SelahV Today

GOD'S "ELECTING LOVE" REQUIRES A FEW THINGS...

Are you elected to receive God's love? Are you among those chosen by God to live eternally in His presence? Have you met the requirements?  God has some set up, you know?  When a candidate is elected to office, he has to meet certain requirements in order to be "elected"--a certain age, a residency, be on ballot within a specified time period, etc.  If he doesn't meet those requirements, then the election process (no matter how popular, how kind, how generous, how noble, how honest, a person he is), is null and void.  Even if the man receives the majority of votes in the election process, he still must meet the requirements or he cannot be elected to serve.  God's desire in His election for the kingdom of God, is that no man be a loser in the process.  So what are the requirements of God's elected ones?

But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:8-13

"EVERYONE."

Everyone?

Everyone who confesses with his mouth and believes in his heart.

"Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ."  That's right.

"...if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."

Each and every person who hears the word of the Lord, and professes the Lord, and believes with their heart, then they are saved.  God makes no distinction...each person receives the benefits of His glory and is given the privilege to serve the risen Lord and coming King.  We receive the presence of His Holy Spirit in our lives to guide us, teach us, edify us, bless us, give us specific gifts, comfort us, and pour out faith, hope, mercy, love, forgiveness, self-control, meekness, kindness, gentleness, and peace. 

"All of these spiritual blessings are ours because of the electing love of the Father, the redeeming work of the Son, and the sealing of the Holy Spirit.  These spiritual blessings encompass everything that Christ Jesus has purchased for us."  Mike Leake SBC Voices

Who receives the spiritual blessings of God's love?  Who becomes the benefactor of the redeeming work of the Son of God?  Who inherits the wealth of the kingdom purchased by Christ's sacrificial death upon a cruel cross?  Who is sealed by the Holy Spirit and guaranteed the spiritual blessings in Christ the Lord?  Who gets to spend an eternity in heaven with the Lord?

Everyone who meets the requirements of God's election, that's who.

Do you meet those requirements?  If not, will you confess with your mouth today that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead?  Be elected today; let the Holy Spirit validate your election and seal you today forever. selahV

I DO BELIEVE I AGREE with CB SCOTT

My first connection with this blogger scared the life out of me.  His gruff, argumentative, stick-it-in-your-nose-and-twist-it, kinda forthright debate blew my mind. I could only pray that he would never ever be mad at me or disagree with something I wrote.  Seriously, many a night I'd read CB going on and on, till the wee hours of the morning with someone he gut-wrenchingly disagreed with.  Yet, in the midst of all his debates, he'd come off with some of the wackiest, crazy and gut-splitting entertaining comments that you'd ever want to read.  I voted him most humorous blogger one time.

I remember in one battle I was having with some commenters at SBC-Impact over a post I'd written.  Suddenly he popped into the stream and BAM! The "BAMA"-boy was there.  Conversation shifted and my back was covered.  I can't recall the topic.  I just know it was something I'd written that had gotten under someone's skin.  And I suppose what they said, got under CB's.  But there he was, and I was happy to let him hijack the entire thread till the eastern sky rolled back.

Oh yes.  I love CB.  I love him because he stands in the gap for me.  Yet, he will not compromise his heart-felt beliefs.  He'd knock a person silly if he saw them hurting a defenseless woman or bulldog.  He's argued along with me on women drinking even a drop of alcohol for the mere possibility of causing a baby to have fetal alcohol syndrome.  He's fought uncompromisingly hard and sacrificed blood, sweat, and tears for the lost in his community and the adopted and abused children in his home.  I trust CB with a lot of stuff.  Most especially I trust him with the opinion he wrote to Chris Johnson in a comment stream about "ACTS-29 and Baptist Polity", written by Robin Foster at SBC Today on:

August 21, 2009 at 9:44 am

"Chris,

I do want to say something for clarification.

I do believe with all of my ability to understand the Written Word of God by faith, seeking enlightenment from the Living Spirit of Holy God, that Baptist ecclesiology is more near a biblical ecclesiology than any other in human existence."  CB Scott

There is more to CB than his love for bulldogs, sports...and the Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots.  (just kidding).  He deeply loves his Lord and the inerrant Word of God. He is as battle-scarred as many a great SBC leader is today, and were, before they went on to glory to bow at the Savior's feet.  CB's lost some battles.  But he's won a few wars, too.  He's made a lot of friends, and I suppose a few enemies.  But I believe I agree with him far more than I disagree in light of this quote to Chris above nearly 3 years ago.

I've more to say about CB Scott and this particular quote coming up on at SBC Encounters on Sunday.  Stay tuned. You may just like it.  Then again...you may not. selahV (a.k.a. "the ubiquitous one")

Are You "Seeing Things"?

I admit; I see some pretty strange things in any given day, but yesterday, I saw a video(/link) that was flat out weird.  Watching this video gives me cold chills and caterpillar creeps.  The speaker's claims are nothing short of false teaching and psychic babble.  He looks out at people and "sees things"...like a television screen between himself and another.  Kinda like a gypsy looking into a lighted crystal ball.  He encourages the listening audience to begin watching for the things before them...kinda like the "Matrix" red pill, blue pill scene. Hokey pokey dribble.

Nothing flusters me more than a preacher who toys with the hearts and emotions of innocent people who trust his leadership.  I simply cannot grasp the reasoning behind this nonsense.  Mark Driscoll says he doesn't talk much about "it" (his ability to "see things"), because he'd be inundated with folks who'd want to talk to him.  Seems to me if a person didn't want others to know about such an insightful psychic gift, they'd keep it to themselves.  Personally, I think this young preacher-man has been watching too many television shows, reading too many Harry Potter books, and watching too many reruns of The Lord of the Ring trilogy.  Most certainly those within earshot of his babble should test the spirits surrounding him against the Word of God.  I'd trust most saints would come up 66 books shy of any evidence that this man's claims are of God.

Instead of rattling on about visions of disgust that he is seeing, I suggest Mark focus a bit more on proclaiming Jesus and praying for a lost world....(as would we all).

The gift of discernment can be a cumbersome gift.  It must be handled with the utmost humility and caution.  It's not intuition.  It's the ability to tell the difference between good and evil, right and wrong--spiritual darkness.  Discernment helps me when I am in counseling situations--to interpret what is really bothering another who is sharing a struggle.  It helps me cut to the chase and slice through rhetoric.  It's not some mysterious crystal ball view of a person's past, or palm-reading of someone's future.  It listens and observes.  Unlike horoscopes which are written by a bunch of nut-jobs and give generalized predictions of the day, discernment is Holy Spirit-fed knowledge.  The Spirit equips us to help others stay clear of harmful elements in the world.  Oppressive forces.  Unhelpful attitudes, pride, deceit, guile.  Discernment helps me pray more specifically for needs of the saints of God.  As we await the second coming of Christ, we must be ever vigilant to discern the voice of God and reject those who claim to speak for Him with forked tongues and twisted words. selahV 

"This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD." Jeremiah 23:16

I Don't Believe Obama

waited this long to insist upon his birth certificate be made available.  Not only has he been the focus of "birthers", he's been the butt of thousands of jokes, innuendo and suspicion for over two and a half years.

I was reading several comments on the news media announcements and low and behold you would never believe what I read.  Now the liberals are saying the "birthers" will never let this rest because they will say the newest released certificate is counterfeit.  You know...like other documents are counterfeited.  Like other signatures are forged....like, well....like other government documents...like passports, Social Security cards, and driver's licenses, and currency.  So, do you think this is over?

Before you answer....

Take a peek at the following documents which just came to my attention via email.

 

   to ENLARGE for greater viewing, just click on the photo.

This my friends, tells me that we can trust the speculations to continue.  ANND...as all of us know, that is what TRUE journalists report anyway.  Speculation, innuendo, opinion, angles, slants, political persuasions, and consipiracy theories, wiki leaks, with a few facts sprinkled in between, and interviews with someone who has similar views, to reinforce all of the above.  Such fun is life.

Now...who moved the stone?  Who took time to leave the grave clothes neatly folded as if the person within simply evaporated through them?  Who stole Jesus' body?  Why didn't they bring him out to dispute those wild accounts of lying disciples that they'd seen Him alive again after the crucifixtion?  If those 500 plus new believers didn't really see Jesus, and all those witnesses didn't see Him ascend into heaven, why didn't the ones who stole his body prove it and parade His body for all to see.

Hmmmn, can I get a witness to the living Jesus in your life today?  What exactly has He done to make you KNOW He is real?  That He is no counterfeit?  That He passes the "smell" test of decayed reasoning and logic?  Anyone?  I need facts.  I need interviews.  Someone help me...I wanna be a journalist.

Awh....never mind...I just wanna tell the old, old story and let you believe what you decide to believe.  O'Reilly or Jesus.  Heaven or hell--it's your choice.  selahV

We Are Talking FOREVER, Gang, FOREVER

People are turning away from faith, from God, from all they've known and believed true.  They mock; they scorn; they ridicule.

But the LORD endures forever.

The government in Illinois passed a law that prohibits kids from bringing a homemade lunch to school.  Prayer is forbidden.  Children are taught other religions are sacred and to be respected, but Christianity is taboo.

But the LORD endures forever.

Japan's nuclear plant is melting down and will destroy life as Japan once knew.  But the LORD endures forever.

America's politicians are so puffed up with power and self-deception that our blessed country is on the brink of economic collapse.  But the LORD endures forever.

All sin is now categorized in some disease form or another, and people are excused from their sinful immoral actions and choices.  But the LORD endures forever.

Christian churches are being burned in places all around the world.  Christians are literally losing their lives for the sake of the Gospel.  But the LORD endures forever.

Wars upon wars are being waged in the Middle East.  The world is unfaithful.  The governments are unfaithful.  Little is trustworthy.  But the LORD endures forever. 

 ¹ Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
    His faithful love endures forever.

² Let Israel say,
    "His faithful love endures forever."

³ Let the house of Aaron say,
    "His faithful love endures forever."

⁴ Let those who fear the LORD say,
    "His faithful love endures forever."  Psalm 118:1-4

Forever, my friends.  His faithful love endures forever.  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but the LORD and His faithful love endures forever.

Forever is a long, long time.  People carelessly say they stood in line "forever" at the check out.  They've been waiting "forever" for their tax refunds.  They sat "forever" without being served.  But friends...as long as we've lived, we've only lived a second in the eternity of forever.  I was allowed to have my precious son on earth for 33 years before his appointed time on earth came due.  But that 33 years was but a blink of an eye in comparison to the eternity I get to spend with him and Jesus because "His faithful love endures forever."

Give thanks to the Lord while you have breath.  Give glory to Him Who gives you faithful enduring love--forever.  Say it, my friends, say it.  "His faithful love endures forever."  selahV

Can a Believer Lose Faith and OTHER QUESTIONS

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."  Romans 8:38-39 NIV (c) 2011

Nothing can separate us from the love of God.  Is the love of God synonymous with the salvation of God?

"The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." 2 Corinthians 4:4

Is it a valid excuse on judgment day to say  The god of this age--satan--blinded my mind, so I could not see?

To me, there is as much validity in that excuse as Adam's and Eve's excuses in the Garden of Eden.

But what about the person who once professed belief in Christ and now rejects it?  His/her eyes now blinded by satan's logic, reason, rationale and disbelief--Where will that person spend eternity?  Can a Believer ever truly unbelieve?  Would this person be an example of the seed that withers, or is plucked up by the birds, or never really took root in the soil?

I ask these things because I have a friend who once followed Jesus and believed in Him.  Now, this friend denies belief in Jesus and Christianity.  What say you?

There Is Coming A Time

...when we can no longer go and tell.

Our loved ones, the kind-hearted neighbor, the generous boss, the diligent co-worker--each will have a day when they face death.  We who are saved will find peace and abundance in the arms of God in heaven.  But there will be a chasm between we who trust in the Lord, and those who do not.  When that time comes, we will no longer tell others of the hope they could have in Jesus.  Their hope is gone.  Even if we want to go to the others and offer comfort, we will not be able to.  We know this because Jesus admonished the Pharisees:

"The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.

"But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us." Luke 16:22-26

Now is the time.  Today is the day of salvation.  Today may be the only day we have to share our faith and the promise of eternal life.  It's so hard to comprehend the idea that people we know who aren't willing to listen today will someday be eternally separated from us and God and will live in eternal torment.  But that is truth as written in God's Word.  I think of myself with the pain I go through with various things in life.  Nothing compares to the pain and heartache a person will experience who does not know God.  For again it is written as Jesus spoke:

“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.  And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where “‘the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched.’  Everyone will be salted with fire." Mark 9:42-48

Some folks scoff and say that they are living in hell on earth.  However that is not Biblical.  Hell is a real place.  Just like Heaven is for real.  And there is coming a day when we will no longer be able to proclaim the Everlasting Life people can have in Jesus.  They will have made their choice as surely as they choose to brush or not to brush their teeth. 

Lord, give us hearts on fire to share Jesus, the anecdote for sin and escape from everlasting torment.  You stand at the door and knock and whoever opens the door, You will go in and dwell with them and give them eternal life in Your presence.  Help all those who proclaim Your salvation be heard, Oh Lord.  Let people hear now, while there is still time. selahV

RELATED POSTS:  Heaven Is For Real , How To Come To Jesus , When Heaven Is Home

OLD, SETTLED, AND REBORN (in case you missed it)

Once upon a time I was young and restless.  My father, who'd hung the moon and kept the stars in place in the Spring and Summer of my life, seemed to become a stodgy old man by Fall, and lose all his charm by the Winter of my adolescence.  The father I obeyed without question became an adversary. Church lost its attraction to me because I saw a deacon sneaking a smoke outside the church one Sunday.  That confused me.  I'd been taught that the body of a Christian was the temple of God and what we put into our bodies honored or dishonored the Father in heaven.  The word hypocrite took on new meaning for me as a vulnerable sixteen-year-old.  I wondered how many other things Christians who taught me did in secret.  The Sunday School teachers I'd listened to, and trusted, for 16 years no longer seemed "cool".   

I went my own way for several years after that.  I can't say that my faith in God went up in smoke from witnessing a puffing Christian.  I can only say it gave me excuse to disregard what I'd been taught by those I thought knew everything.  I thought my father was invincible--that even though he did not attend church, it was because he was busy being a fireman and community servant.  It couldn't mean he was not a Christian.  After all, he made sure we kids went to church every single Sunday morning.  He gave me a white Bible on my tenth birthday.  Yet, somewhere between 10 and 16, I realized the grapes that were fermenting in our garage were not a tangy form of Welch's juice.  My restlessness took on a life of its own.

Today I am old.  Settled.  Reborn.

Today I know how foolish one can be in life when they judge God based on the merits of others.  I see how God's Word stands in the face of witless thinking.  I see how faith withstands the tests of time and circumstance and failure.  I know that God's grace works continually in the life of a child-like trust in "For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him will have everlasting life." John 3:16. [emphasis mine]

While I watch the demise of some institutions of faith, I cannot help but wonder what the Lord sees and wonder if He looks down from heaven and smells the fragrance of His people's prayers or the stench of their disobedience.  I wonder why so few realize The Most High God inhabits the praises of His people.  I wonder if others who stand in solidarity with settled rest beneath the blanket of Christ's redeeming blood alone feel as disheartened as I do when they look at the horizons of the setting sun.  When they see the young and restless attempt to undo that which their fathers before them stood in the gap to build?  do others see the strongholds crumbling in the tension of unsettled hearts?  do others understand how jumping up and down on bridges built to share the love of Christ can weaken its support and cause catastrophic consequence to those children walking toward safety on the other side?  I wonder.  I really wonder.  (to be continued...) selahV

OLD, SETTLED, AND REBORN

Once upon a time I was young and restless.  My father, who'd hung the moon and kept the stars in place in the Spring and Summer of my life, seemed to become a stodgy old man by Fall, and lose all his charm by the Winter of my adolescence.  The father I obeyed without question became an adversary. Church lost its attraction to me because I saw a deacon sneaking a smoke outside the church one Sunday.  That confused me.  I'd been taught that the body of a Christian was the temple of God and what we put into our bodies honored or dishonored the Father in heaven.  The word hypocrite took on new meaning for me as a vulnerable sixteen-year-old.  I wondered how many other things Christians who taught me did in secret.  The Sunday School teachers I'd listened to, and trusted, for 16 years no longer seemed "cool".   

I went my own way for several years after that.  I can't say that my faith in God went up in smoke from witnessing a puffing Christian.  I can only say it gave me excuse to disregard what I'd been taught by those I thought knew everything.  I thought my father was invincible--that even though he did not attend church, it was because he was busy being a fireman and community servant.  It couldn't mean he was not a Christian.  After all, he made sure we kids went to church every single Sunday morning.  He gave me a white Bible on my tenth birthday.  Yet, somewhere between 10 and 16, I realized the grapes that were fermenting in our garage were not a tangy form of Welch's juice.  My restlessness took on a life of its own.

Today I am old.  Settled.  Reborn.

Today I know how foolish one can be in life when they judge God based on the merits of others.  I see how God's Word stands in the face of witless thinking.  I see how faith withstands the tests of time and circumstance and failure.  I know that God's grace works continually in the life of a child-like trust in "For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him will have everlasting life." John 3:16. [emphasis mine]

While I watch the demise of some institutions of faith, I cannot help but wonder what the Lord sees and wonder if He looks down from heaven and smells the fragrance of His people's prayers or the stench of their disobedience.  I wonder why so few realize The Most High God inhabits the praises of His people.  I wonder if others who stand in solidarity with settled rest beneath the blanket of Christ's redeeming blood alone feel as disheartened as I do when they look at the horizons of the setting sun.  When they see the young and restless attempt to undo that which their fathers before them stood in the gap to build?  do others see the strongholds crumbling in the tension of unsettled hearts?  do others understand how jumping up and down on bridges built to share the love of Christ can weaken its support and cause catastrophic consequence to those children walking toward safety on the other side?  I wonder.  I really wonder.  (to be continued...) selahV

CONQUERING VINES

Kudzu is a vine with a beautiful blossom.  I just learned of Kudzu yesterday.  It was used in a comment stream in reference to "lunch" in a blog-post I was monitoring.  Since I love to eat new things, my appetite was whet.  Yeah...it really is edible.  The word "kudzu" grabbed my attention as easily as the Kudzu vine reaches out and encircles objects within its reach.  It grabbed my curiosity and wound its way into my thoughts until I had to google it and discover what it was.  I found more than meets the eye about Kudzu.  It has all kinds of twists and turns a writer could use as illustrative fodder.  Indeed, one, among many of Kudzu's uses is fodder to feed livestock.

It is a plant that made it's way from the Asia, specifically China and Japan.  So we have a foreign plant that has made its way into Southeastern America to embed itself and twist its vines around everything around it.  Kudzu literally grew so fast that it gained other nicknames--one of which was "the vine that ate the South". Tennessee is using goats and llamas to eat it down to its roots.  They want rid of this fungus.  Another nickname is "foot-a-night-vine".  So if kudzu embeds itself within a given area, it can rapidly grow and take over the area in a few short nights.  Another nickname implies, a "mile-a-minute" growth.  Amazingly, it takes several clusters of little pods to produce a couple of seeds.  So it needs to grow a lot, and wiggle its way into the grounds in order to create enough clusters to yield a couple of seeds.  But oh the damage those two seeds can do when they fall to earth and embed beneath the soil.

It makes me think of how Jesus would have been able to parable-lize this plant in the Kingdom of God.  Can't you just imagine Him saying, "The kingdom of God is like Kudzu.  Though many pods cluster--only two seeds amid them will fall to earth.  Each seed dies, takes root and gives birth to a vine which grow into more vines.  Are you a seed amid the cluster?"

Kudzu is fungi.  It's hated among men.  Some men take Kudzu and use it medicinally.  Its roots.  Its vines.  It has anti-inflammatory properties.  Harvard is studying it as a possible way to reduce alcohol cravings.  The Chinese use it to help get over hangovers. It's shown value in treating migraines, and cluster headaches--apart from alcohol. It is recommended for allergies and diarrhea.  It may help women with postmenopausal symptoms, such as hypertension and diabetes type II.  In China it's also used to treat tinnitus, vertigo and other things. (See Wikipedia)

Wikipedia writes, "Kudzu has been traditionally used as a remedy for alcoholism and hangover in China. The root was used to prevent excessive consumption, while the flower was supposed to detoxify the liver and alleviate the symptoms afterwards."

Kudzu may be a good thing for some good uses, but it destroys croplands.  Man and animal feed upon Kudzu.  Kudzu may appear to offer good things in the world, but not the "best thing".  Can you hear the Master?  I can.

It's amazing to me what a rambling kudzu vine could do in blogland--in the bogs of blog-streams, if only they were concerned with the "better" thing instead of their own things.  I've always loved wildflowers--ones that seem to appear out of no-where and bloom.  Sometimes I've called them God's bouquets.  But so many on this earth see wildflowers in the meadows of life and call them weeds.  Some want to conquer the vines...others watch as the Vine conquers them. selahV

IS GOD INTERESTED

It depends. God is not interested in dirt. He sent His only begotten Son to die and wipe out dirt.  God is interested in love.  He is interested in covering a multitude of sins.  "Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins."1 Peter 4:8.

We can have all knowledge and not have one iota of love and faith.  We can know every wrong there is to know and see clearly the unrighteousness of man, but if we have not love in our heart for people we try to expose as sinful, our claim to love and faith is weak at best and non-existent at worst. "...The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." Galatians 5:6b.

In Christ we own hope and righteousness, justification and sanctification.  It's not my place to poke you in the eye and make you righteous; nor can I justify you for anything.  It's not my job to sanctify you; the Spirit of God within you is doing that.  God is not interested in me digging up dirt in my brother's backyard.  God is interested in seeing His children doing such good for one another that He is glorified. "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:35.

"All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation." 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

God is interested in ambassadors who are devoted to the "ministry of reconciliation" that draw all men to His Son. He is interested in forgiveness, not condemnation.  He is interested in us wiping away the dirt from our brother's cheeks--not slapping on more.  He is interested in seeing righteousness exceed that of Pharisees who constantly set themselves above the people as judge and jury. God is not interested in smut, dirt, pride and self-righteousness. He is not blind; he's interested in humility, meekness, kindness and gentleness.  All that counts is what is eternal.  "He has committed to us the message".  If our eyes are constantly looking down, gazing at the things of this earth--the weaknesses and flaws of man--we call attention to disgrace and do nothing, absolutely nothing, for the eternal.  Think a moment.

What is the "message" we bring to the world with hammering, nailing, and stripping a person down in the world of public opinion? Is that not a distortion of the "message of reconciliation" He "committed to "us"? God is not interested in bent fingers and broken keyboards; He's interested in bent knees and broken hearts. 

"You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself. If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other." Galatians 5:13-15

Stop putting out the Light within you.  Stop throwing your salt to the wind.  Treat one another as you would want to be treated.  Restore one another as you would want to be restored.  Lift up another's burden to the throne of grace; don't stand upon the burden and stomp to bring them further down.  That is not love.  selahV

COMMON MATTERS by Hariette Petersen

One Textbook's "Myth", is another's Fact (/link).

OFFEND ME NOT

"Where there is no offense, there is no effect."  Adrian Rogers

"I came not to this world to bring peace, but a sword."  Jesus.

Basically, Dr. Rogers and Jesus are saying that the Gospel message is gonna divide folks and leave some along the wide road as others head down the narrow way.   Accordingly, to expect that Christian preachers proclaiming the Word will not offend, is ludicrous.  The Holy Spirit will quicken (bring to life) that which is dead in sin.

Ever had your leg go to sleep?  Hands get so cold they were numb?  When circulation returns to your leg, and warmth returns to your hands, there is pain.  When the Gospel penetrates the darkness within us, the Light exposes the depravity of our souls, and we are stricken with heartache and moved to repentance.

Yet, all too often we hear...do not preach this, or teach that, or say this, or say that.  It will offend someone.  I don't think the Lord was too worried about who he was offending when He destroyed Sodom and turned Lot's wife into a pillar of salt.  Nor was Jesus too concerned with offending the Pharisees when He cleansed the temple and told them they'd made it into a den of thieves. 

May we all grasp in our hearts the enormity of the need to share the Gospel with boldness, clarity and love.  selahV   

CAN GOD'S WORD LIVE?

"This is my comfort and consolation in my affliction; that Your word has revived me and given me life."  Psalm 119:50

Isn't it amazing how the Psalmist in chapter 119 refers so much to what God's Word does for him?  Over and over again, he trusts in the precepts and commandments of God.  Not because those etched words have power, but because the author of those words give power to them.

How did Jesus handle Satan's temptations in the wilderness?  "It is written."  Jesus quoted the Word, yet He Himself, was the Word.  "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God." John 1:1.  Perhaps that is why it behooves us to memorize and speak those same Words.  For in them, and through them are the power of God to use as a sword to open the hearts of men and provide entrance for the faith and grace of God.  selahV