Author Archives: Alan Simmons

Are you ready for opportunities to serve Christ?

Posted on May 28, 2013 | Comments Off on Are you ready for opportunities to serve Christ?

Ni Vanuatu man wood carvingRecently I was asked by my pastor to take the lead in putting together a monthly church newsletter.  The idea first came up while we were serving the ladies in attendance at the annual Mother and Daughter banquet held in May as a  part of our church’s celebration of Mothers’ Day. When my pastor, Alan Ramsey first looked at me and asked “we can do this, right…?” I immediately began to think of things I knew would be great to include in our newsletter.  Mrs. Ramsey added a couple of ideas, such as a devotional and a listing of the birthdays and anniversaries, while others wanted to see nursery schedules, articles highlighting different church functions and special events, and even a map to the church and the plan of Salvation.  These were all terrific ideas and each one has found a place in the pages of this newsletter.

As I began to work on the newsletter, a passage out of the Gospel of Luke came to mind: Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them (Luke 35-37).  While there are so many lessons and applications about this scripture that demonstrate the need to be ready for the rapture, I want to take a minute to share with you another application:  as children of Christ we need to be ready to do whatever work He calls us to do at a moment’s notice.

Both Peter and Andrew heard the Master’s call and immediately went out to do what he had called them to do—they were going to become fishers of men.  Through their childhood and into adulthood, they knew how to catch fish, they knew where the best fishing spots were, what bait to use, and even the times of day that would yield the best fish.  Jesus knew that these skills would be just as applicable for the two brothers in their endeavors to become “fishers of men.”  Yes, they had the talents and skills that would be useful  in serving God; however, they had to be willing to heed the call and use their abilities for His glory.

I also think of the teaching of Christ about the servants and the talents as told in the gospel of Matthew.  After distributing the talents, the master went away and each man was expected to do something—anything—with what he had been given by his master with the end result being an increase.  For the master, it did not matter how much the increase was but what mattered was that each of the men be willing to do something with what had been given to them.  When the master returned, the first two not only brought the original talents they were given, but also brought an increase, yet this: His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord (Matthew 25:21 & 23).  In the eyes of the master it truly did not matter who earned the most or who was the first.  Both men had taken what was given them and did something with what they had been given.

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Posted in Chrisitian Philosophy, Discipleship

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Prayer: the need for intercession for ourselves and others

Posted on May 16, 2013 | Comments Off on Prayer: the need for intercession for ourselves and others

HPIM0326 (Medium)As Christians, we never know who is watching us or the circumstances that will occur to bring someone into our daily routine that needs to hear the reassurance that there is a God who cares and loves them.  It may seem a strange fit for this lesson to be connected with the picture taken at the Audubon State Park in Henderson, Kentucky – the picture of the bridge over a small gully, but for what happened this morning, it will make perfect sense once I share what happened this morning and how I was able to be a “bridge” to someone involved in a spiritual battle.

But first, a little background about that bridge picture.  At the Audubon State Park there are several hiking trails that offer spectacular opportunities for those who enjoy photography the way that I do.  A few years ago during one of our Saturday outings, we walked along this one trail that rings a small pond within the center of the wildlife area.  As we were making the last of the trail’s bends and heading back to the road, we came to this old wooden footbridge that spanned a small little gully at the southeastern end of nature area.  It was a small bridge, but underneath it was a small little creek that flowed into the pond.  The area around the creek was not only marshy, but was in a bit of a gully – an area that had most of the topsoil washed away that exposed the large rocks in the creek.  Had it not been for the bridge, we would have had to get our feet wet, risk injury by walking on wet rocks, or would have had to go off the beaten path in search of a better area to cross.  Not only was the bridge convenient, but it was just what we needed at that time to cross that obstacle.

Now, back to the events of this morning.  I had an 8:30 a.m. appointment at the VA Clinic in Evansville and had arrived a few minutes early.  already knowing that I was going to be there for a while, I opened up the KJV Bible application on my phone to do some reading when I was called back.  I was shocked that I had actually been called back into the lab by 8:35 and was out by 8:45, but while I was in there, I had the first opportunity to minister to a fellow laborer in Christ.  The nurse that normally draws my blood when I get lab work done asked me if I would pray for her and her husband.  She told me that she didn’t want to go into specifics, but that there was a need that they needed to have met.  Taking the advice of my pastor, Alan Ramsey, instead of waiting to pray later and running the risk of forgetting, I asked her could we pray about it right then, so she reached out her hand, and we both began to pray about her and her husband’s needs.  In a few seconds, I felt another hand on my shoulder as one of the other nurses had heard us praying and she felt led to come in and join us in our prayer.  As we said our amens, I quoted Matthew 18:20, For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

The third lady that had joined us looked at me and the other nurse and said she had forgotten about that scripture but knew when she heard us praying that she needed to be a part of it.  As I was having the various blood samples taken, we had a miniature Bible study on the importance of prayer, how Christians should be ready at any time to pray for one another, and the importance of keeping a clear conscious when it comes to our daily walk with Christ. I had never imagined that this morning I would be given the opportunity to serve as a “bridge” between God’s reassuring love and a fellow Christian struggling with a need.  I had no idea that I would be given the opportunity to serve as a “bridge” between two nurses that only a few minutes before had no idea that the other one was a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.  The second nurse commented that in their work environment at the VA, they are openly told by management not to discuss or share their religious views openly with co-workers or patients.  When she heard us praying, she said she knew she would be safe joining us.

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Posted in Christian Living, Discipleship, Our relationships with other Christians

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Sin: resistance or willful participation

Posted on May 15, 2013 | Comments Off on Sin: resistance or willful participation

cross-shine

Over the last few months our church has had the privilege of spiritually ministering to some of the young people from the Earle C. Clements Job Corps Center.  This past Sunday, we invited the two that attended our church services home with us for some Sunday lunch and fellowship at our house before the evening church service and the nearly thirty-minute ride back to the center.  One of the many conversations that I had with the young man involved nothing other than the pains of spiritual growth.

He had a lot of questions about faith and about how to handle life in general; the area that really bothered him the most was sin and how as Christians we should handle sin.  His questions focused on a theme that every Christian struggles with – how to handle the temptation of sin as a Christian.  Almost immediately I began to think of times in my own life when I, through the love and power of the Lord Jesus Christ, had avoided sin and the times that as a Christ-professing Christian, I had willfully stumbled and sinned.  What made the difference between the two was simple – when I took the time to resist the temptation to sin, prayed to God for deliverance, and then made an effort to stay focused on spiritual things, I was able to resist the desire to participate in sin.  On days where I tried to do it on my own or where I had already been “exposed” and remained in the vicinity of the activity taking place, I would willfully sin without any hesitation only to be met with extreme guilt and remorse when the “thrill” was over.

The apostle Paul also discussed the battle with the flesh that he had continually while on his missionary journeys across the Middle East, Asia Minor, and southern Europe.  He wrote For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me (Romans 7:15-20).  Although this may sound confusing the first few times its read, what Paul was saying is that the things that he doesn’t want to do – yielding to temptation and willfully committing sin – he does so because of the nature of the flesh.  The flesh desires to fulfil its own lusts and the desires of the flesh are indeed strong.

As Christians, the strong desires of the flesh do not give us an excuse to willfully choose to sin; in fact, it makes it even more imperative that we understand our position, through grace, with the Lord Jesus Christ.  As a Christian, when we do fail and yield to the flesh and sin, we are separated from the blessings and joys of our salvation until we have confessed our sins.  The apostle John explained that when we do commit sin and If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9). Not only does the Lord Jesus Christ forgive us, but John adds My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (I John 2:1).  Wow, what a thought that when we have sinned, all we have to do is to ask Christ for forgiveness; not only does he forgive us, but when we are accused by Satan for our sins, Christ personally defends us from the accusations!

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Posted in Discipleship, My Walk, Our relationship with God

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