Blessings May Not Be Stored

"If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.” (Mal 2:2 AV)

 

Sorry to end the year on a negative note, but the Spirit impressed upon me the underlined portion of the verse above.  When we think of this past year, we do not think of 2020 as a year of blessings.  There have been many things lost.  We have lost some to a disease that did not have to make it to our shores.  We lost peace and brotherly kindness.  We lost hope for religious liberty in the near future.  We lost election integrity and the damage from this will last until the LORD comes back. We lost finances.  We lost businesses.  We lost jobs.  In our churches, we have lost attendance.  We lost ministry.  We lost the zeal we once had because too many things changed all at once.  This past year was a year of lost blessings.  What struck me about the underlined verse is blessings from obedience can be lost by disobedience.  We know that, but we have a hard time internalizing it and remembering it.  We think of blessings as a plus that can be stored up for times of desire or need.  Like Joseph who gathered the plenty of Egypt for seven years to provide for the seven years of famine.  We think we can bank our blessings against times of disobedience.  But that is not how God works.  We lose what we have gained when we step out on the LORD.

I am a bit of a risk-taker in certain areas of life.  Years ago, my wife and I set up a retirement fund.  We met with a personal banker at the bank in which she worked.  He took his time explaining how different options worked.  He explained how within options there were more options.  Then, our advisor had us take this random survey that had nothing to do with finances, per se.  At least it seemed random.  The test was an assessment of our risk tolerance.  Knowing what the test was about, I probably didn’t answer the survey completely accurately.  After completing the survey, the advisor looked at our results.  I scored a moderate risk-taker.  However, as the advisor was instructing us more and more, and following up with more and more questions, I found myself becoming an extreme risk-taker.  I figured with the way the government is going, and the fact finances of the elderly are usually confiscated for state-run care, why would I want to take the safest way to accumulate savings with minimal risk when it won’t stay in my hands anyway.  So, I opted for the highest risk package available.  The blessings of life were invested in something determined by someone else’s talents and control.  They would take my money and aggressively invest it.  Hopefully, I would make out.  The thing is, there are no guarantees.  My blessings are always in the hands of someone I cannot see who is working on my behalf.

We see those things which we have accrued as a savings account.  As long as we do not withdraw, then the balance slowly increases.  There is no risk involved.  Even the institution in which we have placed our savings is insured by federal statute.  It is a win-win.  But not with God.  God blesses us when we walk in obedience and faith.  He is not obligated to allow us the pleasure of blessings bestowed in times of obedience of our obedience is turned to disobedience.  This may not seem fair.  If we earned a day's wages, are we not expecting to keep that day’s wages even if we quit the next day?  To finish where we started, the LORD is not obligated to allow our nation to enjoy the blessings He bestowed upon us because we began as a Christian nation.  We have repeatedly turned our back on Him.  We call murder and perversion legal activities when two generations ago, we would not have conceived such an idea.  We are seeing the systematic loss of the blessings of God because we have chosen the spirit of the world.  The spirit of humanism and secularism.  This cannot end well.  Unless this nation turns its heart back to God, there will only be one loss after another until there is nothing left.

Faithfulness and Truthfulness Are the Foundation of Promise

“And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.” (Re 21:5 AV)

 

The first statement cannot be removed from the second.  When Jesus Christ states He will make all things new, it is pointless unless His words are also true and faithful.  Promising to fix everything but not keeping that promise is pointless.  When Jesus says He will make all things new, He means just that.  There will be absolutely no remnant of what now is carried over into what will be except the souls of the redeemed.  We will be carried over.  Yet, we will be transformed into perfect Christlikeness.  All of creation will be devoured in a fervent heat and recreated in righteousness and true holiness.  When Jesus promises to make all things new, He is not speaking of improving what now is.  There will be no “new and improved” version of what we have now.  Every atom will be destroyed and Jesus Christ will start with a blank canvass.  This is completely foreign to our thinking.  Our minds can only work with what is.  We cannot work with what is not.  But the Creator of the universe can.  This also suggests we cannot even conceive of what will come. 

I am an amateur tinkerer.  That is, I will work with things and fail more than succeed.  Recently, I completed a project for the church.  It was a craft type project.  As well as I thought it through, there were still, and are flaws.  I should have done the project slightly differently.  My intentions and sincerity were never in doubt.  But I could only work with what I had and what I knew.  As I worked with it, there were changes along the way.  Mostly engineering-type changes.  When one way failed, I changed the design.  Limited to only what was available, the end product was a best as I could make it.  I was limited in finances.  I was limited by what the hardware store carried.  I was limited by the materials I was using.  Although the end product will work, materials and resources limit what the end product will be.  Even if there were unlimited resources and abilities, humanly speaking, the end product would still be limited.  Limited by the materials, resources, and abilities of creation.  When it comes to recreating the world, the Creator is not limited.  He is eternal.  Even His imagination is without limits.  Something tells me we could not even conceive of what it might be like.

This is His promise.  And His promise is faithful and true.  This is the main idea of what we wish to think.  The promise is a phenomenal one.  To think that God will create something new and perfect in such a manner we cannot even conceive is enough to blow the mind.  But then, to also remember His promises are faithful and true, is the icing on the cake.  To know there is no force or being that can hinder the promises and work of God is something that goes a long way to our sense of security.  To know that whatever God says He will do, even if we cannot conceive of it, will still come to pass is a force that allows us to put doubt and anxiety behind us.  What God says, that He will do.  The two cannot be separated.  If God will not do it, then He will not promise it.  If He promises it, then He will do it.  These words are true and faithful.

Partake or Forsake?

“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” (Re 18:4 AV)

 

Two very good practical reasons for separation.  The command is for the faithful saints who still remain in mystery Babylon to come out from her because Jesus is getting ready to judge her.  The warning is for more than escape from judgment.  It is also to keep a clear conscience.  Coming out from Babylon meant more than seeking God’s grace.  It meant not partaking in nor condoning the sins of the world.  I know we have journaled regarding separation before.  Above, we see a very clear reason to separate.  That is, to refrain from being a part of the wrongdoings of others, even in the subtlest of areas.  It gives us pause to contemplate why saints have a hard time with separation.  We usually dwell on liberty.  Liberty is a hard thing to relinquish.  But it might go deeper than this.  Why is it that we do not like to separate?  The people above are in the future.  They have more light than anyone.  They will be aware they are living in Babylon.  Why are they living there?  They know it will eventually receive judgment.  Perhaps they need to.  But many may not.  Why is it that we have a hard time separating from that which we know the LORD approves not?  I think the answer might be above.  We know they will not wish to suffer the plagues.  So it has to be the other option.

Partaking is a bit different than indulging.  Indulging requires full commitment.  Partaking not necessarily.  The pleasure of sin is shared so the extent of sin isn’t as comprehensive as it could be.  There is also a communal experience intimated.  Culture has a way of seeping into the church in ways that begins rather innocuous but left unchecked, it can grow into a problem.  Several years ago, there was a major infatuation with superheroes.  So much so, we saw churches use this theme to promote events at their church.  Superheroes may seem innocent enough, but if left without constraints, it can get out of hand.  What do we do with someone who wants to make Wonder Woman her hero?  Wonder Woman is not the picture of a meek and quiet spirit.  How about those superheroes who carry one intimate physical relationships outside of marriage?  Do we lift them up as role models for believers to idolize?  What about the newer superhero movies that cater to the same gender crowd?  The Superman I grew up with is vastly different than the one portrayed today.  Yet, the church partakes in activities or culture which seem innocent enough.  What it doesn’t consider is the subtle way in which sin is introduced and to the extent, it will grow.  Separation demands that we forsake every appearance of evil.  Not just the obvious.  The saint is not separated because the saint does not want to forsake.

The other consideration is in partaking, we share guilt.  Shared guilt is not nearly as deep as sole guilt.  We spread the divine disappointment around.  If Dad is angry at all of us, then we can bear it.  If he is angry at just me, then it becomes immensely more difficult to endure.  The very use of the word ‘partaking’ suggests this is not a lone wolf affair.  It suggests one of the reasons for involvement is for the purpose of fellowship around the activity.  Perhaps not the activity at all, but rather, association with others who happen to be involved in something we would better off if we left alone.  This is the real issue of separation and it is as old as the garden of Eden.  When Eve partook of the fruit, Adam had a choice.  He could either choose the company of God by faith in righteousness, or he could choose the company of his wife.  He made a choice that the relationship at hand was better than the relationship by faith.  This is the real issue of separation.  We do not want to be different and we value the affirmation of the world more than we do the affirmation of God.  The people of Babylon must make a choice.  It is either God’s fellowship, or the world’s.  But they cannot have both.

Looking For Divine Government

“Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.” (Re 11:17 AV)

 

This is what every child of God is looking forward to!  We look forward to the day Christ returns, removing satanic influence from the earth, and reigns unabated for the glory of Himself and the benefit of mankind.  This portion of scripture is a bit more detailed than what I have just written.  The event spoken above is the declaration of certain judgment upon Satan and mankind.  This judgment takes a bit before the return of Christ, but this event is the start of the process by which the Savior claims full influence on His creation.  He controls all things.  But He also permits some things that seem to run contrary to His own glory.  I say they seem to because we are short-sighted.  Nothing is allowed that will not eventually glorify the Savior.  At any rate, we pray for and look for the time when the LORD will begin to finish the redemption of His creation from the wickedness of sin.  This reign of righteousness cannot come too soon!

Years ago, in my fifth-grade class, a real-life example of the classic book Lord of the Flies unfolded in our classroom.  Our teacher, whose name I cannot remember, was called out to the office.  This meant our class was left without any adult supervision.  That was back in the day when kids could be left to themselves for a very short period of time without great concern.  However, our teacher took far too long.  Whatever the issue, we were left to our own devices for about fifteen or twenty minutes.  That is a long time for a class of twelve-year-olds to police themselves.  As these things go, there was trouble.  This time it involved yours truly.  I had a nemesis.  Actually, I had more than one.  However, the one to whom I am referring was named Marty.  Marty was not a well-liked kid.  Neither was I.  However, he was disliked for a different reason.  I was a quiet nerd.  Marty was an obnoxious twit.  Marty was always trying to get on the good side of the popular kids.  One of his methods was to give me a hard time.  Anyway, during the teacher’s absence, Marty started in on me.  I had a Ralphie Parker / Skut Farkus moment.  For those who know the movie A Christmas Story, you know exactly to that which I am referring.  Ralphie is a good kid who is super frustrated at many toils of like.  One of them was the bully Scut Farkus.  One day, after a big disappointing day of school, Scut Farkas starts in on Ralphie.  Ralphie losses it.  Even though he is a third small than Farkus, he tackles him and whales on him.  That was me.  Completely frustrated at the bullying, poor Marty got the brunt of it.  The teacher was not there and the class quickly descended into lawlessness.  The class desperately wanted our teacher to return.

This is exactly how the saint feels.  We have had enough of the devil and the world wreaking havoc.   We are tired at wickedness, strife, and lawlessness.  We are especially tired that the way the world treats our precious Savior.  We are sick and tired of hearing His name used as a curse word.  We are deeply offended at the mockery God and His word receive.  We are fed up with having to always play defense.  We want the return of the LORD so that He might reign.  Even more importantly, that He might be worshipped in the manner He deserves.  We look forward to the day when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the LORD to the glory of God the Father.  We want Him to come back.  We want Him to set up His kingdom.  So, as we see the events of our world unfold in front of us, we see the band warming up.  The stadium is set.  We are all in our places.  We are merely awaiting the arrival of the Champion of Champions, the King of kings, and the LORD of lords.  He is coming back and this is for what we earnestly pray.

Labor With No Love

“And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.” (Re 2:3-4 AV)

 

When I read of the testimony of Ephesus, it moves me this church was so faithful in the work of the LORD, enduring hardships for His name, yet not walking in love with Him.  Ephesus started out well.  They started a church, established a church, and was fully functional in eighteen months.  That is amazing.  Paul started this church amid strong turmoil.  He was set to defend the faith in the midst of a hostile crowd when the saints intervened and would not allow him.  Rather, one of their own defended the faith and took a beating because of it.  The church at Ephesus was known for its love for Christ and one another.  Yet something happened along the way.  They showed great patience in enduring the hardships that come with being a new and thriving church.  They strove for the name of Christ and labored much to bring that little church into a stable situation.  But among all their sacrifice and toil, they forget the most important thing.  Like Marth who was cumbered about with much business, Ephesus forget to maintain their close and personal relationship with Christ.  The thing that started it all.

It is not uncommon for a young man seeking training for ministry to backslide in the midst of his college career.  The demands on his time are almost unnatural.  He has school work to do.  But he also has a job he works to pay for school.  In my own college preparatory age, I worked close to eighty hours a week at a restaurant and went to school full-time.  The rationale was the harder I worked, the more please God would be with me.  Since I was studying the word of God, there was no reason to read it devotionally.  What a mistake.  Add to that the time I spent in church services and there was absolutely no time for journaling or prayer.  It was those eighteen months of intense work and poor time management that spiritually hurt me more than anything else that has happened since.  What made this an even poorer choice than I realized was this happened relatively early in my Christian life.  I had not matured to the point that I could handle such a spiritually starving routine.  Then the LORD caused me to slow down.  I didn’t have a choice.  He brought to me my wife and soon after that, children.  Dropping for a full load to part-time school and changing jobs which did not demand nearly as much of my time helped.  But still, adding a family only replaced one commitment with another.  All this time the LORD gave me opportunities to serve in a local church.  But it took several years of this pace to finally realize I had allowed what started it all to fade.  The LORD saved me so that I may know Him (John17:3).  He did not save me so that I could ignore Him while burning out for Him.  I learned the hard way the most important of all spiritual disciplines is to read the word of God devotionally, journal, and pray.  There have been great losses along the way.  Losses that did not have to happen if I made devotional time the highest priority.

To this day, I preach devotional time regularly.  It is something I bring up whenever the context of my sermons allowed for it.  Journal, journal, journal.  This is my ministry.  If the LORD would use me to instill in the lives of the saints that personal devotional time is the most important of all spiritual disciplines and it is to be passionately pursued every day, then the LORD would have gotten out of this poor man’s life what He wanted.  Ephesus did much for the LORD.  They had a reputation of love for God and love for one another.  They had that reputation because of their business about the LORD’s work.  What they didn’t have was a testimony of love for one another and the LORD based on how much time they spent increasing those relationships.  Salvation is a wonderful thing.  I look forward to our eternal rest.  I look forward to seeing those who have gone on before.  But most importantly, I look forward to finally meeting my Savior face to face and the transformation that results.  I look forward to loving my Savior as I should have all along.  To finally be rid of the old man and his lust for sin so that my heart is totally and completely devoted to the One who gave Himself for me.

Investment For the Past

“Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.” (2Jo 1:8 AV)

 

John is speaking to a prominent lady of a church.  We don’t know her identity.  In the first few verses of this letter, our beloved Apostle is extolling the character of this elect lady because she has brought up her children to love the LORD.  She has been very successful in leading her family in spiritual matters.  We don’t know the marital status of this elect lady.  Some suppose she is either married to a lost spouse or widowed.  It appears by the letter she has taken spiritual leadership of her home and has done so successfully.  Now, in the above verse, John is encouraging this elect lady to continue to look to the spiritual needs of the family lest John and those who have wrought with her lose some portion of a potential reward.  To what I think John is referring is continued salvation for the household of this elect lady going into grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and beyond.  In other words, our beloved Apostle is encouraging those whom he has won and discipled to do the same so that he and those who have wrought with him might receive a full reward.  This puts an entirely different perspective on service.

While attending High School my father-in-law played sports.  He played baseball.  He knows his way around a diamond.  He is also a very good hunter.  And he loves the LORD and values spiritual service to our King.  All three of my sons exhibit abilities that identify with their grandpa.  My oldest is a book worm.  He loves to study and has earned a doctorate in Bible Doctrine which he, one day, wishes to use for the LORD.  My middle son is an avid hunter.  The youngest played baseball through his freshman year of college.  Each son carries with him a part of their grandfather.  My wife is definitely her father’s daughter.  She reminds me of him almost every day.  When she was growing up, her father and mother trained her to love the LORD with all her heart.  A lesson she learned well.  It is one thing for a son to please his father.  Something else entirely that they please their grandfather.  I am sure when my in-laws reared my wife, their expectations went far beyond her.  Their prayer was for her to meet someone whom the LORD would eventually call into full-time service.  She surrendered to the call of a missionary or pastor’s wife as a young teenager at a summer camp.  The expectation grew.  Almost a century ago, My father-in-law’s mother prayed earnestly for her son, his wife, and their two children.  From Grandma Shirly to my own grandchildren, fruit continues to grow.  This is God’s doing.  But this is also the wish of everyone who rears children, physical or spiritual, that their labor would continue into future generations.

When we begin to consider how our faithfulness or lack thereof affects past generations, this should give us pause.  Grandma Shirley is home with the LORD.  But her labor lives on.  My in-laws will not last forever, but their love for God and other people is a testimony that should endure to future generations.  When I stop and consider my faithlessness might affect the rewards do those who have come before me, it should humble me and motivate me to a deeper commitment to Christ.  After all, no matter how far removed we are from a failed generation, it will always go back on a former one.  This is how mankind works.  He will look at a generation that knows not the LORD and wonder what happened in the past to cause the present generation to walk away.  John knows this.  The elect lady started out very well.  She and her children love the LORD.  But John wants that same dedication to continuing to the next generation.  And the next generation.  And the generation after that.  Each generation is responsible to pass on a faith worth emulating.  If they do not emulate the faith of the previous generation, then we have not passed on something worth continuing.

A God Greater Than Our Guilt

“For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.” (1Jo 3:20-21 AV)

 

Feeling badly regarding the choices we make is part of being a saint.  Once we accepted Christ as our only and personal Savior, the Holy Spirit quickened us and took up residence.  To quicken means to make alive.  We were born again.  We were made a new creature.  Our hearts, prior to salvation, desired sin alone.  Once the Holy Ghost took up residence, we now desire the law of God after the inward man.  However, the presence of the old sinful man is our curse until we graduate to heaven.  It is because of the presence of the old man who is in conflict with the new man created after the likeness of Christ we feel guilt.  And rather deeply.  This is a good thing.  Not in the sense that we feel guilt alone, but rather, we respond to our wrong choices with a feeling of guilt.  In the above verses, our beloved Apostle is comforting us regarding our struggle with sin.  I’ve underlined the portion of the word of God that especially spoke to me this morning.  What follows, is just important.  In essence, John is telling us we can live guilt-free.  Either by living right, to begin with, in verse twenty-one, or having faith that God forgives and is bigger than our guilt.  This second point is one upon which I wish to dwell.

In my twenties, I attended Bible College.  During those years, there were students who started with me, and who were obviously called, but never finished.  There were several reasons why.  Perhaps the world got a hold of that young man and he never flamed the amber that burned within him.  Perhaps the toil of school work was too much.  However, there was one fellow-student who never finished and never went into the ministry for a very different reason.  I remember some of the sermons he preached in homiletics class.  There were classic.  Whenever he preached, the class and instructors were convicted or blessed.  The entire church knew this man was called of God.  What happened?  He came from a rough background and was raised in a home situation.  Because of the perception he had of himself, he made decisions that he should not have made.  It went down a road that resulted in falling away.  All because he lived with unresolved guilt.  He did not allow God to be greater than his guilt.

Over the years, the LORD has brought across my path people who lived self-destructive lives.  There are various reasons for this.  However, one prominent reason people are self-destructive is that cannot live with the guilt.  They drown it out (or attempt to) by self-destructive behavior.  Which only adds to the guilt.  The truth which they desperately need is the hardest to prove to their emotional mind.  That is, God forgives all sin.  We can be subject to our emotional self far too much.  We can refuse to let the guilt go because we see it as a way of chastening ourselves.  We beat ourselves up thinking we do God service in doing so.  But John tells us that no matter how much we condemn ourselves for the choices we have made, the LORD is bigger than our hearts.  He alone forgives.  If He has forgiven, we need to accept that.  He alone can restore joy to the heart that deeply wants to be free from shame and guilt.  I simply encourage this morning by knowing that no matter how I feel, God is greater than my feelings.  Especially guilt.  Condemnation should happen.  If we have done wrong, we should feel bad.  But we should not frustrate the ministry of the Holy Spirit by staying in that guilt.  Repentance, forgiveness, and restoration is the escape from that guilt.  And only God can do that.

Memory Ministry

“Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;” (2Pe 1:13 AV)

 

Memory is an interesting thing.  It comes and goes depending on a lot of variables.  We can remember certain things based on what happened at the time.  Like remembering my best friend’s dad’s funeral who took his own life when we were about fourteen.  A certain song is played and it brings back all those memories of going to the funeral home.  Or the smells that fill the house at Christmas time.  They bring back memories of childhood Christmas’ of times past.  We can also lose our memories.  Stress makes us forget.  Fatigue is another factor.  We can remember things better if we are laser-focused on multiple tasks.  Or, we can forget just as easily.  Time seems to make the memory fade.  The things we learned in school are soon forgotten.  There is a quiz show all about that sad fact of life.  Age and physical changes can affect memory.  Something I am learning to adjust to without much success.  Peter is sharing a portion of what the ministry is all about.  Jarring the memories of the saints so as the stir them in their spiritual life.  A good portion of the ministry is maintenance.  It is relaying truths and foundations often forgotten over time.  This may seem cumbersome.  But it is not.

If you are like me, you are a one and done kind of person.  When something is accomplished, we go on to the next thing.  This is probably why I am not an accomplished musician.  As a child, I learned how to play rhythm guitar.  My father taught us how to play American folk songs and some popular music of the seventies.  The thing about any skill is that it takes repetition to be any good at it.  That is unless you happen to be a savant.  If you are half-way normal, there are hours upon hours in the week that you practice at that which you desire to accomplish.  This requires we rehearse so our memories are automatic.  If we do not use those skills, they can be lost.  I had laid down the guitar for thirty years after playing it.  When I picked it back up, I remembered all of the major chords, most of the minor chords, and a few of the sevenths.  However, there were a few I had to go back and learn.  Dm was a tough one.  C7 was another.  All of the chords in the B family had to be relearned.  I had to remember the difference between an Em and E7.  My memory failed me because I hadn’t used those skills in quite some time.  What is true of learning and maintaining a skill is also true of life.  We have to be reminded.

Many years ago, I had a pastor who would preach the same messages over and again.  Over the nine years that I knew him, there were some he preached three times.  Or more.  Repetition is necessary.  But that was borderline ridiculous.  However, there have been rare times when I have heard the same message more than once.  Sunday School is wonderful for this type of ministry.  Good practical teaching with overlapping subject matter means we get reminded a lot.  And that is a good thing.  We live in a generation that must have everything new and improved.  We don’t like reruns.  We want something that we have never seen before.  We want something fresh.  We want something hot off the press.  We want the latest installment.  We want the next episode.  We want the new release.  Life doesn’t work that way.  The word of God tells us, “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:” (Isa 28:10 KJB) Whether we like it or not, we need to hear some of the same things over and over and over.

Burn Bridges

“Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” (2Ti 2:19 AV)

 

No mystery here.  The meaning cannot be confused.  Paul clearly tells us that if we are going to claim to be a Christian, we should strive to live like one.  In particular, to depart from iniquity.  The word for depart here is not how we normally think of when we think of departing.  When we think of departing, it is usually a casual separation.  Like departing on a plane or departing from a building.  It is a natural flow of one’s actions determined before the direction is laid down.  There is no fanfare.  There is no big commotion.  We simply wait for the announcement for our flight, we get up, we hug someone, and we climb aboard.  We sit down, relax, take out a book, or plug in our earbuds and sit back.  Then the plane taxis, takes off, reaches altitude, and proceeds.  We have departed.  However, the word here means a radical departure.  Like a revolt.  The word means to instigate to revolt; to desist, to desert; withdraw self.  The idea is not a casual departure.  Rather, a violent one.  One packed with emotion and determination.  A departure that burns all bridges.  A departure that detests any possibility of return.

I have a son who is a rabid sports fan.  Anything with a score, he is interested.  He lives and breathes competition.  He had his favorite teams.  However, they switched off and on.  They switched rather frequently.  So, we learned not to purchase him anything team related that might be valuable because if you give it a year, he will change his mind.  That is until he settled on one particular team  He had learned they won several championships.  So, if they happened to do poorly, he could always fall back on the past.  This was going well for a few years.  They won another championship.  He was elated.  Then following that year, they tanked.  He was embarrassed.  Falling back on the success of the past was all of a sudden not sufficient.  He learned that loyalty to one’s locale or place of origin was far more satisfying than to root for a winner who will eventually turn out to be a loser.  At least you were rooting for your home team.  But what was he going to do with all that stuff he had collected?  What was he going to do with the posters, the pennants, the hats, gloves, etc?  Outside of an expensive coat he had which he outgrew anyway, he burned it all!  He was calling himself a fan of a new team.  In essence, he had a new name.  He didn’t simply leave his former team.  In the biblical sense, he departed.  With prejudice.

Paul tells us, “And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.” (2Co 10:6 KJB) By trusting Jesus Christ as our Savior, we have joined a different team.  We are now a son of God.  We are called by a new name.  That name is the name of our LORD God Jehovah.  Names mean something.  Especially if we call ourselves by that name.  We are not always successful at departing from sin.  We fail more times than we care to admit.  But, the instruction is still there.  If we call ourselves a Christian, then we need to violently remove ourselves from iniquity.  Not a polite departure.  Rather, we need to burn those bridges behind us so that we can no longer entertain a thought of returning.  Paul also tells us to cast off the works of darkness.  This has the same understanding.  It means to fling as far away from us as we can the works of the flesh and sin.  We don’t need a ten-step system to overcome evil.  What we need is a decisive event in our lives that casts off and removes from our lives that which is displeasing to God.  If we violently remove that which God hates, the steps to doing that will find themselves.  We will avoid passing by it.  We will memorize the word of God and relevant passages that give us the strength to say ‘no’.  We will pray earnestly and rely on the power of the Holy Spirit.  But we first must depart!

One Way All The Way

“And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.” (Heb 11:15-16 AV)

 

Wrong opportunity is often a matter of where our mind is at.  Verse fifteen is fascinating.  In the context of practical faith, the author suggests if the forefathers of Israel had a mind to return to the land of their nativity, then opportunity would have arisen to return.  But they did not.  In fact, outside of Rebecca and Rachel, Abraham’s family never returned to Ur.  Never.  Once they left, they put it out of their mind to return.  In fact, they went out of their way to avoid returning.  The reason being, they had in mind a far better country.  They had in mind a country where the God of Israel would be worshipped.  They left behind a country full of paganism.  They left the land of their fathers.  They left it all behind because they trusted the LORD God of all creation to provide something far better.  They may have had it easier in the land of Ur.  After all, there were places and even a city named after their forefathers.  They could have just as easily packed it all up and returned to a place they were known, taken advantage of their notoriety, and started over.  But they didn’t.  They could have said farewell to a land that took work to establish for a land where the fields were already cultivated.  The most important of all points for this day is our fathers of faith put faithlessness out of their minds so they would not orchestrate an opportunity, not of God.

There is a custom where I come from called a wake.  It is a large meal and celebration of the loved one who has passed.  Other areas of the country have a wake but they don’t call it that.  Usually, it is referred to as a meal or time of fellowship.  What is different about a wake is there is usually a memorial set up of the deceased and that is where he or she is eulogized.  This custom actually comes from the Irish in the old country.  Although when first started, it was prior to the departing of the loved one and he or she was very much alive.  It began as the Irish migrated to America or Australia.  Knowing there was a high probability they would never return, their extended loved ones would celebrate the departing of the loved one as though they were conducting a funeral.  When we toured the port from which the Titanic sailed, a small museum had a display explaining the tradition.  Those leaving on their transoceanic voyage would permanently leave their family and homeland behind.  However, in today’s world, if we are flying or sailing somewhere, we purchase a round trip ticket.  In many cases, a round trip ticket is cheaper than one-way passage.  Some missionaries I know have to purchase round trip fare even though they have no intention of using the ticket to return.  I wonder how hard it would be to have that return flight ticket in hand knowing that if things get too difficult, one could always cash it in and head back home.  As long as that return flight was in their dresser draw, in their minds it could be a way out.

This is to what our writer is referring.  Entertaining the possibility to return was not even on the radar screen.  It was not a possibility.  There would be no opportunity.  They didn’t even want one.  When we think of our pilgrimage from the terrestrial to the celestial, this is the mindset we need to have.  My wife and I have served in several churches from New York, to Illinois, to Kentucky, to Wisconsin.  There are times when I miss certain things about the places we have lived.  Each had its strengths and we left behind special people who had grown very close to us.  However, if I am constantly mindful of the places from which I moved, I will begin to look for a reason or a way to return.  In this life, we need to always be forward-thinking.  Not backward thinking.  Yesterday is gone.  The life we had we can never duplicate.  Our life is a life lived in faith in an upward direction.  It was hard to leave the places behind to which we had become accustomed.  But it was necessary in order to walk in the will of God for our lives.  Each step took us on a different journey which was needed for the sake of pleasing God and changing who and what we are.  If we are backward thinking, we will never be where the LORD would have us to be.  If we entertain things that God does not have for us, we will make our own opportunity.  This is the lesson for today.

Divine Data Input

“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;” (Heb 10:16 AV)

 

I realize this is a promise to the nation of Israel quoted from Jeremiah 31:33,34.  It is a promise to Israel that following the seven-years tribulation period that redeemed Israel will receive the ingrafted word of God and in doing so, will live according to the laws of God with full faith in their Messiah.  However, there may be a practical application for today’s saint.  One of my personal struggles is memory.  It has been that way since childhood and only getting worse the older I get.  It is frustrating because the LORD teaches me repeatedly from His word and I regret not being able to recall what He has revealed.  Especially when I read the Proverbs.  Each and every proverb has an application for me.  Some more so than others.  I find myself continuously saddened that memory fails me and consequently, so does the behavior.  However, the promise above indicates the LORD may be writing the word in our minds and on our hearts more than we might realize.  Israel had the written word.  What they lack is a personal relationship with their Messiah that would result in the Holy Spirit indwelling them, this gaining the ability to hear, learn, and retain the word of God.  We, being the saints of God by the blood of Christ have that indwelling.  Consequently, the word of God is written in our minds and on our hearts without fully being aware of the process or results.  The more we read, study, and meditate, the more they are written.

Over the years, the LORD has put me in situations that, at the time, seemed like they were way over my head.  Situations that needed resolving and I had never studied out this scenario, per se.  Many years ago, I was involved in assisting a church through some difficult problems.  The issues regarded differences over church polity.  These differences were exacerbated by a church constitution that was poorly written or, deliberately written in such a way that stronger personalities ruled the day.  The thing is, I was still going to school, was a young father, and had little experience in this area.  However, as the issues progressed, learning of law and the Bible became a high priority.  These things were not the most difficult hurdles to overcome.  The politics of a local church with varied personality types was the real challenge.  It wasn’t long before I found myself thrust into a situation that needed resolving and I was left holding the bag.  I sought counsel from preacher friends of mine.  I called a Christian legal service.  I consulted with college professors.  When it came down to the specific meeting where all this was resolved, it took listening to the leading of the Spirit who gave wisdom on a moment by moment basis.  One objection resulted in a certain response.  Another opinion resulted in another rebuttal.  The short of it is, the church finally clarified their position on church polity so there would no longer be confusion when new leadership was called.  I disagreed with the direction they chose to go, but that was not the point.  The point was unity and agreement among the majority even if the majority was wrong.  What was astounding about that experience was I had little to no experience in such church matters.  Yet, the Spirit gave wisdom as I needed it.  Where did it come from?  It came from the principles of the word of God written in my mind and heart through all that studying I did without me even being aware of the work of the Spirit.

When I read of the promise above I can take comfort that even if my ability to recall is not what it used to be, that does not mean the word is missing.  It is there.  When I need it, the Spirit will bring to my remembrance principles or passages I need in order to make choices that need to glorify God.  This is a miracle of the Spirit.  Knowing the Spirit can overcome our limitations is a wonderful truth.  Even when it comes to learning and retaining the word of God.  When we read and are impressed with truth, we do not have to wonder if it was all for naught.  The word of God does encourage us to memorize its words.  But unless we have a photographic memory, much of it will not stick.  Take heart, though.  We can and do learn.  The Spirit does that for us.  That which is lacking is more than made up by His ministry to our limited minds.  Praise be to the LORD.

Empathy Made Flesh

“Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.” (Heb 2:17-18 AV)

 

There is a two-fold ministry here of the LORD Jesus Christ.  The first, which we rarely forget, is reconciliation.  Jesus Christ came in human flesh to be tempted as we so that He could perfectly fulfill the law and thus, presenting Himself as the perfect sacrifice for our sins.  Animals could not be a sufficient sacrifice for they could not be tried under the law.  This perfect sacrifice, tried under the law without failing, could only be accomplished by the Son of God.  There is another aspect of His ministry listed above.  One we too often forget.  That is the ministry of succouring.  The word ‘succour’ means to bring help, bring aid, or relieve.  This ministry is in the context of having once donned the limited existence of human flesh.  The Second person of the trinity is in a unique position to help having lived for thirty-three years with the same existence as you and I.  Further, the help and relief He gives as mentioned above are when temptation is at our door.  Some think it temptation as in trials, others think it is temptation unto sin.  I think both are applicable.  To think that the Son of God thought enough of each individual that He came in our likeness so as to empathize and offer help in our weakness is something beyond our comprehension.

One of the difficulties in ministry is being able to empathize with those going through a difficult time when you personally have not had to deal with it.  No matter how sincere your words and prayers, there seems to always be something missing.  Over the last decade or so, I have had the privilege to be a minister of helps when a loved one graduates into eternity.  I have been at the bedside of a few as they went off into eternity.  Most, I was at the bedside either just prior to, or following the passing.  I cannot begin to tell you how much of a humbling experience it is to share that moment with a family of saints who know for sure their loved one is in glory awaiting their arrival.  I have had to say goodbye to a parent, a brother, and many friends along the way.  It is never easy.  But I have never had to say goodbye to my spouse.  I simply do not know how that feels.  I have had to say goodbye to loved ones who have died from disease, tragically, and even peacefully.  Many partings over the years.  Almost always bittersweet.  To be someone who assists in helping a saint enter the glory of God is something I will always treasure.  But I have never had to say goodbye to my spouse.  I cannot imagine how that feels.  I cannot completely empathize with someone going through it like a pastor who might be widowed.  There are things others go through that I will never truly understand because I have not, or will not, suffer the same.  It is impossible for me to see it all.  We can be sincere.  We can love.  We can try to understand.  But there is only One who truly does.  This is one reason why He came in the flesh; that He might know what it is to be human and empathize with the suffering of His creation.

Jesus didn’t have to do what He did.  He could have judged mankind and started over.  But He didn’t.  He could have been a God who simply reigned aloof demanding compliance of His creation and punishing us when we failed.  He would have been justified in doing so.  But it was love that sent Him to a manger.  It was love that allowed the pains of being human to inflict His body.  It was love that put up with all the temptation mankind would ever face and some we would never face.  It was love that drove Him to a cross.  It was love that kept Him on that cross.  It was love that opened the grave.  It was love that found Him placing His own blood on the mercy seat to plead for forgiveness of wicked mankind.  And it is still love that reaches down from heaven every time we suffer trials or temptations offering to succour us in our darkest hour.  Words fail to perfectly describe the reality above.  To consider the wonder of the incarnation for the purpose of empathy is something I will never grasp.  That God loved me enough to come to earth and suffer as I suffer for no other reason so that He can understand what it is like to walk in my shoes is beyond humbling.  If we could only remember this as we walk through life in the darkest of times, our burden will become much lighter.  He is there and He understands!

Hard Times are a'comin'

“For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” (1Pe 4:17 AV)

 

The context of this verse is really interesting.  Verse twelve starts a discussion of fiery trials that we beget the saint.  From there, Peter expounds these trials are persecutions for one’s faith.  Verse fifteen, Peter mentions if we are to suffer, let us not suffer as a wrongdoer.  If we are going to suffer, we should suffer for our faith.  Then this statement is made above.  Because of the word that starts out the verse, I think Peter is suggesting persecution is the judgment that will come upon the house of God.  This judgment must come first.  Before He judges the world, He must judge the righteous.  This is not without precedent.  The LORD judged Israel by way of Assyria and Babylon.  Then, He judged the nations that were used to judge Israel.  If this line of thinking is correct, what that means for the latter-day church is significant.  God will judge His people before judging the world.  We are going to suffer persecution prior to the rapture as a means to cleanse the church before He judges the world for their rejection of Him.  Many in our world of Bible-believing Christians are becoming discouraged at what they see in the short term for those of faith.  We already see how the forces of evil want to exact revenge on people of faith for nothing more than their faith.  However, if we are honest, the bride of Christ sure could use a little cleansing before she meets her bridegroom.

I have had the privilege of officiating my share of weddings.  There were differences.  But there were more similarities.  There is always the intrepid groom who is nervous as a cat in a room full of occupied rocking chairs.  That is, until the moment the rehearsal is over.  Then all of a sudden his demeanor has changed.  He is all in!  Then there are the plans that must come together.  The bride and her mother are a nervous wreck.  In their view, nothing is coming together.  In their view, this will be the worst wedding in recorded history.  But there is another constant that seems to appear.  That is, the length and depth a bride will go through to appear as beautiful as she can for her wedding day.  It starts perhaps a year out.  She goes on a diet so she can fit into her ideal dress size.  Then all things come to a flurry about a month out.  She gets her hair permed so it can settle by the time the big day comes around.  Then a week before, she gets her eyebrows plucked.  That has to be painful.  Then two days before, she gets her nails done.  Another trim of her hair, multiple fittings, and the morning of, she is in the hairstylist's chair for a bit.  Not to mention the make-up, the squeezing into a dress about a half-size too small, and the uncomfortable shoes she has to wear, that bride goes through some discomfort to be the most beautiful creature her groom has ever laid hands on.  She does all this because she loves him and wants him to see her at her best.

Could it be the bride of Christ is being prepared for a time of persecution?  Could it be we are going to experience a time of cleansing?  Could it be we have allowed too much of the world to tarnish Christ in us and we need a good tummy-tuck, perm, or any other adjustment to get ourselves prepared for the coming of our Groom?  Peter writes the following, “And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:” (2Pe 2:7-9 AV)  Lot here is a type of the church.  What our beloved brother tells us is the LORD will remove us from the world apart from their judgment.  But what is noteworthy here is the Sodom and Gomorrah did vex the soul of Lot and his family.  After all, he lost all but his two daughters.  If he is a type of the church prior to the rapture, he is telling us the church will be vexed with an evil world as well.  Which means we need some cleaning up.  Perhaps this is what is coming in the very near future.

What We See Is What We Think

“Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.” (Titus 1:15 AV)

 

Isn’t this the truth?!?  Our state of mind goes a long way in our perceptions of things.  To the unbelieving, they can defile even the most righteous thing.  We see this in present-day comedy all the time.  What was once ridiculed because it was wrong is not extolled while what was sacred becomes fodder for simple minds bent on hatred of God.  The airwaves are filled with the filth of the world while at the same time they mock what is godly and holy.  This began with my generation.  In the time of early television, studios went out of their way to establish moral standards.  Bedrooms of married people we always depicted with two separate twin beds rather than one queen or a king-size bed.  There was a consciousness regarding social appropriateness.  One of the shows we enjoy watching is a detective show set in the mid to late 1800s. It is common for the screenwriters to portray social appropriateness common at the time.  Unmarried men and women would not socialize unattended.  Certain behavior that would be common to see today was shunned and described as boorish.  Once color entered the picture (no pun intended), things changed.  The envelope was pushed.  Still, comedy had more to do with everyday life than moral decadence or mockery of God and His people.  Today, comedy almost exclusively deals with mockery of God, country, and morality.  This is the way of the world.

However, we are looking at this verse more as it applies to the saint.  If we are not careful, we can begin to think like the world and only see a darker and filthier side of things rather than a holy way of looking at things.  I will give you an example.  Imagine you are sitting in a restaurant and you notice two people sitting at a table and rather than across from one another, they are sitting at adjoining sides of the table.  You notice they are of the same gender.  They are enjoying one another’s company.  They do not seem similar in looks so it is assumed they are not directly related.  What are we going to assume?  What is the impression we are struck with?  Are we going to attempt handing them a tract, or are we going to assume because we think we know the nature of their relationship they would not be inclined to receive such a gesture?  Do we shake our heads?  Do we speak under our breath with our guest(s) having a remotely held investigation to get a consensus on the nature of this couple’s relationship?  We look a little closer.  What is their demeanor?  How do they physically respond to one another?  We are inclined to believe a certain truth not yet in evidence and refuse to entertain another possibility.  Maybe they are siblings.  Maybe they are related by marriage and not to one another.  Maybe they are old high school friends.  Maybe they are business partners.  Maybe they are hard of hearing and do not like to sit so far apart.  Maybe the traffic pattern of the floor caused them to seat themselves as they did rather than a more nefarious reason.  I know.  We live in a world that makes us think a certain way.  But to the pure, they will assume the best.  To the defiled of mind, they will assume the worst.

We can take something God meant for good and turn it into sin without much of a thought.  We can take alcohol which God intended for medicine and turn it into a social drink causing untold damage to millions of lives.  We can take a computer which can be used for quicker and more efficient research and turn it into a venue for filth.  We can take a phone which is a wonder for instant communication and use it for wasting time and emotional energy.  We can take a musical instrument and play it in such a way as it glorifies the flesh more than God.  We know these things and avoid them.  But how much do we avoid the same type of temptations with the mind?  We may not watch wickedness on the TV, but we will falsely assume the worst of someone or something.  We may not indulge in too much bad food, but we will take a cynic’s view of another’s motives and not give them the benefit of the doubt.  People are not our enemy.  The devil is.  People are souls for whom Christ died.  To assume the darkest side of everything and everyone is not the measure of a pure heart.  Just the opposite.