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).

Blessings Through the Blood of Jesus

By Steve Gwin

When Jesus established the memorial of His death, He said, as recorded in 1 Corinthians 11:25, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood.”  What a wonderful blessing it is that through the blood of Jesus we have received a new and better covenant in which God has promised to remember our sins no more (Hebrews 8:8-12).

The Scriptures declare other blessings for believers through Jesus’ blood on the cross:

1. Justification: Romans 5:9 states, “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.”  To be justified means to be declared innocent.  Through Jesus’ sacrifice, believers are seen as innocent before God, despite past transgressions.

2. Redemption: Ephesians 1:7 reveals, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.”  Redemption implies being freed from captivity through the payment of a ransom.  Our sins held us captive, and there was nothing we could do to free ourselves.  Jesus’ blood liberates believers from the bondage of sin, granting freedom and forgiveness.

3. Nearness to God: Ephesians 2:13 states, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”  Our sins had resulted in us “having no hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12).  Christ’s blood allows believers to have a close relationship with God.

3. Reconciliation: Colossians 1:20 explains, “and through him to reconcile to himself all things… making peace by the blood of his cross.”  Reconciliation means the restoring of harmony between us and God, allowing believers to experience divine peace.

4. Clear Conscience: Hebrews 9:14 assures, “how much more will the blood of Christ… purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”  Jesus’ blood removes the heavy burden of a guilty conscience and enables wholehearted service to God.

5. Cleansing from all sin: 1 John 1:7 promises, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light… the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”  Christ’s blood gives us the assurance that we need not worry about eternity if we will repent of our sins because Jesus’ blood can cleanse us from all sin.

In summary, the blood of Jesus establishes a new and better covenant, justifies us, redeems us, reconciles us to God, purifies our conscience, and cleanses us from all sin.  These blessings are profound gifts that transform our relationship with God as well as our lives.

Let us continually give thanks for Jesus’ blood which provides us with these immeasurable blessings.