From the Preacher’s Pen…

RacineBuildingOur Vacation Bible School was a great week. Our teachers did a wonderful job of presenting lessons from God’s word and our students had a good time learning about God’s power. The hard part, as we all know, is to continue both the interest in God’s word and the excitement of serving the Savior.

Every honest child of God knows the struggles, the challenges of keeping our faith, our hope, our joy alive and active in serving the Lord. And speaking of challenges, here’s a reminder of our practical practice from one of our children’s songs for us all to think about and work on:

Watch Your Lips…

“…For the Father up above is looking down in love, Watch your lips, Watch your lips, What they say.” Remember that children’s song? It’s as good a reminder to us as it is to our children: As Christians, we must constantly practice our Christianity.

Most parents have had the experience of hearing their children learn “words” from some playmate or school friend. Christian parents hasten to explain to their children that “we” don’t talk like that.

We as Christians (parents or not) have a grave responsibility to “watch our lips.” We live in a world that says, “You have a right to your feelings and a right to express those feelings.” God disagrees!

Read Ephesians chapters four and five and you will see what I mean. Paul says that your old, corrupt self is laid aside (4:22) and, as Christians, we are a new self with renewed spirit; we are like God (4:23-24). “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such as is good for edification according to the need, that it may give grace to those who hear” (4:29).

Surprise! This is not about just cursing and swearing. (We DO need to keep reminding ourselves frequently about our “bad language,” though, don’t we? How many times each day do you hear or say something that brings disrespect to the name of the Lord? To be blunt about it, how many OMGs and similar words do you use each day?)

We must do better if we truly love the Lord! As Christians, we are to guard each and every word that comes from our mouth. Now that’s a hard challenge! (Remember James 3:1-10?)

Christianity a hard challenge? Haven’t I heard that becoming a Christian was so easy anyone could do it? What is easily understood, may well be difficult to practice. Many things (perhaps your job?) take only a short time to explain, but a lifetime to master. Have you ever noticed how easy it is to describe what you want and how challenging it is to actually do it? If Christian living and entering heaven were easy, everyone would do it! But, like all really worthwhile professions (that’s what Paul calls our Christianity in Ephesians 4:1), it takes a lifetime of hard work to master. Need more challenges?

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:31-32). “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. But do not let immorality or any impurity [emphasis added] or greed even be named among you, as is proper among saints” (5:1-3).

Now there’s a professional challenge worthy of heaven. Let’s take up that challenge together, shall we?

— Lester P. Bagley