3 John 9-10: “I wrote unto the church but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, received us not. 10.Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither does he receive the brothers, and forbids those who come.”
3 John 12: “Demetrius has a good report of all men, and of the truth itself: yea, and we also bear record; that you know our record is true.” The short book of 3 John has two main characters. One is Diotrephes who you read about in verses 9-10, and Demetrius who you read about in verse 12. You probably recognize both of these people, either from your church, school, work, or maybe even home. I have been the pastor of both of them. The Diotrephes’ of this world take some of the joy out of life, and the Demetriuses of this world add to the joy of life. Let’s compare the two of them and see which of them we had rather have in our fellowship, and ask which one is more like us? The first complaint about Diotrephes was that he liked to have preeminence, or first place, in everything in the church. He might even remind us that “by golly, my granddaddy and daddy ran this church and I plan to do the same thing.” These are the people who think that if they do not approve of a project in the church, they will not participate, or they will kill the project. His kin are those who won’t go along with something if they are outvoted by the rest of the church. Notice that he also talks against the leadership, namely the pastor and other leaders, and uses malicious words in doing it. Malicious words are words that are intended to hurt the one spoken against, or to destroy his or her reputation. Perhaps the worst thing that Diotrephes did was to try to keep the visiting preachers, who were commonplace in those days, from being welcomed to the church. These “brothers” were itinerant evangelists who went to churches to preach and to witness. They were meant to be helpers for the churches. Diotrephes was not hospitable, to say the least. He did not have a welcoming heart, and probably would not have rejoiced when new people were saved and wanted to join the church. We might not be as bad as Diotrephes, but we need to guard our own tendencies to rule and to have our way in everything. If you sense any “Diotrephes” in you, pray it away --- now. On the other hand, there was a man named Demetrius who was well-spoken-of. It was said of him that he had a “good report.” John is not specific here, but we can use our imaginations and know what it means. Look back on what Diotrophes did that was wrong and you can be assured that Demetrius was not like that. The work of the church did not go on in spite of Demetrius but because of him. I trust that you are a “Demetrius” type of person and that the church to which you belong is glad to have you in its membership. Demetrius was not just of “good report,” but he was also well-spoken of “by the truth itself.” To me, this can mean only one thing: Demetrius’ life reflected the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit in his life. Today, we would say that Demetrius was a Bible-believing Christian who lived by the truths revealed there. Today’s “Demetriuses” have the New Testament instead of just Old Testament prophecies and the oral tradition concerning Jesus. You can trust this kind of Christian to help the church go forward. The Holy Spirit inspired these verses, in one sense, to show us the kind of people we should be. We do not want to be like Diotrephes, but we should strive to be like Demetrius. Bro. Joe
0 Comments
.“Be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”
It is not a matter of whether or not you are setting an example, for you are. If you are indifferent about your faith it will show. If you are intent on doing what you want to do, regardless of the consequences, it will show. If you are setting a Christian example that will show. Max Lucado had it right when he wrote: “In our faith we follow in someone’s steps. In our faith we leave footprints to guide others. It’s the principle of discipleship.” We need to take to heart the words of an anonymous author: “Are you the kind of person whose life serves as a powerful example of righteousness? Are you a person whose behavior serves as a positive role model for young people? Are you the kind of Christian whose actions day in and day out, are based upon integrity, fidelity, and a love for the Lord? If so, you are not only blessed by God, you are also a powerful force for good in a world that desperately needs positive influences such as yours.” It would be good if all of us set this kind of example. 1 Timothy 4:12 tells us how we can be good examples: We need to be careful about our words. We not only need to be careful about what we say but also how we say it. When we use sarcastic and demeaning words, we are not setting the example that Jesus set. Words, like arrows, once said cannot be recalled. (There have been many times in my life when I have wished they could be.) We need to be careful about our conduct. (In the KJV the word is “conversation,” which in 1611 meant “conduct.”) It does matter what we do. We like to think that what we do is our own business, and to a certain extent this is true, but if what we do sets a bad example God will hold us responsible. The Bible mentions that we should not be “stumblingblocks” in what we do, even if we do not necessarily see wrong in what we are doing. As Christians, we cannot think only of ourselves, and this is certainly true in our conduct. We need to be careful about loving people. This is where we really set bad examples for the world. How can they take us seriously when we cannot love each other in Christ’s church? We need to stop and think about our example to the world when we want to fight each other. People need to see Christ’s love in us. We need to be careful about our spirit. I think that the word here means attitude. We need to work on having a positive attitude toward life. When we have sour attitudes, people are turned off by our witness. I know that it is difficult to maintain a positive attitude at times,but it is important if we want to be good examples. We need to be careful about our faith. When we have faith in Christ, we can face even the difficult times of life in a positive manner. We need to trust God at all times in our lives, whether the times are good or bad. People observe how we react to our own difficulties. If we become bitter that will certainly set a bad example. We need to be careful about purity. We need to live before others so that they can see Christ at work in us. We need to be careful that we do the right thing and say the right thing in front of people. This will be more certain if we do and say the right thing when we are not in front of people. I think that if you look over this list that was given in the text, you will see that all of these were portrayed in the life of Jesus. If we want to set a Christ like example, we will be careful about all of these things. My prayer is that you will give serious thought to your own example. Bro. Joe “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 13. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
When Paul wrote that he had not “apprehended,” he did not mean that he was not already saved. His conversion obviously took place on the Damascus Road, and other statements in his writings let us know that he did not doubt his salvation. What he meant was that he had more growing to do in Christ, and that he was not already what he would be. Neither Paul, nor anyone else, can claim to be at a point where more growth is not needed. Paul shared here what could help us grow in Christ. He wrote that he would forget “those things which are behind.” If we are going to go forward in our growth, forgetting the past will be absolutely necessary. Satan is adept at reminding us of all of the times that we have not lived up to our Christian calling. This is how he keeps us down in the dumps. We need to forget those things which we regret. I’m certain that most of us have some regrets. We have probably spoken words that we wish we had not spoken. Unfortunately, we cannot reel words back into our mouths. When words are uttered they are out to stay. But we can be forgiven for this and it does not mean that we have to let regretted words stunt our growth in Christ. We have all probably done some things that we wish we had not done. Like words, once a deed is done we cannot recall it, but we can be forgiven for it. We cannot let those deeds stunt our growth in Christ. We cannot undo the past, but we can learn from it. If the Lord makes us recall our past failures, it is to teach us to do better, to learn from them and go forward. Haven’t you had things that you have done or said that made you vow that you would never do or say them again? This is where Jesus would have us be, while Satan will rub our noses in these past failures. We need to let the Lord teach us to do better. I recall that in Matthew 26:75, after Peter denied Jesus that he “remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, before the cock crows, thou shalt deny me thrice (three times). And he went out and wept bitterly.” This was a bitter pill for Peter to swallow, but Peter did not let his denial keep him from serving Jesus. Somewhere along the line, he repented, got right with the Lord, and preached that great sermon on the Day of Pentecost when 3,000 people were saved. It might do us good to “weep bitterly” over our sins and failures, repent and go forward from there. We can’t undo anything from the past, but we can certainly do better in the future. Further, Paul wrote that he would not only forget what was behind, but that he would reach “forth unto those things which are before.” In other words, Paul would not give up because of the things that were behind. We have a tendency to feel defeated by our sins and failures. To do this is to fall into the hands of the devil. He wants us defeated and deflated so that he can have his way with us. Like Paul, we need to reach “forth unto those things which are before.” We do that by living each day, each present moment, being careful to trust the Lord. Let’s take Paul’s words to heart and “forget those things which are behind,” and reach “forth to those things which are before.” We can do it by the power of the Holy Spirit. Let’s do it!!! Bro. Joe “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith.”
There is one thing that we learn as we grow into adulthood: We will always have to deal with people – all sorts of people. We have to deal with them at work, at church, and in the communities in which we live. But there is one main person that we have to deal with and this is self. This is the person that we have to deal with twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. This is the person that we look at in the mirror every day. Our relationships with others will depend a lot on how we deal with self. Paul gives us some advice on this business of dealing with self. First, he tells us “not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think." That is, that we should not be conceited and think that we are better than everyone else. In order to keep from being conceited we need to not think of ourselves more often than we should think. If we aren’t careful, we will find our days consumed with thoughts about ourselves, and everything that we think or do, has to do with how things will affect “me.” To a certain extent this is natural, but when we think of self too much, we will spiritually and emotionally alienate ourselves from other people. Self preservation is a natural instinct, but to be obsessed with self preservation is not only unspiritual, it is unhealthy. Everything is not about us and how things affect us. Preoccupation with self interferes with our fellowship with each other. Take a little time and consciously try to think of yourself less and others more. Try not to make everything about yourself. Second, he tells us to “think soberly” about ourselves. This means that we should give serious thought to ourselves and be honest with ourselves about ourselves. We should take an honest look at ourselves, and if we are thinking about ourselves too highly or too frequently, we should ask God to help us to have a healthy view of self. I know from personal experience that it is sometimes difficult to look at ourselves honestly and to tell ourselves the truth about ourselves. It will horrify us sometimes that we are as preoccupied with ourselves as we are. Jesus is certainly our example here. I think that Jesus had a healthy view of Himself, and He certainly wasn’t hampered with feelings of inferiority, but He always took time to think about and minister to other people. Even when Jesus tried to get away and spend some time alone, He would always end up ministering to the people who came to Him. He looked with compassion on other people. It is at this point that we need to ask ourselves if we are compassionate toward other people, or if we just tolerate them. Think honestly, now, about your relationships with people. Does “self” keep getting in the way? Third, he told us to think “soberly, according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith.” We don’t usually think about faith as a gift from God, but it is. He has given us a “measure of faith” so that we can look at ourselves soberly and put ourselves in line with what faith is demanding of us. In the Bible, people like Peter, Andrew, James, and John had to think soberly about themselves. Would their faith enable these ordinary men to give up their occupation as fishermen, follow Jesus and become “fishers of men”? It was by faith that these men surrendered “self” to Jesus and went about doing what He would have them do. Maybe it is time that we took a look at ourselves and ask ourselves what difference our faith is making in our lives pertaining to decisions that we make about service for the Lord. Bro. Joe “I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. 9. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices: my flesh shall also rest in hope.”
We need to ask what it really is that makes our hearts glad? Are our hearts made glad because of what we have in the world, or are our hearts made glad because of the Lord and what He is doing in our lives? I am not saying that there is nothing in the world that should make our hearts glad. I am saying that those things in the world that make us glad would be better if the Lord was the basic cause for all of them. He wants to be a part of all of our lives, and wants to add to our joy. Let’s take a look at what David wrote in the two verses above that made his heart glad. He wrote that “I have set the Lord always before me.” This says to me that David wanted to be sure that He was being guided by right principles, so he always set the Lord before him instead of after him. God was not a last resort for David. Too many people put the Lord behind their backs and do what they want to do until they run into hard times, then they try to put the Lord before them and follow His leadership. It will be much better if we seek God before the bad things happen in our lives. He should be “before us” in the good times and bad times. I love the old gospel song, “The God on the Mountain Is Still God in the Valley.” The song reminds us that we always have God whether the times are good or bad. We just need to remember that it is as important to seek Him in the good times as it is to seek Him in the bad times. He wrote: “Because He is at my right hand…” I know that this does not complete the thought that David was making. We will deal with that next, but for now we need to see the importance of having God at our right hand. This means that David wanted to stay close to God. Along this same line, James wrote in James 4:7-8: “Submit yourselves therefore to God, Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you….” If God is not at your right hand, and you feel that He is not near you, let me remind you that God didn’t move – you did. In our own minds and hearts, we need to keep ourselves close to God. God does not move. He is always right where He has always been. After all, Jesus promised: “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the ages.” We need to remember that promise and know that God is at our right hand. He wrote: “Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.” The NIV translates this as “I will not be shaken.” What David meant here was that because He realized that God was near Him all of the time, the things that happened in his life did not shake him and move him away from his commitment to God. Often, when we face hard times, we think that God has forsaken us and we are shaken, so we move farther away from Him. These are the times when we need to draw ever closer to our Lord. He is with us in the valley and on the mountain. Clasp this truth from the song “My God Is Near Me all the Time” close to your heart and you will not be shaken and will stay close to Him in your mind and heart. Is your heart glad because you have set the Lord before you? Is your heart glad because you realize that He is near you every minute of every day? Is your heart glad because you have not been shaken and have stayed close to Him no matter what has happened in your life? Good questions, what are the answers? Bro. Joe (The beginning of every year is filled with expectations. Deuteronomy 10:12-13 presents some good expectations as we begin this year. Read them and take them to heart.)
“And now, Israel, what does the Lord thy God require (expect) of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul. 13. To keep the commandments of the Lord, and His statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?” The Book of Deuteronomy is actually a sermon by Moses as the children of Israel waited to enter the "Promised Land.” It is a summation of Israel’s travels and events from Egypt to that present time. In Deuteronomy, Moses gives some summary statements that serve as advice for God’s people as to how they should live. Deuteronomy 10:12-13 is one of those summary statements. It answers the question as to what basic requirements, or expectations, God had for Israel as they entered Canaan. It is good advice for us as well. The first expectation was “to fear the Lord thy God.” This does not just mean to be afraid of God, but hold Him in deep reverence and awe. One of the problems that Israel faced and that we face today is that, “there is no fear of God before their eyes.” God, as we know Him in Jesus, is not just “the man upstairs.” He is the creator of the universe and the master of all that He created. We would do well to heed Moses' advice. Do you really hold God in awe and reverence? The second expectation was “to walk in all His ways.” Moses wanted Israel to understand, as we are to understand, that there are two ways that we can walk – God’s way or our way. Moses knew from experience that Israel had a penchant for walking in their way as opposed to God’s way. God allows us to choose the way we will walk. If we walk in His way, the way might be rough sometimes, but it will be the rewarding way. If we walk in our way, we will eventually walk into disaster. I know what I’m talking about here, and you probably do too. God wants His people, including those of us who belong to Him through Jesus, to live right, to make right decisions instead of making wrong-headed decisions. I think that the disastrous journey of the prodigal son in Luke 15 is an example of what can happen when we take God’s resources and go our own way. He took a rough route until he came to his senses and sought out his father. The third expectation was “to love Him.” Jesus said that the first commandment is to “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” We should love God with all of the fiber of our being. If we will just think of all that He has done for us in Jesus, we should have no problem loving Him. When we love Him, we are returning the great love that He has for us. The fourth expectation was “to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord…” Notice that we are to serve Him from our hearts. Everything that we do that really counts in our lives comes from our hearts. If He has our hearts, we will serve Him wholeheartedly. Our salvation from God begins in our hearts, and everything else in our lives should come from our hearts. We are to serve God with all of our souls. This means that our service should proceed from who and what we are in Him. The “soul” is who and what we are, and it should be defined by our devotion to God/Jesus. We are to serve Him with our minds. When Christ saved us, He did not kill our minds. God wants us to keep our transformed minds on Him, and to think when we serve Him. We should serve Him with “the mind of Christ.” How are you doing in these areas of your life? Do you hold God in deep reverence (fear)? Do you walk in all His ways? Do you really love Him? Do you serve Him from deep within yourself? Think about it. Bro. Joe “And be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
If one is to be transformed, it will have to be by the renewing of his or her mind. Everything that we do begins in our minds. When Jesus was confronted about not washing his hands before He ate, He responded by telling His detractors that we are not condemned by what we put into ourselves but by what comes out of ourselves. This, obviously, is about being careful what we think because what we think will become our actions. If we think evil thoughts, the result will be evil actions. This is not to say that every thought becomes an action, but it is to say that whatever action we take comes from our minds. What is a renewed mind? A renewed mind is a mind that seeks that which is good. This means that we will need to be careful about what we watch and read. Paul wrote about this in Philippians 4:8: “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 by any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” You will have to admit that if we put our minds on Paul’s list of things in this verse, we must have a renewed mind. But this mind does not come from “turning over a new leaf.” All that you get when you turn over a leaf is the other side of the leaf, which is remarkably like the side that was flipped. One can change his or her mind and start thinking good things, but the transformation that is mentioned in our text will not take place by merely deciding to live a better life. A renewed mind is a mind that seeks to discover the will of God. The bottom line is that a Christian should be aware of the decisions that he or she makes. “What does God want me to do” is the mantra of the renewed mind. It is not always easy to know what God’s will is. For example, we can think that because something really works to our advantage, it must be the will of God. Well, a person with a renewed will read the Bible and he or she will know that God’s will did not always work to the advantage of His people. For example, if the Jews had been able to vote on the direction of their trek from Egypt to Canaan, they would probably have tried to avoid the Red Sea. A renewed mind will accept that one of the purposes of God’s will in our lives is to grow our faith. Our faith does not grow when everything always goes good for us. Follow God’s will whether what He wants will be for your worldly advantage or advancement. I sincerely hope that I have made plain to you what a renewed mind is, and that I did not muddy the waters for you. Put your faith and trust in Jesus, and allow Him to give you a renewed mind. Bro. Joe “When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe man’s labor on earth – his eyes not seeing sleep day or night – 17. Then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all his efforts to search it out, man cannot discern its meaning. Even if a wise man claims he knows, he cannot really comprehend it. 9:1: “So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no man knows whether love or hate awaits him…” (NIV)
We have a general idea of what a riddle is, but I want to give the definition to give clear direction to what I think our text means. It means a puzzling fact, thing or person. A riddle is something that we have to figure out the meaning of, and quite often we cannot decipher its meaning. I think that the Book of Job is a good example of what a riddle is as far as our lives are concerned.. The fact is that Job was puzzled as to why all of the bad things that happened to him happened, because he lived a good life. Do you realize that Job’s riddle was never solved? He never knew what had occurred between God and Satan that caused all of his problems. In our text, Solomon was dealing with the riddles of life that keep us awake at night: “his eyes not seeing sleep day or night.” We can’t solve all of the riddles of life because we are not smart enough to figure them out. There is too much that we would have to know, for example, why bad things happen to good people. God gave us brains so that we can think, but He did not give us infallible minds. Whenever things occur like the devastating tornadoes and hurricanes that continually destroy life and property we are tempted to ask "Why?". To things like this there is no “why” answer. All of this being true, what can we do with the riddles of life? We can accept that they happen, and when they happen we can pray for those whose lives have been devastated, and thank God for the many people who volunteer to help the people rebuild. In other words, we can pray and minister to people when the unthinkable happens in their lives. The worst thing that we can do is to shake our fists at God for allowing such things. We forget that we live in a fallen world. When Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden, our perfectly safe world was no more. I have found in my prayers over the riddles of life, there is no need for me to ask God “Why?” He doesn’t have to explain things to me. We can trust that God knows what has happened and is active in dealing with the lives of those who have been devastated. Many times people come out of devastating things that happen in their lives with a stronger belief in God, because they sought His presence in the crisis. It is understandable that people would be upset over devastating things that happen to them, but they need to understand that bitterness will not make the situation better. We just need to trust that God will take us through the hard times, as He does through the easy times. Trusting God is the answer. It does not answer the riddle, but it allows us to sleep at night and know that things will get better. In 9:1 Solomon wrote: “So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no man knows whether love or hate awaits him…” I interpret this to mean that those who are righteous and wise turn things over to God and accept the outcome – whatever it is. It is very comforting to know that all things –good and bad – that happen in our lives are not riddles to God, and that we can put ourselves in His hands and He will see us through. I do not mean that God causes all of the puzzling things, merely that He is aware of them and is ministering to us in the process – calling us to Himself. What we need to do is listen for the voice of God in all of the situations of life, and trust all of those situations to Him. With God in charge, it will work out in the end. You might be going through something right now that seems like it will never end. Trust it to God and ride through in His great hands. Bro. Joe “A man has joy by the answer of his mouth; and a word fitly spoken in due season, how good is it.” 15:21
“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.” 25:11 This idea came to me when I saw a sign on a church road sign that read: “Words may not break bones, but they can break hearts.” (If you do not know where this is from, it is from a saying that says, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.”) We should never underestimate the effect of our words on other people. Anyone who has ever been the victim of vicious words will attest to this. There is an incident from 2 Samuel 15 that reminds us of the importance of words. Absalom, one of the sons of David, decided to replace his father as King of Israel. He sat at one of the gates of Jerusalem and criticized his father’s abilities as people who had anything against his father came through them. He did this until he became the king of Israel in his father’s place. Absalom didn’t become king because he had actually done anything that qualified him to be the king of Israel; rather, he became the king of Israel because of the words that he used in winning people to his side. It doesn’t make any difference as to whether or not words are true, once they are unleashed in a negative way they can damage reputations beyond repair. There are a lot of people who have been totally defeated by false words. They might have even been vindicated of what they were accused of, but they were still defeated. Indeed, words can break hearts and ruin reputations. This is the negative side of the issue. Thankfully, there is another side to this issue: Take the words from Proverbs 15:21: “A man has joy by the answer of his mouth; and a word fitly spoken in due season, how good is it.” Nothing can encourage a person as much as being told that he or she has done a good job. Someone once asked me if I ever tired of people telling me that they “enjoyed the sermon”? My answer was, “Heavens no! Do I want them to say “terrible sermon”? Preachers like all other humans, need words of encouragement to remind them that they are doing a good job. We need to remember this when we are talking to people. It is good to remember that, “A man has joy by the answer of his mouth.” For the most part, I want the answer of my mouth to bring joy. This is not always possible, .but it should be the predominate purpose of the answer of our mouths. We should never use words to intentionally hurt people. If we use negative words, and we sometimes have to, let it be for the good purpose of helping the person to whom we are speaking. Personally, I have been helped by words of criticism that I knew were given in love to help me do better. I particularly needed this when I was a “young preacher boy.” Proverbs 25:12 speaks to this issue: “Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is a wise man’s rebuke to a listening ear.” It is always true that, “A word fitly spoken in due season, how good is it.” It is also true that “words fitly spoken, are like apples of gold in pictures of silver.” I have to admit that I have always had a difficult time figuring out exactly what this means. (Hey, I never claimed to know everything. J) The Jeremiah Study Bible gave me some insight into this verse: “The right word spoken at the right time in the right setting can be pleasing and beautiful.” This commentary referred me to Isaiah 50:4: “The Lord God has given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak. A word in season to him who is weary. He awakens me morning by morning, He awakens my ear to hear as the learned.” This was a quote from “the Servant,” and is commonly referred to as a prophecy about Jesus Christ. Jesus is the epitome of the two verses that I have written about. His words were beautiful, and helpful. For example, in Matthew 11:28 Jesus said, “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” Beautiful words, indeed, that have been helpful to millions of people. Use words wisely and helpfully instead of being critical and mean-spirited. Bro. Joe "I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images."
When God says that He is a "jealous God," He is not speaking from insecurity. He is speaking out of concern for people who ignore Him, or worship other "gods." In the USA we are not overrun with "graven images," but we have surely come up with some good substitutes. Today, we have secularism. The strategy of secularists is to take all spiritual, or religious, things out of our society and put our Christian witness into a church ghetto. Secularists are doing a good job of helping destroy our country and God is not pleased, because "He will not give His glory to another." Closely tied to secularism is atheism. It appears to me that the national religion is becoming atheism. Say what you want, atheism is a religion today. Atheists have put their faith in the hope that there is no God. Then there is materialism. To a certain extent, we are all guilty of this. We are as guilty as the atheists and the secularists. We are enamored with "things" to the extent that we run up credit card debts that we cannot pay back. Now I'm really going to meddle. "Churchanity" is a "graven image." What is churchanity? Notice that this replaces Christianity. In churchanity we put buildings and programs ahead of Christ. Buildings and programs are important, but they are not our main focus. We are to focus on Christ and put Him at the head of our churches. (Read Colossians 1:16-18) He still means it. It is worth mentioning again that God is not insecure because of the things that we put into His place. God knows that we need Him and that no one can love us and give us security like He can. There is really nothing that can effectively take the place of God in our lives. We need the Lord above anything or anyone else in the world. Meditate on your life and where your loyalty lies, and if you have what could be called a graven image, discard it and concentrate on the Lord – Who alone can be your savior. Bro. Joe |
AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
All
Archives
September 2021
|