CHRISTIANITY.

MOTHER TERESA IS NOT IN HEAVEN AND HITLER IS NOT IN HELL!

2024-12-11T09:05:00.000-08:00

MOTHER TERESA IS NOT IN HEAVEN AND HITLER IS NOT IN HELL!

FIND OUT THE TRUTH THAT THEY DO NOT WANT YOU TO KNOW.

Should Christians Celebrate CHRISTMAS?

2024-12-06T13:11:00.000-08:00

I am aware of the fact that officially the Seventh-day Adventist church does not observe Christmas as a religious event. This is mostly because of the Pagan and commercial influences on the holiday.

Individual churches however may have Christmas themed sermons around this time.

That is my only objective today.

Through the centuries some have argued for doing away with the observance of Christmas completely.

Oliver Cromwell tried to ban Christmas in Britain after the beheading of King Charles the First.

That attempt to abolish Christmas didn’t last long.

My question I want to propose to you today is rhetorical.

I am not looking for an answer, but the question I do have is,

“Since the majority of the civilized Christian world today recognizes Christmas, why not use it as an evangelical tool?”

I personally do not and never did buy into the commercialism of the Holiday.

Even as a young child, I found it disconcerting that many people didn’t attend church at any time of the year but did celebrate Christmas!

Today, I find it just as disconcerting that many people in the Seventh Day Adventist denomination go to church on the true Sabbath, Saturday, but refuse to celebrate the birth of Christ when the rest of the world does.

Many iconoclasts, people who attack cherished religious beliefs or institutions, point to the fact that Saturnalia, an ancient Roman festival to honor the god Saturn, is the pagan origins of Christmas.

I will agree that there are certain pagan elements associated with Christmas, such as yule logs, that I do reject.

The reason for rejecting the yule log is that the custom of burning the Yule Log is rooted only in pagan rituals.

The Yule Log is traditionally thought to determine a person's good or bad luck in the coming year.

Based on the Bible, I do not think that is where our good or bad luck comes from, but that is another sermon for another time.

For me, celebrating the Lord’s wonderful birth, and the mysterious circumstances surrounding it, isn’t pagan.

The reason for this is because his origins is heavenly, and this is pointed out in the word of God, the Bible.

God’s loving acts including the mystery of the Incarnation are the true origins of “Christmas.”

The Hebrew name for “Christmas”, is interpreted in English as, “Holiday of The Birth”.

So, what are some of these loving acts that are pointed out in the Bible:

· First, the announcement of the Incarnation by the angel Gabriel to Mary instructing Mary to name her son Yehoshua which means. “Jesus is salvation”.

o Turn to Luke 1:26–31,

§ And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.

· Second, the providential circumstances of the census in Bethlehem,

o Turn to Luke 2:

§ And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed....And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David; to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

· Third, the heavenly host in Shepherds’ Fields,

o Turn to Luke 2:8-14

§ And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

· Fourth, the Baby Jesus presented in the Temple and Simeon’s sweeping prophecy,

o Turn to Luke 2:25-32

§ And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

· Fifth, the visit of the majestic Magi from the East with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, the Holy Family’s escape into Egypt.

o Turn to Matthew 2:9-11

§ When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.

All these Loving acts of God as documented in His Word captured my attention even as a young child and are worthy of adoration and contemplation and should be celebrated.

That is what the Christmas holiday is all about. That is why, as a Christian we need to recognize this season and tell the world the truth about what this season is about.

We are missing one of the greatest evangelical gifts given to us by God, as is clearly documented in the Bible.

So, what are the problems that some people have with celebrating Christmas.

The debate about whether Christians should celebrate Christmas has been raging for centuries.

There are equally sincere and committed Christians on both sides of the issue, each with multiple reasons why or why not to celebrate Christmas.

One argument against Christmas is that the traditions surrounding the holiday do have origins in paganism.

Searching for reliable information on this topic is difficult because the origins of many of the Christmas traditions are so obscure that sources often contradict one another.

Bells, candles, holly, and yule logs are mentioned in the history of pagan worship, but the use of these in one’s home certainly does not indicate a return to paganism.

My family celebrated Christmas ever since I can remember.

From my earliest years, the birth of Jesus was at the center of everything we did during the Christmas season.

Every Christmas Eve we went to the Church to honor Christ’s birth.

It was always pointed out why we gave each other gifts, it was a way to honor His birth, the way the Magi did.

In the spirit of giving a gift to someone else, we bring joy into their lives, the same way the gift God gave us on Christmas day, His only begotten Son, brings joy into our lives.

This was a gift to us directly from God’s hand, and some Christians refuse to honor this Gift?

Traditions of Christmas are Biblically factual.

A star is placed on the top of a Christmas tree to remember the Star of Bethlehem that led the Magi to Jesus.

The gifts that are exchanged remind us of the gifts the Magi gave to Mary and Joseph to honor Jesus, the greatest gift of God to mankind.

There are many more traditions associated with the true meaning of Christmas which is the birth of the Savior of the world in the city of Bethlehem.

Bells are played to ring out the joyous news.

Candles are lit to remind us that Christ is the Light of the world:

Turn to John 1:4-9,

In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

Another argument against Christmas is the Christmas tree, and the false belief that the Bible forbids bringing trees into our homes and decorating them.

The passage often cited is Jeremiah 10:1-16, but this passage refers to cutting down trees, chiseling the wood to make an idol, and then decorating the idol with silver and gold for the purpose of bowing down before it to worship it.

The passage in Jeremiah cannot be taken out of its context and used to make a legitimate argument against Christmas trees.

My family had a Christmas tree in our house ever since I can remember and I never remember my parents, or any friends or relatives ever bowing down to the tree and worshipping it.

Usually by New Year’s Day my dad was happy to unceremoniously take it down and get rid of it by putting it is the trash!

Does this sound like something anyone would do to something they worshipped?

Christians who choose to ignore Christmas point to the fact that the Bible doesn’t give us the date of Christ’s birth, which is certainly true.

December 25 is not the time Jesus was born, and arguments for this idea are legion.

Some relating to the climate in Israel at that time of the year, the practices of shepherds in winter, and the dates of Roman census-taking.

Some see this as proof positive that God didn’t want us to celebrate the birth.

But that is the same argument made by false religions that deny Christ altogether, as well as religions such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses who deny His deity altogether.

If any of this made any type of practical sense’ then we should not celebrate Thanksgiving either.

The event that Americans commonly call the "First Thanksgiving" was celebrated by the Pilgrims after their first harvest in the New World in October of 1621.

We celebrate it on November 25.

Christians who do celebrate Christmas, use this opportunity as an evangelical tool to proclaim Jesus Christ as “the reason for the season” to all nations and to those trapped in false religions.

There just is no legitimate scriptural reason not to celebrate Christmas unless you take scripture out of context and use it to promote your own agenda.

At the same time, I will say that there is no biblical mandate to celebrate it, either.

In the end, whether to celebrate Christmas is a personal decision.

Whatever Christians decide to do regarding Christmas, their views should not be used as a club with which to beat down or denigrate those with opposing views, nor should either view be used as a badge of honor inducing pride over celebrating or not celebrating.

James 1:5 says, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally…”.

So, before you start to cast stones at those who do not share your views on Christmas, consider an important instruction given by the Apostle Paul in Colossians 2: 16:

“Do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, or a Sabbath day.”

Colossians 2:16 is such an important verse to hang onto when people start to bully you because you worship the Lord on a Saturday instead of a Sunday, or if you eat non-kosher food, or meat, or if you celebrate the Lord’s birth on a certain date.

Paul assures us of the liberty we have in the Messiah, and so we can celebrate the Lord’s birth any time and how we seem fit.

I also like Colossians 2:17 concludes the thought:

“So don’t put up with anyone pressuring you in details of diet, worship services, or holy days. All those things are mere shadows cast before what was to come; the substance is Christ……”

But, you might ask…. what about Santa Claus?

Although St. Nicholas was an historical figure with a reputation for secret gift-giving, the “Santa Claus” and Father Christmas narratives of today are stretching the truth to say the least.

We all recognize that lying is a sin.

I’m grateful that I was brought up in a Christian home by parents who didn’t lie to us.

But, let me ask you this, when a four-year-old asks you where babies come from do you give him or her all the clinical details on how a baby is conceived, or do you give them information that a four year old can understand and handle without traumatizing them for life.

With my children, I chose the latter, and I DID THE SAME with the idea of Santa Clause.

When I read them the poem, “The Night before Christmas,”, it was not to lie to them, it was to protect their innocence.

When they grew older, they knew it was just a story, and Santa wasn’t a real person and reindeer really can’t fly, just like they knew in cartoons, that Donald Duck or Bugs bunny were not actually depicting real animals that could talk.

Through the years we made good use of Christmas celebrations as opportunities to share Jesus, the Gospel and God with our kids.

We also used it as a time to teach our kids of the idea of reaching out to the poor and needy and to share.

Whenever Christians focus on the manger scene, we have to take this opportunity to share the bigger picture.

Christmas celebrates God giving us a gift and that gift is His son who died for our sins.

Jesus is coming a second time, not as a meek and mild lamb but as the roaring lion of the tribe of Judah!

In the Book of Revelation we’re permitted to see the high court of heaven, and in Revelation 5:5 Jesus is called the lion of the tribe of Judah.

The first time Jesus came: his glory and majesty were veiled in the form of a helpless child.

Turn to Luke 2:7

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

Only a few attended His arrival. Turn to Luke 2:15-18:

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

Jesus came as a sacrificial lamb. But make no mistake about it, the next time Jesus comes, He will be recognized by all.

The Bible says every eye will behold Him and every knee will bow.

If there were wonders when Messiah first came, there will be greater wonders when He comes the second time!

During the Christmas season, I encourage you to marvel at the incarnation of Messiah in the virgin’s womb but also remember that He’s alive and he’s getting ready to return.

Along with His birth we do need to preach what was the purpose of the Lord’s first coming?

Hebrews 9:28 says that He “was once offered to bear the sins of many.”

This is the foundation of the Gospel.

Messiah was born as a gift to die for our sins. God’s holy law has been violated by humans and death is required as a penalty. But the Messiah died in our stead.

That is our true Christmas gift and Christmas is the perfect time of the year to spread this news.

That’s the doctrine of the Atonement.

Benjamin Franklin once said, “There’s nothing certain but death and taxes.”

But, I say there’s one thing even more certain—and that’s the gift of Jesus Christ and His Second Coming.

1 Thessalonians 4:16;

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

He will gather those of us who wait for him unto salvation.

His promise in John 14 is,

“if I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again to receive you unto myself, that where I am you may be also.”

This is what we should use the Christmas season to proclaim.

The baby in the manger is a very important part of the picture, because God become flesh and dwelt amongst us, but the baby in the manger is not the final picture.

In Acts 1, the disciples asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the Davidic kingdom to Israel?”

His answer startled them. He said that before he returns and sets up rule in Jerusalem, FIRST his disciples must preach the Gospel to all nations!

Yes, all this is part of the Gospel message and we should spend the lions share of our evangelical efforts to proclaim this message, but Christmas day, today, is the perfect time of the year to get the message of the birth of Jesus across to the entire world, because the entire rest of the world is tuned in on this single day in the year.

Maybe this day is when we could hold their attention the other fifty two weeks of the year.

There’s a Christmas carol called titled: “I’ll Give him my heart, it goes like this;

What can I give Him poor as I am

If I were a shepherd, I would bring Him a Lamb

If I were a wise man, I’d sure do my part

So what can I give Him?

I’ll give Him my heart!

Spend this time of the year doing that.

Remember:

This is Christ the King,

Whom Shepherds guard and Angels sing.

Hast, haste to bring Him Laud,

The Babe, the Son of Mary.

We need to do this on Christmas day.

Oh come let us adore Him,

Christ the Lord.

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2024-12-06T12:06:00.000-08:00

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Why Good Things Happen to Bad People?

2024-12-06T09:42:00.000-08:00

It is often asked, "Why do bad things happen to good people?"

To try and answer that question today, I'm going to talk about "Why do Good things happen to bad people".

One of the strangest lawsuits in US court history was filed on September 14, 2007.

It was filed by Nebraska Senator Ernie Chambers.

First elected to represent North Omaha's 11th District in the Nebraska State Legislature in 1970, Chambers was successfully re-elected in every ensuing election through 2004.

On April 25, 2005, Chambers became Nebraska's longest-serving state senator, having served for more than 35 years.

He was seeking to stop evil and injustice in the world, and he actually filed a lawsuit against God. The lawsuit sought a permanent injunction against God's interference in this world.

Senator Chambers said of God, "He has allowed certain harmful activities to exist that have caused grave harm to innumerable people in the world."

The lawsuit charged God with causing fearsome floods, egregious earthquakes, horrendous hurricanes, tornadoes, plagues, famines, devastating droughts, genocidal wars, birth defects, and the like.

Chambers continued in the lawsuit, saying that God has allowed "calamitous catastrophes resulting in the wide-spread death, destruction, and terrorization of millions upon millions of the Earth's inhabitants including innocent babes, infants, children, the aged, and infirm without mercy or distinction."

Eventually the lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice.

I find it interesting, as well as amusing, that the Nebraska court ruled they could not properly notify God because they did not have his address.

Senator Chambers, on the other hand, disagreed with the ruling.

He claimed that because God is omniscient and knows everything, he should have known he was being sued and appeared in court to defend himself.

While we may ridicule Senator Chambers for his ill-reasoned accusations, and claims, we might want to recognize his honesty.

At this point you may be asking me "Why would I want to recognize his honesty"?

Well, you see, Chambers is not alone in seeking to put God on trial. For centuries, people have put God on trial.

Whenever humanity is faced with the incongruities of life—that bad things happen to good people, or worse, that good things happen to bad people—God goes on trial.

I find myself doing the same thing sometimes when I watch all the senseless killing on the evening news.

Or the devastation and deaths wreaked by natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, eathquakes and flooding.

To get some insight on this question, let's turn in our Bibles to Psalm 73.

This is where we meet Asaph.

Asaph is identified with twelve Psalms and is said to be an ancestor of the Asaphites.

The Asaphites were one of the guilds of musicians in the First Temple. This information is clarified in the Books of Chronicles.

In Chronicles, it is said that Asaph is identified as a member of the Levites.

He is also known as one of the three Levites commissioned by David to be in charge of the singing in the house of Yahweh.

In Psalms 73, God is on trial in this lament.

The psalmist functions more as the defense attorney than the prosecuting attorney.

Psalm 73 begins the third book of the Psalter, which is the collection of some of Israel's prized hymns, ballads, and congregational hymns.

As most of us know, not every psalm was composed by David. In fact, not all of the psalms, as we have them in our English Bibles, are recorded chronologically.

They are compiled in an instructive theological order: an order that is designed to shed light on the unpredictable path of life.

That's why the psalmist can say in Psalm 119, "Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path."

There are five seperate books in the Psalms. Book three is the smallest of the five, with 17 psalms. This is where we find Psalm 73.

Much like Leviticus, the third book of the Pentateuch, this third book of the psalms focuses acutely on the holiness of God.

That Psalms 73 opens the third book is important for our application of the holiness of God to the ugly aspects of life.

When this Psalter opens, it does so as an invitation to consider the path of wisdom.

It stands as a road sign to contrast two paths of life: one is the way of wisdom, the other the way of wickedness.

It makes no assumptions as to which way you will choose; it only invites you to pick the path of wisdom.

One might think, that those who choose wisdom—that is, those who continue as students and practitioners of the wisdom, would have lives that bleed prosperity.

In real life,this definetly is not so.

Time and time again, Psalm 73 echoes forward to us that even those who live wisely face difficultys, up to and including premature death.

Biblical wisdom is no sure prevention from trouble, but it is a cure for heartache.

According to 1 Chronicles 23:2-5, the 38,000 Levites were divided by David into four divisions.

To the last division of 4,000 was assigned the musical side of worship. Out of this division, a select company of 288 singers was singled out and divided into 24 courses.

These were placed under different song leaders, and of these leaders, Asaph was the chief of sacred music, 1 Chron. 16:5.

Of all people, why would Asaph—the chief worship leader—write something so indicting, scathing, and envious as this psalm?

I'll tell you why. It is because the existential experiences of life can deceive your vision and disrupt your faith.

It is the same reason many people don't pray, don't read the Word of God, and don't trust in God.

It is because a misplaced perspective is our enemy's tool to keep us away from God.

This psalm argues that if you cannot see good in your future, then the problem is not with God, but with your vision.

This text raises the question of perspective: how do we view life when good things happen to bad people?

The text is tailored to teach us that the incongruities of life will destroy your faith unless you regularly enjoy God's presence.

When the incongruities of real life and right theology trespass on the domain of your theological comfort, don't look down, around, or within, but look up.

When the harsh realities of life disrupt your neat theological categories, get to the sanctuary.

It in the sanctuary, you realize that God really is good.

As the curtain rises on Psalm 73, its premise leaps forward.

Look at verse one, it says, "Surely God is good ... to those who are pure in heart."

In other words, God is nothing but good to his covenant people.

Asaph came to realize that in spite of the incongruities of life which is described in verses 3-14, God still, is good.

Though the truth is that God is good, life has real circumstances that force doubt upon us.

When I was growing up, my parents taught us a prayer of thanksgiving that we said before every meal which started out, "God is great, God" is Good, let us thank Him for our food...".

Yet, I don't always see life match up to that proclamation.

As you read this psalm, you can feel the tension in Asaph's lament.

The good news I have for you is that the Christian has the privilege of addressing the perceived contradictions to God.

Scholars tell us that the grammatical construction of verse two intentionally disjoins the thought that "God is good".

There is a clean break at verse two. In it, Asaph sets in contrast his own thoughts and experience against verse one.

In verse two he says, "But as for me". This is intended to suggest that his experience contradicts the declaration of verse one, where it says, "God is good".

You can feel the tension in Asaph's lament and you can see the comparison.

The good news is that the Christian has the privilege of addressing perceived contradictions to God.

Let me ask you, is this not how life sometimes goes? That there are moments when our experience doesn't line up with what the Bible says it should be.

When wickedness seems to win, when the high courts rule against the will of God, when reckless police officers shoot the unarmed, and when evil men grow in power and influence.

The experience of life does not appear perfectly aligned with the providence of God. In these moments, we can inadvertently trade what we know for what we see.

We can know truth, but experience can cause us to doubt truth. This psalm reminds us that not all truth is visible in its final application.

Some truth is like fruit, like an apple. It is there and alive in seed form, but it has not yet expanded into the final fruit that we can enjoy and eat.

One must appreciate the honest response of the psalmist to the apparent prosperity of the wicked.

You can feel the toil in his reflection?

Verse 2 says, "[M]y feet had almost slipped".

Then verses 4-12 run a list of why he almost stumbled.

These are benefits directly opposed to, or mutually incompatible to the promises made in Psalm 73 verse 1.

In verse 4 he tells us the wicked do not struggle but rather that the bodies of the wicked are "healthy and strong".

The verse suggests that the wicked are strengthened, not weakened.

Look at verses 5,6,and 7, it says,

"They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men. Therefore pride compasseth about them as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment. Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish."

The verses say that the wicked enjoy visible happiness. Externally, they parade their pride like necklaces.

They show off their violent deeds, including those they got away with, like the clothing they wear.

The wicked enjoy internal prosperity just as much as their external happiness. What a combination! They have been so satisfied that their eyes bulge out from fatness. They want for nothing.

Look at verse 7 and 8:

"They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression: they speak loftily. They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth."

Asaph is telling us their wicked imaginations come to life. Not only are they free from external threats, but they even enjoy peace of mind, completely untroubled by a good conscience.

The wicked strut through the streets and have taken the place of God in this world.

You can sense that the psalmist is haunted by this. He is tempted to believe that his dedication to God is for nothing.

Do not, for one moment, think these sentiments are unreal to us today.

Look at certain parts of the world to see just how real this is, where injustice rides the coattails of the wicked.

North Korea, the middle east, parts of Africa are just some of the places that come immediately to mind.

What are we to do with this blatant success of the wicked?

But wait, a shift in Asaph's language is coming up.

You see he based this assessment on what some people believe goodness to be. He argued that the goodness of God is demonstrated in a person's life by their material possessions and their physical health.

But, in Psalms 73, Asaph then begins to reckon that the proper criterion for understanding the goodness of God is not health or wealth, but rather the character of God.

To know God is to know that He is good. Conversly, to know that God is good, you have to know God.

I can identify from my past, in a lesser, lighter way.

In the seventh grade, I asked my parents for a particular brand of cologne for Christmas. The brand I wanted was quite expensive for someone my age. I needed it to make the right impression on a particular girl I liked.

We were not poor, but there were six of us in the family and money was tight. My dad worked hard, sometimes two jobs, to to ensure that we had a home, food to eat, and cloths on our backs. There was little money left over for frivolous things.

They could not afford to buy me the brand of cologne that I wanted, so they purchased one of the imitation brands.

Needless to say I was disappointment in the gift and also blamed the cologne and my parents when it didn't impress the girl of my affection in the least.

Anyone could see that my parents were good parents, but, if you were to ask me the question—"Robert, are your parents good to you?", my response on that Christmas season would not have been very positive.

It is not that my parents were not good to me; it was that I was not looking in the right place for a demonstration of their goodness.

After a while, Asaph was able to say that God is good because he started looking in the right place to see God's goodness.

He looked at God's abiding character and faithfulness.

Life needs upward perspective

All of life is lived from a chosen point of view.

That is not to say reality is determined by perspective, but it is to say that reality is shaded by perspective.

Asaph examined his personal sacrifice for God and counted it wasted.

In vain he kept his life from the stain of vice. His faith seemed worthless. In honest reflection, he came close to resignation; the burden of the wicked enjoying mass prosperity was too much for him.

In verse 16 he makes a personal confession: "When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me". After lengthy contemplation, God's way still seemed tainted by iniquity.

What do we do with good things happening to bad people and bad things happening to good people?

I don't know if this is a fair question, as it assumes some people are always good.

Whether it is fair, the idea is clear.

There is a proper expectation that as people of God, we have his faithfulness in us, and his consequent rejection of the wicked.

But life still happens. In this world, we do not always see the righteous on top and the wicked at the bottom.

This is an implication of the problem of evil. Trying to unravel the perplexity of the problem of evil can often result in unresolved disappointments.

There is one solution to the problem of evil: get to the sanctuary of God. Go to the place of God's presence. You will see something there that you will not see in the courts of Justice.

You can hear Asaph lamenting in Psalm 73, verses 16-17:

"When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end."

The word "untill" is the point of contrast and change.

"Untill" points to a break in the proceedings.

The sanctuary is the place of equilibrium. It is the place where the topsy-turvy nature of life - sets itself on the solid rock.

The contrast between verse two and verse 18 could not be more vivid.

In verse two, Asaph says he almost slipped because he saw how carefree the wicked lived.

Now, in verse 18, he sees that the ground on which the wicked walk provides no sure footing.

It may seem that the wicked are riding high, but give it time. After a while, those who disregard God will come crashing to the ground.

The converse is our blessed assurance. We do not merely rejoice at the rejection of the wicked: we celebrate that their rejection indicates the eventual prosperity of the righteous.

The spiritual altitude of the sanctuary is the perch from which we see life as it actually is. It is as if you can hear Asaph saying in postmodern vernacular,

"When I walked in and the choir was singing 'How Great is our God,' my vision started to even up with God's vision like the lense of a camera. What was fuzzy became clearer."

It takes what we see and hear in the sanctuary to help straighten life out. We all need a "Untill" moment.

Traffic can be the most difficult part of any trip. Every time Sue and I leave on a trip, I have Sue turn on the radio hoping to hear local traffic reports.

We tune in and if we are lucky, we get pertinent information relative to out trip.

Periodically, while listening to the radio, we can hear the helicopters moving in the background.

The person giving the traffic report is flying in a helicopter, which gives them to a larger vantage point.

The traffic report doesn't change the congestion; it just tells us what we can expect up ahead.

The traffic report doesn't move the accidents; it just tells us how to avoid them.

The traffic report doesn't eliminate our problematic trip; it just tells us how to navigate through it.

I may not be in the helicopter, but the station pays a reporter to get in there for me and stream back down to pavement level what's going on ahead of us.

The Bible and the sanctuary every Sabbath is our helicopter.

We come to the sanctuary every Saturday to worship and see things as they really are.

We get to see that every valley will be exalted, and every mountain will be made low.

We get to see that every rough place will be made plain, and every crooked place will be made straight.

We get to see that the workers of iniquity will soon be cut down and that they will wither like cut grass.

We get to see that one day, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord.

We get to see that the wicked—though on top now—will soon be cut down, and we will be done with the trouble of the world.

God alone satisfies. Psalm 73 gives us the blessed assurance that the faith of believers will one day be vindicated.

Our faith is confirmed when we realize the hope of glory. The future discloses the activity of God: he will expose the wicked as fantasies.

Allen Ross, who taught at the Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry and at the Dallas Theological Seminary, and served as director of the Christian Leadership Center, in Tallahassee, Florida. says it this way:

"Those who rebel against God will perish, but believers will find joy and safety in God's presence. We will know that the prosperity of the wicked was a sham. It was form without substance. When the wicked awake, they will see their prosperity was a dream."

My conclusion is this: God is our strength and our portion. This is why this psalm is in the Bible. We cannot give up on God.

The solution to Asaph's dilemma is the cure for our own. The nearness of God is our good. Ps. 73:28 says:

"But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works."

Theologians call this the transcendence and immanence of God. Though God is so high that you cannot touch him, he has come so near that he touches you.

You can encourage the nearness of God. In the New Testament, James 4:8 says that if we draw near to God, he will draw near to us.

Those who reject God will face the force of spiritual gravity. Those who cling to God—though, at times, life seems to contradict the promise of his Word—eventually they will find a victorious outcome.

In Conclusion I want to leave you with this.

A couple of years back I was watching a college basketball game in the living room. It was a game charged with excitement and intensity: my favorite team was fighting to stay in the NCAA tournament. They were losing by one point with less than a minute to play.

I was watching every play with scrutiny and intensity. I wanted my team to win. I sat there in my teams jersey, pretending as though I were sitting in the stands.

As the camera panned the crowd, you could see the people in the stands visibly moved. They were jumping, leaping, pounding on the bleachers, and screaming. I didn't move a muscle.

In fact, I sat and watched calmly. Given my passion for my team and how much I wanted them to win, anyone who knew me would wonder how I could sit so cool and collected with my team losing and less than a minute to go.

At that moment my wife walked into the living room and said to me, "Why are you're watching that game again, we saw them win last night?"

You see, I was watching a replay. I there was no need to get stressed, to sit on pins and needles. It was not because I did not care, it was because I already knew the outcome of the game.

Through the Word of God, we can see the future, too. We live life knowing the outcome.

God judges the wicked because he is good.

Most of all never forget that God also rewards the righteous, ... because he is good.

IT IS IMPORTANT TO CONTINUE TO PREACH THE GOSPEL EVEN TO AN ALREADY ESTABLISHED CHRISTIAN CONGREGATIONS.

2024-12-06T07:35:00.000-08:00

Romans 1:15

(15) So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.
New King James Version Change your email Bible version

"Paul's statement is very significant in terms of what "preaching the gospel" means. Paul, writing to an already established Christian congregation, wanted to go to Rome to preach the gospel to them! Why would he do that? Were they not already converted? Yes, they were! Paul compliments them earlier: "First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world" (Romans 1:8). The congregation in Rome was remarkable, renowned for its faith. Can a congregation be recognized for world-renowned faith only upon conversion?

Though Paul had never been to Rome, these Roman Christians had been converted some time earlier after hearing the gospel through other ministers. They were growing, and Paul wanted to add to their growth by giving them more of the gospel, as he says in verses 11 and 12. "For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established—that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me." Then, he adds his desire to preach the gospel to them.

Paul wanted to preach the gospel—more of it, in greater detail—to a congregation of converted people! He wanted to be an instrument to reveal more of its glories to them so they might continue to grow. Clearly, the preaching of the gospel by the ministry continues in the church after conversion.

— John W. Ritenbaugh

IT IS A SHAME THAT MANY CHRISTIANS DO NOT UNDERSTAND BIBLE PROPHECY.

2022-08-29T08:00:00.003-07:00

There is so much compelling evidence for the accuracy of Bible prophecy that it is a shame so many people do not read and or understand it. The message in the prophecy is directed to our time, right now. Many Christians have this false belief that Bible prophecy only deals with the past and that is so far from the actual truth.

There is so much past presented in Bible prophecy for two main reasons. It is there for evidence of God and the truth He is trying to convey to man. It is also there to give you something concrete to pin your faith to.

Christians need to read the Bible. Christians more importantly need to understand the message in the Bible and Prophecy is a big part of that message.

OTHER ARTICLES ABOUT BIBLE PROPHECY AND ENDTIME EVENTS:

The Sabbath Commandment Needs To Be Kept.

2021-07-07T12:00:00.000-07:00

A person needs to keep the Sabbath commandment just as he keeps all the other commandments. You really need to reread the New Testament, again, if you think differently.

The Sabbath Commandment was never abolished and it remains the same day of the week as the Old Testament identifies it.

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. (Genesis 2:1-3).

It clearly identifies the seventh day of the week, not the first day. If you think otherwise, you are only fooling yourself, and ultimately God will hold you accountable.

"And that from a child you have known the holy scriptures, which are able to make you wise to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished to all good works."

This scripture makes it very clear that "...All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine...". It does not say that only some scripture is profitable for doctrine, or that only the New Testament Scripture is profitable for doctrine and the rest can be ignored or done away with. It clearly says "...all scripture...".

If that is what this says and you believe the simple truth that the Bible does not contradict itself, then why do people religiously follow only nine of the Ten Commandments.

Why do the majority of the Christians in today's world have no trouble with the sixth commandment, "You shall not murder.". Or let someone in your church find out that you are breaking the seventh commandment, "You shall not commit adultery". Violating that one would surely get you thrown out of your church!

If all the rest of these commandments are clear to most every Christian, why is there so much confusion when it comes to the fourth commandment.

The Holy Bible, tells us what we need to know about life's purpose, why we are here and where we are going from hear. But the Bible even tells us more than that. It tells us how we are supposed to live our lives.

Deuteronomy 5:33 says, " You shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess."

The scripture is clear that we are to follow God's commands, all of His commands. Scripture , no where in the Bible, allow anyone to pick and choose what commands they want or need to follow. Again 2 Timothy 3:16 says, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness...".

When the argument of the fourth commandment arises, most Christians will then change the argument from whether it should be kept to on what day it should be kept. The Bible is clear on this one too.

"The Fourth Commandment states: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work . . .” (Exodus 20:8-10)

"God commanded that the seventh day be observed as the Sabbath. A glance at almost any dictionary, encyclopedia or calendar will show you that Saturday is the seventh day of the week, while Sunday is the first day of the week. According to God’s calendar, the seventh day is—and always has been—the Sabbath day. Although man has modified calendars through the centuries, the seven-day weekly cycle has remained intact throughout history.

"The days of the week have always remained in their proper order, with Sunday as the first day of the week and Saturday as the seventh. Time has not been lost in this regard, as some assert. “The oracles of God”—His divine words and instructions—were entrusted to the Jewish people (Romans 3:1-2), and they have preserved the knowledge of the seventh-day Sabbath faithfully since well before Christ’s time to this day.

"Jesus repeatedly confirmed that the day the Jews observed as the Sabbath in His day was indeed the Sabbath. And since then the Jewish people, even scattered in many nations and in different sects, have all preserved the same day.

Moreover, the mainstream Christian churches, though rejecting the Sabbath, indirectly confirm when it is by maintaining their early tradition of worshiping on Sunday, which they acknowledge to be the first day of the week. Obviously that makes the previous day the seventh—the biblical Sabbath.

"...James Cardinal Gibbons, Catholic educator and archbishop of Baltimore at the turn of the 20th century, was blunt about the change: “You may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctify....

"...He admitted that Sunday observance is nowhere authorized in the Bible and that the seventh day is the only day sanctified by the Scriptures. His justification for changing the day of rest and worship assumes that authority exists apart from the Bible..." (Sunset to Sunset: God’s Sabbath Rest, Which Day Is the Sabbath?, pg. 10, United Church of God, copyright 2003).

The fact is, as confirmed by James Cardinal Gibbons, the change to Sunday, the first day of the week can be found nowhere in the Bible, so it is obvious that it was made after the New testament was written.

There is simply no Biblical authority for the change of the Sabbath from Saturday, the seventh day of the week, to Sunday, the first day of the week.

If you are not observing Saturday as the Sabbath then you are breaking one of Gods commandments.

The Bible clearly states in James 2:10, "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all."

Think about it!

Why has the theory of evolution become so entrenched in today’s society?

2021-07-07T07:50:00.000-07:00

BOOK PREVIEW - The terms soul and spirit have been discussed at length throughout philosophy, literature, and religion.

Even scientists have ventured remarks about the soul. Often, though, soul and spirit are interpreted to mean the same thing and end up being used interchangeably.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR SOUL AND YOUR SPIRIT ARE?

DO YOU KNOW WHAT THEY WILL BE DOING AFTER YOU DIE?

READ THIS BOOK AND FIND OUT!

Why has the theory of evolution become so entrenched in today’s society?

“Why has evolution become so widely accepted, and why has the Bible come to be viewed with such hostility?

Have you ever wondered about any of these questions? If you have, then you should read the book.

BUY IT NOW!!

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN WHAT THE PARANORMAL IS ACTUALLY ABOUT?

THIS BOOK GIVES YOU SCIENTIFIC PROOF THAT THE PARANORMAL CAN BE EXPLAINED!

YOUR SOUL And YOUR SPIRIT.

CAN YOU SEE OR ARE YOU AS BLIND AS THIS MAN?

2020-04-29T04:27:00.003-07:00

A MAN BORN BLIND RECEIVES SIGHT.

John 9:12-31 King James Version (KJV)

12 Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not.

13 They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind.

14 And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes.

15 Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see.

In this passage, the man was blind from birth, he was also a beggar who had the routine of waiting by the gates of the temple for gifts from the worshipers.

In those days it was commonly thought that a sickness was a result of sin and that if the parents committed a sin, it was transferred to the child of those parents. But Jesus rejected this idea.

In this particular situation, God allowed the man to be born blind so that Jesus could heal him and reveal the works of God through the man Jesus Christ so that people would know His healing power.

Back in those days, mixing saliva with clay was a common practice used for eye infections. Jesus used this opportunity to show the man exercising his faith in Jesus Christ.

The apostle John emphasized that the name of Siloam meant sent. So, the man "went and washed and came back seeing".

The crowd in the area, including this man's own parents knew who this man was and they also knew that Jesus had put clay on his eyes and sent him to the pool of Siloam to wash his eyes out, but everybody denied knowing anything about the facts of what happened.

"This is an accurate picture of many today. The truths of Christianity have been proclaimed to them—perhaps by parents, friends, or the church. Intellectually, they know and even believe these truths, but they will not admit them. They are afraid to acknowledge Christ for fear of the consequences." (Martin G. Collins)

(https://www.theberean.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Home.showBerean/BereanID/8967/bblver/KJV/John-9-12-31.htm)

YOU CAN NOT JUSTIFY YOURSELF BY YOUR ACTS OR DEEDS.

2020-04-28T10:48:00.000-07:00

Acts 24:14

But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets. (New King James Version)

"Paul is on trial before Felix, the governor. "They" refers to the Jews. Paul says, "I confess," as he is giving testimony. He is a witness before a court, as he is on trial. "The way" is Christianity, which the Jews call a heresy.

""Believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets" is really an astounding statement in light of what has gone on in Protestantism over the past few hundred years. The very man whom they say wrote most clearly and lucidly that "the law is done away" is the one who says he believes all things that are written in the Law and the Prophets. There is absolutely nothing in the Law and the Prophets that says anything at all about the doing away with God's law! Paul did not have the same position in relation to the law as modern theologians do.

"One might think that maybe this was said before Paul wrote that the law was done away. Oh, no. The two books that contain most of what Protestants quote as their authority for doing away with the law are the books of Romans and Galatians. This instance in which Paul was on trial before Felix took place in either AD 58 or 59, most like the latter.

"In either case, the book of Romans and the book of Galatians had both already been written. Both were being circulated through the church. All those doctrinal explanations were written prior to Paul's statement before Felix, yet Paul is still saying, "I believe all things that are written in the Law and the Prophets." Obviously, the common Protestant interpretation of Romans and Galatians is incorrect.

"Certainly, salvation is by grace, but salvation in no way, of and by itself, does away with any of the law of God. Salvation is something that must be given. First of all, God's justice demands that there be a penalty for sin. Since His justice demands that the law be satisfied - that His own government be satisfied for crimes against it - He must follow through. He cannot wink at disagreements in a person's conduct against His rulership over His creation.

"Secondly, once one of His laws has been broken, there is no way it can be undone. It has to be accepted according to what was done. Consider two simple examples of this:

If somebody is murdered, can that be undone? His life is gone. He is lying on the ground, dead. What is done is done. A person cannot resurrect him. The clock cannot be turned back. Nothing can be done to undo that act, unless there is a power mightier than we are. So the law is broken.
Another clear illustration might be a person's virginity. Once the virginity is taken away, or given away, it cannot be undone. The clock cannot be turned back. It is gone, never ever to be recovered.

"The same is true with any act done, even when we are not considering law. However, we are considering law here, so we have to understand that it is God who has provided a solution for the breaking of law. What He has determined is to allow the death of Jesus Christ to pay the penalty, and then, in His mercy (called "grace" in the Bible), He will freely give the sinner relief from the penalty hanging over his head. We cannot make up for what has been done in the past. It can only be covered by a perfect sacrifice and God's willingness to accept that sacrifice.

YOU NEED JESUS CHRIST TO BE SAVED!

"If one studies the New Testament, and especially the writings of Paul, it is good to examine carefully the context in which the word "law" appears. Paul uses it very broadly. In fact, he uses the word "law" 110 times. Sometimes, he uses it to indicate a single law. At other times, he uses it to indicate the Mosaic law. There are other times when he uses it to indicate the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. Yet at other times it refers only to the Ten Commandments.

"A couple of interesting references are in Romans 2, where he uses "law" to indicate the will of God written in the hearts of Gentiles. Why Gentiles? Because they had not been given the law by God, yet he says they did the things contained within the law by nature. What it amounts to, in modern terminology, would be that he uses "law" in the sense of "natural law," that it is a standard that people consider to be in force without having been formally instructed by it. This became an issue, incidentally, in the confirmation of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court of the United States, because he professed to the Senate Judiciary Committee that he believed in natural law. The liberals on the Committee did not like that at all, because liberals like to be free of the constraints of natural law; they do not feel responsible then.

"Another way Paul uses the word "law" is as if God Himself were speaking. He does not use the name or title of God, but the term "law," as in Romans 3:19. At times, Paul appears to contradict himself when he uses the word "law." In one place, he says, "Yea, we establish the law," but in another, he says, "Yea, we abolish the law." He uses it in the sense of it being both necessary and unnecessary. If one is careful, he will begin to become adept at figuring out how Paul uses it.

"Paul's use of "law" appears in two general categories. If the subject of the context has to do with justification, then it is likely he will use a "no law" approach. That is both logical and right: No man can justify himself. All the lawkeeping in the world will not undo that murder or the loss of virginity. We cannot justify ourselves by what we do after we have broken a law. We cannot make up for it.

"However, if the subject is sanctification - which has to do with a person's conduct, with right living, with discipline or character building - then Paul will say the law is valuable and necessary. It must be kept.

"If we will just keep our eyes on the context, it will help us greatly to understand how Paul uses "law."" (John W. Ritenbaugh, http://www.theberean.org/)

Do Your Immediate Cravings And Yearnings Present Stumbling-blocks To Your Relationship With God.

2020-04-28T06:46:00.001-07:00

HOW IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD or DID YO COME ACROSS A "STUMBLING BLOCK"

Genesis 25:29-34

(29) Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. (30) And Esau said to Jacob, "Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary." Therefore his name was called Edom. (31) But Jacob said, "Sell me your birthright as of this day." (32) And Esau said, "Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me?" (33) Then Jacob said, "Swear to me as of this day." So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. (34) And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
New King James Version

"Perhaps never in all man's history has something so valuable been purchased for so little! The major flaw in Esau's character reveals itself in his careless disregard of the high value of his birthright in favor of an immediate, sensual satisfaction. Unfortunately, far too many of us are like him. Esau was a man, so to speak, who could not see two blocks down a straight road on a crystal-clear day. Because immediate concerns dominated his life, living by faith was extremely difficult for him.

"Either he had no vision, or his personality demanded instant gratification. The things that he valued were those he could have right away. Notice verses 32 and 34. To paraphrase he says, "What good is the birthright if I have to wait for it?" Apparently, he either did not consider making a sacrifice to retain it at all or quickly passed over the thought. Therefore, he hungrily gratified his appetite and went his way, much like the harlot who, after plying her trade, unconcernedly says, "I have done no harm."

"However, Moses writes, "Esau despised his birthright"! Despise is a strong word, meaning "to be scornful" or "to treat with contempt." Notice Paul's remarks about this in Hebrews 12:16: ". . . lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright." Paul judges him as "profane," which marks a person as irreverent toward what is sacred. The Greek word literally describes one standing in front of a temple (where God dwells) rather than within it, suggesting one not admitted into the body of true knowledge. Esau displays his profanity by treating something hallowed—his birthright—as if it were common.

"Esau further demonstrates this perversity in his thinking in his choice of wives (Genesis 26:34-35). He is unconcerned about God, the things of God, and the future. His mind is elsewhere; he is worldly. The Christian must live in the present dealing with life's problems as they come to him, but always with the future, the Kingdom of God, in mind.

God's Word depicts Esau's worldliness through the medium of eating. Eating something he desired at the moment meant more to him than a tremendously valuable gift of God. Though he became very wealthy, the Bible ignores his death, which oftentimes indicates something ominous. It is worth meditating upon how much satisfying immediate cravings and yearnings, perhaps even for food, presents a stumbling-block to our pleasing God. (John W. Ritenbaugh, http://www.theberean.org/)

Jesus began His ministry on a Sabbath. His ministry ended on a preparation day, Passover.

2020-04-27T07:32:00.000-07:00

Luke 4:16-19

So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.

And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;

To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD." (New King James Version)

"This is the beginning of Jesus' public ministry, we could call it His inaugural address. Jesus began His ministry on a Sabbath. His ministry ended on a preparation day, Passover. He completed the cycle. Major things happened to Christ on the Sabbath, for instance, He was resurrected on a Sabbath. Major things occurred in the history of Israel on the Sabbath as well. All those events draw attention to one supreme purpose for the Sabbath.

"Jesus quotes Isaiah 61:1-2 and Isaiah 58:7. "The acceptable year" is not a time when God is acceptable to us, but when God, in His sovereign mercy, moves to make men acceptable to Him. In other words, it is an appointed extension of His grace, of His calling of men, to make them acceptable to Him. It is a time when He moves to deliver people.

"More specifically, "an acceptable year" refers to two Old Testament institutions, which these people in Nazareth would have undoubtedly recognized: either 1) to the seventh year land Sabbath or 2) to the Jubilee year. If it was the sabbatical year, think about its purpose: It was given to give the land rest, to relieve it of the responsibility of growing food. The land was to lie fallow and to produce food voluntarily for the poor, for the dispossessed, and for animals. Also in the seventh year, slaves were freed and debts were remitted.

"These things, plus an additional one, occurred in the Jubilee year: seized property was restored to its original owners. They may have lost it many years before, but in the Jubilee year they were relieved of the burden of their indebtedness. They were restored the ability and power, therefore, to earn money once again, since all wealth ultimately comes out of the land. This freed them of the burden that they very likely put upon themselves.

"In what is Christ's inaugural address, we see that He is stating His mission, and in each point, it involves setting at liberty.

(http://www.theberean.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Home.showBerean/BereanID/3059/Luke-4-16-19.htm, John W. Ritenbaugh)

Who Are The "Bereans" and Why Should We Care?

2020-04-27T05:56:00.001-07:00

The Bereans "received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so" (Acts 17:10-11).

In ancient times, the Bereans were the inhabitants of the city of Berea, also known in the Bible as Beroea, now known as Veria in what is today Greek Macedonia, northern Greece. The name has been taken up by certain Protestant groups. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bereans)

A new Protestant Christian group began in the 1850s in the United States under the tutelage of Dr. John Thomas. The name "Christadelphian" was chosen as it is believed that those who believe and obey the Commandments of Christ and the Bible as the inspired word of God, are "Brethren in Christ". The original group split, with one group continuing with the name "The Christadelphians" and the second group adding the word "Berean" to become the "Berean Christadelphians".

The word "Berean" was chosen to reflect the words in Acts 17, "These (Berea) were more noble than those in Thessalonica in that they received the word with all readiness of mind and searched the scriptures daily whether those things were so." Christadelphians, and Berean Christadelphians believe in the promises given to Abraham, Isaac, and David concerning the Kingdom of God.

They deny the Doctrine of the Trinity, a central tenet of orthodox Christianity, and this refusal to recognize the triune nature of God has resulted in a major impasse between the Christadelphians/Berean Christadelphians and the Protestant, Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox churches. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bereans)

Today, online there is a website that you can join that disseminates Biblical truths on a daily basis. The truth that they write about is always backed up by the Holy scriptures.

If you are a person that sincerely believes that the Bible is the ultimate word, then you owe it to yourself to keep your mind open to what they write. That does not mean that you should take everything they write at face value. What you do need to do is compare what they write with what you find written in the Bible comparing their scripture references with at least two other scripture references, and then take what you find to God in prayer.

This is what you should be doing with all doctrine of man. The fact is, the only real truth is what you get directly from God.

These Prophecies Have Not Been Fulfilled, So, We Are Not Living In "The End-Times".

2020-04-26T16:27:00.000-07:00

Deuteronomy 28:64

	(64) "Then the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known—wood and stone.

Ezekiel 20:23-24

	(23) Also I raised My hand in an oath to those in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the Gentiles and disperse them throughout the countries, (24) because they had not executed My judgments, but had despised My statutes, profaned My Sabbaths, and their eyes were fixed on their fathers' idols.

Amos 9:8-9

	(8) " Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are on the sinful kingdom, And I will destroy it from the face of the earth; Yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob," Says the LORD. (9) " For surely I will command, And will sift the house of Israel among all nations, As grain is sifted in a sieve; Yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground. New King James Version

"Clearly, these prophecies have not yet been fulfilled. To date, God has not actually scattered Israel among all nations. Historically, He did not use the Assyrians to scatter Israel so much as He used them to resituate Israel to locales south of the Caspian Sea, in what is now northern Iran. In process of time, God further resituated Israel through a number of migrations into rather localized areas of the earth, such as northern Europe, the British Isles (including Ireland), the North American continent, Australia, and New Zealand. Notice that these areas are isolated from the capitals of the Gentile world. The British Isles and New Zealand are islands; Australia is a continent-sized island. North America is separated from other northern hemisphere power centers by two large oceans.

"These lands to which God led Israel were generally under-populated before Israel invaded them and displaced the aboriginal—Gentile—populations. These aboriginal peoples did not constitute the bulk of Gentiles. Far from it. The majority of the Gentiles lived, and continue to live, in areas isolated from the lands of national Israel. The Gentiles are concentrated in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, the Asian Subcontinent, and South America, as well as in certain areas of southern and eastern Europe. With the exceptions of the State of Israel and South Africa, Israelite migrations to these Gentile areas have generally not been extensive to date.

"So today's world looks like this: The Gentiles are concentrated in certain areas of the world, while Israel is concentrated in other areas of the world. Relatively low numbers of Gentiles live among the Israelites, and, again in relative terms, even fewer Israelites live in Gentile areas, such as Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and Africa. Clearly, those Israelites residing in South Africa make up an exception to the pattern. However, when God scatters Israel to all nations, the exception will be the rule. The present plight of Israelites living in South Africa will become Israel's commonplace plight everywhere.

To this day, God has not yet scattered Israel among the Gentiles en masse, not yet sifted them "among all nations." Today's demographic reality does not look at all like the population distribution of which God speaks in Deuteronomy 28, Ezekiel 20, or Amos 9.

"This level of scattering is yet to come. A number of scriptures appear to connect this vast displacement of Israelites with Israel's fall and the time of "Jacob's Trouble." For example:

One-third of you shall die of the pestilence, and be consumed with famine in your midst; and one-third shall fall by the sword all around you; and I will scatter another third to all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them. (Ezekiel 5:12)

"Does the scattering mentioned here occur before Israel's fall or after? As an approach to that question, it may be instructive to compare Matthew 24 with Ezekiel 5. Note, however, that the order in which the terrible events cataloged in them is not the same. Comparing the number of thens in Matthew 24 with the number of thens in Ezekiel 5 suggests another difference. Matthew wins out, with his ten to Ezekiel's two. As Herbert Armstrong so often pointed out, Matthew 24 is sequential—first this, then that, "immediately after" the other.

"However, aside from the last clause of Ezekiel 5:12, where it is quite obvious that the sword will follow the third God has scattered "to all the winds," there is no explicit idea of sequence in the Ezekiel passage. Nothing in verse 12 (or in its companion, verse 2) argues for a sequence of events: first pestilence, then famine, then war, then scattering. Even though war is mentioned in this passage after pestilence and famine, the war of which God speaks could cause—and hence, precede—the pestilence and famine. Historically, this is not at all an unusual sequence. War comes first, causing famine.

"So, it is possible, even plausible, that some part of the prophesied scattering could take place before the pestilence. It could even take place in a time of relative peace and prosperity.

"Of course, none of this denies the fact that the final dissolution of the nations of modern-day Israel will not be accompanied by vast, involuntary migrations. That will certainly be the case. Yet, given the magnitude of the prophesied sifting/scattering, it remains plausible that God may at least begin to scatter Israel before her national destruction, using as His vehicle the widespread "open borders" established by a globalized international community. Such borders would facilitate easy migration from nation to nation (just as between Canada and the United States today)."
(Charles Whitaker, http://www.theberean.org/)

We have a ways to go before the "End of the Ages"!

You Need To Do More Than Read The Bible To Receive Eternal Life.

2020-04-26T15:41:00.000-07:00

	John 5:39-40 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. (New King James Version)

"The word "search" is ereuano in Greek, and means "to search, examine into." It can imply "to search by uncovering; to search minutely; to explore; to strip, to make bare; to search by feeling, by touch."

"Homer, in The Iliad, used this word to indicate a lioness and her dedication to her cubs. They were lost, and she was on a huge plain searching very carefully everywhere. In The Odyssey, he used the same word to picture a dog tracking its prey - having its nose on the ground and never losing the scent.

"Metaphorically, it can be used to describe one digging deep for treasure and precious metal, breaking every single clod that nothing would be missed. It means to shake and to sift until every meaning of every sentence, word, syllable, and even every letter may be known and understood.

"Jesus is saying that these people search out every tiny, minute thing in striving for eternal life. But they were not willing to come to Him, humble themselves, and change so that they would have real, eternal life!

"Can this happen to us today? Sure, it can! We see things that we are loathe to change in our lives, or we procrastinate. This is what Jesus is illustrating. Luke 18:9-14 gives us an example of a man who thought that he was doing wonderfully well. He probably knew more than the tax collector ever would. But the tax collector had the humility to humble himself before God and to repent.

(John O.Reid, http://www.theberean.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/
Home.showBerean/BereanID/6635/John-5-39-40.htm)

Science Verses Religion, What Is True?

2020-04-26T11:36:00.000-07:00

Science Verses Religion

The majority of the people in the world hold one of two basic beliefs on when life began. One belief is based on scientific and archeological evidence. The other belief is based on the creation story as told in the book of Genesis. “Which is myth, God or Evolution? Louis Boundure, director of Frances Strasbourg Zoological Museum and professor of biology at the University of Strasbourg, stated: Evolution is a fairy tale for grownups. This theory has helped nothing in the progress of science. It is useless.”(14[pg. 3])

Due to the lack of evidence for the theory of evolution as presented by Darwin, scientists are starting to accept the idea of an intelligent designer. This idea is the basic concept of the creation story as told in the book of Genesis. “ ‘Certainly not all scientists agree that no Creator exists and that we as human beings are the product of random chance. In 1972 the California State Board of Education asked NASA director Wernher von Braun, who has been called the father of the American space program, for his thoughts on the origin of the universe, life and the human race. Here's how he responded: ‘For me, the idea of a creation is not conceivable without invoking the necessity of design. One cannot be exposed to the law and order of the universe without concluding that there must be design and purpose behind it all. In the world around us, we can behold the obvious manifestations of an ordered, structured plan or design . . .To be forced to believe only one conclusion—that everything in the universe happened by chance—would violate the very objectivity of science itself.’ . . . (Scott Huse, The Collapse of Evolution, 1997, pp. 159-160)”

“Many educated people accept the theory of evolution . . . (O)ur existence as humans is one of the best arguments against it. According to evolutionary theory, the traits that offer the greatest advantage for survival are passed from generation to generation. Yet human reproduction itself argues powerfully against this fundamental premise of evolution.” If evolution is how all life developed and the higher up the evolutionary latter, the more advanced the biological systems are, “. . . how is it that higher forms of life evolved with male and female sexes? If humans are the pinnacle of the evolutionary process, how is it that we have the disadvantage of requiring a member of the opposite sex to reproduce, when lower forms of life - such as bacteria, viruses and protozoa - are sexless and far more prolific? If they can reproduce by far simpler methods, why can't we? If evolution is true, what went wrong?”

Evolution is based on the premise that from generation to generation, strong “. . . characteristics that offer a survival advantage . . .” were retained while weak traits were eliminated. If this were the case, “. . . how can we explain the human infant?”

“There are thousands of species whose newborn can survive on their own within days and sometimes minutes after they are born. “Many never even see their parents. Yet, among humans, an infant is utterly helpless—not for days but for up to several years after birth.

“A human baby is reliant on adults for the nourishment, shelter and care he or she needs to survive. Meanwhile, caring for that helpless infant is a distinct survival disadvantage for adults, since giving of their time and energy lessens their own prospects for survival.

“If evolution is true, and humans are the pinnacle of the evolutionary process, why does a process as basic as human reproduction fly in the face of everything that evolution holds true? Even Charles Darwin, whose theories about evolution took the world by storm, had second thoughts. In his later years he reflected on what he had started: ‘I was a young man with unformed ideas. I threw out queries, suggestions, wondering all the time over everything; and to my astonishment the ideas took like wildfire. People made a religion of them’ (William Federer, America's God and Country, 1996, p. 199, emphasis added)” (14 [ pg 2]).

There are many reasons to be more than skeptical beyond what we just looked at. “ Charles Darwin . . . (who was the) British Naturalist who popularized the theory of evolution through natural selection . . .” said the following: “ ‘For I am well aware that scarcely a single point is discussed in this volume [Origin of Species] on which facts cannot be adduced, often apparently leading to conclusions directly opposite to those at which I arrived.’” Even Darwin doubted his own theory.

The simple truth of the matter is, there is not a shred of evidence that is available to prove this theory. “‘To postulate that the development and survival of the fittest is entirely a consequence of chance mutations seems to me a hypothesis based on no evidence and irreconcilable with the facts. These classical evolutionary theories are a gross over-simplification of an immensely complex and intricate mass of facts, and it amazes me that they are swallowed so uncritically and readily, and for such a long time, by so many scientists without a murmur of protest.’ - Sir Ernst Chain (1906-1979), co-holder of the 1945 Nobel Prize for isolating and purifying penicillin, director of Rome's International Research Center for Chemical Microbiology, professor of biochemistry at Imperial College, University of London.” ( 14[ pg 5]).

Why has the theory of evolution become so entrenched in today’s society? “Why has evolution become so widely accepted, and why has the Bible come to be viewed with such hostility? What has changed?

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Catholic Church Tries To Draw Christians Back To Rome And To Pre-Reformation Faith.

2020-04-26T10:53:00.000-07:00

The following article applies to all denominations in the world today and it does not apply to the members of any church denomination. It applies only to the OFFICIALS WHO RUN THE CHURCH.

So, before all of you critics head out to the shed for your pitch forks and torches, please read the article first. Then you can head for the pitchforks.

We are all truly one church and as long as a person believes in Jesus Christ as the Son of God we are all one family under God. The caveat here is that you must stand on the Word of God alone, the Bible.

"Five hundred years ago, Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses—and the world has never been the same since. But what has not changed is the Word of God and the truths in the Word that gave Luther the theological foundation to challenge Rome...Luther found the great truth of “justification by faith” alone.

"It was in regard to this truth, too, that Luther—defying the powers and principalities of the world and of the Roman hierarchy—appeared before the Diet of Worms, in 1521, and declared: “I cannot and will not retract, for it is unsafe for a Christian to speak against his conscience. . . . Here I stand, I can do no other.”

"And today faithful... (Christians)... also can do nothing either than stand on the Word of God over and against all unbiblical traditions and dogma.

"No question that Christianity has greatly advanced since Luther, freeing itself from centuries of superstition and false doctrine that not only distorted the gospel but, in fact, also usurped it.

"Today, however, in an age of ecumenism and pluralism, many of the distinctive truths that spurred the Reformation have become blurred, covered up under a fusillade of semantic chicanery that seeks to hide fundamental differences that have been resolved no more now than they were in Luther’s day. The prophecies of Daniel 7:23-25, 8:9-12, and Revelation 13, 14, as well as the great news of salvation by faith as found in the book of Romans show why those faithful to the Bible must firmly adhere to the truths that our Protestant forefathers defended, even at the cost of their lives.

"...(W)e must rest upon the principle of sola scriptura, Scripture alone; ... we (must) adamantly reject all attempts to draw Christians back to Rome and to pre-Reformation faith. On the contrary, Scripture points us in the opposite direction" (Rev. 18:4), and in that direction we proceed as we proclaim “the everlasting gospel” (Rev. 14:6) to the world, the same everlasting gospel that inspired Luther 500 years ago."

We must not be drawn back to the Roman era where Rome ruled and dominated the Christian Church. We must continue on the path of the post Roman era where the Christian Church drew away from the edicts of the Roman Empire, filled with pagan religious practices and continue on the path established by the early churches post Roman Empire.

Sensationalism will Not convert sinners. God must call a person, opening his mind to His truth.

2020-04-26T09:45:00.000-07:00

Matthew 9:8 - Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men. (New King James Version)

Mark 2:12 - Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!" (New King James Version)

Luke 5:26 - And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, "We have seen strange things today!" (New King James Version)

"The people were stunned, moved to glorify God, filled with fear, and confounded. It is no surprise that the witnesses to the miracle were amazed at the astounding healing. Each of the three gospel writers uses a different Greek word to express a variation of a state of awe. Nevertheless, considering the great impact this miracle had on observers, most of them were not moved to have faith in God. Though filled with awe at His mighty works, they were not convinced or converted. Faith is not produced through sight (IICorinthians 5:7). Miracles and physical proof do not instill faith. God must call a person, opening his mind to His truth (John 6:44). Today, people tend to think that sensationalism will convert sinners, designing their religious presentations to impress people and increase followers by physical rather than spiritual quality.

"In addition, the people were moved to glorify God in their limited way (Matthew 9:8). Yet, their reaction to the healing did not cause a change of heart in them.

"Luke writes that they were all "filled with fear" (Luke 5:26). It can be terrifying to be near the power of Almighty God. Paul states, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:31). Realizing his own sinfulness in the presence of the perfection and might of God, Peter knelt in fear at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord" (Luke 5:8). Again, however, most of the witnesses to the paralytic's healing refused to overcome their sins and change their lives.

"James notes that even the demons believe and tremble before God (James 2:19), yet they, of course, have never been converted. This principle should enlighten us about the professed religion of others. Being filled with awe, glorifying God, or experiencing fear are not enough in themselves; they are merely beginnings of understanding and wisdom (Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 9:10).

"Some witnesses to this miracle said, "We never saw anything like this!" (Mark 2:12). Others exclaimed, "We have seen strange things today!" (Luke 5:26). They were confounded. The miracle they witnessed was one of a kind, different from anything they had ever seen before. No other "gods" compare with our God the Father and Jesus Christ!

"In Luke's account, the word "strange" is the Greek word from which the English word "paradox" derives. It suggests true things that are contrary to all common sense and ordinary experience. The things of God are beyond the understanding of mere human beings. In this miracle, we see the incomprehensible sovereignty and glory of God in His comfort and healing of the sick through His Son Jesus Christ, our Savior." (Martin G. Collins, http://www.theberean.org/
index.cfm/fuseaction/Home.showBerean/BereanID/7837/Matthew-9-8.htm)

God's Representatives During The Millennial Reign Of Jesus Christ.

2020-04-26T04:18:00.000-07:00

Nehemiah 9:27

Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their enemies,
Who oppressed them;
And in the time of their trouble,
When they cried to You,
You heard from heaven;
And according to Your abundant mercies
You gave them deliverers who saved them
From the hand of their enemies.

Obadiah 1:21

Then saviors shall come to Mount Zion
To judge the mountains of Esau,
And the kingdom shall be the LORD's. (New King James Version)

"As Nehemiah recounts in his prayer to God, these saviors were people like Gideon, Samson, Ehud, Joshua, and Moses. God gave them leaders that He inspired to deliver Israel from the terrible circumstance they were in.

"Now put this verse—and the thought found in Obadiah 21 into a Millennial setting and our responsibilities as kings and priests—into the concepts of saving, judging, and teaching, all of which are involved in what God will be doing then. Remember also that God prophesies that Israel will go into captivity at the beginning of the Tribulation. They will be scattered all over the world in slavery, but God will regather them and bring them back to Israel, weeping, in a repentant state. Then what happens? Who will be their saviors, their deliverers? Who will judge them? Who will teach them?

"Of course, all praise, honor, and glory for these things goes to God. But why—for what reason—is He preparing us? He is not going to do it all Himself. He will follow the patterns He established in the past, only this time He will accomplish His purposes with servants who are greaterthan Joshua, Gideon, Samson, Ehud—greater even than John the Baptist! He will work through saviors, judges, teachers—king-priests who are just like Him. Indeed, they will be His sons!"

(John W. Ritenbaugh, http://www.theberean.org/index.cfm/ fuseaction/ Home.showBerean/BereanID/6507/Nehemiah-9-27.htm)

SOMETIMES EVEN FAITH IN GOD WILL NOT HELP US AVOID CERTAIN SITUATIONS.

2017-04-06T02:39:00.000-07:00

Ecclesiastes 7:13-14

(13) Consider the work of God;
For who can make straight what He has made crooked?
(14) In the day of prosperity be joyful,
But in the day of adversity consider:
Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other,
So that man can find out nothing that will come after him. (New King James Version)

"These verses build on the preceding ones on wisdom being a defense. Yet as good a shelter as God's wisdom is, it cannot shield us from every possible event we might consider a calamity. Everybody faces such situations. Wisdom will aid us to resign ourselves to the circumstances of those times. “Resignation” is too often understood to have the sense of throwing up our hands and giving up, thus quitting under fire. It indeed can have that connotation, but not always, and such is not the implication here. The wisdom in this case is that we are to submit to the fact that there are times that nothing can be done to avoid certain situations.

"This verse marks the third time such counsel is dealt with, and this is just the seventh chapter. It is important because we are dealing with the Sovereign of this entire creation. There are things He is doing that He absolutely will not change for us. Similar instruction appears in chapter 3.

"Therefore, we have to discern those times, resign ourselves to them, and gracefully and humbly accept them, allowing Him to work out His purpose without constant complaining from us. Job 12:13-16 makes this point clearly:

With Him are wisdom and strength, He has counsel and understanding. If He breaks a thing down, it cannot be rebuilt; if He imprisons a man, there can be no release. If He withholds the waters, they dry up; if He sends them out, they overwhelm the earth. With Him are strength and prudence. The deceived and the deceiver are His.

"If one tries to fight God, there is no possibility of winning. To do so is stupid beyond the bounds of reason, but mankind constantly attempts it. This concerns us on a daily basis because we live in this world too. What is going on in the world is not pleasant to experience or even to contemplate, so our becoming angry, depressed, and weary with the entire matter is a likely possibility. Nevertheless, the situation will not go away because God has willed it for the present.

"Wisdom, in this case, is to be resigned to it. We must think this reality through and accept what is impossible for us to change. All too often, though, we allow it to depress us and dominate our lives to such an extent that we do virtually nothing positive about the things we canchange. That is when Satan wins because, having put ourselves into a weakened attitude, we more readily cave to his devices.

"Verse 14 contains further wisdom to defend against those difficult times when it seems that nothing can be changed. Solomon essentially counsels us to learn to “roll with the punches.” We must make careful efforts to make the best of the situation, understanding that God has seemingly withdrawn Himself for our good. God is love; He is neither forgetful nor a harsh taskmaster. We have a hard time seeing that the level of difficulty we are experiencing is good for our growth. He is not doing it to smother us but to benefit us in the end.

"The last phrase of verse 14 tells us that God, from His sovereign height, has determined to keep man somewhat off-balance for His purposes. God has commanded that we must live by faith. So trying to figure out the precise reasons for a situation is not only often impossible, but also a huge waste of time and energy. This counsel may not satisfy some people because of its simplicity, but it is right: Trust Him!"

(John W. Ritenbaugh, http://www.theberean.org/)

The spirit of life was still in them, even though they had lain dormant for thousands of years.

2017-04-05T04:45:00.001-07:00

Matthew 13:3-9

(3) Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: "Behold, a sower went out to sow. (4) And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. (5) Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. (6) But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. (7) And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. (8) But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. (9) He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
New King James Version Change your email Bible version

"The seed is the Word of God, and its hitting the ground is not the end of the story. A variety of things can happen that will affect the growth of that seed. Some might fall on stone, others might be buried too deep. Rain may come and wash away some of it. Birds may devour others. But because life is in the seed, something will happen.

"In the last century, archeologists found wheat and cotton seeds in some of the burial chambers that they excavated. Those seeds—which were probably anywhere from 2,000-4,000 years old—grew when put into the right soil. The spirit of life was still in them, even though they had lain dormant for thousands of years.

"This is dramatic confirmation that, if a seed is sown, it will do something when it lands in the right kind of soil. Jesus shows in this parable that the environment affects the seed's growth. When we make the proper application—people are the ground, and our environment and what we do after receiving the seed—the word of truth, containing the doctrines—is what affects its growth. In this analogy, growth represents sanctification, which is is the formation of God's image in us by living His way of life empowered by His Spirit. What we do with the seed is "work[ing] out [our] salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12). It is the equivalent of rain, sunshine, weeding, fertilizing, so that the potential for fruit is the greatest. Sanctification is worked out through application, by living the doctrines and the truths of God." (John W. Ritenbaugh, http://www.theberean.org/)

Why do we lie? Often, it is to cover up our irresponsibility.

2017-03-24T02:58:00.003-07:00

Proverbs 13:15 - Good understanding giveth favor: but the way of transgressors is hard.

"When a person consistently has a perception of what is true and lives it, he gains a force of beauty of character. In other words, faithfulness creates favorable impressions that open doors for him.

"For example, to whom would we rather loan money, to a person with a record of steady work and payment of debts or to one who cannot keep a job and consistently defaults on his obligations? Which one is more likely to get the loan? A person of good character recognizes his responsibility to truth, understands it, and submits to it. This produces the witness that glorifies God.

If a person will not follow this process, he will not have the good character and the good name to go with it. If he recognizes and understands his problem but does not submit to the truth, he is deceiving himself.

"This principle holds true in every area in which a name is built, including marriage, childrearing, and health issues. Many run from the truth about themselves. Hardly anything will destroy a reputation quicker than for others to know an individual is lying to himself about what or how much he eats, his failure to discipline his children properly, or his careless inattention to his spouse. Such faithlessness provides a strong foundation for hypocrisy.

"The ninth commandment not only covers bearing false witness verbally, but also bearing false witness about one's relationship with God by displaying a spotty example of conduct, all the while claiming to be Christian. To make a bad witness in ignorance or weakness is one thing, but to know better and deliberately mislead is another matter altogether.

"Why do we lie? Often, it is to cover up our irresponsibility. We fear that something about ourselves we wish to keep hidden will be exposed, so we lie to protect the image we want others to see. We also lie to rise above our feelings of inadequacy or inferiority. We also do it to lower a third party in the eyes of others, which, of course, has the effect of elevating ourselves in our own eyes and, we hope, in the eyes of others."

(John W. Ritenbaugh, http://www.theberean.org/, 03/24/2017)

2017-03-23T03:09:00.000-07:00

Galatians 1:6-8(6) I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, (7) which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. (8) But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.

Galatians 4:8-10(8) But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods. (9) But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? (10) You observe days and months and seasons and years. (New King James Version)

"Paul penned the book of Galatians because church members in Galatia were turning away from the true gospel and had embraced a false one (Galatians 1:6-7). Early on, Paul had to establish his credentials - that the gospel he preached did not have its source in any man, as Gnostic ideas do, but had come directly from Jesus Christ (verses 11-12). The Galatians were returning to the "weak and beggarly elements" (Galatians 4:9), referring to the demonism they had been involved in prior to their conversion (verse 8). The Gentile Galatians were observing certain days, months, seasons, and years that had nothing to do with God's holy days (verse 10), but were part of a system that elevated rites and ceremonies above the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, even while paying lip service to Christianity.

"Paul addresses a philosophy that venerated the Torah - and went so far as to teach that one could be justified by works of the law - but also involved astrology and receiving revelations from angels (Galatians 1:8). Because of the belief that the spirit of a person was trying to get back to heaven, worship of angels and astrology was a common tenet of Gnosticism, since angels and the patterns of stars and planets were believed to hold keys to this spiritual journey. Contrary to popular assumption, Paul does not condemn God's law in Galatians but a corrupt system that was severely affecting the church. That Gnostic system happened to include an emphasis on the Old Covenant at the expense of Jesus Christ's life, death, and teachings

"Gnostic Christians borrowed the idea of redemption through Christ, but rather than believing that He redeemed them from sin, they believed that He would redeem them from matter - that is, from the flesh, which they considered to be inherently evil. At the core of Gnosticism is the belief that knowledge, typically secret knowledge - knowledge from angels, from the stars and planets, from the ancients - was the path to holiness and salvation. They believed that the path of redemption was through knowledge, and that the worst evil was ignorance spiritual than physical. Obviously, they overlooked man's incurably sick heart (Jeremiah 17:9), and the struggle that a person must undertake to overcome it. The Gnostics believed that the solution was found in greater understanding, rather than in a Savior and High Priest who justifies and guides us through a process of sanctification. In essence, Gnostics would rather learn than submit.

"What is more, the knowledge that the Gnostics sought always originated in something other than God and His Word. We know that knowledge itself is not the problem. In the Bible, knowledge is generally presented as a good thing. God goes so far as to say that Israel is "destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6). However, the knowledge He means is the knowledge of Himself and of His way of life, not knowledge as an end in itself.

"In the New Testament, Paul tells the congregation at Rome that Israel has "a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge" (Romans 10:2). Israelites like to think they are serving God, but the way they go about it is contrary to the instructions that God gave them. Jesus Himself says that eternal life is to know God and Jesus Christ (John 17:3), by which He means the experience of an intimate relationship with the Father and the Son, something the Gnostics would never accept. They believed that a spiritual and thus pure God would have nothing to do with what they considered to be entirely evil matter and flesh. They did not care that God called His physical creation "good" - even "very good" - for they still saw it as corrupt, a prison from which to be liberated." (David C. Grabbe, http://www.theberean.org/ 03/23/2017).

THERE IS NO LASTING VALUE IN JUSTIFICATION ON THE BASIS OF ONES OWN WORKS.

2017-03-21T05:58:00.002-07:00

Galatians 3:22- But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

"The Old Testament has "included" or "enclosed" or "shut up" all of humanity under the umbrella of sin. Not a single person can appear before God on the basis of his own merit or righteousness. The totality of mankind is enslaved by sin and does not have the means to break free from its grasp. By "concluding" that everyone is under the bondage of sin, or under the curse of sin, the scripture shows that something external to mankind has to act to provide a solution that can save man from himself and his sinful nature. This "conclusion" also demonstrates that none of the paths that man has embarked on—primarily justification on the basis of one's own works—are of any lasting worth.

"Because all other paths are shown to be futile, the only option for salvation and glorification is the way that Jesus Christ has set forth. There are no other alternatives. Faith in what Christ has done, is doing, and will do is mankind's only hope.

"The story of the Israelites is a record of a people whom God chose, set apart, and blessed with incredible blessings and opportunities. But it is also a record of mankind's sinful nature, and how illogical it is that a man could stand before God on account of his own innate righteousness. God revealed just a portion of His will and character—the letter of the law—to Israel, and its history powerfully demonstrates that, by himself, man is unable to live up to God's standards.

"This should be a glaring testimony that some other means is required for man to have a relationship with his Creator. The solution is justification—being brought into alignment with God and His law—on the basis of belief in the Savior and His perfect sacrifice. This marks the beginning of the relationship. But because faith without works is dead, the way a man lives his life demonstrates who and what he believes in. If he has been justified before God and is being saved, his life will reflect God's mercy, providence, and sovereignty. We are not justified or saved by our works, but if we are justified our works will demonstrate that we are being saved. "Belief" in Christ will be an everyday, continual reality, and true belief will shape every thought, word, and deed." (David C. Grabbe, http://www.theberean.org/03/21/2017 )

TO MOST PEOPLE TODAY, IF GOD EVEN EXISTS, HE IS A RATHER REMOTE RULER AT BEST.

2017-03-20T06:32:00.002-07:00

Daniel 4:17

	"This decision is by the decree of the watchers, And the sentence by the word of the holy ones, In order that the living may know That the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, Gives it to whomever He will, And sets over it the lowest of men." New King James Version

God will give the Kingdom to the lowest of men and women. Similarly, Paul writes in I Corinthians 1:26, "For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called." The lesson is to know that God rules, which has been the issue from the very beginning.

Adam and Eve did not act as though they knew that God rules; they acted as though Satan or they ruled. They rejected the rule of God, and from that time on, God has concentrated on this very fact. Mankind will learn that God rules, and in order to do that, God is going to have to judge, to issue decrees, and to hand down sentences.

His sentences are going to be very stiff indeed, because Scripture shows that the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord will reduce the population of the earth to about 10% of all of mankind. The carnage that will result from God's judgments being handed out, so that mankind will know that God rules, will be bloody to an extreme. An awful lot of pain will result from the execution of this sentence. God judges, and it will begin at the fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets.

To most people on earth—if God even exists in their thoughts—He is, at best, a rather remote personality who acted a long time ago but seems to have grown disinterested, as nothing has happened for quite a long time. However, the Bible shows Him to be a hands-on ruler. He is overseeing planet earth, and He is doing it for the purpose of fulfilling His purpose of establishing His Kingdom.

— John W. Ritenbaugh