Independence Day
–By Scott Yates
Typically we will celebrate the Fourth of July, Independence Day, with fireworks, good home-cooked barbecue, and a national holiday. Because of the sacrifice of 225 years of patriots, we can gather here and worship God, we can gripe about our high taxes, and go to the polls and vote the scoundrels out of office, and live to tell about it. Our freedom is a rarity in the world.
In China, Christianity can be a death sentence–or more likely, it means a trip to a reeducation camp. In Sudan, Christians are sold as slaves. Please never forget that Christians are an endangered species in much of the world.
But as we celebrate the Fourth of July, say a prayer for those of our brothers and sisters throughout the world who do not have the freedoms we do, and who must worship in secrecy, and live in fear.
Regardless of their color or language or cultural heritage, they are as truly our brothers and sisters as our own flesh and blood. When it is said that blood is thicker than water, the blood we’re concerned with is the blood of Jesus Christ. It washes us all cleaner than snow, makes us perfect in the sight of God, and whether we’re black or white or brown or red, we are all His flock, and await the Master to come and gather us together and lead us beside the still waters of His sweet salvation.
On the day that each one of us bent our knees and bowed our heads to the One who is Faithful and True, for us, that was our true Independence Day. Our bodies may be broken by the lash, or nailed to the cross, but in Him we are supremely free.
Happy Independence Day!
SHARING
One Another
–Adapted from Ferd Oshner
The Bible includes many “one another” instructions for the body of Christ.
We are to:
We must not:
It is only as we care for and serve one another that our worship services will be scriptural.
SHARINGA Day Of Mindfulness
“And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.” 2 Corinthians 5:15
Memorial Day: “a day designated in the United States for honoring dead members of the armed forces.”
For those who have served and witnessed their fellow soldiers die for their country, Memorial Day is a very solemn occasion for remembrance. For others unfamiliar with a war zone, Memorial Day may only be a holiday for self-fulfillment.
Enjoying the freedoms and pleasures of our society, it would be remiss to fail to consider those who have made the ultimate sacrifice so that we might have this life. Just making it a talking point is not the same as the personal experience of those involved with such service and sacrifice. But we must help ourselves to not forget or be indifferent towards those to whom we owe so much. It is by appreciating how we were afforded our privileges that we are able to respect, value, and use them well. To fail to be mindful of these things leaves one in an aimless, self-gratifying mode only.
Christianity is appreciated, not through selfish gratification, but through intelligence. It is by being mindful of what Christ has done for us, that one has reason and motive to live for Him. To appreciate His selfless sacrifice for us, is what inspires self-denial unto living for Him. No person who is connecting with what Christ has done for them will find the matters of Christ, His church, or His will to be dis-interesting or without meaning.
“According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.” Philippians 1:20
SHARINGSpiritual Vigilance
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” 1 Peter 5:8
The emphasis today seems to be for a “motivational evangelism” rather than teaching to overcome the world through the vigilance of faith. The idea is, as long as you believe that God is for you, you don’t have to worry about the devil, because God is bigger than the devil, right? But is this the vigilance and sobriety that God says one needs to prevent being devoured by our adversary, the devil?
Where in God’s Word does God tell us that as long as we believe that God is a power greater than the devil, that this will prevent the devil from broad siding us? The devil knows God’s power is greater than his, but that doesn’t slow him any. It just inspires him to be more deceitful in beguiling with his wiles.
In the Garden of Eden, it wasn’t a matter of whether Eve or Adam believed that God was greater than the devil. Nor was it a matter of believing that God could do great things for them. But what happened was, they were too self-confident to be spiritually vigilant against Satan.
The Bible doesn’t say if we develop a victory mentality of thinking, we will win because God is for us, that we will be safe from the devil. Rather, God warns, “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” 1 Corinthians 10:12 Positive psychology is no substitute for real spiritual vigilance.
God being for us is not going to keep Satan away. Jesus was for Peter; and Peter had a victory mentality: “Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.” Matthew 26:33 Yet neither Christ being for Peter, nor Peter’s victorious complex, prevented Satan from sifting him as wheat.
Satan doesn’t have to go through God to get to a Christian. The fact that our soul is saved by God’s power, that we have a new nature within, doesn’t seal us off from Satan’s access. Satan’s access is through sin that dwelleth in the fleshly nature, Romans 7:20,23. We can have God for us, and believe that God will do great things for us, but that victory mentality does not eliminate the “…law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” Romans 7:23
Only after we are glorified with Christ will we be out of Satan’s reach (or absent from the body, to be with the Lord in physical death.) Until then, “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Ephesians 6:13 While God will not permit us to be tempted above that which we are able, Satan can and will defeat us if we drop our guard.
SHARINGIt Must Be A Heart Matter
THE PROBLEM: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven… Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord… And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you.” Matthew 7:21-23
THE SOLUTION: “Repent ye therefore and be converted” Acts 3:19a “…repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” Acts 20:21.
THE DIFFERENCE: Through intellectual learning and persuasion, a person can be led to make a profession of faith in any god. But it takes the work of the Holy Spirit to convict a sinner’s heart, unto genuine repentance and receiving Christ into their heart, with a willing heart upon hearing the truth.
THE DELUSION: The quick and easy method of pronouncing someone to be saved (which bypasses the matter of real repentance and personal acceptance), much like salesmanship, begins by asking a series of questions where a person must answer yes. Then, after repeatedly answering yes, they are much more likely to answer yes when asked if they are willing to trust Christ as their Saviour. With the correct answer, they are pronounced “saved”. Another example: an assistant pastor of one of the largest churches in America at the time, told the people to which he was teaching soul winning, to get a profession from the sinner, because any profession was better than no profession. Multitudes have been led in false professions and many end up going to hell depending on their false profession.
One college president warned his students not to stay more than five minutes in any home while soul-winning, because the sinner should always be won to Christ within that brief period, and if not, move on. (From the Plains Baptist Challenger)
THE NEEDED DEPTH: “Ye must be born again” John 3:3. A person can believe in the historical record of Christ and intellectually claim Him as their God and Saviour without ever being born again. I did, and I could also tell you how to be saved, even knowing it was the right way before I was saved! But it wasn’t until I repented and personally received Christ into my heart of my own volition, that Jesus saved me.
The example Christ used to show how to be born again (in John 3:14-15) was Numbers 21:4-9. In this example, the people repented of their sin, due to their own conviction and guilt, and called upon God to deliver them, putting their faith and trust in God’s provision for their deliverance. They were not just accosted by someone who was seeking to get people to make professions of faith through a scripted question and answer session. “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” John 1:12 “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness” Romans 10:10.
SHARING
