Flatwoods church of Christ

You are here: Home / Archives for Featured

Roused from Complacency

by Leave a Comment

For the last several years, Christians in America have, in general, enjoyed material prosperity with the absence of persecution. Good times, however, can have negative spiritual effects. The Lord’s disciples can grow soft and lazy while they are “at ease in Zion” (Amos 6:1). Sermons to rouse people from their indifference do not always work; often they fall on deaf ears. Painful circumstances, however, can make people wake up and listen.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

The book of Zephaniah is dated during the reign of Josiah (Zeph. 1:1), leading up to his reforms. God promised to bring punishment on those who had grown stagnant in their spiritual service, saying, “And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil” (Zech. 1:12). The complacent are said to be “settled on their lees,” a word picture taken from handling wine. The term lees (or dregs) refers to the solid sediment that settles at the bottom of the container over time. If wine is allowed to settle too long, it thickens and is ruined.  God said He would visit in punishment the men who were thickening upon their dregs. These men were so complacent that they thought God would be too. In effect, they had made a god in their own image who was indifferent, who will not do good, nor evil. But God assures them He will bring His penalty upon them at a time referred to as “the day of the Lord” (Zeph. 1:7).

We strive to be the church revealed in the New Testament. The book of Acts tells us about the persecutions against the early followers of Jesus. The spiritual dangers that come to Christians when their environment is unfriendly to them are plain. The pages of Scripture and uninspired history are filled with examples of such.  However, persecution also causes disciples to bind together and become active and sacrificial in giving to each other. I don’t know the future; the Lord alone knows whether a period of persecution is on the horizon for His church and what the particulars of it would be. However, times of persecution do have a way of showing one’s true colors. If we’ll let it, pain can cause us to get serious about what’s really valuable.

Compare what Jesus said about lukewarm Laodicea (Rev. 3:14-22) with persecuted Smyrna (Rev. 2:8-11) and Philadelphia (Rev. 3:7-13). It would not be surprising if Laodicea had a nice, comfortable building in which to meet, but what about their hearts? The persecuted church does not have all the nice material possessions the world offers, but it also does not have members who are disinterested in spiritual activities because they’re too busy entertaining, going on vacation, going to ball games, golfing, et cetera. God disciplines His children; pain in the present can cause us to make spiritual reforms and have better priorities in the future (Heb. 12:5-11).

In Zephaniah’s day, God could not rouse people from complacency for very long by merely sending someone to speak to them. He had to send foreign people in to take away their goods, their houses, and their lands (Zeph. 1:13). What does He have planned for the complacent today?

-Mark Day

Where Hast Thou Gleaned Today?

by Leave a Comment

Ruth 2:19, “Where hast thou gleaned to day? and where wroughtest thou?”

The passage above  from the book of  Ruth is in the context of Naomi asking Ruth in which field she had worked to gather their food for the day. Today, we might also ask the same question of ourselves, “Where hast thou gleaned to day? and where wroughtest thou” in the service of the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Photo by Adriel Kloppenburg on Unsplash

WHERE HAST THOU GLEANED TODAY? (Area). It is said in real estate the three most important factors are location, location, location. The location of our work for Jesus has been designated for us.  In Mark 16:15-16, New Testament Christians are instructed to, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” Christians are to go into the world and spread the soul saving message of Christ. Where have we gone within our part of the world? Have we taught family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, even strangers who we can encourage to discuss the Bible?

WHERE HAST THOU GLEANED TODAY? (Accountability) This speaks of personal responsibility. It has been accurately said “Go Ye” means “Go Me”! 2 Timothy 2:2 teaches us, “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” Men in this verse is a generic term meaning a human being, whether male or female. We are accountable to God to “tell the old, old, story”. We are also warned in Acts 20:26-27, “Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.”

WHERE HAST THOU GLEANED TODAY? (Action) Christians are to be active in the spread of the Gospel. The passage we are considering we see the words “gleaned” (i.e. gathered) and “wrought” (i.e. worked). This is describing diligent effort, and certainly we are to be industrious in serving God and Christ. In Matthew 13 it is described as “sowing the seed of the Kingdom”, just like the song we sing “Are You Sowing the Seed of the Kingdom, Brother?” We must remember that  Christians today are priests, 1 Peter 2:9. In the Old Testament, priests were to be teachers of the Law, Deuteronomy 33:10, “They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law”. God has graciously given us the Gospel and we are to be active in spreading it to those around us.

WHERE HAST THOU GLEANED TODAY? (Admonition) In spreading the Gospel, we see in the Bible an urgency in getting the message out now, because people need to obey the Gospel now. 2 Corinthians 6:2, says “… behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation”. Don’t wait. Either death will claim us, James 4:13-14, “Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” Or the Lord will return, 2 Peter 3:10, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” We should be spreading the Gospel, warning people of the urgency of obeying before it is too late. Also not only warning the sinner, but exhorting the Christian to continued obedience as well, see Hebrews 3:7-19.

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad”, 2 Corinthians 5:10. Our accountability, as our service, is personal. (Romans 14:12).

We must ask ourselves, “What have I done?” and “Have I been willing to work?”

– Jerry D. Sturgill