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.