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Who Is Going to Win?

Several of my best friends are ministers in the Lord’s church.  Some have been in mission fields around the world while others have served the Lord stateside.

One of my best friends has worked as a missionary in Poland, Russia and most recently the Ukraine.  We have been friends since the late 1980’s and I’m honored to call Terry Harmon my brother.  Just recently Terry and his family moved back to the states where he currently serves the Lord’s church in Flagler, Colorado.  Each month Terry writes a bulletin article that is shared with that small congregation and, with his permission, today we all get the chance to read his thoughts about winning and losing…

“Every once in a while, when the kids are off to bed and there is a chance to sit down for a few minutes, I will turn on a taped game of some sporting event.  The advantage of this is that you can watch a 3 1/2 hour football game in about thirty or forty minutes.  If you fast forward through all the commercials, halftime entertainment and commentators remarks (between plays), you can watch the game so much quicker.  This is the reason I love to watch games that have been recorded.  There is, however, one slight drawback (although it doesn’t bother me).  Many times you already know the outcome of the game.

It has interested me for some time now, that while I may know who won the game, for those who are AT the game, siting in the stands, the outcome is still undetermined.  This is especially important when it is a really close game and the score goes back and forth.  Perhaps you can relate to this, sitting in the stands and thinking, “who is going to win?”  During these contest of skill, the camera will often zoom in on fans nervously watching the score board, trying to calculate whether or not their team has enough time to pull out a win.  The expression on these faces is often priceless.  Nervous and downtrodden at times, they can change to upbeat and excited at the moment their team overcomes.

A few years ago it dawned on me that our lives as Christians are really just like a ‘taped sporting event.’  It may not feel like it at times when our lives are beaten down by Satan’s attacks.  When situations test us and conflicts challenge our daily walk.  But we must remember, the outcome has already been set.  It just doesn’t seem like it as we face the struggles of life.  One of the greatest lessons we learn in the New Testament is that if we as Christians are faithful to the Lord until death…WE WIN!  The story has already been written, and God guarantees the victory.  So we just have to trust, obey and keep fighting until, ‘the race is run’.

Believe in God’s word and take comfort from reading I John 5:4, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith.”  Also you’ll remember Revelation 7:14-15, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.  For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne shall spread his tabernacle over them.”

Note the present tense of the verb in the last verse, “They (we) serve Him day and night…”  God sees all of this as it will happen in the future, but for us it seems so far off and distant.  We need to realize that there is really nothing to be nervous about and nothing to agonize over.  The bottom line is, if we stay faithful with the Lord, THE VICTORY IS OURS!  The story (the game) is already complete.”

Thanks Terry for the reminder that we should have courage and the faith to know the outcome is secure.  And of course…this also reminds me of the perfect hymn:

“Encamped along the hills of light, ye Christian soldiers, rise.  And press the battle ere the night shall veil the glowing skies.  Against the foe in vales below let all our strength be hurled;  Faith is the victory, we know, that overcomes the world.  His banner over us is love, our sword, the Word of God; We tread the road the saints above with shouts of triumph trod.  By faith they, like a whirlwind’s breath, swept on, over every field; The faith by which they conquered death is still our shining shield.  On every hand the foe we find drawn up in dread array.  Let tents of easy be left behind and onward to the fray.  Salvation’s helmet on each head and faith all girt about the earth shall tremble beneath our tread and echo with our shout. Faith is the Victory!  Faith is the Victory!  O glorious victory that over comes the world.  (NOTICE THIS LAST VERSE)  To him that overcomes the foe white raiment shall be given; before the angels he shall know His name confessed in heaven;  Then onward from the hills of light, our hearts with love aflame, we’ll vanquish all the host of night in Jesus conquering name.”

FAITH IS THE VICTORY!

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Doing Chores…Part Two

What kind of chores do you have?  You know that we all have work to do, and in an earlier article we discussed a two-fold idea of ‘doing chores’.

The idea of working on the farm (doing chores) and how we, through God’s Word, are referred to as sheep.  Understand this clearly, we are sheep, and at the same time we have an obligation to tend sheep.  How can we be expected to do both?  Can we be sheep and at the same time be ‘shepherd’ sheep?

Perhaps the following song, written in the 1960s by Robert Arnold and Clyde Williams, gives the details of our task, our chore, when it comes to working with sheep.  Though not often sung in our congregations today, this song speaks to us about doing our chores.  The basis for this song is found in John 21:15-17; “So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?’  He said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord: You know that I love You.’  He said to him, ‘Tend My lambs.’  He said to him again a second time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love Me?’  He said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.’  He said to him, ‘Shepherd My sheep.’  He said to him the third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love Me?’  Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, ‘Do you love Me?’  And he said to Him, ‘Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.’  Jesus said to him, ‘Tend My sheep.’ ”  Referencing Christ’s discussion with Peter by the Sea of Galilee, you’ll notice this song of encouragement is really Christ telling Peter (and us) to bring those who are lost back to Him.  If we love Him, we will be doing our chores and tending His sheep.  Perhaps we need to examine ourselves and see who we really love.

“In the good Book we’re told how to the saints of old, Jesus said, ‘Go feed My sheep;’
As He commanded then, we’ll be commanded when Jesus says children feed My sheep.

Chorus:
Lovest thou Me, My child, more than these? (repeat)
These are the words Peter of old, by our Lord then was told,
And today, Jesus says, these are My sheep.
Lovest thou Me, My child, more than these? (repeat)
As of old, so today, Hear the Lord, He will say,
Lovest thou Me, more than these?
Feed My sheep!

“Jesus commanded those, who would obey His call, ‘Go the lost and bring them in.’
Bring ye the wanderers home, wherever they may roam, Help them eternal life to win.

Chorus:
Lovest thou Me, My child, more than these? (repeat)
These are the words Peter of old, by our Lord then was told,
And today, Jesus says, these are My sheep.
Lovest thou Me, My child, more than these? (repeat)
As of old, so today, Hear the Lord, He will say,
Lovest thou Me, more than these?
Feed My sheep!”

There are chores to be done no doubt.  And like those years of my youth on a small, rural farm in the 70’s, you too have a chore.  But unlike those early years, you have a choice.  You don’t have to do your chores.  You can skip out on ‘tending the sheep’ and just play around in the garden.  If that’s the road you take you need to remember this; one day you’ll be ask how you did with your chores?  Did you love your Father and obey His directive?  Did you (do you) really love Him?  We can answer like Peter did, “Yes, Lord!  I love You…”  But the results of your labor will be the real answer to the question, “Lovest Thou Me?”  When we love our God, we’ll be doing our chores!

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Securing the Hearts of Our Youth…Part 3

As we conclude this series on ‘Securing the Hearts of Our Youth’, let’s example the third component of mentoring and preparing faithful families.  Let’s turn again to examine the three previously mentioned, elements of securing their hearts.  I truly believe that each of these will help us in drawing our youth closer to God.

Part 1, focused on the importance of a faithful example.  Remember your consistency and faithfulness as you talk with your children, walk through your life and choice your path.  Your example, in some cases, will impact people more than you words.  Our second component (Part 2) addressed the idea of providing opportunities for involvement in the work of the church.  We can include our young people when we give them a chance to work.  Remember, if they’re ‘thirsty’ they’ll ‘drink.’

We have talked about the value of a good example and the importance of training and teaching our young people.  And though these two methods of preparation are vital and needed to direct our youth, we must never forgot the ‘WHY’ behind it all.  For the past 10 years I have taught the college class at our congregation.  There has been Sunday mornings when only three (3) students came to class.  And then again, there have been Wednesday nights when more than thirty (30) young men and women filled the room.  During each class I ask them; “Why?  Why are you here?  No one is making you come; you are here because you chose to be.  Why?”  When we can come to understand the reason we attend a Bible study with God’s people is more than just habit, then they will grow closer to seeing the importance of doing more than just going through the motions.  As a congregation and as individual families we strive to set the proper example.  We focus on training and teaching our young people to serve (men to lead) in the Lord’s church, but our children must come to know why we do what we do.

During the early 1700’s, Isaac Watts at the age of 45, wrote a poem entitled “How Shall the Young Secure Their Hearts?”  The poem, a song many have sung for years, asks the question we set as the pinnacle in exploring our objective; Mentoring Faithful Adults into a Life of Service.  How can we safe guard the hearts of our young people for Godly service?  Isaac Watt’s doesn’t miss a beat.  His answer comes from the second part of Psalm 119:9 “…by keeping it (a young man’s ways) according to Your word.”  The song states; “Thy Word the choicest rules imparts to keep the conscience clean.”  How else can we, should we, mentor faithful adults if not through the Word of God.  The Psalmist continues as he writes in the 119th Psalm, “With all my heart I have sought You…Your word I have treasured in my heart…with my lips I have told of all the ordinances of your mouth…I will meditate on Your precepts and regard Your ways.  I shall delight in Your statues; I shall not forget Your word.”  Notice the example of seeking God and treasuring His word in our hearts; of mediating on His instruction and delighting (making a priority) of his statutes (the Law of Christ).  As we mentor our young people and train them, we’ll teach them how to tell others about the ordinances (the word) of God.

We have a massive obligation to mentor our young people.  We need to begin early and continue mentoring often.  Our responsibility should never be take lightly.  If you still have children at home, focus your attention on bringing them to God…literally.  Don’t let culture dictate where they will go and what they will do.  Be certain, if you don’t show them that God is first in your life, the world will show they what it holds to be important.  And remember mentoring our young adults must start with you, the parent.   If you have grown children who are no longer faithful and no longer under your guidance; be sure you have your priorities right and pray for an opportunity to correct any errors from your past. You may still be able to sway them if they a change in your life.  If you have no children but want to impact and influence ‘the next generation’, search your heart and be sure you’re focused on Godliness.  Seek ways to teach, train and encourage the young adults in your congregation.  It’s never too late to secure their hearts and guard their lives from sin.  Use God’s word as the light that will guide them through the dangers of the night.  Rest assured, God’s Word is everlasting truth and every page of His word is pure!  Using the Bible as our foundation in life will guide our young people and, as Isaac Watts wrote, will well support our age.

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Securing the Hearts of Our Youth…Part 2

As we consider the importance of ‘securing the hearts of our young people’ for a life of faithful service, let’s continue to investigate the components of this pressing topic.  Digging deeper into the question at hand, we turn again to examine the previously mentioned, three basic elements of securing their hearts.  Together, I believe that each of these will help us in mentoring our youth.

To review ‘Part 1’, let’s reiterate the importance of a faithful example in mentoring our youth.  Consistency and faithfulness on an individual basis is important.  But next let’s consider the wisdom in the old saying, ‘You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.’  So if the time of establishing expectations is passed and the individual choice is in place, we have to ask the burning question; “If I can’t make a horse drink the water, what will make a horse drink?”  Here in lies the second method of training up and teaching our young people faithfulness.  A horse lead to water will drink…when he’s thirsty.  An understandable conclusion, but what indeed makes a horse WANT to drink?  A thirsty horse is one that has been working.  We must provide opportunities and for our young people to get involved in the work of the church.  There are vast areas where we expect work to be done around the church building and within the church family.  So who will do the work?  Often it’s easier to hire out the work to be done (missionaries, janitors, etc.) rather than putting the onus of responsibility on the family.

We live in a modest home in north Dallas with a good size yard on a corner lot.  One look around the house and you’ll find we have lots of grass to mow in both the front and back yards.  But who will do it?  For several years I hired out the work to a local lawn service.  They made it look easy and quick (actually they were much quicker than me) and the cost was minimal.  But then my oldest boy turned 12.  My wife and I quickly realized that the monthly cost for mowing could be put toward a new lawn mower and some yard accessories and then he could work with me mowing the yard.  But it wasn’t easy at first.  My son had to be trained.  There were times I was frustrated and could have simply told him to step aside and let me do it.  (Actually, that was said on more than one occasion.)  However, if he was to learn to serve the family and ultimately be able to do work in the yard by himself, he had to be taught, trained and provided the opportunity to ‘get involved.’  Let the young, baptized men of your congregation go to work serving.  Train them to read scripture and serve on the Lord’s Table.  Teach them, as Christ did, how to pray.  Show them how they can lead (yes…even the song service).  Let the young ladies get involved too.  Teach them how to teach in the toddler’s classes.  Introduce them to building bulletin boards or even baking unleavened bread.  Give them opportunities to be involved and start getting thirty.  But you know…training will take time and energy.  So ask yourself the question; “Do I really want the help secure the heart of our youth?”  If we want our young people to grow into a life of faithful service, we must we willing to do what it takes to mentor them into serving.

How shall the young secure their hearts and guard their lives from sin?  Next time we’ll look at the third and most vital of all elements when it comes to preparing our youth.  You’ll remember…“Thy word the choicest rules in part…”  See you next time!

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He Led Me Home!

It was early in the fall of 1993 when Kent (my brother-in-law) and I made plans to take a hunting trip in the Colorado mountains.  He is a native Coloradoan and certainly no stranger to hunting, hiking or making his way through the rugged terrain of the Rocky Mountains.  To ensure this would be a smooth trip, we were only going up for the day.  We left early on that Saturday morning with our plans to be back later that same evening.  We (he) knew the mountains, we had our objective (and license) and we were secure.

The day progressed as we had planned and within a few hours we had come upon some promising evidence that this would be a worthwhile trip.  By early afternoon Kent had found fresh sign and a good track to follow.  Within a few minutes we were on the hunt for a bull elk and at least one of his cows.  Walking up hill and through 2 feet of snow is much easier for the four-legged critters and so much more difficult for those of us with only two-legs.  Each minute we seemed to be getting closer, and yet the rush of adrenaline clouded the fact we were walking deeper and deeper into unfamiliar territory.  On more than one occasion we saw the flash of a tail or caught the whiff of elk, but as the sun climbed high into the Colorado sky a feeling of uncertainty had begun to sink in.  We had walked long and farther than we could have imagined.  Two, three mountain pikes had been crossed and it was clear…we had gone too far to retrace our steps.  The falling snow had covered most of our previous foot prints, and the final evidence we found of our quarry was the tracks he left as he cleared a 9-foot rock wall.  He was gone and we were lost.

Obviously this hunting trip came to a peaceful end but unlike Kent, I was feeling scared and unsure of the night that had begun to fall.  With patience and foresight he lead us down the mountain and we made our way to a road.  All along I think he knew that it would lead us out of the unknown and into the familiarity of a mountain cabin.  It was an agonizingly long day for me, and one that I will not soon forgot.  If I had been alone and tried to rely on my own understanding of ‘how to get home’, I most likely would have never made it.  But my guide, my brother-in-law, knew what to do and how to proceed in the face of uncertainty.  He led me home!

In a life that take us up one steep hill after another, and leads us across exceptionally rough terrain, do we know who leads us?  Taking on this kind of experience alone, and trusting in your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5) will lead you into deeper, more difficult struggles.  Often we get into a mess like this because the promise of glory, the scent of success is just around the corner.  ‘A few more steps and I’ll be able to grasp my prize.’  But would that we realize the deception of the devil to be just as enticing, and just as alluring.  When you’ve gone too far, who will lead you home?  Is there a guide to help you find your way?

J.H. Gilmore wrote the words to a song that reminds me who should be leading my life.  Do you let God lead you?  Is the thought of His guidance a comfort to you?  With all this we must understand, God won’t make you follow Him.  He leads me and I make the decision to either, “go it alone” or let Him lead me.  When times are difficult and my path seems too hard to traverse, it’s then I must remember these words:

1) “He leadeth me: O blessed thought!  O words with heavenly comfort fraught! (filled with…) Whatever I do, wherever I be, Still ’tis God’s hand that leadeth me.”

2) “Sometimes mid scenes of deepest gloom, sometimes where Eden’s bowers (shady, leafy recess) bloom, By waters still, o’er troubled sea still ’tis God’s hand that leadeth me.”

3) “And when my task on earth is done, when by Thy grace the victory is won,
even death’s cold wave I will not flee, since God thru Jordan leadeth me.”

Chorus: “He leadeth me, He leadeth me, By His own hand He leadeth me;
His faithful follower I would be, for by His hand He leadeth me.”

I trust in God for He is faithful…and He will lead me home!