Sunday, January 25, 2009

Most of the Time

One day a preacher was talking to a man who was supposed to be a Christian. The man told the preacher that he went to church services “most of the time” and seemed to think this put him in good relationship with God. I personally know of many people who fall into that same category. They “go to church” every now and then and expect that to fulfill their religious responsibilities and consider themselves faithful to God.

But think about a few things that we might put into that same perspective and then see what conclusions we might draw.

  • What if a husband or a wife was faithful most of the time?
  • What if your car started most of the time?
  • What if your heart beat most of the time?
  • What if your children obeyed you most of the time?
  • What if an employee showed up for work most of the time?
  • What if your employer gave you your paycheck most of the time?
  • What if your water heater worked most of the time?
What are your conclusions? Would that husband or wife be considered faithful? Would you be satisfied with that car? Would you worry about your heart? Would an employer keep that employee? Would you continue to work for that employer? Would you replace that water heater? Would you conclude that these represent examples of being faithful?

I know I may sound like a preacher when I make the next statement but I hope you will consider it. If we wouldn’t place those examples above in the category of being faithful, then why should one think he or she could please God by being “faithful” only part of the time?

Jesus calls for commitment in Matthew 16:24 when he says to take up the cross and follow Him. In Luke 14:26-33 he asks us to count the cost in order to follow Him. He said that if we put our hand to the plow we are not to look back in Luke 9:62.

Faithfulness is not found in the amount of outward show of religion but rather flows from what is within the heart. As Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:14, 15, “For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.

See you when the saints meet, Lord willing.

Love, Tony

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Not Far From Us

In Acts 17, as Paul speaks to the Greeks on Mars Hill (Areopagus), he tells them of the Great God of whom they are ignorant. He refers, on this occasion, to an altar he has seen that bears the inscription, “To An Unknown God.”

In the course of his speech to them he speaks of the “God who made the world and all things in it” and describes Him as a God who “does not dwell in temples made with hands” and informs them that this God is not “served by human hands.” The reason for this, Paul says is because this God does not need anything since He is the God who Himself “gives to all people life and breath and all things.” Then, as something they probably had not considered about their commonality with all other people on the earth (since they thought of themselves as superior to others), Paul says this God has “made from one man every nation of mankind” and has set the limitations on their existence. Because of this, Paul says, they (all men) should seek this God “if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him.

If Paul had stopped his speech there his listeners would have been left in a state of confusion. However, Paul then tells them what is perhaps the most important -and novel - concept concerning this God. He says, “He is not far from each of us; for in Him we live and move and exist,…

The gods on Mars Hill were close enough to touch since they were made of stone or other materials BUT the Greeks had no sense of their gods being close to them. Thus the ignorance of which Paul speaks.

Isn’t it great to realize that our God is not far from us. It may seem that way at times but then we begin to realize that if there is distance between myself and God, I’m probably the one who has moved.

Paul left the Greeks with another thought that really caused them to think. He says this God “has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness” and that judgment will come through a man who has died and risen from the dead. Quite a bombshell for these Greeks who preferred to rationalize everything from their intellect.

There were two reactions - some sneered, but others said, “We shall hear you again concerning this.” What is your reaction? How about you? Are you seeking more about this God who is “not far from us?” Read His Book. You will find Him close.

See you when the saints meet, Lord willing.

Love, Tony

Sunday, January 11, 2009

A Bright Future

Time flies when you are having fun! It seems like just a few weeks ago that Treva and I pulled into Dewey on January 12th in 2005 with the north wind blowing and the temperature freezing but it was four years ago. This Sunday will mark the end of four good years with you, the Dewey church family. We’re glad we came and we look forward to the future with you.

And thinking of the future, I encourage us as individuals and as the church as a group to think about the words of Jesus as He encouraged His disciples in Matthew 9:35-37. “Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. "Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.’"

Then in John 4:35-38 Jesus challenges His disciples with the following words:

"Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. "Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. "For in this case the saying is true, 'One sows and another reaps.'

"I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor."

When we, like Jesus, begin to really see the people and feel the compassion He felt, then WE will see the harvest. WE will be the workers to be sent. WE will be the ones who sow and reap. The harvest is there… all around us. Let us lift up our eyes to see and feel the compassion in our hearts. People really are lost and searching for something better.

The church here has a bright future. I am convinced of this. But the world is not looking at a bright future. There is darkness, depression, delusion, and demoralization in the world. The church has the Light to dispel darkness, Joy to overcome depression, Hope to replace delusion, and a Life that offers a sense of security. The church has the responsibility to present a bright future to the world by shining the light of Jesus as a beacon of hope and security.

See you when the saints meet, Lord willing.

Love, Tony

Who Is Tony Lalli - Brief Bio By His Sons