As we begin 2019, welcome to the first Sunday of the year. The rest of the year lies before us with many spiritual opportunities. As we consider the year and we being the people of God, I offer the following for your consideration. (these are for personal reflection and not intended to be submitted to anyone)

How many Sundays will I attend the worship services of the church in 2019? Your answer: _______________
There will be 52 Sundays in 2019. Since the congregation at Flatwoods meets twice on the Lord’s Day, that means there will be 104 opportunities in 2019 to worship God “in spirit and in truth”, John 4:24. As you are here today there remains 103 services left in the year. Keep up the good attendance.

How many Bible Studies will I be present at to increase my knowledge of the Word of God in 2019? Your answer: _______________
There will be 52 Wednesday Bible Study nights (7pm) in 2019. Add to this the fact that Bible Study is conducted each Lord’s Day morning at 9:45am (52 Sundays) so again, there will 104 opportunities to be edified by God’s Word, also through Devotionals and Singing, with God’s people in 2019. Again, 103 opportunities remain. If you were not here this morning, there are plenty of opportunities to correct that in the coming year.

How many hours will I spend in personal study of God’s Word, and prayer in 2019? Your answer: _______________
For a calendar year, 365 days; 24 hours per day, there are 8,760 hours. Of that, about 2,920 hours will be spent in sleep (assuming 8 hours sleep per night). Now, let’s assume 2,080 hours per year, 8 hours per day/5 days per week, for one’s vocation (even retired people often wonder when they found time for a career since they still stay busy). That leaves 3,760 hours per year or about 72 hours per week left for “other pursuits”. How much of that will we spend in personal Bible study and prayer each day?

How many Biblical sound publications will I read in 2019? Your answer: _______________
The Flatwoods church has a library filled with study material (books, videos, audio cd’s, etc.) that can be used for personal study, research, or just fun reading, on a given topic. There are also monthly and quarterly magazines available for your reading. Do we take advantage of these wonderful resources? Do we subscribe to sound Biblical journals and magazines to be delivered to our homes to read? Did you know the congregation pays for the publication “Gospel Minutes” to be delivered to your home? If you wish to receive this, let the church secretary know and you will be added to the mailing list.

How many Gospel Meetings, Seminars, Lectureships, Vacation Bible Schools, etc. will I attend in 2019? Your answer: _______________
Congregations of the Lord’s church will be having Revivals (I still like that term) this Spring which are within a short drive. Will you and I attend? Will you attend our Spring Gospel Meeting, April 14-18, 2019 and “Is The Bible Reliable” Seminar, September 13-15, 2019? While Lectureships are a bit more of a drive, these are outstanding occasions of Bible study, encouragement, and exhortation. Vacation Bible Schools (VBS) are opportunities for the study of the Gospel for all ages. In fact, does your answer above include the Flatwoods VBS, July 22-26, 2019?

How many souls will I seek to bring to Christ in 2019? Your answer: _______________
Jesus said in Matthew 28:19-20a, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you…” Who will we teach the message of the Gospel? The message of Christ coming and dying for mankind, the soul damning effect of sin, and the remedy through obedience to God in belief, repentance, confession, and baptism. As of January 2019, there are 7.7 billion people on planet earth and vast multitudes of these are going into eternity unprepared to meet God.

As we consider the above questions, answer this, How will I serve the Lord in the kingdom in 2019? Your answer: ____________________________________________________.

-Jerry D. Sturgill

Under the former covenant, God gave the command to Israel: “Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty: Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee” (Deuteronomy 16:16-17). God did not want the men of Israel appearing before him empty-handed. They were to bring of their possessions to give.

The Israelites would give their best—their “firstfruits”—to God (Exodus 23:15-19). Hezekiah initiated religious restoration in the land by destroying the idols and reinstituting the Lord’s feasts. When he appointed the priests and Levites and commanded the people to give the portion due to them we read, “And as soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly” (2 Chronicles 31:5). It is easy to spend money on things we love. Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Luke 12:34). One can cheerfully give to God if God reigns supreme in one’s heart (2 Corinthians 9:7). God has always desired that His people have a sacrificial spirit. David said to Araunah, who volunteered to freely give him what he needed for the offering that would halt the plague, “Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing” (2 Samuel 24:24). Malachi 1 shows how the Lord feels about half-hearted worship displayed in giving that which has little or no value.

Last Sunday evening, we considered how giving is worship. When the Philippians sent financial support to Paul by the hands of Epaphroditus, he called it, “an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God” (Philippians 4:18). We are reminded in Hebrews 13:16, “But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” To “communicate” is to share, to give to the Lord’s cause. Do we give the Lord our best? Does our giving affect the way we live or do we give what we have left after we have bought what we want? Jesus praised the poor widow for her offering, saying, “For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had” (Luke 21:4).

Consider the words of the Psalmist, “Give unto the LORD, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the LORD glory and strength. Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts. O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth” (Psalm 96:7-9). Giving the Lord what is due Him is not an aspect of worship that can be relegated to the former covenant; if Christians would worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness today under the New Testament, then they must give (1 Corinthians 16:1-2; 2 Corinthians 9:6-7). We must give more than lip-service; we must give our hearts (Matthew 15:8).

 

-Mark Day

The birth described in Isaiah 66:7-9 is no ordinary birth; the extraordinary characteristics are as follows:

“Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God.”

The birth is so sudden that it happened before labor. What would an expectant mother give to deliver before any pain? However, this is no physical birth, rather “Zion” is personified as a mother who suddenly gives birth to a nation. Earlier in Isaiah, Zion (Israel) is depicted as a mother who gives birth to the Servant who causes her wayward children to return (Isaiah 49). To a weary remnant of faithful Jews, the question of whether Israel would ever be restored to its former glory was pressing. The answer is that the Lord would bring about something greater than any physical nation; He would do something unprecedented. God, in his eternal purpose, was going to bring forth a spiritual nation in one day. This certainly would be unique, unparalleled in history. Hence, the questions, “Who hath heard such a thing? Who hath seen such things?” (v. 8). But God had brought Zion forth to the time of birth; there was no way that He would shut the womb—let anything stop the birth of His spiritual nation.

Isaiah 66 goes on to describe how God’s glory would be declared among the Gentiles (v. 18), that both Jews and Gentiles would be part of bringing an offering to the Lord (v. 20) as God would take of both Jews and Gentiles to make priests to Him. The church is described as “a royal priesthood, an holy nation” (1 Peter 2:9). Those redeemed by Christ’s blood from every kindred, tongue, people, and nation are made kings and priests (Revelation 5:9-10). When Christ came into the world, He preached that God’s kingdom was nearby (Matthew 4:17). He promised to build His church and give access to the kingdom (Matthew 16:18-19). The church came into existence on Pentecost day following the resurrection of Christ; notice the suddenness of the birth: “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting” (Acts 2:1-2). The result was those people who believed, repented, and were baptized were added to the church is(Acts 2:38, 41, 47).

Certainly the womb of Judaism brought forth Christianity. Jesus was a Jew born under the law of Moses (Romans 1:3; Galatians 4:4). The first converts of Christianity were Jews (Romans 1:16). The Jewish Law and Prophets were the first literary evidence for following Christ (Acts 24:14; 28:23). Isaiah 66 shows that God’s spiritual seed would continue via a new spiritual nation; all flesh is invited to be part of it, but only those who in a contrite heart respond to the word of His invitation will escape the fire of God’s wrath.

-Mark Day

As many hopefully know by now our annual Book Reading Challenge is underway. Should there be others who wish to join the challenge, the guidance document with the book list to choose from is on the table under the picture board in the foyer. One of the books on the list to choose is a book entitled “The Domino Effect” by Tim Lewis. Since I have the book in my personal library, I decided to read it myself. To give others an “adapted” preview of the book in case someone may be considering choosing it to read I offer the following.

The name of the book comes from the idea dominos set “standing up” and when the first domino is tipped over, it begins a chain reaction as dominos fall one after the other. The author of the book uses this as an illustration of the decisions we make in life. He begins by saying “The first domino is crucial. Everything starts with the Word of God. The person who decides to base every decision on the Bible will inevitably glorify God. The one who seeks to glorify God will ultimately imitate Jesus. The one who imitates Jesus will always seek first God’s kingdom. When the kingdom comes first in a person’s life, that person will live by the Golden Rule and saturate his life with prayer. When a person does all of the things just mentioned, his life will become incredibly influential and if he hopes to maintain that influence, he will diligently purify his thoughts. A pure mind that is not contaminated or distracted by evil is free to focus on eternal things like the promise of a home with God. The progression is undeniable. Each good decision leads to the next; it is a domino effect.

Decisions Affect Character. Decisions are important because they affect your character. The decisions you make today determine the person you will become tomorrow. In a sense you are writing your life story one day, and one decision, at a time. Your character and personality are the direct result and the sum total of every decision you have ever made. In other words, whoever you are right now is exactly who you have decided to be. Some will resent that implication. Others, I am certain, would protest that such a statement is judgmental and unfair. An appeal might be made to the irresistible forces of nature and nurture. Someone claimed they cannot help who they have become because they are genetically predisposed to be that way or because their environment made it impossible for them to be anything else. This mindset not only removes all personal accountability but it also makes everyone of us a victim of circumstance. Yet we see examples all the time of people who have overcome the odds by coming out of an almost impossible situation and accomplishing something meaningful with their lives.

Decisions Have Serious Consequences. Decisions are important not only because they affect your character but also because they almost always have inescapable consequences. To some people, any talk about harsh consequences has the strange ring of being somewhat unchristian. After all, Christianity is the religion of forgiveness and second chances. It is a wonderful thing that sinners can be forgiven. Prodigals can always come home. The blood of Jesus is greater than all our sins. There is a reason we call the gospel good news – it is good news. But let me remind you that although sin can be forgiven, consequences cannot be avoided. Paul explained it this way in Galatians 6:7: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; For whatever a man sows, that he will also reap”. In other words, no matter how hard you try you cannot sin and avoid the consequences.

Decisions Determine Destiny. Decisions are important because they affect your destiny in life and in eternity. You don’t need a GPS to tell you that certain decisions are going to lead you away from God. When Achan took the devoted things after the battle with Jericho, how could he have expected things to turn out any differently than the way they did? He must have known from the very beginning how that decision would end. He had to know that he was taking a very precarious course in life and that acting as he chose could only end badly, just as it did, Achan and his entire family were executed. (Joshua 7:24-25) Don’t fool yourself into thinking the road you are on will end somewhere other than where it is so obviously leading. If the path you are currently traveling is not taking you where you want to go, then the wisest thing you can do is change your direction now. Just remember this, “when you pick a path in life you are also choosing a destination.” (The Domino Effect)

-Jerry D. Sturgill