Two little lines I heard one day,
Traveling along life’s busy way;
Bringing conviction to my heart,
And from my mind would not depart;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one,
Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet,
And stand before His Judgment seat;
Only one life,’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, the still small voice,
Gently pleads for a better choice
Bidding me selfish aims to leave,
And to God’s holy will to cleave;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, a few brief years,
Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;
Each with its clays I must fulfill,
living for self or in His will;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

When this bright world would tempt me sore,
When Satan would a victory score;
When self would seek to have its way,
Then help me Lord with joy to say;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Give me Father, a purpose deep,
In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep;
Faithful and true what e’er the strife,
Pleasing Thee in my daily life;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Oh let my love with fervor burn,
And from the world now let me turn;
Living for Thee, and Thee alone,
Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one,
Now let me say, “Thy will be done”;
And when at last I’ll hear the call,
I know I’ll say “’twas worth it all”;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

—Author unknown

The following is by Pastor Matthew Recker, Heritage Baptist Church, New York City (Why We Don’t Observe Lent – Heritage Baptist Church (hbcnyc.org)

While Lent is a ritual observed by various branches of the Christian faith, it has been popularized most notably by the Roman Catholic Church. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and extends for forty days. During this time, a Roman Catholic practices voluntary “self denial, fasting, almsgiving, fraternal sharing.” According to Roman Catholic teachings, these things along with other acts of penance “contributes to the forgiveness of sins.” (Catechism, p.361) Furthermore, these works “honor the mysteries of the Lord, the Virgin Mary, and the saints” (Catechism, p. 494).  

The Catholic Catechism states that a Biblical reason for keeping Lent is because it unites the church “to the mystery of Jesus in the desert” who fasted for 40 days during his time He was tempted of the devil. (Catechism, p.138).

There are a number of reasons, however, that Christians should not observe Lent.

First, Roman Catholics keep Lent to gain the forgiveness of sins. Their church teaches they must continually work for their salvation. Scripture however, teaches that righteousness is not gained by doing rituals, but salvation is by God’s grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work of dying for our sins and bodily rising again on the third day. Peter declared that the lame man was made whole entirely through “faith in His name” (Acts 3:16). Jesus alone was sufficient to save that man. He did not do any work or receive any “sacrament” to be saved, neither did Mary play an intercessory role in his salvation. Paul preached that “by Him (Jesus) all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:39). The Person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ is completely sufficient to save us from all our sins apart from a single work we do.

Secondly, the New Testament never tells us to observe Lent. There is no command or example to have ashes rubbed on our forehead or of observing forty days of fasting or almsgiving. Neither Jesus nor the apostles teach us to do that in order to abide with Him. The teachings of Christ, the example of the early in church in Acts, and the epistles are utterly silent on this. We abide in Jesus by obedience and love, and having His words abide in us (John 15:7-12). This life of abiding in Jesus is not done for forty days to work for our salvation, but it should be our daily walk in the Spirit because we have been saved by His grace.

Finally, various aspects of Lent have connections to ancient pagan mystery religions which filtered into the established church. For instance, Lent is preceded by a festival Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday in which one can engage in decadence before abstaining from those sins for forty days. This is a pagan festival full of wicked sin. It’s believed that Mardi Gras originated from the ancient Roman feasts of Saturnalia and Lupercalia. Lent originated in the established church during the fourth century when Constantine made Christianity the official religion of Rome. As unconverted pagans flooded into the church, various concessions and compromises were made to make Christianity more acceptable to their works based mindset. It is my understanding that Lent was one such pagan practice the church integrated, along with the worship of Mary, saints and idols. Alexander Hislop writes, “The forty days abstinence of Lent  was directly borrowed from the worshippers of the Babylonian goddess” (Two Babylons, p. 104). Just as Babylonian paganism infiltrated the worship of God in Solomon’s temple where “there sat women weeping for Tammuz,” so pagan worship has invaded the so-called church (Ezek.8:3-16; Jer.7:18). The “image of jealousy” on the “door of the gate of the LORD’s house” was very probably a woman with a child, part of the ancient Babylonian mystery religions (Ezek.8:3.14).

If a true believer practices Lent, they give credence to a works based ritual that has its roots in ancient pagan practices. We must rest on the finished work of Christ’s once and for all sacrifice for our sins to forgive and save us to eternal life. Let us follow the apostle’s doctrine which simply states, “even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law,” for it is “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us” (Gal.2:16; Titus 3:5).

Pride is the ugliest and most repulsive of sins that has plagued humanity since the beginning of time. It was the very sin that motivated man’s initial rebellion against God in the Garden of Eden and that has continued ever since. Through the centuries, mankind has paraded his pride before God through self-will, self-exaltation, and the deification of self. Mankind has always boasted in his own accomplishments, his own character, and in his own ways apart from God. Yet the more mankind puffs himself up in pride, the more he is resisted by His Maker. As James 4:6 warns us, “…God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” The stench of pride is only increased when it is robed in the garments of “religion”.

In Luke 18, we are introduced to two men who approached God in prayer in the temple- one in pride and one in humility. Verses 11-12 introduce us to the first man- “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.” This Pharisee went up to the temple to pray and although he uttered words before God, no true prayer took place. Rather he “…prayed thus with himself…”. His prayer was not focused on God, but rather, was focused on the promotion of self before God. Instead of coming to God in humility and praising Him, this Pharisee came to God and praised himself. His attitude was one of self-adulation. His focus was on his own accomplishments. While in the temple praying, another man came in. Verse 13 shows us the prayer of this man- “And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.” What a contrast between these two men! One came in pride, while the other came in humility. One came puffed up with the sense of his own accomplishments, while the other was broken over his lack of righteousness. One boasted and elevated self, while the other lamented and lowered self. Yet God’s response to the prayers of these two men is telling. Verse 14 says, “I tell you, this man [the publican] went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” The prayer of the publican was marked by humility. The publican freely acknowledged his guilt and pleaded for the mercy of God.

A humble prayer is a prayer that God delights to answer. A prayer that is from a heart full of pride is one that God will reject. How you approach God is the difference between prayers answered and prayers unanswered. May our prayers be marked by an elevation of God and a humbling of self!

~Pastor Aaron Francis

In the Old Testament, God had warned His people to “…not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind…” (Leviticus 19:14). God made provision in His law to protect those who were most vulnerable in society by warning His people to care for the blind and the deaf. Caring for the blind included not putting a “stumblingblock” before them. It would be of the utmost cruelty to put something before a blind person that would cause them to fall. Most people would understand and agree with this truth in the physical realm. However, God also applies this truth in the spiritual realm.

In the New Testament, God reminds us of the importance of living our lives in such a way that we do not become a “stumblingblock” to others. In Luke 17:1-2, Jesus said “…unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and be cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.” In this context, the word “offences” is a reference to a stumblingblock- that which is placed in the way over which people stumble.

This is not referring to the fact that people will be offended by the Gospel. 1 Corinthians 1:23- “But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greek foolishness”. People being offended by the truth of God’s Word should not hinder us in our proclamation of the truth. We are called to proclaim the truth of God’s Word regardless of how people respond. Oftentimes in the early church (and throughout church history), the proclamation of the truth has brought persecution. We ought to boldly proclaim the truth of God’s Word- “…speaking the truth in love…” (Ephesians 4:15) recognizing that God is the only One whose approval ultimately matters.  

Luke 17:1-2 is not speaking of offense because of the truth. Rather, it is speaking of becoming a spiritual stumblingblock in the life of another person that keeps them from the truth. Verse 1 reminds us that “offences will come”. However, the Bible warns against being the one responsible for laying an “offence” (a stumblingblock) in the path of someone’s life that causes them to fall spiritually. The Bible states that the better alternative to being a stumblingblock in someone else’s life would be to have a millstone hung about one’s neck and to be cast into the sea.

There are many ways in which our lives can become a stumblingblock to others. Consider the following:

• False teachers became a ‘stumblingblock’ to the spiritually naïve who are “…tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine…” (Ephesians 4:14) and who are “…ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7). That is why we must be “rooted and built up in [Christ], and stablished in the faith” (Colossians 2:7) and why we must speak out against false teachers and their teaching.
• Worldly ideology/living can become a ‘stumblingblock’ to those who are allowing the world (rather than the Word) to inform their thinking and living. Christian parents must beware lest they allow the world that is opposed to Christ to capture the hearts and indoctrinate the minds of their children. The Christian is called to “not be conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2) and to “keep himself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27) lest the world system become a stumblingblock in one’s life.
• Christians who abuse their liberty in Christ can become a ‘stumblingblock’ to other Christians. We ought to have the attitude of Paul who said in Romans 14:13: “Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.” Paul said: “Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend” (1 Corinthians 8:13). Paul was willing to forgo things that were spiritually lawful for the sake of spiritually edifying fellow believers in Christ.
• Some parents become a ‘stumblingblock’ to their children through living a double-life (by acting ‘saintly’ at church but sinful at home). That is why the book of Ephesians places the exhortation to bring up one’s children “…in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” with a warning to “…provoke not your children to wrath” (Ephesians 6:4). More is caught than taught in child-rearing and it is important that parents provide a godly example to their children both at church and at home.
• Those who claim the name of Christ but who live a sinful life can become a ‘stumblingblock’ to unbelievers. In his book The Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan describes one the characters named Talkative as “a saint abroad, and a devil at home”. Talkative is a character who talks the talk but doesn’t walk the walk. May we strive to be Christians in both word and deed remembering that we have been called to “…be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15).

The question is:

Are we being a ‘stepping-stone’ helping others get to Christ?

Or are we a ‘stumblingblock’ keeping others from getting to Christ?  

May God help us as we strive to be ‘stepping-stones’ helping people get to Christ and avoid being ‘stumblingblocks’ that hinder people from getting to Christ!

~Pastor Aaron Francis

Consider some of these quotes from preachers of the past who understood the importance of the prayer meeting in the life of a local church. May God use these voices from the past to echo this timeless truth in our ears once again and stir up our hearts to see the importance of prayer in the spiritual health of a local church!  ~Pastor Aaron

“The thermometer of a church is its prayer meeting.” (Vance Havner)

“Christians who neglect corporate prayer are like soldiers who leave their front-line comrades in the lurch.” (Derek Prime)

“The true man of God is heartsick, grieved at the worldliness of the Church…grieved at the toleration of sin in the Church, grieved at the prayerlessness in the Church. He is disturbed that the corporate prayer of the Church no longer pulls down the strongholds of the devil.” (Leonard Ravenhill)

“Brethren, we shall never see much change for the better in our churches in general till the prayer meeting occupies a higher place in the esteem of Christians.” (C.H. Spurgeon)

“If a church is to be what it ought to be for the purposes of God, we must train it in the holy art of prayer. Churches without prayer-meetings are grievously common. Even if there were only one such, it would be one to weep over. In many churches the prayer-meeting is only the skeleton of a gathering: the form is kept up, but the people do not come. There is no interest, no power, in connection with the meeting. Oh, my brothers, let it not be so with you! Do train the people to continually meet together for prayer. Rouse them to incessant supplication. There is a holy art in it. Study to show yourselves approved by the prayerfulness of your people. If you pray yourself, you will want them to pray with you; and when they begin to pray with you, and for you, and for the work of the Lord, they will want more prayer themselves, and the appetite will grow. Believe me, if a church does not pray, it is dead. Instead of putting united prayer last, put it first. Everything will hinge upon the power of prayer in the church.” (C.H. Spurgeon)

“The condition of the church may be very accurately gauged by its prayer meetings. So is the prayer meeting a grace-ometer, and from it we may judge of the amount of divine working among a people. If God be near a church, it must pray. And if He be not there, one of the first tokens of His absence will be slothfulness in prayer.” (C.H. Spurgeon)

“We are too busy to pray, and so we are too busy to have power. We have a great deal of activity, but we accomplish little; many services, but few conversions; much machinery, but few results.” (R.A. Torrey)

“You can tell how popular a church is by who comes on Sunday morning. You can tell how popular the pastor or evangelist is by who comes on Sunday night. But you can tell how popular Jesus is by who comes to the prayer meeting.” (Unknown Author)

“These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication…” Acts 1:14a

“And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” Acts 2:42

“The church is looking for better methods–God is looking for holier men.

What the Church needs today is not more or better machinery, not new organizations or more and novel methods–but men mighty in prayer.

The Holy Spirit does not flow through methods–but through men.

He does not come on machinery–but on men.

He does not anoint plans–but men, men of prayer.

Prayer is our most formidable weapon, the thing which makes all else we do efficient.”

This past Sunday, I began a new sermon series through the Gospel of Mark. I am looking forward to what the Lord has in store for our church family as we work verse-by-verse through this book of the Bible.

Yesterday, I shared some practical ways to get the most out of our new sermon series. Because the things I shared apply to any sermon series, I want to share some of what I shared with the church family.

1) Be Present

Be faithful in church attendance. Don’t forsake the ‘assembling of yourselves together’ (Heb. 10:25). The matter of church attendance should not be a matter of convenience but should be a matter of conviction that grows out of a desire to honor and glorify the Lord Jesus Christ!

2) Come Prepared

Prepare yourself and your family with prayer. Pray that God would save sinners, the saints would be edified, and that Christ would be glorified. Pray that God would speak to your heart and have His will accomplished in your life.

Pray for the preacher that God would open his mouth to preach in God’s power and according to His will. Or as Paul requested prayer from the church at Ephesus “…that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel.” (Eph. 6:19)

Come to church ‘hungry’ (that is, spiritually hungry). Come to church like you come before a bountiful, feast. Come hungry and eager to partake of the spiritually nourishing ‘meat & drink’ of God’s Word.

Having a good spiritual appetite for God’s Word begins with having a teachable spirit. If I have a proud spirit, I’m not going to come to church hungry because either I think I know it all or I have the attitude that nobody’s going to tell me what to do (both attitudes come from a heart of pride).  

Cultivate an attitude like young Samuel who said- “Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth” (1 Sam. 3:9). If you come to church with a hard heart, a distracted heart, or a heart that is set on worldly things, don’t be surprised when you don’t get anything out of church.

1 Pet. 2:2- “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.”

Be rested– a rested body/mind is essential for being prepared to worship God. I’ve said it before- “Sunday worship begins on Saturday evening.”  

3) Stay Plugged In (during the preaching time)

Recognize that whenever the Word of God goes forth, Satan is working overtime to keep you from hearing the Word and receiving the Word into your lives.

Just as a bird plucks away newly sown seed, so Satan is working overtime to pluck away the truth of God’s Word from your heart and mind.

Recognize the value of the Word of God and just how desperately you need it!

Come before the Word like the Psalmist- “Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold. Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way. Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them. The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple. I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments…Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it.” (Ps. 119:127-131, 140)

During the preaching time, ask God to help you listen with your full attention. Don’t settle for listening to sermons in a halfhearted way.

Luke 19:48 speaks of those who listened to Jesus as He taught in the temple- “…for all the people were very attentive to hear him.”

They were hanging onto every word that He said! And that ought to be our response to God’s Word. Every time the Word is opened, God is speaking to us. The question is: Are we listening?

Here’s some questions to ask yourself as you listen to a sermon:

• What is God trying to teach me from His Word?
• What are areas of my life that God wants me to change?
• How can I respond in obedient faith to the Word of God?
• What can I put into practice this week in obedience to God’s Word?
• Do I have a meek and submissive spirit towards the Word of God?
• Am I resisting the influence of Satan who is doing all that he can to steal away the seed of truth that has been planted in my heart?

4) Put the Word into Practice

Hebrews 2:1- “Therefore we ought to give more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.”

It is important, not only that we hear the Word, but that we don’t let the things we have heard ‘slip away’.

What can we do to keep God’s truth from ‘slipping’ out of our minds?

• Pray and ask God to instill the truth in your heart.
• Meditate on the truth through the week.
• Strive to respond in obedience to every sermon you hear.
• Diligently practice (live out) the Word through the week.
• Go back and review notes you have taken during the sermon.
• Go back & re-listen to the sermon.
• Talk to your children about the sermon.
• Talk to fellow believers about the sermon.

A skeptic can attempt, albeit futilely, to deny things that are contained in the Bible; however, one thing that cannot be denied is the testimony of a life changed by God. There are many people throughout human history who were once lost, but now found; once shackled by sin, but now liberated from the dominion of sin; once blinded to God, but now walking in the light of Christ.

In Mark 5, we read the account of a man who was once controlled by demons.  This man dwelt among tombs and was bound by the chains of sin. This man could not be controlled by other men and was, therefore, relegated to an isolated existence “in the mountains, and in the tombs” where he was found “crying, and cutting himself with stones” (v. 5). This man was alone, possessed by demons, and living out a miserable existence on earth.

The day came, however, when this man would meet the One who would turn his life upside down and would transform him from the inside out. Jesus Christ journeyed across the Sea of Galilee to the country of the Gadarenes where He would meet this man and cast demons out of the man into a herd of pigs who “ran violently down a steep place into the sea” (v. 13). Those caring for the pigs were frightened and fled the countryside to go to the city and publish what had happened.

When those from the city came out to see what had happened, they found a rather surprising change. The man who had formerly been an outcast due to his destructive, sinful behavior, was now “sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind” (v. 15). In other words, this man who had been so tormented by sin and demons had been radically changed because of Jesus. The man who was chained by sin was now changed by the grace of God.

This man, so grateful for the work of Jesus Christ on his behalf, had a desire to stay with Christ. But Christ had other plans for him. Christ gave this man a commission to “go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee” (v. 19).

This man who was once chained by sin, was in a moment of time changed by Jesus and commissioned to spread abroad what Christ had done.

Is this not a picture of the testimony of every believer? Do you remember the time when you were still bound by those chains of sin? Do you remember the day that Jesus saved you and changed your life? Are you being faithful to go and tell of the great salvation that Christ has wrought on your behalf?

AW Tozer said, “If we are not changed by grace, then we are not saved by grace.” May we be faithful in demonstrating and proclaiming this wonderful change that Christ has wrought in us!

~Pastor Aaron Francis

In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus gave His disciples the marching orders for the present church age. Many have labeled these verses as the Great Commission. Whether you use that title or not, I think that every Christian would agree that these final words of Christ are: 1) “great” [i.e., important; weighty], 2) a “commission” [i.e., a charge; order; mandate]. This is the great charge for NT churches to fulfill in this present age. 19^th century missionary, J. Hudson Taylor stated the seriousness of this charge: “The Great Commission is not an option to be considered; it is a command to be obeyed.”

Let’s consider the words of Christ in this passage: “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

This command is repeated in all four Gospels and again in the book of Acts. In each of these passages dealing with the Great Commission, we are given a fuller understanding of this great task that Christ has left with His disciples. In Mark 16:15, Jesus said: “…Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” In Luke 24:47, Jesus said: “…that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” In John 20:21, Jesus said: “…as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.” In Acts 1:8, Jesus said: “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

Although we could spend much time unpacking these passages and showing how they inform our understanding of the Great Commission, I want to focus in one main truth: These passages teach us what the chief pursuit, the main mission, the clear purpose of every NT church is!  

The chief purpose of the church is the fulfillment of the Great Commission. It has been stated that the Great Commission was Christ’s last command and ought to be our first priority!

In this digital, fast-paced, busy society in which we live, it is easy for us to become side-tracked and to lose our focus on keeping the main thing [the Great Commission] the main thing [our first priority].

The elements of this Great Commission involve: 1) Preaching the Gospel [evangelism], 2) Baptizing Believers [a public profession of an inward transformation], 3) Discipling Believers in the Faith [intentional discipleship through the local church].

As a local church and as individual believers, we must regularly ask ourselves these questions: “Is the fulfilling of the Great Commission my chief pursuit in life?” “If somebody looked at my life, would it be clear to them that the Great Commission is my chief pursuit?” “Is the way I use my time, resources, words, and energy reflective of the importance of the Great Commission in my life?”

 Like a vehicle being put back into alignment, we must regularly check and make sure that our lives are in alignment with God’s will! Pray today and ask God to refocus your mind and heart on the fulfilling the Great Commission! Let’s endeavor by the grace of God to keep the main thing the main thing!

~Pastor Aaron Francis