Don't Be Content With A Form of Godliness

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. - John 3:14-18

There is a consequence for rejecting God - eternal separation - God takes no pleasure in that. His desire is that all should be saved. We are all familiar with John 3:16, but I thought it would be good to read the verse in context.  

Reading in Ezekiel, you can see the heart of God in Old Testament times just is it is expressed in the New Testament.

Ezekiel 33

“So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me. When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you shall surely die!’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul. “Therefore you, O son of man, say to the house of Israel: ‘Thus you say, “If our transgressions and our sins lie upon us, and we pine away in them, how can we then live?” ’ Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’

<We must be a lights and witnesses to the way of salvation through Jesus- the only Way>

 “Therefore you, O son of man, say to the children of your people: ‘The righteousness of the righteous man shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression; as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall because of it in the day that he turns from his wickedness; nor shall the righteous be able to live because of his righteousness in the day that he sins.’ 

When I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, but he trusts in his own righteousness and commits iniquity, none of his righteous works shall be remembered; but because of the iniquity that he has committed, he shall die. 

<Being good is not good enough. >

Again, when I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ if he turns from his sin and does what is lawful and right, if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has stolen, and walks in the statutes of life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of his sins which he has committed shall be remembered against him; he has done what is lawful and right; he shall surely live.

<The proof of saving faith is repentance> 

“Yet the children of your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ But it is their way which is not fair! When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die because of it. But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is lawful and right, he shall live because of it. Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ O house of Israel, I will judge every one of you according to his own ways.” - Ezekiel 33:7-20

<When the wicked repent they are forgiven and they will be given life.>

“As for you, son of man, the children of your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses; and they speak to one another, everyone saying to his brother, ‘Please come and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.’  

So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain. 

 Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them. And when this comes to pass—surely it will come—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.” - Ezekiel 33:30-33

<It is not enough to hear the Word, we must be doers of the Word.>

Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. - James 1:21-22

 <It is not about the words we say but the condition of our hearts that makes the difference. >

Therefore the Lord said: “Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths And honor Me with their lips, But have removed their hearts far from Me, And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men, - Isaiah 29:13

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone 

The Fight Of Faith

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. -  Ephesians 6:12

Do you struggle with temptation? Do you understand that it is not a struggle of your will or won't but it is a spiritual struggle that manifests itself in the physical, mental, and emotion - the events of the natural life we live. 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. - 2 Corinthians 5:17

You are probably familiar with these verses and would tell me - yes you agree with them. But do you understand the implications?

Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. - John 3:3-6

Child of God - you may look like your unsaved friends. You may work in the same place. Like the same sports or recreational activities. But you are as different from them as the sun is from the moon. While the moon has an orbit it only reflects the light from the sun. It is like a dead planet - but the sun has the source of light within. Because of the Spirit in you, you have a spiritual nature - which means that everything has a spiritual context. 

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? - 1 Corinthians 6:19

How you live your life in response to life's events on this planet after you are born again is a function of your spiritual health. Your spiritual health is dependent upon the practice of spiritual disciplines in your life. Prayer, reading the Word of God, staying connected to other likeminded Christians. I say like-minded because if the Christians you hang with have a small faith - are immature - then don't expect to get a lot of help from them. When I played individual sports - golf, racket ball, tennis, squash - even distance running - I always picked an opponent that was more skilled than I was so I would be challenged and strengthened. Besting my opponent was not my goal - besting myself was.

If all of this seems to be extreme - over the top to you then that is part of the problem - because it isn't either one. 

[You] have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer [you] who live, but Christ lives in [you]; and the life which [you] now live in the flesh [you] live by faith in the Son of God, who loved [you] and gave Himself for [you]. - Galatians 2:20

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone 

Significance Of The Sabbaths

Before I get into this I want to clarify my goal whether I am speaking to you through a BLOG or a Podcast. My goal is to provoke you to think about how you are living your life as a Christian. To consider your calling to leave the world behind and pursue God. To make your relationship with God the priority in your life - and not just a slogan on the wall or on the screen at church. For the next few minutes I will be addressing the Sabbath and what I believe our attitude should be with respect to honoring it. What we do with respect to the Sabbath is a spiritual act - a heart commitment and not just one more thing that you add to your calendar of events. 

What is our level of commitment to God supposed to be? Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love God with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength. Matthew 22:37

When I was in the Army Flight school one of my instructor pilots on the UH-1 would tell us what he called little known but interesting facts. 

The Sabbath is not just for the Jewish community or legalistic Christians

First a review – which is telling you something you should already know. The Sabbath, (from the Hebrew word shabbat, meaning to “cease,” or “desist”), is a day of holiness and rest observed by people of the Jewish faith from sunset on Friday to nightfall of the following day. That time division follows the biblical story of creation: “And there was evening and there was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5).  The majority of other Christian denominations recognize Sunday - the day that Jesus was resurrected - as the Sabbath, as the Biblical day of rest under the New Covenant - kind of..... 

I am currently reading in the Book of Ezekiel, which is what got me thinking about how I observe the Sabbath. God is speaking through Ezekiel, His prophet to the Elders and nation of Israel. 

“But I [Jehovah God] said to their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols. I am the Lord your God: Walk in My statutes, keep My judgments, and do them; hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’ “Notwithstanding, the children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, and were not careful to observe My judgments, ‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them’; but they profaned My Sabbaths. Ezekiel 20:18-21

Observing the Sabbath has spiritual significance. God said - It ... "will be a sign between Me [God] and you [His children], that you may know that I am the Lord your God.

So we observe the Sabbath to remember God. 

So what does "observe" mean?

There is a spectrum of responses to that question. On the extreme end - 

When I was a child many states, counties and cities enforced what were known as Blue Laws. A Blue law is designed to prohibit or limit the transaction of commercial business or the holding of recreational activities on Sundays – the Christian Sabbath. In some states that included purchasing anything that could be used for work - such as a hammer or nails. They also included prohibiting the sale of alcohol and not allowing certain businesses to operate on Sundays. Blue Laws are still in effect today in some places.

At the other end of the spectrum is limiting your observation to attending a Church service - every Sunday is good but attending now and again satisfies the intent.

Recently I was driving past a municipal ball park complex one Sunday morning and noticed that the parking lots were full and the fields were "bee hives" of activity. I don't think that the focus of the adults who had brought their children to play softball was so they could honor and remember God. 

It was not that long ago that such activities were not scheduled on Sunday - intentionally. But like most things - The Christian frog was in the cultural pot and the water was getting hotter. It was not long that parents were choosing to forgo church so their children could play sports - baseball, softball, soccer. 

If I were to take a survey I suspect I would find that most Christians will say that Sunday is the day you go to church - or if you don't feel like going to be with other Christians then stream it into your home - I mean streaming the service is almost the same thing as attending right? Uh - no it isn't the same thing! Not if you are physically able to attend church in person it is the best alternative.

Hebrews 10:24-25 says “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

OK - but after church - the rest of the day is for me right? - I can give God a couple of hours in the morning. Seems reasonable 

Isaiah 29:13

Therefore the Lord said: “Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths And honor Me with their lips, But have removed their hearts far from Me

Many of the "more enlightened" will say that you are being legalistic if you promote the idea of respecting the Sabbath in such an "extreme" way. The idea of dedicating one day out of seven and giving God the whole day seems foreign and extreme. 

Let me make it clear what I am saying here. I am not saying that we should be sitting in a pew all day. I am saying that we should devote the day to the Lord and our rest from the world. I remember when I was a child that Sunday afternoons were dedicated to visiting friends and family. Having Sunday dinner in someone's home. Disengaged from the culture and external activities.  Coming up for a breath of Spiritual air if you will. 

If you were to choose to do anything on the Sabbath, apart from attending church perhaps a good way to decide would be asking the question, "Does what I intend to do honor God?"  

- Philippians 3:18-20

For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ 

Observing the Sabbath "will be a sign between God and His children, that they may know that He is the Lord their God.

Would it be too radical to say that I worship God at church and am tempted to worship my culture at home? I know people whose days are slam full of activities and there is literally no discretionary time that they can offer to God. 

Should not our home be a place where God is honored and remembered all the time? As Gandalf said to the Balrog - a fiery demon in J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Fellowship of the Ring" - You Shall Not Pass!, so should we say to the culture's intervention into our homes - particularly on the Sabbath day of rest.

The day we said "Jesus is Lord and God the Father raised Him from the dead" - the day we were born again - our allegiance and hearts were surrendered to God. And on that same day - at that same moment  - the world began to chip away at that new devotion in our hearts to push God aside and put self in its place.

I want to encourage you to ...... 

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone 

Facing Life With The Power And With The Presence Of God

 I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. —1 Corinthians 9:22

A Christian worker has to learn how to be God’s man or woman of great worth and excellence in the midst of a multitude of meager and worthless things. Never protest by saying, “If only I were somewhere else!” All of God’s people are ordinary people who have been made extraordinary by the purpose He has given them. - Oswald Chambers

“Have Thine own way Lord, have Thine own way.  You are the Potter and I am the clay. Mold me and make me, after Thy will, while I am waiting, yielded and still.” 

Oh how I love the old worship songs.  I often wonder what was going on in the life of the person that penned the lyrics.  Are you ready for God to do what He purposed to do in your life?  To let God have His way in your life? Do you trust Him enough to yield your life to Him, wherever that leads you? Paul wrote to the Corinthians, 

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.  We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed. - 2 Corinthians 4:7-9

He was speaking to how fragile we are on our own. Oh, but what is in the “jar” is able to meet whatever comes our way.  Whether it is our calling or our circumstance, we are able to stand because of the power and presence of God.  

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” - Romans 8:31

Listen, we are all going to face trouble – challenges – trials – add any label you like.  The call to our purpose will always require more strength and ability than we have on our own. Our feet must be planted firmly on the Solid Rock, Jesus Christ.  We have an eternal destiny, what we need to maintain is our eternal perspective.   

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” - Romans 8:38-39

Meditate on that this morning.  In light of your present circumstances, your past, or what might be looming in your future … you have Jehovah God on your side.  You are in the palm of His hand.  Be encouraged … don’t be downcast .. put your hope in God! Bondye Fidel (Haitian Creole) – God is Faithful!

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

Righteous By Comparison Does Not Make You Right

Have you ever thought "Thank God that I am not like that other person?" It's not a new problem.

Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. - Luke 18:10-14

A common mistake is that we determine our righteousness by comparing ourselves to other people instead of comparing ourselves to Jesus.

It doesn't work that way - at least from the eternal perspective. You can always find people who are worse morally than you are. Or you might decide that righteousness is a function of wealth, citizenship, genealogy, religion, or ethnicity.  That is the world's definition. Making comparisons like that works when comparing yourself to others particularly when you are with others who are likeminded - people like you. But when you step away from the natural and into the supernatural, it all falls apart.

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God - Romans 3:23

All means all. You cannot stand before a holy God on your own merit - it doesn't matter who you are - In the case of President Trump - it's how many people he has helped - how many wars he has ended - how much money he has - the problem is that the only thing that matters is faith in Jesus. He said he does not think he is going to heaven - yet. (I added the "yet" because apparently, by his own admission, he is counting on his works and not faith in Jesus) And he is not alone. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippian church - and to all Christians for all generations ....

If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee;  concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.  But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith - Philippians 3:4-9

The only way we can be righteous enough to please God the Father, is by faith in Jesus. Be careful that you are not quick to judge others so you might justify your own short comings. So you might be found righteous by comparison.

Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye - Matthew 7:1-5

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

Christian - Don't Let Your Past Define You Let It Refine You

You shall not go out with haste,…for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard. —Isaiah 52:12

"Our present enjoyment of God’s grace tends to be lessened by the memory of yesterday’s sins and blunders. But God is the God of our yesterdays, and He allows the memory of them to turn the past into a ministry of spiritual growth for our future. God reminds us of the past to protect us from a very shallow security in the present. Our yesterdays hold broken and irreversible things for us. It is true that we have lost opportunities that will never return, but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a constructive thoughtfulness for the future. Let the past rest, but let it rest in the sweet embrace of Christ." - Oswald Chambers

 None of us are free from heartaches, disappointments, or regrets. Some of them are our doing, some not.  If you are born again, new in Christ, you do not have to let your past define you. 

….. one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 3:13-14 

Oh that we could embrace that attitude. Well, actually we can, but not by willing it.  It is a product of a deep and abiding relationship with Christ.  I was speaking with our daughter-in-law the other day about the nature of heartache.  If you were to break a bone, it would be painful of course, but the pain would eventually subside.  You can remember the event.  You can remember that you broke that particular bone.  A dull ache might even remind you when a storm is approaching.  But one thing you cannot do is feel the sharp, stabbing pain that you felt when the bone was broken.  You know it hurt, but you cannot conjure up the same feeling that you had in the past. Not so with a broken heart.  It only takes a word or a thought to bring back the pain of the moment when your heart was broken.  

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted  and saves those who are crushed in spirit. - Psalm 34:17-18

What a promise.  He delivers us out of all of our troubles.  He gives us strength.  He gives us comfort.  He gives us hope.  He gives us life.  You have so much to look forward to in the days ahead.  Don’t let the pain of the past define you.  Instead let the Lord renew you.  

but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. - Isaiah 40:31

Pastor Rick Warren said the "God never wastes a hurt." The Apostle Paul wrote this to the church in Corinth and to us 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,  who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. - 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

The comfort we receive is meant to be used to comfort others. God never wastes a hurt.

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

Close Only Counts In Horse Shoes And Hand Grenades

For we are the [spiritual] circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith. - Philippians 3:3-9

Paul was making a point to the Church then and now that righteousness - being right with God the Father - can only be found through faith in Jesus Christ. " not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith"

When Paul wrote about the "true circumcision" he was referring to the spiritual circumcision of the heart that only comes by faith in Jesus, not the physical circumcision of male children. The true circumcision of the heart is in both men and women.

So many people try to be right by doing the right things. We think that doing the right things makes our hearts right. Maybe you think that reading your Bible, going to church, praying, doing food things or not doing bad things will please God. What will please God is a heart fully devoted to Him and surrendered to the Lordship of Christ.

The Shema (meaning to hear) is prayed twice a day by devout Jews. "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

The ten commandments speaks to loving God with all of our hearts. Jesus told the lawyer in Matthew 22 that we are to love God first and out of that love to love others. In fact Jesus said two commandments satisfies the whole law.  Recall the first 4 of the 10 commandments have to do with loving God, the last 6 have to do with loving others. In Matthew 19 Jesus told the rich young ruler that doing good things was not enough to be right with God, that he must sell all that he had - which was what he worshipped - and give it away - meaning to give his heart to God by faith - the young man could not - would not and left sad.

Listen - it is easy to accept the lie that doing good is good enough - it is close enough. But as the title to this BLOG says, "Close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades". Being righteous before God is only attainable by faith in Jesus. Loving God with your whole heart. 

God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. - Ephesians 2:4-13

Your love for God expresses itself through good works - and the Fruit of the Spirit. Love for God and faith in Jesus is the "Chicken" and good works is the "egg" if you will.  Where did the chicken come from you ask? God provided it.

So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.  And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” So the evening and the morning were the fifth day. - Genesis 1:21-23

And now you know the answer to the question - "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" God made two chickens, a male (rooster) and female (hen) chicken by speaking them into existence. God is the Creator - we are the procreators - producing offspring.

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone