Profitable Exercise

Some Exercise is Profitable

America seems to be obsessed with physical fitness. There is obvious profit in getting our bodies fit, but when compared to getting our souls fit, there is little profit. Paul said, “Bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things” (1 Tim. 4:8). However, the Bible does show that sometimes running is truly profitable. Look at the following.

Exercise

Exercise Your Feet and Run from Sin!

“But he left his garment in her hand and fled and ran outside” (Gen. 39:12). Bible students will recognize these words describing how young Joseph dealt with the temptation of sexual sin. He knew what sin was and literally ran from the arms of the woman trying to seduce him. So many lives would be so different if men ran away from sin. Running can be profitable sometimes.

“They ran to the tent; and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver under it” (Josh. 7:22). The Israelites had just come from destroying Jericho. When Achan took God’s treasures and hid them in his tent, disaster struck. When it became obvious what Achan had done, righteous men ran to deal with sin. We need to learn the immediate danger of sin and deal with it as soon as possible. We need to learn to run and deal with ungodliness in the midst of His people.

“Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it” (Hab. 2:2). Habakkuk, the messenger of God, was sent to deliver heaven’s message to the Jews. God told him to write the message so plainly that when men heard the message they would immediately flee from the coming judgment. Two points become obvious. First is the importance of Christians clearly presenting God’s message. Political correctness never works when it comes to heavenly truths. The second point can never be forgotten. When we learn of the coming judgment of God against sin, we must turn away and run from it. Running can be profitable.

“So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah . . .” (Acts 8:30). The man from Ethiopia was seeking for God, and Philip ran to teach him. Think about this for a moment. What is the only response we should have in trying to take the gospel to the lost? Running can be profitable.

“Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Heb. 12:1). The Jewish Christians addressed in this book had begun their walk with the Lord so well, but after time passed, their devotion cooled. The Spirit’s message to them was to remind them of the only race which truly matters. Hence the words “run with endurance.” We must never give up in this race. Running can be profitable.

May we run the race that ends with a crown of life!

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Holiday Gatherings

Enjoy Holiday Gatherings

This Holiday season (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year Celebration), a great number of families and friends will gather together. Some celebrating for secular reasons others for religious. Some of the greatest joys and disappointments are experienced this time of the year. Here are three suggestions to aid your holiday experience, so the entire celebratory package may be opened with joy. Remember your gathering is not a courthouse, a tennis court, or Golgotha.

holiday

Is Your Holiday Experience Like A Courthouse?

Courthouse
Leave your judicial robes in the closet. A holiday gathering is not the time for judgment and conviction. You have all gathered together at your own will. This is a time for patience and peace. The scriptures use the word “longsuffering”, which may be more appropriate in your case. Yes, your relatives may do or say things that drive you crazy. You are different people and different people have different lifestyles. However, you have not gathered together to ruin someone’s special day by telling them what is wrong with their life. There are other times to have those discussions. Realize these are people who are in the same crazy life that you are. They want the same thing you do, to have joy, which the world tries to steal away as often as possible.

Hebrews 12:14 – Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man shall see the Lord:

Tennis Court
There are going to be comments made during the gathering that may be an irritant or even hurtful. Yes, you want to bring out your backhand… don’t do it. Do not engage in a volley of words. At first, it seems as if these things are subtle barbs, a little poke in the ribs. Perhaps no one notices, but you do. So you launch another comment back. Before you know it a full scale match of words is going on. You are each serving up one mouthful of pain after another. Is that why you are gathering? Is that going to make the others around you feel good? You don’t get set, point, match by seeing who you can hurt the most at a holiday gathering. The issue is one of humility. No one likes to be put down. To counter it, our conceit, or ego swings back. Instead, let us swallow our pride and take up the matter at a more private time and in a mature fashion.

Galatians 5:26 – Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Golgotha
Golgotha is the place to where Jesus carried His cross and died. First, you are not going to die at your holiday gathering. You may pass out from food consumption or get salmonella eating Aunt Hilga’s deviled eggs, but the chances of you dying are extremely small. Second, carrying your cross of burden and suffering can create a lot of damage around the house (think of the small amount of space in the kitchen!). Seriously, there are many folks each holiday season that act as if it is the biggest burden they have every engaged in by gathering together. The house is too full, the turkey kept them up 9 hour last night, there is dirt on the front door rug, there aren’t enough pickled beets for everyone, where are all the pies going to go, and oh, the dirty dishes – and they have to take care of it all! “Woe is me! Look how much I have to put up with to make this all happen.” Yes, someone out there is carrying an awful big cross. In the midst of a party, they are working hard to fill everyone up with a big, hot, steaming plate of guilt. Don’t let this be you. Remember, serving others is something we do out of kindness and love. Can you imagine Christ carrying his cross to Golgotha and complaining all the way? Christ did indeed suffer, but was silent as a lamb led to the slaughter. What he did, he did out of love. Perhaps, you can remember His Words if you really feel you are suffering by serving:

Luke 23:34 – And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Friends, if you gather during this time of year, remember this is a time you can lead by example. Make your example one of peace, humility, and love. You are not at a courthouse, tennis court, or Golgatha. There is a connection to those with whom you are gathering together. These are family and friends who want to have the best of the day for themselves, you, and the rest of those gathered. In the best of all worlds, your example allows you to influence hopeful future heirs to the kingdom of God (Revelation 21:7). In the least, you make it through your gathering and don’t leave with mash potatoes thrown into your hair.

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Experiencing Worship

The Worship Experience

Much has been said in recent years about worship and the feeling of some who believe some changes need to be implemented in our approach and style of worship in order to attract and retain membership. I hear a lot of talk about the attitude of those who are not coming regularly or who are seeking certain innovations. The conventional wisdom is that

worship experience

Are you looking for a worship experience?

if they would just seek to do things in God’s way and put something into the worship then they would get something out of it and that would result in spiritual growth. We certainly want people to desire to worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:23) and be faithful in their attendance to our services (Hebrews 10:24–25; Matthew 6:33). The reason why so many are not, I fear, is because we have, in many cases, failed to provide the right kind of atmosphere that is conducive to a meaningful worship experience.

I don’t mean an environment of emotionalism or entertainment but an air in which one could say, as David did, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go into the house of the LORD’ ” (Psalm 122:1). Christ meant for his disciples to be family (Matthew 12:48–49) and the worship experience should feel like a gathering around the family dinner table. I remember, as a child, feeling warm, safe, encouraged, and uplifted while I was “at church.” And we worshiped according to the pattern laid forth in the New Testament. It wasn’t boring or tedious! The problem today, as I see it, is that some churches are so sound doctrinally that you cannot feel love within ten miles of the building. What these congregations need to remember is, as one old preacher once told me, “If that is the case then they are NOT sound.”

So what can we do, without going beyond what is authorized in the word of God, to create an atmosphere conducive to helping bring people into the church and helping them go to heaven? Focus on our own individual attitudes toward God, worship, the church, and others! Here are some suggestions:

1. Enter Expectantly. Many folks show up to Bible Class and worship simply out of habit; with no preparation or expectation. When this happens others will sense the lack of anticipating anything meaningful and will follow suit. We need to come together expecting to learn more about God’s word and how it can impact and improve our lives. We need to anticipate being uplifted and encouraged and more importantly we need to look forward to encouraging others.

2. Greet Others Cordially. Many congregations talk about being friendly but I honestly found few that are. Some congregations where my family and I have attended as visitors showed only cursory interest in our visit and some were, well, creepy. We visited one congregation several years ago where my grandfather had served as an elder. We hadn’t been to this congregation since his passing more than 10 years prior and we were anxious to visit again. We arrived well before services began and lingered for several minutes in the pew where we had sat…not one person spoke to us. We won’t be back.

3. Worship Soulfully. Sadly most worship experiences are not meaningful for the visitor or newcomer because the congregational worship isn’t meaningful. The prayers are dry, canned, and in some cases unintelligible (“What did he just say?”). The singing is dull and uninspiring and some of the members are engaged in other behavior. The sermon is not filled with the word of God and application but “fluff” and contemporary psychobabble. When the congregation is not actively involved in worship, with great praise and adoration, the mood will not be conducive to a meaningful experience for the member or the visitor.

4. Leave Thoughtfully. The church doesn’t cease to be the church once we leave the doors of the local congregation to return to our “respective places of abode.” The early church did life together daily (Acts 2:46). When we leave the assembly we go into back into the world but not to be of the world. We need to use our worship times as motivation to live lives of brotherhood and discipleship. Who can I encourage, serve, visit, or teach this week. How might I create more fellowship opportunities with others?

I truly believe a sound, faithful, loving congregation of the Lord’s people can (and will) grow while holding to the “Old Paths,” doing “Bible things in Bible ways,” and “calling Bible things by Bible names” if we will embrace the church as family, truly love and appreciate others, seeking to glorify God, go to heaven, and let other know we care and want them to come along on this wonderful journey with us.

One last thought: Being right with God and helping others go to heaven is impossible if we only live it while we are together. More importantly we must “Live Faithfully!” Every day striving to be a better disciple, sharing the message, living the Way! We can’t take others to heaven with us if we do not go there ourselves. Be faithful!

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The Guilt of Yesterday

How Can I Live with Yesterday

We have all made mistakes in life. However, some mistakes we make are larger than others are. Some mistakes have greater consequences. While some mistakes and blunders only affect us, others have an impact on others—family, friends, church and such like. When they are spiritual blunders—sin—they have an impact also upon our God. For many of us, while we understand that God forgives us of the sin itself, we cannot let go of the guilt—it is an unbearable burden. We may even ask the question, “How can I live with yesterday?”

Several people preserved in divine scripture actu­ally can understand how we feel and can help us. One of these is the apostle Paul. As a young man named Saul, Luke introduces us to him at the grisly stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:58). While not actively participat­ing in the murder, he “was consenting unto his death” (Acts 8:1), or in other words, he approved of the deadly deed of his Jewish brethren. Then, Luke records him making “havoc of the church, entering into every house and haling men and women…to prison” (Acts 8:3). He even “beat in every synagogue them that believe on” Jesus (Acts 22:19) and “compelled them to blas­pheme” (Acts 26:11). Nevertheless, his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus literally changed his life (Acts 9). He would look back upon his past with grief, referring to himself as the chief of sinners (cf. 1 Tim. 1:15). Thus, here was an individual who could certainly have opportunity to struggle with his past. How did he cope with his guilt of yesterday?

First, the apostle Paul believed in the grace of God (1 Cor. 15:3-10). While he recognized that the eternal plan of God for Jesus to resurrect from the dead for our sins was a manifestation of His grace, he applied that to himself when he referred to himself by stating,

For I am the last of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace, which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet, not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

He was able to live with yesterday because he believed in the grace of God. When we have difficulty living with our past, we need to believe in the grace of God for our lives. His outpouring of grace upon us was also not in vain—God has a purpose for our lives, and we can express appreciation for this grace by laboring more fervently in the kingdom!

Second, the apostle Paul believed in the compassion of Christ (1 Tim. 1:12-16). Upon writing to his protégé Timothy, he referred to Christ Jesus who

…counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious…howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

In other words, the apostle Paul believed on the mercy of Christ in his life. When we have difficulty in living with our yesterday, we need to believe on the compas­sion of Christ in that He showed us mercy, for which we can appreciate and express by living for Him ev­eryday as a testimony to others.

Third, the apostle Paul believed in the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 7:19-8:39). While he spent Romans 7 detailing the struggles of his own earlier life, he led that into Romans 8 and the power of the Holy Spirit in his life. When it seems as if we cannot cope with yesterday, we need to believe in the power of the Holy Spirit in our life.

Therefore, how can we live with yesterday? We learn from the apostle Paul—believe in the grace of God, the compassion and mercy of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit!

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Attack of Judgment

That Day Came Unexpectedly

On the morning of Sunday, December 7, 1941 (67 years ago), Japanese warplanes unleashed a stunning surprise attack on the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor. The attack, which came while many U.S. military personnel were still in their bunks or going about the usual routines of a casual Sunday morning, was so startling that not much of a defense was able to be raised against the onslaught.  As a result of the events of that day, it is estimated that 2,402 U.S. military personnel were killed and another 1,282 were wounded (not to mention non-military casualties).

attack

An Attack of Divine Judgment is Coming.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, terrorists pulled off a surprise attack against the United States that was so unexpected and shocking that many of us watched in disbelief as the events unfolded on our television screens.  The attack, which came while people were coming and going through the usual routines and paces of daily life, was so startling that virtually no defense could be raised against the onslaught.  It is estimated that nearly 3,000 innocent people perished that day.

These two tragic events were indeed horrible and shocking (to say the very least), however nothing we have ever experienced can compare to the “Day” in which Christ will return to judge the world (also known as “the Day of Judgment”).  It will be a great day for those who will be saved (cf. Matt. 25:34), but it will be sad and terrifying day for those who will be lost (v. 41).  Just as men were caught off guard on December 7, 1941 and September 11, 2001, so shall many be caught off guard on the last day (Matt. 24: 36-44).

Jesus revealed that no one (except God the Father) knows when that day will come (Mk. 13:32), nor do they know what hour (v. 35).  Therefore He said, “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.   For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.  Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Lk. 21:34-36).  Friends, are you ready for that Day to come?

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