Ministering Mightily

February 23, 2025 Background Scripture: Matthew 25 Lesson Passage: Matthew 25:31- 46 For too long, many have considered attendance at Worship Service, Bible Study, and Sunday School as behavior that serves God. If you include giving tithes and offering while attending those, then many believe their ministry is complete! We believe we have done what God requires of us. We truly believe we have worshiped and obeyed God while honoring Jesus Christ. We even repeat the lyrics, "Only what you do for Christ will last." But do we know what it means to do something for Christ? How do we do something for an invisible God that will satisfy Him? Is attending religious services and giving money liberally sufficient to meet God's expectation of His children? Jesus provides the clarity we need to answer this in today's lesson. In fact, Jesus bluntly stated what one must do to ensure it is done for Him, "Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." This statement is both the heart of today's lesson and the heart of the gospel message, God wants His children to take accountability for the welfare of people we encounter in life. This is what Jesus demonstrated during His three years of ministry prior to His arrest, crucifixion, death, and resurrection. And this is what Jesus succinctly stated to His disciples after they asked Him concerning the sign of His return at the end of the age. Our Background Scripture shares some insight concerning what Christians should expect when Jesus returns. First, Jesus shared with them two parables about the importance of being watchful for His return. When He returns, He will sit on the glorious throne of the kingdom of heaven here on earth. He will separate the righteous from the unrighteous. Then Jesus will pronounce eternal life in the kingdom for the righteous and everlasting punishment as judgment for the unrighteous. The only criteria used to determine which group a person would be in will be how each person had treated the needy in the society in which they lived. This is consistent with what Jesus had been teaching them and demonstrating. All the Law is summed up in two commandments: love for God and love for one's fellowman. Love for God is based on reciprocation; we love God because He first loved us. Love for one's fellowman is an act of benevolence that is motivated by the need of the person. This type of love is not an act of reciprocation. We should not expect anything in return. It is enough to know that someone's burden has been relieved or eliminated by an act of kindness. When it is left at that point, then God will reward the doer. If anything is received in return, including flattery remarks that are desired or boasting about the deeds that were done, then we have received our reward. It is worth noting that the reason for the Lord's judgment says nothing about one's love for God. Again, the only criteria given was the treatment of the "least of these His brethren". Jesus clearly communicated that He personally identifies with the "least of these His brethren". Jesus was born into this world as one of the least of these in His society. He feels their pain, and He feels the relief also that is provided to them. Whatever treatment befalls persons who are considered the least in their society, Jesus takes it personally. Ministry that is directed towards providing relief for the hungry, thirsty, imprisoned, socially isolated, and naked is synonymous with serving the Lord, or minist1Y to Jesus. It is interesting that the people identified in the text as righteous appear to be unaware that what they did for the least was all that was expected of them. James wrote, "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." Through this effort we can minister mightily! Robert C. Hudson February 13, 2025

Living Lastly

February 16, 2025 Background Scripture: Matthew 19:16 - 30 Lesson Passage: Matthew 19:16 - 30 Salvation is personal. We sometimes think that is obvious, but it is not. What God requires of us as part of our spiritual growth is also personal. It is rare that a Christian experiences a "one size fits all" beyond accepting Jesus as our personal savior. Our lesson shares another example of this. When Jesus responded to the young man who asked Him about eternal life, He included a criterion that He did not require of the men He called to be His disciples. Jesus instructed that young man to go sell his possessions, give to the poor, and then come follow Him. According to the gospel accounts, Jesus simply told His disciples to follow Him. And we know they kept their possessions because they continued to fish with their boats and nets after being called by Jesus—and even after Jesus was crucified! So, Jesus' instructions to the young man are certainly not "one size fits all" when it comes to following Him. So why was the young man given the additional criterion before following Jesus? The answer can be seen in his response to Jesus' instructions. His spiritual handicap was not in the wealth he possessed. He was spiritually handicapped because his wealth possessed him. I have seen enough in my lifetime to be convinced that most of us have more than we have the capacity to manage. And yet we continue to gather and hoard as though we will live in this world forever. The more worldly material we gather, the more focused we become on it and not on the needs of others around us. Following Jesus requires us to become more focused on the needs of people we encounter on the journey through life. That's what Jesus did. Jesus went to people who had physical and spiritual needs. Sometimes He would address their physical needs first, and sometimes He would address their spiritual needs first. As we study the gospel accounts, Jesus always appeared to be sensitive to the needs of individuals and the crowds that followed Him. Jesus described His behavior as the kingdom of heaven having come to earth. Put another way, Jesus was giving a glimpse of the future kingdom that many were aspiring to enter. Part of the preparation for the kingdom of heaven includes living according to its spiritual laws and principles now. If we are focused more on living in this world than leaving it, then it is reasonable to surround ourselves with the comfort and excesses of this world. If we are more focused on living in another place, then we should prepare ourselves for it, This is not done to the exclusion of living in this world but rather looking at living in this world in its proper context. Life in this world is temporary. This is not to suggest that we should seek to live here purposely in poverty. Owning material wealth is not a sin. We can use the things of this world to serve others who are living without them. But when the things of this world cause us to avoid people in need of worldly things, then we have misguided priorities. Again, consider the examples I cited earlier about how Jesus responded to those who follow Him. People who understood readily made the adjustments required of them. Zacchaeus, a publican, publicly proclaimed that he would give half his goods to the poor and restore fourfold whatever he had taken fraudulently. He did this after having dined with Jesus. In our lesson, Jesus did not tell the young man who approached Him to give "everything" he had to the poor. He told him to sell what he had and "give to the poor". He was a young man with great wealth. That's a heavy burden for a young person to bear in a world obsessed with worldly goods, He was not bearing it well. God had burdened his heart with the need for salvation. That burden brought him to the right person, Jesus. However, he made the wrong decision. He walked away from Jesus. He chose to live in this world temporarily as though it was for eternity. Robert C. Hudson February 1, 2025

Heeding Wholly

February 9, 2025 Background Scripture: Matthew 1 1 Lesson Passage: Matthew 11:7 - 15, 20 - 24 In our lesson for today, Jesus urged His listeners to pay close attention to what was happening around them and understand what the word of God says about those things. In other words, He warned them to completely heed what God has said and how it was unfolding around them. Oftentimes, there are two groups listening when the word of God is proclaimed. When it comes to spiritual matters, there always seems to be a great gulf fixed between the saved and the unsaved. The saved tend to recognize and acknowledge the work of God during their lifetimes— and indeed in their own circumstances! No matter to what extent the works of God are talked about, or recognized, the unsaved never seem to get it. It seems that way, but we know this is not the case or none of us would be saved. We were all unsaved at one time. Unfortunately, I believe our lesson informs us that there are some who will never "get it". No matter what God does, they will excuse it away. They will suggest a reason for what happened based solely on science and nature. To those who will "get it", Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" Note that Jesus said this after explaining the connection between the word of God and the ministry of John the Baptist. We have two methods that can help us follow Jesus' advice. Both are found in today's lesson. First, we have the word of God that describes clearly what God will do, and what God is doing. It was this that Jesus cited as a response to the disciples of John the Baptist. Jesus quoted from the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah prophesied in detail the activities that the Christ would be engaged in. What Jesus did publicly was the evidence of Who He is. He fulfilled prophecy. Jesus did not need to verbally confirm Himself to John's disciples. He simply repeated the list of things He was doing as He served people. Jesus' works were the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah concerning the Christ. John's disciples did not need Jesus' verbal assent to bring a report to John; Jesus' works spoke for Him. Besides aligning with the word of God, the works of Jesus were without doubt miracles, Nicodemus and the other religious leaders of the Jews understood this. Nicodemus said to Jesus, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him." Simply put, what Jesus did was extraordinary. These were not trivial things that were easily explained away. It was this last point that led to the warnings against three cities. Those were places where Jesus did much of His minist1Y work during His three years of earthly ministry. All those places were in Galilee, where He had grown up. Jesus had the harshest criticism for Capernaum. That should be expected since Capernaum was considered His base of operations. The scriptures even refer to Capernaum as "His own city". Those cities were privy to many of Jesus' miracles, and yet many people who lived there refused to accept Jesus for who He is. Some people never have a believing faith when it comes to the things of God. Likewise, for those of us who are saved, it is often difficult for us to make the initial connection between what we see around us and what God has said. When we prayerfully ask God for directions and discernment, He connects it for us. The psalmist rightfully pleads for God to, "Deal bountifully with Your servant, that I may live and keep Your word. Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law." When God opens our eyes concerning His word, He does so by revealing a new reality about the world we live in. We can see Him working, and we heed His word completely. Robert C. Hudson January 30, 2025

Praying Properly

February 2, 2025 Background Scripture: Matthew 6:5 - 15 Lesson Passage: Matthew 6:5 - 15 The Gospel of Matthew records an occasion of Jesus teaching what has become known as the "Sermon on the Mount". The entire narrative comprises three chapters. Jesus discussed many different topics on that occasion. This occurred early in His ministry before He called the last eight disciples to follow Him. His popularity was growing rapidly throughout Galilee and Judea. As He taught and healed in those regions, multitudes began to follow Him. The scripture for today's lesson was taken from the Sermon on the Mount. In our lesson, Jesus addressed personal prayer. What He taught about prayer is commonly referred to as the Model Prayer. This is not a prayer to be prayed but rather the model to use when one prays. The Model Prayer does not emphasize specific words to use, as Jesus later demonstrated. The emphasis of the Model Prayer is how prayer should be offered and not what should be said. Sadly, even today some believe there are "magic" words to speak to get God to act on one's behalf. If that were the case, that would make us gods and He would be our humble servant. Submission to God is the posture we take while praying and not making demands of Him to satisfy our desires. Understanding this difference is the reason we need a Model Prayer. Jesus taught that we should approach God as His children seeking His guidance. He shared the proper way we should do this. He taught that words should be used that emphasize proper reverence and worship of God. God is our heavenly Father and He is holy. In addition to reverence and worship of God, the words in our prayers should be specific and concise. Prayer should not be our attempt to convince God to respond the way we desire. Prayer does not disclose new information to God; God is omniscient. He already knows everything, which includes our needs. The best examples for us can be found in the prayers that Jesus prayed that are recorded in the gospels. On the night He was betrayed, Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane as well as on His way to the garden. The latter we call an intercessory prayer; He was interceding for others in that prayer. Note that neither prayer uses the exact words of the Model Prayer. However, both prayers follow the pattern of the Model Prayer in their reverence for God and specific requests that were made. Jesus didn't just teach about prayer. The gospel accounts record that Jesus lived His earthly life as a person of prayer. He demonstrated it in the presence of His disciples. Jesus prayed at His baptism, before choosing His disciples, before He was transfigured, when He was happy, before He raised Lazarus from the dead, before He ate, before He suffered crucifixion, at the point of death during His crucifixion, and even now as our great High Priest at God's side. The disciples witnessed most of these during Jesus' earthly minist1Y and left the written record of it for our admonishment. None of Jesus' recorded prayers use the words of this Model Prayer; that's why I say the Model prayer does not emphasize the words to use. Sometimes Jesus prayed publicly but it is recorded that oftentimes He separated Himself from others and prayed alone. When Jesus prayed publicly, He showed reverence and worship of God as His heavenly Father. He talked with God as an obedient Son who was submissive to the will of His Father. Jesus was very specific in the requests He made to God. He prayed while expecting God to answer Him. Although He was specific in His requests, He submissively prayed that God's will would be done despite His own requests. Because of Jesus' teaching and examples, today we understand how to properly pray. Robert C. Hudson January 22, 2025

The Lord is Righteous

January 26, 2025 Background Scripture: Psalm 145 Lesson Passage: Psalm 145: 1, 10 — 21 Few persons presented in the bible expressed praise to God in the way David praised Him. Perhaps that is why God said David was a person after His own heart. The biblical account of David's life shows the frailties of his humanity. The bible reveals that David had many faults, but the bible also reveals that David was especially sensitive to the will of God. When David was confronted about his behavior not being aligned with God's will, David quickly repented and acknowledged his sin. David was not ignorant of his sins prior to being confronted. However, David demonstrated the proper response when one is confronted with his sins. David was a musician and a prolific writer of psalms. Psalm 145 is one of them. Approximately one half of the psalms in the Book of Psalms were written by David. One can feel the sincerity expressed by the words in the psalms David penned. It appears that David wrote some psalms as a vehicle for Israel to praise God in unison. God declares Israel to be His people. For this reason, Israel should praise God. What leads a person of God to praise Him? Often it is recalling the mighty works God has performed and is performing. When one has a personal relationship with God, deliverance by God in a time of distress will cause a praise that will continue forward beyond the blessing of deliverance. David wrote about one generation praising God for His mighty works to another generation. As one grows spiritually, then God is even praised for how He blesses others. As God blesses others, we can observe certain aspects of God's character. We see God's compassion and grace extended to others. And we praise Him for it. David proclaimed that all the works of God shall praise Him. Every living thing finds fulfillment in the Lord. When we don't know what to ask Him for, God provides exactly what we need. This would be amazing even if it were temporary. However, God's dominion lasts forever. Those blessed with salvation can see and bask in the glory of God throughout eternity. That's motivation enough to declare God to those who do not know Him as their Savior. God is not righteous at various times, God is always righteous. God is the standard of righteousness. Everyone comes short of His glory because our righteousness is seen as filthy rags compared to God's standard of righteousness. True righteousness is what God expects of those called by His name. God expects us to be holy because He is holy. Our faith in the Lord brings us into right standing with God. This happens without removing our faults and shortcomings. Despite our shortcomings, God gives us everything we need to satisfy our desire. Everything God does is righteous and His works are acts of grace towards the undeserving. Even in such majesty, God is an ever-present help to all who call upon Him. God comes close enough to us to allow His Spirit to live within us. We do not deserve such love and kindness from a holy God. God is always attentive to the cry of His own for deliverance. Whether one passes through the flood or the flame, God preserves His own. God has enemies and His children do too. God has declared that He will one day destroy all who are wicked while preserving those who love Him. Today, the children of God know Him. One day all will know Him. Every tongue will praise God for His righteousness. Every knee will bow in humble reverence to the eternal Ruler. We who are saved are blessed to know God today, even as the wicked flourish and appear to live forever. One day the wicked will be no more. Only those who are in right standing with God will remain. Even then, we will extol the name of our righteous God. Because Jesus has conformed to all that God expects, He is forever righteous. Robert C. Hudson January 10, 2025

The Lord is Active

January 19, 2025 Background Scripture: Psalm 103 Lesson Passage: Psalm 103:1 -14 I read a report with testimonies of people who recently left the Christian church. The respondents were from various Christian denominations. Each testimony expressed extreme disappointment with some aspect of the congregation, leadership, or the Christian faith in general. In none of those testimonies did I see any suggestion of a spiritual conversion by any of the persons who responded. Absent a spiritual conversion, all that is left of the church is religion. Religion is what people make it to be. A religion can exist and flourish among people without God's involvement. Sooner or later, rational people will become despondent with religion. True worship of God only occurs after spiritual conversion. Only then is it possible to know God. It is in the process of spiritual conversion when God first allows a person to begin to know Him. He might reveal His presence before this through His actions, but the unsaved person will not see the person of God in it. Israel's enemies came to know of God's presence as He defended Israel during her exodus from Egyptian bondage, yet the enemy did not know God. Religion becomes the recourse for the unsaved person who wants to know God through their own effort. Religion can teach a lot about God, or gods. Knowing about God is not sufficient if one is to have a true worship experience. I speak of true worship as an experience that is not restricted to a specific place, day, or time. Worship is not about rules and regulations to be followed. There are always reasons to worship God for the person who has truly been saved from eternal damnation. We praise Him for His ongoing mercy towards us. We praise God for His glory He reveals to us, We praise God for the benefits He provides for us. God provides divine care of us. He feeds us when we are hungry. He heals us from all diseases. We praise God because He is always present with us. Kowing God, not just knowing of Him, awakens a person to His ever-present and active Being. This seems to be the heart of the message conveyed in our Background Scripture. The praises to God that open this psalm seem to lead the psalmist into a spirit of worship. It is the worship where the psalmist starts recounting the many specific blessings that God has already provided. He is the same God that the patriarchs worshiped and extolled. Their experiences with God provide encouragement to their offspring. God's track record with His people is lined with grace and mercy. Truly all have sinned and come short of His glory. Yet, He keeps on blessing those who put their trust in Him. The blessings make it evident that through His mercy He has forgiven our sins—even as He declared that He would. We are but children before our loving God. He claims us as such and shows us pity. We are even taught to call upon Him as our heavenly Father. God never leaves us to wander through this dark and evil world on our own. He lovingly guides and corrects us as only a loving parent would. To be loved in such a way by God, despite our shortcomings, is one of the greatest blessings He provides all the time. This is one of the reasons praising God is continuously in the mouth of His children. We all have reasons to praise Him. The oppressed can look to Him to execute righteousness and justice. We are humbled as we consider that we were formed from the dust of the ground. But our God has elevated us to be His children. He gave the Law to Moses that we might come to know of His holiness. He defeated Israel's enemies that we might come to know of His love for His children. For those who might be considering leaving the church, first examine yourself to see if you have had a spiritual conversion. You will know if you have because you will see that the Lord is active in your life. Robert C. Hudson December 19, 2024

The Lord is Majestic

January 12, 2025 Background Scripture: Psalm 47, 93 Lesson Passage: Psalm 93 The two psalms in the Background Scripture are part of the collection of psalms known as the royal psalms. The royal psalms proclaim and praise God as the eternal Ruler. God is celebrated as eternal King. These psalms celebrate God as King over all creation (He created it all.), King over His chosen people, Israel (descendants of Abraham), and King over all nations (every knee shall bow and submit to God's reign). The scriptures declare His universal rule. Many battles have been waged and will be waged as nations vie for supremacy over other nations. However, in the end, only the Eternal King, God, will remain and be celebrated. The celebration is more than just the celebration of victory over His enemies. God is celebrated for His majestic rule as the eternal Monarch over everything. Psalms such as these can be a challenge for us because we live in a country that exists because the former leaders rejected the rule of monarchy. A democratic republic led by an elected president was established in its place. The pageantry, pomp and circumstance, and coronation associated with monarchies are different than the swearing in of a president. Perhaps we see the swearing in of a president more like a business transaction than a majestic affair. Our main clue for appreciating the enthronement of a monarch comes from observing it in other countries. We watch the worldwide broadcast of the ascendency of monarchs to reign in other parts of the world. We take note of it, but we don't really see it as such a big deal. However, one of the psalms for today's lesson can also be instructive for us because of the author(s) attributed to it, the Sons of Korah. The Sons of Korah descended from one of the early leaders in Israel's history after they were delivered from Egyptian bondage. Korah was from the tribe of Levi that was tasked with supporting the priesthood. Korah and his followers were not satisfied with the ministry assigned to them by God and sought to serve in the office of priest without God's permission. The fire of God went forth and killed the group of rebels as they attempted to serve as priests in God's presence. Korah's descendants dedicated themselves to serving as God had appointed for them. They understood that anything less than obedient service would be open rebellion against God' s rule and therefore wicked. Psalms that are attributed to Korah's descendants often proclaim the honor of serving as God has appointed. They praise God for His reign as King and call on others to do the same. They invite others to clap with their hands, shout with the voice of triumph, and sing praises to God. This is praise in every dimension being extolled by descendants of one of God's chosen people who rebelled against God's divine edicts. What's the motivation for such praise? Their motivation came as a response to God's love. God's actions are not to instill fear and terror in His followers. God's actions always serve as a demonstration of His love for His people. The response of His followers is to reflect love in return. We love Him because He first loved us. Note that none of this has anything to do with respect for a president. We see presidents as one of us who has been elected by the rest of us. Subjects of monarchs never see the monarch as one of them. Monarchs are always seen as above the citizens they reign over. This is the only way we can view God. Psalm 93 takes it a step further and contrasts God with the Canaanite gods. Whatever the Canaanites thought of their gods, God is greater than that. Whereas the Canaanites had imagined individual gods over various entities, such as water, death, etc., God created everything and was therefore God over all. No matter what they imagined and chose to worship, God was greater than all of it. The Lord is King and therefore majestic! Robert C. Hudson December 19, 2024