Posts
If you'll ask me why I went to Africa, I'll tell you I went primarily to improve on the justice of God. I didn't think it was right for anybody to go to Hell without a chance to be saved. So I went to give poor sinners a chance to go to heaven. Now I haven't put it in so many words, but if you'll analyze what I just told you do you know what it is? Humanism. That I was simply using the provisions of Jesus Christ as a means to improve upon human conditions of suffering and misery. And when I went to Africa, I discovered that they weren't poor, ignorant, little heathen running around in the woods looking for someone to tell them how to go to heaven. That they were MONSTERS OF INIQUITY !!! THEY WERE LIVING IN UTTER AND TOTAL DEFIANCE OF FAR MORE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD THEN I EVER DREAMED THEY HAD !
They deserved Hell! Because they utterly refused to walk in the light of their conscious, and the light of the law written upon their heart, and the testimony of nature, and the truth they knew! And when I found that out I assure you I was so angry with God that on one occasion in prayer I told Him it was a mighty ...... little thing He'd done, sending me out there to reach these people that were waiting to be told how to go to heaven. When I got there I found out they knew about heaven, and didn't want to go there, and that they loved their sin and wanted to stay in it.
I went out there motivated by humanism. I'd seen pictures of lepers, I'd seen pictures of ulcers, I'd seen pictures of native funerals, and I didn't want my fellow human beings to suffer in Hell eternally after such a miserable existence on earth. But it was there in Africa that God began to tear through the overlay of this humanism! And it was that day in my bedroom with the door locked that I wrestled with God. For here was I, coming to grips with the fact that the people I thought were ignorant and wanted to know how to go to heaven and were saying "Someone come and teach us", actually didn't want to take time to talk with me or anybody else. They had no interest in the Bible and no interest in Christ, and they loved their sin and wanted to continue in it. And I was to that place at that time where I felt the whole thing was a sham and a mockery, and I had been sold a bill of goods! And I wanted to come home.
There alone in my bedroom as I faced God honestly with what my heart felt, it seemed to me I heard Him say, "Yes, will not the Judge of all the earth do right? The heathen are lost. And they're going to go to Hell, not because they haven't heard the gospel. They're going to go to Hell because they are sinners, WHO LOVE THEIR SIN! And because they deserve Hell. BUT, I didn't send you out there for them. I didn't send you out there for their sakes." And I heard as clearly as I've ever heard, though it wasn't with physical voice but it was the echo of truth of the ages finding its' way into an open heart. I heard God say to my heart that day something like this, "I didn't send you to Africa for the sake of the heathen, I sent you to Africa for My sake. They deserved Hell! But I LOVE THEM !!! AND I ENDURED THE AGONIES OF HELL FOR THEM !!! I DIDN'T SEND YOU OUT THERE FOR THEM !!! I SENT YOU OUT THERE FOR ME ! DO I NOT DESERVE THE REWARD OF MY SUFFERING? DON'T I DESERVE THOSE FOR WHOM I DIED?"
Friday, November 23, 2007
Monday, November 19, 2007
The Most Important Survey You Will Take
# 1. Have you ever told a lie?
# 2. Have you ever stolen anything? (oh come on now, you just admitted you were a liar)
# 3. Have you ever looked upon someone with lust?
# 4. Have you ever taken the Lords name in vain?
Let's tally your score.
If you said yes to #1 you are a liar. You have broken God's 9th commandment. Revelation 21:8 says that all liars shall have their part in the lake of fire.
If you said yes to #2 you are a thief. You have broken God's 8th commandment. 1 Corinthians 6:10 says that no thief shall inherit the kingdom of God.
If you said yes to #3 you are an adulterer. You have broken God's 7th commandment. In Matthew 5:28 Jesus said that whoever looks upon a person with lust, commits adultery with them in their heart.
If you said yes to #4 you are a blasphemer. You have broken God's 2nd commandment. In Matthew 12:36, Jesus said that man shall give an account of every idle word spoken, when the day of judgment comes.
So, how did you do? We only looked at four of the commandments, there are six more. If God judges you on these ten commandments the day you die, will you be innocent, or guilty?
You see, if you end up in hell, it will not be because of this image you have created of a vengeful God waiting to burn anyone who will not bow down to Him. You like to raise up your chin and say, "I will not worship a God like that!" The truth is, you will not worship, because you love your sin and your sin is the reason you will face the outcome of this judgment.
But there is good news.......
God did something amazing so that you could walk away free on judgment day. To be a just God He must punish sin. We all have broken His commandments and deserve this punishment. In order that He could be merciful, without sacrificing justice, He sent His son, Jesus Christ, to be a perfect, sinless, sacrifice, to take our punishment, and pay our dept in full upon a cross.
If you will repent of your sin, and trust in Jesus Christ, He is faithful and just to forgive.
But.....
This is no get out of jail free card that you may continue in sin that grace my abound. The Greek word for repent, metanoeo, means this, "To change any or all elements composing ones life: attitude, thoughts, and behaviors concerning the demands of God for right living." Salvation is a free gift of God, but the result is a changed life, the clear meaning of being born again. "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" John 3:3
If you think you can pray to the Almighty God only to attain fire insurance for future use, and not out of true repentence over the filthiness of your sin, all you succeeded in doing is mocking Him, and you can expect these words from Him one day "Depart from me, I never knew you."
Oh, but the love He bestows upon those who will humble themselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from their wicked ways.
# 2. Have you ever stolen anything? (oh come on now, you just admitted you were a liar)
# 3. Have you ever looked upon someone with lust?
# 4. Have you ever taken the Lords name in vain?
Let's tally your score.
If you said yes to #1 you are a liar. You have broken God's 9th commandment. Revelation 21:8 says that all liars shall have their part in the lake of fire.
If you said yes to #2 you are a thief. You have broken God's 8th commandment. 1 Corinthians 6:10 says that no thief shall inherit the kingdom of God.
If you said yes to #3 you are an adulterer. You have broken God's 7th commandment. In Matthew 5:28 Jesus said that whoever looks upon a person with lust, commits adultery with them in their heart.
If you said yes to #4 you are a blasphemer. You have broken God's 2nd commandment. In Matthew 12:36, Jesus said that man shall give an account of every idle word spoken, when the day of judgment comes.
So, how did you do? We only looked at four of the commandments, there are six more. If God judges you on these ten commandments the day you die, will you be innocent, or guilty?
You see, if you end up in hell, it will not be because of this image you have created of a vengeful God waiting to burn anyone who will not bow down to Him. You like to raise up your chin and say, "I will not worship a God like that!" The truth is, you will not worship, because you love your sin and your sin is the reason you will face the outcome of this judgment.
But there is good news.......
God did something amazing so that you could walk away free on judgment day. To be a just God He must punish sin. We all have broken His commandments and deserve this punishment. In order that He could be merciful, without sacrificing justice, He sent His son, Jesus Christ, to be a perfect, sinless, sacrifice, to take our punishment, and pay our dept in full upon a cross.
If you will repent of your sin, and trust in Jesus Christ, He is faithful and just to forgive.
But.....
This is no get out of jail free card that you may continue in sin that grace my abound. The Greek word for repent, metanoeo, means this, "To change any or all elements composing ones life: attitude, thoughts, and behaviors concerning the demands of God for right living." Salvation is a free gift of God, but the result is a changed life, the clear meaning of being born again. "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" John 3:3
If you think you can pray to the Almighty God only to attain fire insurance for future use, and not out of true repentence over the filthiness of your sin, all you succeeded in doing is mocking Him, and you can expect these words from Him one day "Depart from me, I never knew you."
Oh, but the love He bestows upon those who will humble themselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from their wicked ways.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
A Day in Court
If a man gets caught driving without insurance, and comes before the judge to plead his case with evidence of what a good man he is, what do you think the outcome would be?
He says, "Your honor, I may be guilty in this one area but I have never littered, in fact, I have even been known to pick up other peoples garbage from time to time. I let little old ladies go first in line at Wal-Mart (if they only have a few things), and I always return my shopping cart to the cart coral. Don't you see how unfair it would be to punish me for this one minor infraction? I know that you are a good, kind, and loving man. Couldn't you find it in your heart to just let this one slide?"
How do you think this scenario would end?
My mind plays out his response going something like this.
"Yes, I am a good man, and that is precisely why I am going to do the job that was given me, that is to judge crime. You are clearly guilty of driving without insurance. None of the other acts of kindness done throughout your life can change that fact any more than if a murderer were to jump into a river and save a drowning man could change the fact that he had killed the first."
I see a gavel coming down and a hefty fine being laid on the shoulders of the law breaker.
But what if someone from the back of the room stood up and said, "I'll pay his fine." How would this man respond? would it be logical for him to ignore the judge, ignore the generous man in the back and walk out of that court room to continue on in his life as if it had never happened? Would his stubbornness change the fact that his days of roaming the streets a free man where numbered?
God cannot be perfectly merciful and perfectly just without the biblical plan of salvation.
I had my day in court, accepted the offer to have my fine paid, and have walked through the doors to eternity free and clear.
Where are you?
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
He says, "Your honor, I may be guilty in this one area but I have never littered, in fact, I have even been known to pick up other peoples garbage from time to time. I let little old ladies go first in line at Wal-Mart (if they only have a few things), and I always return my shopping cart to the cart coral. Don't you see how unfair it would be to punish me for this one minor infraction? I know that you are a good, kind, and loving man. Couldn't you find it in your heart to just let this one slide?"
How do you think this scenario would end?
My mind plays out his response going something like this.
"Yes, I am a good man, and that is precisely why I am going to do the job that was given me, that is to judge crime. You are clearly guilty of driving without insurance. None of the other acts of kindness done throughout your life can change that fact any more than if a murderer were to jump into a river and save a drowning man could change the fact that he had killed the first."
I see a gavel coming down and a hefty fine being laid on the shoulders of the law breaker.
But what if someone from the back of the room stood up and said, "I'll pay his fine." How would this man respond? would it be logical for him to ignore the judge, ignore the generous man in the back and walk out of that court room to continue on in his life as if it had never happened? Would his stubbornness change the fact that his days of roaming the streets a free man where numbered?
God cannot be perfectly merciful and perfectly just without the biblical plan of salvation.
I had my day in court, accepted the offer to have my fine paid, and have walked through the doors to eternity free and clear.
Where are you?
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Romans 13:11
Knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
How real this verse feels to me these days. He is near. I can feel it down to my bones. It is almost time to go home. I used to have a slight tinge of fear at the prospect of leaving all that I have ever known, but there is none of that left. There is only excitement, ears waiting in great anticipation for the sound of the trumpet.
"Lord my God, your long suffering has kept us in this world for what has seemed to us like an eternity. Help me Lord, to gain just a small fraction of that patience as the Day of the Lord draws near. Keep me always in fervent prayer for those souls we are all waiting for. But even so, come quickly Lord."
How real this verse feels to me these days. He is near. I can feel it down to my bones. It is almost time to go home. I used to have a slight tinge of fear at the prospect of leaving all that I have ever known, but there is none of that left. There is only excitement, ears waiting in great anticipation for the sound of the trumpet.
"Lord my God, your long suffering has kept us in this world for what has seemed to us like an eternity. Help me Lord, to gain just a small fraction of that patience as the Day of the Lord draws near. Keep me always in fervent prayer for those souls we are all waiting for. But even so, come quickly Lord."
Monday, August 06, 2007
Eternal Security
I wrote the following blog in responce to those who may think I implied a salvation that can be lost by my previous blog concering the carnal Christian.
1 John 5:13
These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life
I guess the debate here is between the proponents of eternal security and, what I have only recently learned is called conditional security. I believe the Bible contains both doctrines but not in the way man has twisted them.
Here are the two main positions of man as I know them to be. There may be differences here and there but I think this is the jist of it.
New converts usually fall into one of four categories. One grows in Christ. You can see evidence that he is a spirit walking man. His change comes from a regenerate heart. This person, I'm sure all would agree, is truly saved. Then there is the one who "grows" and shows all the outward signs but all of the change is from the outside in. They have not truly accepted Christ crucified and are continuing on in a works faith in hopes to earn salvation. It might be hard from the outside to tell the difference between these first two, but if we could, I think most would say he is not saved. Next would be someone who at first professes a faith in Jesus but eventually changes his mind and rejects the faith all together. The, eternal security people would say, these were never truly converts. The conditional security people would say they lost their salvation. The last person would be the carnal Christian who was the subject of my last blog. Always professes a faith in Jesus Christ but rarely shows evidence of a regenerate heart. The conditional security people would say this person also at one time was a true convert but lost his salvation through a life of sin. While the eternal security people would say he's saved and going to heaven, he'll just get in with no reward and the smell of smoke on his clothes. My previous blog focused on the latter view so this time I will spend my time on the conditional security doctrine.
I think it is obvious from the opening passage of this blog that the assurance of our salvation is possible and something God wants for us. So I do believe in eternal security. But while I believe that salvation is an unconditional free gift, I also believe that your security of that gift is conditional.
As I stated in the carnal Christian blog, Matthew 7 shows us that many will come to Christ who thought they were secure. Christ's response to them is that their lack of evidence, lawlessness, proved that they were never born again. He says He never knew them. He does not say He knew them at one time and then they were lost, He says they were never at one point in their lives a part of His family.
I don't believe that we can tell by looking at the outside works who these people are, because there is no way to know what is working in their hearts. But from what I read in the scripture, we are never to assume a person is saved because of a profession and we are certainly never supposed to tell them they can be sure of anything. The bible says to examine yourself for the evidence of a regenerate heart. "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments." 1 John 2:3
I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am on my way to heaven. Is this a prideful statement? No, because my confidence is in Christ. On the contrary, if I were to stand here and say I could, at some point in my future, lose my salvation that would be just another way of saying my own righteousness has kept me from losing it thus far. How could I lose something I never earned to begin with.
John 3:16 says the saved are given "everlasting life" Other passages say eternal. These words do not leave room for this gift to be taken away. If I give you something eternal and you lose it, it was never eternal.
Ephesians 1:13 says that after we are saved we are sealed until the day of our physical redemption. Sealed, sphragizo, to put a mark on an object to show possession, authority, identity, or security.
John 10:27-28, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." See that, no man, not a single man on the face of this earth including ourselves.
Romans 6:6, "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him" The old man is crucified. This concept is said over and over. If our old man is crucified, how can he rise up again?
1 Corinthians 1: 8 says Christ will confirm us to the end.
Romans 8:38-39, "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
God does not start what He will not finish. "he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:" Philippians 1:6, (this verse could also be used to dispute the carnal Christian. If God brings about rebirth in someone and they never grow, doesn't that make this verse a lie?)
I know there are some verses that on the surface look like they may say we can lose our salvation but when we read the bible we need to be careful to not grow our doctrine on the obscure passages while ignoring the clear messages of the rest of the Bible. Paul and James were originally thought to be teaching separate gospels over this very subject of sin and the Christian life because Paul was focusing heavily on our grace while James' focus was the evidence of our faith. Paul cleared things up. With this verse he showed that he too believe that the evidence of a changed heart will show. Our grace does not come by works, but works are a product of our grace.
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Romans 6:1-2
1 John 5:13
These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life
I guess the debate here is between the proponents of eternal security and, what I have only recently learned is called conditional security. I believe the Bible contains both doctrines but not in the way man has twisted them.
Here are the two main positions of man as I know them to be. There may be differences here and there but I think this is the jist of it.
New converts usually fall into one of four categories. One grows in Christ. You can see evidence that he is a spirit walking man. His change comes from a regenerate heart. This person, I'm sure all would agree, is truly saved. Then there is the one who "grows" and shows all the outward signs but all of the change is from the outside in. They have not truly accepted Christ crucified and are continuing on in a works faith in hopes to earn salvation. It might be hard from the outside to tell the difference between these first two, but if we could, I think most would say he is not saved. Next would be someone who at first professes a faith in Jesus but eventually changes his mind and rejects the faith all together. The, eternal security people would say, these were never truly converts. The conditional security people would say they lost their salvation. The last person would be the carnal Christian who was the subject of my last blog. Always professes a faith in Jesus Christ but rarely shows evidence of a regenerate heart. The conditional security people would say this person also at one time was a true convert but lost his salvation through a life of sin. While the eternal security people would say he's saved and going to heaven, he'll just get in with no reward and the smell of smoke on his clothes. My previous blog focused on the latter view so this time I will spend my time on the conditional security doctrine.
I think it is obvious from the opening passage of this blog that the assurance of our salvation is possible and something God wants for us. So I do believe in eternal security. But while I believe that salvation is an unconditional free gift, I also believe that your security of that gift is conditional.
As I stated in the carnal Christian blog, Matthew 7 shows us that many will come to Christ who thought they were secure. Christ's response to them is that their lack of evidence, lawlessness, proved that they were never born again. He says He never knew them. He does not say He knew them at one time and then they were lost, He says they were never at one point in their lives a part of His family.
I don't believe that we can tell by looking at the outside works who these people are, because there is no way to know what is working in their hearts. But from what I read in the scripture, we are never to assume a person is saved because of a profession and we are certainly never supposed to tell them they can be sure of anything. The bible says to examine yourself for the evidence of a regenerate heart. "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments." 1 John 2:3
I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am on my way to heaven. Is this a prideful statement? No, because my confidence is in Christ. On the contrary, if I were to stand here and say I could, at some point in my future, lose my salvation that would be just another way of saying my own righteousness has kept me from losing it thus far. How could I lose something I never earned to begin with.
John 3:16 says the saved are given "everlasting life" Other passages say eternal. These words do not leave room for this gift to be taken away. If I give you something eternal and you lose it, it was never eternal.
Ephesians 1:13 says that after we are saved we are sealed until the day of our physical redemption. Sealed, sphragizo, to put a mark on an object to show possession, authority, identity, or security.
John 10:27-28, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." See that, no man, not a single man on the face of this earth including ourselves.
Romans 6:6, "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him" The old man is crucified. This concept is said over and over. If our old man is crucified, how can he rise up again?
1 Corinthians 1: 8 says Christ will confirm us to the end.
Romans 8:38-39, "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
God does not start what He will not finish. "he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:" Philippians 1:6, (this verse could also be used to dispute the carnal Christian. If God brings about rebirth in someone and they never grow, doesn't that make this verse a lie?)
I know there are some verses that on the surface look like they may say we can lose our salvation but when we read the bible we need to be careful to not grow our doctrine on the obscure passages while ignoring the clear messages of the rest of the Bible. Paul and James were originally thought to be teaching separate gospels over this very subject of sin and the Christian life because Paul was focusing heavily on our grace while James' focus was the evidence of our faith. Paul cleared things up. With this verse he showed that he too believe that the evidence of a changed heart will show. Our grace does not come by works, but works are a product of our grace.
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Romans 6:1-2
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Your profession of faith in Christ may be worthless, Has that thought ever crossed your mind? You might say, "Yes, but I just remind myself of Roman 10:9", "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." But think, are there people in the bible who call upon the name of the Lord and still burn in the fiery puts of hell? Let's check out Matthew 7:21-23, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.(lawlessness)" He says depart from me, those of you who claim to have the spirit living in your heart and yet you live as though I never sent a law.
Modern day evangelists would have you believe that as long as you can think back on a day when you walked an isle, and prayed a prayer, your salvation is secure. They send you off with statements to never doubt your salvation. That doubt comes from the devil and we are to war against it. That is not what the bible says! The bible says to "examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith." (2 Corinthians 13:5) How does the bible give us assurance of our salvation, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Corinthians 5: 17) If you don't feel a regenerate heart within yourself, maybe that doubt isn't coming from satan at all, maybe it's God pricking your heart.
You say , "Well, yes, a close examination of myself reveals that I still have many of the sins of the world in my life but you know, I'm never going to be perfect, and none of it is really that bad. Well, maybe some of it is bad, but I know I'm forgiven and maybe I'm just one of those carnal Christians 1 Corinthians 3 talks about. Let's examine those passages a bit.
"And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?" 1 Corinthians 3:1-3.
Here is the jist of your modern day evangelists interpretation of these, few, short, passages. There are three types of people; The natural man who is unsaved and on his way to hell, the spiritual Christian who is saved and regenerate. you can see evidence of Christian growth, and the carnal Christian who is saved, but while there may be short bouts of "revival" the pattern always leads back to the old life and there is no real growth. Well let me tell you, if that's true and the rapture comes, this planet is gonna be mighty empty because almost everyone that I know is a Christian. The Bible says, "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." Matthew 7:13-14. Either my bible is lying to me or a large chunk of those people walking forward during the Billy Graham crusades are false converts.
And hmmm, did those verses point at all to this third person, the carnal Christian, who supposedly gets into heaven with the smell of smoke on his clothes? Nope, only two ways there. Notice it said not only the gate was narrow but the path as well. But let's look for that third person in some other passages. Matthew 7:16-19, "Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire." No third person there, only good trees and bad trees. How about Luke 6:46-49, "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great." Nope only two, and those of you who what to say that this is an example of a spiritual and carnal Christian and the only thing the foundation of sand caused was a messed up life here on earth would have to be blind not to see the similarities between "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" and "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord... And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that practice lawlessness."
What does Romans say about this carnal living, "For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." (8:5-9) "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." (13-14) It does not say here that fleshly, carnal living bring about a loss of reward, it says the result is death! It does not say that spiritual and carnal Christians are the sons of God, it says only they that are lead by the Spirit!
The fact is, Christians, though walking in the spirit, do falter from time to time and act like carnal, unsaved men. A period of time such as this was all Paul was addressing in 1 Corinthians 3. David committed murder and adultery but this bout of carnality was not the defining characteristic of his life. To stretch these verses to apply to someone living a life of continued sin is heresy!
One of my favorite teachers has changed the words of an old hymn to reflect this version of Christianity, "Free from the law, oh happy condition, sin all I want with Jesus permission." Paul says, "What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?"
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." Galatians 6:7-8
Modern day evangelists would have you believe that as long as you can think back on a day when you walked an isle, and prayed a prayer, your salvation is secure. They send you off with statements to never doubt your salvation. That doubt comes from the devil and we are to war against it. That is not what the bible says! The bible says to "examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith." (2 Corinthians 13:5) How does the bible give us assurance of our salvation, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Corinthians 5: 17) If you don't feel a regenerate heart within yourself, maybe that doubt isn't coming from satan at all, maybe it's God pricking your heart.
You say , "Well, yes, a close examination of myself reveals that I still have many of the sins of the world in my life but you know, I'm never going to be perfect, and none of it is really that bad. Well, maybe some of it is bad, but I know I'm forgiven and maybe I'm just one of those carnal Christians 1 Corinthians 3 talks about. Let's examine those passages a bit.
"And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?" 1 Corinthians 3:1-3.
Here is the jist of your modern day evangelists interpretation of these, few, short, passages. There are three types of people; The natural man who is unsaved and on his way to hell, the spiritual Christian who is saved and regenerate. you can see evidence of Christian growth, and the carnal Christian who is saved, but while there may be short bouts of "revival" the pattern always leads back to the old life and there is no real growth. Well let me tell you, if that's true and the rapture comes, this planet is gonna be mighty empty because almost everyone that I know is a Christian. The Bible says, "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." Matthew 7:13-14. Either my bible is lying to me or a large chunk of those people walking forward during the Billy Graham crusades are false converts.
And hmmm, did those verses point at all to this third person, the carnal Christian, who supposedly gets into heaven with the smell of smoke on his clothes? Nope, only two ways there. Notice it said not only the gate was narrow but the path as well. But let's look for that third person in some other passages. Matthew 7:16-19, "Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire." No third person there, only good trees and bad trees. How about Luke 6:46-49, "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great." Nope only two, and those of you who what to say that this is an example of a spiritual and carnal Christian and the only thing the foundation of sand caused was a messed up life here on earth would have to be blind not to see the similarities between "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" and "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord... And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that practice lawlessness."
What does Romans say about this carnal living, "For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." (8:5-9) "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." (13-14) It does not say here that fleshly, carnal living bring about a loss of reward, it says the result is death! It does not say that spiritual and carnal Christians are the sons of God, it says only they that are lead by the Spirit!
The fact is, Christians, though walking in the spirit, do falter from time to time and act like carnal, unsaved men. A period of time such as this was all Paul was addressing in 1 Corinthians 3. David committed murder and adultery but this bout of carnality was not the defining characteristic of his life. To stretch these verses to apply to someone living a life of continued sin is heresy!
One of my favorite teachers has changed the words of an old hymn to reflect this version of Christianity, "Free from the law, oh happy condition, sin all I want with Jesus permission." Paul says, "What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?"
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." Galatians 6:7-8
The Enemy
Before conversion he had light thoughts of sin. He cherished it in his bosom as uriah his lamb. He nourished it up, it grew up together with him. He did eat, as it were, of his own meat and drink of his own cup and lay in his bosom and was as to him as a daughter.
But when God opens his eyes by conversion, he throws it away with abhorrence as a man would with a loathsome toad which in the dark he had hugged fast in his bosom and thought it had been some pretty and harmless bird.
When a man is savingly changed he is deeply convinced not only of the danger but the defilement of sin. And oh how earnest is he with God to be purified. He loathes himself with his sins. He runs to Christ and casts himself into the fountain set open for sin and uncleanliness. If he falls, what a stir is there to get clean again. He has no rest till he flees to the word and washes and rubs and rinses in the infinite fountain laboring to cleans himself from all filthiness of the flesh and the spirit.
The sound convert is heartily engaged against sin. He struggles with it. He wars against it. He is too often foiled but he will never yield the cause nor lay down the weapon while he has breath in his body. He will make no peace, he will give no quarter. He can forgive his other enemies. He can pity them and pray for them but here he is implacable. Here he is set upon their extermination. He hunts it as it were for the precious life.
His eyes shall not pity, his hands shall not spare though it be a right hand or a right eye. Be it a gainful sin, most delightful to his nature, or the support of his esteem with is worldly companions. Yet he would rather throw his gain down the gutter, see his credit fail, or the flower of his pleasure wither in his hand than he will allow himself any known way of sin. He will grant no indulgence. He will give no toleration. He draws up on sin where ever he meets it and frowns upon it with this unwelcome salute, " I found thee, oh my enemy."
Joseph Alleine "An Alarm to the Unconverted" 1671
But when God opens his eyes by conversion, he throws it away with abhorrence as a man would with a loathsome toad which in the dark he had hugged fast in his bosom and thought it had been some pretty and harmless bird.
When a man is savingly changed he is deeply convinced not only of the danger but the defilement of sin. And oh how earnest is he with God to be purified. He loathes himself with his sins. He runs to Christ and casts himself into the fountain set open for sin and uncleanliness. If he falls, what a stir is there to get clean again. He has no rest till he flees to the word and washes and rubs and rinses in the infinite fountain laboring to cleans himself from all filthiness of the flesh and the spirit.
The sound convert is heartily engaged against sin. He struggles with it. He wars against it. He is too often foiled but he will never yield the cause nor lay down the weapon while he has breath in his body. He will make no peace, he will give no quarter. He can forgive his other enemies. He can pity them and pray for them but here he is implacable. Here he is set upon their extermination. He hunts it as it were for the precious life.
His eyes shall not pity, his hands shall not spare though it be a right hand or a right eye. Be it a gainful sin, most delightful to his nature, or the support of his esteem with is worldly companions. Yet he would rather throw his gain down the gutter, see his credit fail, or the flower of his pleasure wither in his hand than he will allow himself any known way of sin. He will grant no indulgence. He will give no toleration. He draws up on sin where ever he meets it and frowns upon it with this unwelcome salute, " I found thee, oh my enemy."
Joseph Alleine "An Alarm to the Unconverted" 1671
Friday, July 13, 2007
Recreational Dating
I have come to realize that dating is just practice for divorce. You go through a series of relationships and breakups and then by the time you are in a marriage you already have a lot of experience under your belt and when things get tuff, it makes leaving that much easier. People think that premarital sex is the big marriage killer today, but while that may be true, I think the dating itself has to be partly to blame.
Second, I don't believe dating is the best way to find out if some is the person you are supposed to be with. When we enter into relationships we put on a good show, our best behavior. After marriage the real person comes out because we don't feel we need to work to keep them interested anymore. I believe a much more effective way of getting to know someone is to watch them live their life. How do they treat people around them? What are their priorities? Too often, inside a relationship, your priorities get put aside for the person you are with. While this is an admirable quality within a marriage it has no place in the life of someone just learning to become an adult. There is too precious, little time between now and real adulthood.
Lastly, dating is not biblical. Marriage has always been a very sacred institution set in place by God. I believe that if He would have thought it important to date before marriage, He would have included an example for us. He says instead that a woman is her fathers until he gives her hand in marriage to another man. Do I think this means forcing women into arranged marriages? No, I don't think any godly man would force his daughter to marry a man she didn't love. But I also don't think children should be allowed to make these decisions without recognition if the authority of the parents.
There was also no such thing as adolescence in the bible. All men were considered children until they came to a right of passage and became a man. There was no in between period of experimentation with manhood before the child was ready. God is wise. You don't let a baby play with fire. The bible says that youthful lust is more dangerous than satan. He says "stand against the wiles of the devil" (Eph 6:11) but "flee youthful lust" (2Tim 2:22).
My ideal for my boys regarding a relationship of this nature would be for us to forbid anything beyond friendship until we can recognize them as men. That they have the right priorities; they know what kind of woman they should be looking for, they are prepared to be a financial support and spiritual leader for her, and are willing to lay down their life for her as the bible says a husband should do. If these things are in place in their lives and they come to us about a woman, then they should have our permission to speak to the girl's father. If this father agrees then a plan should be set in place that they still not be alone together until their wedding night.
I know this all sounds extreme for today but Gods way is different than the world's way. It really wasn't that long ago that men and women courted in a large parlor with the girls father close by, shot gun in hand. Well, maybe not the shotgun part. Old fashioned courtship needs to be brought back to save our marriages. "Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls." Jeremiah 6:16. There is a lot of wisdom in that verse.
I know it is our first inclination, in this modern day, to say a standard such as this is unrealistic but I believe saying that is to deny the power of God. We teach our children great things by adhering to Gods standard and letting them see the contrast between His holiness and the world's destructive nature. We will fail to measure up, but that doesn't mean we don't try.
Second, I don't believe dating is the best way to find out if some is the person you are supposed to be with. When we enter into relationships we put on a good show, our best behavior. After marriage the real person comes out because we don't feel we need to work to keep them interested anymore. I believe a much more effective way of getting to know someone is to watch them live their life. How do they treat people around them? What are their priorities? Too often, inside a relationship, your priorities get put aside for the person you are with. While this is an admirable quality within a marriage it has no place in the life of someone just learning to become an adult. There is too precious, little time between now and real adulthood.
Lastly, dating is not biblical. Marriage has always been a very sacred institution set in place by God. I believe that if He would have thought it important to date before marriage, He would have included an example for us. He says instead that a woman is her fathers until he gives her hand in marriage to another man. Do I think this means forcing women into arranged marriages? No, I don't think any godly man would force his daughter to marry a man she didn't love. But I also don't think children should be allowed to make these decisions without recognition if the authority of the parents.
There was also no such thing as adolescence in the bible. All men were considered children until they came to a right of passage and became a man. There was no in between period of experimentation with manhood before the child was ready. God is wise. You don't let a baby play with fire. The bible says that youthful lust is more dangerous than satan. He says "stand against the wiles of the devil" (Eph 6:11) but "flee youthful lust" (2Tim 2:22).
My ideal for my boys regarding a relationship of this nature would be for us to forbid anything beyond friendship until we can recognize them as men. That they have the right priorities; they know what kind of woman they should be looking for, they are prepared to be a financial support and spiritual leader for her, and are willing to lay down their life for her as the bible says a husband should do. If these things are in place in their lives and they come to us about a woman, then they should have our permission to speak to the girl's father. If this father agrees then a plan should be set in place that they still not be alone together until their wedding night.
I know this all sounds extreme for today but Gods way is different than the world's way. It really wasn't that long ago that men and women courted in a large parlor with the girls father close by, shot gun in hand. Well, maybe not the shotgun part. Old fashioned courtship needs to be brought back to save our marriages. "Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls." Jeremiah 6:16. There is a lot of wisdom in that verse.
I know it is our first inclination, in this modern day, to say a standard such as this is unrealistic but I believe saying that is to deny the power of God. We teach our children great things by adhering to Gods standard and letting them see the contrast between His holiness and the world's destructive nature. We will fail to measure up, but that doesn't mean we don't try.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Picture of a Prophet by Leonard Ravenhill (slightly edited by me)
The prophet in his day is fully accepted of God and totally rejected by men.
Years back, Dr. Gregory Mantle was right when he said, "No man can be fully accepted until he is totally rejected." The prophet of the Lord is aware of both these experiences. They are his "brand name."
The group, challenged by the prophet because they are smug and comfortably insulated from a perishing world in their warm but untested theology, is not likely to vote him "Man of the year" when he refers to them as habituates of the synagogue of Satan!
The prophet comes to set up that which is upset. His work is to call into line those who are out of line! He is unpopular because he opposes the popular in morality and spirituality. In a day of faceless politicians and voiceless preachers, there is not a more urgent national need than that we cry to God for a prophet! The function of the prophet, as Austin-Sparks once said, "has almost always been that of recovery."
The prophet is God's detective seeking for a lost treasure. The degree of his effectiveness is determined by his measure of unpopularity. Compromise is not known to him.
He has no price tags.
He is totally "otherworldly."
He is unquestionably controversial and unpardonably hostile.
He marches to another drummer!
He breathes the rarefied air of inspiration.
He is a "seer" who comes to lead the blind.
He lives in the heights of God and comes into the valley with a "thus saith the Lord."
He shares some of the foreknowledge of God and so is aware of impending judgment.
He lives in "splendid isolation."
He is forthright and outright, but he claims no birthright.
His message is "repent, be reconciled to God or else...!"
His prophecies are parried.
His truth brings torment, but his voice is never void.
He is the villain of today and the hero of tomorrow.
He is dishonored with epithets when breathing and honored with epitaphs when dead.
He is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, but few "make the grade" in his class.
He is friendless while living and famous when dead.
He is against the establishment in ministry; then he is established as a saint by posterity.
He eats daily the bread of affliction while he ministers, but he feeds the Bread of Life to those who listen.
He walks before men for days but has walked before God for years.
He is a scourge to the nation before he is scourged by the nation.
He announces, pronounces, and denounces!
He has a heart like a volcano and his words are as fire.
He talks to men about God.
He carries the lamp of truth amongst heretics while he is lampooned by men.
He faces God before he faces men, but he is self-effacing.
He hides with God in the secret place, but he has nothing to hide in the marketplace.
He is naturally sensitive but supernaturally spiritual.
He has passion, purpose and pugnacity.
He is ordained of God but disdained by men.
Our national need at this hour is not that the dollar recover its strength, or that we save face over the Watergate affair, or that we find the answer to the ecology problem. We need a God-sent prophet!
I am bombarded with talk or letters about the coming shortages in our national life: bread, fuel, energy. I read between the lines from people not practiced in scaring folk. They feel that the "seven years of plenty" are over for us. The "seven years of famine" are ahead. But the greatest famine of all in this nation at this given moment is a FAMINE OF THE HEARING OF THE WORDS OF GOD (Amos 8:11).
Multi-million dollar Christian organizations straddle the nation. BUT where, oh where, is the prophet? Where are the incandescent men fresh from the holy place? Where is the Moses to plead in fasting before the holiness of the Lord for our moldy morality, our political perfidy, and sour and sick spirituality?
There is a terrible vacuum in evangelical Christianity today. The missing person in our ranks is the prophet. The man with a terrible earnestness. The man totally otherworldly. The man rejected by other men, even other good men, because they consider him too austere, too severely committed, too negative and unsociable.
Let him be as plain as John the Baptist.
Let him for a season be a voice crying in the wilderness of modern theology and stagnant "churchianity."
Let him be as selfless as Paul the apostle.
Let him, too, say and live, "This ONE thing I do."
Let him reject ecclesiastical favors.
Let him be self-abasing, nonself-seeking, nonself-projecting, nonself- righteous, nonself-glorying, nonself-promoting.
Let him say nothing that will draw men to himself but only that which will move men to God. Let him come daily from the throne room of a holy God, the place where he has received the order of the day.
Let him, under God, unstop the ears of the millions who are deaf through the clatter of shekels milked from this hour of material mesmerism.
Let him cry with a voice this century has not heard because he has seen a vision no man in this century has seen.
God send us this Moses to lead us from the wilderness of crass materialism, where the rattlesnakes of lust bite us and where "enlightened" men, totally blind spiritually, lead us to an ever-nearing Armageddon.
God have mercy! Send us PROPHETS!
Years back, Dr. Gregory Mantle was right when he said, "No man can be fully accepted until he is totally rejected." The prophet of the Lord is aware of both these experiences. They are his "brand name."
The group, challenged by the prophet because they are smug and comfortably insulated from a perishing world in their warm but untested theology, is not likely to vote him "Man of the year" when he refers to them as habituates of the synagogue of Satan!
The prophet comes to set up that which is upset. His work is to call into line those who are out of line! He is unpopular because he opposes the popular in morality and spirituality. In a day of faceless politicians and voiceless preachers, there is not a more urgent national need than that we cry to God for a prophet! The function of the prophet, as Austin-Sparks once said, "has almost always been that of recovery."
The prophet is God's detective seeking for a lost treasure. The degree of his effectiveness is determined by his measure of unpopularity. Compromise is not known to him.
He has no price tags.
He is totally "otherworldly."
He is unquestionably controversial and unpardonably hostile.
He marches to another drummer!
He breathes the rarefied air of inspiration.
He is a "seer" who comes to lead the blind.
He lives in the heights of God and comes into the valley with a "thus saith the Lord."
He shares some of the foreknowledge of God and so is aware of impending judgment.
He lives in "splendid isolation."
He is forthright and outright, but he claims no birthright.
His message is "repent, be reconciled to God or else...!"
His prophecies are parried.
His truth brings torment, but his voice is never void.
He is the villain of today and the hero of tomorrow.
He is dishonored with epithets when breathing and honored with epitaphs when dead.
He is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, but few "make the grade" in his class.
He is friendless while living and famous when dead.
He is against the establishment in ministry; then he is established as a saint by posterity.
He eats daily the bread of affliction while he ministers, but he feeds the Bread of Life to those who listen.
He walks before men for days but has walked before God for years.
He is a scourge to the nation before he is scourged by the nation.
He announces, pronounces, and denounces!
He has a heart like a volcano and his words are as fire.
He talks to men about God.
He carries the lamp of truth amongst heretics while he is lampooned by men.
He faces God before he faces men, but he is self-effacing.
He hides with God in the secret place, but he has nothing to hide in the marketplace.
He is naturally sensitive but supernaturally spiritual.
He has passion, purpose and pugnacity.
He is ordained of God but disdained by men.
Our national need at this hour is not that the dollar recover its strength, or that we save face over the Watergate affair, or that we find the answer to the ecology problem. We need a God-sent prophet!
I am bombarded with talk or letters about the coming shortages in our national life: bread, fuel, energy. I read between the lines from people not practiced in scaring folk. They feel that the "seven years of plenty" are over for us. The "seven years of famine" are ahead. But the greatest famine of all in this nation at this given moment is a FAMINE OF THE HEARING OF THE WORDS OF GOD (Amos 8:11).
Multi-million dollar Christian organizations straddle the nation. BUT where, oh where, is the prophet? Where are the incandescent men fresh from the holy place? Where is the Moses to plead in fasting before the holiness of the Lord for our moldy morality, our political perfidy, and sour and sick spirituality?
There is a terrible vacuum in evangelical Christianity today. The missing person in our ranks is the prophet. The man with a terrible earnestness. The man totally otherworldly. The man rejected by other men, even other good men, because they consider him too austere, too severely committed, too negative and unsociable.
Let him be as plain as John the Baptist.
Let him for a season be a voice crying in the wilderness of modern theology and stagnant "churchianity."
Let him be as selfless as Paul the apostle.
Let him, too, say and live, "This ONE thing I do."
Let him reject ecclesiastical favors.
Let him be self-abasing, nonself-seeking, nonself-projecting, nonself- righteous, nonself-glorying, nonself-promoting.
Let him say nothing that will draw men to himself but only that which will move men to God. Let him come daily from the throne room of a holy God, the place where he has received the order of the day.
Let him, under God, unstop the ears of the millions who are deaf through the clatter of shekels milked from this hour of material mesmerism.
Let him cry with a voice this century has not heard because he has seen a vision no man in this century has seen.
God send us this Moses to lead us from the wilderness of crass materialism, where the rattlesnakes of lust bite us and where "enlightened" men, totally blind spiritually, lead us to an ever-nearing Armageddon.
God have mercy! Send us PROPHETS!
Saturday, June 02, 2007
Divorce
To my friends considering divorce, please also consider what I have to say. At the risk of sounding like a fanatic (ha, ha, you all know that I am anyway) divorce is a tool of the devil. If he can tear apart one couple, he's got a great opportunity to dig his claws into your children, your grandchildren, your great grandchildren, and the list could go on and on.
One set of my grandparents were divorced. As I look at the big picture of pain and destruction that has gone on from that point to now effect my children, and possibly theirs, I weep. Every family function is a reminder of who's missing, and of family reunions that will never take place.
I think this is why there is so much loneliness in the world today. The destruction satan has caused in the family unit has deadened our ability to connect with one another as human beings. Every broken bond turns our attentions ever inward until the humanity of those around us doesn't even register.
I don't think any one of us enters into our marriage thinking it will be all honey and rose petals but the magnitude of that relationship is hard to comprehend until your in it. If you talk to a couple that have been together 50+ years, they'll say they didn't just have bad days, they had bad years, but those were the times their love and trust grew the most. If you ask someone who spent this last memorial day placing flowers on a grave, they'll tell you the things that irritated them the most are the ones they remember fondly today.
Think back to your wedding day and replay those vows in your head. Love is not a feeling, it is a responsibility, to your children, to your spouse, and to your God. Cling to God and cling to those vows.
One set of my grandparents were divorced. As I look at the big picture of pain and destruction that has gone on from that point to now effect my children, and possibly theirs, I weep. Every family function is a reminder of who's missing, and of family reunions that will never take place.
I think this is why there is so much loneliness in the world today. The destruction satan has caused in the family unit has deadened our ability to connect with one another as human beings. Every broken bond turns our attentions ever inward until the humanity of those around us doesn't even register.
I don't think any one of us enters into our marriage thinking it will be all honey and rose petals but the magnitude of that relationship is hard to comprehend until your in it. If you talk to a couple that have been together 50+ years, they'll say they didn't just have bad days, they had bad years, but those were the times their love and trust grew the most. If you ask someone who spent this last memorial day placing flowers on a grave, they'll tell you the things that irritated them the most are the ones they remember fondly today.
Think back to your wedding day and replay those vows in your head. Love is not a feeling, it is a responsibility, to your children, to your spouse, and to your God. Cling to God and cling to those vows.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Rawanda man's confession
In 1980 a young man from Rwanda was forced by his tribe to either renounce Christ or face certain death. He refused to renounce Christ, and he was killed on the spot. The night before he had written the following commitment which was found in his room:“I’m part of the fellowship of the unashamed, the die has been cast, I have stepped over the line, the decision has been made- I’m a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still.My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I’m finished and done with low living, sight walking, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed vision, worldly talking, cheap giving & dwarfed goals.My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I won’t give up, shut up, let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up for the cause of Jesus Christ.I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till everyone knows, work till He stops me & when He comes for His own, He will have no trouble recognizing me because my banner will have been clear.”
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Why
Why a God
Romans 1:20, “For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.”
Just look at creation; a sunset, a lilac bush, a thunderstorm, the moon and tide of the sea, a dragonfly, the glittery specs on a small rock, the colors in the eyes of the one you love, the placement of the earth, the code of our DNA, the human conscience and our will to fight against it. This is not a product of chance. It is a scientific and mathematic impossibility.
Why the Bible
Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is quick (alive), and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
Every word of this book I hold dear lives and breaths truth to my spirit. It breaks down and removes the chains of my fleshly desires and turns my eyes heavenward.
They have attempted, since the first words were written in stone, to discredit and destroy this message to humanity. All have failed, and for thousands of years Gods word has remained.
Why Him
Romans 3:23, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God…. The wages of sin is death.” 6:23
The chaos of this world is evidence that we are not evolving on to bigger and better things and that the sins of mankind are destroying Gods perfect creation. My conscience bares witness within me that I am a sinner. I will undoubtedly see many perishing on judgment day that I never held out a spiritual hand to. They will be going to a death that I deserve. Of all the “gods” this earth has to offer, only Jesus provides reconciliation. Only the God of the Bible has provided a fully just and fully merciful way.
“Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:24
Where is the assurance in works? One could never know what side of the scale is weightier or what the true intent of our hearts is.
When I stand before the judge I will be singing the praises of my Lord who already paid my fine. How do you plan to pay?
Romans 1:20, “For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.”
Just look at creation; a sunset, a lilac bush, a thunderstorm, the moon and tide of the sea, a dragonfly, the glittery specs on a small rock, the colors in the eyes of the one you love, the placement of the earth, the code of our DNA, the human conscience and our will to fight against it. This is not a product of chance. It is a scientific and mathematic impossibility.
Why the Bible
Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is quick (alive), and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
Every word of this book I hold dear lives and breaths truth to my spirit. It breaks down and removes the chains of my fleshly desires and turns my eyes heavenward.
They have attempted, since the first words were written in stone, to discredit and destroy this message to humanity. All have failed, and for thousands of years Gods word has remained.
Why Him
Romans 3:23, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God…. The wages of sin is death.” 6:23
The chaos of this world is evidence that we are not evolving on to bigger and better things and that the sins of mankind are destroying Gods perfect creation. My conscience bares witness within me that I am a sinner. I will undoubtedly see many perishing on judgment day that I never held out a spiritual hand to. They will be going to a death that I deserve. Of all the “gods” this earth has to offer, only Jesus provides reconciliation. Only the God of the Bible has provided a fully just and fully merciful way.
“Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:24
Where is the assurance in works? One could never know what side of the scale is weightier or what the true intent of our hearts is.
When I stand before the judge I will be singing the praises of my Lord who already paid my fine. How do you plan to pay?
Saturday, March 10, 2007
1 Timothy 2:9-15
First I want to establish from another book of the Bible what Gods perfect plan was for man and woman from Ephesians chapter 5.
Verses 22-24 say, "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing." Women are to set an example of the churches obedience to Christ.
Verses 25-27 say, "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish." Men are to love their wives as Christ loves the church, willing to die for her, to keep her pure, and protect her as something set aside for a special purpose.
Verses 28-29 say, "So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:" It is foolish for a man to hurt his wife because they are one flesh and it would be the same as hurting himself.
This was Gods perfect plan for marriage, verse 33, "Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband."
1 Timothy 2 is dealing with a different issue all together. The issue of what man did to God perfect plan. If you read the story in Genesis 3 of the fall of man, it clears up a lot of the confusion about 1 Timothy 2:9-15. The key verse to look at is verse 14. Verse 13 states the first reason for the wife's submission, the order God created. Then verse 14 says this, "And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression."
I think most people read this wrong. It does not mean that, because the woman was deceived she was the only one in transgression. That wouldn't make much sense because they were both cursed and banished from the garden. What this verse means is that Eve was deceived into the transgression while Adam was not deceived. He knew full well the serpent was lying and he did absolutely nothing to warn his wife whom he was supposed to protect. If you read the curses in Genesis, you will see it is clear whose back God placed most of the responsibility of sin on.
First Eve's curse, Genesis 3:16, "Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee." This was definitely a curse. Especially when you consider how much more dangerous childbirth probably was in those days. The last part is very much still going on today. It was even one of the arguments in the other thread. Maybe the woman could do it better. God says here that she is going to desire to lead but instead she is going to have to watch her husband muck it up. You see the word used here is not the loving role of leadership God set up but the word rule. That's a difficult curse as well, but since this will undoubtedly cause strife between men and women for generations to come it is more a shared curse if you ask me.
But now let's look at Adams curse. Genesis 3:17-19, "And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" Wow, not only does he curse Adam for two extra verses but the tone even seems much more stern. You can almost hear His voice growing louder with each verse. It as as if he is telling Adam (man) that because he just sat by and let his wife be deceived, from now until the end of this age, he will be held partially responsible for all her failings.
Now do you want to switch places with him ladies?
Verses 22-24 say, "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing." Women are to set an example of the churches obedience to Christ.
Verses 25-27 say, "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish." Men are to love their wives as Christ loves the church, willing to die for her, to keep her pure, and protect her as something set aside for a special purpose.
Verses 28-29 say, "So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:" It is foolish for a man to hurt his wife because they are one flesh and it would be the same as hurting himself.
This was Gods perfect plan for marriage, verse 33, "Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband."
1 Timothy 2 is dealing with a different issue all together. The issue of what man did to God perfect plan. If you read the story in Genesis 3 of the fall of man, it clears up a lot of the confusion about 1 Timothy 2:9-15. The key verse to look at is verse 14. Verse 13 states the first reason for the wife's submission, the order God created. Then verse 14 says this, "And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression."
I think most people read this wrong. It does not mean that, because the woman was deceived she was the only one in transgression. That wouldn't make much sense because they were both cursed and banished from the garden. What this verse means is that Eve was deceived into the transgression while Adam was not deceived. He knew full well the serpent was lying and he did absolutely nothing to warn his wife whom he was supposed to protect. If you read the curses in Genesis, you will see it is clear whose back God placed most of the responsibility of sin on.
First Eve's curse, Genesis 3:16, "Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee." This was definitely a curse. Especially when you consider how much more dangerous childbirth probably was in those days. The last part is very much still going on today. It was even one of the arguments in the other thread. Maybe the woman could do it better. God says here that she is going to desire to lead but instead she is going to have to watch her husband muck it up. You see the word used here is not the loving role of leadership God set up but the word rule. That's a difficult curse as well, but since this will undoubtedly cause strife between men and women for generations to come it is more a shared curse if you ask me.
But now let's look at Adams curse. Genesis 3:17-19, "And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" Wow, not only does he curse Adam for two extra verses but the tone even seems much more stern. You can almost hear His voice growing louder with each verse. It as as if he is telling Adam (man) that because he just sat by and let his wife be deceived, from now until the end of this age, he will be held partially responsible for all her failings.
Now do you want to switch places with him ladies?
Friday, February 23, 2007
God's Voice
Well, my plan for yesterday was to read through the gospel of John since I didn’t have much energy for housework. Earlier that day a friend had asked me if there were any verses in the Bible about how to hear Gods voice and I didn’t really have much to tell her. I said I didn’t think the Bible laid out any clear cut formula but that it was just a matter of your relationship with him. As I set out to read John I found myself reading answers to that very question.
We have three options for the source of what we hear. Either it is the enemy trying to lead us astray, our flesh trying to please itself, or God guiding us. I found three verses that explain how I usually discern what is behind the things I hear. The first verse that struck me was John 3:31, “He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.” Is this for any eternal benefit. Then 6:63, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” Is there any way this could be the enemy trying to get me off track by getting me to focus on my flesh. Finally 7:24, “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” Can I see Gods work being done through this or my own adgenda. I don’t believe that if it is something I want it is always against what God wants but I tend to be more skeptical. It seems to many times be a lot like playing chess except in life I’m not forced to play my hand whether I know the outcome or not. I can always stay put until God makes His way clear.
One of the biggest things that struck me was the conversations Jesus had with the Pharisees. It seemed like, in John anyway, most of the time they were trying to recognize who Jesus was so in a way it is like our struggles today with wondering where our messages come from. The Pharisees were always asking who He was and He was always telling them that if they had known His Father they would know Him. (John 5:39-42, 6:45, 8:19,54-55) Knowing the Father always went hand in hand with knowing the scripture. “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31-32) Jesus said to the Pharisees, “Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?” (Mark 12:24) Now this statement had to offend the Pharisees. I doubt anyone “knew” the scripture like them. The problem was that they got the legalities but totally missed the heart of Gods word. It isn’t just in the New Testament where people enter into a relationship with God. There were many in the Old Testament that had a great love relationship with God. David would have to be the best example. God Himself called David “a man after His own heart”, David loved God so much that his hearts desires were put aside for Gods. The psalms are full of David’s love letters to his king. In the largest chapter in the larges book of the Bible,(Psalm 119) David relays over and over where his guidance and comfort comes from, Gods word. The Pharisees could have known the Father through the word as well but they had chosen to focus on the law. Jesus rebukes them for this in Luke 11:42, “But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” They did not search the scriptures closely enough. They focused so much on the preciseness of their tithe that they completey missed the message of Gods love for them. Therefore when Jesus came, they did not recognize Him.
I think that is a great lesson for us. The better we know Gods word the more we know Him and can recognize when He is speaking.
The only times I have known God was speaking to me have been the times it was clearly an eternal matter, a little poke in the ribs when I am considering sin to say, “Nah, ah, ah”, or a little push to pray for someone, write to someone, fast, or spend time alone with God. I know it is Him when my flesh doesn’t want to and I satan would hate it. But most of the time He uses His word. He puts a verse I’ve memorized into my head right when I need it most, or He directs me to a certain book or subject I need to study.
Of the things I hear that I am not sure of, especially when it appeals to my flesh, I am always careful of until God shows me beyond a shadow of a doubt where He is in the matter.
We have three options for the source of what we hear. Either it is the enemy trying to lead us astray, our flesh trying to please itself, or God guiding us. I found three verses that explain how I usually discern what is behind the things I hear. The first verse that struck me was John 3:31, “He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.” Is this for any eternal benefit. Then 6:63, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” Is there any way this could be the enemy trying to get me off track by getting me to focus on my flesh. Finally 7:24, “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” Can I see Gods work being done through this or my own adgenda. I don’t believe that if it is something I want it is always against what God wants but I tend to be more skeptical. It seems to many times be a lot like playing chess except in life I’m not forced to play my hand whether I know the outcome or not. I can always stay put until God makes His way clear.
One of the biggest things that struck me was the conversations Jesus had with the Pharisees. It seemed like, in John anyway, most of the time they were trying to recognize who Jesus was so in a way it is like our struggles today with wondering where our messages come from. The Pharisees were always asking who He was and He was always telling them that if they had known His Father they would know Him. (John 5:39-42, 6:45, 8:19,54-55) Knowing the Father always went hand in hand with knowing the scripture. “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31-32) Jesus said to the Pharisees, “Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?” (Mark 12:24) Now this statement had to offend the Pharisees. I doubt anyone “knew” the scripture like them. The problem was that they got the legalities but totally missed the heart of Gods word. It isn’t just in the New Testament where people enter into a relationship with God. There were many in the Old Testament that had a great love relationship with God. David would have to be the best example. God Himself called David “a man after His own heart”, David loved God so much that his hearts desires were put aside for Gods. The psalms are full of David’s love letters to his king. In the largest chapter in the larges book of the Bible,(Psalm 119) David relays over and over where his guidance and comfort comes from, Gods word. The Pharisees could have known the Father through the word as well but they had chosen to focus on the law. Jesus rebukes them for this in Luke 11:42, “But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” They did not search the scriptures closely enough. They focused so much on the preciseness of their tithe that they completey missed the message of Gods love for them. Therefore when Jesus came, they did not recognize Him.
I think that is a great lesson for us. The better we know Gods word the more we know Him and can recognize when He is speaking.
The only times I have known God was speaking to me have been the times it was clearly an eternal matter, a little poke in the ribs when I am considering sin to say, “Nah, ah, ah”, or a little push to pray for someone, write to someone, fast, or spend time alone with God. I know it is Him when my flesh doesn’t want to and I satan would hate it. But most of the time He uses His word. He puts a verse I’ve memorized into my head right when I need it most, or He directs me to a certain book or subject I need to study.
Of the things I hear that I am not sure of, especially when it appeals to my flesh, I am always careful of until God shows me beyond a shadow of a doubt where He is in the matter.
Ecclesiastes Reflections
Therefore, my beloved brethren,
Be ye stedfast,
Unmoveable,
Always abounding in the work of the Lord,
Forasmuch as ye know
That your labour is not in vain
In the Lord.
1 Corinthians 15:58
If I have learned anything in life it is that nothing you do matters unless it is for God. The book of Ecclesiastes lays this fact out quite plainly.
Solomon had his faults but when God asked what He could give him Solomon asked for wisdom, (1 Kings 3) and not wisdom to gain power, or a superiority over others, but so that he could take good care of his people. Oh that all of us would consider God, and the people when we come to those crossroads of life where we have to chose what road to take.
I met a young man recently and we came to the subject of his future profession. He told me that he hadn't decided what he wanted to do yet but that he was either going to be a lawyer or a doctor. Now there is nothing wrong with being a doctor or a lawyer but the only thing that makes those two professions remotely alike is that both are, generally, big money makers. So when I hear people say they are choosing between the two it is clear to me that dollar signs are the deciding factor in this decision and neither of these professions should be entered into solely on the basis of making money. People would be putting their lives in their hands, and it should mean more to them than that. Anyway, it made me sad that this young man was only concerned with money.
Ecclesiastes 5:15, 16 says, "As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand." He says that all the physical things of this earth that we labor for eventually turn to dust. "what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?" What point is there in working so hard for something that is so temporary?
Some might say, "But I would at least enjoy my things while I was alive." But would you? Solomon said in chapter 2 verses 10-11, "And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun." The pleasures of the flesh are fleeting as well. It doesn't fulfill. We see many examples of this in Hollywood today. They are just as much, if not more of a mess than the rest of the world. Money hasn't fulfilled anything for them. When asked if he was happy with all his riches, John D. Rockefeller said, "I have made millions, but they have brought be no happiness." John Jacob Astor, American Fur Company Tycoon, who left his children with $20 million at his death in 1848 said, "I am the most miserable man on earth" Henry Ford said, "I was happier when doing a mechanic's job." Solomon had wealth that far surpassed even the wealthiest American and even he did not see any long lasting comfort in these things.
All of the pleasures that Solomon heaped upon his flesh, all of the wealth he accumulated during his life have now been gone for thousands of years, but something of his labor still remains. Ecclesiastes 3:14, "I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it." Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, the wisdom of God poured out through Solomon to us today, still alive, still teaching and exhorting Gods people, from Solomon, to today, to the return of Christ in the future.
No, a Christian life is not free of hardships, but there is a joy that comes from knowing that your struggles are endured for a lasting cause.Be ye stedfast,
Unmoveable,
Always abounding in the work of the Lord,
Forasmuch as ye know
That your labour is not in vain
In the Lord.
1 Corinthians 15:58
If I have learned anything in life it is that nothing you do matters unless it is for God. The book of Ecclesiastes lays this fact out quite plainly.
Solomon had his faults but when God asked what He could give him Solomon asked for wisdom, (1 Kings 3) and not wisdom to gain power, or a superiority over others, but so that he could take good care of his people. Oh that all of us would consider God, and the people when we come to those crossroads of life where we have to chose what road to take.
I met a young man recently and we came to the subject of his future profession. He told me that he hadn't decided what he wanted to do yet but that he was either going to be a lawyer or a doctor. Now there is nothing wrong with being a doctor or a lawyer but the only thing that makes those two professions remotely alike is that both are, generally, big money makers. So when I hear people say they are choosing between the two it is clear to me that dollar signs are the deciding factor in this decision and neither of these professions should be entered into solely on the basis of making money. People would be putting their lives in their hands, and it should mean more to them than that. Anyway, it made me sad that this young man was only concerned with money.
Ecclesiastes 5:15, 16 says, "As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand." He says that all the physical things of this earth that we labor for eventually turn to dust. "what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?" What point is there in working so hard for something that is so temporary?
Some might say, "But I would at least enjoy my things while I was alive." But would you? Solomon said in chapter 2 verses 10-11, "And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun." The pleasures of the flesh are fleeting as well. It doesn't fulfill. We see many examples of this in Hollywood today. They are just as much, if not more of a mess than the rest of the world. Money hasn't fulfilled anything for them. When asked if he was happy with all his riches, John D. Rockefeller said, "I have made millions, but they have brought be no happiness." John Jacob Astor, American Fur Company Tycoon, who left his children with $20 million at his death in 1848 said, "I am the most miserable man on earth" Henry Ford said, "I was happier when doing a mechanic's job." Solomon had wealth that far surpassed even the wealthiest American and even he did not see any long lasting comfort in these things.
All of the pleasures that Solomon heaped upon his flesh, all of the wealth he accumulated during his life have now been gone for thousands of years, but something of his labor still remains. Ecclesiastes 3:14, "I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it." Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, the wisdom of God poured out through Solomon to us today, still alive, still teaching and exhorting Gods people, from Solomon, to today, to the return of Christ in the future.
Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit. (Ecclesiastes 4:6) That means if all you are after are the things this life can give you, your life will be spent as a man who finds no rest trying to hold the wind in his hands, never knowing the peace of working along side a God who is filling up a bag of treasure that isn't going anywhere.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
My Reasons for Head Covering
The Word of God
1 Corinthians says, “Doth not even nature itself teach you”
This simple phrase clears the matter up quite well for me. Verse 14 does not start off with any implication that the hair given to us by God is the covering spoken of in the previous verses. It starts off saying “Doth not even nature” telling me that he was not speaking of a natural thing before, but now he is. Her hair is a covering, not the covering.
My Experience with Covering
When I put my covering on, and wore it the first day, I did not have the intention that it would be a continual practice. I thought that I would continue my study on the subject covered and that at some point I would be fully persuaded that my hair was covering enough and at that time I would remove my scarf. The Lord, I believe, had other plans.
The first thing I noticed was my sinful mouth. When my husband would do something I didn’t approve of my voice would get that tone. You know, that melodious, sarcastic, might as well be shaking my finger in his face tone. I was horrified! Was I under spiritual attack because of my decision to put this on my head? Then as the day went on I slowly realized that this was nothing new. I had been speaking to my husband in this manner all along. (My scarf hasn’t cured this, by the way, I am still working on it, but before I didn’t even recognize it so I have a step in the right direction anyway.)
One thing about me is that I wasn’t born until 1977. By then all the good old years, when the order of headship God established was still recognized, were long gone. This fact and another verse from 1 Corinthians 11 are what lead me to reason number three.
The History of Covering
1 Corinthians says, “But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, nether the churches of God.”
My Wycliffe commentary says this, “No such custom, i.e., no custom of women worshiping without coverings.” I tend to agree with him but whether I get the full intention of the writing here or not, it did point me to a very important question, “What was the custom?”
We have very little to examine about our early church fathers. The furthest we are able to go back is to the second century by looking to the paintings in the catacombs. There are at least three depictions of women wearing head covering on these walls.
As you look at depictions of women throughout history, you can see them doing many of their daily tasks with heads covered, not just during worship. We all know the pilgrim women had a head covering. In the 1800’s women started removing the head covering for daily things but not even 100 years ago and they were still wearing them for church at least.
It is interesting to see how this change was slyly snuck in. Modest hair coverings where first replaced with stylish hats to strip away the meaning behind the fashion and then was totally done away with all together. Now it’s gone into a 180 where folks like me are stared at and talked about as if it is unacceptable to cover.
I have to admit, at times it seems outlandish to me as well, but then I am quietly reminded of Proverbs 3:5 , “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.”
1 Corinthians says, “Doth not even nature itself teach you”
This simple phrase clears the matter up quite well for me. Verse 14 does not start off with any implication that the hair given to us by God is the covering spoken of in the previous verses. It starts off saying “Doth not even nature” telling me that he was not speaking of a natural thing before, but now he is. Her hair is a covering, not the covering.
My Experience with Covering
When I put my covering on, and wore it the first day, I did not have the intention that it would be a continual practice. I thought that I would continue my study on the subject covered and that at some point I would be fully persuaded that my hair was covering enough and at that time I would remove my scarf. The Lord, I believe, had other plans.
The first thing I noticed was my sinful mouth. When my husband would do something I didn’t approve of my voice would get that tone. You know, that melodious, sarcastic, might as well be shaking my finger in his face tone. I was horrified! Was I under spiritual attack because of my decision to put this on my head? Then as the day went on I slowly realized that this was nothing new. I had been speaking to my husband in this manner all along. (My scarf hasn’t cured this, by the way, I am still working on it, but before I didn’t even recognize it so I have a step in the right direction anyway.)
One thing about me is that I wasn’t born until 1977. By then all the good old years, when the order of headship God established was still recognized, were long gone. This fact and another verse from 1 Corinthians 11 are what lead me to reason number three.
The History of Covering
1 Corinthians says, “But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, nether the churches of God.”
My Wycliffe commentary says this, “No such custom, i.e., no custom of women worshiping without coverings.” I tend to agree with him but whether I get the full intention of the writing here or not, it did point me to a very important question, “What was the custom?”
We have very little to examine about our early church fathers. The furthest we are able to go back is to the second century by looking to the paintings in the catacombs. There are at least three depictions of women wearing head covering on these walls.
As you look at depictions of women throughout history, you can see them doing many of their daily tasks with heads covered, not just during worship. We all know the pilgrim women had a head covering. In the 1800’s women started removing the head covering for daily things but not even 100 years ago and they were still wearing them for church at least.
It is interesting to see how this change was slyly snuck in. Modest hair coverings where first replaced with stylish hats to strip away the meaning behind the fashion and then was totally done away with all together. Now it’s gone into a 180 where folks like me are stared at and talked about as if it is unacceptable to cover.
I have to admit, at times it seems outlandish to me as well, but then I am quietly reminded of Proverbs 3:5 , “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.”
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