Is Christ In Your Church?

“The story is told about a poor woman who lived across the tracks and wanted to join a very fashionable church. She talked to the pastor about it, but he sought to discourage her. He suggested she go home and think about it carefully for a week.

“At the end of the week she came back. He said, “Go home and read your Bible for an hour every day this week. Then come back and tell me if you still feel you should join.” Although she wasn’t happy about this, she agreed to do it. The next week she was back, assuring the pastor she wanted to become a member of the church. In exasperation he said, “I have one more requirement. You pray every day this week and ask the Lord if he wants you to come into our fellowship.”

“Unfortunately, the pastor did not see the woman for six months. He met her on the street one day and asked her what she had decided. She said, “Yeah, I did what you asked me to do. I went home and prayed. One day while I was praying, the Lord said to me, ‘Don’t worry about not getting into that church. I’ve been trying to get into it myself for the last twenty years!” (borrowed).

Class distinctions have no place in the church of the Lord. James wrote: “My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?”

Rich or poor, we are all welcome in His church. It is Christ’s church, not ours.

God loves you!

Mike

Valuable Documents

“A rare 237-year-old privately held copy of the US Constitution sold for $9M at auction yesterday. The artifact is one of 100 official copies printed in 1787 and is among eight copies known to exist today that were sent to state leaders for review before being formally adopted. Seven of the eight copies are held by public institutions. See photos here. The sold Constitution was discovered in 2022 inside a metal filing cabinet in a neglected room of a property in Edenton, North Carolina, once owned by the state's first governor, Samuel Johnston. Johnston, who was governor from 1787 to 1789, oversaw the state convention that ratified the Constitution. The copy was also found with a letter from George Washington asking for ratification. The last copy of the Constitution sent to states was sold for $400 in 1891. The last copy of the Constitution sent to delegates (one of 14 known copies) was sold to billionaire investor Kenneth Griffin for a record $43.2M in 2021, who outbid cryptocurrency group ConstitutionDAO” (1440 Daily Digest, Oct. 18, 2024).

While an original copy of the US Constitution is undoubtedly a valuable document, I would guess that most of us currently own several copies of the most valuable document ever printed right now.  What document is that, you ask? Why, the Bible of course! But someone may object by saying, “Bibles can be purchased all day long for only a few dollars or even acquired free of charge. That doesn’t sound like a valuable document to me.” But what makes the Bible so valuable is not the paper and ink on which it is printed. The value is in the word of God that the Bible contains. Within the pages of Scripture, we find priceless information and instruction from God about the very destiny of our souls. What could possibly be more valuable?

In Psalm 119:127, the author claims to love God’s commandments “...above gold, yes above fine gold.” Would someone be able to look at my life and see the same commitment to God’s words?

God loves you!

Mike

Links In A Chain

“The Navy’s USS Dwight D. Eisenhower weighs 95,000 tons, carries more than 6000 sailors, and serves 18,000 meals a day. It has two anchors. Each anchor weighs 60,000 lbs and is attached to a chain that weighs 665,000 lbs. Each solitary link in that chain weighs 365 lbs.. Every ship has an anchor that is at the end of a long series of individual links. If you trace those links one by one, you will eventually get to the anchor. It is the anchor that keeps the ship from drifting” (House to House, Heart to Heart, Vol. 29, #9).

The writer of Hebrews in the New Testament uses the image of an anchor to describe the hope we have in the finished work of Christ as our High Priest. “In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 6:17–20 NAS95).

Our ship of faith needs to be linked to Christ, the anchor of our hope. But there are many links in the chain that connects us to our Redeemer. For example, one link could be the person or persons who kindled the initial flames of faith in our lives as a youngster -- perhaps a parent or grandparent (2 Timothy 1:5). Another link might be a friend who encouraged our spiritual growth. Other links could be members of the congregation that we attend. Each link, working together, to connect us to the Anchor.

Are you a link in someone else’s chain of faith?

God loves you!

Mike

A Master Craftsman

“Grampa and granddaughter were sitting in her room when she asked, “Grampa, did God make you?” “Yes, God made me,” he answered. A few moments later, she asked “Did God make me?” Again, the answer was “Yes.” She looked in the mirror for a while, then said, “You know, God is doing a whole lot better work lately” (preaching.com).

We are all a work in progress, aren’t we? The Scriptures affirm this in several places. When we read what Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus, we learn that believers are God’s ‘...workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works…” (Ephesians 2:10). It has been His plan from the beginning for all of his children “...to become conformed to the image of His Son…” (Romans 8:29). What can we learn from the Bible about God’s workmanship?

God works in us to accomplish His purposes, not our own. While the brothers and sisters in Philippi were to “...work out your salvation with fear and trembling…” (Philippians 2:12), Paul then goes on to say that “...it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).

God provides everything we need to do His will as He works in us. “Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen” (Hebrews 13:20–21).

God never leaves a job unfinished. As Paul thanked God for how the Philippian Christians shared in his gospel work, he reminded them that “...He who began a good work in you will perfect (bring to completion, MJA) it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).

God is a master craftsman. He wants to transform you. How about it? Are you ready for a renovation?

God loves you!

Mike

True Value

“In February 1986, at a gem-and-mineral bazaar in Tucson, Arizona, an amateur rockhound sold an egg-sized, violet-and-blue stone to Texas gemologist Roy Whetstine for $10 — the original asking price was $15, but Whetstine talked him down. After months of rigorous appraisal, Whetstine made an announcement about his $10 rock: it was a 1,905-carat star sapphire with an estimated, uncut value of $2.28 million. His good fortune was not just good luck. He points out, “I was used to handling rocks and saying, ‘Yeah, that’s a keeper’ or ‘That’s no good’.” The difference between a rock hound and a gemologist, between the amateur’s $10 rock and Whetstine’s $2.28 million find, is an eye and feel for value. The difference between heaven and hell, eternal regret or eternal reward, is an eye for the truly valuable things in life” (Craig Brian Larson, preaching.com).

An appraiser is someone who assesses the value of something -- like a house, a car, or even a rock. In most cases, it takes years of training and experience to be good at the job. But there is a sense in which all of us are appraisers. No, we haven’t been to school for it. We don’t have a business license. We aren’t even listed with the Better Business Bureau. But every day, we make spiritual value judgments. We assess what is truly important to us and what is not. And those appraisals affect our thinking and actions.

Here are some questions to ask ourselves as we think about the value judgments we make.  Do I love the things of the world more than I love God (1 John 2:15-17)? Do I desire the approval of men more than the approval of God (John 12:42-43)? Do I love evil things more than good things (Psalm 52:1-4)? If my answer to any of these questions reveal that my value system is out of whack, what can I do? The apostle Paul would tell me to refocus on the surpassing value of knowing Christ (Philippians 3:8). All else should pale in comparison.

God loves you!

Mike

Flameproof

In a Nov. 23, 2023 article, Jonathon Ramsey reports the following: There's been quite some noise from our online neighbors in the past few days thanks to a Kia Sorento, a fire, a Stanley thermal mug, and a magnanimous offer. TikTok user Danielle, who goes by danimarielettering, had her Kia Sorento catch on fire recently. From the looks of her video taken after the fire, it appears only the forward and upper portions of the SUV caught the worst of the flames... As she approaches the wreck and reaches in, she says, "Everybody’s so concerned about if the Stanley spills, but what about if it melts?" Then she grabs the Stanley thermos in the cupholder and shakes it. "Fire yesterday," she says. "Still has ice in it." Danielle captioned the vid with, "Thirsty after you catch on fire? @Stanley1913 is like no problem i gotchu."  That hit the "VIRAL!" button and the horde came clicking with nearly 84 million views and 60,000 comments at the time of writing.* Kudos to the Stanley company for manufacturing a quality product that can beat the heat!

As I read the story, I got to thinking about how followers of Christ are also flame resistant. In fact, heat can actually make us stronger. The apostle Peter had some things to say about this early in his first letter to believers who were experiencing the fires of persecution: “In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ…” (1 Peter 1:6–7; cf 4:12).

For believers, heat doesn’t mean defeat. Instead, fiery trials can be used by God to test our faith -- to refine us and make us stronger (cf. James 1:3). Our faith can make us flameproof.

God loves you!

Mike

*https://www.autoblog.com/features/stanley-mug-survives-a-car-fire-so-stanley-replaces-both-mug-and-car