Christmas is about “God With Us”

Posted on December 21, 2015 by ronelfran

In our worship service this past Sunday, our church sang a little chorus entitled “Emmanuel.” It goes like this:

Emmanuel, Emmanuel
His name is called Emmanuel
God with us, revealed in us
His name is called Emmanuel

That little song summarizes, in just four lines, one of the greatest meanings of Christmas. Scripture puts it this way:

BibleMatthew 1:23 (NKJV)  “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

God with us! What a wonderful reality. God sent Jesus into the world on the first Christmas to be God with us.

Isn’t it great to know that God didn’t just create us and leave us on our own? And He didn’t just stay way off up in heaven, looking down at us from afar. Instead, in the person of His Son, God came to us, and became one of us.

Hebrews 2:17-18 Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.

That tells me that anything I have to face in life, Jesus, who names Himself my divine brother, has already gone through. He understands! And because He Himself had to deal with the same types of trials and temptations, He can be an ever present help in my time of trouble.

So, remember that Christmas is not just about what happened in Bethlehem more than 2000 years ago. It’s about the great and wondrous reality that the One who was born on that day is here now, and He’s here to be “God with us”!

And because of Christmas you and I need never again face a hostile world alone.

Ron Franklin

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Having a thankful spirit every day

Posted on December 11, 2015 by ronelfran

One of the first lessons I learned as a child was the importance of “please” and “thank you.” My mom was adamant about these courtesies. She understood what I as a child did not: that failure to express humility in asking, or gratitude in receiving, indicates a spirit of arrogance and entitlement that no parent wants to see their children grow up with.

Well, as good a parent as my mother was, God is a better one. He, too, emphasizes the importance of a humble spirit in His children. That why throughout Scripture we are told over and over about the importance of being thankful for all He has done for us.

Bible1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NKJV) in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Of course, that spirit of thanksgiving is not reserved for any one day. But our yearly celebration of Thanksgiving Day provides an opportunity for us to reflect on how much we have truly shown ourselves thankful to God, versus the degree to which we have implicitly taken Him and His gifts for granted.

Here’s a little Thanksgiving self assessment that I have found helpful for myself:

If I were a fly on the wall in your house, what would I hear as you speak about the issues of your life?

  • Would I hear you talking more about what you don’t have, or giving thanks for what you do have?
  • Would I hear you talking about what’s wrong with your health, or praising God for all you are still able to do?
  • Would I hear you complaining about how bad your job is, or telling everyone how thankful you are that God has provided a job?
  • Would I hear you talking more about how much your husband or wife comes short of your expectations, or would I hear you giving thanks to them, and to God, for the good things they contribute to your life?

Thanksgiving Day is certainly a day to express our thanks to God. But more than that, it is a day that reminds us to have a thankful spirit all year long.

Ron Franklin

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Creation Declares That God Is In Control

Posted on November 6, 2015 by ronelfran

This morning, as I read Psalm 19, I was inspired and encouraged.

BiblePsalms 19:1-3 (NKJV) The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. 2 Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard.

This psalm draws my attention to the majesty and power of God. Every tree, every cloud, the sun and moon in the sky, the breeze I feel on my cheek; all of these were created by God. So when I really look at them, and think about their beauty, they take my mind off whatever dreary circumstances I might be facing at the moment, and point my attention back to Him.

I think what so inspired me this morning is the realization that even in my times of discouragement, anxiety, or fear, I can stop, look around me at God’s creation, and be reminded of His awesome power that remains in control of this universe and of my personal world.

Ron Franklin

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The church is our team!

Posted on October 19, 2015 by ronelfran

Football teamWhen I was in high school, I discovered that I had a passion for electronics. So, I decided to major in Electrical Engineering in college. I worked hard and got my degree. And I had to do so as an individual; there’s no such thing as a shared diploma!

Eventually I graduated with all the knowledge and educational credentials I needed to be the engineer I had dreamed of being.

But the real fruition of my dream came when I landed a job at IBM as a Junior Engineer. Now, my success was no longer a matter of individual effort alone. I was part of a team, and the skills I had worked so hard to acquire as an individual could now only bear fruit as they were combined with the efforts of the other members of that team.

The Christian life is something like that.

1 Peter 2:9-10 (NKJV) But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

Believers in Christ are not just individuals with a personal relationship with Him. No, we are also a “holy nation; His own special people.” In other words, we are a team!

The work of God’s kingdom is not designed to be accomplished by individuals who focus just on their own personal relationship with God, but by a coordinated team working together under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

That’s what the church is all about – God’s people working together as a team, each one applying his or her individual knowledge, skills, and gifts to achieve together what none of us can achieve alone.

Ron Franklin

 Photo credit: skeeze via Pixabay
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Refusing To Condemn People Even When They Deserve It

Posted on August 20, 2015 by ronelfran

If you are a Christian, and committed to your faith, I’m sure you are doing your best to live a godly life. Jesus said that if we love Him we will keep His commandments (John 14:15).

But there is a danger that those who love the Lord, and who strive to live a life worthy of Him, have all-too-often fallen into. That potential trap is indicated in the following verses:

BibleTitus 3:2-3 (NKJV) to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. 3 For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.

How many times do we look at the lives of people around us, family members or coworkers on the job, and criticize them savagely because of the ungodly lifestyle they are living? When we feel that urge, Scripture says, be careful! We have no right to condemn another person for their ungodly behavior, because we used to be just like them.

True, we may not have committed their particular sins; we may not have used illegal drugs, or had children out of wedlock, or been too lazy to go out and find a job. But, in whatever way our rebellion against God and His righteous standards manifested itself, we too were once just as foolish, disobedient, and deceived as the person we feel so justified in criticizing.

It’s not that Scripture is saying we must not correct our loved ones for their off-center behavior. Many times correcting someone who is living dangerously is the most loving thing we can do. But when we do correct them, we must do it by speaking the truth, but only in a gentle, loving and supportive way (Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 4:15).

We must recognize that it is only the grace of God – His unconditional love that favored us when we had absolutely nothing good to offer Him – that has lifted us out of our own pits of darkness and destruction, and into the light of Christ.

So the next time you get ready to harshly criticize and condemn and talk negatively about the way someone else is living … STOP!

When we allow ourselves to speak evil of others, we become the ones who are falling into ungodly behavior.

Ron Franklin

 

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Stay focused on your mission!

Posted on July 26, 2015 by ronelfran

Do you know what your mission in life is? Jesus certainly knew His. And whatever happened, He always stayed focused on His mission.

BibleLuke 9:54-56 (NKJV) And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?” 55 But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. 56 For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village.

When James and John wanted to blow away this Samaritan village because the inhabitants had disrespected Jesus and turned Him away, Jesus let His two firebrand disciples know: “That’s not the mission!”

Jesus didn’t come to destroy people’s lives, He came to save them. No matter what their attitude toward Him, or how they treated Him, getting people saved was always His focus. He never let disrespect or maltreatment by the people He came to save deflect Him from the mission.

The most significant example of the Lord’s laser-like focus on His mission is, of course, the cross. Even as He was being put to death by the very people He came to deliver from death, Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Every day I need to ask myself, how focused am I on my mission? Do I have the same laser focus on seeing my neighbors delivered from death that Jesus had?

And just how much (or how little) disrespect or opposition from the people around me will it take to make me start reacting to how I’m being treated, rather than keeping my focus on the mission?

Ron Franklin

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How Well Do You Walk?

Posted on June 2, 2015 by ronelfran

Have you noticed that if you know someone well, you can recognize them just by the way they walk?

That’s true physically, and it’s also true spiritually. In spiritual terms, a person’s walk is their way of life – their deliberate decisions that determine how they will live every day.

The Bible teaches that we need to be very careful about the way we walk. For example, look at how the Apostle Paul urges believers to walk:

BibleRomans 13:13 (NKJV) Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy.

A “proper” walk for a Christian does not include revelry (carousing), drunkenness, lewdness, lust, strife or envy. Those are some of the “thou shalt nots” of the Christian walk.

But there are also many positive features that should be evident in every believer’s walk. Here’s one that is absolutely fundamental to the Christian life:

Ephesians 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

If there’s one thing that should characterize the walk of Christian, it’s love!

How well do you walk today?

Ron Franklin

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Fewer Americans Identify as Christians – and that’s OK!

Posted on May 15, 2015 by ronelfran
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Put your past in the past!

Posted on May 13, 2015 by ronelfran

How many times have you looked at some mistake you made in the past, some situation that went wrong because of bad decisions on your part, and said to yourself, “If only I hadn’t done that!”?

One of the unpalatable truths of life is that “if only I hadn’t” can’t change anything. What’s done is done, and if anyone is hard at work on a time machine that will allow us to go back and change what we did in the past, it hasn’t even made it to beta-test yet.

That’s why I’m so glad that God doesn’t operate on the “if only you hadn’t” principle. He doesn’t give us the ability to go back and change what we did, but He does make it possible for us to put our past in the past:

BiblePhilippians 3:13-14 (NKJV) Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

No matter what our past may have been like, God is calling us to a great future in Christ!

So, don’t let past mistakes continue to haunt you. Repent of your wrong choices (repenting involves confessing the wrong, then turning to a new, godly path), and then put them behind you.

Dealing with the results of past decisions may be a necessary part of your present and future. For example, an unwise sexual relationship can yield consequences that shape your life for the next 18 or 21 years and beyond.

But God already knows all about that. The new future He wants you to press toward already takes those consequences into account. Yet He still plans for you to be “more than conqueror” (Romans 8:37) over anything life can throw at you.

“One thing I do,” says the apostle Paul. “Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead…”

I think that’s a great program for being an overcomer in life!

Ron Franklin

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Having a good reputation

Posted on May 8, 2015 by ronelfran

Do you care what other people think of you? Sure you do! And there’s
nothing wrong with that. In fact, the Bible says we should care what
opinion others have of us:

BibleProverbs 22:1 (NKJV) A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, loving favor rather than silver and gold.

We are supposed to want people to think well of us. In fact, according to 1 Timothy 3:7, anyone who doesn’t have a good name, not only inside the church but with the community at large, is not qualified to be a congregational leader. God wants His people to have good reputations!

So, we should pay attention to maintaining a good name. Not by trying to manipulate people into liking us by conforming ourselves to their desires or expectations, but by living the kind of godly life people can’t help but respect.

When we live a Christ-like life, having a good name will take care of itself.

Ron Franklin

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