Tag Archives: Teachings of Christ

Taking a stand within the “old tyme faithe”

Posted on November 22, 2013 by | Comments Off on Taking a stand within the “old tyme faithe”

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One of my favorite places to go for a day trip is St. Louis, Missouri.  From where I live at in Henderson, Kentucky, it takes about two and a half hours to reach the east side of the city.  Two of my favorite attractions are the St. Louis Metropolitan Museum and St. Louis Metropolitan Zoo.  One Saturday morning, while wandering along the various art exhibits, I encountered one of the museum’s star bronze statues – called The Puritan.  As I took the picture above, I remember overhearing a couple of young people commenting that the statue looked menacing, judgmental, and angry.  As I thought about what the young girls said, I knew that the reason they felt this way was because of the world’s perception of Puritan life and culture.

During his earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus Christ did teach his disciples and all that listened in that day, Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets (Luke 6:22-23).  What is it about the Puritans of Colonial America that the lost world still hates?  What is it about the Puritans that the lost world ridicules, mocks, and scorns? What is it about the Puritans that the lost world sees as menacing, judgmental, and angry?  The answer is simple from the perspective of a Christian – it is their stand on the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.  The legacy of the Puritans in Colonial America bears witness to the very thing that Christ taught – If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you (John 15:18-19).

As an American historian by trade and training, I have always enjoyed studying the faith and life of those early American settlers. Because of this background, when I saw that sculpture I didn’t see the same things that the young people saw; in fact, I saw someone who was sincere, dedicated, firmly rooted in their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and a staunch defender of his faith hating the very things of the flesh that tend to weigh down the typical Christian of our day. In fact, the Puritan faith of Colonial America can be summed up in three verses: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment (Mark 12:30), But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil (Matthew 5:37), and No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Luke 16:13). These three verses are the keys to understanding the reason for the stand of the Puritan.

Because of their love and devotion of God and the things of God, they tended to live a life as close to their understanding of Biblical principles as possible.  While a part of their faith was based on the concept of Calvinism – the belief that God has predestined some to Heaven and others to eternal damnation – they did believe that one’s lifestyle determined their eternal destination.  This was driven by the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ: Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them (Matthew 7:16-20). While I do reject the teachings of Calvinism, I do believe that a holy lifestyle does show a close relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

The drive for a holy and chaste lifestyle also came from a second scriptural reference: Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven (Matthew 5:14-16). Their dedication to the teachings of Christ, especially the importance of drawing others to Christ was also based on this verse: And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15).  In their personal lives, and as a community of believers, they felt compelled to live a lifestyle that reflected the holiness and love of God and would serve to remind the lost world of the offer of salvation available to those who were willing to submit their lives to God.

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The contrast between light and dark

Posted on November 20, 2013 by | Comments Off on The contrast between light and dark

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There are times that the most beautiful photographs we take are ones where there is a stark contrast between light and dark.  There’s something about the way that the shadows and darker colors make the brighter colors stand out.  Since moving to Henderson, Kentucky in 2011, I have probably taken hundreds of pictures of the scenery along the Ohio River from the comfort of my back patio – and over the last summer, I began exploring the many features of the camera I use and the effects that shadows and focus can have on the photograph.  It is truly remarkable what shadows and darker foreground objects can do to for the background of a picture.

As I was doing my personal devotion this morning I came across a verse that made me think of this particular picture.  While on Earth, the Lord Jesus Christ was teaching his disciples a way to understand their new relationship with the world around them.  He told them Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid (Matthew 5:14) and was demonstrating that now, as believers in him, they were to be different; they were to live a life that would draw others to Him.  He also taught those men that followed him If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light (Luke 11:36). This concept was well-understood by the apostle Paul; he wrote to those early Christians in the city of Ephesus, For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light (Ephesians 5:8). As Christians, we are to be different than the world For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another (Mark 9:49-50).

The apostle Paul taught on this concept of living differently than the world around us, Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man (Colossians 4:6). Even the apostle Peter taught how, as Christians, we should also strive to be different than the world and be ready to tell others the reasons for our joy and our faith, But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing (I Peter 3:15-17).

I also think of how this teaching is clearly demonstrated in the teachings of the prophet Isaiah, Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not (Isaiah 58:9-11). Again, there is this concept that the believer of God should live their life different from the unbeliever; it’s been God’s desire that his believers would reject the standards of the sinful world and accept his standards as their own, Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine (Exodus 19:5). When you think about it, if we do adopt God’s standards in our life and live accordingly, we do become peculiar.  In five verses scattered through the Old and New Testaments, God calls his people, his children, to be peculiar people and to be different than those around them.

Just as in the picture above shows contrast between light and dark, we are to provide contrast between the lost world and God’s grace.  Everything we do, whether we are lost or saved, provides a message about us and what is important in our lives.  If we live like the lost around us and do those things that the lost do, whether it be for entertainment or our work ethics, it speaks volumes about our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  It tells the lost world there is no real difference between a Christian and a lost person; there is no reason to become a follower of Christ.  At that point, we have inoculated our coworkers, family, or friends from the effects of hearing the soul cleansing effects a real acceptance of the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior.  We tarnish the name of Christ, and we lose that savor we were supposed to bring to the world.  If we adopt God’s standards, meaning a full acceptance of the apostle Paul’s teaching, Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God (I Corinthians 10:15), everything we do takes on a spiritual dimension; what we do at work, at school, in the home, while we are running errands in town – all of it – we are to do as if we are doing it for God.  All of a sudden, the fleshly attitude of doing enough just to get by no longer has the same appeal to us.

As a child of God, we are all called out to be different than the lost around us.  It is not because we are any better, but because we have been redeemed by the love and grace of God.  Its’ his will that we should tell others about that precious saving grace that only Christ can give; we are to tell it through our conduct, the way we treat others, by the way we do our jobs, and even by word of mouth about the plan of salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ told Nicodemus that God’s desire was that all would come to accept that same saving grace: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved (John 3:16-17).

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Noticing, appreciating, and obeying the small things

Posted on November 18, 2013 by | Comments Off on Noticing, appreciating, and obeying the small things

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Earlier this year, as I celebrated my 43rd birthday, I decided that it was time to become more pro-active about my health. In June I mapped out a course that takes me from my apartment to the steps of the courthouse and back – a four mile walk that takes me a little over an hour to complete.  I have a busy day and being a creature of habit, I knew that I would have to make time for the walk – the only time that would work was first thing in the morning.  So, I began walking each morning between 5:00 and 5:30 a.m, nearly thirty minutes before the first rays of sunrise.  One morning I was running late for several reasons and started my walk closer to 6:00 a.m. and what I began to notice about my morning walk truly amazes me.

The picture above – an old sidewalk at the intersection of Main and Clay Streets in Henderson, Kentucky was something I never expected to discover on my morning routine.  Normally when I walk past this intersection, its still dark – but that particular morning, because of running late, the sun was up and I was noticing details about the town I live in simply because I was in a situation where I was more aware of my surroundings.  I was now aware of the things that I passed by every day on my journeys that I never knew existed and never gave a second thought to.  Shortly after I took the picture, I shared this picture in a Facebook photo album focused on Henderson and the immediate surrounding area, I wondered what blessings God has given to me that I have not noticed or shown him my gratitude because I have been too “busy.”  If I had not been walking after the sun had come up, I might have missed that little reminder of a bygone era of local history.

The apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Thessalonike In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you (I Thessalonians 5:18).  At first, its hard to understand what exactly we need to be thankful for – but everything literally means – EVERYTHING.  As I think about the apostle James and his writing to early Christians, Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away (James 4:13-14), I am reminded that I am not promised tomorrow.  With that in mind, the very act of waking up in the morning, the four mile walk, the hot shower, the challenges of being the father of a three-year old daughter, and everything else I face each day now become the very things that I must stop and give thanks to God for the blessings of life.  

The apostle John reminded the early Christians he wrote that Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward (II John 1:8).  John is reminding his readers that we are supposed to be mindful of everything that we have as Christians – the gifts of salvation, forgiveness, the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and the fruits of our salvation – and in doing so, it will allow us to receive the rewards that the Lord Jesus Christ has set before us.  We do this as pointed out by the apostle James as he wrote But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves (James 1:22).  We gain our heavenly rewards based on remembering and by doing the things that the Lord Jesus Christ would have us to do.  We do these things by paying attention and being obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

I have found that it is not the large things that I feel the Holy Spirit leading me to that are the problem – it is the smaller things that the Spirit leads us to that we often overlook.  When is the last time you felt the Holy Spirit leading you to share the gospel or a kind word to someone you came across?  When is the last time you let the Holy Spirit lead you to buying a meal for the homeless man or woman you met on your daily routine. When is the last time you took time to pray for a co-worker that you saw was having a bad day or dealing with loss?  These are all small things in the eyes of man and often go unnoticed by many professing Christians. It should come as no surprise when Jesus taught those listening to him that day Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me (Matthew 25:45).  Those who are willing to feed the hungry, give living water to the spiritually thirsty, who offered a smile and a kind word to the stranger, took care of the poor, visit and pray for the sick, downtrodden, depressed, or visit those in prisons are the ones that are paying attention to even the must slightest leading of the Holy Spirit.  While they may not have the accolades of men, their deeds do not go unnoticed by a kind and loving God.

Although Jesus is teaching about alms, or the giving of clothing, food, shelter, or care to the poor, there is a spiritual teaching that can gleaned from it when He states Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward (Matthew 6:1-2). Those little things we do in obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit may not be noticed by your family, your friends, or even your pastor, but they are noticed by God.

 

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