Under New Managment

         I have an old computer that holds a trillion bites. That makes for a lot of things to store on one little disk. I replaced that computer with another computer that also will hold a trillion bites of information. One has a memory that is littered with junk while the other has a memory that is clean, that is, no junk on it. They say that once something is put on a disk in a computer, it is next to impossible to erase it. You can erase the path to get to it, but the item is still on the hard drive memory somewhere. In trying to clean up the old computer, I decided to erase many of the programs which resulted in it going back almost 20 or more layers of data and erasing files such as is in my word processor, label programs, old virus programs and the such. It is almost fun to do it but very time consuming as the computer searches for old stuff. 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.”

       This is a remarkable verse from God's Word. It is almost overwhelming to think of a person has being a new creature, or a new creation. It is almost like becoming a new computer with a new hard drive. We have become a new creation the moment that we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ for our salvation. The penalty for all of our sins has been paid in full and our eternal destination has been guaranteed. Our memory banks, however, still contain a lot of the unpleasant junk that filled our minds in the past. We suddenly find that as believers, our minds now possess new desires. We now have a desire to know more about God and His Word and we have new desires to be around new people. In a similar manner as with the computer hard disk, it is difficult to erase a picture or memory that was written many years ago. A situation, a smell, a sight can all trigger things from the past and we may wonder where they came from at the time since it is no longer a part of our life. It may cause us to shudder for a moment, but then we proclaim that it has been paid for by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and go on. Satan and his army will always like to dig up the dirt of your life before you were saved to try to keep you from being a productive believer but one needs to immediately realize that the act or picture has been paid for and is included in those words, “It is Finished.” When your past is brought up again and again by certain events or even people, just remember what Jesus did for you on the cross and the empty tomb. Be thankful that you are indeed a “new creation” in God. Praise Him for His working in your life and especially for the salvation that you have in Him.

Real Peace

        Although I am not the greatest historian in the world, it would seem that global conflicts are fairly new in our culture. We began to call them “World Wars” and then gave them numbers like I, II, and perhaps III. World War 1 was supposed to be the “War to end all wars.” It was a time when we learned the effects of chemical warfare and just how cruel people could be to one another. We tried to come up with a plan to not use it in any conflict, but people still do and probably many nations have stockpiles of both chemical and biological warfare agents. It took a long time to get to World War I but only about another twenty years to get to the next world war. Many nations got involved and everyone knew about the conflicts going on in Europe and in the Pacific. There was no peace in the land. Mankind still searches for peace and tries to come up with all kinds of ways to get your own little world of peace but none are effective. Public schools in England are incorporating Yoga classes in order to help calm the students and hopefully raise their “peacefulness” and productivity in the school. The Bible helps us to understand that there are two types of peace in the world. One is peace with God and the other is the peace of God. Basically, we have peace with God when we become “saved” or born again believers or born from above, whatever you want to call it. Having peace with God is a different matter. Philippians 4:7 says, “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

       This represents the peace that a person has when the world around them is falling apart and they remain calm and the affairs of this world seem to just roll off their back like water off a duck. It all stems back to the fact that we know Who holds the future and Who is in control of the seemingly wild things that are going on in the world today. You can be diagnosed with a terminal illness and still possess the peace of God at the same time. You can be lying on your death bed and still have the peace of God. You can lose all of your worldly possessions and still possess the peace of God. You can have the peace of God and at the same time say, “What else can go wrong?” Peace is not a matter luck with a rabbit's foot, or in a mantra to say when you are fearful, or the power of positive thinking but peace is only available through the God of the universe. Peace can be found in the Savior Who once stood in a boat and rebuked the storm and it stopped in obedience. Peace is found in the One Who walked out of a tomb and was seen for the next forty days before ascending bodily into heaven. Peace is found in the One Who will soon come again when believers will be “caught up” together with the dead in Christ to meet Him in the air. Peace is found in the One Who parted the Red Sea and the Jordan River. Peace is found in the One Who fed 5,000 men plus women and children with a boys lunch. Peace is found in the One Who died on the cross and paid the price for my sin. It was a debt that I could not pay but He could and He did. If you are looking for peace today, look no further than the One and Only God of the universe. Only He can bring you peace. In Him you can have peace with God and He can give you the peace of God. What more do you need? Praise God today for His peace in the midst of a troubled world.

Really Free Indeed

        I receive many advertisements for items that are labeled as being “free.” About the only things I have that were free were the bag of goodies that I got at the recent senior fair from the chamber of commerce in the town of Vinton, Virginia. Of course, it all had advertising on it and consisted of jar openers, rulers, ball point pens, note pads and about 25 cents worth of candy. One man came to my door and offered me several hundred dollars of free things for my home security. I accepted his gift of free things and now I am paying about 50 dollars a month for this service. Well, I knew it was coming as there are very few things in this life that are really free. Titus 2:11-13 says, “ For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;”

       In all of the best things around in this life, this is the greatest one of all. Grace is absolutely free. In fact, if there were any strings attached, then grace wouldn't be grace, but would be something else. As believers, we always connect grace with salvation based upon Ephesians 2:8-10. It is by grace that we have been saved. The epistle to Titus then refers to this grace as having appeared to all men. That took place in the first Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ and is till being fulfilled through missionary involvement even today. It is nothing like a secret or a difficult code that must be broken but is apparent to all through the teachings of the Bible. Basically, it is wonderful and it is free and as a result cannot be earned in any way, shape or form. In a recent devotion, we discussed how God's grace is sufficient for us to meet any difficulty in life. Today's passage describes how we can live our lives in this world and what God's grace teaches us. Our goal should be to live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world. There is no fence, there is no leash or a rope that binds us to do the things that we ought to do. We do them because of the price that was paid for our sins. We could not pay the debt that we owed but God gave us a way to have it paid in full. Now, we walk in the way that God intended us to walk as described in today's passage because of His wonderful plan of salvation. A lot has been said trying to define grace such as that it was the unmerited love of God towards us, or the acronym, God's Riches At Christ's Expense and these are all true, but they may still fall short of trying to define God's grace. Maybe it is time not to try to fully define it, but just to accept it. God's grace can be personified in the Lord Jesus Christ as it is mentioned in the above passage. The Grace of God that brought salvation was the Lord Jesus Christ. While grace is sufficient for all of our problems in life, it is also something for which to praise God on a daily basis. May we always be thankful for His grace in our lives.

God's Grace

       I wrote the devotion yesterday and when I got to the end of it, I decided not to use it for some reason. It just didn't seem right so I just marked it in red and sent to a file to save for a later day. Maybe it can be salvaged some other time. My goal is not to be negative but more encouraging to the reader. We have enough to be discouraged about in each and every day. I awoke to find out that one of my bell choir members has passed away, a friend is in an ICU in a hospital, I have a bit of a cold, fell on the floor yesterday and the list goes on. You can add your own things to your own list. Life seems to be like that as we have things happening. Life is where the “rubber meets the road.” You can have a beautiful car, wash it, gas it up, add all kinds of gadgets, but then, at some point, you have to start it up and head down the road. I guess that is where the phrase came from. We can wish how things might be in life but when you get up each morning, each day will have its own issues and oftentimes, some disappointments. This is the time for a though about God's wonderful grace. Second Corinthians 12:9 says, “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

        Paul undoubtedly had more problems than I have just based upon the time in which he lived. There were no I pads, or trains or buses or a fast food restaurant on every block. He probably had seen his share of moldy bread and empty flasks of water and shoes with holes in them. His list of things that took place in his life is frankly hard to imagine how it was really like. Plus, he had a problem that was really plaguing him and he prayed about it three times only to have his request turned down. God then gave him an explanation which has become a Biblical pillar for all of us. Simply put, God's grace is sufficient for each and every problem that you have in life. We well know the principle of salvation where it says that we are saved by grace through faith but now the principle of God's grace comes to us where the rubber meets the road, in our daily lives. Because God is Who He said He is, He knows quite well each and everything that is going on in all of our lives. He is not distracted by someone else's problems or the situation in the world today or tomorrow. God is fully capable of dealing with all of our issues in life simply because He is God. So Paul's answer is our answer. God's grace is sufficient for the issues in your life and in my life today and will also be sufficient for the issues in tomorrow's day of activities. Take a deep breath and reflect for just a moment on the words that God gave to the Apostle Paul. They are a real comfort no matter what is going on in your life today. After you have thought about the passage, praise God for His magnificent grace and hold to the promise that it is sufficient to meet all of your needs.

The Test

     Are you passing the test?  It seems like we have been taking tests ever since we can remember.  The first tests that we took were probably so insignificant that they didn't make too much of an impression on us.  Then, we had to take all of those tests near the close of each school year to determine if we were learning anything at all.  Then, we had to take a driving test, IQ tests and the list goes on.  One would think that the time of tests was finally past but that is not the case.  The testing process seems to place us in a group which performs like we do.  The groups then determine where we are in the station of life.  It is comforting to finally learn of something that is not governed by a test.  It is determined by grace.  For some, it is a hard pill to swallow.  When we are used to achieving and getting things done through our own merits, the idea of anything being done for us seems wrong.  There is no test, however, that will determine one's eligibility to receive salvation.  It is determined by grace.  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."  

        Grace is something new to man and very difficult for him to comprehend.  You would think that it wasn't that way, but grace seems to require additional efforts at the hands of men and women.  The Apostle Paul penned these words through the direction of the Holy Spirit and explains the principle of achieving salvation very clearly.  There are no works;  just grace.  If there were any doubts, God went on to clarify the salvation gift by stating that it was not through any works at all.  He said that if works was involved, that man would boast about it.  So, this is one time that you don't have to take a test to receive something.  God has extended the gift to each and every person.  All they have to do is to accept it through faith, thus the term, "For by grace are ye saved through faith..."  Where do you stand today?  Are you still taking tests and trying to earn salvation or have you accepted the simple grace that God has offered.  As usual, God's way is the best way.  Praise Him today for offering this great salvation through His grace.

The Problem of Itching Ears

        I am surrounded in my life with conditions that have been summed up with a cute acronym. I suffer from an occasional UTI, or a URI and my heart is plagued with CHF. My joints don't have a full ROM. I once came up with my own acronym for my former job. I was the POC, or the pastor on call. No one thought it was funny. I have preached and taught the Bible for many years, almost each and every Sunday since May of 1978. I preach and teach as if it were my final message. I pray over the people and wait for God to send me the message for those people at that particular time, and not one that is just pleasing to me, but one thing for sure, it is going to be a message that includes the “gospel” of the Lord Jesus Christ. One of my friends once told me that you don't preach the gospel until you get Jesus out of the grave. He is right. It is because of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ that we even have the need for a devotional, a hymn, a church or hope for the future. If Jesus had not raised from the dead, we would not even be writing or reading this devotion. In fact we would not even know about Him. But, He did raise from the dead, and we do know about Him and so what He said is vitally important. Second Timothy 4:2-4 says, “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”

          Everyone seems to want something else when they come to a church meeting. Paul warned Timothy that people were going to want something that soothed their itching ears and that is who they were going to listen to. Paul, however, reminded Timothy to “Preach the Word” virtually in “every season.” There are a lot of people in the pulpits these days and many are what are called, “Skyscraper” preachers: one story after another and very little preaching of the Word. When we refer to the Word, we are usually referring to the Bible, the Word of God. Perhaps you didn't get “edified” this past Lord's Day but you can still get into the Word yourselves. Perhaps you didn't hear something that contained “sound doctrine” but you can still get into the Scriptures yourselves. Paul warned Timothy about the upcoming teachers in his day and the same is just as true today as people look for something new and different. As for me, tell me the Old, Old Story. We probably have a denomination for each and every type of person. We even have cowboy churches, vertical churches and journey churches in our area and I would guess you have some unusual church names in your areas as well. I still have a “cross stitch” over my desk that was done in the very early days of my ministry by one of the ladies in the church. It simply says, “Preach the Word.” We all deserve to attend a church where the Word of God is preached and where people are fed so we can get through the upcoming trials that are in all of our lives. In the preaching of the gospel, the definition of the word, gospel, is seen in First Corinthians 15:3-4 and contains the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Are you a person who has “itching” ears? Are you looking for a new gospel? Are you looking for something different in your church attendance? If your toes are getting stepped on by the preacher, then your probably head a message from the Bible. There are those times when the preaching becomes a personal challenge and God speaks to you through the message and the messenger. Praise God for His Word today.

Disobedience

         The Christian Church has long sung the song, “Trust and Obey.” Many people of my generation almost know the hymn from memory. “Trust and obey, for there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.” What is so hard about being obedient? When my parents would give me a command to not do something, there seemed to be that tendency to do it anyway. I was sternly told not to ride my bicycle to Rolling Prairie. It was the town that was located about 2 ½ miles from our home. On a bicycle, the distance could easily be covered. A group of us kids would ride out to other places, play on the railroad tracks, go into the woods on various farms, climb trees and the such, but we didn't venture into the forbidden zone. One day, I headed my bike in the direction of town and got there, riding up and down the streets and it never even bothered me that I was being disobedient. That was the case until my Mother showed up. John 3:36 says, “ He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”

       This verse is translated differently in some case the phrase, “believeth not” has the meaning of not obeying. In the KJV, it is translated 7 of the 16 times as being disobedient rather than “not believing.” It gives us another shade in the meaning of not believing. What does it mean to you when you find someone who is not a believer? What characterizes their life? They are disobedient to the commands of Scripture. It must be part of the human nature to “test the waters” to see if something will really result as was said in the Bible or not. The believer in the Lord Jesus Christ looks around their world and sees the evidence of Second Timothy 3:1-5 which begins with the phrase, “In the last days...” The unbeliever looks at the same world and comes up with liberal excuses as to why we are in the predicament that we are in when in reality God has given us ample warning not to do something, and we go off and do it anyway. We do it because of sin and we have a natural tendency towards sin. The little hymn had the right idea in that we need to “trust and obey.” The unbeliever is certainly going to be characterized with disobedience. In John 3, the main thought is eternal life and how to get it. Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born again. The third chapter of John, which speaks so much about the blessed eternal life ends with this final statement that the unbeliever, will not have life but the wrath of God will abide on him. What a statement and what a terrible end to be tacked onto your life. We all need to take a look at our lives and see if we are being disobedient especially in this area of eternal life. If you think that all roads, or all religions, lead to God, you are on the road to the wrath of God and not to heaven. The Lord Jesus Christ made that abundantly clear in John 14:6. “...no man comes to the Father but through Me (The Lord Jesus Christ).” “When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word, What a glory He sheds on our way! While we do His good will, He abides with us still, And with all who will trust and obey.” Praise God today for His guidance each and every day.