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“What Will It Take To Get To Heaven?”
Some think
that once they have been baptized into Christ and
become a child
of God, that is it. They have done their part and
now it is up
to God to do the rest. This idea is completely at
odds with what
God’s Word teaches. Baptism is an essential
part of
becoming a child of God and an essential part to being
saved. One
cannot be saved without coming in contact with the
life saving
blood of Christ. But simply because one is baptized
does not mean
they have automatically punched their ticket to
heaven. God
expects us to live a life “FOR HIM.” His Word
tells us that
we must remain faithful “until death” if we are to
receive the
crown of life (Revelation 2:10). What does the word
“faithuful”
mean? According to Miriam Webster dictionary it
means:
steadfast in affection or allegiance; firm in adherence to
promises or in
observance of duty; given with strong assurance;
(especially notice this one) true to the facts, to a
standard, or to
an
original. Our
standard, our original is the God’s Word, we
must be true
to His Word to be faithful and if we are we will receive
the promise of
an eternal reward. The Word of God also says, “… he
who endures to
the end will be saved” (Matthew 10:22). Let’s see
the meaning of
this word “endure.” It means: to undergo (as a
hardship)
especially without giving in; to regard with acceptance or
tolerance; to
continue in the same state; to remain firm under suffering
or misfortune
without yielding though it is difficult. The walk of
a faithful,
enduring Christian is not an easy one. It comes with many
of the same
temptations and challenges that those in the world
face and maybe
even more so, since Satan has lost his grip on us
and wants to
get it back. For us to endure and remain faithful we
must put our
trust in God and in His Word, not in self and not in
others. He is
our true strength. (Larry Tiffin)
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“I’m Okay, You’re Okay”
Our society has programmed us to
such a point that we don’t want to
say anything
is wrong. Just be tolerant of anything and everything. That
is the idea
of “I’m okay, you’re okay” And that type of thinking has even
entered the
religious realm. We might not come right out and say it that
way, but that
may be what we are thinking. “It doesn’t matter what one
believes as
long as they are sincere.” When Jesus physically walked this
earth, I
wonder if He would have agreed with this statement? If everyone
was and is
“okay,” why did He even have to come to earth and die such a
horrible
death? Obviously, everyone is not okay, including us, “all have
sinned and
fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)
If “I’m
okay, you’re okay” is true, what difference does it make what
I believe?
The answer is simple, “it makes no difference!” We’re all
headed for
heaven of one kind or another. One who believes in Mohammed
would be okay,
one who believes that Jesus is not the Messiah would be
okay, one who
doesn’t believe in anything would be okay. Just common
sense tells us
that cannot be true. It makes a difference what we believe.
Do you believe
that is true? As much as I would love nothing better than
for all to be
on their way to heaven, for all to escape the tortures of hell.
My Bible tells
me there will be many who are not going to make it to
heaven. I
pray I am not one of those. But not even all the “religious”
are going to
make it. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, Lord,
Lord, shall
enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My
Father in
heaven.” (Matthew 7:21). That seems to indicate some are not
“now” okay,
nor will they be okay.
There is
truth and there is error, there is right and there is wrong. We
must stand on
the side of truth and right and at times that means telling
others that
they are not okay. It also means being honest with ourselves
we may not be
okay. If we are not pleasing God in our everyday lives,
we are not
okay. If we are not following His Word we are not okay.
We must be
careful not to fall into Satan’s traps.
Larry Tiffin, Minister Valley Church of Christ
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“Is Our Enthusiasm Lessening?”
It seems so often that we start a
new year off with excitement and
zeal. Bible
class attendance is up, worship attendance am and pm
is up. But
then after a couple of months it seems like those things
start to go
back to normal or in many cases decline to lower than
what they
were. In Psalm 122, we read, “I rejoiced with those who
said to me,
‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” There seems to be
excitement
there, anticipation. Do we anticipate, look forward to
meeting
together with our brothers and sisters in Christ? When we
get to worship
are we excited about the singing, God’s Word says that
we “speak to
one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing
and making
music to the Lord in our hearts.” Do we sing with that in
mind? Are we
excited about partaking of the Lord’s Supper each Lord’s
day or has it
become just a “ritual”? This is why many in the religious
world say they
don’t take the Lord’s Supper every week. Are we
giving them
evidence that they are right by how we partake of it?
A good
barometer on our love for the table is to ask ourselves, “if I
miss worship
and miss the Lord’s Supper is it a big deal?” How would
God answer
that question? Do you get excited about talking to God
in prayer?
Praying for those who are sick, thanking Him for all He
has done, is
doing and will do for us? Does it excite you to hear God’s
Word? Do you
love His Word enough to read, study and apply it every
day? The
Christian Standard Bible says this in Colossians 3:16, “Let
the message
about the Messiah dwell (live) richly in you, teaching and
admonishing
one another in all wisdom…” And then in verse 23 of
that same
chapter, we read, “Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically,
as something
done for the Lord and not for men.”
I want us to be honest with
ourselves, is our enthusiasm for the Lord
weakening? If
so, why? And I want to encourage each of us, not to
allow that to
happen. Not to become laid back when it comes to our
serving the
Lord. But to put Him first in our lives. May we have a zeal
that is
contagious. Enthusiasm is contagious. God wants us to be
zealous,
excited people when it comes to His Word and His work.
Larry
Tiffin, Valley Church of Christ
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“Children Hear More Than We Think”
In many
churches today there is what is called “Children’s Church.”
The reasoning
is that many of the little ones just cannot understand or
sit and pay
attention to what is being done or said. I guess I could
understand
this if they were talking about infants or 2 and 3 year olds,
but some now
going into “children’s church” are up to as old as 10.
Is it
possible that we don’t give these young children enough credit
for what they
really do hear and understand, even though they may
not understand
everything? There are many of us as adults who can
sit in a
worship service and not understand everything we hear.
Children
hear more than we think they do. That is not always
good. I
remember when I was about 13 years old, maybe a little
older,
babysitting two young boys of a neighbor. They were probably
about 3 and
6. When I told them they could not jump on the couch,
they lit into
me with curse words I couldn’t believe. I ask them
where they
learned those words, their response, “mommy and daddy.”
Did Mom and
Dad think that these little ones didn’t hear or didn’t
understand?
Maybe, but even if they did not understand all that
those words
meant they knew how to repeat them. Wouldn’t it be
great if these
little minds were filled with God’s Word and singing
of the great
songs in our song books? What might come out of their
mouths then?
Could that be the reason for the advice in Deuteronomy
6 about
talking to children and keeping God’s Word in front of them?
I think so.
They hear,
they see and understand more than we give them credit
for. Listen
to this email that came across my desk for example:
“Sometimes we do not understand
what we hear do we? After a hardy
rainstorm filled all the potholes in the streets and alleys, a
young mother
watched
her two little boys playing in the puddles through the window.
The
older of the two, a 5 year old lad, grabbed his sibling by the
back of
his
head and shoved his face into one of the water holes. (Brotherly
love?
LDT)
As the
boy recovered and stood laughing and dripping, the mother was
running
towards them in a panic. ‘Why on earth did you do that to your
little
brother?” she says as she shook the older boy’s shoulders in
anger
combined with relief. ‘We were just playing ‘church’ mommy,” he
said.
“and I
was just baptizing him…’in the name of the Father, the Son and
in the
hole-he-goes.’”
They did not
understand it all, but they understood a lot.
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"Why
Do We Do What We Do?”
Ephesians
2:10 says, “For we are His workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus
for good works, which God prepared beforehand that
we should walk
in them.” In Romans chapter 8 we are told that we
are to conform
ourselves to the image of Christ. We need to be
doing the will
of God and striving in every way we can to please
Him. But we
must also think about the “why” we do something.
Jesus said,
“Let your light shine before men, that they may see
your good
works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Do we do
the good works we have been created for to glorify
God or to
glorify self? Do we need to be praised by men for our
good works or
would we rather have the praise of God? Some
want
everything they do to be known, so that they might get a
pat on the
back. There is nothing wrong with a pat on the back.
I believe as
Christians we should encourage one another in doing
good works.
But if my main purpose for doing God’s will is so
that I might
get that pat on the back or praise of men, haven’t I
missed the
whole point?
In
Matthew chapter 6, Jesus spoke of those religious people
who did what
they did to be seen of men and to get the praise
of their works
for themselves. Jesus said of these they have their
reward. He
said this in that same chapter: “..when you do a
charitable
deed, do not let your left hand know what your right
hand is doing,
that your charitable deed may be done in secret;
and your
Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you
openly.”
We want
those in the world and in the church see us doing
what God would
have us to do, but we don’t have to broad-
cast that we
are doing the work of the Father. He knows.
We want Him to
get the glory. We do what we do for Him,
not for our
own glory!!
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“Respect What Is Holy”
Why do
you think people use profanity? Or tell dirty jokes? Or
swear and
curse? At one time it might have been for the “shock
value.” But
not too much shocks anyone anymore. Unfortunately,
this kind of
language is becoming more and more acceptable. Can
you remember a
time when you would have never heard God’s name
used in vain
on TV? I’m sure you can.
Why do
people use the names Jesus and God when they swear?
Do they try to
show contempt for them? I believe that may be true
in some cases,
but not all. Again it has just become so common in
so many
circles.
And we
must not count out the fact that this kind of talking affects
those who have
to listen to it. How could one who is a Christian use
this type of
language and then try to tell someone about having a
relationship
with Christ? But what is the cause of all this? Where
does it
originate?
My belief
is that it comes from a lack of respect for that which
is “HOLY!”
God’s name is holy and to be hallowed. What does
that mean? It
means His name is to be set apart – there are many
verses in the
Bible that teach this: Leviticus 20:3; Leviticus 22:31,32;
Psalm 30:4;
Isaiah 29:34; Matthew 6:9,10, etc.
How can
we respect what is holy, especially when dealing with
God’s name?
We must reverence His name continually. I find it
very
interesting and refreshing that many Jewish people won’t even
speak
His name, or
even spell it out completely, they have such respect and
reverence for
it. What a far cry from what we often hear. We can also
show respect
for what is holy by the lives we live. How we live says
something
about Him. The biggest hindrance for many becoming
Christians is
the behavior and speech of other Christians. This should
“NEVER” be the
case. We must show respect for what is holy in prayer
and in
defending His name. In a name there is reputation, character and
authority.
God’s name is holy and to be used seriously.
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“Gossip”
We teach
our children in Bible classes and in Vacation Bible
School a song
called, “Be Careful Little Eyes.” The song has
one verse that
says, “Be careful little lips what you say, be
careful little
lips what you say, there’s a Father up above and
He’s looking
down in love, so be careful little lips what you
say.” Maybe
we ought to sing that song every week. Are we
telling our
children do as I say and not as I do? Did you know
the word
“gossip” is not actually in the Bible? Great, that let’s
us off the
hook. No, not quite. The idea of a gossip is found in
Scripture,
words like tattlers, talebearers, busybodies carry the
same idea as a
gossip.
What is
gossip? One dictionary defines it as, “Idle talk or
rumor, esp,
about the personal or private affairs of others.”
Ann Landers in
one of her columns wrote the following:
“People of
high intelligence talk about ideas. People of average
intelligence
talk about things. People of no intelligence talk
about other
people….”
When our
goal in telling something about someone is to tear
them down,
that is gossip and that is sinful. We need to “think”
before we
speak. I came across this acrostic using the word
“think” that
is a good guideline of when to pass something on.
We need to ask
the following:
T
– is it True?
H
– is it Helpful?
I
– is it Inspirational?
N
– is it Necessary?
K
– is it Kind?
If we would
ask these questions every time before we pass
some
information on to someone else about someone else
seems to me
there would be a lot less gossip.
“Be
careful little lips what you say…”
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“Homosexuality – Acceptable or Unacceptable?”
Let me
say up front, I am not “homophobic.” I love all
people, I want
all people to be saved, I’m not going to be
unkind toward
anyone, but sin is still sin and immorality is
still
immorality. I cannot compromise God’s Word. But I
am concerned
when our society tries to force this lifestyle
down my throat
and calls me a hate-monger if I refuse to
accept it. I
have no choice, but to refuse this kind of lifestyle
because the
Bible condemns it. Society may make it sound
good, may make
it sound like those who are gay have no
choice in the
matter, but the bottom line is this:
“What does God say about it?”
God’s word
says it is sin, just as so many other things are sin
and so if I am
to be a faithful child of God I must agree with
God.
Across
my desk a couple of weeks ago came this headline:
“NEA (National
Education Association) begins massive drive
to promote
homosexuality in public schools.” I was watching
a debate on
this subject this past week with some candidates
running for
president and the ones that I heard were for this
being taught
in our public schools. The NEA is pushing to
make sexual
orientation training a requirement for earning a
license to
teach.
The sad
part of so much of this is that some churches are
now promoting
this agenda as well. That same sex marriages
are okay.
They openly accept the homosexual lifestyle. But
simply because
some churches are accepting it still does not
make it right
in the sight of God. A time is coming and I
believe the
time is already here, when we are going to have
to make a
choice of whose side we are going to stand on.
Not just on
this issue, more and more issues come up every
day, we must
stand for the truth, no matter what we are called
or what is
said about us. Remember that Paul was said to be
a mad man when
he spoke the truth to King Agrippa. Too
often today
many still think we are mad when we stand for
the truth of
God’s Word, but we must continue to stand.
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“It Looks Like Extra
Innings”
How many of you are really sports
fans? I mean it’s the top of the
9th
and the home team is ahead by 10 runs? Even the biggest fan
starts
thinking about
beating the traffic out of the parking lot. But what if it’s
the 9th
inning, the score is tied, this game will determine the outcome of
your team’s
future. If they win, they make the playoffs, if they lose,
they go home.
Not too many are going to get up and walk out on a game
like that.
You may have been sitting in that seat for 3 or 4 hours and
now it looks
like it is going into extra innings and instead of saying,
“Oh, great
extra innings” you think you are getting a bargain for the extra
excitement.
When one goes to a ball game, there is no air conditioning,
but that
doesn’t seem to bother the true fan. The seats are usually hard
and
uncomfortable, but somehow a true fan manages to sit on that hard,
uncomfortable
seat for as long as they have to. A true fan cheers loudly
for their
team, they stand up for their team. A true fan sings out loudly
at the 7th
inning stretch. They are excited about the atmosphere of being
“at” the
game. Sure you could sit in the comfort of your own home and
get a close up
of each pitch and each batter and reruns of the great plays,
but it’s just
not the same, there is just something about being “at” the
game.
I wish we
could bring that same enthusiasm to our worship services.
David said in
Psalm 122:1, “I was GLAD when they said to me, ‘Let
us
go into the
house of the Lord.’” Just as one might be considered a “true
fan,” would we
be considered a “true worshipper.” How do we feel when
we come to
worship? Are we as excited about worship as we are about a
“game”?
Especially a game that is about to go into extra innings with a
lot on the
line? Let’s think about some comparisons for just a moment:
(1)
The building has air conditioning and heating, sure they
may not
always be just right for everyone, but it’s better than 100
outside
or 50 outside.
(2)
The seats at worship are usually padded and much more
comfortable than that ball game
seat. Yet how does it feel after
an hour or two? What if the
service went into “extra innings”
with a lot at stake? (And by the
way there is a whole lot more
at stake in our worship to God than
there is at a ball game.)
(3)
We have songs of praise to sing, with words that teach and
admonish.
(4)
And what greater thing to get excited about than being on
God’s team and headed for heaven.
Yes, there are
a lot of things we can learn from a baseball fan that
would help us
be a true follower of God. I believe David was
excited about
the atmosphere in the house of the Lord, are we?
We hear a
lot about the “last days” today. Maybe we are in the
extra innings of life.
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