Pay Your Debts! (by Stephen Simpson)

We live in a society consumed by debt. Everything is available for "No payments now!" or "0% interest for 5 years!" Gone are the days when we save our money and simply pay cash for things. Instead, we put it on a credit card and worry about paying for it later. Most of us live with debt. We may have a house payment and/or a car payment. We may have medical bills to pay or educational loans. Some may be under the burden of credit card debt. For many of us, debt is unfortunately an all too familiar part of our lives. Each debt represents an obligation that we have. We are obligated to repay the money that we have borrowed.

It is easy to understand the financial debts we face, but have you ever stopped to consider the spiritual debts that you have? Let me ask it another way. What are the spiritual obligations which we must fulfill? What is our spiritual duty?

In Romans 1:14 Paul writes that he is "under obligation both to Greeks and to Barbarians." (ESV) Paul's term for 'obligation' can also be translated 'debtor' or 'one who is in debt.' The Barbarians Paul mentions are simply non-Greeks. So, when Paul writes that he is under obligation to both Greeks and non-Greeks he is including all of mankind.

So, what is this obligation that Paul speaks of? Paul mentions it in the very next verse. "So I am eager to preach the Gospel to you also who are in Rome." Notice the first word of this verse, 'so.' This is an important word. It connects this verse with the previous one. Paul is saying, "Therefore, as a result of my obligation, I am eager to preach the Gospel." Paul felt obligated to preach the Gospel.

Notice Paul's attitude about his obligation. He was eager to preach the Gospel. He did not dread his obligation. It was not drudgery to him. It was something he looked forward to doing. There is excitement and energy in his words. He was eager to fulfill his obligation.

What about us? It is important to recognize that you and I are under the same obligation as Paul. 1 Corinthians 6:20 reminds us that we were bought with a price. Our sin carried a high price. In fact, it was a price which we, in our won strength, could never pay. Miraculously, Jesus Christ paid the price of our sin with His vicarious death on the cross. He took care of our sin-debt for us. Now, as a result of His death, we are under obligation to Him. We, like Paul, have an obligation to preach the Gospel.

Let us have an attitude like Paul's. Let us be eager to fulfill our obligation to Christ. let us not procrastinate or delay. Let us be filled with excitement and vigor as we eagerly complete our task.

We are obligated to preach the Gospel. This is the debt we owe Christ. This is the obligation we have and the duty we must fulfill. Lord, help us be like Paul and be ready and eager to fulfill our obligations.

Joshua 7 (by Bobby Thompson)

Consider Joshua 7 for your Scripture reading today. I have written a short article about some background to this passage that I pray will enhance your understanding and application of this chapter as you travel through it.

Joshua 7 opens like a great novel or drama in which the narrator or opening scene reveals something significant about the conclusion of the story. The importance of the story is then placed on the events and circumstances that lead up to that climax or conclusion. The first word in most of our English texts is “but”; this causes us to appropriately want to relate the following statement with some previous knowledge. In this case the information referred to is in the previous chapter in which the children of Israel secured a great victory over the city of Jericho by trusting the Lord and precisely obeying his commands. Israel’s military campaign over the Caananites was to be like none other that the world had ever seen. Because Yahweh promised to fight for Israel, sometimes the military strategy took on some rather unconventional forms at times. God’s purposes in this was that Israel might be a nation whose trust was fully in their God, and that the name of Yahweh might be known and feared among the heathen nations. This was certainly the case in Joshua 6 as the Bible records the victory over Jericho. The chapter ends with a statement that summarizes the testimony of the nation of Israel in the land at this time: “So the Lord was with Joshua and his fame was noised throughout all the country.” What a contrast to the opening of chapter 7! The Bible says in 7:1, “But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing…” This statement is all too reminiscent of similar statements of failure on the part of the children of Israel to be the Kingdom of Priests and the example to the nations that God wanted them to be. Time after time Israel failed to trust the Lord and obey his commands and time after time the Lord lovingly pursued and chastened them. God is a holy God and demands a holy people. He will not allow his name to be dishonored and misrepresented by sin and rebellion among his people, his representatives in the world. The account of the failure of Israel and the judgement of Achan in Joshua 7 is not an account of wrathful retribution, but is an account of a holy God in pursuit of a holy people. This was a crucial point in Israel’s history. As they entered the land of Caanan they were on the threshold of blessing or compromise; Blessing, in that it was God’s will for them to dwell in the land as his people, and compromise, in that they were entering a land that was filled with every imaginable corruption. Their mission was to destroy all the elements of corruption that God commanded, that they might not be defiled by them. The danger was that the close proximity to these elements might cause corruption to spring up in the camp and thus defile the Nation. This is why the timing and severity of the Judgement of Achan was so important and necessary at the outset of the conquest. This was to be a reminder tattooed to the memories of the people in order that they might not again experience the tragedy of compromise and that they might experience the full blessing of God in the land.

Maintenance, Maintenance, That's What We Do!

Yesterday in the men's combined Sunday School class Gerry Hill read an original poem he wrote for the purpose of recruiting some help in the Maintenance department. I have included it below for your enjoyment.

Maintenance, Maintenance, that's what we do!

by Gerry Hill, Maintenance Supervisor

Maintenance, Maintenance, that's what we do.

Mop the floor, fix a door, you could too.

Mow the lawn, dusk or dawn, help me thru.

Plunge a pot, clean a lot, that's what we do.

Maintenance, Maintenance, you could help, too.

Change a light, mend a hole,

Pick up garbage with a smile.

Pull weeds in the shrubbery for awhile,

Mulch the beds, or trim a hedge, that's what we do.

Maintenance, Maintenance, please help, soon,

Edge the walks, pick up trash,

Use the vac, clean up a splash,

All this and more we do.

Help me!! You and you and you.

Maintenance, Maintenance, that's what we do.

Fix a flat, errands for this and that. Yes! You could!!

Change a battery, repair the tattery. Sure you could!!

Stack a chair, then a table, at every event if your able.

This is what I do.

Maintenance, Maintenance, that's what we do.

Set up this, and set up that, sometimes even find a dead rat

Snakes and bugs of every kind, plague this place some of the time.

Change the filters, batteries, too.

All these things, that's what we do.

Maintenance, Maintenance, that's what we do.

Sure would be nice if you'd do some, too.