by Ed Allen | Sep 21, 2015 | Articles, What Do You Think?
Ezekiel 3: 16 At the end of seven days the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 17 “Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman to the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, warn them from Me. 18 “When I say to the wicked, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. 19 “Yet if you have warned the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered yourself. 20 “Again, when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I place an obstacle before him, he will die; since you have not warned him, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand. 21 “However, if you have warned the righteous man that the righteous should not sin and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; and you have delivered yourself.” (Observation) Ezekiel is commissioned by God to warn “the house of Israel,” Whenever God directs him, that the wicked man “will die in his inequity” if he does not turn from it. Likewise a righteous man will die in his sin if he “turns away from his righteousness.” Further God warns Ezekiel that if he fails to warn them as commanded...
by Ed Allen | May 16, 2015 | What Do You Think?
Luke 18: 1 Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, 2 saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. 3 “There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ 4 “For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; 7 now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? 8 “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (Observation) The widow is granted her request because of her persistence. The Lord’s explanation of the parable includes present advice and the promise of future justice. The parable ends with an unexplained question. (Interpretation) I suggest to you that the ending question in the passage asks the reader to consider what the spiritual condition of those on earth will be when Jesus returns. It seems to me that if the events of 1 Thessalonians below (the rapture) occur prior to the great tribulation and the millennial reign of Jesus on earth, then there would be no believers left on earth when He...
by Ed Allen | May 7, 2015 | What Do You Think?
Matthew 25: 31 “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 “All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ (Observation) Jesus separates “all the nations” into two groups. The group on the right inherits the kingdom of heaven. Jesus sites God’s predestination...
by Ed Allen | May 7, 2015 | What Do You Think?
1 Corinthians 16: 13 Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done in love. (Observation) Paul closes this letter to the Corinthians with a few requests concerning others who have and will minister to them. In the midst of those requests are these five exhortations. The first four exhortations are military like. The last urges love. (Interpretation) I suggest to you that Paul’s military style exhortation anticipates struggle for the Corinthians against evil and temptation. In battle, men fight and give themselves up out of love for their country, family and fellow soldiers. So also, in Christian service, men are to give themselves up for those to whom they minister, just as Christ “gave Himself up” for the church. (Cross-reference) Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 5: 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 1 Corinthians 13: 13 But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. (Application) In my own life, I am also to do as Paul exhorted the Corinthians and “actlike a man” giving myself up for those whom God has given me to love. What do you think: Is Paul’s command to “act like men” carried out today by givingone’s self up for those (including your family) over whom you have...
by Ed Allen | May 7, 2015 | What Do You Think?
Romans 8: 23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. 24 For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. 26 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. (Observation) We Christians wait for our redemption in hope, not knowing exactly what it will look like or when it will happen. We wait in a temporary and chaotic world relying on the promise that “all things work together for good to those who love God.” When we pray we pray about things (both worldly and heavenly) that we do not fully understand. “We do not know how to...
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