A Voluntary Service

And suddenly there was with the angel, a multitude of heavenly host, praising God... Luke 2: 13
Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be? Matthew 26:53-54 . . . present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. Romans 12:1

I was thinking this morning about that multitude of heavenly host that rejoiced when Christ was born. And then my mind went to the the very end of Christ's life when He told the disciples who were wanting to defend Him in the Garden of Gethesemene that if He would ask the Father He could have many angels to defend him.

God used angels for a variety of tasks not the least among them to sing of the Glory of the Christ Child's birth. When I think of "a multitude of heavenly host," my mind spreads ranks of angels across the entire arch of the sky. When I think of their praises to God, how that night sky must have echoed with their song of rejoicing. It rebounds in my heart!

And yet the same hosts that sang at His birth were also available at His Death. My mind had no reference point for those 12 legions but when I looked it up I found a Roman legion was comprised of 3000 to 6000* men. And The Father had TWELVE legions ready to send to Christ's defense should He only ask for them! That same host spanning the skies at his birth could have been dispatched to span the skies again and prevent his Death. And yet he never called them!

No wonder Christ prayed so hard! No wonder He sweat "as it were great drops of blood"! He knew the resources available to Him. He knew the pain and suffering and humiliation to which He would be subjected! He knew that the sins of mankind would separate Him from God's face. He knew the heartache that His mother and loved ones would suffer. He knew the darkness that He would walk through. And yet he chose voluntarily to suffer and die that we might have Salvation. How much devotion and love it must have taken!

As I remember the words of Paul in Romans regarding our sacrifice being "our reasonable service' I like to think that Christ looked on this Task as His reasonable, voluntary service. He lived and died to buy our pardon. The manger is there because He lives. The Cross is there because He lives.

Sometimes when we quibble over some service the Lord asks of us, or when we plead human weakness as an excuse for some fault that the Lord has convicted us of, when we drag our feet at laying aside some sin, let's remember the great control Jesus demonstrated in laying aside the temptation of that heavenly host that He could have called to spare Him the suffering of the Cross.

Let's never hesitate to lay hold, not just to the promise of salvation to get us out of hell's fire of punishment, but let us go on to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God,because it really is just our reasonable service.

Thank you Lord for not only the Christ Child but for His Sacrifice that makes us your children!

Accept One Another!

Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God. Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people. And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people. And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust. Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
(Romans 15:7-13)

Why does Paul repeat again and again his plea for peace to reign among the people? He knew that Jews and Gentiles were very different and both tended to be opinionated. Are we that way? Or are we tolerant, exercising Christian patience toward one another? Paul said, "Welcome one another" (v. 7). He pleads for harmony. We're brothers and sisters and should conduct ourselves as such.

Verse 12 declares, "In him [the root of Jesse] shall the Gentiles hope." A descendant of David had risen to rule the hearts of even the Gentiles. The old order was fading our; a new order was being ushered in. Hope for all was born. Now, "whosoever will may come."

Lord, help us, to welcome others as you have welcomed us.

Representing Christ

Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God. For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake; Having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me.
(Philippians 1:27-30)

It is crucial to live a life that reflects well upon our Lord. A non-Christian once said of an aquaintance's conversion, "The only thing different about him is his language; he no longer swears." People are watching us. Their view of Christ may depend on how you and I represent him.

Paul appeals to the Church then and now, "Stand firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel...not frightened...by you opponents" (vv. 27-29). This statement is a transition, coupling the need to represent Christ well with the meaning of suffering.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer once stated that to be a Christian is to share in the suffering of Christ. Ponhoeffer said for his discipleship with his life; so did Paul, Stephen, Peter, and many others.

We can be sure that to follow Christ will mean suffering. All suffering is not physical; it can be emotional, mental, or even spiritual. Christians will sacrifice their lives---some in death, all in a living sacrifice.

Lifing for Christ is frightening. Living without him is frightening. Yet in the midst of these statements Paul speaks of great joy. Let's pray that God will pour out his Spirit on us so that his joy may fill us.

Add Love To Truth!

I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a com- mandment from the Father. And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new com- mandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.
(2 John 4-5)

John is glad that some of the church people are faithful. But this implies that some are not. And as we see a little later, there was trouble and some division in the Church, which concerned him greatly.

John continued calling the Church "lady" to remind them that they are the bride of Christ and not a group of individuals who can do as they please. We should love one another, as Jesus commanded.

If we are the bride of Christ, then we act like it in the Church.

False Expectations

What Satan often does...is to take advantage of our ignorance. He encourages false ideas and expectations regarding salvation and then condemns us for every shortcoming, real or imagined. I include "imagined" because one of his favorite tricks is to give us a wicked thought and then condemn us for having it! One simple illustration I've heard others use over the years is this. We can't stop a bird from lighting on our heads. But we CAN stop him from building a nest on our heads and raising a family. It's that way with thoughts. Satan loves to inject evil thoughts into our minds. What Christians need to learn to do is to recognize where they come from and to cast them down. Simply having a bad thought is no sign of anything.

There are several things that real salvation does NOT do and if we do not understand this, Satan has much room to work. Salvation does not cause our flesh to stop loving sin. Flesh is flesh. It loves the things God hates. There is no magic experience that will suddenly transform our flesh from its sinful inclinations and cause it to desire to please God.

What salvation DOES do, is to give us a brand new life on the inside. That new life has a heart that loves God and His kingdom. Salvation gives us the means (strength) to progressively overcome sin, to gain the rule over our earthly vessels so that we are able to serve God in spite of our flesh. Salvation opens the door to our becoming the master over our flesh instead of its slave. Even so, this is a lifelong process, an ongoing conflict in which we often find ourselves in need of God's forgiveness and cleansing---and always, His grace and strength.

If you try to examine yourself by looking deep inside it won't take you long to discover that your flesh still loves sin. By itself this doesn't prove a thing. The most "spiritual" saint on the planet has exactly the same kind of flesh that you do! Nowhere does the Bible promise that in this life our flesh will be changed from loving sin to loving God. Rather, we are encouraged through both precept and promise to draw strength from God's grace that we might "put to death" the deeds of our flesh. Colossians 3:1-17.

The hope of the believer is not that his flesh will be changed and made holy in this life but rather that when Christ returns he will receive the same kind of "glorious" body that Christ had when he was raised from the dead. Then the war will be over! In this present world we are engaged in a "fight of faith." 1 Timothy 6:12. Our fleshly desires will always be at odds with serving God. If we somehow expect something different, all we do is to open the door for Satan to keep us in a state of confusion and even despair.

Partnership

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace. For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ. And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ. Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.
(Philippians 1:3-11)

Paul, in a prison cell far from Philippi, is thinking fondly of those he loves---his children in the lord. Their fellowship in the Spirit of Christ---partnership in proclaiming the gospel and sharing joys and sorrows, want and plenty---produced confidence and trust (v.6). Relationships in Christ transcend the boundaries of distance and time, defying even death itself. This relationship strengthens Paul in his imprisonment.

Out of his love, Paul records his prayer for the Philippian Christians (vv.9, 10).

How often do we think about our rich fellowship with fellow Christians? Do we nurture such fellowship? How dependent are we on the prayers of others? Are we doing our part by praying for those who need our support?

Why Do Professing Christians Differ?

It has not been at all unusual throughout ministry for religious people of every hue and stripe to attempt to "straighten each other out." Sometimes they feel each other is in outright error -- in their assessment -- and at other times that there is not a sufficient emphasis upon their "pet doctrine" or practice. Often following ministry, ministers have had to endure the well-meaning zeal of someone who would corner them to explain what they ought to say and do and emphasize. Not a few letters over the years have arrived, often with enclosed literature, sent not with a free spirit to bless and encourage, but with a subtle, and sometimes not so subtle, spirit to correct, to contend for their version of Christianity.

There is such a diversity of opinion that prevails under the umbrella of what passes for Christianity that it can only be characterized as "Babylon." "Babylon" means confusion. Its meaning is rooted in the confusion of language that God brought about at the Tower of Babel (Gen. 11) to thwart men's efforts to unite in rebellion against Him.

The religious confusion we see today is the result of men's efforts to build and preserve their concepts of the Kingdom of God. Men contend, not for the faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 3), but for that of the Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostals, Holiness, etc. Is God the author of confusion (I Cor. 14:33)? What is it that causes men to hold and contend for such obviously conflicting religious views?

We are shaped more by our environment than we realize. If we are exposed to a particular belief long enough we tend to believe it. To us it becomes "the law and the gospel." In addition it becomes a yard stick by which we measure and evaluate others. Unless God intervenes it never occurs to us to question whether our ideas are really so or not. To us, we're right and others who differ are wrong.

Religious ideas not of God are undoubtedly the worst prison in our world (Is. 42:22). Few escape from this prison. It offers men the delusion that they are thereby acceptable to God when in fact they are being bound into bundles and made ready for the fire (Matt. 13:30).

Religious Environment

Most religious men are simply a product of their religious environment, conditioned to believe and promote whatever ideas hold sway in that environment. Whatever measure of tradition and error is there is taken in and forms the unconscious foundation of their thinking.

We are constituted as human beings in such a way that there are ideas so deeply rooted in us that we are not even conscious that they are there. When we work out a simple arithmetic problem we do not stop to question whether 1 + 1 = 2. That is assumed. It is the foundation of mathematics. It is something we "know" and no longer have to think about. What would happen if someone tried to become a math teacher whose basic assumption was that 1 + 1 = 3? All human thought and reasoning works this way. Certain things are "known" to be true and just accepted. At one time reasonable men "knew" that the earth was flat and that if you went far enough you'd fall off! Today we laugh at such a notion and take pride in all the things we "know" as a result of modern science.

In every religious group, they similarly "know" many things that are transmitted from generation to generation without serious question. Yet down the street is another group that "knows" very differently.

Take a look around. How do you know you are right? How do you know anything? Are you wise and prudent -- a serious pursuer of religious knowledge? Jesus said that his Father had "hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes." Matt. 11:25. Can you discover what God has hidden? Paul said "For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." I Cor. 1:21.

"But," you say, "I've been taught by Rev. so-and-so. He's a real sincere, spiritual man who can explain the Bible well. He's been to school and ..." (You fill in the qualifications that impress you and cause you to receive someone as God's representative).

How do you know? What qualifies you to judge whether something or someone is of God or not? Your intelligence? Your religious sincerity? Bible study? A religious teacher you heard and were impressed by? Things you "know" to be true? Why are you any more qualified than the fellow down the street who is just like you and yet "knows" differently?

Are you afraid to question? Do you prefer to plunge ahead, blindly contending for "your" faith? Will your spiritual foundation stand?

This is no time for uncertainty. Christ is coming and only those who are ready will go in with him. Matt. 25:10. Multitudes will be shocked on that day to discover that the religion, of which they had been so sure, had been in vain. Matt. 7:21-23. Where will you be on that day? How can you know? Can We Know?

Is there any reason to believe we can know, or has God deliberately left us in a state of uncertainty? Are we each to pursue his own conception of truth? Is one way as good as another?

You cannot read the book of Ephesians without being aware of the great desire of the Lord toward His people, expressed through Paul, that "... we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ." Eph. 4:13-15.

Eph. 5:25-27 tells us that "... Christ ... loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish." The conflicting traditions of men will never prepare the church for Christ's coming. Only an ever-more-pure stream of revelation from Christ, the Head of the Church can accomplish that.

Yet the condition of the world in general is a desperate one. Isaiah 60:2 says, "For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people ..."

Rom. 3:11 says, "There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God."

An Open Fellowship

(Romans 16:1-16)

Paul prayed that the church at Rome would be a wide-open fellowship of Christian believers. He asked them to receive their sister Phoebe and to be kind to Priscilla and Aquila, who risked their lives for him. The deepest fellowship in the church is shared by those who have worked, shared, sacrificed, and suffered together for Christ.

Paul mentions twenty-four names here, six of which are women's names. Remember this when someone accuses Paul of being a male chauvinist.

There were saints in Caesar's household. We need saints in government offices today. And we need to be reminded that the fellowship that existed among these twenty-four included slaves, women, people who worked at various trades with their hands, and government workers.

How can we make our church congregation more open to all? Help us, Lord, to welcome all who are drawn to You.

Don't Be Fooled!

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. (1 Corinthians 1:18 & 25)

I don't claim to understand everything about God or his plan of salvation for mankind, but I do know that God is an all-knowing, all-powerful God. I also know that things are not always as they appear within our mortal minds.

Many in this world, who think they are wise, have succeeded only in deceiving themselves when they say all this stuff about God is pure folly and nonsense. Only when we're willing to humble ourselves before almighty God will we gain true wisdom and understanding.

Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:3)

It is very difficult for the rich, the powerful, and the well educated to accept God and his plan of salvation, because they mistakenly believe they're in control of their own destiny and eternity.

I'm sure we understand that our salvation is not something to be taken lightly. It's a matter of eternal life and death – OURS!

Working Together

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work. If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up.
(Ecclesiastes 4:9-10)

In rural America we often admire and look up to those who appear to be ultra independent and self-reliant. They seem to have it all together. They appear to be able to get along just fine without anyone else's help or assistance.

The older and wiser I become, however, the more I realize that happy and successful lives are built on relationships with others. Instead of independence, we should be seeking interdependence. The more friends and relationships we have the wealthier we are.

Win-Win. I suggest we work hard to develop as many win-win relationships as we can. A win-win relationship is one in which all those involved benefit from being involved. It's people helping people. It can never be one-sided. Stephen Covey is quoted as saying, "Win-win sees life as a cooperative, not a competitive, arena."

Don't Forget. the most important relationship of all. That's our relationship with God. If we don't have a personal and saving relationship with God, then all that we have is very temporary. It won't last.

Worthy Of Honor

"And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof." (Romans 13:11-14)

nce visited in the English cemetery in Rome a grave with no name on the tombstone. Keats lies buried there. He had insisted that his marker contain only these words: "Here lies one whose name was writ in water." He was sure no one would remember either him or his work.

what we're doing for the Lord worthy of honor? Paul felt that time was drawing to a close. Christians should live conscientiously, as though the Lord were coming tonight. Evil things must be shunned. Followers of Christ must be totally separated from carousing, sexual sin, strife, and jealousy.

should accept this counsel as though Paul had given it this morning!

Disturbing The Peace

Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil. And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
(Romans 16:17-20)

Paul exhorted the church at Rome to keep an eye open for troublemakers. Strangely enought, some church people become slaves to a spirit that en- genders strife. Some promote heretical doctrines that disrupt the body of Christ. But we're not to be dismayed. God is still God and Christ is still the head of the Church.

The enemy of our souls sends among us now and then those who would spread dissension. Mark them and avoid them. God gives the gift of discernment to certain saintly Christians who should be heeded when they warn of deceit and treachery in some we have trusted.

Is our own life in order? Do we generate strife?

Dead End Street: Back Up And Get Out!

Redemption. You can't do it without God and God won't do it without you. Since God's quickening spirit is all around us, it becomes obvious that we must do something in response to it.

To the casual tourist, Ephesus, with its flaming torches and glittering silver, seemed like a lively place, but it was a little like that dead fish I saw on the beach one moonlit night. The silver of the fish glistened in the moonlight like a jeweled trophy. You had only to get close to it to smell its offensive odor and had only to kick it with your foot to realize it was dead. Death is death- no matter how it is camouflaged, no matter how deceivingly beautiful.

Recently a magazine article told of a young man who had died after a short and flamboyant life. His parents arranged to have a casket made like a golden Jaguar. There was even a windshield in front of the seated corpse. The funeral was designed to be more of a frolic than a funeral. But no one was fooled. The body, with one-thousand-dollar bills stuck between the stiff fingers, was dead. Whether or not the hands rested on the floral steering wheel, they were powerless.

Ephesus was like that. So Paul wrote to the people who could remember the days when they were caught up in this dance of death. They are now alive enough to know that what they had been promised by the world was not provided by the world. They had discovered that the worship of Diana the goddess did not make them godly or assure them of heaven.

Lest they forget how they came to be so fooled, Paul goes back and points out the road signs on the dead-end street of the sinful life.

What did they do wrong? Dead people don't need an explanation; they need a resurrection. So Paul begins with that fact. Life, new life, has come or they wouldn't have known that they were dead.

Our problem is different. As was the problem of the church in Ephesus-or should we say those who were not in the church in Ephesus? Dead people do not ask for a resurrection. They only recognize a resurrection after it has occurred.

A story is told of a tramp watching an elaborate funeral of a man who insisted on being buried in a Cadillac automobile. Seated behind the wheel of the car, surrounded by flowers, the corpse was being lowered into the grave. The tramp watched, fascinated. Then he spoke: "Now that's what I call living."

We smile. We recognize the sly envy of sleepy Christians. Seeing the glitter of godless living, hearing the laughter of empty hearts, we are led by the Pied Piper of Death to the cemetery of sin.

To change the figure of speech, we move to Ezekiel's graveyard-the valley of dry bones (Ezek. 37). As much as Ezekiel might have wanted to hear an anthem, a testimony, or even a complaint from his calcified congregation, there was no sound. Had there been, it would have been only the rattle of death.

Only the powerful voice of prophecy, the breath of God, could waken the dead bones. Only the power outside themselves could bring life within themselves.

Only the movement of the Creator could be creative.

It's the same today.

Where spiritual deadness exists, there's no awareness of it. People aren't swarming to church seeking life. They're not aware that they are dead. I don't mean to say that the people who need resurrection are physically dead. They may, as Paul says, live in pleasure, but they are dead while they are living. Like wooden marionettes, they are pulled by strings to dance the macabre dance of death which they call "Living."

Only after new life comes are they able to see their origin, the place from which they have come. Only then can they look back and see the tire tracks where they skidded off the road. Only then can they see the tombstones that marked the time and place of their demise.

Mark Twain once read his obituary in the news- paper. He commented, "The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated."

Could it be said that reports of our life in this century have been greatly exaggerated?

Now as Paul writes to the people of Ephesus, doubtless Gentiles who had recently come to Christ, he reminds them of the error of their ways-the errors that brought them death.

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