Sunday Says: Week 11

Family Friday: Step of Faith

When I was 12 years old our church had it’s first faith promise missions conference. The idea of faith promise was new to me, but I stepped out and promised to give a dollar a week to missions. My parents gave my brother and me a dollar every week for allowance, but 10% of that belonged to God for my tithe, so I somehow had to come up with $0.10 each week. Believing that God would give it to me, I promised to give it to missions.

That very week my piano teacher asked me to babysit for her daughter for a couple hours each week. My very small faith of $0.10 each week was returned to me by 2000%!  Instead of a dollar each week I was now making around $20.00. Take that first step of faith. You can’t out give God!

Thoughtful Thursday: Anchor for the Soul

Hebrews 6:19a - Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast,

The dictionary defines hope as something that may be able to provide help; and an anchor as a thing that provides strength and support.  Who couldn’t use that? 

Often times, we find ourselves wrongfully hoping in things that we think will provide strength and support.  These things may help temporarily, but will never provide long-term help.

We should not hope in ourselves.  (Trying to accomplish things in our flesh.)

We should not hope in others.  (Depending on others for our happiness.)

We should not hope in doctors.  (Turning to medication to give us a happy spirit.)

We should hope in salvation.  (I Thess. 5:8 “…the hope of salvation.”)

We should hope in the Holy Spirit. (Gal. 5:16 “…walk in the Spririt…”)

We should hope in God’s strength. (Phil. 4:13 “…through Christ which strengtheneth me.”)

We should hope in the Bible.  (Ps 119:114 “…I hope in thy word.”

We should hope in Heaven.  (Tit. 2:13 “…Looking for that blessed hope, and the gloriousappearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.”)

With all of these wonderful, lasting things to hope in, our soul will be supported, strengthened…anchored.

Psalms 31:24 “Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.”

Romans 12:12 “Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;”

Psalms 16:9 “Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.”

We Pray Wednesday: Week 10

Teen Tuesday: Taking a Stand

Daniel 3:10-12  "Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, shall fall down and worship the golden image:  And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.   There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up."

Imagine being taken out of your country, and being forced to work in a strange land.  Imagine being separated from your family, culture, religion, and all that you have known growing up.  That is what happened to these three young men.  They trained to stand before king Nebuchadnezzar, who found them “ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm.”  Daniel 1:20

In this passage, King Nebuchadnezzar makes a golden image, and commands all of the people of the land to bow down to it.  When the music started playing, everyone was to worship the image.  The penalty for not worshiping the image was death.  Three men did not bow down to the image: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  The stand they took was a hard one, bow down or be cast into a fiery furnace.   I have wondered several times what I would do if I were put in this position.  Would I bow down?  Would I give in?

Standing up for what is right in an ungodly world can be difficult.   We do not want to be different from everyone else.  What is “normal” in the present world has changed.  Going to church every Sunday, dressing modestly, keeping your purity, and abstaining from rock, rap, hip hop and other worldly music are no longer normal.   Taking a stand in public may be met with criticism and harsh words.  People may laugh at you and tell you that your beliefs are old-fashioned.    But Matthew 5:11 tells us that we will be blessed when we stand up for Christ.  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego took a stand and convinced a king that their God was real.

Standing up for what is right among friends or family is even more difficult.  One of the sermons that made an impact on my teenage years was called “Walk On.”  The man who preached the sermon, Bro. Eddie Lapina, taught me that I cannot always please my friends and family and be right with God.  This is an area that is a struggle for every Christian.   We want to be accepted by our family and our friends.  It is not easy to be teased and made fun of by those we love and care about.  I admire all teenagers who stand for right when their family and friends make fun of them.  I especially admire the teenagers who stand for right, even when their parents do not attend church.  I see the struggle that goes on in many teenager’s hearts, and I've seen many teenagers quit.  It fills my heart with joy to see teenagers from my church and other churches take a stand and graduate high school still taking a stand for Christ.  I know that Christ is pleased with young people who are willing to stand in the midst of adversity.   Some day we will meet the one who took a stand and died for us!  Are we willing to stand for Him?

Monday's Message: God's Temple

God’s Temple

I Corinthians 3:16-17

This passage begins with a very powerful and leading question that makes an even stronger statement. Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16)  No doubt, many of us have heard this verse or at least the principle taught by the verse.  When we accept Jesus as our Saviour our bodies become the temple of God. 

I heard this story about a pastor who was building a wooden trellis to support a climbing vine. As he pounded away, he saw that a little boy was watching him. The youngster didn’t say a word, so the pastor kept on working, thinking the lad would just leave. But he didn’t. Finally the pastor asked, "Well, son, are you trying to pick up some pointers on gardening?" "No," he replied, "I’m just waiting to hear what a preacher says when he hits his thumb with a hammer."  We must represent Christ because others are always watching; how can we expect to win them if we act just like them?

The basic rule to follow is: if you do not think it is appropriate to do in the church then don’t do it at all.  We are the “temples of God” just as much as the church is the house of God.  We somehow distinguish between the two, but God does not!  Our lives, conversation, humor, and appearance should preach Christ!!  We should not have to tell people that we are Christians!  The fact that we are Christians should be obvious to others by the way we conduct ourselves.

Sunday Says: Week 10