There are some bizarre definitions of faith in the world. One of the most prevalent seems to be that one only believes in Jesus, and that automatically confers salvation on that person.

Not even John the Baptist, however, agreed with that prevalent idea. In John 3, in a discussion by John with his disciples, the cousin of Jesus said, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him,” (John 3:36 NASB).

Many translations don’t correctly render the verb in this verse. It is the only time in the New Testament that this verb occurs. It is the verb ἀπειθέω and means “does not obey.” Only the American Standard and New American Standard versions use the phrase, “he that is disobedient to the Son will not see life.”

This translation is consistent with James’ description of faith in how works of obedience are an integral part (James 2:14-20). Even the renowned Greek scholar A.T. Robertson in his Word Pictures of the Greek New Testament, verified that disobedience to Jesus means ‘a person will not see life.”

David Lipe, in his commentary on John, wrote, “John used an affirmative followed by a negative: the individual who continues in an obedient faith has eternal life, which the one who continues in disobedience will not see life.”/1

Belief without obedience isn’t faith. Only faith that produces works of obedience is the kind that saves people. Obedient faith has always been God’s standard.

1/ Truth for Today Commentary: John 1-12 (2019) Resource Publications: 150-151.

by John Henson

Raising the Dead

He did not say, “Bring out the dead.”

“Lazarus, come forth,” the Savior said.

And had he not thus specified

All the dead would have complied.

One day he will give that command,

And, from all parts of sea and land

The dead from all time past will come,

No longer blind or deaf or dumb.

Each then will speak in his own voice,

Admit and verify his choice

Of how, in what way he would live

And what of self to God he’d give.

Each then will hear Lord Jesus say,

“Come with me now,” or, “Go away.”

“With or without me you will be

Both now and in eternity.”

Not only Lazarus, but me

From death the Savior Christ did raise.

With countless others He has saved

From hell I lift my voice in praise.

Two and sixty years have passed

Since I, dead then in sin,

Was called to life again by Christ,

My war with Satan thus to win.

With my defending Savior Christ

Beside me I choose not to flee.

To my soul’s enemies he says,

“To own him you must conquer Me.”

Now dressed in armor God supplies

And with Lord Jesus close beside,

Not dreading death or any foes

I in my Savior’s love abide.

To His memorial supper He

Invites, and makes a place for me.

How could I dishonor and reject

The one who saved and made me free?

To spurn his invitation now –

Has gratitude now grown so dim? –

Would be dishonor, more to me

Than it could ever be to him.

God help me honor Your dear Son,

My Savior Lord, through whom I pray,

And in eternal servitude

Give the tribute I am glad to pay.

– Gerald Cowan

If you have paid attention to the headlines during the last twenty years, you are probably aware of stem cells. A popular understanding of stem cells, at least, what I have understood, is that these early embryonic cells hold the potential to transform into every different type of cell an organism will possess.

However, as these cells divide and the embryo grows, stem cells begin to become specified as a particular type of cell. As this transformation occurs they lose the ability to become alternative cell types. Eventually, they fill a particular niche wonderfully, but have lost the ability to become a radically different type of cell.

Stem cells can serve as a metaphor illustrating a powerful idea regarding Darwin’s proposed mechanisms for evolution. Research reveals that random mutations and natural selection do transform species, however, at a surprising cost.

Before exploring what research is revealing about Darwin’s proposed mechanisms for evolution, a word or two about metaphors in general and my stem cell illustration in particular. A metaphor’s purpose should function to illustrate an idea, not prove it. Additionally, most metaphors can be pressed into extraneous details where they no longer accurately relate to what they are supposed to be illustrating.

Accordingly, my use of stem cells does not take into account what current research may have revealed about them, nor any other type of cell. Rather, my only desire is to tap into a commonly shared idea regarding stem cells and use that understanding to communicate an idea regarding random mutation and natural selection.

Earlier in 2019 a biochemist professor published a book documenting and expounding upon various research projects. He also contributed his own research findings and observations. What might catch us by surprise is that his conclusions can be paradigm shifting.

Citing various studies from finches to bacteria, he affirms that Darwin’s proposed mechanisms have been documented in enabling species to adapt to specific environments, even creating new species. What is enlightening, however, is that the research reveals this adaptation comes at the cost of degrading genes, not creating new viable DNA capable of manufacturing new functioning proteins.

In other words, think of what happens with stem cells (my illustration, not his). Although stem cells start with great potentiality, as they repeatedly divide and progress toward becoming a specific cell type, they lose the ability to be transformed into other cell types. If you will, stem cells are transformed into functioning exquisitely in a dead end, a particular type of cell. Hence, nerve cells have no capacity to become skin cells.

What this book suggests is that the research reveals the process of evolution entails a similar narrowing of options. Bears, birds, fish, wolves and so forth can evolve into adapting to specific environments. Polar bears are adapted to an icy environment and are capable of consuming a fatty seal diet. Finches have adapted to harsh environments or to a particular type of food source. The jaws of some cichlid fish change depending on their food source. Bacteria can gain the ability to reproduce much faster. And of course, we are all familiar with the great diversity of dogs whose canine origin can be traced back to some type of wolf.

What makes this adaptation possible at the biochemical level is that random mutations are predominately breaking functioning genes, while natural selection will favor these broken genes when such brokenness conveys an advantage. How could breaking genes give an organism an advantage? More about this in a second. The result is organisms experience evolutionary drift into becoming more adapted to their environmental niches at the cost of losing previously functioning genes.

It would seem life is not evolving upward. It survives by devolving to its environment.

Such evolution can lead to new species which are better suited to a specific environment than the parent species. However, such evolution predominately comes at the cost of damaging functioning genes.

For example, it appears that a polar bear’s white fur coat and ability to eat a fatty seal diet, which would normally cause heart disease and high cholesterol, result from genetic damage to the LYST and APOB genes. In other words, a bear with faulty LYST and APOB genes would be favored for survival in the arctic more than a brown bear possessing fully functioning LYST and APOB genes.

Polar bears are not on a path to becoming a different type of animal with new genetic information. Rather they are becoming bears trapped in the icy cold.

Among the professor’s various observations, another resonated with me particularly strong. He repeatedly points to our human imagination as empowering our acceptance of the Darwinian story.

Years ago I expressed a similar thought in an article, “The Naturalistic Imagination”:

Our ignorance fuels our ability to imagine the impossible and the absurd. … If life did not arise by naturalistic impulses, today’s naturalistic imagination of how life arose or how new kinds of animals came to be will always seem feasible given our current level of ignorance.”

In my viewpoint, to acknowledge our ignorance is a wonderful characteristic of humility that promotes learning and discovery. Furthermore, avoiding a speculative imagination would seem to be helpful, not only  in evolutionary biology, but also in theology. How many well intentioned, but erroneous ideas have begun with, “I feel that …” or “I can imagine that …”

Not going beyond the evidence. Priceless.

 Barry Newton

Have you ever entertained the thought that there may be something in the Bible that you are failing to understand properly that could have eternal ramifications for you? Admittedly, there are some rather complex and difficult passages in the Bible, even the apostle Peter said so, himself (2 Peter 3:16).

So, here is my question, “What are the top five most worrisome verses in the Bible that you find to be worrisome?”  While you’re thinking about that, allow me to share mine:

• Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37).
• Love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:39).
• Pursue holiness (Hebrews 12:14).
• Abhor what is evil (Romans 12:9).
• Preach the gospel to everyone (Mark 16:15).

If you’ll notice, my top five worrisome passages are not passages that are difficult to understand. They don’t have anything to do with the “mark of the beast,” the identity of “the man of lawlessness,” how the Holy Spirit indwells the Christian, the present and future state of the dead, or whether those “Styrofoam” wafers included in those individual communion packets are really unleavened bread (my apologies for throwing in the last one).

No, my top worrisome passages are easy to understand. That’s what makes them so worrisome to me. I can’t say, “But Lord, I didn’t understand what that passage meant. Had I properly understood it, I would have been obedient…” My list of worrisome passages is worrisome to me, not because of their difficulty to understand, but because of their clarity. The difficulty is not in understanding them, but in obeying them.

Maybe it would serve us well if we would spend less time on some questions and more time on others. What do you think?

by Steve Higginbotham

My former roommate from college sang a song with a quartet about excuses: “Excuses, excuses, you’ll hear them every day, / The devil will supply them, if from church you stay away.”/1 Unfortunately, even the people of God can be good at inventing excuses and justifications.

The prophet Haggai dealt with excuses and reversed causes. This short book packs a powerful punch against illogical thinking and unwilling hands.

The post-exile people excused themselves from obedience by saying, “The time for rebuilding the Lord’s temple has not yet come” Haggai 1.2. But they had plenty of time to build fine homes for themselves. How can that be right, points out the prophet: “Is it right for you to live in richly paneled houses while my temple is in ruins?” v. 4.

Excuse number 1: It’s just not a good time to do the Lord’s work.

The reasons get piled on to prove the point. But go back and look at the Great Commission. How many escape clauses did Jesus include?

• Go and make disciples, until you start to be persecuted, Matthew 28.18-20.
• Go into all the world, unless it gets expensive, Mark 16.15.
• Proclaim repentance for the forgiveness of sins in his name to all nations, except when you have to pay the pulpit minister, the youth minister, the involvement minister, and college minister, Luke 24.47.
• Go on the mission (“sending”) of Christ, as he was sent by the Father, until you start missing folks back home, John 20.21.

It is no little irony that congregations have built multi-million-dollar buildings and centers and now 99% of them have been empty of saints for months, because of a virus.

The Lord of Heaven’s armies then says to Israel, Think carefully about what you are doing. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but are never filled. You drink, but are still thirsty. You put on clothes, but are not warm. Those who earn wages end up with holes in their money bags, vv. 5-6.

Why did this occur? The Lord explained, “… my temple remains in ruins, thanks to each of you favoring his own house! This is why the sky has held back its dew and the earth its produce” vv. 9-10.

But the people got it backwards. They reasoned, When the Lord blesses us then we can build! They took the consequence of their disobedience for the cause of the inaction.

Fortunately, they repented and got to work.

They believed the promise:

“And take heart all you citizens of the land,” decrees the Lord, “and begin to work. For I am with you,” decrees the Lord of Heaven’s Armies” Haggai 2.4.

Haven’t we received a similar promise, capping off the Great Commission? “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” Matthew 28.20.

Do we all live in the Show-Me State, where seeing is believing? Or will we believe in the Lord and his promise, obey his order, and preach the gospel to all the world, so that he can bring forth a bountiful harvest?

Let us sweep away the excuses, and see the real reason for the lack of our harvest — we’re devoted to our own houses, both private and religious, and have left off from building up the Kingdom of God.

Oh, and Haggai makes one more point. The people remembered the glory of the first temple, recognizing that they could never build anything like Solomon’s glorious construction project, Haggai 2.3. Sometimes we get starry-eyed about the first-century church and sad that the church doesn’t grow now like it did then.

But the original promise still stands, Haggai 2.5. And, even though miracles have passed, the power of God still works, vv. 6-8. We will experience greater things than before, v. 9. We will do greater works than Christ himself:

I assure you that whoever believes in me will do the works that I do. They will do even greater works than these because I am going to the Father, John 14.12

We enjoy, of all ages of the world, the most advantageous position of all. We have been chosen, Haggai 2.23. We have God’s authority to do this work. We have the Lord Almighty. Let us rise up and build.

1/ Apparently, it originated with The Kingsmen.

by J. Randal Matheny

Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or faint-hearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. . . . It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons, for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? . . . For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:3-4, 7, 11 ESV).

I am known as a dedicated coffee drinker. Not only that, but I prefer dark-roast coffee, brewed to be rather strong. My philosophy on coffee, I often say, is, “If it will pour, it will drink.” That is, if it is liquid enough (i.e., thin enough) to pour out of the pot, it is liquid enough to be swallowed.

That is said, obviously, with my tongue firmly in cheek. It is intended to be humorous, but there is still an element of truth – I do like strong coffee. But what I don’t actually say is that while I can drink it pretty thick or almost lumpy, that is not actually the way I prefer it.

It has occurred to me that life is sometimes like my coffee – it can get pretty “thick” (that is, strong or tough). If my coffee stays on the warmer long enough it may be stronger than I prefer, but I will usually still drink it. And when life gets rough, I will still go on living, making the very best of it that I can. As the Hebrew writer reminds us in the quotation above, tough times may bring benefits that more enjoyable experiences cannot provide.

The fact is that life is often pretty “thick.” Illnesses, financial reverses, accidents, and natural disasters are only a few of the circumstances which present great challenges to our happiness. Christians may face persecution. Some are falsely accused and even wrongly convicted of crimes. None of us would willingly choose such hardships, but they do happen. When they happen to us we can complain, “why me?” or accuse God of mistreating us. But how does that help us? It is far better for us to strengthen our will and deal with difficulties, and go on living with hope and determination. Like strong coffee, it pours, therefore we can drink it.

Sometimes relationships are thick. One partner in a marriage seems to change and be less loving and lovable than previously. One’s own desires and life goals may change to the point that a change of partners seems desirable. The marriage is not as romantic or fun as it once was. We begin to think we cannot go on. But usually those problems are not insurmountable if one has a commitment to the marriage. Adjustments in expectations and in one’s own behavior and attitudes may be necessary, but if the result is a more satisfying relationship is that not worth it? It pours; we can drink it.

Few of us go through life without disappointments and reversals in our work. When one spends 30 years or more in any career, he or she can expect to have problems of some kind. It may be an unpleasant co-worker or superior. It may be assignments that are not what we prefer. Sometimes it is the loss of a job, or the denial of a deserved promotion. Again, we can complain. We can accuse someone else of mistreating us. But unless there is real legal basis for such claims they are not likely to change much, and may simply make matters worse. Is it not better to simply deal with the situation cheerfully and continue to do the very best one can? It pours, we can drink it.

Tough times are not signs that God does not love us, or that “everyone is against us.” Sometimes they are means by which we learn and grow. Discipline is not a synonym for punishment. It means “teaching” or “training.” Sometimes that involves corrective punishment, but that is not its primary role. We learn and become stronger by facing adversities. God has simply made this world like that. Let us learn to welcome them and be blessed.

“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” (Romans 5:3-4).

Michael Brooks

Some of the most profound statements were made by John in the first few verses of his account of the life of Christ. First, there is an affirmation of the eternality of the Word.   With words that grace the very beginning of divine revelation, John takes us all the way back to “the beginning.”  And while Moses began with the precise point in time, and looked forward to the coming of the Word, the Messiah, John takes exactly the same moment in time, and looks back into eternity.  Moses started with the works which God did, and John began with the One Who performed those mighty works.  At whatever point in time the “beginning” may point to, the “Word” already existed.  Hence, the Word did not COME into existence; it always did exist!

Second, there is a clear affirmation of the deity of our Lord.  When John said that Jesus was “with God,” he was literally saying that He was “before the face of God.”  Our English word ‘with’ translates the Greek preposition ‘pros, and is the same word used in Mark 6:3 where it is said the inhabitants of Nazareth expressed their astonishment about Jesus by asking, “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James, and Joses, and Judas, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us?”  The very word used by Mark implies association in the sense of free mingling with others of a community on terms of equality.  Hence, the “Word” was not some impersonal principle, some “force,” or eternal truth, but an intelligent, active personality.

Third, this “Word was God.”  The Greek is more properly rendered, “and God was the Word.”  Our English translations do not grasp the full import of John’s statement.   In the Greek language there is a “definite article” that appears in the phrase preceding.  John had stated there, “The Word was with the God.”  Here that article is conspicuously absent. John simply says, “the Word was God.” The absence of the article stresses quality rather than quantity.  A better rendering would have been, “and divine was the Word.”

Finally, John declares that “the same was in the beginning with God.” The Word was “in the beginning” thus showing reference to TIME. The Word was “with God” thus showing association or relation. The Word “was God,” thus showing ESSENCE or being.”   Tenny ties verses 2 and 3 together.  “Having thus established the position of the Logos in the world of concept, the writer revealed His position in the world of action” (page 65).   But rather than being a mere reiteration of what was written in verse 1, John here states that the Logos actually shared a place with God in the beginning of all things.  It was precisely this equality with the Father that so enraged the Jews and led to their rejection of Jesus their Messiah.

Now lets make some application.  What does all this mean to you? to me?  First, it clearly sets forth the deity of our Lord.  As the Divine and Holy One of Israel, we owe Him our allegiance, yea our very existence.  Christ is not some “segment” of our life to be plugged into on Sunday, and then disassociated from the remainder of the week.  How can we claim allegiance to our Creator when it is convenient to us, but ignore Him when He or His demands get in our way? Second, John’s use of the word “Logos” to describe this Divine One implies that our Lord’s predominant role in the relationship of God with the world is one of communication.  It is through our Lord that the fullness of the Godhead was made known; it was through the work of our Lord that God’s divine revelation came to light.  In short, all that Jesus Christ did or said was heaven’s message crying out to man!  Why is it that so few are listening?  Could it be that we have our ears closed?  Has the wax of the world clogged our spiritual ears so that we cannot hear the message from heaven?  Has the noise of the world drowned out the pleas from heaven?  Third, this passage implies that the Word is active in bringing about heaven’s purpose.  So it has been; so it continues to be; so it will be when He comes again.  So far as past action, it was He Who created the universe.  So far as concerns the present, “all things are upheld by the word of his power” (Heb. 1:3).  So far as the future, He is coming to judge all men in righteousness.

Friend, read John’s opening words again!  Hear the message!  Reflect upon the truths revealed therein, and then act upon those truths.  To do otherwise is to commit spiritual suicide.

By Tom Wacaster

In John’s Gospel we have the inspired account of the disbelieving Jews who accused Jesus of being demon possessed. Blinded by jealous rage, they attributed the words and deeds of our precious Lord to the devil himself: “And many of them said, He hath a demon, and is mad; why hear ye him?” (John 10:20). The fact that some of the Jews would attribute the power of Jesus to a demon is, without doubt, one of the most astounding manifestations of a hardened heart. Their purpose, of course, was to destroy any influence Jesus might have over the multitude. Such a tactic remains an effective tool in the hands of Satan even to this day. A simple examination of the Gospels will enable the good and honest heart to see the sheer nonsense of attributing the words and works of Jesus to some sinister or evil cause. What it boils down to is this: Either Jesus was a megalomaniac, or He truly is the Son of God. It seems to me that those are the only two choices. There is no alternative, so far as I can see. If a man were to speak about himself the way that Jesus does in the Gospels, he would be branded as deluded or deranged. Unless, of course, he was divine. If Jesus was deluded or deranged, He is not worthy of any degree of respect or honor. But if He is divine, then He is worthy of all the praise and honor we could muster with every ounce of our being. Let’s briefly consider the possibilities.

First, the words of Jesus simply do not qualify as those of a lunatic. The teaching of Jesus demonstrates the thoughts of a person who is not only sound in his thinking, but far and above the thinking of mortal man. Take as an example the Sermon on the Mount. R.L. Whiteside had this note:

It seems certain that no other speech ever delivered has so influenced man as has this sermon on the mount. Its contents, so superior to any production of man, proved the Deity of its author. Its teaching is out of harmony with any school of religion or philosophy of that day; hence, their brightest lights could not have produced it. It is not eclectic, that is, its contents are not a collection of the best thoughts of that and previous ages. Its teaching is distinct, revolutionary, challenging every school of religious thought of the times, both Jewish and heathen. It is not a product of the times, but of Deity.” (R. L. Whiteside, Bible Studies, Vol. 4, 117).

John T. Fisher is credited having written the following tribute to Jesus’ words on that occasion:

If you were to take the sum total of all the authoritative articles ever written by the most qualified of psychologists and psychiatrists on the subject of mental hygiene – if you were to take the whole of the meat and none of the parsley, and if you were to have these unadulterated bits of pure scientific knowledge concisely expressed by the most capable of living poets, you would have an awkward and incomplete summation of the Sermon on the Mount. And it would suffer immeasurably by comparison.

The teachings of Jesus clearly declare our Lord’s divine wisdom and omniscience.

Second, the deeds of Jesus are not the deeds of a demon possessed man. It is obvious that the deeds of a mad man are essentially selfish in their nature. Were Jesus possessed by a demon, as these Jews suggested, He would not seek the good of others. He would seek His own glory. Even at the very shadow of the cross, Jesus prayed, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass away from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matt. 26:39). His words of self-denial were backed up with deeds of compassion for others. His miracles reached out to others, always seeking their well-being both physically and spiritually. No, the deeds of Jesus are not those of a megalomaniac!

Finally, the fruit of Jesus’ words are not those of a demon possessed man. No man has ever influenced the course of human history as has Jesus Christ; in fact, no one has ever even come close! James A. Francis wrote the following tribute, well known but worthy of including here for your consideration:

He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another obscure village where he worked in a carpenter shop until he was thirty when public opinion turned against him. He never wrote a book, He never held an office, He never went to college, He never visited a big city, He never travelled more than two hundred miles from the place where he was born. He did none of the things usually associated with greatness. He had no credentials but himself. He was only thirty-three when His friends ran away. One of them denied him. He was turned over to his enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While dying, his executioners gambled for his clothing, the only property he had on earth. When he was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. Nineteen centuries have come and gone, and today Jesus is the central figure of the human race, and the leader of mankind’s progress. All the armies that have ever marched, all the navies that have ever sailed, all the parliaments that have ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned put together, have not affected the life of mankind on earth as powerfully as that one solitary life.

To believe that Jesus said what He said, and did what He did because He was possessed by a demon, is paramount to believing that a rotten tree could bring forth good fruit. The verses we have just studied stand as a monument to the magnificence of Jesus. Thank God that Jesus has come! I close this article with the following tribute to our Lord.

Christ has come, the Light of the world: the Revealer of the snares and chasms that lurk in darkness, the Rebuker of every evil thing that prowls by night, the Stiller of the storm-winds of passion; the Quickener of all that is wholesome, the Adorner of all that is beautiful, the Reconciler of contradictions, the Harmonizer of discords, the Healer of diseases, the Saviour from sin. He has come: the Torch of truth, the Anchor of hope, the Pillar of faith, the Rock for strength, the Refuge for security, the Fountain for refreshment, the Vine for gladness, the Rose for beauty, the Lamb for tenderness, the Friend for counsel, the Brother for love. Jesus Christ has trod the world. The trace of the Divine footsteps will never be obliterated. And the Divine footsteps were the footsteps of a Man. The example of Christ is such as men can follow. On! until mankind wears His image. On! towards yon summit on which stands, not an angel, not a disembodied spirit, not an abstract of ideal and unattainable virtues, but THE MAN JESUS CHRIST (Peter Bayne, source unknown).

By Tom Wacaster

Tevye, the whimsical patriarch in the movie Fiddler on the Roof explains the definition of a tradition perfectly. Speaking of Jewish tradition in Tsarist Russia, he declares: “You may ask, how did his tradition get started?” Then he pauses before answering his own question: “I tell you why: I don’t know.”

Young people (I was young once, too) like to ask the question, “But why do we have to do it this way?” Those of us who are older have to do better than to simply say, “Tradition!”

The Lord had a great deal to say about traditions (Mark 7:6-13). His major concern seems to be the contrast between God’s commands and the commands of men.

Many teach “as doctrines the commandments of men,” he observed, adding that as a consequence, they rendered worship “vain” (7:6,7). He adds, “You leave the commandment of God,” with the result that they “hold on to the tradition of men” (7:8). “You have a fine way of rejecting the command of God,” he declares, “in order to establish your own traditions!” (7:9), Clenching his case he declares, “Thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down.” (7:13).

The stronger human traditions persist, the weaker the word of God appears, at least in our own estimation. Some things to note about tradition:

• Traditions are not harmful in and of themselves. They can even make sense when first instituted.
• Some traditions might be useful, even greatly helpful, so long as we do not defend them as if they carry the force of biblical teaching.
• Traditions, like barnacles on a boat, build up over time and usually when we are not aware of the danger.
• It would be unwise to assume that while other fellowships are blinded by tradition that we suffer no such impairment. To assume we have no traditions is precisely to open up the possibility of collecting traditions.
• Traditions should never push aside God’s commands.
• The key is to be able to distinguish between human tradition and God’s word.
• We must guard against confusing tradition (ours) with God’s word.
• The real problem comes when we treat our traditions on the same level as God’s word.

It appears that the dilution of human thinking renders God’s word completely ineffective. Human thinking muddies the waters; Divine thinking clarifies; human thinking deflects our attention, divine thinking corrects our vision. When a practice is biblical, unlike Tevye, we can say with confidence, “That’s no tradition; God’s word teaches that.”

Stan Mitchell

“Praise the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, you are magnificent. You are robed in splendor and majesty. He covers himself with light as if it were a garment. He stretches out the skies like a tent curtain, and lays the beams of the upper rooms of his palace on the rain clouds. He makes the clouds his chariot, and travels along on the wings of the wind” (Psalm 104:1-3 NET).

What a wonderful description of God! He is magnificent, robed in splendour and majesty, wearing light as if it were a garment, living and traveling in a place outside of our earth. How appropriate that John, in his first letter, would remind us that “God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). Light, that which dispels the darkness of sin, is not only what God “wears” but it is what God is.

This magnificent, majestic God is the one who created all things. “He established the earth on its foundations; it will never be moved” (Psalm 104:5). Because the earth was created by God we can be confident that he will also sustain it. With God in charge, we have no worries.

Even when God destroyed all that was living with water, he was still in control. He brought the waters of the Flood and he also took care of the water.

“The watery deep covered it like a garment; the waters reached above the mountains. Your shout made the waters retreat; at the sound of your thunderous voice they hurried off – as the mountains rose up, and the valleys went down – to the place you appointed for them. You set up a boundary for them that they could not cross, so that they would not cover the earth again” (Psalm 104:6-9).

Notice that this is talking about the Flood, as we can see from verse 9: God set a boundary for the water so they would not cover the earth again.

One of the questions that people have concerning the Flood in the days of Noah is “where did the water go?” Notice what this psalm tells us: God didn’t evaporate the water or in some other way remove the waters that he sent. Instead he “adjusted” the earth – the mountains rose up and the valleys went down. Even in the oceans we find these mountains and valleys. God didn’t need to remove the water – he has the power to adjust the earth to accommodate it!

God, the creator of the earth and all life, the one who can adjust what he has made, is also the one who sustains all life. Yes, he used water to destroy the earth, but the water he sends also sustains life. The water he provides allows all living things to drink (Psalm 104:10-12) and also causes food to grow (Psalm 104:13-18).

God also gave us a way to mark time. “He made the moon to mark the months, and the sun sets according to a regular schedule” (Psalm 104:19). The sun and moon which God created on the fourth day of Creation not only were made to give us light but are also a means for marking time. And both night and day have a purpose (Psalm 104:20-23).

What a wonderful God we serve in providing all of this for us! What should our response to him be? May we echo the praise that the psalmist gives to God.

“How many living things you have made, O Lord! You have exhibited great skill in making all of them; the earth is full of the living things you have made…May the splendor of the Lord endure! May the Lord find pleasure in the living things he has made!… I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God as long as I exist!” (Psalm 104:24, 31, 33).

Jon Galloway

INTRO.
A.  Sometimes things happen in life that cause you to question beliefs you’ve always held to be true, causing some
questions which force their way into our comfort zone.

– These thoughts were based in James 5:13-16.  – READ

1. The Catholic church uses this passage as the basis for their sacrament of Extreme Unction.
   – Proponents of modern-day “faith healing” believe that if the proper conditions are met, God guarantees that
   the sick person will be healed.

– Admittedly, this text brings a myriad of questions to mind.
– It has been a battleground for interpreters through the centuries.

1. I must admit to some concerns about the traditional interpretation of this section of scripture:
   – One of the things that immediately comes to my mind-  If this scripture is an absolute promise saying that
   “When a person is sick and he gathers a group of elders (righteous people) together to pray on his behalf, that
   he’s going to get well…  then I’M NOT GOING TO EVER DIE! … because every time I feel sick, I’m going to follow
   these instructions!     – AND… if that’s what it’s teaching, why don’t we practice it?
2. So, I’d like to shine a spotlight on this scripture from a different angle:

   I- My first scene that I’d like to highlight is the CONTEXT OF THIS ENTIRE LETTER:
   A. Jas. 1:1 – Written to Jewish Christians who have been scattered into the various parts of Roman Empire because
   of persecution in Jerusalem.
   – Guess what they encountered when they “got where they were going”?   – PERSECUTION
   – First thing he says to them -v.2 – “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds…”
   – They have two strikes against them in the Gentile world:  They are Jewish and they’re Christians.

3. They’re struggling… Facing disdain and ridicule from society… Temptations from the world and divisions in the
   church!
   – These are struggles every Christian faces.
   – It’s hard to not become cynical and angry and rebellious.
   … James is encouraging them to “endure it all!”

– In his closing, summarizing words: “Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming.  See how the farmer waits  for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains.  You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.” – 5:7-9
– Then he says, v.10f “Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.  As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered.  You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about.  The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.”

1. So you have a feel for why he wrote this letter, right?
   – They are living under continual stress – persecution and temptation and problems within the church.
   – It wears you down!  …It makes you weak!  …You get tired!  …You get discouraged!

– NOTE: v.10 – word for “suffering” –[kakopatheo] – [lit.] – “suffer evil”
… So is it any surprise that when we come to v13, he begins: “Is any among you in trouble…?

– Guess what the word for “trouble” is… same word as v.10 – “suffering evil”

II- Now I’d like to swing the spotlight around to show you the EMPHASIS ON PRAYER!
A. Prayer becomes the focus in every verse between v.13-18:
– Do you know what the antidote for discouragement is?  … anger? … fear? … temptation?  – PRAYER!
– Do you know what is the power that enables us to endure?   – PRAYER!
– If you’re not praying, you’re trying to “make it on your own.”

1. “Is any among you suffering evil…?” – PRAY!
   – v.13 – individual believers – PRAY
   – v.14-15– church leaders – PRAY
   – v.16– entire church family – PRAY
   – This is a passage about THE POWER OF PRAYER!
2. Your prayer life depends on three things :
   1. Believe God is real
   2.  Believe that he can do something about your situation
   3. Believe that he cares

III– Now I want to spotlight [what I believe to be] the PROGRESSION OF SUFFERING …WHICH LEADS TO A “DIFFERENT LEVEL” OF PRAYER:

1. v.13– addresses someone who is “suffering evil” [kakopatheo] – What should he do?  PRAY!
   v.14 – addresses someone who is [in most translations] “sick” [astheneo] – lit. “without strength”
2. Sometimes, this word is used to denote someone who is physically sick:
   – Lu. 7:10 – (story of Centurion who came to Jesus begging him to heal his sick servant)- “And those who had been sent,
   having returned to the house, found the sick servant in good health.”
   – Jn. 11:1 – John begins…  “Now a man named Lazarus was sick.”
   – Acts 9:37– (Regarding Dorcas- whom Peter will raise from the dead) – “In Joppa there was a disciple named
   ….Dorcas, who as always doing good and helping the poor.  About that time she became sick and died…”

… These are all examples of the word being used to denote physical illness.

1. However, when we come to the epistles, the word is often used to denote spiritually sick:
   – Ro. 4:19– (Regarding Abraham)- “And not being weak in the faith…”
   – Ro. 14:1– “Accept him whose faith is weak without passing judgment on disputable matters.”
   – I Cor. 8:9 – “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the
   weak.”
        – I Cor. 11:30 – [regarding their abuse of the Lord’s Supper] –  “This is why many among you are weak and sick,
   and a number of you have fallen asleep.”

… These are all examples of the word being used to denote spiritual illness/weakness of faith.

1. Back to James 5…
   – So I’m suggesting that v.13 depicts someone who is suffering persecution, trouble and struggles in our life
   And v.14 depicts someone who has been overcome by those struggles.
   – They have lost their strength/become weak- are in danger of losing their faith!

– That person need additional help.
– They need some strong Christians to “come along side” to help them!
– “… he should call the elders of the church and let them pray over him…”

1. Have you ever been so discouraged that you just couldn’t pray… Your struggles were so deep that you didn’t
   know if you could continue?   Feel like you can’t fight anymore?
   – That’s where this Christian is.  He’s a “fallen soldier.”
   – He needs to “call for help!” – [proskaleo] – “call to one’s side”
   – He needs a “faith iv!”

– v.15– The RESULTS- “And the prayer of faith will save the [… are you ready for this…] exhausted/weary one…”
– [kamno]- Not the word for “sick”; but rather “tired/exhausted/weary.”
– Word used only 2 other times:
– Heb. 12:3 – “Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary
[kamno] and lose heart.”
– Rev. 2:3 – [To church in Ephesus] – “You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name and have
not grown weary.” (KJV- “fainted”)

CONCL.
A. I realize that I have a number of “gaps” to fill in:
– “Is anyone happy?   Let him sing songs of praise.”
– “anoint him with oil…”
– “If he has sinned, his sins will be forgiven.”

– In our next lesson, we’ll consider how those fit into this context… but until then, here’s what I want to leave you
with…

1. These Christians to whom James is writing are living in very difficult, discouraging circumstances.
   – James writes:
   – “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown
   of life that God has promised to those who love him.”
   – “If any of lacks wisdom [don’t know how to handle a situation] should ask God… and he will give it to you.”

– When you are struggling/suffering – PRAY!
– And when/if your struggle intensifies and you get tired and discouraged and think you can’t continue…
– Don’t give up!  YOU NEED HELP!
– Call for those who have a strong faith to come and pray with you.

1. Now let’s look at HIS PROMISE in this new light…
   – v.15– “And the prayer of faith will save [“deliver”] the exhausted one; the Lord will raise him up [egeiro] –
   “energize/rouse him up.”
2. Let me be clear about something:
   In no way do I intend for this to be a discouragement to someone to pray or to seek prayers from others when
   you are physically sick.
   I believe in prayer.
   … Whether he is addressing physical or spiritual sickness, we can agree that the thrust of this section is
   v.16– “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”     – IN ANY AND EVERY SITUATION!
   – I believe God hears and responds to every prayer of faith!

– My problem is, frankly, I have difficulty with this passage being an absolute promise from God that, if these
instructions are followed, he will “make the physically sick person well.”

… but I’m still studying it.

Ken Stegall

The news media have been all abuzz lately over the introduction of “AI” – and many of the articles focus on speculation about whose jobs are going to disappear in the future.

Will artificial intelligence ever eliminate the need for preachers? I have seen a number of articles – such as the following – in which churches are experimenting with that possibility. I am dubious, for this fundamental reason – no computer program can credibly say two words: “We sinners.”

Phillips Brooks famously described preaching as “truth through personality.”  I suppose God could have delegated angels with the task of spreading the gospel, but instead “he has committed to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:19). I am convinced that He had a reason for entrusting US – fallible though we certainly are – with the message of the Cross.

Upon reflection, it seems to me that explaining that reason – perhaps using the following article as a springboard – could lead to a very useful sermon indeed. If any of you are inspired to develop & deliver such a message, I would love to hear your thoughts.

https://apnews.com/article/germany-church-protestants-chatgpt-ai-sermon-651f21c24cfb47e3122e987a7263d348

Can a chatbot preach a good sermon? Hundreds attend church service generated by ChatGPT to find out

FUERTH, Germany (AP) — The artificial intelligence chatbot asked the believers in the fully packed St. Paul’s church in the Bavarian town of Fuerth to rise from the pews and praise the Lord.

The ChatGPT chatbot, personified by an avatar of a bearded Black man on a huge screen above the altar, then began preaching to the more than 300 people who had shown up on Friday morning for an experimental Lutheran church service almost entirely generated by AI.

“Dear friends, it is an honor for me to stand here and preach to you as the first artificial intelligence at this year’s convention of Protestants in Germany,” the avatar said with an expressionless face and monotonous voice.

The 40-minute service — including the sermon, prayers and music — was created by ChatGPT and Jonas Simmerlein, a theologian and philosopher from the University of Vienna.

“I conceived this service — but actually I rather accompanied it, because I would say about 98% comes from the machine,” the 29-year-old scholar told The Associated Press.

The AI church service was one of hundreds of events at the convention of Protestants in the Bavarian towns of Nuremberg and the neighboring Fuerth, and it drew such immense interest that people formed a long queue outside the 19th-century, neo-Gothic building an hour before it began.

The convention itself — Deutscher Evangelischer Kirchentag in German — takes place every two years in the summer at a different place in Germany and draws tens of thousands of believers to pray, sing and discuss their faith. They also talk about current world affairs and look for solutions to key issues, which this year included global warming, the war in Ukraine — and artificial intelligence.

This year’s gathering is taking place from Wednesday to Sunday under the motto “Now is the time.” That slogan was one of the sentences Simmerlein fed ChatGPT when he asked the chatbot to develop the sermon.

“I told the artificial intelligence ‘We are at the church congress, you are a preacher … what would a church service look like?’” Simmerlein said. He also asked for psalms to be included, as well as prayers and a blessing at the end.

“You end up with a pretty solid church service,” Simmerlein said, sounding almost surprised by the success of his experiment.

Indeed, the believers in the church listened attentively as the artificial intelligence preached about leaving the past behind, focusing on the challenges of the present, overcoming fear of death, and never losing trust in Jesus Christ.

The entire service was “led” by four different avatars on the screen, two young women, and two young men.

At times, the AI-generated avatar inadvertently drew laughter as when it used platitudes and told the churchgoers with a deadpan expression that in order “to keep our faith, we must pray and go to church regularly.”

Some people enthusiastically videotaped the event with their cell phones, while others looked on more critically and refused to speak along loudly during The Lord’s Prayer.

Heiderose Schmidt, a 54-year-old who works in IT, said she was excited and curious when the service started but found it increasingly off-putting as it went along.

“There was no heart and no soul,” she said. “The avatars showed no emotions at all, had no body language and were talking so fast and monotonously that it was very hard for me to concentrate on what they said.”

“But maybe it is different for the younger generation who grew up with all of this,” Schmidt added.

Marc Jansen, a 31-year-old Lutheran pastor from Troisdorf near the western German city of Cologne, brought a group of teenagers from his congregation to St. Paul. He was more impressed by the experiment.

“I had actually imagined it to be worse. But I was positively surprised how well it worked. Also the language of the AI worked well, even though it was still a bit bumpy at times,” Jansen said.

What the young pastor missed, however, was any kind of emotion or spirituality, which he says is essential when he writes his own sermons.

Anna Puzio, 28, a researcher on the ethics of technology from the University of Twente in The Netherlands, also attended the service.

She said she sees a lot of opportunities in the use of AI in religion — such as making religious services more easily available and inclusive for believers who for various reasons may not be able experience their faith in person with others in houses of worship.

However, she noted there are also dangers when it comes to the use of AI in religion.

“The challenge that I see is that AI is very human-like and that it’s easy to be deceived by it,” she said.

“Also, we don’t have only one Christian opinion, and that’s what AI has to represent as well,” she said. “We have to be careful that it’s not misused for such purposes as to spread only one opinion.”

Simmerlein said it is not his intention to replace religious leaders with artificial intelligence. Rather, he sees the use of AI as a way to help them with their everyday work in their congregations.

Some pastors seek inspiration in literature, he says, so why not also ask AI for ideas regarding an upcoming sermon. Others would like to have more time for individual spiritual guidance of their parishioners, so why not speed up the process of writing the sermon with the help of a chatbot to make time for other important duties.

“Artificial intelligence will increasingly take over our lives, in all its facets,” Simmerlein said. “And that’s why it’s useful to learn to deal with it.”

However, the experimental church service also showed the limits to implementing artificial AI in church, or in religion. There was no real interaction between the believers and the chatbot, which wasn’t able to respond to the laughter or any other reactions by the churchgoers as a human pastor would have been able to do.

“The pastor is in the congregation, she lives with them, she buries the people, she knows them from the beginning,” Simmerlein said. “Artificial intelligence cannot do that. It does not know the congregation.

DAN WILLIAMS

On a map you can see many roads into any major city. If you want to get there, you can pick whatever route suits you.  Many people think the same thing about variety among churches — “We’re all on different roads to the same place,” they say. Can such a thing be so?

Do you believe we can follow different roads? What does the Bible say about it? The Bible speaks of only two roads. In Mt. 7:13-14, Jesus said, “…the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Yes, there are different roads, but only one goes to Heaven, and it is narrow.

In John 4, when the woman at the well met Jesus, she immediately pointed out that her people worshipped differently from His (4:19-20). Jesus did not reply that both roads led to the same place — He said that one road was right and the other was wrong (4:22), and that if she wished to please God, her worship must be “in truth” (4:24).

In Acts 15:1-31, the apostles disputed with some who believed in Jesus but taught error about what one must do to be saved. Instead of concluding that there were different roads, they gave notice to the churches that one road was right and the other was wrong.

The idea of “different roads” is used to avoid discussing different religious teachings and practices. After all, does doctrine really matter if your attitude is right? Indeed it does. The Bible says that there are doctrines that God hates (Rev 2:15), and that some doctrines are of demons (1 Tim 4:1). Taking heed to doctrine is necessary for salvation (1 Tim 4:16, 2 Jn 9), because obedience to God’s “form of doctrine” is what makes one free from sin (Rom 6:17-18). Even many who believe in Jesus are on the wrong road because they do not obey (Lk 6:46, Mt 7:21-23).

Multiple roads result when men choose their own ways, but only God’s way is right. The “different roads” philosophy has led churches to abandon the question of what is right, and instead accept a wide diversity of belief. But we should not be ashamed to say that some beliefs are right, and others are wrong, because that is what God says. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Prov. 14:12). If people are on different roads, they are not all headed for Heaven.

– by Erin Percell

When looking at the different churches in our community today we stagger at the different beliefs and practices we see. Some teach that there is only One Person in the Godhead, while others say that there are Three. Some teach grace only, others teach faith only, still others teach a combination of grace faith, and obedience. Some teach that the kingdom has come (as the church), while others teach that it is yet to be established.

Why is there such a difference in beliefs when there is only one Holy Bible? The reason is that we let our feelings, thoughts, tradition, and human judgement interfere with a clear understanding of what the Bible teaches. For example, I may feel like baptism isn’t necessary for my salvation, but the Bible says that it is (Mark 16:16). I may think that I know a better way to be saved, but the Bible gives the way God has provided (Jeremiah 10:23). I may hold to a teaching of my grandparents that says there is only One Person in the Godhead, but the Bible says that there are Three (1 John 5:7).

At Sycamore Chapel we use the Bible as our only guide in life. It was given by God and contains all that we need to know to live pleasing to Him (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 1 Corinthians 2:13; 2 Peter 1:3). We do what we do because God says in His Word for us to do it.

Think about it!

Kevin Williams
Minister, Sycamore Chapel church of Christ

Tevye, the whimsical patriarch in the movie Fiddler on the Roof explains the definition of a tradition perfectly. Speaking of Jewish tradition in Tsarist Russia, he declares: “You may ask, how did his tradition get started?” Then he pauses before answering his own question: “I tell you why: I don’t know.”

Young people (I was young once, too) like to ask the question, “But why do we have to do it this way?” Those of us who are older have to do better than to simply say, “Tradition!”

The Lord had a great deal to say about traditions (Mark 7:6-13). His major concern seems to be the contrast between God’s commands and the commands of men.

Many teach “as doctrines the commandments of men,” he observed, adding that as a consequence, they rendered worship “vain” (7:6,7). He adds, “You leave the commandment of God,” with the result that they “hold on to the tradition of men” (7:8). “You have a fine way of rejecting the command of God,” he declares, “in order to establish your own traditions!” (7:9), Clenching his case he declares, “Thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down.” (7:13).

The stronger human traditions persist, the weaker the word of God appears, at least in our own estimation. Some things to note about tradition:

• Traditions are not harmful in and of themselves. They can even make sense when first instituted.
• Some traditions might be useful, even greatly helpful, so long as we do not defend them as if they carry the force of biblical teaching.
• Traditions, like barnacles on a boat, build up over time and usually when we are not aware of the danger.
• It would be unwise to assume that while other fellowships are blinded by tradition that we suffer no such impairment. To assume we have no traditions is precisely to open up the possibility of collecting traditions.
• Traditions should never push aside God’s commands.
• The key is to be able to distinguish between human tradition and God’s word.
• We must guard against confusing tradition (ours) with God’s word.
• The real problem comes when we treat our traditions on the same level as God’s word.

It appears that the dilution of human thinking renders God’s word completely ineffective. Human thinking muddies the waters; Divine thinking clarifies; human thinking deflects our attention, divine thinking corrects our vision. When a practice is biblical, unlike Tevye, we can say with confidence, “That’s no tradition; God’s word teaches that.”

Stan Mitchell

See the significant change this great king, Nebuchadnezzar, has undergone. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego’s three-fold response to him is now on his lips. Now, he knows what it means to be a forever servant of the forever king. In verse 28, he says God’s servants are those who…

1. “Put their trust in Him”, even in exile,
2. “[Surrender] their bodies, even to the fiery furnace,”
3. And “[violate] the king’s command, even when the world won’t.”

In summary, Nebuchadnezzar is saying Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were God’s servants by

1. Trusting,
2. Sacrificing,
3. And obeying.

But what changed Nebuchadnezzar?

Was it Shadrach’s trust? Meshach’s sacrifice? Abednego’s obedience? No. It was God’s deliverance. God is the main character in this story. Not these three Jews, not Nebuchadnezzar. At this story’s end, Nebuchadnezzar concludes that “there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way”. And this good story is here so that we conclude the same.

Remember that Nebuchadnezzar’s idol wasn’t just an idol; it was an ideology. It represented the idea that Nebuchadnezzar was the forever king, not God. Now, how many times have you bowed down to that? How many times have you worshipped yourself and your desires above all else?

How many times have you

• Retold that lie
• Visited that bottle
• Frequented that website
• Adored that dollar
• Revered that rage
• Glorified that gluttony?

Behold your gods! And have they delivered you? Or have they enslaved you? Have they provided what they promised? Or do you leave them, again and again, emptier than you were before? We all need to realize what Nebuchadnezzar realized: there is only one forever king. There is only one God who delivers. So, look again at verse 29: Nebuchadnezzar says, “there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way”, but what “way” is he talking about?

God just delivered in many ways. He delivered in Babylon, he delivered from fire, he delivered despite the king’s edict, just to name a few. I think we get a hint about what changed Nebuchadnezzar in chapter 2, verse 11. There, we get an insight into Babylonian theology. The Babylonians presuppose a bit of doctrine when talking to Nebuchadnezzar about their gods. Specifically, that the god’s “dwelling place is not with mortal flesh.”  God’s deliverance changed Nebuchadnezzar because it was a personal deliverance. He had never seen his gods stand in the flames with their servants.

This is a good story, but it’s more than that. It’s a true story. The gods we create can’t truly deliver. True deliverance comes from the God who created us. Because He is the forever king. The forever king in this story and in reality. The forever king then and now.

So now, if you will be his forever servant, he will walk with you in flames. He will personally deliver you.  Let me explain before we close.

In Matthew chapter 26, Jesus is on trial before the High Priest. And the high priest says, “I place You under oath by the living God, to tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus replies by quoting the book of Daniel: “You have said it yourself. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

And because he quoted Daniel chapter 7, they killed him. I guess some people don’t like a good story. But let’s look at Daniel 7 to see the story Jesus was trying to tell. It says, “I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a son of man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, Honor, and a kingdom, So that all the peoples, nations, and populations of all languages Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.”

We’ve heard that kind of language in Daniel, haven’t we? It reminds me of the stone that crushed all the kingdoms, including Nebuchadnezzars, and became God’s forever kingdom.

So, Jesus is saying, even though I’m a man, I’m the forever king like God. But the Jews killed him because they had the same theology as the Babylonians; they did not believe God’s dwelling place is with mortal flesh. But we believe so. We believe God took on flesh in Jesus. And we believe Jesus delivered us from fire much hotter than Nebuchadnezzar’s. We deserve hell. Because, like Nebuchadnezzar, we worshipped ourselves as the forever king instead of God.

But God still loved us. So, he sent Jesus to bear his wrath on the cross. He sent Jesus to walk with us in our flames. He sent Jesus to personally deliver you. But only if you will be his forever servant. And you should be. Because, after delivering him by raising him from the dead, God made Jesus your forever king, whether you like it or not.  When Nebuchadnezzar saw God’s personal deliverance, what happened?

First, he realized he wasn’t as important as he thought. Second, it changed him. Now that you’ve seen the deliverance Jesus gives, I pray the same will happen to you. After all, it makes for a good story. And I can think of no better ending to your story than this:  Like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, be forever servants of the forever king.

Even though you are exiled on this earth, away from the promised land, trust him.

Even though you are persecuted, be it with words or flames, sacrifice for him

Even though the whole world is bowing down to the idea that they are their own forever kings, obey him.

Trust,

Sacrifice,

Obey.

In the end, the forever king will personally deliver you. Those who have worshipped themselves will face flames. With no God. And with no deliverance. But Jesus will raise you as he was raised, never to walk in flames again.  Or in the words of Daniel 12,  “There will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be delivered. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt. And those who have insight will shine like the glow of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever”.

Jacob July

Take a moment and meditate simply on Jesus. The stories you know about Him. What He is like, what He has said. What He has done.

How frequently have we “set our minds on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For we have died and our lives are hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:2-3)?

It is so very important for us, as Christians, to set our minds on Jesus Christ. It is easy to be consumed by the difficulties and concerns of every-day-life. Yet Jesus invites us to continually shift our focus onto Him, the image of the unseen God. If we want to live a life of pure and simple devotion to Jesus Christ, this is what we need to do.

Let me challenge you as we stand at the precipice of a new year not to settle for just looking at eternal life but to pursue a quality Christian life here and now. We’re not talking about a lifestyle of self-absorption that is all too common in our society but a life that walks closely with the Prince of Life, with your whole life dedicated to knowing Jesus and the power of His resurrection (cf. Phil. 3:10).

We most often feel distant from God when we are focusing on the problems we experience in this life and wonder why God hasn’t answered our prayers. We prayed for someone who was sick but they died anyway. We thought God was going to bless us with a specific job but we did not get hired. We thought we would marry, or marry a specific person, but no such luck…

In those situations, we often do what Elijah did in the cave at Horeb. We want God to show up on our terms, answer our questions, and prove Himself in ways that please us. When He does not, we become disappointed, angry, and frustrated. The God of heaven does not stand as a house slave waiting to jump at our every beck and call. Instead, He gives us a series of promises.

Peter writes: “He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).

When I understand the promises of God, I learn to trust His gifts and His timing. When I see God as He reveals Himself in the Bible, I see God has been faithful from the beginning of time, not just to me but to all His followers. It is then that I can take my eyes off my immediate concerns and I can set them on things above, where Christ is.

Live your life on the promises of God. The answers will come in time.

Paul Holland

Most readers can hopefully state to themselves, “I haven’t murdered, stolen, committed adultery, etc.” While we know that forgiveness can be had for all of our sins, humans in general typically want to avoid practices that harm others.

We have brief encounters with others constantly. Most of those encounters will not leave much of a lasting impression on anyone involved. Two types of encounters definitely leave a lasting impression, though: good ones and bad ones. Bad ones seem to stick the longest.

So when people encounter us, do we leave a lasting impression? If we do, is it positive? If someone doesn’t walk away thinking, “Man, they were so nice!!!” we have room to grow. As an aside, I’m talking exclusively about normal interactions with others. The Christian and Self-Defense is a study for later.

While we avoid practices that bring physical harm to others, do we invest in being kind? How do we treat staff at restaurants, people who are obviously different from us, people who may be under us in an authoritative chain or over us?

It’s easy to be indifferent. For some, it’s easy to be rude and unlikeable in general. Christians must put energy into being kind to others. Give other people the benefit of the doubt. Don’t assume bad intentions. Even in the face of persecution, Christians are commanded to respond rationally and with meekness and fear (I Peter 3.15,16). If we’re supposed to be that composed in the face of persecution, shouldn’t we be all the more kind in everyday encounters?

“Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them” (I John 2.9-11).

Gary Pollard

At the end of the Old Testament, the prophet Malachi simply asked, “Will a man rob God?” (3:8). Now that’s not a thought that naturally occurs to most. It would seem impossible to take by force what belongs to an all-powerful, all-knowing Being. Knowing about His supernatural nature, who would dare to try? Especially when you read that those who do so are  “cursed by a curse” by the One we just described (3:9). But Malachi said they robbed God in “tithes and offerings.” When it came to their financial giving, they stole from the Sovereign!

Is it possible to do that today? Wouldn’t we want to steer so far away from such a practice? Consider:

• We rob God when we put our giving to Him anywhere but the top of our priorities. Malachi’s peers gave God the blind, the lame and the sick, which they would not dare offer their governor, for sacrifice (1:8). God calls this “evil.” What about when we put bills, entertainment, and other spending and saving first, then give God what, if any, is left over. Under the first covenant, God commanded His people give Him “the first fruits” (Ex. 23:16,19). But that covenant is inferior to what we have in Christ (Heb. 8:6). This should motivate us to make giving a “first fruit” and not an after thought.
• We rob God when giving is a duty rather than a delight. For Malachi’s brethren, offering to God was described as despised, tiresome, and disdainful (1:13). When it came time to give, apparently they had a grimace rather than a grin on their faces. The God who gave them everything was met by a people who begrudged giving back to Him anything. Later, God will teach us that giving begins in the heart, with ourselves. Paul praises the impoverished Macedonians who exceeded expectations (2 Cor. 8:3) in their giving because they first gave themselves to the Lord, then gave their money to His work (2 Cor. 8:5). Paul could characterize them as cheerful givers (2 Cor. 9:7). This was not because they were prosperous and gave a big contribution from the overflow. Their wealth was their generosity (2 Cor. 8:2). They gave beyond their ability and it made them happy to do so.
• We rob God when do not test Him with our giving. This is an unexpected admonition. God wanted a chance to show them what He does for the one who gives sacrificially and by faith. The principle does not work and is inconsistent with God’s will if we do not test Him by giving sacrificially and generously. God says, “test me now in this” (3:10). Give generously and see “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows” (3:10). In light of how we can see God work like this in our lives, why would we take that opportunity from Him to show His incredible power. He always proves that He cannot be out-given.

We may ask, “How much should I give?” Truly, there is no set percentage stipulated under Christ’s covenant. They gave a tenth of everything they owned under the Old Law (Deut. 14, 26). What we have is better! We do not have to bring sacrifices for our sins year after year. Christ sacrificed Himself once for all (Rom. 6:10; Heb. 10:10; 1 Pet. 3:18)! It’s hard to imagine a Jew, accustomed to giving a tenth, coming up out of the mikvah (baptistery) on Pentecost, forgiven of their sins, and rejoicing, “Now that I’m a Christian, I don’t have to give ten percent any more!”

No, God doesn’t give us estimates or projections. He gives us exhortations and principles. He wants us to give to Him out of our trust in His care and out of our love and appreciation for His gifts to us. When we take inventory of that (and start with Calvary!), we will learn to give the way He wants us to give.

Neal Pollard

According to Luke, Jesus had the habit of seeking solitary places for prayer (Luke 5:16). Throughout this Gospel, Luke highlights the importance of prayer in Jesus’ life. We get the impression that Jesus did not add prayer to his lifestyle, rather, prayer was at the center enabling each step along his journey.

At several important junctures within his retelling of the story, Luke draws our attention to the time Jesus spent in prayer. On two such occasions Jesus went without sleep in order to pray.

The first of these prayer night vigils occurs in Luke 6:12 which serves as part of a  transitional stage in Jesus’ ministry. Up to this point, we have begun to learn what Jesus’ ministry means. Through his teachings and activities in Nazareth and Capernaum, Jesus revealed he has the authority to bring freedom for those oppressed by the devil and to announce good news. Equally clear is that his teachings and behavior have begun to bring him into conflict with the religious authorities.

After introducing us to Jesus’ ministry, Luke records, “he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent all night in prayer to God” (Luke 6:12). This detail that he spent the night in prayer is not just extraneous filler. Similarly, the dual mention of “prayer” draws our attention to its emphatic emphasis. What is significant about this segment of Jesus’ journey?

Having told us Jesus communed with God throughout the night, having focused our attention upon the solitary Christ pouring out his heart to God and beseeching God, Luke’s expression, “when day came” provides a segue to the result. “He called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles” (Luke 6:13). A divine impetus rested behind selecting twelve apostles and these particular persons to be those twelve. The story of Jesus is the story of God at work.

From this point on, Jesus’ ministry would take on an additional role. His actions and teachings would serve the additional function of training twelve “sent ones,” that is, apostles. What their role would be is not yet clear at this point in the Gospel. However, in the larger two volume work of Luke-Acts their significant function becomes clear.

Jesus’ other prayer night vigil not only revealed his relationship with God, but offers us an indirect subtle opportunity to reflect upon our own hearts. On the Mount of Olives Jesus separated himself a short distance from his disciples and knelt down to pray. His heart spilled forth, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me. Yet not my will but yours be done.” Through prayer, Jesus’ resolution to embrace faithfulness to the divine will became galvanized. The story of Jesus is the story of God at work through him.

What should not escape our attention is that being fully aware of the spiritual reality of the evil one and his desire to destroy (Lk. 4:2; 22:31), Jesus had tried to prepare his disciples for that fateful evening. He had counseled, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation” (Lk. 22:40).

Just as Jesus would pray in the face of testing, so too should his disciples. Unfortunately, because they were exhausted from grief and fell asleep, the disciples did not prepare themselves with prayer. As we learn from the other Gospels, they crumbled under the ensuing pressure.

In seeking to bless our lives, Jesus emphasized the essential nature of prayer (Luke 18:1; 11:9). For Jesus, prayer was not an addition to his lifestyle. Rather, prayer was at the center enabling each step along his journey. We would do well to imitate Christ. We would do well to prayerfully prepare ourselves for each step.

Barry Newton