On several occasions I have sensed an ill spirit toward me, and had no idea as to why.  It seemed the only path toward rectification was to ask, “Have I done something to offend you?”  In most instances the reply has been, “No, I’m sorry, I’m just having a bad day; it is nothing that you have done.”  What a relief to clear the air, to know that I had not unwittingly committed some offense against a friend.

  Did you know that the Bible, the Word of God, declares that you and I have offended God?  The problem is that He is holy (sinless) and we are sinful.  “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness. (Romans 1:18)”  The problem is universal, and serious.  “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)”

  What ultimately happens to those who have offended God?  The Bible describes their end: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. (Revelation 21:8)”  The Psalmist says, “Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors. (Psalms 73:18-19)”  Many try to avoid the horrors by simply telling themselves that this cannot be true; there is no God, no judgment, no Hell—but disbelief does not make the truth go away.

  My friend, it is true, you have offended God; you have made yourself the  enemy of the Almighty (James 4:4).  If you remain as you are, you will spend eternity in the “Lake of fire, prepared for the Devil and his angels.” (Matthew 25:41).  But God, in His mercy, has provided an option!  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (John 3:16-17)”

  Back in the 1950s and 60s, there was a TV show called To Tell The Truth.  For each game, there were three individuals who claimed to be the same person, and a panel of four celebrities who asked questions to determine who really was the person that they all claimed to be.  Two of the three who fielded the questions would make something up that sounded authentic; their reward was based upon the believability of their lies..

  If the show were brought back today, it would not be hard to find liars willing to pose as someone they are not.  If politicians, government officials, media personalities, social activists, and the like, could find time to participate, lying imposters would never be in short supply.  Why would I say such a thing?  Because it is unquestionably true.  In reference to just about any issue or event that is reported in the news today, there are polar opposite representations of “the truth.”  Now both sides could be lying, but certainly they cannot both be telling the truth.  Contrary to a more modern understanding of logic, there is only one truth about a matter; it only happened one way, therefore, someone must be morally and factually wrong.

  Needless to say, God is not pleased with our neglect of His moral law, “Thou shalt not bear false witness” (lie).  While there is no sinless person among us, it behooves us as a society that still boasts itself as a constitutional republic, to elect, appoint or promote those to represent us, who do not have such blatant disregard for the precepts of God.

  Consider how straightforward the topic is dealt with in the Scriptures:  #1 “A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish. (Proverbs 19:9)”  #2 “Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight. (Proverbs 12:22)”  #3 “He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight. (Psalms 101:7)”

  Space does not permit us here to mention other sinful vices of unscrupulous men, but for those who might wish to explore the matter, may I suggest a book unapologetically used by our founding fathers—The Bible.

  If you were approached by an individual who claimed to have an absolute cure for the common cold, and the last words of his pitch were, “but you have to believe in it,” you would probably call him a charlatan and send him packing.  When we are looking for a cure or fix to a serious problem, we want empirical evidence sufficient to warrant our confidence.  We insist on being objective about the claims of others.

  So it is when we tell someone God’s way of dealing with the problem of sin; we do pretty well at explaining until we get to the part about, “but you have to believe in it.”  Though it is not complicated at all, for one reason or another there seems to be a natural aversion to the path of faith.  Faith is assumed too fickle, too subjective.  What one believes often seems to diminish or evolve.  Many have asked, “Can such a weighty matter as the eternal destiny of my soul depend upon so little effort on my part? …so simple, and unadorned, a process?”  The answer is Yes!

  As unnerving as it may be, the Bible is clear, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)” And His offer of salvation is only to those who are willing to believe: “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (John 1:12)”  “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved… (Acts 16:31)”

  But don’t lose hope; the faith that God requires is not totally unfounded; just look at all that He has so miraculously done.  Even the eternality and omnipotence of God are evident when we consider what He has made.  “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: (Romans 1:20)”

  Since so much of His handiwork is visible, it is a small step of faith to believe that God can save your soul as He has promised.  Only Believe! 

 Still etched in my memory are the words of my doctor on that fateful day that my mom took me to the pediatrician for my first shot, or at least the first one I remember. There he stood, bent over my posterior with his needle already plunged into my flesh, and he feigned to ask, “Are You Ready?”  The needle, still loaded, seemed to me to be moving, very painfully, from side to side as he turned back and forth to explain to my mother, who was behind him, what this shot was for.  I shouted rather urgently, “YES, I’M READY!,” and after he and my dear mom enjoyed a chuckle, he answered, “Okay, here we go,” and with that, he shot me, …or whatever you call it.  It even made a place.

  There is a sense in which that same uneasiness I felt that day seems pervasive today, but it is not just me.  Many of “my fellow Americans” (I always wanted to use that line) seem to feel that they have been manipulated into a very vulnerable position and are about to “get the jab,” to borrow an over used phrase of our time.  For some, perhaps it has already started to hurt, and for most of us, there is a great anticipation of unwelcome change that appears to be loaded into the governmental syringe and is about to be injected into our otherwise rather placid lives—Are you Ready? 

  There may not be much that we can do to alter the outcome of things that are already set in motion on such a grand scale, but we can get ready, if we are willing to surrender to Somebody bigger than you and me.  God created mankind to be dependent upon Him.  He said, “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. (2Corinthians 6:17-18)”

  Interested?  Becoming a child of God is a matter of simple faith.  You need to believe God when He says you are a sinner who is separated from Him because of your sin.  Secondly, you will have to decide to be saved from your sin rather than live any longer in it.  Finally, you will need to place your trust in Jesus who died on the cross to pay the penalty of your sin, and rose from the dead as Victor over sin, death, and the grave.  He is your Deliverer!

 In spite of the “climate change” mania that is so pervasive in our day, I’m going out this morning to pick some more cucumbers and green beans and squash in my little vegetable garden.  Even with the cooler temperatures and the extra rainfall that we have had this summer, amazingly there is still a plentiful harvest.  Praise the Lord!  …but I’m really not so surprised.

  In the time of Noah, who was one of eight people who survived the cataclysmic flood that true science confirms happened in the third millennia BC, God made a promise to all mankind.  He said, “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. (Genesis 8:22)”

 Please don’t misunderstand; I know that there will be years of plenty and years of blighted crops, but that is nothing new—I still remember these from my youth.  My point is simply that as far as our gardens, the weather, and all things natural, we have no need for worry, God can be trusted, and what He has promised, that He will do.  I’ll probably plant a garden next year too!

  But there is a lot more to life than raising a few vegetables, important things that fuel the anxieties of decent folks who feel responsible for fending for themselves in what appear to be perilous times ahead.  Perhaps we should consider other promises made by the Creator, to those who love Him.  “Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?  Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? (Matthew 6:27-30)”