Tag Archives: Colossians

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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Sin: resistance or willful participation

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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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Examining ourselves before a Holy God

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Our home church, Gospel Light Baptist Church, only share the Lord’s Supper once a quarter with the most recent being this past Sunday (March 24, 2013).  There are no qualifications in scripture about how often this special and sacred time should be observed within the church; we find the only instructions regarding its offering through the writings of the apostle Paul, And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come (I Corinthians 11:24-26).

There’s nothing magical about the elements of the Lord’s Supper. The unleavened bread and the grape juice do not transform to the literal blood and body of the Lord Jesus Christ, as some faiths teach.  The partaking of the Lord’s Supper does not provide atonement for our sins, as some faiths teach.  The purpose of the Lord’s Supper is to cause us to take pause and to examine ourselves, our relationships with fellow believers, our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, and the ultimate sacrifice paid by Him.   We need to remember and to be reminded, not only during the Lord’s Supper but daily this teaching   of Paul: For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:6-8).

A few years back, Ray Boltz, a Christian contemporary songwriter and singer, released a song called Feel the Nails.  In this song, the artist asks does Jesus still hear the crowds cry “crucify him!” and does he still feel pain of the nails piercing his hands and feet every time we fail him.  For me, it is a sobering thought – each time I have chosen to sin rather than to resist, every time I have failed to listen to guidance of the Holy Spirit – what if I have caused the Lord Jesus Christ to relive the physical and mental anguish of the cross?  This song’s message is powerful and does cause its audience to reflect on their conduct after coming to accept God’s free gift of eternal salvation.

We must remember and never forget that it was all our sins – past, present, and future – that put Jesus on the cross.  Paul wrote to the early Christian church to remind them of this very fact: For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight (Colossians 1:19-22).

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