Category Archives: Off the cuff

Blogs in this category are more about the personal issues, trials, temptations, and victories I’ve gone through and the demonstration of God’s grace through them.

Don’t lose Jesus while celebrating Christmas

Posted on December 24, 2014 by | Comments Off on Don’t lose Jesus while celebrating Christmas

cross-shadow-on-manger-743969Tonight is Christmas Eve – the night before the second most holy day of the Christian year.  All across the world, families and friends gather to celebrate and share in various Christmas traditions. It can be easy with all the great food, family visiting, and the games and pageantry to forget the real reason we gather together at this time of the year. The traditional Christmas movies, music, the tree and all its decorations and lights, and the great meal many of us will be enjoying over the next couple of days can easily distract us that we are celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Without Him, there would be no Christmas celebration, no Christmas day dinner, and no Christmas music. Without Christ, there would be no redeemer to bridge the ever-widening gap between God and man.

At the church that I attend, last night our pastor read the story of the Lord Jesus’ birth out of the gospels of Luke and Matthew. As he shared those scriptures that I’ve read many times, I cannot help but to marvel at the way that He first appeared to man as the hope of our eternal redemption. He chose to be born in the way we all are born. He chose to live among us and to experience all that we experience. He chose to enter life as a child so that He would understand the prayers of every child who has ever uttered the prayer, “Lord, my parents just do not understand me…” He chose to live through the teenage years, so He would understand the prayers of the teenager who cries “Lord, I don’t fit in, where do I belong…” and “my parents are being unreasonable…” He chose to live life as an adult and face all the problems faced by us so that He would understand our prayers of “Lord, I don’t know how I am going to pay for this…”, “I feel alone, Lord,” and “I just don’t understand why…” This is one of the reasons there had to be that very first Christmas.

You see, He came to live among us and fashioned like us so that we can take all our cares and worries to Him. I believe that this is the very reason why the apostle Peter wrote, Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you (1 Peter 5:7). No doubt that Peter had experienced what we all do – we share our pain or fears with a family member or a friend and they laugh or make light of what we tell them. Peter understood that Jesus would understand all our fears and concerns; He would not be dismissive of even the smallest of our worries. We have the ability to approach our Lord and Savior with anything without fear of Him not understanding because He has literally “been there too.” When I think of the other religions that mankind places their faith in, there is no other where God has come down to dwell among men. 

What_Child_Is_This_402A while back ago, I  was flipping through a hymnal at a used bookstore in Evansville. As I came to the Christmas hymn section of the book, I was interested in the songs selected to see if any of the older, more traditional hymns had been replaced with more modern songs. I was excited to see that my favorite Christmas hymn, What Child is This? had been included in that particular hymnal. As I read over the lyrics, I became horrified as I noticed that the second and third verses did not have their original and respective choruses, but that the song had been “arranged” by one of the editors of the hymnal. Particularly disturbing is that without the second chorus, the entire meaning of the song was changed – “nails, spear, shall pierce him through, the cross he bore for me, for you. Hail, hail, the Word made flesh, the Babe, the Son of Mary.” The song, as sung since the eleventh century, not only celebrates the birth of Jesus, but reminds all who sing and hear it that He came to bear our sins on the cross. Without the cross, there would be no reason for the birth of Jesus.

As you celebrate this Christmas with your family and loved ones, don’t forget the real reason we celebrate this season. From my family and me to yours, Merry Christmas.

Comments Off on Don’t lose Jesus while celebrating Christmas

Posted in Off the cuff

Tagged

Willing obedience should be our testimony

Posted on December 15, 2014 by | Comments Off on Willing obedience should be our testimony

open-bibleWilling obedience is different from reluctant obedience. If we are honest with ourselves, we all can remember the times in our lives when we did things because we were expected to do them and not necessarily because we wanted to do them. For those of us with children, we also often see this demonstrated as they will do what we ask but out of a lack of any other choice but to obey. How we do things tells others a lot about us, including the very basics about our character. Continuing with the thoughts of the previous two entries about being an obedient servant and having the proper attitude, it is important for us to realize that when we do the things we do for the Lord, we have other people watching us. Whether it is where we work, with our family, or even within our Christian service, the attitude of how we do things often becomes more important than why we do things. 

The testimony of willing obedience

When we choose to show willing obedience to God, it sets us apart from those around us that are lost or that may be less than sincere about their faith in God. Willing obedience comes out of our unconditional love of the Lord; we do the things He desires us to do not because we are expected to do them as Christians, but because we know that when we do them, we actually please Him. For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil (Romans 16:19). Paul is commending the Christians within Rome that their obedience to the things of God; their willing obedience had become a part of their testimony. They were doing the things that Paul taught them to do not because they felt as if they had to as Christians, but because as Christians, they had the sincerest desire to do what the Lord would have them to do. When we do things out of willing obedience it does become a part of our testimony.

During His earthly ministry, Jesus taught all who would listen, Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 20Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them (Matthew 7:16 & 7:20). While the most common application of this verse is that we can tell someone’ spiritual health – if they are saved or not – there is also another application. How we bear fruit tells others about our walk with the Lord. What does our obedience say about us? Does our obedience have a positive or negative impact on our testimony? Are we identified as a genuine servant of God because of our willing obedience by those around us or does our profession for the love of Jesus surprise others? In a letter to Philemon, the apostle Paul wrote, Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowels in the Lord. Having confidence in thy obedience I wrote unto thee, knowing that thou wilt also do more than I say (Philemon 20-21). Just as with what Paul is writing to Philemon about, our obedience should be to the point that it can actually encourage others to continue in their faith. In Paul’s day, the seat of human emotions was considered to be in the bowels – the intestines was considered the center of our being. In our time, it is the heart that we consider the seat of the emotions. What Paul is essentially saying is that the obedience of Philemon actually encourages and refreshes his heart!

Willing obedience encourages others

Just Philemon was an encouragement to Paul through his willing obedience to what he had been taught. When we show willing obedience to the will of God, it encourages others around us as well. Just as Paul understood that Philemon would go above and beyond what was required, our obedience should also tell other Christians that we are willing and ready to go above what is required of us without being asked. Jesus taught a parable about three servants. Two of the servants, out of willing obedience and the sincere desire to please their master both were praised by him: His lord said unto him, Well done, thou 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). Each servant was given talents – money – by their master with instructions to take care of his business while he was away. This parable teaches us that their testimony, or their demonstrated ability to be obedient to their master determined the responsibilities that they would be entrusted with while their master was away. Our willing obedience to the things that God has set before us also determines what God will entrust us do to for Him. If we are obedient in the smallest of things then he will entrust us with.

Our willing obedience to follow the teachings of the Lord and to do the things we know will please Him are considered worth more to Him than anything else we have to offer: Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? (Micah 6:6-8). To live justly and humbly before the Lord, we cannot simply be obedient because it is expected of us and expect the Lord to bless our efforts. We are showing reluctant obedience, of which the apostle James warns us, A double minded man is unstable in all his ways (James 1:8). Obedience, when done out of reluctance, is just as bad as being indecisive. Sure, we are being obedient, but out of a sense of duty. The Lord wants us to be willingly obedient, because we want to please Him. Others will notice the difference in things done out of a willingly obedient heart versus those things we do because we feel we must.

Willing obedience brings its reward

When we choose, as a servant of the Lord, to do the things that He has set forth for us to do in willing obedience, He will reward us of our faithfulness and determination: Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ (Colossians 3:24). Our rewards for our willing obedience come from Christ himself. When we are an obedient servant, we do our best for the Lord; the Lord will reward us for our service and our faithfulness.  The scriptures make it clear that the Lord will reward us with increased responsibilities: His lord said unto him, Well done, thou 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), rewards that are not dependent on our position, but based on our service to Him: Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour (1 Corinthians 3:8), rewards that are worthy of what we have done for Him: For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward (1 Timothy 5:18), and finally, rewards that cannot be lost once earned: Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward (2 John 1:8).

  

Comments Off on Willing obedience should be our testimony

Posted in Chrisitian Philosophy, My Walk, Our relationship with God

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

A commonsense faith in Christ

Posted on December 3, 2014 by | Comments Off on A commonsense faith in Christ

bible_and_candle_krx5While growing up, one of my favorite shows I loved to watch was the Andy Griffith Show. Some of the things that drew me to that television show was the way that Sheriff Taylor was able to take a complex problem and find a commonsense solution for it and when Opie would find himself in trouble and again, Sheriff Taylor would use good old-fashioned commonsense to steer Opie into making the right decision. Although I have had a lot of people tell me that the show does not show reality, I often think that one of society’s biggest problems is the knack to take something simple and turn it into a complex process. The Andy Griffith Show’s popularity was not that it was a complex, advanced, and witty television show; it was quite the opposite. It was a simple show that relied on country wisdom, commonsense solutions to life’s problems, and had a natural appeal to its audience.

A commonsense faith of promise

Earlier this week, while I was on the community college campus before class, a former student stopped me in the parking lot and began to ask me questions about my faith. After a few minutes of answering some very basic questions, the student actually said, “Mr. Simmons, that’s why I like asking you questions about Christianity. You always give a commonsense answer that makes it easy to understand and simple…” I had never really thought about it before yesterday, but just as with everything else, we have changed the simplicity of the gospel into a complex religion that no longer has the appeal of being a simple faith. I believe that this is one of the reasons for Jesus’ warning: Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein (Mark 10:15). When I think of my four-year old daughter, there are things she just accepts as fact; she doesn’t seek an explanation. During the summer, while coming home one night from church, she asked about why the moon was so bright. After I told her that it was because there were no clouds in the sky and the moon was a circle, the light seemed brighter. Her response to my answer was, “wow, that’s neat!” There was no other explanation needed because the simplest answer I could give met her needs.

The faith that Jesus was teaching to the crowds, the faith that would ultimately become known as Christianity, was from its beginning to be a simple faith. Jesus taught this concept by example: And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:2-4). Jesus is not saying that we have to accept Jesus when we are a child to be saved, but what He is saying is that we simply need to take Him at his word. Just as my daughter took me at my word in the explanation about the brightness of the moon, as an adult, I need to be willing to accept what the Lord says at His word. This was something that the Lord continually taught, even in the presence of the religious leaders during His time on Earth. The gospels are full of encounters where Jesus explained in a commonsense way, the very meaning of the laws and practices that the Jewish scholars had made overly complex with their traditions.

One of the best examples of Jesus’ confrontations with the religious leaders during the days of His earthly ministry is found in the gospel of Mark: And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:  And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question (Mark 12:28-34).

Continued on next page.

Pages: 1 2

Comments Off on A commonsense faith in Christ

Posted in Chrisitian Philosophy, Off the cuff, Our relationship with God

Tagged , , , , , , ,