Ministry of Love

update

2011-09-15T10:39:00.000-07:00

The good man, that was my father, will no longer be writing this blog. He has gone on to be with the Lord that he loved so much. He died after a very short illness, and thankfully, not much pain. We, as his family, will continue to keep the blog active, so feel free to review any of the previous postings. We will try to carry on his legacy of sharing God's love with those who are willing to receive the message, perhaps from older writings of his, and perhaps with some new added thoughts. Thank you, each one of his readers, for your interest.

Pain, Gift or Curse? by John.

2011-07-30T11:39:00.000-07:00

I've lived a long time, and I've experienced a normal amount of pain I suppose, but I've not experienced nearly as much pain as WW II soldiers who were prisoners of war, nor the pain the Jews suffered at that time. I think no normal person looks forward to suffering. I'm becoming more familiar with pain now, and as much as we don't like it, I think we should consider it a gift from God. As a simple illustration, can you imagine breaking an ankle and walking around on it without pain? It would probably result in death very quickly.

Pain is God's gift to help us stay healthy. Early in our lives we stop doing most of the things that cause pain. One of the things I did as my children grew was swat them on the rear end when they reached for something on the hot stove. Thankfully that helped avoid the much worse perhaps life threatening burns.

With pain, God also gave us myriads of plants that relieve the suffering at least to some degree. One of the plants in the USA used in the early days of this country for toothaches is the Aralia Spinosa, or Devil's Walking Stick. Another was Slippery Elm used to help medicines easier to swallow. Many plants are still used today in a more purified form. I've used Digoxin for my heart for many years. I it comes from Digitalis plants.

These are just a few of God's gifts to spare us too much pain, and there are so many, many more! I can't remember thanking God for the pain I've had, can you? But I have thanked him for the medicines that have kept me in relatively good health for so long.

One of my good friends requested prayer for a co-laborer today, and I've already been praying for both of them. I certainly believe God answers our prayers and heals us of our sicknesses. I think He usually does it with a quiet touch, but I also believe doctors are a gift to the whole human race. I wrote my friend immediately saying much of what I'm saying here, but a little more.

I am wondering if our Father allows illness so that we will personally turn to Him for help, and if in turning to Him, we also ask others to join us in prayer for healing. In I Thessalonians 5:17, Paul urged the Christians there to pray without ceasing and to give thanks in everything.

These are just some thoughts about our daily life here in this world where we are being prepared for the glory of heaven. I believe our gifts far outrank our needs, and I agree with Paul that we need to pray and give thanks constantly... I think I will stop and give thanks for everything God has given me including pain, medicines and doctors who know how to use those medicines.

Jesus; by John.

2011-07-28T14:35:00.000-07:00

A Note To the Reader:

I intend this to be a simple account of my own observation and resulting belief concerning Jesus. I don't intend it to be a dogmatic, or theological presentation, but rather a report of my lifetime experience with the Lord.

I knew little of Jesus when I became a Christian. I attended Sunday School and Worship almost from birth throughout my life of 80 plus years. I learned the Bible stories and heard impressive preaching. None of that made me a Christian. I became a Christian when a man who became a dear friend and brother pressed upon me the fact that Jesus came into this world to save people. I knew that included me. Before that I thought it impossible for Jesus to pay any attention to me at all. I may have been close to considering Him an ideal rather than a person.

Weeks passed as my friend and I talked. Rather suddenly, I became aware that Jesus was really a person who cared for everyone, and for me personally at that moment. That became vitally important. Heaven and hell had been to me like Valhalla, or the top of Mount Olympus with its pantheon of gods and goddesses. Now, I was flooded with the truth that what the Bible says is true including heaven and hell, and all that it says about Jesus is true. I began to read the Bible with a great thirst for knowledge about everything spiritual, and as I discovered truths, I also discovered I could not keep them to myself. I began to share them with everyone around me. That's the reason for what I'm doing right now. There is so much being said that I find to be unbiblical. I invite you to see for yourself if this is Biblical, or not.

Jesus is God, and as far as I can ascertain, He has always been with God the Father. I see our earthly father/son relationship to be of a similar nature. My own father was always in charge, but we were always equals in everything other than wisdom, knowledge and chain of command. My father always shared as much knowledge with me as he could. Jesus referred to His Father as teaching and instructing Him, and also said He was always obedient to His Father. I don't intend to leave out the Holy Spirit, but all I plan to say is that God's Holy Spirit always present, came to represent and act for Jesus among men. He seals us, teaches and leads us when we allow Him to do God's will in our lives.

Before the incarnation, Jesus was there with the Father in creating all that was created. I think He probably worked directly with mankind during those millennia, but I am not comfortable in stating that as fact. I am aware that heavenly messengers visited people on varied occasions, and if we stick with John's use of "the Word" then almost every time God spoke, the speaker was Jesus.

People have always believed that God, or gods, were behind the scenes observing the activities of mankind. Greek mythology is full of that belief as was Judaism of the day. Not everything in pagan religion is bad. It falls far short of Christianity, but I suspect God used it, and curbed it, to accomplish His will. How much their existence changed the history of mankind is debatable at most. Personally, I believe Romans 8:28 expresses it well: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." This indicates we are free, and God does not cause everything, but uses everything for His children's good, and His work is always perfectly good.

I believe God exists in three personalities, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and I believe the three are not three, but one God. Beyond that, my experience is that God is perfect love and perfect power. He rules everything with a loving touch that always accomplishes His will. That means being apart from God is the worst position in this world, and to accept Jesus as Savior and Lord of our lives is absolutely the best

The Certainty of Hope Spans Time; by John

2011-07-24T19:21:00.000-07:00

The Certainty of Hope Spans Time

Many words in every language mean a variety of things according to the need they fill. For instance the English word "hope" expresses something good that can, or may, happen in the future. In a sense, it always expresses a desire. "I hope to make a trip to Disney Land before the kids grow up!" is an example. But sometimes as Christians we speak of "the blessed hope." That speaks of something that we believe will certainly happen because God has promised it in the Bible. We may also use it to express a negative idea, "I hope that never happens." Hope can be used to express regret. For instance, a person may say, "I hoped my business would be financially sound by now, but it isn't."

In the Greek New Testament of the Bible "hope" is always quite strong. When it was written, their use of hope expressed an absolute belief of a future event happening. The only unsure thing in their hope was the element of time. They weren't sure about the exact year, day and hour.

Today, we generally express our faith with positive statements such as, "I remember when I put my trust in Jesus, and He saved me. I know my home is in heaven with Him!" The "know" in that sentence expresses our Biblical hope. It hasn't happened yet, but we are certain everything God has promised will occur according to His schedule. And yes, we believe God has a schedule. How absolute, or flexible it is, we certainly do not know.

Some people resent Christians saying such things, but those same people may say, "I'm going to visit Italy this summer, or something like that." They can't be sure they will live through the day, much less until some future date. A good friend and I were talking one day after he visited the dentist. He said matter-of-factly, "The technician told me I brushed my teeth too hard. She said I would lose them before I died if I didn't brush them a little more gently." His eyes were fixed on mine, and I saw the pain there. It was ironic. He had cancer, and he lived only a few more weeks. He was well aware his time was almost gone, but the technician didn't have a clue about his condition. Most of us don't have much more than a clue about what the future holds, that is, unless we have hope in Christ.

A fragment of a song just came to mind. It says something like, "I don't know about the future, but I know Who holds the future in His hands."

I'm the one who knows that he has a limited future now. I have acute myeloid leukemia and I'm 83 years old. It would be extremely painful and probably quite useless to treat the disease at this point. I've chosen palliative treatment. That means the medical community will try to keep me comfortable as long as I live. My friends tell me I can't give up, and I have to tell them that I am not. I am living in hope that the future holds a far more wonderful life than I've already had on this beautiful earth where God placed us. Eternity is my hope with all the wonderful things God has promised. I'm looking forward to meeting two sisters and a brother who left this earth before I was born, and of course, my parents and older brother who was like a father to me a lot of the time.

The Hebrew Bible contains a number of different words we translate to English with our word, "hope." They express a far greater range of meaning, mood and feeling than our one word can carry. Tikvah refers literally to a cord as an attachment, and carries the meaning of an expected happening longed for. Miqveh refers to perhaps an oasis, or a pool of water, but it is used to express confidence that it will be there where they expect it. Yahchal refers basically to waiting, and that's a big part of hope. We must be patient for our Lord works on His Own time table, and it is always correct and filled with His love.

These are just some of the expressions of hope. There are more if you would like to study them. As for me, I am trying to live one day at a time emjoying my family and friends and the time God is allowing me here, but my hope is for a future with far less limitation than I now have. There is no real freedom or safe haven on earth. Both are ours when we turn our lives over to the Lord. That is my hope.

John A. House, July 17, 2011

What Does Being Christian Mean? by John.

2011-06-12T20:04:00.000-07:00

Jesus stated in both Matthew 12:33 and Luke 6:44 that trees are known by their fruit, acorns from oaks, pecans from pecans, figs from figs, etc. It's enigmatic to many because He wasn't talking about trees, but human beings. Each Gospel quotes Him as saying good people bring forth good fruit out of their hearts, and evil people produce bad fruit from theirs.

It is absolutely true that Christians are known by their fruit. I ask the question "What does being Christian mean," because I see the answer is clouded. Well-meaning people are imperfect. Some who call themselves Christians are obviously wrong. Still others use the gullibility of Christians for their own selfish gain. James and John wanted to call fire down on a whole town because they didn't treat Jesus well. Jesus rebuked them and told them they did not yet know the Spirit they were of. Later in time, "Christians" sought to free the Holy Land from "infidels". Even the name "infidel" is offensive, but the atrocities committed in the name of Jesus were far worse. Through the following centuries, Protestants and Catholics both put people in prison and killed many because they did not use the name "Christian," or because their Christian doctrines differed. It is no wonder that so many students have refused Christianity because of the facts they discovered in history.

What does being Christian mean to you? I grew up in a church where it seemed to me that being a Christian was a matter of saying you were. My parents were in their 40's when I was born, so most of their friends were middle aged. Those were the people I knew both in church and in their places of business. I heard their curses, their bawdy stories, and I saw many of them proudly attending church on Sunday mornings. I also saw them gambling in their places of business, sometimes in a poolroom, and once or twice in a backyard. They certainly sent a mixed message to me; yet, I am a product of that environment. I soon discovered I did not choose to be like them. I chose to pattern my behavior after the better people in my church.

A friend and I had the same birthday, and we were close neighbors. On our twelfth birthday we joined the church. Neither of us seemed to have a clear idea of what being Christian was; yet somehow we both did eventually become Christians, and both of us became ministers.

Later, both of us changed churches without the other knowing it. I thought at the time denomination made a lot of difference, but I've not been sure about that in the last few years. I've met some Christians who belong to my original denomination that would pass any test I could think of. They are that much like Jesus. Oops! I let the cat out of the bag before I intended to! Yep! If your idea of being a Christian is not being like Jesus, it's not a good idea.

Even trying to be like Jesus is fraught with peril. There's a whole church full of people in Kansas who have gone on the warpath against American soldiers and homosexuals. I don't recall Jesus ever attacking anyone except when he overthrew the moneychangers' tables in the temple, and even then, he simply corrected their wrong.

Being like Jesus does not mean we have to wear robes and sandals. It's not a matter of dress at all. In fact, I believe Jesus never had a picture made because He did not want people to try to look like Him. Can you imagine what would have happened in the world if people really knew what Jesus looked like? Take a quick thought about what followed the death of Elvis Presley. His look-alikes number in the thousands! I'm glad we don't have a real picture of Jesus for that reason.

Most of us have an idea that being Christian only involves a set of social rules and customs with occasional perfunctory prayers. We think that if we display our expected position in worship, then we can go leave and return to our "normal" selves.

I believe the Bible gives us a lot more extensive picture of Christianity. That picture is Jesus. "What would Jesus do," is a question that has been popular for a long time, but it is also impossible. We are so imperfect that we can't be successful reacting to every event like that. What we can do is study the life of Jesus through His inspired sayings and try to become remolded in our own basic nature.

I get a little tired of people discussing whether dogs have souls, or not. I think most of those arguing either way would say that people do have souls; yet, the Scripture plainly tells us we are living souls! That's who we are! We are spiritual beings! And as such, we belong to God, and He has given us the right to become His Own children when we admit our sins, and turn from them to Jesus for salvation. When we do, our body may die, but we live on as long as God lives! (I borrowed that from Billy Graham).

Being Christian does not mean we will never sin, never make a mistake, or be self-seeking, and self-indulgent. It does mean we will continually turn away from all evil in ourselves and others. It also means that we will live with the propensity for failure that others have without snubbing them or castigating them. It means we will treat them with love, the love of Jesus that He instills in us. I John states that clearly in 2:9, "Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness." The next verses continue that thought.

Not church membership, not a written code, but what God does in and with our lives is what makes us Christian and our constant contact with God through His Holy Spirit is what it means to be Christian. I discovered many years ago that in myself, I have nothing to be proud of. Baptism, church membership, approval of my brethren, ordination, successful service in church, my BA and M-DIV degrees all amount to nothing! Being as much like Jesus and loving others like He did is my passion in this life, and if it is not yours, I hope it will be soon! I pray God will bless you with a saving knowledge of Himself.

Wisdom, Who Is Wise? by John.

2011-03-22T12:05:00.000-07:00

Wisdom? Who is Wise?
Proverbs 11:30 Introduction:
1. (1) We live in an era filled with contrasts. We have a world in which far more than half the people exist in poverty, while a few have so much money they can't find ways to spend all of it. Some of these people have no desire for money, just for enough to eat and a comfortable place to sleep while others seem to be unhappy because they don't have all there is.
(2) We have highly educated people, and people with no formal education at all.
(3) We have crippled people who would love to be able to crawl. Others are proud that can leap their own height, or perhaps run a four-minute mile.
(4) Some very intelligent people have no formal education while some with very little intelligence proudly display doctor's degrees.
(5) There are artists who use paint, crayon, engraving, and stone cutting, and at the other end of the spectrum those who are physically blind, unable to view the world's art.
(6) We have deaf mutes unable to hear or speak, and we have mothers, for instance, who can hear a pin drop at a hundred paces and preachers who can charm the birds out of the trees with their words.
2. Variety: (1) We have to assume that God likes variety because there is so much of it. We see variety in animals, birds, reptiles, human beings and pets.... We could go on listing these things for a long time without being repetitive!
3. Color (1) We haven't mentioned Color: We have human beings of color, and actually we are all colored people. We have kinky hair, curly hair, straight hair, no hair, blonde, brunette and a few with a streak of white or some other color in otherwise naturally shaded hair. That reminds me that my brother was blue eyed, until he opened his eyes wide, and then you saw that the top of his left eye was brown!
4. Our God is so Great! He loves us so much! And as far as I can tell, He never tires of introducing news things to us! Every time we think we've learned all there is, the volume of knowledge doubles again!
5. Christians never need to be bored in this world, and I am sure we will never be bored in heaven. Early in my life there were great arguments about someday splitting the atom, and now we fear other nations are building atomic, or hydrogen bombs.
6. If there ever was a time we need to be wise, this is it! But we don't need worldly wisdom. Ours must come from God!
7. I've already mentioned we have intelligent people and people who are run of the mill, but we also have a few who are way below average for a number of different reasons. No one should look down on us because of our education, intelligence, or lack of either one. It's a sad truth that some of us do look down on anyone who is not as blessed as we are.
8. There's a place in Mississippi called Sullivan's Hollow. There's never been a town there as far as I know. It's located about midway between Jackson, the state capital, and Hattiesburg the home of Mississippi Baptist College. Back in pre-WW II days, I am told they had signs on the road in and out of the area that said any black person found here after dark will never leave!
The Baptist Church had a revival, and the old man Sullivan was finally persuaded to attend. He did it just to get his family off his back. The preacher was somewhat awed by that grim-faced old man, but he delivered a Georgia sermon...you know what that is, don't you? Well, it's long, and so loud the preacher won't have a dry thread on him, and he'll be standing on about four inches of britches legs when he's done! There was a young fellow the people called a half-wit. He answered the altar call and accepted Christ. The preacher continued the invitation, and the young fellow got up and walked toward the back of the church. Every head followed him until he stopped right in front of old man Sullivan. He bent over whispered in his ear and straightened up. The old man stared up at him and shook his head. The young fellow leaned over and whispered in his ear again and walked out of the church. Everyone wondered what that boy said. No one dared mention religion to that old man! After several verses of the invitation song, old man Sullivan got up, went forward, and professed faith in Christ. It shocked everybody including the pastor, so he asked Mr. Sullivan if the young man had influenced him to become a Christian, and the old man said, "Yes, he did. He asked me if I wanted to go to heaven. I shook my head. Then he leaned down and whispered, 'Well, go to hell then.' And that did it!"
Now a minister told that story, and his point was that we might save someone with a simple, direct approach. My thought is, you don't have to be smart, well educated, or even socially acceptable to lead someone to Jesus, but you do have to be wise!

I. Proverbs 11:30 says, "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he who wins souls is wise." I see three facts in this verse:
1. The righteous life bears fruit to eternal life.
2. Since the writing is poetic in form, the Hebrew rule is, the second half of the verse rephrases the first, adds something else to the first, or contrasts with the first.
(1) Considered the second way, it is wise to win souls.
(2) Taken the first way, a wise person wins souls.
(3) Third, this is O.T. so I take it that the Scripture is saying we can get people to change their minds toward God. NT tells us it will be His Spirit who changes their hearts, and works out their salvation.
3. We may persuade people to trust the Lord, but it is the Lord, and only the Lord, Who does all the saving.
4. Even in Solomon's day, God told us how to recognize a wise person and how we ourselves can become wise.
5. The process is simple to state, but not so simple to accomplish.

II. First, Do you really want to be Wise?

1. Persuade men to put their trust in the only real God, the One Who reveals Himself both in the Bible and directly to the human soul.
2. How can you do that?
(1) First, live like Jesus did when He walked the earth. I John 2: 5b and 6: "This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did."
a. If you don't live spiritually as Jesus did, your claim is untrue.
b. Worldly people can tell a real Christian from a phony in the blink of an eye!
c. It's true that people let Satan confuse them sometimes, but if they go directly to God in prayer, He opens their understanding to the truth.
(2) Second, fill your life with good and avoid the bad the rest of the world does. People know and notice the difference! They are not likely to change their minds, if our claim doesn't ring true.
(3) Third, love people the way God loves them.
a. I'm talking about the kind of love that the Father displayed when He sent His only born Son to die for us.
b. Again, lost people know, and they can spot a phony. Satan aids them in that! In fact, Christians out of fellowship with the Father are one of the strongest tools Satan uses to keep lost people lost!
(4) Fourth, deliberately seek to lead others to the truth of the Gospel.
a. Most people hear preaching at church if they go to church, or on the radio, or TV, but too often they don't really apply it to themselves. As the old saying states, "It just goes in one ear and out the other!"
b. Your visiting with them will cause them to say, "Hey! You mean the preacher was talking about me?" Or, they will at least get the idea God cares!
(5) Fifth, we must pray for, and if possible, with the people we want to meet Jesus.
ill. When I was very young, I was in church every Sunday morning and night. I never applied the message to myself. I just wondered how long the preacher was going to preach, or when the Sunday School bell would ring ending the class. I had a very strong, uncontrolled temper. When I got angry, my mother took me into the bedroom, knelt by my dad's bed, pulled me down beside her, and she prayed for me. When I asked her why, she said, "I don't want you to end up in the penitentiary. That would break my heart!" Those prayers did not make me a Christian, but they did make me scared of doing wrong! She really got my attention, not through scolding, but through prayer!
When you pray with lost people, they get the point that you, and probably God, care about what happens to them in their future! And you've shown yourself to be wise!

II. A Wise Christian is a Soul Winner.

1. I don't think most Christians understand what a soul-winner is because we think that when we do the things we've already mentioned, people will automatically become Christians.
(1) If that doesn't happen, we think we are at fault! And we may be, but that's not necessarily true.
(2) Maybe there's unconfessed sin in our lives, and that lost person sees it.
(3) That may happen, too, but the fact is, we don't save people!
(4) God does the saving, and He uses the Gospel to do it.
(5) If we give the Gospel to people, we've given them the one thing they need to live forever!
ill. If you saw a person drowning in a swimming pool, what would you do? Jump in and save him? Call the lifeguard? Dial 911? What would you do?
When I took lifesaving in college, they taught us how to go about every possible circumstance to save a person from drowning, and to be safe ourselves.
The very first rule was, don't go into the water if it is not absolutely necessary! Use that long pole with a crook on it. Throw the person a life preserver. Those things you can do even if you can't swim!
When you are dealing with lost people, be aware of your limitations and theirs, but don't let them keep you from doing God's will. Use your limitations to do it right!

III. Connecting this text with Jesus' Words in John 15:5: seals your wisdom.

1. Every Christian bears fruit because of his relationship with Jesus, the Vine.
(1) How much fruit you, as a Christian, will bear is variable.
(2) He first states simply that you will bear fruit. That means every Christian will bear some fruit.
(3) The second indicates you will bear more fruit.
(4) The third indicates you will bear much fruit.
(5) Considering the parables Jesus used, we have to be aware that some of us will bear more, some less.
2. Again, Jesus does all the saving. It is our job to point people to Jesus in a winning way.
3. To do that requires two things:
(1) We need the powerful presence of God's Holy Spirit.
(2) We need to be in contact with lost people.
a. We may visit people we just think are lost specifically to tell them about Jesus.
b. We may tell people we already know, perhaps really love, about Jesus.
c. We may stage activities to attract and educate people about Jesus.
2. But when all is said and done, the fact is, you will bear fruit because you are part of the Vine,
Jesus! Producing fruit is absolutely natural and certain for Christians!
(2) But we must be sure the glory of all we do
goes to our heavenly Father, to His Son Jesus, and to God's Holy Spirit Who seals every person to the very day of redemption. Ephesians 4:30 says: "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." "Sealed" is past tense and means every believer who places his life in the Lord's hands is immediately sealed all the way to heaven!

IV. Please God!

1. We've talked about being wise, and about winning souls.
2. We have not paid much attention to the first part of that verse, "The fruit of the righteous."
3. It seems reasonable to say that the fruit of a Christian is another Christian, but since we don't do the saving, is that true?
4. Perhaps we need to consider the word, "righteous." (It is tsaw-DEEK in Hebrew.
(1) The righteous man or woman is moral, upright, someone who is dependable.
(2) Someone recognized by his neighbors as a good person.
(3) Such a person in Solomon's time would be highly respected and should be now.
(4) The person from the New Testament on is a Christian rather than a godly Jew.
(5) Perhaps you feel you are too much a sinner to fit that description.
(6) Let me remind you that Isaiah said in Isaiah 64:6:"...All our righteous acts are like filthy rags..." Without Jesus we could not be clean!
People notice the difference in our lives, and they want to know Jesus, too.
(8) Perhaps you haven't given your life to Jesus... Look around you. Most of these have given their lives to Him.
(9) Give yourself to Jesus right now. The altar is open for you. We will pray with you, counsel you, and help you to know our Lord Jesus!

10. I only mentioned two of the three things I see in that verse. The third is reproduction. Every soul who comes to Jesus, will bear fruit, and when you lead one person to Jesus, that "tree of life" has already started growing! It should continue growing until Jesus comes to take us home.
11. If you aren't a Christian, give yourself to Jesus and start a whole new tree of life!

Abbreviated form Magnolia Rd, 3/20/2011

Do You Admire Ministers? Remember! by John.

2011-02-12T07:50:00.000-08:00

Do You Admire Ministers? Remember!

In I Corinthians, Paul gave those people a startling revelation that still startles people today. In 1:21, Paul says God chose to save people by what the Greeks in particular chose to consider foolishness.
1:25 says, "For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength." Verses 26-29 really should catch our attention: "Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things - and the things that are not - to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him."

God did not choose many of the best, but mainly the lowest, less valuable people by the world's standards to call; yet, some of these messengers of God today are feted as intelligentsia. They come very close to becoming idols themselves. I hope none allow such a thing to happen, but I know too many of us become quite egotistic when we should be completely servant-minded. I've known many deacons who thought their title made them rulers in the church instead of servants of the church. Acts 6 makes it quite clear that deacons started out as people who handed out food and other required items to widows and other needy people in the church. That didn't take a great mind, only a great spirit of devotion to the Lord and His work.

Pastors of large churches have attained popularity that most Old Testament prophets never achieved. With that popularity a lot of power is bestowed on them not by God necessarily, but by the people in the church.

Now, I've always considered church members as Christians, but time has given me reason to doubt that all of them are. I tend to think of myself not as one who has arrived, but as one who is striving to reach the goal of the high calling in Christ as Paul said in Philippians 3:14. I believe none of us ever reaches such a position that we can be absolutely right about anything, salvation included.

When you look at us (ministers of the Gospel), what you see is not what we once were. All of us have things in our past, things we do not want to ever come up in public. If we don't, then I believe we've already missed God's truth about us. We grow from nothing to something under the tutelage of older Christians used by the Holy Spirit for that, and from our peers who are also striving to become the person God wants all of us to be.

This situation makes us very vulnerable. We are still "earthen vessels," or ("jars of clay" II Corinthians 4:7, NIV). God's power is shown to all who will see it in the very accomplishments of such ineffectual, lowly servants.

Numbers 16-18 starts with the rebellion of Korah Dathan, Abiram and On against Moses and Aaron. They considered themselves called of God, and Moses and Aaron as failed leaders. If you remember the history, this occurred after the messengers brought back a discouraging report of the land God was going to give them. The ground opened up and swallowed them with their families, tents and other belongings. I'll not dwell on that. What I want you to notice is that Moses fell on his face before these people. He wasn't a young man! He was getting old, more than eighty; Yet, I'm sure he was stirred by mixed emotions. I believe he felt his own unworthiness to be in the position of God's leader for these people. I believe he remembered the sins in his past. I believe the people's sudden vicious enmity terrified him. Despite that, they were family, and he did not want them destroyed! He wasn't the man he was when he was in Pharaoh's palace; He wasn't the man who saw the burning bush. He wasn't the man who stood before Pharaoh and challenged him to let the Israelites go! He was the wonderful mixture that a person becomes with the help of God's Holy Spirit doing the leading. He stood for God's right, and still he pled for the lives of those who hated and wanted to depose him. Doesn't that remind you that Jesus said, "I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." (Matthew 5:44).

I admire Moses, but not as a demigod. I see him as another minister of the Lord who suffered growing pains like all the rest of us. Of course, I gladly acknowledge God talked directly with Moses, and I don't think God has ever done that with anyone else other than Jesus. I know some claim that God converses with them in prayer. All I can say is that I haven't had any experience like that; Yet, I have experienced what I believe was a message from God to me alone, and I rejoice in that.

I'm also glad that I have experienced the love of many people, and I'm sorry I've disappointed some and made enemies of others. I don't think any of us want to make enemies. We want to be peacemakers and be blessed by that, but we are living, growing things in God's hands, and as one of my children used to frequently remind me, "No one is perfect, Daddy!" That certainly included me and everyone else I know.

I think it is good to admire God's servants, but we should be careful not to place them on some kind of pedestal overlooking everyone else. We should see them as equals with a different chore to perform for the Lord, and we should see our own calling to be just as important as anyone else's in God's plan for His creation. If you belong to Jesus, I do not only consider you a brother, or sister, but as someone doing God's work where you are, and I admire you! You are family!

We Can't Control God. by John.

2011-02-06T17:21:00.000-08:00

We Can't Control God

All of us establish rules in our minds about everything. I suppose it is necessary for us to keep some order to things. Some of those rules become so strong that we might call them our personal laws. Someone observed is was like building a box that fit everything. It's our way of saying, "This has to be like this." It may, or may not, be a logical conclusion, but we still try to make everything fit in one of our mental boxes. Maybe it is more appropriate to call these mental file cabinets in which we store what we know we know. This sounds a little redundant doesn't it?

Doing this is okay except we frequently discover it doesn't work. Some think creation can only have happened according to scientific principles. I believe that it did and does; however, to suggest there is not a God disobeys a basic scientific principle. My atheistic Zoology professor in college drilled into us that we must observe (under the microscope) and report only what we observe. To declare because of other discipoines that there is no God is only an inference of ignorance. Besides, we all know there is more science to be learned than we yet uncovered. Some of us, and I certainly include myself, believe God created everything that is. How can I believe in science and God? Well, I discovered long ago that there is no mental box big enough to contain God. A Methodist minister when I was a child illustrated our plight with a story of three blind men's first contact with an elephant. Each touched the elephant just once and then discussed what they discovered. One felt the elephant's tail. He said an elephant is like a big, rough rope. The second felt the elephant's leg, and he said an elephant is like a big tree. The third felt the elephant's trunk said the elephant was like a huge snake! They got angry with each other because of their disagreement. The preacher then compared their view of the elephant with our view of God. The only thing the blind men agreed on was that the elephant was big! Humans only get glimpses of God, and from those we fill in an image of Him. All of our experiences with God may be entirely real and valid, and yet even when we put them together sincerely believing we are right we've only begun to find out what God is really like.

I read a humorous story someone wrote many years ago about a little girl sitting at the kitchen table while her mother prepared their meal. Her mother noticed she was scribbling on some paper with crayons. She asked, "What are you doing, dear?" Her daughter answered, "I'm drawing a picture of God." "But you don't know what God looks like, do you, dear?" "No. But I will when I get done."

I believe God let's us see as much of Himself as He wants us to see. I believe He also limits us to be sure we develop faith in Him instead of seeing Him as a fact. If we could conceive of Him precisely, couldn't we build a box around Him? Wouldn't we think we could control Him? Of course, if that were possible, and I certainly don't believe it is, we would discover that being God, He still could not be manipulated.

Moses talked directly to God and God answered Him directly the Scripture says in Numbers 12:6-7, God spoke to Miriam and Aaron directly on one occasion. Moses stood by them; "...When a prophet of the Lord is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams. But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house." God wanted them to know there are different levels of inspiration. Then God continued in verse 8: "With him I speak face to face clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?"

My wife wrote in her book, "Women of the Bible" that Miriam was strong-willed, and Aaron was weak, and that she probably convinced Aaron to join with her in rebellion against their brother Moses, so God punished her alone as responsible instead of punishing Aaron, too. He made her immediately leprous. Moses interceded for her, but she still had to remain leprous for seven days. She was kept outside the camp until the leprosy was gone.

That not only tells us we may have differing levels of inspiration but also tells us we should be careful not to go beyond what God has given us. It may be extremely costly if we do. I have a lot of tools that I am fond of, but when one breaks and can't be repaired, I toss it into the trash barrel. I'm thankful God loves us more than I love my tools.

I study the Bible a lot, almost every day, and I've learned a lot, but I am careful to say I don't really know the Bible. I've had some tell me they didn't need to know the whole Bible because they lived by the Golden Rule. When I asked them what they called the Golden Rule, some of them said, "Why, it's do unto others as they have done to you! Everybody knows that!" Wrong, of course, but even if they had gotten it right, I'd have to also ask them, are you doing it? When anyone gives it some real thought, I think they will find they come up quite short of that goal because all of us have too much selfish desire to get it done.

You might think I'm trying to explain God, or protect Him in some way by what I've written here, but I would not dare! God doesn't need anyone's protection! I am certain about that. I am also sure that I sin by overstepping the inspiration I have as it is without adding another sin to the list.

We can't search out God. He reveals Himself to us. We can list some of His attributes, but we cannot give anyone an absolutely clear picture of God. We can state with assurance that God even created science, and that scientists only discover what God has created, but we don't have all the answers to questions of science, technology, or anything else. God does, and our disbelief in Him does not make him less real or untrue. Neither does it stop His love for us, His creations. John 3:16 is still vital to every human being: "For God so loved the world (that's us) that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Instead of trying to figure God out, my advice is put your trust in Him, and let Him fill you with His inspiration!

Scripture Is God-Breathed, by John.

2011-02-02T12:56:00.000-08:00

Scripture Is God-Breathed

I heard a forceful speaker bantering about his sermon notes. He said he put a "PPP" in the margin of his notes by some points. In music that means pianissimo, but in his notes it meant that point was weak and to pound the pulpit plenty! I think we too often express our weak points of doctrine by hitting them hard when talking with others. Have you noticed that? Most of us realize that volume has nothing to do with truth, but in arguments, we keep doing it anyway.

II Timothy 3:16-17 says, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." II Peter 1:20-21 says, "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."

Between these two passages, lies an understanding of inspiration. I mentally subscribed to the verbal inspiration of Scripture for a number of years. I thought that God dictated the words to the prophets. I did not know that there were three words in the Old Testament for "prophet." I was amazed when I discovered there were, and that those three words gave a good description of how prophecy manifested itself. One of them refers to foretelling the future. That's the one most people think of when prophecy is mentioned. Foretelling the future could really get a prophet in trouble because if their prophecy didn't come true, they might be put to death. Zoroaster would not have lasted long in that day, and we wouldn't have the myriad forecasts he made. Elijah's prophecy concerning rain, happened exactly as he forecast it would. In fact, he's probably the only weather man other than Noah to get his forecasts 100% right!

The second word means the prophet looks around himself at what is happening with his neighbors, and his nation and he speaks out against those ills of society which are most destructive. These are the things people do that displease God the most, and if we pleased God all the time, we could do away with wars and prisons. Of course, the immoral majority of people never really seek to please God, so that's not going to happen. Both forms of prophecy fit Micaiah, I think. When Jehoshaphat visited Ahab, Ahab wanted him to attack Ramoth Gilead with him. Jehoshaphat agreed, but asked that they consult the Lord first. They consulted all of Ahab's prophets who were no more than "yes" men, and they said they would be victorious. Jehoshaphat, as we might say, smelled a rat. He asked if there wasn't someone else they could consult. Ahab said there was one more man named Micaiah, but that he always had something bad to say to him. They consulted Micaiah, and he agreed with all the other prophets, but even Ahab knew he was speaking ironically. He told him to tell the truth, and in II Chronicles 18:16 Micaiah said, "I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd, and the Lord said, 'These people have no master. Let each one go home in peace.'" One of Ahab's prophets named Zedekiah had made some crude iron horns, like a bull's horns probably, and had prophesied that Ahab would "gore the Arameans until they were destroyed." Micaiah told Ahab a "lying spirit" was in his prophets. That made Zedekiah a liar, and he slapped Micaiah across the face and asked him which way that lying spirit went when it left him to go to Micaiah. Micaiah prophesied again and told Zedekiah in verse 24, "You will find out when you go hide in an inner room."

The account shows Micaiah practiced both of these forms of prophecy. He had decried Ahab's evil life, and forecast his death. It happened almost immediately. We aren't told what happened to those false prophets, but we can be sure God dealt with them.

The third word for prophecy deals directly with visions and indirectly with what we call ecstatic experience. We might think of it as being in a trance, seeing a picture, or something certainly out of the ordinary. When David danced in the street in II Kings 6:14ff that word is used, and he is spoken of as prophesying. It represents the excitement a person may experience when God speaks to him.

The three words should give a better idea of how the Scripture was written. Two people seeing the same vision will give differing reports because they saw it differently. That doesn't mean one is wrong and the other right. It simply means what they saw inspired them somewhat differently. I believe the Bible is like that. It's all true, but it presented different people's reports in different times, different places and circumstances. In a way, every word applies to us, but not in the same way. We learn from the whole Bible, but not every word applies to each one of us personally.

The central message of the Bible is Jesus. I understand there is a book just been published that says Jesus is the only true Word of God. He is certainly the Word of God according to the Scripture. He is not a book made of paper and ink. He is a living personality called in the Bible God's only born Son. I take that not only to refer to the virgin birth, but to the fact there is no other being in heaven or earth like Him, and the Bible tells us God spoke from heaven saying exactly that also telling us to listen to Him.

Inspiration in Greek is theopneustos a combination of the word "god" and "breath." God breathes on people, and they get the picture and deliver it to others. There are others who claim God has breathed on them, but it isn't true. They are false prophets. The surest way to flush them out is to compare their prophecy with what the Bible says plainly. An instance is easily seen in messages on the last times. God informed us about our attempt to establish timetables in Acts 1:7. In it Jesus says, "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority." That's as plain as anything gets, isn't it? Beyond that setting up a schedule for the end is false prophecy. Some other things are more subtle however, and we have to depend on the wisdom of many Christians instead of just our own idea.
I believe God is still inspiring people today to give His message to the world. Some are more gifted, some less, but many are agreed on the main doctrines of God, and I believe we probably should be talking and thinking about what is godly and ungodly rather than right and wrong. Following that we should do what we believe is godly regardless of what anyone else in the world does.

Do Blind People See Better Than Seeing People? by John.

2011-01-29T18:22:00.000-08:00

Do Blind People See God Better Than Seeing People?

Occasionally I respond to those who make comments on this blog, and I am doing that now because it may be of interest to a certain lady, or to someone else. Being physically blind does have some things in its favor. Helen Keller certainly contributed much to Christian life. Perhaps she saw God better than others of us. Dr. George Kleinschmidt, one of my closest friends in years past, was keen in his insight of others. He was the Psychiatrist in charge of the criminally insane section of a state hospital and a member of the church I served. He had a pretty severe visual problem. Once as we discussed various things, he said, "If I had the choice of being blind, or being deaf, I'd choose blind." That piqued my curiosity and I asked why. He answered saying, "I've known quite a few totally blind and deaf people. The deaf always seem to be on edge, unhappy, and irritable with others. The blind always seem to be happy and at peace with everyone." That was about fifty-five years ago, so I may not have quoted him exactly.

I gave that a lot of thought never thinking that I might experience some of both in years to come. I had already lost some hearing probably as the result of the big guns on ship immediately after WW II, and I was always quite near-sighted, but about that time, I was being treated for glaucoma. George may have said that for my benefit. The glaucoma advanced steadily in spite of all doctors did to stop it. I now have ninety-seven percent loss of vision, including the macula, in my left eye, and ninety-five percent in my right eye. The right macula is still clear. I gave up driving almost three years ago, and now instead of a driver's license I proudly possess a state identification card with my picture that says, "Non-driver's ID." I can still see to walk, but I don't cross many busy streets alone. My Senior Center friends tell me I still shoot a pretty good game of billiards, and I enjoy doing it.

I don't know that I perceive God better than any person with good vision who seeks to know God.

My faith in God tells me that if it is His will for me to be blind so that I can see Him better, He will grant me that spiritual vision. James 1:17 says, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." I also believe He gifts us according to what He wants us to do while we are on this earth. That leads me to say at this point, I think I see Him as He wants me to. I believe I would understand His Word and see Him spiritually much better anyway if I was not so self-centered. My ego constantly hinders my spiritual life. I believe that is true for almost all, if not all, people.

Ancient Greek's religion was pantheism, but their stories showed a lot of insight into our human situation. For instance, Achilles' mother dipped him in the river Styx thinking it would make him invincible, and he almost was. She missed getting his heel wet, and that's where we get the term, "Achilles' heel." A randomly shot arrow, as I remember, pierced his heel, and it killed him. Like him, I believe the very best of us have something in our lives that is so flawed as to cause us severe spiritual trouble. James 3:2 says, "We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check." At first reading, it sounds like James contradicted himself. He included everyone when he said we stumble, or sin. Then he said that if anyone always speaks without fault, he is perfect. "Perfect" in Greek does not mean flawless, or faultless. It means mature, or complete.

The first part agrees with Romans 3:23 and other Scriptures that also tell us we are all sinners needing to confess our sins to God for cleansing and redirection. In I Corinthians 13: 12 Paul said, "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." He was aware that none of us see God like we should. We don't even see ourselves or others around us as we ought. In a way, we are living contradictions. Romans chapter 7 covers that well.

Back to spiritual vision, that's something I believe I'd like to have, but it is not mine to achieve. It is God's gift if He so chooses. Perhaps He doesn't give it at all. Perhaps we could not live with what it would reveal to us. I'm willing to wait to find out some day. In the meantime, I plan to do the best with what I have whether seeing physically, or being physically blind. "To be, or not to be, that is the question," is an oft-quoted phrase by a Shakespearean character. I don't see it as an option for a Christian. Personally I settled that long ago by casting all my care on Jesus, and I am happy with Him in whatever state I find myself. I know there are others much closer to the Lord than I am, and there are still others not nearly as close. That is not important to self-value. Each of us must relate to the Lord individually. Together we all form the church Jesus died to create even though some of us may not even recognize our relationship to each other. I've attended many "Monday Preacher's Meetings" which turned into bragging sessions about how many baptisms each one had, and how high their Sunday School attendance was. It is easy to fall into competition with others, but I refuse to compete with brothers and sisters; yet, I do strive to know the Lord better, and if I can, I'll pull others along with me. I hope those closer to God than I am will do the same for me. With all this, I remember, "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead." That's Philippians 3:10, 11. A dear old saint in California pointed those verses out to me in 1946 while I was on liberty in Long Beach. I've adopted them as one of my "life" verses, and I'll always remember her for bringing them to my attention.

2011-01-26T14:04:00.000-08:00

Forces and Personalities, Realities

Someone asked me a couple of days ago, "Do you believe in demons?" I mulled my answer over before I spoke. "Yes. I do," I said. I really meant I believe in their reality. That question caused me to do some thinking because there are some subtle differences between forces, personalities, and excuses.

In every age, even in this so called scientific age, human beings seem to find it necessary to lay blame most anywhere and on anything other than themselves. Flip Wilson in his TV show years ago made, "The devil made me do it!" a well-known sentence as he used it as an excuse in his comedy routine.

Making fun of it is okay. It gets it out in the open so that we will look at it, but it doesn't get rid of our having to deal with the reality of guilt.

Humans have blamed black magic, witches, sorcerers, vampires, werewolves and zombies for their troubles and otherwise unexplained deaths. Before that, folklore contains ogres, fire breathing, flying dragons, trolls, hydras, Circes, giants, sirens, Cyclops and Satyrs. Some of these may have a physical background in dinosaurs, but for the most part their background was simply the unexplained.

What about demons and Satan? Well, let's look at them first with the Biblical account. In Genesis 3, the serpent has been universally accepted as Satan. Satan means deceiver, or adversary. It comes from the Aramaic pronounced as we sound it except with the accent on the last syllable. Our word comes directly from the Greek without change in pronunciation. In the Old Testament it is used most often in a figurative way. About 16, or 17 times it definitely refers to the devil. The Greek word from which we get our word is diabolos and means accuser.

Jesus said, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven." As far as I am concerned, Jesus spoke not of an evil influence, but of a defeated, yet powerful personality. That brings us to consider influences, or forces, and personalities.

Wind, rain, lightning, heat, and cold are all forces we have to deal with constantly. They have causes and effects that can be codified so that we can understand and handle them for the most part. Personalities think and plan actions. When we react, they can respond with a changed and unexpected plan. Forces can't do that. I believe in the reality of Satan and demons because of what Jesus said, and because reading between the lines as it were, I can see a diabolical personality behind so much in the New Testament. I see it also in history.

I think there is a difference in Satan and demons. For one thing, I think there is one Satan and there are many demons. Jesus called Peter Satan when Peter reprimanded Jesus for saying He had to die. But I believe He was saying Peter was out of character and acting like Satan. Peter obviously was not Satan. Demons are apparently lesser, disembodied beings desiring a body, and the New Testament depicts people as demon possessed. Just as evil perhaps as Satan, but they lack his ability and power. In Numbers 22:22 an angel was called to stand in opposition to the prophet Balaam. Since the Hebrew satan was translated "oppose" here, some suggest this angel rebelled against God and became Satan. I know of no proof either way other than the serpent in Genesis certainly predates this time.

I respect believers who have a differing opinion about this, but unless God changes my mind, I'll stick with what I now believe.

Laying the blame for our sins on Satan is useless. The Bible tells us we are responsible for our own sins. Laying blame for our condition on society, the weather, having to work too hard, not being well enough educated, being born in the wrong family, or any other thing won't work either. The Bible statement in Romans 6: 23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Notice that it doesn't say "from," but "in" Jesus Christ our Lord. Christians are saturated not in baptismal waters, but in God's Holy Spirit. Sometimes we don't act like, but we are. As I understand it, Christians can only be tempted to sin. They cannot be forced in any way. When we sin, we do it on our own, and to keep our fellowship with God unbroken, we need to be ever ready to confess our sins to Him. In I John 1:9, He promises to restore us the moment we confess.
We don't need to worry about demons or Satan. We just need to be aware they and he are working to undo to the best of their ability what God has already done in Jesus. Rest in the assurance that what Jesus said in John 10: 27-30 is absolutely correct: "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one."

Getting or Giving, Your Choice, by John.

2011-01-24T19:00:00.000-08:00

Getting or Giving, Your Choice!

I've had ample time to look back on my life, and I've discovered that two purposes dominated my past. From the time I was born, I actually lived for what I could get. I wanted knowledge. I wanted ability. I wanted people to like me. I wanted to be like Tarzan! Yep, I wanted to be a super-hero! I went to Sunday School and Worship every Sunday because it was the thing to do, not because I knew God had a claim on my life. At age 12, I joined the church with a friend who was within a few hours of being my exact age. Neither one of us had any real idea of why we were joining. It was just the thing to do.

I left for the Navy full of high ideals such as being patriotic, serving my country, maybe becoming a hero. That last thought didn't last long because the atomic bomb dropped on Japan, and for the most part, there was no more fighting.

I faced the question of purpose in living, and I really didn't know what it was. I thought I should get out of the Navy and get a college degree, make a good living, get married and raise a family. That was about the general order I thought those things should be done, and after all, it was the thing to do.
On liberty in California, I met an air force vet who was going to Biola University. The name is an acrostic of Bible Institute of Los Angeles. He really befriended me. His name was Myron T. Hayter. He began to talk with me about Jesus. Others at the Christian Service Organization did, too, and we attended The Old Fashioned Revival Hour. There I heard wonderful Christian music, and some interesting sermons by Charles E. Fuller. Every time he preached and gave an invitation, I went forward. Someone always dealt with me personally, but they were speaking words I didn't understand. Oh, I knew the words, but I didn't really have a concept of salvation.

We put to sea and went to Yokosuka, Japan. On the way, I was able to put together what Myron was talking about as I read the beautiful Bible he bought for me. I gave myself to God trusting Jesus for my salvation. It was probably the most unselfish gift I had ever given. Oh, I gave my parents, and my brother and his wife gifts, and I gave gifts to my friends on their birthdays, things like that that were expected of me, but this gift to God was different. I gave Him my old really sinfully selfish self, worthless as far as I could tell. I expected eternal life from Him, and I knew I received it.

I went through a period of about three months of intense New Testament Bible study. I underlined everything I thought was important for me to remember. About the only thing I had ever memorized were the songs my teachers taught me in grade school, the national anthem, and a few nursery rhymes. I dreaded trying to memorize anything, but when I returned to San Pedro and Long Beach, California, Myron introduced me to Dawson Trotman's memory cards, and I memorized as many as I could. At that time, I believe they had three sets of 35 cards each, but I had a print shop cut some stock to the same size, and I bought a little box that would hold them in order. I think was still going when I used all the four hundred cards in that
box.

It wasn't long until I experienced God calling me to serve Him. I interpreted his call as a call to preach. I was dead sure about it, but later I did have doubts. I was sure no one ever was as scared of public speaking as I already knew I was. Still later, I discovered my life purpose had changed dramatically. I still want things, but now in addition, I want to give to others, to use what I have to help other people spiritually and physically. Later, I told an older Mississippi pastor, Brother Ledbetter, about it. With a twinkle in his eye and a chuckle, he said, "God changed your 'want to,' didn't He?" I thought about it, and I agreed with him. He was a life long friend by the way. He was the primary reason I began to serve as pastor the first Sunday in November 1947. I served for several years trying get everything straightened out without a lot of success, then things again began to become crystal clear. My ministry was to be to share the love of Jesus in word and in person. That has been my goal ever since. I say goal because I have not accomplished it yet. That old selfish nature keeps popping up, and it takes prayer and renewed dedication to get back on track.

I have to judge myself daily. I ask myself, why do you want to do that? Is it for yourself? Is it for you and your friend, loved ones? Is it for the Lord? By the time those things run through my mind, there's usually an inner urge, perhaps God's Spirit telling me the right way to go. The problem is, like Paul says in Romans 7, that old nature fights hard, and sometimes I am the loser. I sympathize with Paul in Romans 7:24,25 when he said, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!"
I've had a number of people express concern that they couldn't "hold out" as a Christian. I can't either, but I don't have to. Romans 8:1 gives me assurance that God holds me: "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death."

Loving and giving are the two paramount actions of a Christian while confidence in the Love and Goodness of God is paramount in a Christian's mind, heart and life. We don't "belong" to a spiritual church! We are "The Church of Jesus Christ" regardless of any other name we may give it. The only boundary Christ's church knows is the boundary of unbelief. Once you've believed to the point of giving yourself to God, you are His child by His action, not your own. You are a new creature and your creation continues to develop as long as you live on this earth. I firmly believe that perfection will continue to be perfected throughout eternity.

Put simply are you a "getter," or a "giver?" Determining that will determine whether you live beyond this life, or not.

Three Days, or More Than 30 Years Blind? by John.

2011-01-21T17:39:00.000-08:00

Acts 9:1 begins the story of Saul of Tarsus' life changing experience with the Lord. I've heard and preached many sermons about that experience, but each time I think about it, something new, at least to me, strikes me. Saul was more than thirty years of age or he would not have had the recognized status of Jewish manhood. He was a Roman citizen and I really don't know if they considered any special birthday as a transition from childhood to being an adult, but the Jews did. Paul was an adult in their sight, and he was obviously approved and a favorite among the Pharisees. According to Acts 7:58, he was young and considered trustworthy because the crowd stoning Stephen left their outer clothes at his feet to be guarded. The fact is, Saul may have well been just a by-stander at this event, and it may have stirred him to persecute Christians. We don't know when he started down that road.

Young, trustworthy, well educated in a highly respected class of people among the Jews, he was on his way up...he thought!

On his way to Damascus with letters from the top leaders to give him authority to arrest and take Christians to Jerusalem for prison and trial, Saul must have been exhilarated!

Some have thought a thundercloud hung over that party as they traveled. If it did, it wasn't a physical thing, and there is no mention of clouds at all. They neared Damascus, and that's where the action begins. Do you suppose the Lord waited that long for a reason? Perhaps this was an instance when II Peter 3:9 fit the situation: "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." At any rate, Saul was about to do something God did not want him to do, and He stopped him in a flash!

Saul fell to the ground as he heard a voice speak his name, and it must have been awe-inspiring! In Acts 9:4 he heard, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" It could have been quietly spoken, but most of us like to think it was loud! The other men with Saul heard the sound, but did not understand anything that was said in the conversation Saul had with God.

It was obvious, Saul did not know God because he had to ask, "Who are you Lord?"

All those years studying the Scriptures had not given Saul eternal life. Instead, with his teacher's influence, Saul was against anyone who disagreed with him. Aren't there a great many people you know like that? It seems to me many Christians fit pretty well into Saul's old pattern. Don't you know some young, well educated, well meaning Christians who only love people who agree with them, and actually hate those who disagree?

Why didn't God let the others understand what He said to Saul? There are many possible reasons, but I'll mention just one. Salvation is a private thing between God and the person involved, in this case, Saul of Tarsus. I'm sure you can think of others possibilities.

Why did Jesus say, "I am Jesus you are persecuting." Note that Jesus has already ascended into heaven, but this is present indicative language. Jesus told Saul he was persecuting Him at that moment! He's the great Shepherd watching over His sheep, and Saul was a wolf about to do them harm, and without doubt had already done others harm. When any Christian is persecuted, so is the Lord by His Own statement right here. That makes me better able to stand up when I believe satanic forces are trying to persecute God's people. I hope it helps you, too.

When Saul stood up and opened his eyes, he saw nothing! Blind! What a shock that must have been! He thought he had everything under control, and then God spoke to him, told him to go into the city where he would be told what he must do and then left him blind! I don't know what Saul thought, but I know it is natural when we have what we call "an epiphany," we expect to leave it enthused, eager, and able; yet, God left Saul, weak, trembling and blind needing someone to take him by the hand and lead him!

I have an idea Paul had this experience in mind when he wrote the Corinthians, (I Cor. 1:26-29), "Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things - and the things that are not - to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him."

It seems to me that God wants us to depend on Him for all of our wisdom, strength and ability, and I'm happy that He does. There's not been a time in the past almost 70 years when someone complemented me that I didn't feel unworthy of the complement. I remembered that when we've done all that we can do, we are just doing what God expects of us. That opens the way for God to work miracles using us as the beloved tools to do it!

Whether Saul of Tarsus became Paul of God at that time, or not, makes no difference. God prepared him to serve Him as his own child for a long lifetime of achievement and suffering. He became a brand new creature still endowed with all his old culture, position, education and Roman citizenship. All of those things, I believe, God led him through from birth because God sees the end at the beginning. He is that great!

I've had so many come to me as pastor and say, "I just can't do anything! I don't have any talent!" Sometimes they would be in tears because they believed Satan's lies. My reply, after I learned better, was, "You are right! You can't do anything! Neither can I! But our God can do everything! Give Him yourself, and He will show you the way you are to bear fruit in His Kingdom, and that fruit will be excellent! It will please your Father in Heaven!"

Saul was just a Jew with all the same problems all of us Gentiles have. They just looked different to us, and our look different to Jews today, but God is capable to breaking down every wall between and within people to accomplish His will, and to let all of us know He loves us. Let's give Him our lives...maybe we won't have to be blind for three days as Saul was, or for more than thirty years as he was spiritually.

Right and Wrong? by John.

2011-01-20T11:36:00.000-08:00

Right and Wrong?

When I was a little boy, I associated with the neighborhood kids, and all but two were older than I was, so frequently I heard some rather profound arguments about religion. Some were Catholic, others were Baptists, two were Presbyterians, and several of us were Methodists. That's a potpourri for religious arguments, isn't it? Oh, yes! There were one or two kids who belonged to the neighborhood Church of God. They moved away early on, and I don't remember their ever being in an argument except over the rules for playing "King of the Mountain" when we played on the site of the brand new hospital being built.

All but one Catholic kid seemed to be content that their priests decided what was right. The two Presbyterian children both finished high school and went to college when they were 14. I think they were too smart to spend much fruitless time in arguing.

At one point, I remember one Catholic boy and the Baptist kids were quite concerned about when Jesus was going to return, and about the "Rapture" of the church, and who was saved and who was lost.
I was really interested in their arguments because I had never heard of any of those things! Oh, we celebrated Easter in a big way at the Methodist Church, and we heard a lot about right and wrong. I'm sure the minister dealt with sin every Sunday, but I was probably asleep, or maybe playing with a toy automobile. At any rate, in our family we talked a lot about right and wrong, but the word "sin" almost never came into the conversation, so all this "stuff" was new to me. After one of those heated arguments in which the Catholic boy pushed some of the Baptist kids around (He just emphasized his point physically, and he was tough enough to do it well), I went home and questioned my mother.

She told me right was the same thing as "right-eous-ness." I knew that word, and she told me Jesus was coming again, but we didn't know when. Then she told me not to listen to those boys arguing! She explained it was just not a good thing to do.

I wasn't really satisfied. I came to think of right and wrong as terms of the world. Teachers at school used them when they graded our papers, when they talked to us about when and where to cross the street, and about being truthful and telling lies. Our Physical Education instructors told us the right way to play games, and the penalties for playing the wrong way. I worried and fretted over those two words a long time!

Yep. Right and wrong do seem to be terms for correction of actions in society rather than spiritual words, don't you agree? Sin is the right word to describe what does not please God, and righteousness is the word for that which does please God. Beyond righteousness is holiness. Holiness as briefly as can be stated is simply being set apart for God's use, and His alone.

Holiness is often misused as a descriptive term for many people. I hear a lot about "holiness churches." Some probably have it in their titles, and I suppose it refers to more a style of worship than the state of the worshiper. (I'll welcome being corrected on that if anyone finds it unsuitable). In my opinion, all churches should be seeking to attain a position of living to please God. That is holiness to me, and it is also right to me. When I turn toward sin, no matter the size or worldly importance of the particular sin, I consider that wrong and unholy.

Are you wondering where I'm going with this? Well, first, I believe most Christians seek to gain what they themselves want rather than what God wants for them. That means I believe we are not nearly as holy as we ought to be. Second, I believe all of us need to constantly reevaluate what we are doing, and why we are doing it! We seem to think that as long as we live on a par with our neighbors, that's fine! I don't think it is. I think having any goal other than Jesus and the life He lived on earth is acceptable to God. We can't reach that goal, but we can strive toward it. Philippians 3:14,15 said of himself, "I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things."

I believe God should be in our every activity, and we should be in continual touch with Him personally. I love the song, "Others" which is a prayer for us to be like Jesus in living for others, but I also believe we are to retain our own personality without pushing our egos. Jesus never ceased to be Jesus, and we should never cease to be ourselves, but we should rather be seeking to improve our own character and daily living. Right and wrong, dedication and holiness, all should be foundational in our review of our own past, and they should be considered as we contemplate what we will do next. We truly should fit the term, "Christian." That term is used several times in the Bible and was more an epithet than an honor, but its meaning was, and is, "Christ-like," and that is exactly what we should be. The world at large may see us as right or wrong, but I believe God will view us with pleasure as long as we are devoted to Jesus.

The Assurance and Outworking of Salvation, by John.

2011-01-16T19:23:00.000-08:00

I John 5:16 & 17 speak of a "sin unto death" and a "sin not unto death." To discover what it means, we must consider the whole Book as context. Then we must compare these two phrases as well. By the way, this is a passage that troubles many because of their belief in eternal security or their belief you will be lost any time you sin. I'd like to point out in the beginning that in my own estimation you either have a home in heaven, or you don't, and it is not my right to decide which you have. All I can do is discuss what the Bible says, and I will admit my answer to what those verses mean may not be acceptable to you. I always am aware that I may be wrong. Christianity is not a matter of provable fact. It is a matter of faith. Only if God wanted people to have absolute proof of His existence could we offer proof. We must assume He does not, and that leads us to the conclusion that He wants those in His Kingdom who come to Him by faith.

Think about this for a moment or two. What is light? Any scientist would quickly say that light is made up of a spectrum of visible energy rays. Is it? Or are those rays of energy visible because God gave us eyes that could and would receive them? If that is what light is, why can't we see all the other rays that are present all the time? If color is only distinguished by the frequency of the different rays of visible light, why are we unable to distinguish higher and lower frequencies? Why can some of us not distinguish as many as other so-called "color-blind" people? My conclusion to all of this is that God made us the way He wanted us to be.

Do spiritual beings actually exist? If so, why can't we see them? Why do people report seeing angels sometimes, but not all of the time? Human beings existed from Adam until now without ever being able to visibly detect air, right? It's transparent, or is it? Hydrogen won't burn without oxygen, yet both are components of the air around us. Remove the other elements of air, and suddenly we will "see" the hydrogen/oxygen mixture in explosion, and if we are anywhere close, we will experience its force! The first result is visible fire. The secondary result will be oxygen and hydrogen combined in the form of water which both our eyes and skin can readily detect, but before the explosion we can't see either one.

There are myriads of questions scientists ask that still haven't been answered. Some will be, but there will always be more. God is so far ahead of us in intellect and power that questioning Him can't even be compared to an amoeba questioning the leading scientist of the world whoever that might be.

The Jews were furious with Jesus because He indicated He was equal with our Heavenly Father in John 6. Beginning in verse 31, Jesus said this: "If I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid. There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is valid. You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light. I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me...You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life."

Jesus said there were three witnesses of His unique position with our Heavenly Father, John the Baptist, the work God gave Him to finish, and the Father Himself. To explain the last witness, He alluded to the Jews' trust of the Scriptures. They were stating that they knew Moses came from God, so the Scripture to which He referred was probably the Pentateuch. I see what He said in verse 40 as meaning there was no life giving power in reading the Bible, but that the Bible witnessed the validity of Christ, and they refused to accept that truth.

First John was written primarily to announce and witness that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, Who came to give us eternal life and to assure us of it. The first words of this short selection follow a lot of assurances of the reality of our faith in Jesus, and the security we have right now beginning here in this life. It is a gift resulting from the trust we place in Him. We cannot earn or deserve it in any way.

I feel there is no reason to bring in the "unpardonable" sin (Matthew 12:31-32) though some scholars do. The Book is written to Christians who are already past any such possibility; however, some scholars believe the sin "that does not lead to death" refers to sins committed by people in general, and the sin "that leads to death" refers perhaps to those who lapse from the faith, or more particularly those who attribute the works of the Spirit to Satan.

Notice in the following translation the article "the" is not used in front of "sin." If it was, it would refer to a specific sin. When it is not used, it refers to any and all sins.

Verse 16. If a person sees "the brother of his (another Christian) sinning not toward death (I've translated pros as toward), we shall pray for him and God will give him life." That could be, but is not necessarily eternal life, I think. He continues with "to those not sinning toward death." "There is sin toward death, concerning that I do not say he should pray. "

Verse 17. "All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not toward death;"

My conclusion is that all sin committed by Christians can and will be forgiven anyway because of our position as God's children. This does not refer to that. I believe it refers to physical life. Otherwise, the "brother" in verse 16 might possibly be lost eternally without another brother's prayer. That contradicts many other scriptures. Nowhere in this portion is the word "eternal" used.

I do believe sin toward eternal death is sin being committed by those who are lost, and the sin toward death is being committed by those who refuse and rebel against God the Father and Jesus His Son. But Christians do sin, and some of those sins certainly lead to physical death. Anything that we do that harms our bodies, certainly leads to death if continued. Prayer for, and witness to, a brother committing sin will help him live as long as God wants him to live. Personally, I do not want to go home before my time because something I am doing destroys my body. Things to think about are God's treatment of the Egyptians with Moses, Sodom and Gomorrah with Abraham and Lot, and some other references in the Old Testament such as Ezekiel 18:25-27; "Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' Hear, O house of Israel: Is my way unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust? If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin, he will die for it; because of the sin he has committed he will die. But if a wicked man turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will save his life. Because he considers all the offenses he has committed and turns away from them, he will surely live; he will not die." Romans 1:18 and Titus 2:12 indicate that all ungodliness is sin, and all sin is destructive to human life as well as our fellowship with God.

Finally, I am not concerned about which view is correct. It is much more to the point to be concerned with our direct relationship with our Father through His Son, and our sensitivity to the leadership of His Holy Spirit who seals us to the day of redemption. My sister-in-law once asked me, "Don't you think it is easier for a woman to pray to Mary, a mother, rather than to Jesus who we don't know too well?" My answer: "I don't know Mary at all except that God chose her to be His Son's mother. I do know the Holy Spirit indwells me. You can't get any closer to the Lord than that, so I direct my prayers to the Father in the name of the son through the Holy Spirit." I am never satisfied with my relationship with the Lord, but I am more than satisfied with all that Jesus does for me.

Will Time Embarrass Us about Our Judgment? by John

2011-01-15T14:52:00.000-08:00

I was taught early in life the difference between right and wrong. Years ago I found myself judging people the moment I saw them in action. That was wrong on my part, and it wasn't easy to conquer that reaction. I don't believe I have conquered it yet. Perhaps you may have the same problem.

In the Old Testament we can find the answers to many puzzling questions if we view it from a New Testament viewpoint. I had one of those "Aha!" moments while reading Ezekiel just last week. In both the third and thirty-third chapters, God talks to Ezekiel about his responsibility as a watchman over the house of Israel, but in 18:21-28, he talks to him about the righteous man who turns from his righteous way of life and the wicked man who turns from his evil way. He has already stated that everyone is responsible for his own sins. None of us can blame our parents, our children or anyone else. Verse 21 says; "But if a wicked man turns away from all the sins he has committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, he will surely live; He will not die." Verse 24 says; "But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked man does will he live? None of the righteous things he has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness he is guilty of and because of the sins he has committed, he will die." That's pretty clear, isn't it?

I see this as a core item in the Old Testament Covenant God made with Israel. In the New Testament Jesus takes away the guilt of every sinner who comes to Him, and He fulfills the old covenant for us.

That is really great, isn't it? But what I want us to think about is this: As a child of God, we tend to make snap judgments about people, don't we? We place them in one of three categories, saved, lost, or condition unknown. Our problem as I see it is that we almost always place people in one of the first two categories before their whole story is told. What God spoke to Ezekiel was true then and is true now. We don't see a person's life completely. We never do not even after they've passed away. We tend to view those whose history we know with assurance that we can now judge them. The truth is only God ever sees a person for who he really is! We never have the right to judge them.

We do have the right to look at what a person does and say that is good, or that is bad, but we must also accept a person's acknowledgement of Jesus as Lord and Savior as real even if his actions don't show it. If it is unreal, God will take care of that. We have the responsibility for telling people about Jesus regardless of what we think about them personally, and to do it with a loving spirit.

I heard of a deacon and his pastor visiting a young medical doctor and his wife. The deacon invited them to church, "Come visit our church! You are our kind of people!" His pastor was appalled. He told the deacon not to ever say a thing like that again. God wants and loves people regardless of their position, possessions, politics, or education, or lack of any of those. Everyone should be aware of that. God loves all sinners! That's the exact reason each one of us can be saved at any point in our lives!

Every one of us needs Jesus, and we need Him at every point in our life! Some of us come to Him early on, and some later. Some never do. Our responsibility is to tell the lost they are going the wrong way, and we need to help them understand that Jesus is the right way.

We have no responsibility and no right to judge anyone before they've lived out their lives on earth. We do have the right to think what we want, but not to pass judgment. At any rate, let's wait until their whole story is told. Even then, we should leave all judgment in God's hands. In the Gospel of John 5:39, Jesus told those listening that they searched and trusted the Scriptures (apparently the Pentateuch), and they thought because they did that, they would live eternally. He followed that by saying those Scriptures testified about Him. Later, in 14:6 He said, "I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." That leads me to say confidently, there is no other way to please God and become His child. If you have another idea, I'd strongly urge you to consider what it means to disallow God's Word! At best, to turn away from God is to turn toward emptiness.

I hate to close this on a negative note! Let me say, God opened the way for you to be acceptable to Himself, and He invites you to become His child by placing your trust in His Son Jesus. All of us who are already children of God join in His invitation. Come to Jesus while God gives you time!

Do people "Protest" too much? by John

2011-01-10T09:04:00.000-08:00

Do People "Protest" too Much?

Jeremiah asked the Lord, "Why does the way of the wicked prosper?" in 12:1. Other people have asked the same question ever since, and no one has an exact answer except for the Lord. We know He gives people time to seek Him and change. No one who leaves this world and faces Him will be able to say, "You didn't give me a chance!" II Peter 3:9 says, "God is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." He gives people time to repent of their sins. If they don't do it, they cannot accuse God of being unjust.

In Jeremiah 12:3, he made a statement to God that struck home with me, "You are always on their lips but far from their hearts." I've observed to be true among people who claim to be Christians. Some of those who speak God's name too frequently are not really Christians. They use God's name as a magic charm to gain ungodly goals, to gain God's support, or to convince those around them of their faith. I don't mean to say everyone who uses God's name frequently is not simply a devout Christian. I do say it can make me wonder...sometimes!

To some, even questioning another person's faith is judgment, but Jesus told us in Matthew 12:33, "Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit." Viewing what is happening in a person's life is not judging them. It is coming to know them. I John 4:1 says, "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world."

In verses 2 and 3, he tells us how we are to test spirits: "This how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God." "Protest" in Shakespeare's day usually meant just the opposite of our usage today. It was sort of like saying "Amen! That's the truth!" to every word a preacher says. It calls attention to the person saying it instead of making people believe what the preacher said. In my mind, that person is "protesting" their own faith, and it is probably not as strong as they make it appear.

Every person is different, but today's people all seem to say too much, too fast without giving the listener time to take it all in. I suppose they think some of us old people were born in slow motion. I remember when my wife and I were in New Orleans going to seminary, we made mission trips into the sugar cane plantations. We had services for the Jamaican laborers who came to harvest the cane. They loved to sing, and we led them in singing hymns. It amazed us that we could begin and be half way through a verse only to discover our congregation was still on the first line! It was a comical situation. They and we laughed together about it. Actually, it improved our relationship. We adjusted to their slower rhythm. We were there to communicate Jesus to them, not to change their way of singing. Rapid talk throws up red flags to many of us. We think they are rushing us. We need time to think and make decisions, but there again, people differ from age to age, but it seems to me the speaker needs to accomodate the hearer; otherwise, we may have trouble discerning their true intent.

You may have totally different ideas to mine, and that's okay. Being Christian includes learning to live with those around us without condemning, shunning, or otherwise making life hard for them. It also involves the obligation for others to do the same where we are concerned. God knows the thoughts and intents of every heart, and I firmly believe we should ask Him for discernment so that we can love every person without wondering whether we are right, wrong, or just fooled. Life on earth is short! We need to make the most of it living with our God and preparing for eternity with Him.

Resurrection? Yes! For everyone? No! by John

2011-01-10T09:00:00.000-08:00

Resurrection? Yes! For Everyone? No!

I've read the Book of John so many times, I should know it by heart, but I don't. I do learn something every time I visit it. Today, something struck me that caused me to ask and answer the questions above.

I've written before that John 5: 24 led me to put my faith in Jesus, and a wonderful change came into my life that is still working. Without that change, I believe the life I was living would have resulted in an early death. I never dreamed of being 83 years old! In John 5: 19, 24 and 25, Jesus is quoted as beginning His statements with "amen, amen" the actual Greek words. These stressed how important these statements were.

First, He stated He could do nothing alone! He could do anything He saw His Father do because He walked in His Father's footsteps.

Second, His Father showed Him everything He Himself was doing, so the Son could do those things as well.

Third, greater things lay ahead. He had just healed the lame man by the Bethesda pool, but He would be giving life to the dead just as His Father did.

Fourth, in 5: 22, He added that the Father would not judge anyone, but had committed judgment into the Son's hands, and it seems to me His statement of judgment here is in the words, "He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him." If you think you honor the Father without honoring Jesus, you should think about that again!

Fifth, in 5: 24, all who believe in His Father, and "hear" (listen to and obey) Jesus' words, have eternal life (that's right now), and will not be condemned. Jesus has already judged him. Jesus has passed him from death to life already!

Sixth, in 5: 25, Jesus' Father has life in Himself, and He has given that life into His Son. He stated that the time had come for the dead to hear the voice of Jesus and live.

Seventh, in 5: 28, Jesus said those in the graves will hear His voice, and they will all rise. He does not say that everyone will rise at the same time, or at different times, but He does go on to say those who have done good will rise to life. Those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.

There are many who refuse to listen to all of the words of Jesus, but there it is. All will rise, and they will not rise to live together. As much as we Baptists emphasize the importance of believing, it is what people do that Jesus says He will judge. I used Baptists as an example since I am one, but others preach and teach the same thing, and we all believe it is correct. Our reasoning is that when we are born into a new life, our total objective is good. We sin for sure, but our overall objective is to be like Jesus. We believe "evil doers" are not wholly evil people. They may do many good things, but they do it for a reward of some sort. They overlook Hebrews 11:6 and other verses that proclaim the same truth. It says, "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Paul, in Romans 8:8,9 says, "Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you." That is the secret of life with God. We deliberately give ourselves to Him, and He makes us His children. Romans 8:16,17 say, "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." All of God's redeemed family are alive and will continue to live throughout eternity.

I'm writing this hoping readers will consider their future and talk to God about it. Call it prayer or just a conversation. The important thing is to make contact with our Heavenly Father. You probably won't hear Him speak although some have. After all, faith is believing when you have no concrete proof. If we did, faith would not be needed.

Teaching, Instructing and Telling, by John.

2011-01-06T14:06:00.000-08:00

Teaching, Instructing and Telling, by John.

I remember in high school that I thought teachers were really appreciated, and I guess they were, but they were certainly underpaid. My home state, Mississippi, still has a lower pay scale for teachers than most other states. Instructors in many cases get higher pay, and that indicates they have more value to John Q Public, doesn't it?

We use the word "instructor" and "teacher" as synonyms, don't we? As I think about this, is there a difference between the two terms? There is to me. I like to think of myself as a teacher/preacher/minister, but sometimes I think I am an instructor, and many times just a teller. Instructors give their designated group the "how to" to accomplish given assignments. Teachers frequently do the same with homework and sometimes fit all three terms. Sometimes both result only in telling their hearers who may be totally disinterested.

What's the difference? Well, I am thoroughly convinced that teachers give much more of themselves than instructors, or tellers. I remember Miss Hester Long who taught me mathematics in the seventh grade. I struggled with it, but only made failing grades. She called my mother, and said she was not going to fail me, that she would keep me after school and tutor me until I caught up with my class. That dear lady spent hours of her so-called free time every weekday afternoon with me. By the end of the term, I was able to start helping other kids with their homework. I'll admit I was lazy. I would rather be playing some kind of ball, but she found ways to get past that laziness, and she did what it took to get me to do my best. I'll always remember her for the gift of herself to me all those hours. My family never gave her a nickel for her wonderful service. She performed that great service for me because she was an instructor, but also a real, caring teacher!

I had capable instructors in the Navy. I either learned from them, or not. As far as I could tell, they didn't care one way or another. One of my college professors called me in and asked me how I expected her to give me a recommendation as a teacher when I graduated if I didn't do better work. She and I were the same denomination, and she knew I was going to be a minister, not a public school teacher. I replied to her rather sharply that I never planned to ask for her recommendation. She never did more than give me instructions and examinations as well as I can remember. Another professor, Speech and Drama, attended a church where I was serving as Interim Pastor while the regular pastor recuperated from a heart attack and the ensuing surgery. She was present when I preached on my first Sunday. On Monday after class, she asked if I would like for her to critique my delivery each week. She assured me she would not deal with, or question, the content of the messages, but their structure and delivery. I told her I would really appreciate it. There was never any doubt in my mind that she was a real teacher and a wonderful person. Miss Williams was a real teacher, a wonderful person, and I am thankful for her work in my life. I owe so much to these and others who gave themselves to make me a better person.

Of all those instructors in the Navy, I do not remember any of their names, and I'm afraid I do not remember very much of the data they disseminated either. I may be making an unnecessary difference in these three words, but to me, they have a very real distinctive difference. I thank God for the teachers in my life, and I like to think that I am still a student even now. I really also appreciate the people who have studied the Bible, learned Hebrew and Greek, and then spent underpaid years in God's service to help students aspiring to serve God better. Every one who taught me showed real caring for every student, and I still think of each of them as real friends though most of have gone to be with the Lord now. I look forward to joining them, and I hope to achieve the high office of teacher before I do. I've been working on it for more than sixty years now, but I do not think I've achieved the level of teaching that I should.

If you instruct others, talk to the Lord about giving yourself to your students. I believe no greater blessing can come to a student than to become his teacher's equal in giving knowledge to another person.

Musings110102, Beyond the Written Word, by John.

2011-01-03T14:23:00.000-08:00

Beyond the Written Word

There is much controversy about whether the Bible is the Word of God, or not. Many declare it to be just a book. Others declare that the 1611 version of the King James Bible is the "infallible Word of God." Many others are somewhere in-between those two points of view.

Personally, I believe people can be, and are, Christians who hold both views. I am sort of caught between these views. My view perhaps places me in "never, never land" with Tinker Bell and Peter Pan, but I feel differently about that, of course. I believe that God has always spoken to individuals who were willing to listen, and that he does now. I see the prophets as very special people at the beginning of their lives and made more special as they grew to know the Lord. I've mentioned this view lately, but I felt there is more than I've said to this point.

We must remember there was no written word at the time many of the prophets spoke. Even when there were some manuscripts, they were not available to everyone, and I think it is possible many of the prophets never saw one of them. One of the mysteries of the Bible is where did Jesus get His knowledge of the Scriptures? Carpenters spent their long waking hours working to make a living, so He didn't get them from Joseph. The rudimentary schools were for those who were rich, or from the most powerful families. Jesus was not the physical descendant of any such people. Some seems to think God left Him all alone to grow up as an ordinary human. I think that is true, but with a totally different idea of what an "ordinary" human being is. I believe God speaks to all of us who are willing to listen. Some are much more willing than others. Some seem to have a gift for hearing God speak with spiritual, not physical ears.

I personally have experienced dreams in which I believe God spoke to me. On one occasion I believe I heard God speak audibly. At the time, I was surprised no one else heard Him speak. I've had the experience of believing God was in complete control of myself, yet without any loss of freedom, and the time only lasted a few minutes.

These things keep me from totally disbelieving someone one when they say, "God spoke to me!" Isaiah saw the Lord, and He filled the temple with His glory (Isaiah 6), but no one else seemed to have seen Him. That fact does not keep from believing what Isaiah saw was very real. Elijah heard the voice of God speak in a "gentle whisper," (I Kings 19:12). God can, and apparently does, reveal Himself to people in a myriad of ways. Being God, He never has to do anything the same way twice if He does not want to.

What I am talking about is beyond the written word. Christians, of all people, should not try to put God in a box, so to speak. Compared to God, we are not as large as the tiniest object in our universe. Faced with how often we are to forgive those who sinned, the disciples were suddenly aware how little faith they had and asked Jesus to increase their faith. Jesus replied in Luke 17:6, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you." That seed was about the smallest thing with which the disciples were familiar. I think today, Jesus could have used an electron to accomplish His aim with them. Perhaps He was telling them you don't need great faith. You just need to be connected to our great God!

When God speaks to someone today, we say He inspired them, and that's what Paul told Timothy in II Timothy 3:16. The Greek word used is theo-pneustos. It is made up of theos, pneuma, literally, God-breath. I believe God breathes His Word on us just as Elijah heard a gentle voice.
The Bible is a true witness of God's work with the world He created from Adam, through Israel, Rome and so-called Christendom. People who've not had the written word have come to believe in Him, and such people readily accept Christ when He is witnessed to them. How do they know God exists? How can they turn to Him when so many with so much greater witness do not? I believe God breathes His Word to them. That goes beyond the written word, but it in no way discounts or plays down the value to the Bible. Remember when Jesus prayed in John 17:20,21, "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message. That all of them may be one. Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me."

What Jesus spoke of here is beyond the written word, and it is the Word of Life. God will not let anyone down who earnestly seeks Him, and as they find Him, He will increase their faith and intensify the love they have for Him.

2011-01-03T12:52:00.000-08:00

Connections

The United States of America has blossomed in many ways since it's origin. American Indian tribes were here long before Caucasians arrived. There is a bit of evidence the first white people may have been Vikings who visited this continent and left it remarkably unchanged. I believe Columbus was probably the next visitor in 1492. Spanish conquistadors followed at a later date, and I'm sure there were still others in many countries that heard the news that the planet was indeed round and desired both to find out for themselves and establish a new way of life.

It amazes me now as I observe the human race. That includes myself. No matter how much we have whether it is property, riches, education, social standing, or power, we always want more. Mankind has constantly searched for ways to make precious metals from those less precious, and especially to live forever, or at least extend their lives beyond the usual expectation.

Population has exploded here. One of "baby boomers" born after the World War II is now reaching age 65 every 8 seconds. In addition to that, thousands of people are crossing US borders every year, and many of them are having children here. I read recently that no nation has survived after their birth ratio dropped below two per family. It is obvious that it takes more than two children for a population to survive; however, I don't think the writer considered the influx of people from other countries. The black, white, red and yellow ratios of our population may change racially, but there will be enough people from all sources to sustain our nation.

The one thing left to consider is God's will. He is sustaining the human population now, and it will remain intact until He ends it, or He is not God at all. I firmly believe He is!

Through the ages, prophets have spoken as God moved them according to I Peter 1:21, "For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." I love this translation that says, "carried along" by God's Spirit. It doesn't indicate that God dictated the words, and that prophets recorded them as a stenographer. It does hold the thought that God allowed the prophets to use their own wording to convey His message accurately. God is constantly watching as we make what we call "history." He tends to mankind as carefully as any gardener tends his plants, and He does it with more love and tenderness than we will ever understand. Some seem to even be unable to accept what He does. I always hope to see a change in my friends and loved ones that will allow them to not only accept what God does, but to applaud it!

One of the first pair of verses I memorized as a new Christian was II Timothy 3:16,17; "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." We major on the New Testament because those who knew Jesus wrote it. (That includes Paul who saw Him on the road to Damacus). But the Old Testament was the only accepted and approved Scripture at the time Paul wrote to Timothy. I certainly agree with Paul. The Old Testament leads us to Jesus if we let it. It takes an open mind, and that might mean we have to put science aside for a time because it tends to distract a person seeking spiritual truth. It may mean setting aside tradition gained from Judaism or Zoroastrianism, or any other religion.

I went through a period during which some well-educated people told me Science (with a capital
"S") proves that there is no God. Someone asked me, "Are you familiar with "ex nihilo" (Latin for, out of nothing)?" I told him I was not, so he asked me, "With all that science has proven, why do these unbelieving scientists abandon their own law?" I wasn't familiar with that law either, but later I became familiar with it when an atheistic professor in college wrote on one of my papers, "The first Law of Science is to observe under a microscope and record what you see!" She was intimating that I had not done that. She was wrong. I don't think we are capable of putting God under a microscope, or even to test Him in any way! The Jews who tried discovered it impossible long before I did. We can trust the Scriptures. We can't always trust science. It is obviously still a developing system that seeks to know what God has known forever!

It's interesting to me to realize that Scripture in II Timothy 3:15, is the Greek word, gramma, from which we get "grammar," and they are both pronounced pretty much the same. The Greek word used for Scripture in verse 16 is, graphe, which has been brought over into English as "graphic," and is pronounced as gra-fay. Graphite also is derived from this word. There are great similarities in many of the world's languages, but no language will translate directly into another without losing or changing some of the meaning. For instance in the 1611 edition of the King James Version of the Bible, part of Romans 1:13 says, "but was let hitherto,). That makes no sense in 2011 English, does it? The word "hindered" would translate the Greek word much better.

Following the leadership of God's Spirit is the best way to get God's message across, and it has always been. For most of us, following is extremely difficult. We've been taught to lead, not follow. We have to learn again how to be followers of Jesus led by His Spirit. Our minds have to be open to His way of speaking to us, and if we aren't careful, things of this world will crowd out his message. I think He will simply place it in our minds as an idea, and we will realize it came from God. It's important that every one of us be connected with His Spirit so that we can connect with the people around us and help them hear God speak. It's our God-given opportunity to serve our Father.

Musings1111, Connections, by John.

2011-01-01T20:11:00.000-08:00

musings123110, The Beginning and the End, by John.

2010-12-31T19:59:00.000-08:00

The Beginning and the End?

This is the last day of the year 2010, and it is rapidly drawing to a close, ten pm as I write. When the first day Genesis recorded in chapter one, none of us know. We don't know when the end day of life as we know it is to arrive either.

The Old Testament prophets expecting their prophecies to be fulfilled in the near future for the most part. Of those that were later considered to be for the distant future by Israel's students of the Scripture have been fulfilled in part. One particular group of prophecies was fulfilled in the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus, but some have yet to be fulfilled. Most of Israel's scholars did not see God's coming Savior as dying on a cross. They saw Him as leading Israel's armies to victory over their oppressors whether it was some ruler from the near east, or Rome.

Today the Christian community is not divided over the birth and life of Jesus, but over when and how He will return to claim His Church. The differing views should not disrupt Christian fellowship, nor should the views of the exact way Jesus saves. We should accept our different ideas and look to Christ as the unifying Person of all who follow Him.

All of us have two "New Year" celebrations every year. Some make more of them than others. The most obvious one takes place tonight. I've watched the ball descend in New York City for many years. I think the first time was in a movie news clip long before television became available. I may watch it again tonight. The second "New Year" celebration is perhaps better called a birthday, perhaps a celebration of living another year.

How much difference does such a celebration make? A million people are gathering around the square in New York tonight. A lot of them will have a hangover headache tomorrow. More importantly, our end of life on earth is the most important one for which we need preparation. Preparation requires a whole lifetime because we don't know when it is going to happen. We do know it is going to happen. Hebrews 9:27,28 says; "Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrifced once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him." Death is coming to all of us, unless we are living when Jesus comes. I Thessalonians 4:15-18 says, "According to the Lords own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words." Everyone not alive at that time has already faced physical death. Neither they nor we will precede the other as we approach the Lord. Our station in life will not make any difference either. All of us are alike in that respect.

So why all the present celebrations when we know that future one will be the greatest of all celebrations? Well, we seem to have a need to celebrate, don't we? I think so, and it is obvious we do a lot of it from time to time. I find no problem with godly celebrations. (Put the accent on "godly"). I do find a problem with unbridled revelry that leaves God out, and I don't want to take part in such revelry.
I gave God first place in my life in 1946. I've frequently gone my own way and suffered for it. Not necessarily that God punished me, but rather that ungodly ways always bear ungodly fruit! My goal every day is for God to be in first place in my life. That is necessary for me, and I believe it is necessary for everyone who calls himself Christian.

If I can stay awake, I'll enjoy seeing that huge ball descend in New York tonight. If I have to sleep, it won't bother me. My great celebration will come when I leave this world and assuredly discover my faith in Christ was not in vain. Like Paul, I now say, "I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day." (II Timothy 1:12).

Value & Life's Brevity, by John

2010-12-30T05:39:00.000-08:00

Value & Life's Brevity

Considering the brevity of life on earth, does anything we do have lasting value? According to the Bible, "If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men." (I Corinthians 15:19). Paul also wrote in Galatians 3:24, "So the Law was in charge to lead us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith." If we have faith in Christ, we have hope. If we have hope, we have far more to look forward to in the future, and our future will be forever!

Think about all the work we do just to live in this world. Is it no more than busy work God has given us to keep us out of trouble? Does it have any meaning, or is Ecclesiastes right when it proclaims all is done in vain?

I wonder about some of the things Jesus said, too. What about when someone strikes us on one cheek, and we are to turn the other? Is that just giving in to the superiority of another person, or is it actually a declaration of God saying He loves the person who hurts us, and it would be sinful for us to take revenge on a person He loves?

Has it ever occurred to you that God still creates? I remember making model airplanes from kits, and various electronic devices. Later, I started my own kids on some of the same things. My intention was to let them do the work, but most of the time I expected too much and ended up doing a lot of the work myself. Did I just happen to start doing something with my children that God has done with His all the time?

Edison "invented" the incandescent light bulb, and that changed the world, didn't it? Did he do something new, or did he just unveil a gift God was holding in store for us? Ecclesiastes says there is nothing new under the sun, but some people reading that today are quick to say, "Man! If he just knew about all the technical stuff of today! Wouldn't he be surprised?" Actually, I think the author of Ecclesiastes would have said something like, "Wow! Who would have guessed God had all these good things ready for us!" He knew people don't create. Only God does that, and that leads me to make another assertion: God still creates, and as our heavenly Father, He lets us take part in it! "Inventors" are people especially blessed with the ability, stability, and patience to uncover the wonderful things God has prepared for mankind. I'm doubtful there is an end to what can be done with "human" technology. The preceding quotation marks are there to show my assurance that many people are unaware of what really happens. I think too many of us miss God's accomplishments and give the credit to the wrong entity.

We need to look at the positive side of everything. The person who hurts another is going against God's will in most cases, but probably not all. Our Father loves the one who hurts just as much as He loves the person who is hurt. In most cases returning the hurt doubles the wrong. An inventor deserves the profit for his discovery and development of new things, but the credit belongs to the Creator Who made him and gave him his ability. Instead of being proud of ourselves, we need to develop thankful hearts for the One Who made us as we are. All of us are valuable in His sight, and we are so loved that He sent Jesus to redeem us and make us His adopted sons and daughters.

I just heard that Google revealed that they are developing an automobile that will not require a driver. Punch in the destination, and the car will deliver the passenger wherever he needs to go. It obeys the speed limits and follows the best route to arrive there safely. Meanwhile the passenger is able to read, nap, or text on his phone without danger. Beyond what I read, I don't know anything about it. I just learned this bit recently. But no one person could possibly do such a thing, and no group could accomplish such a feat without the creative leadership of our most wonderful, caring God.

I've been near-sighted all my life. With corrective lens I had 20/20 vision for a number of years. Now, I've lost 97 % of the vision in my left eye and 95% in my right due to glaucoma. I know what it is like not to be able to recognize friends at a distance, and I now know what it is like to walk into a room thinking it empty and being startled when someone already there speaks! Nothing at this time can be done to restore my vision. I'm happy I can still navigate around pretty well. What bothers me most is not my loss of vision, but rather the myopic vision of most of the people in the world. Most see every physical thing 20/20, and they can see a lot more of the same stuff with microscopes and telescopes. Computers can enhance these so that they can still see more, but only God can give the world the ability to see beyond the physical to behold the spiritual. We can guess fairly accurately about the near future, but God can help us see the spiritual future as accutely as we need to see it.

In John 14:1-3, Jesus said, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." When we glimpse what God has prepared for us, how thrilled we are! Sometimes we have been educated with the ideas of others, and heaven may not be as appealing as it should be, but when we read the Bible, pray about what we read asking for understanding, I firmly believe God gives it to us. When He does, we discover that we are like those who talked about it to others. There are no words to express the thrill! The glory is beyond our language to describe what we know to be true. Don't bother with trying to believe me! Believe Jesus! He is the Creator. He is the single greatest Revealer of our Father that any of us has seen and known!

2010-12-29T09:59:00.000-08:00

Thoughts on the Magi
Matthew 2:1-13

The Magi as a group were not kings. They were men who gained riches if they were good at what they did. The fact that the ones who visited the baby Jesus gave expensive gifts does not mean they were wealthy. They may have had one of two distinct talents, or gifts from God, but probably not too many. Usually they practiced healing. They almost all studied the stars. They used them as well as various other items to predict the future. Sometimes they were right. The Magicians Moses faced in Egypt were such men. Some were much more open to truth than others. They were not stupid.

It's likely that most of them were quite intelligent. I'm sure these particular wise men knew the kind of person Herod was. I believe they were open to the spectacular warning God gave them not to go back to Herod, and they traveled home passing up Jerusalem because of it just as Matthew says they did. I don't think these men were worried too much about what Herod thought.

An ancient story has it that there were 12 magi. All we can be sure of is that there were more than one, and that they gave the baby Jesus their most treasured possessions. If we apply this story to ourselves, it will make us wonder if we shouldn't give more liberally than we do!

Beyond what the Scripture gives us in Matthew, I think we may spend too much time trying to piece together the lives and activities of the Magi. We do not need to know their names, or their point, or points of origin. We don't need to concern ourselves with whether they spoke or understood Hebrew, or not. The "east" Matthew speaks of could refer to almost any part of western Asia, or beyond and is not important to the story. What is important is that God made sure someone recognized the importance of that baby to Israel, and the rest of the world. It is obvious, God sent Jesus to be the Savior and Lord of all mankind.

When I think of Jesus' birth, I wonder how we connect giving gifts to each other with Christmas. Shouldn't we be giving gifts to Him as the Magi did? He is not here in the flesh, but He did say; "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers, you did it for me." I know some try to limit that to Christians, but there were no Christians at the time He said it. All human beings are our brothers and sisters. Without Christ, all are lost and need saving, too many are poor and need food, clothing, shelter, medical help, hope for the future and eternal life. As in the story of the Samaritan who helped the injured man, we are friends to those we help, and we fulfill the so called Golden Rule when we help those in need.

I am not saying we shouldn't give gifts to each other, but rather that we must not let that be the end of our giving! Be wise! Be one of the Magi! Fill the need of the poor, not necessarily the deserving, in the Name of Jesus!

Matthew 2:12-23, The Flight to Egypt, by John

2010-12-28T07:07:00.000-08:00

Luke begins with talking about shepherds and angels. Mark jumps right into Jesus' choice of disciples. John begins with, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was God." With all four Gospel accounts we get a complete picture of the birth of Jesus.

In Matthew 2:12-23, we have the only account of Joseph's and Mary's flight into Egypt to avoid the wrath of Herod the Great. Herod had his two sons by Mariamne killed because he thought they wanted to be king. He killed Mariamne later. At the end of his life, he gave an order for the first born of every family in Jerusalem to be killed when he died. He knew the people hated him, and he wanted them to be mourning when he died. That's the kind of person he was.

Knowing that, we know it didn't bother his conscience to kill Jesus and all the other Bethlehem boys approximating His age. His order gives us a clue to the age of Jesus at that time. He was less than two years old. The family went to Egypt and stayed until Herod died in AD 4.

We've seen that Joseph believed God spoke to him in dreams. That was a common belief then, and many believe dreams reveal the future today.

If you want to remember the Hebrew word translated "angel," remember Malachi, the Book before Matthew. Malachi is the Hebrew word for messenger, and the shorter Hebrew word for angel is Malak! The Greek word is "angelos." Both can refer to a messenger, an ambassador or an emissary. The three "men" who visited Abraham were not called angels, but what they said and did makes them fit that description.

The Greek word also can refer to a pastor. It is technically correct to say Brother Emil is the angel of this church. This sets the stage for how God speaks to us, and the very point of that I think is, how can God speak to me? Would I believe a voice from the sky? Would it take an extremely poignant dream while I slept? Would it take a person with a wooly head of hair and beard dressed in a camel's hair robe? Would He have to shout? Or could He speak in a still, small voice as He did to Elijah? Or would He be able to use one of my peers on a Sunday morning in church? I told my church members on more than one occasion that God speaks to me sometimes through my wife!

I believe God communicates with us in the most effective way we can accept. It may take a dream for you, a book for me, a storm for someone else, or in a near dear experience for someone else. I believe God chooses the way and the moment to accomplish His goal in our lives, and He did that with Joseph and Mary.

Poor Herod! He could have heard God speak if he had really wanted to! Instead, he went his own way, and he missed living as God wanted Him to live. He had time to repent, he didn't have to kill any children including his own, but he would not hear what God said. He used trickery, deceit, and it was obvious that he became paranoid along the way.

I believe most of the Old Testament prophets did not know they were prophesying anything for the distant future. By the same token, I suspect God may use some now to forecast future events that will only be proven true when they happen. Jeremiah 31:15 gives the prophecy Matthew used in today's lesson, and it was about Israel being taken captive. It is used correctly here.

Listen for God's Word, and I believe God will give it to you, but don't be surprised by the medium He uses to address you. He is infinitely intelligent, and He doesn't have to do or say anything the same way twice.

Musings122010, The Trust of a Little Bird; by John

2010-12-20T18:29:00.000-08:00

The Trust of a Tiny Bird.

The town of Glen Allen is located on the East bank of Lake Washington in Mississippi. The lake is an oxbow of the Mississippi River cut off long ago by the Corp of Engineers. I loved that lake because the west edge was shallow with Cyprus trees growing far out into the water. In the summertime, the temperature of the lake rose high enough to make Black Bass seek the cooler water under the trees. I liked to use a Hawaiian Wiggler for bait because it was weedless and that's really important under the trees with lost limbs and knees bulging up out of the water to supply the roots with air. One still morning as I fished, I saw a fluttering way out toward the middle of the lake. It seemed to be moving in my direction. It aroused my curiosity, so I sculled my boat out into the sunlight toward the disturbance. When I neared it, I realized it was a small bird trying desperately to get airborne. I eased alongside the little black thing and scooped it up with my hand. It was a chimney swift. I noticed them a little earlier skimming along the surface. They lower their bills and take in a drink of water without ever touching the surface except with their lower bill. Apparently this one caught a riffle or for some reason flew a little too low. At any rate, it found itself in water with the shoreline far, far away, and it did the only thing it could. It tried to fly in the water!

That little bird with its big eyes seemed content to sit in my hand where it was warmed by the sun. I held it for a few minutes examining it carefully. For my fifteen years, I'd seen them in vast droves circling the smoke stacks in our town just before sundown, and one at a time would descend to its resting place. I marveled at how streamlined they were and how accurately they flew. Having seen them dipping water on the lake and rivers, I wondered how they could avoid being drowned. Now I am sure some do drown or become fish food, but that one in Lake Washington just enjoyed a ride on the seat of my boat next to me. When I was sure it was dry, I slipped my fingers under it and gave it a toss as high as I could and still be gentle. It took its opportunity and quickly disappeared in the distance. I watched it go.

God cares for chimney swifts. He cares for His entire creation. He looked at it and saw that it was good. I'm afraid we have all taken part in polluting it one way or another and most likely in many ways, but we don't have to stop loving and doing our best to care for it.

All of us, like that little bird find ourselves needing outside help from time to time, and we turn to so many thing. I use my spell-checker, my dictionary, my concordance, my computer, and myriads of other things to live out my life on earth. When times are toughest, I hope I can rely on God the way that little bird relied on me. I hope that I will show such trust in Him as that little bird did me when it comes time for me to leave this earth.

Jesus came to give us life, not to destroy it. Oh, yes, there has to be destruction, and God will do it because there are so many destroyers in the world who refuse God, but none who trust Him and receive Jesus as their personal Savior will have a single thing to fear, not even facing Almighty God! I said it before, it is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of God, but it is a wonderful, comforting thing to step into His loving arms.

Isn't it a shame, tiny animals can trust us; yet, so many of us haven't trusted God? We can change that! We can trust Him! He built into us the capacity to trust Him!

Musings122010, The Gate to Life is Narrow, by John

2010-12-20T14:20:00.000-08:00

Matthew 7:13,14 say, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." I've preached a number of sermons on those verses during the last 60 years, and I've heard many topical sermons using them as their text during the last 80 years. Some preachers have used them like a diving board. They read them and then dive off into a series of words that may, or may, not reflect the trust of the text. That is generally called topical preaching; a sermon devoted to a topic rather than a text.

One of the mystery religions of ancient Greece practiced a rite called "tauroboleum." One purpose of the rite was to supply purity for those who were aware they lacked spiritual cleansing. The person seeking purity lay in a shallow trench, or pit, under a grating. A live bull, or bullock, was placed above the person. The priest stabbed the animal, and the blood trickled down on the person beneath. The blood was supposed to take his sins away. It was thought it also gave the person the attributes of the sacrificial bull.

The Jews, on the other hand, expected shedding the blood of animals to cleanse them. Hebrews 9:22 speaks of this when it says, "In fact, the Law, requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." Those sacrifices foreshadowed the death of Jesus on the cross. The New Testament teaches us the real way to be cleansed and saved for eternity. Jesus, our Great High Priest, shed His Own blood for us as an innocent sacrifice before God for the sins of the world. It was a spiritual as well as a physical act. Work, suffering, devotion, shedding your own blood, nor any other physical thing can accomplish anything eternal. Salvation is wholly spiritual. Ephesians 2:8,9 says God's grace accepted by our faith does the saving.

Most of the sermons I have heard talking about the "narrow way" have dealt with living a sinless life. I remember a Mississippi Methodist minister named Ellis Finger who preached to my college group at Delta State College, now a university. He said before he became a Christian he thought Christianity was walled in and so narrow that he would bump his elbows every time he turned around. That kept him from entering through the narrow gate. Once he overcame his fears and entered the narrow gate (Jesus), he discovered that the walls were so far away that he couldn't touch them with outstretched arms. Mr. Finger was right. No one ever has known true freedom outside of Jesus. There were many Jews who began to believe in Jesus. Jesus knew they needed the freedom He offered, and He said in John 8:31, 32, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." There is no real freedom in anything false. In the truth of Jesus, the vast expanse of God's creation lies before us without limit! We are really free!

The Bible points out a mistake so many of us make. Anarchy is not freedom. If freedom is limited to one person then all the rest are slaves. Francis of Assisi discovered the narrow way was better while he was living a life of debauchery. That truth so deeply impressed Francis that he gave his wealth away and turned to Jesus. In Matthew 19:16-22, Jesus talked with a young man and told him if he wanted to enter into life to keep the commandments. The man realized he had done that already, but something was lacking. In verse 22, Jesus said, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." That young man went away sad because he had great wealth." I'm not sure Francis realized there is nothing wrong with wealth. The problem is, it is hard to keep possession and the power it gives from making a person consider himself God. Francis followed Jesus' advice literally. We don't need to be so drastic, but as Jesus said in verse 23, "It is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven." We must be willing to put aside any and every thing that hinders us from following Jesus with our whole being.

Let me use sort of a reverse illustration. The first year I served as pastor 1947, one of the men asked me, "Preacher, does it bother you when you eat onions that your breath become offensive?" I replied that it did. He said, "They've discovered that you can take one bite of a little garden vegetable, and no one will know that you've been eating onions." I bit hook, line, and sinker! "What is it?" He grinned and said, "Garlic!" So much of what we consider dear before we meet Jesus will be lost in the wonderful life Jesus gives us. Our new life just eliminates the memory of our life before. Jesus described it in John 3 as being "born again."

I myself discovered long ago that the gate to life looks narrow from the outside, but not the inside! Now, I wonder why so many refuse to enter the perfect freedom that God gives us in Jesus! I suppose riches, education, popularity, and guilt all narrow people's perspective of what being a disciple of Jesus is. I pray for God to open the eyes of such people so that they may not lose their opportunity to live successfully in this world and eternally with God. It really is such a short step into the arms of Jesus when it seems impossible to us, and I think that is because it is a rational step into the unknown. That's called faith.

The Personal Touch, by John.

2010-12-15T14:07:00.000-08:00

I've read quite a bit about both personal and impersonal touch. I want to confine my thoughts on the subject to the personal touch of two people whether in public or private. Touch is important to convey many feelings such as the importance of what is about to be said, to convey affection, friendship and love. A touch can simply be no more than an attempt to get attention, or it can mean, "Let me speak." Some people use too much touch, and some don't use enough. Hand touches are the ones I want to address in the main. Please remember what is true in the USA may, and probably will, be different in other countries. This should set the scene for the next paragraphs.

Perhaps the first thing we need to consider is that all the people we meet have an area around themselves they consider their own personal space. All are sensitive to anything and anyone moving into that area. Some people almost cringe if someone even suggests they will touch them. Others think nothing of touching as long as it doesn't signal aggression.

Hand touches are considered very personal when they are between opposite sexes, but they may not be at all. Some people greet both relatives and friends with a hug. Of course that involves much more body language than hands alone, but the hands do come into play as part of the whole touch. If during a hug the hands stroke, or pat, they can convey differing meanings to different people. Strokes can mean signal love, or perhaps real affection. The recipient may misread such a signal and consider it to mean sexual attraction, or they could be correct in their assumption. A hug with light pats may mean the one doing the hugging wants to get it over with as quickly as possible, or it may signal affection. Alternatives like these reveal how easy it is to misinterpret the signal.

A tap on a person's arm or shoulder in passing usually means friendship. It also means, "I'm not looking for a conversation right now." A person standing still and giving such a tap means, "I want to talk to you personally." If the hand remains on the other person's arm or shoulder, it generally means, "I need to say something to you as soon as you can take a break from what you are doing." Repeated tapping usually means the person is getting a tiny bit anxious.

When a person grabs another person's arm, it usually means, "I can't wait! I want your attention right now! Give it to me!" If the grab becomes a hold, it usually means the same thing except it indicates, "I'm not going away until you give me your undivided attention and hear me out!" Facing and placing your hands on each of another person's shoulders indicates you want their undivided attention while you deliver some very important words.

It should be obvious that almost every touch can have a different meaning for the one doing the touching. By the same token, the person receiving any of these signals can easily misread them, and for that reason we need to be careful with how often we use them. I've already said that each one of us has a personal space that we guard dearly, and too many intrusions into that space become annoying and eventually result in a turn off toward the person who uses them. Those making interpersonal communication have to constantly be on guard to keep from alienating others. We usually think the things another says and the actions we see alienate us from them, but touch is so much more personal and deserves our greatest care. I remember a minister who preached some things in a sermon once Sunday night to which one deacon took exception, and after church he told him so. The preacher then began a tirade to the deacon, and the deacon turned away. The preacher jumped around in front of him and continued to rant. The deacon turned away again, and the preacher jumped in front of him again. Before he could speak the deacon doubled up his fists, and said, "Preacher! If you say another word, I'm going to knock you out!" The preacher was stunned, and replied, "Sir! You wouldn't strike a man of God, would you?" The deacon answered, "No! But I'd sure hit the devil in the face!" Both were friends of mine, and I knew both were serious. I still don't know which one was right, but I do know the preacher wisely backed away. That was a gesture the deacon understood and accepted.

Touches also can be confrontational. A finger pointed at another can mean the pointer is accusing them of something, or that they are angry. If the pointed finger strikes the other person's chest, it means they are ready to render bodily harm. That's a touch too much, isn't it? When a man hits another on the shoulder, it may just be a form of "Hello!" If it is hard enough, it means, "I'm really displeased with you, and I'm ready to do something about it if you aren't careful!" It is a signal for the person hit to be properly apologetic, or to face the consequences.

A gentle touch, an undemanding attitude, a relaxed smile and body can quiet others displaying anger, can comfort those who are in mourning, and give encouragement to those who are frustrated, sad, or in the throes of failure. All of us fit into those categories at some time in our lives. Part of being a Christian peacemaker is to work at giving the right signals to those around us. It doesn't sound hard, but it is because none of us are perfect. Perfection, I read in something recently, to the Hebrew people is not a matter of being sinless, but a matter of being complete, whole, satisfied with the life you have. How accurate that is, I don't know, but I do know such a life is likely to be much happier than one constantly on edge, pushing to get ahead, pushing for popularity, pushing for wealth, and I now believe one of the greatest Christian qualities is a willingness to forgive others whether they deserve it or not. I believe it is worthwhile to learn how, as Dale Carnegie wrote, to win friends and influence people. A gentle touch moderately applied may be the starting point.

A Note to Those Who Comment

2010-12-11T12:48:00.000-08:00

A Note to Those Who Comment

I've used computers for many, many years operating the first ones with radar to locate enemy ships and planes about the close of WW II. I purchased my first computer from Radio Shack many years ago. It had fifteen kilobytes of memory, and I was told I would never need more. That lets you know how far back that goes.

I've watched spam operators from the beginning. I don't answer spam. I appreciate comments about the items on my blog, but I really consider all spam, even if it parades as a comment, as trash, and that's where it goes. I don't expect everyone to agree with me about most anything. I've counseled with many wanting to solve marriage problems, personal problems, and with those seeking to know, or know God better for decades. Sometimes someone fools me. That doesn't bother me. God is not fooled and is aware of the attempt before it is made. He is my Protector as well as my God.

I said the above to let you know, you can send anything you want. The reasonable things I will read and consider. The rest I will overlook without a second glance, but I will probably pause for a second to ask God to forgive you for what you do. After all, if you don't please Him perhaps He will have pity on you. He did me many, many years ago while I was on the Pacific aboard the USS Iowa. I've never regretted turning my life over to Him, and I've never regretted depending on Jesus for Eternal Salvation, nor have I ever understood why anyone fails to see that our God is so great that He can be Father, Son and Holy Spirit all at the same time.

A few of those who comment have been quite uncomplimentary toward Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Needless to say, you are out of touch with all Christendom. Surely we all have enough imagination to see the possibility of trinity. Most of us laugh and get swept up in the moment when a skillful ventriloquist puts on a show with his dummy. As a youngster, Charlie McCarthy was quite real when Edgar Bergen spoke through him. My mind was not fooled, but I enjoyed every minute of "their" conversation. For me it is an easy step to recognize the reality of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, and they are One God. God is as some theologians have put it "holy other," but I think those theologians all acknowledged God is not "the Great Unknown." In fact, the Scripture is about knowing God, and Jesus came that we may know the Father. In John 14 Thomas asked Jesus how they could know the way, and Jesus answered him in verses 6 and 7, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." His words definitely tell us, the only way to God and heaven is through Him, and when we come to know Jesus, we also know the Father and have seen Him! Moses wanted to see God, and God gave him a glimpse, but when we want to see God we look to Jesus, and there God is! They are One!

Thank you all for all your comments!

musings121010, DangerofEnteringBibleSilence, by John

2010-12-10T14:23:00.000-08:00

I'm sure you have noticed the Bible is silent about many things, right? I've thought of these things a lot, and many avid Bible students spend much time considering them. I simply call these areas by what they are, silences. I discovered too many Christians label others as conservative or liberal. I don't like either term partly because I've noticed an when people find someone else is more conservative, they put him in the conservative camp. If they find someone more liberal, they consign him to the liberal camp. Too often both words are used as epithets! In my estimation there's no adequate definition for either conservative or liberal.

I think most people are aware of the Bible's silences, but we don't concern ourselves about them. For instance, one of the early authors wrote about the boyhood of Jesus and his making a dove out of clay. He said the boy Jesus threw it into the air, and it flew away. That's a fanciful story, and that's why it is not in the Bible. The Bible is silent about the boyhood of Jesus. We don't know that He attended a catechetical school, or any other for that matter. The Bible is silent about where He gained such knowledge as He displayed. That's no problem for me. I believe God can do anything. Jesus was about thirty when He began to minister according to Mark 3:23. The Jews considered a person an adult when he reached that age, and I believe at that time Jesus was completely God and fully man, all-wise, all-powerful and eternal in nature.

There are so many things God did not have written in His Word. The most familiar ones have been acknowledged for centuries. 1947, the first year I served as pastor, I was faced with, "Where did Cain get his wife?" I'm sure every long-time Christian has faced that one, and many of us were embarrassed because we didn't have a ready answer. Most of us have advanced in faith beyond being tempted to give concrete answers to things we don't know. There are some Biblical silences that can become quite divisive when we do attempt to fill them with our own noisy verbalizations. I was aware I entered that area when I started writing this. I don't enjoy conflict, so I was reluctant to begin.

I read a commentary by a brother who filled some empty spaces in the Biblical account with his own thoughts and neglected to say that was what he did. He just stated them as fact. Many people without much Biblical education do that. I know this brother knows the Bible well. Perhaps his statements were perfectly obvious to him, but they are not to me. When a spiritual leader, well versed in Scripture and the history of God's dealing with man, states something as a fact, and it is not Biblical, I consider it dangerous. Aren't shepherds supposed to lead the sheep to quiet water and fresh green grass? How many do you suppose will lead his sheep through an unmapped wilderness on the way? That thought bothers me! Why? Because I believe God loves diversity. I think all creation shows it. That's obvious to me, but it is not stated exactly that way in the Bible, is it? I can't think of chapter and verse where it states such a thing about diversity. One of the silences? Yep! That's one of those dangerous silent areas I plod through. I think Jesus came to earth to establish one church. There's no silence about that! He called it "My church." No other church is mentioned. He didn't say anything about Methodist, Presbyterian, Christian, Seventh Day Adventist, Baptist (my own), Pentecostal, or any other, just "My Church."

Oops! I omitted Catholic! I also omitted Church of God, Church of Christ, too, and scads of others. I don't mean to set them apart for any particular reason. Some people in any of these may think their denominations are THE ONLY Biblical churches. I remember when my brother joined the Catholic Church, I asked him his reason. He said he was joining the original church that had never split. My brother was 18 years 11 months older than I was, and he was my earthly idol and hero. He continued in that role until he died at age 38. I was 16 and didn't yet know the Lord. Even at that age I could see the problem with his statement and pointed it out to him. There wouldn't be any other denomination if the Catholic Church was THE original and had never split! I wasn't attempting to defeat him in argument. I simply stated what seemed to me an obvious fact.

I think it is okay as a Christian to have likes and dislikes. It is not okay to judge our brothers and sisters, and I personally won't knowingly judge others. I will continue to teach and preach what I believe, and part of what I believe is to stick close to what the Bible says. Everyone has the right to disagree with anyone. I've found I can trust Christians with whom I disagree because they look to the same Source for inspiration that I do, and I believe we should relate to each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. If someone disagrees with me, it does not make him an enemy, but if it did, I would have to remember Jesus said, "Love your enemies." (Matthew 5:44).

I haven't given my reason for considering filling Biblical silence with human noise as dangerous, have I? Consider two short passages of Scripture. Proverbs 30:5,6 say, "Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar." Revelation 22: 18,19 say, "I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book" If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book." Where the line is drawn in adding and taking away, I don't know, but I certainly don't want to be found crossing it! I'll do my best to stick with what God does say rather than to make conclusions about what He chooses to leave unsaid, and I do hope my brethren will do the same!

musings120710, Amen in Hebrew and Greek, by John

2010-12-07T16:20:00.000-08:00

This may not interest many people, but it is straight from the Bible.

I'm not sure how many times "amen" appears in the entire Bible. In the NIV, it appears about 130 times, less in the KJ, but the word both in Hebrew and Greek can have slightly different meanings. That allows translators to decide on the best definition.
In Hebrew the accent might be on the last syllable, phonetically ah-MAHN, and in Greek it varies. In the King James version, John 5:24 has it translated, "Verily, verily." In Greek, it appears twice. That was the Greek way of emphasizing the importance of what was to follow much like some people today may say, "That was really, really good!" The NIV translates it, "I tell you the truth." No matter the language, amen means true, or truth. The same three Hebrew letters can have a different meaning when different vowel sounds are applied. With one set it can mean, "turn to the right." With another it can mean "cunning" with the idea of being well trained. Since the original Hebrew had no vowel sounds, we depend on the Masoretic text to provide them. The Masoretes were a group of scribes who realized Hebrew was becoming a forgotten language. To preserve the exact meaning of the Old Testament, they added markings to show how to pronounce the words. They felt limited because of the Old Testament warning to take away nothing and to add nothing to the text, so they developed a way to leave the text itself as it was, but to put underneath each letter the appropriate vowel indicator. We would call their markings dashes, two dots aligned horizontally, three with the triangular apex turned down, or a tiny tee. With these marks, we know how each word should be pronounced. As an example suppose our language had no written vowels, and you saw "thr." It could be "other," "there," "their," "ether," "either," and I suppose the list could be extended a lot more. Can you imagine trying to read a sentence written without vowels? Take a look, "cnymgntrygtrdstncwrttnwthtvwls?" I forgot to mention, ancient scripts most frequently omitted spaces between words, too. If you haven't figured that sentence out yet, it repeats the one preceding it.

All of this should emphasize how technically hard it is both to keep a language alive, and to translate one into another accurately.

I've never considered myself to be good with languages. When my wife had a little Mexican boy enrolled in her second grade class, she introduced us explaining that he could not speak English. He managed a little bow and I said in English that I was glad to meet him. He grinned, and as I was going out, I said, "No tome usted ningunos centavos cinco de madera!" He looked surprised, and blurted out, "No spik Engles!" My wife said, "Oh! My husband spoke to you in Spanish!" He smiled and nodded, but I knew he didn't understand. That's a rough translation of, "Don't take any wooden nickels." I haven't used Spanish since 1953.

As I said, I've never been good with languages, but I am sure of this, When Jesus said, "Amen! Amen!" what followed was of vital importance. The King James version says, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word and believeth on him who sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation: but is passed from death unto life!" That is really, really true!

Musings120510, Depression and Suicide, by John

2010-12-05T09:44:00.000-08:00

Too many people in our world today suffer depression. They've lost most of their hope for the future and are usually unhappy. Most depressed people are wonderful, but they don't make very good company because of their problem. That can increase their depression. These folks tend to be overly concerned about themselves even when they express real concern for others. Doctors give medications designed to lessen the problem, but there is no pill that will heal it. Psychologists and psychiatrists help many, but some people leave their counseling sessions in as much pain as when they went in.

I've been told depression may be caused by a chemical imbalance in a person's system, and that it may be a result of their early environment, or perhaps still something unknown. Whatever the cause, it is a very real problem and some victims end their own lives. Sometimes a person struggles through his own personal battle and wins. Sometimes they lose.

I am thinking about this right now for two reasons. The first concerns a man who recently took his own life. He was well known by some of our church members. His death left sorrowing people in its wake. The second reason is that so many people during the past sixty years or so have asked me, "What does God say about suicide?" Some of them were victims of depression, some wanted to help those who were struggling with thoughts of ending it all.

We do not have definite answers about how God considers suicide in spite of what some good, well-meaning Bible students say. I am sure God is grieved by anyone's failure to live out his full God-given life. As well as I can remember the only account of suicide in the Bible is that of Judas Iscariot. I've known quite a few people use that to say, "See? God is against suicide!" Some go further, "Anyone who commits suicide is going to hell!" As far as I know neither is necessarily true. One of the wonders of life is that God gives us great latitude in living it. Perhaps suicide is not so terrible in His sight as so many of us think. I believe God loves us so much that He suffers with us any time we even hurt! I'm a Christian, a child of God, and I am devastated when I hear of a suicide. I believe that reaction is something God has given me, but I'm aware it may not come from God. It may be circumstantial. I was exposed to a suicide early in my life. A little girl, my second grade classmate more than seventy years ago, suffered terribly when her father committed suicide in his office one morning. I heard my parents say he left his wife and daughter shocked, penniless, and grieving. They thought business reverses were responsible for his death. I knew him well myself, and as I've thought of it in the passing years, I've wondered if suicide isn't actually murder! Is the perpetrator also a victim along his friends and family? I still am not sure. God forgives murderers when they truly seek His forgiveness. David is a good example. He ordered the murder of Bathsheba's first husband Uriah the Hittite. The prophet Nathan faced David with his sin. David confessed to God, and God forgave him, but He also told David Bathsheba's child would die. That shows us that even when forgiven, sin always has consequences right here on earth. Sometime later, Bathsheba bore Solomon and he lived to become the person God chose to reign on his father's throne.

I think almost all Christian people agree that taking a human life is a terrible sin whether it is their own life, or someone else's, but that does not mean it is unforgivable. It is forgivable. All sin is. I think Muslim leaders sin when they convince their young people to be suicide bombers. Those leaders may experience worldly blessings, but I believe it is at a cost of spiritual blessing. Remember what Jesus said about little children? He said, "If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck." (Mark 9:42) Can you imagine what waits for these leaders in eternity? I'm not at all sure about what will happen with the misled children in eternity. At least some of them may be okay. I believe one of the most precious gifts God has given us is our physical life and the opportunity of living forever with Him as His children.

Another aspect of suicide is that there is certainly no reason to believe Christians who commit suicide will be lost. I know from reading the whole Bible and living with God as my Father that He knows the heart of every person. I also know what He says in His Word. If you believe that a Christian who commits suicide will be lost, you will still make an exception for a Christian soldier who saves other soldiers by throwing himself on an exploding grenade, won't you? I think such a soldier is a hero, and I see no Biblical reason to believe he loses his salvation by giving his life that way, but it is suicide in the strictest sense.

Another thought is that the only kind of life God offers living people is eternal. I agree with Billy Graham. He said being saved means that we will live as long as God lives. I know some think Christians can lose their salvation. My goal each year is to read the Bible through. I finished in early August this year, and as yet I do not see anything indicating Christians can be lost. I am quite aware Hebrews 10:26-29 is used by some as a proof text to say we can be lost again by sinning. The key to understanding that passage is in verse 29. It is not talking about all sinners, but rather speaks of those who despise both Jesus and the Holy Spirit. In Ezekiel 18:20, God said, "the soul who sins is the one who will die." He also said a righteous man who turned to sin would die, and the wicked man who became righteous would live. In a sense this fits with the New Testament Gospel Jesus gave us. We are guilty because "all have sinned" (Romans 3:23). In John 5:24 He said, "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal (present tense) life and will not be condemned: (future tense), he has crossed over from death to life." That last phrase is present perfect tense indicating the life that began in the past will not die in the future! Our turning to God is exactly what is described in Ezekiel. Jesus makes it possible.

Suicide is extremely sad, forgivable, but a person contemplating it should think what the future can but will never be if he is not alive in it. He should also think of the pain, longing, and loss he will put others through who know and love him. Personally, I feel that saving my family such grief is worth all the suffering I might experience. That includes depression, and I'd hate to come before the Lord with such failure. If you are thinking of ending your life prematurely, don't trust yourself! Seek the help of others, particularly the Lord. Find a godly purpose that will fill up your days. Work at it! Cling to it! And perhaps you will discover many years later, it was worth it all after all!

Questions people ask about Jesus, by John

2010-11-20T19:01:00.000-08:00

Why did Jesus say, "Your faith has made you whole...."? Why didn't He just say to those to whom He spoke that He had all the power needed to do anything? Why did he say to more than one person, "I will, be thou clean"? Why didn't He tell them their faith had accomplished their healing? I supposed many Christians are familiar with the theory that God limited Himself when He gave us "free will." Are Jesus' statements part of that? Is that why Jesus could not do many miracles in His hometown? Matthew 13:57,58 says, "And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, 'Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor.' And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith."

Many believe that Jesus was always unlimited in power. Satan certainly believed He had all power when he tested Jesus. (Matthew 4) Some believe that His power grew as He grew. Somewhere between these two theories lies the truth. Personally, I do not think it makes any great difference which theory you believe. I do believe it is vital that you believe Jesus is the only born Son of God, that He died for our sins and that He arose from the dead for our salvation. I believe to inherit the eternal life He, and He alone, gives you must commit your life to Him repenting of your sin. Once you've done that, everything else becomes secondary. Nothing loses it's importance, but it does not compare with saving faith mixed with God's grace.

Now about the thing we started with. I believe Jesus' power grew as He approached the cross. I believe that because I believe He was completely human as well as completely God. Humans grow constantly adding to their knowledge and wisdom until they are older adults. As we are all too aware, with advanced age, some of our capabilities decline. We believe Jesus died about age 33, so He was not old enough humanly speaking to have lost any ability at all. At the time, Jesus was performing signs and miracles, I believe He was totally unlimited in power. I believe He limited Himself to helping those who sought His help. Those who didn't believe, didn't seek. I think that is obvious. I can remember how chagrined I was when a girl in my highschool class came into the drugstore as I was leaving, and I said, "Hi, Virginia!" She replied in kind, and her aunt who was with her loud enough for me to hear her said, "Don't tell me that kid is in your class!" People don't give honor and respect to those chose to them even today. I suppose they consider that "great people" would not inhabit their neighborhood, but Jesus' statement still stands as a truism today.

There is another very important consideration here. God's power, which can override any obstacle, does require our faith. I think that the different responses Jesus made were all designed to show more than one thing. First, it showed that God doesn't have to do anything the same way twice. Some doctors are now stating that we will be less likely to suffer from Alzheimer's if we stop doing everything by habit. They suggest we make little changes such as putting on our stockings or socks, etc., differently. Instead of right foot first, don them on the left first. There are many things we can change such as the route we take to the grocery, or work, and all of these things force us to use different parts of our brain.

I think a second reason Jesus answered people differently was to let us know there is not just one way to do spiritual things. One of us may pray, "In Jesus' name," while another may not simply because he considers himself in Jesus to start with! One of us may sprinkle water on a person's head, and another pour it on, while another submerges a person once, and another submerges them three times, all for baptism. The important thing is that we are in touch with our Heavenly Father and in His will when we do it, and that we are doing it because that person has placed his life-trust in Jesus.

A third reason in my mind is that Jesus knew human beings would try to reduce everything to a modicum of the truth. I believe He did not want us to know what He looked like physically for the same reason. He wants us to be exercising our minds, plumbing the depths of knowledge and reason while He provides us wisdom to use and share what we learn. "Jesus is the sweetest name I know...." But the Jesus I know wants us to know Him, not just His name. He wants us to share His life eternally. He wants us to enjoy all of God's creation, and I testify that we do when we really know Him!

11/12/10Musings:A Word Picture of Jesus? by John

2010-11-12T18:03:00.000-08:00

Lev. 1:2 "herd" (Hebrew, baqar) is definitely one of the bovine species, a bull, a cow, or a calf. The "flock" (Hebrew, tsone) is definitely ovine, so it could either be sheep or goat. This word is also be used for a group of migrating people. It actually means "migrate."

To Christians, this first section of Leviticus is unmistakably a picture of the coming Jesus. Taken as it is here, He could have been born in any race. God made the choice for Him to be born of the house of David. Traced back in history, there is no racial purity in David's house. Moses had a wife who was not a child of Abraham. Rahab was from Jericho, and Ruth was a Moabitess. All three of these are included in the lineage of the human Jesus showing that He represented all races on earth.

The sacrifice involved a number of specific actions, some done by the priests, but a very large part done by the worshipers. Anything that concerned the altar was extremely holy, and the person doing anything there had to be consecrated for that holy purpose.

On the other hand, the worshiper had to provide the animal to be sacrificed. He brought it to the priests at the tabernacle, and laid his hands on the animal's head before killing it. That may have showed he owned it, and it could also have identified him as the one needing forgiveness. Both could be true. Then he had to slay it, flay it and divide the pieces. That's where the priest took over offering it on the altar. It was burned until nothing was left but ashes.

The smoke rising upward provided a sweet aroma to God, Leviticus says. That's the Bible's way of saying God was pleased with what was done. It also shows the offering was not intended to appease God's anger, but rather to be a pleasure to Him.

I can see Jesus plainly here. He represented all mankind when He walked among the people of the world. There is no doubt in my mind that Jesus possessed every desire that God has given each of us. He refrained from any and all sin in order to be an innocent sacrifice, like the lamb or calf specified in Leviticus. Each of us to become Christian, must have our sins forgiven and become God's children. In a sense we must lay our hands on Jesus as the ancient Hebrews did their sacrifice. We must "own" Jesus as our Lord. We must recognize that we need saving because as sinners we are unfit to stand in the presence of God. Owning Him as our Lord and Savior recognizes the greatness of our Heavenly Father.

When we say, "I do" to God, if we honestly seek Him, then He promises to say "I do" to us, and we and our God become one in spirit. Romans 8:16,17 says, "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."

If you have not experienced what is described above, you may not realize you need God at all. That's understandable. Have you ever suddenly become aware you had lost your way in a city, or perhaps on a long trip? The Bible tells us everyone is a sinner. None of us has lived without sinning whether we realize it or not. When you do realize you are lost, a kind person showing you the right way is a blessing! Jesus is that kind Person. He doesn't just point the way for you. He, Himself, is the Way! John 14:6 is a quotation from Jesus. It says, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Great Minds, by John.

2010-09-11T14:13:00.000-07:00

Great minds?

Why is it so many, actually not too many, great minds spend time trying to prove that God does not exist, or as the newspaper this morning reported, there is no need for God to be involved in creation? Stephen Hawking's new book, "The Grand Design" is due to be on the shelves next week. The article about it caused me to consider this phenomenon today. Hawking says that since a law of gravity exists, that the universe can create itself out of nothing. (That's not intended to be a literal quotation). He also says he does not believe in a "personal god." He suggests that the laws of science might be called god. (I didn't capitalize "god" because in either case, that is not the God of the Bible.

In the Bible, God simply states that He is. He is called by many names, but He never gives Himself a name. When Moses asked his name in Exodus 3:14, God said, "I am who I am." In John 8:58, Jesus also said, "Before Abraham was born, I am." The "YHWH YHWH," (the English equivalent of the Hebrew words), could be translated, "I will be what I will be." That may fit our belief about God better than just the present tense phrase since we believe He is in the past, present and future. At any rate, God has chosen not to reveal to us a name for Himself.

Have you perhaps wondered why God does not give us His name? I have many times. Perhaps He does not have one because names are usually given by others, and there was no other before Him. Perhaps He is far too immense in every way to be named. Perhaps our knowing a specific name for Him would only be a hindrance to worship and the evangelization of others. He has not chosen to tell us, and He does not have to, does He? Our whole belief system hinges on the word, "faith" rather than a name.

We do not have concrete proof, and all that Hawking, or any other great mind can do is admit that he can neither prove nor disprove God, or God's work. I think anyone without faith in the very real and personal God we know is to be pitied. We are not to disallow, overlook, or shun unbelievers. We are to help them believe, and I am constantly frustrated that I can't do a better job of helping others because these are the very people with whom God wants us to share our witness. He wants us to tell the world at large, and individuals in particular, that we have absolutely no proof that there is a God, but we believe (that's faith), and we are satisfied with our relationship with Him. As we seek God, we begin to actually experience His presence much like we experience of people close to us, and we develop a strong love for Him.

For us who believe, God has told us we can call Him Father. Romans 8:16,17 says, "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." He has accepted us as His children and all wonders of heaven await us when our journey here is done.

I don't think I personally will ever get old enough to want to die. I've grown more and more attached to my earthly life. I'm aware my thought about that may change. I remember when my own earthly father said, "I don't know why God leaves me here. I am ready to go." In a few short months, he made the trip slipping out of this life and into the next in a restful sleep. I also remember on the cross Jesus said, "It is finished." He was ready to leave this life and return to the presence of the Father. Paul stated in Philippians 1:21-24 these words, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body."

Paul's concern for others held a higher priority than his concern for his own happiness. Too bad more of us are not like Paul! Almost everyone who reads ancient history and the Bible agree that Paul was one truly great mind who had one great purpose. He lived to accomplish what he believed God gave him to do. His observation of the position of great minds is summed up briefly in I Corinthians 2:20, "Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world."

God states that He loves us and that He reaches out to us. He has gifted mankind with many great intellects, and many of them perform wonderful things for the good of mankind. Too often that same intellect leads them astray, but God still reaches out to all of us. The lowly, the poor and the despised make up the large part of the family of God. The old saw says, "You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear," but God can, and God does. In fact, Paul admitted he was a persecutor of

God's children before He met Christ and became a tremendous defender of the faith. Many of the rest of us ordinary folks have been made extraordinary from time to time. None of us is perfect, but all of us who trust in Jesus are being perfected.

A last thought, shouldn't we all be praying for the great minds of the world? Some are leaders in positions of power, but all of them affect the general population with their expressed thoughts. I believe we should.

musings,09/01/10, Everyone's Blessings, by John

2010-09-02T13:21:00.000-07:00

Some people think God only blesses those who trust Jesus for salvation, but that is completely untrue. Every good thing in this world comes from God whether we believe in and worship him or not. We seem to prefer to give the credit somewhere else. We give Bell the credit for the telephone. Edison gets the credit for incandescent lighting. Fulton got credit for the steam engine, and the list goes on and on.

Inventors work hard to accomplish their goals, and they certainly deserve credit, but all inventions use God's created materials. I am also pretty sure there is no good thing on this earth that didn't have a prototype in heaven, or perhaps only in the mind of God. I believe we should look about us at God's blessings even before we begin to invent. That might keep us from using His materials for purposes He did not intend. TNT might be a good example of that, and so might atomic energy. It is good, but it is so frequently used for evil purposes.

The reason I am so aware of God's blessings lies in my long past childhood. At a very young age, God blessed me with a diverse environment. A few steps from my back door, I could view terrapins, alligator snapping turtles, mud turtles, and blue-tailed skink lizards. I also saw toads and bullfrogs and their tadpoles. At the same time, I rejoiced watching red-tailed hawks gliding high up in the sky. Occasionally a four-lined garter snake slithered through our garden and once in a while a long, thin, bright green grass snake slipped along the willow branches. Mockingbirds, blue jays, brown thrush, and catbirds filled the hedges and apple trees in our garden. In the more open area beyond our house, I watched loggerhead shrikes pin grasshoppers to thorns on a black locust tree. The live oaks and pin oaks lining our front yard and the street held scanty nests of mourning doves, and just once I discovered a whip-poor-will on an oak his tail held flat against the limb and pointed toward the bole of the tree. His head turned upward. He was almost invisible. If his large dark eyes had not been open, I would have missed seeing him because he looked so much like the stub of a broken limb. All these things and many more too numerous to mention here were within 150 yards of the house where I was born. I didn't mention, for instance, the earthworms, centipedes, millipedes, the roller-bugs, black widow spiders, daddy long legs, and myriads of other multi-legged critters. Once after a big rain, I scooped up from the water next to the curb a large black snaky looking thing. It caught my attention because it constantly changed shape. My next-door neighbor was the head of the Natural Science Dept. at Delta State College. I took it to him, and he held the pint jar up to the light and identified my catch as a leech. I was probably five at the time and had never seen one before.
All of these things, many of which may sound icky to you, were God's blessings to me. I learned to appreciate the world by observation, and my family members taught me scientific as well as common names for God's critters. I learned to respect our environment. I tried to learn how they fed themselves, how they reproduced, and always wondered why God put them here. At that time, it didn't occur to me that Mosquitoes bore small amounts of various microscopic life forms such as malaria. I think those bugs may have helped the human race develop its immune system.

A lot of the time, I lived in a wonderful make-believe world where Tarzan ruled the jungle that lay behind our home. At other times, I traveled with Indians, and perhaps once or twice with Lewis and Clarke. Of course, it's hard to conjure up a mountain lion from a house cat. It was easier to see a bird dog as a wolf, and little green snakes could become huge Boa Constrictors in my imagination. God gave that ability to all of us, and it provides a wonderful, exciting world for a child. I could imagine a rail-runner lizard as a crocodile, but reality told me they never get near water unless forced when fleeing predators!

All these things took place in just one residential block in a small Mississippi town during the Great Depression, a town named after president Grover Cleveland. I never had time to be bored, and I didn't know a lot about blessings, but I certainly had a wonderful childhood!

I haven't found a promise guaranteeing happiness in the Bible, but I know now that God has given us everything we need to be happy. Some translate the Hebrew in Psalm 1 to say, "Happy is the man...." It is a statement of a person's being, not a promise. The same thing is true in the Beatitudes. Hapiness does not always result from living in God's blessing. I doubt that even Jesus was "happy" hanging in excruciating pain on the cross, and I doubt any of us is happy when we suffer even if it is for a good reason.

Joy on the other hand, is the second gift listed in Galatians 5:22,23 given to all of us who trust Jesus and live with Him. That passage says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.

Against such things there is no law." Joy overrides almost everything else that keeps us from being happy, doesn't it? Personally, even when I am in pain, God's creation sustaining itself all around me gives me joy filled with the peace He also gives. Politicians and their promises come and go in time, but God's good gifts remain, and so many of them are for all of us believers and unbelievers alike. In fact, I would think any thoughtful person would look at creation and say, "There must be a God behind all of this. I think I will seek Him!" And one of His promises is that you will find Him if you truly seek Him! The right way to do it is in Matthew 7:7,8; "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."

Musings,08/30/10, Preacher... by John

2010-08-30T07:27:00.000-07:00

Preacher? Prophet? Pastor? Solicitor?

It bothers me that ministers are given prestigious titles such as "The Right Reverend..." I've not understood why we should have such a title when our Lord chose to walk the earth without one. Many of my friends prefer to be referred to as "Brother...." I prefer that over most of the others. Our pastor said usually when someone calls him preacher to his face, it has a bad connotation to him, and I've frequently felt that way, too. Our pastor is adamant about our calling him by his name, and we usually do that. He has a doctorate, but he chooses not to use it. I feel that is to his credit. Earning the degree should be about the material learned, not the title. Most of my past church members simply called me John, and I liked that.

Recently I invited a man to visit our church. He told me plainly that he would never enter that church at all, and he informed me that all preachers had their "hands out." Then he added that he worked hard just to put food on the table, and money was all any of "them preachers" cared about. It seemed to me he was more interested in keeping his money than doing anything with God. I'd like to say I gave him a good answer for his statements, but I was dumbfounded because I thought the man was a Christian. Now I don't know what to think about him, because giving is a large part of a Christian's life, not necessarily money, but giving in all sorts of ways. I told another friend about my experience. He said he had run across that inviting people to his church. He wanted to know if I'd like to hear his response. I said yes.

He told me he always asked, "If you come to our church, you will be a guest, won't you?" The natural answer is affirmative. He continued, "When you invite guests to your house, do you charge them for their dinner?" The natural answer is no. Then he explained, "You come and you'll be our honored guest. We won't ask you for a single thing! We will invite you to come again as often as you like, and as long as you are a guest, we'll never ask you to support anything we do!" I believe that is a good, tactful way of expressing the truth.

Jesus gave His life on a cruel cross for us. If He is our Lord, we will become like Him. I don't think many of us will be called on to make the supreme sacrifice of our earthly existence as He did, but we cannot be like Jesus if we don't freely give! It is the Christian way. Our pastor has apologized the few times I've heard him mention a need for money from the pulpit. He may have needed to, but he should not have to.

God established a rule for the twelve tribes of Israel. The Levites were not to have an inheritance as a tribe. The other eleven tribes were to own their own lands, and they were to give a tithe, one tenth, of their produce whether it was grain, wine, or livestock. The Levites and priests were to make the offerings, attend to the tabernacle, or temple, needs, and enjoy their part of those tithes. They themselves were to tithe also. That meant that having received tithes from eleven tribes, they had in their hands 10% more than the rest of the families of Israel. When they themselves tithed, that took care of that extra 10%, and kept them about the same average economic level as their peers. By the same reasoning, if a present day church has 20 families, and one pastor. The tithe of the church, should allow the pastor to have a salary equal to the average of the congregation, and there should be that much again for the expenses of the church as a whole.

Nothing, with human beings, ever works out completely as it should. We have people who attain riches and people who are dirt poor. I believe our God loves all equally. I believe all are acceptable in His sight if they are followers of Jesus.

I did not remind the man who, perhaps without thinking, included me with all the other preachers as having outstretched hands, that his argument did not have a single valid point. In addition to that, I know he pays for food, transportation, housing, medical needs, and taxes. He PAYS for those things. God only ASKS for his gifts. He doesn't send out collectors and take those who do not tithe to court to get justice.

It's true there are preachers who are in business to make money for themselves, and who shed tears asking for offerings for the starving children, or masses, in the world while they build their bank accounts. Those are very, very few compared to the others serving God as they should. Some pastors I know worry about how they are going to pay their own electric bills, or pay for their kids' school supplies because so many in their churches are not supplying their needs as God intends they should.

Talk about money by people who really are unaware of what goes on in Christian groups is another way Satan causes disruption and hinders people from receiving the truth.

So what will you get in church? I don't know about many other churches other than the one I attend and support, so I can only tell you what you should expect from us.

First, you should expect a welcome from all the people present as well as the pastor. Second, you should expect to hear the Bible read and taught. Third, you should hear the Bible preached. Yep! I Corinthians 1: 17,18 says, "For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel--not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who being saved it is the power of God." Oh! One other thing! If you happen to visit on Wednesday night, you'll get a good meal with us, and you won't need to spend money to put stuff on the table at home at least that once! Maybe I shouldn't say that. It sounds a little sarcastic, and I don't mean to be.

If you let money-talk keep you away from church, one other verse of Scripture comes to mind; Hebrews 10:25 says, "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching." The translators capitalized "Day" because they believe it refers to Jesus coming to earth again to take His followers to heaven where we will spend eternity with Him in our Father's service.

Musings,08/28/10, Biblical Freedom by John

2010-08-28T14:52:00.000-07:00

Perfection as used in the Bible

We are all familiar with the word "perfection," aren't we? Student's, well some students, strive to make a "perfect" score. Some people strive to live a "perfect" life. If we think we have achieved it, we have unconsciously fallen into one of Satan's traps!

We deal with words from the time we are born until the time we die, but too often we lose an important or add a false connotation to a word when we translate it into another language. In English, more often than not, "perfect" does refer to everything being absolutely right, no error, ever! It did not in Hebrew or in Greek, the main languages in which the Bible was written.

Why can't we just decide to be perfect and then be perfect? Well, for one thing, Romans 3:22-24 says it well: "The righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." You see we are presently sinners. We cannot undo what we have already done. I discovered in art that when I add a smidgen of black pigment to a large amount of white pigment, it results in a shade of gray. If I reverse the procedure using a large amount of white, the result seems to be all white. When compared to an all-white pigment, it usually will be visually detectible that the black is still there. Spiritually, a sinner can never be anything except a sinner. The wonderful thing about Christ and our Father is that we don't have to be sinlessly perfect! Jesus died to cover our sins with His Own blood! I think somewhere in a past musing I mentioned an evangelist who wrote "sin" in bold red letters on a big sheet of white cardboard. Then he covered his sign with a thin layer of red plastic material. When we looked through the plastic, the word "SIN" disappeared. It was still there, of course, but his point was, God does not see our sins because He looks through the blood of Jesus. That simple physical illustration does make a point. We can't undo what we have done. It is part of our history, but it bears no penalty because we trust Jesus.

Now about this word, "perfect." In Greek, it is teleios. There are several words translated perfect in Hebrew, so I won't list them, but none of them refers to perfections in every way. I'm aware that some have a problem with Matthew 5:48 which says, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Their argument is that we are to be sinless like God is. The only thing wrong with that is in thinking we can do that on our own, or even with the help of Jesus. As children of God in Christ, we should want to be like Him, and I have enough faith to believe that God's Spirit gives us the ability to become the person God intends us to be. That does not mean we will be as intelligent, as powerful, or in any other respect equal to our heavenly Father. He is Perfection! We will become perfect to a lesser degree. In Isaiah 14: 14 the last sinful goal of Lucifer in the King James, but simply Morning Star in the NIV is, "I will be like the Most High."

My hope is that everyone who trusts Jesus will find contentment in being a child of God and will not try to rise to the level of a god while he/she is on earth. I hope all of us are willing to rest in Jesus and receive whatever gifts or rewards He chooses to give us. I also hope that when we have received all of His gifts that we will be aware we have never been worthy of the least of His favors as a song author has put it.

The great Paul who rose from being a persecutor of "the way," to being the foremost person in sharing Jesus with the nations cried out, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?" And then he answered his own question, "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7: 24,25a). All who trust Jesus and commit their lives to Him are complete now, and we will become more complete as we approach the time when we meet Jesus face to face. All we have, and all we are, is the result of His work. We have nothing to brag about other than the joyous cry, "Jesus saves sinners! And I am one of those He saves!" That is perfection!

Musings08/24/10, Responsible Freedom by John.

2010-08-24T19:12:00.000-07:00

Responsible Freedom

I had two surprises one Sunday morning recently. The first came as an unsigned e-mail. By the address I knew it was from a minister, or perhaps his wife, whom I have not seen in years. It contained pictures of our service men scarred and bleeding, some being buried and some risking their lives to care for both the wounded and dead.

I was aware when I volunteered for Naval service toward the close of WW II that I could be lost at sea because of torpedo or Kamikaze attacks, but I felt it was every American's duty. That included me, and now that I'm an Octogenarian, I am still willing to do whatever is necessary for my country.

The second surprise came when our present pastor delivered a sermon on "Freedom." I think another part of the title may have been "What is it?" Freedom is something that comes with a very expensive price tag. Jesus paid the price for ours. The pastor pointed out that there are many concepts of freedom. One is anarchy, and that may have been what happened in the Bible when it said, "Every man did what was right in his own eyes. I'm interested just in one kind of freedom. I'm not concerned with the freedom we enjoy as Americans. We may keep it, or lose it depending on how our country relates to Jesus' message.

Our acceptance of Jesus' gift of eternal life can be quickly and permanently made, but our living as a child of God certainly takes a lifetime to accomplish. We always have doubts. They may be hidden, and we may deny them, but they are there. Let's think of the different freedoms God gives us.

First, He made us free agents on this earth. That means that when He encourages us to accept His rule over our lives, we are free to refuse to have anything to do with Him. It is certainly true that His will is for us to take the direct road to life eternal, but we are free to travel the broad road leading in any other direction. Scads of people have done that and are doing it today. He warned us ahead of time that the end of such rebellion is death eternal instead of life eternal, but the choice is ours, and we are free to choose eternal death. It is the negative part of our choice. Someone said, "If you aren't going to go with God, then you better do all you can now because when you die, all your opportunities die with you, but if you choose to live this life with God, your opportunities constantly increase for all eternity."

I believe Paul writing in Romans gives the best picture of what this life is all about. Romans 4: 25 says, "He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification." 5:1,2 says, "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God." Jesus died for each of us so that we could experience the grace of God in forgiveness for all of our sins, and to give us eternal life. Paul spoke of our salvation as both past and present. We don't wait for judgment. We passed through that when we accepted Christ's sacrificial death for ourselves. Ephesians 2;8,9 says, "For by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast." Our slate is clear, not because of anything we have done, but because Jesus made peace with God for us on the cross. Our future is also sure because the hope spoken of in the quoted passage is not even related to chance. Heaven is a reality for Christians. Jesus told us in John 14: 1,2 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."

All of God's promises have depended on faith and cooperation by the recipient. We are now free in Christ, but our freedom does have responsibilities. We are responsible for extending to others the same freedom we have. We should expect others to relate to God as we do. If they don't, we are responsible for helping them respond. We should not consider ourselves in the position to judge anyone Christian or lost. Romans 2:1 says, "You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things." Our judging others not only disobeys God, it puts a tool in the hand of Satan to drive people farther away from God and to make them refuse any help from us. If we aren't close to those in need, it is much harder to help!

Extremists keep our world in a mess. That's an observation, not a judgment I trust. War seems to be, and perhaps always has been the main event of every age. We may take part in our country's protection, but our hope goes beyond physical conflict. Reading the Old Testament, it seems the Israelites were constantly at war, but God always gave them hope for the future, and we Christians have that same hope. It's more solid now than it was in those ancient days. In fact, our freedom from worry lies in our hope for the future. We trust God to carry out His promises. He has already done so much! And His promises are facts as far as we Christians are concerned. We simply wait for them to be completely fulfilled. Some already are. We already have the promised Savior Who made us free from the laws of sin and death. He's already freed us to live successfully in this world. I'm not talking about the accumulation of wealth. I'm talking about the joy that comes from knowing and serving our living God! He's already freed us to help those who have not received the same blessings we enjoy, and to help each other as well.

Everyone who has freedom prizes it. When the Bible tells us Christians have life more abundant than they had before they met God, it tells me that I can enjoy freedom far more than anyone who doesn't know God. It's not something I need to prove. If you haven't discovered it for yourself, then begin seeking God and you will learn what real responsible freedom is all about.

Musings08/10/10,NathanandDavid, by John.

2010-08-11T15:10:00.000-07:00

Nathan and David

It probably is not important, but I've always wondered if the prophet Nathan liked King David. People serving God should be friends, don't you think? The Scripture seldom if ever records the people prophets like and dislike. They do tell us when dignitaries do not like them. An example is Ahab the King of Israel. He asked Jehoshaphat, his brother-in-law, to help him in war against Ramoth Gilead, and Jehoshaphat agreed to join their armies, but his one stipulation was that they consult God about it. Four hundred prophets supported by Ahab showed they knew where their livelihood came from. They said that Ahab would be victorious. Jehoshaphat apparently realized Ahab's prophets were just "Yes men." He wanted to hear from one of God's prophets. Ahab said, "There is still one man through whom we can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah." (II Chronicles 18:7) This is the same Ahab who sent armies out to find and kill Elijah. Later, Jesus faced Israel's leaders saying their forefathers killed the prophets. They admitted their forefathers did kill them. They excused themselves by saying they would not have killed them if they had lived then. Micaiah was put in prison on bread and water because of his prophecy. He may have died because Ahab was killed on the battlefield as Micaiah prophesied.

Again, I also wonder if David liked Nathan? We know that Nathan faced David with his sin after he committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband murdered. I'm troubled by this because many people today dislike certain New Testament prophets/pastors today. Is it important to like your pastor? What do you expect from a pastor, the Word of God, or just friendship, a challenge or soothing words condoning your actions? I'm sure you expect the pastor to be exemplary in deportment, but being human, pastors sin just like anyone else does. None of us are so perfect we never sin. Knowing pastors are not perfect, do you love your pastor anyway? You certainly should respect them for the office they hold.

Whether these two ancient characters from history liked each other is not important, and popularity certainly is not the most important function of a pastor today. If Nathan liked David, it must have been hard for him to face David with his sin and then to tell him the child about to be born would die. If Nathan despised David, the feeling probably would have been reciprocated, and Nathan's life could have been in danger. The daily job of Prophets/pastors is never easy, but the rewards are great. I can attest to that after some 60 years experience.

As hard as it was, the fact is, Nathan performed a great act of friendship when he faced David with his sin, and I believe David realized that. Getting us back on track when we are wrong is a blessing although at the time it may seem like anything but that.

Later, in I Chronicles 17, David decided to build the Lord a "house." His intention were good. God gave him victory over all of his enemies, and David enjoyed a luxurious life in a cedar palace. He felt it wasn't right for God to only have a tent. Nathan agreed with him. Prophets are sometimes wrong when they haven't enquired of the Lord. The Scripture doesn't say so, but I do not believe Nathan even thought about asking God if that was what he wanted, and I am sure he had watched closely how God blessed David all the time, but that night God gave Nathan a totally different message. He told him He had never asked anyone to build him a house, and that David had shed too much blood to do it. Instead, one of David's sons would build the temple, and God would give him peace his whole lifetime. Nathan once again faced David to tell him he was not pleasing the Lord. Have you ever had your heart set on something that you thought was right only to discover God was not in it? That in itself is a devastating experience, but David accepted it without being upset so far as we know.

Still later, we find David amassing materials to build the temple, and appointing people to help Solomon because he was young and inexperienced. Of course Solomon was one of the many sons of David, and in I Kings 1, we find the story of his son Adonijah. He tried to take the throne. That forced David to immediately proclaim Solomon king and install him the same day he heard of Adonijah's activities. Nathan and David were together this time.

What we have here is an account of what it is like to really seek to live for the Lord, fail, be restored, and go on to be spiritually successful. Nathan was a true friend as he related God's will to David when he did well and also when he sinned. David responded to Nathan as a Christian should. He obeyed the Lord. David was pre-Christian, but he was doing what every person who wants to please God must do. He obeyed Him!

There were always false prophets then, and there are now. In Old Testament times a prophet found false was stoned to death, but from what Jesus said, we know many true prophets were killed by the people they served. Jesus' words in Matthew 23:11 are well known, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing." God's servants/prophets/pastors are just ordinary people sometimes made extraordinary by God-given messages. God gives them to encourage us and to enhance our lives as we seek to live with and for Jesus. We should give them the respect today they should have received throughout history. We should respect them whether we personally like them or not. Actually, we should love anyone and anything that helps us get and stay close to God.

The relationship between Nathan and David was godly. In this life, we probably will never know whether they were friends or even casual conversationalists, but we do know God's messages were delivered through Nathan, and David obeyed them. Most pastors don't ask for or expect obedience in this enlightened age, but respect between all of God's children is simply keeping the rule God gave us, "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 7:12).

Musings07/28/10,EatHisFlesh...by John

2010-07-28T12:49:00.000-07:00

Eat His Flesh and Drink His Blood?

Eat His flesh and drink His blood? In John 6:54-56, Jesus said, "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him." These words caused many of those following Jesus to leave. I think Jesus' humanity made him ask the twelve, "You do not want to leave, too, do you?" (v. 67) Through the ages scholars have debated the issues involved in those seemingly enigmatic words. If you are a literalist where Scripture is concerned you have to deal with what on the surface appears to be a cannibalistic statement. Some churches ring a bell indicating that the bread and wine become the body and blood of Jesus at that moment when they are partaking of the Lord's Supper, Communion, or Mass. At least one group says that the bread and wine don't change, but that the body and blood of Jesus are present in them. I don't believe that, and I see no reason why there should be a change.

Some other church groups simply say the bread and wine represent the body and blood of Jesus. I've prayed about it a lot, and I've felt led to spiritualize it. I believe Jesus means we must become completely one with Him spiritually. Romans 8:16, 17 say, "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." We are still in the world, still in the flesh, but spiritually we are God's children, so much so that Paul, in Romans, calls us "co-heirs with Christ!" What could be more wonderful than being God's Own child? I think nothing can equal that, but I also think many followers of Jesus, like those who went away (John 6: 66) have never become one with Jesus.

There are so many who admire the teaching of Jesus and think the world should change to fit those teachings, but they miss that connection that takes them into oneness with Him. I remember asking someone years ago if he was a Christian, and he said, "Of course I'm a Christian! I was born in America!" It was hard for me to tell him that did not make him a Christian.

John 6:63 quotes Jesus as saying, "The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life." In verse 65 Jesus said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him. That word, "enabled," is the Greek word "doma" translated in the King James as "draw," but it is past tense and the more accurate translation is "gifted." It isn't a matter of foreordination as is frequently taught. God's gift is to everyone who is willing to become one with Jesus. When we truly accept God's gift, God has foreordained that we become His children and spend eternity with Him.

Becoming one with Him is not a matter of work, striving, service, or worship. It is accomplished by God's gift, and receiving that gift requires surrender of self to God. As Romans 8:16,17 told us, Christians suffer with Jesus. Few Christians die of a cross, but we all suffer because of personal temptation, our own failures and also because the world hates Christ. When we become one with Him, the world hates us, too. They can't persecute Jesus, but they can reach us easily.

If you haven't heard this before, becoming one with Jesus may sound presumptive, but remember Philippians 2:5,6 says, Your attitude should be the same as Christ Jesus: Who, being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped...." Our motivation must be pure when we become God's child, a joint-heir with Jesus. Isaiah pictured extreme self-aggrandizement when he prophesied in Isaiah 14:12-14. Five "I will" statements are in that passage. The last one says, "I will make myself like the most high." Our egos make us want to rise to the heights of glory, but we cannot glorify ourselves, and if our spirits are right, we won't try. On the other hand, if we become one with Jesus, we will first of all change, and with that change, we will be happy with whatever glory our God gives us!

Submit yourself wholly to Jesus, and He will not only save you from the penalty, power and eventually even the presence of sin, but He will give you life without end, a new family whose Head is God Himself, and the joy of being in His presence

Musings07/26/10,Times and Seasons by John

2010-07-26T15:22:00.000-07:00

Times and Seasons?

Some years ago, a person planned to visit our church and was talking with a member of another church. That person said, "You don't want to go to his church! He doesn't even believe in Christmas or Easter!" That was both true and untrue depending on what was meant.

I certainly believe in the birth of Jesus. I believe He was, and is, God's only born Son. I enjoy celebrating His birthday on December 25, but I am quite aware that His real birth day could have been another day. I don't believe we need to pay too much attention to times and seasons. When we do, I feel that we immediately begin to lose sight of the reality represented and begin to establish a tradition. In time the tradition becomes meaningless for many people. The tradition can become more important than the truth it should bring to mind.

I remember as a child I looked forward to New Year's Day, Washington's and Lincoln's birthdays, and the Fourth of July, not because of their meaning, but because on those days we bought and set off fireworks! That highlighted the days for me. Christmas can be only a day for getting gifts for many people instead of really remembering the that God gave His Son to be a flesh and blood Savior for all of us.

Each of the holy days we celebrate can be no more than a tradition we enjoy, but I believe we need to take extra care in keeping God's truth always in the foreground while we celebrate. I believe and try to keep every day holy to the Lord!

A close friend wrote me about a book she was reading that was quite specific about worshiping God on the Sabbath Day. I don't really know the details, but our calendar tells us the "seventh day," that's what Sabbath means, is Saturday. Most of us worship the Lord on Sunday. We call it the Lord's day. It is the day Christ arose from the tomb. It's just one of the seven days of the week, but if you work six days, or only five, or three, as some now do, it is a great day to worship God.

We need to remember that Colossians 2:20-23 tells us, "Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: "Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!" These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence."

It's obvious, that God is more concerned about our intentions and actions than that we follow the rules set by the world's society, and that includes church organizations.

Sabbath worship practice is manmade rule for the most part. In the Law Exodus 20: 8 says, "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates." Did you notice anything about worship here? Of course not. We human beings don't like emptiness. Empty time gets filled with something. I'm sure you remember someone said, "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." It certainly doesn't have to be, but our minds are almost never idle, and our bodies carry out our thoughts as quickly as we think them don't they?

I'm not overlooking the many references of Sabbath worship, but simply pointing out how the Sabbath started, and I'm stating I think human beings' bodies and minds need refreshing at least one day a week. Sabbath or Sunday makes no difference to me since I plan for every day to be holy to the Lord, and I seek to worship at least privately every day.

We also need to keep in mind that we Gentiles were never included under the Law, and anyone who trusts Christ is not under the Law. Romans 6:14 says, "For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace." As Christians we are free from the Mosaic Law, but we are under "Christ's law." (I Corinthians 9:21) We are not lawless people, but neither do we expect an eye for an eye, or a tooth for a tooth, as the Old Testament said. Our law in Christ is far more comprehensive in it's application. We are to love our enemies and do good to those who misuse us. (That principle requires careful thought in application).

I have no quarrel with people who want to worship on Saturday, but I expect them to have no quarrel with me when I formally or informally worship every day of the week.

Thin Ice by John (A story story)

2010-07-18T11:51:00.000-07:00

Thin ice

Jack and Henry went ice fishing in high spirits. The weather was not too cold, and there was no wind. They looked forward to having a great time. Henry noticed the ice looked thin, but Jack assured him it was plenty thick. He pointed to a spot where he knew the water was deep and the fishing would be good. "That's where we need to be, Henry!"

His friend hesitated. "I think that ice is too thin, Jack. You know how tricky river ice is. There may be a really thin spot between here and that deep hole!"

"Nah! I was out there last week! It's fine! You're too cautious, Henry!" A frown accompanied his words.

Henry frowned back at him, "A lot can change in a day or two. I just don't believe in taking unnecessary risks, and I don't want you to either. We need to remember our families depend on us, Jack."

Jack shook his head in resignation, "Well, you can sit up here on the bank if you want to, but I know the fish go deep when it's cold like this, and I'm going out there and catch 'em just like I always do!"

"Please, Jack be careful! Check the ice. You know that water is over your head, it's cold, and the current could wash you away! If it breaks I may not be able to help you! I don't want to lose a friend!"

"I won't need your help! That ice is plenty thick. It's never let me down before, and it won't now!"

Jack looked back at Henry as he strode confidently out on the ice with his metal cleats leaving little punctures marking his passage. Head shaking, Henry sat down on a log and began to rumage through his pack. He wondered if he was being too careful. A loud cracking sound interrupted his thoughts. His head jerked up to see what was happening. "Jack! Look out! I heard the ice crack!"

Jack was standing stock still. He yelled back, "I heard it, too! You know it does that sometimes, but it's nothing to worry about." The cracking sounds ended, and quiet returned. Jack smiled back at his friend and waved, "False alarm!" He moved forward again. The first step brought another cracking sound, and as Henry watched, Jack suddenly plunged into ice water. He threw out his arms. He was in up to his shoulders, but his arms on the ice stopped him from disappearing beneath the surface. Jack struggled to get out!

Henry was already on his feet. "Be still, Jack! Hold on! Stop moving!" "You'll just make the hole bigger!" The numbing cold was such a shock that Jack thought only on getting out. A big slab of ice snapped off as he kicked his feet and tried to lever himself up. It tipped up, and Jack floundered about trying to stay on top of the water. The edge of the slab disappeared under the surface and partly slid back under the solid ice downstream. Jack managed to work his way to the solid edge, but he couldn't pull himself out. He thought more clearly now. He quit struggling.

Henry was out of the ice as far as he dared now. The coil of rope from his pack was in his hand. It had a monkey's fist knot in the end to add weight.

"Jack! I'm going to throw this rope to you! You've got to tie it around your waist! Tight!" Jack's face was distorted by the cold, but his head tipped in a nod. Henry threw the rope as he had been taught in the Navy. It passed over Jack's head and settled across his shoulder. Jack grabbed it and wound it around his waist the best he could. His hands were already losing their grip. He knew he wouldn't be able to do anything very long. The cold was unbearable!

As soon as the rope was secure, Henry backed up until he stretched the rope tight. Keeping it taut, he moved back across the big log he sat on a few seconds before. He flopped down in the snow on his back. "Jack! Get ready! I'm going to pull you up as far as I can, but you've got to help!" He began to pull while bracing himself against the log. Jack struggled against the ice feeling the rope strain against his body. He managed to kick a little, and inched his body up. The ice groaned, and he thought it would break again, but he had to keep working. The pressure on the rope increased, and he was dragged up on to solid ice. He started to try to get his feet under him and heard Henry yell, "Don't try to stand up! Roll! Roll! Roll toward me! He did, and after he made probably twenty feet, Henry yelled, "Take it easy, Jack! Try to get up on your hands and knees. That spreads your weight out. Don't trust the ice! It may break again! Crawl! You need to keep your weight spread out as much as possible!"

Another twenty feet, and his mind as numb as it was with the cold told him he was in shallow water, so he stood. For a moment, the world seemed to wobble about. Things slowly became clear, and he walked unsteadily, but very carefully to the shore. With Henry's help, he shucked off the rope on the way to the pickup. Henry helped him in, ran to the other side, jumped in and started the engine. He turned the heater up as high as it would go while he watched Jack shake.
"The motor is still hot, Jack. I think you'll be okay now. How do you feel?"

"I've never been so cold in my entire life!" He struggled with his wet mittens, grunting with every movement, but he was able to strip off his boots. It was slow work, and he panted heavily.

"You got feeling in you hands and toes?"

"Yeah! Too much! They hurt!" He was hunched in the seat now. "I'm sure messing up your truck, Henry." He looked apologetic.

"That's okay. It may have ice in the floor mats until the weather warms, but you're the only thing important to me right now."

Satisfied, Henry went back down to retrieve his rope and tackle. Then he returned and drove back to town. Jack was pretty warm by the time they pulled into a McDonald's and Henry ordered two large, black coffees. Jack smiled as Henry handed him one. "This isn't exactly the way I planned for this trip to end, Henry."

"Yeh. Me neither."

"I planned to brag about how many fish I caught while ribbing you about being too scared to go out on the ice." His eyebrows raised as he looked directly at Henry What will you brag about, Buddy?"

"Well, I'm not planning to brag about pulling you out of the water, if that's what's worrying you."

"Hmm... That's good to know... It relieves my mind a little. I feel pretty stupid right now... I think that would make me feel a lot worse."

"We are friends, right?"

"Right!"
"Bragging about that would not be friendly, would it?"

"No."

"Well, if I was going to brag, I wouldn't brag to anyone but the Lord because I almost didn't put that rope in my pack before I left the house. In fact, even after I did, I almost took it back out. Something told me it was better to be prepared than sorry. I think maybe the Lord was looking after you, Jack."

"I'm sure glad. Maybe I ought to listen to you more...Like when you talk about Jesus."

Henry turned to look at him sharply. He had witnessed to Jack ever since they were kids, but Jack always turned a deaf ear. Was he joking? One look, and he knew he wasn't. "Jack nothing would please me more than to know you would go to heaven when you die! I was thinking you wouldn't make it to heaven if I didn't get you out of that water!"

Jack's eyes dropped to the floor, "Henry, I didn't think about that until I sat here in the truck watching you go back down to get that rope. All I could think of was, Henry brought that rope for me... Don't give up on me now. I'm ready to listen."

_________________________

This simple story illustrates how fragile life is and how quickly it can be lost. Beyond that, it is a reminder that the best time to prepare for emergencies is in advance. We know every life will have them, and we cannot safely predict when. Personally, I think God could have decided to take every person into heaven as he is, but He chose to give of Himself I believe for a very special reason. He wants us to be like Him, not because He forced us, but because we freely commit our lives to Him. Jesus died for His enemies, and that includes you and me. He gave that supreme gift of Himself, so that we can see God's way, and receive salvation by uniting with Jesus. We don't do that as equals, we do it as abject sinners, or we don't do it at all. When we wholeheartedly accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, Romans 8:16,17 says, "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." The safe thing is to give yourself without reserve to Jesus now, and then you will discover true greatness is being God's own child!

Musings062710,Are Your Fears Too Much? by John

2010-06-27T13:05:00.000-07:00

"Fear not..." Jesus said a number of times in the Gospels, yet most of us today fear often. Some live in a state of fear because of their government or because of their enemies. Some fear for no known reason at all.

All Israel feared the Philistines, particularly Goliath. David didn't, and God made him capable of providing a victory that gave Israel the encouragement needed to overcome the Philistines and their fear.

When we say people intimidate us, we are really saying we are afraid of them. Goliath's size intimidated the Israelites. Sometimes we are intimidated by the size of a house or car payment. One of the biggest fears brought on by our own appetites is credit card indebtedness.

It's a different source, but many fear global warming. Others fear population explosion. Still others fear what will happen if the opposing party gets the Presidency or a majority in House or Senate.

Still others of us constantly worry because we are afraid we aren't keeping up our public image. That's what makes the British comedy, "Keeping Up Appearances," so popular. We see ourselves in it. Still others are afraid their past will be found out.

All of these fears are very real, even the ones that are real only in our minds. We need to deal with them, but some are extremely hard to deal with. I suspect Joan D' Arc experienced fear in battle, in ecclesiastical court and while being burned at the stake. I guess we will never know for sure, but put yourself in her place. Wouldn't you be afraid? Wouldn't you dread what you knew was going to happen next? I am sure I would. Something like that can only be experienced. Someone else is handling it.

The Old Testament tells us numbers of times that the Lord caused great fear to fall on Israel's enemies. I doubt any of those enemies could handle their fear at all, but what about us. Can we handle our fears?

I read recently that a hero is someone who in spite of danger, or his fear, accomplishes what needs to be done. One of my seminary professors who had cancer wrote a book about facing our fears. The cancer took his life, but he was victorious over his fears.

His life was in the wonderfully capable hands of God! And that's the greatest remedy for fear! Do you suppose that is sufficient?

Jesus told those who followed and loved Him many times to not be afraid. On one of those occasions, He said, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28). A healthy fear of God is right. In this instance, fear means holy awe. God is the Eternal Creator, and in the verses following, Jesus told them His Father set a high value on each one of us. John3: 16 tells us God loves His whole creation so much that He sent Jesus to die in our place, so that we never will die spiritually. We will spend eternity with God as His children according to Romans 8:16,17, "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." If that doesn't convince us, I Thessalonians tells us the resurrection will take place, and, "After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever."
Fear is awesome in its power to rob us of our happiness and of our power to accomplish so many things in life, but the answer to it all is in Jesus. He is our life, and when we consciously place our trust in Him, He lifts us up and holds us in His hand as He tells us in John 10:27-30, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one."

When Jesus is your Lord and Savior, you will still experience fear for sundry reasons, but regardless of the danger you will be safe forever!

Musing050410, God is light by John

2010-06-04T19:15:00.000-07:00

I John 1:5 says, "God is light; and in him there is no darkness at all."

God is spoken of as Light. Darkness, usually represents sin, rebellion, etc. in both the New and Old Testament. God is Spirit, and there is no comparison for Him.

Physical light has aspects that remind us of God. It's a fact that light is so unusual as to be an enigma to many because we haven't been able to plum the depths of it. For instance, scientists have discovered how glowworms and fireflies produce light by chemical reaction and can reproduce it. Human beings discovered ages ago that fire emitted light. From the beginning of our race, we have known the Sun, Moon and Stars are visible to us, but most us don't stop to realize that we only see light, not dark. Later in time, some of those heavenly specks were determined to be planets with no light of their own. They reflect light from other sources, mainly a star called a sun, but perhaps from more than one sun.

Still later, a technical team measured the speed light traveled in a vacuum at 286,200 miles per second. After that discovery, astronomers began to measure the distance to stars using the distance light could travel in a year. That works out to be 6 X 10 to the twelfth power, or 6,000,000,000,000 miles.

Other scientists worked with how we see light. We hear people say, "Put it down in black and white!" That may be used in reference to most anything, but usually it means to make something extremely clear and concrete. Our eyes see black when there is an absence of light, and in God's nature artists tell us there is no such thing as black. If you can see it, it has light in it. So where do all the colors come from? The answer of course is white. Looking at a rainbow reveals the light colors our eyes can see. When the different wavelengths of light are separated, we see those differences as colors starting with red and moving through the spectrum to bright blue/violet. Scientists discovered that all materials absorb various waves lengths of light, and those that are reflected to our eyes are one or more of the colors we recognize. Yep! Light is made up of waves of energy. The waves are of different length and they are traveling through air/space at different frequencies. When we see red, we are seeing the longest wavelength. It is about 780 nm in length. The shortest wavelength belongs to violet. It ranges between 455 and 390 nm. All the other visible colors have wavelengths between these in the order we see in a rainbow.

Light also has frequency, too. All of the visible colors fall between red beginning at 384 THz and ending with violet at about 769 THz. The latter means it changes from positive to negative 769, 000,000,000,000 times per second.

Most everyone knows our eyes are receivers of light, and cameras work something like our eyes do, but our eyes are so much more efficient. Some might doubt that, but it is a point I don't argue perhaps because my own eyes have been failing for many years.

I really enjoyed summertime when I was a child, and one of my favorite toys was a fine magnifying glass. I could see things with it that my myopic eyes could not see without it, but there was more. I could burn my name into a piece of paper using the light from the sun concentrated by that lens. I never dreamed that one day people would develop lasers. Laser is a coined word made up of most of the first letters of this phrase: Light Amplification Stimulated by Emission of Radiation. Laser beams can be narrow. Many of us have either used, or seen others use, a laser device as a pointer, but there are other lasers that deliver wide beams with a variety of colors. The intensity of laser beams have the power to cut through metal, and can be sensitive enough to reattach a torn retina in the back of a human eye.

Frequently we think of our eyes as being able to see certain distances. I once asked a fifth grade class how far they could see. Their answers ranged from five to twenty miles. I then asked how far the Sun was from the earth. Hands shot up, because we had just covered that in class. I asked if they could see that far, and the "light" of understanding sparkled in their eyes. One suddenly burst out with, "We can see a lot farther than that!" They began to realize their eyes were more like cameras than ray guns, and like cameras our eyes do not see all there is in light. We do see blends of the different frequencies. Yellow and blue blend to make green. Red and yellow produce orange, Blue and red produce violet, and yet with all the billions of blends, there are still other sorts of light.

Some glasses are treated to keep out UV, that's ultra-violet light. Invisible Black light is used to light up florescent materials in art displays, etc. The heat from light travels from the sun to us without losing any of its power. We would burn without the insulating effect of our planet's air diffusing that powerful light. Can you begin to see how something as simple as light is actually almost, if not, beyond our ability to know and understand? For instance, almost all if not all materials if heated sufficiently produce light. God is light.... Does that light show how much God has put Himself into our very creation?

God has told us He is all-powerful, omnipresent, omnipotent, and that his ways are higher than our ways. Yet, He loves us. That is incomprehensible to me. I accept it by faith, and He has stated in His Word, "If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God, and so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him." (I John 4:15-16) Light is just one of His magnificent gifts of love to us. It challenges our understanding, and our Heavenly Father challenges our faith. We can understand what He does for us, but we will not fully understand Him until we stand in His presence as I Corinthians 13: 12 says, "Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully know."

musing 05/15/10, Fear, by John.

2010-05-18T05:20:00.000-07:00

Some observers are saying that the United States is now living in a state of fear. They've noted rampant crime, racial hatred, road rage, the enmity of other nations as well as fear of failure, etc. Their point seems to be that there is little hope for the nation if something doesn't change... Isn't that strange? Politicians are constantly telling us that if we elect them we will have change. Maybe we will, but I am afraid... Well, actually, I'm not. I just had to bring that in because we do tend to start many of our sentences with, "I am afraid..." Do we not?

Let's think about fear. Fear is a very real response to danger, but when there is no real danger, it is something else, isn't it? It becomes a false response, and it is something that needs to change. (There's that word again). The world at large says there are two responses to fear. One is to flee. Rabbits do that. So do most other animals, and humans tend to do the same. The other is fight. Some animals can be pretty belligerent, can't they? Particularly when they are trained to be mean. Guard dogs are a case in point. Some people seem to be far more war-like than others. Some are willing to fight at the drop of a hat so to speak. Fear can and frequently does produce a fight response. Fear itself can be life threatening whether it results from a real danger, or not.

I received an e-mail this morning about Mexicans taking over California. I've received a number of e-mails about black people taking over the nation. Some so-called white people are afraid they will become underdogs in this nation that was once almost completely made up of white people. We could argue about this problem for an extremely long time without arriving at any real answer. To consider it a problem almost requires strong emotion to feed it. One could be the desire to be "Number One!" We hear that all the time from sport teams, don't we? Inordinate ambition is fed by such a desire, but most of us have it in the background of our being. It may be well hidden, but it is there if we are honest about it.

What about all of this fear? Will we respond by taking flight or by taking a stand to fight? Knowledgeable people say we have to do one or the other that basically there is no in-between. It amazes me to hear Christians say that.

Fear is an "f" word, isn't it? There are actually four of these "f" words that fit here, Fear, Flight, Fight, and the fourth is "Faith." It is true that human beings are quite limited by numbers of things, but God is not limited at all, unless He limits Himself. I just read "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast because he trusts in you." (Isaiah 26:3). He is Creator, Sustainer, Omniscient, Omnipotent, and Omnipresent. There is no other god. Faith in Him gives us complete freedom, (a fifth "f" word). He is capable of providing a third response in the face of danger, and our knowledge of the truth sets us free according to Jesus in John 8:32. Instead of "fight or flee," our response choices can be limitless. David slew Goliath. Peter walked on water. Stephen knelt and saw God as he was stoned to death. Elisha faced an army and led them into captivity, then freed them and sent them home the way they came. Those are just some of the myriad answers God has already given to fear, and all of them are good.

When we fear, it is time to turn to the Lord in prayer. His answer to that fear will be the right one, the best one, the godly one. If we are living in the "age of fear," then we are also living in an age requiring faith and prayer. Believe God will work things out. Believe He will answer your prayer. When we do that, whether we continue to live on earth, or go to join Him in heaven, it will be exactly our heart's desire. Paul knew that. That's how he could tell the Philippians "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21). Live victoriously! Give God the reins to your present and future, and He will guide you to the fulfillment of your dreams, perhaps even beyond your capacity to dream! Real and imaginary dangers will not require a fear response, but our response will be a confident faith that God holds His creation in the palm of His hand, and He controls it for the lasting good of His people!

Thin Ice by John

2010-04-17T13:32:00.000-07:00

Thin ice

Jack and Henry went ice fishing. The weather was not too cold, and they expected to have a great time. Henry noticed the ice looked too thin, but Jack was sure it was plenty thick. He pointed to a spot where he knew the water was deep and the fishing would be good.

His friend hesitated. "I think that ice is too thin."

"No it's not! It's fine! You're just being too cautious, Henry!" He frowned at his friend.

Henry frowned back at him, "I just don't believe in taking unnecessary chances, and I don't want you to either."

Jack shook his head in disbelief, "Well, you can sit up there on the bank if you want to, but I know the fish go deep when it's cold like this, and I'm going out there and catch some just like I always do!"

"Please, don't, Jack. You know that water is over your head, and it's cold! If it breaks I may not be able to help you! You could drown!"

"I don't need your help! That ice is plenty thick. It's never let me down before, and it won't now!"

Jack strode out on the ice with his metal cleats leaving little punctures to mark his passing. Henry shaking his head sat down on a log and began to fumble through his pack. A loud cracking sound in the ice caused his head to jerk up in alarm. "Jack! Look out! I heard the ice crack!"

Jack stopped in his tracks. The cracking sound ceased. He waved back, smiled and yelled, "False alarm!" He moved forward again. The first step brought another cracking sound, and as Henry watched, Jack suddenly plunged into ice water. He threw out his arms. He was in to his shoulders, but his arms on the ice stopped him from submerging.

Henry was on his feet. "Be still, Jack! Hold on! Stop!" Jack was struggling to get out! "You'll just make the hole bigger!" Witch the shock of the numbing cold, all Jack could think was to get out. As he shoved his bulk up, a big slab of ice snapped off. It tipped up, and Jack floundered about trying to stay on top of the water. The slab feel back, and the far edge disappeared under the surface. It slid partly back under the cap ice. Jack managed to work his way to the solid edge. He couldn't pull himself out, and he was thinking more clearly, so he stopped trying. Henry was his only hope, and he could see him doing anything that would help. He was not going to admit it, but he thought he was a goner for sure.

Henry was out of the ice now, with a coil of rope in his hand. It already had a "monkey's fist" knot in the end to add throwing weight.

"Jack! I'm going to throw this rope to you! You've got to tie it around your waist! Tight!" Jack's face was distorted by the cold, but his head tipped in a nod. Henry threw the rope as he had been taught in the Navy. The coils spiraled out and passed over Jack's head. It lightly settled on his shoulder. Jack grabbed it and wound it around his waist the best he could. His hands were already losing their grip. He knew he wouldn't be able to do anything very long. The cold was unbearable!

As soon as the rope was secure, Henry backed up until he stretched the rope tight. Keeping it taut, he moved back across the big log he sat a few seconds before. He flopped down in the snow on his back. "Jack! Get ready! I'm going to pull you up as far as I can, but you've got to help!" He began to pull while bracing himself against the log.

Jack struggled against the ice feeling the rope strain his body. He managed to kick a little, and inched his body up. The ice groaned, and he thought it would break again, but he had to keep working. The pressure on the rope increased, and he was dragged up on to solid ice. He started to try to get his feet under him and heard Henry yell, "Don't try to stand up! Roll! Roll! Roll toward me! He did, and after he made probably twenty feet, Henry yelled, "Take it easy, Jack! Try to get up on your hands and knees. That spreads your weight out, and you can move a little faster. Don't trust the ice! It may break again if you try to stand! Crawl!"

Another twenty feet, and his mind as numb as it was with the cold told him he was in shallow water, so he staggered to his feet. For a moment, the world seemed to wobble about. Things slowly became clear, and he walked unsteadily, but very carefully to the shore. With Henry's help, he shucked off the rope on the way to the pickup. Henry helped him in, ran to the other side, jumped in and started the engine. He turned the heater up as high as it would go while he watched Jack shake.

"The engine's still hot, Jack. I think you'll be okay now. How do you feel?"

"I've never been so cold in my entire life!" He struggled with his wet mittens. He grunted with every movement as he stripped off his boots. It was slow work.

"You got feeling in you hands and toes?"

"Yep, but they sure hurt! Wow! That heat is great" He was hunched in the seat now. "I'm sure messing up your truck, Henry, sorry!" He looked as apologetic as he sounded.

"Oh, that's okay. It may have ice in the floor mats until the weather warms, but that's all right."

Satisfied, Henry went back down to retrieve his rope and tackle. Jack's rod was still way out on the ice. Maybe we can fish it out next Summer, he though. He returned to the truck as quickly as he could and drove to town. Jack was pretty warm by the time they pulled into a McDonald's. He had stopped shaking, but the wet clothes were bothering him. Henry ordered two large, black coffees. Jack smiled as Henry handed him one. "This isn't exactly the way I planned for this trip to end, Henry."

"Yeh. Me neither."

"I planned to brag about how many fish I caught while ribbing you about being too scared to go out on the ice." His eyebrows raised as he looked directly at Henry. "What will you brag about?"

He smiled. "Well, I'm not planning to brag about pulling you out of the water, if that's what's worrying you."

"Hmm... That's good to know... I feel pretty stupid right now... I think that would make me feel a lot worse."

"We are friends, right?"

"Right!"

"Bragging about that would not be friendly, would it?"

"No."

"Well, if I was going to brag, I'd brag about the Lord because I almost didn't put that rope in my pack before I left the house. In fact, even after I did, I almost took it back out. Something told me it was better to prepared than sorry. I think maybe the Lord was looking after you."

"I'm sure glad you had it. Maybe I ought to listen to you more...Like when you talk about Jesus."

Henry turned to look at him sharply. He had witnessed to Jack since they were kids, but Jack always turned a deaf ear. Was he joking? One look, and he knew he wasn't. "Jack, nothing would please me more than to know you would go to heaven when you die! I thought you wouldn't make to heaven if I didn't get you out of that water!"

Jack's eyes dropped to the floor, "Henry, I didn't think about that at all until I sat here in the truck watching you go back down to get that rope. All I could think of was, Henry brought that rope for me! Don't give up on me now. I'm ready to listen."

NOTE: Sometimes people have to really face death before they are ready to turn to God, but it is just as wonderful when it happens. Jesus prayed in John 17 for those who would believe beause of the words spoken by His apostles. Are you one of those? --John. PS. If you need help let me know.

Biblical Poetry Reveals Truth: by John.

2010-04-10T14:53:00.000-07:00

Poetry Reveals Truth

Poetry in the Bible is widespread, and Biblical poetry reveals truth. If you want to understand the theology, and the response of the Hebrew people to God, read all 150 Psalms, all poetry. They not only are filled with facts, they give us the pulse and emotion of the people's heart. But the Psalms are not the only Biblical location of poetry. From Psalms through Isaiah, all five books are poetry. I didn't find any poetry in Leviticus, Joshua, I Kings or Nehemiah, but I only made a cursory trip through them with that in mind.

In the New Testament a quick scan revealed no poetry in Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians, I or II Thessalonians, I Timothy, Titus, Philemon, II Peter, I, II, III John, and Jude. Those books do have verses that are poetic in nature. Paul used quotations from Old Testament poetry all through Romans. My rough estimate is that about 25 to 35% of the entire Bible is poetry. (Someone who has made a study of this may want to correct me on any of this, and I'll receive it gladly).

Hebrew poetry has definite rhythm, but is quite free in nature. There seem to have been accepted forms, but no absolute rules. I suspect most of the authors were common people, who never read anyone else's poems before they themselves produced poetry. They doubtlessly sang folk songs/poetry when they gathered on social occasions, and common people then were probably also responsible for all the forms developed just as they are now.

The Psalms are in categories about similar things, purposes and authors. They include Praise, Royal, Wisdom and Lamentation.

Their forms vary somewhat, but most if not all verses include two parts. The first part makes a statement or asks a question. The second part may restate the first part in different words, add to the first part, ask a question, or make a contrasting statement. Several are acrostics, such as 119. Verse one line one starts with the letter aleph. Each paragraph begins with the next letter of their alphabet. (I was surprised to discover my Webster's New World Dictionary does not include that type poem as an acrostic, but the one I am about to mention does fit Webster's definition.

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Jesus spoke in verse on occasion. In Matthew 7:7,8 Jesus says, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he
who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." The first word "ask" sets the pace, and the first letter of the two following lines completes the acrostic.

If you see the Bible as a dry, stale book of literal prose, learning some of the poetry will change that. It is everything but that. It is vibrant with the struggle of daily life in the Hebrew community, and we today have most of the same troubles and struggles. If things look bleak, it helps to know others have felt just like you do. If you need hope for the future, you'll find a kindred spirit in the poetry of the Bible. Read the prayer of Habakkuk in the third chapter of his book. After he complains that God sees how poor people are mistreated, he states that no matter what happens he will trust the Lord. He obviously has the faith Paul stated in Romans 8:28, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

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As I said earlier, the Psalms are songs, and they were, and are used, in Hebrew worship services. I am thinking of Psalm 136 at the moment. It starts with, "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever." Those last four words are a refrain. All 26 verses contain them. The worshipers obviously responded with them as the leader made each statement about God. The last five Psalms end with "Praise the Lord." I am sure the congregation ended the recitation of each of those, too.

Today we use our own responsive readings, hymns and praise choruses to enhance the worship experience for the congregation. Vocal participation gives a personal, yet corporate unity to the worship experience for most people.

Three words of I John 4:16 are frequently quoted, "God is love," and that by itself is a wonderfully important statement. Most of the chapter is devoted to telling us how much God loves us, and how we can know we love God, but sadly many people never get beyond those three quoted words.

Hymnists of our day express the same thoughts with feelings that catch our attention and help us know the truth as we worship. A good example is John Newton's words in "Amazing Grace." We sing them to Edwin O. Excell's music. "Amazing grace! How sweet the sound, That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found, Was blind, but now I see." That not only expresses, "God is love," for me, but it causes a joy to rise up in my heart. Poetry rouses our emotions revealing truth as almost nothing else does. Read the Psalms and rejoice in the message they give you! You'll be glad you did. This of course is not poetry, but I close it with, "Praise the Lord."

Musing 03/15/10, Plus or Minus? by John.

2010-03-15T18:30:00.000-07:00

Plus or Minus?

In prayer this morning, I thought of a young man. I met him years ago. He was just four. Now he's a fine young man, and I am so happy to have been his pastor for about ten years. He was fourteen when I moved to another city. He has Tourette's syndrome, and I had trouble being comfortable with his condition as he grew, but I loved him from the moment I saw him. The question in my mind is, is his condition a plus, or minus?

Most, if not all, of us want everyone to be "normal," and we really mean "like us." All of us think we are normal unless we have some marked difference from others, but not even twins are exactly alike. Twins are different even though they may be "identical." Is being different a good thing? It took me a long time to realize that it is. All sorts of scenarios show us our shortcomings. For instance, you can take a person who is really good with children, put them in a room alone with a teenaged person having a spell of anger, maybe someone with Downs syndrome, and they may just come out screaming that they don't have to, and they will not put up with that kind of behavior! Or they may be perfectly at ease.

Remember the ancient story where Achilles mother dipped him in the river Styx, and he instantly became almost impervious to injury? His mother failed to completely immerse him. She held the baby by one heel. Eventually, he was slain by an injury to that heel, and people have called such a condition by his name ever since. The story showed how that event changed him and his life.

All of us have at least one Achilles' heel somewhere in our personality. We think of it as our weakness.
We may strive to be perfect as Jesus told us to be. The word "perfect" by the way in Greek is, "telios," and although it is translated "perfect," it is perhaps more accurately translated "complete." It means nothing lacking, rather than sinless as so many interpret it today. For instance, we have a perfect Oldsmobile. It's old, and it shows signs of wear and tear. The headliner wants to drop down on our heads. It's pinned up here and there, but it's still perfect! It was designed to be comfortable, handsome, and to get us where we want to go without failure. Every part needed to do those things is still there, so it is perfect!

I believe God allows such great diversity in our humanity to let us know how much He loves us, and how much we need to love and accept others. My young friend may discover sometime in his life that his syndrome is in itself a great blessing. It may have already caused him to develop strengths and talents that would never have been developed without it. He may be a greater blessing to the human race because of it. We frequently say, "Only time will tell!" But the truth may not come out until we stand in the presence of God. We human beings are well known for not getting things right, right?

I remember reading that the famous pastor, Dr. John Broadus, and a friend were walking down the street one morning when they met a fellow obviously crippled in more ways than one. He shuffled along toward them, and as he neared, he said, "Good morning, John!" As they passed each other, he said, "Thank you, John." Dr. Broadus' friend was shocked that he even knew such a person! Dr. Broadus explained that the man was quite disabled, but that he had been able to say yes to Jesus several years before. Since then, he always spoke and said "thank you" because Dr. Broadus had taken the time to sit down with him and tell him about Jesus. I think that is what Jesus would have had him do, don't you?

I like to remember that God loves that man just like he loves this man, meaning me. He loves us because we are His creation for sure. There may be more to it than that, but pick out the lowliest person you can imagine, and God loves him just like He loves us. Pick out the highest in value, and God loves him just like He loves us! That is a hard concept for most of us to accept, I know, but that agrees with Jesus' command that we love our enemies as well as our friends.

In short, there is not one soul on earth who has not been loved by God, and there will not be one that is not loved by God. The unpardonable sin Jesus mentioned is to continually consider the obviously good works of the Holy Spirit evil. It is persistent rebellion against God. A person who does that is unpardonable because he will not come to Jesus for salvation.

The next time you see a paraplegic, or a person in prison, or with any other socially unacceptable problem, try to remember God loves them. Perhaps God had a specific work for the person who is crippled, or mentally deficient to perform. Instead of avoiding them, making jokes about them, or anything like that, pray for them! Pray that they will discover what God has planned for them. Pray
for yourself, too, and see if you can't be of some service to them. You may discover that you are the one who is blessed. That person may become your dearest friend. God may bless you by what you do for them. Bringing out generosity on our part may be the reason God allowed them to not just like us. Remember the man born blind in John 9? Who sinned, the disciples asked, this man or his parents? Jesus answered, "'Neither this man nor his parents sinned,' said Jesus, 'but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.'" (John 9:3).

Crimes are a criminal's own responsibility, but our responsibility is to touch their lives with the Gospel. It may change them into servants of God, and if it happens only one time, think what a great service you've done for the Kingdom of God and the whole human race!

Musing 03/13/10, Mt.3;13-15, Another "Why?" question by John

2010-03-13T15:56:00.000-08:00

Another "Why" question.

Matthew 3:13-15: "Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, 'I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?' Jesus replied, 'Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.' Then John consented."

Every Christian knows about the baptism of Jesus and about the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus. The Spirit appeared to observers, or possibly just to Him as a dove. That doesn't mean the Holy Spirit is a dove, right? God's Spirit is not finite, and is not tiny like a dove either. It doesn't mean that the Spirit always comes like He did then, or that His coming happens only after someone is baptized in water. That's reading more into the Scripture than is there. The coming of the Holy Spirit on anyone results in that person being immersed in the Spirit. That's baptism of the Spirit. Baptism with water is a witness to everyone that you have put your trust in Jesus and that you are going to become like Him.

The question in my mind, and that I am exploring may not be answerable by us now. Why did the Holy Spirit come upon Jesus at all? Did He have a need for the Holy Spirit? Was the Holy Spirit already present in Him, or with Him? Did He set aside His godliness to such an extent that the Spirit had to come to complete Him? These are puzzling ideas, aren't they? I don't presently have an answer, and in this world I may never. It might be best to simply say our Father wanted it to happen just that way. That is truth, of course. The next thought is, does God want us to know why it happened, and about that we can't be sure either, can we? Jesus told us that the times and the seasons are in God's hands. That's something we can spend a lot of time on, and people have, but in the end we don't really know exactly what, and exactly when things are going to happen.

Perhaps if we examine the Scriptures.... Ah, yes, there are answers there, but what we have may not satisfy us. We always want to know more, and we want more of every good thing, don't we? So much of what we read, we really don't understand. At least, that's true for me. I've studied the Scripture carefully since I met Jesus before I was 18 so that's about 64 years of experience in searching out God's truths, but I do not claim to know all, or even many, of the answers to spiritual questions. I'm just a witness to the power of Jesus to turn a life completely around so that it will bear fruit. I'm still a student at the feet of the Master Teacher, and I am in love with Him. Nothing good that I have done is a result of myself. It is all the work of the Lord. I won't try to judge my work. If I did, I'm afraid I wouldn't get a passing mark. I am so thankful to God for the grace He constantly bestows on me, and every person who commits his life to Jesus. I'm not alone in my struggle. New children come into God's family daily, and we all struggle with our past, our present and our future lives. Just when we think we have finally arrived, like Paul, we have to say, "I do not count myself to have arrived." We know the tempting delicacies of this created world are all around us clamoring for our attention and participation. Sometimes we fall for some of those things God has told us to leave alone. The young ruler who came to Jesus aware that he was really missing something went away disappointed because the riches in his hands were more important to him than becoming God's child. I trust God. He has promised to never leave nor forsake us. He saves us from sin and eternal death, and He saves us from our own destructive selves.

The biggest "why" questions I think are, why do we want more than God gives? And why don't we have enough faith to wait until He does give? And why don't we know Him better? In the presence of questions like these, why do we quibble about baptism with water? Why don't we just do it? The Bible certainly tells us we should. Now here's possibly the biggest one. Why don't all of us who trust the Lord love each other enough to get along together like the brothers and sisters we are?

We human beings may have no answer for a
"why?" that you have, but I can give you the information you need to handle all your questions. It's the central message of the whole Bible. Our Heavenly Father sent Jesus Himself to be the final answer to all questions. Even without answers, the mercy, grace and love that He provides when He comes into our lives is sufficient. Our patience as Christians will carry us through until we are with Him, and He provides the answers.

Musings:02/16/10 Forgiving by John

2010-02-16T07:22:00.000-08:00

Forgiving...

When Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, He gave all of us one item that is sadly lacking today. It is forgiveness. We are to forgive others, and we usually go along with that, but when we begin to talk about who "others" are, we run into opposition. It is easy to forgive family members, isn't it? It should be, but you probably know families where one of more members do not speak, or communicate in any way because someone is holding a grudge against someone else in the family. Sometimes it is brother against brother, or sister against sister. Once in a while, much too often, a young adult is ostracized or disowned because their "lifestyle" doesn't meet family requirements. I'm thinking of children who are classified as homosexual, but there are many other reasons. I've visited people in jail who do not admit they have family because when they were convicted and imprisoned, their families, not legally, but effectively disowned them. I've also visited institutions and seen terribly deformed children who are never visited by their families, never at all. When they die, the state buries them. I hope all of these situations come to an end some day, but I am not optimistic about it. We tend to get rid of problems by getting them out of sight, don't we?
All of the above leave families accusing and excusing one another, and there is always a need for forgiveness.

Churches also suffer from internal strife. Christians struggle with salvation and living their lives like Jesus did. We used to say you could tell when Baptists were arguing. Their mouths were open. That's not literally true, but it is true too often in all churches not Baptist only.

We usually just think of this as a social problem, not a spiritual, but it is definitely spiritual. We forget that Jesus told His disciples that we should ask God to "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those trespass against us." Our pastor reminded us today that after the prayer, Jesus said to the disciples, "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men when they sin your Father will not forgive you." (Matthew 6:13,15). It is a reciprocal situation. God forgives us ALL our sins, and He expects us to forgive others ALL their sins! I capitalized "all" because there are no exceptions.

We find it hard to forgive, don't we? Can we forgive the men who crashed the planes into the Twin Towers? Can we forgive the German soldiers who slaughtered the Jews in WW II? What person have you not been able to forgive? I made it a priority in my life many years ago to forgive all wrongs done to me personally, and to my family. I've found it hard to keep. Some years ago, a dear lady in my presence prayed that God would send a pastor who would preach the Gospel. Several years later I received a letter from her asking forgiveness. I was so happy that I could answer her letter and tell her she was forgiven when she prayed it! I would like to tell you I've always been able to forgive like that, but I can't. It doesn't happen by itself. It's a constant struggle, but it is one I have to win.

Think about it. God has forgiven me every single terrible sin that I've committed. He's forgiven all of the failures I've had when it comes to witnessing the good news of Jesus, the times I was silent when I should have spoken. He's forgiven me for the times I've held a grudge against someone, and when I've refused to help someone in need. I require a lot of God's forgiveness because this adopted son is so much drawn to this world we live in!

There are others who have committed much more visible sins than I have, but what I am saying that all of us are in the same boat until we get out of it and walk to Jesus in simple faith. When He takes our hand, like he did Peter's when Peter walked to Him on the water, then we begin instantly to change. We begin to take responsibility for those broken relationships, for those who so obviously need Jesus, and those who are physically hungry, sick, in jail, in the hospital, and the list goes on and on!

We concluded a study this morning with the statement, if you don't forgive others, something is wrong between you and Jesus, and it is time to check your own salvation. Are you really committed to Jesus?

Musings:02/13/10 The Sower Revisited by John

2010-02-13T07:46:00.000-08:00

The Sower Revisited

In Mark 4:2, Jesus began telling all those who listened a parable about a farmer who sowed his seed expecting a harvest. He sowed indiscriminately, so seed fell on ground unused for crops as well as good ground. That way he covered all the ground that could and would produce crops. Today with our machinery we only put seed where it should be. To do otherwise would be considered a wasteful, but sowing by hand you can't be so accurate.

Jesus seemed surprised that the apostles did not understand His parable. He had to explain it them. The seed represented God's Word, the good news about Jesus. For some people who hear the Word, it never takes root, and Satan takes it away. It means nothing to those people. They make it valueless to themselves. Some are just so glad they have heard it! They are all set to really live for, and with God. When worldly troubles invade their lives, as they always do, and they are called on to suffer for Jesus, they fall away because they have no depth of belief. Still others have a chance to live forever, but the worries of this life such as keeping up financially with the neighbors, and the deceitfulness of riches come into play. The seed, God's Good News, is choked out of their minds and hearts! These three things happen to people today all around us and make the Gospel unfruitful! Now, I've written only about the Gospel, but the Law is not fruitful to any of these either. They allow Satan, fear, and their own desires to keep them out of the Kingdom of God!

Oh, but a lot of the seed fell on good ground verse 20 tells us. It springs up and grows without the sower's help! He has done his job, and now it pays off. These hear the Word, and they accept it. They bear fruit, some multiply the amount planted thirty times, some sixty, and some a hundred!

I believe these figures are illustrative, but they aren't in any way limiting. I like the way Jesus put it in John 15:1-5, He said He is "the true vine," and the Father cuts off any branch that does not bear fruit. The only ones who don't bear fruit are like those first three named in Mark 4. Then He tells us that every branch that does bear fruit, His Father prunes so that it becomes more fruitful. Then in verse 5, He tells us when we remain in Him, we will bear much fruit." Now, there has been a lot of discussion about what fruit He is talking about. Some say, the fruit of a Christian is another Christian! I have no problem with that except that we don't do the saving. Jesus does that. We already know that the word of God was the seed sown in Mark, and it was considered the fruit there. Some others say that the fruit is a life lived in the Spirit. Galatians 5:22, 23 says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." Just as salvation comes from Jesus, all these things come from the Spirit! That leaves us something to think about, doesn't it? I certainly don't have a definitive answer as to what exactly the fruit Jesus spoke of is. I am satisfied that if I spend my life seeking to be like Jesus and allow the Holy Spirit free rein in my life, then I will bear some degree of the fruit Jesus spoke of. I invite you as an old hymn says, "Fix your eyes upon Jesus. Look full into His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. Real value is in our relationship to Jesus."

Musings:02/07/10,Joy Before Happiness by John

2010-02-06T23:51:00.000-08:00

Not one of the prophets ever laughed as far as I can tell from reading the Scripture; yet, many of today's prophets (pastors classify Biblically as prophets) laugh often and much. Is the difference just a matter of the chroniclers not recording the prophet's laughter? Could it be they had nothing to laugh about until Jesus came? Was it because the Old Testament prophets were being persecuted and were constantly struggling to stay alive as they served the Lord? Perhaps it was a little of all these things.

Jesus told His disciples, "If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." According to this, joy is the direct result of obedience. It is not dependent on circumstances. That's why Paul and Silas could sing when they were chained in jail. Acts 16:25 says, "About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them." I'm sure one reason they were there was for the conversion of the jailor and his household.

Happiness usually depends on our circumstances, doesn't it? I'm sure Paul and Silas were not happy about being imprisoned and bound with chains, but joy is God's gift as a result of our obedience. He may also change our circumstances as He did for Paul and Silas, and that may result in happiness, too.

Our work-a-day world strives for happiness and seems to be unaware it only lasts a moment. The joy God gives is eternal!

Were the Old Testament prophets happy? I doubt they were too often. Did they have joy? I can't be sure about that either, but I do know they were on the right track. They obeyed God. Jonah is a story about a prophet not caring for lost people who were different from him, and who tried to run away from God rather than obey. God brought him back into line very gently and instead of being grateful God didn't strike him dead, he was angry with God! Still God treated him gently. We just don't understand how much God loves us, and how wonderfully He treats us even when we are disobedient! In Philippians 1:3-6, Paul wrote, "I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Paul's joy in this instance was a gift from friends. That's a different use of the word, but the two usages are directly connected since the friends were obeying God, too, and they had joy within themselves.

I must add that obedience is not coerced compliance. Obedience comes from a person's heart. It is our love of God that causes us to joyfully do what He asks and just as joyfully refrain from doing the things He tells us not to do.

One illustration: Jesus told us if someone slapped us on one cheek to turn the other. I am sure He did not mean we were to like being slapped. He meant God wants us to treat others like He treats us, not the way someone else treats us. That's worth thinking about, isn't it?

Wisdom? Who Is Wise? by John

2010-02-02T15:15:00.000-08:00

Wisdom? Who is Wise?
Proverbs 11:30

1. Proverbs 11:30 says, "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he who wins souls is wise."
2. I see three things in this verse:
(1) The righteous life bears fruit to eternal life.
(2) Since the writing is poetic in form, the Hebrew rule is, the second half of the verse rephrases the first, or adds something else to the first.
a. Considered the second way, it is wise to win souls.
b. Taken the first way, a wise person wins souls.
c. I take it that the Scripture is saying we can get people to change their minds toward God. (It will be His Spirit that changes their hearts).
3. We may persuade people to trust the Lord, but it is the Lord, and only the Lord, Who does all the saving.
4. Before Solomon's day, God told us how to recognize a wise person and how we can become wise.
5. The process is simple to state, but not so simple to accomplish.

I. First, Do you really want to be Wise?

1. Persuade men to put their trust in the only real God, the One Who reveals Himself both in the Bible and directly to the human soul.
2. How can you do that?
(1) First, live like Jesus did when He walked the earth. I John 2: 5b and 6: "This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did."
a. If you don't live spiritually as Jesus did, your claim is untrue.
b. Worldly people can tell a real Christian from a phony in the blink of an eye!
c. It's true that people let Satan confuse them sometimes, but if they go directly to God in prayer, He opens their understanding to the truth.
(2) Second, fill your life with good and avoid the bad the rest of the world does. People know and notice the difference! They are not likely to change their minds, if our claim doesn't ring true.
(3) Third, love people the way God does.
a. I'm talking about the kind of love that the Father displayed when He sent His only born Son to die for us.
b. Again, lost people know, and they can spot a phony. Satan aids them in that! In fact, Christians out of fellowship with the Father are one of the strongest tools Satan uses to keep lost people lost!
(4) Fourth, deliberately seek to lead others to the truth of the Gospel.
a. Most people hear preaching at church if they go to church, or on the radio, or TV, but too often they don't really apply it to themselves. As the old saying states, "It just goes in one ear and out the other!"
b. Your visiting with them will cause them to say, "Hey! You mean the preacher was talking about me?" Or, they will at least get the idea God cares!
(5) Fifth, we must pray for, and if possible, with the people we want to meet Jesus.
ill. When I was very young, I was in church every Sunday morning and night. I never applied the message to myself. I just wondered how long the preacher was going to preach, or when the Sunday School bell would ring ending the class. I had a very strong, uncontrolled temper. When I got angry, my mother took me into the bedroom, knelt by my dad's bed, pulled me down beside her, and she prayed for me. When I asked her why, she said, "I don't want you to end up in the penitentiary. That would break my heart!" Those prayers did not make me a Christian, but they did make me scared of doing wrong! She really got my attention, not through scolding, but through prayer!
When you pray with lost people, they get the point that you, and probably God, care about what happens to them in their future! And you've shown yourself to be wise!

II. A Wise Christian is a Soul Winner.

1. I don't think most Christians understand what a soul-winner is because we think that when we do the things we've already mentioned, people will automatically become Christians.
(1) If that doesn't happen, we think we are at fault! And we may be, but that's not necessarily true.
(2) Maybe there's unconfessed sin in our lives, and that lost person sees it.
(3) That may happen, too, but we don't save people!
(4) God does the saving, and He uses the Gospel to do it.
(5) If we give the Gospel to people, we've given them the one thing they need to live forever!
ill. If you saw a person drowning in a swimming pool, what would you do? Jump in and save him? Call the lifeguard? Dial 911? What would you do?
When I took lifesaving in college, they taught us how to go about every possible circumstance to save the person drowning, and to be safe ourselves.
The very first rule was, don't go into the water if it is not absolutely necessary! Use that long pole with a crook on it. Throw the person a life preserver. Those things you can do even if you can't swim!
When you are dealing with lost people, be aware of your limitations and theirs, but don't let them keep you from doing God's will. Use your limitations to do it right!

III. Connecting this text with Jesus' Words in John 15:5: seals your wisdom.

1. Every Christian bears fruit because of his relationship with Jesus, the Vine.
(1) How much fruit you, as a Christian, will bear is variable.
(2) He first states simply that you will bear fruit. That means every Christian will bear some fruit.
(3) The second indicates you will bear more fruit.
(4) The third indicates you will bear much fruit.
(5) Considering the parables Jesus used, we have to be aware that some of us will bear more, some less.
2. Again, Jesus does all the saving. It is our job to point people to Jesus in a winning way.
3. To do that requires two things:
(1) We need the powerful presence of God's Holy Spirit.
(2) We need to be in contact with lost people.
a. We may visit people we just think are lost specifically to tell them about Jesus.
b. We may tell people we already know, perhaps really love, about Jesus.
c. We may stage activities to attract and educate people about Jesus.
2. But when all is said and done, the fact is, you will bear fruit because you are part of the Vine,
Jesus! Producing fruit is absolutely natural and certain for Christians!
(2) But we must be sure the glory of all we do
goes to our heavenly Father, to His Son Jesus, and to God's Holy Spirit Who seals every person to the very day of redemption. Ephesians 4:30 says: "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." "Sealed" is past tense and means every believer who places his life in the Lord's hands is immediately sealed all the way to heaven!

IV. Please God!

1. We've talked about being wise, and about winning souls.
2. We have not paid much attention to the first part of that verse, "The fruit of the righteous."
3. It seems reasonable to say that the fruit of a Christian is another Christian, but since we don't do the saving, is that true?
4. Perhaps we need to consider the word, "righteous." (It is tsaw-DEEK in Hebrew, 6662 Strong's Concordance).
(1) The righteous man or woman is moral, upright, someone who is dependable.
(2) Someone recognized by his neighbors as a good person.
(3) Such a person in Solomon's time would be highly respected and should be now.
(4) The person from the New Testament on is a Christian rather than a godly Jew.
5. Perhaps you feel you are too much a sinner to fit that description.
(1) Let me remind you that Isaiah said in 64:6:"...All our righteous acts are like filthy rags..." Without Jesus we could not be clean!
(2) Titus 3:5 says, "He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life."
(3) Whatever righteousness we have comes directly from God. We haven't, and we can't, be righteous apart from Jesus!
6. The point is, it is wise to trust Jesus as our Lord and our Savior. Everything good comes from just one Source! Jesus!
Conclusion:
1. Without Jesus, we are no different to any other person in the world, and with Him, we become fellow-workers with God.
3. Our words, our actions, our thoughts, make up our godly character, and we witness to the truth of the Bible, to the reality of our Lord Jesus and of other people's need of forgiveness and salvation.
4. Our first wise act is to trust Jesus and commit our lives to Him.
5. It is wise to guard our lives from sin and live uprightly.
6. It is wise to show the world how wonderful belonging to Jesus is.
7. People notice the difference in our lives, and they want to know Jesus, too.
8. Perhaps you haven't given your life to Jesus... Look around you. Most of these have given their lives to Him.
9. Give yourself to Jesus right now. The altar is open for you. We will pray with you, counsel you, and help you to know our Lord Jesus!
10. I only mentioned two of the three things I see in that verse. The third is reproduction. Every soul who comes to Jesus, will bear fruit, and when you lead one person to Jesus, that "tree of life" has already started growing! It should continue growing until Jesus comes to take us home.
11. If you aren't a Christian, give yourself to Jesus and start a whole new tree of life!

Completed February 2, 2010

musings:01/31/10,Christians, Do we Suffer? by John

2010-01-31T20:11:00.000-08:00

Christians, Do We Suffer?

Romans 8:16, 17 says, "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." I remember pastors when I was small talking about the "vicarious suffering" we were expected to do as a Christian. That bothered me then, and it bothers me now. I'm glad no one has used hat word in any sermon I have heard in many years. Let me explain my thought on this.

As Christians, some non-Christians will persecute us without doubt. We certainly have viewed enough history to know that has happened over and over again. Many people still die in various parts of the world today just because they have accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior, but all of us will not suffer that way, so this Scripture either doesn't apply to us, or it applies in a different way.

Let's take a short detour to illustrate something God does in Scripture. One word in Isaiah 7:14 was translated by scholars from Hebrew to English as "virgin." It did not mean virgin to the Jews. It meant "young woman," but even to them that was one meaning of the word. At the time Isaiah gave that prophecy, they did not think he was speaking of a virgin having a child, yet it was possible for that word to refer to an unmarried young woman, and it did. We sometime refer to the manifold fulfillment of prophecy, and this is an example. The first fulfillment came within three years as prophesied. It was fulfilled again when Jesus was conceived and born. Christian scholars translated that word as virgin because Jesus had no earthly father. Matthew simply says Joseph was the husband of Mary. Mary was in David's bloodline as well as Joseph. Being in David's bloodline was an important part of the Messianic prophecies. Now, back to suffering.

I believe the suffering here is more than vicarious. The word "vicarious" refers to being deputized or even taking someone else's place. We don't suffer in Jesus' place. He took our place. I know many who major on our suffering just as Jesus did. Some Christians do, but in this country we don't. Paul writing in Galatians (1:29) said, "For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have." In that I have to be aware God gives good gifts to His children, not evil. Ergo suffering is a good gift. Hebrews 12:11 says, "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."

The kind of suffering most of us experience is caused by our own inward struggle. The world around us is full of things to sate our appetites for anything we happen to think of. Many of these things have a long, deep-seated background in our society, and it is a struggle to give them up and move away from them. When we do, we discover new battles are constantly appearing on the horizon. As Romans 7 tells us, it doesn't take very long for every Christian to discover we have two natures, one spiritual and one prone to revel in the sins of the world. Paul exclaimed in verses 24,25, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

I think I was about two weeks old when I made my first trip to church and I've been pretty constant in worship and study since then. All of these 82 years are filled with the struggle to be the person God wants me to be. Every day brings new challenges. Every day, Satan approaches with new temptations. My own mind and physical appetites constantly clamor for more attention to things other than Jesus. In Him, I find strength, relief, and forgiveness when I fail. Even in the midst of inward struggle, I have His peace as He promised in John 14:27, "Peace, I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." I can always look back at the events of every day, and thank God for His deliverance. I usually follow that by asking Him for strength for the struggle ahead. One day, I'll be so much closer to being like Jesus than I am now. I look forward to that day. What I do with my Heavenly Father is too important to allow any kind of suffering disrupt my peace, or to take me off course. Again, Romans 8:16, 17 says, "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order we may also share in his glory." Christ suffered for the sins of the whole world. If my Lord did that, I should expect to receive the same treatment from the world. I shouldn't try to make it happen, but when it does, I should be able to accept it as part of Christian living! And Jesus will give me strength to do it.

Musings:01/17/10,A Predilection We Can Do Without. by John

2010-01-16T18:20:00.000-08:00

A Predilection we could do without.

One of the problems we have today is our personal identification with power figures. I wanted to be like Tarzan when I was a little boy, at least when a Tarzan movie was showing on Saturdays at the local theater. When I read the comics, I wanted to be like Buck Rogers and fly through space performing deeds that would defeat Ming the Merciless. Oh, there was the Green Hornet, then Superman, Captain Marvel, The Phantom and scads of other hero types. I embraced them all hoping I could be like them one day. Yes. I knew none of them was real. They were figments of imagination, and I figured I would grow away from them. I did, but I discovered I tended to adopt new ones like Roy Rogers, "Duke" Wayne and a few others.

Our children today have far more hero types, and like others of us, they grow away from them, but they tend to adopt new ones and sometimes with a vengeance! They would gladly join Carl Perkins and Elvis in singing don't step on my blue suede shoes, but they'd change it to something like, "Don't mess with my religion!" They've fallen in love with forms and figures, and sadly, many have missed Jesus!

Why do you suppose people get angry when someone tells them they believe a false doctrine? It could be because they don't, couldn't it? More likely, they have an underlying fear that they do have flaws in their beliefs. None of us are perfect, are we? The first year I served as pastor, 1947, a middle-aged lady about twice my age told me she had never sinned! I pointed out I John 1:8, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." That's strong language, isn't it? John simply reported to do such a thing was to be a liar! She grew angry and expressed her extreme displeasure with me. I showed her I John 1:10, "If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives." She expressed more displeasure. I probably showed little tact, and maybe I didn't reveal to her that Jesus loved her. If so, the only excuse I have is that I was 19 years old.

Sometimes hearing the truth is extremely painful, but there is no substitute for truth. Jesus said, "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:32). Truth frees us, and most of us have experienced what lying will do. When we lie, we have to tell others to cover up the first one. It's a never-ending struggle, and eventually we lose the battle, or we confess our sins.
That brings us up to that final predilection we could do without, our tendency to believe that God thinks like we do. Any time we begin to interpret things that happen and say, "God did this," we are in danger of putting ourselves in God's place. I think ministers have a real problem at this point. I've been watching them from outside the ministry and from the inside, so I include myself in this statement. Others also have this problem, and when we put ourselves in God's place, as our pastor said this morning, "That's blasphemy!" We are putting ourselves in the place of the Judge of everything! Years ago, a minister asked me why I left a thriving church to go start a new church, and I said I believed that was what God wanted me to do. He shook his head in disbelief apparently that I could be so mistaken. I asked him, "If God told you He wanted you to leave the church you serve and to take a smaller one, wouldn't you do it?" Without blinking an eye, he said, "God would never ask me to do anything like that." That ended the conversation. Do you suppose he just couldn't hear what God was saying to him? I don't know. I'm not his judge, but neither is he mine.

I believe we need to stick to what the Bible says and leave the judgment to God. He's the only One capable of making a just judgment, and it is so wonderful to realize He is also the One Who loves us more than anyone else.

Romans 2:1 says, "You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things."

Musings:01/16/10,Why,Why,Why? by John

2010-01-16T12:51:00.000-08:00

Why? Why? Why?

"Why" is one of the five questioning words newspaper reporters and other writers use. Those words get the salient facts in any situation, but the answers are not always available, are they? My wife and I were just discussing the Haiti earthquake over breakfast. We had just listened to two or three religious leaders comment on this disaster. Ministers frequently feel they have to have an answer for everything that happens. We don't have them much of the time. That's not unusual. Of all the prophets in Israel, there were usually no more than two or three who had messages directly from God as far as Biblical history records. Prophets such as Elijah, Elisha, and those whose names are on books bearing their histories received direct messages from God. They did not have the Book we call the Bible to guide them. It was being written, but it was not complete until quite some time after the resurrection of Jesus. The Bible is our guide now, and we should refer to it constantly. God doesn't contradict Himself in His written word or in His spoken word. We don't usually understand it as well as we should, so we need to consult it regularly in prayer. It tells us that one of the works of God's Spirit is to guide us into truth. We have truth, but every day the body of truth is enlarged.

What (another of those reporter words) does the New Testament of the Bible say in connection with sin and disaster? Well, sin brings disaster, doesn't it? Romans 6:23 tells us sin is followed by death, but even so the "gift of God is eternal life!" In John 9, the disciples asked Jesus, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." Personal sin was not the cause of his blindness, and that causes me to remember Job. Even Satan could not find fault with him, and he suffered great loss and pain. Even his wife suggested he curse God and die!

Jump back to the New Testament with me. My wife reminded me at breakfast that Jesus in Matthew 5:44,45 said, "But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." That's pretty plain, isn't it? Natural events are not changed by our spiritual lives whether good or bad. It also leaves open the area of God's creativity. Personally, I believe God continues to create. Genesis says He rested on the seventh day, but it does not say He stopped creating forever. Christians tend to look down on scientists as people who have missed the point, and scientists tend to look at those Christians as being both blind and ignorant. What a blessing it is that the majority of both groups are Christians, scientists and well educated!

We shouldn't overlook reality because what God creates is real! Most of us know something about tectonic plates and how they shift. Most of us are aware that volcanoes are real, and that they are involved in the destruction and formation of landmass. Earthquakes may be part of the groaning of creation mentioned in Romans 8:22; "We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time."

I've said these things leading up to this question: Why would anyone think that all of the Haitians, and all of the people who were visiting there when the earthquake struck, could possibly have been in league with the devil? Why would anyone believe that all of the destructive acts of nature are caused by particular individuals' sins? I just cannot understand that. I would be extremely upset if I heard a pastor say that Haiti was hit by such devastation due to a handful of people who chose sin instead of salvation! I would have to address them to Genesis 18,19 to see that God got His people out of Sodom before He destroyed it. I see no reason He wouldn't have done the same thing anywhere and any time He decided to destroy a people.

The Bible, particularly the New Testament, reminds us that God loves each one of us. That would include every person who died in the earthquake. And that He gives us time to repent and make peace with Him. The Bible tells us Jesus saves sinners. If you aren't a sinner, Jesus hasn't saved you. In that case, you have no need of a physician His Word tells us, but that same Word tells us all of us are sinners! (Romans 3:23) And all of us deserve death. (Romans 6:23). That means every one of us, all ministers included, deserve death based on our sinfulness; yet, here we are alive! We are still here because God gives us time to change, and Jesus gives us the opportunity to change. Romans 10:9,10, we often quote, "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." The way into the eternal presence of God is Jesus, and the way is open for every one of us. He is the God of Life, and all who come to Him receive life everlasting regardless of their past.

Musings:01/11/10,Humbug to the Humbug! by John

2010-01-11T16:43:00.000-08:00

Humbug to the Humbug!

Since early in the Fall our thoughts turned to Christmas, we've found the season refreshing, but some elements we have introduced into it tend to be a little depressing to me, and they make me wonder how God sees it. I can't second-guess God, I have no intention of trying. I just want to point out a few things we don't know. First, we don't know what year He was born. Bishop Usher in Scotland derived a mathematical system based on presumed numbers in the Scripture. I say presumed because we still aren't sure we have a correct interpretation of them. He then applied his numerical system to the Scriptures, and they were put into the King James Version. It took more than 75 years for people to decide that version was really accurate enough to be called God's Word. When they did, those numbers began to take on a life of their own. As I remember, and I may not be too accurate, he said the earth was created in 2004 bc. He also pictured the birth of Jesus at 4 bc. (Since we date our calendars on the birth of Christ, that makes Him born four years before he was born...) I've addressed that problem in an early "musing," so I won't go further with it. Second, there is never snow in Bethlehem, at least, so far as we know. There may have been more than the usual three, or four, magoi (wise men). It would be unusual for those few to travel a long distance alone at that time because of bands of robbers they might encounter. The wording of the Scripture does not indicate they arrived at the birth of Jesus, but when he was a (paideon Matthew 2:8,9), a child rather than a newborn baby. I remember vividly my eldest telling her little sister who was about two at the time that the wise men brought the baby Jesus, gold, French-fries and murder. Both of them seemed happily satisfied with that. Some detractors of our Christmas celebration have concluded our date for Christmas is not based on any real date, but rather to substitute a Christian festival for a pagan one. When I hear that one, my reply is, "So what? The point of Christmas now is to celebrate the birth of Christ. If it wasn't in the past, that was their problem, not ours. I was born October 21, 1927, but if I want to celebrate it on July the 4th with fireworks, who cares? And why should anyone care? We who know Jesus celebrate His birth!"

Another item that bothers me is our emulation of His giving gifts to men. We give gifts to each other, and that's okay, I guess. I love to receive gifts, and I don't know anyone who doesn't, but does it represent the gifts Jesus gave? We try to give special gifts for the poor and needy at both Thanksgiving and Christmas, don't we? That's two days out of 365, isn't it? What do we represent the rest of the year? Maybe Scrooge before he was visited by "ghosts"?

Don't misunderstand me. I am not in favor of forcing anyone to do things differently. I just want to say the way things are bothers me. I hope there are some things that bother you, too. If enough of us get bothered in the Spirit, we may feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit those in prison, and do it not because they deserve it, but because it is what Jesus told us is the blessed way! And we will begin to make all those things happen all the time. Then when December 25 rolls around again, we can look back at the year's history without being ashamed of the selfish way we've lived.

Just today, I heard of a man who apparently is trying to do just that. The way I heard it, Christmas Eve a knock came at his door. He answered it, and there was a young man standing there. He asked if he could have a glass of water. He was invited in and given a glass of water. He was on his way from college to his home about 70 miles away. His car broke down, and he couldn't get it fixed, so he guessed he wouldn't make it. The homeowner put on his coat, got his own car out and drove the young man to his father's house and returned to celebrate Christmas with his own family. I heard several men say, "I wouldn't have dared do that!" One or two said, "Well, I might have...when I was younger!" Doesn't that remind you of Hebrews 13:2? It says, "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it." The following verses are all good for our daily living, and verse 8 is especially meaningful to me, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." If I can be like Him, and I'm trying, I want that change to last

Musings:12/26/09,So many ideas of Salvation! by John.

2010-01-03T15:09:00.000-08:00

So many ideas of Salvation!

Does the Bible tell us what God actually requires for salvation? The answer is yes, but the question is do we understand what He tells us. A little reading shows that the world's religious authors have quite divided opinions. Almost all believe the Bible is always right, but people see things differently, and their interpretation differs.

For instance in Baptist circles much is said about "The plan of salvation." The so-called "Roman road" starts with Romans 3:23, proceeds to Romans 6:23 and then to Romans 10:9,10. For the new believer's assurance, Romans 8:1 is frequently added. Are these verses of Scripture necessary for our salvation? Is there an exact plan we are to follow? I don't think so. If you disagree, bear with me for a few lines. I will not in any way discredit the Bible. I believe it is God's Word, and I believe Jesus is that Word Who became flesh and dwelt among us for a short lifetime as a man. So what am I getting at? Remember the robber on one of the crosses next to Jesus asked Him to remember him when he came into His Own Kingdom, and Jesus said to the man, "Amen, I say to you, today with me you will be in the paradise." (That's my literal translation from Luke 23:43).

Paradise is an oriental word probably brought into Greek by the historian Xenophon according to W.E. Vine's Dictionary. It was used of parks and Persian gardens. I agree with Vine. It must have been of great comfort to that robber for Jesus to say that. I don't believe for a minute Jesus was talking about a physical place, but the word signified a place of peace, comfort and beauty. I'm sure the man understood that. Today we see that statement as important to us, also. That robber certainly was not a disciple of Jesus, or even a Jew who kept the Law. He was being crucified because he did not live the kind of life the Romans expected him to live. He didn't have the Book of Romans to read, so he could not have followed the "Roman Road." At that time, Paul would have been intent on persecuting Christians, instead of writing New Testament Books! That poor robber was not baptized in water unless John did it, and it is extremely doubtful that he did. He never joined any church. He didn't do any good works after his appeal to Jesus. Did he have the faith of a mustard seed? Jesus said that much faith could move a mountain. We don't know. No statement is made about his having any faith at all, and to surmise that he did is reading something into the account that is not there. We do tend to "spiritualize" Bible events, don't we?

So what happened? He admitted he deserved to die. He recognized Jesus as a person who did not deserve to die, perhaps much more since he used the word "kingdom" as he made his plea. We are almost forced to leap across the existing chasm presented by this to say, he had faith, aren't we? Would he have made that plea if he did not believe in life after death? Personally, I believe he had a desperate hope that Jesus was Messiah, God's only born Son. I believe he hoped for something, too. I'm not sure what that something was, but I am certain he received far more than he hoped! That little Greek word we translate as "the" specifies that Jesus spoke of something very real, something wonderful, something every person desires, and He assured this man that he met His requirements to be with Him in His kingdom! I believe Jesus spoke of heaven for He stated He was returning to His Father, and that's where He is.

There are other examples in Scripture of a somewhat similar nature, such as Enoch in Genesis 5:24, but I'll not address them now. The one already examined is enough, isn't it? I will call your attention to what God told Paul when he felt threatened in Corinth. Acts 18:9,10 says, "One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision; 'Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent for I am with you and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.'" Wow! "Many people!" Corinth was considered an extremely ungodly city at that time! There was no Christian church there, so how did God have "many people" there? Did someone else before Paul deliver the Gospel to them? Arguments from silence are the weakest sort. History does not record anyone delivering the Gospel there before Paul. I don't know how those people belonged to the Father, but these and other things equally beyond my understanding have caused my belief to be reenforced. Our Wonderful God is far beyond our ability to second guess Him, and I believe He has more people than any of us believe He has.

Another instance of God's people unknown to His prophet is in I Kings 19:18. After Elijah fled for his life from Jezebel, God told him He still had seven thousand people who had not bowed to, nor kissed Baal! And Elijah thought he was the only one left who worshiped God!

We sometimes speak of a person having an epiphany, meaning a life changing spiritual experience. The Bible tells us it happens frequently, but not to every person. But it is true that people do come face to face with Jesus today, not physically, but spiritually, and their lives are immediately changed forever! Others may never have one of those spiritual awakenings, but the outcome is the same. They grow up and old trusting the Lord, and that according to the way I read the Bible is sufficient.

If you have additional, or different, thoughts on this subject I will appreciate hearing from you, and I will prayerfully consider what you say.
M

Musings:12/09/09, Arguments About Christmas? by John.

2009-12-15T08:06:00.000-08:00

Musings12/09/09, About Christmas

Many Christians seem to be amazed when they discover the words; Advent, Christmas, and Easter are not in the Bible. Detractors of Christ and the Christian way of life make a lot out of that, but their arguments are empty. Those words were coined, or applied, by Christians at a later date, so what? I never heard of Facebook until a short time ago, and it isn't in the Bible either, but it is real to a host of people.
Some fuss about the King James version, along with several other language translations for translating "ma-goi" as "kings" in Matthew and Luke. (I love the old hymn, "We Three Kings of Orient Are," don't you)? They say these men were some kind of charlatans such as described in Deuteronomy 18:9-14. In that passage God's message was about the people they would displace. It was a warning for them to live better lives.
The New Testament Greek word phonetically is "may-guy (the "g" is hard as in giddy)." It described the men who searched for Jesus at His birth. They didn't cast spells, or do any of the things named in Deuteronomy. That word is the word from which we get "magician." We class them astrologers now because they obviously studied the physical heavens. That fact should lead a thinking person to realize that God's star announcing the birth of Jesus was somewhere in the visible sky for quite a long time, and people who were not studying the heavens did not pay any attention to it. Astronomers as such scholars are now known think that this star's brightness may have been the result of several heavenly bodies coming into alignment with each other so as to appear to the naked eye as one. That is plausible. We know it happens even today, and God may choose to use His natural creation to bring about all sorts of miracles. To me the perfect timing is most incredible, but it exhibits the exact perfection of all that God does. He said, "But in the fullness of time, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons." (Galatians 4:4). The shepherds may have seen the star, but probably like others were unaware of the significance of its exceptional brightness. I have found no historical mention of anyone seeing it, other than those men those wise men, so God sent the shepherds a heavenly message. The Greek word "aggelos," pronounced "angelos," is usually translated angels. It's meaning is messenger and as a rule refers to a heavenly messenger to announce the birth of Jesus. When Joseph and Mary presented Jesus in the temple, both Simeon and Anna were filled with God's Spirit and proclaimed the baby to be the deliverer God promised to Israel. I'll leave this line of reasoning, but there's so much more. All of it takes faith, for God will not have us believe by sight!
I'm sorry for those ignorant of the truth, and the others who follow worldly teachings, but I can't stand idly by while they try to destroy our faith in the witness of the men and women of God from that first century. Those early Christians gave us the New Testament. I've met many of these detractors. I believe some are just plain hoodwinked by their leaders. Others, searching for truth, really think they've found it, but our God does not work like they think He does. Many of them are working hard to win other people to their beliefs, and I applaud their efforts. It is not Christian, but it is admirable. I would advise them to study the original Greek and Hebrew so that they can put aside the teachings of men and know for themselves the teachings of God.
It is so easy to go astray if you do not test English by the Hebrew and Greek of the Old and New Testament. For instance, the Hebrew word Adonai is translated by everyone as Lord. The name that God gave when speaking to Moses and which appeared in the early Hebrew writings is YHWH, Ya-way. The Israelites considered it so holy that they would not speak it out loud. When they came to it in reading the Scripture, they used the word adonai instead. Later when the Hebrews ceased to understand their own language well because there were no vowels in their written language, a radical group of their scholars added vowel sounds to their written language. They were purists dedicated to preserving God's Word. They put icons (the forerunners of diacritical marks) above and below the lines to signify which vowels sounds to use. They were afraid to change the actual text by adding them into the words themselves. They thought to do so would mean instant death.
When the King James translators, and others I won't take time to name, came across the word with it's strange vowel additions, it looked as if it should be yehoveh, or Jehovah. I don't hesitate to use the name, "Jehovah" because everyone understands we are talking about Almighty God, and that's fine with me, but it is a combination of two Hebrew words, and is not itself Biblical.
Just for the record, no one really knows the exact date of Jesus' birth. Historical records have some reference to the taxing the Caesars did, but they don't take into account the adjustments made in the Roman calendars. For instance, SEPTember refers to 7, OCTober refers to 8, NOVember refers to 9, DECember refers to 10. After a while some of the Romans realized the seasons were not arriving at the same time every year. One of the Kings of the Roman Empire adjusted the calendar by adding JULy for Julius Caesar and AUGUST for Augustus Caesar. Even that calendar was off, and it had to be changed again. To some extent our present one is, too. We can't be too sure about Biblical dates because the Israeli method of adjusting the calendar was to add the month Veadar. Switching to the Roman calendar makes it impossible. I believe we should consider all the Biblical dates to be educated guesswork at best. But Christmas with all the Santa Claus, St. Nicholas, and other attempts to draw people's attention away from the birth of Jesus just fits into God's plan for the human race. The ones who will be known in the future as the children of God are those who believe Jesus, place their lives in His hands and rest in the assurance that God loves them and will take them home to Himself one day.
What we believe is just that, faith! What we do is by faith. We have faith in God, and His revealed self, Jesus the real Word of God, and the Bible His spoken Word.

Musings:12/03/09, Spiritually Sealed? by John.

2009-12-03T18:51:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 1:13,1400

"And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory."

I remember my mother explained to me why a pint jar of home-canned green beans spoiled. The top of that jar swelled and looked like it might pop open any minute. She told me that when she canned, she must not have sealed it before some bacteria got into the jar, or maybe she just didn't get the top tight enough. I've thought a lot about how things are sealed since then, and I wondered a lot about professionally canned food because I've seen cans swollen and looking as if they could explode. In our community food pantry we periodically must remove cans because they swell and leak. Of course, that doesn't happen if we keep the food moving out quickly. We certainly want food we give people help, not hurt them!

I read about how the canning business was wonderfully changed when a man in the Campbell Soup Company started sealing the soup cans before they were cooked. That insured no living bacteria would be in that can. I'm sure that has to be done under tremendous pressure, or the cans would explode. Pressure-cooking sterolizes, but to maintain the sterility requires a good seal.

I've thought, wouldn't it be wonderful if no bacteria could get into canned stuff anyway? Food would last forever, I guess. Then it occurred to me that there is one seal that keeps all pollution out. It's God's Holy Spirit. The difference in our "Seal" and all others is He is living! He's the eternal Spirit of God, and He constantly protects us from polluting satanic powers. No matter where we are, or what's going on around us, He keeps that seal perfect! It will carry us all the way into the very presence of our Wonderful Counselor, the Almighty God!

All of that passage of Scripture is valuable to daily life and hope, but I think too often when we read it we don't even think about the Spirit as our Seal taking us into the heavenly realms in Christ. It's beyond great to be "included in Christ." But it is equally wonderful to be kept by His Spirit!

I see a difference in being sealed and in being filled with the Spirit. We do sin, and while we sin, I'm sure we are not filled with the Spirit, but we are still sealed by Him. On occasion, we may be aware that God's Spirit is empowering us in a special way: We know we are filled with the Spirit when that happens. Those mountain top experiences are nearly always followed by valley experiences, but on the mountain, or in the valley, we are still sealed to the very day of redemption!

Paul was beaten and left for dead. He was shipwrecked and barely escaped with his life. He was jailed once, imprisoned at least once, maybe three times, and in it all, he could say, "I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Ephesians 4:13. Many people think that gives Christians the power to move mountains whether he has the faith to do it or not, but that interpretation does not fit the context. Paul wrote to Ephesians about his being in need of physical things, and being surfeited with physical things. He simply told them he was content in the Lord no matter what his earthly situation was. All of us, whether we have great faith, or not, should be able to say the same thing because God's Seal, the Holy Spirit, is with us every moment of time as the saying goes, "24/7!" I hope you are sealed with God's Spirit. If you are not, you can be. Make Jesus your Lord and He will become your Savior, too. He will even provide the faith you need when you ask Him to increase your faith.

Musings:11/30/09, On Being Sealed, by John

2009-11-30T07:58:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 1:13,1400

"And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory."

I remember my mother explaining to me why a pint jar of home-canned green beans spoiled. The top of that jar swelled and looked like it might pop open any minute. She told me that when she canned it, she must not have sealed it before some bacteria got into the jar, or maybe the top wasn't tight enough to begin with. I've thought a lot about how things are sealed since then, and I wondered a lot about canned goods because I've seen cans swollen and looking as if they might explode. Periodically we have removed cans from our community food pantry because they were swollen and leaking. We certainly did not want the food we gave to people to make them sick!

I read about how the canning business was wonderfully changed when a man in the Campbell Soup Company started sealing the soup cans before they were cooked. That insured no living bacteria would be in that can. I'm sure that has to be done under tremendous pressure, and pressure-cooking revolutionized the business of canning.

I thought, wouldn't it be wonderful if no bacteria could get into canned stuff anyway? Food would last forever, I guess. Then it occurred to me that there is one seal that keeps all pollution out. It's God's Holy Spirit. The difference is our "Seal" is living! He's the eternal Spirit of God, and He is constantly protecting us from the pollution of satanic powers. No matter where we are, or what's going on around us, He keeps that seal perfect! It will carry us all the way into the very presence of our Wonderful Counselor, the Almighty God!

All of that passage of Scripture is wonderful, but I think too often when we read it we don't even think about the Spirit as our Seal taking us into the heavenly realms in Christ. It's wonderful to be "included in Christ." But it is equally wonderful to be kept by the Spirit! I think there's a difference in being "sealed" and in being filled with the Spirit. We do sin, and while we sin, I'm sure we aren't filled with the Spirit, but we are still sealed by Him. On occasion, we may be aware that God's Spirit is empowering us in a special way: We know we are filled with the Spirit when that happens. Those mountain top experiences are nearly always followed by valley experiences, but on the mountain, or in the valley, we are still sealed to the very day of redemption!

Paul was beaten and left for dead. He was shipwrecked and barely escaped with his life. He was jailed once, imprisoned at least once, maybe three times and in it all, he could say, "I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Ephesians 4:13. Many people think that means any good Christian can move mountains whether he has the faith to do it or not, but that idea does not fit the context. Paul was talking to Ephesians about being in need of physical things, and being surfeited with physical things. He was simply saying he was content in the Lord no matter what his earthly situation was. All of us, whether we have great faith, or not, should be able to say the same thing because God's Seal, the Holy Spirit, is with us every moment of time as the saying goes, "24/7!"

Musings:11/30/09,This Is Coming, by John

2009-11-30T07:34:00.000-08:00

This is Coming!

Jeremiah 31:33-34 says: "'This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,' declares the Lord. 'I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,' declares the Lord."

For years and years, I've tried to memorize Scripture verses, and I did memorize a large number of verses I felt were core statements of my faith in God, but I also remember sitting and listening to a young minister recite entire books of the New Testament as I followed in the Bible. He wanted to be sure he knew it perfectly. I admired his goal, but I also wondered if what he was remembering would be put into practice in his life. I hope so. I've wondered the same thing about myself, and too frequently I've discovered I know more than I put into life-practice. (I am trying to divide something here that is not easily expressed). In my ordinary run of the mill day, I do pretty well, but when I get into an argument, I may get out of my Christian character behind and revert to the way of the world. I may lose my good will toward my fellow man, an individual in this case. Afterward, I follow the recipe Jesus gave us. I apologize to the person for my behavior, and I ask God to forgive me for taking my eyes off of Jesus. I do the latter because I can't hurt someone else and follow Jesus at the same time. Good things come from God. All bad things come from somewhere else!

Picture the future Jeremiah prophesied. God's Law written in our hearts is different to having some of it, or even all of it, written in our heads. A friend of mine some years ago stated emphatically that he never broke the speed limit! I said, "Oh, come on! I've ridden with you, and I know better!" He replied, "Well, I never go over 60!" The speed limit on the highways was 55 at that time, so he explained, "They (meaning law enforcement) always allow you 5 miles over without a ticket." We fool ourselves in the same way about so much that we do and say, don't we? But God is not fooled. We may inadvertently break some of man's laws, but when we break one of God's laws, it's no accident. Hebrews 10:26 used to bother me. It says, "If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God." The word "deliberately" was the one word that really bothered me. I knew when I sinned it was no accident. Being a new Christian at that time, I doubted my faith in Jesus was enough to save me. I think the Holy Spirit gave me the insight to examine the rest of that verse.

First, "if" makes this statement written to Hebrews, perhaps beginning believers hypothetical. The writer wasn't saying it could happen, but that leaving Jesus left nowhere to turn! The Jew's faith had been in the Old Testament Law, and if they failed to go all the way with Jesus, it might be natural to turn back to the Law and its sacrifices. "Knowledge of the truth" does not mean one has accepted Jesus as His Lord and Savior. It does mean that the person has heard what it takes to be saved eternally. We call that "The Gospel of Jesus."

Jews who heard the Gospel and refused it would find no help in the Law. It was never intended to "save" people. It was, and still is, a guide for living. Jewish Christians today frequently call themselves "completed Jews" because they realize everything that happened to Israel, and everything written in the Old Testament led to the coming of the Messiah. Jesus fulfilled God's promise to them.

One of the themes in Romans concerns the children of Abraham. Paul pointed out that Abraham had children of the flesh, but that Isaac was a child of faith, and the child of his promise. Then he called attention to the fact that no one was saved by the Law, but that the children of the flesh trusted the Law to save them while the children of faith trusted in God's grace and their faith to save them. He continued by indicating that Jew and Gentile alike became children of Abraham by faith when they trusted Jesus. Hence Jesus is Messiah for both Jew and Gentile completing their salvation.

Back to Jeremiah, how wonderful it will be when it becomes natural for all of us to do God's will, to love Him and serve Him without really thinking about what we are doing! As I was growing up, when someone asked me who my daddy was, I never had to think about it. I just answered from the reservoir of knowledge that was part of my very being. I hope I'm getting closer to that with my Lord every day. Like Paul, I don't count myself as having already reached the goal, but I strive toward it hoping to be more like Jesus all the time.

The poet said, "The world is too much with us late and soon...." It is, and we are fallible, but the Lord has sealed us with God's Holy Spirit until we are ushered into the very presence of God. This Thanksgiving, I am everlastingly thankful that our God looks at us in all of our frailty through the shed blood of His One and Only Born Son, Jesus! I cannot keep from crying out, "Thank you, Father!" And I look for the day when Jeremiah's prophecy is completed in each of us!

Musings:11/25/09,Unspeakable Words, by John

2009-11-25T19:57:00.000-08:00

Unspeakable Words?

Are there unspeakable words? Isn't that a contradictory idea? Words express ideas so that others can understand what we are thinking, right? Samuel Morse invented a code used for many years to express written words by wire and radio. Juan Pablo de Bonet invented a sign language signifying words rather than going directly to ideas. Anne Sullivan developed and taught Helen Keller her own sort of sign language, and she even taught Helen to speak though Helen could not hear at all. Others have created ways to communicate. American Indians communicated with sign language from one tribe to another. They also used the sound of drums and signals made with smoke to communicate at a distance. People do communicate when it is required for numbers of reasons.

All of the above could be called "unspeakable words, couldn't they? But I am thinking of statements in the Bible. Paul said, "Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift." in II Corinthians 9:15, King James Version. The New International Version translates the Greek word as "indescribable." Strong's first definition was "not expounded in full." In II Corinthians 12:2-4 the NIV says, "I know a man...caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell." He used a different word, but the KJV translators gave it the same translation. Strong's first translation was "unsaid" and by implication indescribable.

In the first reference, I believe Paul spoke of Christ and all of the wonderful gifts included in His grace. In the second, Paul was talking about being in heaven and hearing these things God would not allow him to share with others.

Peter also used a word closely related to the one used in II Corinthians 9:15. It's in I Peter 1:8, and it was translated by the KJV translators as "unspeakable." The NIV again translates this one as inexpressible. Peter spoke of Christians as being filled with an "inexpressible and glorious joy!" These three words would seem to be talking about ideas for which there are no words sufficiently powerful to express them with human vocabulary.

Oh, yes, there is another reference, we can't leave out. Romans 8:26,27 says, "In the same way, the Spirit helps our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will." The word translated "groanings" in the KJV and "groans" in the NIV is far different to those in the other references. Perhaps to our minds, these prayers of the Spirit are unspeakable words.

Personally, I frequently discover that I can't find just the right word for the thought I want to communicate. I'm so thankful that our Wonderful Father knows how to communicate with us in myriads of ways. He has exactly the right word, prick of the Spirit, comment from a stranger or friend to convey to us His love and His will. Our problem is not lack of understanding. It is lack of listening! It's not that God doesn't speak to us. It's that we turn deaf ears to Him!

I've tried rather unsuccessfully to learn other people's languages so that I can communicate God's love to them. I've been successful with some by the help of God's Spirit, but wouldn't it be wonderful to have a 100% record? With the millions of Christians now alive and who have gone to be with the Lord, our witness would have filled heaven, and Jesus would have already come the second time!

I depend on the Spirit's groans to make up for my poor attempts at prayer. That doesn't relieve me of my responsibility to pray, and I pray sentence prayers all day for people as they come into my mind. Right now, I'm praying for you who read this, and my prayer is that you will come to know and love our Heavenly Father as I do.

Musings:11/17/09,Thanksgiving Thoughts, by John

2009-11-17T05:32:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 5:18 ends with the injunction, "Be filled with the Spirit." The author then told us to speak to one another in music. That makes me wonder why we separate music and other spiritual messages such as preaching and other forms of prophecy. In our own hearts, we are to make music to the Lord. With that music, we are to give thanks to Him for everything. Yep! Everything!

We are free and since we aren't perfect, we enter into activities where we fail and often into activities where we sin against God. God allows it because He made us in His Own image, and we are created free. Our freedom brings us pain and sadness much more often than we think it should, but in spite of that, God expects us to be thankful for everything!

How is it possible? As far as I know, the only solution the Bible offers is found in Romans 8:28; "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Can you believe not that God causes you to make bad decisions, or causes you to sin, but that God does use every event in your life for your good?

In Matthew 7:9,10, Jesus asked His hearers if their child asked for bread would they give him a stone, or if he asked for a fish would they give him a snake. Their obvious response was, of course not! In v. 11, Jesus indicated God only gives good gifts to His children. If you believe the Bible, everything that happens to you good, bad or horrible, God will turn into good for you. I didn't say it would be easy for you. Those who visit personal trainers are used to hearing, "No pain, no gain!" The good may be an improvement in character, strength, intellect, understanding, a closer relationship with the Lord, and the list can go on ad infinitum!

It's right to be obedient. That's the primary way to say thank you to the Lord. Verbal thank you's are good, too. Another way is to say thank you to your brothers and sisters as they share their lives with you. That brings us to Jesus' statement in Matthew 7:12; "So in everything do to others what you would have them do to you for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." That's not the "Golden Rule." It is Christ's command to you and me.

Musings: 11/01/09, Painting...Fruit; by John

2009-11-01T15:03:00.000-08:00

Painting, Painting and Fruit

Most people have a variety of interest. One of mine is painting. I like impressionistic art, but my own may not fit that genre precisely. I don't use pure colors, but rather blend colors to try to capture a scene such as it might be at a given moment in time. If it includes animate objects, they too will not be supine, but caught in a moment of time.

To my mind there are really only two acceptable types of painting. One looks as if a camera caught it. The other suggests reality without the extreme detail of the other, an impression. Cartoons are included in the latter. The first was definitely needed and required by the public before cameras were invented. Portrait artists frequently use a bit of both. They show the detail of a camera, but they also add another dimension that the camera can't capture except in series, such as movie clips. Good portrait artists suggest some of the ephemeral features of their subject. The Mona Lisa is probably the best extant example of that.

To others, cubism, and surrealism are admired. Except for Dali's "Self Portrait in Liver" I've never cared for either one. I prefer the old masters whose technique I have not been able to copy. I tend to use Bob Ross' wet on wet technique. I do vary it somewhat applying more detail on dry, or almost dry canvases.

I think art is a purely subjective thing. Each one of us sees things differently, and if we attempt to produce art, we naturally do it differently. Grandma Moses became famous for her rustic work late in life. Many now considered great artists had little or no market for their work. Other people
capitalized on the artist's work after their deaths. Picasso became famous after he decided to become a surrealist although in my estimation he was a greater artist when he produced paintings more lifelike than a camera can capture.

I also believe many true artists are never given any credit for their work. "Starving artists" is a term that can be applied to artists in every age. Others of less talent and skill became famous because of other factors such as their love life, political and, or, religious connections.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" is a phrase that comes to mind, so is painting, sculpture, carving, music, writing and mechanical or technical productions. What really bothers me is faddism. Art to many people is simply that which others admire. It becomes a property to be obtained and gloated about if not worshiped.

My advice to would be artists is, express yourself in what you do the way you want to do it and don't copy someone else just because it is popular. You can learn from many without becoming a copycat. Their art may prove to be a fad in time, and if it does, you've wasted your skill without giving to the world at large something you alone could give.

Personally, I like the "art" I do even though frequently I think it is terrible when it is finished. Usually in time, I grow to like it, so whether anyone else does or not, it is both important and fulfilling to me. If others do like it, I am thrilled that I can please them. I continue to attempt scenes I think are beyond me, and sometimes I am surprised that I handle it very well. At other times, the wastebasket gets rather full, and some of my canvases may be layered with more than one picture on them. Either way, I express myself as God's child. My hope is that my life will please Him. If I can please viewers in the process, I find that great!

As God's child only you and He really know what you are capable of. If you haven't done it, why don't you try to find out? His creation is full of material you can use to bring appreciation to others around you. You may add something valuable to other's lives. Not every vine bears fruit. Some bare only thorns, but every Christian bears fruit! (John 15:5).

Musings: 10/19/09, Fishing For Truth? by John

2009-10-19T07:06:00.000-07:00

Looking at Christianity as a whole reminds me of the story about how birds started building nests. I can't remember the story exactly. What I remember is that each kind of bird watched a nest being built, and each one left the lesson before it was finished. One bird, for instance, saw twigs being used, and left to build a nest with twigs. Another saw grass being woven together and left to build his nest with grass. The ones who stayed all the way through built much more complete, durable nests.

When people meet and accept Christ as their Savior and Lord, Jesus spoke of them as "born again" in the third chapter of the Gospel of John. I would think anyone reading that would realize that He was also saying we are not born into the Kingdom of God as adults. Peter called those to whom he addressed his letters "babes in Christ." That again refers to our need to grow.

Too many of us do not avail ourselves of what we need to grow, not enough of the Bible, not enough prayer, not enough making the Biblical messages part of our daily lives. In that respect, I'm reminded of the way people fish. Some go to the river or lake time after time and just sit in one place waiting for a hungry fish to come along and bite. Others go to the same water, launch out in boats. Some use nets, some regular poles with live bait, and some use rods, (maybe fly rods, one of my favorites) searching for hungry fish.

I've fished in many rivers and lakes during the past 80 plus years, and I can't say I know a great deal about them. I know their shorelines, where the stumps and rocks are in some of them, but I know very little about what goes on beneath the surface. When I was young and dived down into the depths, I noticed how the water changed temperature every five feet or so, and I paid attention to how much the light lessened until it was almost totally black, and I couldn't really say what was going on a few feet away.

So many of us Christians are like I was as a fisherman. We dip into the Bible, and maybe learn a few verses. We attend Bible Study and Worship, perhaps on a weekly basis, but we still don't know much about God. I thought I was a pretty good Bible student when I was in college, and I was amazed at how much I did not know when I got to seminary. When I got a sheepskin there, I thought surely I had arrived! But the older I got the more I became aware God is too great for me to know well here on earth. I will never be a master of theology or Christian living here. For awhile I thought I would know everything about everything when I got to heaven. Now, my experience tells me I will never ever know everything! I'm certain heaven will present the most wonderful opportunity to learn that I've ever had! I look forward to it!

Sometimes we think we are more like the woman who touched the hem of Jesus' garment and was made whole. That's all we have done! We feel like martyred Stephen who got a glimpse of heaven as people stoned him to death. He saw Jesus, and we do, too. Not in the same way, but we see Jesus, not as a man, but as a Wonderful Personality of God!

With all we do not know, is it any wonder that the Bible tells us not to judge? Why can't we let other people know we don't know everything there is to know? Why can't we admit that we are just poor students seeking the truth of God? I wonder who we think we are fooling. It's not God! He knows all there is, or ever will be, about each one of us...and the miracle is that He loves us anyway!

We can't be humble, as commanded, while we are lording it over others. A minister I knew said, "The ground around the foot of the cross is level." At the cross, we meet Jesus, and around the foot of that cross, we are all equal and equally loved by God. That's wonderful in itself, but if we want to know God better, we are going to have to stop thinking we have already arrived and start learning of Jesus. How did He treat enemies? People say they are going the "Jesus way," but do they know His way? I said that until I discovered I wasn't really willing to die for people who hated me. I wasn't even willing to let people who hit me on one cheek do it again. I didn't trust my Heavenly Father enough to really depend entirely on Him for everything I need! I'm trying to be honest here. Most of my early life such things seldom if ever really occurred to me. I'm glad they do now.

Have you ever read the Bible from cover to cover? I have, but not often enough. Have you really tried to discover for yourself exactly what Jesus meant when He spoke? Or is it possible you just expect the minister to feed you three times, maybe just once a week? Is it possible you depend entirely on someone else's word for Biblical truth? I'm glad we have churches with services honoring God, and I plan to be in one often, but I won't let that take the place of my own responsibility to know what God expects of me personally, and I won't accept what others say without finding the Biblical ground for it. I want to know God, and the way to do that is to approach Him directly. We can do that in prayer, reading the Bible while we pray about it. Viewing the world through, not rose-colored glasses, but through the eyes of Jesus! That's been my life goal for 65 years now, and I'm closer, but not a whole lot.

Hebrews 5:11-14 should speak to all Christians. It tells us we are "babes" when we should be adults. It also says we need someone to teach us elementary truths. We, like babies, require baby food! Adults eat solid food, and those who do have learned to distinguish between right and wrong by searching the depths of the Scripture. The writer is not talking a casual ho hum reading of the Word, is he? He's talking about comparing Scripture with Scripture and staying with a passage until you know what it means.

I think what this country needs more than anything else is to stop dapping with our knowledge of God! We need to trawl the depths of the Word to learn all we can and model our lives into His image!

2009-09-20T19:21:00.000-07:00

Musings092009,Preaching

Emil Williams, our pastor preaching from I Corinthians 1 today, brought out a number of good thoughts about effective preaching of the cross. The one that stood out most in my mind was that we can ruin the effectiveness of our message by too much eloquence. Paul was eloquent, but quite obviously not too much to ruin his preaching of the cross. (Emil also brought that out).

Musing about this caused me to move with this thought into other areas. I've experienced some complex speeches made by people with vast amounts of education that were hard for me to understand. When I looked about, I could see others with puzzled looks on their faces. That always troubles me. What's the point of speaking? Isn't it to communicate? If a speech is in a foreign language you don't know, do you listen to it?

I deal with Greek and Hebrew a lot because it is the original language of the Bible. I am not a Greek or Hebrew scholar. If asked, my seminary professors would have told them I was not. I studied Greek two years in seminary and Hebrew one, but I have only a rudimentary knowledge. My point is, I wouldn't care to listen to a speech or a sermon in either one. My wife loves the sound of fluently spoken Hebrew, and my mother sang Psalms in Hebrew at our local synagogue, but I don't think my wife would want to listen to either very long.

Communication is the key word when speaking. Paul communicated well in all of his writings, and I believe he spoke just as he wrote. I wonder why we can't do the same today?

I think Paul's admonition to the Corinthians in his first letter to them, chapter 14, verse 28, is excellent. "If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God." By the way, another good point in that verse is that preachers should take their own preaching to heart! I Peter 4:17 says, "For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?" God gives the church pastors to be examples of the way to live, to speak the unvarnished truth as God has given it, and to display God's love to others. Pastors are given much by God, and much will be required of them/us. Jesus said in Luke 12:48, "...From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."
God's gifts are given with His expectation of their serving a good purpose and of their accomplishing the end He intends. As pastors, we should keep that in mind. It is not something to make us fearful. God is our Father, and He loves us. We respond in love to Him. We try to use His gifts wisely. We communicate His messages with the results He desires in mind.

During the many years I preached, I constantly watched the congregation's response. I noted those who were disinterested, some slept! That spurred me to make my messages more interesting. I saw those perplexed looks on people faces sometimes. I did not hesitate to explain what I was saying using different words, different metaphors and different illustrations. I want to communicate!

The message we have is the most important the world has ever known or will ever receive. God loves all of us. We all have failed to respond to that love as we should have. Many of us have even rejected any mention of God! But Jesus came to earth as a baby, lived as we all live, except that He never sinned. He died as none of us could, or can. Oh, we could be put on a cross as He was, but He carried the sins of every human being who ever lived, or ever will live, as He died on that cross! None us could do that for even one person! Then on the third day, He arose. Death could not hold Him, and it cannot hold any of us who have placed our trust in Him. He is coming again, and when He does, all who trust in Him will spend eternity with Him!

There is no greater message. It doesn't take eloquence. It doesn't even require the messenger to be a Christian himself. It is God's Word, and His Word cannot be broken. When Aaron threw down his rod and it became a serpent, the Egyptians sorcerers did something similar. Later with the plagues God sent, the sorcerers' acts only increased the Egyptians misery. Conversely, an atheist can hand another lost person a Bible. That person can read it and be saved for eternity. All the atheist did was take away a candidate for hell and increase the Kingdom of God.

Eloquence is a unique and wonderful gift, but it must be used with love to carefully communicate God's truth!

Musings: 09/15/09, Temptation and Responsibility, by John

2009-09-15T18:11:00.000-07:00

Temptation and Responsibility

Sometimes I find myself saying to God in prayer, "I'm sorry, Father. I just couldn't help myself." Have you ever said something like that to God? This morning, I wasn't praying exactly, but I was contacting our Father about things in general, and suddenly I Corinthians 10:12 popped into my consciousness. I learned it in the King James Version of the Bible, "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." The New International Version translates it, "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."

The fact is, none of us is able to resist temptation on our own. The writer knew by his own experience that temptations arise in everyone's life, and we cannot handle them! That's the reason the NIV translated that verb as "has seized." By the time we know we were tempted, we've already plunged into sin's domain! But we didn't have to do it. God has seen to it that there is an open escape route every time we have ever sinned. The Greek word used here is a combination of the preposition "ek" which has the basic meaning of "out of" or "away from," and "basin" which essentially means "pace." It could be translated as "walk away." Hmmm. There hasn't been a single time that we could not have walked away from our temptations!

That brings us to our responsibility. We've already sinned. Jesus is our Payment. He died for us bearing our sins on His cross for us. Our responsibility is fairly simple and straightforward.

First, we need to accept our predicament. We are sinners, and not only can we not do anything about the sins we have committed, but we cannot stop sinning without God's help.

Second, when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, God's Holy Spirit comes into our lives. He indwells us. We are already forgiven, and God's Spirit teaches us to recognize sin for what it is, and He encourages us to "walk away" from it. We follow Jesus. In this world, we cannot be sinless, but our lives are pointedly attached to Jesus, and we go in the direction He leads us, and we are constantly moving toward the perfection of being like Jesus in every respect.

As we walk to Jesus, we are walking away from sin. When we allow temptation to seize us, we are walking away from Jesus. Years ago, two ministers I knew were at a meeting with a group of us. One was teasing the other about coming in late. He, himself, was exactly on time, and he had passed his brother pastor on the thirty-mile trip. The conversation went like this:

The teased brother, I'll call "Bill," and the other, "Bob." Bill spoke first.

"Brother, does the Holy Spirit ever commit a sin?" Bob hesitated. He knew something was coming, but he didn't know what.

"No. Of course, He doesn't, Bill. We all know that," he said looking around at the rest of us, and grinning.

"Well, Bob, I was driving at the speed limit, and you must have been doing at least ten miles an hour over the speed limit when you passed me. If the Holy Spirit never commits a sin, then you must have left him ten miles behind you, and you couldn't expect Him to protect you. I should have started earlier, but the Holy Spirit was with me all the way."

I think Jesus was not only a "man of sorrows," but was also a person of laughter, and that He didn't mind the bantering of those two. Of course, the Holy Spirit never leaves any Christian, but too often we close our ears when He speaks to us. We have a responsibility to listen, to watch for temptations, and to be ready to walk away from them.

Musings: 09/07/09, How Does God Reveal Himself? by John

2009-09-07T19:20:00.000-07:00

How many ways has God revealed Himself?

I can think of several right away, but I suspect the list is inexhaustible. God is eternal, and that means He is not limited. He's never out of energy or ingenuity. I firmly believe that means He never needs to do anything the same way twice unless it pleases Him. Some of His acts and some results we see may have similar characteristics, and that make us think, Oh! He did the same thing for me, too, and He did it just like that! But accomplishing the same end does not require identical actions. For instance, God may heal a person using only that person's immune system. He may also heal another using antibiotics, doctors, bed-rest, etc. The result is the same, but everything else may be different...My son, an MD, would say at this point, yes, but in the final analysis, the person's immune system must do the healing. The other things just help, but that cannot apply to instantaneous healing, and the Bible records many. He would agree with that, I think.

That brings to my mind that God has chosen by the foolishness of preaching to lead people to know Him, to be saved. They are immediately children of God. Does that mean preaching is the only way for a person to come to Jesus? Saul of Tarsus did not become a Christian by hearing a Gospel message. God struck him down on the Damascus road, blinded him, and in that process Saul came to know Him. The people in the Old Testament who trusted God did not trust God through preaching as far as we know. God spoke to Moses in a bush that burned, but was not reduced to ashes. Of course, God spoke to him, too. I once had a man try to persuade me to be a "limitless" man while he became tipsy on alcohol. Obviously, he only thought he knew how to be limitless. The only limitless being is God. That's a position we cannot attain. Isaiah 14:12 and following gives an account possibly of a king of that time, but ultimately it is a revelation of Satan. He had five "I will..." goals. "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of the assembly,... I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High." So many of us have a variation of these goals in our mind. Putting yourself above God can be the worst heresy, but remembering God is God, and desiring to be like Him as a child of His family, is a worthy goal, and I believe He reveals Himself to us for that purpose.

Well, how about that? We just talked about three ways God revealed Himself in history, and a reason for His revealing Himself now! There are other revelations in history, of course. Three "men" appeared to Abraham before He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham recognized the three men who visited him as God's representatives, and he entertained them with a meal and shade from the sun's hot rays. Only two of those beings went to Lot's house in Sodom. Most today believe the third being was God. He promised Abraham that Sarai his ninety-year old wife would bare a son the next year. That prophecy was a revelation of God at work!

God spoke to Elijah in a quiet voice, and He revealed Himself to Elisha. Exactly how God revealed Himself to others before He sent His One and only Son Jesus, you can read for yourself in both the Old and New Testaments. We have dealt with, and will deal with just a few examples here.

At exactly the right moment in history, God sent Jesus to reveal Himself with great clarity to all mankind. A good many people have claimed God has spoken to them since that time. I'm one of them, but it happened to me only once. That changed the direction of my life. That change has lasted for 55 years so far.

Let's think about some other Biblical revelations. We've already talked about Saul who became Paul. We didn't mention Mary Who saw Jesus at the open tomb after the resurrection. We haven't mentioned the two men on their way to Emmaus who walked and talked with the resurrected Jesus and rushed back to Jerusalem to tell the Apostles. We haven't mentioned the eleven disciples to whom Jesus appeared after the resurrection, nor have we mentioned that Stephen saw the heavens open and the Son of God standing as he was being stoned to death.

Peter was with Jesus all through His ministry even to His trial. Some time after Jesus ascended into heaven, Peter prayed on a housetop. He must have felt a shock when he thought God contradicted His Law. He gave Peter a vision of all sorts of creepy, crawling things and ordered him, "Peter, rise, kill and eat!" But Peter knew immediately Who spoke to him and eventually he realized that we are to accept, not reject, everyone as they come to God. That was a tremendous revelation for the human race!

I think one other revelation should receive special attention. Many believe the Apostle John did not write Revelation. They cite the great difference in style, vocabulary and lack of polish between the Gospel and Revelation. Almost everyone agrees Revelation was written sometime between 90 and 110 AD. I believe John the Apostle wrote it, and that those differences constitute no problem. He was a fisherman, and it is not likely he ever wrote like an educated Greek. I believe he spoke the Gospel to a secretary who wrote it down. Exiled on the isle of Patmos, it is doubtful he had anyone to whom he could dictate. There's also the possibility, that he received the revelations over a short period of time and wrote rapidly. The Book is full of pictures that appear in rapid sequence. The style is apocalyptic. The author meant for the Christian, at least not Roman, reader of that day to understand it well. We, like the Romans, are not too familiar with all the imagery used to hide the message from the Roman persecutors, but Revelation is a comforting message from God. It tells us He has everything under control, and we are safe even though as Christians we may have to suffer as members of His family. He assures us the suffering will not be too long, and our future with Him is bright and wonderful! Read it! It reveals Jesus and the Father as One beautifully! Don't worry about the times and seasons and number puzzles. God has all of that in His control and when the end comes, all will be revealed to us, but not before.
Back to the present. If you haven't had a revelation of God yourself, look to Jesus. He told Phillip, "Don't you believe that I am in the Father and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work." (John 14:10). When we receive Him, God begins His eternal revelation of Himself to us, and it will not cease as long as we live on earth, then we will see Him as He is! And that will make us like Him! (I John 3:2)

The visions came to him as an ecstatic experience. Both situations would result in a more telegraphic, style and reduced vocabulary. I think the visions, although we know they are apocalyptic in form, are wonderful expressions of the awesome majesty of God. Exactly how God provided those visions for John may have been in a trance as suggested in the first chapter, but they could have come in a multitude of ways. The whole revelation may have happened in a moment, or it could have happened over a long period of time. God is not limited by time or anything else.

God may reveal Himself to you in myriad ways, or in just one way. The most certain is through the testimony of Christians who have experienced rebirth in Jesus and are citizens of God's Kingdom right now. His Holy Spirit will both inspire the witness and make it believable to you. Has that happened for you yet? Once when my wife and I were newlyweds we walked along a riverbank in Mississippi. We came upon a tenant house, more of a shack really. The day was hot and the door stood open. It looked as if no one lived there. My wife called out just to see, and a young woman in a faded wash dress, shoeless, came to the door. She was probably surprised someone was in her front yard. We exchanged greetings, and my wife went inside with her. In just a short time, my wife came out with God's glory on her face! A new sister had just been born into the family of God! However it happens, God continues to reveal Himself to those who want to know Him. Isaiah reports God as saying, "Come now, let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." (Isaiah 1:18) And again, "Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear." (Isaiah 59:1) And in another, "Seek me and you will find me if you seek me with your whole heart." Put your heart into it, and God will reveal Himself to you, believe it!

Musings: 08/14/09, Has God Changed? by John.

2009-08-14T08:13:00.000-07:00

Has God Changed?

When we look at the accounts of God in the Old Testament, it is easy to see His great power. It's easy to read His orders to various people, and we have to note that annihilation of cities and even nation doesn't seem to fit the New Testament picture of God, so, the question must arise, has God changed?

We look about us here in the midst of God's creation, and many like to think nothing has changed, but hasn't it? The most up-to-date example is the tiny virus. Some call the change in viruses' evolution, others call it adaptation, but all of us know they do change. That's the reason the world's medical experts tear their hair every year trying to calculate and prepare for the mutation of the influenza virus. Many of their miscalculations are caused by unexpected mutation or promulgation of the virus. But we have to acknowledge that everything around us changes. Many changes are so slow that we don't realize they are happening. When I was a little boy, people brought their automobiles into life using a crank and arm power. I remember the first auto I saw that had a starter! I also remember how unreliable those early starters were. I had to change electric contact brushes, and later solenoids on our family cars. I also remember country folks brushing their teeth with a twig cut from a tree. We more modern people used toothbrushes, but those are going out of style, too, now.

Change is the order of the day for everything around us. We cycle through the seasons thinking that even though each one is different from the one before, it will be like the one we experienced in the last cycle. But now the weather people say we are in for dramatic changes in the weather patterns!

Shouldn't we expect God to change? Isn't change natural? Well, let's consider a couple of things. First, no one wants to change perfection. Second, nothing of this earth is perfect. Third, God is perfect, and with Him there is no change.

That's right; God is the same today that He was when Adam and Eve walked the earth. He is the same as when Ahab faced Elijah, and Elijah killed all of Ahab and Jezebel's false prophets. He is the same as He was when He ordered the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. To us, He seems different, doesn't He?

James 1:17 says, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." Hebrews 13:8 says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (I can almost hear someone say, "But that's not God, that's Jesus!") In John 10:30 Jesus said, "I and my Father are one." In John 14: 9, 10a, Jesus said, "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father?' Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?"

Jesus came to reveal the Father more perfectly than any of the Old Testament people including the prophets ever knew Him, and He did. It takes some thinking, and some praying, but when we do the two together with the Scriptures, we will begin to see that God is just as He said, always the same. Perfection cannot be improved, nor does it need to be.

Isn't it wonderful that we can trust our God to always be the same? Isn't it wonderful that He calls us His children because we trust and live in Jesus? Some years ago, our daughter adopted a teenage girl. Today, she has three wonderful children, and they are just as much our great-grandchildren as those who are in our bloodline! They receive from us and give to us love without any difference. If we can love like that, then that love must have come from the God Who loves us, and it does. I John 4:19 says, "We love because he first loved us." He loved us, and that love radiates through us to everyone around us.

God does not change, but we must change to be like Him, and His Holy Spirit lives within us to accomplish that very task! Read I John all the way through and dwell on the times "love" is mentioned. Another good place to learn about love is in the Gospel of John. I hesitate to pick out a section because it is all so helpful. You may want to pay attention to the 17th chapter when Jesus prays for His disciples, the whole church and all of us in particular.

Musings: 08/09/09, Dangerous Ground, by John.

2009-08-09T16:02:00.000-07:00

Dangerous Ground

Two of the things I've learned about God across the years are: First, I can't protect Him. It's natural for new Christians to want to protect God. The problem for us is, it makes about as much sense as a minnow trying to protect the ocean. That leads to the second thing I learned. God does not need my protection. He is almighty and invincible. He is always present everywhere. He is loving. He knows everything, past, present, future. He is eternal. There is not a single area in which He needs anyone's protection.

I'm not an expert on God's will, so what follows are my assumptions based on my own experiences. I've learned it's God Who does the protecting. We can't protect God, but we really can't protect ourselves either. God can and does protect us. He set into motion creation laws, (We call them "natural"), and He doesn't usually set them aside for us. He does on occasion when it accomplishes His will, such as taking away Saul's sight and later returning it.

Personally, I believe Allah is the Arabic name for God just as YHWH (Yahweh) is the Hebrew name for God. "God" is the English name for the only God there is. We Americans certainly do not have a corner on Christianity or God. We are just thankful He allows us to have a relationship with Him just like people in other nations do.

My reason for musing about these things comes from notes from a person who considers Christ to be false, a concocted idea of Christians. He believes, or so he maintains, in One God, and he has no concept of trinity, or "tri-unity," God in three personalities. He thinks I am wrong, and I believe he is wrong. I don't hold it against him that he thinks there is no hope for me since I don't agree with him.

As far as I am concerned, the subjectit is not worth arguing when the Bible speaks specifically about it. I'm not a judge, but rather a witness. Genesis 1:1 says, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Verse 2 says, "The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters." Verse 3 says, "God said...." In those three verses are the essence of the Trinity, God, Spirit, and Word. We believe in One God Who reveals Himself to us as triune.

As I indicated earlier, it is not our job to condemn others who do not believe as we do, but as witnesses, it is our task to state the truth as we see it to be. We believe the Bible is God's written Word. II Peter 1:20,21 says, "Above all you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." I Timothy 3: 16,17 says, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." When I John 2:23 says, "No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also." I accept that as truth. I believe to deny the Son is dangerous ground upon which to make a life stand, and I say that without malice. In fact, I say it attempting to love my neighbor as myself. If I did not believe in Jesus as my Savior and Lord, I would want someone to tell me I was wrong! Someone did in 1945, and he did it in a most loving and kind way. That testimony by Myron Hayter (pronounced High-ter) changed my life forever! And I will be forever grateful that I am now on solid ground spiritually! With the joy I have in Jesus, I also have grief for those who refuse Him, and if you are one of those, I urge you to read the accounts in the Bible of Jesus, Who He is, and what He cam to do and accomplished. I believe you will be filled with the same joy and peace I have. It's His free gift to all who put their trust in Him.

Musings: 08/06/09, My Experience with Death, by John.

2009-08-06T14:45:00.000-07:00

My Experience with Death

Here I am almost 82, and all around me friends are leaving this life. Death is, or course, inevitable in the normal sequence of life. Psalm 90:10 says, "The length of our days is seventy years--or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. " I suppose we never get enough living done unless we suffer too much illness, or something so limits our desired pursuits that everything seems worthless.

One of the limitations that can make us feel like dying is to miss the Lord's calling. The writer of Ecclesiastes said in 1:1, "The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem: 'Meaningless! Meaningless!' says the Teacher. 'Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.'" That is exactly what happens when we miss the Lord's calling. I remember when two popular and famous screen leading men left notes saying they had done everything, experienced everything that life had to offer when they committed suicide! How can a person made in the image of God, educated, aware of the world around them, be so blind to spiritual truth? I wonder...

Yet, in my mind I know death is nothing to be feared. In my living flesh, I don't like to suffer, and in my human spirit there is a fear of the unknown. People who don't know Jesus have a reason to fear. Hebrews 10:31 says, "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God!" Reflection on those words causes me to say, it is wonderful thing to step into the hands of Jesus! In John 10:27-30, Jesus said, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one."

Stepping into the hands of Jesus makes all the difference in the world as to how we view life! He gives us forgiveness of our past, present and future sins. He gives us direction in living. He gives us an everlasting purpose that we will carry with us throughout eternity. The relationships we form as brothers and sisters in Christ last forever, not just a lifetime.

Death, it seems to me, is just a moment of relaxation prior to our springing into new, limitless life in God's heaven! We need not fear it, and we certainly have no good reason to end the life we have early. God will leave us here until our work is finished, and He alone decides that.

Grief comes when family and friends move into eternity. That's normal. As David said when his and Bathsheba's son died, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, 'Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.' But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.'" (II Samuel 12:22,23). David was grieving, and in spite of his grief he went about doing the things that needed to be done.

I have grieved a great deal over those who departed, not because they were gone, but because I missed them severely. I may not have seen them in a long time, but I knew they were available as long as they were here. Now they were gone.

I believe God's Spirit constantly monitors us. He lives within us, and He knows when we grieve. The Spiritual song of the past says it well, "There is a balm in Gilead that heals the sin-sick soul. There is a balm in Gilead that makes the sinner whole." Grief leaves a hole in our beings, but God's Spirit fills it with God's love and God's comfort. People leave us, but we are never alone! I find constant comfort in that thought, and then I find God is present when I turn to Him in prayer. He hears and answers the prayers of His children. In I John 5:14,15 says, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God; that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him." When I need instant comfort, that's where I find it!

Musings: 08/03/09, Encouragement, by John.

2009-08-03T18:56:00.000-07:00

Encouragement, an Activating Force

I received a note of encouragement from Bernard about my musing on wisdom. In the note, he told me that he was a young Christian writer, and that he had written and published a book. He suggested I "check it out." I've done that. The premise of his book, and the book reports about it make it sound like a very useful and worthwhile book. I plan to get better acquainted with it.

An aside: Thank you, Bernard. I appreciate your encouragement, and I hope this "musing" encourages you to think and write more. Encouragement is so important to all of us though some think they need none.

My thought was engendered by a number of sources many of which happened in the last week. Our church considers all people equal in God's sight. We help indigent people as we can, and we don't delve into their problems. We just seek to do what Christ told us to do. We maintain a food and clothing pantry, and we see in their faces that our aid encouragesment them.

Romans 15:4 is one of about 60 times the Greek New Testament uses the word translated "encouragement." It's also used in John 14:16 where it is translated "comforter" in the King James Version and "counselor" in the NIV. Real encouragement comes from our Heavenly Father. In that section Jesus told His disciples He would not leave them "orphans," but that He would ask the Father to send them another Counselor, the Holy Spirit of God. We are to be as much like the Holy Spirit as we can be when we deal with the pains and problems of this world's people.

Phonetically I spell the word in Romans as "paraclesis" and in John is "parcletos." They are two forms of the same word. The basic meaning is "called to stand alongside." In the courts of that day, they didn't have witnesses for the defendant, but rather a person known to be of good character who would stand with the defendant and witness that he was a good person. Today, nothing is more comforting in a crisis than to have someone stand alongside you especially if it is a very powerful and loving person. No one on earth is so loving and powerful as God's Holy Spirit. He not only comforts and encourages us, God's Spirit also prays for us in language for which there are no words! (Romans 8:27). He constantly teaches us the ways of the Father, and directs our paths for us. There is no earthly encouragement like that! When we encourage others as Christians, we should know that we are doing God's work in God's Spirit!

Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers." Peacemakers channel Jesus' love and the encouragement of God's Spirit to others. Now, if you aren't an encourager, and you want to be, start by asking God to give you peace in Jesus. Then look about you, and see who you can encourage with God's message of hope for both the present and the future! Part of that encouragement will be to assure lost people that their past will be forgiven when they trust Jesus to change them and give them a new, eternal life. It takes only a moment to turn your life over to Jesus, but for so many of us, it is an exceedingly hard thing to do. Those of us who do it reap marvelous dividends in this life now, and we will continue throughout eternity! I think it was George Goebles who closed one of his TV shows saying, "It only take 14 muscles in your face to smile and 34 to frown, so let's frown all the time and get a lot of exercise!" I have no idea about the truth of that in any respect, but I know I am encouraged by the people I meet who have a cheerful smile that resonates from their hearts! I want my encouragement to others to bear the warmth of Jesus' love, and I want people to see it in my face. Be an encourager!

Musings: 08/01/09, We Are Free, But Thoughtful, by John.

2009-08-01T10:34:00.000-07:00

We Are Free, But Thoughtful.

I've heard more than one person say, "Jesus freed me from sin! Now, nothing is sinful for me!" That is an old view. The translators of the King James Version of the Bible were familiar with it. It caused them to add the last ten words of Romans 8:4 to the verse one. They informed King James that their reason for doing that was that many would see verse one as a license to sin! Leaving those words off, 8:1 says, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." I can see how people might misunderstand verse one, but how can they apply verse one and not verse four? It says, "That righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." It is every Christian's character to fulfill the law by our new nature!

Romans 14:12 says, "So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God." We need to remember that Romans is a letter to Christians designed to help us be the people God wants and expects us to be. Paul has just quoted Isaiah 45:23, and he based the statement in verse 12 on that Scripture.

Many of us when we read that verse, and this whole section of Romans, glide quickly over it. Perhaps we feel it doesn't really apply to us because we have been freed, and we are free in Jesus. We are, and that is even more reason to consider these verses very, very carefully. We won't be what God expects us to be unless we the character given here develops in us.

Christians, we do not and cannot exist in a vacuum! We must constantly be aware that whether we have advanced a lot, or just a little, there is always some other Christian weaker than we are. In I Peter 2:2,3 we read, "Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good."

In the Romans section we've mentioned, Paul tells us he thinks about those weaker brethren all the time. If eating meat is offensive to them, he will refrain from eating meat. I suspect he was talking of meat that may have been offered in sacrifice to idols and then sold in the market place, but he could have meant any meat at all, and he is careful to say, "Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food." (v. 20). Is he really talking about food? Or is he talking about anything that causes a brother or sister to fall away from God and into sin? I think the latter!

He also said we should stop passing judgment on one another and we should make up our minds not to place stumbling blocks in our brothers' paths! That's in verse 13. It is in the present tense because Paul knew Christians were already passing judgment on each other!

You see, being a Christian is far more than being saved from eternity in hell. It is being saved and fitted for eternity as God's Own children! We are expected to be like Jesus. I've not seen an artist's conception of Jesus' likeness that pleases me. I have no idea about his physical appearance other than what I've read in Psalm 53. That pictures Him as homely to say the least. I'm content to recognize that He is God, and that means He is now glorious! Does our Father expect us to be like Him when we arrive in heaven? I think so. That's one of the things the Holy Spirit is doing with us. It's what Paul was talking about in Galatians 5:22-25, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy peace, patience, kindness goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit , let us keep in step with the Spirit."

God's Spirit is fitting us for our presentation into the presence of our Heavenly Father. But there is a problem in my mind. Are we going to wait until the last minute to become the changed person God expects us to be? Don't you think He wants us to change now? Romans 8:27 urges us not to grieve the Holy Spirit of God. Do we grieve Him when we pay no attention to Him as He pricks our hearts to be like Jesus? I believe it does!

As a Christian, we are free, but we aren't free from the penalties imposed when we break human laws, and we are just as guilty when we refuse to be like Jesus. "WWD" What would Jesus do if He was here? Many use that as a guide, but He is here! The question is what should I do since Jesus is here, and the answer is, be like Him! If you don't know what He is like then read about Him in the Bible, and read what His disciples taught! Even that may not be completely efficient if we do not read the Bible with our minds and hearts open to receive God's truth through His Holy Spirit.

Ah, yes! We are free, but we must be thoughtful, constantly aware of the needs of those about us as
well as our own needs. We need to expect to be more like Jesus tomorrow than we were today! We need to be careful in our relationships with others not to put stumbling blocks in front of them, not to offend them by our actions, but to help them be the children God expects them to be!