Ironworks

  The Bible is full of examples of godly men and women whose behaviors we ought to take note of and emulate. We could consider the faithfulness of Abraham. We would see that he took God at His Word and followed Him. We could consider the patience of Job. From his example, we would learn that God cares for us even when we are hurting and that we can make it through anything because of Him. We might also look at the wisdom of Solomon. From his example, we would learn that the only true wisdom in this world has a divine source and only that source can sustain us in walking in wisdom.            All of these men’s examples are a pattern that we should follow. Jehovah also has provided a perfect pattern in the actions of His Son, Jesus. Paul recorded, “But ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you. But if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his” (Romans 8:9). How can we be assured that...

I don’t know who said it first. All that I do know is that I did not come up with it. Sometime within the past couple of years I was listening to a preacher who commented that someone he knew concluded his letters with the phrase, “His servant and yours,”. As soon as I heard that I knew that’s the way I wanted to end my correspondence. The phrase denotes two things in particular. First, it indicates that we are in service to the Master. Second, it shows the need to follow our Lord in service to others as well (John 13; Luke 10:29ff). What does serving the Lord and serving others look like? How to Serve Your Master When someone is in charge of your wellbeing, you tend to do what you can to ensure their happiness with your performance. At work you look to your boss. At school you follow your teacher’s guidelines. In life you should obey the law. As a Christian how do we make God happy? We please Him by serving Him. Consider two options. You can marry someone who loves you and would do an...

  “For they that have served well as deacons gain to themselves a good standing, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 3:13       I am grateful for our two deacons and their willingness to serve this congregation. These two men work behind the scenes and take care of things that we do not all see. They do this while they raise their families and work their full-time jobs. Let us take time to recognize what Deacons are and also what deacons are not.  Deacons are Not The Only Servants      The Greek word used for the office of deacon is diakonos.  Its very basic meaning is servant, minister, or deacon. This term, in a general sense, is applied to all Christians (see Matthew 20:26; 1 Tim 4:6. Et al.) Not all Christians hold the office of deacon, for not all Christians are qualified according to the Scripture (see 1 Tim 3: 8-13). The Lord’s church cannot expect the men who hold the office to do all the work. Ca...