Bible Reading

By Larry Coffey

David Norfleet preached a lesson recently entitled “Engaged with the Truth”. He emphasized knowing, teaching, and practicing the truth. In John 8:31-32 we read, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  This clearly stresses the necessity of reading the Bible often.

We all would acknowledge the importance of reading our Bible. What we know about God, Christ and the Holy Spirit, we learn from the Bible. Churches frequently offer annual Bible reading programs. Some have schedules for reading the Bible all the way through in one year. Many people who start the year with good intentions end up not continuing. So, churches reduce the amount to be read and schedule annual reading of just the New Testament. That works better, but still some Christians can’t seem to complete that either.

In reading a book on the life of Walter Scott, a pioneer preacher in the first half of the 19th century, I noted that bro. Scott taught and baptized a 23-year-old-man by the name of Samuel Church. He was a diligent Bible student and by the time he was 40 years old, he had read the New Testament through 150 times and the Old Testament 75 times. One might say they didn’t have as much to do then, since there was no television or internet service. We may forget about all the modern conveniences we have which they didn’t have such as electricity, heating and a/c systems, plumbing, etc. It is probable we have “more time” available for reading than did they.

Also, in February of this year, I talked to a man who had read the Bible all the way through in 20 days in that month. The man has a full-time job and a family. This causes me to think we are  making excuses when we say we don’t have time to read the Bible daily.

We do the things we consider to be most important to us. And there are many things that should be priorities. However, I suggest that letting God talk to us each day through the reading of his word should have the highest priority. A familiar scripture is 2 Tim. 3:16-17, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”

Can your mind fully grasp eternity? Mine can’t. However, it can understand that knowing God’s will for us is absolutely essential for us to prepare for eternity with God. And for us to know God’s will, we must have a regular Bible reading habit to which we commit a portion of our time.

Humility

By Larry Coffey

A few weeks ago, a friend told me about a man she knew who had decided he no longer wanted to undergo kidney dialysis on which his life depended. As a result, he died in less than 24 hours. She further stated he had instructed his family to have Frank Sinatra’s popular song, “My Way,” played at his funeral services. That song always makes me think about humility, or the lack thereof.

The lyrics of the first stanza of that song are as follows:

“And now the end is here

 And so I face that final curtain

 My friend I’ll make it clear

 I’ll state my case, of which I’m certain

 I’ve lived a life that’s full

 I traveled each and every highway

 And more, much more

 I did it, I did it my way”

There are three more stanzas to the song all of which end with “I did it my way.”

A number of themes are found in the Bible such as faith, love, obedience, and others which include humility. The Bible clearly teaches no one can please God who is not humble in spirit. We see many Bible examples of those who were not humble, those who did it their way. In Ex. 5:2, Pharoah says, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, l will not let Israel go.”  God said to Pharoah, “How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?” (Ex. 10:3) We know how that ended for Pharoah.

Nebuchadnezzar was the great king of Babylon. He rejected Daniel’s advice and said in Daniel 4:30, “Is this not the great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” He did it his way. While he was speaking, the kingdom was taken from him and he ended up in the fields eating grass. After learning his lesson, his kingdom was restored and his speech changed as recorded in Dan. 4:37, “I praise and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just, and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.” In Acts 12, we have King Herod receiving praise and being exalted in pride, and he was eaten by worms and died.

The biggest threat to our efforts to be humble is success. It is hard for the Super Bowl winner not to think how great he is. Or, the CEO of a large corporation not thinking the success of the company is due to his unique skills. However, it is not limited to these kinds of successes. I have known gospel preachers who were sought out for gospel meetings across the country and being told what wonderful preachers they were, to allow that success to affect their humility. Dee Bowman told a story about a preacher friend. He said they were talking on the phone on a Monday and he asked how services had gone where the preacher spoke on Sunday. The preacher said great. He said it was probably the best lesson he had ever preached. When Dee asked the topic, the preacher said “Humility.” I suspect Dee was jesting. I do well remember Gerry Sandusky when receiving compliments for his preaching, always deflected the comments about himself by responding, “Isn’t God great?”

No one is exempt from the temptation to think highly of themselves. We all have degrees of success and it is easy to start taking credit for the abilities and opportunities God has given us. No matter what we may achieve, it is God that needs to be thanked. God said in Is. 57:15, “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit.”  Is. 2:11 says, “The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.”

Of course, our best example of humility is Jesus. In Mt. 11:29, he said he was meek and lowly in heart. In John 13, he washed the disciples’ feet. In Phil. 2:8 we read, “he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” He said in Mt. 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

We must remember it is not “my way” that is important. Rather, it is God’s way to which we must humble ourselves and follow.

ANGELS

By Larry Coffey

If you google the word “angels”, you will receive a lot of information about the Los Angles Angels baseball team. This may not have happened in the late 20th century when television shows and many books and articles were about angels. I have no research available to support it, but my impression is that angels have fallen out of favor in our present society.

One who reads the Bible will be aware of angels since the NKJV Exhaustive Concordance states the words “angel” or “angels” appears 361 times in the Bible. Like many others, as I read the Bible, I noted angels mentioned a lot but I didn’t know much about angels until I taught a class on the subject about 10 years ago. Other DH members showed a lot of interest, so I repeated the class two more times.

Who are angels and what do they do?  W.E. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words has this to say in part:

“An angel is a messenger sent whether by God or by man or by Satan, and is also used of a guardian or representative in Rev. 1:20, Mt. 18:10, but most frequently of an order of created beings superior to man, Heb. 2:7, belonging to heaven, Mt. 24:36, and to God, Lk. 12:8, and engaged in His service, Psa. 103:20.”

Michael Hardin in his class book on angels lists the following functions they perform:

  --Angels are helpers and protectors to God’s people in need, Psa. 34:7.

  --Angels come to give God’s people guidance and direction, Gal. 3:19.

  --Angels come to call men to special missions, Ex. 3:2.

  --Angels come to rescue people from great danger, Gen. 19.

There are many more things which could be listed that angels have done.

The Preceptor Magazine, October 2003 edition had an article on thoughts and questions about angels. It listed some things angels and men have in common:

  --Both angels and men are alive. Both have the ability to move about, speak and worship God.

  --Neither is deity. Both are of a lower order than God. Men are yet a little lower than angels.

  --Both can choose to obey or disobey God. Each is held responsible for their choice. Their final state will depend on the choice they make, Rom. 6:16, Jude 6.

  --Both have feelings or emotions. The angels shouted for joy when God laid the foundation of the earth, Job 38:4-6.

  --Men marry and are given in marriage, and by procreation populate the earth and continue the race, Lk. 20:34, Gen. 1:28. Angels do not marry and procreate, Mt. 22:30, Neh. 9:6. This implied that angels are sexless beings. As a result, there are no baby angels, no cupids with bows and no teen angels.

  --Men are visible to one another while alive. Angels, as spirit beings, are invisible to men. There are occasions when the eyes of the beholder have been opened so that he has the ability to see angels, Gen. 18 and 19, Lk. 24:4.

  --Men are mortal and subject to death, Heb. 9:27. Angels are immortal, not subject to death, Lk. 20:34-38.

  --Men have a Savior, Jesus Christ. Angels that sin are kept in Tartarus in chains of darkness until their judgment, Jude 6, 2 Pet. 2:4.

To me, one of the greatest things about angels is that they are sent here to help Christians. We read in Hebrews 1:13-14: “And to which of the angels has he ever said, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet? Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?”

Someone may ask, do we have a guardian angel? I don’t believe the Bible teaches we have a specific angel to help us. Why would we want one angel when we could have many? I will take the many and be thankful for God’s grace in providing angels to help and serve us.

ATTENDANCE

By Larry Coffey

Ed Byers, my father-in-law, was a charter member of the Douglass Hills church. He served as an elder of this church for 26 years. I know of no one who was more devoted and worked harder for this church than he did. Also, I have never known anyone who attributed more importance of attending our worship periods than he did.

Of course, he knew and taught there was more to being a Christian than attending the worship services. His view was like that of long-time preacher, Roy E. Cogdill, who wrote in the Expressway church bulletin in 1977 the following: “Attendance at the services of the church is the best index of interest in one’s own spiritual growth, and is a certain indication of one’s own interest in the Lord’s church.”

When encouraging members to attend our worship periods we often quote Hebrews 10:24-25 which reads: “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

Bobby Graham does a Q. A. column in Truth Magazine each month and in the April, 2022 edition, writes the following regarding Hebrews 10: 24-25: “In my judgment, the Holy Spirit was appealing to the Hebrew Christians to rescue them from drifting away from Christ in their disastrous return to the Law of Moses. One should get the point here: their assembling with each other, and the beneficial effects noted in verses 24 and 25, was one divine provision for their spiritual strength/stamina, so that they remain faithful to Christ. They needed such assemblies for their spiritual survival.”

Here is a story that appeared in church bulletins several years ago relating to the importance of attendance: “Paul Harvey once reported news of a 73-year-old man who was pinned beneath his farm tractor for four days and nights in rain and a terrible storm. Concerned friends went to see about him just in time. He lived after his ordeal but lost a leg. Several newspapers picked up on the story and centered upon the amazing fact that a 73-year-old man could live after being pinned beneath a tractor for four days. That is amazing, but what is more amazing is what caused his friends to go see about him. One friend said the reason was that he missed prayer meeting on Wednesday night. That’s all? He just missed one service and his friends went to check on him. This man was so faithful and regular in his church attendance that everyone knew if he was not there, something had to be seriously wrong. A question. What if you had been the one pinned under the tractor? Would your absence have been noticed? Or would you have died under the wheel?”

Brother Ed knew there were times when members could not attend services, such as sickness, disabled, etc. But he also knew people gave all kinds of excuses for not attending when they were perfectly capable of doing so. People claim they can’t come to the worship periods, but they can go lots of other places, such as restaurants, shopping, vacations, doctor check-ups, etc.

He was concerned for the souls of his brethren and did not hesitate to try to encourage them often to demonstrate their love for the Lord by attending every worship period available. He knew their spiritual health was far more important than their physical health.

I agree with my father-in-law. I love and miss you brother Ed.

Giving First to the Lord (Part 2)

By Larry Coffey

Giving in the Christian Age

Since we are no longer living under the Law of Moses, today I hear people say we don’t have to give 10% anymore which is code for we can give less than 10% and still be pleasing to God. We will briefly look at what the New Testament teaches concerning giving.

In the beginning of the New Testament, we hear this from Jesus in His sermon on the mount.  “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and  where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Mt. 6:19-21)

A summary of Jesus’ teachings on the subject of material possessions is quite revealing. About one half of His parables deal with money such as the parable of the rich fool in Luke 12:13-21. One out of every six verses in the gospels concerns man and his possessions. There is 16 times more about stewardship than about baptism, and 32 times as much about stewardship as about the Lord’s Supper.

Paul wrote much about possessions in his epistles. He wrote to Timothy about the love of money and how he should instruct the rich.  “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (I Tim. 6:10)  “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.  Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.” (I Tim. 6:17-19)

One of the greatest hindrances to being liberal in our giving is covetousness. God thought it was such a problem He included it as one of the “thou shalt nots” in the 10 commandments. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines covetous as “marked by inordinate desire for wealth or possessions or for another’s possessions.” Covetousness is mentioned numerous times in both the Old and New Testaments. (Ex. 18:21; Ps. 119:36; Is. 57:17; Mk. 7:22; Lk. 12:15; Rom. 1:29; Eph. 5:3; Col. 3:5; Heb. 13:5; II Pet. 2:3.)

How should the Christian give? I have heard it said the only person who can get into one’s pocketbook is the Lord. Thus, before one will give as the Lord expects he must first give himself to the Lord. When Paul was encouraging the Corinthians to give for the poor saints, he used the churches of Macedonia as examples and said about them in II Cor. 8:5, “And this they did, not as we had hoped, but first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.”

We read in II Corinthians that our giving should be willingly, purposely, cheerfully and liberally. Note the following scriptures.  “For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has,  and not according to what he does not have.” (II Cor. 8:12)  “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who  sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes  in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” (II Cor. 9:6-7)  “while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men.” (II Cor. 9:13)

When should a Christian give? The church should be a Christian’s first consideration when giving. The only statement we have in the New Testament as to when they were told to give into the church treasury is recorded in I Corinthians 16:2, “On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.”

Of course, Christians are taught to give on other occasions. We are taught to give to and take care of our family members.  “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (I Tim.5:8)  “If any believing man or woman has widows, let them relieve them, and do not let the church be burdened, that it may relieve those who are really widows." (I Tim. 5:16)

Christians are to also help fellow Christians in need as well as other people whenever the need arises.  “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith." (Gal. 6:10)   "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep one-self unspotted from the world." (James 1:27)  “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need." (Eph. 4:28)

Now to the final question which is the big one. How much should a Christian give? My concern is that most people want to know the absolute minimum one can give and still please the Lord. The New Testament does not give a percent. It says to give as one prospers.  “On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.” (I Cor. 16:2)  “If there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have.” (II Cor. 8:12)

So, the Lord has left it up to us based on our evaluation of how well we have prospered and the kind of heart we have. When we consider that the ancients gave 10%, the devout Jews gave up to as much as one third, and we have the greatest blessings of those in any age, it would be hard to conclude that we could give less than 10% and be pleasing to the Lord. How much we may give that exceeds 10% would depend on our situation and the needs that exist in our realm of knowledge. Those who love the Lord with all their heart, soul and mind (Mt. 22:37), will be generous in their giving.

Remember what Jesus said.  “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)