Taking Time to Remember Him

          We live in a fast paced life style these days.  Even at my age, I have to keep track of appointments, usually for doctors, and places where I am supposed to be.  When you are coping with a fading memory  it sometimes seems hard to keep track of everything.  I guess this is why the doctors call you up with a recording reminding you of your appointment.  It's good to come to Sunday service where we now attend for worship.  It is just a tad different and every Sunday morning at 9:30 AM, the people gather to come silently into the small, plain sanctuary to begin the service.  No one is in charge and no one has an agenda.  Songs are sung, prayers are said, exhortations are made and it is always culminated in the main purpose of the service, the Lord's Supper.  People often say that you will get tired of doing this every Sunday and that it will lose its meaning or impact.  This past Sunday, I was meditating on the verse, Romans 5:8.  " But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." 
      I don't think I will ever get tired of reading that verse and thinking about what Christ did for us.  I was just thankful for the opportunity to take a moment out of our life to remember Christ and what He has accomplished for us on the cross.  First Corinthians 11:24-25 says, "And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.  After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me."   The whole purpose of our gathering in such a way is simply to "remember Him."  The Apostle Paul emphasizes this to the Corinthians when he mentioned it in connection with the breaking of the bread and the blessing of the cup.  Even many communion tables contain the words on the front, "This Do In Remembrance of Me."  I sometimes wonder if we really do remember the Lord Jesus Christ or are we just trying to fit Him into a very tight schedule.  Today promises to be another one of those busy days with some being more busy than others.  I have two things scheduled for this afternoon which is a conflict but will try to focus my attention on that which is important in spite of the conflict.  I will endeavor to try to "remember" what Christ did for me and for all believers.  He died for us.  Praise God today for such a wonderful salvation.

This Little Light of mine...

      It would seem that darkness goes hand in hand with deception.  It can play tricks on your mind.  I have mentioned how that a trip to the trash pile one night while we were living in the country, proved to be rather exciting.  I shined a light into the darkness, but only saw two, what I thought were, eyes peering back at me.  Judging by the distance between the two eyes the creature had to be very large.  Not wanting to kill it, I fired a couple rounds of bird shot from my rifle with no results.  The two eyes turned out to be the curves in my son's tricycle handlebar which he had parked near the trash barrel.  I recently purchased one of those fancy flashlights that are supposed to be used by the military.  This light illuminates the darkness and you can see everything.  I can find things in drawers, in the bottom of my closet, under the couch and many other places that I didn't know contained so many items.  John 1:5 says, " And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not."  
      The greater the light, the greater the exposure of sin.  John the Baptist wrote that he wasn't that Light and was of course referring to the Light as being the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.  If you dare, you could compare your daily life to that of Christ.  You will soon find out what is True Holiness.  As great as John the Baptist was, he still realized that he was nothing and that Christ was everything.  Revelation 21:23 says, "And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof."  We know how much light comes from the sun and the moon.  On a cloudless night sky, one can still see because of the light of the moon and the stars.  The day time is far brighter than we could imagine yet the Lord Jesus Christ is brighter than all of them put together.  Second Corinthians 4 reminds us that we are reflectors of the Light in our lives.  We know the difference between light and darkness and as you go out into the world today, you are going as light to a vast people who are living in darkness.  The sun may be shining today wherever you are, but people are still living in darkness.  As you go out, may you and myself included, be reflectors of the Light to a lost and dying world.  Praise God for giving us the Light.

I Stand Alone on the Word of God, the B I B L E

        There was an energy crisis in USA and people were trying to come up with ways to conserve energy, especially gasoline.  The nation was trying to conserve energy so it lowered the speed limits to 55 miles per hour.  Most states participated in this act.  Then, as the energy supply seemed to increase and the cost of gasoline came down, the speed limits were raised in some states.  In our state, the interstate speed limit is now up to 70 miles per hour.  It had been 55, then 65 and now 70 mph.  The laws had changed.  What was once illegal, now became legal.  If you were caught driving 70 mph when the law was 55, you would get a ticket and it would cost you both money and points against your drivers license.  If you kept it up, you would lose your driving privileges.  Now, however, the same speed would not cause you to get a ticket nor points.  The law had changed.  We find that true in different areas of our society.  Sometimes, that which was illegal during one period of time has now become legal.  There are, however,  some laws that do not change.  God's law doesn't change nor does His "doctrine" change from one day to the next.  That which comprises sound doctrine is the same from one time period to another.  We can be thankful that God's doctrine doesn't change from day to day.  Paul wrote about shifting doctrines which are not of God but are the inventions of men who think that they have come up with something new.  Ephesians 4:14 says, "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;"  
       We need to realize that doctrines don't change from day to day.  We should not try to altar God's law just because society deems something acceptable today that was against the law yesterday. There may be a gradual understanding of a Scriptural doctrine that was once unclear but has become more clear through time.  But, the doctrine remains the same.  All of this is to say that we can always have confidence in the Word of God when the things of this life seem to contradict the Word of God.  Things come and go, even in the church, but the clear teachings of the doctrines of God remain the same and you can put your confidence in them.  You don't have to be the victim of all of the "celebrity experts" that are around today but you simply have to put your trust into that which God says in His Word.  The doctrines were sound during the times of Christ and the Apostles are they are sound today.  Praise God for His unchanging Word.

"Sound the Alarm!"

        A number of years ago, it became a law that a person could not go into a crowded theater and shout "Fire!"  Someone could be killed if such a thing was done and there was no fire.  There may come a time in your life when it is necessary to sound an alarm.  Take for instance a burning home where you notice the fire.  What should you do?  Should you walk by and ignore what you have seen or should you sound the alarm?  Obviously, you should sound the alarm as loud as you can.  Most courses teach in fire safety that the most critical time is the first three minutes  After that time, it could be out of control.  There are times when warnings are necessary.  The practice of setting a guard or a "watchman" was a practice that Israel utilized.  You never knew when an advancing army would appear so watchmen were set and were ready to sound the alarm should the enemy appear.   Ezekiel 33:5-6 says, "He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.  But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand."  

         We have taken this section of Scripture and given it an indirect application to all of us.  As a believer, you know the "end of the story."  You know how things are going to turn out.  You know that Satan will be defeated and that the unbelieving will be cast into the Lake of Fire.  You also know the terrible wrath that is going to come upon every person that doesn't believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  Now comes the choice.  You have to decide whether to sound the alarm or not.  There are many who are ignoring the position of "watchman."  They are comfortable in their salvation and for one reason or another, don't see the need to sound the alarm.  For some, we say, "Well I made it.  You are on your own."    What would it take to increase our awareness of the severity of the final judgment?  It may be that some people need to spend some time thinking on what it will be like to go into an eternity without God.  That is, what would it be like to spend the rest of eternity without Christ, without God, without light and without the blessings of heaven?  Check what it says in the Bible about eternal judgment.   When you read the book of Revelation, you soon find out all of the wonderful things that will be in heaven.  The opposite is also true.  If you do not go to heaven, then you will go somewhere.  That "somewhere" is the Lake of Fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels.  Would you be God's watchman today?  Will you sound the alarm and let those around you know that the enemy is coming and in fact, is here among us?  Praise God for your salvation and be prepared to share it with others.

Freedom Indeed

          As national holidays go, Independence day is probably one of the most observed and thought of.  It has no religious overtones.  It celebrates the dependence from a foreign power and the birth of the nation.  Many great quotes come from the founding fathers of the country.  They all longed to be free from tyranny and to go their own way.  Freedom is something that is important to every individual.  One could say that we all long to be free and sometimes that freedom will be from different things.  When we think of political freedom, we think of one country being free from another and not wanting to have any connection with the old country in any way shape or form.  The Bible also speaks of freedom.  There is that longing to be free from sin and from the power of sin.  John 8:36 says, " If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed."  
      We can look at the Declaration of Independence and stand in awe of the people, men and women, boys and girls, who fought to make our country free.  Freedom came with a price and men and women were ready and willing to give their lives for freedom.  There is that sense in which the Bible is our declaration of independence.  The freedom of every believer came with a price.  The price of freedom for the believer was the blood of Christ on the cross at Calvary.  We may try to compare the two freedoms and probably wonder how the sacrifice of One individual could possibly pay the necessary price for that freedom.  It is because of the perfect sacrifice.  The Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross to pay the price that God the Father had set for the satisfaction for our sin.  As the apostle John wrote in his first epistle, Christ was the propitiation, or the satisfaction, for the sin debt.  We cannot add one thing to the payment.  There is nothing that will ever act as a supplement to the salvation and the freedom that we now possess as a result of Christ dying on the cross for our sins.  You and I cannot add one iota to the act of Christ dying on the cross.  One songwriter wrote, "Jesus Paid it All."   John wrote that the payment for our sins satisfied the requirement.  You may be thankful for your political freedom, but you should be even more thankful for your freedom as a believer.and to realize the truth of the words in John 8:36 that the Son can make you free indeed.  Praise God today for giving us freedom.

In The Last Days...

       I never saw my grand parents drive a car.  I didn't know my father's parents but did know my mother's parents and stayed with them every summer.  They didn't have a car but depended on the kids to get them to the store or to bring whatever they needed.  Grandfather Vermilyer didn't have a car but did have a shotgun. My father borrowed it once to go hunting and upon shooting it had it fall into three pieces.  Grandpa simply told him he was holding it wrong.  I saw grandpa shoot a goose from his rocking chair as it flew overhead.  It was cleaned and prepared for dinner that evening.  They seemed to have the things that they needed and Mom and Dad would bring two packs of Beech Nut each time they visited.  Life seemed to be so simple in those days.  Things have changed in this present time and not everything is for the good of mankind.  Second Timothy 3:1 says, "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come."  
     It doesn't take long for us to realize just how perilous these times are.  All we need to do is to listen to the news and it seems to be a running commentary of Second Timothy 3:1-5.  All of the characteristics of this passage of Scripture are being played out every day.  There is comfort in all of this in knowing that it isn't a surprise to God.  He knew it was going to happen.  God knew before how things were going to get because He knows our mind and our flesh and our spirit.  He knows how we are going to react and how we are going to go astray.  He knows how we are going to respond to the events that we are going to confront today and in the days to come.  God was not caught unawares but had a plan even from the beginning.  Galatians 4:4 describes how that in the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son.  God knew we were going to need help and so provided our salvation in His Son.  Second Timothy 3:1-5 certainly shows our need and John 3:16 shows our answer.  No matter how terrible the news is on your channel, God has the answer.  God is always there even during the terrible crimes of humanity.  God has given us His Son and His Son won the victory by coming out of the tomb.  The greatest event in history has won the victory for each and every believer and has become the answer as to what the world needs even in light of the events that take place each and every day.  So, Praise God today for the message of John 3:16.

Let's Sing a Lot!

        Well, I praise God that no one has ever told me that I cannot sing.  You may also come to the point that tunes are running through your head even though you are not singing "out loud."  I like to sing and sooner or later a tune is going to come out somewhere, somehow.  I started singing in school.  I guess you could say that I began in earnest in high school as I was a member of the "glee club."  Even in high school, I began singing for weddings.  O, I didn't do a lot of them but did a couple.  I just liked to do it.  I have sometimes repeated that I sang a voice solo at contest time in the Indiana school system and then had to sing the same solo down at state contest in Indianapolis.  My father was there and simply said, "Well, it was loud."  Psalm 104:33 says, " I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being."
         My Grand Daughter, Rebekah, made me wonderful plaque for my 80th birthday that had Psalm 13:6 on it.  That tells why I sing.  The Lord has dealt bountifully with me.  I began looking up the phrase, "I will sing"  in the concordance and found eighteen references in the Bible, fourteen of which are in the book of Psalms.  I think that is appropriate as the Book of Psalms is the hymn book of the Jewish people.  There are times when you may not feel like singing.  There is the verse that says that the Israelites hung their harps on the willows in Psalm 137:2.  They didn't feel like singing when they were heading to captivity.  There may be those times in our lives when the urge to sing leaves us.  So far, I haven't had that urge.  Singing is an expression of what is going on in my life.  There may be those times when I sing in a minor key, but not too often.  It's like the song says, "I sing because I'm happy."  I may sound really bad to a lot of people, but that doesn't stop me from singing.  I am growing fond of the expression, "I sing by letter.  I open my mouth and let her fly."  A bit of humor sometimes explains the quality of my singing.  I could say, "Well, I haven't had any training in singing, and maybe that explains why it is not up to par for many educated singers."  Music is mentioned a lot in the Bible and I am sure that it is important for us to sing praises to God for what He has done, what He is doing and what He is going to do.  You can hear the melody rise up in your head when you say the words, "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me."  Praise God for the ability He has given us to sing praises to Him.  Don't be silent