"Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him." (Deuteronomy 13:4)

Our text for today seems somewhat out of place, for it is tucked into a passage dealing with false prophets: instructing the people of Israel in ways to detect one who would lead them into false worship. The penalty was death, "because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt" (v. 10). The purpose was both purification and example, for "all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you" (v. 11).

The chief test of a prophet was not his ability to perform signs and wonders (v. 1). Elsewhere the test of total, lifelong accuracy was applied.

"When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously. . . . that prophet shall die" (Deuteronomy 18:22, 20).

A more immediate test lay in the absolute harmony of the prophet’s message and deeds with the revealed Word of God, and the wholehearted commitment to the Lord Himself. This test takes the form of the holy standard set forth in our text.

Note that an inward attitude will be expressed, as given in the six action verbs. If we are to please God, we must "walk after" or "pursue" Him, and "fear" or "reverence" Him in all things.

Furthermore, we must "keep" His commandments, striving to "obey" Him on every issue He addresses. He expects such a one to "serve" Him: to do His bidding. Finally, we must "cleave" or "cling" to Him, holding fast to Him in an ever deepening relationship. To do less is to fail the test used to discern false prophets, incurring at the least His displeasure; at the most His wrath.

Related posts:

1. The Test of a False Prophet "Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear Him, and keep His commandments, and obey His voice, and ye shall serve Him, and...
2. Only One True God "For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve...
3. The Beauty of Holiness “Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness” (Psalm 29:2). When King David transported the...

Do your problems seem insurmountable? Taking too long to detangle? In Psalms we find writers who felt the same way and asked the plaintive question, “How long, Lord?”

In Psalm 13, David’s poignant “How Long” is packed with emotion, yet there’s a clear progression tWheo his thoughts. Its six verses describe a three-fold response to those long nights of heartache when tomorrow seems far away.

The Groping Phase
In verses 1 and 2, David was groping. He wrote:

“How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? How long will my enemy be exalted over me?”

David’s prolonged, “How Long?” is a bitter but biblical cry. He was a man of God, after God’s own heart. Yet he groped for answers and cried out, “How long?”

The Coping Phase
Psalm 13 also talks about coping through the medium of prayer.

“Consider and hear me, O Lord my God; enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death; lest my enemy say, ‘I have prevailed against him.’”

David turned to prayer and begged God to hear him lest his night of sorrow never end. Prolonged trouble can teach us about prevailing prayer. Through unanswered prayer, we learn patience.

We need to progress spiritually from groping to coping, using the wonderful availability of prayer — even when the answers seem delayed. Consider and hear me, O Lord! — that’s our cry.

The Hoping Phase

As we wait before the Lord with unanswerable questions and unsolvable problems, He wants to move us into the hoping phase that ends this psalm. Notice that Psalm 13 begins with a sigh and ends with a song:

“But I have trusted in Your mercy; My heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me.”

I’m not sure David’s circumstances had changed; but through prayer, he had moved into an attitude of hope, of trust, of optimism, and of sustained joy.

A wise elderly blind woman said, “Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time….” Moving into a nursing home, she told the attendant she loved her room. “But you haven’t seen it” said the attendant. “It doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged. It’s how I arrange my mind.”      

Amidst difficult news, serious problems, and drawn out challenges, we make a choice. We can either gripe and complain, or we can lift up our eyes to the Lord and say,

“God, I don’t know what is going on here; I don’t truly understand it. But I will put my trust in You, and I will praise You with all my heart. I will arrange my mind according to the promises of Your Word.”

In doing that, here are the two rules to follow.

First, keep going forward. Don’t collapse or faint. The book of Proverbs says,

“If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small” (Proverbs 24:10).

Take each day as it comes, put one foot in front of the other, and just keep going — just do it. The Bible calls this perseverance, walking by faith and not by sight.

Second, keep looking upward. Remember what King Jehoshaphat said when faced by his enemies in

2 Chronicles 20:12: “We have no power against this great multitude coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”

Our God is a very present help in trouble, and we can come boldly to Him for grace to help in time of need. Though He tarries, He does not deny. He has His own timetable, and sometimes His schedule seems slow to our mortal minds. But the promise is sure:

“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5).

The night doesn’t last forever, and tomorrow will surely come. Our job isn’t to mope, grope, or even to cope. It’s to hope in His unchanging grace. Put one foot in front of the other, and keep looking up!

Related posts:

1. Learning to endure Learning To Endure by Adrian Rogers Do you want strength? How about victory? Prosperity? Contentment? Now, let me ask you a tougher question. Do you...
2. Take heed and endure sound doctrine "And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ;...

"While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage." (2 Peter 2:19)

This chapter consists of a strong denunciation of false teachers. They are, among other things, sensuous, beguiling, covetous, and accursed (v. 14). They desire personal wealth (vv. 15-16), but their message is empty, and even destructive, and will be judged (v. 17), appealing to the pride and lusts of their hearers (v. 18).

In our text we see the false teachers are quick to make promises. Promises are cheap; they cost nothing. Satan first revealed himself to mankind with a promise:

"Ye shall be as gods" (Genesis 3:5), and later attempted to seduce the Son of God with "all the kingdoms of the world" (Matthew 4:8).

Empty promises are Satan’s golden hook, and many are the foolish ones who take the bait.

In this case, the false teachers promise liberty–liberty to act without the shackles of responsibility and moral law. But they themselves are "servants of corruption," slaves of a most abhorrent mentality. And who are they to offer liberty? These are indeed "great swelling words of vanity" (2 Peter 2:18), for slaves cannot rightly offer liberty.

How is this promise kept? Bondage. Bondage to that which has overcome. The liberty that sin promises is slavery, and the greater the sinner, the greater the bondage to the sin. There is perhaps no more wretched a state than to be in bondage to abject corruption in the name of liberty. It is a bondage of the spirit; a captivity of the soul. Of all states of slavery, it is the most lasting.

On the other hand, through grace we can,

"stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free," with no need to be "entangled again with the yoke of bondage" (Galatians 5:1).

Related posts:

1. The “I will’s” of Jesus Christ “And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth His hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean” (Mark 1:41)....
2. Divine power. Divine nature. "According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called...
3. Israel is the Lord’s “Thus saith the Lord; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all...

“Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. . . . Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh." (Matthew 24:42, 44)

Those who try to predict Christ’s return may become skeptical about biblical prophecy. But this would be a sad mistake. Regardless of just when it will happen, Christ will return, for so He promised, and He cannot either lie or fail. He has repeatedly made it plain that no one can determine the date of His coming. Not even He, while in His human limitations, knew that (Mark 13:32).

Again and again He urged us to watch and be ready for His return. He did not tell us to watch for the Antichrist or the revival of Rome’s empire or a great apostasy or a great revival or a world government or anything else -just for Him! Note some of His commands to do this (in addition to the two in our text):

"Take ye heed, watch and pray, for ye know not when the time is" (Mark 13:33).

"Watch ye therefore: . . . Lest coming suddenly, he find you sleeping" (Mark 13:35-36).

"Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh" (Matthew 25:13).

In addition to such exhortations by the Lord Himself, the apostles also sounded similar warnings:

"Unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation" (Hebrews 9:28).

"Abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming" (1 John 2:28).

Space limitations preclude listing others, but again in the words of Christ:

"And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch" (Mark 13:37).

Related posts:

1. Crown Him the Lord of Heaven "God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands."...
2. Christians and Their Coming Judgement People often make erroneous judgments. Even those who are officially appointed or elected to judge others are sometimes mistaken, and so we have a whole...
3. Jesus Christ is Coming ...

“Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him. He also shall be my salvation: for an hypocrite shall not come before him.” (Job 13:15-16)

The patriarch Job was, according to God’s own testimony, the most perfect and upright man in all the earth (Job 1:8), yet he was subjected to the most severe testings that anyone (except Christ Himself) ever had to endure. He lost all his great possessions and his large family in a single day, then was afflicted for months on end with a most loathsome and painful disease. He lost the respect of all who had once honored and followed him and was even accused by his closest friends of being a wicked sinner and arrogant hypocrite. Worst of all, the God whom he had loved and faithfully served all his life had apparently completely ignored his prayers for deliverance, or even for understanding of what was happening to him. Finally, a presumptuous young religionist related what he (falsely) claimed was a divine message that even God had accused Job of sin and hypocrisy.

Yet, despite all this, Job never once lost his faith! “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him,” he insisted. “For I know that my redeemer liveth” (Job 19:25), and “He also shall be my salvation” (today’s verse).

What an example has been provided us by this ancient patriarch, whose knowledge of God’s Word, God’s love, and God’s great salvation through faith in Christ was only a small fraction of what we know now, with God’s complete revelation before us. The apostle James well reminds us of “the patience of Job,” probably the greatest example of all “the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience” (James 5:10-11). We can, like Job, know that He who created us deserves absolute trust.

Related posts:

1. Jesus Knows Our Heart “Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render unto every man according unto all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for...
2. Are we together with Christ Jesus? "Even when we were dead in sins, |God| hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together,...
3. The “I will’s” of Jesus Christ “And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth His hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean” (Mark 1:41)....

“Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn.” (Deuteronomy 25:4)

This Mosaic regulation would seem rather insignificant, except that it is quoted twice in the New Testament.

“For it is written in the law of Moses, thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen?” (1 Corinthians 9:9-10).

The answer of course is an emphatic, “Yes!” our Lord does take care for the welfare of oxen, but that is not the main purpose behind this law.

“Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope.”

 

This application is drawn in verse 14: “Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.”

That is, supporting financially those who devote full time to God’s work is not “charitable giving,” but compensation for services, with the pay to be provided by those who receive the benefit of their labors.

This is even more clear in the second reference:

“Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. For the scripture saith, thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward” (1 Timothy 5:17-18), the latter part quoting words of Christ (Luke 10:7).

Incidentally, note that both New Testament and Old Testament Scriptures are considered divinely inspired and authoritative on any subject with which they deal.

The subject here is just compensation for those who devote their time, training, and abilities to the work of the Word, under the call and leading of God, as recognized by the people of God. And, who are those God says need to be supported? Most believe it refers to Pastors but in context, refers to anyone who labors to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world: street evangelist, domestic and foreign missionaries, itinerate preachers and more!

This seemingly insignificant principle, if faithfully obeyed, would greatly enlarge the effectiveness and outreach of the Christian witness in the world.

No related posts.

The message of Genesis is not confusing. The repetitive information throughout the rest of Scripture is consistent. The universe was created by an omnipotent, omniscient, and transcendent Being. The words of Scripture insist that God’s work was recent, complete, and “good.” Our struggle with that message is that everything we observe is tainted by evil and death.

Secular history presupposes that the “normal” of today has been the dominant operational force behind everything that exists. Geological processes, fossil evidence, sociological development, all are interpreted with no God in the story. Some theologians attempt to explain the differences between the biblical message and secular naturalism by suggesting that dying processes were a normal part of God’s creation. Some religions embrace the idea that “good” and “evil” are nothing more than two sides of the same reality—that our perception of such contrasts are merely a product of our experience and culture.

How can we resolve the conflicting message of a good creation with the evil that surrounds us? For those of us who believe that an omnipotent and omniscient God has existed from eternity past, we must correlate what that God has revealed to us and our growing understanding of science with God’s divine nature as the controlling factor. What does the revealed nature of God demand of the original creation? How does natural revelation (what we can observe in today’s universe) shape the written words of Scripture?

Some have suggested that the processes of nature in that original creation could not have included a deathless universe since all natural processes function around deterioration and death. Living things would have worn out and died—even if the environment was much better than the environment we know today. Animals would have died normally, and Adam and Eve would have died eventually unless they ate of the Tree of Life that God planted in the garden “eastward in Eden.”

But the Bible tells us that death is the result of Adam’s sin, and as a result of God’s judgment “death passed upon all men” (Romans 5:12). When God tells us death is the “last enemy” to be conquered by the Lord Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:26) and death will not exist in the new heavens and the new earth (Revelation 21:4), are we to expect the new bodies promised upon our resurrection to be still mortal in eternity?

Before we approach these issues, it is absolutely necessary to acknowledge what has been recorded about the origin of the universe.

God’s Own Commentary

“Every thing…was very good.” The repetition of God’s comment is worth noting. Five of the six working days of the creation week are pronounced “good” by the Creator. It is the same Hebrew word each time and means just what would be expected: good, pleasant, agreeable, excellent, of benefit, etc. That word is used well over 500 times in Scripture. There is nothing very unusual about God’s use of the word, except that it is repeated often and that it is God who uses the term.

Given that the Creator is using the term, we should consider the character of the Evaluator. We should gain some understanding of His attributes before we render an opinion of the meaning of the term “good”—especially as it applies to the original creation.

God Is Holy

Holiness is the preeminent attribute of God. Everything God does is subject to the unchangeable rock of God’s holy nature. Even the love that drove Him to become man and die a substitutionary death for our sins is driven by the holiness that demands justice for the horrible rebellion against that very holiness.

Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? (Exodus 15:11)

There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God. (1 Samuel 2:2)

I will publish the name of the LORD…He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he. (Deuteronomy 32:3-4)

Because God is holy, He must reveal truth in the created things of the universe. He cannot lie (Titus 1:2). God’s words and deeds are “true and righteous altogether” (Psalm 19:9).

God Is Omniscient

Everywhere we look—into the deepest recesses of space or the minutia of the microscope—the intricacy, precision, and complexity of all things stagger us with the enormity of details and vastness of information.

O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. (Psalm 104:24)

I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. (Isaiah 46:9-10)

Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. (Acts 15:18)

This is the consistent message of Scripture. God cannot be progressively aware. God’s knowledge is immediate. God is free from imperfection. God knows all there is to know. God’s purpose and order flow from His omniscience. His decisions are unchangeable and without confusion. God’s specific will and pleasure are always implemented.

God’s Flawless Good

Whatever God said was “good” would have to be in harmony with His divine nature. Since God is holy, He could not deceive us about the order of the creation week. Since God is omniscient, He could not guess or use trial and error methodology. God would not experiment. God would not produce inferior things. He can do only holy acts. He cannot create, make, or shape non-functional processes. All of this clear evidence requires that we who read Genesis 1 understand “good” to mean “flawless function.”

• God’s “good” functions properly.

God’s own account of His work specifies His organization and purpose. Because God is omniscient, everything in the universe works as designed. Because God is omnipotent, everything has all it needs to operate, live, reproduce, and populate under the orders of and in agreement with the Creator’s design. Each component was designed to function without flaw. Every part works as ordered, and all living things function under the limits and in the places for their lives. Nothing was misplaced. Nothing was left to chance.

• God’s “good” could not include sin.

For the holy, omniscient, omnipotent, loving Creator to conclude that everything that He had created was “very good,” there could be nothing in that completed creation that did not function as designed. Nothing existed in conscious rebellion against the immutable nature of the Creator—there was no sin.

Sin became a part of human nature through Adam. Death was introduced into the creation because of the Creator’s sentence upon Adam.

• God’s “good” could not include death.

God is life. Everything that is revealed about God centers on His eternal Being. The most personal name that God reveals is “I AM”—the One who exists by the right and nature of who He is. Jesus insists that He is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). The awesome Apokalypse of Jesus Christ opens with the loud voice “as of a trumpet, saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last” (Revelation 1:10-11).

There is absolutely no indication anywhere in the Scriptures that the living God—the God of life—created death. Nothing in the Bible suggests that death was a part of the good that God designed into His creation. Death in Scripture is separation from God. Death stops life. Death intrudes into and destroys everything. Death is not normal.

When God completed His work, He pronounced “it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). If words mean anything at all, “good” must include the flawless functioning of every molecule and all systems and all life. “Good” demands that nothing be out of order or in rebellion to His nature. No sin or death existed in all of creation—until the third chapter of Genesis.

Rebellion in the Garden

Most of us have wondered how much time elapsed between the end of Day Seven and the world-changing events that took place at the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. No specific time period is stated, but it does not appear that it was very long. Eve did not conceive the first human child until after the pronouncement of the judgments and after they were cast out of the garden (Genesis 4:1). Given the basic command to “be fruitful and multiply,” it is unlikely that either Adam or Eve delayed attempting to fulfill this mandate.

However one interprets the information, it could not have been “ages.” More than likely it was less than a year—and probably only a few days after they both were created.

A Mixed Message

If physical death is part of the design of God in the original creation, that makes God the Author of death. Since the creation is part of the revelation of the nature of God (according to Romans 1:20), such a design would require that death is part of the holiness of God. How could this be? The Bible calls death the “last enemy” and insists that the Lord Jesus will destroy it. If God Himself created death, then why would He destroy it later? Did God deliberately confuse us?

If death is not the judgment for sin as the Bible insists, then the whole of the gospel message is foolishness. What would salvation rescue us from? If death is not the judgment for sin, then the death of the Lord Jesus on the cross at Calvary is nothing more than a foolish end to an idealist—a martyrdom for an illusionary cause.

The Bible demands that an innocent sacrifice be substituted for the awful sin of humanity. Christ’s death is required for salvation. We are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ on Calvary (Hebrews 10:10), done once, with, and for eternal consequences (Hebrews 10:12-14).

Twisting the words of Scripture so that Christ’s physical death had no meaning is a terrible heresy. If eons of pain, suffering, and death existed before Adam’s awful rebellion, then a whole sweep of biblical teaching is thrown into the black hole of allegory.

The Demands of God’s Nature

God is omnipresent Spirit (John 4:24). God is not nature. God is not the universe. God is not a cosmic consciousness or a force of mystery. God is not man—He is greater than man (Job 33:12) and does not change His mind (Numbers 23:19).

Since God is holy, God does not author confusion. He is Light (1 John 1:5). He is the truth (John 3:33; 14:6); therefore, God cannot deceive us.

Because of who God is, we can be assured of an original creation that functioned as it was designed—a creation that fits the Creator. The “groaning” of the creation now (Romans 8:22) is a constant reminder that rebellion against the holiness of the Creator required His judgment. God Himself reconciles His creation to Himself through the death of His sinless Son in substitution for our well-deserved guilt.

The “Good” News

The gospel message insists on the “birth from above” (John 3:3) that brings about a transfer from death to life (John 5:24). It involves a “new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17) made possible by the death of the Creator Himself (Hebrews 2:9).

The earthy condition of flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Physical changes are required. Resurrection is the absolute opposite of physical death. Corruption must become incorruption. Dishonor must become glory. Weakness must become power. The natural must become spiritual (1 Corinthians 15:50-54). Physical death is an intrusion into the eternal order of things, and it takes a resurrection to correct it.

The “new man” must be created in God’s righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4:24). We await the fulfillment of that promise when the Creator “shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself” (Philippians 3:21).

NOTE: If you are ready to receive forgiveness of sins by the only One who possesses both the power and authority to do so, then call upon Jesus Christ, the Son of God right now. God has gone to great lengths in creating the heavens and earth as well as orchestrating all the events of human history, including placing you in the position of reading this article right now. This is your time of decision. Please, with all that I am… do not delay any longer! He is waiting to hear from you. Jesus loves you and so do I… Cody

Related posts:

1. Hell and the Gospel “And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy...
2. A Good Name “A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.” (Ecclesiastes 7:1) It seems odd at...
3. The Gospel by Revelation “But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither...

“These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” (John 15:11)

The word “fun” is never mentioned in the Bible, and “entertain” is used only in reference to being hospitable. Such activities as “reveling” and “playing” receive nothing except condemnation in the Scriptures (with the exception of little children at play).

Yet there is growing emphasis today in many churches and parachurch organizations on providing “entertainment” and “fun times” for their members–especially for teenagers and young adults. This is the way to reach them and keep them for the Lord, so they say. Perhaps so, but one wonders why neither the Lord nor the apostles nor the prophets ever told us so. Is this a program kept in reserve by the Lord just for the young people of this generation?

Actually, Christians can have something far better, more effective, and more lasting than fun and entertainment. In Christ, they can have heavenly joy! “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine,” the Bible says (Proverbs 17:22), where the word for “merry” is more commonly translated as “joyful” or “rejoicing.”

While the Bible never mentions “fun,” it has many references to “joy” and “rejoicing.” Here are just a few. “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts” (Jeremiah 15:16). “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory” (1 Peter 1:8). “For the joy of the LORD is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).

We must remind ourselves continually that the Lord Jesus daily, through His words, shares His joy with us, “that |our| joy might be full.”

Related posts:

1. Jesus is the Word, Life and Light The Bible is always the best commentary on itself--especially when the word or phrase is not frequent. In this case, "the word of life" is...
2. Christian Sacrifice and Service Paul’s ministry among the Philippians resulted in the godly lifestyle of the church. They became sacrifices (Greek thusia) much like the Lord Jesus "hath given...
3. The Christian Lifestyle – Our Relationships Part VI "Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God" (Ephesians 5:21). Our calling is to walk worthy. Our gifts are perfect and complete. Our...

For the first time, a major Israeli newspaper has accepted an ad from an open missionary group.
The economic daily Calcalist on Wednesday featured a large ad placed by Jews for Jesus offering readers an app that leads them to the organization’s website, where there is a “hard sell” in Hebrew on why Jews should believe in Jesus.

The ad is printed on a background of the flag of Israel, clearly associating the ad, and the organization, with Israel’s Memorial Day for fallen IDF soldiers, being commemorated on Wednesday.

While the ad does not appear to directly proselytize Calcalist readers, it does feature a mnemonic based on the Hebrew word for Jesus, “Yesh > Yeshu > Yeshua,” modeled after the popular mnemonic used by followers of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, “Na Nach Nachma Nachman Me’Uman.”

The word “Yeshua” in Hebrew means “salvation,” and is used by Christian missionaries to justify their position that Jesus was the promised Jewish Messiah. Jews, of course, reject this position, using as proof the fact that the prophecies in the Hebrew Bible associated with the Messiah, such as the arrival of an era of world peace, have not been fulfilled.

Early Christians changed the commandments, a further halakhic proof of a false prophet.

Direct proselytization with the promise of a material benefit is against the law in Israel. However, there is no law against urging people to adopt a new belief or religion based on spiritual or philosophical principles.

The ad includes a QR code that readers can scan with their smartphones that installs an app produced by the group. The app directs users to the group’s web site, where “issues of the day,” including politics and Jewish history, are discussed from a Christologic viewpoint. Among the claims made on the web site is that the Jews are to blame for the persecution they have experienced over the generations, and especially for the Holocaust, because of their rejection of Jesus.

Anti-missionary groups slammed Calcalist for running the ad, with one activist saying they planned to sue Calcalist for printing an ad that was clearly misleading. “The ad implies that it is in memory of fallen IDF soldiers, but its real purpose is something else entirely. They should be ashamed of themselves.”

Calcalist is a part of the Yediot Achronot publishing group, which is headed by Arnon Mozes.

Related posts:

1. Iran to destroy King Cyrus’ Tomb? Iran is planning on submerging the tomb of King Cyrus (Coresh), the Persian King known for authorizing the Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem to...
2. Take heed and endure sound doctrine "And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ;...
3. Israel Proposing to Divide the Temple Mount? by Gil Ronen (IsraelNationalNews) The Al Aqsa Center has released a statement saying that it has received information that Israel plans to divide up the...

There are two passages in the Old Testament where we are encouraged not to move the ancient boundary markers.

Prov 22:28 Do not move the ancient boundary which your fathers have set.
Prov 23:10 Do not move the ancient boundary or go into the fields of the fatherless,

In the times of old, land boundaries were often only marked by a stone laid in a particular position or stones in a series of positions. There was no fencing like we would use today to mark our property lines or to keep others out. The fathers knew what the boundaries were when they set the boundary lines, agreements were made long ago.

For years the only marker separating the land of Lebanon on Israel’s border to the north was a stone marker a little larger than a football. On one side of the stone was written Lebanon and on the other Israel. Everyone was able to get along just fine and no one questioned the boundary. Then the terrorist group Hamas came into Lebanon and suddenly new boundaries and security had to be established because of the terrorist acts of the new residents.

Such boundaries are not set in stone on a piece of land only; they are known in the heart and mind as well. And such boundaries are not comprised of land only; they are set in morals, values, and social mores. Move them and there will be consequences.

Recently ABC’s “Modern Family” won the award for outstanding comedy series at the Emmy awards. Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” is No. 1 on iTunes and the accompanying video is No. 1 on YouTube. So, a show mainstreaming a homosexual couple and their adopted child and a song glorifying premarital sex are big hits.

“How does something that was previously denounced become the new normal in a culture?” The ancient markers have been moved.

But how did they move the markers? The answer, it would seem, is simple and apparent. You expose people to it from a positive, or at least accepting, perspective. A lot. Continuously. Ideally you would do this through a popular format, such as a sitcom or the lyrics to a song is your best medium. Eventually, you reach a tipping point of exposure and opinion where the culture is desensitized to any scandal that may have been attached to it previously.

The time has come when the culture has so diverted from the ancient boundaries that we can no longer ignore the reality of the implication upon believers. You no longer live somewhere in America where pagan, sexual, and narcissistic values are strange and on our outside borders. The borders have been moved. We cannot live comfortably there or we will compromise what is Christianity by our lives and our churches complying with the new borders. Seek out the old borders; seek out the values of God…the principles of God for your life. Resist allowing the borders to move in your field.

God, help us to hold to the boundary lines you have set and not the ones being set all around us that are contrary to You and Your word.

source: Mark Gomez, Calvary Chapel

Related posts:

1. Ancient and Modern Mockers “But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.”...

“And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” (Colossians 1:18)

The resurrection of Christ is no less crucial to the gospel than the death of Christ. If He did not rise from the dead, then we who believe in Him “are of all men most miserable” (1 Corinthians 15:19).

Christ’s resurrection assures us, first of all, of our justification. Speaking of Abraham’s faith and the imputation of God’s righteousness to him, Paul writes, “For us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification” (Romans 4:24-25).

God imparts to us the power to serve Him effectively through the resurrection, “that |we| may know . . . what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead” (Ephesians 1:18-20). As the passage continues, Paul declares that through the resurrection Christ is now “the head over all things to the church, Which is His body” (vv. 22-23 and also in our text).

In His resurrected and glorified state, Christ continues His ministry to us. “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens. . . . Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:14, 16).

Finally, Christ’s resurrection assures us that we too will one day be resurrected, if we should die before He returns. “He which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus” (2 Corinthians 4:14).

Related posts:

1. The Resurrection and the Believer “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might...
2. Preaching the Resurrection “And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.” (Acts 4:33) There...
3. Risen With Christ "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God." (Colossians 3:1) The...

Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Ron Prosor broke down several myths Monday in an “Open Debate on the Situation in the Middle East” in the United Nations Security Council.

After quoting Winston Churchill’s statement, “In the time that it takes a lie to get halfway around the world, the truth is still getting its pants on,” Prosor methodically brought up and broke down myths that he said have fertile ground in the Middle East. “Facts often remain buried in the sand. The myths forged in our region travel abroad – and can surprisingly find their way into these halls,” He said.

– Myth number one: “The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict is the central conflict in the Middle East. If you solve that conflict, you solve all the other conflicts in the region.” Prosor told the Council members. “The truth is that conflicts in Syria, Yemen, Egypt, Bahrain, and many other parts of the Middle East have absolutely nothing to do with Israel.

“It is obvious that resolving the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict won’t stop the persecution of minorities across the region, end the subjugation of women, or heal the sectarian divides. Obsessing over Israel has not stopped Assad’s tanks from flattening entire communities. On the contrary, it has only distracted attention from his crimes.

“Thousands are being killed in Syria, hundreds in Yemen, dozens in Iraq — and yet, this debate again repeatedly is focusing on the legitimate actions of the government of the only democracy in the Middle East. And dedicating the majority of this debate to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, month after month after month after month, has not stopped the Iranian regime’s centrifuges from spinning.

– Myth number two: “There is a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.”

The Ambassador pointed out that even the Deputy Head of the Red Cross Office and “numerous international organizations have said clearly that there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza.”

He added, Gaza’s real GDP grew by more than 25 percent during the first three quarters of 2011. There is not a single civilian good that cannot enter Gaza today. Yet, as aid flows into the area, missiles fly out. This is the crisis in Gaza.”

– Myth number three: “Settlements are the primary obstacle to peace.”

Prosor said he can save time for the UN Human Rights Council, which has proposed another ‘fact-finding’ mission to Israel – this time to explore Israeli settlements. He said that “the facts have already been found,” explaining that when Egypt and Jordan controlled Judea, Samaria and Gaza between 1948 and 1967, “The Arab World did nothing – it did not lift a finger – to create a Palestinian state. And it sought Israel’s annihilation when not a single settlement stood anywhere in the West Bank or Gaza.

Prosor charged that the Arab world’s “primary obstacle to peace is not settlements [but]…is the so-called ‘claim of return’ – and the Palestinian’s refusal to recognize Israel’s right to exist as the nation-state of the Jewish people.

He said that claims that Israel is “Judaizing Jerusalem” are “accusations [that] come about 3,000 years too late. It’s like accusing the NBA of Americanizing basketball.” Prosor also said that the percentage of Arab residents in Jerusalem has grown from 26 percent in 1967 to 35 percent during the period that Israel supposed has been exercising “ethnic cleansing.”

– Another myth the Security has overlooked for the past 64 years, when Israel was reestablished as a state is the “one great untold story, or – to be more specific – …more than 850,000 untold stories [of] Jews…uprooted from their homes in Arab countries,” he said.

Prosor pointed out, “These were vibrant communities dating back 2,500 years [but]…were wiped out. Age-old family businesses and properties were confiscated. Jewish quarters were destroyed. Pogroms left synagogues looted, graveyards desecrated and thousands dead.”

“The pages that the UN has written about the Palestinian refugees could fill up soccer stadiums, but not a drop of ink has been spilled about the Jewish refugees.

– He told the Council he “saved the most obvious myth for last: the myth that peace can somehow be achieved between Israelis and Palestinians by bypassing direct negotiations. History has shown that peace and negotiations are inseparable.”

“Palestinian leaders continue to pile up new pre-conditions for sitting with Israel. They are everywhere except the negotiating table.“

Related posts:

1. Iran Offers Aid to Palestinian Authority to Defeat Israel by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu (Arutz Sheva News) Iran has used the visit of Gaza’s Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh to offer “scientific and technological experience” to...
2. Israel and the Nations "Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell...
3. Egypt’s Salafi Party Claims to Honor Peace With Israel by Chana Ya’ar (Arutz Sheva News) The head of the Egypt’s Salafi movement says the party will honor the country’s 1979 peace treaty with Israel....

“And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” (Luke 22:31-32)

In the evening just before His betrayal, capture, torture, and trial, Christ turned to Simon with these final words, encouraging him to remain strong. Of course, Peter boldly proclaimed that he would never deny Christ, but Christ knew better (vv. 33-34).

Actually, our text is quite forceful. Christ claimed that Satan has “begged earnestly” (literal translation of “desired”), not just for Peter, but for all the disciples, as seen in the plural pronoun “you,” to “sift you as wheat.” Satan knew (as he still knows) that the fall of Christian leaders causes many others to fall, and if all of the disciples could be made to abandon the faith, the gospel could not be spread.

Christ turned specifically to Peter as the generally recognized spokesman for the disciples, and even though He knew Peter would fall, Christ informed him that he had been prayed for, that his “faith fail not.” Indeed, Peter did turn around, once he saw the risen Lord, and became a leader in the fledgling church in Jerusalem, as well as a missionary. Through the witness of Peter and those he strengthened, the gospel has come to us.

Satan’s desire to sift those who would spread the gospel and lead others has not abated. He knows the destruction it causes in the lives of those influenced by the one who falls. The “ripple effect” may last for years, and many weaker brothers and sisters may never recover. But take heart! The One who prayed for Peter “ever liveth to make intercession for |us|” (Hebrews 7:25; see also John 17:6-26). Just as God answered Christ’s intercessory prayer for Peter, so He will answer Christ’s intercessory prayer for us.

Related posts:

1. Bruising Satan’s Head “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.” (Romans 16:20)...
2. How to Please the Lord "Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him." (2 Corinthians 5:9) In this verse, Paul expresses the strong desire...
3. Wisdom is found in being a fool… "Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?"...

by Walid Shoebat and Ben Barrrack

Abdul Mawgoud Dardery and Sondos Asem of the Muslim Brotherhood delegation that recently visited the White House, were confronted by the Blaze’s Will Cain on CNN: “You say things to us in English… but many charge that when you go back to Egypt and you speak in Arabic, you say just the opposite.”

In response, Dardery, a 9/11 truther, dismissed Cain’s charge as a “conspiracy” theory. Asem then chimed in, mimicking Dardery’s tickle-the-ears rhetoric that westerners have grown accustomed to, expressing support for “democracy” and respecting “all peace treaties.” Asem is well-versed in such doublespeak as both of her parents are prominent leaders within the Muslim Brotherhood; her mother –Manal Abul Hassan – is one of the Brotherhood’s most powerful women.

Nicholas Kristof, a New York Times liberal, visited Sondos in her home only to be wooed by her before writing his article. He cautioned readers against alarm over the Ikhwan (Brotherhood) saying, “let’s not overdo the hand-wringing – or lose perspective.” Kristof also quoted Asem as saying, “It’s a big misconception that the Muslim Brotherhood marginalizes women. Fifty percent of the Brotherhood are women.”

Sondos is right. When it comes to the role of women in the “Muslim Brotherhood,” most westerners have a difficult time equating the word “Brotherhood” with women for obvious reasons.

Paradoxically, women are extremely active in the Muslim Brotherhood. One of the Brotherhood’s major wings is named the “Muslim Sisterhood.” This elite unit is not an innocuous “mule service,” made up of couriers during Mubarak’s days, who smuggled secret documents in order to more easily avoid surveillance’s eyes, neither are they made up of innocent women who don benign-looking hijabs, as portrayed by Der Spiegel.

Westerners like Cain and Kristof fail to ask the right questions, especially since they presumably do not read Arabic. Perhaps a staff transforming into a snake that eats up the serpents of Pharaoh’s magicians is in order. Whatever western media has reported so far about the Sisterhood will remain infinitesimally small until it learns to translate what members of the Sisterhood say in Arabic. It would probably take the White House, western media, and the public in general a decade or so to catch up and realize how ill-equipped they are to deal with it.

The Sisterhood is something of an enigma since the role of women in Jihad has little to do with the explosive act and firmly believes that the “Pen” is mightier than the “Sword,” at least until the pen runs out of ink. Welcome to Jihad By The Pen.

The Sisterhood is extremely active. It consists of highly educated media icons who speak multiple languages while traveling the globe and wielding influence over several international organizations, from the United Nations to women’s advocacy groups. Entire families like Sondos’ belong to it. The Sisterhood’s membership includes male supervisors, along with their activist wives and daughters; spies who’ve proudly disclosed their past “heroic” acts; Nazi affiliates from the time of the Brotherhood’s inception; Hijab advocacy groups in Europe; prominent doctors that became public figures; and even media moguls who double as conspiracy theorists while serving as cogs in the propaganda war machine.

The Muslim Brotherhood means what it says and fulfills its mission for the Sisterhood which was established in 1933, headed by Lebiba Ahmad. That mission, which is not translated by Sondos’ English version of the Ikhwan website, is “to gain and acquire a unified global perception in every nation in the world.”

In 2009, Sondos expressed a desire to meet President Obama and outwardly expressed her desire that he would “open the door for (our) hope to advance political Islam.” (that means Sharia law)

Sondos herself was recently featured in a debate (in Arabic, of course) alongside Ibrahim Hudaibi – grandson of the guide, former Muslim Brotherhood Ma’moun Hudaibi – and argued “why we cannot separate Islam from politics.” The opposition – led by former deputy Anwar Esmat Sadat and activist Dalia Ziada, Director of the Office of the Organization of American Islamic Congress in Cairo – argued for the necessity of separating religion from politics.

Sondos emphasized that, “Islam cannot in any way shape or form be separated from politics,” because in her view “Islam is a religion and a State.” American media is failing misearably by not examining the Arabic rhetoric; Sondos [in Arabic] is a diehard Islamist. Cain was right but failed to expose specifically, the Arabic he knew existed but had no access to.

Women in the Brotherhood can be seen working alongside men. Consider Sisterhood member, Najla Ali Mahmoud; she is the wife of Brotherhood’s current leader and candidate for President Mohammed Mursi. There is video of Sondos with Mursi.

On Islamonline – one of the Brotherhood’s favorite media outlets, similar to the site for which Sondos’ is editor – Mursi dismissed accusations by secular politicians that the group would sideline women and Copts from the political life in post-Mubarak Egypt.

“We want everyone to be reassured… that we want to see our Christian brothers elected in parliament,” he said.

In Arabic, Mursi says that Egypt needs to ban western dress and that people who believe in “the Trinity” do not possess a “full mental faculty.”

How about the chic Sisterhood professor, Zainab Abdulaziz? In an Arabic broadcast, she appeared in modern Arabic dress and spoke several languages.

She teaches about French civilization and is an avid conspiracy theorist who uses Nazi style propaganda, including accusations that Vatican II is akin to the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. To Zainab, the Vatican is conspiring with the Zionists to “Christianize the Muslim world” with the goal of “completely uprooting Islam” and “making the Jews innocent from the blood of Jesus.” Al-Marsad, an Islamic media outlet, uses her propaganda worldwide; that propaganda includes horrendous and bloody depictions while calling on Muslims to resist Christianization.

Another Sisterhood leader, Zuhair Lzimaili, sits on the board of Al-Sabeel Newspaper in Jordan. One of its goals is to “expose the intrusion and assimilation attempts by the Zionist enemy.”

Aida Al-Mutlaq is another infamous Sisterhood leader who provides the details of another Sisterhood conspiracy: “We insist the danger to our national security is the American-Zionist project which aims to destroy our history, civilization and future…” Al-Mutlaq so fears a Zionist conspiracy that she called for reducing the King of Jordan to a figurehead. Prominent attorney and Islamist activist Jawad Younis (Shoebat’s own cousin) is a leading figurehead collaborating with Ahmad Al-Kafwin, member of the Executive Office of the Muslim Brotherhood to overhaul the current Jordanian legal system and is advanced under the guise of “Reformation.”

Similar to what the Nazis did with French General Philippe Pétain in Vichy, France, Al-Mutlaq wants Jordan to become the “fortress and formidable gate to thwart the Zionist agenda, which threatens Jordan… and the entire Arab and Muslim world.”

The interconnections and web of activists can cross any rabbi’s eyes. Take Sisterhood male supervisor Abdullah Alnoshan, the director of the Virginia office of the Muslim World League (MWL), a group that founded Rabita Trust which was initiated by its former General Secretary, the notorious al-Qaeda godfather, Abdullah Omar Naseef, who had close ties with the most intriguing member of the Sisterhood – Saleha Abedin, the mother of Huma Abedin, who works for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as Deputy Chief of Staff. Huma’s mother Saleha is a Sisterhood member who co-founded the Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs (IMMA) and partners with Sisterhood member Camellia Helmy, a woman who is also the leader of the Islamic Committee for Woman and Child (IICWC).

Are your eyes crossed yet? Camellia is found complaining that the “Women’s Committee of the United Nations had declared war on Islam” and confronts the United Nations by accusing it of supporting – wait for it – “Gender Equality.”

Saleha Abedin and Camellia Helmy – who publicly ran as a candidate for the Sisterhood election – are key figures in the Islamic Committee for Woman and Child, about which Masr (Egypt) newspaper reported: “The Islamic Committee for Woman and Child condemns passing any law that imprisons a husband under the pretext of raping his wife.” (Feb 22, 2009)

“Our roll is to apply pressure to the United Nations,” said Camellia in an interview with Dr. Muhammad Saidi in his program entitled, “The Dialogue of Civilizations” which was nothing more than getting the voices of the Sisterhood out.

On the program, Camellia explained how it all works: “We pressure to stop issues that do not agree with our religious perspective; our main goal is to stop agreements [between nations] and to announce the Islamic position regarding such agreements.”

She added…“The most dangerous of these is an international bill of rights for women (CEDAW) as the most dangerous issue that was ever established.”

Camellia explained the roll of the sisterhood as: “Within the United Nations exists a fifth column…these organizations apply daily pressure on governments which acts like a pincer. From one side the United Nations will apply pressure and from the other side these organizations [Muslim Sisterhood] apply pressure.”

Mursi is not Egypt’s only religiously bigoted Presidential candidate with a penchant for 9/11 conspiracy theories and doublespeak. In fact, the man who many consider the frontrunner is guilty of both.

According to The New Republic, Egyptian Presidential candidate and former Muslim Brotherhood member, Abdel Monem Aboul Futuh is a 9/11 Truther who insisted that such a belief is “logical.” Futuh was also caught engaging in doublespeak when he told an Israeli reporter that he believed in honoring the Camp David peace accord. In Arabic, Futuh debunked his own words to that reporter.

Incidentally, Futuh has been endorsed by Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Brotherhood leader the Obama Administration sought out to broker a deal between the United States and the Taliban.

Westerners are too often like archers who eye their targets while holding steady their bows, only to find empty quivers, as the threat grows.

Related posts:

1. WHY IS OBAMA LYING TO COVER FOR THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD? January 9th, 2012 by Ryan Jones (Israel Today News) The Muslim Brotherhood on Saturday reaffirmed a statement by one of it’s leaders last week that...
2. Hamas Predicts Sweeping Electoral Victory by Gavriel Queenann (Arutz Sheva News) Hamas co-founder Mahmoud al-Zahar said that he expected the Islamic terror movement would “win a sweeping victory” in upcoming...
3. Israel Proposing to Divide the Temple Mount? by Gil Ronen (IsraelNationalNews) The Al Aqsa Center has released a statement saying that it has received information that Israel plans to divide up the...

“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7)

This precious promise is rooted in the “garrision guard” that God will set around our hearts and minds through His peace. Imagine the war circle of angels “full of horses and chariots of fire round about” that Elisha spoke of (2 Kings 6:17).

And it is a war! “But I see another law in my members,” Paul wrote, “warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members” (Romans 7:23). Were it not for the peace that exceeds human comprehension, we would quickly succumb to the fact that “in the world |we| shall have tribulation;” but Jesus also said, “be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

The “peace of God” is a supernatural peace, not a false calm of meditative hypnosis or a denial of the turmoil that surrounds the “roaring lion” who seeks to devour (1 Peter 5:8). This peace is from our Lord Jesus and “not as the world giveth” (John 14:27). It comes through the “things I have spoken unto you,” Jesus said, “that in me ye might have peace” (John 16:33).

Since, however, this kind of supernaturally guarded and God-given peace comes from and through the message of the Scriptures, this peace must “rule in your hearts” (Colossians 3:15). There can be no vacillation, no hesitation about the source, the authority, the capability, or the stability of such peace–or the war that rages in the members of our body will dissipate the vision of God’s garrison surrounding our hearts and minds. “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Romans 8:6).

“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful” (Colossians 3:15).

Related posts:

1. Peace I Leave With You "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be...
2. Our God of all graces! "Now the God of peace be with you all" (Romans 15:33). Our God of all the world has been known by many names in Scripture...
3. Jesus Knows Our Heart “Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render unto every man according unto all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for...

“But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (Galatians 1:11-12)

In writing to the believers in Galatia, Paul was concerned that they were “so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel” (v. 6).

What was Paul’s gospel that he was so concerned about? “Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: To whom be glory for ever and ever” (vv. 3-5). Furthermore, he added that “if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed” (v. 9). They were not to listen even if Paul or “an angel from heaven” (v. 8) preached another gospel.

Paul’s gospel, on the other hand, was “not after man,” i.e., not the sort of thing that men would make up. Human religions are all man-glorifying and God-degrading, blurring the difference between the two and tempting man with the age-old taunt: “Ye shall be as gods” (Genesis 3:5). In contrast, the gospel which Paul preached recognized man’s utter sinfulness and worthlessness and rested in a glorified Christ for His finished work.

Paul had not “received it of man.” This was not the tradition among his people. “Neither was I taught it,” said Paul, even though he had been taught extensively in the religion of Judaism. On the contrary, he was taught the gospel “by the revelation of Jesus Christ.” We can therefore not only be sure of its accuracy, but, also with Paul, join in the “ministry, which |he| received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24).

Related posts:

1. The Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . May give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of...
2. Repentance and faith and the only way “Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is...
3. Hell and the Gospel “And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy...

“A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.” (Ecclesiastes 7:1)

It seems odd at first that Solomon would link these two maxims together. How is the day of death better than birth, and what has this to do with the value of one’s good name? The great king had once enjoyed a name synonymous with godliness and great wisdom, but his name had eventually become so sullied with the excesses of wealth and fleshly indulgence that he began to long even for death. It is a tragic thing for godly young people to allow their good names to be ruined by careless carnality, thenceforth never to be able to fulfill the promise their lives once seemed to carry. Solomon could employ all the most costly ointments and other comforts to ease his declining years, but they could never redeem his good name. “A GOOD name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold. The rich and poor meet together: the Lord is the maker of them all” (Proverbs 22:1-2).

The Christian believer has a double incentive to maintain a good name, of course, for his words and deeds inevitably reflect, for good or ill, on the name of Christ as well. When we cause our own names to be damaged, we also (as David did) give “great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme” (2 Samuel 12:14), and there are, sadly, many such enemies eagerly watching for us to give them yet another occasion to “blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called” (James 2:7).

In a very real sense, of course, even those who do maintain a good name all their lives can joyfully anticipate the day of death. Christ has promised: “I will write upon him the name of my God . . . and I will write upon him my new name” (Revelation 3:12). That will, indeed, be a “good name” and one we shall enjoy forever!

Related posts:

1. The Steps of a Good Man "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way." (Psalm 37:23) There is nothing more satisfying to...
2. Good or bad fruit “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit He taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth...
3. The Good Work He Began in Me “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”...

“So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” (Romans 14:12)

There is only one thing that is absolutely sure to happen to every person–everyone will have to face God some day. Not even “death and taxes” are certain for every one, but meeting God for an accounting of one’s life is certain!

Therefore, as the prophet Amos warned some 2,500 years ago: “Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel” (Amos 4:12). “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

To the Christian believer, of course, there is no need to fear hell, for there is “now no condemnation |that is, ‘judgment’| to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). The Lord Jesus has paid for our sins and purchased our redemption with His shed blood. He “was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification” (Romans 4:25).

Nevertheless, we as Christians still “must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:10), where “the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide . . . he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire” (1 Corinthians 3:13-15).

Those who die in unbelief, however, not having trusted Christ as their Savior, will face a different meeting with God. The apostle John describes the awesome scene as he saw it in his prophecy. “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” (Revelation 20:12). But no one can ever be saved by his works (Ephesians 2:9). Therefore, “whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15).

Related posts:

1. Christians and Their Coming Judgement People often make erroneous judgments. Even those who are officially appointed or elected to judge others are sometimes mistaken, and so we have a whole...
2. A glimpse into Glory – the coming rapture A Glimpse Into Glory by Adrian Rogers The things discussed in this article may be experienced even before you finish reading it! Many sense in...
3. Risen With Christ "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God." (Colossians 3:1) The...

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” (3 John 4)

The important word “truth” is a key word in the apostle John’s vocabulary, occurring more in his writings than in those of any other New Testament author. In the one-chapter epistle of 3 John, it occurs six times.

He addressed his epistle to “Gaius, whom I love in the truth” (v. 1). He rejoiced over “the truth that is in thee” (v. 3). He urged his readers to be “fellowhelpers to the truth” (v. 8) and commended Demetrius, who had a good report “of the truth itself” (v. 12). But he was especially pleased to hear that his beloved disciple, Gaius, was walking in the truth (v. 3).

Every godly Christian parent, pastor, teacher, or personal soul winner knows exactly how John felt. There is no greater joy to such mature believers than to know that their children–whether physical or spiritual children–are sound and growing in Christian faith and practice, understanding, and believing God’s truth, obeying His truth, living the truth, walking in the truth. But there is great sadness when such a one begins to “turn away their ears from the truth” (2 Timothy 4:4) and to walk again in step with the fables of the world. When they “walk in darkness” and “do not the truth” (1 John 1:6), this brings pain and sadness to those who have loved them and tried to lead them in the light of God’s truth.

And what is the truth? John’s very first mention of truth was in relation to Jesus Christ, whose glory he had beheld in His incarnation as “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). In fact, Christ Himself claimed, “I am . . . the truth” (John 14:6). Then He also said, “Thy word is truth” (John 17:17). “And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth” (1 John 5:6). To walk in the truth, bringing joy to the Father, is to believe on Christ, and then to trust and obey His word as illumined by the witnessing Spirit.

Related posts:

1. Spirits of Truth and Error "We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of...
2. Discerning Spirit of Truth and Error "We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of...
3. True worship? “God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). The word “worship” is used frequently...

“And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” (Colossians 1:18)

The resurrection of Christ is no less crucial to the gospel than the death of Christ. If He did not rise from the dead, then we who believe in Him “are of all men most miserable” (1 Corinthians 15:19).

Christ’s resurrection assures us, first of all, of our justification. Speaking of Abraham’s faith and the imputation of God’s righteousness to him, Paul writes, “For us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification” (Romans 4:24-25).

God imparts to us the power to serve Him effectively through the resurrection, “that |we| may know . . . what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead” (Ephesians 1:18-20). As the passage continues, Paul declares that through the resurrection Christ is now “the head over all things to the church, Which is His body” (vv. 22-23 and also in our text).

In His resurrected and glorified state, Christ continues His ministry to us. “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens. . . . Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:14, 16).

Finally, Christ’s resurrection assures us that we too will one day be resurrected, if we should die before He returns. “He which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus” (2 Corinthians 4:14).

Related posts:

1. Preaching the Resurrection “And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.” (Acts 4:33) There...
2. Risen With Christ "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God." (Colossians 3:1) The...
3. Buried With Christ Part I "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the...