by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.'” John 14:6 You see the offense of the gospel in Jesus claim to be the only way people can get to heaven. People find three ways to eliminate this offense. First, by arguing that there is more than one God. If there are two or more gods, then my way is as good as your way. Second, by arguing that although there is only one God, there is more than one way to find Him. If you say, “There are many ways to God, my way is Jesus,” you have eliminated the offense. Third, by arguing that there is no God; troubled people create Him to solve their problems. You can easily see why people wish to eliminate this offense of the gospel. For all three of these have in common that they abolish personal accountability. If you have more than one God or more than one standard from Him, each person can chose for himself the direction he wishes to go. Thus the offense of the gospel is not just that Jesus claims to be the only way to the Father, but also that He ensures judgment. “The hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment.” John 5:28-29 Some may be indifferent to your commitment to Christ, but only because they have not made the... read more
by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015
“Therefore God sends upon them a strong delusion, to make them believe what is false.” 2Thessalonians 2:11 In the familiar story of Sodom and Gomorrah, when the messengers of God are accosted while residing in Lot’s home, we find that “young and old – all the people to the last man – gathered about the house.” Gen 19:4 The messengers blinded the crowd so they couldn’t find their way. The next day Lot went to his sons-in-law to warn them of God’s pending judgment. Evidently they were present the night before, and thus blinded by the messengers. Still, they considered Lot “as one who jests” Gen 19:14 when he warned them. Sin acts like a drug; the more one sins the more intoxicated he becomes. His senses are dulled as he repeatedly ignores God’s commands, and the fact that he seemingly escapes judgment causes him to conclude that God “jests.” Unconvinced that God will hold him accountable for every transgression committed, including “every idle word,” he day-by-day moves ever closer to the sure judgment of God. God does not “jest” when He commands, and if/when we ignore Him we do so to our own hurt. We escape God’s judgment only by obeying... read more
by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015
“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” John 15:5 I find that the older I become, the more acutely obvious these words are. The Apostle Paul teaches: “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” 1 God introduces trials and tribulations in each believer’s life to purify his hope. With increased age I find that while the tests God brings in my life remain constant, my capacity (mental, physical, and emotional) to handle them wanes. A number of years ago a businessman graphed two lines intersecting at about age 40: decreasing capacity and increasing responsibility. Few things in life are as frustrating to me. Each day I plead with God to either come for His Church, or for me personally. I find that I can easily become discouraged constantly failing God’s tests. 1 – Romans... read more
by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015
“But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes, and takes any one of them; that man is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.” Ezekiel 33:6 The believer who knows that God will judge the sinner and fails to alert the lost of his impending judgment; that believer God will judge because of his neglect. But those who die outside of Christ will not be pardoned because of the failure of this negligent believer; they will be judged and condemned. God says that you are responsible for others, but you cannot hold others responsible for you. This is the double edge of responsibility. You are obligated to minister to others, but cannot look to anyone but God to minister to you. You cannot misuse your Christian liberty and cause the weaker believer to stumble, and you cannot call yourself weak in order to restrict the liberty of others. Whether you are the “watchman” or the “man taken away in iniquity,” you are responsible. The truth of Ezekiel’s observation rests on the assumption that God alone determines the flow of circumstances that come into each person’s life. God will surely judge the one who does you wrong, but will also judge you for whatever part you played in the transgression as well as how you responded to it. The parable of the watchman should dissipate any anger or hurt you harbor in your heart for what others have done to you, while making you aware of... read more
by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015
“…God Knoweth Your Hearts: For That Which Is Highly Esteemed Among Men Is Abomination In The Sight Of God.” Luke 16:15 In Luke 16 Jesus Gave The Parable Of The Unjust Steward, After Which He Cautioned That People: “No Servant Can Serve Two Masters: For Either He Will Hate The One, And Love The Other; Or Else He Will Hold To The One, And Despise The Other. Ye Cannot Serve God And Mammon. And The Pharisees Also, Who Were Covetous, Heard All These Things: And They Derided Him. And He Said Unto Them, Ye Are They Which Justify Yourselves Before Men…”[1] The Pharisees, Who Were Covetous Derided Jesus, Invoking Jesus’ Response, “Ye Are They Which Justify Yourselves Before Men; But God Knoweth Your Hearts: For That Which Is Highly Esteemed Among Men Is Abomination In The Sight Of God.” [1] Luke... read more
by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015
“So He Came Again To Cana In Galilee, Where He Had Made The Water Wine. And At Capernaum There Was An Official Whose Son Was Ill.” John 4:46 Jesus Was Returning To Galilee From Jerusalem. He Stopped In Cana, Ten Miles North Of Nazareth And About 25 Miles From Capernaum. Here In Cana A Nobleman From Capernaum Met Him Desperate For Help; He Feared His Son Was About To Die From Some Illness. Without A Sick Son He Probably Wouldn’t Have Thought Much About Jesus, And Would Not Have Walked The 25 Miles To See Him. Although Many See Tribulation As An Indication That God Has Forsaken Them, In Reality It Is The Grace Of God In Disguise. The Sun Melts Butter And Hardens Clay. Blessed Are The Troubled Who Allow Their Tribulation To Soften Their Heart To Repentance. Notice How Often God Uses Our Children To Get Our Attention. Christianity Is A Religion Of Rescue. It Is Designed For The Desperate. When You Meet People Like The Nobleman, Who Are Burdened With Their Need, Involve Yourself In Their Lives As An Act Of Christ’s Love. But Always Use The Encounter As An Opportunity To Point Them To Jesus. It Would Be Sad Indeed If The Savior Softened Their Hearts In Their Calamity, Only To Find That You Did Not Use It As An Opportunity To Share The... read more
by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015
“For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.” Romans 15:4 God wants His people to learn most of the important lessons of life vicariously. For this reason He narrates for us what happens to people when they insist on learning these lessons through personal experience. For example, He says, “And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of the LORD, that He had wrought for Israel…and there arose another generation after them, that knew not the LORD, nor yet the work which He had wrought for Israel…And the children of Israel… forsook the LORD.”1 Too often, Israel insisted upon learning lessons the hard way. The Apostle Paul, after relating some of the many sins of Israel, wants his readers to know that Israel’s history with God clearly teaches that no one profits from sinning. “Now these things are warnings for us, not to desire evil as they did.”2 Too often God’s people today fail to learn from observing the lives of others. The youngest child, with a number of siblings, can avoid a great deal of hurt by observing the experiences of his brothers and sisters. The price of learning these lessons through personal experience is simply too high. 1. Judges 2:7, 10-12 2. 1 Corinthians... read more
by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015
Meditation What is the relationship between counsel, wisdom, and reason? How do you define these three words? I suggest the following definitions: – Counsel has to do with the advice you receive regarding a decision you must make. – Reason has to do with whether or not you agree with the counsel. – Wisdom has to do with your satisfaction with the outcome or consequences of your decision. Of these three words, the most nebulous and subjective is wisdom. No one can be certain of the future. In this sense, life is a crapshoot. You place your “poker-chips” on what you think will happen in the future and take your chances that you are correct. If you believe that nothing exists beyond the grave, then “your satisfaction with the outcome or consequences of your decision” will be revealed in the temporal. If you believe that in eternity God will judge you on the basis of your decisions, then you must wait for Judgment to determine whether or not you made a correct decision. For the followers of Christ, God’s counsel is found in Scripture. The problem is, most of His commandments appear unreasonable, and therefore you find little encouragement to obey them from the body of Christ. God asking Abraham to offer as a sacrifice his son Isaac is an extreme example of this. At this point you must decide whether you will follow the counsel of God or the counsel of fellow “Christians.” Do you honor depraved parents? Do you take a “brother” who cheated you before the civil courts? The list of such illustrations is legion. If the Bible is correct, then you must be very careful regarding the use of reason and counsel. – Never counsel... read more
by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015
God commands His people, “And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. 10 And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God” (Leviticus 19:9-10). Again He warns, “Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour” (Leviticus 19:15). God creates people poor: “For there will never cease to be needy ones in your land, which is why I command you: open your hand to the poor and needy kinsman in your land” (Deut 15:11). Why did not God, when He established the Theocracy, also establish a system that ensured the elimination of poverty? Nations around the world seek to establish laws that mitigate the disparity between rich and poor. Why does it appear that this is more important to man than it is to God? Jesus said, “The poor you will have with you always” (Mark 14:7). Although Jesus ministered to the poor, He never rebuked government for allowing people to be poor; He never called man’s tolerance of inequality a blight on his ability to properly govern himself. Although any endeavor to answer this conundrum is conjecture, simply because God never addresses the question, we can nonetheless make this application: Life is intrinsically unjust, at least as we perceive reality. Even if man eliminates poverty by dividing the common good among the... read more
by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015
“…and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who hath given them unto me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” John 10:28-29 If our salvation depends upon the hold we have on God, then our future is bleak indeed. For the storms of life cause the strongest of men to lose their grip. But if our salvation depends upon God’s grip on us, the storms of life cannot threaten us. When God wished to assure His people Israel, He said, “For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee.”1 God likened His inviolable commitment to Israel to His promise to Noah; He will never again flood the earth. The Sovereign God who has authority to determine the course of nature vows to maintain His gracious covenant with His people. We may allow our grasp on Him to lose hold, but He will never let go of us. “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither... read more
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