Don't Give Up Now!

 

History books are filled with biographies of failures who made good. From them we can learn the valuable lesson that failure need not be fatal. The first President of the United States—the father of our country—lost two-thirds of the battles he fought during the Revolutionary War. But George Washington won the war, founded a nation, and succeeded brilliantly in spite of those failures. Who failed more than Babe Ruth? In a base­ball career that spanned 21 years, the immortal slugger hit 714 home runs, but he struck out 1,330 times. Until he retired in 1935, this fa­mous failure was baseball’s biggest attraction. Just because one fails at some point in life does not necessarily mean he or she is a failure. After Edison had experimented 10,000 times with his storage battery and still could not get it to work, a friend tried to comfort him. “Why l have not failed,” Ed­ison replied. “I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Nearly deaf and with only three months of formal schooling, Thomas A. Edison patented more than 1,000 inventions. During his 60 years of reaching toward the unknown, Edison failed more than he suc­ceeded. But who would call Edison a failure?

Dear Members and Friends of the Church, I secretly visited your Bible classes recently and was overjoyed to see that so many of you had not come. I heard some lessons that were not very well prepared, and some teachers said that no visits had been made during the week. I was simply delighted! It thrilled me to see some leave the worship service right after the Lord’s Supper was over, indicating that they were not going to let the proclamation of God’s Word come near to them. I saw some others come just in time for the beginning of worship to sit glassy eyed with their mouths shut while only a few sang the hymns. Then they dosed or acted bored to death while the preacher went through his Sunday morning ritual and humdrum or ‘bore-a-story.’ I was especially pleased to note how many sheepish donations were given and how many failed to even bring an offering. I love to see the church in financial difficulty. Again, there was a sparkle in my eye when I returned Sunday night and saw that so many had not returned for the evening worship hour. I was extremely glad. I am writing this note to encourage you to forsake the worship this coming Sunday. It will be more comfortable for you, and besides, it will make my work much easier to do. Hoping to be with you soon! Deceitfully yours, The Devil.

[Hebrews 10:19-39] “…do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a little while, ‘He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.’ But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.” Is it a sin to fail? The answer is both yes and no. It is a sin when failure is due to moral or spiritual laxness or to laziness. But it is not a sin to fail when one has done his best, within the will of God, and the results were not what he wanted. One must not be so afraid of life that one refuses to try. We don’t have to succeed, but we do have to give life a run for its money. Take heart! If life has put you on the canvas and pummeled the breath out of you, it is still too early to quit. If you feel you must quit, then do it the day after tomorrow. You may have lost the battle today, but you could win the war tomorrow. As Grantland Rice, America’s first great sportswriter, put it, “When Jesus comes to judge us, He will not be so concerned about whether we won or lost, but how we played the game!” God will measure you by your faithfulness (Revelation 20:11-15).

Waning Religious Freedom

 

Palestine in the first century was less prosperous than some other regions, but the historian writer Josephus tries to present the country as quite prosperous. He accurately depicts the Jewish population there as primarily engaged in agriculture: “Ours is not a maritime country, neither commerce nor intercourse with the outside world has any attraction for us. Our cities are built inland, remote from the sea, and we devote ourselves to cultivation of the productive country with which we are blessed” (Against Apion 1.60). The chief products of Palestine were the staples of olives, wine, and cereals. The Jordan Valley was known for its groves of date palms and balsam trees. Sheep and goats were raised, and fishing was common. This was the land where Jesus grew up and lived in.

[Jeremiah 2:31-35] “O generation, see the word of the Lord! Have I been a wilderness to (these United States), Or a land of darkness? Why do my people say, ‘We are lords; We will come no more to You?’…” Speaking to the Constitutional Convention on June 28, 1787, Benjamin Franklin spoke these words: “I have lived, sir, a long time and the longer I live the more convincing proofs I see of this truth – that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it possible that an entire empire can raise without His aid?” We live in an age when more and more voices are being heard on every side in an effort to silence God – to quiet Him and make Him irrelevant to America’s public life. Far from following the advice of today’s civil libertarians, our founding fathers on many occasions publicly called upon their nation to fall down on bended knees and give thanks to Almighty God. In America we have been the undeserving recipients of God’s most bountiful land. Let us not become guilty of a most grievous sin – the sin of ingratitude. In God’s Word, it is recorded that James wrote: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17). Every generation is obligated to learn from the past mistakes of others. In a real sense, the former generations will weigh in on the outcome of their successors. Jesus said, “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe unto you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you” (Luke 10:13-14). Religious freedom, while we still have it, is a privilege that so many people have not yet really learned to appreciate. For the person who is not a Christian, it is a squandered blessing. Some wrongly conclude that religious freedom is the freedom to not become a slave to Christianity. Technically, that’s true. But the fact is, the principle of religious freedom is unnecessary if you do not want to become a Christian. You can be a slave and not become a Christian. “For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lust of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption…” (2 Peter 2:18-22). Religious freedom really shines, however, when such freedom allows one to become a Christian and to become free of the bondage of sin and death (Romans 8:1-11). That is the true spirit of religious freedom. Constitutionally, religious freedom is the right to worship free of the dictatorial subject of government. The government cannot set up a state supervised church as the only means of worship. A One World Order will do exactly that. Your freedoms are waning quickly!

“Whatever makes men good Christians; makes them good citizens.” – Daniel Webster

Committed or Decommitted?

 

Investments can be tricky things. Does one put their money in stocks or bonds, real estate, or hide it under the mattress? Even the most seemingly stable places to put one’s money can turn south in a heartbeat. Lots of people have experienced the phenomena of thinking they have invested well only to learn all the money is gone. So where should one invest? Ben Franklin said, “If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.” Proverbs 4:6-7 teaches: “Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her and she will watch over you. The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.” Sadly, most people have invested all they have in possessions that will perish with use. They neither possess wisdom or understanding in the meaning of life and the gainful interest of eternal life with the Creator of all things.

It was the final hole of the 1961 Masters Tournament, and golf legend Arnold Palmer had a one-stroke lead and had just hit a very satisfying tee shot. He felt he was in pretty good shape. As he approached his ball, he saw an old friend standing at the edge of the gallery. The friend motioned him over, stuck out his hand and said, “Congratulations.” Arnold later said, “I took his hand and shook it, but as soon as I did, I knew I had lost my focus.” On his next two shots, he hit the ball into the sand trap, then put it over the edge of the green. He missed the putt and lost the Master’s because he had lost his focus (Carol Mann, “The 19^th Hole”). The Constitution of the United States is a masterful work dictated through wisdom and understanding. Established as a free and sovereign Republic among all the nations of the world, the United States of America grew and prospered because of its wisdom and understanding of the will of God for mankind. We have shaken the hand of the evil one and lost our focus!

[2 Corinthians 5:9-11] A High School senior star football player had “committed” to play football at a certain university after graduation. Then, to everyone’s surprise, he “decommitted” (not even sure that’s a word) and planned to visit other universities. He wanted everyone to know that the original school was “still in the running,” but he would like to look at one particular school and perhaps a chance to play for the past year’s national champions. Maybe, like a lot of other people in our society, this young man has never learned the meaning of commitment. Apparently, his “world” is the “sports world.” In that environment one’s only commitment is to the game. How often do you hear of an athlete, coach, or manager whose entire career is spent with one team? How many times a year are “multi-year contracts” torn up (at least figuratively) when circumstances change? Sadly, this is not confined to the world of athletics. It seems that in almost every area of our lives people are deciding to “decommit.” Often, the couple who promises to remain together in sickness and in health, etc., will do just that until some circumstances arise “too tough to handle.” Then the most attractive option is to decommit. There used to be a level of commitment between employers and employees, but that no longer seems to be the case. It is much easier for one or both parties to decommit rather than work together. Our Lord knows about decommitment. He see’s far too many people become Christians; live life anew, only to see them decommit when the going got rough or turned to something more attractive to live for. Many people forget, or never knew, what their purpose in life is. What is our over-riding number one goal? Please God (2 Corinthians 5:9) and do everything to His glory (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Removing Your Façade

 

It is so difficult to understand all the goings-on around the world today, as to why it’s happening, and is some of it just a diversion to draw attention away from a more sinister activity being quietly preformed in the background. Fabricated crises are being orchestrated around the world to create confusion, conflict, and riotous situations simply to develop the idea that conservative thought and capitalism are destroying the natural progression of humanity thus the need for world order.

Webster defines the word ‘façade’ as the main front or face of a building; an outward appearance, especially concealing something hidden; a false, superficial, or artificial appearance or effect. Most of the time, this word is used to describe a part of a building, specifically, a wall placed around the top of a building to give a nice clean look by hiding all the A/C units and vent pipes coming out of the roof. The same word can be used to describe the outward appearance of a person, (and I dare say, political agenda). Not just the clothes and physical characteristics, but the actions and words of a person. Someone who is trying to make you believe they are someone they are not, is using a façade. This has become a very dangerous practice among the political leaders of the world, and might I add, this has been going on for a very long time. The situation we find ourselves in today is their ability to create a crisis, place the blame for the crisis on several fronts, and convince people that they’re the good guy in all this.

[2 Peter 2:1-22] Our country was formed based on Christian beliefs and that’s a fact whether you are willing to accept or not. Our current society has influenced the Christian church, and its members, to a point some are wearing a façade in an attempt to blend in, while still trying to defend their right to religious freedom. They show up Sunday mornings to worship looking like Christians. They put on their best clothes, smile, and act friendly, carry their Bibles, and attend classes. But the rest of the week, one might never guess they went to church. In fact, it might even be a surprise to their friends, classmates, or co-workers to find out that this person was a Christian. I have to believe they are a good Christian, but why would someone do this? I think the façade might be a worldly weekday façade they wear around their friends, classmates, and co-workers. To relate it to the building idea, what if a place had a clean rooftop and they put up fake A/C units and pipes sticking up everywhere? What if it really was a clean establishment but put fake bags of trash around the front door, or what if they had a really nice clean lawn and placed fake weeds in the grass? Sounds ridiculous right? People are doing this! Sunday mornings people are actually being the Christians they truly are and want to be, but the rest of the week they live a lie. Does any of this sound familiar? Do you see patterns of wearing a façade in your life? Don’t be discouraged! This is a common problem these days, not to justify it, but to encourage you and to give you hope! You can tear down the worldly façade. Not just to put up a new Christian façade, but to be the Christian, and citizen, that you really are – flawed, but honest and living for Christ and the American way. Paul wrote to the church in Philippi, “I eagerly expect and hope that I will be in no way ashamed but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death” (Philippians 1:20). If this country is to remain ‘the land of the free and the home of the brave’ it’s time to take down the façade and show our true colors. It’s time to defend the Word of God and the Constitution based upon it, thereby showing the world true love.