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Birdwell Lane Church of Christ Big Spring, TX |
Weekly Thoughts - April 2010
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04 - THANK YOU 11 - OBEYING OUR LORD 18 - YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND, I AM FAITHFUL 25 - FORGIVENESS |
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THANK YOU Brethren by the time you read this our meeting with Brother Ted Kell will be a thing of the past. What we do with it will be a part of our future. Brother Ted certainly did his part with skill and passion. Will we now do our part with the same passion? It depends on YOU as to what the final results of the past four days will be. The elders allowed Brother Kell to be with us. We owe them a great deal of thanks. To all who came out each day for the lunch devotionals, THANK YOU for making them successful. To those of Birdwell Lane who faithfully attended services each evening, THANK YOU. Your desire to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ certainly made the evening services uplifting. Your attendance, attentiveness, prayers and singing glorified our great God, THANK YOU. Let the elders know how much you appreciate their allowing Ted to be with us. All of you are to be commended for all that you did to make our meeting a success. To those of the surrounding congregations, THANK YOU for sharing your time and love for God with us. You were a great encouragement to all of us. May each of you be blessed for your love and commitment to God, Christ and one another. Without your support our meeting could not have been what it was. THANK YOU. Uplifting, encouraging, challenging and glorifying to God are just a few of the visible results of four great days. Now comes the work; applying the lessons to our lives as individuals. To God be the glory. See Ya Sunday, Ralph |
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OBEYING OUR LORD The most quoted verse from the Bible is no doubt John 3:16, which says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes on Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” It is interesting that just 20 verses later in the same chapter you have another very important verse which is never quoted. It says, “He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life; but he that obeys not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” Many stress the “faith only” doctrine to the disparagement of obedience. There is no Bible faith without obedience. It is well for us to consider what obedience really means. It is COMPLETE submission. It means that we obey Him even when we do not fully understand or agree with what He has commanded. Often we do the commands of Christianity because they seem to be the intelligent and appropriate thing to do. In reality we are obeying our own good sense and judgment. We travel with Jesus because He happens to be going the same way we are going. Actually, we are obeying Jesus only as long as His commands strike us as being right and proper. Have we really studied what His Word has to say about giving and sacrifice? How much would we be giving if we really caught His spirit on this matter? What about worship? How often would He go if He were here in the flesh? How fanatical would He be about Bible study and prayer? Remember that He prayed all night. And His customary practice was to be in the synagogue for study and fellowship. Very often we still sit in the driver’s seat in our hearts. We still pass judgment on how involved we will get with His commands. How much reservation can we have with complete obedience? Do we really have the attitude that says, “Speak Lord, your servant hears. Command and I will obey?” Jesus is still asking, “Why call Me Lord, and do not the things I command you?” We travel His road because He is our Lord! See Ya Sunday, Ralph |
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YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND, I AM FAITHFUL A couple of weeks ago I was asked this question, “If I don’t forgive can I be forgiven?” The simple answer is no. In Matthew chapter 18 are some of the greatest lessons our Lord ever taught. He spoke about forgiveness—what it is and what it does. Forgiveness is a redemptive act essential to our own mental, emotional, and spiritual health. The lack of forgiveness is a prevalent sin among many Christians. It is not enough to say, “I forgive you”; nor is it enough to act civil towards one who has wronged us. Genuine forgiveness means moving past the hurt to reconciliation. Failure to do so leaves an open wound that cannot heal. Forgiveness is the most powerful witness to the grace of God. When we forgive others, it tells the world that God is still alive and active. It is a powerful antidote for our feelings of resentment over wrongs done to us by others. Nursing a grudge is a serious spiritual problem for some people. It weakens our resolve to share the gospel with others, which is our commission. It prevents an effective ministry. We must forgive others instead of casting them out of our lives. Forgiveness is an experience necessary to healing and wholeness in our own lives. Forgiveness is not just passive resignation. There is no healing in the attitude that says, “There’s nothing more I can do.” Forgiveness allows us to move from weakness to strength, from inadequacy to self-affirmation. Forgiveness is a creative force that brightens an otherwise darkened world. Is there someone you need to forgive? Put aside pride and pain, and do the right thing. See Ya Sunday, Ralph |
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FORGIVENESS Someone once said the following must be emphasized if we are to be faithful. We must remain faithful to the teachings of Christ. First of all, since the gospel consists of a definite message, we can be certain of its content. We can be assured of its truthfulness and can therefore be confident in its proclamation. Secondly, because we can know that it is true, we can also know that anything opposed to it is false, and since Christ explicitly stated that it is the truth which sets men free, we must warn those in error, showing them that since they are in error, they are still in bondage. Thirdly, since the Christian’s knowledge includes the knowledge of propositions, we must energetically defend those propositions against all who would deny them. Fourthly, we must recognize that this defense is a Christian obligation; it is not a matter of choice. It is now time for members of the body of Christ to stand up and be counted, recognizing that faith necessarily involves it proclamation and defense. “Having the same spirit of faith, according to that which is written, I believe and therefore did I speak, we also believe and therefore also we speak.” (2 Corinthians 4:13). Now let’s consider again the question of understanding as seen in our title. Am I faithful? Might be I need to re-evaluate just how faithful I really am. See Ya Sunday, Ralph |
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