Historical Posts
I Have A Part – audio
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God has done his part. Now we have to do ours – James 1:21-25
Content by Donald W. Treadway
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Condemnation – audio
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The word condemnation means to pronounce to be guilty; to determine or judge to be wrong, or guilty; it also refers the punishment of the guilty.
Ironically, you and I are guilty of sin – Romans 3:23. And all of us had a guilty verdict, and a death sentence, “For the wages of sin is death;…” Romans 6:23.
But thank God, for sending His Son, Jesus Christ to pay the penalty of our sins for us on that old rugged cross – John 3:16-18.
In the last part of the chorus, of the song “He Bore It All” it says, “I stood condemned to die, but Jesus took my place”
It is important to note that there is no condemnation in Jesus Christ.
Jesus teaches that if you hear and believe Him, you will have everlasting life – John 5:24.
In Romans 8:1, the apostle Paul by inspiration says, “THERE is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
Salvation: Hear - Believe - Repent - Confess - Be Baptized - Live Faithfully
Content by Harry (Andy) Anderson Jr.Return to the Home Page
The High Cost of Loving Money – 1 Timothy 6:10
Text: 1 Timothy 6:10
Introduction
1. Today’s society
2. God’s warning
3. God’s answer
Body
1. Achan’s great loss – Joshua 7:1, 5, 25
2. Gehazi’s great loss – 2 Kings 5:5-27
3. Judas lost it all – Matthew 26:14-15
4. Ananias and Sapphira both lost – Acts 5:1-11
Conclusion
1 Timothy 6:17-19
Content by Donald W. Treadway
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Favoritism
Sometimes we put sins into categories without even thinking:
- Really Bad Sins
- Bad Sins
- Not-So-Bad sins
Sure, I’m a sinner, but none of mine are the really bad ones. I would never commit those, like murder or adultery.
My sins are smaller stuff like sometimes thinking bad thoughts, losing my temper, spreading a little gossip, or being impatient and irritable. Everybody does that stuff, so it’s ok, right?
Sound familiar?
The Christians James were writing to apparently made the same argument, “Sure, we may show favoritism, but at least we’re not murderers or adulterers.”
James didn’t like their reasoning.
“but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” James 2:9–13
Do you see his point?
A sin, by its very nature, is a transgression against God’s will.
For us to try to make some sins not as bad as others betrays a misunderstanding of sin. That was part of Jesus’ point in Matthew 5. Essentially, here’s what he said:
“You know the Law says it’s wrong to murder, but I’m telling you to deal with the anger that leads to murder.”
“You know adultery is wrong, but I’m telling you to clean up your dirty minds.”
In James’ context, favoritism / discrimination / prejudice, or not loving your neighbor, violates the very essence of what God wants in our relationships with one another. In one sense, if we treat one another poorly, we have committed the same sin that leads to murder: disregarding our mutual status as human beings created in God’s image.
So what about us?
It applies to how we treat people. If I disregard someone because for some reason I think he’s less of a man than I am, I have missed the Bible’s whole point about loving people and I have become guilty of breaking all of it.
We would never murder anyone, but would we murder someone;s reputation through gossip?
We would never attack others physically, but would we ignore them, snub them, or mock them?
The gospel calls us to recognize everyone’s equal value before God.
As sinners we are all in the same boat – we deserve the death sentence.
By God’s grace he stepped in and rescued us. Recognizing that ought to remind us to extend mercy and grace to everyone around us.
God did it for us. Shouldn’t we do the same for others?
Content by Donald W. Treadway
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Sin – audio
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Perhaps this is not great devotional material, but I can’t help but say a few words about the tragic situation in Pennsylvania with Dr. Gosnell, the abortion doctor who was convicted this week of first-degree murder in the deaths of three babies.
Perhaps God brought this grisly story to light so that he could change the way that abortion is talked about in our country. Maybe he intends to wake some of us up so that we can see that lives—not cells, not fetuses, not mere choices—are at stake in this conversation. I’ve already read stories of people who have changed their minds about abortion, so we can praise God for that.
Maybe God wanted us to remember again that we live in a broken world, on a cursed earth, amidst fallen people, so that he might stir up in us again a longing to be where he created us to be. Maybe some of us who live tidy lives need to see the face of evil and look wistfully toward a world without violence and death.
Maybe he wanted us to think about abortion in a way that we haven’t before, or at least in a way that many of us haven’t. Instead of just wringing our hands and preaching against it, maybe we should remember again that everyone needs Jesus. That includes abortionists, the people who work in their clinics, and, of course, the expectant mothers who—maybe because they’re confused or they made a mistake or they just don’t understand what they’re doing—choose to have an abortion. Maybe God wanted us to ask, “What are we doing to help confused and broken people? What are we doing to change the cultural climate to help the people around us see that all life is precious?”
I’ve got a lot of questions. I’d like to know how somebody could do what Dr. Gosnell and some of his assistants did. I’d like to know how a country in which the majority of people call themselves Christians could think it’s acceptable to abort hundreds of thousands of its babies every year.
I suppose we don’t have those answers, and maybe we never will, but whenever we see sin in some kind of graphic form like this, it ought to remind us that sin isn’t just the big, headline-making, jaw-dropping things. It’s pervasive, and it hurts us all. Those of us gawking at Dr. Gosnell from a distance also struggle with sin, though maybe it’s of a more private, not-as-serious (so we say) variety.
Here are a few relevant verses to meditate on and pray over today:
- “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5).
- “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
- “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away …And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, there shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:1,4).
Content by Donald W. Treadway
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Save A Soul – audio
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It’s an ugly picture.
In one of his letters Peter uses the graphic image of a dog’s returning to his vomit or a recently washed sow’s returning to her mud.
What he was writing about, of course, was a believer who wanders away from God. If we’re honest, we must admit that it isn’t a particularly difficult thing to do, because this world is often so alluring. Sometimes we’re mesmerized by its glitz and glamor, finally waking up only to realize we’re miles away from God.
Have you ever wandered?
In adolescence, perhaps? Or maybe in college or at another particularly difficult point in your life?
I hope you’re back. If you are, I’m glad you came home.
But not everyone has come home. Not yet.
So James closes his letter with a short encouragement for us to do whatever we can for these folks.
Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins. James 5:19–20
You’re probably not a preacher, and you may not serve God in any “official” sense, but I’d like for you to do three simple things today.
- One, make a list of ten believers you know who have wandered away from God. Perhaps it’s a family member, former co-worker, a neighbor, somebody who used to attend your church. You could probably come up with a hundred, but just do ten.
- Two, pray for every name on that list. Pray that God’s Spirit would work in their hearts and move them to repentance. Ask him to orchestrate the events of their lives so they see that the path they’re on will end in destruction. Ask him to open a door for you to be able to speak an encouraging word.
- Three, take one step—just one—to let God use you to work in their lives. It might be something as simple as a “How’s it going?” text or email. It could be a phone call or an encouraging note or a Facebook post. But do something.
We undersell ourselves, I think.
We assume all the serious spiritual work will be done by the guys who stand in our pulpits or serve as our shepherds.
If I understand James correctly, though, he’s saying that just an “average” every-day believer can have an enormous effect on someone’s soul. It’s incredible to think that you and I can “save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins,” isn’t it?
So today –
Make a list
Say a prayer
Initiate contact
– and see what God does.
Content by Donald W. Treadway
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The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Want!
IT… may very well be the most powerful life changing force you can harness… knowing what you want and where you are going.
Being focused on a goal or objective is extremely powerful. It can help you overcome weaknesses and make dramatic improvements… in health, in your mind, and most importantly… in your spirit.
The key to really powerful goals, of course, is making them both meaningful and specific. But tonight I do not want to discuss forming positive goals. Right now, it’s about setting negative goals.
What do I mean by setting negative goals?
It is just as important to set negative goals, it is to set positive ones. In other words, you need to define what you DON’T want in your life… just as much as you need to define what you do want.
Perhaps it would be a helpful exercise to actually make a list of all the things you absolutely, positively, unflinchingly want to eliminate from your life.
Is this a biblical concept?
Absolutely.
Jesus taught… in graphic, figurative language… that amputation is better than destruction – Matt. 18:8-9
Paul wrote to the Christians at Philippi: “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. ” – Phil. 3:13-14.
And then this interesting passage: “let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ” – Heb. 12:1
You see, we need to amputate, forget about, and lay aside the negative things in our life that prevent us from attaining the prize set before us. But you can’t take remedial, surgical action if you don’t know what needs to be eliminated.
What needs lopping off?
So what in your life needs a hatchet? I’m sure if we spent enough time really meditating on this, each of us could come up with a long list… if we are honest. May I suggest three areas you might want to start with?
Here they are:
- Habits
- Attitudes
- Distractions.
Habits are the routines you’ve gotten into that help you get through the day or respond to events… without thinking. Some habits are good and healthy. Others, not so much. Identify habits that need to go.
Attitudes are feelings about people, places, things, and events. Again, some attitudes are healthy, others are harmful. Make a list of the feelings you have for people and things in your life that need to be eliminated. But please, keep this private. This list is for your own personal development, not for posting on Facebook.
Not every negative feeling needs to be eliminated. Some negative feelings are justifiable. But even when a negative attitude is justifiable, it is still possible that it is unworthy of your time and energy.
Other attitudes and feelings are simply self-indulgent, emotional wrecking balls. If you cannot control your attitudes, then eliminate your exposure to the source. Take control of how you are affected by others. Controlling your emotions is BIG.
Finally, think about distractions that are preventing you from working toward your goals. I think this is one of the most effective tools Satan uses to create crippled Christians.
We are hamstrung and strung out on so many meaningless distractions. Sometimes it seems that if we have any measurable progress at all, it is at a snail’s pace.
Learn to eliminate distraction and its source in your life, “redeeming the time, because the days are evil” – Eph. 5:16. You will likely see dramatic improvements in your life.
Yes, accentuate the positive, but also remember to eliminate the negative.
Content by Donald W. Treadway
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Teaching the Kingdom of God
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Let this encourage you to Speak of Things Pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
Content by Donald W. Treadway
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Blame – audio
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Many of my sins are not really my fault, it seems to me.
Most of them happen because of the people around me, or the situations I face. If any normal person lived my life, he’d probably fare worse than I do.
If Satan gets us thinking like that, he’s already won half the battle.
It helps to see how it happens, I think, and James helps us with this.
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death (James 1:13-15).
We might point the finger of accusation at God, thinking that he’s putting temptations in front of us.
While he might bring us difficulties to strengthen our faith (see Abraham and Isaac—Genesis 22), he’ll never tempt us to sin.
Gop hates sin, and he wants more than anything for us not to give in.
Sometimes it’s easier to blame the people around us.
Have you ever blamed your spouse for some shortcoming in your life?
If you’re married, you probably have, and it all started with Adam (“It was this woman you gave me . . .”).
This concept has not slowed down yet.
Ever lost your temper and blamed it on your kids?
Or maybe we blame our siblings, boss, or coworkers.
“I would do better, Lord, if it weren’t for ___” (put his or her name in the blank).
The main problem with that is that it doesn’t help. In fact, it hurts us because it keeps us from facing the real problem.
Which is where we came in.
The truth is, Satan takes advantage of things within us to lead us astray.
He may use other people, or outside situations, but I don’t sin without my own consent.
So if you’re struggling, ask yourself which desire Satan is using.
Think about how you can satisfy that desire within God’s will instead.
Pray about what barriers you might build to thwart Satan’s plan.
The last place Satan wants you to look is within yourself, and truly examine yourself, because he knows one of our best defenses is recognizing that we are at fault, nobody else.
Content by Donald W. Treadway
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Fight to the Death – audio
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We’re in a fight to the death
It’s easy to become spiritually complacent, to get comfortable where we are, to forget what’s at stake.
Suppose you’re fighting a battle in the middle of a great war, completely surrounded by the advancing enemy. What would you do? Kick off your boots and enjoy a latté while you read the morning newspaper? It’s a ludicrous picture, but it’s something many of us do.
We’re tempted to live our lives as if there’s not this huge cosmic struggle going on. Just do our jobs, manage our to-do lists, pay our bills, and act like there’s no Satan, no “spiritual forces of evil,” as Paul puts it. That’s a deadly approach.
C.S. Lewis said that we make two mistakes when we think about Satan and his demons. Some of us respond with superstition… We might overstate Satan’s power. Superstitious folks see Satan everywhere they look. Others respond with what Lewis calls “substition”, which understates Satan’s role in today’s world.
I think most of the folks I know (including myself) fall into this camp. Blinded by our modern understanding of reason, we’re more likely to believe that everything has a rational, physical explanation. People do bad things because they make bad choices, had a rough upbringing, inherited bad genes, or have a mental illness.
Is it also possible that they fell under the sway of Satan and let him take over their lives? I think so. Peter’s warning still applies: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)
I think we need to be more aware of what Satan is doing in the world, and particularly what he’s doing in our lives.
- If you’re a Mom or Dad, he’s after your kids. He’ll do anything to win their hearts.
- If you’re married, he’s after your marriage. He’s trying to drive a wedge between you and your spouse.
- If you’re single, he’s trying to undermine your relationships so that they pull you away from God.
Regardless of where you are, he’s after you, and he’ll pull every trick in the book to convince you that your relationship to Jesus really isn’t that important.
Don’t let him intimidate you – he can’t overpower God, of course – but don’t underestimate him either.
We’re in a fight to the death, and eternity hangs in the balance.
Content by Donald W. Treadway
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Resurrection – audio
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One day we’ll all be resurrected.
There’s a sense in which we’ve already been raised, of course. When we identified with Christ in baptism, God raised us from our spiritual graves. We were dead, and now we’re alive. We were lost, and now we’re found. But the resurrection isn’t finished yet.
Sometimes my body aches and my head hurts (“in this we groan,” 2 Corinthians 5:2). I struggle with sin way more than I should. I look around and see a messed-up world. And it all reminds me that there’s a bigger, better resurrection coming.
We’ve been resurrected, but we can’t wait to be resurrected – completely, finally, and irrevocably.
I think that’s what Paul’s talking about here: “if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:11). He’d been saved, of course, but he knew all too well that God was still working on him. He had a clear and future focus – he was excited about what God had done for him, and about what the Lord was still doing in him, but he couldn’t wait for what lay ahead.
Maybe you need that reminder today. You feel like you’re being swallowed up by life’s pressures, demands, and stress. Pause a few minutes and look ahead. The daily grind will still be there, but for now think about that future resurrection from the dead. Jesus promised that he’s coming back to this world to take you where he wants you and where you want to be.
He’s already saved you from all your sins, and he’s given you his Spirit as a down payment. But as with all down payments, the Spirit is just a small taste of what’s coming. He’ll change your body into an incorruptible one . . . a body that doesn’t hurt, moan, groan, or age. He’ll redeem this world from all of its corruption and decay and create a new dwelling place for his people. And he’ll take away every vestige of sin.
We will, by his grace, “attain the resurrection from the dead.”
That’s what gives us a different perspective from the folks around us who don’t know Christ.
Content by Donald W. Treadway
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Do You Have Power?
Earlier today, our power went out. What does one do without power? There is:
- No television to watch
- No video game to play
- No music to listen to
- The list goes on and on
It appears that one must just suffer until the power comes back on.
But are you missing more than electricity?
Lewis Jones wrote a familiar hymn, “There is Power in the Blood.”
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Imagine how powerful the blood of Christ is!
Is is cleansing our sins, and it never runs out! “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7).”
Christ’s blood will continue to cleanse us as long as we live for Him!
Paul said, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace (Ephesians 1:7).”
Isn’t it powerful that our sins can be removed?
The Word of God is “living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).” No other power can tell us our past, history, and future.
Only the power of God’s Word can help us avoid eternal destruction and embrace eternal life.
It even includes instructions! His Word, “lives and abides forever (1 Peter 1:23).”
Do you have true power – God’s power?
Content by Richard Dillon
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What is Your Sermon? – audio
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Introduction
1. The Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard.
He once raised the question as to what would happen if there were no preachers. He concluded that the only thing remaining would be the lives of Christians. And so he wondered: “What kind of sermon would you be preaching?”
2. A poet once expressed it somewhat like this:
You are preaching a gospel day by day;
by the things you do and the words you say.
These may be many, or maybe just few;
but say, what is the gospel according to you?
3. What does the world see as they observe the children of God?
4. I would like ask is that what they see when they see you?
Body
I. Calmness
A. In a world that seems to be coming apart at the seams, the Christian needs to radiate calmness. Someone has written:
Said the Robin to the Sparrow:
“I would really like to know,
why these anxious human beings
rush around and worry so.”
Said the Sparrow to the Robin:
“I think that it must be,
that they have no heavenly Father
such as cares for you and me.”
B. Do we live in fear?
1. Are we constantly fretting over material things?
2. We should “relax” in the Lord and enjoy our Christian lives. People can tell whether we are contented or not. We ought not to portray a frustrated image.
3. Philippians 4:4-7
II. Courtesy
A. In his letter to the church at Philippi, Paul admonished:
1. “Rejoice in the Lord always: again I will say, Rejoice. Let your forbearance be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand” – Philippians 4:4-5
2. The term “forbearance” (ASV), or “moderation” (KJV) is probably obscure to many.
3. The rendition “reasonableness” (ESV) is some better.
4. But, I like “gentleness” (NKJV) the best!
B. The idea is that of courtesy or graciousness.
1. Unfortunately some people are known as professional grumps.
2. They are ever poised to “tell off” someone – the waitress, the bank clerk, the grocery checker.
III. Compassion
A. It was said of Christ, on a number of occasions as he saw the crowds in distress, that he had “compassion” on them.
1. The Greek word for compassion is related to a term that has reference to one’s inner organs.
2. Metaphorically it denotes a deep inner feeling for someone. When we see folks suffering, we should feel for them and strive to help them as we are capable.
3. When we see the bereaved, do we “feel” their pain – as much as one can for another?
4. Galatians 6:1-5
B. It seems the world is growing increasingly cold.
1. The problem is not global warming; it’s global cooling.
2. It’s a dog-eat-dog environment (significantly undergirded by the evolutionary philosophy).
C. We cannot help everyone of course; nor can we solve all the world’s problems. The Christian does need to show compassion in his daily demeanor.
IV. Courage
A. John F. Kennedy wrote a book titled Profiles in Courage, in which he applauded this quality.
1. Courage is a virtue. David once said to the Lord: “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you” (Psalm 56:3). The noblest courage of all is that derived from faith in God.
2. Courageousness is not pugnaciousness.
3. It is not the disposition that is loud-mouthed, or that runs over others.
B. Courage is quiet confidence while doing what is right.
1. Courage is a quality people admire; it is not that of which they are fearful, or that by which they are intimidated.
Conclusion
1. Yes, people are seeing your sermons every day.
2. Make sure they are clear and meaningful for good.
3. When folks observe your life as a truly Christian sermon, they may just want to hear about what it is you have – that they might need!
Content by Donald W. Treadway
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New Years (2012-2013) – audio
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Many people have told me that time passes more quickly as you get older.
I don’t know if it’s true for everyone, but from where I sit I think they’re right.
Can you believe 2012 is gone?
It’s been an eventful year. The presidential race occupied our attention for much of the year. We were intrigued by the London Olympic Games, horrified by shootings in Aurora and Newtown, and now we’re preoccupied by talk of heading over the nebulous but scary “fiscal cliff.”
What’s happened in your world in 2012?
Did you welcome a child into your life? Send one to college?
Get a new job? Change careers?
Perhaps you went through a divorce or lost someone you love.
The way Paul closes Philippians seems quite appropriate as we end one year and begin another.
Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit (Philippians 4:21-23).
In the 1,950 years since Paul dictated this letter from a Roman jail, the world has changed in many ways. Nations have risen and fallen. Wars have been fought, and millions of people have lived and died.
But in so many ways, things are still the same.
We look at a world that’s not too different from the one Paul saw from his imprisonment. People are laughing and crying and dreaming and living and dying.
And what the world needs now—what we need now—is the same thing they needed.
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ”
We still live in a fallen world, and we’re a fallen people, but the hope Paul extended to the church at Philippi is the same hope God extends to us today.
He offers us hope through his grace, which is how Paul finished the letter.
And I think that’s a pretty good way to end a year:
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.”
But, there’s just something neat about new.
The smell of a new car, the look and feel of a new gadget, the cuteness of a new puppy.
Many of us get excited about a new year.
There’s optimism in the air, isn’t there? Yep, I messed up last year, but this year’s gonna be different.
It’s a beautiful new slate, clean start, fresh beginning.
New me for the new year, as they say.
God likes new things too, something Paul celebrates here:
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17).
God gives newness, but it’s not tied to the calendar, of course.
And it has nothing to do with weight loss or gym memberships or quickly-made-but-easily-forgotten resolutions.
He gives newness in Christ.
In fact, he recreates us in Christ, which is incredible.
All those sins?
Gone.
The guilt, hopelessness, living only for self?
A thing of the past.
God gives you a new identity with a new hope, a new outlook, and a new future.
Maybe that’s just what you need
Maybe you got sidetracked last year, got your priorities out of whack, became a little self-serving.
Now’s a good time to change that.
God’s not bound by our calendars, of course, but there’s no better time than today to ask God to give you a fresh start.
If you’re not a follower of Christ, trust in him as God’s Son and connect to his crucifixion in baptism.
Maybe you obeyed the gospel long ago, but today what you need more than anything is for him to be your Lord and Savior once again.
Ask him.
He’ll make you new, completely new, beautifully new.
In Christ, “the new has come.”
Content by Donald W. Treadway
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God’s Care for His People – audio
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Read the Article by Wayne Jackson.
Audio and comments by Don Treadway.
Content by Donald W. Treadway
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Peace of God – audio
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I don’t know what your prayer life is like, but there’s a connection between how you talk to God and how much peace you have.
Have you been praying lately?
Is there restlessness, anxiety, in your heart?
If your answer to the first question is “no,” your answer to the second is probably “yes.”
Notice Paul’s connection between prayer and peace
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7).
All of us want peace, but many of us don’t have as much of it as we’d like.
Paul makes three important points about it here:
I. Peace comes from God.
It’s the peace “of God,” not the peace “of us.” I think sometimes we miss that point. I find myself believing that if I could just get everything on the outside fixed (less stress, fewer problems, etc.), then I’d feel better on the inside. If I could do it. But it actually works the other way around . . . when I accept God’s peace on the inside—his gift—it helps fix the stuff on the outside.
II. Peace is inexplicable.
It “surpasses all understanding,” which implies that sometimes we won’t understand why things happen the way they do. Because it’s from God, though, it can overcome inadequate explanations.
III. Peace protects our hearts.
“Guard” is a military term, suggesting that peace “stands on duty to keep out anything that brings care and anxiety” (R.R. Melick, p. 150).
And most of us need that. We live in an anxiety-ridden world that’s overwhelmed by the search for something to get rid of the uneasiness we’ve got in our hearts.
The answer is right in front of us.
Paul urges us to turn everything over to God, accept the peace of Christ, and let him stand guard at the door of our hearts to ward off all anxiety and worry.
Content by Donald W. Treadway
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Rejoice – audio
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- If you look at the world a certain way, it’s easy not to rejoice.
- Life is stressful.
- I keep waiting for that time when everything slows down. Then, I tell myself, I’ll be less stressed and more content.
Do you ever fall into this trap? There’s negative stuff all around us, which, if we’re so inclined, can damper our spirits.
- An uncertain economy. A rising deficit. Strife in the Middle East (isn’t there always?).
- Personally, perhaps there’s uncertainty about health (why these weird symptoms?).
- And concern for the kids and grandkids (Lord, help them to turn out okay . . .).
- And a million more besides.
But our world isn’t any different from the one the Bible spoke to.
- Parents worried about their children.
- They stressed over the new emperor.
- In ways we can’t even imagine, their physical health was always a concern (no antibiotics???).
To that world, and to ours, Paul wrote: “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” – Philippians 4:4
Notice that he didn’t say, “Rejoice always.”
The little prepositional phrase in the middle makes all the difference.
- If our joy depends on perfect health or a booming economy, it’ll be short-lived.
- If our contentment hinges on a stress-free life or perfect relationships, we’ll always be disappointed.
- It just won’t work.
Which is why Paul said to rejoice “in the Lord.”
- Rejoice because of our relationship to Jesus Christ.
- Because he saved us.
- Because even though this world is messed up, one day he’ll fix it.
- Because our names are written in the book of life, and we’ve got a certain hope for tomorrow.
- No matter what kind of stresses we face today.
Rejoice, Paul says, In the Lord.
Content by Donald W. Treadway
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Thanks Giving – audio
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Sometimes my prayers of thanksgiving are motivated more by habit than by heart.
“Father, I thank you so much for this food and for this day and for my family and for every blessing. Thank you for our house and our clothes and our friends. And, of course, thank you for Jesus.”
I can say all that—and quite a bit more—without thinking at all about what I’ve said.
Do you ever do this?
We fall so easily into the rut of ritualism, going through the motions because it’s what we’ve always done.
It can infect our worship. Have you ever sung an entire song without thinking about any of its words?
It can hurt our relationships. Our conversations with our spouse might never get deeper than the superficial.
“How are you?”
“Good—you?”
“Fine. How are the kids?”
“Oh, they’re good. How was your day?”
“Fine.”
We say a lot of stuff without really thinking about it.
One of the things I like about Thanksgiving is that it hasn’t yet become completely commercialized. At least not as much as most holidays. It’s still mostly about an important attitude, that of gratitude.
Let me urge you this week to take some time to do some focused thanks-giving.
Not the ritualistic, thank-you-for-this-day kind of gratitude, but genuine from-the-heart thanks giving.
Take a few minutes in a prayer that’s exclusively focused on thanking. During this prayer, don’t ask for anything. You can do that in another prayer today, but for now, just thank God.
Thank Him for who he is and what he’s done.
Thank Him for his creation, for his Son, for his church, for his salvation.
Thank Him for your family, your food, your friends.
Just thank Him.
George Herbert wrote:
“Thou hast given so much to me, Give one thing more—a grateful heart; Not thankful when it pleaseth me, As if Thy blessings had spare days, But such a heart whose pulse may be Thy praise.”
And Paul wrote:
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:6-7
Content by Donald W. Treadway
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Christian or Curious
About 32% of the people in the world call themselves Christians, which is about 2.2 billion. I have no idea how many of those truly walk with Christ – God does, of course – but it seems that if there were more than 2 billion dedicated Christ-followers in the world, some of our problems wouldn’t exist.
Right?
What’s the issue?
Part of the answer is obvious – there’s a difference between what we call ourselves and what we actually are.
There’s a difference between checking a box on a questionnaire and living out the implications of faith.
Perhaps you’ve heard this distinction before: some people know about Christ, and some people know Christ.
Which group are you in?
Notice Paul’s emphasis here: “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death” (Philippians 3:7-10).
That I may know him.
That’s what it means to be a Christian, and I believe that’s what so often frustrated Jesus.
Often in his ministry the crowds around him swelled. He would perform a miracle – feed a hungry crowd, heal a blind man, raise someone from the dead – and the numbers would go up.
They were curious, intrigued, often amazed.
But not committed.
Inevitably he would stop and face them and say something like this: “If you’re not willing to die with me… if you’re not willing to commit everything to me, you can’t follow me.”
There’s a difference between being in the “Jesus crowd” and being a Jesus-follower.
So again: why the disconnect between the hundreds of millions in the world who claim Christ and all of the sinful stuff that’s going on?
It’s obvious that some of the 32% don’t really know Christ.
But as always, our concern is a little closer to home.
Do you know him? Are you following him or just interested in him?
Does he just intrigue you or does He lead you?
There’s a huge difference.
Content by Donald W. Treadway
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A Partially Forgiven Christian? – audio
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Living in the past may make you feel only partially forgiven.
It’s a cliché, I know, but it became a cliché because it’s true: Don’t live in the past. When we do, we might feel like we are only partially forgiven.
Is that you? Are you beating yourself up over something you did years ago? Feeling partially forgiven because you can’t forgive yourself?
I think the apostle Paul struggled with his past.
In some of his letters he referred to his abuse of Christians years earlier in his life, before he became a Christian, calling himself the “worst” of sinners and the “least of the apostles” (1 Timothy 1:15; 1 Corinthians 15:9).
It bothered him. I’m guessing that every day of his life he saw in his mind the faces of some of the Christians he’d hurt.
Look forward instead of backward.
But he also recognized that those things no longer defined him.
Listen to what he says here:
Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 3:12-14).
He wasn’t a boastful Christian. He knew he wasn’t where he wanted to be or even where he ought to be, and that led him to look in the right direction.
Ahead.
He strained forward and kept his eyes focused on the finish line.
Humanly speaking, of course, he couldn’t completely forget the past, but he disciplined himself to press on toward that “upward call.”
Maybe that’s what you need to hear today.
Thank God for fully forgiving you.
If you’re living every day with the guilt of the past, it’s holding you back. You think more about what you’ve done to hurt God than what he’s done to heal you.
Think about Paul’s words today.
Thank God for forgiving you and redeeming you and saving you.
Remember… when God does something, he does it right – and that includes forgiveness.
There’s no such thing as a partially forgiven Christian. Jesus paid the full price.
Content by Donald W. Treadway
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