Acts 4:19 "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God."

“Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God.” (Acts 4:19) Those were the words that Peter used to justify his defiance of the Sanhedrin. The Jewish religious leaders had ordered Peter and the apostles to stop preaching about Jesus the Christ, the apostles declined to obey them. As Christians, we have an obligation to obey the laws of the land that we live in, EXCEPT when those laws are clearly in defiance of the clear will of God. Preaching the Gospel in defiance of the law? Not only the right choice, the only choice. Not paying taxes because we don’t like the way the government spends our money? Sorry, can’t go with you on that one, the whole “give unto Caesar” thing. Here in America we don’t have to make hard choices between our conscience and the law very often, but it wasn’t always the case. Example: the Jim Crowe laws in the South. Christians had the right to disobey them, and certainly should never have supported them. The Civil Rights Movement’s use of non-violent protest was both effective and Christ-like.
In other parts of the world the choices faced by believers are much more difficult than in America. Throughout the Islamic world Christians face death if they try to spread the Gospel, they know that their governments support radicalism and even terrorism, and many have no voice in their government. Compared to them, we have easy choices to make. As Americans we can work through the political process, we can protest, we have freedom of speech and the press. With all that freedom the primary danger is complacency, because we live in a “Christian” country it can be easy to go with the flow, to assume that we don’t need to face the tough choices that the Apostles faced when the Church was young. Well, the Church may be middle-aged now, but that doesn’t mean we don’t need to seek what is right in God’s sight.

A Parent's Dilemma

“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. But the more I called Israel, the further they went from me.”
Many of you will recognize this verse from Hosea because of its use by Matthew in his Gospel (2:15) to refer to the return of Jesus with Mary and Joseph from exile in Egypt. When verse 1 is read in combination with verse 2 the message of God’s love for his prodigal people comes to the forefront. In these verses God is lamenting the ironic reaction to his love that many parents also struggle with. When God tried to show his love to Israel, to call out to them, they only went further away from him. Likewise, many parents whose children are struggling try to reach out to them only to have that child draw further away in response. A similar problem can occur between husbands and wives when one is having trouble and the other attempts to draw them close to help, only to see the distance widen between them. How do we explain this phenomenon and what can we do about it?
The cause of this “flee from love” response will vary with each case, but in the example of Israel it was caused by the willful disobedience of the people. They did not want to come close to God because they were enjoying their sinful behavior (at least for now). What was God’s response? He continued to love them. He brought necessary chastisement against them, but he continued to love them.
What can parents and spouses learn from God’s experience with Israel? First, just loving more may not be sufficient, we cannot make people love us more by pursuing them harder. Second, don’t give up; God didn’t walk away from Israel despite the trouble they caused him, he remained steadfast in his love. Even when that child yells, “I hate you!” don’t give up. Israel eventually came back to God, steadfast love does produce results. Likewise, in America today people give up on their marriage far too easily, be resilient, imitate God’s patience and mercy toward you when you love your spouse, and know that no matter how hard it may be today, God has been there before, he’ll continue to be with you.

Contemplating Christ's Passion

As we once again enter into the Easter season our minds recall the Sunday school lessons of our youth, the Bible readings out of the Gospels, or some bit of a sermon we once heard. Of all of those acts that resonate two thousand years later, acts of greed, of hope, of cruelty, and of mercy; those which speak the loudest to each of us will vary. To some of us, the weeping of Peter after his betrayal of Jesus touches our hearts deeply as we recall our own failures. To others, the mock trial of Jesus reminds us of the unfair twists and turns we’ve experienced. Some will be moved by the women standing by helplessly as Jesus is crucified, their own experience of watching a loved one slip away not forgotten. For me, the words of Jesus during his ordeal seem especially poignant. His answer to Pilate, “Yes, it is as you say”; simple, and honest. To his Father as they crucified him, “forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing”, and to the criminal at his side, “today you will be with me in paradise.” Regardless of the moment of Christ’s passion which speaks to you this Easter, take a moment to stop and contemplate what God is saying to you through his Word. How does the agony and death of Christ speak to your heart, and more importantly, how does the resurrection of Christ uplift your soul this Easter?

Mark 16:15, Going into all the world from Palo

Mark 16:15 says, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” In our corner of the world we’ve been endeavoring to put that command into action by giving an informational pamphlet that introduces 1st Baptist Church of Palo to every home within five miles of the church. As it stands now, the southwest quadrant has been completed using 250 pamphlets. (who knew there were that many!!) The rest of the surrounding areas will be completed in the near future, but for now, I’m asking that you keep this effort in your prayers. Some of the people that I’ve met during this process have been receptive, saying “thank you”, when I hand them the pamphlet and invite them to join us at church anytime. Other people have been not so receptive; a few giving cold stares and shutting the door in my face. Clearly, they’ve had a bad experience with someone representing the church (any church) at some point. In connection with the outreach effort itself, we need to continue to ensure that the First Baptist Church of Palo is a hospitable church (which we’re have been doing a very good job of) and also that we’re an open church (by that I mean a place that appeals to people of various church affiliations, or those of no affiliation; again, we’re doing a good job so far). When I knock on somebody’s door, and hand them a pamphlet from 1st Baptist Church of Palo, it is critical that they don’t have a negative impression of us already. For those of you who have been a part of the church for years and years, I thank you that my job is definitely easier because of the church’s good reputation, keep up the good work.

Is God Directing My Path?

How do you know that the hand of God is directing the paths you choose in life? Some claim to “hear” what God is trying to tell them, others “feel” the Spirit moving them in one direction or another. But how can the validity of such claims ever be tested, by the person experiencing it, or by anyone else? The first step toward evaluating the source of a “gut feeling” is to check it against Scripture. You will never receive anything from God that tells you to violate his will as it is already expressed in the Bible. If you think that’s what God is trying to tell you, I’m sorry to say the source of such misguided advice must either be yourself, or something more sinister.
Does my desire/feeling square up with Scripture? If so, what do I do now? There are two other tests that you can evaluate a choice in life by; conscience and the wisdom of respected fellow Christians. If what you want to do (or in some cases don’t want to do but know you should) matches up with Scripture, your conscience, and the wisdom of experience Christians; it is most likely a good choice. On the other hand, if it violates all three, no matter how much you want it, you should run away.
I faced such a choice years ago; having met a young woman that I fancied and being unsure of how to proceed. The question was this; could a Baptist and a Catholic get married? The Scriptures tell us to seek Christian unity, my conscience was clear, and the advice I received was mostly in favor. What to choose? Well, it’s been seven years of marriage under God’s blessings, and I hope for many, many to come. May God bless you when life’s choices appear before you, may your choices bring a smile to God’s face.