Redeeming the Time?

What Time Is It?

Imagine a situation where you were annually given half a million dollars. You were told to invest it wisely, and the profit from how you invested it each year would all be yours. How much time would you devote, knowing that in the next decade you would be investing over $52,000,000?

Are you using your time well?

Are you using your time well?

This would never happen—right? Well, there is a parallel that happens every year. We know there are twenty-four hours in a day (with each of them having sixty minutes in it) and 365 days in a year. Every year we make a conscious decision about how we will invest the 525,600 minutes given to us. How are you using these precious minutes? What investment are you making?

Should there be any surprise that God speaks about using our time wisely? Perhaps the clearest statement of this truth is found twice in the Bible. Paul specifically told two churches, “Redeeming the time” (Eph. 5:16; Col. 4:5).  As we think about how this applies to our lives, we should soberly look at the minutes/hours we give to God.

Think about how little time we spend in worship and adoration of God. If the only time we do this is that hour between 10:00 a.m. and 11:19 a.m. each Sunday morning, add it all together and the total time invested in praising God each year would be 4,108 minutes. Each of us has been give 525,600 minutes each week, but we foolishly invest about 4,000 of them in His presence and devote over 520,000 on ourselves. If you change these numbers to dollars instead of minutes, you would readily see that you are not making wise investments. He said, “Redeem the time.”

Now I recognize that many of those other minutes are committed to work, rest and nutrition, but still the numbers are staggering. I also know that you could add to the smaller number those minutes spent in private devotions, reading and meditating on His word, but for far too many Christians, this never happens. Remember that God told us, “Redeeming the time.”

How do we do this more effectively? First, recognize that we have wasted hundreds of thousands of minutes in the past. Those minutes are history. We are writing the future as we think about how wisely we use the fifty million minutes we can receive the next decade. I know we are far too busy. However, we might consider that when we say, “I did not have the time to do this,” we are giving an excuse and not a reason.

Having recognized our misuse of time, we then must make specific changes in our lifestyles. It may be we are overlooking opportunities around us to use our time more wisely. Let’s think about this together in next week’s bulletin.

Posted in Dan Jenkins | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Redeeming the Time?

Spiritual Junk Food

Don’t Fill Your Life with Spiritual Junk Food

Satan is real, and he knows how to keep humans preoccupied with things that ultimately don’t matter much. Humans spend countless hours enjoying things like sports, crafts, and various hobbies. While these things are not wrong in-and-of themselves, they can often take our focus away from things of eternal importance. Sadly, in our culture these activities are so popular that most Christians never question them or consider how much time they devote to such activities. As a result, many Christians are physically fit and talented at their hobbies, but they are starving spiritually.

What is it that truly satisfies you?

What is it that truly satisfies you?

Sadly, many congregations feed this problem. Rather than digging deeper into the word congregations will plan fluffy and fun activities that entertain. Rather than feeding the flock, many elderships have become masters at entertaining the flock and keeping them busy.

All the while our congregations get spiritually weaker as souls starve for the Word.

Here’s what I intend to teach my children regarding feeding their souls.

One of the toughest things I can teach you is how to “stand.” In discussing putting on the whole armor of God, Paul wrote, “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore…” (Ephesians 6:13-14). Paul stressed the importance of being able to stand. My job is to teach you how to stand, even when culture is trying to push you in a different direction.

There will be many times in your life that you feel like a salmon swimming upstream going against current, while all the other fish are swimming downstream. Your friends may fill their lives up with sports activities or become obsessed with hobbies. Stand—and feed your soul.

God did not create you to simply be on this planet and have fun.

Many people try to fill the void in their life with hobbies and entertainment. But the only thing that can truly fill you is when you feed your soul.

If you find your life too busy please get into His Word and grow. I hear many sermons and many people talking about getting into God’s Word—but few actually take the time to dig deeply. Spend time observing God’s creation and praising Him. Spend time reflecting on how small you are in the grand scheme of things and give God thanks. Spend time evaluating your life, areas you fall short, and confess these weaknesses to Him. Spend time meditating on heaven and spending eternity with Him. Spend more time in prayer, allowing Jesus to intercede on your behalf. Spend time lamenting on those who are sick or suffering and look for ways to help them. In other words, feed your soul!

Let me encourage you, set aside the media that is trying to invade your lives and fellowship with others. Sit around a table with some friends and enjoy fellowshipping with them. Take meals to those who are shut-in or sick. Spend time sitting with them or listening to them talk about “the good old days.” Turn off the television and open your home up for Bible studies. In other words, feed your soul.

Look for ways to do good to others. Reach out to those who may be hurting financially. Join hands with those who are building homes for the less fortunate. Take time to do mission work. Get out and knock-doors or teach at a VBS. Feed your soul.

I should caution you that if you heed my advice you will find hobbies and sports do not fulfill you the way they used to—your heart will long for something more. You will crave real connections and activities that have a deeper purpose. You will begin to look at things differently. You will be actively living the life Christ intended you to live!

So, look for ways to feed your soul!

Posted in Brad Harrub | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Spiritual Junk Food

Unconditional Election

Unconditional Election

If one holds to the doctrine of Total Hereditary Depravity and thereby believes that all of mankind is so utterly depraved that they cannot respond to the grace of God, one has to believe in the Calvinistic doctrine of Unconditional Election in order to have any sort of hope for salvation. John Calvin knew this. He said, “Predestination we call the eternal decree of God, by which he has determined in himself what he would have to become of every individual of mankind. For they are not all created with a similar destiny; but eternal life is fore-ordained for some, and eternal damnation for others. Every man, therefore, being created for one or the other of these ends, we say, he is predestined either to life or to death.”

Round and round she goes, where she stops nobody knows...

Round and round she goes, where she stops nobody knows…

In other words, we cannot respond to the grace of God due to being totally depraved and lost in sin. Therefore, the only way any of us have any hope of salvation is for God to have already made up his mind to step in and choose to disregard the sin of some of us and give them salvation anyway. This doctrine, sometimes called the doctrine of predestination, is the basis of the Calvinistic tenet of Unconditional Election: the idea that God chooses some of mankind before they are born to be saved unconditionally.

However, the Scriptures teach that God shows no partiality (Acts 10:34-35; Rom. 2:11; 10:12; Eph. 6:9). He shows no favoritism of any kind. This goes against Calvinism’s teaching that God has chosen only some of us for unconditional salvation rather than all of us. If both Calvinism and the Word of God are true, why would God have chosen only some of us for unconditional salvation instead of everyone? Isn’t that showing partiality?

The Scriptures also teach that God wants everyone to be saved (John 3:16; 1 Tim. 2:4; Tit. 2:11; 2 Pet. 3:9). If John Calvin’s doctrine of Unconditional Election is true, God has chosen only some of mankind for unconditional salvation, not all. Logic dictates that if God has determined some of us to be predestined for salvation, he has also predetermined that the rest of us are destined for an eternity in hell. If both Calvinism and God’s Word are true, why wouldn’t God choose to save all of mankind unconditionally if he wants us all to be saved? Why would he have already decided that some of us will spend eternity in hell if he doesn’t want anyone to go to hell?

Any serious student of the Bible is familiar with the numerous warnings found within its pages. We are warned about Satan and his deceptions (1 Pet. 5:8; Eph. 4:27; 6:11; James 4:7). We are warned to avoid sin in order to avoid eternal punishment in hell (Matt. 5:22, 29-30). Christians are warned about the possibility of losing their salvation through unrepentant sin (Heb. 10:26-31). However, if Calvin is correct and God unconditionally elects some of mankind to be saved, then why would any of these warnings be in the Bible? Why would God tell those whom he has already chosen to be unconditionally saved to be on the alert for Satan? After all, if he has already decided that I’m going to be saved unconditionally, what can Satan do about it? Why would God warn those whom he has already decided are going to spend eternity in hell that they better not sin or else hell will be the result? Why the warnings about falling away from one’s salvation? If he’s already decided that hell is going to be where I end up, then it doesn’t matter what I do or don’t do. In fact, if God has already decided that I’m going to be saved no matter what, then why in the world would I even need to bother to go to church, read my Bible, obey the gospel, or uphold any sort of morality?

This reveals one of the major flaws in the doctrine of Unconditional Election. Under Calvinistic predestination, it would be possible for salvation to be given to a sinner who has never read the Bible or been part of the church. It would be equally possible for eternal condemnation to be given to a Christian who has read the Bible repeatedly and done his or her absolute best to faithfully live by all of its tenets and principles. In this way Calvinism really tries to make Christianity like Islam. Nonetheless, the Bible doesn’t teach what Unconditional Election proposes. One cannot hold to Calvinism and the Word of God without contradicting one or the other. Since God’s Word is truth (John 17:17), Unconditional Election is false.

However, Calvinists try to hold to both anyway. They cite Romans 8:28-30 as support for their doctrine of predestination: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified” (ESV). Calvinists cite the mention of predestination in this passage as proof that God unconditionally predestines some of salvation. However, such notions are proven erroneous when this passage is considered alongside the entirety of Scripture (Ps. 119:160).

Paul is telling us that God causes all things to “work together for good” (which would include obtaining eternal life in heaven) for two specific groups of people: “those who love God” and “those who are called according to his purpose.” One cannot love God without choosing to obey his commands (John 14:15; Josh. 24:15); our works of obedience, along with faith and God’s grace, justify us (James 2:24; Tit. 3:7). Likewise, the purpose for which God called those for whom he will cause all things together for good is to follow Christ’s example of doing good and enduring suffering as a result (1 Pet. 2:20-21). God calls us through the gospel (2 Thess. 2:14), which calls us to obey Christ (Matt. 28:19-20). Therefore, Paul in Romans 8:28-30 is referring to those who love God by their obedience, those who faithfully and obediently respond to the gospel call.

God did not randomly predetermine some of us for unconditional salvation and others for unconditional condemnation. He HAS predetermined that those who obey his gospel and obey his Son will be saved (Heb. 5:9), not the lucky few randomly selected for unconditional salvation. This is why we are to proclaim his gospel to all (Mark 16:15).

Posted in Jon Mitchell | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Unconditional Election

Godliness with Contentment is Great Gain

“Godliness with Contentment is Great Gain”

“But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death” (James 1:14-15).

Until you have contentment, your desires will create stress.

Until you have contentment, your desires will create stress.

All sin begins with desire. Seemingly benign desires may be perverted; the desire to eat may become the sin of gluttony, and the desire to procreate may become fornication, adultery, etc. Desires are complicated in that they lead to other desires. The desire of hunger produces a desire to seek food and go to the bakery where I desire to eat a donut; one donut turns into six, and now I have desires about what to do about eating those six donuts. This is just a small sampling of the many desires we have. We have desires related to work, family, government, church, other individuals, etc. Being overwhelmed with desires produces great stress and leads to the desire to sooth the stress, but this does not satisfy.

What is needed is contentment: being satisfied with who we are. Contentment is not trying to be something that we are not. Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 6:6-7, “But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.” Focusing on Jesus and who He is helps us to be content because He is all we really need; He is the standard for who we were created to be and what we truly are. This is godliness, and being satisfied with that delivers us from a world of our own destructive desires. God bless you, and I love you.

Posted in Kevin Cauley | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Godliness with Contentment is Great Gain

Playing to our Strength

Playing to our Strengths

Our son was one of the most naturally gifted athletes I have ever known. Even at a young age, his advanced speed, quickness, agility and athleticism were obvious to anyone who watched him play. I recall one particular elementary school basketball game he competed in. With the game on the line and only seconds left, our coach called a time-out and drew up a play which featured Chris’s ball-handling ability and would also give him the final shot, making a comment to the effect that, “If they’re going to beat us, they’re going to have to stop our best player.” Smart coach. Not because he featured our son, but because he played to our strengths; he featured that which was the best of what we had to offer. That’s what good, insightful, successful and winning coaches and people do – they emphasize and play to their strengths, instead of allowing the competition to dictate what they do.

The Gospel Truth is your greatest strength. Not some gimmick.

The Gospel Truth is your greatest strength. Not some gimmick.

This is why we, as members of the Lord’s church, must not reduce ourselves to simply just inviting others to church the way so many other competing religious groups do, but must instead, consistently utilize that which is our unique and greatest strength. We must find or create every opportunity possible, to engage people in an ongoing and in-depth personal Bible study, precisely because the word of God is our greatest strength and attraction for a lost world. Let’s face it, what other church can be proven by Scripture, to be the one the Lord established and Peter opened on the Day of Pentecost just as Jesus promised (Mt. 16:13-19; Acts 2:22-47)? What other churches can honestly claim to comprise the one, unique, exclusive, undivided and undenominated body or church of Christ which the Lord’s very own hand-picked apostles worked and worshipped in during the post-resurrection first century (Ro. 16:16; Eph. 1:22-23, 4:4-6)? What other church preaches and teaches that a lost person is cleansed, forgiven, saved, and added to the Lord’s church, in exactly the same way as our Lord’s apostles taught (Acts 2:38-47, 22:16; Ro. 6:1-6; Col. 2:12-13; 2 Ptr. 3:21)?

As evidenced above, the word of God proves every one of these points unequivocally. No man-made and founded denomination coming along centuries later can ever legitimately lay claim to any of these things. No judgement, just fact: The Catholic (circa 330 A.D.), Lutheran (1517), Baptist (1607), and so many other man-made churches which lost folks are so often invited to, are never once seen or named in Scripture – but the churches of Christ (33 A.D.) and their faith and doctrine are (Ro. 16:16-17; Jude 3; Eph. 4:11-14; 1 Tim. 4:1-6, 6:3-5; 2 Tim. 3:16-4:4; 2 Jn. 1:9-11). Our greatest strength, is that we go solely by Scripture. Want to win the war for a lost soul? Play to your strength. Get them into the Bible (Jn. 8:31-32)!

Posted in Doug Dingley | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Playing to our Strength