by J. Randal Matheny

"After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel" (Judges 2:10, NIV).

Judges is one of the Bible's saddest books. The Lord had created the means for the Israelite family and nation to remember his salvation of his people and his constant goodness toward them. The feasts, for example, served to remind them of God's great acts in their favor. After Joshua's generation died, however, the next one did not know the Lord nor recognize what he had done for the nation (see Judges 2:7).

This book traces the sad trajectory of Israel's abandonment of God's plan. Her vision is short-term. Her sin brings oppression; the people cry to God; he saves them through a judge. But soon they return to sinning. This is the tragic cycle of the book (See Judges 2:10-19.)

How could the people, in a single generation, forget the Lord? Though there are various possibilities, we must recognize the lack of teaching in Israel. The parents did not teach their children.

Today, we cannot assume that others know the Lord's will. We must beat the same drum of the gospel, the plan of salvation, the model for the church and for worshipping God.

For we are only a single generation away from apostasy.

by A. A. Neale

Police won't say why they think Scott Peterson killed his wife and unborn child, but behind every good detective work is the exploration of why someone commits a crime.

Motives do matter (Jas. 4:3). The "why" word starts at an early age and takes in greater life questions as the decades roll by.

The legal courts consider that evidence can be gathered to establish the reason why a crime is committed. Based on evidence of a motive, a person can be convicted and punished severely.

Involuntary manslaughter, for example, carries a lesser punishment than murder, all because of the motive behind the taking of a person's life.

A Different Story, Spiritually

Perhaps that's fine and good for secular courts, but it's a dangerous thing for Christians to try, whether it's justifying my own motives or condemning my neighbor's. (Those seem to be the two tendencies.) The Bible says repeatedly that only God can read the thoughts and intents of the heart (Heb. 4:12). "All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, But the Lord weighs the motives" (Prov. 16.2, NASB).

I figure it this way. It's in the area of motives that separates (or fails to separate) the wheat from the tares (see Matt. 13:24-30). The Bible is clear that for sinful behavior the sinner must be excluded from the communion of the saints. But since we can't judge a person's heart, we have no business trying to remove those whom we think may be "doing church" (what a horrible phrase!) for a hypocritical or base reason. Now, eventually, such an inner evil will probably be found out by resulting in sinful behavior, and then it should be dealt with. But we might just imagine a person who is a saint with a capital "S" on the outside, but whose heart and soul are as rotten as Satan himself. God will take care of him.

People might even tell us what their motives are, but we still can't be 100% sure, since we don't know if they're telling the truth. And some folks might even think they're telling the truth about their motives, when they don't know themselves well enough to truthfully say what makes them tick.

Having said all of that, Jesus reminds us in his Mountain Sermon to judge a tree by its fruits. Most likely "fruits" here refer to teachings and behaviors, and we must pinpoint who's a "pig" before casting pearls of the gospel out into the world. Those things, doctrine and conduct, are objective enough to serve as indicators of faithfulness.

In the Meantime

So what do we do in the meantime, as we wait for God to reveal all our hearts' deepest secrets?

First, let's teach right motives, pointing out what the Lord finds acceptable and what he approves of.

Second, let's pray for better self-understanding and meditate on Scripture that we might identify where we need to shore up good motivations and change out bad ones.

Third, let's dwell upon the love and goodness of God, especially as we see them in Jesus Christ. Nothing will help good motives like the cross.

Fourth, let's be glad of right conduct, even if it springs from wrong motives. So says the magnaminous apostle Paul, "But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice" (Phil. 1:18).

Fifth, let's recognize that some sinful conduct shows bad motives. James said to mean-spirited Christians, "have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?" (Jas. 2:4). This doesn't diminish the admonition against judging of motives, but it does associate deliberate sinful behavior with evil motives.

Sixth, let's show ourselves as Christians of pure motives by our exemplary imitation of the Lord (2 Cor. 1:12; Thes. 2:3). People will be assured of our good motives by consistent, faithful, unselfish service.

I'll work on my motives, and leave yours to the Lord.

"Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts; and then each man's praise will come to him from God" (1 Cor. 4:5).

by J. Randal Matheny

Faithfulness has gotten a bum rap. It's been equated with a works-based righteousness. It got discarded by a faith-only religion. The prevailing idea is that, sure, God may say such-and-such, but after all, his grace will cover it all, if you're really sincere and depend on Jesus for your salvation.

• How could God give a one-size-fits-all plan for the church's work and worship, when we have so many cultures, situations, and contingencies to deal with?
• He says obedience is necessary to be saved -- we understand that -- but, hey, nobody's perfect.
• Yes, he hates divorce, and we do read that Jesus said marriage is a life-time covenant, but the Lord knows you just couldn't live in that situation.
• And what about those people in the desert with no water for immersion or in the Amazon jungle who never heard the name of Jesus Christ?

Paul challenges us to faithfulness by God's own: "If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself" (2 Tim. 2:13 NASU).

Faith and faithfulness are two sides of the same coin. Even the Greek word for faith, pistis, is translated as faithfulness in many contexts.

If we have faith, we will be faithful. No separating the two, in God's book. We might want to think twice before etching it in ours.

We can theologize, philosophize, and fantasize all we want, but if God says he will punish the disobedient, we can be sure he will do as he promised. For God will be faithful to himself, even if we aren't to him.

by Tim Hall

"Who does this fellow think he is? After all, I'm the one who has been fishing these waters for all these years. What is he? A carpenter? What does he know about catching fish? Besides, I've been out all night, and I can tell you the fish just aren't to be found!" Such thoughts were probably going through the mind of Peter when Jesus told this hapless fisherman to "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch" (Luke 5:4). When Peter put the Lord to the test, he discovered that the Carpenter knew a great deal about catching fish.

I suspect Jesus would tell us the same thing. He sees us rushing, sweating, fretting and gasping for air, all without having found the big catch that keeps driving us. "Launch out into the deep," He would say. And I'm confident we would realize similar results as Peter - the largest catch of his fishing career.

Too many Christians are wading in the shallow waters of religion. It's commendable that they have decided to get in at all; so many in our society don't even make the attempt. But some Christians have just enough "religion" to make them miserable. They know what God expects, but they've not yet made the commitment to fully follow Him. They feel guilty for not doing more than they've done, for not developing more as a Christian.

It's time to stand back and evaluate: How have I done? Am I nearer to the Lord than I was this time last year? Have I become more regular in my study of His word and in prayer? How many times must I look back over my past with regrets?

Let us determine now that we will launch out into the deep. We are going to get serious about our Bible study and prayer habits. We will become more involved in helping others and in serving Christ. We will look for opportunities to encourage others with visits, notes and telephone calls.

There is joy in serving the Lord! But that joy does not begin to be felt until we've waded out into the waters of spirituality that are deep. Then, when our toes can no longer feel the bottom, we will learn to rely more fully on God's help than ever before. There, in the deeper waters, we will discover what it really means to be a disciple of Christ!

by Warren Baldwin

Why do we tend to remember things about people that are less than flattering? You know, we seem to focus on people's flub-ups, don't we?

I suppose there is a little bit of self-defense action taking place. If I can remember when you got drunk and broke out a window it makes my own offenses seem a little less severe, doesn't it?

What is unfortunate, however, is when people overcome their shortcomings but in our minds we don't let them live a new life. God will give them a new life. Jesus died so that they can have new life. But sometimes it is hard for us to grant them that new life, isn't it?

I sure know how that worked out in my life. I was one of Jesus' trusted advisors. I was one of his personally trained group. I was an insider.

Can anybody fault me for wanting some evidence that he was alive again? I mean, in all my life I had never seen a dead man come to life before ... except of course for the few times it happened when I was around Jesus. He could tell a dead man, "Get up," and he would.

But how was I to know that the same thing would happen to Jesus? If he was dead, how could he tell himself, "Get up?" Ok, so it was his Father who was the power behind him after all. I lost sight of that. When my friend was dead, I thought he was dead. It was over. And when they told me he was alive I thought, "What a macabre sense of humor. To joke about our dead friend like that!"

It was only natural that I would want to see the nail marks in his hands! Let me touch the sore on his side and then I would believe! No, I wouldn't just believe, I would know! I would know that Jesus was raised from the dead. But don't expect me to get my hopes up in a savior or a redeemer that was still dead.

Well, it took a week. A week of me wondering and fretting. A week of my friends cajoling and ridiculing me. "Come on Thomas, believe us, he is alive!" But I wouldn't believe. I couldn't believe. Not yet.

And then we were sitting in the house. Just us -- some of Jesus' disciples. And he walked in. Jesus. Really, he didn't walk in, he walked through -- right through the locked doors. And he said, "Thomas, put your finger here; See my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."

And I did. Right then and there. I believed. I fell to my knees before him and said, "My Lord and my God!" And I meant it.

People still remember me as "Doubting Thomas." And you know, I really don't mind. Not that much. Because I am proof that you can overcome any shortcoming, any faux pas, any doubt. No matter where you are right now, if you will keep an open heart and an open mind, Jesus can provide the evidence you need to cast aside your doubt and create opportunity for faith.

Remember me as "Doubting Thomas" if you will. I'm just thankful that God remembers me as "Believing Thomas"! (John 20:24-28)