“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
When we see people deep in thought, we sometimes say to them, “a penny for your thoughts.” This means that we would like to know what they are thinking. What if you took somebody up on that and took a penny for your thoughts; would your thoughts be worth a penny? Our lives are built around what we think about, and what we think about as a general rule will decide what we do. Paul had some good advice for Thessalonian Christians. He gave a list of important things that should occupy our minds. First, he wrote that if something is true we should think about it, wrap our minds around it. Conversely if something is false, we need to erase it from our minds. Lies get spread around, even in the Christian community, when we are not careful to weigh the truth of what we are talking and thinking about. Second, we need to think about the things that are honest. Honesty and truth are almost twins. We all like to think that our thoughts are mainly honest. Are we being honest when we think about, for example, how to cut corners on our taxes that are of doubtful honesty? Third, he wrote that we are to think about justice. To think about justice is to think about being fair with people. This goes into how we treat people. Is it just to “give a piece of our mind” to, for example, a cashier in the grocery store? Do we go out of our way to be obnoxious because we know that we can get by with it? However, our Christian witness doesn’t “get by with it.” Fourth, we are to think about things that are pure. If we are honest with ourselves, we will have to confess that a lot impure thoughts can go through our minds in a day’s time. There are many opportunities to think impure thoughts today. We get hit from every side with pictures that would lead our minds to impure thoughts if we were not careful. Fifth, he wrote that we should think about things that are lovely, and of a good report. There are a lot ugly things out there today that seek to bring our minds into obedience to them. If something is lovely, think about it. I have put “lovely” and “good report” together. Isn’t this what gossip is: taking that which is ugly and reporting on it. Has anyone ever called you say, “I saw john Doe do a good thing today?" Someone might make a call like this, but for the most part we miss the good report. People do not generally run to their phones and call people about the lovely things that they saw today. An evil report seems to dominate our media. Just take a quick look at the headlines on magazine covers. Most of the time they are ugly and will get someone in trouble. If something is virtuous or praiseworthy, we need to highlight that and report it to the people. I know that all things can’t meet the test of the virtues of this passage. There will be negative things. When this is true, we need to contact the people involved and speak with them, not everybody but them. Another good idea is to keep those thoughts to ourselves – in other words, keep our mouths shut, our pens still, and our telephones on the hook. Watch your thoughts!!!! Bro. Joe
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1. “I will love you, O Lord, my strength. 2. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust, my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. 3. I will call upon the Lord, Who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from my enemies.”
It is necessary to consider the context of the 18th Psalm in order to see the importance of this confession. The psalm was written while David was being pursued by King Saul. David did not imagine that he was in danger. Saul was intent on killing him because of jealousy. In the three verses under discussion, David made a confession of dependence on God. David was a brave man, but he knew that he could not escape the king and his army in his strength alone. We could take a lesson from David here, because we cannot stand in our strength alone either. First, David made a declaration of love for God. This is where dedication and dependence begins. Jesus Himself said that the greatest commandment was to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” Until we realize that God really loves us, we will not trust Him enough to depend on Him. In whatever you are facing today, you need to decide whether you know that God really loves you or not. You actually accept God’s love when you accept Jesus as your savior. Get this down – God really and truly loves you! Second, David made a declaration of dependence on God’s strength. David was a strong person, but he realized that his strength was insufficient to stand up to the might of the king. This reminds me of Paul’s declaration about the strength of Christ in Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Paul was not a stranger to threats of death in his ministry. Like David, in order for him to continue to serve the Lord and do what he was called to do, Paul had to depend on One whose strength was far beyond his. If this was true of David and Paul, it is certainly true of us as well. Whatever you are facing today, the strength of the Lord is as available to you as it was to David and to Saul. In fact, Jesus wants you to lean on Him and depend on His strength. Don’t make the mistake that a lot of people make, and try to overcome by yourself and if that fails give it to Jesus. He wants to give His strength before the fact, not after the fact. David established what he considered to be the strength of God in his life. He referred to the Lord as his “rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.” In Psalm 56:3-4 David declared: “What time I am afraid, I will trust in you. 4. In God I will praise his word. In God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.” God provided David’s offence and his defense. He will do the same for you. Third, David made a declaration of how he would access the strength and power of God in his life: “I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from my enemies.” David’s means of access to the strength and power of God was the same as ours - he would simply pray. Prayer is not just our means of communication with God; it is our means of the support of God. Someone said:“When all else fails pray.” That is entirely wrong. It should be: “Before all else fails pray.” We need to stay “prayed up” in order to face all of the contingencies of life. I know that I don’t want to face a day without prayer. Prayer is our declaration of dependence on God, our trust in God, and our deep need for His intervention in all of life. All that David wrote here is true for you. Believe it and embrace it! Bro. Joe I will be away from my computer this evening. I will add a new post Saturday morning. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19. To preach the acceptable year of the Lord."
To announce to the people of His hometown of Nazareth that He was the promised Messiah, Jesus quoted Isaiah 61:1-2. They were shocked at this, because they knew Jesus as the son of Joseph, the carpenter. The text gave His reason for coming to earth. As I read this, the thought came to me that I can take this personally. Jesus was talking to a group of people in the synagogue at Nazareth, but He was talking to me and you at the same time. I want to share with you that you can take this promise and all of the other promises of Jesus personally. He wants us to. Let me illustrate what I mean. We can take it personally that Jesus came to “preach the gospel to the poor.” You might be thinking that you are not poor, but being poor is not just a reference to people who are financially poor. Anyone who does not have Jesus as their Savior can be considered poor. In other words, Jesus came to proclaim the good news that God sent Him to earth to save people from their sins. In Matthew 1:21, the angel of the Lord explained Mary’s pregnancy to Joseph and told him: “And she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins.” We can take this personally. Jesus came to save us from our sins. We can take it personally that Jesus came to “heal the brokenhearted.” Who of us has not had his or her heart broken at some time in our lives? You might be brokenhearted over something in your life today. You can take it personally that the Jesus who saved you also came to heal your broken heart. In Matthew 11:28 Jesus said: “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” You can take that promise personally and know that Jesus will give you rest from your broken heart. Whatever, or whoever, has broken your heart is not greater than Jesus. Take your broken heart to Jesus and He will heal it. We can take it personally that Jesus came to preach “deliverance to the captives.” People can be held captive by many things. There might be some prevailing habit or sin that they just cannot overcome. They try and try, but they are still held captive by that prevailing sin. People are held captive to many things, e.g., drugs, alcohol, pornography, etc. We can even be held captive by our dislike for a certain person. Whatever has you in its clutches today; remember that Jesus told you personally that He could release you from it. This would also apply to Jesus’ statement that He came to: “set at liberty them that are bruised (oppressed).” You can take it personally that Jesus came to give “recovering of sight to the blind.” Of course, He can heal physical blindness if that is His will, but all blindness is not physical. There is spiritual blindness as well. Someone has written that “there is none so blind as those who will not see.” There are people who are physically blind who can “see” better than those who refuse to see what God wants them to see. Jesus will help you to see what you need to see to make your life better. Jesus came to preach the“acceptable year of the Lord.” That meant that Jesus came to earth on God’s timing. We are still living in the “acceptable year of the Lord.” It is not too late. You can be accepted by Jesus today if you will just trust in Him and in His power to save and to restore. You can take all of this personally, because as 2 Corinthians 6:2b says: “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation.” Jesus meant every word of this text and He meant it for you too, so take it personally. Bro. Joe “(Jesus) was delivered for our offences and was raised again for our justification. 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2. By whom we have access by faith into His grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
The verses preceding the text tell about Abraham’s faith, that it was “imputed to him for righteousness.”Because of Jesus, who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised for our justification,” His righteousness is imputed to us when we put our faith in Him. When Jesus arose from the grave, He opened up great possibilities for those who would put their faith in Him. What are some of these possibilities? Through faith in Christ we can be justified, i.e., we can be forgiven and reconciled to God. This is basically what justification means. We have no righteousness of our own: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) It is only by faith in Jesus Christ that we can be justified before a holy God. There is no righteous act we can do, and no righteous word that we can say, that will justify us. Nothing can improve on, or take the place of, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the reason that we can be justified: it is only by His shed blood that we can be saved. This is not popular today, but it is what is in the Bible. . Through faith in Christ we can have peace: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The only way to have peace with God is through justification by faith. We have peace with God through our salvation. Peace with God means that we have peace in our hearts. No matter what we go through in this life, we have the peace that only Christ, through the Holy Spirit, can give. Hundreds of books have been written to give people the secret of inner peace. Whatever peace these books give, if it is not peace with God through faith in Christ, it will not be the peace that is written about here. In John 14:27 Jesus promised His disciples: “Peace, I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid. In John 16:33 Jesus said: “These things have I spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace. In the world you will have tribulation (trouble): but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Both of these promises are to all who will put their faith in Jesus Christ. Peace is an elusive prize in this troubled age, but in Jesus we can have heart peace. This doesn’t mean that all of our problems will be solved, but that we will have peace in spite of the problems that we encounter. Through faith in Christ, we have access: “by whom we also have access…” There are many things closed to us in this world. For example, no matter who the president is, you can’t go to Washington and demand access to the White House – unless you want to be arrested. It is even difficult today to have access to your family doctor. But through faith in Christ, we have access to the creator of the universe. Through faith in Christ, we have access to the throne room in heaven. When Jesus died on the cross, the “veil of the temple” was torn in two. This was the veil that separated the “holy of holies” where God was present from the rest of the temple. This is a beautiful picture of Jesus opening up heaven to us. Hebrews 4:16 gives a great invitation to the throne of God: “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” We are invited into a dynamic and life-changing relationship with Christ through our faith in Him. You either have all of the above in Christ, or you can have it by submitting your life to Him by faith. Bro. Joe “And if it seems evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve whether the gods which your father’s served that were on the other side of the flood, or gods of the Amorites in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
If you have been in church for any length of time, you have surely heard a sermon on this text. It is the favorite text that we use when we want to talk or write about choosing to serve God. The Israelites were about to cross over into Canaan and it was time for them to choose whether or not they were really going to serve the Lord. The people answered in verse 16: “And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods.” Of course, they did not stick strictly to that, but at that time they meant it. We have to make choices too as to whether or not we are going to serve the Lord, and we can learn from this text about making right choices. Joshua said that if serving the Lord was evil, or undesirable, then they needed to make a choice as to whom they would serve. We need to ask ourselves if it seems undesirable to us to serve the Lord. Perhaps we don’t mind going to church and doing religious things, but do we really desire to serve the Lord? I have had to ask myself that question at times in my ministry. I know that I have done better when I have preached and served with a desire to please God and to see people saved and helped. You need to ask yourself if you really desire to serve the Lord or if you are just going through the motions. My advice to people has always been that if they don’t really feel a need and a desire to, for example, teach a Sunday School class, then maybe they shouldn't do it. There is probably something else that God wants them to do that will be more satisfying to them and will fulfill the will of God for them. What do you desire to do for the Lord? Is it what He desires for you? Joshua told them to choose either Jehovah God or the gods “that their father’s served on the other side of the flood.” We have to choose between a myriad of things that call for our attention, or to serve the Lord. I have to deal with this as a minister. There were times when I had to choose between going through the motions of ministry, and serving as “community parson,” or really seeking the will of God as to what I was supposed to do. Somehow we need to put Jesus first in all of the choices that we make in our lives. I know that it is hard when we have demands from family and from work, but it is not impossible to fulfill all of those things and put Jesus first. God would never tell you to neglect your family or your work, but He does expect you to find a place in your service to Him. You wouldn’t have to neglect your spouse or family in order to serve the Lord. Learn to enjoy serving God and not seeing it as a drab duty that you have to do at your church. At any rate, you need to decide whether or not you are going to serve the Lord or something else. Joshua shared with them what his choice was. He wrote: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua committed himself and his family to serve the Lord, to put Him first. This didn’t mean that he and his family would not take care of certain things that they had to do, but that their intent in the midst of all that they had to do was to serve the Lord. Joshua’s commitment was a heart commitment. This is where our first choice is. Have we made the Lord first in our hearts? This is what the Lord wants. He does not necessarily desire for us to load ourselves down with church work, but He does want us to do what He wills us to do with all of our hearts. What is needed in churches today is for people like you and me to serve the Lord with all of our hearts in our homes, at our work and in our churches. Choose today who you are going to commit your life to serve. Bro. Joe |
AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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