Pain and Suffering

When a person receives Jesus Christ, does that put an end to suffering in this life?

If a believer experiences grief, does that mean they lack faith?

Unfortunately, some, within the church, would say yes.

Let’s look at what the Bible has to say.

 

“The human spirit can endure a sick body, but who can bear it if the spirit is crushed?” - Prov. 18:14 (NLT)

 

“Laughter can conceal a heavy heart; when the laughter ends, the grief remains.” - Prov. 14:13 (NLT)

 

“Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar poured on soda, is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.” - Prov. 25:20 (NKJV)

 

“Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am in distress. My sight is blurred because of my tears. My body and soul are withering away. I am dying from grief; my years are shortened by sadness. Misery has drained my strength; I am wasting away from within. I am scorned by all my enemies and despised by my neighbors – even my friends are afraid to come near me. When they see me on the street, they turn the other way. I have been ignored as if I were dead, as if I were a broken pot.” - Ps. 31:9-12 (NLT)

 

“O God, listen to my cry! Hear my prayer! From the ends of the earth, I will cry to You for help. My heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the towering rock of safety, for You are my refuge, a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me. Let me live forever in Your sanctuary, safe beneath the shelter of Your wings! Interlude~ - Ps. 61:1-4 (NLT)

 

“Jesus wept.” - John 11:35 (NKJV)

 

“And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”  (Jesus in the garden before His crucifixion) - Luke 22:44 (NKJV)

 

“Yea, and all that will live Godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” - 2 Tim. 3:12 (NKJV)

 

Pain and suffering are a part of our fallen state in this world. The question one should ask, rather than do Christians suffer, is, what should Christians (or anyone) do when pain and suffering come?

 

“Whom have I in heaven but You? I desire You more than anything on earth. My heart may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; He is mine forever.” - Ps. 73:25-26 (NLT)

 

“But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things You do.” - Ps. 73:28 (NLT)

 

There are so many passages that deal with pain and comfort, I could go on and on, but that would be a very long post. Suffice it to say, there is much to say about suffering but also the hope that comes through Christ Jesus. Emotions are not always good but we must remember that God gave us emotions, good and bad, and there are reasons. How we choose to deal with them is what we need to master.

Do we let grief wear us down? Do we seek to be on an emotional high at all times? Neither are good for us. We need to allow grief to have its place and move on. Likewise, joy and happiness have their place, but we will not always be in a state of bliss.

Wherever we are, we can look to God and trust Him. Even in the darkest grief, God is still good, and we can find His peace and even joy.    

 

“Thus saith the Lord, the King of Israel, and His Redeemer, the Lord of Hosts, I Am the First and I Am the Last; and beside Me there is no God.” - Isa. 44:6 (NKJV)

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WISDOM: A Commentary on a Commentary Part II

 

Today I will pick up with the first chapter of Dennis Prager’s commentary, The Rational Bible: Genesis- God, Creation, and Destruction.

In Chapter 1, he begins with the beginning, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1).

He states that to some extent, this is the most important verse in Scripture. I find his narrative to be dead-on. He writes, “First, the verse posits a Creator of the universe. That means, among other things, there is meaning to existence. If there is no Creator, there is no ultimate purpose to existence, including of course, human existence. We humans can make up a meaning because we are the one species that cannot live without meaning. But the fact remains that we made it up.”

When the Bible was taught in schools and the majority of people in America went to church, we did not see the violence and chaos that we see, or live with, today. Why? I would argue that when we removed God out of the picture, we lost our sense of purpose and identity (I would also add accountability). When we have no solid foundation on which to base our meaning, purpose, or accountability, we become a people devoid of conscience and each seeks to make his own purpose, generally with selfish intent, and impose his/her will on others. The perfect recipe for disaster.

Prager continues:

 

Of course, atheists argue that believers in God made up God; therefore, God does not really exist. But they don’t always apply this rule to the existence of what they acknowledge they made up: meaning. If what we make up (God) doesn’t exist, what atheists make up (meaning) doesn’t exist. If there is no God, we know there is no ultimate meaning or purpose to life: that all existence – including, of course, our own – is the result of random chance. But we do not know there is no Creator. So, unlike those who know they make up meaning, neither we who believe in God nor atheists know we made up God. On the contrary, there are very strong arguments for a designer of the world, but there are no arguments for an ultimate purpose to life if there is no God.  

 

Man has always sought the meaning and purpose to life. With the hopelessness that comes with not knowing God, meaning, and purpose, one can only try to create for themselves some sense of being. For some, it is to take what others have. For others, it is charity, but as good as this is, it is for selfish reasons. Most of us gain a great satisfaction out of helping others. At its heart, the motivation is to make us feel better. I’m not saying this is necessarily a bad thing, but when we condemn those who take the former approach, on what moral code do we make such condemnation? After all, we are merely products of random chance and this life is all there is, why not live it up and do what pleases us?

If we look at the world, we see chaos when man does what he wills. Within nature, we see order and beauty. Of all I have read and studied, I have never seen any belief system that demonstrates why this is, other than the God of the Bible.  

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WISDOM: A Commentary on a Commentary

 

What is wisdom? As a simple man, a scholar by no means, I have been intrigued with wisdom since my early teen years. It was at that time, my family was attending a church and I remember this verse in huge letters on the wall,

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Prov. 9:10).

This was penned by King Solomon and most of us know he has been considered the wisest man that ever lived. How did Solomon gain his wisdom? I’m glad you asked!

When Solomon assumed his role as king, in place of his father David, the LORD appeared to him and asked him what he wanted. Solomon humbled himself and asked for wisdom to rule Israel. He did not ask for wealth, long life, or anything for his own profit. For this, God said, “behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you” (1 Kings 3:12, NKJV). Because he had not asked for anything for himself, God also gave him great wealth, long life, and more.

Recently, I have wanted to gain an understanding of the Jewish mindset regarding the Old Testament, or Torah (first five books of the O.T.). I purchased a book written by Dennis Prager, a man I respect very much, and a teacher of the Torah. In his commentary, Genesis, God, Creation, and Destruction, from his, The Rational Bible series, he writes:

 

Here, too, because it has so much wisdom, the Torah – and the rest of the Bible – is indispensable. However, we live in an age that not only has little wisdom, it doesn’t even have many people who value it. People greatly value knowledge and intelligence, but not wisdom. And the lack of wisdom – certainly in America and the rest of the West – is directly related to the decline in biblical literacy. In the American past, virtually every home, no matter how poor, owned a Bible. It was the primary vehicle by which parents passed wisdom on to their children. In the modern period, however, people have increasingly replaced Bible-based homes and Bible-based schools with godless homes and with schools in which no reference to the Bible is ever made. (p. xix).

 

So what is the outcome? He continues, “As a result, we are less wise and more morally confused. As I showed in Exodus, in my discussion of secular education as a potential ‘false god,’ the best educated people in the West have often both lacked wisdom and been among the greatest supporters of evil ideologies and regimes” (p. xix).  

I think he hit the nail on the head. Today, we see people who have no clue what truth is, or even sex. It’s funny how those who tout, “follow the science” are ignorant too or reject the truth of science regarding biological sex. The confusion over truth, “your truth and my truth may be different,” is astounding to me. Truth, by definition, is true in all times, for all people, in all places. What these people replace with truth is opinion or feelings. Wisdom is knowing the difference.

In his argument that the Torah was not created by men, Prager presents some examples of what the Torah introduced to the world:

 

·          A moral God: All gods prior to Torah’s God were capricious, not moral. A just and moral God meant, among other things, ultimately justice will prevail (if not in this life, in the next). It also meant human beings, imbued with a sense of justice, can argue with, and question, this just God (the name “Israel” means “wrestle – or struggle – with God.”)

·         A God beyond nature: God made nature, and is therefore not natural. This led to the end of the universal human belief in nature-gods (such as rain-gods). And sure enough, as belief in the Torah’s God declines, nature-worship seems to be returning.

·         A God who loves and who wants to be loved: This was another world-changing concept introduced by the Torah to the world.

·         Universal human worth: Every human being is “created in God’s image.” Nothing like this had ever been posited prior to the Torah.

·         Universal human rights: Another world-altering consequence of universal human worth (p. xxiii).    

 

He makes a profound statement when he writes, “The Torah is so utterly different – morally, theologically, and in terms of wisdom – from anything else preceding it and, for that matter, from anything written since – that a reasonable person would have to conclude either moral supermen or God was responsible for it” (p. xxii).     

I have concluded the same. It is irrational to think anything else since the Bible has been the most scrutinized book of all time and has held up to every challenge. While some might argue that it (the Bible) is absurd, given that it goes beyond the norm into the supernatural, there have been many beliefs that seemed just as questionable. At one time, people thought the earth was flat (the Bible got this right, Isaiah 40:22). If you went back in time and told people one day man would walk on the moon or you would be able to talk to another person, while seeing them from across the globe, in real time, from an untethered device, they would have considered this impossible.

While we can’t introduce unbelievers to God in physical form, we can show undeniable evidence that proves God’s existence. Even when God came in physical form, in the person of Jesus, people rejected Him. It’s not a head problem, it’s a heart problem. So how much more-so will people reject the Bible?

Prager makes an excellent argument for the moral teachings of Scripture; the data bears witness to this. The further we distance ourselves from wisdom and the moral teachings of Scripture, the more we regress back to a chaotic world that worships the creation rather than the Creator (Romans 1:25).  

Prager is not a Christian and I do disagree with some of his views of Scripture, I will right more on this later, but he is a man of great knowledge and one can certainly learn a great deal from him. His wisdom and insights are brilliant.      

“Judge Not…”: A Look at the Book of Jude

 

“Judge not, that ye be not judged” (Matthew 7:1, KJV)

I have written about this on other occasions but feel the need to keep pressing the issue and what this actually means, within the context. To flippantly quote Scripture out of context is dangerous, not only for the one doing so, but also for the audience who might be led astray.

If we read further, verse 5 instructs, “Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Mat. 7:5, NKJV).

This clearly teaches that to “judge not,” means that we are not to condemn another when we ourselves are guilty of bigger, more heinous sins. Further, we are not to judge in the sense that another is going to hell. Only God has the authority to judge in this manner. No, we are to live holy, or set apart, lives and only then can we instruct our brothers and sisters to turn from their sins.

In the New Testament, we read over and over, warnings about false teachers, wolves in sheep’s clothing, or some other variation of this idea. I hear so many today quoting “Judge not,” when an issue is raised about a person who is teaching false doctrine. Many well-known pastors and Christian musicians are propagating false doctrine and we need to be aware lest we, or our children, be led astray.

I am not saying that we must agree on everything or one of us is lost. There are many points we might disagree on but if anyone teaches anything that stands in contrast to the Bible, they are wrong. That said, we do not condemn them to hell. No, we can try to lead them to a clear understanding of God’s truth, but I only recommend this if you are already well grounded in the Bible, lest they confuse you and lead you astray. This is why studying the Bible is so important. I cannot stress this enough. You don’t have to be a biblical scholar, just a faithful disciple. The Psalmist wrote, “Thy Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:11, KJV).   

The book of Jude is a short book, it amounts to about one chapter; only twenty-five verses. As to Jude’s identity, this is not completely clear. It may be that he is the half-brother of Jesus. It is debatable, but he does refer to himself as the brother of James (v.1), which very well may be, and is most likely, the half-brother of Jesus, making Jude Jesus’ half-brother as well.

Picking up in Jude, verse 3 and following:

 

Dearly loved friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the truth of the Good News. God gave this unchanging truth once and for all time to His holy people. I say this because some godless people have wormed their way in among you, saying that God’s forgiveness allows us to live immoral lives. The fate of such people was determined long ago, for they have turned against our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ (vs. 3-4, NLT).

 

What if we applied “Judge not” here?

 

Apparently, Jude had planned to write something else but heard that false teachers had infiltrated the church, so he abandoned his initial thoughts to address the more important need: avoiding false teachings.

What follows is a stern warning as he reminds his readers of others who went against God’s truth and suffered greatly. Among them are the Israelites whom God delivered out of Egypt, the fallen angels from Genesis (chapter 6), and those who lived in Sodom and Gomorrah. While Jude does not judge these, he clearly reminds his readers of God’s judgement on them. Likewise, we do well to remember also.

As Jude prepares to close his letter, he writes,

 

But you, my dear friends, must remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ told you, that in the last times there would be scoffers whose purpose in life is to enjoy themselves in every evil way imaginable. Now they are here, and they are the ones who are creating divisions among you. They live by natural instinct because they do not have God’s Spirit living in them. But you, dear friends, must continue to build your lives on the foundation of your holy faith. And continue to pray as you are directed by the Holy Spirit. Live in such a way that God’s love can bless you as you wait for the eternal life that our Lord Jesus Christ in His mercy is going to give you. Show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. There are still others to whom you need to show mercy, but be careful that you aren’t contaminated by their sins.  

 

What if we applied “Judge not” here?

We can look around and see that this is true still today; perhaps, even more so than in Jude’s day. If someone preaches a gospel devoid of accountability, seriously question their words. If they make excuses for a lifestyle that conflicts with Scripture, brace yourself. If they believe truth is relative (your truth and my truth may not be the same), do not fall for their lies. Truth is truth, opinions and feelings can differ but not truth. By its very definition, truth is truth for all people, for all time.

Lastly, it is good to study under those God has called to minister and teach, but equally important is the need to study for yourself. Spend time in God’s Word and ask Him to show you the truth. A day is coming, and is already here, when those who speak truth will be silenced and any day could see our Bibles disappear. When that happens, it will be even harder to know the truth. But take heart, God will always make a way for those who seek Him. At least on this side of the grave.

 

 

Jude Outline:

Vs. 1-2 Greeting

Vs. 3-4 Purpose of writing 

Vs. 5-7 Punishment of the wicked in the past

Vs. 8-16 Warning about false teachers

Vs. 17-23 Resist false teachings and remain faithful to the Truth

Vs. 24-25 Closing

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A Promise and a Warning

 

¹³ “I don’t need the bulls you sacrifice; I don’t need the blood of goats.

¹⁴ What I want instead is your true thanks to God; I want you to fulfill your vows to the Most High.

¹⁵ Trust me in your times of trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.”

¹⁶ But God says to the wicked: “Recite my laws no longer, and don’t pretend that you obey me.

¹⁷ For you refuse my discipline and treat my laws like trash.

¹⁸ When you see a thief, you help him, and you spend your time with adulterers.

¹⁹ Your mouths are filled with wickedness, and your tongues are full of lies.

²⁰ You sit around and slander a brother – your own mother’s son.

²¹ While you did all of this, I remained silent, and you thought I didn’t care. But now I will rebuke you, listing all my charges against you.

²² Repent, all of you who ignore me, or I will tear you apart, and no one will help you.

²³ But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me. If you keep to my path, I will reveal to you the salvation of God.”

-Psalm 50:13-23 (NLT)

 

Over and over, throughout the Old Testament, God calls rebellious Israel to repent and return to Him. In the book of Hosea, we find a wife and mother that abandons her husband and children to prostitute herself in the most degrading way. After all the wickedness she has done, God commands Hosea, her husband, to buy her back. This is a picture of God’s great love for us. As Paul wrote, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8, NIV).

But we must remember, while God is love, He is also a just and righteous God. He must deal with sin and rebellion. Over and over, He warns us; there will be no one who will have an excuse.

In the passage above, taken from Psalm 50, God is talking to His chosen people, Israel; they were to be priests to the nations. We now live in the church age, and I believe this applies to us today, as it did to them then. I especially believe it pertains to the leaders in the church. So many preach feel good sermons while life outside the church walls is in chaos. Too many of us want our “ears tickled,” rather than hear the truth. We seem to believe if we can cherry pick certain passages out of Scripture that make us feel good, it justifies our behavior.

This simply is not true. God requires us to give Him all or give Him none. We either worship Him wholly, or we are doing nothing more than going through meaningless motions.

How many preachers/evangelists are warning of what is to come?

Are they addressing current events in the light of God’s Word?

Do you seek truth, no matter how uncomfortable, rather than feeling good?

Pastors, deacons, bench warmers, we all need to repent and surrender our hearts, wholly to God.

Friend, if you know your heart is not right with God today, don’t wait another minute. Cry out to God now and He will save you.

“If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

But, this is not simply a “Get Out of Jail Free” card, it requires total commitment on your part. It means that you accept God’s will for you, even if it means giving up your earthly possessions.

“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” (Mark 8:36, NKJV)    

I believe we are living in the last days. What we see daily aligns with what was written in Scripture thousands of years ago. If you don’t believe me, search the Scriptures for yourself. Please don’t wait until it’s too late.

 

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A Prayer For Today

¹ O God, we have heard it with our own ears - our ancestors have told us of all you did in other days, in days long ago:                                                                                                                          

² You drove out the pagan nations and gave all the land to our ancestors; you crushed their enemies, setting our ancestors free.                                                                                 

³ They did not conquer the land with their swords; it was not their own strength that gave them victory. It was by your mighty power that they succeeded; it was because you favored them and smiled on them.                        

⁴ You are my King and my God. You command victories for your people.                                                                         

⁵ Only by your power can we push back our enemies; only in your name can we trample our foes.                                                                         

⁶ I do not trust my bow; I do not count on my sword to save me.                                     

⁷ It is you who gives us victory over our enemies; it is you who humbles those who hate us.    

⁸ O God, we give glory to you all day long and constantly praise your name.                                                                                                                                     

                                                                             Interlude              

⁹ But now you have tossed us aside in dishonor. You no longer lead our armies to battle.                   

¹⁰ You make us retreat from our enemies and allow them to plunder our land.      

¹¹ You have treated us like sheep waiting to be slaughtered; you have scattered us among the nations.                                                

¹² You sold us – your precious people- for a pittance. You valued us at nothing at all.                          

¹³ You have caused all our neighbors to mock us. We are an object of scorn and derision to the nations around us.            

¹⁴ You have made us the butt of their jokes; we are scorned by the whole world.                           

¹⁵ We can’t escape the the constant humiliation; shame is written across our faces.                                       

¹⁶ All we hear are the taunts of our mockers. All we see are our vengeful enemies.         

¹⁷ All this has happened despite our loyalty to you. We have not violated your covenant.              

¹⁸ Our hearts have not deserted you. We have not strayed from your path.                             

¹⁹ Yet you have crushed us in the desert, You have covered us with darkness and death.                                                                      

²⁰ If we had turned away from worshipping our God or spread our hands in prayer to foreign gods,       

²¹ God would surely have known it, for he knows the secrets of every heart.                                                     

²² For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.                                                                     

²³ Wake up, O Lord! Why do you sleep? Get up! Do not reject us forever.                                      

²⁴ Why do you look the other way? Why do ignore our suffering and oppression?                                                 

 ²⁵ We collapse in the dust lying face down in the dirt.             

 ²⁶ Rise up! Come and help us! Save us because of your unfailing love.        

Psalm 44 (NLT)        

 

As I read this, I can’t help but see how perfectly this fits America. Like the Psalmist, we should likewise cry out to God before it’s too late. We are watching our nation crumble before us and many of us live in constant fear, but how many are truly crying out to God?

My prayer is that God would use these current events to lead many to Himself. Do I wish to see America healed, yes! But what is of most value? What is temporal and what is eternal?                                                       

                                                 

What Has That Got To Do With Forgiveness?

 

In the book, Every Man’s Battle, by Stephen Arterburn and Fred Stoeker, Arterburn writes in his foreword:

 

One of my favorite stories is of a husband who came because his wife demanded it. After the conference he confessed his affair. He was truly repentant and said he would do anything to make it up to her. She asked him to sign over all the property and assets to her – because the name on them wouldn’t matter if he was truly finished with his lust and adultery. She asked him to shave his chest, and she asked him to get braces on his teeth. He did all three because he realized his actions had humiliated her and he was willing to do anything to humble himself and win back her heart. I speak with them both regularly, and they are doing well (pg. xii).

 

Does GOD forgive like this?                                                                                                    If so, I am in serious trouble when I get to heaven.                                                                                      If I even make it…

Before I begin to explain why I have such an issue with this, let me start by saying, despite the respect I had for Arterburn in the past, I can no longer respect his opinions and I cannot recommend this book. I think his condoning of this kind of vindictiveness is just a sample of what is wrong in the church and destroying what Christ taught about forgiveness. I wonder if Arterburn would be so quick to applaud the man if he had treated his wife this way?

When I was studying family counseling, a couple of the therapist/instructors told of adultery within their own marriages. One case I remember in particular, the wife had been having an affair. When the husband found out, he described how hard it was to sleep in the same bed with her. He said he felt like she was filthy and the thought of her touching him made him physically sick. So why did he not sleep on the couch, or better still, kick her out? He said because he was her husband, it was his job to cover her with his love and protection, even after she had cheated. He said that is what Jesus does for us and he had to be obedient to God’s Word and his marriage vows. I wish Stephen Arterburn would talk to this man.

I think I see some tale-tale signs of why the man cheated in the first place. While I am not an expert in the fields of psychology or marital counseling, I have studied both, academically and personally, thus I do have my own opinions. Decide for yourself if I present a good argument or not.

The reason I say there may be signs of why he cheated, let me present the results of a study I read a few years ago. In the survey, when asked if the person they cheated with was smarter, more attractive, better educated, etc., both men and women said the person they had the affair with did not measure up to their spouse. When asked why they cheated, men said because they felt their wives did not respect them, but the other woman did. Women responded that they felt their husbands did not love them, but the other man did. (Unfortunately, I have lost many of the papers I wrote, and this is one I cannot locate).

As I stated in my paper (from memory), Paul instructed:

 

Wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord, for the husband is head of the wife as Christ is head of the church. He is the Savior of the body. Now as the church submits to Christ, so wives are to submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her to make her holy, cleansing her with the washing of water by the word. He did this to present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless. In the same way, husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hates his own flesh but provides and cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, since we are members of His body (Ephesians 5:22-30, HCSB).

 

He concludes, “This mystery is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church. To sum up, each one of you is to love his wife as himself, and the wife is to respect her husband” (Ephesians 5:32-33, HCSB).   

Again, Paul, in his letter to the Colossians, writes, “Wives, be submissive to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and don’t be bitter toward them” (Colossians 3:18-19, HCSB).

According to the study I mentioned above, men typically cheat because they do not feel respected by their wives. I think we clearly see from the text that this wife had serious issues and I believe she genuinely lacked respect for her husband. I would guess that the other woman was everything this man’s wife was not. While I do not condone his actions, he clearly demonstrates his love for his wife, his dedication to the marriage, and his repentance for the affair. I would even go so far and challenge believers to question if they demonstrate this kind of brokenness over their sins and devotion to God, or not.

I think about the parable Jesus told of the two men who went to the temple to pray. One a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisee was pompous and prideful, naming off all he did, even boasting how he was so much better than the tax collector. The tax collector made no excuses, not even looking up but beat his chest and confessed his sins. Jesus said the tax collector was the one who left justified (Luke 18:13-14, HCSB).

I’m not saying that every cheating spouse should be let off the hook. What I am saying is that we don’t know the details of why someone strays in the first place but when the repentant sinner returns, do they find grace and mercy?

Again, let’s return to the Scriptures one more time to see how God demonstrates forgiveness. Jesus told about a man who had two sons. The younger asked for his inheritance before his father was even dead. He took his money and went away to live a life of sin. When the money was gone and he found himself hungry, dirty, and cold, he returned a broken man, knowing he did not deserve his father’s forgiveness. He would merely ask to be a servant because they were treated better than he was with the life he had made for himself. The father was already looking for him and saw him off in the distance. He ran to meet this dirty, smelly, wretch of a man, and threw his arms around him, kissing him and crying for joy. Was his brother glad to see him? No, he sulked and would have sent him away. Knowing that this event had broken his father’s heart, he had no compassion, not even for his father (Luke 15:11-32, HCSB).

Is adultery a sin? Yes! Does it hurt the jilted spouse? Yes! Does it hurt children? Yes! Does it cause problems between the two families? Yes! Does it break GOD’s heart? Yes! Is it forgivable? You answer this one.

I hope this couple does not have children. Can you imagine the problems they will have in their marriages?

“But if you don’t forgive people, your Father will not forgive your wrongdoing” (Matthew 6:15, HCSB).

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Are You Afraid?

 

If you watch or listen to the news lately, what you will most likely hear is a myriad of angry voices hurling insults or decrying what someone else said, did, or is doing.

I was a child during the late sixties and remember the Vietnam War protests, the Civil Rights marches, and all of the anger from opposing sides, but what we are witnessing today seems far worse; to me anyway.

A few years ago, I was hearing TV gurus, like Oprah Winfrey, talking about trust your feelings, listen to your heart, and truth being relative, “What is true for you may not be true for me” and vice versa. If a dog bites your leg, the truth is, it hurts. That cannot be true for one and not true for another. Not unless one is dead, unconscious, or has no feeling in that leg. The same is true for death. A dead person is dead, physically anyway, no matter how you look at it. Now, whether the person’s soul lives on and where, might be debatable but the truth is, that person is not going to get up, walk around, and talk to you as in days before.

In all the years of my life, I have not seen the absolute hatred spewing forth as I have since the days leading up to the 2016 election, continuing up until today. I hate to think this is the new normal but I’m afraid it is. Now, before you go accusing me of being a pessimist, let me tell you why. I read my Bible every day and while I do not claim to be a Bible expert, I am not that stupid either. Okay, maybe that is disputable but just try to follow with me for a minute. Over and over in Scripture, we read about Israel and how they turned away from God. God “allowed” other, more un-Godly, nations to conquer them because they refused to listen to His spokesmen (prophets, priests, judges, etc.).

America was founded on God and His biblical principles. We were a Christian nation, not perfect, but look at us today! We murder our children, reject truth (and don’t even really know what the word means apparently), support unholy relationships, worship the creation rather than the Creator, and have allowed God to be removed from our schools, courthouses, other public institutions, and even many of our churches.

Maybe God is allowing all of the strife we are seeing today to get our attention and lead many to salvation. Should Christians be afraid though?

You may be asking yourself, where are you going with all of this?

Okay, here goes…

In his book, Be Amazed: Restoring an Attitude of Wonder and Worship, OT Commentary on Minor Prophets, Warren Wiersbe, in his section on Habakkuk, chapter 3, is discussing faith and writes, “Habakkuk has faced the frightening fact that his nation will be invaded by a merciless enemy. The prophet knows that many of the people will go into exile and many will be slain. The land will be ruined, and Jerusalem and the temple will be destroyed. Yet he tells God that he will trust Him no matter what happens!”  

“I will wait patiently on the Lord” (Habakkuk 3:16).

This is not the first time God has brought destruction on His people and their land, the land He gave them, and Habakkuk is well aware of how bad things were in the past.

Wiersbe continues, “If Habakkuk had depended on his feelings, he would never have made this great confession of faith. If Habakkuk looked ahead, he saw a nation heading for destruction, and that frightened him. When he looked within, he saw himself trembling with fear, and when he looked around, he saw everything in the economy about to fall apart. But when he looked up by faith, he saw God, and all his fears vanished. To walk by faith means to focus on the greatness and glory of God.”  

Let that sink in, “To walk by faith means to focus on the greatness and glory of God.”

He then makes what I consider to be another profound statement, “One of the marks of faith is a willingness to wait patiently for the Lord to work. ‘Whoever believes will not act hastily’ (Isa. 28:16 NKJV). When we run ahead of God, we get into trouble.”

These nuggets of wisdom just keep coming: “When you know God is working in your life, you can afford to wait quietly and let Him have His way. Furthermore, God had commanded him to wait (2:3) and ‘God’s commandments are God’s enablements.’ No matter what we see and no matter how we feel, we must depend on God’s promises and not allow ourselves to ‘fall apart. ‘Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him’ (Ps. 37:7).”

It appears that, in times such as these, we should, 1) Be still, 2) pray, and 3) wait on the Lord. No matter what is going on, God is still on His throne, and He is still, very much in charge. Instead of complaining about why God doesn’t do something, we would do well to see it rightly, He is doing something, and we need to reflect inwardly towards ourselves and ask what we are doing wrong, rather than outwardly at God and asking why He doesn’t do what we want Him too.   

I’ll let Wiersbe have the final word: “Whenever we find ourselves getting ‘churned up’ within, we can be sure that we need to stop, pray, and wait on the Lord before we do some stupid thing.”

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Encourager

 

In the book of Acts, chapter 9, after his conversion experience on the road to Damascus, we read that Saul was blinded physically, but for the first time in his life, could see perfectly, spiritually. The problem was the men with him could not help him; he needed someone who could speak and act for God. God had a man ready for the task, his name was Ananias. When God told Ananias to go to Saul, he was scared. He had heard how Saul had been persecuting the Christians, but he was obedient to the Lord. God used Ananias to heal and then baptize Saul. Shortly thereafter, God sent Barnabas to introduce Saul to the apostles who were also afraid, but Barnabas testified to them how God was already using him. As the book continues, we see that Barnabas was a great encourager.

As we know, Saul became the Apostle Paul and much of the New Testament was penned by his hand. He was arguably the most influential evangelist/preacher/theologian next to Christ. What if Ananias and Barnabas had given in to fear and prejudice? Would we know anything about Paul today? I believe so. God can make things happen with or without us, but He chooses to use us or as I like to say, God does the work, He just allows us to be a part of what He is doing.

Do you have an encourager in your life?

Do you feel encouraged by others at your church?

Do you encourage others?

Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like we have many encouragers in the church today. Many of the ones I have seen, only encourage those that meet their qualifications and not God’s. Several years ago, I witnessed a church I loved and had been a member of for many years, not only refuse to encourage the pastor, but actually discourage him. It was heartbreaking to watch. Needless to say, the Lord called him to another church. We hired another, younger pastor, who had a heart for reaching those in our community. Again, many in the church discouraged this and he left as well.

A short time later, we got another pastor. His ideas on evangelism were quite different. I had invited a co-worker to visit our church and she eventually did start coming. I was told that he, being the pastor, and another man would take over and that I was to stop witnessing to her. A few weeks later she left the church and told me they had made numerous, unannounced visits to her apartment and were pressuring her to get baptized. She shared with me that she knew she needed to get baptized but that she was not ready. She could not handle the pressure they were putting on her and, as she said, they didn’t really care about her soul, they just wanted a number. They literally chased her away.

Around this time, I had gone to Chicago for training in a ministry opportunity. I had not discussed with the pastor or church leadership as I did not think it necessary. A week or so later, I was called to the pastor’s office and was chastised for not getting permission and I was told the church could not afford to help me financially. I thought this odd because I had never asked for nor expected their financial support.

I could give more examples from this church alone but that is not necessary. Needless to say, I left that church and went elsewhere. I wish I could say I found a great church that believes what the Bible says abut equipping the saints and sending them out but I haven’t, as of this writing. While I think it wise to find out what someone is doing and if it aligns with Scripture, before offering support and encouragement, I find it difficult to accept a church that neither finds out nor prays over such matters and then refuses to encourage such ministry.

For more than ten years now, everything ministry based I have undertaken has been outside and apart from any church. After working in and through the church for many years, it is so much more freeing to work apart from the legalism and politics that have taken over so many of our churches. It is not just pastors but the members as well.     

It is a sad thing when the church does not support what God is doing.

Barry Meguiar, of Meguiar’s auto products, started a ministry called “Revival Outside the Walls.” He encourages Christians to take their faith outside the church and meet people where they are. He is a successful business man, a dedicated Christian, and an obedient servant of God.  

I am a proud graduate of Liberty University. The founder, the late Jerry Faldwell, was a visionary who saw the need to not just educate pastors and others seeking to serve in the church, but to equip every student to take the Gospel wherever they were led vocationally; thus, the motto, “Training Champions for Christ.”  

What a blessing it would be if the church would lift up in prayer and encourage, those who serve outside the church. What good does it do if we know all the latest praise songs and sing louder than everyone else or have a bumper sticker or yard sign if we don’t partner with those God has called to serve, in and outside, the walls of the church building.

Jesus’ Return

 

Have you ever heard someone going through bad times say, “Come now Lord!” or, regarding the sin of others say, “Well, I guess they’ll find out when they get to hell!”

It’s sad isn’t it?

When I hear Christians say things like this, I wonder how they can say these things when there are so many unsaved around us. What if Jesus had this attitude towards us? What if He cared for us the way they care for family members, friends, neighbors, and others who are not saved?  

While we are commanded to keep looking up, anxiously awaiting His return for the church (the rapture), what would He have us do in the meantime?

I think we can find out clearly in Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  

I don’t know about you, but I have many loved ones who may not be saved. While I look forward to the day I stand in His presence, I hope to reach as many of the lost as I can. I want to see them there as much as I want to be there myself.

I pity those who are so unloving that they say such things without any concern for the lost.

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What Is That? Looking At The Future Through A Lens On The Past

 In my study this morning, from Warren Wiersbe’s book, Be Amazed: Restoring An Attitude Of Wonder And Worship, I was reading about Habakkuk and how he sought Israel’s repentance. He believed Israel would turn from their sins and get right with God. 

Josiah had been king and was a good king, but now his son, Jehoiakim, was king and he was nothing like his father. He led the people to stray from God and His Law. As Habakkuk prayed about this, the Lord showed him what was to come. God was sending the Babylonians to deal with Israel, not what Habakkuk had thought, nor did he expect. Why would the Lord send an un-godly nation to destroy His chosen people?

While Habakkuk wrestled with God’s decision, he never lost his faith, but he did have questions. Wiersbe writes, “keep in mind that there is a difference between doubt and unbelief. Like Habakkuk, the doubter questions God and may even debate with God, but the doubter doesn’t abandon God. But unbelief is rebellion against God, a refusal to accept what He says and does. Unbelief is an act of the will, while doubt is born out of a troubled mind and a broken heart.”

Wiersbe goes on to say:

 

The prophet needed to remember two facts: (1) God had used other tools to chasten His people – war, natural calamities, the preaching of the prophets – and the people wouldn’t listen; (2) the greater the light, the greater the responsibility. Yes, the Babylonians were wicked sinners, but they were idolaters who didn’t know the true and living God. This didn’t excuse their sins (Rom. 1”18ff.), but it did explain their conduct. The Jews claimed to know the Lord, and yet they were sinning against the very law they claimed to believe! Sin in the life of a believer is far worse than sin in the life of an unbeliever. When God’s people deliberately disobey Him, they sin against a flood of light and an ocean of love.

 

So God had tried to get their attention but they just kept ignoring the warning signs and this brought God’s righteous judgment down upon His chosen people, the people who were called to be His priests to the nations.

Does this sound familiar?

America, founded on belief in God and His holy Word, are we witnessing God’s warning signs against us? A nation who knows God and His Word, yet we have allowed abortion, Hollywood’s garbage to rot our brains, corrupt politicians to do whatever they will, pornography, human trafficking, etc.

We have seen floods, droughts, hurricanes, tornadoes, terrorist attacks, school shootings, thugs capturing and holding a downtown hostage while the city’s leadership looks on, approving this violence, and much, much more. Is this not God trying to warn us of impending judgement? I believe what we are witnessing today is our last chance, maybe it’s too late already, but if we don’t want to suffer the consequences of our own rebellion, we had better hit our knees and pray while we still can.

I beg you, brothers and sisters, repent now and take this warning seriously!

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Compassion or Wrath: You Might Want To Rethink That Rock In Your Hand Before You Cast It…

 

Currently, I am reading a book by Warren Wiersbe, Be Amazed: Restoring An Attitude Of Wonder And Worship, a study of the Minor Prophets. Currently I am in the study of Nahum and his prophecy against, and the fulfillment of this prophecy against Nineveh.

As you may remember, years earlier, Jonah had gone and preached against Nineveh and they had repented; thus, God spared them. Now, many years later, that nation had returned to their wicked ways and once again, God was ready to deal with them. Rather than go into a lengthy discussion here, you can read this book yourself, I want to focus on a few questions at the end of this chapter that I feel led to share with you.

 

1.       How do you understand God’s pity and compassion alongside His jealousy, anger, and wrath?

2.       As you observe your neighbors or relatives, would you say they deserve God’s judgement? Why or why not? How does God see them?

3.       According to Wiersbe, what are the three reasons Nahum gives why Nineveh deserves to be judged?

4.       Wiersbe states that “people become like the god that they worship (Ps. 115:8), for what we believe determines how we behave.” If you look at the behavior of non-Christians around you, what would you say they worship? What about the behavior of people who attend your church?   

 

How do you understand God’s pity and compassion alongside His jealousy, anger, and wrath?

I think that we clearly see a perfect example here in the book of Nahum, especially when compared to the book of Jonah. Nineveh was the capital of Assyria and a very wicked city/nation; their cruelty was unimaginable. God had sent Jonah to Nineveh to warn them about His coming judgement, but they repented and God spared them. I would say that the book of Jonah is more about Jonah and his rebellion against God because of his hatred for the Ninevites and God’s love and mercy than it is about Nineveh’s repentance. God’s love for this wicked people is greater than His anger against them; this is Jonah’s main concern. While some argue that Jonah was afraid of the people because of their cruelty, I believe, based on Jonah’s own wording, that he wasn’t afraid of the people, but rather he knew if they repented, God would spare them and Jonah did not want them spared, he wanted them dead.

Jump ahead to Nahum’s time and we see Nineveh had returned to their old and wicked ways. This time, they did not repent and God delivered His hand of justice. He used the armies of the Medes and Babylonians to destroy them and destroy them they did. God could have used Israel to subdue the Assyrians or He could have done it supernaturally, as He had done in times past, but this time He chose to use another foe that was just as cruel.

I hear people talk about God being an angry tyrant in the sky, or they may argue that the God of the Old Testament is not the same as the God of the New Testament; I would argue that they are one and the same and, in all cases, He is loving and merciful but a righteous judge at the same time. I think the story of Nineveh demonstrates this sufficiently.

 

As you observe your neighbors or relatives, would you say they deserve God’s judgement? Why or why not? How does God see them?

It is easy to see this through our own eyes, with our own biases, and through our own emotions but that is simply a flawed way of viewing things. We tend to view people by whether we like/love them or by comparing them to ourselves. We love our children and parents so we might extend more grace to them, overlooking the wrong they have done but in contrast, we might judge more harshly our neighbor, if we don’t like them, for doing the same things we overlook in our family members.

We also tend to judge others based on how good or bad we see them, especially in comparison to ourselves. You might say, “Look at that, I can’t believe they did that. I would never do that!” On the other hand, we might exalt others, say a preacher or humanitarian, and think, “I wish I was more like them.” We tend to put some on pedestals while condemning others to hell.

Remember, “What would Jesus do?” Well, the Bible tells us what He would do in these circumstances. He would reach out in love and offer forgiveness to the one who humbles himself, but He would judge the one who is outwardly good but inwardly corrupt. Remember the story of the two men who went into the temple to pray, one a priest and the other a tax collector? If you don’t know the story, I won’t ruin it for you, you can find it in Luke 18:9-14.

The Bible says that we all fall short and deserve God’s judgement (Romans 3:23) so I would say we, our relatives, friends, and neighbors deserve judgement; however, God is willing to forgive and heal us. Isn’t that beautiful?

 

According to Wiersbe, what are the three reasons Nahum gives why Nineveh deserves to be judged?

The three reasons given are: ruthless bloodshed, idolatry, and pride. The Ninevites/Assyrians were notorious for their ruthlessness and disregard for human life. One of the many cruelties was skinning people alive where they would die a slow and agonizing death. They murdered men, women, and children.

They did not worship the one true God, they worshipped idols. According to Wiersbe, there primary deity was Ishtar, the goddess of sexual passion, fertility, and war. Jehovah, the God of the Bible, is a jealous God. I remember years ago, Oprah Winfrey stated that she had a problem with a God who was jealous of us. Oprah, Oprah, Oprah, how little you know or understand. Instead of researching this, she chose to walk away from her faith. How sad. Not all jealousy is bad. Wiersbe writes, “Jealousy is a sin if it means being envious of what others have and wanting to possess it, but it’s a virtue if it means cherishing what we have and wanting to protect it.” He further illustrates by giving the example of marriage and how spouses want to protect and defend each other and keep their marriage exclusive. If only Oprah had done a little research…

“For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world.”  - 1 John 2:16, NKJV

Pride. The Bible speaks often about the subject. I won’t go into details but suffice it to say, pride is evil and leads to destruction. The pride of Nineveh was in their might. They thought no army could defeat theirs or capture their city. They were wrong!    

 

Wiersbe states that “people become like the god that they worship (Ps. 115:8), for what we believe determines how we behave.” If you look at the behavior of non-Christians around you, what would you say they worship? What about the behavior of people who attend your church?   

I have written about world views before, a Christian world view vs. a secular world view, and how that affects what and why we do what we do or think the way we think. As Christians, our desires should align with God’s desires. How we think and act should align with what God thinks and how He acts (look at the life of Jesus while on earth). Everything we are, should be based on God, as found in His Word, but is only able to be lived out as we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we cannot do it in our own strength. This is not to say an unbeliever cannot live a good and moral life, they can, but they cannot live a holy life as we are commanded to do.

If you look at our society today, what god does it look like we worship? I would say the god of this age.   Going back to the three sins that caused God to pour out His judgement on Nineveh, let’s look at ourselves in comparison:

Ruthless Bloodshed. The violence and corruption today is staggering. The amount of murders and physical assaults is unthinkable. The suicide rate seems to go up every year and yes, suicide is murder, but the biggest murder rate is from abortion. Hands down, abortion kills more than all other murders put together. When a nation butchers it’s most defenseless and vulnerable, it is not the God of heaven that we worship but the God of this age. Over and over, the Bible speaks of the judgement to come for taking human life but no judgement so severe as the murder of children. Strange how little this is mentioned in most churches…

Idolatry. Do we know more about the Bible or what goes on in Hollywood? Do we know more about the Bible or the television lineup? Do we know more about the Bible or who’s dating who or whose marriage is on the rocks? Do we know more about the Bible or what sports teams are heading to the playoffs? I could go on, but I think you get the picture. I once heard a man say, “What we run to in our time of need is our god.” Do we run for alcohol, pills, or something else when we are hurting or afraid? Is food our go-to for comfort or facing problems? What about cutting or other forms of self-harm? Does shopping fix things for you? I think we see many things people turn to instead of God and this is idolatry.

Pride. I deserve free education. I deserve to be happy. I deserve… My teams better than yours. My family has more money than yours. My house is nicer… Get the idea? You know, it’s funny how those who hate former President Donald Trump attack his ideas of patriotism and national pride, like those are bad things. He stated that as he would look out for what was best for America, others should look out for what was best for them, but that than we could sit down and negotiate deals that would be mutually beneficial. Call me stupid but I can’t see how he was wrong for saying this. I mean, if your car is nicer than mine and you live in a better neighborhood…. I do see something wrong with this, it is prideful and hurtful. You offer me nothing in the way of a benefit.

I’m not sure how good of an argument that was but the idea is that we are so prideful, we demean others for being prideful but can’t see our own pride that is so much worse. We tend to think that what we have, we deserve or that we earned it. How many believe they will go to heaven because they are good? More than you think. I’ve even talked to Sunday School teachers, deacons, and pastors that believe this way. How prideful! That we can earn God’s favor, especially in light of His Word, is extremely prideful.

Another act of pride is to judge God. “God is a tyrant and a killjoy.” “God is so mean, I don’t want to live with Him in heaven.” “If God really cared about us then why so much pain and suffering?” These are common questions, or better put, statements, and are the highest form of pride. How dare we sit and judge our Creator! However, if we struggle with these as questions but are willing to seek the answers in truth, God will give us the answers and do so in love. He can handle our questions but He expects us to not stop at the question mark but look for the truth.       

In addressing the last part of the question, “What about the behavior of people who attend your church?” Is there any real difference? Not so much that I can see and it breaks my heart. So many in the church today look just like their unbelieving friends and neighbors. In regard to Christian living and the church, many are more concerned with activities: who’s here, are donuts and coffee available, ending the sermon on time so as to beat others to the buffet line, etc. Sure, there is talk about missions and supporting the church’s work and all, but what about the family next door that just lost their business? Our child’s friend at school that’s struggling? The garbage man that just lost his wife? Oh, you didn’t know about those things? What shows come on tonight and what channel? Bet you knew that! 

I am not trying to sit in judgement but rather hold up a mirror for all of us to look at.

Does what we know matter?

Do we really know what matters?

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