgive and embrace you. So, how badly do you want eternal life? Enough to change your behavior? Let’s strive to embody belief, love, and obedience in our lives.

The Fleeting Nature Of Legacy

Lessons From The Parable Of The Rich Fool

Brent Pollard

The breadth of human recollection is rather fleeting. In merely three generations, the essence of most lives—their trials, victories, and the simple moments of each day—slips quietly into the shadows of forgetfulness. Though history may enshrine its Shakespeares and Einsteins, the greater multitude of us shall fade into obscurity, our tales slipping quietly into the annals of time. This obliteration of individual narrative unfolds through various avenues. As time flows onward, the clarity of memory tends to wane, and the stories of those who came before us, beyond the realm of our grandparents, often fade into a misty obscurity. Families frequently choose to uphold only sure tales, usually centering on those kin who have forged remarkable legacies while permitting others to fade quietly into the obscurity of yesteryear. Those who depart this world without the blessing of children tread a more arduous road to remembrance since their narratives rest solely upon the commitment of distant kin to keep them alive in memory. In this age of mobility, it is all too common for families to drift apart, their bonds fraying and shared memories fading into the ether. The myriad forces at play—natural memory decay, the art of selective storytelling, the absence of children, and the scattering of families—combine harmoniously to guarantee that our recollection barely reaches a century for most of us.

The fleeting essence of human memory imparts a significant lesson regarding the quest for legacy through earthly riches, a truth vividly depicted in the Parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12:13-21). In this narrative, a man of considerable means is convinced that his vast possessions will safeguard his future and ensure his legacy. Yet, in a twist of fate, death arrives to strip away the significance of his meticulously crafted designs. The inquiry posed by the parable—”Then who will receive what you have laid aside for yourself?”—gains a more profound significance when we reflect upon the fleeting nature of our very names within the tapestry of family remembrance. If destiny determines to erase our lives from memory within a few generations, the quest for wealth, as the means for leaving a legacy, reveals itself as a pursuit devoid of true purpose. Instead, this poignant truth beckons us to reflect upon what genuinely lasts: the far-reaching impacts of our connections, the principles we impart to those around us, and the uplifting transformations we foster within our communities. Though the allure of worldly achievements may offer fleeting solace, the unseen connections we forge—the impact we have on the lives of others, the insights we impart, the affection we extend—hold the promise of resonating far beyond our time on this earth. This viewpoint invites us to redirect our attention from the mere gathering of riches to the nurturing of a more profound spiritual and relational abundance, one that may surpass the limits of recollection, thus fostering a legacy that is both meaningful and lasting.

Rather than entangling us in a web of despair, the certainty of being forgotten liberates us to embrace life with greater authenticity and purpose. When we free ourselves from the weighty expectation of leaving a tangible legacy, we understand a profound reality: our authentic influence is not measured by what we bequeath but rather by how our deeds resonate through the ages, often beyond our sight. The folly of the Rich Fool lay not merely in his accumulation of riches but in his profound misunderstanding of the enduring legacy that binds one generation to another through unseen threads of influence. A gentle word uttered in the present may resonate within a family’s principles for generations; a selfless deed could ignite a legacy of generosity that endures beyond our remembrance; a fleeting insight imparted might influence choices long after its origin fades from memory. This insight reshapes our perspective on the fleeting moments life grants us. Rather than laboring to erect grand monuments in our honor, let us turn our efforts to sowing seeds of virtue that will blossom long after we have departed. We may find solace in the understanding that our impact can persist, even when our names have slipped into the shadows of time. This parable extends beyond its sacred beginnings to impart a wisdom that resonates universally: a profound legacy continues to yield fruit, even when circumstances cut it from its roots.

Hypocrisy Illustrated

Thursday’s Column: Captain’s Blog

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Carl Pollard

In Mark 11:12-14, we read a short and slightly strange account of Christ and his disciples, “On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.” Why did he curse the tree?
 
It seems to me that it would make more sense if he cursed the tree because it was in season and failed to bear fruit, but it wasn’t in season. So why curse the tree? It wasn’t supposed to have fruit. Many people say that what Jesus did was a little extreme. It appears that the only reason Jesus cursed the tree was because He was hungry and was upset that it had no fruit. At first glance His actions seem harsh and unwarranted, but Christ is illustrating a very important lesson.
 
This tree illustrated hypocrisy. Jesus cursed the fig tree because it had the appearance of being fruitful, but it was a lie. It lacked fruit. It was this lie that caused Jesus to curse the tree. It clearly states that this tree was not in season, but it still had leaves. So from far off it seemed to have the appearance of fruit, but it offered nothing but leaves. Jesus doesn’t want us to have the appearance of holiness; He wants us to bear fruit.
It’s not about looking like a Christian, but living like one.
 
Emily told me a story from when she was younger and literally had a run in with a peach tree. She was driving a golf cart at a friend’s house and ran over a young peach tree. The golf cart stripped off the bark and flattened the small tree. The owners had to spray fake bark onto the tree just to keep it alive and healthy, and to this day it’s an ugly tree. But, despite being deformed and mangled, this tree, according to Emily and all her friends, makes the best peaches out of all the peach trees on the property.
 
What’s the point? It’s not about how you look. It’s about what you produce. Jesus doesn’t care about our appearance and if we look like a Christian. The ONLY thing that matters is if we are bearing fruit.
 
This tree was an illustration of the hypocrisy that was found in the Pharisees in Matthew 23:27-28. Like the whitewashed tombs which Jesus references in these verses, the fig tree looked beautiful on the outside. It looked like it was ripe with fruit! But upon closer examination, it was a lie.
It had nothing. It made itself out to be something it wasn’t. Christ had no tolerance for hypocrisy. If we claim to be Christians and that we have a relationship with God, and yet fail to dwell on His word and spend time in prayer, we are living a life of hypocrisy. Jesus uses this tree to show us how he feels about those who claim to be one thing, when in reality it is all a lie.
 
After Jesus curses the fig tree, they immediately enter the temple and what do they see but a living example of the fig tree?  In verse 15 Jesus sees people using the temple as a place to rip off others. They had turned the temple into a den of thieves. The fig tree had the appearance of having fruit to offer, but it gave none. The temple, Jerusalem, and the Pharisees had the appearance of having holiness and offering salvation,  but had none.
 
We must use this account as motivation to practice what we preach and be who say we are to those around us.

The Silent Influence

Thursday’s Column: Carlnormous Comments

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Carl Pollard
 
I can still remember it like it was yesterday. It was a Friday morning and I came downstairs to see dad sitting where he always sat every single morning. He was in his lazy boy recliner drinking what was probably his third cup of coffee, wearing his fuzzy dad slippers and a pair of reading glasses. If I saw that combination, I knew what dad was doing.
 
Every morning he would get up early, grab his coffee, Bible, slippers and glasses, and sit in his lazy boy recliner. And every morning I would see him sitting there reading. When I look back and think about these instances, I now see just how powerful his actions were. He wouldn’t tell us what he was doing, he wouldn’t tell us to join him, he wouldn’t tell us why he was doing it. He would just grab his Bible and read.
 
When I think about influence this is what I think of. A committed man of God. Showing us by his actions how to grow our own relationship with The Father. The silent influence that I saw growing up has shown me the power of actions. Through his actions I saw what his priorities were. I saw what his focus was. I saw who he loved more than anyone else.
 
There’s nothing we should want more as Christians than to have this kind of influence on others. Not preaching at them day and night condemning them and cutting others down, but showing them by our actions what a relationship with God looks like. If we work on perfecting our faith and cultivating a genuine relationship with God, people WILL notice. For others to be affected by our influence we need to get three things straight: our priorities, our actions, and our speech.
 
When we think about winning souls, it’s best to start with our own before looking to others. If we can grow our faith and be fully invested in our relationship with God, people will notice and ultimately glorify God.
 
Matthew 5:13-16

Your Impact

Wednesday’s Column: Third’s Words

Gary III

Gary Pollard

On August 6 and 9, 1945, the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The bomb itself, compared to the city, was quite small; the devastation is still at the front of many minds today.

There is a lot of evidence on earth of multiple meteor impacts. It is chilling to watch re-creations of how those impacts would have affected the earth. A meteor just six miles across has the potential ability to destroy most of this planet, which is 24,901 miles in circumference. So, something just 0.024% of earth’s size can potentially destroy it entirely.

This country has 321,400,000 people. The church makes up about 0.03% of the US Population. We are ahead of meteors in terms of our ability to make an unforgettable impact.

It is far too easy for us to think, “I’m just one person,” or, ”We’re just a couple hundred people in a community of thousands,” but God can do mind-blowing things with just one person. With His Son, He gave all humanity across eons of time the ability to be saved. With just 12 apostles, the church grew into a global fellowship. With just one faithful Christian, an entire community of lost souls can be reached.

When a meteor strikes the earth, it’s not the crater that creates such devastation: it is what happens afterward. Maybe you convert just one soul. That soul turns around and converts his/her family. That family reaches out to their connections and shares their newfound faith. Before you know it, hundreds of lost souls are now in Christ. All because of the effort of one person to convert one soul!

“Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith” (Gal. 6:9-10).

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Good Deeds

Neal Pollard

Good deeds don’t make the nightly news.  When a person serves or is nice to others, it rarely goes beyond the circle of occurrence.  That’s OK, because Jesus urges us, “Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before me, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven” (Mat. 6:1).

That probably wasn’t a problem for Titus, since the Cretans weren’t renowned for doing good deeds. In fact, a Cretan prophet said of his fellow-citizens, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons” (Ti. 1:12). How would you like to live in a neighborhood or work on your job with such charming people as that? Paul calls them lying, wild, evil animals and slaves to their stomachs.

So, Paul spends some significant time in his letter talking about good deeds. There were some on Crete, particularly Jews, who by their deeds denied God and were “worthless for any good deed” (1:16). Thus, he urges Titus to show himself a pattern of good deeds (2:7). These deeds were not to earn salvation (3:5), but instead to please God. Notice how Paul emphasizes deeds in this letter.

  • Good Deeds Show The Right Example (2:7). I heard about a pair of identical twins.  One was a preacher and the other was a doctor. It was impossible to tell the two apart. A woman approached one of them and asked, “Are you the one that preaches?” He said, “No, ma’am. I’m the one who practices.” Paul tells Titus to show himself a pattern of good deeds in three areas: (1) Through sound teaching, (2) Through a serious life, and (3) Through his speech.
  • Good Deeds Show Where Our Passions Lie (2:14). Christ wants us zealous for good deeds. Wrongly directed zeal is destructive.  The Jewish zealots of the first-century helped bring about the demise of Jerusalem. But, a zealot with the right cause and conduct is powerful!  If we appreciate that we’ve been redeemed from every lawless deed (13), we’ll be zealous for good deeds. It should be natural for us, when saved from our sins, to be passionate about it to the point that our lives boil over with gratitude! That shows up in good deeds.
  • Good Deeds Show Our Faith In God (3:8). Paul urges Titus to share with all believers the need to be ready for every good deed (3:1). What will motivate us to do these good deeds? God’s mercy (3:5)! What will this motivate us to do? Share the good news (3:7-8). The world walks by sight and not by faith. Our challenge is to rise above that disbelief and show by our deeds our faith in the God who saved us from our sins! Our challenge is also to rise above the strife and division of those who profess to believe but whose lives yield evil deeds (3:9-11).  Doing good is broad and takes in the whole will of God for us, being all He wants us to be in marriage, parenting, the church, our neighborhood, the workplace, the nation, and in our relationships (cf. Titus 2). What will our good behavior in all these relationships tell others? Simply, that God is the guide of our lives and we put our trust in Him.
  • Good Deeds Meet Pressing Needs (3:14). Paul ends the letter by mentioning four Christians by name. The last two, Zenas and Apollos, would need financial help. Paul’s encouragement in Titus 3:14 seems directly related to this need. Whether it’s supporting missionaries or weekly giving, we are God’s hands on earth to help the needy when we give.

The old adage is true.  “Actions speak louder than words.” Paul writes of some who profess to know God, but in works deny Him. What a reminder that the Lord will not say, “Well said,” but “well done!”  Dorcas was a woman “full of good works and charitable deeds” (Acts 9:36). The woman with the Alabaster box did what she could (Mark 14:8).  What about us? What will be said about our deeds?