Blog Archives

My Brother's Keeper

8/27/2018

"Am I my brother's keeper?" spoken by Cain when God asked him where was his brother Abel. In a sense God gave Cain the answer when he told Cain that he would be a vagabond and fugitive in the earth. Yes, Cain was responsible for his brother's fate. And, in a sense; we, too, share in our brother's fate.
       No, we don't spill the blood of our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. (At least, I hope that none of us have.) But at times we behave in ways that can injure them both intellectually and emotionally. That is why Paul drives home the point in Hebrews 13:1, "Let brotherly love continue."
     We need each other. If a man says, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar; for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? (I John 4:20) Pretty heady stuff right there. Our religion is based on the love of God--him for us, and us for him. How then is it possible to love one (God) and not the other (our fellow believers)?
     Clearly God intends for us to treat each other like family. We may not be related here on earth but we are related through the blood of Christ. The New Testament many times over has referred to the brethren, and, called believers brothers and sisters. A look into Romans 8:16,17 tells us that not only are we brethren, we are joint-heirs with Christ.
     Accepting that to be true, the realization that we love our brethren becomes a part of our witness and testimony that Christ has made a difference in our lives. So much so that we are bound together like family. Pastor Josh said in Sunday's sermon that love is the gasoline that fuels faith. Love is also a fruit of the Spirit along with joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance (self restraint). If we live in the Spirit, those are the outward signs of who we are.
     God is love. And, so, love should define us as Christians. I Corinthians 13 devotes itself to the importance of love in all that we do. It begins, "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity (love), I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And, ends with "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity (love)." If we all acted accordingly, what a difference this world would be. Yes, we are our brother's keeper.

Continue in Prayer

8/20/2018

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Colossians 4:2 is a command to devote ourselves to prayer. For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: (Deuteronomy 10:17). God is Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). It's a call to stay in touch with God, and, to keep staying in touch.
     What for? No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (Matthew 6:24). Choose you this day whom you will serve (Joshua 24:15). Just as a car cannot drive down two roads at the same time, neither can man have it both ways. Only the hypocrite tries that. Serve God--prayer is not optional.
     When do we pray? Pray without ceasing (I Thessalonians 5:17). Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; (Romans 12:12). Jesus did not say "if" you pray, he said "when" you pray. Prayer is expected of the faithful.
     Where do we pray? I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting (I Timothy 2:8). Pray in a solitary place as in Matthew 6:6 or on the shore in a group as in Acts 21:5. Praying doesn't have a boundary like the states on a map. It's user-friendly and can be applied anywhere.
     Why should we pray? Put on the whole armour of God...For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities...against spiritual wickedness...your loins...with truth...the breastplate of righteousness...your feet...the gospel of peace...taking the shield of faith...the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; (Ephesians 6:11-18). Prayer is how we join in the fight. It's our mightiest tool.
     How do we pray? I thank God upon every remembrance of you, Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, (Philippians 1:3-4). Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God (Philippians 4:6). Jesus called his house the House of Prayer (Luke 19:46). He did not say this lightly. We should take it to heart.

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Continue in Faith

8/13/2018

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The building was burning as the man stood helplessly at the window. Smoke rushed up to greet him and drove him temporarily from the window. Then back again he came. "Someone help me!" he shouted. Emergency personnel were on the ground. Firemen organized and spread a net below the man. "Jump!" they yelled. "We have a net, we'll catch you!"
     The man fought back fear and leaned out the window. "I can't see you. There's too much smoke!" He searched trying to see through the smoke. "Jump!" they yelled again. "We'll catch you!"
     Moments mixed with fear and anxiety passed. "Should he jump?" he asked himself. "I'm so far up here and I can't see anything." he muttered. The fire licked at his back. He would have to decide and quick.
     Did he jump? It's a leap of faith. Faith requires action. Hebrews 11:1 tells us that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. The man was risking his life. He would have to have enough faith in the people below him that they would catch him.
     Having the assurance that what is hoped for will happen. And, it also includes having the conviction that what has been promised will also take place. The man's predicament is much like those in this world who don't really know for sure that God is real. Or, if the Bible is truly the living word of God.
     While people are teetering on whether to believe in a mighty God who carries out His promises, there is another force at work that is silently chopping away at them. It's much like the flames licking at the back of the young man.
     There is a giant tree standing proudly at the edge of the forest. A man shows up with a chainsaw and a bulldozer. The great tree is felled in a day. It's become a log. Oh, but that's not the end. Now it is hauled off to a mill where is will be cut up into boards. Then they'll be planed and smoothed. No, it not over. This once great tree is, perhaps, nailed together to make a pallet and other parts of it may be used to make table tops. The tree is no longer recognizable.
     Jesus once said, "When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.” (Matthew 13:19) There are those who have hardened their hearts to hearing the truth. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life...” (John 14:6) By doing so, they open themselves up to Satan’s power. Critical thoughts creep in and establish themselves and the process begins. Satan has come into the life of the great tree with his chainsaw and bulldozer.
     Pastor Josh presented both of these stories in Sunday’s sermon about continuing in the faith. I confess, I loved the stories. The painting of a visual picture makes his sermons come alive for me. Once during this sermon, he paused and just said, “Hmmm”. It may seem like nothing, just a sound; but for me it sounded as if there was so much knowledge he wanted to share that God gave him that moment to let it all come together. The textual scripture was Colossians 1:20-23 about continuing in the faith. Of the passages he mentioned I liked Psalm 1 and I Corinthians 15:58 the best.

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Continue in My Word

8/6/2018

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According to some sources, there are 5,467 promises God has made. Others don't give a number as exact as this but just say that there are thousands of promises that God has made. The point here is that God has made a lot of promises. And, He goes even further. He states in Hebrews 10:23 that he is faithful to carry out what he has promised.
     Now many would have you believe that these promises are free gifts from God. A look at John 8:36 (speaking of the Son making you free) might tempt one to think this. It's pretty common to hear someone say that salvation is a free gift from God. But a closer look might lead one to think otherwise.
     For instance, take a look at John 3:16. This is the salvation verse of the Bible:   "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." The gift has a condition, it says whoever believes in him. Mistakes are made that have eternal consequences. Being saved is not free. There are conditions to be met. Believing is the first of them.
     Jesus says in John 8:31, "...If you continue in my word, then you're my disciples." The gift is in the next verse but you have to continue in the word to receive it. Move down to verse 51 in the same chapter, "...If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death." Something has to be accomplished first before the gift is obtained.
     Some might suppose that these conditions don't seem fair. Satan probably feels this way. He most certainly doesn't want to or even plans to live up to any conditions no matter what the gift is. He's like the petulant child who wants it and wants it right now. No strings attached.
     Our God gave everyone the ability to choose what he wants to believe. It's the right He, our God, gave to us. Study well the Bible. Weigh it for yourself. The promises given by the most powerful force in the universe; God, our Creator, are the greatest that can be given to anyone. Eternal life, joy, peace, blessings beyond measure, it's all there. Find it, study it, consider it. Meet his conditions. Matthew 11:29 and 30 assures us that the yoke of Jesus is easy and that you'll find rest.
     "Ifs" in the Bible? It says that there are 1,595 ifs in 1,420 verses in the Bible. Yes, it's filled with conditions. But, oh, what a wonderful God we have. Read Psalm 124.

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Linda Johnson

Linda Johnson moved to Douglas County with her husband Tom 11 years ago after retiring from teaching. Following Tom's death in 2016, Linda began facilitating a grief support group called GriefShare through Sweden Church. She serves as the Sunday School teacher for our High School class. Her "Layman's Pen" articles are also published in the local paper, The Douglas County Herald.

Andrea Strong

Andrea is Pastor Joshua Strong's wife. She also serves Sweden Church as Church Secretary, website administrator, and Sunday School teacher to the Intermediate Class.