As in the case of Isaiah, recorded in Isaiah 6, the death of a leader can certainly be used by God to cause those of us still living to stop, breathe deeply and consider our own lives.

1. Have I Accepted the Gospel for Myself:

 

Are You Ready to Die When Your Time Comes?

First, do you have a real and vital relationship with God through Jesus Christ? Have you repented of your sin, come to God for forgiveness based on the death, burial and resurrection Jesus? Have you called on the Lord Jesus Christ and invited him to come into your life and change you for eternity?  If you have been considering starting a relationship with God and want to learn more, we invite you to contact us here today.  Just let us know you have questions about a relationship with God.  If you aren’t ready for a conversation just yet, click here to read a short explanation that will help you understand the Gospel better. Stay in touch if we can help.

 

For those who have a real and consistent relationship with God, may the death of Billy Graham be used to inspire us to consider our personal responsibility to share the Gospel and make disciples of all nations.  The news articles talk about how Billy Graham used all the new technology of the 20^th century to spread God’s word.  What are we doing with the powerful free tools of social media? How can we personally spread the Gospel more effectively and be a royal ambassador for Christ?

 

2. As a Christian, How Are You Doing With Your Responsibility As an Ambassador for Jesus and His Gospel Message?

 

How often do you think of yourself as a representative of King Jesus? How much of your life is spent on the mission that he has given to you?

Throughout the Bible we see many powerful metaphors to help us understand what it means to be the a Christian, and what it means to be a follower of Jesus. One of the best and most unsung metaphors is that the church is the  embassy of Christ and we, like Billy Graham are royal ambassadors. ( 2 Corinthians 5 )

Consider, an embassy is a body of persons entrusted with a mission to a foreign government, especially an ambassador and his or her staff. and/or a body of diplomatic representatives

And an ambassador is: An authorized messenger or representative and/or a diplomatic official of the highest rank, sent by one sovereign or state to another as its resident representative

So, what exactly does that mean for us to be an ambassador of Christ and his Gospel?

Who and what do we represent? Where is our “homeland”? How long are we on this mission? How are we supposed to go about it?

 

1. We represent a King and a kingdom

As Christians, we no longer live for ourselves but for Christ and his kingdom. We should look different, act different, speak different, and live different than the culture in which we live. We should be representing Christ’s character, his love, his commands, and his purposes to the world around us. We have been sent to the foreign land of this world in order to represent our King and our kingdom’s interests. The problem is that most of us look just like everyone else. We spend our money the same way, we dress the same way, we talk the same way. But that isn’t the way it is supposed to be. Just like you can tell when someone isn’t a native to where you live, the world should be able to look at Christians and say, “That person clearly isn’t from here. Where are they from?” Would people say that of you?

2. We have the King’s authority

Jesus sent his disciples out with his own power and authority in Luke 9. He has given the church the keys to the kingdom (Matthew 16) and told us that the gates of hell will not prevail against us and that it is through us that the “manifold wisdom of God” becomes known (Ephesians 2). He has gifted us with his Spirit so that we might possess his power and authority. He has not sent us out on this mission empty handed, for he has given us his very own authority.

3. We have the King’s protection

We have been granted asylum as refugees. We fled from our former lives of slavery to sin and to the kingdom of God where we were granted access because of Jesus’ love and sacrifice on the cross. We have been given protection through our citizenship. Though we may be afflicted in every way, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down, we will never be crushed, driven to despair, forsaken, destroyed, or totally overcome. As citizens of heaven, no matter what happens in this life, we have been given the promise that God is with us and our citizenship is secure.

4. We are on temporary assignment

Like Billy Graham, we are resident representatives, but only for a while. This foreign land is not our home, for our true homeland is the city that God is preparing for us while we are away on the mission. We are always waiting and longing for the return of our King and our entry into the completed kingdom of God. Because this is true, we shouldn’t get too comfortable in this life because we won’t be here for long. If you were going on vacation, you would pack light. In the same way, we should “pack light” in this life and instead store up for ourselves treasure in heaven. This treasure is accumulated through obedience to Christ’s mission and message.

5. We have the King’s mission and message

In Matthew 28 and Mark 16 Jesus commissioned his disciples and believers everywhere of all time for a specific task – to go, baptize, teach, and declare the message of reconciliation to the world. Our mission is to declare the gospel message to the foreign land around us so that they too might become citizens of the kingdom. God has entrusted to us, as stewards, the treasure of the gospel that we are to share with the world. We are to be a city on a hill, a light in the darkness, drawing people toward Christ.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. The show was developed in less than 7 weeks on an extremely small budget.
2. The show almost never aired. CBS executives originally didn’t like it for reasons ranging from not having a laugh track to the Biblical passage recited by Linus.
3. The first special was commissioned by the Coca Cola Company as an exclusive advertising opportunity.
4. The final program was finished just 10 days before the premiere.
5. The negative view of aluminum trees presented in the show ruined the aluminum Christmas tree market. They were no longer manufactured after 1967.

 

As mentioned above, the Bible quotation has caused some controversy over the years. However, Charles Shultz, the creator, said that it had to be included since it was the true meaning of Christmas. The inclusion of the passage from Luke chapter 2 reminds us that the perfect answer to the question “Who is God?” is found in the Christmas story.  

 

1. God wants to be known.

The entire Bible is filled with hundreds of accounts and stories of God revealing himself to people and communicating with them. Many people wrongly believe that God is distant and inactive in the world or in our lives. They believe that he is real, maybe even that he created the world and set it in motion – but that he has been “hands off” ever since (Deism). This is false. Scripture teaches us that God is actively involved both in world affairs and in our personal lives. He is both transcendent and immanent. That is, he is above and beyond all that we can comprehend and imagine, and yet he has chosen to be active among us and communicate with us and seek relationship with us. God wants to be known. He wants humanity to know him and has proved himself willing to go to extreme lengths in order for that to happen.

2. Through Jesus, God reveals his identity. 

We know that God wants to be known because of the many ways that he revealed himself to his people throughout the Bible. God walked with Adam and Eve. He spoke to Noah. He called Abram to uproot his life and move to the place he had for him – and so on and so on throughout the Old Testament. He spoke through visions and dreams. He spoke to Judges and through prophets. He gave his written Law. He spoke in a still, small voice; and he spoke through thunder on Mt. Sinai. The Psalms declare that God can be known by the great things he has done in our lives and Romans even tells us that creation itself proclaims the identity of God to the world. And the list could go on for hours, but none of these, NONE of these – even if you added them all together, come even close to the fullness of God’s revealing his identity that exists in the person of Jesus Christ. God wants his identity to be known and Jesus’ is the ultimate proof of that.

3. Through Jesus, God reveals his character.

Throughout the Gospels, we see God’s character made vividly clear in the person of Jesus. The Old Testament gives us a taste of God’s character and heart – but Jesus is the perfect and complete picture of God’s character. Sometimes it can be difficult to read through books like Leviticus and Numbers that contain chapter upon chapter of laws. But even these laws, along with the entire rest of the Bible, give us a glimpse into the character and heart of God. But Jesus himself is the ultimate revealing of God’s character. In Jesus, we find the heart of God. We find him caring for people, loving people, rebuking the hypocritical religious people, healing the sick, setting the demon possessed free of spiritual oppression, letting children come to him, bringing people back from the dead, and much more. In each teaching of Jesus and in the life of Jesus; in every story and every parable; every healing and every exorcism; we see the character of God clearly made known. As we read through the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life and teachings, we see the heart and character of God on display.

4. Through Jesus, God reveals his purpose.

There is perhaps no clearer description of Jesus own mission and purpose in this world than we find in Luke 4:16-21 – Jesus’ mission statement:

“And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.

¹⁷ And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,

¹⁸ The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

¹⁹ To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

²⁰ And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.

²¹ And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”

Though many of the people of Jesus’ day thought his purpose was to set them free from Roman oppression, Jesus came to set them free from something far more powerful and far more oppressive – sin, evil, and death – an oppressor that only God could conquer and overcome. Jesus came to set humanity free from enslavement to sin once and for all. He didn’t do this just to do it. He didn’t set us free for freedom’s sake – he set us free so that we might be in relationship with him and know him and love him. In short, Jesus’ purpose in coming was to do what was necessary to set us free from sin so that we could enter into a loving relationship with him. In Jesus, God made his purpose known, not only for the world at large, but also in our individual lives. His overarching purpose was to set each person AND all of humanity free from enslavement to sin and to provide a way for his people to be in healthy and holy relationship with him. Through Jesus’ teaching and his death and resurrection, we have the perfect revelation of God’s purpose.

5. Through Jesus, God reveals his love.  

Information on “A Charlie Brown Christmas” gathered from Wikipedia. Read more at this link.

 

 

 

At the risk of seeming trite with a short article, we still wanted to address the pain, suffering, devastation and loss so many are dealing with right now and remind people there are biblical truths that address even these difficulties. Perhaps a brief survey of these truths will help prompt further study or a visit to our church for more discussion with our pastor.

We see often in Scripture the saints of God in times of suffering. Adam and Eve suffered the murder of their son by his own brother. Job suffered the loss of almost all he had. Actually, a good deal of Job’s loss was due to a weather-related event. The faithful Christians in Revelation suffered and even in Heaven seem to question why they were not being avenged for their suffering. Hebrews 11 has a whole list of suffering saints.

We are faced with the question of why God’s children suffer if an all-powerful God loves and cares for them. Though that seeming dilemma cannot be fully answered in our human knowledge and certainly not in a short article, a few quick reasons for suffering may lead you to further help and study.

1. Sin. We live in a sin-cursed world. Romans 8:22 reminds us that all Creation groans because of sin. People, nature and all the universe are under the curse of sin. In addition, the consequences of our own personal sin often bring pain. The sins of others can bring heartache, too. God did not leave us in this situation, but provided salvation through Jesus Christ, his death, burial and resurrection. Although we still experience pain in this life, we have the hope of eternity without pain and sorrow if we repent of our sin and accept his free gift of salvation. When all is lost, we can still have hope through Jesus Christ. God never promised an easy pain free life, but he did promise to never leave us or forsake us even in the storms. Even in death itself. For the child of God, death is God’s merciful escape from this sin-cursed world. Click here to learn more about how you can have a relationship with God. 

2. Strangers. We are strangers in this world. Hebrews 11:13 reminds us that this world is not our home. This is not our place of rest. We can’t expect to be too comfortable here. Heaven is our resting place.

3. Sons. We are sons of God. Therefore God, as a loving Father, brings suffering at times to discipline us in order that it may yield the “peaceable fruit of righteousness” in our lives (Hebrews 12).

4. Satan. Job 1 allows us to see that Satan and his minions are allowed by God to bring about hard times for God’s children in order to bring glory to God. Always remember though, that God’s glory and the good of his children are eternally bound together. Our good does not stop in order to bring God glory. Somehow even our suffering is actually good for us in ways we may never understand until we get to Heaven.

5. Selfishness. Although a derivative of #1 above, it still should be mentioned, because the selfishness of those we love (as well as those we don’t even know) can cause great pain.

So, Here Are The 5 Biblical Ways We Can Learn to Cope Even When Life Is Hard

1. Relinquish control to God’s sovereign plan, knowing that He is never out of control. Even with the problem of sin and evil, God overrules and works all things for our good as we become more like Christ.

2. Rest in God’s wisdom and love. God is all-wise. He knows the end from the beginning and is always acting in love toward us, His children. We often cannot see that when in suffering, yet we can understand it when we compare parenting to God’s love. As a parent allows a non-understanding, crying baby to undergo surgery, an immunization shot, or other pain for ultimate healing or good, so God does the same. As the parent would not love the child if he/she stopped the pain, so God would not fully love us if He did not allow what was best.
Jesus himself suffered rejection, pain, and even death. God however was over-ruling in his sovereign control and brought about eternal good through the suffering of his own son.

3. Run to His Word. God’s Word, the Bible, contains “all things that apply to life and godliness.” We open it to find the truths we need, and we depend upon His Spirit to lead us in applying it to our situation and to our hearts personally. We encourage you to especially read the Psalms during difficult times.

4. Reach out to others. In the midst of our pain, it is helpful to serve others. Serving helps us get our focus off of our suffering. It is an encouragement to know that we have helped others and been used by God to bring joy to them. Even during Jesus’ suffering on the cross, He was mindful of His mother’s needs.

5. Share your burden. Don’t substitute fellowship with others for time with God; but if at all possible, find a close Godly friend who will faithfully listen and point you back to God’s truth when your faith begins to waiver. Confide in your church family to find healing and strength. God works through the body of Christ, the church.

As most of us watch the events in Texas, Florida and other areas in the paths of these storms, let us pray for grace and strength for those involved, give what we can by reaching out to help, and may we point people to biblical truth in the storm.

If you would like to join our church family to pray for those in the storms, please join us for a service soon.