Christian or Pagan?

       Years ago, I was in the search for the perfect religion or the perfect church. I figured that there must be one church that had it all together and was more correct than all of the rest of the churches. I began to think about a church that had the longest history. After all, they must have had it right in the beginning in order to last so long. Well, to be honest, that obviously didn't work out too well. I was under the impression that there were hundreds of different religions and there must be one of them that was the most correct. It wasn't until recently that I began taking a course on the computer that a new thought was presented and things became clearer. Not only did it define the number of religions in the world but it also showed the motivation for most of our politics and sociology. The central verse for this presentation was the following verse: Romans 1:25 says, “Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen”

         It almost seemed like an oversimplification of the whole matter, but the end statement was that there are only two religions in the world. There is Christianity and there is Pagan. That's it. The question comes up, “Whom do you worship?” If you are not worshiping God, then your religion is pagan. The Apostle Paul, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, made this very clear. They worshiped the creature more than the Creator. If you are in a religion that has as its core a system of works, then you are pagan rather than Christian. Just because a church has a so called Christian name doesn't make it so. If we say that God can't do it and that He needs our help in the accomplishment of certain works, then, we are saying that man has the ability to save himself and we know from experience that this statement is not true. Paul also made it clear in First Corinthians 15 exactly what the Gospel is. It is the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The pendulum of religion has swung completely to the other side where in the early 1930's, man concluded that he didn't even need God and came up with the Humanist Manifesto which was followed by the manifesto II and finally manifesto III. They all put man on top of the pile and say that the world created God and not vice versa. It is the truth of Romans 1:25. Man finally decided to worship the creation rather than the Creator. There is one church that is right, but it is not going to be found in a building nor in a certain city or country. It is not going to be a “local” church as we see so many dotting the maps of our countries. Paul also defined that church in First Corinthians 12:13 when he said, again, by the Holy Spirit, “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.” There is that ONE body which is the true church. You might be living in Madrid, Spain, or in Lima, Ohio or in New York City or in Rolling Prairie, Indiana and you can be a member of the one and only church. If, however, you are not a member of that One True Body of Christ, then you are a member of a pagan religion. I became a member of the only true church just after midnight on a night in Chattanooga, Tennessee. I would like to say that I found the true church but in reality, God found me. We don't like to have things over simplified but there are only two groups of people in the world. You are either Jewish or Gentile. Religious wise, there are only two groups, Christians and pagans. If you are not a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, then you are following after something or someone who is a part of the creation and not the Creator Himself. In the end, God will either say, “Welcome into my heaven.” or He will say, “Depart from Me, I never knew you.” Which will it be? Praise God for His Word.

Dandelions

        I have battled two weeds most of my life. They are crabgrass and dandelions. I guess some would consider a dandelion to be a flower but to me they are weeds and I have waged a war with the dandelion for years. When we came to our present home, I invested in a lawn service that provided fertilizer and week killers every month. Soon, my yard was free from dandelions. After I retired again, this would be my second time of retiring, I found that the expense of the lawn doctor was not in my budget so did not renew with them after about 8 years of dandelion killer. Then, it happened. One of those little parachute seeds came into my yard and planted itself and soon, little yellow flowers began to appear here and there. No one else in my area had invested in the lawn doctor and so they had an abundance of little yellow flowers that made their way into my pristine yard which is of course, now infected with a host of yellow flowers....again. Galatians 5:9 says, “ A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.”

        There are a number of things that can invade our lives and when you lump them together you find that you can call them by their real name which is “sin.” You have heard the advertisement for Ivory soap which was 99.44/1-00 pure. It is that .56 that is impure and which becomes the first seed in an otherwise pure object. Soon, it can become more impure than it is pure. Sometimes, we feel well pleased with ourselves that our lives are going along well and so just a little “sin” won't make a lot of difference and so we give in to it. Once one is added, it is quite easy to add the second and third and so on until the whole lump, so to speak, is more sinful than righteous. It can be easily seen in our doctrine especially in the churches around us. Eve was tempted to doubt God and we are no different. We begin to doubt God even to the point that He is doing anything about our situation and that of the world in genera. We begin to doubt His Word and to discount the narratives about the flood, the Tower of Babel, Adam and Even, the virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ and even the validity of the Scriptures themselves. Soon, we are disregarding what God said in the first place as being real and for our time and then the sin that we wanted to avoid overshadows us so greatly that we missed what was happening. It crept in like a thief in the night and permeated our lives to the point that we didn't notice that we are now more in darkness than in light. We often mention that we need to have “revival” America or that we need to have revival in our church. Well, revival often needs to begin in the life of the individual who is saying that we need to have revival. In other words, revival is going to start right in the life of the person who sees a need for revival in our nation or especially in our churches and in our own lives. As one church put it, we need to always have “Scripture and Prayer to conform us to the image of Christ.” We probably all need to be spending more time in the Word of God and especially in our communication with Him. We seem to be content spending only the .56% of our time with God and then letting our lives be filled with the 99.44% with sin. It should be going the other way. What will your life be like? Will it reflect more dandelions, which is saying, “sin?” We need to not give up on our battle with the weeds in our lives. God has given us Christian armor to use in the fight so put it on and get on with the fight. Praise God that He has provided all that we need for victory in the Lord Jesus Christ.

What Do You Remember?

        The word “remember” occurs some 148 times in the Bible and it is quite interesting to see all of things that we are supposed to remember as they are outlined in the Scriptures. I was speaking with a gentleman recently about my memories as a child and what was the first thing that I remembered. It is something to notice that those memories are still in my head and I can recall the same scene over and over again. Those are all old memories. The difficulty these days is trying to remember the things of today. My phone has to remind me of my appointments and hopefully I wrote them down in my phone in the first place. That is one of the differences between short term memories and long term memories. Psalm 20:7 says, “ Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.”

        In all of the things that God “reminds” us to remember, this is one that is good for all of us to think about. When we think about the name of the LORD, what do we think about? I recall one study where over a hundred names were associated with the Lord Jesus Christ. Each one of those names gave us something special to hang onto in regard to the things that the Lord Jesus Christ does for us. The seven “I Am's” of John show us just a few of those things. Truly He is the Light and the Shepherd and the Resurrection and the Life. He is also our Advocate. He is the Lily of the Valley. Revelation calls Him the Bright and Morning Star. These are all things that we need to remember and things that we have learned for years from the Bible. Right at the head of the list is the name that we often call Him, Jesus, the Christ, my Savior. We might ask ourselves, what is it that makes a good memory and how do we make them? A good memory is going to be something that we experience and that has an impact on our lives. I remember that telephone pole that was split in two by a strike of lightning. I remember my two strokes and what I was doing when each of them occurred. I remember the day I met my wife for the first time. I remember seeing both my Father and my Mother in caskets at the funeral home ten years apart. I remember riding a hay rake with no seat belt and hanging on for dear life. I remember the day I came to make a personal profession of faith in Chattanooga, Tennessee at the foot of the bed in a motel called, “The King's Inn.” Then, we grow in the Lord as we read His Word and suddenly the names begin to give us hope in a world that is void of any kind of hope. His names give us peace when there is no peace in the world. His names show us love and give us love in a world that is dominated by hate. What do you remember about the Lord Jesus Christ? We can only remember what we read in His book. Praise God today for the fact of Him being the Center of our memories for this life and the life to come.

This is the Day!

        I only have a couple of days in my life when I had no ideal what day it was or what was going on. The worst one of those days was after my triple bypass at the Veteran's hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. When I woke up after the surgery, I had more tubes coming out of me than I though possible and I had a tube stuffed down my throat. I then passed out again and woke up later when they took the tube out so I could breathe on my own. It makes you appreciate getting up in the morning and having a normal day planned. The thing was, I didn't even know what day it was or how long I had been out. Psalm 118:24 says, “This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

       All in all, it helps appreciate having a morning wake up in a normal fashion and the Psalmist has hit it on the head by stating that it is a day that the LORD has made. We don't know what God has planned for us in this day but one thing is for sure. Whatever it is, it is going to be the best thing possible for us on that day. I saw one plaque that read, “There is no safer place to be than in the center of God's will.” We may not be able to figure out how things are going to work out when we find ourselves in the middle of something that God has put in our path for any given day. Life seems to be filled with impossible things in our estimation, but God has a way to get them done through us that we don't even know about yet. When we are really wondering how God is going to get something done, we may find our lives reflecting on the lives of some of the people in the Bible such as Jonah. I am probably sure that Jonah figured it was all over when the cast him off of the ship and into the Mediterranean Sea. God, however, had things in control and the “great fish” swallowed him up and there sat Jonah for three days. What a predicament to be in. Then, he has to experience being a part of the vomit that is cast up on the shore by the fish. He probably didn't smell or look too great at the time. God still had a plan for him and gave him a second chance to do the right thing so Jonah was heading for Nineveh to preach to them a very short message. There was the scene of young David standing in front of Goliath who was about to fall as the result of a small stone in the middle of his forehead. There was also a man called Enoch who went out for a time of meditation with God and then God just took him home to be with home without experiencing death. Then, how about Daniel who experienced two occasions when things looked bleak for him but God took care of the lions and the fiery furnace. You might be wondering how God is going to get you through today and you may not have the answer, but you can rest assured that He will do it. You just don't know how or when. Yes, this is another day that the LORD has made and one of the greatest things we can do is to “Rejoice” and to be glad in it. Praise God today for what He is going to do in your life.

Red Sky at Night

         My Father often quoted the poem, “Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning. Red sky at night, sailors delight.” I was quite excited when I found that in the Bible. Well, the poem was not there, but the idea of the coloring of the sky would give some indication of the weather for tomorrow. We sometimes have warning signs of something and then tend to live our lives to avoid those things. When I was a kid, I never wore a shirt during the summer months. In fact, I rarely wore shoes so bare back and bare feet, I would spend my time in the fields or out somewhere playing. My hair was white and I was known as a Toe Head. My feet were black on the bottom from running across the asphalt tar of U. S. 20. I didn't know the warning signs back then of skin cancer. Today, we have all kinds of sun screens to blot out the harmful rays of the sun. When we hear of warnings today, we mostly take heed to what they say except the ones that are mentioned in the Bible. Matthew 16:2-3 says, “He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?”

        The Lord Jesus Christ was exhorting the people that day and reminded them that they could have a pretty good guess about tomorrow's weather, but couldn't notice what was going on right in front of them with spiritual matters. This should sound familiar to us. The same thing is happening today and for one reason or another, people refuse to take heed to the Word of God. My dermatologist told me, “If you don't get melanoma, it will be by the grace of God.” So far, so good on that one, although I have had plenty of moles removed from my back that were suspicious looking. We might, however, say the same thing about the conditions in our world today. If we are not blown off the face of the earth, it will be by the grace of God. Second Timothy 3:1-5 gives us some conditions of mankind that are listed for the “last days.” As you read that list along with the local newspaper you will see a remarkable similarity. The conditions are here in this present time. As each generation comes and goes, the conditions increase just when we think that things could not get any worse. In acts 1:10-12, we read about the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ and the people looking up until the angels reminded them that Jesus is going to come in like manner. Each day that passes is another day closer to that time. Couple that with the conditions listed in Second Timothy and you see that the time is right. The warnings are all around us but we seem to have the same attitude of the people the Gospel of Matthew who could determine tomorrow's weather, but could not see what was happening right around them. The signs are all around us, but not taken seriously because God did not strike us down yesterday so we figure we can go on ignoring Him. That will not always be the case. What can we possibly do now? Strive to have a continually growing relationship with God in our lives and as I always mention at the close of each devotion, “keep looking up.” Praise God that He has His plan for each and every one of us.

Second Chances

         Have you ever received a second chance to do something right? Probably my one job on a farm was a good example of doing something poorly and then having to do it again and again until it was right. Plowing a field is a good example of doing something right. I have mentioned before the art of getting the first furrow straight as an arrow. My first attempts at getting that first furrow straight was not always the best. Once you make the first cut then every other cut is going to follow the one you made in the beginning. The farmer then instructed me on how to do it. You picked out an object at the end of the field and you didn't take your eyes off it for one second, no matter how many bumps, sounds or thoughts came into your mind during that first 5 minutes. In life, I have had a lot of second chances to do something. It might be the singing of a song as a ministry in church or somewhere else. It doesn't always come out the way you expected it to come out. God gives a lot of us second chances, even the apostle Peter had a second chance. John 20:17 says, “He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.”

         The scene just a few days before. found Peter even denying that he knew Jesus. He denied Him three times and before the rooster crowed At the crowing of the rooster, Peter realize what he had done. In the above passage, Jesus gives Peter a second chance even though Peter had done some rather serious deeds prior to the early morning breakfast on the shore. Jesus however, made it clear to Peter that Jesus had a job for him to do and gave him that second chance. Peter had made a lot of statements that seemed to be getting him into trouble yet after Pentecost, his words were mighty so that there was a large group of people who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation. As one looks back through the Bible you see many times how God gave people second chances. One of the most famous is that of the life of Jonah who turned and fled the opposite direction from where God had given him instructions to go. After the spending of three nights in the belly of a great fish, Jonah had a second chance to do what God wanted Him to do. One thing we can learn from this is that when God calls you to do something, don't argue or disregard what He says. We can try to rationalize or argue why we should not do something but if it is God's will that you do it, then there will be no better place to be. God provides the ways and the means to get the task done. We just don't know how it is going to work out. Sometimes we are just overwhelmed by seeing what God does even with an unworthy vessel as myself. We often find that God gives not only second chances, but third and fourth and so on. We may find that we have failed in doing something for God and we know it. That doesn't stop us from trying to do it better the next time. Praise God today that He still gives us second chances.

The Best Yoke

        There may be times in your life when you feel just plain worn out. You might find yourself in the condition more times than you would like to admit. When I go to the grocery store and eventually stand in the checkout lane, you get to look at all of the items that they want to tempt you into buying at the last minute. I have noticed a few items that are used to give a person quick energy. It may be a bottle of liquid that you drink that is packed with vitamins or it may be a shot of caffeine. It is a temptation. If you made it to the checkout lane, you are probably tired anyway. There is that physical feeling of weariness but there is also the spiritual side of just being worn out. Stress takes a toll on the human body. At the top of the list is death and sickness. Add that to family problems, disagreements at work, critics of all kinds in your life and a bunch of people who don't feel you meet their standards and you get a feeling of spiritual weariness. Matthew 11:28-30 says, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

         A night of good, sweet sleep can help with some of your physical weariness, but about the spiritual issues that are going on in your life? This is when we need to take heed to the invitation of the Lord Jesus Christ in the above passage. It is easy for us to find ourselves in a state of hard labor and of being heavy laden. In Pilgrim's Progress, the Pilgrim is carrying around a large bag of things on his back which cause him to be bent over. In one version of the account, when Pilgrim looks up at the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, the burden rolls off of his back and goes right into the empty tomb. The Apostle Peter put it this way. We can cast all of our care upon Him because He cares for us. First Peter 5:7 reminds us that we can do just that. We can cast all of our cares upon Him. Who of us is not just a tad weary now and then? Who of us doe not find themselves in a state of extra burden upon their spiritual shoulders in their lives? One might think that putting on a yoke is about the last thing that you would want to do but when we find that this new yoke is that of the Lord Jesus Christ, then we discover that He is the Other One in the yoke right along with us. Therefore, the burden becomes light as He carries the load. We need to realize that the blessings of our decision to follow the Lord Jesus Christ being now and not when we pass on through either death or the rapture. There may be those times when we feel that someday all of our sorrows will be made right and that is true, but there is also the fact that the burdens of this life can become lessened by being in the yoke that God has already provided for us. Sometimes our problem still remains with us as we tend to “give them to the LORD,” but then we try to pick them up again and carry them with us anyway. Once you cast them at the feet of the LORD, just leave them there. Praise God today that He is able to take all of your burdens each and every day.

Ultimate Embarrassment

            What are some of your most embarrassing moments? As a young child, my Mother decided to take me to the movies at a local theater. It was during World War II and they always showed a newsreel at the beginning of the movie. There was a story about Chiang Kai Shek, who was an important ally for the US. As his picture was on the screen, I shouted out as loud as I could, “Look, Mom, its ToJo.” The reference to ToJo was connected with a man who was a part of the Japanese military at the time. My Mother was so embarrassed that we immediately got up and left the theater. I never did see the movie There are some things in this life that cause embarrassment. It may be less these days than it was during World War II, but nonetheless, there are those occasions that can cause you to be embarrassed these days. The worst case of embarrassment will occur for many at the judgment seat of the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew 7:23 says, “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

           In the passage, people will try to plead their case by saying what the did for God but the reply of the Lord Jesus Christ will be severe as He simply says, “Depart from me...I never knew you.” Religion today is filled with people who simply won't take the exhortation of the Lord Jesus Christ on how to get to heaven. Instead, they will try to come up with their own fanciful ways that will always include self works of some sort or another. The scene as described in the Gospel of Matthew is not a place of bargaining but a sentencing one. It will not be a place where you can come up with an argument to try to persuade God to include you in heaven's population. Instead, the participants will all be asked to leave and will be taken away to eternal judgment simply because they did not know the Lord Jesus Christ. How embarrassing will that be? It will be the worst kind of embarrassment. It is true that we may be embarrassed at something on this earth that will not have too many eternal consequences. I may be embarrassed to find one blue sock and one brown sock on my feet as I am out in public. I may be embarrassed when I spill spaghetti on the front of my white shirt. I may be embarrassed by any number of small and insignificant things but the worst one is the one that Jesus mentioned in the above passage. This is one time that you want to be sure about your eternal destination in order to not be embarrassed. The decision needs to be made in this life and not one second after death. Then, it will be too late. The time you decided to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation is important in that it needs to be done before you leave this life. It makes no difference when it occurs but only that it DOES occur. Praise God today that He is still calling those to be saved. Don't put it off or you will experience the ultimate embarrassment.

The Effect of the Radar Gun

          Nothing makes your heart skip a beat more than coming over a hill and finding a police car watching you with a radar gun stuck out the window. Your heart seems to almost stop as you take your foot off of the accelerator and begin to coast by watching in your mirror for the appearance of blue lights. Some states allow radar detectors and sound an audible warning of a radar unit. We feel that this gives us permission to drive faster when the radar unit is not beeping and thus show our disregard for the law. When we see a long downward hill, we tend to let the car coast and it naturally picks up speed going faster and faster. You might as well figure that the policeman is going to be sitting somewhere at the bottom of that hill waiting for you to come speeding by. There are many different occasions when we are tempted to do something that is in opposition to some current law. Some places have laws on the books that have been there for years even though they are not enforced as they could be such as spitting on the sidewalk, jaywalking, disturbing the peace. Our opinion is that everyone does it, so it must be okay to do now. Your spiritual life also has a set of rules that you are to obey and they are quite simple. You don't have to be a Rhodes scholar to figure them out. Take for example the simple list of Ten rules which God has named, the Ten Commandments. Surely we could follow Ten simple rules. First Corinthians 10:13 says, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

           Obviously, we failed at that attempt even from the beginning. The rules were simple yet man couldn't even keep from eating the fruit of one tree. Adam and even broke the one rule that they had and plunged mankind into sin. From there, we see the plan of salvation all the way through the Old Testament until that day when John the Baptist saw Jesus coming when he declared, “Behold the Lamb....” It seems that we are continually breaking the rules and that there is no hope for us but there is. Paul wrote about it in the above passage. God in His wisdom realizes how life is going to be filled with temptations to do that which is wrong and in our predicament, God proves a way out of each and every one of them. Our difficulty comes when we decide that we don't want to take the avenue that God has provided for us to take. We may even recognize the temptation that is coming and still keep on the same path, ignoring the avenue of escape. We might even say, “I did it once and the world didn't stop, so what's the harm in doing it again.” Pretty soon, you don't even feel any qualms about the temptation and plunge right on headfirst into it. The Lord Jesus Christ summed up the Ten Commandments into two. You are to love the Lord your God with all of your heart, your soul, your mind and all of your strength and then to love you neighbor as yourself. That sums it up. Our focus, then should be on God in all that we do in this life. After all, the first statement in the Westminster catechism is to know God and to enjoy His presence forever. We must find that a tad difficult as we often fail. Again, God knows our problem and has provided us a way of escape. Are you going to take the route that God has provided? He has provided the “way of escape.” What will you do with it? Praise God today that He is working in our lives each and every moment.

Agape Love

           I recall my early years in grade school when this time of year came around. My parents would go to a store and get me a package of 50 valentines in a bag and I would go through the bag and assign one valentine to each of my classmates. They were then brought to the school house where they were put into a big container and at the given time, the teacher would pass out all of the valentines to each of the class members. Some of the valentines were bigger than others and you would choose that special person to whom that one would go. It was another time of candy and getting a tad closer to a person who you thought for sure would give you cooties if you got too close. In some ways, it was a feeble attempt to get accustomed to the word “love.” For the most part, it gave a wrong definition and pointed us down a road of self gratification more than anything else. If you wanted to really know the definition of love, then you have to go to the One Who loved the most. John 32:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

           Right away, God gives us a new dimension in this area of love and it is not anything near to what Hollywood or the world in general has to offer. There are two prominent words in the New Testament that speak about love. One of them is where we get the term, “brotherly love”, or phileo, such as in the case of the word, Philadelphia. The second word which is used especially in the Scriptures is “agape.” This is the word that is used in John 3:16 and in much of the New Testament. We can use First Corinthians 13 as a description of how it works and what makes it different and therefore, in some ways, gives us a definition of the word. First John 3 and 4 are also good examples of how the word is used especially in reference to God and His love towards us. Much has been said about this type of love and my Pastor in West Virginia gave a definition one day that never left my mind. He pointed out that agape love is “righteous acts to meet the needs of another.” Perhaps that sound too simple and too short to define such a complex word but when you think about it, God's love was providing a righteous act, Christ on the cross at Calvary, to meet my needs and your needs, which involved payment for a sin debt that you nor I could ever pay. Jesus on the cross was the righteous act and our sin debt was the need. That's the prime example but how do we carry it forth in our daily walk? For us to exhibit agape love to another, we are going to be doing “righteous acts” to meet the needs of those around us. It can be a helping hand or a “good deed” or a hug or a kind word or forgiveness or comfort depending on the needs of those around you. It won't be found in the bag of valentines or in today's culture the bouquet of flowers or the box of candy or the romantic dinner for two. We sometimes wonder how we are going to be able to do a righteous act for someone. It won't take long for a need to arise where you are going to be the one who is able to do that act for the person in front of you. Sure, chocolates are good and flowers look great, but it is the deed that is done to those who are in need around you that are the true expressions of agape love. When you do the deed, you expect nothing in return. It is not a reciprocal deed. You do it to fill a need that is in the person's life. It won't take long for you to realize a need that is dropped right in front of you. Don't hesitate to be that person who does a “righteous act to meet the needs of another.” Praise God for His supreme example of “agape” love by giving His Son for our eternal life.

Take a Number

           What are the things in your life that are the most important? I was in a doctor's office recently and noticed a sign on the wall that urged the patients not to answer phone calls during the doctor's visit. I thought that was something that no one would do and in fact would cause the embarrassment for it to happen but that is not the case. There probably have been examples where a person's phone has rung and the patient then answers the phone disregarding the doctor and his examination. We seem to have prioritized things in this life around the incoming phone call and want to answer it no matter what it may take to do so. I saw another sign that says somewhat the same thing and the sign said, “Don't ask Jesus to take a number.” Having gone to the VA for a number of visits, I recall having to “take a number” in order to get service for filling a prescription. Our attitudes with the personal cell phone have come to the point of asking Jesus to take a number. In reality, we probably think that we would never ask the Lord Jesus Christ to take a number as He is considerably the most important Being in our lives. Luke 18:22-23 says, “Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.”

           The rich young man in essence said by his actions that Jesus and eternal life were not the most important thing in his life. He was willing to walk away from the offer of eternal life solely based on all of the possessions that he had accumulated in his life up to that point. The passage says that he was “very rich.” He was so rich that he thought more about his possessions than he did for the requirement to have eternal life. It was as though he was asking Jesus to “take a number” and he would get back to Him when he had another opportunity probably after he had taken care of his possessions. Somewhere along the line, our lives have shifted the importance of things all around so that they are backward. That which is the most important has slipped down the ladder while those things that are useless and absurd are moved to the top of the list. Our health and doctor's visit to determine a cure for our particular disease has been displaced by an incoming call on our cell phone. When you look around your room this morning and see all that you possess, would you be willing to throw it all away in order to possess eternal life? Of course, we would like to have both our riches and eternal life. That wasn't the offer that the Lord Jesus Christ presented to the young rich man. He offered him a choice and the riches won out even though it “made him sad.” It says that he went away sorrowful but the really sad thing is that he went away in the first place. Take the same thought and run it down a few degrees. What is more important to you than reading your Bible? What is more important to you than sharing your faith with someone else? What is more important than spending time in prayer this morning? What is more important to you than forgiving a person who offended you? Sad to say, we may end up walking away from God's plan for our lives because of our possessions because we are very rich. Life has a way of reminding us all of that which is the most important in our lives. Praise God today for all that He has given us.

Wonderful Surprises

         When I was a child, I always enjoyed surprises. Those were the things that were extra and you didn't know was coming. We usually got a basket of candy of some sort during the Easter season, usually on the Sunday morning that we now associate with the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. After I learned how to ride a bike, my first one was one of the most simple bikes ever. It had a frame, two tires, no chain guard and no fenders. Riding through water would put a damp streak up your back. I was really surprised when I got my first good bicycle. It had more extras on it than I could ever hope for. It had shocks, a horn, front and rear lights, turn signals chain guard, fenders and a beautiful gray and maroon paint job. Ephesians 2:5 says, “Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)”

        The book of Ephesians is filled with a lot of surprises. There are so many things that you never even thought about that have been given to us as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. The first three chapters contains a list of all of the spiritual blessings and then even ends in chapter 3 with a beautiful doxology. We often quote Ephesians 2:8-9 when we speak of our salvation and how it is not dependent upon our own works but is a gift from God Himself. The words, “...by grace ye are saved” contain one of the most beautiful passages in regard to salvation. I don't think I will fully understand all of the depths of grace but grace is grace because it is free and from God. If I ever tried to add one thing to it, it would not be grace. I rest therefore, in the fact that God gives it and that I am not worthy to receive it. The first three chapters also contains many of those surprises that I mentioned before. These are the things that I didn't count on nor did I even know anything about beforehand. One oft hem is the sealing of the Holy Spirit that we find in chapter one. It is there that Paul mentions the fact that we have an earnest of our inheritance. God has promised us an inheritance and the guarantee for that inheritance is the “sealing” of the Holy Spirit. I often think about this and realize that if He is the earnest of our inheritance, than how great is the inheritance. When I think about my “earthly treasure” I soon realize that I can last about eighteen months in a retirement home. After that, I'm homeless. I guess I won't last very long with that. The contrast is what we possess in our spiritual account that has been placed for us in the “heavenlies.” That is far greater than we can ever imagine. Now, God has always met all of my needs as I mentioned so recently but the best is yet to come and that is dependent upon that which has been already deposited in my heavenly account. There are probably many more surprises for us in that account. Praise God today for all of the wonderful blessings that we already have that are above all that we could ever ask or think.

Needs

          There are probably some things that you would like to have but you don't have them. I was peeling apples a few weeks ago which always seems to be a “backbreaking” chore for me. That is, my back begins to ache after about 3 apples and I wish there was a better way. My attention was recently focused on an apple peeler. You put the apple in, turn the crank and the apple gets peeled, cored and sliced in a matter of seconds. I thought to myself that I would really like to have one of those gadgets. I have also noticed that there are places on shopping sites where you can create a “wish list” where you can place items for future purchases. That is the place you would place and item that you don't want to buy today, but you would like to have it sometime in the future. When you think about it, there are probably a lot of things that we have on our “wish list.” The Apostle Paul doesn't mention the “wish list” but he does mention the “need” list. Philippians 4:19 says, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

        My necessities might be my wants, but my wants are not always necessities. I might want an apple peeler, but my paring knife fills the need. I might want a Selmer, Mark VI saxophone, but my Barrington is working fine and is all that I need. God always chooses the right word in His Scriptures, and the word “needs” is the exact word for the above passage. God certainly doesn't give us all of our “wants” but He has never failed in supplying our “needs.” The above verse is also filled with treasures in that it also states that it is “according to” the riches in glory and not “out of.” When anything is “according to” it is relevant o the source. When it is “out of” it could be anything from a nickel to a million dollars. Our blessings and the supplying of our “needs” is attached to that phrase, “according to.” When you think just how rich God is and that He owns the cattle on a thousand hills and all the gold and all the silver in the world, then you can see just how great “according to” can be. That brings us to the current day and what we “need” in order to live a life pleasing to God. He supplies all that we need in that respect. One thing to keep before us is the difference between “needs” and “wants.” God will give you all that you need today and tomorrow just as He did yesterday and the days before. God will give you all of your needs in order to give Him the glory that He deserves. God will give you all that you need in order to share the Gospel with others. Our lives should not be focused on the things we don't have but on things that we do have and how they can be used for God's glory. We certainly can praise God today for the supplying of our needs for each and every day.

Going on a Cruise?

        People like to talk about their cruises and how exciting they were or they are looking forward to going to this or that country via a cruise. The cruises that they talk about are more of the luxury kind where you have a stateroom, buffets all over the ship, pools, activities and friendly ports of arrival.   I have been on some "cruises" myself but they weren't of the luxury type.  Actually, it was only one cruise and lasted only about four months.   My "cruise ship" was a 320 foot long, dark gray naval destroyer and my stateroom consisted of the third bunk up where I was about 18 inches from the ceiling, or as we called it in those days, the "overhead."   Larger vessels in the U. S. Navy are even called "Cruisers" but they don't look like the bulky floating cities of the touring industry.  The cruise was just wonderful but the landscape, or the "seascape" always looked the same.  I could never figure out how anyone really knew where we were.  One night, I spotted a quartermaster out on deck with a sextant "shooting the stars."    It seemed to be just as accurate as a GPS.  It is always important to determine your direction if you expect to reach a certain destination.  One might well ask "Where am I?" here in this life.  Where is our ultimate destination?   Mark 10:21 says, "Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me."  

           Here was a person that wanted to reach the final destination of heaven and eternal life.  He asked the question, "How do I get there."  Jesus told Him the answer with that final statement, "...and follow me."  That's the answer to the question.  Jesus has given us a clear map of how to get to heaven. Jesus even went on to say that He is the only WAY in which we can get to the Father as it has to be through the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.    It's not like a map from the gas station, but it is a map.  John 14:6 tells us that Jesus is the way to eternal life.  All we need to do is to follow Him.  So, if you are lost in this life trying to figure out just how to get to heaven, try following the One who really knows the way.  Praise God today for the way that He has prepared for us to arrive at our "eternal life."

 

Using the Right Tool

          I think it was during my time with A. T. and T. that I heard the phrase, “Use the right tool for the job.” Every now and then I would come upon a butter knife that had been used as a screwdriver and the end would be slightly bent. Other tools might be marked up in one way or another after being used for some purpose other than that which the were designed for. I worked at a public school during my stay in Gloucester County Virginia and I had one tool that I carried around with me. It was the Swiss Army Knife with its assortment of screwdrivers, can openers, magnifying glass, tooth pick tweezers, two cutting blades, wire stripper and such. It took care of most anything that I would come up against during the day. It was more comfortable on my belt than carrying around the tool kit that was in my custodial office. There are those cases when you come up with a tool that has been designed for one purpose. Such was the case with a pair of pliers looking device that was designed to take out the springs when when you did a brake job on your car. Problems in the world today also need to be addressed with the right tool in order for things to get “fixed.” Romans 3:10-12 says, “ As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”

          Everyone seems to have a plan on how to fix the world, the country and the lives of the people around you. Things are not going to get “fixed” until the root cause is addressed and in most cases, this always comes back to one thing and that is the sinful nature of man. The Psalmist wrote about it in Psalm 14:1-3 and Paul quoted it in Romans 3:10-12 with a conclusion in Romans 3:23 where it states that everyone is guilty of this one thing and that one thing is sin. Sin is prevalent in the lives of every person and until it is addressed, things are probably not going to change that much in the future. Problems in our nation are not going to be resolved until the sin issue is addressed. Problems in our schools are not going to be resolved until the sin issue is addressed in each and every situation. Problems in the entertainment industry and the sports arena are not going to be rectified until the sin issue is addressed. Even sin in the church needs to be addressed according to naming what it is that is causing it and that goes back to the one thing again and again. It is sin. Satan has been using the same three avenues for sin from the beginning, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. The answer according to God's Word is the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:19 says, “ For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” Christ, indeed, is the answer People will keep on doing what they are doing until they have been changed and that change is only going to come by the good news of the Gospel and as John 1:12 says, by the receiving of the the Lord Jesus Christ. Seminars on how to be good, or classes on ethics won't do that which needs to be done. What needs to be done is simply “Scripture and Prayer to conform us to the image of Christ.” Praise God today that He has the plan for the problems of each and every one of us and  the world also.

Good News for Everyday

     There are those times in life when you expect bad news. When the phone rings and you are in bed, you often expect it to be bad news.  I was in the sixth grade when My teacher, Mrs. Mitchell, got a message from the principal's office that they wanted to see me in their office right away.  For me, any notification from the principal's office was going to result in bad news for me. I went to the office and I was right.  I got a lecture and a "don't do it again"  ultimatum or my parents were also going to be getting a bad news piece of information.   There were those days when you would receive a telegram and  you just expected it to be bad news. It just seems that is the way of life. Our human nature often looks to receive more bad news then it does good news.  In some cases, we feel that if we expect to receive bad news, then any news that isn't bad is in reality, good news.  Still, you sometimes get the jitters when you receive a special piece of mail that is insured or registered or a private letter from the IRS.  There is a word in the New Testament, however, which mean "good news." It is the word "gospel." So, when Paul used the word in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, he was telling the people that he had some "good news" for them. That is what the word actually means. Paul's good news was what Christ had done. "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according tot he Scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures." 

        Now, that's "good news." It means that we have hope in this world. It means that we not only have hope in this world, but hope for the future. With the payment already made for our sins, it means that we too can have eternal life. We will be able to go to be with God when we die and we will be with Him forever. This is truly good news for us. So, while you may think that you don't ever receive much good news, think of the word "gospel" as it is used in the New Testament. Whenever you see it, you know that you have received some "good news."   Realize that not all news is bad news.  Some of it really is good news.    Praise God today for the Good news that He has for us in His plan of salvation.

The Creaking Floor Board

            As you walk around in a new house, you can notice that there is an absence of squeaks in the floor boards. Everything seems to be solid and there is no squeaking, thumping or cracking noises that you are aware of. With some homes, the time comes sooner than later when the floors began to make more noises as you walk around in the house. Certain floor boards are avoided as you know they are going to make a noise if you step on them. I have a friend that is a missionary in a country where he lives near a volcano and quite often he will include a picture of the volcano sending off a cloud of smoke or steam. It seems to be happening more and more frequently these days. There are also reports of earthquakes happening more and more around the earth in places where there have never been earthquakes before. The earth seems to be groaning day after day. Second Peter 3:10 says, “ But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”

           The preceding verse speaks about man's opportunity to embrace the Lord Jesus Christ in repentance and to believe on Him as His personal Lord and Savior, and how this is the desire of God the Father and we often remark how that God is not willing that any should perish. Then, the next verse comes which starts out with the word of contrast, “But...” This contrast should speak to our hearts about the necessity to share the Gospel message with as many people as we possible can. The Bible has long exhorted us to witnesses of the message of salvation and the earth groans with the same message. There will be, at some time in the future, God's final call. We don't know when it will come but when it does things will drastically change. I had just laid down for a nap a couple of years ago when the bed began to move. At first, I thought it was my rather large cat, Sasha. She was no where near the bed. Then, it happened again and I jumped out of bed. I discovered later that there had been an earthquake between Charlottesville and Richmond Virginia near a town called Louisa. We felt it over a hundred miles away. When the earth moves, you don't sit there and try to plan out your future destiny but you begin to hang on to something and plan to get to safety as soon as possible. The scene in the above passage is far more devastating than the groans that we hear from day to day. The Scriptures remind us that the day will come as a thief in the night in which we will think that we are completely safe in our own castle. Chances are pretty good that if you are reading this, you are a believer. If you are, then you should be concerned about those who are in your circles of acquaintances that are not believers because they will not have a clue as to what is taking place. We never know what is going to take place a day before the quake, or the storm, or the eruption of the volcano but God has given us ample warning of things to come in His Word. If you are a believer, are you concerned about family members who are not? If you are a believer, are you concerned about the souls of your friends who are not? The Word of God is clear that there will be an end of God's call. It is not “if” it will happen, but “when” it will happen. The next time you hear a creaking floor board in your house, just remember that God is calling people today for repentance but that call will end as a thief in the night. Praise God for His message of salvation.

Hearing Voices

        How are you at recognizing voices? We were standing in line at a cafeteria yesterday and from behind, I heard a voice and I knew who had that voice. In this case it wasn't a voice that sounded like a trumpet but a man who can really play the trumpet. We talked briefly about voices and I thought about it for the rest of the afternoon and it did remind me of the scene in the Book of Revelation where John hears a voice. In this case, John says it was a voice that sounded like a trumpet. 1:10-11 says, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.” 

         In the passage for today, the Apostle John has the opportunity to stand before the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, he stood for a moment but then fell flat on his face. He did so not out of just fainting, but because of Who he was standing in front of. John gives us a word picture of what he saw when he looked at the person with the voice. If you were to paint the picture it would look very different from the description that Josephus writes about or that which has been painted over the years and that has become so popular. There is a basic difference between the Jesus of the time of grace and Jesus of the time of judgment. Every aspect of the description reminds us of judgment as seen in this passage. John had no other thought but to fall on his face in front of the Mighty Eternal God, the Lord Jesus Christ. John probably just had time to hear the opening set of instructions and while seeing Who was speaking, John fell on his face before Him. There is a difference between meeting Christ in the period of grace and meeting Christ in the period of judgment. One thing for sure, you can easily determine that the Apostle John had respect for the Person Who was standing in front of him. There are those today that refer to the Lord Jesus Christ in a disrespectful manner. For many people, their only reference to the Lord Jesus Christ is when the use His name in vain. Titus reminds us that the grace of God has appeared to all men and we have seen that and experienced that in the Lord Jesus Christ. The majority of people still fail to acknowledge Who He is. Some day, the period of grace will cease and the world will be confronted with the Lord Jesus Christ that John saw in the opening passage from the Book of Revelation. How will you respond when you hear the words of the LORD, when He says, “Come unto Me...” Will you recognize Who it is that is speaking to you? How would you feel if the only time you heard the LORD speak, they were the words, “Depart from Me, I never knew you.” We can often recognize a voice and know who it is that is speaking to us because of our relationship with that person. We have often spoken with them in conversations and even in our memories, we can still hear their voices. How are we at recognizing the Lord Jesus Christ when He speak to us? We are living in a day when there is more disrespect for authority and it shows by our actions when we are confronted with that authority. Respect if not being taught by parents or by our education system and so it carries over into our relationship with God. How do you respond when you hear a voice? How do you respond when the Lord Jesus Christ speaks to your heart through the Word of God. Praise God today for the relationship that He desires to have with each and everyone of us. Second Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

Going into the Lion's Den

            There was a time when people read books that were made of paper and that you could carry around. I remember seeing many a   person reading a book on the metro trains as they traveled to and from work or shopping. It was interesting to notice that many of the books were covered so you could not see what they were reading. In some cases, it may have been to hide the title of the book from public view or some may have done it simply to protect the covers of the book. Whatever the reason, you couldn't tell what they were reading. Who knows, someone could have been reading a copy of the Bible. Daniel 6:13 says, “Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day.”

         The prophet Daniel never hid what he was doing even when it was contrary to the laws of the people of Babylon. Many of Daniel's enemies knew this and so in effect made a law that would end up getting rid of the Hebrew prophet. Daniel, however, was faithful to God in all that he did and so continued doing what he always did and prayed openly to God three times a day and he did it so all could see that he was doing it. He didn't try to cover it up. It ended up with Daniel being placed in the den of lions but God took care of that and Daniel walked out the next day unharmed in any way. It is far better to be faithful to the One True God than to follow after the ways of the world. At this time, in this culture, in this nation, believers in the Lord Jesus Christ have no open persecution that would end up causing one to lose their life over begin faithful to God. That is not to say that things might change in the future. There is a good chance that they will which will result in more open persecution of believers than ever before. What embarrasses you these days that would tell others that you are a Christian? It is getting to the point in this time of history that paper books are getting more and more rare as people now have their reading material on their phones or other portable electronic devices. It seems as if the culture today is bent over reading something from their “phone.” At a table with four men from a construction detail, three of them were reading something on their phones as fingers moved up and down from page to page. Only one man, an older man, was not on a phone but of course he no one to talk to. One man made the comment that if you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? Do you care more about what people think about you and feel that you might be embarrassed if you were seen doing something that “Christians” do? Would our daily routine be different if it were seen by others? In our family, we have said grace before meals for as long as I can remember and it didn't make any difference if we were at home or in the middle of a restaurant. We have also had the opportunity to ask the waiter or waitress if they had a prayer request and then prayed for them during the prayer of grace. Joshua made it pretty clear what he and his family were going to be doing when he said, as for me and my house we will serve the LORD. That should be our attitude today. We should not be concerned about the others around us and what they are doing, but be true and faithful to God Who sent His Son to die on the cross at Calvary for our sins and that includes you and me. Praise God today the we can be a witness to the world around us of the faith that we have in the one and true God.