Author: Tim

The events surrounding the crucifixion of Jesus hold special meaning for all Christians. Perhaps the following thoughts might add a special dimension to these events.

Simon, a Cyrenian, literally carried the cross of Jesus. When we read this account, can it not serve to remind us to take up our cross and follow Him? Can it not remind us that He depends on our help to carry out His will on earth (Mark 8:34)?

When we picture in our minds the outstretched, nailed hands and arms of Jesus, we can recall His words, “Come unto Me..” His arms are always open to receive us (Matt. 11:28).

The two thieves who were crucified with Jesus were situated, one on His right and one on His left. At the second coming, when He sits upon the throne of His glory, all nations will be separated one from another; the saved on His right and the lost on His left. This can be a reminder to be on the “right” side of Jesus (Matt. 25:33).

The cruel death Jesus suffered is an example to remind us that we too can face whatever type of death is in store for us. He will see us through it (Heb. 4:16).

Jesus had the disciple whom He loved (John) to take His mother into John’s own house. This is a lesson to us that, unlike Cain’s question to the contrary, we are our brother’s keeper. We have a charge to love and take care of the needs of our brethren (1 John 3:17).

The parting of Christ’s garments can serve to remind us all not to be concerned about the material aspects of life. We must lay up for ourselves “treasures in heaven” (Matt. 6:19).

The title Pilate wrote and put on the cross, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS, should remind us daily that Jesus “…is King of kings and Lord of lords” (John 19:19; Rev. 19:16). We must honor Him and acknowledge His power always and in all ways.

In Matthew 25:1-13, we read about ten virgins waiting on a bridegroom. Five of the virgins were wise and came prepared with plenty of oil for their lamps, but five of the virgins were foolish and did not come prepared. When the bridegroom came, the five foolish virgins had gone to purchase more oil. The bridegroom and those that were ready entered the wedding, and the door was shut. Whern the five foolish virgins came, they were not let in, and the bridegroom said unto them, “I do not know you.”

Christ is going to return one day, and that leaves us with a choice to make. We can either choose to be prepared for the Second Coming of our Lord, or we can choose to sit idly by and waste the time that we have right now. “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming” (Matthew 25:13).

Preparing for Christ involves submitting to the Lord, His Word and His Will. Have we had our sins washed away in baptism? Are we living and worshipping the way that God has told us to live and to worship? Are we actively working for the Lord? We need to ask ourselves these questions and more every day as we prepare for Christ’s return. One day Christ will return, and I hope we all will be ready for that great day of the Lord.

A woman approached a business man and asked for a donation to help build a church building. He agreed to give a sizable donation if they would put a sign over the door saying, “This is a church of Christ.” “But”, the Woman replied, this is not a church of Christ!” So the business man agreed to give the money anyway if the sign would say This is NOT a church of Christ.” The woman refused the money and walked away. (Matt 16:18 and Col. 1:18) 

via Livingston church of Christ

Have you ever considered how the Bible views where Christians were before they were Christians? Notice Colossians 1:13: “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.” Those outside of Christ are under the “power” of darkness.

The word “power” here is the same in the original as the word Jesus used in Matthew 28:18 (“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth”). That Word always carries the idea of “authority.” In other words, while we were outside of Christ, we were living under the authority of darkness (shadiness, i.e., evil). We were under its “domain” (NASB).

Whether knowingly or not, everyone outside of Christ is under the authority of darkness (sin). We all have owed the wages of sin. Paul declared, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Because We all have sinned, we all have been under this authority (Romans 3:23).

We also are unable to leave the authority of darkness on our own; we have to be delivered (rescued, NASB). Yes, it is a choice we make, but it is an action that requires Divine assistance. Paul said, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). The only way to escape the power, guilt and condemnation of sin is to obey the gospel.

From Livingston church of Christ Livingston, TN Bulletin Digest

From Northridge church of Christ

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow… ” (Matthew 6:34). A person’s life can be divided up into four chunks of time: the past, the present, the future and eternity. The devil draws attention to the past and the future; God draws attention to the present and eternity. Therefore, the devil wants to take our focus off of the present and eternity while God wants us to avoid investing too heavily in the past and the future.

For example, when a person is thinking about becoming a Christian, the devil attacks that thinking in at least two places. First, the past: “I have done too many bad things that God could never forgive me of,” and second, the future: “Even if He could forgive me, once I was baptized, I could never live up to the high standard of the Christian life.

God, on the other hand, reinforces truthful thinking in the above scenario by coaching a person to do NOW what will secure him or her for ETERNITY. In the process, of course, God does remedy the guilt of sin (PAST) and also gears the new convert up by prayer, worship, Scripture, fellowship, hope, etc. to be faithful in living out the Christian life (FUTURE).

The plea to live in the present saturates Scripture (see for example Mt. 6:34; 2 Co. 61-2; 2 Pet. 3:11-12).

That does not mean we have no business with the past. There may be a mess to clean up. And it does not mean we have no business with future, because we must plan (see Jas. 4:13-16).

It does mean that we should not waste life fantasizing, “I wish I could go back to yesterday,” or “I am waiting for things to be different tomorrow.”

Rather, live in the moment. Do what you are supposed to be doing today. Obey God now. Take responsibility for the present. That posture is Christian” and can secure our eternity.

Christians are being transformed into Christ’s likeness (2 Cor. 3:18). God is trying to press His people into a Christ-shaped mold. But this transformation isn’t an easy process, partly because the world is trying to press us into its own mold. In order to be transformed into the image of Christ we must resist being conformed to this world. Paul writes, “[D]o not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom. 12:2, NASB). 

How is this transformation possible? Where does this transformation begin? This transformation is possible only if it begins in the heart. Paul says that we are transformed by the renewal of our minds. This transformation is an inside-out transformation. Too often we focus on changing our actions, instead of our attitudes. That’s exactly what many of the Pharisees did. They were overly concerned with externals while their hearts were deteriorating. Since they focused solely on external righteousness to the neglect of their hearts, they became like cups that are clean on the outside but filthy inside. They were like pretty caskets full of dead people’s bones. They looked good on the outside, but their hearts were hollow (Matt. 23:25-28). 

When Paul wrote to the Christians in Philippi, he realized that their problems with regard to unity were merely symptoms of a deeper problem. Paul addresses the real problem when he offers the following solution to them: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5, NKJV). Transformation begins in the mind and then extends to our mannerisms. It begins in the heart and then extends to our habits. It begins in our attitudes and then extends to our actions. 

From…Bulletin Digest 

The story of Naaman receiving a cure for leprosy has been well known in the brotherhood, having been taught by just about every preacher. Most of the time, however, one only hears part of the story and that is the command for Naaman to plunge seven times in the Jordan River. There’s more.

Naaman made another request after receiving his cure. He sought Elisha’s permission to take some earth back to Syria (2 Kings 5:17). Naaman wanted to worship the God who cured him when he returned to Syria. Because Naaman was steeped in idolatry, he didn’t believe that God could be worshiped except on his own land. There was a little more to it as we learn from 2 Kings 5:18. While the king of Syria was kneeling before the Syrian god, Rimmon, Naaman would appear to be doing the same, but would really be worshiping the true God.

Naaman was doing two things wrong here. First, he was attempting to deceive the Syrian king. And, he was attempting to pay homage to God inside an idol temple. Naaman was guilty of trying to perpetuate a case of divided loyalty. He wanted to have his job as a leader in the Syrian army and his place beside the king. But, he also knew he wanted to worship the God who had cured his leprosy.

God can’t be divided this way. We can’t have the true God and put an idol next to him and worship both. Many people mistakenly think they can do this. They think they can worship God and money, but Jesus said that was not possible (Matthew 6:24). People also think they can worship God and recreation, God and material possessions, or God and just about anything else. Such, however, is not possible. We must devote ourselves fully, completely to God: heart, body, and soul, or we will be guilty of the same split devotion Naaman was.

From …Bulletin Digest 

The indictment of Isaiah against his generation, a people who had temporarily succeeded in turning truth upon its head, is no less applicable today: “Woe unto them that call evil good; and good evil, that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!” Isaiah 5:20,21).

Though Isaiah’s generation perished in captivity the truth continued to march on. Their calling “evil good; and good evil” did not make it so.

We face a similar challenge today, when right is called wrong and wrong is called right; when all things “gay” are assumed to be good, while God, oddly enough, is portrayed as one of this world’s larger problems.

Everything we once thought was true is now decried as false; all we once thought to be false is now lauded as true. But never forget this: truth will prevail. In the final analysis, when all has been said and done, when once-powerful nations have long- since crumbled into the dust of oblivion, God’s truth will prevail.

Men may deny truth’s very existence. They may denounce it and demonize it. They may debate it incessantly. But truth will prevail.

In the words of James Russell Lowell, “There is no good in arguing with the inevitable. The only argument available with the east wind is to put on your overcoat.”

(Via…Bulletin Digest) 

Hate defined: To feel hostility or animosity toward. To detest. A feeling of utter hostility and disgust.

Today, some detest, abhor, and loathe anyone who hates. [Note: “detest, abhor, and loathe” are synonymous with “hate.”] Love is said to be antagonistic to hate. However, assaults on innocent children, inhuman treatment of others, bilking the elderly, along with other heinous crimes give rise to feelings of hate. There is everything right and nothing wrong hating such things. Hate is a God-given and God-sanctioned emotion.

GOD LOVES

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).” Ephesians 2:4-5

GOD HATES

“There are six things which the Lord hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, A false witness who utters lies, One who spreads strife among brothers.” Proverbs 6:16-19

Racism is sinful. Racism is foolish. Racism is illogical.

Instead of a discussion of our differences, let us take the time to focus on what all men share.

We share a common heritage / ancestry (Genesis 3:20; 9:1). Every man, woman and child on the planet is a genetic relative.

We share a common Creator (Genesis 1:26-27). The denigration of any other human is an attack upon the Creator Himself.

We share a common sacrifice (1 Timothy 2:5-6). Jesus Christ died for all. No race or nation of people is left out. The denigration of one group of people reflects upon the sacrifice of Jesus. Additionally, every adult on the planet has sinned and is in need of a Savior (Romans 3:23). We are all in the same position. We share a common need for a Savior and we share in common the lone sacrifice that can save our souls.

We share a common mission. We learn in Jesus’ prayer in John 17 that the Savior came to make all men one. The death of Jesus destroyed any and all ethnic barriers (Galatians 3:27-29; Ephesians 2:14). We either fight with Jesus in destroying these barriers or we fight against Him.

We share a common command. All people everywhere have been commanded by the Lord to love each other (Luke 10:27).

Finally, we share a common future appointment: Judgment Day (Romans 14:10). As we prepare to stand before our Judge, let us remember all of these things (and more) that we share in common with all other people no matter where they are from-no matter what their appearance.