September 30, 2015

Matthew 7:15-20

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

The title of this blog, Your Faith Will Show You! sounds a bit convoluted.  Shouldn’t it be you showing your faith?  But these two ideas are just two sides of one coin – faith and works.  Here is what Jesus said about it in Matthew 7:15 through 20:

      Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but
      inwardly are ravening wolves.  You will know them by their fruits.  Do
      men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?  Even so,
      every good tree bears good fruit; but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good
      tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.  Every
      tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 
      Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

The tree, in this case, is the individual.  As the natural tree flows with life in the form of sap which brings life-giving nutrients to the growing layers of its trunk and branches, its leaves and its fruit; so the individual flows with a life-giving force that affects all that life produces – physically, mentally and spiritually.  Those three things of life – the physical, the mental, and the spiritual – are closely intertwined and cannot be separated.  The point is this:  What you believe will determine who you are and how you act!  Your faith will show forth in your works – Your Faith Will Show You!

James puts it this way in James 2:18:  “Someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’  Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”  This applies to everyone.  What you believe will show in how you live, and how you live will portray what you believe!

Some time ago – on April 17, 2013 – I wrote a blog called Blacklight Christians.  It is another take on Your Faith Will Show You!  It is based on what Jesus said in Philippians 2:14 &15 and Matthew 6:23 – in that order:

      Do all things without murmuring and disputing, that you may become
      blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a
      crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in
      the world….If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is
      that darkness!

God forbid that our faith (our belief system) is so twisted and off the mark God has set for us, our witness then (our light) shines out darkly to those around us, leading them away from the Lord instead of drawing them to Him – because Your Faith Will Show You!

So what do you base your faith upon?  Is it grounded on something solid and trustworthy?  Or is it based on just what you think things ought to be?  If it is the latter, be aware of what Jeremiah 17:9 tells us:  “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?”  The heart, in ancient Jewish thinking, is the whole inner being of man, including the mind!  So if what you believe is based on your own thoughts – what you think is right and wrong – then you have built your belief system on shaky ground indeed!  What can result from such a faith – besides it showing forth in your life and affecting others with a false witness concerning life and God?  It says in our featured scripture, Matthew 6:19, “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”  The end result of a faith built on a false foundation is the eternal fire of hell! (See Revelation 21:8).

The Bible is the revealed mind of God.  From Genesis to Revelation it presents Jesus Christ. It is Jesus Christ who testified in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No man comes to the Father except through Me.”  We start by putting our faith in Jesus as our personal Savior.  He died for us, bearing our sins on the cross, so we could be declared righteous, and be reconciled to God.  But that is only the beginning!  We are then to build our life-view, our world-view, our faith-view on God’s Word.  You see, the Bible speaks on every issue of life.  In one way or another – by direct command, by illustration, by example (both good and bad), by inference, by basic principle, and a lot more – there is nothing that can touch your life or mine about which God does not speak through His Word!

So if you want your life (your tree – according to Matthew 7:17 and 18) to produce good fruit and show forth godly faith, then base that faith on Jesus Christ and the Bible!  Since Your Faith Will Show You, be sure the You that is shown forth is projected by the truth!

September 28, 2015

Luke 8:26-39

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

Our scripture is from Luke 8:26 through 39, about the Gadarene demonic who had a legion of demons in him.  But it is too long to reproduce in its entirety, so I will condense it:

      And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes….And… there met him…
      a certain man, which had demons a long time…wore no clothes, [but lived]
      …in the tombs….When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him,
      and…said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?
      I beg you, do not torment me!” For he had commanded the unclean spirit
      to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under
      guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds, and was
      driven by the demons into the wilderness. Jesus asked him…“What is your
      name?” And he said, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him.
      And they begged Him that He would permit them to enter into…a herd of
      many swine…feeding there on the mountain….Then the demons went out
      of the man, and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep
      place into the lake and drowned….Those who fed them…fled and told…what
      had happened. [Those who heard] went out to see…and found the man from
      whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in
      his right mind. And they…asked…[Jesus] to depart from them, for they were
      seized with great fear….Now the man from whom the demons had departed
      begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying,
      “Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for
      you.” And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what
      great things Jesus had done for him.

Why do I call this Gadarene demonic A Pig-Man?  It is because apparently the first choice of the demons for habitation was a human being.  The second choice was a herd of pigs!  In this incident, the man is associated with pigs – since they were nearby to his living quarters, a grave yard!  Although it does not say, he was probably a Jew, and Jews would not have made their home in a grave yard next to a herd of pigs!  According to Deuteronomy 14:8, “…the swine is unclean for you, because it has cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud; you shall not eat their flesh nor touch their dead carcasses.”  But this man, demonically insane, was driven to occupy a graveyard with pigs nearby, run naked, “…and cut…himself with stones.” (Mark 5:5). (See also Numbers 19:16; Deuteronomy 14:1; Isaiah 65:2-5).

How many demons resided within this man?  When Jesus asked the demon its name, “…he said ‘Legion,’ because many demons had entered him.” (Luke 8:30).  A Roman legion at full strength in Jesus’ day was six thousand men!  Did this man have six thousand demons in him?  While we don’t know the exact number, apparently he had a lot – enough to inhabit two thousand pigs! (See Mark 5:13).  How did he acquire so many demons?  It does not say.  But Jesus gave a warning in Luke 11:24 through 26:

      When the unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places,
      seeking rest; and finding none, he says, “I will return to my house from
      which I came.”  And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. 
      Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than
      himself, and they enter and dwell there.  And the last state of that man is
      worse than the first.

One application of this teaching is that you had better fill your life with the Holy Spirit after being delivered from demon possession, or you may be in big trouble!  Maybe this Gadarene demonic had this occur several times to have so many demons inhabiting him.  Or maybe he had made access to a demon with a lot of hellish acquaintances!  But upon Jesus’ command, the demons left – all of them!  They went into the pigs, the pigs went crazy, and drowned themselves!  Apparently, demons can drive both humans and pigs nuts!

We see three reactions to this incident from the people involved:

•      The pig keepers fled!  They may not have been the owners of the pigs, because they are identified just as those who fed them.  But apparently they were shaken enough by the interaction they overheard between Jesus and the insane man, and the loss of the pigs, that they just wanted to get away from the scene!  It says in Luke 8:34 (part of what I left out above), “…they fled and told it in the city and in the country.”

•      Those who heard the report of the pig keepers, “…went out to see what had happened …and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind.  And they were afraid.” (Luke 8:35).  After hearing again how the healing happened, it says in Luke 8:37, “…the whole multitude…asked [Jesus]… to depart…for they were in great fear.”

•      The one we call the Pig-Man, “…begged [Jesus]…that he might go with Him.”  He knew his past demon-possessed condition, he knew the power of God through Jesus had healed him, he knew he was in the presence of the God’s Anointed – and he wanted to go with Him!  “But Jesus sent him away, saying, ‘Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.’ ” (Luke 8:38 and 39).  And that’s just what he did!  “…he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.” (Luke 8:39).

What more can I say?  Be A Pig-Man!  “…proclaim…what great things Jesus has done for…” YOU!

September 25, 2015

Phillippians 2:5-11

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

The scripture is rather long today, but there is so much truth in it – several precious Gems for Living – that I want to reproduce all seven verses of Philippians 2:5 through 11:

      Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the
      form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made
      Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the
      likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled
      Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the
      cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the
      name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee
      should bow, of those in heaven, and of those in earth, and of those under
      the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
      to the glory of God the Father.

Of course, this passage refers to the incarnation of Christ – God becoming human flesh! John wrote in I John 4:2 and 3 that belief and confession of the incarnation is so vital to true faith, such confession – or lack thereof – can be used as a test to determine whether or not the one speaking is a false prophet.

Paul, in Philippians 2:5, admonishes us to “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus….” We are to let His mind control us as the natural brain controls our body! (See The Body of Christ – II, July 15, 2013). He will then lead us into that same mindset of ultimate giving and service as He had and has.

But because Jesus gave so much – even to His own death on the cross for us – the Father “…has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name…” (Philippians 2:9). What is the result of being given such a name – such a reputation? Paul goes on in verses 10 and 11: “…that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Every knee…every tongue! If a person does not do that here and now, they will do it there and then – before the great white throne judgment described in Revelation 20:11 through 15. After this judgment, in which the unsaved are “…judged, each one according to his works…” (Revelation 20:13), they will be “…cast into the lake of fire…the second death.” (Revelation 20:14). This is a description of Hell! The description is expanded in Revelation 14:10 and 11 – and it applies to any unbeliever, not just the Tribulation followers of the antichrist!:

      …he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is
      poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. And he shall
      be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels
      and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends
      forever and ever….

Thank God we have A Precious Head Start on bowing our knees and confessing the name of Jesus Christ! If we do that now – accepting Him as Savior – it is, as Paul wrote in II Corinthians 5:7, “…by faith, not by sight.” “For by grace you have been saved through faith…” (Ephesians 2:8); and “…faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1). We “…must believe that He is [that God exists, that Jesus Christ paid the price to redeem us], and that He is the rewarder [Savior, in this case] of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6). If we wait until we see Him face to face to bow the knee and confess His name, it will be too late! For then, He will only be the Judge to all who stand before Him – not the Savior!

So what if I do not want to bow the knee before Him and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord? What if I have rejected Him throughout all this life? Why should I then have to do that? You will have no choice at that time! “…God…[already] has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name….” (verse 9 of our featured scripture). “…God…[already] has… [ordained] that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (verses 10 and 11). No one can ever change what God has ordained! If you, as an unbeliever, do not want to bow and confess, an angel may give you a knee behind your knee so you will be forced to fall on your knees and bow! And then he may just grab your tongue and make you confess that Jesus Christ is Lord ! After that, you will hear Him say, “Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels…” (Matthew 25:41), and you will have to leave His presence forever!

Yes, thank God we have a Precious Head Start now in this matter! And it makes all the difference – the difference between eternal life and eternal death!

23 September 15

Exodus 30:1, 3, 4

(All scripture is from the New King James Bible unless otherwise noted.)

In our last blog, we discussed An Altar Of Earth, the first altar built by the Israelites after they received the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai.  There were two more sets of instructions given by God to construct altars for use in daily worship:  the bronze altar (Exodus 27:1-8) and the altar of incense (Exodus 30:1-10).  It is this altar of incense we will look at today.  For brevity’s sake, here is just a part of the instructions given – Exodus 30:1, 3 and 4:

      You shall make an altar to burn incense on….and you shall overlay its top,
      its sides all around, and its horns with pure gold….Two gold rings you shall
      make for it under the molding on both its sides, and they will be holders for
      the poles with which to bear it.

The altar was to be 36 inches high and 18 inches square.  It was to be placed within the tabernacle (later the temple), in front of the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies (Exodus 30:6).  And it was not to be used for any kind of burn offering, but only for burning incense (Exodus 30:7, 8).  And – because it had poles with which to carry it, it was A Movable Altar!

Incense is symbolically connected with the prayers of the saints – God’s people (see Revelation 5:8; 8:3, 4).  And since we can pray anytime and anyplace, we have A Movable Altar!

Anytime and anyplace?  Yes!  We actually have a more privileged position than even the Jewish high priest of old!  Now prayers could (and were) offered anytime and anyplace in the Old Testament period.  Just think of David on the run and hiding in the wilderness from King Saul.  Recall all the prayers he offered during that time of being a refugee.  Many of the psalms are David’s prayers during this time.  But only once a year could the high priest enter into the Holy of Holies, and that on Day of Atonement!  On that day he entered three times with the blood of the sacrifice (see Exodus 30:10; Hebrews 9:6, 7).

But “…the veil was torn in two from top to bottom…” (Matthew 27:51) when Jesus died on the cross – indicating the way into the very presence – before the very throne – of God was now (and is now) open and accessible! (See Hebrews 10:19-22).  Hence, we can partake of the invitation given Hebrews 4:14 through 16:

      Seeing, then, that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the
      heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let hold fast our confession [of faith].  For
      we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses,
      but was in all points tempted [tested] 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.

How can this be?  How can we come boldly right into the throne room of God – right up to His very throne?  It is because we are in Jesus Christ when we accept Him as Savior!  And, as it says in Ephesians 1:6, we are “…accepted in the Beloved.”  He has cleansed us from our sins and given us His own righteousness (see Isaiah 61:10; II Corinthians 5:21; I John 1:7), so we can come right into God’s holy presence – accepted as much as the Father would accept in own Son!  As it says in I Peter 3:12, “…the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers….”

Can you see why it is A Movable Altar?  Anytime and anyplace! I might also add, in any position!  I love the little poem entitled The Proper Way To Pray.  It goes…

“The proper way for men to pray,” said Deacon Thomas Keys,
           “The only proper posture is down upon our knees.”

      “No, I should say the way to pray,” said Reverend Doctor Wise,
           “Is standing straight with outstretched arms, with rapt and upturned eyes.”

      “No, no, no!” said Elder Snow,“Such posture is too proud!
           A man should pray with eyes fast closed, and head contritely bowed.”

      “It seems to me his hands should be together clasped in front;
           With both thumbs pointed to the ground,” said Reverend Doctor Blunt.

      “Last week I fell into my well, head first,” said Farmer Brown,
           “With both my heels a stickin’ up and my head a pointin’ down!
       “And I done prayed right then and there – best prayer I ever said,
           “The prayinest prayer I ever done prayed – a standin’ on my head!”

So take this Movable Altar with you wherever you go!  Pray at all times and in every situation – offering up the incense of prayer unto God.  As Paul exhorted us in I Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray without ceasing…,” even “…a standin’ on your head!”

September 21, 2015

Exodus 20:24-26

(All scripture is from the New King James Bible unless otherwise noted.)

The best known scripture in the Old Testament is Exodus 20:1 through 17 – The Ten Commandments (see also Deuteronomy5:6-21).  I find it interesting that the very next commandment (other than a reference in Exodus 20:23 reflecting back to the first two of The Ten) concerns a simple Altar Of Earth upon which the Israelites were to offer their burnt offerings.  It is described thus in Exodus 20:24 through 26:

      An altar of earth you shall make for Me, and you shall sacrifice upon it
      your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. 
      In every place where I record My name I will come to you, and I will
      bless you.  And if you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of
      hewn stone; for if you use your tool on it, you have profaned it.  Nor shall
      you go up by steps to My altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed
      on it.

It was to be a simple altar of earth or stone.  Let’s look at the altar’s description:

•      Exodus 20:24 and 25 – “An altar of earth [or of non] hewn stone….if you use your tool on it, you have profaned it.”  God wanted an altar reflecting creation from His hand, not man’s!  Man is sinful, so much so that anything he attempts to do is tainted by sin!  If anyone added his handiwork to this altar – no matter how great his skill, as God said, “…you have polluted it.”

In Isaiah 64:6 it is written:  “But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags….”  Our righteousnesses are the very best works we can do!  And if our very best is like a filthy rag, then what does our worst look like to God?!  This is why it plainly says in…

▸ Romans 3:10 and 23 – “There is none righteous, no, not one….For all have     sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

▸ Ephesians 2:8 and 9 – “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

▸ Titus 3:5 – “…not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us….”

The only ‘work’ acceptable to God is what Jesus described in John 6:29:  “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him who He has sent.”  Why?  Because only Jesus was sinless!  And only His work on Calvary’s cross was sinless and will save us!  As with the Altar of Earth, we cannot add anything to the simplicity of God’s plan of salvation without corrupting it!

•      Exodus 20:26 – “Nor shall you go up by steps to My altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed on it.”

Is this command given because our bodies are sinful?  No.  But it does involve the fact that we are sinful!  The very first thing that Adam and Eve noticed when their “…eyes…were opened…” (Genesis 3:7) after they disobeyed God by eating the fruit “…of the tree of knowledge of good and evil…” (Genesis 2:17), was “…they knew that they were naked…” (Genesis 3:7).  It seems that nakedness and sexual immorality are among the first manifestations of sin! (See Romans 1:21-32).

Now, I don’t know if they early Israelites wore underwear of not – or what kind of underwear they had!  I think they wore a folded loin cloth next to their private parts, perhaps tied around the waist with some string or light rope.  Whatever it was, God did not want them to be publicly exposed – either fully or partially!

•      Exodus 20:24 – “…I will come to you, and I will bless you.”  While this is not a description of the altar, it is closely tied to the proper use of The Altar of Earth.  This is God’s fondest desire – to bless His children!  He will come as Judge someday (see Acts 17:31; Romans 2:16), but now He plainly says in I Timothy 2:3 and 4:  “…God, our Savior…will have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth.”  He does not want anyone to go to hell!  So He has made the way for all to access eternal life through Jesus Chist!  He loves us that much (see John 3:16; I John 3:9, 10).  However, if a person insists on trying to gain eternal life his or her own way, rejecting God’s way – the only way through Jesus Christ – according to John 14:6 – then He will allow that one to experience eternal separation from Him and suffering in hell!

May this brief look at The Altar Of Earth be a blessing to you, helping you to understand God’s demonstrated love for you, and His work on your behalf.

September 18, 2015

Mark 10:15

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

I have featured the full Markan scripture in the last three blogs.  Here is only Mark 10:15:  “Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”

Childlike Faith!  While we need Childlike Faith to enter the kingdom – believing in and receiving Jesus Christ as our personal Savior – we are not to check our reason and logic at the gate upon entering!

In our last blog, we began investigating the effects of Noah’s flood on the earth’s topography.  I directed us to Genesis 7:11, 12 and 19:

      In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seven-
      teenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep
      were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.  And the rain
      was on the earth forty days and forty nights….And the waters prevailed
      exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven,
      were covered.

This teaches us that the first event of the flood was worldwide volcanic eruptions!  And these eruptions spewed vast amounts of water from underground to the surface of the earth.  Also spewed forth was a tremendous amount of dust!  Why is this important?  As it says in the creation account of Genesis 1:7 and 8:  “God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament….And God called the firmament Heaven.”  Many biblical scientists believe “…the waters which were above the firmament…” refers to a layer of water vapor encircling the earth.  And, according to Genesis 2:5 and 6, “…the LORD God had not cause it to rain upon the earth…but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.”  Just as a greenhouse holds in heat and moisture, so the earth was enclosed and protected in a layer of water vapor, and kept in a tropical state.

But water vapor is a gas. And for water droplets to form, the vapor has to coalesce around a bit of dust or debris. Every raindrop has at its core a bit of dirt! So what would happen if tons of dust and debris from volcanos were thrown into an atmospheric layer of water vapor? It would rain! And if it hadn’t happened before, it would rain for the first time – perhaps even as it says in Genesis 7:12 (God’s Word): “…and rain came pouring down on the earth for 40 days and 40 nights.” So water spewing from below the surface of the earth, and torrential rain pouring down from the sky could result in what Genesis 7:19 records: “…all the high hills under the whole heaven, were covered.”

By the way, the first mention of a rainbow appearing in the clouds is in Genesis 9:13, given as God’s sign that He would never again flood the earth. (See Genesis 9:11-17). The rainbow would only appear after the layer of water vapor was depleted and the sun would be refracted through suspended water droplets!

But what of the highest of the hills? After all, Mount Everest is 29,029 feet above sea level (almost 5 and a half miles!) How could there be enough water to cover Mount Everest and “…all [the rest of] the high hills…”?

Think of a balloon. If you blow it up to its limit without popping it and leave it a couple of days, and then let the air out, what does it look like? The surface of the balloon is stretched and wrinkled! If the earth was loaded with water below its surface, and much of the water was expelled, what would happen to the surface topography? It would look stretched and wrinkled – valleys and mountains! This is just what Psalm 104:5 through 9 (American Standard Version) says:

      [God]…laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be moved for
      ever. Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a vesture; The waters stood
      above the mountains. At thy rebuke they fled; At the voice of thy thunder
      they hasted away (the mountains rose, the valleys sank down) unto the
      place which thou hadst founded for them. Thou hast set a bound that they 
      may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth.

Apparently – and if you take the scientific data and view it from the biblical record – the mountains were not nearly as high nor the valleys as deep before the flood as they were after it! This also speaks in favor of a world-wide flood – enough water to cover the whole earth – and not a local event as some say.

There is much more that could be said about the flood of Noah and how it affected the earth. But the purpose of these last two blogs is to show that science, reason and logic do not have to be excluded from Childlike Faith! So put your faith in the Savior as a little child might believe his daddy! Then I challenge you to begin to put the scientific data together in a biblical framework.

September 16, 2015

Mark 10:13-16

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

Jesus told us in Mark 10:13 through 16 we need Childlike Faith to enter the kingdom:

      Then they brought young children to Him, that He might touch them; and
      the disciples rebuked those who brought them.  But when Jesus saw it, He
      was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me,
      and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.  Assuredly, I say
      to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by
      no means enter it.”  And He took them up in His arms, put His hands on
      them, and blessed them.

But in Childlike Faith! – I, I made this statement:

      Childlike Faith is not just a leap from a height, knowing your daddy will
      catch you.  That, in a sense, has to be part of it. It is a ‘leap’ to believe God
      will ‘catch’ you….You have to ‘leap’ into the biblical belief that human
      beings are all sinners…but redeemed by the Son of God…,” including you!

However, some would say – or imply, including Albert Einstein (see Childlike Faith! – I) – that reason must be left outside the gate of faith because faith stands against reason and logic.  For instance, science has ‘proved’ that the earth is billions of years old. According to G. Brent Dalrymple, research geologist at Menlo Park, California, and author of several scientific books – after citing multiple geologic data, wrote “…these data clearly prove that the Earth’s history extends backward from the present to at least 3.8 billion years into the past.” (http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/dalrymple/ scientific_age_earth.html).  And over these approximately four billion years the earth has cooled twisted, shuddered, been hit by space debris of various sizes and impacts, perhaps even changed rotation axis.  Mountains were pushed up valley sank, seas, rivers and lakes were formed – and this happened more than once.  The climates have changed, from tropical to temperate to ice age and back.  All this, science says, has left the geological features the earth presents today.

The Bible gives us another picture – another interpretation of the geologic data.  As far as the age of the earth, I am not now going to present the arguments for a young earth.  But let’s look at what Genesis 7:11, 12 and 19 says:

      In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seven-
      teenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep
      were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.  And the rain
      was on the earth forty days and forty nights….And the waters prevailed
      exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven,
      were covered.

We have to go back to the creation account in Genesis 1, and look at verses 2, 7 and 8:

      And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face
      of the deep.  And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters
      ….God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the
      firmament from the waters which were above the firmament….And God
      called the firmament Heaven.

According to the biblical record, heaven – the first of three heavens, according to ancient Jewish thinking, and the realm of the atmosphere – divided water upon the earth from a vast expanse of water above, probably in the form of water vapor.  Also in Genesis 2:5 and 6 it is recorded that, “…the LORD God had not cause it to rain upon the earth…but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.”  According to biblical scientists, this points to a shroud of water vapor that enclosed and protected the earth much like the glass in a greenhouse protects its plants growing within.  Such an atmospheric layer of water vapor would also filter out ultraviolet light from the sun – a major aging factor for man.

According to Genesis 7:11, the first geologic event of the flood was not rain from the sky, but “…all the fountains of the great deep…” breaking up – volcanic activity!

On his website, “Real Science,” Steven Goddard – a blogger with a BS in geology from Arizona State University and a Master’s degree in electrical engineering from Rice University – writes:

       70% of the earth’s surface is covered with water.  Where did that water come
      from?  It is generally believed that most of it outgased from the interior of the
      earth during the first 700 million years of the earth’s existence….The only
      plausible origin of the oceans is from the interior of the earth….water vapor
      is consistently the most common volcanic gas, normally comprising more than
      60% of total emissions….steam pressure is the primary driver of explosive
      volcanic eruptions.

So massive world-wide volcanic activity started the Great Flood of Genesis 7 and 8, spewing tremendous amounts of water from the interior of the earth!  But something else spewed forth – and that’s for discussion in Childlike Faith! – IV!

September 14, 2015

Mark 10:13-16

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

In Friday’s blog, I mentioned Einstein’s comment concerning his understanding of the Christian faith:  “I have repeatedly said that in my opinion the idea of a personal God is a childlike one.  You may call me an agnostic….”  Childlike Faith, in the great scientist’s opinion, was not something to be pursued as an adult.

But Jesus proclaimed in Mark 10:13 through 16 an entirely different view:

      Then they brought young children to Him, that He might touch them; and
      the disciples rebuked those who brought them.  But when Jesus saw it, He
      was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me,
      and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.  Assuredly, I say
      to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by
      no means enter it.”  And He took them up in His arms, put His hands on
      them, and blessed them.

Childlike Faith was not just encouraged by the Lord.  He stated that it is entirely essential for being reconciled to the Father through Childlike trust in Him!  Few have had the blessed privilege of seeing Jesus Christ in person while still in this mortal life.  An exciting phenomenon is reported as happening regularly in counties dominated by radical Islam, where even to be found possessing a portion of the Bible may cost you your life!  Jesus is appearing to people in dreams and visions in these restricted countries, directing them to Himself.  Many are coming to faith in the Savior – some reports say millions!

But for most Christians, we have come to our belief through faith – Jesus died to pay for my sins, and lives to apply that salvation when I come unto Him by faith!  As it says in Hebrews 11:1 and 6:

      Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not
      seen….But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes
      to God must believe that He is [exists], and that He is a rewarder of those
      who diligently seek Him.

And that Faith must be Childlike enough to believe and act as if God’s Word is true – because it is!

But must we remain in Childlike Faith after becoming believers?  Yes and no!

•      Yes!  Jesus plainly said in John 14:12 (Literal Translation of the Holy Bible):

      Indeed, I tell you truly, the one believing into Me, the works which I do,
      that one shall do also, and greater than these he will do, because I go to
      My Father.  And whatever you may ask in My Name, this I will do, that
      the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask anything in My Name,
      I will do it.

Yet how many see this fulfilled in their daily Christian walk?  Someone once said, “Someday, some time, in a primitive society, someone will pick up the Bible, read God’s promises and really believe them, and they will go out and accomplish amazing miracles!”  Oh, that we believers would maintain that kind of Childlike Faith as we live out our Christian lives!

•      No!  Paul plainly wrote in Ephesians 4:14 and 15:

      …that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about
      with every wind of doctrine…but, speaking the truth in love, [we] may grow
      up in all things into Him who is the Head — Christ….

The writer of Hebrew in chapter 5:12 laments over the immaturity of his epistle’s recipients:

      For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to
      teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have
      come to need milk and not solid food:  For…[you are] a babe.

Peter writes in I Peter 2:2 and 3, “…as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, so that you may grow thereby, if truly you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.”  And in II Peter 3:18, he closes his epistle with this challenge:  “But grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

So let us keep our Childlike Faith as we grow up to adulthood in Christ.  Let us accept His Word as absolutely true and put into daily practice what the Lord has plainly spoken!

September 11, 2015

Mark 10:13-16

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

In a September 25, 1949 letter to Albert Einstein, Guy H. Raner, a History and Government teacher at Canoga Park High School in Los Angeles, California, asked the great scientist, “…are you from the viewpoint of the dictionary an atheist; i.e., ‘one who disbelieves in the existence of a God, or Supreme Being’?”  This was the second letter, the first being June 10, 1945 – both letters being answered by Einstein.  So a connection between the two men had been already established.

In Einstein’s response to Raner’s second letter, he wrote:

      I have repeatedly said that in my opinion the idea of a personal God is a child-
      like one.  You may call me an agnostic, but I do not share the crusading spirit
      of the professional atheist whose fervor is mostly due to a painful act of liber-
      ation from the fetters of religious indoctrination received in youth.  I prefer
      an attitude of humility corresponding to the weakness of our intellectual under-
      standing of nature and of our own being.

“I have repeatedly said that in my opinion the idea of a personal God is a childlike one.”  Indeed it is, Mr. Einstein!  For Jesus said so!  The incident is found in Mark 10:13 through 16:

      Then they brought young children to Him, that He might touch them; and
      the disciples rebuked those who brought them.  But when Jesus saw it, He
      was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me,
      and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.  Assuredly, I say
      to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by
      no means enter it.”  And He took them up in His arms, put His hands on
      them, and blessed them.

According to the Lord Jesus Christ, you cannot enter the kingdom without Childlike Faith!  Therefore you cannot accept Jesus as Savior and enter into eternal life without Childlike Faith!

But what is Childlike Faith?  On The Christian Post website, CP Opinion, Dan Delzell writes in an article entitled, “Childlike Faith Isn’t Just for Little Children,”

      How do little children tend to view what their parents tell them?  Do they receive
      it with simple faith, or with skepticism?  Unless they have become jaded due to
      unloving behavior directed at them, they almost always embrace what they are
      being told as the truth.  After all, why should they doubt the words of those who
      love them?  …Once you accept the fact that God loves you, you are getting close
      to that place where you can begin to live with childlike faith, hope and trust.  It
      truly is a wonderful way to live.  Since God tells us in His Word that He lovingly
      sent His only Son to die for our sins, there is no good reason to doubt it.

But Childlike Faith is not just a leap from a height, knowing your daddy will catch you.  That, in a sense, has to be part of it. It is a ‘leap’ to believe God will ‘catch’ you, especially when you have been taught by so many authorities in your life (teachers, scientists, philosophers, etc.) that you are a product of chance, progressing and getting better, but with a destination that is really unknown.  You have to ‘leap’ into the biblical belief that human beings are all sinners, fallen from our original perfect state, estranged from our Creator God, but redeemed by the Son of God who gave His life as a redemptive sacrifice so we could gain His kingdom.

It helped me tremendously to learn from Paul that God is our Abba Father.  He writes in Galatians 4:6, “And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, ‘Abba, Father.’ ” (See Mark 14:36; Romans 8:15).  Roughly translated, Abba Father means “Daddy!”  Now, wouldn’t your Daddy catch you when you leap, and not let you fall?!

Another Bible truth that greatly helped me to have Childlike Faith is in Ephesians 1:6:  “…He has made us accepted in the Beloved.”  The Beloved is Jesus Christ. Would God the Father accept God the Son?  Of course He would!  And if we are accepted in the Beloved, then we are accepted by the Father as much as He accepts His own Son Jesus! (See the April 19, 2013 blog, “Four Wonderful Words…..” ).

I stated above, “…Childlike Faith is not just a leap from a height….”  But I have run out of space to explore this aspect of our subject.  That will have to wait until Monday’s blog.

September 9, 2015

James 3:5, 6

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

A couple of weeks ago, I heard a sermon by Dr. Tony Evans, a dynamic Dallas, Texas pastor.  He preached from James 2 on the use of the tongue, and I was inspired by a question he asked his congregation:  “How many of you got hell in your mouth?”  It was based on James 3:5 and 6, and that scripture is the basis for today’s blog – A Mouthful Of Hell!

      …the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.  See how great a
      forest a little fire kindles!  And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. 
      The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body,
      and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.

My version to you of Dr. Tony’s question is this – Do you have A Mouthful Of Hell?!  I have known people – and you probably have encountered such folks too – who have A Mouthful Of Hell!  It seems that wherever they go, whenever they open their mouths, something inspired of the devil comes out!  A fire starts!  A sad fact is that some of these people identify themselves as Christians!

In Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader, 26th Edition, Perpetually Pleasing Bathroom Reader – yes, there is a new addition every year, and it is a good book for the ‘reading room’ – I read an example of a big fire starting from a small spark in a selection called “Flaming Oopses”!

      On a hot summer day in 1965, country singer Johnny Cash drove his pickup
      into California’s Los Padres National Forest to do some fishing and drinking. 
      On a bumpy road, the truck’s tailpipe dislodged from the muffler, and the
      sparks started a grass fire….The fire took a week to extinguish, burning 508
      acres….In court, Cash was asked if he started the fire.  “No,” he replied, “my
      truck did and it’s dead, so you can’t question it.”  Cash (or rather, his insur-
      ance company) paid $82,000 in restitution.

And even if Mouthful Of Hell comments don’t seen to start such a conflagration, they sure can sully God or man’s reputation!

I remember years ago before I started Bible college, I worked in a warehouse loading and delivering orders all around northeastern Pennsylvania.  The warehouse foreman was a man named Bill – and he swore and cussed so much, the air around him turned blue!  He could make a sailor blush!  I was a relatively new Christian, but I surely knew that kind of junk should not come out of a person’s mouth!  And I was tired of hearing my Lord’s name taken in vain (see Exodus 20:7).  During one of Bill’s tirades, I angrily shouted at him, “Bill, aren’t you supposed to be a Christian?”  He replied, “You’re g…..d….. right I am a Christian! It takes a g…..d….. good man to be a Christian!”  I just shook my head and said to myself, “Yeah, right, Bill!”

A Mouthful Of Hell!  Do you “…take the name of the LORD your God in vain…”?  Exodus 20:7 goes on to say, “…for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.”  I sure don’t want to be held guilty before God!

What does it mean to take His name in vain?  It means using the name of God in an empty way, a way that does not reflect the truth and bring glory to His person!  Obviously, Bill was taking the name God in an empty and non-glorifying way.  You could actually use the term he expressed if it reflected the truth.  To say, “He is a God-damned sinner!” may be a true statement and technically acceptable.  After all, it is written in John 3:18, “He who believes on Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”  But I would hesitate to use God’s name in that sense because it sounds like I am taking it in vain.  And Paul wrote in Romans 14:16, “…do not let your good be spoken evil of….”  He also said in Ephesians 4:29, “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”

Another way some folks have A Mouthful Of Hell is described in James 3:8 through 10:

      …no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 
      With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have
      been made in the similitude of God.  Out of the same mouth proceed bless-
      ing and cursing.  My brethren, these things ought not to be so.

How do we curse men?  Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:29 (above), “Let…what is good…proceed out of your mouth…for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”  Edification means to build up.  A broad definition of cursing, then would be tearing someone down!  Since God sent His Son to bless us with His grace, cursing someone would come from the opposite of God – Satan – A Mouthful Of Hell!

A ‘third-person’ way of cursing would be cursing someone by gossip!  Although the ninth of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:16 has a legal ring to it, to “…bear false witness against your neighbor,” is not confined to the courtroom!  False witness against your neighbor is any gossip that is spread by you to another – or by another to you – that will tear someone down!  Is it any wonder that God tells us in Leviticus 19:16, “You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor:  I am the LORD.”  Further commentary is in Proverbs 18:8 (KJV – repeated in 26:22):  “The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.”  Also in Proverbs 20:19 (Lexham English Bible):  “He reveals a secret, he who walks about with gossip, and do not associate with a babbler’s lips.”  I know from my own personal and pastoral experience how much damage gossip can do!

So watch what you say!  And if you have A Mouthful Of Hell, ask God to replace it with a tongue speaking necessary edification and grace to the hearers! – in other words, A Mouthful Of Heaven!