No Questions Asked

What’s the most difficult thing you’ve ever been asked to do? Did you do it willingly? Did you ask a lot of questions first?

I know I asked a lot of questions several different times God asked me to do something that was extremely difficult or didn’t make sense at the time. Looking back, it makes sense now and definitely grew my faith.

Well, Abraham was asked to do the most difficult thing of all.

Genesis 22:1-5 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. ² Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” ³ Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. ⁴ On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. ⁵ He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”

Wow! Abraham didn’t ask any questions, drag his feet, or try to get out of it. He not only got up early the next morning, but prepared everything needed for the trip. By the statement in verse 5, some commentators believe Abraham thought God would raise Isaac from the dead. I’m not sure what he was thinking, but he certainly put God first above anything or anyone and even said he was going to “worship” God, the One who was asking him to give up what he had waited decades to get!!!

Do you and I love God that much? Would you and I be willing do whatever God asked of us? Would we not only do it, but lovingly and gladly choose to worship Him in the process? Where do you and I need to be obedient to His call or commands, no questions asked?

Getting the Message

 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”  John 14:5-7

Back when I was a teenager, there were records (yes, I’m dating myself) that had subliminal messages.  I only heard one, and ironically the message talked about the coming of the Lord (FYI – The album was Prince’s 1999).  To get to the point, I woke up yesterday morning with this subliminal message in my head talking about who Jesus was. It was not as if I did not know who He was, but yet, it was continuous to the point that I had to write about it.  Part of it was for my own reassurance, but maybe, it was meant for others as well.

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.  He is the only way to our Heavenly Father, and that is indisputable.  Through our lives, His teachings, and His word, we have grown to understand that He is also the truth.  Again, no doubt about that.  Then through our own stories of redemption, we are born again through Him, and thus, He is the life.  In understanding these undisputed facts, we know who Jesus is, and through Him, we know God.  It is not as complex as people might seem to make it, and to nonbelievers, they question whether through science or the own naivety if God is real.  But make no mistake.  Jesus is as real as the air we breathe, and to know Him is to love Him.

We are given this amazing and wonderful life.  While we are flawed and fail to live up to God’s standards, we are given grace through a wonderful savior: Jesus Christ.  The world may chip away at this, and people may dispute it with incredible reasoning.  However, there is only one way, one truth, and one life, and that is through Jesus Christ.  What assurance do you have in knowing this?  How can you stand firm on this foundation?  My prayer is that through Jesus Christ, we simply get the message.  Amen.

Tues Devo: Making your picks

Joshua 24:14-15 “Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. If it is
disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land
you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (NASB)

Hello,

Undoubtedly, it is one of my favorite seasons of the year….the NCAA tournament! It is a time where we sit down before the games begin and we make our selections for who we think we will win. Many
times we fill out multiple brackets to hedge our bets and play it safe as we don’t know what will happen. We look at past history, we look for an underdog, we look for the feel good story – and then we pick a side. This is what Joshua did. He looked at the past history, he saw his people as the underdog – yet his God coming through, he looked at the feel good story of God taking care of a people despite their lack of faithfulness – and then, he picked his side. He knew who the opponents were, but their game didn’t matter to him. Only God’s game mattered, and he choose that side in all of his brackets…he didn’t hedge any bets.

What selection are you making? Are you putting all your faith in that pick, or hedging your selection?

Have a blessed day,

Will Hill

Are You Truly Redeemed? ~ 10 Hallmarks of a True Christian (Part 5 of 6)

Hello Friends!

Welcome back to our study of the book of 1 John as we seek to answer the eternally important question: Are You Truly Redeemed?

The lost world around us does not understand our Christian love for each other in Jesus Christ. The Apostle John uses the word “love” dozens of times throughout the epistle of 1 John. In fact, the Scriptures repeatedly liken our relationship to a husband (Jesus Christ) and a wife (His Church)…

Are You Truly Redeemed? ~ 10 Hallmarks of a True Christian (Part 5 of 6)

The constant repetition of 3 sub-themes reinforces the overall theme regarding faithfulness to the basics of Christianity: joy (1:4), holiness (2:1) and assurance (5:13). By faithfulness to these basics, believers will experience these 3 attributes continually in their lives and will also reveal true spirituality: proper belief in Jesus Christ produces obedience to His commands; which results in love for God and fellow believers!

7. A true convert desires to reach out to other Christians

They desire to encourage, support, disciple and love the brethren:

We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? – 1 John 3:14 & 17

8. A true convert desires fellowship with our Lord and other Christians

They desire to hear the Word of God taught in the light of true fellowship:

This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin – 1 John 1:5-7

Remember: Our faithfulness to proclaim the Truth of God’s Word as well as defend the Gospel of Jesus Christ may very well assist others in examining their own faith to verify if they are indeed a true convert of Jesus Christ – their very soul may depend upon it!

Please join us next week as we continue to further investigate this promise of eternal assurance from the Word of God – Are You Truly Redeemed?

May the Lord Jesus Christ continue to bless you with His perfect love, mercy and grace!

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!

Blessings!

Shane <><

Obey the King

2 Obey the king’s command, I say, because you took an oath before God. 3 Do not be in a hurry to leave the king’s presence. Do not stand up for a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases. 4 Since a king’s word is supreme, who can say to him, “What are you doing?” Ecclesiastes 8

We may not need to follow kings here, but I'm sure we all know some people who behave as though they were kings.  Sometimes they're entitled to do so, other times they may not be.  Regardless, we are called to behave as Christ would in all situations.

I am a rather quiet person, but when something doesn't sit well with me, I have a terrible time trying to stay quiet.  I remember a time where I did just that.  The question in the verses above isn't posed out of curiosity, it's posed in a direct and accusatory manner.  Think of walking in on your dog going through the garbage, you know what they're doing, you know it's wrong, and you might exclaim, "What are you doing?!?!?"  That's the type of question being asked of the king.

I tried to point out to someone who was in a position of power with a question of, "What are you doing?" (and yes, I had full knowledge of what they were doing and thought it was wrong), and it totally backfired.  I had stepped out of line, and the person was rather upset with me for questioning their authority.  I apologized after I had cooled off, but the damage was done.  This person didn't trust me to follow their "commands" any further.  

What would Christ have done in the same situation?  First of all, I'm sure he would have handled it with a lot more grace than I had.  Jesus handled delicate situations with grace, and he was harsh when necessary.  

I'm praying that I'll be able to give a little more grace and humility next time the situation arises.

Eternal God

Has anyone ever come up to you and said “I’ve noticed that God helps you in everything you do?”

I haven’t been told that by anyone, but I’ve been asked why I smile or why I’m always positive (which isn’t always true). Then, the other day, I was asked here at work what was the key to my personal success. Immediately, I said “God!” I don’t think that’s the answer the person was expecting (especially for the report they were putting together), but I went on to give examples of how God had helped me in answer to various prayers.

Well, others noticed God’s involvement in Abraham’s life and Abraham responded by worshipping God in a new way!   

Genesis 21:22-24 and 31-34   ²² At that time Abimelek and Phicol the commander of his forces said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do. ²³ Now swear to me here before God that you will not deal falsely with me or my children or my descendants. Show to me and the country where you now reside as a foreigner the same kindness I have shown to you.” ²⁴ Abraham said, “I swear it.”… ³¹ So that place was called Beersheba, because the two men swore an oath there. ³² After the treaty had been made at Beersheba, Abimelek and Phicol the commander of his forces returned to the land of the Philistines. ³³ Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the Lord, the Eternal God. ³⁴ And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for a long time.

This is the first instance in the Bible where God is referred to as “Eternal.” I wonder if that was a new revelation to Abraham at this time. Abraham could have praised God for being faithful, personal, timely, a protector, helper, gracious, forgiving, etc. Maybe Abraham was distinguishing the true God, the Eternal God, from all the man-made gods of those around him. Or, maybe Abraham recognized that no matter what happened in this life, the only constant was God Himself. Abraham owed all his successes and blessings to the Eternal Creator of all!

How will you give the true Eternal God credit for all your successes?

The Fellowship of Others

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.  All the believers were together and had everything in common.  They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.  Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.  Acts 2:42-47

 

Have you ever heard the expression ‘The Winds of Change?’  Over the past few weeks, the winds of change were pushing me somewhere that I did not believe I needed to go nor wanted to go; a new church home.  It was not because my church was a bad church.  In fact, I love my church and the people in it.  So why change?  The answer quite simply was the word ‘Fellowship.’  There was a need for fellowship with people who I saw beyond just Sunday.  Fellowship with people who were friends and people who I did not even know.  Quite simply, it was the fellowship that made me feel like I was home.

 

One cannot have a truly growing faith without the fellowship of others.  There are those who would cite Philippians 4:13 to say that all they need is Christ.  Yes, there are times we must go it alone, but that is not to say we are to spend our lives isolated.  Jesus had twelve disciples, and Paul had Peter and the early church.  Even in the Old Testament, Moses had Joshua and other leaders to help with the Israelites.  Everyone who relied upon and trusted the Lord still had other who they could break bread with and trust with important details.  Fellowship amongst believers is one of the surest ways to keep our faith strong and on point, and it truly helps the Spirit of God grow within us.  

 

We were made to grow together spiritually.  The Great Commission for us to go make disciples of all nations does not mean for us to touch a life and leave them to go it alone.  It is us to grow together and help others both realize who Jesus is and understand He will neither leave them nor forsaken them ever.  Finding fellowship with others brings to the realization we are one people serving an awesome God.  Do you have fellowship with people beyond Sunday?  What does fellowship mean to you?  My prayer is that when we are isolated, we change our course to find the fellowship of others.  Amen.

Tues Devo: Give up

Ephesians 5:1-2 “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.” (NASB)

Hello,

I almost flew right by these verses today when reading them. I have seen and read them many times. Previously I had looked at the imitation portion, and aligned it only with walking in love, and showing love as Christ did. But I missed the ‘and’. Christ loved us AND gave Himself up for us. What am I giving up? These verses are a strong call to us as followers of Jesus to be emptied of self, and to give in a truly sacrificial way.

While not often faced with physical death, we still are called to be imitators of sacrificial love.
Where are we showing this kind of love? If we cannot answer that question clearly and quickly, I encourage us to evaluate some areas for improvement!


Have a blessed day


Will Hill

Are You Truly Redeemed? ~ 10 Hallmarks of a True Christian (Part 4 of 6)

Hello Friends!

Welcome back to our study of the book of 1 John as we seek to answer the eternally important question: Are You Truly Redeemed?

The late Dr. Francis Schaeffer was one of the greatest defenders of the Christian faith in the 20^th Century. He predicted the American church would become inconsequential because of a false concept of spirituality. Self-professing Christians would talk about God and even proclaim a belief in God while rejecting the God of the Bible and instead, follow a man-made New Age god…

Are You Truly Redeemed? ~ 10 Hallmarks of a True Christian (Part 4 of 6)

First John is pastoral, written from the heart of a pastor who has great concern for the people entrusted to him by the Lord. As a shepherd, John communicated to his flock some very basic but vitally essential principles reassuring them regarding the basics of the faith. He desired them to have joy regarding the certainty of their faith rather than being upset by the false teaching and current defections of some.

5. A true convert proclaims the deity of Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the ONLY way to the Father in Heaven

They defend the exclusivity of Jesus Christ verses the “promotion” of multiple religious systems and cults:

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God – 1 John 4:15

6. A true convert longs and awaits for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ

They encourage and comfort the brethren with the promise of His return:

Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure – 1 John 3:2-3

Remember: Our faithfulness to proclaim the Truth of God’s Word as well as defend the Gospel of Jesus Christ may very well assist others in examining their own faith to verify if they are indeed a true convert of Jesus Christ – their very soul may depend upon it!

Please join us next week as we continue to further investigate this promise of eternal assurance from the Word of God – Are You Truly Redeemed?

May the Lord Jesus Christ continue to bless you with His perfect love, mercy and grace!

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!

Blessings!

Shane <><

The Righteous and the Wicked

15 In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these:

the righteous perishing in their righteousness,

and the wicked living long in their wickedness.

16 Do not be overrighteous,

neither be overwise—

why destroy yourself?

17 Do not be overwicked,    

and do not be a fool—    

why die before your time?

18 It is good to grasp the one    

and not let go of the other.    

Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes. Ecclesiastes 7

These verses are talking about two kinds of people.  The righteous and the wicked.  The wicked live long in their wickedness, yet the righteous perish in their righteousness.  That can't be right.  Why would the wicked live while the righteous perish?

Look a little closer at each.  The wicked have turned away from God.  They've cast him aside, told him they don't need him, and live the life of fools.  Yet, who's to say they'll always remain that way?  I have a number of atheist friends, and I pray for them often.  I pray that they'll see God touching their lives, because even though they don't believe, he's still there.  It's the prodigal son, returning after all his foolishness.  They have a lifetime to "get it right" and accept Christ's payment for their sins.  

Then why do the righteous perish?  The righteous in these verses are overrighteous.  They're the condescending ones.  The ones setting up impossible expectations for themselves and others around them.  They're setting themselves up for failure.  Does God expect us to life perfect and sinless lives?  If he did, we'd still be in Eden!  We've fallen, but we'll get back up again.  We'll stumble, we'll stray, and we'll sin.  The overrighteous are destroying themselves by being focused on themselves, and not focused on God.  Sanhedrin, anyone?  They may live a long time, but they'll break their own spirit in the process.  We should pray that their eyes be opened to the pain they are causing to themselves and others around them by not focusing on showing God's love to their fellow man.

Do you know anyone who fits either category?  Do you fit either category?