Doing The Impossible - Matthew 19:26

 
But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” - Matthew 19:26

    I have struggled over the years with my inability to show my Christian love to all mankind. I have been angry, outraged, and insulted by the very people Jesus commanded me to love. “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you...” - Matthew 5:44. After giving the issue much thought, it became clear to me that I have not been giving it my Christian effort.
    Certainly, it is easy for us to go around spouting off Scripture references to applicable situations, but how often do we actually walk the walk? It’s not ignorance on our part when we don’t seem all that Christian. And we must remember that often, we are creating an image for those around us who never pick up a Bible or attend a church service. Does our reaction to things that irk us illustrate how Christians are supposed to behave toward our fellow men and women? I’m afraid that in my case the answer has far too often been ‘No!’
     I tried to understand why it was so. I truly wanted to project a good Christian image to those around me, but failed to meet that godly standard. Why didn’t I have that kind of strength? I reminded myself of Paul’s frustration and exasperation : “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” - Romans 7:15. How could I accomplish this will of God for my life?
    Then, the very words that I had so often quoted to my family and loved ones came floating back to me. They were words I had used to encourage them in times of similar disappointments with varying issues and challenges they had faced: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” - Philippians 4:13. I realized I could never love my enemies in my own power. I wasn’t strong enough in myself, but I could be through Christ Jesus!
    Obviously, there will be times when maintaining a godly attitude around troublesome people is going to be next to impossible. “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” - Romans 12:18. Paul knew that there would be times of difficulty with people who didn’t have our best interest at heart. But even then, his words were not to pick a fight or walk away in anger. “To the contrary, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” - Romans 12:20-21.
    Our calling in Philippians 4:13 is a strategic response that our tactical response can illustrate, and that should be: “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” - 1 Corinthians 10:31. We cannot glorify God with hatred, anger, antagonism, impatience, or resentment, because none of those attributes exemplify love. As Scripturally responsive Christians, we should know by now what love is : “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” - 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. This is the love that Jesus is talking about when He tells us to “Love (y)our enemies and pray for those who persecute you (us). Can we do so on our own power? I wouldn’t even suggest trying. Go to Christ and plead with Him for the strength that only God can provide.
    “Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” - 2 Corinthians 12:8-9.
    No matter what we must do or accomplish, we must grasp the fact that God’s will alone determines how our efforts turn out. Sometimes even the simplest plans go awry; sometimes the impossible happens, all to the glory of God.

The Fruit Of Babel - Genesis 11:3-4

And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” - Genesis 11:3-4

    There seem to be three benchmarks of this sordid story of man’s self-aggrandizement:
    1) Men believed they could trespass against a holy God.
    2) They believed they could do what they wanted and as they wished.
    3) They believed they could use every means at their disposal to do as they pleased.
    As we can see early on in Genesis 11, men were starting out on the same treacherous foundation that cost Adam and Eve their place in the garden. And just as with Adam and Eve, their slippery footing also ended in a fall. God does not look kindly on the excesses of man’s pride. ‘Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly.’ - Deuteronomy 32:35.
    God accomplishes His will despite everything that man can devise to thwart it. There is no moment in human history when God is caught unaware of man’s disobedience. No matter how often man has tried to get the jump on God, man is frustrated in his attempts. God might not move immediately to curb the diabolic plans of men, but He moves in His own time to do so. “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9.     People often accuse God of failing to stop ungodly behavior and evil in its tracks. “Where was God?” They scream, then bring up the 9-1-1 attacks, the Holocaust, the institution of slavery, to name but-a-few of the more graphic illustrations of man’s inhumanity to man. Among the more continuing issues of barbarism and brutality, they cite abortion, sexual depravity, and corruption to show that God is seemingly uninvolved in such pedestrian wickedness. But we must never make the mistake of assuming that God is aloof during such examples of depravity simply because He doesn’t hurl a lightning bolt to stop the violence. We must remember that God is patient, just, and wrathful. Think first of God’s enduring promise: “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. We too, must, therefore exemplify patience.
    And let us not forget that as for those who refuse to repent and are intent on enacting Satan’s iniquity in this world, God has made us another promise: “And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.”: Revelation 19:20-21. God’s Word is often graphically harsh, and so it should be to those who would build themselves a city and make a name for themselves, transgressing God’s laws.
    Despite the lawlessness and evil in the world today, we must recall the words of Jesus Christ: “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” - John 16:33. For those who are truly in Christ, peace is coming.

When The Gospel Is Rejected - Matthew 10:14

And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. - Matthew 10:14

    “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.” - Matthew 7:6. These seem like pretty harsh words coming from the mouth of our Lord, Jesus Christ. But Scottish Biblical scholar, F. F. Bruce explains that, ‘The general sense of the saying is clear: objects of value . . . should not be offered to those who are incapable of appreciating them.’ Bruce was referring to special objects, privileges, or taking part in sacred things; and there is no more sacred thing in our day-to-day lives than God’s Holy Word!
    Whether we are referring to Christ as the Word or Scripture as the Word, both are sacred. Why, tossing about the name of Jesus and His words in a crowd of those who neither want to hear it nor will listen to it is borderline blasphemy. Jesus Himself said as much in Matthew 7:6.
    So how do we reconcile the words of our titular passage with Christ’s Great Commission? The way to do so is by discernment. We must be wise enough to know where and when we are to share the Gospel, and with whom!
    I have found myself in many an instance where I shouldn’t have brought my faith to the fore. In fact, I shouldn’t have even been there in the first place. Another instance is our timing.“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven . . . ” - Ecclesiastes 3:1. We must be prudent to choose the right time to speak to our listeners about the glory of God and His Gospel. There are moments in life when the fields aren’t yet ready for planting. They have yet to be prepared for the sowing of the word. An old mentor of mine once told me that ‘timing is everything.’ Indeed, it is.
    Finally, we must even be careful about whom we bring the Gospel to because that requires judgment as well as discernment. The looks of a person are often deceiving, but not always. Sometimes a person’s countenance betrays their hearts in not-so-subtle ways. Therefore, godly discernment is of the utmost importance where, when, and to whom we present the Gospel.
    We can too often become victims of our own enthusiasm. Surely, we are excited about spreading the Word of God, but we can be too hasty in moving from thought to action when we sense there is a receptive audience awaiting God’s revealed Word. We must pray for the Holy Spirit’s intercession and direction before we rush head-long into conversation, regardless of the spiritual value of our discourse. Until we do, we can never follow the words of Paul to Timothy : “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” - 2 Timothy 4:2.
    I have found myself in situations where unbelievers made it clear: they were not agreeable to hearing the preaching of the Gospel. If we insist on speaking the truth at that moment, we may experience the audience simply getting up and leaving. In cases where we are the visitor, we might be asked to leave, and if we persist, we may be told to leave. Either way, they have rejected our Gospel message off hand and with extreme prejudice. Was it our approach? Possibly, but the chances are better that the intended audience is too worldly to care about eternal things. That is exactly why Jesus said, “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs.”
    Many pastors and commentators will give varying advice on how we should handle these tense and tenuous situations. However, Matthew 10:14 is perfectly clear about how we are to react.

A Warning Against The World - 2 Corinthians 6:14-15

    
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? - 2 Corinthians 6:14-15

    At first glance this passage creates a bit of a paradox if we, as Christians, are to fulfill our duty - “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” - Matthew 28:19-20. How can we possibly do as Christ commands if we follow the mandate of our title’s passage?
    It does not direct its warning to the preaching the Gospel, but to keeping our hearts from falling into the black hole of secular culture. For us to be ‘yoked’ with unbelievers is to be bridled with them in our thoughts, words, deeds, and desires. Christians should share nothing common to the heathen culture at large, especially anything that promotes or encourages the same. No ads, video programing, music, books, magazines, fashion, organizations, or associations that promote an un-Christian worldview should be part of a Christian’s lifestyle. If we truly love God, our desires will reflect what God desires. “Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” - 2 Corinthians 6:17-18.
    One look at the current culture immediately points to a lifestyle that habitually speaks of ungodly thoughts, words, and deeds. It has everything to do with the heart that drives the mind toward sinful transgression. It has become so bad that it is hard to find family programming on tv to day that promotes a godly world view. Even Madison Avenue pushed its diabolic poison into our homes via the cable, the internet, and radio. So one can see how difficult it is to separate oneself from the world, the flesh, and the devil. But separate ourselves, we must! “You are the sons of the Lord your God. You shall not cut yourselves or make any baldness on your foreheads for the dead. For you are a people holy to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.” - Deuteronomy 14:1-2. As the old adage goes - we should never give the devil a seat at our table.
    Christians should avoid the pitfalls of modern culture like the plague, doing nothing that directly violates the divine will of God. We must keep in mind that because we are of a fallen nature, our natural inclinations and predilections drive us toward the ungodly, but our feet need not slip. “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” - 1 Corinthians 10:13.
    No, the mere act of peculiar hair-styling, body piercing, tattooing, or other self-mutilation is not sinful - it is the ungodly desire to-express oneself in any manner that is not of the Lord. We must constantly remember the words of the Apostle Paul - “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.” - 1 Corinthians 6:12. His words describe refusing to allow oneself to be conquered by or enslaved by any mind-set or behavior that cannot reveal a godly heart. It is the tainted heart that drives us toward ungodly attitudes and actions. We must always keep before us Paul’s admonition - “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” - 1 Corinthians 10:31.
    We have the strength and the power to defeat the assaults of the evil one and His name is Jesus - “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” - Philippians 4:13. Let us always be sure to keep our eyes on Christ, our mediator, Savior, and Redeemer and we will not succumb to the world, the flesh, and the devil.

Doctrines Of Men? - 1 Timothy 6:3

If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing.- 1 Timothy 6:3

    I have heard some of the wildest expositions on the Bible come from people who stoutly condemn men like Luther, Calvin, or Knox, suggesting that they are pushing some contrived ‘man-driven religion’ over and above the Holy Scriptures. These folks like to use the Aramaic name for Jesus and consistently refer to God as Yahweh. And they almost always insist on quoting only Old Testament Scripture or the ‘red words’ of Jesus contained in the New Testament.
    Using these people’s erroneous interpretations of Scripture, it’s a wonder that they aren’t constantly condemning the words of today’s pastors as too dogmatic and ‘not the word of God!’ To be fair to these purveyors of convoluted thought, I would agree that no, the words of Luther and the Reformation giants are not the inspired words of God. They are simply human words based on the careful exegesis of the Holy Scriptures in all relative languages, Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin. In fact, most of the reformers agreed to the consensus of men arrived at by the early church councils dating all the way back to Apostolic period.
    Again, I agree with the critics when they vociferously disagree with the importance of ‘church tradition’ as proposed by the Roman church. Church tradition takes a distant second to Scripture regarding the correct interpretation of God’s Word. Think: Scripture is never wrong; tradition can be and often is wrong.
    And neither are the words of today’s pastors and ministers equal to the very words of God. But to suggest that doctrine is purely man-made delusion is as patently wrong as saying that there is no doctrine within the words of Scripture. “But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.” - Titus 2:1. The very concept of non-doctrinal Christianity is a sham.
    The very words of Scripture have taught us to test what we are told and taught. We’re not supposed to accept every word that proceeds from the mouths of men as truth.
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” - 1 John 4:1. The biblical writers were not naïve or stumbling fools; they knew that there would be surreptitious attempts by evil men to influence and reshape God’s words to meet their diabolic agendas. Even the honest readers of Scripture were convinced that every word had to be meticulously interpreted and their meanings derived from using proper hermeneutics and exegesis. “The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” - Act 17:10-11.
    The Bible, even in its earliest manifestations, used the words of the original languages for ‘doctrine.’ Eventually, the term ‘orthodoxy’ would come to denote the understanding of ‘correct views.’ 
    Many people today are of the opinion that ‘doctrine divides.’ Well, it’s supposed to. It’s supposed to separate the wheat from the chaff. If we don’t know what we believe and why we believe it, then how could we possibly know that we have it right?
    I suspect that to suggest that the early church fathers, as well as the Reformers, were simply trying to make up doctrine out of whole cloth is just another way for false teachers to make their personal interpretation hold weight against blessed and more studied men; men who studied the Holy Scriptures in every conceivable manner before concluding not only on what it truly says but also on what it truly means.
    Proper interpretation of Scripture relies on the understanding that the Bible has as its thought two things: God’s relationship with man and our response to God’s divine plan for us. If we misinterpret either aspect of interpretation, we have wrongly interpreted the Word of God. And that is why we must rely on doctrine.


 

Would You Rather I Lied To You? - 1 John 1:8

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  - 1 John 1:8

    “Who has sinned today?”If you want to throw your next get-together into turmoil, just ask that question of your guests. Invariably, you won’t get many to admit their sinfulness. It just goes to show exactly how full of ourselves we have become. Scripture is clear on the issue -  “If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” - 1 John 1:10.
    Obviously. That isn’t a very tactful way to approach the subject of indwelling sin in our lives. However; the spectacular nature of our sinful pride is so apparent that we have little excuse to even suggest that we are ‘without sin.’ We spend so much time making excuses for our thoughts, words, and deeds that we forget what David declared in his psalm of repentance and contrition - “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.” - Psalm 51:3. Yes, and whether we’re willing to admit it, our sins are always before us, too.
    Of course, what many people think of as sin falls into ‘the most heinous of deeds’ category. In fact, most people don’t even consider their thoughts or words to be sins. After all, what does my thinking have to do with being overtly sinful and how do the words that come out of my mouth make me a sinner? Everyone has bad thoughts from time to time, and everyone says bad things from time to time. That doesn’t make us sinners; not if everyone does it, and not if I don’t act on my thoughts. Does it?
     Jesus Christ had a different opinion. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” - Matthew 5:27-28. The key to Christ’s interpretation isn’t as much in our actions, although they do count, but the well-spring of our thoughts, words, and deeds. Where, exactly, do they originate? Our hearts!
    In The Book of Jeremiah, God said, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” - Jeremiah 17:9-10. This is one of the clearest statements made about the sinfulness of man in the entire Bible; but there are others.
    That anyone, even slightly versed in the knowledge of Holy Scripture, could miss the point of man’s innate sinfulness is astounding. That believers in Christ could so thoroughly miss the point of our sin is a clear sign that they are professors of a faith that they know very little about. “as it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.’” - Romans 3:10-12.
    In our hypothetical, even if outrageous scenario, I can hear the door slamming and the car engines starting now. They’re fleeing from our get-together like there’s a fire! Have we embarrassed them? Offended them? We probably have. And if given the chance to ask them all just one more question as they angrily turned and sped away from us, our question should be - “Would you rather I lied to you?” Sadly, many would. That’s the world today. Even the most vociferous professors of the Christian faith dislike admitting that they are hopeless sinners without Christ. Confessing their sin is beneath them. Like politics; they just don’t want to talk about it. And their greatest excuse is that their faith is a private matter for them and no one else’s business. While tactfully approaching the subject remains our God-given command, there are those who would still brusqly push away any admission of or attempt to discuss the subject.
    Nothing within this short missive is a lie! The truth often hurts and is most insensitive, but it’s still the truth. And the truth is so important in the eyes of God that he commands it. If we lie, we will reap the whirlwind; if we tell the truth, we will have mercy. “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” - Proverbs 28:13. Some may prefer a lie to the truth, but Christian love demands we speak the truth. And I would rather offend someone with the truth than to let them slide unfettered into hell on the coat-tails of misplaced kindness.

A Miracle Everyday - Hebrews 2:4

   
. . . while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. - Hebrews 2:4

    Over the years, many of us have become jaded to the miracles that God performs right before our very eyes. In fact, some of us have become blind to them while we were or are still in our youth. How can it be that we no longer, and in many cases, have never recognized God’s phenomenal work in our lives? “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”- 2 Corinthians 4:4. This doesn’t mean we are constantly walking with the devil in our lives. But if we cannot walk with God and see His work in the world, then yes, it’s because we’re being influenced by Satan, and no other.
    But what of these ‘miracles?’ Shouldn’t they stand out from the normal and the mundane? Shouldn’t we too see the Red Sea part, the sudden restoration of a blind person’s sight, or our loved ones raised from the dead? Perhaps we have a mistaken idea of what a genuine miracle in our day looks like.
    Let’s look to determine whether the events that take place during our lifetimes are really just normal instances of chance or luck, or are they something else? The great American theologian, R.C. Sproul has said, “Chance does not exist. It is merely a word we use to describe mathematical possibilities.” Let’s face it; we would look pretty silly if we ruminated how chance played a role in the birth of a child. Chance has nothing to do with it. We know that a viable infant birth will take place after a healthy nine-month gestation period. Then, you say, “Well, that’s normal. There’s no miracle there.” Think carefully about what you are saying. In 21st Century America, the infant fatality rate through abortion, miscarriage, or early complications, while less than 100 years ago, is still with us, while your children were all born healthy. That is not chance; that is a miracle. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” - Jeremiah 1:5.
    God’s providential hand is evident in everything from a human birth to a safe drive home after work, to health after a serious illness, to recovery from an addiction. The problem is with us; we take everything for granted and assume our lives should be worry free, anxiety free, debt free, and sickness free. But we should know that our lives will be anything but free from tribulation. We live in a fallen world and often reap the whirlwind because of it.
    It is part of our human nature to deal with issues and problems during our lifetimes. There’s no avoiding it. With over seven billion people on our beleaguered planet, to have God making adjustments in our daily lives to keep us from constant and terrifying heartbreak, illness, and death is miraculous.
    The fatal car crash that occurred right in front of you but miraculously left you untouched. The spot in your breast that turned out to be just a fatty mass rather than cancer is miraculous. The lightning bolt that struck your front yard oak tree just after you finished pruning it is miraculous. Being found alive in the bay after your boat capsized is a miracle. Think of the many, many people who experienced these same events but with catastrophic outcomes, then consider yourself. That isn’t chance or luck; that’s a miracle!
    If you or someone you know has seen spectacularly terrible possibilities turn into blessings, then remind them that there are miracles every day. And don’t be grateful to chance or luck but to the God of our salvation - “As for me, I would seek God, and to God would I commit my cause, who does great things and unsearchable, marvelous things without number: He gives rain on the earth and sends waters on the fields; he sets on high those who are lowly and those who mourn are lifted to safety.” - Job 5:8-11.
    You are a living miracle; I am a living miracle; our children are living miracles. Be grateful for every common blessing and act of providence that He has ever shown us. He truly is an almighty God!