Pearl & Prodigal Pearl & Prodigal

You play an important role in the body of Christ – His church. To say otherwise is to be dismissive of both His own valuation of your life and sacrifice on your behalf, but also lacking in a true acceptance of the fact that as a Christian your life is not your own. As Christians we have offered our lives in service to Him, and an important part of that continuing service is to fellow Christians. As we age, those of us who are Christians accumulate the pains of the losses which broken Christian lives bring. It is important that you do your part in both encouraging Christians to continue to move forward, and to personally strive in exercising your faith to grow and mature in Christ so that we do not fail ourselves.

There is war in the Middle East, and that usually means people will be making predictions concerning the return of Christ. But consider carefully that the verses of Matthew 24 are given a limited and specific timeframe by Jesus which excludes them from application to the horrors of our own time. Verse 34 is key: “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” (Matthew 24:34 NAS95)

"By faith Enoch" the writer of Hebrews begins his verses about this outstanding hero that testifies even today of the possibility of living a life that is pleasing to God. The Scriptures seem to tell us so little about him, but his life is a marvelous witness of a life defined by faith. What can we learn from him so that we might strive more to walk close with our Lord.

Perhaps you've heard a sermon on the different words used for "love" in the discussion Jesus has with Simon Peter in John chapter 21. Perhaps you've learned to think about "agape" love as a love of decision, or a love of the will. These are a couple of related items I want to dive into this week in thinking about the straightforward thoughts given in the first three verses of 1 Corinthians 13.

Clemens of Alexandria, born about 150 AD, left an account which was handed down of an event concerning the Apostle John and a murderous bandit who had at one time been counted among the Christians. Looking back over the first few centuries of the Christian age, Eusebius selected this story as one fit for preservation as representing the power of the Gospel in his Ecclesiastical History written in the 300s. While the truth of the event may be questioned, the point it is making is well worth considering.

In Numbers 13-14 we encounter the story of the spies being sent into the Promised Land to see what it was that God was giving them. However, when ten of the twelve that were sent brought back a bad report which caused the people to despair, God made a promise that He would never allow them to cross over into the rest He had prepared for them – they missed their gift that was just waiting for them to receive in faith. What might we learn from this about how we should live today?