I am certain that some of you who read this will have heard gospel singer Vestal Goodman sing the following lyrics with her signature voice. Songwriter Lynda Randle wrote these words:

Life is easy, when you’re up on the mountain
And you’ve got peace of mind, like you’ve never known
But things change, when you’re down in the valley
Dont lose faith, for your never alone
Chorus:
For the God on the mountain, is still God in the valley
When things go wrong, he’ll make them right
And the God of the good times, is still God in the bad times
The God of the day, is still God in the night
We talk of faith way up on the mountain
But talk comes easy, when life”s at its best
Now its down in the valleys, trials and temptations
That”s where your faith is really put to the test
Chorus:
For the God on the mountain, is still God in the valley,
When things go wrong, he’ll make them right
And the God of the good times, is still God in the bad times
The God of the day, is still God in the night
The God of the day, is still God in the night

Is your God still God in the valley? Is he God in the night? Is he God when you are in the ICU waiting room? Is he God when you are sitting in the section reserved for family at a funeral?

We are quick to give God credit when we get the news that our loved one is now cancer free, but we have no answer when our prayers are not answered and the cancer kills. I think that we Americans, who for the most part have lived pretty cushy lives, have a skewed view of who God is. Our theology of God is more like a story written by some dreamy fiction writer than the God of the Bible. Many of us have completely bought into the idea that God’s ideal for us believers is that we should be always healthy, prosperous, raise successful children and have perfectly healthy grand children. The problem with that idealistic thinking is the Bible. The Word of God tells a different story.

I wonder sometimes, have we read the book of Job, or about the life of Joseph, or the life and ministry of Paul, or John the Baptist, or the last section of Hebrews? There are dozens of passages that come to mind but I want to focus on a familiar passage in Romans 8.

¹⁸ For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. ¹⁹ For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope²¹ that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. ²² For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.²³ And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

²⁶ Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. ²⁷ And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. ²⁸ And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

There are some important truths we can learn from this passage. I doubt that you are much different from me in that I often read a familiar passage of Scripture such as this and take from it the meaning I am comfortable with, and fond of, and miss much of the meaning intended. So it is with this passage for sure!

The first thing we can know from this teaching is that even though things are pretty bad at times now, they will get better in the future. Verse 18 gives a huge contrast.

 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us

The contrast is present sufferings vs future glory. To the suffering those realities are light years apart. But, God, through the pen of the Apostle Paul is building hope in us. We have something great to look forward to. There will not always be cancer hospitals and funeral homes, God’s future for us is His glory revealed to us. But even knowing this we still have questions. Why Lord? There are answers.

The circumstances we experience in our lives on earth are by God’s design. Now before you have a stroke see what God has to say. If we keep reading we find this statement in verse 20.

for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of him who subjected it in hope

Because of God’s purposes not fully known to you and me He has caused the whole of creation to be subjected to futility. The text is very concise, the world we know with floods and tornadoes and blindness and cancer and war is not like it is “of its own will but by the will of him who subjected it…” You and I are focused on our present troubles (or blessings) but God is focused on his own glory. We are short-sighted but God is concerned not only with the present but with his future glory. What God has accomplished by the life and work of Jesus has made it so that we very frail and flawed people will be on display to demonstrate God’s glory, vs 18, 19, and 21. There is design and purpose to what God is doing.

Did you notice two words in verse 20, “in hope”? God subjected the creation (you and I and those we love included) “in hope”. We are not left to wring our hands and pace the floor asking “Why Lord”. No, we know why. God gives us hope! He gives us something to look forward to. The resurrection of Jesus makes it sure and certain that we too will live forever “on the mountain’ so to speak, but not yet.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now; 23 and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved.

Though our destiny is sure, we are not fully saved yet. Our salvation is a work in progress. Even as we hopefully mature spiritually, each day is one day closer to the redemption of our bodies when there is no death, no tears, no disappointments, and only the glory of God. “For we are saved in this hope”.

There is more in the text that builds our faith increases our hope if we will only trust our God.

We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. vs 28

Everything Lord? “Everything” includes some very painful experiences, “everything” Lord? Yes, God says “in everything” he is working for “good”. We must trust God, we must believe that he is for us! He is for us, not against us. Even when the most unimaginable tragedy befalls us God is at work, for our good and his glory.

To demonstrate his loving-kindness God has made a way to help us through the valleys of our lives. This remarkable statement should bring us comfort and cause us to praise our God who loves us so.

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. 27 And he who searches the hearts of men knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Isn’t this wonderful to know? When I am praying a selfish prayer for deliverance from some woe the Holy Spirit lovingly takes over and redirects and orients my prayer with words of his own that conform to the will of God. I am well aware that God’s ways are higher than my ways and that I am ill-equipped to always pray as I should but I need never worry about that. The God who is for you is the God who intercedes for you, “according to the will of God”.

In light of these precious promises and instruction from the Words of God we should face tomorrow with new confidence, with greater hope, and with more faith than before. I recall the Apostle Paul referring to his many troubles as “light and momentary”(2 Corinthians 2:14), he understood God’s loving design and was confident that mountain top living forever was on the horizon.

God loves you, he desires what is good for you. Our young children often have no understanding of why they can’t do some things because they are immature and lack the experience of their loving parents. So they fuss and cry. Let’s not be like that. God has explained just enough to us that we should be content and faithful even in the valley.

To God be the glory forever and ever, Amen.

Royce Ogle
Monroe, LA

Read more: Lynda Randle – God On The Mountain Lyrics | MetroLyrics

Everyone wants to be Merry, or Happy all the time, but especially at Christmas. I sure do! The problem is life doesn’t always cooperate.

Circumstances that make you and I happy ebb and flow depending wholly upon what happens next, or what has happened in the past. If you were invited to the right parties, received that special gift you dreamed of, or the crazy aunt behaved herself when the family was gathered are some of the things that contribute to “happiness”.

Leaving the turkey in the oven far too long, having transmission problems on the way to grandma’s house, or your family misbehaving at the Christmas table are a sampling of things that tend toward us not being “happy”.

The truth is, for the most part, we simply can’t control our circumstances. Other people, mechanical things, the local news, politics, the economy and the list is endless of the things that are completely beyond our reach. So, if your goal is to be happy, good luck!

True contentment is deep-seated and unshakable, it rests not in our happenings but rather in our relationship with God through Christ. The joy he gives (a far more precious thing than happiness…) is unwavering. Knowing that the Creator is “for” you and that He loves you perfectly, produces joy the Bible describes as “unspeakable”, so my attempt to adequately describe it will fail.

The knowledge that without regard to what happens today, or Christmas day, everything will be all right because of whose you are and where you are going wells up in a heart of joy and confident living that brightens the day of those who observe your steadiness in troublesome times. I hope that this Christmas and the approaching new year you will know the “Joy” of Christmas and every day because of your total trust in the Joy-giver.

Because God loves us so very much He invaded our humanity to live among us. He was in every sense “God with us!” Yes, Jesus came to do what we could not, perfectly be obedient to all of God’s desires for humans. He finished the job well! Then, in the supreme act of love he took upon him the sins and failings of us all and died for us the death we faced. Then in 3 days he rose from the dead so now this gracious offer could  be announced.

 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

What a gift! I hope each person who reads this will cherish this love gift of God this Christmas and know the joy only He can give.

Royce Ogle
Monroe, LA

The original founders of the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement (RM) had known, understood, and preached Jesus Christ. However, from the second generation forward, Jesus Christ himself gradually faded from view as the primary subject discussed week after week from the pulpits of Churches of Christ, to be replaced by “the Lord’s church” (or “The New Testament church”) and “the plan of salvation.” In his book titled The Core Gospel: On Restoring the Crux of the Matter (ACU Press, 1992), the late Dr. Bill Love, a Jesus-man and Bible preacher of uncommon giftedness, painstakingly documented, generation by generation, this gradual but undeniable change in the message preached by the most influential preachers within the RM during its first century.

In his mercy and from time to time, God raised up various men to call the Churches of Christ back to their proper subject–Jesus Christ. One such messenger was a man named K. C. Moser (1893-1976), who led out with an article entitled “Preaching Jesus,” published in the December 1, 1932 issue of the Gospel Advocate, the major Church of Christ publication of influence east of the Mississippi River. Moser’s title came from Acts8:35 which, in the older versions, says that when Philip encountered the Ethiopian eunuch, he “preached to him Jesus.” Philip did not preach a system of religion, or conditions of salvation disconnected from the atonement. He proclaimed Jesus as the Son of God who bears the sins of the world.

K. C. Moser simply pointed out that to do otherwise is to make grace void and to turn conditions of salvation into pure law. When Philip encountered the eunuch, Moser argued, he “preached not a plan, but a man.” That phrase, and its counterpart “the man, not the plan,” quickly caught on throughout the Churches of Christ among parties of both persuasions. “The Man, Not the Plan” remains the shorthand way of referring to this controversy among the Churches of Christ even today.

During the following year, 1933, Texas preacher R. L. Whiteside began a response to Moser’s teaching on Romans. Both men actively advanced their respective views in sermons, classes, and by every means at their disposal. Moser set out his Jesus-centered teaching on salvation in two influential books. The Gist of Romans was first printed in 1957 with a second edition in 1958. The Way of Salvation was issued some time later, and it was the catalyst that provoked publication of Whiteside’s commentary on Romans. Unfortunately, at almost every important point throughout Paul’s grand epistle, rather than explaining the text of Romans, Whiteside comes dangerously close to merely explaining Romans away.

Approximately a decade after that, my own first religious article to be published in a major brotherhood journal was a piece called “Emphasis: Christ,” Firm Foundation,LXXIV:45 (November 7, 1967). It was immediately attacked and denounced by articles in four or five other smaller journals. My crime, according to these critics? I was preaching the Man, they said, and not placing proper emphasis on the Plan. I thanked God that he had put me in the right place, and prayed that I would always occupy it. A few years later, I published a little book titled THE GRACE OF GOD, which was all about Jesus and salvation through trusting in him. I sent a copy to K. C. Moser, then still alive. To my enormous delight, he wrote back a hand-written note expressing appreciation for the gift, and stating that I was teaching precisely what he believed the Bible to teach.

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This from my esteemed friend Edward Fudge, EdwardFudge.com.

Edward is a gifted attorney, author of several books, thinker, scholar, and mightily used Bible teacher with a broad ministry to many groups in addition to his own beloved churches of Christ. His popular graceEmail is received by thousands each week and you can subscribe HERE for this free service.

Above all else Edward Fudge is a Jesus man, grace, gospel-man whom I am thrilled to call my friend.

Royce
Monroe, LA

We use the word “church” in a far different way than our first century brothers and sisters did. They never once said “Let’s go to church”. They understood that “church” was the gathered people who were believers in Jesus. We do use the word with that meaning in mind but we also use it to mean a building where we meet together once or twice a week, or what happens in the building. I don’t have a problem with saying “Let’s go to church”, I use “church” in that context and meaning frequently. But, there is another problem.

For some reason the building where we meet on Sunday has become a holy place to many people. In fact, many of our church of Christ folks believe the auditorium is more holy than the class rooms or the fellowship hall. For example, some churches will allow music with instruments in the sound track in the fellowship hall but not in the “worship center” or whatever name they have for it. And, some believe that women can speak in a class of mixed adults but not in the “worship assembly”. I have friends who would not dare come to worship on Sunday in the same clothing they would come to a Bible study in one of the class rooms. For some reason unknown to me people think the biggest room in the church building is a holy place.

Not any of these things come from the New Testament. There were no “church buildings” in the first century. People gathered in homes, temple court yards, by the sea, and I suppose any other suitable spot that was convenient. There were no pulpits, so the pulpit is no more a holy place to speak from than is a table in the kitchen.

Because of tradition ingrained over hundreds of years we have adopted ideas that are special to us and guard them as closely as Holy Scripture. The church building has no soul! It’s the people of God who are the “church”. If they meet in someone’s home, if they meet at a ball park, or in a picnic area by a lake, they are the local “church”. These closely held traditions have led men to make rules about what can and cannot happen in the biggest room in the building on Sunday morning. That is not a good thing. None of those man-made rules furthers the cause of Christ and the good news about Him.

We don’t go to “church” to be in God’s presence, we are in God’s presence all the time. If you are a true disciple of Jesus, when you move a part of the church is moving. And when you speak, the church is speaking. Our speech, our actions, and our attitudes should be no different on Saturday afternoon than on Sunday morning, where ever we are.

So let’s stop playing games. Let’s go to church and let’s be the church from Sunday to Sunday. A watching world needs to see genuine Christians living simple, loving everyone, and making much of Jesus.

Royce Ogle
Monroe, LA