Give me that old time religion
John 21:17 The third time he said to him, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, Do you love me? He said, Lord, you know all things, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, Feed my sheep.
When I use the term “old time religion” what does that mean to you? Do you think of preachers spewing fire and brimstone sermons to scare you into salvation? Do you think of hymns such as “Amazing Grace,” or “Love Lifted Me”? Or do you recall a time when your heart was so on fire for God that you could not contain the joy within, or the desire to share that joy with others?
I guess for me it is a little of all three. But the old time religion to which I would really like to return is the religion where we all looked out for one another. It was a religion where we didn’t just serve at a soup kitchen once a quarter, or donate clothes to the Salvation Army twice a year. No, it was a religion where we looked for opportunities to help our neighbors.
I have been concerned by the church’s inability to bring new people in–seeing lives changed because of Christ. But before we can change lives through Christ, sometimes we have to meet people’s needs. It is difficult for folks to receive the bread of life, if they are physically hungry. It is hard for people to grasp the concept of God’s unconditional love if they have no home.
What I would like to see is a return to the values of our forefathers, when neighbors joined together to raise a barn, or help put out a fire, or shoveled snow from their neighbor’s sidewalk. What I am proposing is leaving the safety of the church walls, going out into the neighborhoods and finding and meeting peoples’ needs. Then, we will begin to see an explosion in the church not witnessed since the first century Christians.
Won’t you join me? The harvest is white but the workers are few.
In the beginning was the word…John 1:1
I am immersing myself in the Word of God, and I cannot even express how vital I feel. I am in a study on Monday nights where Acts is coming alive thanks to the leadership of Linda Jones, and on Wednesday nights I am taking a journey where I walk where Jesus walked, courtesy of Ray van der Laand and our pastors Bryan Fink and Nathan Kilbourne.
We looked tonight at Acts 4, with the key verse being Acts 4:12: Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. We can afford to disagree about a few things in church without consequence. But this one tenant of our faith is so basic, so fundamental, that there can be no argument, no justifying any other view for there is no other name by which we must be saved. Peter spoke this truth in boldness and under the power of the Holy Spirit.
When was the last time you spoke this truth? In trying to be open-minded and non-judgmental, have you accepted and even promoted the false tenant that God by any other name is the same? Do you believe Peter was mistaken when he spoke of Jesus Christ who was crucified but whom God raised from the dead?
In trying to reach more people, to avoid offending, to appear “with it”, we have watered down the gospel to the point that it is barely recognizable. When was the last time you heard a sermon designed to bring conviction to the heart of the sinner? When was the last time you saw anyone make their way down to the kneeling rail to give his or her life to Christ?
There is no other name but Jesus, there is no other power than that found through the Living God, there is no other way than through the cross. God, give us kingdom understanding that we might live and breathe and know the power of your love.
Rich and poor alike, the Lord is the maker of them all
Today is our son Kevin’s birthday–Happy Birthday, sweetie.
We are almost finished with reading through Proverbs. Do you feel wiser? Has your knowledge increased? I will continue to read one chapter of Proverbs daily, throughout the year, but I may not comment on my reading of Proverbs on a daily basis. Beginning November 1 I am going to start reading the Gospels. Join me.
One of the stories topping the news this year has been the Ponzi scheme perpetrated by Bernie Madoff. Madoff had been a respected member of society for most of his life, and now is name has been ruined forever. Prov. 22:1 says a good name is more desirable than great riches. Madoff traded his good name for great riches, but now he has lost both his name and his wealth. Worse yet, he appears to be totally unrepentant for his sins. Perhaps he should have had this verse inscribed upon his heart as a child. God help us when we think the riches of this world will fill all of our needs. What we need is to feed on the bread of life, God’s Word.
Prov 22:6 says train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. This scripture has been comfort to parents for generations, for IF we train a child in the ways of God, THEN when he is old he will not depart from it. If you have a child who has strayed from the path of righteousness, and indeed, from the path of wisdom, do not lose hope. Your child still has time to return to his training. Do not lose hope.
We are told in Prov 22 17-18 to listen to the sayings of the wise, apply our hearts to the teachings of God, keep God’s words in our hearts and have them ready on our lips. We can only keep God’s words in our hearts and have them on our lips if we stay in His word, commit it to our memory. Memory work is not easy for me any more. Even those scriptures I once memorized are somewhat vague. While I can generally point to the book where a scripture is found, I can seldom tell you the chapter or the verse. As long as I have a Bible handy, I can find what I need. But what happens if we enter a time when Bibles are outlawed. Do you think it can’t happen? There are Christians throughout the world who are under scrutiny, if not outright persecution. We have been extremely fortunate in our country to have the freedom of expression and freedom of religion. May God’s grace continue to shine upon us so that we will never know a time when God’s word is taken from us.
Words that add life and light
Have you ever noticed how some words drain the life right out of you? There are words that cause us to feel bad about ourselves and keep us from reaching our full potential. You might be thinking that is assigning a lot of power to a little word, but the truth is, words do have power, especially when they come out of the mouth of someone we love and trust. This is why we should be careful about the words we speak. When we are accusatory toward a loved one, and really all we are doing is trying to manipulate a certain outcome, then we are guilty of speaking words that kill. However, when we speak hope and love and encouragement, then we are speaking words that give life. Always choose words that uplift, and then you will never have to be concerned about trying to call a word back, which is as impossible as calling back the last breath you breathed.
Proverbs 20 and 21 are filled with so much wisdom, and since wisdom is what we are seeking let’s plunge right in. Proverbs 20 begins with warning about strong drink. There is some controversy in the church about drinking alcohol. Some churches say consumption of alcohol is a sin and their members either abstain or drink in secret. Let me tell you if you have to do anything in secret it is something you should not do, whether your church says so or not. Personally, if I wanted to have a glass of wine at night but I know my church is adamantly opposed to drinking, I would find a church where my views and theirs were more closely aligned. One over-riding theme of the Bible is balance. We are to balance work, play, church life and family life. Likewise, if we choose to drink we should do so moderately. It is when we drink too much, eat too much, let our anger consume us–you get the idea–that we lapse into sin.
We are told repeatedly to avoid laziness, avoid excessive sleep, make sure our weights and balances are equal (be fair) and let our words be pure. Why, I wonder, did God think we needed 31 chapters of constant reminders about right living? Because our nature is to live in the flesh, not in the spirit. In other words, our sin nature all too often gets the better of us so God is reminding us that there is another way we should go, and it is the way of the Lord.
Prov. 21:2 says that there is a way that seems right to man, but God knows the heart. Can we ever know our own hearts? There is a saying, to thine own self be true. Sometimes our hearts are deceitful–we don’t want to know what is hidden there. God is so good and so kind that he does not reveal the entirety of our hearts all at once to us. If He did, I believe it would crush us. Therefore, he reveals our sinful nature just a little at a time so that when revealed, we can repent and receive redemption.
Won’t you go before God today and thank Him that although He requires holiness of us He also gave us a Savior to give us redemption–to buy us back from the sin we were in.
The value of integrity
Chapter 19 of Proverbs begins by telling us that the poor who walks in integrity is better off than he who speaks with perversity, who is really a fool. What is integrity and how do we attain it?
- an undivided or unbroken completeness or totality with nothing wanting; “the integrity of the nervous system is required for normal development …
- moral soundness
- or, integrity is the way we behave when no one is watching.
How do we achieve integrity? I will tell you with all honesty that the more you immerse yourself in God’s Word, in the life of Jesus, the more you walk as Jesus walked, the greater will be your integrity. It is nearly impossible to act outside of integrity when we live everyday with Jesus.
more to come…
Seeking Holiness 