When Others are Gossiping about You

Have you ever had an experience like this? In the midst of a conversation the person you are talking to says something like this, “Well, I may have said something I should not have said, but have you heard what they have been saying about me?” Responding to what others are saying about us is a major problem each of us faces. We may be entirely innocent, but they simply will not stop running us down. We take it for a while, then we become fed up with their actions and simply tell them off. How does God expect us to deal with this kind of situation?

Think for a moment about what the enemies of Jesus said or insinuated about Him. They accused Him of being a glutton (Matt. 11:19). They sought to destroy Him by charging Him with hanging around the wrong people (Matt. 9:11). Some said He drank excessively (Luke 7:34). The religious leaders really had a problem with Him and said His sin was blasphemy (Matt. 26:65). When His friends heard what He was saying, they said that He was crazy (Mark 3:21). His moral character was attacked by saying He was demon possessed (John 7:20). Finally, He was accused of treason (John 19:12).

Now I’m not sure what others have said about you, but I seriously doubt that it is anything as vile as what they said about Him or what they said to Him. It certainly appears that He “turned the other cheek” to those who smote Him with words. He seemed to practice what He taught about loving your enemies, blessing those who were cursing you and doing good to those who hated you and were persecuting you (Matt. 5:44).

Peter seems to say it best about how we should respond when others are gossiping about us. “Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps . . . When He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered He did no threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously” (1 Pet. 1:21-23). Here’s the key, it doesn’t matter what judgment others make of us, we simply leave the matter in the hands of Him who judges righteously.

So the next time you are hurting and situations seem out of your control, think about how little control the Master had about what others were saying about Him and what He did. There is a place for wrath, but it is not in your heart! Remember who said, “Vengeance is Mine I will repay,” and remember that He will!

Posted in Dan Jenkins | Tagged , , | Comments Off on When Others are Gossiping about You

Three Simple Truths

We have just finished a remarkable Leadership Training Camp with some remarkable young people. This past Sunday our young ladies spoke to a ladies class and our young men spoke at our Sunday morning auditorium class and at our worship. It was thrilling to see the progress being made by each of them. Brayden Gilles challenged us to be more fruitful and I would like to share with you three comments from his lesson.

“It’s not very hard to bring someone to church, just ask them.” At first glance this might not seem especially important until we consider that so many are not doing this now and so many more have never done it at all. Let me ask you, when was the last time you “just asked them”? Have you considered the worst thing they could say to you is that they are not interested. That line from the movie Field of Dreams, “If we build it they will come,” probably doesn’t apply to a church building, but Brayden was simply saying, “If we ask them, they will come.”

“That second of embarrassment can change their lives.” When I heard Brayden say these words I thought of the hesitancy we have in talking to others, and how our fear of rejection compares to the price others have paid. Remember that He left heaven, endured the extreme cruelty of men to change men’s lives. Our timidity is meaningless when compared to what He did. The end result also shows the foolishness of our fears and our failure to extend ourselves. Compare the fifteen seconds it takes for us to ask another to come with us to the eternity lying before them and us.

“You don’t have to go to Europe or South America to be a missionary. Just stay in your home town and reach out to others.” It frustrates me that we cannot see the truthfulness of these words. Another way of looking at being a missionary is to remember that mission work starts at your front door and extends around the world. Properly understood, every Christian is a missionary. You don’t have to go on a mission trip to do mission work. You are on a mission trip. The concept of “going on a trip” lasts about two weeks, the second concept lasts for a lifetime!

Thank you, Brayden, for touching our hearts. But this cannot end with having our hearts touched, we must take his words and make them an active part of our lives. Brayden taught the truth. It’s not hard. A few seconds effort can touch eternity. We all live in a mission field.

Posted in Dan Jenkins | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Three Simple Truths

A Contrast of Funerals

I don’t know about you but I am amazed at the attention given to the funeral arrangements and burial of Michael Jackson. I realize that he had a great impact on our society, but I just cannot fathom all the attention being paid to him.

His burial stands in marked contrast to two other burials in the Bible. The mangled body of John the Baptist was ignored by most, but not by those who knew him. The Divine record states, “Then the disciples came and took away the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus” (Matt. 14:12). Had it not been for these disciples, the greatest man who had ever lived up until that time (Matt. 11:11) would have passed and none would have been aware of it. What a contrast between MJ and JB!

There was another burial which should be noted. Can you imagine how the ungodly world would view the body of one who had been stoned? When Paul was stoned at Lystra, his enemies dragged his body outside the city and left it. The same might have happened to the body of Stephen, first Christian martyr. He would have left this earth unnoticed except for those early Christians. “And devout men carried Stephen to his burial and made great lamentations over him.” Now compare the true worth of Stephen with that of Michael Jackson and stand in awe of the attention the world gives one it views as important.

There is another death to consider, even though there is no record of him ever being buried. Jesus told about an unnamed rich man and a beggar named Lazarus. He described the end of their lives. “So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried” (Luke 16:22). I’m not sure who will carry the body of Michael to its destiny, but I know who carried the soul of a Lazarus to its destiny. Think about it. Which of these “burials” really has meaning?

We all shall die and it really doesn’t matter that much about our funerals. All that matters is whether the angels are there to take us to the Lord. In 1860, Jefferson summed it up so well with these words.

O come, angel band,

Come and around me stand;

O bear me away on your snowy wings,

To my eternal home.

O bear me away on your snowy wings,

To my eternal home.

Posted in Dan Jenkins | Tagged , , | Comments Off on A Contrast of Funerals

Such Senseless Killing

The senseless slaying of Byrd and Melanie Billings in Pensacola has stirred the hearts of many. When their home was invaded and they were slain by the robbers, we learned so much about this amazing couple who have devoted their lives to rearing handicapped children. Our nation agonizes over the reasons why those who made such tremendous sacrifices of time and money should have to die. It just doesn’t make sense!

There is another death which makes even less sense, so few seem to be moved by it. Over two thousand years ago there was a mockery of a trial of the Man of Nazareth who never did any wrong and who was murdered in a torturous death. Pilate, the Roman governor who tried him, implored the angry mob for his release. Luke described it using these words, “Then he said to them the third time, ‘Why, what evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him. I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go’ ” (Luke 23:22).

He was innocent, yet the cries of the angry mob prevailed.

As He was dying on the cross, a convicted thief tried to defend Him. While one criminal joined in the blasphemy of those evil men saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us,” the first thief said, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed, justly, for we receive the reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong” (Luke 23:39-41).

Hear those words, “I have found no reason for death in Him” and “This man has done nothing wrong,” and take time to reflect on this senseless killing. The purest man who ever lived died the most brutal death man could devise. It makes no sense! Why?

The Billings appear to have been surprised at the home invasion and were powerless to stop the onslaught. Jesus was not powerless. He had created the world! Yet when the Creator of the world faced death, He refused to come down from the cross. It was not the nails which kept Him on that cross!

“When He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously” (1 Peter 2:23). Read these words of Peter and think about them in the scheme of the redemption of mankind. Think about them in God’s plan to save you.

His murder was senseless in many ways. Do you understand why He died? The answer is simple. It is YOU!

Posted in Dan Jenkins | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Such Senseless Killing

The United States Constitution and the Bible

The past several years have seen the development of distinct differences between how the U.S. Constitution should be viewed. There are those who seen that document as one which is very fixed and cannot be amended without great effort by the various states. Others see it as a living entity, whose statutes must be “amended” by loose interpretation caused by the changing culture in which we live, and its meaning is therefore very fluid. The gulf between the two attitudes is so vast!

There is a great parallel between the two attitudes toward the Constitution and the two attitudes many have toward the Bible. Some see the Bible is an unchanging document with no provision made for amendments. Others see the Bible as a fascinating book, but one that is open to a variety of interpretations greatly impacted by culture and time. It is this second attitude which causes such a diversity of teachings on worship, church organization, marriage/divorce, homosexuality and the role of women in the church.

Every person is confronted in his personal religious life with a decision of how he will regard the Bible. He may not be aware of these choices, but his life reflects one or the other of the two viewpoints. How that person views the Bible can impact his devotion and the difficult decisions he makes almost every day.

Which attitude is right? If the Bible is from God, then the proper way to ask this question is, “How does the Author of the Bible regard it?” This is all that matters! He is our Creator and our Judge and we must have His view of His revelation. Prayerfully consider the following.

When God revealed the Old Testament, He made no provision for amendments. “You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you. . . . Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it” (Deut. 4:2; 12:32).

The same principle is found regarding the New Testament. “If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life . . .” (Rev. 22:18-19).

The Constitution makes provision for amendments; there are no provisions for amending the gospel!

Posted in Dan Jenkins | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The United States Constitution and the Bible