Behold Your Mother!

By Andrew Beasley 5 years old – Mom, I love you 12 years old – Mom, I can’t stand you 16 years old – My mother is very annoying 18 years old – I’m leaving this house 25 years old – Mom, you were right. 30 years old – I want to go to my mom’s house 50 years old – I don’t want to lose my mother 70 years old – I would give up everything to have my mom here with me.     The importance of a mother cannot be understated and taking one day out of each year to honor the impact that mothers have on the lives of their children is not nearly enough.     In the most challenging hours of his human life, Jesus looked to His mother to make sure that she would be cared for. Think about that. With the weight of the sins of the world upon Him, the abuse of the Roman scourge having marked Him and the agony of the Roman cross encompassing Him, Christ still made provision for His mother.     That does not happen without a mother who had been a great blessing to Him.     So today we honor our mothers, and we thank you for every single blessing you have gifted your children with throughout their lives.

- 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

Washed in the Blood

By Andrew Beasley     There have been times in my life where I have felt hopeless. When one thinks of biblical hope one may think of confident expectation. That helps to illustrate what hopelessness truly is. An absence of confident expectation of good things to come. In the long term one might think of salvation, but in the short term it is applicable to good things in life. For those who have not experienced hopelessness to an extreme degree it is hard to comprehend why someone might hurt themselves or go to even greater, more devastating lengths.     In moments of hopelessness the words of the 23 rd psalm may come to mind. Tho I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for you are with me. While we may not fear evil, and while the Lord certainly is with us, there are times when evil still wins. There are times when doubts creep in and cause our confident expectation to falter. I hope that if you are reading this, and the hope you have within you is faltering, you know that you are not alone. I have been there. Others have been there. And most importantly, even though you have faltered, the Lord has not.     Even in the valley of the shadow of death, He is there. Just as He remained steadfast when Peter started to sink after walking on the water out to Him (Matt. 14:22-33), He remains steadfast for you. And our hope is built on nothing less than His blood and righteousness.

- 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/

Behold Our God - His Omniscience

By Andrew Beasley
    Being a know-it-all is not something we usually consider a good thing. In school if someone calls you a know-it-all there is implication of smug assurance. Sometimes, it is said that individuals are just too smart for their own good. Yet we value knowledge. You would not want to go to a doctor who was not well versed in biology. You would not want to get on an airplane with a pilot who was not knowledgeable of the controls. Most people spend their lives gaining knowledge in one field or another, and the more knowledge that is gained the more we hope (and sometimes expect) to be trusted in the field with which we have expertise.     Yet, possessing knowledge of all things is something beyond human ability. I might know myself very well, and yet I can never know the number of hairs that are on my head. I might gaze up into the night sky and count the stars for hours, but I will never be able to count them all. I may spend a lifetime getting to know you on a close, personal level but I can never truly know your heart.All these pieces of knowledge are at our God’s fingertips. We get a glimpse at the breadth of God’s knowledge in his confrontation with Job, at the end of his book, where God tells him to prepare to answer the questions that were coming (Job 38:3-7).    Take a few moments each day to consider the all-encompassing nature of God’s omniscience and behold Him. Appreciate Him. Adore Him.

- 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/

Christ Has Risen

Andrew Beasley
    Many people have struggled with having faith in what they have read in Scripture. Some may struggle when they find the Bible teaches principles that are contrary to what they had been led to understand it did. Others struggle because they are unable to witness the events of the Bible with their own eyes. We have all encountered faith challenged people. Maybe at some point in our own lives we have been challenged in our faith ourselves.    It is a blessing that God does not call us to believe without evidence (Hebrews 11:1). As the world celebrates the Easter holiday today, and many have the resurrection of Christ on their minds, it is important to acknowledge that we are not simply expected to believe Christ is risen without evidence. After His resurrection, Jesus appears to several witnesses (even a group of 500 at one point). How do we know this? Through the eyewitness testimony recorded in the Gospel accounts of His life.    Paul makes the case for the consequences if Christ is not risen (1 Cor. 15:14-19) but concludes by saying “but, in fact, Christ has been raised” (1 Cor. 15:20). And so we celebrate not just this Easter Sunday but every week that our Lord is risen, and our faith is strengthened knowing that we do not believe this blindly but that evidence supports this truth.

- 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/

Those Whom Jesus Loves: Betrayers

By Andrew Beasley
    The problem of evil is one of many challenging subjects that humanity, especially those who believe in God, must wrestle with. It is frequently referenced by unbelievers as proof of why God cannot exist as they assert that a loving God would not allow evil to exist. However, studying God’s word will reveal to us that the problem of evil is addressed by God directly. In one instance in the Gospel of Luke, our Lord instructs those who are listening to “love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” (Lk. 6:27-28). In the Beatitudes Jesus teaches that we should be happy when we are persecuted, reviled and spoken negatively of for the cause of Christ because those who came before us were also persecuted, and the reward for enduring is great (Matt. 5:11-12).    One of the greatest acts of evil against Christ occurs by the hands of one of His closest friends, Judas Iscariot. We are familiar with the account of Christ’s betrayal to a similar degree that we are familiar with the crucifixion of Christ. The work on the cross was accomplished as much for Judas as it was for each of us. So, it seems that the problem of evil and how to address it has already been shown by Christ. Face it, handle it, and conquer it with love.

- 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/

Jesus Our Temple

By Jared Green     For centuries, the temple had been the hub of the Jewish religion. The temple served as God's dwelling place, the center for worship, and the place where atoning sacrifices were made. The temple even played a vital role in the life and ministry of Jesus. Gabriel announced the birth of John the Baptist, the Messiah's forerunner, in the temple (Luke 1:11-20). It was in the temple that Simeon took baby Jesus in his arms and praised God for the coming salvation found in Jesus (Luke 2:29-32). It was in the temple that twelve-year-old Jesus said to his parents, "Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" (Luke 2:49). It was at the pinnacle of the temple that Satan tempted Jesus (Luke 4:9). As Jesus began what we call Passion Week in Luke 20-21, we find Jesus using the temple as his own pulpit.     As integral as the temple had been, however, Jesus' death and resurrection changed everything. In fact, Jesus prophesied this coming change when he said, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (John 2:19). While Jesus' audience could only think of the actual temple, we know that Jesus was speaking about himself. And the rest of Scripture agrees. In Revelation 21 :22, John said, "And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb." For Christians, Jesus is our temple!     Jesus is the presence of God. "He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature" (Hebrews 1 :3a).     Jesus is our access to the Father. "For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father" (Ephesians 2: 18).     Jesus is our atoning sacrifice. "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed" (1 Peter 2:24).     Jesus is our mediator. "For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5).     Thanks be to God for his plan to send the Son to this earth, and thanks be to God for the salvation that is found in him. God loves you, and so do I.

- Jared Green preaches the Calvert City Church of Christ in Calvert City, KY.  He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://www.calvertchurchofchrist.com

Lessons From Moses' Sore Arm

By Jared Green     Throughout the Israelites’ exodus journey, nothing was made clearer than the power of the Lord. Along with the physical pain and inconvenience that came with the ten plagues, God sent each of them as a specific attack on the gods of the Egyptians, making God’s power clear. When the Israelites departed Egypt, God led the people in the form of pillars of cloud by day and fire by night, displaying his presence and leadership. When Pharaoh’s army chased the Israelites, God parted the Red Sea, allowing the Israelites to cross dry land and later drowning the Egyptian military. When the people became hungry, God provided them food from heaven, and when they became thirsty, God gave them water from a rock.     It is a surprise, then, to learn that the Israelite army won their first military battle as a result of God’s power. In Exodus 17, the Amalekites attacked the Israelites, and Moses commanded his assistant Joshua to gather men to fight against them. With his staff, in his hand, Moses climbed to the top of the hill to watch over the battle. The text tells us that when Moses held his hands in the air, Israel prevailed. However, when his arms became tired and he lowered his staff, Amalek began to prevail. Knowing that Moses was unable to hold his arms in the air for an entire day, Aaron and Hur stepped in. They gave Moses a stone to sit on, and they helped him hold his arms in the air. As a result of their help, Moses’ arms remained high, and Israel defeated Amalek.     Moses’ sore arms served as a clear representation that God was in control, providing Israel with the victory. On many occasions, Moses’ staff, represented the power given to him by God. God parted the Red Sea when Moses lifted up his staff, over the sea (Exodus 14:16). Later, God provided water when Moses used his staff, to strike the rock (Exodus 17:6). In the same way, God led Israel to victory when Moses held his staff, in the air.     The story of Israel’s first military victory is an odd story. It is the only one I can find where an army experienced victory because their leader held his arms in the air for an entire day! It does, however, provide us with a few key lessons. First, God is both powerful and sovereign. Whatever he sets out to accomplish, he will accomplish. We should take heart that in a world full of darkness, our God is in control. Second, it matters who we surround ourselves with. Without Aaron and Hur’s presence and willingness to help, Moses would have been incapable of doing what God called him to do. We must make sure that we are surrounding ourselves with like-minded people who build us up and help us along in this journey of life. Third, we should always seek to be Aaron and Hur to others. When we look for opportunities to serve those around us, God will provide. God loves you, and so do I.

- Jared Green preaches the Calvert City Church of Christ in Calvert City, KY.  He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://www.calvertchurchofchrist.com