For me

“Alas and did my savior bleed, and did my sovereign die?
Would he devote that sacred head for such a one as I?” (Isaac Watts)

If you are a little older you will notice something about these lines from the familiar song, “At the Cross”: Isaac Watts distinctly did not write “for such a one as I.” You might recall he said, instead, “for such a worm as I.” This seems to be a form of verbal airbrushing.

I don’t know if the PC Police got in on this one. Did some devotee of “I’m OK, You’re OK” (a best seller by Thomas Harris) object that we ought not to be calling ourselves after the icky creatures lacking limbs?

Isaac Watts wrote something similar in his classic “Amazing Grace.”

“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me” (John Newton).

A wretch? A worm? Isn’t it Christianity’s job to give us all good self-images? And we can’t be calling ourselves worms if it is our life’s goal to feel good about ourselves, right?

All of which would be good points if, indeed, it was God’s purpose to affirm our self images, or if the purpose of Christianity was to affirm our pride.

In fact, the purpose of Christianity is to do the opposite!

Can we say it, ever so cautiously, that sometimes our actions should be condemned, not confirmed? And when did it become a good thing not to be deeply conscious of our sinful condition? And how, exactly, are we going to change if we do not first feel a profound sense of remorse for our sins?

Peter was astonished by Jesus and declared, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man” (Luke 5:8). Jesus did not abandon his sinful disciple, but neither did he dispute Peter’s sinful nature. The Prodigal declared he was “no longer worthy to be called” a son (Luke 15:19). We know the father accepted him back, but the young man’s self-assessment was not far off. Joshua the high priest was observed wearing “filthy rags” (Zechariah 3:1-3). God arranged to cleanse him, but the rags were still filthy.

If you have been forgiven a debt of five dollars, you might say “thank you.” If you have been forgiven an incomparable debt, you might respond with your life. You would move from wretch to saint.

Stan Mitchell

If we consider the history of Christendom, it should not come to us as a surprise that for many people, the terms pastor, bishop and presbyter designate different people. And yet, it caught me off guard. I did not expect everyone to be amazed how the New Testament presents a different perspective.

Each Wednesday afternoon at a retirement community located within walking distance of my office, a group of seniors from a variety of church traditions gather to study God’s word. On this particular day as we worked through 1 Timothy, wonder, excitement and surprise broke out on everyone’s face as they learned that the New Testament uses elder, shepherd and overseer interchangeably to identify the same church leadership function with three different descriptions.

For example, in Acts 20:17 Paul requested the elders (presbyters) of Ephesus to meet with him. When speaking with them he identified them as overseers (bishops) and pastors (shepherds) of the church of God (Acts 20:28). In similar fashion 1 Peter 5:1 provides instruction to elders, whom we learn are to shepherd God’s flock and be overseers (1 Peter 5:2). Similarly, Paul equates elders and overseers (Titus 1:5-6).

So why three different designations for the same person? It is actually quite wonderful. These terms of leadership originate from three different societal backgrounds. Everyone could relate to at least one, if not more of these leadership metaphors.

Let’s start with elders. From the Bible we are quite familiar with the language of elders sitting in the city gate (Deuteronomy 25:7), the elders of Israel (Exodus 3:16) or elders being listed among those influential leaders opposed to Jesus (Matthew 21:23). In a society shaped by male leadership, elders were those respected older men, who by their experience and wisdom had attained social influence.

When it comes to rural leadership, there are not many metaphors native to the countryside. However, the picture of a shepherd leading a flock and caring for them certainly jumps forth. Shepherds or pastors provide a rich tapestry of leadership evoking care, protection and guiding wisdom.

Long before it became a church term, the Greeks described as “onlookers” (episkopoi) those who graciously watched over and protected others.  This largely urban term came to be extended to other arenas such as overseeing finances or a shipment of goods. Eventually the “onlooker” or overseer came to designate the office of those assigned with the responsibility of caring for someone or something. Within the Greco-Roman urban church context, describing someone as an overseer aptly communicated someone responsible for guarding and seeking the church’s well being.

It seems only natural that in a religious community arising out of a variety of backgrounds various terms for protective and caring leadership would be used to describe those older men who were pastoring and overseeing the church’s well-being.

I feel we do a disfavor to congregants whenever biblical terms are used in unbiblical ways.  This occurs, for example, if we make a distinction between a pastor and a group of elders.

It is reasonable to assume that whenever someone hears their church designate someone as a “pastor” or “bishop/overseer” that he or she would expect these terms to reflect how the Bible uses them. One group of seniors had this perspective. Unfortunately, their churches had not provided them with this blessing.

Barry Newton

NAMING THE SHEEP

The following story comes from Julie Helms in Christian Reader, “Lite Fare”:

My husband and I, with our two daughters, operate a small sheep farm.  One day a non-farming friend asked, “How can you bear to slaughter those cute little lambs?”

My husband explained, “We don’t want to get emotionally attached to the ones we plan to eat, so we don’t give them names.”

Not satisfied, the friend probed, “What about your kids?”

Her husband quickly replied, “Oh, we name them!”

While very few of us are personally familiar with sheep and shepherds, the relationship between the two is one of the most powerful images in the Bible used to describe the relationship between Christ and his followers. The loving care shown by shepherds to their flock, and the willingness of sheep to utterly depend on what the shepherd can provide offer a glimpse of our personal relationship with the good shepherd.   While it may seem to be a small thing, our name plays a significant role in that relationship.

“He who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.  To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” (John 10:2-3)

“He calls his own sheep by name.”  Though there are many disciples of Christ around the world, we are not just “one of the masses”, not just a number.  We are intimately known and loved by the good shepherd.  He knows us by name.   It tells us not only that he cares about us, but that he plans for his relationship with us to be a lasting one.

May the fact that your shepherd knows your name give you comfort this day.

Have a great day!

Alan Smith

“Then the Lord spoke to Moses: ‘Speak to the Israelites and tell them, “When you cross over the Jordan River into the land of Canaan, you must then designate some towns as towns of refuge for you, to which a person who has killed someone unintentionally may flee. And they must stand as your towns of refuge from the avenger in order that the killer may not die until he has stood trial before the community. These towns that you must give shall be your six towns for refuge.”’” (Numbers 35:9-13 NET).

God is a God of mercy. We can see this in his providing towns of refuge for the Israelites. These towns were so designated to allow someone who had accidentally killed another person to be safe from any ‘avenger’ who might come after them to take their life. If they were within these towns they were safe. In more recent years church buildings have often served this same purpose as a place of sanctuary.

Even the location of these six towns of refuge shows God’s mercy and concern for his people. Three were west of the Jordan River and three were on the east (Numbers 35:14-15). If we were to locate their probable locations on a map we would also see that they were positioned in way that anyone could quickly get to one of them.

God is also a God of justice. Once they were in the town there would be a hearing to determine whether the person was innocent of murder. Even without witnesses, the circumstances surrounding the death would determine whether this were an accidental death or intentional murder (see Numbers 35:16-24). If guilty, then the person would be put to death. Justice would be done.

But if the person were innocent, he was protected from anyone who wished to avenge the death. There was a condition: he had to remain in the town of refuge until the death of the high priest. If he were found outside the town, the avenger could take his life without being guilty of murder (see Numbers 35:25-29). As long as the person was in the town, they were safe. Once again, we see mercy.

As Christians, we also experience God’s mercy and justice (and grace!). God remains a just God, which means that there had to be a price paid for our sin. Once we sin, we cannot undo it, we cannot erase it, we cannot take it back. We have sinned and have earned the wages of sin: death (Romans 6:23). But God has shown his mercy in giving us a free gift – eternal life. When we “obey from the heart that pattern of teaching you were entrusted to” we are then “freed from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness” (Romans 6:17-18).

God’s justice is served in that a price of blood was paid for our sin, through Jesus. God’s mercy is seen in that we are freed from sin to serve God. But there is a condition. Just as the innocent person had to remain in the town of refuge, we have to remain in Jesus. If we chose to turn our back on him and die in that condition, there is no more sacrifice for us (Hebrews 10:26). “But if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

The choice we must make: do we want God’s mercy or justice?

Jon Galloway

Blaise Pascal, the renowned French mathematician, is recognized as being one of the greatest thinkers of all time, but he was humble enough to trust God.

Pascal addressed the subject of the Resurrection by asking the following question:  “What reason have atheists for saying that we cannot rise again?  What is the more difficult, to be born, or to rise again?  That what has never been, should be, or that what has been should be again?  Is it more difficult to come into being than to return to it?”

I was recently questioned about precision obedience and whether it is a valid theology. I would recommend to all who wish to know the answer to this question to study the book of Deuteronomy. Throughout the book are specific instructions as to how we are to respond to the commandments and precepts that come from God.

I spent many hours reading and re-reading the book in several versions.

I purchased a copy of the Tanakh (an English translation of the Jewish scriptures) in order to see how they understood the passages. I found that God expects us to obey Him lovingly (12x), fearfully (15x), completely (31x), carefully (27x in NASB), and accurately. We were to do “just as the Lord commanded” (69x in the Pentateuch) and act “according to the commandment” (43x). We were to go neither to the right or left (5x), to walk in His ways, to not turn from the way. We were neither to add to nor take away from His commandments (Dt. 4:2; 12:32).

Any serious student would immediately see the importance of these repetitious instructions.

What cinched it for me was how many times Jesus used words like “keep” and “observe,” words which reflect careful obedience. I noticed to how Jesus would not act on his own initiative, how He did “just as” the Father commanded (Jn. 14:31). I did not make up the idea of “precision obedience.” I found it in the text, where it was all the time. I find these quotations from the Tanankh quite revealing:

When they have announced to you the verdict in the case, you shall carry out the verdict that is announced to you from that place that the Lord chose, observing scrupulously all their instructions to you. You shall act in accordance with the instructions given you and the ruling handed down to you; you must not deviate from the verdict that they announce to you either to the right or to the left. (Deut. 17:9c-11)

Be careful, then, to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. Do not turn aside to the right or to the left: follow only the path that the Lord your God has enjoined upon you, so that you may thrive and that it may go well with you, and that you may long endure in the land you are to possess. (5:29,30 JPS)

Handling aright the word of truth, paying close attention, not acting on our own initiative, and keeping the commandments mean we too should have a loving, careful, fearful, complete, and accurate obedience.

Precisely obeying means we use bread and fruit of the vine, not roast lamb on the Lord’s table. It means we sing from our hearts rather than play or entertain ourselves. It means we have a plurality of elders rather than a single pastor, an archbishop, or a pope. It means we immerse penitent believers instead of sprinkling infants.

In short, it means we do not go beyond the Scriptures for our faith or practice, instead we show our love for God by listening and doing what He says in Scripture rather than pursue our own thoughts.

This is not that hard to understand, and it is thoroughly biblical!

Phil Sanders

On October 14, 2017 Anthony Bari used the art of distraction to pull off a high waged bank robbery. Anthony left a fake “bomb” at the entrance of a bank which lured the police in. While the police were taking the bait, Anthony was in a separate part of town robbing a different bank. This tactic has been used over and over throughout history and cinematic plot-lines. However, we don’t have to go to Hollywood or the local news station to see this type of activity; we can look within our very own lives.

In the middle of His sermon, Jesus wants to remind the crowds of God’s great care. Unfortunately, we get into the habit of worrying. In Matthew 6:25-30, Jesus explains how worry can distract us from the faith we ought to have in God. In 6:31 and 32, Jesus explains how worry distracts us from the Father’s care. In 6:33 and 34, He explains how worry distracts from the Kingdom. These three areas are factors that play a role in our experience of life. Jesus never promised a life of roses and rainbows, but our worry just escalates matters to a whole new level.

Satan and the world use worry as a distraction device. While we’re so caught up worrying about worry, we become blind to the faith that is evident before us, the providential care provided on our behalf, and the Kingdom of God that offers support and consolation. Worry becomes a very attractive bait for us even when we don’t fully recognize it.

The challenge is simple. Reverse those three distractions. Let faith, the Father’s care, and the Kingdom distract you from your worries. I am reminded of the beautiful words found within the hymn, What a Friend we Have in Jesus; “What peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”

Tyler King

The following is reported to be a true story that says a lot about Japanese products and their quality standards.

It seems that IBM decided to have some parts manufactured in Japan as a trial project.  In the specifications, they specified that they would only accept three defective parts per 10,000.

When the delivery came to IBM, there was an accompanying letter:  “We Japanese have a hard time understanding North American business practices. But the three defective parts have been included and wrapped separately.  Hope this pleases you.”  The Japanese company gave IBM what they specified — three defective parts and 9,997 good parts!

I wonder, how many defects are we willing to accept in our spiritual lives?  “Yes, I know there’s some greed and gossip and lust, but three defects per ten thousand is still acceptable!”  Is our goal as Christians to get our “defects” down to an “acceptable” level, or is our goal to get rid of them all?  I know, I know, we’ll never achieve that level of perfection in this life.  But what is our goal?  How much sin are we willing to tolerate before it becomes “unacceptable”?

“What shall we say then?  Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not!  How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” (Rom. 6:1-2)

“My little children, these things I write to you that you may not sin.”  (I John 2:1a)

That’s our goal!  May you be satisfied in your spiritual life with nothing less than striving to follow the perfect example of Jesus Christ himself.

Have a great day!

Alan Smith

God’s plan of salvation is complete in Scripture and we can be assured that we have all we need (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

When we sin (Romans 3:23), we’re separated from God (Isaiah 59:1-2) and we become his enemy (Romans 5:10). There’s nothing we can do to return to God on our own (Romans 3:10-12).

“O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps” (Jeremiah 10:23, NKJV).

By God’s grace through faith, we have a solution (Hebrews 11:6; Ephesians 2:8-9). The Father sent his Son to die for our sins (John 3:16; Romans 5:6) and we have a way back to God that we would never have on our own.

“God is light and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5).

God can’t coexist with evil and therefore we must be completely clean spiritually when we enter his presence. God prepared us for that truth through the Old Testament (Leviticus 16:1-4; Exodus 19:9-11).

We must be cleansed by being born of water (Acts 2:38) and added to the body of Christ, the Church (Acts 2:47; Ephesians 1:22-23). In baptism our sins are washed away by the blood of Christ (Acts 22:16; 1 John 1:7).

With that blood on our souls, Christ leads us to the Father’s throne. We’re hopeless to get there any other way. Christ’s cross becomes the bridge that provides access to God. With the blood of Christ on our souls and the way of the cross before us, we can reach God’s glory (1 John 1:7).

Without Jesus, the blood and the bridge, salvation is impossible. Only by submitting to God and following his plan can we hope to be freed from the bondage of sin.

Richard Mansel

Why Is It Called The “Church of Christ”?

Do you wonder why it is so important that the church be designated properly? Let us give these very simple and very vital reasons:

1. The church belongs to Christ by right of purchase. “To feed the church of the Lord which he purchased with his own blood” Acts 20:28. No other person or thing, therefore, should have any part in the title of the church.

2. The church is the body of Christ. “And he is the head of the body, the church.” (Col. 1:18) The body of Christ is the church of Christ, so it is altogether logical and right that the church be called “the church of Christ.”

3. The church is the bride of Christ. “For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is great: but I speak in regard of Christ and the church.” (Eph. 5:31 -32)

4. The church operates under the sole authority of Christ. “All power in heaven and earth has been given unto me: go ye therefore…” Matt. 28:18-20. Since it operates by no earthly authority, by what right should it be called after any earthly being or thing?

5. Christ is the Savior of the Church. “Christ also is head of the church, being himself the savior of the body.” Eph. 5:23. So we are obligated to no other person or thing. Why should we desire to glorify any other than the Savior?

– by H. L. Collett

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They Could Not Blush

The fat is in the sun — and, we may add, “in the fire” for all who question the various stages of undress seen in the stores and on the streets these days. The more angular and misshapen the woman, or the more knobby-kneed the man, the less propriety and modesty is shown. And no one blushes!

Jeremiah prophesied against Jerusalem saying, “Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? Nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush . . . “ (Jer. 6:15a).

They could not blush. It is a terrible thing when a people can no longer blush. It means there is no sense of shame — the con­science is seared. They have so lowered their standards that “abominations” appear acceptable. Self-respect has been de­stroyed, and there is no personal pride to urge them to better, higher, more noble attainments. Their moral “slip shows” and they “couldn’t care less.”

Further, they frequently compound their degradation by a blasé smugness, as though their calloused hearts were marks of high honor. He who blushes (should one remain) is a “square,” or maybe a “cube.”

Once my wife and I visited a woman whose attire was almost non-existent. We were so embarrassed for her that we sought to excuse ourselves; but apparently she thought her clothing (?) perfectly adequate. She sat, chatting gaily, until her three-year-old, wearing training panties, walked into the room. Then she rushed the child away with a “spat” saying, “You know better than to come in here undressed like that!” I suppose psychology has some explanation for it.

Paul commends “shamefastness”—a word meaning “bound, or controlled by a sense of shame—modesty.”  As abedfast person is “bound” to the bed by physical disability, so a shame-fast person has a built in sense of right or propriety that “binds” and forbids appearing in public carelessly or improp­erly clothed (1 Tim. 2:8-10).

When a friend of mine commented on the gross immodesty that prevailed in a western resort city, he was told, “After awhile you’ll get used to it.” My friend replied that he hoped not.

“Getting used to” something that degrades character and lowers moral standards is no inducement to one who
can still blush and is proud of it

– by Robert F. Turner

“Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull, Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them” (Matthew 13:14-15 NKJV).

I admit that my eyes are not as sharp as they may have once been, nor my ears as sensitive. Yet I am still amazed at the ability of the people of South Asia to see tiny details at surprising distances. When going through the jungles of the national parks, our local guides will see deer and other animals bedded down in thickets that I can barely detect even when they are pointed out to me. Here on our campus birds that are well within the canopy of leaves are identified long before I can catch even a flicker of motion.

I prize my eyesight, imperfect as it is, and do what I can to preserve and improve it. This world is filled with wonderful and beautiful things, and I want to be able to enjoy them. More importantly, there are many threats and dangers that I want to see while there is still time and space to avoid them.

In the Bible there are many stories of people whose eyes were closed. Three times Balaam failed to see an angel blocking his path – an angel that his donkey saw and avoided (Numbers 22:22-27). Elisha’s servant could not see the army of the Lord protecting the prophet until his eyes were opened (2 Kings 6:15-17). And the disciples on the way to Emmaus could not perceive the identity of the resurrected Jesus until he departed from them (Luke 24:13-35).

Most of us have seen and been bemused by puzzles that reveal more than one image, depending upon how they are viewed. All have or will discover that they have misread words or misidentified images that turned out to be far different than first believed. The adage, “Seeing is believing” unfortunately is often misleading at best. We cannot always believe everything that we think we have seen.

Is there a cure for closed eyes, in the sense that Jesus is speaking of in Matthew 13? When we have stubbornly blocked our perception through prejudice or other hindrance true understanding is impossible. We must make every effort to correct our errors and develop the ability to see accurately and truly. Yes there is a cure, but it requires our commitment to true perception.

First there is the obvious: we must open our eyes. No one sees with his or her eyes shut, whether literally or metaphorically. When I strive to see the bird someone is pointing at I try to get a correct direction and distance, then focus and look intently. A casual glance rarely reveals much. We must concentrate, making sure our eyes are genuinely open.

Second, we must develop a great desire for true vision. Someone has said, “People see what they expect to see.” That is true. When a familiar statement is altered by one word or letter many will continue to read it as the original, entirely failing to see the change that has been made. Our mind concludes that certain words are there even when our eyes do not see them. That accounted for much of the Jewish rejection of Jesus. They knew what the Messiah would be and do, and Jesus just did not fit the pattern. They could not see him in that mold.

Finally, we must reject mirages. The world presents many false images, with promises that will never be fulfilled. We not only see what we expect, we often see what we want to find. One must learn to avoid the distraction of visions and dreams which have no reality. Our desires lead us down false paths to destruction (James 4:1-5).

When we look with eyes trained by the Spirit (Romans 8:1-11) and empowered by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7), we will truly see. God cannot lie (Titus 1:2) and his promises are certain. Let us keep our eyes and ears open that we might receive his blessings.

Michael Brooks

Sometimes when we’re walking down the straight and narrow path, just when it seems things are getting really good in life, suddenly all the wheels come off at once.  You immediately think of James 1:2,3 and you say, “Lord, I know I’m supposed to be joyful right now, but I just don’t see how this time,” or “I know You said You’d provide a way of escape, but I don’t see any way out of this.”  It always seems that these things happen at the worst of times.  That’s because there are no good times for disaster.

A great lesson can be learned by listening to Moses’ words to the children of Israel when they were convinced that the Egyptian army was about to kill them all (Exodus 14:13, 14):  But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever.  The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.”

When God says, “Fear not!” He usually has something big in mind.  Moses knew ahead of time that Og, king of Bashan, would not destroy the Israelites (Numbers 21:33-35).  This is how it would be in every battle (Deuteronomy 20:1-3).  However, like so much of God’s law, this was conditional (Joshua 7:2-5,8-12).  The same is true today.  We already know Who is going to win (Romans 8:31-37), but it’s still conditional (2 Corinthians 13:5).

When God says, “Stand still!”  we must do things His way.  Impatience will get us into trouble every time.  Just look at Abraham and Ishmael (Genesis 16).  God’s priests were to stand patiently and wait on God to stop a flooding Jordan River (Joshua 3:8).  Receiving strength from God depends on waiting patiently on Him (Isaiah 40:31).  Patience is necessary to receive the promise (Hebrews 10:36).

It’s also important not to sound your own horn!  He says, “Be quiet!”  God says not to worry about our enemies or the things that threaten us; He is the Victor (Isaiah 7:1-6).  Moses, who was more humble than anyone else (Numbers 12:3) was not interested in glory; only in serving his God (Exodus 32:9-14).

Now “Watch!”  “Behold the power and majesty of God!!”  The goodness of God is visible today (Psalm 27:13); we see answered prayers, the awesome evidence of creation, etc.  We are invited to see His works (Psalm 66:5).  It has all been plainly visible for quite some time (Romans 1:20).

Read 2 Kings 6:8-18.  When we enter into life’s battles they can quite often be pretty scary (2 Chronicles 20:1-7).  Whenever we do battle in this world we must make sure whose side we’re on.  If we find ourselves against the Lord, we must change sides quickly.  If we find ourselves on the Lord’s side, read what will happen in 2 Chronicles 20:14-17, 20-24:  Then in the midst of the assembly the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite of the sons of Asaph; and he said, “Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.  Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley in front of the wilderness of Jeruel.  You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the Lord is with you.” …They rose early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa; and when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, put your trust in the Lord your God and you will be established. Put your trust in His prophets and succeed.”  When he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to the Lord and those who praised Him in holy attire, as they went out before the army and said, “Give thanks to the Lord, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.”  When they began singing and praising, the Lord set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were routed.  For the sons of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir destroying them completely; and when they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.  When Judah came to the lookout of the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude, and behold, they were corpses lying on the ground, and no one had escaped.

There will be times when you come out the winner and you have no idea how it happened that way.  Just give thanks to God Almighty.  Have a wonderful week.

Donnie Bates

This past week I was thrown into the deep, dark abyss, where there is gnashing of teeth, known as strep throat. Last Sunday evening I preached through a fever. I went home planning to sleep hard (as I always do Sunday night), waking up Monday morning feeling much better. No such luck. In fact, I never went to sleep Sunday evening. I was up all night.

My throat felt like it was covered in glass. I couldn’t swallow anything. Even worse? The only enjoyable thing about being sick wasn’t enjoyable—I could barely swallow ice cream. Somehow I managed to eat half a gallon, but that’s another issue for another time. Don’t judge me.

At work on Tuesday (without realizing I had strep throat), I finally surrendered and went to the doctor where I was diagnosed. I received a powerful shot and some antibiotics. Praise God for modern medicine and doctors. Within a few hours, due to the medication, I was already beginning to feel a little bit better. By Thursday I was almost completely well. And today, on Sunday, I’m back in the saddle ready to preach. But it all started with one shot and one pill on Tuesday. Without it, it wouldn’t have been possible.

The writer of Hebrews tells us in Hebrews 4:12 that “…the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword. It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow.”

The psalmist of Psalm 1 said that a man who is truly “blessed” is the man who “…delights in the law of the Lord, and on his law he mediates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.” (Ps 1: 2-3)

I believe that the word of God does for our souls what antibiotics do for our bodies.

That’s why strep and Scripture can be in the same title.

The word of God completely changes how we feel. It strengthens us when we are weak. It soothes us when we are in pain. It calms us when we are worried. It challenges us when we are comfortable. It humbles us when we are proud. It educates us when we are ignorant. And it does all of these things quickly.

I chose to go the doctor because I was desperate. And I went to the doctor knowing it would cost me money. But it was worth every cent.

We must go to the word of God, not because we’re desperate, but because we’re hungry. Hungry for His wisdom. Hungry for His message. Hungry for His love. Hungry for His guidance. Hungry for His friendship. Hungry for His promise.

And going to the word of God doesn’t cost us a dime. Just time.

If you need that “shot in the arm” (no pun intended), pick up a Bible. It makes all the difference. And it cures much BIGGER problems than strep throat.

Time with the Great Physician is time well spent. Always.

Jacob Hawk

Did you know that ancient Roman soldiers were not supposed to marry during their years of service? Now compound this with Augustus Caesar establishing the military term for soldiers at 20 years!  Listening to Paul’s exhortation to Timothy suddenly takes on a new level of intensity and single-mindedness.

“No one in military service gets entangled in matters of everyday life; otherwise he will not please the one who enlisted him” (2 Timothy 2:4)

As Paul opened his second letter to Timothy, Timothy appears to have been grappling with some fear and embarrassment about the Lord (2 Timothy 1:7-8). Paul’s words offer to reframe Timothy’s perspective by reflecting on the dedication that even a common soldier had to possess. How much more, then, God’s soldier ought to exemplify a single-mindedness of purpose and devotion to please his Commanding Officer!

As good as a tenacious dedication to God is, Paul knew that such zealousness needs guidance. So he wove into this fabric of faithfulness the lesson of an athlete.

The intense training and discipline required of an athlete was proverbial. To petition to participate in the ancient Olympic games, the prospective athlete was required under oath to pledge that he would train for 10 months.

Nevertheless, such dedication alone was insufficient. The victor would be one who competed by the established guidelines (2 Timothy 2:5). Timothy’s service to God needed to be guided by God’s will, not just his own ideas of what was best. How easy it can be to get fired up about our own solutions and agendas.

And finally, Paul added a farmer to this collage of faithfulness. As the hard working farmer is the first one to receive a benefit from the harvest, so too it is only right that God’s faithful and dedicated servant should be first to share in the blessings of his labor (2 Timothy 2:6).

We can do this. As God’s people we can live the short period of our time under the sun dedicated to serving our Lord according to God’s will.  Even if life seems mundane or arduous, we can do this.  And let’s not forget, God wants to refresh his workers and it is appropriate to accept refreshment along the way.

by Barry Newton

No, it’s not going to make you anymore holy. And no, the more you spend on a bible does not work in correlation with how close you are to heaven. In fact, I’m convinced that someone can be taught the gospel from something as simple as those little freebie pocket-sized Gideon bibles. So then, why am I spending time and effort in writing to get you to buy a nice bible? Good question.

#1 It Will Take Care of You – As with everything else, the cheaper and lower-quality bibles tend to fall apart much easier. The phrase goes, “a bible that is falling apart usually belongs to a person who is not.” While there may be some truth in that, it could also be the case that the Bible is just a cheap, poorly bound product. The bible I currently use was around $175, but it has lasted me five years, two trips to Africa, a trip to Israel, and is my go-to bible for everything.

#2 You Will Take Care of It – I used to own a bottom of the line Ford Focus with a ton of miles. I thrashed that car through off-road mountain trails, eventually both bumpers needed gorilla tape in order to remain present, and I never took it to the carwash. I didn’t care a single bit for that car because I saw very little value in it. Don’t get me wrong, the Holy Scriptures will always have value, even in the form of free Gideon bibles. However, when you make an investment in something like a calfskin or a Cambridge bible, the chances of you forgetting it, losing it, or damaging it are far less. It will become one of your most prized possessions, and the value will steadily increase as you use it and mark in it.

#3 It Will Benefit Your Study – To me, there is almost nothing crippling to your personal study than a bible with non-existent margins. I’m not saying that margins are absolutely necessary for you and your walk with God, but they definitely help. It’s nice to be able to write personal notes next to Divine scripture. Margins allow you to reflect on the text and install that message in your heart and mind.

#4 It Will Energize Your Zeal – There’s something about having a good quality bible that changes the game. Growing up, I used to have one of those little “devo” bibles. It was good but the gospels of Matthew and Luke were falling out and the front cover was forever curled up because I left it in my parents car on a hot summer day. The day I spent some real money on a nicer bible, I couldn’t help but be excited to crack it open and study. I became excited to take it everywhere – the coffee shop, school, the library, etc.

#5 What Else Will You Spend Money On? – I remember standing in Mardel with a bible in hand. I looked at the $174.99 price tag and cringed. I finally came to my senses after realizing that I was upset about spending a man-made monetary note on a divine library that would bring me closer to my God – perhaps there is nothing more worthy of your wages. Put it this way: A good cappuccino will run around $4-5. If you do that daily, you’re sitting around $1680/year. Grant it, maybe not every day is a cappuccino day, so take $700 away. That’s still $980 per year. My current bible has lasted me five years and is still going strong – in comparison that’s roughly $35 per year for a bible (almost 3% of coffee expenses!). I feel like if there’s one thing you can get away with spending money on, a bible is among the top of that list.

Let me be the first to encourage you if you don’t already own a nice bible – find one. You don’t even have to spend over $100 to do so. A nice, quality bound, genuine leather bible can be had for around $40-$50. There are great bibles out there that include good study tips, wide and extra wide margins, single column, verse-by-verse, and all sorts of good stuff. A quality bible will become one of your very best companions in this life.

Tyler King

Author Martha Bolton told an interesting story about her father. Later in his life, he had suffered a series of minor heart attacks. Bolton went on to tell, “During one of his many hospital stays, it became necessary to transport him to another facility for rehabilitation therapy. The driver who was assigned to pick him up from the hospital arrived on schedule and carefully wheeled Dad up the ramp and into his medical van, making certain to secure the rear door. What he forgot to secure was my father’s wheelchair. Thus, at every stop sign, red light, crossing guard and railroad track, this conscientious driver would come to a full and complete stop. My father, however, would not. His wheelchair would roll unobstructed all the way to the front of the van. Then, just as Dad would start to knock on the divider behind the front seat, the driver would press down the gas pedal, sending my father rolling back again.

“This Bumper Wheelchair Ride continued throughout the entire trip. Unbeknownst to the driver, my father would roll up, my father would roll back. Roll up. Roll back. For every mile that van traveled, my dad was traveling three. By the time they arrived at their destination, Dad was panting as though he had just run a 10-K in Phoenix in 110-degree heat! He was sweating, his hair was in his face, his clothing was askew, and he was hoarse from all the calling out he had done trying to get the driver’s attention. Needless to say, when the driver parked, walked to the back of the van and opened the rear door, my father was ready for him. By not securing the wheelchair, this guy had messed up and messed up royally. This was supposed to have been a medical transport, not the Indy 500! An irresponsible act such as that could have cost him his job. Some would say it should have cost him his job. But Dad merely looked the driver in the eye (when the world stopped spinning, that is) and laughed, saying, ‘That was better than a ride at Disneyland!’ (“When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Start Laughing” by Martha Bolton).

Newsflash, we all make mistakes. Some are bad, some aren’t. However, it would do us all a lot of good to simply give each other a break. Give the benefit of the doubt. Laugh it off. Give mercy instead of punishment. Give grace instead of a harsh lecture. And intertwined through it all, forgiveness. In the end, God will forgive us if we forgive each other (Matthew 6:14-15).

I’m not saying give everyone a free pass all the time. I’m not saying we turn a blind eye to sin. But perhaps we are too critical and confrontational. When the situation is appropriate, let’s give each other a break. Ephesians 4:32 captures this idea best of all as we conclude, “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”

Brett Petrillo

“Hold thy peace, and come out of him” (Luke 4:35)

In the biblical text, demonic presence coincides almost exclusively with the ministry of Christ. Like a meteor grazing the atmosphere, it explodes on the scene and just as quickly fades away. I concur with those who assert, if only on the swiftness and coincidental nature of their presence, that they were allowed by God to appear during the life of Christ to manifest his glory and power.

It is noteworthy that Jesus did not want their witness. James reminds us that the demons believed in Jesus, and trembled at him (James 2:19). Demons regularly confessed Jesus as Christ. In the instance before us (Luke 4:31-37), a demon-possessed individual interrupted the Sabbath service in the synagogue doing just that.

However, while it seems to be the express purpose of the ministry of Christ to help men know and accept exactly who he is (Matthew 16:13-19), Jesus was not interested in men hearing this confession from demons. Not only did he order the demon out, he also rebuked it, saying, “hold thy peace.” The Greek term used here is phimotheti. It literally means “be muzzled” (Thayer) or “gagged” (Vincent).

There were practical reasons for this. For one thing, Jesus’ credibility would be greatly questioned with a ministry full of marvels and demons calling him by name. Could he remain silent and retain his holy credibility? People have traditionally equated demonic possession with occultism and sin. If he didn’t rebuke and condemn the demons, these superstitions would have necessarily attached themselves to Jesus. The Pharisees eventually associated him with Beelzebub (prince of demons) anyway (Matthew 12:24). The action of demons demanded a counteraction.

For another thing, there is timing. Jesus didn’t even allow his own disciples, or people that he healed, to make an unnecessary spectacle of themselves, or to publicly call him “Christ” (cf. Mark 7:33-36; Matthew 8:1-4; 16:20). Some of this happened anyway, but it seemed to be Jesus’ intention to keep in concert with God’s timeline.

Perhaps this is also connected to the deliberate way Jesus preached hard sayings that people often found offensive, each time his fame began to grow (cf. Luke 14:25-26). After all, even hinting at this idea nearly cost him his life in his home town (Luke 4:16-29). Once Jesus’ claim to Messiahship was fully crystallized in the presence of the right people, it was only a matter of hours before his death (Luke 22:69-71).

Finally, there is the obvious point of this tandem existence of Jesus and demons, which is that demons were allowed to possess people so that Jesus could demonstrate his power over them, and the impending arrival of the kingdom over which he now reigns. He said,

“And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you” (Matthew 12:26-28).

Demonic presence and possession comprised just one facet of the work that Jesus was to accomplish, in order that men might come to faith in him, and be saved. By silencing them, and casting them out, Jesus silenced critics, prolonged his ministry until the appropriate time, demonstrated his power over them, and claimed his rightful dominion over all things (Ephesians 1:18-23).

Rick Kelley

A little more than a year-and-a-half ago, we moved back to Tennessee from Michigan. We were selected to work with a small, country church and live in a house in what is known locally as a sink between a state highway and the church building.

This sink is a low place between the highway and the building, both of which are several feet higher in elevation than the house.

When we moved here, we had no idea at all of the purpose behind our move, outside of our own desire to be closer to our grandchildren. We were young and foolish. It turned out there was a purpose we did not reckon or even think about.

Just after dark on New Year’s Eve, 2015, as we returned from a fellowship dinner at the church, I had a heart attack. Much of the next 40 days were wiped from my memory. My heart stopped while I was having a coronary arteriogram and, as a result, I lost short-term memory. I finally regained consciousness around February 10, 2016. I’m blessed to have a photo of the moment made by my daughter.

My subsequent recovery went well, but slowly. At first, I could only walk with a walker, a cage of aluminum with two wheels. I fell twice and found that, like the woman in the commercials, I couldn’t get up. Home rehabilitation helped me improve, but it took a four-month-long course of cardiac rehab to get me back on my feet.

Outside, there was a hill that was going to play a significant role for me. The first time I tried walking the hill, it was close to agony. As I continued, it became easier. It turned out I enjoyed walking uphill and in the church’s parking lot.

Then, one day while I was walking up the hill and in the parking lot, I had a sort of epiphany.

God knew I would get sick and that I would need a place to walk and regain my strength. Through his providence, he gave me the hill and a parking lot in which to walk. So when I’m not walking at the wellness center at the hospital, I’m walking up the hill and in the parking lot four days per week.

People all too often criticize God for not acting in their lives when the reverse is true. He’s doing all kinds of things for all kinds of people. Like me, they sometimes don’t see God’s providence until after they realize it.

But I know the truth about the active, living providence of God. I know because God gave me a hill.

When Jesus said,  “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20 ESV), he meant it.

by John Henson

While covering Revelation in a college class, I pointed to Revelation 8:10,11 and asked: “What would happen if a star literally fell from the heavens and hit the earth? Would a third of the rivers be destroyed?”

After several minutes of discussion, a young lady asked: “But I thought we were supposed to take all of the Bible literally.”

It was a great question.

At first glance it might seem that churches of Christ, a fellowship known for their stand on the Bible and the Bible alone would be the first to say: “Yes, we take every Bible passage literally.”

And yet I am here to tell you that we should not take every Bible passage literally.

Surprised?

There is a lot of figurative language in the Bible. Revelation is a great example. The two beasts are probably political and military powers that John is concerned about, the number 666 is not an exact number but a figurative representation of an iconic evil power and I don’t think the battle of Armageddon will literally take place between two mountains in north western Israel.

The Bible is full of figurative language. I know this sounds silly, but you don’t take figurative language literally. The Lord is not literally our shepherd; we are human beings, not sheep (Psalm 23:1,2). A characteristic of John’s Gospel is the way Jesus made enigmatic statements that were misunderstood by his hearers. This was figurative language.

When Jesus declared that if they destroyed the temple he would rebuild it in three days (John 2:18:21). The astonished Jewish listeners took this at a crassly literal level and wondered if Jesus had a construction company. Nicodemus struggled with the figurative nature of Jesus’ teaching about being born again (John 3:3,4).

Both Hebrew and Greek are colorful languages full of figurative statements. So, no, not all the Bible is to be taken literally.

So how do churches of Christ interpret the Bible? The answer is that we are seeking to restore New Testament Christianity. We are looking for clues as to how the first century worshiped, served their communities, accepted new members and so on. The first century was a sort of spiritual Garden of Eden, a time and place where God had an idea in his mind when he established the church. It was a beautiful idea, pristine and pure. Of course, it hasn’t always been carried out very well because those of us who carry it out have tended to be, well, human!

What if (God forbid) a nuclear holocaust occurred, and survivors, wandering across the charred landscape found a book entitled “Rules of Basketball”? Could our emerging culture reproduce the same game as its original, pre-holocaust version? What if they found a copy of the US Constitution? Could they reproduce the democracy that has worked so well for the former United States? The same thing is true, I believe, of New Testament Christianity. It can be reproduced in our age, with all its power and purity.

Stan Mitchell