January 18, 2024 · 6:00 pm

Thankfulness

Let’s examine a few thoughts about thankfulness today…..

**Be thankful to the Lord

Sing praise to the LORD, you His godly ones, And give thanks to His holy name. 

Psalm 30:4

**Give thanks to God for His goodness

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Psalm 136:1

**God’s people are commanded to be thankful

In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 

1 Thessalonians 5:18

**Heaven is filled with thankfulness to the Lord

And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed , and were created.”  Revelation 4:9-11

Christians should seek to grow in thanksgiving every day. I am making the commitment to become more thankful at every opportunity.  Will you join me?

Tony French

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January 15, 2024 · 9:00 am

Beware

False teaching is prevalent in our society. We shouldn’t be surprised as false doctrine has always been front and center since the time of Christ. How are we to respond to this as Christians? Let us ruminate on three thoughts about false teaching today. Let us think on these three sayings that fall from the lips of our Savior.

*Jesus predicted that this would happen. Throughout His ministry Jesus warned His followers often that there would be false teaching and false messiahs. Knowing this fact should help us to be wary and test everything we hear.

“For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.   Matthew 24:24

*We need to be prepared to deal with false teaching as Believers. We will not be able to hide from false doctrine forever. Eventually, we must confront it in love and shine for the truth.

“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.  Matthew 7:15

*We must know the truth of Scripture. The only way to be able to identify the false is to know the truth. When we know the truth, we can then call out the counterfeit gospels that are so rampant in our society.

So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.

John 8:31-32

May God bless you all as you pursue the truth that will last for all eternity!

Tony French

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January 11, 2024 · 9:00 pm

Act Justly

4 Have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives? 5 Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? 7 Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called?

James 2:4-7

Discrimination against the poor is in view in James 2:4-7. Two main condemnations are expressed by the Apostle as he teaches us to avoid distinctions and treat all with justice.

First, discriminating against the less fortunate reveals evil motives. Judging others based on their poverty results in a heart that is motivated not by the truths of God. Rather, a heart of greed and avarice is put on full display when Christians dishonor the poor.

Also, Christians blaspheme (to make little of) the name of Christ when they favor the rich over the poor. Jesus came to this planet for the disadvantaged whether they were poor in spirit or few in possessions. Even Christ had no place to lay His head. (Luke 9:58) The Believer brings judgement upon themselves if they act in favoritism.

It is far better to treat all with kindness and dignity. Such actions honor the Scriptures and give an example of Christ’s love to others.

Tony French

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January 8, 2024 · 9:59 am

The Invitation

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.

Revelation 22:17

The final call of Scripture is poignant to everyone today. The calling of Revelation 22:17 is a gospel invitation to repent and trust in Christ. The metaphor of thirst and water come into play as the “Living Water” (John 4:11) issues three invitations in this verse.

**Come—Don’t wait, believe in Jesus today. Folks always think they have more time. Don’t delay, my friend. It could be too late.

**Drink—Trust in Christ through faith. Believe in Christ’s death and resurrection and confess the Lord Jesus today. (Romans 10:9-10) Jesus is the only one who can quench you thirst eternally.

**Live—Water is vital for life and without it we die. In the same way, all need the living water of Christ in order to have eternal life. Jesus offers salvation as a free gift. Believe in Him today and your spiritual thirst will be over. Christ will not give a perfect life. But, He will be with you and you will have His peace. Live in Christ today!

Tony French

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January 4, 2024 · 9:00 pm

No Favoritism

1 My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. 2 For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, 3 and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,”

James 2:1-3

The Apostle moves to the subject of favoritism in chapter 2. James condemns favoritism in all its forms in these verses. The particular emphasis seems to be on class and financial status in verses 2-3.

This Scripture teaches us to treat others justly and equally. Everyone is to be treated with dignity and grace no matter the differences in societal class, money, or position. In the church, everyone is a part of the body and no one is more important or less important.

Christ is the head of the church and all who make up that body are saved and sanctified forevermore. Even our guests who are not a part of the church should be treated with dignity and love. No one is favored above the others. The ground is level at the foot of the cross.  

Tony French

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January 1, 2024 · 9:00 am

New Years Prayers

Prayers for the New Year………………………………

**That I would know God’s Will

3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5 not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-6

**That I would grow in faith

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

Romans 10:17

**That I would love God more

And he answered, ” You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself .”

**That I would share the gospel message

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

Acts 1:8

Have wonderful New Year and may God bless you all in 2024!

Tony French

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December 28, 2023 · 7:00 pm

Repent

The word repent appears over 65 times in Holy Scripture.  Repentance is a biblical concept that is imbedded deeply in the pages of the Bible. Today, let us take a brief survey of the New Testament teaching on this subject.

First, let’s define the term. Repentance means “to change the mind.”1 When the word appears, especially in the New Testament, this meaning is applied and understood from the text. We change our direction, our thoughts, and our beliefs when we repent. Once we were faithless. Now we accept the truth and believe the truth by faith. It is a total reordering of the life and mind.

Repentance is required for salvation. Jesus told His followers that “unless you repent, you will all perish.” (Luke 13:3) Salvation demands that we abandon our old way of life and our sin and place our complete trust in Christ. While we may state this concept differently depending on the context, the message is clear. There is no eternal life without repentance.

We will continue to struggle with sin as long as we are on this planet. Repentance that leads to salvation does not lead to automatic sinlessness in this life.  However, the truly repentant Believer will not continue in sin and will seek cleansing from the God. (1 John 1) The Christian cannot be happy in sin as their desires have been changed and reoriented towards the thing of God.

Repentance redirects the way we live and treat others. A repentant person will seek to act righteously and think Godly thoughts. Simply put, if there is no change in thought or behavior, there is no repentance and no salvation.

What about you? Have you turned from your sin? Have you repented and trusted Christ for the forgiveness of your sin? Turn away from your sin and self and trust in Christ today!

Tony French

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December 21, 2023 · 9:00 am

Merry Christmas

As 2023 draws to a close, I would like to thank you all for being faithful readers of this blog. Thank you for your encouragement, your comments, and your prayers. I hope and pray that these weekly articles are a good source of help and edification for you as you live for Christ each day.

I certainly would wish each of you a very merry Christmas and a joyful and prosperous 2023. May your Christmas season be meaningful and worshipful, and may God richly bless you in the year ahead.  

Tony French

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December 18, 2023 · 9:00 am

Honoring Others

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer. 

Romans 12:11-12

Romans 12 is filled with practical instruction for Believers. The above referenced verses contain several key points about relationships among Christians. Let us briefly peruse them during this article. 

How are we to treat one another?

**We are to be devoted to one another. Loyalty is a lost concept in our world today.  Loyalty needs to be recovered and practiced within the church.

**We should honor one another. Selfishness has no place within the body of Christ. Honoring one another reveals the depth of our love for those in the Church.

**We ought to be diligent, fervent, and service-oriented towards those whom God has called in the body. Our service should not be lackadaisical and half-hearted. The Christian should serve heartily and faithfully in the Church.

**We need to be a rejoicing people. We have much to be joyful about even though life is difficult. A happy people will attract others to the faith.

**We strive to persevere through all things. True Christians stay the course and keep the faith. We may stumble, but, we do not abandon the Truth.

**We are devoted to prayer. We may struggle at it, nonetheless, we pray. We pray believing that God hears and God knows that is best for us.

I pray God’s richest blessings upon us all as we seek to obey these truths each day.

Tony French

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December 14, 2023 · 9:00 pm

Christian Character

If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

James 1:26-27

This chapter ends with a clear call to pursue three traits that ought to mark every Believer. Let us think about these three commands this week. After all, James’ teaching is so practical and easy to follow here.

The first characteristic of a biblical Christian is a controlled tongue. In verse 26, we are told that a Christian who cannot control his/her tongue is deceived and has a vain, useless religion. Wow, James, tell us what you really think. The warning could not be clearer. Our Christianity will never be what it needs to be if we cannot control our words.

Another characteristic of a biblical Christians is helping the helpless. The specific word is to help the widow and the orphan. Why? The widowed woman and the parent-less child were vulnerable and had little (if any) means of support in the first century.  They could be easily taken advantage of due to their humble estate. Therefore, James implores the true Christian to support and help those who are disadvantaged.  Helping those who can’t help themselves is an identifying mark of a true Christian.

The last characteristic is keeping oneself pure in an evil world. The world system desires that we focus on ourselves and our desires to the exclusion of everything else. James declares that we are to be unpolluted by this thinking. We are to think of others and their needs. We should seek to help and serve wherever we can.

A polluted, dirty Christian will have little useful value in the Kingdom of God. It’s important that Christians confess their sin, receive cleansing, and seek to stay as close to God as possible. We are saved forevermore and we have a new identity in Christ. Let’s act like Christians by staying close to God and His Word!

Tony French

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