Knowing The Right Way

John 14:1-6

Many of us have had the experience of following the directions of one person who we thought knew the way to where we were trying to get to, only to find ourselves more lost.  Even with GPS, our directions can get messed up, and we end up in the wrong place.  Sometimes GPS has sent people to buildings that are no longer there, or even right into a pond.  Old-fashioned maps aren’t always reliable, as they can get out of date.  Arriving at the wrong location can be a big disappointment, and sometimes it can even be dangerous.  Our life is a journey, and our final destination is important.  Everybody, if they think about it, wants to end up in heaven when this life’s journey is over.  In order to reach that destination, though, we have to know the correct way.  When it comes to our eternal destination, getting on the wrong road would be the worst mistake we ever make.  Our Scripture for today, from God’s own Word the Bible, gives us directions that we can trust in how we can reach the Lord God, and a place in heaven.

On the night before Jesus would give His life as a sacrifice for sin upon the cross, He gave words of comfort and instruction to His disciples.  In the opening verses from Chapter 14 of John’s Gospel, Jesus tells us about a place that He is preparing for those who believe God and believe in Him, God’s only begotten Son (vs. 1-4).  According to Jesus’ words, one of His top priorities after returning to heaven has to do with preparing a place for His followers, His brothers and sisters.  As a place that God Himself is preparing, it must be something special!  In Bible times, a young man would prepare a house for his bride-to-be.  Then he would come and get her, and bring her to that home.  One day Jesus will return, and take us, His bride, to the place He has prepared.  We can look forward to this eternal home, because Jesus has promised it to all who believe in Him.

After these words of Jesus, the Apostle Thomas asked Him how they could know the way to this place He is preparing for all who believe in Him (vs. 5).  This is important.  As mentioned above, if we want to correctly and safely get to a certain location, it is important to have accurate directions.  Who better to give directions than the person who lives at that location?  Jesus came from God the Father in heaven, so we can definitely trust His directions to get there.

Jesus responded to Thomas’ question by stating unequivocally that He, and He alone, is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that no one can get to the Father, to God, except through Him (vs. 6).  Jesus declares that He is the way to God because He is the truth of God, and the life of God.  As the way, Jesus is our path to the Father.  As the truth, Jesus is the reality of all of God’s promises.  As the life, Jesus joins His divine life to ours.

I remember many years ago hearing someone say that just like there are many paths to the top of a mountain, there are many ways to God.  That is a very false, and eternally fatal belief.  Unlike what many people believe, all roads do not lead to heaven.  There is only one way, not many ways, that exist to God, and that is through Jesus Christ.  Apart from Jesus and His saving work on the cross, there is no other way home to God.  God’s Word, the Bible, states beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus is the only way to know God the Father.  There is no other path that leads to God but only through Jesus.

Jesus had told His disciples earlier in His ministry about the need to enter into heaven by the narrow gate (Matthew 7:13-14).  The truth is very narrow.  It is not just what anyone or everyone says it is.  There are many false doctrines and religions, each giving their own way to God, but like those false directions to a location you may have been given, these false religions will not lead you to heaven.  The only way someone can come to the Father is through Jesus.  Those who enter by the narrow gate of faith in Christ find the peace and joy of a relationship with Him, and will bring them to their eternal home in heaven.

If we listen to the wrong voices, and follow the wrong directions, we will end up in the wrong location.  When it comes to our eternal destination, it is so important to be listening to the right voice.  God, Himself, gave us the right directions to find our way to the home He is preparing for us.  We can trust His directions, and they clearly state that Jesus is the only way, and that no one can come to Him except through Jesus.  Don’t waste your life getting lost by following some other way through a false religion!  We can thank God that He provided a sure way to get to Him, and that is through Jesus Christ!

Drink Your Milk

I Peter 2:1-5

It’s been quite awhile since I’ve had a newborn in the house, as my youngest child is close to 28 years old now.  However, a mother never forgets how important it is for a newborn to be fed milk.  They should have milk alone for at least the first five months or so.  Then slowly soft cereals are added, and then pureed fruit or vegetables.  As teeth begin to come in, then harder foods can be added.  However, as a newborn, the baby needs their milk.  In our Scripture for today, the Apostle Peter talks about spiritual babies, and what is important for them.  Let’s look at what God’s Word will teach us.

The Word of God teaches us that when we have accepted the Lord Jesus as our Savior, we become a Christian, and a member of God’s family.  Just like with a human family, a new Christian is like a baby. We are like spiritual babes, with very little knowledge or understanding of spiritual matters.  We need to learn and grow, just like a human baby does.

The way a human baby grows is by being fed good, healthy food, first the milk, and then on to other foods.  The way a baby Christian grows is by being fed spiritual food, and that food is God’s Word, the Bible (vs. 2).  If we are spiritually healthy, we desire to grow.  We will find nourishment in God’s Word, and the more of the Bible we read and study, the more we will start to grow.  A newborn baby desires to be fed often throughout the day.  We know this, as the baby starts to cry when hungry, and the mother quickly establishes a schedule for how often the baby needs to be fed.  Spiritual growth is always marked by a craving, a desire for God’s Word, just as the baby craves milk.

A good and responsible parent will make sure that their baby, and later their young child, eats good, healthy food. They should not feed them a lot of junk food, and especially nothing that is poisonous or dangerous.  Good food will help their child grow into a strong and healthy adult.  The same holds true with the “baby” Christian.  They need to be very careful about what they are allowing in their life.  The Christian’s new life cannot grow unless sins are renounced.  When that is done, the Word can do its work of helping the believer to grow into the likeness of the Lord Jesus.  We must rid ourselves of anything that hinders our walk with the Lord (vs 1).  Just like new babies desire good, wholesome milk, a new Christian will desire pure, spiritual milk, rather than deceit, malice (the desire to do evil), and other sins.  We need spiritual nourishment, not things that can bring spiritual destruction.  A new believer needs to develop the habit of repenting of all sin as soon as it crops up in their life, and to deal with any sinfulness, so that God’s blessings will flow.

Sometimes a parent will encounter a picky eater in their child.  As the parent introduces new foods as the child grows, occasionally that child may not like it, and refuses.  They think it tastes yucky, and they make a face, turning their head away.  Many of us can remember one particular food that we didn’t like at all when we were a young child, one that perhaps our parents kept trying to get us to eat.  One thing that we can count on is that our spiritual food isn’t something nasty tasting, like that one yucky food we don’t like.  Taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8).  God’s Words are sweet (Psalm 119:103).  When we are saved, we taste that God is gracious (vs. 3).

As Christians we are all part of God’s family, and as Peter finishes up our passage we read that we are being built up as a spiritual house and a holy priesthood (vs. 4-5).  All born-again believers are members of the holy priesthood, with Jesus as the Great High Priest.  Jesus is also the chosen Cornerstone of the Church, the body of believers throughout the world.  God is building a spiritual house, putting all believers in place.

In closing, since the day of your spiritual birth, have you been growing as a Christian?  We know that there is something wrong when a baby stays the same size, and doesn’t grow or learn new skills.  The same goes if a new Christian doesn’t grow spiritually, either.  We are to grow up, putting aside sin.  We grow, like a baby does, by having milk - the Word of God.  So, are you getting your daily servings of milk?

Refined As Silver

Psalm 66:10-12

Many people have some pieces of gold or silver jewelry.  Perhaps you have some genuine silver or gold coins.  The more pure the silver or gold is, the more valuable it is.  The process of making these metals pure is through refining it in intense heat.  The longer and more times it goes through the refining process, the purer the metals will be, and more valuable it becomes.  Heat, often intense heat, is used in the refining process of many things.  Our portion of Scripture from Psalm 66 today mentions some things that are refined.   Let’s take a look at what this Psalm says.

If you could speak to a piece of silver, and talk to it about what it went through to become a fine piece of jewelry, or into a valuable coin, it would have quite a story to tell you.  That piece of silver is quite happy now to be a beautiful pair of earrings, a necklace, or ring.  That valuable piece gets to adorn its owner on special occasions, and when not in use, gets to keep company with other valuable gems in a nice jewelry box.  The silver coin is happy to have a place, perhaps in some special coin case on display.  But either one will tell you that the process of getting to that honored spot was not a pleasant one.

In order to become pure, silver, gold, and many other things, including even white sugar, must go through a refining process.  The refining process for most things includes significant heat, where the item becomes molten, and all of the impurities are skimmed off and removed.   This might be done several times over, depending on how pure it is desired to be.  Typically silver is refined until it is 99.9% pure, or even greater, so in order for this to occur, the silver goes through the refining process several times over.  Talking to us, that piece of silver would tell us how terrible that was.  Being put through intense heat multiple times, each time so hot that it became molten so that the impurities could be removed, would not have been fun.  The silver would tell us about how painful that was.

Then, depending on what the silver would be used for, the silver would go through more pain and discomfort.  For jewelry the silver is cut into smaller pieces, maybe formed into a ring, earrings, or necklace.  Often the silver jewelry is engraved, and also the silver coin is engraved with its particular design.  So while talking with the silver, it would tell us about how painful this was for it to endure.  Now, though, as valuable jewelry or coins, the silver is happy!  I am sure that the silver would confess that all of the pain it went through was worth it, worth it to become something of value and a treasure.

Our psalmist today knew that precious metals, such as silver, were not the only items that are refined.   People can be refined too.  God wants to refine His children so that they can become pure and valuable to Him (vs. 10).  When we become saved, we are like something unrefined, filled with impurities and sins. God wants us to become more like His Son, Jesus, and to become something useful and valuable to Him.  In order to do that, we must be refined, just like silver is.  In order to do that, we often must go through some heat, some pressure, some difficult and trying times.  Just like what the silver would tell us, we might not like or enjoy the process, however, the end results are worth it.

Just as fire refines silver in the smelting process, trials refine our character.  They bring deeper wisdom, and help us discern truth from falsehood, and help bring us discipline.  The refining process helps us to become more like Jesus, which should be our goal throughout our life.

Do we want to become something of value to God, just like a valuable piece of silver or gold jewelry, or like a valuable coin?  Allow God to refine you, just as the silver is refined.  The end result is well worth it!

Search The Scriptures

Acts 17:1-15

Are you one of those people who believes anything you hear or read?  You might later find out that the information you were told was false.  You were the victim of some scam, hoax, or lie.  Maybe you are just the opposite.  You are very skeptical of anything you are told, and instead of considering and looking into what you are told, you just toss it all out.  You might miss out on some important or vital truth that way.  The best course to follow is to carefully check out what you are told.  That way you don’t accept a lie or toss out the truth.  In our Scripture today we read about a group of people that God’s Word commends for doing just that.

As our Scripture passage opens, Paul was continuing his second missionary journey, which had taken him into Greece.  The apostle had been witnessing and establishing a church in the city of Philippi, when he was arrested, beaten, and then run out of town.  As Chapter 17 of Acts begins, Paul, Silas, and his companions arrive in the city of Thessalonica.

Paul had a certain pattern that he typically followed each time he came bringing the Gospel to a new city.  After entering the city, he would search out if there was a Jewish synagogue.  If there was, he and his companions would attend the Sabbath day services.  As was typical in synagogues in Bible days, visitors were often invited to speak, read a portion of Scripture, and give commentary.  Paul looked forward and counted on this custom, as this was an opening to select Scripture pertaining to the Messiah, and from there he would preach about Jesus.  Paul followed this pattern of his in Thessalonica, and began to witness about Jesus being the Messiah (vs. 2-4).

As is the case whenever we bring the message of Jesus to a group, some might believe, and a lot will reject the Gospel.  Here in Thessalonica, some believed Paul’s message, but many of the Jews in the synagogue rejected his words.  Not only did this group reject the Gospel, they began to get violent, and started a riot (vs. 5-8).  If the Jewish leaders had looked deep into the Word of God, they would have seen that Paul’s words matched what was said in the Bible, but they didn’t check it out.  They couldn’t refute the theology of Paul‘s message, and instead they became jealous of the popularity of the message.  They became so angry about Jesus who Paul preached, that they decided to cause a riot. Everywhere there are “religious” people who refuse the Light of the Gospel.  Then they set about to stop the propagation of that Light.  When they can’t stop the Light of Jesus with their arguments, they then often resort to stronger measures, as these men in Thessalonica did.

After a few short weeks, plus a lot of violence and a riot, Paul, Silas, and their companions were run out of town again.  This time they traveled about 50 miles southwest of Thessalonica to the smaller city of Berea.  Paul followed his pattern again, searching out a synagogue to visit (vs. 10).  Rather than immediately rejecting the message with anger and violence, the Bereans went home following the religious services and took out their Old Testament Scriptures and studied Paul’s words for themselves (vs. 11).  The Bereans listened to Paul's words eagerly, and then went and checked everything they heard with Scripture.  They didn’t just rely on Paul’s word that the Old Testament prophesied the ministry, sufferings, and resurrection of Jesus.  They went home and studied those Scriptures for themselves.

No matter how gifted, charismatic, or well-trained and experienced some preacher or teacher may be, we need to check what is being said against the Scriptures.  The Bible should be our measuring tool for making sure that the teaching we receive is straight and true.  There are countless false prophets out there today.  Some who are preaching false doctrine in order to get money.  Some to gain power over others.  Satan is using others to keep people from hearing and accepting the true message of salvation in Jesus.  If we can’t support the message with Scripture, there is something false about the teaching.  If the message contradicts God’s Word, we are building on sand.  The Bible is our ultimate authority for faith and life.

Satan wants to stop the message of Jesus at all costs.  He instigated those in Thessalonica to follow Paul and Silas and stop them from preaching anywhere else (vs. 13-15).   The devil will use many means to keep people from accepting Jesus as Savior.  He will use violence from people who have closed their minds to God’s truth.  He will use deception to lure people into accepting false words and messages.  God commended the Bereans for being honorable and fair-minded.  They didn’t automatically accept or reject the message.  They wanted to know the truth, and they knew that the truth was in God’s Word.  They took the message Paul gave, and measured it with the Words of the Bible.  The Bereans saw that Paul’s words measured up fine against Scripture, and then they believed.

When we hear a messenger who claims to have a word from God, we should not automatically accept it as truth, nor automatically reject it.  Hold it up to what is said in the Bible, just as the Bereans did.  If the words match what the Bible says, as Paul’s did, it is safe.  If it doesn’t, then reject it.

Jesus Is The Door

John 10:1-10

We come across doors every day, and knowing which door to go through can be very important.  When we go into an office building for an appointment, we should double check the suite number before going through the door.  A mistake can be embarrassing.  On some game shows, choosing the wrong door can make the difference from winning an expensive prize or getting something worthless.  Sometimes choosing the wrong door can be a matter of life or death.  There is a tale about the lady or the tiger, where a king often decided legal cases by having the prisoner choose one of two doors.  Behind one was a lady who he could marry, and behind the other was a ferocious tiger.  There is one door that we each need to make a decision about whether we go through it or not, and that decision will have eternal consequences for us.  Let’s learn about this door.

Our Scripture for today comes from the Gospel of John, and gives the third of seven “I am” sayings of Jesus.  Here in our passage Jesus says that He is the Door through which all must enter in order to be saved and come to God (vs. 9).   In this passage, Jesus speaks about how a shepherd guards and protects their sheep, keeping them safe within the sheepfold (vs. 1-6).  As Jesus describes this scenario, He tells us of those who try to get into the sheepfold through illicit and unlawful ways.  They aren’t the shepherd, but are ones who are trying to steal the sheep, and to cause them harm.  As Jesus said, they are thieves and robbers.

Those of us who have accepted Jesus as our Savior are part of His flock.  We are His sheep.  Just like literal sheep quickly learn the voice of their shepherd, and will only respond to his or her voice, so too we can learn to respond to the voice of our Shepherd.  We learn His voice through the Scriptures.  True sheep hear the voice of the true Shepherd.  The one who truly wants to know the Word of God will be led into all truth (John 16:13).

There are other voices out there, voices that try to lure us away from God’s truth.  Just like scammers who sound very convincing, and try to lure unsuspecting buyers to purchase their junk, these religious scammers try to lead us astray.  We need discernment, and to only listen to Jesus as He speaks through the words of Scripture.  Sheep won’t follow just any voice.  They only perk up, listen, and follow the voice of their shepherd.  We need to listen to the voice of Jesus, and follow Him (vs. 3-5).  The true sheep will know Jesus’ voice, but the false sheep will follow others.

Jesus continues on by proclaiming He is the Door, just like the gateway to the sheepfold (vs. 7-10).  The true shepherd of the sheep will only go in and out of the sheepfold through the gateway, not by climbing through some other way.  There is only one Door, and that Door is Jesus.  Jesus is the only way to the Father.  He is the sole means to approach God and receive salvation.  One cannot find salvation through some other way, or by some other false shepherd.  Jesus is the only true source for knowledge of God, and the only basis for spiritual security.  Any who claim to have the way of salvation without Jesus Christ are thieves and robbers.

We often hear that just as there are many paths that lead to the top of a mountain, so thus there are many paths that lead to God and heaven.  As we clearly see in our Scripture today, this is false.  There is only one door to heaven.  Jesus is not one route among several to a saving relationship with God.  Jesus is the only way.

Satan and his emissaries are there to steal, to kill, and to destroy (vs. 10).  They try to peddle a false way of salvation.  We need to understand that Satan wants to destroy us.  Jesus came to set us free.  We can encourage our faith and discourage our doubts by keeping our mind fixed on what God’s Word, the Bible says.

In closing, we need to select the correct door before we pass from this life.  However, unlike the fable with the lady and the tiger, or unlike on a game show, we know which door is which.  God’s Word, the Bible, states the truth that Jesus Christ is the only Door that will lead one to heaven.   All other ones will lead to eternal death and destruction.  Select the correct door, which is Jesus.  Blessed is the one who rests his hope of admission to glory upon the Crucified Redeemer.

Our Role Model

I Peter 2:19-25

When you were a child, did you have a role model that you remember?  Most children have someone that they look up to.  Sometimes it is a parent or an older sibling.  Children might look to a sports figure, a Hollywood star, or maybe a rock musician as a role model. Today young people look to various social media influencers.  However, it’s important that the role model influences the child in a good and positive way, and not in a wrong or sinful way.  Role models aren’t only for children.  Adults have them as well, and it’s important that we have the right person we are looking to pattern after.  In our New Testament Scripture for this week we continue in reading from Peter’s first Epistle, and he reminds us of whose steps we should be following.

Our Scripture passage begins with Peter describing a scenario of times when we suffer ill treatment from others.  Naturally, nobody likes to go through that.  Our first reaction might be to lash out and give the person who treats us badly similar treatment.  However, that is not how Peter instructs us to react.  First, though, Peter says to be careful that the ill treatment that we are enduring is not a just punishment for our doing wrong (vs. 19-20).  If what we are going through, or what has happened to us, is due to our own sinful behavior, we cannot justly complain about it.  However, if we are suffering because of our faith in the Lord, Peter tells us it is commendable.  Nobody will applaud us when we do wrong and suffer the consequences.  But when we do what is right, and suffer for it with grace and patience, God applauds.

Suffering with grace and patience is not always easy to do.  Often it is downright difficult.  Our human reaction is to want to fight back.  Perhaps give that person who is doing us wrong similar treatment.   That’s where a good role model comes into play.  How did our role models behave in similar situations?  How did our parents or siblings react?  There’s a good chance a sports figure, Hollywood star, or rock star’s example would leave much to be desired in giving a good pattern to follow.  We’re likely to find an even worse example in some YouTube or TikTok influencer!

Peter tells us believers in these verses who our role model and example should be, and that is the Lord Jesus (vs. 21).  Peter was a first hand witness of the unjust suffering that Jesus went through, and how He reacted when treated wrongly.  As Peter said, Jesus committed no sin, nor did He say any wrong.  How did Jesus react to the unjust treatment He endured?  Peter reports that when His enemies reviled Him, abused and insulted Him, Jesus did not give back the same treatment.  He did not threaten them, but instead, trusted in God (vs. 22-23).  Jesus did not seek revenge for Himself.

When Jesus suffered the ultimate injustice of the cross, He entrusted Himself to the Father (vs. 24).  Sometimes there are times when, as a believer, we have to endure unfair treatment.  Can we follow the example of Jesus, and trust God when someone does us wrong?  He is the example to follow.  Jesus has come for us, and we can safely follow His steps.

Jesus is not only our pattern, He was also our substitute.  He took and bore our sins when He went to the cross (vs. 24).  Jesus is not only our pattern and substitute, but He is also our Shepherd and Overseer (vs. 25).  We were like a flock of sheep without a shepherd.  We were going every which way, lost and out in sin.  Then the Lord Jesus came and rescued us, bringing us into His sheepfold.  He is the only true Shepherd.

All who follow Jesus must be prepared to suffer for His sake.  Our reaction should always be patterned after His.  Jesus should be the role model whose steps we follow.  Even the best of people will slip and fail us, but when we follow Jesus, our steps will never falter.  Turn to Jesus and allow Him to lead the way.  We will then emerge from our trials into His light.

Joy Comes In The Morning

Psalm 30

When do our problems and worries seem to be their worst?  For many people, problems seem to be larger and darker during the nighttime.  It is as though the dark night seems to have the power to multiply and enlarge our problems.  Not only do our problems somehow seem worse at night, those nights seem longer than other nights.  The hours pass so slowly, we might think the clock is broken.  The sky remains dark for hours, and then finally we begin to see the approaching dawn.  With the dawn hopefully our problems will diminish, as well.  This is a truth that our psalm speaks of, a problem that brings grief, but then how the Lord can turn that around.

Psalm 30 was written by King David, possibly for the occasion of his dedication of a new royal palace.  In this psalm he extolled God for bringing him back from a near-death experience, possibly one he was remembering from the time he was on the run from King Saul, or from a time during one of his many battle experiences.  This occasion was so serious, that David felt he was on the edge of death, right on the brink of the pit of the grave (vs. 1-3).  David knew that it wasn’t his own skill and cunning that defeated the enemies that had come against him.  He knew that it was the Lord.

At some time we might find ourselves in very serious trouble.  It could be, like it was with David, when enemies have risen up against us.  The “enemy” could be a serious illness, one that might even threaten our life.  Or it might be a serious financial situation, one that might greatly alter our life if it isn’t resolved in a timely way.  Like David did, we need to hand these battles over to the Lord, and trust in Him.  Our enemies can plot and scheme, but God has us covered.  He can turn evil into good for us (Romans 8:28).  The Lord can defeat any type of enemy that comes against us.

David looked back at the times of his troubles, remembering the many nights that he had spent in tears and weeping (vs. 5).  How long those nights seemed.  That is the same with us when faced with problems, sometimes problems that are so serious that they could be life-threatening.  As mentioned, those problems and struggles seem worse at night.  However when the sunrise comes, it brings hope again that we can continue.  We may think we have no hope, but just as the sun disperses nighttime at daybreak, our circumstances will change when the Lord comes into our problems.

As David looked back on some of the trying experiences he had, he recalled that some of them may have been brought on because of his own pride and arrogance (vs. 6-7).  Wealth, power, and fame can have an intoxicating effect on some people, making them feel self-reliant, self-secure, and independent of God.  For a brief while this seemed to be the case with David.  If everything continually goes right in our life, even the best of Christians can start to develop a spirit of presumption.  Even David started to feel that way, as if nothing could move him.  This false security can be easily shattered when serious problems arise.

Fortunately David realized this.  He called out to the Lord, and quickly returned to Him (vs. 8-10).  It was at this time, and many other times throughout his life, that David saw a great truth about the Lord, and that is that God’s anger is only for a moment, but His love is for a lifetime (vs. 5).  God’s anger lasts only a moment, but His favor goes on for a long, long time.  His anger, shown in discipline for a wayward child, is like a sharp pain, warning us to turn from our sin.

When we find ourselves faced with a devastating problem, let’s remember the encouragement that the Lord gives us in this psalm of David.  Don’t give up!  Keep on going!  We may find ourselves weeping through the whole night long, but remember, joy is coming soon!  Be encouraged, knowing that our trials are only temporary.  Joy is coming, so don’t lose heart.