Tag Archives: Isaiah

Approaching storms – are you ready?

Posted on April 20, 2015 by | Comments Off on Approaching storms – are you ready?

PHOTO_13700605_148597_31058328_apI have always loved watching approaching storms. There’s something about the change in the smell of the air, the cloud formations, and even the slight breeze that I just love. I love the flash of lightning and the clap of thunder and simply sit in awe of the might of the storm. With all of humankind’s technology, we still have yet to master the storm much less understand all the mechanics surrounding one. I’m reminded of the story found in the gospel of Luke where Jesus disciples are panicking as the storm unleashes its fury on them: And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm (Luke 8:24).

There are so many lessons we can learn in this one verse about the Lord and the disciples lack of understanding in who Jesus actually was. They saw Jesus heal the sick, raise the dead, and cast out devils, yet when it came to this storm, they pleaded for Jesus to save them. The previous verse, But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy (Luke 8:23), tells us that Jesus was asleep in the boat, the same boat where the disciples were panicking. Just as the disciples knew who Jesus was, we have the benefit of knowing who Jesus is through the scriptures. Just as the disciples did, we also cry out in the  middle of our storms not fully realizing that Jesus is right there with us and realizing He will not allow us to succumb to the tempest we face. We can have peace in the middle of our storms if we take the time to prepare for the storms before they even begin to form.

A Christian emergency kit

As I began to think about what items we would need to bring together for our spiritual emergency kit, the first thing that crossed my mind was the Bible. It is God’s instruction book for life. Within its pages it has God’s guidance, not only for daily living, but God’s advice on how to handle any situation. As I have begun to mature and grow in my faith I become more dependent upon the wisdom contained in the Bible. God offers financial advice, advice on how to raise children, on what to look for in a mate, and everything else in between. The Bible is an everyday book; this makes it perfect for any spiritual emergency kit we put together. 

A strong prayer life is another thing we need to include in our kit. Prayer should not just be something we do our of vain repetition or right before we eat. We know that the prophet Daniel prayed multiple times a day: Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime (Daniel 6:10). I will be willing to speculate that these three times of prayer were in addition to his mealtime prayers. Not only is prayer an important part of our daily life, it must be a part of how we handle the storms when they come. In my life there have been times I have watched the spiritual storm approach and instead of trusting in and praying to the Lord, I have tried to handle it on my own using my own understanding of the situation.

What I have learned is that when I do this, I am actually acting out my doubts in God’s ability to manage the situation. The prophet Isaiah was led by the Spirit of the Lord to write, But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint (Isaiah 40:31). When this verse is coupled with the teachings found in Proverbs, Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding (Proverbs 3:5), it becomes clear to me that two important tools Christians need to have in their emergency kit are patience and trust. Especially when you are a person who likes to have their hands on a project or like to be an active participant, it is hard to simply hold back and wait for the Lord to guide you. When I think back at my life, some of the worst spiritual storms I was in was because when the storm first started I didn’t wait on the Lord. I thought I could handle things on my own. It wasn’t until the waves were too high, the currents too strong that I cried out to the Lord. The Lord tells us simply to wait and trust. He promises to renew our strength and to see us safely through the storm. He tells us not to simply act on our own understanding because He knows we never have the full view of the storm as He does. 

When we are facing spiritual storms many of us have the tendency to isolate ourselves and not approaching others and asking for prayer and fellowship. It is difficult to remember the admonishment by the apostle Peter, Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world (1 Peter 5:8-9). Within this passage, we learn a couple of things about the spiritual storms we face. We learn that the Devil uses them to separate us from God’s love and joy. We also learn that other Christians, our brothers and sisters in the faith, also experience the same spiritual storms we go through. Even the apostle Paul wrote, Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:12-13). When we are in the middle of our spiritual storm, we need to reach out to our brothers and sisters in the faith. When we see our brothers and sisters in the faith going through their own spiritual storm we need to embrace them, lift them up, and encourage them to continue in the Lord. 

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Posted in Chrisitian Philosophy, Difficulties and Trials, Discipleship, Our relationship with God

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An answer to an emailed comment (2)

Posted on March 16, 2015 by | Comments Off on An answer to an emailed comment (2)

New message receivedThis morning before I headed off to class, I checked my email to discover a comment from a disgruntled reader who used the prayer list contact form to send me a few comments about this blog. Normally, as I have shared in the past, I do not respond to many of these types of emails because there is normally no point in doing so. Since reading the comments and after taking the time to teach my morning class, I was able to clear my head and to pray about how to handle the situation. I now feel the need to answer the complaints that this person had against this blog. My answers are based off my understanding of scripture and the common-sense approach I take towards my faith.

What right do I have to have such a hard stand against lifestyle choices?

This is a question that faces all Christians and it usually has to do with the traditional and fundamentalist view on homosexuality. Although the person I received the comment from did not name if this was what they were upset about, I am simply taking a guess based on the sensitivity of this topic. To be completely honest, the Bible teaches us, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). For me, it is not my place to question what the Bible, what the Lord has set as being acceptable and unacceptable. As a Christian, I have to accept the reality that the apostle Paul wrote about in two places in his first letter to the church in Corinth: For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s (1 Corinthians 6:20) and  Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men (1 Corinthians 7:23). Paul also urged through his letter to the church at Rome, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service (Romans 12:1). With these verses alone, it is important to understand that if we make the claim to be a Christian then it is not by our own rules, standards, or morals we are to live by. Even the apostle Peter understood the calling for the children of God to live to a higher authority than themselves:  Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy (1 Peter 1:13-16).

When we seek to follow after the Lord and live according to His standards, not out of a demand for our obedience, but out of our love for Him, we begin to understand just how sinful we are. As Christians, we should forsake our sins – this means to turn away from them and ask for forgiveness, and avoid the situations that could cause us to yield to that temptation. Too many simply focus on the Biblical view of homosexuality, but there are other sins, other “lifestyle choices” that God finds just as distasteful that both Christians and the lost engage in. God finds gluttony (overeating) sinful: For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple (Romans 16:18), and For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags (Proverbs 23:21). Then there’s the list of sins that Paul mentions often in his writings, Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19-21). All of these are sins and lifestyle choices that people often make and when we consider what the apostle James wrote, For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all (James 2:10), it is clear that all sins are equal in the sight of God. Homosexuality, overeating, adultery, and the other “lifestyle choices” mentioned by Paul are all sins – equally.

As a Christian, my goal is to hear my Lord and Savior tell me those words Jesus told the crowd in a parable: Well done, thou good and faithful servant… (Matthew 25:21b); I don’t want to be ashamed and stand amid ashes when I stand before Jesus. Paul wrote to the church in Jerusalem: Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth (Hebrews 12:4-6). In other words, I should resist the temptation to sin as a child of God; when I choose to continue in sin, I choose the rebuke and chastening of the Lord. The apostle John wrote, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Yes, God will forgive us of our sins when we ask forgiveness but the consequences of our choice to sin will remain.

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God’s scale of justice – perfect and just

Posted on March 9, 2015 by | Comments Off on God’s scale of justice – perfect and just

scale of justiceLady Justice, a sculpture that has come to represent the American justice system, has a sword, a blindfold, and the scale of justice. For generations, we have prided ourselves in creating a just nation where the laws are equally applied to all, regardless of race, gender, and a handful of other criteria. Yet with all that has happened, with all the changes in society, and with changes in what is considered as proper behavior, we still have an imperfect system. At times, it seems that justice is simply another commodity where wealth and fame seem to influence. There are also times when the laws that have been passed with the noblest of intentions have a greater negative impact than the original problem. Yet, with these problems, most Americans still have faith in the laws of our land.

The scale of justice and Jesus’ blood

A while back on the USA television network, there was a commercial that featured the actors and actresses involved with the various shows on the network. On this particular commercial, the featured stars would share some of their life philosophy as a part of the “USA Characters” promotional to draw interest to the programming. One actress shared her views on God, “I believe all paths lead to God…” We live in a multi-cultural society and have been taught since the early 1970s that all things are equal. We’ve been taught not to judge the faith of others by our faith, but to be understanding, to be tolerant, and to be receptive and respective of their faith. Being a product of public education and having parents that did not raise me in church, for most of my life I believed that it was acceptable and right to have this kind of attitude – to live and let live. There are several problems with this kind of mindset; the end results are that there are going to be people who will spend and eternity in the Lake of Fire and for the believer, shame as they try to explain their “tolerance” to the Lord.

As a Christian, I have a moral and ethical responsibility to warn others of the dangers of living a life that is not acceptable in the eyes of the Lord. Keeping the Old Testament Laws does not save one’s soul, nor does doing good deeds, living a good life, or treating others with kindness. The only thing that makes a life acceptable to the Lord is this: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16). Jesus further clarified this in two other verses: He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him (John 3:36) and Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life (John 6:47). Luke, the author of the book of Acts, so eloquently wrote, Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12). Our salvation depends on our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ – nothing else will make our life acceptable to the Lord. To assure that we understand the seriousness of this judgment: Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (John 14:6).

There are those that believe that when the day comes and they stand before the Lord, He will use his scale of justice and will weigh their good works against the evil or bad deeds they have done. The scriptures are clear that this is not how the Lord will judge; the apostle John wrote: And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works…  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:12 & 15). Even the Old Testament teaches that it is not by any good deeds we can earn our way to Heaven: The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one (Psalms 14:1b-3) and But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away (Isaiah 64:6). The apostle Paul wrote on this very subject: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). It is only through the shed blood of Jesus Christ that we can be delivered from our sins and are reconciled to God.

The responsibility of the child of God

I’ve never been to a seminary or Bible college; I approach my faith through a common sense approach much like the way I approach daily life. As a college instructor, I have a responsibility to warn students when their attendance and/or the work they submit is not to the standards that are defined for the course. When we go to our family doctor, he or she has a moral obligation to warn us if our sodium, cholesterol, or even weight is now what it is supposed to be. We have no problems following the recommendations of the mechanic who tells us what needs to be repaired on our car to keep up peak performance. Yet, when it comes to spiritual matters, many will not hesitate to ignore the Bible as a collection of fables and God as a myth. Even Christians have become dismissive of the more “radical” teachings of the Bible, claiming that somehow modern society is much different from the times of the Old Testament or the days when Jesus walked the Earth. In reality, while our technology may be different and various concepts of equality, morality, and justice may have also changed, human nature has not.

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Posted in Chrisitian Philosophy, Christian Responsibility, Our relationship with God, Personal Evangelism

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