Look Up

“And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” (Lu 21:28 AV)

It is too easy to keep our heads down and become preoccupied with the evil that is covering this world!  It is too easy to become overwhelmed or worse, depressed because we see a dark cloud gathering on the horizon!  The LORD is coming back.  The closer He is to His return, the more the forces of evil will gain in their strength.  We see this all around us.  Substance abuse is killing our citizens.  The sodomites are close to taking control of our nation’s institutions and churches.  Schools are no longer safe as the godless indoctrinate our young people against the LORD and His laws.  Open debauchery is no longer the exception.  It has become the rule.  The worst of it all is there is no interest in the things of God nor a concern over eternal destiny.  There is every reason for the saints of God to hang their heads!  But we don’t have to!

Jesus encourage us the closer He is to His coming, the more we need to look up!  Not down!  All these things are happening because the LORD wishes to allow mankind every opportunity to reject Him.  The consequence of that rejection is resolute judgment.  It has to happen.  However, as the saints of God, we can see the coming storm and know that our redemption draws nigh.

For me, it is a two-edged sword.  Evil is not something I wish to see!  Years ago, while serving as an interim Pastor, there was a former deacon who was in complete rebellion.  He hated me and the church so much that he brought his work to church, briefcase and all, and did office work while the preaching was going on.  It gave me a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach!  This is how I feel when I meditate on the condition of the world and the body of Christ.  It is pure evil.  Time for us to look up!  Our redemption draweth nigh!

It Has To Be You

“And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible.” (Lu 1:36-37 AV)

There were plenty of holy priests to use as a father to the prophet that would precede Christ.  No doubt, Zacharias and Elizabeth were as devout and righteous as others.  Yet, there was one factor they had that others did not.  The element of impossibility.   The LORD deliberately kept Elizabeth from conceiving all her life so that at the right moment, she and her husband could be a work of God’s grace and miracle as a sign for a virgin who would conceive the Savior of the world.  The fruitlessness of these two were a work of the Holy Spirit!

When the Spirit encouraged me to entertain the other possibilities, they just wouldn’t do.  A couple in their thirties conceiving John the Baptist would not do.  There would be nothing out of the ordinary at the conception and birth of a son to a younger couple.  A newlywed couple certainly wouldn’t do.  They would be expected to be expecting.  Even though each conception is the hand of a God who still creates; a miracle in its own right; this sort of thing happens every day.  But when a couple in their old age and beyond the age of conception, conceive, this doesn’t happen every day!

“It has to be you” comes to mind.  There is a debate on the sovereignty of God that I often pointless.  Can God use others of those who are chosen refuse?  Obviously.  God uses the Gentiles precisely because the Jews rejected Christ.  Yet, there are times when the LORD allows or causes others to be put in a place where only they could pull off what the LORD wished.  Esther comes to mind.  There are times when it “has to be you” and only you!  God has chosen you for a purpose unique to yourself.  Finding that place brings meaning and purpose.  A joy that follows!  It has to be you!

Came For a Bath

“But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:” (Mal 3:2 AV)

We may look at this and see only judgment seated in wrath.  But there is another way of looking at it.  Note the fullers’ soap.  Both the refiner’s fire and fuller’s soap seek to accomplish the same thing.  They seek to cleanse and purify.  The fuller was a worker in fabric.  His soap was distinctly designed to whiten.  Hence, when the question is posed, “…who may abide in the day of his coming…” does not suggest judgment for the purpose of destruction.  Otherwise, there would be no fuller’s soap.  The question is posed to suggest the LORD is coming to clean those who are in need of it. 

Remember when OxiClean was sold on infomercials?  Who can forget Billy Mays selling us such a miracle product?  Why, all one had to do is put a white t-shirt stained with every imaginable stain into a swirling pool of water fortified with OxiClean, and it would come out white as snow!  Stain after stain would be defeated at the mighty power of this miracle product.

This is the point of the question.  No one will abide the perfect standard of the holiness of God!  No one!  We all need a bath in the fuller’s soap.  We all need to be cleansed from serious ailments of sin by the refiner’s fire.  This is why Christ came!  This is why He came the first time!  He came to show us how far we had fallen and offer to cleanse us by His own blood. That was His first coming.   If we reject the purpose of the first coming, we will suffer in the next coming.  There will be no refiner’s fire.  There will be no fuller’s soap.  Only the wrath of God on those who reject the free gift of salvation in Christ!

Keep Not Silent

“I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence,” (Isa 62:6 AV)

The temptation to keep silent grows greater the more people do not listen.  The more the message is rejected, the less motivated the messengers are to declare it.  The more it is ignored, the less purpose is seen in preaching it.  Yet, the LORD is very specific here.  Keep not silence. 

An analogy came to mind.  Imagine Noah has he is building the boat.  No doubt the beginning and the end was the time of greatest preaching.  The beginning, while the frame was assembled, the congregation was in full sight of Noah and his sons.  Preaching to the crowd would have been easy.  They were right out there in the open is the building of the Ark with all the activity could not be hid.  However, once framed in, the vast majority of the work would have been on the inside.  Noah and his sons would have to deliberately cease their inside work to preach to the congregation passing by.  It would have been difficult to stay motivated to preach without and audience passing by.  But then came the end of the project.  When they had to assemble the animals two by two.  This required them to be out and among the people again.  Preaching picked up.  The closer the floods of judgment came, the more involved in their world Noah and his sons became.  This is what the church must find herself doing!

There is this sense among the body of Christ the LORD is returning shortly, and as a result, the world is less responsive to the gospel message.  This may indeed be true.  But what we are doing is comparing the past with the present and defining a decline as a foregone failure.  As a result, we are declining to be aggressive in our witness around us.  This is just the opposite of what we are instructed to do.  We have allowed circumstances to dictate our outreach.  Noah went out and got the animals.  We need to go out and bring the gospel more and more into the homes and neighborhoods of the lost!  Never ceasing!  Never keeping silent!  Always abounding in the work of the LORD!

Merry Christmas

“Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness.” (Jer 33:14-16 AV)

I am so grateful the LORD kept His promise to Israel even if Israel rejected to offer!  God foresaw what the people of Israel would do.  He knew they would reject and crucify Him.  Yet, He sent Him anyway!  Why?  Two-fold!  To give the wonderful people of Judah the opportunity to accept their Messiah and to offer to the Gentiles the same!  Salvation!  What a grand thing that God keeps His promises because if the disappointment over Israel’s rebellion broke the covenant between the Father and His nation, none of us would have had the opportunity for salvation!

Merry Christmas!  What a wonderful day to call to remembrance and unbroken promise of redemption to wicked mankind.  A promise made way back in the garden of Eden!   A promise formed in the eons of eternity past before any single cell was created that the Son would come to Earth as a child, suffer as a man, endure the persecution of rebellious, and die for wickedness of all!  What a gift!  And that gift was all based on a promise.  A promise that could not be broken no matter how horrible God’s creation was to Him!  A promise born out of eternal love for the souls of mankind.  A promise founded upon His integrity, faithfulness, and mercy!  A promise that is available to all who will simple repent of their sin, placing their trust in the finished work of Calvary, and calling upon Him to save!

Only Tow Directions

“For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.” (Pr 24:16 AV)

This one is hard to explain.  The Spirit has spoken to my heart to compare the just man and the wicked man.  The just man falls, but rises again.  The wicked falls, and falls again.  In other words, there is no neutral ground.  When one falls, he will either rise back up and learn from it, or he will continue the downward progression of failure.

To put it in a lighter tone, one cannot help but get a little out of hand this time of year with the sweets that are laying around.  Lisa has this snack table set up in the dinning room.  It has all sorts of baked goods, candy, and other snackable items.  The problem is, once you pass that table and grab a Christmas cookie, it doesn’t stop.  Then comes the buckeyes, the hard tack candy, or the ginger-snaps.  Specially if you’re trying to stay on a healthy diet or not spoil one’s dinner, taking one little bite starts one down a spiral that often ends with an upset stomach.   In short, the just man knows when to stop and turn around.  The wicked just keep going until circumstances require one stop.

There is a little of both in us.  I remember when my brother and I tried out smoking.  We stole a pack of my mom’s cigarettes and hid in the tree house.  We didn’t know that you were only supposed to smoke one at a time and perhaps wait a while.  We chain smoked that pack.  We were sicker than a dog!  Then there was the time I tried out drinking.  This was after I accepted Christ.  The LORD didn’t let that get to far until He almost killed me!  If we desire to walk with God, we need to know when to stop and turn around.  Time to rise out of that which is spiraling and out of control!  If we seek to be that just man, then we have to rise above and apart from our sin!  Only two directions to go.  There is no staying neutral!

No Stress Future!

“Man’s goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?” (Pr 20:24 AV)

Precisely!  If the LORD controls all things, including our future, then how are we any more in control of it than He allows?  If my goings are already determined by the immutable counsel of an all-knowing God, then how are we inclined to believe we determine our own destiny?  If a sovereign God whose wisdom is, and always will be, beyond our ability to comprehend can plan and put in place those events He chooses to occur in our lives, how are we even entertaining the possibility that we know where we are going or even how we are going to get there?

Yes, our future is a culmination of our choices.  But thing about this for a moment.  All our choices were within a certain structure of limited possibilities.  For instance, I cannot bare a child so a choice to be with child is not a possible choice.  I am not very athletic, so when I pitched little league (and was relatively successful at that age) a choice to pursue a career in baseball was not a realistic one.  Although I was an above average student in grade school, high school, and college, I was not exceptional.  A career in higher education was not my future.  We have choices.  But those choices are limited by the opportunity God allows.

This should actually be a source of great comfort to us!  The plan of God is one with boundaries.  It is one with constraints.  We can take comfort in knowing that we have the ability to screw up our lives but not the ability to screw them up to the complete destruction of God’s sovereign plan.  We can also take comfort that when there are future choices to be made, if we are walking with the LORD, these choices will be limited and in perfect communion with God’s plan for us.  NO STRESS!  I don’t need to know the future.  I don’t need to understand what the LORD is doing.  Only He does!  And He does!

Complete Obedience With a Heart

“And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places.” (Eze 43:7 AV)

There are two factors to consider here.  That is, the means by which perfect obedience will be accomplished.  There are two ways in which a guarantee of perfect obedience can be accomplished.  The first is the promise of a rod of iron.  The book of Revelation as well as other places tell us that when Christ comes, the will rule with a rod of iron.  Absolute rule with no compromise.  However, the Old Testament is replete with the promise of a new heart.  The LORD will take away the stoney heart of the Jewish nation and give them a new heart.  This new heart will hate sin!  This new heart will have the free-will desire to walk in obedience to the law of God.  It is this second means which I wish to consider this morning.

If we are saved, then the LORD gave us this new heart.  This new heart desires to comply to the word of God.  We do not walk in obedience nearly as much as we should, but there still is a new part of us that desires to do so.  Paul wrote of this conflict in Romans chapter seven.  We still have to battle the old man.  It is part of our human experience until the day we die.  It reminds me of a cartoon that I saw years ago.  In fact, the same theme was in several.  It plagued Tom (the cat) in Tom & Jerry.  It pestered Foghorn Leghorn.  It manifested itself in the Sheepdog and Coyote.  The There would be episodes wherein one of the characters would have a battle of the heart.  On one shoulder would be an angelic representation of himself while on the other would be a devilish representation.  Both would speak into the ears attempting to lead the individual character down their perspective paths.  Almost always, the devilish character won out.  It was more natural and amusing.

There will come a time when our wicked hearts will be no longer.  There will be a time when there will be no conflict of conscience.  We will always do the right thing because we want to do the right thing!  Just like Israel who will be permanently transformed, those who have trusted in Christ will enjoy the same liberty!  Liberty from this conflict of conscience.  Rid of the evil, wicked, selfish part of us which Christ slew on Calvary’s cross!  Romans chapter six tells us it is dead.  Yet we keep resurrecting it!  One of these days, it will be dead forever!

There is always hope!

“Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.” (Eze 37:11-12 AV)

Just when one thinks that all things are hopeless, it could get worse.  Yet, as bad as it can get, nothing is beyond the God of ‘possible’.  This vision of Ezekiel is calls the vision of the dry bones.  These bones were dry, without flesh, and bleached by the sun.  Beyond any hope of ever coming to life again.  As Ezekiel was instructed to do, he gazed upon these bones.  The LORD built flesh upon those bones.  When they were fully formed men, He breathed the breath of life into those bones.  These bones represented and will represent, the spiritual condition of the nation of Israel prior to the coming of Christ.  If the LORD is able to spiritually resurrect a dead nation that had rejected Christ the first time around, surely, He can resurrect a nation that once was the center of Christianity!

Our churches have tried promotions and programs.  We have tried one new cutting-edge idea after another.  What we have never consistently used in the furtherance of the gospel is faith!  Ezekiel, and by extension Israel, are asked to do is believe that in the driest and deadest of all conditions, God can and will resurrect His people!  We have to have an enthusiastic faith that shows to the world there is life!  We are not dead!  God can turn around the absolutely impossible!  Think about it!  Science can 3D print inanimate objects.  It can create simulated life.  What it can never do is create life from nothing.  This is and always will be an only God thing!  Several years ago, my son and I came across human remains while hunting in the woods.  There were bleach white.  The poor soul’s clothes including his sneakers were still there.  It was as if he simply laid down to take a nap and expired.  I remember the bleach white condition of his remains.  What a sight it would have been had the LORD resurrected this poor fellow back to a condition better than he ever was before!

If God can do this with Israel, surely, He can do this with a life or a church!  We just have to see the possibility!  We just have to see the God of the impossible doing the impossible!  There is hope as long as the LORD lives!  And He always will!

Private Thoughts are Not Private

“And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and said unto me, Speak; Thus saith the LORD; Thus have ye said, O house of Israel: for I know the things that come into your mind, [every one of] them.” (Eze 11:5 AV)

We use the term “private thoughts” in many different ways.  We describe a journal as a record of our private thoughts.  These thoughts are to be honored and not revealed.  Some times we talk to ourselves and when asked what we said, we respond they were just private thoughts.  To discover another’s private thoughts are to violate the individual him or herself.  There is an implied liberty in private thoughts.  The right to have thoughts one probably shouldn’t have yet we feel entitled to express them in a private manner just because we have them.  With the LORD, there are no private thoughts.  Every thought, feeling, and attitude are known to the God who knows all!

As a child, I never really got into the whole ‘journal’ thing.  I may have tried it once.  Perhaps a few pages of a diary.  But after a few weeks, it got to be more of a chore than anything else.  And besides, once the expression was made and there were no more feelings to record, things began to be made up.  Or, worse, we accessed the deepest and darkest part of our heart and manufactured thoughts and feelings that were not there to begin with!  If we would consider that this diary will be found and read by everyone with whom we had an issue, the diary would never have been written.

Now, consider the LORD!  He knows all our thoughts!  Whatever enters our minds, He is aware of!  Every thought of impurity, guile, envy, jealousy, malice, or unholiness; God knows it all!  Even if we entertain sin, yet never act upon it, God still knows.  That diary is open as it is being written!  This is why Paul tells us to bring every thought into captivity!  Just remember, God knows!  And, God remembers!

God's Simple Gifts

“Better [is] little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith.” (Pr 15:16 AV)

An important verse at this time of year!  It amazes me the transformation of Christmas from a sacred holiday to a material one!  It used to be the Charlie Brown Christmas was the Christmas special everyone watched.  Now, Santa Claus is the focus of every house.  Even in those professing their love for Christ!  Go figure!

We were watching “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” last night and the opening five or ten minutes perfectly illustrates what we have all become.  Christ is not even mentioned in that whole film!  Growing up, we didn’t have much.  My parents did a saintly job of providing all they could for their large family.  We may not have had all that we wanted.  But there was no lack of all that we needed.  And is come ways, I think we were more blessed and content because of it.  When it came to Christmas, my parents went out of their way to remind us of the sacredness of the holiday.  Many believe the advent wreath is a Catholic tradition, but it actually started in the 15^th century among German Lutherans.  There are four weeks of lighting candles and scripture readings.  These readings emphasized the sinful condition of man and the need of a redeemer.  Interspersed was other passages regarding the promises and prophesies of the coming of Christ and the actual Christmas event as recorded in Luke.  For four weeks, our minds were not on toys and gifts, but on Jesus Christ as our redeemer.  Our practice was that church came first.  On Christmas morning, we would all get dressed and got off to church.   Then, after we uncovered Baby Jesus in the manger scene and Dad said a prayer, we got to the gifts.

What we have done is made Christ of less value than any item we may ever receive.  As a child, we would get come chocolate and apples in our stockings.  Today, some stocking stuffers are more than what is under the tree.  When we did get to the tree, we would have three gifts.  One from each grandparent and one for our parents.  That was it.  Those were the good times.  What we did have was ten brothers and sisters to play with and share gifts.  What we did have is imagination.  What we did have is a thankful heart that God was the center of our tradition and holiday and not some gift that would eventually be discarded.  We are truly blessed no matter what is under the tree!

Turn Aside To See

“Mine eyes do fail with tears, my bowels are troubled, my liver is poured upon the earth, for the destruction of the daughter of my people; because the children and the sucklings swoon in the streets of the city.” (La 2:11 AV)

What Jeremiah saw in the aftermath of the Babylonian invasion disturbed him greatly.  It affected him physically.  It made him sick to see the result of chastisement from the LORD.  Surely, we would think that placed in the same set of circumstances, we would react the same way.  Yet, it might not be the case.  Let me explain.

We are inundated with news of tragedy.  No matter how large or how small, the news attempts to tug at our heart strings over misfortune.  We feed off it.  We want to feel what others are feeling.  The problem with a constant exposer to tragedy is we become a little calloused towards it.  We see images of war from fields afar with all the blood and gore allowed by the FCC.  We learn of a terrorist taking advantage of a situation where others are hurt or a mass shooting in a state halfway around the nation.  We read of impaired drivers losing control of their vehicles only to take another’s life.  There are police reports which appear weekly telling us of substance abuse, theft, and worse of all, child neglect or abuse.  There is tragedy upon tragedy.  It is the new norm.  So, when we see our own saints go down with life altering choices, how stirred are we at their situation?  Yes, there is little we can do if they do not want our help.  But there is prayer!  There is a kind word or a text that might encourage.  There is a simple touch that lets them know they are not forgotten and they are loved.

Our tear ducts have dried up.  We can hold our meal down.  We are more interested in the score of our favorite sports team then we are the unfortunate situation of our fellow believer who has fallen off the grid.  We are so preoccupied with our own family we forget the situation of another’s all it takes is what the good Samaritan did.  He turned aside to see!  He stopped and looked!  He allowed it to bother him!

Call Their Bluff!

“Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the LORD had commanded [him] to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die.  Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.” (Jer 26:8,9 AV) Then Jeremiah said…  “As for me, behold, I [am] in your hand: do with me as seemeth good and meet unto you. But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the LORD hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears. Then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and to the prophets; This man [is] not worthy to die: for he hath spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God.” (Jer 26:14-16 AV)

Sometimes all it takes is calling the Devil’s bluff!  Big words, no action!  The people, priests, and prophets tried to intimidate the man of God into silence.  All he did was tell them it wouldn’t change his calling!  If there were going to kill him, they were going to kill him!  He wasn’t daring them to kill him.  He was simply accepting it as a possibility and that if he was, he had a clear conscience.  If they were going to kill him, he could face the LORD knowing he did his job.  They would be the ones to have to account to the LORD for the murder of His prophet.

We give up way to easy!  We compromise way too soon!  I say we do what we should do and suffer whatever consequences may come our way!  If the devil threatens our liberty or life, so be it.  He was going to take it anyway. Better we stand and call his bluff.  If he is bluffing, we might just get him to back off.  The world is the same.  Sue us! What can you possibly do.  The only reason the world persecutes the believer is because it gains it something.  If there is no gain, then it stops.

Time to grow a bit of a backbone!  Time to call the bluff!  Time to say we are not afraid to suffer for the cause of Christ!  Time to say that eternity, and not the world, is the final say in all that matters!

Maybe?

“Then the LORD said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land. For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the LORD; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah.” (Jer 1:14-15 AV)

Could we be seeing a precursor to a fulfilment of prophecy happening right before our eyes?  The President of the United States will be, or has already, recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel with plans to move his embassy there.  What if other nations follow?  Would this be a fulfillment of the passage above?  If so, how close are we to the return of the LORD?  Perhaps in our lifetime?

When I was younger, prophecy held no interest to me.  I saw way too much arbitrary interpretation and application of it and enough arguments between prophecy buffs to dissuade me from taking it seriously.  However, there is crown promised to those who have a passion for the return of the LORD to His kingdom.  “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” (2Ti 4:8 AV)

Now, there have been many speculations that have definitely not been a fulfilment of prophecy.  The most notable was the EU as the ten-nation confederation.  They are way beyond ten.  There was the RCC being the one world religion.  Yet, they are not the largest religious organization in the world and Ishmael’s descendants will never convert.  So, could the above verses be a prophecy of the recognizing of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel?  Maybe not.  But just perhaps maybe it is!

Satisfaction Guaranteed

“He shall see of the travail of his soul, [and] shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.” (Isa 53:11 AV)

The Bible clearly tells us the LORD is not pleased with the death of the wicked.  He would much rather save the wicked than to damn them.  Yet, He is satisfied.  He is satisfied with the knowledge He did what He could to save them.  He is satisfied that His soul was in travail.  He is satisfied there was no greater act of love that could have been shown and every opportunity to repent and receive would be offered to them.  He is satisfied!

There is another way to look at it, too.  Even if only one person accepted Christ, He would have been satisfied.  That shows the value of the individual soul to the LORD Jesus Christ.  He is not a numbers guy.  He is not pessimistic that unless all come to Him, His death meant little.  Sure, the LORD’s heart breaks at the thought of any soul who rejects Him.  But equally so, He is satisfied at the prospect of each individual who does come to Him!

As preachers, we could learn a lot from this attitude.  Sometimes we allow ourselves to focus on the failures and fail to see the successes.  If we are pure numbers guys, then we are all failures.  Less come to Christ then those who don’t.  And significantly so.  Less walk with God when they do get saved than those who don’t walk with God.  Less surrender for service than those who don’t.  At His death, Christ only had three!  One disciple and two ladies.  Yet, He hung on the Cross satisfied!  As long as we do all that we can do, then we should be satisfied.  Otherwise, we are telling those who are faithful that they are not enough!

Law is Honorable

“The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make [it] honourable.” (Isa 42:21 AV)

Just because mankind has ignored the laws of God doesn’t mean the LORD has.  It may take some time, but the LORD will make His law relevant again.

There is an interesting phenomenon occurring in our nation.  Sexual harassment is all over the place. At least those being accused of it are.  It started with accusations leveled against a very conservative senatorial candidate from the state of Alabama.  The left went after him with all sorts of accusations.  Mostly false.  However, this tactic has backfired.  Now, the perverts on the left are being outed.  From a famous movie director to a leftist news-anchor to a well-loved congressman, this accusation is far reaching and broad.  Intended to sink professing Christians and conservatives, it seems the left is guiltier of the very thing which they are trying to pin on their competition.  It just goes to show the truth of the verse above.  God’s law is supreme and no one is above it.

This should really strike some fear into our hearts.  Fear that the LORD will not hide nor relax the law no matter who we are.  The law will be honorable again.  The law will be pre-eminent.  The law will be magnified so that mankind will be subject to it again.  No exceptions.  No do overs.  No bending of the rules to accommodate individual liberty.  The law will be honorable again.  It will be a good thing.  A right thing. A righteous thing.  A thing to be admired and followed.

One can tell a lot about himself by how he looks at the law.  Does he see it as an obstruction or inconvenience?  Does he see it as a duty?  Or, does he see it as something honorable which should be pursued?  It is that third level which we should aspire to!

An Equal Opportunity Condition

“To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains. He that [is] so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree [that] will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, [that] shall not be moved.” (Isa 40:18-20 AV)

What first struck me was the term impoverished.  In fact, they are so impoverished.  At first glance, taking the verse by itself, I thought that poverty might be a cause for idolatry.  If a person is poor, maybe they are more apt to fall into unbelief or sin.  However, the previous verse states the wealthy do the same.  Their idols are of precious metals.  The impoverished make their idols out of wood.  Both make them.  Idolatry and sin are not relegated to one class above the next.  Sin and unbelief is an equal opportunity condition.

There is a program that has caught the imagination of this country.  It is called Live PD.  A program that follows different law enforcement agencies throughout the country.  What fascinates most is the complete lack of reality on the part of most perps.  A total disconnect from the world around them.  Their logic is at the fourth-grade level.  There is no moral compass.  No brain processes.  No reality.  One wonders how they got that way.  It was and still is, sin.  Then, we compare the professionalism of the police against those with whom they are dealing and assume the police are completely moral and normal.  This is not true.  The drug addict may worship his substance. But the law-abiding citizen has his idols, too.  That police officer, no matter how professional he may be, is still a sinner in need of redemption!

This should change the way we look at people.  It doesn’t matter how well they are dressed or how poorly they appear.  They are lost and without Christ.  It doesn’t matter if the are addicted to crack or a Starbucks latte, they are in need of Christ.  It doesn’t matter if they earn six figures or are on food stamps, they need Christ!  All men everywhere need Christ!