Perspective

  It is amazing how much one’s perspective is determined by his passions.  For example, there are those whose lives revolve around politics, and everything they read is interpreted as if it were some political posturing of the author.   Others are all about sports; if it has no bearing on their sport, it is boring and unimportant.  It is true; one’s passion become the glasses through which he views the world and interprets the events of life.

  So, Which passion produces the right perspective?  Should we become more politically minded because, in reality, life revolves around American politics?  Should we focus on finances as if life were measured by how much money we have?  Should we emphasize the importance of popularity or social acceptance because, obviously, we cannot go it alone?  Should we strive to excel in academics and intellectual pursuits as if the good life were available only to the intellectually elite?  Which perspective would provide the optimal vantage point from which to view life, understand its meaning, and live it to the fullest?  Answer:  None of the above.

  The right perspective is not determined by the passions of finite beings.  Man’s perspective is comparable to studying the stars from the dark recesses of an abandoned coal mine.  He just doesn’t have access to the vantage point from which everything is clearly visible.  Pooling our resources doesn’t help either; a collection of passionate opinions from biased bigots does not constitute a clear picture of reality.  We need some outside help from someone who has the advantage of seeing things as they really are.

  Only God is in a position to define the right perspective.  Not only is He the Creator, but He has His omnipotent hands on His creation, sustaining life and maintaining the laws by which it is preserved.  God made this very point to Job when He said, “Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? …Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. (Job 38:2–4)”

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Change In The Wind

  For those of us who have been around for a while, it becomes increasingly obvious that the only thing that never changes is the fact that nothing stays the same.  Some changes may be beneficial, but the change that is in the wind today is destroying our Republic and the freedoms that it affords us.  Our forefathers were agreed: “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become more corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters. (Benjamin Franklin, 1787)”  “Is there no virtue among us? If there be not, we are in a wretched situation. No theoretical checks, no form of government, can render us secure. To suppose that any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without any virtue in the people, is a chimerical (hoped for, but impossible to achieve) idea. (James Madison, 1788)”

  Anyone who is paying attention can clearly see that what was once considered virtuous in America is now despised by those whose morals and ethics, like a weathervane, change with every wind of doctrine.  As a result of our depleted virtue, we are on the threshold of a new norm, a new paradigm for social, economic and political life in America.  The words of the prophet Isaiah help us to put it in a biblical perspective, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20)”

  So what can we who love freedom and virtue do?  We can pray; “…The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (James 5:16)” We can renew our sense of virtue by returning to the Word of God. “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly…  But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. (Psalm 1:1–2).

  If things continue as they are, we will need special grace to endure the painful change that is in the wind.  But not to worry; ours is a God of Grace!

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Good Enough?

  How would you like to take a trip to Heaven? …to see what God really looks like?  Maybe you have Him pictured as a grand old man in a rocking chair?  Would the two of you sit down at a table like old friends?

  Isaiah was a prophet (BC 740-680), before Israel was taken captive by Assyria.  A major thrust of his prophecy has to do with the two comings of the Lord Jesus, first as Savior and later as King.  Chapter 6 recalls Isaiah’s  calling and commissioning by God to be a prophet of Israel.  The event was spectacular; it was as if he took that trip to heaven, in a vision.

  He recounts what he saw: “…I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, (Isaiah 6:1b)”  God is described here as a Ruler, governing His creation.  Isaiah continues, “and his train filled the temple,” so that there was no place to stand apart from Him. (i.e. Train probably refers to His glory, the light of Him that filled the temple.)

  Verse 2 tells us that above the throne stood seraphim (angels),  “…And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.”  Holy means: Sinless, Separated One, True Light, Spotless Purity, The Perfect One.  The earth is a showcase for His attributes and perfections.    Godly Isaiah felt unworthy to be in His presence and cried, “…Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. (v.5)”  The next verses speak of his cleansing; “…thy sins are purged. v.7”

  Friend, the truth is that before our Holy God, all flesh is undone or unworthy.  Because of sin, we cannot even participate in true worship,  but God wants to forgive our sins and make us worthy to stand in His presence. For this, He has given us Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth, the Life!  He alone can make you good enough to live in God’s presence.

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SCOFFERS

  The apostle Peter, one of Jesus’ twelve disciples, wrote,

 “3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. 5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: 7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. (2 Peter 3:3–7)”

  Because it has been so long since God supernaturally intervened in the affairs of man, many refuse to believe that He ever will—or that He even exists.  They scoff (vv. 3-4) at those who believe the Bible and await the coming of Jesus to take His saints to Heaven in an event that we call the Rapture.  With His saints safely by His side, the world will experience the wrath of God for seven years in what the Bible calls, “Tribulation.”  At the end of the seven years, Jesus Christ will return to this earth with His saints and destroy His enemies in a military campaign known around the world as Armageddon.  At that time He will establish His kingdom and reign for one thousand years with Jerusalem as His capital.  At the end of time as we know it, Christ will resurrect and judge the ungodly from every generation; they will be cast into the lake of fire prepared for the devil and his angels, and this earth will be destroyed by fire (v. 7).  Finally, a new heaven and earth will be created for the eternal abode of believers from all ages. (Rev. 21-22)

  For those who might be inclined to doubt, hindsight is 20/20.  Peter suggests you look back and consider the flood (vv. 5-6).

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Good vs. Evil

  Some would argue that the global unrest that has been churned up by unprecedented events in these last few months is the result of political or philosophical differences.  Others seem to enjoy placing the blame on racial tensions, bigotry or bipolar cultural ideals.  There are armies of organized  rabble rousers among us that would take up arms over sexual or racial inequity, diverse social standing or financial instability among those who refuse to work.  If you are looking for a cause to live or die for, you won’t have to look far to find a plethora of self-absorbed, divisive movements whose hope is to effect global change and make every human being a cookie cutter socialist, communist, atheist, agnostic, anarchist or something unfathomably worse.

  …OR, as God puts it, there is a battle that rages in both the spiritual and physical realms in which good and evil, light and darkness, God and the devil, are pitted against each other, and at stake—the souls of men.  But there is “good news!”  Jesus came to earth “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. (Acts 26:18)”

  It is a fact!—the outcome of the battle is already determined!  Because of Jesus, “the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough way shall be made smooth. (Luke 3:5)”  In the end, God and good will destroy evil, and those who belong to Him will enter into a land beyond time, to fulfill the purpose for which they were created—to glorify God in His presence, …forever.

    It is tempting to look into the terrestrial realm for answers to the problems that plague our nation, but I would remind you that you cannot govern the godless.  Our only hope is to turn to God, and trust in Jesus, who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)”

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