A New Year has dawned and time to take down all the decorations which added much beauty to the end of 2007. How sad to have to begin a New Year without all the color and adornments of the Christmas season. But even so, stores are already going red with Valentine’s promotions and soon all the decorations associated with Easter, from bunnies to candy crosses, will be evident. We like to decorate and make the mundane more attractive. That desire to beautify is a part of the image of God within us, for God himself is the author of beauty. The specific and detailed instructions he gave to the children of Israel for building and adorning his Tabernacle, in the concluding chapters of Exodus, indicates God’s love of beauty. But what constitutes beauty? I like what Dean Koontz wrote about beauty in his book, “Forever Odd.” He wrote: “Beauty that steals the heart is often imperfect, Suggests kindness and grace And inspires tenderness more than it incites lust.”
Beauty, according to Koontz, has to do with the condition of one’s heart and soul and the influence that person is having on the lives of others. I think that, in essence, is the definition God has for beauty as well. In the eyes of the world, beauty is a surface thing which does not allow for imperfections in the image. But God looks deeper than the surface to see what is within. The heart that reveals “kindness and grace and inspires tenderness” truly resides in a beautiful person. Such beauty is not a natural thing but a supernatural quality which only God can impart. It’s a beauty which mirrors the beauty of God’s only Son as he takes up residence within persons who have allowed him entrance. It’s the beauty of righteousness because of the gift of God’s salvation. Hear what Isaiah said about such beauty: “Let me tell you how happy God has made me! For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and draped about me the robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom in his wedding suit or a bride with her jewels. The Lord will show the nations of the world his justice; all will praise him. His righteousness shall be like a budding tree, or like a garden in early spring, fill of young plants springing up everywhere,” (Isaiah 61:10-11 Living Bible). Isaiah knew that it is the “garments of salvation” which makes us beautiful in God’s sight and that which “steals the heart.” So, as we enter 2008, may we be the decorations that beautify this drab old world as we continue to adorn ourselves in those lovely garments and be always draped about with the pure robe of righteousness. May we allow the beauty of our Lord to be seen clearly in our lives—a heart stealing beauty!
B.C.
Now talking about a beauty that steals the heart, how about this one?
The Pastor's Point:
Well, the month of “Love” has arrived with the florist and candy makers trying to convince us to express it through their gift giving products. How is one to express his/her love for another? Are flowers and candies enough? The Bible gives us as an answer more beautiful than flowers and much sweeter than candy.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails, (1st Corinthians 13:4-8a).
It’s an old movie now but you may still remember some of the scenes from this film which made us cold to the bone watching it – “Dr. Zhivago.” I didn’t think I’d ever get warm again watching all those Russian winter scenes.
If you remember, the movie was supposed to have been a great love story about Dr. Zhivago’s love for another woman (Lara), not his wife. We were supposed to be moved by his persistent and passionate love for Lara. But there was one brief scene in the film that really touched me more than all the others, but I dare say that few viewers even took notice of it.
The scene had Dr. Yuri Zhivago returning home earlier than his wife had expected to discover that the little apartment they lived in was cold as ice. After scolding his wife for letting the room get so cold, he later discovered that his wife would put out the fire in their small stove after he went off to work each morning and then light it again just before he was expected to return each evening so the room would be warm for him. She did this each day to save what little fuel they had to burn. I saw in that one momentary scene the true example of sacrificial love from his wife which was never really appreciated and certainly was never demonstrated by the famed Lara, his love.
That little scene is a reflection of a greater scene on a hill called Golgotha, “where the dearest and best, for a world of lost sinners, was slain.” What the Apostle Paul wrote in 1st Corinthians chapter 13 about love is exactly what and who Jesus Christ is. Paul also wrote in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” That’s the fullest expression of true love—God’s love.
Now I’m not saying that we men don’t need to consider giving our wives flowers, candy or some other token of love for Valentines’ Day, because, “woe is me,” if you say that I said you didn’t have to. I am saying that love’s expression needs to be much more than that – so much more! So do the former without leaving the latter undone. B.C.
The Pastor's Point:
In 1st Corinthians 15:3-4 we read: “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,….”
What the Apostle Paul declares that he had received and was faithfully passing on as of “first importance” to others is the heart of the Christian message and hope. The message is why we celebrate Easter Sunday morning.
For many in our secular society, however, March 23, 2008, will simply mean Easter bunnies and straw baskets filled with artificial grass and lots of assorted candies. Easter for many has become, much like Christmas, something relegated as holiday to focus on children. But should we declare it to be “Resurrection Sunday,” the skeptics start coming out in force to deny such a thing as a resurrection possible. They will endorse such things as “reincarnation” or even “soul annihilation,” but a promise of resurrection is way beyond their willingness to believe.
Why do you suppose this doubt is so prevalent when the message of Christ’s resurrection from the dead is meant to be the greatest good news the world’s ever known? Persons will fawn over the teachings of Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam but remain skeptical of the Christian message that Christ is risen from the dead and He is Lord!
For Christians, Jesus’ resurrection…
1. …gives Validity to Our Message; 2. …gives Substance to Our Faith; 3. …gives Certainty to Our Forgiveness; 4. …gives Eternity to Our Life.
The resurrection of Christ sets Christianity apart from all other religions. It’s the distinctive difference in the world of religions that we serve a Living Savior!
A Christian missionary and a Muslim were walking together and sharing their individual beliefs. After many comparisons the Muslim said, “I don’t see that there is that much difference between what we believe. Is there any real reason why you couldn’t just as easily be a Muslim as being a Christian? The missionary thought for a moment and then posed this situation. “Suppose that while we are walking down this road we came to a fork in the road and at that fork there was a dead man and a living man. From which one would you ask directions as to which road to take?” The Muslim answered, “Why from the living man, of course. A dead man could do us no good.” “Well then,” continued the missionary, “why would I want to go to Mohammad, who is dead, for directions when I can come to Christ who is alive and who knows the way?”
From the tomb, Jesus left there. I believe! I believe!
B.C.
The following was an E-mail sent to me by a friend. Thought it would bring a smile to your face and caution you about what words you use around your grandkids. No telling what they think the word resurrection means.
"RETARDED GRANDPARENTS" (This was actually reported by a teacher)
A teacher asked her young pupils how they spent their holiday away from school. One child wrote the following:
We always used to spend the holidays with Grandma and Grandpa. They used to live in a big brick house but Grandpa got retarded and they moved to Florida. Now they live in a tin box and have rocks painted green to look like grass. They ride around on their bicycles and wear name tags because they don't know who they are anymore. They go to a building called a wrecked center, but they must have got it fixed because it is all okay now, they do exercises there, but they don't do them very well. There is a swimming pool too, but they all jump up and down in it with hats on. At their gate, there is a doll house with a little old man sitting in it. He watches all day so nobody can escape. Sometimes they sneak out, and go cruising in their golf carts. Nobody there cooks, they just eat out. And, they eat the same thing every night – early birds. Some of the people can't get out past the man in the doll house. The ones who do get out, bring food back to the wrecked center for pot luck. My Grandma says that Grandpa worked all his life to earn his retardment and says I should work hard so I can be retarded someday too. When I earn my retardment, I want to be the man in the doll house. Then I will let people out, so they can visit their grandchildren.
PRICELESS . . .
The Pastor's Point:
With spring now upon us with warmer weather forecast, we will soon have to deal with the age old problem of what to do with those WEEDS? There are certain lawn treatments and chemicals available but they only seem to be effective for a little while. It almost seems at times that Weeds Rule! Jesus spoke about this problem. Hear what he said in Matthew 13:24-30.
Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in the field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”
From this scriptural account I think Jesus was giving us some good advice concerning weeds. First of all, we are to deal with weeds by understanding where they come from.
The question is asked in verse 27, “Where then did the weeds come from?’” In verses 37-39 Jesus answered that question: “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seeds stand for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.”
So then, where did the weeds come from? They come from the enemy of God and the enemy of men’s soul – the devil. He sows doubt, prejudice, hate, scorn and all manner of corruption in the hearts and minds of susceptible persons. A part of the mystery of evil in our world is answered here. There is an enemy of everything that’s good, clean, wholesome, righteous and Godly. He is continually at work sowing his foul weed seed into any soil that is open to him – any heart and mind that delights in wickedness and filth.
But the question remains, what to do with the weeds? Hear again what Jesus says: The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”
Jesus assures us that we are to leave the problem of the weeds up to God. There is coming a day in which there will be a separation of the good from the bad, the wheat from the weeds. We are simply told to be patient even when the weeds seem to be winning. It may seem that Weeds Rule, but this parable of our Lord lets us know with all certainty that God Rules and the weeds are already assigned their place of destruction.
Well, this might not answer your dilemma as to the weeds growing in your yard this year, but I hope it helps us all to know that the spiritual weeds of evil in this world has already been dealt with as the Day of the Lord approaches. Even so, come Lord Jesus!
B.C.
The Pastor's Point: In the Bible’s Song of Songs, Solomon writes these words: “My lover spoke and said to me, ‘Arise my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me. See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in the land. The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me,’” (Song of Songs 2:10-13 NIV).
As I look out my window this beautiful May morning the words of Solomon come to me, “…the season of singing has come.” There is much activity around our bird feeder this morning. The squirrels are running here and there and trying to get up the pole of the feeder. The Dogwoods are blooming, the Pansies are showing their smiling faces, the sun is shining, the air is warming and in this season of winter past, I can agree with Louis Armstrong, “What a Wonderful World.”
In a world blighted by sin, we can still see evidences of why God saw that what he had created was “good.” Evolutionists teach that the world is evolving into a more beautiful and perfect order. In their minds the best is yet to be (in say another couple of million years). But the Bible reveals that the world was at its best when God first created it and, because of sin, it is not getting better but worse.
The Evolutionists have it right in believing that the best is yet to be, but that best in not to be in this earthly existence. The best is yet to be at the coming of God’s Son who is creation’s Savior. In Romans 8:19-21 we read, “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.” The “Blessed Hope” of the church is also the “Blessed Hope” of creation—that being, the coming again of the Lord Jesus Christ.
So in this beautiful month of May, let us rejoice that the season of singing has come and even more so as we look to the coming season of Christ’s return when he will say to all who love him, “Arise my darlings, my beautiful ones, and come with me,” and then the we will know that the real “Season of Singing” has truly come at last.
B.C.
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