Monthly Archives: September 2023

CHRISTIAN LIVING, MATTHEW

WHO’S IN CHARGE? — BOB PRICHARD

“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24).

The old saying warns, “Too many cooks spoil the broth.” The thought is that someone (hopefully the best cook), will be in charge, without everyone trying to make the soup. The same is true of the “soup” of our life. Many voices, many masters are clamoring for control of our lives. Mammon, “material wealth” is especially loud in demanding our attention. But as the rich fool learned, what matters is being “rich toward God” (Luke 12 21).

How to be rich toward God is simple: we make Him the Master of our lives. He is the pilot of our lives, the guide for all we do. Knowing that He is our Master, so many decisions of life are simplified. We look to Jesus, because, “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9).

Is it any wonder that so many are in hot water today because of their divided loyalties?

CHRISTIAN LIVING

THE BYSTANDER EFFECT — BOB PRICHARD

“Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way” (Psalm 119:128).

A bystander is someone who is present at an event but does not get involved. The bystander effect refers to a situation where the more bystanders there are, the less likely anyone will come to the aid of someone in trouble.

We admire those who take a stand, get involved, and are really for something. The psalm reminds us that the man or woman of God is not only for something, the precepts, all the precepts of God, but that as a result that same servant of God will hate every false way. There is no room for the bystander who tries to be neutral about anything that God teaches. The psalmist is for everything that God is for, and against everything God is against.

The bystander effect may keep us from saying, “Here am I; send me” (Isaiah 6:8), but not if we love God’s precepts.

SALVATION

“BAPTISM EVERY FOURTH SUNDAY” — BOB PRICHARD

A sign outside a large church building in Birmingham announced “Baptism every fourth Sunday.” I wonder what Peter or Paul would have thought about baptism offered as a kind of fourth Sunday “blue plate” special.

Consider Peter’s experience. On Pentecost, he told the gathered multitude, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38). Then just three verses later, Luke tells us that the same day three thousand were added by being baptized for the remission of sins. Daily church growth (Acts 2:47) must have meant daily baptisms.

When Ananias came to Paul and said, “And now why tarriest thou, arise and be baptized, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16), he was baptized immediately.

As prisoners in Philippi, Paul and Silas prayed and sang at midnight, and the prisoners heard them. An earthquake shook the jail, so that the jailer planned suicide, thinking the prisoners had escaped. But after they taught the jailer and his family, they were baptized “straightway,” “the same hour of the night” (Acts 16:31).

“Baptism every fourth Sunday” just doesn’t sound like God’s plan.

CHRISTIAN LIVING, JESUS CHRIST

JESUS GAVE IT ALL— JOSH ALLEN

An old article by William McCormack, entitled “Jesus Christ Gave All” lists numerous ways Jesus gave of Himself. I have adapted and expanded this list.

Jesus gave it all.

He gave His cheek to receive the kiss of betrayal. “Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him.”Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him” (Matthew 26:48-49). “But Jesus said to him, ‘Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?’” (Luke 22:48)

He gave His wrists to be bound. “Then the detachment of troops and the captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound Him.” (John 18:12)

He gave His face to be spat upon. “They spat in His face…” (Matthew 26:67)

He gave His “other cheek” (Matthew 5:39) to those who would slap Him and strike Him repeatedly. “Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands” (Matthew 26:67, Cf. John 19:3)

He gave His tongue to silence. He made no defense before His accusers. He could have brilliantly defeated their arguments (Cf. Matthew 22:46) “But Jesus kept silent…” (Matthew 26:63, Cf. Mark 15:3-4)

He gave His back to the scourge. “So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him.” (John 19:1)

He gave His shoulders to wear the robe of mockery. “Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him. And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.” (Matthew 27:27-28)

He gave His brow to be pierced by thorns — “When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’” (Matthew 27:29)

He gave His head to be struck. “Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head.” (Matthew 27:30)

He gave His eyes to be blindfolded while evil men played a wicked game. “Now the men who held Jesus mocked Him and beat Him. And having blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face and asked Him, saying, ‘Prophesy! Who is the one who struck You?’ And many other things they blasphemously spoke against Him.” (Luke 22:63-65)

He gave His legs to bear the weight of His Cross. “And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha” (John 19:17). Evidently, He struggled for “…they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. Him they compelled to bear His cross” (Matthew 27:32)

He gave His hands and feet to the nails of the cross. “Then they crucified Him” (Matthew 27:35)

He gave His clothes to His executioners. “Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. They said therefore among themselves, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be,” that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says: ‘They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.’ Therefore the soldiers did these things.” (John 19:23-24)

He gave His forgiveness to those who hated Him. “Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” (Luke 23:34)

He gave His ears to endure mocking, blasphemous cries. “And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, ‘You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.’ Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, ‘He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ’ Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing.” (Matthew 27:39-44)

He gave His mother to His disciple. “When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold your son!’ Then He said to the disciple, ‘Behold your mother!’ And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.” (John 19:25-27).

He gave His lips to drink the bitter cup. “After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, ‘I thirst!’ Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’…” (John 19:28-30; Cf. Psalm 69:20-21)

He gave His spirit into the hands of the Father. “And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, ‘Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ Having said this, He breathed His last.” (Luke 23:46)

He gave His side to the spear. “Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, “Not one of His bones shall be broken.” And again another Scripture says, ‘They shall look on Him whom they pierced.’” (John 19:31-37)

He gave His body to be brutalized. “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)

He gave His blood for redemption. “For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:28). Peter reminds us that we “were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” (1 Peter 1:18-19). 

Jesus gave much more than one can ever imagine. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9, Cf. Philippians 2:5-11). Jesus gave everything for everyone so that He might give everything to everyone. Jesus gave it all for you, and what does He want of you? He wants your all. 

“‘…And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.’” (Mark 12:28-30, Cf. Luke 9:23-25)

BIBLE, CHRISTIAN LIVING

IF YOU COULDN’T READ — BOB PRICHARD

One of the pearls of wisdom uttered by the Beaver, the title character on the fifties TV show “Leave it to Beaver,” was his observation in defense of education that “If you couldn’t read, you couldn’t look up what’s on television.” To a child, certainly a great argument for literacy!

We have almost universal literacy today, but the Literacy Project estimates that forty-five million Americans are actually functionally illiterate, and that 44% of Americans do not read a book in a year.

But the statistics are probably worse in relation to biblical literacy. Even church-going folks often don’t know where to look up things in the Bible, and never read their Bibles.

The psalmist thought of the scriptures as a lamp unto his feet and a light unto his path (Psalm 119:105). Jesus said, “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him” (John 14:23). How can we keep Jesus’s words of eternal life if we do not read the Bible?

If you can’t read, get some help. And if you can read, don’t neglect your Bible.

CHRISTIAN LIVING, SALVATION

WHAT’S THE SCORE? — BOB PRICHARD

I have a friend whose wife just can’t understand why so many people are so interested in sports. She says that she doesn’t understand why her husband should actually watch the games. After all, she says, all that matters is the score. Why waste time seeing how the score comes about?

While I can’t exactly agree with her point of view, and I know that other things really do matter, it is true that the winner is judged by the score. Chuck Noll, who coached the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL, once commented on why he likes football. “The nice thing about football,” he said, “is that you have a scoreboard to show how you’ve done. In other things in life, you don’t. At least not one that you can see.”

Since life’s scoreboard is one that you can’t see, man has been diligent in trying to make up his own substitute scoreboard. He may think that the quantity of riches amassed is a good scoreboard, or how new his car is, or something like that. But the number of things we have is not necessarily the indicator of life’s score. Neither is how high we rise in our company, or who we know and associate with.

Sometimes in a football game, one team gets more first downs, and gains more yards, and maybe even has a better band, but those things are not what counts in the end. All that really matters in the end is the score. In the game of life, a man may have those earthly things we count so precious, and he may be a good neighbor, and may even be kind to animals, but these are not really what count in the end. 

John saw a great vision of the scoreboard of life. “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. … And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:11-12, 15). How do you stand according to what is written in the books?