Of Rituals Real & Imagined - Isaiah 1:11

“What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.” - Isaiah 1:11

    Our current pandemic is bringing out the worst in people in many cases. From hoarding to civil disobedience to the apparent madness of someone who would deliberately cough or sneeze on grocery items, the unruliness and disregard of people can still astound us at times. But the irrationality has also seeped into varying religions and faiths around the world; however, I want to focus on one - the Saturday 4/11/2020 call by a Catholic Archbishop for a ‘mass of exorcism’ against the plague.
    God has made it perfectly clear as to what He desires from us, and what He does not want. “Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations— I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.” - Isaiah 113-14. The ritual of exorcism is a man-made routine with absolutely no Biblical support.
    When Jesus exorcized demons, He did so by His mere word. “Be silent, and come out of him.”- Mark 1:25. There were no quasi-magical tools used nor was there any lengthy contrived petition. Jesus merely spoke the demons out. In fact, there are only two Christian rituals that Christ Himself instituted - baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Any other rituals have come into practice by the imagination and machinations of man.
    David knew what God wanted rather than ritualized sacrifice when push finally came to shove - “For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” - Psalm 51:16-17.
    The prophet Jeremiah told us what God wanted - “But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’” - Jeremiah 7:23.
    God has made it clear throughout the ages what His chief passion for us is - “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” - Hosea 6:6.
    Consider the following: if God has forbidden the worship of carved images or such images in general, and He has, why would He grant us the spiritual power to ‘bless’ or otherwise assign to these images an undeserved stature of holiness? These images are made of wood, paper, plastic, glass, metal, or stone! They have in themselves no inherent sanctity and a contrived magical ritual to make them so does not imbue them with any spiritual power.
We have not been authorized by God to manufacture ‘worship relics,’ nor are we to use them in the proper worship of our Lord. In other words, you may have an image of Jesus or a crucifix on your wall . . . you just can’t use it as a worship tool.
“Take care, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and make a carved image, the form of anything that the Lord your God has forbidden you. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” - Deuteronomy 4:23-24. And, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me . . .” - Deuteronomy 5:8-9.
    These are the things God wants from us, not rituals that could just as conceivably issue from a Santeria or voodoo ceremony, with all the bells, bangles, and feathers. We are not to bow before any totem. However, we must be careful not to assign sin to a mere representation of ‘the cross’, images of our Savior, or otherwise innocent portrayals for the mere use of viewing them, as long as we do not use them as objects of worship!
       All our merciful God expects from us are a broken and contrite heart, obedience, love, and the knowledge of Himself and belief in His Son, Jesus Christ. “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” - Acts 4:12.
    Ritual for deliverance? No, God isn’t interested in rituals. The greatest deliverance ritual that was ever performed was that which took place on Golgotha with the death of Jesus Christ. Therein He delivered us from condemnation and God’s righteous wrath. No greater ritual could ever be, let alone provide deliverance for us sinners.
     We don’t require or need a ritualized ‘exorcism’ to divinely end our current pandemic and we are not instructed or advised by Scripture to attempt any such ‘magical ceremony.’ We have a greater hope; we have the promise of God that He will indeed grant us deliverance from our tribulations. “Now therefore mend your ways and your deeds, and obey the voice of the Lord your God, and the Lord will relent of the disaster that he has pronounced against you.” - Jeremiah 26:13.

COVID-19 Foretold? - Revelation 18:21-23

Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,
“So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence, and will be found no more; and the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters, will be heard in you no more, and a craftsman of any craft will be found in you no more, and the sound of the mill will be heard in you no more,  and the light of a lamp will shine in you no more, and the voice of bridegroom and bride will be heard in you no more, for your merchants were the great ones of the earth, and all nations were deceived by your sorcery.” - Revelation 18:21-23

    For fear of extrapolating more than I should from Revelation 18, let me suffice to say that it does, in its own prophetic manner, paint a picture eerily similar to what the world is currently facing in this pandemic.
    For example, verses 11 through 14 describe the economic downturn to the lack of cash-flow due to the inadequate supplies of necessary goods, including food. “And the merchants of the earth (men who make profits from sales) weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls. ‘The fruit for which your soul longed has gone from you, and all your delicacies and your splendors (foodstuffs and luxuries) are lost to you, never to be found again!’”- Revelation 18:11-14.
    Are these scarcities going to remain with us after the virus subsides? Perhaps not but the implications remain.
    Verse 19 reveals that the men of commerce (movers of commodities) will mourn and cry out . . . for financial support? “And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out, (begging for a bailout) ‘Alas, alas, for the great city where all who had ships at sea grew rich by her wealth! For in a single hour she has been laid waste.’” It’s a far stretch, you think? The hotel industry alone is looking for $150 billion in aid. Boeing is also seeking billions of dollars in bailouts, as are the airlines and cruise lines. Multi-billion dollar industries are seeking financial aid. Even after the recession of 2008, it is hard to imagine.
    The chapter ends with the pronouncement that life, as we know it, has come to an end. From entertainment to manufacturing to threats to technology and the deeper relationships of modern life, everything has changed!.“Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, ‘So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence, and will be found no more; and the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters, will be heard in you no more,(entertainment in all its forms) and a craftsman of any craft will be found in you no more (joblessness), and the sound of the mill will be heard in you no more ( manufacturing shut down), and the light of a lamp will shine in you no more, and the voice of bridegroom and bride will be heard in you no more, for your merchants were the great ones of the earth, and all nations were deceived by your sorcery.’” - Revelation 18:21-23. It somberly ends with the idea that the merchants, the purveyors of the modern lifestyle, were considered ‘great’ by us, not only because of their provisions but also because of the perceptions they fostered, perceptions that were part our overall delusions.
    The subterfuge was universal in that it touched all nations, leaving none unsoiled by a faith in materialism fostered by mercantilism.
    The COVID-19 virus has undone the world as we knew it. Already there are those in the fields of business, medicine, and politics who are saying things have changed forever. I will not suggest that Revelation 18 is the prophecy of the virus foretold over two-thousand years ago. However, when you read the chapter, the words do have a disturbing nature about them.
(All parentheses mine.)

Without Hope - Romans 12:12

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. - Romans 12:12

    This past Easter Sunday, our pastor gave a message of hope. After hearing God’s word on the subject, I started to think - “What about those who don’t believe in God? From where do they draw their hope? And is such a hope truly “hope?”
    So from where does worldly hope arise? Hope certainly doesn’t come from the world and all it’s frivolity. A life without real and meaningful hope can only be a life lived in despair.  Look at the sheer numbers of depression, anxiety, sexual confusion, drug and alcohol addiction, and suicide. These maladies are the results of lives lived without hope! The world offers no hope. In fact, the fastest way to despair is to place our hope in anything world related. It truly is like grasping at the wind. “Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.” - Ecclesiastes 2:11.
    Hope in the things of this world is meaningless. Such hope has no anchor, nothing steadfast to hold onto. I ask anyone to provide me with an example of how one might ‘hope in the world.’ What will be the lynchpin to the fulfillment of that hope? What will be the basis of their hope in this world?
    From the Christian perspective, we have every reason to hope because ours is based upon our faith. “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” - Hebrews 11:1. Our hope is not derived from any worldly thing. Our hope comes directly from the word of God. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” - Jeremiah 29:11. All our hopes are bound up in God and nothing else because nothing else can guarantee the outcome of our hope. “Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God.” - Psalm 146:5.
    My late pastor, R.C. Sproul once wrote - “Those without Christ are without hope; those in Christ are never without hope.” The Bible assures us - “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” - 1 Peter 1:3-4. Jesus is the source of all Christian hope. If Christ is truly not the source of our hope we are truly all without hope! Tongue-twisting as that may sound, the words are intertwined like the very vine that Jesus Himself spoke about. “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” - John 15:5.
    It is this surety provided by Jesus that we stake our hopes on. And we are guaranteed our hopes will not be disappointed.
    Let us look at the title passage again. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. If we rejoice or take joy in our hope, then and only then can we be patient in tribulation. It is the man without hope who gripes and grieves over his lot in life. The man with hope can experience joy despite his problems because his hope is anchored in Jesus. “But how,” you ask, “can one find joy in troubles?” In prayer, my friends, in constant prayer. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 4:4-7. We are told to rejoice in the Lord always, do not be anxious about anything, but pray and be thankful and let our requests be made known unto God! This is the key to having a hope that has its anchor in God: be joyful, be prayerful, be thankful, and make our supplications to God . . . not to the world!
    We can certainly place all our hopes in mankind and wait on the world to grant what we want or we can pray to God in thankfulness and joy and let our hope ride on the Spirit of God rather than the fickleness of man. Where does your hope come from? Do you even have any hopes?       

A Sunday Unlike Any Other - Philippians 4:4-6

 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
- Philippians 4:4-6


    This will probably be the most remarkable Easter Sunday in my 65 years. It will be remarkable for the fact that we are celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ in our homes rather than in assembling at our church. This plague has certainly altered our lives in ways that we will never forget. The infection continues to grow; the death toll continues to climb.
    On this Resurrection Sunday let us take the time to remember the grace with which God granted us redemption I Jesus Christ. “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” - Romans 8:11.
    During this time of sickness, we need to remember that through the sin of Adam the entire universe has suffered in ‘the Fall.’ Each age has had its share of tragedy and tribulation. From the ancient threats to the specter of nuclear annihilation to the plague event, the world and all the people in it have always faced one kind of catastrophe after another. “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains." - Matthew 24:6-8.
    And yet we as we approach Easter this year we are still able to access the hope that is in Jesus Christ. Despite our current virus emergency the means of grace provided by God to us are still available to those who believe in Him. The way to achieve those means of grace is as they have always been - through fervent prayer. “Is anyone among you suffering? Is anyone among you sick?.... Let him pray. . . and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” - James 5:13a, 14a, 16b.
    And where is the power of prayer? It must be ardent, pious, and sincere. In other words, we must be genuine, reverent, and our prayers must come from our hearts. These are the prayers that God listens to. Prayer requires belief in God, not some fleeting assent but a firm and convicted belief that with God, all things are possible. The prayers of the unbelieving God merely ‘hears.’
    Prayer remains our greatest weapon against the forces of the world, the flesh, and the devil whether they are represented by man’s inhumanity to man, the forces of natural disasters, or plague. Prayer should be our first resort, not an eleventh-hour refuge. And while God certainly expects - commands - us to use the common blessings of knowledge, wisdom, and technology to battle the tragedies we encounter, so He commands us to turn to Him for healing. “ . . . if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” - 2 Chronicles 7:14. This is the promise of our Almighty God!
    Therefore, let us take time this Easter Sunday, a Sunday unlike any other, to rejoice, pray, and recognize God’s providential blessings to us in the resurrection of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ who remains our Lord and Savior, for -“If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.” - 1 Corinthians 15:19. Happy Easter 2020!

Follow Me - Luke 5:27-28

After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.- Luke 5:27-28


The account is retold in all three Synoptic Gospels. However, in Luke's, the details of Levi's response is more detailed - 'and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.' Levi (or Matthew) left everything behind him and followed Jesus!
Matthew was a tax collector. And without delving into the reasons why and how tax collectors were viewed by the common Jews, let us suffice to say that he was hated. That is not an overstatement or a negatively embellished assessment. Tax collectors were viewed as scum because they not only worked for Rome but were given license to add 'collection fees' to their tax bills to feather their own pockets, which they did at a usurious rate.
The Romans would sell the license to tax to the highest bidder. So the implication was that Matthew had made the top bid to gain his publican status. The fact that he 'came from money' may be attested to by Mark 2:14 where he is referred to as 'Levi the son of Alphaeus.' Alphaeus was considered ' a righteous man,' and as such, he may well have also been a relatively prosperous man whereby Matthew had a source for the cost of the tax license.
As a tax collector or 'publican,'Matthew would have established his collection business in Capernaum, near the sea, probably in a busily traveled thoroughfare where he was a recognizable figure among the population. He owned his own home and one large enough to entertain large groups of guests. This is all to say that Matthew had more than a fishing boat to walk away from. But walk away he did, leaving everything behind. That would mean his tax booth, his ledgers, and all the taxes he had collected that day!
We don't know what became of his house. Scripture doesn't tell us. It could well have been given to another member of the family; a practice not uncommon even today. The point is: Matthew gave up everything to follow Jesus! He didn't follow Christ blindly because Jesus made it clear - following Him would be no easy task - "And he said to all, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.'" - Luke 9:23.
Matthew knew what he was getting himself into by following the Messiah. He knew there would be persecution even unto death; it would be non-negotiable. "Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." - Luke 14:27.
Surely others heard the clarion call of Jesus but would not leave their worldly goods behind to follow Him. "Jesus said to him, 'If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.' When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions." - Matthew 19:21-22. Why did Matthew heed Christ's call while others such as this man were unable to? Jesus answered this for us - "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." - John 10:27.
Matthew's faithful following of Christ is a lesson for all of us today. We need to heed His call and drop the world and all its iniquities from the centerpiece of our lives and focus on Jesus. Then and only then we can follow Christ as we were meant to, without all the trappings and extraneous luggage of the world. Jesus said to us - "For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." - Matthew 7:13-14. There simply isn't room for all our worldly appendages and Jesus too. We must make up our minds as to whom we will follow.