Which Lives Matter? -Matthew 6:26

 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? - Matthew 6:26

    In this oft quoted verse by Jesus, the subject He was addressing was man’s worries and anxieties. What to eat and what to wear are often concerns that can eat away at our self-assurance. But what I choose to address in this verse is the last question posed by Christ. Referring to the birds of the air, He implies emphatically that we humans are of greater value than the simple birds of the air. Christ reiterates the value of humanity compared to the sparrows again in both Matthew 10:31 and then confirms His words in the Gospel of Luke - “Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” - Luke 12:6-7.
    My point in drawing attention to these words of Christ is to declare the value of human life over that of other earthly life forms whether they be animal, insect, or otherwise. Christ Himself makes it clear that mankind is of greater value than any other life on earth! The Gospel was written for man, not animals. Salvation has been purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ for man, not for animals! Now, that being said, allow me to perhaps assuage the feelings of those who ostensibly hold that animal lives are as equally valuable as human lives and in some cases of greater value than human lives. Both views are in error.
    One of God’s initial commands to man in the garden of Eden was to be a good steward of all the earth. “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’” - Genesis 1:28 God certainly didn’t intend for man to pollute the waters and the skies of the earth, nor did He intend for man to go on a ecocidal vendetta with the intent of killing every animal and plant life form on the planet. So yes! Trophy hunting for animals would go against the laws of God. The random killing of animal life for sheer pleasure is not an example of good stewardship. Neither is the abuse of or deliberate neglect of the health and safety of animal life. So the concerns of “animal lovers” are legitimate concerns, and should be taken seriously when parsed in reasonable terms. However, there is no violation of God’s law when the killing of animals is done to provide food for human beings, regardless of what PETA or any other animal rights activists say. “And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs.” - Genesis 9:2-3.
    There are many reasons to protect animal and plant life on our planet, with sustainability being one of the primary. But human life, precious human life, starting with conception and ending with death at God’s chosen time and place take precedence over all other life forms. This precludes and proscribes infanticide, homicide, genocide, and all their murderous variations!  “You shall not murder.” - Exodus 20:13. All live matter, but human lives matter more to our Heavenly Creator.

The Side Show - Matthew 24:35

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. - Matthew 24:35

    If Christ was so adamant about His words enduring forever then why are there so many “churches” rocking the house, laser lighting, and clowning us straight into hell? Why aren’t these churches providing Christ’s Gospel to His sheep? Why in heaven’s name are so many of these churches more concerned with the star power and charisma of their ministers than they are with disseminating the two-edged sword of God’s living word? Is it because so many “Christians” demand a Godless gospel? “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.”- 2 Timothy 4:3-4. Even the Prince of Preachers, C.H. Spurgeon remarked - “A time will come when instead of shepherds feeding the sheep, the church will have clown entertaining the goats.”
    Where the word of God is not preached, the word of the devil is heard! This is long been the trend in American Christianity, especially among the evangelical herds. These false teachers have deliberately softened and molded the very words of God to be more pleasing to the ear, so as not to instill fear of the Lord or adversely affect the church coffers. They dilute the gospel with strange fires to appeal to the masses rather than preach the word and let the Holy Spirit enlighten those chosen by God to “hear” it. “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” - Matthew 24:24.
    It is all a sideshow, specifically designed to deceive the brethren and to enrich the hucksters who parade around as ministers of God! But don’t be dismayed; Christ knows them for what they are - “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’  And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” - Matthew 7:22-23. But perhaps Christ’s most appropriate response to those who would cheapen their worship of Him is . . . “Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.’” - Luke 23:34.
    Let us worship our Lord in reverence, hearing and applying His Word in our lives. Entertainment is cheap; the word of God is priceless!

The Problem of Pride - Obadiah 1:4

“Though you ascend as high as the eagle, and though you set your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down,” says the Lord. - Obadiah 1:4

    Pride is a monster. It is the most vicious of temperaments and it breaks and bruises everything it touches. Naturally, I am not referring to the harmless pride that comes from watching one’s child do well in an endeavor. I am referring to that coarse and obsessive pride that reeks of self-aggrandizement and self-glory. “The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts.” - Psalm 10:4.
    Pride is not merely a sin, but the precursor to sin in all its forms. Pride is presumptuous, arrogant, selfish, belligerent, confrontational, antagonistic, divisive, intolerant, unforgiving, and more. It is the epitome of self-assurance. “The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; you who say in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’” - Obadiah 1:3.
    Pride is the problem. Within each of us lives a pulsing worm which gnaws away at our hearts and minds. There is no innate goodness in us that escapes the bite and the claw of pride. This is what is meant by total depravity. And every one of us is guilty of it! “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 2:6.
    Every sin. Every transgression against God. Every wrong-doing is the result of human pride, for without pride man would not seek the world. And the world is the enemy of God - “Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”  - James 4:4.
    God hates pride - “The Lord God has sworn by Himself, the Lord God of hosts says: ‘I abhor the pride of Jacob, and hate his palaces; therefore I will deliver up the city and all that is in it.’” - Amos 6:8. But He loves the humble heart. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart— these, O God, You will not despise.” - Psalm 51:17.
    We must all do a better job seeking less those things which are self-aggrandizing and more of those things which God finds noble and virtuous. “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” - Philppians 4:8.
    Let us all put away our pride and take hold of humility for God’s sake . . . and our own.

Unbelief Is Belief - Micah 4:5

For all people walk each in the name of his god, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever. - Micah 4:5

    The current climate of “god hatred” permeating the secular (atheist) establishment is living contradiction in terms. How does one hate something he says doesn’t exist? You’ve heard the argument before, I’m sure. It is a good argument to be sure, especially when you consider just how much these haters of God worship their own gods so passionately.
    The prophet, Micah, saw this enigma unfolding even in his day (750 - 700 BC). So the hatred and animosity toward the one true living God is nothing new. The secularists and pseudo-atheists of the 21st century introduce nothing new to the nonsensical war between belief and unbelief. Obviously, not to believe in one thing inherently implies belief in another! They simply believe in different gods, gods of their own making! Despite God’s explicit warning, they, like Adam and Eve before them choose to disobey Him- “You shall have no other gods before Me.” - Exodus 20:3.
    Their gods may be wealth, notoriety, social control, science, or even themselves. The one thing they are not is the God of the Bible! “Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; eyes they have, but they do not see; they have ears, but they do not hear; noses they have, but they do not smell; they have hands, but they do not handle; feet they have, but they do not walk; nor do they mutter through their throat. Those who make them are like them; so is everyone who trusts in them.” - Psalm 115:4-8.
    As hard as these minions of false gods proclaim their disbelief, they are in fact shoring up their very belief in that which they have chosen to worship! Scripture warns us all, time and again, to avoid even the appearance of worshiping anything other than the one true God. We are admonished and given the choice - “And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” - Joshua 24:15. Joshua’s speech mirrors the words of Micah in depth and in detail.
    So the next time you hear someone say, “I don’t believe in God,” know that they do in fact believe in a god, a god of their own creation . . . and pray that they may one day see the one true God as revealed to us in Holy Scripture.