It is essential that all Christians understand that they are missionaries, and that the world that lies outside of their church’s doors in the mission field.
“It is one thing for a minister to be an advocate and supporter of missions: it is another and very different thing for him to understand that missions are the chief end of the church, and therefore the chief end for which his congregation exists. It is only when this truth masters him in its spiritual power that he will be able to give the subject of missions its true place in his ministry.” E. R. Hendrix
Luke 14:23 Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Monday, July 30, 2012
Bible Contradictions
Skeptics argue that some verses say the earth was established forever (Psa.78:69; Eccl. 1:4; 3:14), contradicting those that say the earth will someday perish (Psa. 102:25,26; Matt. 24:35; Heb. 1:10,11; 2 Pet. 3:10).
God has established that the earth will exist forever, though it will be completely remade. At the end of time He is going to make a new heavens and a new earth (see Isa. 65:17; 2 Pet. 3:13), and will make all things new to remove the curse of sin (see Rev. 21:1).
Psalm 78:69 And He built His sanctuary like the heights, Like the earth which He has established forever.
God has established that the earth will exist forever, though it will be completely remade. At the end of time He is going to make a new heavens and a new earth (see Isa. 65:17; 2 Pet. 3:13), and will make all things new to remove the curse of sin (see Rev. 21:1).
Psalm 78:69 And He built His sanctuary like the heights, Like the earth which He has established forever.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Wretched: Aurora, Drought and God.
Make sure to 'like' us on Facebook, and become a 'Follower' here, or sign up for email notifications on the bottom right of this page. As always, thanks for stopping by, and may God bless you!-Walking In The Way
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Time To Get Right With God by David Wilkerson
Make sure to 'like' us on Facebook, and become a 'Follower' here, or sign up for email notifications on the bottom right of this page. As always, thanks for stopping by, and may God bless you!-Walking In The Way
A Study in Job part twenty one
Job’s comforter’s words were mingled with truth. They were there to comfort and encourage their friend. However, their belief that Job was suffering for his sins soon began to show. In chapter 8 Bildad the Shuhite tells Job that his words are like wind, that they had no substance. He insists that Almighty doesn’t pervert justice. Then, despite Job’s offering of sacrifices for his beloved children, Bildad frankly says that God judged his children and killed them for their rebellion. He tells him that if he was pure, God would prosper him:
"If you were pure and upright, surely now He would awake for you, and prosper your rightful dwelling place. Though your beginning was small, yet your latter end would increase abundantly” (Job 8:6-7).
God doesn’t pervert justice. Job knew that his children were sinners, and he feared that they may have cursed Him in their hearts, so He didn’t disagree with what he heard. After all, these were his friends. Then he asks the most profound of questions:
“But how can a man be righteous before God?” (Job 9:2).
The question begs another question. What does it mean to be righteous? One person’s perception of the word differs from another. The key is in the question itself. Job didn’t ask, “But how can a man be righteous before man?” If that were the case, all we would need to do is show an outward piety. Giving to the poor, feeding the hungry, helping others, and kind words are all that is needed to be declared extremely righteous by man. However, to be righteous in the sight of a holy God means to be morally perfect, in thought, word and in deed, and the only way to know if we come up to that standard is to look to God perfect Law—the Ten Commandments.
Continued tomorrow...
Where Art Thou
THE very first thing that happened after the news reached heaven of the fall of man, was that God came straight down to seek out the lost one. As He walks through the garden in the cool of the day, you can hear Him calling “Adam! Adam! Where art thou?” It was the voice of grace, of mercy, and of love. Adam ought to have taken the seeker’s place, for he was the transgressor. He had fallen, and he ought to have gone up and down Eden crying, “My God! my God! where art Thou?” But God left heaven to seek through the dark world for the rebel who had fallen — not to hurl him from the face of the earth, but to plan him an escape from the misery of his sin. And he finds him — where? Hiding from his Creator among the bushes of the garden.
The moment a man is out of communion with God, even the professed child of God, he wants to hide away from Him. When God left Adam in the garden, he was in communion with his Creator, and God talked with him; but now that he has fallen, he has no desire to see his Creator, he has lost communion with his God. He cannot bear to see Him, even to think of Him, and he runs to hide from God. But to his hiding place his Maker follows him. “Where art thou, Adam? Where art thou?”
Six thousand years have passed away, and this text has come rolling down the ages. I doubt whether there has been anyone of Adam’s sons who has not heard it at some period or other of his life — sometimes in the midnight hour stealing over him — “Where am I? Who am I? Where am I going? and what is going to be the end of this?” I think it is well for a man to pause and ask himself that question. I would have you ask it, little boy; and you, little girl; and you, old man with locks turning gray, and eyes growing dim, and natural force abating, you who will soon be in another world. I do not ask you where you are in the sight of your neighbors; I do not ask you where you are in the sight of your friends; I do not ask you where you are in the sight of the community in which you live. It is of very little account where we are in the sight of one another, it is of very little account what men think of us; but it is of vast importance what God thinks of us — it is of vast importance to know where men are in the sight of God; and that is the question now. Am I in communion with my Creator, or out of communion? If I am out of communion, there is no peace, no joy, no happiness. No man on the face of the earth, who was out of communion with his Creator, ever knew what peace, and joy, and happiness, and true comfort are. He is a foreigner to it. But when we are in communion with God, there is light all around our path. So ask yourselves this question. Do not think I am preaching to your neighbors, but remember I am trying to speak to you, to everyone of you as if you were alone. It was the first question put to man after his fall, and it was a very small audience that God had — Adam and his wife. But God was the preacher; and although they tned to hide, the words came home to them. Let them come home to you now. You may think that your life is hid, that God does not know anything about you. But he knows our lives a great deal better than we do; and His eye has been bent upon us from our earliest childhood until now.
“Where art thou?” I should like to divide my audience into three classes — the professed Christians, the Backsliders, and the Ungodly.
First, I would like to ask the professors this question, or rather let God ask it — Where art thou? What is my position in the church, and among my circle of acquaintance? Do my friends know me to be, out and out, on the Lord’s side? You may have been a professing Christian for twenty years, perhaps thirty, perhaps forty years. Well, where are you tonight? Are you making progress towards heaven? And can you give a reason for the hope that is within you? Suppose I were to ask those who were really Christians here to rise, would you be ashamed to stand up? Suppose I should ask every professed child of God here, “If you should be cut down by the hand of death, have you good reason to believe you would be saved?” Would you be willing to stand up before God and man, and say that you have good reason to believe you are passed from death unto life? Or would you be ashamed? Run your mind back over the past years: would it be consistent for you to say, “I am a Christian;” and would your life correspond with your profession? It is not what we say so much as how we live. Actions speak louder than words. Do your shopmates know that you are a Christian? Do your family know? Do they know you to be out and out on the Lord’s side? Let every professed Christian ask, Where am I in the sight of God? Is my heart loyal to the King of heaven? Is my life here as it should be in the community I live in? Am I a light in this dark world? Christ says, “Ye are My witnesses.” Christ was the Light of the world, and the world would not have the true Light; the world rose up and put out the Light, and now Christ says, “I leave you down here to testify of Me; I leave you down here as My witnesses.” That is what the apostle meant when he said that Christians are to be living epistles, known and read of all men. Then, am I standing up for Jesus as I should in this dark world? If a man is for God, let him say so. If a man is for God, let him come out and be on God’s side; and if he is for the world, let him be in the world. This serving God and the world at the same time — this being on both sides at the same time — is just the curse of Christianity at the present time. It retards the progress of Christianity more than any other thing. “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”
I have heard of a great many people who think if they are united to the church, and have made one profession, that will do for all the rest of their days. But there is a cross for everyone of us daily. Oh, child of God, where are you? If God should appear to you tonight in your bedroom and put the question, what would be your answer? Could you say, “Lord, I am serving Thee with my whole heart and strength; I am improving my talents and preparing for the kingdom to come?” When I was in England in 1867, there was a merchant who came over from Dublin, and was talking with a business man in London; and as I happened to look in, he introduced me to the man from Dublin. Alluding to me, the latter said to the former, “Is this young man all O O?” Said the London man, “What do you mean by O O?” Replied the Dublin man, “Is he Out-and-Out for Christ?” I tell you it burned down into my soul. It means a good deal to be O O for Christ; but that is what all Christians ought to be, and their influence would be felt on the world very soon, if men who are on the Lord’s side would come out and take their stand, and lift up their voices in season and out of season. As I have said, there are a great many in the church who make one profession, and that is about all you hear of them; and when they come to die you have to go and hunt up some musty old church records to know whether they were Christians or not. God won’t do that. I have an idea that when Daniel died, all the men in Babylon knew whom he served. There was no need for them to hunt up old books. His life told his story. What we want is men with a little courage to stand up for Christ. When Christianity wakes up, and every child that belongs to the Lord is willing to speak for Him, is willing to work for Him, and, if need be, willing to die for Him, then Christianity will advance, and we shall see the work of the Lord prosper. There is one thing which I fear more than anything else, and that is the dead cold formalism of the Church of God. Talk about the isms! Put them all together, and I do not fear them so much as dead, cold formalism. Talk about the false isms! There is none so dangerous as this dead, cold formalism, which has come right into the heart of the Church. There are so many of us just sleeping and slumbering while souls all around are perishing. I believe honestly that we professed Christians are all half asleep. Some of us are beginning to rub our eyes and to get them half-opened, but as a whole we are asleep.
There was a little story going the round of the American press that made a great impression upon me as a father. A father took his little child out into the field one Sabbath, and, it being a hot day, he lay down under a beautiful shady tree. The little child ran about gathering wild flowers and little blades of grass, and coming to its father and saying, “Pretty! pretty!” At last the father fell asleep, and while he was sleeping the little child wandered away. When he awoke, his first thought was, “Where is my child?” He looked all around, but he could not see him. He shouted at the top of his voice, but all he heard was the echo of his own voice. Running to a little hill, he looked around and shouted again. No response! Then going to a precipice at some distance, he looked down, and there upon the rocks and briars, he saw the mangled form of his loved child. He rushed to the spot, took up the lifeless corpse and hugged it to his bosom, and accused himself of being the murderer of his child. While he was sleeping his child had wandered over the precipice. I thought as I heard that, what a picture of the church of God!
How many fathers and mothers, how many Christian men, are sleeping now while their children wander over the terrible precipice right into the bottomless pit of hell. Father, where is your boy tonight? It may be just out there in some public house; it may be reeling through the streets; it may be pressing onwards to a drunkard’s grave. Mother, where is your son? Is he in the house of the publican drinking away his soul — everything that is dear and sacred to him? Do you know where your boy is? Father, you have been a professed Christian for forty years; where are your children tonight? Have you lived so godly, and so Christ-like, that you can say, Follow me as I followed Christ? Are those children walking in wisdom; are they on their way to glory; have they been gathered into the fold of Christ; are their names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life? How many fathers and mothers today would be able to answer? Did you ever stop to think that you were to blame; that you had not been faithful to your children? Depend upon it, as long as the church is living so much like the world, we cannot expect our children to be brought into the fold. Come, O Lord, and wake up every mother, and may everyone of us who are parents feel the worth of the souls of the children that God has given us. May they never bring our gray hairs with sorrow to the grave, but may they become a blessing to the church and to the world. Not long ago the only daughter of a wealthy friend of mine sickened and died. The father and mother stood by her dying bed. He had spent all his time in accumulating wealth for her; she had been introduced into gay and fashionable society; but she had been taught nothing of Christ. As she came to the brink of the river of death, she said, “Won’t you help me; it is very dark, and the stream is bitter cold.” They wrung their hands in grief, but could do nothing for her; and the poor girl died in darkness and despair. What was their wealth to them? And yet, you mothers and fathers are doing the same thing in London today, by ignoring the work God has given you to do. I beseech you, then, each one of you, begin to labor now for the souls of your children!
A young man, some time ago, lay dying, and his mother thought he was a Christian. One day, passing his room door she heard him say, “Lost! lost! lost!” The mother ran into the room and cried, “My boy, is it possible you have lost your hope in Christ, now you are dying?” “No, mother, it is not that; I have a hope beyond the grave, but I have lost my life. I have lived twenty-four years, and done nothing for the Son of God, and now I am dying. My life has been spent for myself; I have lived for this world, and now, while I am dying, I have given myself to Christ; but my life is lost.” Would it not be said of many of us, if we should be cut down, that our lives have been almost a failure — perhaps entirely a failure as far as leading anyone else to Christ is concerned? Young lady! are you working for the Son of God? Are you trying to win some soul to Christ? Have you tried to get some friend or companion to have her name written in the book of life? Or would you say, “Lost, lost! long years have rolled away since I became a child of God, and I have never had the privilege of leading one soul to Christ?” If there is one professed child of God who never had the joy of leading even one soul into the kingdom of God, oh! let him begin at once. There is no greater privilege on earth. And I believe, my friends, there has never been a time, in our day, at least, when work for Christ was more needed than at present. I do not believe there ever was in your day or mine a time when the Spirit of God was more poured out upon the world. There is not a part of Christendom where the work is not being carried on; and it looks very much as if the glad tidings were just going to take, as it were, a fresh start, and go round the globe. Is it not time that the Church of God should wake up and come to the help of the Lord as one man, and strive to beat back those dark waves of death that roll through our streets, bearing upon their bosom the noblest and the best we have? Oh, may God wake up the Church! And let us trim our lights, and go forth and work for the kingdom of His Son.
Now, Secondly, let me talk a little while to those who have gone back into the world — to the Backslider. It may be you came to some great city a few years ago a professed Christian. You were member of a church once, and a teacher in the Sabbath school, perhaps; but when you came among strangers you thought you would just wait a little — perhaps take a class by and by. So you gave up teaching in the Sunday school; you gave up all work for Christ. Then in your new church you did not receive the attention or the warm welcome that you expected. and you got into the habit of staying away. You have gone so far now, that you are found in the theater, perhaps, and the companion of blasphemers and drunkards. Perhaps I am speaking now to someone who has been away from his father’s house for many years. Come, now, backslider, tell me, are you happy? Have you had one happy hour since you left Christ? Does the world satisfy you, or those husks that you have got in the far country? I have traveled a good deal, but I never found a happy backslider in my life. I never knew a man who was really born of God that ever could find the world satisfy him afterwards. Do you think the Prodigal Son was satisfied in that foreign country? Ask the prodigals in this city if they are truly happy. You know they are not. “There is no peace, saith my God to the wicked.” There is no joy for the man in rebellion against his Creator. Supposing he has tasted the heavenly gift, and been in communion with God, and had sweet fellowship with the King of Heaven, and had pleasant hours of service for the Master, but has backslidden, is it possible that he can be happy? If he is, it is good evidence he was never really converted. If a man has been born again, and has received the heavenly nature, this world can never satisfy the cravings of his nature. Oh, backslider, I pity you! But I want to tell you that the Lord Jesus pities you a good deal more than anyone else can. He knows how bitter your life is; He knows how dark your life is; He wants you to come home. Oh, backslider, come home tonight! I have a loving message from your Father. The Lord wants you, and calls you back tonight Come home, oh wanderer, this night; return from the dark mountains of sin.” Return, and your Father will give you a warm welcome. I know that the devil has told you that God won’t have anything to do with you, because you have wandered away. If that is true, there would be very few men in heaven. David backslid; Abraham and Jacob turned away from God; I do not believe there is a saint in heaven but at some time of his life with his heart has backslidden from God. Perhaps not in his life, but in his heart. The prodigal’s heart got into the far country before his body got there. Backslider! tonight come home. Your Father does not want you to stay away. Think you the prodigal’s father was not anxious for him to come home all those long years he was there? Every year the father was looking and longing for him to return home. So God wants you to come home. I do not care how far you have wandered away; the great Shepherd will receive you back into the fold tonight. Did you ever hear of a backslider coming home, and God not willing to receive him? I have heard of earthly fathers and mothers not being willing to receive back their sons; but I defy any man to say he ever knew a really honest backslider want to get home, but God was willing to take him in.
A number of years ago, before any railway came into Chicago, they used to bring in the grain from the Western prairies in wagons for hundreds of miles, so as to have it shipped off by the Lakes. There was a father who had a large farm out there, and who used to preach the gospel as well as attend to his farm. One day, when church business engaged him, he sent his son to Chicago with grain. He waited and waited for his boy to return, but he did not come home. At last he could wait no longer, so he saddled his horse and rode to the place where his son had sold the grain. He found that he had been there and got the money for the grain; then he began to fear that his boy had been murdered and robbed. At last, with the aid of a detective, they tracked him to a gambling den, where they found that he had gambled away the whole of his money. In hopes of winning it back again, he then had sold the team, and lost that money too. He had fallen among thieves, and like the man who was going to Jericho, they stripped him, and then they cared no more about him. What could he do? He was ashamed to go home to meet his father, and he fled. The father knew what it all meant. He knew the boy thought he would be very angry with him. He was grieved to think that his boy should have such feelings towards him. That is just exactly like the sinner. He thinks because he has sinned, God will have nothing to do with him. But what did that father do? Did he say, “Let the boy go?” No, he went after him. He arranged his business and started after the boy. That man went from town to town, from city to city. He would get the ministers to let him preach, and at the close he would tell his story. “I have got a boy who is a wanderer on the face of the earth somewhere.” He would describe his boy and say, “If you ever hear of him or see him, will you not write to me?” At last he found that he had gone to California, thousands of miles away. Did that father say “Let him go?” No; off he went to the Pacific coast, seeking the boy. He went to San Francisco, and advertised in the newspapers that he would preach at such a church on such a day. When he had preached he told his story, in hopes that the boy might have seen the advertisement and come to the church. When he had done, away under the gallery there was a young man who waited until the audience had gone out; then he came towards the pulpit. The father looked, and saw it was that boy, and he ran to him, and pressed him to his bosom. The boy wanted to confess what he had done, but not a word would the father hear. He forgave him freely, and took him to his home once more.
Oh, prodigal, you may be wandering on the dark mountains of sin, but God wants you to come home. The devil has been telling you lies about God; you think he will not receive you back. I tell you, He will welcome you this minute if you will come. Say, “I will arise and go to my Father.” May God incline you to take this step. There is not one whom Jesus has not sought far longer than that father. There has not been a day since you left Him but he has followed you. I do not care what the past has been, or how black your life, He will receive you back. Arise then, O backslider, and come home once more to your Father’s house.
Not long ago, in Edinburgh, a lady who was an earnest Christian worker, found a young woman whose feet had taken hold of hell, and who was pressing onwards to a harlot’s grave. The lady begged her to go back to her home, but she said no, her parents would never receive her. This Christian woman knew what a mother’s heart was; so she sat down and wrote a letter to the mother, telling her how she had met her daughter, who was sorry, and wanted to return. The next post brought an answer back, and on the envelope was written, “Immediately — immediately!” That was a mother’s heart. They opened the letter. Yes, she was forgiven. They wanted her back, and they sent money for her to come immediately. Sinner, that is the proclamation, “Come immediately”. That is what the great and loving God is saying to every wandering sinner — immediately. Yes, backslider, come home tonight. He will give you a warm welcome, and there will be joy in heaven over your return. Come now, for everything is ready.
A friend of mine said to me some time ago, Did you ever notice what the prodigal lost by going into that country? He lost his food. That is what every poor backslider loses. They get no manna from heaven. The Bible is a closed book to them; they see no beauty in the Word of God.
Then the prodigal lost his work. He was a Jew, and they made him take care of swine; that was all loss for a Jew. So every backslider loses his work. He cannot do anything for God; he cannot work for eternity. He is a stumbling block to the world. My friend, do not let the world stumble over you into hell.
The prodigal also lost his testimony. Who believed him? I can imagine some of these men came along, natives of that country, and they saw this poor prodigal in his rags, barefooted and bareheaded. There he stands among the swine and someone says to another, “Look at that poor wretch.” “What,” he says, “do you call me a poor wretch? My father is a wealthy man; he has got more clothes in his wardrobe than you ever saw in your life. My father is a man of great wealth and position.” Do you suppose these men would believe him? “That poor wretch the son of a wealthy man!” Not one of them would believe him. “If he had such a wealthy father he would go to him.” So with the backsliders; the world does not believe that they are the sons of a King. They say, “Why don’t they go to Him, if there is bread enough and to spare? Why don’t they go home?”
Then, another thing the prodigal lost was his home. He had no home in that foreign country. As long as his money lasted, he was quite popular in the public house and among his acquaintances; he had professed friends, but as soon as his money was gone, where were his friends? That is the condition of every poor backslider in London.
But now I can imagine someone saying, “There would be little use of me attempting to come back. In a few days I should just be where I was again. I should like very much to go to my Father’s home again, but I’m afraid I wouldn’t stay there.” Well, just picture this scene. The poor prodigal has got home, and the father has killed the fatted calf; and there they are, sitting at the table eating. I can imagine that was about the sweetest morsel he ever got — perhaps the nicest dinner he ever had in his life. His father sits opposite; he is full of joy, and his heart is leaping within him. All at once he sees his boy weeping. “My son, what are you weeping for? Are you not glad to have got home?” “Oh, yes, father; I never was so glad as I am today: but I am so afraid I will go back into that foreign country!” Why, you cannot imagine such a thing! When you have got one meal in your Father’s house, you will never be inclined to wander away again.
Now let me speak to the Third class. “If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?” Sinner, what is to become of you? How shall you escape? “Where art thou?” Is it true that you are living without God and without hope in the world? Did you ever stop to think what would become of your soul if you should be taken away by a sudden stroke of illness — where you would stand in eternity? I read that the sinner is without God, without hope, and without excuse. If you are not saved, what excuse will you have to give? You cannot say that it is God’s fault. He is only too anxious to save you. I want to tell you tonight that you can be saved if you will. If you really want to pass from death to life, if you want to become an heir of eternal life, if you want to become a child of God, make up your mind this night that you will seek the kingdom of God. I tell you, upon the authority of this Word, that if you seek the kingdom of God you will find it. No man ever sought Christ with a heart to find Him who did not find Him. I never knew a man make up his mind to have the question settled, but it was settled soon. This last year there has been a solemn feeling stealing over me. I am what they call in the middle of life, in the prime of life. I look upon life as a man who has reached the top of a hill, and just begins to go down the other side. I have got to the top of the hill, if I should live the full term of life — threescore years and ten — and am just on the other side. I am speaking to many now who are also on the top of the hill, and I ask you, if you are not Christians, just to pause a few minutes, and ask yourselves where you are. Let us look back on the hill that we have been climbing. What do you see? Yonder is the cradle. It is not far away. How short life is! It all seems but as yesterday. Look along up the hill, and yonder is a tombstone; it marks the resting place of a loved mother. When that mother died, did you not promise God that you would serve Him? Did you not say that your mother’s God should become your God? And did you not take her hand in the stillness of the dying hour, and say, “Yes, mother, I will meet you in heaven!” And have you kept that promise? Are you trying to keep it? Ten years have rolled away: fifteen years — but are you any nearer God? Did the promise work any improvement in you? No, your heart is getting harder: the night is getting darker; by and by death will be throwing its shadows round you. My friend, Where art thou? Look again. A little further up the hill there is another tombstone. It marks the resting place of a little child. It may have been a little lovely girl — perhaps her name was Mary; or it may have been a boy — Charley; and when that child was taken from you, did you not promise God, and did you not promise the child, that you would meet it in heaven? Is the promise kept? Think! Are you still fighting against God? Are you still hardening your heart? Sermons that would have moved you five years ago — do they touch you now?
Once more look down the hill. Yonder there is a grave; you cannot tell how many days, or weeks, or years it is away, you are hastening towards that grave. Even should you live the life allotted to man, many of you are near the end, you are getting very feeble, and your locks are turning gray. It may be the coffin is already made that this body shall be laid in; it may be that the shroud is already waiting. My friend, is it not the height of madness to put off salvation so long? Undoubtedly I am speaking to some who will be in eternity a week from now. In a large audience like this, during the next week death will surely come and snatch some away; it may be the speaker, or it may be someone who is listening. Why put off the question another day? Why say to the Lord Jesus again tonight, “Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for Thee?” Why not let him come in tonight? Why not open your heart, and say, “King of Glory, come in?”
Will there ever be a better opportunity? Did not you promise ten, fifteen, twenty, thirty years ago that you would serve God? Some of you said you would do it when you got married and settled down; some of you said you would serve Him when you were your own master. Have you attended to it?
You know there are three steps to the lost world; let me give you their names. The first is Neglect. All a man has to do is to neglect salvation, and that will take him to the lost world. Some people say, “What have I done!” Why, if you merely neglect salvation, you will be lost. I am on a swift river, and lying in the bottom of my little boat. Down yonder, ten miles below, is the great cataract. Everyone that goes over it perishes. I need not row the boat down; I have only to pull in the oars, and fold my arms and neglect. So all that a man has to do is to fold his arms in the current of life, and he will drift onwards and be lost.
The second step is Refusal. If I met you at the door and pressed this question on you, you would say, “Not tonight, Mr. Moody, not tonight;” and if I repeated, “I want you to press into the kingdom of God,” you would politely refuse: “I will not become a Christian tonight, thank you; I know I ought, but I won’t tonight.”
Then the last step is to Despise it. Some of you have already got on the lower round of the ladder. You despise Christ. You hate Christ, you hate Christianity; you hate the best people on the earth and the best friends you have got; and if I were to offer you the Bible, you would tear it up and put your foot upon it. Oh, despisers! you will soon be in another world. Make haste and repent and turn to God. Now, on which step are you, my friend; neglecting, or refusing, or despising? Bear in mind that a great many are taken off from the first step; they die in neglect. And a great many are taken away refusing. And a great many are on the last step, despising salvation.
A few years ago they neglected, then they got to refuse; and now they despise Christianity and Christ. They hate the sound of the church bell; they hate the Bible and the Christian; they curse the very ground that we walk on. But one more step and they are gone. Oh ye despisers, I set before you life and death; which will you choose? When Pilate had Christ on his hands, he said, “What shall I do with him?” and the multitude cried out, “Away with Him! crucify Him!” Young men, is that your language tonight? Do you say, “Away with this gospel! Away with Christianity! Away with your prayers, your sermons, your gospel sounds! I do not want Christ?” Or will you be wise and say, “Lord Jesus, I want Thee, I need Thee, I will have Thee?” Oh, may God bring you to that decision! -D. L. Moody
The moment a man is out of communion with God, even the professed child of God, he wants to hide away from Him. When God left Adam in the garden, he was in communion with his Creator, and God talked with him; but now that he has fallen, he has no desire to see his Creator, he has lost communion with his God. He cannot bear to see Him, even to think of Him, and he runs to hide from God. But to his hiding place his Maker follows him. “Where art thou, Adam? Where art thou?”
Six thousand years have passed away, and this text has come rolling down the ages. I doubt whether there has been anyone of Adam’s sons who has not heard it at some period or other of his life — sometimes in the midnight hour stealing over him — “Where am I? Who am I? Where am I going? and what is going to be the end of this?” I think it is well for a man to pause and ask himself that question. I would have you ask it, little boy; and you, little girl; and you, old man with locks turning gray, and eyes growing dim, and natural force abating, you who will soon be in another world. I do not ask you where you are in the sight of your neighbors; I do not ask you where you are in the sight of your friends; I do not ask you where you are in the sight of the community in which you live. It is of very little account where we are in the sight of one another, it is of very little account what men think of us; but it is of vast importance what God thinks of us — it is of vast importance to know where men are in the sight of God; and that is the question now. Am I in communion with my Creator, or out of communion? If I am out of communion, there is no peace, no joy, no happiness. No man on the face of the earth, who was out of communion with his Creator, ever knew what peace, and joy, and happiness, and true comfort are. He is a foreigner to it. But when we are in communion with God, there is light all around our path. So ask yourselves this question. Do not think I am preaching to your neighbors, but remember I am trying to speak to you, to everyone of you as if you were alone. It was the first question put to man after his fall, and it was a very small audience that God had — Adam and his wife. But God was the preacher; and although they tned to hide, the words came home to them. Let them come home to you now. You may think that your life is hid, that God does not know anything about you. But he knows our lives a great deal better than we do; and His eye has been bent upon us from our earliest childhood until now.
“Where art thou?” I should like to divide my audience into three classes — the professed Christians, the Backsliders, and the Ungodly.
First, I would like to ask the professors this question, or rather let God ask it — Where art thou? What is my position in the church, and among my circle of acquaintance? Do my friends know me to be, out and out, on the Lord’s side? You may have been a professing Christian for twenty years, perhaps thirty, perhaps forty years. Well, where are you tonight? Are you making progress towards heaven? And can you give a reason for the hope that is within you? Suppose I were to ask those who were really Christians here to rise, would you be ashamed to stand up? Suppose I should ask every professed child of God here, “If you should be cut down by the hand of death, have you good reason to believe you would be saved?” Would you be willing to stand up before God and man, and say that you have good reason to believe you are passed from death unto life? Or would you be ashamed? Run your mind back over the past years: would it be consistent for you to say, “I am a Christian;” and would your life correspond with your profession? It is not what we say so much as how we live. Actions speak louder than words. Do your shopmates know that you are a Christian? Do your family know? Do they know you to be out and out on the Lord’s side? Let every professed Christian ask, Where am I in the sight of God? Is my heart loyal to the King of heaven? Is my life here as it should be in the community I live in? Am I a light in this dark world? Christ says, “Ye are My witnesses.” Christ was the Light of the world, and the world would not have the true Light; the world rose up and put out the Light, and now Christ says, “I leave you down here to testify of Me; I leave you down here as My witnesses.” That is what the apostle meant when he said that Christians are to be living epistles, known and read of all men. Then, am I standing up for Jesus as I should in this dark world? If a man is for God, let him say so. If a man is for God, let him come out and be on God’s side; and if he is for the world, let him be in the world. This serving God and the world at the same time — this being on both sides at the same time — is just the curse of Christianity at the present time. It retards the progress of Christianity more than any other thing. “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”
I have heard of a great many people who think if they are united to the church, and have made one profession, that will do for all the rest of their days. But there is a cross for everyone of us daily. Oh, child of God, where are you? If God should appear to you tonight in your bedroom and put the question, what would be your answer? Could you say, “Lord, I am serving Thee with my whole heart and strength; I am improving my talents and preparing for the kingdom to come?” When I was in England in 1867, there was a merchant who came over from Dublin, and was talking with a business man in London; and as I happened to look in, he introduced me to the man from Dublin. Alluding to me, the latter said to the former, “Is this young man all O O?” Said the London man, “What do you mean by O O?” Replied the Dublin man, “Is he Out-and-Out for Christ?” I tell you it burned down into my soul. It means a good deal to be O O for Christ; but that is what all Christians ought to be, and their influence would be felt on the world very soon, if men who are on the Lord’s side would come out and take their stand, and lift up their voices in season and out of season. As I have said, there are a great many in the church who make one profession, and that is about all you hear of them; and when they come to die you have to go and hunt up some musty old church records to know whether they were Christians or not. God won’t do that. I have an idea that when Daniel died, all the men in Babylon knew whom he served. There was no need for them to hunt up old books. His life told his story. What we want is men with a little courage to stand up for Christ. When Christianity wakes up, and every child that belongs to the Lord is willing to speak for Him, is willing to work for Him, and, if need be, willing to die for Him, then Christianity will advance, and we shall see the work of the Lord prosper. There is one thing which I fear more than anything else, and that is the dead cold formalism of the Church of God. Talk about the isms! Put them all together, and I do not fear them so much as dead, cold formalism. Talk about the false isms! There is none so dangerous as this dead, cold formalism, which has come right into the heart of the Church. There are so many of us just sleeping and slumbering while souls all around are perishing. I believe honestly that we professed Christians are all half asleep. Some of us are beginning to rub our eyes and to get them half-opened, but as a whole we are asleep.
There was a little story going the round of the American press that made a great impression upon me as a father. A father took his little child out into the field one Sabbath, and, it being a hot day, he lay down under a beautiful shady tree. The little child ran about gathering wild flowers and little blades of grass, and coming to its father and saying, “Pretty! pretty!” At last the father fell asleep, and while he was sleeping the little child wandered away. When he awoke, his first thought was, “Where is my child?” He looked all around, but he could not see him. He shouted at the top of his voice, but all he heard was the echo of his own voice. Running to a little hill, he looked around and shouted again. No response! Then going to a precipice at some distance, he looked down, and there upon the rocks and briars, he saw the mangled form of his loved child. He rushed to the spot, took up the lifeless corpse and hugged it to his bosom, and accused himself of being the murderer of his child. While he was sleeping his child had wandered over the precipice. I thought as I heard that, what a picture of the church of God!
How many fathers and mothers, how many Christian men, are sleeping now while their children wander over the terrible precipice right into the bottomless pit of hell. Father, where is your boy tonight? It may be just out there in some public house; it may be reeling through the streets; it may be pressing onwards to a drunkard’s grave. Mother, where is your son? Is he in the house of the publican drinking away his soul — everything that is dear and sacred to him? Do you know where your boy is? Father, you have been a professed Christian for forty years; where are your children tonight? Have you lived so godly, and so Christ-like, that you can say, Follow me as I followed Christ? Are those children walking in wisdom; are they on their way to glory; have they been gathered into the fold of Christ; are their names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life? How many fathers and mothers today would be able to answer? Did you ever stop to think that you were to blame; that you had not been faithful to your children? Depend upon it, as long as the church is living so much like the world, we cannot expect our children to be brought into the fold. Come, O Lord, and wake up every mother, and may everyone of us who are parents feel the worth of the souls of the children that God has given us. May they never bring our gray hairs with sorrow to the grave, but may they become a blessing to the church and to the world. Not long ago the only daughter of a wealthy friend of mine sickened and died. The father and mother stood by her dying bed. He had spent all his time in accumulating wealth for her; she had been introduced into gay and fashionable society; but she had been taught nothing of Christ. As she came to the brink of the river of death, she said, “Won’t you help me; it is very dark, and the stream is bitter cold.” They wrung their hands in grief, but could do nothing for her; and the poor girl died in darkness and despair. What was their wealth to them? And yet, you mothers and fathers are doing the same thing in London today, by ignoring the work God has given you to do. I beseech you, then, each one of you, begin to labor now for the souls of your children!
A young man, some time ago, lay dying, and his mother thought he was a Christian. One day, passing his room door she heard him say, “Lost! lost! lost!” The mother ran into the room and cried, “My boy, is it possible you have lost your hope in Christ, now you are dying?” “No, mother, it is not that; I have a hope beyond the grave, but I have lost my life. I have lived twenty-four years, and done nothing for the Son of God, and now I am dying. My life has been spent for myself; I have lived for this world, and now, while I am dying, I have given myself to Christ; but my life is lost.” Would it not be said of many of us, if we should be cut down, that our lives have been almost a failure — perhaps entirely a failure as far as leading anyone else to Christ is concerned? Young lady! are you working for the Son of God? Are you trying to win some soul to Christ? Have you tried to get some friend or companion to have her name written in the book of life? Or would you say, “Lost, lost! long years have rolled away since I became a child of God, and I have never had the privilege of leading one soul to Christ?” If there is one professed child of God who never had the joy of leading even one soul into the kingdom of God, oh! let him begin at once. There is no greater privilege on earth. And I believe, my friends, there has never been a time, in our day, at least, when work for Christ was more needed than at present. I do not believe there ever was in your day or mine a time when the Spirit of God was more poured out upon the world. There is not a part of Christendom where the work is not being carried on; and it looks very much as if the glad tidings were just going to take, as it were, a fresh start, and go round the globe. Is it not time that the Church of God should wake up and come to the help of the Lord as one man, and strive to beat back those dark waves of death that roll through our streets, bearing upon their bosom the noblest and the best we have? Oh, may God wake up the Church! And let us trim our lights, and go forth and work for the kingdom of His Son.
Now, Secondly, let me talk a little while to those who have gone back into the world — to the Backslider. It may be you came to some great city a few years ago a professed Christian. You were member of a church once, and a teacher in the Sabbath school, perhaps; but when you came among strangers you thought you would just wait a little — perhaps take a class by and by. So you gave up teaching in the Sunday school; you gave up all work for Christ. Then in your new church you did not receive the attention or the warm welcome that you expected. and you got into the habit of staying away. You have gone so far now, that you are found in the theater, perhaps, and the companion of blasphemers and drunkards. Perhaps I am speaking now to someone who has been away from his father’s house for many years. Come, now, backslider, tell me, are you happy? Have you had one happy hour since you left Christ? Does the world satisfy you, or those husks that you have got in the far country? I have traveled a good deal, but I never found a happy backslider in my life. I never knew a man who was really born of God that ever could find the world satisfy him afterwards. Do you think the Prodigal Son was satisfied in that foreign country? Ask the prodigals in this city if they are truly happy. You know they are not. “There is no peace, saith my God to the wicked.” There is no joy for the man in rebellion against his Creator. Supposing he has tasted the heavenly gift, and been in communion with God, and had sweet fellowship with the King of Heaven, and had pleasant hours of service for the Master, but has backslidden, is it possible that he can be happy? If he is, it is good evidence he was never really converted. If a man has been born again, and has received the heavenly nature, this world can never satisfy the cravings of his nature. Oh, backslider, I pity you! But I want to tell you that the Lord Jesus pities you a good deal more than anyone else can. He knows how bitter your life is; He knows how dark your life is; He wants you to come home. Oh, backslider, come home tonight! I have a loving message from your Father. The Lord wants you, and calls you back tonight Come home, oh wanderer, this night; return from the dark mountains of sin.” Return, and your Father will give you a warm welcome. I know that the devil has told you that God won’t have anything to do with you, because you have wandered away. If that is true, there would be very few men in heaven. David backslid; Abraham and Jacob turned away from God; I do not believe there is a saint in heaven but at some time of his life with his heart has backslidden from God. Perhaps not in his life, but in his heart. The prodigal’s heart got into the far country before his body got there. Backslider! tonight come home. Your Father does not want you to stay away. Think you the prodigal’s father was not anxious for him to come home all those long years he was there? Every year the father was looking and longing for him to return home. So God wants you to come home. I do not care how far you have wandered away; the great Shepherd will receive you back into the fold tonight. Did you ever hear of a backslider coming home, and God not willing to receive him? I have heard of earthly fathers and mothers not being willing to receive back their sons; but I defy any man to say he ever knew a really honest backslider want to get home, but God was willing to take him in.
A number of years ago, before any railway came into Chicago, they used to bring in the grain from the Western prairies in wagons for hundreds of miles, so as to have it shipped off by the Lakes. There was a father who had a large farm out there, and who used to preach the gospel as well as attend to his farm. One day, when church business engaged him, he sent his son to Chicago with grain. He waited and waited for his boy to return, but he did not come home. At last he could wait no longer, so he saddled his horse and rode to the place where his son had sold the grain. He found that he had been there and got the money for the grain; then he began to fear that his boy had been murdered and robbed. At last, with the aid of a detective, they tracked him to a gambling den, where they found that he had gambled away the whole of his money. In hopes of winning it back again, he then had sold the team, and lost that money too. He had fallen among thieves, and like the man who was going to Jericho, they stripped him, and then they cared no more about him. What could he do? He was ashamed to go home to meet his father, and he fled. The father knew what it all meant. He knew the boy thought he would be very angry with him. He was grieved to think that his boy should have such feelings towards him. That is just exactly like the sinner. He thinks because he has sinned, God will have nothing to do with him. But what did that father do? Did he say, “Let the boy go?” No, he went after him. He arranged his business and started after the boy. That man went from town to town, from city to city. He would get the ministers to let him preach, and at the close he would tell his story. “I have got a boy who is a wanderer on the face of the earth somewhere.” He would describe his boy and say, “If you ever hear of him or see him, will you not write to me?” At last he found that he had gone to California, thousands of miles away. Did that father say “Let him go?” No; off he went to the Pacific coast, seeking the boy. He went to San Francisco, and advertised in the newspapers that he would preach at such a church on such a day. When he had preached he told his story, in hopes that the boy might have seen the advertisement and come to the church. When he had done, away under the gallery there was a young man who waited until the audience had gone out; then he came towards the pulpit. The father looked, and saw it was that boy, and he ran to him, and pressed him to his bosom. The boy wanted to confess what he had done, but not a word would the father hear. He forgave him freely, and took him to his home once more.
Oh, prodigal, you may be wandering on the dark mountains of sin, but God wants you to come home. The devil has been telling you lies about God; you think he will not receive you back. I tell you, He will welcome you this minute if you will come. Say, “I will arise and go to my Father.” May God incline you to take this step. There is not one whom Jesus has not sought far longer than that father. There has not been a day since you left Him but he has followed you. I do not care what the past has been, or how black your life, He will receive you back. Arise then, O backslider, and come home once more to your Father’s house.
Not long ago, in Edinburgh, a lady who was an earnest Christian worker, found a young woman whose feet had taken hold of hell, and who was pressing onwards to a harlot’s grave. The lady begged her to go back to her home, but she said no, her parents would never receive her. This Christian woman knew what a mother’s heart was; so she sat down and wrote a letter to the mother, telling her how she had met her daughter, who was sorry, and wanted to return. The next post brought an answer back, and on the envelope was written, “Immediately — immediately!” That was a mother’s heart. They opened the letter. Yes, she was forgiven. They wanted her back, and they sent money for her to come immediately. Sinner, that is the proclamation, “Come immediately”. That is what the great and loving God is saying to every wandering sinner — immediately. Yes, backslider, come home tonight. He will give you a warm welcome, and there will be joy in heaven over your return. Come now, for everything is ready.
A friend of mine said to me some time ago, Did you ever notice what the prodigal lost by going into that country? He lost his food. That is what every poor backslider loses. They get no manna from heaven. The Bible is a closed book to them; they see no beauty in the Word of God.
Then the prodigal lost his work. He was a Jew, and they made him take care of swine; that was all loss for a Jew. So every backslider loses his work. He cannot do anything for God; he cannot work for eternity. He is a stumbling block to the world. My friend, do not let the world stumble over you into hell.
The prodigal also lost his testimony. Who believed him? I can imagine some of these men came along, natives of that country, and they saw this poor prodigal in his rags, barefooted and bareheaded. There he stands among the swine and someone says to another, “Look at that poor wretch.” “What,” he says, “do you call me a poor wretch? My father is a wealthy man; he has got more clothes in his wardrobe than you ever saw in your life. My father is a man of great wealth and position.” Do you suppose these men would believe him? “That poor wretch the son of a wealthy man!” Not one of them would believe him. “If he had such a wealthy father he would go to him.” So with the backsliders; the world does not believe that they are the sons of a King. They say, “Why don’t they go to Him, if there is bread enough and to spare? Why don’t they go home?”
Then, another thing the prodigal lost was his home. He had no home in that foreign country. As long as his money lasted, he was quite popular in the public house and among his acquaintances; he had professed friends, but as soon as his money was gone, where were his friends? That is the condition of every poor backslider in London.
But now I can imagine someone saying, “There would be little use of me attempting to come back. In a few days I should just be where I was again. I should like very much to go to my Father’s home again, but I’m afraid I wouldn’t stay there.” Well, just picture this scene. The poor prodigal has got home, and the father has killed the fatted calf; and there they are, sitting at the table eating. I can imagine that was about the sweetest morsel he ever got — perhaps the nicest dinner he ever had in his life. His father sits opposite; he is full of joy, and his heart is leaping within him. All at once he sees his boy weeping. “My son, what are you weeping for? Are you not glad to have got home?” “Oh, yes, father; I never was so glad as I am today: but I am so afraid I will go back into that foreign country!” Why, you cannot imagine such a thing! When you have got one meal in your Father’s house, you will never be inclined to wander away again.
Now let me speak to the Third class. “If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?” Sinner, what is to become of you? How shall you escape? “Where art thou?” Is it true that you are living without God and without hope in the world? Did you ever stop to think what would become of your soul if you should be taken away by a sudden stroke of illness — where you would stand in eternity? I read that the sinner is without God, without hope, and without excuse. If you are not saved, what excuse will you have to give? You cannot say that it is God’s fault. He is only too anxious to save you. I want to tell you tonight that you can be saved if you will. If you really want to pass from death to life, if you want to become an heir of eternal life, if you want to become a child of God, make up your mind this night that you will seek the kingdom of God. I tell you, upon the authority of this Word, that if you seek the kingdom of God you will find it. No man ever sought Christ with a heart to find Him who did not find Him. I never knew a man make up his mind to have the question settled, but it was settled soon. This last year there has been a solemn feeling stealing over me. I am what they call in the middle of life, in the prime of life. I look upon life as a man who has reached the top of a hill, and just begins to go down the other side. I have got to the top of the hill, if I should live the full term of life — threescore years and ten — and am just on the other side. I am speaking to many now who are also on the top of the hill, and I ask you, if you are not Christians, just to pause a few minutes, and ask yourselves where you are. Let us look back on the hill that we have been climbing. What do you see? Yonder is the cradle. It is not far away. How short life is! It all seems but as yesterday. Look along up the hill, and yonder is a tombstone; it marks the resting place of a loved mother. When that mother died, did you not promise God that you would serve Him? Did you not say that your mother’s God should become your God? And did you not take her hand in the stillness of the dying hour, and say, “Yes, mother, I will meet you in heaven!” And have you kept that promise? Are you trying to keep it? Ten years have rolled away: fifteen years — but are you any nearer God? Did the promise work any improvement in you? No, your heart is getting harder: the night is getting darker; by and by death will be throwing its shadows round you. My friend, Where art thou? Look again. A little further up the hill there is another tombstone. It marks the resting place of a little child. It may have been a little lovely girl — perhaps her name was Mary; or it may have been a boy — Charley; and when that child was taken from you, did you not promise God, and did you not promise the child, that you would meet it in heaven? Is the promise kept? Think! Are you still fighting against God? Are you still hardening your heart? Sermons that would have moved you five years ago — do they touch you now?
Once more look down the hill. Yonder there is a grave; you cannot tell how many days, or weeks, or years it is away, you are hastening towards that grave. Even should you live the life allotted to man, many of you are near the end, you are getting very feeble, and your locks are turning gray. It may be the coffin is already made that this body shall be laid in; it may be that the shroud is already waiting. My friend, is it not the height of madness to put off salvation so long? Undoubtedly I am speaking to some who will be in eternity a week from now. In a large audience like this, during the next week death will surely come and snatch some away; it may be the speaker, or it may be someone who is listening. Why put off the question another day? Why say to the Lord Jesus again tonight, “Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for Thee?” Why not let him come in tonight? Why not open your heart, and say, “King of Glory, come in?”
Will there ever be a better opportunity? Did not you promise ten, fifteen, twenty, thirty years ago that you would serve God? Some of you said you would do it when you got married and settled down; some of you said you would serve Him when you were your own master. Have you attended to it?
You know there are three steps to the lost world; let me give you their names. The first is Neglect. All a man has to do is to neglect salvation, and that will take him to the lost world. Some people say, “What have I done!” Why, if you merely neglect salvation, you will be lost. I am on a swift river, and lying in the bottom of my little boat. Down yonder, ten miles below, is the great cataract. Everyone that goes over it perishes. I need not row the boat down; I have only to pull in the oars, and fold my arms and neglect. So all that a man has to do is to fold his arms in the current of life, and he will drift onwards and be lost.
The second step is Refusal. If I met you at the door and pressed this question on you, you would say, “Not tonight, Mr. Moody, not tonight;” and if I repeated, “I want you to press into the kingdom of God,” you would politely refuse: “I will not become a Christian tonight, thank you; I know I ought, but I won’t tonight.”
Then the last step is to Despise it. Some of you have already got on the lower round of the ladder. You despise Christ. You hate Christ, you hate Christianity; you hate the best people on the earth and the best friends you have got; and if I were to offer you the Bible, you would tear it up and put your foot upon it. Oh, despisers! you will soon be in another world. Make haste and repent and turn to God. Now, on which step are you, my friend; neglecting, or refusing, or despising? Bear in mind that a great many are taken off from the first step; they die in neglect. And a great many are taken away refusing. And a great many are on the last step, despising salvation.
A few years ago they neglected, then they got to refuse; and now they despise Christianity and Christ. They hate the sound of the church bell; they hate the Bible and the Christian; they curse the very ground that we walk on. But one more step and they are gone. Oh ye despisers, I set before you life and death; which will you choose? When Pilate had Christ on his hands, he said, “What shall I do with him?” and the multitude cried out, “Away with Him! crucify Him!” Young men, is that your language tonight? Do you say, “Away with this gospel! Away with Christianity! Away with your prayers, your sermons, your gospel sounds! I do not want Christ?” Or will you be wise and say, “Lord Jesus, I want Thee, I need Thee, I will have Thee?” Oh, may God bring you to that decision! -D. L. Moody
His perfect timing
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.Ecclesiastes 3:1
No one can change the future, no matter how hard they might try. How could someone who doesn't know what's coming change something that hasn't happened yet? God wants us to use what he has given us without telling him when or how he should provide it. All of that is in God's hands. We shouldn't think everything is in our hands to use in whatever way we wish. After all, God must provide everything first.
"There is a time for everything" means that everything happens when God wants it to occur. If people try to plan and do everything themselves without acknowledging that God is in control, they will experience nothing but failure. Many people work hard at getting rich but don't succeed. Others acquire wealth without trying at all. That's because God provided the right time for some of them but not for the others.
So people on earth strive for what they want to have. But all their striving only leads to frustration. They don't accomplish anything because they don't wait for the right time. Knowing this, we should leave everything up to God, use what we presently have, and avoid yearning for things we want in the future. If we don't follow this advice, our lives will be full of trouble and disappointment. -Martin Luther
No one can change the future, no matter how hard they might try. How could someone who doesn't know what's coming change something that hasn't happened yet? God wants us to use what he has given us without telling him when or how he should provide it. All of that is in God's hands. We shouldn't think everything is in our hands to use in whatever way we wish. After all, God must provide everything first.
"There is a time for everything" means that everything happens when God wants it to occur. If people try to plan and do everything themselves without acknowledging that God is in control, they will experience nothing but failure. Many people work hard at getting rich but don't succeed. Others acquire wealth without trying at all. That's because God provided the right time for some of them but not for the others.
So people on earth strive for what they want to have. But all their striving only leads to frustration. They don't accomplish anything because they don't wait for the right time. Knowing this, we should leave everything up to God, use what we presently have, and avoid yearning for things we want in the future. If we don't follow this advice, our lives will be full of trouble and disappointment. -Martin Luther
Two Way Traffic
Straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. Mark 9:24
In the uncertainty of our times, the traffic between faith and unbelief is tragically heavy, as the Scriptures declared it would be. But we may encourage our hearts with the knowledge that the traffic does not always move in the direction of unbelief—sometimes it moves the other way!
Every now and then the cheering news comes of some “liberal” who gets sick to his stomach of the mixture of applied psychology and cheap poetry, and comes home like the prodigal to the Father’s house. It is true that the movement from orthodoxy to liberalism is usually slow; almost too slow to be perceived. I have never heard of a single instance where any person accepted modernism as a result of a spiritual experience.
But the movement back to faith is likely to be sudden, often explosive. A man or woman is converted to Christ by a sudden encounter with God and spiritual things!
The simple fact that the believer always experiences something and the unbeliever never does should tell us a great deal. Only the true Christian is sure the sun has risen! -A. W. Tozer
Lord, there are many people in this community and around the world who are standing at the crossroads of life, not knowing which way to turn. Will You steer them in the right direction today?
In the uncertainty of our times, the traffic between faith and unbelief is tragically heavy, as the Scriptures declared it would be. But we may encourage our hearts with the knowledge that the traffic does not always move in the direction of unbelief—sometimes it moves the other way!
Every now and then the cheering news comes of some “liberal” who gets sick to his stomach of the mixture of applied psychology and cheap poetry, and comes home like the prodigal to the Father’s house. It is true that the movement from orthodoxy to liberalism is usually slow; almost too slow to be perceived. I have never heard of a single instance where any person accepted modernism as a result of a spiritual experience.
But the movement back to faith is likely to be sudden, often explosive. A man or woman is converted to Christ by a sudden encounter with God and spiritual things!
The simple fact that the believer always experiences something and the unbeliever never does should tell us a great deal. Only the true Christian is sure the sun has risen! -A. W. Tozer
Lord, there are many people in this community and around the world who are standing at the crossroads of life, not knowing which way to turn. Will You steer them in the right direction today?
Sabbath
We have six days in which to labor, but God has given us one day a week to set aside for rest and to focus on Him. By not striving to provide for ourselves, this shows our trust in Him as the one who has given us our life, our every breath, our loved ones, and eternity in heaven with Him. With grateful hearts we should set aside one day to acknowledge and honor our Creator and Provider.
Isaiah 58:13 “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your pleasure on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the Lord honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking your own words,14 Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Isaiah 58:13 “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your pleasure on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the Lord honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking your own words,14 Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
A Study in Job part twenty
Job then calls God the “Watcher of men,” and asks why he was a “target.” It is because the eye of the Lord is in every place beholding the evil and the good, that each of us is a target for eternal justice. God personally witnesses our crimes, and His goodness must seek retribution. He witnessed Hitler’s atrocities, and He will therefore see that perfect justice is eventually done. On that day we will see that Hitler didn’t get away with anything. God will see to it that mass murderers are punished. He would not be good if He allowed anyone who did such terrible things to escape justice. But He is so good He will punish rapists, thieves, liars, fornicators, blasphemers, adulterers, homosexuals, pedophiles, in fact Jesus warned that we will give an account even for every idle word we have spoken. That leaves all of us in big trouble in Judgment Day. Look at Scripture’s warning:
“But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who “will render to each one according to his deeds”: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God” (Romans 2:2-11).
Job then asks why God, “Why then do You not pardon my transgression, and take away my iniquity?” Little did he know how God would graciously deal with his and our transgressions a thousand years later. He would be manifest in human form and, as a perfect sinless man, suffer and die for the sin of the world. That meant that God could legally, once and for all, pardon our many transgressions and let us live.
Monday, July 23, 2012
True Salvation
The story of Naaman is a wonderful example of true salvation. All humanity has the leprous disease of sin. To be cleansed we have to humble ourselves. Pride keeps so many from coming to Christ because of the seemingly foolish way of salvation.
“Humility pleases God wherever it is found, and the humble person will have God for his or her friend and helper always. Only the humble are completely sane, for they are the only ones who see clearly their own size and limitations. Egotists see things out of focus. To themselves they are large and God is correspondingly small, and that is a kind of moral insanity.” A. W. Tozer
Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper. (2 Kings 5:1 KJV)
“Humility pleases God wherever it is found, and the humble person will have God for his or her friend and helper always. Only the humble are completely sane, for they are the only ones who see clearly their own size and limitations. Egotists see things out of focus. To themselves they are large and God is correspondingly small, and that is a kind of moral insanity.” A. W. Tozer
Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper. (2 Kings 5:1 KJV)
Sunday, July 22, 2012
The essence of the gospel
Deuteronomy 30:19,20. This is the essence of the gospel that we preach to this world. Set before them are the way of life and the way of death, the way of blessing and the way of cursing. If they reject Jesus Christ, and the love He demonstrated on the cross, they reject the One who is Life itself (see John 1:4; 14:6; 1 John 5:11,12).
Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;20 that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”
Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;20 that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”
Friday, July 20, 2012
Wretched: How Bad Are You?
Make sure to 'like' us on Facebook, and become a 'Follower' here, or sign up for email notifications on the bottom right of this page. As always, thanks for stopping by, and may God bless you!-Walking In The Way
A Study in Job part nineteen
In his pre-scripture ignorance, Job asks questions for which we have answers. He asks, “Have I sinned? What have I done to You, O watcher of men? Why have You set me as Your target, so that I am a burden to myself? Why then do You not pardon my transgression, and take away my iniquity?”
It would be wonderful if this wicked world would ask, “Have I sinned?” But without a confrontation with the moral Law there is no knowledge of our sinful condition. We think we are good people until the Law is applied to the conscience, and it’s awakened to do its God-given duty.
Job then asks, “What have I done to You?” The answer is that we have all greatly offended God. We have angered Him by our many sins. When lie, steal, kill, blaspheme, commit adultery, or break any of the Ten Commandments, we sin against God. This is why a guilty King David cried, “Against You and You only have I sinned and done this evil in your sight.”
Continued Monday...
Thursday, July 19, 2012
David Wilkerson "You're Changing" Sermon Jam
Make sure to 'like' us on Facebook, and become a 'Follower' here, or sign up for email notifications on the bottom right of this page. As always, thanks for stopping by, and may God bless you!-Walking In The Way
A Study in Job part eighteen
Outside of such faith, Job’s terrible suffering was comfortless. There was no consolation. Satan had killed his children, taken his health and wealth, and stolen the joy of living. He had thrown him into the dirt face down, and ground his grimy heal into the back of Job’s head. Job not only bemoaned his sad state, saying that his flesh was caked with worms and dust and his skin is cracked and broken, but he began to finally rail against God. He wasn’t going to retrain his mouth any longer—“I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.” He looked to the heavens and said,
“Am I a sea, or a sea serpent, that You set a guard over me? When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me, my couch will ease my complaint,’ then You scare me with dreams and terrify me with visions, so that my soul chooses strangling and death rather than my body. I loathe my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone, for my days are but a breath.”
It’s important to keep in mind that Job didn’t have the insight that we have through the Scriptures. We know that it wasn’t God that destroyed Job’s life, it was Satan. It wasn’t God who had killed his children and afflicted him with disease, it was Satan. This is confirmed by Jesus in the New Testament, when He warned that the devil came “to kill, steal and destroy” (see John 10:10). The Scriptures further say,
"And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, ‘Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.’ And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, “There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day.” The Lord then answered him and said, ‘Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound—think of it—for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?’” (Luke 13:11-16)
When Job was first afflicted, he kept his integrity by saying, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” He understood the sovereignty of his Creator. But he now he begins weaken and complain against God.
Of course there are some afflictions in life for which we can’t blame anyone but ourselves. They are self-afflicted afflictions such as lung cancer after a lifetime of smoking, liver or heart disease after a life-time of drinking alcohol, or those who suffer because they become gluttons, or get sexually transmitted disease. However, we are told that the devil walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, and that our battle isn’t against flesh and blood but against spiritual powers. It may have been those powers that inspired Job’s wife to tell him to curse God and die. Such poison came from the place he more than likely least expected it—his own wife. But that’s often how the enemy works. He attacks our most vulnerable position from the place least expected. When Peter tried to stop Jesus going to the cross, Jesus said, “Get behind me Satan.”
Continued tomorrow...
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
A Study in Job part seventeen
Again, it is natural for most who think about life, to want to have an explanation. Who wants to read a mystery without finding out who committed the crime? This was the attitude of the disciples in John chapter 9:
“Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:1-5).
Obviously, the man had been punished with blindness, so who was the guilty criminal? Was it the blind man himself or was it his parents? Jesus said that it was neither. He was blind so that the works of God could be revealed in him, and as we read on in the passage, that was the case. Jesus healed him of his blindness, and he became a witness for healing power of God.
But that’s not the case for millions who are afflicted with all kinds of diseases. They trudge through life in misery, fighting pain and terrible suffering. There’s no miracle from God, and so we are left with the dilemma as to why would God let them suffer. The “dilemma” that is, if we leave out faith in God. If we follow our natural inclination to want an explanation we will have a wearisome quandary. But trust looks past the problem and rests in the knowledge that God is faithful. He knows what He’s doing even if we don’t, and in most of these cases we clearly don’t know. But this is how it should be: “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9)—“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding…” (Proverbs 3:5).
Continued tomorrow...
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Examine Yourself - Paul Washer
Make sure to 'like' us on Facebook, and become a 'Follower' here, or sign up for email notifications on the bottom right of this page. As always, thanks for stopping by, and may God bless you!-Walking In The Way
"When You Leave I'm Going to Pray."
Make sure to 'like' us on Facebook, and become a 'Follower' here, or sign up for email notifications on the bottom right of this page. As always, thanks for stopping by, and may God bless you!-Walking In The Way
Q and A
Q: When Paul was in Athens, why did he begin his preaching with creation rather than the law?
A: In Acts 17:16 we are told that Paul was grieved because the whole city of Athens was given over to idolatry. So, in vv. 22–28, he tells his hearers that they had other gods before the God of creation. He is in essence opening up the First and Second Commandments: “I am the Lord your God...You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image” (Exod. 20:2–4). Then, in vv. 29–31, he rebukes them for their idolatry and preaches repentance and future punishment by the Law (God’s standard of “righteousness”). So I wouldn’t say that he began with creation as opposed to the Law. It was what he used to point them to the Law.
Think of how Jesus approached the woman at the well (in John 4). He began to speak to her about water, but then He spoke to her about her violation of the Seventh Commandment. When Nathan was commissioned by God to reprove David for his sins, Nathan began in the natural realm, and then pointed out David’s transgression: “Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD?” (2 Sam. 12:9).
Although Paul mentioned creation, he didn’t stay there for long, because speaking about creation doesn’t convict a man of his sins. There is no guilty conscience accusing hearers as long as we speak apologetically. The goal is to use the Law to bring the knowledge of sin (see Rom. 3:20).
Be careful not to get caught up in a sword fight about evolution or atheism. These subjects should merely be seen as a means to an end. The end is the preaching of the reality of Judgment Day and the terror of hell—the cross, repentance, and faith—and the biblical way to get there is through the Law.
Acts 17:16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, this spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols.
A: In Acts 17:16 we are told that Paul was grieved because the whole city of Athens was given over to idolatry. So, in vv. 22–28, he tells his hearers that they had other gods before the God of creation. He is in essence opening up the First and Second Commandments: “I am the Lord your God...You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image” (Exod. 20:2–4). Then, in vv. 29–31, he rebukes them for their idolatry and preaches repentance and future punishment by the Law (God’s standard of “righteousness”). So I wouldn’t say that he began with creation as opposed to the Law. It was what he used to point them to the Law.
Think of how Jesus approached the woman at the well (in John 4). He began to speak to her about water, but then He spoke to her about her violation of the Seventh Commandment. When Nathan was commissioned by God to reprove David for his sins, Nathan began in the natural realm, and then pointed out David’s transgression: “Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD?” (2 Sam. 12:9).
Although Paul mentioned creation, he didn’t stay there for long, because speaking about creation doesn’t convict a man of his sins. There is no guilty conscience accusing hearers as long as we speak apologetically. The goal is to use the Law to bring the knowledge of sin (see Rom. 3:20).
Be careful not to get caught up in a sword fight about evolution or atheism. These subjects should merely be seen as a means to an end. The end is the preaching of the reality of Judgment Day and the terror of hell—the cross, repentance, and faith—and the biblical way to get there is through the Law.
Acts 17:16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, this spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols.
A Study in Job part sixteen
The lesson is clear. If a Christian suffers, we must always remember that his righteousness in Christ infinitely exceeds that of Job. When we repent and trust in Jesus, God inputs the righteousness of the Savior to our account. We are morally perfect in the sight of God, because God sees us in Christ, clothed in the virtue of His Son. So we dare conclude that a Christian is suffering because of God’s hand. That may be the case, but we don’t know and therefore should never entertain such thoughts, let alone speak them. The fear of God should keep us from going there. In Luke 13:1-5 Jesus addresses this very subject. Scripture says,
“There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.’”
It is human nature to want to solve the problem of suffering by saying that every tragedy, sickness, accident, etc., is some sort of divine retribution. It is karma. Suffering comes to us because we either did something evil in this or in a previous life. Problem solved. But notice how Jesus addressed it. In essence, He said, “So you have concluded that those who died, did so because they did something to deserve such a fate. But your sins also call for Heaven’s wrath. You are still alive only because of God’s mercy, so repent and have your sins forgiven before you are dealt with by justice instead of mercy.”
Continued tomorrow...
Monday, July 16, 2012
A Study in Job part fifteen
Eliphaz didn't openly say, “Job, you have sinned against God, and He is chastening you,” but he infers it by speaking of the benefits those get who seek and serve God. He firstly honors God by singing His praises, saying that He does great things without number. He gives rain to the earth and exalts the lowly. He frustrates the devices of the crafty and catches the wise in their own craftiness. But Eliphaz then says that those whom God chastens are happy. This is true. The writer of Hebrews even quotes this verse when speaking of God’s chastening hand upon His children. Eliphaz says that no evil shall touch those who seek the Lord. They shall laugh at destruction and famine, not be afraid of the beasts of the earth, and they shall have peace in their tents. They shall visit their dwelling and find nothing amiss. Their descendants shall be many, and their offspring shall be like the grass of the earth. Then he said, “Behold, this we have searched out; it is true. Hear it, and know for yourself.”
But this brought some confusion. Job’s descendants had been killed. He had no offspring. No doubt God did bless the righteous. No doubt He did chasten his children when they went astray, but Job maintained that he hadn’t done anything amiss; he'd done nothing to deserve his suffering. He firstly answers Eliphaz and then directs himself to God. He humbly confesses that his words have been rash, but justifies them by speaking of his suffering. He likens the pain to poisonous arrows that have pierced his very soul and seeped poison into his spirit. Even the tastiest of food turns his stomach. He had nothing for which to live, and longs for God to take him into the refuge of death. He then says to his friends, “To him who is afflicted, kindness should be shown by his friend…” and asks, “Did I ever say, ‘Bring something to me’? Or, ‘Offer a bribe for me from your wealth’?” He added, “…you overwhelm the fatherless, and you undermine your friend. Now therefore, be pleased to look at me; for I would never lie to your face. Yield now, let there be no injustice! Yes, concede, my righteousness still stands.”
Here begins the famous contention between Job and his friends. They maintain that his suffering is just in that he has clearly done something to bring God’s disapproval. Job says that he hasn’t, and we know that Job is in the right because we have seen behind the veil. We have seen that God Himself said of him, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” So while it is sometimes true that suffering comes to us by the hand of God, to chasten those He loves, it wasn’t the case with Job.
Continued tomorrow...
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Repentance is rare
There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. Luke 15:10
Humans, deceived by the devil and charmed by their own pride and abilities, deny that our world is a rebel province in God’s universe. They deny that human society has willfully pulled loose from God’s rule and the rest of God’s domain.
In fact, they deny that men and women are the creation of God. They deny even that they owe any allegiance to God, their Creator!
The Bible is the record of how God deals with mankind, and we can draw but one conclusion: All people are morally obligated to repent and to ask forgiveness of God. Failing to do so, they will perish.
How rare it is in our day to hear of genuine repentance. We live amid a proud, selfish and self-sufficient people. Even in our Christian churches there are those who want nothing more than to be known as “respectable church members”! When repentance is real and faith is genuine, the atoning death of Jesus Christ is effective for pardon and forgiveness and regeneration.
Dear Lord, the idea of people perishing—being separated from God for eternity—is a frightening thought. Will you help today’s churches grasp this dreadful fact so that they will redouble their efforts to share the gospel with lost people?
Humans, deceived by the devil and charmed by their own pride and abilities, deny that our world is a rebel province in God’s universe. They deny that human society has willfully pulled loose from God’s rule and the rest of God’s domain.
In fact, they deny that men and women are the creation of God. They deny even that they owe any allegiance to God, their Creator!
The Bible is the record of how God deals with mankind, and we can draw but one conclusion: All people are morally obligated to repent and to ask forgiveness of God. Failing to do so, they will perish.
How rare it is in our day to hear of genuine repentance. We live amid a proud, selfish and self-sufficient people. Even in our Christian churches there are those who want nothing more than to be known as “respectable church members”! When repentance is real and faith is genuine, the atoning death of Jesus Christ is effective for pardon and forgiveness and regeneration.
Dear Lord, the idea of people perishing—being separated from God for eternity—is a frightening thought. Will you help today’s churches grasp this dreadful fact so that they will redouble their efforts to share the gospel with lost people?
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Favor from the King
We obtain grace and favor from our King and are given the crown of life (James 1;12), but not because of our beauty. There is nothing in us that draws out the love of God. God loves us because He is love itself.
Friday, July 13, 2012
Q and A
Q: Could God create a boulder big enough that He couldn't lift?
A: There are many things God cannot do—things related to His character rather than His ability. The Bible makes it clear that God cannot lie. (See Heb. 6:18 comment.) He cannot sin. He also cannot let injustice go unpunished. As for whether God can create a rock that He cannot lift, when it comes to the ability of God, nothing is impossible.
However, this question reveals a lack of common sense. The questioner thinks that if God couldn’t create a rock too big for Him to lift then He is not omnipotent. Then again, we could ask if God could make a square peg and put it into a round hole, and make it fit perfectly. Or, could God make an egg that is not an egg?
These questions are asked to divert attention away from the real issue. But it seems that God had the atheist pegged thousands of years ago when He said, “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him” (Prov. 26:4).
Here is one more “nonsensical” question that may make sense: Could God take a man who is a fool but thinks that he’s wise, and make him see that he is a fool, so that he will be wise? The answer is in 1 Cor. 3:18.
Psalm 38:4 For my iniquities have gone over my head; Like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
A: There are many things God cannot do—things related to His character rather than His ability. The Bible makes it clear that God cannot lie. (See Heb. 6:18 comment.) He cannot sin. He also cannot let injustice go unpunished. As for whether God can create a rock that He cannot lift, when it comes to the ability of God, nothing is impossible.
However, this question reveals a lack of common sense. The questioner thinks that if God couldn’t create a rock too big for Him to lift then He is not omnipotent. Then again, we could ask if God could make a square peg and put it into a round hole, and make it fit perfectly. Or, could God make an egg that is not an egg?
These questions are asked to divert attention away from the real issue. But it seems that God had the atheist pegged thousands of years ago when He said, “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him” (Prov. 26:4).
Here is one more “nonsensical” question that may make sense: Could God take a man who is a fool but thinks that he’s wise, and make him see that he is a fool, so that he will be wise? The answer is in 1 Cor. 3:18.
Psalm 38:4 For my iniquities have gone over my head; Like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
A Study in Job part fourteen
It didn’t take long for the news about Job and his wife to spread to his friends. When they heard of his adversity, three of them quickly went to comfort him. When they arrived they were horrified by what they saw. He was in such a sad state that they didn’t even recognize him. They wept, tore their robes, threw dust on their heads, and sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. Job’s grief was so evident that they didn’t speak a word to him for that entire time.
Job finally broken the silence and began to lament the day he had been born. He wished to God that he had never seen the light of day. He was so bitter and in grief, he wanted to die, saying, “For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me.” He had lost his beloved children, his great wealth, his health, his looks, his dignity, and the support of his wife. But he still had friends. He had three faithful friends who had come to comfort him; wonderful friends who had dropped everything to be by his side.
Oliver Wendell Homes said “friendship is the breathing rose, with sweets in every fold.” Eliphaz the Temanite sweetly complimented Job. He said that Job had instructed many and strengthened weak hands. Perhaps Job's spirits were slightly lifted by his words. But then Eliphaz said, “Remember now, who ever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright ever cut off? Even as I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same.”
Continued Monday...
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Fearfully and Wonderfully made
At this moment, your liver, kidneys, heart, pancreas, salivary glands, etc., are all working to keep your body going. You don’t even have the power to switch them off and on. As you sleep tonight, your heart will pump seventy-five gallons of blood through your body each hour.
The focusing muscles in your eyes move an estimated 100,000 times each day. The retina, covering less than a square inch, contains 137 million light-sensitive cells. Even a wide-eyed Charles Darwin said, “To suppose that the eye could have been formed by natural selection, seems I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree.”
Creation reflects the genius of the Creator’s hand. Explain how a sparrow knows it is a sparrow and stays with its kind, or how a baby knows to look into the eyes of its mother when no one has taught it to do so. How was a wasp made so that its wings flap at 100 times every second, or the house fly at 190 per second, or the mosquito at an amazing 500 times every second?
The most godless must have a sense of awe and wonder when standing beneath the mighty power of Niagara Falls, gazing into the Grand Canyon, or staring into the infinity of space. How much more should we be humbled by the Maker of these things.
Psalm 139:14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.
The focusing muscles in your eyes move an estimated 100,000 times each day. The retina, covering less than a square inch, contains 137 million light-sensitive cells. Even a wide-eyed Charles Darwin said, “To suppose that the eye could have been formed by natural selection, seems I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree.”
Creation reflects the genius of the Creator’s hand. Explain how a sparrow knows it is a sparrow and stays with its kind, or how a baby knows to look into the eyes of its mother when no one has taught it to do so. How was a wasp made so that its wings flap at 100 times every second, or the house fly at 190 per second, or the mosquito at an amazing 500 times every second?
The most godless must have a sense of awe and wonder when standing beneath the mighty power of Niagara Falls, gazing into the Grand Canyon, or staring into the infinity of space. How much more should we be humbled by the Maker of these things.
Psalm 139:14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.
Oncoming traffic
When I first arrived in the U.S. back in 1989, I was horrified to see cyclists riding towards oncoming traffic. I had never seen it before, and I thought it was thoughtless, until I thought about it. When I did that, it made sense. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration between the turn of the century and 2009, there were 466,000 bicycle injuries and a massive 7041 deaths, just in the United States. [1] Tragically, many a dead cyclist with his back to oncoming traffic, wouldn’t have known what hit him.
It makes sense to be prepared for tragedy, but we won’t avoid its fatal blow it if we are hit unaware. The way to avoid being crushed by life is to have faith in God to a point where we can say, “Though He slays me, yet will I trust Him.” Are you at that point? Get there quickly, because the problem isn’t with God. He is one hundred percent trustworthy. -Ray Comfort
It makes sense to be prepared for tragedy, but we won’t avoid its fatal blow it if we are hit unaware. The way to avoid being crushed by life is to have faith in God to a point where we can say, “Though He slays me, yet will I trust Him.” Are you at that point? Get there quickly, because the problem isn’t with God. He is one hundred percent trustworthy. -Ray Comfort
Walking In The Way Wristbands
To help our brother Evangelist Michael raise money for the mission trip to Uganda, Africa, we made these wristbands to sell. We are selling the wristbands for $5 American and all proceeds go to the mission trip. If you would like to purchase one, please email us here at walkingntheway@gmail.com. Also, if you would like to make a donation to support Evangelist Michael, you can mail in your donations to:
Attn: Pastor David May
The Lord's Child
P.O. Box 6120
Servierville, TN 37864
For Michael Surber Uganda Sept. 2012
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us here at the ministry at the email address above. Please prayerfully consider supporting this mission trip. You can also check out other mission trips that The Lord's Child will be leading at www.thelordschild.com. Thank you for stopping by, and God bless!
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
A Study in Job part thirteen
But there was something even worse to be considered. In the past, God had blessed them beyond words. The terrible implication was clear. Despite Job’s godly integrity, they had lost Heaven’s blessing. God was clearly very angry at Job and his wife. They had obviously done something that had unleashed the wrath of Heaven. And the result was so bitter, to Job’s wife death was a way of escape from the pain. God is the giver and taker of life. He was already mad at them. Perhaps her intent was that her husband should provoke Him further, and let death come quickly.
But Job refused. Instead, he worshipped. In speaking of his sacrificial worship, Charles Spurgeon said,
“When you are bowed down beneath a heavy burden of sorrow, then take to worshipping the Lord, and especially to that kind of worshipping which lies in adoring God, and in making a full surrender of yourself to the divine will, so that you can say with Job, ‘Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.’ That kind of worshipping which lies in the subduing of the will, the arousing of the affections, the bestirring of the whole mind and heart, and the presentation of oneself unto God over again in solemn consecration, must tend to sweeten sorrow, and to take the sting out of it.”
Experts tell us that if we are ever in a building that is on fire and in a smoke-filled room, we shouldn’t take even one small breath. The smoke is filled with carcinogens and will kill us in seconds. Instead, very quickly, we should drop to our knees and crawl. The air is hot and will cause the smoke to rise, leaving life-giving oxygen close to the ground. In such a fiery environment we should get low and do it speedily. That’s what Job did in his fiery trial, and it’s what you and I must do when the heat of tribulation suddenly traps us. It’s there that we will find life-preserving oxygen.
If you are a Christian, you have the consolation that you have God’s favor in Christ. He is your righteousness, and you must keep in mind that you have the promise that God will work all things for your good. Unlike Job, his wife, and the poor mothers of Bethlehem, and millions of others who are blindsided by life, we have amazing consolation in Christ. If you are unsaved, to survive you must repent and put your trust in Jesus Christ.
Continued tomorrow...
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Phoenix Pastor Jailed, Fined for Hosting Home Bible Studies
A Phoenix man was fined and punished with jail time for holding Bible studies in his home. He began his 60-day sentence Monday morning.
Michael Salman, an ordained pastor and restaurant owner, has been ordered to pay more than $12,000 in fines and faces three years of probation for hosting weekly religious meetings on his property.
“While those at our home are praying and seeking the Lord's face we ask you all to please pray for us,” the father of six wrote on his Facebook page, Jailed For Home Worship. “I want you all to know that we love you and thank you all for your support. Though it will be very difficult we know that we will win in the end. Glory to God!”
Salman and his wife, Suzanne, have been battling the city of Phoenix for about five years. They received a letter from the city in 2007, prohibiting them from continuing with the Bible studies in their living room because it violated the construction code.
The family then built a 2,000-square-foot building in their backyard, which Michael said he received all the appropriate permits for.
“At that point we took our Bible study from our living room, and we moved it into that building,” he said. “We started worshipping in that building every weekend.”
However, nearly a dozen police, along with city inspectors, raided the family's home in the summer of 2009. The city prosecutor's office said Salman violated city building codes, and insisted that the issue is due to concerns with public safety, not religion.
“It came down to zoning and proper permitting,” Vicki Hill, the chief assistant city prosecutor, told Fox News Radio. “Any time you are holding a gathering of people continuously—as he does—we have concerns about people being able to exit the facility properly in case there is a fire.”
However, Salman argues that his Bible studies are no different than people hosting weekly poker games or inviting friends to their homes for Monday Night Football.
“They're cracking down on religious activities and religious use,” he told Fox News Radio last week. “They're attacking what I as a Christian do in the privacy of my home.”
But Arizona courts have continuously ruled against him, declaring Salman was running a church out of a private dwelling. The city said it is not violating his constitutional rights to religious freedom. In a January 2010 ruling, the court said the state requires that Salman abide by “fire and zoning codes” before he can run a church or worship service in his home.
“We want to stand for not only our beliefs,” Suzanne Salman said, “but for every believer in Phoenix that wants to host a Bible study in their home, that they can do it without fear of the city coming in and saying, 'No, this is no longer just your home. This needs to become a church.'”
A judge has not yet issued a ruling on the emergency appeal Salman's attorney filed with the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Make sure to 'like' us on Facebook, and become a 'Follower' here, or sign up for email notifications on the bottom right of this page. As always, thanks for stopping by, and may God bless you! -Walking In The Way
Renewal Conference Restoring Your Passion for Christ - Part 5 by David W...
Make sure to 'like' us on Facebook, and become a 'Follower' here, or sign up for email notifications on the bottom right of this page. As always, thanks for stopping by, and may God bless you!-Walking In The Way
"Of Course I Believe in God"
Make sure to 'like' us on Facebook, and become a 'Follower' here, or sign up for email notifications on the bottom right of this page. As always, thanks for stopping by, and may God bless you!-Walking In The Way
Amazing creation
We are often too busy to consider the amazing creation in which we live. See Psa. 111:2–6 for why God’s marvelous works should be studied. When we ponder the clouds, the stars, the birds, the trees, the flowers, the animals, the vast array of foods, the marvels of the human body, etc., all in light of God’s creative hand, audible praise is not enough to express the incredible greatness of our God. We instead bow our heads and remain still in worshipful adoration of this Creator who gave us life and redeemed us by His blood.
Job 37:14 “Listen to this, O Job; Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God.
Job 37:14 “Listen to this, O Job; Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God.
A Study in Job part twelve
Think of the mothers in Bethlehem, who, two thousand years ago, had their children slaughtered by Herod, simply because he was peeved that he had been deceived by the wise men. Scripture says that those grieving mothers “would not be comforted.” No one could put their arm around them and say, “God is in control. This tragedy will work for your good. It’s okay.”
Each mother had conceived a child in joy, carried it for nine months, birthed it in pain, and no doubt gloated over their children with the delight that only a mother can know. They had embraced, feed, nurtured and suckled, listened to the child’s first word, and seen his first stumbling step. In that culture they would have looked deeply into the wide eyes of her children and heartily thanked God for such a wonderful blessing. Children bring a joy to life to which nothing can compare. But suddenly, for no real reason, each one little child felt the sharp and merciless Roman sword thrust through their soft flesh. The mothers of Bethlehem embraced her dead children, their trembling hands covered in blood! The sweetness of life suddenly turned bitter, and according to Scripture, no amount of consolation could help them rid themselves of grief. Multiply such grief by ten and you have a taste of the bitterness of soul experienced by Job’s unfortunate wife.
Perhaps, she had been present as each of her precious children’s crushed and blood-stained bodies were pulled from the dust and rubble. No doubt she wailed in typical Middle Eastern fashion at such a sight, and then wept until she could weep no more as each one of her beloved children was buried.
If at any time in her life she needed to the love and support of her husband, it was now. But Job wasn’t able to stand up and put his strong and loving arms around her, and at least try and comfort her in her grief. He was hardly recognizable, as he sat in the dirt, clothes torn, head shaven, and his body was covered in raw and agonizing boils.
Continued tomorrow...
Monday, July 9, 2012
A Study in Job part eleven
Again, the Scriptures pull back the veil so that we have insight into the eternal:
Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause.” (Job 2:3).
Satan hissed, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. But stretch out Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will surely curse You to Your face!” And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life.” (Job 2:4-6).
So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. And he took for himself a piece of pottery and scraped his wounds while he sat in the midst of the ashes. He had lost everything but his beloved wife. Perhaps she would comfort him. But look at what she said,
“Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!”
It’s easy to vilify Job’s wife as a shallow godless and unfaithful woman, who failed to be a helpmate to her beloved husband. But let’s not be too quick to judge this poor woman. Like Job, her life was picture-perfect. She was rightly respected because of her social position next to her esteemed hubby. She had born ten healthy children, and she was happy in the knowledge that their future was financially secure. Who doesn’t want that for their kids? If anyone ever had God’s blessing it was Job, his wife, and their ten children. Then, in a moment of time, her precious children were dead; all ten of them. Who ever heard of such a tragedy!
Continued tomorrow...
Sunday, July 8, 2012
God can fix mistake
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.Psalm 111:10
You should beware of two extremes. One is becoming arrogant about your wisdom and plans. The other is becoming depressed when things go wrong. God forgives and even blesses the mistakes of faithful people. In my ignorance, I often made the biggest mistakes and did the most foolish things when I was sincerely trying to help people and give them good advice. When I made these mistakes, I prayed fervently to God, asking him to forgive me and correct what I had done. Important and faithful leaders often cause great harm through their advice and actions. If God didn't have mercy on them and didn't straighten everything out, the world would be in a terrible mess.
All of us make mistakes. We consider ourselves wise and knowledgeable. Yet in our sincere desire to help, we can end up causing a lot of damage. If God in his wisdom and compassion didn't correct our mistakes, we would make a mess out of our lives. We are like the farmer whose horses had trouble moving a heavy load. Thinking the wheels on the wagon were too wide, he sharpened them. This only made the load sink so deep into the mud that the wagon couldn't be moved at all.
Does that mean that people should do nothing and just run away from all their responsibilities? Not at all. You should faithfully do the job that God has given you to do. Don't rely on your own wisdom and strength, and don't pretend to be so smart and important that everything has to be done your way. Don't be ashamed to get on your knees and pray, "Dear God, you gave me this job. Please teach and guide me. Give me the knowledge, wisdom, and strength to perform my duties tirelessly and well."
You should beware of two extremes. One is becoming arrogant about your wisdom and plans. The other is becoming depressed when things go wrong. God forgives and even blesses the mistakes of faithful people. In my ignorance, I often made the biggest mistakes and did the most foolish things when I was sincerely trying to help people and give them good advice. When I made these mistakes, I prayed fervently to God, asking him to forgive me and correct what I had done. Important and faithful leaders often cause great harm through their advice and actions. If God didn't have mercy on them and didn't straighten everything out, the world would be in a terrible mess.
All of us make mistakes. We consider ourselves wise and knowledgeable. Yet in our sincere desire to help, we can end up causing a lot of damage. If God in his wisdom and compassion didn't correct our mistakes, we would make a mess out of our lives. We are like the farmer whose horses had trouble moving a heavy load. Thinking the wheels on the wagon were too wide, he sharpened them. This only made the load sink so deep into the mud that the wagon couldn't be moved at all.
Does that mean that people should do nothing and just run away from all their responsibilities? Not at all. You should faithfully do the job that God has given you to do. Don't rely on your own wisdom and strength, and don't pretend to be so smart and important that everything has to be done your way. Don't be ashamed to get on your knees and pray, "Dear God, you gave me this job. Please teach and guide me. Give me the knowledge, wisdom, and strength to perform my duties tirelessly and well."
Declaring sinners unclean
As priests of the Lord (see 1 Pet. 2:5; Rev. 1:6) we are to pronounce the sinner as unclean. How can we do that without appearing judgmental? Simply by doing what Jesus did and pointing to the Ten Commandments (see Mark 10:17–22). Consider how Paul did this in Rom. 2:21–23: “You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? You who say, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law?” Notice that he asks questions of his hearers. Do the same. Ask, “Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever stolen something, used God’s name in vain (etc.)?”
Leviticus 13:9 “When the leprous sore is on a person, then he shall be brought to the priest.10 And the priest shall examine him; and indeed if the swelling on the skin is white, and it has turned the hair white, and there is a spot of raw flesh in the swelling,11 it is an old leprosy on the skin of his body. The priest shall pronounce him unclean, and shall not isolate him, for he is unclean.12 “And if leprosy breaks out all over the skin, and the leprosy covers all the skin of the one who has the sore, from his head to his foot, wherever the priest looks,13 then the priest shall consider; and indeed if the leprosy has covered all his body, he shall pronounce him clean who has the sore. It has all turned white. He is clean.14 But when raw flesh appears on him, he shall be unclean.15 And the priest shall examine the raw flesh and pronounce him to be unclean; for the raw flesh is unclean. It is leprosy.
Leviticus 13:9 “When the leprous sore is on a person, then he shall be brought to the priest.10 And the priest shall examine him; and indeed if the swelling on the skin is white, and it has turned the hair white, and there is a spot of raw flesh in the swelling,11 it is an old leprosy on the skin of his body. The priest shall pronounce him unclean, and shall not isolate him, for he is unclean.12 “And if leprosy breaks out all over the skin, and the leprosy covers all the skin of the one who has the sore, from his head to his foot, wherever the priest looks,13 then the priest shall consider; and indeed if the leprosy has covered all his body, he shall pronounce him clean who has the sore. It has all turned white. He is clean.14 But when raw flesh appears on him, he shall be unclean.15 And the priest shall examine the raw flesh and pronounce him to be unclean; for the raw flesh is unclean. It is leprosy.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Fiery Serpent
When fiery serpents were sent among Israel, their deadly bite caused the Israelites to admit that they had sinned. However, God also sent a cure for the serpent bite; He told Moses to make a bronze serpent and place it on a pole. Those who had been bitten and were doomed to die could look at the bronze serpent and be saved from death. Jesus later cited this passage in reference to salvation from sin (see John 3:14,15).
The Ten Commandments are like ten biting serpents that carry with them the venomous curse of God’s Law. This Law convicts us of our sin and drives us to look up to the One lifted up on a cross, the Messiah, who saves us from death due to judgment under God’s Law. It was the Law of Moses that put Jesus on the cross. The Messiah became a curse for us, and redeemed us from the curse of the Law (see Gal. 3:13).
Numbers 21:6 So tthe Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord that He take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.8 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent,and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.”9 So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
The Ten Commandments are like ten biting serpents that carry with them the venomous curse of God’s Law. This Law convicts us of our sin and drives us to look up to the One lifted up on a cross, the Messiah, who saves us from death due to judgment under God’s Law. It was the Law of Moses that put Jesus on the cross. The Messiah became a curse for us, and redeemed us from the curse of the Law (see Gal. 3:13).
Numbers 21:6 So tthe Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord that He take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.8 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent,and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.”9 So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
A Study in Job part ten
The truth is, the best of us deserve wrath and Hell. The only reason that we are still drawing breath is that He is good, kind, and that He’s rich in mercy. Job knew this. Bible commentator Matthew Henry said of him:
“The devil tempts his own children, and draws them to sin, and afterwards torments, when he has brought them to ruin; but this child of God he tormented with affliction, and then tempted to make a bad use of his affliction. He provoked Job to curse God. The disease was very grievous. If at any time we are tried with sore and grievous distempers, let us not think ourselves dealt with otherwise than as God sometimes deals with the best of his saints and servants. Job humbled himself under the mighty hand of God, and brought his mind to his condition. His wife was spared to him, to be a troubler and tempter to him. Satan still endeavors to draw men from God, as he did our first parents, by suggesting hard thoughts of Him, than which nothing is more false. But Job resisted and overcame the temptation.”
Tragedy struck the hardest of blows to poor Job. He had lost his servants, his wealth, and he had lost his beloved children, despite the fact that he had so diligently sanctified them, such was his love and concern for their happiness. Now they were gone.
Continued Monday...
Thursday, July 5, 2012
A Study in Job part nine
Jesus warned that the storms of this life fall on the just and the unjust:
“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall” (Matthew 7:24-26).
The difference between the two is seen in whether or not the house falls.
Everything good we have comes from God—the rain, the sunshine, our health, our food, cute kittens, super-cute puppies, beautiful babies, pure white driven snow, deep blue sea filled with tasty fish, cool water to drink, succulent fruit to eat, and fresh air to breathe: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17). However, instead of having a heart-felt thankfulness to God for all these undeserved blessings, this wicked world ignores His will, blasphemes His name, kills unborn children, fornicates and commits adultery, glorifies pornography, mocks the Word of God, promotes homosexuality, despises His gospel, and says that evolution gave us all these blessings of life. But the irony is that when tragedy strikes, they intuitively remember God and ask, “What did I do to deserve this?”
Continued tomorrow...
A Study in Job part eight
Modern prosperity preachers set people up for a fall when the promise that those who trust in Jesus will have a life that is problem free. We don’t have to look too far to find some Christian who is going through a Job experience. In a moment of time, the godliest of us can lose savings, get a terminal disease, be involved in a serious car accident, or be the victims of violent crime, and have our lives irreparably shattered. This is not negative talk or the speech of unbelief. It is both biblical and reality in a fallen creation. We don’t live in dread of the future, but neither do we live in a world of make believe.
I know of a most respected pastor of a large church whose precious wife has serious Alzheimer’s. He has lost the love of his life. He also has lung cancer. They are both elderly, and bar a miracle in this life, their future looks very bleak. But as godly people, according to Romans 8:28 their dark experience is working for their good. They are going through it today, there’s a possibility that you and I may go through a fiery trial tomorrow:
“Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you…” (1 Peter 4:12).
Lord of Hosts
The title “LORD of Hosts” (used 46 times in the book of Zecharaiah) means that all created agencies and forces are under the leadership or dominion of God, who not only made them, but maintains them (see Gen. 2:1; Isa. 45:12). Notice that God tells sinners that if they will forsake their evil ways and deeds and turn to Him, He will turn to them. This was the case with the prodigal son. After leaving the pigsty, he found that his father was waiting for him to return (see Luke 15:20).
Zecheriah 1:3 Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Return tto Me,” says the Lord of hosts, “and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts.
Zecheriah 1:3 Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Return tto Me,” says the Lord of hosts, “and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
In saying an eye for an eye the Bible condones taking the law into your own hands
This verse, in Mat 5:38, is so often misquoted by the world. Many believe it is giving a license to take matters into our own hands and render evil for evil. However, these are judgments for civil law and not revenge for personal grievances. The spirit of what Jesus is saying here is radically different from the “sue the shirt off the back of your neighbor” society in which we live.
God’s Word is practical. It makes sense that if someone destroys another’s property, he should make restitution. Nowadays, criminals often destroy property and go to jail without paying any restitution. The victims remain uncompensated for their losses. So if someone steals your ox, he is to restore the ox. If someone steals and wrecks your car, he is to buy you another one...a car for a car, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
Matthew 5:38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’
God’s Word is practical. It makes sense that if someone destroys another’s property, he should make restitution. Nowadays, criminals often destroy property and go to jail without paying any restitution. The victims remain uncompensated for their losses. So if someone steals your ox, he is to restore the ox. If someone steals and wrecks your car, he is to buy you another one...a car for a car, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
Matthew 5:38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’
Only God is Free
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free. Galatians 5:1
To any human who bothers to think a bit, it should be evident that there is in our society no such thing as absolute freedom—for only God is free!
It is inherent in creaturehood that its freedom must be limited by the will of the Creator and the nature of the thing created. Freedom is liberty within bounds, liberty to obey holy laws, liberty to keep the commandments of Christ, to serve mankind, to develop to the full all the latent possibilities within our redeemed natures. True Christian liberty never sets us free to indulge our lusts or to follow our fallen impulses.
On earth, a healthy society requires that its members accept a limited freedom. Each must curtail his own liberty that all may be free, and this law runs throughout all of the created universe, including the kingdom of God.
The glory of heaven itself lies in the character of the freedom enjoyed by those who dwell therein! -A. W. Tozer
Lord, today I pray for the members of the churches in my community. Empower them (and myself) to curb their “fallen impulses” and to be a bright beacon in the midst of a dark society.
To any human who bothers to think a bit, it should be evident that there is in our society no such thing as absolute freedom—for only God is free!
It is inherent in creaturehood that its freedom must be limited by the will of the Creator and the nature of the thing created. Freedom is liberty within bounds, liberty to obey holy laws, liberty to keep the commandments of Christ, to serve mankind, to develop to the full all the latent possibilities within our redeemed natures. True Christian liberty never sets us free to indulge our lusts or to follow our fallen impulses.
On earth, a healthy society requires that its members accept a limited freedom. Each must curtail his own liberty that all may be free, and this law runs throughout all of the created universe, including the kingdom of God.
The glory of heaven itself lies in the character of the freedom enjoyed by those who dwell therein! -A. W. Tozer
Lord, today I pray for the members of the churches in my community. Empower them (and myself) to curb their “fallen impulses” and to be a bright beacon in the midst of a dark society.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
A Study in Job part seven
A friend once told me that he had had a terrible morning. His car broke down, and he had to go to the expense of renting a vehicle to get to work and the hassle of getting his repaired. But then his eyes lit up with joy as he told me that he had bumped into a man at the repair shop who listened intently as the gospel was shared. The man had been prepared by God for this conversation. My friend was convinced that it was a divine encounter, and it made sense of the morning’s hassle.
Often the Christian doesn’t have to look too far to see God’s hand in life’s trials. God promises to work all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purposes (Romans 8:28). So I, in a semi-jest cynically responded to my friend Scotty, “So what was the purpose of Job’s experience, as he sat in misery covered with sore boils from the crown of his head to the sole of his feet? Was he holding a gospel tract and looking for some divine encounter?” I couldn’t see too much light in Job’s long and dark experience, other than the divine revelation that he was vile, and I knew that there was a less painful way to get that.
Scotty smiled and said, “Are you kidding? Millions have taken comfort from Job’s experience.” It was a “duh” moment for me. It was true! Millions of people have found consolation in their sufferings because of the Book of Job. The Maker of the universe looked into the future to the day when billions of copies of the Bible would be printed and bring light to those who find themselves in terrible darkness. Job had no idea how much good would come from such suffering. He didn’t know that he would be admired down and preached and written about through the ages:
“My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful” (James 5:9-11, NKJV).
He had no idea that he would become one of the greatest heroes of the best-selling book of all time, which would be published more than 3,000 years after his dreadful experience.
Continued tomorrow...
I am repenting, but it's not working!- Ask Pastor Tim Conway
Make sure to 'like' us on Facebook, and become a 'Follower' here, or sign up for email notifications on the bottom right of this page. As always, thanks for stopping by, and may God bless you!-Walking In The Way
Win many crowns
“Aspire to be something more than the mass of church members. Lift up your cry to God and beseech him to fire you with a nobler ambition than that which possesses the common Christian—that you may be found faithful unto God at the last, and may win many crowns for your Lord and Master, Christ.” Charles Spurgeon
1 Thessalonians 2:19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ tat His coming?
1 Thessalonians 2:19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ tat His coming?
Monday, July 2, 2012
The Value of Your Soul
Jesus said that your soul is worth more than the rest of the world put together. He asked, “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” (Mark 8:36). It is impossible for us to grasp what is meant by “the whole world.” For this is not only the physical world or the geographical world. It includes the business world, the scientific world, the intellectual world. Jesus said that the soul is worth more than all the world.
Why is your soul so valuable? First, the value of your soul is measured by its eternal quality. It will never die. You are going to live forever. Your body will die, but your soul, the part of you that is made in the image of God, will never die. Your soul—your spirit—will live forever. It is that part of you that has understanding and wisdom.
Many people have knowledge, but they don’t have wisdom. The Bible says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). A great British historian said some years ago, “Man, by his knowledge, has brought himself to total annihilation.”
Knowledge without God and without wisdom is very dangerous. That’s one of the problems in the world today. We have a lot of knowledge; we have a lot of learning, but the Bible says you can be “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7). We lack the wisdom to use our knowledge.
Your soul is that part of you that has judgment. It makes decisions—moral decisions—what is good and what is bad. Your soul also involves your will. Your will chooses or rejects things that are brought before it. Your soul is that part of you that has emotion, like love and fear. It has memory—the mental capacity for storing up knowledge of ideas and events. There is something down inside us that is beyond science to know. The Bible calls it soul or spirit.
We tend to put all of our emphasis on the body with its pleasures and its physical appetites. But the soul also has appetites. The soul longs for God. Down deep inside every person’s heart is a cry for something, but he doesn’t quite know what it is. Man is a worshiping creature. He instinctively knows that there is something out there somewhere, and he longs to know that something or someone. Your soul longs for vital contact with God. Your soul is valuable because it is eternal—it is forever.
Second, the value of your soul is measured by the devil’s interest in it. Jesus said the devil is the prince of this world. He is the god of this age. The devil is greatly at work in our world, and he is after your soul.
God created a perfect world. He and man were friends. God never meant that there would be suffering and war and death. But Satan came. He was a mighty angel, possibly the greatest of all of God’s created beings, and he rebelled against God.
When God built the earth, He put humans in charge of the earth. God wanted someone in the universe whom He could love and who would return love to Him. So He gave man freedom of choice. God said to man, “I put one tree in this garden—you are not to eat its fruit. If you eat it, you will suffer and die” (Cf. Genesis 3:3). God was testing man. He gave man the freedom of will.
But the devil told man, “God doesn’t mean what he says. You’re not going to die. If you eat of the fruit of that tree, you will be as great as God” (Cf. Genesis 3:4-6). So Eve ate the fruit first and then Adam, her husband, ate it too. And that was the first rebellion by people against God. God had to keep His word or He would not be a just God. He had said, “If you eat the fruit of that tree you will suffer and die.” Man ate of the tree, and since then he has been suffering and dying.
But God had a plan. God said, “In spite of their rebellion, I am going to save the human race. I am going to send my Son to this earth.” And every step of the way the devil tried to kill God’s Son, even when He was a baby. Finally, when God’s Son was on the cross, it looked as if the devil had won a great victory, but instead the devil lost his greatest battle. When Jesus died, the devil suffered a mighty defeat, because on the third day Jesus Christ rose from the dead. The Bible says Jesus has “the keys of Hades and of Death” (Revelation 1:18). Christ is alive, and He is coming back to this earth again!
God is building His Kingdom, but the devil is also building his. Even though Satan is a defeated foe, he is still working. In the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus said, “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart” (Matthew 13:19). Jesus pictured Satan as an enemy battling and bidding for the souls of people.
Third, the value of your soul is measured by God’s concern for saving your soul. God is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
“God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” (Mark 8:36). God sees your soul as the most valuable thing in the world, so valuable that He sent His only Son to the cross to suffer and die so that your soul may be saved. And if you were the only person in the whole universe, Christ would have died for you.
Fourth, the value of your soul is measured by the severity of its loss. It is terrible when a person loses his health, or his money, or his friends, or, worse still, his character. But what about the loss of a soul?
I live in the mountains of North Carolina, and many times in the thick woods and forests of that state children get lost. Many people come to help—the military sends helicopters and soldiers. They bring in specially trained dogs. Everything possible is done to find the child. The newspapers print the story, and the television stations report the story. But if a man’s soul is lost, that isn’t reported by the media. Yet the soul is worth more than all the world.
Suppose you had all the gold in the world and all the clothes you could ever dream of owning, and you lived in a magnificent home, and owned all the oil in the Middle East.
Suppose it was all yours, but you lost your soul. Jesus said it would be a poor bargain.
Even if you could get everything you wanted, it wouldn’t give you peace. You would still be searching. Great riches cannot make you happy. Much pleasure cannot make you happy. Only the peace of God coming into your heart through Jesus Christ can bring peace and joy and happiness.
Are you prepared for eternity? Are you sure that you have been born from above? The Bible says that you can be sure. The Bible says that there is a Heaven, that there is a hell. You choose where you spend eternity, and many of you are choosing right now.
Fifth, the value of your soul is measured by the price paid for its redemption. The Bible says, “knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:18-19). What are you doing with your soul? Are you gambling with your soul, taking a chance with it?
I am asking you to make sure of your relationship with Christ. Christ demands more than just churchgoing, more than just baptism, more than just being good. He demands your total surrender—the surrender of your mind, your heart, your body, every part of you—to the Lordship of Christ. If you have a doubt in your heart that you have totally surrendered to Christ, do it now. Make sure of your salvation. Make certain that you know Christ.
Repent of your sins and trust in Jesus Christ alone.
Why is your soul so valuable? First, the value of your soul is measured by its eternal quality. It will never die. You are going to live forever. Your body will die, but your soul, the part of you that is made in the image of God, will never die. Your soul—your spirit—will live forever. It is that part of you that has understanding and wisdom.
Many people have knowledge, but they don’t have wisdom. The Bible says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). A great British historian said some years ago, “Man, by his knowledge, has brought himself to total annihilation.”
Knowledge without God and without wisdom is very dangerous. That’s one of the problems in the world today. We have a lot of knowledge; we have a lot of learning, but the Bible says you can be “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7). We lack the wisdom to use our knowledge.
Your soul is that part of you that has judgment. It makes decisions—moral decisions—what is good and what is bad. Your soul also involves your will. Your will chooses or rejects things that are brought before it. Your soul is that part of you that has emotion, like love and fear. It has memory—the mental capacity for storing up knowledge of ideas and events. There is something down inside us that is beyond science to know. The Bible calls it soul or spirit.
We tend to put all of our emphasis on the body with its pleasures and its physical appetites. But the soul also has appetites. The soul longs for God. Down deep inside every person’s heart is a cry for something, but he doesn’t quite know what it is. Man is a worshiping creature. He instinctively knows that there is something out there somewhere, and he longs to know that something or someone. Your soul longs for vital contact with God. Your soul is valuable because it is eternal—it is forever.
Second, the value of your soul is measured by the devil’s interest in it. Jesus said the devil is the prince of this world. He is the god of this age. The devil is greatly at work in our world, and he is after your soul.
God created a perfect world. He and man were friends. God never meant that there would be suffering and war and death. But Satan came. He was a mighty angel, possibly the greatest of all of God’s created beings, and he rebelled against God.
When God built the earth, He put humans in charge of the earth. God wanted someone in the universe whom He could love and who would return love to Him. So He gave man freedom of choice. God said to man, “I put one tree in this garden—you are not to eat its fruit. If you eat it, you will suffer and die” (Cf. Genesis 3:3). God was testing man. He gave man the freedom of will.
But the devil told man, “God doesn’t mean what he says. You’re not going to die. If you eat of the fruit of that tree, you will be as great as God” (Cf. Genesis 3:4-6). So Eve ate the fruit first and then Adam, her husband, ate it too. And that was the first rebellion by people against God. God had to keep His word or He would not be a just God. He had said, “If you eat the fruit of that tree you will suffer and die.” Man ate of the tree, and since then he has been suffering and dying.
But God had a plan. God said, “In spite of their rebellion, I am going to save the human race. I am going to send my Son to this earth.” And every step of the way the devil tried to kill God’s Son, even when He was a baby. Finally, when God’s Son was on the cross, it looked as if the devil had won a great victory, but instead the devil lost his greatest battle. When Jesus died, the devil suffered a mighty defeat, because on the third day Jesus Christ rose from the dead. The Bible says Jesus has “the keys of Hades and of Death” (Revelation 1:18). Christ is alive, and He is coming back to this earth again!
God is building His Kingdom, but the devil is also building his. Even though Satan is a defeated foe, he is still working. In the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus said, “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart” (Matthew 13:19). Jesus pictured Satan as an enemy battling and bidding for the souls of people.
Third, the value of your soul is measured by God’s concern for saving your soul. God is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
“God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” (Mark 8:36). God sees your soul as the most valuable thing in the world, so valuable that He sent His only Son to the cross to suffer and die so that your soul may be saved. And if you were the only person in the whole universe, Christ would have died for you.
Fourth, the value of your soul is measured by the severity of its loss. It is terrible when a person loses his health, or his money, or his friends, or, worse still, his character. But what about the loss of a soul?
I live in the mountains of North Carolina, and many times in the thick woods and forests of that state children get lost. Many people come to help—the military sends helicopters and soldiers. They bring in specially trained dogs. Everything possible is done to find the child. The newspapers print the story, and the television stations report the story. But if a man’s soul is lost, that isn’t reported by the media. Yet the soul is worth more than all the world.
Suppose you had all the gold in the world and all the clothes you could ever dream of owning, and you lived in a magnificent home, and owned all the oil in the Middle East.
Suppose it was all yours, but you lost your soul. Jesus said it would be a poor bargain.
Even if you could get everything you wanted, it wouldn’t give you peace. You would still be searching. Great riches cannot make you happy. Much pleasure cannot make you happy. Only the peace of God coming into your heart through Jesus Christ can bring peace and joy and happiness.
Are you prepared for eternity? Are you sure that you have been born from above? The Bible says that you can be sure. The Bible says that there is a Heaven, that there is a hell. You choose where you spend eternity, and many of you are choosing right now.
Fifth, the value of your soul is measured by the price paid for its redemption. The Bible says, “knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:18-19). What are you doing with your soul? Are you gambling with your soul, taking a chance with it?
I am asking you to make sure of your relationship with Christ. Christ demands more than just churchgoing, more than just baptism, more than just being good. He demands your total surrender—the surrender of your mind, your heart, your body, every part of you—to the Lordship of Christ. If you have a doubt in your heart that you have totally surrendered to Christ, do it now. Make sure of your salvation. Make certain that you know Christ.
Repent of your sins and trust in Jesus Christ alone.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
