“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”—Rom.6:1-4.
Everyone is buried in one way or another. Some are buried in their sins. Others have submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and have been buried with him in baptism.
Which way of being buried do you prefer? It seems like an easy choice to make!
“And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.”—Acts 22:16.
I have always believed that the second coming of Jesus Christ could happen at any time. There are those who maintain that there are various biblical prophecies that must be fulfilled first, but others insist that that it could be understood that these prophecies have already been fulfilled. The Bible seems to give the readers the impression that Jesus could return in their lifetime, therefore, we must always remain diligent, watching and praying. It seems that the next great event on God’s calendar is when Jesus returns to earth to gather his church to himself.
1 Thess.4:13-18 addresses the return of Jesus. The believers at Thessalonica had some incorrect beliefs about the second coming. Paul wrote to them to supply them with important information so they would not be uninformed about this critical teaching.
Apparently, they were under the impression that none of them would die before Jesus returned. Since some of them had indeed passed away, they were concerned that those believers who had died would miss out on the blessings that were promised to God’s people at the end of time. Or perhaps they were worried that the teaching about the second coming was flawed since some believers had died. Paul assures them that this was not the case.
Believers who are still alive at the time of Christ’s return will not have any advantage over those who have died, or “fallen asleep”. In fact, the dead in Christ will rise first, then those who are alive and in Christ will be caught up in the air to meet the Lord. Verses 17b-18 finish out the chapter with these words: “…And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”
How encouraging these words are! There will indeed come a time when Jesus returns for his church! Not even death can separate us from the love of God! No one who is in Christ will miss out on the blessing of eternal life! How encouraging indeed!
While the word “heaven” is not found in this passage, the concept certainly is. We will be with the Lord! That is what heaven truly is. We often anticipate the pearly gates and streets of gold, but the truly magnificent aspect about heaven is that we will be in the presence of Jesus!
There is a current song that rejoices in the fact that “heaven changes everything”. When Jesus returns to gather his church, every negative situation that believers have faced will be forever changed. Any hurt or disappointment you have endured on earth will disappear! To think that the greatest pain in your life will be forever taken away is a tremendously encouraging thought! Rev.21:3-4 says, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’”
All of this will occur when Jesus returns. Let us encourage one another with that truth.
The Christmas holiday season is behind us now, and this time of year proves to be a time of sorrow for many people. Whether they are dealing with the loss of a loved one, a family crisis, an economic challenge or some other type of trial, the post-holiday season can be a tough time for many people.
One of the most difficult things to deal with this time of year is the feeling of loneliness. Even with so many opportunities for interaction with family and friends, some people are overwhelmed with the desperate feeling that they are all alone. The Bible has some teaching on how to deal with loneliness.
Paul the apostle was an old man, imprisoned and facing death when he wrote his second letter to Timothy. In chapter 4 of that book, he shows us how he dealt with loneliness.
First, he reached out to his friend and asked that he come to visit him (v.9). He didn’t sulk or pout because he had no company; he initiated the interaction. If you want to spend time with someone, pick up the phone or send them an email. Many times, all you have to do is ask for a visit and you will get one.
Second, Paul faced reality. He lamented the fact that some people had deserted him (vv.10, 16) and others had done him a great deal of harm (v.14). He didn’t try to sugar-coat the situation. He admitted the facts and dealt with them appropriately. Perhaps a big part of dealing with loneliness is facing reality. Only when you see things as they really are can you begin to make things better.
Third, he understood that he did have some good things going on in his life. His friend Luke was with him (v.11). Sometimes when we are lonely we tend to exaggerate our problems and forget to be thankful for those around us.
Next, Paul asked Timothy to do some specific things that would make his life better. Bring Mark with you when you come (v.11). Paul wanted some company. Also bring my cloak and my reading materials (v.13). It must have been cold and drafty in that prison, and the cloak would be much appreciated. Time would go by much faster if Paul had something to read. Don’t be afraid to ask someone to do you a favor and bring you someone or something that would brighten up your day.
Then, we see that Paul granted forgiveness to those who have wronged him (v.16). Lonely people often hold onto bitter grudges, which only makes their situation worse. Is there someone you need to forgive?
Finally, Paul remembered the presence of the Lord in his life and the strength that he received from God. He recalled the ways that the Lord had enabled him to serve, and he was thankful for that (v.17). And he looked forward to the day when the Lord would safely bring him into his kingdom (v.18). Are you feeling lonely? Remember that Jesus promises to be with you always. He will give you strength, and he will provide a place for you and your Christian loved ones to be together with him forever!
A preacher friend of mine named Fred Whitacre had a saying that he used frequently: “God is seldom early, but he is never late.” When we think back on the events of our lives, we often notice that God’s timing is perfect. This is especially true when he sent his Son Jesus into the world for the first time. This is addressed in Gal.4:4-5— “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.”
God was working in many ways to get the world ready for the arrival of Jesus. He did not send his Son here at any random time, but at just the right time for the gospel message to be received by many people. Let’s consider some of the ways that God was preparing for Jesus to be sent into this world.
First, the arrival of Jesus came at a time when the world was at peace. The Roman Empire controlled practically all the known world, and they did their best to squelch any rebellion as soon as it occurred. The lack of major wars in the world at that time made it easier for the gospel message to spread. It’s difficult to convey the good news when you are hunkered down in a trench to avoid enemies’ attacks! This time of world peace made it conducive to spread the good news about salvation through Jesus.
Second, the Romans had built a remarkable system of roads throughout their empire. I understand that these roads were so well-built that some portions are still in use today. The roads would help Roman soldiers quickly get to the further reaches of the empire to put down any attempted rebellion. These roads would also enhance the spread of the gospel. When the early missionaries took the good news to people far away, they often travelled on Roman roads.
Third, there was a common language of the day, Greek. Most people learned Greek in addition to their native language so they could do business with people from other regions. Have you ever been frustrated at trying to communicate with someone who speaks a different language? Imagine how difficult it would be to try to tell someone about Jesus if they could not understand what you were saying! But in God’s perfect timing, Jesus came into the world when there was a common language. This allowed the gospel message to spread quickly.
Finally, when Jesus arrived on earth the first time, there was a great spiritual hunger and thirst. The Lord had spoken frequently through his prophets in Old Testament times. Then came a time when there was no new word from the Lord. People had great expectations that God would break in and do great things among them once more. This spiritual longing would set the stage for Jesus to arrive. When he started teaching about the kingdom of God and the way of salvation, he found an audience that hung on his every word. God, in his perfect timing, had prepared for this to happen.
I believe that God still works in our lives to prepare us to believe in Jesus and to follow his teachings. Since we have free will, many choose to ignore how God is working all around them. Let us not be like them! Let us always be aware of how God orders things in such a way as to draw us close to him. His timing is still perfect!
Christmas is a special time of year when we celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus. There is nothing ordinary about any Christmas, but the first Christmas was extraordinary. Here’s why.
First, extraordinary promises were kept. People often break their promises, but God never does. The Old Testament is filled with promises that God would someday send someone special to offer salvation to the entire human race.
There are over 300 prophecies about Jesus in Scripture. It foretells where Jesus would be born, in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). It predicts how Jesus would die 1,000 years before it happened and 800 years before crucifixion was even invented (Psalm 22:16). Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, Isaiah describes him, and he also refers to his sacrificial death on the cross.
These and other predictions of the Messiah make it difficult to deny that God kept some extraordinary promises when he sent Jesus to be born. Some mathematicians and statisticians who didn’t previously believe in Jesus now agree that it is scientifically impossible to deny that Jesus is the Christ.
Secondly, an extraordinary Person came to earth. Jesus was conceived supernaturally. Even as a youth, he greatly impressed grownups with his wisdom and maturity. He never sinned—not once! Jesus amazed people with his teaching and astounded them with his miracles. He called for people to follow him, and, even though he died at an early age, he founded a movement that has profoundly shaped the world.
And, oh, yes…After he died, he came back to life! And he promises eternal life to anyone who puts their trust in him! He is an extraordinary person indeed!
Finally, the first Christmas was special because people responded in extraordinary ways. Herod was extraordinarily evil, with his decree to have all the baby boys in the area killed. The priests and teachers of the law were remarkably indifferent to the birth of Jesus. If anyone would have been expecting this newborn king, it should have been them! Mary and Joseph were outstanding in their trust and obedience to God. They readily accepted their assignment to be the earthly parents of the Christ. The shepherds reacted to the good news by hurrying to see Jesus, and then by praising God and spreading the word to others. The Magi made a great effort to find Jesus, and when they did, they worshiped him with gifts that were fit for royalty.
All of these people responded to Jesus in extraordinary ways. The question remains—“How will you respond?”
The word “extraordinary” is “ordinary” with something “extra” added to it. God did his part in making Christmas special by sending Jesus to us. We can respond with indifference. Or we could react in a special way. Perhaps our extraordinary obedience, generosity, enthusiasm and worship can make this a truly extraordinary Christmas.
I think the old coach has a good point, not only about athletes, but also about Americans in general. It’s not so much, “What can I do for my country?” anymore. It’s more, “What can the government do for me?”
Sadly, that selfish perspective on life has creeped into the church. Too many members of congregations are “takers” rather than “givers”. Many professing Christians ought to give themselves a close examination and see if their priorities need to be re-aligned.
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”—Matt.6:33.
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”—Phil.2:3-4.
Our church is planning a day where we will recognize and bless the newborn babies and other small children in our congregation. From all that we read in Scripture about the importance of children, it seems to be fitting that we have such a ceremony.
Jesus saw the significance of children when others failed to do so. In Luke 18:15-17, we read, “People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’”
Other verses in the Bible inform us about how precious children are. Psalm 139:13 says, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” This verse, one of many Scriptures that are used to build a pro-life worldview, tells us that every single baby in its mother’s womb is the handiwork of God. Therefore, those precious little lives are worthy of our love and protection. It is a shameful tragedy that one of the most dangerous places for a human being to live in our society today is in their own mother’s womb.
Not only does God create us in the womb, but he also has plans for us before we are ever born. Jer.1:5 says, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart…” Think about all the little children in your family, or church, or neighborhood, and consider what God might have in store for their lives. The possibilities are exciting!
Because children mean so much to God, and since he has such great plans for them, they need direction. Prov.22:6 teaches us, “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” From a young age, children need to be taught the ways of the Lord. They need to be saturated in Scripture and carefully brought up learning how to live their lives according to the principles set forth in the Bible. The world will not teach them anything about God; such instruction must come from the parents and Sunday school teachers.
Many Scriptures reinforce the truth that children are a blessing from God. Psalm 127:3 says, “Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him.” It is especially important to remember this verse whenever a child in your care is misbehaving in some way! Just keep repeating to yourself, “They are a blessing from God! They are a blessing from God!”
The priestly prayer from Num.6:24-27 was meant to be a blessing for all the Israelites, but it is a good prayer to offer up for children today: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”
Another good prayer for children is found in a verse of the popular Christmas song, “Away in a Manger”—“Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care, and fit us for heaven, to live with Thee there.”
One of the most difficult of Jesus’ teachings is that his followers must practice self-denial. This goes completely against our human nature. We tend to be quite selfish from a very young age. One of a toddler’s very first words is “Mine!” It is difficult for most youngsters to learn to share and to wait for their turn.
As we grow older, the tendency to be overly devoted to ourselves remains a problem for many of us. Even if we understand that the Bible says to put others ahead of ourselves, the temptation to look out for number one is always there. The fact that most of you readily understood what I meant by that slang term “number one” is a testimony to the truth that self-denial is a difficult task.
Yet that is what Jesus commands us to do. In Matt.16:24-27 we read: “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.’”
Jesus’ teaching on self-denial contradicts the “prosperity gospel”—also called the “health and wealth gospel” –that has been put forth by some preachers. The Bible never promises that followers of Jesus will always be rich and healthy. As a matter of fact, Scripture says over and over that Christians will have a hard time of it. Jesus himself says, “…In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33).
Jesus says that we must take up our cross and follow him. The cross represents a death sentence. To follow Jesus, we must die to ourselves and live for him. This death takes place in the waters of baptism where we are buried with Jesus and raised to live a new life (Rom.6:4). We must die to ourselves to live for God and for others. This begins a lifestyle of self-denial. We give up our own vision for our life and exchange it for the life that God has planned for us—a life of self-sacrifice. We walk that extra mile that no one would expect us to walk. We forgive wrongs that others might deem unforgiveable. We perform good deeds for those who would be perceived to be our enemies. These are just a few of the many ways we deny ourselves so that we can live for Jesus and for others.
It is a hard life, this life of self-denial. No one should ever think that following Jesus is an easy thing to do. If living the Christian life never seems to place any demands on you, you are not doing it right! Perhaps we all should make a careful check every day to see if there is indeed a cross on our back!
Jesus would never ask us to do something that he wouldn’t do himself. He set the example of self-denial for us when he gave up his place in heaven to come to earth and die on a cross! (Phil.2:5-8). If we want to show that we are truly thankful for the salvation he granted us with his sacrifice, we too will live a life of sacrifice and self-denial.
It’s interesting to watch geese flying south for the winter. Someone pointed out that there are lessons we Christians can learn from the geese as we journey through life.
Did you ever wonder why geese fly in a “V” formation? It is because as each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following it. By flying in a “V” formation, the whole flock adds at least 71 percent greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own. Christians who share a common direction and a sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier, because they are traveling together. We are not on this journey alone. We would do well to pay careful attention to the many “one another” verses in the New Testament.
Whenever a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone, and it quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front. If we have as much sense as a goose, we will stay in formation with those who are headed the same way we are going! The Bible warns us against forsaking the assembly (Heb.10:25) and exhorts us to maintain unity. Eph.4:3 urges us, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
When the lead goose gets tired, he rotates back in the formation and another goose flies point. Whether you are a goose on the wing or a Christian working in the church, it makes sense to take turns doing the hard jobs. Gal.6:2 says, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
Have you ever noticed how the geese honk as they fly along? It is thought that the ones flying behind honk to encourage the ones up front to keep up their speed. We all need encouragement. Just make sure that your “honking” is always positive and not negative! “…if you have a word of exhortation for the people, please speak.” (Acts 13:15b).
Finally, when a goose gets sick or injured and cannot fly any longer, two geese fall out of formation and stay with him to help and protect him. They stay with him until he can fly, or until he dies. Then they may join another formation to help them catch up to their original group. We need to take care of each other when one of us falters. 1 Thess.5:14 says that we are to “…help the weak…”.
These are some simple lessons we can learn from the geese to implement some of the Bible’s principles for how to live and work together in the church.
We have much for which to give thanks this Thanksgiving season. Hunters are thankful that it’s deer season, but their wives might not share those feelings of gratitude. I heard about one unhappy wife who confronted her husband about his out-of-control enthusiasm for the sport. “Your obsession with deer hunting has gone way too far!”, she complained. “It has even begun to have a negative effect on our son!” The husband quickly responded, “You leave Buck out of this!”
Seriously, we Christians should be the most thankful people on the planet. The Bible continually exhorts us to be thankful. We see the word “thanks” in some form or another in the Scriptures about 150 times. The theme of thanksgiving is a thread that runs consistently through the Bible.
The opposite of being thankful is to grumble and complain. One of my Bible college professors once remarked about how inconsistent it was for students to dutifully bow their heads to give thanks for their food in the school cafeteria and then immediately after the prayer to complain about the food! When we grumble and complain we are implying that God has not taken care of us sufficiently.
But in fact, God has provided for all our needs. He gives us life, health, food, shelter, jobs, family and friends and other blessings too numerous to list. James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” Malachi 3:10 reminds us that God is willing to “…throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”
And of course, there is the ultimate blessing of all—the gift of salvation that we have been offered through the crucified and resurrected Son of God, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior! 2 Corinthians 9:15 is one of my favorite verses about giving thanks, and I think it is a wonderful verse to bridge the holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas. It says, “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”
Of course, thanksgiving is not to be limited to special occasions. A spirit of gratitude should guide us through every day of our lives. When Jesus healed the ten leprous men in Luke 17, only one of them came back to give him thanks. The response Jesus gave lets us know without a doubt that Jesus expects us to be thankful for what he has done for us.
The ways that we can give thanks to God for what he has done for us in Jesus are many. Let’s name just a few: church attendance, singing (both private and corporate), praying, giving to the Lord’s work, being generous to the poor and being a witness to others about the goodness of God. What can you add to this list?
Let’s always strive to stop grumbling and complaining and instead live a lifestyle of giving thanks to God for all the ways that he has blessed us. Happy Thanksgiving!
Jesustrek 