Month: November 2013

Complete Through Suffering

Hebrews 2:10
“For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.”

What does it mean when it says that Jesus was made “perfect through sufferings”? We often look at the word “perfect” as being sinless, but that is not what the word means. “Perfect” means complete. In other words, without sufferings a person cannot be complete.

It’s strange to think that Jesus was not complete without suffering. When this verse is talking about Jesus being complete, it is not insinuating that Jesus lacked in qualities, but it means that His sufferings completed His course. Without the suffering of being beaten, He would not have completed the Word of God. Without the suffering of the cross, He could not have died for the sins of mankind. Without the suffering of death, He could not have risen from the grave and conquered death. Without the resurrection from the grave, He could not have ascended to Heaven to prepare Heaven for us. Without ascending to Heaven, Jesus could not come again to receive the saved to Heaven someday. All the sufferings Jesus endured were important to complete what He said He would do. Without suffering, Jesus could not be the Saviour of the world.

If Jesus needed suffering to complete His course, then you also need suffering. To think that Jesus needed completion and you don’t is completely absurd. Jesus is the Son of God; yet, He needed suffering to be complete. You are a sinful and finite human, and without sufferings you cannot be complete. Let me give you some thoughts about being complete through suffering.

Suffering will complete you as a Christian. When I go through trials, I often find my weaknesses. Suffering reveals the cracks in our Christian life, and without suffering we would not know what we need to correct. Though you may not enjoy the suffering you face, it is through suffering you see what you need to change. It is through the suffering of the fire that gold is purified from the dross. It was through the suffering of the fiery furnace that the three Hebrew children were released from the cords of the world. It was through the suffering of being enslaved and the prison cell that Joseph learned His weaknesses that molded him into a ruler. It was through the suffering of a leg out of joint that Jacob became Israel. It was through the suffering of the wilderness that Moses learned how to be the leader he became. You will never find your weaknesses without suffering. Instead of griping about the suffering, let the suffering complete you by revealing your weakness so you can correct it.

Furthermore, suffering helps to complete your course. Notice, without the suffering of the cross, Jesus could not have been victorious over the grave. Likewise, suffering is a stepping stone for God to use you in a greater fashion. I know when God sends me through hard times that He is getting ready to use me in a greater way. God uses suffering to promote His children. Friend, if you want God to use you in a great way, then you are going to have to endure suffering. No, you don’t have to joy in suffering, but you must endure it so that God can use your affliction to help you help others.

You can either look at suffering as though God is hurting you, or you can look at suffering as though God is trying to complete you. Your perspective of suffering will determine how complete you become. You will never be the person God intended for you to be without first going through suffering.

A Good Soldier

2 Timothy 2:3
“Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

Every Christian needs to realize that when they got saved they entered a war. Throughout the Pauline epistles, you see Paul stresses the importance of being aware of the war they fight. The verse above is one of those verses. Paul challenges Timothy to be a good soldier. In order to be a good soldier, Paul lays out several things for Timothy to do.

First, a good soldier recognizes for whom they are fighting. If you are going to be a good Christian soldier, then you must realize this battle you are in is about Christ. You will not be a good soldier when you make the battle about men. We are not fighting men, but we are fighting the Devil. Our battle is to defend Jesus Christ.

You must be careful that you don’t make the battle about your preacher or yourself. Your preacher may be a good man, but he is a soldier as well. I find many Christians today forget that they are serving Jesus Christ and they get wrapped up in their pastor or a man. I believe you ought to love your pastor, but your battle is about Jesus Christ.

Furthermore, the battle is not about you. Again, many Christians involve themselves in the Christian life to see what they can gain from it. You must realize that people may attack you, but you must not take it personally because you are simply wearing the uniform of a Christian, and that is why you are attacked. Don’t get wrapped up in making everything about you.

Second, a good soldier must endure hardness. You will notice that the verse above did not say to avoid or run from hardness, but endure it. In other words, it’s not easy to serve the LORD. There are going to be times when you must go through hard times and keep fighting for the LORD. When health has left you, endure hardness as a good soldier. When people attack you, endure hardness as a good soldier. When you feel like quitting, endure hardness as a good soldier. Whatever your hardness is, endure it.

Third, a good soldier will not get entangled in that which is not the battle. Verse 4 says, “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life;…” Friend, don’t get so wrapped up in this world that it pulls you from what you are supposed to be doing. A good soldier must not get so wrapped up in making money that they forsake the battle. A good soldier must not get entangled in the hobbies they enjoy. This verse is not saying you can’t do these things, but it’s saying don’t be entangled, or so intertwined in worldly affairs that they hinder you from fighting the fight of faith.

Fourth, a good soldier will try to please Jesus Christ. Verse 4 continues to say, “…that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.” God is the One Who chose you to be His soldier. That means the only one you should try to please is God. Stop trying to please man and please God. Stop trying to be recognized by man, and strive to make God happy. A good Christian soldier wants God to be pleased with their life.

Are you a good Christian soldier? Could God look at you and commend you for how you fight His battles? Every day ask God to help you to be a good soldier for Him.

The Modern Day Hippy in our Church

The-Modern-Day-Hippy-in-our-Churchby: Dr. Steve Heidenreich

The greatest generation has been used to describe a group of people born into poverty who created inventions out of necessity and fought for right. These brave men and women from WWII were no doubt substantial citizens of our great county. Yet, their children and grandchildren were the hippy movement of the sixties and seventies. Now these hippies are back, but this time in our churches.

In the early 20th century a new breed of Christians came on the scene, the Independent Baptist. After a hard fought, yet vital civil war within the movement, fights over the King James Bible, standards, convictions and soul winning separated the Independent Baptist crowd into two distinct parts. There were the Independent Baptist and the Independent Fundamental Baptist. Great generals of their time were making a stand for what they thought was right. Generals like Jack Hyles, Jerry Falwell, Lee Roberson, J. Frank Norris and so many more took their stand and never compromised.

Soon, a younger generation of red blooded American men, many who had witnessed the battle fronts of Vietnam first hand took the mantle of these men and marched forward. They had seen the hippy crowd and despised the shame these communists were bringing to the land of the free. These men not only were patriots of the red white and blue, but they were patriots of their movement, the newly formed IFB. They went through Baptist boot camp and graduated running into the highways and hedges, guns-a-blazing for Jesus. These men dreamed of the day when they too would have to go to war for what they believed, and preached every sermon as if they were under attack.

Much of the fighting had already been over and the victory won, but like any good Baptist preacher, we can’t let dead dogs lie. Some thought that not every battle they fought was worthy of the cause. Every few years there rose up some heretic who had to be put out of his misery and rightfully so. These men built grand churches. Soul winning was a priority and a bus ministry was a must!!

Millions of lives were changed and souls were saved all the while raising a generation of wimpy, pink tea and lemonade drinking, lace on their underwear, panty waisted, compromising misfits who have become the Hippies in our churches today. “No more fighting, only peace, love and change” they proclaim. This generation grew up seeing their preacher on the front line doing his dead level best to keep fundamentalism strong. He fought when it was time to fight, stood when it was time to stand, waving his Bible the whole way, but not anymore. This new generation of lilly livered, backslidden, NIV using, contemporary praise and worship sacrilege garbage is the new grass being passed around. They desire only love, happiness, ear tickling sermons, and God forbid the preacher should raise his voice. We have a group of sin addicted, love everyone and everything is allowed in the church except war.

The battles that need to be fought are not being fought, and those still holding the line are ridiculed, blogged and tweeted about as if they were a common criminal. Is it Vietnam all over, or are there just hippies in the church? Let me kindly remind you that Jude 1:3 says, “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” It’s time that we realize we are at war. One thing we have learned from the hippy generation is that peace, love and change will not win a war. There must be men of God who strongly take a stand for truth, and there must be Christians who applaud and help these men as they fight the battle for truth. Souls are at stake! Let’s not lose the battle all for the sake of love and peace.

Comfort One Another

1 Thessalonians 5:11
“Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.”

One of the works of the Holy Spirit is to comfort the Christian. John 14:26 shows us this work when it says, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost…” Though this is the work of the Holy Spirit, you must realize that the Holy Spirit will use people to do this work. That is why it says in the verse above, “Wherefore comfort yourselves together,…” When the Christian yields themselves to the Holy Spirit of God, then they will find that they will be used to comfort those around them. How is it that the Holy Spirit uses us to comfort others?

First, the Holy Spirit uses your faith to comfort people. In Luke 8:48, Jesus said to the woman who was healed of the issue of blood, “Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole;…” The faith of this woman comforted her. If her faith could comfort her, then your faith can comfort others. When people see someone whose faith is strong, it comforts them by giving them security. For instance, when I was young, it was my parent’s faith that God would provide the needs of food and finances that comforted me as a child. I didn’t worry about food, because their faith comforted me. Likewise, your faith will comfort others if you will build it.

Second, the Holy Spirit uses the Scriptures to comfort people. Romans 15:4 says, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” It is important that you learn the Scriptures so you can use them to comfort people. Nothing is more assuring than knowing the Scriptures back you up.

Third, the Holy Spirit uses preaching to comfort people. According to 1 Corinthians 14:3, one of the purposes of preaching is to comfort people. It’s critical to be at church regularly because you will hear preaching that will not only comfort you in your time of need, but it will help you to know what to say to others in their time of need. Moreover, you should bring those who need comfort to church so they can hear the preaching that the Holy Spirit will use to comfort them.

Fourth, the Holy Spirit uses your love to comfort people. Philippians 2:1 shows us that love is comforting. Why should you love people? Because loving them brings comfort to them. There is nothing like receiving a phone call from someone who loves you and hearing them say that they are praying for you and that they love you.

Fifth, the Holy Spirit will use the Second Coming of Christ to comfort people. 2 Thessalonians 4:18 tells us to comfort one another by reminding them that Jesus is coming again. The hope that one day all sorrow will end because Jesus is coming is a comfort to those who are hurting. One of the greatest tools of comfort is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

Sixth, the Holy Spirit uses forgiveness to comfort people. 2 Corinthians 2:7 reminds us that when we forgive people, it comforts those whom we forgive. Friend, bitterness towards someone who’s wronged you will not bring comfort to them. When someone knows you have forgiven them for what they did to you, that brings them comfort.

How is your ministry of comfort? Are you lacking in one of the tools the Holy Spirit uses to comfort others through you? Make each of these areas a priority in your life, and you will find that the Holy Spirit will comfort many people through you.

Servant-Master Relationship

Colossians 3:22
“Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:”

A good work ethic is important to your Christian testimony. There are people with whom you work who are lost. Your work ethic may be the very thing that causes them to get saved. I have watched Christians use their Christianity to be lazy on the job, and that only hurts the cause of Christ. The people who ought to have the best work ethic should be God’s people.

In the verse above, God deals with the employee. The two key words in this verse are “servant” and “masters.” The “servant” is the employee and the “master” is the employer. God shows in verses 22-23 what this relationship should be like.

First, you must understand your role if you are going to be what you should be for Christ. As an employee, you are a servant to your boss. It is important for you to understand that you work for your boss and they don’t work for you. Most workplaces are filled with criticisms of how bad the boss is. Let me remind you, you are the servant. Your boss owes you a paycheck and you owe him hard work. Stop griping about what your boss doesn’t do for you and remember that you are his servant who is supposed to work hard.

Second, be obedient to your boss. Look at what the verse above says, “Servants, obey in all things…” It didn’t say to obey in the areas where you like, but in all things. If your boss gives you a dirty job, do it with the right spirit. Stop complaining about always getting the worst jobs and be thankful that you have a job.

Third, don’t work as a manpleaser. You will often find people who tend to flatter the boss for the sole purpose of moving up the ranks. God is teaching that you should not be one who tries to flatter your boss so you can get position. In other words, stop being a brown-noser. Don’t talk bad about your boss, but also don’t flatter him for the sake of position. Work for position instead of trying to flatter them for a position.

Fourth, give your best effort on the job. Verse 23 says, “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily,…” Every day you should give your best effort on the job. Every Christian should be the hardest working person in their place of employment. Your job is not to witness to the lost while you are working, but your job is to work hard. Witness at break time and when work is over, but work when you are being paid to work. Give your best effort everyday.

Fifth, always remember that how you serve your master is how you serve the LORD. Notice that verse 23 says, “…as to the Lord, and not unto men;” Friend, your work ethic reveals your Christianity. If you don’t work hard, then you are a poor Christian. Your boss may be lost, but they’re position is representative of Christ.

If we went to your place of employment to determine your Christianity, what would we find out? Does your work ethic match how you display your Christianity at your church? There is no room for laziness in Christianity. God expects you to work hard. If you want to please God, then everyday go to work and be the best employee. That is good Christianity!

Confrontational Resolution

Galatians 2:11
“But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.”

Dealing with differences in a confrontational manner is never easy. Many do not like to deal with problems in face to face situation to resolve a matter, so they let the issue at hand go unresolved which only makes matters worse. When I’m talking about confrontational, I am not inferring that you should be boisterous or physical, I’m simply saying that there are times when you should confront a person face to face.

When Paul had differences with people, he resolved these issues by confronting them. He did not talk behind someone’s back, but he always confronted them because that was the best way to handle a difference. In the verse above, Paul confronted Peter because Peter added circumcision to the Gospel. Instead of talking about Peter behind his back, Paul went straight to the source and resolved the issue. If Paul had handled this issue the way most people do, Peter may have continued to preach a works salvation. Instead, a problem was solved because Paul believed in confrontational resolution.

Many people could keep good relationships with people if they would learn to solve their problems by going straight to the source. It may put a lot of pressure on you at the moment, but it will relieve you of much unrest and quarreling if you will handle it in a confrontational manner. Let me give you some thoughts on confrontational resolution.

First, when you hear something about someone else, instead of going off someone’s word, go directly to them and ask them if what you heard is true. Just because someone told you something doesn’t make it true. By going to the source every time you hear something, you can stop many people from gossiping if they know you will do this.

Second, when someone says something false about you, go directly to them to resolve the problem. I have made this a practice in my life and it’s amazing how it can stop many rumors. Most people don’t expect this, so when you confront them it puts them off guard and will more than likely cause them to stop saying false things about you. You can brood over the false report, or you can confront someone and get it settled.

Third, don’t be confrontational when you are confronting them. You don’t want to go in as if you are going to fight because that will cause a fight. Simply, tell a person what you heard and deal with it from that point. Be firm, but don’t be argumentative.

Fourth, confront someone so that you can resolve the issue. Your purpose for confronting someone is to end the gossip about you or someone else. Most of the time you can resolve issues if you handle it the right way.

Finally, ask the Holy Spirit to control you and the other person before you confront them. Don’t go in the flesh, but go being led of the Spirit. This will help you to go into this confrontation in a spiritual manner and may save you from saying something foolish.

Confrontational resolution is the best way to handle differences. Writing notes is the cowards way out. Handling things face to face is what the Scriptures teach. Don’t let your dislike for confrontation stop you from dealing with issues. Deal with it now, and you can resolve the issue for good.

Tribulation, Patience, Experience, Hope

Tribulation,-Patience,-Experience,-Hopeby: Kelli Campbell

“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also:  knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed: because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”  Romans 5:1-5

TRIBULATION

“But we glory in tribulations also.”

The worst tribulation in our lives began on February 17, 2010. My husband, Kerby, went in for a routine knee surgery that changed our lives forever. The anesthesiologist who gave him a spinal epidural to numb him from the waist down, missed his epidural space and went all the way into his spinal column. She punctured him 6 times. We have found out since that the limit is 2. The numbing medicine was put into his spinal fluid which caused his nerves to clump together. A doctor’s negligence caused Kerby to have a life altering, incurable disease called Arachnoiditis. It causes him to have indescribable, excruciating, electrical, burning pain, all day, every day. It is horrible to have to watch the love of your life suffer every single day knowing there is nothing you can do to help, fix or change it…forever. Forever is such a long time. There is no end. That means as long as we live my husband will be in horrific pain and I will have to watch.

The Bible says, in Romans 5, that we are to glory in tribulation. I did not truly understand this until this trial came into our lives. I really hate Arachnoiditis, but I would not trade it for anything in the world. God has shown Himself trustworthy in so many, many ways. We would have never learned the things that we have learned had we not had this opportunity to suffer. I want the pain to go away today, but I want to keep the closeness, the trust and the peace I have found in my wonderful Lord.

God has a plan and purpose for every thing that He allows to come into our lives. We do not have to like it or agree with it or even understand it, but we are to make Jesus look good even when our lives and dreams are shattered. With time, we can learn to glory in tribulations.

PATIENCE

The Bible, also, says that “tribulation worketh patience.” The Strong’s Concordance says that patience is “stedfastness, constancy, endurance; a man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings.” The web dictionary defines patience as “the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.” I always thought that patience was just waiting, but it is so much more.

Tribulation is hard, but having patience is harder. How do you accept a lifetime of pain? How do you not get angry or upset at a doctor who caused all of this? How do you keep your faith knowing that God allowed all of this pain and suffering to come into our lives? How do you not get upset when you have to watch your husband suffer? How can you keep going when all of your dreams are shattered into pieces?

The answer does not come easily. It is one day and one step at a time. When this first happened, we did not know what was happening. Kerby was lying on the couch, screaming in pain! I thought he was going to die. I was terrified! It took months for us to get a diagnosis, but even having a diagnosis did not change anything. In the beginning, I really had to fight my anger at the doctor. What happened should never have happened! I decided I would not waste my energy thinking about her. I had too many things that needed my attention. Giving her my thought life would not change anything. It would only hurt me. I did not want to add bitterness to my trial. I let it go and forgave her. It took some time, but now I can think about our situation with peace knowing God has a purpose for it all.

Obviously, God allowed this in our lives. It is my job to let it refine me. I could easily have gotten bitter at the doctor for causing it and at God for allowing it. None of us will get through this life without some kind of tribulation. If I get bitter, I have just taught my children that the God I serve is not trustworthy. My God is trustworthy, so I have to live in a way that shows how great my Lord really is in spite of my circumstances.

EXPERIENCE

“And patience, experience.”

Experience…we all want to have experience, but not in tribulations. My tribulation experience now reads like a resume:

I know what it is like to watch my husband suffer in pain every day.

I know what it feels like to hear the word “incurable.”

I know what it is like to have all of your dreams shattered.

I know what it is like to have no hope outside of the Lord.

I know what it is like to lose everything through no fault of our own.

I know what it is like to lose everything financially.

I know what it feels like to hear, “I am sorry there is nothing we can do.”

I understand, “spent all that she had and was nothing bettered.”

I know what it is like to live by faith.

I know what it is like to lose friends because they do not know what to say to you.

I know what it is like to feel your life and purpose are a big question mark.

I know what is like to be angry and learn to forgive.

I know what it is like to have no answers.

Just to name a few.

When others come to me or call me with their tribulation, I have a better understanding and compassion for what they are going through because I have experience; experience in tribulations. When your life and dreams have been shattered, you can understand someone else’s brokenness in a way someone who has not suffered loss cannot.

I have not experienced it all (begging God that I do not) and I absolutely do not know it all, but I do not have to. I have not done everything right either. I have had bad days. Days when all I want to do is hide and cry.

Most importantly, I know what it is like to have experienced hope.

HOPE

“And experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed: because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”

I do have hope! My hope is in no other but the Lord Jesus Christ. Not only do I have hope and faith in my salvation, but I have hope and believe with all of my heart that God is going to heal my husband. I wonder sometimes if God laughs when a doctor pronounces someone to be “incurable.” I do not know how or when He is going to heal him, but I have hope that He will! I know some people, Christians included, act like I am crazy and respond in disbelief when I tell them I believe that God is going to heal Kerby. That is okay. How many people do not believe a doctor’s diagnosis of “incurable?” I have hope of God’s healing and I am not ashamed of it!

Proverbs 13:12 says, “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.” I understand this verse. I have begged God to heal Kerby. For almost four years I have begged Him for healing in every way I know how. When healing does not come, it hurts and we do not understand why a loving God Who promises to answer our prayers makes us wait. I do not like the waiting, but if God answered every prayer right away we would never learn experience, patience and hope. I have learned that the waiting times should be turned into learning times. What does God want me to learn from my tribulation? I want to learn and grow in my walk with the Lord. When God does answer, it will be a tree of life…new dreams, new hopes and rejoicing in a loving God Who does hear and answer our prayers…in His time.

Tribulation is difficult and life changing. I want to keep the things I have learned and tell everyone how good God is! He will strengthen us, grow us, take care of us, take our brokenness and make us into something He can use.

Tribulation, patience, experience and hope.

Kelli Campbell
http://www.treasuredtrials.com

Coming Out Unto Fellowship

2 Corinthians 6:17-18
“Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”

There are two important words for the Christian to understand. The first word is “relationship,” and the second word is “fellowship.” A relationship is important because a person will never go to Heaven without having a relationship with Jesus Christ. You establish a relationship with Christ by accepting His payment on the cross for your sins. Jesus died, was buried and rose again so that He could establish a relationship with man. You will notice that having a relationship with Christ has nothing to do with man, but it has everything to do with God. All you have to do to establish a relationship with Christ is to put your whole faith and trust in Jesus Christ to be your Saviour, and at that moment you have a relationship established with Him.

Fellowship is completely different. You can have a relationship with Christ without having fellowship with Him. Fellowship is completely dependent upon how you live. For instance, my relationship with my parents was established because of them. It doesn’t matter what I do, I will always be their son; likewise, once you are saved you will always have a relationship with Jesus Christ. However, my fellowship with my parents is dependent upon how well I obeyed them. If I was disobedient to my parents, then my fellowship was hindered and strained. If I obeyed them, then my fellowship with my parents was harmonious.

Our fellowship with God is dependent upon our separation. Notice in the verses above some key statements. God commands us to “come out from among them and be ye separate.” Why are we to come out from the world? God shows us in verse 18 when He says, “And I will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters,…” Notice, separation establishes the fellowship. If I don’t come out and live a separated life from the world, then I cannot have fellowship with the Father. My fellowship with the Father is very dependent upon whether I live a separated life from the world.

You cannot separate by staying in the world. Too many Christians want to bring Christ into the world so they can have fellowship with Him, when He commands that we come out of the world to have fellowship with Him. Many churches today want to bring the world into their services, but they leave their fellowship with Christ by doing so. God will never change His principles with man just to have fellowship. It is a privilege to have fellowship with God, and that is why you must live a separated life from the world to have it.

Friend, don’t let liberal preachers fool you into believing that it’s okay to let down your standards. Those standards are there so that you can have fellowship with God. The greater your fellowship is, the better chance you have of getting your prayers answered. Separation has nothing to do with showing how great a Christian you are, but it has everything to do with whether you want to have fellowship with God. Separation is not a bad thing if you realize the results that it brings. Remember this, when you give up the world and separate from it, you get fellowship with God. Separation is a great thing if you look at it from that perspective. How is your fellowship with God? You show me how separated you are from the world, and I can show you your fellowship with God.

The Longevity of Love

1 Corinthians 13:8
“Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.”

Love is the key element in any relationship. You often hear young people say, “I’m in love.” Those of us who have been married for any length of time chuckle when we hear them say that for we know that they don’t truly understand the real meaning of love. Though they may love to their capacity, their love is very small compared to a love that has been tested for many years.

God deals with the subject of love in 1 Corinthians 13. Instead of calling it love, God chose to call it charity. Charity carries a far deeper meaning than love in that charity is giving of oneself to help one in need. When you look at the verse above, you will find there are three ways God chose to define charity to show it’s longevity.

First, God says that charity never fails. This carries a two-fold meaning in that never failing can mean it always accomplishes what it set out to do. It can also mean that it never shuts off. I often say that once you choose to love someone you can never stop loving them. I also believe that once you let love do a work, it will eventually get through. You may think you are getting nowhere with someone, but though they may be successful in shunning you, they can never stop the love you invested in them.

Second, God also says that charity will never cease. In other words, it will never come to an end. You will never exhaust the resources of love. You may think you have no more love to give, but if you keep on giving love, you will find that there will always be more love to give. You can give all the love you have today to help someone, but you will find that there will be more love to give tomorrow. Don’t ever hold back on giving your love, for the faucet of love will keep on pouring as long as you keep on giving.

Third, charity will never vanish away. What I love about this statement is that it is implying that it will never go out of style. Trends come and go, but charity is always in style. Methods work today and fail tomorrow, but charity is always a tried and proven method. Charity will never get to the point that it no longer exists. When everything has come and gone, charity will still be the in-style tool of choice to help those in need.

Friend, the one thing that will always work in the hearts of individuals is charity. You may come and go, but if you love people, your love will continue on after you are gone. Styles and trends may change, but charity will always be something you can use that is never out of style. Whatever you have used to try to change people may have failed, but you can always use charity and it will never fail. I encourage you to love those with whom you work. You will find that the investment of charity in anyone’s life is the greatest investment that will pay the greatest dividends.

Removing the Pillars

Removing-the-Pillarsby: Allen Domelle

At 9:20 AM Pacific standard time, Paul Anthony Ciancia entered the LAX airport and began shooting TSA agents and private citizens on a suicidal rampage. This mindless senseless mentality of a person like this makes me wonder of what has become of our society. There are no words to describe how terrible and tragic this event is.

It seems that this young man targeted TSA agents. Though many people do not like the TSA, let me remind you that these agents still have families. My heart goes out to the family of Gerardo I. Hernandez, the agent who was shot in the face and killed. We may not like the TSA agency, but the people working for this agency are not bad people. These agents are people like you and me who go to work every day to pay the bills and feed their families. Every week I go to an airport and see TSA agents with whom I’ve become very friendly, and my thoughts went to them and what they must be thinking as the events at the LAX airport unfolded.

We ask ourselves, what is becoming of America when tragic shootings like yesterday’s at the LAX airport are becoming a common thing in our society? Are the guns truly the problem? Should we focus more on gun control? Do we need to start psychoanalyzing every person who has suicidal thoughts? You can be assured that the finger-pointing and the politicizing of the event will start this weekend.

I believe that the reason these things will become more of a common theme in America is because we have removed the pillars of truth. According to 1 Timothy 3:15, the church is the pillar of truth. This verse says, “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” Society looks to the church to determine what is right and wrong. When the Bible, which is the source of truth, is pushed out of society, why should we not expect people to go on suicidal rampages as we have seen in recent history? When Hollywood portrays the church and the Bible as out of date and out of touch, then where is the pillar of truth? When news analysts portray those who base their positions and decisions on the Bible as out of touch, then you can’t be surprised that people would not have a horizon of truth. When the Bible, the source of truth and civility, becomes evil in the eyes of a society, then you can’t be shocked when tragic events happen.

Instead of judges ruling that it is unconstitutional to allow God in our public arenas, we need to have a revival of God being pushed back into our public schools, government, and public places. Instead of taking the 10 Commandments out of federal court houses, we ought to place the 10 Commandments in every public place so people are daily reminded of truth. Instead of teaching sex education to our elementary students, we ought to be teaching them the 10 Commandments and the Word of God so they understand there is a source of truth where they can learn what is right and wrong. Instead of trying to push an enlightened age that excepts everything, we need to get back to the day where gray areas are pushed out and the right and wrong of the Bible is trumpeted from every authority.

The Scriptures say, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.” (Psalm 33:12) As long as we push God out of our society, then our society better brace itself for more of these types of tragedies. The problem is not a gun control problem or a psychoanalysis problem, the problem is that God has been pushed out. The problem is that the Bible teaches that there are evil people, and our society ignores the what the Bible teaches for pseudo psychologists who want to blame wrong on others. When the day comes that we make God our focal point in society, then we will have a day when people will understand there is right and wrong, and there are consequences for every action. When we get to the point that we teach there is a real Heaven and a real Hell, then you will have people second-guessing whether death is truly desirable.

Let’s certainly pray for the families of those who lost their loved ones in the mindless event, but let’s also stop pushing God out of the public arena and place Him in every part or our lives.