Patience

Our Lord proclaimed, “In your patience possess ye your souls” (Luke 21:19). From this passage it is clear that patience plays an important role in the salvation of the soul. Realizing this, it is imperative that we understand what patience is not, what it is, what it accomplishes, and how it is acquired.

Patience is not apathy, it is not a lack of interest or concern, and it is not emotional laziness. Too many confuse patience with apathy, but the two could not be any more opposite in meaning. Some mistake patience with indifference, or not caring one way or another, or deeming something as insignificant – but none of these describe patience. Neither is patience a bearing up under punishment for some wrong doing. “For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God” (1 Pet. 2:20).

Patience comes from the Greek word hupomone. This Greek word is made up of two parts, hupo meaning “under,” and mone meaning to “abide.” So literally, patience means to “abide under.” patience implies suffering, enduring or waiting, as a determination of will and simply of necessity. Patience is the concept of courageous endurance which overcomes evil. It includes active resistance to hostile powers. Patience is that which enables a man to continually resist the pressures of external circumstances.

Patience will strengthen the spirit, calm the temper, overpower anger, extinguish envy, defeat pride, bridle the tongue, restrain the hand, and crush temptation. We know that patience is an attribute the Lord wants us to have as it is mentioned 27 times in the New Testament.

James tells us how to acquire patience, “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (Jam. 1:2-4). Paul says, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience” (Rom. 5:1-3).The study of the Old Testament also helps us to acquire the needed patience to pleasing in the sight of God (Rom. 15:4).

Patience is a much needed attribute for a Christian to possess. Beloved, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” (Heb. 12:1).

How Do You Do It All?

Someone recently asked me this question on the Internet. The question wasn’t, “how do you, Josh, do it all?” The question was, with all of life’s demands, (i.e. God, work, home, and recreation) how do you balance it all, keep up with it all, do it all? It is a good question and a question that we need to consider from time to time. I’m not going to pretend to be an expert on the subject of “time management.” There are many who have written books on the subject and provided valuable insight in that regard. However, I do want to set forth some biblical principles that help us as we struggle to keep our lives in balance with all of the things we daily have to do.

First, we must recognize that we can’t “do it all.” A lot of times we set unreasonable expectations for ourselves. As a result, we end up trying to do too much with too little time and resources. While it is often difficult, it is no sin to say “no” to someone’s request of your time. God never commanded us to do “everything.” What God did command is that if you say you will do something then keep your word and do it (Matthew 5:37). This isn’t always easy for us to do either and sometimes we commit to things to which we should have said no. In such situations, we simply must apologize and move on.

Second, we need to prioritize our activities. Of course, God always demands to be first in the decisions we make in our lives (Matthew 6:33, 22:37). Everything we say and do should be done with the goal of seeking Him in mind. If we do that, then God sets certain priorities for us. God expects us to show love for the church (Hebrews 13:1). God expects us to love our families (Ephesians 5:25, 6:4, Titus 2:4, 5). God expects us to provide for our families (1 Timothy 5:8). God expects us to behave appropriately with our employers (Ephesians 6:5). God expects us to show respect toward our nation and her leaders (1 Peter 2:17) and to love our fellow man (Matthew 22:39). God helps us prioritize if we will let Him lead our us.

Third, we need to set reasonable, accomplishable, yet challenging goals. For example, it would be unreasonable to say that with a handful of people we are going to knock on every door in Norfolk in a day. Setting unreasonable goals tends to discourage instead of encourage. But neither should we set goals that are so simplistic and accomplishable that we never grow in our involvement with the church. We need to have goals that we can accomplish with the talents that we collectively possess but that also challenge those collective talents. In the parable of the talents, to each was given according to their ability, yet it was still a challenge (Matthew 25:15).

Fourth, focus upon one task at a time instead of the whole project. The old adage, “How do you eat an elephant?” is appropriate. The answer: “One bite at a time.” When you look at a project as a whole, it often appears as if it will never get done. The more we focus upon that, the more we get discouraged in working on the project. Instead, we need to break down the project into tasks and focus upon the singular items one at a time. Before we know it, the entire project will be complete. Jesus said in Matthew 6:34 that we have enough worries simply trying to keep up with the things that we need to do today. And that’s exactly what we should do, take one day at a time.

Finally, there’s a song from the movie Mary Poppins that we should consider as well. “Just a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down.” When we find ourselves with tasks that we don’t want to do or tasks that are difficult either physically or emotionally, we should seek to see the good that will come from doing such tasks and then focus upon the good, not the bad. We can always rejoice in that we are seeking to serve God in everything we do and not man. Glorifying God in our lives should be an overriding cause for us to be happy doing the distasteful things of life (1 Corinthians 10:31).

This obviously doesn't exhaust the subject, but it does give us some principles to consider as we seek to be pleasing to God and influential for good to our fellow man. Let us then round out each of these scriptural truths with prayer on our part for wisdom to apply each of these principles appropriately each day.

Pretending

The game of pretense. We know that children play the game, and in their time of life it is innocent and a great deal of fun. But then, there’s the grown-up world, and for those in Christ, there is the reality set forth in the Word of God. Christianity is not the religion of pretense. In mythology, and in the systems men have created, one can do a great deal of pretending because all that does exist in those forms are made up by man, but not so in the system of Christ. God is, and that is reality! (Gen. 1:1). Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matt. 16:16), and that is reality! Satan and sin exist, and have their influence upon men in causing men to be separated from God, and those are realities! (Eph. 2:1). In Christ, salvation is offered to man, and that is a splendid reality! (Eph. 1:13). The saved are in Christ, and thus are in the church that Jesus built (Acts 2:47), and that is reality! Christians deal in realities.

For a Christian to be a pretender is to say, then, that he is a hypocrite. Jesus saw so much of that among the Jewish leaders of his time, and repeatedly he condemned such in Matthew 23. That very word gives our word “actor,” and that is exactly what a hypocrite is, for he is merely “playing a part.” Above all else, the child of God must know that he is dealing with eternal realities, and cannot just pretend. It is dangerous to pretend, and foolish. We suggest some types of that foolishness:

(1) What of that preacher who still “pretends” to be God’s man, but he’s so careful to avoid preaching on the subjects troubling to the saints, or on those things that prominent people in the congregation might be given to? Is he not just a “pretender?” Rather than preaching the truth, and standing squarely for God, he’s in the business of men-pleasing. Forceful he is, in speaking forth those things wherein all around him are in agreement, but silent as a tomb when it comes to things wherein controversy lurks. He is simply a “pretender.”

(2) What of those elders who have the title, and have their names on the bulletin and on the stationery, but precious little time and effort is expended in seeing to the spiritual needs of the flock? Are they not just “pretenders?” These are charged with feeding the flock of God (Acts 20:28), and watching for souls (Heb. 13:17). Attending to those very duties would have stopped some divisive movements dead in their tracks, and the church would not have been hurt so terribly. But too often, we have known of elders who simply “put heads in the sand” and played the game of pretense — pretending there was no problem, pretending certain ones were not false teachers, pretending the problem would just die on its own, and pretending a problem would right itself.

Satan has his devices (2 Cor. 2:11), and all are calculated toward the defeat of God’s cause. Satan’s efforts are called “war against the Lamb (Rev. 17:14), but that conflict amounts to “war against those belonging to the Lamb” (Rev. 12:17). All of God’s children are to be faithful soldiers in the Lord’s army, and elders are to be such as will hold the Word in their hands and to use it in convicting the man of the contrary part (Titus 1:9). Liberalism all around us, and those known as elders just “pretend” that there is no problem? Indeed, they are just “pretenders.”

(3) And what of entire congregations whose main thrust today is in the realm of the economic, or social, or entertainment of its own members? The church, like a mighty army, has been placed on the field of battle, commanded by the captain of our salvation (Heb. 2:10), and is expected to expend all in casting down and pulling down anything daring to stand in the way of the knowledge of God! (2 Cor. 10:3-5). And the church builds a gymnasium? The volley ball replaces the sword of the Spirit, the word of God? (Eph. 6:17). Given just a few years of church concern turned inward toward the members’ pleasure, and those in the church will not only not desire the New Testament truth, but they will not even recognize it! But the congregation given to the social gospel and emphasis on pleasure, is that congregation not just “pretending” when it claims to be devoted to the Lord’s will and claims to be working toward the salvation of souls? Indeed, just “pretending.”

Again we stress the fact that the things of God are the things of reality! Accountability is real, and the coming day of judgment is real. Hell is an awful reality, and pictured in terms of reality in the Bible. Hell is too real for any of us to spend our time in this life just “pretending.” We must be up and about the Father’s business!

Clay In The Potter’s Hands

In Isaiah 64:8 (NKJV), Isaiah presents God as the Potter who naturally cares about that which He has created. He does not want to discard his creation. “But now, O LORD, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand.” God is the “Father of our spirits” (Hebrews 12:9) and has created us to be “conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29). Paul prayed that God would complete the work He had begun in them Philippians 1:6. God is definitely working to make us what He desires us to be but….

We Can Resist God’s Work

Those who resist God’s work in their lives never become what He designed for them to be. We are incapable of producing our own happiness or fulfillment. Solomon had all the human resources one could gather at his disposal, yet he found a void he could not fill – “toiling for the wind” (Ecclesiastes 5:16). There is a real sense in which God limited His own power to accomplish His purpose for us by giving us free-will. The Psalmist said of Israel, “How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, and grieved Him in the desert. Yet again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel” (Psalm 78:40-41). God could not mold and shape them as He desired because of their rebellion. In Isaiah 29:16, God rebuked Israel because they arrogantly defied Him and acted as though He had not created them. They acted as though they were in control of their own lives. Isaiah told them, “Surely you have things turned around! Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay; For shall the thing made say of him who made it, “He did not make me?” Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it, “He has no understanding?” It is unthinkable that the “clay” should have such an attitude toward the Potter. But we do exactly that. What does it tell you about people when you see so many different religions and denominations? Are they are open-minded and tolerant, or does it point to the human inability to satisfy their own longings. We should see a bunch of happy, fulfilled people in such a free, tolerant society. But it is not a lack of freedom that keeps us from being happy, it is a lack of truth. To many “God” is the clay and “we” are the potters. We desire to mold God into whatever shape “we” desire. We seek an imaginary god who will tolerate our inadequacies without requiring change. (Homosexuality, adultery, greed, etc.). But it is sin and its wages that brings unhappiness (Romans 6:21,23). The True Potter knows that it is the clay that must change its shape.

We Can Acknowledge God’s Work in Us

Paul declared that God is “able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Ephesians 3:20) God has a great advantage over man in the work of molding lives for the better. God knows what is best for us because He truly knows our every need (Philippians 4:19). Sometimes we need just the opposite of what we seek (thank God for unanswered prayers!).

God Can Remake Us

What happens when we choose to resist God and we are not what God wants us to be? Is there hope for us beyond sin? The prophet, Jeremiah, thought there was when he said, “Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make. Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the LORD. “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!” (Jeremiah 18:3-6). Israel had constantly resisted God’s work in them. But He was not willing to throw them away. Though they were marred, and could not be what they once could have been, God could remake the vessel into another vessel, that would glorify Him. God accomplished this in Saul of Tarsus. Saul was a marred vessel as long as he resisted the power of apostolic preaching and “kicked against the goads” (Acts 9:5 – NKJV), but when he fell before Jesus and asked, “Lord, what do you want me to do?” (Acts 9:6), God remade him into a vessel of honor, “useful to the master….” (2 Timothy 2:21 – ESV). We are all marred vessels, but it matters not how we marred our life, or how long it has been malformed. The Great Potter can remold us if we are willing to trust and obey (Romans 9:18-33).

God Sees the Finished Product

We are hindered by our inability to see the end of the process. God has the power to truly change lives through the power of the Gospel (Romans 1:16). Paul wanted the Philippians to know that God was continually in the process of shaping and molding his life when he said, “But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear” (Philippians 1:12-14). Paul continued, “For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death” (Philippians 1:19-20). Whatever happened to him, Paul knew God could make it work for spiritual good. He later encouraged them to acquire this mindset, as the mind of Christ. “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:5-8). Jesus humbly trusted the Father and was obedient to His will (Hebrews 5:8; cf. Philippians 2:8).

In conclusion, there is another aspect about the clay and the potter’s wheel that we need to think about. Every revolution of the potter’s wheel brings the clay closer to what its end will look like. It is that way with our lives. As we are being turned on the Potter’s wheel, we are being molded and shaped, regardless of how long we’ve been turning. There’s a sacred hymn that we sing from time to time entitled, “Have Thine Own Way Lord”, which beautifully illustrates how we (the clay) should be pliable in the Potter’s hands. The song reads, “Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! Thou art the Potter, I am the clay. Mold me and make me After Thy will, While I am waiting, Yielded and still.” The last verse reads, “Hold o’er my being Absolute sway! Fill with thy Spirit till all shall see Christ only, always, Living in me.” Dear reader, as Isaiah pleaded with the people of his day (Isaiah 64:8), we are pleading with you today to allow God to be the Potter of your life, continually shaping and molding you, as you willingly render obedience to His will (Romans 10:17; Acts 17:30; Romans 10:9-10; Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16; Romans 6:1-11; Gal. 3:26-27; John 8:31; Revelation 2:10).

Thankfulness For Fellow Christians

Our fellow Christians constitute one of the most cherished blessings we enjoy in the Lord. Our Lord’s promise of an hundredfold abundance of “brothers and sisters and mothers and children” to those who forsake the attachments of the world for His sake and the gospel’s (Mark 10:29-30 – ESV), is fulfilled in the brothers and sisters and parents and children we are to one another in Christ. We need to understand the immense value of that blessing by letting our brothers and sisters in Christ know of their value and importance in our lives.

Paul’s Relationship With Fellow Christians

As we look at the writings of the inspired apostle Paul, we cannot but help notice his relationship with other Christians. Of Paul’s thirteen inspired letters, four are personal letters to fellow laborers in the faith (1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon). Of his nine epistles to churches, three conclude with lengthy lists of individual salutations and commendations, in which Paul expresses his appreciation for various saints by name (cf. Romans 16; 1 Corinthians 16; Colossians 4). Throughout his writings, we see Paul’s gratitude for those with whom he shared a common hope and experience. He thanked Priscilla and Aquila for saving his life at the risk of their own (Romans 16:3-4). He frequently mentions the fact that brethren in Christ were in his prayers (Ephesians 1:15-16; Colossians 1:3,9; 1 Thessalonians 1:2-4; 1 Thessalonians 3:9; 2 Thessalonians 2:13), and that he coveted the prayers of brethren on his behalf (Romans 15:30; 2 Corinthians 1:11; Philippians 1:18-19; Colossians 4:2-3; 1 Thessalonians 5:25; 2 Thessalonians 3:1).

Paul’s Lesson Of Thankfulness For Fellow Christians

In all of the above Scriptures, Paul teaches us a great lesson regarding thankfulness for our brethren. While we are often quick to give thanks to God for the material blessings we enjoy, how often do we remember to be thankful for our brothers and sisters in Christ? We ought always to remember one another in our prayers to the Father, not merely in a general way, but specifically and individually by name. For example, read the closing chapter of Romans and reflect on the language Paul uses to mention other Christians who were precious to him. Epaenetus, Amplias and Stachys were “my beloved” (Romans 16:5,8,9). Tryphena and Tryphosa “have labored in the Lord” (Romans 16:12); Mary had “labored much for us” (Romans 16:6); the beloved Persis “labored much in the Lord” (Romans 16:12). Andronicus and Junia were “of note among the apostles” (Romans 16:7). Apelles was “approved in Christ” (Romans 16:10). Paul acknowledged Urbanus as “our fellow worker in Christ” (Romans 16:9) and Rufus as “chosen in the Lord” (Romans 16:13). When was the last time we used any of these expressions to show our appreciation for a brother or sister in Christ?

Tangible Ways To Demonstrate Our Thankfulness

We can demonstrate our thankfulness in tangible ways: (1) by seizing every opportunity to “bear one another’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2); (2) to “rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15); (3) to “consider one another in order to stir up love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24); (4) to “teach and admonish one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” (Colossians 3:16); (5) to do good to “the least of these my brethren” (Matthew 25:34-40).

Let us never neglect to express our thankfulness for one another. When we pray and give thanks to God for the bounty of His blessings, let us include our brethren as an integral part of those blessings.

Seeing the Invisible

One of the reasons Paul was able to live as he lived, preached as he preached, and endured what he endured is found in 2 Corinthians 4:18 where he said, “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are not seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal”. The same thing can be said of Moses in the Old Testament. The Hebrew writer tells us that “he endured, as seeing him who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:27).

Through a study of the Scriptures, we understand that God is invisible to the physical eye (Colossians 1:15), but He can be seen through the eye of faith (2 Corinthians 5:7). The spirit of man, in contrast with the physical body, cannot be seen because it is the “inward man” (Romans 7:22; 2 Corinthians 4:16). Those individuals who see only the visible, live as if there were nothing to man but dust, but those who can see the unseen, live in recognition of the fact that we are created in God’s image and are going back to Him (Genesis 1:27;Ecclesiastes 12:7).

Many folks cannot see the unseen because they only use their physical eyes, focusing on tangible things which are made of dust and will return to dust, i.e. “….the things which are seen are temporal….” (2 Corinthians 4:18). There is nothing which can be seen with the physical eye that will endure the ravages of time. Time, in its destructive march, moves on and corrupts every mark that human hands have made. Men may feel that they have erected something that will endure, but their hopes are all in vain as all physical things will perish (2 Peter 3:10). All treasures laid up here on the earth will be corrupted and consumed by moth and rust, or thieves will break through and steal (Matthew 6:19). Only those individuals who see the unseen realities are fixing their gaze on the eternal (Colossians 3:1-2).

Understanding all of the above, let us be found “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith” and “run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1-2– NASV). If we are willing to “endure” as Paul and Moses endured, and to “see” that which is invisible, we too will also experience that eternal “unseen” realm (Revelation 2:10; 1 Peter 1:4). What a great blessing that will be!

Asking for forgivness

I over heard someone ask this question awhile back, “Does God forgive people who do not ask? I have never seen where that happened. Should I forgive anyone who doesn’t ask?”

The Bible teaches that repentance has always been a prerequisite for forgiveness being granted by God (Psalm 51; Jonah 3:10; Acts 2:38; Acts 3:19; Acts 8:22; Acts 17:30; 2 Timothy 2:25; 1 John 1:9. Our Lord gives us the criteria for forgiving others who sin against us in Luke 17:3-4, “Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent, thou shalt forgive him.”

In Matthew 18:15-22, the Lord gives us instructions on how to deal with a brother who trespasses against us. In Matthew 18:21-22, Peter asked, “Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but Until seventy times seven.”

The number, “seven,” was the most sacred number to the Hebrews, symbolizing God’s completion and perfection. In other words, as often as our brother repents and asks our forgiveness, we are to forgive our brother. The duty of forgiveness has no limit, save in the want of penitence in the offender. We should also remember that in no instance should a Christian harbor malice or retain resentment toward a sincere penitent offender (Colossians 3:13). We should have the loving attitude of our heavenly Father in this regard; when He forgives, He forgets (Hebrews 8:12; Hebrews 10:17; cf. Jeremiah 31:31-34).

Continue of Offending and Being Offended

Yesterday I wrote about offence and is when we cause someone to be upset or troubled through our actions or words whether justified or not. We also noted the following: 1) we ought to live lives void of offence to others; 2) it is impossible to live the Christian life without offending someone; 3) we will, sometime in our life, wrongfully offend someone. We then noted that the Christian will make appropriate amends upon inappropriately offending someone.

Today i'm going to look at the other side of the coin: what to do when we are offended. The Christian will not find himself only offending, but also being offended. It is equally important that we understand how we are to behave when we are offended as when we offend.

Perhaps the first question that we need to ask is this: ought we to be offended? There is a difference between an objective sin (one that is against God) and a matter of personal preference wherein one is offended. If the offence is merely a matter of opinion, then one need not necessarily take offence at such personal matters. One may, in that regard, simply overlook such things and move on.

When I was a boy, my mom would wrap Christmas presents in brown paper or newspaper. This had a tremendous effect upon me as a child and I remember being so thrilled to see those presents wrapped in brown paper or newspaper. I decided that I want to do that with my children when that time comes. Then, one year on Christmas morning, one of my friends commented on the “ugly brown paper.” I was offended. How could my friend be so insensitive as to not understand how precious my childhood presents were? Then I realized that my friend had no idea about my childhood. So I did nothing. It wasn’t worth discussing. It was merely a personal preference in the first place and didn’t need to be brought up. I “forgave” this person and moved on. There are, however, some things which ought to lastingly offend the Christian.

The Christian ought to be offended at sin. Why? Sin offends God (Psalm 51:4). Sin is the tool of Satan to tempt men to do evil (Matthew 4:1) and evil is offensive. The Christian has the obligation to stand against sin and Satan and fight (Ephesians 6:11, 13). Are we lovers of God or lovers of men (Galatians 1:10)? If we love God, then we will be offended at sin.

The Christian also ought to be offended with those who are not offended at sin. ConsiderRomans 1:32; according to that verse, those who consent to sin are just as worthy of the same punishment as those who sin. The problem with many in our society today is that they have stopped being offended at sin. When that happens, they also stop fighting it. And when they stop fighting it, they succumb to it. There is a popular saying attributed to Edmund Burke, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” To do something, we must first be offended.

The Christian ought to be offended at those who commit sin and would cause him to commit sin (Romans 16:17, Revelation 2:14). This is not to say that we hate the individual person who does the sinning, but rather, that the sin that he does is repugnant to us. John tells us who the real culprit is, “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning

Offending and Being Offended

The word “offence” is used in the KJV of the Bible in one form or another some 73 different times. Out of those occurrences, 23 are found in the Old Testament and 50 in the New Testament. In the New Testament, the vast majority of these instances are from a word which means to cause another to stumble. Sometimes the word refers to clear cut cases where sin is involved (cf. Matthew 13:41, Romans 4:25, Romans 16:17). Sometimes the word refers to offences that cannot be avoided due to preaching God’s truth (cf. Matthew 13:57, 15:12, John 6:61, Galatians 5:11, 1 Peter 2:8). Sometimes the word refers to matters of personal preference that others believe to be sinful (Romans 14:20,21, 1 Corinthians 8:13, 10:32). Basically, the word means to cause another to be upset or troubled through either our words or our actions whether justified or not. The definition, however, is not the problem; we generally know when we have been offended. The question we need to ask is: what do we need to do when we offend and are offended? In this week’s article we will look at the subject of offending others and in next week’s article we will look at being offended by others.

First, it ought to be mentioned that the Christian is going to live his life in a way to try to unnecessarily avoid offending others. This principle is found in Romans 12:18, “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.” The Christian’s desire is to be at peace with all so that God’s truth may be taught and Christ seen in his life and this involves avoiding any actions or words that would unnecessarily offend others. Paul wrote, “Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed” (2 Corinthians 6:3). This is also the underlying principle behind avoiding actions that cause someone else to do something that they believe is sinful. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:32, “Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God.” In the context of these passages the offence is a matter of personal preferences that would cause any individual to sin or reject the gospel. Certainly we never ought to allow our own personal tastes to hinder one from being saved! So, the Christian must live in a way that avoids unnecessary offences.

Second, it is quite impossible to live the life of a Christian and not offend someone by doing that which is right! There is no wholesale prohibition in the scriptures to ever offend anyone regardless of what the circumstance is. In fact, the scriptures presume that many are going to be offended by the teaching and preaching of the gospel. Jesus offended people by telling them the truth (Matthew 13:57, 15:12); Jesus even offended his own disciples (John 6:61)! Yet not once did Jesus apologize for telling the truth. In fact, in Matthew 15:12, after his disciples told him that the Pharisees had been offended by him, he said, “Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch” (Matthew 15:13-14). The Christian ought not to be concerned about offending someone because he is teaching or preaching the truth so long as that truth is being taught in love (Ephesians 4:15).

Third, another cold and hard fact is that we are going to say or do something wrong that causes someone else to be offended. James wrote, “For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body” (James 3:2). In this case, when we commit sin and do something wrong, it ought to be obvious that we ought to apologize and ask for forgiveness both from God and the one whom we offended (see 1 John 1:9 and James 5:16).

It ought to be the hallmark of the Christian life that very few are offended with him, even of those who are opposed to the teaching of the gospel. Let us make this our aim and put into practice a life void of offence. When we do offend, let’s make sure that we quickly recognize it and make the appropriate corrections.

A little more personal

Lately I have been having weird dreams. I don't know if they are because I am working so hard our just stressed. One dream I can not get out of my head. I guess it had to do with something a good friend told me the other day. "A mouth can not be feed, if it doesn't open", that had me thinking but also it works this way as well. "A voice can not be heard if the mouth does not open". In my dream I was trying to express how i'm feeling towards someone, but they where so far away and there were so many obstacles. Instead of yelling out how I feel over all that was in front of me I figured she would never hear me. So I kept my mouth shut. I was disappointed in myself that here was a person I cared about and because I am looking at all these obstacles I was not making the effort to try. All of a sudden I could not take it anymore. I yelled out to her and one by one the obstacles started crumbling down. She heard me and I was able to tell her how I was feeling.


How many of us are keeping our mouths shut? God gave us a mouth for a reason. Not just to eat or breath, but to speak and spread his word. I'm guilty of it at times. I run into people all the time and I freeze up when I see the opportunity right there to spread God's love into someone who is in the dark. We have to learn and understand that people have been hurt, disappointed, mislead, and so many other things that make them build walls or put obstacles in front of them as protection. People are just waiting for those that have God's love to tell them that they do not have put up those walls or obstacles. 


Don't bypass people when they are reaching out. Sometimes just saying hi, how are you?, or even God bless you. May be that crack in there defense to see what God has for them. That dream I had hit me in two different ways. One is on how am I spreading God's love on how I feel about him to others. The second is my  current relationship with my girlfriend. Am I looking at all the obstacles and letting is disappoint me into expressing how I am feeling? My voice can not be heard if I don't open my mouth. 


I know I have walls. We all do. But don't shut out those close to you. God has a great plan for your life and if you keep those God has put before you, you are going to think you are alone and that you don't need anyone. The truth is God place people in our lives for a reason. wither its to help us grow, friendship, build a relationship, or even love. You just have to trust God and let go of your life. Let God take the wheel. 

Family and Friends- What are they?

What is a family? In the beginning God defined for us what constitutes a family. We read inGenesis 2:21-24, “And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” At the minimum, a family is a husband and a wife. Into such a union children may then be born or adopted and extend the family. Eventually, however, the children will grow up and move out creating their own families. This then becomes the extended family. However it all ought to begin with one man and one woman.

There is an ongoing effort in our world today to redefine what we know as the family. We are told that a family can be anyone or anything that one loves. There are efforts to have same sex families. There are efforts to have families composed of man and beast. There are efforts to have families composed of multiple wives or husbands, or both! All of these efforts to redefine what God has defined as a family fail to meet God’s standard. God created the family to be composed of one man and one woman and that is God’s ideal. We ought not then apologize to the many who do not meet this standard if we are to speak as the oracles of God (1 Peter 4:11). Instead, let us glorify God for His great wisdom that He has given regarding the family and live according to His will in that regard. God’s way is always the best way.

What is a friend? Proverbs 17:17 declares, “A friend loves at all times….” A friend is someone who is there through thick and thin. He is someone who never gives up. He is someone upon whom you can always depend. A friend loves you whether you love him or not. There is not going to be a circumstance in which he will stop loving. That’s a true friend. Jesus said inJohn 15:13, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” This is the ultimate sacrifice that a friend will make for another friend to show the greatness of his love.

The world has also sought to redefine the term friend. Today, many define a friend as someone who always encourages me to do what I want regardless of the consequences. Many consider someone their friend only if he supports all of their choices and decisions whether right or wrong. The Bible, however, tells us a different story regarding friendship.Proverbs 27:6 says, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” Those who would encourage us regardless of our choices are no true friends.

Some may also define friendship in terms of what another can purchase. In other words, one will be another’s friend so long as the gravy train doesn’t run out. Such “friendship” isn’t based upon loyalty or love, but upon selfishness and covetousness. The Bible says, “….every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts” (Proverbs 19:6). If every man is our friend, then we’ve really made no true friends at all. Our society today needs true friends, not the fickle favor of feckless frolickers. We need friends like are discussed in Proverbs 27:17 “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.” Friends ought to love us when we truly need to be loved, question us when we need to be questioned, and correct us when we need to be corrected whether we want them to or not.

Family or friend, God has given us instruction on what he expects out of these roles in our lives. Let us learn what God wants us to know and believe and make the appropriate application. Jesus said, “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you” (John 15:14). May God bless you as you seek to know and do His will.

To Whose Voices Are We Listening?

We all listen to the voice of someone. As humans this is inescapable. John Donne (1572-1631) wrote, “No man is an island.”? We come into this world listening to the voice of our mother and father. As children we hear the voices of relatives and friends. Growing older, we listen to teachers and preachers, newscasters and commentators. In adulthood the cacophony of voices that bend our ear can be staggering and in an information society, there is no end of the voices to which we can listen. Such has been the case for centuries. Luke’s inspired pen records “For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing”? (Acts 17:21).

There is a point, however, where we must stop listening and start acting. And we should be clear, the voices to which we listen will affect the decisions that we make and the actions that we take in life. The Bible teaches that there is no action taken by man without there first having been a thought in man’s heart. Jesus said, “A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things”? (Matthew 12:35). What we believe will affect how we act. We don’t act in any way without first having thought about it. And so our actions reflect the voices to which we have been listening and the voices to which we have been listening become the conventions that shape the decisions of our lives whatever direction our lives take.

If we are honest with ourselves, we will confess that there is no such thing as unconventional thinking and unconventional wisdom. There is no new thinking that can be done that hasn’t, in some shape or fashion, been done. Solomon very wisely confessed this before he began his treatise on ethics (Ecclesiastes 1:9-10). It is a deception to think that my thoughts are objectively unconventional; the truth is that one’s thoughts are only unconventional to some while they are conventional to others. Whether we consider our thoughts conventional or not depends upon the voices to which we are listening and even this is only our perception of whether our thoughts are conventional or not because in the final analysis there are only two voices, two conventions, that exist. Yes, there are only two voices in this world that truly speak: the voice of God and the voice of Satan, the voice of truth and the voice of error, the voice of righteousness and the voice of sin (Matthew 21:25).

Satan speaks with many voices from many places and with many advocates appearing as if he has multiple ideas and multiple choices; this is pluralism and while it appears wise, it is a deception. It is a deception because truth cannot exist in the confluence or the synthesis of multiple thoughts. If it is true that truth can only be discerned in the synthesis of plural thoughts, then one of those thoughts from which truth must be discerned is that truth cannot be discerned in the synthesis of plural thoughts. How can it be true that truth must be discerned both from multiple thoughts and not from multiple thoughts? It cannot. We must conclude that pluralism is inherently self contradictory and that truth can only come from one voice, namely, the voice of God.

So, how do we hear God’s voice? There is only one way to hear the voice of God and thereby know the mind of God, namely, through the revelation of God’s mind by His Spirit. If someone can know the mind of God outside of revelation, I’d like for them to explain how. Scripture says that no man knows (independently from revelation) the mind of God except the Spirit of God reveal it to him (1 Corinthians 2:11). Indeed, no man has seen (i.e. understood) God; it is only the Son of God who has declared Him (John 1:18). The only way to know God’s mind is if God reveals His mind to man through inspiration (1 Corinthians 2:12). And there is only one inspired source of truth from the mind of God, the Bible.

To whose voice are we listening: the voice of pluralism or the one voice of truth? May God help us to learn that true wisdom comes from listening to and obeying God’s truth.

The Sacrifice of Praise

As Christians, we praise God. We do so in spoken word, in song, and in other worship. Do we understand what it means to praise God? Do we know what we are doing when we offer “the sacrifice of praise”?

In the Old Testament, there are different Hebrew words for “praise.” These different words indicate different nuances of meaning. There are at least five concepts behind the words for praise: thanksgiving, joy or rejoicing, adoration or worship, blessing and boasting. When we praise God, we do these things.

1) When we praise God we give thanks. The Bible is filled with the language of gratitude.Psalm 106:1 reads “Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.” Hebrews 13:15 also teaches the relationship between thanksgiving and praise: “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.” Undoubtedly, praise involves thanksgiving.

2) Praise also involves joy. Psalm 98:4 declares, “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.” In Luke 19:37 we see the two concepts used to extol Jesus in the triumphal entry. The text says, “…the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen.” When the Christian appropriately praises the Lord, he does so with joy in his heart.

3) The concept of praise means we also love. We can see the love for God of Paul and Silas as they sang praises in the jail at Philippi (Acts 16:25). The man at the gate called Beautiful no doubt was filled with love for God when he was healed. The text says, “And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God” (Acts 3:8). Love and praise go hand in hand.

4) Blessing is also involved in praise. Psalm 145 is a song of praise. It declares: “Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever” (145:2). “All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee” (145:10). “My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever” (145:21). When we praise God, we bless God as well.

5) When we praise God we boast of His greatness. The Psalmist writes, “In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever” (Psalm 44:8). Consider Paul’s words in Romans 11:33 “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” Here is a praise of exclamation that boasts of God’s greatness. God is truly worthy of our boasting. Jeremiah wrote by inspiration, “But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD” (Jeremiah 9:24).

Praising God is an important part of the faithful Christian’s life. Let’s resolve to know what we are doing when we offer praise to God. It will both improve our worship and our spiritual lives.

Label

One day I saw in a store an old fruit crate sitting on a shelf with a label that read: “Liberty Brand / Grown and Packed by Escondido Lemon Assn. / Escondido – Calif. / Sunkist.” I was curious why this crate was being sold. I asked the clerk and he told me that these fruit crate labels today are collectors’ items, though this one has been damaged to the degree that it wouldn’t be all that valuable. Nevertheless that label had a purpose. It identified the original contents of that crate, the grower, packer, and the brand name of the distributor. 

Today I was thinking about that crate I saw in the store that had that label on it. There are some people who do not like labels. Usually these are individuals who do not want to be characterized as subscribing to a particular point of view, though they do. I had a professor who refused to be identified by the label of his philosophy, though, that was his philosophy. A life certainly can’t be described in one word. However, I believe that he missed the point. A label isn’t supposed to tell you everything about a person’s life. It tells you what is responsible for that person’s beliefs. The lemon crate label tells me who is responsible for the product. So also, certain labels tell us what is responsible for the beliefs and decisions made in an individual’s life. Let’s consider for a moment our lives as crates. What we have in our crates are our beliefs and decisions. What label would we put on our crate?

Some would have to put the label “hypocrite” on their crate. The outside of their crate appearing pure, but the inside being full of wickedness. This is what Jesus labeled some of the Pharisees in Matthew 23:27: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.” Hypocrisy had become the characteristic that was most responsible for how these men lived their lives, and so they were labeled.

Some would have to put the label “lawless” on their crate. Seemingly there are more and more individuals in society today who behave as if there are no standards of decently and morality by which we must live. Jesus said about such individuals, “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity (lawlessness)” (Matthew 7:23). For these individuals, lawlessness had become the responsible characteristic by which they lived their lives, and so they were labeled.

Some, however, could put the label “honest” on their crate. Some individuals in the world, when confronted with God’s truth, have the integrity to listen and respond appropriately to God’s word. Jesus said of such individuals, “But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience” ( Luke 8:15). For these individuals, honesty became the responsible characteristic by which they lived their lives, and so they were labeled.

Some also could put the label “faithful” on their crate. These are individuals who believe the gospel and live by it, refusing to hide their talents, and by using their abilities bring increase to the Lord’s kingdom. Jesus said of such individuals, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” ( Matthew 25:21). For these individuals, faithfulness became the responsible characteristic by which they lived their lives, and so they were labeled.

There is one label by which I wish to be recognized when my life is done: Christian. If it can be said of me that I magnified Christ, that I exemplified His words to those around me, that I honored and glorified Him in His church on a regular basis – if it can be carved upon my headstone, “He was a Christian” – then it will be enough. There are many today who take that name and denigrate it either through verbal castigation or through hypocritical living. May such never be said of us who desire that holy label.