THE BIBLE
“Last Eve I passed beside the blacksmith’s door
And heard the anvil ring the vesper chime
When looking in, I saw upon the floor
Old hammers worn with beating years of time.”
“ ‘How many anvils have you had. ‘ said I.
‘To wear and batter all these hammers so?’
‘Just one, said he: then said with twinkling eye.
‘The anvil wears the hammers out, you know.’
“And so, I thought the anvil of God’s word
For ages skeptics blows have beat upon:
Yet, though the noise of falling blows was heard.
The anvil is unharmed — the hammer’s gone!”
-Author Unknown
An Easily Overlooked Example Worth Imitating
By: Jason Hardin
You know their names. Abel. Enoch. Noah.
You remember their stories. Abraham. Sarah. Isaac. Jacob.
Thanks to passages like Hebrews 11 in the Bible, they endure as examples of the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Millennia later, when we think of faith, we think Joseph. Moses. Samuel. David.
But don’t overlook Hananiah. Today’s Bible reading uncovered a name easily overlooked and long forgotten by most. This time next week, you won’t remember his name in the way you remember those names in Hebrews 11. So who was Hananiah? In Nehemiah 7:1-2, recorded for all time…
Now when the wall had been built and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, I gave my brother Hanani and Hananiah the governor of the castle charge over Jerusalem, for he was a more faithful and God-fearing man than many.
Hananiah didn’t build an ark. He didn’t cross the Red Sea as on dry land. He didn’t stop the mouths of lions or receive the dead back by resurrection. He was just “a more faithful and God-fearing man than many,” the sort of person Nehemiah would have desperately needed.
That’s a goal you and I can wrap our minds around this weekend. Relatable footsteps we can follow. Hananiah was reliable and he feared God. In his own way, he served the purposes of God and his peers in his own generation.
God isn’t asking you to deliver a message to a Pharaoh or face off with a Philistine giant or wander about for the rest of your life in deserts and mountains and caves. But he does expect you to be faithful, and to fear him. At work. On the road. In school. At home. Faithful and God-fearing. Like Hananiah. You won’t find his name in Hebrews 11, but it’s a name worth remembering this weekend. Most of all, it’s an example worth imitating.
—-End of Article—-
YOU’RE GOING THE WRONG WAY!
By: Jonathan Swaino
On our way home from the gas station the other day, my son and I came across a couple in a car that looked totally lost. They started towards a driveway and then abruptly swerved to the left. The driver continued to the left in front of us and darted into the driveway of the local Lutheran congregation. My son said, “they must be lost”. In thinking about the driveway that they turned into I replied, “maybe in more than one way”. Now obviously, I have no way of knowing the condition of these person’s souls but, we can draw some parallels between the situation and our spiritual lives.
In Acts the eighth Chapter beginning in verse 26 we see the account of the Ethiopian eunuch: 26 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert. 27 So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28 was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. Notice in verse 30, when the eunuch was asked if he understood what he was reading, he said that he needed guidance Now, at this time, the New Testament wasn’t available at the local bookseller so, Philip preached Jesus to him (vs.35). We have the Gospel of Christ today to guide us. We only need to follow it and preach it!
Back to our wayward driver, many people in this world are spiritually lost. In most cases it is because they were given incorrect directions. Perhaps, this was the case for the motorist the other day. They undoubtedly knew where they wanted to be but simply didn’t know how to get there. They swerve in and out of religion with no real understanding of where they are going. They attend one denomination after another realizing that this is the wrong place and moving on. Like our motorists, they may stop for a moment to get their bearings before going further in the wrong direction. The good news is, they are not comfortable in their situation and they are searching. Hopefully, someone will point them in the right direction. Will it be you?
When I was in kindergarten, I befriended a girl in my class. Her name was Mickey, as I recall. When the school year was over, we attempted to direct the other on how to get to our respective homes. The hope was that we could see each other during the summer. The directions went something like this: Go to the red house. The big red house and turn left. Then, find the big tree on the corner and my house is over there. As you may imagine, we never found our way. In much the same way, the religious world gives directions to salvation. Those directions sound something like this: Go to the biggest church you see. That will be right because so many people can’t be wrong. Or, go the church with the music and programs that you like. And, come to this church because they have great coffee before the service. Unfortunately, none of these instructions will get anyone to the Lord’s church. Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the father except through me.” (John. 14:6). Sounds Like we need to get our directions from him. He drew the map. Christ has given us the roadmap to him. Are we using it? Read the scriptures to understand them.
Along the way, we will encounter those that do not want to take direction. They are comfortable going in the wrong direction. Imagine that you are driving home from work and you see a car on the opposite side of the road and it is moving in the same direction as you. You double check and sure enough, there is a solid yellow line on your left. The other car is speeding into a dangerous situation. The driver hasn’t a care in the world. The radio is on and it’s playing his favorite song. Whatever could be wrong? Say you manage to get the other driver’s attention and tell him that he is proceeding in the wrong direction. He replies: You’re crazy, how do you know where I’m going. This is not unlike those that will say: “Don’t judge me, I know and love Jesus”. Problem is, from their perspective they are blind. However, we can see that the path that they are on is leading them contrary to the word of God. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 15:14, “… if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.” And in John 14:15, “If you love Me, keep My commandments…” We must try to show them the map so that they may understand what the right way is. So, they will know the commandments and avoid falling into the ditch. Have you shown them?
In short, we must be seed sowers. Haggai 2:19 asks the question, is the seed still in the barn? We have been given the task of seed sowing, not soil testing. Look at 1 Corinthians 3:7 7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Just sow and water as you have opportunity. Get the seed out of the barn! God will handle the rest.
-Jon