Going Where?

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Hebrews 11:8 says, “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.”

     I had mentioned to God that I didn’t feel called to be a missionary, but if He should decide otherwise, I would choose Spain.  I had never been there but had seen presentations of the work in Spain of Carlos and Yolanda Gomez.  I had met them in the seventies when they came to our church in Alexandria, Virginia.  We made contact with the Carlos again in 1981 at our mission conference in Christiansburg and Diane and I decided that we were called to Spain.  We sold our house, three cars and most of our furniture except for a few pieces we stored in a church member’s attic.  The res of our small items were packed into 25  boxes and stored in Diane’s parents attic and we took off for Spain.  Our mission group was what is called “faith missions.”  We had to raise our own support and trust God that it would be there each month.  At least, we knew where we were going although we didn’t know the where the new home would be.

     When God called Abraham to leave his home, he didn’t know where he was going but was following by faith, God’s plan for his family and Lot’s family.  The last sentence in the above passage says, “And he went out, not knowing where he was going.”  We already know that Hebrews 11 is the “Faith Hall of Fame” as many people from the Old Testament are mentioned and the particular act of faith that placed them in this list.  The latter part of the chapter mentions the deaths of many of the followers of God.  Faith is important for all of us as we see in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith…”  John 20:29 reminds us, “Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”  I have not seen the nail prints in His hands, feet or side, yet I believe.  It is through faith in God’s Word that we have believed even though we were not present 2000 years ago to see the empty tomb.   We can have faith in the word of God from beginning to end.   God may put something in your path today for which you did not plan.   We can praise God for His promises in His Word  because He is able to do each and every one of them.

Hope

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,    

     Hebrews 11:1-3 says, “ Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  For by it the elders obtained a good report.  Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” 

     There are a lot, and I mean a lot, of things I don’t know.  I don’t know what “Yellowstone” is other than a national park with a geyser in it, nor do I know anything about the Kardashians.  I also don’t know how God did it when He made the universe but this is one thing that I will accept as being true because it is described in the Bible.  The facts of other books still remain as questionable and the only truth that is to be found is in God’s Word.  i am comfortable with this conclusion and have been all of my life, well, most of it anyway.   

     It must be obvious that the world doesn’t know either and the best thing they can come up with is the “Big Bang Theory.”  When you consider the omnipotence of God, it could have been a big bang if you happened to be standing there at the time of creation.  By God’s Word, He did it amd He did it out of things that were not visible.  If I make a bird house, which is highly unlikely, I make it out of wood that is visible and can be cut and nailed or glued together.  God, on the other hand, made the universe out of that which was not visible.  Matter, as we see and touch things, is all made up of atoms.  I don’t see them moving about but even my floor and table are made up of moving parts.  When you burn the wood in a fire, the atoms are dispersed as heat but they still are there.  I don’t understand that either but I accept wha God has said in His Word about the whole process.  Faith as it is connecte with our “hope” is necessary in the acceptance of how our sins were paid for on the cross at Calvary  by the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ and the shedding of His blood for that payment.  An old children’s song began with the words, “Faith is just believing, what God said is true.”    I am surrounded by  many educated people with degrees in medicine and psychology who have no idea what i am talking about when i refer to eternal life, God, Calvary, salvation, or anything else that is mentioned in the scriptures.  My Bible assures me that there is only one God as so stated in Deuteronomy six.  That means that every other theory or paper on religion isn’t worth the paper it is written on..  One thing that stands out in the Bible is the continuity of the Scriptures written though the Holy Spirit with the hands of forty different men over a period of several thousand years.  I stand alone on the Word of God.  Praise Him today for showing us the clear way of salvation.                          

The Hallmark

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

      But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;  Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.”

     While in Spain, I purchased four Swiss army knives for the equivalent of a couple of dollars each.  They looked authentic but were cheaply made of materials that would not stand up to the task.  I later on purchased  an authentic knife when I got home and I am still using tha same knife.  There are a lot of imitations of many things in the world today.  We sell a lot of greeting cards in America and there is one that has a phrase, “When you care enough to  send the very best.”  The card company is also one of the most expensive on the market.  In the end, “What determines if something is the very best?”

          God set a standard  right from the beginning that anything that was to be offered as a sacrifice had to be perfect, or without blemish..  If you were required to offer a lamb for a sacrifice it could not be one with a bad leg, or spots on it, or sores or even sick.  The lamb had to be perfect.  God did not want anything that was of no use to anyone, put one that was perfect in every way.  There was only one person who ever walked upon the face of the earth tha fit the description of perfection in every way and that was the Lord Jesus Christ , the Son of God.  In John’s gospel we see that Jesus was the One Who was to take away the sin penalty for the world.  The Lord Jesus Christ   was, is and always will be “perfection” in every way and because of that you and I can have salvation.  His righteousness was imputed to us and our sins were imputed to Him.  We can safely says, “God cared so much that He sent the very best.”  John 3:16 reminds us of that very fact.  The Father gave His only begotten Son that we might have life by believing on Him for our salvation.  All of man’s feeble efforts to get to heaven are based on things that are nothing more than a blemish or sickness.  We cannot earn such a precious gift as salvation no matter how many things we try to come up with  because they are all based on that which is imperfect and when you look closely at them, you see that they are trying to produce perfection with something that is so grossly imperfect that it will never get you there.  Every believer is a precious stone in the “Body of Christ”  having been placed there by the Holy Spirit and as a result, will be without spot or blemish.  While my greeting cards will not always be the “very best” the message of the gospel is indeed the very best and perfect in every way.  Praise God for sending the Very Best, His own Son!

Opportunities for Prayer

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     It has been several years since I have driven a car.  For years I didn’t get one ticket or was stopped for a violation of the law, but that didn’t mean I always drove in complete obedience to the law.   When do you spend the most time in prayer? I am not thinking about a special time of day but rather when the conditions in your life produce more or less prayer. While attending church several years ago, the speaker mentioned how we respond when we see a State Trooper parked along the side of the road. If we have been traveling over the speed limit, we immediately slow down and often go under the speed limit the same amount of miles per hour that we were going over the speed limit when we first saw the trooper.  Some states have even gone so far as to place a life size cardboard picture of a police car on the side of the road.  It does seem to force people to slow down.  We may feel that this temporary reduction in speed would compensate for our disobedience of the law. Sometimes, our prayer life follows the same pattern. When things are going well, we begin to slack off on our time with the Lord. Then, when times get tough or something disastrous hits out life, we seem to really get serious about our prayer life. What we should have been doing all of the time, now becomes more serious and a part of our lives. Philippians 4:6 says,  “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." Paul reminded the Philippians that they should be prayer about everything. He does not speak just about the tragedies of life but that we are to be in prayer "...in every thing." It should be a natural thing for us to be in a habit of speaking to the Lord. It doesn't have to be in a special place nor during a special time. The prayers don't have to be of a specific format nor with a minimum amount of words. The prayer time is not just between the hours of 5 and 6 am nor just at 10:30 pm. Our prayer life should be as natural and as compelling as that cough that you can't suppress. It just has to come out. The same is true about our prayers. Every believer needs to be in a constant state of prayer. So, how are you doing today? Are there things on your heart that need to be given to the Lord in prayer? Are you looking for guidance in a certain area? Well, don't hesitate to speak often to the Lord today.  Praise God today for the open line of communication that He has provided through prayer.

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Mysteries

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Romans 16:25/27 says, “Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:  To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.”

     We often have mysteries around in books and films and for the most part, people like a good mystery where the person who “did it”  is unknown until the surprise ending.   I recall that at one church where I served, each Christmas, there would be a small package on the front pew with my name on it and inside was a unique Christmas tree ornament.  There was no name as to who gave me the package.  Each year for several years, the package would appear, unsigned.  I tried to figure it out but was never certain as to who gave me the unsigned gift.  I have my suspicions as to who it is but do not know for sure.

     Paul concludes the epistle to the Romans with a doxology that is crammed full of important details and especially the blessings.  He also mentions a mystery.  Mysteries are mentioned in the Bible about a dozen or more times.  Scofield listed the mysteries as a footnote on Matthew thirteen.  Paul explains that a mystery is something that was hidden in the Old Testament but revealed now in the New Testament.  While many things were known through the writings of the Old Testament, there were some things that were not made manifest until after the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.  I have trouble keeping a secret but God has no trouble keeping one.  Sometimes, i say, “Well, God only knows.”  One obvious secret that is still not known is the day of the rapture of the church.  We can say that each day is one day closer to it but we cannot come up with the day that it will occur.  The signs of the times are more and more evident and we can see that it would not take too much for everything to be lined up, but God still is the only One that knows the day it will take place.  I imagine that there are many things that we might like to know even about our own lives but God only knows those also.  It was assumed that I was going to pass on from this life after my last spell in the hospital but God had other plans. I can plan for this or that, but that doesn’t make it happen.  My plans are often futile as again, God has His plan in effect for my life.  God has His plans for your life, your spouse, your children, your occupation and who you will meet in your life.  Psalm 139 says He knows every thought in your mind. Praise God the He still has the answers to all of the mysteries in our lives.

Amazing Grace

 Greetings to  you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Ephesians 2:8-10 says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:   Not of works, lest any man should boast.  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

     I have said at times, “I escaped by the skin of my teeth.”  I am usually referring to some calamity to happened to someone else, but it did not happen to me.  Of course, my teeth have no skin which further emphasizes the fact that I avoided danger simply by God’s hand.  I have heard people say also, “There but by the grace of God go I.”  I had one skin doctor look at my back full of spots and declare, “If you don’t get melanoma, it will be by the grace of God.”

     God’s grace truly is amazing.  We often sing the hymn, “Amazing Grace” and as we do,  it reflects our realization of the grace the God has shown to us in one way or anther, but especially in the area of salvation.  Men and women try to come up with their own way of salvation, but often come to the end of their quest only to declare that it is truly of God tha we are saved at all.  There is nothing in me or in any person that would warrant such a gift as that of salvation.  Paul exhorted the Ephesian saints by declaring  that this wonderful attribute is totally a gift of God and cannot be attained by any work no matter how hard we try.  There is a saying that appears on many plaques which goes, “The will of God will never lead you where the grace of God cannot keep you.”  God’s grace is sufficient for anything and any condition that might come into your life.   The Apostle Paul found this out when we prayed for the removal of his “thorn” in the flesh.  He prayed for its removal three times and God said “no.”   God went on, however, to declare, “My grace is sufficient for you.”  Men and women need to stop trying to do it their own way and accept what God has already accomplished for them.  There are certain things that take place in your life where you sincerely reply, “Thank you!”  This has to be one of them as grace is receiving something that you can not get yourself but only God can bestow such a wonderful gift.   The chorus of a hymn goes, “Thank you Lord for saving my soul, Thank you Lord for making me whole.  Thank you Lord for giving to me, Thy great salvation, so rich and free.”  Praise God today for the wonderful gift of His grace.  It truly is amazing.

Don'e Forget God

 Greetings to  you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Romans 15:4 says, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”

     “Read any good books lately?”   I confess that I am not an avid reader as some people are.  I did rather well with Reader’s Digest Condensed books as I could get through them quicker.  I did have a collection of six books by Zane Grey which all had a “western” theme in them and they came wth a set of Funk and Wagnall’s Encyclopedias.  My reading habits now consist of the Bible and books about the Bible.  At my stage of life, this is about all that is important to me.  

     Adam Clarke says if the above passage, “This refers not only to the quotation from the 69th Psalm, but to all the Old Testament scriptures; for it can be to no other scriptures that the apostle alludes. And, from what he says here of them, we learn that God had not intended them merely for those generations in which they were first delivered, but for the instruction of all the succeeding generations of mankind.”  What is sad at times, is the account of the Jews in not keeping the commands of God.  I not only refer to the ten commandments, but also all of the laws of the feasts.  I was recently reading in Secon Chronicles about how the Nation and not kept the Passover for a number of years and how the Holy of Holies had to be cleaned out of items that were not supposed to be there.  Repairs had not been made for a number of years as the people begin to follow other gods  and worship idols that could do nothing in their lives.  What Romans teaches us is that he Old Testament was written for our learning as well as those that lived in the days in which it was written.  It is plain to see the reason why they were written for our learning.  The principles on which our worship stood have been forgotten.  Both Israel and Judah went eventually into captivity because of their disobedience.  What does that teach the people of the world today?    It makes no difference if it was life in the period of the judges or the periods of the kings.  Paul went on to say to Timothy that things were going to be bad in the last days as we read in Second Timothy 3:1-5.  We learn from the Old Testament about Noah and the condition of mankind in his day and we see in the New Testament that we will have the same conditions in today’s world.  The cries of the believers are going out today more and more.  Christians are speaking up and presenting the gospel   and mentioning the return of the Lord Jesus Christ and we can echo those cries with the words, “Even so come Lord Jesus.”  Praise God that the Second Coming of Christ is one day closer today than yesterday.

     

The Protocol

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Ephesians 1:12-14 says, “That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.  In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,  Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”

     Years ago I had a template that was used to make flow charts.  You could map out actions from the beginning to the end of certain procedures on which you were working to come up to a desired conclusion.  In some sense, it established a “protocol.”  The first definition of the word “protocol” is “an original draft, minute, or record of a document or transaction.”  The typical flow chart can be used in a number of situations  such as treatment of a disease.  I was informed of the “protocol” of a certain hospital where I was a patient, of the protocol involved with a diagnosis of Covid-19.  There was to be no deviation of the prescribed protocol and you had to be isolated for twenty days even though the rest of the country was significantly less.

     It is interesting to notice that God has a protocol in regard to salvation.  The first step has to be true, or “yes” before you can go on to achieve the second step.  A person hears the Word of truth, then believes it and then is sealed by the Holy Spirit.  You cannot trust  in something that you have not heard.  I went a long time before I heard the Gospel but after I did, it took even longer for me to come to the point of trusting in Christ for my salvation.  Once you do trust, however, the sealing of the Holy Spirit takes place instantly along with Regeneration, Indwelling and being baptized into the body of Christ.  There are many people who try to substitute something of their own creation in order to be sealed, but it doesn’t work and they end up with a false security in their own method.  Some try to use a good moral character but end up just sugar coating a sinful one and resulting in false hope.  Others try to do good works in order to be sealed but that doesn’t work either.  Still others try to use a different method such as reincarnation and think that things will be different in the next life.  That doesn’t work either.  The only way is the one that is prescribed in John 14:6.  It is Christ alone.  There is no other way.  Acts 16:31 says that the way for salvation is “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.”  Praise God today that He has laid out the path for salvation.

The Niche

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

    I was walking down the hall at a place where I was working at the time a few years ago,  and passed one of our employees who had parked her cart in a little "niche" in the hallway.  She said that it was a good place to park it as it didn't block the hall and made plenty of space for people to get by.  It is always good to find a little "niche" in which to be.  The term came about as a place in a rock that was indented.  later on, it became used as a spot to place a statue or even an urn.  We soon began to use the term in a personal way when we stated, "It is good to find your niche."  In meant that we had found our spot in which we could fit in.  Almost everyone likes to feel as if they fit in where they are.  You remember those little block sets from your childhood where you had to fit a certain shape block in the identical shape spot  on the board.  Each block had its unique spot.  People are like that.  We like to feel as if we have our spot to fit in with society.  For most people, we eventually feel out of place.  We feel out of place until we find our niche with God.   Second Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new"  It seems as if our being has a longing to have peace but we don't know how to get it.  We feel as if we are a square peg trying to fit in a round hole.  Then, there comes that day when we meet the Lord Jesus Christ.   I even have a niche here at the assisted living facility in Christiansburg. Jesus told Nicodemus that he needed to be born from above.  He needed to be born again and Nicodemus seemed to have a hard time understanding what Jesus was talking about.  Once we do become born "from above" however, we find that we are a new creation or a new creature.  Then, we know that we have found our "niche."  We fit in because we are a part of a spiritual building, the Body of Christ.  So, praise God today that you as a believer are a part of that body.  You have found your niche.

Politically Correct

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     John 4:3-5 says, “He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee.  And he must needs go through Samaria.  Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.”

          I was born in Indiana and the people of the state are referred to as “Hoosiers.”  There are a lot of stories as to wha a “hoosier” is but I found a park ranger in Vincennes who probably has the right answer.  It was a term that the British forces at Fort Vincennes gave to the people living in the area.  It was not meant to be a good term.  It meant that the people were “country simpletons.”  Well, that pretty well sums it up for me.  That’s what I am.  It seems that every ethnic group has a name for other ethnic groups that is not good o say to say the least.  In many years, we learn new terms that are to be used in regard to other people unlike ourselves and we are to use those terms in order to be politically correct.

     The same problem was around in the days when the Lord Jesus Christ  had His public ministry.  The Samaritans were not like by the pure blood Jewish people as they were a mixture of Jewish and other people that had conquered Israel    hundreds of years before.  Christ had a mission to go through Samaria which was not common in that day.  His mission was to meet with the woman at the well and the conversation that took place was quite a bit different than the one with Nicodemus.  The woman came out at noon to get water and when no one else was around and had the conversation with the Savior.  She firs refers to Him as a “Jew” but eventually calls Him the “Messiah.”  She knew He was different as He told her about her own life and her family history.  We also learn in Acts 8 that Philip was having  a successful ministry preaching the gospel to the Samaritans.  Acts also tells us that the gospel went out first to the Jews, then to the Samaritans and finally to the Gentiles.  I am glad that it did because even a hoosier and a kraut could eventually hear it and be saved.  There is a children’s song that says that God loves the little children whether they be black or yellow, red or white and every shade in between.  If anything is learned from the above passage it should be that God is not a respecter of persons in any way.  After checking on my heritage by spitting in a bottle i found that I am German, Polish, French, Belgian, Irish, and African. So, we can praise God today that He loves each and everyone of us regardless of our ethnic background.  What is shameful about it is that many have refused His offer of salvation and pursue repeating their mantra and worshiping false gods that can do nothing

Time to Be Awake

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Romans 13:11-12 says, “

Rom 13:11  And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.  The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.”

     I have not observed ostriches that much to be able to state that they do stick their head in the sand when trouble appears thinnking that would make them safe.  I have heard that other animals such as the opossum play dead in order to escape from their enemies.  I know I mentioned once that when I used the vacuum cleaner and came close to a string on a rug, I would close my eyes or at least squint and think that if I didn’t look at it, I could go over it quick and it wouldn’t get caught up in the vacuum.  It didn’t always work that well.

     I must admit also that watching the news lately is very discouraging and leaves a very bad impression on my mind.  I could just ignore it.  It is obvious that some news programs are liberal and some are conservative, but that doesn’t really help either.  The Scriptures remind us several times about waking up to what is going on around us as Paul mentioned to the church at Rome.  We serve, believe in and worship God who is righteous and just and who has warned mankind repeatedly that their actions will require judgment.  God has given us time to get things corrected and sporadic revivals take place now and then but mankind is on a road to destruction and it is broad and quite visible as we seek more and more pleasure and disregard God’s Word.  While the news is not pleasant to watch, one can see the attitude of humanity as the atrocities are flashed upon the television screen in high definition and in color.  Paul reminds us to wake up out of sleep as we appear to be doing what the ostrich or the opossum do in dangerous times by trying to ignore it or hope it doesn’t come into our back yard or in our neighborhood.  It is, however, already there and the answer is the Lord Jesus Christ.  He is the only One Who can  make a difference and indeed to change the hearts of humanity.  Satan has worked on our hearts and minds to the point that we feel we would mess it up so much that we would ruing a person’s chance to witness to those who are lost.  Instead, we invite them to church but few come at our invitation, if we even give that.  What we do have and what we can share is what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us.  It is our testimony of God’s grace and how it worked in our own lives.  Every believer hs a testimony and no one can dispute it.  So, wake up out of sleep as the time is short and night is coming.  Praise God that He is willing to still save those who are lost as He did with us.

A Penny for Your Thoughts

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Psalm 139:23-24 says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:  And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

     “A penny for your thoughts.”  Maybe you have heard that phrase by someone who would like to know what you are thinking about.  The brain is an amazing part of our body.  How can we understand how thoughts work in our head.  When I am awake it seems I am always thinking about something.  I have some macular degeneration in one eye and lately, I have been seeing what looks like peacock feathers in a pattern below the waist of some people.  If the area was black such as in a silhouette, I will see what looks like peacock feathers.  My eye doctor says that the brain often substitutes something for a missing picture in the eyes.

     When I am asked about “what am I thinking” I usually say “nothing.”  I just don’t want to try to explain what thought just passed through my head.   The above passage can be a frightening thought as there is One Who knows every thought in every person’s life at every moment.  The Psalmist is asking God to search his heart and to know all of his thoughts and to see if there are thoughts that should not be there.  The exhortation is one that is going deep into the mind and trying to root out anything that is wicked or despicable.  You may find out that Satan has a way of bringing up thoughts into your head at the most inopportune time.  You might be in prayer and a thought rises up from your past  that you had not remembered for quite some time.  Pictures are like that also.  A scene may appear before your brain from years past and you may wonder where it came from.  Some things just seem to be filed away in your memory bank.  Short term memory seems to go first as you forget why you just walked into the kitchen or where you put your glasses.  At the same time, long term memory seems to still exist as to what they were doing forty or fifty years ago.  Second Corinthians 10:5 speaks about bringing our thoughts into captivity and then Philippians 4:8 exhorts us to think about those things that are good, pure, truthful and of a good report.  God knows all that there is no know about all of us and certainly He can point out the areas in which we need to take action.  When you are in a store and see someone that irritates you, what do you do?  Some will walk down a different aisle so as to not make contact with them or you may notice someone doing that when they have seen you.  That would be a good time to think about those things that result in a “good report” about that individual.  Praise God He knows each and every one of us.

Rightly Dividing the Word

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Second Timothy 2:15 says, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

     When my Father passed away, my Mother gave me his tool box.  I used a few of the tools in the next few years but there were some tools I had no idea what they were for.  I used to change the spark plugs on the car but now, I can’t even see the spark plugs and don’t know how to get to them. 

     If you have an opportunity to go to a professional in any field, you want them to have the right tools for the job.  As far as I know, Black and Decker don’t make tools used by your local dentist.  You also wouldn’t want your missiles and guns made by K-Mart.  The above passage of scripture speaks about having the right tools to preach or to teach or just to grow in  your Christian faith.  The verse is one of the more popular verses for religious institutions that train people for the ministry.  It was the theme verse for Washington Bible College as well as many other Bible colleges in the nation.  Paul was a tentmaker by trade and the above verse exhorts us to “cut it straight.”  Patterns have to be followed exactly if they are going to be used as intended.  If you cut the fabric crooked, it will not come out right.  Mom used to make some clothes out of old sacks that were used for chicken feed in the forties.  She would pin the pattern to the fabric and then very carefully cut the fabric to match the pattern.  Then all of the pieces would go together as intended.  The studying of the Word of God  is the practice of “cutting it straight.”   When you get done you can say that you rightly divided or cut it straight.  Many people begin with an assumption about something and then try to find a verse to support their assumption.  A paper was once written by a faculty member from a seminary to support deep sea divers in the Bible.  Obviously, it was a  joke that was based on the word “divers” as it appears in the Bible.  There are divers diseases and divers temptations mentioned in the Scripture but the references are not meant to imply the appearance of deep sea divers in the Bible.  The passages in question was not studied nor divided properly.  There are many cults present in today’s culture that do not claim that the Lord Jesus Christ is God.  In fact, that is one of the ways to determine if a person is speaking truth or falsehood.First John 4:2-3 exhorts us, “ Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:   And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.”  Praise God we have His Word today.  May we all handle it properly.

Vital Signs

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

  Have you ever had a nurse come up to you and ask if she could get your vital signs?  There were times when I was in the hospital that it seemed they came in every 4 hours and got my vital signs.  When I had my heart attack, the nurse would come in and get my vital signs, plus ask me who was president of the United States.  Now that I am older people ask me about my vital signs almost everyday. Cardiac units like to know if I knew where I was and what was going on in the world or if my memory was still functioning.  The key word here is that word, "vital."  Notice the meaning of this word.  The dictionary says that the word "vital" pertains to that which is essential life.  In the hospital, they check your temperature, blood pressure, oxygen level and sometimes take a vial of blood or two.  That gives them indications of how your life is.  What are your vital signs in regard to your spiritual life?  John 3:15-16 says, "That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.  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."   The word "life" occurs over 400 times in the Bible.  The word is found frequently in both the Old and New Testaments.  In some cases, it is speaking of physical life but in the above verse, it speaks of spiritual life.  The ingredient that is most important is that one called, "belief."  John stated that if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, then you will indeed have life and in this case, it is speaking of spiritual life.  We might well ask the question, "Is spiritual life as important as physical life?"  The answer is that spiritual life is far more important than physical life.  Spiritual life goes for eternity while physical life is confined to those years you spend physically upon this earth.  Currently the age seems to be averaging out in the 70’s with some going over the one hundred mark..  That still is far less than eternity.  So, now we need to consider what are the "vital" signs of spiritual life.  These verses leave us with the thought of "believing on Christ" as being the only vital sign.  However, John also wrote the 3 epistles which we find in the back of our Bibles.  The little book of 1 John gives us a number of tests that help us decide if we really believe on Christ or not.  So, what are your spiritual vital signs?  Do you believe in Christ as your Savior?  Praise God that He has provided the gift of salvation in His Son.  Romans 10:13 says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Avenues to sin

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Matthew 4:2-4 says, “And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.  And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

     “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.”  Maybe you have heard of that expression.  Another expression goes, “Leave well enough alone.”  I used to like to take things apart especially those things that were broken and that I had no intention of fixing.  I just wanted to see what was inside of them.  Broken computers are really fun to dismantle with all of he circuit boards and chips on them.  I would have a box of little screws left at the end.

     Satan has his methods of working and he has not changed them from the beginning.  I can imagine him saying,  “It worked in the garden so I will keep on using it because it still works today.  Satan repeated the same course of action in the temptation of the Lord Jesus Christ as seen in the above passage and again in Luke chapter four.  The Apostle John mentions in in First John chapter two and it is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.  Many people in the world today do not believe that Satan exists or tha hell exists or that God would send someone to eternal punishment.  In other words, they don’t believe the Biblical content.  What people believe doesn’t change the facts.  When  you read the rest of the account in the above passage, you see all three actions as stated by John in full action.  If you reflect in your own life you will see the same three ways or avenues of temptation.  We have long had an expression in our culture that goes, “If it feels good, do it.”  Covetousness begins in the mind after you “see” something you want and you begin to plan how you can get it.  When Aachan saw the spoils of war, he wanted them and took them and buried them in the floor of his tent.  The pride of life is no different than the other two avenues. We exalt self in any way that we can.  Even the word “selfie” explains the attitude of people today. Social media is filled with pictures of the person who has the account.  The Apostle John mentions in in second John 2 and it is still valid today.  Satan knows it works and God has warned us adequately in His Word.  How often have we heard of the acronym for JOY.  Jesus, Others, You.  Mankind has it backwards when it says, You, Others, Jesus. If at all.  In most cases it is simply “you.”  If we know how Satan works, and he does go around seeking those whom he may devour, then we should be able to take steps to prevent him from being so successful.  Praise God today that He has given us the remedy.