Thankful

I am going to start here with the worst expression in the English language today...and with the best.  The worst expression is "Oh my God."  This is so common, yet so demeaning to our God.  It is using the name of God in a useless, meaningless way.  It is taking the name of God in vain, and He doesn't like that.  Don't do it!

The best expression, I think, is "Thank you, Lord."  I say this all of the time, but no human ever hears it.  There are so many times in every day that we all have to thankful to our Lord.  When I had a car wreck about a year and a half ago, a semi swerved into me on the interstate, I hit it with a smash and I didn't get a scratch.  I was thankful, and I continue to be thankful.  And while life can be hard many times, we all have lots of good reasons to be thankful...every day.

We know that life is short.  James 4 says, "Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow I will go to this or that city, live, do business and make a profit' when you don't even know what will happen tomorrow!  What is your life?  It is a vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes.  Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills I will live and do this or that.' "

There are two thoughts here:  One is that we need to put our trust in the Lord.  He sometimes steps into our lives.  We don't know when or why always...but we know that He does.  The second thought is that our lives are short and we need to use our time and resources wisely. 

But whether God steps into our lives here on earth, one thing that we know is that He does save us, all of us who follow Him, eternally.  He offers us salvation...forever....and that means everything.  This life can bring unbelievable pain and heartache; but He offers us freedom from all of that forever! 

So we can be thankful.....everyday....to our Lord.  Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, the life."  He is the way, the only way.  He tells us the truth.  And most importantly, He gives us LIFE, real life, forever life.

Trust in the Lord!   Thanks, for reading.  Have a really great..and thankful...week.

Self Control

There are so many things that beset us, things that tempt us, try us, entrap us.  The devil is real and out to get us....and he does sometimes.  Sometimes he wins.....and we let him do it....freely.  It is interesting that we all have different challenges in our lives.  We know that what tempts one person may not tempt us at all.  And sometimes we marvel that another person could be so weak in an area of their lives, knowing that what is so difficult for them to avoid doesn't look attractive to us at all.  But that is life.

The subject of self control is much broader than that.  It seems to extend across all aspects of our lives, all temptations.  Whatever tempts us, each of us, has one solution:  self control.  In all of the Bible, the one thing that is taught for us to control is Self.  We cannot control so many things in our lives.  Think about that.......politics, weather, traffic, other people's actions, even health sometimes.  Many things are out of our control.  But Self....now there is our challenge.

Peter in listing the things that we are to add to our faith, includes self control.  It is a critical ingredient to our service to God.  (2Peter 1:6) "For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self control; and to self control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.  For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Notice Paul's teaching in Acts 24:24, "Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess.  He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus.  As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, "That's enough for now...."  Felix was a man whose life was totally out of control, at least in the sense of righteousness.  But we also know that, while me may not be a Felix, we have our need for self control.

I wish for you all the best of God's blessings in developing more and more of the control of self...and the service to our Lord.

The teachings are many for our practice of self control.  But we know that it is easier said than done in controlling ourselves.  Let us each work on us; let me work on Me.  Surely I need it. 

Sons of Abraham

We are sons of Abraham.  That may seem a bit strange since Abraham lived several thousand years ago.  But in fact, Abraham is the father of the Jewish nation through his son Isaac and on down through the generations.  And Abraham is the father of the Arab world, the Muslims, through the son Ishmael of Abraham.  And since Jesus is a distant relative of Abraham...in an earthly sense, we too are children, descendants of Abraham...in a spiritual sense.

We see the latter connection, the Christian connection, by going back to Genesis 12 and seeing the promise of God to Abraham there.  Several promises were made to Abraham by God in this passage.  But the one of great significance to us says, "And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." 

Galatians 3 makes the connection clear between Abraham and the Christian.  It is here in this Galatians passage that this Jesus, a descendant in an earthly sense, is the seed of Abraham.  Note verse 16: "Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made.  He does not say, 'And to seeds,' as of many, but as of one, 'And to your Seed,' who is Christ."  And verse 29 sums it all up:  "And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."

We then, as Christians, are heirs of Abraham; not in a physical sense or any bloodline.  But we are heirs in a spiritual sense...through the gift of Jesus Christ..and heirs "according to promise,"  the promise given to Abraham in Genesis 12.

Somehow this seems a bit complicated; but it is wonderful thing to be an heir to Christ and to the promise of Abraham.  Only a Christian, a true follower of Jesus has this comfort.  Yes!

Thanks for reading.....and have a great week!

Two Books Written by Luke

There are two New Testament books written by Luke.  In this blog we will look a bit closer at the author and the beginnings of these books. 

Luke was a physician and likely a gentile.  All other books in the NT were written by Jews.  Paul in Colossians 4 and Philemon referenced him as "Luke the beloved physician."  He wrote both of his books to Theophilus, a person that we know nothing specific about.  He is addressed as "most excellent Theophilus" indicating that he was of high social standing.  And it should be noted of Luke that he was not an apostle.  He was qualified to write because he had carefully gathered and researched information about Jesus and those who would carry on the work after Jesus left the earth.

Luke wrote the book of Luke.  It is interesting to note how the book begins: "Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which are most surely believed among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed."  Luke had one of his missions to be presenting a well ordered history of the things that Jesus did and were done to Him.

The second book that Luke wrote doesn't bear his name, but it becomes obvious that Luke is the writer; this is the book of Acts.  Acts begins: "The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God."  Here he is referencing the "former account" and picks up in his account where the book of Luke left off. 

The book of Luke tells of the birth, life, teachings, miracles, death and resurrection of Jesus.  There is no better place to read of the events of Jesus.  To read of the occurrences after Jesus leaves the earth; to follow the apostles and their teachings, and to see the development of the church, there can be no better reading than the book of Acts. 

So in summary, the best way to get the flow of the New Testament history is to read the books of Luke and Acts.  And reading these books will strengthen our knowledge and faith in our Lord. 

Thanks for reading.  Feel the love....

The Word

The term "Word" in the New Testament is used to refer to Jesus.  It might seem a bit unusual that the Bible would use the term in this way, but it clearly does.  We will examine this use a little more in this blog entry.  Note John chapter 1:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him and without Him nothing was made that was made.  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it."

Skipping down to verse 12, we read more about Him: "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name..."  And verse 14, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us...."

In reading all of these verses there is no question that the "Word" is Jesus.  Then we read in Hebrews 1:  "God....has in these last days spoken to us by His Son....who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high..."

Thus we know that Jesus is the Word.....and that Word has brought us salvation.  Further, we know that He rules now in heaven at the right hand of the Father.  And further, we know that He allows us to be His children, children of God.  How great that is!

I love the verse in Hebrews 11:6, "But without faith if is impossible to please Him, foe he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." To me, the key here is that we must "diligently seek Him." 

So let's do.....let's diligently seek Him throughout our lives, learning, studying, seeking to know the truth.....and following the Word.

Thanks for reading...have a great week!

The Apostles

The Apostles are such an important part of the New Testament that we should spend a bit of time examining their role.  They were there at the beginning of Jesus' ministry and carried on the work when He left this earth to return to the Father. 

Right at the beginning of His ministry Jesus went about selecting His apostles, choosing 12 men whom He would teach and challenge and send out.  These were men from different walks with varying capabilities, just average guys, local guys.  Acts 2 tells us that they were known to be local men from Galilee.  But one thing they had in common was their faith.  They each made a commitment to follow the Lord.  And we know that this was a major commitment on their part.  They had to forsake their jobs and families for a time to be completely dedicated to Jesus.

We know, of course, that Judas betrayed Jesus and ended up taking his own life.  Judas was the money keeper for the others, turned out to be greedy and ended up selling out his Master for 30 pieces of silver.  At the time that Jesus leaves the earth as recorded in Acts 1, the apostles are left to carry on the work, to spread the Gospel to all the world.  The first thing that they do is to appoint a replacement for Judas.  The qualifications are mentioned in Acts 1:21:  "Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection."  Matthias was chosen.

In Acts 2, the Lord sent the Holy Spirit back to give power to these men to carry on the work.  Later Paul would be personally visited by Jesus (Acts 9) causing him to meet the qualification of having actually been with Jesus.  So we find that Paul is considered an apostle, as referenced in several NT passages. 

There would be no more apostles appointed, from what we read in the NT.  Thus, any person today who carries the title of apostle would be in violation of NT teaching regarding the qualifications and purpose of the apostles.

Their role was major in that Jesus didn't set up any churches.  Jesus didn't attempt to go into all the world and spread the word.  He turned it all over to these able men and challenged them to "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned." (Mark 16: 15-16)

Let us carry on the work...and spread the Good News....that was begun by Jesus and carried on by the apostles.  Have a great week!

Proverbs

The book of Proverbs is filled with small, wise sayings that are a part of what we often call the Wisdom Literature.  Wisdom Literature is considered the books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon.  All contain wisdom from the wise king Solomon who, according to the Bible record, received his extra dose of wisdom from God Himself.  Solomon didn't always follow his own advice,  but his advice is certainly good for increasing our wise understanding.

For example, Proverbs 23:23 says, "Buy the truth, and do not sell it, also wisdom and instruction and understanding."  And the book begins with this kind of direction:
To know wisdom and instruction,
To perceive the words of understanding,
To receive the instruction of wisdom,
Justice, judgment, and equity;
To give prudence to the simple,
To the young man knowledge and discretion--
A wise man will hear and increase learning,
And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel.."

The book is full of wise sayings that if we contemplate them...and follow them, we will increase in our knowledge and wisdom.  Here are a couple of examples:

"A wise son makes a glad father,
But a foolish son is the grief of his mother."

"Hatred stirs up strife,
But love covers all sins."

Proverbs 23 tells us of the danger of strong drink:
"Who has woe?
Who has sorrow?
Who has contentions?
Who has complaints?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who has redness of eyes?
Those who linger  long at the wine,
Those who go in search of mixed wine.
Do not look on the wine when it is red,
When it sparkles in the cup,
When it swirls around smoothly;
At the last it bites like a serpent,
And stings like a viper.
Your eyes will see strange things,
And your heart will utter perverse things.
Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea,
Or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying:
'They have struck me, but I was not hurt;
They have beaten me, but I did not feel it.
When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?' "

Read the Proverbs.  Spend time in the Proverbs...and you will be wiser!

Thanks for reading and have a great week!