The command rings out from God to store up comfort: Isaiah 40:1 (ESV) Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

God was about to restore His people. So, Isaiah was to speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Her warfare was ended, and her sins were pardoned.

But then the prophet continues to give a message that would develop a people prepared to comfort an entire world: Isaiah 40:3–5 (ESV) A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

You see, friend, the way God’s message goes out is through His Church offering comforting counsel to a world that is not well. Now that “the Lord has spoken” I have two questions to spur us to action: First, are you part of the helpers who bring comfort and peace or the torturers who erect confusing stumbling blocks?

And, secondly, don’t you also find it paradoxical that comfort is best felt in a broken heart? Is it not a paradox that the fragrance of a rose is only fully released when crushed?

Paul clears up these paradoxes in 2 Corinthians 1:3–7 (ESV). Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, SO THAT WE MAY BE ABLE TO COMFORT THOSE WHO ARE IN ANY AFFLICTION, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.

Here is Paul’s paradox made even more clear: the crushing of my heart allows me to comfort others with the comfort I have received. But I must never forget that the comfort I use is from God. That means, I am merely to be a conduit through which God’s comfort can easily flow.

So, here is the answer to “why must I suffer so” – it is so that I can comfort others. But, with the real goal of God’s glory being revealed when the world looks at the soul that should be crushed, but now is overflowing with peace and joy instead.

Has your heart been crushed? Then stop asking why and start living the answer so God’s glory may be revealed.

Do you find yourself in the game, or sitting on the bench? What I know for sure is that everyone on the bench wishes they were in the game. However, to get in the game requires more than a desire. Spiritually speaking, I have encouraged several lukewarm Christians to “get off the bench” by ceasing forsaking the assembly.

A few years ago, I visited a man who will be buried next week. At one stage he had been a faithful member at Summit. When attempting to reignite his faithfulness, he flat out told me that he preferred catching fish on Sundays.

Friend, are you in the game or sitting on the bench? More importantly, do you honestly want to meet God in your current state? If the answer is no, then take a warning from a departed soul:

Luke 16:27–28 (ESV) And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house — for I have five brothers — so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’

But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. Gen 6:8

Last Tuesday the seniors went to see the Ark display.  Wow, what an experience!  If you have not been let me encourage you to go. I believe you will be spiritually enriched; I know I was.  Even though I have been before, I continue to be amazed by the experience.

The first thing you will notice, from a distance, is just how big the ark is. The dimensions of the ark, according to Gen. 6:15, are 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high.  The Ark was longer than one and a half football fields, and taller than a 4 story building.  The Ark is exactly 6 times longer than it is wide, the same dimensions used by modern ship builders today!  The size and complexity makes it hard to imagine building the Ark without modern equipment.  It took Noah and his family about 120 years to build the Ark. Besides the actual construction of the ship they had to build the cages and the clay pots to store water and food. What forethought and details were managed to be able to survive not only the time on the ark but life after the flood.   Noah was a righteous man, I am sure he was preaching to the lost and the skeptics the whole time he was building the Ark.  A lesson for all of us, not to give up when proclaiming the Good News.

On this visit you get a real sense of the living conditions for Noah and his family, as well as the animals.  When you walk into the Ark, you can hear thunder and lightning, just like a summer thunder shower, and you can hear all of the different animals.  Scholars have estimated that there could have been 34,000 animals in the Ark.  Take with you seven of every kind of clean animal and two of every unclean animal, a male and its mate. Gen 7:2   Can you imagine how much food and water they would have needed to keep the animals alive for almost a year on the Ark?  

Another thing that impressed me was the size of the door entering into the Ark!  Put a door in the side of the Ark and make upper, lower and middle decks. Gen 6:16  While the ark was the means of salvation for the people, there was only one way to get in.  God provided his Son as a door to salvation for us.

Brothers and Sisters Jesus said in John 14: 6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.”  God had Noah build a vessel of salvation for the animals and his family.  Noah made a decision to obey Gods instructions and to get into the Ark to be saved.  We have to make that same decision to get into the soul saving vessel who is Jesus Christ to be saved.  Just as no one was saved outside the Ark because of the flood, today no one outside God’s grace and mercy will be saved.  The Ark of Christ is the body of Christ, which is his Church.  Remember God has sent us the means of salvation through his Son, Jesus Christ, but we have to get on board.  Make it your new year’s resolution to be a part of his body and go into the watery grave of baptism.

In it (the ark) only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you. 1 Peter 3: 20-21

Our youngest, Ben Buchanan, is a missionary in Anchorage, Alaska. So, I asked him to throw some water in the air just outside his backdoor. The result was an instant cloud [t.ly/yKOMG]. James uses a similar analogy to humble us.

James 4:14–15 (ESV) yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For YOU ARE A MIST THAT APPEARS FOR A LITTLE TIME AND THEN VANISHES. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

Are you a forward focused thinker who is the captain of your own destiny? Or is your every step in the hands of the Almighty?

Whether it is because of the raging fires, the rumors of wars, or the death of a loved one – we will all benefit by saying: “If the Lord wills, we will live”.

Friend, are you ready to meet your Maker? As an adult (accountable for your actions) have you been totally immersed for the forgiveness of your sins, in the name of Jesus Christ, so that you may receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38)? And if so, are you allowing God to direct and determine yours steps (Jer.10:23; Pro.16:9)? Today is the day of salvation tomorrow may be too late.

In the pre-teen class this quarter we will be studying from the book “Why I am a Member of the Church of Christ” by Leroy Brownlow and I will be using a lesson plan created by Bill Cantrell to teach the class. I plan to share some of the lessons in the bulletin throughout the quarter.

In our first lesson we reviewed what the church of Christ is not. One of the points we focused on was the church is not the material building.

I explained to the kids how Summit started in a basement of a house and we discussed how the physical structure we use now is designed to make it convenient to meet together for worship, but the church is not a material structure.

To support this point, we reviewed how the church is the body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23) and how the body is made up of the members (Romans 12: 4-5). I then explained that since the members are the body, and since the body is the church, therefore the members are the church.

We also discussed how the church of Christ is not a denominational church and how it is not a man- made church, but we closed the lesson by discussing how to become a member of the church (Acts 2:41 and verse 47).

Hear the word. Believe. Proclaim your faith. Repent. Be baptized. The saved are added to the church.

Philippians 3:12 – Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect,
but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.

Whether you are still making New Year’s resolutions or you are just striving to be a faithful disciple, the goal for each of us should be to be a little better today than we were yesterday.  If you want to continue to grow, Timothy Diehl, writing for All-ProDad.com, proposed these 5 key questions to ask yourself.  I think they are great things to ask ourselves on a regular basis.

1. Who is influencing me? The key question is not whether you’re being influenced by others. It’s “Who is influencing me?”  These people will play a significant role in shaping your worldview. Choose wisely. Jim Rohn once said, “You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.” The Apostle Paul told the Corinthians, ‘Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”’ (I Corinthians 15:33)

2. Am I being intentional about spending time with my wife and kids? “Quality time doesn’t magically happen.” Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus and said, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time….” (Ephesians 5:15-16)

3. What makes me come alive right now? What do you believe you were made to do? You aren’t promised tomorrow, let alone next year. So don’t wait to discern your passions.  The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 3:13-14, “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal….” James wrote “what is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” (James 4:14)

4. What do my checkbook and calendar say about me? Money and time are two of our most precious resources. So if you want to know what you really love—what you’re really committed to—check your checking account and your calendar. They’ll tell you what’s most important to you. Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” (Matthew 6:24)

5. What am I afraid of? We’re all afraid of something. And your fear will help shape you. So be honest with yourself. Paul wrote to Timothy and said, “God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

Spend some time asking yourself these 5 questions.  Strive to be a little bit better tomorrow than you were today.  Press on!

It seems like all around us battles are raging. Some on foreign fields, some in our own streets, and some in our bodies and minds. James tells us to count it all joy when we find ourselves facing these trials. He says they will generate patience that in turn will create a complete and wise individual (James 1:2-6).

Just this weekend our country was shocked by the horrific scene that streamed out of a church of Christ worship service in Texas. How can our “take away” attitude be “all joy”?

The West Freeway Church of Christ sits on a busy thoroughfare, just off a major highway. As such they often find themselves caring for the downtrodden of society. Now, the very person they had RESCUED, turns around and PERSECUTES them. Satan’s end game is to turn an entire church into a fear driven community with a VICTIM mentality.

However, Jesus says that when persecution happens, we are not to count ourselves as victims.

Matthew 5:10–12 (ESV) — 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Friend, the current form of persecution has been revealed. And the good news is that we are not victims – we are blessed.

Father God, please help members of West Freeway to get through the trauma. Strengthen them. Help all your children to focus on: faith instead of fear; on hope instead of guilt; and on love instead of anger.
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*Insight from ABC news