Christian life

We Should be Thankful

Posted on by Bob Mathews

As I ponder over things in this life and the things I should have done, I awaken to the fact that I still can do the things I should have done long ago. The thing that comes to mind first is that I should have been much more thankful for what I was blessed with. When the inspired writer of Malachi writes in 1:2, it says this, “”I have loved you,” says the Lord, But you say, “How have you loved us?”” The Jews during this time were not very thankful for what God had done for them. Even though this is written to the Jews, it still can apply to us today.

Are we thankful for all that God has done for us? Or do we say I am not very blessed, just look at my situation in this life. We all just need a calculator to start numbering all that our God has blessed with and be so thankful. I understand it today but as I was growing up I should have been more thankful for my family. I was very blessed to have parents who really loved me and gave their all to make me the person that I am. Not only my parents but my whole family, grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins. As I look back in time when all these members were here, I should have been even more thankful. You really don’t understand these great blessings until you don’t have them any longer. Most of us could relate to this and understand how we have been blessed, so we must be thankful.

In my youth I was blessed by a great church family. Elders and preachers who were great examples but I should have been more aware of how much they loved me and taught me about God. There was a little old lady who told me a story from the Bible that I still remember, Alice was her name. I wish I could tell them all thank you for helping for this person called Jack.

The things that should never come from me at this point in life is that I am ungrateful for all the blessings that come from our God. Our God has given His Son to me. God has given us the hope that carries us thru every day. He will bless us with the hope of heaven if we are true and obedient to Him.

Psalm 111 says, “Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart, In the company of the upright and in the assembly. Great are the works of the Lord; They are studied by all who delight in them. Splendid and majestic is His work, And His righteousness endures forever. He has made His wonders to be remembered; The Lord is gracious and compassionate. He has given food to those who fear Him; He will remember His covenant forever. He has made known to His people the power of His works, In giving them the heritage of the nations. The works of His hands are truth and justice; All His precepts are sure. They are upheld forever and ever; They are performed in truth and uprightness. He has sent redemption to His people; He has ordained His covenant forever; Holy and awesome is His name. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever.”

I am thankful. Will you be?                                                               – Jack Hawes

God Comes Through

Posted on by Bob Mathews

In 1 Kings 18:20 and following verses, Elijah, a great man of God goes up to Mount Carmel and sent a message to King Ahab to bring the people and the prophets of Baal up to the mountain. Elijah then proceeded to ask the people why they waffle between worshipping God and Baal. He tells them that they need to choose one or the other. After saying this he sets up a way to show the people that God is the almighty living God. He challenged the 450 prophets of Baal to a duel. He had both set up altars and see which God would answer by fire from heaven.

Elijah gave an abundant amount of time to the prophets of Baal to attempt everything they could to try and get an answer from their god, even to the point of cutting themselves. Inevitably their god never answered them. Elijah stood up and built his altar to God, prepared the sacrifice, and then soaked it all in water for emphasis. As soon as Elijah prayed to God rained down a mighty fire that consumed the soaked sacrifice as well as everything else. God came through for Elijah to prove his point to the people that they need to choose the true God.

Today many people look at the world and see how many people, who don’t follow God, seem to be better off and more blessed in this life. However, just because they have what they want in this life does not guarantee their spiritual life. Many times the wicked people of the bible prosper, right up until God brings judgment on them. God’s judgment will come to all of us, but we have a sense of peace because unlike those who don’t follow God in this life, God will come through for us on the Day of Judgment, just as he came through for Elijah.                                                                                                              Jacob Saarloos

Do Not Fear

Posted on by Bob Mathews

“It is said that the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin so feared for his safety that his residence in Moscow contained eight bedrooms. Each night Stalin chose a bedroom at random to ensure that no one knew exactly where he was sleeping.” – Unknown

Stalin is a man with the exact opposite attitude of Elisha. In 2 Kings 6, Elisha is being hunted down by the Arameans because being a prophet of God he was sent word and warned the king of Israel where they were going to be. The king of Aram couldn’t have Elisha giving valuable information away so he sent a great army to go get Elisha. When that great army arrived, Elisha’s servant seeing the city surrounded went to tell Elisha because he was afraid. After telling Elisha the servant asked, “what shall we do.” Elisha simply answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Now the servant couldn’t see the physical presence of God and His army but Elisha knew that they were there and trusted in God, which allowed him not to be afraid.

Today we often forget that God is still there protecting us as He did for Elisha. We are more like Stalin afraid of the things that may happen or the people that may be after us. Jesus even gives us some comfort about this problem of fear. Jesus says, “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28). If we are going to fear anything or anyone it should only be God. It is possible that something could happen and we may lose our life, but nothing can take away our soul but God. If we stay faithful and fully trust in God like Elisha even if we die in this physical world our eternal soul will be safely tucked away with God. So, what is there to fear other than being separated from God?       Jacob Saarloos

Peer Pressure (Daniel 3)

Posted on by Bob Mathews

The probability is that in all of our lives at some point we have been pressured into deciding to do something. This is a common occurrence that can happen at any point in life. The question is what choice did you make? Now not all peer pressure is bad, at times it can simply be neutral or even good. Sometimes it can help us to grow as a person. The example I am thinking of is when your friends talk you into eating something you have never tried or going to a type of restaurant that you have never been to. No matter the decision you make on these kinds of peer pressures you are still in good standing. There is no tarnished reputation or worry about someone knowing what you have done.

However, it is true that when we think of peer pressure we generally think of it in a negative light. And in most cases, this is an unfortunate fact. So when these times of peer pressure arise do you make a decision based on what is easier for you now or what is better for you later?

Interestingly enough this is something dealt with throughout history and the Bible mentions such occasions and can help us reach a good decision. In the book of Daniel, Daniel has three specific men mentioned as being taken with him into Babylonian captivity Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. These men in their work in Babylon came to a time of extreme pressure. They had the choice to bow down and worship something other than God or be killed. These men chose what was better than what was easy at the time because they knew God was with them no matter the outcome. When you are a child of God you have the knowledge that God will always be on our side no matter what as long as we make our decisions based on what God would want us to do. If we chose what is better for later, rather than what is easy now we can be assured that God will stand by our side.                                                                                                                                          Jacob Saarloos

Preparing the Way

Posted on by Bob Mathews

At the beginning of the gospel of Mark, we find a man called John the Baptist. He was tasked with the job of preparing the people for the coming of Jesus. John the Baptist took his job seriously, preaching and teaching the people of the greater One that was coming. He taught them of the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins that was to be. He even baptized those who heard and responded to what was being taught (Mark 1:4-5).

John the Baptist may have been preparing the way, but even today the message needs to be taught. We might not have to prepare the way for Christ, as John did, but we need to have the same love that Christ did for the world and give of ourselves to teach others the word. If we love others then we will have true concerns for their souls which is a powerful motivator. That love will give us the reason to go out and speak the truth to others just like John the Baptist did. He did not live in a lap of luxury because he understood what was important and that was Christ. The things of this world are fleeting and we need to focus on what is ahead. John the Baptist focused ahead on the coming of Christ and we today can do the same thing.

We need to focus on the second coming of Christ and look ahead to the promise of heaven and eternal life that he has brought to us. Similar to John the Baptist, we also need to preach to the people the blessings of Christ and the future that there is to look forward to in heaven. God desires that all men are saved and the way he does that is through his gospel. God has blessed us to be part of his family and given us the ability and opportunity to share the gospel with others. This is something that is a responsibility and like John the Baptist we need to take that responsibility seriously. If we go about this with the same attitude and enthusiasm as John, then like him people will hear and respond to the word of God. John the Baptist prepared the way for Christ, Christ set the path that leads to eternal life, and now we have to put up the road signs that lead people to the path.

Jacob Saarloos

The Glass House

Posted on by Bob Mathews

People at times refer to their lives as being like a glasshouse. Everything they do and every choice they make can be seen and is scrutinized by the surrounding public. This idea of living in a glass house can be seen in scripture. In Joshua 22 the tribes that return to their land across the Jordan River build an altar that the tribes that stayed in Canaan take offense to. In this event, we see two points that can help us deal with and avoid conflict in the future with our brethren and people outside the church.

The first point we see in this event is that, although what was done by those tribes seemed to be offensive and against the will of God, the western tribes did not immediately attack them for the wrong they committed. They sent an emissary first to get to the bottom of the problem and find out if the eastern tribes realized what they had done. Because they sent this emissary they were are able to find out that the altar was made to be a memorial not an offense to God. We need to remember that we may see things in a different way than what they are meant. We need to be careful not to jump to conclusions and make problems when there are none.

The second point we see in this event is that the things we do are seen by others. The building of this altar was seen by the other tribes and mistaken for something it wasn’t. We need to understand that things we do can be misconstrued for something that it was intended to be. We need to be ready to explain ourselves in a way that is not disrespectful to those who have questions. We need to be humble like the eastern tribe and be willing to be corrected if we are in the wrong.

We as Christians need to live in a glass house in the sense that what we do is transparent and our actions can be easily identified by those watching. We need to approach others in love when problems arise so that we don’t make problems where there are none. If we are doing the work of the Lord, then we should have no problem living in a glass house so others can see who we are.

Jacob Saarloos

Our Responsibility to Know

Posted on by Bob Mathews

Too many times we see churches that are led away from the truth because they are willing to blindly follow the one who is leading them. We indeed need to have leaders in place so we can be effective and strong as God’s people. However, it is our responsibility, each member of the body of Christ, to know when those leaders are false teachers. It is easy for some to follow their leaders without question. After all, they assume that they have the position because they know what they doing and what they are to do. But think for a minute about the kings of old. In particular, think of Manasseh king of Judah.

Manasseh was only a boy when he became the king of Judah and he turned the people from all things godly (Isa. 9:16). Manasseh’s leadership carried the people away from God. He was young and did return to God later in his life but the position he had meant nothing as far as keeping the people on the path of God. Manasseh used his position to accomplish his own goals. The people willingly followed and in the end, were led away into captivity because of it. We cannot be like those people who are easily led away from God. It is our responsibility to know better because all the truth that is God has been revealed to us. We must know all of that truth so that we can follow God even if there is an absence of leaders or to know those that are qualified to shepherd God’s flock. All the answers we need are in the book that brings life, and if we desire to obtain that life we need to know that book so others can’t lead us into darkness with well-spoken words.

Jacob Saarloos

 

Influence

Posted on by Bob Mathews

Influence is a powerful thing.

John Hancock once said, “The greatest ability in business is to get along with others and to influence their actions.”

John C. Maxwell made the simple statement that “leadership is influence.” It is evident that influence is and can be one of the most powerful tools we can use to shape the world around us and sometimes even the whole world as we know it. In regards to leadership and influence, some of the most influential people for God’s people were the kings.

Two kings in particular stand out on both ends of the influencing spectrum. Josiah (2 Kings 22:1-2) became a king and the young age of eight and went on to be one of the best kings that Judah had. He influenced the people to return to God and do away with all the evils that they were so regularly involved in. Manasseh (2 Kings 21:1-2) also began his reign as a boy at the age of twelve. However, Manasseh went the opposite way. He led the people back to all kinds of idol worship and immorality. His influence on the people was so great that it led the people so far away from God that there was nothing left that could save the wickedness from being punished by God.

Influence is a powerful tool to keep in mind. Influence is not always something you can control because there is always someone watching what you do. This is why it is so important how we live our lives because our lives can have an impact on the lives of those around us and therefore the souls around us. If we live contrary to the way that we say we believe then we influence people to disregard God as being something unimportant. But if we live our lives solely for God we can influence others to see the glory of God through us and therefore strive for to be that way themselves. So what kind of influence do you portray? Do you bring people closer to God like Josiah, or further away from God like Manasseh?

Jacob Saarloos

Making the Choice of God

Posted on by Bob Mathews

Choices are something that we are all faced with every day of our lives. Sometimes those choices are just simple everyday occurrences like what to eat for breakfast, but we do come across those choices that shape who we are from time to time. To see an example of this let’s look at Ahaz king of Judah and his son Hezekiah who was later king of Judah, which is recorded in the book of 2 Kings starting at chapter 16.

When Ahaz became king he was in the midst of a war with Israel and Syria. Ahaz had choices to make.

God wanted to help him and was ready to

if Ahaz would simply turn to Him. Ahaz chose to turn to man rather than God and sought the help of Assyria. Ahaz showed his character and how he wanted to find a way himself rather than to rely on God in his life. This may have worked in theory for Ahaz because Assyria did come to his aid and rid him of the problem of Israel and Syria. Unfortunately, because Assyria was brought into the land and paid for their assistance they became greedy and eventually turned on the land of Judah. Ahaz made his choice to rely on someone other than God and it brought despair to the people.

Hezekiah, on the other hand, chose to not only trust in the Lord but to cling to Him as well, and because of this, the Lord was with Hezekiah. You can see this because at a time when Hezekiah was ill he prayed to the Lord and the Lord swiftly answered through Isaiah and healed Hezekiah and also gave him 15 extra years to his life. Hezekiah’s choice of God was not only beneficial for him it also helped the people, because when Assyria came down upon them God struck down 185,000 of their men in one night.

Hezekiah chose God. Can we make that same choice in our lives when times are tough? When we get down or are struggling is God the one that we look to? We will all face choices at times that aren’t as simple or easy as choosing breakfast, but it will show our character. Are we going to be like Ahaz and chose man or like Hezekiah and chose God?

Jacob Saarloos

Romans 8:28 – #3

Posted on by Bob Mathews

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. (NLT)

Although other translations will do the job, the NLT has the better presentation of what is here meant. That is important for 8:28. It also is important for 8:29f. Remember, every text has a context. We come up short if we cherry pick. We may well miss the intent of God in saying things as He does. Keeping that in mind, let’s look at how Paul elaborates upon the working of God in regard to believers who are suffering.

29 For those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those He predestined, He also called; and those He called, He also justified; and those He justified, He also glorified.

Suffering and hardship in this life cannot torpedo God’s arranged redemptive plan for all those who love Him in Christ.

See that little word “for” which sets in motion v.29? Well, it is no mean word.  “For” is the link, the connector. It leads to the reason for the “we know” of v.28. The reason we have confidence in what God is doing about our trials in the present is because of what He already has done ABOUT US in the past and will do in the future – and how He looks at it all. What God has, in Christ, done ABOUT us far outweighs anything life can do TO us! (That, by the way, is the basic message of the book of Revelation to believers suffering unspeakable things at the hand of persecuting Rome. You may want to look at some of that.) Here, Paul wants us to see our temporal trials as God sees them. Perspective in our pain can be huge! (Remember from the last note: we may never understand but we can stand under certain staggering realities about the God we know and love in Jesus.

So, 8:28 is true because 8:29-30 is true – and 8:28 is going on because 8:29-30 has already gone on, in the mind and purposes and workings of the One Who is before and above all. Regardless of how you slice 8:29-30, Paul’s point is this: from beginning to end, God has, according to His eternal wisdom and power, worked out His perfect arrangement in Christ for our eternal blessing and well-being. It is a done deal in the eyes of God. Regardless of its severity of the moment, suffering and hardship in this life cannot torpedo God’s arranged redemptive plan for all those who love Him in Christ. 8:29,30 is a panoramic statement of immense magnitude. It is overwhelming. It leaves Paul open-mouthed, saying, “What then can we say to these things” – 8:31? It is as if he were saying, “This is too good to be true.” Well, considering that God is in the middle of the whole movement, it is too good NOT to be true. It is the difference God makes in Christ and in YOUR trials. Paul is in awe of it. Is that not what you get out of 8:31-39? Look at it:

31 What then are we to say about these things?
If God is for us, who is against us?
32 He did not even spare His own Son
but offered Him up for us all;
how will He not also with Him grant us everything?…
35 Who can separate us from the love of Christ?
Can affliction or anguish or persecution
or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?… 
37 No, in all these things we are more than victorious
through Him who loved us.
38 For I am persuaded that not even death or life,
angels or rulers,
things present or things to come, hostile powers,
39 height or depth, or any other created thing
will have the power to separate us
from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!

If you don’t mind,  I would like to come back to this. I need this for me. Do you need it for you? Here is a thought: why don’t we read 8:28-31 every day for the next week? Then, pray believing it. You see, having God’s perspective on things elevates everything about our lives as believers, especially how we think and how we pray. Nothing here has been said in levity or indifference about our hardships and heartaches. We dare not minimize the pain and fears many experience. But it emphatically matters that we get God’s view of the whole thing, don’t you think?

peek