Deliver Us From Evil - 2 Thessalonians 3:3

   
But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.
 - 2 Thessalonians 3:3

    The reality of evil in our world is beyond argument. One need only look to the historical atrocities which we have witnessed over time to see that there is a living entity known as “evil!” I’m not going to go into a dirge naming the many instances of evil that have taken place over the millennia. Suffice to say that one would have to be blind to suggest there is no such thing as evil. In fact, I’m going to go one step further and suggest that something doesn’t necessarily have to meet criminal criteria to be seen as evil. Apathy and negligence can be evil, as can be domination, criminal behavior, anti-social or asocial behavior. To push a non-swimmer into deep water is evil and criminal; to refuse to aid the floundering swimmer may not be criminal but it is most certainly evil. “But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?” - 1 John 3:17.
    I know the temptation is there to see Hitler or Charles Mason as the embodiments of evil but what we see is the manifestation of their evil in their criminality. Yes, they were both evil but we remember their criminal activities rather than their blackened hearts. But what about our neighbor who leaves his dog out in the rain or the freezing snow. There is evil there. What about the father who stays at the tavern too long and forgets to pick up his fourth-grader from school? There is evil there. I could go on but I don’t see the need.
    We live in a fallen world and evil is all around us. Sometimes it glares at us from the car driving by. Sometimes it is more insidious and could be living in our own homes, laying awake while we sleep. And sometimes it beats within our own hearts. In us, it is truly cause for constant repentance.
    Evil has been part of the human experience since the dawn of mankind.  It is so prevalent that evil is characterized immediately after Adam and Eve are banished from the Garden of Eden. Jesus encountered evil often enough in His human life that He included an invocation against it in the Lord’s Prayer - “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” - Matthew 6:13.
    So it is important to understand evil from both the psychological view and the theological view. To do otherwise could lead to tragedy. Under all circumstances, it should be approached with caution, prayer, and when the circumstances demand, a physically active response.  Caution? “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” - James 4:7. Prayer? “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil 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 firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.” - Ephesians 6:11-18.
    The Word of God goes a long way to defeat evil, as does the holy name of Jesus Christ but without the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives they are just both words. It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that we are able to drive the Satanic forces back to where they have come from. Without the attendance of the Holy Spirit, we are simply muttering words against the powers of darkness.   
    Yes, evil resides among us. Sometimes it hides in the darkness. Sometimes it slithers into our lives wearing a smile. Yes, and sometimes it nests within our hearts. Let us always be aware as the Apostle Peter warns us - “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” - 1 Peter 5:8.
    Deliver us from evil, Lord.

The Lord’s Chosen - 1 Corinthians 6:14

  
And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. - 1 Corinthians 6:14

    Jesus came with a purpose and it wasn’t to fascinate us with His philosophy. It wasn’t to dazzle us with His miracles. And it wasn’t to set an example with His moral behavior. He came for one reason and one reason only - “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” - 1 Timothy 1:15.
    With Easter upon us there will be every conceivable error made about the day of Christ’s resurrection, starting with colorful eggs and pink bunnies to the erroneous idea that He came to save all of humanity. He did not. According to His own words, Jesus did not die to save all of humanity.
 “I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.” - John 17:9. No, Christ came to save those whom God the Father had given Him from before the foundations of the world. “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” - John 6:37. The Bible clearly illustrates that the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is sufficient for all but efficient only for the elect of God.
    For many, this presents a quandary. Didn’t Jesus die for all mankind? Not according to Holy Scripture.  According to the one source we have for revelation about Jesus Christ, the Bible emphatically states that it is God’s chosen whom are saved by Christ’s selfless sacrifice upon the cross. “But that’s not fair,” you object. Why is Jesus’ atoning death good for the salvation of some but not for others and who makes that call? At this juncture I would suggest that fairness and justice is not what you really want. Fairness and justice wouldn’t save any of us since we are all born in sin. What we want, what we pray for is mercy! Who makes that call? “What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! For He says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.’  So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.” - Romans 14-16. And as Romans clearly states - God will show mercy upon whom He decides to show mercy.
    Let’s face it: there are those who couldn’t care less about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Easter is just another day off of work, a day of hiding Easter eggs, filling baskets with candies and toys, and an excuse to BBQ on a pleasant Spring day. Would you really expect or believe that Jesus suffered through His passion, death by crucifixion, and resurrection for those God had not directly chosen for salvation? That would be a clear and cut case of “universalism,” which the Bible clearly does not teach! “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” - Matthew 25:46.
    If Universalism were true there would be no such place as hell. There would be no need for such a dismal and dark place. Christ wouldn’t have to “save” anyone! But Scripture has proclaimed - “How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?  For we know him who said, ‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay.’ And again, ‘The Lord will judge his people.’ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” - Hebrew 10: 29-31.
    Let us come to the Lord’s table on Resurrection Day acknowledging our sinfulness in humble repentance and know that we are indeed the Lord’s chosen.

The Reason For Good Friday - John 18:37-38

 Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” - John 18:37-38

    Jesus makes no bones about His ultimate purpose - to bear witness to the truth! But what truth? “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?’” - John 11:25-26.
    Christ came into the world, as fallen as it was, for one reason and one reason alone: to save sinners! “But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” - Matthew 1:20-21.
    Jesus came into the world not just because mankind needed a Savior but because God loved us that much! “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” - John 3:16.
    So in response to Pilate and all those who doubt and remain in their terminal disbelief, this is the truth! On this Good Friday, let us remember the selfless sacrifice our Lord and Savior made to save mankind from their sins.

Test Drive On I-95 - 2 Corinthians 13:5

  
Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified. - 2 Corinthians 13:5

    Another day goes by, another week, another month. Hopefully, we don’t allow a year to pass us before we follow the admonition of Paul. Stopping right this very minute - can we look at ourselves in the mirror and honestly declare that we are “in the faith?” Or would we be safer admitting to the admonition of the Apostle, John? - “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” - 1 John 1:8.
    I believe that often, we let our worldly egos get the best of us. There are times when we hit a good stretch of “godly behavior” and after about five minutes we stumble hard against something we didn’t see coming. It might be something as simple as the guy who just cut us off on I-95 because he was self-absorbed or the guy behind us at the red-light who honks his horn because we were self-absorbed. The point is - “For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin.” - Ecclesiastes 7:20.
    So here it is, Sunday, and we are on our way to services. Today is a special day for us because we know that today we are blessed to partake of the Lord’s Supper. Be careful! How far do you have to drive to church? For me, it is just over an hour on one of the busiest interstates in the nation - I-95! In Florida, it runs from South Miami to the Florida-Georgia line and on. And I believe that on any given day, I-95 entertains more species than Noah’s ark did. At least at times, it seems so. From speeders to slow-pokes to blinker-less lane changers to the tail-gaiters from hell, that road will test both your faith and the limits of your patience. Are we still sure that we’re “good,” that we’re in the faith and that Jesus Christ is in us? Or have the things we’ve thought or said disqualified us like a rabbit punch or an unsportsmanlike penalty?
    When Paul tells us to examine and test ourselves, it’s not because he’s seeing how far and hard he can push us as people. It’s because he’s seeing how hard he can push our Christian faith! As always, we find ourselves in the breach. While meditating in prayer we find solace, a peace we cannot find anywhere else. But five minutes out the door and ten minutes down the road are we still enjoying the presence of Christ in our lives? Or have we, in such short order, reconverted to our worldly mode? As I ask this question I see me and not “we” in the mirror. Whom do you see? This is but to say that we have been created anew in Christ Jesus. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” -2 Corinthians 5:17.
    I hear the objections. I have raised many of the same myself. “We aren’t perfect. We’re going to stumble from time to time. We can’t always be in the Spirit or in the faith.” Perhaps, perhaps not, but we need to be vigilant and on guard against the worldly antagonisms which can so quickly rob us of our peace. “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” - Romans 12:2. Skills only come with constant practice. We cannot be in the faith once a week. We must be in the faith throughout each and every day of our Christian lives. And we do so by, “rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer.” - Romans 12:12.
    We can catch ourselves before we roll off the Lord’s table and onto the ground. When we do, we must resort to what should come first to us in all situations: prayer! It is the only means by which we can obtain and maintain His gentle peace. “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” - 1 John 5:4. So, on those occasions when we are driving our hometown roads, the thoroughfares of the city and the interstates of the world let us do so in constant prayer and know we are in the faith.

The Righteous Relationship - Luke 6:46

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?  - Luke 6:46
   

    In our title verse, Jesus is clearly linking the word, “Lord” to doing what He has told us to do, to following His commands. This is “the Lordship Doctrine” of Christianity. You cannot have Christianity without the Lordship Doctrine. It doesn’t work. What people who call themselves Christians have if they don’t prescribe to the Lordship Doctrine isn’t Christianity. I don’t know what it is but I know what it is NOT! It’s not Biblical Christianity and if it isn’t Biblical Christianity, it isn’t Christianity at all! I don’t know where these folks get their idea or concept of Jesus, but if it isn’t from the Bible then it’s wrong because there is nowhere else we can possibly get the revelation about Jesus than in the Bible. We don’t find Jesus in the Hindu Upanishads. We don’t find Jesus, the Son of God, in the Quran. And we don’t find Jesus, the Messiah in the Buddhist Tripitaka. Jesus can only be found in the Bible. Period. So if we really want to know what Jesus thought and said, we need to rely on the Bible as our only source.
    Now how can we define a righteous relationship with Christ? What are the characteristics of a righteous relationship with Jesus Christ? The only way that we can have a righteous relationship with Jesus Christ is if we “do what He tells us to do.” Are we going to get it right every time? Of course not. Will we fail on occasion? Of course, we will. But what we lack in perfection, we achieve in direction. This is why the Lordship Doctrine is so vital to salvation.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” - Matt 7:21. Seriously, can Jesus put it any plainer than that? Is there some confusion here as to the will of God? Christ made this point of true saving faith clear to the young ruler - “So He said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.’”- Matthew 19:17. The life Jesus spoke of is ‘eternal life.’
    It becomes apparent even to the Scripturally unschooled when the words of God are put before us. The authority of God is unmistakable. It is clear and refreshing as the morning rain when we hear Jesus explicitly state - “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” - John 14:21
    The true church of Jesus Christ has come too far since Calvary to be diluted by the assertions of those who claim Christ’s salvation and not His ultimate Lordship. Truly, He is both Prophet and Priest to His followers but He is also King! God has placed His only begotten Son as Ruler of all creation -  “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”- Philippians 2:9-11
    It is this Jesus that speaks to the world and all in it. It is this Jesus who sacrificed His life on the cross so that many would be saved. It is this Jesus who declares, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” - John 14:6. There simply is no other way!
    We who claim the mantle of “followers of Christ” have a responsibility if we are to make that assertion in all its truth. We cannot lay claim to the glory that Christ has promised us with empty words and praises. We cannot lay hold of the salvation Jesus has provided for us with a mere profession of faith. There is more than just idle talk; there is action to be taken - “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves."  - James 1:22.
    What is the righteous relationship with Jesus? “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” - Romans 10:10.
Heartfelt belief in and personal confession unto Christ is by its very definition the righteous relationship.

The Cries Of A Broken Heart - Romans 12:15

Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. - Romans 12:15

    This seemingly simple and innocuous command has much to say to us as Christians. But it also speaks to the whole world regardless of faith. It speaks to humanity. Assuming that the experiences under consideration aren’t criminal or hateful, why shouldn’t we rejoice when others rejoice. More important, why shouldn’t we weep with those who weep? Joy and sadness are part of our commonality. They are certainly two emotions shared by all but the pathologically indifferent. “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness.” Psalm 30:11.
    It should be easy to recall the last time you shared someone’s joy. A birth, a marriage, a graduation; the number of causes for joy is hard to limit. Can the same be said for sadness? Certainly we understand the pain of loss: a death, a divorce, a foreclosure. There are many reasons we suffer loss. But how about the quiet losses we never hear about? The heartache many feel in the loneliness they never speak about. The pain they suffer in an undisclosed illness that they keep from others. The agony of failed expectations. The torment of chemical or alcohol dependency. The wounds of a broken relationships. There are many crucibles that many people, even those closest to us, never speak of. “Lord, why do You cast off my soul? Why do You hide Your face from me? I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth; I suffer Your terrors; I am distraught. Your fierce wrath has gone over me; Your terrors have cut me off.” - Psalm 88:14-16.
    The point is that we cannot possibly know what fears and trepidations encumber those around us if we don’t know what it is that beleaguers them. And we can’t know if we don’t allow ourselves to hear the desperation in their silent cries. This is the difference between merely hearing someone and actually listening to them. But we can’t listen to them while they are speaking if we are busy readying our very next words. “He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him.” - Proverbs 18:13. A quiet mind hears the cries of a broken heart.
    To the extent that we listen to someone, we can be supportive both spiritually and emotionally, even unintentionally. We can truly make a difference in the lives of those around us; both those we know and those we simply encounter. Then we will be among the righteously humble who say -  “When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’” - Matthew 25:38-40.
    Let us quiet ourselves and take the time to listen to a heart, yearning to be heard.

A Warning & A Blessing - Psalm 127

 Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. - Psalm 127:1

    The psalm begins with a certain warning. In plain English, the psalmist is warning us that if the Lord is not the foundation of our homes, the very foundation of our lives, we are wasting our time in its construction. It will not stand; it cannot stand - “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” Matthew 7: 26-27.
    He then goes on to tell us that unless God is our protector, via our commitment to faith in Him, we’re wasting our time building the battlements. “I will lift up my eyes to the hills—
From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.” - Psalm 121:1-2.
    The course is clear. The direction, divine. Make God the foundation of our lives. Make God the protector of our lives. If God is the foundation and protector of our lives, we shall have nothing to fear. “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” - Romans 8:31.

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. - Psalm 127:3

    The psalmist goes on to speak of children being our heritage and reward from God. The word for heritage in Hebrew (Nachălâh) also means “inheritance.” God has been keeping our children as an inheritance for us until the blessed day we enjoy the privilege of giving birth to them. Think of an heirloom given to us by our earthly mother or father. Would we treat it with contempt? Spit on it? Or toss it into the trash? How can we . . . how dare we do as much with the child God is bequeathing to us? We must see children as what they are: a gift, a reward given to us by God. And we must treat them as such. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” - James 1:17.

    Psalm 127 is a wonderful example of how God approaches us. He comes to us as our awe-inspiring Lord, giving us fair warning of a life lived in the fruitless pursuit of blessings without Him. Then He turns and gives us the promise, the reward, the inheritance we receive when we turn our lives over to Him and to His will for us and accept the blessing of giving life to a child made in His image.
    We would do well to heed both the warnings and the rewards God offers us.