Randy Green's Blog, page 484
March 24, 2012
Who Turned Out the Lights?
The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all the innermost parts of his being [Proverbs 20:27].
Haughty eyes and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, is sin [Proverbs 21:4].
I like the Sherlock Holmes books, and so I also like the movies. The newest effort starring Robert Downey Jr. has more suspenseful thrills and nail-biting excitement than what went before. Nonetheless the prior movies, as well as the books, are capable of leaving us spellbound too.
The scene of the Sherlock Holmes tales is 18th Century London. The cobblestone streets, the dimly lit sidewalks, the dingy atmosphere of brothels and floozies, all contribute to the tale. I particularly recall for purposes of this study the people and the cabbies with their lanterns in hand or hanging from the horse-drawn cabs.
Without those lanterns, you see, all would be too dark to function. Driving the cab down the street would imperil pedestrians. Walking down the sidewalks would be hazardous to one’s health, considering all the unseemly sorts of scoundrels lurking in the dark crevices. Indeed, light was essential to survive and function in sleepy London Town back then. Without the portable lamps, all the streetlights would have proved insufficient for the task at hand.
We hear a good deal about light and lamps in the Bible too. Spiritual reality is that the world is in the throes of Satan. Sin rules man and sin breeds darkness. Man is unable to recognize truth and reality because sin blinds him to suchlike things.
Instead of truth and reality, sin breeds in man haughty eyes and a proud heart, as noted in the verses which introduced this study. Those two evils may be displayed in a list for easy recognition:
• haughty eyes
• a proud heart
The verse defines these two evils as the lamp of the wicked, noting they are sin. Let’s assay the two.
In Scripture the heart is used to identify the center of one’s life, what he loves and so what motivates him. It is the internal man, the real person, the root and vine from which his life grows. The eyes are used to identify man’s outward focus, what he sees and so lusts after. The heart fertilizes the soil and plants the seeds, while the eyes produce the fruit.
When a person lives in sin rather than recognizes it and repents, his heart is darkness. Accordingly the fruit of his life is the fruit of darkness. His heart by nature seeks to accomplish his pleasure, and so his eyes wander about looking for ways to fulfill his lusts. The heart and the eyes work in conjunction to lead him into sin upon sin. The two serve to provide him light along the paths of sin and wickedness.
In utter contrast to this scenario is the lamp of the Lord (cf., the verses quoted to start this study). Scripture identifies what the lamp of the Lord is, so we don’t have to guess.
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path [Psalm 119:105].
The Word of God is the lamp of the Lord, and it affords the believer light along the path of life. This light keeps the believer from stumbling onto the path of sin and wickedness. That is what the verses quoted at the start of this study teach.
A believer trusts in the Word of God (i.e., the life tree), rather than in his own understanding (i.e., the kogae tree) as the wicked do. Ergo, he allows the Word of God to search all the innermost parts of his being. In doing this the Word of God rules over the spirit of man. The Bible functions as the reins in the mouth of the horse (i.e., the spirit of man), effectively being the driving force of the spirit of man.
So we are left with a choice between two lamps, and the choice we make affects our eternal condition and location.
1. the lamp of the wicked
2. the lamp of the Lord
The ball is in your court, sir and madam. Which lamp do you choose? One of them feeds pride and affluent living, the other love for the Lord and the overwhelming desire to live like Him. Choose you this day whom you will serve. But as for me and my house, we will choose the Lord. I trust you will make the same choice.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Haughty eyes and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, is sin [Proverbs 21:4].
I like the Sherlock Holmes books, and so I also like the movies. The newest effort starring Robert Downey Jr. has more suspenseful thrills and nail-biting excitement than what went before. Nonetheless the prior movies, as well as the books, are capable of leaving us spellbound too.
The scene of the Sherlock Holmes tales is 18th Century London. The cobblestone streets, the dimly lit sidewalks, the dingy atmosphere of brothels and floozies, all contribute to the tale. I particularly recall for purposes of this study the people and the cabbies with their lanterns in hand or hanging from the horse-drawn cabs.
Without those lanterns, you see, all would be too dark to function. Driving the cab down the street would imperil pedestrians. Walking down the sidewalks would be hazardous to one’s health, considering all the unseemly sorts of scoundrels lurking in the dark crevices. Indeed, light was essential to survive and function in sleepy London Town back then. Without the portable lamps, all the streetlights would have proved insufficient for the task at hand.
We hear a good deal about light and lamps in the Bible too. Spiritual reality is that the world is in the throes of Satan. Sin rules man and sin breeds darkness. Man is unable to recognize truth and reality because sin blinds him to suchlike things.
Instead of truth and reality, sin breeds in man haughty eyes and a proud heart, as noted in the verses which introduced this study. Those two evils may be displayed in a list for easy recognition:
• haughty eyes
• a proud heart
The verse defines these two evils as the lamp of the wicked, noting they are sin. Let’s assay the two.
In Scripture the heart is used to identify the center of one’s life, what he loves and so what motivates him. It is the internal man, the real person, the root and vine from which his life grows. The eyes are used to identify man’s outward focus, what he sees and so lusts after. The heart fertilizes the soil and plants the seeds, while the eyes produce the fruit.
When a person lives in sin rather than recognizes it and repents, his heart is darkness. Accordingly the fruit of his life is the fruit of darkness. His heart by nature seeks to accomplish his pleasure, and so his eyes wander about looking for ways to fulfill his lusts. The heart and the eyes work in conjunction to lead him into sin upon sin. The two serve to provide him light along the paths of sin and wickedness.
In utter contrast to this scenario is the lamp of the Lord (cf., the verses quoted to start this study). Scripture identifies what the lamp of the Lord is, so we don’t have to guess.
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path [Psalm 119:105].
The Word of God is the lamp of the Lord, and it affords the believer light along the path of life. This light keeps the believer from stumbling onto the path of sin and wickedness. That is what the verses quoted at the start of this study teach.
A believer trusts in the Word of God (i.e., the life tree), rather than in his own understanding (i.e., the kogae tree) as the wicked do. Ergo, he allows the Word of God to search all the innermost parts of his being. In doing this the Word of God rules over the spirit of man. The Bible functions as the reins in the mouth of the horse (i.e., the spirit of man), effectively being the driving force of the spirit of man.
So we are left with a choice between two lamps, and the choice we make affects our eternal condition and location.
1. the lamp of the wicked
2. the lamp of the Lord
The ball is in your court, sir and madam. Which lamp do you choose? One of them feeds pride and affluent living, the other love for the Lord and the overwhelming desire to live like Him. Choose you this day whom you will serve. But as for me and my house, we will choose the Lord. I trust you will make the same choice.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
March 23, 2012
Tripping Over My Own Feet
Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil [Proverbs 3:7].
We have a stunning contrast in the opening Bible text of this study. Let’s view it as a bulleted list:
• wise in your own eyes
• fear the Lord
These form a parallel of sorts, what is known as parallelism in Biblical Hebrew poetry. Most often the parallel is synonymous, meaning the two concepts are in agreement. In this case the parallel is antonymous because the two concepts are in sharp contrast and opposition to each other. This makes the text to be in the form of antonymous parallelism.
But not to be distraught over the abstract terminology, dear friends. Let me demonstrate using the particulars, and then it will become crystal clear.
Man is a sinner. His every instinct is to do the opposite of what the Lord tells him to do. He often isn’t even conscious of this motivation because it is ingrained into his very nature, a sin nature. He disobeys automatically without even thinking about it.
The Lord created man and established him as the custodian over His garden. In the cool of the day the Lord came and visited with the man and enjoyed a time of fellowship with him. Picture a country house with a screened front porch. After the outdoor work was done in the evening, folks sit for a spell inside the screened-off area and chitchat for a while.
Anyway, the Lord gave man his food, which consisted of all the fruit in the entire humongous garden—all, that is, except for the fruit of one tree. In the midst of the garden the Lord planted two trees, their location highlighting their prominence. One tree was the life tree, the other the kogae tree.
Here’s the prominence held by the two trees. The Lord instructed man that, if he ate of the life tree, he would live. In contrast if the man ate of the kogae tree, he would die. Not complicated instructions, was it? The life tree had no medicinal properties, and the kogae tree wasn’t poisonous. Obedience or disobedience to the Word of God determined what resulted from eating the fruit of either tree.
When the woman ate from the kogae tree, two concepts were behind her action. Would it surprise you to know the two concepts are the same two which occur in our opening Scripture verse? The woman did not fear the Lord, or else she would have eaten from the life tree in obedience to his warning. Rather, she was wise in her own eyes, which led her to eat the forbidden fruit of the kogae tree.
Therein lies the real reason for the state of the world today, dear friends. Mankind is composed entirely of sinners, and sinners by nature want to disobey the Word of God. Sinners by nature have no fear of God. Sinners by nature are wise in their own eyes. Listen to another Scripture text which portrays this situation:
But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day. The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know over what they stumble [Proverbs 4:18-19].
Again we have two contrasting concepts, the same two:
• the path of the righteous
• the way of the wicked
The path of the righteous is paved with obedience to the Word of God. Accordingly it is like the light of dawn: it shines increasingly brighter as the day wears on. The way of the wicked, in stark contrast, is like darkness. Accordingly their wont is to stumble incessantly, and they cannot even see over what they stumble! What a frustrating way to live.
None of us would consciously choose to trip over our own feet…would we? I surely hope not! Let’s go by “Thus saith the Lord” and not by “I think”, okay? Light is always preferable to darkness. Speaking of light…time spent alone with Jesus is the brightest and best light available. Let’s recharge ourselves now.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
We have a stunning contrast in the opening Bible text of this study. Let’s view it as a bulleted list:
• wise in your own eyes
• fear the Lord
These form a parallel of sorts, what is known as parallelism in Biblical Hebrew poetry. Most often the parallel is synonymous, meaning the two concepts are in agreement. In this case the parallel is antonymous because the two concepts are in sharp contrast and opposition to each other. This makes the text to be in the form of antonymous parallelism.
But not to be distraught over the abstract terminology, dear friends. Let me demonstrate using the particulars, and then it will become crystal clear.
Man is a sinner. His every instinct is to do the opposite of what the Lord tells him to do. He often isn’t even conscious of this motivation because it is ingrained into his very nature, a sin nature. He disobeys automatically without even thinking about it.
The Lord created man and established him as the custodian over His garden. In the cool of the day the Lord came and visited with the man and enjoyed a time of fellowship with him. Picture a country house with a screened front porch. After the outdoor work was done in the evening, folks sit for a spell inside the screened-off area and chitchat for a while.
Anyway, the Lord gave man his food, which consisted of all the fruit in the entire humongous garden—all, that is, except for the fruit of one tree. In the midst of the garden the Lord planted two trees, their location highlighting their prominence. One tree was the life tree, the other the kogae tree.
Here’s the prominence held by the two trees. The Lord instructed man that, if he ate of the life tree, he would live. In contrast if the man ate of the kogae tree, he would die. Not complicated instructions, was it? The life tree had no medicinal properties, and the kogae tree wasn’t poisonous. Obedience or disobedience to the Word of God determined what resulted from eating the fruit of either tree.
When the woman ate from the kogae tree, two concepts were behind her action. Would it surprise you to know the two concepts are the same two which occur in our opening Scripture verse? The woman did not fear the Lord, or else she would have eaten from the life tree in obedience to his warning. Rather, she was wise in her own eyes, which led her to eat the forbidden fruit of the kogae tree.
Therein lies the real reason for the state of the world today, dear friends. Mankind is composed entirely of sinners, and sinners by nature want to disobey the Word of God. Sinners by nature have no fear of God. Sinners by nature are wise in their own eyes. Listen to another Scripture text which portrays this situation:
But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day. The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know over what they stumble [Proverbs 4:18-19].
Again we have two contrasting concepts, the same two:
• the path of the righteous
• the way of the wicked
The path of the righteous is paved with obedience to the Word of God. Accordingly it is like the light of dawn: it shines increasingly brighter as the day wears on. The way of the wicked, in stark contrast, is like darkness. Accordingly their wont is to stumble incessantly, and they cannot even see over what they stumble! What a frustrating way to live.
None of us would consciously choose to trip over our own feet…would we? I surely hope not! Let’s go by “Thus saith the Lord” and not by “I think”, okay? Light is always preferable to darkness. Speaking of light…time spent alone with Jesus is the brightest and best light available. Let’s recharge ourselves now.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
March 22, 2012
The RMS Titanic
For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died [2 Corinthians 5:14].
The date was April 10, 1912. The location was Southhampton, England. The RMS Titanic took off on her maiden voyage across the north Atlantic to New York City.
On board were some of the richest, most influential personages of the times. Also on board were some of the salt of the earth, poor slobs who wanted to seek out a new life in America. Between crew and passengers, there were a grand total of 2,227 people aboard the Titanic.
The designer of the Titanic planned for it to hold 50 lifeboats. When all was said and done it was built to hold 42 of those rascals. Notwithstanding this fact, the Titanic set sail with only 20 lifeboats. Space was at a premium and mighty money ruled!
Several ships passed the Titanic on her maiden voyage. Each of them warned the captain of the danger of icebergs all along the way. Still, the Titanic kept traveling at nearly top speed, about 20.5 knots. The captain was a skeptic of even the possibility that an iceberg could sink the magificent ship of which he was in control.
On April 14 while all the passengers were indulging in the fun and festivities, the Titanic made the acquaintance of one of those icebergs. In a mere 2½ hours the Titanic had sunk to the bottom of the sea. The “unsinkable” had sunk. Man’s pride met its match…again.
But at how great a cost in human life? Of the 2,227 humans on board, 1,523 drowned or froze to death in the north Atlantic. A scant 705 escaped with their lives and not much more than that. Truly the pride of man is its own downfall.
In the verse quoted at the start of this study, the Apostle Paul taught that one Person died for all persons. Paul concluded that, as a consequence, all died. This information was so astounding and so foundational to the Christian faith, that Paul declared how the love of Christ constrained him to preach the Gospel.
How so? Well, God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son to die for all mankind. God’s love is at the core of the Gospel. Jesus Christ is equally God with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Ergo, God’s love is also Christ’s love, or the love of Christ. Paul was seized by the love of the Gospel, driving him to share it with the world, Jews and Gentiles alike.
The world may be likened unto the Titanic. The world is in a state of catastrophic upheaval. It will soon graze the iceberg of worldwide sin and sink precipitously, never to rise again from its sinful state. It might well be that the majority of the earth’s denizens will drown or freeze to death in the icy waters into which they will be plunged. Perhaps only a remnant will survive. Truly the pride of man is its own downfall.
May the love of God seize us and impel us to share the Gospel with others, even as it did the Apostle Paul. Unlike the Titanic where the lifeboats were much too few, the love of God is boundless. Everyone who will believe the Gospel and receive the Lord Jesus as his Savior will find room aboard for his salvation. Also unlike the Titanic only one Person needed to die for everyone else, viz., Jesus Christ.
Let’s go to our knees alone with the Lord Jesus, beseeching Him to stir our hearts and constrain us to proclaim the Good News. Today is the day of salvation, but today won’t last for eternity.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
The date was April 10, 1912. The location was Southhampton, England. The RMS Titanic took off on her maiden voyage across the north Atlantic to New York City.
On board were some of the richest, most influential personages of the times. Also on board were some of the salt of the earth, poor slobs who wanted to seek out a new life in America. Between crew and passengers, there were a grand total of 2,227 people aboard the Titanic.
The designer of the Titanic planned for it to hold 50 lifeboats. When all was said and done it was built to hold 42 of those rascals. Notwithstanding this fact, the Titanic set sail with only 20 lifeboats. Space was at a premium and mighty money ruled!
Several ships passed the Titanic on her maiden voyage. Each of them warned the captain of the danger of icebergs all along the way. Still, the Titanic kept traveling at nearly top speed, about 20.5 knots. The captain was a skeptic of even the possibility that an iceberg could sink the magificent ship of which he was in control.
On April 14 while all the passengers were indulging in the fun and festivities, the Titanic made the acquaintance of one of those icebergs. In a mere 2½ hours the Titanic had sunk to the bottom of the sea. The “unsinkable” had sunk. Man’s pride met its match…again.
But at how great a cost in human life? Of the 2,227 humans on board, 1,523 drowned or froze to death in the north Atlantic. A scant 705 escaped with their lives and not much more than that. Truly the pride of man is its own downfall.
In the verse quoted at the start of this study, the Apostle Paul taught that one Person died for all persons. Paul concluded that, as a consequence, all died. This information was so astounding and so foundational to the Christian faith, that Paul declared how the love of Christ constrained him to preach the Gospel.
How so? Well, God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son to die for all mankind. God’s love is at the core of the Gospel. Jesus Christ is equally God with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Ergo, God’s love is also Christ’s love, or the love of Christ. Paul was seized by the love of the Gospel, driving him to share it with the world, Jews and Gentiles alike.
The world may be likened unto the Titanic. The world is in a state of catastrophic upheaval. It will soon graze the iceberg of worldwide sin and sink precipitously, never to rise again from its sinful state. It might well be that the majority of the earth’s denizens will drown or freeze to death in the icy waters into which they will be plunged. Perhaps only a remnant will survive. Truly the pride of man is its own downfall.
May the love of God seize us and impel us to share the Gospel with others, even as it did the Apostle Paul. Unlike the Titanic where the lifeboats were much too few, the love of God is boundless. Everyone who will believe the Gospel and receive the Lord Jesus as his Savior will find room aboard for his salvation. Also unlike the Titanic only one Person needed to die for everyone else, viz., Jesus Christ.
Let’s go to our knees alone with the Lord Jesus, beseeching Him to stir our hearts and constrain us to proclaim the Good News. Today is the day of salvation, but today won’t last for eternity.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
March 21, 2012
Bargain Basement Talk – Part 2
The Lord said to me, “I have heard…the words of this people... They have done well in all that they have spoken. Oh that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear Me and keep all My commandments always” [Deuteronomy 5:28-29].
Yesterday we left off with the Israelites speaking smooth words to Moses about obeying the Word of God. Let’s take a gander at the other side of the coin now. It’s what else the Lord addressed that should have us concerned, dear friends. He put His finger on the real issue by saying, “Would that their hearts were just as sold out to Me!” Yikes! That is not our first choice for what we would prefer to hear from the Lord!
Essentially the Lord said that the Israelites’ words came from the bargain basement section of the store. Their words were cheap, not valuable. This didn’t mean the Israelites were insincere and phony, or that their intentions were underhanded and manipulative. No! They were most sincere and had the best of intentions.
Trouble is, they were sincerely wrong. And they were ignorant of spiritual reality, so their intentions never rose to the occasion. They failed to realize that sinful man CANNOT do everything the Lord says, not even some of the time, much less most of the time, and certainly not always.
Yet the Law—and the Law is exactly what they had committed to do perfectly at all times—but the Law doesn’t allow for violations of any kind ever. For example, if the speed limit is 30 and I’m going 50 and get a ticket, when I go to court the judge cannot declare, “It doesn’t matter. Just go home and have a good life!”
Nix, nix, dear friends. The Law doesn’t work that way. Either the judge decides the evidence doesn’t convict me, in which case he issues a ruling of not guilty, or else he finds me guilty and sentences me. He may be lenient with the sentencing or he may lay down the hammer! But what he cannot do is overlook the law and sweep the crime under the rug.
The Law condemns the guilty. All mankind is guilty of sin. Ergo all mankind is condemned to death. The only way of escape is to flee outside the law, to flee to grace for deliverance. The Law was given through Moses. We must flee from its wrath.
On the other hand, grace and truth wer given through Jesus Christ. Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty of our sins. If we go to Him in faith, go to Him as God’s Word states it, and ask Him to forgive us of our sins, He already paid the penalty and can therefore righteously remove our sins. He is both just and at the same time the justifier of all those who have faith in Christ Jesus. He can be both because he doesn’t overlook our sins: He paid their penalty for us.
This is a fine time to look in the mirror and do a little introspection, a little soul-searching, a little diagnosing of the heart. Does our religion, our faith, consist of bargain basement words? I hope not! Let’s stay on our knees before Jesus until we know for certain. Sincerity and good intentions pave the road to hell. Let’s not be on it.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Yesterday we left off with the Israelites speaking smooth words to Moses about obeying the Word of God. Let’s take a gander at the other side of the coin now. It’s what else the Lord addressed that should have us concerned, dear friends. He put His finger on the real issue by saying, “Would that their hearts were just as sold out to Me!” Yikes! That is not our first choice for what we would prefer to hear from the Lord!
Essentially the Lord said that the Israelites’ words came from the bargain basement section of the store. Their words were cheap, not valuable. This didn’t mean the Israelites were insincere and phony, or that their intentions were underhanded and manipulative. No! They were most sincere and had the best of intentions.
Trouble is, they were sincerely wrong. And they were ignorant of spiritual reality, so their intentions never rose to the occasion. They failed to realize that sinful man CANNOT do everything the Lord says, not even some of the time, much less most of the time, and certainly not always.
Yet the Law—and the Law is exactly what they had committed to do perfectly at all times—but the Law doesn’t allow for violations of any kind ever. For example, if the speed limit is 30 and I’m going 50 and get a ticket, when I go to court the judge cannot declare, “It doesn’t matter. Just go home and have a good life!”
Nix, nix, dear friends. The Law doesn’t work that way. Either the judge decides the evidence doesn’t convict me, in which case he issues a ruling of not guilty, or else he finds me guilty and sentences me. He may be lenient with the sentencing or he may lay down the hammer! But what he cannot do is overlook the law and sweep the crime under the rug.
The Law condemns the guilty. All mankind is guilty of sin. Ergo all mankind is condemned to death. The only way of escape is to flee outside the law, to flee to grace for deliverance. The Law was given through Moses. We must flee from its wrath.
On the other hand, grace and truth wer given through Jesus Christ. Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty of our sins. If we go to Him in faith, go to Him as God’s Word states it, and ask Him to forgive us of our sins, He already paid the penalty and can therefore righteously remove our sins. He is both just and at the same time the justifier of all those who have faith in Christ Jesus. He can be both because he doesn’t overlook our sins: He paid their penalty for us.
This is a fine time to look in the mirror and do a little introspection, a little soul-searching, a little diagnosing of the heart. Does our religion, our faith, consist of bargain basement words? I hope not! Let’s stay on our knees before Jesus until we know for certain. Sincerity and good intentions pave the road to hell. Let’s not be on it.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
March 20, 2012
Bargain Basement Talk – Part 1
The Lord said to me, “I have heard…the words of this people... They have done well in all that they have spoken. Oh that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear Me and keep all My commandments always.” [Deuteronomy 5:28-29]
I can recollect days of old (or not so very old), when my kids were in middle school and high school. Every year just before school started up again, I would take them on an excursion through the mall, where they would pick out some clothes to wear that school year.
Here’s the thing. Back in the day I was going through some tough times financially. We were living from hand to mouth. But it didn’t faze the kids. They would always pick out the most expensive clothes anyway! After all, the kids they hung with all wore suchlike duds, so my kids figured they had the right to wear them too.
They were never much impressed when I explained the facts of life to them. It went like this. When you have a hundred dollars, you can spend a hundred dollars. When you have ten dollars, you cannot spend a hundred dollars!
Not to worry. In our house we followed the golden rule: he who has the gold makes the rule! I had the gold, so we spent ten dollars and left the hundred dollars to those parents who had it. This led us to the bargain basement section of the stores—you know, the place where sales items and clothes without the interior design label and stitching were kept.
Not that my kids ever went to school looking like tramps, mind you. They blended in quite well and are well adjusted to this day. It was just that outrageously priced clothing didn’t grace their closets. What they wore was neat and clean and stylish, just not extravagant and gaudy.
At Mount Sinai the Lord spoke the Ten Commandments to the Israelites. As He spoke the ground shook violently like a canoe on white water rapids, the mountain smoked and burned like a humongous furnace, and lightning flashed in all directions like some syfy movie where electrical flashes open up a time warp.
When it was all over, the Israelites made a mad dash to Moses and vented their outrage at him. They said, “Listen up, Moshe! Everything the Lord said we will do. No problemento, señor. Only one itsy bitsy favor we request of you. Don’t let the Lord speak to us again or we’ll die! From now on you go hear what He has to say, and then you can tell us and we’ll do everything…everything, we tell you!”
It was at that point of the conversation that the Lord spoke to Moses the words quoted to commence this study. Look at the words once more. Read them to yourself very slowly. Stop and ponder them a bit. Allow them to roll over your tongue, as you sample the taste of each word. Okay, what did you learn?
Did you catch how the Lord contrasted their words with their hearts? Hmm. What does that mean? Well, He liked their words just fine. Every last one was all pretty and cuddly and quaint. No one would have any objection to marrying them and taking them home. They were pleasant to the ear and likeable to the sight.
Oh, but we are out of time today. We’ll take up the issue again tomorrow. In the interim be sure to enjoy your time alone with Jesus. He misses you.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
I can recollect days of old (or not so very old), when my kids were in middle school and high school. Every year just before school started up again, I would take them on an excursion through the mall, where they would pick out some clothes to wear that school year.
Here’s the thing. Back in the day I was going through some tough times financially. We were living from hand to mouth. But it didn’t faze the kids. They would always pick out the most expensive clothes anyway! After all, the kids they hung with all wore suchlike duds, so my kids figured they had the right to wear them too.
They were never much impressed when I explained the facts of life to them. It went like this. When you have a hundred dollars, you can spend a hundred dollars. When you have ten dollars, you cannot spend a hundred dollars!
Not to worry. In our house we followed the golden rule: he who has the gold makes the rule! I had the gold, so we spent ten dollars and left the hundred dollars to those parents who had it. This led us to the bargain basement section of the stores—you know, the place where sales items and clothes without the interior design label and stitching were kept.
Not that my kids ever went to school looking like tramps, mind you. They blended in quite well and are well adjusted to this day. It was just that outrageously priced clothing didn’t grace their closets. What they wore was neat and clean and stylish, just not extravagant and gaudy.
At Mount Sinai the Lord spoke the Ten Commandments to the Israelites. As He spoke the ground shook violently like a canoe on white water rapids, the mountain smoked and burned like a humongous furnace, and lightning flashed in all directions like some syfy movie where electrical flashes open up a time warp.
When it was all over, the Israelites made a mad dash to Moses and vented their outrage at him. They said, “Listen up, Moshe! Everything the Lord said we will do. No problemento, señor. Only one itsy bitsy favor we request of you. Don’t let the Lord speak to us again or we’ll die! From now on you go hear what He has to say, and then you can tell us and we’ll do everything…everything, we tell you!”
It was at that point of the conversation that the Lord spoke to Moses the words quoted to commence this study. Look at the words once more. Read them to yourself very slowly. Stop and ponder them a bit. Allow them to roll over your tongue, as you sample the taste of each word. Okay, what did you learn?
Did you catch how the Lord contrasted their words with their hearts? Hmm. What does that mean? Well, He liked their words just fine. Every last one was all pretty and cuddly and quaint. No one would have any objection to marrying them and taking them home. They were pleasant to the ear and likeable to the sight.
Oh, but we are out of time today. We’ll take up the issue again tomorrow. In the interim be sure to enjoy your time alone with Jesus. He misses you.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
March 19, 2012
Stuff and Nonsense
The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” [Psalm 14:1; 53:1]
Perhaps you’ve heard the commonplace, “There are no atheists in foxholes.” The meaning is that, when a person stares death in the face, he suddenly out of thin air believes in God, or at least in a god of some kind. The implication is that sinful man cannot in truth disbelief the existence of God.
Nothing could be farther from the truth, dear friends! Let the Lord teach us, rather than man with his fanciful imagination. Let’s eat from the life tree, not from the kogae tree. So what does the Word of God teach us? Read the verse quoted at the commencement of this study and see.
A person who truly doesn’t believe God exists is a “fool”. We might define a “fool”, then, by reversing this: A fool is a person who truly doesn’t believe God exists. Voilà! a Biblical fool.
Now consider how a Biblical fool thinks and what he spouts off: “There is no God.” See! He truly doesn’t believe that God exists.
“Oh, no, teacher,” a fervid gainsayer interrupts. “He does too believe in God. He only says he doesn’t behind academia’s ivory towers, where all is well in his world. But put him in a foxhole, and you’ll hear him call upon God pronto!”
Oh, really, my good man? Is that what you think? Well, what you think is about as relevant as the price of tea in China. It’s not what you or I think. Such poppycock comes from the kogae tree, and its fruit is insalubrious, let me assure you. It’s what God knows, and He shares it with us in His Word.
Let me ask you, where did the fool come to the conclusion that God doesn’t exist? Answer: “in his heart”. The fool doesn’t spout idle words. He believes it. He doesn’t believe it just in his head, as an intellectual exercise which he can discard like a cheap suit when it’s convenient to do so. He believes it in his heart.
In order to be born again, a person must confess with his mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in his heart that God has raised him from the dead (cf., Romans 10:9-10). It isn’t enough, you see, to talk the talk, to have certain thoughts about Jesus in the head. A person’s heart must be truly converted, if he is truly born again.
So too is it with the fool talking the talk about God not existing. If that’s all he does, then in the foxhole he might very well sing a different tune! But if his words begin in his heart, then that by definition is his true nature. He really does believe there is no God.
Consequently, he won’t somehow out of the clear blue come to a belief in God because his world is lacking. Oh, he might utter the words, “Oh, my God!” But that is simply a common enough exclamation, one which is heard on every street corner from here to Timbuktu.
Our atheist is doing no more than spouting what to him is an expletive, when he exclaims using that phrase. He is a parrot repeating what he’s heard countless times before. But his heart isn’t speaking those words. He isn’t calling upon God; he’s using God’s name in vain.
Let this be a lesson to us. We cannot choose God anytime we find it convenient to do so. Oh, we can say His name and use words, but He will turn a deaf ear to us should we do so. God chooses us; we don’t choose Him. When He calls us, if we turn a deaf ear to Him, don’t be surprised if He returns the favor!
Call upon the Lord while He may be found. Behold, now is the day of salvation. Heed the call, lest you be sealed in the condition known as the Biblical fool who says in his heart, “There is not God.” Go to Jesus now and throw yourself on His mercy. He won’t refuse you.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Perhaps you’ve heard the commonplace, “There are no atheists in foxholes.” The meaning is that, when a person stares death in the face, he suddenly out of thin air believes in God, or at least in a god of some kind. The implication is that sinful man cannot in truth disbelief the existence of God.
Nothing could be farther from the truth, dear friends! Let the Lord teach us, rather than man with his fanciful imagination. Let’s eat from the life tree, not from the kogae tree. So what does the Word of God teach us? Read the verse quoted at the commencement of this study and see.
A person who truly doesn’t believe God exists is a “fool”. We might define a “fool”, then, by reversing this: A fool is a person who truly doesn’t believe God exists. Voilà! a Biblical fool.
Now consider how a Biblical fool thinks and what he spouts off: “There is no God.” See! He truly doesn’t believe that God exists.
“Oh, no, teacher,” a fervid gainsayer interrupts. “He does too believe in God. He only says he doesn’t behind academia’s ivory towers, where all is well in his world. But put him in a foxhole, and you’ll hear him call upon God pronto!”
Oh, really, my good man? Is that what you think? Well, what you think is about as relevant as the price of tea in China. It’s not what you or I think. Such poppycock comes from the kogae tree, and its fruit is insalubrious, let me assure you. It’s what God knows, and He shares it with us in His Word.
Let me ask you, where did the fool come to the conclusion that God doesn’t exist? Answer: “in his heart”. The fool doesn’t spout idle words. He believes it. He doesn’t believe it just in his head, as an intellectual exercise which he can discard like a cheap suit when it’s convenient to do so. He believes it in his heart.
In order to be born again, a person must confess with his mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in his heart that God has raised him from the dead (cf., Romans 10:9-10). It isn’t enough, you see, to talk the talk, to have certain thoughts about Jesus in the head. A person’s heart must be truly converted, if he is truly born again.
So too is it with the fool talking the talk about God not existing. If that’s all he does, then in the foxhole he might very well sing a different tune! But if his words begin in his heart, then that by definition is his true nature. He really does believe there is no God.
Consequently, he won’t somehow out of the clear blue come to a belief in God because his world is lacking. Oh, he might utter the words, “Oh, my God!” But that is simply a common enough exclamation, one which is heard on every street corner from here to Timbuktu.
Our atheist is doing no more than spouting what to him is an expletive, when he exclaims using that phrase. He is a parrot repeating what he’s heard countless times before. But his heart isn’t speaking those words. He isn’t calling upon God; he’s using God’s name in vain.
Let this be a lesson to us. We cannot choose God anytime we find it convenient to do so. Oh, we can say His name and use words, but He will turn a deaf ear to us should we do so. God chooses us; we don’t choose Him. When He calls us, if we turn a deaf ear to Him, don’t be surprised if He returns the favor!
Call upon the Lord while He may be found. Behold, now is the day of salvation. Heed the call, lest you be sealed in the condition known as the Biblical fool who says in his heart, “There is not God.” Go to Jesus now and throw yourself on His mercy. He won’t refuse you.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Narcissus Returns!
I have a message from God in my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: there is no fear of God before their eyes. In their own eyes they flatter themselves too much to detect or hate their sin [Psalm 36:1-2, NIV].
Egocentrism vs. theocentrism. Big words which express a lot. Oftentimes we use a lot of words to say nothing. On rare occasions we hear a lot of meaningful teaching in a few scant words. The second case applies to our big words here.
“Centrism” refers to what is at the center of attention, what is being focused upon. “Ego” is the Greek 1st person singular personal pronoun “I”. “Theo” is the Greek word for “God”. So “egocentrism” means “I” am at the center of the universe: everything revolves around me. “Theocentrism” means “God” is the center of my universe: my life and everything else revolves around Him.
God created man to be theocentric. He made us to desire fellowship with Him, as He does with us. Sin marred man’s makeup, leaving us in opposition to God. We want nothing to do with the real God, only with a god made in our own image. Consequently I want to be in control. I want to be the center of the universe and have everyone and everything revolve around me.
This is what the Psalmist taught in the verses we quoted at the outset of this study. How do we explain the sinfulness of the wicked? Left to ourselves we cannot. All we can do is theorize some psychobabble or whatnot. We need the omniscient God, man’s Creator, to explain us to us. Listen to His explanation of the sinfulness of the wicked.
• there is no fear of God before their eyes
• in their own eyes they flatter themselves too much to detect or hate their sin
Those two depictions go hand in glove. They are two peas in a pod, two sides of the same coin. Ask yourself the question, “Why do the wicked not fear God?” The answer is, “They flatter themselves to such an extent, that they are self-righteous. They can do no wrong. Whatever goes wrong is somebody else’s fault, including God’s. They are so full of themselves that even God must feel honored to know them!”
Isn’t it obvious that such a state of affairs leaves no room for God? How can anyone fear God when they are superior to God? If the entire universe and all it contains revolves around li’l ol’ me, how insignificant then is God? No wonder such a one cannot fear God. He is Narcissus! He is so in love with himself that he cannot even imagine he has need for improvement, much less recognize outright sin in his life.
Have you noticed in our contemporary anti-christ society how nearly universal it is to witness this mentality in people, at least to one extent or another? Relationships like marriage and family are in the gutter because communication barely exists between us anymore. All of us are busy seeking our own good, and we think we are without fault in doing so. We have our rights, you see, and no one had better dare infringe on them in any way. How inconvenient that would be!
Once upon a time not so long ago in a not faraway world, we used to regularly hear about our responsibilities. Meeting them was evidence of adulthood. It was honorable. My, my, but we’ve come a long way, baby! Nowadays talk about responsibilities is taboo and the person brash enough to do so is pilloried and ostracized.
Using the Word of God as our measuring stick for right and wrong, and specifically the quoted verses we are studying, what does this reveal about us and our society today? Hint, hint, it’s not good! The word “wicked” comes to mind, also “egocentric” and “self-flatterer”. Oh, and let’s not leave off the word “sin”.
Let’s go to the Lord in prayer with Bible now, asking Him to pinpoint any of these tendencies in us. Let’s learn under His tutelage to cultivate a penchant for analyzing our own motives and behaviors, rather than everybody else’s. We will be better people for it, more Christlike in every way as contrasted with more antichrist-like. Isn’t this what we should want?
So let’s not whine about our toes being stepped on or our fur rubbed the wrong way. By all means, dear Jesus, stomp and rub until we have had our fill of sin, then repent and turn to you for a new beginning. In Christ’s name.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Egocentrism vs. theocentrism. Big words which express a lot. Oftentimes we use a lot of words to say nothing. On rare occasions we hear a lot of meaningful teaching in a few scant words. The second case applies to our big words here.
“Centrism” refers to what is at the center of attention, what is being focused upon. “Ego” is the Greek 1st person singular personal pronoun “I”. “Theo” is the Greek word for “God”. So “egocentrism” means “I” am at the center of the universe: everything revolves around me. “Theocentrism” means “God” is the center of my universe: my life and everything else revolves around Him.
God created man to be theocentric. He made us to desire fellowship with Him, as He does with us. Sin marred man’s makeup, leaving us in opposition to God. We want nothing to do with the real God, only with a god made in our own image. Consequently I want to be in control. I want to be the center of the universe and have everyone and everything revolve around me.
This is what the Psalmist taught in the verses we quoted at the outset of this study. How do we explain the sinfulness of the wicked? Left to ourselves we cannot. All we can do is theorize some psychobabble or whatnot. We need the omniscient God, man’s Creator, to explain us to us. Listen to His explanation of the sinfulness of the wicked.
• there is no fear of God before their eyes
• in their own eyes they flatter themselves too much to detect or hate their sin
Those two depictions go hand in glove. They are two peas in a pod, two sides of the same coin. Ask yourself the question, “Why do the wicked not fear God?” The answer is, “They flatter themselves to such an extent, that they are self-righteous. They can do no wrong. Whatever goes wrong is somebody else’s fault, including God’s. They are so full of themselves that even God must feel honored to know them!”
Isn’t it obvious that such a state of affairs leaves no room for God? How can anyone fear God when they are superior to God? If the entire universe and all it contains revolves around li’l ol’ me, how insignificant then is God? No wonder such a one cannot fear God. He is Narcissus! He is so in love with himself that he cannot even imagine he has need for improvement, much less recognize outright sin in his life.
Have you noticed in our contemporary anti-christ society how nearly universal it is to witness this mentality in people, at least to one extent or another? Relationships like marriage and family are in the gutter because communication barely exists between us anymore. All of us are busy seeking our own good, and we think we are without fault in doing so. We have our rights, you see, and no one had better dare infringe on them in any way. How inconvenient that would be!
Once upon a time not so long ago in a not faraway world, we used to regularly hear about our responsibilities. Meeting them was evidence of adulthood. It was honorable. My, my, but we’ve come a long way, baby! Nowadays talk about responsibilities is taboo and the person brash enough to do so is pilloried and ostracized.
Using the Word of God as our measuring stick for right and wrong, and specifically the quoted verses we are studying, what does this reveal about us and our society today? Hint, hint, it’s not good! The word “wicked” comes to mind, also “egocentric” and “self-flatterer”. Oh, and let’s not leave off the word “sin”.
Let’s go to the Lord in prayer with Bible now, asking Him to pinpoint any of these tendencies in us. Let’s learn under His tutelage to cultivate a penchant for analyzing our own motives and behaviors, rather than everybody else’s. We will be better people for it, more Christlike in every way as contrasted with more antichrist-like. Isn’t this what we should want?
So let’s not whine about our toes being stepped on or our fur rubbed the wrong way. By all means, dear Jesus, stomp and rub until we have had our fill of sin, then repent and turn to you for a new beginning. In Christ’s name.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
March 17, 2012
Stand Still and Walk! – Part 2
But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.” [Exodus 14:13-14]
In the text we quoted to start this study, the Israelites were standing on the shore of the Red Sea. The sea was in front of them to bar their advancement, and Pharaoh and his army were behind them to bar their retreat. The Israelites were in a state of discombobulation, fearing for their lives and panic-stricken.
Moses alone stood resolute because his eyes were on the Lord, while the other Israelites focused on the sea and the enemy soldiers. By faith Moses exhorted his compatriots, Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today.
Following today’s approach, Aaron should’ve run off to seclusion and written a fad book titled, “How To Escape All Your Troubles!” He could write down the account of how the Lord delivered the Israelites at the Red Sea. All of Egypt’s enemies would be sure to make a mad dash for the bookstores and get their copy. Then they could lure Pharaoh to the Red Sea and win the war the way the Israelites did!
Dear friends, on this occasion the Lord instructed the Israelites to stand still and watch Him deliver them from Pharaoh’s clutches. While they watched the Lord parted the waters of the Red Sea and sent the Israelites across it on dry ground. Of course the Israelites had to do their part, viz., to stand still and trust Him while the waters were parted, and then to get a-marching across the dry seabed.
But the Lord didn’t repeat this approach any other time, except forty years later when He also stopped the waters of the flooding Jordan River to allow Israel to cross on dry ground. The repetition of this approach was for reasons of typology.
On many occasions the Lord instructed the Israelites to take up arms and do the fighting themselves. He did defeat the enemy for them, to be sure, but they had to participate by actually fighting. So at the Red Sea the Lord forbade the Israelites to do the fighting, while against the Amalekites (as one example, cf., Exodus 17) He insisted they do the fighting.
Isn’t it clear that fad books about how to grow the church are only worldly ways? We have many a missions program which apes this approach. Such programs think bigger is better, rather than Biblical is spiritual. They wind up sending out family units on their own to do the work of the ministry, like isolated participants in guerrilla warfare.
What they should be doing is involving the entire Body of Christ in spiritual warfare. After all, every Christian is a prayer warrior in the Christian military. But Christians cannot effectively conduct spiritual warfare without personal involvement in the ministry. We need to know the missionaries and be kept up-to-date on their needs and goals, so we can offer up very specific prayers to the Lord.
In ministry the Lord has His part to do and we have ours. Those parts vary from ministry to ministry and sometimes from moment to moment. We need to maintain our relationship with the Lord daily and be in prayer about what He wants from us each day. That is how to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh. Isn’t this what you want for yourself? I know I do.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
In the text we quoted to start this study, the Israelites were standing on the shore of the Red Sea. The sea was in front of them to bar their advancement, and Pharaoh and his army were behind them to bar their retreat. The Israelites were in a state of discombobulation, fearing for their lives and panic-stricken.
Moses alone stood resolute because his eyes were on the Lord, while the other Israelites focused on the sea and the enemy soldiers. By faith Moses exhorted his compatriots, Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today.
Following today’s approach, Aaron should’ve run off to seclusion and written a fad book titled, “How To Escape All Your Troubles!” He could write down the account of how the Lord delivered the Israelites at the Red Sea. All of Egypt’s enemies would be sure to make a mad dash for the bookstores and get their copy. Then they could lure Pharaoh to the Red Sea and win the war the way the Israelites did!
Dear friends, on this occasion the Lord instructed the Israelites to stand still and watch Him deliver them from Pharaoh’s clutches. While they watched the Lord parted the waters of the Red Sea and sent the Israelites across it on dry ground. Of course the Israelites had to do their part, viz., to stand still and trust Him while the waters were parted, and then to get a-marching across the dry seabed.
But the Lord didn’t repeat this approach any other time, except forty years later when He also stopped the waters of the flooding Jordan River to allow Israel to cross on dry ground. The repetition of this approach was for reasons of typology.
On many occasions the Lord instructed the Israelites to take up arms and do the fighting themselves. He did defeat the enemy for them, to be sure, but they had to participate by actually fighting. So at the Red Sea the Lord forbade the Israelites to do the fighting, while against the Amalekites (as one example, cf., Exodus 17) He insisted they do the fighting.
Isn’t it clear that fad books about how to grow the church are only worldly ways? We have many a missions program which apes this approach. Such programs think bigger is better, rather than Biblical is spiritual. They wind up sending out family units on their own to do the work of the ministry, like isolated participants in guerrilla warfare.
What they should be doing is involving the entire Body of Christ in spiritual warfare. After all, every Christian is a prayer warrior in the Christian military. But Christians cannot effectively conduct spiritual warfare without personal involvement in the ministry. We need to know the missionaries and be kept up-to-date on their needs and goals, so we can offer up very specific prayers to the Lord.
In ministry the Lord has His part to do and we have ours. Those parts vary from ministry to ministry and sometimes from moment to moment. We need to maintain our relationship with the Lord daily and be in prayer about what He wants from us each day. That is how to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh. Isn’t this what you want for yourself? I know I do.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
March 16, 2012
Stand Still and Walk! – Part 1
But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.” [Exodus 14:13-14]
It is a commonplace in today’s churches to hie off to the nearest Christian bookstore in search of spiritual secrets. The latest fad book on “How to Make Your Church Grow from Seven Souls to Seven Thousand Overnight” is one of the best sellers. When we follow such an approach, we turn the church into a worldly organization. Truth be told, the Church is a spiritual organism, the Body of Christ on earth today.
There are no shortcuts in natural life, dear friends. To create a mature adult several steps need to take place, each of which takes years to blossom. Let’s itemize some of them:
1. consummation of a marriage
2. carrying to term
3. giving birth
4. baby years
5. toddler years
6. preschool years
7. elementary school years
8. high school years
9. college/trade school/apprenticeship years
10. young working adult years
11. middle age years
12. golden oldies years
The list is not all-inclusive to be sure, but it suffices to express the stages of natural life.
The same is true in spiritual life. Unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God [John 3:3]. So in the spiritual life we also need points 1-3: consummation of a marriage, carrying to term, and giving birth.
A simple cursory glance at both Old and New Testaments reveals the Lord’s will for His people to become educated in the Word of God. Strict directions are given for parents to rear their children in the things of God, both by teaching them the Bible and by setting a Biblical example of Christian living for them. So in the spiritual life we also need points 4-9.
In 1 John 2:12-14 the Apostle John identifies three ages of spiritual maturity. He addresses the “little children” and the “young men” and the “fathers”. When we understand that John is writing spiritual truth to these folks, then we know to interpret these terms spiritually, i.e., as pertaining to spiritual life. So in the spiritual life we also need points 10-12.
Here’s the moral to this story, dear people. In the natural life things are not the same for each person. Your course in life and your natural gifts and abilities are not mine or your neighbors or your sisters. And what is applicable to you today might not be so in twenty years or twenty days or twenty minutes.
The same is true in the spiritual life too. How one person came to know the Lord is not the way everybody must come to know the Lord. What books and teachings attract one Christian is not what will appeal to another. What ministry I have is not the ministry you are supposed to have. There is no one-size-fits-all in spiritual life.
For that matter what is apposite for me today in ministry might very well not be tomorrow. I used to have a pulpit ministry: now I have a writing ministry. The Lord wants to rear us to walk by faith, which requires constant dependence on Him, not a predetermined plan on our part of what will be.
Until we get a handle on this spiritual truth that the Church is a spiritual organism and not a worldly organization, we will never accomplish for Christ anything to write home about. We need to study 1 Corinthians 12-14 until we thoroughly understand this.
Do you see how this affects Christian fad books about how to grow the church? What worked in one case is not a blueprint for every church—or perhaps even for any other church. Programs, fads, gadgets and gimmicks—suchlike gewgaws are not the work of a spiritual organism. They are the baubles of a worldly organization. They only serve to attract folks on the natural level, not the spiritual.
We will pursue this issue further in our next lesson. Spend some time alone with our blessed Lord now, why don’cha.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
It is a commonplace in today’s churches to hie off to the nearest Christian bookstore in search of spiritual secrets. The latest fad book on “How to Make Your Church Grow from Seven Souls to Seven Thousand Overnight” is one of the best sellers. When we follow such an approach, we turn the church into a worldly organization. Truth be told, the Church is a spiritual organism, the Body of Christ on earth today.
There are no shortcuts in natural life, dear friends. To create a mature adult several steps need to take place, each of which takes years to blossom. Let’s itemize some of them:
1. consummation of a marriage
2. carrying to term
3. giving birth
4. baby years
5. toddler years
6. preschool years
7. elementary school years
8. high school years
9. college/trade school/apprenticeship years
10. young working adult years
11. middle age years
12. golden oldies years
The list is not all-inclusive to be sure, but it suffices to express the stages of natural life.
The same is true in spiritual life. Unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God [John 3:3]. So in the spiritual life we also need points 1-3: consummation of a marriage, carrying to term, and giving birth.
A simple cursory glance at both Old and New Testaments reveals the Lord’s will for His people to become educated in the Word of God. Strict directions are given for parents to rear their children in the things of God, both by teaching them the Bible and by setting a Biblical example of Christian living for them. So in the spiritual life we also need points 4-9.
In 1 John 2:12-14 the Apostle John identifies three ages of spiritual maturity. He addresses the “little children” and the “young men” and the “fathers”. When we understand that John is writing spiritual truth to these folks, then we know to interpret these terms spiritually, i.e., as pertaining to spiritual life. So in the spiritual life we also need points 10-12.
Here’s the moral to this story, dear people. In the natural life things are not the same for each person. Your course in life and your natural gifts and abilities are not mine or your neighbors or your sisters. And what is applicable to you today might not be so in twenty years or twenty days or twenty minutes.
The same is true in the spiritual life too. How one person came to know the Lord is not the way everybody must come to know the Lord. What books and teachings attract one Christian is not what will appeal to another. What ministry I have is not the ministry you are supposed to have. There is no one-size-fits-all in spiritual life.
For that matter what is apposite for me today in ministry might very well not be tomorrow. I used to have a pulpit ministry: now I have a writing ministry. The Lord wants to rear us to walk by faith, which requires constant dependence on Him, not a predetermined plan on our part of what will be.
Until we get a handle on this spiritual truth that the Church is a spiritual organism and not a worldly organization, we will never accomplish for Christ anything to write home about. We need to study 1 Corinthians 12-14 until we thoroughly understand this.
Do you see how this affects Christian fad books about how to grow the church? What worked in one case is not a blueprint for every church—or perhaps even for any other church. Programs, fads, gadgets and gimmicks—suchlike gewgaws are not the work of a spiritual organism. They are the baubles of a worldly organization. They only serve to attract folks on the natural level, not the spiritual.
We will pursue this issue further in our next lesson. Spend some time alone with our blessed Lord now, why don’cha.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
March 15, 2012
Of Covenants and Dispensations – Part 2
These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! [1 Corinthians 10:11-12]
Let’s continue with our study from yesterday. A dear woman and her husband in one of my churches fell under the spell of the Seventh Day Adventists, a cult. This group is entangled in obeying the Law in order to be a Christian. They go so far as to insist that Saturday is the only true day to hold church services and reject Sunday, the Lord’s Day. Hence their name.
Before leaving one of the churches I was pastored, this elderly lady commenced to quarreling with me during Bible study about Christians no longer being under the Law. She wanted to win converts to her brand of legalism, you see, and take them with her to the Adventist Church. She challenged, “Well, if we are no longer under the Law, why do we still bother to study it? Why not remove it from our Bibles and just study the New Testament?”
She felt pretty good about herself, and it showed all over her face. To her she was the man and I was confronted with irrefutable argumentation. In actuality her argument was mere sophistry. It had the appearance of logic and validity, but it was specious reasoning par excellence.
If she knew her Bible as well as she thought she did, she would have known that the Apostle Paul fought ferociously against the Judaizers. The Judaizers were Pharisees, Jewish legalists, who supposedly converted to Christ. However, they insisted on attaching the Law to belief in Jesus. It was necessary to believe in Jesus, yes, but it was also necessary to continue to obey the Law.
Paul rebuked them scathingly, declaring, “We are no longer under Law but under grace!” This same Paul, notwithstanding, still taught the Old Testament to his converts to Jesus. The tenth chapter of 1 Corinthians is one such example. The Bible text we quoted to commence this study is Paul’s conclusion to his Old Testament teaching.
In the first ten verses of 1 Corinthians 10, Paul reiterated multiple situations which occurred with the Israelites in the wilderness under Moses’ leadership. Then Paul penned the words quoted at the start of this lesson. Those words tell us why we still study the Old Testament, even though we are no longer under the Law.
God preserved His Word, including all of the Old Testament, to furnish us with examples. These examples serve as a good source of instruction. We are to learn from the past history of God’s people how NOT to serve the Lord, as well as HOW to serve the Lord. If we learn from Israel’s mistakes, we will be better able to avoid them ourselves.
Think about it, dear friends. I am not obligated to obey the legal code of the Roman Empire, but I still studied Roman history and in the process gleaned a good deal of learning which has relevance today.
We don’t study the Old Testament because we are under the Law. We study it because the Lord used visible physical realities to teach us invisible spiritual truths. I want to know all of these truths. I don’t want to miss any of them. That’s why I study the Old Testament.
Another reason is that I love the Lord and love to learn how He has related to man through the centuries and millennia. The Bible is the only source for learning this. And the Bible is the only book which contains no errors or lies.
So let’s not attempt to obey the Law in order to be saved or to stay saved. But let’s study the Law to know the Lord all the better. This is an excellent time for us to grab our Bibles and go be with Jesus. He loves to teach us His Word, if only we want to learn it and obey it.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Let’s continue with our study from yesterday. A dear woman and her husband in one of my churches fell under the spell of the Seventh Day Adventists, a cult. This group is entangled in obeying the Law in order to be a Christian. They go so far as to insist that Saturday is the only true day to hold church services and reject Sunday, the Lord’s Day. Hence their name.
Before leaving one of the churches I was pastored, this elderly lady commenced to quarreling with me during Bible study about Christians no longer being under the Law. She wanted to win converts to her brand of legalism, you see, and take them with her to the Adventist Church. She challenged, “Well, if we are no longer under the Law, why do we still bother to study it? Why not remove it from our Bibles and just study the New Testament?”
She felt pretty good about herself, and it showed all over her face. To her she was the man and I was confronted with irrefutable argumentation. In actuality her argument was mere sophistry. It had the appearance of logic and validity, but it was specious reasoning par excellence.
If she knew her Bible as well as she thought she did, she would have known that the Apostle Paul fought ferociously against the Judaizers. The Judaizers were Pharisees, Jewish legalists, who supposedly converted to Christ. However, they insisted on attaching the Law to belief in Jesus. It was necessary to believe in Jesus, yes, but it was also necessary to continue to obey the Law.
Paul rebuked them scathingly, declaring, “We are no longer under Law but under grace!” This same Paul, notwithstanding, still taught the Old Testament to his converts to Jesus. The tenth chapter of 1 Corinthians is one such example. The Bible text we quoted to commence this study is Paul’s conclusion to his Old Testament teaching.
In the first ten verses of 1 Corinthians 10, Paul reiterated multiple situations which occurred with the Israelites in the wilderness under Moses’ leadership. Then Paul penned the words quoted at the start of this lesson. Those words tell us why we still study the Old Testament, even though we are no longer under the Law.
God preserved His Word, including all of the Old Testament, to furnish us with examples. These examples serve as a good source of instruction. We are to learn from the past history of God’s people how NOT to serve the Lord, as well as HOW to serve the Lord. If we learn from Israel’s mistakes, we will be better able to avoid them ourselves.
Think about it, dear friends. I am not obligated to obey the legal code of the Roman Empire, but I still studied Roman history and in the process gleaned a good deal of learning which has relevance today.
We don’t study the Old Testament because we are under the Law. We study it because the Lord used visible physical realities to teach us invisible spiritual truths. I want to know all of these truths. I don’t want to miss any of them. That’s why I study the Old Testament.
Another reason is that I love the Lord and love to learn how He has related to man through the centuries and millennia. The Bible is the only source for learning this. And the Bible is the only book which contains no errors or lies.
So let’s not attempt to obey the Law in order to be saved or to stay saved. But let’s study the Law to know the Lord all the better. This is an excellent time for us to grab our Bibles and go be with Jesus. He loves to teach us His Word, if only we want to learn it and obey it.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
