Blessings Through Humility - 2 Chronicles 7:13-14

When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. - 2 Chronicles 7:13-14

    Humility commonly gets a bad rap. Too often it is incorrectly defined as weak, indecisive,
uncertain, and powerless. Humility is much greater than those paltry descriptions. True humility brings with it rewards that cannot be imagined, let alone be obtained, by any other method. “The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.” - Proverbs 22:4. But we must not misconstrue what ‘riches’ means. We are not promised prosperity by the proverb or anywhere else in the Bible. Its meaning manifests itself in a more spiritually reverent life.
    Imagine the honor we would show our parents if we were humble toward them. We would respect humanity showing no strife, or anger, or violence. We would never engage in adultery or sexual sin. We would respect what belongs to our neighbor, never stealing what is rightfully theirs. We would never suffer the consequences of untruthfulness. And we would never show envy or jealousy. We would truly be living according to the second greatest commandment - “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” - Philippians 2:3. Would this not be treating others as we want to be treated? Can we even imagine a world where all mankind displayed such humility?
    We know that we live in a fallen world simply by introspection in our own lives, dealing with other humans, watching the news, or simply considering the history of this world. Paul speaks to us in Galatians - “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” - Galatians 5:19-21. To each of the fallen behaviors that Paul lists, all could be avoided by practicing humility because these are all sins of pride and true humility conquers pride!
    We are fooling no one, least of all, God, when we imply that we have no moral compass for our worldly behavior. “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” - Micah 6:8. God truly loves a humble heart. There is almost no better definition of a Godless person than one who is ruled by his pride.“Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished.” - Proverbs 16:5. God abhors pride in the strongest sense.
    The world we live in demands that we respond to every slight with a slap, every slap with a punch, and every punch with a kick but is that really how we are to show wisdom, compassion, understanding, and forgiveness? We know how Christ told us to respond to insult. “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” Matthew 5:38-39.
    Humility is the pathway to peace and tranquility. We show our knowledge and understanding through our humility And without it, all we will ever experience is hostility, friction, and discord. “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.” - Proverbs 11:2.
    The blessings associated with humility will only come to us if we are indeed truly humble and never while we are consumed with our worldly pride.

Doctrine Must Divide - Romans 16:17-18

    
 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. - Romans 16:17-18

    Truth, for it to actually be the truth, must divide itself from the lie. Commingling the truth with error will always end up in more error. The chasm between the two should be as apparent as day is to night. The difference between truth and error should not be obscured by clever articulation, emotion, or falsehood of any kind. This is why doctrine must divide. “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. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.” - 1 John 4:1-3
    The current state of Christianity in the 21st Century is rife with distortion, leading the faithful into misjudgment and confusion. Every conceivable lie is perpetrated. From the health-wealth gospels to the one-dimensional Jesus who preaches nothing but love for all men, even in their sin. These ever-present heresies ignore the perspicuity and evidence of God’s justice, wrath, and judgment. “Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine . . .” - 1 Timothy 1:8-10. Those who preach a doctrine different from that of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (the Bible) are preaching heresy.
    Holy Scripture has never promised to be comfortable by the world’s standards. Those who promise comfort, health, and prosperity are not preaching from the Word of God! “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. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.” - 1 Timothy 6:3-5. These are the heretics who preach all manner of ungodliness as ‘the truth,’ against the very Word of God. We have long been warned of such people “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” - 2 Timothy 4:3-4. And we have been given certain instructions regarding them. “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.” - 1 John 10-11.
    There is only one way. As we have been taught, we must be like the faithful Bereans. It is our Christian duty to test the veracity of the Word thru Scripture. “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.” - Acts 17:11. The Word of God is our litmus test. No church tradition, no Roman papacy, no Apocryphal writing, and no ‘emotional experience’ can or will ever replace the holy doctrines found within God’s revealed Word.
 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” - 2 Timothy 3:16-17. Holy Scripture must be the division of God’s true Word from all others so that we may be complete and equipped for every good work.

The ‘Why And What’ Of Our Salvation - Matthew 1:20-21

    
 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

    It is Easter, to most Americans. To some, just another ‘religious holiday.’ To others, a time to hide eggs from the children in the morning and to entertain family and friends with a festive meal in the afternoon. Still, for others in their ‘Sunday best’ and their gaudy ‘Easter bonnets,’ it is often the one day of year they attend church.
    I won’t get into the details of such spiritual mediocrity. What I want to address this fine Spring morning is the reason we recognize the day - the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It was, in fact, the only reason Jesus was born at all. “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.
    To understand this fact we need to know why we need saving and what we need saving ‘from.’
    First of all we need saving because in our natural state we are sinners from birth. If we were to go about our lives indifferent to salvation our lives would prove to be nothing but enmity with God. Proof? Every creature on earth fulfills it’s natural role as God has ordained. Every creature but man. Because of man’s sinful transgressions we need borders, armies, police, courts, jails, fences and doors with locks. No other animal requires such corrective stop gaps because of the transgressions we commit as humans. We must have moral laws to protect us from ourselves.  
    “And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.” - Romans 1:28-31. Clearly, we can see ourselves in this sinful state if we are honest with ourselves.
    What we need saving from are the wages of our sins, spiritual death - eternity in hell. But ours need not be a lost cause. Hell need not be our eternal judgement because of what Jesus Christ has provided for us. “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” - John 3:18.
    There are those who believe that there are many roads to heaven. “Certainly,” they say, “Jesus can’t be the only way to heaven.” Then they rattle off the names of a dozen or so idolatrous religions. But Jesus has already told us in His own words - “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” - John 14:6. Only through Jesus! This is why He came into the world; for this reason and this reason alone: to die for our sins. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” John 10:11. When we take a moment to reflect upon our lives we come to the realization that not only did Jesus die for our sins but He also rose for our salvation. Happy Resurrection Day!

Standing Steadfast Under Trial - Acts 4:18-20

  
 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” - Acts 4:18-20

    In the current world of ‘cancel culture’ many are being fired from their jobs, publicly excoriated for their very words (and thoughts), and figuratively being chased down like Frankenstein monsters for simply speaking the truth. This is the way of the 21st Century world. Language itself is being wrung through rigorous draconian censorship not seen since Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler.
    The Apostles, Peter and John, were called before the high priestly council and told not to speak of Christ or in His name anymore or they would be facing incarceration and possibly worse - “saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us.”  - Acts 5:28.
    The apostles had to make a choice: preach Jesus or cease preaching in His name. The choices were simple; the threat was real. Lesser men would have bowed their heads and quietly slipped into obscurity. But these were not lesser men; these were Christ’s chosen disciples. Rather than cower and shrink back in fear and quietude, Peter spoke for them all. “But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.’” - Acts 5:29-30. Peter not only declared his responsibility to obey God rather than men but boldly leveled his indictment of the scribes and Pharisees to their faces. The courage Peter and the apostles showed was fueled by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and no man was able to scare them into silence!
    Many of our pastors and preachers today are being faced with the same godless arrogance of the cancel culture crowd. There have actually been instances where they were ordered by local secular authorities to present their sermons for scrutiny before being allowed to preach. Their churches have been ordered to stop Sunday services under threat of jail, ostensibly to keep the current pandemic from spreading, yet crowds of thousands are permitted to protest in the streets and attend entertainment gatherings and fill the local Walmarts and other grocery locations without suffering any of the prohibitions reserved for Christian gatherings. Pastors have been arrested for holding services. But all this is just the proverbial tip of the iceberg as the clergy has been accused of hate speech for simply preaching the Gospel!
    There is no telling where and when this satanic madness will end. In fact, reading the paper or watching the news will confirm the aggressive nature of the authorities when it comes to God’s holy word. The atheistic taunts of the secular humanists continue to accuse Christianity of hate crimes on a weekly basis when all our pastors are doing is preaching the word of God, something they have done for over 2,000 years despite the jeers, the threats, and the reality of continuing persecution and martyrdom.
    The Apostles knew what the intimidation and peril of preaching Christ to a ‘Christ-less’ world. “and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.” - Acts 5:40. The persecution continues to this very day. As Christians, we must make up our minds like God’s warrior, Joshua, did - “And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” - Joshua 24:15.
    With all the anti-Christian rhetoric and hate on part of the authorities today, it won’t be easy. Even Jesus said as much - “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” John 15:18-19. As Christians, we must stand up and preach the Word of God boldly and without fear for we have God on our side. “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” - James 1:12.

Why Prayer? - Isaiah 37:21

Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria - Isaiah 37:21

There is a school of thought among the many Christian denominations that God has already decided what His decrees will be and thus prayer does not and cannot change His will; therefore; why pray? A more sobering look at why we are to pray awaits anyone with a Bible in their possession to understand that God does indeed answer prayer. Jesus Himself said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” - Matthew 7:7. Do these sound like useless and ineffective commands? Does this sound like God doesn’t answer prayer? Doe this sound like God has already made up His mind?
There are only a few reasons why God doesn’t answer prayer. One would be what the Apostle James regards as an improper request, not because our prayer is improper but because we have asked for something that is not within the will of God. “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” James 4:3. We must approach God in a manner appropriate to Him as our Creator, Sustainer, and Lord.
The Apostle John reiterates this approach when he writes - “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.”- 1 John 5:14. We must be certain that what we ask for fits within God’s certain will, even when His will does not placate our human desires. Our own mothers and fathers didn’t always give us what we wanted; God is no different in this small respect.
Another reason God will reject our prayers as insignificant is when we come to Him with sinful hearts. Naturally, we all come to God in such a manner because we are all sinners at heart. But approaching God with humble hearts in reverence and contrition will often loosen us from the worldly bonds that so often darken our souls with unrepentant sin. “If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer.” - Psalm 66:18-19. Bringing our prayer requests to God while we bask in our sinfulness will always ring with the hollow and forlorn sound of ‘the weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
As regenerated children of God, we have been instructed to - “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. Again, we see that this is the will of God for us. The effectiveness of our prays made according to God’s will is hardly up for debate. Among the many clear accounts of answered prayer are this one - “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.” - James 5:17-18.
We may never know what God’s plans involve or are to bring about. We know what His declared will holds for us but His decretive will is another thing altogether. Why does God cure one but not another? Why does He save one from harsh persecution and not another? Why does He allow the genocide against one nation and not another? Why does God allow one child to live yet another to die? The answer to these questions we can only speculate about. Our understanding of why God does things the way He chooses to appears to us (if at all) as though through a fog. But one day - “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” - 1 Corinthians 13:12.
Our prayers are commanded by God and if for that reason alone, let us pray.

Sea Change - James 2:10

 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. - James 2:10

    The most self-aggrandizing words often come from the most sinful mouths. We have all heard the pretentious claims of someone who routinely transgresses against God’s word. While they are quick to ignore God’s commandments, they are even quicker to disparage others who don’t share their personal ideals about morality. Thoroughly convinced they occupy the moral high ground, they are first in line to pick over the laws they like and discard those they don’t. Newsflash: we don’t get to choose! And the Bible is perfectly clear regarding those who try. “Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity.” - Romans 1:28-29.
    These persons can mechanically point out their own pious acts and world view. They declare their love for others that includes everyone. And they steadfastly refuse to judge anyone, except those they vehemently disagree with. However, the true test is whether or not God sees their false piety as a blessed trait or merely the cloyingly sweet frosting of human sinfulness.
    Toleration and encouragement are well and good as long as we don’t tolerate and encourage blatant sinfulness. We certainly cannot condone or support a deadly game of spiritual Russian roulette as a sign of our universal love for anyone! “Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. So watch yourselves.” - Luke 17:1-3.
    Even the worst of humanity, through God’s common grace, do good from time to time. It doesn’t mean they are good. Even Hitler fed his dog, a good and righteous thing to do, but the one kindly act doesn’t change our view of this genocidal maniac or his sins. God’s justice demands that sin is condemned and punished, especially among those who carry on in sin throughout their lives and to their deaths. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” - 2 Corinthians 5:10. Everything we do will be judged; the good and the bad.
    A ‘sea change’ is required of us. Since we are sinners in the eyes of God we must either repent of those sins or die in them. Besides being sorry for our behavior, repenting also implies that we alter our behavior. It is not enough to simply say, “I’m sorry,” then simply fall back into our lives of debauchery. We must change our thoughts, words, and actions if we are to truly repent!  But it exacerbates and worsens our guilt before God when we point out that small handful of righteous things we do in lieu of our inexhaustive sinfulness. God has spoken and He observes what we think, say, and do. We cannot hide from Him. “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.” Psalm 139:7-8.
    Suggesting that the laws of God don’t apply to us is the same as saying the laws of nature don’t apply to us. Death, both physical and spiritual, await us either way. But all is not lost while we still breathe. There is now time for each of us to come to Christ in both word and deed. To suggest that even one sin will be ignored or overlooked is to declare that God is not righteous. We need the forgiveness that comes through faith in Jesus Christ! The atonement of the cross awaits all who will call on His holy name . . . and believe.
    “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” - Romans 10:9-10.

A Place Prepared For Us - John 14:2-3

 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. - John 14:2-3

    C. S. Lewis once said that Jesus was either a lunatic, a liar, or the Lord. The reasoning went something like this: only a madman would try to convince others that he was in fact God. By this definition 2000 years of Christianity and all its worldly benefits, i.e. the development of schools, hospitals, universities, charities and what not would have been based upon mankind’s dedicated following of a lunatic; hardly a believable scenario.
    On the other hand, Christ may have just been a clever liar seeking great fame, wealth, and power. If that were the case He failed miserably, living in abject poverty and eventually being arrested and crucified for His mendacity and claims of divinity. In either aforementioned story line, Jesus gathered and has maintained millions of believers over the past millennia under the banner of Christianity, the largest religion in the world. Many of His followers even went to their deaths as martyrs for their faith. What a stunning loss of life if Christ was merely a madman or a liar.
    But Lewis’ third possibility - that Jesus was exactly who He said He was - would explain humanity’s long and deeply rooted faith that Jesus is indeed the Son of the living God and the second member of the Holy Trinity. When viewed from this perspective it is the only answer that makes sense! “. . . and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’” - Matthew 3:17.
    Having established that Jesus was neither a lunatic or a liar we can then extrapolate that the veracity of His words is beyond question or suspicion. When we take every true word that Christ spoke in the Bible then suggest that His claim to His divinity is somehow false, we futilely push against every truth of the Word of God. “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” - John 14:6.
    Christ tells us truly that He will come back and take us to Himself so that we may be where He is . . . in heaven! These are the words Jesus speaks to those who believe in Him. These are the words of the Lord and Savior to us who have been saved by faith alone in Christ alone to the glory of God alone.
    Some have said that the words of John 14:2-3 are some of Jesus’ most reassuring words in all of Scripture. Think about the comfort of Jesus’ words that there is a place for us in His kingdom. And what a kingdom it is. “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.’” - Revelation 21:3-4.
    There is a heaven and we know so because Christ has told us so. No matter where we find the words of Christ, we find the truth. There are no lies when Jesus speaks to us. The veracity of His words is without question. He tells us plainly - ‘if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” Jesus gives us no false hopes. He alludes to no fool’s paradise. His word is truth! “Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.” - Proverbs 30:5. We must not let the foolishness of the world convince us that God is a liar. Let the glorious truth of eternity in heaven by God’s very word shine its light upon us now and forever.