Murder, By Any Other Name - Psalm 94:20-21

Shall the throne of iniquity, which devises evil by law, have fellowship with You? They gather together against the life of the righteous, and condemn innocent blood. - Psalm 94:20-21

    “A rose is a rose is a rose.” “It is what it is.” These seemingly simple cliches represent an example of the Law of identity which states that each thing is comprised of its own unique characteristics and cannot be confused with anything else. The concept has been around since Plato described it in 369 BC. A simpler representation of the law would be that you can paint a pig to look like a horse but it still remains a pig. But I digress, so let me get to the point - murder is murder no matter how it is differently described or by whom it is committed.
             “And God spoke all these words, saying: ‘You shall not murder.’” - Exodus 20:1, 13. Common misinterpretation had this particular Commandment forbidding the act of killing. It is murder that God is forbidding by the 6th Commandment, not the mere act of killing.Killing is often a distasteful action necessitated by self-defense, in time of war, or as sanctioned by the governing authorities because of some reprehensible criminal act, like murder.  But murder is always murder, especially in the case of innocent blood.   
  “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward.” - Psalm 127:3. Every human conception is ordained by God and touched by His almighty hand. No matter what the evil doers of iniquity say, children, innocent children, are being murdered by legal decree in America! Roe v Wade is nothing more that a legal decision made by godless individuals who would not recognize that it is God who delivers innocent human life! “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” - Jeremiah 1:5.
    Roe v Wade is an evil law devised and upheld by wicked men and women. It condemns innocent blood and allows other wicked men and women to murder infants in the womb! “He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord.” - Proverbs 17:15.
    We must come to agree that human life within the womb is still innocent human life created by God! “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb.” - Psalm 139:13. And God will not overlook or give into the evil machinations of mankind. “Keep yourself far from a false matter; do not kill the innocent and righteous. For I will not justify the wicked.”  - Exodus 23:7. No woman’s desire to end a pregnancy trumps the sanctity of human life! Shame on the woman who justifies the murder of her own flesh and blood with the chant, “It is my body and I will do as I like.” Shame on the woman who arrogantly declares that she has the Constitutional right to murder her own baby. The Constitution states that “No person shall be . .
.deprived of life . . .without due process of law.” And when an infant is deprived of his or her life while still in the womb, there has been no due process!
    Know this: even if we have had or know someone who has had an abortion, God is still willing to forgive us all now! But we cannot remain silent on the matter nor can we continue to use murder for the sake of convenience. God will not be mocked. Murder is murder no matter who commits it, even if it is sanctioned by the government. Man’s laws cannot and will not supersede God’s sovereign law. Let us all pray for the end of the Roe v Wade era  in America and may we seek and pray for the forgiveness of those who have sinned in action, complicity, agreement or silent assent.
           

In The End, God Wins - Psalm 115:2

  
Why should the Gentiles say, “So where is their God?” - Psalm 115:2

    It is clear from holy scripture that much of what is said regarding false theology, reckless tongues, and hasty judgment is directed toward the Christian community. And we are to be as “lights” of the world. - “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” - Matthew 5:14-16.
    But there is still the slithering presence of the unbelieving. Those who, no matter what we say or do, will continue to despise us and seek every avenue to persecute us. And every victory they perceive is yet another notch on their belts in the war against Christianity! And they sing in unison, “So where is their God?” Are these the very people we are commissioned to preach to?
“And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.” - Matthew 10:14.
    Certainly, we are commanded by Christ to preach the gospel to all creatures. And so we must comply with our Savior’s command, even to these Godless creatures! Perhaps Spurgeon’s words sum it up - “If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go unwarned and unprayed for.”
    While the unchurched and the unbelieving may not see our God and while they may continue to mock, provoke, and taunt us, let us never lose sight of our most holy God’s position. “There are many plans in a man’s heart, Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand.” Proverbs 19:21. Let us therefore take heart - “But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases. 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 115:3-8.
    May we always and everywhere place our trust in God’s sovereignty. That is where our victory lies and where the unbelievers are finally and indisputably disarmed! “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” - John: 16:33. In the end, God wins.

Thanksgiving - Psalm 100:4

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. - Psalm 100:4

    If we just stop for a moment each and every day to count our various blessings how can we not be thankful for God’s divine providence? Certainly, we can grouse about the things we would like to have in our lives and while Satan knows our wants it is our most holy God who knows our needs. “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 4:19.
    We go through our days striving for material possessions. Often they are merely desires of our hearts - a new car, a more expensive wardrobe, a bigger tv screen. But those are merely desires. God knows our desires as well but He also knows that often they would serve us no good service were we to obtain them. It is our needs that God provides for us. “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” - Matthew 6:31-33.
    How often have we achieved our worldly goals or garnered those earthly possessions we so urgently reached for only to come away with that still and numb feeling of emptiness? How often have we gained all we wanted and still felt beleaguered and unsatisfied? “He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity.” - Ecclesiastes 5:10.
    Our wants and desires change like the weather but our needs remain constant. And the greatest need we could ever have has already been fulfilled for us by God: our very eternal lives redeemed by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” - John 3:16.
    Let us all take time on this Thanksgiving Day to meditate on all our merciful and gracious God has provided for us and bless His holy name. Have a great Thanksgiving Day. We all are indeed blessed!

American Idols - Joshua 24:23

  
 “Now therefore,” he said, “put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord God of Israel.” - Joshua 24:23.

    I have heard it said that Christians in America suffer from circumstances  similar to the Jews in Egypt. Personally, I believe the parallel is dubious at best. In particular, I cite one major reason for the failure of this example. Idolatry.
    In Egypt there was a pantheon of idols. The Egyptians called them “gods,” but make no mistake: they were nothing if they weren’t idols. Even the Pharaoh was worshiped as a god. But who did the Israelites worship? “And he blessed Joseph, and said: ‘God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has fed me all my life long to this day, the Angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; let my name be named upon them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.” - Genesis 48:15-16. Clearly the God of Abraham was the sole focus of the Israelites in Egypt. It was indeed the clearest indicator of an Israelite; so clear that the Pharaoh was easily able to identify the Chosen People and thus mark them for bondage. “But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were in dread of the children of Israel. So the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor. And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage - in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor.” - Exodus 1:12-14.
    The Israelites in Egypt were set aside (made holy?) for persecution and enslavement because they were fruitful and mighty . . . and they worshiped the one true God of Abraham. So how does this concept translate to modern day America? The fact is - it doesn’t; it can’t because Christians today are barely distinguishable from the idol worshipers of this nation. Remember: the Israelites were easily recognized and easily observed because they worshiped the one true God, not idols.
    While we no longer worship the gods of rain or the gods of prosperity or the gods of health, we still worship enough idols in America to be virtually indistinguishable from those who we dare call “unbelievers.” Face it, unless we speak of our faith in Jesus Christ how many of us would actually be perceived as such based solely on our outward behavior?
“Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” - Romans 13:13-14.
    It was by the way the Israelites walked that the Egyptians were so easily able to ostracize them and enslave them. They walked as Abraham and Isaac walked before God. Are we not called today to do the same? “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” - 1 John 2:6.
    No, the Israelites in Egypt were not perfect, nor are we but we have been called to make such perfection our sanctifying goal. “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” - Matthew 5:48. Can you imagine the effect on this nation if just we Christians could walk as we have been instructed to walk? “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?"  - 2 Corinthians 6:14.
    Let us today put away our American idols so that all the world can see us as a people set apart by God almighty. “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.” - Colossians 2:6-7.

The Hand Of God - Isaiah 43:13

“Indeed before the day was, I am He; and there is no one who can deliver out of My hand; I work, and who will reverse it? ” - Isaiah 43:13.

    I have deliberately declined to post anything for the past week to allow for the post-election hysteria to level off. Apparently, a week hasn’t been enough. Will it take a month? A year? I can’t answer those questions nor do I care to. What is more important to remember is that God has ordained a new President just as He ordained the last President and every President since the inauguration of George Washington. Despite our hopes and votes the man or woman who sits in the Oval Office must, by virtue of God’s sovereignty, be His choice and not necessarily ours. “But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases.” - Psalm 115:3.
    There will be times in our frail human lives when it seems God’s presence is lacking. Be assured: it is not. He is here with us. “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” - Isaiah 41:10. He is always here with us.
    Despite what we may perceive as a setback or as a blessing we must be assured that nothing takes place that is not within God’s will . . . nothing! Still, we fret, we worry, we have anxiety. What are we to do? “Be anxious for nothing, 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 minds through Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 4:6-7.
    And should the outcome of your concerns turn out in a way that pleases your heart, remember - “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” - Philippians 4:4. Let us all find peace and solace in knowing that nothing that comes to pass ever happens without the hand of God behind it.

On The Authority Of Scripture - Isaiah 40:8

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. - Isaiah 40:8

    Four hundred ninety-nine years ago a German monk nailed his 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany, starting what would become the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther had no idea what his actions on that day would bring. What he did know was that the Roman church was claiming for itself what belonged rightfully to God and God alone! “For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.” - 1 Thessalonians 2:13.
    Luther’s blunt and often crude style was merely grist for the Roman clergy, including Pope Leo X who lashed out at the Augustinian monk, charging - “Lastly, arise, ye assembly of saints, the holy Church of God, and intercede with the Almighty! There is a wild boar in the vineyard of the Lord." Personality and manners aside, Luther was hardly a ‘wild boar.’ Martin Luther was a man possessed by the knowledge of what Holy Scripture had to say regarding justification by faith and by faith alone. “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.” - Romans 3:28.  Regardless of the legalistic smoke and mirrors put forward by the Roman church, Luther saw that it was indeed faith that justifies and not works nor the purchase of indulgences as prevaricated by “church authorities.”
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God . . .” - Ephesians 2:8. Scripture is replete with the truth of God’s grace; a grace that can neither be earned nor bought nor sold. God’s promise is His word. We need nothing more. We can only accept His grace and praise His mercy upon us sinners. Have a blessed Reformation Day!

The Christian Resistance: A Biblical Mandate - Psalm 30:9

“What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your truth?” - Psalm 30:9
                  
    With the Presidential Election right around the corner, there has been a plethora of sermons and messages by many pastors, both mainstream evangelicals and reformed, even (dare I say it) Calvinists, who are again preaching God’s ultimate sovereignty. Let me stress this point immediately: I agree whole heartedly! There is no argument against God’s sovereignty here. But while I agree with that message there is still an undefined and, for reasons still unknown to me, pervasive refusal on the part of these pastors and men of God to preach that there is no Biblical mandate for any of us to become dead martyrs.
    While dying rather than denying our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is a Christian duty, we don’t have to willingly drink the Kool-Aid or walk the plank. Certainly, there may come a day when we are called to become martyrs for Christ and it is my fervent prayer that the Holy Spirit would then bless us with the fortitude to suffer torture and/or death, even a terrifying death for the sake of our faith. But if fighting for our lives is a viable option then I would also pray that all of us would be willing to do so. “A righteous man who falters before the wicked is like a murky spring and a polluted well.” - Proverbs 25:26.
    God has called us to do many things in this life, our present life in the flesh. From mankind’s very beginning God commanded us to “live,” not die - “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. And what was man to do here in this earthly life?
    The very first question posted in the Westminster Larger Catechism is -
Q. 1. What is the chief and highest end of man?
A. Man's chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever. To glorify and enjoy God, breathing life is an absolute requirement for us if we are to carry out this commission - “Will You work wonders for the dead? Shall the dead arise and praise You? Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave? Or Your faithfulness in the place of destruction? Shall Your wonders be known in the dark? And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?” - Psalm 88:10-12.
    One of our primary duties in this life is to praise Him. And while we will certainly sing praises to God when we are glorified we are also called to do so now, in this life of the flesh. If we are dead and in the grave we can no longer witness to those who remain -  “The dead do not praise the Lord, nor any who go down into silence.” - Psalm 115:17. “For in death there is no remembrance of You; in the grave who will give You thanks?” - Psalm 6:5.
    So it is clear from Holy Scripture that man is not called to be a sacrifice for the Gospel . . . but to live and preach it! But what of the coming persecution of the Church? We have ISIS murdering Christians by the thousands in the Middle East while one of the candidates running for the Presidency of the United States said the following on 6/10/16 at a Planned Parenthood fund raiser -
— "I would like to see Planned Parenthood even get more funding."
— "Deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs, and structural biases have to be changed."
— "The unborn person doesn't have Constitutional rights."
— "The only people that I would ever appoint to the Supreme Court are people who believe that Roe V. Wade is settled law."
    Persecution is a real possibility . . . even in this country. So what are we Christians to do? The Bible offers us these words of wisdom - “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” - Romans 12:18. The issuance is certainly clear: as long as we find it possible to remain at peace, we should do so. But what if we are finally pushed against the wall and told to surrender our belief in Jesus Christ . . . or die? Well, our Lord Jesus has His own words of advice for us as per Luke 22:36 - “Then He said to them, “But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.” A sword? What are we to do with such a weapon of war? “And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, ‘Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.’” - Nehemiah 4:14.
    In a post from 1/8/16 on the blog, “Answers In Genesis,” author Steve Ham (brother of Creationist, Ken Ham) wrote - “This is not to say that the only option a Christian has when being faced with persecution is to kneel and die. Seeking appropriate aid or fleeing, for instance, are options, and other times Christians may need to take up arms to defend the weak. But when the only option left is renouncing one’s faith in Christ or facing death, a true Christian, as many have in the past, would be enabled by the Holy Spirit to face the consequences as a possible martyr for Christ.”
    What we Christians may face in the very near future could be a level of persecution not seen since the genocide committed against our Jewish brothers and sisters in Nazi Germany. Should defensive options be denied us and we be called to lose our lives rather than deny our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, then may we be empowered to give our lives for our faith!  But should we find the opportunity - “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.” - Ecclesiastes 9:10. And praise our almighty God - “For Sheol cannot thank You, death cannot praise You; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your truth. The living, the living man, he shall praise You, as I do this day; the father shall make known Your truth to the children.” Isaiah 38:18-19.