The Commandments: With My Whole Heart

The Commandments: With My Whole Heart

When the Jewish leaders asked Jesus which of the commandments of God was the greatest one, it was of real concern to them (Matt. 22:34-40). The Jews had carefully gone through the Old Testament and identified 613 distinct commands God had given to them. They had divided them into positive and negative lists. There were 365 times when God had given a negative (thou shall not) and 248 positive commands.

The answer Jesus gave to them was taken from one of the Ten Commandments but two commands on which the entire law and prophets were based. The first and greatest thing God had ever said was, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”

How much of you is given to God?

How much of you is given to God?

The question is, “How does one do this?” Perhaps the answer lies in the words of David, whose heart was like the heart of God.  By looking at how this godly man talked about using his “whole heart,” we can have a deeper understanding of the practical application of the greatest commandment God ever gave. Below is a discussion of the nine times David spoke about using his “whole heart” in Psalms.

David praised the Lord with his whole heart. Three times in Psalms David said, “I will praise You…with my whole heart” (Psa. 9:1; 111:1; 138:1). One cannot love the Lord with all of his heart unless He uses his entire heart in praising God. God has no delight in worship that is half-hearted.

David prayed to God with his whole heart. “I entreat Your favor with my whole heart” (Psalm 119:58). He also said, “I cry out with my whole heart; hear me, O Lord” (Psa. 119:145). There is a great difference in just saying the words of memorized prayer and praying to God fervently (Jas. 5:16).

David read the Bible and followed it with his whole heart. Hear his words. “Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart” (Psa. 119:2). “With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments” (Psa. 119:10). “Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law; indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart” (Psa. 119:34).  “The proud have forged a lie against me, but I will keep Your precepts” (Psa. 119:69). David longed to obey God.

Do you want to have a heart like the heart of God? Then let these words from David’s heart become the words of your heart. Serving God involves praising and praying to God with all our heart, but it involves more than that. It involves diligent study of His word, deep devotion to knowing His word and wholehearted service in obeying the Lord.

One final question. Are you keeping the greatest commandment like David did?

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Communion: Unity Divided?

Communion: Unity Divided?

The night before our Lord and Savior was betrayed, arrested, beaten, scourged, and crucified for the sins of the world, He prayed to His heavenly Father that His followers might all be one (Jn. 17), thus proving to the world that He was indeed the Son of the living God (vss. 20-23). Such oneness and unity though, He repeatedly indicated throughout, could only occur as a result of His disciples devoting themselves to following His word alone (vss. 6 – 8, 14, 17, 19, 20 – 21).

Unity divided over communion?

Unity divided over communion?

Today however, there are several terrible fissures – great, ghastly, grizzly and ungodly wounds and divisions – hampering the health, well-being, and evangelistic effectiveness, of the once one and unified, but now beleaguered and deeply divided body, bride, and church of Jesus Christ. Sadly, amongst the worst of atrocities, the greatest of ironies, and the most terrible of tragedies, is the fact that one of the most horrific wounds and divisions in the entire blood-bought body of Christ, revolves around the very event that ought most to unite us – communion!

If you examine the 2018 edition of the Directory of Churches of Christ in the United States, you will find that in many of the small towns as well as major cities across this land, there is a multiplicity of places wherein our brethren are deeply, sharply, and needlessly divided, over – of all things – the containers to be used in the communion celebration! In fact, it appears that a great number of those of the “one cup” persuasion are so serious about their perspective, that they not only militantly refuse to fellowship their brethren who use multiple, individual, communion cups, but have actually convinced themselves that those who use more than one are so sinning as to perish because of it.

Where did such an idea originate? Why and how is it so aggressively defended? Are they right? If not, why not? What can possibly be done to bring us all back to the same Biblical understanding, so that we might once again be the one, united body which Jesus prayed we would be?

This coming Thursday evening, January 24th, beginning at 7 Central, I have been blessed by God to have been given the very special privilege of discussing just these sorts of questions with the good brethren at the Gospel Broadcasting Network on GBNLive (Via Facebook Live). You are invited to watch/listen/join in, as we discuss the contents of the book, “Clearing Up The Confusion – The Cup, The Cross, And The Chaos” (see www.amazon.com/author/douglasdingley). You can also call in at 662-874-5508, or e-mail questions in advance to GBNLive@gbntv.org.

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Obeying God’s Commandments

Obeying God’s Commandments

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:Fear God and keep His commandments,For this is man’s all.For God will bring every work into judgment,Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).

Obedience... answer the call with humility or pride?

Obedience… answer the call with humility or pride?

Sin takes a toll on our thinking, and we must pay the price of ignorance by confessing that we don’t understand many things.  It is fortunate for us that God, in His mercy and love, understands this, and gives us clear commandments to follow in His word.  There are some things that I simply do not need to understand to obey God’s commandments.  The only question that I need to answer is whether I am going to obey.  This is the greatest struggle that we face as God’s people; will it be our own will or God’s will that we follow?  We must obey God’s commandments.  If we love God, we will obey (1 John 5:2-3).  Failure to obey is simply a lack of love for God in our life.

Sometimes, however, there are those who use God’s commandments to elevate self.  The Pharisees had this problem.  They did not look at God’s commandments as a way to improve their relationship with God, but rather, as a way to elevate themselves over their fellow man.  This notion of “obedience” is deceptive, because it isn’t really obedience, it is haughtiness.  The problem is the same problem as those who refuse to obey—they love self more than they love God.  We learn that we must empty self if we are to obey God in the way God wants to be obeyed (Philippians 2:5-8).

Love God enough to study His word, learn His commands, and obey them, and be free of self.  God bless you, and I love you.

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All Things Work Together for Good

All Things Work Together for Good

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28

I’d like to send a shout-out to my dad, Mike Mitchell.  I think of him whenever I read this verse.

My first work as a minister was very much a “baptism by fire.”  I was in my early 20’s, unmarried, untrained.  I had never received any formal education for being a minister.  I remember very naively thinking that there would be no problems and no worries that would come with the job of being a preacher, because I would be working with Christians, after all.  Well, I was very much mistaken.  Problems came…deep problems, the kind that bring ulcers and keep you up at night for weeks at a time.  I was not prepared for any of them, and was in deep despair and anguish many a day.

Yes... hardship will come... then what?

Yes… hardship will come… then what?

My dad was my mentor during those days.  Being a preacher himself for 40 years, he had more experience than me.  During the terrible days when I came to him repeatedly wondering what to do, he would bring up this passage to me, over and over again.  “Jon, remember that God causes all things to work together for good,” he’d say.  I’ll never forget him telling me that, because time has shown him to be correct.

This world is hard, unfair, unmerciful, unloving, and unforgiving at times.  Christians are not invulnerable to the wounds this life brings.  Yet, our God still takes care of us.  He uses the difficulties of life to make us stronger (Heb. 12:3-13).  As he did with Job, he brings better times back to us sooner or later.  Best of all, as the passage brings out, he called us by his gospel (2 Thess. 2:14) and we answered that call through our loving obedience of the gospel (John 14:15; Mark 16:15-16).  That means that in the end, we will be victorious eternally in heaven rather than suffering eternal defeat and torment in hell (Rev. 21:3-4; 2 Thess. 1:7-10).

Praise his Holy Name!

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“SU BIBLIA FUE ESCRITA POR HOMBRES”

“SU BIBLIA FUE ESCRITA POR HOMBRES”
 
¿Cómo respondería usted a tal aseveración?. Sabemos cuál es la verdadera intención de quienes hacen tal afirmación. Sin embargo la respuesta correcta es; ¡Correcto!, la Biblia fue escrita por hombres, pero hombres inspirados quienes recibieron revelación de Dios. Muchas veces se afirma esto para desligarse de alguna exhortación que la Biblia me está haciendo o alguna corrección directa a mi vida. Pero otras veces los escépticos proclaman con fuerza esto con el único objetivo de desacreditar las santas escrituras. Sin embargo ¿es la creencia de que la Biblia es el libro de Dios?¿ Y si lo es, cómo podemos comprobar esto?. Lo que nos lleva a otra pregunta. ¿Quién decidió que incluir en la Biblia?.

La Mente de Dios

La Mente de Dios

La pregunta acerca de cómo se decidió cuales libros llegarían a ser parte de la Biblia apunta a proceso de canonización. Como usted sabrá, canon no es la marca de una cámara digital sino que este contexto proviene del término griego “Kanon” que significa caña. La caña por muchos años fue el instrumento de medir y luego llegó a ser el patrón o la regla de medición en cuestiones como esta.  Es importante notar que la Iglesia católica NO, NOS DIO LA BIBLIA. La Iglesia católica posee uno de los manuscritos principales el códice “V” pero es solo uno de entre 5 y que dicho sea de paso, jamás lo pusieron a disposición del Público. Ni siquiera la Iglesia primitiva es la que ha dado el canon; tampoco decidió los libros que iban a ser parte de la inspiración divina de Dios al hombre, al contrario, la Iglesia reconoció o descubrió cuales libros habían sido inspirados desde el principio. Pablo escribe en Colosenses 4:16 “Cuando esta carta haya sido leída entre vosotros, haced que también se lea en la Iglesia de los Laodicenses y que la de la Laodicea la leías vosotros también.” Este versículo prueba que la Iglesia no determinó el canon, ya que muchísimo años antes del concilio de Nicea el canon estaba definido. Es Dios quien determina los libros, las palabras y que hombres habían de escribir.  
INCORRECTO
CORRECTO
La Iglesia determina el canon 
La Iglesia es quien descubre el canon 
La Iglesia es madre del canon 
La Iglesia es hija del canon
La iglesia es magistrada del canon
La Iglesia es el ministro del canon
La Iglesia es quien administra el canon
La iglesia es la que reconoce el canon
La Iglesia es Juez del canon
La Iglesia es testigo del canon
La Iglesia es maestra del canon 
La iglesia es sierva del canon 
La Iglesia nos dio el canon 
El canon nos dio la Iglesia
Brevemente hemos de observar algunas pautas de Como determinar la inclusión de aquellos escritos que son canon:
  1. ¿Fue escrito el libro por un profeta de Dios?, Si el autor del libro reclama ser un profeta de Dios, entonces matemáticamente  tal libro resulta ser palabra de Dios.
  2. ¿El autor fue confirmado por Dios por algún acto sobrenatural por parte de Dios? Con frecuencia tanto en el antiguo como en nuevo los milagros verdaderos eran una señal de que Dios estaba con esa persona y así es como se confirmaba la palabra de Dios (Hebreos 2:3-4).
  3. El mensaje ¿es verídico?  Dios no puede contradecirse (2Cor.1:17,18). Por ejemplo en cuanto a Antíoco se dice que ha muerto de 3 Maneras diferentes y en dos lugares geográficos completamente distinto en los dos libros de Macabeos ( 1 Maca.6:18 y 2 Maca.1:16). Hay muchas otras contracciones entre los relatos de estos libros ajenos al canon y también se encuentran contradicciones al resto de la Biblia que sí es canon.
  4. ¿Contiene un efecto de Poder?  La palabra de Dios ha sido la fuente de la transformación de cientos y miles de almas ya que su naturaleza es divina y realmente tiene poder (Hebreos 4:12). Pero si un escrito no es inspirado por Dios jamás va a tener el mismo efecto, serán buenos solamente para dormir.
  5. ¿El Pueblo de Dios lo aceptó? En 1Tes 2:13 Pablo explica que los hermanos recibieron sus palabras no como palabra de hombre sino con toda humildad y en verdad la palabra de Dios. 
Cuando el pueblo de Dios recibía, coleccionaba, leía y usaba una carta como la palabra de Dios esta llegaba a ser considerado como canónico. La Biblia fue escrita por hombres, pero por hombres inspirados quienes fueron especialmente escogidos por Dios para esta tarea en particular. Por lo tanto su Biblia fue escrita por hombres pero usted puede estar completamente seguro que Dios eligió cuidadosamente cada palabra que en ella fue escrita. 
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