by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015 | Articles
“And when they came to Nachon’s threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.” 2Samuel 6:6-7 King Saul, in battle with the Philistines, lost the Ark of the Covenant. After a series of events, the Ark ended in the home of Abinadab and stayed there twenty years. When David became king, he sent for the ark and en route to the Tabernacle, Uzzah, the son of Abinadab sought to save the Ark as it fell off the cart when the oxen stumbled. When Uzzah touched the Ark, God killed him. God said, “And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, to carry the ark by them. The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it.” The Lord further instructed that “the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die.” It may have seemed like an obscure command with no seeming significance and easily forgotten, but it was important to God. Uzzah sought to help the Lord by protecting the Ark. No doubt he had a pure motive. Still, God killed him. Many New Testament commands appear to be unimportant and the breaking of them inconsequential. You may even think you do God service by ignoring commands that offend your reason. No matter how...
by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015 | Articles
As a follower of Christ you know that self-reformation is futile. Having declared spiritual bankruptcy, you came to God asking Him to live His life through you. He is your life; you live day-by-day in dependence upon His strength and presence. The worst thing that can happen to the non-Christian is for him to be able to solve his own problems. Nothing is more deadly than self reformation. The Great Physician heals those who cannot heal themselves. If people conclude that they can solve their own problems, or at least learn to accommodate them in their lives, they lose their incentive to turn to Christ for help, and that is a short path to hell. “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will neverenter the kingdom of heaven.”1 Jesus says that this dependence of a child is a pre-requisite for entrance into His kingdom. God can use many ways to force the unbeliever to express the dependence of a child in turning to Christ. As you pray for those outside the pale of His grace, plead with God that they will not resist the Holy Spirit through acts of self-reformation. 1 Matthew...
by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015 | Articles
“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:13-14 The Holy Spirit accompanies salvation and functions as a seal in the life of the believer. First, a seal is used to indicate proprietorship (you own it because it has your seal). Second, a seal proves that the object is genuine (you note the “sterling silver” seal on the bottom of silver). Third, a seal preserves something as safe or inviolate (the government sealed off the building so that no one could enter). In all three uses of this word, the Holy Spirit seals the believer in his relationship to God. God owns you, stamps you by His presence in your life as “genuine”, and protects you from harm, making you inviolate. The Holy Spirit is also the earnest, pledge, or down payment of all God promises. When you purchase a home you pay part of the purchase in advance as a security of your intention to pay the remainder. God sends the Holy Spirit into your life to guarantee that the promises He has made, which comprise your eternal inheritance, will find their fulfillment. He is the pledge of your future redemption. Circumstances will enter your life calling into question either the validity of your commitment to Christ or the veracity of His promises. During such times the Holy Spirit ministers to...
by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015 | Articles
“But the king replied to Araunah, ‘No, I will buy them from you at a price. I cannot sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that have cost me nothing.’ So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.” 2Samuel 24:24 It is in the nature of the case that God’s people want to believe that they obey God out of love and gratitude for what He has done, rather than from a motive of accruing personal gain in eternity. Indeed, I am confident that much of the time, this is how we are motivated. But how does this relate to a sacrificial life? Faith can be defined as “commitment before knowing.” Paul said, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God.” The dictionary defines sacrifice as “surrendering something of value for something of greater value.” Christ’s followers, by faith, live lives of perpetual self-sacrifice in anticipation of gaining in return something of greater value. What is the “greater value” you seek? If you are motivated to obey God solely because of gratitude and love, then where is the self-sacrificing life? And how do you respond to God when He (hopefully on rare occasions) asks you to do what you don’t want to do and you are...
by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015 | Articles
“But as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’” 1 Peter 1:15 – 16 All religions divide the world into pure and impure. They have holy places and things that the impure and profane cannot approach. Instinctively, all people know that some things are pure and some things are impure. Religions differ on how they catalog these differences. In the Old Testament, God describes/defines the Tabernacle and its content, inpart, by declaring certain places and objects holy. In the New Testament, the believer is the holy temple of God; God takes up residence in him. Thus God declares you holy in an act of His grace, and then commands you to live your life in conformity with His declaration. Your reactions reveal more about your holiness than your actions, for the latter can be motivated by a variety of things other than true holiness. You may want to conform out of fear of what other people may say or think. Thus purity, in the final analysis, is first and foremost an issue of the heart. God lives in you to help you become holy, but the process requires your cooperation. Two thoughts: First, God defines holiness. You become holy as you become more and more like God. The only way I know of how to do this is by time in Scripture, learning to think like God thinks. Second, God calls you to be in the world relating to sinners as His ambassador. As you seek to “become all things to...
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