BIBLE MESSAGES

“The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served with human hands, as though he needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things” [Acts 17:24,25].

  To many, the expressing “My God” is nothing more than an irreverent expression. We pray “Our Father” and there is nothing wrong with our doing that. He is our Father, but He is much more than that. He is “My Father” and I am His son. Many live without recognizing that personal relationship. We do not use that relationship as a source of strength, and to warm our emotions. Do you or I view the world with the understanding in our heart that we are the children of God and that He is our source of strength when we falter? It is this relationship which gives us strength for the day. When we have a vexing problem, who is the first person we think of? 

  I read the following paragraph: “One family taught their children from their earliest years that they were the ‘children of the King of heaven and earth’. Through the years they discussed what that meant and made application as the children had to make decisions and wrestle with problems. Those two girls and one boy avoided falling prey to youthful lusts. It was due, in large measure, to their deep personal understanding that God was their God, and that they were His”.

  How does He become our God? It is not by our own sheer strength and will power. We cannot get up one morning and say, ‘today I am going to make Him my God’. Maybe Paul can give us a tip. He said, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” [Gal. 2:20]. There first of all must be a place made in our heart for Him. Jesus said, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me” [Matt. 12:24]. When the Lord appeared to Paul as he journeyed toward Damascus, Paul took it personally. He accepted Him at what He claimed to be, the Savior of the world. He accepted Him as the one who had died for his sins. He was the lover of Paul’s soul.

  Isaiah wrote, “But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God” [Isa. 59:2]. Do we not all remember, when as children, we did something we should not have done, how that we did not want to face our mother? I believe some of that dread is still present with us, when we have been guilty of conduct we feel the Lord is not pleased with, do we not hesitate to draw His attention to ourselves? This is a good time to look at what Paul wrote to the Colossians. “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth...But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, etc...let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your heart to God” [Col. 3:1-16].

  I remember that when we lived in Nashville we had season tickets to Vanderbilt basketball games. I also remember that we were really hooked on basketball. The first game was not nearly as interesting as the second, it grew on us. A personal relationship with God is something we must develop. It is not automatic, one has to work on it. We need to dwell on Christ and Calvary and the love of God that made these things become a reality. We must develop a reciprocal love for God. When we awaken in the morning and see the beautiful sunlight as it brings new life to the things round about us and then remember these things are all a gift from God. It is so easy to be like a hog eating acorns under a spreading oak. The hog busies itself eating without ever looking up to see where the acorns come from. It makes no difference if I remember Him every day or never give Him a thought, He still knows what is behind our every thought. He has heard every wicked word that left our lips. But in spite of this, He still loves us for we are His creation. Just a thought to ponder. It matters not how much we would like to just forget all about God, we still remain His creation. “For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things and we exist through Him” [1 Cor. 8:5,6]. Do you remember how in younger days we all had friends whom we really liked to buddy up to? Why not make you’re a close relationship with God!!!

Written by: Clifford Sims

BIBLE MESSAGES

The Resurrection

“But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead” [1 Cor. 15:20,21]

  The reason Christ died the shameful death upon the cross is because there is to be a resurrection of all mankind from the dead, and when we are raised we must meet God in judgment. Why are we so concerned about being raised to meet God? Because the Spirit we have from God, that which made our body of clay become a living spirit, must stand before God to be accepted or rejected by Him. He will either accept it or He will consign it to a devil’s hell. When the apostle Paul was making his defense before Felix he said, “But this I admit to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and is written in the prophets; having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. In view of this, I do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and man” [Acts 24:14-16]. Paul is saying because there is to be a resurrection of the dead, I make an effort to live with a clear conscience before God and man.

  We have very little information about the resurrection of the unsaved. Jesus said, “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment” [John 5:28,29]. There is that which every person possesses but rarely thinks of. How many think every day about the souls they have and must care for? We give careful attention to the things we possess; houses, lands, cars, boats, etc., which we will leave behind us, but the soul we cannot leave behind. When we think of the resurrection, we must remember that the purpose of life is to save our soul. What about the resurrection?

Jesus in reference to the end says, “Two men will be in the field, one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill, one will be taken and one will be left” [Matt. 24:40,41]. This helps us realize how suddenly the end will be. Two people working together and suddenly one disappears. The Christians at Thessalonica were concerned about the ones who had died before the Lord comes; would they lose their reward? To relieve their minds Paul wrote, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep; for the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord” [1 Thess. 4:13-17]. When he says the dead in Christ will rise first, he is not concerned with the unsaved, but the dead in Christ will rise before the living saved are caught up to meet the Lord. As you read this next scripture take time to meditate on this scene and rejoice that all the saved will be caught up to meet the Lord, and think what it would be like to be left behind. “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness” [2 Peter 3:10,11]. The fact that there will be a resurrection is what makes this life so important, not to accumulate possessions, but to save the soul. Listen to the wise man, “For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise man as with the fool, inasmuch in the coming days it will be forgotten. And how the wise man and fool alike die...Thus I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must leave it tot he man who will come after me. And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored aby acting wisely under the sun” [Eccl. 2:16-19]. Jesus made the statement in the parable of the rich fool, “But God said to him, You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared” [Luke 12:20].