Living the Christian Life

It is hard!.....and it is easy. It is hard to live the Christian life in some ways, because the standard is so high that we must watch constantly for a misstep. But it is easy in that when we do it right, things go better for us. But the answers to how to live it are given clearly in the New Testament. The teachings of Jesus in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John give us a lot of insight into how to make our character what it should be. And the letters, starting with the book of Romans and going through Jude, give us much help in knowing what we are to be.

Picking one of the letters for a closer look, let us consider Ephesians. The first 3 chapters tell us a lot about what God has done for us. For example, Eph. 2:4 begins, "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus...."

Beginning in chapter 4 and on through the end of the book in chapter 6, he tells us how we can be better people. Note 4:1, "..walk worthy of the calling with which you were called..."

4:22 "..put off , concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind..."

4:28 "Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands..."

4:29 "Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth...."

4:32 "And be kind to one another..."

5:15 "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time..."

6:10 "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might."

If you read the whole book of Ephesians, one must be impressed with what God has done for us, and what we should do to live the Christian life. Thanks for reading!

The Masses

The masses, the crowds of Jews, loved Jesus.....for awhile. We see in Mark 1 and 2 that Jesus was pressed on every side by the people. He healed a leper, told him not to tell anyone; he told anyway, and Jesus drew such a crowd that he could not go into the city safely. He went into a house in Capernaum and drew such a crowd that the guys carrying the paralytic to be healed had to let him down through the roof to get to Jesus. He went down to the sea to preach; the crowds were so great that He had to get onto a small boat and preach from there.

Later, in Matthew 21, we read that when it was time for Jesus to enter Jerusalem, He sent disciples into a village to get a donkey and a colt (young male) of the donkey. The disciples said, "What if the man won't give them to us." He said, " 'Say, "The Lord needs them." ' " They did that and Jesus rode into Jerusalem (prophesied in Zecharia 9:9) with the people chanting and singing and laying down their clothes and palm branches. They were calling out, "Hosanna ('Save we pray')to the son of David" and "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord," a common Jewish phrase from Psalm 118:26. These expressions of appreciation on this day were often used by the Jews to chant and sing when they went up to worship in Jerusalem.

But as much as the people loved Jesus at this time, they turned against him in a later time. It wasn't long before these same crowds would shout out, "Crucify Him, crucify Him." And almost suddenly Jesus found himself alone. He had been deserted by everyone, even His best supporters. But He knew this was coming, that He would have to do this for evil men. And He did it once for all time. He is our savior; let us worship Him....and remember Him.....and love Him and serve Him! Thanks for reading; see you next week!

Jesus Prayed

It is interesting that Jesus prayed often even though He was God Himself. He found it helpful and important to spend time in prayer with the Father.

Note Mark 1:35, where Jesus had been busy the night before healing and casting out demons: "Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed." This was a common practice for Jesus.

In Matthew 6, Jesus gave His disciples for all time the Lord's Prayer, teaching us some good things to pray for. Then in John 17 we have a prayer of Jesus shortly before His death. "Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: 'Father, the hour has come...' "

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was with the Apostles, took with Him Peter, James and John and went off to pray. He separated Himself completely and said to God, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." In good and hard times, Jesus made it a point to pray. These are just a few examples; there are lots more.

Let us follow this great example of our Lord. He kept the relationship strong with the Father in prayer; we can do that. He found strength in times of stress; so can we. He didn't mind asking for deliverance in time of need; that can be us. And He prayed for His friends to be OK. "Ask and you shall receive...."

Thanks for reading. Have a great week!

Resisting Temptation

Resisting temptation is a challenge for every single person. Everyone is tempted; and everyone gives into temptation from time to time. James 1:13 tells us "...each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full grown, brings forth death." But we have much comfort in the Bible regarding how to deal with the temptation. Notice 1Corinthians 10:13: "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."

Jesus was able to deal with temptation and difficulty by going to the Father in prayer. He taught His disciples in Matthew 6 the Lord's Prayer, saying "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." And in the garden of Gethsemane, just before His death, He prayed fervently and encouraged His followers to "watch and pray." They didn't do it; they slept, but that is beside the point. Paul taught the Philippians, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." We can take that same attitude in our lives, particularly in resisting temptation.

And finally, we can view temptation as a challenge. James 1:12 says, "Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him." We can overcome.....with God's help! Thanks for reading; see you next week.

Repent and Live

Along the lines of the last article, the Bible makes a strong point of the need to Repent. Repentance is simply changing. It isn't just confessing that we've done wrong; it is a commitment of heart to being a different person, to not repeating the wrongdoing. Throughout the Bible, OT and NT, we find the teaching of the need to repent, to turn away from the evil of the world and back to God. One of the beauties of the Bible is that it shows that God has always been willing to give man a second (and more) chance, a chance to turn and come back. God always provided a way, a leader, a miracle, an opportunity for man to see that He is the Way, that He is for us, that His way triumphs. In the OT He sent prophets, when things got really bad, to lead the people back to Him. The OT is full of teaching on this principle, but an example of the prophetic teaching is to look at Hosea, like 4:6, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you...." And 5:4, "They do not direct their deeds toward turning to their God, for the spirit of harlotry is in their midst, and they do not know the Lord." And talking about the Jews, He said in 9:17, "My God will cast them away, because they did not obey Him; and they shall be wanderers among the nations." This is still true today about the Jewish Nation. Yes, Israel still exists, but no more like it did; and never again like it was. Then there is Malachi, the prophet. Note 3:6, "For I am the Lord. I do not change." And 4:5-6, "Behold, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse." This is apparently speaking of the sending of John the Baptist and Jesus to follow. All through the Bible history, God continued to do for His people and call for repentance. This was a major message of Jesus. Both John and Jesus taught "Repent, for the Kingdom is at hand." And following Jesus, the Apostles were given to carry on the teaching. The Apostle Paul taught in Acts 17:30, as he was speaking to the "wise" people in Athens, "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent." And Peter was asked by some Jews in Acts 2:37 what they needed to do. He answered, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins..." God has always called for repentance.....and He has always provided a way for us to come back. He loves us, so much that He gave His only begotten Son. Such love! Thanks for reading. See you next week.

Welcome Home

Thomas Wolfe said "You can't go home again." And in the sense that he meant it, that is true. Going back to your hometown after awhile, to old friends and old places just isn't the same. But home is always special in the sense of our parents; they are always welcoming. When everyone else fails us, our father and mother always want us to feel welcomed. (Occasionally, a parent is not a good parent and does not follow the general rule stated here.) God is like the perfect parent. He is our Father. And He makes sure that we know that we are always welcome back home; no matter what we've done, what has happened, no matter what. Ezekiel 18 tells us this, as a message from the Father: 18:21+, "...if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; because of the righteousness which he has done, he shall live." He also says that the converse if true; if a righteous man turns to a life of sin and stays there, he will not live (eternally). Then in verse 25, He says, "Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not fair.' Hear now, O house of Israel, is it not My way which is fair, and your ways which are not fair?" This is very interesting information direct from God. You might want to read all of the end of Ezekiel 18. In Luke 15, we are given much the same teaching. This whole chapter denotes the importance of one sinner repenting, how there is great rejoicing in heaven. A man has 100 sheep, but loses one, when the one is found there is great joy. And the prodigal son goes off and squanders everything, becomes as low as a pig, then goes home with no expectation but to be a servant. Instead of arriving in shame (which is what he deserved), he comes in to a hero's welcome. That is how glad our Father is to see one person straighten out his life.......even if a total mess has been made of it. What a great Father we have! Welcome home! Have a great week.

Sabbath

There is a lot of confusion regarding the use of the term "Sabbath" in today's world; and I want to begin by saying that I don't have all of the answers on this. Here is what I see in the Bible. The Sabbath was an old testament concept that was given to the Jews as a part of the Law of Moses. The Sabbath was the seventh day of the week, Saturday. We see this referenced in many Old Testament places as a part of the Law of Moses, given to the "Sons of Israel" as a part of their Law. Note Exodus 31 beginning in verse 12: "And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Speak also to the children of Israel, saying, 'Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.. You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death...' ' " Later in this passage, He says, "It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever." It would seem clear that He is speaking specifically to the "children of Israel" which is the Jewish people, establishing here the covenant between God and the Jews. It should be noted that the keeping the Sabbath was the fourth commandment in the 10 commandments given to Moses to be given to the children of Israel as a part of the Jewish Law. The Jewish Law was done away by the coming of Jesus, the new law beginning in Acts chapter 2; this is called "Faith" in many places in the New Testament, referring to faith in Jesus, note Galatians 3:23-29. Many of the 10 commandments were carried over into the Law of Christ, but only by reference in the New Testament. The Sabbath is not carried over into the worship and service of the church of the New Testament. We do see the New Testament church worshipping on Sunday, note Acts 20:7 and 1Corinthians 16:2. In summary, it seems clear by reading the New Testament that we are not under the Law of Moses and that "Sabbath" was a part of the Jewish Law. The question in my mind is what the Lord intended for us in today's world. When He created the heavens and the earth in Genesis 1, He rested on the seventh day. He then told the children of Israel to keep the seventh day (Sabbath) holy. He didn't specifically say for His people under Christ to rest on the seventh day. But with the precedent of the Old Testament emphasis of resting on the seventh day, one might wonder if He wants His people today to rest one day of the week. Give that some thought and I will see you next week. Thanks for reading.