God is the master of the object lesson. Throughout the Old Testament, you will find many everyday things used to point out how God sees His people or what He desires to do with His people. When you begin to look into the New Testament, you will find these lessons continue, especially when it comes to the church. It is within these pictures that we find the answer to our question, “What is the church?”

There is no denying that “church” is a well-used word in our society. The history behind this English word is rooted in a Greek compound word meaning “Lord’s house” or “belonging to the Lord”. This, of course, is the word chosen by our English version translators for the Greek word “ekklesia”. Also, a compound word, “ek” meaning “out of” and “klesis” meaning “a calling” or “kaleo” meaning “to call”. It was used in a secular setting to describe a group of citizens gathering to discuss matters of the state. It was a called assembly for a purpose. In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, “ekklesia” was chosen to describe the gathering of Israel for a specific purpose.[i] In the book of Acts, you will find it used to describe an unruly mob, a gathering of Israel, and the whole realm or private gatherings of believers. Whenever it is used, it carries the weight of being a group of people who are called together for a purpose. And in Matthew 16, you will find the first use of this term in connection with the mission of Jesus.

The church is Christ’s unique called out assembly built upon His death, burial, and resurrection. The church is composed of all individuals from every ethnic group throughout history since the resurrection of Christ who have put their faith and trust in His finished work. He seals them with the Holy Spirit, preparing them for and guaranteeing them a glorious future with Him, the church’s bridegroom.

[i] Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W., Jr. (1996). Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Vol. 2, p. 42). Nashville, TN: T. Nelson.

The Lord has done many great things within our small group. He has mended wounds. People have experienced and are experiencing the healing they desperately sought. Each of us still has a long way to go, but we serve a faithful God. (See 1 Thessalonians 5:24; Philippians 1:6)

Under the sovereign direction of God and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul bares his heart for the church through his Epistle to the Ephesians. He challenges us with the call to continue on our great adventure going forward knowing and fulfiling our calling.

The woman we consider today raised at least three children, one who became a prince of Egypt. Her message is how to be a courageous woman of faith in a midst of a life that is uncertain and threatened. Life is full of perplexities, problems, and uncertainties. What is important is not what hits us, but how we meet these challenges, the way we meet them, and what we learn from them. We need not be fearful, alarmed, or threatened. All thing work together for them that love God. Rest assured that God is with and will not leave you. He will see you through. Are you willing to stake everything on Him?

The book of James was probably the first New Testament book written. James, the half-brother of Jesus and pastor of the church in Jerusalem, became burdened about those who had been dispersed during that first bout of persecution by Saul. (See James 1:1)

Their lives had become very complicated. Because of their abrupt scattering, these believers sought refuge where ever they could, caves, the wilderness, or the homes of sympathetic Jews or Gentiles. They had become destitute, with no means to support themselves and no more than the clothes on their backs. Friends and family had rejected them because they trusted in Jesus as the Messiah.

More than likely they were experiencing tremendous emotional stress. These believers experienced the fear of being killed or imprisoned. They experienced anger as their homes and property were seized. They experienced sorrow and grief as they saw loved ones dragged away and stoned. They must have struggled with bitterness towards those who perhaps betrayed them. How were they supposed to live under such immense pressure?

Through the practical, real-life application of Biblical doctrine, James, under the sovereign direction and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, lays out how to live life to the fullest within such a complicated world. James approaches us with the conviction (those principles rooted in the truth of Biblical doctrine) that God does desire the best for us, but as we have seen through this series, God’s best is not necessarily earthly health, wealth, and prosperity. (See James 1:3-4) According to the Truth, the doctrine of God’s Word, God’s best begins on the inside and flows outward. (See Romans 12:2) James approaches us with the conviction that Satan, the raging lion, knows if he can win the battle inside of us, then he has won the battle outside us. (See 1 Peter 5:8)

James knows we long for peace and rest. He knows we desire to experience joy and happiness. Yet he is resolute in showing us that those positive emotions we seek are not always going to be found in the physical world around us. If we want simplicity in a complicated world, experience true emotional health, and shine for the glory of God; we must win the battle within, the battle between two wisdoms.

Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. (James 3:13)

In Biblical terminology “wisdom” is a fundamental part of life. You can know a lot of things, but “wisdom” is what takes that knowledge and makes it applicable. Knowledge may allow you to take something apart, but it is wisdom that allows you to put it all back together so that it is useful.

Knowledge of life is gained through observation and research into life, but it is wisdom that which guides you to apply that knowledge. James carefully reveals that life boils down to which wisdom we are going to choose to guide us as to how to use our knowledge in life. Your quality of life and emotional health depends heavily upon which wisdom you choose.

Which wisdom will win the battle for your soul?

The greatest of humanity have found themselves grappling with their worth.

We find the struggle in Moses.

And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? (Exodus 3:11)

We find it in Gideon.

And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house. (Judges 6:15)

And then we see it in the prophet Jeremiah.

Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. (Jeremiah 1:6)

For some this emotional state is a little bump in the road, it is something minuscule, but to others, this can be a challenging emotion that leads to a very dark place. We are confronted with our inferiority and cry out, “It’s Complicated: I am Worthless”.

David let us into his emotional state during a time of great distress in Psalm 22. Where he cries out:

But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. (Psalm 22:6)

David's words express what feeling worthless means. You have concluded that you are inferior to everyone else and therefore your life is of no value. You have come to believe that you can’t do anything right and you do not stack up to the others. Left unaddressed these feelings lead to anxiety. Then as things begin to feel more and more out of your control, you soon find yourself in a state of depression. If you find yourself in this dark place with no one or no way to pull yourself out, you can begin to ponder something that no one ever thinks they would consider as an option, suicide. In this state, you have concluded your life is of no value and that no one would miss you so what is the point of living any more. Truly a dangerous and unhealthy place to be, but sadly many have lost this battle.

This emotion is nothing new, and it is not going to be a one-off experience. We all will face this emotional wall many times throughout our lives, but God’s Word gives us some invaluable input to help us overcome and not travel down the dark path that so many have before. In the state of worthlessness learn to trust the Great Physician and submit to His plan. Set your mind to truth and you will come through victoriously.

As Jesus and His followers travel through Bethany and approach the Mount of Olives they pass by a little village called Bethphage, and we find Jesus putting the pieces together to fulfil the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9.

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.

Jesus was to triumphantly enter Jerusalem declaring Himself as Israel’s Messiah, and as this story unfolds we see the message of Palm Sunday.

The English word “guilt” is an interesting monster. It carries with it an objective while also a subjective meaning.

Objectively guilt is the fact that you have committed an offence or crime. You have violated the law or rules established by an authority albeit God, parent, teacher, or government.

Subjectively guilt is the fact that you feel responsible for or remorse over violating the law or rules.

Objective guilt can be pretty cut or dry; you are either “guilty” or “not guilty”. You have broken the law, or you haven’t broken the law. Objective guilt is what is proven through our courts every day. Some may even come into court after committing some infringement and plead that they are not guilty. In simple terms, the prosecution's job is then to provide ample evidence that proves they are guilty, while the defense's job is to disprove the evidence that is presented to bolster the “not guilty” plea proving their innocence.

Subjective guilt can be a bit more challenging, for it is feelings based. It is that condemning sense when you have done or think you have done something wrong.

Since humanity fell, guilt has been a part of life. The subtle serpent used Eve’s innocence against her when tempting her to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve only knew what was good because they were following God’s designed plan. Therefore, they had no feelings of guilt (or shame). (See Genesis 2:25)

When Adam and Eve chose to step out of God’s will, they experienced the mighty weight of guilt. For the first time, they experienced shame. (See Genesis 3:7–8) The serpent fooled them into thinking they did not know what was right and what was wrong because they had never experienced wrong. Yet the truth is Adam and Eve did know right from wrong. The right way was obeying God, and the wrong way was disobeying God. The feeling of guilt (or shame) was the God-designed warning mechanism to let Adam and Eve know they had disobeyed God. (See Romans 2:14-15)

Guilty feelings are a part of our God-given design rooted in the conscience. The conscience is our God-designed moral code. That basic knowledge of right and wrong. It tells us that there is an authority which has established rules for life that are meant for our protection. Our public rule of law and personal standards are the visual manifestations of this God-created order.

It is natural to feel guilty when we violate this order whether inwardly or outwardly.  It is unnatural to not feel guilty. Society has established a clinical diagnosis for someone who does not feel remorse over wrong actions; they are called either a psychopath or a sociopath.

Don’t beat yourself up for feeling guilty, in fact, say take some time to thank God for this built-in alarm system He has given you to help protect you and others. Yet the feelings of guilt can be paralysing, and it can be puzzling as you to try to figure out why you feel so guilty even after trying to make things right.

There is no one who hasn’t felt the sting of grief. We experience this emotion when something or someone we hold dear is lost. A family member passes or moves away. A pet dies. A heinous act is done such as what happened in Christchurch (and to the friends, family members, community, and country affected by that tragedy we send out our prayers and deepest regards). All these events cause us pain and cause us sorrow. Grief can also be caused by the loss of possessions or a career.

In a fallen world tragedy and sorrow are a part of life. With sin, comes death. When Adam and Eve chose to do things their way, they (as Cameron Cole described it in a post found on thegospelcoalition.org) “tarnished a rich paradise of joy, squandering endless possibilities of pleasure, hope, and life.”[i]

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (Romans 5:12)

To those who asked, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” we must in the sincerest way possible, though it sounds trite and uncaring, say, “It is because of sin.” We mourn the loss of what was supposed to be. (See Romans 8:22)

Sin has destroyed paradise, but rest assured there is a way through your darkest hours. You can THRIVE through the tears.

[i] Cole, Cameron. (2019). What I Misunderstood About Grief. Retrieved 19 March 2019 from https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/misunderstood-grief/.

As our relationship with the Lord grows, we become consumed more and more by His love for us. From this heart of thanksgiving arises the desire to share Him with others, and we long for the world to know about the amazing work God has done in our lives.

At the end of Mark 7, we find Him healing a man who could not hear or speak. After healing this man Jesus commands him not to tell anyone, but the more Jesus tells people not to talk about Him the more they do, why? Because they are excited about the transforming power they had experienced and wanted others to know this same power. (See Mark 7:36–37)

This same passion should flow from our lives, and so much the more because we have been given the green light to share this excellent news. (See Mark 16:15) Often we find ourselves shying away from following through with this desire because of an interesting problem. We struggle with what could be called the serpent-dove conundrum. In Matthew 10 we find these words of Christ to His disciples:

Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. (Matthew 10:16)

How do we boldly declare this great news with the world around us, while treating people with dignity? How are we to go forth wise as a serpent, while also being harmless as a dove? The answer is in the life and teachings of Jesus, the Master soul winner.