Archives for November 2018
Imitating Paul – Purpose of Heart
The Apostle Paul told the church at Corinth, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). In this interesting command, two truths can be established. 1). The apostle recognized that he was an example of a faithful Christian. 2). Other Christians, by following Paul’s example, would also be following God in an acceptable manner. Paul’s life did not always exemplify his ability to say this.
Paul, previously known as Saul, was a leader in approving the murder or imprisonment of Christians (Acts 7: 7:58; 8:1; 26:9-11). Acts 9:1 states, “Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.” It was on this trip to Damascus that Saul was confronted by Jesus. Saul, falling to the ground, asked the Lord what he should do (Acts 9:3-6). Saul believed that persecuting the Lord’s Church was pleasing to God, but he was soon to find out differently from a man by the name of Ananias, to whom Saul was sent by Jesus. The scripture reveals to us that Saul was baptized. He was then given food for strength and spent some days with the disciples at Damascus. Acts 9:20 indicates that Saul immediately began to preach Christ in the synagogues.
From being a man who in good conscience (Acts 23:1) persecuted the church, Paul became one of the greatest advocates for the cause of Christ. He was always a man of conviction. Even when he was wrong, he believed that he was right and pleasing to God. It is the power of God that gave him revelation to the truth of the Savior. A good conscience does not mean that you are correct if you don’t know the truth of what you say and do (cf. Rom. 10:2). The change in the conscience of the Apostle Paul led him to be a great man of—as well as an example of—faith.
Paul told the churches in Galatia, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). Paul could have bragged about his importance in his father’s religion. He had advanced in Judaism far beyond many of his contemporaries; he was exceedingly zealous (Galatians 1:14). To elevate himself would be of no comfort or hope. He recognized that Jesus had died for him so that he could live eternally. This would not be without cost for the Apostle Paul or for any Christian, as there is great sacrifice in being crucified to a life that is of this world and living by faith in the Son of God. Paul was no exception in his sacrifice.
Paul talks about his sufferings for Christ in 2 Corinthians 11:23-30. He talks about receiving stripes five times, being beaten with rods, being stoned, suffering shipwreck and consistently finding himself in different perils. Paul suffered in being faithful to Christ. In this suffering, he told the Corinthians, “For our light affliction which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17). Paul realized that those that are faithful to Christ will inherit perfection in the afterlife. Any suffering that we may endure is for a far greater hope and reward (cf. Rom. 8:18).
Be imitators of Paul as he imitated Christ. Consider how we live faithfully to Christ and what that means here on this earth. Like Saul, there are those in the world that would harm Christians. Always press toward the goal of heaven. It is the only thing in this life that will have mattered. Let us live as citizens of heaven and while we wait for that great day, let our lives be transformed by living for Christ.
Scott is the minister at the Elm Grove Church of Christ. Meeting times are Sunday at 9:30 a.m. for Bible class and 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. for worship. Mid-week Bible study is on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. All are invited.
Priorities Because of The Precious Gospel – Purpose of Heart
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith’” (Romans 1:16-17). These are the words of the Apostle Paul as he wrote that beautiful letter to the Romans. The Apostle Paul after his conversion to Christ endured great suffering and persecution because of this gospel. He was a persecutor and caused great suffering among those that followed Jesus. Now that he has converted, rather than administer the great suffering, he has become a recipient. Yet, in all this Paul claims no shame. Regardless of how Christ and Christianity were being perceived, Paul had found the truth in the gospel and his life was changed. The great suffering was not shame for him because he had a promise from the great Creator. Paul always lived with the priority of serving God but now was armed with the truth of the gospel, the great news of Christ that in Him we have life. He would sacrifice his life for what he considered light afflictions because he was looking forward to eternity (2 Corinthians 4:17). With the gospel (great news) that Paul had received, his priorities in life changed. Paul’s priority was to be the servant of God, and by being a faithful and submissive worker in the kingdom his life and the lives of a countless number has been changed forever.
The power of the gospel should move all to evaluate priorities. Like the apostle Paul, our priority should be to serve God. That is the purpose for our lives. God has made us in His image (Genesis 1:26-27).We should desire to belong to God in the lives we live. Belonging to God should lead us to know and understand what God has communicated with us. God has given law in times of old and again the age that we live in now (1 Corinthians 9:21). He has told us how to get back to Him. Man does not have to be separated from God; Jesus has provided a way that leads to God. Let us always study to learn and understand the words of God.
As we study and learn the law of God we understand that he requires worship (John 4:24). He wants us to praise, honor and glorify His name. If we think about what God has done for mankind in the spirit of love, why would we not want to honor Him? God has given us life. Yes we must all pass from this world (Hebrews 9:27). God through His love has provided escape from the second death (Revelation 21:8). Jesus spoke of the second death and the one who can destroy us there (Matthew 10:28). Because of God’s love for mankind, He sent Jesus to become sacrifice for our sins, and thus in Him we may live. This should lead us to a life of praise and glorifying His name. It is a special relationship when one cares so much that the opportunity to live is given. God’s love is immeasurable. Let us prioritize our lives to always worship.
Studying God’s word and living by his commands and given examples, our priorities with other people will be affected also. As servants of God, we are to be the light of the world (Matthew 5:14-16). This means that others will see Christ in us. Everyone that lives is an example. Some people are good examples and others are bad examples. God wants us to be a people that others can look at and see something different. What is different is how others are treated and the peace that the Christian has in life. Jesus set forth a different way of thinking in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) for interactions with those that try to harm us. Jesus said specifically, “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). Let us prioritize in life to treat other people in such a way that they may see the great love of God.
Finally, let us prioritize to make heaven our home in the here-after. God has given us hope through Christ Jesus. This hope should help to overcome worry (Matthew 6:25-34). It should help to overcome anxiety (Philippians 4:6). Our hope is in heaven and that is where our treasure needs to be. Place your treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19-21). This is a place of eternal rest and peace where no end of eternal perfection will be found. All things and people will vanish at some point from this world, but in heaven there is no decay, sorrow, pain, or death (1 Peter 1:3-4; Revelation 21:4). This is the promise of God for all those that overcome in this life. “For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise” (Hebrews 10:36).
The gospel of Christ is powerful and changes lives every day. It changed my life. It changed how I think and live my life. I desire to go to heaven whenever that great day may come. Until then my priorities will be to serve a great and awesome God. I will sing praises to His name and offer honor and reverence to Him in all I do. I will search the scriptures to know the truth and I will live a life that I pray will lead others to the great hope that can only come through Christ. “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
Scott is the minister at the Elm Grove Church of Christ. Meeting times are Sunday at 9:30 a.m. for Bible class and 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. for worship. Mid-week Bible study is on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. All are invited.
Daniel – Purpose of Heart
Daniel 1:8 states, “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.” On three different occasions the children of Israel were taken captive into Babylon. Daniel was captured during the first takeover. He would find himself in a strange country around strange people who were expecting him to change his lifestyle. Daniel was chosen to help serve in the king’s palace. Daniel was chosen because he was a young man who had no blemishes and was good-looking; he was gifted with knowledge and wisdom. The plan was to have him train in the way of the Chaldeans. With Daniel being chosen to receive this training, he would also be given that which would be given to the king to eat and drink. This so-called special treatment would occur over the next three years while he was trained. The problem that Daniel experienced, besides being a captive, was that he was a faithful Jew and not willing to compromise his faithfulness to God by doing that which was not holy. His mind was focused on living a life that was in accordance with God. If Daniel would have eaten or drunk of the King’s delicacies, it would be defilement for him.
Daniel finds himself in a position where decisions that he makes were matters of life and death; one simply did not refuse an order from the king. This was punishable in many ways, up to and including death. Not only could Daniel not refuse obedience, but those that were in charge of Daniel could not be seen as conspirators in any type of defiance to the king’s expectation. Daniel had found favor with the chief of the eunuchs and was permitted to eat only vegetables and drink water for ten days. Following this Daniel and his three friends were to have their appearances examined. After ten days of this special diet, Daniel and his friends had an appearance that was better than all the other men. God gave these four men—Daniel and his friends—knowledge and skill in all literature. Daniel also received the ability to understand visions and dreams. When the three years were up, the king interviewed all the men; there were none like Daniel and his three friends and they served before the King.
Great reward comes to those who put God first in their lives. We know there is a promise of eternal life for those that serve Him faithfully but I also contend that there is a great reward in the life that we live now. Daniel is an example to all who faithfully serve God. We, like Daniel, must purpose in our heart to serve Him and only Him. Daniel did not find himself in Babylon one day and then decided to follow the commands of God, but he made a decision before being taken captive that he would serve God no matter what was presented to him. Our lives must be the same. We cannot wait until we are in the heat of turmoil to serve God. Our success in our lives will be in faithfully serving God. In order to do that we must have committed in our hearts that we will do what is right according to the standard of God. This is a standard that is quite different than the standard of the world. I pray that you are studying your Bible and that you have purposed in your heart that you will know the truth and faithfully serve God.
Scott is the minister at the Elm Grove Church of Christ. Meeting times are Sunday at 9:30 am for bible class and 10:30 am and 6:30 pm for worship. Mid-week Bible study is on Wednesday at 6:30 pm. All are invited.
Will you be remembered? – Purpose of Heart
On Monday, December 11, 2017, I had just finished conducting the funeral of an elderly man who was extremely well thought of and very active in the community. He was a member of our Lord’s Church and had been preparing himself for the end of his life for some time. Many members of the community were in attendance on that day. It was obvious how the community felt for this man and how he was going to be greatly missed. Sometimes I fear the words that I may speak on behalf of someone at these times are not good enough to do justice for the life of the deceased. How this man had lived his life in preparation to meet Jesus would be far more important than anything I could possible say. Following my remarks, it was time for the community, friends, loved ones and family to come and pay their last respects at the casket. I remained near the casket as the line progressed to offer condolences to those who were grieving so greatly.
One of the individuals that that I saw in line to pay his respect to the deceased was my old high school football coach. I always had excitement when I saw him because of the great respect I have for him. I had heard that the old ball coach was struggling with his memory. Over the years, he had suffered some medical issues that had been successfully treated but, his recollection was not always the best. The old ball coach was a man that I had thought of often over the years, and I had kept some contact with him. He taught me a lot about life through the avenue of discipline, hard work, and determination. I loved playing the game of football and it was an honor to have been coached by him. I elevated myself during my time with him to an education and growth through the turmoil of football that I had barely been able to achieve in other areas of my life. I spent a lot of time working early in the morning and late at night to better my skills. I lifted weights and practiced year-round because I wanted to be successful as a football player, and not only because I wanted to be successful but also because I wanted to please the old ball coach. As Coach approached closer, as the line was passing, I put on a big grin and said, “Hi, Coach.” He looked at me somewhat confused and extended his hand to introduce himself. This was a day that I soon won’t forget. All the time and effort that I had spent in my life working toward excellence, and I was not even remembered by the man that I had worked so hard for. It was not as though it had been several years since we last spoke. I had to remind myself that the old ball coach was not himself and his memory was not a reflection on me. I spent a lot of time that day replaying that moment in time and what it means to be remembered.
Humans forget many of the times, places and people they were associated with as the years pass. For some, the memory loss is great. Then, eventually, after the passing of years, we will pass on from this world. For a moment on that day I was troubled. I was humbled realizing that times and people change. My time as a football player was so important to me and the man who was an influential part of that did not recognize me. As I reflected on this idea of being forgotten, I could not help but think of the greater tragedy in life, which would be Christ not recognizing a faithful servant on that last day. Jesus said, “Therefore, whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew10:32-33). When I meet that day of judgement, I want Christ to know who I am. I want Christ to see me washed in His blood that brought me forgiveness of my sins. I do not want the ugly scars of sin from my life to be seen. On that last day, because I am faithful to Christ, because I am a baptized believer, because I have been His servant, I desire to hear “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). In this life upon earth, there will be those that after time do not quickly recognize us or remember a relationship that once was. This, I suppose, is a part of life. The greater tragedy will be not being recognized by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on that great day of judgement. Let us live to Him that we may be seen and remembered as a good and faithful servant.
Scott is the minister at the Elm Grove Church of Christ. Meeting times are Sunday at 9:30 a.m. for Bible class and 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. for worship. Mid-week Bible study is on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. All are invited.