Tag Archives: John

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).

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Anything beautiful starts with a plan

Posted on November 24, 2014 by | Comments Off on Anything beautiful starts with a plan

Spring-Garden-506fa51868638_hiresThere is great beauty in a well designed and planned flower garden. Even before we really get into the winter months, those like me, who love gardening, have already begun to plan out what bulbs, seeds, or plants we plan to plant in the early spring months. It takes personal investment in time, effort, and money to make a flower garden. All it takes is to take a trip through town and you will see the results of all the effort placed into gardening. There are some yards and publicly maintained parks that are simply breathtaking and inspiring; they are literally a work of great beauty to behold. Then there are others that seem haphazard at best; no clear plan, no organization, and more akin to a jungle than a flower garden. Rarely do we give them a second glimpse or find them inspiring.

It is the same way with how we live our life as a follower of Christ. Each Christian should have the goal to hear those words spoken by the Lord: 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). The apostle Paul believed he had lived a life worthy enough to hear those words and even told a young preacher by the name of Timothy, 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 (II Timothy 4:6-8). Since becoming a Christian, Paul had done all that he could do for the Lord, had followed Christ as completely and without question as he could, and knew he had lived a life that Christ would find pleasing.

Just as planting a flower garden requires a plan, a cost, a want, and work to have a truly beautiful and inspiring place of beauty, so does our walk with the Lord. If we want to live a life that brings glory to the Lord and that He will find pleasing, we have to have a plan, we have to have a desire, and we must be willing to work towards that goal. The cost has already been paid by the cross. We must be willing to separate ourselves from the things – from the lusts and sins – that hold us back. I believe that this is exactly what the apostle Paul had in mind when he wrote, This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you (Ephesians 4:17-32).

There’s an old Southern gospel song that has been performed by many people that’s called A Beautiful Life. The song, as it is written, makes me think of a person who is desiring that when they stand before the Lord, He will find their life to be pleasing.  The lyrics of the song are:

Each day I’ll do a golden deed By helping those who are in need
My life on earth is but a span  And so I’ll do the best I can

Life’s evening sun is sinking low  A few more days and I must go
To meet the deeds that I have done  Where there will be no setting sun

The only life that will endure  Is one that’s kind and good and pure
And so for God I’ll take my stand  Each day I’ll lend a helping hand

Life’s evening sun is sinking low  A few more days and I must go
To meet the deeds that I have done Where there will be no setting sun

While going down life’s weary road  I’ll try to lift some traveler’s load
I’ll try to turn the night to day  Make flowers bloom along the way

Life’s evening sun is sinking low  A few more days and I must go
To meet the deeds that I have done  Where there will be no setting sun

It takes a plan to live a life that the Lord will find pleasing. Not only must it involve focusing on meeting the needs and ministering to others, it must include being faithful in other things as well – in our prayer life, in our studying of the Bible, and in our service within the local church. Just as it takes preparing the soil, fertilizing, weeding, watering, pruning and planting to make the garden, there are different things that we must do so that we, too, can have a beautiful life in the eyes of the Lord. Just as a truly beautiful flower garden is designed to appear balanced, to have blooms from late spring to the end of autumn, we must approach our lives in such a way that we have a plan to follow throughout our life. Our Christian faith is not something we retire from when we reach 65, but it is something we are supposed to live through from the moment we accept Christ as our personal Savior until the day when He calls us home either through the rapture or through physical death.

I’ve not always lived a beautiful life for the Lord. I’m ashamed of the life I lived from 1988, when I first accepted the Lord as my Savior until 2006, when I decided to become serious about my faith. Instead of having a beautifully planned garden, my life during that time would resemble a vacant lot in the deteriorating area of town. It was overgrown with the weeds of sin, with the decay of rebellion, with an occasional blossom here and there. I wasn’t reading my Bible daily, I wasn’t praying daily, and I wasn’t faithful in my church attendance nor in resisting sin and the desires of the flesh. Although I was saved, my life was not bearing the fruit that Christians should bear. I’m not saying this in a bragging matter because I am truly ashamed of my life then; however, as I found out in 2006, it didn’t have to stay that way. Maybe you are a Christian but when you look back at your life, you see things that you don’t think the Lord would find pleasing. It’s never too late to give it to Him and allow His plan to take center stage in our lives. We have to reach the point when we are ready, we desire and crave to have spiritual success and not living a life that’s flesh-oriented. Only then will we truly live a beautiful life for the Lord.

So, how do we put a plan together that will allow us to have a beautiful life in the sight of the Lord? I believe that the best way is to simply to take the advice of the apostle Paul: Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (II Timothy 2:15), Pray without ceasing (I Thessalonians 5:17), In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you (I Thessalonians 5:18), and to follow in complete obedience the teachings of Christ: And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15), And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself (Luke 10:27), If ye love me, keep my commandments (John 14:15), and  And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses (Mark 11:25). If we do each of these things on a daily basis, then we, too, will have lived a beautiful life in the eyes of the Lord.

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Beware of the pitfalls of the “modern” faith

Posted on November 19, 2014 by | Comments Off on Beware of the pitfalls of the “modern” faith

Water_safety_sign_Dangerous_currentThis morning, while waiting to have my blood drawn for lab work at the local VA health clinic, a gentleman and his wife sat next to me. He noticed that I was reading the Bible on my smartphone and soon, the three of us were having a conversation about faith and church. For about ten minutes, we were able have an uninterrupted conversation that seemed more of an affirmation to me than any great revelation. All it takes is to think back just twenty years ago to become aware that some things that are happening in our churches and some of the viewpoints held by “Christians” are not in line with biblical doctrines.

The Bible not regarded as the absolute authority

The couple I was talking with were in their mid nineties and the first things we discussed was the role of the Bible. Both the man and his wife were lamenting how far our society has moved in their lifetime. The couple shared how they were now in the process of trying to find a new church home because they no longer felt that God was welcomed in the church where they had been members for the last thirty years. The lady even said that their pastor no longer exclusively teaches Bible on Sunday morning, but will use contemporary writings, poetry, and short stories to make his points. Immediately, I thought of what the apostle Paul told Timothy: All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works (II Timothy 3:16-17). Paul also wrote to the early Christians and reminding them, For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope (Romans 15:4). Even in his day, Paul was having to encourage the early Christians to study the Old Testament. He understood that the Old Testament is the foundation on which the New Testament stands. Paul also gave a warning for the early Christians to stay true to what the apostles had taught:  But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed (Galatians 1:8).

It is essential that any sermon or message have at its core a biblical foundation. It is the Bible that gives the church authority and it is the Bible that defines the purpose of the church. While the Bible – the Word of God – can live outside the church and is not dependent on the church, the church cannot live and function as the church of God if it is not on a biblical foundation. When the Bible is supplanted by humanist philosophies and is taught from behind the pulpit, it does not bring glory to God. Jesus told the crowd around Him, No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Luke 16:13). This is especially true for the church. It cannot proclaim that it has the moral authority from the Lord when it is teaching philosophies of the flesh. It is for this cause alone that many of our churches in America are failing. They no longer stand firm on the Bible and have adopted worldly teachings and philosophies to grow their membership.

The Bible is what we are to use as our measuring stick. Not only are we to weigh ourselves according to the scriptures, we are to weigh what is preached to us and what is done around us. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). It cuts through the sin and corruption of the flesh; the apostle Peter wrote, Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you (I Peter 1:23-25). Our very salvation depends upon the Word of God! In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not (John 1:1-5).

Within the book of Revelation, I do honestly believe that this is what happened to the church at Laodicea: And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked (Revelation 3:14-17). In my mind’s eye, this is the church that appeals to a large following – they have every kind of outreach ministry under the sun, they have hundreds attend their services, they have a great contemporary music program, never financially struggle, and with all that, spiritually they are naked. Rather than take firm and biblical stands on doctrine, sin, and social issues, they reach out with a feel-good sermon that appeals to the vanity of human emotions. Jeremiah wrote, The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9) We can be deceived by our own emotions – which is why God has made salvation independent of our emotions.

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