Sun, Feb 24th - 9:48PM

The Center of God’s Will Is The Right Place To Live

We live in a confused, mixed up world. Satan has inched his way into the world’s culture, into human hearts, and even into religious circles. In this age of computers, personal opinions can be introduced world-wide in a matter of seconds. Since those opinions don’t have to be mailed to some distribution center, which requires some effort and time, but can be typed into a Blog for immediate world distribution, individuals by the thousands are expressing themselves.

With so many varying expressions being offered on a multitude of world concerns, its no wonder that there seems to be an impasse in political arenas in nations around the world. With Satan’s invasion into people’s individual lives being so successful, the Christian opinion is more often suppressed or overridden by non-believers.

But, when one takes a simple, Biblical look at our world, there is a successful approach to its many confusions. As wonderful as the results would be, this process will not be accepted by the majority of folk in the world and will never be implemented by the governments of the world nor here in our nation. The reason this will never happen in the time span given for the world’s existence is because of the spiritual nature required.

In the benediction to the book of Hebrews the following words are written. "Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen."(13:21).

The emphasis in this verse for this devotion are the words "make you complete in every good work to do His will". In the March-April-May edition of "The Joy Journal", the quarterly mailing of the Progress Baptist Church, I was reminded of a Biblical fact we need to think about for our lives. The fact is that the center chapter of the Bible is Psalms 118 and that the center verse is Psalms 118:8. This means there are 594 chapters before Psalms 118 and there are 594 chapters afterwards.

The successful plan for world peace, which won’t occur in this world’s timetable, is for citizens and political leaders to find God’s will for their lives so He can make them "complete in every good work to do His will".

Even though there are no prospects of that happening on a world-wide scale, it can happen in the lives of individual born again folk. And a good place for us believers to go is to the center of the Bible to discover His will for our lives. Psalms 118:8 reminds us that "It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in men". When we put our trust in Him and follow His will for our lives, then we can overcome the tempter of this world and find inner peace which will dominate in the home to which we are going after this world’s sojourn is completed.

We are too often busy about discovering what is best for "me", to know the will of those around me, to find out what public opinion says, than we are about discovering God’s will for our lives. This is a trite emphasis which I make, it is so overshadowed by worldliness that I sometimes wonder why I or other preachers even continue to bring up the subject. But then I’m reminded of the blessed Savior’s dying on Calvary for sinners, for the Word of God’s plea for believers to live successfully in the will of the Lord.

With His hour of trial upon Him, Jesus lifted up His eyes and heart to the Father and said, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done". I pray that I can say that prayer about my own life. How about you?

Sun, Feb 10th - 10:39PM

Christians Go Through Trials For Divine Purposes

From day one in the first grade of school I concluded that I didn’t like the classes. Study was not what I considered the most pleasant of activities. Recess—that caught my attention. There’s too much there to discuss in a short article.

As I slowly moved from one grade to another, new aspects of the classroom caught my attention. The teachers called it a test. I must sadly admit that its doubtful I ever took a test in the elementary or high school level when fully prepared. And it would have been difficult for my parents to have kept me in school through high school if it were not for sports.

When I walked across that stage on graduation night in 1956, I wasn’t only leaving Gloster High School for good, but I would never have to study nor take another test.

But I was terribly wrong. Besides college and seminary testing, I discovered that some kind of test comes each day. The most important, of course, is the testing of moral character.

James, the author of the short Bible book near the end of the New Testament, wrote, "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials"(1:2). Note first that these words were written to fellow believers, not the general public. And second, he informs that trials faced by Christians serve to produce endurance in the believer’s life.

The Bible refers to trials of various types. Sometimes it uses the word tempt or tempting or temptation. Normally one thinks of temptation as enticing to sin. But it is actually used for the purpose of testing, trying, or enticing to do evil.

It’s the enticing to do evil which I want to address in today’s devotion. James wrote in 1:14-15, "But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death".

This passage of scripture deals with the "enticement to sin". That kind of temptation comes from Satan as he sets on fire human passion.

The word "lust" refers to a strong, natural craving for something or someone that would cause a person to be displeasing in God’s eyes. In contemporary language, lust has come to be mostly associated with sexual desires. But the Bible term refers to any craving that separates from God and causes sin.

James wrote in verse 13, "Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone."

James warned about LSD before it became a dangerous drug in our society. It is described in verse 15: "Then when Lust has conceived, it gives birth to Sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth Death".

Here is the fatal process. First is LUST. Every fallen human being must battle the passion for satisfying human desires. When uncontrolled, the desire is conceived or becomes active in the individual’s life.

If that evil conception isn’t aborted before becoming active in one’s life, its birth brings godless action which the Bible describes as SIN [which is missing the mark of God’s desire]. That sin has consequences [DEATH]. Sooner or later, either in this life or the next, that sin will be faced.

The good news of James is in helping believers to realize that trails and testings do come to the Lord’s people. But they never come from God as an enticement to commit sin, but to test the genuineness of one’s faith and to make that faith in the Lord a stronger faith for bigger challenges in the future.

Christians have the power to control the passions of the natural body. That power is known as the Holy Spirit who indwells every true born again individual. By understanding the Christian nature and the ever presence of the Lord in the believer’s life will keep one from falling into the sewer of sin.

Sat, Feb 2nd - 9:38PM

God Is Calling For Modern Day Jonahs

I have been preparing to preach a series of sermons from the book of Jonah. I’ve used that book as a text several times through the years, but in preparation for these messages, it struck me how appropriate it is for our church, town, state, and nation at this particular time.

The object of God’s concern in that scripture passage is the wickedness of Nineveh. Now I’m aware that many see this book in the Bible as simply an allegory, that is, not a true story of something which actually happened. It is considered nothing more than fiction with a moral twist to the storyline. I’ve never accepted that conclusion which I believe comes from false assumption.

It seems that a lot of emphases is placed, by the doubters, upon the impossibility of man living inside a large sea fish or monster. But preparing a fish in which a man can live is no difficult task for the Creator of the universe. If man can build a submarine to keep people safe under water, then God is able to make one such fish. After all, in the story, we are told that "the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah"(2:1). I’ll just allow the fiction crowd to explain their difficulty to God. I’ll accept the story for what it is trying to teach mankind.

Nineveh was a large and thriving city. Some population estimates run as high as 600,000. In chapter 4, verse 11 is recorded, "And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left — and much livestock?" Most conservative scholars are sure that reference is to small children who haven’t yet learned about the right hand nor the left.

The city had a span of some 600 successful years and was located on the Tigris in what is known today as Iraq. They were known for their brutal methods of punishing and killing people. Thus, they were feared and at the same time, hated by most of the world’s population.

Jonah was a prophet who lived at Gath Hepher some 3 miles northeast of Nazareth. God spoke to His prophet and gave him the mission of going to Nineveh and crying out against the sin of the city. But the prophet rebelled against God’s call and instead of going to Nineveh to preach, he headed to Tarshish which is believed to be a port city in Spain. This was completely in the opposite direction from the preaching station to which he was being sent.

How does all this relate to our nation or local area? Just this! The Christian faith is being abandoned across large portions of the country. Other gods have sprung up in the passing of the years. Sunday as a Holy Day has been overshadowed by the cathedrals of man made gods and their activities. This wouldn’t be so ugly, I suppose, if it were just lost people being caught up in the excitement of the ball parks, the fishing holes, the shopping malls, the family reunions, just to mention a few. But church folk, or professing Christians, are supportive of their activities and think nothing of abandoning the Lord’s Day and the Lord’s House in their support.

All of us as Christians are called to minister to the people in our communities. By refusing, we are acting just like Jonah. And if folk took the time to look at their situations and conditions, they would agree that, as Jonah discovered when he paid the fare to board that ship for Tarshish, the price of disobeying God’s call to our lives is a high price to pay.

Understand that God wanted to show His compassion to Nineveh, and so He desires to show compassion to our nation. Our mission is to call people to repentance.

If we continue to refuse the mission which the Lord has given to us, we will be looking at some God prepared whales in our lives. My Christian friends, and church friends, we will be discovering also the high price of disobedience.

To his credit, after his prayer meeting for three days and three nights, when the fish got sick of him and vomited him onto dry land, when his feet hit the ground, Jonah was ready to run to Nineveh. Wouldn’t it be nice if you and I would get the message before having to spend time in some hospital bed, or taking handouts for a living, or trying to piece together broken homes, or something worse! The Christian faith is no joke and it isn’t an all inclusive society where everyone can do their own thing without regret or punishment. It is a serious family of believers and its time we began acting liking Heaven bound folk.