Rebuke & Exhortation - 2 Timothy 4:2-4

Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 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 2:2-4

    Rebuke, according to Merriam- Webster, is “an expression of strong disapproval.” Exhort is “to try to influence (someone) by words or advice : to strongly urge (someone) to do something”  Neither of these actions find many fans in today’s worldly culture, unless, of course, the receiver is subjected to them for simply telling the truth.
    Paul was, in his own manner, exhorting Timothy to carry the mantle of “preacher” with strength and integrity, two more characteristics that have come into a low view these days. But why? Why do exhortation and rebuke incite such vitriol today? Paul finds the symptom to be in “the desires.” It is what they desire that provokes them to anger against anyone who would dare rebuke them for ungodly hearts and minds. And exhortation is simply too much like leaning on them or pushing them against their own sinful desires. But it is more than rebuking and exhortation that angers the masses. The real root lies in the truth. They choose not to believe even though they know it is true.“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” - Romans 1:18. In fact, they will believe anything as long as it isn’t the truth! Paul continues in Romans - “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools . . .” - Romans 1:21-22
    The fact is that no one wants to be rebuked for doing what is wrong or exhorted to do what is right. Not one of us! We perceive our sinful pride is being stepped upon; that we are being judged. It is and we are. “He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.” - Romans 2:6-8. We’re being judged righteously when we are being rebuked for sinful pride and exhorted to seek the truth in humility. And to take offense continually, with no sense of repentant humility, with those who rebuke and exhort us, is dangerous - “He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” - Proverbs 29:1.
    Rebuke and exhortation are in every man’s and woman’s best spiritual interest. However, it must be given in proper Christian manner. “And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth . . .” - 2 Timothy 2:24-25.
   May we always and at all times accept correction and encouragement with humble hearts and show true Christian love for our brothers and sisters when we correct and encourage them in Christ Jesus’s name.

Enemy At The Gate - Deuteronomy 28:34

So you shall be driven mad because of the sight which your eyes see.  - Deuteronomy 28:34

    Today is a somber occasion: the 15th anniversary of the terror attacks on September 11th, 2001. As we look back over the last fifteen years it seems that we have learned so very little of the consequences begotten by our enmity with our heavenly Father. “The Lord will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand, a nation of fierce countenance, which does not respect the elderly nor show favor to the young.” - Deuteronomy 28:49-50.
    The first part of the 28th chapter of Deuteronomy is comprised of blessings given to the chosen people for obeying God’s holy word. The second part details the curses God would place upon them for their heard-necked resistance to His words. “Moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you . . .” - Deuteronomy 28: 45. Still, today, we scorn God for both His holiness and His justice.
    Surely, on that tragic day not so many years ago, there was a deep feeling that we were no longer invincible. There was a feeling of dread which swept our nation. “Your life shall hang in doubt before you; you shall fear day and night, and have no assurance of life. In the morning you shall say, ‘Oh, that it were evening!’ And at evening you shall say, ‘Oh, that it were morning!’ because of the fear which terrifies your heart, and because of the sight which your eyes see.” - Deuteronomy 28:66-67. Why have we not returned to Him? If we have been driven mad by the sights we have seen how could we ever expect God Almighty to take a lesser view?
    Many will scoff at these words and suggest convoluted popular interpretations but God has truly spoken to us - “They shall besiege you at all your gates until your high and fortified walls, in which you trust, come down throughout all your land; and they shall besiege you at all your gates throughout all your land which the Lord your God has given you.” - Deuteronomy 28: 52. Why do we continue to serve other gods and worship at the altars of idolatry even after such tragedy? Why do we still ignore God’s warnings to our nation even as we continue to face the enemy at the gate when we still have a prayer; we still have His promise - “. . . if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” - 2 Chronicles 7:14.
    May we observe this occasion and take the time to reflect on the great providence our heavenly Father has given us and return to Him now, today, at this very hour!

Generational Contempt - Deuteronomy 5:16

   
Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. - Deuteronomy 5:16

    As a man in my early 60's I often wonder how we ever got along without the younger generations. I mean how do we manage to get out of bed in the morning, dress ourselves, and go through our days without the immediate supervision of younger people? Of course the remark reeks of sarcasm and facetiousness - it’s supposed to!
    But the fact remains that the younger generations are just as scornful of my generation as I was of my father’s. I was wrong then and they are wrong now. “Listen to your father who begot you, and do not despise your mother when she is old.” - Proverbs 23:22.
    Part of a generation’s contempt for previous generations is that they cannot experience the wonder of the past’s accomplishments and innovations. All they can do is reap the benefits. They flick the light switch, not anticipating the light, but expecting it. So yes, familiarity does indeed breed contempt. They scorn the past because the innovators were more imaginative and creative than they can aspire to be today.
    The greatest discoveries and inventions come as a result of the perfect marriage of knowledge,  imagination, and creativity tempered by wisdom. My generation and those of today are mired in the morass of fanciful imagination and unable to climb up and out of it to the apex of true creativity. The generations are the same. So how in the world can we possibly attain the heights, since our reach exceeds our grasp despite our imagination? The fact is that “in the world” we cannot. “By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life.” - Proverbs 22:4.
    Face it: there are very few “original concepts” alive in the world today. Most achievements are merely modifications of past ideas and accomplishments. The greatest inventors and innovators were men who realized they were adrift in a world created from nothing by a God who is all powerful! Without the humility that comes from recognizing our God as almighty we are simply slapping a stick against a stone and expecting a skyscraper to rise from it. Humility begins in the heart and only our heavenly Father knows what is in each of ours. “Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’” - 1 Peter 5:5.
    Our hearts and minds can only be inspired by the Holy Spirit. And Jesus Christ is the only true vine by which we can come to fruition with our hopes, dreams, and imaginations.

An Odd Band of Cohorts - Luke 23:12

That very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other. - Luke 23:12

    It’s odd how quickly men who harbor only hatred and contempt for one another will find themselves in league when they share a common enemy. This was the back story between Pilate and Herod. It was suggested that once Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, understood that Jesus was a Galilean he quickly sent him before Herod, probably in an effort to avoid having to deal with the local Jewish authorities, himself. Either way the Sanhedrin returned Christ to Pilate, insisting that as governor he had the power to condemn Jesus to death by crucifixion, despite Herod’s dismissal of the charges.
    Two men who had been at enmity with each other now became cohorts, bonded by their hedonistic disdain for our Lord and Savior. It is a story that accurately depicts today’s special interests groups in our decaying and despicable culture. Abortion-rights advocates join arms with atheists who join arms with homosexual advocates who join arms with liberation theology advocates who join arms with feminists, ad nauseam.  Despite their differing agendas it would seem that the only sure thing they all agree upon is their utter hatred for the Christian faith as depicted in the Bible. “He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.” - John 14:24.
    The animosity these lovers of the world hold for Christians outweighs the differences and disagreements at play amongst themselves. They hate nothing more than they hate Christ and His message of salvation. “Then He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.’” - Luke 24:46-47. Repentance and remission of sin is a message that still brings out the fang and claw of the worldly. It places us in polar opposition to everything they stand for, represent, advocate, and defend. And it places us in their cross hairs.
     “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” - John 15:18-19.
    As we stand on yet another precipice in our rapidly degrading culture we are faced with a choice: worship at the altar of the world and lose our divine inheritance or remain in the faith that reassures us of our election as saints in Jesus Christ. Let this odd band of cohorts do what they may. Our Savior has overcome the world! Preach it boldly: Jesus Christ, yesterday, today, tomorrow and forever.

Satanic Intervention - Luke 22:3

   
Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.
- Luke 22:3

    There are a plethora of “reality shows” on cable networks purporting to feature ghost hunters and paranormal (haunting) investigators. Just let the irony of that statement sink in for a moment. Now imagine how taken aback I was when a close Christian friend approached me and asked if I believed that evil spirits could actually haunt, even hurt someone. I took a moment to choose my words carefully. Then I suggested we go to Scripture to see what God’s word has to say about such things.
    We looked at Saul’s life, from a “spirit” which troubled him (1Samuel 16:14) to his experience with the Witch of Endor, summoning the ghost of Samuel. (1Samuel 28: 11-15) We looked at Satan’s particularly virulent attacks upon Job. (Job 1:12) Then we looked at the son of perdition, Judas Iscariot. So can Satan intervene in the lives of human beings? According to holy Scripture?  Yes!
    Putting aside the utter nonsense of these cable programs we can safely assume that, given extreme circumstances, evil can and often does visit pain and suffering upon many of us. I, for one, do not believe that I have ever had a paranormal experience, nor do I personally know anyone who can, with unquestioning certainty, offer evidence that they have had such experiences either. That being said I still would never rule the possibility out.
    “The Exorcist,” one of the most terrifying novels of all time certainly haunted the imagination of viewers in the early 1970's. Author, William Peter Blatty, did his homework, researching scholarly works such as “Possession and Exorcism,” by Traugott K. Oesterreich, originally published in 1921. Obviously, Blatty sensationalized his fictional case for intense melodramatic effect, and quite successfully. But Scripture tells us of Christ’s healing of the Gadarenes demoniac, a case of demonic possession worthy of Blatty’s narrative. “And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,  who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains,  because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.” - Mark 5:2-5.
    There are four things we can know for certain regarding the encounters of God’s elect with such paranormal entities:
1) Satan is ever present - “And the Lord said to Satan, ‘From where do you come?’ So Satan answered the Lord and said, ‘From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.’” - Job 1:7.
2) We must put all our faith in God - “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” - James 4:7.
3) Satanic intervention is tied directly to the proximity of the devil’s presence in our lives - “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” - 1 Peter 5:8
4) God has given us a way to battle the manner and the effect of satanic intervention - “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” - Ephesians 6:11-13.
    We must always remember the words of our Lord, Jesus Christ praying to His heavenly Father - “While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” - John 17:12.  Our election by God before the foundation of the world and our perseverance in faith is our guarantee, our very assurance, that Christ will intercede for us and overcome satanic intervention regardless of the Accuser’s plans to the contrary. But we must remain vigilant and never give Satan or his minions opportunity.

Mercy And Grace At The Lord’s Table - 1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. - 1 John 1:9

    In Luke 14 we hear the parable of the Great Supper. “Then He said to him, ‘A certain man gave a great supper and invited many . . . .  But they all with one accord began to make excuses.’” - Luke 14:16, 18. Christ goes on to tell us, “‘For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.’” - Luke 14:24.
    How shameful it is when we reject the grace of God. And excuses? I’m certain that He has heard them all. One prominent excuse I have heard myself on more than one occasion is, “Well, I’ve got a slate of sins in my life that could never be forgiven.” Really? As far as I know there is only one “unforgivable sin,” - “Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation” - Mark 3:28-29. Then again, perhaps they just prefer to remain in their sins.
    Still, it seems that those who are unmoved by the invitation to partake of God’s mercy and grace are essentially saying - “My sins are greater than God’s power to forgive.” It has always befuddled me. Why not just come out and say that they are more powerful than God? That is the essence of their words. : “My sins are too strong for you to ever forgive me.” If there is anything in the universe that is stronger than God then He is not God!  God is all powerful and for Him all things are possible - “But Jesus looked at them and said to them, ‘With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’” - Matthew 19:26.
    Those who were invited to the Great Supper had nothing to lose and everything to gain. The supper was being offered to them by God’s mercy and grace. They only thing the invited guests needed to bring with them was an appetite, a hunger, and thirst  for that which was being offered to them - “And Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.’” - John 6:35. We come to Christ. We believe in Christ and the sacrifice He made for us. In our coming to and believing in Christ lies our very salvation. God’s omnipotence and the Cross of Jesus Christ hold power over our sin, any sin, all sin! But unlike the guests making excuses, we must attend the Great Supper and take our seats at the Lord’s table. There and only there will we ever experience the mercy and grace of God Almighty.

The Arrogance of Imperfection - Matthew 5:48

 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. - Matthew 5:48

    The world flounders in a quagmire of mediocrity. Yet somehow we have learned to celebrate our inadequacies and grovel in our moral and ethical shortcomings. So much so that we even flippantly respond with a phrase that has become far too universal - “Nobody’s perfect.”
    We reckon ourselves imperfect and reckon true, but despite what many believe - there is no ticket to Paradise within the worldly fetters of imperfection. Our imperfections are the manifestation of our fallen nature, a highway to hell.
    For many, imperfection has become “the noble goal,” the high standard, the benchmark to achieve. It is our raison d’être. We seek the comfort zone of imperfection. We rest in the tranquility of baseness like pigs resting in the mire. It seems, in fact, that there are times when we cannot wait to display and show off our flaws and blemishes. We don’t have to defend ourselves. We merely shrug our shoulders and repeat - “Nobody’s perfect.” We are forever hearing this mantra of the spiritually dead. Nobody is perfect.
    While it is true that none of us are perfect it doesn’t mean that we should brag and boast of our deficiency. We should not revel in it. But we do so because of the deeper underlying problem of our fallen nature. We know we cannot work our way into heaven and we recognize our inability so we arrogantly put forth the erroneous supposition that God will grade us all on a curve. Scripture is very clear: that will not happen because God calls us with a divine command - “Be holy, for I am holy.” - 1 Peter 1:16.
    Can we ever aspire to the perfection and holiness that our heavenly Father demands of us? Of course not. But because we are mere humans our pride demands that we boast of something. If not our holiness then we will boast in our baseness. God wants us to humble ourselves, not proudly boast.  “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” - Ephesians 2:8-9.
    We are fallen human beings but the last thing we should be doing is celebrating our imperfections. If nothing else they should force us to our knees in resolute and remorseful repentance, not celebration. This is the key to our salvation! “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” - 1 John 1:9. We must always remember Christ’s first words to us in Mark 1:15 - “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Repent and believe! This is the solution to our imperfection, not arrogantly boasting of it.
    Does God not love a humble heart?  “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart— these, O God, You will not despise.” - Psalm51:17.  Let our inborn imperfections move us not to arrogance but to constant reflection and repentance.