Christian Living

The words are heard from meetinghouse pulpits, the same words appear in devotional literature. “as we go through this life…” Often, these words are used to preface the thoughts that will quickly follow. A speaker may use these words to introduce the need for certain actions that must be taken to assure our readiness for the Lord’s return. A writer may use the term “as we go through this life…” to establish the concept of an ongoing responsibility. The words “as we go through this life…” are intended to prepare the audience for the seriousness of what is to come next.

Johnny pulls his shoes on reluctantly as mother encourages him to hurry or the school van will have to wait on him. “I can’t stand school this year,” he offers with a sigh.

“Oh Johnny, next year you will have Brother Mast for a teacher and then you will enjoy it a lot more.”

“But Mom, he’s just as bad. The boys say he’s stricter than Sister Ellen. They got in trouble yesterday just for sliding on the wet hall floor.”

No other story of Anabaptist martyrs seems to capture more notice in Mennonite minds than the account of Dirk Willems. Dirk was born at Asperen, Rotterdam, (The Netherlands). Historians record that Dirk was re-baptized upon confession of faith at the age of fifteen at the house of Peter Willems.

…it was quoted by a Protestant missionary, commenting to my dad on the problem of thievery…

The Church of Jesus is a living organism with many parts contributing to the whole body. 1 Corinthians 12:12 says, “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.” This very truth makes church life a wonderful experience when we each find our place in God’s plan. The health and vitality of the whole body is dependent on the well being of each member. Likewise, the overall good health of the body will affect each member and empower them for greater service to the larger body.

As a young boy, I can remember the day my father declared I was old enough to cut the grass with the riding lawn mower. I could hardly wait for the grass to grow tall enough to cut. When the day arrived, I filled the tank on the mower from the can labeled “gasoline” and positioned myself be- hind the wheel. Turning the key, the engine caught and ran smoothly. I had just reached the edge of the yard when a huge cloud of white smoke exited the exhaust and the engine promptly quit. efforts to start the engine produced impressive amounts of white smoke, but nothing more.

As we reflect on the birth of christ, we are touched by the fact that there was no room for Jesus in the inn. “And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7).

Jesus came into a world that had no room for Him. “He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not” (John 1:10). Jesus created the world and all things in it (col 1:16), and yet the world had no room for its Creator.

Can the Christian pitch his tent toward Sodom? Have you ever heard of a person who “had one foot in the church and the other in the world”? This is, of course, not really possible, but pitching our tents toward Sodom is, like Lot, choosing the temporal and physical over the spiritual and eternal. Jesus said it this way, “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” (Matt 6:24).

In Psalm 19, we see God in three ways. We see Him in creation, in His Word, and His work in our everyday life.

In God’s creation, we see fantastic displays of His greatness and power. We have the sun, moon, and stars that set in their place each day. There is no place where the earth does not feel the heat from the sun, and no place where the earth does not see the light from the sun, moon, and stars. “There line is gone out through all the earth and their words to the end of the world.”

Trials. Tribulations. Temptations. Disappointments. Heartaches. Grief. Valleys. We are all acquainted with these things. We cannot avoid them. They come to all ages and groups of people. If you are a parent, chances are good that you have already experienced a circumstance that includes all the above difficulties. It is what God in His Word, refers to as “an untimely birth.” Many couples know very well the keen disappointment of such an event. The death of an unborn baby is real. It breaks the heart. The grief is overwhelming.