Summer & Sleep – 6.15.09

Proverbs 10:5 He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.

Summer is upon us. Now, we've got an ambitious group of young people here at THE BIBLE Baptist Church and many of them are working jobs, taking classes, doing internships, or all of the above. But for the average student summer means quite a break in the load of responsibility. Summer means no school, no studying, no quizzes, no teachers, no tests. Summer means hanging out with friends, hitting the beach, going on vacation, swimming, snorkeling, shopping, sports, sleepovers, smoothies…you get the point.

But one of the most popular summer activities that I failed to mention also starts with s – SLEEPING. You ought to hear Bro. Danny Farley (pastor of Shady Acres Baptist Church in Houston, TX) correct the popular phrase "sleeping like a baby." He more appropriately describes it as "sleeping like a teenager." Teenagers can sleep! I mean out for 12 hours without moving a muscle, and nothing – not the rooster's crow, not the alarm clock's annoying ring, not mom's yelling or sister's piano practice, not the rocket launch, or the bomb that went off at the neighbors – is going to wake them.

Now, I'm all for getting a healthy amount of sleep. I'm not a real happy person when I don't, but there is a spiritual lesson here.

Summer is a great time to get in on gathering God's harvest. The summer time, when responsibilities are somewhat diminished and you've got some free time on your hands, is a great time to get involved in the outreach ministry of your church. It's a great time to take full advantage of the opportunities for you to fellowship with God's people and spread His gospel.

If your church is taking a summer mission trip or a summer youth trip – GO! If your church is planning a special evangelistic effort – GET INVOLVED! If your church is doing what it should and regularly reaching out with the gospel – PARTICIPATE!

Wake up and make your summer count.

1 Corinthians 15:34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.

Because Why – 6.5.09

Psalm 119:68 Thou art good, and doest good; teach me thy statutes.

Psalm 119:73 Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments.

Psalm 119 – what a chapter! 176 verses (the longest in the Bible) and all but 2 directly mention the word of God (word, statutes, judgments, law, commandments, etc.). Its structure is curious. It has 22 sections, each with 8 verses. Each section corresponds to and begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet – in order. That is, the first section begins with "aleph," the second with "beth," and so on (see the headings in your Bible).

One of the many great things about the Bible God has given us is that it not only tells us what we ought to do, in many cases, it tells us just exactly why we ought to do it.

Now, God has every right to give us one of those parental BECAUSE I SAID SO'S – but he doesn't! The Bible is full of arguments and reasons for why we should do what's right. The individual who says that serving God doesn't really matter just as long as you're saved is obviously one who isn't carefully reading the scriptures.

For example, here in Psalm 119 the Lord very clearly lays out 2 very sound lines of reasoning as to why we should seek to learn and obey His word.

1. Because God is good (v. 68)

God is love (1 John 4:8). And somehow, someway, for some unknown reason, He has chosen to extend that love to us. His commandments, His instruction, His rebuke, His chastening, are only extensions of that love. If we could settle in our minds and hearts that God's commandments have been issued with the object of our well-being, it seems we'd do a much better job of staying in line.

See Deuteronomy 10:13; Psalm 34:10-22; Psalm 37:4, 23, 37; Jeremiah 7:6, 19, 23; Jeremiah 25:7; Micah 2:7; Acts 3:26; 1 John 5:3.

2. Because God is God (v. 73)

The fact that God made us argues very strongly for the fact that He's got things figured out a whole lot better than we do. I mean, do we really think that we know better than God? No sane person would ever admit that, but sometimes we sure act like that's what we're thinking.

Isaiah 55:8-9 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Romans 9:20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?

Present With the Lord

My wife's grandfather, James Boyd Clayton, passed away last Saturday night at the age of 82. He had trusted Jesus Christ for his soul's salvation and now rejoices in the presence of his Savior, free from all heartache and pain.

It has been amazing to witness how God provides the grace we need just exactly when we need it. All the family, including his wife of 58 years, miss him terribly but are doing well.

Please pray for God's blessings on the funeral service this Saturday. My father-in-law will be giving the gospel and many that Mr. Clayton was concerned about and sought to witness to will be in attendance. What a blessing it would be to see them repent and trust in Jesus!

Obituary
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Saved vs. Christian II – 6.2.09

The Bible contains many allusions to a courtroom situation. The great white throne judgment (Revelation 20); the judgment seat of Christ (1 Corinthians 3); satan the accuser (Revelation 12:10), Jesus Christ our advocate (1 John 2:1); etc.

So in your mind, go ahead and place yourself in a courtroom setting and return to the question we asked last time. If you were put on trial and charged with being a Christian (not just saved), would there be enough evidence to pronounce you guilty?

Let's consider some of the evidence that might be used to determine the verdict.

• What if your church attendance records were subpoenaed (Hebrews 10:25)?
• What if your giving records and your bank statements were brought into the courtroom (Matthew 6:19-24)?
• What if the court called in your job mates, your classmates, your neighbors, and your family for some cross-examination (Galatians 5:22-26)?
• What if your internet service provider was asked to provide a listing of all the sites you visited in the past month? A copy of every e-mail you've read and sent in the past month (Ephesians 5:7-11)?
• What if the court examined every photo, comment, and sticker on your facebook page (1 Corinthians 10:31)?
• What if the court bugged your phone and listened in on all your conversations from the past month (Ephesians 4:25, 29)?
• What if the court obtained a search warrant and came to your house and looked through your car? What about the books and magazines on your shelf? What about the music on your mp3? What about the clothes in your closet? What about the beverages in your refrigerator? What about that box stuffed away underneath a bed or in a drawer or tucked away in a closet that you thought no one would ever find?

You might think I'm meddling. You might think all that stuff doesn't really matter. But consider the standards used in court to determine a case. In civil trials, a guilty verdict would require either a "preponderance of the evidence" (more probable than not) or "clear and convincing evidence" (close to certain), but in criminal trials, the evidence must point to the defendant as guilty "beyond any reasonable doubt."

Now, I hope that the evidence in your life would point to a guilty verdict. I hope you could confidently plead "guilty as charged" when accused of being a follower of Jesus Christ.

If you can't, you just need to know and understand and believe that the God who saved you is a God who is worth serving.

Acts 11:26 …And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

P.S. Thanks to my dad for an excellent devotion given at Sweet Springs Baptist Church on May 24 that provided the basis for these last two posts.

Saved vs. Christian – 5.29.09

Acts 11 gives an enjoyable account of the founding of the church at Antioch, a church that later went on to be the headquarters for the missionary movement of the early NT church. There are some things that are stated about this church from the very beginning that are instructive for us to notice.

In verse 26, we find them assembling together (Hebrews 10:25). In verse 26, we see that they are learning the scriptures (2 Timothy 2:15). In verse 23, they are exhorting one another (Hebrews 3:13). In verse 19, they are preaching the word (2 Timothy 4:2). In verse 20, they are preaching the Lord Jesus (2 Corinthians 4:5). And praise the Lord, many repent and believe!

Now there's an interesting and important phrase in verse 26. The Bible says, "And the disciples were called Christians fist in Antioch." The believers in the church at Antioch did not call themselves Christians. They were called Christians. The world noticed that they were followers of Jesus Christ.

They didn't just go out and preach Jesus. They didn't just get together and talk about Jesus. They lived Jesus! Each and every day they lived out their lives in a way that was consistent with the message they proclaimed. When they preached the life-changing power of the gospel of Jesus Christ, they could point to their lives as proof. Their "conversation" was such that it gave credence to their preaching.

With this example in mind, here's a question you and I ought to consider. If you were put on trial today and charged with being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you as guilty?

Now we know that according to the Bible, we are saved by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9) and that we shall not come into condemnation but are passed from death unto life (John 5:24) and that nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:39). That's not what's in question.

You see, there's a difference between just being saved and being a Christian. One who has had his sins washed in the precious blood of Christ (Colossians 1:14) is saved. One who lives like it is a Christian (Ephesians 2:10). One who has placed his faith and trust in Jesus Christ is saved (Romans 10:9-10). One who follows Jesus Christ is a Christian (Luke 9:23).

If you're saved, you'll go to heaven when you die. If you're a Christian, the world will take note, and you might just take a few more with you when you go.

Are you just saved? Or are you a follower of Jesus Christ? Do you just call yourself a Christian? Or does the evidence really line up with that statement?

More Love to Thee II – 5.19.09

2 Corinthians 5:14-15 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

According to Webster's 1828, to be constrained is to be:

• urged irresistibly or powerfully
• compelled; forced
• restrained; confined; bound; imprisoned
• necessitated

Here's a question to think on for a minute. What is it that causes you do what's right? What keeps you living right? What's behind your commitment to the Savior?

• Character – doing right because it's right
• Good sense – understanding the principle of sowing and reaping
• Process of elimination – nothing else you've tried seems to work
• Love – He's worth everything I can possibly give

Obviously, there's some merit in each of these, but we'd have to agree that the best and most enduring motivation is that of love (Song of Solomon 8:7).

To me, the constraining love of the 2 Corinthians 5 passage is not my love for Christ but rather the love of Christ for me. Yes, a love for Christ is what is needed to overcome temptation (James 1:12). But any love I have for Him has to spring from the unfathomable love He continues to shed abroad in my heart (Romans 5:5).

1 John 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.

So as we seek to increase our level of love for our wonderful Savior, let's remember to have the proper perspective of:

• Our sin and its rightful penalty…we are forgiven much
• The amazing love God showed in bringing us forgiveness and deliverance…the love of Christ constrains us

More Love to Thee – 5.15.09

Luke 7:41-43 There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.

Here's the setting. Jesus is eating in the home of a Pharisee by the name of Simon when a woman of the city who was known as a sinner comes in, anoints Jesus' feet with precious ointment, and washes His feet with her tears.

This parable of the two debtors was given by Jesus in answer to Simon's THOUGHT (not question) that Jesus wouldn't let this woman touch Him if He knew how great a sinner she was.

The point of the parable is clearly stated by the Lord in verse 47, But to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.

Now, praise God, I was brought up in a good, Bible-believing church and saved as a young man at the age of 6 or 7. I had never (and by the grace of God, I have never) smoked, drank, used drugs, been involved in immorality, robbed a bank, killed anybody, etc.

Until a brother in our church taught a Sunday school lesson from this passage this past week, I had always approached this part of Luke 7 as a kind of excuse for the fact that I don't love God as much as some other Christians I know who were "really bad sinners" before they got saved.

But you know what, I want to love God more, and I don't want any excuses – even if they're from the Bible! So by the grace of God, I have learned a new approach to this passage.

If those who are forgiven little love little, and those who are forgiven much love much, one thing I can do to increase my love for the Lord is to consider myself forgiven of much. And aren't we all!

No matter what sins you and I have or haven't committed the end result (without Jesus) would have been the same – ETERNAL HELL! But God has forgiven me for ALL my crimes against Him and has delivered me from the awful fate that I deserve just as much as anybody else. Praise His name!

May we take a fresh look into the law of God; may our sin become exceeding sinful (Romans 7:13); may we have a renewed perspective of the severity of the penalty we had coming; and may we rejoice in His goodness that made possible a way of escape (Romans 9:22).

More love to Thee, O Christ, more love to Thee! Hear Thou the prayer I make on bended knee. This is my earnest plea: More love, O Christ, to Thee; More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Once earthly joy I craved, sought peace and rest; Now Thee alone I seek, give what is best. This all my prayer shall be: More love, O Christ to Thee; More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Let sorrow do its work, come grief or pain; Sweet are Thy messengers, sweet their refrain, When they can sing with me: More love, O Christ, to Thee; More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Then shall my latest breath whisper Thy praise; This be the parting cry my heart shall raise; This still its prayer shall be: More love, O Christ to Thee; More love to Thee, more love to Thee!