Tag Archives: John

The greatest race of our life

Posted on January 19, 2015 by | Comments Off on The greatest race of our life

greatest race of our lifeThe greatest race of our life didn’t begin with the crack of a starter pistol. For many, myself included, the greatest race began with tears and the realization that we were a sinner and stood guilty before a holy God. After accepting Jesus as my personal Savior in 2006, I began to study the Bible with the sole wish to understand what I, as a Christian, was supposed to do. As I began my study, one of my favorite passages is found in the apostle Paul’s second letter to Timothy: I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing (2 Timothy 4:1-8).

In this short passage, there are several things that Paul is trying to explain to Timothy. Paul had come to an understanding about several things in his life and was ready for the physical death he knew was waiting for him. He understood that he was going to be executed because of his teachings and the stand he took for the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. He knew that since he had accepted Jesus as his savior, he had not wasted his life’s time on things that had no eternal value; he did not have the shame of unconfessed sin or wasted time. He knew that the many great works he had done had been out of his obedience to and love of the Lord and for no other reason. And finally, he knew that he had completed the things that he knew that the Lord had set for him to do. I’ve often wondered what allowed Paul to have such confidence to be able to say that he had finished his course? As I began to study the life of Paul, I began to learn things from his life that I could and should apply to mine. I would like, as I am sure you would, like to have the confidence to say I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith (2 Timothy 4:7). I wish with all my heart to hear my Lord and Savior Jesus say 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 25:21b).

Lessons from the life of Paul

Just as every Christian experiences today, Paul also had to grow in his new faith. There were stages of spiritual development that he went through that we can see taught all through the New Testament. Paul had to first, accept the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior. He had to dedicate his life to following after the Lord. Paul had to learn  – to be discipled in his new Christian faith by other Christians in Jerusalem. He then began to boldly share his newfound faith in Christ with others. When the time came, God placed a burden on the heart of Paul; Paul had to answer God’s call for his life. God had given Paul a set of gifts and abilities – talents – that Paul recognized as coming from the Lord and was able to use those as he strove to fulfill God’s call on his life. He had to go through each of these stages of his life as a Christian to become the man who God had called him to be. He had to go through each stage to learn what it was that God had for him to learn and he had to go through each stage as led by the Holy Spirit. Before Paul even stepped out on his great missionary journeys, he had already decided that he was going to focus on what God had put in front of him and was content in whatever manner the Lord was ready to use him.

The greatest race Paul faced started the same as every Christian’s great race. Recorded by Luke in the book of Acts, And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do (Acts 9:3-6), we see that before Paul could even begin on his travels in the name of the Lord, he had to come to the point where he was willing to accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior. Before Paul accepted the Lord as his personal savior, (before his salvation he was known as Saul) he was unusable by God. His testimony was known by many, Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name (Acts 9:13-14). Before Saul (Paul) could be used by God, he had to be born again.

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Posted in Christian Living, Discipleship, Our relationship with God

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Powerless churches and weak Christians

Posted on December 17, 2014 by | Comments Off on Powerless churches and weak Christians

6182411664_f6311e9c14_zPowerless churches are everywhere in our nation. Within Henderson, Kentucky, the town where I live, there are over fifty churches within the county according to the Internet and phone book, yet there are still scores of people hurting, people longing for something more in life, and people dying and beginning an eternity in Hell. Within these churches, many of the congregations often have less than a hundred members in attendance on Sunday morning.  The church of the twenty-first century is a far cry from the churches that dominated the communities of our nation in the previous four centuries.

From the early colonial days of America until the 1870s, the members of the local church oversaw questions dealing with morality and public behavior in the town. Members of local congregations were often called by the town to serve on the school board, to serve as justices of the peace, and were even elected to public office. It was the local church that served to meet the needs  of the poor, the homeless, orphan, and widow. Two “Great Awakenings” happened in our nation’s history that started when preachers stood up and taught the belief that the time of Christ’s return was near. Since the mid-Twentieth century, there has been a decline in the importance of the church in our communities. What has happened to change the church from a place of God’s authority, compassion, and mercy in the community to a place of inconsequential importance?

It is easy to blame the lost world for the diminished role of the church in modern times. I have even heard pastors, missionaries, and regular church goers comment that it is because the temptations of the world have grown greater than what once existed. While this argument may satisfy some, it is a rather weak and pathetic defense of the church. Yes, the world has progressed in technology and the means to sin, but temptation, wickedness, and sin have always existed. To find out why the church has grown weak and ineffective over the last hundred years, I believe it is imperative we take a look at the local church. The first thing that is easy to notice is many Christians and local churches have forgotten the simple truth that Jesus is coming again.

How powerless churches begin

The return of Jesus Christ is a real, foretold event. Early Christians, and those disciples that made up the first church, truly believed in a literal second coming of our Lord. The disciples believed it to be true because they had heard from Jesus’ own mouth a promise that would burn in their very hearts:  In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also (John 14:2-3). They believed this to the extent that it gave them a great strength and boldness to preach the gospel, to bring the lost to Him, and to do so even in the face of persecution and death. 

I often think of the parable that Jesus used to illustrate this very concept of His return and what he expects of His followers until He does: For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey (Matthew 24:14-15). Jesus himself is the “man traveling into a far country” each born – again believer is His servant, and we each have been given some job, some task, some calling to do while we await his return. The most common application of this parable is that Jesus expects us to do something with the gifts and talents that he gives us; however, the teaching is there – He is coming back. He is going to return. Two of the servants realized this and did what they knew must be done while the third, unsure of when the Master would return, didn’t put what was left for him to do as being that important. This is where powerless churches begin.

When Christians do not believe the Lord could come back at any moment, it becomes easy to for the church to lose its importance within the community. The sole mission of the church is to spread the gospel with its secondary purpose being for the edification, the worship of the Lord, and the teaching of His people. When Christians do not take the return of the Lord as being a real event that could happen at any moment; this is what allows for complacency to happen. Unbelief in the return of Christ allows the need to spread the gospel seem less urgent. It makes separating ourselves from temptations to sin less important, and it makes the need for immediate and sincere compassion on those around us a little less important. When we live as if we do not believe His return is imminent, then we become comfortable in our sins, we become lazy in our Christian service and the result is powerless churches and weak Christians.

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Posted in Christian Responsibility, Increasing Faith, Our relationship with God

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An obedient servant of Christ

Posted on December 8, 2014 by | Comments Off on An obedient servant of Christ

study-better-800x800All it takes is a quick trip to the local Christian book store to see the number of publications that claim you can become an obedient servant and experience God’s blessings on your life. At one point in my own Christian walk and while going through my own personal struggles and crises of faith, I admit that I did buy one of those books. Although the author meant well when writing the book, within its pages were the claims that if we say a certain prayer, do certain deeds, and attended church regularly, then I would be an obedient servant of Christ. While I will not say that the entire book was wrong, a one-size-fits all approach does not work because we are all not called into the same area of Christian service.

One of the saddest yet most interesting things that I study as a part of my job is the role of religion within the ancient societies and within the United States. It fascinates both myself and college students to learn how far many people will go to prove their love and adoration of certain deities, or even within certain Christian denominations. To show their obedience, some faiths require that some great feat be performed or that the believer must give a great sacrifice, sometimes of wealth, sometimes of self-denial, and sometimes even a human sacrifice is required. It is only within Judaism and true biblical Christianity where we see God tell us: 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). Jesus even simplified this during His earthly ministry as he told the disciples and all who were around that day, If ye love me, keep my commandments (John 14:15).

The apostle Paul understood the simplicity and the beauty of what our relationship of Christ is to be like. Paul referred to himself as a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ; he chose to use the relationship of being a servant of Christ because during the lifetime of Jesus and the apostles, servitude for debt was a common practice and one of the main ways that Jews fell into the role of being a servant. Paul considered himself owing a debt to Christ for which he could never repay, as all Christians do.

Becoming a servant of Christ

There are many things that we can learn about this relationship we have with the Lord. Our status as a servant of Christ must be a status that we choose for ourselves. God desires that we serve Him as an exercise of our own free will. Throughout the times of the Old Testament and throughout the New Testament, God has clearly taught that all people have to make a choice – to both serve and love God with all our heart or to reject Him. Jesus told Nicodemus, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God (John 3:16-18).  Jesus is reiterating what He had already told the Hebrew people during the Exodus from Egypt: I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live (Deuteronomy 30:19). The beginning of being an obedient servant of Christ starts here with this decision. You either choose to follow Him or you reject Him. Joshua, the man who would take on the leadership of Israel after the death of Moses, put it best: And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD (Joshua 24:15).

As a Christian, we willingly put ourselves into the position as a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ when we accept Him as our Savior. The very nature of the personal relationship that we share with the Lord should cause a desire within us to be an obedient servant of Christ. Within the Old Testament, there was a provision made for servants that wished to stay with their master even after their indebtedness had been repaid: And it shall be, if he say unto thee, I will not go away from thee; because he loveth thee and thine house, because he is well with thee; 17Then thou shalt take an aul, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also unto thy maidservant thou shalt do likewise. 18It shall not seem hard unto thee, when thou sendest him away free from thee; for he hath been worth a double hired servant to thee, in serving thee six years: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all that thou doest (Deuteronomy 15:16-18). Our obedience to God must come from our own love for the Lord and not because we feel that we have to. Just as the passage in Micah teaches, when we are obedient to God out of our love for him our obedience makes us valuable to God. Although God does not use an awl to punch our ear, he does bless us and set us apart for Himself. We become a servant that is close to God’s own heart.

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Posted in Chrisitian Philosophy, Our place within the local church, Our relationship with God

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