Saturday, June 16, 2012

Lessons From the Death of a Friend

Two days before he passed away I visited with a friend of mine and his family. Due to medication he was unconscious. The family told me that except for his liver, which was failing due to cancer, his health was pretty good. His heart was functioning well. His blood pressure was normal. When he was able to be awake his mind was good. In almost every way he was healthy...except for that liver.


I thought later about how just one part not functioning correctly can affect the whole body. Each part of the body has a role and an important function. There are very few parts that can be sick or stop providing their function and us be able to live or function normally.


This all reminds me of two passages in the Scriptures. In 1 Corinthians 12 the apostle Paul addresses the problem of division in the church at Corinth. He compares the church, with its many members, to a body with its different members (parts). "If the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,' is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,' is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased." (15-20) and "the eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you'; nor again the head to the feet, 'I have no need of you.'" (21).


Paul's point is twofold. First, if I am a Christian and think I have no need of other church members, either because I don't want to be a part of a church, feel I have no need of fellowship with other ChrIstians or I think I am some how better or superior to the other members, I lack proper appreciation and concern for other Christians. Second, if I feel inferior because I cannot contribute to a church as well as others, perhaps because of lack of knowledge or ability that others possess, I fail to understand that it takes Christians at various levels of knowledge and ability for a church to be properly composed as God arranged.


In Ephesians 4:16 Paul again uses the analogy of the church to the body and says, "the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the
edifying of itself in love."


Note: "every part does its share." The problem my friend Don had was that one of his parts stopped doing its share. What are the Lord's people, his church, missing because you are not doing your share by being an active, involved, dedicated part of the body of Christ?


Lessons to Consider


The church is important and if I am to be a faithful Christian I must be part of a local church (Paul was writing to Corinth, a local church). The Bible doesn't okay the "christian at large" concept or somehow substituting "TV church" for being an responsible member (in person) of a local church. 

  1. The Lord's teaching doesn't condone pew warming when it says that "every part does its share." You can greet others, encourage others, visit others, help sick folks, etc.
  2. Members who are struggling or still weak in their faith are not disposable. We can't act like the little toe can be thrown out because it is unimportant to me. Romans 15:1-2 says, "We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification."

Do you need to learn the value of the church? Do you need to better understand the value of your role within the Lord's church? We are ready to help. Just send an email and we'll be glad to talk with you. Lets all learn to appreciate our role in the Lord's plan for our life on this earth.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Choices for Our Children


Hannah is an Old Testament Bible character who struggled daily because she had no child. In deep sorrow she went to the Lord in prayer and made a vow. She said if You “will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life…” 1 Samuel 1:11. The Lord blessed her with the birth of Samuel.  When Hannah took young Samuel to Eli the priest she said, “Therefore I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord.” Verse 28.

Would you consider directing the life of your son this way? Perhaps deciding when your son is born that he will be a preacher of the gospel. From the moment of his birth you tell everyone, “My son will be a gospel preacher.”  As he grows you continually remind him of the plan you have for him. You read the Bible to him every day.  You have him spend time with godly men being taught the word of God.  In His teenage years you make arrangements for him to work in a church under the guidance of godly elders and evangelists who are committed to holiness. Finally the day comes when he is ready and he begins preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Many would say a parent should never decide such a thing for their child. “You can’t force religion on your child! This kind of decision has to be made by the child without the influence of a parent,” they say.  Yet many parents decide their child is going to excel in school and work diligently to place them in the best schools with the best teachers.  Or parents begin at an early age instructing their child in a sport, working with them every day, purchasing the services of a trainer, placing them on select teams and filling their extra time with the sport.

Why is raising a child to be a preacher of the gospel something to be avoided? Hannah is certainly commended for her choice for Samuel and Samuel was a great leader of God’s people.

What we need today are parents who simply decide that their children are going to grow up to be holy and righteous.  I don’t mean hoping that they will be holy and righteous but determining from the first day that they will be holy and righteous young men and women.  That’s what Timothy’s mother and grandmother did. Paul said to Timothy, “…from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Jesus Christ.” 2 Timothy 3:15.

If your child grows up to be holy and righteous, you’ll have to be holy and righteous.  You’ll need to be spending time with spiritual activities such as worship services, both scheduled and “extra-curricular,” Bible studies, sing praises to God, etc.  You’ll be selective in who your children are friends with. You’ll be careful about what they watch on TV and how much time they spend on the computer playing games or FaceBooking.  Sports, band, arts, and academics will not be the major focus of their life but will take second place to spiritual activities.

Someone might object saying that our children have to prepare themselves for a career.  Yes, our children need to make good grades and prepare themselves for life, but that is still secondary to their spiritual life.  Our responsibility before God is to raise spiritual children (Ephesians 6:4). By not making their spiritual life our number one priority, we neglect our God-given responsibility as parents.

Hannah is a great example. We may not dedicate our child’s life to God by determining he will be a preacher of the gospel, but we had better dedicate their life to the Lord and raise them accordingly. Oh, they may be an insurance salesman, a school teacher, a mechanic or enter some other line of work, but primarily they will be a holy and righteous servant of the Lord who places the Lord first, and secondarily whatever else they are in life.

Need help raising your children this way?  Please contact us if you feel we can help.