Thursday, April 30, 2020

Come Shortly Unto Me

"Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me."  II Timothy 4:9.  The apostle Paul writes this statement to his "son in the faith."  I Timothy 1:2.  Paul is at the end of life, and he desires to see Timothy.  We are all coming to the end of life.  I want you to consider this statement as coming to Christ.  All must  come to the Lord Jesus Christ to receive God's salvation.  Wherever we are in life at this present moment, we need to come to Christ.  The opportunity to come can be gone in an instant.  Life is not certain, and death can take us at any moment.  Life makes no promises to us.  We must come with diligence.  We must understand the urgency of coming.  We must give thought to the world beyond this present world.  Our soul is our most priceless possession.  Only by coming to Christ can we secure our soul.  Let us not delay counting on some future moment to come, but let us come shortly.  We must understand the impact of coming, and also the impact of not coming.  Paul knew that life was going to pass in a moment.  Timothy did not have much time to come to see him.  Let us apply this same thought process in our coming to Christ.

Commandments That Turn Us

"Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men that turn from the truth."  Titus 1:14.  There is God's truth and man's truth.  Survey the religious landscape.  What do we see?  Do we see one faith as the Bible teaches?  Do we see one body of believers who share the same faith system?  The answer is no.  We see various faiths, and vast division because of those faiths.  Rather than seeing one church, we see a multitude of churches teaching different plans of salvation and different views of worship.  But, Jesus faced those who did not share his teachings and refused to believe what he taught.  Remember that Jesus has all authority.  If Jesus has all authority, then man has no authority.  All doctrines mut be of God and all teachings must be of God.  We are not to hear the commandments of men for they will turn one away from the truth.  A person can not follow truth and error at the same time.  God has revealed his truth so that we can examine all teachings and determine what is right.  Only the truth can save and turn one away from sin.  The doctrines of men have no value.  The doctrines of men are only empty teachings that destroy the souls of those who believe them.  Do not give heed to a teaching that has not come from God.

Monday, April 27, 2020

He Could Not Be Hidden

"And from thence he arose and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid."  Mark 7:24.  This journey of our Lord appears to be the fartherest away from Palestine that he traveled.  Christ knew well these cities of sinfulness.  However, he states that it will be more tolerable for these cities in the judgment than for others.  Matthew 11:20-22.  It is truly sad when the Christ is rejected.  The house into which Christ entered is not identified.  The scriptures do not always give us the details that we might like to have.  Only important truth is revealed for us.  It appears that Christ sought to be alone for a time.  His life was constant on notice.  But, even here, he could not be hidden.  The light of Jesus shines even in the darkest corner.  Oh, that he would be sought today as he was in that hour.  Christ today needs not to be hidden, but revealed.  Every heart needs to seek him.  Every eye needs to see him.  Every ear needs to hear him.  Every soul needs to receive him.  In our life, let not Christ be hidden, but known and seen.

Thursday, April 23, 2020

Things Have An End

"For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, and he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end."  Luke 22:37.  The work of redemption that Jesus had come to accomplish was almost at an end.  The task for which God had sent him was coming to fulfillment.  The suffering that he experienced and the separation from his father that he knew was soon to end.  Is it not true for us as well that the things which we experience in life soon end?  We find ourselves in turmoil, but calmness comes.  We become ill, but wellness comes.  The events in our life change.  We can be happy, but saddness comes.  Smiles are followed with tears.  In our life, there is separation as well as reunion.  All things have an end.  We must know the downs as well as the ups.  There are both smooth times, as well as rough times.  Today can hold the greatest promise while tomorrow may look like defeat.  God's plan for Christ had him reckoned among the transgressors, but it had an end.  Whatever darkness we see in life will ultimately be dismissed by the brightness.  The clouds will disperse, and the sun will shine for the things concerning us have an end.

Saturday, April 18, 2020

As Thou Hast Believed

"And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.  And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour."  Matthew 8:13.  A centurion of authority had come to request of Jesus that his servant be healed.  He confessed that he was unworthy of Jesus coming into his house.  He wanted Jesus to "speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed."  verse 8.  We are unworthy because of sin, but Jesus has the power to make us worthy.  By our faith, we can be healed of the most deadly disease of sin.  By faith, we can confess the saving power of Christ.  By faith, we can become sons of God.  As we believe, so can we become.  The Savior opens his arms to those of faith.  The Christ hears the cry of those of faith.  Faith can open our heart and we approach Christ even though we know that we are unworthy.  Jesus accepted not only the centurion, but also the leper.  Those high and those low could come to Christ.  You can come, and I can come.  As we believe, we can receive the blessing of healing and acceptance.  We, through faith, become conquerors in Christ Jesus.  In this selfsame hour, we can know the love and grace of Jesus Christ if we but believe.

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

It Is Well

"Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of his doings."  Isaiah 3:10.  Is it not true for the righteous?  The righteous have it well for God is our God.  Our wellness is seen in our redemption.  We have been set free from the power of the devil.  We are delivered from his vile grasp.  Our wellness is seen in the garments that we wear.  We are clothed with the beauty of God's holiness.  We are purged from immorality and uncleanness.  Our wellness is seen in the work to which we are committed.  We now labor in the vineyard of the Master.  We work for the King in the royal mission of evangelism.  Our wellness is seen in our spiritual health.  We are fed with eternal words of life.  The gospel is a life giving message.  The words of God feed the soul with an infusion of eternity.  Our wellness is seen in our future.  We are secure in the blood of the lamb.  Our promise is a mansion from on high.  The hands that formed the universe have built the glorious home of the soul.  Oh, indeed it is well with the righteous.  And shall not the world where we presently dwell benefit from our doings?  Righteousness preserves the nation.  God is delighted with a righteous people.  Shall not we be righteous not only for ourselves, but for others as well that all might know the blessings of the righteous?

Strength In The Lord

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might."  Ephesians 6:10.  Notice that these brethren are not told to be strong in themselves, nor in the physical resources that might be available to them.  Such strength will eventually fail.  But, rather, they were to find strength in the Lord.  Such strength never ceases nor does it ever fail.  In the midst of loss, we need strength to endure.  In the midst of temptation, we need strength to overcome.  Our real enemy does not come from the physical side of life, but rather from the spiritual.  When we find true spiritual strength, then we will be able to overcome the physical.  The Lord enables us to see beyond the present and clearly into the future.  Remember, how the prophets cried unto their god, Baal.  That god did not hear, and neither did he answer.  But, when Elijah called upon God, the answer came swiftly and clearly.  I Kings 18:22-40.    Our God gives comfort and calms the troubled soul.  The power of God is the mighty power that moves the universe.  Be strong in that power.