Newkirk Church of Christ

Scott’s Thoughts

February 1

 

“Have you not known? Have younot heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of theends of the earth. He does not faintor grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths will faint and be weary, and young men will fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not be weary; they will walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:28–31, ESV)

The passage above starts with two rhetorical questions then goes on and begins to answer those questions. Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. The writer is expressing the magnificence of God in concrete terms. He (God) never gets weary, or tired and His strength is without limit. His understanding has no end.

God has unlimited knowledge and strength, and He is willing to share that strength and knowledge with us. He reaches down to lift us up when we need it. Where would I be without God working in my life? I can’t imagine what — I can’t even finish that sentence. The thought of going through life without God is just too terrible to imagine. I am so glad that he is there for me! Not just me, He is there for everyone who will obey His Gospel. There are days when it seems life’s problems have no end. Everyone has days that our problems seem to be more than we can bear. As I think about life and the struggles that each of us will face, I realize my troubles are no greater or less than yours, they are just different from yours. How do we handle these troubling times? Will we praise God or will we blame God and ask Him why me?

Events in life can cause us to stop and think. On those days we need to be especially grateful that we have a loving God to turn to. His strength and understanding can allow us to turn defeat into victory. Whatever I have had to face in my lifetime is nothing compared to what Job went through in his lifetime and what Job went through is nothing compared to what Christ went through for us. Christ is the only truly innocent man who was executed in history. But he did it for you and for me to protect us from eternal destruction. “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23, ESV).

When we are in the middle of facing struggles, we need someone to lean on who doesn’t fail us. That someone is Jesus. I want my strength to be renewed, and I am sure you do too. I want Him to lift all of us up beyond the daily grind. In our struggles, God is preparing us for greater things. We can look at the problems of others and realize God might be sending us to be an answer for their problem. With God’s help, we can learn to be happy that God uses us in our struggles, because in our struggles, we can help others in theirs.

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”” (Matthew 11:28–30, ESV)

Thanks for listening and keep on shining

—Scott

2020 Mission Trip to Kramatorsk, Ukraine

Day 1 & 2 | 10/12/20 | 10/13/20 | 10/14/20 10/16/20 | 10/17/20 | 10/18/20 | 10/18/20 10/19/20 | 10/20/20| 10/21/20 | 10/23/20  | 10/25/20 | Summary Report

 

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The Three Most Important Bones

 

In 1908, a medical doctor, Dr. Kavanagh, stated that the three most important bones one needs to succeed in life are the backbone, wishbone, and funny bone. This sentiment has been made popular by singers, coaches, and even preachers.

We each need a backbone. Yes, physically to give us stability and movement, but spiritually we need spiritual strength, godly character, and the willingness to stand firm on the truths of God’s Word. Peter instructs Christians with these words in 1 Peter 3:15, “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,” and Paul asks for prayers in Ephesians 6:19-20 so he might speak the gospel boldly. So, yes, Christians need to have a spiritual backbone, hold firmly to the word of God, and make it known. As it has been said, “One must stand for something, or they will fall for anything.”

Second, we need a wishbone. The Christian faith is more than a wish; it is a reality, and it is going somewhere, Heaven. But we need a wishbone, figuratively speaking, because we need to have desire, hope, and confidence. Paul stated in Philippians 1:6, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Each Christians need to have a clear vision, hope, and confidence that our work and labor in Christ is not in vain (1 Cor. 15:58) and moving in the direction of Heaven. Faith looks beyond our circumstances and trials of this world and looks toward Heaven.

Third, we need a funny bone, a sense of humor. Proverbs 17:22 teaches, “A cheerful heart is good medicine.” Then Ecclesiastes 3:4 states there is a time to laugh. We all need to laugh from time to time and have a sense of humor. Life is much better when we can laugh and have a sense of humor, plus it is good for our health.

May we strive to develop all three “bones” in our lives as we look forward to the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

—Mark T. Tonkery
Norval Park church of Christ
Zanesville, OH