Category Archives: Faith

Spiritual but not Religious

15 Wednesday Nov 2017

Posted by in Bulletin Article, Faith, love, Presumptuous

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , , ,

I once listened to an interview Dan Rather had with Willie Nelson. Dan asked Willie if he was religious. Willie replied he was not, but he was spiritual. This was an interesting answer, but not sure what that means. What does spiritual mean? In Willie’s case, it does not mean religious, though he might have some religious inclinations in him. Google defines it as relating to or affecting the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things. To me, this definition is not helpful. Relation to or affecting the human spirit? This is another way of saying something like, “There are those who are clean in their own eyes but are not washed of their filth” (Prov. 30:12, ESV).

This boils down to: “I don’t want to commit myself to the Lord and His way of thinking and doing. It demands too much of me, so much that I simply don’t have time, neither do I want to take the time to adjust my life to comport with His.” Do you know of many people like this? I do.

People who think and operate this way will be the first to tell you they love the Lord. Yet, in spite of the words they use, their “I love the Lord” life does not correspond to the teachings of the Lord they declare they love; thus, they give the Lord a partial commitment. The Lord demands total commitment, not partial (there is no such thing as partial commitment). Those who love the Lord, on purpose, separate themselves from the ways of this world.

Those who are “partially” committed know the Lord desires more from them. In order to bridge the gap between where one is at and what the Lord desires, they apply an ointment of their own making. This ointment allows them to think they are spiritual, though not religious (as the word is commonly understood). Though one may not be as “bad” as Willie Nelson’s spiritual outlook, they still choose a different approach than the Lord’s. “I love the Lord, but I love Him as best I can given the circumstances I am in, even if that means I can only obey Him some of the time” is adopted. The “I am spiritual” outlook says things like, 1) My husband is not supportive of me attending church. 2) My children have so many activities, activities that I want them to have a part in. 3) I don’t want my kids to stand out from the crowd, because they made fun of, and I know how I felt when that occurred to me so many years ago. 4) Work takes me away, and I must make a living. 5) I am tired!

On and on it goes.

On the other hand, the Scripture teaches, “As they were going along the road, someone said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’ To another he said, ‘Follow me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, let me first go and bury my father.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’ Yet another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.’ Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God’” (Luke 9:57-62, ESV).

None of this applies to me! Perhaps it does much more than you think. How many, on judgment day, will say to the Lord, “But, Lord, though I was not religious (i.e., committed), I was certainly spiritual and did love you. Won’t you let me in?”

Perhaps one will hear on that day, “Why should I commit to you when you never did to Me? You committed to your work, your family, your charitable service, but never to Me. I did not fail to see what good you did, but I never saw what good you did in My name with My life controlling yours” (John 14:6). RT

A Faithful Step-Father

08 Monday Dec 2014

Posted by in Bulletin Article, Faith, Holidays

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , ,

Scripture does not tell us the age of Mary when her son Jesus was born, thus, we don’t know her age at her betrothal. Assuming her to have been a mid to late teenager, and knowing the maturity level of such teenagers today, I can’t imagine her emotional bewilderment. For three months she carried a child within her, and surely she wondered how to handle this difficulty with her betrothed (Joseph). Did she satisfy herself in thinking that just as the angel told her, he would tell him? Yet, as we know, at a particular time when Joseph was contemplating what to do, the angel said nothing to him.

Presumably, Mary told Joseph the visit with the angel. Did Joseph find this too fantastic to believe? It appears that he might have because he was considering his options. He settled on one of those options he considered, putting Mary away quietly. Under the Law of Moses, Joseph surely knew, Mary was to be stoned (Deuteronomy 22:23-24). But maybe Mary expressed herself intensely enough that Joseph now had begun to wonder what really occurred. Perhaps he had doubts that she was guilty of infidelity, but he could not explain the pregnancy, and her explanation was beyond human experience, so he decided to quietly dismiss.

On the verge of doing this, the angel of the Lord speaks to Joseph in a dream. He is told not only is Mary innocent, but that the child in her womb was to be a child unlike any other in human history. Imagine being Joseph in the morning with this information! Joseph, being the righteous man he was, took Mary as his wife and did his part as a loving husband, loving father, and a faithful child of God.

The pressure, magnitude of the occasion, the perplexity, responsibility, and holiness surrounding all of this was placed directly on the shoulders of two humble people. This was certainly not the entry of Israel’s Messiah into the world expected! David Roper wrote, “The Jews were looking for a man of war to lead them to victory; God would send a helpless baby to bring them back to Him. Man wanted a ruler on an earthly throne; God would give them a child in a feeding trough. It was not man’s way, but it was God’s way (The Life of Christ, p. 63). RT

 

A Sign of Unbelief

02 Tuesday Dec 2014

Posted by in Bulletin Article, Faith

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

In a region that was a long way from Rome, in the land of Palestine, the angel Gabriel visits with a Levite priest doing his once in a lifetime duty, burning incense in the Temple. The burning of the incense in the Temple was a representation of the prayers of a nation, but exactly that which was prayed is unknown. Some have thought that Zacharias prayed for him and his wife to have a child; this is possible, but not likely. To pray a selfish prayer in the Temple dedicated to the Almighty and His protective care of the nation seems out of line for the occasion.

Before he retires from his Temple duties and goes out to give what is known as the Aaronic blessing (Numbers 6:24-26), Zacharias is suddenly interrupted and visited by God’s messenger Gabriel. Frighten beyond measure, the Lord’s messenger reassures him and announces to him the Lord has heard his prayer and given him that which he and his wife desired. A child would be born to them in their old age.

Zacharias had doubts about such a promise, and inquired of the Lord’s messenger about how he could be sure of this, being two people past the years of child bearing. The angel gives Zacharias another word of reassurance, and for the remainder of the time of Elizabeth’s pregnancy (and before), the doubting priest would be silent, unable to speak. This silence was 1) punitive, 2) a sign, 3) and a certainty of keeping Zacharias’ joy quiet until the Lord said it was okay to speak (some have called this an apocalyptic secrecy).

When one thinks about this, it seems that Zacharias’ question was not unreasonable. The Lord, however, did not look upon it that way at all, and neither should have the Levite priest. Clearly, Zacharias knew how these things occurred, and he knew that the man’s limitations are not the Lord’s. Zacharias, of course, did learn, but not before he was taught a silent lesson. A lesson for us in all this is? That which the Lord gave to man is sufficient for us to respond to in faith. RT

 

WOMEN IN HEBREWS

10 Wednesday Sep 2014

Posted by in Faith, history

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

Having previously written two articles on women in the New Testament (“Women in 2 Timothy” and “Women in Titus”), there is but a brief reference to women in Hebrews. Nevertheless, there are some things that we can gain from that which we read.

In the great “hall of faith” (chapter 11) there is reference to Abraham’s wife, Sarah. That which is known about Sarah is little, but what is known paints a picture that is both positive and not so much. The ASV reads: “By faith even Sarah herself received power to conceive seed when she was past age, since she counted him faithful who had promised” (Hebrews 11:11). Yet, when one compares this with that which the book of Genesis says, we might wonder where her faith was.

And Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” And Jehovah said unto Abraham, “Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, who am old? Is anything too hard for Jehovah? At the set time I will return unto thee, when the season cometh round, and Sarah shall have a son.” Then Sarah denied, saying, “I laughed not;” for she was afraid. And he said, “Nay; but thou didst laugh.” (Genesis 18:12-15, ASV)

It seems rather clear that Sarah was not one who believed the Lord when this promise was initially given to her from the Lord. In Genesis Sarah had her doubts; in Hebrews she had none. It appears we have a problem between two sentiments expressed.

But do we?

There is little reason to wonder why Sarah had her doubts. She was an old woman, even by the standards of that day (Genesis 18:12). Yes, she knew that her husband had received a promise, an encouraging word concerning that which would come from his loins, but the natural processes of life wherein child-bearing was possible/probable had come and gone for women such as Sarah. In part, this is the point of the Lord’s promise to both Abraham and Sarah – He is not constricted by the natural processes of life.

Sarah, learning this, and feeling humbled by the Lord’s rebuke to her, had a new outlook on the promise given to her husband. She was now taking it as a promise to her also.

There is a great lesson in this for us. It may be that doubts exists within us. We might ask, however, why is it that doubts exists within us (me). After taking some thought (2 Corinthians 13:5) and after reflecting on the steadfastness of the Lord, we should allow those doubts to fade away. No doubt Sarah did, and those doubts she had began to wane away. Thus the Holy Spirit is able to say that in faith she received power to conceive seed.

The Wall of Protection

26 Wednesday Mar 2014

Posted by in Behavior, Faith, Prayer

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

Just how strong are you? Are you so strong emotionally, physically, or spiritually that you won’t let another see your weakness’? Some people are not afraid to show their vulnerabilities to another; others won’t even consider such a thought. In fact, some go to great lengths to hide the vulnerabilities and weaknesses that exist within, and if one gets close to seeing and exposing (even if there is a desire to help) those weaknesses then heavy artillery comes out! Unbeknownst to a good many people, however, is that one’s weakness (singular or plural) is already exposed and known. Most definitely the Lord knows them (Hebrews 4:12), and many times fellow saints know them also. The great effort at hiding, then, is not so much because it is desired that others won’t see it (though this is true), but because we are hiding ourselves behind an imaginary wall of protection.