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St Mary's, GA, United States
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Thursday, August 20, 2009

THE WISE MEN

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him” (Matthew 2:1-2). These men may have been called wise men because they studied the stars. But the story of their following the star to Bethlehem suggests another kind of wisdom; one that is so often forgotten by multitudes of people.

These men showed wisdom by their willingness to be led by something above, the star. Paul wrote, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2). Many today do consider this wise, but completely foolish. Rather than having our eyes glued to earthly things, let us focus our lives on spiritual things, things above.

These men realized there were longings within them that could be satisfied only by finding Christ and worshipping Him. It has been said that every human heart has a hole in it that can only be filled by Christ. There are cravings that can be satisfied only by spiritual things. One can fill his life with all the pleasures of this world and still hunger for more. Think of Solomon. What would we thing of someone who tried to satisfy the physical needs, hunger for example, by reading a book or singing a song? While those things man be useful activities, they will do nothing to satisfy the physical needs. The same is true of trying to satisfy our spiritual appetites with physical things. It will not work.

These men saw the star God gave them to show the way. However, He left them free to choose whether they would follow it or not. They showed their wisdom by choosing to follow the way and find Christ. It is the same with us. We are free to choose to stay or go, but is it wise to refuse to go in search of that which all of us need most? Our greatest need is not for groceries, nor a doctor, but a Savior. Is one wise that uses his freedom to ignore his need of a Savior, or refuse to go in search of a Savior?

These men were wise in that they did not let anything block their path that led to Bethlehem. It was likely a long, difficult journey for them to reach Bethlehem. There were difficult roads, hills to climb, and valleys to cross to reach their destination. There were determined to reach their destination no matter what. What do we let get in our way of reaching Christ? There are always hills to climb and valleys to cross and there are too many that are ready to let these block their path. The world with its barriers will stand between us and Christ. We must be willing to walk over or around these to find Him.

The goal of the wise men was to reach Jesus and they would not allow anything to sidetrack them. They stopped at Jerusalem, but not to stay. They continued their journey until they reached the place where He lay. Too many times we start to find Him, but get sidetracked on the way. We read in Philippians 3:13-14, “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” There are many things Satan will use to sidetrack us. We must be wise and not allow ourselves to get sidetracked along the way.

Finally, look at what these men said in verse 2, “we have come to worship Him.” They did not say we have come to see Him, to receive a blessing, to have Him do something for us, but we have come to worship Him. We will be wise to do likewise. Let all that we do be for the purpose of praising and glorifying our Savior.

Are we wise?
--Lamar

Thursday, August 13, 2009

HOW DO WE ANSWER?

Most of us are familiar with the story the beheading of John. Herod was celebrating his birthday and the daughter of Herodias came in and danced for him. As a result, he promised her whatever she wanted. So she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist!” (Mark 6:24). Many sermons have been preached on Herod’s rash vow and on the evils of dancing as shown by the daughter of Herodias. I would like to take the question the girl asked her mother and the answer given and make some practical applications for us.

Young people like to ask questions. The harder the question is to answer, the better they like it. Just as the daughter of Herodias wanted to know from her mother what to ask for, our young people are asking, “What shall I ask of life?” This question is being asked of parents, preachers, elders, and teachers. How do we answer such questions? Are we prepared to answer them? The answer Herodias gave was in keeping with the hatred she had in her heart. The answer we give will be likewise, in keeping with what is in our hearts.

Do we answer by saying, “Be a social success”? Do not many parents push their children into things for the sole purpose of wanting them to climb the ladder of social prominence? We allow, and even encourage, them to participate in activities they should not because we want them to be accepted and popular.

Do we answer by saying, “I want you to be rich?” There is no wrong in preparation for a useful job in life. However, we must not leave the impression that the chief aim of life is to make money. We may not tell them in words that material things are the most important things in life, but when we seek material things first and the kingdom of God last, they know what we are telling them.

Do we answer by saying, “Obtain a secular education”? Our young people know when we think that math, science, and other such subjects are more important than Bible knowledge. Do we see that they have their school lessons, but never see that they prepare their Bible lessons? Do we encourage them to stay home on Wednesday night and study their school lessons instead of seeing that they prepare and attend Bible classes? They know what this answer means.

Do we answer by saying, “Ask of life that you may be a Christian first, second, and last? Ask of life that you may be a Christian in the Bible sense of the word, not in its watered-down meaning of our day. Ask for the opportunities to serve and not to be served. Ask of life the chance to make the world a little better place to live in because you are passing through.”

“(B)rought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother” (Mark 6:28). Picture the scene of this damsel coming to her mother and saying, “Here is what you wanted most of all.” Some day our children will come back to us with their lives saying, “This is what you wanted.” Will they come back to us with lives that have been a blessing? Will they come back to us with lives that are full of the satisfaction that can only come from real Christian living? Will they bring back to us a life that is materialistic and void of faith in God? How we answer their questions will determine what they bring back.
--Lamar

Saturday, August 8, 2009

WHY ARE SO MANY MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH WORLDLY?

A couple of weeks ago, we considered the problem of worldliness and what worldliness really is. Today, I want to ask the question of why worldliness is a problem in the church.

The first cause is a failure to properly evaluate life. Too many members of the church have not learned the real values of life. They are interested in finding happiness, but do not know where it is to be found. It has never dawned on them that happiness is determined by what one is, not by what one has. Look at the Beatitudes in Matthew 5 and note the emphasis on character. Someone describes Paul in prison as follows:
“With life and all that men count dear behind, and with the horrors of a barbarous death
before him—alone, unfriended, unsuccored, he is yet the happiest man in Rome. Among the
millions within her wide walls, not another heart is so buoyant with hope, so lifted with joy.”
This was true of Paul because he had learned life’s value. He was happy because of what he was.

A second reason is a failure to reach our potential in Christian living. Life will not remain a vacuum. It will be filled with something. If all Christians would make a determined effort to fill their lives with good, there would not be any place for the worldly. Too many are satisfied to just “get in” the church, and then do as little as possible! The natural result from such is to fill the void that is left with worldliness. God knew what He was doing when He said, “Seek first the kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33). This is not just an arbitrary command. It has as its basis the building of a life that is spiritual. The way to get worldliness out is to put something in its place.

A third reason is indifference. This is perhaps one of the greatest hindrances to the solution of the problem. It is so much easier to travel the path of least resistance than it is to find out whether it is right or not. So many members of the church live day after day caring not that they have no influence for good, and not interested in learning why. They are afraid if they get interested it will upset their own lives, and they just do not want this to happen.

A fourth reason is that there are some who do not want to pay the price that is necessary to be spiritual. One young woman, who having observed the charming life and broad influence of a fine Christian woman, went to her and said, “I would give the world if I could only have your influence.” The lady replied, “That is exactly what it costs.”

A fifth reason is that many are guided by custom rather than the Bible. There are many members of the church who want to hear the Bible on the plan of salvation, the church and its organization, and worship; but, they do not want to hear the Bible on worldliness. Do they ever give chapter and verse for their worldly practices? No. Their theme song is: “Everybody else is doing it.” “I can’t see any harm in it.” That is exactly what denominational people say about instrumental music. Why reject their plea for instrumental music and then turn right around and use their old worn-out arguments for your worldly practices? Then some say, “I can do it and it won’t hurt me.” Suppose you could. Can a conscientious Christian be happy when he knows he is giving his time and lending his influence in that which degrades more than it uplifts? Let us face the threat of worldliness and build lives that are spiritual.
--Lamar