Monthly Archive for November, 2010

Thanking God for 3 Things!

by Jonas Harley | November 24, 2010

Thanksgiving is an awesome time of spending time with family, watching football, visiting friends, playing outside, and taking time off work, but more importantly it’s a time of giving thanks to God for the many blessings He has daily loaded us down with. There are three things related to our salvation that we must be thankful for this thanksgiving season!

It is very easy to take salvation for granted and even become unthankful for it. When we biblically understand what we have been saved from we will respond in thanksgiving. Colossians 1:12-14 clearly teaches the doctrine of salvation and reveals three (3) reasons why we must give thanks to God for our salvation.

1. Be Thankful that God has Qualified Us for His Inheritance (v.12) – “Giving thanks unto the Father…which [who] hath made us meet [qualified] to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.”

At salvation our heavenly Father gave us the right, title, position, access, and privilege to enjoy His inheritance now! What is this inheritance? God’s inheritance is present, personal, and eternal (Eph. 1:13; Heb. 9:15; 1 Pet. 1:3-5). We have eternal life (Matt. 19:29; Jh. 3:16) and access to the promises of God (Heb. 6:12). Are we thankful that God has graciously qualified us for His rich inheritance?

2. Be Thankful that God has Rescued Us from the Power of Darkness (v.13a) – “Giving thanks unto the Father…Who hath delivered [rescued] us from the power of darkness…”

Here Paul praised God for rescuing the Colossians out of the captivity and dominion of sin and wickedness. We must be thankful that when we trusted in Christ alone for salvation that we were immediately delivered out of the bondage of sin because of God’s grace and finished work on the cross! Are we thankful that God has mercifully rescued us from the power of darkness?

3. Be Thankful that God has Transferred Us into His Kingdom (v.13b) – “Giving thanks unto the Father…Who hath translated [transfer] us into the kingdom of his dear Son.”

Paul gave thanks to God for transferring the Colossians into His (God’s) kingdom. The Greek word used for translated Are we thankful that God has sovereignly transferred us into His kingdom? carries the idea of when one empire defeated another, it was custom to move the people to the conqueror’s land (i.e. Israelites relocated to Babylon). The instant we trusted Christ was the instant we were moved into God’s everlasting and unconquerable kingdom! We are now under the complete authority and care of God!

How is all this possible? (v.14) – “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.” God has set us free from the bondage of sin (redemption) by paying a price (through his blood) and has released us from the penalty of sin (forgiveness). This is the heart of the gospel!

One recent world event that illustrates this passage very well is the rescuing of the 33 Chilean miners. Here was a group of men who had no ability whatsoever to save themselves from life-ending circumstances but were rescued from the power of darkness through the diligent efforts and love of engineers above ground who outstandingly created a device to transfer each miner into the “kingdom” of light. As each miner arrived to the surface of the earth they responded verbally, visibly, and joyfully with thanksgiving and praise because they knew there was nothing they could to do to rescue themselves out of the depths and darkness of the earth. What a great illustration about salvation!

As Christians we have been given three solid reasons to joyfully and continually give thanks to God for our salvation this thanksgiving season and onward!

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Widow Visitation!

by Jonas Harley | November 20, 2010

James 1:27, “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”

There are three particular items God really blesses and labels as pure religion, visiting the fatherless, visiting the widows, and keeping oneself pure. This type of living expresses Christian compassion and holiness. These two virtues are foundational in biblical living.

It is important and necessary to teach these truths, but applying that truth in a “hands on” format helps reinforce that truth.

Last Saturday I had the awesome opportunity to teach the youth group how to serve the widows and widowers in our local church! We had a great time fellowshipping with these folks and letting them know that we appreciate and remember them. At the same time we enjoyed hearing their stories, nuggets of wisdom, salvation testimonies, and involvement to the local church! Widow visitation is one of the best activities of the year!

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Praying for Missions!

by Jonas Harley | November 16, 2010

One of my favorite conferences of the year in the life of a local church is missions conference! It’s a great time to fellowship with like-minded missionaries who have dedicated their lives to reach a particular country with the gospel of Jesus Christ (Acts 1:8)! Furthermore, there is great preaching and fellowship around the Scriptures! This year’s key-note speaker was Dr. Fred Moritz, who throughout the conference delivered several challenging messages. His concluding sermon Sunday night after the international dinner on how to biblically pray for missionaries and church planters is what I would like to outline for you in this post.

Pray for Power (2 Thess. 3:1) – Paul urged the believers to frequently lift up prayers so that “…the word of the Lord may have free course…” In other words, pray that missionaries will have many opportunities to present the gospel of Jesus Christ to lost people! It is a biblically thing to fervently pray that the Word of God will run free and spread rapidly in their place of ministry. 

Pray for Protection (2 Thess. 3:2) – Paul requested prayer for safety “…from unreasonable and wicked men…” who were opposed to the truth of the gospel. We must pray that our missionaries have protection as they perform the Lord’s work.   

Pray for Provision (2 Cor. 1:8-11) – Paul thanked the Corinthians “…for the gift bestowed upon us…” Sending people to the mission field isn’t cheap, but what a worthy and eternal investment! Along with financial support there are many other items (passports, housing, transportation, food, citizenship, etc) that must take place. It is a biblical thing to pray that the needs of our missionaries are met so they can focus on spreading the gospel.

Pray for Personnel (Matt. 9:35-38) – Finally, our Lord Jesus Christ clearly stated, in imperative mode, that “…the harvest is truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” It takes people to communicate the gospel (Rom. 10:14), therefore we must obediently and diligently pray that Christians will hear and answer the call to missions. The next generation of missionaries is only going to come from the local church that is faithfully praying.

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Having a Heart for God!

by Jonas Harley | November 9, 2010

Having a heart for God is something we often pray for, hear sermons on, think about, long for, and read about in the Psalms (27:4; 42:1-2; 84:1-4). But what does this look like? What does a “heart for God” look like practically?  Allow me to submit five (5) practical items that indicate a heart for God (main points excerpted from Paul Tripp’s book “Age of Opportunity”).

1) Personal Worship & Devotion – When we have a genuine heart for God there will be a fervent desire to spend personal time with God. This type of fellowship happens primarily through studying His Word and in prayer. A Christian who is submitted to God will independently make time for personal worship and devotion. James 4:8, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”  

2) Desire for Corporate Worship & Instruction – When the weekend approaches what is usually our first thought or reaction about going to church? When we are genuinely pursuing God we will crave, first, for corporate worship, because that is where we can express love and thanksgiving to God for His person and work with people who share the same desire. Psalm 96:7-9, “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.”  

Secondly, we will long for church on Sunday because of the preaching and teaching of God’s Word. Christians who have a heart for God are hungry and thirsty for solid Biblical instruction and joyfully embrace it rather than looking for ways to avoid it. On a side note, doctrine (biblical instruction) determines how we live our daily life (practical application). For example, you won’t live by faith unless you know God is faithful and trustworthy. 1 Timothy 3:15, “…the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”

3) Pursuit for Christian Fellowship – When we have heart for God we will want to spend quality time with others who share the same faith. Christian fellowship is where we can receive help, counsel, friendships, accountability, and encouragement. Hebrews 10:25, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”

4) Willing to Discuss Spiritual Matters – Many Christians are closed, defensive, insecure, embarrassed, and unwilling to discuss spiritual needs or things because they don’t see the importance of following God’s will, parental guidance, or spending time in prayer about life matters. When we have a heart for God we will be humble, open, transparent, and willing to discuss spiritual matters with God, our parents, our pastor, or spiritual mentor. Proverbs 11:14, “Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.”     

5) Approaches Decision-making from a Biblical Perspective – Everyday we are faced with many small decisions that eventually add up to big results! When we have a heart for God we will approach decision making from a biblical perspective rather than an impulsive, emotional, and self-pleasing point of view. Every decision we make ought to point to God’s glory somehow. Establishing this mind-set is tough, but by God’s sufficient grace is obtainable. 1 Corinthians 10:31, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”

We have many dreams, hopes, wishes, plans, ideas, goals, or visions for our life or for someone else’s life. Many times we get so focused on pursuing so many different things or trying to please various people we fail to develop a heart for God. Is your highest mission in life to develop a heart for God? A heart for God is the root that produces long term fruit of godliness!

Note to Parents: Do you see these items present in the life of your teenager/child? If not, then perhaps a lot of their spirituality is false and they are waiting till the pressures of being religious are removed to show their true colors. Most likely they have learned this “form of Christianity” from you (Deut. 6:1-9).

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