When God created you, He created you for an endless duration. He gave you time here in order to prepare for eternity, and your future eternity depends on the improvement of time. Consider, therefore, what you have done with your past time. You are not now beginning your time. A great deal of time is past and gone; all the wit, power, and treasure of the universe cannot recover it. Many of you may well conclude that more than half of your time is gone. Although you might live to the ordinary age of man, your hourglass is more than half empty, and possibly there are but few sands remaining.

How have you let the precious golden sands of your hourglass run?

Every day that you have enjoyed has been precious; yes, your moments have been precious. But have you not wasted your precious moments, days--yes, years? If you should count how many days you have lived, what a total would there be! And how precious has every one of those days been! Consider, therefore, what you have done with them.

When you look back, and search, do you not find this past time of your lives in a great measure empty, having not been filled up with any good improvement? And if God, who has given you your time, should now call you to an account, what account could you give Him?

Even though we cannot change what has past, we can focus on the present and future. May we see that the time we have been given is precious and may we make improvements on how we spend this time. Ask yourself today, "What improvements can I make with the time I have been given?"

Edwards, Jonathan. What Account Will You Give to God? The Best of Jonathan Edwards. Colorado Springs: Cook Communications Ministries. 2006. 23-24.

BEING THE CHURCH

Without thinking, many of us use the term church incorrectly. We refer to it as a place and not a people. The word church comes from the Greek word ekklesia, which means “to call out of.” According to Darrel W. Robinson, “The word ekklesia (church) refers to those who have been called out from sin to salvation, from death to life, from bondage to Satan to liberty in Christ” (15).

On Sunday, I explained to our kids that the church is not a place where people gather one day a week, but is made up of believers who have committed to meet corporately for worship and who represent the Lord individually, throughout their community, during the week. Robinson asserts, “There are two perspectives of the church…First, it is the body of Christ gathered. Second, it is the body of Christ scattered”(21).

Many believers have a grasp on the first viewpoint. This corporate gathering takes place at a specific time for the purpose of worship, training and fellowship. The church scattered, however, is foreign to many. Robinson says, “What about Monday morning? Where is your church? Gathered in the building for worship and praise? No. Your church is scattered to the four winds. Everywhere one of your church members goes, there goes church” (22).

The book of Acts has a lot to say about who the church is and for what purpose it is established. What one finds when they read through the book is that although equipping and training is taking place on a corporate level, the outreach ministry of the church is being carried out by individuals in the community and beyond on a daily basis. Although outreach cannot take place without equipping and training, its result indicates the effectiveness of the corporate gathering. According to Robinson, "The church gathers for strengthening, scatters for service; it gathers for worship, scatters for witness; gathers in praise, scatters in power; gathers in fellowship, scatters in faith following the Lord. The church gathers to equip the saints, scatters to evangelize the sinner" (23).

In Acts 8, we are told, “A great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria…Those who had been scattered went about preaching the word” (v. 1, 4). Breaking up the corporate congregation did not bring to an end to the church, but gave it strength by spreading its influence. May our churches today gather to be rightly equipped to spread its influence to a world in need of Christ.
Robinson, Darrell W. Total Church Life: How to be a First Century Christian in 21st Century World. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers. 1997. 15-22.

"Quote" of the Week

"We live in the day of a building mentality regarding church. When I said to my wife, 'I am going down to the church,' I was wrong. I should have said, 'I am going to the building where the church meets.'...Church is people: people who have received their life from Jesus Christ (and) who are sharing that life with one another." -Darrell W. Robinson

Last night, I asked the youth, “If you had an opportunity to interview Jesus, what would you ask him?” As you can imagine I heard questions ranging from mysteries about the world to questions about the future. When Andrew was given the opportunity, he asked Jesus, “Where do you live” (John 1:38)? Ravi Zacharias asserted, “In that serious encounter, I doubt any of us would have asked what Andrew did. Yet I’m convinced his question was truly wise, the start of his serious investigation of Jesus. The answer to that astounding question—'Where do you live?'—would tell Andrew all about Jesus’ beginnings" (24).

In the eastern part of the world, “whether in India or Israel,” where one is from tells a lot about a person. According to Zacharias, who is from India, “It determines who you are. It assigns your rank in the social order. It tells the whole world whether your future looks bright or dim. Figure out someone’s home, and you find out absolutely everything…Your home address gives the inquirer a wealth of information about you” (24-25).

Many of those in Scripture, disciples included, had a difficult time believing Jesus was the Messiah after learning about His earthly residence. Nathanael asked, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth” (John 1:46)? The answer that Jesus gives Nathanael reveals that he is infinitely more than a carpenter from Nazareth. He says, “You will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (John 1:51). John the Baptist, when questioned about Jesus’ authority, also told his disciples, “He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all” (John 3:31). According to Zacharias, “The words (about Jesus’) heavenly dwelling and angels ascending and descending to serve Him point to the fact that He is the Lord of heaven and earth” (25).

The New Testament authors also say quite a bit about Jesus’ eternal existence. John, for example, asserts, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…And the word became flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:1, 14). This verse puts Christ in the beginning eternally with God the Father making a distinction between the two and also affirms that Jesus is God demonstrating that the two persons are one in essence. John continues in v.3 stating, “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” Paul also affirms, “For by (Christ) all things were created, both in the heavens and on the earth” (Colossians 1:16). If Christ created all things and nothing was created that he did not create, then one must logically affirm that He is eternal. According to Zacharias, “(Jesus) existed eternally. He had no beginning. To ask for the ‘where’ of Jesus’ home is the same as asking the ‘when’ of God’s beginning” (27).

The Bible clearly affirms that Christ is the eternal God of the universe who took on flesh and dwelt among men. During his earthly ministry, Jesus both made and accepted these claims about Himself. We must all come to the point where we either accept or reject these claims. There is no room for neutrality.
Zacharias, Ravi. Jesus Among Other Gods. Nashville: Thomas Nelson. 2000. 24-27.

"Quote" of the Week

"Jesus would never be merely (the disciples) new friend, the son of a carpenter from Nazareth. He was infinitely more. As important as His earthly parentage was, His home address wasn't an earthly one--because He had no beginning." -Ravi Zacharias

Last night, I spoke with our youth about a believer’s battle against pluralism. Pluralists believe that all religious roads lead to the same place and that all religions basically teach the same thing. Like it or not, our society is becoming more and more like this everyday. The question God’s people must ask is, “What should be our response?”

We must first emphasize truth over sincerity. Our society places an emphasis upon sincerity by applauding religious diversity and by highlighting the positive contributions sincere religious followers make. What can be easily overlooked, however, is the damage many do by spreading false teachings. Jesus criticized the works of the religious leaders of His day by asserting, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves” (Mt. 23:15). According to Ravi Zacharias, “In our real-life struggles between right and wrong, justice and injustice, life and death, we all realize that truth does matter. Real answers count for everything. If you and I are going to deal in reality, what matters most isn’t sincerity but truth. I want beliefs that correspond to what is objectively true” (8).

We must also understand and communicate to others that all religions are not the same. If all religious roads lead to the same place and each basically teach the same things, then why does the discussion of religion, like politics, cause so much debate? Zacharias answers by stating, “At the heart of every religion is a stubborn commitment to a particular way of defining life’s purpose” (9). He continues by asserting, “Every religion at its core is exclusive—in other words, every religion requires people to follow what it says is true and right” (9).

Lastly, we must discuss the implications of Jesus' exclusive claims. The most important decision one will ever make is whether or not to believe on Christ in light of these claims. Zacharias affirms, “Jesus, in fact, dared to say some highly exclusive things about Himself—things that leave us no choice but to agree or disagree” (11). Below I have listed several claims made by Christ and have briefly commented on the radical nature of each.

Matthew 10:37-38 "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

Loving and following Christ is the only way to be worthy of Him.

Luke 7:48- 49 - 48 Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." 49 The other guests began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"

Jesus can forgive sins.

John 8:23-24 23 But he continued, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins."

You will die in your sins if you don’t believe in Jesus.

John 10:27-28 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.

Jesus gives eternal life to his people and no one can change that.

John 14:6- Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Jesus is the only way to God the Father.

Zacharias, Ravi. Jesus Among Other Gods. Nashville: Thomas Nelson. 2000. 8-11.

"Quote" of the Week

"I frequently hear people say Christianity is intolerant. After all, it calls all people--no exceptions--to think and to act as God commands. It requires all people to bow to Jesus alone. Yet in that sense, all religions are intolerant. Every religion requires people to follow what it says is true and right." -Ravi Zacharias

THE NEW COVENANT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

Many have made a distinction between the work of God in the Old and New Testament because they view the words and works of Christ as something new and believe Christianity to be an offshoot of Judaism. What one finds, however, when they simply study the the Bible, is that God’s work of redemption in the Old Testament foreshadows the redemption He provides in the New, which is also known as the atoning sacrifice that grants all believers freedom from sin and freedom to serve God.

This is never more clearly shown than in Jeremiah 31. In this chapter, Jeremiah’s message is one of hope even though the situation is seemingly tragic. In the previous chapters, he had affirmed that Israel and Judah would face God’s judgment because they turned away from Him and gave themselves over to the futile worship of idols. He then, however, after assuring them that God would set Himself against them, promises a future redemption and restoration. He affirms, “He who scattered Israel will gather him, and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock. For the Lord has ransomed Jacob and has redeemed him” (Jer. 31:10). Later in this chapter, Jeremiah promises a new covenant that will offer a better situation for the people of God than the old covenant provided.

Jeremiah first shows that this new covenant will offer a better relationship with God because it cannot be broken (v.32) since people are reconciled by God’s grace through Christ’s death and resurrection. According to R.C. Sproul, “The new covenant will make good the deficiencies of the old, which lay in the people’s inability to keep it.” It will also permanently redeem God’s people from the enslavement of sin. In Jeremiah 31:34, God promises that when His new covenant is established, He will forgive people and remember their sin no more (Jer. 31:34). Sproul asserts, “The continuing cycle of sacrifices under the old covenant provided a constant reminder of sins (Heb. 10:3, 4, 11). The words ‘no more’ underscore that the satisfaction made for sins in the redemption to come will be perfect, making any further sacrifices unnecessary.”

The readers of Jeremiah are also reminded of the promise made to Abraham that embraces all peoples (Jer. 33:22). The reason the new agreement between God and man is better is not only because it is made possible apart from human works and based soley upon Christs death and resurrection, but because it is available to all who trust in Christ for salvation. Christ's work fulfills the covenant made to Abraham that promises that all families of the earth will be blessed through him because through Abraham comes Christ and through Christ alone one is made right with God.

Jesus often had to correct critics who thought He was introducing new doctrines that were contrary to what was taught in the Old Testament. Jesus assured them, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17).

Sproul, R.C. Jeremiah. The Reformation Study Bible. Orlando: Ligonier Ministries. 2005.

"Quote" of the Week

"But when the law has worked deep despair and wretchedness in our hearts, then God comes and offers us his blessed and life-giving word and promises; he pledges and obligates himself to grant grace and help in order to deliver us from misery, not only to pardon all our sins, but even to blot them out, and in addition to this to create in us love and delight in keeping his law." -Martin Luther