Green Oaks Church of Christ
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Bible Correspondence Course
  • Study Materials
    • Sermons
    • Books
    • Video Sermons
    • Printable Studies
  • Thought For The Week
  • Links
  • Members
    • Monthly News

Thought for the Week

​Each week Brother Joe Norton shares his inspirational insights to Scripture.
Joe Norton

Honor the King

8/7/2021

 
Fourth of four Word Studies of 1 Peter 2:17
“Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king”          (1 Peter 2:17).
​

By “honor,” Peter means to give respect that is due to those in positions of authority. That we do not live under a “King” does not negate our responsibilities to keep this command. Those in authority have been put in power for our good; so, we “honor” them, even when their behavior does not appear to be deserving.

As God’s faithful children, we have learned from scripture that the best way to “honor” anyone is to obey his word—that is true in our relationship with God, and it also holds true in our relationship with secular authorities so long as they do not give a command that violates the law of God.

By being good citizens and by obeying the laws of the land in which we live, we, first of all, honor God, but, secondly, we serve as an example to others. Hopefully, our fellows can observe our behavior and be influenced to learn more about what motivates us to good citizenship, thus giving us an opportunity to tell them about Jesus.

Joe

Fear God

8/3/2021

 
Third of four Word Studies of 1 Peter 2:17
“Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king”          (1 Peter 2:17).
Unfortunately, we live in a world that pictures fear as a really bad thing when we are discussing our relationship with God. That’s an interesting idea in view of the fact that the Bible teaches repeatedly that we are to fear God.
​
“Fear,” as used here as well as in many other passages, refers to a reverential fear of God. It is a fear that “banishes the terror that shrinks from His presence.” And it replaces it with love, respect, and reverence for Him and with “a wholesome dread of displeasing Him.”

So, the kind of fear Peter teaches here is a positive stimulant for us as we navigate the Christian life, doing our best to maintain a healthy relationship with God as we look forward to eternal life with Him some day.

Joe

Love the Brotherhood

8/3/2021

 
Second of four Word Studies of 1 Peter 2:17
“Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king”          (1 Peter 2:17).

The “love” enjoined in this command is agapao, meaning to value, to esteem, to behave unselfishly, to treat with respect, and/or to have the best interest of others in one’s heart.

“Brotherhood” refers to “a community based on identity of origin,” to “persons united by a common interest,” or to “a brotherly relation.” So, our brotherhood is the church—a group of people bound together by a common faith in God and in Jesus Christ, by a common determination to follow God’s word, and by an intense interest in the spiritual welfare of our fellow Christians.
​
 That being said, we can never lose sight of our mutual responsibilities: we cannot say that as individuals or as congregations we will do as we please, regardless of what others think. As a brotherhood of loving people, we must maintain an attitude that shows a deep concern about our influence on others.

Joe

Honor All People

8/3/2021

 
First of four Word Studies of 1 Peter 2:17
“Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king”          (1 Peter 2:17).
One of the overriding principles taught in the New Testament is that we as Christians imitate Christ in the daily conduct of our lives. The Epistle of First Peter seems to be especially rich in such teaching. 

“Honor” means to pay respect to or to esteem others. “All people” literally includes all human beings, regardless of their status in life. In fact, a part of our honoring God is to show respect not only to our fellow Christians but also to all other human beings with whom we interact. Such a principle does not mean we approve of sinful actions: it just means we treat others with decency and respect with the hope we can influence them to come to Christ.

Following this principle requires us to develop all of those qualities centered around patience, including being long-suffering, avoiding outbursts of anger, tolerating non-sinful mannerisms that may annoy us, and just generally accepting that it is okay for human beings to behave differently in matters of liberty.

Joe

Rebuke to Help

8/3/2021

 
“Open rebuke is better 
Than love carefully concealed” (Proverbs 27:5) 
Honesty is the best policy is an axiom that has been handed down from generation to generation from time immemorial, and it is never so true as it is when it describes truthfulness in relationships.

The preacher says in this passage that a true friend is one who will “rebuke” us when we need it rather than withholding from us what we really need to hear under the pretense of friendship or of not wanting to hurt our feelings. Such a situation is deceitful—it constitutes withholding love rather than displaying it.

Sometimes we need correcting so that we can avoid making ourselves look foolish or getting ourselves into an embarrassing situation. And the ability to give and to receive correction without being offended lays the foundation for a true friendship.

Joe

Religion That Is Real

8/3/2021

 
“The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say and do not do” (Matthew 23:2-3).
Introducing one of the most scathing rebukes ever executed against any group of people, Jesus wastes no time in giving this instruction to the masses: heed the words of the Pharisees, but do not follow their example. Surely this message angered the Pharisees, but there was no misunderstanding what Jesus meant.

God demands that people live up to what they profess—in other words, He doesn’t accept those who say one thing and then do another. The Pharisees professed to be religious and thought in their own minds they were religious, but actually they were only following a tradition that had been handed down to them.
​
Profession alone is not enough as far as our relationship with God is concerned. For us to be pleasing to God and to inherit the eternal home He has prepared for the faithful, we must be a people whose religion is real—whose lives demonstrate that we are not just pretending to be a spiritually-minded person but that we are sincere in our declarations of devotion to God.

Joe

A Role for Fathers

8/3/2021

 
“Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged” (Colossians 3:21).
​

Instruction to fathers is fairly limited in the New Testament except for teaching about living according to the standards God has given for everyone in His word. The word “provoke” means deliberately making someone angry.

When fathers do provoke, they may arouse a variety of emotions in children that may be detrimental to their intellectual, emotional, and spiritual development; and the children may feel defeated—even to the point of feeling they can’t live up to any standard of good.

Rather than provoking, fathers are to follow God’s example as our Heavenly Father by protecting, providing for, loving, and disciplining children. When earthly fathers fulfill these four responsibilities, they set a standard for children to emulate but also provide a safe haven in which children can feel nurtured and secure 

Joe

A Heart to Work

8/3/2021

 
“So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work” (Nehemiah 4:6).

Set in the time when Nehemiah is overseeing the re-construction of the wall around Jerusalem, this verse provides a key to the success of that project: “the people had a mind to work” or as another translation says, “a heart to work,” meaning they set their minds to the task and worked vigorously to complete the project.

Nehemiah risks life and limb to rebuild this wall, but he is unscathed by the criticism, offers of compromise, ridicule, threats, or any other obstacles the enemies of the Jewish people hurl at him.

Working quickly after his arrival in Jerusalem, he privately surveys the scene, encourages the rulers with his report of answered prayers, organizes the workers—and they complete the massive project in fifty-two days.
​
Can we allow our minds eye to contemplate the success we may have in the church today if we can convince leaders and members to have “a heart to work”? With every member participating and with the blessing of God, we can achieve more than we can even imagine for the Cause of Christ.

Joe

Lean on the Lord

8/3/2021

 
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, 
And lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). 

“Trust” is a word as used here that carries with it a firm belief in the unfailing reliability of God. Solomon increases the intensity of this conviction by adding the words “with all your heart.”

Our humanity leads us toward relying only on our own abilities and understanding of situations, but the preacher here says, “NO! Take a deep breath and allow God’s will to work.” The truth is we don’t always see the whole picture of any situation because we are not all-knowing as God is.

Situations that seem hopelessly flawed, seemingly having no possibility of a positive outcome, can work out better than we ever imagined if we Trust in the Lord and allow His providence to work. While we don’t live in the age of miracles, we do know God loves us beyond comprehension and wants the best for us. That’s all we need to know.

Joe

    Joe Norton

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    March 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016

    Categories

    All
    Attitude
    Christian Living
    Commitment
    Conformity
    Dealing With Life
    Endurance
    Faith
    God
    Goodness
    Jesus
    Peace
    Serious Seer
    Sin
    Thankfulness
    The Word
    Truth
    Wisdom
    Workers

    RSS Feed

4601 SW Green Oaks Blvd. Arlington, TX 76017
Service Times: Sundays 10:00 & 2:30.  Wednesdays 7:30
Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Bible Correspondence Course
  • Study Materials
    • Sermons
    • Books
    • Video Sermons
    • Printable Studies
  • Thought For The Week
  • Links
  • Members
    • Monthly News