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We have two crows which frequent our neighborhood. In fact, they are around so much we have grown fond of them and given them names. One is Carl, and the other is Esmeralda. Now, Carl is the chatty one. You can hear him just about any time of the day with his familiar: “Caw, caw, caw!” It’s usually a tri-caw. We especially enjoy hearing him when we’re just waking up, and he seems to be calling us to the day’s activities. After all, he’s been up for some time already, so why shouldn’t we be up and about?! Esmeralda is his faithful companion, and they are almost always together. One morning when we went for a walk, they both followed us pretty much the whole way. No, I’m not making this up! But Carl and Esmeralda are just doing what crows do as God designed them. They fly, search for food and chatter. They are inquisitive and attracted to shiny objects. Some have been known to accept food from people. They even make little “crowsies” or whatever they’re called. They are crows being crows. We humans can learn a lot from the creatures which God made. They do a much better job of being what God intended them to be than we do. In our text God Himself observes that the “sons” He had reared had revolted against Him and become a nation of evildoers. He uses the ox and donkey as examples of creatures which know their own masters and are obedient to them. When we are disobedient, more is happening than the fact that we have failed to follow the word of the Lord or disobeyed one of His commands. Since we are made in the image of God, we have failed to live up to that image, and we become something other that what God designed us to be. Most of us know the definition of sin as “missing the mark.” That mark may not so much be the word of God as the image of God in which we were made. Certainly, we are all sinners, but God didn’t make us to be sinners but to reflect the image of the divine. How do you see yourself? Others? Hmmm?

Elijah had climbed this mountain more than once in his day and had done so not long before this. Yet, it was still an arduous climb for him though his servant was along to help. The Lord’s word had been clear. He had shown himself to King Ahab, so now the Lord would send the rain. Selecting a spot near the summit he got down on his knees and put his face between them. “O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, today let it rain again on the earth so that it will be known that you are God in Israel and I am your servant.” With that, Elijah raised up and said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So, his servant climbed up to the summit of Carmel, looked out over the Great Sea and returned to Elijah. “There is nothing.” So Elijah bowed down again: “O Lord, God of our fathers, today let the rain come upon this dry ground for it has been three and a half years since it has tasted rain. Let all Israel know that you are God and I am your servant.” With that he said to his servant: “Go back.” Again, he looked out over the sea. Still nothing. So Elijah bowed again: “O Lord God of Hosts, your people languish for lack of rain. Our crops struggle and wither. Our flocks and herds pant even in the cool of the morning. Bless us with rain from heaven.” To his servant: “Go back” Again, nothing. His cloak comes off. The sweat is now flowing freely. The Lord is entreated again. The servant is sent. Nothing. But Elijah is not deterred for the Lord has promised rain. He will not stop until it comes. So again and again, he prays. He prays fervently. He prays believing the Lord’s words. After the eighth prayer, and the eighth trip up the summit, the servant returns with a word: “Behold, a cloud as small as a man’s hand is coming up from the sea.” Elijah sends him to warn Ahab. Soon, the sky grew black. Then a heavy shower. The rain had come. (Now, that’s prayer.)

Ephesians 4:29 Language is one of God’s greatest gifts to mankind. No other creature has been given such a gift. Through language or words, we can express a host of things to one another including our feelings, ideas, fears, beliefs, knowledge, opinions, etc. The list is virtually endless. But also through language, we can receive communication from God, and we can speak with Him! Words are so precious, so vital, so necessary to a good life and good relationships. The question arises, then: Do we make good use of our opportunities to speak with others? Do we have command of our language? Do we know the things which God would have us say to one another? In our text, the Holy Spirit by Paul is instructing us in the proper and good use of our words. Of course, nothing “unwholesome” is to be spoken. The word in the Greek literally means “rotten!” This would most certainly include vulgar and profane words, but also under consideration would be words which hurt other people such as gossip, slander, harsh and unnecessary criticism, etc. The basic thrust of the text is that words are to be used to accomplish good. Paul writes that our words are to be “good for edification” so as to “give grace to those who hear.” We need to understand at least three things here. First, edification mean to build up. In this case, our words are for the building up, strengthening and encouraging of others. Second, those same words are to show grace or favor to those to whom they are spoken. Our words are to be a blessing to others. Lastly, to do this we must be taking into consideration those with whom we are speaking - their needs, their problems, their labor in the Lord, etc. It seems we talk about “everything under the sun” (especially ourselves), but we are not very skilled at speaking words of edification and grace to others. Would this not mean we need to take a real interest in others? To know them? To love them? Words of grace - a powerful tool for strengthening others.

Luke 15:7, 10 In Luke 15 Jesus tells us a parable about a lost sheep and one about a lost coin. The lesson to be learned from each one of these parables is about the joy in heaven over “one sinner who repents.” What do you make of that? Isn’t there enough rejoicing in heaven already with everyone being in the presence of God and away from all the evil and trouble? What could be better than that? These two parables teach us an even deeper truth: heaven is vitally interested in what happens on the earth. Heaven is vitally interested in what happens on the earth in this warfare between good and evil. Heaven is vitally interested in what happens on the earth with the salvation of one individual human being! What do you make of that? This should give us pause to consider the importance of every person who is alive on this planet. To reflect on the commandment of our Lord to go make disciples of all the nations. To take more seriously the teachings of eternal life and eternal destruction. To refocus on our major task as the people of God to proclaim the gospel to all creation. Perhaps we have lost sight of or never even really carefully inspected and reflected upon the salvation which is being offered to us by the grace of God through His Son Christ Jesus. Peter tells us (1 Peter 1:10-12) that angels long to look into the glories of this gospel which is proclaimed to humanity. Have you ever wondered why angels who live in the presence of God and serve the Almighty would take an interest in the salvation which is being made available to human beings, creatures of dust who live “down there”? The earth, my brother and sister, is where the action is, and you are right in the middle of it! People are dying without Christ, without life. People are listening to the lies of the world and choosing paths of destruction. We have the gospel, the message of life. Angels are watching. Heaven waits. What will we do?

Titus 3:1 Most of us use “to do” lists for the things which we want to get done. We use them on the job and also at home. We have “to do” lists for buying groceries, for shopping at Big Mart, for getting things done around the house, for planning a dinner or party, for packing for vacation, etc. Sometimes we have more “to do” lists than we know what to do with! “To do” lists are very helpful, and to use them just makes good sense. If you’re like me, once I get started on my list, I don’t like to be interrupted. I like to get everything done which I want to get done. But here is a thought worth considering and considering very carefully. Since the Lord is my Master, and I serve Him, does He have a “to do” list for me to accomplish on certain days? I am not talking about reading your Bible and praying, etc. (These should be on your “to do” list.) Here’s the kind of think of which I’m thinking. Suppose you are busy working away at something and get a phone call from someone who says to you that they heard that your church helps out people who are in need of food. What do you do? Do you tell them you are busy right now and put them off, or do you take the time to see that they are taken care of? Suppose you are busy working away at something and your friend calls who says they have begun reading their Bible. They are confused and want to know what you believe about how a person is saved? What do you do? Do you tell them you are busy at the moment and put them off, or do you take some time with them right then and arrange for further study later? Suppose you are busy working away at something and you get a knock at the door - salesman! What do you do? I know, I know, I’ve told many that I’m too busy or just not interested, etc. But what if this salesman was on God’s “to do” list for you that day? I don’t mean for you to buy something, but for you to look past the product at the person and his/her real need. Hmmm? What do you think?

Matthew 19: 27-30 The kingdom which Jesus came to build was not to be like any political, economic or religious system on earth. It was to be different from top to bottom. Even a casual reading of His words reveals that the usual markers of importance such as wealth, power, heritage and position which formed the foundation of worldly systems were to be replaced with sacrifice, love, humility and service. Jesus came to make the last first, and the first, last. Jesus came to ... ...give peace to the troubled, but to trouble those at peace ...raise up the fallen, but to bring down those lifted up ...comfort the grief stricken, but to give grief to those at ease ...yoke together with the weak, but to break the yoke of the oppressor ...give sight to the blind, but cause those who see to become sightless ...provide great riches to the poor, but show the rich to be penniless ...empower the powerless, but to bring down those in power ...give wisdom to the uneducated, but to show the wisdom of the wise to be foolish ...give righteousness to the sinner, but to reveal the vileness of the righteous ...give honor to the humble, but to shame the proud ...bring joy to the sorrowful, but sorrow to the reveler ...provide clarity to the confused, but confusion to those who have it all together ...preach good news to the downtrodden, but ruin to those who walk on others ...give life to the dead, but death to those who are living it up It would do the church of today well to examine herself in light of Jesus’ words. How does He find us?

Mark 12:28-34 On occasion, Jesus met someone whose head and heart were in the right place in regard to serving God. In our scripture, a scribe is one such person, and he has a question for Jesus about commandments. It is a question from his heart for which he truly wants an answer: “What commandment is the foremost of all?” Jesus obliges him with the answer from Deuteronomy 6:4-5. We dare not overlook the first part of Jesus’ answer as it helps us understand the whole: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord.” Some versions have simply “...the Lord is one.” Although this could be a reference to the unity or oneness within the godhead, it is more likely speaking to the fact there is only one God. The scribe quotes in response: “...there is no one else besides Him.” In the days when Israel came out of Egypt and trekked to the promised land, gods proliferated everywhere. Every nation had its gods; some represented various aspects of the natural world while others were contrived in the image of man. Throughout the Old Testament, the Lord warns through the prophets that He is God, and there is no other. To spend time and treasure serving these false gods was a complete waste of time! It still is. We see, then, the wisdom and direction of the foremost commandment: “...you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” To do this is to be devoted to the one true God, the only living God. When the Lord God becomes our deepest and most profound love, everything else falls into place. Our devotion and sacrifice are all worthwhile as God is the very ground of existence and the source of love itself. From Him flows every good thing. Certainly God merits our devotion, but this commandment is not just about God’s wanting man’s love. It is about God wanting what’s best for man. To serve other gods, be they human or human contrived, is a waste. After all, “there is no one else besides Him.”

Genesis 1:27-28 People have debated for years what it means to be made in “the image of God.” All of the following have been put forward as explaining this idea: can reason; can use language; can choose; can imagine; can design and build; can think in the abstract; has em otions - there are others. All of these are most likely part of what it means to be made in God’s image. But we want to consider this from a somewhat different perspective. Since we are made “in the image of God,” should we not reflect that image in our lives? Here we are not talking about any kind of mental capabilities but about our conduct and values. Since God is righteous, we should be righteous. Since God gives life, we should value life. Since God is merciful, we should show mercy. Since God is slow to anger, we should have the same self-control. Since God gives freely, we should be eager to give when there is a need. Since God is one, we should strive for unity in our marriages, families and churches. Since God is love, we should love not only Him but those around us. These aspects of the image of God are those which were blurred and warped in the garden when the first pair listened to the devil. So now, having the knowledge of good and evil, we too often choose to do and to value that which does not reflect the image of God in which we are made. We choose: to be unforgiving and hold grudges; to be selfish and greedy; to hurt, even kill others; to abort babies; to turn our back on the needy; to throw temper tantrums and speak vicious words to others. We could go on. You get the idea. This image of God was recovered in Christ Jesus the Son of Man. He perfectly reflected the image of God - “He who has seen Me has seen the Father;” (John 14:9). This is why the scripture teaches that God has predestined those whom He would call to be “conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29). In and through Jesus you and I can again give a much clearer image of our God.

Matthew 22:23-33 They just would not let Him rest. After all the attempts to trap Him and trip Him up in His teaching and knowledge of the scriptures, the religious “authorities” would not leave Jesus alone. He had bested them at every turn, clearly and beautifully laying out the truths of scripture in answer to their every question. But they could not accept that His knowledge and wisdom were far higher than theirs lest they be forced to acknowledge (as many of the people were coming to do) that this Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the Christ. So the attacks continued. Now it’s the Sadducees with their cute little “what if” question about marriage in the next life (in which they did not believe) designed to support their doctrinal position. Jesus responds with a crushing blow to their meager view of God and a powerful thrust to their poor understanding of holy writ. Don’t you know that in the resurrection people will be like angels and not be married? And regarding that resurrection, haven’t you read God’s words to you: ‘I AM the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living. The Sadducees were silenced by this penetrating response. And so, we chuckle to ourselves seeing them with “egg on their faces.” But are we any better off than they when it comes to knowing the word of God? Let’s suppose we could ask our Lord some of the most serious and perplexing questions in our hearts, not to trap Him but just to get answers. For how many of those do you suppose He would say: “Have you not read...?” Are we not very much like these Sadducees who failed to thoroughly investigate the holy writings to find the truths of God and just relied on our memories of what we heard long ago? How often are our Bibles opened? Read for meaning? Studied? Pored over in depth? Do we hunger and thirst for righteousness and the knowledge of God and His Son? Or is something like this our usual response: “I really do want to study God’s word, but...”?

James 1:27 Okay, okay, I’ll admit it. I’m going to twist your arm in this piece (more like your heart), but I’m sure the Lord is with me in this. It’s time for the annual commodities outreach at Potter Children’s Home. Now, first off, I want to commend everyone because in the past we have had a good response for this effort. Even the brothers who’ve come to pick up our gift have been surprised at how much we have given. This is all to the glory of Christ. We usually talk about this by saying that the Potter’s truck will be in our area during a certain week. And the van or box truck with trailer rolls up in front of the building, our gift is loaded on and whisked off to the Home in Kentucky. Mike follows soon after with our check for perishable items. This year, let’s view this differently. Let’s picture a tour bus pulling up in front of the building and all those children pouring out of the bus and lining up to come into the building and carry out our gift. Let’s see each one of them heading out the door loaded down. Some of them have to come back to get the rest of our gift. It’s so easy in interacting with these distant works and ministries to be impersonal. “It’s a children’s home in Kentucky. I’ll get a couple of boxes of cereal and a bag of chocolate chips. That ought to do.” Jesus associated with the lowly, the outcasts and the marginalized. He had no where to lay His head (Matthew 8:19-20). There was reason for this: because the corrupted world had created the greedy and the power-brokers who not only failed to have compassion on the poor but oppressed them even more! No wonder scripture is filled with the Lord’s disgust with and rebuke of those who did such things. We, again, have opportunity to help some kids who’ve been abused, lost their parents; who’ve felt the sting of being unwanted. Single moms trying to get their lives back together. These are close to God’s heart. Will you let them into yours?

Proverbs 14:12 Life - it’s what happens every day! Life forces choices upon us. Choices of all kinds from such things as jobs, careers, schools and marriage to these types of things: morality, purpose of life, faith and world view. Some of these choices we make with thoughtful effort, but others we just kind of grow into. We might say our environment chooses for us. That can be good, or it can be bad. The Bible speaks repeatedly of a way of life. Jesus spoke of the straight and narrow way which leads to life and a broad way leading to destruction (Matthew 7:13-14). Our text has the same idea in mind where a way which seems right to a person leads to death (eternal death is in view). This being the case, how vital it is to examine the way we live for the warning is chilling - you may be on a path which looks good to you, but its end is destruction! What would make a way of life seem good to us when it really wasn’t good at all? First, we tend to like to go with the crowd. If others are living a certain way, and that way of living is being validated by certain people “in the know,” then we will often follow it. If others are living in such a way, it must be all right for me. Another way in which we choose the wrong path is that we often choose the one which requires the least effort. We don’t like hard work. We don’t like change. We don’t like to sacrifice. So unless we see really good reason to choose a way of living which requires any of these, we’ll balk at it and choose an easier road. Lastly, some ways just seem good to us as our text says. It fits with our current view of things. It “strokes my ego” and “inflates my pride.” Every thing about that way of life just lines up with my way of thinking and seeing life. So, if it seems good to me, what can be the harm in it? How crucial it is that each one of us evaluate (and regularly do so) the way of life which we are taking for death could well be its destination! Only the Word of God can keep us on the path of life.

Hebrews 11:23-29 Few people will argue that sin is not harmful to a person, a family, a church or a nation. Individuals destroy themselves through abuse of drugs and alcohol, greed, sexual lust, pride and a host of other evils. All of these affect the relationships of the person caught up in them. Marriages, friendships and fellowship in Christ are strained and often broken because of the sin of just one person. When an entire people is led astray from God and His way of righteousness, moral chaos soon follows. Added to all of these sufferings and heartaches is the final destruction of those who do not repent and turn to the Savior. Sin destroys in a multitude of ways. One of the most dangerous aspects of sin is that it usually comes wrapped in a lovely, pleasure-packed bundle...