Biddeford Church of Christ

With the Thanksgiving holiday upon us, traditionally the lesson has to do with being thankful.  This year, something a little different is going to take place.  You see, Brad was planning on giving the lesson today, but due to his surgery and pace of recovery, he is unable to do so.  He asked me to take his place, and how could I say no, especially since he did most of the work in preparing the slide presentation.  As I sought to walk through it, I found myself with a unique opportunity to learn what he was seeking to relay as I prepared to be his conduit so to speak.  I am blessed with this opportunity.

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also

you were called in one body; and be thankful.

                                                                                                                                    Colossians 3:15

Interesting is the simple task given to us by our Lord; that is, be thankful.  I can hear my parents saying, “Dennis, say thank you for that.”  The very first thing Brad reminded me of is the sense of duty behind thankfulness.  That word, duty, is not very well received, is it.  Yet, the bible speaks clearly about it in not only the above verse, but also places like 1^st Thessalonians 5:18 that says plainly, “…in everything give thanks.”  History is brought forth by Brad concerning the establishment of the Thanksgiving holiday.  As you will see in the lesson, the very idea of this special day was rooted in their deep conviction of God’s wonderful care for people.  The next word caught me off guard; that is, description.  Thankfulness is not merely a thought, but rather an action that finds it’s roots in a thought, and that thought is gratitude.  How do you express thankfulness?   Psalm 100 speaks of making “a joyful shout to the Lord.”  The fact of the matter is this, in whatever we find ourselves doing, thankfulness should be ever present (Colossians3:17).  This brings us to the final thought from Brad and it has to do with benefits.  In Revelation 7:12 we read, “Amen!  Blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever.  Amen.”  Angels could not help but to lift their voices in thanks to God.  Then Brad wrote this, which caused me to pause, “It appears that rejoicing in thankfulness is just what happens when those who belong to God stand in full awareness of who He is.”  Because of who He is, we are a blessed people!  Because of who He is we are a saved people!  Because of who He is, we have “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3).

Thank you, Brad, for helping to remind us all that thankfulness is not so difficult to do.  All we need to do is look in the right direction.  For it is our duty as believers in the one true God, to acknowledge Him for what He has done, continues to do and plans on doing when we go home to be with Him.  Whether in our heavenly home, or waiting faithfully for His return, may our lives paint a picture to both Him and the world that describes how thankful we are, for the benefits of our God are impossible to number.  Have a blessed Thanksgiving holiday.

Dennis

As our year rapidly comes to a close, so does our theme for 2018 that has centered around our growth as Christians.  On numerous occasions throughout the year, a word has emerged, that seems to play some significant role in that growth and it is momentum.  Consider this definition, the quantity of motion of a moving body.  If you are like me when seeking to achieve something, the initial surge comes reasonably easy to me: the challenge is keeping it going over the long term until completion is accomplished.  What hinders you from your journey?  What causes you to lose momentum?

After giving this some thought, I realized that momentum is less about the external and more about the internal.  David, in Palm 51, would word it like this, “Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones you have broken may rejoice” (Psalm 51:8).  David’s momentum killer was unresolved sin in his life.  This tremendous burden can weigh a person down, robbing them of life and hindering them from any personal growth.  David’s sin was easily recognized.  Some sin though, is not so easy to spot and those sins can be rooted in complacency.  Proverbs 1:32 in the ESV says, “For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them.”  I wonder if that was what caused David not to go to war with his fighting men?  I wonder then, if complacency has more to do with loss of focus, which seem to be the issue with the church in Laodicea in Revelation 3:15.  Listen to this verse, “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot.”  I can be so busy (works) and satisfied with those things I have (Revelation 3:17), that I lose focus of those things of God.    Such sin is difficult to see with clarity; nonetheless, it has its ability to stifle momentum.  Whatever the sin may be, overt or obscure, it hinders the growth of Christians.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and  renew a steadfast spirit with me.

                                                                                                                        Psalm 51:10

Psalm 51 is about repentance and repentance is about getting back on track, spiritually refocusing our lives to be lived for God.  It begins with the heart!  David wanted heart surgery because he knew he needed it.  He writes, “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit” (Psalm 51:12).  David needed to reconnect with God if momentum was to be regained.  If you don’t believe me, listen to the very next verse, “Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You” (Psalm 51:13).  His efforts to work for God was intimately connected to his relationship with God.

May each of us be sensitive to the condition of our heart, the inner part of mankind that is the life force of all that we say and do.  May we be aware of the ease to which one can become complacent, even in a busy, chaotic world.  In so doing, may our God create and maintain within us a new heart, enabling us to continue the momentum of glorifying Him in all that we do.

Dennis

Over the last few weeks I have shared with you a couple things relating to the topic of God’s love from the letter of 1^st John.  We looked at what drives us to “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1^st John 1:7); that is, the “love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God” (1^st John 3:1).  We also considered the confidence this love, expressed through Christ, should and can bring to the Christian as they walk in His light.  Each step can be taken with “boldness,” free from fear of judgment, because “there is no fear in love” (1^st John 4:17-18).  What God has done for sinful man is so amazing!

Before we get to our verse for today, we need to consider briefly the verse before it which reads, “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him” (1^st John 5:1).  It seems that to contradict the last two lessons concerning baptism and its essential nature.  But I want you to note a couple other verses in this letter.  1^st John 2:29 says in part that “everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.”  Then there is 1^st John 4:7, which says in part that “everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”  Remember, John is writing to Christians about their walk with Christ and how it needs to be revealed in life.  In short, as one commentator writes, “Love me; love my offspring.”

By this we know that we love the children of God,

when we love God and keep His commandments.

                                                                                                                                    1^st John 5:2

God’s love was never intended to merely touch the individual sinner; but rather, it was intended to flow through the redeemed and out into the world.  Thus, one could say that godly love was meant to be reciprocal.  That is just a fancy word that means given, felt, or done in return.   The question I wish to consider today is simple and challenging and here it is: How do I reciprocate God’s love?

CAUTION!!!  It is amazing how quickly one can be overwhelmed by the check list of law.  We get caught up in the words “keep His commandments,” failing to remember that it is “by this.”  The “by this” is referring to the love the believer has for the Father, and thus, as J. W. Roberts writes, “is natural to love the child of the parent when we love the parent…”  Our love for God should result in our ever-growing desire to love His children as we walk in the light.  The greatest command shared by Jesus is this, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30).  One’s commitment to loving God fully is exhibited by one’s willingness to “keep His commands.”  Note, I said exhibit!  I love my wife completely, but even after 38 years of marriage, I am learning ways to exhibit that love.  My complete love for her is revealed in my continued quest to learn how to love her and so it is with God and His children.

So, how do I reciprocate God’s love?  It begins with my understanding of God’s love for me through the redemptive work of Christ.  It must start there!  That awareness and conviction of God and his love revealed through Christ (belief) directs or leads me to want to love Him back by seeking out those things which would please Him (Ephesians 5:10), also known as Hos commands.  Those very commands help me to learn how to love His children, the church.  What goes around, in this case, should truly come around.

Dennis

In last week’s lesson, I used an example of how God “does His work” at a time when man is abiding in God’s will.  Do you remember what it was?  It was marriage, the time when God has “joined together” (Matthew 19:5) a man and a woman.  History is filled with such examples that show God fulfilling a promise as man acts in obedient faith:  the priests who “stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan” as all Israel crossed (Joshua 3), the defeat of Jericho in Joshua 6 as God caused the walls to collapse, the blind man healed by Jesus (John 9) as he “went and washed” in the pool of Siloam.  God does some of His most amazing work, during times of seemingly odd and insignificant acts of faith.  That being said, I would be remiss not to take a moment and talk about the act of faith driven baptism as it relates further to the amazing work that God at the time of conversion.

Since Christ came to save sinners (1^st Timothy 1:15), we will start there.  In Acts 2 we find the gospel being preached for the first time after Christ’s resurrection.  Guided by the Holy Spirit, the apostles preached the Word causing some to ask, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37).  The answer was simple, yet life changing, “Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins…” (Acts 2:38).  Remission (i.e., forgiveness) would start at repentance and baptism.  Or how about what we learn in Galatians 3:27 where Paul talks to Christians saying, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”  What does it mean to put on Christ?  In part, it has something to do with the “new man” (Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:9).  Part of that has to do with righteousness; that is, “the righteousness which is from God by faith” (Philippians 3:9).  Paul writes, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2^nd Corinthians 5:21).  When we put on Christ, we put on His righteousness!  Finally, there is a bigger picture that is attached to the act of baptism.  Up to this point, the things spoken of are personal in nature, but should not be left there.  Paul writes, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body…” (1^st Corinthians 12:13).  We read in Acts 2:47, “And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”  Faith driven baptism not only saves the sinner (1^st Peter 3:21), it also places them in the greatest community ever established on earth and it is called the church…the called out!

It is true that man is required to respond to the gospel and that the Lord has revealed in His word what such a response should be, something He has done over and over again.  But never, in any of those instances, could man take credit for God’s marvelous work, even though they needed to obey and so it is with faith driven baptism.  God does the forgiving!  God does the clothing!  God gives us new citizenship in His church!  It is His work that we should marvel at and praise Him for it.

Dennis

I don’t know about you, but the last couple of lessons from 1^st John have been running through my mind.  As a Christian, to grasp the ”love the Father has bestowed (NIV, lavished) on us, that we should be called children of God” (1^st John 3:1) can be truly life changing.  The fact that this love, given to us through Christ’s sufficient work on the cross, can enable us “to have boldness in the day of judgment” (1^st John 4:17), casting “out fear” regarding His return, is equally comforting.  Those who are in Christ should walk with confidence and hope because of Christ’s amazing redemptive work.

We know that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16), opening the opportunity for sinful mankind to benefit from that perfect love.  The question is, “When does sinful man begin to reap the benefits of God’s love so he can walk in that confidence and hope?”  It would seem reasonable that God would establish a point where man could reflect and remind him or her self when they became a child of God.  Consider the following verse which most will be familiar with.

There is also an antitype which now saves us – baptism (not the

removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good

conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ…

                                                                                                                                    1^st Peter 3:21

The role of baptism in God’s redemptive plan has been a point of contention in the religious world.  Some religious groups make it more symbolic and thus, empty it of any real significance.  Sadly, others elevate it so much that it blurs the work of the cross, something I have been guilty of in times past.  But extremes cannot negate the true nature of this act of genuine belief.  Peter makes it clear, baptism is fundamentally important to salvation!  It is, as the bible clearly teaches, the moment in time when we are “buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead” (Colossians 2:12).  In this seemingly simple act of faith, we connect with the death, burial and resurrection of Christ and reckon ourselves “to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:11).  With a heart sensitive to one’s sinful past, the believer seeks change (repentance) and is “baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38).  There is a point of reference clearly revealed in God’s word that shows us when sinful man can know confidently that he or she is His child, purchased by the blood of His Son and our Savior.

One may ask the question, “Does baptism save sinners?”  The verse in 1^st Peter mentioned above is a verse where one would go to, to answer that question with an emphatic yes.  In times past, I would seek to empathize the act of baptism, but not anymore.  You see, although baptism is essential to salvation, it is not more essential than the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  There can be no confidence and hope without Jesus!

Dennis

I begin with a verse found in Proverbs 3:25 which says, “Do not be afraid of the sudden terror, nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes…”  Fear can be defined as a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined.  Fear can stop you dead in your tracks.  When Saul and all Israel saw and heard Goliath’s challenge, “they were dismayed and greatly afraid” (1^st Samuel 17:11).  In spite of who they were and who was on their side (God), fear paralyzed them…causing them to feel defeated.  Have you, as a follower of Christ, ever felt defeated in your walk with Christ?

Love has been perfected among us in this: that we

may have boldness in the day of judgment…

                                                                                                                        1^st John 4:17

How has love been perfected?  One person writes, suggesting that love is perfected “when we have full faith in the love of God.”  For the Christian who has come to know the love of God found in Christ Jesus and understands His redemptive work to rescue sinners from death, they should not fear judgment.  If there has ever been a time where defining a word is critical, this is one.  Boldness, here means free and fearless confidence, cheerful courage.  “Hold on,” you say, “I still struggle with sin.  How can I be so certain?”  1^st John 1:8-9, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  Our confidence is not in my ability to walk perfectly, to love perfectly; but rather, I place my faith in His perfect and sufficient redemptive work.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear

involves torment.  But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

                                                                                                             1^st John 4:18

Fears what?  Judgment!  Think about it for a moment.  If I say Jesus can save, yet wonder whether I will make it to heaven at judgment, where is my hope?  Listen to 1^st John 5:13, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.”  CONFIDENCE!!!  If you are in Christ Jesus and although there is need for Christian maturity, your confidence is in Him, not you.  There is so much more to say, so let me leave you with what I began with, the very next verse found in Proverbs 3:26, which says, “For the Lord will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught.”  That is what God’s love can do for us all.

Dennis

As I thought about this article, I realized I could have entitled it, “What motivates you.”  Either way, the fact of the matter is this, something causes us to move forward, to become engaged, or simply remain stagnant and apathetic in life.  For the bulk of this year, the attention from the pulpit has been that of spiritual growth.  The verses that speak to this need are plentiful and here are a couple.  2^nd Timothy 2:15 begins with “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God…”  1^st Peter 1:5 exhorts us, saying “giving all diligence, add to your faith…”  Jesus Himself would exhort His disciples to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).  God yearns for, and yes, expects us, to grow spiritually, for we “are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Ephesians 2:10).  But I am again drawn back to the question, “What drives or motivates you…us?”

For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all,

then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for

themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

                                                                                                         2^nd Corinthians 5:14-15

In a world of expectations, goals to achieve and objectives to accomplish, we wrestle, at times, with the reason behind it all, and so it is with our Christian walk.  As much as God yearns for us to grow in Christ, He doesn’t want us to lose sight of the reason for that growth.  One could say the reason for spiritual growth is that they desire to be like Christ.  True, but that is more like a goal than a reason…right?  Paul says that his awareness of Christ’s love for him, compels or drives him in life.  You can have all the goals you want, work efficiently and diligently towards them, systematically accomplishing one after another, only to find out that with each accomplishment there is a void, an emptiness.  The goal was never intended to be the reason for joy and contentment; that is, to fill the void.  Rather, the love of Christ is what is intended to fill it.  Christ is the reason for all the things we do; and more importantly, for all that we are right now!  So, what are you right now?

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed

on us, that we should be called children of God!

                                                                                                                          1^st John 3:1

Here is a challenging question, “When you look in the mirror, what do you think of first and foremost?”  Is it the flaws in your life?  The imperfections that so often rise to the top?  Is it the objectives of the day and the things you need to accomplish?  Such reflection is needed, I know, especially if growth is to take place.  Still, when was the last time you meditated on how much the Father loves YOU!  Flaws and all!  That regardless of those very things, He graciously sought after you because he loves YOU just as you are.  If you are in Christ, He wants you to know you’re his child completely and absolutely.

We work hard to earn our boss’s approval.  We strive to make our parents proud and receive their love.  This is often the way of the world around us.  What if we instead, thought about the incredible love the Father has for mankind…for me.  What if, before I pick up my cross each day, that I first look to His cross?  What if that was the driving force behind the things I do: Being part of His church, reaching out to serve those around me, growing in Christ.  What if I daily took hold of the Father’s love for me through Christ?  What drives YOU?

Dennis