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Birdwell Lane Church of Christ Big Spring, TX |
Weekly Thoughts - April 2009
| <---- March 2009 | -- | May 2009 ----> |
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05 - ENEMIES 12 - FREE, FREE AT LAST 19 - UNDERSTANDING THE DECEPTION OF HUMANISM 26 - I AM CRUCIFIED |
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ENEMIES Once more the leaves are green. Perhaps it is more accurate to say they appear to be green because we only see the colors that the leaves reflect. As light waves penetrate the transparent surface of a leaf, they are embedded in stacked, plate-like structures. The chlorophyll molecules, absorb the orange-red and the blue-violet rays but reflect the green rays. In the Bible the Lord’s disciples are in various ways likened to plants (Jn. 15:1-6; Romans 11:16-23). Certainly they are like foliage in that they are perceived by what they reflect and absorb. Jesus teaches His disciples to absorb mistreatment from others (Matt. 5:39-41) while reflecting the qualities of their heavenly Father (vv. 42-48). The Pharisee position exploited the eye-for-eye command (Ex. 21:24; Lev. 24:20) by making it an excuse for personal vengeance. But the context of the Deuteronomy passage (vv.15-18) makes it clear that verses 19-21 apply only to judgment of a court. As Jesus counters the Pharisee’s misuse of Scripture, He teaches the disciples to absorb mistreatment by giving three hypothetical situations in which one might be tempted to take revenge (Matt. 5:39-41). He implies a fourth situation in which one might be tempted not to loan something to one who had wronged him (v.42). He then calls upon His disciples to reflect God’s agape love to their enemies, by seeking their interests as God does with those who have enmity toward Him (vv. 44-47). In this way the disciples will grow to be more spiritually mature, reflecting the quality of the Father who is completely mature spiritually (v.48). See ya Sunday, Ralph |
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FREE, FREE AT LAST One of the sweetest passages in our New Testament is Romans chapter eight. There we find the Assurance Of Our Salvation. We read of the Possibility of Being Holy in 8:1-11; the Privileges of Being Holy in 8:12-17; and the Encouragement to Be Holy in 8:18-39. In this section we read of the Assurance Of Salvation—verses 31-399. Five important questions dominate this section. They proceed from the basic thought found in verse 31, “If God be for us.”
See ya Sunday, Ralph |
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UNDERSTANDING THE DECEPTION OF HUMANISM Religious humanism is an expression of “THE LIE”- that man is equal with God. Satan and his army as pictured in Revelation 12:3-4 were cast out of heaven because they rebelled against God’s authority and wanted to be equal with Him. The rebellion that caused Satan’s fall became the basis of his temptation of Adam and Eve and all generations which have come from them. He assured Eve:”For God does know that in the day you eat from the tree of knowledge, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). Every one of us will be tempted with “the lie.” If we reject the moral disciplines of God’s truth, He will send us a strong delusion, and then we will believe “the lie.” The philosophies which are built on “the lie” are as dangerous as the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. Because of this, God warns Christians to “beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit…” (Colossians 2:8). World Government is this…Abortion, Women’s rights, Situation ethics, Divorce & Remarriage, Children’s rights, Sexual Revolution, Euthanasia/ Suicide or the Evolution of The Mind of Man. BUT we are to build the Foundations of GODLY GENERATIONS, Design, Authority, Clear conscience, Forgiveness, Yielding rights, Moral freedom, Purpose. God has promised to raise up a standard when the enemy comes in like a flood. You are a vital part of that standard when you allow the Word and power of Christ to work through your life as you live obedient to Him. NOW is the time for every man to dedicate himself to the Lord Jesus Christ and to the following of His Word. See ya Sunday, Ralph |
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UNDERSTANDING THE DECEPTION OF HUMANISM Christianity is one thing – a cross. The Christian life is a crucified life. This is not poetry but practical living. “…If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” (Matt. 16:24-35). If any man come to me, and does not hate his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26-27)> Paul simply said, “I die daily” (1 Cor. 15:31). Simply stated, we die to live. That’s the rub! Men resist death. We want Christianity without a cross, a life without cost. But life teaches we die to live. Seed dies to live; men die for causes; in the resurrection something must go in before something can come out. Sinners die to self and to sin (Rom. 6:1-18). The fundamental life is dying to live, dying to reproduce. Jesus calls us to die. One cannot hurt a dead man; one cannot kill a dead man. The man who has given up everything can give up anything. We cannot have peace without purity, forgiveness without change, strength without discipline. We cannot be cured without being conquered. Jesus must become the Lord of our life. The problem is not world evangelism – The problem is “apathy—church crucifixion”. Perhaps the question then needs to be asked, “Who is the church?” See ya Sunday, Ralph |
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