No Dice - 1 Corinthians 10:21

You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. - 1 Corinthians 10:21

    The human foible of being ‘double-minded’ has left an indelible scar on mankind’s most noble efforts. Countless are the wrecks of good intention because of hesitancy at the last moment. Hedging ourselves by investing our time and energy in two different directions has never worked to bring about a Godly result and the Bible tells us to commit ourselves to the Lord. “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” - James 4:8
    Perhaps it is best to start our understanding of what God requires of us by going back to the source, ‘ad fontes.’ The First Commandment spells out our duty to God in simple measure - “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.” - Deuteronomy 5:6-7. Very simply, we must not allow, seek, or accept anything but the one holy triune God of Scripture as the sovereign Lord of all creation. We must not roll the dice, read the cards, or throw our fates at anything but the will of our Lord. Our unadulterated allegiance must be to God and God alone. “Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.” - Proverbs 16:3. It doesn’t matter how generous or noble our human effort might be; if it is not wrought by the will of God, it is the work of demons. “But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” - Romans 14:23.
    By way of example, there is a scene from the 1999 film, “The Mummy” where Benny, a traitorous scoundrel, is approached by the monster and immediately starts pulling up talisman after talisman from a necklace he wears. Symbol after symbol he holds for a moment as he prays according to that particular belief, first Christian, then, Buddhist, then Hebrew, seeking one and only thing: to save himself. Ultimately, near the end of the film, Benny succumbs to his terrifying fate because he was a double-minded truly godless individual. There is a profound lesson in the character’s uncommitted position, one we should all heed. “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” - James 1:6-8.
    History, if anything, has proven time and time again that mankind is constantly seeking to gain an advantage over the forces of nature and himself by whatever means necessary. Man, in his natural state, gives allegiance only to that which he believes will serve him and his purposes; a testament to our self-serving hearts, well attested to in Genesis 3. “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.” - Genesis 3:6.
    Holy Scripture tells us that God will not suffer our pride and hardness of heart forever. His patience is limited and rubbing the filth of our fickle hearts in His face will not long stand His divine judgment. We have all been commanded to - “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” - James 4:8.
    God will always be quick to forgive us if we come to Him in genuine humility and repentance, recognizing Him alone as Lord and Savior. And that fact needs no flip of the card or roll of the dice. It is our guarantee. It is our heavenly assurance.    

Boasting In Christ Alone - 2 Corinthians 10:17

 “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. - 2 Corinthians 10:17-18

    It is all too often that we hear the bluster of one who is intent upon persuading both himself and us of his devotion to his faith. How ‘good’ a person he or she is. How many confessions? How often he worships? How often he reads his Bible? His position in the church as Bible school teacher. It often sounds as though he is trying to convince the world of his sanctity. It seems to be all about what he or she has done. It’s all about what they perceive to be their ‘Christian ranking’. What they and we often forget is that we have a Christian duty to act in a Christian manner; it is part and parcel of our having been justified. “For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” - 1 Corinthians 9:16. We aren’t Christians because we do these things. We do these things because we are Christians! It’s part of our sanctification process. Like a school student, we are not to be exalted because we passed our tests; it is our duty as students to pass our tests.
    The Apostle, James put his finger upon the critical issue: the truly Godly do not boast in their Christian behavior. Only the legalists among us will perpetrate such a sinful attitude. All our boasting in ourselves amounts to nothing more than sin. “As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” - James 4:16.
    How insincere would we be if we were given something of inestimable value by our parents and we bragged to our friends how we obtained it for ourselves? What an outright lie it would be to tell others how hard we worked for what we have received by grace alone? How dare we brag about a possession as though we had earned it when, in fact, we did no such thing?
    Perhaps we forget at times that we are saved by God’s grace because while we were still living in our sin, He chose us. Understanding this, our salvation comes to us as a gift of our faith. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” - Ephesians 2:8-9.
    The only reason we could boast about the things we have done would be if our salvation was earned by our good works. We cannot earn them. Nor can our carnal works add anything to the justification we receive through the death of Christ Jesus. It is through Christ and Christ alone that we are saved from eternity in hell. To say otherwise cheapens Jesus’ death on the cross. To say otherwise suggests that in some way we contribute to our salvation, as though Christ’s death was insufficient
    We are saved only by the goodness of God through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ. We can only boast of this and never of ourselves. “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.” - Titus 3:4-6.
    As we live our lives in Christ let us always remember the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made to save us from our sinful ways and respond in obedience to Him and the word of God. That is the Good News of the Gospel: Jesus did it all for us so that we can not boast in ourselves. We could never earn our place in Paradise. Jesus earned it for us so let us boast in Him and in Him alone.

A Sad State, Indeed - Deuteronomy 6:7

You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. - Deuteronomy 6:7

    Recently, The State of Theology 2020 was published and I must sadly say, theology is not in a very good state. Starting with the response of U.S. adults to the very first statement - Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God. - 52% agree vs. 36% disagree. You read it right. The majority of adults questioned, responded that yes, Christ was a great teacher but He was not ‘God.’ Based on this statement response alone, is it any wonder that our children have no solid grounding if the Christian faith today?
    So whose fault is it that our children have no truthful concept of God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, or anything applying to the Christian faith? Some are quick to cast the dereliction upon society and modern culture in general as Christianity is scoffed at in the public forum. True. Others blame the school system since daily prayer and religious teaching has been removed from the curriculum. True. Peer pressure is also pointed to as a reason for the nations (and the world’s) godlessness. Also true. But while these scapegoats truly do play a large part in our children’s failure to know and love God, they are not the primary cause of theological ignorance today. No, the truth is even far more insidious.
    The leading reason our children are ignorant of faith today is the same reason they may not show courtesy or common table manners - we parents have failed to teach them! “For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. Command and teach these things.” - 1 Timothy 4:10-11. It is up to us parents to teach and guide our children in the Christian faith. If we fail to set the example, how can we blame the culture? We are even warned of the penalty for leaving our children without faith in God. “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” - Matthew 18:5-6.
    But what of our parents? Can’t the blame be placed upon them because they didn’t teach us? Our parents will be judged for their sins and their sins alone; we will be judged for ours. Truth be told,  as human beings, all of us have some inclination of God and His providence. It is we who have chosen to ignore the truth of His holy word. It is we who refuse to honor the Lord’s Day as a family by attending services to glorify Him. It is we who leave our children to their own devices to dabble in the occult, to worship false idols, to entertain themselves rather than learn of God. Why? Perhaps the most common reason is that we view devout saving faith as an obstruction to worldly success. I mean, let’s face it: we all want our children to be successful in life, don’t we? And since the world is enmity with God, why would we want our children to face the uphill battle of succeeding in such a world while professing ardent faith in God? The reason is because this worldly life is not all there is. There is life after this corrupt and vile world.
    “I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.” - Psalm 78:2-4. Rather than pointing the finger of blame at our parents or their parents, we must today, at this very moment, take responsibility to teach our children well; to take them to church with us; to ensure that our children know that we have not been put in this world by ‘accident.’ It is up to us to set the examples our children grow to live by and share in turn with their children.
    Neither we nor our children should be so ignorant of Christ that we see Him as merely a teacher. Jesus Christ is God, the second person of the Holy Trinity.

The Turning Of God’s Providence - Psalm 40:5

You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told. - Psalm 40:5

Ever count your blessings? If not, you should sit down sometime and begin by writing, starting with your own birth, the parents you were given, and slowly and considerately working your way up to the present day, marking every blessing God has ever bestowed upon you. Trust me: you will neither remember them all nor list them all before your hand cramps from clutching that pen. “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 4:19.
It is truly incredible when one considers the blessings we receive daily. From rising in the morning to our meals for the day to our very health. In a single day, we might not be able to ‘count our blessings.’ Even when we think that things are not going well, we have His assurance that all things will turn out for the best. “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” - Romans 8:28. And here begins the turning upon which all our blessings depend.
I recall from my own sordid past many were my inclinations and intentions, and just as many failed miserably. Had I given it any thought at the time I would have come to the conclusion that I was not very blessed. However, I was surely experiencing God’s providence, a ‘turning providence.’ God was using the tribulations and failures of my carnal life to turn me towards more blessed goals, to turn me towards Him. As the late Scottish theologian, John J. Murray said, “People are usually anxious to get rid of the problem than they are to find the purpose of God in it.” No matter what our circumstance, no matter our troubles, God’s purpose is to turn us to true faith in Him.
There is no situation in life that doesn’t have a lesson attached to it. The situation may be pleasant or it can be troublesome and even painful. But even the tribulations we are often exposed to are meant to benefit us in the long run because much of what God does is best seen in the long view of life. I can vouch for that. If we truly want to experience the greatest blessings available to us there is one thing we must do. “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” - Matthew 6:31-33. The answer to turning God’s providence our way is to seek Him!
This doesn’t mean that all we have to do is throw God’s holy name into a list of desires like it is some magical incantation. We need to understand first that everything we receive and obtain in this life is from God. “John answered, ‘A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.’” - John 3:27. To receive such blessings we must have faith in God for without faith we might as well just roll the dice. We must ask ourselves if that is really how we want to hedge the circumstances of our lives. Will we leave it to chance rather than trust in God?
The reality of the blessings we receive is clear - “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” - James 1:17. We must trust that God is seeking the best outcome for our lives. But without true faith in Him, all we will receive is what anyone else receives through the common blessings bestowed upon all men, good and evil. “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” - Matthew 5:44-45.
Our only real hope is through trusting our very lives to God through true faith. This is the way God’s providence turns. “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” - Hebrews 11:6. The blessings and good providence of God are truly too many to count.

Deliverance From Evil - Mark 5:1-5

They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. - Mark 5:1-5

A sad and truly terrifying commentary on today’s world can be seen daily in our news stories, whether in print or on the internet. Some of the reports are too sinister and disturbing to repeat here. Suffice to say that the psychopathy prowling our streets is not an aberration but a routine happenstance in our Godless society. We have been warned. “This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.” - Ecclesiastes 9:3.
Evil, age-old evil, is a concept few today want to acknowledge. The  ‘enlightened minds’ mock the very notion and insist it reeks of superstition and medieval ignorance yet for the life of them, they cannot explain the malevolent acts of man. Evil in modern parlance is described as having been born of genetic defects, harsh environmental elements, abuse, and any number of mitigating issues. The idea is to support the humanist notion that man is born basically good.
It is true that adverse factors affect men differently. Not everyone who endures physical abuse as a child grows up to be a Charles Manson or a Jeffrey Dahmer. So what drives one man to become a serial murderer rather than a law enforcement officer? The answer is simple: evil.
There is a corruption that inhabits all men to varying degrees. We Christians refer to it as the sin nature of man. It prevails over our strongest attempts to curtail it, reroute it, or suppress it when we try to do so in our own human strength. It is only through regeneration by the Holy Spirit and the faith that blossoms thereof that we have any control at all. The evil that men do comes not from God but from our rejection of God. “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.” - Romans 1:21.
There is no such thing as a spiritual vacuum. Our souls will be filled with one of two things; either God or the devil. From birth, we have the original sin or ‘total depravity’ to deal with in our lives. Total depravity doesn’t mean that we are as sinful as we can possibly be. It means that there is no part of our humanity that has not been touched by sin. Just like all things in God’s universe, there are degrees of evil. For one person, it is lying to avoid having an embarrassing incident revealed. For another, it is kidnapping and murdering an innocent victim. But we should not make any mistakes: the devil is indeed alive and active in our lives unless we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. “. . .  because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” - Romans 10:9.  If we fail to confess Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are as lost as the demoniac of Gerasenes.
Tethered to sinful humanity in our lives, we are entombed like unclean spirits, forever wandering in our transgressions. The evil that corrupts the murderer is the same evil that corrupts the thief, the liar, or the sexually immoral. The devil never rests and he is present at every Sunday service as he roams the world looking for souls to devour. He seeks the spiritually distracted. Even the devil’s nuances are specifically designed to divert, confuse, and reroute us, rather than allow us to turn to Christ. We must leave our corrupt tombs and seek Christ.
The evil that lies dormant in our hearts is only a breath away from manifesting itself in ways that no man has the strength to subdue. It is only by the common grace of God that we stay one step ahead of the devil. Let us seek God today, this very hour, now!

Mere Obedience - Luke 11:28

But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” - Luke 11:28

    There are many folks who gripe about their circumstances in life and quickly claim that they have prayed incessantly about their problem, receiving no relief from God. They seem to assume their prayers are some kind of magical incantation or sacrifice. They pray; God is supposed to answer their prayers. It seems, from their point of view, that they have fulfilled their part of a bargain. Now it is up to God to hold up His end.
    What they fail to understand is that for prayer to be acceptable to God it must meet some fairly solid criteria. For instance, God requires that pray matches His will. Prayer cannot generally be used in an imprecatory manner. In other words, we cannot call down curses upon people. But perhaps’ God’s greatest requirement for prayer is that it be done with an obedient heart rather that as some type of ritualistic sacrifice. “And Samuel said, ‘Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.’” - 1 Samuel 15:22.
    We will find that in many situations people pull out all the stops when praying for something they feel is a priority in their lives. There is no ritual or incantation they won’t turn to for the desired answer to their prayers when all God ever asks of us is that we obey His commands. “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God.” - Deuteronomy 28:1-2.
    On the other hand, God has also declared to us what the results of failing to obey Him result in. He minces no words when He tells us that there will be a grave and problematic price to pay for our disobedience. No one can possibly pick up a Bible and fail to see the warnings from Genesis to Revelation regarding impertinent disobedience and spiritual rebellion. “If you are not careful to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, the Lord your God, then the Lord will bring on you and your offspring extraordinary afflictions, afflictions severe and lasting, and sicknesses grievous and lasting.” - Deuteronomy 28:58-59. This particular passage assumes, of course, that our offspring are as rebellious as we have been. There are many passages in Holy Scripture that tell us the child will not be punished for the father’s sin and visa versa. “ The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself." - Ezekiel 18:19.
    The Gospel of Matthew speaks of the rewards of obedience. It is a common theme when teaching the relationship between Christ’s roles as Savior and Lord. Herein lies the problem for many who profess their Christianity: they're willing to accept Christ’s salvific atonement for their sins but refuse to ‘obey Him as Lord’. Scripture is redundant when it speaks to the Lordship of Jesus Christ: we cannot have Him as our Savior if we refuse to have Him as our Lord! In fact, Jesus tells us that those who do not obey Him are like a fool who builds his house upon sand. “And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”- Matthew 7:26-27. Fools we are called when we fail to obey Christ’s words. And what of those who do heed His commands? “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’” - Matthew 25:23.
    We can only respond to the commands of Jesus in one of two ways: we can refuse to do as He has instructed us or we can surrender our egos and deliberate impertinence to His Lordship and receive the blessings awaiting us in God’s providence. Mere obedience to God can reap untold rewards for His children.

A Godly Fire Alarm - Proverbs 6:27

Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? - Proverbs 6:27

    The proverb is specific: if we play with fire, we will get burned. The adage doesn’t allude, insinuate, or imply. It boldly asks the outcome of making wrong choices and warns us well in advance.  “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” - Galatians 6:7.
    There is no deeply spiritual riddle that one must solve before the truth makes itself apparent. Even the unbelievers are wary enough to understand that one cannot play with fire and reap a Godly award.
    Think of our children. Think of the dreams we have for them. Think of their dreams. Are those dreams consistent with God’s will for us and for them?  Also, consider the repercussions of allowing our children to make the decisions, the choices, the determinations which will affect their lives for good or bad.
    Will we say, “I must let them make their own choices and let them learn from their mistakes?” Will we let them ‘learn’ from shooting poison into their veins whether or not drug abuse is a good choice? Will we let them speed in their vehicles and hope that a ticket or two will teach them a valuable lesson? Will we let them choose to drop out of school and hope they somehow purchase the winning lottery number? Will we willingly encourage or support marriage with a criminal? If we say ‘No’ to any of these, then why on earth would we allow them to make bad choices when it comes to friends and associates? “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” - Proverbs 13:20.
    We see the effects of ill decisions on our streets and in our neighborhoods every day. Our jails and prisons and graveyards are full of mistakes and poor choices. Why in God’s holy name would we ever simply turn our attention away from the choices our children haphazardly make? And while they may learn from their mistakes their lives may become inexorably changed for the worse . . . forever!
    The Word of God is clear about the character of those who sit by and allow the worst to come to their own. “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” - 1 Timothy 5:8. We have a responsibility to watch out for and protect the ones we love. Make no mistake: if we deliberately show indifference to our loved ones when they make heinous errors that lead to loss of life or soul, it is on us as well as them. Let’s face it, we wouldn’t watch our loved ones jump into a tumultuous river. Why would we watch them jump into hell?
    Throughout our lives we are called to make choices. We choose our vocations, our jobs, our mates, where we live, where we shop, where we worship. And while some decisions are made for us, by and large, we make most of our life decisions ourselves. It is usually with careful deliberation and consideration that we make such choices. All but the minimally thoughtful among us understand the importance of making ‘good choices’. “The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it.” - Proverbs 27:12.
    These considerations apply in many situations. They may apply to our siblings, our parents, our friends, and our family in general. The one about to make a rash decision may be a coworker or a colleague. Does this mean we should go about injecting our opinions wherever we see someone contemplating a choice? Perhaps we should heed the words of ‘The Prince of Preachers’, Charles Spurgeon - “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.”
    As can be seen, the importance of cautioning those around us, especially our loved ones, how much more should we heed this advice ourselves? “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” - Proverbs 3:5-6. Let us always make the voice of God our fire alarm.