The Apostles declared (starting with Peter at Pentecost) that we are in the last days. We've spent 2000 years rightly expecting the imminent return of Christ. Imminence is not the problem - it is that we have forgotten that imminence is tied to the Great Commission. Each time that He was asked about His return or about the establishment of the earthly Kingdom, Christ seemed to point His disciples to their responsibility to reach the whole world with the Gospel. This was Paul's driving force, and he believed that Christ's coming was soon, not based upon a calendar date, but based upon the great traction they experienced in fulfilling the Great Commission and reaching the whole world with the Gospel. If we want imminence, we must be serious about the Gospel.
Just a Thought
I think that one of the greatest dangers to the Christian home today is a dating spirit mixed with matchmaking family members. This creates a constant dissatisfied state where one is essentially practicing for divorce and heartache.
If, instead, we realize that God made ONE woman (Eve) for ONE man (Adam), and that God did not give them the freedom to date around, we can give our young people hope and the focus to walk with and work for God while waiting for Him to bring the perfect mate that He has designed - just for each one of them.
What a wonderful God we serve! Other so-called gods thrive on mystery and mystic powers, but the Lord desires for us to know Him and partake of His wisdom.
Reading in Proverbs 8 today, I found the discussion of wisdom. In verse 12, it says, "I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions."
Later, in verse 22, it begins to declare God's wisdom in Creation and beyond, "The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old."
Then, the chapter closes out by inviting us to partake in God's wisdom: "For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD."
God encourages us to be a part of His wisdom and plan! What an encouragement!
Now that we've been in California for a year, I am beginning to understand the connection between discouragement and cloudy days. Cloudy days never bothered me when we lived in Washington, where cloudy days were the norm.
That's what it must be like for sinners who are lost in sin: they don't know what it is like to have the Son shine all the time on their lives, so their sin doesn't bother them.
In Leviticus 9:23-24, we read, "And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people. (24) And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces."
What a wonderful thing to behold - God's fire coming down and consuming the sacrifice! The people who saw it were affected by it - they shouted and fell on their faces.
In the very next verses (10:1-2), we see the sons of Aaron (Nadab and Abihu) getting into the act and taking advantage of the emotions of the people. They offered incense, but this time, they manufactured the splendor for their own glory; God's fire didn't come down, but that was okay - they had their own fire. When God fire showed up, it was to consume Nadab and Abihu!
We often see such things happen today - a show of our own trying to evoke the reaction of God's people but not in God's way!
Sometimes it is fog machines, skinny jeans, and devilish music that is trying to get an emotional response from people. Maybe it is opportunists who take advantage of the tender hearts of God's people and try to replace prayer meetings with multi-level marketing scams. Maybe it is simply allowing routine and schedules to take the place of the living presence of God in our midst!
It is time that we get back to doing God's work God's way. God is just as passionate and jealous as He ever was. Learn from the example of Nadab and Abihu, and seek the mercy and grace of God while there is still a window of time available to make a difference in a Godless world!
First Joseph was hated for his God-given dream. Then he was sold into slavery by his own brethren. If that wasn't bad enough, he was falsely accused of a horrible crime, and ended up in prison.
It would seem that Joseph would be justified in getting bitter and angry. Not Joseph! In the midst of these terrible circumstances, we find him serving God and others! Joseph found a great ministry in the midst of his problems.
I believe that every born again Christian should have a ministry. Perhaps their circumstances or past sin might disqualify some from specific types of ministry, but they should have a ministry nonetheless.
If you are right with God, don't worry about what others think. Serve selflessly. Overcome the persecution complex. Your ministry may be simple or seemingly invisible, but it is imperative that you serve the Lord wherever you are! Don't let bitterness rob you of the blessing of serving God!
Genesis 40:5-15, "And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, which were bound in the prison. (6) And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad. (7) And he asked Pharaoh's officers that were with him in the ward of his lord's house, saying, Wherefore look ye so sadly to day? (8) And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you. (9) And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, behold, a vine was before me; (10) And in the vine were three branches: and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes: (11) And Pharaoh's cup was in my hand: and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand. (12) And Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days: (13) Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto thy place: and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh's cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler. (14) But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house: (15) For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon."
Thomas Jefferson once said that "...ignorance of the law is no excuse." This concept is a Biblical one, as found in the Old Testament law in passages like Leviticus 5:17-19. Just because "you didn't know" doesn't mean that you are not guilty.
This idea is foundational to understanding our sin nature as well as the mercy and grace of God. I am struck in reading these passages in Leviticus, because God mercifully made a way for forgiveness, even in the midst of our ignorance. "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8). Even before we recognized our need for a Saviour, Christ had it covered - with His blood.
As our society loses its sense of personal responsibility, it seems that people get offended more and more at the suggestion that they are sinners in need of a Saviour. If a bridge were out on a road on which a person was speedily driving, they will be just as dead if they go over the edge of that cliff in ignorance as they would if they saw a sign that said, "Bridge Out Ahead," and proceeded anyway. The fact is, there are consequences for sin, whether or not we want to hear about it; and there is mercy and forgiveness waiting.
As born-again believers, we have a responsibility to warn the lost of their ignorance. It may be a thankless job at times, but one that is eternally important. May we purpose to be ever faithful to our efforts in winning souls and delivering sinners from the ignorance of entering eternity without the mercy and grace of God applied to their account. Psalm 126:6 says, "He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him."
Leviticus 5:17-19 "And if a soul sin, and commit any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the LORD; though he wist it not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity. (18) And he shall bring a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his ignorance wherein he erred and wist it not, and it shall be forgiven him. (19) It is a trespass offering: he hath certainly trespassed against the LORD."
In Genesis 25 and 26, there is recorded for our benefit a terrible example in parenting and family life: the story of Isaac and Rebekah. They played favorites with their children, pitted their favorite children against the other spouse, and brought division and bitterness in the midst of their family that lasted for the rest of their lives.
Perhaps Isaac could have asked himself, "Was Rebekah really the right choice?" And Rebekah might have asked the same about Isaac. Here's the truth, however: nowhere else in Scripture, except perhaps with Adam and Eve, do we have a clearer record of God choosing a mate. Remember the process that Abraham and Eliezer went through in Genesis 24 to secure God's choice of a wife for Isaac? Clearly, Rebekah WAS the perfect wife for Isaac.
Here is the point: don't let current difficult circumstances 'rewrite' history until you can manipulate yourself out of working things out with the wife that God has given you - 'until death do us part." Take the place that you are now, and refine it with God's help until it becomes perfect again - the way God intended it to be.
Genesis 24:48-52, "And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his son. (49) And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left. (50) Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the LORD: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good. (51) Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the LORD hath spoken. (52) And it came to pass, that, when Abraham's servant heard their words, he worshipped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth."
What is worse than sin? Pretending it does not exist. Proverbs 26:26 says, "Whose hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be shewed before the whole congregation."
Perhaps we have all known someone who greets you with a smiling face and kind words, but one can tell that underneath that smile is a bubbling cauldron of anger and bitterness. That person acts like you are wonderful, but in reality, he hates your guts!
If you struggle with bitterness or hatred toward another person, the solution is not to pretend, but to replace. Ephesians 4 deals a lot with replacing the wrong of the sin nature with the right of Christ's nature (ie, "putting away lying, speak every man truth" or "let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour").
What must come first, before you can replace evil with good in your life - the thing that makes the real difference and ensures that you are not just pretending - is found in Ephesians 4:22-24. It says, "That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; (23) And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; (24) And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."
In order to have real, genuine change that is not simply pretending and covering the wickedness that is still there, you have to be changed spiritually. This comes from having a relationship with God, and daily, step-by-step fellowship with Him. In this way, the inward change shows itself in the outward actions.
Pretenders get exposed. Genuine Christians who walk with God, grow from their mistakes, and replace the evil of the sin nature with the character of Christ.
Do you know Christ as your Saviour? If not, trust Him and His death, burial, and resurrection to save your soul, and begin to walk with Him every moment of the day.
Romans 10:9-10, 13 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.... (13) For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
Noah, obeying God, did a great thing in building the Ark and saving mankind and the animals.
At Babel, men united apart from God, attempted a big thing, but were opposed and prevented by God.
Great things are possible when working with God. Working apart from God, however, will result in ultimate failure.
"And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. ( 6 ) And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. ( 7 ) Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. ( 8 ) So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. ( 9 ) Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth." Genesis 11:5-9
I've heard sermons preached and sung hymns based on the text from Exodus 10:11, "Go now ye that are men, and serve the LORD...." The problem is that it was Pharoah who said it, in opposition to God. It was a compromise offered to Moses.
Moses, on the other hand, had said in obedience to God, "We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the LORD."
Serving God has something for everyone. God desires *EVERYONE* to have a walk with God and to learn to hear His voice. Serving God is not just for the men, who then drag their wives and children along in submission!
It takes more work to bring the whole family along in a walk with God. It is much easier to say, "This is what God wants; just submit." Instead, as fathers, we should be carefully teaching and training and bringing along EVERYONE. No one should be left behind in this wonderful journey of obedience to God.
Real men don't leave their wives and kids behind for the sake of the ministry.
Exodus 10:9 , "And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the LORD. (10) And he said unto them, Let the LORD be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones: look to it; for evil is before you. (11) Not so: go now ye that are men, and serve the LORD; for that ye did desire. And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence."
Which is more dangerous: a counterfeit $100 bill, or $100 in monopoly money? When I owned a restaurant years ago, I found out the hard way that counterfeit money was more dangerous, because in the busy-ness of the dinner rush, my employees couldn't tell that it was fake.
This is why "putting aside our doctrinal differences" for the sake of unity is so dangerous: in the busy-ness of life, it's hard to tell the lies from the truth. The closer a lie is to the truth, the more dangerous it is.