Sunday, June 8, 2025

What Is Love



By Andrew Beasley


    Love, love, love, love, the Gospel in a word is love. The Gospel, that we take into the world, is rooted in love. The message of Christ is rooted in love. Who we are as Christians is rooted in love. You cannot separate God’s people from love as the two go hand in hand. When we fail to love as God loves us, we fail to be His people.  Paul stated that we could do things like perform incredible miraculous gifts, but if we did so without love we were like a clanging cymbal or a resounding gong (1st Cor. 13:1)

    But what is love? More importantly, what is the love that Jesus speaks of as the greatest and the second greatest commands (Matt. 22:36-40). We might start by recognizing that it is not love as the world would define it which might better be described as lust. Biblical love falls into three categories in the Greek language. Agape love, which is a sacrificial love that desires what it best for the recipient of love. Phileo love, which is the kind of brotherly love we see shared between David and Jonathan. And storge love, which we might define as the love one feels for his or her family.

    What is love? Whether it is sacrificial, brotherly, or familial it should encompass and embody all that we are and everything we do.


 
-Andrew Beasley serves as a minister with the Northwest Church of Christ in Greensboro, NC. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: https://nwchurchofchrist.com/about/

This Is Love



By Andrew Beasley


    Dan Winkler, in his book on grace, says that it is comprised of three elements which are the mercy, love and kindness of God. The more simplistic definition that is often given is that grace is simply unmerited favor. Both are worthy ways of defining and understanding grace but the more important question is how does the unmerited favor, mercy, love and kindness of God impact and change my life? The Bible informs us that God’s grace and its impact on our lives is multifaceted. We are of course saved by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8). It may continue with us, as John wishes for his readers at the end of the book of Revelation.

    For the Hebrews writer, a throne of grace is described that can be drawn near to for the purpose of receiving grace when we are in need (Heb. 4:16). Context tells us that it is not just any need, but need in time of temptation. Immediately preceding this statement is a comforting reminder that we have a high priest who has passed through the heavens, and who can sympathize with our weaknesses as He was tempted just as we are.

    In other words, even when temptation abounds we can find help in God’s unmerited favor, mercy, love and kindness to overcome the challenges before us if we just choose to draw clear to Him. What a blessed and comforting thought!


 
-Andrew Beasley serves as a minister with the Northwest Church of Christ in Greensboro, NC. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: https://nwchurchofchrist.com/about/


God: His Sovereignty



By Andrew Beasley


    I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the Land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods beside me (Ex. 20:3). In laying out the ten commandments, God begins by declaring His sovereignty over the Hebrew people. Not only does He tell them that He is their God, but He reminds them of why they should view Him as their sovereign Lord. He had brought them out of Egypt and slavery, had set them free and was leading them to the promised land. 

    Yet we know that God is not just the God of the Hebrew people, but of all humanity. While He did not lead you and I out of Egypt,  He has certainly set us free from the chains and bondage of sin that previously had ruled our lives. In a similar fashion there is a promised land waiting for us today. While it is not a physical plot of land in the way that Canaan was for the Israelites it is prepared for us and waiting for our arrival. 

    He is Lord of creation and Lord of my life, Lord of the land and the sea. And we bow down and worship Him as our Sovereign God, because He has set us free. 


 
- Andrew Beasley serves as a minister with the Northwest Church of Christ in Greensboro, NC. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: https://nwchurchofchrist.com/about/

This World Is Not My Home



By Andrew Beasley

    Any time I travel, and I am blessed to do so as a minister, it always shocks me how much I miss the normalcy of being at home. There is something to be said about being in your own space and sleeping in your own bed. Some have said, after a lengthy vacation, that they need a vacation to recover from their vacation. The understanding in that sentiment is that being away from home, and away from our natural environment, wears on us.

    It seems to me that this is the reason that the Apostle Paul said he saw his own death as a gain (Phil. 1:21). He understood that while he was on earth he had a purpose, which is why he says in the first half of that first that to live is Christ. There was work to be done, but Paul was aware of one unifying truth and it’s one that we sing about today. This world is not our home, we’re just passing through. Christ has gone to make ready for us the home where we will rest eternally (John 14:2ff).

    This truth also helps us to understand why living below in this old sinful world wears on us so heavily. This is not the place meant to be our own space, and our resting place. Heaven is where our treasures are laid up, somewhere beyond the blue.


 
- Andrew Beasley serves as a minister with the Northwest Church of Christ in Greensboro, NC. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: https://nwchurchofchrist.com/about/

Christian Stewardship



By Andrew Beasley

    When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed. When you are discouraged thinking all is lost. Count your many blessings. The truth is that God has blessed us exceedingly abundantly beyond anything and anyone else. His love is immeasurable, His faithfulness is unending and His patience is everlasting. The hymn count your blessings is a hymn of encouragement and admonition, helping us to remember that even when the world is against us that God is faithful and continues to provide. Another hymn professes Him to be our strength and our shield. Yet everything that God provides us with is meant to be shared.

    That is where the idea of Christian Stewardship comes into play. Don’t just count your blessings, but make sure to do what God would have you do with everything He has given you. Mankind was given stewardship in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:15). Adam was responsible for caring for the living place that God had provided. In the same light, when God gives us something we are meant to treat it with respect, reverence and appreciation. Even more, we should be looking for the way to share God’s blessings with others.


 
- Andrew Beasley serves as a minister with the Northwest Church of Christ in Greensboro, NC. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: https://nwchurchofchrist.com/about/


Much Ado About (Next to) Nothing



By Dale J. Babinsky


    I remember reading a story about the “God particle” that scientists and evolutionists are eagerly anticipating will help them to understand the origin of the universe. This also was part of the preface to a book by famed physicist Stephen Hawking. He warns that the experiments in particle collision to try to ‘recreate’ the God particle could lead to a cataclysmic catastrophe that we would never see coming. Hawking warns that a vacuum caused by the particle could lead to a sudden collapse of time and space.

    Not to worry, though, as additional scientists point out that the collider to cause this catastrophe would have to be larger than the earth. In the “current economic climate” this is seen as something that would be impossible to construct. Really?! One wonders where they would build this experiment that would have to be larger than the earth (anyone have a few acres they could contribute?).

    The idea of the “God particle” was first conceived by British scientist Peter Higgs in the 1960’s and was ‘discovered’ in 2012. Scientists believe that this particle creates an invisible energy field that causes small particles to gain mass and shape as they pass through the field. Let’s break that down. What they are looking for is a force that would cause small particles from the Big Bang to grow in mass (size) and that would shape them into planets, stars, comets, asteroids, etc. Um, have you heard of God?

    What most people will fail to realize is that this does not explain the origin of the universe. Where did the small particles come from? Where did the initial energy and material come from to create the Big Bang? Evolutionary ‘scientists’ can kick the can down the road as far as they like, but they still cannot answer these fundamental questions about the origin of the universe and all that is in it. True scientific laws of nature show that matter could not have been created out of nothing, without some sort of supernatural direction. Therefore, they are arguing against science.

    In the news article the statement was made that this “God particle” had been confirmed by recent scientific discovery, but then there is a statement that scientists do not fully understand it all yet. So, which is it? Have they really discovered something? How can they claim to have discovered something that gives them understanding, and then turn around and say that they still don’t understand it? Their argument would seem to beg the question.

     As for the potential destruction of the planet by the “God particle,” the question would be who is it that holds the future of the universe in their hands? Is it the population of a small, seemingly insignificant planet when compared to the vastness of the universe, or an all-knowing, all-powerful God, who created it all (Gen. 1:1; Psalm 19:1; Heb. 1:3)? God has said, “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease” (Gen. 8:22 NKJV). It is God who is in control. It is God who has made all that is seen and unseen. It is God who will decide when the end will come (Mat. 24:36).


 
- Dale J. Babinsky preaches for the Great Smoky Mountains Church of Christ in Pigeon Forge, TN. He may be contacted through the congregation's website - https://gsmchurchofchrist.com/

Mercy Triumphant



By Dale J. Babinsky


    In the Book of James, we are told that "Mercy triumphs over judgment" (James 2:13). This is a profound statement that contains the essence of Christian teaching. This verse reminds believers of the importance of showing mercy to others, as it reflects God's own merciful nature, which is evident in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:7). It is the merciful who will receive God’s mercy. In the context of James 2, verse 13 emphasizes the dangers of favoritism and the call to love one's neighbor as oneself.

    The verse also warns that judgment without mercy will be shown to those who have not been merciful. It serves as a call to action, urging us to have compassion and a forgiving attitude in our interactions. Mercy, in this sense, is not just an act of kindness but a reflection of God’s divine grace that overcomes the harshness of judgment.

    In a world that is often quick to judge (especially regarding politics), this verse challenges us to prioritize understanding and empathy. It encourages a shift from a mindset of condemnation to one of reconciliation and peace. By practicing mercy, we align ourselves with God's will and make this world a little bit better.

    We absolutely must teach people the truth of God’s word, but let us do so in a manner of love and mercy that is becoming the child of God. After all, what will we want on Judgment Day: justice or mercy?


 
- Dale J. Babinsky preaches for the Great Smoky Mountains Church of Christ in Pigeon Forge, TN. He may be contacted through the congregation's website - https://gsmchurchofchrist.com/