Many today contemplate how they can make a difference for good in such a bad world. They will spend countless hours in improving themselves with hopes that they will have a positive influence on someone or something. While every Christian ought to strive to be everything God expects him to be, some forget
Have you ever been offered something that seemed too good to be true? Maybe you’ve seen those commercials of people earning $1,000 a day while only working from home. Seemed too good to be true, and ultimately it was. It turns out those commercials were a cunningly veiled pyramid scheme offering something it could not provide. The future they promised simply didn’t exist.
Many of us go through life trying to prove something to others, to show that we have something to offer. We may describe this constant struggle in a positive light as “driven” or “devoted.” But, other times we’ll use less flattering vernacular by saying someone “lacks self-esteem” or they are “begging for attention.” At the heart of the conflict is
In order for a judge to be able to pronounce judgment there must be a law in place by which he will judge. The law should be objective. In other words it should be without bias or prejudice or else justice will not prevail. The Bible reveals to man that the law by which God will use for at the judgment will be the Word of God. Jesus said, “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:48). The Word of God is objective. It did not come from the mind of men but rather from God. Peter wrote:
“Knowing this first that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost”
Peter is teaching that private interpretations, opinions, and points of view are not part of the objective standard used by God to judge mankind. God is very serious about this matter. He warned man about this fact through the inspired pen of John:
“For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”
The Word of God cannot be an objective standard if man adds or deletes one word from it. If he does, he changes the intended purpose of the standard. Case and point is the situation surrounding Eve in her confrontation with the serpent in the Garden of Eden.
God’s Law says:
“And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
Satan’s said:
“And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die”
The Word of God stands alone as the objective measuring tool by which God will judge mankind!
After God had decided that He was going to destroy the city of Sodom, He said of Abraham, “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him” (Gen. 18:19). God knew of the faithfulness of Abraham and the influence that he would have on the future generations of his offspring. Although the immediate context of this passage speaks of the remnant of the faithful Jews that would rise up to serve the Lord, the principle spoken here is the perfect example of
This proverbs is painfully reminiscent of the U.S.A.’s nutrition and obesity epidemics. Many have asked how a nation can lead the world in obesity but also struggle so mightily with malnutrition? The answer is simple
Have you ever been in a situation where whatever you said, seemingly no matter what it was, you made the situation worse? I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the most frequently used statement immediately following "you're digging a whole" is "you should just stop talking".
In nearly all cases, that is sound advice.
Have you ever been in a situation where whatever you said, seemingly no matter what it was, you made the situation worse? I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the most frequently used statement immediately following "you're digging a whole" is "you should just stop talking".
In nearly all cases, that is
Third, God is forever present. Solomon wrote, “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3). This means God sees all that man does. David testified to this when he wrote: "O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with
This time of year is full of graduations. From Kindergarten to College there are graduations around every corner. While the future plans are nearly always different, apprehension is always present. In life, we all go through phases of leaving what is known to reach for something better, if not mysterious. Anxiety is a very real
In any case where a man’s life hangs in the balance of being guilty or innocent the character of the judge plays a vital role. In the case of the eternal Judge there is no question as to His make-up and mind-set. This Judge is like no other. He will not rule based upon the reasoning of man, but rather, that of His own knowledge, power, and presence. What makes this Judge different from
How we view "the lost" says a lot about how we view the Gospel. If what Paul said is relevant, we don’t see anyone as a lost cause, we see them as a lost friend. If we really believe God has the power to transform or lives through the Bible, could we really ever dismiss anyone as "too sinful" or "too far gone” for the gospel to have an effect?
While Jesus was hanging on the cross, having to decide whether he’d rather suffocate or push down on the nails driven through the nerves inhis feet, a criminal had the gual to ask Jesus for his undivided attention. If ever there was a time for someone to say
God has left instructions for man today of what he is to do until the return of his Savior. Paul encouraged the church at Corinth to, “…be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:58). They were to continue in
Prayer, it is counted as one of the Five acts of worship we take part in each Sunday. At the risk of sounding to condescending, did you know that prayer is not restricted to Sunday only? Of course you did. We routinely pray for God to bless our meals, we pray for safe travels, or for comfort in times of heart ache. We take a lot when we
Second, HE SACRIFICES FOR THE WILL OF GOD. The Word of God instructs man to “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Rom. 12:1). When Christ was confronted by the Scribe asking “Which is the first commandment of all,” He responded from the Old Testament Scriptures that taught from the beginning that loving God required every ounce of one’s being. Mark wrote:
How much is a single soul worth to you? The disciples who were gathered in the house of Simon the Leper were confronted with this very question. As the story goes, a women anointed our Lord with a jar full of very expensive ointment. This ointment was valued at 300 denarii, a full year’s wage! For a frame of reference, the median yearly household income in Weatherford, TX in 2015 was
When one becomes a Christian he has made the decision to turn from a life of service to sin toward a life of service to God (1 Cor. 6:9-11). This life may seem confusing at first, but with patents, determination, and understanding, the new Christian will see that this life is a growth process. When the new Christian meets the mature in Christ he must realize that the mature Christian did not become mature overnight. He faced the same weaknesses, temptations, and shortcomings the new Christian faces. The mature diligently strives to overcome these obstacles that would cause his soul to be lost. He does not stand on one principle of God’s Word to see him through this difficult life. Instead, he chooses to serve God with his life in several ways.
First, HE SEEKS THE WISDOM OF GOD. God’s wisdom is only found in His Word. To seek it out His wisdom is truly the most honorable task man can accomplish. This is accomplished: (1) By studying God’s Word. Paul wrote to Timothy, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). The word “study” comes from the Greek word “spoudazo,” meaning “to exert one’s self, endeavor, give diligence” (Thayer 585). Paul commanded Timothy to endeavor to be in an approved condition in the sight of Almighty God. Everything essential to obtain God’s approval is included in His Word. (2) By meditating on the Word of God. “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night” (Psa. 1:1-2). The blessed man of the above text finds delight in reading and studying the Word of God. He meditates upon that which he reads, and upon what a man meditates determines the real inner man (Prov. 23:7). Perry Cotham once wrote, “A man may not be what he thinks he is, but what he thinks, he is.” (3) By praying according to God’s Word. James said that those who lack wisdom are to ask of God who gives it to all men (James 1:5). Verse 6 tells how to ask, “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.” When man prays to God for wisdom, he comes before God’s throne with a complete trusting, reliant, faith attached to a desire to do all that God expects of him. When this is accomplished, God gives wisdom liberally. A life of service to God starts with seeking His wisdom.
(Lord willing, continued next week)
The first step to worldliness is becoming friends with the world. James wrote, “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4). Friendship is...
Opportunity knocks. Could you imagine being Obed-edom? One minute your doing your laundry and the next the ark of God is in your living room! Apparently, Odeb-edom did not waste...
The study of “worldliness” is important because it is sin! At the root of every sin is Satan’s cocktail of poison containing the “lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.” When confronted in the Garden of Eden with this menu of desires Eve was convinced to choose...
