Circumstances The last eight months have brought us all to the point of considering the state of life all around us. Whether it is simply the inconveniences of the COVID world, or the great concern over health and well being, everyone has been affected! These circumstances have proven to be overwhelming for most all of us at some point. This is probably because we all feel a certain loss of control. Things seem to be happening around us and to us. In the midst of all the social unrest, public protests, and escalating accounting of cases and recoveries, the scariest reality is that individual lives have been lost in the course of all these issues. My point today is not to discuss the death rate of the coronavirus or the state of societal tensions around our land. Instead, as we consider the sobering reality of death and mortality all around us, let us consider the Lord’s perspective of the death of both the sinner and the saint. The Wicked One week ago today, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg left this life. She was a brilliant legal mind and effective cultural crusader. However, there is unfortunately no evidence of any faith in Jesus Christ in her life. Her decisions on the court were often not in alignment with biblical ethics. I do not intend to slander the late Justice Ginsberg only to state that our only hope of exoneration before the Judge of the all the earth is that our sins have been covered by Jesus’ blood, and our only hope before the One on the throne in Heaven will be the righteousness of Christ credited to those who believe. Peace with God is based on the reconciling work of Christ and not on anything that we can or could do! In Ezekiel 33:11, the prophet pleads with the people of God to turn back from their sin and seek the Lord. The Lord declares through the prophet that He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Rather what the Lord is seeking is the repentance of those who have behaved so wickedly. He says that His pleasure would be that the wicked would turn from his way and live! My simple point as we consider the death of individuals is that the death of unbelievers is not a cause for rejoicing but rather grieving that the time for repentance has passed and only judgement remains. The Faithful This week in my own personal circle two men have passed from this life. One, I have known for many years on a social level, his name was Doyle Scroggins. Doyle was an honest, kind and genuine man and it was an honor to know him. I enjoyed many trail rides with Doyle and it won’t be the same without him. The other loss was a colleague and friend, Bro Phillip Clark, who pastored the Marshall Assembly of God church. Phillip’s life was always marked by joy! His sincerity and hospitality were remarkable. As I reflect on the faithful lives of these two men, I am reminded of Psalm 116:15-17. “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. O LORD, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds. I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD.” Here we see the heart of God surrounding the physical death of redeemed people. The text says that it is precious in the sight of the LORD! The word “precious” denotes a certain value and honor and esteem that is placed on something. There is a dignified value that our God places on the death of His children. This is amazing to think that not only is our God pleased to save us eternally but to value our earthly lives with honor in our physical death. Particularly as I think about the ministry of Bro. Phillip, I would ask you to notice three things. First, the psalmist refers to himself as the Lord’s servant. This is supposed to be a short blog. To even begin to recount all the ways that Bro. Phillip served the Lord by serving people right here in Marshall would require an incredibly long book. Secondly, the Psalmist is rejoicing that his bonds have been loosed. The reality is that even the most victorious Christian lives on earth are plagued by things that we will be completely free of when present with the Lord. Both Doyle and Phillip are experiencing more gladness and freedom than we could even imagine. Finally, David mentions “the sacrifice of thanksgiving” along with calling on the name of the LORD. This is a reference to worship. To know Brother Phillip at all was to know that he loved to worship and bring to the Lord the sacrifice of thanksgiving and that is what he is doing today. If our God tells us that He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked but regards as precious the death of saints, then let this reality energize us for faithfulness and fruitfulness in both worship and evangelism for His great glory!
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Expectations What do you believe that the afterlife will be like? Maybe the term afterlife is unhelpful, because for us as believers, what we are awaiting is the fullest life. But what are your expectations? Adherents of the Hindu and Buddhist faiths believe that through reincarnation you lose all your selfish and personal desires and are reabsorbed into a sort of universal consciousness. (That's too simplistic a description, but you get the idea). Those who follow the prophet Muhammad go the other direction and see eternity in terms of the fulfillment of their natural pleasures. But what does the Bible teach us to expect about our future experience in God's eternal kingdom? Better I would argue that the truth is better than both of those ideas mentioned earlier. One reason is because Christians do believe and know that our future will be a physical one and that we will have real personhood and personality. However, when we are freed from the corruption and influence of sin it will not be to indulge in baser passions, but rather to fully and rightly, enjoy and glorify God. All man made religious systems run into a problem, because they are ultimately about us. But the truth is focused on God and His glory. The Bible reveals the role we will play in bringing Him glory. The goal is Him, not us. This misunderstanding is fundamental to our sin nature. Because sin is inherently selfish and narcissistic, sin causes us to think about all realities in relationship to ourselves. This is even manifested when our altruistic ideals are still focused ultimately on how humanity is impacted. As long as we are man centered in our thinking it will be impossible for us to understand what God is doing now or to have a proper hope in what God will accomplish in the future. The reality of all that God is doing is better and greater because it is focused on the best and greatest reality His own GLORY! This focus and this end changes everything! This makes everything matter and that means that this is where we find our true meaning and purpose. Work Do you realize that work was given as a gift to Adam before the fall?! God will have work for us to do in the hereafter. In the Old Testament the priests were to represent the people before God by bringing the appropriate sacrifices for sin. They were God's special servants. As such they did not receive the same inheritance of land as the rest of the tribes and people of Israel. This was because God Himself was their inheritance! The LORD Himself was to be their portion. What else could they have need of if they have God. In the New Testament, we are told that we as believers are priests in His eternal kingdom. So often our thinking about eternal existence is twisted because we forget that it is about Him. In reality, our eternal inheritance, as those brought into this new covenant with God, is God Himself! What God has promised us in the eternal state is not the destruction of all our desire and passion, but rather to fulfill us with our relationship with Him. Also, we are not looking forward to time when our sinful lusts and naturalistic appetites are appeased, but to a day when in Christ we enjoy full contentment and perfect peace with God! Do you have peace with God? It is available through faith in Jesus! Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Again As autumn is quickly approaching, most, if not all, of us are probably anticipating something connected with this wonderful time of year. I was at the fair yesterday, and while there was an oddness about it all (as with all of 2020), I still felt that sentimental nostalgic emotion that I get around these annual events. The sights and the smells and the other stimuli that remind us of times gone by. Sometimes we are brought to remembrance of something even bigger than ourselves while listening to the national anthem or some other patriotic piece from our childhood. These influences bring us back to remember things that are meaningful and important. Good & Bad These moments can be both positive and negative, both happy and sad. These experiences can be expected or spontaneous. As I said there are many that are tied to particular seasons or days. As matter of fact, today is one of those days. Most of us can probably remember exactly where we were and what we were doing 19 years ago today. Our world, or maybe our understanding of the world, changed that day. And I am sure that as you think back and are reminded of those horrific hours on Tuesday, September 11, 2001 there is a grief and sadness that is both understandable and appropriate. However, as I experience that sadness, I am also moved to recall the heroism and hopefulness that the following days brought to our country. Tragically, that part was short lived. Maybe we were made to feel these kinds of nostalgic emotions not just as a passing moment but as a motivator and reminder that this, our current situation, will also pass. Maybe we should remember that our hope and security is not found in the strength of our buildings or the efficacy of our health care. Maybe we are meant to trust in something far greater than any terrorist threat or viral outbreak. I AM the LORD Hundreds of times throughout the revelation of God given to His prophets, especially Ezekiel, God states that both the blessings and curses that He brings on His people and on the nations are so that everyone will know that He is the LORD! The LORD is the way most English translations render God's covenant name "YHWH". This name is literally referring to the 'isness' of God. By this I mean that God is! Everything else, all that is in existence, is a part of His creation and is dependent on Him. But He is utterly independent because He is! Now consider that this sense by which we pine nostalgically for the 'good ole days' or by which our chests swell with patriotic pride may have been given to us by God as a reminder that He is the LORD! So as you feel these first brisk breezes of fall be reminded 'Jesus is LORD' and as you get your first taste of pumpkin spice this season be reminded 'Jesus is LORD' and as you contemplate the last 19 years and the eternity before us be comforted 'Jesus is LORD'. "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." Hebrews 10:24 - 25 Me, myself, and I. Unfortunately, we see this attitude on display all too often in our world today. That sentiment could be based around who is important to you or who you are most concerned about when making decisions. I will be the first to admit that I love to be by myself outdoors. Whether it is working on the farm, hunting, or just taking a walk, I love being outside in God’s creation by myself. That is not a bad thing. As most reading this know, it is not only good, but necessary to have time alone to clear our mind, open our hearts, and draw nearer to God in prayer and reading of His Word. However, while individual worship and meditation are an important part of each believer’s walk with Christ, it is not the only part. God did not intend for us to walk alone. There are several directions we could go here biblically on this subject. I chose this passage in Hebrews because I love the wording of stirring one another up. The NIV translation actually says "to spur" and the NASB says "to stimulate" which I think are even better illustrations of pushing each other to live a life pleasing to God through acts of love and good works. Since we are corporately worshipping in various capacities at the moment, due to the current circumstances, this can be challenging. However, if we cannot all meet in person we can still communicate with and encourage each other through conversation. Be it a message on social media, even better a phone call, and certainly interceding for one another in prayer. Part of pushing each to live a life pleasing to God is holding each other accountable. Paul tells us in Galatians 6 to bear each other's burdens and restore each other gently. Rebuking each other, when necessary, is encouraging because it displays a true love and care for one another. When Jesus sent out His disciples he sent them out in pairs. This was not accidental. I am sure there are a variety of reasons why Jesus did this. From my understanding, it is not revealed in scripture exactly why they were sent out in pairs, but I think there are some pretty practical ideas of safety, encouragement, and differing spiritual gifts that we could assume, just to name a few. As believers we need the same things from each other today. I would encourage each of you to find someone within our community of believers to walk the road with. Hold one another accountable, discuss your shortcomings, and pray together to become stronger servants of Christ. Guest Post by Zach Massey |
AuthorEddie Ragsdale Archives
May 2024
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