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| Volume 23 Number 4 April 2021 |
Page 6 |
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| Volume 23 Number 4 April 2021 |
Page 6 |
Editor's NoteBrittani Kemp
For the past month, I’ve been studying the life of King David. While David may be famously known for slaying the giant Goliath or committing adultery with Bathsheba and trying to cover it up, his words in 2 Samuel 24 stuck with me. After David disobeyed God by numbering the people (2 Samuel 24:1-9), Gad, a prophet of the Lord and David’s seer, came to the king with a message from God, giving him three options of punishment (2 Samuel 24:11-13). David answered Gad and said, “Let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hand of man” (2 Samuel 24:14).
Matthew 10:28 immediately came to mind. God gives righteous judgment to all. Any punishment we receive is rightly given. God’s punishment is still far more merciful than what man can do to us. David, I believe, understood the unconditional love and mercy God has for us, which is why God’s just punishment is far better than anything man could ever do to us (Psalm 145:8-9). Judgment is no stranger to our culture today. Sometimes we give it, and other times, we receive it. Most times, we don’t have all the facts needed to make the right judgment call, but God does. He has all the facts, and when the time comes, He will make the right judgment call for each individual (Romans 2:2).
Do We Live Our Lives
Cold, Hot or Lukewarm?
Martha Lynn Rushmore
How are we living our lives; are they obedient, disobedient or indifferent? If we are living our lives for Christ and His church, we are living an obedient (hot) life. If we are living a lukewarm life, we are not living our lives for Christ. We are trying to live for Christ and for the devil at the same time, but this is impossible. If we are living cold lives, we are living of the world, and we have little or no interest in serving Christ. We are children of the devil. Now, of course, there are those of the world looking for the truth. I believe those who are truly looking for Christ and His church will find it. We can only live one of these aspects of life at a time.
If we are living lives that are hot, we are truly trying to be the best Christians we know. We are studying (2 Timothy 2:15), praying (1 Thessalonians 5:17), doing good deeds (Galatians 6:10), setting the right example for others (1 Timothy 4:12), keeping our temper under control (Proverbs 14:29) and are kind to others (Ephesians 4:32). There are so many other things we could add to this list.
We can learn much from Matthew 6:21-24, which reads:
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
Our next point is lukewarmness. Can we be true and faithful Christians trying to live lukewarm lives? In Revelation 3:14-19, we are told of the church at Laodicea. It was a lukewarm congregation of the Lord. It was a church that was apathetic and indifferent. What do these words mean? According to Webster’s dictionary, “apathetic” is “showing or feeling no interest, enthusiasm, or concern.” What is the meaning of “indifferent”? Also, according to Webster, “indifferent” is “showing or feeling no interest, enthusiasm, or concern.” If someone were asked about the meaning of these words and did not know their meaning, then, he might answer like this: “I do not know, and I do not care.” They would demonstrate the right meaning of those words without any knowledge of their definitions. Unfortunately, this is the kind of attitude people have today. If we are like the Laodiceans, we would be considered lukewarm. God told them He would vomit them out of His mouth. God will do this today with those of us who are lukewarm. Do we really want to live lukewarm lives?
Then there are those of us who live cold lives. What does this mean? It means that most who are living cold lives are the heathens of this world. It could be those of whom Galatians 5:19-21 speaks, living the works of the flesh. The Scripture says, “Those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Not all who are living cold lives are heathens of this world. These people are truly trying to live lives that they believe to be the Christian way of life. My heart aches for them, because even though they are trying to do good, they are not wholly following the Word of God. Yes, they are following some of the Scriptures. Here are some of the areas in which they are not obeying God’s Word.
So, you see my Dear Christian Friends, we must work teaching our friends, schoolmates, fellow workers, acquaintances and all those around us. Jesus said in John 9:4, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night comes, when no man can work.” Imitating our Lord, we need to work the opportunities that present themselves to us, or otherwise, opportunities and souls slip away. Our Lord expects us to bear fruit (Matthew 3:10). “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Matthew 7:19 NKJV). As you can see, we will be held accountable for not working when we had the opportunity.