Luke 14:34-35: "Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned? 35. It is neither fit for the land, not yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."
Ephesians 5:1-2: "Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; 2. And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us as an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour…" If we are to be witnesses for Christ in the world, If we are to be a "sweet smelling savour" to the world, we will walk in love. Jesus set the example for us in the love that He has for us by offering Himself on the cross to save us from sin. We are part of the church of Jesus Christ because of this Godly love. If our witness to the world is to be "salty," or effective, we will love as Jesus loved. I want to paint a portrait of the love that our lives will portray to the world. First, we are to love God. You might be thinking, "of course I love God." But if you are honest with yourself, do you really love God? Does the life you live portray that you really love God? Is your love for Him heartfelt, or is it something that you think that you should have, or do you really have it? Only you can answer the question. Second, we are to love people. We will meet all kinds of people in this world. Some of them are easy to love and offer no threats of any kind to us. Some of them are not lovable and seem to enjoy that fact. But Jesus loved them and died on the cross for them. We need to love the people with whom we do business. We need to love the people in our neighborhoods. We should love them because Jesus loves them, and died on the cross for them., Third, we are to love our churches. Do you truly love the people in your church? Is your love for them heartfelt? Do you love your church enough to seek to keep it alive by bringing new people into its fellowship? Do you love the people who are part of your church's fellowship? Some of them will be lovable and some of them will not be lovable. Do you love them anyway, or do you just tolerate them? Do you love your church enough to practice your love by giving time, talent and money to keep the work for the Lord alive through your church? These are good questions that demand a positive answer if you truly love your church. Bro. Joe
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"Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour/flavor, wherewith it shalt it be seasoned? 35.It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that ears to hear, let him hear."
Obviously, if salt has lost its flavor it cannot be used for its purpose of adding to the flavor of food. In order for us to be effective in our Christian service, we have to maintain our "flavor." There are a lot of things that could be considered to add the saltiness to our lives. I thought of three big ingredients that can help us maintain our Christian flavor. First, we need to add a generous amount of reading and studying the Bible. Bible study is essential if we are to be effective Christian servants. The Bible is our required reading if we want to live the "salty" Christian life. It would not be unreasonable for a Christian to, at least, read the New Testament through each year. Five chapters a day will help you get through the Bible. I have been reading the Bible thru each year by reading about six chapters a day. I always learn new things in the Bible. Pour some Bible reading into your life. Second, we need to add a generous heaping of prayer into our lives. There is time during the day for us to pray. It would be good to start each day in prayer for your family, church, friends, etc. The problem will not be looking for something to pray. For example, you could begin with your church's prayer list. If you are Southern Baptist, you can find the prayer list for missionaries in the Open Windows magazine. When you make a commitment to pray every day, you will feel great victory, knowing that the Lord is hearing your prayers, and that He is answering your prayers. You cannot be a "salty Christian" without prayer and Bible reading, Third, you can add a generous amount of giving. We call it "financial stewardship." We are not asking for you to give us more money; rather, we are asking you to realize that giving is an important aspect in your commitment to Christ. A stingy Christian is not a productive Christian. We need to take time and energy each day in our Christian service. We also need to be good stewards of our worldly blessings. Add Bible study, prayer and financial stewardship to your Christian commitment, and do all of them in faith, and you will be a "flavorful Christian." As I wrote in the beginning of this article, this is not a complete list of things that we can do in order to be "flavorful" Christians." I think that you will agree that all three of them belong on this list. Look at your own commitment to Christ, and make sure that you are attempting to be a flavorful Christian. Bro. Joe "But the Lord shall endure forever: He hath prepared His throne for judgment. 8. And He shall judge the world in righteousness, He shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness. 9. The Lord will also be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble."
We know that God can judge us, as mentioned in Psalm 9:7-8. In verse 9 we discover that "God is a refuge for the oppressed in time of trouble." When we are going through times of trouble the Lord will be our refuge. This is a wonderful reminder. Sometimes, even we who believe, forget that God will be our "refuge in times of trouble." I have learned to seek Him when I am going through times of trouble, even when I caused the time of trouble. Sometimes my mouth will cause we a time of trouble, but that doesn't mean that God has stopped loving me. I am His by faith in Jesus Christ, and He will forgive me and be a time of refuge in times of trouble. We can take refuge in the greatness of God. When I am praying outside, I look at the sky and say to myself that God is greater than all that I see, and He still loves me in spite of me. There are times when I have to ask for God's forgiveness before I can receive His refuge, and He forgives me, and is still there for refuge. You might think you cannot receive refuge from God because of some wrong that you have done. When we sincerely ask for God's forgiveness, we receive it and He will be a refuge for us. We might have to pay for that wrong, but we can still find refuge in our great God. I'm writing this to help you understand that God really wants to be a refuge for you in your times of trouble, and in all of your life. Perhaps you will need to ask His forgiveness. You need to know that He is ready to forgive you if you have sincerely repented. Do not forget that God loves you and wants the best for you. But do not forget that He wants you to want the best for yourself. Seek God's refuge now. This can be a life changing experience for you. Bro. Joe “Therefore as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7. Rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”
In this text, Paul lays out for the Colossians, and for us, the reality of our relationship with Christ. First, we receive Christ. The Greek word here can also be translated “taken.” We have taken Christ into our lives by faith in Him. Jesus knocked and we opened the door to Him. (See Revelation 3:20) When we received Jesus into our lives He did not make us religious, but He made us His. The Christian experience is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Then we are to “walk in Him.” This means that this personal relationship with Christ should make a difference in our lives. Second, we are “rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith.” The Greek word for “rooted” means that we are firmly planted in Christ. We need to put our roots down deep in Christ. He has made this possible by giving us the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us into His truth. We need to put our roots down in the scriptures. A Christian who does not read and study scripture will not grow in Christ. (If you are a new Christian, you need to read and study the four gospels and get thoroughly acquainted with Jesus.) We need to put our roots down in prayer. Christians need to set aside a time to pray. We can pray any time during the day, but we need a time of concentrated prayer, where we not only speak to the Lord, but we let Him speak to our hearts. We need to put our roots down in Christ’s church. I don’t mean that we are to just “go to church,” but we are to be the church in our daily lives. The relationship that we have with Christ is an eternal reality. When we accept Christ as our Savior, He becomes one with us, meaning that we have a personal relationship with Him. We can say with Paul: “I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.” (2nd Timothy 1:12) The reality is that we have received Christ into our lives, we are rooted, firmly fixed, in Him; therefore, we live each day for Him. This doesn’t mean that we strut around being one with Jesus, but that we live lives that let His light shine. I repeat: Jesus does not make us religious; rather He lives within us to change and use us to shine for Him each day. Let’s let our lights shine for Jesus in this troubled world and let the world know that He is alive by the way we live. May others see Jesus in us in our daily lives! Bro. Joe "This do in remembrance of me..." 1 Corinthians 11:24
Today is Memorial Day. It is the day that we remember those who gave of themselves on behalf of our great country - "The land of the free..." There are many families that lost loved ones on behalf of our freedoms. Our family lost our mother's brother, James Cooper, in Italy in World War II. Uncle James, we have not forgotten you. In the Christian faith, we have a "Memorial Day" called the "Lord's Supper" in remembrance of our Savior, Jesus. Jesus said as he gave the bread and the wine to His disciples: "This do in remembrance of me." I want to share three things that we should particularly remember: We should remember the love that brought Jesus from heaven to earth. John 3:16 tells us that "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." We can be saved and live eternally in heaven because of God's great love for ? We should remember the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross in order for us to be saved. Without the cross of Jesus, we would be doomed forever. We need to remember that it was for us, for our eternal benefit, that Jesus gave His life on the cross. Do you believe that Jesus died on the cross for you? This will really be a special memory for you if you will surrender to Jesus by faith. We remember the promise that Jesus made, that He will return to the earth to claim those who have believed in Him. Do you look forward to His return? You can if you will give your life to Him today by faith. If you have made that decision, you do not just have a memory of what Jesus did for you; rather, you have a great expectation of what He has in store for you. I left out a lot about what could be written about the love that brought Jesus to earth, the sacrifice that He made on the cross for us, and we can look forward to His return. I hope that what I have written will make a difference in your life. Happy Memorial Day! Bro. Joe "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able; but will with the temptation also make a way of escape that you may be able to bear it."
Temptation is an experience that is common to all people. It began in the Garden of Eden and continues today. Even Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, experienced temptation. (We are given an example of His temptations in the synoptic gospels.) Jesus overcame temptation without sinning, which makes Him the only one to do that. All of the great Bible people sinned. There was none greater than David, and we know about his experience. Psalm 51 shows us David's repentance. (Turn to it and read it.) Temptation is not sin, but it certainly leads to sin. The great thing is that God knows about our temptations and will enable us to overcome them: "But God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able." You see, God loves us and does not want us to be overcome by temptation. We need to remember that God is not absent when we are being tempted. God is aware of everything that is going on in His universe; therefore He is aware of our temptations. We are reminded that God will "also make a way to escape that you may be able to escape." God gave us the Holy Spirit to guide us when we are tempted. It is not God's fault when we succumb to temptation, for He has made a way of escape. Somehow we elude that escape hatch. That is why we read in verse 14: "Wherefore, my dearly beloved flee from idolatry." We need to keep our eyes on Jesus and our minds and hearts on the guidance of the Spirit. The good news is that God will forgive us when we sincerely repent. Seek His forgiveness now, and accept His loving forgiveness. (Turn to 2Peter3:9 and 1 John 1:8-10 and read them and accept their truth.) Bro. Joe "Whoever claims to live in (God) must walk as Jesus did."
I will promise you that we will have no taller order in our lives than the order that we have in our text. I do like to think how much better my life would have been if I had always followed this text. (This could probably also be applied to your life.) In any case, what would we have to do in order to walk as Jesus did? Here is what I thought of today. Of course no list would be complete in this matter. Jesus walked in love. He loved people that other would not dare to love. (I'm thinking of lepers.) Jesus loved the "down and out" and the "up and out." He even loved the hated tax collector Zacchaeus, and changed his life for the better. He loved lepers who were shunned by other people. He loved the "rich young ruler" who came to him to ask about eternal life. I could add to this list, but you probably get the point by now: that we need to love all people. (I said that this is a tall order.) Jesus walked in purity. In fact, he never sinned in His whole life. Yes, I think that he was pure when he was a child and an adolescent. After all, Jesus knew that He would have to die for our sins, and this sacrifice would be ineffective if he had sinned. Jesus was human, but He was also Emmanuel: "God with us." Jesus knows that we cannot achieve this perfect life. I have heard some people say that they were perfect. I had one man tell me that he was perfect. I told him I knew that he was not perfect. He said, how do you know? I said "because you just lied." (We parted friends.) We will not be perfect, but we can still walk in purity as we watch our thoughts and actions. This leads me to one final point: Jesus walked in forgiveness There is no better illustration of this than in His prayer as He faced the cross: "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." You and I were included in that prayer of forgiveness. Jesus forgives us on a daily basis, as we ask for His forgiveness in our daily prayers.. The main question here is do we forgive other people who wrong us? I have to admit that this is a real challenge for me, and it is probably a real challenge for you. (I repeat, this is a tall order.) In order to forgive we have to love people, and to we need to walk in purity, for unforgiveness is a sin. (ouch) (By the way, the hardest person for me to forgive is myself.) I have not touched "the hem of the garment" in this article, but the three points that I have shared with you, gives all of us a challenge to "walk as Jesus did." Bro. Joe "Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: 15. And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee and thou shalt glorify me."
While reading Psalm 50 this morning the two verses, printed above, called out to me and I want to share with you what I saw in them. Verse14 reminds us that we need to be thankful to God and to serve Him ("pay thy vows") with our hands, feet, and hearts. This includes such things as church attendance, giving and doing His will for our lives. In other words, we are to live the Christian life. We will encounter troubles along the way, and we are given a promise of God's intervention in those troubles. In verse 15a we are told that we should call on God "in the day of trouble." We are reminded in the Bible that we often do not receive because we do not ask; therefore, in the day of trouble we need to seek the Lord in prayer. We should develop a habit of prayer. I think that we need to get it through our minds and hearts that God wants us to pray. In verse 15b, we are given a promise that if we will call upon the Lord that He will deliver us: "I will deliver thee." If we will call upon God in the day trouble, He will intervene in our lives and deliver us from, or through, the trouble that we are facing. Whatever trouble you are facing today, take it to the Lord in prayer. (He is waiting to hear from you.) In verse 15c, we are reminded that when the Lord delivers us from our troubles, we are to "glorify" or "honor" Him. This does not mean to just glorify Him in prayer. it means to also glorify Him through our lifestyles. This brings up a question to close this article, are you glorifying God in thanksgiving by the way you live? Bro. Joe "Finally, Brothers, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace, and the God of love, and peace shall be with you."
In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul gave a closing admonishment, to which we should pay particular attention. In the text verse printed above, Paul wrote: "live in peace..." to which he added: "and the God love, and peace shall be with you." I have chosen to use an acrostic that will guide our understanding of Christian peace. P- Pray It is certain that if we are to have the peace that is promised by Jesus, we will need to spend time in prayer. Prayer is our source of fellowship and communion with God, and when we draw closer to Him, the closer we will be drawn to His peace in our lives. E- Enjoy the living presence of God. One of the greatest facts of the Christian life, is that we have access to the living presence of God. Jesus promised that He would always be with us. We need to pay particular attention to this promise, accept it and live in the comfort, joy and peace that His presence promises us. A - Anchor your life in the leadership of the Holy Spirit. In John 14:25-26 speaks to this aspect of the Christian life: "These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." C - Confess sin - It is true that "Honest confession is good for the soul." One of our greatest problems is living with guilt. God has provided the ultimate cure for guilt through confession of sin. Philippians 4:6-7 refers to this: "Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7. And the peace of God which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." E - Expect the Lord to do great things in your life, for He surely will! Bro. Joe “And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at Jesus’ feet, and besought Him that He would come to his house.”
I revisited a text that I recently wrote about which is recorded in all three of the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke. It is the visit that Jesus made to the home of Jairus because his daughter was gravely ill and was about to die. Jesus went with Jairus and raised his daughter from death. I want to share with you what I saw in the text printed above. Jairus sought Jesus. Evidently, Jairus had heard about Jesus, and saw Him as The One who could heal his daughter. This is why it is so important for us to share our testimonies about what Jesus has done in our lives. If we have experienced the saving power of Jesus, or His healing power, we need to share it, because there are many who need to hear it. We also need to remember to seek Jesus in every aspect of our lives. He is available to us at all times. Learn this lesson from Jairus and reach out to Jesus today and invite Him into your need. He will help you in whatever need you have. He will rescue you from the need, or lead you through or around it. Jairus worshiped Jesus. When Jairus encountered Jesus, “he fell down at His feet.” This is a real act of worship. It impresses me that when Jairus encountered Jesus, he did not say “you must come to my house today because I am a ruler of the synagogue.” He recognized in Jesus what many rulers of synagogues did not recognize. Everything that Jesus does in our lives is out of grace - the unmerited favor of God. Just as Jesus did not owe Jairus anything, He does not owe us anything. This important man approached Jesus as one with an abject need. Jesus is worthy of worship. In the Bible when people tried to worship angels, or apostles, they were told not to do worship them. But Jesus accepted the worship of Jairus, just as He will accept our worship. “Fall at Jesus’ feet” today and seek His help in your life. Jairus invited Jesus to “come into his house.” Jairus’ need overcame his self-importance. He discovered that Jesus was open to his invitation. We will find that Jesus is always open to our invitation. In Revelation 3:20 Jesus gave an invitation to church at Laodicea: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man (person), hear my voice and open the door; I will come in to him, and will sup with him and he with me.” The invitation still stands. Whatever your need today, seek Jesus, worship Him and invite Him into your life and into your need. Bro. Joe |
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