by MIMADMIN | Oct 24, 2023 | Uncategorized
“To answer a man before hearing him out is foolish and disgraceful?”” Proverbs 18:13 After Adam and of Eve ate of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. God the of the met them with a series of questions. “They heard the sound of the LORD God moving about in the garden at the breezy time of day; the man and his wife hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. The LORD God called out to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’ He replied, ‘I heard the sound of You in the garden , and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid’. Then He asked, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat of the tree from which I had forbidden you to eat?’ The man said, ‘The woman You put at my side – she gave me of the tree, and I ate.’ And the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done!’ The woman replied, ‘The serpent duped me, and I ate'”. 1 There are at least four reasons for asking questions: 1. You wish to discover what another person knows about a subject. 2 – You don’t know the answer and you want to know. 3 – You help a person discover the answer, as does Socrates in Plato’s Republic. 4- You suspect the answer and wish the person to confirm your suspicion. God did not ask for any of these reasons. He knew the answer, but wanted Adam and Eve to condemn themselves. Unlike God,...
by MIMADMIN | Sep 12, 2023 | Uncategorized
“And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”” Matthew 21:23 Jesus performed miracles in the presence of scribes and Pharisees, and they asked Jesus this question “Doing these things” pertained to the miracles they witnessed. Assuming that Jesus was unable to control the natural order, who gave Him the authority/ability to alter the natural order? If I see what I believe, rather than the opposite, how do I avoid what these religious authorities did? If I saw a man performing miracles, and he preached as truth that which differs from my understanding of the Bible, how would I respond to him? Jesus therefore answers their question with a question, to which they respond: “…but if we say ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the multitude; for all hold that John was a prophet.’ So they answered Jesus, ‘We do not know.’ And he said to them ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.'” 1 How do I avoid allowing culture to shape my assumptions of reality? All are teachable. The question remains, “From whom will I learn?” When I say a person is not teachable, I merely suggest that he refuses to learn from me. ______________________________________________________________ 1 Matthew...
by MIMADMIN | May 23, 2023 | Uncategorized
“And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.” 2 Thessalonians 3:14 Because some New Testament commands are cultural, you must decide which commandments apply to you and which do not, is the eighth and final lie I wish to call to your attention. The number of people I know that consider all New Testament commands obligatory are few. I suspect there are a number of reasons for this. First, most New Testament commands are not affirmed by reason or conscience, such as honoring your parents, women covering their heads when they pray, and men not taking fellow-believers before the civil court in litigation. Furthermore, because conscience is pliable, what violates the conscience in one generation is affirmed by conscience in the next. Second, when justice is defined by equality, biblical prohibitions appear unjust. People reason that it is unjust for past mistakes to keep people from doing what would otherwise be appropriate. For example Joe and Sue married when young and immature, and decided to divorce. It is unjust to conclude that they cannot find the “right” spouse and remarry. Culture plays an inappropriate role in the life of the church, resulting in people wanting to appear tolerant rather than biblical. You conclude that a command such as foot washing is impractical in today’s culture where we wear shoes, and the command to lift your hands in prayer only appears once in the New Testament and is therefore not important1. Such conclusions may appear harmless to you, but what you have done...
by MIMADMIN | Feb 28, 2023 | Uncategorized
“And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man.” Genesis 6:3 “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” Proverbs 29:1 You can come to God any time you want is a seventh lie people believe. You find this in all strata of life, but especially among the young. For example, children from believing homes live as they please, knowing that they are breaking biblical commands. For some reason, they are confident that sometime in the future they can come to Christ, and all will be well. I have heard elderly men living on the threshold of death tell me that they will accept Christ before they die – just as the thief on the cross did. Quoting from Isaiah, Paul warns the Corinthians: “For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”1 Salvation is not like a gate that is open at all times and people are free to enter and exit as they please. When God opens the gate and invites a person to enter, if he declines, it be that God will never again make the offer. An arrogance underlies this thinking: humans act like God made heaven for people and He is eagerly trying to find people to fill it. The sovereign election of God and human responsibility is an unsolvable antinomy. Nevertheless, to assume that His grace means you can presume on His gracious offer, is a sure...
by MIMADMIN | Feb 13, 2023 | Uncategorized
“And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” Luke 6:46 You can serve God on your terms is the sixth lie people assume is true. This false assumption has been exposed frequently in this devotional. Most evangelical Christians today believe this lie, and live their lives accordingly. I cannot think of a more sure way to condemn yourself to Hell. The Apostle Paul notes, “For you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”1 Paul called himself the slave of Christ and insists that all who claim Jesus as their Lord and Savior are His slaves. Slaves do not serve their masters on their own terms; such is a contradiction of terms. God did not save you for the purpose of serving you, but rather so you will serve Him.” It is terrifying to watch people who profess faith in Christ willfully ignoring His commands, doing as they please. As Paul notes, Christ bought you with His blood so you can glorify God, not so God can make you happy. As Jesus said, “If you will not do what I say, why do you call Me Lord?” ______________________________________________________________ 1 I Corinthians...
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