Biddeford Church of Christ

In his book, Learning to Love, Willard Tate deals with the sensitive issue of hypocrisy.  We see them all the time, people saying one thing and doing another.  Unfortunately, there are times I need to look no further than the mirror in front of me to find one.  I found comfort then in this quote from Dr. Paul Faulkner’s definition of this word, “Hypocrisy…is pretending to be something you never intend to become.”  Let’s be honest, the exhortations to “love your enemy, do good to those who hate you” (Luke 6:27) or “pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44) don’t come naturally, for they fly in the face of our selfish tendencies.  That is why, as Christians, we are called to give “all diligence” to the task of adding to our faith “brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love” (2^nd Peter 1:5, 7).  Why is learning to love so crucial to the Christian cause?

For he who lacks these things is short-sighted, even to blindness,

and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.

                                                                                                                                    2^nd Peter 1:9

As I prepared for this article and lesson, my intent was not to consider the above verse, for I feared it would take away from the tone of the lesson.  You see, I want us to grasp those reasons which are so critical to the health and well-being of the church and the gospel it is called to proclaim.  Yet, I found myself looking back at this verse, challenged by the fact that I am compelled to learn about His love for me because of His love for me.  As 1^st John 4:19 says, “We love Him because He first loved us.”  My ability to love rest squarely at the foot of the cross, a place I need to be if I am going to understand what it means to love others.

A new commandment I give to you, that you also love one another.

By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

                                                                                                                      John 13:34-35

The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.  We need to be an extension of God’s love, as seen by these words from Jesus.  The world is going to draw a line to something.  Our ability to love is the “pencil” used to draw that line.  Like all of us, they can sense genuineness, and thus, in their minds, flush out hypocrisy.  Maybe this is in part why Paul penned these words, “Let love be without hypocrisy…Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love” (Romans 12:9, 10).  This idea of being loved and in turn, loving others, is serious business!

I suspect that you, like me, desire to be the extension of God’s love to those both in the church and the world.  That task is sometimes easier said than done, primarily because I have yet to understand His love for me fully; thus, it gives reason for our continued pursuit of the understanding of His love.  The more I pursue Him and His love, the better I can love all others.  Lord, cleanse me from my selfish thoughts and empower me to love as You do, unconditionally.  Amen!

Dennis

At the beginning of this coming year, we will begin a study in our mid-week class that is rooted in part by a book by Willard Tate entitled, Learning to Love.  In that book there is a chapter called Experiencing God’s Love, a chapter that has truly caused me to ponder my understanding of God’s love for me.  Willard Tate writes, “The need to love and be loved is the simplest of all human wants.”   What do you think about that?  There was a study that revealed that one of the top three things humans desire is belonging.  As one person said, “A deep sense of love and belonging is an irreducible need of all people.  We are biologically, cognitively, physically, and spiritually wired to love, to be loved, and to belong.”  Maybe this is in part why the Holy Spirit had Paul pen these words, “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you…” the ability to “comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height-to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:14-13, 18-19).  God wants us to grasp His steadfast love for us, a love that never wavers.

And he arose and came to his father.  But when he was still a great way off,

his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.

                                                                                       Luke 15:20

1. W. Howe writes, “Nothing is wonderful when you get used to it.”  Sometimes, as we read our bibles, the familiarity of the verses that once grabbed our attention, suddenly pass by with little impact.  For me, the parables kind of get that way; you know, the same old story: So it was with the parable of the prodigal son.  We know the story…right.  Son is given, son squanders, son returns, the other son get mad and everyone is happy.  Yet, this past week as this parable was discussed in light of our focus on love, God’s love for us, I was reminded anew of how precious the son was to the father.  Try to visualize God running to you, knowing as He does, of all the wrongs you have done!  Imagine His arms embracing you and the warmth of His presence touching you neck.  Then, unexpectedly, the kiss on the cheek welcoming you back home.  This is the steadfast love of God.

But the father said to his servants, “Bring out the best robe and put it on him,

and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.

                                                                                                                         Luke 15:22

The prodigal son knew his worth; that is, unworthy to “be called his son” (Luke 15:19, 21), or so he thought.  Now he experiences a love that looks beyond the visible, the dirt and humility of days past.  He is not worthy of such love, so the older brother thought, and he would be right, for all you need to do is glance back in time.  Yet, he was worth the father’s love, “It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found” (Luke 15:32).  That is the love God has for us…for me.  A love that runs to us, embraces us, provides for us and rejoices with us, knowing we have come home.  Thank You Lord for loving me.

Dennis

I found myself thinking about last week’s lesson and the implications of it for all of us.  Realizing that God has and will continue to be so intimately involved in His children’s lives, including those times when He needs to get our attention through discipline, is challenging.  Looking at Jeremiah’s words in Lamentations, the great anguish he expressed, has caused me to want to build on it even further.  So, my intent today is to draw our attention towards our hope through all that life may bring us..

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love

God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

                                                                                                                Romans 8:28

The apostle Paul knew all to well the cost of serving Christ, for he experienced it from both sides.  He knew the anguish he caused so many as he persecuted the church, only to experience some of it himself once he gave himself over to Christ.  He knew what it was like to undergo the discipline of God, as he agonized over his thorn in the flesh (2nd Corinthians 12:7).  Still, it was he who penned the words above, giving us insight into how to deal with life in this world.  So, where do you place your confidence?  Do you see God as being on your side regardless of where you are at?  Paul wants to make it clear, that if God truly gave us redemption through His Son’s sacrificial death, “shall He not with Him also freely give us all things” (Romans 8:32)?   The Psalmist would write, “I will fear no evil, for You are with me…” (Psalm 23:4).  Psalm 27:1, “The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?”  If our focus is on God, then we can face whatever life may send our way.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall tribulation, or distress,

or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

                                                                                                                        Romans 8:35

I am challenged by that list, are you?  Still, God yearns for us to grasp the vastness of His love, knowing that in doing so, we can face such events with hope and assurance.  Thus, he goes on to say, “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).  Like with Jeremiah, understanding God’s love for His people can help us see life with greater clarity, especially during times of distress.  Paul worded it this way, “For I am persuaded…” of “the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 9:38, 39).  If I am persuaded about God’s overwhelming love for me, then I can say with all assurance, “If God is for us [me], who can be against us [me]?” (Romans 8:31).  May the love of God empower you to live this day and every day, victoriously.

Dennis

I believe I mentioned the following earlier in the year but felt it prudent to once again visit the idea.  What idea you ask?  It has to do with a song we sing so often with joy and enthusiasm that is linked to our theme verse for this year.  It goes like this, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end, they are new every morning, great is Thy faithfulness.”  It is hard to imagine that the song we sing with such joy is, in reality, not such a joyous song; but rather, a lament.

The word lament means a passionate expression of grief or sorrow.   Jeremiah, as he gazes upon the remnant of God’s people faced with such adversity and heartache due to their disobedience, pens these words as though he was grasping for something so difficult to see.  Matthew Henry writes, “When we are in distress we should, for the encouragement of our faith and hope, observe what makes for us as well as what makes against us. Things are bad but they might have been worse, and therefore there is hope that they may be better.”  David knew all too well of God’s discipline, “For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me, my vitality was turned into the drought of summer” (Psalm 32:4).  In a world that sees discipline through humanistic lenses, such action, if by a god, shows the opposite of what Jeremiah pens; that is, no loving, merciful and faithful god would ever do such a thing.  So, some may be left with a question, “Why would He do such a thing to His chosen?”

My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be

discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the Lord

loves He chastens and scourges every son whom He receives.

                                                                                                                                              Hebrews 12:5-6

I am compelled to share the ETRV once again and I ask that you give it pause when you read it, “My child, don’t think it is worth nothing when the Lord punishes you, and don’t stop trying when the Lord corrects you.”  These words could have been spoken to the children of Israel by Jeremiah in Lamentations as they were confronted with the consequences of their choices.  It is so easy to throw the towel in when faced with enormous difficulty.  It is true that we can take great comfort in knowing that God is a forgiving God, but He is also in the business of transformation.  His love for us demands such radical and at times difficult involvement. The writer of Hebrews reasons, “we have had human fathers who corrected us” (Hebrews 12:9), so it makes sense that God will as well.  We know all too well, “no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful” (Hebrews 12:11).  This reality is seen in the words of Jeremiah, “I am a man who has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath” (Lamentations 3:1).  The history of God’s people within our bibles, the history of my own selfish life at times, has revealed a Father so passionately in love with His creation, with me, that He would do anything to help them learn; thus, that is the reason for discipline.

…afterward it yields the peaceable fruits of righteousness

to those who have been trained by it.

                                                                                                                                    Hebrews 12:11

So, why does a merciful God, who loves us so much, discipline us when we stray?  The answer is simple, He wants what is best for us…for me!  He knows that if we allow Him to work in our lives, train us in this life, that the result will be “peaceable fruits of righteousness.”   God wants our best and will do what is needed to bring it about.  So, I guess we are left with another question; that is, what am I going to do when He disciplines me?

Dennis

On Wednesday of this past week, as I was working on and preparing for Sunday morning bible class, I came across a passage that seemed to speak loudly to me at this time.  It is found in Romans 12:10-13 and reads as follows, “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer, distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.”  This is in part the result of being “transformed by the renewing of your mind” mentioned back in v2 of this chapter.  As may have already guessed, what stood out to me were this simple, yet provoking exhortation; that is, “continuing steadfastly in prayer.”  What does that mean?

The language of “continuing steadfastly in prayer” is powerful.  The NIV uses the word “faithful” while the KJV uses the word “instant.”  It means to give constant attention to a thing.  Maybe this is the reason the ETRV translates this, “Pray all the time.”  I am truly humbled by this idea, for even though I am focusing on this class about prayer, I find it all too easy to get preoccupied, distracted by things that on the surface appear so important.  Do you battle with that in your life?

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything

give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus.

                                                                                           1^st Thessalonians 5:16-18

Our understanding of prayer and its importance is directly linked to the transformation of the mind.  Remember, it is that changing of what we think that enables us to “know what things are good and pleasing to God and what things are perfect” (Romans 12:2, ETRV).  It is Paul’s exhortation to the church in Ephesus to “find out what is acceptable (NIV says, pleasing) to the Lord (Ephesians 5:10).  It pleases God when His children go to Him in prayer.

So, how can we “continue steadfastly in prayer”?  I think in part, the transformation of the mind enables us to create new habits.  Someone has explained a habit as “an act repeated so often as to be done involuntary; that is, without a new decision of mind each time it is done.”  Many of us can list some of our habits, especially the routines we have at the beginning of our day.  Even when it comes to prayer, we have habits: like praying before a meal.  Nothing wrong with that, but I am talking about more personal times when we pray.  In Mark 1:35 we find Jesus getting up early to pray.  I wonder if that was His habit?

One thing is for sure, the emphasis that God appears to put on the act of prayer goes beyond the flare prayers of our everyday life.  Those are good and necessary, but when looking at the life of Jesus, there appears to be more to it.  Do you yearn for a deeper prayer life?  I know I want to grow in mine.  So, let’s start to develop new habits concerning prayer.  Set aside time, substantial time, to go before the throne of God and beseech Him.  One thing is for sure, He will be pleased by our efforts

Dennis

You may recall that our theme for this year, found in Lamentations 3:22-23, finds its roots during a desperate time in Israel’s history.  Because of their rebellion, God’s people were thrust into slavery and overwhelming despair.  Lamentations 1:1, “How lonely sits the city that was full of people!  How like a widow is she, who was great among the nations!  The princes among the provinces has become a slave!”  What a tragic scene.  History shows us that God’s people seem to go in cycles; living lives committed to their Lord and then getting caught up in the broken and dark world around them.  The whole scene of our theme verse is a story of God’s unwavering love for His children, doing all He can, even the tough things like discipline, to turn His children back.

He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver;

He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them

as gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord

an offering in righteousness.

                                                                     Malachi 3:3

While I was thinking about this, I heard some discussion about the letter of Malachi and the sad state of affairs that were once again taking place with God’s people.  Although there could be much to reflect on from this little book, my attention was drawn to the verse above as it describes the care of God towards His rebellious people.  Although the image given may not always be due to rebellion, as we will see in a minute, the desired goal of our Lord remains constant; that is, our personal growth to serve Him more fully in our lives.

Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver;

I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

                                                               Isaiah 48:10

The first picture that comes to mind is that of a refiner and purifier who sits as he patiently tends to the process of readying the silver for use.  The word translated “refiner” is used in other places.  For instance, in Psalm 66:10 the ETRV says, “God tested us, like people test silver with fire.”  The word carries with it the idea to “strain” or “sift.”  The refiner, as he works the silver through the use of heat, is seeking to separate the lead sulfide ore from the silver.  The heating process would change the lead sulfide to lead oxide, which in a powered condition would be blown away with the use of hot air.  Great care is needed by the purifier in order for the desired product to be revealed.  This, of course, is the next part of the picture we see in Malachi 3:3.  God is working to bring about change in His people, especially the priests of the Old Testament, who have defiled their duties as prescribed by God.  Thus, the refining process had a purpose; that is, “that they may offer to the Lord an offering of righteousness.”  God was seeking to bring out the best that is in His people, even when they have lost sight of their potential.

Take away the dross from silver, and it will go to the silversmith for jewelry.

                                                                                                                        Proverbs 25:4

As Christians, we are more than familiar with the verses that speak of such refinement.  Bible verses like James 1:2, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials…” or 1^st Peter 1:6, “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials…” quickly come to mind.  In them, we realize that God, the Refiner, is still in the refining business.  He is either seeking to direct us back or make us more of what we can be to the glory of His name.  Our prayer to You O Lord, is when the hot air of adversity blows across us, that what remains is a more perfect image of You.

Dennis

It is fair to say that there are many influences in the contemporary era which can distract a Christian from their purposed walk.  The amount of entertainment media which is available at our fingertips is at a quantity that is unprecedented in history.

“But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.”

                                             -Psalm 1:2 NIV.

If we are taking time to consume media, we are also probably missing out on a chance to be in God’s word.

An almost infinitesimal percentage of this, mostly digital, content is of a type that could be considered Godly.  Many of us are even consuming some of this audio/visual digital media on devices that are donned with a bitten apple.  Maybe we should see that as a warning label to use the device carefully before proceeding.

The majority of music created by the current and previous generation does not have the purpose of edifying believers or of worshipping God.  The inappropriate language and lyrics can take up valuable memory space in a Christian’s brain.  Even ‘country music’, which got its start with gospel lyrics and simple-living themes, has been corrupted by modern ‘values’.

Television and movies, besides generally being wasters of time, have the severe side-effect of desensitizing us as individuals and as a society.  They normalize violence, deviant behavior, sexual immorality, and foul language.  While the Bible does not specifically warn us about consuming modern media forms, it certainly does warn us of the sin it can promote.

Another issue that God’s word does specify to be mindful of is the company we keep…

“Do not be deceived: ‘Evil company corrupts good habits.’”

                              1Corinthians 15:33 NKJV

Friends may engage in behavior that is sinful…

“Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn his ways and get yourself ensnared.”

                      Proverbs 22:24-25 NIV

Family members may use language that is vile…

“… now you must rid yourself of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips”

                         Colossians 3:8 NIV

Coworkers dispense jokes that are anything but clean…

“… neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting…”

                         Ephesians 5:4 NKJV

Be careful, brothers and sisters, what you spend time doing, and who you are spending time with.   The Creator and Sustainer of all things warns us that

“… Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” 

                                      James 4:4 NIV

        Abraham