Frank

Your Worst Enemy, Part 2

Part 2… Click here to start at beginning.

People are unaware and ignorant to his devices while this dirty fighting foe uses guerrilla warfare and is on our path every moment pursuing us. He is stalking every part of our households, he is walking the streets of our towns, he is present in many of our churches, he is in our courts and governments, he is seducing and deceiving, ruining body and soul of mankind, men, women and children, he is breaking up our families and sowing seeds of hatred, strife, evil and murder. We see Satan’s damages all around us and yet we remain passive and almost regard them as normal. The power to beat it is close at hand if we would just connect with it.

Satan continually seeks to overcome God’s people by working to break down the barriers that separate us from the world. “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” (2 Corinthians 4:4) If you haven’t decided to follow Christ and live under His laws then you are servant of Satan. Sorry to have to put it so bluntly but that is the truth. Those with an unregenerate heart have love of sin and a willingness to cherish it and excuse it away. Those that have turned to Christ have a renewed heart and a hatred of sin and should be determined to resist it. When a Christian chooses to keep company with the ungodly and share in the ways of the world they expose themselves to great temptation. Satan is hiding close by and he will work very hard to pull the wool over your eyes. A continual indifference to the world will cause you to become more and more blinded to the assault. We must be different. The world must be able to identify a difference between one who professes to be a child of God and one who does not.

By conforming to the world we have converted our churches to the world. You cannot convert the world to Christ by becoming more like them. We must be different. The more familiar you get with sin the more you will see it as acceptable and you will be lulled into a comfort zone around the master of evil. If we knowingly place ourselves under temptation we will likely fall sooner or later.

Satan works most successfully through those who are least suspected of being under his control. So he goes after those most admired and honored. He uses anyone but specializes in going after the prize. He goes after people with talent, education and culture. These talents and qualities will grace the character of Christians and work in favor of true religion but they must be consecrated to God otherwise they become a powerful weapon for evil. Many a man of intellect and polish has become an instrument of evil in the hands of Satan. Remember the example of Solomon. Solomon obtained the wisdom that earned him the wonder and admiration of the world. Then he turned from his source of strength to rely upon himself and he became susceptible to temptation. This allowed the evil one to use this wise man more effectively to complete the evil mission.

Satan is working constantly to blind you to the fact that you, “wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12) And another warning, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) And, “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11)

Ever since the fall of Adam the enemy has been exercising his power to oppress and destroy all he can. He is preparing right now for his biggest and his last campaign against the church of Christ. Everyone who is seeking to follow Christ and regards themselves as a true child of the King will be in major conflict with this relentless enemy. The more we try to be more like Christ, the more we will be in the cross-hairs of the sights in the attacks of Satan. All of our people that are active in the cause of Christ will be able to join in the testimony of Paul, speaking of serving the LORD with all humility of mind, with many fears and temptations.

Satan attacked Jesus Christ with all he had. He went at Christ with all the subtle temptations he could and the fiercest advances but Christ was repulsed at every conflict. The battles between Christ and Satan were fought on our behalf. The victory of Christ made it possible for us to conquer as well. Jesus Christ will provide strength to all who will seek it. No man can ever be overcome by Satan without giving consent. Satan has no power to control your will. He has no power to force you to sin. He can distress you and he can tempt you or try to confuse you but he cannot overtake you without you giving the willful go ahead. Satan can cause you a lot of agony but he can never defile you. Christ has conquered Satan already. This should give you the courage to fight on through the battle against sin and against the evil one. You have the power to defeat your worst enemy!

Fight on…God bless you all,

‘The Tubthumper’

YOUR WORST ENEMY

The judge slammed his gavel on the podium and immediately pronounced the verdict and the sentence. Guilty was the verdict and the sentence was divine and engaged all of mankind who should ever live upon the earth. The defendant and alleged offender was one named Satan, alias Beelzebub, Lucifer, Devil and Prince of this world. The sentence which was pronounced quickly was, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15) The judge, jury and executioner was, none other than the Great “I AM”, the creator of all and our LORD and savior.

Could this also be classified as prophecy?

This word, enmity means to create a feeling or condition of hostility; hatred; ill will; animosity or antagonism which is mutual to all parties. This enmity thing is not something that occurs naturally. When Adam committed the transgression against the law that God had laid out he imposed upon all mankind an evil nature. His actions placed us all in harmony with Satan when God’s intent was for us to be in opposition or difference. Man, along with Satan became evil through an act of apostasy. If God had not taken some severe action we would have been continuously united with Satan against God.

Satan worked over Eve with deception and then Eve became an accomplice to help move Adam into sin in a grand scheme to get full cooperation in warfare against God and His Kingdom. When Satan heard the sentence of a declaration of enmity between himself and the woman, and between his seed and her seed, he understood that he had been had and that man would somehow he able to resist his powers. Drat! Sassa-frassa-rassa he probably was muttering. How could this happen?

This does not stop the evil one and only serves to slow him down. Actually, the evil one thinks he will some-day win and steps up his efforts to try and win the next battle. His fury is kindled like a camper throwing birch twigs on the hot coals of the smoldering fire.

God’s grace that he lovingly placed in the soul of man has given us enmity against Satan. Without the grace of God and His love and redemption mankind would be totally captive to Satan and we would all be servants to do his evil. The result is that in our souls there rages this conflict where before the fall of man once was a soul at complete peace. For all that choose to access it we have the power of Jesus Christ that enables us to resist the efforts of the evil tyrant that lurks at every corner and is seeking us out. Through the love of Christ we can conquer the evil passions that draw us and we can abhor sin and flee from it.

When we look at how the world treated Jesus Christ we can see it as an example or picture of the type of antagonism or enmity existing between the Spirit of Christ and Satan. The Jews totally rejected Jesus. His purity and His holiness drew out the hatred of all the ungodly around Him. For a community of sensual and proud people the sinless life of self-denial that Jesus exhibited was too much for them to take. Once again we saw this enmity. This time it was the Jews eliciting enmity with the Christ. They would deny that Jesus was the messiah. Satan found some companions with these evil men and they all joined together in apostasy to conspire against Jesus the Christ the Champion of Truth.

Please understand this very important point otherwise you will leave yourself open to destruction. The very same enmity that was manifested toward Jesus Christ is and always will be manifested toward His followers. Whoever is able to recognize sin for what it is and call upon the LORD for strength to resist the temptations will surely attract the attention of the evil one. This battle between truth and evil will exist as long as sinners and sin remain part of the earth. There will never be any harmony between Christ and anyone or anything that serves Satan. The attack and persecution leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on the Cross has not stopped. “Yea and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” (2 Timothy 3:12)

Satan continues to fight and is constantly working to build up his kingdom in the battle against the Kingdom of God. There is and will be a constant attempt to deceive any of Christ’s followers and Satan would love nothing more than to lure you in and pull you away from your allegiance to Jesus Christ. He is always working to misconstrue and pervert the Scriptures to accomplish his objective. Satan is having a hay-day right now with all the false teachers and the preachers that are watering down and adding to scripture and not preaching the truth. These weak ones are falling into his hands. There is a constant effort to malign God’s people just as there always has been since it was all foreshadowed in Genesis 3:15. This enmity will continue until the rapture and the end of the battle in Revelation when Satan is cast into the lake of fire.

Satan continues to throw all the weight he can at us. He puts his entire power into combat and the battle continues to rage. The battle rages on because we do not connect with Christ the way He wants us to. We cannot see sin as repulsive and as abhorrent as Christ did. We cannot see it because we are not putting forth the effort to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We are so removed from Christ we are destitute of the Holy Spirit. Most of us do not connect with the malignity and the expansion of sin and we are blind to the power and character of the prince of the world. Mankind does not elicit enmity against Satan and his works because mankind is ignorant regarding his power and his malice. We don’t grasp the vastness of his warfare against the Church of Christ and against Christ Himself. The masses of our land are deluded and unaware. Most are caught up in all the enjoyment of life and ignorant to the destruction around them. Most don’t realize there is a mighty general of an evil army that has a massive attack plan with calculated maneuvers to war against Christ and to stop Him from saving souls.

How many times do you hear reference to Satan from professed Christians? Not often. Certainly not often enough! What about the clergy in the pulpits these days? There is an occasional mention of the battle here and there but the evidence of his activity and success is not addressed in near comparison to the gravity of the situation. Most people are neglecting the warnings about the subtlety of Satan and most seem to ignore his very existence. Most preachers of today wouldn’t touch the subject for fear of making some people feel uncomfortable. Well guess what? You should all be real uncomfortable! The enemy is after your soul people. He is out to kill you and your family. Wake up!

Continued… in the next post. Click here to go to part 2.

Have a Godly day,

‘The Tubthumper’

Blue and in Need of Rest

I listened on two separate occasions in the last week from news sources that concerns are rising as to the health effects of Americans never taking a day to rest. It is common knowledge that we as a country work harder and longer than any other. It was pointed out on these news clips that increased stress and other complications due to our hectic lifestyle is costing us in medical fees.

The American Psychological Association pointed out increased occurrences of financial and other recession-related difficulties, we Americans are struggling to balance work and home life and make time to engage in healthy behaviors, with stress not only taking a toll on our personal physical health, but also affecting the emotional and physical well-being of our families. The most common reason given by adults for not doing more to manage their stress was being too busy or not having enough time. We Americans also recognize that we are falling short in just about all areas of well-being, from the quality of our relationships with family and friends to getting enough sleep. It seems there is not enough will-power for Americans to stop on our own and rest up some. The power of temptation and desire to keep up with the Jones takes over. Like the Eveready Bunny we last longer and longer and longer, so we think. Ask any physician and they will tell you that rest is essential for physical health. When the body is deprived of sleep, it is unable to rebuild and recharge itself adequately. Your body requires rest.

All this leads me to think about the Blue Laws. A blue law is a type of law originally designed to enforce religious standards, particularly the observance of a day of worship or rest. When I was a youngster and the cold war was in full swing you couldn’t do anything on Sunday’s except worship God and spend time with family resting. What a novel idea. Guess what? It worked so well that we as a nation gave it up. Like so many other things that worked well for families were given up.

What I remember back then is not being able to do or buy anything on Sunday. All stores and businesses were closed. The Blue Laws have evolved over time, allowing for certain businesses to open their doors. Many of the laws were directly aimed at the sale of alcohol and what is commonly called adult beverages. Until 1991, no retail stores were allowed to open on Sundays. Prior to 1967, nothing opened. We were literally forced to spend time together, like it or not. Sure, I got irritated at least once when I needed something and had to wait until Monday to get it. But you know what? I got over it quite quickly and got on with life. Wouldn’t it be nice to wake up tomorrow to a life somewhat like we once knew?

Why not revive an observance of the Sabbath to help our nation with its health? You know what the Sabbath is right? After He created the world, God rested. He told His people to do the same thing, once a week. Then later Jesus Christ came to give us rest. And in the end, there’s an eternal Sabbath waiting for those who follow Him. Easy isn’t it? In the early history of the Church, the first Christians observed the Sabbath. We can find Biblical evidence such as Acts 3:1; 5:27-42; 21:18-26; 24:5; 24:14; 28:22. In the Old Testament we see that Moses established the law around the Sabbath. Anyone found desecrating the Sabbath was cutoff from society and put to death. (Exodus 20: 8-11, 31:14-15, 34:21). This law was not an arbitrary command, but was based on us having been made in God’s image, God’s resting on the seventh day after creation, and his blessing the seventh day and making it holy. When we read Hebrews 4:8-11, we can see that keeping the Sabbath is an abiding duty as prescribed in the fourth commandment. Reading Luke 23:56 we get that when the body of Christ was being prepared by His followers, they rested on the Sabbath before finishing their work.

Some say the Blue Laws originated by the Puritans and came over with the Pilgrims thus that is how they got the start in our law books. I am not sure of the origination but do know that the blue laws have covered a multitude of things that were prohibited on Sunday. I also know that some blue laws are still currently in force. The blue laws restrict activities or sales of goods on Sunday, to accommodate the Sabbath. The first blue law in the American colonies was enacted in Virginia in 1617. It required church attendance and authorized the militia to force colonists to attend church services. I doubt we will see the police forcing us to go to church anytime soon. In fact, Hell would likely freeze over before that happens again. I suppose if I moved to North Dakota I could see how it is still working there. Virginia had a blue law they referred to as the day of rest law which entitled every employee to a day of rest. It was overturned in 2004 due to lobbying efforts of major corporations that feared no one would work on Sunday. Actually there are twelve states with active blue laws: Alabama, Indiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia. Notably, Indiana is the only state in the country that bans beer, wine and liquor on Sundays. Many states still prohibit selling alcohol for on and off-premise sales in one form or another on Sundays at some restricted time, under the rationale that people should be in church on Sunday morning, or at least not drinking.

From the First Apology by Justin Martyr, dated to between 155-157 CE, “”Sunday, indeed, is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, inasmuch as it is the first day on which God, transforming the darkness and matter, created the universe; and on the same day our Saviour Jesus Christ rose from the dead. For they crucified Him on the day before Saturday; and on the day after, which is Sunday, He appeared to His apostles and disciples, and taught them these things which we have transmitted to you also for your earnest consideration.” The focus of Sunday for the first Christians was on the Lord and His creating and re-creating power. This emphasizes and points out God’s purpose of giving us a day of rest. “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it”, Exodus 20:11.

So what would be so bad about closing everything down on Sunday and resting, worshiping the Lord and spending time with family? We all know the answer. It is the same answer when asking what happened to Christmas and why the season starts earlier and earlier each year. Everything is designed around doing more business, the economy, and acquiring material things. They are no longer built around acquiring spiritual things. America out of balance! America lost its roots. We Americans have lost our way and we are all paying the price.

I’ll bet we can all agree that consciously setting apart some time to experience rest would refresh us, give us a taste of what is to come, and would make us all the more conscious of why God allowed us to be born here in America and what we are called to do while we remain. Along with it, who knows, we just might be able to save millions and millions of dollars on medical costs along the way. We should use our temporary times of Sabbath rests to remind us what God wants us to do so others may hear the gospel and one day experience the Sabbath rest that can only be possible through Jesus Christ.

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls”, Matthew 11:28-29.

Make it a New Years resolution to rest and worship one day a week.

God bless you all and may 2013 be a healthy and happy year for you,

“The Tubthumper”

DESIRE TO KILL

It has been over a week since the horrific killing of all the little children at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. I haven’t done much writing since then. I knew I needed to write something about it but couldn’t bring myself to face it down until I was ready.

My heart was sick when I saw the pictures of the little children. Parents thought they were safe in kindergarten class at school. They should have been safe. They should have been safe like we all were when in kindergarten a long time ago. Do you remember those days? These kids were not taken by guns but they were killed by a crazy, selfish, jealous, evil young man. This man was no different than the very first murderer that bloodied his hands within a short time of the earth’s creation. His name was Cain and this started a long time ago. Killing has been a part of our society for ever.

Just to illustrate this is not the first and won’t be the last I submit the story of the “Bath Massacre”. It was America’s first school bombing and shattered lives just like last week but this was back on May 18, 1927. That mass killing of 38 children and six adults happened 85 years ago in a very small town in Michigan named Bath. The killing was done by a farmer named Andrew Kehoe, and he blew himself up as well. This man was a school board member; in fact, he was the treasurer and school caretaker. He was well known and trusted. He was having financial difficulties and taxes went up so he blamed the school for his problems. That morning he beat his wife to death and set his farm on fire. While the firefighters were busy with the fire on his farm he rocked the school with explosives. When he was seen in his car and people ran over to him he detonated a massive bomb inside his car and shrapnel killed the school superintendent and others. This was fairly similar to the mass killings last week and remains as the number one deadliest school killing in our nation’s history.

In the beginning, after God had created the earth he rested on the seventh day. And then, “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2: 7). Then The LORD made the Garden of Eden and put the man there. You know the story. The man, Adam, was told that he could eat freely of any tree except the “Tree of Knowledge of good and evil”. Then the LORD caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep and took one of his ribs and made a woman. Then the serpent tricked the woman into eating from the tree of knowledge and she also talked Adam into eating it as well. God was angry! He cursed the serpent and kicked them out of the garden and nothing would ever be the same. Sin and evil became a part of mankind.

In the 4^th chapter of Genesis we read that Eve had two children. The first born was Cain and the second was his brother Abel. Cain was a farmer and Abel was a sheep herder. Cain gave an offering to the Lord from the ground and Abel gave an offering to the LORD of the first of his flock. The LORD respected the offering of Abel but didn’t pay so much respect to Cain for the offering he gave. Apparently Abel’s offering was one of faith and Cain had no faith. Cain was beside himself and very upset. He was wroth, which means angry and irate. His countenance fell so he was moping around. God asked him what was wrong and Cain explained. God’s answer was that He would give Cain a second chance and if he gets it right then it will be accepted. God also mentioned sin at Cain’s door. So God knew there was sin in Cain’s heart. So what did Cain do? He killed his brother Abel. Just like that! He snuffed the life out of his only brother. Why? Because he was jealous and he was only concerned with self and he was sinful and did not have the love of god in his heart. He had little regard for the life of others. Is that any different than what happened last week? I don’t think so.

So you see… this killing, this evil, this sin has been with us from the beginning. It will be with us until God reigns over chaos and evil in the end as written in Revelation. That day is coming soon.

Since the beginning all civilizations have been trying to figure out why. They want to know why men are willing to put their own lives in jeopardy to extinguish the lives of others. This has been puzzled over since Cain slew Abel. The theme of murder is used dozens of times each and every week by television script writers. It has inspired stacks of novels and multiple volume stories. Legal philosophers, sociologists, psychologists and psychiatrists have theorized endlessly to no avail. The cause of murder still remains a considerable mystery to those that do not study God’s word. But we, the studied Christian’s know. We know the core of where it comes from. Students of murder can spot only the visible and apparent reasons for it – greed, jealousy, fear, revenge, or a sudden insane anger that seizes a person and, a moment later, blots out all memory of his deed. (Or so they say. There are not any guilty people in prison you know.) Ted Bundy referred to the killer as “the entity”. No killer wants to take responsibly and he never did. But maybe Bundy was onto something. Maybe it was “the entity”.

If Bundy was thinking “the entity” was Satan he would very likely be correct. It sounded kind of strange back in Genesis when a serpent tricked Eve into eating the fruit of that tree. Was it a snake? No. The serpent was not a talking snake. The serpent is identified in the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, as Satan himself. Satan beguiled Eve by taking the form of a serpent and using his evil and clever skill to scam her into it. We must remember that Satan did not force her to eat that fruit and he didn’t force Adam. They had to choose to do it. And we also choose daily between good and evil and between being in the world or of the world. So how do people get to the place where they can take another human life (or many human lives) simply to benefit some little feeling inside them? It is when the evil one has taken residence in the person. Certainly the professionals can put labels upon labels on top of it but at the root it is sin, it is Satan they follow and not God and it is a turning away from God.

In The Mind of the Murderer, W. Lindesay Neustatter remarks, “. . . motive, without the whole background in which it is set, tells little of the criminal’s psychology.” He classifies murderers as the schizophrenic (with delusions of persecution), the hysteric, the mental defective, the paranoiac (victim of a systemized delusional insanity), the epileptic (with epileptic automatism and amnesia), the constitutionally unstable psychopath, and finally the chap who is simply depressed possibly due to low blood sugar (momentary malnutrition). J. Reid Meloy, a forensic psychologist and author of The Psychopathic Mind; and Violent Attachments, says that such crimes occur as the result of a build-up of anger, frustration and planning, which undermines the already-fragile sense of self. They don’t take failure lightly and cannot tolerate humiliation. Having no way to relieve their stress, they let the steam build until it just explodes into violence. Their families are generally the easiest target and they have no inner defense against the flow of rage. Once it’s done, they often return to a sense of equilibrium and if they don’t also kill themselves, they often feel much better.

Jesus referred to Satan as “the ruler (prince) of this world”, (John 14:30). Jesus also spoke of two masters that people have the choice of serving. The two he spoke of were God and Mammon, (Luke 16:13). You see, Satan rules Mammon which is where most of the population put their treasures. People don’t actually need to choose Satan directly. Once they choose to serve Mammon as the master then Satan knows he has someone he can get to. Satan is very crafty. He gets to the weak willed that serve Mammon and takes over their lives. That is where the seed of this propensity to kill is sown. The origin that it comes from. Without realizing it this person falls into working on Satan’s side without even knowing it because they do not understand Satan’s schemes.

When Satan comes against you, be sure he has no power over you. He will have no power if he finds the love of Jesus Christ in you and finds you following the Holy Spirit instead of the ways of the world (Mammon). Follow the world into paganism and you could be the next bomber or shooter. I know you think I am over exaggerating this. But am I? Am I really?

Our land has moved away from the roots of a belief and faith in God. ‘In God We Trust’ is not anymore worth more than the bills it is printed on. Evil is taking over. Evil is at the heart of these killings. We know where it comes from. It was not a gun that killed all those children. It was an evil and sinful mind that like Cain had no faith in God. Put the blame where it belongs.

The gates of Hell have prevailed against the “church” and its leaders today. The tolerance of sin has made us powerless in this battle against Satan. Because of this failure we will likely see more of the kinds of things we witnessed last week. God forgive us. We need a genuine Holy-Spirit revival that will deliver believers from the love of the world and drive the prince of the world out of our churches. We need a healing in our land. Before Jesus went to the cross, He told His disciples, “The prince of this world comes and he has no power over Me”, (John 14:30). He, who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Next week we celebrate the life of the King. He is the only answer to this issue.

Merry Christmas to all,

“The Tubthumper”

Love me do, part two

God says a whole bunch about love in His word. In Matthew 5:43-48 it says, “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” We are supposed to love our enemies. Oh man! Now that is a tough pill to swallow and we are supposed to pray for them. It’s one thing to get caught short on loving my neighbor but my enemies. Come on now…

In yesterday’s post I asked the question, “Do you think there is more love shown to humanity and between our neighbors today than in days gone by or do you think it is less? I think we can easily be assured there is less love being shared around the land today. Several years ago the son of the late Stephen Covey wrote a book called, “The Speed of Trust”. In it he had all the documented evidence that trust had reached an all-time low throughout the world. Nobody can trust anybody anymore either. There could be a series written and it could include, ‘the speed of commitment’ or ‘the speed of responsibility’ and of course, ‘the speed of love’. I’ll bet some interesting facts could be laid out on those subjects and I’ll bet there is a lot less love shown today. The speed of love has it’s brakes on and is somewhere around 5 mph.

“Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law (Romans 13:8). Everything that God has commanded us as to loving God and living together is summed up right there. Love God wholeheartedly and love your neighbors as yourselves and that is all that is required. Love is the fulfilling of the law. See how easy it is? Similarly in Galatians 5:13 -14 it says, “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Serve one another and love one another. Take action.

I pointed out yesterday that when it comes to love it is action that makes the difference. You can talk it all you want and you can preach it till the cows come home. It will not be noticed until action speaks louder than words. I mentioned the simple things like acknowledging people with a smile and a hug or handshake. Even just approaching and talking shows love. And don’t underestimate what a nice handwritten note would do for someone. When it comes to love we do better when we get as far from the automated technology as we can. Pastor Chuck Swindoll tells of the time he dashed off a quick note to someone on a yellow pad of paper, thanking them for something. Not too long after that, he found himself in their home, and to his surprise, he found that note framed on their wall! “The first thing I did was check it for spelling!” Swindoll shares, “You have no idea how much a simple note in your own handwriting (not emailed or typed) can mean to someone.”

Talk does little but action can move a mountain. Part of action is prayer. We should all be praying for God’s love to show through us. It was proven a long time ago that negative just soaks our brains; however, the positive stuff needs to be actively forced in. If we read God’s word often and pray often along with some accountability we can make purposeful change. One thing I have been doing is evaluating my-self at the end of each day as to whether I have glorified God. Did your day glorify God today? Don’t beat yourself up too bad if some days the answer is no because there is none righteous, not one. The only true righteous is the Lord. The more times you check yourself though the better the averages get. Give it a try.

So if we say we are a child of God we are supposed to live like we are a child of God. Verse 2 of Ephesians 4 tells us how we are to live, “With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love”. With all lowliness and meekness we are to live. With long-suffering and forbearing one another in love we are to live. Can you see it? How do each of us stack up at the end of the day when we ask, “Have I glorified God today? Have I lived in lowliness and meekness today? Have I with long-suffering (patiently enduring wrongs or difficulties), with all lowliness and meekness, forbearing (accepting pain and hardship calmly with no complaint) one another (that is anyone we relate with, it is each other) in love? Oh Lord, forgive me! To kind of pile on we read in 1 Peter 1:22, “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently”.

We are to bear fruit as explained in John chapter 15. We know the Holy Spirit is working in us when we have the fruit to back it up. When the fruit of the Spirit is in our lives it is love. Love for one another. Agape love, not the mushy television soap opera kind of love but the love that the Holy Spirit instills in us. Agape love goes to the Spirit level and is all about giving. It encompasses Joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, meekness, temperance and trust. Oh boy, there is the speed of trust coming up again. That’s for another post.

I need bring this to a close now.

If you are a Christian and say you are of God, a child of God, what action have you taken today to demonstrate God’s love. Are you talking the talk or are you walking the walk? Several reading this have a stamp on the forehead. The stamp is DNA. What is DNA? It means does not apply. But I assure you, it applies. It applies to all.

Sometime long ago someone either said something to me or wrote something to me that suck in my craw like barnacles on a dirty boat. It was, “What you do speaks to loudly that what you say I cannot hear”.

Let those words settle in.

God bless you all in Christ’s love,

“The Tubthumper”

Love me do

Back in 1959 while Paul McCartney was skipping school he was scribbling some song words on a notebook and dreaming of being a star one day. John Lennon added some lines to it and they scribbled “Another Lennon-McCartney Original” at the top of the page. What was born form that scribble was the first hit single from the Beatles. “Love Me Do” backed by “P.S. I Love You” was released on October 5, 1962. When the single was originally released in the United Kingdom, it peaked at number seventeen; in 1982 it was re-issued and reached number four. In the United States the single was a number one hit in 1964.

Love, love me do, You know I love you, I’ll always be true; So please, love me do; Whoa, love me do.

Love, love me do, You know I love you, I’ll always be true; So please, love me do; Oh, love me do.

Someone to love, Somebody new, Someone to love, Someone like you.

Love, love me do, You know I love you, I’ll always be true; So please, love me do; Oh, love me do.

Love, love me do, You know I love you, I’ll always be true; So please, love me do; Whoa, love me do. Yeah, love me do; Whoa, love me do.

Sounds simple doesn’t it? Well in reality we see mostly love, love me don’t. You know it’s likely when these teens wrote this song they were thinking of romantic love with the young ladies. To an extent what I am talking about today can go there but I am thinking now of agape love, the brotherly love like in Philly.

Actually I am writing this because of a strong prompting to do so. I know not why but I have learned recently to listen to those divine prompts. Most certainly I am no expert on the subject and almost any day you could grab me by the collar and say, “now was that the love of God I saw you show just then?” And I would shrink in shame.

Think about this, would you? Do you think there is more love shown to humanity and between our neighbors today than in days gone by or do you think it is less? I’ll give some time for you think about that. I promise that I’ll come back to it.

The prompting I have been getting is telling me that speech has little value. What I mean to say is that when it comes to love talk doesn’t mean anything. Love needs action. Love comes from emotions or should be an emotion. The word emotion is derived from motive or motion, e-motion. So love should motivate. It should motivate us to do kind things and helpful things for those we love.

We should be motivated to take action. But where is the action? I have been noticing that all around there is a lack of action. I know I am addressing fellow brothers and sisters that love the Lord and of course anyone else that should happen along to my humble little blog. So it’s possible I have a mix of audience of us and them. Or call it them and us. You know, we Christians that are “born again’ and filled with “God’s love” and those that have not made a commitment to the Lord and are still in the world. (As we call it.) A friend made me accountable not too long ago. A group of people had taken a view different than we (Christian’s) would take on a subject and I said, ‘”Well those yahoo’s should get a life”. Or something very much like that and he immediately thumped me. I know that brother loved me because he abruptly and lovingly put me in the place I needed to be. He said, “Frank, don’t refer to others that way, because we are to be different.” Now, those folks never heard my comment. My brother in-Christ knew my brain needed a jog though. He knew I needed a “check-up from the neck-up” as the late Zig Ziglar used to say. He was so right though. We are supposed be different. The world is always watching. As family in God’s Kingdom we are supposed to different. In the world but not of the world. Sometimes it seems to me that we are worse at what I am taking about than the world is.

So talk is cheap. I am certain you are pretty tired of hearing that “actions speak louder than words” right? Well, it doesn’t matter how overheard the cliché is, it won’t get any less true. And oh, how true it is. Love requires action and here is the most telling point. Love requires time. An investment in time is required and it is getting very hard to find fellow human beings that are willing to invest any of their time to express love for their neighbors. It is commanded of us. Let me repeat that, “It is commanded of us!” Now even though it is commanded of us we hoard that time and use it for ourselves instead of using it for what God intends. As I see people parceling out their time I see precious little of it parceled out for the love category. Yup, there is no time for love these days. Too busy! You know sometimes it even strikes me that the world is investing a little more time in showing love than we Christians are. I know it is a sad statement but I can’t help it. Several Saints around me seem to be short on time and effort in this category. Lest I be called the fire that’s calling the kettle black I remind you that I need this as much anyone. Many seem a bit lax on this one trait that is truly the number one request of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 16:14 says, “Do everything in love.” Short and to the point. It doesn’t get any plainer than that. Ok, the context of that short verse came just after we are told to stand firm in our faith and be resolute. We are to be firm but we are not to be the devils tool in the process. Someone said that the wrath of man will never, ever work the righteousness of God. And how can it? I mentioned this was a commandment. Check the 10 commandments out but first I’ll provide these verses. “Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets”, (Matthew 22:36-40).

So love your neighbor as yourself. And who is your neighbor? I will remind you that according to scripture, your neighbor is anyone you can help. And guess what? They are wanting it and waiting for it. So when you respond to someone or you address someone or more importantly, if you are in the presence of someone then acknowledge they are there and show love and kindness. Such a short time it takes for a hello or hand shake or a hug or warm look in the eyes. But few invest it. That time and effort, I mean; and many feel unloved. Mother Teresa said, “The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.”

Come back and I will finish this thought… Click Here to go to Part Two

Have a Godly day,

“The Tubthumper”

What’s the Cost of Happiness, P2

The Cost of Happiness, part 2.

Inflation numbers are out on covetousness and the news isn’t good.

This is all about us and our neighbors. We are not to covet what our neighbors have and all people are our neighbors. We are to love our neighbors as ourselves. Can you hear it, “OUR NEIGHBORS”, “OUR NEIGHBORS”, it is that of “our neighbors” that we are to leave alone because it is theirs. It is the things of our neighbors we are not to lust after. To covet means to lust for, so do not covet what God has given to your neighbors.

Our Lord warns us with a parable about a rich man who was very foolish. He was trying to pile up the wealth to stay ahead of the Jones’ but what he didn’t know was that his life was to end that very night and he was focusing on the wrong thing. From Luke 12:16-21: “The ground of a certain man brought forth plentifully: and he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

So that covers it: Covetousness makes us treasure up for ourselves things on earth for which we will have no need. Then we don’t lay up any treasure in heaven toward God. Covetousness deceives us regarding our values. We place more emphasis on ‘things’ and miss the blessings of living for Christ and for others (our neighbors).

What about happiness? There is no other real source of happiness but God; and he is able abundantly, and willing to impart consolation to his people. As it says in 2 Corinthians 1:3, “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.”

Happiness, joy and satisfaction depend on what we do and how we respond to things around us and what life dishes our way. The truth is that it is not possible for human relationships or material items to fulfill all of one’s needs. There is only one source of fulfillment and satisfaction which is a relationship with Jesus, God’s Son, the Anointed One. He is and has all that we will ever need.

Don’t let the “keep up with the Jones’ mentality of our culture distract you from the source of true happiness. “I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”, Philippians 4:12-13.

Happiness comes as we put our focus on the Lord. ”You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength”, Deuteronomy 6:5.

God is the source for all good things. ^“Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, Godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness”, 1 Timothy 6:6-11.

It is good to have enough to keep ourselves out of poverty. And prosperity is a desirable thing. We cannot give without having something to give and I believe that the more we give the more we receive. It is balance we need. Do not lose focus on where the true wealth comes from.

Happiness does not come by gratifying our own desires but by bringing gratification to the Lord and fulfilling his desires. And as the Lord’s requirements are met, our needs will be taken care of, just like He promised in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

God Bless you,

“The Tubthumper”

What’s The Cost of Happiness?

What is the price of happiness?

It just went up! When I got to the office the other day and fired up my trusty company issued computer there was an article in my lotus notes folder that caught my eye. It was about the price of happiness and was written by a fellow Certified Financial Planner.

I knew where the article was headed before I even started reading it. I knew it would focus happiness on “having things”. I have been a Certified Financial Planner for many years. I have been a Christian for many more years. I value my credentials as a Christian more than the Financial Planner credentials.

So the article went on to say “The Jones’s are alive and well, and keeping up with them just got more expensive.”[1] The price of happiness just went up.

This is where the article really strikes a nerve. It went on to say, “According to a 13-country survey by Skandia International, the global average income needed to be really happy is just under $162,000, compared to the mere $75,000 suggested by a Princeton study just a few years ago.

Ahha, so you say that in order to be happy, I mean “really happy” you need to have an annual income of $162,000. Wow! What do you think of that? Hear ye, hear ye, all you peons that have incomes under $162,000! You my friends are simply unhappy and will remain so until you get that income up there. Happiness lies in having all that money you know. Of course this guy went on to say that it also depends on where you live and that if you live in Germany you can be happy earning a measly $85,781 per year. If you live in Dubai however, you are unhappy if you have an income less that $276,150. He often calls these posted numbers as “happiness incomes”.

What a sad sign this is! I am not surprised to see it though. I am accustomed to seeing this worldly and paganistic thought pattern that seems to prevail in the industry in which I have been working for several decades. I have often referred to it as the “shark tank” or “snake pit”. It is obvious from the start this is coming direct from the pit and there is a need to look to the Word of God and the “Parables of Christ”. That is where the real answers are.

Warning! Warning! This author says it’s not just some interesting statistics he is looking at but we need to look out because this is might well be a warning sign for many Financial Advisors.

It gets more succinct as he tells us, “the amount of income needed to feel “really happy” tends to track the per capita GDP, lending credence to the idea that the amount of income needed to be happy is not an absolute number, but a relative number compared to those around us.” He is indicating here that if the person living next to us is wealthy and we are a bit under the average wealth on our street we are unhappy and until we match the income and assets of our neighbor we will continue to be unhappy. This is the covetousness that Jesus Christ warned us about so many times. It is also the last one of 10 commandments, “THOU SHALT NOT COVET thy neighbours’s house, THOU SHALT NOT COVET thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s” (Exodus 20:17).

So he says this can lead to unrealistic expectations of their retirement lifestyle with risks to both the client and the advisor. The client will have unsustainable spending or frustration over not being able to live a lifestyle comparable to their friends or peers creating unhappiness. Now that is the first thing I agree with. It is correct they will have unrealistic expectations. Anyone that puts the material price on happiness is unreasonable and mislead. I know that money makes life easy for people but I also know lots of unhappy millionaires. Remember the Lord telling us how hard it is for a rich man to get to heaven, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

Next came a warning that for the advisor, the risk is in being blamed for their client’s financial failure. That is not likely to happen with me. I always leave the client with reasonable expectations and I always share my personal values with my clients. My suggesting would be for advisors to check their values or maybe to get some.

To his credit this guy did go on to talk about dong comprehensive planning and identifying exactly what it is that will make the client happy. He reminded us to be working through a formalized process of identifying and documenting our client’s life goals to hopefully keep them from pursuing the shiny new toys that can distract them from their ultimate goals.

However,

No one will have happiness while being lured into the SIN OF COVETOUSNESS, which is forbidden by the 10th Commandment. To break this commandment will set us up for more trouble because it is the mother sin that breaks all the commandments. The 10th commandment embraces all the other commandments because the breach of each one grows out of the heart of covetousness that every man and woman possesses by nature.

Continued…. Click here to go to the conclusion.

Have a Godly day,

“The Tubthumper”

[1] Keith J. Weber, CFP®, CPRC, is a speaker, author and founder of Weber Consulting Group, LLC.

A Genesis Dysfunction Junction, Part 2

It all started with Jacob wrestling with Esau in his mother’s womb. Please see Genesis 25:20-26. Rebekah was unable to become pregnant. She was only able to become pregnant because God interceded on her behalf. So she became pregnant and she was aware something strange was going on inside her. She was alarmed about this as you might guess so she went to the Lord to ask Him what was going on. The Lord told her there twins inside her. He told her it was not just that twins were inside her but there were actually two nations inside that womb. The Lord told her clearly that the older of these twins inside her would serve the younger one. When the two boys were born and emerged the first one out was Esau but Jacob was clinging fast to Esau’s heel.

These things I mention above have set the course for Jacob. There is a discord between Isaac and Rebekah. Isaac wants his boy Esau to have the blessing because he was his favorite of the two children and Rebekah wants Jacob. In fact, she is fully in tune with what God wanted from the beginning and also Jacob was her little darling. The two were split on affections for their children. They were each deceiving or being underhanded toward their mate.

Now don’t forget too that earlier Jacob purchased the birthright from Esau because Esau really didn’t care about it. He only cared about the immediate fulfilling of his fleshly desires.

This Is a Hebrew narrative which is scenic. Action moves along from scene to scene. As chapter 27 opened up it looks like Isaac is ill and bedridden, maybe an invalid for some time and he thinks he may die any time. We see the scene that he wants that nice tasting venison. That is what he is thinking of and lusting for and so he wants Esau to get him the barbecued venison by hunting and preparing the meat. Isaac can then revel in the glory of his masculine hunter-man son and then he will give him the blessing. This is all coming from the flesh and not the spirit. The Characters are always the central element in the plot. Esau was a profane and materialistic person that didn’t care about spiritual things and yet Isaac wanted to give him the blessing because he thought Esau was the greater man and he favored that son. Isaac was not in tune at all with what God desired.

Enter Abraham… when Abraham knew that his days were short he looked for a wife for his son Isaac. That is what Isaac should have been doing for his sons. But the only thing on Isaac’s mind as he was getting old was getting that blessing to his favorite boy Esau. Even though he knew God meant for it to go to Jacob from when God told his wife at the beginning. Surely you don’t think Rebekah kept her conversations with God to herself. I believe Isaac was going against Gods will because I believe Isaac knew God’s will was to have Jacob receive the blessing. I believe Isaac knew this before Jacob was born and I believe Rebekah reminded him of this many times while the boys were growing up. It is inconceivable to think that Isaac was not aware of God’s words to his wife that “the older would serve the younger”. (Gen. 25:23) Can you imagine Rebekah not telling Isaac over and over again as they were butting heads over the two boys throughout their lives? I cannot.

I have referenced many commentaries about this and know there are countless Bible Scholars that also hold this view.

I believe Isaac knew who the birthright was to go to. He knew God’s will. Isaac was directly trying to go against God’s will and give it to Esau when it was meant for Jacob. Some say Isaac had no idea it was Jacob he was blessing instead of Esau but I’m not so sure that Issac didn’t kind of half catch on that it was Jacob. Remember in the scripture where Isaac said the voice was Jacobs but the hairy face was Esau’s?

I must admit that when reading this story some years ago it was all about Jacob stealing the blessing from Esau. Now, however, the situation looks different. We can see a man that was not depending on God. We can see a man that had forgotten about his dependence on God and he was acting fully in the flesh. He was trying to have his way and figured he could direct where the blessing would go. We can see lots of dysfunction going on in the story. Isaac was trying to deceive God. Jacob was trying to deceive Esau. Rebekah was trying to deceive Isaac and help God with His plan. Esau was just being a worldly man as usual.

The characters are contrasted with each other. Jacob and Rebekah both knew that God had chosen Jacob but they thought God couldn’t fulfill His purpose without their help. That was a mistake. The trickery goes on and the blessing goes to Jacob which is right where God wanted the blessing to go. In the next scene Esau was full of anger for not getting his blessing and wanted to kill Jacob. The plot resolution occurs as Jacob was sent away for his protection from his brother.

In the end we see that Isaac lived to be 180 years old and died in the presence of both of his sons. (Gen. 35:28)

We have witnessed here a permissive father and a controlling mother. We also have an errant older son and a deceptive younger son. As mentioned earlier this all looked like dysfunction. We must not forget that Isaac’s family is one of the most important in the Bible because God used it to build the nation of Israel. No family is perfect. Mine is not and surely yours is not either. God uses broken people from broken families to accomplish His perfect purpose. He chose to do that and chooses to do similar things today. God can use our brokenness to draw us closer to Him.

Let us all take the malfunctioning parts of our lives to the Lord for He will provide the healing and rebuilding and get us on the right path.

God bless your day,

‘The Tubthumper’

A Genesis Dysfunction Junction

A Bible story I have read and heard over and over again has struck me in a different way than ever before. It is funny how we look at something a certain way and then all the sudden we see it in a different light. In Genesis 27 and 28 Moses, the writer, the story teller and the author of the Pentateuch describes Isaac. My attention turns to Isaac this time which is a different approach for me. I always looked at this particular story as being mainly about Jacob receiving his blessing as designed by God.

We get the scene laid out for us with narrative that Isaac is ill, old and blind. We have a story line that describes him as not thinking he will live long. In the end, however, we see him living for many years after this story. Is it possible Isaac was using this situation timing to do his will against the Lords? We can unfortunately relate to what he was doing.

Let’s look at the big picture. As we look at the background on Isaac we find he lived a long life. (Gen. 35:28) Therefore he lived a few decades longer. He also didn’t travel much and never moved away from the same area. (Gen 35:27) When we take the larger part of the Old Testament into consideration we get to fill in the blanks. We know that Isaac was considered one of the irreplaceable (trio) of founding fathers of God’s people just as Abraham and Jacob.

We can deduct that Isaac was always content with the simple pleasures of life. He didn’t seem to travel and do some of the other things the great men of the Bible have done. Isaac obviously knew God and feared God. Evidence is present that the Lord spoke to Jacob twice about being what He called, the God of your father Isaac. (Gen. 28:13; 46:1-3) We also can find that two times Jacob spoke of, ‘the fear of his father Isaac’. So we see the respect. (Gen. 31:42; 53) It is clear to me that Jacob saw through Isaac that God is the one that comforts and He is also the one worthy of reverence or ‘fear’. This is the ‘The fear of God’ we so miss in our land today.

As we look at the narrative of the current passage in Gen 27 we need to remember that Isaac is the only man in the entire Bible that was tied upon an altar, saw a knife coming at his heart and then heard the voice of an Angel stop his impending death as his father’s sacrifice. He knew intimately that God had spared him and was worthy of fear and worship. That is what makes this situation so troubling. This great man is going through the same things we experience!

Isaac married his cousin Rebekah and they shared a spirituality and love for God. They made some big mistakes as parents in their child rearing. They were divided on their affections between their twin children. (Gen. 25:28) We can’t tell if they didn’t bring the two children up with the word of God or if it is possible they went astray as some do with backsliding or being a prodigal. It is hard to pin this down because the two children are grown at this point. It does look like the word of God ended up being neglected and because of that issue alone the family suffered. (Gen.27:41) It was because they strayed from the word of God that when the time came for Isaac to pass on the treasured blessing He followed his logic and not the spirit to want to give it to Esau. It was evident to all that God had chosen Jacob.

Rebekah thought she could help the Lord out by scheming to get the blessing over to Jacob. Isn’t that like what happens sometimes in our lives? We think we need to help God get things done when in reality he doesn’t need us for anything.

The key descriptive is that Isaac has forgotten about God in his daily life which is similar to how we forget about the Lord. Because he forgot about God he wasn’t following the will of God. He was operating out of pride and selfishness or in the flesh rather than following the lead of the Holy Spirit. Isaac was all about enjoying Esau’s hunting skills and manliness. Rebekah also acted in the flesh by trying to do what was right through her own actions. Isaac knew that God wanted the blessing to go to Jacob so he was trying to pass the blessing on to Esau against the Lords desire. Jacob, the scoundrel, goes along and works with the deception. It looks like dysfunction junction and a lack of trust all about the family. It strikes me this time as a sort of soap opera.

Our author, Moses, guides us to make certain conclusions about Isaac’s spiritual condition. We have the characters, the plot and the plot resolution. We have the conflict and the tension to make it all exciting.

To be continued…

Follow the rest of the story in Part 2 by clicking here.

Please have a Godly day,

“The Tubthumper”

Are we a bunch of losers? Part 7

Conclusion:

The fourth Church Jesus addresses is the church of Thyatira and He starts by acknowledging they have grown from where they started, “I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.” But then comes the reprimand, “Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.” It sounds to me like He is not happy with them, to say the least… So now comes a further warning, Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.” So to those of you that are somehow righteous you better stick with the program until I come get you. Jesus then tells of the reward for doing as He commands, “To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’ – just as I have received authority from my Father. I will also give that one the morning star. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Hear it? Listen to the Holy Spirit? Do not follow false teachers.

Church number five is the church at Sardis and He gets right to the point, “I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.” And His complaint comes clearly, “Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent.” The warning is given, “But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.” And lastly the hope is there for those that remain steadfast in the Lord, “Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Listen to the Holy Spirit! Are you pretending to be alive but you are really dead inside?

The church at Philadelphia is the sixth church He addresses and as it is written He is happy with this church. Jesus addresses them lovingly, “I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.” He spends no time leveling any complaints to the congregants of the church at Philadelphia. He does warn them to hold tight though, “I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.” And provides further hope for them, “The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the Churches.” Continue to listen to the Holy Spirit!

The last church of the seven is the church of Laodicea where He indicates that we need to be full in and not sitting on the fence. He says, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! can see.” Then he levels the complaint with them, “So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. And if that doesn’t get your attention what will? Here comes the warning, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” Oh yes, If anyone knocks they can come in. He is that close. Just reach out and be saved! The hope he gives last as he says, “To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the Churches.” Notice it again, “Whoever has ears, let them hear the Spirit!” Don’t be luke-warm, be sure you are all-in!

Wow! After reviewing those seven churches, take a deep look at your church and then our church and tell me how you think you stack up. Be honest. God knows it all anyway. Have you forsaken the love you had at first? Have you fallen? Has the sanctuary become a synagogue of Satan? Have you become idol worshipers? Have you been led into sexual immorality? Do you claim you are alive when in actuality you are dead? Are you neither cold nor hot but lukewarm? Have you watered down the scriptures and become false teachers? Have you become overprotective and are you feeding the fish and maintaining the aquarium instead of fishing for men?

Remember the consequences as you go forward. Humble yourselves before God and men. Do not remain comfortable. Take a risk. Trust God and go! Time is at hand and life is but a vapor. God will judge each of His people according to the calling placed on them. Walk worthy of the vocation. (Eph. 4:1)

“And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me”. (Luke 9:23)

Take up your cross. Let’s be Christians first and Americans second. Have you done enough? How will you be evaluated? Let’s not as “The Church” be a bunch of losers.

God bless you,

“The Tubthumper”

Are we a Bunch of Losers? Part 6

Part 6

I mentioned earlier that you should evaluate the church, your church and your life. Let me draw your attention to the first six books of Revelation.

The first church Jesus addressed is the Church as Ephesus. He started with giving them a commendation, “I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.” Oh, but all is not good because He then rebukes them, “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen!” If you have studied the Bible much at all you should know that love is one of the top three topics if not the one greatest of all. They had forsaken the LOVE! And then comes the warning, “Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.”(In other words He would leave them in darkness!) And then He gives them a promise, “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” Now there is some fine motivation. Have you forsaken the Love?

The second church in the evaluation is the church at Smyrna. He starts again with an accolade. I think this may be where the “sandwich” style of delivering some criticism in the business world might have come from. It is usually the way we get something positive as the first slice of bread and then the filling is the rough stuff before the last slice added is a word of hope and praise. Jesus tells them, “I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.” Ouch! Next comes the warning, “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Lastly he gives the hope, “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the Churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.” Notice the hint to listen to what the Holy Spirit says for the things churches are to do. Be sure you are not a synagogue of Satan.

Church number three is the church of Pergamum. Right away we see the praise coming, “I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.” Not long after, however, comes the complaint, “Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.” He is warning them against false teachers and sexual immorality which we have plenty of in these days. The warning is sharp, “Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.” And He finishes with the hope, “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.” Once again He says to listen to the Holy Spirit! Do not worship idols or be committing sexual immorality.

The fourth Church Jesus addresses is the church of Thyatira and He starts by acknowledging they have grown from where they started, “I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.” But then comes the reprimand, “Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.” It sounds to me like He is not happy with them, to say the least… So now comes a further warning, Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.” So to those of you that are somehow righteous you better stick with the program until I come get you. Jesus then tells of the reward for doing as He commands, “To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’ ¬- just as I have received authority from my Father. I will also give that one the morning star. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Hear it? Listen to the Holy Spirit? Do not follow false teachers.

Please join me in the next post (JUST CLICK HERE) for the conclusion as we review the last three churches and bring this series to a close.

God bless your day,

‘The Tubthumper’

Are we a Bunch of Losers, Part 5

So what is a healthy New Testament Church anyway?

A New Testament church is a church in which God is present through His Spirit, and in which He is powerfully at work to glorify Himself by manifestations of His power and grace. A New Testament church is a church where the fruits of the Spirit are as evident as the manifestations of His power. That is the kind of church we desire to be. We as individuals are “THE CHURCH”. Remember that it is ‘THE BODY’ of believers. The saints! Therefore, we as individuals are to strive to be full of the Spirit, exhibiting the fruit of the spirit and glorifying God by manifestation of His power and grace in our lives. We are to be different!

A healthy church is one that is founded upon the person and work of Jesus Christ and His infallible Word, the Bible. The first three chapters of the Book of Ephesians deal with essential Bible doctrines. Paul’s appeal to these saints to live godly lives in the last three chapters is rooted in the sound doctrine of chapters 1-3. I don’t have room to address that here but please go and read it for yourselves.

You will also notice that the subject matter of the last half of Ephesians has to do with relationships, primarily relationships in the church. In the first half of chapter four, Paul makes his appeal for unity and growth. Then, in the last half of this fourth chapter, Paul shows how faith in Christ requires a radical change in the way the believer relates to others. Relationships were an important part of Paul’s teaching, and they should be important in our teaching and church life as well. I will point out again that relationships involve intimacy and closeness. Those are two scary words in our society today. We rather isolate ourselves and communicate by means of internet like I am now. We communicate through Facebook and email. Personal contact is the last thing we want to do. We have become a non- relational world. Intimate and face to face communication is becoming extinct. Love and the manifestation of love require action and it requires time. If we are unwilling to invest the time to show others we love by indicating they exist by showing personal action to speak directly to them and acknowledge them we will always be perceived as unloving. And the perception by others is everything. We need to be clear that we have God’s love and we share it.

Let’s get back to the subject before I go off in another direction…

Looking back to the Bible in Acts we see the start of ‘The Church’. The church that is described in Acts 2:41-47 is a Jewish church, worshipping as we would expect of a group of new Jewish converts. It is a church of very new believers, who exhibit the vital signs of new life in Christ. This is not a church that has “arrived;” it is a church that has a good start and is moving in the right direction. It is a church that loves God and others. It is a Spirit-filled church that is moving toward the fulfillment of the Great Commission. But it is not a perfect church in any case. It still has some growing to do and it will.

What does this church have to teach us, to teach our church? We should always be troubled by the words of our Lord to the church at Ephesus as recorded in Revelation 2:1-7. The Church at Ephesus has “departed from their first love”.

I believe our text in Acts 2 greatly helps us discern the answer to these questions. To lose one’s ‘first love’ is to cease to love as you once did, at the beginning. Acts 2:41-47 describes the church’s first love, and thus it describes the deeds that one who has lost his first love must once again do. The early church in Jerusalem may not be the perfect pattern for all that we do as a church today, but it is an excellent example of a church that is marked by love. It was an example of a church that has a love for God and love for others.

We should evaluate ourselves and we should evaluate our church of today. Now when I say our church of today I am talking about the body of believers and the organized church as well.

We see in the book of revelation what Jesus does when he evaluates the church and what He expects.

Take an evaluative look at your local church and then do the same for your life because you are the church and then also think about God’s church in the bigger sense of things. I mean globally. Let’s take a look at what Jesus thought about the seven churches he evaluated. Let us evaluate where we are headed.

In the next two posts I will go over what Jesus saw regarding each of these churches and how he addresses them. It would serve us well to see where we have fallen and how history can repeat itself. We may want to take note as well to what happened to these churches as a result.

See you next time as we conclude with a walk through the first six books of The revelation of Jesus Christ. (Click Here for continuation)

Please have a Godly day today,

“The Tubthumper”

Are we a Bunch of Losers, Part 4

What about us?

I can’t leave this subject without pointing out the responsibility of the believer. God uses the believer in many ways to build His church. For this position I will turn to the 6th chapter of Acts and look in verses 1-7. In verse 1 we see that disciples were multiplied which is our commandment. We are to go and make disciples. The number of disciples was multiplied: Multiplied meant to them that souls were added to the kingdom and the church was growing. I need to mention here that growing pains were felt as the church was growing just like it happens now-days. There were two sides involved in this church, the Grecian Jews and the Hebrews. Apparently the Hebrews were being slighted and there was some complaining going on. We see in verse 2 the Apostles were responsible for the church and they had to carry out both a spiritual ministry and a material ministry of helping the needy.

The church then lived very close. They shared everything and knew what everyone was doing. They had everything in common and probably had something like a commissary. When the Bible mentions “tables” they are actually stations where money and food was distributed. Each day the food and other things were given out according to need. This is where the problem arose regarding some of the widows allegedly getting more than others. By the way, all widows were completely taken care of by the church. What a great concept! Oh, one other thing, we must realize that we are not apostles. Apostleship was unique and not something we can repeat. We are not apostles. This is one of the “river of differences” between then and now.

The church was to look among the congregants to appoint seven men that were spirit-filled to act as “deacons”. The word deacon literally was not present and I use it as descriptive. (They were to look for men of honest report and men full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom.) This will allow the apostles to continue in the ministry they were appointed to and continue steadfast in prayer and the ministry of the word. The Apostles wanted to remain devoted to the most important duties. Notice the priority of prayer first. Pray steadfastly! They appointed Stephen, Philip, Prochurus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas. All seven men have Greek names showing that they came from the Grecian numbers to represent them fairly.

In verse 6 they prayed and laid hands on the men. Laying on of hands was used in the Old Testament to confer blessing, transfer guilt from sinner to sacrifice and to commission a person for a new responsibility. I notice they prayed first and then laid hands on them. Most of the time today we do it in the opposite pattern, we lay on the hands and then pray.

The last verse, verse 7, shows the number of disciples multiplied and a great number of the priests were obedient to the faith. This meant they were accepting the preaching of the apostles that proclaimed a sacrifice that made the old sacrifices unnecessary. They became obedient to the faith. Luke pauses throughout his story to summarize the progress of the gospel and the growth of the Christian community. This last verse was one of five summaries he gave.

We can see a theological principle here. God makes his will known to believers in the book of Acts. God uses a variety of means to guide his people. In this passage he uses other believers. Theology of work is evident in this passage. It is service… Serving God, serving society and serving wherever needed. The spirit filled men that were chosen as “deacons” to take care of the tables did not complain because they couldn’t do what the apostles did. They served where they were needed. Overseeing the food distribution was just as important as the work of preaching the word of God. Commitment to service needs to be our foundation. “The one constant is that God directs our paths in a variety of ways—of this we can be confident!”

So then, how should individual Christians apply this principle today?

We should all be willing servants of the Lord wherever we are needed. We need to understand that being filled with the spirit and having wisdom equips us to heal any division in our communities or churches. It allows us to assist in the growing pains that will naturally occur from church growth. Every job is reliant on the Spirit to do good work. Every work we do has the capacity to be a means of participation in God’s plan for the world by the power of the Holy Spirit. Believers’ need to serve where we are needed. If we are obedient to the Lord and follow His word then He will do the rest.

There is so much more in the Bible about what we are to do as believers and I could do over 100 posts on this subject alone. I probably will before I am done. If we take the big picture it comes down to one concept once we are part of the Kingdom and it is ‘The Great Commission’. You can find it in Matthew 26: 16-20. Simply stated, ‘The Great Commission’ is comprised of three parts: 1) Make disciples, 2) Baptize them, 3) Teach them to observe all things that I have commanded you. That is Divinely Authoritive and The Great Commission is job number one of ‘The Church’ and so it is job number one for us. This is the umbrella under which all of our functions should take place.

Over the years man has distorted what God’s word has brought forth and people go to organized churches today that are miles away from what God intended. People are getting false teaching and heresy and the only way they can see the difference is to read and listen to the truth. The truth is God’s word as it was written. As I mentioned in the first post, the message has been dumbed down, changed by mankind to suit their needs and watered down to draw crowds and not offend anyone. The truth is needed! True disciples of the Lord are never offended by the truth! We seek it, and we want to get to the meat of true spirituality.

We are to be intimately involved with each other and every saint to insure that others are equipped for ministry and then they can go on and minister to others. We are to equip others to the building up of the body of Christ. The body of Christ, wow! That is ‘The Church’ we have talking about.

I am out of space today and need to close by asking you to go to the Word and read these scriptures: Proverbs 3:5; Colossians 2:8-11; Proverbs 1:25-30; Proverbs 8:14-17; Isaiah 5:21; Isaiah 30:1-3; Isaiah 40:13-14, Job 38:2-7; Ecclesiastes 12:13-14; Romans 3:18; timothy 3:16-17; and last but not least 2 Peter 1:2-4.

Do not rely on the wisdom of men for it will let you down. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding”, Proverbs 3:5.

(Click Here to) – Join me in the next post as we look at the necessities of being a healthy “New Testament Church”.

May God bless your day today,

“The Tubthumper”

Are we a Bunch of Losers, Part 3

The stark reality of it all…

““Millions of American evangelicals are absolutely shocked by not just the presidential election, but by the entire avalanche of results that came in,” R. Albert Mohler, Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, in Louisville, Ky., said in an interview. “It’s not that our message — we think abortion is wrong, we think same-sex marriage is wrong — didn’t get out. It did get out. “It’s that the entire moral landscape has changed,” he said. “An increasingly secularized America understands our positions, and has rejected them.””. From The New York times, November 12, 2012.

Why is America increasingly secularized? Because the ‘The Church’ has failed. We find in the book of Acts how the church should be. How God meant it to be. Let’s take a look at how the church should look to us. I say should.

By reading God’s word in Acts 2:42-47, we can see the first of several assessments of the state of the church. We should first note that the text begins and ends with a statement about the unusual growth of the church. Growth comes from identifying disciples and helping them to discover their spiritual gifts and then equipping and training them to turn their spiritual gifts into ministry that grows ‘The Kingdom’. The church gets built on disciples who are willing to take up their crosses and die for our Lord. (Matt.16:24)

From reading in the book of Acts you can know that in the big picture the Church was meant to be a vibrant, balanced, growing community of disciples of Jesus Christ. Discipleship comes in response to the Gospel and the Gospel Is Love. In Verse 42 of Acts it lists four of the activities to which the church devoted itself and verses 43-47 serve to further define the four activities. We should, therefore, consider each of the four activities along with Luke’s further description of them.

The four activities of the earliest church are introduced to us as the priorities of the church. These are the four things to which these saints devoted themselves. These were not options. These were the fruit of a genuine conversion and of life in Christ. Here they are and they are not meant to be kept as a secret.

The Apostles’ Teaching: We should focus on one aspect of the apostles’ teaching. The Apostles proclamation of the gospel was recognized as authoritative, due to the authentication of God through miraculous works. Please remember that Peter reminded his audience that the teaching of Jesus had been divinely accredited by the Father. The apostles’ teaching has been preserved in the New Testament Scriptures, so that we have their instruction as well as the early church. We can never over-emphasize the importance of sound, biblical teaching. The Word of God is the foundation and starting point for every aspect of the Christian life. I need to point out that it is the unchanged and complete Word of God I am talking about. Not the false teachings that prevail today. At the conclusion of this series I intend on looking at evaluating your church. If you do not attend a church that has a Pastor or minister expounding on the complete and never-changing Word, giving you the bad with the good and everything in between. You need to find a church that does. It is time we fired the imposters.

Fellowship: The term Luke uses for “fellowship” in the text is a much broader term than our English word. Essentially, “fellowship” means “joint participation” or “sharing something in common.” It is thus a kind of partnership. In Philippians 2:1, the term is used of a common sharing in the Holy Spirit. In Philippians 3:10 and 1 Peter 4:13, it is used of sharing in Christ’s sufferings. In Galatians 2:9, it appears to be a sharing together in ministry. The most common expression of “fellowship” in the New Testament is that of sharing financial and material resources. It was giving to one another when there was a need. One can “fellowship” with fellow believers in a number of ways, including the partaking of meals and engaging in prayer. If Acts 2:44-45 is Luke’s further description of what fellowship looked like in the newly-born church in Jerusalem, then his emphasis would fall on the fellowship of sharing one’s material goods with others. By reading in Acts you will find that no member of the church had a need that went unmet. If there was a need it was filled by another member of ‘The Church’. People took care of each other. That was love. It takes intimacy and closeness. Two scary words for today.

The Breaking of Bread: Breaking bread is not always a reference to the observance of Communion. The expression might simply refer to the eating of a meal together. After he said this, Paul took bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all, broke it, and began to eat (Acts 27:35). The sharing of a meal was perhaps the most intimate form of fellowship one could have with fellow believers. In the ancient near-eastern world, when a guest was invited to a meal with his host, it was incumbent on the host to provide protection for the guest. This would partly explain the actions of Lot when the men of Sodom wanted to do harm to his guests (Genesis 19:1-8). The eating of a meal is also used as a description of our fellowship with God.

The Prayers: Luke is telling us that in its very early days the saints in Jerusalem diligently persisted in the observance of the stipulated times of Jewish prayer at the temple. These were newly-saved Jewish believers who were just beginning to grasp the significance of the things they had done as Old Testament Jews, even though they were unbelievers at the time. Throughout the four gospels in the New Testament prayer is emphasized over and over.

This text has been used by many to describe the essential functions of a church. The danger we can run into is that it becomes a “to do” list of activities. If we do all these things, then we feel like we are obedient and in a worse case, we may even be proud that we are biblical. (self-righteous) The test for ‘The Church’ is not just doing the right things. The test is more a matter of having the right attitudes. The success comes from having the right heart and maintaining right relationships. It wasn’t just what the church in Jerusalem did that Luke is trying to convey in his writings. What he wants us to know is how and why they did the things they did. We need to be aware that in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus condemned charity, prayer, and fasting that was done in the wrong spirit, and for the wrong reasons (Matthew 6:1-18).

Join me in the next post JUST CLICK HERE and we will have a look at the responsibility of the believer. Is that you? I know it is me.

Until the next time,

‘The Tubthumper’

A Bunch of Losers, Part 2

We left off yesterday with a look at two parables and I hope you opened your Bibles and read the actual scriptures for yourselves. We know about the ‘Rich Young Ruler’ that wanted to get to the Kingdom but would not give up the material things he acquired in order to have eternal life. It seems like what we would call a no-brainer doesn’t it? But humans just don’t see it that way. We are mortals that think we will live forever. In my business I am consistently pointing out the risks people face only to hear, “it won’t happen to me”. I am always amused when one of my clients begins reviewing the ownership of their assets. It gets me when they say, “If anything happens to me what happens to this stuff?” I always very quickly point out that something will happen. Yes, you will die, so prepare. And I will die. We all will come to room temperature sooner or later. When it happens it always is too soon.

We looked at the ‘Rich Fool’ that wanted to build bigger barns to hold his stuff but didn’t know he was about to die that night. You know, just before the parable of the ‘Rich Fool’ Jesus addressed another unknown character from the crowd that had a question. It was what led to him giving the parable. Jesus didn’t spend too much time on the question because it was a guy that wasn’t happy about how much inheritance he was getting and wanted Jesus to help him get more from his brother. He and his brother had to settle that score themselves. The greedy brother wanting the inheritance was not following the ideal of living in harmony with his brother. “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1) We can assume this man knew the Scriptures but did not care much. The greedy brother treasured riches more than his relationship with his brother. He did not love people. Verse 15 gives us a big clue as to what the point of the parable of the ‘Rich Fool’ was going to be. Jesus condemns greed and warns that even if the man gets a larger share of the inheritance, it will not bring life.

The point of the parable is not that death may come at any time, however, that centering one’s life on possessions and pleasures is not to be the focus. The kingdom is at hand! The message was and is, that we are not to put too much emphasis on acquiring wealth. People think that if they can only get enough material things these things will produce the abundant life.

What profit will it be to gain the world and then lose our soul? We need to be careful to not get caught up in covetousness. In our society it seems to sneak up on us and get us no matter how hard you try to ward it off. It is like being that frog in the cold water on a fire that slowly turns to boiling and eventually takes your life. The experience we should get from this is to spend much time in prayer and in the Word. We should concentrate on Godly things and that is where our treasure should lie.

Getting back to the main subject at hand, we would need to surrender everything. Not just most of it but, I mean every ounce of all we desire in order to completely follow Christ. I left off by saying, “We are all unwilling to take that step”. We go away in sorrow and we live in some kind of faith that seems to comingle the parts of God’s word we can deal with and the parts of the world we must partake of. We are so weak! And it is so shameful.

In many ways we are much more deceived than the two rich guys I mentioned earlier. Satan is having his way with us. We and the people in our nation are reaping the consequence. Let’s face it. We are letting God down. Revival is needed and revival starts in the heart. Has your heart waxed cold? If not, get back in the race. The time is now! I read somewhere the other day that when people really know Christ they ‘talk about Him’. How much do we talk about Christ each day? How many times do we avoid talking about Christ when we should because we don’t want to make waves or we don’t want to make someone uncomfortable. Maybe it is so it won’t make us uncomfortable?

We all read about prophecy and we know about the prophecy that has already come true. We know about the great falling away and we can see it is happening now. We read about the false teachers and they are about us. But we let them do it. Why? We are responsible. Each and every one of us owns our piece of the problem. We need to take up our crosses.

We just had a national election. Listen to what was said by one national Christian leader, “I didn’t hear any of the candidates say that we needed to call our nation to prayer. I didn’t hear any of the candidates say that we needed to ask God for help. I don’t believe there is leadership in Washington that can solve this problem. We just deal with it as issues for the day, and it kicks the can further and further down the road. We need God’s help to solve this problem – we can’t go without God. What has happened is we have allowed ourselves to take God out everything that we do – and I believe that God will judge our nation one day” , Rev. Franklin Graham.

As “The Church” We Are Losing the Race.

Check back with me for the next post (JUST CLICK HERE) and we can see what we are supposed to look like as “The Church”.

God bless you all,

“The Tubthumper”

Are we a bunch of losers?

Are we just a bunch of Losers?

As the “Church” are we failing? Are we just a bunch of losers? This will be a series of several posts on the state of the church and what is happening. As I began writing the content led me to first “What is the Church?” After that I wanted to look at what the Bible teaches “the church” should look like, what happens to us by relating two parables and then it led to an evaluation based on the way Jesus evaluated the church in Revelation chapter 2.

Please strap your seat-belts on and ride with me as we begin with Part 1:

Are we Americans first and Christians second or are we Christians first and Americans second? What do you think of when someone mentions the ‘the Church’. If you think it is some organization in the next county or some building up the street, then think again. The church, my friend, is you and it is Me. The church is a group of people. It is the believing souls that follow Christ.

“‘Church’ might be a denomination, a building, or an organized group of believers, but THE Church consists of followers of Jesus Christ who have been saved by grace through faith in him—the ‘body of Christ’. Instead of pointing fingers and saying the ‘church’ has failed at this or that, we might want to pause and take a hard look at ourselves first. Is the church failing us or are we failing the church?” – G.S. West.

The church is failing because we want to be like the world. To completely believe in the Gospel will destroy our lives as Americans. We have all compromised what we have been taught. We have all forsaken the word of God. We are a bunch of two faced hypocrites! I use that strong language because it is true. We are supposed to be different. The Bible says, “They will know we are Christians by our love”. It also says that we would easily be recognized by our fruit.

What has happened is that we have been watered down so far that we cannot be picked out of the crowd any longer. If we all were in God’s word and in prayer each day as we are commanded something amazing would happen. We would be so profoundly different from everyone else that the world would have to sit up and take notice. What if preachers today expounded God’s word from what was written instead of making up their own? A few still hold to Gospel but most do not. What I see are preachers that only talk about the pleasantries involved and somehow skip the issue of sin and the wrath of God. There are so many false teachers out there now it is frightening. We have all bought into the health and wealth philosophy in some extent if not wholly and it cannot be denied. We have done it without even being completely aware it happened. It has been like the story of how you can boil a frog. If you try to put a frog in hot water to kill him he will just jump out quickly to safety. If you want it done you must put the frog in a pot of cold water and let him swim around and get comfortable. Then turn up the heat slowly and bring the water to a boil while the frog is sleeping. And that’s it, he’s cooked! And yes, we are cooked! We have all been slowly boiled into the world.

Do you know the parable of the “Rich Fool” or the parable of the “Rich Young Ruler”? Both of them serve as good examples of where we have come. And the fix we are in. The parables are great so read them all. The Rich Fool parable can be found in Luke chapter 12 starting at verse 13. Just prior to the parable on the Rich Fool Jesus was cautioning against covetousness. The text shows Jesus teaching about being ready for the redeemer. This parable is the very first of five parables about the second coming of Jesus the Christ. He was preaching to the multitude, probably in Jerusalem because it was in the last month of His ministry. Jesus was addressing the crowd and He was teaching. The crowd heard about the hypocrisy of the Pharisee’s. They also heard about the Fear of God and the need to confess Him before men. They heard of the urgency of the time and that possessions are not as important as Godliness. Jesus was warning against greed and materialism. The Rich Fool was trying to store up his mast harvest to be able to eat, drink and be merry. What Jesus knew that the fool didn’t is that it was the last day of the fool’s life. He would die that night. He drew a parallel between the rich fool that met an untimely death and those that store up things for themselves but are not rich toward God. The point being: Spiritual wealth far exceeds material wealth in value. In verse 20 he was called a fool. This is the only place in the Bible where Jesus directly called anyone a fool. The rich fool was called that because he was totally self-centered. The personal pronouns of “me, mine, and I” are used 12 times in this short parable by the fool. It is a very telling point of reference.

Then we have the “Rich Young Ruler” found in Luke 18:18-30. Let us look in verse 22, “Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.” This guy wanted to be in the Kingdom. He wanted to be saved. But he couldn’t unless he sold all the riches he had. When he heard those things he became very sad for he was very rich.

With us it is not that we are all rich even though we are better off than the rest of the world. What our problem is absolutely is the way we have come to live. In order to completely follow Jesus we would need to surrender how we live, how we work, how we love, how we communicate and I could go on and on. Every ounce of our lives would need to be surrendered or “sold” to completely follow Jesus.

We are all unwilling to take that step. Aren’t we?

Click here to jump to Part 2 as we reflect on the hearts of the two rich guys…

Election Day! Please vote…Let us pray.

We confess that the servants who are chosen are there with Your approval.

Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God…. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. (Romans 13:1,7)

Oh you whose name is the LORD, You alone are the Most High over all the earth. You are the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change, and from You proceeds every good and perfect gift.

Oh God, to us belongs open shame, because we have sinned against you. We know that if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us; but you have said that if we confess our sins, you are faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Lord, we are confident that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him. Though our sins have been like scarlet, let them be as white as snow; and though they have been red like crimson, let them be like wool; that being willing and obedient, we may eat the good of the land. You, Oh Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon You. You are a God gracious and full of compassion, longsuffering and plenteous in mercy and truth. Oh God, put the fear of you in our hearts, so that we may not turn from you. Let us continue in the fear of the LORD every day and all the day.

Father, please intercede in this election today through Your spirit. Help our people to make the choice that moves our land closer to You. Father please guide and protect our country and our people. Lord, we live in a nation that is free to elect those chosen for public office. We confess that the servants who are chosen are there with Your approval. Let us faithfully support those elected to office today, giving honor to their position. Let us help them fulfill the obligation and responsibility for our nation. With prayer and understanding, let us unite ourselves to the one purpose of living a life in which “In God We Trust.”

We praise you, for we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Lord, you have assured us that whatever we ask the Father in Christ’s name, you will give it to us. In God We Trust!

We ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen

Help us to listen to Your counsel.

November 3, 2012

Help us to listen to Your counsel.

I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons. I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. (Psalm 16:7-8)

Dear heavenly Father, we praise you this day, Lord. You are the Almighty, the great I AM; the Three-in-One; Holy and Worthy of all our praise and adoration.

Father, forgive us for we have sinned. Forgive us for our unbelief and for being out of Your will. Forgive us, Lord for any offenses committed. We ask forgiveness for any acts of arrogance, pride, haughtiness and control. Forgive our people and our land for any hatred, racism, jealousy and evil acts committed. Forgive the idolatry, for putting things more important than You, Oh God. Forgive our land for the adultery, lust and pornography. None of us have been excluded, Lord, for we know Your Word says in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”. Oh God, please heal our land.

Thank You for Your love, Oh God. You have loved us even when we turn away from You and when we do not listen to Your voice. You never have and never will give up on us. Thank You for Your love. We have hope and we have faith, Lord. Thank You for the hope You have placed in our hearts. If it weren’t for the hope we have, we would be a miserable people. Thank You that our hope for a better life is always before us. Your Word says that faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen. Thank You for our hope in Your Word which is our assurance that You are in control.

Lord, please protect and help those in the ravaged areas of Hurricane Sandy. Please grant a speedy recovery. We pray Father for those families that have lost loved ones and possessions. Father, we humbly ask for Your blessing. We ask for Your blessing on our nation and we ask for Your blessing on the election in three days. Protect and heal our nation, Lord. Help us to listen to Your counsel when we are alone with You. Speak to our hearts each moment, for You are the anchor of our souls, and we will rest in Your presence. It is You alone we desire, and nothing or no one else can take Your place.

Dear Lord, we feel the evil of instituted class warfare and divisiveness on our people. By Your Spirit, bring down the “walls of partition between us;” rid what divides us from person to person, from congregation to congregation, state to state, county to county and neighbor to neighbor. Unite Us, Oh Lord, In Your Love. It is in the name of Jesus Christ we entrust our Nation, the United States of America, into Your care. AMEN.

Intercede for America!

Please pray for our nation. If you pray, and I hope you do, we need prayer, fasting and turning to God in obedience. We need to ask for God’s help in the selection of our nation’s leadership. If you don’t understand the fasting thing then please just be obedient to God and pray. I will be doing my own ting and I pray you will be doing yours. Let us all humble ourselves and cry out to the Lord with one united voice. We must repent and seek His face.

As Christians it is our duty to pray for those who hold elected office in our country. In fact, Scripture commands us to do so. In 1 Timothy 2, verses 1 and 2 it says, “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.”

It is also our privilege and our responsibility to vote. After 40 days of prayer, fasting and obedience to God we need to exercise our right and vote. We are at a crucial national, state and local election frontier. We are at a spiritual crossroad and we need to do all we can to elect people who will lead us with Biblical values and return us to our roots. Be sure to register and vote.

Pray for the future of America. We are seeing economic decline in unprecedented terms. We are seeing corruption, secular humanism and attacks on our religious liberties like never before. If you know how to fast do so for prayer and fasting together brings change through the power of God. If you need help regarding the issue of fasting you can seek this great website for guidance http://40daystosaveamerica.com/ . I am not asking you to fast as that is a personal issue. I am asking for prayer. I am asking for a focused daily and consistent prayer for our country. Will you join me for 40 days to lift our country before the creator?

While you pray please remember the presidential election will likely be determined by 7 states. As intercessors, we are to ask for god to move in a mighty way within these states. Please mention them by name as you pray for our God is organized and specific. Ask for Him to move on Wisconsin, Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Virginia and Nevada. Certainly do not forget the other states, particularly your own for God can make it happen from anywhere he wishes. I am giving you the human statistical probability as we know it and these states are called the “swing states”.

From the very beginning of America God has moved among us mightily because his movements were preceded by prayer. Over the centuries there have been witnessed triumphs over dark days. Throughout history the presence of God has been invited through our intentional and persistent prayer. The possibilities are endless when we pray! God placed an amazing power in our hands when he gave us the power of prayer and a way to reach the Father. When we humbly seek His face by praying he will answer us and will move to accomplish His desire for our land and for us. Please pray for the direction of our nation. Prayerfully seek His face on a daily basis. Intercede for America. Let us believe our prayers are heard and will make a difference. Let us claim the victory!

Ronald Reagan made a speech to America on February 6, 1986 when he said, “To preserve our blessed land we must look to God…It is time to realize that we need God more than He needs us. Let us, young and old, join together, as did the First Continental Congress, in the first step, in humble heartfelt prayer. Let us do so for the love of God and His great goodness, in search of His guidance and the grace of repentance, in seeking His blessings, His peace, and the resting of His kind and holy hands on ourselves, our nation, our friends in the defense of freedom, and all mankind, now and always.

The time has come to turn to God and reassert our trust in Him for the healing of America… Our country is in need of and ready for a spiritual renewal. Today, we utter no prayer more fervently than the ancient prayer for peace on Earth. The Lord bless and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace…And God bless you all.”

Humanly speaking… we are hopeless. Our only hope is in the mighty hand of God.

Dear Lord, we come to you humbly today and seek your blessing. Help us dear Lord to listen to you and to heed your instruction. Father, we rest in your presence for you are the anchor of our souls. It is You alone dear Lord that we desire and nothing else can take your place. Father we need you, we love you and we praise you. We pray these things through your son Jesus Christ.

Amen

“The Tubthumper”