“Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat” were the chilling words that Jesus spoke to Simon in Luke 22:31. I’ve seen grain sifted – vigorously shaken, then thrown up in the air. How would you like for Satan to shake up your life, and then throw it up in the air to see how much faith remains? Peter was about to find out what that’s like. It’s likely that we are going to find out what that’s like, too. Peter was sure he wouldn’t fail. He said, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death” (Lk 22:33). Yes, we think we’re ready. We say we’re ready. But Jesus knows the truth: “…the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me” (Lk 22:34). We join Peter in outrage: “Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be” and, “If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” (Mk 14:29, 31). It’s unthinkable, and our outrage is real. Dedicated disciples won’t deny even knowing Jesus! How could this happen? It will happen to others, but not to us! And yet, there have been those times when we acted like we didn’t even know Him. Jesus provided words of hope: “But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren” (Lk 22:32). Although Peter’s denial of Jesus was a failure of faith, Jesus didn’t want Peter’s faith to utterly fail. All sin is a failure of faith, a failure to fully trust in Jesus and His way; but the real question is, “Then what?” When we’ve compromised our faith, when we’ve acted like someone who is faithless, what will we do then? Does our faith completely fail? Do we totally abandon our Lord and never look back, or does our faith cause a “return to Me” response? Jesus knew that Peter would deny Him. (Jesus was not praying that Peter wouldn’t deny Him.)

Peter’s faith not totally failing involved, “when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” I don’t think we talk enough about this. We talk a lot about a failure of faith that occurs in sinning (so avoid that failure by not sinning), but we don’t say much about the failure of faith when it fails to bring people back to Jesus when they do sin. And then, when faith utterly fails, “sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death” (Ja 1:15). We need to learn and teach others that Christians can return from sin to Jesus anywhere and at any time. It needs to be so ingrained in our thinking that returning to Jesus is our first thought when we see our sin. That Jesus desires our return to Him—no matter what we have done or for how long—must be so foundational to our understanding of God that it will not be obscured by our time spent in worldliness. No matter what, we can come back. We need to commit now, as unthinkable as failing may now be, that we WILL return if and when it happens. Preparing our faith to bring us back to the Lord after our failure is as important as our initial conversion to Christ. And yet, it seems we don’t talk about it, study about it, and prepare for it. Sooner Rather Than Later Just as “today is the day of salvation” (2 Co 6:2), the command to repent is a “now” command (Ac 17:30). We’re familiar with the saying that someone expecting to repent at the eleventh hour may die at ten-thirty! And what about years wasted not glorifying God, bearing fruit of righteousness, and equipping ourselves to serve? Then there’s the Ecclesiastes 12:1 factor which says if we wait too long to remember our Creator, difficult days will come and we will say, “I have no pleasure in them.”

We think we won’t forget the Lord while living in  the world, but carnal minds forget spiritual things; they don’t even make sense anymore (1 Co 2:14). We mustn’t wait to repent and risk that our faith will fail or even cease to exist. Later  Rather Than Never In life, when we’re dying and it is 11:59 PM, there is only one thing that matters. It isn’t a tearful, “I love you” to family or a hand to hold so we are not alone. The one thing that matters is that we are right with the Lord. If we’ve waited (admittedly far too long), with our last cognitive thought let us “repent therefore of this your wickedness,” and with our dying breath may we “pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you” (Ac 8:22). As children of God, if we are bleeding out in a car accident, dying of an incurable disease, having a change of heart in a suicide, or standing at gunpoint—“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn 1:9). Faith will not fail if we will use it to return to Jesus. When it’s almost too late, remember that it isn’t too late to return to God with a pure heart. All salvation is a return to God. Whether one is a sinner who has never named the name of Jesus or someone who has escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord but returned to the mire of the world, the invitation of Jesus is “return to Me.” It is an every person invitation. It is a “now” invitation. It is an everyday, every time, every situation invitation. And we need to respond to the invitation before it becomes impossible to renew us to repentance (He 6:6). ________________________________________ 940 N. Elmwood Dr., Aurora, IL 60506 e-mail: davdiestel@yahoo.com

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By ANDY DIESTELKAMP

Inventors are always looking for a better way to do something. What the industrial and technological revolutions have accomplished in the last couple of centuries is quite amazing. Our way of life has vastly improved in many respects. For example, the ability to communicate literally around the world in seconds from our personal devices is truly mind-boggling and leaves one to wonder what will come next. From a spiritual perspective, the good news of Jesus Christ is a message of good news, and our modern technology is a marvelous aid in spreading it. Of course, the technology can also be used to spread what is evil, false, deceptive, morally corrupting, and enslaving. As always, the technology is benign. It is the users of it who determine whether or not it will be used for good or evil. When we reflect on the earliest efforts to spread the gospel, we are sometimes wowed by the miraculous abilities given by the Holy Spirit to Jesus’ apostles and select others. We tend to think that, if we just had those gifts now, it would help immensely in the spread and persuasive power of the gospel. First, consider the fact that the earliest Christians might consider what we now have technologically to be nearly miraculous or at least extremely advantageous. Second, the possession of those miraculous gifts back then did not convert the world; most people still rejected Jesus as Lord. Indeed, some of the earliest Christians were very distracted by the gifts they had received or not received. Disappointingly, the gifts became for some a status symbol over which there were some very unspiritual attitudes and arguments (e.g. who had the better gifts). Is there some of that today over our modern or technological gifts, whether that is our greater depth of knowledge, our meeting places, our websites and blogs and the number of hits we get? Do we who have such gifts look down on those who don’t have them? Do we who don’t have such gifts envy or disparage those who do have them? Paul had to confront the saints in Corinth for the misuse of their gifts. Indeed, chapters 12-14 of First Corinthians address and correct the bad attitudes and various misuses of their gifts. While the gifts themselves were from God and offered them great advantages which they were right to desire, the Corinthians had far overrated their importance. Yes, some gifts were better than others, but not all even had gifts. Was one somehow superior or inferior to another based on his/her gifts? In correcting their carnal views of spiritual gifts, Paul put things in perspective by showing them “a more excellent way” (1 Cor. 12:31). More excellent than spiritual gifts?! Indeed, it is a way that remains superior two thousand years later. It is a way upon which technology cannot improve. That way, of course, is love (13:1-13). “What the world needs now is love, sweet love,”  states the title and lyrics of a song from the 1960’s. Love is a word that brings to mind all kinds of ideas and feelings. Generally, love has a good connotation. Hate is the opposite of love and arouses a variety of thoughts and impressions. Generally, hate has a bad connotation. Both words are variously used in a

host of contexts and are applied to everything from the mundane (“I love pizza.” or “I hate peas.”) to the sublime (e.g. “I love God.” or “I hate sin.”). However, while love and hate are opposites, they are not mutually exclusive. It is possible for those who love to hate and vice versa. God is good. God is love. Yet, God hates some things (e.g. Isa. 61:8; Jer. 44:4; Am. 5:21; Zech. 8:17; Mal. 2:16). Indeed, love for what is good requires us to hate what is evil (Psa. 97:10; 119:104, 113, 128, 163; Prov. 8:13; Am. 5:15). Just as not all hate is bad, so not all love is good. God is the One who defines what is good. Thus, the kind of love that is good is the kind which is defined, commanded, and exemplified by God. God created us in His image with the capacity to love. He expects us to love. Yet, not all loves are equal. Like any other biblical word or concept, love can be misused and misapplied and often is. Biblical words and concepts are continually being redefined to justify and otherwise suit the purposes of those whose agendas are not godly (e.g. truth, liberty, justice, male, female, marriage, etc.). It is a frequent tactic of the enemies of God to co-opt His words, define and apply them differently, and suggest that those meanings and applications are what God means when He uses or commands them. It is certainly correct to observe the importance of love as crucial to reforming our world into a better place. However, it is equally important to have love properly defined because not all that is loved by the world will make this world better. The phrase “make love, not war” is clever, but it naively suggests that conflict is inherently bad and anything called love is inherently good. Indeed, there is a kind of love that is to be shunned and opposed. “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15). Some kinds of love are unhealthy, immoral and evil. Therefore, some kinds of love are mutually exclusive. One cannot truly love everything. This would make the word love virtually meaningless. Therefore, believers in God need to make a very intentional effort to define and embrace love as taught and exemplified by God in Scripture as opposed to how it might be variously used by others in popular culture and the media. We need to have a greater appreciation for the nature and depth of divine love which then motivates us to imitate this kind of love in all our relationships with one another and to oppose anything called love that is sinful or otherwise contrary to God. “In this the love of God is demonstrated to us, that God has sent His one and only Son into the world, that through Him we might live. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to pay for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 Jn. 4:9-11). This is the kind of love “that there’s just too little of.” _______________________________________________________________________ 323 E. Indiana Ave., Pontiac, IL 61764 e-mail: andydiestelkamp@gmail.com

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TELL THEM THE STORY

By RICK LIGGIN

The Psalmist makes it clear that our God wants His people, including future generations, to “put their confidence” in Him. He wants to make sure that they “do not forget (His) works,” and that they “keep His commandments” (Psa. 78:7). To this end, He has commanded fathers to teach His testimonies and laws to their children, so that “the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, that they may arise and tell them to their children,” so that they also may “put their confidence in God” (78:1-7). Our God clearly wants His deeds to be remembered, so that even future generations will choose to serve Him. With this Biblical backdrop in mind, it is interesting to note that our God, especially in the Old Testament, has a fondness for signs, symbols, and memorials. Evidently, our God is very much aware of man’s tendency to forget; we need reminders to help us remember. And so, quite often in dealing with His people, God gave Israel memorials to remind them of significant events. For example, He gave Israel the Passover, a feast which would remind them of how God passed over them when He sent the destroyer to kill all the firstborn in Egypt (Ex. 12:1-13). And in connection with the Passover, God also gave Israel the seven day “Feast of Unleavened Bread” (12:14-20), as a “memorial” of how He brought them out of the land of Egypt.   The same kind of thing happened when Israel crossed over Jordan into the Promised Land (Josh. 4:1-24). On this occasion, as the Levitical priests carried the ark of the covenant into the river, God cut off the waters of the Jordan so that the Israelites could cross on dry land. As they crossed, one representative from each of the twelve tribes was to pick up a stone from the riverbed and carry it to the other side. When all of Israel had safely crossed, the twelve stones were to be piled up at Gilgal in the Promise Land as a “sign” and “memorial” (4:6-7) of this awesome event. After some initial victories in Canaan, Joshua moved the Israelites to Shechem so that a command given by God though Moses could be carried out (Josh. 8:30-35; cf. Deut. 27:1—28:68). Here, Joshua stationed six of the twelve tribes on Mount Gerizim while placing the remaining six tribes across the valley on Mount Ebal. He then read aloud the “blessings” (represented by Mount Gerizim) that would come to Israel if they obeyed God’s covenant and the “curses” (represented by Mount Ebal) that would come on Israel if they disobeyed. All of the words of both the blessings and curses were read “before all the assembly of Israel with the women and the little ones and the strangers living among them" (8:35).

Every time an Israelite family began cleaning out all the leaven in their house or sat down to eat the Passover and celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, they would be reminded of how God powerfully brought them out of Egyptian bondage. And every time an Israelite family passed that pile of stones at Gilgal, they would be reminded of how God miraculously cut off the waters of the Jordan so they could cross on dry land. And every time an Israelite family passed through Shechem between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, they would have a visual reminder of the blessings and curses attached to God’s law. I want us to notice something important about these great memorials God set up for His people. In all of these cases, God anticipated that Israelite children would ask about these memorials. At Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, they would want to know, “What is this?” (Ex. 13:14) and, “What does this rite mean to you?” (12:26). And when they passed the stones at Gilgal, God expected that the children would ask their fathers, “What are these stones?” (Josh. 4:21). And in all of these cases, God tells fathers how they are to respond. He essentially says to fathers, “You tell them what really happened! Tell your children the story of what I did!” (cf. Ex. 12:27; 13:14-16; Josh. 4:21-24). I believe there is a powerful lesson in this for us as parents and especially as fathers. You see, we are not without memorials under the new covenant. We have, at least, one great memorial in the weekly celebration of the Lord’s Supper. As Paul recounts what he had received from the Lord regarding this Supper, he reminds us that Jesus had said, “Do this in remembrance of Me” (1 Cor. 11:24-25). Paul even went on to say that as we “eat this bread and drink the cup,” we “proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” (11:26). Every time we gather to eat this sacred meal, we are reminded of the most significant event in human history! We are reminded of how much our God loves us. He loves us so much that He actually sent His only Son to die on a cruel Roman cross to redeem us from our sins! And not only did He die, but He also miraculously rose from the dead to prove that He is indeed the Son of God and His death on the cross was for our salvation. Our eating this Lord’s Supper reminds us of these real events which actually happened in time and space in order for us to be saved from our sins! And what do you think we, as parents, ought to say when our children ask us about why we eat the Lord’s Supper every first day of the week?

If your children haven’t yet asked you about this, they probably will. So what should you say? Maybe you will be tempted to simply say, “Well, that is just a part of our religion…part of our worship” or “We do it because it’s one of the five acts (?) of worship.” I would suggest that there is a far better answer. When our children ask us “Why do you eat the Lord’s Supper?”, we ought to tell them the story! We must give them the historical account of what actually happened and help them see the reality and significance of this historic event! When our children are helped to see that our faith in God is rooted in actual events of history—powerful works that our God actually performed in time and space—it will go a long way in helping them to eventually chose to put their own confidence in God and to serve Him with their lives. We serve a real God who is powerfully active in human history! God wants us and our children and our children’s children to remember Him and His powerful works so that we will put our confidence in Him. This can only happen, if we as parents are telling our children of all the wonderful things that He has done! When your children ask, tell them the story! God anticipates that our children will ask us a lot of questions about how and why we serve Him. In the Old Testament, Israel was told that “these words” of God were to be on their hearts and that they were to “teach them diligently” to their children every day (Deut. 6:4-9). When their children asked them about these words, when they asked, “What do the testimonies and the statutes and the judgments mean which the Lord our God commanded you?” (6:20), parents were told to respond by telling their children about why God had given them these commandments and how His giving them this law was rooted in their history with Him (6:20-25). In the same way, when children ask anything that is related to serving God, we need to give them the reason rooted in God’s historical Word! If they want to know, “Why do we have to do this” or “why can’t we do that?”, don’t just tell them, “because that’s our religious tradition” or “because that’s what our religion teaches.” Give them the moral reason rooted in God’s Word! When our children come to see that our powerful God is active in human history and instructs us to walk in His way for our own good, they will come to appreciate Him more and put their confidence in Him. And this is what God wants! (Psa. 78:1-7). ________________________________________ 315 E. Almond Dr., Washington, IL 61571 e-mail: rcliggin@gmail.com

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Just As Christ Loved The Church By AL DIESTELKAMP

For men who are married, I doubt that there is any greater challenge than the one posed by the apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians: “Husbands, love your wives just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it” (5:25). Loving our wives is easy, but loving them “just as Christ loved the church” sets a very high standard. Therefore, it is important that we see just how Christ loved the church so that we might act accordingly toward our wives. Christ loved the church sacrificially He “gave Himself for it.” To succeed at loving our wives “as Christ does the church,” we must have an attitude of sacrificial service toward them. It’s not likely that we will have to die for our wives, but we must be willing to serve their needs. As husbands, we need to understand that our wives’ needs differ from our own. True love “does not seek its own” (1 Cor. 13:5). It is our responsibility to meet the needs of our wives. A great “fringe benefit” of doing this well is that our wives will respond in kind by making sure that our needs are met. While not all wives have identical needs, a survey of Christians attending a ladies’ Bible class showed that their number one need is for their husbands to provide spiritual leadership. Other expressed needs (in order of their importance) were family commitment, communication, affection, and financial security. Christ loved the church exclusively The apostle says that Christ’s gift of Himself was “that He might sanctify and cleanse it” (v.26). Though Jesus loves the whole world, He has “set apart” His church from the world. He has only one bride. The marriage relation- ship requires sanctification—a setting apart from other relationships. In marriage, the husband is “set apart” to belong to the wife, and the wife is “set apart’ to belong to the husband—he for her; her for him. Any inter- ference with this God-given arrangement is sin. Christ loved the church caringly “So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church” (vs.28-29). The word nourish means “to feed,” and the word cherish means “to soften by heat” [Vine]. I think we know what we do for someone or something we cherish—“protect and care for lovingly; hold something dear” [American Dictionary]. Christ loved the church enduringly As the church is joined to Christ, so “a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh” (v.31). This is a reference to the intimate sexual relationship between a husband and wife. However, Jesus used this same quote to teach the inseparability of marriage (Matt. 19:5-6). As Christ and His bride are “one body” which nothing can separate (Rom. 8:35-39), so the husband and wife are “one flesh” which man must not separate. From the beginning, God said, “it is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him” (Gen. 2:18). As men, we should have a great appreciation for our wives. We should view them as highly- prized (and nicely packaged) gifts from our Creator. He knows just what we need to help us go to Heaven. _____________________________________ 260 N. Aspen Dr., Cortland, IL 60112 e-mail: aldiestel@gmail.com

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Some of you have heard that I suffered a heart attack earlier this year. This resulted in an angioplasty procedure to insert a stent in an artery that was 99% blocked. A second artery that is 70-75% blocked was not opened due to “difficulty” experienced during the procedure. My cardiologist believes I can “live with it” with some adjustments to my diet and activity. This event required several family members and friends to take my place in helping with my wife’s day-to-day care for a two-week period while I was restricted from doing any lifting. Connie continues to be on Hospice home care. I told her of my heart attack, but I am not certain she was able to fully understand it. At this point, I am about two-thirds through my cardiac rehab program and feeling good. I am thankful for all those who have helped out as needed as well as all the well-wishes and prayers of my brothers and sisters in Christ.                                                                     ~Al Diestelkamp

This Is Interesting! This is the 213th issue of THINK. The first issue cost only $40. Paper and postage costs have risen significantly over the years, and recent issues cost more due to having it printed commercially. What’s interesting is that our total costs over the nearly 50 years is $23,457, while the voluntary donations from many brothers and sisters in Christ for the same time period have added up to $23,191. Praise the Lord!

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