2019 Archives

  It never ceases to amaze me at how quickly a nation can become so foolish about some of the most important issues of life.  Let me say first that I understand that in some circles, women are treated like dirt by selfish, lustful, greedy men.  Though some are not altogether innocent, considering their dress, mannerisms and ambitions, I am adamantly opposed to the disrespect that many women endure.

  Like so many issues, our culture deals with social ills by going to the opposite extreme in hope of reparation.  On this particular topic, those who deplore the error of both extremes are viewed as either womanizers or misogynists, depending on who is talking.

  Truth is that women were never intended by God to be men or to act like men.  God made us male and female and gave us the temperament, emotional perspective, physique, anatomy, etc. to fulfill our roles.  

  Common sense agrees with the Bible: What father or mother would want his/her daughter to be drafted into the armed services and ushered to the front line to fight some burly man trained in the art of hand to hand combat?  What kind of man would have his daughter work with a crew of ungodly linemen who huddle in the crew cab of a truck bunched together for warmth in the cold of winter?  What thinking man would have his grandchildren raised in a day care so that his daughter could scale the corporate ladder?

  If we hope to regain any sanity in this God blessed country, we had better return to the moral moorings that kept us on the right track in the early years.

   God said,  “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.  For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church…  Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; (Ephesians 5:22, 23, 25)”   “That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. (Titus 2:4–5)”

  Imagine going to a shop to purchase new tires for your car.  After a long wait, finally someone announces, “Your car is ready.”  With the bill taken care of, you locate your car in the parking lot, but something just doesn’t seem right; the car is sitting lower than usual.  A quick survey of the situation reveals that all four new tires are completely flat.  When the technician returns to your car with you, he immediately notices the flat tires, slaps his forehead with the palm of his hand and shouts, “Oh no, I forgot to put air in your new tires!”  “I knew I was forgetting something!”

  The last step is always crucial whether you are baking a cake, sewing up an incision after surgery, or tying your shoes after getting dressed in the morning.  In most cases it would be better to do nothing than to start something and leave out the essential last step.

  If our last steps are important, how much more critical must they be in spiritual, eternal matters—say in God’s preparation to save men from their sins.  You perhaps have heard that God loves you, but because of your sin, you have been separated from Him.  To remedy the situation, God sent His Son, Jesus, to pay the penalty for your sins.  We call this good news, the Gospel.  Jesus came to earth and lived a perfect, sinless life in order to make Himself a sufficient sacrifice for your sin.  He gave Himself to be crucified on a Roman cross and was buried.  Now if the story ended here, God’s plan would lack the critical last step.  A dead Savior is no Savior at all.  Jesus must be alive if He is to save those who come to Him by faith, as He promised.  There must be a resurrection.

  Rest assured the last step in God’s plan to offer forgiveness and eternal life has indeed been completed.  Jesus is alive.  In three days, He arose from the grave and lives now to welcome you into the family of God—If you will trust Him for forgiveness!  “Jesus said…, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live (John 11:25)”

  If you have children or grandchildren, you have probably lived the horrors of imagining what it would be like if one of them was abducted. We cringe to think of our little loved ones growing up under the influence and abuse of a criminal with no regard for life and without natural affection. We shudder at the thought of our sons or daughters languishing in the last moments of a brief life, alone or among strangers, having forgotten the love of father and mother, grandfather or grandmother.

  I’m sorry if these thoughts stir emotions that cause you grief, but without this perspective you will never know how God feels about you. You are His son or daughter, created to be eternally in His presence. But you have been stolen away from Him and are living in a world cursed with evil that is destined to destroy all who embrace it. Though you have grown accustomed to life without God, and maybe, since you have never known anything else, have grown fond of your captor, you need to know that the life of every captive ends in bitter sorrow, and eternal ruin.

  In spite of your acceptance or love of your present enslavement, God’s love for you has not diminished and He longs for your return. The life He has planned for you is one of abundant and eternal peace and joy. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. (1 Corinthians 2:9)”

  Here’s what you need to know: Sin is the culprit that has separated you from God. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23)” God sent His Son, Jesus, to break the bonds of sin and buy you back for Himself. “Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: (Galatians 1:4)” “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)” If you choose to believe, let me be the first to say, Welcome Home!

  “I’m sorry, I just don’t have time.”  We’ve all heard it a million times, and half of them from our own lips.  Someone recently remarked, “Someday I’m going to move to a place—where life is lived at a slower pace.”  I thought to myself, Your chances of finding such a place are about as good as your making a fortune selling poetry.

  The truth of the matter is, the amount of hours in a day has not changed since God said, “Let there be light.”  “The evening and the morning” has always constituted a twenty four hour day. 

  Wise old King Solomon wrote, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:  A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted…  (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2).

  Our problem has nothing to do with time, really; it’s more of a priority issue.  You and I have as much time each day as Adam and Eve, Abraham, George Washington and my beloved grandfather who taught me to complain about the brevity of a day.

  Tell you what, I’ll stop complaining about time, if you will.  It’s settled then; we have time to do what we want to do.  And so, now the question has become, What do you want to do?

  While we’re on the subject, perhaps we should consider what God would have us to do, since, according to the Bible, He has purchased us for Himself at the tremendous cost of the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ.  (John 3:16; 1Cor. 6:19-20)  We should also be reminded that we are utterly dependent on Him for everything, including the next breath we breathe.  Yes, I believe that what God wants us to do should be highest on our list of priorities.

  For sure, God would have us establish a relationship with Him through Christ, get involved in a local church, pray, spend time in His Word…

  O my, I’ll have to stop here,… have you seen the TIME?

  The powers of darkness are all around.  The enemy of your soul lurks in the increasingly dark regions of his borrowed kingdom where, for now, you must live and breathe.  His evil cohorts are never far away and their imaginations are always filled with masterfully devised plans to lure you into the quagmires of sin and death.  Sound like the beginning of a fictitious novel?  It’s Not!  These are biblical facts; a spiritual battle rages for your soul, and the enemy is never far away.  Your only hope is to accept the deliverance offered through Jesus Christ.  As a follower of Christ, you are guaranteed eternal life and power to stand against the enemy today!  

  The sixth chapter of Ephesians describes our supernatural enemy: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12).”   In that same context you’ll find a description of our divinely issued armor and weaponry.   Verse 17 refers to the “Sword of the Spirit,” our only offensive weapon.  The text itself reveals that this sword is in fact, the Word of God.  “…and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: (Ephesians 6:17b).” 

  This Sword was carried by Christ Himself, our Great Commander, while He paced the dusty paths of earth almost 2000 years ago.  He taught us how to wield it when He was tempted in the wilderness by the devil in Matthew 4.  His experience there teaches us that our Sword’s full potential cannot be realized as long as it is bound in leather and carried in our hands.  The Sword of the Spirit must be sheathed in our hearts.  “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. (Psalm 119:11).”

  My Christian friend, when the enemy of your soul draws near to thrust his fiery darts, you are not left without resources with which to fight back—unless of course you have failed to sheath your Sword.   Fill your heart and mind with the powerful Word of God—quickly now, the enemy is at hand!