By Kevin Cauley
“Thus says the Lord: ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land’” (Jeremiah 17:5-6).
My grandfather worked as a truck driver emptying salt water from oil tanks in west Texas. The water was hauled off and disposed so that the land would not be destroyed. One time, we drove through an area of land that looked like it had been bleached. I asked, “What happened here?” The reply: “A salt water spill.” Sometimes the salt water would leak out of the oil tanks. It left a barren patch of dirt on which nothing would grow killing everything.
Jeremiah’s description of a person who trusts in mankind alone reminds me of these barren patches of land. The ultimate abode of a person who only trusts in the wisdom of man is isolation, loneliness, depression, and an empty life. It is when we trust in God first that life becomes a rich panorama of colorful seasons filled with fruit and gladness. God makes real fellowship with others possible. He is the basis upon which we have successful relationships with others.
Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40).
Let us be diligent to love God and to love our neighbor to reap the abundant life (John 10:10).
By Kevin Cauley “And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence” (Colossians 1:18). What does it mean to us that Jesus is the head of the church? It is easy to apply this in some distanced way: to say that Jesus is the head, and not the Pope, or the Queen of England, or any person (not in our immediate vicinity) who would claim headship of any religious organization. This is a message some need to hear, no doubt. However, let’s be clear and say further that the head of the church is not the eldership, nor any elder; it is not the deacons, nor any deacon. It is not the preacher or any preacher. The head of the church is not any member or group of members. Do we understand? Jesus is the head of each congregation; Jesus is the head of the elders, the deacons, the preacher, the members, and me! In 1 Corinthians 11:3, Paul writes, “But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ.” The word “head” means authority, leader, director, chief, ruler. As the church, we confess, “I am not the head of me; Jesus is.” We can say “Jesus is the head of the church” all day long, but it will be meaningless for our lives if we are not following Him. Unfortunately, we compete with Jesus for the title “Head of the Church” every day when we seek control and insist on our own way. “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit” (Phil.2:3). Let’s insist on Jesus, not self. God bless you, and I love you. Published with permission from www.ChurchOfChristArticles.com
You get to choose, just like Jesus did (Mark 2:14) and the Good Samaritan did (Luke 10:33). When you look, who or what do you see? May I encourage us all to… ▪ See people, not pigment. ▪ See souls, not status. ▪ See minds, not money. ▪ See Christ, not color. ▪ See relationship, not race. ▪ See opportunity, not obstacle. ▪ See hope, not hopelessness. ▪ See by faith, not by features. ▪ See spiritually, not stereotypically. ▪ See empathetically, not exclusively. ▪ See persons, not politics. ▪ See biblically, not bigotedly. ▪ See impartially, not impassively. ▪ See lovingly, not loathingly. ▪ See compassionately, not condescendingly. ▪ See eternally, not externally. ▪ See responsibility, not reactions. ▪ See bridges, not bunkers.
The world tells us to see things in the ways represented on the right-hand side of the comma. But the Word urges us to focus on the left-hand side of it. Don’t let the world be your guide.
Chino Church of Christ / To Whose Voice Are We Listening
We all listen to the voice of someone. We come into this world listening to the voice of our mother and father. In adulthood the cacophony of voices that bend our ear can be staggering. Luke wrote, “For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing” (Acts 17:21). This describes our society too!
The voices to which we listen affect the decisions that we make and the actions that we take. What we believe will affect how we act. Jesus said, “A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things” (Matthew 12:35). We don’t act in any way without first having thought about it, and there are only two voices in this world that truly speak: the voice of God and the voice of Satan, the voice of truth and the voice of error, the voice of righteousness and the voice of sin (Matthew 21:25). We should choose the voice of God, truth, and righteousness.
We hear God’s voice through the revelation of God’s mind by His Spirit sent by His Son, Jesus. Scripture says that no man knows the mind of God except the Spirit of God reveal it to him (1 Corinthians 2:11). It also says, no man has seen God; it is only the Son of God who has declared Him (John 1:18). The only way to know God’s mind is if God reveals His mind through inspiration (1 Corinthians 2:12). And there is only one inspired source of truth from the mind of God, the Bible, the story of Jesus. May we hear the voice of Jesus! God bless you, and I love you.
Published with permission from www.ChurchOfChristArticles.com
Here, however, is another thought: God, as described in the Bible, is a very patient God. This is to be expected as the Bible tells us that God is love, and also that love is patient and longsuffering. (cf. 1 John 4:8; 1 Corinthians 13:4) Tolerance and patience are not at all the same thing. Tolerance is a willingness to accept what one finds disagreeable. Biblical patience is the willingness to continue working towards a particular goal. In the case of God and man, the goal is change; not the changing of God, who is unchangeable, but the changing of man into what God wants man to be. The Scriptures teach: “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) Notice first of all that the promises of God are valid and to be taken seriously. In the context of 2 Peter 3, the apostle is talking about the promise of judgment. If God says He is going to judge the world, we should trust His veracity. It will happen. But it hasn’t happened yet, and the reason is God’s patience. God wants to give men an opportunity to repent and change. Repentance is a change of heart and mind which leads to a change of action. God cannot tolerate sin. He demands we change. He commands repentance of sinful men. (cf. Acts 17:30; Luke 13:3) But He is patient with us to allow us the time and opportunity needed for us to change. He is doing His best to encourage us to make the changes. More than this, God is not tolerant of sin, but He is very merciful towards sinful men who are willing to repent and turn themselves around. God says, “If a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; because of the righteousness which he has done, he shall live.” (Ezekiel 18:21-22; NKJV) In this mercy and goodness, God sent Jesus to be the propitiation for the sins of men, creating a channel of mercy in which men can be saved. (cf. John 3:16; Hebrews 2:17; 1 John 4:10) We should not deceive ourselves. God is not a modern thinker, willing to tolerate anything and everything men choose to do, giving the same His tacit approval. The unrighteous cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. But God is patient and merciful and God wants to save you. And He has worked to make that salvation possible.
By Jonathan McAnulty
We live in a very tolerant culture, and it seems to be growing more tolerant by the day. Tolerance is defined as the ability or willingness to put up with those practices or opinions contrary to those held by one’s self. We are told we need to tolerate just about anything and everything, no matter how vile, depraved or unwholesome it is. Who are you to judge, is the cultural standard.
Here is a blunt and controversial thought, but one very biblically sound: God, as described in the Bible, is not a tolerant God. He does not agree to disagree with people, and His standards are absolute. Consider the evidence presented in the Scriptures…
1) The wrath of God is revealed from the heavens against the unrighteousness and wickedness of men. (cf. Rom 1:18)
2) God commands all men everywhere to repent because there is coming a day in which He will judge the world. (cf. Acts 17:30-31)
3) The wicked and the unrighteous are not allowed into God’s Kingdom (cf. Matt 5:20; 1 Cor 6:9; Galatians 5:21).
4) Those who refuse to repent of their sins and change their ways, who continue in those sins, will be condemned eternally. (cf. Revelation 21:8)
This understanding of God is perhaps best summarized by the prophet Habakkuk who said, “You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness (Habakkuk 1:13a; NKJV).”
This “intolerance” of God towards sin is one of the reasons so many people in our day and age have a problem with the Bible and what it teaches. We have become so hammered by the belief that nobody has a right to criticize or judge another that we try and apply that same standard to God, refusing to acknowledge that the Creator has the right to have certain expec-tations of the creation.
By Neal Pollard The chilling audio from Richard “Beebo” Russell reveals an internal conflict nobody, not family, friend, or co-workers, knew was going on. The 29 year old ground worker at Seattle-Tacoma International airport took a Horizon Air Dash-8 airplane on an unauthorized joy ride, complete with complicated aerial stunts before crashing into a remote island on Puget Sound. Before crashing, he spoke with air traffic controllers and pilots and confessed to the inner turmoil. The words used by loved ones to describe him range from “warm” and “compassionate” to “happy” and “regular” (Alex Horton, Washington Post, 8/13/18). Of course, the behavior was irregular and bizarre, and it ended tragically for the young man as he fatally crashed the plane. As we walk through this world, we meet and interact with people who may be projecting an outward appearance that is masking inward pain and trouble. It may lie behind their broad smile. That’s a disturbing thought, but what can we do? We cannot read their minds. There is no full-proof way to prevent every tragic action, but we may have more power than we think. Consider some things all of us can do with everyone in our lives. Be kind. Look people in the eyes. Smile at them. Even if it slows you down from some important task, don’t overlook the people God puts in your path. Your helpful word might sink deeper into their spirit than you realize. Let’s be like the inhabitants of Malta, who showed Paul and his companions “extraordinary kindness” as they simply “kindled a fire and received” them all (Acts 28:2). We’re told as Christians to put on a “heart of kindness” (Col. 3:12). How will anyone know the proof of our kind hearts? We will display it.
Be concerned. We fear being nosy or busybodies. Don’t do that. But there is room for active concern. Such is more apt to listen than advise, to help and not gossip, and to do than to judge. People who are surrounded by those they know care for them have a better chance at emotional survival. Look at the example of Paul, pressured by the concern for congregations and intensely concerned for individuals led into sin (2 Cor. 11:28-29). The word Paul uses for his concern for individuals literally means “to cause to be on fire; burn” (BDAG, 899). It’s the word used to describe the heavens being on fire (2 Pet. 3:12). Paul was “inflamed with sympathy, ready to aid” (ibid.). That’s got to be us, too!
Be helpful. Our Christianity should be tangible, not theoretical. We must be attuned to needs and ready to help (cf. Titus 3:14). Let’s avoid empty words that lack the intent of action. Acts of service, doing for others, are powerful and penetrating. God tells us, “On the day of salvation I helped you” (2 Cor. 6:2; Isa. 49:8). A helper sees a need and meets it. Oh, the impression that can make on a weary struggler.
Listen, for all we know, this young man was surrounded by people who were kind, concerned, and helpful. Ultimately, each of us is individually accountable for our actions (2 Cor. 5:10). But, our neighborhoods, cities, states, and nations will be a better place when Christians are active bearers of such faithful fruits. Treat everyone you see as the eternally-bound souls that they are! Help them. We know the One who mends the broken (cf. Ezek. 34:16).
