Taking Jesus Seriously

Posted on March 11, 2023 by jesustrek

The New Testament book of Colossians is all about Jesus. Jesus is the God who created everything and holds all things together. Jesus is the head of the church, which is his body. Jesus made it possible for people to have peace with God through his sacrificial death on the cross (Col.1:15-20).

Our baptism united us with Jesus (Col.2:12) and placed us on a high spiritual plane with him (Col.3:1-4). The privileges we enjoy as Christians are indeed a wonderful blessing. However, there are some very important responsibilities that go along with being followers of Jesus Christ.

If Jesus is truly Lord, then he determines our morality. We must turn from sinful activities (Col.3:5-11) and embrace a lifestyle that reflects our new status as God’s people (Col.3:12-14). We can’t live any way we choose. If Jesus is our Lord, we must live as he chooses.

If Jesus is our Lord, then we must live in community with other believers. The idea that one can be a Christian apart from other Christians is completely foreign to Scripture. Consider all of the “one another” verses we find in the New Testament. Colossians 3:15-17 urges us to live in peace together, being thankful for what we have in Jesus and exhorting each other to allow the word of God to flourish in the church as we speak and act as representatives of Jesus.

The Lordship of Jesus Christ must also extend to the home and workplace. A spirit of loving sacrifice will greatly enhance the relationships of husbands and wives, and of parents and children (Col.3:18-21). An attitude of humility and a desire to serve with excellence will go far in showing a good Christian witness in the workplace (Col.3:22-4:1).

Paul the apostle brings his letter to the Colossians to a climax with these words: “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” (4:2-6).

Our mission to spread the good news about salvation through Jesus must be bathed in prayer. We should watch for what God is doing in this world and be thankful for the many ways that he answers our prayers for his kingdom to come and his will be done. We should pray for preachers, teachers, missionaries and all Christians who are faithfully proclaiming the word of God.

Our prayers must be followed by the proper actions. We need to be smart about how we interact with non-Christians. If we are too quiet about our faith, they may get the idea that it’s not important. However, if we are arrogant and overbearing, they may be turned off by our presentation of the gospel.

We need to make the most of every opportunity. God gives us chances to witness all the time, and we need to take advantage of these opportunities to impact someone’s eternal fate. Our speech should be winsome and attractive. We should have mastered the basics of the faith so that we can properly answer people’s questions about who Jesus is and how they must respond to his grace if they want to become one of his followers.

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The Proper Grip

Posted on March 8, 2023 by jesustrek

“Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.”—Col.3:20-21.

Many books about raising children have struggled to express the wisdom contained in these two verses of the Bible. It is easy to emphasize one verse at the risk of excluding the other. Some parents are so focused on making their children obey them that their children become discouraged. On the other hand, some parents are so afraid of embittering their children that they never correct their children for any reason. Both approaches lead to unnecessary conflict in the family. A careful balance of these two verses is preferable.

Someone once pointed out that raising a child is like holding a wet bar of soap. Too firm a grip and it shoots right out of your hand. However, too loose a grip and it also slides away. A gentle but firm grasp keeps it under your control.

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Posted on March 3, 2023 by jesustrek

The Bible often emphasizes the importance of families teaching faith to the next generation. The apostle Paul says this to his beloved disciple Timothy—“I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.” (2 Tim.1:5). Prov.22:6 says, “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”

Years ago a study of two very different families gave evidence to the fact that how children are brought up can have a profound impact on how their lives turn out.

Max Jukes lived in New York. He did not believe in Christ or in Christian training. He refused to take his children to church, even when they asked to go. Jukes had 1,026 descendants. 300 were sent to prison for an average of 13 years. 190 were prostitutes. 680 were alcoholics. His family cost the state hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years and made no significant contributions to society.

Compare that family legacy with the family of Jonathan Edwards, who lived in the same state at about the same time as Jukes. Edwards loved the Lord and served Christ to the best of his ability. He saw that his children were in church every Sunday. Edwards had 929 descendants, and of these 430 were ministers, 86 became university professors, 13 became university presidents, 75 became authors, 7 were elected to the United States Congress and one became vice president of the United States. Edward’s family never cost the taxpayers any money and have contributed immeasurably to society.

The study of these two families highlights the importance of teaching faith in our families. The devil knows this, so he is working overtime to try to destroy the family as God designed it, and our culture is beginning to see the tragic results of his efforts.

Families that pass along the faith tend to prosper in numerous ways, and they have a tremendous positive impact on the world around them. With so much at stake, let’s make a concerted effort to teach the faith to the next generation.

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Framing

Posted on February 28, 2023 by jesustrek

Over the years baseball catchers have adopted a practice that is called framing. When a pitch is just out of the strike zone, the catcher will receive the pitch and immediately move his mitt into the strike zone, hoping to fool the umpire into calling the pitch a strike. This doesn’t work very often on major league umpires, but occasionally a catcher will pull off the trick. It works often enough that catchers will automatically try to frame every borderline pitch.

In life, God is our umpire. He is the one who calls the balls and strikes. God determines which behaviors are out of the zone for a Christian and which behaviors are permitted.

Some people try to “frame the pitches” for God. They try to take an action that God has expressly forbidden and move it into the realm of things that are permitted.

That never works with God. Ever.

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.”—Isaiah 5:20.

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Giving Your Body

Posted on February 28, 2023 by jesustrek

Ron Hunt played major league baseball in the 1960s and ’70s. Hunt was a pretty good hitter, twice batting over .300 for a season. But he was best known for getting on base by allowing himself to be hit by a pitch. When Hunt retired, he held 3 major league records for getting hit by a pitch: 243 in a career, 50 in a season and 3 (tied) in a game.

Hunt had a great quote about his special talent—“Some people give their bodies to science; I give mine to baseball.”

Being a Christian isn’t easy. Living for Jesus daily takes a toll on your mind, body and soul. Let’s be willing to make the kind of sacrifices that leave marks on us.

“From now on, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.”—Galatians 6:17.

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God’s Pursuit

Posted on February 24, 2023 by jesustrek

One evening a woman was driving home when she noticed a huge truck behind her that was driving uncomfortably close. She wanted to put some distance between herself and the truck, so she stepped on the gas. However, when she sped up, the truck did too. The faster she drove, the faster the truck went. She could not separate herself from the truck, so she became even more concerned.

At this point, she exited the highway, hoping that at last she would be free from the aggressive truck driver. But the truck followed her off the exit. Now the lady was getting scared. She turned up a main street, hoping to lose her pursuer in traffic. But the truck stayed right with her. At one point the trucker even ran a red light as he continued the chase.

Reaching a point of panic, the woman whipped her car into a convenience store parking lot and leaped out of her vehicle. She ran into the store screaming for help. The truck driver sprang from his vehicle too, but instead of coming after her, he ran toward her car. Yanking the back door open, the driver pulled out a man who was hiding in the back seat.

It turned out that the lady was running from the wrong man. She had no idea that a would-be rapist had hidden in her car and was waiting for an opportunity to do her harm. From his high vantage point, the truck driver had spotted the man and understood the danger that the woman was in. The purpose of the chase was not to harm the woman, but to save her, even at the risk of his own safety.

In the same way, many people run from God, fearing the harm that he might do to them. But God’s plans for us are not for evil; they are for our good. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

God only wants the best for us. He wants to rescue us from the hidden dangers of sin. So, he pursues us, no matter what it costs him. And it cost him the life of his son Jesus, who died on the cross to rescue us from our sins!

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Posted on February 21, 2023 by jesustrek

“I’m not a hero. I’m just a man who constantly does heroic things.”—Dan Fielding of Night Court.

Like Mac Davis used to sing, “It’s hard to be humble.” Even though we all have many reasons to remain humble, our sinful human nature tempts us to think more of ourselves than we should. The Bible often warns us of the sin of pride. Pride can lead to many other sins, and it has been the downfall of many people. We would do well to pursue an attitude of humility. The goal is not to think less of yourself, but to think of yourself less. That will give you more time to think about God and others.

“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”—Proverbs 16:18.

“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”—James 4:10.

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If It Is from God

Posted on February 16, 2023 by jesustrek

Revival has apparently broken out at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky. It is reported that other Christian campuses across the nation are experiencing the same thing, on-going worship services that are unscripted and filled with singing, prayers and repentance. Many people have travelled long distances to witness for themselves the event occurring at Asbury.

Some Christians are quick to jump on the bandwagon when something exciting happens. Others have more of a “let’s wait and see” attitude.  No matter which camp you belong to, I believe we can gain some insight from a Pharisee named Gamaliel. When the Jewish leaders felt threatened by the newly-founded church, Gamaliel reminded them of other recent religious movements, all of which came to nothing. Then he said of the apostles, “Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” (Acts 5:38-39).

Please join me in praying that this revival will spread like wildfire! God knows we need it!

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Posted on February 16, 2023 by jesustrek

I was working outside my house recently when I found an empty container for a smokeless tobacco product. The container had these words—“WARNING: This product can cause gum disease and tooth loss.”

My first thought was, “Hmmm. They left out the part about the cancer.” You would think that would be an important part of the warning, but they chose to focus on other potential hazards rather than the most serious one.

I think this is the same approach we take with sin. We take note of the fact that there may be some repercussions if we choose to disobey God. If we steal something we might get caught. If we drink and drive we might cause an accident. If we engage in sexual immorality we might get an STD, experience an unwanted pregnancy or suffer a broken relationship. If we lie we might be found out.

However, there is a more serious consequence for unforgiven sin—we might go to hell! The Bible often warns us of the dreadful wrath of God that awaits those who choose a life of sin. But thankfully there is forgiveness offered to all who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior!

“Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”—Hebrews 9:27-28.

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Slouching or Sprinting?

Posted on February 9, 2023 by jesustrek

In his 1996 book “Slouching Towards Gomorrah”, Robert Bork lamented the state of decline that he perceived in the culture of the United States and Western civilization. He blamed the decline on modern liberalism and the rise of the new left.

Since Bork’s important book, we have seen the culture continue to decline. On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. Of course we Christians understand that God has defined marriage as a union of a man and a woman (Gen.2:24), a definition that Jesus confirmed (Mark 10:6-9).

Since that court decision, many same-sex couples have entered into relationships that they call marriage. The left-leaning media have pushed the homosexual agenda in an effort to normalize same-sex behavior in our culture. Many in the sports world and the entertainment industry have joined in the effort to sway the public opinion. We are urged not only to accept, but to celebrate, that which God has deemed unacceptable.

These efforts seem to be working. Polls show that more Americans are willing to accept lifestyles which God has forbidden. It is not a coincidence that this shift in thinking corresponds with a noticeable decline in church attendance and Bible reading, and an increase in the number of people who do not consider themselves to be affiliated with any religion at all.

Even some people who claim to follow Christ have shown themselves to be slouching towards Gomorrah. They have bought into the worldly view that tolerance is the highest virtue. Well, there are some things that God doesn’t tolerate, and God’s children should share his plain-spoken stance on these matters. I know of a couple of congregations in my area who have broken away from their liberal denomination because it has accepted and affirmed the homosexual lifestyle.

The pace of our culture’s slouching seems to be increasing in speed. On Dec.13, 2022, President Joe Biden signed into law the “Respect for Marriage Act”. This new law requires that the marriages of same-sex and interracial couples must now be recognized by the federal government. The law also requires that states do the same.

Have you noticed how the homosexual agenda has tried to align itself with the civil rights movement? To say that someone’s chosen homosexual behavior is somehow equivalent to another person’s ethnic identity is simply ludicrous! One African-American preacher responded to this idea by saying, “Don’t spit in my face and tell me it’s raining!”

If someone were to write a follow-up book to Bork’s work, it might be entitled, “Sprinting Towards Sodom”. The continuing decline in the moral fiber of our society should be cause for alarm. Someone once speculated that perhaps Sodom and Gomorrah were not destroyed because of homosexual behavior, but because they had deemed it normal. This seems to be the status of our culture today.

Let’s make sure that we continue to shine God’s light in this ever-darkening world in which we live. Let’s take a stand on biblical principles and let’s speak the truth in love. It may be too late to save our culture, but perhaps we can save someone we love!

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