The Church Wagon

We often refer to local congregations as “works.” For example, I’m involved with the work at South Boone, but we don’t always consider all that the label implies – that serving God in a congregation indeed takes work and effort. There are so many responsibilities involved with spreading the word, with lifting one another up as we should, and with just keeping the congregation running smoothly both as a facility and in the process of worship. On top of the visible roles of worship, there is so much that has to be going on behind the scenes to make a congregation work and to keep our church family knit closely together. We are like a team moving a large wagon up a bumpy hill, but not all of us always put equal effort into that journey.

Pullers and Pushers

We are pulling together in an uphill effort, and there will be bumps and obstacles on that path. We know the road of being a successful congregation can be a challenging one. We have members who look for opportunities to pull us forward, those who take initiative and who never get wrapped up in other dramas and distractions because they are caught up in living Acts 2:42. They are spiritually-minded people like those in Galatians 2:9. They are pillars who support us and prevent us from sliding backwards. Without the pullers, we have no forward momentum.

Alongside the pullers, we have those who push. They are like the Scribes and Pharisees of Matthew 23 who can tell everyone else what needs to be done, but they don’t follow through. They seldom speak of the congregation in terms of “we,” and the pushers distance themselves from close identification with the group. This is one who complains about the buildings cleanliness, but won’t clean up themselves. Instead of saying, “Here am I; send me,” the pusher says, “They ought to get to work.”

Hindering Progress

Neither pushers nor puller, there are those who are simply along for the ride. Revelation 3:16-17 speaks to those lukewarm individuals who take no active role in the spiritual matters or the physical needs of their congregation. The rider adds weight to the journey and does little to help accommodate for that added weight. The rider is good with the status quo and resists change that might upset their comfortable procession. They rely on the efforts of others and are largely unaware of the effort it takes to help a congregation’s journey, but they don’t realize the discouragement they offer to those trying to pull the congregation forward.

Then we have those in the church who are asleep, those who are about to fall off the cart. They are seldom concerned with the health of the congregation or their own spiritual health. They are hindering the journey by being in the way, uncommitted, and unconcerned, but they are still not actively fighting growth. Instead, that falls upon those who would hinder – those who criticize, who fight progress, who demonstrate an attitude of defeat to all around them. Hebrews 5:11-12 speaks of those who know little of the scriptures but who drag a congregation down. The hinderer demands a great deal of attention while doing little to help congregational progress.

Putting Forth an Effort

We should all have a goal of being the pullers, being the ones willing to do the work, to jump on what needs to be done, to help one another bear the weight of pulling a congregation forward on our spiritual road. What do our fellow Christians see in us? Do I have a reputation as a puller or as a pusher? Am I seen as one who doesn’t really care – sleeping on the job, just along for the ride, or actively hindering progress? What roles do we take in bearing one another’s burdens, in teaching, in taking care of the building, in preparing the Lord’s Supper, in attendance, in hospitality, in participating in worship?

If we compare our current level of motivation and effort to our enthusiasm when our congregation was new, how would we compare? Can we say we are as on fire right now as we were when we were just getting started, never knowing where we would meet week to week, always uncertain about the future, but fighting as hard as we could to survive as a group? Every stage of our existence provides new challenges and new opportunities, and every one of us needs to jump off the wagon, get out in front, and pull together. We need to keep each other excited about the work. We need to hold each other accountable, and we need to help each other keep pulling toward our ultimate goal. We can do great things in serving God, but it takes all of us to go as far as we can in His service.

lesson by Mark Ritter

Being the Church

Many of the people in the crowds surrounding Jesus may have been many of the individuals who were to comprise the birth of the church in Acts 2. We see people who praise Jesus as He enters Jerusalem while the Pharisees are stirring unrest. Later in the week, those same people who cried, “Hosanna in the highest!” would cry out, “Crucify Him!” Then they would see and hear of the strange events surrounding Jesus death and resurrection, but the religious leaders who set themselves against Christ were probably feeling good about themselves. About fifty days later, however, something unusual happens at Pentecost, and these leaders and those people again hear Jesus preached about.

They hear Peter speak of prophecies in Joel and other prophets. They hear him and his companions speak languages they could not know. They hear him convict the crowd for the death of Jesus, even after they had seen the wonders and signs surrounding the Messiah. They hear Peter proclaim Jesus as Lord and Savior. They hear him preach forgiveness and salvation, and many in the crowd respond positively to that gospel message, that lesson of repentance and baptism. Some three thousand people are baptized into Christ that day, and more are added daily. This begins the story of the church.

Looking at the Jerusalem church, we want to learn what we should be as God’s the church. We want to do more than go to church. We want to be the church.

Remembering the First

In Revelation 2, one of the congregations Jesus addresses is that at Ephesus. It’s one of those congregations that looks outwardly strong. In verse 2, Jesus even acknowledges their strong stand for the truth, but He goes on to warn them against forsaking their first love. They are doing many of the right things, but they are not doing it for the right reasons. Jesus calls on them to remember where they came from and the love they once had. He asks them to repent and to remember how they first were. What we want is to look back at how the church looked when it was first established. We also want to remember what we were like as a new congregation ourselves.

Acts 2:42 talks about the things the first church did. It speaks of generosity toward each other. It speaks of a strong community who shared time, meals, prayers, and praise. They were together often, and they were spending a great deal of time together, doing things for God. They were visiting each other’s homes. They were sharing meals. The enthusiasm was infectious. Acts 5:42, Acts 12:5, Acts 12:17 – these and more demonstrate the enthusiasm in the first church and the love they show each other. They get together for prayer. They congregate to work out spiritual issues. They get together to teach and to edify. They come together to build each other up and keep each other on the road to Heaven.

The Hardships

We know from books like Hebrews that there were struggles involving sliding back to old traditions and old ways. We know those same religious leaders who tried to bring down Christ were also trying to bring down these new Christians. This is why Hebrews 10:25 and the surrounding verses are so important. They needed to come together again and again to encourage each other, to remind each other of their goal, to comfort each other, to study together and to pray with and for each other. They needed this in the face of overwhelming pressure and terrible persecution.

Hebrews 10:25 was not written to beat people up over attendance at worship, but why do we feel we have to use it that way? If you Google “not forsaking the assembly,” the majority of  top results link to Church of Christ websites addressing the issue of attendance, butt that will come naturally if our focus is God and if we are being the church of the First Century. Hebrews 2:1, 3:1-2, 4:1, 4:14, 6:4-6, 9:15 – these and more compel those early Christians to watch out for each other and to continue focusing on God. We may feel like we are not getting encouraged at worship, but that’s not the point. The point is that we should be working to encourage each other. Our focus should not be on ourselves, but on God and on our brothers and sisters in Christ.

It’s exciting to look back on the early days of the church and see the energy and the passion that they had. It’s also exciting to look back at the early days of our own congregation and see the same thing. Let’s rekindle those feelings and throw ourselves into lives where we no longer merely “go to church.” Let’s get busy being church.

lesson by Ben Lanius

Equipping One Another

Many of the writings of the New Testament were directed to specific groups with strengths and challenges, with hopes and frustrations, with issues and needs unique to themselves. In Ephesians 4:11-16, Paul writes to one of these specific groups – people who, like us, who blended their voices in praise, who gathered around the Lord’s table, who raised up prayers – about how each member of that group serves to build up, strengthen, and perfect the body of Christ. It is reminiscent of Christ’s words to Peter, in Luke 22:31-32, where he calls upon the apostle to strengthen his brothers. We can do this same thing today; we can serve to strengthen and perfect each other as we strive to live like Christ.

Strengthening and Equipping One Another
Acts 18 tells the story of Apollos, a zealous and eloquent preacher of the word, and of Aquila and Priscilla, who take him aside to explain God's word more accurately. Here is a preacher who is strong in the word and in faith, but this couple help perfect him through a better understanding of God’s word. We have no better tool in building one another up than God’s word, and Aquila and Priscilla’s encouragement helped more than Apollos. They helped all who he touched in his ministry. Hebrews 5:12-6:1 calls on us to press on toward perfection, building each other up through God’s word on a daily basis. Each day we do not feed on His word, we grow weaker, and Ephesians 3:14-19 calls on Christ to dwell in us, strengthened in faith, filled with God’s fullness. We accomplish this in study.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus calls on us to be a city set upon a hill, to let our lights shine, unhidden to those around us. He is talking about our example; He is talking about what others see in us. Paul exhorts a young preacher, in I Timothy 4:12, to be an example of love, faith, speech, conduct, and purity. Likewise, Titus 2 calls on older Christians to set, by their examples, the standard for the younger generation. Romans 12:1-2 encourages to be living sacrifices, examples to one another, transformed from the conduct of this world and conformed to the conduct of Christ. What do my brothers and sisters see in me? What does the world see in me? Our examples can serve to strengthen and perfect one another in Christ’s faith.

Finally, we need to help each other with our armor. We need help when we first learn to clothe ourselves, and so we must help each other with our spiritual raiment. Ephesians 6:10-13 speaks of wearing the armor of God so we may stand against the trials and obstacles of this world, and, if we are spiritually undressed, we need to help clothe each other in hope, in love, in faith, in truth. We need to help prepare each other in the armor of the Lord each and every day.

The Confidence of Perfected Hope
In Hebrews 6:18-20, we read:

…so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

We are strongest when we lift each other up. We are better when we work together. We lead best by example, and we root all of this in the hope we find in God’s word. We are obligated to one another, as were those saints two thousand years ago, to build each other up, to keep each other focused on the hope ahead of us. May God help us all to strengthen and equip each other so we may enter His gates together one day.

lesson by Tim Smelser

Exhortation and Hope in Hebrews

When we look at some of the epistles, we can see a clear purpose behind the authorship of those letters. We understand the specific issues that motivated the authorship of books like I Corinthians and Galatians. In the case of Hebrews, we might turn to Hebrews 6:4 as a warning against apostasy. Chapter 13:7-9 warns against falling away to false teaching. We also see several contrasts between the Old and New Covenants; but the book was perhaps ultimately written as motivation – to move the readers of this epistle to action.

A Letter of Exhortation
Chapter 13:22 of Hebrews says:

I appeal to you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly.

We sometimes us the words edify and exhort interchangeably. Where edify means “to build up,” though, exhort is defined by urging one forward, and the term is used in Hebrews at least five times. Hebrews 10:36 calls to a need for endurance, and those reading this book needed to be urged forward to that endurance.

The Hebrew Congregation
This book was written to Christians coming out of Judaism; the author makes this clear in Hebrews 2:16, and chapter 13:17-19 leads us to the conclusion that the author knew this group personally. Chapter 10:32-34 speaks to the strong character of this congregation – those who had suffered loss, persecution, and who have been compassionate. Also, based on chapter 5:12, this was not a new congregation, and they were a group active in serving their fellow Christians.

If all of these qualities are true, why would this group need such urging forward? They had been enduring persecution for years, and those years were taking their toll. Many of these may have been second- or third- generation Christians, and the author warns them, in chapter 2, from becoming sluggish, of drifting away. This was a congregation with a strong reputation, but the Hebrew writer could see beyond that reputation to a group that was beginning to wane.

Their Exhortation and Ours
The writer of Hebrews uses a series of “let us” statements. Chapters 4:1, 4:11, 4:16, 10:23, 10:22, 10:24, 12:1, 12:28 , 13:13, 13:15 – these verses and more call the Hebrew congregation to action, and the author includes himself in that call. He does not isolate himself or hold the congregation at arm’s length. We cannot move forward while remaining inactive, and we have to be willing to answer that call.

The Hebrew author continues by pointing their way to something better, especially before those who would return to the faith of their fathers and grandfathers. Chapters 7-11 lay out the clear case that Jesus’ sacrifice is superior to the Old Covenant at every point – a better country, a better promise, a better sacrifice, a better hope, a better priesthood. In the face of this, to what could we turn if we drift away from Christ’s message. There is nothing better.

The term eternal also returns time and again. Chapters 5:9, 6:2, 9:12, 9:14-15, 13:20 – these lay out what is at stake. Do we leave the eternal promises for the brief promises of this world? The point is one of perspective, enduring things now that will seem brief and insubstantial in comparison to the eternity that faces us.

A Message of Hope
The Hebrew writer ultimately exhorts his audience by pointing them toward hope. Chapter 6:9 talks about faith, endurance, hope, and love – all based on God’s unbreakable promises. In this, he calls on us to run toward a hope that serves as an anchor in the time of storms. The Hebrew writer looks to our hope in Christ, the hope of those who came before us, the hope of a better land, a steadfast hope that nothing can remove from us.

Sometimes, like Elijah, we feel as if we are the only ones standing on the side of God, but the Hebrew writer, in chapters 11 and 12, calls on us to look at those who came before. By faith, they accomplished more than we can sometimes imagine, and their faith was based in that anchor of hope. They are the great cloud of witnesses who surround us, who point toward Jesus, in whom we also have hope and assurance.

Hebrews 2 speaks to Christ’s abasement and sacrifice for all of our sakes, that we may have hope and can be called brothers in His salvation. Chapter 6:20 calls Him our forerunner, and Hebrews 12:1-3 names Him the author, the founder, the protector of our faith, conquering sin and death. We have hope because our Brother endured shame and the cross, sitting down at the right hand of God, setting down the path by which we may reach Heaven.

That is what we ultimately hope for – that Holy of Holies, that land beyond the veil, the place where sorrows cease to exist. Chapters 7:4, 9:24, 12:22 all point us toward that hope provided of us. It is toward hope we must push forward, enduring anything and everything this life can throw at us, pushing ourselves forward and exhorting our brothers and sisters to run with endurance toward the prize laid before us.

lesson by Tim Smelser

David, Goliath, and Our Giants

The story of David and Goliath in I Samuel 17 is pretty familiar to us, but it is one with many applications to our lives. When God interacts with man in the Old Testament, we should see ourselves in those interactions. Those lessons are our lessons. The failings of those people are often our failings, and those achievements and victories can be our achievements and victories. In this light, what can we draw from this familiar story that we can apply to our Christian walks today?

We know David as the youngest in his family, not yet old enough to serve in the military and charged with watching the flocks while his brothers are at war. When he arrives on the scene of Goliath challenging Israel’s army, he saw what had to be done, and he saw how it could be accomplished. In I Samuel 17:18-27, David learns of Goliath’s threat as well as the king’s reward for defeating the giant. When he approaches Saul in verse 32, he volunteers to go fight Goliath, but King Saul quickly dismisses the idea.

In verses 34-37, David expresses his faith in God’s deliverance, and we see ultimate trust in God, when his faith is put to the test, in verses 45-46. In verse 48, David does something remarkable. He begins running toward this seemingly invincible enemy where the others had run away. In verse 50, David prevails against impossible odds.

Giants We Face
We face obstacles that frighten us, that make us want to cower, things that we do not want to face. Think of the giant of worldliness in our lives, things that don’t necessarily have to be immoral but still inexorably draw us away from our God – a desire to fit in, success in our jobs, popularity among our peers. Taking a stand against these is intensely difficult, every bit as difficult as resisting those more immoral acts we often equate with worldliness. Despite the difficulties, however, we have to stand up to this giant.

Discouragement can also be a debilitating giant. We see a discouraged Paul in Acts 18 who is lifted up and encouraged by Timothy’s arrival later in the chapter. I Thessalonians 5:14, then, calls on those Christians and us to support one another in times of emotional need. Paul knew how the encouragement of another could help him slay that giant.

A final giant we face in our lives is that of indirection. We lack goals; we lack a clear path forward. We therefore become content to stagnate in our spiritual growth. King Saul and his army had grown comfortable in their roles as quailing victims before the threat of Goliath. David, however, was different. He set a goal to defeat the giant and reap the rewards. We must be likewise determined in our pursuit of the reward God promises us if we endure.

Conclusion
I John 5:4 tells us that faith helps us be victorious over the things of this world. I John 4:4 calls God greater than anything in this world. We have to have faith and trust in Him to help us drive toward the goal before us. In Philippians 2:5 calls on us to have the mindset of Christ, and Philippians 4:13 claims anything is possible in Christ, but we have to be willing to take action. James 2 encourages us to put our faith and trust in action. We know what must be done in our service to Christ, and we know we can accomplish it in Him. The God we serve deserves the very best, and, if we give Him that, we honor our Lord and defeat the giant of sin.

lesson by Tim Smelser

Christianity is Not a Detour

What do we do when we come up on detours in our daily commutes? Do we ignore them and get stuck in a position where we have to turn around? Do we follow them? Have you ever been on a detour where you’ve been unquestionably lost? We might have missed a sign while following other cars; a marker may have been misplaced or marked incorrectly; and we unquestioningly ended up in entirely the wrong place. We not only completely avoided the dangerous area of road, but we also managed to accidentally avoid our destination.

A Road, Not a Detour

In John 17:15, Jesus prays for the well-being of His disciples, and He prays that they might have the protection they need to keep them from evil. See, our faith is not a detour around the trials and temptations of this world. Instead, it is a path right through the dangers of our world to lead us to a safe destination in the end. In this same prayer, Jesus prays that His disciples not be “of the world,” in verse 14, even while they live “in the world” (verse 11). Where our faith is the road we travel, the things of this world can serve as detours themselves, distracting us from our chosen path.

In Luke 6:12-13, when Jesus chooses his disciples, He does not conduct interviews, check references, or cite popular opinion polls. No, instead He prays to God for guidance. When we seek out these other things – popular opinion, following others – we are easily detoured. Only by trusting in God and living prayerfully can we hope to keep on the correct path without diversion. Then we can be in the world without being of the world, just as a ship must be in the sea without the sea being in the ship.

Remembering Our Surroundings

Staying on God’s path does not mean disregarding this world He created. In fact, the deeper our connection with God, the deeper our connection with the world around us. Knowing Christ awakens a more powerful concern for those around us. Even though it’s a pain, road construction usually makes our commutes a little better when it is finished. Can we say the same about ourselves? Do we leave this world a better place when we pass by?

Roads always have to be torn up before they can be rebuilt, and we will have disagreements and moments or stress with our fellow workers in Christ. We might feel torn up, or we might tear into another. We can, however, learn from those times and work toward building each other up, reconstructing ourselves into a stronger church. The problem comes when a road is torn up and forgotten. Sometimes we might hurt a brother or sister, tear them down unintentionally even, and be negligent in our responsibility to build them back up.

Bringing Others to God’s Road (And Keeping Ourselves On Too)

Remember Saul of I Samuel 17:11. All he did was complain about Goliath, looking to man for the solution instead of to God. What about Paul and Silas in prison. Instead of dealing with their situation as ones with no hope, they lived the path they followed and brought another along with them in the end. WHen we’re working with others, are we trying to bring them to God’s highway or to our own?

When we come to a crisis in our spiritual path, how do we respond? In Genesis 22, Abraham responds to a crisis presented by God with faith and obedience. We will be tested in this life. We will come to forks in our road. When we hit these rough spots, we should be relying on God’s directions more than man’s. We can scour all over our Bibles and see people who have responded to crisis in faith (Paul, Apollos, Timothy) versus those who were detoured by roadblocks in their paths (Demas, John Mark, Ananias and Sapphira). Who will we be more like?

What road are you on? Have you chosen broader and easier paths, or have you chosen to walk in Jesus footsteps up the narrow way of salvation? Only one will take you to a final destination with God, but, in striving toward that goal, we cannot be derailed by the detours in our lives. If we place our faith and hope in Him, if He is the source of our strength and hope, then we can find our way home, even when they way seems dark.

lesson by Mike Mahoney

Elijah and Discouragement

Through I Kings 18-19, Elijah experiences an emotional roller coaster. Elijah brings a drought to the land through God’s power, and, when he comes to see Ahab again, the king is very hostile toward Elijah. In turn, Elijah proposes a challenge: set up two alters, one to Baal and one to Jehovah, and Baal’s priests would pray for their God to consume their sacrifice in fire. Elijah would do the same. Baal’s priests cry out, dance, and cut themselves to no avail. Elijah then evokes God with a small, quiet prayer after having his alter deluged with water, and fire from God incinerates the sacrifice and alter.

The people enthusiastically turn to God, praising Him and killing the prophets of Baal. The drought ends. It is a monumental victory, but it is very short-lived. By chapter 19, Jezebel proclaims death on Elijah and promises his end within a day. Elijah flees beyond the political influence of Ahab and Jezebel, collapses by a juniper tree, and asks God to take his life.

Causes of Spiritual Discouragement
James 5 reminds us that Elijah is simply a man like you or me – subject to times of triumph and times of despair. He is no more a stranger to discouragement than any of us. We see him despairing his life, but God is there to provide the cure to Elijah’s discouragement, but how does a prophet as successful as Elijah go from such success into the depths of discouragement?

• Emotional Stress. Elijah feels the stress and strain of trying to convert a godless nation. The king and queen are set against him. He feels alone as we might when we see those we know and love rejecting God, when we feel that our faith is rejected at every turn.
• Exhaustion. Elijah does a great deal of traveling in I Kings 18 alone, before and after the strenuous events on Mount Carmel. He is also worn out from the constant pressure of resisting the pressures around him. Likewise, we are always over-booked and overextended. We don’t take time to be still, to pray, to feed on God’s word, and to meditate. Like Elijah, we just wear ourselves out.
• Great Accomplishments. Think about what Elijah accomplishes by the end of I Kings 18. How does he maintain that momentum? How can he top that? Elijah feels personally responsible for keeping the tide turned, and, when he cannot maintain that success, he feels a failure. The highs in our lives can lead directly into lows when we realize the difficulty in maintaining that momentum.

How then does this discouragement manifest itself in Elijah? First, he isolates himself in I Kings 19:3-4. “I just want to be alone.” However, it is not good for us to be alone in our discouragement. Then, Elijah loses perspective in I Kings 19:10 when he expresses he is the only one seeking God in Israel. He knows otherwise, but he pushes that knowledge out of his own mind in despair. Finally, Elijah descends into self-pity, and, when we pity ourselves, we become self-centered and selfish.

Curing Discouragement
We can relate to the causes and effects of discouragement we see in Elijah’s lives. How do we move on, though? We can begin by looking at the way God brings Elijah out of his despair.

• Get Up. In I Kings 19:5-8, the angel twice instructs Elijah to rise. Verses 11-15 record God twice giving Elijah direction to “go.” God tells the prophet to get up and take positive action. Sometimes a small shift in the right direction makes all the difference. When we are down in the depths of discouragement, the first thing we should do is get involved in positive service.
• Grow Up. I Kings 19:11-13 records God drawing Elijah’s attention to His presence in the quiet things. He reminds Elijah to spiritually grow up and stop looking for God in his own way. Paul makes the same admonition in I Corinthians 3:1-3 when he calls for Christians to grow out of physical jealousies. Sometimes, we simply need to work to maturation.
• Gird Up. Toward the end of I Kings 19, God reminds Elijah there is still work to be done, and he will need help to do it. We need to be able to accept help. We need our own Elisha to help us change our outlook at times. I Peter 1:13 calls on us to gird our minds for action in God’s service.

God has given us reason to trust and hope in Him. We are no strangers to discouragement and struggles, but we can always look up to Him who loves us and created us. As Romans 8:31-39 reminds us, nothing can separate us from God’s love. None can oppose us when God is with us. We can take confidence in our God and face our discouragements with the knowledge that He is with us.

lesson by Tim Smelser

Unity in Edification and Love

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be conceited. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

- Romans 12:9-18

The church at Corinth was one with problems. It was a congregation of differences and disputes, each group, no doubt, thinking they knew best. Each member of every faction within the group thinking they were the ones in the right. Time and again in this letter, Paul comes back to the idea of thinking we know. These problems build up to chapters 12-14 and their focus on self in their spiritual gifts.

Some members at Corinth feel superior to others because of the gifts they possess. By I Corinthians 14:1, Paul tells the group to let love be their guide after he carefully explains what love entails in chapter 13. Romans 14:19 expresses this idea as pursuing or seeking love. In this, Paul places an emphasis in exhortation. He defines what it means to be spiritual, and he makes a connection between love and unity.

Edification & Exhortation

Do we make edification a goal of our spirituality? Notice I Corinthians 14. Numerous times in this chapter, Paul writes of edification. In context, this congregation has individuals who wish to interrupt worship to demonstrate their own spiritual gifts, but Paul warns against setting our brothers and sisters at naught in amplifying self. Applying this to ourselves, do we place our preferences, our desires, our opinions ahead of the needs of our brothers and sisters?

We all have favorite topics of study; we have favorite songs to lift up before God; we have speakers with whom we connect better than others. We will never have unanimous, synonymous, and equal edification in every service. We have to be able to yield to our brethren, recognizing some things edify my brothers and sisters more than myself.

Returning to Romans 14:19, let us earnestly pursue peace and edification in our spiritual lives. Romans 15:2 and Ephesians 4:29 also remind us on the priority we should be giving to one another. So long as we are making the edification, the exhortation, and the consolation of one another our goal, then we will be likewise edified.

Defining Spirituality

In I Corinthians 14:37, Paul writes that we should pay attention to what he is writing if we think ourselves spiritual. Again, this in the context of elevating self and imposing self on worshipping God. Do we know what it means to be spiritual? Is it simply having been baptized? Is it observing the Lord’s Supper? Is it the ability to lead in worship? Do we look at our own contributions to our congregations to define our level of spirituality.

I Corinthians 10:1-5 uses our spiritual forerunners as examples, having been baptized in the cloud and sea, having drunk from a spiritual rock. God, however, was not pleased with them despite these evidences of spirituality. Hebrews 6 speaks of those who consider themselves spiritual but have fallen away from enlightenment.

It is not the outward that brings us closer to God. Rather, it is what comes from inside; it is the meaning behind our worship. True spirituality is seen in our devotion to God and our devotion to one another. John 4:24 calls for spiritual worship rooted in truth. In I Peter 2:5 calls us to offer spiritual sacrifices, and Hebrews 13:15-16 calls helping one another pleasing sacrifice to God. Finally, Hebrews 6:9-10 calls on us to work love toward one another, working toward salvation in that.

Love & Unity

We sometimes treat I Corinthians 13 as if it stands alone from the rest of the book, but it comes in the middle of this discussion on unity and edification in the face of a splintering congregation. Ephesians 4:1-4, Colossians 3:13-14, Philippians 2:1-5, John 13:34-35 – these and more tell us to work for unity in love, being patient with one another. Paul illustrates this in I Corinthians 12, comparing the numerous members of the physical body with the diversity found in the body of Christ.

Just as a human body is united in its efforts to care for every part, so too should we care for each other. We may not perceive ourselves as important as other members, but Paul makes it clear we are all essential. We are all needed, and we should all be unified in our work for the Lord. We may not have unanimity, but we can have unity. Remember Psalm 133, describing the beauty of brotherly love and unity, comparing it to that first consecration of God’s priesthood and to the water that starts as dew on a mountain that will flow into rivers and lakes below.

Conclusion

We are perhaps more similar to the church at Corinth than we are willing to admit. We can grow closer in unity, though, if we can focus on unity in love, developing a true sense of spirituality, and prioritizing our brothers and sisters over ourselves. We can be a whole body by placing self aside, de-emphasizing our own desires and opinions, and by lifting each other up to the Lord as we work together toward Heaven.

lesson by Tim Smelser

One Step At a Time

There are many principles we follow that make us successful in this world that we can and should be applying to our lives with God. It’s all about the choices we make. At the end of the day, have the choices I made drawn me closer to or farther from God? What motivates us on a daily basis? Until we can understand why we would want to draw closer to God, we can’t fully follow those steps to grow closer to Him.

What does God expect of us? He wants us to be like Him, knowing that, if we are like Him, then we can live in this world without being a product of the world. Romans 12 examines how Christians come together to create something larger than themselves individually. We all respond differently to different situations; we all have different abilities and talents; we all have different roles we can fulfill in His work. He wants us to have the inner character to love as He loves, to be merciful as He is merciful.

Remaining Focused on God

Regardless of the many ways we may be distracted and discourages, we should ultimately be focused on our final goal. Like the gyroscopes of the old Apollo missions that could keep an easily disrupted flight path on target, we should be continually directing ourselves back to the course set before us. James 4:1-10 talks of us continually drawing nearer to God, even when dealing with the problems of this world.

We can focus on our past regrets or on the potential of our future, using that past as a tool with which we can build our future rather than a weapon to tear ourselves down. Galatians 6:7-10 reminds us that we will reap what we sow, but Paul encourages us to avoid growing weary and to keep trying to do what is good. We have to take responsibility for our own paths, but we cannot let the small things add up and build barriers in our way. We can fail many times, but we becomes failures when we begin looking for blame and excuses. We have to continually face those challenges if we are going to find success on the other side.

Small Steps Toward Our Goal

Where do we focus? How do we view our pasts? What happens when we face challenges and discouragements? Those small steps of determination, of purpose, and of direction can give us an edge in following our God. Why do we search Him out? He has already given so much to us. We can determine to draw closer to Him and allow us to lift us up. It just takes small steps – a few second more of prayer every day, another couple chapters of Bible reading.

If we truly believe in the power and salvation in our Lord, then our motivation to follow Him becomes clearer. In Him we can have a goal in mind, and we are all at different points in our spiritual journeys. We should never worry about making our journey slowly; we should only worry if we stop in that walk. We can continue in those small things that can lead to our spiritual success. Like David, in I Samuel 17, we can have confidence in God’s power in our lives, and, no matter how far we go off our course, we can redirect ourselves and resume our Christian walks. We can find time every day to refocus ourselves on God, making small choices that keep our feet directed toward His salvation.

lesson by Donn Koonce

Facing the Challenge of the Christian Journey

There are lessons we can take from facing extreme challenges. We may enjoy backpacking, kayaking, skydiving, or we may just enjoy seeing others participate in these challenges on survival reality shows, but the most extreme challenge we can take is to walk the Christian life. We watch these television shows or read about others facing the challenges of nature, and we think, “I can do that.” Many of us think that, but few of us would ever try – only five percent of visitors to the Grand Canyon, for example, ever descend below the rim.. Like the tiny percentage of people who ever go below the rim of the Grand Canyon, very few who look into God’s word find the will power to actually implement it.

Pressing Toward Our Goal
In James 1:22, James calls on us to be active in God’s word, and he says we fool ourselves if we study that word without becoming involved. We cannot be sideline observers in our spirituality. James says we must be workers of God’s word to receive God’s blessing. Also, in Matthew 7:13, Jesus calls on us to enter into salvation through the narrow, difficult gate. He illustrates destruction as the easy path. Sadly, in verse 21, Jesus observes that not all who call upon God’s name will enter into His kingdom. Rather, it will be those who commit to His will. We have to meet the challenge of participation to be blessed in God’s eyes.

Once our Christian journey begins, we have to understand the journey may be longer than we anticipate. We may begin our walk with great enthusiasm and confidence, but time and trials can cause us to question our resolve. When we face a challenge, stopping and quitting is not an option. Once you’re at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, you have to continue the journey to get back out. Luke 14:28 records Jesus talking about crucifying self to follow Him, and He encourages His listeners and us to count the cost of a great endeavor. He advocated preparedness. In Luke 9:62, we see a few examples of individuals willing to sacrifice self to follow Jesus. We have to be willing to finish what we started, never giving up until we reach the goal.

During this difficult journey, great benefit can be found in rest and refreshment. In Acts 2, the early church comes together for the purpose of encouraging and restoring one another. Verse 46 records this occurring daily, assembling to worship and to build each other back up. In Acts 4:23-24, persecuted disciples come to fellow Christians for encouragement in fellowship and prayer. Do we value the times we come together? Our times of worship and fellowship are not burdensome. It is a time to benefit from being in the presence of our brethren and our Lord.

We come together because we will not complete this journey by ourselves. We need each other. When we are on a long journey, we often share resources and provisions. We help those with whom we were journeying. We help keep each other on the right path, preventing each other from trailing off. In Hebrews 12, the author writes about running our race of faith, pressing on to a goal, laying aside unnecessary burdens. In verse 12, he encourages us to lift one another up, living peaceably with each other, and watching over each other. We need each other, and we need to be willing to ask for help when we need it.

Rejoicing In Our Goal
Always, the completion of our efforts will bring great joy. Sometimes, we enter into a task, and we think we will never finish. When we finish though, when we reach our destination, we have an unparalleled sense of accomplishment. Writing form prison in Philippians 3:12, Paul writes about his efforts pressing on, working toward the goal before him while leaving behind those things that might hold him back. Paul is looking toward a great joy waiting for him. In I Peter 4:12, Peter speaks of fiery challenges we may face in our journey, that these trials help prove us, help shape us. Just as Christ suffered, we may suffer, but we are made better through endurance.

Will we have the same stamina and endurance demonstrated by Jesus and by Paul? Hebrews 2:2 calls Jesus the author of our faith. He has cut the path for us, but it is not always an easy one. It is a path for which we must be committed and prepared. We must rely on one another, and we have to stay focused on the joy promised at its end. Jesus finished His work. We can follow His lead, walk after His footsteps, and enter into the home He has prepared for us.

lesson by Tim Smelser

Elijah & Discouragement

It’s a common phrase: “I am just so discouraged.” None of us are strangers to discouragement in our lives. The problem is when that discouragement leads to despair and depressions, leading us into a cycle where we grow content in our malcontent. Elijah, in I Kings 19:1-19, experiences a despair with which we may be able to relate. These events come after Elijah’s triumph with God over the Baal priests upon Mt. Carmel, and he immediately finds himself running for his life. In the context of this great event, the king and queen of his land turn against him and seek to end his life.

Elijah has had enough. He calls for his own death, but an angel visits him, bidding him to eat. The angel strengthens him, and he travels to Mt. Horeb where he pleads his case to Jehovah God. He voices his despair, and God reveals Himself to His prophet in the quiet stillness of the mountain. This quiet God reassures Elijah that he is not alone. God is with Him and seven thousand remain unfaithful to Baal. From here, Elijah finds Elisha and returns to his work. When discouraged, we can look to this story. We can see how discouragement works its way into Elijah’s life, and take heart that we too can overcome despair.

Causes of Discouragement
Elijah feels the strain of trying to positively influence and ungodly nation. He feels the strain of being outnumbered by his opponent. He feels the stress of national leaders turned against him. He feels alone as we do at times. We grow distraught over the influence we think we don’t have. We feel the strain of those who we feel should be more faithful. We sometimes feel all have turned against us. Like Elijah, our emotional stress can pull us down.

Remember, in I Kings 18, Elijah is outrunning a murderous king in a chariot. He later runs from Jezebel and runs a day’s journey into the wilderness. He collapses when he can go no further. His physical exhaustion brings him to despair. We are always running. We are always wearing ourselves out. We over-commit and run ourselves into the ground, and we can no longer give our best to our families or our God. Even Jesus would take time from His ministry for meditation and reflection. He takes time to be still, to pray, and to focus on God.

Great success can also lead to great despair. Remember how Elijah overcomes the priests of Ball in I Kings 18, how the people shout praises to Jehovah after that triumph. He seems to feel a personal obligation to maintain that momentum, but, too often, when we reach a plateau, there is no direction left but down. We seek rewards, promotions, and recognition, but these same accolades can pull us down again once they are absent.

The Results of Discouragement
Because of his experiences, Elijah personally isolates himself, even leaving his personal servant behind. He was facing his discouragement alone. Too often, we do the same. We don’t want others to talk to us, encourage us, or try to help us. In Genesis 2:18, God states, “It is not good for man to be alone.” We are created as social creatures, and it does us no good to isolate ourselves when down.

In I Kings 19, Elijah loses perspective as a result of his depression. More than once, Elijah cries to God that he is the only one. Proverbs 23:7 claims that the thoughts of our hearts define us. Judas experiences a similar progression of despair after betraying Jesus, and, in Matthew 27:3, Judas repents of his betrayal. His story, though, ends in suicide. Judas is unable to overcome the distraught his actions bring about. We cannot allow such discouragement to so distort our perspective.

Discouragement can also lead us to focus solely on ourselves. Philippians 2 encourages us to liken our minds to Christ, who focused on others before self. Elijah centers his despair around himself. Much later, Jonah will demonstrate an unhealthy fixation

Cures for Discouragement
In I Kings 19:5, God tells Elijah to get up. He encourages Elijah and us to take positive action. A small move in the right direction can turn things around. Just taking that action can set us again on the right path. Get up, take a shower, have lunch with someone, go to a Bible study. The smallest nudge can help us regain momentum.

Additionally, God pushes Elijah to mature. God demonstrates to him that great things do not always come from cataclysmic events. God is not in the storm or in the earthquake here. God reminds Elijah where to focus and in whom his hope should be placed. In I Corinthians 3, Paul chides the congregation to whom the letter is addressed, for being spiritually immature. Hebrews 5 makes a similar statement, reminding us that there is a reasonable time in which we should be spiritually growing up. Spiritually maturity helps us overcome discouragement.

Finally, God tells Elijah to equip himself, to get to work. God gives Elijah those to help and those who would help Him. There are times when we need to change our minds. Romans 12 encourages us to transform ourselves, starting with our minds. We may need to admit we need help, and we may find encouragement in encouraging others. Elijah would mentor Elisha as we can help others draw closer to God. I Peter 1:13 tells us to prepare our minds for action, setting our minds on God’s grace.

Conclusion
Discouragement is a part of life. We will be disappointed. We will feel upset at times. This life cannot fulfill our every hope and need. People will let us down. Leaders will let us down. We will let ourselves down. We look to something better, though. God gives us reason to hope and trust in Him. Romans 8:31 reminds us that God can deliver us against any power of this world. Verse 35 asks who can separate us from God, and Paul concludes that nothing can come between us and the love of our Father. We may be faced with despair, but we have hope in Him who delivers us from this world.

lesson by Tim Smelser

You Are a Light to the World

Back in June of this year, author, marketing expert, and blogger Seth Godin wrote what is perhaps one of my favorite blog posts of all times. Here it is:

When you love the work you do and the people you do it with, you matter.

When you are so gracious and generous and aware that you think of other people before yourself, you matter.

When you leave the world a better place than you found it, you matter.

When you continue to raise the bar on what you do and how you do it, you matter.

When you teach and forgive and teach more before you rush to judge and demean, you matter.

When you touch the people in your life through your actions (and your words), you matter.

When kids grow up wanting to be you, you matter.

When you see the world as it is, but insist on making it more like it could be, you matter.

When you inspire a Nobel prize winner or a slum dweller, you matter.

When the room brightens when you walk in, you matter.

And when the legacy you leave behind lasts for hours, days or a lifetime, you matter.

It’s a simple message that I think we forget all to often – that we do, in fact, matter. We watch and read inspirational stories, fiction and nonfiction, of the huge events being influenced be the actions of a single individual. Then we sit at home and say, “That could never be me.” What we forget, though, is that it doesn’t matter that we may never be the one to turn the tide in a war, discover a cure for a terrible disease, save the planet from an asteroid.

The simple fact is, we leave footprints behind us wherever we go. We personally touch countless lives every day. Our words and our actions spread like ripples until we become the proverbial butterfly flapping its wings in Brazil, causing tornadoes in Texas. (If you don’t get that, you might want to read up on chaos theory mathematics and the butterfly effect.) Often, we don’t see our own effects on others, so we therefore assume it doesn’t exist. This leads us to conduct our lives as if it centers around ourselves, and we fail to look up and see how our choices impact others. Even if you don’t know it, you matter.

Being a Light to Others
As Christians, we should matter to the world the way Mr. Godin writes about. In Matthew 5:13, Jesus calls His disciples to be as salt, improving the flavor of the world around us. He calls us to be as a city on a hill, and I fear we have come to interpret this today as being loftier, more high-minded, more self-righteous than those around us; but what did a city on a hill represent to those living in Jesus’ day? That city was a place of refuge. It was safety and reassurance. Jesus goes on to say our light should shine before others in the goodness we spread. Likewise, I Peter 3:15 records the apostle Peter writing that we should be ready to answer for the hope within us. How can anyone ask about our hope if we are not spreaders of hope?

The Love You Give
The last song recorded by the Beatles, aptly named The End, contains this closing lyric: "In the end the love you take is equal to the love you make." How are you and I creating love around us? Mr. Godin says we should love our work and love those with whom we work. In the case of a Christian, our work is spreading the gospel, and we work with everyone. In Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus says the greatest work we can fulfill is to love God and to love those around us. In John 13:35, He says that all will know us by the love we show, and I Corinthians 13:4-7 describes the love we should give.

Continuing with some of Mr. Godin’s related points, are we gracious and generous, putting others before self? Psalm 86:15 describes the God of whom we claim to be imitators as compassionate, gracious, long-suffering, abundant in mercy. Colossians 3:12-13 says we should wear kindness, mercy, humility, and forgiveness. Do we teach forgiveness over condemnation? Jesus forgave many we might have condemned had we been walking in the First Century. Would we have rebuked His empathy, His “bleeding heart?” Remember that Jesus calls us to be like lamp-stands in Matthew 5:15? To paraphrase Mr. Godin, does our loving and kind demeanor light up the room?

Striving for Excellence
Do people see us trying to improve the world around us, or do they hear nothing more than our complaints? Are we characterized by phrases like, “These kids today…,” or, “The problem with the world today…,” or griping and complaining about those who think differently than me? Do we fill our minds with the bile and vitriol of cable news and talk radio rather than filling our minds with the good things of Philippians 4:8-9. We can be a positive influence, encouraging those around us to do better. In Luke 13:20-21, Jesus likens His kingdom – that would be us – to leaven. What does leaven do? It spreads. It changes that which it touches. We can influence those around us for the better if we, as Gandhi might say, live the change we want to see.

Striving for excellence involves a certain amount of self examination as well. II Timothy 2:15 calls on us to give diligence in our work. This carries with it the idea of persistence or carefulness, walking circumspectly, borrowing from Ephesians 5:15. Even Paul, in Philippians 3:12-15, says he is continually pressing toward his goal, never assuming he has perfected himself. If we want to change the world for the better, we must start with ourselves.

Leaving the World a Better Place
This brings us to our last point – we are capable of leaving this world a better place. Again, we may not cause seismic events of global proportions, but we can improve the world in the small things we do. Like Christ, we can inspire the great or the small in the things we say and do. In John 3, He teaches a Jewish ruler and Pharisee named Nicodemus, and, a few chapters later in John 8:3-12, we see Jesus extending mercy to a humiliated adulteress, reiterating the statement about being a light to the world after this event.

As parents, as mentors, and as teachers, we can be the person who a child wants to be when they grow up. I remember, as a teenager, people like Marcus Boone, Ben Lanius, and Kevin Stockton were heroes to me. Whose hero are you? Are we an example of like that of Timothy in I Timothy 4:12 – an example in conduct, love, and faith? Someone looks up to you. What are you showing them? Your influence may last an hour, a month, or a lifetime, but that influence matters. As Heather Darling Cortes writes, “To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.


You Personally Matter to God
We matter to more than this world, however. We also matter to God. Have you ever taken verses like John 3:16 or Romans 5:10-11, substituting your name for the general nouns and pronouns? What about I Peter 5:6-7? Now, replace your name with someone else’s – perhaps your neighbor’s, a coworker’s, and family member’s. What happens if you read into those verses someone with whom you feel enmity? Do you now see them in a different light? How should that level of personalization affect your relationship with God and with others?

You matter. I matter. We matter in the ways we influence the world around us, and we matter to a God who invites us into His tender mercies. In the context of our conduct toward enemies, Jesus calls on us to show mercy like God’s in Luke 6:36. How can we, who long for God’s mercy, light, and forgiveness, neglect shining our light, showing mercy to others, teaching and demonstrating forgiveness? In Matthew 25:40, Jesus says He feels our compassion, our kindness, and our mercy when we demonstrate it to the most humble of individuals. Let us resolve to use the influence we do have in this world to be a force of goodness, knowing that we matter to others and to our Lord, and showing others that they matter just as much.

lesson by Robert Smelser