The Very First Christmas Tree I Peter 2:24

*The Very First Christmas Tree I Peter 2:24*

Legend tells us that the first Christmas trees originated with the
famous reformer, Martin Luther back in the early 1500s. He was strolling
through a forest in northern Germany one evening. Struck by the beauty
of the moonlight shining on the fir trees, he went home determined to
recreate the moment for his children. He brought a fir tree into the
house and decorated it with candles. And so, the legend of the first
decorated Christmas tree was born.

In the 7th century, the English monk St. Boniface went to teach the
pagan Germans of Thuringia about Christianity. He used the fir tree's
triangular shape to explain the concept of the Trinity. The people came
to revere the fir tree and by the 12th century would hang a tree upside
down from their ceilings as a symbol of their faith. Reports of
Christmas tree decorating traditions increased in the ensuing centuries.
The first known decorated fir tree in England was set up in the year
1840 in Windsor Castle , occasioned by the wedding of the young Queen
Victoria to her husband, the German Prince Albert.

Its hard to verify the accuracy of some of these legends, but make no
mistake about it, Christmas trees are beautiful- at least until they
want to take the word Christ out of it and make it a holiday tree. But I
submit to you that the very first Christmas tree was set up two thousand
years ago. It was decorated by our Savior. Instead of candles and
lights, it was spattered by His blood. Instead of ornaments it was
adorned by His body on the tree. The tree I'm talking about was the Old
Rugged Cross that we sing about which so few will ever associate with
Christmas time. Yes, the true Christmas tree is a cross. First Peter
2:24, "He who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree."

I. THE TREE IS THE CROSS
The tree specified here used to described the cross. It was also
mentioned in the Book of Acts. "The God of our fathers raised Jesus from
the dead –whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree."(Acts 5:30) You
say, "Pastor, this is not how I pictured Christmas at all. Why talk
about gruesome, gory stuff like what we saw on the Passion? Save that
for Easter! I want to come to enjoy Christmas, see the church all
decorated up with poinsettias and red bows. I want to come to see
children dressed up like shepherds, wise men, and angels. I've come to
see the baby Jesus, not to see Him on a cross.

"We are witnesses of everything he did…They killed him by hanging him on
a tree." (Acts 10:39)

Jesus died for our sins like the sacrificial lamb in the Old Testament
time. Although innocent, he died for us sinners. He shed His blood on
this tree which we now know as the cross. As a result, we are considered
dead to sin that we may live a new life walking in God's righteousness.

II. JESUS CARRIES THIS CROSS

This cross-beam which is called "Patibulum" weigh about 50 kilos bore
down upon the Lord's shoulders with face running with blood. He was
racked with pain. Indeed He was "the man of sorrows" as foretold by the
prophet Isaiah. He was a victim of the worst human cruelty and hatred
just to save us. Jesus carries this cross and walked up a hill to His
death. An open wound with bloody flesh was exposed to his left and right
shoulders because of the rubbing pressure of the Patibulum. He carried
with this cross the full weight and burden of mans sins, past, present
and future to
complete the redemption of humanity.

III. JESUS IS NAILED TO THIS CROSS

Spikes were pounded through both of hands of the Lord. His Body,
stripped of clothing was raised as the cross was already standing
upright pegged to the ground. His feet was nailed as well. The most
painful of all pains endured by the Lord for our sake is so hard to imagine.

IV. JESUS DIED ON THIS CROSS

The Lord as hung on the cross suffered the most excruciating pain man
could ever imagine. There is no denying that He suffered repeated
moments as compare with those whose death resulted from suicide,
electrocution, lethal injection etc, etc. Death here of Christ should
have been only a matter of 5 to 10 minutes considering His
circumstances. But indeed, He has to drink His cup. He has to bear the
most anguishing pain this world is suppose to suffer. Most of all, He
still has to convey His message to this world – the seven last words.
Hence, inspite of the excruciating pain Christ has to bear it longer,
feel it longer.

In so doing as He struggled from time to time and move his body, the
flesh would scrape against the nails that pierced through His hands and
feet. This aggravates the more His wounds, it would open some more and
bleed more profusely. Christ has given His breath, poured out His blood
for all of the humanity. He has drunk His cup of suffering. His loud cry
manifested that His heart finally gave way to the tremendous pains and
sufferings. His heart finally ruptured because of God's love to this world.

08 November 2007 Devotion for Today "Christ, Our Peace" Ephesians 2:14-18

08 November 2007  Devotion for Today  “Christ, Our Peace”  Ephesians 2:14-18

 

            The story is told of a man went to the doctor complaining of a number of pains. After examining him the doctor said, "I can’t find anything organically wrong with you. But sometimes physical problems are the result of worry or stress. Maybe you need to find a good counselor and tell him your troubles. He might be able to advise you and make you feel better."

            "In fact," he said, "last week I had a fellow who was complaining of pains similar to yours and I couldn’t find anything wrong with him, either. But after talking a while, he told me that he was worried sick about a $5,000 debt he owed and couldn’t pay. Well, we talked about it and I was able to help him."

            The man asked, "How did you help him?" "Oh, I told him that life was too short to worry about a piece of paper that said he owed $5,000. I suggested that he tear up the paper and throw it away, and stop worrying about the debt, and get on with his life. So he did. And now he feels great!"

            “Yes, I know," said the guy. "I’m the one he owes the $5,000 to!"

Life does have its share of worries and stresses and strains. Wherever we go they are present. We have been told that ours is the age of anxiety and that worry is the pervasive emotion of our time.

            But wouldn’t it be great to be able to sit down someday and say, "I don’t have anything to worry about today. Everything in my life is in order."

That would be great, wouldn’t it? But it doesn’t happen very often. We live in the midst of crowded streets and malls and work to do. And the pressure builds continually, and there are always more deadlines than we can possibly meet.

            So it is time to look at God’s promise of peace. In Ephesians 2, Paul talks about it and says that Christ is the source of peace:

For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.”  Ephesians 2:14-18

Who is the source of your peace?  Take five minutes out of your day and reflect upon Jesus Christ, the true source and Prince of Peace, and see if you are still troubled by what was bothering you before.

Have a peaceful and blessed day

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@embarqmail.com

jcrussell@liberty.edu

 

Church website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
Devotion Archives: http://www.msnusers.com/DevotionforToday

 

07 November 2007 Devotion for Today "Playing Possum" Various Scriptures

07 November 2007 Devotion for Today  “Playing  Possum”   Various Scriptures

 

One of the many creatures that we have encountered here in the country is the possum.  I never know if I am supposed to call him by his formal name, opossum, or be informal- possum.  So immediately I do not know what to do with this creature who gets into my garbage cans and frightens my dog.

 

What do you feed a possum?  You don’t need to.  They are scavengers.  They get into garbage.   I also hear  they love sweet potatoes. Out in the wild they eat all types of things from persimmons to dead animals. I'm afraid some Christians are not much more discerning. Think about what we eat spiritually. Do we discern truth from error before swallowing something down (Acts 17:11)? What about the feeding frenzy taking place in front of the TV in our homes everyday.  Pretty smelly stuff, right? After all, we are what we eat. As our computer pro's say, "Garbage in---garbage out!". Could you eat a possum after it was fattened in the hollowed out carcass of a cow? Cow is cow, right? No thank you! Likewise, let's be careful what we take into our minds and hearts for these things, holy or unholy, reveal who we are (Proverbs 23:7). Some say possum is good if fixed right. Like I said, No Thank You---I'm afraid I might like it!

 

Here in North Carolina I have heard people use this word, possum, to describe someone mad who is swelled up or pouting- sull. If you've never seen a possum upset you have missed it. They hiss and carry on like the scariest thing around. Websters has the word "sullen" defined as, "show resentment, ill humor, and bitterness" We must beware lest we also take on this "possum- like" behavior. Aren't we at times too easily offended? Don't we sulk and swell up when things don't go our way? If we don't get over such foolishness soon it grows into bitterness. Friends are severed, families are broken up and God's spirit is grieved---what a loss! God's word can steer us away from such into love, mercy and forgiveness. "And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:" (Eph 4:30,31). If we are not on speaking terms with our brethren---we're not on speaking terms with God either (Matt. 25:40).

 

We've all heard the expression, "Playing Possum". Another tactic the possum may utilize is to play dead. For example, if a hound or a hunter comes upon one it will often take on a dead like appearance, as limp as a rag. You can pick it up by the tail and it's as lifeless as can be. Some in the church think this is the best way to fight the good fight. Play dead and Satan will go away. Don't do anything, don't say anything, don't be anything! In that case---we may really be dead. The church at Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead". (Rev 3:1)  And while the possums are out roaming at night at times they get run over by cars. You see, possums are nocturnal creatures, thriving at night.  They go out into the road to lick the salt off the asphalt.  The next day their carcasses swell up in the heat of the summer sun.  And when you get around them, you know the stench of decay.   Likewise, dear Christians, we cannot survive in darkness. So friends, we cannot live a possums life and live with God in eternity. "Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober" (1Thess. 5:5,6).

Let's not forget who we are and what we are here for. Yes, those little fellows were real cute hanging on limbs by their curly tails!

 

Have a blessed day!

 

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@embarqmail.com

jcrussell@liberty.edu

 

Church website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
Devotion Archives: http://www.msnusers.com/DevotionforToday

 

06 November 2007 Devotion for Today "Grace Through Faith" Ephesians 2:8-10

06 November 2007  Devotion for Today  “Grace Through Faith”  Ephesians 2:8-10

 

The story is told of a man who died and went to heaven. Of course, St. Peter met him at the Pearly Gates. Peter said, "Here’s how it works. You need 100 points to make it into heaven. You tell me all the good things you’ve done, and I give you a certain number of points for each item, depending on how good it was. When you reach 100 points, you get in."

"Okay," the man said, "I was married to the same woman for 50 years." "That’s wonderful," said St. Peter, "that’s worth three points!"

"Three points, is that all?" he said. He went on, "Well, I attended church all my life and supported its ministry with my tithe and service." "Terrific!" said St. Peter. "That’s certainly worth a point."

"One point?!!" He continued, "I started a soup kitchen in my city and worked in a shelter for homeless veterans." "Fantastic, that’s good for two more points," he said.

"Two points!?!!" Exasperated, the man cried out. "At this rate the only way I’ll get into heaven is by the grace of God." "Now you got it, that’s worth 100 points! Come on in!"

            Some of you might take exception to that story, because St. Peter is not going to be standing at the gates of heaven waiting for you or I- its going to be Jesus Christ himself.  But that is just how the story goes.  More and more all the time I find people who do not understand what grace is.  What is even more embarrassing is that these same people were raised up in a Southern Baptist church.  Do you know what gets us to heaven?  Ephesians 2:8-10 tells us:

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.  (Ephesians 2:8-10)

            Do you know what that means? One writer said, “When it comes to God, being good is not good enough.”

In 2001, Reader’s Digest asked Muhammad Ali what his faith meant to him. Ali replied, “[It] means [a] ticket to heaven. One day we’re all going to die, and God’s going to judge us, [our] good and bad deeds. [If the] bad outweighs the good, you go to hell; if the good outweighs the bad, you go to heaven.” That’s what many people believe. If that is the case, Mohammed Ali had better hope he’s got more than a butterfly or a bee standing on the balance with him.  But that’s not what the Bible says.  If it were just a matter of being good enough, none of us would be in heaven.  We all have transgressed God’s laws and stomped on every one of them.  And if it were based on being good enough to get to heaven, how would any of us know when we have reached that mark?  We wouldn’t.  That is why God has given us His grace.  Why would anyone do something like that?  That is where  Faith comes in as we believe what Christ did for us by grace.

            What is grace?  Someone years ago cleverly created an acrostic stating grace is God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.  That means that by grace, someone else purchased the ticket to heaven for us.  WE could never purchase it, because the price was too high.  Jesus Christ did it with the cost of His own blood.  Because of Grace, may we never cheapen it by our actions, and, by faith,  may we never take it for granted.

Have a blessed day!

 

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@embarqmail.com

jcrussell@liberty.edu

 

Church website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
Devotion Archives: http://www.msnusers.com/DevotionforToday

 

05 November 2007 Devotion for Today "Remember, Remember" Ephesians 2:1-6

05 November 2007  Devotion for Today  “Remember, Remember”  Ephesians 2:1-6

 

It was on this day four hundred and two years ago, when a group of catholic terrorists hired one Guido (Guy) Fawkes, a military munitions expert, to fill the cellar of the parliament building in Westminster with thirty-six large kegs of gunpowder.  He was to ignite the gunpowder just as England’s protestant King James opened the session of parliament for the year.  Through an act of betrayal, the plot was discovered just as Fawkes set to ignite the fuses.  After his arrest and excruciating torture, Fawkes and other conspirators were hanged, drawn, and quartered.   The day the conspiracy was discovered has been memorialized in Britain as Guy Fawkes’Day in which they commemorate each fifth of November with bonfires, fireworks, and the burning of Guy Fawkes in effigy. I recall as a child growing up there, that they also recited the following poem:

 

    Remember, remember the Fifth of November,

    The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,

    I know of no reason

    Why Gunpowder Treason

    Should ever be forgot.

 

God in His Providence protected the king who, a few years later, commissioned the translation of the Bible we know today as the King James Version, making God’s Word available in the common vernacular which has never ceased to spark revival and spiritual awakening since.  God is still living and active in the affairs of men, even in our politics today.  He averted catastrophe in 1605 with the discovery of gunpowder.  Who knows what evil God has spared us in spite of the terror attack of 2001 and the war on terror since that time.   God still intervenes on behalf of those who love and serve Him, and is more powerful than the deadly prince of terror which Paul names for us in the following text in Ephesians 2:

 

“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and the mind and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.  But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) and raise us up together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”  (Ephesians 2:1-6).

 

We Americans may not make much of Guy Fawkes’ Day.  Instead may the Lord help you to remember His watchcare and protection over you today, and cause you to thank Him for intervening on your behalf, and keeping you from sin and disobedience.

 

Have a blessed day.

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@embarqmail.com

jcrussell@liberty.edu

 

Church website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
Devotion Archives: http://www.msnusers.com/DevotionforToday

 

01 November 2007 Devotion for Today "The Heart" Ephesians 1:17-18

01 November 2007  Devotion for Today  “The Heart”  Ephesians 1:17-18

            Bruce Larson tells the story of a lady who came to see him about joining the church.  She said her doctor had sent her.  Recently, the lady had a facelift and when her doctor dismissed her he gave her this advice: “My dear, I have done an extraordinary job on your face, as you can see in the mirror.  I have charged you a great deal of money and you were happy to pay it.  But I want to give you some free advice.  Find a group of people who love God and who will love you enough to help you deal with all the negative emotions inside of you.  If you don’t, you’ll be back in my office in a very short time with your face in far worse shape than before.”  

            How true that is.  Perhaps that is why someone once said: “Beauty is only skin-deep; but ugly goes clear to the bone!”  All humor aside, negative emotions can distort our faces and create a lot of ugliness in the world.  But there is a cure for it.

            Paul writes in Ephesians 1:17-18 “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of all glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened: that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.” 

            In the original language, the word understanding is translated from the word cardia.  One does not need to know Greek to know that cardia means heart.  If I am sitting here writing and suffer a cardiac arrest, you will know that my heart has stopped beating.  Dr. John MacArthur writes that “in most modern cultures, the heart is thought of as the seat of emotions and feelings.  But most ancients- Hebrews, Greeks, and many others-considered the heart to be the center of knowledge, understanding, thinking, and wisdom.  The heart was considered to be the seat of the mind and will, and it could be taught what the brain could never know.”  (John MacArthur, Commentary on Ephesians, p. 45). 

            Metaphorically, we normally associate the heart as the center of our feelings, but ancient people also believed feelings came from the abdomen, the intestines, or the stomach.  Even today, we speak of having a “gut” feeling about something that we may not have logical evidence for, but we know it intuitively, or subjectively, nonetheless.

This is why Paul calls upon the eyes of one’s heart to be enlightened.  We don’t have to be physicians to know that the human heart does not have an eyeball sticking out of it, so we know that Paul is speaking metaphorically here.  The human heart is not the organ of the body which receives enlightenment, either.  But this is all beside the point.  Where ever we receive the enlightenment, we know that it is God who gives it when our hearts (or minds) are yielded to it.  Enlightenment sets off a spark of understanding which opens up a whole new world for us that we never believed was true before, or never knew existed before.  There is excitement and interest, and enthusiasm about what God is doing in your life.  There is a richness where emptiness had been before.  We should not play down our emotions.   Emotions play a significant part in the Christian’s life, but they are reliable only as they are guided by God’s truth, which we can understand through our minds. 

            What is your heart telling you today?  Has it been a while since you have had that sense of enlightenment which can spark a passion?  Jesus Christ not only sparks it once, but again and again.  May you have His enlightenment within you as you go about a busy and productive day, knowing that what you do makes a greater difference now that Jesus Christ is part of it.

            Have a blessed day.

 

 

 

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@embarqmail.com

jcrussell@liberty.edu

 

Church website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
Devotion Archives: http://www.msnusers.com/DevotionforToday

 

31 October 2007 Devotion for Today "Trusted" Ephesians 1:12-13

31 October 2007  Devotion for Today  “Trusted”  Ephesians 1:12-13

           

            Tonight is the night of the great masquerade called in our country “Halloween.”  It’s a holiday based on darkness and upon death.  I don’t necessarily approve of it because of its pagan origins, but I have changed my tune about participating in the humor and fun of it all.  I remember how I used to preach and hyperventilate against Halloween, as though people really listened to what I said.  I sometimes regret not having allowed my children to participate in trick or treating- much to the disappointment of my parents.  Because when I was a kid I used to have the best time at Halloween, dressing up and going to parties, bobbing for apples, and filling my bag with candy going door to door visiting good neighbors..  It’s a tradition that I never remember having a bad experience with. It brought the community together in an age of innocent fun.  Only very rarely did we ever hear of someone poisoning candy or putting a razor blade inside a piece of fruit.  Back in the 1960s, no one that I remembered dressed as a “skank or a pimp” for Halloween, either.   I don’t ever remember anyone talking about the pagan origins of “trick or treat,” etc. or stealing someone’s virgin daughter away in the night to set fire to them in a giant wicker-basket.  While it is true that the night of Hallows Eve fell roughly at the same time of the Irish pagan celebration of Samhain, Trick or Treating is largely an American tradition- something we invented at the turn of the last century and have made popular over the years, combining and Americanizing the English celebration of Guy Fawkes Day (bonfires and candy on November 5) and the European celebrations of St. Martins Day (Dress up and going door to door asking for treats on November 11) which are prevalent in those countries at this time of year. 

            At my church, as do many churches, we have seized back the holiday and call it a harvest party where we can invite un-churched neighbors and friends and show them that Christians can have fun without all the scary, evil attachments to the tradition of Halloween. But back to the dressing up part of it.  We don’t like the scary costumes because of the association with the dark side of Halloween.  Dressing up on the outside never really hurt anybody, but what does hurt, and damage us is how we masquerade on the inside.  We put on masks all the time to cover over our deceit and our treachery.  We paint over lies and hide all the hypocrisy.  What is even worse is that while we go to such great lengths to hide our sins from others, God knows who we are, and can see right through it.  God knows us instantly.  When we hide behind the masks we break down trust and expose more than we realize.  That is the scary part- whether we believe in celebrating Halloween or not!

            In Ephesians 1:12-13 Paul gives us a word about trust when he says:

            “That we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.  In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.”

            Paul’s word for the day is trust.   Unfortunately, the older I get the more difficult it is for me to do it.  If you have ever been disappointed by the good faith you have had in people shattered by their deception then you can identify with my feelings this morning.  But Paul is not talking about trusting people, but trusting Christ.  People are reluctant to trust in someone they have never seen, but we trust in people whom we can see all the time and have had our trust shattered.  Unlike the rest of us, Jesus has never abused the trust of anyone.  And even though we cannot see His face, we can see Him in the hearts of those who are living in Him, and in those whom the Holy Spirit has sealed for all eternity.  They have no masks to wear, nor do they need to.  You can see them, warts and all and know that you can trust a person who doesn’t mind all the warts and imperfections showing through because of Jesus who radiates His truth, glowing from the inside.

            Which is scarier, the masks which we wear on the outside, or the ones which we wear on the inside?  May the Lord Jesus Christ plant His seed of truth within you that you may not only trust Him, but that others will see that trust, and want to trust in Him because of it.

            Have a blessed day!

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@embarqmail.com

jcrussell@liberty.edu

 

Church website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
Devotion Archives: http://www.msnusers.com/DevotionforToday

 

29 October 2007 Devotion for Today "The Riches of His Grace" Ephesians 1:7

29 October 2007  Devotion for Today “The Riches of His Grace”  Ephesians 1:7

 

            Last year, a combined, multi-state lottery, commonly called the Powerball Lottery, awarded over $350 million to a family in Iowa.   I can never in my life imagine that kind of money.   There is a part of our attitude that is very happy for this family receiving that amount of money, and yet there is another part feeling the tinges of jealousy that it was them and not us who suddenly received that kind of staggering statistic in their bank account.  Oh, we would never admit this.  I have heard the same people who mutter “Money doesn’t buy happiness,” also say “money doesn’t grow on trees!”  Instead, at the water cooler, we chat with our workmates piously declaring that we would never want that kind of money, or that “the lottery money will curse that family with break up and ruin!”   You have heard this, so have I, and frankly I do not believe it.  Something may be said for the idea of corruption coming into play, but it would not have been because of the money.  It would have happened anyway, whether they had received $350 million, or $350.  In my lifetime I have seen people do some really strange things with money- not because the money has corrupted them, but because people corrupted the money.  There are people who will succeed no matter what category they have been placed in life- the indigent who has nothing who decides to work hard and get an education, and prosper.  But I have seen people who were born wealthy and prosper even more.  I have also seen hard-working people trying desperately to get ahead and lose everything, while undeserving people getting the “breaks” in life.  .It is difficult to admit that there are inequities in life not because God  put them there, but because we put them there.

            However, in Ephesians 1:7, Paul declares to us the great equalizer- the thing that will cause all of us to “get rich quick.”  No, we don’t have to sell vitamins and we don’t have to call up our neighbors and friends to listen to a presentation about how to sell soap.  Instead, Paul declares, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.”

            The riches of His grace. God’s grace, like His love and all His other attributes, is limitless.  It is far beyond our understanding or ability to describe, yet we know it is according to the riches of His infinite grace that God gives us forgiveness.  I realize that many people do not value forgiveness- that is until they realize that they are about to lose everything- not just their money, but their jobs, their spouses, their children, their families.  I have watched so many stand hopelessly by while their incomes go to lawyers who draw up divorce settlements.  When this happens, all the money in the world means nothing to them if they can just keep their family together.  The same is true of those who know they are about to go to jail while all their possessions sit by on the sidelines and rot away.  What people desperately want in situations like these is not more money, but forgiveness.

            It is good to have money.  But all the money in the world never kept one person out of hell.  Instead, we need riches from somewhere else, riches from heaven- drawn on our account that used to come up consistently “insufficient funds!”  But God made a deposit in that account expended by the precious blood of Jesus- an account that each one of us may draw freely and as often as we want.  Do you have this account?  Go to your Father and ask Him to open one for you. 

Have a blessed day.

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@embarqmail.com

jcrussell@liberty.edu

 

Church website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
Devotion Archives: http://www.msnusers.com/DevotionforToday

 

25 October 2007 Devotion for Today "Chosen" Ephesians 1:3-6

25 October 2007  Devotion for Today  “Chosen”   Ephesians 1:3-6

 

Today after about a month of travel, busy morning appointments, intensive course assignments and erratic internet service I begin again fresh and new, this time with the book of Ephesians for my devotional thoughts for the next month.  Today I would like to reflect upon the word “chose” or chosen in Ephesians 1:4.  Here is its context:

           

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as  He chose us in Him  before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5  having predestined us to  adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself,  according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in  the Beloved (Ephesians 1:3-6 NKJV).

 

Humanly speaking, the word chosen has never held much appeal for me, possibly because of bad memories from my junior high school years.  Those were the days of the embarrassing physical education classes, the tortuous two-mile runs, and then the hopeless games of touch-football where each team chose-up sides.  The PE teacher did it this way because it was easier for him, but it was tough on participants who were chosen by team captains.  It was a game of popularity, pure and simple.  The ones who showed the most physical prowess usually were selected first.  Invariably those who did not perform as well in the physical department were grudgingly relegated to the ones last-chosen.   Normally the young men in that category were the ones who capitalized more on mind than body.  It was in this humiliating experience where I often found myself, and consequently, played less-well than I might have had I been chosen earlier.  If I had a choice myself, I would have refused to submit myself to such a dehumanizing process.  I suppose I could have, and taken a “0” for non-participation.   This was back in the early 1970s and the whole concept of self-esteem had yet to darken the door of American educational curriculum.  While I tried not to let it show, my heart hurt and wished I had not been chosen at all rather than to be grudgingly selected by a captain who really didn’t want me on his team but had no choice because everyone had to be chosen by the team captains.  Therefore, there was very little expected of me, and most of the time I was content to sit on the sidelines and watch the game or daydream. 

 

It is impossible however, to impose this human idea of choice, or election, onto the concept of God’s choosing us before the foundation of the world.  God neither grudgingly accepts us, nor does He force us to play if we do not wish to.  He will not drag us into the Kingdom kicking and screaming, but by His election, extends to us a choice instead.   He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, but only for the day in which an appointment will be made for us to make the choice to accept or to reject His provision of Salvation- the person of His Son Jesus Christ.   God does not grudgingly choose us before a whole host of other possible candidates nor does He create an embarrassing spectacle this side of Judgment about who is to be chosen and who will not be.  And though this doctrine of election is a great mystery, irreconcilable to the free-agency of man- the idea that God created us as independent, sovereign beings in His own image logically demonstrates that free-agency must be somehow involved.  God’s first created human creatures, Adam and Eve, were chosen or elected by God to have eternal fellowship with Him in the Garden, and to experience paradise on earth.  But their will determined that they should not enjoy it because they chose to transgress upon God’s law and conditions of His fellowship by eating of the forbidden fruit.  They were elected for the opportunity, but they chose to reject it- a condition that is inherent within all of us since the day of our birth. 

 

I realize that such a weighty subject is difficult to digest so early in the morning, but it does give pause for reflection.  I used to believe so ardently, strongly and firmly in election, but isn’t it strange how age causes us to lose our grip on things?  However, if you prefer to believe in God’s total election, or in the total free-agency of man, or if you fall somewhere in between, know that the entire process is wrapped up in God’s unconditional love for you.  As we wade through the depths of theology we can sometimes forget this.  Focus on His love for you and it will overshadow whatever theological system you have in trying to comprehend what He desires to do for you. 

 

Have a blessed day!

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@embarqmail.com

jcrussell@liberty.edu

 

Church website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
Devotion Archives: http://www.msnusers.com/DevotionforToday

 

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Devotion for Today      “Gideon’s Fleece”     Judges 6:36-38

 

            I am told that a certain college student needed a small two-hour course to fill out his schedule.  The only one that fit was a course in Wildlife Zoology.  He had heard that the course was tough, and that the professor was very hard.  But since it was the only thing he could find, he enrolled.  After a week on the same chapter, the professor passed out a test for the class.  On the paper were illustrated many different kinds of birds’ legs and the students had to identify the species of birds just from a picture of their legs.  The student just could not believe it!  He didn’t have a clue where to start and the longer that he starred at the test, the madder he got.  Finally, the student reached the boiling point and stomped up to the front of the classroom and threw the test on the teacher’s desk and said, “This is the worst test I have ever seen, and this is the stupidest course I have ever taken!”

           

            The professor looked up at the student and said, “Young man, you just flunked the test!”  Then the teacher picked up the paper, saw that the student had not even put his name on the paper and said, “By the way, young man, what’s your name?”  At this the student bent over, pulled up his pants, revealed his legs, and said, “You tell me!”

 

            God’s man Gideon seems to present God with a similar test in Judges 6.  God had already told him that he wanted to use Gideon to deliver Israel out of the hand of Midian. God personally delivered Gideon and spared him from certain death after the incident where Gideon tore down the image to Baal.  However, Gideon’s confidence is still not secure.  Even after Gideon gets up the nerve to blow the war trumpet to call together the men of Israel to battle, he sets before the Lord a test: “Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said.” v. 37. 

 

            The next morning, it was exactly as Gideon had asked the Lord to do.  But the following day Gideon asked the Lord to do the same thing again, only this time he asked God not to put dew on the fleece, and it happened just the way Gideon asked God to do it.  This shows us not only God’s faithfulness, but also His mercy and love for Gideon.  How much did Gideon need God to show Him that He was with him?  Throughout the story of Gideon, we see Gideon putting God to the test over and over again.  But God passes all of them with flying colors.  This shows us that Gideon had trouble with his personal trust in the Lord.  But the one really to the test was Gideon himself, because in this process God is schooling Gideon over a long period of time to trust Him completely with everything. 

 

            Where are you today in your trust in God?  Do you have to have a sign from God in order to trust Him?  Jesus once said that it was a wicked and an adulterous generation that would look for a sign.  Just because God  reveals His signs to His people does not mean His people will be any more committed than they were before.  Its not the ability to see a sign from God that marks true spirituality-but the opposite.  Is it enough for you to hear from God and to be obedient to Him the first time?  Have a blessed day.

 

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@embarqmail.com

jcrussell@liberty.edu

 

Church website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
Devotion Archives: http://www.msnusers.com/DevotionforToday

 

22 October 2007 Devotion for Today "Being Gentle" I Thessalonians 2:7-8

22 October 2007  Devotion for Today  "Being Gentle"  I Thessalonians 2:7-8

Not long ago one of my children was doing an experiment called the

"Egg Drop."  The children in his class at school were to devise a 

container which held an uncooked chicken egg, making it so that the

container held enough insulation and soft material that it would 

absorb the shock of being thrown from a three story building, leaving

the egg unbroken when it hit the ground.  We packed a plastic container

full of newspapers and foam rubber, hoping this would provide the 

shock absorption for the egg.  On the day of the great Egg Drop, all

of the fourth grade children threw their containers out the window

of the Argonner School building.  I did not see it, but heard the 

report afterward.  Some of the children's containers were more successful

than others.  When I asked my fourth-grader how his egg drop experiment

faired, he was rather irritated.  "What happened?" I asked. "He shot

back a rather smart reply: "Dad, it would have helped had you put an

egg in the container!"

Everyone knows that eggs have to be treated with care because they

are fragile.  They appear to be rather substantial judging by the outward

appearance.  But the hard exterior is only a thin veneer of enamel.  If

dropped or broken, the egg yoke comes cascading through the cracks in

a messy river of yellowish brown goo.  We have to be careful how we

transport them and how we store them.  I thought of how much like the

human personality the egg can be.  Some appear to be quite strong and

resilient, able to handle most any amount of stress and trauma that

comes their way.  Then we become surprised that they "crack" under the

strain and wonder what went wrong.  This is especially true when helping

people understand the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Many

well-meaning evangelists, determine to obliterate the sin from people's

lives, run ahead of the Holy Spirit, and come on too strong.  Sin must

be dealt with, that is true, but the Holy Spirit does the convicting

of that as the message is proclaimed in meekness and gentleness.  I

have found people are more apt to resist when I come at them with hard

exhortations because they sense an unloving or unkind attitude within

me.  But it is possible to convey the need for repentance in a spirit

of gentleness, while at the same time giving a spirit of love and

respect for those who hear me.

Such was the attitude of the Apostle Paul in I Thessalonians 2:7-8. In

this passage he explains what it is to be a model servant and 

communicator of the Gospel, and creates a wonderful analogy that more

than half the human population can understand by personal experience:

"But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her

own children.  So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased

to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives,

because you had become dear to us."  Paul relates the fact that an

effective and loving mother does not treat her children with harshness

and meanness, but with love and tenderness.  Small children, and big

ones, too, need tenderness and love-no matter hard an exterior they

may pretend to have.  In our hard, "tell-it-like-it-is world, there

is enough brokenness and insensitivity as it is without Christianity

adding to it.

When it comes to people our object as Christians is not to break them,

but to nurture them so that they can be whole people in Jesus Christ.

May the Lord create in you a spirit of gentleness today.  Have a 

blessed day. 

 

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@embarqmail.com

jcrussell@liberty.edu

 

Church website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
Devotion Archives: http://www.msnusers.com/DevotionforToday

 

18 October 2007 Devotion for Today "Facing Our Jericho Part 1" Joshua 6:1-5

18 October 2007 Devotion for Today “Facing Our Jericho Part 1” Joshua 6:1-5

1 Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in. 2 Then the LORD said to Joshua, "See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 3 March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. 5 When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in." (Joshua 6:1-5 NIV)

When Joshua was told to go up against Jericho, he spent a lot of time getting ready. But sooner or later, we can be as ready as we know how to be, and its time to make the move. What confronted him I am sure probably caused him to gulp real hard. Here were walls that were at least 40 feet high- probably even higher. According to some archeologists, Jericho actually had two walls- an inner wall made of brick and an outer wall made of stone. But as much as we think about the walls in this chapter, not one word is mentioned about the walls of Jericho- not until verse 5 do we even hear one word about them. What was mentioned first is the people marching, the priests, the trumpets, the ark of the covenant, etc. Not one word about the wall. There is a reason for this. It was because of emphasis. They were emphasizing God’s ability to face Jericho and overcome whatever it was that lay on the other side, not the problem that confronted them. The emphasis included the fact that the children of Israel were to walk around the wall of Jericho one time, and then another, and then another- one time a day for 7 days and then on the 7th day they were to march around the wall 7 times. Victory was assured because they did it in God’s timing. True, we meet up against all kinds of different walls in our walk with the Lord. These walls will test our faith- but it depends on our focus, our emphasis. Are we focusing on the walls, or are we focusing upon God? Joshua shows us that walls are not dead-ends, but as opportunities for the Lord to work in our lives!

I think it also interesting that Joshua told his people to be quiet! Not to say a peep! Why? Because he knew their history! A history of griping and complaining! A history of murmuring against Moses and Aaron. And for 40 years the children of Israel making circles in the wilderness, and not experiencing the richness of the land that flowed with milk and honey. Jesus warned us about that when He said in Matthew 15:11 “It is Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.” Oh I’m not talking about curse words and four-letter-words that are nasty things to say. Its all the complaining that gets done and our attitudes of lack of support when we are called on to do something. If Joshua had not commanded them to be quiet, you know what the people of Israel would have done or said the whole time they were marching around the city? The same thing we as Baptists do when we are told to do something (actually you can’t tell Baptists to do anything, you have to ask them to, and still they will say: “What in the world are we doing this for. This is stupid! Marching around Jericho 7 times, etc. Well I’m not doing it!” And try to do everything they can not to cooperate simply because it was requested of them. These Scriptures emphasize the reason we don’t need to complain: . Philippians 2:14 the Bible says, "Do all things without murmuring and disputing. " James 5:9, "Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!"

Joshua knew, what Jesus knew, what we know right down to even today that the biggest walls that we often face are not in the opposition which is before us, but in the walls built up within the attitudes of our own hearts. I believe with all my heart that there are few problems that we as Christians have at times that cannot be fixed with a great thousand-foot roll of duct tape! And apply it firmly and snugly to our lips! God needed Joshua to tell the people they had to be united not only in their purpose, but in their attitude. Look don’t complain about it, don’t fuss about it, don’t murmur about it- just do it. Just get the job done!

Have a blessed day!

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@embarqmail.com

jcrussell@liberty.edu

 

Church website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
Devotion Archives: http://www.msnusers.com/DevotionforToday

 

15 October 2007 Devotion for Today "Exalt the Horn" Psalm 148

15 October 2007  Devotion for Today  "Exalt the Horn"  Psalm 148 

(Note: I've been having some problems with my email server lately- trying to correct it. Sorry for the inconvenience) I must say I was rather amused when traveling to Italy at our recent ministers/wives retreat.  The traffic patterns were, may I say, quite different than what I am used to.  Perhaps it was just my perception,  but the drivers seem to be quite erratic and aggressive on the road. It is almost as though the moment they get into the car, they immediately hit the accelerator for high speed, stopping abruptly at traffic lights (maybe).  Thousands upon thousands of motor bikes and scooters whiz their way around the city of Rome, and will run over a pedestrian  before going around him.  I actually saw this happen as a scooterist took off out of a covered parking area and without even stopping,  buzzed out into the busy street.  But he did not see a female pedestrian who crossed the street in front of him.  He struck her in the shoulder, causing her to spin around in circles before falling to the ground. She got back up, clutching her injured shoulder.  The scooterist,  however, did not get up.  He lay on the pavement, stunned for several minutes, though not badly hurt.  However, the next vehicle came barreling out of the parking area at full speed, bearing down upon the injured scooterist.  This man stopped his sleek, southern European sports car just inches from the victims head and madly blasted the horn. He continued doing this, not caring if the scooterist could get up or  not.  The pedestrian began flailing her uninjured arm at the driver of the sports car, speaking excitedly in protest.  The scooterist finally got up and within seconds they all were hurling insults at one another. Not that I could understand them, mind you, just my observation of  the body language.  However, the driver continued to honk his horn.  I was told later that in Italy, there is one essential piece of equipment that must function normally to pass inspection.  Even if the brakes and the tires and the exhaust system fail to meet the saftey requirement- the vehicle will pass if the horn works properly!  I don't think this is exactly what the psalmist had in mind in Psalm  148 when he writes: "Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and heaven.  And He has exalted the horn of His people, the praise of all His saints-of  the children of Israel, a people near to Him.  Praise the Lord." (Vv. 13-14).  The horn was not a saftey instrument in the vehicles of the ancient Hebrews, rather it was an instrument of praise in the Temple  and the Tabernacle.  Often it was a ram's horn blown to call the people of Israel to prayer or to signify the beginning of worship.  At various points throughout the ritual, the priests would blow the horns as the choirs and chanters sang.  As an instrument of praise, it was much preferable than one would hear on the streets of Rome or anywhere else, for that matter.  IT assisted the people and helped to elevate the volume of their praise and enthusiasm for God in worship.  It stirred their hearts every time the horn was played.  Except when larger churches use trumpets in their orchestras we don't  use many horns today in worship. But I did see this bumper-sticker that might bring the ancient and modern understanding of the use of the  horn closer together than I might otherwise have thought:  "Honk if You Love Jesus!"  Have a blessed day!

(From 15 March 2000)

03 October 2007 Devotion for Today "Abounding Charity" 2 Thessalonians 1:1-2

03 October 2007 Devotion for Today  "Abounding Charity" 2 Thessalonians 1:1-2

On Saturday I spent the day with my two boys on a class trip to

Nuremberg.  Early in the morning we boarded the gleaming white Inter

City Express train at the Hanau Hauptbahnhof and within moments we were

speeding along the electrified track across the state border into

Bavaria.  After an hour the train stopped at Wuerzburg.  From the

windows we could see the majestic white fortress on top of the mountain

over looking the city.  We continued on through the Bavarian countryside

to the ancient city of Nuremberg.  Across the street from the station

were the old, medieval walls and watchtowers of the city, followed by

narrow, cobblestone streets and half-timbered buildings.  Eventually

John and Jared and I arrived at the old bridge in the center of the 

city.  We purchased ice cream cones and were content to rest and look

over the bridge to watch the ducks feeding in the river below.  Jared

enjoyed feeding them pieces of his ice cream cone.  Especially amusing

was to watch a baby duckling trying to get into the feeding frenzy

that was going on.  As much as Jared tried, he could not throw a piece

of his waffle cone in the right spot where the baby could get it.  Each

time that the piece landed in the water near where the duckling could

manage, a big duck would swim over and grab it.  The moments were a

bit frustrating to both Jared and the duckling until finally, the

entire waffle ice cream cone had been consumed by the larger ducks. 

"Its just not fair!" he said, "How is the baby duck going to

be able to grow if the others won't let him eat anything?"  We talked

about that and how life is often like that.  But I told him that the

big ducks were once baby ducks, too, and that God will take care of

them and give them what they need.  "Maybe what they want is a big

piece of the cone, but what they really need is the smaller, more

nutricious food God provided for them in the water that we cannot see.

Even so, he will just have to learn to fight for the bigger pieces if

he wants them badly enough."

I thought also about the old city that we were in.  It had seen its

share of hardship in its nearly one thousand year history.  The need

for its walls underscored the battles it had seen.  But the walls 

could not keep out the allied bombs that devastated most of the city

in World War II.  Yet, after all of this, the city is a thriving

metropolis of commerce and industry.

The Apostle Paul begins his second letter to the Thessalonians- a 

church that had been suffering great turmoil and persecution.  Yet the

resilience that they demonstrated reflects the temperence and 

patience that they learned through hard times.  What was most evident

about this church was its love and acts of charity toward one another.

"We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, 

because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every

one of you all toward each other aboundeth." (v.3)

We grow no greater in our relationship with God than when we are 

reaching out in love to those who need our help.  And when we grow

toward God in grace and knowledge and faith, we can grow that much

more toward our brother in love.  And when that kind of relationship

grows during difficult times, it only goes to show others how real

a relationship with Jesus Christ can be.  It enables us to look out

into the future with hope.

Have a blessed day.

 

(From 01 May 2001 )

 

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@embarqmail.com

jcrussell@liberty.edu

 

Church website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
Devotion Archives: http://www.msnusers.com/DevotionforToday