by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015 | Articles
God has blessed our family with a lovely home and garden. Through the years I have battled the pernicious omnipresence of weeds; it matters not how hard I try eradicating them, they always seem to return. In my never-ending battle, I use a systemic weed killer called “Round-Up.” Once applied, the weeds appear normal, even though they are in the process of dying; they may reproduce, but they are dead. I suggest that this is analogous to life. All people are like weeds in God’s beautiful garden of life. The live and they die, but they always reproduce after their kind. Weeds reproduce weeds and sinners reproduce sinners. What the sinner does not realize, however, is that God judges sin with a systemic poison that always kills the sinner. Solomon, king of Israel, illustrates this truth. By God’s grace, He takes the son of an adulterous relationship and makes him the object of His favor. Realizing his inadequacies, Solomon asks God for wisdom to rule properly His people. God grants his request, and not only makes him the wisest of men, but also rich and powerful. As you know, these are the three measures of worldly success: wisdom, wealth, and power. Applying God’s wisdom, Solomon writes three of the OT books. Applying God’s wisdom, he also thought he could compromise the clear teachings of God. God said, do not marry foreign wives; Solomon had many pagan wives. God said, do not accrue many wives; Solomon had 1000 wives and concubines. God said, do not accumulate horses; Solomon violated this clear command. These were “wise” decisions on Solomon’s part. After...
by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015 | Articles
“For we…worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.” Philippians 3:3 The events surrounding the Exodus give more information regarding Egypt than any other place in Scripture: “Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we. Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.” Fear of their presence caused Egypt’s oppression of the Hebrews. For this reason, Pharaoh sought to kill the potential warriors, and made slaves of the rest of the people. When Moses returned from Midian with God’s command to free the Hebrews, Pharaoh resisted, fearing that he would lose his slaves. Evidently, his fear of their joining Egypt’s enemy was tempered by his desire to use them as slaves. People often fear that which they want. Commitment without knowing produces fear. Men enjoy skydiving and other extreme sports, while fearing getting hurt. Other examples include promiscuous sex, using alcohol and drugs, and gambling. Every businessman takes risks with his assets, while at the same time fearing loss. Since we define faith as risk-taking, we cannot avoid this phenomenon. However, we can minimize the risks by obeying God’s commandments, and by expressing dependence upon Him for guidance. The only safe posture with God is surrender coupled with perpetual brokenness and...
by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015 | Articles
“But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, ‘There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.’” Luke 13:14 God heals people. If God were displeased with a healing taking place on the Sabbath, it would not have happened. Evidently the miraculous works of Jesus had become so commonplace that people lost their sense of awe. With the passing of time two things can easily happen if you are not careful: 1) – The truly miraculous begins to appear mundane. 2) – Gratitude moves to indifference. You can easily see this in conversion. When a person becomes a Christian, he is filled with awe and a deep affection toward God for so great a salvation. Gratitude flows from every pour of his being. The longer he walks with Christ, if he is not careful, the less miraculous his conversion appears as he accommodates himself to the cares of the world. He loses his hunger for the Word of God, and in the process gets lost in the velocity of life. Cultivate a spirit of perpetual gratitude to God, and never lose your sense of wonder at what God has done for you. This will not “just happen.” You must make a conscious effort to take time from your busy schedule to spend time with the...
by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015 | Articles
“…he touched the hollow of his thigh; and Jacob’s thigh was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.” Genesis 32:25 Genesis 32-33 records Jacob’s encounter with his brother Esau as Jacob returns to the Promised Land. Twenty years earlier, he fled from Esau, who, in a state of rage, wanted to kill Jacob for stealing the birthright. Note the strategy employed by Jacob as he anticipates meeting his brother: He sends a letter assuring Esau he has no need or intention of seeking part of Isaac’s inheritance (32: 4-6). Jacob divides his possessions in two and separates them (32: 8-9). He pleads his case before God, reminding Him of His promise to Abraham and Isaac (32:10-13). He then selects a generous gift for Esau and sends them ahead (32:14-22). Then Jacob separates his family from his possessions and divides them so as to best protect the wife of his choice (32:23-24; 33:1-2). He humbles himself before his brother when they meet (33:3-11). Finally, Jacob disassociates himself from Esau and his men lest Esau changes his mind and becomes angry once again with Jacob (33:12-17). In the midst of this ordeal, God comes to Jacob and makes him lame, after which He blesses him (32:25-33). It seems that God assisted Jacob as he laid out his strategy by ensuring that Jacob would approach his brother, a broken, crippled man (possibly one to be pitied). Proverbs 16:9 says, “A man’s mind plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.” Each of us, in a spirit of dependence upon God, must live by his wits. But the Lord takes...
by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015 | Articles
“In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.” 2Thessilonians 1:8-9 Note that hell is not created by Satan and his family, but for Satan by God; hell is God’s creation, as also affirmed by our Lord Jesus: “Then He will say to those at his left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'” Why does God tell us, not only that He has created hell, but has given such vivid descriptions of what it is like? I suggest that it is because He wants us to fear it – and Him. Edmund Burke observed that “it is impossible to look on anything as trifling, or contemptible, that may be dangerous.” God means for the horror of hell to sober us during those times when we are tempted to disobey or neglect His commands. No one is so secure with God that he can afford to be cavalier regarding His...
by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015 | Articles
And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.” 1 Samuel 22:2 Those who were anguishing, in debt, unhappy with the status quo – these were the kinds of men that gathered around David, eventually becoming his mighty men. You become like the people with whom you associate. Giant killers train giant killers. David killed the giant Goliath. “There was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob: then Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Saph, which was of the sons of the giant.” [150] If you wish to be godly, associate with godly people. If you have a heart for evangelism, spend time with those doing it. If you wish to think biblically, spend time with those who have the same desire. Jesus was the friend of publicans and sinners, and you should emulate the Savior. Christianity is a religion of mission. God wants you involved in the lives of those that do not know and love Him “that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” [151] The sanctified life always calls attention to its source; they know that your goodness comes from being with Jesus. Because He calls you to be the friend of sinners, and because you become like the people with whom you associate, it is imperative that you counter-balance your association with sinners by a band of godly brothers and sisters that will provoke you to godliness. [150]...
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