Web Chapel

Serving the Saints

Category: A Word With Friends

These are short devotional studies based on a single word or short phrase. Most are observations and lessons discovered in the life my family and me.

  • More Valuable Than Olympic Gold

    Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.  1 Peter 1:18-19

    While gold is the highest prize and greatest honor that the games can offer, it is not the most valuable currency in the universe.  It has been a pleasure to see many Olympic athletes openly express their faith in Christ in Rio.  These dear brothers and sisters in Christ understand the temporal (temporary) value of Gold in contrast to the eternal (forever) value of the precious blood of Christ.

    KNOWING  THAT GOLD HAS NO ETERNAL VALUE – Peter is writing to believers to challenge them to live a life that reflects the holiness of God.  It is knowing that the currency of our redemption was not what the world values, but a currency that God values.  The concept of gold being perishable was likely as strange to the earliest Christians as it seems to us today.  Brokers of precious metals tell us that gold is recession proof – if you have enough of it.  But if you had all of the gold in the world, what could you NOT buy?

    Gold cannot buy life (Job 2:4)

    Gold cannot buy wisdom (Job 28:15 and Proverbs 16:16)

    Gold cannot buy peace (Isaiah 13:17)

    Gold’s value cannot be compared to the Word of God (Psalm 119:127)

    And though I could not find Scripture to support it, I believe the Beatles were correct that money cannot buy love.  To that the poets have added, a baby’s smile, a sunrise, and a dozen or so other common pleasures.

    KNOWING WHAT GOD VALUES ABOVE GOLD – Peter stirs us to action and to motivate us to set our priorities beyond the temporal and reach for the eternal.  The debt of our sin was beyond the price of gold or silver  It was the blood of God’s only begotten Son that paid our debt.  The just for the unjust.  The innocent for the guilty.  The righteous for the unrighteous.  He became sin for us (the one who never knew sin) that we could become the righteousness of God (II Corinthians 5:21).   All of this value, and God offers it to us freely!  That is the most amazing thing of all.

    BECAUSE IF KNOW – Peter’s point is that our debt to God is so great that we could never repay Him, so we should thing live for Him.  We are to become mirrors, reflecting the brightness of His holiness into a dark world.

    As the old hymn so succinctly says,

              With eternity’s values in view, Lord.
              With eternity’s values in view;
              May I do each day’s work for Jesus
            With eternity’s values in view.

    With Eternity’s Values In View
    Words and Music by Alfred B. Smith
    © 1941, renewal 1969 by Singspiration/ASCAP.

  • Fellowship Redefined (2020)

    Fellowship Redefined (2020)

    And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. Acts 2:42

    The ministry to “shut-ins” has changed through the years. I remember as a youth delivering cassette tapes to the homes of folks too sick to attend meetings of the local church. That short visit and perhaps a phone call was as much fellowship as these dear saints would get in a week.

    Cassette Tapes became CDs. CDs became MP3s. MP3s have become live streaming. While many fellowships simply stream, which is like having a private TV channel, some use interactive streaming with tools like ZOOM (R} [http://zoom.us].

    We have been separated by distance and quarantine and medically necessary isolation for half of 2020. My wife and I have visited fellowships around the country, and even the world. My wife loves to attend a Women’s Bible Study hosted over a thousand miles away. The study is followed by at least an hour of “catching up” as the ladies talk like they were in the fellowship room drinking tea. The same is true for several Sunday and Wednesday meetings of the local church.

    This Lord’s Day we plan to Break Bread in remembrance of our Savior with folks from several countries and a few time zones. We will join in prayer, and listen as the Apostle’s Doctrine is preached. Then, we will all unmute our microphones and enjoy fellowship with one another. For many, that is all the interaction they will get this week, but it is enough encouragement to keep them going for another long week of being alone.

    Yes, it is different. But, I think it beats a cassette tape and a rushed visit.

    With inexpensive smart phones and affordable data plans, the only thing keeping some folks isolated is the knowledge and confidence to join in. A visit or two (with masks and clean hands) may be necessary, but we can make it possible for true shut-ins to benefit from fellowship redefined. No cassette tape required.

  • These Three

    These Three

    So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
    I Corinthians 13:13 (CEV)

    This diagram and the lesson which follows show how faith, hope, and love relate to the mind (intellect), will, and emotion of man – which in turn corresponds with the soul.

    And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.    1 Thessalonians 5:23

    When we read that God created man in His own image (Genesis 1:27) it does not refer to merely a physical representation, but the character and attributes of God. As God Himself is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, so man is also a tri-part being: body, soul, and spirit. Even as God is more complex than we can imagine, man is also more complex. The soul (or sometimes called the inner man) is in turn tri-part: mind (intellect), will, and emotion.

    While the image of God in man may have suffered tarnish and decay it is still there in every man (person). It is often taught that faith is ‘simply believing’. However, saving faith is more than just accepting the gospel as true (purely intellectual). It is a function of the heart which involves also the will of man (hope) and emotion (love). May this short study help us to understand what it means to be “sanctified wholly”.

    INTELLECT
    Faithless men often accuse believers of having thrown away reason in favor of faith. This could not be farther from the truth. In fact, it is more reasonable to believe the Word of God than to reject it!   It has been rightly said that it takes more faith to be an atheist than it does to be a Christian. All of creation is stamped with the fingerprint of an intelligent creator. He is the origin of intelligence and has included that in His image which He stamped upon man. Reason and intelligence set man apart from all the rest of God’s creation. This has given man the inherent ability to know. Whether by information gathered through his senses or by revelation (God’s Word) man can come to know that “God is, and that He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). It is not knowing about God, but knowing Him (Philippians 3:10).

    WILL
    The ability to choose and the courage to strive toward a goal are both functions of the “will”. The will of man is affected by both information (MIND), and desire (EMOTION) and can reciprocate by affecting them through choice. Even if the mind of man may be convinced of the truth of the gospel, true faith is also an act of the will. There is an old saying, “a man convinced against his will is of the same mind still.” Even so, the will of man alone is not enough to save (John 1:13). The New Birth is the work of God.

    EMOTION
    God’s love for man is not because of what He knows about man (intellect), but in spite of it. Love for man is the result of His desire (WILL) not man’s performance. God experiences joy and sorrow as well as anger and peace. Man experiences these as well. Jesus was asked which is the greatest commandment (Matthew 22:36-40). His response was the law and the prophets hang on two commandments: 1) Love the Lord thy God with all your heart, and 2) Love your neighbor as yourself.

    We now turn our attention to these three words: Faith, Hope, and Love.  We will observe how they related to each other and to the heart of man (the inner man).

    FAITH
    Faith is listed first. Contrary to the idea of many unbelievers faith is not the opposite of reason. In fact, faith is based upon reason and information (intellect). Paul says that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17 and Galatians 3:2 & 5). The writer to the Hebrews devotes a large section on faith. Faith in God is believing and acting upon the promises of God (the Word of God). It is never “blind trust”, but based upon a long history of God’s faithfulness to His people.

    So then, the basis of faith is primarily intellect and will. The Gaither’s used to sing a song titled “God Said It, I Believe It, and that settles it!” There are many like Agrippa that may be intellectually convinced (Acts 26:28) but reject the truth. Others are like the man who asked Jesus to heal his daughter. He had the desire (will) without the intellect, yet he prayed “Lord I believe, help thou my unbelief” (Mark 9:24).

    HOPE
    The Biblical term hope does not include any idea of uncertainty or wishful thinking. Hope in the Biblical sense is to anticipate something with surety and with joyful anticipation. Hope is based upon facts (intellect) and results in a feeling of expectation (emotion).  If one truly believes then they cannot help but hope. For some it is the expectation of life in the presence of the Savior upon their death to this world. For others of us it is the expectation of the “Glorious Appearing” (the second coming) of our Great God and Savior before our life on earth is done (Titus 2:13).

    LOVE
    Love has at least two components, 1) Affection (that feeling of love that escapes full definition) and 2) Commitment. The Love of God (agape love) is well defined as “God’s Loyal Love”. It is more than affection, though that is certainly a part of love. Love is an expression of the will of man.   Affection may draw a young couple to the wedding alter, but it takes a lifetime of commitment to keep them married. The disciple whom the Lord loved (the description that he gives himself – John 20:2, 21:7 & 20) wrote “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). His kindness draws us to repentance (Romans 2:4) but to respond to that love is an act of the will.

    In summary,

    Faith is a function of both knowing and committing. To know without committing (resting upon the Truth) is not belief. Hence the related terms believing and trusting weigh heavily upon the will.

    Hope is based on intellect but with joyful anticipation. To know the Truth without it affecting your emotions is not normal. Any parent knows that you do not give a child good news of a future event too soon. Otherwise, they will burst under the excitement of waiting for “it” to come.

    Love is both affection and commitment. To truly love God is not just to be drawn by His Goodness, but to desire what He desires and to want what He wants. Why is it “the greatest”? Our intellect and wisdom do not impress God. But when we love we are most like Him who “loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). It is not our love for Him, but His love for us (1 John 4:10). He demonstrated His own love for us in giving His Son (Romans 5:8). When we love God and love our brothers, we represent to the world what He is like who said “by this shall all men know that you are my disciples, because you love one another” (John 13:35).

  • Milestones

    How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. Psalm 1:1-2

    For as long as there have been roads and paths there have been markers along the way. This ancient practice of marking a journey has become a metaphor used to indicate expected events on a given path in any number of disciplines. Ms. Kitty and I became grandparents this year – twice. There are probably more developmental milestones in the first year of life than in the next ten years combined. Who knew that blowing bubbles was a developmental milestone? It has been an exciting year for our family and for many of our friends (2014 was a big year for babies).

    Many have commented upon the progressive opposition toward the man of Psalm One. He does not walk, then he does not stand, and finally he does not sit.

    He does not walk in the counsel of the wicked. From the first sin in the garden until now, it all starts with questioning the goodness of God. The true revelation of God is rejected and the wisdom of man is embraced. I am reminded of the young King Rehoboam that refused the advice of his father’s wise counselors and instead turned to his young friends (1 Kings 12). The path he chose resulted in the division of Israel. Instead, the righteous man is encouraged to walk “circumspectly” (Ephesians 5:15). He takes great care. He is ever watching the path before him without ignoring the dangers that may be beside or even behind him.

    He does not stand in the path of sinners. The danger of lending your ear to the wicked is that you may stop moving forward and join them on their path. There were men who had travelled with Jesus and the disciples but turned back. John says, they went out from us (1 John 2:19). They stopped moving forward and took a stand against the apostles. The progress is from rejection of the revelation of God to the resistance of His Truth. This is often the state of unbelieving man.

    And finally, he does not sit in the seat of the scornful. While we may think of sitting as a passive position, it is actually not. In ancient times the teacher sat, kings sat, and even now judges and others in authority are “seated”. These have progressed from rejection and resistance to open hostility to the revelation of God’s Truth.

    Now what does this have to do with babies and milestones? It usually escapes our notice that the development in this passage is the reverse of normal human development. I just saw a picture of my grandchild sitting up. Her cousin was standing on her own quite recently, but now she is walking. Those are milestones in their physical development.

    The man who rejects the Truth (God’s revelation of Himself) is actually reversing the natural order of things. This is precisely what the serpent did in the Garden. Man was to rule under God and over the Garden – including the beasts. He was to rule with his wife. However, it was all reversed when a beast caused his him and his wife to question the revelation of God. He followed the counsel of the wicked beast. This placed man below the authority of the beast – reversing the natural (created) order. What man sees as progress is in fact digression.

    The righteous man begins meditating and delighting in God’s Word. Babies sleep, eat, and watch (repeat). One of the first milestones is the recognition of their parents. Then they follow the parent with their eyes, and eventually smile and laugh (or even squeal with delight).

    His next milestone is to be planted near nourishing and refreshing waters (standing). This is a time of growth and strengthening. It should not be rushed.

    HIs final milestone is that The LORD knows his way (walking). The righteous are in motion, walking in the counsel of The LORD.

    Where on the path are you now?

     

  • Trust in the Lord

    GUEST BLOG FROM CARL

    Psalm 59:16
    Psalm 59:16

    Proverbs 3:5 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;

    Proverbs 14:12 12 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.

    We can place our trust in many difference places. But many times our trust in someone or something does not pan out. Some have trusted us in some area and have been disappointed when we fail to fulfill that trust. There is One we can totally trust in, and that is our Savior the Lord Jesus. Trust and hope go hand in hand. We trust in the eternal hope we have in Him. We trust that God is faithful to His word and He will not abandon us! In the faitfulness of God lies our trust.

    Trust in our own understanding will only lead to disappointment and finally lead to damnation!

    Psalm 9:10 10 And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.

    1 Corinthians 1:9 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

    1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.

    Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Just a thought for the morning.

    Carl