Monthly Archive for May, 2010

A Bible-Centered Wedding!

by Jonas Harley | May 26, 2010

This past weekend my sister got married! It was an exciting day with family and friends that was filled with joy, happiness, and honor to the Lord. I had the awesome privilege of being a groomsmen and I would like to share with you 4 lessons that came to my mind as I was standing their witnessing their wedding ceremony.  

1) Bible-centered Weddings illustrate the relationship between Christ and the church – I cannot understand the duties of husbands and wives unless I understand the truth about Christ and the church. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says, “The relationship between the husband and wife, and wife and husband, is comparable to that between Christ and the church and the church and Christ.” What is the point? The intimate relationship that exists between a husband and wife clearly pictures the relationship that the church has with Christ. Ephesians 5:23 states, “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.” From here everything else falls into place.

  • The wife must submit to her husband’s leadership just as the church must submit to Christ’s leadership (see Eph. 5:24).
  • The husband must sacrificially love his wife just as Christ sacrificially loves His church (see Eph. 5:25, 28).
  • The husband must strive to keep his wife pure just as Christ seeks to purify His church (see Eph. 5:26-27).
  • The husband must provide for his wife just as Christ provides for His Church (see Eph. 5:29-30).
  • The husband must be exclusively united to his wife just as Christ is exclusively united to His Church (see Eph. 5:31-32). Furthermore, marriage between a man and a woman is God’s divine plan from the beginning (see Gen. 2:24).
  • The wife must reverence (respect) her husband just as the church must reverence (respect) Christ (see Eph. 5:33).

Wow! Marriage is a wonderful thing that visually expresses Christ’s love for His church!  

2) Bible-centered Weddings communicate the gospel – From the very beginning the officiating Pastor clearly presented the gospel of Jesus Christ. He biblically and plainly communicated to the guests that Jesus Christ died on the cross of their sins, that they must repent of their sins and be saved (Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Romans 5:8, Romans 10:9-10, 13), and that Jesus Christ is the ONLY way of salvation (John 14:6). At one point during the gospel presentation he told the congregation that the wedding party would be happy and willing to temporarily put the wedding on hold if someone needed to trust Christ as their Savior. Praise God! I’m so thankful for a sister and brother-in-law that wanted to use this special day in their life as a platform to communicate the gospel to others!  To read more about God’s bridge to eternal life, click here.

3) Bible-centered Weddings establish the right foundation for the marriage – When it was time for the vows my now brother-in-law clearly and boldly stated his unconditional, sacrificial, and selfless love for his bride, and then publicly pledged his responsibility to lead, guide, and protect his bride. My mind quickly flew to God’s instructions for marriage in Ephesians 5:25-28, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.”

Then, my sister clearly vowed that she would willingly submit to his God-given authority, unconditionally love him as a person, and humbly follow his leadership. Once again, my mind flew to God’s command in Ephesians 5:22-24, “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.”

As I was standing there I couldn’t stop rejoicing (yes, through tears) and thinking how the foundation that my sister and her husband were establishing is biblical and God-honoring! This is God’s way for marriage! God was magnified in the wedding and will be magnified in their marriage!

On a side note, any marriage where the husband stops leading and/or the wife stops submitting is doomed for failure and disaster! Why? Because it’s not God’s way! The devil endlessly labors to reverse the roles of a marriage relationship (i.e. wives lead and husbands submit). This leads me to my 4th lesson…   

4) Bible-centered Weddings are convicting – Finally, my sister’s wedding was convicting. As I observed their wedding ceremony I was re-reminded of my responsibility to spiritually lead, physically provide for, and unconditionally love my wife! What a great responsibility I must carry out. If I choose to be passive or selfish I would train wreck my marriage and it won’t just impact my family, but generations! I must be a “doer of the word.” (James 1:22).

Weddings are a great opportunity for Christians to do a “check-up” to evaluate how their marriage falls in line with Scripture. God loves Bible-centered weddings, but more importantly God loves Bible-centered marriages!    

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The Believer’s Payday!

by Jonas Harley | May 20, 2010

Workforce 101: The basic elements of the workforce are employer, employee, and paycheck. Simply put, the employer hires a person (aka employee) and as the employee carries out his or her job description to the satisfaction of the employer he or she receives a paycheck on payday! That is workforce 101!

Think about this. As a Christian God is your employer and you are the employee and if you satisfactorily carry out the job description (aka God’s Word) you will be greatly rewarded for your faithful service on payday! 2 Corinthians 5:10, “For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, weather it be good or bad.” Immediately after the rapture every church age Christian will stand before Christ to give an account on how they lived here on earth. This judgment has nothing to do with salvation. Your sin was paid in full when Christ died on the cross. This is known as the believer’s payday!

This judgment seat is commonly called the “bema” seat. ”Bema” is the Greek word Paul used to describe the judgement seat of Christ. A “bema” was a seat or raised platform where a judge sat and made his decision regarding a case (Examples in Scripture- Matt. 27:19; John 19:13). Also during the Olympic games the “bema” seat was the place where the winning athletes would receive their rewards. The “bema” seat is where God will evaluate your life and then reward you based on that, but the question that is often asked is, “How will I be judged?”

1) You will be judged by your obedience to the Bible – God will use His Word as the standard (measuring stick) to evaluate your life here on earth. God will NOT use a school’s handbook, an ethics manual, or the world’s standard of living. He will use the inspired Word of God. Furthermore, He will not evaluate you based on your experiences, traditions, or status. Paul Benware states, “The studying and application of God’s Word is a key to our rewarding.” How serious are you about hearing and doing God’s Word? See James 1:22; 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

2) You will be judged by your stewardship with the things God has entrusted to you – Matthew 25:14-30 is a great parable to read in order to grasped this concept. God has given you spiritual gifts, natural abilities, material resources, and opportunities to serve. How are you using them to magnify God? You will be held accountable for what God has given to you for your earthly life. Consider yourself a manager that is responsible for advancing God’s kingdom purposes with earthly resources. Don’t waste your life! 1 Corinthians 4:2, “Moreover it is required in stewards (that’s you!), that a man be found faithful.” 

3) You will be judged by your motives - Read 1 Corinthians 4:5. Notice the phrase, “…counsels of the hearts…”, in other words, God is not only interested in WHAT you do but WHY you do it (or don’t do it). You can do all the right and godly things and still lose your reward in heaven because you did it for the wrong reasons or motives (self-promotion, greed, fame, money, get your own way, get out of trouble, etc). If you serve God with the motive to please Him you will receive a great reward!   

In conclusion, it is God’s desire to reward you at the Judgment Seat of Christ! Think about this…God cannot wait to reward you for your work here on earth!!! Why? Because that brings honor and magnification to His name! You serve a God who wants to honor you only if you biblically honor Him!

The Believer’s Payday is coming, are you ready?

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The Race of Faith!

by Jonas Harley | May 13, 2010

What is neat about reading and studying the New Testament is that the Christian life is often compared to everyday things, events, or practices in order to convey spiritual truth. Many times in Scripture you will find the Christian life illustrated in farming, military, and sports terms.  A good teacher will strive to use illustrations that connect with his or her students. Well…the greatest Teacher of all…Jesus Christ did the same thing as well as many of the writers of Scripture, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Here in Hebrews 12:1-2 you are presented with an awesome metaphor that conveys what you must be doing spiritually every day, and that is running the race of faith! As a Christian, you have been commissioned by God to run the race of faith and it is vital that your run well! However, many times Christians, young or old, can become spiritually distracted or exhausted while running the race of faith. This post is designed to encourage you and to call your attention on how and why you must run the race of faith and will conclude with the rewards! Martin Luther said, “The true, living faith, which the Holy Spirit instills into the heart, simply cannot be idle.”

1. Requirements for Running - God layouts three requirements on HOW He wants you to run the race of faith!

  1. Lay aside all weights (12:1a) -It would be very odd if Michael Phelps in the next summer Olympics wore shoes, baggy jeans, and a poncho to compete for the gold medal. Everyone would think he is crazy and stupid for not taking the time to assure that he is aerodynamic in the water. Same concept spiritually, a weight is often something harmless, and in many cases sinless, that diverts your attention, saps your energy, and dampens your enthusiasm for God. What is slowing (or weighing) you down in the race of faith? Sports? Relationships? Technology? News? Career? Popularity? Fashion? Friends? You must lay aside (cast away) those things in order to run well!
  2. Put off besetting sins (12:1b) - Anything that is in direct disobedience to God’s Word. In many cases the reason sin slows you down. Even Christ’s disciples had besetting sins if unbelief (or lack of faith). They doubted God’s provision (Matt. 6:30). They questioned God’s protection (Matt. 8:26). They hesitated about God’s presence and promises (Matt. 14:31). Sin will always distract you from running the race of faith well! Put off the sin!
  3. Run with endurance (12:1c) - A good athlete will physically and mentally prepare himself to compete with endurance. You must spiritually prepare yourself to keep pressing towards the goal line (Phil. 3:14). Stay focused!

2. Reasons for Running - There are two reasons WHY you must diligently run the race of faith!

  1. Jesus Christ is the Author of your faith (12:2)! - Jesus Christ is the originator/founder of your faith. In Him is the beginning of all true faith, apart from Him there is no true faith (Heb. 5:7-9)! The race of faith starts when you trust Jesus Christ as your personal Savior only (John 14:6) for salvation. Please click here to learn more about what it means to be biblically saved. 
  2. Jesus Christ is the Finisher of your faith (12:2)! - Jesus Christ has perfected the way of faith since He reached its end successfully. He displayed a perfect example on how to walk by faith (see Matthew 4:1-11 to get started). Therefore, He cares about how you run the race of faith.

3. Rewards for Running - Any type of competition you participate in there is always a motivating reward. The Bible informs you of at least two rewards in the race of faith.      

  1. Faithful Christians are honored by God -Read through the “hall of faith” in Hebrews 11 and give special attention to verse 6, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarded that diligently seek him.” God rewards those who have a keen desire to pursue Him.
  2. Faithful Christians receive an incorruptible crown -Read 1 Corinthians 9:24-25. God gives rewards that do not rust or break. For a brief time I worked as a termite technician, in other words, I killed bugs! Every new start (new customer) I was required to inspect and if needed treat the attic for insects. While doing that I noticed that many homeowners store a lot of “junk” in their attics! Sound familiar? Among many other things I saw many old trophies, plaques, medals, certificates, etc all from the past sitting in a box collecting dust! Something that was of extreme value is not worthless junk! Many times you get caught up in pursuing earthly treasures that you neglect pursing God’s incorruptible trophies that will last forever and bring Him mega-enjoyment! Let’s pursue God’s trophies!

There is no greater joy in living your life by faith proving to God that you daily trust Him. Are you running the race of faith God’s way? Remember, faith honors God and God honors faith!

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How to Keep God First!

by Jonas Harley | May 4, 2010

This past Sunday (5/2/10) my church celebrated 208 years of existence! What an honor to serve in a ministry that has faithfully preached and boldly stood on the truth of God’s Word for over two centuries! During the afternoon service my Pastor, Chuck Woodruff, preached an excellent sermon on how to biblically and practically keep God first place in your life.

1) Plan- Creating and executing a plan is vital if we want God to have first place in our life. We are very good at doing this when it comes to our vocation. Teachers develop lesson plans, coaches design game plans, students carry around day planners, financial planners…well uh…plan out our financial goals. Whatever career path we are in, it requires some form of planning in order to be effective and meet deadlines. Planning is the tool that assures that we keep and meet our top priorities. Planning greatly relieves the pressure. Planning gives us direction. Someone has well said, “Plan your work and work your plan.” Why is it, when it comes to keeping God first in every area of our life we fail to plan? How often do we wake up in the morning and HOPE to have time to read God’s Word and pray? How often do we miss church because we fail to plan? How many times do we neglect family devotions because we fail to plan? Perhaps the reason we don’t have God first in our life is because of a failure to plan to keep God first. We must plan our day around God, not God around our day. Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”   

2) Prayer- One of the reasons God gets the “backseat” in our Christian life is because we have committed to things that may not be in His will to begin with. In other words, we are overcommitted, too busy! Someone may be thinking, “Well, 2 Corinthians 9:8, says God’s grace is sufficient in all things.” That’s true; however those “things” must be in the will of God. Spending quality time (that takes planning too!) in prayer asking God’s will in a matter is how we keep God first. We must stop assuming that every opportunity that presents itself must be committed to. Too many good things will keep us from the main thing! Pray! James 4:13-15, “Go to now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow 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. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.” (see Proverbs 3:5-6).          

3) Proper Perspective- It’s not easy to keep the proper perspective in life when we are too busy or don’t know what the proper perspective is. John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” Ok, this will sound really simple, God is the Creator and we are the Creation. Therefore, we lose all prerogatives (rights) to determine how we are going to live our life. As the verse clearly states, we must decrease (humble ourselves) Why? So God can increase (be magnified). When we have this perspective in mind our practice will reflect a God first life!      

4) Prompt- God loses first place in our life when we delay in doing His will. Delayed obedience is disobedience. We must obey and stop wasting precious time that we can’t get back. Ephesians 5:16, “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” Also see Ecclesiastes 12:1; Colossians 4:5; James 4:14.

5) Persistence- Distractions keep us from focusing on the finish line. Have you ever walked down midway at the state fair? Talk about distracting! It’s very hard to get through there without stopping to look, buy, or taste something!  Isn’t the Christian life like that? If we want God to have first place in our life we must eliminate the distractions and keep our eyes on the prize! Philippians 3:14, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Hebrews 12:1-2, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

6) Passion- We are always faithful, dedicated, and committed to whatever thing or person we truly love. Think about it…why do athletes play through severe pain? Why does a boyfriend drive many miles to see his girlfriend? Why do employees work long hours to get that promotion? When we truly love something or someone decision making isn’t that hard anymore. We need more Christians who are very passionate about serving God Almighty that everything else in life takes a backseat. Take a few moments and check what you are passionate about? This exercise will quickly reveal your priorities. For example, if you had to choose between attending your church’s Sunday worship service or play in your ballgame, which would you choose? Psalm 42:1-2, “As the deer panteth [longs/desires] after the water brooks, so panteth [longs/desires] my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?”

God can and will have first place in your life if you execute these 6 biblical principles!

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