“….he shall know there is a prophet in Israel.” (2 Kings 5:8)

What was a prophet? What is a prophet? In the old Testament a prophet was a man that God spoke through. A prophet was a mouthpiece for God. A prophet spoke to men in the stead of God and with God’s authority backing him. A prophet was a man that had a relationship to and with God that was exclusive. The bond between God and His prophet is a special bond…it is a intimate, peculiar kind of love. The love and bond between God and his prophet was a love and bond that was preeminent over all others bonds and loves. There existed a sacred union between God and His prophet. A prophet did not only believe in/on God but a prophet knew…knew God intimately. A prophet was a man that was called specifically, personally, and peculiarly by God, Himself…a man of God’s own choosing. A prophet was a man that was given divine utterances from God.

Are there still prophets today? Yes and no. There could be and should be and hopefully will be, keeping in mind what was said in the above. What is, not was, but is a prophet? Today’s prophet is the same as the Old Testament prophets. The Old Testament prophets spoke about what was to come in the future, and he did so with God’s authority. Today the preacher, teacher, missionary, and evangelist are also speaking about what is to come; the only difference is today’s prophets have a more sure word of prophecy in the Scriptures. Today’s prophets have the same preeminent love and bond with God. Today’s prophet loves God above family and friends. Today’s prophet is like the old prophets…WE belong to God first and foremost, and we exist to serve His all-perfect and all-wise will.

Today’s preachers, teachers, missionaries, and evangelists are the same as yesterday’s prophets. Why does this matter? Is this a thing of pride?…I AM A PROPHET of  GOD. God forbid. There is only humility, thankfulness, and gratefulness in the prophet’s purified heart. So, why would this matter? Why should I, as a preacher, view myself as a prophet of God?

There is a God-given; God-gifted; God-implanted; God-infused boldness that resides within the prophets of God, or rather there is a spiritual and moral authority released by God’s Spirit from within the prophets of God. There is a great sense of urgency within the heart and mind of a prophet. There is a directness and a jealousy within the prophet.

An example, X is a manager of a business…fast food, retail..it matters not. X is a manager over a great number of persons employed by this business. If X does not realize that he has managerial authority over employees the business is doomed. X’s position as manager is negated and is only a title. Now, on the other hand, if X realized his managerial authority and used it properly and not as a dictator, the business and the employees would thrive.

Likewise, if today’s ministers would realize their prophetic lineage, spiritual and moral authority that is again given by God per His purposes and pleasure, said ministers would realize the boldness and urgency that a prophet of God must have.

When God sent Samuel to Jesse, the elders of the town “trembled at [Samuel’s] coming” and they asked him,  “Comest thou peacefully?” (probably referencing Samuel’s smiting of Agar) and Samuel said, “[I come] Peaceably…” Did you get that? I will (DV) put it into prospective. Today’s preacher/prophet should…must have an aire of authority so that if he calls a church member and says, “We need to talk”, said church member should tremble because he has done wrong, he knows he has done wrong ,and he knows the preacher/prophet knows he did wrong…..and now the preacher/prophet is coming to help correct the wrong with meekness and grace; remembering he, too is….. “Simul justus et Peccator”…a sinner and a saint at the same time.

The prophet, however, must not fear the face of man, said God to Jeremiah…The preacher/pastor/prophet is not to fear calling a spade a spade or questioning a sinner’s salvation which is based upon the inspection of his fruit that is or is not from the Spirit. A good tree does not put out bad fruit said the Christ. Here is a helpful syllogism – 1. A man is putting forth bad fruit regularly 2. however, a Christ-ian does not put out bad fruit regularly; 3. therefore the man that puts out bad fruit regularly is not Christian nor Christ-like. I’m not talking about sin..we all sin. I am speaking to the premeditated, habitual, lying in wait kind of sin.

Job said God, with His understanding, smites the proud. So too the preacher/pastor/prophet, through the understanding and/or acceptance of “it is what it is”, will smite (reprove) the proud. In that smiting (reproving) he is protecting and defending God’s flock.

The people should know that there is a prophet in………. and…………. and ………..

Godspeed.

“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”                                                                                                                                      (Philippians 3:13-14)

“This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”  (1 Timothy 1:15)

 

Am I a hypocrite? Those that are critical or are enemies of the church like to say, “the church is full of hypocrites!” to which many a well meaning believer might confess to. But is this well meaning believer correct? What is a hypocrite? The original languages would define a hypocrite as profane and hypocrisy as dissimulation. A hypocrite is someone who will condemn or judge another and then take part in that which was condemned or judged and retain a self righteous attitude.

As a preacher/teacher of Scripture  I must confess that sin remains within. Paul calls it the old man, the carnal nature, or the flesh. He states that the flesh wars against the spirit. When I was saved from my sin by the Lord Jesus, my Saviour I was delivered from the penalty of sin; the power or bondage of sin; the pleasure of sin or the pleasuring in the pleasure of sin but not from the presence of sin.

Martin Luther proclaimed that the Christ-ian is “Simul justus et Peccator” (Tattoo worthy) which is Latin for “Saint and sinner simultaneously.” We are the new creature/creation in Christ. The Christ-ian is a saint that sins and sorrows but the sinner is just the same sinner that sins and does so happily. One main difference between the two  (2) is pleasure and or satisfaction.. The sinner sins and takes pleasure therein and s/he sees no real wrong in their actions. Whereas the Christ-ian may take part in sin but the pleasure is not present nor is there any satisfaction. If you were to give a sinner the option of ridding themselves of their sin, would they?

“Hey, I can take that urge, that desire, that whatever away from you if you want me to” many a sinner would not take you up on that offer because s/he is enjoying life as is. The Christ-ian on the other hand would jump at the offer. The reason the Christ-ian would jump at the offer is the fact that they may have taken some pleasure in sin but they take no pleasure in that pleasure as they are brought to confession before their Heavenly Father. The Christ-ian may sin but s/he has no sense of satisfaction therein. That is the “Saint and (s)inner conundrum. That is the war we fight. That is the war I fight. That is the war you fight.

An example, (3) three persons are gossiping and backbiting at the water cooler. One is a Christ-ian and the other two are not. The two non Christ-ians spew and spew and see nothing wrong with it because, “it’s the truth” or they’re “Just say’in.” The Christ-ian may get caught up in this as Barnabas was caught up in the dissimulation of his day (Acts 15 and the book of Galatians). The Christian may fall into this trap or temptation of gossiping  and backbiting but s/he knows it’s wrong and s/he feels the wrong and there is no pleasure or satisfaction in it.

Another difference is the temptation, itself. To gossip is fun and exciting to the sinner whereas for the Christ-ian it is a temptation and that speaks to the war between the spirit and the flesh. While we are sorry for our failures in the area of temptation, Praise God that it is a temptation and not just something to pass the time with. The fact that something wrong is a temptation speaks to the purity of one’s heart. The heart is pure, therefore temptation and sin are seen and felt for what they are.

There is not the overwhelming spirit of hypocrisy in the church as many believe and take satisfaction in. The church is a collection of called out ones….called out of the world’s systems and pleasures and the God called preacher/teacher is Simul justus et Peccator and he acknowledges it, humbly and with much thanks to his Father in Heaven.

Am I a Hypocrite? are you a hypocrite? NO.

“Prove all things.” (1 Thessalonians 5)

 

As a preacher/teacher I must have support for all that I say from the pulpit. I cannot simply make a statement and expect serious Bible students to accept what I say without chapter and verse. That is one of the problems in Christendom today; a preacher will make a claim or statement without Scriptural support and the hearers take him at his word. This is why the Lord said in His sermon from the mount, “ye have heard it said; but I say unto you.” Much of what was believed and accepted in His day was error ridden tradition passed down from one rabbinical generation to another.

This is another reason why so many believers are caught up and imprisoned in legalism. One legalistic minded man will speak of something he dislikes, say women in pants and then it becomes a tradition which then grows into Biblical doctrine and then causes one Christ-ian to be judgmental of another that does not hold to said false doctrine.

In my preparations to present the Word of God I must also “foresee” objections and answer them before they grow in the mind of my hearers. Once an objection begins to grow in a mind most of what is said afterwards goes unheard.

There is much that goes into a thought before it should be stated to others. There is a proverb that teaches it is a fool that answers a matter before he heareth it.” That can be expanded to a person who makes a statement before having proper back up or support.

I am somewhat active in comment sections that are hyper critical of the church, Christ-ianity, fellow believers and most of all attacks leveled against Christ. I have read some of the most outlandish and false comments in these comment sections. I have learned the one way to shut the critics down is to simple ask them to cite their source. This, of course can’t be done because their is no source. Their silly comment was based on fact-less emotion.

Peter said that one should always be prepared to give a reason for the hope one has. This means give reason or support for your hope. Paul said to “Prove all things,” John said, “Try the spirits.” In others words put every thing you would say or hear on trial to see the veracity thereof. Our Lord said over and over, “Take heed to what you hear” and “Take heed to what you see.”

It was reported on Thursday that a study revealed that much of what one reads on Face Book is false. I did not need a study to reveal this. I see so many “news clippings” on Face Book and I doubt so many of them but am saddened to see how many persons pass them along as fact and they do so because they believe them. I see quotes attributed to persons that do not seem in character. If one were to “prove” this quote, “try” this quote, or “take heed” to what they see and read one may find it baseless and false. I am not claiming to be smarter than anyone else (I am ignorant of so many things). I have studied much on the art and science of logic and critical thinking in many, many books and truth be told the Bible would teach many this art if they would “Take and read.” Mystery fiction is another “text book” one could learn much from. If one were to read Sherlock Holmes or Hercules Poirot, Nero Wolfe, Uncle Abner or The “Thinking Machine” Professor Van Dusen as a text book and not just entertainment one would grow critical in one’s thought process. A thorough study on the syllogism would be invaluable, as well.

Speaking of Face Book, We recently had a run in with a woman that attempted to manipulate another person’s thoughts by making an unsupported statement. We challenged her on this and she then replied with criticism of my grammar, punctuation error, and a word not capitalized. This is what persons do. They try to manipulate another’s inference(s) and or conclusions by making statements like, “Just say’in” or “Did you see…” or “did you hear…” This is a fallacious, underhanded and deceitful way to manipulate another’s thoughts. Another famous fallacious manipulation was, “Hath God said…..” this is a quote of Satan. I kept speaking to the issue at hand and this woman continued to speak about grammar! Then she accused me of having a sense of superiority. After that accusation she said she does not tolerate ignorance, which made her superiority personified! Then this person stated that our whole discussion was comical to her. That is the equivalent to a person laughing in your face when they have no answer or support to back themselves up. This person was using fallacy after fallacy after fallacy. My grammar and punctuation may have errors but my logic is sharp and precise. Besides that even with grammatical errors a point can still be understood even though one’s logic may not.

An analogy we could use is math. When we were in school the teacher (God Bless the good and faithful teacher past, present and future) would tell us to show our work. That is true today of comments and statements one makes…be prepared to show your work…or source if you want to be taken seriously.

The responsibility to prove and test what others say is vital in the realms of faith and politics. This is one reason people say that religion and politics should not be discussed. The real reason is people run their mouths with unsupported dogma and when they are called on it by someone intellectually honest their recourse is anger and fallacious attacks. A person’s folly is pointed out and pride rises and mixes with anger and embarrassment which makes for a volatile cocktail, indeed. When someone parroted the “don’t talk religion and politics” rule to G.K. Chesterton he laughed and said “That’s all I talk about.” This man always had support as he was a great journalist.

The proverbs also teaches that a fool will be thought wise if said fool keeps his mouth shut. The other side of that is the fool betraying his folly by his much speaking.

P.S. Please forgive any grammatical or punctuation errors. Thank you.

” Buy a sword” (Lord Jesus)

If one is of the left wing of this nation one sees guns as the problem and a person’s ability to obtain a gun. If one is on the right wing of this nation one sees the difficulty of obtaining a gun as a problem for the law abiding. The right wing also see the root cause of gun violence as the person taking aim with the firearm. The Scriptural principle that could be applied her is the “money/love of money” principle. The Scripture states that the “love of money is the root of all wickedness.” To apply the principle one might say, “the gun is not the problem but the hate of the gun holder is the root of all the trouble.”

Abel was killed with a club of wood, others were killed with arrows, knives, a jaw bone, a fall from a high window and then being eaten by dogs, a king died by worms eating him from the inside out some died from spears and chariots and mill stones. Should all of these instruments be done away with? If you did people would use pencils, plants, cords, cars, hammers, saws, etc. to kill. A person can be killed by sitting on their chest and holding their nose and mouth shut. A person can be killed by hand strangulation. How does one legislate against those methods?

The problem is not accessibility  or inaccessibility to guns, the problem is the human heart. The problem is the disease of sin …fear, pride, self centeredness, anger, hate, desire, covetousness, revenge, lust, greed…human depravity. There is no answer to gun violence or any violence until the issue of the sinful heart is dealt with…we take words for granted. We hear a word and do not really think about it’s meaning. Sinfulness, what does it mean? It means that the human heart and mind is filled of sin to the point of overflow. It means that the heart and mind that is filled with sin works it’s sinful desire through the human body. This means the entire human person is a repository of sin…from one’s head to one’s toes. This is the Scriptural doctrine of human depravity. That is also why even the “good” that an non-saved person does is considered as filth in the sight of God. In many cases the good that one does is self serving in some fashion…relief from guilt, feeling good about themselves, fear of what others might think, wanting “to be seen of men,” To do more than someone else, etc.  The principle would be to do something and it not be from a place of true and pure love is to perform a worthless act even to it may benefit another person. It may benefit another person but no good was accomplished as far as motive and motive matters.

The heart is deceitfully wicked; who can know it?” You ask person’s who have committed egregious crimes, “Why?” and many will tell you, “I really don’t know.” It is because the heart is deceitful and wicked. Silly people say, ” Follow your heart.” That is to be ridiculed greatly. No one should follow their heart! One should think things through thoroughly and make decisions based in and on logic, history, facts and sense. Why are there so many broken families and single moms with fatherless kids? They all followed their hearts!!! Why is there so much gun violence? People are following their heart…their fallen emotions.

Nothing will ever change in the American culture until hearts are cleansed and made pure. One cannot do this themselves. There is only one answer to a sin soaked heart and mind…that is the Blood of Christ than can make one wholly whiter than snow. The answer to all of the cultural problems in any country,the only answer to the world’s crimes is the Gospel of Christ. The Power of the Gospel has answered the effects of sin in life after life after life; year after year after year; century after century….

In most electoral cycles the key word is always change but there can never be any change because the leopard cannot change it’s spots nor can an Ethiopian change their skin color. It is only the Gospel of Christ Jesus and His reigning in one’s cleansed and purified heart that will bring change. When one casts a vote one is doing their part to bring about some kind of change; when one prays they are voting for [God’s] will to be done on earth as it is in [H]eaven. One has the opportunity to vote every (4) years for president but Christ-ians have the privilege and honour to vote for Lord Jesus everyday therein will one find real and true change…into a new creature.

“Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth : Lest the LORD see it, and it displease [H]im, and [H]e turn away [H]is wrath from him. Fret not thyself because of evil men…” (proverb 24:17-19 a.)

Beloved, This is an admonish to be taken seriously. We are not suppose to have a heart that glories in the downfall of other persons. One who is Righteous and loves truth may be pleased when truth and goodness is validated through an acting of God but one who is righteous with Christ’s imputed righteousness is not to take joy at a fall of a person or an entity. The Scripture is clear, “the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”

In the Old Testament of Leviticus, which is still applicable to today’s world in many ways, teaches about the avenger of blood. If a person is killed and the killer runs the avenger of blood may make chase. The avenger of blood has taken the responsibility of finding and dispatching the murderer. However, the Scripture states that the avenger of blood may not take personal pleasure at the kill lest he become a murderer as well and is more guilty than the one he pursues as he should be a scourge of God’s righteousness and not the bloodthirsty man of revenge for the sake of revenge.

The title referenced above speaks to a parable of the Lord. It’s teaching is that one who builds one’s foundation upon the sand will see the destruction of the house he has built. The principle is that of  ignoring Christ’s teaching’s on life will see a life destroyed when calamity manifests.

This past weekend there has been much news on the corruption in CNN, the media and Mrs. Clinton. While one may be please to see good validated and worldliness crumble like a house built upon sand we must be careful to keep our hearts in check. We must not be pleased to see corruption disintegrating an entity or a  be proven right… no, we may be pleased to see good principles being upheld and deceit being proven faulty. We do not fight “our” enemies” but instead we fight God’s enemies or He does through us. It is a mindset one must have.

We must not take personal pleasure in the downfall of a person as it is a downfall of one who was made in God’s image but has been marred by sin. We must not fret or be overly concerned with the evildoers.  Lest we become the focus of God’s anger because we should be pure in heart and peacemakers.

Let us seek the kingdom of God first and leave all the rest to Him.

 

“…our God is in the heavens: [H]e hath done whatsoever [H]e hath pleased.” (Psalm 115:3)

“…Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did [H]e in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.” (Psalm) 135:6)

“Thou art good and doeth good; teach me [T]hy statutes.” (Psalm 119:68)

 

As many of you know I ad a bout of Pancreatitis for the last week. I received many prayers and well wishes on Face Book. The one common theme many had was the goodness of God, “God is good” they would say. I responded to one brother that the goodness of God is a truth that one could spend a lifetime preaching. One would never run out of examples and one could never exhaust the Scriptures on the subject.

There is another truth that must not ever be separated from the goodness of God. It is a truth that will glorify God’s goodness just as God’s goodness will glorify this truth. There are many Scriptural teachings that cannot be separated from another such as repentance and belief; justification and sanctification; The Holy Spirit and the call to Christ; The Crucifixion and the resurrection; the Trinity and the (3) distinct Person that the Trinity consists of; the law and grace; the sinner and hopelessness; the saint and joy and many more.

The truth that must be ever partnered with the goodness of God is the sovereignty of God. To deny either of these when speaking upon the other is presenting only half a truth in fact it steals glory from the teaching you are presenting! For example, returning to the prior paragraph, to preach justification without sanctification is to leave out the purpose of justification or the great doctrine of salvation altogether as we have been saved to be Christlike and that occurs through sanctification. To present sanctification without justification is a works salvation wrought in legalism and there is no salvation therein. To separate the Holy Spirit from the call to Christ is a human centric concept and that salvation is impossible. To separate any of the teachings above from their twin diminishes from the Scriptures purposes.

To restate my position…one cannot separate the goodness of God from the sovereignty of God. To do so diminishes the truth of both. Let me demonstrate. We all like to think we are good and if in Christ we are but we are not all powerful. This means that when we see someone suffer we feel with them, we hurt with them, we even weep with them but to bring healing to the sufferer, we cannot for we are not too weak to bring healing we impotent that is to say powerless. [on a side note…it is my hope and belief that though we are unable to do all that we would like to do for others it is still accredited to us in Heaven after all if a man looks…he hath committed it in his heart. What about when we look with desire to help? shouldn’t that be laid up amongst our treasures?] Now let us consider a king who has “supreme” power in his puny nation.  He may have great power to do much good for his people but chooses not. Then there is the puppet king, he may long to help his people and to do good but any real power evades him.

In the previous paragraph we fell our impotency to heal the infirm and we looked at a king with great power but no goodness. We also saw a king that had goodness but no power for he was a puppet of another. No one would be happy in either kingdom. No one would celebrate either king’s reign lest forced to like North Korea…power but no goodness. Syria is another example of power but no goodness. Praise be to God that in America there is still power and goodness.

Now onto the best part!!!

Our God is all Good, through and through for there is no darkness in Him. Our God doeth good always…always regardless of our perceptions. God was Good in allowing my pancreatitis and the pain. It gives me a mi-nute, very, very finite in sight to the suffering of my Lord at Calvary. This is how my daughter looked at her time in the hospital for appendicitis sometime ago. In sickness and in extreme pain we get just a tiny understanding of Calvary. In our time of pain let us “suffer with [H]im that we might reign with [H]im..”  Let us          “[G]lory in our infirmities.”  Let us pull upon is strength when we are weakened. God is so Good all the time. Our Great God is not only Good all the time, He is Omnipotent…Supreme in Power…Almighty……..SOVEREIGN in all things and in all ways. There is no impotency in God. There is nothing that hinders God nor is there anything that can hinder God. There is nothing that stays God’s Hand or can stay His Hand. There is nothing or no one that can say to God, “You can come thus far but no farther.” There is none that can thwart God’s plans or purposes none; no, not one.

Our God protects this planet from the effects of chaos in space. God second by second restrains the elements that greatly mar the other planets. This is because He is good and He is sovereign. God restrains the enemies of darkness from raging upon us at every moment because He is good and He is sovereign, these evil agents or powers of darkness fear His every Word for He is Sovereign and He is their enemy!

My Lord, my God has been and is so very good to me. I truly believe I’m His very favourite. That is how he treats me. I remember Br. Richard Sandlin saying that it is the wise father that causes all his children to think they’re the favourite. God is Wisdom. My Lord has never let me down nor has He ever ignored me. I am able to point to answered prayer after answered prayer…big life altering prayers.  While practicing His Presence I made the off hand remark  that i’d like to see a hawk. A little while later, on a walk sure enough there is a hawk! The skeptic would say that hawks are not a rarity. However, this hawk flew in a circle over my head (3) three times!!! He that hath an ear will understand that. When thinking of my Big Momma (G-Ma on mother’s side) I’d ask Him for a cardinal as she loved cardinals and before long there is a cardinal on my deck within (10) ten feet of me.

Along side God’s Omnipotence is God’s Omniscience and Omnipresence.  Omniscience = All knowing and Omnipresence = Present everywhere. These may seem like big theological words that belong in a seminary or college but they are not. When all three are combined into one teaching this is what one learns …..God is everywhere at all times, nothing is unknown to Him or hidden from Him and He is all powerful to act as He pleases. That is a truly awesome God and we are told, in Scripture, that He is for us and know one can stand against us and With Him inside of me; behind me; in front of me; over me; under me; beside me; and all around me I believe Him!

Yes, beloved, God is Good; God is Sovereign; God Knows and God is very Present.  This is the mental recipe for comfort and confidence.

Numbers 6:24-26

“Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, [W]ho hath blessed is with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.  (Ephesians 1:2-3)

Recently We were given the honour of ministering the Word of God at LightHouse Church in the Romeoville-Plainfield area. In the morning service we spoke on, “What is a Christ-ian.” We, due to time constraints were not able to preach at length on this worthy topic. We were not able to touch on our text above however we are certain that that which we were able to cover was helpful. The description we were able to express was that the Christ-ian has been made partaker of the divine nature (2 Peter 2:4). The Christ-ian has been made a new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) or a new creation in Christ which means we are a new species different from those that remain part of the old creation in Adam. We are a different species altogether whereas we are lover’s of Christ and we enjoy retaining Him in our thoughts, we are given to prayer and praise, and we long for His return. The old creation hates Christ as they oppose His holiness and righteousness, they do not desire to have Him in their thoughts they pray not nor do they give Him praise and they dread His return. We are as different from them as a meat eating carnivore is from a plant eater.

Another way to describe the Christ-ian is s/he has been on who has been blessed with all spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ. In other words the Christ-ian is a person who is in Christ which means s/he was “in Christ” when He walked this earth and was without sin, was “crucified with Him”, “buried with Him” and “raised from the dead with Him” and is now “seated in heavenly places with Him”. This can be explained from a passage in Hebrews (7) seven that states that Issac and Jacob paid tithes to Melchizedek when Abraham paid said tithes. However neither Issac nor Jacob were as yer born but they were in his loins. In like manner we have been in the loins of Christ from eternity past!!!

Further more the Christ-ian is one who has been blessed with all spiritual blessings. This means that all the blessings we pray for are already ours! Whatever it is that you request such as grace, peace, patience, hope, strength, etc is already your and all these spiritual blessing dwell latent inside of you in the Person of the Holy Ghost. The blessings are present and we need God’s help in appropriating them. When Christ was speaking on the topic of forgiveness the disciples asked, “increase our faith.” So it is with us we may ask God to increase the blessing, help us learn to use them and to glorify Him thereby. We can seek God’s help in using our spiritual blessings to benefit others as well.

Another way to think about these spiritual blessings and the use thereof is a release of power as in, “O, Holy Spirit of God please release this grace…strength, hope, etc. with in Me that I might glorify God, the Giver of all spiritual blessing. This can be seen at the end of Samson’s life. He besought God to release power within him to destroy God’ enemies.  David is another example as he killed a lion and a bear while shepherding the sheep. David did not have the use of this power at all times but it was present when needed. Daniel is yet another picture of what we are speaking on. Daniel, we believe did not have his great faith at all times but an increase of faith was granted as needed.

The Christ-ian, again can be describes in many ways the above being only a few but does demonstrate the greatness of being a man or woman that walks with God on a second by second basis. The Christ-ian has been given the power and the right to pray with a holy boldness and the knowledge that God will hear and will answer according to his will and our good.

It is the Christ-ian that has grace, faith, hope, wisdom, peace, patience, love, joy, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, meekness, and temperance residing within simply waiting to be exercised.

Finally, it is the Christ-ian that has been predestined to be Christ-like and it is through these blessings that we will arrive. Before closing let me ask you this most revealing question, Are you more like Christ than you were newly indwelt by the Holy Spirit and all spiritual blessings? Signs of a new believer are his love for Christ, his love for the Word of God, and his love for the brethren. A new love is the first signs of a new believer. However after on begins to age in his salvation the test is his Christ likeness.

Numbers 6:24-26

“Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.                                                                                                                                                 (Proverbs 18:22)

Today, October 26, 2016, is my wedding anniversary. I have been married to my very best friend for (20) twenty years. My wife, Debbie has been married to a man that has, for (20) twenty years tried her patience and to her best friend.

My wife has given me (3) three daughters that I love very much. Debbie has been and is a great mother to our daughters. Our daughters love to spend time at home with their parents because they recognize the love and friendship. They recognize the blessing we all enjoy as a close family as they have had many opportunities to see other families and the differences are obvious. My wife has been a good example to them all.

Debbie and I have learned what it is to experience financial difficulties and we did it together. We have learned what it is to suffer and endure great physical pain. I have learned to know it and she has learned to watch a best friend live in much pain.

We have both gone through very hard times and to dwell in very dark places that others were not aware of for somethings are private between a husband and his wife. We experienced these time together and with the knowledge of God.

I have been so blessed to share my life with a woman that loves God and is “in Christ.” I have been so blessed to raise (3) three daughters with a woman that shares my philosophy on parenting. My wife has stood by my side through all of life’s difficulty as I have had the honour to do the same.

In text at the top of this page we learn that if a man finds a wife he finds a good thing and obtaineth the favour of God. My beloved is proof that I have God’s favour. If I ever doubt God’s favour all I need to do is turn my head and look at Debbie.

Humanly speaking, Debbie makes me a better man as I seek to be good and honourable in her sight. She is my rock upon which I lean on and cling to in the many storms of life. As Luther once said about his wife, “she is my sovereign.” Debbie and I balance each other in life. She is my memory and my human guide. We shall spend eternity together and I am so thankful to God to know this.

Debbie and I learned many years ago that we each must love Christ more than each other and that we must love each other more than self. As we both grow in our love for the Lord Jesus we each grow closer together. This was demonstrated with a triangle. On the top of the triangle the Name of Christ is written and at the bottom of the triangle at each corner is written our names with an arrow from each of our names pointing to Christ at the top. The point being as we each move toward the top…toward Christ we go closer to each other. This has proven to be true.

Something else i am thankful for is my wife’s consistent beauty. In the last twenty (20) years she has not aged nor has she ceased to care for her appearance (some might frown at a statement like that but they can frown for I am smiling). I have seen many a wife that has simply “let herself go” and this is true of husbands. When I see this I thank my wife for her beauty…her outside beauty and her inside beauty which only exemplifies her shine.

I am thankful and greatly blessed that I share a home where Christ is ever present and where peace is the standard… where there is far more agreement than disagreement.

The home she and I share is a home to be envied. I remember so many times friends and family as well as friends of our daughters not wanting to leave for as I said peace is the standard as is warmth and deep unity between the (5) five of us.

To God be the Glory and to my beloved wife all my thanks for (20) twenty years of undoubted love and friendship and great patience.

 

Debbie, Thank you so very, very much for who you are and for who God has made you. Thank you for being the best wife I could hope for. Thank you for being the mother our daughters can learn from and to study as an example. Thank you for enduring all my many shortcoming and filling in the gaps where I have faltered. I have, without doubt “found a good thing” in you and in our marriage and you are my evidence that God’s favour rest with me.

Love your husband, the most blessed of men,                                                                                 Loder                                                                                                                                                                       10/26/2016

“Now thanks be to God, which [ALWAYS] causes us to triumphant in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour (not Saviour but savour) of His knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, AND IN THEM THAT PERISH: To the one we are a savour of death unto death; and the the other the savour of life unto life.” (2 Corinthians 2:14-16)

I remember years ago listening to a Christ-ian radio program called “Unshackled.” It was/is a produced every Saturday at Pacific Garden Mission. One could visit Pacific Garden on Saturdays for a tour, a fine supper, a Scriptural Message from the Bible, and then one could watch “Unshackled” being produced. It is a Saturday well spend.

The subject of the episode I refer to was about a newer convert who was attending a local Bible school. In this episode, the young convert was struggling with his concept of “Soul winning” . The young convert went to the president of this college who was also a pastor of a large church. The young Christ-ian expressed his concern of not seeing others come to Christ. The president and pastor began by telling this young man that “the reason(s) for his failures”….. The reasons for his failure(s).

You see the pastor saw “soul winning” as a human endevour. How else could the young man be at fault? It was unfortunate that this school viewed our witnessing as mostly human. It is unfortunate that 2 Cor. 2:14-17 was not understood properly for it tells us that we are triumphant if “we are not as many, which corrupt the [W]ord of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ (v.17). In other words,            1. when we share Christ, we do it acknowledging to God that we are aware that we do so in His Presence, 2. if we do so in the stead of Christ or in the place of Christ or in the person of Christ, 3. if we handle the Word with honesty and integrity…not washing it down or being deceitful in order to “win a soul”, 4. if we remember that we will be triumphant regardless of the outcome of our witness then all is well for the outcome is in the Hands of God.

Things to remember when sharing Christ:  1. There is always hope for anyone even if they are in a seeming vegetative state. In Scripture the deaf heard Christ as did those that appeared dead and were dead. There is never a limit to the power of God.  2. We want to be careful that the person we are speaking with understands that we are not talking about changing denominations. They must understand that we speak not about converting to our “religion” and going to our church for that will close a person’s mind, humanly speaking. 3. We are seeking to convert them to Christ. God will attend the rest as to life changes. 4. Do not suppose that a lack of a positive or negative response means they are not hearing you. 5. A witness does not always need to speak to Calvary and the empty tomb especially if they are familiar. Sometimes the best witness is saying grace at the table, simply saying things like, “God has been so good to me” and then explain why. A welled hummed hymn that is familiar to many like “Amazing Grace” goes along way. 6. Letting your love for Christ is big in terms of a witness. 7. Remember this too, Scripture speaks of being a witness and not so much about witnessing. 8. In the Greek the word witness means one who has died. Paul has said more than once as did the Christ, our Lord that we are to “die to self” and to “die daily.” We are to”take up our cross, deny self and follow Christ.” All these admonitions speak to the self being crucified so that the Christ can live freely in us, Galatians 2:20. We become true witnesses only when we be crucified with Him. 9. Do not ever think that you are running out of time do to a person’s age or health condition. God is sovereign over the old and the infirm. 10. Remember that after you have given a witness and you leave the person God may still be at work. 11. Speak often of the love of Christ, the goodness of Christ, the power of Christ and that He is coming again. 12. A “tactic” I used at times is to speak to the person as if they are saved. Speak about the deeper things of God and His Word, and ask their opinion on questions that are Scriptural. The reason I use this is so that they, themselves are face with the reality that they know not God, His Christ, or His Word. In this they in away witness against themselves. 13. I is God and God Alone that will or will not open the ear for them to hears. 14. Always pray before sharing Christ and after. This is probably one of the great mistakes we make, humanly speaking.

Beloved, there is no failing for the Christ-ian witness, for God causes you to triumph always. To some you will be a witness against them and to others a witness for them but whatever the outcome you are victorious.

In closing I draw your attention the John 3. In this passage Christ tell Nicodemus to, “Marvel not for the wind bloweth where it listeth.” In other words, the Spirit of God does as He is pleased to do and due this we should not marvel or worry about time, health, or our ability to witness “properly” or to worry about “failing” for the Spirit will do as He wills. He will blow upon whom He wills, when He wills, as hard as He wills, and for as long a time as He wills. Christ also says clearly in John 5 That He is like His Father. He like His father will give life as He wills or wants to. To get the full sense of the willingness of God one must consider the negative aspect and that is God’s willing not to…  With let being said one should not feel overly responsible as no one will depart this life and enter in to their eternity because of you. As it was at creation so it is now…only God can call for light and there be light.

I hope this helps.

Numbers 6:24-26

BKL

If you are a reader or have read C.S. Lewis you might recognize the title of this article. He wrote an excellent book called “The Problem of Pain.” The title was not, I believe speaking to pain as a problem but more like a math problem as in 2+2=4. As Lewis dealt masterfully with this subject of pail he hypothesized that “Pain is God’s Megaphone to a Sleeping World.” and so it is. When one is in pain or a loved one is in pain what do we due? We pray.

There are many many types of pain in this world that lies in wickedness. There is the physical, the emotional, the mental, the broken homes, the broken hearts. There is loneliness, anger, sense of worthlessness etc. etc. etc.etc.etc. and so on. It would be difficult to rate these in order of most painful. However I would say that the emotional pain is up there. In 2 Corinthians 11 Paul lists all the time he suffered pain at the hands of man and the list is long and most brutal. After he finishes the list he adds that on top of all the pain he suffers currently due to his beatings he has the weight of the Christ-ian church on his shoulders!

So, let us study the topic of pain…the why of pain.

Many a preacher would say that pain is due to one’s sinful life style. That is not where we will begin.

One reason for pain is to move us to pray. Since we all have experienced pain we are able to pray for each other with empathy and as we said to a dear brother and sister recently sympathy and empathy may sound similar but the are very different. Sympathy says, “I am not familiar with tour lot but I feel bad and will pray best I am able.” Empathy says, “I will pray fervently for you for I am familiar with your lot and your pain.” Pain can cause us to think of persons we might not think of often, this is to our shame for the pain of a loved one may not be for the one in pain but for all those that fail to think of him or her on a regular basis.

Another reason I have found early in my walk with Him is this…one does not pray the prayer of thanks for the healthy and pain free time one is experiencing currently. Therefore God reminds one with pain. One is then moved to acknowledge one’s failure to give thanks when all was well. However, to be faithful in giving of thanks does not eliminate future pain for pain, in God’s Hands have many uses.

Pain can serve as a means of humility. It moves us to seek help from the world, it moves us to seek the prayers of fellow believers, it may put us in a bed for a period, it may even cause us to miss opportunities to serve God and people, though it cannot keep us from prayer and fellowship from the Greatest of Physicians that understands our pain.

I said we will not begin with one’s sin as a cause but we will speak of sin, in the abstract as a cause of sin.What I mean by that is we will not yet speak of personal sin but the birth of sin and it’s lasting effect upon the whole realm of creation. In Genesis we know that after God created the heaven and the earth and after God created man in His Image and created woman from the rib of man both man and women enjoyed fellowship with their Creator God. We know further that (s)atan entered the picture and tempted the woman to sin against God and then moved her husband to do likewise. “And by one man sin entered into the world.” All of creation fell at that moment plunging man and the earth into pain and death. Animal began to eat animal, thistle weed began to grow, the woman’s body was changes to feel pain during the menstrual cycle, through the loss of virginity and during child bearing and birth, natural disasters were made possible, and the Image of God wherein man was created was marred greatly. In fact any negative effects that we may feel in spirit, soul, or body is due to original sin.

And now…pain maybe due to our personal sin. I like to think that pain is not God’s first choice when dealing with His children but the choice, as always is His. God may rather speak to us through His Word, He may speak to us through His Spirit, he may speak to us through a sermon or another believer. If we are foolish enough to ignore all these warnings God may then move to pain and again pain can take many, many forms. King Saul was greatly vexed by an evil spirit, David felt the pain of the loss of a baby boy, Moses was kept from the Promised Land after (40) forty years of faithful service and because of one grievous sin. Korah and his family killed, Miriam was struck with Leprosy for questioning Moses authority, Ananias and Saphira  were killed for lying to the Holy Ghost, King Herod was killed for accepting a comparison between himself and God.

Some feel pain in order for God to be glorified in the sight of the people. One case has a man blind from birth. The blind man was now (39) thirty-nine years old. Christ was asked by his disciples, “Who did sin this man or his parents?” Christ answer was that this man’s blindness IS NOT due to sin. This man was born blind and suffered many years and the effects of blindness so that at God”s appointed, ordained time he would be healed! In other words this man suffered and endured blindness for thirty-nine years for the sole purpose of being healed in this extraordinary manner…at the Hand’s of the God Man! And so it is today. Some suffer pain so that God will be glorified in the healing. Scripture states that God hurts that He may heal.

What should one do while suffering in pain? 1. One should pray without ceasing as this should be our practice when enjoying health as well as pain…be instant in prayer…practice the Presence of God. 2. Focus on God, His ways, His Word(s), and His works.  3. Be careful not to think your pain is worse than others. 4. Think of others that are currently in pain and pray for them. 5. Think of those not in pain and pray a prayer of thanks on their behalf. 6.Thank God that your pain is not worse than it is. 7. Thank God for those praying for you and thinking of you and be humbled for all the expressions of faith toward God and love toward you. 8. If you sense that your pain is due to your personal sin…repent and humble yourself under the Mighty Hand of God and remember that God chastens only those He loves  9.Thank God that you have been saved from the eternal effects of original sin. 10. Rest and sleep while awaiting your healing. 11. Dwell upon the sufferings of Christ as He is familiar with all human suffering (Isaiah 53; Hebrews 4:15). He is familiar with the emotional pain as well for He was “a man or sorrows.” 12. Think about the pain He endured on the Cross at Calvary and that He endured it for thee. 13. And always remember, “God Knows”. Those are two words that are full of hope. 14. Ask God what you should learn from this pain. 15. Remember that this too shall work toward your good.

We trust that is article if help to those that are enduring pain currently and those that are currently enjoying pain free health.

To God be all the Glory and all the Praise.