Mar 13 Just One Little Problem

Mar 13

Just One Little Problem

Re 2:4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee

 The Church at Ephesus was a thriving, busy church. In the second Chapter of Revelation Christ is commenting on some churches. They all had some good and some bad practices. Now no church can ever be perfect as long as they let sinful people in the doors. But these seven churches were not suffering from the day to day problems of a healthy church. Each of these churches had a systemic problem. They had something wrong that over shadowed all their good.

Re 2:1  Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write;

    The church at Ephesus was a thriving, busy, hard working church.

Re 2:2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience,

Here is a church with many wonderful qualities. This was a working church. People in this church did not hesitate to get involved; Sunday school, choir, bus ministry, calling, prayer meeting, and youth activities. James would not have told this church “faith without works is dead.

They also did not shy away from everyday labor. Someone had to keep the church clean, prepare food for fellowships, care for both the building and the grounds. They put some sweat into their labor.

They were not weary in well doing. They had patience and kept on keeping on.  A great combination of qualities existed in the “Paul the Apostle First Church” of Ephesus. But they were even better than just having works, labor and patience.

Re 2:2 …thou canst not bear them which are evil…

This church had a very active disciplinary committee. If you tried to cheat, or lie, or steal, or got drunk or any number of things they would haul you before the church and throw your evil body right out the door. This church did not tolerate hypocrites. Your walk and your talk better agree because if any semblance of evil reared its ugly head in your walk, it was goodbye for you! They just didn’t put up with evil doers in this church.  

Re 2:2 thou hast tried them which say they are apostles,

and are not, and hast found them liars

    If someone came to the church and wanted to preach or teach and told the church they were highly qualified, it better be true. If they were phonies the church committee on verification and ministerial qualifications would have checked and confronted them about their lies. This church did not accept people who had completed an exam and mailed in $99 and received a Doctorate in Theology. If you tried to pass yourself off as an apostle they would soon determine if you were or not. If you were not what you said they would call you a liar and throw your lying body out the front door.

Re 2:3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and

for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.

    Here their good qualities are mentioned again. This has to be a fantastic church. But there is even more.

Re 2:6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the

deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

    Who were the Nicolaitans and what did they teach? Go ahead take a guess. Right, your guess is as good as anyone else’s. We do know the most important thing about whatever they were. Christ hated them. The church at Ephesus also hated them and Christ commended them for their discernment.

     What a great church. They were hard working, patient, discerning, not compromisers and not afraid to labor for their Lord.  So whatever could Christ be concerned about with this church. Just one thing they lacked.

Re 2:4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

    This church had left its first love. They were so busy working they had forgotten the essential ingredient in a church. Love!

1Co 13:3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

     You have probably been in a large church which had oodles of programs, outreach and were busy, busy for the Lord. Churches like that have multiple preachers, ongoing building programs and draw people from some distance. Everything in that kind of church is well planned, well executed and works like a well-oiled machine. And that is the problem.

    They have turned the ends and means around. The buildings and programs are not the goal. They may be the means but the goal is to love one another.

     “Love one another” is repeated often in our Bibles. John 13:34, 13:34, 15:12, 15:17, Rom 12:10, 13:8, Gal 5:13, Eph 4:2, 1Thes 3:12, 4:9, Heb 10:24, 1Pet 1:22, 3:8, 1John 3:11, 3:23, 4:7, 4:11, 4:12, and 2 John 1:5.   That is at least 19 verses, plus all the others that mean the same thing but not in those exact words. 

    A church without love has missed the very reason they exist. Here is what Christ told the church at Ephesus.

Re 2:5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen,

and repent, and do the first works

    We have been talking about the Church at Ephesus. But is there any room for us to apply these verses to our individual selves? I think there is. Christ continues with these words to individuals.

Re 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit

saith unto the churches;

    I couldn’t have said it any better! Are we so busy with stuff we have left our first love?

 

May that be our prayer today, that the fires of our love for one another be rekindled. 

1Co 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity,

these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Mar 12 Close the Gate

Mar 12

Close the Gate

Ezk 44:2 …This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened,…

The hand cut stones streamed into the temple area where men worked quickly to obey the order of Suleiman the Great. The year was 1541. What were they building? A stone wall. Why were they building a stone wall? To keep Christ from returning to Jerusalem. OK, I know that sounds weird so let me explain.

Nehemiah was in exile and got permission to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls. Daniel prophesied that 483 years after the decision to rebuild the wall, Christ would enter Jerusalem. When Christ entered Jerusalem for what we call Palm Sunday he did so by coming from the east and used the Eastern gate that is the only gate that goes directly to the temple. When Christ returns to Jerusalem in the future it will be from the east again and probably through the Eastern Gate. When Suleiman the Great heard from the Jews that Christ would return through that gate he made a military decision and had his men close the gate with a wall of hewn stone. The peculiar thing is that Ezekiel had prophesied about 2000 years earlier that the gate would be closed.  OK now for the details.       

In Nehemiah chapter 2 verse 1, Nehemiah is serving King Artaxerxes some wine. We know the date. It was in the month Nisan (April) and 20 years into the reign of Artaxerxes. The king Asked Nehemiah why he was sad. When the King learned it was because Jerusalem was not rebuilt, the king wrote letters of decree for Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls.

Daniel mentions it in his prophecy.

Da 9:25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

Daniel said from the decree it would be 7 weeks and 62 more weeks until the Messiah. So why did it take 483 years to fulfill a prophesy that said it would only take 69 weeks?  The Jews were required to let their land lie fallow every seven years. That seven year period eventually became a common expression. They referred to the 7 year period as a “week” which would mean 7 years. Some quick math explains how it actually meant 483 days.   69 “weeks” X 7 years = 483 years.  Daniel is prophesying that 483 years after the decree to rebuild the wall the Messiah would come. And He did! It was Palm Sunday, and he rode into Jerusalem by going through the Eastern Gate.

I have not done all the math involved, but some scholars tell us Christ’s triumphal entry into the city was 483 years to the day after the decree of Artaxerxes. But all Daniel prophesied was 483 years.  We know it must have been pretty close to the same time because the decree was given in “April” and that is about the same time as Christ rode into Jerusalem and entered the temple area by way of the Eastern gate. Each gate in Jerusalem may have many names for the same gate. The eastern gate is also called the Golden gate, the Merciful gate, the Temple gate and other less common names.

  The book of acts tells us Christ will return the same way he left Mt Olivet.

Ac 1:11 … this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. 12 ¶ Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet,…

When Christ ascended into heaven it was from the mount of Olives. His desciples had walked out from Jerusalem with Him. They would have come from Jerusalem by way of the Eastern Gate. The Jews believe He will come through the Eastern Gate as a military conqueror.



The eastern gate - shut!

      Now back to our opening question. Why were they building a stone wall to close the Eastern Gate? The Ottoman Empire, under Suleiman the Great rebuilt the present walls of Jerusalem from about 1537 to 1541. When Suleiman heard  the persisting Jewish tradition that Christ would come with His army and enter the city by that gate, Suleiman did two things. First he had the eastern gate closed with a heavy stone wall. Secondly, he knew that Jewish Rabbi’s were forbidden to be defiled by the bodies of dead people. so he put an Arab cemetery in front of the gate. And there it has remained, closed as in Ezekiel’s prophecy.

Eze 44:2 Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut.



During the last nearly 500 years that gate has stayed shut. What a fantastic prophecy, given almost 2500 years ago. With all the turmoil and conflicts in the middle east, that gate has remained unchanged. It will not be opened again until Christ returns to reclaim the city.

I love to show Ezekiel 44 to scoffers. Here a prophet said something would happen 2000 years before it happened. The prophecy tells which gate and what would happen to it. It takes more faith to think it was all a coincidence than it does to accept the prophecy and the Bible as true.

Our devotional thought for today is  the Word of God is reliable. It is dependable, accurate, preserved and trustworthy.  The Bible is a great blessing.

 

Eze 12:25 For I am the LORD: I will speak,

and the word that I shall speak

shall come to pass



 

Mar 11 Unchangable

Mar 11

Unchangable

For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.

Yesterday we talked about how churches and cultures change. Today I want to think about one of the supernatural things we can hold in our hands. The unchanging Word of God. What a blessing to have the Bible in our own language. Until about 500 years ago the Bible was only available in Latin or its original languages; Greek for the New Testament and Hebrew for the Old.

About 1450 Gutenberg printed 180 copies of the Bible, but not in English. By 1525 Tyndale hade made an English Translation of the New Testament. I think these two events, the technology of printing, and the Bible in English, were timed by God to reach a world awakening from the dark ages. The invention of the printing press and movable type opened the way to mass education and what would become the information age.  The printing press also helped to spread Luther’s 95 Thesis (date 1517) across Europe and bring on the Protestant Reformation.

But back to our unchanging Bible. There are several Scriptures that describe the permanence of the Word of God.

Ps 119:152 Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old

that thou hast founded them for ever.

The book of Deuteronomy, the last of the five books of Moses, reads a little like a coaches last instructions to the team before an important game. Moses knew he was not going into the promised land but gave last minute instructions to the Israelites to remember some key principles. In chapter 4 he reminds them of the importance of the Word of God.

De 4:2 Ye shall not add unto the word which

I command you, neither shall ye diminish

ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments

of the LORD your God which I command you.

He repeats the same warning after telling them not to be snared by the false gods the nations around them worshipped.  But they should do what they had been commanded to do.

De 12:32 …observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto,

nor diminish from it.

Isaiah understood what the psalmist had said. The Word of God will last.

 Isa 40:8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth:

but the word of our God shall stand for ever.  

In Matthew we are told the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet, Iota (jot) and even an extension on some letters (the tittle) are preserved.

Mt 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and

earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in

no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

It might seem extreme to be concerned over the smallest part of the Law. But if God cannot preserve His Word, what about our souls? Or would you prefer a God who said “Hey, no big deal. Close is good enuf!”  Here in the Olivet discourse of chapters 24 and 25 we read that Christ said His word would not pass away.

Mt 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. 35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Note that Christ was not talking about thoughts but words. “My word shall not pass away” The scriptures in 1 Peter continue the same theme. The Word of God will last, unchanging, even to a jot and tittle.

     First Peter also promises the word will be preserved.

1Pe 1:25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever….

 Even the book of Revelation reminds us of what was first announced by Moses. Do not add to or take away from it. I think it is significant that one of the very last verses in the Bible warns that the Word of God should not be tampered with.

Re 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words

of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his

part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city,

and from the things which are written in this book.

What a blessed thought. The Bible we hold in our hands today is the Word of God. It has been preserved, and will continue to be preserved. It is a trustworthy book which shows us the clear path of salvation, how to live for Christ and when the time comes, how to die in Christ. Bless His holy name for this marvelous book. 

Lu 21:33 Heaven and earth shall pass away:

but my words shall not pass away.

NOTE: If you have questions about modern translation and the preservation of the Word of God please contact me at my Email address.  davidwiseley@gmail.com.  Thank you for reading my blog.    

Mar 10 EverybodyDoes It.

Mar 10

Everybody Does It

Ro 12:2 And be not conformed to this world

The ancient ones (old people) can be so infuriating! When I was a kid we walked to school. It was 2 miles in waist deep snow and it was uphill both ways! We have all heard those stories. Only now I find I am the one telling them. So please read this with the understanding that an “old geezer” is scratching away with his “quill pen” and sharing his old timey way of thinking.

 Being one of the ancient ones it is only fitting I start out by saying “When I was a kid” things were different.  I knew a dear saint of God who had lived in the upper peninsula of Michigan most of her life. She would often say “I remember the old days. They were terrible… outhouses, wood stoves, going outside to pump water.”

Churches were different too. When I was a kid playing cards was bad. Dancing was bad. Drinking beer was bad. Cussing was bad. Movies were bad. Rock and roll was bad. Making noise on Sunday was bad. Premarital sex was really bad. Divorce was bad. Abortion was illegal. Homosexuality was disgustingly bad. Unmarrieds living together was bad. Telling lies was bad. Stealing was bad. Buying stuff on Sunday was bad. Plus all the bad things I have forgotten.

But there were good things as well. A man’s word was good. A handshake over a deal was good. Spanking naughty kids was good. Neighbors helping one another was good.   

Admittedly, thousands of material things are better today. But I don’t think the culture and people are better. In fact I think they are worse. I heard a preacher discuss this issue and he said “Churches are about 20 years behind the world. What the church condemns in the world becomes common in churches 20 years later.”

Our verse for today says we should not be conformed to the world. I heard that explained as “Do not let the world squeeze you into it’s mold” But that is what has happened. It is not hard to find a good church going family that has a family member who are living a homosexual life, living with someone before marriage, or divorced. A baby born to an unwed mother is common. Many preachers do not include these topics in sermons. First because we have sadly seen one big name preacher after another commit such things. Secondly, if they preached against it a large number of the congregation would be offended. Our culture has accepted them. The word of God has not!

Unless we have deceived ourselves, it is obvious Christians and our churches are being conformed to the world. The Bible says we should not be conformed. But how do we stop it? The answer is you can’t.

There is a solution. It is found in the rest of Romans 12:2

be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind

There is so much to learn from this short phrase. First the sentence structure is important. “Be ye” is passive. It is not transform yourself but allow yourself to be transformed. Be agreeable to, accept the change gladly, allow a transformation to take place.  Think of it in this way. A lady who goes to a spa is looking to be pampered. Be ye pampered. She does not want to hear “Pamper yourself”

The word transformed is rich in meaning as well. The Greek (according to my computer Bible program) is “metamorphoo” the same root word from which we get metamorphosis. In case you slept through Biology class like I did, metamorphosis is the process where a milk weed caterpillar turns into a beautiful Monarch butterfly.  An ugly worm spins a cocoon and sometime later has been transformed into a butterfly. If I told you that the worm was busy inside the cocoon making pretty wings and sewing them on its back, and doing all the things it takes to change from a worm to a butterfly you would correctly label me as stupid. The worm just presents itself, makes minor preparations and allows itself to be transformed.

Now how does that work for a Christian who does not want to be squeezed into the worlds mold? First you need to understand that it is your mind that is being transformed. Nope, no pretty wings for your outward appearance. It is your mind that is transformed. You will think differently.

Eph 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

 

Col 3:8 ¶ But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. 9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

1Th 4:3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: 4 That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; 5 Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: 6 That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. 7 For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.

 1Jo 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world

We have the responsibility to want to be transformed. The Holy Spirit will help you alter how you think, which controls what you do. We just need to have “the mind of Christ” (Php 2:5).  Just remember that what we think about controls what we become. Here is the progression; thoughts lead to desires, desires lead to actions, actions become habits, and habits are the building blocks of our character.  

     Pr 23:7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:

Mar 9 I Don't Want To!

Mar 9

I Don’t Want To

Mt 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies

Here in Matthew chapter five we have the words that Jesus taught during the Sermon on the Mount. The chapter starts with those wonderful verses of the Beatitudes. Blessed are the meek, blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are the merciful, etc. This portion of scripture is wonderful to read. Try to picture Christ teaching on the mountain as the multitude gathers to hear Him speak these wonderful words.  The promises we hear are comforting and reassuring.  But then we come to verse 44!

          Love your enemies?  Why? How? They don’t deserve any love. The only kind of love I want to show them is what I would love to do to them. Maybe we can just skip this verse?  Maybe it was translated badly. Did Christ really mean we should love the people we would prefer to hate?

          Let’s look at the whole verse to see exactly what it is saying.

Mt 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;  

If you are using an NIV, Jehovah Witness Bible, New American Standard, or a Living Bible you will find the verse reads as follows.

Mt 5:44  But I say to you, Love your enemies and

 pray for those who persecute you,

I am using the King James and did not want to confuse you if you are using a translation based on a different Greek text than the King James was. In Studies in the Sermon on the Mount Martin Loyd-Jones mentions the difference in translations on pg 299 and wrote “I think it is best to take the teaching in the Authorized Version.” (King James)

      The reason Christ mentions loving your enemies was to combat the teaching of the Pharisees. They taught that all Jews were your neighbor and all non-Jews were your enemy. Non-Jews were gentile “dogs”. It was your right and your duty to hate them.  Now why would the Pharisees teach such a thing? There is no place in the Old Testament that says love your neighbor and hate your enemies. That teaching is simply not in the Old Testament. That was why in verse 43 Christ reminded his listeners that “it has been said”.

Mt 5:43 ¶ "You have heard that it was said,

'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'

 When we were first married it irritated my wife and I that the back row or two of pews were filled with teen age kids who passed notes, giggled, and in general did not pay any attention to the service. That feeling of irritation grew to hot displeasure as week after week they continued with the same immature behavior.  My wife and I had no use for those awful kids. We grew to feel anger, and strong dislike for them.

          One Sunday we had a visiting missionary who worked in a very difficult field. He explained how he had grown to love the very people most would have been repulsed by. He closed the service with a haunting question “Who are the unlovely to you?”  My wife and I could easily agree that the unloveliest  people were those kids in the back rows. The Holy Spirit worked in our hearts and long story short we reluctantly became the youth leaders in our church. We learned to love those kids and it became 4 fantastic wonderful years until a new job required us to leave the area. Now nearly 50 years later we still hear from them and enjoy great memories together.

         I have not explained how you can love your enemies. Perhaps another time. But I can tell you from personal experience that it is possible to love those you find to be “unlovely”.   The Bible asks if you only love people who love you, how are you any different from anyone else. That is what happens all over, people love one another.  But Christians can love people who do not love them.

       The devotional thought for you to meditate on is “Who are the unlovely to you?”  And what will you do to change that?     

   Mt 5:46 For if ye love them which love you, what

reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

Mar 8 The Greatest Thing

Mar 8

   What is the Greatest Thing?

1Co 13:13 …but the greatest of these is charity.

This verse that ends the “love chapter” in 1 Corinthians 13 is a familiar verse to most of us.

1Co 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity,

these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Years ago I found three ceramic tiles in a gift shop. Each tile has one of the words Faith, Hope and Charity, and they hang on our wall as a reminder.

Faith, Hope and Charity are all very important, so why does Paul emphasize charity above the others. Oh, before we go on, I need to explain a little about the word charity. My King James Bible uses the word charity, while most translations use the word love. Today we use the word charity to refer to giving for the unfortunate, like throwing a dollar into the Salvation Army kettle at Christmas, but the word charity is a much bigger word. The Oxford English dictionary has dozens of different meanings for the word charity, one of which is love. Most dictionaries show different shades of meaning for the word charity.  There is a lot more to be said about this word, but it will have to wait for another day.

What are faith, hope and charity and why is one more important than the others? I’m glad you asked.

The Bible tells us a lot about faith. It can be dead (James 2:17), it can be little (Matt 16:8), it can be increased (Luke 17:5) it can be sound (Titus 1:3). Faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Rom 10:17) it is the evidence of things not seen (Heb 11:1) and required to please God. (Heb 11:6). Faith also should direct our walk (2 Cor 5:7) is our shield (Eph 6:16) essential in prayer (James 1:6) and  in (Jude 1:3) we are told to contend for the faith

The word hope is commonly used in the sense we hope something will happen but are not sure it will.  We cross our fingers and hope we win some contest. We hope we will pass the test we didn’t study for. We hope for a lot of things knowing they probably won't happen. But that isn’t the kind of hope the Bible talks about.

Webster says hope is “To expect with confidence, anticipation of fulfillment, trust, reliance, expectation”. It is the kind of hope that a lady exhibited when she attended a prayer meeting in a drought stricken area.  The church had gathered to pray for rain. She was the only one that brought an umbrella. that is the kind of hope we are talking about.   

The Bible has a lot to say about that kind of hope. We have blessed hope (Titus 2:13)  lively hope (1 Pet 1:13) an anchor for our souls (Heb 6:19) and our hope encourages pure living (I John 3:3) gladness (Psalm 10:28) and happiness (Psalm 146:5). It is a cure for discouragement  (Psalm 42:11) gives us confidence (Rom 5:5) is a heavenly treasure (Col 1:5) and provides opportunity for witnessing (1 Pet 3:15).    

The word Love (or charity) is found a multitude of times in our bible. But so are faith and hope. So why does the Bible say that “…the greatest of these is charity”   

Ga 5:6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

Here we find love and faith are connected. We see another example of that connection in the book of 1 Timothy.

1Ti 1:5 ¶ Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:

Timothy was surrounded by false teachers (vrs 4) and Paul told him that love is the end of the commandment and comes from a pure heart, good conscience and real faith.

      We only need to look at a few other verses to understand why love is said to be the greatest. In Galatians chap 5 where Paul lists the fruit of the spirit we find the first one mentioned is love, with faith listed later.

     Joshua issued a charge to the Israelites after they had secured the Promised Land.

Jos 22:5 But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Since Joshua’s time the law has been replaced by grace, but not the need to love one another. Paul, when listing the ten commandments, summarized them with this comment.

Ro 13:9 …Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

And again in 1 John we read

1Jo 4:21 And this commandment have we from him,

That he who loveth God love his brother also.

The only verse we really needed to look at was Christ's response to a scribe that asked a question. Here, in answering the scribe's question, we read that Christ declared love to be the greatest.

Mr 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. Mr 12:31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

Before you ask what is the devotional thought in all this study of words, let me close with one more verse which should give you a devotional thought for the day.

2Jo 1:6 And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.

Getting our walk to match our talk is a most difficult, but essential thing. May the Holy Spirit be our guide as we seek to walk in His ways and learn to love one another. 

…but the greatest of these is charity.

 

Mar 7 Why were the Saints Saints?

Mar 7

Why Were the Saints Saints?

Ro 12:18 …  live peaceably with all men.

Yesterday we considered Saint Harry. We mentioned that saints are not created by an organization that takes years to decide if a person is a saint or not. God makes us saints the instant we accept Christ as our savior.

          And while our position as a saint does not come from our good works the fact we are saints comes with it responsibility that we strive to live “saintly” lives.

          Many years ago I took the high school kids from our church to volunteer at a mission work. They collected old but usable literature, unused Sunday School Materials, and excess printed materials to ship to missionaries overseas. The materials were free but needed to be wrapped and tied with twine to meet shipping requirements. The kids did the wrapping and tying.  It was both fun and hard work, and an excellent way to teach our youth group to serve.

         While there I found a page had been pinned to the wall in a hallway. The message was marvelous and I copied it down. I just recently found it again when going through some old notebooks. It is worth sharing.

________________________________________________________

Why were the Saints Saints?

Because they were cheerful when it was difficult to be cheerful, patient when it was difficult to be patient; and because they pushed on when they wanted to stand still, and kept silent when they wanted to talk, and were agreeable when they wanted to be disagreeable.

That was all. It was quite simple and always will be.

_____________________________________________________

 

          It would be easy to connect lots of scripture with this little statement, but it is not needed. The statement boils down the essence of many verses in simple words that are hard to ignore and impossible to not understand.

          Our verse today encapsulates most of these saintly traits in even less words.

Ro 12:18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you,

live peaceably with all men.

          Paul realized when he penned Romans that there are some people that do not want to be peaceable, so he said "if it be possible." Some people are just impossible to deal with.  A southern boy, I served with in the military, had a great way of saying it. He would describe an ill-tempered person as “They are so ornery they would argue with a sign post!”  

          Those people are the exception. Otherwise we are to do the very best we can, make every effort, be diligent and understanding, "as much as lieth in you",  to live peaceably with all men.  

           That is our devotional for today. It is something to meditate on.

 I will quit now before I become like the missionary Mark Twain wrote about. Mark Twain said he listened to a missionary and after 10 minutes had decided he would put $25 in the offering plate. But the missionary went on. After another ten minutes Mark thought maybe $10 would be more appropriate. But the missionary went on. After another ten minutes Mark decided he would only give $5. But the missionary continued. Mark Twain said that by the time they passed the offering plate he stole $2 out of it.

    

 

Ro 12:18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you,

 live peaceably with all men.

Mar 6 Saint Harry

Mar 6

Saint Harry

1Co 1:2 … to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints … 

In his 8 volume study on the book of Romans Donald G. Barnhouse relates a wonderful story in Vol. 1, pg 89. Dr. Harry A. Ironsides was traveling to the west coast by train. Several nuns were in the same car he was in and during the 4 day trip they discussed spiritual things from time to time. Near the end of the trip he asked the nuns if they had ever met a saint?  They had not and doubted they ever would meet anyone with such an exalted position.  He asked if they would like to meet a saint and they gave a similar reply but agreed that it would be wonderful. So he stuck out his hand and announced “Hello, I am Saint Harry!”

          It is a wonderfully funny story. I imagine the Nuns were greatly perplexed.  But people who are familiar with the Bible understand that Dr. Ironside was a saint. If you have accepted Christ as your savior, been born again, then you have been redeemed, justified and are a saint.  

          In the introduction to Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2^nd Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians Paul addresses those epistles to the Saints.  He means all who name the name of Christ, the born again ones. He is not addressing some select group of special holy people. Everyone in the church that has been saved by Christ’s shed blood and names Him as Savior is a saint.

          And yes some saints do not behave in a saintly manner, but the word saint refers to their position, and not their conduct. When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he called them saints but they were a mess. There was arguing in the church, incest, people suing one another, getting drunk on communion wine, and a host of other unsaintly activities. Yet he calls them saints.

          Several denominations, such as the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Coptic Orthodox churches have established policies on how they can decide if a person is a Saint or not. The Roman Catholic Church began to canonize (make a person a saint) in the year 993 and to date have created 921 saints, more or less. They have a lengthy process to create a man-made saint.

          The process outlined in the Bible is faster. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, look to him for the forgiveness of your sins, and accept Him as your Savior and thou shalt be a saint!  

          Unfortunately not all of us who are saints behave in a saintly manner.  But we do not lose our sainthood, in the same way that a sin does not terminate our salvation.  We have both the Holy Spirit and Christ making intercession for us. What a blessed thought.

Rom 8:26   Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

 As saints we have some privileges.  God enables us to understand things which the unsaved cannot grasp. We are guided into a proper understanding of the Word.

Col 1:26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: 27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

We also have some responsibilities.  We need to contend for the faith. The word contend comes from a French word that means to “stretch” – exert yourself, overcome the struggles that prevent you from standing up for your faith. In boxing the term “contender” is descriptive of one who is willing to take some pain, some punches, but desires to stand his ground and overcome his opponent’s resistance. The book of Jude exhorts us to contend for the faith.

Jude 1:3 ¶ Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

Lastly saints are not perfect. We have a responsibility to grow, to learn and be perfected.

Eph 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

Well, fellow saints. We are indeed blessed. Perhaps knowing you are already a saint might help you to strive to be saintly. "What would Jesus do?"  is a popular question today. Maybe we should also ask ourselves “Is that how a saint should behave?”   

Let us meditate on the idea we are saints! Thank you for reading my blog. May God richly bless you.

       Saint David 

2Pe 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge

of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.