A Fantastic Look at Jesus in OT Scripture!

Understanding the Times!

The link below is to James White's website. He has an interesting view of God's judgment on our nation for abandoning the truth.

http://www.aomin.org/aoblog/index.php?itemid=4640

How the Devil Hates Marriage!

Why the Devil hates marriage is a very simple question to answer. First he hates marriage because he hates God who created it and it is good for another of God’s creations - mankind.

Matt. 19:4 And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” (NKJV)

The one man, one woman, life-long marriage covenant, is God designed and good for the individuals who are joined, as well as society as a whole. The Devil naturally hates God, hates whatever God creates and hates anything God loves or calls good.

Since the Devil’s hate for marriage is a given, we can now consider how or in what specific ways does the Devil seek to destroy that which God created, loves and calls good – marriage!

He hates it by denying the existence of God, truth and objective moral standards. To say that there is no God, no objective standard of right or wrong, is a good starting point for the Devil’s attack on marriage. If there is no God and no moral absolutes, then we can’t even claim that good or evil exist as they would simply be up to my own ideas and desires. If something is true for me, right for me, then unless you can stop me from acting by force I am free do as I see fit. The Devil needs to promote a sense of moral outrage against only one category of “evil” - affirming the existence of the Bible revealed God and His absolute moral standard! If Devil can eliminate belief in God and His word we have only what we feel or think is OK to guide behavior – scary!

He hates it by suggesting alternative purposes for marriage and life in general. If the purpose of life generally and marriage specifically is simply to be happy, then we are at the Devil’s disposal. God designed us to love Him and others sacrificially and the Devil promoted lie that life is about making us happy is running 100 MPH in the wrong direction. God’s word says:

Matt. 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (NKJV)

Gal. 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness (NKJV)

The happiness we seek or anything of true lasting value will never be found by idolatrously seeking the things/feeling we want, but rather are found as we diligently seek God and do things as He directs for our ultimate good. Seeking happiness outside the source of all good things - God, is giving in to a lifelong Devil led journey that makes promises and never delivers in this life and then ends with eternal heartache.

He hates it by promoting discontent. By keeping married people forever asking if this is the right person to be married to, the Devil can assure never ending marital discontent. As long as we avoid the hard work necessary for a good marriage, by asking if we should stay in it, we will never be fully committed or do the hard work which would lead us to seek power from the Lord and find joy in the Lord, even in a less than perfect marriage.

He hates it through pornography. Like the general discontent brought on by a lack of marital commitment, pornography is an effective marriage destroying tool as it brings sexual discontent and encourages infidelity of mind and body. By keeping partial nudity in almost constant view through TV, magazines, billboards and even the scantily clad bodies of some filling our church pews, the Devil can fuel sexual desire for more than what the marriage offers. As if this partial nudity in frequent and often accidental view was not enough, there is instant access to the full range of pornographic activity on the internet. There is no limit to how far one could go online in pursuit of sexual stimulation. If the online only stimulation is all it takes the Devil will be pleased, if more is needed He can provide opportunities to act out these same fantasies in real life, he only needs our willingness and He can orchestrate the rest.

He hates it by redefining what marriage means. The Devil can call marriage an outdated institution, say it is whatever anyone defines it as, say it is only viable if it is making us happy, say it is not necessary or necessarily even good for society and even use endlessly contradictory attacks as long as they all ignore God and His design for marriage. Anything less than marriage as God defined it (a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman) is a victory for the Devil.  

He hates it by confusing gender roles. If the Devil can get people to ignore God given gender roles or deny the very reality of differences in gender then he has won a great battle. This strategy promotes good sounding things – equality, self-esteem and being the best you can be. This strategy is easy for the Devil to use as the fall left woman naturally desiring to take leadership over the man and man with a natural inclination to misuse or ignore His God given role of leadership in the home (See Gen. 3). Once gender roles are lost, much of the practical/complementary good marriage was intended to provide becomes seemingly obsolete and two women or two men can divide the roles in the relationship without the need of those of the opposite sex.

He hates it by enlisting experts. Oh how the devil loves ungodly experts. If the Devil can flood TV, books, internet, etc. with unregenerate human experts, who by nature suppress the truth and don’t want God or His standards imposed on them and have them advise, teach and counsel others, he has found a great ally. Experts who claim to be able to help, but don’t see God’s word as the standard of right and wrong, God’s power as necessary for living and God’s glory as the ultimate reason for life and marriage, will never do anything but promote the Devil’s marriage destroying agenda.

He hates it by keeping us too busy to hear the truth. A warning for Christians - the Devil is real, he hates us, he knows our sin nature/weaknesses and he has many tools at his disposal. He will never be the final/eternal ruin of anyone who is truly God’s by grace through faith in Jesus, but with the earthly environment so against us we dare not be too busy with other things to be hearing truth from His word on a regular basis. The Devil is the master of making lies sound just like truth, so we need to be drenched in the truth! We need also to be advocates of God ordained marriage by prayer and speaking God’s truth in a world where the devil seeks only to lie, kill and destroy!

"Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."

Dietrich Bonhoeffer quotation:

Earthly possessions dazzle our eyes and delude us into thinking that they can provide security and freedom from anxiety. Yet all the time they are the very source of anxiety. The Cost of Discipleship

My response to the “It Gets Better” video production

I know the topics involved here (homosexuality, suicide, etc.) are very serious and may strike close to home for some of you. I don’t take these things lightly. I seek only to shine the light of God’s word upon issue we face as individuals and as a church that we may walk circumspectly in these often confusing times.

I first saw the “It Gets Better” video production during American Idol on May, 11. Here is a link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7skPnJOZYdA

It begins as a video claiming to be aimed at reducing suicide among youth of non-traditional sexual desire/behavior (LGBT) due to bullying. Bullying of anyone for anything is wrong and should be stopped. I can relate to being bullied and teased in school and in hindsight I can see how it could have led to very serious consequences in my life. Bullying that leads to physical or emotional harm may even be cause for some type of criminal or civil charges. But, with that said I see several errors with this project’s message and also the potential for great harm if accepted without discernment.

An essential question to consider is: can someone be against bullying on moral grounds, against suicide on moral grounds, against homosexuality on moral grounds and at the same time actually love the individuals involved and want to see each of them find freedom in Jesus Christ from what we see as life destroying sin?

Before consider that very important question I will address some possible errors of logic and questions of motive in the production -

 1^st - it asks a question and assumes an answer that may well be in error:

The question - Why are (LGBT) kids committing suicide? If you were to watch this commercial/video you would walk away thinking it is caused by bullying. Is suicide caused by bullying? In all cases of suicide should we look for a person or persons outside the deceased to blame for their death? How many different kinds of other people’s actions or circumstances might cause suicide? Bullying is wrong, but so is suicide and we should counsel people (young or old) that there are other ways to deal with people’s meanness and hard circumstances than suicide. We should also seek to root out and discipline bullies as they will be bullying someone else if they run out of (LGBT) kids to pick on. If a child commits suicide after being bullied for having “funny looking hair” will we see TV commercials addressing it? Why is this issue, one of many that young people are bullied for and a drop in the bucket when it comes to overall teen suicides (although one is too many), being singled out. Further, why is the message “It Get’s Better”, rather than here is how to deal with bullies and other problems that might lead a young person to consider taking their own life? Perhaps there is more than suicide prevention in mind here.

2^nd - I think there is clearly a dual agenda here:

Suppose the message here isn’t just about getting young (LGBT) people to not commit suicide in response to bullying, but also a call to ignore their conscience and traditional moral values when it comes to their sexual desires or behavior? If one of the issues faced by these young people is the possibility that their desires/behaviors are actually wrong and it is leading to some anxiety or inward struggle, should they listen to that inner voice and question their desires/thoughts or keep giving in to those desires with the promise that “it gets better”.  Suppose this lifestyle is not their ticket to happiness at all and it doesn’t get better as this handful of people in the video claim it will? Perhaps we should be helping young people evaluate their desires and actions as they relate to society as a whole, discussing if their truly is any basis for absolute moral standards and if so what are they.

3^rd – It ignores the possibility of a higher, God given moral standard.

Suppose that the Bible is true (as I believe it is) and we are all born with desires for things that God calls sin. What if we really are to confess these things as sin, accept forgiveness as found in Jesus and then seek the power of His Holy Spirit to live righteously? Suppose these many sexual behaviors which go against the word of God are to be resisted with His help in this life and will be removed completely in the next life as His followers are finally perfected? We may be setting these young people free from fear that bullying will last forever or free from the fear that they won’t have a “good happy life” or fear that they may be doing something that is truly wrong, but suppose the freedom we gave them is really freedom from a relationship with God now and forever!

This is not a unique situation; consider other once commonly held moral standards that we have thrown out as a culture - abortion, pre-marital sex, state run lotteries and the general failure to accept personal responsibility (credit abuse/bankruptcy, criminals excused as victims, etc.). Where does it end? Where do you draw the line at what is acceptable and what is not? Without some higher God given standard of behavior, some absolute standard of right and wrong that transcends our best thinking and feelings, then I would agree it is impossible to truly call wrong any of these behaviors -

Homosexuality

Transvestitism

Pre-marital sex

Abortion

Terrorism

Or for that matter- bullying or suicide!

We are all born sinners, wanting what we should not want, whether (LGBT) thoughts/behaviors or infinitely more ways to sin in thought and deed. Fortunately, God has given us His Son Jesus to save us if we believe, and then His word and His Spirit to help guide us and empower us to live as individuals and as members of society in this life.

Gal. 5: 16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. (NKJV)

The more society calls good evil and evil good the harder it will be (persecution will come) to show the love of Jesus by speaking the truth about sin (suicide, bullying and yes LGBT) and the need for grace found in Jesus Christ.

Lord, may we find help and hope in You as we stand for truth out of love for You and our fellow man!

For further information on this topic you may want to listen to the audio link found at the website below:

 http://www.aomin.org/aoblog/index.php?itemid=4622

Unbelievable Article on Marriage!

This is an article written by Albert Mohler refuting some totally absurd claims about marriage that have been put forth by Hollywood and the news media. Well worth reading - click on link below!

http://www.albertmohler.com/2011/05/09/killing-off-marriage-dr-ablow-reports-you-decide/

Isaiah 5:20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
      Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
      Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
       21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,
      And prudent in their own sight!

I pray for our nation and that we who believe would have God's strength to proclaim His truth in the face of increasing persecution!

Powerful Video

A Short Birthday Testimony

Today is my birthday. Forty six years ago in Rochester NY my mother gave birth to me - Mothers Day 1965. A gift, it might depend when you asked her? Thanks for all you did for me Mom!

That is my physical birth, what about my spiritual birth? I was strongly moved to respond to a Gospel invitation at a church lock-in my sister took me to when I was around eleven years old. I had some sense that I should live differently and even considered myself a Christian since I had responded to an invitation and believe something had happened that night. I also had very strong doubts about some Christian beliefs and if someone who lived as I did could possibly be saved.

It wasn't until about twenty years later when I had hit somewhat of a bottom in life that everything truly changed. Late January 1997 while simply walking through my house in a mental fog from a lifestyle that was completely out of control - everything changed. That day, in a moment, what had previously been at best mental assent to some facts of the gospel became real faith. I now wanted to follow the Jesus I had previously been unwilling and unable to truly comprehend.

What is my point, to comment on the value of church lock-ins, or invitations, or when salvation really occurred in my life? No, simply to say thank you Jesus for taking what you began through my earthly physical birth and giving it eternal value through my "rebirth" by your blood - according to Your will and for Your glory!

Col. 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. (NKJV)

Why save me? Why do it like this? Why keep me for salvation when I still sin? I can't say for sure, but clearly He will have all the glory.

Thank you Jesus!

This is a sad reality!

The National Day of Prayer - is it up to the courts?

Last year a federal judge in Wisconsin declared the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional. This year a higher court in Chicago overturned that ruling on the grounds that those who brought the case lacked proper legal standing. So, for this year at least, the U.S. government will recognize May 5 as The National Day of Prayer. Next year it may be found unconstitutional again if challenged with proper legal ducks in a row.

I was struck by the irony that we see the National Day of Prayer as a legal or political battle to be fought with the weapons of lawyers, political pressure and the votes of freedom loving Americans. All these are certainly reasonable and we must do all we can to defend our country from decline, including the harm caused by a forced secularism that goes way beyond the constitutional idea of separation of church and state. If these are some tools for overcoming our enemies and defending our country, are they the only or best tools at our disposal? What about prayer, can God, would God, intervene on our behalf in these issues? Is our country in the mess it is because we have spent too much time praying and not enough time engaging in politics?

The Psalms are praises to God for His past help and appeals to God for present and future help. Would we see our weakness and God's power as practical to our lives as the Psalmist did? Would we pray first and most (all year) and then do the things we can do?

Psalm 71

God the Rock of Salvation

 ¹ In You, O LORD, I put my trust;
         Let me never be put to shame.
 ² Deliver me in Your righteousness, and cause me to escape;
         Incline Your ear to me, and save me.
 ³ Be my strong refuge,
         To which I may resort continually;
         You have given the commandment to save me,
         For You are my rock and my fortress.
    
 ⁴ Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked,
         Out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.
 ⁵ For You are my hope, O Lord GOD;
         You are my trust from my youth.
 ⁶ By You I have been upheld from birth;
         You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb.
         My praise shall be continually of You.
    
 ⁷ I have become as a wonder to many,
         But You are my strong refuge.
 ⁸ Let my mouth be filled with Your praise
         And with Your glory all the day.
    
 ⁹ Do not cast me off in the time of old age;
         Do not forsake me when my strength fails.
 ¹⁰ For my enemies speak against me;
         And those who lie in wait for my life take counsel together,
 ¹¹ Saying, “God has forsaken him;
         Pursue and take him, for there is none to deliver him.”
    
 ¹² O God, do not be far from me;
         O my God, make haste to help me!
 ¹³ Let them be confounded and consumed
         Who are adversaries of my life;
         Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor
         Who seek my hurt.
    
 ¹⁴ But I will hope continually,
         And will praise You yet more and more.
 ¹⁵ My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness
         And Your salvation all the day,
         For I do not know their limits.
 ¹⁶ I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD;
         I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only.
    
 ¹⁷ O God, You have taught me from my youth;
         And to this day I declare Your wondrous works.
 ¹⁸ Now also when I am old and grayheaded,
         O God, do not forsake me,
         Until I declare Your strength to this generation,
         Your power to everyone who is to come.
    
 ¹⁹ Also Your righteousness, O God, is very high,
         You who have done great things;
         O God, who is like You?
 ²⁰ You, who have shown me great and severe troubles,
         Shall revive me again,
         And bring me up again from the depths of the earth.
 ²¹ You shall increase my greatness,
         And comfort me on every side.
    
 ²² Also with the lute I will praise You—
         And Your faithfulness, O my God!
         To You I will sing with the harp,
         O Holy One of Israel.
 ²³ My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing to You,
         And my soul, which You have redeemed.
 ²⁴ My tongue also shall talk of Your righteousness all the day long;
         For they are confounded,
         For they are brought to shame
         Who seek my hurt. (NKJV)

Who has the power? Seek, pray, praise, trust and know victory is in Him!

How should we live in relationship to the world?

There is not a place to which the Christian can withdraw from the world, whether it be outwardly or in the sphere of the inner life. Any attempt to escape from the world must sooner or later be paid for with a sinful surrender to the world. Ethics, Dietrich Bonhoeffer

1 Peter 3:13 And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” 15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; 16 having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. 17 For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. (NKJV)

Interesting that the discomfort we feel at the hands of unbelievers, the same discomfort we seek to avoid by retreating into our Christian sub-culture, is actually meant to be the vehicle by which the gospel is shared with the lost, we are drawn closer to our Lord and the blessings of God are experienced by us - His children!