Serving God - Part 2

By Gary Watson

Part 1 of this blog closed with the following questions.  When we forget God, who do we put our trust in?  When we forget God, what do we replace him with?  Part 2 will help us understand that forgetting God is the same as trusting self or allowing our trust in self to overcome our trust in God and will lead us to the conclusion that trusting in God is far superior to trusting in self.

Consider what God said to Israel in Deuteronomy 6:10-12: “When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”

From where we sit, it is hard to imagine how the Israelites would somehow forget God after 40 years of seeing miracle after miracle (Exodus chapters 7-17).  Yet God was compelled to caution them about forgetting.  In the desert, the Israelites had been dependent on God for their existence, including food and protection from the elements and their enemies.  There was a daily awareness of their need for God.

In Deuteronomy 6, God is about to fulfill his promise to bring them into a land where many of their needs will already be provided for.  This is a blessing from God, a fulfillment of a promise that carried with it the risk they would no longer see a daily need for God and would forget him.  It is certainly possible to believe in God yet forget about him.  Consider the times during the day God is absent from our hearts and minds.  Other times, amid difficulty, we give in to fear, distrust, and unbelief as if God were neither willing nor able to help us, leaving us with no option but to trust ourselves.  These are godless moments.  One need only look at the daily news cycle to understand that the disturbing, unsettling, disunifying, chaotic, and unjust world we live in is godless.  The world is often subject to life-altering events we cannot control.

The daily battle against godlessness is waged in the choice we make for who is in control of our life – God or self.  The minute I forget that God has a plan for my life and is in control, I want to toss God out of the picture and fight desperately to take control to avoid pain, uncertainty, stress, and anxiety.   

To paraphrase Psalm 37:6-9, the psalmist states: “God will appear as your righteousness, as sure as the dawning of a new day.  He will manifest as your justice, as sure and strong as the noonday sun.  Quiet your heart in His presence and pray; keep hope alive as you long for God to come through for you.  And don’t think for a moment that the wicked in their prosperity are better off than you.  Stay away from anger and revenge.  Keep envy far from you, for it only leads you into lies.  For one day the wicked will be destroyed, but those who trust in the Lord will live safe and sound with blessings overflowing.”

Where do you go when life begins to feel out of control?  Do you try to take matters into your own hands such as:

• turn inward by coming up with a plan or a strategy to avoid the flow of information or emotions that are creating stress or anxiety.
• turn outward to control your schedule, conversations, relationships, information, and responsibilities to avoid stress or anxiety.
• ignore, deny or harden to whatever is causing stress, uncertainty, pain, or anxiety thinking it’s better to be able to function even if you have to do it with a hard heart or numb emotions.

Or do you talk to God, talk to godly friends, share your thoughts/feelings/emotions, seek input, and read scriptures for guidance on how to think and feel.  Remember “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble,” Psalm 46:1.

Serving God - Part 1

By Gary Watson

“Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe His commands, His laws, His decrees that I am giving you this day.” Deuteronomy 8:11

Being careful - We must be sure that we do not begin to think that all our blessings came to us on their own.  Moses warned Israel not to forget God when they received their blessings.  He knew they would be tempted to become complacent when they lived in their new homes and enjoyed the riches and comforts of Canaan.  He reminds them of God’s faithfulness and how important it is to remain obedient.  Moses further warned them in the phrase, “when you have eaten and are full,” that they would need to remember God and not live with pride and disobedience.

Several Bible verses reminded Israel to remember God’s goodness even in times of abundance when they might be tempted to forget it.  Some examples are:

• “They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt.” Psalm 106:21
• “For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them:” Proverbs 1:32
• “Lest I be full and deny you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.” Proverbs 30:9

It’s tough to get someone who has faith in God to consider the possibility they might also be godless since it seems like a contradiction.  It might help to know we are not talking about a total renunciation of the existence of God.  We are talking about the moments we think, act, respond and make decisions as if God were not real and present in our lives.  Moments where our thoughts or focus on God are replaced by people, circumstances, outcomes, or personal desires.  

Godlessness is a constant challenge due to how easily we can seek the approval of men over God or want to be important in the eyes of men rather than God.  Many times, I’ve made decisions driven primarily by the desire to be liked by people or my peers over pleasing God.  Unfortunately, these challenges also have consequences.

Seeking the approval of men produces hiddenness and deceit.  The desire to be important leads to fear and insecurity, while the desire to be liked can lead to compromise.  These are common challenges for us, that meet the definition of godlessness we are addressing here.  Don’t forget it was the religious leaders Jesus was talking about when he said: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.”  (Matthew 15:8-9)

Though these leaders believed in God, their actions were consistent with someone who did not believe in God.  They worshiped God in vain, meaning it was futile or ineffectual with no real value and to no end.  We all can believe in God and still forget God.

When we do forget God, who do we put our trust in?  When we forget God, what do we replace him with?

(Part 2 next week)

The Campbell/Owen Debate

By Larry Coffey

Alexander Campbell, gospel preacher, and Robert Owen, atheist, engaged in a seven-day debate in 1830.  The debate was conducted in Cincinnati, OH, in the largest church building available with 1,200 in attendance.  Besides people from the local area, many attended from other states in the east and south.  Owen was the most noted atheist in the country, an extraordinary man having been a teacher in a school at age seven.  Campbell’s last address in the debate was an uninterrupted 12 hours long, though it did cover two days.  Obviously, I cannot provide much detail in this short article, so I will quote excerpts from Campbell’s closing tribute to religion, which I believe you will find interesting as I did.

"Religion -- the Bible!  What treasures untold reside in that heavenly word! (Heb. 4:12; 2 Tim. 3:16-17)  Religion has given meaning, design to all that is past, and is as the moral to the fable, the good, the only good of the whole -- the earnest now of an abundant harvest of future and eternal good.  Whatever comes from religion comes from God.  The greatest joys derivable to mortal man come from this source.  I cannot speak of all who wear the Christian name, but for myself, I must say the worlds piled on worlds, to fill the universal scope of my imagination, would be a miserable per contra against the annihilation of the idea of the Supreme."

"The hope of one day seeing this Wonderful One, of beholding Him who made my body and is the Father of my spirit, the anticipation of being introduced into the palace of the universe, the sanctuary of the heavens, transcends all comparison with all sublunary things.  Take away this hope from me, and teach me to think that I am the creature of mere chance, and to it alone indebted for all that I am, and ever shall be, and I see nothing in the universe but mortification and disappointment.  Death is as desirable as life; and no one creature or thing is more deserving of my attention and consideration than another."

"Everything within us and everything without, from the nails upon the ends of our fingers to the sun, moon and stars, confirm the idea of His existence and adorable excellences.  If the millions of millions of witnesses which speak for Him in heaven, earth and sea will not be heard, the feeble voice of man will be heard in vain. (Ps. 19:1; 14:1)"

(Above excerpts were taken from Memoirs of Alexander Campbell)

Beneath the Cross of Jesus

By Mark Largen

The cross of Jesus Christ stands at the center of human history, a place of suffering yet also a place of redemption.  As Jesus hung on that cruel wood, abandoned by most of His disciples, only a few devout women and the Apostle John remained by His side.  His enemies mocked Him, soldiers gambled for His garments, and the crowds passed by without care.  It was a place of rejection, yet it became the place where love and sacrifice met in their fullest expression.

Golgotha, the “Place of the Skull,” was not an inviting place.  It was a location of execution for criminals, a place of tombs.  His loved ones watched in agony as their Lord suffered.  His enemies perhaps experienced a degree of satisfaction in seeing Him crucified.

Yet, for Christians, it has become a place of refuge.  Beneath the cross, we find shelter in Christ’s sacrifice.  His suffering brought forgiveness, and His death gave birth to new life.

The world sees the cross as foolishness, but for those being saved, it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18).  Jesus Himself called His followers to take up their own crosses—to deny themselves, to lose their lives for His sake, and in doing so, to find true life (Matthew 16:24-27).

The Apostle Paul echoed this truth when he declared, “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14).  The cross is not merely a historical event but a daily reality for those who follow Christ.  It is the place where pride dies, sin is forgiven, and hope is restored.

As the hymn so beautifully says:

“I take, O cross, thy shadow for my abiding place;

I ask no other sunshine than the sunshine of His face;

Content to let the world go by, to know no gain or loss;

My sinful self my only shame, my glory all the cross.”

May we, like those faithful few at Calvary, remain near the cross—not as spectators, but as those who embrace its message and carry it into the world.

Jesus and the Nobleman’s Son in Cana

By Paul Earnhart

As Jesus went about preaching in Galilee, he came to Cana where he had made the water into wine.  That was the only previous miracle Jesus had wrought in Galilee, but it had left its impression on the people there. (See John 4:46-54)

A nobleman, who lived several miles away in Capernaum, had a son who was at the point of death.  He came to Jesus, begging Him to come and heal his son.  Jesus did not immediately perform the miracle.  Miracles were secondary to teaching.  Their purpose was to encourage belief.  Jesus gently chided the man for requesting a sign.  Jesus said, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.” (John 4:47).  But when the man persisted, Jesus said, “Go your way, your son lives.”

The man had enough faith to leave the presence of Jesus to make the journey back to Capernaum.  And he found that Jesus had indeed healed the boy, even from a distance, for the fever left the boy at the very time when Jesus had spoken the words.

There are several levels of faith revealed in this story: First, the man had faith enough to come to Jesus to ask for the healing.  Then his faith increased to the point that he was willing to return to Capernaum in the belief that Jesus had healed the boy.  Finally, we are told that after the miracle, the man himself believed and his whole house (John 4:53).

If Jesus felt that this man should believe without a miracle, how much more should we!  We have the account of numerous miracles that Jesus and the apostles did.  John said, “These are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that believing you might have life through His name.” (John 20:31).  We can believe today through the study of the scriptures.  And just as the faith of this man grew as he saw the works of Jesus, ours can grow as we read about them in God’s word.  So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17).