Why I Love Autumn

            I know it is a couple of months away but fall, or autumn, has been on my mind. I believe it is because the heat of summer is causing me to look forward to cooler weather. When I discuss with people which season is my favorite, I always say, “It’s either spring or fall.” But I believe Autumn is my favorite season for many reasons.

            The first reason is, of course, the cooler weather. After enduring months of 100+ degree weather for weeks on end, the cooler temperatures of 85 and below are a welcomed treat. With these temperatures, one could actually get outside and do something—bicycle, have picnics, play volleyball, take walks, even lay out and read—without threatening heat stroke and dehydration. Another thing I love is the fact that these temperatures often last into December. Spring has cooler temperatures than summer but it seems that summer’s temperatures invade springtime pretty early. However, being in the south I have not seen winter’s temperatures invade autumn too early. In fact, last year’s autumn seemed to have invaded wintertime.

A Fall Festival attendee

            Another thing I like about autumn are the Fall Festivals. Fall Festivals are Christians’ answer to Halloween. Halloween is a pagan holiday that has taken on connotation of witchcraft and demonism. Not only that, it is not safe for children to go from house-to-house trick-or-treating. Too many people are taking this opportunity to kidnap and even poison children. I remember when my sister and I went trick-or-treating once as children and our grandmother checking our candy to see if anything was done to it. Even back in those days there were stories of people sticking razor blades into apples and lacing Tootsie Rolls with PCP. I imagine they are doing worse that now. After the Colorado Batman Massacre, I would not put anything past someone who is evil enough act on such evil ideas, especially around Halloween. It used to be that you would be safe going to the homes of the people you know, but that is no longer the case either. One reason is because many of us do not even know our neighbors. Another reason is that our neighbors’ intentions are not always honorable. It was for these reasons that Fall Festivals were born.

            Many churches now offer these events on or around Halloween as an alternative to the other, more dangerous activity. Plus, the kids do not have to participate in a pagan ritual to get the candy. Instead, the kids (and adults) can go to a church (in costume if they like) and play games to win candy and prizes. There is also food there. Since many churches use Fall Festivals as outreach events, the attendees do not have to be members of the church to attend.  And they are free.

            Let’s not forget the leaves. What a beautiful panorama of color that covers the trees in the fall. It is sad to know that soon those leaves will fall to the ground leaving the trees bare foreshadowing the arrival of winter. Yet, the beauty of autumn is a gift from God (and in my opinion, more evidence of the existence of God).

            Finally, there’s Thanksgiving. Who does not love the aroma of turkey and dressing, cranberry sauce, and sweet potato (or pumpkin) pie?  Thanksgiving, what a day? It is a day for family, food, football, and sleep. Yes, it is also a day to give thanks. Then again, is not everyday Thanksgiving?  Should we not give thanks to God every day and should we not be thankful everyday for the blessings we have?

            So, now you know why I love autumn. What is your favorite season and why?

Sorry, No C.O.D.s

I remember when I was a child I would see a commercial advertising a product. At the end of the commercial, the announcer would say, ‘Cash, check, money order and CODs accepted.” When I would see something I wanted to buy on television, I could buy it and have them to send it C.O.D.—cash on delivery. When it arrived, I would give the money to the postman or the UPS man and I would take possession of it. Now, I see more and more television commercials and infomercials that say, “Sorry, No CODs.” Why is this?

Some would say C.O.D.s are obsolete because of the advent of credit and debit cards. Also, many companies allow you to pay online or on the phone via your checking account. This is true. However, I think it goes much deeper.

I believe the reason most companies no longer accept C.O.D.s is because they have been scammed by too many people. This is the same reason why so many companies no longer accept checks. People deliberately write checks on accounts they know they do not have sufficient funds in. With identity theft on the rise, companies may soon stop taking credit and debit cards.  

What has happened to integrity in this country? A man’s word is no longer his bond and some people can’t be trusted as far as you can through them. With so many people wanting something for nothing that is not likely to change anytime soon.

So for the foreseeable future, no checks accepted and no CODs.

The Call to Disciple

Why should a church or a Christian disciple other Christians? The church needs teachers. Teaching, in fact, is one of the core missions of the church. Ephesians 4 tells us the God gave some [people] to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:11-12, emphasis added). As a friend once pointed out, there is no comma between pastor and teach because a pastor must be a teacher. His job is to equip the saints—giving them the spiritual tools they need to do the work God has given them—witnessing to the lost.

 

 

Discipleship is not new. It did not come into being at the dawn of the church age. Discipleship has been around as long as Israel has been around. God commanded the Israelites in the Book of Deuteronomy to disciple their children. “You shall teach them [God’s commands] diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up (Deuteronomy 6:7).” Later in the Proverbs, Solomon reiterates this command: “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6).” Parents are called to be the main disciplers of their children not the church.

 

 

Jesus commanded that we be disciplers of men. In the Great Commission, Jesus commanded, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen (Matthew 28:18-20, emphasis added).”This Commission is repeated in the Gospel of Mark (Mark 16:15). It was never the Christian’s job to convert anyone. It was, and still is, the Christian’s responsibility to make disciples. We are called to be two things: witnesses and teachers. When we evangelize, we are simply telling the Gospel story and leaving the results up to God. We can attempt to persuade but the end decision is theirs and the end result is God’s.

 

 

Discipleship was the model Christ gave us. When He came to earth and began His ministry, He chose twelve men. These men would accompany Him and watch Him do His work. He would then send them out to do it. Talk about on-the-job training. The model was later used in the Church. Barnabas took Paul under his wings and taught him. Later, Paul took Timothy, Titus, and few others under his tutelage. In his final letter to Timothy, Paul charged Timothy to do the same thing: “And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also (2 Timothy 2:2).”

 

 

There is a desperate need for discipleship in the church. First, it is essential to disciple new believers. Those new to the faith do not fully understand even the fundamental doctrines of the faith. They are babes and they need to be taught the core beliefs. As Peter told his church, “as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby.” I believe that this is one of the reasons churches have what has become known as the revolving back door. New members join but they don’t stick around because they are not being spiritually fed. And like any starving soul, they look for nourishment elsewhere.

 

 

Second, there is so much false doctrine being taught in our seminaries, on television, and even in our churches. Christians need to be taught the truth so that they will be able to distinguish it from error. Paul wrote “that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting (Ephesians 4:14).” If you don’t know what you believe and why you believe it, you will fall for anything (any lie of the devil or trick of slick talkers). [In another lesson, I will discuss False Doctrine and False Teachers.]

 

 

And finally, we should disciple other Christians because it was the model Jesus gave us. As mentioned earlier, it was the method Jesus used to train the twelve. It was the model Barnabas used to train Paul and Paul later used to train Timothy. It should be the same model we use to train others. It is not solely the responsibility of the pastor to teach the Word but it is the responsibility of every mature believer. Just as a parent teaches a child how to walk and to talk, mature Christians should teach newer Christians what the Bible says about how to live godly.

 

 

Not only are we to teach or train others, but we are to teach them what the Bible says and not what we want the Bible to say. God gives us enough information to form truthful doctrine. We don’t have to add to it or take away from it. For instance, I have heard some say that the reason Cain’s sacrifice in Genesis 4 was not acceptable to God was because it was not a blood sacrifice. However, that is not what the Bible says nor what God said. The Bible said Abel brought of the firstfruits but Cain just brought an offering. Second, the command to offer blood sacrifices for sin had not even been given yet. Third, God told Cain if he did well, he would be accepted. The Hebrew term means to be cheerful or to do good. This suggests that God was referring to Cain’s heart or motive in offering and not his offering itself.  As I’ve heard many times and found to be true, the Bible interprets itself. In other words, rarely does the Bible says anything just once but either the command or lesson is repeated in another place.

 

 

I hope you see now why discipleship is so important in the church. Without it, people will fall into all sorts of error and begin to believe things that are ungodly. It is because people fail to disciple the next generation that the churches Paul and Peter and Timothy led were rebuked in the opening chapters of Revelation. They had fallen away from the faith and into false doctrine. It is because the generation before ours and our generation have failed to disciple that our society is in the quandary that it is in—godliness on the decline and homosexuality, pornography, greed, and malice on the uptake.

 

 

If we want God to bless America, then we need to bless God by studying and teaching His Word…before it’s too late.