In Jesus’ time, Roman soldiers had the power to commandeer non-Roman citizens to serve them for a limited time. The most well-known compulsory service that these non-Romans performed for their oppressors was carrying a soldier’s luggage for a mile (1000 paces). These Roman backpacks were by no means light. In addition to fighting, the soldier also acted as a mobile construction worker who built forts and clearing roads. Thus, his backpack would contain building tools along with his food, tent, cooking equipment, and weapons. These backpacks could be anywhere from 60 to over 100lbs!

If you were a normal Jew (or, for that matter, a normal human), you would hate this practice of compulsory (and unpaid) labor. It would make you hate the Romans even more. When compelled to go a mile, I could imagine them counting every single stride so that they wouldn’t go any further than necessary. A mile is what they were demanded so a mile is what they will get.

Christ, however, is no normal human. He commanded us to go beyond the
requirements and to take upon ourselves voluntary suffering. When people are abusing and taking advantage of us, we aren’t supposed to retaliate. Instead, we are supposed to show resilience and love. It is within this second mile that Christ is found. It is in this second mile that you reflect the image of God. Let’s go the extra mile by doing more than what is required of us. By not only keeping our contracts (whether social or commercial), but by giving beyond the requisite amount. When we do this, we will be like Christ.

Anger is a dangerous internal feeling of strong annoyance, displeasure, or hostility. It is a response to a perceived threat (hurt or provocation). Sometimes it is expressed but most often it is repressed. Internally it fills the brain with stress hormones that in turn increases the heart rate and elevates the blood pressure.

Anger is also incredibly dangerous to the soul. It robs an individual of peace, joy, contentment, and self-control. From sinful anger Satan gets a foothold in the soul via accusations. The dangerous and enduring result of anger is a bitter root in the soul. So, how do I get a grip on anger?

Turn first to God, in prayer. Look to Him for relief from the distress (event). Ask Him to graciously hear your prayer. Psalm 4:1 (ESV) — ¹ Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer! Second, “gossip” to God about all that provoked you to anger. Psalm 4:2–3 (ESV) — ² O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame? How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah ³ But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD hears when I call to him.

And, finally, regain your peace by giving God the “problem”. Instead of continuously replaying the event in your mind, change your self-talk by trusting God. Psalm 4:4–5 (ESV) — ⁴ Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah ⁵ Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the LORD.

Dear Father, I need your strength today. I don’t want to keep replaying deep hurts from my past in my mind. So, I die daily, and continually give you this damaging anger and all that is part of it. Restore my peace that I may once again be able to lay down and sleep (Ps.4:8). In Jesus precious name, amen.

I have heard it said several times, “I had a hard time concentrating on worship because So-and-So was doing such-and-such. I am not used to such-and-such an action, so it took my attention off the worship service.” In fact, I have thought this to myself several times as well. People raising their hands in prayer, singing off key, or doing something different from what I am doing have all caused me to lose focus on what is important. They should be more considerate of me because I am trying to worship God. Did they not know that everything was to be done “decently and in order” (1 Cor 14:40)?

However, there are major problems with my thinking here. At best I am being inconsistent and at worst hypocritical. While I am castigating someone for being “selfish” for not being considerate of my worship experience, I am also being selfish in thinking only about my worship experience at the cost of someone else. If possible, I need to love that person by allowing them to express themselves freely during worship service. I do not want to be rebuked like Michal for despising her husband David’s worship and praise of the Lord (2 Sam 6:20-23).

Therefore, let us stop blaming others for “distracting us” and instead grow in our own discipline and lengthen our attention spans. The next time you are “distracted” by someone’s worship (getting on their knees to pray, lifting hands to God in prayer, saying amen repeatedly, etc.), meditate on how wonderful it is that the person is worshiping God freely and are brave enough to express their worship in a way that is meaningful to them. This will humble us and show us that we are not the only ones worshiping God. We are not the center of the show. We have the joy and privilege of worshiping alongside others who are different from us. This is the beauty of the Gospel!

A prayer of commitment sealed the dedication of Solomon’s Temple in 1 Kings 8:61 (ESV) — ⁶¹ LET YOUR HEART THEREFORE BE WHOLLY TRUE TO THE LORD OUR GOD, WALKING IN HIS STATUTES AND KEEPING HIS COMMANDMENTS, as at this day.”

At the heart of this prayer were three requests: First, that the Lord would always bless His people as He had in the past. Second, that God would grant His people the will to walk in all His ways (1 Kings 8:59). And third, that these requests would remain close to God’s heart. After this prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the sacrifice and the Glory of the Lord filled the temple (2 Chron.7:1).

How committed are you to the Lord and to the relationships He has placed in your path? There is a quick test you can perform to find out. First, is your heart wholly true? A divided heart will never endure. If you have “options” you will not make it. Instead, I need to treat God, and those I love, with the same passion as the day we first began our journey together.

Second, am I “walking in His Statutes”? That is, am I doing the good I know I ought to do for God and those I love? This can mean something different for each one of us (James 4:17).

And lastly, am I “keeping His commandments”? God has given me several lists in the New Testament of works of the flesh and their opposite, fruit of the Spirit. Similarly, most of us have vows, contracts, or agreements with those we love. Are we living up to these?

Friend, may we not fail the COMMITMENT test as Solomon did – rather, may God “grant us the will to walk in all His Ways”.

Last week I wrote about how Christ is the “first fruits” of the resurrection, that is, how Christ is just the first of many people who will be raised from the dead and given an incorruptible body (1 Cor 15:20ff). Elsewhere, James used this same metaphor to describe Christians, “In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures” (James 1:18; NASB). What does it mean for us to be the first fruits of God’s creation?

Drawing from our discussion last week, being the “first fruits” meant that we are the first of the crop to be harvested. In the Old Testament, the feast of Firstfruits was a festival dedicating the first yield of one’s crops to the Lord (usually taking place in late spring or early summer). For us, then, this would mean we are only the first of God’s harvest. God has redeemed us and saved us from our corruption, spiritually and physically. The rest of creation, too, longs for redemption (Rom 8:19–25). Thankfully, though God subjected creation to futility, He subjected it, “in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (8:20b-21).

God does not only intend to rescue humanity through Jesus. God will redeem all creation. In this way, the fall of man and of creation in Genesis 3 will be completely undone. God will once again be recognized as King and Lord of his wonderful universe!

In my daily Bible reading plan, I recently read Isaiah 55, which the NIV has the chapter titled “Invitation to the Thirsty”, but I think the ESV has the more appropriate title of “The Compassion of the Lord”Isaiah 55:1-4, 6 & 7 (ESV)

¹ “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

² Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.

³ Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.

⁶ “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;”

⁷ let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”

God’s invitation of compassion is freely offered, but to receive His salvation we must:

1.   Come to Him in repentance, confess your sins and ask for forgiveness

2.   Listen and hear the Word of God

3.   Seek Him through scripture

4.   Call on God by taking on His Son in baptism

In verse 6, Isaiah tells us to call on the Lord while He is near. God is not planning to move away from us, but we often move away from Him. Whether it is family responsibilities, work obligations and/or our recreational activities, we create barriers between ourselves and God. Don’t wait until you have drifted far away from God to seek Him. According to God’s wise plan, His people were to have a hope and a future. God can be sought and found when we seek him wholeheartedly. Seek God now, while you can, while He is near. God is inviting you, return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on you.

Could it be that inside the Born-Again Christian lives two opposing forces? When you look at a butterfly, do you still see the worm? No, but that does not mean that the true nature of the butterfly is not still both. 

Similarly, when you look at a born-again Christian you probably don’t see the sinner. But that does not mean the sinner is not still lurking in the now saintly soul.

Two thousand years ago our world was forever changed. Even the current universal calendar announces the end of BC (before Christ) and the start of AD (anno domini – the year of our Lord).

Jesus left the Father as fully divine. However, He proceeded to add to His divine nature the form of man (Philippians 2:6–8). From that moment it became possible for the Christ to be tempted and for man to be victorious over sin.

So, dear friend, do not be so hard on yourself “when the howling storms of doubt assail” (Standing on His Promises). Simply get back into repenting, confessing, and striving to do better.

Father God forgive us our sins. Help us to stop feeding the flesh with sin by starting to feed the Spirit with your fruit. In the name of the Christ we pray, amen.

In 1 Corinthians 15:20, Paul writes concerning the resurrection, “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.” What does it mean for Christ to be the “first fruits”? The language used here is likely drawing upon the Old Testament imagery of the Feast of Firstfruits. The Feast of Firstfruits (also called the Feast of Weeks) was where Israel dedicated the first yield of their spring crops to the Lord (Lev 23:9-22). The rest of the crops would be harvested near the end of the Israelite year (September-October for us).

Going back to 1 Cor 15:20, Christ is described as the first fruits of those who are “asleep.” One can understand from the context of 1 Cor 15 that “asleep” is a euphemism for “dead.” Thus 1 Cor 15:20 states that Christ is the first of many who will undergo bodily resurrection after death. This verse assures us that the eventual “harvest” of the dead will occur, and Christians can have hope that we will gain a new body that is not subject to weakness and decay.

The story of Jesus’ resurrection presents humanity with the greatest hope possible, namely, that of wholistic restoration. God did not just resurrect Christ’s spirit, but also his body! So also, will it be for us. Additionally, Jesus’ resurrection means that God’s kingdom is here now, that the prophecies of the new kingdom are here in the present! As Christians, our mission is to spread this news all over the earth and to live like we are citizens of God’s kingdom. Eventually, Christ will finish what he began at his second coming when the dead in Christ shall rise in a new, resurrected body. But until then, we are supposed to continue to build God’s kingdom so that we can welcome him into it at his coming.

God is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine. Eph. 3:20

Are we content at Summit? We have a nice building to worship in, a set routine for our services, and good Christian friends to support us. But is that enough? Are we satisfied with outreach to others; our concern for the souls around us; and our growth both personally and as a church?

In 2 Kings chapter 4, a widow comes up to the prophet Elisha and cries out to him, “My husband is dead and creditors are coming to take away my two sons to pay the debt.”  Elisha asked her how he could help and if she had anything in her house. The widow said she only had a little oil. Elisha told her to collect as many jars as she could from her neighbors. They went into her house with the empty jars and started filling them. When they ran out of jars the oil stopped flowing. Elisha told her to go and sell the oil to pay off her debt.

How many jars would you have filled? Maybe all she needed to pay off her dept was about 20 jars. The Bible doesn’t say how many she filled.

If someone came up to most of us and granted us three wishes we might wish for world peace. I would wish for the world to know our Lord and Savior. Many would wish for one hundred more wishes!!  not content with only three.

What would you have done in the place of the widow? Would you have pushed for 100 jars of oil or are we sometimes content on just getting by? I believe the number of jars she filled was an indication of her faith. God’s provision was as large as her faith and her willingness to obey his direction.

We need to be thankful for our blessings and trust the Lord to provide for us. But we should never be content in our service for Him. We must always be aware of needs around us, reaching out and in prayer for lost souls we encounter.

Brothers and sisters, we just had a great VBS.  Covid had us wondering if we were doing VBS this year, but we were not content to let the opportunity slip by. What a great outreach to children and their families in our community. A big thank you to all the workers!! The Body came together to put our best foot forward, from weed whacking the hill, touching up the landscaping, organizing and planning, decorating the classrooms and auditorium, teachers, cookie makers and helpers, youth workers and Chris leading songs. The Wednesday night celebration was well done and enjoyed by many. God continues to bless us at Summit!!  My prayer is that the parents of all the little children we cared for, will someday be a part of Summit. Jesus said,” Let the little children come to me.”  Matt 19:14

Are you working for the Lord? Are you content?