The Proper View Of Ourselves….

Adding to yesterday’s post about nature declaring God’s existence, there’s more. Nature acknowledges God’s existence, leaving us without excuse for not trying to know Him. But it’s His word that reveals to us He wants a relationship with Him. The rewards of that relationship are priceless. It revives our soul. Makes us wise. Brings joy to the heart. Gives us insight for living. Fulfills our inclination to worship. Makes our understanding of justice fair. It satisfies our longing for purpose and significance. And lastly, it teaches us things about ourselves that need attention, and gives us the power to change. In essence, it gives us the proper view of ourselves, and lays the foundation of the path in which we were designed to take.

reviving the soul.The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy,making wise the simple.8 The commandments of the Lord are right,bringing joy to the heart.The commands of the Lord are clear,giving insight for living.9 Reverence for the Lord is pure,lasting forever.The laws of the Lord are true;each one is fair.10 They are more desirable than gold,even the finest gold.They are sweeter than honey,even honey dripping from the comb.11 They are a warning to Your servant,a great reward for those who obey them. 12 How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?Cleanse me from these hidden faults.13 Keep Your servant from deliberate sins!Don’t let them control me.Then I will be free of guiltand innocent of great sin. 14 May the words of my mouthand the meditation of my heartbe pleasing to You,O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Psalms 19:7c-14

What About Those That have Never Heard…

When people ask me the common, most-asked question objecting to Christianity: “what about those people who have never heard about Jesus, do they go to Hell?”, I point them to two scripture verses, Psalm 19:1-6, and Romans chapter 1. The first part of explaining the answer is to point out that Nature, or the Heavens as called in the psalms, declares God’s glory. What this means is that no human being with a brain can look at nature and not see there was a Creator. Nothing can’t make something. Something doesn’t come from nothing. Where did the material come from to make the “Big Bang”? What triggered it? God explains creation in the Bible. He made everything. Looking at nature proves it. A painting has a painter. A building has a builder. And creation has a Creator. When people look at nature, a vast ocean view, a spectacular, colorful sunset, a beautiful flower, or a majestic animal in its environment, we are in awe. We feel privileged to be a witness of it. When people get to be out in nature they tend to forget their problems and return home with a grateful attitude. Who is it that they are grateful to? Nature is God’s general revelation of His existence. We see it and we know there is a Creator. Unfortunately, sinners are not converted by general revelation. General revelation only makes us accountable. Thus, worthy of being Hell-bound. If we know there is a Creator, then we must do whatever is necessary to find Him. The lack of pursuit of knowing God is what keeps everyone guilty. It’s only those that act on the notion of a Creator that God grants Divine/Special revelation, which is what saves us. All people are guilty, because we are born sinners, and we accept that by not acting on what general revelation reveals to us, that there is a Creator. It’s when we ask ourselves, “if there really is a God out there, then I need to know Him”? That’s when God reveals Himself to us (special revelation). It only happens when we genuinely seek Him out, whole-heartedly. If you’re a person in a remote jungle, or an MTV raised teenager in middle-America, when that question comes to you, you act on it. If you don’t, you’re already condemned (you are just agreeing with it by not acting on it). As Romans chapter 1 says, “men are without excuse”. So you see, God doesn’t condemn innocent people, He condemns guilty people who refuse to act on what they know to be true. So in essence, there are no innocent people on the face of the earth. And once you come to know the God of the Bible, you realize it’s His love and grace that gives us time to get to know Him. If someone asks that question, “if God is real?”, genuinely in their heart, God will send someone to explain the Gospel to them. Until the last person asks, God will continue to allow good and evil to co-exist. He allows it because He knows there’s still more believers out there waiting to be converted. If that isn’t Good News, then I don’t know what is.

The heavens proclaim the glory of God.The skies display His craftsmanship.2 Day after day they continue to speak;night after night they make Him known.3 They speak without a sound or word;their voice is never heard.4 Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,and their words to all the world. God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.5 It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding.It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race.6 The sun rises at one end of the heavensand follows its course to the other end.Nothing can hide from its heat. Psalms 19:1-6

18 But God shows His anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. 19 They know the truth about God because He has made it obvious to them. 20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities–His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship Him as God or even give Him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. 22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. 23 And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.24 So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. 25 They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator Himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. 26 That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. 27 And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.28 Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, He abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. 29 Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. 30 They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. 31 They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. 32 They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too. Romans 1:18-32

Our Opposition….

Have you ever thought of how our obedience makes God an enemy? Not to us, but to our enemies. When we fully commit ourselves to God by trusting Him, He opposes those who oppose us. When we obey God, we are drafted to the winning team. We side with God, believing His ways are best. We jump across the line of truth and become truth seekers. We evaluate our lives based on His truth. We weigh all of our decisions using discernment, His wisdom. When we sell out to God, we become restricted, free-agents of the Most High. There are no trade clauses in our contract. We are franchised on God’s team. And we will spend the rest of eternity secure, serving Him. It starts with an obedient commitment to Him. Our opposition then becomes God’s opposition. And we know in the end, God wins, and Satan loses. Now that’s confident to know, isn’t it?

“See, I am sending an angel before you to protect you on your journey and lead you safely to the place I have prepared for you. 21 Pay close attention to him, and obey his instructions. Do not rebel against him, for he is My representative, and he will not forgive your rebellion. 22 But if you are careful to obey him, following all My instructions, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will oppose those who oppose you. Exodus 23:20-22

Do As I Say, Not As I Do…

When I read of the Sadducees and Pharisees in Jesus’ day, I can’t help but think of politicians of our day. They are above the law, “do as I say not as I do”. They don’t practice what they preach. Yet everything they do is for show. They live to be honored at gatherings, be interviewed on tv, and love to hear people exalt them everywhere they go. They are “our modern day Sadducees and Pharisees”. Jesus’ advice on how to deal with them is simple, do what they tell you to do, but do not follow their own behavior. They will tell you to do right, so do it. Don’t model their behavior, for it will get you into trouble. Hypocrisy has a way of entangling the practitioner into a web of deceit, so tightly spun, there will be no escape. Hypocrisy has a way of blinding the eyes of those who practice it, that it eventually causes the person to believe what they are doing is righteous. Jesus called the religious leaders “the blind leading the blind”. The moral to this story is to grow closer to God, so that His Spirit fine tunes your eyes to be able to discern truth from hypocrisy. Allow Him to work in you, cornering that inclination, limiting it to the smallest section in your heart, putting an eternal quarantine on it, never letting it raise its ugly head again. That’s what true humility does. And that’s why God rewards the humble.

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to His disciples, 2 “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses.3 So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach.4 They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.5 “Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels.6 And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues.7 They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.’ Matthew 23:1-7a

11 The greatest among you must be a servant.12 But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. Matthew 23:11-12

Play With Fire And not Get Burned…

In today’s “anything goes society” people think sinful behavior is acceptable. When a man or woman has an affair the consequences are inevitable. Society only acts as if these acts are bad if it’s someone it doesn’t like. If it’s a person, a politician for example, that’s not liked, the hammer is dropped on them and their political career is over. If it’s someone the world likes, they get a slap on the wrist, time without public coverage goes by, then they are socially resurrected and fame is returned to them. God doesn’t see it that way, and reality proves it. The destruction adultery causes within a family is irreversible. The severed connections between father-son, father-daughter, mother-son, and mother-daughter can’t be fully evaluated. The hurt, animosity, and distrust created by an adulterous affair lingers on for the rest of the lives of all involved. Think of adultery with the example given in this proverb; can a man scoop a flame into his lap and not have his clothes catch on fire? Adultery, fornication, and any other form of sexual activity outside of God’s design has detrimental consequences. God knows the damage it does to people. He knows the hurt and brokenness it causes. He knows that some people never recover from it. And yet people still think they can play with fire and not get burned. And even worse, promote it as if it is no big deal. It is a big deal, so big, the burn scars it leaves cripples people from every receiving full recovery. Adultery is serious. It’s a vow we break. God says it’s serious. Being unfaithful breaks the vow you made, and severs the bonded trust you’ve established in your commitment to your spouse. God hates divorce for a reason. Determine in your heart that if it’s going to be allowed and even celebrated in the world, it won’t be by you.

26 For a prostitute will bring you to poverty, but sleeping with another man’s wife will cost you your life.27 Can a man scoop a flame into his lap and not have his clothes catch on fire? 28 Can he walk on hot coals and not blister his feet? 29 So it is with the man who sleeps with another man’s wife. He who embraces her will not go unpunished. Proverbs 6:26-29

32 But the man who commits adultery is an utter fool,for he destroys himself.33 He will be wounded and disgraced.His shame will never be erased.34 For the woman’s jealous husband will be furious,and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.35 He will accept no compensation,nor be satisfied with a payoff of any size. Proverbs 6:32-35

The Beginning Of Wisdom….

Imagine this simple concept actually works. The fear of God keeps us from seeing sin as acceptable behavior. Take God out of the picture, and sinning runs rampant. This just goes to show everyone why walking with God is such an important part of one’s life. Sin is striving for independence from God, its selfishness. It makes us run from Him. That’s the exact opposite from what we were designed to do. Salvation, peace, rest, purpose, strength, security, endurance, patience, kindness, and love come from God. If we don’t get these from Him in a relationship or right standing with Him, what we have isn’t real or authentic. It’s just pretending, a forgery, a counterfeit. It states in Proverbs, “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”, now you know why.

19 And they said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us, or we will die!”20 “Don’t be afraid,” Moses answered them, “for God has come in this way to test you, and so that your fear of Him will keep you from sinning!”21 As the people stood in the distance, Moses approached the dark cloud where God was. Exodus 20:19-21

A Deep Sea Adventure…..

When people ask “where does it say in the Bible that God is against abortion?”, I respond with this verse. Then I go on to tell them about Jeremiah, David, Moses, John the Baptist, and Jesus, all of which give clear evidence of God’s affirmation of His love for all human life, born and unborn. When it says “Lord hates”, and “He detests”, it’s easy to understand, correct? God is angered when this happens. “Hands that shed innocent blood”, would include anything unworthy of death, correct? I mean a baby in the womb of a woman didn’t get there because it did something to hurt or destroy the woman, right? There’s nothing more innocent than a growing life inside of a woman. It hasn’t had time to sin against anyone, has it? When a woman chooses abortion, she chooses death for that child. And that falls under what God hates. When innocent blood is shed, God knows that death was caused by murder, the selfish act of taking a life for premeditated, calculated revenge or personal gain. When a human being murders another human being, God says “that’s enough, you are not Me, you don’t not have the authority to do that”. And that my friend is why He hates murder. Hands that shed innocent blood includes abortion. Now you know why it means so much to people who want to end it. Stopping something God hates is a noble and selfless act. It’s something people who truly love God want to put an end to. And even though it’s legal in this country at this time, it’s not a God given right (He doesn’t approve). And the consequences, no matter how many people try to rationalize them away, do irreversible damage when not addressed with God’s way. Will God forgive someone who has had an abortion, of course, but woe to the one who justifies it and promotes others that it is okay. A millstone with their name on it is waiting to take them on a deep sea adventure.

16 There are six things the Lord hates–no, seven things He detests:17 haughty eyes,a lying tongue,hands that kill the innocent,18 a heart that plots evil,feet that race to do wrong,19 a false witness who pours out lies,a person who sows discord in a family. Proverbs 6:16-19

1 One day Jesus said to His disciples, “There will always be temptations to sin, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting! 2 It would be better to be thrown into the sea with a millstone hung around your neck than to cause one of these little ones to fall into sin. Luke 17:1-2