CHRIST IN YOU, THE HOPE OF GLORY

“God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.”  (Colossians 1:27-28 NIV)

Christ in you means you don’t have to face anything alone. Anything! When you walk into a doctor’s office with more questions than answers, Christ in you is the hope of glory. When you’re sitting at the kitchen table staring at bills that you can’t pay, Christ in you is the hope of glory. When you’re parenting a child who’s breaking your heart, Christ in you is the hope of glory. When you are unseen in your workplace, unappreciated in your home, or feeling unqualified for the next thing that God asked you to do, Christ in you is the hope of glory. When you’ve prayed the same prayer a hundred times and the mountain hasn’t moved, yet, even in that place, Christ in you is the hope of glory. It’s not just a verse. It’s not just a doctrine. It’s not just a hope for someday. It’s a promise for right now and if the fire still is burning, meaning if there is still breath in your lungs, then God is not finished with you yet. 

-- Pastor Larry Frank, Grace Church, Cape Coral, Florida

#6191

RECONCILIATION IS OUR MINISTRY

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”  (2 Corinthians 5:17–21 NKJV)

In Christ, God has done something for the world. God has reconciled people to Himself. In other words, God has made a way for a broken relationship to be made whole, through the death of Jesus on the cross (Colossians 1:20). In this great act of reconciliation, God has made a way for anyone -- literally, anyone -- to come into union with Him.

Coming into union with God in Christ is reconciliation in its most essential form. Any reconciliation we may do on earth that does not find its source and strength in God’s greater, reconciling work of the heart to Himself is destined to struggle and fall short.

God knows that if He can get a heart relating to Him again, experiencing His presence, love, forgiveness, acceptance, and truth, the possibilities of reconciliation between that person and others are endless. We who have been reconciled to God begin to want others to be reconciled to God. We want others to experience the freedom that we have experienced. It is the natural flow of the story.

And that is why sharing the good news of reconciliation is our ministry. Just as one who is forgiven much loves much (Luke 7:47), so, too, we who have experienced God closing the gap between us and Him want to help close that gap for others. 

-- Dan Wilt in “Wake-Up Call”

#6190

BEING RECONCILED TO GOD

I asked people in our congregation about their struggles with forgiveness… I had a conversation with a woman in her fifties who said to me, “I’ve never told anyone this before, but when I was in my twenties I got pregnant. I was scared and decided to have an abortion. But after the abortion, I calculated the date the child would have been born, and every year for the last thirty years during that month, I think about the child I might have had.”

It was clear that this woman still carried a burden, even thirty years later. It was not wrong for her to remember the baby she aborted, but even in that case, God longs for the woman to know His grace and forgiveness. Each of us has done things we regret and cannot change. We cringe or even cry when we think of them. And yet often we carry these burdens unnecessarily. We fail to trust that God “is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love” (Psalm 103:8), and that “as far as the east is from the west, so far shall He remove our sins from us” (Psalm 103:12). Through it all, God’s message to us remains the same: Stop carrying the burden yourself. Let Me take it. Be reconciled to Me.

This is the thing to remember: God has already agreed to that reconciliation. Paul Tillich, in one of his sermons, said that the bottom line of faith is accepting God’s acceptance of you. When you turn to God and long to be with Him, He is already reaching out, waiting for you with open arms. God has done everything necessary for your forgiveness, and He offers that forgiveness freely. All you have to do to gain this grace -- grace that came at such a terrific price -- is to accept it. 

-- Adapted from “Forgiveness: Finding Peace Through Letting Go” by Adam Hamilton

#6189

GRACE REDEFINED PETER’S IDENTITY

“When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love Me more than these?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ Peter said, ‘You know that I love You.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed My lambs.’ Again Jesus said, ‘Simon son of John, do you love Me?’ Peter answered, ‘Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.’ Jesus said, ‘Take care of My sheep.’ The third time He said to Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love Me?’ Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, ‘Do you love Me?’ He said, ‘Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed My sheep.’” (John 21:15-17)

Right there, Jesus did more for Peter -- and more for us -- than we can imagine. Jesus was telling Peter that he wasn’t finished. Peter was going to be the rock on which the mission of God would be established and carried forward. Jesus was telling Peter that his identity wasn’t going to be a denier of Jesus. (See Luke 22:54-62 for Peter’s denial of Jesus.) He was going to be a hero of faith and a legend in the church. In fact, Peter would one day very soon preach the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit, and three thousand people would be saved that day (Acts 2:14-42).

Sure, there were consequences to Peter’s denial of Jesus. Two thousand years later, we’re still studying the story. Peter’s denial didn’t get swept under the rug or erased from the memory bank of humanity. There were consequences for Peter, just like there are consequences to your decisions and my decisions, too.
 
Yet Jesus never focused on the failure. He focused on the restoration. Grace removed Peter’s guilt, and grace also removed Peter’s shame. Peter’s identity was no longer wrapped up in the denial. Peter failed, but he wasn’t a failure. He wasn’t useless. Peter’s life was no longer marked by shame. Grace redefined Peter as a friend and family member of God Almighty.
 
That’s what the grace of God does for you and me, too.
 
 -- Louie Giglio in “Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table” 

#6188

MOVING ON

“If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth; and if the tree falls toward the south or toward the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it shall lie.” (Ecclesiastes 11:3 AMP)

King Solomon said that where the tree falls, there it lies.  It is done, and we will not raise it up again.  But it is what we do from this point forward that makes the difference.

Something that seemed so sure turns questionable and something for which we had little hope suddenly works out.  Regardless of how things appear, they can be totally different -- and it is what we do from now on that will make or break us.  Moving on does not mean we do not care; it means we will not let it keep us from living fully. 

-- Toni Engstrom 

#6187

A BEAUTIFUL NEW LIFE

“Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to Himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to Him.”  (2 Corinthians 5:17-18 NLT)

One day as I was lying in a canoe, a big black beetle came out of the water and climbed up into the canoe. I watched it idly for some time. Under the heat of the sun, the beetle proceeded to die. Then a strange thing happened. His glistening black shell cracked all the way down his back. Out of it came a shapeless mass, quickly transformed into beautiful life.

As I watched in fascination, there gradually unfolded iridescent wings from which the sunlight flashed a thousand colors. The wings spread wide, as if in worship of the sun. The blue-green body took shape. Before my eyes had occurred a metamorphosis -- the transformation of a hideous beetle into a gorgeous dragonfly, which started dipping and soaring over the water. But the body it left behind still clung to the canoe. I had witnessed what seemed to be a miracle. Out of the muck had come a beautiful new life. And the thought came to me, that if the Creator works such wonders with the lowliest of creatures, what may not be in store for the human spirit?

-- Cecil B. DeMille, as quoted by Leonard Sweet in “A Cup of Coffee at the SoulCafe” 

#6186

GOODNESS CAN GET IN THE WAY

“But as for me, may I never boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”  (Galatians 6:14)

That God loves us in spite of our sin is the Gospel truth; but this truth can only be shared by words, since good deeds are easily taken to show the opposite -- that we love God.  Faith is not understood when it is only demonstrated by life.  The more sanctified a life without the verbal witness, the greater the danger of the Christian's goodness getting in the way.  Should a person by the grace of God become easier to live with, he doesn't need to call attention to it: it will speak for itself.  He can instead seek to balance the reverse effect of the good image by occasionally speaking of the unfavorable realities within, those parts that are still changing.  In this way, his external behavior by contrast can point to the power of God, rather than to the effort of man.  As John the Baptist said about Jesus, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30)  When we decrease, He can increase, but not until. 

-- Adapted from “Buried Alive” [1968] by Paul G. Johnson   

#6185

GOD’S AMAZING GRACE

“He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all – how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32 NIV)

Take all your anxieties to Calvary, Paul urged. Stand in the shadow of God’s crucified Son. Now pose your questions. Is Jesus on my side? Look at the wound in His. Will He stay with me? Having given the supreme and costliest gift, “how can He fail to lavish upon us all He has to give?” (Romans 8:32 NEB)

“’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.” When John Newton penned this promise, he did so out of personal experience. His greatest test came the day he buried his wife, Mary. He had loved her dearly and prayed his death would precede hers. But his prayer was not answered.

Yet God’s grace proved sufficient. On the day she died Newton found strength to preach a Sunday sermon. The next day he visited church members, and later he officiated at his wife’s funeral. He grieved but in his grief found God’s provision. He later wrote, “The Bank of England is too poor to compensate for such a loss as mine. But the Lord, the all-sufficient God, speaks, and it is done. Let those who know Him, and trust Him, be of good courage. He can give them strength as their trials increase… and what He can do He had promised that He will do.” (From “But Now I See: The Life of John Newton” by Josiah Bull.)

Let God’s grace dethrone your fears. Anxiety still comes, for certain. The globe still heats up; wars still flare up; the economy acts up. Disease, calamity, and trouble populate your world. But they don’t control it! Grace does. 

-- Max Lucado in “Grace: More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine”

#6184

 

YOU ARE LOVED BEYOND MEASURE

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are.”  (1 John 3:1a NIV)

Imagine the Creator of the universe, the One who painted the skies and molded the mountains, leaning in to call you His child. Not because of anything you’ve done, but simply because of who He is, our loving Heavenly Father, and what Christ, God’s Son, has done for us on the cross. What an incredible truth! You are a “Child of God and Person of Worth” (COGPOW) and it isn’t something you earn, it’s a gift freely given. But like all gifts, it is one that must be received.

In a world that often tries to define your worth by achievements, appearances, or possessions, God’s message cuts through: You are already enough. You are infinitely valuable, not because of what you do, but because of Whose you are. You are His.

Sometimes, life might make you question your value. Past mistakes or the opinions of others can cast doubt on your identity. But remember, God sees you as His masterpiece, created with purpose, loved without condition, and cherished forever. (Ephesians 2:10 NLT)

You are a reflection of His image -- a bearer of divine worth. You are not defined by your flaws or failures but by His grace and love.

Today, as you go about your day, remind yourself: I am a Child of God and a Person of Worth. Bonnie Crandall coined the phrase “COGPOW” to represent this essential truth about who you are. Remind yourself that this is who you are because of Whose you are. Let that truth shape how you see yourself and how you treat others. 

-- SOUND BITES Ministry™, compiled from a variety of sources 

#6183

OUR NEED FOR REPENTANCE

“Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me… The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.”  (Psalm 51:11,17)

Several qualities are no doubt missing from a good deal of religious experience as it is commonly known in our day, but perhaps nothing is more serious than our failure to see our need for repentance. I think this is partly because we don’t understand the nature of sin. If, as some contemporaries say, other generations were guilt obsessed, our generation today is expert in avoiding the sense of guilt. This is because we have so limited a theology of sin. We define sin by tabloid headlines, which give most of us a degree of comfort, since our sins are only occasionally dramatic. We don’t realize that sin, even as we experience it in its most pedestrian forms, is a violation of the very nature of our universe, a universe whose original core is utterly right because it is of God. We have a further handicap in that our theology of God is inadequate. Popular theology has made God so cozy and so accessible that we can’t understand why the Eternal One should be troubled by our erratic ways.

But above all, we fail at repentance because our friendship with God has so little passion. The Scriptures say that we should love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. That’s the language of passion, the language we generally reserve for moments of compelling romance or consuming friendship. It is only when God becomes such a friend -- yes, and far more, because the element of eternity enters into our friendship -- that we are struck with terror at the thought of losing this friendship. It is in such a mood that godly repentance is born. 

-- J. Ellsworth Kalas (1923-2015) in “Longing to Pray: How the Psalms Teach Us to Talk with God”

#6182

YOUR LONG, DARK TUNNEL

“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”  (Psalm 23:4 NIV)

Jesus will walk with you down your long, dark tunnel. At first even His presence may seem far away. But if you look, and feel, He is there. Right by your side you can feel Him standing there. Suppose you had to walk this path alone? But you don't -- He is actually there. You can talk with Him. Share your bitterness, your anger, your guilt. Tell Him how depressed you are. Tell Him how afraid of the darkness you are. Tell Him how lonely you are.

He provides courage in that dark tunnel life has forced you to walk...

While you may see no light at the end of your tunnel, you never know when the tunnel will curve. And right around that curve may burst the light of a great new day. You cannot see it from where you are right now, but it is there.

Then, too, every tunnel ends someplace. Otherwise it would just be a cave. And life is definitely not a cave for the Christian. Jesus verified that by His resurrection. Listen closely and you may hear His voice bidding you to quicken your pace.

I remember a time of tunnel walking years ago. The darkness was suffocating -- so dense I could feel it. No light at the end of my tunnel could be seen. I prayed -- or tried to -- but I couldn't seem to get through the ceiling. Sleep was impossible, so I went outside and walked around in the night. When I looked up, the stars were all there. Not one was missing. I thought surely there would not be one left, but I was wrong. And the God who put them there was also right where He had always been. The next morning the sun rose just as it had always done. The birds were singing, too. Not even they failed me. The day came when the tunnel took a sudden and unexpected turn. There was light -- lots of light. There were answers to prayers, too. It didn't happen overnight, but it did happen.

Your tunnel will have light at its end, faithful Christian. Just keep walking with Jesus.

-- Robert E. Maner, as quoted by Barbara Johnson in “So, Stick a Geranium in Your Hat and Be Happy!”

#6181

MINGLED WITH OTHERS

Jesus said to His disciples, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”  (Matthew 5:13-16 NIV)

It is the nature of the divine savour [salt] which is in you, to spread to whatsoever you touch; to diffuse itself, on every side, to all those among whom you are.  This is the great reason why the providence of God has so mingled you together with [others], that whatever grace you have received of God may through you be communicated to others.  

-- John Wesley, quoted by Robert Schnase in “Five Practices of Fruitful Living”

#6180

COME AND SEE

“The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, He said to him, ‘Follow Me.’ Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote -- Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’ ‘Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?’ Nathanael asked. ‘Come and see,’ said Philip.”  (John 1:43-46 NIV)

One thing I have observed in all my years of ministry is that the most effective and important aspects of evangelism usually takes place on an individual, personal level. Most people do not come to Christ as an immediate response to a sermon they hear in a crowded setting. They come to Christ because of the influence of an individual believer.

The church I pastor seeks to foster an evangelistic environment. And people are coming to Christ on a regular basis… And in the overwhelming majority of instances, they tell us they came to Christ primarily because of the testimony of a coworker, a neighbor, a relative, or a friend. Occasionally we hear people say they were converted in direct response to a message they heard in church or a sermon that was broadcast on the radio. But even in those cases, it is usually owing to the influence of an individual who encouraged the person to listen or brought him to church in the first place. There’s no question that the most effective means for bring people to Christ is one at a time, on an individual basis. 

-- John MacArthur (1939-2025) in “Twelve Ordinary Men: How the Master Shaped His Disciples for Greatness and What He Wants to Do with You” 

#6179

CHILD-LIKE, TRUSTING FAITH

“People were bringing little children to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, He was indignant. He said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ And He took the children in His arms, placed His hands on them and blessed them.”  (Mark 10:13-16 NIV)

Faith is sometimes equated with credulity, but it can be so equated only when the profound mistake is made of thinking of faith as primarily a matter of intellectual assent.  As the New Testament uses the word, faith is trust, acceptance, commitment, vision.  It is not a belief in this or that creed, it is a quality which lies rather in the realm of intuition than the intellect.  Faith has indeed an element of true simplicity; it is one of the qualities -- perhaps the fundamental quality -- of the child-like spirit without which no one can enter the Kingdom of God. 

-- Author Unknown

#6178

FACING LIFE’S STORMS

"We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living." (Romans 14:7-9 NRSV)

The question came from a fellow soldier after our combat unit had moved into a field in the hedgerow section of Normandy, France, during World War II. "How come you are a Christian?" he asked me.  I answered him the best way I knew at the time.  I said, "A person would have to be really dumb not to be a Christian, for you live better and you die better."

I don't remember if my answer satisfied him or not.  But now, after having lived about 85 years, I can reaffirm that same simple answer.  I am convinced that people of faith do live and die better, for they are able to face life's storms with greater peace than those who walk without faith that God is walking beside them.  As we live and as we die, people of faith have assurance of God's presence with them.

-- Jack G. Ammon in the “The Upper Room Daily Devotional” -- E-mail Edition, April 25, 2007, (c) 2007 by The Upper Room.

#6177

SINS OF THE TONGUE

“Their mouths are full of cursing, lies, and threats. Trouble and evil are on the tips of their tongues.”  (Psalm 10:7 NLT)

In the summer of 2012, northeastern Oklahoma was a tinderbox after weeks of drought and triple digit temperatures. On August 2 a devastating wildfire in Creek County burned 58,500 acres, destroyed 376 homes, and left hundreds of people homeless. As it turned out, the fire was started by a single cigarette. A wicked person’s words are like a spark that ignites violence.

In fact, sins of the tongue are the most common kind of violence in the Psalms. C. S. Lewis noted, “I think that when I began to read it these surprised me a little; I had half expected that in a simpler and more violent age when more evil was done with the knife, the big stick, and the firebrand, less would be done by talk. But in reality the Psalmists mention hardly any kind of evil more often than this one, which the most civilized societies share.... It is all over the Psalter. One almost hears the incessant whispering, tattling, lying, scolding, flattery, and circulation of rumors. No historical readjustments are here required, we are in the world we know.” 

-- James Johnston in an article entitled “The Marks of a Truly Wicked Person”

#6176

WORSHIP AND WORK

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Behold, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills -- to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts.’”  (Exodus 31:1-5)

To behold is to see beyond sight. I think of beholding as a participation in divine perceptivity. God creates, and God beholds. As divine image-bearers, we do the same. It's what we were made for.

This is precisely what artists do. Artists have a sense of vision beyond eyesight. They see what can't be seen, and they bring it into visibility through acts of creation so we can see it too. They behold, and in creating something for us to see, they train us to behold -- to see beyond our limited sight.

Behold -- the first art project in the kingdom of God is an installation of creativity that will point us not to the artist, nor to the art, but to God Himself. This is the divine calling of a holy artist -- to forge and fashion the vision of "on earth as it is in heaven" through every medium imaginable by all manner of creative work. I think I may have stumbled onto a definition of worship from the back side.

What if all work were approached in this same way? When work is done as worship -- which is to say, from a place of beholding -- it causes all work to rise to the level of art. It becomes a thing to "behold," which points us to the God of glory. There is a word for this kind of awakening: renaissance.

-- Excerpted from “Wake-Up Call” with J. D. Walt 

#6175

WORSHIP AND STUDY GO TOGETHER

Now we must not worship without study for ignorant worship is of limited value and can be dangerous.  We may develop "a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge" (Romans 10:2) and do great harm to ourselves and others.  But worship must be added to study to complete the renewal of our mind through a willing absorption in the radiant Person who is worthy of all praise. 

Study without worship is also dangerous, and the people of Jesus constantly suffer from its effects, especially in academic settings.  To handle the things of God without worship is always to falsify them.  In worship we are ascribing greatness, goodness, and glory to God.  It is typical of worship that we put every possible aspect of our being into it, all of our sensuous, conceptual, active, and creative capacity…

Worship nevertheless imprints on our whole being the reality that we study.  The effect is a radical disruption of the powers of evil in us and around us. 

-- Dallas Willard (1935-2013) in “The Divine Conspiracy”

#6174

THE IMPORTANCE OF TRUST IN A RELATIONSHIP

“Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord Himself, is my strength and my defense; He has become my salvation.”  (Isaiah 12:2 NIV)

Have you ever seen the [1975] movie “The Stepford Wives”? The wives in Stepford are systematically replaced by robots that look exactly like them. The husbands can count on precisely the behavior they want from their cyber-spouses. No uncertainty. No frustrations. No need for trust.

But, if you are a man, would you really want a woman who always dressed up for you, always fixed the food you wanted, always cleaned up after you, always agreed with whatever you said, always devoted herself to your pleasure with no will of her own? (The correct response here would be "No.")

"Stepford" is a nightmare community. Why? Because [there is no trust] and trust is the only way that loving persons relate. It can never be removed from the equation. It is the only way to honor the freedom, the dominion, and the dignity of a person. That's the way [our relationship with God] works: trust, risk, vulnerability, faithfulness, intimacy.

-- John Ortberg in “Faith & Doubt”

#6173

THE TWILIGHT ZONE

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’”  (John 8:12 NIV)

It’s amazing how easily we adjust to darkness. When you go into a dark theater, you grope around until your eyes adjust. And then the darkness becomes quite comfortable. But go back outside, and your eyes water and you’re reaching for your sunglasses. The light actually hurts your eyes.

Our world lives in spiritual darkness, separated from God. Jesus said He is the Light of the world. But too often, people become comfortable in their own personal twilight zone, where the goal becomes reducing the Light, or even extinguishing it altogether so they can stay comfortable. We see this happening in our schools, our governments, and our social gatherings.

But the Light of Christ is stronger than any darkness. In a world of comfortable darkness, stay out of the twilight. Walk in the Light. Then be a light to guide others out of the darkness. 

-- Anne Graham Lotz in “Fixing My Eyes on Jesus”

#6172

KEEPING BODY AND SOUL TOGETHER

“And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”  (Micah 6:8 NIV)

What exactly does the Lord require of us? He requires what Jesus Christ modeled during His public ministry – the Good News in word and in deed. At dinner with His disciples, as He walked through the marketplace, as children crowded around Him, Jesus continually pointed the way to the Father. At the same time, He fed the poor; He healed the blind, the sick and the lame; and He affirmed the dignity of women, Samaritans, and other social outcasts of the day.

Before Christ ascended to heaven, He left clear commands to His followers in Matthew 28:19: “As you go, preach, making disciples and baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” God’s Old Testament commands are equally compelling: “Impress [the words of God] on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deuteronomy 6:7). If we believe in… the Scriptures, we must take those commands to heart. For the believer, living the law of God, spreading His Word, and leader men and women to Christ should be as natural as breathing.

So, too, should be the acts of doing the gospel. In his epistle, James told the people of God that “pure religion and undefiled is this: ‘to feed the orphans and comfort the widow in her distress’” (James 1:27). The Apostle Paul helped to raise funds for famine relief and commended the Macedonian Christians for their rich generosity in giving to their brothers and sisters in physical need. 

“What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” 

-- Charles Colson (1931-2012) in an article entitled “Doing Justice, Loving Mercy, Walking Humble” in Discipleship Journal, No. 63

#6171

COMMON MEN, UNCOMMON CALLING

Although the apostles were common men, theirs was an uncommon calling. In other words, the task they were called to, and not anything about the men per se, is what makes them so important. Consider how unique their role was to be.

Not only would they found the church and play a pivotal leadership role as the early church grew and branched out, but they also became the channels through which most of the New Testament would be given. They received truth from God by divine revelation. Ephesians 3:5 is very explicit. Paul says that the mystery of Christ, which in the earlier ages was not made known, “has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets.” They did not preach a human message. The truth was given to them by direct revelation.

They were therefore the source of all true church doctrine. Acts 2:42 describes the activities of the early church in these terms: “They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.” Before the New Testament was complete, the apostles’ teaching was the only source of truth about Christ and church doctrine. And their teaching was received with the same authority as the written Word. In fact, the written New Testament is nothing other than the Spirit-inspired, inscripturated record of the apostle’s teaching.

In short, the apostles were given to edify the church. Ephesians 4:11-12 says Christ gave the apostles “for quipping the saints for the work of ministry, for edifying of the body of Christ.” They were the original Christian teachers and preachers. 

-- John MacArthur (1939-2025) in “Twelve Ordinary Men: How the Master Shaped His Disciples for Greatness and What He Wants to Do with You”

#6170