September 30, 2013
I Corinthians 10:4

(All scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated.)

In Friday’s blog we saw in two scriptures how Moses and Aaron got into trouble with God and both were refused entrance into the Promised Land because of it.  In Exodus 17:5 and 6, Moses was told to strike the rock with his staff to bring forth water for the thirsty Israelites to drink in the desert near Horeb.  Then in Numbers 20:7 through 12 there is recorded a second similar incident that happened about 40 years later in Meribah.  But this time Moses was instructed to approach and “Speak to the rock…and it will yield it’s water….”  But instead Moses presumptuously acted on his own, as recorded in Numbers 20:10 and 11:

    And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock; and
    he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels!  Must we bring water for you out of
    this rock?”  Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod;
    and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank.

Yes, it was disobedience to God’s direct command.  Moses was angry and acted out of that anger.  I’m not sure I would do differently if confronted with around two million rebellious people under my charge!  And it was only by God’s grace that He provided the water anyway!

But there is something greater here than just disobedience.  In I Corinthians 10 Paul wrote about some of the trials and tribulations of Israel’s 40 years of wandering in the desert, about God’s miraculous provision for His people, and about their persistent rebellious attitude.  In verse 6 he states, “Now these things became our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.”  So if these two incidents of Moses striking the rock are examples from which we are to draw instruction for our Christian lives, what are we to learn here?

Just before telling us these wilderness examples are for our learning, Paul, in I Corinthians 10:4 says, “And [they] all drank the same spiritual drink.  For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.”  Jesus is likened to the desert rocks from which water was procured for the thirsty Israelites.  In I Peter 2:8 Jesus is called “…a stone…a rock….”  In Matthew 16:18 it is powerfully implied that the Lord is the Rock upon which the Church is built, not Peter.  In Luke 20:17 and 18, Jesus – quoting Psalm 118:22 – said:

    What then is this that is written: “The stone that the builders rejected has
    become the chief cornerstone?  Whoever falls on that stone will be broken;
    but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.

That Rock was Christ!

That Rock  had to be stuck for the water of life to flow.  He was struck when He was abused, reviled, mocked, scourged and crucified.  It is only because Jesus Christ was so smitten that we can have eternal life! (I Peter 2:24).  It is only by His shed blood that we are cleansed of our sins! (I John 1:7).  It is only “…by His stripes we are healed…”! (Isaiah 53:5).

But it is emphasized in Hebrews 9:25 and 26 (NIV):

    Nor did He [Christ] enter heaven to offer Himself again and again, the way
    the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not
    his own.  Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation
    of the world. But now He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to
    do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

He was to be struck only once, and once was enough for all the sin of all people for all time!  This holds true both in the fulfillment of the type and the type itself that Moses was supposed to show forth if he had obeyed God!

And if Moses had obeyed and spoken to the rock the second time, the water would have flowed freely.  Now we too only have to speak to the Rock to have the blessings flow out.  Again in Hebrews, this time in 4:14-16, the writer says:

    Seeing then that we have a great High Priest, who has passed through the
    heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.  For we do not
    have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all
    points tempted as we are, yet without sin.  Let us therefore come boldly to the
    throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of
    need.

We now just come and speak to the Rock!  And the blessings, grace and mercy flow out to meet our need!  What a wonderful Savior we have!!!

September 27, 2013
Exodus 17:5, 6; Numbers 20:8-12

(All scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated.)

In my daily reading of the Bible, I read a familiar passage in Numbers 20:8-12, but it renewed my insight into our relationship with Jesus Christ.  It involves Moses who struck rocks – first at Horeb, then at Meribah – to get water for the thirsty people of Israel.  You see, in I Corinthians 10:4 Paul talks about the Israelites who wandered in the desert for 40 years – “And [they] all drank the same spiritual drink.  For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.”  So Jesus is likened to the desert rocks from which water was procured for the thirsty Israelites.

It happened twice.  The first time is recorded in Exodus 17:5 and 6:

    And the LORD said to Moses, “Go on before the people, and take with you
    some of the elders of Israel.  also take in your hand your rod with which you
    struck the river [of Egypt, the Nile], and go.  Behold, I will stand before you
    there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come
    out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the
    elders of Israel.

The second time was about 40 years later at Meribah.  It is recorded in Numbers 20:7 through12:

    Then the Lord spoke to Moses saying, “Take the rod; you and your brother
    Aaron gather the assembly together.  Speak to the rock before their eyes, and
    it will yield it’s water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and
    give drink to the congregation and their animals.”  So Moses took the rod
    from before the LORD, as He commanded him.  And Moses and Aaron
    gathered the congregation together before the rock; and he said to them,
    “Hear now, you rebels!  Must we bring water for you out of this rock?”  Then
    Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came
    out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank.  Then the
    LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believed Me, to hal-
    low Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this
    congregation into the land which I have given them.”

Why were Moses and Aaron rebuked the second time but not the first?  And the rebuke was so severe!  God forbid them both to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land of Canaan!  Both of them died on the eastern side of the Jordan River.

Carefully read the two accounts above and you will see the disobedience of these two leaders.  The first time God had said, “…strike the rock, and water will come out of it….”  The second time the Lord’s instructions were different – “Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield it’s water….”  Moses presumptuously struck the rock at Horeb, disobeying God’s explicit orders.  After all, it was what he did at Meribah the first time!  And he struck it twice!  And just before he swung the rod in his hand, he angrily stated, “Hear now, you rebels!  Must we bring water for you out of this rock?”  Moses spoke as if it was all from him, not from God!  He was taking the credit!

Disobedience is a serious thing when it comes to clear instructions from God!  Moses later begged the Lord to let him cross the Jordan and put his feet on the ground of the Promised Land.  He recounts the incident in Deuteronomy 3:24 through 26:

    “O Lord GOD, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your
    mighty hand, for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do anything
    like Your works and Your mighty deeds?  I pray, let me go over, and see the
    good land beyond Jordan, those pleasant mountains, and Lebanon.”  But the
    LORD was angry with me on your account, and would not listen to me: 
    “Enough of that!; speak no more to Me of this matter.”

It is interesting that Moses did get to plant his feet in Canaan, but not in his earthly, natural life.  In Matthew 17:3 it is recorded that when Jesus was transfigured on Mount Hermon, “…Moses and Elijah appeared…talking with Him.”  Heaven is a place where all sin is gone and all our Godly longings are fulfilled!  But that is another blog!

Speaking of another blog, I will show you next time the significance of what Moses did in the desert as it relates to Jesus Christ.

September 25, 2013
Romans 5:12, 14

(All scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated.)

Now that’s a curious title for this blog – You Sin…You Sneeze!  I will have to explain what I mean.

There are some of the Christian faith – especially those of the Name it, Claim it & Frame it! mindset – more commonly called The Prosperity Gospel – who will say “If you are sick, your faith is not strong enough.  Because God wants all His children to be in perfect health!”  So if you have so much as a cold, you are led to think that it is because you lack faith or understanding of the promises of God!

But there is an element of truth in that thinking – though The Prosperity Gospel has warped it far beyond the original meaning.  And this is what I want to explore in this blog.

Consider what Paul wrote in Romans 5:12 and 14

    Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through
    sin; and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned….death reigned
    from Adam….

Before sin entered into the world – recorded in Genesis 3 – God created man to be perfect.  He was never to die, never to be sick.  God warned Adam in Genesis 2: 16 and 17:

    Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge
    of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall
    surely die.

Adam ate, and Adam died!  Oh, he didn’t die physically right away!  That took another 930 years, according to Genesis 5:5.  Yes, I know, some believe it is fantastical embellishment when the great ages of early man are recorded.  I may write some blogs in the future on the scientific evidence of why the recorded ages are accurate.  But Adam died spiritually.  In Genesis 3:8 it says:

    And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool
    of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the
    LORD God among the trees of the garden.

They ran and hid from God!  Spiritual death is separation from God!  And if such separation is not rectified during this lifetime, then it will result in eternal separation from God in hell!

The point of this blog is this: sickness and death did not enter into creation until sin made its appearance!  So, in that sense, all sickness is the result of sin!  In other words, You Sin…You Sneeze!

In the Romans 5 passage above, Adam passed on to all succeeding generations what is commonly referred to as the sin nature.  It is that propensity of humankind to sin!  Sin is more than just the outward action.  Jesus said in Matthew 15:18 through 20:

    …those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart; and they
    defile a man.  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries,
    fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.  These are the things which
    defile a man….

It is from the nature within human beings which sin comes.  We are all sinners!  This is what Paul writes in Romans 3:10 and 23:  “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one….for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God….”  That’s why we all need Jesus Christ as our Savior!  Only He paid for all our sins on the cross!  Only He can reconcile us back to the Father!

So why is that You Sin…You Sneeze?  God has left us a constant reminder – even with so much as catching the common cold – that we are sinners and we need a Savior!

So the next time you sneeze, realize that you are a sinner and need a Savior!  The next time you see any sign of sickness in anyone, realize that we are all sinners and need a Savior!  The next time you read an obituary – or attend a viewing or a funeral – realize that we are all sinners and need a Savior!  And thank God He has left in place such a constant reminder that we are all sinners and need a Savior!  You Sin…You Sneeze!

September 23, 2013
Psalm 1:1-3

(All scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated.)

OK, for this blog we are going to get to Psalm 1:1 through 3!

    Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in
    the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the
    law of the LORD; and in His law he meditates day and night.  He shall be like
    a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season,
    whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.

We examined verse one of this Psalm in the June 28 blog called Sinner’s Progression.  But today I want to concentrate on verse two.

But first, let’s remember where we were in Friday’s blog.  We took what we discussed in last Wednesday’s blog – the eight qualities Paul listed in Philippians 4:8 in which he told us to “…meditate [or think] on these things,” – and examined whether they would fit the Word of God, the Bible.  Remember, Paul told us, only things with these qualities are we to allow into our minds!  These qualities are:  Is it true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous and praiseworthy?  If whatever you are considering does not meet the standard of manifesting these eight qualities, then don’t let it into your life!  Do not watch it, listen to it, read it, talk about it, etc.

But we found that all eight qualities do apply to the Bible.  And the Bible applies to every area of life which we can ever face.  If this is true, then we need to concentrate on the Bible.  And this is exactly what is emphasized in the Word of God!  Read again Psalm 1:2: “…his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in His law he meditates day and night.”  How often does the blessed man meditate in God’s law?  “…day and night.”  That does not leave a lot of time in which he is not meditating on it!  Be aware that in Jewish thinking, God’s law was the entire scripture they had in the psalmist’s day.

God told Joshua the same thing in Joshua 1:7 and 8:

    Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to
    all the law which Moses My servant commanded you:  do not turn from it to
    the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.  This
    book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in
    it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written
    in it.  For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have
    good success.

“…  do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left…but you shall meditate in it day and night”  If you read about Joshua’s exploits as he conquered the Promised Land for Israel to occupy, you will see he surely prospered and had good success.  So he must have heeded God’s command to meditate in and obey His Word.

And in Dueteronomy 11:18 and 19, God commanded Moses to tell the Israelites:

    Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul
    ….You shall teach them your children, speaking of them when you sit in thine
    house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.

Same idea!  Take in God’s Word all the time because – as we saw before – it is always true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous and praiseworthy.  Paul summed it up in Colossians 3:16 by saying, “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly….”  That way, when the things of life squeeze you – and they will! – what will be squeezed out of your life will be the Word of God!

Now this all sounds like it will result in a very narrow mindset – if you concentrate of the Bible day and night!  Remember, the world around you will continually try to force its input into your mind and life.  But if you have soaked your life in the Word of God, it acts as a filter to let in and receive what is true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous and praiseworthy – and reject the rest!

So concentrate of the Word of God.  I guarantee it will change your life for the better…because God guarantees it!

September 20, 2013
Psalm 1:1-3

(All scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated.)

In the last blog we looked at Philippians 4:8…

    Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble,
    whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are
    lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there is any virtue and if
    there is anything praiseworthy, meditate [or think] on these things.

…and the conclusion drawn from that verse in the last blog… “What St. Paul is saying in this scripture is if these qualities are in something, then allow it into your life!  If not, don’t let it in!!!”

How do I accomplish that?  Specifically, what do I do?  We dealt with that a bit in the blog written on July 24 called Indoctrinated!  We will deal with it more fully here.

First, what passes the test – that has all these eight qualities listed in Philippians 4:8 – that we can think about or allow into our life?  And is it just one thing we allow in?  Because life is very complicated, and it looks like we have to consider a lot of different things as they apply to different parts of our life.

Consider the Word of God, the Bible.  Does it have these eight qualities spelled out in Philippians 4:8?

•    Is it true?  It is the record of God’s work in the world through His Son Jesus Christ.  And Christ said plainly in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”
•    Is it noble?  The word the King James Version uses here is honest.  In I Peter 2:22 it is written of Christ, “…Who committed no sin, nor was guile found in His mouth.”  Guile means falsehood, the opposite of honesty.
•    Is it just?  In John 5:30 (KJV), Jesus said, “…my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.”
•    Is it pure?  Peter writes this in I Peter 2:2, “…desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby….”
•    Is it lovely?  This Greek word for lovely is a combination of two words meaning friendly towards.  Jesus, in John 15:14, told his disciples, “You are My friends [same root word] if you do whatever I command you.”  In verse 20, the Lord implies that the one who is friendly towards God is the one who keeps His Word.  So the Word builds friendship towards God.
•    Is it of good report?  Paul, in Acts 20:24, calls the work of redemption Jesus accomplished, “…the gospel of the grace of God.”  Gospel means good news!  So the Bible – being the record of God’s redemptive work – is certainly of good report!
•    Is it virtuous?  The word means excellence.  But it is translated only once, in I Peter 2:9, as praises.  “…you are…His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”  And the only way to know about the praises of Him is by the Word of God.
•    Is it praiseworthy?  This is a different Greek word, and it means laudation.  Paul quotes Psalm 117:1 in Romans 15:11: “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples!”  Where would they learn such laudation?  From the record – the Word – the Bible!

So the Bible fits all the qualities spelled out in Philippians 4:8.  But does it apply to all the different areas of our life?  I have found – through over 40 years of reading, study, preaching and counseling – that there is nothing that life can throw at you – nothing! – about which the Bible does not speak!  Sometimes it addresses the issue through direct teaching, sometimes through positive as well as negative examples, sometimes through parables, sometimes through principles that can be applied to many things other than which they are apparently dealing.  Sometimes you have to dig out several passages that might apply to the situation you are facing, and put them all together to find your answer.

And I didn’t even get to Psalm 1:1 through 3 yet!  I guess that will have to be explored in Monday’s blog!

September 18, 2013
Philippians 4:8

(All scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated.)

If there is one verse of scripture that would change a lot of ways of how we live, it would be Philippians 4:8:

    Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble,
    whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are
    lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there is any virtue and if
    there is anything praiseworthy, meditate [or think] on these things.

Now analyze for a moment in your mind the everyday things you allow entrance into your life:

•    What do you watch on Television?
•    What do you see in the movies you choose to view?
•    What do you read?
•    What music do you listen to?
•    What is the general tone of the conversations you participate in?
•    What do you view on the computer?
•    What electronic games do you play?

How would any of these things change if you only allowed to enter your mind what is true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous and praiseworthy?

When I was youth leader at a Methodist camp meeting several years ago, we studied this issue one summer.  For one activity, I had the teens bring in CD’s or tapes – I told you it was several years ago! – of their favorite music.  Matt brought in a CD called – The Marshall Mathers LP – of Eminem’s hits.  Eminem – whose given name is Marshall Bruce Mathers III – is a rapper whose songs often include violence and profanity.  This is the description of the song from Wikipedia.  The actual lyrics are too long to reproduce here – and too profanely graphic!

    The song begins with Eminem in Kim’s home (after murdering her husband
    and her stepson). Eminem is talking calmly to their daughter, who is sleeping.
    Eminem then starts to shout verbal abuse at Kim, which remains a common
    element throughout the entire song.  In the second verse, the setting changes to
    Eminem and Kim in a car, while in the third, they are in the woods. The song
    continues with Eminem slitting Kim’s throat, while screaming “Bleed, bitch!
    Bleed!”.

I was shaken to realize that this kind of trash is what Matt – and a lot of other young people – are listening to.  I turned to Matt after I heard the song and said, “Matt, when you go off the deep end, don’t hurt me and my family!

It was reported on August 26 by msnbc that an eight-year-old boy shot his 87-year-old caregiver in the back of the head while she was watching Television.  According to the sheriff’s report,

    Investigators have learned that the juvenile suspect was playing a video game,
    ‘Grand Theft Auto IV,’ a realistic game that has been associated with encourag-
    ing violence and awards points to players for killing people….

True, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous and praiseworthy – do Eminem’s songs and Grand Theft Auto fall into the category of what reflects these eight qualities from Philippians 4:8?

There is an old saying: “Garbage in, garbage out!”  What St. Paul is saying in this scripture is if these qualities are in something, then allow it into your life!  If not, don’t let it in!!!

    Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble,
    whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are
    lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there is any virtue and if
    there is anything praiseworthy, meditate [or think] on these things.

It will change your life!

More on this theme in the next blog.

September 16, 2013
II Corinthians 4:3, 4

(All scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated.)

In Friday’s blog I shared about Sealed From Beneath!  The idea comes from Proverbs 1:20 through 33.  The one who repeatedly rejects the call of the Holy Spirit to come to Christ and be saved can end up hardened to the point where he or she cannot be saved!  In Proverbs 1:24, 28 and 29 the Spirit (called Wisdom here in Proverbs) says:

    Because I have called and you refused…Then they will call on me, but I will
    not answer; they will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.  Because
    they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD….

Evangelist Bob Boyd preached this sermon – Sealed From Beneath! – during a week of revival meetings at First Baptist Church of Oxford, PA where I was pastoring.  During the sermon, God laid on my heart to go talk to Fred, a man in his thirties who had refused a number of times to come to Christ.  I responded in my mind, “Yes, I need to go talk to Fred, sometime soon.”  And the Spirit of God said, “Do it now!  As soon as the sermon is over!”

It was after nine o’clock when I knocked on Fred’s door.  He was the only one home at the time and he was surprised to see me so late in the evening.  But he welcomed me in when I told him I had to talk with him.  Seated at the kitchen table, I shared with him the plan of salvation, that Jesus Christ had died on the cross to pay for our sins.  He asks us to believe and receive by faith His work and Himself into our hearts and lives.  I read and explained a number of scriptures called “The Roman Road” – Romans 3:10; 3:23; 5:12; 6:23 (first part); 5:8; 6:23 (second part); 10:9-13.  If you follow “The Roman Road” through these scriptures – and laid out in this order – the plan of God’s salvation becomes quite clear.

Fred attentively followed along as I shared with him.  Then I asked him, “Fred, would you like to receive Jesus Christ as your Savior?”  His answer sent chills down my spine!  “I can’t,” he said.  “What do you mean, ‘I can’t’ ,” I asked?  Fred replied, “I don’t know.  I just can’t!”  From what Bob had just been preaching an hour before, I knew both the answer and the danger Fred was in!

Without asking his permission, I started praying:

    God, I know you love Fred and that Jesus died to save Him.  Right now he is
    in a dangerous place, having rejected Christ’s offer of salvation several times,
    he has hardened his heart to the point where he says he can’t receive Jesus as
    his Savior.  Please, God, give him one more chance.

I knew that in II Corinthians 4:3 and 4 it says of Satan:

    But if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds
    the god of this age [the devil] has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of
    the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on
    them.

So I then addressed the satanic force binding and blinding Fred:

    Demon of deception and spiritual blindness, I command you in Jesus’ name to
    take your hands off of Fred.  Let him go!  For it is written, ‘If the Son makes you
    free, you shall be free indeed.’  (John 8:36).

Yes, I speak to demons and Satan himself.  After all, that is the way Jesus did it when He faced the devil on the Mount of Temptation, and when He expelled demons during His ministry.  After all, the Word quoted is one of the two offensive weapons listed as part of our Spiritual armor in Ephesians 6.13 through 18.  The other weapon is prayer.

After I prayed and rebuked the demonic force holding him prisoner, I looked at Fred and asked again, “Will you now receive Jesus Christ as your Savior?”  Fred looked me in the eye and simply said, “Yes!”  He then prayed to receive Jesus Christ into his heart and life.  Fred has proved over the years to be a sincere Christian, active in his Church.

Do not wait too long to heed the call of the Holy Spirit and respond to Jesus’ invitation to be saved!

September 13, 2013
Proverbs 1:20-33

(All scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated.)

Years ago, my friend, evangelist Bob Boyd preached a sermon entitled Sealed From Beneath! during revival meetings in my first church, First Baptist of Johnsonburg, PA.  I was so impressed with that sermon that several years later as he was holding another week of meetings in my fourth church in Oxford, PA, I asked Bob to preach that message again.  He said, “It has been years since I used that one!  I will have to dig it out of my files.”  And he did!  And it was just as effective as the first time!

Sealed From Beneath! is based on Proverbs 1:20 through 33, part of which I will reproduce here – verses 20, 22 through 24, 26, 28 and 29, 31 and 32:

    Wisdom calls aloud…How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity?…
    Turn at my reproof; surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my
    words known to you.  Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched
    out my hand, and no one regarded…I also will laugh at your calamity; I will
    mock when your terror comes….Then they will call on me, but I will not
    answer; they will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.  Because they
    hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD…therefore they
    shall eat the fruit of their own way….For the turning away of the simple will
    slay them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them….

The title Sealed From Beneath! is a take-off on the phrase evangelicals sometimes use, “Saved from above!”  The idea is that Wisdom in the Old Testament is often synonymous with the Holy Spirit in the New Testament.  In this Proverbs scripture, replacing the word wisdom with the Holy Spirit makes a lot of sense.  You see, the Holy Spirit – the third Person of the Trinity – is the One who draws us to Jesus.  And it is Jesus who saves us by His death on the cross and reconciles us to the Father.  So it becomes apparent that the unforgivable sin is “…blasphemy against the Spirit…” (Matthew 12:31).  If you reject the wooing of the Holy Spirit, you will not come to Jesus, and if you don’t come to Jesus, there is no way to be forgiven!  So, that is the unforgivable sin!

Proverbs 1 portrays the Spirit calling out to people to come and be saved.  But there is danger in rejecting this call!  The more the Holy Spirit calls – from the open squares, the chief concourses (a concourse is an open street), the gates in the city (Proverbs 1:20, 21) – and the more that call is rejected, apparently there is an increasing hardening of the heart to accept that call!  There comes a time, according to Proverbs 1:26 through 28, that the Spirit will not answer a call from such a one to be saved!  He will even laugh at such a crying out to God for deliverance.  Now that is a dangerous position to be in!   It results in one being Sealed From Beneath!  They are then destined to go to hell with no hope of deliverance!

Paul implies this same danger when he discusses the consequences of sin in the last days in I Timothy 4:1 and 2:

    Now the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times some will depart from the
    faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in
    hypocrisy; having their own conscience seared with a hot iron….

There is here an idea of continual searing, as they continue to reject the true faith in favor of deceitful and demonic doctrine.  And if something is burned over and over again, the scar tissue builds up, nerves are permanently damaged, and feeling is lost.  Many people have experienced loss of feeling in injured and damaged areas of their bodies

So the more one rejects the call of the Holy Spirit upon their lives, and the more one continues in sin and rebellion against God, the more danger develops that that one will come to a place where he or she can no longer feel or heed the call of God through the Spirit to come to Jesus and be saved!  That one becomes Sealed From Beneath!

Don’t let yourself become Sealed From Beneath!  Don’t reject the call of the Holy Spirit a moment longer!  It can put you in a place of mortal – and immortal – danger!

In the next blog I will relate the story of Fred.  It happened on the very night Bob preached that sermon for the second time – Sealed From Beneath!

September 11, 2013
James 1:2-8

(All scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated.)

I’ve heard it said a number of times, and probably you have too – “We shouldn’t ask why.”  This is often said when things happen to us, especially difficult things that touch our lives.  The thinking behind this statement is that we really aren’t meant to know the ‘Why?’ behind what has happened.  We are just to trust God with blind faith, and push on with our Christian lives.

I say, “Hogwash!”  And James 1:2-8 backs me up!

    My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the
    testing of your faith produces patience.  But let patience have its perfect work,
    that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.  If any of you lacks
    wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and
    it will be given to him.  But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who
    doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.  For let not that
    man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded
    man, unstable in all his ways.

Let’s take this scripture apart and see what God through James is telling us.

•    First, why should we “…count it all joy when you fall into various trials…”?  Because the Lord is doing a work in our life!  Trials produce patience (see Romans 5:3-5), and patience will produce in us character that will be “…perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”  Now, the only One who is  “…perfect and complete, lacking nothing,” is Jesus, and it is God’s design to mold you and me into that same image (see Romans 8:29).  So when we experience trials in our life, we can mark it down – actually a book-keeping term – on the good side of the ledger (see Romans 8:28)!

•    Second – and this deals with Is It OK To Ask Why? – we are to ask God for wisdom concerning the trial we are experiencing.  ‘Wisdom’ is ‘knowledge properly applied to life’.  So if we lack the knowledge concerning the trial we are undergoing – and how it all fits together in our lives – we are to ask God, “…and it will be given to him.”  We are to ask ‘Why?’ in the trials we experience!  God does not want us to go blindly through life in the dark – especially during the hard times!

•    Third, if we ask, we are to ask in faith believing that God wants to give us the answer to our ‘Why?’  According to Hebrews 11:1 and 6 (NIV)…

        Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do
        not see….And without faith it is impossible to please God, because
        anyone who comes to Him must believe that he exists and that he rewards
        those who earnestly seek Him.

Being sure of what you can’t see – that’s real faith!  We can’t perceive God by
our five senses, but He is real!  And He rewards those who seek Him with that
sure belief!  So we are to ask God expecting an answer!  Otherwise we won’t
receive a thing!

So the next time you are facing some difficult experience, and you are asking yourself, Is It OK To Ask Why?  Go ahead and ask!  God delights in His children who exercise faith!  The answer might come in bits and pieces – and take some time in coming – but you will get an answer to your ‘Why?’  And you will understand better what the Lord is doing in your life.

September 9, 2013
Luke 23:39-43

(All scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated.)

As long as a person has breath in his or her body, it is never too late to turn in faith to Jesus Christ and be saved!  In Luke 23:39-43, two thieves were crucified, one on either side of Jesus.  And they were fast approaching death and eternity.  Both of them, it says in Matthew 27:44, began to revile Jesus.  And at least one of them scornfully shouted, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself, and us.” (Luke 23:39).  But, apparently, one thief had a change of heart, for it goes on to say in Luke 23:40 through 43:

    But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God,
    seeing you are under the same condemnation?  And we indeed justly, for we
    receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” 
    Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your
    kingdom.”  And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, Today you will
    be with Me in paradise.”

Literally, moments from death, this condemned thief in faith looked to Jesus – also condemned to die on a cross as was he – and he saw, not a criminal, not an innocent man wrongly condemned, but the King!  He spoke out of that faith – “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom,” and he was rewarded with eternal life – “Assuredly, I say to you, Today you will be with Me in paradise.”

Betty was in similar straits as the thief.  She was hours away from death and a Christless eternity!  I learned a couple of months before that my neighbor Betty had cancer.  One day she was sitting on the stoop outside her house when I was walking by.  I stopped to tell her I was praying for her, and I began to share with this Catholic lady the plan of salvation in Jesus.  She would have none of it!  She said, “God let me get cancer, and I don’t want any part of Him!”  I went on my way, but I prayed for her often over the next few weeks.

I heard Betty was admitted to the hospital, and I stopped by to see her as I made my rounds visiting my own parishioners.  I inquired at the nurses’ station which room was Betty’s and I was directed down the hall.  I peeked in the door, and then came back to the nurse.  “You must have given me the wrong room number,” I said.  “There is a little old man in there, bald and with no teeth!”

“That’s Betty,” the nurse replied!

I went back and entered Betty’s room.  The cancer had wasted away her body.  She was nothing but skin and bones, tiny, wrinkled and frail.  She couldn’t talk anymore – she could only squeak!  Since she couldn’t argue and cut me off from telling her about Jesus, I took her hand and gently and simply told her the plan of salvation.  “Jesus loves you so much, He died to pay for your sins,” I said.

    He simply wants you to ask Him to forgive you, and to receive Him into your
    heart and life.  He said He will cleanse away all your sins and give you eternal
    life.  When you close your eyes to this life, you will open them in heaven looking
    into His wonderful face. 

Then I asked her to pray in her mind the prayer I would lead her to say.  I led in a short prayer to accept Jesus as Savior, not knowing if she was following along, in her mind asking God sincerely to save her.  I then left.

I watched the obituaries for the next three days, but didn’t see Betty’s.  I stopped by the hospital again and inquired about her.  The nurse told me, “I don’t know what is keeping her alive!  We can’t even get a blood pressure on her!”

I walked in Betty’s room and she looked up at me.  The biggest smile spread across her face and just lit up the room!  She squeaked a welcome and I took her hand in mine.  I was surprised at the powerful grip this tiny wasted lady gave me.  All she could do was lay there, squeeze my hand, squeak and smile!  But I knew she was telling me all was right with her soul!

Betty died later that day.  I can hardly wait to see her in heaven!