Bible Ballistics: Evil or Good? February 16, 2014 Vol.3 No.14

After a bit of a stressful week in the hospital with my husband, I had a lot running through my mind and heart.  (Just so you’ll know, all is well with us and we’re back home and doing fine).  Lots of things going on around us–competition at the Olympics, major sports stars and movie stars making ‘bold’ announcements to much public applause, government scandals still looming in regard to the IRS and State Department, a looming debt problem that is multiplying exponentially.  Seemingly our world, in particular our nation, is floundering for direction.  What’s the problem? Is there a solution?

Isaiah 5:20-21 says, “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! 21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!”

We have become a people who refuse the way of the Lord?  Where are we headed when we reject and/or deny the Word of God?  Isaiah says, “WOE” (great sorrow or distress) is the destination of those who twist God’s standard.

Paul describes our days in 2 Timothy 3:1-6, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” 

Although this is a long list, and one we’ve talked about recently, I want us to focus on verse 4-5, which zeros in on the cause of the peril—that men are,  “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God”, and that they have a ‘form of godliness, but denying the power thereof…’.   They want to claim God’s name but not His ways. (See Matt 7:20-23)

Hearts that are set on self and pleasure rather than God.  As Jesus Himself said in John 3:18-20,

“He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” 

Men love ‘darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil….’  They hate the light “lest his deeds should be reproved” (shown to be wrong and fixed in Jesus).  They don’t want to be ‘fixed’ because they ‘call evil good and good evil’.

Although God gives every man, woman and child the right to choose; there are consequences to every choice. As free as we are to make our own choices, right or wrong, we are NOT free to set the consequences.

2 Peter 2:9, “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:” 

While God will deliver His own from temptation, He will also ‘reserve the unjust’ to judgment.  Peter describes in this chapter, those who walk their own ways, in lust, uncleanness and despise order (especially God’s order); who are presumptuous, self-willed, and have no fear of the justice of God toward evil.

And Romans 1:32 says, “Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.”

Explaining here that the ultimate end of choosing sin over God’s way is not only the rejection of God but also the propagation of that rejection.  Not an ignorance of God’s law, but a rejection of it.  Paul makes it clear in all of Romans 1 that men ‘know the judgment of God’.  In our world, our nation, it isn’t a lack of knowledge of the standard of God but clearly a rejection of that standard and a desire to lead/cause others to reject God’s ways.  Willfully choosing to go against God and calling others to join in.

This is where we live!  In a nation that has rejected God’s word and His standard.  So, where will we, who claim God, stand? On His ‘stand’ard?  On the world’s way or God’s?  Have we, and will we allow truth to be diluted to call good evil, and evil good?  Where will we individually and personally draw the line?  Will we ‘stand’ for right or fall for the ‘wrong’?  Will I/we accept ‘sin’ as alright, to be ‘politically correct’?  Will I say it’s ok to grant ‘rights’ that are Biblically ‘wrong’, or am I willing to speak the truth in love—but speak the truth?  Will I speak truth regardless of the cost?  If it costs me jobs, or position, or popularity?  If it costs me my possessions?  What price am I willing to pay for ‘truth’???

Proverbs 16:25 says, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” 

Are we willing to do what God says is right, or to fall for the lies of the enemy that call people to approve of what ‘seems’ right to man?  No matter how much ‘applause’ the wrong might receive, it’s still wrong.  So which way are you walking?  In the way that ‘seems’ right or the way that is ‘right’, and ‘true’…..?  Are we so weary with the battle that we’re caving into the pressure of the world?  Or are we willing to be like Jeremiah and trust God to defend and protect us when we speak truth—His truth (See Jeremiah 1:19).

Remember– ‘Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’  John 14:6.

Only ONE truth—Jesus.

Only ONE way—Jesus.

Only ONE way to life—Jesus.

Which way are you going??????

The right way or

the wrong way???

You are free to choose but the consequences are set by God.

Bible Ballistics: “BBs”   #34

Happy Valentine’s Day to YOU!!!  I couldn’t help but think of the ultimate VALENTINE—Jesus, on this special day focused on LOVE.

“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.”  John 3:16

Simple verse, profound reality.

       God SO LOVED ME/YOU–

              That He GAVE His SON-JESUS–

                      JESUS DIED on Calvary for ME/YOU–

                             That we could have ETERNAL LIFE!!!

John 15:13, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

So?  Here’s our shot for the day—?????

God Loves us so much that Jesus DIED for the world’s (my) sin.

If I have trusted in Jesus to save me, I have LIFE.

So?  What am I doing with the life that I have received from Jesus?

Am I laying it down for others or keeping it for myself????

Food for thought for each of us on this Valentine’s Day?

Am I ‘crucified with Christ’ (Gal. 2:20) or?

Am I one who will ‘crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.’? (Heb. 6:6)

Giving LOVE or taking it?  It’s your choice!!

Bible Ballistics: “BBs”  #33  Darkness and Friends

Spending the last two days at the hospital with my husband, has given me some things I’d like to share with you. We serve a God who cares for us not only in the day but in the night as well. Daniel 2:22 says,

“He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.”

When we can see the way, it’s one thing, but God “knoweth what is in the darkness”.  God knew about our little bump in the road, and He has comforted and led us through the dark!!  But, He not only leads and reveals, He is our help—

Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”  He has walked with us through this time, eased our fear directed our way.

One of the ways He has helped us is through others—many of you.  Family and friends have surrounded us as described in God’s Word—

Proverbs 17:17,  “A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity..”

And Galatians 6:2, “ Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.”  

Others have walked with us, prayed for us, and shared our burden– we thank YOU, and we thank God for each of you.

So?  Here’s our shot for the day—?????

God knows your darkness—

walk with HIM through it.

Thank God for the family and friends in your life,

and just as importantly–be a friend to others.

You have a ‘very present help in trouble’.

Trust HIM—

He is able.

Bible Ballistics: Mirrors? February 9 2014 Vol.3 No.13

I had an interesting experience this week and it’s the basis of what I want to share today.  One of my children was leaving the house being a bit snippy and maybe even a bit sarcastic, and as they were walking off it hit me like a ‘ton of bricks’—“He’s acting like his mother”, so I popped out of the door and said,  “I see the family resemblance” in a joking way, but God brought to my heart the seriousness of my own words.  Whose likeness do I show to my children?  To others?

What kind of influence are we being on the lives of those around us?  Especially those who are still privileged to have young children around on a regular basis.  Is it just my words that affect them?  Or is it my actions?  My attitude?  There is an old proverb that says,  “Your actions are speaking so loudly, I can’t hear what you’re saying!!!!”   Does the Word have anything to say about that?  One of the things most of us do every morning is look in the mirror.  Now, we might not always like what we see staring back, but we look—then most of us comb, brush, fix-up and correct any part of our appearance that may need some attention after getting out of the bed.  Well, what about our character, our living?

James 1:22-26, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass (mirror): 24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty (God’s Word), and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. 26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.”

Am I living the life of a ‘doer’ of the word, or a life of the ‘hearers only’?  In my walk?  In my home?  In my job?  In my “church”?  Ouch!!!  James says that if we are only ‘hearers’ we are ‘deceiving’ ourselves, and that our ‘religion’ is vain.  That’s pretty harsh, but a truth we all need to consider.

Genesis 18:19, “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.”

God commended Abraham in saying that he would ‘command his children…..after him’, in other words, Abraham would not only teach his family with words but lead them with his actions. Our actions should be the defining mark of our lives.  Will God commend my handling of my ‘mirror’?  My reflection of HIM to my family and the world?

Joshua 4:21-22, “And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? 22 Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.”  We are to tell them what God has done for, and in us!!

And the ultimate chapter in all of scripture that shows how we are to live our lives before others, especially our children is Deut. 6:5-7, & parts of 20-25

“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” …20 And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded you? 21 Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand: 22 And the Lord shewed signs and wonders, …… before our eyes: 23 And he brought us out from thence, ……. 24 And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, ….. 25 And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us.”

God gives us a wonderful picture of a ‘mirror’ here, the reflection that we are to be of God’s truth, grace and character.  Moses tells us that it begins when we personally ‘love the Lord OUR GOD’ with our whole heart, soul and might.  We can’t share with our children or anyone else unless we know God personally, unless we are born again (see John 3:1-19).  We are to love God devotedly, and to live that love out in front of our family and the world.  Then I am to teach what I ‘personally’ believe to those under my influence—in all that I do.  To take advantage of every teachable moment, to live and express truth to my children and others in my sphere of influence.  God says that when we share with our children and live it before them, there will be a time when they will ask us why we ‘do what we do’.  We are then to share with them the truths of our relationship and experience with God.

What do you have to share?  What has God done for you? Have you shared it with your loved ones and friends?  Have you lived in such a way that others want to know why you live that way?  Thoughts to ponder for today.  As James asked, are we ‘doers of the word’?  Or ‘hearers only’?  Are we the one who looks in a mirror and forgets what it reveals?  Or are we the one who looks in God’s perfect law (His Word) and lets it transform us into a mirror of God’s character.

As 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

The choice is OURS!!!  We must choose wisely, others are watching and following US every day!!  What will they see in our “mirror” today?  Tomorrow?  Each day?

Bible Ballistics: “BBs”  #32  February 7, 2014

Forgiven? As I was praying this morning for a friend, I thought, “Lord why do we have to hurt, grieve and suffer for those that we love, who are rejecting you and your ways?”  The Lord clearly spoke to my heart.  ‘I hurt, grieved and suffered for a whole world in sin, can you not carry the burden with me?’  Ouch!!  Here are the scriptures that He brought to my mind.  Read, ponder and be encouraged.

Phil. 2:8, “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

Luke 22:44, “And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”

Hebrews 9:12, “ Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.”

2 Cor. 1:5, “For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.”

Luke 23:34a, “Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”

So what?   Jesus requested forgiveness for those who caused His death, so I am to pray for the ‘prodigals’ in my life to come to Jesus

–as Col. 1:14, says, ‘ In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins”.

The only place to find forgiveness is at the cross. Jesus went to Calvary for me/us, I am to love and carry those ‘prodigals’ in my life to the cross in prayer, as Jesus prayed for them/us before, during and after the cross. (See Hebrews 7:25).  Knowing that the sufferings of Christ are being worked out in me, that I might receive His consolation and share it with the world, especially those ‘prodigals’ in my life.  Not to accept their sin, or condone it, but to pray that they will see it ‘as’ sin and turn form sin, to Jesus—HE is our/their only HOPE.

Remembering that, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”  Gal. 2:20.

So? Here’s our shot for today.  If I am saved, I am forgiven; therefore I can forgive by the power of the ONE who gave Himself for ME.  In Jesus’ story, the Father didn’t go to the pigpen to retrieve that prodigal, but He was ready for him when he repented and turned to HIM.   (See Luke 15)

So?  I pray for His Spirit to touch my ‘prodigal’, to look up. Our redemption draweth nigh and we can stand fast and intercede in their behalf and be there in His truth when they seek it. I pray this helps you as much as it did me.