MY SPIRITUAL GENEALOGY

“You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.”  (2 Timothy 2:2 NLT)
 
Every family tree has branches, names, and stories that brought us to where we stand today. I have been working on my family tree, which now has over 2100 people in it, and in some cases goes back seven generations. And as I celebrate my 75^th birthday tomorrow, I am very appreciative of that lineage that has gotten me to this point.
 
But there is another lineage -- one not recorded in dusty archives or online databases. It is our spiritual genealogy, the sacred chain of grace that stretches from Christ Himself all the way to us.
 
It began with Jesus, who entrusted His gospel to a handful of ordinary men and women. They carried His message with trembling hands and burning hearts. They shared it with neighbors, strangers, and nations. One person told another. Parents told their children. A friend told a friend. A preacher proclaimed it to a crowd. A missionary whispered it on the other side of an ocean. A Sunday school teacher planted it in a young heart. A coworker shared it over lunch. A grandparent prayed it over a crib. A chaplain comforted a hospice patient.
 
Somewhere in that unbroken line of Christ’s faithful witnesses, someone told the person who told the person who eventually told me. There were actually many persons who showed me The Way.
 
I may never know all their names. I may never see their faces. But heaven knows every one of them and I hope to meet them there and thank them. God saw each conversation, each prayer, each act of courage that carried the gospel one link further down the chain until it reached my life.
 
And now, by grace, I am part of that lineage. The story didn’t end when the gospel reached me and I received it. It continues every time I share Christ’s love, speak His name, share a SOUND BITES quote, or live out His truth. I am both a recipient and a steward of a life-changing message that has traveled across centuries to find me.
 
My spiritual genealogy is a reminder that faith is never an accident. It is a gift, intentionally passed down through generations of faithful hearts, all rooted in the One who started it all -- Jesus Christ.
 
Lord, thank You for every person who carried Your gospel forward so it could reach me. Help me honor that legacy by sharing Your love with the next link in the sacred chain of grace. Let my life be part of someone else’s spiritual genealogy, pointing them back to You. 

-- Rev. David T. Wilkinson, SOUND BITES Ministry™

#6376

HOPES AND FEARS ARE MET IN CHRIST

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”  (Matthew 1:23 NKJV)

As we journey through the Advent season, the familiar carol "O Little Town of Bethlehem" brings a profound message to our hearts. One line, in particular, resonates deeply: "the hopes and fears of all the years are met in Thee tonight." This line beautifully encapsulates the essence of what many of us experience -- both hope and fear.

In this season of anticipation and reflection, we are reminded that Jesus Christ, our Immanuel, is the one who meets us in our deepest needs. He is the fulfillment of our hopes and the answer to our fears. The birth of Jesus in Bethlehem was not just a historical event; it was the divine intervention that brought hope to a weary world and dispelled the darkness of fear.

As we face our own hopes and fears, we can find solace in knowing that Jesus understands our struggles. He came to be with us, to walk alongside us, and to carry our burdens. In Him, we find the assurance that our hopes are not in vain and our fears can be laid to rest.

This Advent, let us bring our hopes and fears to Christ, trusting that He will meet us where we are. Let us find comfort in His presence and strength in His love. May we experience the peace and joy that come from knowing that in Jesus, all our hopes and fears are met. 

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

#6254

THE BEST THING ABOUT HEAVEN

What is the best thing about heaven? The best thing is not that we will again see our loved ones who die in the Lord, although that will be wonderful. The best thing is not that we will have resurrection bodies, though many of us can hardly wait for that. Nor is the best thing that the earth will be restored.

So what could be better than all these wonderful things? The very best thing about heaven is that we will be united with the Lord Himself, who is our life and joy. All the joys of this heaven and earth -- and the next heaven and earth -- wonderful as they are, are secondary joys. They pale in comparison to the joys of knowing the triune God who is our chief joy.

In Psalm 16:2, David is right when he says, “I say to the LORD, ‘You are my Lord; apart from You I have no good thing.’” In fact, the joys of those will increase who run after the one true God and His Son, Jesus Christ.

Those joys will be multiplied in heaven. Our hearts have capacities for joy that have not yet been tapped. But heaven will reveal how great and deep and lasting are the joys to be found in God alone.

Perhaps that is why the psalmist ends Psalm 16 with the words, “You make known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand” (vs 11). Eternal joy and lasting pleasures found in Him -- that is the best thing about heaven. 

-- Adapted from “How to Finish the Christian Life: Following Jesus in the Second Half” by Donald W. Sweeting & George Sweeting

#6155

WEDGE OR BRIDGE?

In his book “God's Story, Your Story,” Max Lucado describes the devil this way: "The Greek word for devil is diabolos, which shares a root with the verb diaballein, which means 'to split.' The devil is a splitter, a divider, a wedge driver. He divided Adam and Eve from God in the garden, and has every intent on doing the same to you."

It got me thinking that while the devil is a wedge between us and God, Jesus is a bridge between us and God. Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" (John 10:10). Timothy wrote, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all” (I Timothy 2:5-6a). And Peter declared, "For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God" (1 Peter 3:18). That’s what a bridge does. It crosses a divide and brings us to the other side.

What, then, are the consequences of my daily decisions and actions? Are they a wedge between me and God or are they, like Christ, a bridge? Do they push me away from God or draw me closer? Do my daily choices build a bridge with my friends, neighbors, church community, and those across the political aisle or do they create a divide? Answering these questions will help all of us on our journey. 

-- Rev. David T. Wilkinson, SOUND BITES Ministry™ 

#6113

A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and pow’r are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.
 
Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing,
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

(Verses 1 and 2 from “A Might Fortress Is Our God” by Martin Luther)

Like many, [Martin] Luther’s behavior did not always reflect his theology. Still, his discovery in Scripture that people by God’s grace can have a right relationship with God vastly changed his outlook on life. Having that fundamental relationship secured, he believed that a joyful and loving life would follow.

During a period in 1527 when he suffered from dizziness and from a disease occasioned both by high fever and physical weakness, Luther succumbed to a feeling of psychological abandonment. The prayers of his wife and friends sustained him in his despair. During this time he composed “A Might Fortress Is our God.” A clue to his faith lay in his admission that “the prince of darkness grim” raged in his life. Luther surmounted these personally trying times with the assurance that he need not fear the devil’s onslaughts because “one little Word shall fell him.” That Word is Jesus Christ. The reformer survived his rough moments by naming and clinging to Jesus Christ. 

-- K. James Stein in “Spiritual Guides for the 21^st Century”

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His Truth to triumph through us;
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little Word shall fell him.
 
That Word above all earthly pow’rs, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth;
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God’s Truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.

(Verses 3 and 4 from “A Might Fortress Is Our God” by Martin Luther)

#6035

MISSING THE POINT

“Then the angel said to [the shepherds], ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!’”  (Luke 2:10-14 NKJV)

It is Christmas time, and there is no other place on the calendar which can compare with it, no other season which makes its mark on the lives of so many people in so many ways. You can love Christmas, as most of us do, or you can dread it, as some surely do; but you can’t ignore it.

We can, however, miss the center, the point and the issue of the season, which is Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact, in our culture, you can very easily miss Him. Warren Lewis overheard a woman on a city bus in England mutter, “O, Lor’! They bring religion into everything.” She pointed to a crèche in front of a church. “Look – They’re dragging it even into Christmas now.”  (William Griffin in “Clive Staples Lewis, a Dramatic Life”) For vast numbers of secular people, Jesus Christ is just that incidental to the Christmas season; so much so that they think of Him, and the religion which bears His name, as an intrusion on their conglomerate of Santa Claus, parties and shopping. 

-- J. Ellsworth Kalas (1923-2015) in a sermon entitled “Matthew: Christ the Man” 

#6009

FORGIVE OUR SINS

Forgive them all, O Lord:
our sins of omission and our sins of commission;
the sins of our youth and the sins of our riper years;
the sins of our souls and the sins of our bodies;
our secret and our more open sins;
our sins of ignorance and surprise,
and our more deliberate and presumptuous sin;
the sins we have done to please ourselves
and the sins we have done to please others;
the sins we know and remember,
and the sins we have forgotten;
the sins we have striven to hide from others
and the sins by which we have made others offend;
forgive them, O Lord, forgive them all for His sake,
who died for our sins and rose for our justification,
and now stands at Thy right hand to make intercession for us,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
 
-- John Wesley, quoted in “Witness for Christ” by Harold K. Bates 

#5390

JESUS, THE SON OF GOD

“But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.”   (John 20:31)

It is true, there are people who do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God, our Saviour, among them some of the world’s greatest scholars. But I am appalled when I talk to many of these people of learning about Christ, for I discover that almost always they are ignorant of the basic truths of the Gospel… You would be amazed to discover that inevitably these people are taking issue with something that they do not fully understand. They have erected ‘straw men’, and have proceeded to destroy their own creation.

I have yet to meet anyone who has honestly considered the overwhelming evidence concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who does not admit that He is the Son of God. Now, as I have said, I meet some who do not believe, but as we have talked and reasoned together, they have been honest in confessing, “I have not taken the time to read the Bible or consider the historical facts concerning Jesus.” Their resentment has been based upon an unfortunate childhood experience, upon the inconsistency of some Christian or perhaps the influence of a college professor; but always they have admitted that they have not honestly considered the person of Jesus Christ and His claims on their lives. 

-- William R. Bright in “An Introduction to the Ten Basic Steps Toward Christian Maturity”

#5059

JESUS ONLY IS OUR MESSAGE

“And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”  (1 Corinthians 2:1-2 NIV)
 
Jesus only is our message,
Jesus all our theme shall be;
We will lift up Jesus ever,
Jesus only will we see.
 
Jesus only is our Savior,
All our guilt He bore away,
He, our righteousness forever,
All our strength from day to day.
 
Jesus is our Sanctifier,
Saving us from self and sin,
And with all His Spirit’s fullness,
Filling all our hearts within.
 
Jesus only is our Healer,
All our sicknesses He bare,
And His risen life and fullness,
All His members still may share.
 
Jesus only is our Power,
He the gift of Pentecost;
Jesus, breathe Thy pow’r upon us,
Fill us with the Holy Ghost.
 
And for Jesus we are waiting,
List’ning for the Advent Call;
But ’twill still be Jesus only,
Jesus ever, all in all.
         
-- Albert Benjamin Simpson (1843-1919)

#5044

JESUS PERSONIFIES GRACE

“For Christ also died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the Spirit.”  (1 Peter 3:18 RSV)

The grace of God is found in His great love for sinners, in His longing to do them good. His Son Jesus Christ personifies grace, for by the offering up of His body, sinners are made whole and pure, once and for all.   

-- John Bunyan

#4941

JESUS IS OUR MEDIATOR

God is holy, and we are sinners, and there is a distance between us.

Isn’t this our problem? We know God is good. We know we are not, and we feel far from God. The ancient words of Job are ours, “If only there was a mediator who could bring us together.” (Job 9:33 NLT)

Oh, but there is! Jesus hasn’t left us with an unapproachable God. Yes, God is holy. Yes, we are sinful. But, yes, yes, yes, Jesus is our mediator. “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 2:5 NIV)

-- Max Lucado in “He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart”


#4787

OFFERING CHRIST

“Then Peter said, ‘Look at us!’ So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, ‘Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.’"  (Acts 3:4-6)

As I thought about our church and the many other churches within our community I wondered, what we can actually offer. Most churches do not have the financial and material resources that most unemployed people need – such as housing, food, utilities, jobs, and medical resources. But I was reminded once again of what the church DOES have. Churches DO have Jesus! And Jesus is who people really need. Jesus can bring people into a relationship with Almighty God who Himself owns all the resources on a thousand hills. And He’s the One the church can offer to the community. The church’s mission is to introduce people to JESUS.

Scripture says “My GOD shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory IN CHRIST JESUS.” (Philippians 4:19) Only Jesus can truly satisfy the emptiness in the human heart. Only Jesus can forgive sins. Only Jesus can encourage us by His abiding presence in overcoming fear. There is no better way to encourage someone than to tell them about Christ and His love.

-- Michael W. Bilsza, excerpted from a letter to the editor in the Coshocton Beacon


#4635

ABUNDANT LIFE HERE AND NOW

Jesus said… “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”  (John 10:10 NRSV)

I believe that when Jesus Christ comes into our lives, He not only saves us for an eternity after death, He brings eternity into our lives here and now. To the degree that we allow our Lord to do so, He helps us to sleep better, eat better, talk better, love better, and laugh better. He brings a kind of continual excitement into life. The Christian life is wonderfully earthy; we don’t seek, in our beliefs, to escape from this life, but we do expect to get hold of something beyond this earth. Not simply when we die; heavens, no! We expect a quite out-of-this-world touch on our lives here. 

-- J. Ellsworth Kalas in “Life from the Upside: Seeing God at Work in the World”


#4516

THE WORD BECAME FLESH

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”  (John 1:1,14 NIV)

“In the beginning…” With those words, John intentionally places the opening of his Gospel alongside the opening words of the biblical witness. In those first words of beginnings in Genesis, the story spoke of creation’s unfolding from God’s hand and purpose. In the Gospel of John, these new words of beginnings portend a new creation emerging from those same hands and purposes. The Word present at creation’s beginning, the Word now become flesh to live among us, John identifies not only with God; this Word was God, according to the prologue. In Jesus of Nazareth, as a relatively recent affirmation of faith puts it, God has come and shared our common lot.

-- John Indermark in “Setting the Christmas Stage”


#4478

THE ‘A’ OF TRUE JOY

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”  (Hebrews 13:8 NIV)

There’s a delightful story told about Lloyd Douglas, author of “The Robe.” He enjoyed visiting a little, old, violin teacher in a shabby, small, walk-up room he proudly called his studio.

Douglas liked to drop in on him because he had the kind of lovely wisdom about life that refreshed him. One morning, Douglas stopped by to see the old man. “Well, what’s the good news today?” he asked. Putting down his violin, he stepped  over to a tuning fork suspended from a silk cord. He struck it with a smart blow with a padded mallet. That, my friend, is ‘A.’ It was ‘A’ all day yesterday. It will be ‘A’ all day tomorrow, next week, and for a thousand years.”

That story tunes our minds to the ‘A’ of true joy. Like Christ, who is its only source, joy is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. It is artesian, never changes, and is consistent irrespective of people or circumstances. At the same time, joy is not a quality we can find by searching or earn by effort. It comes from something -- really Someone else.

--  Lloyd J. Ogilvie in “If God Cares, Why Do I Still Have Problems?”

#4381

GOD IN CHRIST

In the Gospels God spoke through His son -- Jesus… The disciples would have been foolish to say, “It’s wonderful knowing You, Jesus; but we really would like to know the Father.”

Philip even said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” (John 14:8)

Jesus responded, “Don’t you know Me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in Me? The words I say to you are not just My own. Rather, it is the Father, living in Me, who is doing His work.” (Jon 14:9-10)  When Jesus spoke, the Father was speaking through Him. When Jesus did a miracle, the Father was doing His work through Jesus.

Just as surely as Moses was face-to-face with God at the burning bush, the disciples were face-to-face with God  in a personal relationship with Jesus. Their encounter with Jesus was an encounter with God. To hear from Jesus was to hear from God.

-- Henry Blackaby and Claude King, quoted in “His Passion: Christ’s Journey to the Resurrection”

#4300

GOD WHO IS TRIUNE

The Trinity is what we have if Jesus Christ is indeed God with us, God as God really is.  The Trinity shows that God is in relationship, that God is constantly, relentlessly relational, outgoing, and incarnational.  We can have new church starts, growing churches, and an expansive Kingdom of God because we have a God who is Triune.  The Trinity designates God as communicative, loving, relational, and on the move.

-- U.M. Bishop Will Willimon from an online interview

#4116