“For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.” (I Corinthians 4:9)
There are no apostles today who meet the criteria laid out in Acts chapter one. However, there are innumerable faithful servants of the Lord in various capacities. They are found on the mission fields, preaching God’s word behind both the glamorous and unknown pulpits and teaching the Bible Sunday after Sunday in the Sunday Schools. They are sharing their testimonies with the lost and sacrificially supporting the work of the local churches with their tithes and offerings.
Many of them, while not seeking recognition or attention are made a spectacle, “on stage” as it were, and the entire world is watching, often hurling slurs and insults at those faithful ones.
Let me remind all of us that only the trees bearing good fruit have rocks thrown at them.
Be faithful, child of God. Consider it an honor that God counts you worthy to suffer for His sake. You are not alone in your service for the Lord.
Sunday, May 7, 2017
Saturday, May 6, 2017
Follow the Leader who Follows Christ
“Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” (I Corinthians 11:1)
In a young preachers’ Bible class the professor often said, “Always practice what you preach.” Other times I have heard it said, “What you do speaks more loudly than what you say.”
When Paul gave his instruction in our text to the church of Corinth he was saying a similar thing. “When I follow Christ, follow me. When I cease following Christ, don’t follow me.” It takes a discerning spirit to tell the difference. Too many times we follow a man simply because everyone else is.
Nine-hundred and nine people blindly followed Jim Jones to their deaths in Jonestown, Guyana, South America on November 18, 1978. Jones was a very charismatic man, but he was not following Christ. Consequently, neither were his followers following Christ.
Follow the leader, pastor or preacher/teacher who follows Christ, who stays in the Word, basing doctrines, decisions, deportment and destiny on the, “Thus saith the Lord,” in the Bible.
In a young preachers’ Bible class the professor often said, “Always practice what you preach.” Other times I have heard it said, “What you do speaks more loudly than what you say.”
When Paul gave his instruction in our text to the church of Corinth he was saying a similar thing. “When I follow Christ, follow me. When I cease following Christ, don’t follow me.” It takes a discerning spirit to tell the difference. Too many times we follow a man simply because everyone else is.
Nine-hundred and nine people blindly followed Jim Jones to their deaths in Jonestown, Guyana, South America on November 18, 1978. Jones was a very charismatic man, but he was not following Christ. Consequently, neither were his followers following Christ.
Follow the leader, pastor or preacher/teacher who follows Christ, who stays in the Word, basing doctrines, decisions, deportment and destiny on the, “Thus saith the Lord,” in the Bible.
Friday, May 5, 2017
Believe God and Be of Good Cheer
“Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.” (Acts 27:25)
It was in the midst of a storm at sea that Paul the Apostle spoke these words. He was on board a small ship sailing for Rome. Two hundred and seventy-six men, including Paul, were on board. All hope of being rescued was gone. An angel of God stood by Paul after about two weeks, telling him that he and everyone on board with him would be saved. The ship did indeed wreck, but everyone made it to shore.
It was the Word of the Lord through the angel of God that prompted our text from Paul, “I believe God.”
One must believe God’s Word to be saved and have eternal life. In addition, faith in what God says about never leaving nor forsaking us will see us through the storms of life. The old song says, “I’m standing on the promises of God.” Are you standing on His promises?
You and I will have storms in life as surely as Paul and those men with him had their storm. Someone once said, “You have just passed through a storm, or you are in a storm right now or you are just about to go through a storm." You can be of good cheer, as Paul suggested, when you believe God.
It was in the midst of a storm at sea that Paul the Apostle spoke these words. He was on board a small ship sailing for Rome. Two hundred and seventy-six men, including Paul, were on board. All hope of being rescued was gone. An angel of God stood by Paul after about two weeks, telling him that he and everyone on board with him would be saved. The ship did indeed wreck, but everyone made it to shore.
It was the Word of the Lord through the angel of God that prompted our text from Paul, “I believe God.”
One must believe God’s Word to be saved and have eternal life. In addition, faith in what God says about never leaving nor forsaking us will see us through the storms of life. The old song says, “I’m standing on the promises of God.” Are you standing on His promises?
You and I will have storms in life as surely as Paul and those men with him had their storm. Someone once said, “You have just passed through a storm, or you are in a storm right now or you are just about to go through a storm." You can be of good cheer, as Paul suggested, when you believe God.
Thursday, May 4, 2017
Growing through Opposition
“As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison. Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.” (Acts 8:3-4)
The church has always had enemies because the head and founder of the church has always had His enemies. It is true even today. Until the Lord saved him, Saul was one of her chiefest opponents.
By the same token the church has always had her faithful servants of the Lord. The church may sometimes appear to be losing but the church will always be victorious.
When my older brother was a teenager he let a fire in a field get out of control. In his effort to stop it from spreading and to put it out he caused it to spread. Evil men will always try to stamp out the church’s fire but such efforts only make the fires of evangelism and missions spread.
When the church of Jerusalem was resisted and opposed, it resulted in the witness of the church spreading. One of the strongest churches of the first century was the church of Antioch which resulted from the martyrdom of Stephen in Jerusalem and the Christians being scattered abroad. (Acts 11:19) Thank God for faithful servants of the Lord who stand in the face of opposition.
The church has always had enemies because the head and founder of the church has always had His enemies. It is true even today. Until the Lord saved him, Saul was one of her chiefest opponents.
By the same token the church has always had her faithful servants of the Lord. The church may sometimes appear to be losing but the church will always be victorious.
When my older brother was a teenager he let a fire in a field get out of control. In his effort to stop it from spreading and to put it out he caused it to spread. Evil men will always try to stamp out the church’s fire but such efforts only make the fires of evangelism and missions spread.
When the church of Jerusalem was resisted and opposed, it resulted in the witness of the church spreading. One of the strongest churches of the first century was the church of Antioch which resulted from the martyrdom of Stephen in Jerusalem and the Christians being scattered abroad. (Acts 11:19) Thank God for faithful servants of the Lord who stand in the face of opposition.
Wednesday, May 3, 2017
Let Christ Change You
“And Saul was consenting unto his death.” (Acts 8:1)
If I see evil taking place and I do not raise my voice against it I am consenting to the evil. It is very much like Pilate the governor when Jesus was being tried, scourged and crucified. Pilate, “took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, ‘I am innocent of the blood of this just person…’” (Matthew 27:24)
In Acts 6 and 7 the Sanhedrin Council was cut or pricked to the heart when Stephen preached his message to them concerning their history of rejecting the messages of the prophets of God. Stephen’s message included their rejection of Jesus, the Messiah. To silence Stephen they took up stones and stoned him to death. Saul gave his consent. He never lifted his hand or raised his voice against it. He just went along with it.
Even though he went along with this evil deed, shortly afterward, Saul was saved by the grace of God. His name was changed from Saul (big man) to Paul (insignificant man). He became one of the greatest Christians ever. He was a servant, or slave, to Jesus. He wrote thirteen books of the New Testament and made his stand against evil, standing for Christ and the followers of Christ. He suffered a martyr’s death. Christ Jesus the Savior made a change in him. Christ can make a change in you if you will let Him.
Tuesday, May 2, 2017
Love One Another
“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13:35)
The word tells us that the disciples were called Christians first in a place called Antioch. The word, “Christian,” means, “Christ-like.” Apparently there was evidence in the lives of the disciples that they were Christ like. What was the evidence?
If you were arrested and put on trial for being a Christian what evidence would the prosecution bring against you? Would there be enough evidence to bring a conviction?
The one sure piece of evidence that you are one of the Lord’s disciples is that you have love for your fellow disciples. This love is more than just a warm, fuzzy feeling for others. Warm fuzzy feelings can’t be seen by the world. Only the God kind of love that sent Jesus into the world to die for sinners can be seen. That is the word that is used in our text.
We must not let our attitudes of rancor, ill will, back biting, jealousy, selfishness and such things negate our efforts at evangelism in our communities. Jesus said they will know we are Christians by the genuine love we express toward fellow Christians.
The word tells us that the disciples were called Christians first in a place called Antioch. The word, “Christian,” means, “Christ-like.” Apparently there was evidence in the lives of the disciples that they were Christ like. What was the evidence?
If you were arrested and put on trial for being a Christian what evidence would the prosecution bring against you? Would there be enough evidence to bring a conviction?
The one sure piece of evidence that you are one of the Lord’s disciples is that you have love for your fellow disciples. This love is more than just a warm, fuzzy feeling for others. Warm fuzzy feelings can’t be seen by the world. Only the God kind of love that sent Jesus into the world to die for sinners can be seen. That is the word that is used in our text.
We must not let our attitudes of rancor, ill will, back biting, jealousy, selfishness and such things negate our efforts at evangelism in our communities. Jesus said they will know we are Christians by the genuine love we express toward fellow Christians.
Monday, May 1, 2017
Waving a Red Flag
“Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.” (I Peter 1:8)
No one living today has seen George Washington, Thomas Jefferson or Abraham Lincoln. But they are part of the very fabric of the United States of America. No one would be willing to show his ignorance to the rest of the world by saying these men never existed. We depend on the accounts of reliable historians and biographers to tell us their stories.
I have often wondered why people who profess they are wise wave a red flag over their ignorance by saying Jesus, the Son of God, never existed and was not, is not real. We have numerous accounts of His person-hood, power and passion from reliable eyewitnesses who lived in that day.
We Christians have not seen Him in the flesh, but we know He is alive and well and that we will see Him in person one day. Do not doubt that fact. We have not seen Him in the flesh but we love Him and rejoice with unspeakable joy.
No one living today has seen George Washington, Thomas Jefferson or Abraham Lincoln. But they are part of the very fabric of the United States of America. No one would be willing to show his ignorance to the rest of the world by saying these men never existed. We depend on the accounts of reliable historians and biographers to tell us their stories.
I have often wondered why people who profess they are wise wave a red flag over their ignorance by saying Jesus, the Son of God, never existed and was not, is not real. We have numerous accounts of His person-hood, power and passion from reliable eyewitnesses who lived in that day.
We Christians have not seen Him in the flesh, but we know He is alive and well and that we will see Him in person one day. Do not doubt that fact. We have not seen Him in the flesh but we love Him and rejoice with unspeakable joy.
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