Jesus was speaking in Matthew 12 about the Old Testament prophet Jonah, how Jonah had preached to the people of Nineveh and they had repented of their wrongdoing. Jesus was saying that the people of Nineveh would rise up in the time of judgment to judge this generation. Nineveh had repented but this generation would not. Then He said, "The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here."
This quote about the Queen of the South has reference to the queen of Sheba as discussed in 1Kings 10 and 2 Chronicles 9. The lesson there is that the queen had heard about the greatness of Solomon, the king of Israel, and had traveled many hundreds of miles by caravan to observe in person this amazing king. Here is a little of the description of the what the queen saw:
"And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers, and his entryway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her." Then she said, "..I did not believe the words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half was not told me."
We might stop here to note that we know little of the queen of Sheba. We aren't even sure just where Sheba was. All Scholars seem to agree that it was in Southern Arabia. We do know that this queen was exceptionally wealthy....and she had a great desire to witness the great king of Israel.
The point that Jesus was making was that if someone wanted so badly to witness the great king Solomon, to travel so far under hard circumstances, everyone should be willing to witness...and obey...a king far greater than Solomon; i.e. Jesus Himself. This is a lesson from which we can profit. Jesus wants us to be amazed at Him; to witness, to follow, obey, love, teach Him. He is the great king....and Him only. Let us be amazed at His greatness!
Thanks for reading. Have a great week.
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Saturday, September 6, 2014
How Does a Person Become a Christian?
Becoming a Christian is all about faith.......and for that matter being a Christian is all about faith. Hebrews 11 says that "without faith it is impossible to please God..." But there is much misunderstanding about faith and what that really means. Jesus pointed out that even the devil believes, has faith...knows that Jesus is the Son of God. But the Bible gives lots of teaching about the matter and what it really means to have faith in God, in Jesus, His Son. We can't cover all aspects of this subject in this short treatise, but we can do a little examination.
We could cite many examples of people who went through the conversion process. Let's look at the Ethiopian guy in Acts 8. He was traveling back from worshipping as a good Jew in Jerusalem, sitting on his chariot and reading the book of Isaiah. Philip, a preacher, comes to him at God's direction and teaches him about Jesus. At this point we have a man who becomes a believer, realizes that Jesus is the Son of God. "As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?" Philip baptized him and the man "went on his way rejoicing." This whole matter of conversion was a simple process, but one that brought great joy to this man.
In Acts 2 we see people who came to realize that they weren't Christians and needed to do something about it. They asked Peter in Acts 2:37. Peter's answer was "Repent and be baptized every one of you...." This simple instruction shows what Bible people did when they believed and wanted to be followers.
All through the Bible we see people in this same condition coming to Jesus. And we should all make sure that we do the same, follow the same process: Believe in the Lord Jesus as the Son of God, repent (change) of our past lives and commit to follow Him. We should be willing to state our beliefs to others, that we believe that Jesus is indeed the Son of God, and we should be baptized.
This is the Bible pattern, and it is a simple one. But many people today bring in other ideas and water all of this down. All we have to do is do what the Bible teaches; follow the many examples that we see in the New Testament.
And of course, we have to live it, to live for Him. But a great reward is waiting for us. Let's be there! Thanks for reading and have a great week!
We could cite many examples of people who went through the conversion process. Let's look at the Ethiopian guy in Acts 8. He was traveling back from worshipping as a good Jew in Jerusalem, sitting on his chariot and reading the book of Isaiah. Philip, a preacher, comes to him at God's direction and teaches him about Jesus. At this point we have a man who becomes a believer, realizes that Jesus is the Son of God. "As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?" Philip baptized him and the man "went on his way rejoicing." This whole matter of conversion was a simple process, but one that brought great joy to this man.
In Acts 2 we see people who came to realize that they weren't Christians and needed to do something about it. They asked Peter in Acts 2:37. Peter's answer was "Repent and be baptized every one of you...." This simple instruction shows what Bible people did when they believed and wanted to be followers.
All through the Bible we see people in this same condition coming to Jesus. And we should all make sure that we do the same, follow the same process: Believe in the Lord Jesus as the Son of God, repent (change) of our past lives and commit to follow Him. We should be willing to state our beliefs to others, that we believe that Jesus is indeed the Son of God, and we should be baptized.
This is the Bible pattern, and it is a simple one. But many people today bring in other ideas and water all of this down. All we have to do is do what the Bible teaches; follow the many examples that we see in the New Testament.
And of course, we have to live it, to live for Him. But a great reward is waiting for us. Let's be there! Thanks for reading and have a great week!
Monday, September 1, 2014
Save Our Nation
In terms of our nation, we as individuals have no power. Not one of us can turn the direction of our nation, our society, around. But who would disagree that there has been a loosening of morality in our society today. Our country is going through a period of tolerance, tolerance of everything, a legalization of everything. Where we once were considered a Christian nation and took pride in such, we see now that this just isn't so. We now are a nation of all religions, and most people feel that all are fine, all are acceptable to God, one is as good as another.
I should hasten to say here that this is a country of freedom....and certainly freedom of religion, as well it should be. But there was a time when the predominate religion in this country was Christianity. And those of us who understand that Christ died for us also understand that He said there was no other acceptable way to the Father.
But regardless of one's stance on the matter of a "Christian nation," it likely would be agreed by all readers that we are in a period of moral degradation. And it would seem agreeable to say that we as individuals don't have the personal power to change this direction of our society. We can vote, but most of us don't have political power beyond that.
But we need to recognize that God is always in charge. He has the power. And we should know that there has always been a remnant; a remnant to whom God listened. God cares about His people. And while we don't have the power, He does. Note this statement in 2Chronicles 7:14.
"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."
The point of all of this is that we need a healing. This country, this nation, needs a healing, needs a turn-around of major proportions. The answer is prayer. There are a lot of things that we cannot do, but we can pray. And God says that prayer will make a difference. We don't have the power, but He does......and He cares. Join with me and offer a prayer today for our country. Tell the Lord that we know He is in control of nations....and leaders....and powers. He can change the direction of our country....to His glory. We want things to change for the better so that He can be glorified.
Just as God said to Joshua, it can be so with us: "No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you."
Thank you for reading. Know that you are important.
I should hasten to say here that this is a country of freedom....and certainly freedom of religion, as well it should be. But there was a time when the predominate religion in this country was Christianity. And those of us who understand that Christ died for us also understand that He said there was no other acceptable way to the Father.
But regardless of one's stance on the matter of a "Christian nation," it likely would be agreed by all readers that we are in a period of moral degradation. And it would seem agreeable to say that we as individuals don't have the personal power to change this direction of our society. We can vote, but most of us don't have political power beyond that.
But we need to recognize that God is always in charge. He has the power. And we should know that there has always been a remnant; a remnant to whom God listened. God cares about His people. And while we don't have the power, He does. Note this statement in 2Chronicles 7:14.
"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."
The point of all of this is that we need a healing. This country, this nation, needs a healing, needs a turn-around of major proportions. The answer is prayer. There are a lot of things that we cannot do, but we can pray. And God says that prayer will make a difference. We don't have the power, but He does......and He cares. Join with me and offer a prayer today for our country. Tell the Lord that we know He is in control of nations....and leaders....and powers. He can change the direction of our country....to His glory. We want things to change for the better so that He can be glorified.
Just as God said to Joshua, it can be so with us: "No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you."
Thank you for reading. Know that you are important.
Sunday, August 24, 2014
Ethiopia
We have 2 of our church members in Ethiopia this week working with preachers from throughout Ethiopia. These are Bob Owen and Steve Patton. It is amazing how the gospel of Christ has been accepted in that country. It seems much more readily accepted and growing there than in many other countries of the world, perhaps even in the U.S. We were once a Christian nation, but more and more we are getting away from that. Unless that changes it will likely be the downfall of our nation--just my prediction. I digress.
The point of this lesson is that it was the command of Jesus to His disciples just before He left them that they were to spread the Word. Note this teaching at the very end of Matthew:
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been to given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Then in the first chapter of the book of Acts, just before Jesus ascends to heaven, He gives this statement to His apostles:
"...you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
At the beginning of Acts 8 we read that this spread of the gospel begins: On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria."
The book of Acts chronicles the growth of the church throughout the known world at that time. And speaking of Ethiopia, there is an interesting story at the end of chapter 8 of Acts that tells of a Jewish man who came up from Ethiopia and was converted to Christ. I will let you read that one on your own if you wish, but it is an interesting read of a conversion.
The charge of Jesus was made primarily to His apostles. But we know that He expected this effort to continue long after the apostles were dead and gone. It is up to us now to see that the Word is spread throughout the world. We can do this at home and abroad.
Let's do our part. Thanks for reading and have a great week!
The point of this lesson is that it was the command of Jesus to His disciples just before He left them that they were to spread the Word. Note this teaching at the very end of Matthew:
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been to given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Then in the first chapter of the book of Acts, just before Jesus ascends to heaven, He gives this statement to His apostles:
"...you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
At the beginning of Acts 8 we read that this spread of the gospel begins: On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria."
The book of Acts chronicles the growth of the church throughout the known world at that time. And speaking of Ethiopia, there is an interesting story at the end of chapter 8 of Acts that tells of a Jewish man who came up from Ethiopia and was converted to Christ. I will let you read that one on your own if you wish, but it is an interesting read of a conversion.
The charge of Jesus was made primarily to His apostles. But we know that He expected this effort to continue long after the apostles were dead and gone. It is up to us now to see that the Word is spread throughout the world. We can do this at home and abroad.
Let's do our part. Thanks for reading and have a great week!
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Maturity
The Bible talks a lot about the importance of God's people being mature. This was the subject of the apostle Paul's comments in Hebrews 5 & 6. The following are excerpts from that:
"We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil."
The teaching here is clear: We need to first get the learning of the basics, then move on to matters of Righteousness. That is where the real meat of the Word lies. Continuing:
"Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment."
In this latter passage, Paul gives some examples of what he would consider elementary. But the only detailed matter of maturity given here is "righteousness." He is looking for us to be righteous people. But note that we first should give some consideration, show some understanding of the basics, the basic beliefs of Christianity. Having that, we are to move on to a higher calling, a calling to seek perfection, holiness, as God is Holy. I am certainly not saying that we can be perfect, that we can reach the level of holiness that our Lord has; but this is to be our goal.
Let us all think about maturity.....and the need to seek that. May God bless you this week!
"We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil."
The teaching here is clear: We need to first get the learning of the basics, then move on to matters of Righteousness. That is where the real meat of the Word lies. Continuing:
"Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment."
In this latter passage, Paul gives some examples of what he would consider elementary. But the only detailed matter of maturity given here is "righteousness." He is looking for us to be righteous people. But note that we first should give some consideration, show some understanding of the basics, the basic beliefs of Christianity. Having that, we are to move on to a higher calling, a calling to seek perfection, holiness, as God is Holy. I am certainly not saying that we can be perfect, that we can reach the level of holiness that our Lord has; but this is to be our goal.
Let us all think about maturity.....and the need to seek that. May God bless you this week!
Saturday, August 9, 2014
"It is Finished"
The last words of Jesus, "It is finished," ring in our ears. It is true that His life is finished at that moment. One account says that He made a loud cry, then it was over. But there is something special about the final words that go much deeper than the obvious.
This moment in time, the giving of the life of the Messiah, had been planned from the beginning. We could go all the way back to the 3rd chapter of Genesis, right at the beginning of the Bible, to see that there would come a time when Jesus would have to die on this earth. Note Genesis 3 beginning in verse 14 where the Lord was speaking to the Serpent and concludes with "And you shall bruise His heel", speaking of Jesus being bruised by Satan. But we know that Satan would never win that battle, a point that is made more than clear in the book of Revelation.
All through the Bible we find that there are references to the coming of the Lord Jesus, and eventually to His death. It was always God's plan to offer His Son in order to redeem the sins of man, of you and me.
So when Jesus made His final statement, "It is finished", He was not only saying that His life was over, He was saying that His ministry was over, that this was the end of all that had been prophesied about Him. He had fulfilled all that had been spoken by the prophets about the coming Savior, the coming Kingdom, and the redemption of man.
But perhaps we shouldn't overlook the fact that it was the end of all the suffering that He went through for us. For sure, we never want to minimize the severity of that.....and the wonderful sacrifice that was made....allowing us to have the beauty of heaven forever.
And so, it was finished, but it was also a great beginning. It represented the beginning of a new era, a new Way, the Way of Jesus. We see this come to fruition in the book of Acts as the apostles go forth to develop the church.
What a great plan that our God had for us! Thanks for reading and have a great week!
This moment in time, the giving of the life of the Messiah, had been planned from the beginning. We could go all the way back to the 3rd chapter of Genesis, right at the beginning of the Bible, to see that there would come a time when Jesus would have to die on this earth. Note Genesis 3 beginning in verse 14 where the Lord was speaking to the Serpent and concludes with "And you shall bruise His heel", speaking of Jesus being bruised by Satan. But we know that Satan would never win that battle, a point that is made more than clear in the book of Revelation.
All through the Bible we find that there are references to the coming of the Lord Jesus, and eventually to His death. It was always God's plan to offer His Son in order to redeem the sins of man, of you and me.
So when Jesus made His final statement, "It is finished", He was not only saying that His life was over, He was saying that His ministry was over, that this was the end of all that had been prophesied about Him. He had fulfilled all that had been spoken by the prophets about the coming Savior, the coming Kingdom, and the redemption of man.
But perhaps we shouldn't overlook the fact that it was the end of all the suffering that He went through for us. For sure, we never want to minimize the severity of that.....and the wonderful sacrifice that was made....allowing us to have the beauty of heaven forever.
And so, it was finished, but it was also a great beginning. It represented the beginning of a new era, a new Way, the Way of Jesus. We see this come to fruition in the book of Acts as the apostles go forth to develop the church.
What a great plan that our God had for us! Thanks for reading and have a great week!
Saturday, August 2, 2014
Grace
Maybe there is no more beautiful word in all of the English language than "grace." For the Christian it is the free gift of God, the giving of favor to us that is not deserved. We don't deserve the benefits, the salvation, that He offers. We haven't earned it, aren't entitled to it; but we get it.
Oh, there are some qualifications: We have to be Christians, believers, followers. We have to dedicate our lives to Him. We have to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. And we have to try to live as He lived when He was here on this earth.
I think of the Prodigal Son as recorded in Luke 15. He was a bad son. He left home and took his inheritance with him. He wasted his life in partying....and nothing good. One day he realized that he had lost it all and followed the wrong path. He decided that he should go home and ask his father to just let him work as a servant, not as a son but as one of the lowly workers around the place. But his father gave him grace, letting him come back as a son...and with a great celebration for his return.
This is how our father extends grace to us. We haven't lived a perfect life; have turned away from God many times, ignoring what was right and doing what we wanted. But God loves us and accepts us back. We could use the term "mercy," but grace goes even further than mercy. God's grace is everything to us, salvation to us who cannot save ourselves.
Paul, in 2 Corinthians 12, asked God to relieve him of his "thorn in the flesh," some ailment that was a severe bother to him. The Lord answered by saying, "My grace is sufficient for you." All else pales in comparison to His grace.
"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 the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:4-10
Praise God for His wonderful grace. Thanks for reading again. God bless you with His grace!
Oh, there are some qualifications: We have to be Christians, believers, followers. We have to dedicate our lives to Him. We have to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. And we have to try to live as He lived when He was here on this earth.
I think of the Prodigal Son as recorded in Luke 15. He was a bad son. He left home and took his inheritance with him. He wasted his life in partying....and nothing good. One day he realized that he had lost it all and followed the wrong path. He decided that he should go home and ask his father to just let him work as a servant, not as a son but as one of the lowly workers around the place. But his father gave him grace, letting him come back as a son...and with a great celebration for his return.
This is how our father extends grace to us. We haven't lived a perfect life; have turned away from God many times, ignoring what was right and doing what we wanted. But God loves us and accepts us back. We could use the term "mercy," but grace goes even further than mercy. God's grace is everything to us, salvation to us who cannot save ourselves.
Paul, in 2 Corinthians 12, asked God to relieve him of his "thorn in the flesh," some ailment that was a severe bother to him. The Lord answered by saying, "My grace is sufficient for you." All else pales in comparison to His grace.
"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 the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:4-10
Praise God for His wonderful grace. Thanks for reading again. God bless you with His grace!
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