It's Your Choice

Three men met at the end of a pier on a New Jersey beach. One is an average guy, fishing off the end of the pier. One is a homeless alcoholic, just wandering around. The third is an honorable man, well respected in the community. Suddenly, the alcoholic runs and jumps off the pier landing five feet out into the water. The fisherman yells, “What are you trying to do?” The alcoholic yells back, “I’m trying to jump across the Atlantic Ocean!” The fisherman sets his pole down and says, “Watch me! I can do better than that!” He runs, jumps, and lands ten feet out into the water; twice as far as the alcoholic. The healthy and wealthy third man says, “That’s nothing! Watch this!” He backs up the length of the pier fifty feet, makes a mad dash to the end of the pier, jumps, and lands twenty feet out into the water, four times as far as the first man. If we witnessed such an exhibition we would think these men were fools for attempting the impossible – jumping across the Atlantic Ocean! But people trying to earn their own salvation are even more foolish. God cannot be approached by man on the basis of man’s own moral goodness. I’ve heard it said many times, “I’m a good person. God will accept me into heaven.” That statement shows a lack of understanding of the grave nature of sin and the absolute holiness of God. If we could be so good to deserve heaven, salvation would be owed as a debt rather than be received as a gift (Romans 11:2-6). Isaiah wrote: “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.” A person may look moral, when compared to others, but when compared with Christ, all fall perilously short, “...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God...” (Romans 3:23). We all need grace. The next verse reads, “...and are justified by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24). Many do good things for others and demonstrate a high level of morality; however, there is a big difference between morality and righteousness. Righteousness is defined and revealed by a righteous God and seen in His Son (John 17:25; 1 John 2:1; Hebrews 4:14-16). To be righteous means that we are innocent or faultless in God’s sight. On our own, this is not possible (Romans 3:10). The only way to stand innocent in the presence of a righteous God is to be forgiven and declared righteous by faith in God (Philippians 3:7-9).We are only accepted because we trust in the righteous work He did and submit to what He requires (Ephesians 1:4-10; Hebrews 5:8-9).When one realizes this, he is on his way to receiving the free gift of God, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). We have all been given the choice of being in comfort and peace with Jesus in heaven throughout eternity, or being with Satan and his angels in torment, separated from God for eternity after our life on earth has ended. Given that choice right now of spending eternity in Heaven or Hell, which are you choosing? It is very easy to say we want to go to heaven to be with Jesus, but the very things that enable us to get there are choices we do not make in life. Our eternal destiny will not be decided by a “once-and-for-all decision” made at the judgment seat of Christ. That choice is made day after day by the decisions we make throughout life. As a baptized believer I have clothed myself with Christ (Galatians 3:27) and I must do my best to present myself in a Christ-like manner (Philippians 1:27-28). Then, God will see me as His righteous adopted son.

Change - Are You Sure?

Happy Birthday America! I wish I had better news as to the condition of your heart, but I’m afraid with all the garbage you’re ingesting lately, it’s eventually going to bring on cardiac arrest to the land of the free and home of the brave. Cure America with your vote!

Mark Twain once said, “The only person who likes change is a wet baby.” In the past 60 years we’ve gone from eight-party telephone lines to wireless smart-phones that allows one to talk, text, watch TV and/or movies, download and store music, connect to the internet and more, all in the palm of your hand, anywhere in the world at any time. From medicine to the military to marriage and moral values, the undeniable fact is, America and the world are smack dab in the middle of historic and accelerated change. It’s enough to make your head spin! And, if not careful, it may cause you to lose your footing, at least morally and spiritually. The past fifty years, America has seen a sea of change in public moral beliefs and practices. Abortion (which still always stops a beating human heart) has gone from being a punishable crime to a personal “choice” and a constitutionally protected “right.” Homosexuality is out and getting louder and prouder, and its proponents are bent on seeing to it that “same-sex marriage” will gain legal social acceptance and legal protection. It will some day be illegal, categorized as a “hate-crime”, to preach and teach against homosexual practices, calling them sin as the Bible clearly teaches (Leviticus 18:22; 1 Corinthians 6:9). Talk about change! While the homosexual community clamors for the right to marry, heterosexual couples in record-breaking numbers are shunning marriage and just “living together.” What used to be popularly referred to as “living in sin” has now been politically corrected and sanitized in the language of change to be colored – “cohabitation.”  Another troubling change is the collapse of a code of decency in public dress, speech, entertainment, etc. TV is a wonderful tool capable of tremendous public good, but TV these days might just as well stand for “trashy values.” My point is not to suggest America was ever some kind of moral paradise where nobody ever did wrong. Sin is as old as Adam and Eve. My point is that along with the explosive rate of change in technology, communication and medicine (don’t get me wrong, most of which has been for the better) the pace of moral change in our culture has been dizzyingly influenced by these changes and definitely for the worse. As a culture we are educating minds but not morals, and as a result we are getting smarter about, but not better at, life. A pre-Socratic philosopher named Heraclitus believed change was central to the universe and that everything was “in a flux” like the constant flow of a river. He famously said, “You cannot step twice in the same river.”

[Hebrews 13:8] God’s moral and spiritual truth never changes, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Because the river flows, it changes constantly. The question for the church is, will we keep our moral and spiritual footing as the world goes on changing, or will we be swept along with the current? It is nearly impossible to stop the river of moral change swirling and flowing around us. But Christians can and must continue to stand for what is right. William Penn said, early in American history, “Right is right, even if everyone is against it; and wrong is wrong; even if everyone is for it.” As it relates to moral changes in America, that are sinful and wrong, are you swimming against the current or just going with the flow? The Bible and the voting booth are sure things.

Time - Swift Transition

It seems every time I turn around another week has past and I’m sitting at the computer preparing another bulletin for Sunday morning worship. This past Friday I really got to thinking about time as I discovered the month of June is nearly gone and that means half the year of 2018 will be history before we know it. Time has a way of making life pass quickly when one sits to survey the past. It seems like yesterday a young boy was thumbing through Popular Science, amazed and somewhat in awe, looking into the future with dumbfound thoughts and dreams. The year 2000 was forty years obscured and there was no way man would ever go to the moon. Well, he did go, several times, and the changes in our lives that were wrought about from the Space Program I still have a hard time fully grasping and incorporating into my everyday ventures; unlike the Millennial’s. Well, the turn of the century transitioned with a few digital bumps causing a near “stroke of midnight” panic in the uninformed, but we all survived. Then the year 2020 was the new buzz-word and the fear of an impending worldwide robotic revolution eradicating the human race. I don’t see it happening, but we still have two years to prepare. NOT!

[1 John 4:16] “The clock of time is wound but once, and no man has the power to tell just when the hands will stop; at late or early hour. To lose one’s wealth is sad indeed; to lose one’s health is more; to lose one’s soul is such a loss that no man can restore.” Thirty-nine people died while you read that short poem. Every hour 5,417 souls go to meet their Maker. Any of us could have been among them. Are you ready? Sing with me, “Time is filled with swift transition; naught of earth unmoved can stand. Build your hopes on things eternal; hold to God’s unchanging hand” (Hold To God’s Unchanging Hand by Jennie Wilson/F.L. Eiland). We each are allotted an equal share of 24 hours a day; no more; no less. We must redeem the time while we have it. We have no promise of tomorrow. “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth” (Proverbs 27:1). What must we do in order to redeem the time? We must start by considering what God has already done for us! He loved us while we were still sinners; He gave Christ who died for us (Romans 5:8); God’s grace brings the gift of our salvation (Romans 5:1-2). But that’s God’s part – What must we do? Yes, we have a part to play also! How do we accept the gift of God’s grace? Paul commends the Romans for their obeying the gospel of Christ. “But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness” (Romans 6:17-18). We who have learned Christ have put off the old man; he is now dead; and we are renewed in the spirit of our mind (Ephesians 4:21-24). We have put on the new man who is created for “good works,” works that God has prepared for each of us that we should walk in (Philippians 1:4-6). The new man now joined with Christ has a new purpose in life (Galatians 3:26-27). There is great danger for not obeying. If we do not believe; accept; stand in; and not keep in memory the gospel (1 Corinthians 15), we reap damnation to our souls. Jesus will return and gather His believers (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18), but those who do not believe will not go with Him and enter heaven (Hebrews 3:7-19). “Swiftly we’re turning life’s daily pages, swiftly the hours are changing to years; how are we using God’s golden moments?” Is heaven ready to receive your spirit today?

Our Fathers

If your dad is still walking the sod of this earth, and you have any kind of relationship with him, be sure to give him a shout-out and wish him “Happy Father’s Day”. We all know our fathers were huge failures in our upbringing, but in all fairness, as a father, I didn’t do much better. I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer, the jury is still out as to it being inherited or self-inflicted, and there is so much I would do differently now that I have the wisdom and maturity to “get it right,” but a do-over isn’t going to happen. “He did the best he knew how to do it,” my brother once told me. Yeh, me too. Love ya, Dad.

If I went shopping for a dad, Here is what I’d buy: One who would always stop, To answer a little child’s “Why?” One who would always speak kindly, To a little girl or boy. One who would give to others, A bit of sunshine and joy. I’d pick a dad that followed The  Bible’s Golden Rule; And one who went regularly, To church and Sunday school. I’d buy  the very finest dad, To place on our family tree; And then I’d try to live like him, So he  would be proud of me. Helen Kitchell Evans

[Proverbs 23:13-25] In giving the “model” prayer Jesus said, “In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name...” (Matthew 6:9). God is called Father by Jesus no fewer than one-hundred and sixty times. The expression “Our Father in Heaven” is one of the greatest Bible statements. Jehovah is truly our Father in heaven. * God has the heart of a father. “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him” (Psalm 103:13). God has compassion on His children and will do far more for them than any earthly father ever could or would do for us. God’s mercy shines when He is seen as a Father with His children whom He has compassion. * God has the house of a father. Jesus said, “In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you” (John l4:2). Christians have an eternal abiding place or a room in the “Father’s House.” The blessings waiting in the Father’s House are beyond our ability to grasp, but through the eye of faith we see! (Galatians 3:11). * God has the love of a father. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). The love of God for sinners caused the giving of the greatest gift ever given. God’s Son was given as a sacrifice for our sins. God’s love touches every moment of our life. His love is that of our Father in Heaven. * God has the tenderness of a father. “As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy” (James 5:11). God is pictured as full of compassion and tender mercies. * Because God is Father and has great love for mankind, He has provided forgiveness of sins through Christ’s death. “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace...” (Ephesians l:7). God is your Father if you are His child through humble obedience. To be saved from sin, hear the gospel (Romans 10:17), believe in Jesus (Mark 16:16), repent of your sins (Luke l3:5), confess Jesus as Lord (Matthew 10:32), and be baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of your sins (Acts 2:38; Romans 6:3-4). God has the heart of a Father, the house of a Father, the love of a Father and the tenderness of a Father. Can you truthfully say, “Our Father in Heaven”. Do you tell Him you love him?

Stumbling Block or Stepping Stone?

The story is told of a girl who came to a preacher for advice on her upcoming wedding to a non-Christian boy. The preacher asked the girl to step up on a chair, and then up onto his desk. He said to the girl, “Now, pull me up to where you are.” She tried with all her strength and failed. The preacher, while still holding her hands, gave a slight tug and pulled her to the floor. He said to the girl, “It is more probable that this non-Christian boy will pull you down to his level than it is you will pull him up to yours.” This illustration can serve many purposes in life, while one is growing in the love of God’s grace.

Once while great violinist, Fritz Kreisler, had several hours to spend between trains, he visited a music store. He laid his violin case (which had his name on it) on the counter. The shopkeeper, seeing the name, thought that the violin had been stolen, so called the police. When the police arrived, they started to arrest Kreisler thinking he was a thief. Kreisler insisted that he was no thief but was indeed the real Fritz Kreisler. Finally, he asked the shopkeeper if he had one of Kreisler’s recordings. He did have, and the record was played. After the record finished playing, Kreisler opened the violin case, removed the instrument and played the same piece. Hearing the beautiful music, the storekeeper and the police knew that it was, indeed, the real Kreisler.

[1Peter 4:12-19] Kreisler’s performance proved his profession. Similarly, when you profess to be a Christian, do you prove it by your performance? It is not what we eat that makes us strong – it is what we digest. It is not what we earn that makes us rich – it is what we save. It is not what we read that makes us wise – but what we remember. And it is not what we say - but what we live, that makes us Christians. Yet oftentimes our Christianity is exhausted in mere profession. Christian living is that state of being in Christ and Christ being in us. We enter Christ by being baptized into Him (Galatians 3:27). We then are to walk in Him (Colossians 2:6-7). Christ abides in us. The apostle Paul testified, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). Christian living is also like Christ-living, so that others may be able to see Christ living in us. We are to have the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:1-11). We are to follow His example (1Peter 2:21). By so doing, we will be changed into His image from glory to glory (2Corinthians 3:18). Truly, then, will others be able to see Christ in us. Such is Christian living. Nothing is more potent in building a better community or church than Christian living (1Peter 2:10 thru 4:11). And on the contrary, nothing is quite as detrimental to the cause of the Lord as a professed Christian not “living up to it”. In such cases, one becomes a stumbling block (Romans 14:11-13; Matthew 16:21-23). To each is given a set of tools, A shapeless mass and a book of rules; And each must build, ere life is flown, A stumbling block or a stepping stone. A blind man made it a practice to carry a lighted lantern with him everywhere he went. When someone asked him why he went around with a lighted lantern when he could not see and it did him no good, he replied, “To keep others from stumbling over me.” What a wonderful attitude! Let us, by our Christian living walk with the light of Christ (John 8:12), using it to guide others to God’s saving grace (Matthew 5:14-16) and be stepping stones from this world to glory – not stumbling blocks for an already lost soul. Those in Christ are the light of the world.