Invocations
Your word (O Lord) is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119:105)
The Bible contains more knowledge necessary to man in his present state than any other book in the world. By renouncing the Bible, philosophers swing from their moorings upon all moral subjects… It is the only correct map of the human heart that ever has been published. (Benjamin Rush, signer of The Declaration)
The Bible is the best of all books, for it is the Word of God and teaches us the way to be happy in this world and in the next. Continue therefore to read it and regulate your life by its precepts. (John Jay, President of the Continental Congress, author of the Federalist Papers)
All of the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery and war, proceed from them despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible. (Noah Webster, Schoolmaster to America)
The Holy Scriptures…can alone secure to society order and peace, and to our courts of justice and constitutions of government, purity, stability, and usefulness… Bibles are strong entrenchments. Where they abound, men cannot pursue wicked courses and at the same time enjoy quiet conscience. (James McHenry, Signer of the Constitution)
The first part of our First Amendment states… Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…
It does not state that government cannot promote or endeavor to live by Biblical truths – as some of our founders indicated above. Only that government may neither prohibit the free exercise of their use by we the people, nor may government make it a legal requirement for the people to ascribe to a particular religion.
I enter a most earnest plea that in our hurried and rather bustling life of today we do not lose the hold that our forefathers had on the Bible. I wish to see the Bible study as much a matter of course in the secular colleges as in the seminary. No educated man can afford to be ignorant of the Bible, and no uneducated man can afford to be ignorant of the Bible. (Teddy Roosevelt)
“As a rule a person should get into the habit of reading his Bible. You never read in history of any great man whose influence has been lasting, who has not been a reader of the Bible. Take Abraham Lincoln and Gladstone. Their lives show that they have been readers of the Bible. If you wish to properly direct your mind and necessarily your lives, begin by reading the book of all books. Read your Bible every day, and you will find how healthily you will grow.” (Booker T. Washington)
My dear people, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for person’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.
Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his/her face in a mirror and, after looking at themself, goes away and immediately forgets what they look like.
But the person who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he/she has heard, but doing it that person will be blessed in what they do. (James 1:19-25)
The preamble of our Constitution begins like this: We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union...
I recall that a teacher in my prior schooling criticized our founders’ grammar in the words more perfect Union. Because you cannot do better than perfect.
But I think we can do better. The Apostle James here, promotes looking into the perfect law that gives freedom and then doing it. Those who do so will be blessed.
That perfect law relates to the character and nature of God and is given through the Spirit, by faith in Christ. And it is promoted by Biblical truth. This truth is given to us and meant to be applied by us – on the basis of love. Because God is love.
The Spirit of God and His Word, at work through His people, is the perfect law that gives freedom. And it is freedom that is the basis of our Constitution.
And so I promote God’s perfect freedom not as a religion, but as the truth whose resulting blessing will be self-evident and self-authenticating because God is behind it.
Because the perfect law that gives freedom, does not originate with human legislation, though human legislation is helped by it. It comes through the power of God.
In Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. He himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility…
His purpose is to create in himself one new people, thus making peace, and in his one body to reconcile them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.
He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. (Ephesians 2:13-18)
There is a great deal of hostility in the world today; a great deal in our nation. There is hostility between people that need not be so.
That hostility stems from alienation from the only source of true peace, who is God. But Christ has removed that dividing wall of hostility through His death and made the way to true and lasting peace for us in Christ – who is our peace – so that we may truly be a people who are one with God and with each other.
We have been reconciled to God through Christ and the result of this, is reconciliation and peace with each other. But not everyone knows this.
There is currently a political dividing wall of hostility between people in this country that is leading to many acts of division and dysfunction. But that is what evil desires. Evil cares nothing about what the left or the right or anyone stands for, as long as they are divided. It’s a well-known strategy called divide and conquer.
One has their agenda and the other has theirs, neither can ever agree so they are divided and hostile. What they need is a desire for the truth. Then they might be of a mind to seek the truth together. But the truth is rooted in more than just material facts – it is also be rooted in qualities of character. And those qualities of true character are rooted in God and His word.
Jesus came and preached the true message of peace to those near and far. That peace with God and with each other was made possible through Christ’s sacrifice, which tore down the dividing wall of sin and hostility and ushered in a life by the Spirit.
And it is only by that one Spirit who has come through Christ, that we may have access to God – who is our peace and who makes us truly one.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:15-17)
He… is Jesus. He… is the Original. There are none before. He is the Source. And He is good. So if you want to get to the truth of your true purpose and the true purpose of anything, you must begin with Christ.
Some followers of Jesus were arrested for saying such things – for promoting trouble. But a wise man, desiring to calm the crowd said something like – If what these men are promoting is of human origin it will fail. But if what they are promoting is of God, you will only find yourself fighting against God.
Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD'S purpose that prevails. (Proverbs 19:21)
Many problems arise when humanity begins with itself. Because of the human condition – because of sin, humanity, on its own fails. Because it is by nature, incompatible with the Original; incompatible with God and His purpose.
Those focused more on themselves and their human agendas than on the Lord and His will, get it quite wrong. And starting at the wrong place will certainly leave one unfortunately, at the wrong destination.
The destination of fallen humanity is death and separation from God. But Jesus came from heaven to change that.
He came not only to show us the way but to become the way in us. To unite us with God through His Spirit so we may have Authentic Life – Eternal life, in connection with the Source of all life – the One who is the Original, who is God.
Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:57)
There are those who seek worldly power and those who seek the spiritual power that is graciously given to us by God, through Christ.
Satan, in his insanity, wants to dethrone God – and to try to dethrone God from the hearts and minds of people – so that they seek a kind of wisdom and understanding of their own – apart from Christ.
There is a painting in the Museo de Leon in France. The title of the painting is “Checkmate”. It pictures Satan with a sneering grin as he towered over his opponent, the king, because he won his soul with a chess game. One day, an old man who sat in front of this painting, suddenly jumped up and exclaimed. “It is a lie! It is a lie!”
Everybody was amazed and came to see what was going on. Even the curator of the museum came. The old man looked at the curator and said, “I am the French Chess Champion. The artist will have to either change the painting or change the title because it is not checkmate. The king has another move. The victory is his.”
At first look – superficially, it may appear that the devil is winning.
But neither the devil nor those who obey him realize, that the King has another move and always will.
Father, we can be thankful that you can never be dethroned and that you are good and all your ways are good. Help us, in all we do, to align ourselves with you and the truth of your words. By your goodness and truth, direct us.
In Christ’s name…
Phil 2:5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Phil 2:6-7 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
Phil 2:8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!
Phil 2:9-11 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
He made Himself nothing.
A friend and I went to see “The Boys in the Boat” last week. A good movie and based on a true story about a University of Washington junior rowing team that competed in the 1936 Olympics in Germany.
There is a scene when one of the rowers was having trouble. He was out of sync with the others the boat. He was having trouble because he was focusing on himself – he couldn’t get out of his own head because he had some personal stuff going on.
But a wise older man, the one who built the boats, advised him that it’s not about Him, it’s about the boat and the others in the boat with him. And when the young man, so to speak, made himself nothing, and the rowers were one with the boat, they won gold.
May I say? God is the boat builder and Jesus is the boat and those in the boat are the church. It’s about each of us becoming one with the Lord, by making ourselves nothing – for God and for others – becoming obedient in all things – nothing excluded, for God’s sake and for the sake of others.
And the gold, is the exaltation of God saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” And the ‘Well done.” of God – is glorious.
The Apostle Paul, once a persecutor of the church was chosen by Jesus, as Jesus said… to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. (Acts 9:15)
…To carry the name of Jesus to Jews, Gentiles (Gentiles are any people who are not Jews) and their kings (which includes government officials).
And before one of those kings, Paul, quoting Jesus as to why Jesus said he had chosen Paul, said…
I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you…
To testify to the truth of who Jesus is and to the will of God.
I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ (Acts 26:16-18)
The words sanctified by faith in Jesus mean set apart as holy and being made holy, by faith in Jesus and the power of the His Spirit.
And this, God desires, for all individuals, communities and nations.
Blessed are those who do not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But their delight is in the word of the LORD, and on his word they meditate day and night. They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever they do prospers. (Psalm 1:1-3)
I heard someone on the radio today saying that since 9/11, we have gotten much better, though we still have a ways to go, in detecting and protecting against terrorist type activities, especially at airports. It’s important that we understand the nature of our enemy and how he operates; especially the enemy of our souls, so that we may resist him and do what is right.
C.S. Lewis in his book The Screwtape Letters wrote:
We must picture Hell as a state where everyone is perpetually concerned about his own dignity and advancement, where everyone has a grievance, and where everyone lives the deadly serious passions of envy, self-importance and resentment.
…Hence, naturally enough my symbol for hell is something like the bureaucracy of a police state or the offices of a thoroughly nasty business concern… an official society held together entirely by fear and greed.
…’Dog eat dog’ is the principle of the whole organization. Everyone wishes everyone else’s discrediting, demotion and ruin; everyone is an expert in the confidential report, the pretended alliance, the stab in the back.
…Over all this their good manners, their expressions of grave respect, their ‘tributes’ to one another’s invaluable services form a thin crust. Every now and then it gets punctured, and the scalding lava of their hatred spurts out…
But the Kingdom of God is not like that. God is our protection and His word, our guidebook. And if America is wise, she will desire to resist evil and do what is good – like God is good.
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope — the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
These, then, are the things you should teach. (Titus 2:11-15)
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. (2 Corinthians 3:17)
God is Spirit. And wherever He resides, there is freedom. He is the Spirit of truth – the Holy Spirit, and included in all of His holy attributes, there is freedom.
Everyone knows about the atrocity of the gas chambers and furnaces of the prison camps in Nazi Germany during WWII. Imagine being in one of those lines. Maybe you know what’s coming, maybe you don’t. But it’s coming.
Then all of the sudden a messenger comes up and says, come on – there’s an open gate to freedom over here – just this one, and if you are willing to just come and go through that one gate, you will be free.
But then doubts come. Others may say, “He’s lying” or, “He doesn’t know what he is talking about – don’t listen to him.” “It will be okay. Just stay where you are. There’s no danger.” “One gate is the same as all the others.” But they don’t really know where it all ends up. And it’s just a matter of time.
The messenger then says, “So many have stayed in this line and are gone and you don’t know what happened to them. Many others have believed the message, gone through the gate and are now free. What do you have to lose? All you have to do is believe and go through the gate, and you will be free.
Jesus is that gate. The Bible says, Everyone who sins is a slave to sin. The wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. If the Son of God sets you free, you are truly free.
Jesus came to save us and set us free. And when by faith a person receives this good news, and turns to Jesus, they are saved and set free by the Spirit. Because the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
There is an open door for all who are willing to go through. Eternal life is life in the Spirit. Eternal life is the Spirit of Christ in you – the power of an indestructible life, the hope of glory with Christ in heaven.
It’s having the reality of Christ in you in this life. More than just words, or traditions or ceremonies, or wishful thinking. But the living Christ – real faith, from the one who made it all possible – because God is in Him and He is in God. And because of Him, believers are in God and God is in us. We know this through the Spirit He gave us.
…the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance. (Psalm 33:11-12)
Deitrich Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran pastor and theologian in Germany prior to and during WWII. He was imprisoned for being involved in a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler and was hung just days before the end of the war. In his visit to America prior to the war, he made several observations. This particular notation from the book ‘No Rusty Swords’ speaks to our ‘separation of church and state’ and is insightful.
“The ‘religionlessness’ of the state (of America) ...was not a triumph of secular authority over Christianity, but quite the reverse, (it was) the victory of the church over any unbounded claim by the state.
Here lies the key to the understanding of the original significance of the American separation of church and state, and of the American Constitution. …American democracy is founded not on humanity or on the dignity of man, but on the kingdom of God and the limitation of all earthly power.
It is significant that notable American historians can say that the Federal constitution was written by men who knew about original sin. The human authorities and also the people themselves are shown their limits because of the wickedness of the human heart and the sole sovereignty of God...’” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in No Rusty Swords)
Unfortunately, as has been throughout history as it is today, problems arise when humanity attempts to limit the kingdom of God and give unlimited power to humanity.
Rather than recognize the unreliability of human nature and limit it by resting on the sovereignty of God and His will, expressed through His word, as the foundation of a nation. There is the human attempt to ignore God’s sovereign authority and will and embrace and promote their own. And that would be un-American.
George Washington wrote, "While we are zealously performing the duties of good citizens and soldiers, we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties of religion. To the distinguished character of Patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian." (The Writings of Washington, pp. 342-343)
John Adams wrote, "Suppose a nation in some distant Region should take the Bible for their only law Book, and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited! Every member would be obliged in conscience, to temperance, frugality, and industry; to justice, kindness, and charity towards his fellow men; and to piety, love, and reverence toward Almighty God ... What a Eutopia, what a Paradise would this region be." (Diary and Autobiography of John Adams, Vol. III, p. 9.)
Jesus said, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. (John 14:23-24)
If anyone loves me, that person will obey my teaching… It is hard to love someone that you’ve never met. You may love the idea of someone from what you have thought or heard or read about them, but to know them is something completely different and better. That is what Jesus is talking about. And if you truly love someone, you will want to do what pleases them. That’s what Jesus means by obeying His teaching.
Many don’t like to hear the word obey, because they equate it with some kind of slavery. Others may feel that obeying God is beyond their abilities and so they just give up and give in to the world around them or view God as unfair. They just don’t know.
But when a person truly knows Jesus, and what He is like and what obedience truly means, they don’t see it as something bad that they are being forced to do against their will. They know that He is good, and all that pleases Him is good, that He would never want us to do anything evil. And by His Spirit we are enabled to do the good that God requires of us – more and more, through Him – not by mere human effort.
If anyone loves me, that person will obey my teaching. My Father will love that person, and we will come and make our home with him/her.
Jesus never lies. He is not crazy. He is telling the truth. When He speaks of the Father, He is speaking of God and He and God are one. The Father, the Son and Holy Spirit are One God and inseparable. Jesus came to earth and gave His life so that God may live within those who believe in Him. If you have Jesus, you have all.
When a person loves Jesus and puts His words into practice, that person loves God. We often hear people, who do not love God use His name profanely. Others refer to Him as the Big Guy, or the Old Man Upstairs – someone they don’t really know – a God way out there, somewhere. And that is what He is like, until a person believes and applies Jesus’ words.
But if a person loves and obeys Jesus, this shows love for God. God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit come to live within that person, and so do the qualities of God’s character and His kingdom, in increasing measure. You become the temple of God in deep relationship with Him through the Spirit. And that changes everything for the better within you and in your relationships with others.
This is salvation and this is what America needs.
I will show you what a he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.
But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.” (Luke 6:47-49)
Jesus is giving a spiritual law, the reality of things. Like gravity, or our need for oxygen, water and food are natural laws, these natural realities are always in play. We depend on them. And if we go against them or corrupt them or lack them; this is detrimental to human life. In fact, many manmade laws exist to ensure that people do not break natural laws, to the detriment of others; speed limits for instance.
God has created all things and all natural laws and is the one that holds everything together. He is the Source of all and knows why He made all things and how they are meant to function. His nature and character are behind all spiritual law, and all laws that are just and fair and true, align with the spiritual law of Biblical truth.
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus. He is loving and good. He never lies. He has all power and wisdom. His words are given to help us and can be completely trusted. And individuals, and communities and nations that are wise, will desire Him and His words to be the foundation for how they live their lives and how they make their laws and how they decide what they promote.
Jesus is inviting all people to come to Him, to listen to His words that are true, and to put them into practice. Spiritual laws are eternal; they apply here and now and forever. And when they are put into practice have a good result here and forever. God is eternal as are His words. And those who believe and obey His words, endure forever.
But those who ignore Him and His words, who go against the reality of things and go their own way and build in ways that are not true, will not be able to withstand the onslaught when it comes – because they have no true foundation. And without Christ and Biblical truth as the basis of life, collapse is inevitable and destruction complete.
Like those who build buildings without foundations or on unstable ground. Such buildings may stand as long as conditions are favorable. But when conditions change and become difficult – when the rain comes and the floodwaters rise, they collapse completely, like the Roman Empire.
Father, we do not want to be like those who collapse under pressure, but like those who are able to withstand whatever comes because we are building on you and your truth. By your Spirit, help us so that the reality of your words may be ours and that our lives may align with the good you desire to accomplish. Let this happen in all we do and as we meet tonight.
In Christ’s name…
“…the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.” (Westminster Shorter Catechism)
What does this mean? How does it work?
C.S. Lewis wrote: to glorify and enjoy God are the same thing. Fully to enjoy is to glorify. And in commanding us to glorify Him, God is inviting us to enjoy Him.
…if admiration is deserved, …then it is the correct, adequate or appropriate response; and if paid, it will not be ‘thrown away.’ Like many objects in both Nature and Art may be said to deserve, or merit or even demand admiration. If we did not admire we would be stupid, insensible, and great losers; and would have missed something.
God is that Object to admire (or appreciate) which is simply to be awake, to have entered the real world; not to appreciate is to have lost the greatest experience of all, and in the end to have lost all…
While Denise and I were away between Christmas and New Year’s, I began to see, more fully, how glorifying God and enjoying Him forever in all things, and abstaining from participating in that which does not glorify Him, is a secret to living the Christian life – and an answer to how I can best live mine – in a real and practical sense.
What if glorifying and enjoying God truly surpasses glorifying and enjoying anything else, and when God has that place in our lives, it only leads to a better and more fulfilling enjoyment of God and all that God has made and given to us to enjoy.
To glorify and enjoy Him first and foremost, enables us to enjoy all that God has made (people, places and things) while protecting us from turning them into idols. It keeps us living according to the reality of things – according to God’s kingdom, and protects us from becoming distracted and confused by the temporary things in this life and the corruptible man-made.
So, as a gift, I believe that the Lord gave me this treasure to live by, that I am sharing with you… With the help of the Holy Spirit, to live to the glory of God in all aspects of life, and to let that interpret our thoughts, words and actions, so that we may have that treasure of enjoying God – the God who loves you and me and gave His life for you and me; and who has given His Holy Spirit to help us to live by this most valuable treasure.
The Son of God was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him. (John 1:10)
Why didn’t the world recognize Him? Why was He not, well received? Because the world operates on a different basis than God does. Human society did not recognize or welcome its Creator because of unbelief.
But knowing all that, why did God the Son still come? Because mankind was lost and disconnected from God, but valuable to Him. He came on the basis of love. Your value to God is based on love, not money.
“For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. (John 3:16-17)
If we got what we deserve, according to God’s perfect law, we would be in trouble. But Jesus did not come on the basis of law. He came and fulfilled the righteous requirements of God’s law for us, on the basis of love and truth. Because without Him, mankind would remain lost forever. But God loved people so much, Jesus had to come.
What if we operated on the same basis as Jesus?
Yet to all who receive Him, to those who believe in His name, He gives the right to become children of God — children born not just the natural way, but born of God. (John 1:13)
To operate on the same basis as Jesus, one must be born of the God because love (That is, God’s love, not the world’s version) is a fruit of the Spirit of God. This eternal quality is offered to all people without partiality, through faith in Christ. And it is offered as a gift.
If God forced you to take it, it would not be a gift and would not be love. No, that would be salvation by force. No, He is offering His gift of eternal life to all who are willing to believe, reach out and receive Jesus as a gift. And Jesus is no cheap gift. He is the best God has to give and the cost was great – even His life. But to God, you were worth it.
When by an act of faith anyone believes and receives Jesus Christ, he/she is given eternal life, and through the Spirit are born of God. Christ’s life enters in and begins to grow. And the primary attribute or basis of that life, in the Spirit, is love.
A while ago Denise and I watched the movie called Awakenings. It starred Robin Williams and Robert De Niro. It was about a neuro-doctor (Williams) and a patient (De Niro) who, along with a number of other patients had been catatonic, seemingly trapped inside themselves for about 30 years, the result of encephalitis.
In 1969 a synthetic drug (L-dopa) was being used on Parkinson’s patients. The neuro-doctor wanted to try it on these patients – to try to wake them up. He was given permission to treat one – Leonard (De Niro). And it worked. After trials with dosage, all of the patients were given the drug. And it worked, temporarily – for a few months.
There were side effects and eventually they reverted back almost completely, to their previous states. There were other, awakenings. But they did not last long. The drug had treated the problem temporarily, but the condition was not healed.
In the world, there are many, who, though living and functioning physically and mentally, are unresponsive to God. They cannot respond freely to Him, because sin has deadened their hearts.
Human centered efforts, like L-dopa with those patients, stop working, and people and societies and nations, are back where they were and sometimes even worse off than before. This is what happens when by human opinion, or philosophy, or ideology or effort, they try to clean things up on our own, apart from the power of Christ.
For a while things may look okay. Their house may appear clean and put in order. But eventually, everything gets worse. Evil comes back even stronger, and the condition of the person, or the community or the country is worse than it was before.
The awakening that people need, that all people need is resurrection. Because the power of God comes only from the Spirit of God, who comes to us only through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As Peter proclaimed at Pentecost: Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)
Biblical truths are words inspired by God and written down by people.
As Mother Teresa once said, “I am a little pencil in God's hands. He does the thinking. He does the writing. He does everything and sometimes it is really hard because it is a broken pencil and He has to sharpen it a little more.”
In Romans 12:9-21, God is the author and the Apostle Paul is the pencil, who wrote down these words for our benefit, so that we may know what God is like and what he is sharpening us broken pencils to write with our lives…
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.
Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.
If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.
On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this you show them what is right, and they may see what is wrong and change course.”
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Father, everything you think and do and inspire is good, but we’re not good. Transform us so that we and you may be one; so that what you inspire we will do and what you don’t inspire, we won’t do. Make us one nation, in you and you in us, in Jesus’ name...
Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. (Hebrews 5:13-14)
Infants. This year there was a crisis regarding infant formula in some places. Infants need a special diet to thrive – to get a good start and to grow. But eventually, if everything goes as it should, they go off the formula and eat more solid baby food and then as they mature, they eat solid food and when they are adults, they invite you over for dinner and cook for you.
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. (1 Peter 2:2-3)
When a person is born of the Spirit, he/she begin to grow in the knowledge of Jesus by diet and exercise: By feeding on His presence and His Word and by exercising their faith – that is, by putting God’s words into practice.
He is training us to distinguish what is good from what is evil in order to choose the good. God’s goodness governs our souls, leading us in what we should say and do, and keeping us from what we shouldn’t say and do.
We feed our bodies through our mouths. The quality and the quantity of the food we eat affects the health of our bodies. If we feed on junk, our bodies can get junky. And if we only eat and not exercise, our physical life is impeded and even shortened.
So it is with our souls. What comes into our souls comes in through our eyes, our ears and our minds. So what is the quality and quantity of things are we inviting into our souls through these portals? What are we feeding on?
What we feed our souls directly affects our spiritual health. By feeding on God’s Word and by putting His words into practice; abstaining from evil and doing good, we are strengthened inwardly. And what we are inwardly, is what we become outwardly.
Be about what strengthens inwardly. Feed on these things. Put them into practice. Because not only will you benefit, but others will benefit also. And that is what becoming mature adults is about.
Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. (Hebrews 12:10)
I can recall times of disciplining from my father. Some of them were, as he thought, best and proper – and probably were. Others, because he lost his temper.
God never loses His temper. He may be angered and discipline us in ways that seem extreme to us. But His purpose for us is never out of His view. He wants us to share in His holiness. The question is, do we want to share in His holiness?
Is there anything that this world offers, that can compare to it? I don’t think so. And though we cannot comprehend it completely, it is very good. Are we willing to go through whatever it will take?
Do we have only this life in view? Or do we have eternity in view as well?
(Jesus said) My Father cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. (John 15:2)
There is the discipline of cutting off that which is dead or diseased; that cannot bear fruit and can harm or kill the plant if it is not removed. And there is the discipline of cutting off that which is merely unproductive, so that the plant can be more fruitful.
The difference in cutting off and pruning is God’s purpose. Cutting off is for the purpose of destroying that which is harmful. Pruning is for the purpose of building up that which is living and good.
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:11)
We used to tell our kids, in so many words, “If we didn’t discipline you, if we just let you do whatever you wanted and never punished you for doing wrong; that would only show that we didn’t really love you or care about what you become.”
We did this as we thought best, seeking the Lord. But we were not perfect. We did not handle things right sometimes. But God is perfect. He always sees what He wants us to be; so we may share in His holiness.
So remember. If the difficulty you are experiencing is God cutting off sinful or foolish behaviors, let Him cut them off. If the trial is His pruning, then be trained by it, remembering that it is producing a harvest of righteousness and peace, later on.
I believe it was Will Rogers who said: “Politicians are only concerned about the next election, but statesmen are concerned about the next generation.”
Unfortunately, it seems like, at least according to the various forms of media out there, that American government is more about the former than the latter.
That’s why it says in the book of Philippians:
Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life… (Philippians 2:14-16)
The words of God are and must be the standard for all in public service. Because all will be both judged and rewarded according to the Word of God. Righteousness is worth more than money.
Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. (Proverbs 11:4)
In the way of righteousness there is life; along that path is immortality. (Proverbs 12:28)
Righteousness guards the person of integrity, but wickedness overthrows the sinner. (Proverbs 13:6)
Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people. (Proverbs 14:34)
People who pursue righteousness and love find life, prosperity and honor. (Proverbs 21:21)
God is righteous and desires a people and a nation who are likewise – a people that embody the Truth. Those whom God finds faithful in doing His will, He will reward and with His own mouth say: “Well done...”
When talking with people about a particular subject, it is important that those in conversation are talking about the same thing. That is, that both are operating on an accurate definition of terms. When you have one person talking about something, but the other person is hearing based on another set of criteria, there is a lack of communication. What the person is saying and the other is hearing are not the same.
It’s like the Word of God. God is saying something, but what are you hearing? Are you hearing what He is saying? Or are you hearing something else? It is important to approach Scripture this way: “What is God saying?” “What do you think God is saying to you?” And “Do the two line up?”
So let’s look at two words: Stubborn and Steadfast.
Stubborn means stiff-necked, like an old mule. Stubborn is that aspect of human nature that says, “I am going to have my own way, even if it kills me.” It doesn’t want answers. It wants its own way. Stubborn is self-centered.
Steadfast, on the other hand is positive. It says, “I am going to do what is right – I am going to obey the Lord, even if it kills me.” Steadfast trusts God. It is God directed. It begins with God because it knows that God is holy, loving and true.
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; God’s mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness, O Lord. (Lamentations 3:22-23)
You will keep in perfect peace the person whose mind is steadfast, because they trust in you. (Isaiah 26:3)
It’s like the age-old philosophical and scientific question that has been pondered and argued for eons: “What came first, the chicken? Or the egg?” I used to argue, mainly because I just liked to argue, that the chicken came first. Until I finally realized that neither the chicken nor the egg came first. God did. And God must.
Stubborn human nature is determined to start with itself. This self-centered nature has been plaguing mankind since the beginning and leads to much hardship. It tries to define and redefine reality according to its own nature, rather than beginning with God, whose perfect nature is the basis of all things and of all that is good.
Everything that exists has its origin in God. Therefore if anything is to make sense, if any real problem is going to be solved, one must begin with God and with what God says, and then put it into practice. The wise begin with God.
G.K. Chesterton wrote: “If we are to save the oppressed, we must have two apparently antagonistic emotions in us at the same time. We must think the oppressed man intensely miserable, and at the same time intensely attractive and important. We must insist with violence upon his degradation; we must insist with the same violence upon his dignity. For if we relax by one inch the one assertion, men will say he does not need saving. And if we relax by one inch the other assertion men will say he is not worth saving. The optimists will say that reform is needless. The pessimists will say that reform is hopeless. We must apply both simultaneously…”
There is wisdom in this statement. What Chesterton means by oppressed, I believe, is not necessarily that this person is being mistreated unjustly. His situation may be a matter of his own doing, as a sinner. Because sin, by nature is oppressive. But because he is a sinner, does not mean he has no value. What Chesterton calls antagonistic emotions, may really be the balance we need in viewing the dilemma.
The evil of sin and the value of sinners must be held simultaneously. If the evil of sin is lost, the attitude may become that a person does not need to be saved. If the value of sinners is lost, the attitude may become that one does not deserve to be saved. Both the evil of sin and the value of sinners must be held together, and within that tension, we may have the balance to better see and deal with this troubled world.
We will see the oppressive nature of sin, avoid it and teach others to do likewise. And we will love the oppressed, pray for them and give ourselves for them, like Jesus did for us – not because they deserve it, but because they are valuable to Him and to us.
As the Apostle Paul wrote: …for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. …For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 3:23-24, 6:23)
The evil of sin and the value of sinners meet simultaneously in Christ on the cross. The evil of sin, by God’s law required death. The value of sinners by God’s love, brought Jesus to suffer and to die for us, to save us. Both the evil of sin and the love of God toward sinners were covered in Christ on the cross. His resurrection proves it. The Holy Spirit confirms it. And all who believe, experience its effects.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)
There are basically two ways to question God.
1. To question His integrity.
2. Or to ask legitimate questions. Number 2 is okay.
Evil purposely works against God to deceive people. He lures them to question what God has said, and ultimately, to question God – and His integrity.
Remember Job questioned God. In his agony and inability to answer, ‘why those bad things were happening to him,’ he accused God of injustice; for punishing him, though he had done nothing wrong. It’s an unfortunate way of handling what we can’t explain.
It offends God when we do not trust His character in the midst of unexplainable circumstances, when God has not chosen to let us know ‘why?’ But as someone said, “If you know God – if you truly know Him, you don’t need to know ‘why’?
And if you are familiar with the story, Job knew God more and was blessed more after his trial than before, as is the case for those whom God uses and corrects.
When Mary was told by the angel Gabriel that she was going to give birth to the Son of God, she questioned God:“How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
And after the angel explained that it would be the work of the Holy Spirit, she answered, “I am the Lord’s servant. “May it be to me as you have said.”
She did not question God out of doubt and unbelief. She asked a legitimate question, she received an answer, and she believed God.
God finds it offensive for us to doubt His character. But so do people – people that God may call us to serve. How many of us jump to conclusions, perceiving the worst when another person, who may not see things as we do, says something that does not line up with what we think or believe?
Rather than become offended, defensive or judgmental – which may shut the door to any openness in hearing what we have to say, ask, “What do you mean?” Let them explain their position. Ask and listen without finding fault – like Jesus does with us.
Love them first, then you may have the opportunity to share what you have with them.
The angel answered Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. (Luke 1:35)
The Son of God became like us, so we might become like Him. God prepared a body for Him in the womb of Mary. And He must prepare us for the Kingdom of God.
Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.’”
God the Son put on humanity to be like us: To give His life for us and to give His life to us. And we must put on Christ, to be changed and fitted for eternity with God.
“I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit… (John 3:3-7)
We are all born of water – the water breaks and we come out. The point is: flesh gives birth to flesh. Flesh is corruptible and temporary. But Spirit gives birth to spirit. That’s why we need to be born again. God is Spirit. He is incorruptible and eternal. So, we need to be born of God – like Jesus.
“Whoever believes in me,” said Jesus, “as Scripture says, streams of living water will flow from within him (or her).” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. (John 7:38-39)
We are sinful, but the Spirit of God is sinless, like Jesus. Jesus took care of our sin problem on a cross, otherwise the Spirit would not live in us. Jesus arose and returned to the Father and sent the Holy Spirit to live within us. That’s why Jesus came.
So that His Spirit would guide us and transform us from the inside/out — so, by nature, we could become more like God. Within us He is like a fountain of life. And we are…
…children born not just the natural way… but born of God. (John 1:13)
Having the Spirit is necessary for us to enter into the Kingdom of God. His presence shows that the Kingdom of God has entered into us and that we are citizens of God’s Kingdom.
…because those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.
By faith in Christ, a person is truly born of God. He/she becomes a child of God and children of God are led by the Spirit of God. And love is the identifying characteristic of the children of God – because God is love.
It is important for us to be able to think of our God as a Person, not an idea, or a principle or even a spiritual concept. (Rosiland Rinker, Prayer: Conversing with God)
The Spirit of God is not an idea, or principle, or spiritual concept or some inanimate power like electricity. He is not a religion. He is a Person – like the Father and the Son. …One who can be both loved and offended.
In the Bible He has many names that relate to His character and work. He is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, the Counselor, the Comforter, He is Christ in you, the hope of glory. He is our Helper. He is the Spirit whom Jesus sent from God the Father, who is with us today revealing the will of God and who lives in all who are in Christ Jesus.
If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. (Philippians 2:1-2)
Encouragement, comfort, fellowship, tenderness, compassion, joy, love – such qualities come from being united with Christ; from being in fellowship with the Spirit. God is their source and like all things, they cannot exist without Him. But when we are united in Spirit and purpose with Him, through Him such qualities become ours as well.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us (fixing our eyes on Jesus). (Hebrews 12:1)
How many of you watched the Special Olympics. If you saw how the blind runners run the race marked out for them, they run ‘yoked’ to another runner who can see. The blind runner runs his/her race, but they rely on the sight of their partner to guide them around the track. The two train together. And the blind runner has complete trust in their partner to guide them to the finish line. In our life race, we need someone to run with us and guide us. He is the Spirit of Jesus.
Around us, there will be those who are for us and there will be those who are against us. There will be both physical and spiritual curves, dangers, pitfalls, to be negotiated as we run. But the One who runs with us, can see all things. We recognize His voice and listen only to Him as we remain yoked to Him while we run. He keeps us from running off course, so that we may finish and finish strong.
The freer we are, the better we will run with the freedom of Jesus. So, we must throw off all things that weigh us down and avoid all things that trip us up. Nothing will hinder or slow us down more than resisting the Spirit of Jesus. And nothing will trip us up more than sin in our life.
We must be willing to follow as He leads: step-by-step and in-step with Him. We must throw off all ungodly entanglements that go against His will and His Word. Then we may be free to run by His Spirit the race He has marked out for us. And by His grace, He will lead us to a victorious finish.
Fixing the eyes of our hearts on Jesus we must run with deep desire and perseverance. The race may not be easy. We are meant to run the race, He marked out for us, by His guidance and by His power. Prayer is our connection with the Spirit of God and His power. So, we must pray and run, run and pray.
United with Jesus, keeping the eyes of your heart on Him, run your race – the one He has marked out for you – run it with deep desire and with perseverance. And you will receive the glorious reward that lasts forever.
…The officers made Jesus’ apostles appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. "We gave you strict orders not to teach in Jesus’ name," he said… Peter and the other apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than men!” (Acts 5:27-29)
When the Jews had arrested Jesus and had Him taken before the Roman governor named Pilate, during Pilate’s questioning Jesus said, “Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” To which Pilate replied, “What is truth?” That is a real problem when leaders don’t know what the truth is – or choose to operate by some lesser standard. It can lead to unhealthy compromise.
These leaders were meant to obey God. But they had become more interested in themselves and public opinion than in seeking and abiding in the truth and love of God. That’s why as they crucified Jesus, He cried out in prayer, ‘Father forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.’ So, it was right for Peter and the other apostles to obey God rather than them.
Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. (Acts 17:11)
What is the difference between Godly leadership and worldly leadership?
With Godly leadership, the Spirit of God is the leader. Believers are His instruments. So that when others hear what they say, and decide not to just accept it immediately, but find out if it is the truth or not, the Godly leader is not offended – but very pleased they did so.
Paul was not offended but commended these Bereans, who checked out what he was saying, to make sure it aligned with the truth of God’s word. Paul knew that both he and they were servants of God. They did not just accept everything they heard but checked it out with the truth. This showed that they were of more noble character than those who did not.
Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my followers. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)
“On the day of his Moscow arrest – February 12, 1974 – Alexander Solzhenitsyn published what would be his final message to the Russian people before the government exiled him… He urged the Russian people to ‘live not by lies.’ What did it mean to live by lies? It meant, accepting without protest all the falsehoods and propaganda that the state compelled its citizens to affirm – or at least not to oppose – to get along peaceably under totalitarianism.
“Everybody says that they have no choice but to conform, says Solzhenitsyn, and to accept powerlessness. But that is the lie that gives all other lies their malign force. The ordinary man may not be able to overturn the kingdom of lies, but he can at least say that he is not going to be its loyal subject.” (Rod Dreher, in Live Not By Lies)
Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.
May God Himself, the God of peace, purify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The One who calls you is faithful and He will do it. (1 Thessalonians 21-24)
This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. (Jeremiah 6:16)
There are times in our lives when we stand at a crossroads. Many years ago I drew a picture of myself facing a crossroads. One way was the way of Christ, and the other was the way of business (the way of money) in the city. I was already dressed in a business suit. At that time I had already made my decision. But I am glad that the Lord has redirected me to His way and He continues to do so. I want Him to.
Jeremiah wrote, ‘…ask for the ancient paths.’ This is not about going back in time but going back to God and the paths that have always originated in Him – that have always been the right way to go – the good way.’ ‘Only God is good.’ So you can know that His way is always good. Find His way. And when you find out what His way is, walk in it. Jesus is His Way.
At certain times, we may face crossroads that determine our course in life. Even daily, we can face crossroads where we must choose between options that affect people, places and things. Test your motives. Prayerfully consider the good way, God’s way – and walk in it. God is lovingly concerned about every aspect of your life. He wants what is best for you and everyone else and would never lead you down the wrong path.
You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’ (Acts 2:28)
When we go our own way, without God; the way of worldly pressure; or people pleasing or self-pleasing, the result will ultimately be turmoil and regret. But when we seek God’s way; and His way is always true, He reveals His paths to us. And rest for your soul and joy in His presence is the result. Because the ancient paths, the good way – God’s way is the path of life. And His way is Jesus.
Glorious Freedom
…that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. (Romans 8:21)
A week or so ago we celebrated Independence Day, the 4th of July. And if that celebration could be boiled down into one word, that word would be freedom.
Freedom from tyranny, from slavery and from oppression. Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Where rulers and citizens are restricted from doing wrong, but free to do what is right, according to the will of God.
But there is an even better freedom. Paul calls it the glorious freedom of the children of God.
Where creation itself is liberated from its bondage to decay… Where human beings, at one time enslaved by sin and unbelief have been set free from its chains and brought into the glorious Kingdom of God. Living in the world, but no longer of the world.
Where redeemed souls, still battling with remnants of the old nature and that old self-centered self, experience crucifixion of those unwanted qualities, and resurrection in Jesus by the Spirit.
Where things like Faith, Hope and Love define us. And things like righteousness, peace, joy, patience, kindness, humility, and self-control are expressed through us. Because they are the qualities of the Spirit of God.
Complete resurrection and full Spiritual life. Even now. The glorious freedom, of the children of God. Is this too much to ask God for?
God is Spirit. And Spirit is Life – eternal life. Glorious freedom is living beyond life as the world knows it. It is living by the Spirit as God knows it. And inviting others to come from a worldly life into Eternal Life in Christ Jesus.
That’s what God wants for us – the glorious freedom of the children of God. People not only born the natural way but born of God. In the world but no longer of the world because the Kingdom of God is within us. This is what America should be about.
Father open our eyes to the truth. Not the truth as we think we know it, but the truth as you know it — as it truly is. We want what you want for us. Let it be so. Open the hearts and minds of all people to the knowledge of you and your good and perfect will by your precious Holy Spirit. …In Jesus’ name…
A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. (Proverbs 18:24)
Jackie Robinson was the first black to play major league baseball. While breaking baseball's "color barrier," he faced jeering crowds in every stadium. While playing one day in his home stadium in Brooklyn, he committed an error. His own fans began to ridicule him. He stood at second base, humiliated, while the fans jeered.
Then shortstop "Pee Wee" Reese came over and stood next to him. He put his arm around Jackie Robinson and faced the crowd. The fans grew quiet. Robinson later said that arm around his shoulder saved his career. -- Larry Wise, East Troy, Wisconsin. Leadership, Vol. 11, no. 2.
If you have never seen the actual footage of this, it is beautiful. The majority of the baseball world was against Jackie Robinson. The evil within them wanted him to fail and they were looking for opportunities to try to discourage and even destroy him. He made an error on the field and they laid into him. And like Jesus, Pee Wee Reese came, put his arm around him and loved him like a friend in front of them all. He showed them how they ought to be behaving.
Like David said of Jesus in his shepherd’s Psalm 23: …You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. (Psalm 23:5)
How many times has Jesus done this for us and to us? He has come and put His arm around us and encouraged us when we needed support. He has corrected us when we off-track and shown us the right way to go. What a friend we have in Jesus. He truly does want to make something good out of us. It is good to spend time with Him in prayer.
Real prayer is a serious concern, for we are speaking to the sovereign Lord of all the universe, who is willing to move heaven and earth in answer to sincere and reasonable prayer. Prayer is not a mechanical duty, but a wonderful opportunity to develop a loving and caring relationship with the most important Person in our lives. -- John Bunyan
Friends spend time together. …To be in each others presence and to share conversation, concerns and desires; to ask things of one another and to pour their hearts out to one another, that’s what true friends are. I don’t know about you, but there is no one that I can do that better with than Jesus.
The LORD reigns forever; he has established his throne for judgment. He will judge the world in righteousness; he will govern the peoples with justice. (Psalm 9:7-8)
Only God is autonomous and His Word is absolute – the foundation for what is right and what is wrong. Biblical truth is the basis for society and government and our constitution. Every nation and individual will be forgiven or condemned according to the truth God has revealed in Jesus Christ and through the Bible.
To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I (wisdom) hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. Counsel and sound judgment are mine; I have understanding and power. By me kings reign and rulers make laws that are just; by me princes govern, and all nobles who rule on earth. I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me. With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity. (Proverbs 8:13-18)
When the basis for society and government is Biblical truth – because it is the truth, the result is freedom without chaos. What kind of nation are we?
Francis Schaeffer said, “When there is no absolute by which to judge society, society is absolute.” He defined humanism as man demanding to begin autonomously from himself and turning away completely from anything that God might have to say.”
A single individual or elite group comes up with its own arbitrary moral absolutes, generating meaning and ethic without any absolute ethic by which to judge its absolute power. But what individual or group should decide this? Intellectuals? Scientists? Technocrats? Political leaders? Military leaders? Who would be the competent elite deciding what is right and what is not? How will they enforce it? History is littered with evil societies and governments that took such a manipulative and dictatorial approach.
In 1934, “German Christianity," inspired by Nazism was on the rise. Hitler appealed to patriotic Germans, who were bishops and elders and pastors to work with him to better the lives of the German people. What emerged was the idea that it was the duty of the church to advance a political ideology.
But a group of Christians in 1934 got together and authored what is known now as the Barmen Declaration. It argued that the church and the gospel serves Jesus Christ as Lord over everything and must never allow itself to be enlisted in the service of any ideology, no matter how good it may seem. They put it this way: "We cannot put the word and the work of the Lord in the service of any arbitrarily chosen desires, purposes, and plans."
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'" "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:1-5)
Satanic temptation seems to consistently operate by this same principle: Get people to doubt the words of God – that is, to doubt God. Make God seem evil and then offer an alternative that seems better – exalting the person into the place of the only true God. The truth says, “Everything begins with God.” The lie says, “Everything begins with you.”
Francis Shaeffer wrote, “If there is no absolute by which to judge society, society is absolute.” That is, if God and His word are not the reference point for right and wrong, then society takes His place. “And the greatest evil of all is to put any created thing above the Creator.”
Where people and societies make themselves the center and their own measure for right and wrong, rather than God and His words, what you ought to do is only what is sociologically accepted at the moment. Whatever contemporary thinking is promoting and/or the agenda of an authoritarian elite become the standard. And the result is chaos and eventual collapse.
America and our Constitution, though often misapplied, have a Biblical foundation. Our nation is meant to serve God first then others. Any government if it is to endure must align itself with the truth – whose Source is God. He is the Source of all things and can be trusted. It all must start with Him.
Only God is autonomous. When people or societies attempt to make themselves autonomous, their truth becomes arbitrary. Immorality, injustice and many other evils enter in and unity and stability in individuals and societies fall apart.
You cannot solve real problems with wrong solutions. Unity and stability are the natural outflow of obeying God according to the Bible – not just as a means to an end, but because they are the true Way. Only the power of Christ and a Biblical worldview can withstand the pressures of life and keep America from being pulled down by the undertow of false thinking.
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32)
If the Christian life were a football game -- call it the Super Bowl, the offense would be kindness and compassion, and the defense would be forgiving each other as Christ forgave us.
When we are speaking, let our conversation always be full of grace and seasoned with kindness and compassion so that we will know how to speak to anyone. And when we are spoken against, and are feeling defensive, even if we know that we are right, let us forgive just as in Christ God forgave us.
Forgiveness is the other side of love. Love (kindness and compassion) and forgiveness are how to overcome the evil one who wants anger and bitterness to grow into hatred in us toward others, who are opposed to us, so that we may become like the devil. Hatred destroys the vessel that contains it.
In the book and movie The Hiding Place, when prisoners were being terribly mistreated and killed, Betsie Ten Boom’s message to the prisoners was, “Do not hate.” The Spirit of Jesus enabled her to see what the devil was up to, what the Germans had been deceived by and what these prisoners were entering into to their own destruction, if that hatred could have its way.
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves…. (Romans 12:9-10)
If love is to be sincere it must flow from the Spirit of Christ. Justice, rooted in man and not in God, quickly becomes injustice. To hate what is evil means to avoid it – at all cost. It doesn’t mean to hate the other person. But to cling only to what is good – to Christ and to the truth that is never separated from love.
Brotherly love shows the world how people who know God are meant to live. It teaches us to honor others above ourselves. Honoring others above ourselves shows Christ’s love and protects us against the temptations of the evil one – who is against us and against others, and wants everyone to be like him.
To honor others above ourselves is the quality of love, called humility. Humility is more concerned about the will of God and the needs of others than it is about itself… …Because humility knows that its needs are all fully met in Christ. The truly humble person is completely secure in Christ.
…pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called… (1 Timothy 6:11-12)
On October 11, 1798, President John Adams addressed the officers of the First Brigade of the Third Division of the Militia of Massachusetts in a letter:
“We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
When John Adams spoke about a moral and religious people, he is speaking of those who hold to Biblical truth, on which our Constitution is based. Not that we legislate morality, but that we use Biblical truth to judge whether our laws and actions and leaders are just and moral. So that as a nation we may have freedom without chaos.
Otherwise, based on mere opinions, or mainstream thinking or political expediency such laws and actions can become arbitrary, and used for purposes that are not just and moral. If we lose the ability to know not only what is right and wrong, but why it is right or wrong, then we stop being moral.
By the word of God, rulers are free to do good, but limited in doing evil. A person with a Bible is free to tell the majority or the president, they are wrong. Biblical truth is the only way to deal with human passions that if left unbridled will lead to chaos, tyranny and eventual collapse – like the Roman Empire.
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, idolatry, witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dishonesty, divisions, envy… and the like. …those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Such immoral things destroy individuals, societies, governments and civilizations.
But the fruit of the Spirit of God is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:19-23)
And there needs to be no laws against such things because they relate to the nature of our Creator, our Savior and our God who is perfect and good. Everything that is good begins with Him and His word never leads us astray.
(Jesus said) …For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." (Luke 19:10)
Easter us just around the corner. It is getting closer to the time when pools open, beaches get crowded and lifeguards get back on the job.
A while ago I was in discussion with someone regarding the saving of people – that is, saving the soul. And He asked in so many words, “Will God send all people who don’t believe in Jesus to hell?” It is an important question. But it needs to be viewed from a different angle.
It needs to be viewed from the perspective of a lifeguard. A lifeguard does not go into the water, unless someone is drowning or if someone has drowned already, needs to be recovered quickly and have CPR administered. He doesn’t need to. But if someone is in trouble, He goes in.
It’s not that mankind was already okay and that God would condemn them if they did not choose Jesus. It is that people are already drowning in sin and already separated from God. They are already lost. That’s why, out of love for us, the Father sent His one and only Son, here, to save us. Only He can do it. He is our Lifeguard.
Separated from God, people are already on the path to hell. Jesus came to change that: …to seek and to save what was (already) lost. He came to rescue us from the predicament of sin and spiritual death that we were already in.
Jesus gave His own life to save ours. He arose so we may have His life and sent the Holy Spirit so that His life may be within us, so that we may never die and never again be separated from God. As His name means, He is God, our Savior.
But many don’t know, don’t believe or don’t want to believe this. They try to avoid or fight off the Lifeguard who has come to save them. Rather than swim to Him or simply remain still and allow Him come to them, they try to get away from Him. They falsely believe that He did not really come for their benefit.
But the truth is that God did send Jesus and only Jesus, to seek and to save what was lost. Only He has the authority and power to save all, who believe what God has done for them, through Him. Don’t try to avoid Him but come to Him and let Him save you.