ATONEMENT: The greatest gift to another!

"... I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Matthew 28:20b

Back in 1999 the evening news aired a 911 emergency call. A handicapped child’s mother {Ed note: she had stayed with her son even though she could have gotten out herself} could be heard comforting her son as fire invaded the room where they were hiding.

Right to the last you heard her comforting him soothingly, “Hang on honey, I’m not leaving you.” She died along with the boy.

Moses spoke for the Lord when he said, “the LORD is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear, or be dismayed.” [Deuteronomy 31:8]

We have the promise of the ages; if God were going to abandon us He would have done so in the Garden. The Lord Jesus Christ died in our place, the whole time telling His disciples to: “Hang on, I’m not leaving you!”

Atonement, Christianity,
Illustrations, Religion

ATONEMENT: Understand what finished work looks like!

"Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, 'It is finished!' And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit."

John 19:30

In a Reader’s Digest article entitled “Fast-Track Fundamentals” by Richard A. Moran, a series of proverbs was supplied to remind career-oriented people of things they all too often don’t know or forget.

One of these maxims was: "Understand what finished work looks like and deliver your work only when it is finished."

Jesus knew what finished work looked like and didn’t quit until His Father’s work was accomplished.

[Reader’s Digest, date unknown, 112-114; condensed from “Never Confuse A Memo With Reality,” Moran, © 1994, HarperCollins, NY.]

Christianity, Illustrations, Religion,

CLEANSING: In Touch With Self!

"But a voice from heaven answered a second time, 'What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.'"

Acts 11:9

Health-savvy women like to think they’re in touch with their bodies. Whenever there is something wrong, they believe their bodies tell them. They search for lumps and scrutinize every mole-like blemish.

They claim they let their bodies talk; they “listen for any bad news.” But with diabetes, the rules of the conversation are different: the disease works silently. It can ravage the body for years without showing any outward signs. Diabetes rots the kidneys, numbs the nerves in the lower legs, clouds vision and damages the heart. All while you feel just fine.

The good news is that a simple, and relatively inexpensive, blood test can tell you whether your body is managing its glucose levels properly. If you know you have diabetes, a doctor can help keep blood sugar in a safe range and prevent long-term damage.

Even better, a new study has shown that exercise can greatly reduce any genetic inclination we may have inherited toward developing the disease.

[Adapted from an article by Linda Carroll, MSNBC, November 16, 1999]

Similarly, worldly-savvy people like to think they are in touch with their spirits and souls. They like to believe they know themselves well enough to know when something is wrong.

They claim to let their hearts speak to them and they “listen for any bad news.” But with sin, the rules are different: sin works silently. It can ravage the spirit and the soul for years without any telltale signs. It rots the spirit and numbs the mind, clouds vision and hardens the heart. All while you feel just fine.

The Good News is that a simple, but extremely expensive, application of shed blood can eliminate the effects of sin. If you know you are a sinner, an disciple can help limit temptations and prevent long-term damage from past exposure. Even better, Bible study has shown that spiritual exercise can greatly reduce any genetic inclination we may have inherited toward giving in to temptations.

Christianity, Cleansing,
Illustrations, Religion

JUDGMENT: Guilty as charged!

"… on the day when … God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus."

Romans 2: 16

The news media reported that Jeremy Strohmeyer – a California teenager who avoided the death penalty by confessing to the brutal rape and murder of a 7-year-old (Sherrice Iverson) in a Nevada casino – was seeking a new trial. Strohmeyer, of Long Beach, California, said his attorney, Leslie Abramson, bullied him into accepting the plea bargain.

Strohmeyer was convicted of murder in a Clark County, Nev., court and sentenced to life in prison a year ago. He has since filed a petition for a new trial.

“In attempting to convince Strohmeyer to take the plea, Abramson resorted to blatantly emotional attacks, telling him he was guilty, that he deserved to be punished and that he deserved to spend the rest of his life in prison,” according to the petition. A judge will consider his petition Jan. 10, 2000. Abramson said she had not seen the petition and declined to comment.

The former straight-A student blamed drugs and alcohol – and his genes – for contributing to the murder. Strohmeyer, who had been chasing Sherrice around a game room for children, followed her into restroom, where he strangled and raped her.

The Bible says, "… it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment" (Hebrews 9:27).

Unlike, the courts of man, at God’s judgment bar there’ll be no appeals, no new trials, no attorney’s pleading, no delays, and no excuses; there will be no drugs, genes, neighbors or parents to blame.

The Bible says, the books will be opened and every man’s deeds, whether good or evil, will be laid bare (Ecclesiastes 12:14); God's decision will be final. No one in Hell will be able to shake a fist at Heaven and claim, “This is a mistake, I don’t belong here!”

Christianity, Illustrations,
Judgment, Religion

BLOOD - O' The Precious Blood!

AS CLEAR AS MUD! [1 Samuel 16:7; cleansing, heart, righteousness]

Rudy, one of the men in our church, took on the job of cleaning and waxing the floor of the ladies bathroom. After stripping the floor, we both marveled at how clean it was compared to its earlier condition. I then had to leave to run a few errands.

While I was gone, Rudy decided to try a detergent cleanser on the floor, just to see if it might improve the appearance even further.

I returned in the middle of his efforts. Half of the already once-cleaned floor was bright and like new, the other dark with grime ... this was the same floor we’d just a short while earlier thought was "very" clean.

Man labors in his efforts to live a clean life ... but the Bible says "there are none righteous, no not one" [Romans 3:10-18]. Man examines himself and says, "I’m not so bad! At least not as bad as so-and-so." But God doesn’t look at the outer man, as we do. What we see with our natural eyes appears clean but what God sees is far from clean.

The blood of Jesus cleanses in such a way that is beyond man’s understanding. That which is stained permanently black from sin is cleansed to pure white. Had we known how truly dirty the floor was in the first place perhaps we would not have been fooled into believing it clean. Were man to know how desperately polluted his sins have made him he would never claim to be "Worse than some but better than most; after all I’ve never murdered anyone or robbed a bank or plundered and raped."


BLOOD STAINED TESTIMONY! [1 Peter 1:19; atonement, power]

A Gideon friend recently told of how their well-known, pearl-white New Testaments were distributed to the Pacific Fleet prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese.

He also told of how, on a later occasion, the evangelist Harry Rimmer was speaking to a meeting of believers interested in military evangelism. During the speech, Dr. Rimmer displayed his own personal copy of the white Pacific Fleet New Testament.

Following the meeting, a member of the audience tarried to show Dr. Rimmer another white New Testament, one given to his son prior to the bombing of the Hawaiian base ... one stained with blood. The man smiled and said, "Yes … this little book is very precious … it’s … stained with the blood of my son." Dr. Rimmer paused for a moment, then held up his personal Bible and said, "God feels the same way about that Book. He loves [it] too. Its pages are stained with the blood of His Son." [Thanks to Brian Stromsoe, of The Gideons, for recently sharing this vignette with our church.]

Indeed it is; each page of Holy Writ is covered with that precious, precious blood which flowed from pierced and bleeding side of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.


MAJOR FOWL UP! [1 Peter 1:17-19; iniquity, licentiousness, permissiveness, secular humanism, sin]

Except for two weeks out of the year, Geese are federally protected game birds. Yet they're killing cattle. Recently a Virginia Beef Corp. spokesman informed WorldNetDaily (WND) that wildlife protections have resulted in overpopulation of the species; they’re crowding – and fouling – pastures where livestock graze.

WND was told that goose droppings, which carry swine and other viruses, are causing a profusion of stillbirths among heifers. Some 65 calves, valued at about $3,000 each on the market, have been lost this year at Virginia Beef's Louden County, Va., pastures … only one of many such pastures affected.

Similarly, federal protection of sin has resulted in the eternal damnation of tens of thousands of American citizens. In recent years representatives of the Christian community have been trying to warn public and private groups about the ever increasing problems associated with the licentious and permissive behavior of our fellow citizens.

Like most birds, sinners have been fouling their own and our nests with government sanction. The absence of moral clarity and its accompanying devaluation of human life has resulted in a holocaust of murders among unborn children. This moral and ethical dysfunction has brought about the eternal loss of an untold number of Americans … at what cost? Just the precious blood of Jesus!

ETERNAL SECURITY - Once sealed, always sealed!

BURNED JUST ONCE! [Ephesians 1:13,14; regeneration, seal (of Holy Spirit)]

Our church secretary, Patsy McDonald, just informed me CD’s now have a fail-safe feature burned into them preventing more than one copy from being made. The manufacturers and producers do this to prevent the lose on their valuable products. Once is all they allow.

God has likewise burned a fail-safe feature into the spirit of "the redeemed" [Ephesians 1:13]. We are originally created in God’s image, then regenerated by the precious blood of Jesus and sealed for all eternity by the Holy Spirit to prevent the loss of His most valuable possessions. Once saved is all that He requires. Glory to God!


CROSSING GUARD! [John 1:12,13; atonement, redemption, salvation]

When I was a little boy I was instructed in how to cross the street at intersections, with and without traffic lights. My elders told me the signal lights were preset for a minimum number of people; they told me I would have to wait until that many people had pushed the pedestrian crossing button. So we all pushed the button again and again until the signal changed.

I trusted the wisdom of my elders in those days; I really thought, for the longest time, I could make the signal change by pushing that silly button. Nearly wore my index finger out doing it.

I’m sure you’ve noticed, if you’re paying attention, how many people still push the pedestrian button over and over, believing, as I did, they have some control over the lights. What is amazing to me is how many grownups still do.

Grownups really do amaze me, especially concerning changing things. In the same way the pedestrian crossing button must only be pushed once to let the system know we’re there, we must only receive Christ once, in order to cross over, changing our eternal destiny. There’s no way to change the entry made to the system once that eternal button is pushed. There’s no standing on the corner of Atonement Avenue and Redemption Road saying, “Opps! I didn’t mean that.” The signal won’t flash a message back saying, “You started to cross before the light changed, your right to cross is revoked!” Or, “You’re too slow, go back and start over.”

We’ve all heard “Christians” who tell of the many times they’ve received the Lord, as if they had something to do with crossing over. Or they say, “It didn’t work the first time.” We’ve also heard those who tells us salvation can be lost and we must receive Christ again. We must be perfectly clear on this: salvation is of the Lord, it is a gift of God [Ephesians 2:8]. Once God saves a soul that soul is saved for all eternity. Push the crossing over button once, sincerely, that’s all that’s needed.

EASTER - The day to end all days!

BEHOLD, THE LAMB OF GOD! [John 1:29, 36; Other topics - Humility, Jesus, Lamb of God, Salvation]

A few years ago our church decided to change the traditional Easter decorations in the sanctuary.

My wife, Rita, volunteered to find a ceramic lamb for the altar decoration. She searched and searched every craft and church supply store in the area; she spent days looking; she found standing lambs, knelling lambs, and grazing lambs but not one like we wanted. Ours would be a lying down lamb, a cute and “innocent” little, reposing lamb.

Being a Shepherd, I decided I might add just the right spiritual element as she headed to the last store. We examined every self in the place; hoping perhaps one might be hidden behind something. Frustrated, we both headed for the exit, dejected, heads down … then we saw it, on the floor, in a corner, under a shelf, unattended, dirty, ignored, alone. It was perfect! And it was on sale!

The world has also been searching for a lamb to save them from their sins. They’ve been looking for 6,000 years.

They too are looking in all the wrong places, heads up, proud, money no object. They’ve found all kinds of saviors: standing ones, knelling ones, grazing ones and many others as well. But not one turned out to be the “perfect” one!

We have to give them credit, they have looked everywhere imaginable. But, it is only when they seem to have lost all hope, when their heads are down, humbled, and through with doing it themselves that they find Him … Jesus, the Lamb of God!

Jesus was likewise rejected and ignored, the world trying to shove Him out of the way, into a corner or under a shelf.

How much does the Lamb of God cost? The tag says, “Priceless.” He has paid it Himself. This Lamb gave His life for those who rejected Him.


BLESSINGS TOO NUMEROUS! [Psalm 107:31; other topics - Blessings, Conviction, Self-examination]

Pastor Jack Hinton from New Bern, NC was leading worship music at a leper colony in Tobago; time allowed for one more congregational selection. A woman in the congregation, who’d been turned away, turned to face Hinton, revealing a most “hideous” face. The lady’s nose and ears were gone; most of her lips had worn away as well. She lifted a hand, more stub than hand, and asked, “Can we sing ‘Count Your Blessings’”?

Overcome by the situation Hinton fled the room, followed by another team member. The man tried to comfort the distraught song leader, “I guess you’ll never be able to sing that song again”? “Oh, yes I will,” he responded, “but never the same way.”

Warren Wiersbie is credited for saying, “Life is a school in which God trains us for eternity. Trials are ... God’s textbooks in this school of Christian experience.” It often takes the deficiency of another to reveal our own; but in the revelation, we can find fruit for nourishment.

Pastor’s Update; FMB of the Southern Baptist Convention; Richmond, VA, May 1996, p.4; Sermon-Illustrations-Each-Week, 991004-6]


MORE THAN AN IMAGE IS NEEDED! [1 Peter 1:14-19; Atonement, Lamb of God, Blood (the)]

Evidently Peruvian authorities have begun dressing up walls along their nation’s filthiest streets with pictures of Jesus Christ; the purpose seems to be to shame those illegally dumping trash along the streets.

Apparently, just the image of our Lord is believed to have such importance among the general Peruvian population.

Oh that the mere image of the Lord would clean up the streets of our minds and hearts. But it takes the precious blood of the Lamb to cleanse the heart and mind of a sinner.

Oh that it had not been necessary for the Son of God to give His life an atonement for man’s sins … but it was.

The Father tried everything; but we rejected His miracles, rejected His word, killed His prophets, and turned our backs on Him … it was oh so necessary to send His Son.

You see, an image could never pay the ransom … the Jews tried that in the temple for centuries … only the priceless and spotless Lamb of God in person was worthy [Revelation 5:12].

Ecclesiology (Church)

BACK DOOR ALARM [Various texts; Church Membership]

Chicago-based Aon Consulting’s Loyalty Institute conducted a study to determine why some workers remain loyal to their employers and others do not. The study, “America @ Work”, revealed the following five most consistent “drivers” in workforce commitment:

1. Management’s awareness of personal and family needs
2. Opportunities for personal growth
3. Meeting the needs of the firm’s customers
4. Benefit Communication (how clearly done)
5. Opportunity to keep skills up to par with the job ’s requirements

For more details see ...

The vast majority of church members are also someone’s employee; the church would do well to evaluate these factors in employee motivation and commitment as they relate to the exodus of church members. If the insight had an effect on the church’s back door it would be worth the time. With a few word changes one can see the application.

[“What makes workers stay?” The Costco Connection, July 1999, p. 9]

COST OF CONSTRUCTION! [Ephesians 5:25, 27, 32; Atonement; Propitiation]

Sydney, Australia, built a modern opera house with a design way ahead of its time. It’s a gorgeous building; a real wonder of construction and architecture. It took 17 years to build; the original estimate was $7.2 million – the actual cost = $110.0 million. The Premiere of New South Wales told cost critics, “The cost has become secondary to consideration of the perfection of the achievement.”

You see in his mind the result justified the pain and the strain encountered by the visionaries who accomplished it construction.

The Church is an edifice more beautiful than anything man has ever conceived or imagined and it cost much more than anyone ever conceived … you see, man estimated its construction cost at lives filled with obedient living but the real cost was the life of the Son of God.

After all, in the hearts of both the Son and the Father, the result justified the pain and strain encountered by the One who accomplished its construction.

ROLE OF THE CHURCH [Matthew 28:19-20; other topics, Equipping, Great Commission]

According to the Bible, God has given the job of “equipping the saints” to the evangelist and the pastor-teacher. Scripture says the church is the vehicle of God’s choice for accomplishing that job.

The role of the church in its simplest form is to fulfill the Great Commission. The role of the church in greater detail and in contemporary terms follows: the church is to be -

• a launch pad for the fulfillment of the Great Commission
• an arena for the worship of God
• a house of prayer
• command headquarters for the Lord’s army
• the 7077 M.A.S.H. unit for the care of saints injured in weekly spiritual warfare
• the saints’ seminary for the teaching of the truths and the ways of God to future church leaders
• the school of learning for the saints in general and
• the receiving and reeducation depot for those freed from the bondage of sin, death and Satan.

Obviously other parallels exist to which the church may be related.

FORGIVENESS: We've an endless supply, why so stingy?

IN THE END, NOTHING! [Jeremiah 2:22; Atonement, Cleansing, Sin]

Once in the Bureau of Standards in Washington, a tiny tube of [less] than 2/1000 of an ounce of radium was accidentally dropped on the floor and broken.

They swept up the radium with a camel's hair brush and washed the floor to get the rest of it, but enough radium remained to render another washing necessary, and this time they washed the floor with acidulated water, and still another time with soda water, and a fourth time with hydrated water.

Each yielded about four hundred dollars worth of radium. Finally a carpenter came and scraped the floor. Three years later the shavings were burnt and the ashes were found to be strong in radium. (Robert G. Lee, Salvation In Christ and Other Messages, [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1961], 57)

'Although you wash yourself with lye And use much soap, The stain of your iniquity is before Me,' declares the Lord GOD.

Jeremiah 2:22

The oldest game in the world is its endless effort to hide sin, change its appearance, change its name, or redefine it. Man is destined to have his sins revealed, as they truly are:

But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out.

Numbers 32:23

But in Christ Jesus we have forgiveness of sins. The Bible says ...

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9

And when we have been cleansed there will be no residue, absolutely no trace will be found; and when we finally face the fire, only the wood, hay, and stubble will be consummed. (Added 3/1/06)


WINDSHIELD WIPER SERMON [Isaiah 43:25; 44:22; other topics - Cleansing, Sin]

A friend relates a rainy day experience:

I was driving along one of our main streets, taking all those extra precautions which are necessary when the roads slick; unexpectedly, my son declared, "Mom, I’ve been thinking." This disclosure usually meant he had been pondering a fact for some time and was now ready to expound on all his seven-year-old mind had discovered.

Eager to hear, I asked, "What’ve you thinking?" "The rain is like sin," he began, "and the windshield wipers are like God, wiping our sins away."

After the goose bumps raced up my arms, I was able to respond, "That’s really good, Matthew." Then my curiosity cut in: how far would this little boy take this revelation? So I asked, "Have you noticed how the rain keeps coming? What does that tell you?"

Matthew didn’t hesitate for a moment, "We keep sinning and God just keeps on forgiving us." [Author Unknown]

Cleansing is a daily routine for civilized people. The old but unbiblical saying, "Cleanliness is next to godliness," has as its roots the desire of civilized people to feel free from daily contamination, whether major or minor. The Children of Israel were the first to adopt cleansing as a way of life; the Christians and other organized and civilized people followed suit.

John R. Rice used to tell the story of a man he visited on his death bed. At the first visit a friend ask the man "Is there something I can do? What can I do for you?" The man said, "No, there isn’t anything you can do." The next day the same thing, "Is there anything I can do?" "No, no," he said. A third and fourth time he asked. The man, in obvious weakness and discomfort, said, "No! No! No! There’s nothing anybody can do. But, oh, if there were only somebody who could undo!" [Adapted from - “The Shortest Road to Hell: NEGLECT!” John R. Rice, The Sword of the Lord, Vol. XXIV, No. 15; Friday, April 11, 1953; p. 5]

Man desires also to feel free of spiritual contamination. Billy Graham is most often cited as the source of the Minninger quote attributed to the institute’s founder. Apparently when asked what would heal mentally ill people the quickest, he responded, "Forgiveness!"

TAGS: Christian, Devotionals, Forgiveness,
Illustrations, Preaching, Religion, Sermons

Atonement

Accounts Payable [Romans 5:6, 8 (4:3); other topics - Debt; Judgment]

Floyd has come and gone! And the total destruction has yet to be realized ... the cost has yet to be tallied!

Every night the evening news presents another vignette of another farmer or business woman or senior couple who’ve lost everything. They each have the same lament, “I’ve lost everything, I don’t know how I’ll ever pay the debt.” These people are like the rest of us, we’re all up to our ears in debt. The combined effort of the government, their families, their friends, and their churches will fall short of what is needed.

Such is the condition of all mankind. So many stand on the threshold of God’s judgment it’s hard to comprehend. Coming are the waters of wasted lives, tornadoes of eternal torment, and the horrors of hell’s fire!

Our sins are like lava spewing from the mouth of an evil mountain, flowing slowly down hill, swallowing anything and everything in its path. But still the unbeliever, the doubter, and the mocker don’t see it coming! When they do, it’ll be too late; and when the bill is tallied ... it will be more than they can afford.

And yet while we were still in our sins, Christ died for us. And for those who will but believe, like Abram, God will reckon it as righteousness to our account.


Temporal Bouquet from an Eternal Florist! [Leviticus 26:39; other topics – Sanctification, Sin nature]

I ‘m told most people in 16th Century England got married in June because they took their annual bath in May. It seems they still smelled pretty good in June. Still, many were starting to ripen, so brides began carrying a bouquet of flowers to hide the aromas. [Adapted from Life in the 1500's, author unknown]

Christ is God’s supernatural bouquet for believers; He covers our sins and hides our natural odor.

WITNESS - It's ours to lose!

BACKYARD CHRISTIANITY [2 Samuel 16:7; other topics - Carnality; Sin; Transparency; Walk; World]

Pilots will understand when I say that Christian lives are often like the disparity between the front and backyards of many California homes.

On bright sunshiny days, when you’re blessed to be dancing with the clouds, you’ll be amazed to see the stark difference between the front and backyards of numerous homes.

You’ll see beautiful lush, green, landscaped front yards, one after another, like a Irish giant’s checkerboard quilt, but every third backyard or so will be Sahara-brown, weed-covered and trash-littered. It may be difficult for us to see a man’s backyard but a pilot has no trouble.

Likewise, the soul and spirit of a man is as hidden from other men, as his backyard is hidden from the passerby. It may be impossible for one man to see the inner reality of another, but from God’s perspective, it’s no trouble at all.


FOR APPEARANCE SAKE [Matthew 10:24-33; other topics - Easter, Fear-Fearlessness]

Today we all know about computers; even in the most undeveloped nations on earth, great numbers of people know about computers. Yet, many folks, are scared to death of them.

Take a kid who’s never seen a computer into a room with one, leave him alone for a couple of days, come back later and you’ll be amazed at what he’s learned on his own. On the other hand, leave a grown up and you’ll have a nervous wreck in two hours. What’s the difference?

In the case of the former, there is no fear. It may be an unknown to them but they are filled with a fearless “can-do” attitude. The later are filled with terror, not of the machine, not of the software, or the firmware, or the hardware ... no, none of these. What then?

It’s the fear of failure and the fear of embarrassment; the fear that they might somehow look bad to others, that they might somehow seem to be foolish or worse, stupid!

Every year Easter brings this human quirk home to me; for this season of the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension ought to cause all believers to witness for Jesus. But they don’t! Why?

Consider for a moment the differences between the kids and the adults above: youth brings a kind of fearlessness which says, “I don’t care what other people think, I’ve gotta do this!” Age, on the other hand, brings with it a deep concern for appearances. Doesn’t it? We get all hung up on what others might think.

RED DOT WITNESS [Matthew 28:18-20; Atonement, Blood, Sacrifice]

Sandi Martin is a critical-care nurse who has a red dot on the face of her wristwatch. In hospitals people are very conscious of blood-borne disease, many patient’s and staff assume blood has splashed onto her watch.

However, when asked, Martin’s quick response has always been, “... don’t worry; this blood is 2,000 years old. This dot reminds me of Jesus, who paid for my eternal salvation with his own blood.” Most respond with a smile and nod while gazing at the dot.

Witnessing is so simply many times. People are not offended so often by our attempts to share Christ as they are by the way in which Christ is shared. If what Jesus has done for you, means something to you, then tell people what it means to you. Follow that up with what He will mean to them.

I don’t recommend witnessing gimmicks, but a gimmick such as Nurse Martin’s, when based on a personal truth, will bear much fruit.

[Adapted from “Red dot on wristwatch opens doors for witness,” by Barbara Denman; Baptist Press, 4/14/99]

SIN: Someone must die in order to separate yourself from it!

BITTER MILK [Proverbs 14:12; 16:25; other topics - Man's ways; Unrighteousness]

It was reported in an Associated Press article a few years ago that Russia had developed a hybrid plant as a cheap substitute for cattle feed. However this designer plant has an unusual effect on the milk it produces ... it's bitter!

Now they've also discovered the plant, once started, is virtually unstoppable, causing "burns" and "stinging" for those who come in contact with it.

The effects of sin are much like this! What seems a good idea to man, turns into a disaster in the end!

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CAN YOU REFUSE TO GO? [Matthew 25:45-46; Atonement, Hell]

John R. Cooper of Ridgecrest, California, hated paying taxes, so he didn't ... on several occasions. As you'd expect, he landed himself in jail. [Inyo County Register, 4/18/1986]

When I was a kid, a popular saying went something like this: "only two things are certain, death and taxes."

Another certainty, for those who reject God’s Son, is hell. Some hate the thought of anyone going to hell; and so they spend a great deal of energy denying its existence. Yet, unless their sin debt is satisfied (atoned for), they’ll land themselves there all the same. (Added 16 March 2006)

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GETTING OUT THE STAIN! [Jeremiah 2:22; other topics - Blood; Cleansing]

When a bachelor I cooked many of my own meals ... being poor and a college student. At that time I had an adventurous spirit and liked to experiment, trying things I'd never tried before. That spirit is what got me into so much trouble before I met the Lord.

At any rate, on one shopping trip, I decided to try black beans with a ham I had purchased. Now, I’d never tasted black beans, but I reasoned: the white ones were good but the red ones were better; so, black? ... well? They’ve got to be the best. For those who've had black beans, you will know the one disadvantage of these wonderful legumes ... the stain.

Much of my culinary expertise, up to this point, had been out of an old Betty Crocker Cook Book my mother had given me. I followed the instructions for ham and beans using a nice four-quart, cast aluminum pot, also from mom.

Well, when the time smelled right, I followed the aromas and lifted the lid. At first I was startled by the dark mound in the midst of a bubbling mass of black beans, but then I gathered my senses and sternly demanded, "What are you and what did you do with my ham?"

That night I had a great meal of black ham and beans for dinner, with hot, buttered bread and creamed corn on the side. I ate like a king.

I didn't feel the least bit foolish eating black ham until the next day, when I took some really thick slices of potato bread and made a ham sandwich ... I had a vague sense that Dr. Suess had made my lunch for me. But the real shock was a closer look at the pot; it was stained black from the bottom to half way up the inside. I honestly doubted I'd never get that stain out.

I scraped, I scrubbed, I rubbed, I boiled ... nothing I did could get that stain completely out of that pot.

When I met the Lord, face-to-face, I, like Isaiah, didn’t think the stain in my heart and soul would ever come out! There were times in my life when I tried ... scraping, scrubbing and rubbing, but nothing I did seemed to make any difference to that stain.

I had almost given up when a hippie friend told me about a divine red cleanser that was guaranteed to get out even the worst of stains. She said I could only get it if I sank to my knees and pleaded with its Maker to give me what I needed (not what I deserved). I did ... He did ... and now there's no more stain ... praise His holy name!

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HOLY MOLD! [Romans 6:23a; Forgiveness; Iniquity; Repentance; Sin]

I'm told fungi (plural of fungus) are multicellular organisms usually composed of a network of cottony filaments. Often their filaments (or threads) clump up, looking more like a cottony tuft or pile. Some fungi are important sources of antibiotics, vitamins, and industrial chemicals. However, fungi are parasitic to their hosts ... eventually consuming them.

Most often fungi appear black or white in color but are also found in a multitude of hues, shades, and tones. Some fungi shine, some are dry, some are dusty, and many are slimy. They may be found almost anywhere one looks or can look. They are found in small quantities or in vast networks covering several thousand square miles.

All fungi reproduce asexually; meaning they require the agency of nothing other than themselves to reproduce.

Despite the fact that sin isn't multicellular or the source of anything good, fungi do remind me of unrighteousness.

Unrighteousness is always black yet found in every size, shape and texture imaginable and some unimaginable. It is also found in every place man can look and in many places he doesn't want to look. Sin comes disguised as tiny, hidden things, as-well-as huge, overt monsters of iniquity.

Unlike fungi, unrighteousness cannot reproduce asexually ... it needs the assistance of another ... its host. Nevertheless sin, like fungi, will destroy its host!

On the one hand, we've known about fungicides (fungus killers) for centuries; on the other hand, though, we've known of a cure for sin from the beginning. It's called repentance and is followed by forgiveness; man provides the former, while God provides the latter.

The Bible tells us "the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin." How's that for a sin-a-cide? (Added 16 March 2006)

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JUST NOT HIS DAY! [Numbers 32:23; other topics - Darkness, Word]

A report by an international news agency reveals just how bad a day some people can have ... recently, while renovating a building in the historic part of Natchez, Mississippi, masons found the fully-clothed skeletal remains of a man who has been missing for more than 15 years. His remains were found stuck in the chimney of an old, historic, Mississippi building; a structure dating from before the Civil War.

The man disappeared without a trace in 1985. At that time, a gift shop was a tenant in the building. Investigators discovered the man had a police record ... as a burglar.

The Bible tells us our sins will find us out. In fact the Bible itself tells us the Word is Christ and that ... "there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." [Hebrew 4:13]

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NOT A SMALL MATTER! [1 Peter 5:8; Evil, Satan, Wickedness]

Various news agencies are reporting employees at California's Monterey Bay Aquarium are looking for a lightning-quick mantis shrimp which is wreaking havoc in a coral reef exhibit.

This shrimp roams around at night, under the cloak of darkness, leaving only the shells of prized sea snails, barnacles and hermit crabs. Workers believe the shrimp was introduced by way of a shipment of display rocks from Florida, into which it had evidently burrowed.

Likewise, Satan also prowls about in the darkness seeking whom he may devour. Peter advises we stay alert and sober; you see the devil is no shrimp!

Clearly those who warn us about importing worldly things into our lives, our homes and our workplaces are correct. We must be vigilant to prevent those things (which seem harmless and innocuous on the surface but may have horribly damaging critters hidden just out of view) from entering our lives.

Desensitization is too tame a word for this danger ... "deadly spiritual carnivores" is better. These demonic forces have been leaving the shells of God's prized children along the Way for centuries.

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REAPING WHAT WE SOW! [Ezekiel 21:24; other topics - Reaping, Responsibility, Sowing]

Radio talk show hostess, Dr. Laura Schlessinger, has been a major proponent of morality and women's issues, as well as the author of a book on the Ten Commandments from a Jewish worldview.

Unfortunately, twenty years ago, while dating (a.k.a. having an affair) a rock-n-roll disc jockey in Los Angeles, she allowed herself to be photographed in the nude. Last month her old flame sold those pictures to an Internet porn site for $50,000 and now the whole world can see Dr. Laura as sHe does not want to be seen.

Behold, your sins will find you out. To Dr. Laura's credit, she spoke of the issue on her talk show and took responsibility for her actions, admitted that it was a dumb thing for a grown woman to do, then said, "Now, let's get on with our lives."

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ROTOTILLER WAITING TO HAPPEN! [Rom 3:23; other topics - Unrighteousness]

Kansas has been in the news a lot since the State Board of Education voted to eliminate mandatory teaching of evolution in the state's schools. This has raised a hornet's nest of trouble for Kansans.

However, hornets are not the only problem this Midwestern state has: they've got a "poor man’s grizzly" problem also. That's what hunters call the wild pigs that roam the state. These are mean, hairy, nasty, and vicious tempered hogs. They're probably reincarnated descendants of the 2,000 pigs the Lord flushed into the Sea of Galilee.

These "250-pound rats" are not welcome in this great farming area of the US. They tear up ground-crops eating young plantings, churn through river beds looking for fish eggs, drive out other wild animal species, and spread disease to man and beast alike.

One retired biologist said, "Once they have a toehold ... it's pretty hard to get rid of them." Many of the pigs are probably being trailered in, in the dead of night, from other states, he added. These feral hogs reproduce so quickly hunters can't keep their population in check; they're so adaptable they thrive in almost any environment.

The pigs have their defenders: hunters primarily. But some scientists say the problem is overblown, that the alarmists and do-gooders are making a big thing out of nothing.

Kansas is not the only place affected: Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and at least 19 other states have problems with these "pesky porkers." One writer said, "Each one of these hogs is a rototiller waiting to happen." [Michael Pearce of Newton, Kansas, said]. They can destroy a freshly planted field in a night or two.

Sin has plagued the world with just as much ferocity. It is a deadly disease, passed on from one generation to another. Sin is mean, nasty and horrible ill-tempered.

Sin has its defenders: participants primarily. But some religious people say the problem is being overblown, that the alarmists and do-gooders are making a big thing out of nothing.

But sin tears up families, churches, and businesses; it's been known to tear up whole denominations, even towns; it drives out other wholesome species, and it’s especially devastating to our young seedlings.

Sin spreads its disease to man and beast alike. Once it gets a toehold it's almost impossible to get rid of it. Much of it is being brought in, in the dead of the night. And iniquity is so adaptable that it thrives in almost any environment. And it reproduces so quickly that hunters of sin can’t keep it in check.

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WARNING – CAUTION RECOMMENDED! [1 John 1:9; Righteousness, World]

Large batteries, like those in automobiles and boats, are normally filled with acid (sulfuric, if I remember right); so caution is recommended when handling them. The slightest contact can permanently damage clothing; most often, the damage is unseen till the next washing. I've seen many garments lifted from the wash with blotches of discoloration that virtually decompose when touched.

Sin is like battery acid. And we're exposed to sin on a daily basis in this technological age, by things we use as tools or for entertainment (for example cars, magazines, videos, or the Internet). Caution is always recommended when using them. Their utility is enormous, but they're fraught with danger. What appears on the surface to be a harmless excursion into an entertaining medium leaves unseen damage on our robes of righteousness.

In fact, the Bible warns us to remain "unstained by the world" [James 1:27] and not to love "the things of the world" [1 John 2:15f].

Fortunately, the same Bible offers a way of escape when we encounter this spiritual corrosive. It tells us, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." AMEN. (Added 16 March 2006)

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TAGS: Anecdotes, Atonement, Bitterness, Blood, Cleansing, Crime,
Evil, Forgiveness, Fungus, Illustrations, Mold, Pigs,
Preaching, Reaping, Repentance, Satan, Sermons,
Sin, Stain, Unrighteousness, Wickedness, Word

REDEMPTION: The Lord’s Markers!

"In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation--having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory."

Ephesians 1:13-14

Sometime late in the 1990s there was a short lived TV show called “Marker.” The concept concerned the son of a highly respected man who was trying to honor his father’s markers; markers which the father had given to those for whom he had high regard. The markers were not debts in the way we might think, but were like a gift from one who could afford the gift and had the power to make his markers good.

We have the Father’s marker and His Son is coming to redeem them.

Christianity, Ephesians,
Illustration, Redemption, Religion