The Bulletin
of the
Church of Christ at New Georgia

Tim Johnson, editor

August 3, 2008

 
In This Issue:
Making Your Own Orange Juice
by Steve Klein

Establish Your Hearts
by Tim Johnson

BACK TO INDEX

Making Your Own Orange Juice

        Leroy Eims writes the following about driving with his family from Fort Lauderdale to Tampa, Florida:

      As far as the eye could see, orange trees were loaded with fruit. When we stopped for breakfast, I ordered orange juice with my eggs. "I'm sorry," the waitress said. "I can't bring you orange juice. Our machine is broken."  At first I was dumbfounded. We were surrounded by millions of oranges, and I knew they had oranges in the kitchen--orange slices garnished our plates. What was the problem? No juice? Hardly. We were surrounded by thousands of gallons of juice. The problem was they had become dependent on a machine to get it. Christians are sometimes like that. They may be surrounded by Bibles in their homes, but if something should happen to the Sunday morning preaching service, they would have no nourishment for their souls. The problem is not a lack of spiritual food--but that many Christians haven't grown enough to know how to get it for themselves.

  Keeping your Bible study skills in good working order is indeed a lot like maintaining the ability to squeeze oranges to make your own juice.  If you don't use the skill, you'll lose the skill, and you may forget that you ever even had it (cf. Hebrews 5:12-14). 

  Here's what studying the Bible for yourself has in common with making your own hand-squeezed orange juice:

  • You are sure of the source. When you are brought a glass of orange juice at a restaurant, you have no idea where it came from or what kind of oranges were used to make it.  Even so, when you merely read or hear what someone says about the Bible, how can you be certain that God is the source?  But when you read the words of an inspired apostle or prophet for yourself, you know that you are getting divine truth direct from the source.  In Ephesians 3:3-4, the apostle Paul points out that the Scriptures he wrote came by "revelation" from God; he promises that "when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ."  In 1 Corinthians 14:37 Paul declared, "The things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord."

  • You know its purity.  A lot of orange juice that you buy is actually made from concentrate.  Water and other things are added to it.  It's not really PURE orange juice.  A lot of so-called "truth" that has been reconstituted by preachers isn't pure either; it has been mixed with human error.  But God's word (like fresh squeezed OJ) is 100% pure. The Psalmist declares, "Your word is very pure; therefore Your servant loves it" (Psalm 119:140).  Proverbs 30:5 states, "Every word of God is pure."  We are to desire God's word in its pure and unadulterated form (see 1 Peter 2:2).

  • You can take your time and enjoy the product with confidence.  Like enjoying a glass of fresh squeezed juice to the last drop, when we study for ourselves, and know that we've got God's pure word, we can savor it thoroughly -- like the Psalmist who said, "I will delight myself in Your commandments, which I love. My hands also I will lift up to Your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on Your statutes" (Psalms 119:47-48).

  • It takes work.  Squeezing oranges by hand is a lot of hard work; so is studying your Bible for yourself.  In all reality, that is why a lot of people do neither.  It's too much work.  But if we want juice and truth that are from the right source, 100% pure, and can be enjoyed with confidence, we'll put forth the effort.  "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15).

   My hope is that none of us will forget how to squeeze oranges or study God's word for ourselves!

 --Steve Klein

Establish Your Hearts

     James 5:8 - "You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand." This is very good instruction for those who want to spend eternity in heaven. But just exactly what should you do to "establish your hearts?"

  1. Receive God's word (Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23). Jesus relayed this parable to His disciples to teach them about the various kinds of hearts that exists within men. To make sure they understood, he explained the parable as well. We can see from His explanation that there are way-side hearts, too hardened to ever receive God's word. There are stony hearts, which receive God's word, but have no commitment. There are thorny hearts which receive the Word, obey it, but fall away because they allow the cares of the world, deceitfulness of riches and lusts of other things to take precedence over following God's commandments. Then there are good hearts, which receive God's word gladly, commit themselves to obeying it fully, and teach it to others. Is your heart a good heart?

  2. Love God (Matthew 22:37) - Once we have received God's word in a good heart, we must develop a love for God because of all the things He has done for us. He gave us our very existence. He has provided all we may need to sustain our physical lives. He has given us His word which we need to sustain our spiritual lives. He gave us His Son so that we might have the remission of our sins. Truly, He first loved us! Do you love Him?

  3. Sanctify God in our hearts (I Peter 3:15). To sanctify is to set apart as special. The church of God in Corinth was made up of those who were sanctified in Christ Jesus (I Corinthians 1:2). In speaking to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:32, Paul said that God "is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified." Just as he has set us apart from all others and made us special, God should be set apart and made special in our hearts. Is God special to you? Can others tell that He is special in your life? Are you prepared to give a reason that God holds such a special place in your life and why you carry the hope of heaven with you?

  4. Let the word of Christ dwell in your hearts (Colossians 3:16). God has given us His word to prepare our hearts. We are to allow it to dwell within our hearts. In Deuteronomy 6:4-12, God told the Israelites through Moses that His word should be in their hearts, it should be taught diligently to their children, it should be spoken of in their houses, when they are walking by the way, when they lie down, and when they rise up. His word should be as a sign on their hand and frontlets between their eyes. And it should be written on their doorposts and on their gates. In Jeremiah 31:1-34, God speaks of days that would be coming during which He would put His law in the minds of His people and write it upon their hearts. This is speaking of you and me today. He does this because His word is profitable to us for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction (II Timothy 3:16-17). We then should "&ldots;give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine . . .meditate on these things . . . (I Timothy 4:13, 15).  Does Christ dwell in your heart?

   There are various other instructions found in God's word concerning establishing our heart for the coming of the Lord. God has left it up to each one of us, individually, to make this preparation (Philippians 2:12). But, He has not left it for us to do alone:

  "Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work" (II Thessalonians 2:16-17)

.--Tim Johnson