October 30
A couple of decades ago I recall really being struck by the passage in Isaiah 58 which reads,
“Is this not the fast which I choose, to loosen the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free and break every yoke? Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into the house; when you see the naked to cover him; and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light will break out like the dawn, and your recovery will speedily spring forth; and your righteousness will go before you; the Lord of glory will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you remove the yoke from your midst, the point of the finger and speaking wickedness, and if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness and your gloom will become like midday. And the Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will raise up the age-old foundations; and you will be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of the streets in which to dwell."
Isaiah continues promising a special blessing to any who honor God’s Sabbath day of rest. Honoring God’s day of rest involves ceasing and desisting from doing things that are self aggrandizing and seeking God’s word to us. Finally, God promises those who honor him in these ways will ride high on the heights of the earth and be fed with the heritage of Jacob.
Several years ago, the first time I really took note of these verses, I was an elder in a small church in Arizona. The pastor and I were especially close friends and spent a lot of time in ministry together. We gathered the elders together and pledged to one another to begin doing the kind of things described in this 58th chapter of Isaiah. We began a ministry especially directed at drug addicts and drunks. We sought opportunities to help people who were down on their luck. I was a police officer, so I had insider information on who all the drunks and drug addicts in the area were; almost daily I had contact with people who were down on their luck (just a figure of speech), so we had a ready-made clientele with which to deal.
It was an amazing time of ministry, caring for those extremely needy individuals whom most people in society had written off as a waste of time. Demonic activity was high. I had one experience in college dealing with demon possession, so I was able to approach the problem from the biblical perspective. By God’s grace we didn’t have any seven sons of Sceva experiences (Acts 19:13-16). My point for today is that we need to act upon God’s word when He tells us to do so. The day that particular section of scripture became so meaningful to me, we believed, as a group of elders, it was time to aggressively pursue practicing it.
Over the years, my wife and I have had countless opportunities to help the poor, downtrodden of our community. It has been discouraging at times to see them return to their old lifestyle the moment things got a little hard. Some have prospered spiritually; some have not. What is most important of all is that we have the wonderful privilege of helping others in the sacred and holy name of our Lord, and He never fails to reward us for our endeavors. Everything done in love and in His name finds its greatest fulfillment in being pleasing to God.
Israel experienced several revivals upon discovering from God’s word they needed to recommit themselves to His work during the times of the kings and upon returning from the exile under Ezra and Nehemiah. I pray daily for that kind of revival throughout this land. I ask those of you who are reading this do likewise. Get on your knees daily and seek God’s face about what He would have you do specifically to make such a revival happen. We are His ambassadors on planet earth. If we remain apathetic much longer, I believe He will begin with us, His church and deal with us according to our faithfulness or lack thereof (I Peter 4:17). And that’s God’s word for us today.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Are We Required to Keep the Sabbath?
October 29
I’ve already mentioned this issue in a previous devotional about whether or not we are under the law, so this devotional will be short. I tend to be verbose, so maybe that’s a good thing. There are a little known and seldom taught group of verses in Isaiah that promise a special blessing those who are not Israelites but who keep the Sabbath. First, it bears repeating that Sunday is in no way or in anyway to be mistaken for the Sabbath. It was a practice begun by the early church to meet on the first day of the week to honor the resurrection of Christ. In the same way however, the Sabbath was a specific covenantal responsibility of Israelites and is not extended in a covenant sense with non-Jewish Christians. Israelites were told to keep it in perpetuity; non-Jewish Christians were not (Exodus 31:16). Literally dozens of verses make it clear it was a covenant between God and Israel. Acts 15 makes it clear the non-Jewish converts did not have any obligation to keep the Sabbath, and Isaiah 56:6-7 implies the same thing.
At least one entire denomination has been started for a failure to under this issue. Combined with Romans 14 we can be sure we will not be lost forever in hell for a failure to honor the true Sabbath (Saturday on our weekly calendar). That acknowledged, it is also clear God will especially bless, in some special way known only to Him, those who chose to honor the Sabbath by ceasing from all but essential work (cooking meals is an example of essential work), and spend that day honoring Him. That acknowledged, Jesus made an interesting statement in Mark 2:27, Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." And in Matthew 12:12 we read. “. . . So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." Several principles can be gleaned from these verses: First, the issue is not as clear as the nose on your face. Second, the example Jesus used indicates things that are of an emergency nature are acceptable to do and not be in violation of the concept of resting on the Sabbath. Helping someone who has slid into a ditch on a snowy road is an example of such good deeds. Helping someone paint their house is not. Third, it is legalistic and entirely without biblical support to suggest anyone who does not honor the Sabbath is less of a man or less of a Christian. Fourth, honoring the Sabbath is entirely a private choice between God and the man who deems it important. And fifth, no one will gain entrance into the kingdom of God by honoring the Sabbath.
A few weeks ago my wife and I decided to spend several weeks honoring the Sabbath for the specific purpose of focusing our lives on that particular day to honoring God. We aren’t in any way expecting God to enrich us in any financial way, but we do believe He will reward us in some manner much more important that financial riches. I firmly believe that is the point of Isaiah 56. I would like to humbly suggest it would be pleasing to Him and beneficial to this entire country if great multitudes of Christians did so, not out of any feeling of obligation, but out of a sense of love and adoration for Him. And that’s God’s word for us today.
I’ve already mentioned this issue in a previous devotional about whether or not we are under the law, so this devotional will be short. I tend to be verbose, so maybe that’s a good thing. There are a little known and seldom taught group of verses in Isaiah that promise a special blessing those who are not Israelites but who keep the Sabbath. First, it bears repeating that Sunday is in no way or in anyway to be mistaken for the Sabbath. It was a practice begun by the early church to meet on the first day of the week to honor the resurrection of Christ. In the same way however, the Sabbath was a specific covenantal responsibility of Israelites and is not extended in a covenant sense with non-Jewish Christians. Israelites were told to keep it in perpetuity; non-Jewish Christians were not (Exodus 31:16). Literally dozens of verses make it clear it was a covenant between God and Israel. Acts 15 makes it clear the non-Jewish converts did not have any obligation to keep the Sabbath, and Isaiah 56:6-7 implies the same thing.
At least one entire denomination has been started for a failure to under this issue. Combined with Romans 14 we can be sure we will not be lost forever in hell for a failure to honor the true Sabbath (Saturday on our weekly calendar). That acknowledged, it is also clear God will especially bless, in some special way known only to Him, those who chose to honor the Sabbath by ceasing from all but essential work (cooking meals is an example of essential work), and spend that day honoring Him. That acknowledged, Jesus made an interesting statement in Mark 2:27, Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." And in Matthew 12:12 we read. “. . . So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." Several principles can be gleaned from these verses: First, the issue is not as clear as the nose on your face. Second, the example Jesus used indicates things that are of an emergency nature are acceptable to do and not be in violation of the concept of resting on the Sabbath. Helping someone who has slid into a ditch on a snowy road is an example of such good deeds. Helping someone paint their house is not. Third, it is legalistic and entirely without biblical support to suggest anyone who does not honor the Sabbath is less of a man or less of a Christian. Fourth, honoring the Sabbath is entirely a private choice between God and the man who deems it important. And fifth, no one will gain entrance into the kingdom of God by honoring the Sabbath.
A few weeks ago my wife and I decided to spend several weeks honoring the Sabbath for the specific purpose of focusing our lives on that particular day to honoring God. We aren’t in any way expecting God to enrich us in any financial way, but we do believe He will reward us in some manner much more important that financial riches. I firmly believe that is the point of Isaiah 56. I would like to humbly suggest it would be pleasing to Him and beneficial to this entire country if great multitudes of Christians did so, not out of any feeling of obligation, but out of a sense of love and adoration for Him. And that’s God’s word for us today.
Are Ghosts for Real?
October 30
As we lay in bed this morning listening to me reading the NAS version of the Psalms on my MP3 player, my beloved wife gave me the topic for this morning’s devotions. She told me one of her students asked her yesterday if she believed in ghosts. It’s one of those loaded questions that can provide a perfect opportunity for a Christian teacher in the public school system to bear testimony to his or her Lord Jesus. I certainly hope and pray everyone who loves our Lord believes in ghosts. Please forgive me the comparison, but a Christian who doesn’t believe in ghosts is like the cowboy who doesn’t believe in riding horses or roping cows. One of the most basic tenets of Christianity is that there is physical world and there is a spiritual world. They co-exist at the same time and in a sense occupy the same space. The problem we have in defining spiritual beings is that they don’t occupy space as we do. They transcend it. There are countless biblical events where we see they can both possess human beings and materialize as humans or even animals. The most famous and obvious is in the account of the Garden of Eden where Satan appeared as a serpent. And in I Samuel 28 Saul goes to a medium (aka a spiritist, aka diviner, aka witch) and has her call Samuel up from the dead because God refused to answer his question about going to war with the Philistines.
The reason this is such a good time to discuss the topic is that tomorrow night is the night the overwhelming majority of people in this country celebrate All Hallows Eve. Or the shortened name we have given it, Halloween. Witches, warlocks, devils, demons, evil beings in the spiritual world have existed since Satan’s fall from God’s grace. The Bible tells us he was cast down from his pre-eminent position before God because he rebelled against the authority of God and declared himself to be equal to God. I wrote a whole study on satanic activity and warfare, so if you’re interested just write me and I’ll get it to you in one form or another. Isaiah 14:5-21, Ezekiel 28:2-19; and Rev. 12:3 give us some very descriptive and poignant information about Lucifer, star of the morning, the fallen angel.
In order to keep from making this devotional several pages, I will simply refer you to my study on the topic if you want to understand our enemy better. For our purposes here, I will only point out a couple of things I believe we must understand if we don’t wish to be promoting evil ourselves. Like Christmas and Easter, Christians have attempted to take a strictly secular holiday and turn it into a holy one. That, in and of itself is not necessarily evil; the problem lies in having children of professing Christian parents wearing witch, warlock, pirate, and demonic garb in a vain attempt to be cute. It isn’t cute; it’s an affront to God. Pirates, for example, have never been good. There’s no such thing as a good pirate; and the thought that there are good witches is idiotic. Witches are those who call upon evil spirits to do their work. That’s the definition of a witch. Under God’s divine law, they were supposed to be stoned to death the moment they were exposed. Pirates robbed, maimed, rapped, and pillaged. That’s the definition of a pirate.
Many churches attempt to protect their children from both the evil sense and the evil intent of people who use this time to do them physical harm (i.e., razors in candy, poison, kidnapping, etc.). They hold parties at their church or some large hall and play a variety of games to keep their children entertained and safe. That can certainly be a good thing as long as they don’t allow their children to put on costumes of witches or devils or anything else that most people know clearly promote evil. Two proverbial statements are good warnings for us to heed in closing this devotional, “Can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned? Or can a man walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched?” They’re rhetorical questions. Israel was the most powerful nation on the planet under King David. God destroyed Israel and scattered them to the four corners of the earth; and until now they have not recovered the glory and splendor they once enjoyed. And He did it because they called evil good. They began practicing witchcraft and divination. In Acts 19:19 we learn those in Ephesus practiced witchcraft. Upon mass conversion of the Ephesian citizens, they brought out all their books of witchcraft and burned them in a public fire.
The value of those books was recorded to be the equivalent of 50,000 days wages for the common man. They took the problem seriously. I would like to humbly suggest one of the main reasons the contemporary church in America is so listless and impotent is that we don’t take such dabbling in evil seriously. If you have made, bought, or rented a costume that glorifies evil, I urge you take it back, burn it, or tear it into shreds as quickly as you can and get on your knees before God and seek his forgiveness for dishonoring Him. He’ll forgive you and make you as white as snow (Is. 1:18). He’ll cast your sins from you as far as the east is from the west (Ps. 103:12). He’ll cleanse you from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9). Amen and amen, praise His holy Name. And that’s our word from God for today.
As we lay in bed this morning listening to me reading the NAS version of the Psalms on my MP3 player, my beloved wife gave me the topic for this morning’s devotions. She told me one of her students asked her yesterday if she believed in ghosts. It’s one of those loaded questions that can provide a perfect opportunity for a Christian teacher in the public school system to bear testimony to his or her Lord Jesus. I certainly hope and pray everyone who loves our Lord believes in ghosts. Please forgive me the comparison, but a Christian who doesn’t believe in ghosts is like the cowboy who doesn’t believe in riding horses or roping cows. One of the most basic tenets of Christianity is that there is physical world and there is a spiritual world. They co-exist at the same time and in a sense occupy the same space. The problem we have in defining spiritual beings is that they don’t occupy space as we do. They transcend it. There are countless biblical events where we see they can both possess human beings and materialize as humans or even animals. The most famous and obvious is in the account of the Garden of Eden where Satan appeared as a serpent. And in I Samuel 28 Saul goes to a medium (aka a spiritist, aka diviner, aka witch) and has her call Samuel up from the dead because God refused to answer his question about going to war with the Philistines.
The reason this is such a good time to discuss the topic is that tomorrow night is the night the overwhelming majority of people in this country celebrate All Hallows Eve. Or the shortened name we have given it, Halloween. Witches, warlocks, devils, demons, evil beings in the spiritual world have existed since Satan’s fall from God’s grace. The Bible tells us he was cast down from his pre-eminent position before God because he rebelled against the authority of God and declared himself to be equal to God. I wrote a whole study on satanic activity and warfare, so if you’re interested just write me and I’ll get it to you in one form or another. Isaiah 14:5-21, Ezekiel 28:2-19; and Rev. 12:3 give us some very descriptive and poignant information about Lucifer, star of the morning, the fallen angel.
In order to keep from making this devotional several pages, I will simply refer you to my study on the topic if you want to understand our enemy better. For our purposes here, I will only point out a couple of things I believe we must understand if we don’t wish to be promoting evil ourselves. Like Christmas and Easter, Christians have attempted to take a strictly secular holiday and turn it into a holy one. That, in and of itself is not necessarily evil; the problem lies in having children of professing Christian parents wearing witch, warlock, pirate, and demonic garb in a vain attempt to be cute. It isn’t cute; it’s an affront to God. Pirates, for example, have never been good. There’s no such thing as a good pirate; and the thought that there are good witches is idiotic. Witches are those who call upon evil spirits to do their work. That’s the definition of a witch. Under God’s divine law, they were supposed to be stoned to death the moment they were exposed. Pirates robbed, maimed, rapped, and pillaged. That’s the definition of a pirate.
Many churches attempt to protect their children from both the evil sense and the evil intent of people who use this time to do them physical harm (i.e., razors in candy, poison, kidnapping, etc.). They hold parties at their church or some large hall and play a variety of games to keep their children entertained and safe. That can certainly be a good thing as long as they don’t allow their children to put on costumes of witches or devils or anything else that most people know clearly promote evil. Two proverbial statements are good warnings for us to heed in closing this devotional, “Can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned? Or can a man walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched?” They’re rhetorical questions. Israel was the most powerful nation on the planet under King David. God destroyed Israel and scattered them to the four corners of the earth; and until now they have not recovered the glory and splendor they once enjoyed. And He did it because they called evil good. They began practicing witchcraft and divination. In Acts 19:19 we learn those in Ephesus practiced witchcraft. Upon mass conversion of the Ephesian citizens, they brought out all their books of witchcraft and burned them in a public fire.
The value of those books was recorded to be the equivalent of 50,000 days wages for the common man. They took the problem seriously. I would like to humbly suggest one of the main reasons the contemporary church in America is so listless and impotent is that we don’t take such dabbling in evil seriously. If you have made, bought, or rented a costume that glorifies evil, I urge you take it back, burn it, or tear it into shreds as quickly as you can and get on your knees before God and seek his forgiveness for dishonoring Him. He’ll forgive you and make you as white as snow (Is. 1:18). He’ll cast your sins from you as far as the east is from the west (Ps. 103:12). He’ll cleanse you from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9). Amen and amen, praise His holy Name. And that’s our word from God for today.
Friday, October 29, 2010
For His Lovingkindness is Everlasting
October 27
I was reading Psalm 136 this morning and noticed the above phrase was repeated 26 times in 26 verses. What was also interesting and should be disconcerting for some is that several verses indicate God’s lovingkindness was perfectly demonstrated by destroying Israel’s enemies. I believe God continues today to destroy those who mess with His children. What I don’t mean by that is that God strikes with lightening every man, woman, or child who calls one of His children an obscene name. What I do mean about that statement can best be understood from personal experiences I have had in the past 38 years of walking with Jesus.
Sometime about 1975 Sharon and I bought a 1972 Chevrolet Vega. It was one of the first aluminum engine blocks used here in America and it was a dismal failure. Of course, we didn’t know that at the time, so we bought it. It blew a head gasket so we took it to a local repair shop where the mechanic charged us over a $100 (a sizeable sum at that time) to fixed it. I don’t remember the exact timing, but it was only a few days at most before the gasket blew again. I took it back to him and asked that he fix it right. He refused telling me the aluminum block was the problem not his repair work. I told him I was a Christian and had no intention of suing him but that he would be wise to honor his work and fix it right. I suggested as kindly as I could that God doesn’t like people messing with His children.
He chuckled and basically mocked my words. A couple of weeks later I read in the newspaper that his shop had burned down. Possibly he did the same thing to someone not quite as kind about it, who decided that was a good way to get revenge. I don’t have a clue how it happened, but I believe, however it worked out in life, God got revenge for someone messing with one of His children. I truly did, according to the principle of Romans 12:17-19, bless him and left his demise into the hands of God. God says to us, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.”
On another occasion, I worked as a police officer in a small town in Arizona. I made no secret I was a Christian and shared my faith with fellow officers when we were on breaks, after work, and with many of the people I arrested, just quickly mentioning I was available to help them after they got out of jail if they needed my help. I had an incredible ministry, helping dozens of people get back on their feet after experiencing some bad times with the law. The Chief, an avowed atheist, got wind of my activities and told me I needed to leave my religion home. I told him that wasn’t possible because my relationship with Jesus was at the very core of my being, that I could no more leave that at home than he could come to work naked. He said nothing else to me for a long time. I got into a shooting situation that ended me up in extensive secular counseling (against my wishes). The psychologists involved suggested it would be good for me if I could to retire medically from that job. The chief made sure his recommendation was followed and advised me I was being retired medically, but that the state would, under those circumstances, pay for any schooling I had to take to be trained for some other profession. I returned to school, got my BS in Education/History/Government with a minor in English and went to work as a teacher making a lot more than I had made as a police officer. I knew that chief was taking advantage of that situation to get rid of me because I was an outspoken Christian. But also, in keeping with the principle of scripture as declared Romans 12:18, "If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men." I left that job quietly.
Several months later, I learned he had been fired and was facing criminal charges for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. God doesn’t like people messing with His children. There are three or four other people in my life who have done similar things to me all because I speak up anytime the occasion presents itself and tell others about the wonder and grace of God. I don’t know how God has dealt with them, but I’m quite confident He was, is, and always will be perfectly just. I don’t desire harm to come to those who insist on being my enemy, but I always rest in the knowledge that God jealously cares for His own. "His lovingkindness is everlasting." For His children that’s good news. For our enemies, it’s not such good news. And that’s God’s word for us today.
I was reading Psalm 136 this morning and noticed the above phrase was repeated 26 times in 26 verses. What was also interesting and should be disconcerting for some is that several verses indicate God’s lovingkindness was perfectly demonstrated by destroying Israel’s enemies. I believe God continues today to destroy those who mess with His children. What I don’t mean by that is that God strikes with lightening every man, woman, or child who calls one of His children an obscene name. What I do mean about that statement can best be understood from personal experiences I have had in the past 38 years of walking with Jesus.
Sometime about 1975 Sharon and I bought a 1972 Chevrolet Vega. It was one of the first aluminum engine blocks used here in America and it was a dismal failure. Of course, we didn’t know that at the time, so we bought it. It blew a head gasket so we took it to a local repair shop where the mechanic charged us over a $100 (a sizeable sum at that time) to fixed it. I don’t remember the exact timing, but it was only a few days at most before the gasket blew again. I took it back to him and asked that he fix it right. He refused telling me the aluminum block was the problem not his repair work. I told him I was a Christian and had no intention of suing him but that he would be wise to honor his work and fix it right. I suggested as kindly as I could that God doesn’t like people messing with His children.
He chuckled and basically mocked my words. A couple of weeks later I read in the newspaper that his shop had burned down. Possibly he did the same thing to someone not quite as kind about it, who decided that was a good way to get revenge. I don’t have a clue how it happened, but I believe, however it worked out in life, God got revenge for someone messing with one of His children. I truly did, according to the principle of Romans 12:17-19, bless him and left his demise into the hands of God. God says to us, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.”
On another occasion, I worked as a police officer in a small town in Arizona. I made no secret I was a Christian and shared my faith with fellow officers when we were on breaks, after work, and with many of the people I arrested, just quickly mentioning I was available to help them after they got out of jail if they needed my help. I had an incredible ministry, helping dozens of people get back on their feet after experiencing some bad times with the law. The Chief, an avowed atheist, got wind of my activities and told me I needed to leave my religion home. I told him that wasn’t possible because my relationship with Jesus was at the very core of my being, that I could no more leave that at home than he could come to work naked. He said nothing else to me for a long time. I got into a shooting situation that ended me up in extensive secular counseling (against my wishes). The psychologists involved suggested it would be good for me if I could to retire medically from that job. The chief made sure his recommendation was followed and advised me I was being retired medically, but that the state would, under those circumstances, pay for any schooling I had to take to be trained for some other profession. I returned to school, got my BS in Education/History/Government with a minor in English and went to work as a teacher making a lot more than I had made as a police officer. I knew that chief was taking advantage of that situation to get rid of me because I was an outspoken Christian. But also, in keeping with the principle of scripture as declared Romans 12:18, "If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men." I left that job quietly.
Several months later, I learned he had been fired and was facing criminal charges for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. God doesn’t like people messing with His children. There are three or four other people in my life who have done similar things to me all because I speak up anytime the occasion presents itself and tell others about the wonder and grace of God. I don’t know how God has dealt with them, but I’m quite confident He was, is, and always will be perfectly just. I don’t desire harm to come to those who insist on being my enemy, but I always rest in the knowledge that God jealously cares for His own. "His lovingkindness is everlasting." For His children that’s good news. For our enemies, it’s not such good news. And that’s God’s word for us today.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
When I was Child
October 26
The apostle Paul makes a truly transcendent statement in I Corinthians 13:11, "When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things." When I was a teenager, I really was a mindless twit. I had two things on my mind, girls and football. My mother spent little or no time teaching us how to act around girls, so I was a dismal failure at that. My father was an absentee parent, only because he worked two jobs most of our lives to make sure we had all we needed. So, I had no training in social skills or moral thinking. I had no friends; I had no future; I had no money. At about 20 years of age, I decided to switch course and began engrossing myself in classical writings so I could fit into mainstream life and converse on an intelligent level with the opposite sex. I read voraciously, got into discussion groups at college, and just generally became the kind of snobbish intellect that had bored me to death up to that time. Still I was a dismal failure at making friends.
At twenty-seven years of age, after a year in self-imposed exile from the human race, I got called into a personal relationship with the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, Jesus Christ. Since that fateful day in July of 1972 I have walked in union with my loving and kind Lord Jesus, and I consider it a real joy to be able to speak to others on His behalf. You see, whether or not anyone reading this blog believes it or realizes it, that is the reason He has called us into a relationship with Him. He has promised to redeem, regenerate, justify, sanctify, and glorify all who are called into that relationship. He has promised to empower us to do far beyond what we can ask or imagine if we stay connected to the vine. (Jn. 15:1-11).
He (Jesus) is the vine, and He makes it clear in John 15 we can do nothing apart from Him. It’s exquisite simplicity. So many take verses like Matthew 7:7ff completely out of context. That promise is conditional, as is every other similar promise. We must abide in Christ and have Him abiding in us before any of the promises to give us the desires of our heart can be claimed. They are all contingent upon our desires being in perfect harmony with His. As a matter of factual rhetoric, many suggest, and I would tend to agree, the desires spoken of in Matthew mean that He will actually replace our worldly desires with His heavenly ones.
So, it behooves us to know what it means to abide in Christ. The answer to that question has captured the minds of man since the Garden of Eden, so I won’t pretend to be able to deal with it systematically here. I have written over twenty books on a variety of subjects that eventually come down to that one point. What does it mean to abide in Christ? And more importantly, what does it take to have Christ abide in us. Of course, I know the two thoughts are interdependent, but many don’t know that. So, if one were to put it all into one easily remembered thought, I would have to say abiding in Christ means, complete, unwavering, uninhibited, obedience and love for God and His word. If you don’t have that kind of commitment to Him, you are likely not abiding in Christ, and He is not likely abiding in you. If I’m right, you are likely bound for eternity in hell, and that’s not a place anyone will brag about. I read on Face Book today the blasphemous comments of an unbeliever. He suggested no one should pity those who don’t believe in a god they can’t see. To that man I reply, “Look at the stars, the sky, the heavenly bodies, the sun and moon, the forests, man’s intellect, and honestly suggest to me that just happened by chance.” ‘The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” (Psalm 14:1). And that’s God’s word for us today.
The apostle Paul makes a truly transcendent statement in I Corinthians 13:11, "When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things." When I was a teenager, I really was a mindless twit. I had two things on my mind, girls and football. My mother spent little or no time teaching us how to act around girls, so I was a dismal failure at that. My father was an absentee parent, only because he worked two jobs most of our lives to make sure we had all we needed. So, I had no training in social skills or moral thinking. I had no friends; I had no future; I had no money. At about 20 years of age, I decided to switch course and began engrossing myself in classical writings so I could fit into mainstream life and converse on an intelligent level with the opposite sex. I read voraciously, got into discussion groups at college, and just generally became the kind of snobbish intellect that had bored me to death up to that time. Still I was a dismal failure at making friends.
At twenty-seven years of age, after a year in self-imposed exile from the human race, I got called into a personal relationship with the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, Jesus Christ. Since that fateful day in July of 1972 I have walked in union with my loving and kind Lord Jesus, and I consider it a real joy to be able to speak to others on His behalf. You see, whether or not anyone reading this blog believes it or realizes it, that is the reason He has called us into a relationship with Him. He has promised to redeem, regenerate, justify, sanctify, and glorify all who are called into that relationship. He has promised to empower us to do far beyond what we can ask or imagine if we stay connected to the vine. (Jn. 15:1-11).
He (Jesus) is the vine, and He makes it clear in John 15 we can do nothing apart from Him. It’s exquisite simplicity. So many take verses like Matthew 7:7ff completely out of context. That promise is conditional, as is every other similar promise. We must abide in Christ and have Him abiding in us before any of the promises to give us the desires of our heart can be claimed. They are all contingent upon our desires being in perfect harmony with His. As a matter of factual rhetoric, many suggest, and I would tend to agree, the desires spoken of in Matthew mean that He will actually replace our worldly desires with His heavenly ones.
So, it behooves us to know what it means to abide in Christ. The answer to that question has captured the minds of man since the Garden of Eden, so I won’t pretend to be able to deal with it systematically here. I have written over twenty books on a variety of subjects that eventually come down to that one point. What does it mean to abide in Christ? And more importantly, what does it take to have Christ abide in us. Of course, I know the two thoughts are interdependent, but many don’t know that. So, if one were to put it all into one easily remembered thought, I would have to say abiding in Christ means, complete, unwavering, uninhibited, obedience and love for God and His word. If you don’t have that kind of commitment to Him, you are likely not abiding in Christ, and He is not likely abiding in you. If I’m right, you are likely bound for eternity in hell, and that’s not a place anyone will brag about. I read on Face Book today the blasphemous comments of an unbeliever. He suggested no one should pity those who don’t believe in a god they can’t see. To that man I reply, “Look at the stars, the sky, the heavenly bodies, the sun and moon, the forests, man’s intellect, and honestly suggest to me that just happened by chance.” ‘The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” (Psalm 14:1). And that’s God’s word for us today.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Are UFOs for Real?
October 25
Technically speaking, the answer is both yes and no. If a non-Christian were to see a band of angels hovering overhead, he would call them UFOs. He would be unable to identify them. And literally being an unbeliever, he would likely freak out. He’d think he was seeing extra-terrestrial beings, and he would be right, but they wouldn’t be from another planet. Angels, cherubim, and seraphim, are certainly extra-terrestrial. Several accounts in scripture confirm the existence of flying chariots, horses, and strange looking creatures with multiple heads and wings. In II Kings 2 Elijah is taken up in a whirlwind into a chariot that apparently escorted him to heaven. When the king of Aram sent his soldiers after Elisha (II Ki. 6), God rescued him with a heavenly army riding in horse drawn chariots that flew.
The Revelation tells us Jesus and His heavenly army will return one day from heaven wearing white robes; that will definitely be the UFO sighting of the ages (Rev. 19:11-16).
Few humans have ever seen angels, seraphim, or cherubim. Those who actually believe God’s word know they exist and we even have a pretty good description of some of them. Revelation 4:6-8 tells us,
. . . and in the center around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. The first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within;
In Revelation 12 we’re told,
A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; and she was with child; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns,, and on his heads were seven diadems.
In Revelation 17 John sees a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, probably the same one described in chapter 12. We read about heavenly birds flyinig around in mid-heaven (Rev. 19:17). So, the point is that UFOs do exist, but they're not visitors from other planets; and if anyone has actually seen on recently, there has to be some eternal purpose attached to it. Neither God nor His angelic beings just appear and disappear to get on the local news. But they do exist. Of course, there are psychos who claim to have seen something that they never saw. Some are seeking attention, and some are just plain liars. And it's a complete waste of resources and energy to send space ships into outer space seeking life on other planets, because God will only allow us to see what we need to see to accomplish what He wants us to accomplish. And we don’t have to build space ships for that. He takes into heaven anyone He wishes to take into heaven, whenever and however He desires to do so. As far as we know, only two people have ever actually been translated into heaven and returned to earth to talk or write about it. Paul and John were actually translated into heaven to see the things they saw. Whether or not their entire physical bodies accompanied them, we know not.
It is enough to realize there are a whole lot of subjects about which none of us here on earth knows anything. And that’s the way God intends to keep it for now. Deuteronomy 29:29 says, "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.” And that’s God’s word for us today.
Technically speaking, the answer is both yes and no. If a non-Christian were to see a band of angels hovering overhead, he would call them UFOs. He would be unable to identify them. And literally being an unbeliever, he would likely freak out. He’d think he was seeing extra-terrestrial beings, and he would be right, but they wouldn’t be from another planet. Angels, cherubim, and seraphim, are certainly extra-terrestrial. Several accounts in scripture confirm the existence of flying chariots, horses, and strange looking creatures with multiple heads and wings. In II Kings 2 Elijah is taken up in a whirlwind into a chariot that apparently escorted him to heaven. When the king of Aram sent his soldiers after Elisha (II Ki. 6), God rescued him with a heavenly army riding in horse drawn chariots that flew.
The Revelation tells us Jesus and His heavenly army will return one day from heaven wearing white robes; that will definitely be the UFO sighting of the ages (Rev. 19:11-16).
Few humans have ever seen angels, seraphim, or cherubim. Those who actually believe God’s word know they exist and we even have a pretty good description of some of them. Revelation 4:6-8 tells us,
. . . and in the center around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. The first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within;
In Revelation 12 we’re told,
A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; and she was with child; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns,, and on his heads were seven diadems.
In Revelation 17 John sees a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, probably the same one described in chapter 12. We read about heavenly birds flyinig around in mid-heaven (Rev. 19:17). So, the point is that UFOs do exist, but they're not visitors from other planets; and if anyone has actually seen on recently, there has to be some eternal purpose attached to it. Neither God nor His angelic beings just appear and disappear to get on the local news. But they do exist. Of course, there are psychos who claim to have seen something that they never saw. Some are seeking attention, and some are just plain liars. And it's a complete waste of resources and energy to send space ships into outer space seeking life on other planets, because God will only allow us to see what we need to see to accomplish what He wants us to accomplish. And we don’t have to build space ships for that. He takes into heaven anyone He wishes to take into heaven, whenever and however He desires to do so. As far as we know, only two people have ever actually been translated into heaven and returned to earth to talk or write about it. Paul and John were actually translated into heaven to see the things they saw. Whether or not their entire physical bodies accompanied them, we know not.
It is enough to realize there are a whole lot of subjects about which none of us here on earth knows anything. And that’s the way God intends to keep it for now. Deuteronomy 29:29 says, "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.” And that’s God’s word for us today.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Does God Really Love Everyone?
October 24
I really do hate beating dead horses, but this one is essential to kill. I hear so many saying things in behalf of God that are simply not true. I was actually told by a pastor that I would likely be happier in some church rather than “his” church if I believed God does not love everyone. I asked him what he thought Romans 9:13-18 means where we are told God loved Jacob but hated Esau even while they were still in the womb. Then we’re told God actually raised up Pharaoh for the specific purpose of killing first his first born and then him to show the nations the power of God. His response was that we cannot take one verse and build a theological truth from it. I agreed with him wholeheartedly, but then asked him to tell me what Romans 9 means. He had no idea. And in Psalm 5:5; 11:5; and 58:3 we read that God hates those who practice evil. Contrary to the psycho-babblers of our day who would like us to believe we can't hate the deeds one does and still love the person doing those deeds. Thats tantamount to suggesting I can tell a rapist I love him when shooting him dead while he's trying to rape my wife.
To suggest we should view a person apart from his deeds is in itself a contradiction of scripture. We are told one can indeed be identified by his deeds (Matt. 7:17, 18). I sometimes think I’m going burst out laughing uncontrollably at some of the utter foolishness I hear people speak on this topic. Bill Bright’s gospel tract, “The Four Spiritual Laws,” proclaims “God Loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life!” That phrase is both presumptuous and bad theology. I have no idea whom God loves and whom He doesn’t love, so I’m not suggesting we pick and choose to whom we will preach the gospel, but it’s the gospel we should be preaching, not some lame man made theological thought that isn’t supported by God’s word.
What I can say with absolute confidence is that Jesus will never turn away one who comes to Him with a contrite heart in repentance. What I do know and can proclaim with confidence is that both those who are called and those who are chosen must hear the gospel. What I do know and can proclaim with confidence is that many will hear the gospel who will not respond to it, some will respond and soon turn back to their old lifestyle, some will respond and spend a while in the congregation and then turn back to their old ways, and some will respond and bear fruit in keeping with repentance (Matt.13:3-9).
What I can say with absolute confidence is that God does not love everyone. John 3:16 is not a declaration that God loves everyone. It is a declaration that no man woman or child will be denied entrance into the kingdom of God because of his race, birthplace, age, sex, or national allegiance. John 3:16 tells us that God demonstrated His love for the world by sending His only begotten Son into it to live a sinless life, die in our place, and resurrect from the dead, demonstrating His victory over death. And yes, whosoever believes will be saved. However, Romans 3 tells us there will be none who will ever believe unless God intervenes and regenerates one’s deal spirit, so that regenerated spirit can then respond to the gospel and believe. It’s called reformed theology; and that’s our word from God for today.
I really do hate beating dead horses, but this one is essential to kill. I hear so many saying things in behalf of God that are simply not true. I was actually told by a pastor that I would likely be happier in some church rather than “his” church if I believed God does not love everyone. I asked him what he thought Romans 9:13-18 means where we are told God loved Jacob but hated Esau even while they were still in the womb. Then we’re told God actually raised up Pharaoh for the specific purpose of killing first his first born and then him to show the nations the power of God. His response was that we cannot take one verse and build a theological truth from it. I agreed with him wholeheartedly, but then asked him to tell me what Romans 9 means. He had no idea. And in Psalm 5:5; 11:5; and 58:3 we read that God hates those who practice evil. Contrary to the psycho-babblers of our day who would like us to believe we can't hate the deeds one does and still love the person doing those deeds. Thats tantamount to suggesting I can tell a rapist I love him when shooting him dead while he's trying to rape my wife.
To suggest we should view a person apart from his deeds is in itself a contradiction of scripture. We are told one can indeed be identified by his deeds (Matt. 7:17, 18). I sometimes think I’m going burst out laughing uncontrollably at some of the utter foolishness I hear people speak on this topic. Bill Bright’s gospel tract, “The Four Spiritual Laws,” proclaims “God Loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life!” That phrase is both presumptuous and bad theology. I have no idea whom God loves and whom He doesn’t love, so I’m not suggesting we pick and choose to whom we will preach the gospel, but it’s the gospel we should be preaching, not some lame man made theological thought that isn’t supported by God’s word.
What I can say with absolute confidence is that Jesus will never turn away one who comes to Him with a contrite heart in repentance. What I do know and can proclaim with confidence is that both those who are called and those who are chosen must hear the gospel. What I do know and can proclaim with confidence is that many will hear the gospel who will not respond to it, some will respond and soon turn back to their old lifestyle, some will respond and spend a while in the congregation and then turn back to their old ways, and some will respond and bear fruit in keeping with repentance (Matt.13:3-9).
What I can say with absolute confidence is that God does not love everyone. John 3:16 is not a declaration that God loves everyone. It is a declaration that no man woman or child will be denied entrance into the kingdom of God because of his race, birthplace, age, sex, or national allegiance. John 3:16 tells us that God demonstrated His love for the world by sending His only begotten Son into it to live a sinless life, die in our place, and resurrect from the dead, demonstrating His victory over death. And yes, whosoever believes will be saved. However, Romans 3 tells us there will be none who will ever believe unless God intervenes and regenerates one’s deal spirit, so that regenerated spirit can then respond to the gospel and believe. It’s called reformed theology; and that’s our word from God for today.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Demons and Witchcraft
October 23
Back in the seventies, I remember a man, whose name escapes me, wrote a book suggesting that just before the beginning of the tribulation, people would be acclimated to the idea that evil is good and witches, warlocks, demons, werewolves, and Dracula would have good counterparts. We now have movies like “Teen Wolf in London,” Teen witch stories galore, “The Boy Who Cried Werewolf,” Amanda the good witch, and even Hallmark movies suggesting some witches are good. Children who have no idea about the evil they are embracing are reading and living by their horoscope which is printed daily in most newspapers throughout America.
For some perspective, we need to consult God’s word. The first king of Israel, Saul, consulted a medium, and God killed him and took the kingdom away from his and his progeny for that sin (). Israel was instructed to stone mediums and astrologers for that particular sin (). Proverbs warns us one cannot walk on hot coals or take fire into his bosom and not expect to be burned and scorched. That means, for those of you who aren’t yet enlightened, when you play with evil, you will be conquered by that evil. As a young man, I played some Wee Gee board games. I had no idea what I was doing. It really did work. I had no idea I was playing with fire and walking on coals. As I reflect on those years, it makes me tremble when I consider I might have ended my life over such foolishness had it not been for the grace of God.
I think I’d like to close today’s devotions with this: God is God and there is no other like Him. He is a jealous God. He will not play second fiddle to anyone or anything. He will slay with the breadth of His mouth anything or anyone who tries to replace Him. He will discipline anyone who thinks otherwise. He will punish severely anyone who does otherwise. I would like to propose a test for those of you who still doubt. Lock yourself in a dark room where there is not an ounce of light for three days. And then imagine eternity where there is no light. And that’s God’s word for us today.
Back in the seventies, I remember a man, whose name escapes me, wrote a book suggesting that just before the beginning of the tribulation, people would be acclimated to the idea that evil is good and witches, warlocks, demons, werewolves, and Dracula would have good counterparts. We now have movies like “Teen Wolf in London,” Teen witch stories galore, “The Boy Who Cried Werewolf,” Amanda the good witch, and even Hallmark movies suggesting some witches are good. Children who have no idea about the evil they are embracing are reading and living by their horoscope which is printed daily in most newspapers throughout America.
For some perspective, we need to consult God’s word. The first king of Israel, Saul, consulted a medium, and God killed him and took the kingdom away from his and his progeny for that sin (). Israel was instructed to stone mediums and astrologers for that particular sin (). Proverbs warns us one cannot walk on hot coals or take fire into his bosom and not expect to be burned and scorched. That means, for those of you who aren’t yet enlightened, when you play with evil, you will be conquered by that evil. As a young man, I played some Wee Gee board games. I had no idea what I was doing. It really did work. I had no idea I was playing with fire and walking on coals. As I reflect on those years, it makes me tremble when I consider I might have ended my life over such foolishness had it not been for the grace of God.
I think I’d like to close today’s devotions with this: God is God and there is no other like Him. He is a jealous God. He will not play second fiddle to anyone or anything. He will slay with the breadth of His mouth anything or anyone who tries to replace Him. He will discipline anyone who thinks otherwise. He will punish severely anyone who does otherwise. I would like to propose a test for those of you who still doubt. Lock yourself in a dark room where there is not an ounce of light for three days. And then imagine eternity where there is no light. And that’s God’s word for us today.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Building Upon "The Rock"
October 22
One of my favorite sections of scripture is the story Jesus tells his disciples about the difference between the man who builds his house on the rock and the man who builds his house on the sand (Matt. 7:24-27).
Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to the wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.
Just before telling that story, Jesus spoke of those who claimed to be speaking for him but were not. He indicated they would even be those who did miracles in His name, prophesied, and cast out demons; yet He did not know them. Jesus told them to depart from Him; they were in actuality those who practiced lawlessness.
The divorce rate in America and the number who live together out of wedlock is a testimony to the fact that most here in this country build their house on the sand. I had a jail ministry for a couple of years, and the one thing those in jail had over the great multitudes who are not in jail is they quickly recognized and readily admitted they had been trying to build their houses on the sand. They got the analogy immediately. The fact they were in jail testified to the fact that they had not built their houses on the rock. Even those who thought they might be or claimed to be sure they were Christians realized even they had not taken seriously the need to build their house on "The Rock." Of course, the imagery here is Jesus as “The Rock,” the foundation of the church and all those claiming to be part of His church.
When one accepts the wisdom of the world and lives out of wedlock, in obvious disobedience to the revealed will of God (IThes 4:3-8), he is building his house on the sand. And the statistics lend credence to the truth (which of course needs no statistics). Well over 50% of all marriages that take place after a couple lives together before marrying end in divorce. Why would any sane individual buck those kinds of odds. Before I got saved and realized God was the author of marriage, I swallowed the worlds’ traditional reasoning at the time for refusing to get married. It was the most absurd of postulates. The hippie generation called it “free love.” Of course, it wasn’t free; and in most cases it wasn’t love. It was really nothing more or less than boundless, unbridled, undisciplined lust.
When I count the number of people I personally know whose lives were all but destroyed because of the “free love” movement, I am overwhelmed with sadness. I am grieved to the core of my being today when I count the number of young people who are the offspring of the irresponsible lust mongers of my youth. The whores and cult prostitutes of Baal were nothing when compared to the whores and male cult prostitutes of young people in America today. One young man for whom my soul longs to see saved loves hunting so much he calls the outdoors his church. I read of the sadness and sense the loneliness in the hearts of many of the young people I taught in the public school system as they write on Face Book about their daily trials and tribulations, problems to which they have no solutions.
More than thirty-eight years ago I began building my house on “The Rock.” The rains have come, the storms have battered against the door, the trials and tribulation have been too many to count. Time and again it appeared the walls would crumble; but they held up and continue to do so. I can truly and humbly say, "Were it not for the grace of God, there go I." The house built on the rock will withstand the storms and floodgates of hell because “The Rock” never leaves or forsakes His own. The fiery chariots of God surround those under assault from Satan and his band of miscreants; and God's angels will never lose that battle. He is the "Rock of Ages." He is the King of kings, and Lord of lords. He is the one God and there is no other. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end; and His kingdom is eternal and unconquerable. And that’s our word from God for today.
One of my favorite sections of scripture is the story Jesus tells his disciples about the difference between the man who builds his house on the rock and the man who builds his house on the sand (Matt. 7:24-27).
Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to the wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.
Just before telling that story, Jesus spoke of those who claimed to be speaking for him but were not. He indicated they would even be those who did miracles in His name, prophesied, and cast out demons; yet He did not know them. Jesus told them to depart from Him; they were in actuality those who practiced lawlessness.
The divorce rate in America and the number who live together out of wedlock is a testimony to the fact that most here in this country build their house on the sand. I had a jail ministry for a couple of years, and the one thing those in jail had over the great multitudes who are not in jail is they quickly recognized and readily admitted they had been trying to build their houses on the sand. They got the analogy immediately. The fact they were in jail testified to the fact that they had not built their houses on the rock. Even those who thought they might be or claimed to be sure they were Christians realized even they had not taken seriously the need to build their house on "The Rock." Of course, the imagery here is Jesus as “The Rock,” the foundation of the church and all those claiming to be part of His church.
When one accepts the wisdom of the world and lives out of wedlock, in obvious disobedience to the revealed will of God (IThes 4:3-8), he is building his house on the sand. And the statistics lend credence to the truth (which of course needs no statistics). Well over 50% of all marriages that take place after a couple lives together before marrying end in divorce. Why would any sane individual buck those kinds of odds. Before I got saved and realized God was the author of marriage, I swallowed the worlds’ traditional reasoning at the time for refusing to get married. It was the most absurd of postulates. The hippie generation called it “free love.” Of course, it wasn’t free; and in most cases it wasn’t love. It was really nothing more or less than boundless, unbridled, undisciplined lust.
When I count the number of people I personally know whose lives were all but destroyed because of the “free love” movement, I am overwhelmed with sadness. I am grieved to the core of my being today when I count the number of young people who are the offspring of the irresponsible lust mongers of my youth. The whores and cult prostitutes of Baal were nothing when compared to the whores and male cult prostitutes of young people in America today. One young man for whom my soul longs to see saved loves hunting so much he calls the outdoors his church. I read of the sadness and sense the loneliness in the hearts of many of the young people I taught in the public school system as they write on Face Book about their daily trials and tribulations, problems to which they have no solutions.
More than thirty-eight years ago I began building my house on “The Rock.” The rains have come, the storms have battered against the door, the trials and tribulation have been too many to count. Time and again it appeared the walls would crumble; but they held up and continue to do so. I can truly and humbly say, "Were it not for the grace of God, there go I." The house built on the rock will withstand the storms and floodgates of hell because “The Rock” never leaves or forsakes His own. The fiery chariots of God surround those under assault from Satan and his band of miscreants; and God's angels will never lose that battle. He is the "Rock of Ages." He is the King of kings, and Lord of lords. He is the one God and there is no other. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end; and His kingdom is eternal and unconquerable. And that’s our word from God for today.
Friday, October 22, 2010
A Blameless and Upright Man
October 21
Wow! How would like to have the God of the universe call you a blameless and upright man/woman? In the account of Job, where I was reading this morning, we learn that was the pronouncement of God about Job. As a new Christian, stories like this one really confused me. I often wondered why God had it recorded for us and what we needed to know about Him because of it being recorded. After several decades of serving Him, I think I have several answers to those two questions. Today, we’ll only address two. Romans 15:4 tells us, “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” Two things are reaped when one knows God’s word thoroughly: 1. He is not duped into following bad doctrine; 2. He is encouraged to serve as a soldier of the cross. There is so much bad doctrine about things like healing today that Job has, on countless occasions, protected me from falling for so much of the really stinky doctrine on the topic. You can be absolutely, irresolutely, uncompromisingly, unwaveringly, and positively sure anyone who preaches God wants everyone well is a false, lying, deceiving, unlearned fool and God’s truth does not reside within his/her bosom. Job makes it clear that while God is ultimately responsible for everything that goes on in His universe, only evil spirits bring evil on anyone. God allows it and in some cases actually sends them for that purpose, He never does evil Himself; and He never tempts anyone to do evil (James 1:13; cf. I Ki. 22:22). So God made sure the account of Job’s life was recorded so we understand we aren’t out of his will just because tragedy comes upon us. And we know that both good and evil come upon the righteous and the unrighteous.
People often try to place God’s perfect will under specific and unbendable human parameters. Job shows us both good and evil come on both good and evil people. There is no accounting for the will of God on such matters. We know His perfect will about things He has clearly delineated. We have no idea what His perfect will is about things like our health, our wealth, or the daily trials and tribulations that will come into our lives. It is utter foolishness to assume because tragedy strikes us, we have done something directly to deserve it. Jobs friends, as concerned as they were with his problem, were utterly wrong in their counsel. Their counsel was so bad they almost became the recipients of God’s wrath (Job 42:7-9). Well meaning but ignorant counselors are no more helpful than ill meaning but ignorant counselors.
So, the second thing we need to know from this account is God’s will, on thousands of situations that will confront us in a lifetime, is precarious at best. I know, without doubt, his will about being a witness to His glory. He has made that abundantly clear. I know His will about being honest, not committing adultery, theft, covetousness, immorality, homosexuality, murder, and idolatry. I don’t know with absolute certainty if He wants me to go to Bolivia or Argentina to preach the gospel. I believe He does speak to those who listen and directs them in a variety of ways. In those kinds of situations, the open and closed door policy might be Him speaking; it might not. But I believe one key to those situations can be trusted. God gives those who listen to Him and desire to serve Him the unwavering assurance that the decision they make about where they go will be the right one (James 1:5-8).
I suggest each of us should strive to have God’s testimony of Job the same for us. I pray this day and forever He will consider me a blameless and upright man. And that’s His word for us today.
Wow! How would like to have the God of the universe call you a blameless and upright man/woman? In the account of Job, where I was reading this morning, we learn that was the pronouncement of God about Job. As a new Christian, stories like this one really confused me. I often wondered why God had it recorded for us and what we needed to know about Him because of it being recorded. After several decades of serving Him, I think I have several answers to those two questions. Today, we’ll only address two. Romans 15:4 tells us, “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” Two things are reaped when one knows God’s word thoroughly: 1. He is not duped into following bad doctrine; 2. He is encouraged to serve as a soldier of the cross. There is so much bad doctrine about things like healing today that Job has, on countless occasions, protected me from falling for so much of the really stinky doctrine on the topic. You can be absolutely, irresolutely, uncompromisingly, unwaveringly, and positively sure anyone who preaches God wants everyone well is a false, lying, deceiving, unlearned fool and God’s truth does not reside within his/her bosom. Job makes it clear that while God is ultimately responsible for everything that goes on in His universe, only evil spirits bring evil on anyone. God allows it and in some cases actually sends them for that purpose, He never does evil Himself; and He never tempts anyone to do evil (James 1:13; cf. I Ki. 22:22). So God made sure the account of Job’s life was recorded so we understand we aren’t out of his will just because tragedy comes upon us. And we know that both good and evil come upon the righteous and the unrighteous.
People often try to place God’s perfect will under specific and unbendable human parameters. Job shows us both good and evil come on both good and evil people. There is no accounting for the will of God on such matters. We know His perfect will about things He has clearly delineated. We have no idea what His perfect will is about things like our health, our wealth, or the daily trials and tribulations that will come into our lives. It is utter foolishness to assume because tragedy strikes us, we have done something directly to deserve it. Jobs friends, as concerned as they were with his problem, were utterly wrong in their counsel. Their counsel was so bad they almost became the recipients of God’s wrath (Job 42:7-9). Well meaning but ignorant counselors are no more helpful than ill meaning but ignorant counselors.
So, the second thing we need to know from this account is God’s will, on thousands of situations that will confront us in a lifetime, is precarious at best. I know, without doubt, his will about being a witness to His glory. He has made that abundantly clear. I know His will about being honest, not committing adultery, theft, covetousness, immorality, homosexuality, murder, and idolatry. I don’t know with absolute certainty if He wants me to go to Bolivia or Argentina to preach the gospel. I believe He does speak to those who listen and directs them in a variety of ways. In those kinds of situations, the open and closed door policy might be Him speaking; it might not. But I believe one key to those situations can be trusted. God gives those who listen to Him and desire to serve Him the unwavering assurance that the decision they make about where they go will be the right one (James 1:5-8).
I suggest each of us should strive to have God’s testimony of Job the same for us. I pray this day and forever He will consider me a blameless and upright man. And that’s His word for us today.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
The Exile
October 20
I just read Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther today. And, of course, Ezra and Nehemiah are about the return of the exiles after 70 years in Babylon. But, they really are a package. Ezra and Nehemiah speak about the two main characters of the returning exiles, Ezra the priest and Nehemiah, the governor of Jerusalem during the rebuilding of the temple and the walls of Jerusalem. Esther was the niece of Mordecai the Jew who became the queen of Medo-Persia during the reign of Ahasuerus. What’s especially interesting to me is that all of these events can be verified using the secular historical records of the Middle East during this period (400-300 BC). Esther focuses on a story about how God intervened in secular history and saved His chosen people in a mysterious plot that had been devised by the enemy of the Jews, Haman the Agagite. You’ll have to go to I Samuel 15:33 to get the background on Haman the Agagite.
One of my favorite pastor/teachers, John McArthur, once said, “The most frustrating thing to me is that I only have one life to convey to you all God has conveyed to me as I have studied His word and prayed.” (a really loose paraphrase) I am frustrated beyond imagination that I cannot effectively tell you everything He has told me in my studies and prayer time. Ezra was a priest. He studied the law so he could be a good teacher of it to the returning exiles. Nehemiah was a politician; but he was a unique kind of politician. He was an honest, God loving, servant of God whose number one objective was to get Israel back on track with their God. He demanded they observe “all” the law of God as given to Moses. Israel was in such dire straits, only a man like Nehemiah could do the job. Ezra was a man of God who knew the Jews needed to be completely re-educated in the things of the law, including the sacrifices and the offerings. Esther and Mordecai were instruments of God during the exile whom God used to save the Jews from annihilation by an evil plot of one of their dire enemies, Haman the Agagite.
God’s care for His people, even though it appeared He had abandoned them, is obvious in these accounts. One could write a series of books like the “Left Behind” series on these three books alone if he wanted to convey all the spiritual truth and life truths they convey. For our purposes here, I will simply say, “God will never leave us nor forsake us.” He is always caring for His people, no matter if it appears otherwise. For Christians, we need to understand that means Jews today who have rejected His Messiah. He is preserving a remnant (144,000; see Rev. 7:5-8). They will one day be marked, taken into the wilderness, divinely protected for 3 ½ years, and be converted to the faith.
Over and again in His immutable word He promises that He will never leave nor forsake His chosen ones. And that’s His word for us today.
I just read Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther today. And, of course, Ezra and Nehemiah are about the return of the exiles after 70 years in Babylon. But, they really are a package. Ezra and Nehemiah speak about the two main characters of the returning exiles, Ezra the priest and Nehemiah, the governor of Jerusalem during the rebuilding of the temple and the walls of Jerusalem. Esther was the niece of Mordecai the Jew who became the queen of Medo-Persia during the reign of Ahasuerus. What’s especially interesting to me is that all of these events can be verified using the secular historical records of the Middle East during this period (400-300 BC). Esther focuses on a story about how God intervened in secular history and saved His chosen people in a mysterious plot that had been devised by the enemy of the Jews, Haman the Agagite. You’ll have to go to I Samuel 15:33 to get the background on Haman the Agagite.
One of my favorite pastor/teachers, John McArthur, once said, “The most frustrating thing to me is that I only have one life to convey to you all God has conveyed to me as I have studied His word and prayed.” (a really loose paraphrase) I am frustrated beyond imagination that I cannot effectively tell you everything He has told me in my studies and prayer time. Ezra was a priest. He studied the law so he could be a good teacher of it to the returning exiles. Nehemiah was a politician; but he was a unique kind of politician. He was an honest, God loving, servant of God whose number one objective was to get Israel back on track with their God. He demanded they observe “all” the law of God as given to Moses. Israel was in such dire straits, only a man like Nehemiah could do the job. Ezra was a man of God who knew the Jews needed to be completely re-educated in the things of the law, including the sacrifices and the offerings. Esther and Mordecai were instruments of God during the exile whom God used to save the Jews from annihilation by an evil plot of one of their dire enemies, Haman the Agagite.
God’s care for His people, even though it appeared He had abandoned them, is obvious in these accounts. One could write a series of books like the “Left Behind” series on these three books alone if he wanted to convey all the spiritual truth and life truths they convey. For our purposes here, I will simply say, “God will never leave us nor forsake us.” He is always caring for His people, no matter if it appears otherwise. For Christians, we need to understand that means Jews today who have rejected His Messiah. He is preserving a remnant (144,000; see Rev. 7:5-8). They will one day be marked, taken into the wilderness, divinely protected for 3 ½ years, and be converted to the faith.
Over and again in His immutable word He promises that He will never leave nor forsake His chosen ones. And that’s His word for us today.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
God Had to Spank Me
October 19
I certainly don’t mean to make light of anything God does, but I think this image is much more meaningful than most I would use. I’ve written about it before, but it bears repeating, that God does not punish His children; He disciplines them. Some likely think such rhetoric is splitting hairs, but I suggest it is not. When we spank a child, we do so to change behavior that is either self destructive or we know is displeasing to God. Discipline’s goal is correct behavior. Punishment is imposed on those who are not part of His kingdom. Hell is punishment. Unredeemed people are recipients of the wrath of God. His children are recipients of His disciplinary actions which are designed to change their behavior so that they can be more effective instruments to minister the word to the lost and their brothers and sisters.
Yesterday, God told me to get up, to stop feeling sorry for myself, and go and preach the gospel to any who will listen. He reminded me those who have rejected the message He sent me to proclaim are not rejecting me; they are rejecting Him. Wow! Now I understand why people trembled when Elijah entered the scene. It wasn’t Elijah they feared. It was the word of the Lord that he proclaimed without wavering. Of course, they didn’t likely make the distinction; and for that matter, even Elijah forgot it occasionally (I Kings 19:1-4). Once again, please understand, I’m making no claim to be a prophet. I am not an Elijah. God just used the situation with Elijah to help me realize, even powerful men of old who proclaimed His word, occasionally faltered. They occasionally had doubts; they occasionally whined and moaned about their circumstances. But, when God spanked them, they got up and moved on, continuing with the ministry to which they had been called.
We may leave Sidney. That’s strictly up to God. If our work here is finished, we will go to wherever He takes us. I am often chided that my reputation precedes me when I speak to local pastors. My response is “Praise God!” They don’t realize what a compliment that is. I have a reputation for speaking out against anything that is not in perfect keeping with God’s revealed will. I have a reputation for rebuking pastors who fleece their flocks. I have a reputation for scolding men who claim to be pastors who don’t live disciplined lives, studying and praying each day for significant periods of time for their flocks, our community, and out national leaders. I’m told I need to have a more balanced approach to the proclamation of the gospel. I am told I spend way too much time studying and in prayer. Does anyone who truly loves God think that’s possible? Does anyone who loves the God of creation really think anyone can spend too much time speaking to Him and listening for His instruction? Wow! Maybe that’s what’s at the heart of all that is so wrong with the church in America.
I often wonder how many people in America haven’t a clue why God doesn’t hear their prayers much less answer them. I often wonder how many pastor/teachers assemble their flocks each Sunday and purposefully leave out entire sections of God’s word for fear they will have to actually expect their congregations to be obedient to them. I’m relatively sure the numbers are already staggering and growing daily. In Revelation 18:4 God is addressing those who have joined themselves to Babylon the Great the Mother of Harlots when He says, “I heard another voice from heaven, saying, 'Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues;'” That’s His word for any today who are in churches that don’t demand adherence to and preaching of the entire word of God without wavering.
I certainly don’t mean to make light of anything God does, but I think this image is much more meaningful than most I would use. I’ve written about it before, but it bears repeating, that God does not punish His children; He disciplines them. Some likely think such rhetoric is splitting hairs, but I suggest it is not. When we spank a child, we do so to change behavior that is either self destructive or we know is displeasing to God. Discipline’s goal is correct behavior. Punishment is imposed on those who are not part of His kingdom. Hell is punishment. Unredeemed people are recipients of the wrath of God. His children are recipients of His disciplinary actions which are designed to change their behavior so that they can be more effective instruments to minister the word to the lost and their brothers and sisters.
Yesterday, God told me to get up, to stop feeling sorry for myself, and go and preach the gospel to any who will listen. He reminded me those who have rejected the message He sent me to proclaim are not rejecting me; they are rejecting Him. Wow! Now I understand why people trembled when Elijah entered the scene. It wasn’t Elijah they feared. It was the word of the Lord that he proclaimed without wavering. Of course, they didn’t likely make the distinction; and for that matter, even Elijah forgot it occasionally (I Kings 19:1-4). Once again, please understand, I’m making no claim to be a prophet. I am not an Elijah. God just used the situation with Elijah to help me realize, even powerful men of old who proclaimed His word, occasionally faltered. They occasionally had doubts; they occasionally whined and moaned about their circumstances. But, when God spanked them, they got up and moved on, continuing with the ministry to which they had been called.
We may leave Sidney. That’s strictly up to God. If our work here is finished, we will go to wherever He takes us. I am often chided that my reputation precedes me when I speak to local pastors. My response is “Praise God!” They don’t realize what a compliment that is. I have a reputation for speaking out against anything that is not in perfect keeping with God’s revealed will. I have a reputation for rebuking pastors who fleece their flocks. I have a reputation for scolding men who claim to be pastors who don’t live disciplined lives, studying and praying each day for significant periods of time for their flocks, our community, and out national leaders. I’m told I need to have a more balanced approach to the proclamation of the gospel. I am told I spend way too much time studying and in prayer. Does anyone who truly loves God think that’s possible? Does anyone who loves the God of creation really think anyone can spend too much time speaking to Him and listening for His instruction? Wow! Maybe that’s what’s at the heart of all that is so wrong with the church in America.
I often wonder how many people in America haven’t a clue why God doesn’t hear their prayers much less answer them. I often wonder how many pastor/teachers assemble their flocks each Sunday and purposefully leave out entire sections of God’s word for fear they will have to actually expect their congregations to be obedient to them. I’m relatively sure the numbers are already staggering and growing daily. In Revelation 18:4 God is addressing those who have joined themselves to Babylon the Great the Mother of Harlots when He says, “I heard another voice from heaven, saying, 'Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues;'” That’s His word for any today who are in churches that don’t demand adherence to and preaching of the entire word of God without wavering.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Watchman, How Far Gone is the Night?
October 18
I was writing a note to a friend this morning when God gave me the following message for today’s devotional. The Apostle Paul apparently believed he had the kind of responsibility and calling that Ezekiel speaks of in Chapters 3 and 18 where he was told it was his responsibility to warn the house of Israel, which actually meant he was to warn individuals in Israel when they were living lifestyles that was dishonoring to their God (Ez. 3:16-21; 18:5-32). Ezekiel clears up a theological idea that runs rampant even today in some circles. It comes from an incorrect application and exegesis of Exodus 20:5, "You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,” The operative phrase is usually left out, “of those who hate me.”
Of course the sins of the father are visited on the children when the children hate God as do their parents. And there is even a very natural sense in which the statement is true. An alcoholic or drug abusing father and/or mother usually takes three or four generations before it is worked out of the lineage of a man and/or woman. Part of the reason for this is physical addiction and part is environmental addiction. Both are serious problems and take a great deal of effort to break should one choose to do so. Unfortunately, psycho-babblers have convinced such behavior us a sickness rather than treating it as a sin; and there is just enough truth in that to make the problem even harder to fix from the human perspective. Certainly, both alcohol and drugs are addicting, Once one’s system becomes dependent on them, it is extremely difficult, and sometimes even dangerous to stop the use of them instantly.
Abusive parents often raise children who end up also being abusive to their children. It’s difficult to know what is normal behavior when one only has abnormal behavior to mimic. These things acknowledged, scripture makes it clear God can instantly and forever break such patterns of behavior (I Cor. 10:13; II Cor. 5:17). Ezekiel 3 and 18 have a specific and clearly written counterpart in the New Testament. Matthew 5:23, 18:15-17, Gal. 6:1, and James 5:16 direct us to be confessing our sins to one another and to confront those persons who are living in sin in a kind and gentle (but firm) manner. We are told to preach the word in season and out of season (II Timothy 4:2). We’re told to always be ready to make a defense for the hope that is in us (I Peter 3:15).
Most in the Christian community don’t believe we are experiencing persecution in America. I humbly suggest that is because we are not being obedient to our calling. Of course we aren’t being persecuted. We don’t take a stand on any of the issues that make people angry. We ignore the issues of homosexuality, women’s role the home and society, sexual perversion, pre-marital sex, disciplining children with the rod, and honor and integrity of leadership. I have spoken to dozens who call themselves Christians who don’t think a President’s sexual perversion engaged in the White House is any of our business. As long as our pocket books are full, who cares? Yet, over and again throughout scripture we see the strength of a nation begins at the top with its leadership.
Watchman, how far gone is the night? Jesus may come back for you or me at any time. Are you ready to go into eternity? Have you completed the task to which He has called you? Are you even aware He has called you to a task? Or are you reveling in the daytime and at night, thinking there’s plenty of time to do those things which our Master has called us to do. “Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come. It is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert. Therefore, be on the alert—for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning--in case he should come suddenly and find you asleep. What I say to you I say to all, ‘Be on the alert.’” (Mark 13:33-37)
I was writing a note to a friend this morning when God gave me the following message for today’s devotional. The Apostle Paul apparently believed he had the kind of responsibility and calling that Ezekiel speaks of in Chapters 3 and 18 where he was told it was his responsibility to warn the house of Israel, which actually meant he was to warn individuals in Israel when they were living lifestyles that was dishonoring to their God (Ez. 3:16-21; 18:5-32). Ezekiel clears up a theological idea that runs rampant even today in some circles. It comes from an incorrect application and exegesis of Exodus 20:5, "You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,” The operative phrase is usually left out, “of those who hate me.”
Of course the sins of the father are visited on the children when the children hate God as do their parents. And there is even a very natural sense in which the statement is true. An alcoholic or drug abusing father and/or mother usually takes three or four generations before it is worked out of the lineage of a man and/or woman. Part of the reason for this is physical addiction and part is environmental addiction. Both are serious problems and take a great deal of effort to break should one choose to do so. Unfortunately, psycho-babblers have convinced such behavior us a sickness rather than treating it as a sin; and there is just enough truth in that to make the problem even harder to fix from the human perspective. Certainly, both alcohol and drugs are addicting, Once one’s system becomes dependent on them, it is extremely difficult, and sometimes even dangerous to stop the use of them instantly.
Abusive parents often raise children who end up also being abusive to their children. It’s difficult to know what is normal behavior when one only has abnormal behavior to mimic. These things acknowledged, scripture makes it clear God can instantly and forever break such patterns of behavior (I Cor. 10:13; II Cor. 5:17). Ezekiel 3 and 18 have a specific and clearly written counterpart in the New Testament. Matthew 5:23, 18:15-17, Gal. 6:1, and James 5:16 direct us to be confessing our sins to one another and to confront those persons who are living in sin in a kind and gentle (but firm) manner. We are told to preach the word in season and out of season (II Timothy 4:2). We’re told to always be ready to make a defense for the hope that is in us (I Peter 3:15).
Most in the Christian community don’t believe we are experiencing persecution in America. I humbly suggest that is because we are not being obedient to our calling. Of course we aren’t being persecuted. We don’t take a stand on any of the issues that make people angry. We ignore the issues of homosexuality, women’s role the home and society, sexual perversion, pre-marital sex, disciplining children with the rod, and honor and integrity of leadership. I have spoken to dozens who call themselves Christians who don’t think a President’s sexual perversion engaged in the White House is any of our business. As long as our pocket books are full, who cares? Yet, over and again throughout scripture we see the strength of a nation begins at the top with its leadership.
Watchman, how far gone is the night? Jesus may come back for you or me at any time. Are you ready to go into eternity? Have you completed the task to which He has called you? Are you even aware He has called you to a task? Or are you reveling in the daytime and at night, thinking there’s plenty of time to do those things which our Master has called us to do. “Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come. It is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert. Therefore, be on the alert—for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning--in case he should come suddenly and find you asleep. What I say to you I say to all, ‘Be on the alert.’” (Mark 13:33-37)
Monday, October 18, 2010
Are We Under the Law?
October 18
I heard a man speak yesterday about whether we are under the law or grace. It troubled me because He seemed confused about the issue himself. He failed to make the distinction between sacrificial law and criminal and/or civil law. From Adam to Abraham to David to the Apostles to us today, all were/are saved by faith because of God’s grace. No man was ever saved by keeping the law. When Paul said, “We are no longer under the law” (Rom. 2, 3, 9; I Cor. 9; Gal. 3) his was speaking about the sacrificial law. One question settles the issue immediately. What part of God’s instruction to Moses does not apply to us today? Is it now okay to murder, steal, covet, be immoral, lie, cheat, or commit adultery? Of course not. Does God still require the blood of the one who took the life of man? Of course He does. What that man did yesterday in the pulpit of a local church continues to confirm to me the problem in churches throughout this land. People who are not called of God to preach His word are doing it anyway. People with a cursory knowledge of God’s word are standing in pulpits across this land saying, “Thus says the Lord,” when the Lord has not spoken. Most of them aren’t intentionally seeking to lie and deceive. That, however, is irrelevant. When one stands himself before God’s people and suggests he is speaking the word of God in behalf of God, he had best know about what he speaks (James 3:1).
God gave Moses the law. He gave him the sacrificial law, criminal law, and civil law. Jesus fulfilled all the sacrificial laws, all laws that had anything to do with forgiveness of sin. He was God’s perfect sacrifice for the sins of mankind. The Jews were not saved because they made the sacrifices; they were saved because they believed those sacrifices were symbolic of the Lamb of God, whom He would eventually send, to be the perfect sacrifice for their sins. One man put it this way, “Before Christ, people were saved on the basis of faith in the Messiah who would come. Since Christ people are saved on the basis of faith in the Messiah who came.” Clearly, until the actual coming, life, death, and resurrection of Christ, not even the disciples fully understood God’s plan of redemption. Nevertheless, no man who was ever saved was saved because he sacrificed a sacrifice to God. Only those sacrifices done according to the law and based on faith ever saved anyone. Just as people all over the world today continue to offer countless varieties of sacrifices to “a god” in hopes it will please that god or gods, so they have done from eternity past to and will continue to do until He Himself returns and establishes His eternal kingdom.
One of the reasons it is crucial we understand this is that honoring God on the Sabbath was also a sacrificial law which was fulfilled in Christ’s coming, sinless life, sacrificial death, and resurrection. When the New Testament church began meeting on the first day of the week, it wasn’t for the purpose of starting a new tradition. They did so to honor the resurrection of our Lord. Most Jewish converts to Christianity continued to meet on the Sabbath for instruction centuries after the formation of the church as it exists today. The Sabbath day was a sign of the rest we have attained who are in Christ (Heb. 4:8-11). While it’s perfectly okay for the church to meet on the first day of the week, there is absolutely nothing in Scripture declaring it essential. I would even suggest the traditional church’s insistence on doing so has actually done almost as much to harm true Christianity as it has to codify some of its traditions.
So, in closing, I would like to humbly suggest we all continue searching the scriptures daily to see if the things our pastor/teachers are preaching are in perfect harmony with God’s word. When they clearly are not, we should be bold enough to take our concerns to those claiming to speak in His name and ask them to correct their incorrect teaching before the people to whom they spoke it or, if we discover they are more interested in being perceived to be right than actually being right, I would suggest we would be wise to leave that church and seek another. And that’s God’s word for us today.
I heard a man speak yesterday about whether we are under the law or grace. It troubled me because He seemed confused about the issue himself. He failed to make the distinction between sacrificial law and criminal and/or civil law. From Adam to Abraham to David to the Apostles to us today, all were/are saved by faith because of God’s grace. No man was ever saved by keeping the law. When Paul said, “We are no longer under the law” (Rom. 2, 3, 9; I Cor. 9; Gal. 3) his was speaking about the sacrificial law. One question settles the issue immediately. What part of God’s instruction to Moses does not apply to us today? Is it now okay to murder, steal, covet, be immoral, lie, cheat, or commit adultery? Of course not. Does God still require the blood of the one who took the life of man? Of course He does. What that man did yesterday in the pulpit of a local church continues to confirm to me the problem in churches throughout this land. People who are not called of God to preach His word are doing it anyway. People with a cursory knowledge of God’s word are standing in pulpits across this land saying, “Thus says the Lord,” when the Lord has not spoken. Most of them aren’t intentionally seeking to lie and deceive. That, however, is irrelevant. When one stands himself before God’s people and suggests he is speaking the word of God in behalf of God, he had best know about what he speaks (James 3:1).
God gave Moses the law. He gave him the sacrificial law, criminal law, and civil law. Jesus fulfilled all the sacrificial laws, all laws that had anything to do with forgiveness of sin. He was God’s perfect sacrifice for the sins of mankind. The Jews were not saved because they made the sacrifices; they were saved because they believed those sacrifices were symbolic of the Lamb of God, whom He would eventually send, to be the perfect sacrifice for their sins. One man put it this way, “Before Christ, people were saved on the basis of faith in the Messiah who would come. Since Christ people are saved on the basis of faith in the Messiah who came.” Clearly, until the actual coming, life, death, and resurrection of Christ, not even the disciples fully understood God’s plan of redemption. Nevertheless, no man who was ever saved was saved because he sacrificed a sacrifice to God. Only those sacrifices done according to the law and based on faith ever saved anyone. Just as people all over the world today continue to offer countless varieties of sacrifices to “a god” in hopes it will please that god or gods, so they have done from eternity past to and will continue to do until He Himself returns and establishes His eternal kingdom.
One of the reasons it is crucial we understand this is that honoring God on the Sabbath was also a sacrificial law which was fulfilled in Christ’s coming, sinless life, sacrificial death, and resurrection. When the New Testament church began meeting on the first day of the week, it wasn’t for the purpose of starting a new tradition. They did so to honor the resurrection of our Lord. Most Jewish converts to Christianity continued to meet on the Sabbath for instruction centuries after the formation of the church as it exists today. The Sabbath day was a sign of the rest we have attained who are in Christ (Heb. 4:8-11). While it’s perfectly okay for the church to meet on the first day of the week, there is absolutely nothing in Scripture declaring it essential. I would even suggest the traditional church’s insistence on doing so has actually done almost as much to harm true Christianity as it has to codify some of its traditions.
So, in closing, I would like to humbly suggest we all continue searching the scriptures daily to see if the things our pastor/teachers are preaching are in perfect harmony with God’s word. When they clearly are not, we should be bold enough to take our concerns to those claiming to speak in His name and ask them to correct their incorrect teaching before the people to whom they spoke it or, if we discover they are more interested in being perceived to be right than actually being right, I would suggest we would be wise to leave that church and seek another. And that’s God’s word for us today.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Good King-Bad King
October 16
I was reading in II Kings today about all the good and bad kings in the Northern and Southern Kingdoms of Israel and Judah after the reigns of David and then Solomon. You may remember towards the end of Solomon’s reign, he had begun turning away from the God of Israel because of all the foreign women he had married. He began worshiping all the gods of the wives he had taken from all the tribes around him that God had warned him not to marry. When he died, the kingdom was divided between his son, Rehoboam, and Jeroboam, who took over the kingship of the Northern 10 tribes.
Amazingly enough God had promised Jeroboam He would bless him and make one of his sons to sit upon his throne forever if he just followed the commandments of the law. He didn’t. He was evil. He set the pattern that nearly every king of the Northern kingdom who followed him. Only one or two of the kings of the Northern kingdom wasn’t an abomination before God. For today, the point I would like us to consider is that every king who did what was good in the sight of God experienced God’s blessing on his kingdom; and every king who did what was evil in the sight of the Lord experienced God’s wrath on his kingdom. I believe that same rule applies today and has applied in all history for all the years mankind has lived on this planet. There are many biblical examples, the most significant and obvious of which is Nineveh. It was a wicked kingdom. Jonah preached the wrath of God was coming. The king repented, work sackcloth and threw ashes on his head, fasted, and decreed that everyone else would do likewise. God changed His mind about the evil he was going to bring on Nineveh. One hundred and twenty thousand people’s lives were spared because the king called for fasting and repentance throughout the land.
Today in America, we have rulers who are evil. It’s not because they are democrats that I say so. It is because our head of state promotes the murder of children. It is because our head of state promotes gay rights. It is because our head of state bows to leaders of countries who worship false gods. It’s because our head of state is an accomplished liar and deceiver. It is because our head of state promotes the worship of the gods of our enemies. America will experience the wrath of God for choosing a man who promised change without its citizens considering the evil that change would demand. America will experience God’s wrath for not caring that its head of state promotes the murder of helpless children while they are still in the wombs of their mothers. The voters have spoken and what they have said is they are more concerned for their own welfare than the welfare of unborn children. Personal wealth in America is exponentially more important to its citizens than integrity, righteousness, care for the helpless, or honor. We had best begin praying, fasting, and weeping for our country. We had best begin praying for a godly man to lead this country back to the cross; or we will soon be reaping what we have sown. And that’s God’s word for us today.
I was reading in II Kings today about all the good and bad kings in the Northern and Southern Kingdoms of Israel and Judah after the reigns of David and then Solomon. You may remember towards the end of Solomon’s reign, he had begun turning away from the God of Israel because of all the foreign women he had married. He began worshiping all the gods of the wives he had taken from all the tribes around him that God had warned him not to marry. When he died, the kingdom was divided between his son, Rehoboam, and Jeroboam, who took over the kingship of the Northern 10 tribes.
Amazingly enough God had promised Jeroboam He would bless him and make one of his sons to sit upon his throne forever if he just followed the commandments of the law. He didn’t. He was evil. He set the pattern that nearly every king of the Northern kingdom who followed him. Only one or two of the kings of the Northern kingdom wasn’t an abomination before God. For today, the point I would like us to consider is that every king who did what was good in the sight of God experienced God’s blessing on his kingdom; and every king who did what was evil in the sight of the Lord experienced God’s wrath on his kingdom. I believe that same rule applies today and has applied in all history for all the years mankind has lived on this planet. There are many biblical examples, the most significant and obvious of which is Nineveh. It was a wicked kingdom. Jonah preached the wrath of God was coming. The king repented, work sackcloth and threw ashes on his head, fasted, and decreed that everyone else would do likewise. God changed His mind about the evil he was going to bring on Nineveh. One hundred and twenty thousand people’s lives were spared because the king called for fasting and repentance throughout the land.
Today in America, we have rulers who are evil. It’s not because they are democrats that I say so. It is because our head of state promotes the murder of children. It is because our head of state promotes gay rights. It is because our head of state bows to leaders of countries who worship false gods. It’s because our head of state is an accomplished liar and deceiver. It is because our head of state promotes the worship of the gods of our enemies. America will experience the wrath of God for choosing a man who promised change without its citizens considering the evil that change would demand. America will experience God’s wrath for not caring that its head of state promotes the murder of helpless children while they are still in the wombs of their mothers. The voters have spoken and what they have said is they are more concerned for their own welfare than the welfare of unborn children. Personal wealth in America is exponentially more important to its citizens than integrity, righteousness, care for the helpless, or honor. We had best begin praying, fasting, and weeping for our country. We had best begin praying for a godly man to lead this country back to the cross; or we will soon be reaping what we have sown. And that’s God’s word for us today.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Elijah
October 15
Wow! It’s enough, when one is speaking about the deeds of this man to entitle it “Elijah.” I just read the final 11 chapters of I Kings, which (beginning in chapter 17) are about Elijah’s confrontation with Ahab and Jezebel. There are several reasons it is beneficial for us to examine the life of this man. I think James said it best, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.” (5:17) I think we tend to supersize men like Elijah, placing them on the proverbial pedestal thinking they were some kind of super human species of men. One thing I have noticed as I have studied such men for the past several decades is that they experienced most of the same emotionally traumatic reactions to problems and committed the same kinds of stupid, senseless mistakes most of us commit. For example, right after Elijah prayed and closed the sky for 3 ½ years so it did not rain, was fed by ravens appointed by God by the brook Cherith, raised a widow’s son from the dead, called the fire of God down at Mount Carmel which fried the altar and the offering on it, killed 400 prophets of Baal at the brook Kishon, and predicted with minute accuracy the end of the drought, he fled in fear from Jezebel (Ahab’s wife the Queen), sat dejectedly under a juniper tree a short ways from Beersheba, and asked God to kill him. His comment to God was puzzling, "for I am not better than my fathers." Of course, that was true, but I failed to grasp his point there. Men who do mighty deeds for God's honor are not mighty men. They are just men who are indwelt by a mighty God. Elijah was a man with a nature just like you and me.
Time and again we see the prophets of old who did incredible things under the hand and direct instruction of the Lord, demonstrate their very human nature by doing obscene things which ended in their death or, at the very least, strong discipline from God. Such things should be very encouraging to us as well as a warning for us. They should encourage us by causing us to realize God can use anyone He chooses for whatever purpose He desires us to accomplish whatever He wills. He can use ravens to feed us and raise the dead through our prayers. He has literally moved mountains to achieve His purposes on this planet. The key to living a life that is a mighty testimony to God is not to seek to have our prayers answered, but to seek to be in the place where He will use us to accomplish His majestic and all powerful will. It is not our will we need to consider. Discovering His will is not some kind of chess game where we strive to get into the position where we can check mate the opponent. It is our number one priority in life to be where God wants us to be when He wants us to be there. When that is true, our lives will, of necessity, be characterized by exactly what He wants them to be characterized. That characterization may be poverty, riches, miracles, death, life, mighty deeds, persecution, humility, or exaltation. Only one thing is absolutely sure and of any eternal concern. When we are in that place, the long term result will always be the exaltation and honor of the Creator of the universe. And that is why we are here. And that’s God’s word for us today.
Wow! It’s enough, when one is speaking about the deeds of this man to entitle it “Elijah.” I just read the final 11 chapters of I Kings, which (beginning in chapter 17) are about Elijah’s confrontation with Ahab and Jezebel. There are several reasons it is beneficial for us to examine the life of this man. I think James said it best, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.” (5:17) I think we tend to supersize men like Elijah, placing them on the proverbial pedestal thinking they were some kind of super human species of men. One thing I have noticed as I have studied such men for the past several decades is that they experienced most of the same emotionally traumatic reactions to problems and committed the same kinds of stupid, senseless mistakes most of us commit. For example, right after Elijah prayed and closed the sky for 3 ½ years so it did not rain, was fed by ravens appointed by God by the brook Cherith, raised a widow’s son from the dead, called the fire of God down at Mount Carmel which fried the altar and the offering on it, killed 400 prophets of Baal at the brook Kishon, and predicted with minute accuracy the end of the drought, he fled in fear from Jezebel (Ahab’s wife the Queen), sat dejectedly under a juniper tree a short ways from Beersheba, and asked God to kill him. His comment to God was puzzling, "for I am not better than my fathers." Of course, that was true, but I failed to grasp his point there. Men who do mighty deeds for God's honor are not mighty men. They are just men who are indwelt by a mighty God. Elijah was a man with a nature just like you and me.
Time and again we see the prophets of old who did incredible things under the hand and direct instruction of the Lord, demonstrate their very human nature by doing obscene things which ended in their death or, at the very least, strong discipline from God. Such things should be very encouraging to us as well as a warning for us. They should encourage us by causing us to realize God can use anyone He chooses for whatever purpose He desires us to accomplish whatever He wills. He can use ravens to feed us and raise the dead through our prayers. He has literally moved mountains to achieve His purposes on this planet. The key to living a life that is a mighty testimony to God is not to seek to have our prayers answered, but to seek to be in the place where He will use us to accomplish His majestic and all powerful will. It is not our will we need to consider. Discovering His will is not some kind of chess game where we strive to get into the position where we can check mate the opponent. It is our number one priority in life to be where God wants us to be when He wants us to be there. When that is true, our lives will, of necessity, be characterized by exactly what He wants them to be characterized. That characterization may be poverty, riches, miracles, death, life, mighty deeds, persecution, humility, or exaltation. Only one thing is absolutely sure and of any eternal concern. When we are in that place, the long term result will always be the exaltation and honor of the Creator of the universe. And that is why we are here. And that’s God’s word for us today.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
The Direction of My Life
October 14
As I contemplate the direction of my life and consider the past 65 years, I realize what a blessed life I have had the great privilege of living. I have offended more than my share of God’s creatures, both of beasts and of men. I was a rebellious child and an immoral disgusting younger man. I was cruel and treated many with contempt and don’t understand why God chose to take me from a life of wanton pleasure and disgusting indulgence into a life of holiness, seeking after both His glory and His glorification. I need so badly to ask the forgiveness of so many for so much. As a football player in college I mistakenly thought people should bow and do me homage because, after all, I was a athlete on their college team.
Since I was called into fellowship and service to the King of kings, three things have blessed me more than I can express in pen and ink. I had the incredible privilege of serving as a police officer for about 12 years. That calling enabled me to assist countless hundreds in their struggle both against the legal system and the spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places. I had hundreds, if not thousands, of opportunities to share the gospel and my life with many who needed it.
Then, as if that weren’t enough, I have had dozens, if not hundreds, of opportunities to serve my brothers and sisters in Christ as a pastor/teacher, evangelist, preacher, and friend by preaching the word in and out of season, rightly dividing the word of truth. The personal blessings that I have experienced from doing such things have been more numerous than any one man deserves.
And, as if that weren’t enough, I had the wonderful privilege of teaching in the public school system for about twenty years in one capacity or another. Hundreds of those over whom I had the responsibility teach and mold into citizens have been, in one way or another, some of the greatest blessings of my life.
Last, and certainly not least, God endowed me with a dear woman who loves Him and has tolerated my rantings and ravings for over 38 years now. I perceive such blessings as these no man has the right to expect, much less receive. Thank you Lord Jesus. May I live long enough to appropriately demonstrate my love and appreciation for your majesty and continual care for a sinner such as I. In your continued and humble service. Your Child, david, King of Nothing, but, because of your love, heir of the universe.
As I contemplate the direction of my life and consider the past 65 years, I realize what a blessed life I have had the great privilege of living. I have offended more than my share of God’s creatures, both of beasts and of men. I was a rebellious child and an immoral disgusting younger man. I was cruel and treated many with contempt and don’t understand why God chose to take me from a life of wanton pleasure and disgusting indulgence into a life of holiness, seeking after both His glory and His glorification. I need so badly to ask the forgiveness of so many for so much. As a football player in college I mistakenly thought people should bow and do me homage because, after all, I was a athlete on their college team.
Since I was called into fellowship and service to the King of kings, three things have blessed me more than I can express in pen and ink. I had the incredible privilege of serving as a police officer for about 12 years. That calling enabled me to assist countless hundreds in their struggle both against the legal system and the spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places. I had hundreds, if not thousands, of opportunities to share the gospel and my life with many who needed it.
Then, as if that weren’t enough, I have had dozens, if not hundreds, of opportunities to serve my brothers and sisters in Christ as a pastor/teacher, evangelist, preacher, and friend by preaching the word in and out of season, rightly dividing the word of truth. The personal blessings that I have experienced from doing such things have been more numerous than any one man deserves.
And, as if that weren’t enough, I had the wonderful privilege of teaching in the public school system for about twenty years in one capacity or another. Hundreds of those over whom I had the responsibility teach and mold into citizens have been, in one way or another, some of the greatest blessings of my life.
Last, and certainly not least, God endowed me with a dear woman who loves Him and has tolerated my rantings and ravings for over 38 years now. I perceive such blessings as these no man has the right to expect, much less receive. Thank you Lord Jesus. May I live long enough to appropriately demonstrate my love and appreciation for your majesty and continual care for a sinner such as I. In your continued and humble service. Your Child, david, King of Nothing, but, because of your love, heir of the universe.
Who is Your God?
October 13
"Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts and have put right before their faces the stumbling block of their iniquity. Should I be consulted by them at all? I think we sometimes believe we have to set up a graven image or carved idol and bow down before it to fit the biblical description of idolaters. These words to Ezekiel (14:3), which God told him to convey to Israel, clearly indicate that is simply not true. In Ezekiel’s day gold and silver were precious metals that symbolized man’s departure from worshipping the one true God. Today, some people worship their children, some worship their spouse, some worship their job (we call them workaholics), some worship their favorite pro or even amateur sports team, some worship gambling, some booze. The problem is that our so-called medical professionals (I like to call them psycho-babblers), have developed such a classic and profound vocabulary to describe each of these idols, we no longer recognize them as such.
We call our obsession with sports stress relief, we call loving our children more than life itself good parenting, we call loving our spouse more than eating good spousal relationship building, we call gambling recreation, and we call drunkenness a sickness. And because we listen to those who would have us feel better about our sins rather than confess and forsake them, as God and His word clearly tells us we must do, we continue in behavior whose end is, and worst, eternity in hell, or at best, entry into the kingdom of God with the smell of fire still on our clothing (Rom. 1:32; 2:2, 3; Gal. 5:21; Heb. 11:14; I Cor. 3:15; Jude 22, 23).
King David was a warrior; he was also a sinner redeemed by grace. Killing his enemies was not an obsession; it was his calling and responsibility as the king of God’s chosen people. It’s more than just a passing observation that he committed several heinous sins during his reign in Israel. The reason God called him a man after His own heart is not because he was the picture of perfection in his personal life; it was because he was a repentant man who fell on his knees and sought God’s forgiveness the moment he was confronted with his sin by God’s prophets. Apparently, the apostle Paul loved athletics. He engaged them and used them as examples of how to run the race and fight the spiritual battles against the demons of Satan we have to fight daily. Athletics was the means whereby he could fulfill his calling. They were not an obsession. Hosea loved his wife; he took her back even when she committed harlotry against him because he knew she was a type of backsliding Jew and, in today’s jargon, ‘Christian.” She was not his obsession. Paul was a hard worker in private business when it was necessary. He did so anytime the churches to whom he ministered couldn’t afford to support his ministry financially. He knew physical labor in private business was sometimes necessary, and that for most people it is necessary for most of their lives. But secular work was not his obsession.
Paul knew such labor had one purpose. He understood his first responsibility was to fulfill the ministry to which he had been called. Our labor in industry provides us with enough financial stability to bring food to the table for us and our loved ones, a roof over our heads, and clothing to cover our bodies. Anything else we own that is unattached to ministry is and idol if we are not willing to part with it the moment it gets in the way of our calling to ministry. If I’m 35 years old, have four children, own a $50,000 sport convertible that only holds two people when a $20,000 crossover automobile would be better suited to my personal and ministry needs, I have probably set up that sports convertible as an idol in my heart. If I spend four hours a week or more watching any sporting event(s) and only spend 2 hours a week studying God’s word, teaching it to others, and/or fulfilling any part of my calling, that sport is probably an idol in my heart. If I love my children or spouse so much that I blame God and stop praying, studying His word, and/or worshiping Him when something bad happens to one or the other of them, they are, in all likelihood idols in my heart. If I spend an hour a day exercising to keep physically fit, and less than 30 minutes a day studying His word to stay spiritually fit or to fulfill my ministry, exercise and/or my body is/are probably an idol(s) in my heart. If I’m a drunk, booze is an idol in my heart; if I’m a gambler (of any kind or magnitude) that is the idol I have set up in my heart.
I trust and pray everyone reading this is getting the idea. It is an obvious fact easily proven by even the casual observer that America is a nation filled with idolaters. And we are being encouraged to continue in our idolatry by the false prophets who call themselves psychologists, PhDs in psychology (which, by the way includes most Christians counselors), MDs, psychiatrists (medical brain wranglers), and even many graduates from our finest conservative, reformed Bible colleges and seminaries.
Hear O America, the word of the Lord, “I am weary of your idolatry. Put away these idols or I will come and rip them out of your heart and destroy all of your molten and carved images. I am disgusted with your claim to love and worship me. Flee from those worthless shepherds who claim to be speaking for me. They are liars and thieves. They’re feeding you the vain imaginations of their heart. They have no word from me. They only use my word for personal gain. They’re fleecing my sheep, not feeding them.” And this “is” God’s word for us today.
"Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts and have put right before their faces the stumbling block of their iniquity. Should I be consulted by them at all? I think we sometimes believe we have to set up a graven image or carved idol and bow down before it to fit the biblical description of idolaters. These words to Ezekiel (14:3), which God told him to convey to Israel, clearly indicate that is simply not true. In Ezekiel’s day gold and silver were precious metals that symbolized man’s departure from worshipping the one true God. Today, some people worship their children, some worship their spouse, some worship their job (we call them workaholics), some worship their favorite pro or even amateur sports team, some worship gambling, some booze. The problem is that our so-called medical professionals (I like to call them psycho-babblers), have developed such a classic and profound vocabulary to describe each of these idols, we no longer recognize them as such.
We call our obsession with sports stress relief, we call loving our children more than life itself good parenting, we call loving our spouse more than eating good spousal relationship building, we call gambling recreation, and we call drunkenness a sickness. And because we listen to those who would have us feel better about our sins rather than confess and forsake them, as God and His word clearly tells us we must do, we continue in behavior whose end is, and worst, eternity in hell, or at best, entry into the kingdom of God with the smell of fire still on our clothing (Rom. 1:32; 2:2, 3; Gal. 5:21; Heb. 11:14; I Cor. 3:15; Jude 22, 23).
King David was a warrior; he was also a sinner redeemed by grace. Killing his enemies was not an obsession; it was his calling and responsibility as the king of God’s chosen people. It’s more than just a passing observation that he committed several heinous sins during his reign in Israel. The reason God called him a man after His own heart is not because he was the picture of perfection in his personal life; it was because he was a repentant man who fell on his knees and sought God’s forgiveness the moment he was confronted with his sin by God’s prophets. Apparently, the apostle Paul loved athletics. He engaged them and used them as examples of how to run the race and fight the spiritual battles against the demons of Satan we have to fight daily. Athletics was the means whereby he could fulfill his calling. They were not an obsession. Hosea loved his wife; he took her back even when she committed harlotry against him because he knew she was a type of backsliding Jew and, in today’s jargon, ‘Christian.” She was not his obsession. Paul was a hard worker in private business when it was necessary. He did so anytime the churches to whom he ministered couldn’t afford to support his ministry financially. He knew physical labor in private business was sometimes necessary, and that for most people it is necessary for most of their lives. But secular work was not his obsession.
Paul knew such labor had one purpose. He understood his first responsibility was to fulfill the ministry to which he had been called. Our labor in industry provides us with enough financial stability to bring food to the table for us and our loved ones, a roof over our heads, and clothing to cover our bodies. Anything else we own that is unattached to ministry is and idol if we are not willing to part with it the moment it gets in the way of our calling to ministry. If I’m 35 years old, have four children, own a $50,000 sport convertible that only holds two people when a $20,000 crossover automobile would be better suited to my personal and ministry needs, I have probably set up that sports convertible as an idol in my heart. If I spend four hours a week or more watching any sporting event(s) and only spend 2 hours a week studying God’s word, teaching it to others, and/or fulfilling any part of my calling, that sport is probably an idol in my heart. If I love my children or spouse so much that I blame God and stop praying, studying His word, and/or worshiping Him when something bad happens to one or the other of them, they are, in all likelihood idols in my heart. If I spend an hour a day exercising to keep physically fit, and less than 30 minutes a day studying His word to stay spiritually fit or to fulfill my ministry, exercise and/or my body is/are probably an idol(s) in my heart. If I’m a drunk, booze is an idol in my heart; if I’m a gambler (of any kind or magnitude) that is the idol I have set up in my heart.
I trust and pray everyone reading this is getting the idea. It is an obvious fact easily proven by even the casual observer that America is a nation filled with idolaters. And we are being encouraged to continue in our idolatry by the false prophets who call themselves psychologists, PhDs in psychology (which, by the way includes most Christians counselors), MDs, psychiatrists (medical brain wranglers), and even many graduates from our finest conservative, reformed Bible colleges and seminaries.
Hear O America, the word of the Lord, “I am weary of your idolatry. Put away these idols or I will come and rip them out of your heart and destroy all of your molten and carved images. I am disgusted with your claim to love and worship me. Flee from those worthless shepherds who claim to be speaking for me. They are liars and thieves. They’re feeding you the vain imaginations of their heart. They have no word from me. They only use my word for personal gain. They’re fleecing my sheep, not feeding them.” And this “is” God’s word for us today.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Persevere
October 12
While considering the extremely difficult things Sharon and I have had to endure for the past several months, God spoke to me from His word and reminded me of two things: 1. the Lord disciplines those whom He loves (Hebrews 12:6); and 2. all of those who did mighty things for God experienced great tragedy in their lives; and most of them on multiple occasions. Job lost all his wealth and every single child in one day (all ten). He lost his health on another. Elijah had the King and Queen of Israel out to have his head. David lost his kingdom, his friends, his own son tried to usurp his throne, and he was the direct cause of 70,000 men of Israel dying when he numbered them against the advice of his generals and the priests. Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den for praying; Jeremiah was persecuted most of his life, was thrown into a muddy cistern and left to die. Naomi lost her husband and both sons. Most of the first century prophets and preachers were martyred and tens of thousands (maybe millions) have died for their faith since then. And most importantly, the Messiah of Israel and the Gentiles died an excruciating death on the cross at Calvary for sins He never committed.
Wow! My life has been one of relative ease when compared to those who have gone before us. My best guess is that most of yours have also. Of course we grieve when we lose loved ones or when friends desert us in our time of need. The disciples deserted Jesus and fled for their lives just hours after they swore allegiance to the death to Him. In the final analysis, we pray as David prayed on many occasions that though our closes friends are often alienated from us the moment things get difficult, our Lord never deserts us. One particular verse has come to mind hundreds of times in my life since Jesus called me to ministry, “Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, " I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU," (Heb. 13:5) Again, as King David said in several places in the Psalms, “My closest friends may forsake me, but the Lord will always be the Rock upon which I will stand strong.” It seems that the only way God can get our undivided attention is to somehow bring us to our knees. When our lives are uneventful and/or going smoothly it is the propensity of man to become a little proud and deaf to the voice of His Spirit as He resides within our bosom. That is both unfortunate and unnecessary. Also, oftentimes we accumulate far too many things that we value way to much, so He has to prune those things from our lives so we can be better warriors. Finally, we tend to become rather arrogant and proud when life is good. God warns us against such a reaction to His blessing, and He gives us time to humble ourselves (He has no desire to do it for us). When we fail do so, he humbles us (Luke 14:11; 18:14; James 4:10; James 5:6). The most important thing for us to remember is that God does not punish His redeemed. Two words are used for His care for us: pruned and disciplined. The purpose of both is to hone us so we are more useful for accomplishing His specific purposes for each of us. He has reserved punishment for unbelievers. Punishment is not meant to bring repentance, just a reminder that His name is to be treated as holy. And these are God’s words of wisdom and comfort for us today.
While considering the extremely difficult things Sharon and I have had to endure for the past several months, God spoke to me from His word and reminded me of two things: 1. the Lord disciplines those whom He loves (Hebrews 12:6); and 2. all of those who did mighty things for God experienced great tragedy in their lives; and most of them on multiple occasions. Job lost all his wealth and every single child in one day (all ten). He lost his health on another. Elijah had the King and Queen of Israel out to have his head. David lost his kingdom, his friends, his own son tried to usurp his throne, and he was the direct cause of 70,000 men of Israel dying when he numbered them against the advice of his generals and the priests. Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den for praying; Jeremiah was persecuted most of his life, was thrown into a muddy cistern and left to die. Naomi lost her husband and both sons. Most of the first century prophets and preachers were martyred and tens of thousands (maybe millions) have died for their faith since then. And most importantly, the Messiah of Israel and the Gentiles died an excruciating death on the cross at Calvary for sins He never committed.
Wow! My life has been one of relative ease when compared to those who have gone before us. My best guess is that most of yours have also. Of course we grieve when we lose loved ones or when friends desert us in our time of need. The disciples deserted Jesus and fled for their lives just hours after they swore allegiance to the death to Him. In the final analysis, we pray as David prayed on many occasions that though our closes friends are often alienated from us the moment things get difficult, our Lord never deserts us. One particular verse has come to mind hundreds of times in my life since Jesus called me to ministry, “Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, " I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU," (Heb. 13:5) Again, as King David said in several places in the Psalms, “My closest friends may forsake me, but the Lord will always be the Rock upon which I will stand strong.” It seems that the only way God can get our undivided attention is to somehow bring us to our knees. When our lives are uneventful and/or going smoothly it is the propensity of man to become a little proud and deaf to the voice of His Spirit as He resides within our bosom. That is both unfortunate and unnecessary. Also, oftentimes we accumulate far too many things that we value way to much, so He has to prune those things from our lives so we can be better warriors. Finally, we tend to become rather arrogant and proud when life is good. God warns us against such a reaction to His blessing, and He gives us time to humble ourselves (He has no desire to do it for us). When we fail do so, he humbles us (Luke 14:11; 18:14; James 4:10; James 5:6). The most important thing for us to remember is that God does not punish His redeemed. Two words are used for His care for us: pruned and disciplined. The purpose of both is to hone us so we are more useful for accomplishing His specific purposes for each of us. He has reserved punishment for unbelievers. Punishment is not meant to bring repentance, just a reminder that His name is to be treated as holy. And these are God’s words of wisdom and comfort for us today.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Sin is Sin is Sin
October 11
Some of the stories I read in the bible really trouble me. Today I read in Judges18-21 about the Levite whose concubine got raped by the leading men of the town of Gibeah. The story begins telling us the concubine played the harlot and then left him. In spite of her harlotry, he apparently still wanted to have her with him so he went after her and talked her into returning with him to his home in the hill country of Ephraim. On the way home they had to stop in the town of Gibeah to spend the night resting. An old man saw him in the town square and took him into his home, offering to take care of his needs. The story gets worse. Some men of Gibeah wanted to have relations with the Levite. That alone was the kind of sin so heinous I have trouble believing it actually occurred. To mke it worse, we learn later in the story these were leading men in the city.Still, the story gets worse. The Levite gave his concubine to them. They proceeded to abuse her all night and in the process killed her. This story is sick on so many levels it makes me nauseous to even think about it. When the Levite got home, he cut his wife into twelve pieces and sent her parts to the twelve tribes of Israel asking them to help him get revenge for his concubine’s murder by the Benjaminites. All the leaders of those tribes agreed they had to go against Benjamin or, at the very least, get the ones who committed the sin and stone them to death for their heinous act. Finally, as if the story wasn't bad enough, we next learn the residents of Gibeah, a tribe of Israel, refused to give up the men who had done the dastardly deed. Several thousand men of war from the tribes of Israel and almost all of Gibeah died because of the sin of a few. All but 600 men of Gibeah were killed. Out of 26,700 men of war in Benjamin only 600 were left and Israel lost another 40,000. No women were left in Gibeah because the whole city, including the men, women, and children was destroyed.
Two things strike me as important for us to learn from this story. It is a record of the decadent state to which at least one tribe had sunk without prophets and judges or a king overseeing their activities and demanding they behave as God would have them behave. We are told at the end of the story that everyone in Israel was doing what was right in his own eyes at that time because they had no king. In other words, they were ignoring the law of Moses. There is no reason to believe anything in this story was the perfect will of God. It is a story of the decadent state to which Israel had sunk as a result of having no godly leadership. When I consider how many women are killed daily in America by sex crazed men and how many homosexuals are told their sin is just a alternative lifestyle which they blame on some mix up in their DNA, I realize we are just as decadent, if not more so, in this country. Our great doctors and psycho-babblers tell homosexuals they can’t help their sin. They’re told, by men more perverted than they are, they were born with the desire to have sex with men rather than women. There is a sense in which those who make such claims are correct. All men are born with a bent to sin. No man is born with a burning desire to be pleasing to God. Without the intervention of the Holy Spirit of God in the life of man, he can’t help but be corrupt. That’s what Romans 3:17-18 is all about. The homosexual’s sin is homosexuality. The liar’s sin is lying. The murderer’s sin is murder. The thief’s sin is theft. And all will go to hell just as fast as the homosexual when they die if they do not repent.
So, the truth we need to glean from this story is that man is corrupt, he is not even able to be pleasing to God. If that is true, we would expect scripture to tell us it’s so. Oh yeah, it does; Romans 8:7 tells us, “because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,” So, if you find yourself doing those things on a regular basis that you know are displeasing to God and have no desire to repent, you must realize you are probably bound for hell for eternity if you don’t repent, believe in Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross in your place for your sin, confess Him as Lord, believe God raised Him from the dead, and be baptized the remission of your sin (Acts 2:38, Rom. 10:9; Luke 9:23). And that’s God’s word for us today.
Some of the stories I read in the bible really trouble me. Today I read in Judges18-21 about the Levite whose concubine got raped by the leading men of the town of Gibeah. The story begins telling us the concubine played the harlot and then left him. In spite of her harlotry, he apparently still wanted to have her with him so he went after her and talked her into returning with him to his home in the hill country of Ephraim. On the way home they had to stop in the town of Gibeah to spend the night resting. An old man saw him in the town square and took him into his home, offering to take care of his needs. The story gets worse. Some men of Gibeah wanted to have relations with the Levite. That alone was the kind of sin so heinous I have trouble believing it actually occurred. To mke it worse, we learn later in the story these were leading men in the city.Still, the story gets worse. The Levite gave his concubine to them. They proceeded to abuse her all night and in the process killed her. This story is sick on so many levels it makes me nauseous to even think about it. When the Levite got home, he cut his wife into twelve pieces and sent her parts to the twelve tribes of Israel asking them to help him get revenge for his concubine’s murder by the Benjaminites. All the leaders of those tribes agreed they had to go against Benjamin or, at the very least, get the ones who committed the sin and stone them to death for their heinous act. Finally, as if the story wasn't bad enough, we next learn the residents of Gibeah, a tribe of Israel, refused to give up the men who had done the dastardly deed. Several thousand men of war from the tribes of Israel and almost all of Gibeah died because of the sin of a few. All but 600 men of Gibeah were killed. Out of 26,700 men of war in Benjamin only 600 were left and Israel lost another 40,000. No women were left in Gibeah because the whole city, including the men, women, and children was destroyed.
Two things strike me as important for us to learn from this story. It is a record of the decadent state to which at least one tribe had sunk without prophets and judges or a king overseeing their activities and demanding they behave as God would have them behave. We are told at the end of the story that everyone in Israel was doing what was right in his own eyes at that time because they had no king. In other words, they were ignoring the law of Moses. There is no reason to believe anything in this story was the perfect will of God. It is a story of the decadent state to which Israel had sunk as a result of having no godly leadership. When I consider how many women are killed daily in America by sex crazed men and how many homosexuals are told their sin is just a alternative lifestyle which they blame on some mix up in their DNA, I realize we are just as decadent, if not more so, in this country. Our great doctors and psycho-babblers tell homosexuals they can’t help their sin. They’re told, by men more perverted than they are, they were born with the desire to have sex with men rather than women. There is a sense in which those who make such claims are correct. All men are born with a bent to sin. No man is born with a burning desire to be pleasing to God. Without the intervention of the Holy Spirit of God in the life of man, he can’t help but be corrupt. That’s what Romans 3:17-18 is all about. The homosexual’s sin is homosexuality. The liar’s sin is lying. The murderer’s sin is murder. The thief’s sin is theft. And all will go to hell just as fast as the homosexual when they die if they do not repent.
So, the truth we need to glean from this story is that man is corrupt, he is not even able to be pleasing to God. If that is true, we would expect scripture to tell us it’s so. Oh yeah, it does; Romans 8:7 tells us, “because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,” So, if you find yourself doing those things on a regular basis that you know are displeasing to God and have no desire to repent, you must realize you are probably bound for hell for eternity if you don’t repent, believe in Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross in your place for your sin, confess Him as Lord, believe God raised Him from the dead, and be baptized the remission of your sin (Acts 2:38, Rom. 10:9; Luke 9:23). And that’s God’s word for us today.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Who are the Wolves
October 10
It’s an interesting thing to try discerning those who are wolves in sheep’s clothing. Today, with so many pastors preaching heresy, it is especially difficult to determine which is which. I would like to suggest, humbly, that those who preach anything contrary to the truth are in error. Those who preach anything contrary to the truth are heretics. I have personally been accused of being a wolf in sheep’s clothing. For this reason, I am immensely qualified to identify those who are indeed such. I have been in a church where the preaching pastor was a wolf. I have been in one or more of the churches referred to in Revelation 2 and 3.
These wolves are incredibly good preachers. They preach “some” good theology. They are very convincing. They speak enough truth to deceive the many who are easily deceived. That said, it is clear God calls those who are the chosen to come out of those false churches. In the final hours, He will give wisdom beyond that which is natural, and call those who are His to persecution, death, and a life of constant difficulty. I would like to clarify those who are definitely heretics. Joel Osteen, Robert Schuler, and any who preach a gospel of prosperity are heretics. Those who make $100,000 a year are heretics. In this age of the church, we have a responsibility to give all to ministry. We have no right to expect God to reward us with wealth for selling everything and following Jesus. As a matter of biblical fact, the opposite is true. I have just listened to Joel Osteen and Robert Schuler. Please believe me. They are heretics of the worst sort. And any who preach the gospel of prosperity are likewise heretics. Anyone who tries to convince you that God wants you to be well, rich, and prosperous are liars of the worst sort. Of the church channels on TV that are preaching the gospel, I think it would be a gross over exaggeration to suggest 1% are truly preaching the gospel.
I used to listen to hundreds of messages a week just to hear the kinds of things those preachers on TV were preaching. Some wear $1000 Armani suits, big diamond rings, and $200 ties. Those are heretics. They are men peddling the gospel. One thing I really loved about Dr. Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ. Every single member of that organization made the same salary. It was a bare bones salary that few could live on and have any more than the bare necessities of life. And, after all, that is the kind of life Jesus has called us to in this the church age. Most of us, in America have no idea what sacrificial living involves. We are the quintessential rich man who has a really hard time entering the kingdom of God. And that's God's word for us today.
It’s an interesting thing to try discerning those who are wolves in sheep’s clothing. Today, with so many pastors preaching heresy, it is especially difficult to determine which is which. I would like to suggest, humbly, that those who preach anything contrary to the truth are in error. Those who preach anything contrary to the truth are heretics. I have personally been accused of being a wolf in sheep’s clothing. For this reason, I am immensely qualified to identify those who are indeed such. I have been in a church where the preaching pastor was a wolf. I have been in one or more of the churches referred to in Revelation 2 and 3.
These wolves are incredibly good preachers. They preach “some” good theology. They are very convincing. They speak enough truth to deceive the many who are easily deceived. That said, it is clear God calls those who are the chosen to come out of those false churches. In the final hours, He will give wisdom beyond that which is natural, and call those who are His to persecution, death, and a life of constant difficulty. I would like to clarify those who are definitely heretics. Joel Osteen, Robert Schuler, and any who preach a gospel of prosperity are heretics. Those who make $100,000 a year are heretics. In this age of the church, we have a responsibility to give all to ministry. We have no right to expect God to reward us with wealth for selling everything and following Jesus. As a matter of biblical fact, the opposite is true. I have just listened to Joel Osteen and Robert Schuler. Please believe me. They are heretics of the worst sort. And any who preach the gospel of prosperity are likewise heretics. Anyone who tries to convince you that God wants you to be well, rich, and prosperous are liars of the worst sort. Of the church channels on TV that are preaching the gospel, I think it would be a gross over exaggeration to suggest 1% are truly preaching the gospel.
I used to listen to hundreds of messages a week just to hear the kinds of things those preachers on TV were preaching. Some wear $1000 Armani suits, big diamond rings, and $200 ties. Those are heretics. They are men peddling the gospel. One thing I really loved about Dr. Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ. Every single member of that organization made the same salary. It was a bare bones salary that few could live on and have any more than the bare necessities of life. And, after all, that is the kind of life Jesus has called us to in this the church age. Most of us, in America have no idea what sacrificial living involves. We are the quintessential rich man who has a really hard time entering the kingdom of God. And that's God's word for us today.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
What's a Theocrat?
October 9
Actually, I’m not a republican; I’m really not a conservative; when push comes to shove, I’m really a theocrat. I am opposed to freedom of religion because God is opposed to freedom of religion. I am opposed to freedom of speech because God is opposed to freedom of speech. I am opposed to majority rule because historically the majority is wrong. Actually, we don’t have a democracy in America; our country is a republic. There is quite a difference, but I don’t have room here to expand on that. The coming kingdom of God will be a theocracy. It will be ruled by kings whom the King of kings will appoint to that position all around the world (Rev. 20:4; cf. Zech. 14:8-21). And they will reign during the millennial reign of Christ with His rod of iron (Rev. 2:27; 12:5; 19:15). Of course, that said, It is clear men, doomed to become proud when given the kind of power King David had, become so corrupt they are unable to rule effectively. Even David became proud and that pride resulted in the rebellion of his own son against his rule. I guess my point for today that we need to understand what we perceive as freedom is actually not. The best man can do in his finite wisdom is make laws that attempt to treat people who have differing views about God equally. That is done out of a fear someone will come to power whose understanding of God is so perverted that his leadership drags our country into the depths of depravity and despair.
Unfortunately, the most decadent of our fears has come upon us who believed having those kind of freedoms would somehow magically protect to us from what has come upon us. We now have a group of men and women leading our country who have such a perverted view of our God, their leadership embarrasses those of us who love and embrace the God of creation. Worse yet, their leadership has made us the laughingstock of the world. Those who once feared us now laugh in derision as our President bows before kings and dictatorial tyrants of tiny, insignificant countries around the world. They laugh in derision as the leader of the most powerful and onetime godly nation of the world apologizes for rescuing dozens of small, poor, and needy nations with billions of dollars in relief, hundreds (if not thousands) of people who gave their lives to assist in their education and training, and dozens of organizations funded by philanthropists to dig them out of the mire.
I have no fear of people like Barak Obama and his cronies in Washington. What I fear is a citizenry entirely ignorant of the fact that without God’s blessing, this country has no chance of recovering from the depraved state to which it has fallen. Our economic fall is the effect, not the cause of our problems. The cause is our departure from the pure, unadulterated, worship of the Creator of the universe. Unless we stop tolerating every kind of evil and sin, that which our God finds abominable, our country will continue its decline into the pits of hell until it get so deep into its depravity, it will not be able to recover. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. One of the signs a nation has become so depraved is that it has no fear of those who speak for God. When God’s prophets entered an assembly to speak in Israel, those present trembled. They quit trembling at the sight of God’s prophets just before their nation collapsed into oblivion. And that’s God’s word for us today.
Actually, I’m not a republican; I’m really not a conservative; when push comes to shove, I’m really a theocrat. I am opposed to freedom of religion because God is opposed to freedom of religion. I am opposed to freedom of speech because God is opposed to freedom of speech. I am opposed to majority rule because historically the majority is wrong. Actually, we don’t have a democracy in America; our country is a republic. There is quite a difference, but I don’t have room here to expand on that. The coming kingdom of God will be a theocracy. It will be ruled by kings whom the King of kings will appoint to that position all around the world (Rev. 20:4; cf. Zech. 14:8-21). And they will reign during the millennial reign of Christ with His rod of iron (Rev. 2:27; 12:5; 19:15). Of course, that said, It is clear men, doomed to become proud when given the kind of power King David had, become so corrupt they are unable to rule effectively. Even David became proud and that pride resulted in the rebellion of his own son against his rule. I guess my point for today that we need to understand what we perceive as freedom is actually not. The best man can do in his finite wisdom is make laws that attempt to treat people who have differing views about God equally. That is done out of a fear someone will come to power whose understanding of God is so perverted that his leadership drags our country into the depths of depravity and despair.
Unfortunately, the most decadent of our fears has come upon us who believed having those kind of freedoms would somehow magically protect to us from what has come upon us. We now have a group of men and women leading our country who have such a perverted view of our God, their leadership embarrasses those of us who love and embrace the God of creation. Worse yet, their leadership has made us the laughingstock of the world. Those who once feared us now laugh in derision as our President bows before kings and dictatorial tyrants of tiny, insignificant countries around the world. They laugh in derision as the leader of the most powerful and onetime godly nation of the world apologizes for rescuing dozens of small, poor, and needy nations with billions of dollars in relief, hundreds (if not thousands) of people who gave their lives to assist in their education and training, and dozens of organizations funded by philanthropists to dig them out of the mire.
I have no fear of people like Barak Obama and his cronies in Washington. What I fear is a citizenry entirely ignorant of the fact that without God’s blessing, this country has no chance of recovering from the depraved state to which it has fallen. Our economic fall is the effect, not the cause of our problems. The cause is our departure from the pure, unadulterated, worship of the Creator of the universe. Unless we stop tolerating every kind of evil and sin, that which our God finds abominable, our country will continue its decline into the pits of hell until it get so deep into its depravity, it will not be able to recover. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. One of the signs a nation has become so depraved is that it has no fear of those who speak for God. When God’s prophets entered an assembly to speak in Israel, those present trembled. They quit trembling at the sight of God’s prophets just before their nation collapsed into oblivion. And that’s God’s word for us today.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Why Do We Turn Away?
October 8
I began reading in Deuteronomy today. It’s one of my favorite books of the bible. What amazes me about the book is all the promises God made to Israel and all they had to do to live well and continue receiving His blessings was to obey His laws, statues, and ordinances, and to love Him. I have a hard time understanding how any people could experience what they experienced first-hand and so quickly turn away from following His laws. Get this, God told them He would even water their crops, that they would not have to irrigate the land like they had to do in Egypt. He promised to send the rain at just the right time every single year so their crops would be perfect and abundant. In spite of this incredible blessing He promised to shower down on them, they disobeyed, worshipping the gods of the nations God destroyed before them because they had done all the abominable things with their gods. The nations whom God dispossessed were bigger, stronger, and mightier than Israel, but God told Israel He would go before them and put the fear of them into the people of the land. Israel defeated those mightier than they, yet they sought after and worshiped the gods of the nations they defeated. I find that incredibly strange, then I look at America. God blessed us and helped us defeat King George III in the Revolutionary War. He kept us from imploding during the Civil War. He made us mighty, world heroes during WWI. He did likewise even more so during WWII. Korea was a disaster; Viet Nam was worse; Grenada, Bosnia, Desert storm, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, are all wars we might have been wise to stay out of. I’m not second guessing our leaders, it just seems we might have been able to help citizens help themselves more and sacrificed less of our own soldiers in wars in countries whose citizens don’t really like us much. It seems, America, like Israel has forgotten the overwhelming blessings God has poured out on us.
Those of us who claim to be followers of the God of creation have been standing by idly for decades allowing evolutionists, feminists, homosexuals, and perverts of all kinds to take over both public education and the halls of Congress. Our children are being bombarded with lies and half truths about such critical things as our origin and normal sexual lifestyles, marriage, and fidelity. The last year I taught I got ill listening to the number of students who openly bragged about the beautiful children their brothers and sisters were having out of wedlock. God is not pleased with America. He is not sitting idly on His throne wondering how He can fix us. His judgment is coming on this country and it’s coming soon. The only ones who can stay His mighty hand of judgment are falling asleep. God’s prophets are speaking but no one is listening. I am appalled at the reaction of Christians in the little community where I live when anyone speaks out against the way a local bar is debasing women. When anyone writes a letter to the editor suggesting evolution is not a science, local Christians disappear into the woodwork. The only God in America no one is allowed to worship is the God of creation. Barak Obama is part one of a much larger scenario that is coming on this country if we don’t wake up fast, get on our knees, prostrate ourselves before our God, and seek His forgiveness for our apathy and personal sin. Four years ago I would not have believed this country would fall for the lies, ignorance, and unbridled deception Barak Hussein Obama was able to perpetrate on its citizens. Like Israel, God is withdrawing His blessing and bringing earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, mine collapses, tornadoes, erupting volcanoes, and snow storms in epic proportion. We murder unborn children, promote prostitution, homosexuality, bestiality, bribery of public officials, let murders run the streets, and ignore the plight of orphans, widows, the blind, sick, and the lame. Our religion is worthless. Our God is angry.
I began reading in Deuteronomy today. It’s one of my favorite books of the bible. What amazes me about the book is all the promises God made to Israel and all they had to do to live well and continue receiving His blessings was to obey His laws, statues, and ordinances, and to love Him. I have a hard time understanding how any people could experience what they experienced first-hand and so quickly turn away from following His laws. Get this, God told them He would even water their crops, that they would not have to irrigate the land like they had to do in Egypt. He promised to send the rain at just the right time every single year so their crops would be perfect and abundant. In spite of this incredible blessing He promised to shower down on them, they disobeyed, worshipping the gods of the nations God destroyed before them because they had done all the abominable things with their gods. The nations whom God dispossessed were bigger, stronger, and mightier than Israel, but God told Israel He would go before them and put the fear of them into the people of the land. Israel defeated those mightier than they, yet they sought after and worshiped the gods of the nations they defeated. I find that incredibly strange, then I look at America. God blessed us and helped us defeat King George III in the Revolutionary War. He kept us from imploding during the Civil War. He made us mighty, world heroes during WWI. He did likewise even more so during WWII. Korea was a disaster; Viet Nam was worse; Grenada, Bosnia, Desert storm, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, are all wars we might have been wise to stay out of. I’m not second guessing our leaders, it just seems we might have been able to help citizens help themselves more and sacrificed less of our own soldiers in wars in countries whose citizens don’t really like us much. It seems, America, like Israel has forgotten the overwhelming blessings God has poured out on us.
Those of us who claim to be followers of the God of creation have been standing by idly for decades allowing evolutionists, feminists, homosexuals, and perverts of all kinds to take over both public education and the halls of Congress. Our children are being bombarded with lies and half truths about such critical things as our origin and normal sexual lifestyles, marriage, and fidelity. The last year I taught I got ill listening to the number of students who openly bragged about the beautiful children their brothers and sisters were having out of wedlock. God is not pleased with America. He is not sitting idly on His throne wondering how He can fix us. His judgment is coming on this country and it’s coming soon. The only ones who can stay His mighty hand of judgment are falling asleep. God’s prophets are speaking but no one is listening. I am appalled at the reaction of Christians in the little community where I live when anyone speaks out against the way a local bar is debasing women. When anyone writes a letter to the editor suggesting evolution is not a science, local Christians disappear into the woodwork. The only God in America no one is allowed to worship is the God of creation. Barak Obama is part one of a much larger scenario that is coming on this country if we don’t wake up fast, get on our knees, prostrate ourselves before our God, and seek His forgiveness for our apathy and personal sin. Four years ago I would not have believed this country would fall for the lies, ignorance, and unbridled deception Barak Hussein Obama was able to perpetrate on its citizens. Like Israel, God is withdrawing His blessing and bringing earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, mine collapses, tornadoes, erupting volcanoes, and snow storms in epic proportion. We murder unborn children, promote prostitution, homosexuality, bestiality, bribery of public officials, let murders run the streets, and ignore the plight of orphans, widows, the blind, sick, and the lame. Our religion is worthless. Our God is angry.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Who Can Pray?
October 7
I heard an interesting message a while back from Adrian Rogers. He made the comment about prayer. I’ve heard a lot of people say they were praying about something. Most of them hadn’t a clue about what it means or what one must do to actually be part of God’s kingdom. Adrian Rogers put it this way, “Before you pray, you should determine if you are even qualified to do so.” If we are using God’s word as the test, we learn he does not hear the prayer of the lost unless it is a prayer of repentance and faith (Isaiah 59:1-3; Ps. 66:18). That means those who are lost have no reason whatsoever to believe God hears or answers their prayers. As Jesus pointed out to the Pharisees, you are praying to your father, the devil. Of course, I suspect the devil is able to answer some prayers, and, I suspect he does so to keep those bound for eternity in hell on that road.
Then I heard him suggest we cannot expect God to give us anything that is not in his perfect will for us. I think that is a wonderful truth to grasp. I can pray and pray and pray and pray again for some things that God will never provide. Wow! What a concept. God won’t give me anything that is not in His perfect will for me. Actually, the children of Israel knew better than that. He gave them meat when they prayed for it until it killed many of them. So, be careful for what you pray. Make sure to end prayers with the words, “Yet, not my will, but thy will be done.” Otherwise, you might get what you prayed for to your undoing.
So, the point seems to be elusive. We know our God hears the prayers of His children who are praying without unconfessed sin in our lives. We know God has historically answered prayers that were not in the best interest of those praying. We know God actually talked to people like Balaam, a prophet who went bad. Keeping such truths in mind, I think it is important, yea crucial we make sure we not grumble about our circumstances, we thank God for all things, we make sure to finalize our prayers with "Thy will and not mine be done," and we make it a goal in life to know God's will in all areas where He has made it known. I tremble when I think of all the prayers I have prayed in my life that God did not answer according to my will. If we are truly His children, our desires must be in line with His. When that is true, He not only answers our prayers, but He answers them with impunity. And that's His word for us today.
I heard an interesting message a while back from Adrian Rogers. He made the comment about prayer. I’ve heard a lot of people say they were praying about something. Most of them hadn’t a clue about what it means or what one must do to actually be part of God’s kingdom. Adrian Rogers put it this way, “Before you pray, you should determine if you are even qualified to do so.” If we are using God’s word as the test, we learn he does not hear the prayer of the lost unless it is a prayer of repentance and faith (Isaiah 59:1-3; Ps. 66:18). That means those who are lost have no reason whatsoever to believe God hears or answers their prayers. As Jesus pointed out to the Pharisees, you are praying to your father, the devil. Of course, I suspect the devil is able to answer some prayers, and, I suspect he does so to keep those bound for eternity in hell on that road.
Then I heard him suggest we cannot expect God to give us anything that is not in his perfect will for us. I think that is a wonderful truth to grasp. I can pray and pray and pray and pray again for some things that God will never provide. Wow! What a concept. God won’t give me anything that is not in His perfect will for me. Actually, the children of Israel knew better than that. He gave them meat when they prayed for it until it killed many of them. So, be careful for what you pray. Make sure to end prayers with the words, “Yet, not my will, but thy will be done.” Otherwise, you might get what you prayed for to your undoing.
So, the point seems to be elusive. We know our God hears the prayers of His children who are praying without unconfessed sin in our lives. We know God has historically answered prayers that were not in the best interest of those praying. We know God actually talked to people like Balaam, a prophet who went bad. Keeping such truths in mind, I think it is important, yea crucial we make sure we not grumble about our circumstances, we thank God for all things, we make sure to finalize our prayers with "Thy will and not mine be done," and we make it a goal in life to know God's will in all areas where He has made it known. I tremble when I think of all the prayers I have prayed in my life that God did not answer according to my will. If we are truly His children, our desires must be in line with His. When that is true, He not only answers our prayers, but He answers them with impunity. And that's His word for us today.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Will God Answer My Prayer?
October 6"Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering." Matthew 5:23-24 I can't count the number of people I know who have unresolved issues with brothers in Christ who are daily violating this instruction. Countless numbers of those who call themselves Christians completely ignore this and other verses like it that make it clear we are to be peculiar in that we interact with one another in a totally transparent way, hiding nothing from brothers and sisters whose welfare depends on that honesty. I would like to suggest the reason this issue is so critical for us to understand is that it is one of the major reasons the church is so incredibly impotent. Israel’s problem after the battle of Jericho is a perfect example for us to compare with what is going on in the church today (Joshua 6 & 7). Thirty six Israelite warriors died because of the sin of one man. God is holy and does not dwell in the midst of a people who refuse to be holy. Christians are not perfect, but we are expected to live in the power of God’s perfect love for us by confessing our sin to one another as the need arises. If I have offended a brother or he has offended me, we are expected to go to that brother or sister and seek reconciliation. God is not interested in the gifts (financial support for ministry) we bring to His altar, if we are not living transparently before our brethren. Isaiah 59:1-3 tells us, “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short that it cannot save; nor is His ear so dull that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.” Psalm 66:18 tells us, “Íf I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear;” I John 1:8, 9 tells us, “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” And finally James makes it clear that a great deal of the illness and problems in the church are the direct result of sin when he tells the ones suffering to call for the elders and to be confessing their sin so they may be healed (James 5:13-16).
If you are aware of unconfessed sin in your life, I urge you to deal with it immediately. Your situation will only get worse until you do so. Israel regained the power of serving the living God the moment they dealt biblically with the sin of Achan at Jericho. The church can regain the power it is supposed to have for serving the living God if her members live with one another in harmony with their sin against one another always being confessed and dealt with biblically. Until or unless that happens, the church will continue to be the listless, impotent, ungodly, self-serving body of unbelievers most of them have chosen to be for the past sixteen or more centuries. And that’s today’s word from God’s book. And now, “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26
If you are aware of unconfessed sin in your life, I urge you to deal with it immediately. Your situation will only get worse until you do so. Israel regained the power of serving the living God the moment they dealt biblically with the sin of Achan at Jericho. The church can regain the power it is supposed to have for serving the living God if her members live with one another in harmony with their sin against one another always being confessed and dealt with biblically. Until or unless that happens, the church will continue to be the listless, impotent, ungodly, self-serving body of unbelievers most of them have chosen to be for the past sixteen or more centuries. And that’s today’s word from God’s book. And now, “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Defining Biblical Love
October 5
Proverbs 13:24 tells us something rather significant, “He who withhold his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently.” Love is an elusive term mainly because we have been given some bad theology for so long. We are told there are three words in Greek we translate into the one word “love” in English. Actually there are four concepts in Greek that we use the word love to describe: lust, familial fondness, friendly fondness, and love. What we choose to call love making is nothing more to the Greek than lust. Even when we have appropriate sex with our spouses, it is the result of a animal sexual drive we do it. It is commanded and good in the relationship between a man and woman, but it is still not love in any biblical sense of the word. It should be done with tenderness and with the idea in mind that it is my responsibility to give sexual pleasure to my spouse as it is hers to give sexual pleasure to me. Our special fondness for those of our immediate family is not love in the biblical sense either. It is a special fondness because we share the same blood. It is a fondness that carries with it responsibilities not required to be manifested toward others. Those whom we consider friends should be the recipients of a special kind of fondness and resultant actions toward them also. Interesting enough, Jesus taught that “LOVE” that which we can only manifest if we are “born-again,” regenerated, new creatures must be manifested toward all persons. But agape is love based on the nature of the one doing it, not the recipient of it.
The reason it is so critical we understand the difference in these emotions we should be manifesting biblically in our lives is so we can steer clear of the psychological babble to which we have been exposed for so long. We are told parents who love their children will not use corporal punishment as a form of discipline. God’s word tells us the opposite. Actually, if you read the above verse, you learn the one who does not use corporal punishment appropriately hates his son. Therefore, the great multitudes of obscene arguments used by contemporary child psychologists to convince us we must not ever strike a child, are nothing more than the blind, ignorant, uninformed, ungodly ravings of mad men. If you love your child, you will swat his behind when he is young while he is appropriately influenced by such discipline, so that when he is old, that kind of discipline will not be needed. That is what God has to say on the subject. Now all you have to do is decide whom you choose to follow. Have a blessed day in His care.
Proverbs 13:24 tells us something rather significant, “He who withhold his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently.” Love is an elusive term mainly because we have been given some bad theology for so long. We are told there are three words in Greek we translate into the one word “love” in English. Actually there are four concepts in Greek that we use the word love to describe: lust, familial fondness, friendly fondness, and love. What we choose to call love making is nothing more to the Greek than lust. Even when we have appropriate sex with our spouses, it is the result of a animal sexual drive we do it. It is commanded and good in the relationship between a man and woman, but it is still not love in any biblical sense of the word. It should be done with tenderness and with the idea in mind that it is my responsibility to give sexual pleasure to my spouse as it is hers to give sexual pleasure to me. Our special fondness for those of our immediate family is not love in the biblical sense either. It is a special fondness because we share the same blood. It is a fondness that carries with it responsibilities not required to be manifested toward others. Those whom we consider friends should be the recipients of a special kind of fondness and resultant actions toward them also. Interesting enough, Jesus taught that “LOVE” that which we can only manifest if we are “born-again,” regenerated, new creatures must be manifested toward all persons. But agape is love based on the nature of the one doing it, not the recipient of it.
The reason it is so critical we understand the difference in these emotions we should be manifesting biblically in our lives is so we can steer clear of the psychological babble to which we have been exposed for so long. We are told parents who love their children will not use corporal punishment as a form of discipline. God’s word tells us the opposite. Actually, if you read the above verse, you learn the one who does not use corporal punishment appropriately hates his son. Therefore, the great multitudes of obscene arguments used by contemporary child psychologists to convince us we must not ever strike a child, are nothing more than the blind, ignorant, uninformed, ungodly ravings of mad men. If you love your child, you will swat his behind when he is young while he is appropriately influenced by such discipline, so that when he is old, that kind of discipline will not be needed. That is what God has to say on the subject. Now all you have to do is decide whom you choose to follow. Have a blessed day in His care.
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