Jesus

The Sheep Quiz – By John Telgren

Posted on by Bob Mathews

This past week, I spoke on the good shepherd from John 10 and discussed the sheep in that parable. I came across this article and thought it may be a fitting exercise to partake in. Hopefully, everyone will look at this and go through the questions with an honest and open heart. If the results show you to be a sheep, then keep pressing on. If they show otherwise, please don’t be disheartened or hardened by the news, but take it as an opportunity to start making changes for the better.

Scripture uses goats and wolves as analogies for what we are not to be, and sheep to describe what we are supposed to be. Ideally, we are to be sheep, not goats. Sheep follow the shepherd, goats do not. Wolves are out to fill their own egos often at the expense of sheep. With that in mind, reflect personally on these questions:

Are you a Goat, or do you have goatish attributes?

  1. Do you agitate others in the flock?
  2. Do others agitate you easily?
  3. Do you always have to get to the root of every problem in the church?
  4. Do you fight feelings of disagreement or resentment toward your shepherds (or those above you?)
  5. Do you have trouble making it to every assembly?
  6. Do you have problems listening to the word preached?
  7. Do you find yourself constantly butting the system, trying to find your way out of the flock or just exempting yourself?
  8. Do you have trouble when you are admonished or corrected by the shepherds (or other leaders)?

Are you a Wolf, or do you have wolfish attributes?

  1. Do you have an inward drive to have a chief seat of high position in the church?
  2. Do you find yourself bothered if you have to do what others in the flock are doing?
  3. Are you drawn into strife and carnal things easily?
  4. Have you been in trouble with church leadership and haven’t seemed to be able to work it out?
  5. Do you have problems submitting to shepherds (or those above you)?
  6. Are you trying to defame your shepherds or other leaders and draw others to follow your way of doing things?
  7. Do you talk negatively about your shepherds or other leaders?
  8. Have you become sly, sneaky, and deceitful in your attitudes and actions?
  9. Do you gather security from other people who support your views?

Are you a Sheep, or do you have sheepish attributes?

  1. Do you hate strife, malice, dissension, arguing and doctrinal debates?
  2. Do you enjoy still waters – submitting to your shepherds (or those above you)?
  3. Do you attend assemblies or gatherings at every opportunity?
  4. Do you love to hear God’s word preached?
  5. Do you hunger after truth from the Word?
  6. Do you receive admonishing and correction from your shepherds (or leaders) easily?
  7. Are you content where you are in the flock?

Burden of Loneliness

Posted on by Bob Mathews

When we are sad from being alone or when we long for home and family while absent from them, we thus experience first hand the burden of loneliness. The painful experience of loneliness may be the result of our continuing need to have social interaction with other human beings.  It may also be the consequence of our strong desire to be reunited with another whom we love so dearly, which may not be possible in the near future or in this life.  Though loneliness may be experienced as we have no one else with us, we may also be lonely in the midst of a large crowd because the emotional needs which have been addressed in specifically nurtured relationships may not be fulfilled in any other context.

In one sense, Jesus was alone in this world: “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not” (John 1:10).  Most certainly, Jesus was absent from His heavenly home and family (John 1:1-2, 14).  Question:  What does the biblical record affirm that Jesus did during the time when He was away from His heavenly home? What things did He do which would in some measure minimize or neutralize the burden of loneliness which He no doubt experienced during His earthly ministry?  Though we may not be able to fully address this question, we may observe several traits of Jesus which, if applied in our individual lives today as needed in connection with our personal hardships, may provide some means by which we may alleviate or lessen the burden of loneliness which we alone face in our everyday struggle to find peace and rest in the midst of pain and despair.  This article will hopefully present at least a partial answer to the above question and will provide some means by which the burdens of life may be eased.

We may observe that Jesus freely left home when responsibilities took Him away (Matt. 4:12-13, 17).  He was not compelled under personal duress to place Himself in a context which may produce loneliness as He was absent from the Father. Notably, Jesus demonstrated the course to follow while facing the prospect of loneliness.

  1. He busied Himself with His work rather than idling time away (Matt. 4:23; John 4:34-35).
  2. He drew close to new friends instead of allowing the absence of former associates to overcome Him (Matt. 4:18-22).
  3. He became emotionally bonded to those about Him rather than maintaining distant friendships (Matt. 9:36; John 11:33-36).
  4. He communed with righteous men while enduring a more distant fellowship with the Father (Matt. 17:1-3).
  5. He valued private time alone, providing for timely personal reflection, instead of being cut off from both past and future (Matt. 14:22-23).
  6. He maintained communication with His heavenly Father rather than totally breaking off old ties that bound Him closely to the Father (Matt. 11:25-26).
  7. He spoke openly of His relationship with His Father, thus sharing the joys of the relationship, instead of being excessively private (John 5:17-24).
  8. He looked joyfully to the future rather than dwelling excessively upon His separation from the Father (Matt. 19:27-29).
  9. He never lost sight of His point of origin instead of failing to draw upon His spiritual heritage (John 6:33-35,38; 8:42).
  10. He was ever aware that He would be reunited with His Father (Matt. 10:32; John 7:33), being separated from His Father but not alone (John 8:15-16; 8:28-29; 10:30).  May we possess the courage and the ability to follow the course of Jesus and thereby alleviate the anguish of spirit that engulfs us as we endure loneliness in this life.

Lessons on Service from the life of Paul (Part 2)

Posted on by Bob Mathews

As mentioned last week, numerous lessons can come from the life of Paul. This week the lessons will continue from the same context we looked at before (Acts 20:17-38). In hopes of helping each of us be better servants for the Lord, another six lessons will be given from this section of Paul’s life.

First, service to God must be with adaptability (v. 20). Now, if you were able to read last weeks blog, you will remember that one of the six lessons was that our service needs to be without compromise. The reasoning behind these two is easy to rectify. We must be adaptable in our approach, style, etc., not in the message that we teach. The Word of God is God’s. We can’t make it something we want it to be to make it easier on people or to make them happy. The adaptability part is where the compassion, understanding, and wisdom come into play. We have to teach the truth, unadulterated, in a way that reaches people wherever they may be in life. That means, as verse twenty gets at, we may have to proclaim the Lord publicly or from one house to another. We have to find people where they are in life and connect them to Christ. That is the true meaning of adaptability. It is not about whatever is simply easiest for us.

Second, service to God must be without partiality (v. 21, 31). God shows no partiality (Gal. 2:6). God doesn’t not care about a person’s background, wealth, status, skin-color, etc. All God desires is that all men be saved (1 Tim. 2:3-4). Jesus came into the world for the purpose of saving sinners (1 Tim. 1:15). All have sinned and fallen short (Rom. 3:23). God desires us all to be saved and we all need to be saved because we have all chosen sin at some point in our life. Jesus came to help us all. All truly means ALL! No one gets left out. If we are truly going to serve God, then it must be in the same way that Jesus came to serve, with no partiality.

Third, service to God must be with courage (v. 22-24). The Holy Spirit made Paul aware that every place he went to preach and teach was going to bring struggle and difficulty. He walked the path regardless. He stepped up to the challenge before him and continued to press forward amidst the trials. Joshua tried to teach us a lesson like this as well. He said we must take courage and act like men, meaning face whatever is coming at you with courage and don’t waiver from the truth. On top of that Joshua said to choose this day who you would serve. Will you choose to serve God? Will you serve Him with courage?

Fourth, service to God must be with integrity (v. 33). As a Christian, integrity is one of the most important aspects of your life’s walk. Without integrity, people will look at the things you do in life and say to themselves, “if this is a Christian, why would I ever want to believe in Christ?” Your integrity can sway the minds of those that you try to teach about Christ. It can impact the service you render moot if lacking. Paul did everything possible to maintain his personal and professional integrity as an apostle of Christ. With that said, there is no denying the impact of his service for the Lord. Do you want to make an impact on those around you? Live what you preach everyday.

Fifth, service to God must be with concern for the future (v. 28-32). In these verses, Paul warns the elders from Ephesus what they need to be prepared for. The truth is we all need to be prepared. If our focus is not on the future, why are we even serving? The hope we have is everlasting life with God because of the sacrifice of Christ. We live to serve so that we will be prepared to serve God when we come into the Kingdom. However, it is also a focus on defense and encouragement. Paul tells them to be on guard for yourselves and the flock. He says some will come in and speak perverse things. This means we need to prepare for our earthly future in the sense of preparing ourselves to not be deceived and defend others who people may try to deceive and lure away from Christ. Paul also mentions the word being able to build up also. We are to build each other up in the word of God so that we can defend ourselves and stand firm in the truth when future threats arise. This is  a way that we can serve, by preparing the church and defending it.

Lastly, service to God must be demonstrated (v. 33-35). This may seem odd, but is maybe more significant than one may imagine. Talking about service is a fine thing. Planning service to be done is a great thing. Rolling up your sleeves and doing the work is the real thing. No one is above service to the Lord! We may not all serve in the same way or put in the same amount of time and that is okay. But everyone must find what they can do and actually get involved. Paul showed that he did whatever was needed for the ministry effort or providing for himself. He was willing to work hard for the church. Jesus was willing to work hard to start the church and bring you salvation. What are you willing to work hard for? I pray it is Christ!

The Compassion of Christ

Posted on by Bob Mathews

      The compassion of Christ is evident in the story of the woman taken in adultery.  Even though the enemies of Jesus, the scribes and the Pharisees, attempted to use this opportunity to entrap Him, the Lord used this occasion to teach us valuable lessons.  Consider:

  1. Jesus did not allow the scribes and the Pharisees to divert Him from His course. – John 8:2, 6, 8, 12
  2. Jesus did not give them a platform from which to reap havoc. – John 8:6, 8
  3. Jesus was wise in His silence. – John 8:6, 8
  4. Jesus emphasized both the moral and the judicial. – John 8:7, 11
  5. Jesus was compassionate toward this sinful woman.
  6. He did not seek out a witness who was willing to stone her to death. – Deut. 17:7
  7. He was not personally inclined to throw stones at her. – John 8:11
  8. He did not seek to overturn Roman law which forbad the stoning in such cases.
  9. He did not seek out priests to stone her to death.
  10.   He gave her an opportunity to correct her life. – John 8:11

In contrast to the disposition of Jesus, the scribes and the Pharisees feigned allegiance to the law (John 8:5) while living contrary to it (8:7).  Their motivation was evil, seeking to entrap Jesus (John 8:6).  They were persistent to the point of self-condemnation (John 8:7-9) & they were dispelled by the wisdom of Christ (John 8:7-9).  Question:  As we deal with sinners about us, who are we most like: the arrogant Pharisees who used sin as a means to further their own agenda, or, are we like Jesus, who responded to sin with a compassionate spirit?

Grumble, Grumble, Grumble…

Posted on by Bob Mathews

Have you ever felt like your life is missing something or that it should just been better in general? Even when your life is going well, do you feel the desire or need to complain about it not going well enough? Can I ask, what is enough in your mind or when will it be enough?

The Israelites were living in slavery in Egypt. Life was difficult. There were great burdens on them to the point that they cried out to the Lord.

“Now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them” (Exodus 3:9).

God heard their cries and knew what was happening to them. He was ready to take action and help them gain freedom once again. So, God preceded to do this with Moses and his brother Aaron acting as a go between Him and Pharaoh and Him and the people. After words were spoken and signs were performed, Pharaoh refused to let the people go and even increased the burdens upon them.

This is where you see the first grumble of the sons of Israel. God is working on helping them out of oppression, but they complain to Pharaoh and then to Moses and Aaron that things are only getting worse for them (Ex. 5:15-23). This grumble has some legitimacy because even Moses then asks God why he was even sent. After God responded, He sent Moses and Aaron to press Pharaoh to let the people go again. Pharaoh’s heart was hardened in all this, and then God brought the plagues on Egypt. After all the plagues were passed, Pharaoh did exactly as God had said. He sent the sons of Israel out of Egypt. God gave His people freedom once more.

Not long after this decision, however, Pharaoh decided to pursue the sons of Israel into the wilderness to enslave them again. The people saw the pursuit and grumbled again to Moses. Why did you deal with us this way? Why did you bring us out here to die? It would have been better for us to stay and serve the Egyptians (Ex. 14:11-12). After everything God had done to give them freedom, they are already grumbling and complaining that oppression would have been better. God performed signs and wonders through Moses and the plagues and already they doubt in the Lord’s ability to save them. Not to mention the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night that was leading the people. God is actively with them yet they still grumble. Why? When will God do enough for them?

God precedes to give them salvation once more by parting the sea so they could escape the pursuit of the Egyptians and even destroyed the Egyptians pursuing them with that divided water. Freedom was given and off into the wilderness they went. God took care of them over and over again. However, once in the wilderness they grumbled a third time. “What shall we drink?” Moses cried out to the Lord and He gave the people a source of water (Ex. 15:24-25). Once again God did not hesitate to take care of them.

Two months into their departure from Egypt the people grumbled once again. This time they grumbled out of hunger, which we all can agree is a legitimate need in life. However, they spoke in a way that flew in the face of all God had done for them. They spoke of Egypt and the full bellies they had there (Ex. 16:2-3). God had done so much for them already and yet once again they didn’t trust Him to take care of their needs. Instead, they complain and wish for days of oppression when they could eat their fill.

As you can see, the sons of Israel seem to have a pattern going on in their lives. No matter how much is done for them, it is never enough. We could go on looking at more passages about them grumbling over and over again. They even grumble again for water, something God has already shown He will give them, but it just never is enough. God did more for the sons of Israel than most would probably say they deserved.

The truth is, God has done more for all of us than any of us deserve. God cares for us in the same way that He did the sons of Israel. He takes care of our needs, the most important of which is the safety of our eternal soul. God gave us His Son. His Son who became the sacrifice for our freedom from sin. Our soul can be with God only because of what God did for us through Jesus Christ.

When you add that truth to everything else written in the Bible and all the works of God you can see around you, is it enough? Do you need more? What does God need to do for it to be enough for you? Jesus was the last piece in God’s plan to give us something that could bring about our salvation. If Jesus isn’t enough for you, nothing will be…

Promises of God – He will fight for you!

Posted on by Bob Mathews

“The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace” (Exodus 14:14).

In the book of Exodus, there is an amazing situation that comes about when you get to chapter 14. This is a moment, early in the outset of the people of Israel, when they have fled Egypt and headed for the wilderness. Even having been “let go” by Pharaoh (Ex. 13:17), his hardened heart led him to chase after the Israelites with an army. You can probably imagine how terrifying it might be for people who where servants, having nothing, to see the Egyptians rising up and giving chase. However, in that moment of panic God was there for them. He not only protected them with the pillar of cloud (Ex. 14:19), but He also gave them a way to safety (Ex. 14:16).

Just as God fought for the Israelites when they were stuck between the Red Sea and the Egyptian army, God has fought for you through Jesus. He fought and defeated the power of sin in your life. This means  you can do the right thing even when it’s difficult. Even the apostle Paul said that he had a hard time doing the right thing because his selfish desires kept urging him to do something else. Everyone who wants to please God faces this problem. However, Jesus went up against all of your selfishness and temptations. He fought the battle to clear the way for you to do all the right things. The wonderful fact is that He won that fight.

Moses told the Israelites, “You shall hold your peace.” That’s true for you. You can stand firm because Jesus has already won your battle. Does that mean you just hang around, doing nothing? No, you can determine to stay strong, stay close to Him, and keep believing that He’s already won.

You are not alone. God has always been there for you. God has been fighting for you from the beginning. He was willing to give up His Son in that fight for you. He wants to be there for you and give you peace, but He can’t force it upon you. If you want true peace and safety no matter what gets thrown your way, then draw near to God.

Promises of God – His promise to deliver His people

Posted on by Bob Mathews

“So I have come down to delver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey” (Ex. 3:8).

The children of Israel had been delivered from Egypt, but thanks to doubting and unbelief, they wandered in the desert from 40 years. However, there is something we need to remember. Year number 41 came, and they didn’t wander anymore. They entered into the Promised Land, the land of milk and honey God had promised them. Maybe, for whatever reason, it seems you are in a desert period in your life. Maybe you feel like you’ve been stumbling around for 40 years. Don’t worry! Year 41 is on its way.

Look at these examples: Noah and his family were on the ark while it rained for 40 days and 40 nights. Day 41 came and the rain stopped. For 40 days Goliath showed up every morning to taunt the people of Israel, but day 41 came and David took him down! Of course, that was with the help of God as we might imagine. There are plenty of examples like this in God’s Word. They may not all have the number 40 attached to them, but we can see people go through struggles or troublesome times all throughout. The key factor that you will notice in all of those instances is that God is there to deliver those that trust in Him.

God has promised to bring you out of your “Egypt” as well. If you will hold on to your faith in Him, He will not let you down. Whatever situation you are going through right now, don’t give up. God is on your side. So, if it seems like trouble has been raining down on you, don’t worry because day 41 is on the way. The rain is going to stop. Whatever giant is in your life, day 41 is coming and that giant will be crushed. We have the power to conquer any obstacle because our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has given us that through Him (Rom. 8:37).

We may not know or understand the timing, but we can know that He will deliver us out of our “Egypt,” our struggles.

Promises of God – Nothing is too hard for Him!

Posted on by Bob Mathews

“And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?’ Is anything to difficult for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”” – Genesis 18:13, 14

When difficulties beset us, we tend to try and work our way out of them (on our own) until a situation comes along that we can’t handle or is too hard and we just give up and lose hope. Sarah is an example of this. They were promised a child and when that promise wasn’t being fulfilled quick enough she tried to take matter into her own hands by offering her maid Hagar as a way to obtain that child (Gen. 16:1-2). She couldn’t wait for the promise from God, putting trust in Him, and wanted to trust in what she could do.

To add a little more context, this promise was given when Abraham and Sarah, his wife, were both well on in years. Abraham was about 100 and Sarah about 90. Past the point of childbearing as is mentioned in Genesis 18:11. So, this would come across as a ridiculous promise to any normal person, which is what led to Sarah’s laughter.

Like Sarah, we look at what we understand about how the world works and go off of that knowledge. Sarah knew children were out of the question for her body at that age and all of us would agree that to be true. We are not here to deny how the world works. What we have to do is push past those things to the one who made the world! God created all things and governs all things. Just because something doesn’t work regularly for us, doesn’t mean that God can not dictate a change in that normal process.

Though some things in life seem too difficult for us, nothing is too hard for God. Sometimes He does His most amazing work when all hope seems gone. He gives hope when all seems hopeless. He fills us with peace when we’re in the middle of chaos. He saves the souls of people who deserve death. He makes the impossible possible. Think about the hard times; the last second, the darkest hour, the deepest hole. They are “mission impossible” for us. Trust Him with your hard times. Every one of them is “mission possible” for Him.

God has never promised that there wouldn’t be difficulties in our lives. However, He will be there for us, helping us through if we let Him. Sometimes we sing a song called Trust and Obey. In the song we sing, “trust and obey for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.” God has promised and proven time and time again that nothing is too hard for Him! He now offers true happiness to all through His Son if we are willing to trust and obey.

Promises of God – A Promise that ALL will be Blessed

Posted on by Bob Mathews

Genesis 12:1-3 says, “1Now the Lord said to Abram, Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you: 2And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; 3And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

God had a plan for a man named Abram. God knew that Abram would believe Him, and that Abram would live out his faith through his actions. Because of His plan, God promised Abram that the world would be blessed because of him. God blessed the world through Abram in two ways.

First, Abraham (the name God gave Abram) became the prime example for everyone who would ever put their faith in God. His descendants were honored and proud to be called the “children of Abraham” (maybe too much so). However, Paul said that anyone who has Abraham’s kind of faith is a child of Abraham. “And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise” (Gal. 3:29).

Second, is the greatest blessing God gave through Abraham. Jesus is what God was really getting at with the promise. Jesus was a descendent of Abraham. God redeemed all of the sin in our lives through Jesus, a descendant of the man whose greatest claim to fame was the simple fact that “he believed in the Lord” (Gen. 15:6).

Why is such a blessing needed? Romans 3:23 states the reason very simply and directly. “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” We all have done things that go against what God teaches. This sin separates us from Him. The blessing through Abraham is one that gives us all a chance to get back into a right relationship with God.

This promise was given to Abraham and through him to us, but as was said earlier, it was all part of God’s plan from the beginning because He knew we were going to need it. Ephesians 1:3-7 says, “3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4just as He (God) chose us in Him (Jesus) before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.”

Through Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross, God has given us the ability to come back to Him, to be His children. He made a promise and kept it so that each of us could be blessed, even at the cost of His own Son. Now it is our turn to choose whether to believe and follow Him like Abraham did or to continue living our lives however we want and remain lost to God. What side of the promise do you want to be on?

Domino Effect

Posted on by Bob Mathews

The best way to avoid a pattern of negative choices is to seek wisdom from God to make good choices from the start. That’s the ultimate way to live as a follower of Jesus—fueling our daily decisions with God’s wisdom! That can lead to a positive domino effect, where one good choice leads to another good choice—and on and on it goes. And thankfully, because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we can be forgiven and set back upright again even when we do make a poor choice.

Proverbs 3:5-8 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all you ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in our own eyes; Fear the Lord and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your body And refreshment to your bones.”

Jesus cares about your decisions. Think of some choices you made today or this week, do you feel good about those choices? Are there some choices you would like to go back in time to change? In the passage we read, we’re warned to not rely on our own understanding. Why is that so hard to do? Because we like to be in control.

It’s true that God is in charge of everything, but he cares deeply about us and about all the little choices we make in everyday life. Jesus has the wisdom we need to make solid choices, and he wants to give that wisdom to us!

Your choices affect other people. I’m sure that all of you can remember a choice someone else made that affected you, either positively or negatively. God designed us to live life together, not alone. What’s one wise choice you’ve made that’s improved your relationships with other people?

Most of us know that relationships—with friends, family, colleagues, classmates, teammates—are really important. But sometimes we forget how much better those relationships could be if we sought wisdom from Jesus. The next time you’re about to make a choice that you know will affect someone else, ask Jesus to help you make the right decision. This Scripture says he’ll show you the right path to take.

Your choices either build up or tear down your reputation. Think about this: You can quickly gain a bad reputation because of one bad choice, and then it can take a long time to get rid of that bad reputation. Like it or not, our choices cause people to see us in a certain way. As Christians, we bear the name of Jesus Christ. We can make choices that honor him and reflect him.

Listen to this statement: “It can take five minutes to gain a bad reputation and a year to lose that bad reputation.” Do you know anyone in your life that has proven this statement to be true? If so, what can you learn from that person’s situation? Not trying to say we have to be perfect, but simply trying every day to be better.

What’s one choice you can start with today to create a positive domino effect in your relationship with the Lord?