28 August 2008 Devotion for Today “Unity Over Non-essentials” Ephesians 4:1-4; 13

28 August 2008 Devotion for Today “Unity Over Non-essentials” Ephesians 4:1-4; 13

One ideal of our faith in Christ is that the Spirit of God put the life of God in the soul of every person who trusts in Jesus Christ and unites that person with every other believer in the same eternal realm. In the Kingdom of Christ, all barriers come down. There are no distinctions among us. In His body there are no walls, no classes, no races, no gender, no suits, no blue-collar men- there are no distinctions of any kind.

Practically, however, reality is often tragically different. That’s why Paul tells us in our text in Ephesians 4:1-4 “Be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace… There is one body and one Lord, one faith one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all in all.” The church is to manifest that ones “until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. (v.13).

Now, understand that Unity is not everybody doing the same thing or thinking the same way. Unity is not the same thing as union-Union has an affiliation with others but no common bond that makes them one in heart. Unity is not Uniformity-which has everyone looking and thinking alike. Unity is not even Unanimity-which is complete agreement across the board. Unity, however, refers to a oneness of heart, a similarity of purpose, and an agreement on major points of doctrine. In a church there is the bond of a family, yet room for variety. The devil tries to disrupt unity. You can take two tom cats, tie their tails together and throw them over a clothesline. You will have union, but I can guarantee you will not have unity. Few doctrines are more important than this doctrine of unity. Because the church is under constant attack, we need to be good students of the subject. Because we are fellow members of the body, we need to apply ourselves to mutual harmony. And because disease can diminish the effectiveness of the body, we must maintain habits of health and a consistent program of exercise in harmony with God’s building program.

A collegue of Martin Luther, Philip Melancthon once said: “In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things, charity.” Where we as the church have had differences is usually not over essentials, but non-essentials. What are essentials and what are non-essentials? I realize that one person’s essentials could mean another persons non-essentials.

Many churches have problems because they make non-essentials into essentials. There are certain people who insist on having their own way, whether it is the pastor, the deacons, the WMU, Sunday School teachers, the choir or certain members of the church. You would be surprised but doctrine is usually not the thing that causes disunity in most situations. The things that have caused disunity in most congregations that I have been aware of have been over silly things like the color of the carpet, the length of the curtains or whether or not we should put a coke machine in the fellowship hall. This actually happened in the first church where I served. You may laugh but if it were not so tragic it would be funny.

I wonder what Jesus thinks of us and the silly, non-essential things that we squabble about? I doubt that He would be laughing. There are times when church discipline ought to be exercised when there are members of the body who live in immorality or are not being consistent or obedient to Scripture. Even then we ought to strive to seek peace and speak the truth in love instead of demonstrating that we want what we want.

If there is a concern that you have, ask yourself first, “is this what I want, or is it what God wants? Is this essential to the cause of Christ, or is it a non-essential? Will this stand that I take stand for eternity, or will it be forgotten about a year from now?” Only you and God can judge these matters, and may He give you all the help you need to discern them.

Have a blessed day!

27 August 2008 Devotion for Today Quid Pro Quo Zechariah 1:1-4

My study of Latin is very rudimentary. I asked someone one time what does the term Status Quo mean? He said, "Its Latin for the 'mess that we are in.'" There's another Latin phrase I am curious about: Quid Pro Quo. Quid Pro Quo has been carried over as a legal term in English which basically means a mutually agreeable contract in which both parties are satisfied on the basis: You do something for me and I will do something for you. Many agreements exist like this, especially in real estate where the terms are specified on this basis.

While Gods love is unconditional, as well as His grace, it may be said that there are a few quid pro quo agreements concerning Gods relationship with man. The prophet Zechariah identified at least one in the outset of his prophesy. Zechariah was a second-generation Jewish exile living in Babylon when God called him. He was also a third-generation prophet- the grandson (or son) mentioned also in he Book of Nehemiah who had returned with the exiles to minister to them after the Temple was reconstructed in the last decade of the 4th century before Christ. Zechariah's name means The Lord Remembers, and indeed Zechariah lives up to his name; remembering the Word of the Lord and what it said to their fathers and grandfathers generations: if you obey Me and do My commandments, I will bless you and do something for you.

In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came ?to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying, "The Lord has been very angry with your fathers. " Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord of hosts: Return to Me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets preached, saying, Thus says the Lord of hosts: Turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds.But they did not hear nor heed Me, says the Lord. Zechariah 1:1-4

This passage shows us that God is ever willing to be in agreement with us; even when we are not agreeable. Ever mindful in Zechariah's prophecy was the utter destruction reigned down upon the country because of their disobedience. It would be the ultimate tragedy to have learned nothing from the experience of exile for which they had suffered so long. Zechariah needed to remind them of this, for a new generation was now growing up in the newly restored homeland- a generation that did not have the memory of the former Temple destruction, captivity, or deprivation. With every new generation, God must announce His message to those who have little memory of how He has worked in the past.


What is God doing now that you will want remembered by your children or grandchildren? Can you see where Gods Quid Pro Quo is in effect?

26 August 2008 Devotion for Today “Happy Birthday, John” Matthew 3:17

Today is my oldest son’s birthday, and I am therefore dedicating this devotional to him. His name is John. Its hard to believe that here he is now, a grown man in college when my mind goes back so easily to when I saw him delivered in that hospital room in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania nineteen years ago today. He had no idea the life of excitement and joy and struggle he would experience up to now. I recall how he squealed with delight as his first steps moved unsteadily across our kitchen floor. He made room early in his heart for others as he saw the arrival of his brother and then his sister. He endured our uprooting him from one house to another, and then from one school into another. The day he asked Jesus Christ to be his Lord and Savior thrilled my heart, as well as the day I baptized him. His role as a “preacher’s kid” was not always an easy one. He would have to endure a lot for my sake, and bear patiently hurtful things done and said to him by people who did not like me. He never complained when he saw other children of the church receive things we as his parents could not afford. I recall how I trembled for him the day I left him in that second grade classroom where he not only knew a soul, but couldn’t even speak their language. There were also many visits to hospital emergency rooms and at least one ambulance ride, but we’ll not speak of those. He went at every interest with unusual intensity. Through the years, John managed to channel the energy of so much of that intensity into a passion and love for music. Although not initially thrilled with his choice of instruments, I will never forget the look on his face as he stood mouth wide-open at the new drum set we bought for his twelfth birthday. He learned to drive and learned to work, learned to lead, and learned to do so many things so well and so much better than his parents. John set his pursuit of music through his middle and high school years, and has determined to study music education as a percussionist in college. A parent could not be more proud of what John with the Lord’s help has accomplished in these years, with a brighter future than I could have ever hoped for myself when I was his age.

I believe with all my heart that this has become possible because Robin and I dedicated John to the Lord when he was six months old. We have not been perfect parents, but we were thankful that we made a commitment to the knowledge that John is not just our child, he is God’s child and knows more about what he needs and what he will do than his earthly mom and dad. To this day I marvel at the ambivalence, if not stupidity of parents who let their kids do what they want and then wonder why they can’t deal with them as they get older, or will provide them alcohol and other harmful things under the pretext that “its better they do this at home than not know where they are.” Or even worse, “I’ll let my children decide when their older what faith choices to make.” Those valuable lessons are so often thrown away by parents. We have not always been the parents we should have been, but we knew that to give John to the Lord meant that we had to enforce discipline when our hearts wanted to play with him and let him off easy when he got into trouble. This meant saying no when all the other kids were getting what they wanted. This meant standing back and watching him learn the hard way when we would want so much to jump in and rescue him from his mistakes. Because of this, no two parents could be so happy than for the gifts God has given us in all three of our children. We echo the love and the emotion expressed from heaven the day our Father watched His Son begin His earthly ministry by saying “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:17. I am also glad for the fact that we never neglected to tell our children how much we loved them and are proud of them, and will always be there for them- in their failures as well as in their successes.

As a parent of young children you might be dreading some of the drudgery and unpleasantness and stress of taking care of them, but they will not be this way for long. You will be amazed at how quickly the time goes by, so focus upon the joy they are giving you. How well I remember the temptation of how much easier it would be to take our children back to their preschool years than to endure them as teenagers until the reality struck- the day John received his high school diploma- that they will not always be part of our lives as they are now.

May God help you and give you the grace as you train up your children in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord. It will not be easy, but then nothing worthwhile will ever be. The lessons you instill into them now will come back to you when you are old.

Have a blessed day, and happy birthday, John!

21 August 2008 Devotion for Today “A Good Launch” 2 Timothy 2:1-2

The other morning I set out on a short cruise on the “Visitation”- my sailboat currently tied up on the Newbegun Creek here in Weeksville, NC. I hoisted the sails and did a number of other tasks before launching from the pier. In the time it took to hoist the sails and those other tasks, the wind shifted dramatically, blowing the boat into the pier and toward the shoreline. Thankfully I was able to throw a line onto the pier piling just in time to pull the boat back in. I would have to lower the sails and use my little trolling motor to push me out into the middle of the creek before I could hoist the sails again because I was headed straight into the wind. Thankfully this scheme worked very well- perhaps a little two well. Since I was alone when I did this, I had no one to hold the rudder stable while I hoisted and adjusted the sails. A stiff breeze caught me in mid-reach and propelled us this time toward the opposite shoreline, where the boat grounded on a small submerged log with such force it nearly threw me from the deck. I grabbed onto the mast for fear of falling overboard into the snake-infested creek. I scrambled back down into the cockpit and corrected the steering. The Visitation broke free from the log and glided beautifully into the mouth of the creek and out into the middle of the Pasquotank River. My launch was a little rough, but a launch nevertheless. I cruised around the creek for a couple of hours, meeting my friend in his boat near to the Camden shore, and then headed back to up the Newbegun again. I arrived at the pier with no difficulty whatever- grateful for the relaxing day of sailing and for the new experiences under my belt. Some would say I am still a novice sailor, because when it comes to sailing there is no greater teacher than experience. I have taken two courses at the local community college and have read many books on the subject. But while they teach the basics it is pretty much up to me to build on the lessons I have learned, and then practice constantly. To learn I must to get out into the boat, and have to push off from the pier and somehow overcome my fear of what will happen out on the water. There is no other way to learn. Without this kind of experience, you get rusty, and you may as well sell your boat because you lose the confidence to go back out into the water again.

Yesterday we took our oldest son to college, four hours away from our home. You might say that we launched him into the adult world, which is a far more frightening experience than sailing could ever be. For nineteen years he’s lived in our home, and we taught him and provided for him as best we could. But the only way to know if those lessons were worth anything is to allow him to go out into deeper waters without our supervision and hope and pray that he makes the right choices and decisions which will glorify God. It was hard not to choke on the tears as we left John in his dorm room that day. He seemed anxious to see us go, but only as one anxious for the chance to launch his boat away from the shore. There comes a time when we all must let go of the line which keeps us tied to the pier, and let the winds of the Spirit blow us where they will. We must have the faith God gives us and the courage and confidence in Him to do this, as Paul tells Timothy “You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Timothy 2:1-2)

Many children have experienced “failure to launch” because of their fear (or the fear of their parents) in letting go of the line. However, a good launch begins with the knowledge that we are not just letting go of the line. We are letting go of our line and holding onto another which is held on by the sure strength of our God. So give yourself a good launch today as you push from the shore of worldly security to where fair winds are blowing.

Have a blessed day!

19 August 2008 Devotion for Today “Who is the Head?” Ephesians 5:23

The other morning I was awakened by a terrible leg cramp. Sometimes I know when they are coming and I can prepare myself by jumping out of bed to walk it off. This one hit with absolutely no warning and hurt so bad it not only took away my circulation but my breath as well. The pain was excruciating As I tried to stand on the floor and put my full weight on it, it was so limp that it buckled underneath me. If I had not caught myself I would have surely fallen. It nearly did a ‘faceplant’ in the middle of the floor. Now I know the Bible teaches that “All things work together for good for those who are called according to His purpose.” I knew there had to be a sermon in this somewhere. At that point I was struck by the realization that you don’t fully appreciate the members of your body until they are either missing or not functional. The rest of my body joined with my leg and together we writhed on the floor in agony.

And in our text today the Apostle Paul discusses what happens when we encounter the spiritual equivalent of getting a Charlie horse in the body of Christ, and uses the human body as an analogy of the Church which is Christ’s body here on earth. Each one of you is an important part You each have a special job to do, a unique function to perform. And as I have already demonstrated, as members of the body, when one of you hurts, we all hurt with you. That’s just the way God made us- but even better, when one of you has something exciting or awesome to happen, we all share in that joy.

Each one of you is an important part- and the reason this is true is because Jesus Christ is the head. It almost goes without saying, but without the head, you won’t have much of a body. If you have ever witnessed a chicken being decapitated, it is not a pretty site. Everybody knows that its dead- everybody except for the chicken that is. He’s running around, bleeding in all directions, trying desperately to find direction, but after a while it flops over dead. And my friends that’s exactly the picture of what happens to us when we don’t have our head firmly attached to us- and when we do not understand our roles and proper places in the body. And the head of our body is Jesus Christ. Paul demonstrates this in Ephesians 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife as also Christ is the head of the church.” Christ is our head, and as our head is the nerve center which makes decisions and reacts to all the messages each member of the body is sending it, so is Christ the head of the church.. and as Ephesians also says He loved her and gave Himself up for her.” The whole reason why we exist is because of Christ. He alone deserves to be our head because of His sacrifice on the cross for our sins. Jesus is the one who holds all of us together in a singularity of purpose and that is to glorify and worship Him.

Often cramps, or conflicts happen in the home when we do not acknowledge who the head of the home is. If Jesus Christ is the head of our home, then we should not have any problem understanding who is “wearing the pants in the family.”

May God give you a good and blessed day today, and if you ever experience a cramp, you may have to first fall to your knees before it gets better.

18 August 2008 Devotion for Today “Christmas in August” 2 Corinthians 9:7

Last evening our church had its annual Christmas in August program where we collect and donate school supplies to needy students in our community. During the service last night I told my congregation this story:

A few days before Christmas three men in Florida decided to go sailing while their wives went Christmas shopping. While the men went out sailing a terrible storm arose and they had great difficulty keeping the boat under control and as they maneuvered their way back to land, their boat got grounded on a submerged mud flat, and they had to jump overboard and they had to push with all their might trying to get the boat into deeper water. And as they did, the wind was blowing terribly, the waves were rushing up upon them, and they were soaking wet and knee deep in mud. And one of the guys look at his brothers in law and said, “You know, this is bad, but it sure beats going Christmas shopping!”

I realize that some of us guys would rather take a beating than to have to go Christmas shopping. In my family we have this inside old joke among us because the most of the guys let their wives do all the Christmas shopping, even for our own mothers, and also let them do the wrapping of the presents. So when we unwrap our gifts, I’ll say to my brother in law, Dennis, or my brother, Chuck- “hey, thanks for my presents! And they say, “You’re welcome! What did I get you?” We get a good laugh about that.

Have you ever received a gift from someone with the impression that the gift was given more out of duty than desire? And if they really had a choice, they wouldn’t have given you anything at all? Have you ever given a gift with that attitude? That’s not giving a gift, it’s paying a bill. When you give with that attitude, people can tell.

Instead, the Bible teaches us to give out of love. Paul said, So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7)

It’s a simple as this: if your gift isn’t motivated by love, it doesn’t matter what the gift costs, it is worthless. The wise men’s gifts to Jesus were special, not because they were valuable, but because they were given with a heart full of love for Jesus.

Dr. Chuck Swindoll says, “Have you ever thought about giving something away every day of the year leading up to Christmas? These daily gifts could be called our “Christmas projects,” one per day, every day till Christmas. Just think of the fun of being able to say “Merry Christmas” in July! Here are a few suggestions:Mend a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend. Write a long overdue love note. Hug someone tightly and whisper, “I love you so.” Forgive an enemy. Be gentle and patient with an angry person.

Gladden the heart of a child. Find the time to keep a promise. Make or bake something for someone else. Anonymously. Release a grudge. Listen. Speak kindly to a stranger. Enter into another’s sorrow. Smile.Laugh a little. Laugh a little more.Take a walk with a friend. Lessen your demands on others. Play some beautiful music during the evening meal. Apologize if you were wrong. Turn off the television (or the computer) and talk. Treat someone to an ice-cream cone (yogurt would be fine). Do the dishes for the family. Pray for someone who helped you when you hurt. Fix breakfast on Saturday morning. Give a soft answer even though you feel strongly. Encourage an older person. Point out one thing you appreciate most about someone you work with or live near. Offer to baby-sit for a weary mother. Let’s make Christmas one long, extended gift of ourselves to others. Unselfishly. Without announcement. Or obligation. Or reservation. Or hypocrisy.

This is not just Christmas the whole year through, its how Jesus taught us to live, isn’t it?

Giving out of love, not obligation, is one of the greatest blessings we can receive.

Have a blessed day!

14 August 2008 Devotion for Today “Doing Good!” Romans 3:10-12

One of the most popular responses you hear these days to the greeting question, “How are you doing?” is, “Doing good!” I heard it just yesterday, and in fact I may have even said it myself. Perhaps the reasons that “doing good” is a popular response because: 1) few have the time to think about what to say to someone who isn’t doing good, 2) it makes us glad for people when things are going well in their lives, and 3) the brief statement implies that the person who made it has been shown favor, particularly God-as in another statement that I loathe; “somebody up there likes me!” Don’t get me wrong, I am glad for people who say to me, “doing good.”

But what if God confronted us with the same greeting statement. How would we respond to Him? How many of us would be able to say before Him, “Doing good!” The obvious answer to that question is, in light of the Scripture we just read, none of us. “There is none righteous, no, not one; The is none who understands,; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.” Romans 3:10-12. Because of our sin and transgression of God’s righteousness and holiness as demonstrated in the Law, there are none of us that can answer in the affirmative. However, because God eternal, at least He has the time to hear from us an honest answer. Not only that, but only God has the concern and the solution for the answer we give Him. Even though His Law condemns us, His grace has provided us an opportunity to overcome this problem.

When we take Jesus Christ to be our Lord and Savior, confess our sinfulness before Him and place our lives under obedience and service to Him, the righteousness of Christ is applied over us and then only can we say: “Doing good!” Its not we who are doing good, but the righteousness of Christ and His shed blood over us gives us that opportunity. Because of that, when someone now asks us how we are doing, we can respond and say, “Doing good” and it will really mean something.

Have a blessed day!

13 August 2008 Devotion for Today “The End of a Thing” Ecclesiastes 7:8

The end of a thing is better than its beginning;

The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. (Eccl 7:8)

If you have been watching the Olympics this week, no doubt you have seen many competitors start off well. The other day I was watching one of the gymnastic events. I can’t recall the competitors or whose country they came from, only I do remember how determined they were as they each began their event; waiting those agonizing seconds before they began their event. Each face looked determined that they should win the gold. There were a couple of false starts, but more were good starts. However, what mattered the most was not how the competitor began, or how well they performed along the way, but whether or not the competitor landed on both feet. The spectacular finish is what drew the most applause, not the beginning. True, its always good if you can get a good start. A misstep at the beginning will stay in your mind and cause you to lose confidence until you keep making errors. Yet how often did I see the contestant recover from a mistake and end up winning a medal?

Life is so much like that. Too often we judge people by how much potential they seem to have at the beginning of their lives- good looks, a fine mind, athletic abilities, etc.

How often have I seen those whom God has given so much throw so much away. So many youth feel such pressure to succeed that they often do not even try to get into the race because they feel outclassed and overshadowed by those with greater talents. This is sad because how often have I seen others with average talent, looks, and abilities find their way to the end of their lives in greatness and with tremendous achievement. How often have I seen those with limited opportunities rise above that which stifles them to succeed when others say they will never amount to anything in life. Even then, the only true gauge of how well one has done in life is to hear their Master say to them, “Well done, good and faithful servant…enter into the joy of your Lord!”

Get the best start you can, but live in such a way to end well.

Have a blessed day!

06 August 2008 Devotion for Today Insights from Ecclesiates 7:1

06 August 2008 Devotion for Today Insights from Ecclesiates 7:1

The story is told of this guy in Long Beach, California who went into a fried chicken franchise to get some chicken for himself and the young lady with him. She waited in the car while he went in to pick up the chicken. Inadvertently, the manager of the store handed the guy the box in which he had placed the financial proceeds of the day instead of the box of chicken. You see, he was going to make a deposit and had camouflaged it by putting the money in a fried chicken box. The guy took his box, went back to his car, and the two of them drove away. When they got to the park and opened the box, they discovered they had a box full of money. Now that was a very vulnerable moment for the average individual. However, realize the mistake, he got back in his car and returned to the place and gave the money back to the manager. Well, the manager was elated! He was so pleased that he told the young man, “Stick around, I want to call the newspaper and have them take your picture. You’re the most honest guy in town.”

“Oh, no, don’t do that!” the guy said.

“Why not?” asked the manager.

“Well,” he said, “You see, I’m married, and the woman I’m with is not my wife!”

I’ve been mediating lately over Ecclesiastes 7. It was written by “The Preacher” or more likely by Solomon three thousand, five hundred years ago, but it exudes the wisdom of God that we all need to hear and to apply today. For the next several days I would like to share some of these golden nuggets of wisdom with you from this chapter in God’s Word.

The Preacher begins by saying, “A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.” (verse 1).

A good name is a good reputation. We value this today probably more than ever. We’ve been told for so long that we are getting “ripped off” that people are believing it. They want people they know they can trust. A mechanic makes his living from a good name. He can be the most skillful mechanic in the world but if he is dishonest or crooked in his dealings, charges more than he should or doesn’t do the work he charged you for, word will get around and eventually go out of business. The same is true for other service-related businesses and industries. But this is also true of the Christian and his or her testimony to the world with whom he or she relates. If he acts in good faith, people may not say much about it. But if he is overcome by dishonesty then the whole world will find out about it eventually. Keeping a good name is better- and more costly than precious ointment. In Biblical times ointment was made from rare, even exotic plants that were grown in the desert. Frankincense and myrrh were substances presented to the baby Christ child. Ointment of aloes was used to anoint the feet of Jesus. It was used for medicine, fragrances, and for the embalming of the dead. Ointments were costly because of the rarity of the plants from which they were extracted as well as the tedious processes by which they were made. These ointments were highly prized and sought-after.

So is the honesty and the good name of a person who reflects the character of Christ in all he says and does. Someone once said that “honesty is worth more than the best marketing firm you will ever find.” He was right. We live in a time where a man’s word and a handshake don’t mean anything anymore. But we can change this by the standard of honesty and integrity we strive to model in this as we represent Christ to a world who has all but lost hope. May the good name we have grow more precious to us and to others.

Have a blessed day!

05 August 2008 Devotion for Today “A Dog with Two Tails” Acts 2:41-42

05 August 2008 Devotion for Today “A Dog with Two Tails” Acts 2:41-42

Its been over five years now that the chairman of the pastor search committee at the church where I now serve said to me, “Preacher, you look as happy as a dog with two tails!” He noted my response when I found out that the church called me here unanimously, but I never have forgotten his very appropriate, if not peculiar, way of describing my feelings at that moment. But I was happy! It didn’t take me long to pick up on the dialect, the inflection of the language, as well as the words and phrases unique to this part of North Carolina. Actor Andy Griffith is a resident of our region, so you can imagine how rich our heritage and language is here. But one phrase I have never cared for is the expression, “joining church.” “When I was eleven years old when I joined church.” Frankly, this expression scares me, and here is why: It first of all doesn’t say anything about a person’s personal commitment to Jesus Christ- only that they might have walked an aisle, filled out a membership card. It expresses nothing of a prior conversion experience which includes heartfelt repentance, faith in Christ to save you and a commitment to follow Him in obedience. “Joining church” just doesn’t communicate this idea at all.

I remember we had a preacher in a church I was in one time- this was back in the 1970s and he said, “We’re going to sing all fifteen stanzas of Just As I Am until somebody comes down that aisle!” Finally somebody got up and went and it made me wonder if this guy did it just so we could all go home! Thank the Lord he did or we might still be there! That doesn’t tell us that they gladly received the Word. Then got baptized because they wanted to please mama or daddy- or that they did it for some other reason other than the fact that they got truly saved through a personal experience with Jesus Christ. Not these three thousand souls who were added to the church in Acts 2. They gladly received Peter’s word- they weren’t coaxed into it, forced into it, cajoled into it, tricked or manipulated into it- they personally asked Christ to come into their hearts- all three thousand of them- and were excited about the new life they would now experience because of what Christ did for them.

This experience of commitment doesn’t just wagged with one tail, but two:

“And fear, it says in verse 43 came upon every soul.”

That idea does not mean terror, but an awe of who Jesus Christ is. Their hearts were moved, emotionally the thought of what sins had done to them caused them to weep, but they wept out of gratitude and appreciation of what Jesus had done for them- saving them from their sins. If you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raise Him from the dead, you will be saved. A church member is first of all a saved church member who has a steadfast commitment to the Lord who has never lost the wonder or awe of what Christ has done for him. In fact, that awe grows richer and fuller as the steadfastness grows deeper.

May the meaning you derive from being a member of your church grow to the extent of your steadfastness and awe of Jesus Christ.

Have a blessed day!

04 August 2008 Devotion for Today “Church Membership” Acts 2:38-41

There’s a true story of a young minister in Oklahoma who went to this little, though long-standing, church in hopes of really reviving the ministry of it. He had stars in his eyes and great hopes for the future. He thought he could turn it around. And he gave it his best effort and his best shot week after week, to no avail. Finally, he had one last idea, and it seemed to work. He announced in the local newspaper on Saturday that the church had died, and on Sunday afternoon there would be a funeral service at the church building itself, and all who wished could attend. For the first time in his years there the place was packed. In fact, people were standing outside on tiptoes looking through the window to see this most unusual funeral service for a church. To their shock, because most of them got there twenty or thirty minutes early to get a seat, there was a casket down front. And it was smothered with flowers. The minister told the people as soon as the eulogy was finished they could pass by and view the remains of the dearly beloved that they were putting to rest that day. They could hardly wait until he finished the eulogy. He slowly opened the casket, pushed the flowers aside, and people walked by, filed by, one by one, to look in and leave sheepishly, feeling guilty as they walked out the door, because inside the casket the pastor had placed a large mirror. As they walked by, they saw the church that had died.
I’ve seen that in the life-cycle of many a church. It happens all too often. But that won’t happen when we understand what does it mean to be a church member- a member of the body of Christ. To help us understand this, we must go back to the very inception of the church in the second chapter of Acts when the Holy Spirit came upon the church and gave it life. This is the fulfillment of the comforter that Jesus promised His disciples as He prepared to ascend to His Father. And as Peter finished preaching in the Temple that day they asked him, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” And Peter challenged them in verse 38 “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Then in verse 41 “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.” Can you imagine what would happen if suddenly three thousand people came forward to be saved and then added to the roles of this church? It would be tremendous. But the most tremendous part about it is the fact that a church member is one who is saved. Notice it says, they gladly received his word- the original language means to accept gladly, to receive happily, you might go as far as to say enthusiastically. Now there is a difference between receiving or accepting something and accepting something gladly. In fact I don’t even like that word accept, because it give the idea “Well, I didn’t have any choice but to believe it- I don’t really like it- but oh well.” You’d be surprised at the people who come to Christ that way. They do it because mama is dying and want to please her, or because they want to get their spouse off their backs and so forth. If you’ll forgive this illustration- I don’t want to sound crude, but its as accurate as anything I can think of. There are some who have the attitude that they accept Christ like they would accept a colonoscopy: a necessary evil that you put it off as long as possible and hope you never have to think about it again! “Glad that’s over with, praise God.” It’s a response that some make after years of loved ones “cramming it down their throats” maybe if I swallow it, they won’t bother me any more about it.”
No, it says they gladly received the Word. There was no more need to convince these people of what they needed to do. The Holy Spirit created a willingness not just to accept what they were saying, but inwardly desired it. It brought them tremendous joy. I mean it was as though they couldn’t wait to get it. Have you gladly received the word of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? If you have, try to live today as though it means something to you.

Have a blessed day!