A Not So 'PC' Christmas

"For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!  SEASON'S GREETINGS!  HOLIDAY WISHES!  You've heard it all before, beloved, and if anything it becomes more pronounced with each passing year.  Those 'PC' blues!  Trying our best not to offend or put anyone off because of their religious beliefs or lack thereof.  As a result, Christmas has become a sterile, surface-only, secular celebration.

Would you like to really enjoy this year a not so 'PC' Christmas?  Would you like to get back on track and genuinely celebrate CHRISTmas?  If you would, then all you need to do is to reflect with me on the prophetic words of Isaiah spoken hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.  Note first here the manner of His coming.  The promise that "a child will be born to us" emphasizes His incarnation and reminds us that God has given to us in Him the Son of Man.  He laughs with us, cries with us, hurts with us, but most of all has died for us as He has taken our sins upon Himself.

But Isaiah also declared that "a son will be given to us."  This promise emphasizes His divinity as surely as the word "born" emphasizes His humanity.  Thus, the Son of God became the Son of Man by becoming "Immanuel" - God with us!

The prophet then went on to say that "the government shall rest upon His shoulders."  Hear the word "government" and instantly an institution comes to mind.  The Hebrew word here however actually means "a governing" and refers not to a national governmental structure but rather to His Lordship over the lives of men.  Isaiah was promising to us that with His coming we would receive our own King of Kings.  Every detail of our individual lives lies in His hands.

And what of the specific ministry of His coming?  Isaiah told us that He would be called "Wonderful Counselor."  He is the One to whom we can turn for direction for life's living.  This Christmas child would have all the answers for all the questions that pluck at the strings of our hearts.  He would be able to show us the direction in which our lives should go.

The prophet said also of Him that He will be "Mighty God."  The Hebrew word here means "strong" in the sense of the One who gains the ultimate victory.  So as the Wonderful Counselor He gives us the direction we are to go, as the Mighty God He gives us the power to go in that direction.

But Jesus is also to us the "Eternal Father."  In that role He provides us with assurance about life's living.  His kingdom within us is an unending one, so there is never a need for us to fear for our future.  The Christmas child makes possible for us an eternal relationship with the Father.

Finally, He comes to us as "Prince of Peace."  Because of Him we have first of all peace with God.  And then we also are enabled to be at peace with ourselves.  And when we are at peace with God and with ourselves, we should always be at peace with our circumstances no matter what they might be.

There you have it, beloved, the makings of a genuine not so 'PC' Christmas!  It is after all the real Christmas message and it's about time we took it back from the Grinch that is stealing it from us.  Merry CHRISTmas to each and every one of you!

Ron      

 

Yesterday I Met Santa Claus

"But these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name" (John 20:31)

Yesterday I met Santa Claus, beloved.  It's true!  I was walking down the hallway at church prior to the very special and inspiring morning worship service.  I ducked into one of the classrooms and there he sat chilling out: Santa Claus!  Or rather one of our fine young men dressed up in an enormous, pillow-stuffed Santa suit complete with snow-white wig and snowy beard with rimless glasses.  That he took me by surprise is an understatement!

You see, yesterday morning we were all privileged to be led in worship by our young people as they presented their annual Christmas play, this one appropriately entitled: "That's What Christmas Is All About" and written by one of our fine young college-and-career men.  Fantastic!  As the play pointed out so well to all of those present, including the visiting parents and family members and friends who joined our regular members, we often miss the message concerning what Christmas is really all about.  How unique that Santa should be present in our service of worship, not only to share in it but to try to explain that he is not the focal point of Christmas.  By the way, one look at our Santa doing his best to stay in his enormous pillow-packed trousers as he made his way down the aisle and your day would have been made just by the sight.

At the end of this precious dramatic presentation I had the distinct privilege of stepping "on stage" to interact with the characters and to share with them and all others in attendance what God says that Christmas is really all about.  I chose to focus upon the name "Immanuel" or God with us.  That God would choose to come to us, beloved, and out of His limitless love and grace to die for us so that as we put our trust in Jesus Christ we will have Him with us is truly what Christmas is all about.  Lose that truth and you lose Christmas, at least in any way that really matters.

So yesterday I met Santa Claus...at church!  And the memory of that moment and of that entire gospel presentation will always be special to me.  But far more important for me, and for each of you as well, is that one day long ago I met the babe of Bethlehem who became instantly my Savior and Lord.  That meeting transformed my life just as it can transform yours if for whatever reason you do not yet know Him personally.  Anyone can meet Santa, beloved.  I am living proof of that.  But to meet the Christ of Christmas, now that is what life is all about!  Want to meet Him?  I'd love to introduce Him to you.

Ron    

Going Back for My Teeth

"This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever" (John 6:58)

It was not my finest moment to be sure!  I knew that something was wrong when as I backed slowly down the driveway my tongue informed me that something was missing.  My teeth...I had forgotten my partial.  Quickly I stopped the car there in the driveway and ran back into the house to retrieve a very necessary item in order to face my day.  How embarrassing would that have been!  Surely I would have realized my mistake later as soon as I bit into a sausage biscuit.

I am convinced, believe it or not, that there is a tremendous spiritual lesson to be learned in this seemingly trivial experience of going back for my teeth.  You see, beloved, many professing Christians today treat God's Word as if it is something that is light and airy, an addendum to life, much like sprinkles on top of ice cream or flavoring on your favorite meat or vegetable or even, dare I use the analogy, "pixie dust" showered over us that is supposed to make us healthy and wealthy and satisfy every desire of our hearts.  We go to church and we allow the message to fall lightly upon us and then we leave the place of worship, glistening with a dusting of spiritual truth.  Maybe it will sink in and "flavor" us and maybe it won't.

I was fascinated to discover that Jesus spoke quite frankly about "eating" His body and His blood, of actually ingesting Him into our lives.  In fact, in the verse displayed above the word "eats" is from the Greek verb trogo which means literally "wear away" by crunching and grinding with the teeth.  Other forms of this Greek word, trogalia and trokta, refer to fruit and nuts that are used as dessert.  You get it...things that have to be chewed thoroughly and ingested.

If you are going to be a Christian, then, and I mean a serious follower of Jesus Christ, you must have your spiritual "teeth" with you at all times.  You've got to be able to "chew on" the truths of Scripture, to digest them thoroughly, to apply them vigorously to every situation that you face in life.  In other words, they have to become a part of you if you are going to "eat the bread" that will cause you to live forever.  Jesus is not an ice cream topping, beloved!  He is the "main course" and He must become your life if you are ever to realize God's great plan and purpose for your existence.  Go ahead!  Go back for your teeth!

Ron    

Putting the 'S' Back in 'Sacrifice'

"However, the king said to Araunah, 'No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price, for I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God which cost me nothing'" (2 Samuel 24:24)

Have you ever thought seriously about the "sacrifice" of heartfelt worship, beloved?  Did you know that what your offering of worship "costs" you is very important to God?  David is a classic and glorious example of this truth in the life of every true worshiper.  But take a moment with me to consider just how important the sacrifice of your worship is to God.  The children of Israel had fallen into a dangerous trap in offering their sacrifices unto the Lord and the problem lay as much with the Levitical priesthood as with the people themselves:

"You also say, 'My how tiresome it is!'  And you disdainfully sniff at it," says the Lord of hosts, "and you bring what was taken by robbery and what is lame or sick; so you bring the offering!  Should I receive that from your hand?" (Malachi 1:13)

Israel had lost all sense of the greatness of God, beloved, as evidenced by the fact that worship was to them completely ceremonial or "surface."  They "sniffed" at each act of worship and "yawned" their way through them.  If they had worn wrist watches in those days, I am sure they would have been checking them to see when the service was going to end!  No wonder, then, that God in righteous indignation declared:

"'Oh, that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar!  I am not pleased with you,' says the Lord of hosts" (Malachi 1:10)

Contrast such divine outrage with how pleased He was with His servant David.  When offered by Araunah the Jebusite not only land for the altar but the oxen for sacrifice and the threshing sledges and yokes for wood for the fire and all of that free of charge, David wisely put the 's' back in 'sacrifice' when he refused and declared that any act of worship which costs the worshiper nothing also means just that to God...nothing.

When we enter into an act of worship today, beloved, and our thoughts are anywhere but on that worship, we are "sniffing" at the act itself and showing that we consider it to be "tiresome."  When we hear the Word of God preached and are thinking instead about what we are going to do when "church" is over, we are offering to God worship that costs us nothing.  When we sing the all too familiar words of praise in a rote manner while thinking of other things, we are offering to God an act of worship that is meaningless to Him.

Oh, that we would learn how today to put the 's' back in 'sacrifice', that worship would be totally about Him and not at all about us or our busy lives.  Oh, that we would think of what we bring before the Lord as seriously as David did the altar that he built on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, that site which, by the way, became the site of the temple.  For God to bless us with His presence in worship, beloved, that worship must be real.  It must cost us something.  Specifically, it must cost us the rule of our lives.  It must involve us yielding personally and continually to the control of the Spirit of God.  Only then will we know that we have truly put the 's' back in 'sacrifice.' Only then will God be pleased with our worship.

Ron 

Where Are the Nine?

"And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks; and he was a Samaritan.  And Jesus answering said, 'Were there not ten cleansed?  But where are the nine?'" (Luke 17:15-17)

Genuine "thankfulness" seems to have become a rare commodity indeed, beloved!  Even in Jesus' day when He graciously healed ten men of the dreaded disease of leprosy, only one of them showed true gratitude of heart and returned to thank Him after showing himself to the priest according to the dictates of the Mosaic Law.  And when he returned and fell on his face in thanksgiving before Him, Jesus rightly posed the question that should be on our hearts today: "Where are the nine?"

This sad but true incident in the life of Jesus reveals to us a number of key truths concerning genuine thankfulness today.  The first is that a thankful heart will always recognize that help has come from outside to one who is essentially unworthy.  No one in Hebrew society was considered more of an outcast than a "leper."  No one afflicted with this horrible and terminal disease was allowed within the walls of a city, much less in any public building.  The penalty was often death.  Likewise truly grateful hearts today will recognize and freely acknowledge that, as Paul told the Ephesians about their life before Christ: "You were dead in your trespasses and sins" and that "by grace you have been saved through faith" (2:1, 8).  Before God you and I are all equally unworthy of a second look from God and completely, like those ten lepers, unable to improve our standing.

But a second wonderful truth that should be obvious in this account, beloved, is that genuine worship can only come from genuine gratitude.  Much of what is called "worship" today and what men mistake for worship is actually only structured religious ceremony.  No matter how it is contrived or carried out, whether it is "traditional" or "contemporary"/"liturgical" or "charismatic" - it matters not - unless it is prompted by genuine and heartfelt gratitude for God's grace, it is shallow and empty and means nothing at all to God. The cry of "Thanks be to God!" from a single heart touched by His grace and transformed by His power is more of "worship" than the loftiest anthem or the grandest sermon ever delivered.

Finally, a truth that should rivet our attention upon the nature of true redemption is that only the one who is truly grateful gives evidence of having been truly converted.  In Jesus' closing words to this one of ten who returned to fall on his face and give thanks, we find His promise that "your faith has made you well" (v. 19).  But wait a moment!  Were not the ungrateful nine just as healed of leprosy as was this one who returned?  What then did Jesus mean?  Here the word for being made "well" or "whole" means literally "saved you."  Jesus said to the one who came back: "Your faith has saved you."  That one man, then, not only went home that day free from the curse of leprosy, beloved, but free from the eternal curse of sin and its condemnation as well.

So to pose Jesus' question once more: "Where are the nine?"  Are you one of them?  Am I?  Not if we truly understand that in and of ourselves we are not worthy of what Jesus did for us in love on the cross.  And not if we understand that only hearts that are grateful for what He did for us can in turn give Him the worship that He so richly deserves.  And not if we understand, above all else, that only a truly grateful heart will show to our world what a truly saved heart and transformed life is like.

So where are the nine at this Thanksgiving season?  Let's hope that all are on their way back to fall again at His feet and to thank Him for His glorious grace!

Ron      

 

A New Wind Blowing?

"Every man's way is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the hearts" (Proverbs 21:2)

Have you heard the latest "buzzword" bouncing around the mainstream media, beloved, and destined to become more familiar to us all in days ahead?  That word is "inclusive."  By media definition, to be "inclusive" means that we accept everyone's standards and ideals as their own and that, consequently, there are no more set standards for what is right and wrong.  The recent votes on legalizing marijuana and gay marriages and euthanasia surely made that point clear!

Every person doing what is right in his own eyes and expecting no accountability for his choices is certainly nothing new.  In fact, the people of earth have all been through this cycle before and as far back as the generation in which Noah lived.

"Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (Genesis 6:5)

Do you have any idea what society in Noah's day was plagued with, beloved?  It was clearly a sense of the need for "inclusiveness"!  Everybody is free to do what he wants to do and that is his human right.  And what was the result?  God judged sinful man for his inclusive attitude and a world-wide flood wiped out everything and everyone except Noah and his family.

So here we are in 2012 being told that we basically as conservatives lost this presidential election because we have not learned how to be "inclusive" enough.  In other words, live and let live.  Toss out the standards of right and wrong.  To your own self be true.  What the other guy does is none of your business.  Learn to look the other way.

Unfortunately for those who hold to such a misguided philosophy of living, no one has bothered to ask God what He thinks of it.  Did you notice what the writer of Proverbs here had to say?  He said that "the Lord weighs the hearts."  Do you know what that means?  It means that when it comes to right and wrong, when it comes to every man setting his own standard for how he lives his life, God is not "inclusive" at all!

So maybe we shouldn't say that there is a "new wind" blowing across this land, but perhaps a "new old wind."  It's been thought before.  It's been planned before.  And it's been done before.  And the result has always and will always be the same.  God weighs the hearts of those who practice such things.  Pray for America, beloved.  I don't think she is going to like where her "new wind" is going to take her.

Ron       

Is Grace Too Easy?

"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9)

At a recent gathering of our association of churches for its annual meeting, I had the privilege of hearing the executive director of Operation Inasmuch speak on the issue of the grace of God and how it transforms the lives of whomever it touches.  As I sat in that church sanctuary as part of the worshiping congregation, I was struck by the question that you see printed above.  Is grace too easy?  Now please understand that by "easy" I do not mean grace itself for the grace of God is what it is.  What I meany by that question is simply: "Is the response of many to God's grace often too easy?"  Consider with me for a moment several reasons why people choose to make a "profession of faith" and to claim to put their trust in Jesus Christ.

First of all, many turn easily to the grace of God because they feel it is expected of them.  I was raised in a Christian home by godly parents.  I heard and learned the name of Jesus almost as soon as I learned to talk.  Not a day passed in our home where there was not a focus upon God's love and His mercy to us in what Jesus did on the cross.  As soon as they felt that I could understand the consequences, my loving parents began to share with me the reality of the gospel - that God loved me so much that Jesus went to the cross to pay the price for my sins.  As a result of their faithful witness and at the prompting of the Holy Spirit within my heart, at the age of 7 I made a conscious choice during Vacation Bible School to ask Jesus to come into my heart and to save me from my sins.  For me it was then and is today a very real and eternal choice.  Unfortunately, that is not always true for everyone.  Sometimes people will make a public profession of faith because they feel that it is expected of them to do so, that to not do so is somehow to fail in their personal responsibility somewhere.

Secondly, some people will profess their faith in Christ because they feel it will make someone happy.  Sometimes during revival services teenagers will respond to the invitation in a group, holding each others' hands and kneeling at the front in prayer.  At such times it is possible for such young people to "go along with the crowd" because they want their friends to be happy with them.  As a pastor I have personally encountered such decisions more than one time in sharing the gospel.  I recall another occasion when some members of one Sunday school class walked the aisle together to honor the memory of a fellow member who had just passed on.  A number of them were even baptized as a result.

Thirdly, some people will profess their faith in Christ today because they crave the security of feeling like they belong.  Church membership should be and is usually a very "bonding" relationship, beloved, and those who feel isolated in society are often drawn to close-knit church fellowships because it is what they crave.

As we have noted already, then, grace is not too easy.  But very often our response to grace may be.  Scripture gives us clearly only one reason why we should ever respond to the grace of God in Jesus Christ.  In the verses leading up to the ones upon which we are focused here, the Apostle Paul made the astounding statement that "you were dead in your trespasses and sins" (2:1).  The only reason that any one of us should respond to the grace of God in Jesus Christ is that we realize that we are sinners and that only the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross can save us.  What is the reason for your response to God's grace, beloved?

Ron  

What Ever Happened to Truth?

"Sanctify them in the truth; Your Word is truth" (John 17:17)

What ever happened to truth?  Now that is a question that has been on my mind a lot lately, beloved, and one that I sincerely believe has been on the minds of many as well!  If ever this world has seen a time when"truth" is under attack - genuine all-out assault - then I believe that this is that time.  Consider by way of example just what has come under unbelievable attack in this very generation.  First of all, the truth of the family as the basis of society is under assault.  In answer to a question from the Pharisees concerning the issue of divorce, Jesus responded:

4 And He answered and said, "Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh.  What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate" (Matthew 19:4-6)

One man, one woman, joined together by God in marriage, and one flesh for life.  That is truth, beloved, God's truth.  Yet it is being set aside casually today as if God had never spoken it at all!  Nor is it being dismissed only be certain elements of society from whom we have come to expect such attitudes.  It is being set aside officially and publicly by the highest levels of government.  We have lived to see the day when the truth established by the Creator has been declared by the created to be irrelevant and non-binding anymore.  Is that not, however, what the Apostle Paul warned would happen at the hands of unrighteous men?

25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever.  Amen (Romans 1:25)

When confronted in any venue with the words of Scripture, beloved, those who are so nonchalantly dismissive of divine truth respond with the argument that the Bible is archaic, that it is out of date, that it was written by men.  When that happens, we discover yet another front for the current assault, the truth of God Himself as the sole authority for man's living.  The thinking of such people is clearly: "If we can just invalidate the Word of God, we can rid ourselves of God Himself."  The desire in every such heart is for man to become the standard-setter, the central point around which all of life revolves, the end in view as he seeks his own good and his own glory.

But Jesus Christ Himself made the powerful and irrefutable statement in His prayer here that God's Word is truth!  It was God's truth, it is now God's truth, and it will always be God's truth.  It can be ignored, avoided, even disobeyed, but it cannot be destroyed.  It is the one standard by which God judges all of mankind and it will be the same truth that every man will face when finally he stands before his Creator in eternity.

What ever happened to truth?  I am thrilled to assure you, beloved, that nothing at all has happened to truth.  It is still here, it is still operative, it is still effective, it is still all-powerful, it is still transformational, and it is still centered solely upon the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Truly, let not your hearts be troubled nor let them be afraid!  Jesus Christ is Lord and the day for the "knee-bowing, tongue-confessing, world-encompassing" acknowledgment of that fact is coming on like a freight train.  Maranatha!

Ron    

Political or Spiritual?

"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16)

This particular post has been gnawing at me for quite some time, beloved, and only last night did it actually begin to take shape and become something that I truly believe has come from the Spirit of God.  You see, like so many other Americans who are Christians I have been closely following this current presidential campaign - watching all the political commercials (true and false), listening to the myriad of "sound bytes" that assault our ears each and every day, thinking about how much this country that I love could change disastrously if the wrong man wins this election.  But then again, who hasn't, right?

Last night as I was getting ready for bed and was thinking back over the day's political bombshells that burst all around us, I began to realize that my focus as a Christian should not be primarily political but rather spiritual.  And the words of the Apostle Paul to the saints in the region of Galatia came to mind:

Walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh!

My greatest responsibility before God, beloved, is not to vote the right way, but to live the right way!  And as I thought further about these words of Paul, I realized that if I will as a Christian but give myself wholly to the right walk, then I will not have to worry about the right vote.  Though no one with any sense of perception can deny that this world is in a mess, that reality does not for a single moment alter the one and only solution that the Spirit of God within each one of us would have us to see.  Consider with me for a moment, then, the command of God here in Paul's words: "walk by the Spirit."

The word here translated "walk" actually means order one's behavior or conduct oneself in a certain manner.  The noun form in the New Testament refers commonly to a person's lifestyle, that which is consistently the same, that which we show to those who are all around us. To "walk by the Spirit," then, is to live your life consistently under the direct control of the Spirit of God.  It is to demonstrate a life that is given over completely to what God wants and one that seeks every moment of every day to be pleasing to God even at the cost of what others may say or do.  It is to see life through God's eyes, to seek God's glory in every decision, every choice that we make.  And that, beloved, includes how we carry out our God-given privilege of electing public officials.  We carry out that responsibility according to God's standard and we do so for God's glory and not for our own political advantage.

As we make the decision to so live, what will be the outcome?  Consider the remainder of Paul's words: "you will not carry out the desire of the flesh."  When we yield to the control of God's Spirit, beloved, we walk the path that God has for us and that of necessity means that we avoid what the selfish person inside us desires.  We live for God's purpose and God's glory and not for our own agenda.  Suddenly party planks and platforms take on a whole new perspective in our thinking.  We examine everything and everyone in light of how they line up with what God says is true and just and right.

So there you have it.  Should we be political or should we be spiritual?  I am persuaded that if we will but give ourselves completely to walking by the Spirit as Paul here commands, all that is political will fall into place.  And when our world begins to see us as Christians really living like we have always been intended to live, imagine what the Spirit of God will be able to do in this world of ours that has so desperately lost its way!

Ron  

How Sound Are Your Investments?

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroys, and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matthew 6:19-21)

Ask the average person what his "treasure" is, beloved, and get ready for some of the most unusual and eyebrow-raising responses imaginable!  We simply define "treasure" in as many different ways as there are people to whom you could put this question.  Even the government has weighed in recently, spending millions to tell us what our "treasure" ought to be.  Amazing!  Simply amazing!

What is so fascinating is that we have heard little or nothing concerning what God considers to be a wise and sound investment!  It is at this juncture, then, that we turn to Jesus and seek to find out what He has to say about where our "hearts" ought to be.  And when we do so, we find to our delight that there is no vagueness in His words, no "wiggle room" in His plan.

Jesus tells us as plainly and simply as He possibly can that we should not invest or "lay up treasures" here on earth as that upon which we build our sense of personal security.  Treasures that can be easily taken from us or which will not stand the test of time are simply not worth our time or energy.  So He advises us to avoid becoming "worldly-minded" in our approach to living in this present world.

What, then, is to be our wise investment?  Jesus tells us just as plainly and simply that we should invest in the kingdom of heaven!  Let our investments of time and energy and resources be deposited there for eternity's sake.  And to invest in the kingdom of heaven means nothing less, beloved, than investing in the lives of people.  Whether sharing the gospel with the lost around us or discipling new believers or seeking to meet the material needs of those without basic necessities, to make a "sound investment" in the kingdom of heaven is to invest in the lives of those for whom Jesus went to the cross and laid down His life.

Sunday, September 16, has been proclaimed as National Back to Church Sunday and I, for one, am going to promote it for all I am worth!  You see, it is through the visible church of the Lord Jesus Christ that we who are believers and members of His body can best make sound investments in the kingdom of heaven.  It is through the dedication of and use of our spiritual gifts that we can be sure that we are investing in eternity.

So I say to you in love, if you profess to be a follower of Jesus Christ but are not currently active in a local gospel-believing church, then please for the sake of the kingdom of heaven get back to church!  And if you are an active member of such a local assembly, then by all means find someone who is not active and invite them earnestly to get back to church!  

How sound are your investments at this moment?

Ron 

All Things Working Together for God

"Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31)

As I was recently preparing my sermon outline for an upcoming message on Romans 8:28, beloved, I inadvertently miss-keyed and typed the title that you see above instead of what the verse in question says about "all things working together for good."  Then it suddenly occurred to me that what might have been a typographical error was definitely not a doctrinal error.  God does indeed cause all things to work together for God!

One lesson that we seem to have great difficulty getting straight in our minds as Christians is the fact that all that God does is aimed ultimately at His own glory.  So important is His glory to Him, in fact, that to "fall short" of that glory is the direct consequence of our own sinfulness.

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23)

And because of the price that Jesus paid when He laid down His life on the cross for our sins, we find eternal assurance of our salvation in our personal relationship with Christ by faith.

"Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through which also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God" (Romans 5:1-2)

Not only do we exult in hope of the glory of God, beloved, but we live daily in pursuit of that glory visible through thought, word, and deed.

"In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ should be to the praise of His glory" (Ephesians 1:11-12)

And that glory which is so important to God is to be the highest priority of the visible church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

"Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever.  Amen" (Ephesians 3:20-21)

Without a doubt the one moment when God's glory will be most clearly and gloriously manifested will occur at that moment when all of creation past, present, and future shall proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord.

"Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:9-11)

Thus, beloved, as Scripture so vividly points out, all things do work together for God first and for our own spiritual good as well!  Whether then it be in an activity as ordinary and mundane as eating and drinking or in anything else in which we might happen to be engaged, our sole goal, our precious priority, our critical calling is to do it all for the glory of God.  That is life at its richest and the greatest height of personal fulfillment to which any of the redeemed may aspire!

Ron         

Learning to Listen

"Make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding" (Proverbs 2:2)

Picture this scene playing out, beloved, as I left the house this morning to run errands.  I had just said to my wife that I had to remind myself to take my meds before leaving.  I got into the car, backed down the driveway and into the street, and started on my merry way toward town.  I had only traveled about 100 feet, however, when I slammed on the brakes, put the car into reverse, and backed my way up the street and into the driveway.  To do what?  Take my meds!  When I went into the house my wife looked at me quizzically and I replied, "Forgot my pills."  She chuckled and said, "Apparently you don't even listen to yourself!"  (Pause for laughter at Ron's expense)

Have you ever had occasion to say to anyone in your life, especially your children, that "you never listen to me"?  I am quite sure that both my wife and I have said those words on many occasions.  And I'm equally sure that I gave my parents occasion to say them to me!  The truth is, beloved, that at times we all are guilty of failing to listen to someone in our life who is trying to speak wisdom into it.

Scripture here urges us to really listen to wisdom, specifically that wisdom which God introduces into our lives.  It is by such divine wisdom that we as Christians are to live, that truth by which we are to govern our lives and our relationships.  It is by such wisdom that we are to conduct business, educate our children, set our social interactions, and most certainly worship our Creator.  It is also, according to Scripture, the way in which we are to govern ourselves as a nation and it is sadly to our national detriment that the wisdom of God has been all but dismissed from such governing today.  All can see that we are headed in a downward spiral spiritually, morally, socially, economically and in every other way imaginable.  Even those who do not necessarily believe in God are noting such a trend in society.

So what is the key to recovery?  Is it to be yet another government program?  Choosing the right president to lead us?  Or do we just throw up our hands, tune out and then drop out?  None of the above!  What did the author of Proverbs 2 say that the answer is?  "Make your ear attentive to wisdom."  The road to recovery, then, begins with me...and with you...and with each one of us both individually and personally.  I must make God's wisdom and its implementation the priority of my life.  And you must do precisely the same.  There is no other road to recovery, beloved.  There is no other rescue.  This is one problem that raising taxes or the largest "bailout" in the world cannot resolve.  It is either the wisdom of God or it is a very unsavory destiny for us personally and as a nation.

May I remind you of something that Jesus said to those who followed Him about in His day?  In these words we find out just why God's wisdom is so vital to our survival and to our success as a people.

"You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life" (John 5:39-40)

The religious leaders of Jesus' day thought that they were above the need for God's wisdom. They thought that they were all already right with God and acceptable to Him in their own right.  They thought of themselves as God's people and so they had it made.  They searched the Scriptures religiously, and even paid lip-service to the Scriptures as a nation, but all to no avail.  They had failed to procure for themselves the wisdom of God!  And the wisdom of God, beloved, is found and fulfilled within the person of Jesus Christ.  If we would today "make our ears attentive" to God's wisdom, then we are going to have to do so as we come into a living relationship with Jesus Christ.  How tragic should one day any person stand before God and hear Him say, "You just wouldn't listen"!

Ron  

Politics or Praise?

"Praise the Lord!  Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty expanse.  Praise Him for His mighty deeds; praise Him according to His excellent greatness" (Psalm 150:1-2)

Now I will be the first to confess to you, beloved, that no one enjoys listening to conservative talk radio programs more than I do!  So much that goes on politically in this great nation is simply not covered by the mainstream media or, if it is covered, it is so biased and slanted that it is hardly worth one's attention.

But I have found recently that listening to such programs has a very decided effect on me physically.  Even if the person who is talking is in agreement with my own politically convictions, I find that my stomach begins to tighten into a knot and the muscles in my neck begin to tighten as well.  It is almost as if I can feel my blood pressure climbing!  Just the spoken description of what is happening governmentally within the U.S. definitely affects me even when I am not personally involved in the conversation.

Often when I find myself being affected in such a way, I will quickly punch the preset button for our local Christian radio station and immediately find myself flooded by a wave of praise and worship.  The effect is instantaneous and glorious!  I find my muscles loosening, my thoughts clearing, and my mind returning to the momentarily forgotten conviction that God is not only worthy of praise, but that He is sovereign over all the affairs of men.  That assurance both calms and blesses my spirit and returns my focus to the perspective and purpose that the Spirit of God has intended for each of us as Christians to maintain.  And with that renewed perspective and purpose comes forth naturally the praise that God deserves and even seeks from His children.

Does that mean, then, that I should forget about what is happening politically in this country that I love?  That I should adopt a passive "I shouldn't get involved" attitude toward the wrong that is forming all around us from those who want to take us away from our roots as a nation and turn us against the very God who made us?  Not at all!  What it does mean, though, is that I am to face that onslaught of wrong thinking and wrong actions with the unshakeable conviction that God reigns as the psalmist declared - "according to His excellent greatness."  Even as we take a clear stand for the truth of God, beloved, we ought to praise the God of all truth for His power and majesty and love for all mankind.  We have the victory already because we have the Victor!  Hallelujah!

Ron