Archive for the ‘holidays’ Category
Palm Sunday-Mar 29
27
Mar
Palm Sunday (A) Palm Sunday is a perfect example of what happens when we put our agenda before God’s agenda. Palm Sunday celebrates the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. The people waved palm branches and laid them on the road before Jesus to celebrate His coming because they thought He was coming to overthrow the Romans and set them free from the domination of the Romans so He could set up His kingdom on earth. However, the Passover celebrates the time in Egypt when the lamb was slain to atone for their sins and the blood put on the doorpost before the coming of the angel of death, to show the sacrifice had been made. It foretold when the Lamb of God (Jesus) would come to die on the cross to take away the sins of the world and set us free from the power of sin and death. When we stand before the throne in heaven, if our heart is cleansed by the blood of Christ, it will testify that the sacrifice has been made. Had the Jews remembered the meaning of the Passover, they would have recognized what Jesus came to do.
God’s plan for His people
27
Mar
God commanded the Jewish people to celebrate a trilogy of holidays that spell out our spiritual walk. God has fulfilled two of them and is preparing to fulfill the third. God spelled out His plan for the Jewish people and for us in the design of the celebration of the Passover (the first celebration commanded by God) where the death angel slew the first-born sons so Pharoah would release the Israelites from bondage. Those who sacrificed the lamb and put the blood on the doorpost were spared. It foretold Christ’s death as the Suffering Servant when He would die to take away our sins and free us from the power of sin and death which He fulfilled on Passover. Then the Israelites would wander in the wilderness to bond them into a nation, just as the Holy Spirit would then come (on Pentecost) to set up God’s kingdom in our hearts (Pentecost-see Isaiah 53) and the body of believers going through trials would bind us into a church, just as the Israelites wandering in the wilderness bound them into the people of God. Finally, God led the Israelites into the Promised Land where they enjoyed God’s blessings, just as one day Christ will return as the Conquering King and set up His kingdom on earth fulfilling Rosh Hosanna (the third celebration commanded by God) but the Jews ignored what God told them and created their own visions of what God would do. Christ could not overthrow the powers of this world until He first overthrew the power of sin in our hearts, lest we all be lost. (See “Before Our Eyes” in “Understanding the Path We Walk” for more on the meaning of the holidays.)
Second Sunday of Lent-March 1
26
Feb
You Can’t Serve Two Masters. Jesus said, you can’t serve two masters. You must love one and hate the other. (Matt. 6:24) That is especially true of God and Satan. They are exact opposites. You must choose between them or be torn apart. Lent is a time to focus on who we are serving and make sure we are following God and not Satan. Liberal philosophy is so deceiving because they use words we understand but with a different meaning. No Christian would be against two people loving each other but love to them means sex solely for selfish pleasure, not true love and concern for each other. True love can be really satisfying for two people, but the love the world promotes is very destructive. We have to know what they mean by what they say or we will end up supporting things which go against God. Satan goes around like a roaring lion seeking who he can devour. He seeks to deceive even the people of God. Therefore it important to study the Word of God so you will not be deceived. Choose one of the four Gospels and read a chapter a day between now and Easter and see what Jesus says about living a life pleasing to God. If we truly love God, we will want to obey Him. We can please Him by doing what He wants us to do (obeying His Commandments). God set down His commandments as guidelines to show us how to live a life that is pleasing to Him and that would bring us peace and fulfillment. He knows what is best for us and did not give us the Commandments to spoil our fun but to help us avoid that which creates strife and dissension among us. When we ignore His commandments, we throw away that peace and fulfillment and stray into things that create strife and dissension.
Fourth Sunday of Epiphany-Feb 1
30
Jan
– Sharing Christ Most Christians do not talk about church or the Gospel outside of church for fear of offending someone, so most people don’t know whether their neighbors attend church or not. While many Christians assume their neighbors attend a church somewhere, the fact is that most probably do not. If your neighbors attend church, their church may not provide fellowship and support and they may welcome friendship with other Christians, or their church may be too far away for them to participate in many church activities. If they do not attend church, they may be seeking a church but not know anyone who belongs to one providing an opportunity to invite them. Many of their neighbors have not had any contact with a church and do not have any reason to seek one. Those without Christ often live day to day, their only hope is to survive until tomorrow. They will not know that Christ can made a difference in their life until they see that it has made a difference in your life. As you visit your neighbors, you can witness to them about the benefits of attending church and may even get a chance to tell them about Christ.
Third Sunday of Epiphany-Jan 25
22
Jan
Luke 10:29-37 Get To Know Your Neighbors-One of the greatest problems to spreading the Gospel in America is the lack of contact between Christians and non-Christians. Even in settled neighborhoods where people own their homes, there is often little contact beyond polite waves over the fence and unfortunately, Christians are caught up in it as well. The best way to start is have members visit their neighbors to get to know them. Visiting one a week is not taxing but in five weeks will enable them to get to know the five families around them. We need to make deliberate efforts to spend time with our neighbors and get to know them. Visit them and take them cookies or a cake or invite them over for a backyard Bar B Q to allow time to get to know them. Do they go to church, if so where? Do they have family nearby to help in times of need? Are there needs the church family can help with? We will not know unless we get to know them. Others may have needs and not know who to turn to. Establishing contact enables you to help them find solutions to their needs. Many may not have needs when you visit, but as you maintain contact with the neighbors through periodic visits, the neighbors may experience situations they cannot handle and may turn to you for help. Since many families are isolated today and have no family nearby, a sickness, loss of job, or even death may require more resources than they can muster and provide an opportunity for the church to show Christ’s love. As Christ points out, our neighbors include more than just those who live around us. They are people we interact with every day at school, at work, and as we shop. We often see them but rarely take the time to get to know them.
Second Sunday of Epiphany-Jan 18
15
Jan
Modeling Christ When we read the Gospels, we often see the teachings and miss what Jesus does. If we read them closely, we will notice that He met needs as He went along. He healed the blind man, the crippled man, and the leper. He also fed the people. He did it primarily because He cared about them, but He also did it because He knew those needs distracted those people from hearing what He had to say. Until He broke down the barrier, they could not concentrate on what He was saying. By meeting the need, He not only broke down the barrier, He also built a bridge to that person. Those people passed many people as they traveled but those people were only nameless faces, soon forgotten. Jesus was someone they would not soon forget. He wasn’t a nameless face, He was the one that healed them or fed them. He was the one who cared when no one else did. We have become accustomed to the government providing all those services, but we forget that Christians met those needs first and only later did the government become involved. Now we have all but given up our ministry to the government and people worship the government instead of God. The prevailing feeling among many Christians today, as well as non-Christians is “The government is my shepherd, I shall not want, It maketh me lie down in a nice house, and It provideth me with good food.” Christ modeled the way we should live. Unfortunately, all we like sheep have gone astray.
First Sunday of Epiphany-Jan 11
10
Jan
Reveal the Reason- When my wife and I were young, we would go out before Christmas to see the light displays. They depicted all kinds of things from Manger scenes to Santa Claus scenes and many others. Today, there are far fewer displays, and most are just lights. They are nice to look at but not nearly as interesting. Epiphany reminds us that God cares for those who don’t know Him as well as those that do. Christmas is an excellent time to put up a display of the manger scene. Liberals have gotten them banned from a lot of public places, so it is up to churches and individual Christians to remind people why we celebrate Christmas. Children are curious. They may ask you, why do you have a display of people in the front yard? It gives you the opportunity to tell the Christmas story of how God sent Jesus to help us. Start planning now to be a witness for Christ next Christmas. Buy a commercial one or build your own. Christmas cards also give an opportunity to remind people why we celebrate. Now is a good time to get them because stores are getting rid of their Christmas stock at sale prices