by Emmett Smith

A recent Associated Press article, titled "Activist Camp Trains Civilly Disobedient," dealt with the efforts of environmental activists to further prevent logging in National Forests. According to the article, the week-long camp was intended to train participants in techniques of civil disobedience (including "tree sitting") designed to delay or stop the loggers.

I don't know if you've noticed, but being an "activist" is considered a highly desirable occupation among many in today's society. Just think back on how many times you've had activism presented in a favorable light in movies, books, newspapers, etc. However, today's activists have nothing on the apostles and the early church!

According to Acts 17:6, they were referred to as "These that have turned the world upside down," and Thessalonica was in an uproar due to Paul's presence there. Within their generation the gospel was preached throughout the world! And their activism changed the world, literally, for millennia.

It's unfortunate that the present-day emphasis on activism so rarely encompasses spreading the gospel of Christ. We're always being informed about so-called "gay" activists, "pro-choice" activists, etc. It seems that almost any cause is considered a noble motivation for activism ... except Christianity. And the situation is coming to a head on several fronts.

Unless you've been marooned on a desert island this past week, you're aware of the Supreme Court's recent rulings on a variety of issues. Many activists have been encouraged by the decision striking down Texas' anti-sodomy law and the one upholding race-based admissions at the University of Michigan. These are signs of our times. However, these kinds of issues are not unique to our times. The early church had to deal with these kinds of things as well (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

What we really need are Christian activists whose priorities are in order. The handful of people Jesus chose for His work almost 2000 years ago were able to turn the world upside down. His commission hasn't changed in all this time. The world still needs the gospel as badly now as it did then. What's your cause?

by Michael E. Brooks

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31)

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. (2 Corinthians 4:16)

Earlier this year I spent a few days in one of the tea growing areas of northeastern India. As we traveled through the tea gardens I noticed many barren fields, and dead tea shrubs. The local people told me that this portion of India is losing many tea estates and the once huge export business is decreasing. It seems that the industry was begun by the British during the colonial period and the tea plants are now more than 100 years old. Production has fallen off, some plants are dying, and the industry is failing. Why not replant? Some are doing so, but most cannot. They lack the financial resources for such an investment.

Does that not remind you of life? We begin with great energy and enthusiasm, full of innocence and abounding with resources. But life’s experience soon begins to age us, sin corrupts us, and we find ourselves aging, less productive, and dying. Can’t we just start over? Change bad habits, make new relationships, gain skills and attitudes that will revitalize us? Some do, at least partially, through job changes, education, and other self-help measures. But ultimately we all fail, because we simply lack the resources. We need help, an "investor," to give us the necessary ingredients to make the changes that are essential to profitable lives.

Enter the Good News of God’s intervention through Jesus. Renewal is His gift to us. What we cannot do for ourselves, what we cannot earn or pay for, He does by grace.

"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5) .

Forgiveness from sin, freedom from guilt, new purpose and worth -– all these are Christ’s gifts to us, available through simple obedient faith. He constantly renews us, equipping us for productivity and eternal joy. If we will "wait upon the Lord," He will give us strength.

by J. Randal Matheny

Americans today celebrate 227 years of political freedom. One organization which measures freedom in countries around the world claims that more people enjoy greater liberties today than at any other time in history, in part because of Americans' efforts at home and abroad.

Every nation which enjoys some degree of freedom does well to commemorate and remember the responsibilities of citizenship.

Though Americans celebrate July 4th in a unique way, the moment serves to remind us all, regardless of nationality,

(1) That Christian values make good government. As Patrick Henry said, "It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ!" The old saw is still true that "America is great because America is good." Remove the goodness, and the greatness will tumble. This is true, not only of the USA, but of any country that would adopt Christian principles.

(2) That Christians make good citizens. Social and economic progress and political stability are served by the qualities of honesty, thrift, hard work, and integrity. Christians also understand true justice. As an example, slavery in England and the USA was abolished because of people who insisted upon the Christian truth that all people are created equal.

(3) That Christian faith thrives in any social or political climate. One does not need democracy, as we know it, to live in Christ nor to preach the gospel. As thankful as we may be for the democratic process, the Way was born under foreign domination and spread throughout an Empire, under diverse and often harsh conditions.

(4) That Christian freedom in the Lord Jesus Christ is eternal. Nations rise and fall, freedoms wax and wane, political systems come into vogue and disappear, but "[i]t was for freedom that Christ set us free" (Gal. 5:1 NASU). The phrase "for freedom," according to Kenneth Boles, "emphasizes the permanency of the new status" and, as J.W. McGarvey notes, indicates "the very design that we should cherish and enjoy our freedom."*

Indeed, in Christ we are set from sin and its consequences to enjoy the wonderful, full, and lasting liberty of relationship with God. Such freedom is a daily celebration and causes constant gratitude.

---

*Kenneth L. Boles, Galatians & Ephesians, The College Press NIV Commentary, p. 123; J. W. McGarvey and Philip Y. Pendleton, Thessalonians, Corinthians, Galatians and Romans, p. 279.

by Tim Hall

Driving to my destination, I cross the county line. The county I have just entered has no ordinances prohibiting the sale of fireworks. Every mile or so a tent had been erected to take advantage of the few days on which fireworks can be legally sold.

It has been many years since I've visited such a stand, but I hear that demand for pyrotechnics runs high during this patriotic time of the year. I don't know what current prices are, but I imagine most of the fireworks are not cheap. Adding to my reluctance to shop is the short duration of the pleasure; in just a few moments, all the enjoyment has gone up in smoke.

As I drive past the tents stocked with Roman candles and bottle rockets, I wonder how much I could buy for $9, and how long the show would last. I chose that $9 figure for a reason; in the back of my car is a 50 pound bag of rice I purchased for that amount. The rice will be given to a family of refugees who have just come from a strife-torn country in Africa. The family, thankful to be in a safer place, will struggle for awhile. But that much rice will help feed them for several days.

There is nothing inherently sinful about spending one's money on fireworks. But sometimes I wonder what such purchases say about the way we view our possessions and our stewardship. "It's my money! I'll spend it however I wish." Do such statements come from hearts touched by God's grace? Is there compassion for the needs of others behind declarations like that?

James speaks clearly about the use of our possessions: "What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,' but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead" (James 2:14-17, New King James Version). John makes the same point: "But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?" (1 John 3:17)

How does the love of God abide in me?

God has not commanded us to strip all pleasure from our lives. There's no inherent sin when we stop at the local fireworks stand to make a purchase. What we must ask, however, is this: Is this our usual pattern of stewardship? Do we also seek to imitate the Lord in using our blessings to bless those around us who are in greater need?

Just after dark on July 4th, I plan to be outside watching the city's fireworks display from my front yard. Like others around me, I'll be going "Oooh" and "Ahhh". But deeper down in my heart, I'll be savoring a more enjoyable sensation: the good feeling that comes when I pass along a little bit of the rich grace that God has shed upon me. That's the "bang" I'll enjoy most (and longest)!

by Mike Benson www.oakhillcoc.org

"And the Lord said, 'Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat'" (Luke 22:31; cf. Matt. 16:23).

He wasn't exactly a great prospect...

His resume had some rather obvious gaps in it. He was an uneducated fisherman (Acts 4:13; Matt. 4:19). He was impulsive (John 18:10; Matt. 26:50-51). He was prone to break his word (Matt. 26:53; Mark 14:29; Matt. 26:74). He started things that he didn't finish (Matt. 14:28-30). He experienced fear and doubt (Matt. 14:30-31). He could be cowardly (Luke 22:54-60a) and undependable (Matt. 26:40-41; Mark 14:37). He couldn't always control his tongue (Mark 14:71). He couldn't always see the big picture (Matt. 16:23; John 18:11), but was often preoccupied with the urgent and immediate. He was a narrow-minded racist (Acts 2:39; 10:13-14; Gal. 2:11-14) and a male chauvinist (John 4:27).

Let's be brutally honest -- Simon Peter (Matt. 16:17; John 21:15-17) wasn't the right man for leading the early church. Right?! The Lord needed an entirely different breed of man. He required an uncommon stock -- a man with minor blemishes, a near-perfect specimen, a spiritual giant -- or did He (Luke 6:12, 13)?

At Pentecost following the resurrection of Christ, there was Peter, boldly preaching the first gospel sermon with his fellow apostles (Acts 2:14; 38, 40). Yes, Peter! But it didn't stop there. The very same man who fled for his life when he was identified as a disciple of the Lord was the very same man who, despite the threat of imprisonment, fearlessly proclaimed the risen Lord (Acts 3:11-4:20; 29-31; 5:29).

Think for just a moment -- how can we account for this incredible transformation? How did this milquetoast Galilean fisherman become a notable force in the Kingdom of the first century? More significantly, what does Peter tell us about ourselves? Consider:

1. No matter what your previous background, the Lord can use you as a vessel in His service. Our faults can be molded and fashioned into virtue. Failure yesterday is not necessarily fatal tomorrow. Weakness can become strength. This He did for Peter, and this He can do with and for you.

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:10; cf. Isa. 64:10).

2. It takes time to become the person Jesus wants you to become. Evolving a Christ-like spirit is a lengthy process (1 Pet. 2:2; 2 Pet. 3:18; cf. Heb. 5:12ff). No one is shaped into a leader overnight. Peter certainly wasn't.

In fact, approximately twenty years after His service during the Lord's personal ministry, Peter as an apostle, a gospel preacher, and an elder (1 Pet. 5:1) still needed some "internal refinement" (Gal. 2:11ff). I find that ironic. In Acts 2, on the birthday of the church, Peter had taught, "...For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off [i.e., Gentiles]" (v. 39). Then some eight to ten years later it took a vision from heaven (Acts 10:9-16) to convince him that God, in fact, accepted all men, including Gentiles, into the faith (Acts 10:34-35; 11:18). And perhaps yet another eight to ten years later, in Galatians 2, Peter still struggled with the concept of the Gentile equality (Gal. 2:11ff).

He was a slower learner. You might say he suffered from SADD-spiritual attention deficit disorder. Growth was an incremental element for Peter. The same is true for each of us today.

3. Jesus seeks a willing spirit. Peter's problem wasn't his lack of desire and zeal, it was how he employed these qualities that often got him into trouble. One of the reasons Jesus chose Peter was because he was a man of passion. Granted, his passion was misdirected at times, but once Peter came to terms with the concept of the risen Lord (1 Pet. 1:3), that same fervency was channeled in a very constructive and powerful way.

The good news is, the Lord sees beyond what we are to what we can become. We see spiritual resumes that are tarnished by transgression (Rom. 3:23). We see rank sinners; Jesus sees holy saints. We see humiliation; Jesus sees exaltation. We see despair; Jesus sees a living hope. We see Simon the crumbling disciple; Jesus saw Peter the rock-solid leader who would help stabilize the first-century church.

Dear friend, are you looking for a job?

Do you feel incapable?

Is your work-history marred by defeat?

Yes? Great! (You automatically qualify.)

The Lord is hiring new laborers at this very moment! You can start your new work NOW (Acts 2:38; 2 Cor. 5:17; 4:16).

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