YOU CANNOT GO BY FEELINGS ALONE!

It was late at night and my wife and I had retired and all of sudden she asked, “Did you close the garage door?” My, my, why did she have to ask me that question so late at night! I am positive that I closed the door but she has aroused my curiosity so I got out of bed and made the trip to prove that I had closed the garage door but much to my surprise, the door was still up! I was sure that I had closed that door and I felt as safe as you could be in believing that all the doors were locked leading to the inside of our house. But, I was wrong!

Now let me tell you about the latest concerning our feelings that we were safe in our house. This morning I took a birthday card to the mail box and when I returned to open the front door there was a set of keys in the lock. Someone had left them there over night. You see, I was in Montgomery all day. My wife used our truck to do her shopping. She entered the house through the front door. So, it was not me this time in not securing the house. But, you know, we slept soundly through the night feeling that we were safe as we possibly could be.  But we were wrong!

My friends, feelings alone can be deceptive. This is true in the realm of religion as well in other areas. The reason is explained by the prophet Jeremiah: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (17:9). The wise man wrote in Proverbs 14:12: “There is a way that seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death.” One biblical example of a person having deceptive feelings is that of Jacob who thought Joseph had been killed by a wild beast but later learned that he was alive in Egypt. How often have you heard someone say, “I feel that I am saved”? We must remember that salvation takes place in the mind of God and not according to how a person feels in his heart.

It is true that a saved person can have a clear conscience and a feeling of peace that passes all understanding in the Lord – when he complies with the directives of the Lord (1 Peter 3:21). This comes about when a person responds by faith to the grace of God (Romans 5:1, 2). This saving faith is one of obedience (Hebrews 5:8, 9). So, when a penitent believer is baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit he receives forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). He will know that his sins have been washed away by the precious blood of the Son of God (Acts 22:16; Ephesians 1:7).

“Is thy heart right with God, Washed in the crimson flood, Cleansed and made holy, Humble and lowly, Right in the sight of God?

KINGDOM/CHURCH IN THE BOOK OF COLOSSIANS

“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse…” (1:1, 2). The apostle Paul, guided by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote this epistle. The “saints” and “faithful brethren” refer to the same persons who were “in Christ” who lived in the city of Colosse. The term ‘saint’ does not mean  perfection because Paul instructed them in chapter three to continue putting of certain sins as they matured in Christ. ‘Saint’ denotes a life of holiness, one of sanctification.

In chapter one, verses 13, 14, we read: “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” There is a kingdom of darkness from which the brethren had been delivered. This is in contrast to the kingdom of light. All who are not in the “kingdom of the Son of His love” remain in the “power of darkness”. To be “conveyed” is to be ‘translated’, that is to move from one place or condition to another. Thus the brethren in Colosse were in the kingdom of the Lord. They had been redeemed by His blood and had been forgiven of their sins! It is worthy to note that the kingdom of Jesus Christ was in existence in the first century!

But you may ask, when were their sins forgiven by the blood of Christ? In chapter 2: 12 we read: “buried with Him in baptism in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.”  It was in baptism that these brethren who formerly were in the “power of darkness” now had been “buried with Him in baptism” and “were raised with Him through faith in the working of God.”

We have learned that the “saints” in Colosse were in the kingdom, having been “delivered from the power of darkness and that occurred when they were “buried with Him in baptism”. The brethren were also in the body of Christ according to chapter 3:15: “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.” Please observe that whatever the “body” is, there is but “one” (1:24). In chapter 1:18 we read: “And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.” Jesus Christ is the supreme and only head of his one body which is His church!

But once again you may ask, how did the brethren get into the “one body”? Please allow me to use a verse by the author, Paul, to answer that question from his epistle as found in 1 Corinthians 12:13: “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free – and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.”

In summary, we have learned that the brethren had been translated into the kingdom when they were baptized; that they had been baptized into one body which is the church of our Lord. And having been buried with their Lord in baptism they were redeemed from their sins by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Now they had “the hope” which was “laid up” for them “in heaven” (1:5). Thank God for His infinite love and grace!

I SAW A MAN KILL HIMSELF

It was a beautiful afternoon several years ago when I was about to enter a local bank for my weekly business transaction. Suddenly, I heard three rounds of rapid gunshots. Automatically, I turned toward the direction of the sounds and saw a man across the street with a pistol in his hand. In a moment of time, he placed the gun to his temple and pulled the trigger. I heard the sickening sound of another shot and then the man slumped to the ground. The bizarre events were over in a very short time. I, along with others, had become unwilling witnesses to a terrible tragedy. The man had tried to murder a person in a parked car and then he killed himself. To say the least, it was a very unnerving experience.

I am not a novice regarding death. It has been a part of most of my life. I was only ten years old when my oldest brother was killed in World War II. Several members of my family and my wife’s family have died.

As a preacher and friend, I have been associated with death in many ways. I have in been in a hospital room when the spirit of a Christian lady took flight, relieving her of the intense pain caused by cancer. I have entered a hospital room just seconds after a small boy gave up the struggle with death and his precious soul went to be with the Lord. I vividly recall the Sunday evening, as I was about to get into my car to go to worship when my neighbor cried for help. Her husband was dying with a heart attack. I tried in vain to get assistance but my friend died while his wife and I stood helplessly by, praying and hoping that the rescue squad would arrive in time. And I have lost track of the occasions when I have been with grieving families when death came to claim their loved ones but I had never seen a person take his own life. You just don’t forget such a horrible scene.

Life is so precious. Man was made in the likeness of his Creator (Genesis 1:26, 27). Cain was sorely punished for taking the life of his brother Abel (Genesis 4:9-15). God has prescribed punishment for wicked people who have no respect for human life (Genesis 9:5, 6). “You shall not murder” was a part of the law of God given to Israel (Exodus 20:13). Jesus even restricts our intimate thoughts regarding our feelings for others (Matthew 5:21, 22). The civil government is commissioned to render punishment to violators who take the life of their fellowman (Romans 13).

Self-destruction gives the offender no opportunity of repentance, reform and forgiveness. Only God knows the state of mind of the individual committing suicide. Mental disorders sometimes motivate the deed. Some, however, have no regard for human life, even their own. How sad for the spirit of a man to be hurled into eternity without God and without hope.

As children of light in a world of darkness (Philippians 2:15), we should endeavor to inform others of God’s love (John 3:16), the value of man and his soul, the salvation in Christ and the assurance and hope for the Christian. We should teach them that life can be beautiful and meaningful; and, there are no problems so great but that we can find help from God and His people

Fatalism is the fruit of living in a world apart from God who loves and is caring. Our present society is trying to solve problems without His divine guidance. It can never be done, individually or collectively. Christ is still the hope of mankind. It is the privilege of the Christian to teach the message of redemption and hope to a world seemingly determined to destroy itself.
Raymond (2/18/16)

WHENEVER I AM AFRAID

 It was probably when David was captured by the Philistines that David wrote the words found in Psalm 56:3: “Whenever I am afraid.” Just think, here is the man who was anointed to be the next king of Israel and a great warrior, yet, he expressed that he was “afraid”.

Are there times when you are afraid? Afraid when alone in the darkness of night; afraid when a loved one is critical ill; afraid that you will not be able to support your family; afraid when there is a threat of another war; afraid when you growing old; or, perhaps afraid when you are facing death? Well, welcome to the club. You are not alone.

Please read what David also wrote when he said “I am afraid”: “I will trust in You” and “In God I have put my trust” (Psalm 56: 3, 11). We can place our trust in God who works out everything for our eternal welfare (Romans 8:28). It is in Him that we can have complete confidence as well as in His promise that He “will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). And when it comes our time to “walk through the valley of death”, yea, even death itself, we can safely say, “I will fear no evil; for thou art with me”. Also we trust in Jesus Christ who said: “I am the resurrection and the life, He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die…” (John 11:25, 26).

When we come to trust in God and love Him “with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37), we will have this blessed assurance: “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear…” (1 John 4:18). So when we are afraid, regardless of the circumstances, let us cry out from the depths of our heart, “O my God, I trust in You…” (Psalm 25:2).

Raymond, (2/11/16)