Nature At Work

 

Isn't that a beautiful hickory tree? Unfortunately, it no longer resides beside a friend's home. A summer storm removed this beauty that was so loved in the fall when it gilded the sky, in the spring when new leaves replaced winter's stripped limbs, and in the summer when it shaded their drive. This summer brought a storm that pointed out several natural occurences that show similar things in our own lives.

The Preacher wrote about seasons:

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 KJV)

The above beautiful season announceer was over a hundred years old, sitting beside its house with a sister tree. Its sister showed signs of rot and decay, and was professionally removed several years ago. This tree remained for decades following that loss, no outward signs of inward decay until one windstorm. As the owner put it: "But this tree had withstood so many windstorms in its 100+ years of life that we never dreamed it was in that much a state of decay." The owner added: "(There is a sermon in all that which I will write someday!)" I hope to hear that sermon, as I have others from this pastor.

It might speak of decay within a church in which the leaders could almost match Jesus' descriptive words in Matthew 22 - here's a small example:

Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. (Matthew 23:24-27 KJV)

Sadly, there are many who attend such congregations, led by men more interested in the traditions of men than reaching out to our Father, who asks that we walk with Him:

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? (Micah 6:8 KJV)

Jesus also filtered God's commandments into two small items. It was a "gotcha!" question from a lawyer who - obviously now - did not know the answer:

Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Matthew 22:35-40 KJV)

If you happen to belong to such a congregation whose leaders have forgotten God's commandments, substituting mankind's traditions for these two commandments, you may find yourself a bit lost as a bird the morning after the tree fell, as my friend wrote:

"I looked out the window and saw a little bird and it was flying really erratically and kind of circling right in the area where the tree had been only hours before. It was acting so strangely that I am convinced it had a nest in the tree and it could not figure out where the tree went. T**** said he saw a nest in the tree and he didn't know if there were eggs in it or not . . . That has bothered me ever since I saw it because a little bird could not figure out why its home had disappeared apparently."

When church leaders fail congregations, we can feel as lost as that bird. Everything we worked for disappears and the even the ground beneath our feet doesn't feel solid. Trust me, it isn't. Our earth moves, shifting mountains, moving rivers, spilling lava every once in a while. 

No matter the trappings of ministry, the decorations of the sanctuary, the design of the tabernacle, God remains as He was when He walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden, when He made promises to Abraham, when He kept David from building the Temple, when He called Andrew and Peter to a life of fishing for men.Whether Jew or Christian, the two commandments have not changed.

God's love for the people in this world has not changed. He provided a simple way to reach Him. There will come a time when we are not able to do so:

Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: (Isaiah 55:6 KJV)

When you are as church homeless as that small bird circling above the tree, pray our Lord sends you to a church where the Bible is the foundation of sermons, the pastor references the Bible when making decisions, where the congregation is reaching out in a variety of ways to reach people with the gospel - the good news that God loves them and sent His only begotten Son to arrange for our adoption as joint heirs with Christ. Isn't that God's nature at work?

The Son of Man is The Son of God

 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-14 KJV)

That is most likely the longest scripture I've posted. I usually post a verse and ask you to read on your own around it to see if I've taken it out of context. This post was created because a man who calls himself a follower of Jesus Christ, accepts the name Christian, but believes that Jesus is the "Son of Man" and that He never stated He was the "Son of God."

Others said He was, succinctly:

And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God. (John 1:34 KJV)

You can read the verses before that to learn the speaker was John, called the Baptizer. He knew because God had told him:

And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. (John 1:31-33 KJV)

Martha confirmed her belief that He was the Son of God:

Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world. (John 11:25-27 KJV)

But what did Jesus say about Himself:

When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 16:13-17 KJV)

The Jews understood exactly what Jesus was saying, and hated Him for that:

The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole. And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day. But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God. (John 5:15-18 KJV)

Check out the remainder of that chapter where Jesus discusses the authority of the Son of God. Or, hear what Matthew had to say about God's affirmation that Jesus was His Son:

While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. (Matthew 17:5-6 KJV)

There are many more scriptures, but I'd like to end with Paul - who not only supported the crucifixion of Jesus, but stood by and supported the death of Stephen (Acts 7:54-60.) What did Paul eventually say about Jesus:

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:5-8 KJV)

Let me close with the message Paul included in all of his writings, different words, but always the answer to this one question the jailer asked Paul:

Sirs, what must I do to be saved? (Acts 16:30b KJV)

Read the Bible. Discover why Jesus is the answer.