"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosever believes on Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
This is not just one of my favorite biblical texts, it is my favorite text. It contains the "good news" of the Bible. It is good news for the entire world - if they could hear, or read, it. That is why I believe in the world missions outreach of Southern Baptists, and all other mission sending denominations. It tells us that God "so loved the world." That is, indeed, very good news. Think about this for a moment. (Really think about it for a moment.) What if God did not love the world. The fact is that if God had not loved the world, He would have finally destroyed it in the flood in Noah's time. At least God left people on the earth to repopulate it. God's answer to the world's unceasing sin, was to send His Son to die on the cross, and to rise from the grave, in order to save us from sin. It is by faith in Jesus Christ that we are saved. The argument that has been ongoing since the beginning of the work of Christ's church, is whether or not we should send people to preach to the unreached people of the world. In the Book of Acts God sent out missionary teams in order to tell people about salvation by Jesus Christ. Acts records three missionary journey's of Paul, plus the missionary work by Peter and others. Missions is a mandate in the Bible. Matthew 28:19-20: "Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. 20. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and, lo I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." Since the Bible message was intended for people beyond the time of its writing, this is also a command for us. The command to "go into the world" does not mean to only go into the world where we are, but to go into all the world. For example, the people to whom Paul witnessed in the Book of Acts, needed to hear about the good news about Jesus Christ. The same God who foreordained salvation for the world, was the same God who sent Peter, Paul, Silas, and etc, to witness to their world. The world to which God sent, Peter, Paul, Silas, etc., was no different from the world today. People need ot hear about the coming of Jesus Christ into the world to save them from sin and hell. The biblical message has not changed. I am a "Missionary Baptist" because I still believe that we are being sent into the world to tell people about Jesus. I preach in Missionary Baptist churches for the same reason. The call of Christ in Matthew 11:28-30 applies to us as well as to the apostles. Bro. Joe
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"Come and see the wonders of God; His acts for humanity are awe-inspiring. 6. He turned the sea into dry land, and they crossed the river on foot. There we rejoiced in Him. 7. He rules forever by His might; He keeps His eye on the nations. The rebellious should not exalt themselves."
The above text was a reminder by the Psalmist of why God's people should rejoice, and why "the rebellious should not exalt themselves." The Psalmist invited his readers to "Come and see the wonders of God." Following are the "wonders of God" that he invited his readers to remember. God's first "wonder" was that He "turned the sea into dry land, and they crossed the river on foot." This is not only a reminder to the Jews, for whom this was done, but to all of us, that God can still do that if the need arises. (We do not know whether it has arisen or not, since we are not aware of everything that God has done in history.) The river was an obstacle for the people, but it was not an obstacle for God. We need to give some thought to this for our lives..... God's second 'wonder" was that "He rules forever by His might." The wonder here is that God will always "rule forever by His might." Those who think that God is still not ruling, have not paid attention to nature. It is He Who holds the planets in line. It is He Who causes the sun to rise in the morning and to set at night. It is He Who causes the rain that comes to water our crops. It is He Who put the water in the earth which we drink and in with which we bathe, etc. Make it a point to see the wonders of God in your life. God's third "wonder" was that "He keeps His eyes on the nations." I am certain that we are glad that this is true. God has His eyes on our enemies, and He has his eyes on us. Since we know since that God "keeps His eyes on the nations," we can be sure that He also has His eyes on our lives. This can be good news or bad news, but it is a reminder for us that we are never away from God's awareness of our lives. There is a song that reminds us that "His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me." Let's rejoice in these wonders of God, and let us also be aware that His wonders are still at work in our world. Bro. Joe e"A sound heart is the lie of the flesh, but envy the rottenness of the bones."
For some reason the word "envy" has been on my mind for the last few days. I can assume that is because God wants me to do deal with it in my own life and in a CouchPotatoRedux article, in order to help others who might be dealing with envy. What's wrong with envy? Envy is a sin. Our text calls it the "rottenness of the bones." This is certainly a negative biblical reference to envy. It is also condemned in the tenth commandment: "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his (donkey), nor anything that is thy neighbors." Coveting is a result of envy, and is definitely condemned in the Bible. I know that when envy arises in my heart, it does not lift my spirits - to say the least. This is why I try too cancel it out immediately. I think that all Christians agree with this response to envy. Envy is not based on love. 1Corinthians 13:4 reminds us that "love envieth not." If for some reason you envy a person, you probably do not love that individual. Why? Because Christian love certainly demands that we wish the best for the other person. Christian love rejoices in the success of the other person. Love gives us a positive spirit, and leaves no room for wishing the worst for the other person. If we love people, we will not rejoice in their failures. When you feel envy arising in your heart, pray it away. The Lord can help you handle it as He can with all other sins. Envy is not based on being an encourager. I am actually picking this up from the fact that we do not rejoice in the failure of another person. If there is one thing that a Christian should be is an encourager. I am convinced that my main spiritual gift is encouragement. When I feel envy arising in my heart, I remind myself that I am supposed to be an encourager and not a discourager. It takes less effort to encourage a fellow Christian than it does to discourage him or her. When you feel the need to be negative, remind yourself that you can do better, and that you will feel better about yourself. I could go on with this, but I think that what I have covered suffices to point out that envying another person for any reason is wrong. Join me in combatting envy in your life. Bro. Joe "And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you."
When we put bitterness, anger, wrath, clamor and evil speaking away from our lives, then we can add kindness, tenderheartedness (compassion) and forgiveness to our lives. First, we need to be kind to each other. I want you to think of the difference in would make in your life if kindness took root in your life. One of the important examples of Jesus in the gospel is that He was kind to people. He was actually kind to people to whom people were treated with kindness. A good example of Jesus's kindness is His discourse with the Samaritan woman that he encountered at the well. (John 4) If we want to be good witnesses for Jesus in the world, we need to be kind. in fact, I have to remind myself of this in my encounters with difficult people that I encounter. Second, we need to be "tenderhearted." Another translation of tenderheartedness is compassion. Jesus illustrated compassionate in His parable about the "Good Samaritan." This man took the time to show compassion to a likely stranger by stopping on the road, ministering to Him, and looking out for his needs, including paying for his lodging. Just as our world desperately kindness, it also needs compassion. People should encounter compassion on the part of God's people. We need to remember this in our daily encounters with our daily encounters with people. Third, we need to have forgiving hearts. I am always reminded that the first words of Jesus from His cruel cross were "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." We would expect this of Jesus. By the same token, He expects this of His followers. A good many, if not most of the problems, in our churches could be resolved if we would forgive each other. A lot of the problems in our families could be resolved if we had forgiving hearts. Most of the problems in the world could be resolved if Christian forgiveness was practiced in the world. Most of our interpersonal problems in businesses could be resolved if people were only willing to forgive each other. I could continue with this ad infinitum, but I think you get the idea of what Paul meant while writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, when he wrote this text. Do you have a forgiving heart? While we are subtracting bitterness, anger, wrath, clamor and evil speaking from our hearts, we need to add kindness, compassion and forgiveness to our hearts. This should give you something to think about the rest of this week. Selah Bro. Joe "Let all bitterness, and wrath and anger, and clamor, evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice."
Our texts gives us some things that we should put away from our lives. I think that you will agree that if we put these things away we will have better lives, and, indeed, better attitudes. We should put bitterness away from our lives. When we allow bitterness to take root in our lives, it will ruin how we look at life and how we relate to people. I think that all of us have had things to happen in our lives that hurt us deeply. (I know that I have....) If we are not careful, a root of bitterness will take root in our lives. Whatever it is that might be causing bitterness in your life, ask the Holy Spirit to remove that root of bitterness. You will feel better, and you will have a better outlook on life. Ask Jesus to take it from you! We should put anger, wrath and clamor from our lives. Anger is not a sin. Even Jesus got angry with people in the temple in Jerusalem and chased away those who were desecrating it. Anger becomes a problem when we internalize it and make it a part of our lives. When we internalize anger, it becomes wrath and clamor. This is not a word that we normally use today. Basically what it means is to "pitch a fit." I think that you will agree that we need to put these things away from our lives if we would have peace with ourselves and with other people. We should put evil speaking away from our lives. This, of course, means that we need to put naughty words away from our lives, but it means far more than that. It means to speak evil of other people. We call this "gossip." I think you know what that means. We have probably all been victims of gossip, but how many victims have we caused by our own gossip? Many lives, careers and ministries have been ruined by "evil speaking." We need to be careful what we say about other people. We should put malice away from our lives. Malice is the result of all of the above sins that have taken root in our hearts. Malice means that we think of evil of other people in our lives and wish them harm. It is the result of allowing anger to take root in our lives, allowing anger to become a part of who we are, and how we act in life. When we have malice in our hearts, we do not love people. Malice causes us to become bitter. Malice causes us to be suspicious of the motives of other people. Malice causes us to want to hurt other people instead of encouraging them. Do not allow malice to take root in your life and cause you to think evil of other people, and, incidentally, of yourself. These are some things that we definitely need to put away from our lives. When we put bitterness, anger, wrath, clamor and evil speaking away we will be happier and more content with our lives and with our relationships with other people. Give this some thought! Bro. Joe "But Jesus called them unto Him, and said, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. 17. Verily, I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a child shall in no wise enter in."
Jesus put in a good word for children here, for he said that a person would not enter the kingdom of God unless he came as a "little child." What does this mean? Of course, it means a lot of things, but I want to share with you one thought I have of how we should receive Christ as a little child. Little children react to good news gleefully. I remember some Christmas mornings in my childhood when my brothers and I gleefully received our "Santa" gifts. One of my favorite memories from my days as a pastor was when someone would be gleeful about accepting Jesus. I have heard of people praising God when they were baptized. In other words, they praised God as a little child? Some people praise God in public worship either vocally or in their hearts. If these praises are sincere, they are an indication that the person is happy in his, or her, faith. How happy are you in your faith? (In this case, it is a good thing to be childish. lol) Little children gleefully hug their parents when they receive a gift from them. Praising Jesus is the same as hugging his neck. Why wouldn't one be gleeful about receiving the salvation from Jesus which will secure eternity in heaven? The Bible gives us two choices in life after death: heaven and hell. I don't know about you, but I am glad that through Jesus I can go to heaven, not because I deserve it, but by His grace, Jesus gave it to me by faith. If Jesus hasn't already, He will give it to you by His grace. I want to ask you about your reaction to the blessings of Jesus is in your life? Are you gleeful that Jesus is willing to forgive you? Everything that Jesus gives us is by His grace, and, also, by His love. He loved us enough to die on the cross to save us from our sins. We should be gleeful that Jesus willingly gave His life on the cross in order to save us and give us abundant life. Check your gleeful, happy, quotient and see how "childish" you are in your faith! Bro. Joe "I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians, both to the wise and unwise. 15. So as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. 16. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes in the Jew first, and also to the Greek."
I read this text today and it really caught my attention. In fact, I took it personally. Paul felt that he owed it to people to share the love, the liberty, and the abundant, life that he had in Christ. He was a debtor to the people without Christ in their lives. Can't we say the same? In verse 15, Paul wrote that with everything in him, he was ready to preach the gospel at Rome. Do you realize how dangerous that was. Rome had thier religion, but it did not include Christ. If we know Christ, we have a message to share about Christ and life in Him. That is one of the reasons I have maintained this website for so many years. It has allowed me to reach people in places that I have never visited, and will never will. But I am also indebted to share Christ to our "Rome." I am indebted to the redneck, the hillbilly, the sophisticated college graduate, etc. In verse 16, Paul deals with the reason he was ready and willing to share Christ: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes; to the Jew first and also to the Greek." We need to ask ourselves if we are ashamed of the gospel of Christ? Are we intimidated by our sophisticated society? Are we ready for people to look at us as if we had lost our minds? People do not have to be "gospel friendly" to hear about Christ, they just need to hear about Him. Whether people believe it or not, they need Jesus in their lives. I thank Jesus that He is in my life, and that I have the opportunity to share Him. One thing that I have learned in my own experience, is that it does not harm me in any way for people to think that I'm crazy, and some kind of religious nut. Like Paul, I do not think that I am a religious nut, I just have some good news that I have to share. I have also learned that when people know that I love them, they will be more willing to hear about Christ. Believe me: I do not think that I am good or self righteous. I certainly do not look down my nose at people. I just know that I know Christ, and the world needs to see Him in me. Fellow believer, you are also a debtor. Selah. Bro. Joe "For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
I call John 3:16 "The Good News Text." Following is the good news that it brings us. Believe it! Read it! Love it! Share it! John 3:16 tells us that God loves us. When we look at the history of the world, or even in the biblical message, we would wonder why God loves us? In 1John 4:8 see the reason: "He that loves not, knows not God: for God is love." (1John 1:8) The Bible tells us about the wrath and anger of God, but it never says that "God is wrath." It says that God is a jealous God, but it never defines God as jealousy. The biblical definition of God is "love." The Greek word in John 3:16 and 1John 4:8 is Agape (ah-gah-pay), which is sacrificial, self-giving love. It is up to you to say "God loves me." That is when the good news of John 3:16 will sink into your heart and mind. John 3:16 tells us that God loves us so much that "He gave His Only Begotten..." Jesus came to earth, lived a perfect life and died as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. Jesus died for you! It is by His blood, shed on the cross that we are saved. This seems to be a brutal answer for our sinfulness, but sin is so awful that it took the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ to atone for the sins of the world. He died to atone for your sins. The further good news, of course, is that death could not hold Him, and that He arose and lives today to save you. John 3:16 tells us that "whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Do you believe that Jesus died on the cross for you, and that He rose for you? The Bible does not say that if we believe that He exists, we can have everlasting life. Even the devil knows that Jesus exists. To believe in Jesus is to release your life into His love and forgiveness and to receive Him as your Savior, and to surrender your life to Him. He will forgive you today. He will save you today. He will use you for His purposes today. All of the above is "The Good News from the Good News Text." Receive it for yourself. If you have received it share it. Bro. Joe "Come unto me, all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
This has been one of my favorite texts over the years. I want to share with you what I'm thinking about it today. The first thing that I see is a proposal from Jesus, for us to come to Him. Often we spend a lot of time in depression and defeat because we do not hear Jesus inviting us to come to Him. He is inviting you! Jesus is always inviting us to come to Him, especially in the midst of our troubles and burdens. Though I am retired and living on perpetual vacation (lol), that does not mean that I never need to hear the call of Jesus to "come to me." I always need to hear that call and answer it everyday. I meet him in prayer and scripture everyday. Please do not hear me bragging, hear me confessing my need to "come to Jesus." it is your need too! Do you feel a need to answer Jesus' call to you to come to Him? You might be experiencing a great burden at the present time, and you do not know where to turn. Well, Jesus gave you the answer: "Come to me...." Have you actually turned to Him in prayer and in scripture to seek the answer that He has for you. He does have the answer for you, you know: "Come to me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." He is inviting you to come to Him. Pause here and go to Him in prayer and seek his will, and His answer for you. He will give you the rest that you need in your heart and mind. Bro. Joe (I will be on the road tomorrow. The next CouchPotatoRedux post will be on Thursday. Look on the right of the article and choose a date or a topic.)
"When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, depart from me; for I am sinful man O Lord. 9. For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of fishes they had taken." How did the fishermen react to the great thing that Jesus did for them? In verse 8, we discover that Peter fell down at Jesus' knees and worshiped Him. There is something about the dynamic results of Jesus' great works in our lives that makes us want to worship Him. It is exciting to see what Jesus can do in our lives if only we will "launch out." The second reaction was that Peter expressed his unworthiness of such a blessing from Jesus. Peter knew that Jesus did not bless him because he deserved it, but because it was a result of the grace and the power of Jesus. Whatever blessings that we receive from Jesus are always because of His grace, His holiness and His power. It is never because we deserve them. God help us to react to Jesus' blessings in our lives by expressing our unworthiness to receive them, and not because we are good, and so deserving. We are not to brag on Jesus' blessings, but to rejoice over them and share them. --- And to worship Jesus because of them. In verse 11 when the fishermen brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed Him." In our fortunate society, we do not put a premium on "forsaking all," but we certainly need to do it. Frankly, I do need to do more of it, and I imagine that if you think about it, you need to do the same. Bro. Joe w |
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