SCRIPTURE: God's corrective lenses!

"But what does it say? 'THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART' - that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."

Romans 10:8-10

With rare exception all of us suffer from deteriorating eyesight. As time passes we’re less able to see what we saw before. What can the older person do when he can no longer read? Get eyeglasses. And when even these fail? If his pride will let him, he can get a magnifying glass.

Sin has caused man’s spiritual eyesight to deteriorate. What was once clearly seen in God’s creation is now dim and fuzzy.

When our own limited God-given senses fail us, what do we do? We go to the testimonies of others concerning the faith. And if these seems unclear or fuzzy? We can go to the magnifying glass of God, His written word.

Remember, in the same way we don’t focus on the glass of the magnifier but on the object needing magnification, we must not focus on the words and letters (logos), but on that which they magnify (rhema) … the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christianity, Illustrations,
Religion, Scripture

EVIDENCE: The heavenly CSI!

Why is it that we can tell when a child with dirty hands has been into something … say, the refrigerator? The answer? Because he leaves dirty fingerprints!

Well then, why can’t we tell when the child who washed his hands has been in the same refrigerator? The answer? Because clean hands leave no dirty fingerprints!

Haggai says,

"the word of the LORD came [me] saying, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Ask now the priests for a ruling: If a man carries holy meat in the fold of his garment, and touches bread with this fold, or cooked food, wine, oil, or any other food, will it become holy?" And the priests answered and said, "No."' Then [I] said, 'If one who is unclean from a corpse touches any of these, will the latter become unclean?' And the priests answered and said, 'It will become unclean.'" [vv.10-13]

Believers look at the spiritual landscape and wonder why all of their efforts provide so little fruit. Perhaps the answer is because people don’t like fruit covered with dirty fingerprints … we know God doesn’t.

After giving the people a pair of allegorical questions (based on Levitical law) Haggai adds, “'So is this people. And so is this nation before Me,' declares the LORD, 'and so is every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean.'" [v.14] Ouch!

Recent surveys of spirituality in America reveal a horrible shallowness and ignorance among professing-believers. Our nation is litter-strewn with evidence of believer’s dirty fingers … unbiblical and undoctrinal positions on critical issues abound, leaving the church and the nation “unclean.”

If believers were more aware of sin and unrighteousness, as viewed by God, their passing would go unnoticed due to their “clean” hands. The only evidence would be saved souls and changed lives … and of course the bloody fingerprints of The Risen Lamb of God!

Christianity, Illustrations,
Religion, Righteousness

SIN: The Christian's protective clothing!

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm."

Ephesians 6:10-13

As I understand it, nuclear medicines glow in the dark and appear very ominous when seen for the first time. I’m told, those who handle these isotopes must wear lead-lined aprons and gloves.

Brief encounters, or controlled treatments, with the medicines won’t hurt the patients, but continuous every day handling is quite risky. So medical personnel, who do so, take extra precautions to protect themselves.

Sin is different from these highly dangerous potions: whereas the latter do not endanger the patient, even the smallest of sins is dangerous to believer or non-believer alike.

Some people’s lives are such that they encounter little sin; yet, even they must go to Christ to be cleansed [1 John 1:9-2:2]. The serious believer, however, takes precautions and puts on the whole armor of God that he may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.

Those, especially, who are committed to ministry come under intense attack. To go to battle against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places [Ephesians 6:12] is serious business, only a fool would engage the enemy unprotected.

Christianity, Illustrations,
Religion, Sin

HOMOSEXUALITY: Unrepentant, yet still loved by their Creator!

But Jesus said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, God MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE. FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH; so they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate."

Mark 10:5-9

#1) “John Dallas, author, public speaker, and counselor … said, the gay community is like a lot of folks: they hear what they want to hear. For example, pro-gay theologians make much of the silences of the Bible. Jesus, for instance, did not explicitly condemn homosexuality … . But … neither did Jesus specifically condemn wife-beating, incest, dope-taking, and a host of other evils.

"What Jesus did do, in Mark 10:5-9, was affirm the Genesis account of creation, in which God 'made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife ….' Heterosexual marriage in other words.” [#1: “Pro-Gay Theology,” Part 2, Pulpit Helps, July 1999, 31]

#2) The conference speaker asked if someone in the audience would loan her a $20 bill. A gentleman obliged with a crisp new bill.

The speaker held it up for all to admire … . Then she crumpled the bill, inspected it briefly, then crushed it in her hands once again, until it was a shapeless mass. Holding it up, she asked the donor if he still wanted his money back. Yes, indeed, he answered.

“Ah,” said the speaker, “you mean it still has value, even though it has been used and abused?” He nodded, he did.

Quickly came the moral: “Just as that $20 bill still has value, so too are men and women and teenagers whose lives have been twisted and tainted by sin. They are still precious to God.”

Both components of this two part post must be read and contrasted; social-spiritual issues such as homosexuality are too critical in our day for knee-jerk reactions. [#2: “God Can Use Anyone,” selected, Pulpit Helps, July 1999, 6.]

Christianity, Homosexual,
Illustrations, Religion

END TIMES: The Really Big Bang!

"And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed."

Luke 17:26-30

God has set an apocalyptic stick of dynamite on the horizon of mankind … He lit the fuse in ages past. On the one hand, the closer we get to the end, the better defined is the bomb. On the other hand, the closer we get, the shorter the fuse.

Scientists have it all wrong with their “big bang” theory; it wasn’t at the beginning, it was at the end.

God desires that man will do something for himself and for his fellow man, before the fuse is consumed and the spark enters the explosive. But Jesus has warned that, just as in the days of Noah, the pride of man will not allow them to catch on until it is too late.

The challenge for the contemporary believer is not (1) to become enamored with the titillating value of prophecy, nor (2) to become discouraged by the depressing quality of end-times truth, but (3) to wait patiently, watch eagerly, and work faithfully until the end comes.

I think what bothers me most is that far too many people seem to be waiting and watching but not working … they seem to be following the spark on the fuse rather than hurrying ahead to rescue the perishing.

You see, there are two sides to Noah’s warning: first, the warning that it will be as it was in the days of Noah, when He comes again; second, the warning that we’re not to be like those in Noah’s day, going on as if there was no tomorrow.

Christianity, Eschatology,
Illustrations, Religion

SIN: The Most Deadly Virus Known to Man!

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God ... "

Romans 3:23

Strains of what is believed to be the most deadly virus on earth have been discovered, British scientists announced recently. Dubbed the "Spanish flu," the virus struck the world in 1918, killing over 40 million people.

Initial examinations of the virus have already provided clues as to what made it so lethal, The London Times reports. The strain of influenza was believed to have become extinct in the 1920s, however a team of researchers has isolated it in the frozen bodies of six young coal miners buried on the Norwegian island of Spitzbergen.
Researchers had long suspected the virus might be preserved in bodies buried above the Arctic Circle. Fragments of the virus have been found before, but never in an organ other than the lungs.

Scientists may now trace how the virus spread throughout the body. They are currently working to map the bug's RNA, which should identify what made it so deadly. [By Discovery.com News Brief; November 16, 1999]

Wouldn’t it be fascinating if we could look for and find the bug we call sin? This bug has probably killed billions. Perhaps we could find it in the bodies of those we call sinners – the lost who’ve died? Then we could find out what makes it so lethal and why it spreads so rapidly throughout the body of man. Then we could find a vaccine for it! Right?

Wrong! The Bible already tells us what causes sin and why it spreads so rapidly throughout the body of man. God says it’s a heart condition; He says it’s because of foolish pride and rebellion that we’ve seen countless thousands perish daily in their sins.

Oh, the virus itself and its affects are preserved in the bodies of those who’ve died in their sins. God will reveal them on judgment day. No scientist will be needed to find them, they will be self-apparent.

Christianity, Illustrations,
Religion, Sin

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

HUMOR: Elephant Feeding!

"But Jesus called them unto him, saying, 'Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for to such belongeth the kingdom of God.'"

Luke 18:16 [ASV]

Three mischievous boys went to the zoo on a school outing. They decided to visit the elephant cage. It wasn’t too long before they were picked up by a zoo security officer for causing trouble.

The deputy hauled them off to zoo central for questioning. The supervisor in charge asked them to give their names and tell him what they were doing at the elephant compound.

The first boy innocently said, “My name's Gary, and I was just throwing peanuts to the elephants.”

The second added, "My name's Larry, and I was just helping Gary throw peanuts to the elephants."

The third boy, looking pale, said, My name's Peter.... but all my friends call me Peanuts.”

Children, Christianity,
Humor, Illustrations, Religion

HOMOSEXUALITY: Just 'cause It Ain't Right

MEAT’S MEAT: [1 Timothy 1:8-11]

Agape Press has reported the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) has given its “seal of approval” to the homosexual lifestyle by holding a brief rally in support for homosexuals, Thursday (13 June 2002). The USDA’s decision obviously relates to National Gay and Lesbian Pride Month activities in Washington. Of the approximately 15,000 employees “encouraged” to attend the rally, fewer than 100 showed up.

One supervisor explained the purpose of the event as the “beginning of the process to show the USDA cares,” and that if gays feel like coming out USDA will provide a work environment where they can.

This federal endorsement of the homosexual lifestyle is appropriate since the best analogy for their lifestyle is the meat market. If you see a cut that pleases you, follow your instincts, even if it’s spoiled meat. After all, we’re just fetal tissue in the beginning. Perhaps the USDA could come up with a new public relations slogan: “Meat’s Meat!”

I’ve been wondering though, if homosexuals are born with same-sex instincts (i.e., they can’t help themselves) why aren’t defense attorneys rushing to assist serial killers? Seriously, aren’t psycho-babblers telling us their research indicates there’s a gene-related predilection to killing serially (i.e., they can’t help themselves)? I believe they are!

APOSTASY: What the world now calls backsliding!

GOING BLIND SILENTLY: [Proverbs 29:18a]

Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is he who keeps the law.

Without warning, Jane Berry's father went blind in one eye; the cause was glaucoma. He immediately encouraged his 26-year-old daughter to be tested; she was shocked to learn she also had the eye disease.

Often called "tunnel vision," glaucoma destroys peripheral or side vision. It's caused by a build-up of fluid pressure inside the eye; the eye can't tolerate the pressure, so the main nerve transmitting vision to the brain is damaged. The change is so subtle that by the time a person realizes they have a problem, it's usually too late. Sort of like the proverbial frog in the kettle.

Estimates suggest over 67 million people have glaucoma globally, of whom nearly seven million will go blind owing to late diagnosis or inadequate treatment.

Glaucoma is now the second most common cause of vision loss worldwide and a major factor in car and pedestrian accidents. Doctors urge everyone over 40 to be tested, especially now that a new more effective treatment, with fewer side effects, can help people with glaucoma. One drop per day reduces eye pressure in up to 90 percent of patients who submit to the treatments.

Although it hasn't occur without "warning," the body of Christ is suffering from a similar and untreated problem with its vision. Many, especially the young, truly believe it won't happen to them. The Bible warns, "Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained."

Is there any longer any doubt that "the people are unrestrained"? A people can’t lay hold of the "hope set before [them]" [Hebrews 6:18; cf. Philippians 3:14] if they don't have a vision for that hope. In fact, neither you nor your church can move forward without vision.

Often called "backsliding," apostasy destroys faith and practice. It is brought about by a hardening of the heart. An undernourished heart can't stand secular pressure, so the link between the heart and the mind is damaged. The change is so subtle that by the time a person or church senses the problem they are already apostate. In many cases, we can watch as the Body goes silently blind.

Estimates are that over three quarters of the church in America is has lost its vision, of which more than half are virtual apostates. Sin is the primary cause of apostasy and is the leading cause of individual and family failures in this land.

Since September 11, 2006, church leaders throughout the land have been pleading with the people to get treatment. It's free! The treatment is simple, go to the Word and nourish the heart.

Estimates are that 75 percent of those who do will be cured; the remaining 25 percent can't be cured because they don't have apostasy, they suffer from unbelief. But, Praise the Lord, there's a cure for unbelief also, and it is free! [Ephesians 2:8]

EMOTIONS: Control central!

FOCUS OF THE WORLD! [2 Corinthians 10:3-5]

Emotion is defined as “a state of pending or present excitement, characterized by strong feelings, often with a tendency toward a definite kind of behavior,” e.g., anger, affection, depression, devotion, allegiance, love, etc.

When we see the American flag, it elicits a certain kind of emotion for Americans, something else for foreigner; when we see a fireman, policeman, or soldier, it results in a specific emotion; Easter scenes do the same for Christians; a child’s wedding or a loved one’s passing bring out a plethora of strong feeling; and certain hymns or choruses do the same. These are life and character building emotions.

Yet in this violent, deviant, self-obsessed world, with its collective focus three feet off the ground, we’re confronted with a glut of destructive emotions. The whole of our society seems to need "tenting," to exterminate the pests operating in the framework of our national and spiritual houses.

Reading what Paul said to the Corinthian church in his second letter, we rightly conclude the church, as a whole, has failed to take much thinking captive. He said:

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

Fortresses are going up faster than churches; graves are flooding with the rotting carcasses of the lost, faster than the saving of souls; and the rate of growth of biblical ignorance is only exceeded by the combined annual rate of the printing of Bibles.

Where the church's emotions ought to be running high with righteous indignation (abortion, homosexuality, pornography, deviance), we instead suffer rebellious indigestion.

LIGHT - Let the be no darkness at all!

BETTER TO BE BLIND! [John 8:12; Illumination, Jesus, Life] (Added 3 June 2006)

Imagine no red rose, no blue sky, rolling but grey hills, and a several shades of grey Monarch Butterfly. Without light, there is no color. Color is just bands of light reflected off an object; which bands are reflected depends on the nature of the object. Without light, things would be very plain … AND VERY DARK.

So too without Christ … imagine no hope, no love, no future, and no present purpose for living.

Jesus said, "I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life."

Without the light of Christ, there would be no spiritual blessings, no sustaining grace, and no “daily bread” worth eating. Just as it is impossible to receive mail without a delivery address, it is impossible to receive a true blessing outside the person and authority of Christ but it is the individuals nature that brings His ultimate blessing.

TAGS: Blessings, Color spectrum,
Darkness, Illumination, Nature

COME INTO THE LIGHT! [1 Peter 1:19; Revelation, Sin, Truth]

One of our church janitors was in my office the other day and told me a fascinating but sad story.

A hardworking man finally had time to go to a night baseball game with his family. They were doing the usual things: eating hot-dogs and peanuts, drinking cokes, and complaining about the prices.

His wife, a registered nurse and mother of his three kids, said something and he turned in such a way that the park lights were directly in his eyes. She gasped and took his face in her hands to have a closer look. Her suspicion was correct, his eyes were jaundiced, a sign of several serious diseases. Within a few weeks her childhood sweetheart and the father of her three children was dead.

Man must come into the light of God to see the ravaging affects of his sins. He is little more than the walking dead without the cleansing power of the blood of the Lamb. The Light reveals the truth for all to see. Many will come into the light too late. [1 Corinthians 4:5]

TAGS: Blood of the Lamb, Death,
Kingdom of God, Sin

CONSUMED BY HIS POWER! [2 Corinthians 4:4; gospel, power (God's)]

My associate pastor, Dan, used to work for Orkin (the pesty people); he was pulpit supply for me this morning and I was blessed to hear an illustration he used on the whole armor of God [Epesian 6:10-17].

Orkin evidently had special Maglites with custom commercial grade batteries in them ... make that battery. Instead of four D-cells it had a single, long battery. I gather They're like those used by law enforcement. At any rate he said it was a blessing when he was crawling around in attics and under houses; it would light up the area from one end to the other.

He used this tool to illustrate the power of the Light of God, Jesus our Lord. When an ordinary flashlight was shined directly into the beam of light coming from his Maglite the beam from the common flashlight was consumed by the power of the more powerful light.

So too the power of Satan, when it is exposed to the Light of God.

TAGS: God, Power of Satan

LAVA LAMP BELIEVERS! [1 John 1:6,7; apostasy, believers, nominalism, testimony, witness]

Lava Lamps have made a comeback in recent years (2002). Many of today’s versions are more creative than when they were first introduced some forty years ago.

All lava lamps have one thing in common, none of them are adequate as a source of light. They're called a lamp, but they're not a lamp.

The age of their introduction was an age of darkness and half-light. People in that day didn’t want a lot of light. You might say they wanted just enough of the real thing so they could call the facsimile by name of the real thing.

Unfortunately, many Christians aren’t much better than lava lamps; they don’t really want the whole Light of God, just enough so they can go by the name of the Genuine Light yet remain in the shadows.

TAGS: Lava lamps, Testimony, Witness

TURNING TOWARD THE LIGHT! [Ephesians 5:7-10; other topics - Holiness, Righteousness] (Added 3 June 2006)

Our adopted daughter, Naomi, was admiring one of her mom’s houseplants. Her older sister, Jennifer, asked her if she noticed how the plant leaned toward the light coming through the front window. She said, “Yeah!” He sister then told her, “If you turn the plant around halfway, the plant will lean back toward the light inside of a week.” Naomi said, “Wow!”

Likewise genuine Christians; separate them from the Light, or turn them away from the Light, and inside a short period of time they will have leaned back toward Him.

TAGS: Conversion, Nature, Turning

Topic TAGS: Christianity, Homoletics, Illustrations,
Light, Preaching, Religion, Sermons

LIFE - The newness of true life!

WITHOUT SPOT OR BLEMISH! [Romans 3:23; Cleanliness, Consecration, Holiness, Righteousness, Sin]

Any one who has traveled to Switzerland immediately notices how spotlessly clean the country seems to be – from their snow capped mountains, to their crystal-pure lakes, from their alpine glades to their doll-like villages.

Even their money seems spotless and to crackle with crispness; every bill looking and feeling new. Old bills are plucked from circulation before they rip or even the hint of a stain can disgrace them. Each year around one-third of all Swiss bank notes are removed from the public’s grasp at a cost of over 20 million Swiss francs (roughly $15 million). The old bills are burned in a furnace.

Why do they bother, why can’t they be more like the British or the Americans? Because, says the chief cashier of the Swiss National Bank, “The first thing you see when you arrive … is the money. It’s like a national identity.” [Adapted from an article by Bhushan Bahree in The Wall Street Journal]

In other words, the Swiss take their image very seriously. This causes me to ask, “What if God wanted a spotlessly clean world like the Swiss want a spotlessly clean country?”

What if God decided to pluck up people before they became too stained or blemished by life? What if one-third of the human race was shuffled off to heaven and hell each year because of the blotch of sin on their lives? After all, the first thing you see when you arrive is people in the delivery room.

The reasons He doesn’t are simple: first, “God so loved the world”; second, “God sent His Son” while we were sin blotched; third, the Good News would not be good news at all; and, fourth, God expects us to keep our-selves unstained from the world [James 1:27; 1 John 2:15-17; 1 Peter 1:13-19]. This doesn’t even address the implied promises in Isaiah 42:1-4.

How sad the Body of Christ has more problems with its image than Switzerland has with its.

END TIMES / ESCHATOLOGY: The Really Last Days!

As & Cs ARE HERE, BUT THE Bs ARE MISSING (Where Will All the Flowers Go?) [1 Thessalonians 4:17; other topics - Pre-Trib, Rapture] (New 31 May 2007)

A recent report by Joel Garreau, a WaPo Staff Writer, gives us some food for thought. I found this very interesting ... explains how God could bring about an end to runaway Western materialism. Garreau writes ...

In "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," just before Earth is destroyed to make way for a hyperspatial express route, all the dolphins in the world disappear, leaving behind just the message: "So long, and thanks for all the fish."

Now, around the world, honeybees are vanishing en masse, leaving their humans engaged in a furious attempt to figure out the meaning of their exodus. Entire colonies are following the Shakespearean stage direction, "Exeunt omnes." They're flying off and not returning. Commercial beekeepers open their hives and find them empty except for a queen, a few immature bees and abundant honey and pollen. The rest of the bees are simply gone, leaving behind not even dead bodies.

A third of our food supply - including much of the boredom-relieving stuff, from cranberries to cucumbers - is dependent on animal pollinators like the honeybee. As a result, this mystery is rapidly joining the all-star ranks of millennial end-time run-for-your-lives threats, right up there with Y2K, mad cow disease, West Nile virus, SARS and avian flu.

Of equal note is the way the bees are setting a new standard in human emotional resonance. Absolutely no one yet knows why the bees are checking out, though not for lack of abundant effort on the part of the world's scientists. This dearth of data allows us to project our greatest anxieties onto the bees.

No bees, no pollen; no pollen, no flowers; no flowers, no agri-business; no agri-business, no shirt ... and as the old saying goes, no shirt, no service.

Source link >>>

TAGS:
Bees, Great Tribulation, Left Behind, Rapture, Science

DEVELOPED NATION’S PROBLEM [2 Timothy 3:1ff; Sin; Social & Moral Values; Youth]

In a poll conducted by NBC News and The Wall Street Journal “three out of four respondents said they didn’t trust politicians when they talked about social and moral values."

The public’s apparent contentment with the state of the nation and its economic prosperity appears to have been shaken, partly as a result of a spate of murders by students at public schools from Pearl, Miss., in 1997 to last April’s massacre in Littleton, Colo. "Youth violence" was ranked highest among respondents’ personal concerns about American society.

“By a lopsided margin -83 percent- the Americans surveyed in the poll agreed that ‘parents not paying enough attention to what’s going on in their children’s lives’ has become a ‘very serious problem.’

“More than two out of three poll respondents said that ’the influence of sexually explicit or violent media on children’ has become a ‘very serious’ social problem. And 63 percent identified ‘the high rate of divorce and the breakup of families’ as a very serious problem for American society.

“When asked what change in American society over the past 15 or 20 years has most disturbed them, the highest number of respondents cited ‘the lack of respect for authority and elders.’

“The NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey was conducted by pollsters Peter Hart and Robert Teeter. They surveyed 2,011 adult Americans between June 16 and June 19. The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 2.2 percent.”

I was told many years ago that third world and underdeveloped nations don’t have the problems with their children like we have with ours.

[Adapted: Tom Curry, MSNBC, June 24 (1999)]

FEATHERED STOWAWAY [Matthew 22:11-14; other topics - Day of the Lord, Wedding Feast, Preparation]

Steve Harvey writes a weekly humor and miscellany column, “Only In LA,” for the L. A. Times. In his July 24th column he tells the story of a fine-feathered friend who found himself in a place where he was not welcome.

It seems the small bird stowed away on an Air Canada flight before leaving Los Angeles International Airport. He either had help or imitated a passenger so well no one noticed. Once discovered, the pilot announced the unwelcomed guest would be put off upon landing and the door would be shut forever to reentry.

In another place and another time, there will be those who will want to join a wedding party; they will be denied entry ... because they won’t have the right ticket. Others will attempt to gain entry through stealth, but their clothing will reveal them as uninvited guests. They, like the bird above will each and every one be put out and the door will be shut forever to entry.

NO ESCAPE! [1 Thessalonians 5:1-3; other topics - Day of the Lord, Judgment, Second Coming]

Recently, The Los Angeles Times (May 7, 2002, A10) reported on a Palestinian thief who has single-handedly embarrassed the entire Israeli security service. Mahmoud abu Jamous, 31, a kind of local folk hero and jailbird, recently escaped from an elaborate security effort while being transported from one jail to another. Abu Jamous was locked inside a special cage, inside an armored police van, with leg restraints and handcuffs, and watched by no less than 10 prison guards. What’s more, his vehicle was preceded and followed by two other security vehicles.

The sad but comical part of this fiasco is that none of the security personnel noticed the felon was missing. A motorist called the local police and reported that he saw Abu Jamous drop from a barred window of the van and run away. He’s not been seen since.

Paul tells of another day when all of the world’s security systems will fail. He writes:

“Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, "Peace and safety!" then destruction will come upon them suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.” [1 Thessalonians 5:1-3]

There will be no folk heroes among the unrighteous who will escape; no one is going to slip out a window unnoticed.

NOTHING BUT THE SKIN ON YOUR BACK [Revelation 13:1; other topics - Nakedness, Old Nature, Sin]

Reuters News Service reported “a naked man was found dead [July 6, 1999] on the back of a killer whale in the tank at SeaWorld Orlando.” The man was found laying nude on the whale’s back - absent any signs of trauma. He evidently hid until after the amusement park was closed.

Many in the world think life is just one big amusement park, where they can play and play to their hearts content. They think they can play with the beasts and hide while they do it. But like this man, they will end up naked and dead on the back of a beast that has risen up from the sea.

SOME PEOPLE ARE REALLY HARD HEADED! [Matthew 5:30 & Revelation 6:15-17; Hope, Hopelessness]

CNN recently reported on a Pennsylvania construction worker who inadvertently severed his hand with a power saw; then repeatedly shot himself in the head with a nail gun, apparently hoping to stop the pain. The young man had no fewer than a dozen 1-inch nails protruding from his skull, reports said. Thankfully, surgeons reattach his hand. The twenty-five-year old was hospitalized in stable condition. [excerpted from CNN, 25 January 2001]

This is no joke. More than once construction work supported my family while a bivocational pastor … personal experience reminds me how easy one can be injured in this demanding work. Thank God He made some of our heads harder than others.

The shock and despair at the moment of a severe injuries are extreme; first a sense of stupidity arises, then despair … the more serious the injury, the greater the despair. Obviously, this fellow’s despondency exceeded his wound.

When Christ comes again, however, more than a few people are going to wish they had severed offending hands, when they had the chance; their despair will be so great they’ll hope more than a nail gun to assaults their heads.

VEILED: [Hebrews 10:19-20; other topics - Separation, Veil]

A lens cover not only protects a camera's lens but it prevents the camera from seeing the scene right in front of its eye.

In the same way, the veil between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies prevents anyone seeing the scene right in front of them.

Remove the lens and voilà, the panorama unfolds as a image within the camera. Likewise, remove the veil and there is no more separation between man and God. [New 20 February 2007]

TAGS:
Christianity, End-times, Separation, Veil

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

Loneliness

Lonely Heart’s Club [Hebrews 6:19-20; other topics - Burdens; Hope]

A lonely heart placed a personal ad in an unnamed Yorkshire, England, paper; he sought to meet a lady for outings and friendship. This poor soul received one reply - from his mother.

Jesus tells us to come unto Him if we are weary and heavy laden. For those of us who’ve “been there, done that,” the hope we have in our Lord is powerful beyond belief. Though times and circumstances assault us, the Lord’s solid foundation withstands the mightiest of storms.

How sad it is that generation after generation, in some families, passes on this hopelessness as their legacy. Truly the sins of the parents are visited to the kids to the third and fourth generations.

[Adapted from CHESTERFIELD & DRONFIELD GAZETTE (UK); 20th MAY 1988]

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.

Works

Nothing but the Truth [Ecclesiastes 12:14; other topics - Deeds, Good & Evil, Hidden things, Judgment, Sin, Word]

In the US, citizens and officials have grown concerned about the tragic circumstances surrounding a place called The Branch Davidian Compound in Waco, Texas.

Apparently not all of what was reported by those in charge in 1993 was all that should have been reported about the assault on the armed compound. There were calls for an independent investigation into what happened.

Agencies of our government assaulted the compound leaving 86 people dead, 24 of them children. Although it took place several years before, it returned to the headlines when the FBI admitted it had used incendiary devices during the assault which destroyed the compound by fire ... something they had denied.

As of today, there is new information that U.S. Attorney General Reno, who heads the Justice Department, may have been kept in the dark about some aspects of the siege. The Dallas Morning News reported that Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Johnston made the claim based on a five-year-old document he was given. The record indicates the use of potentially flammable tear gas at the compound be kept secret from all but the legal staff at Justice.

No special prosecutor, no special investigation, no review of the facts will be necessary on the Great Day of the Lord. God will simply open the books and present the facts. Nothing will be hidden from His sight [Hebrews 4:12-13].

The Bible tells us ... "God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil."

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]

TEMPTATION - The Devil made me do it!

FAMILY PRAYER CLOSET [1 John 2:15; Television]

A pastor was preaching an impassioned sermon on the evils of television. He said, “It steals away precious time which would be better spent on other things." He advised the congregation to do what he had done. "I put that confounded box of ours in the closet.” He roared with great satisfaction.

To which his wife was heard to mumbled, "And it's really crowded watching movies in there!"

[ Adapted from CLEAN LAFFS - Thursday, November 1, 2001]

HOLD THE SAUCE [Various Scripture; other topics - Sin (Cost of); Righteousness; Pornography; Testimony; Voyeurism; Walk; Witness]

In Chicago, Illinois, health officials are investigating the explosion of two bottles of Col. Johnson’s Thermo-Nuclear barbecue sauce.

According to a report from United Press International, the explosions occurred in people’s kitchens. No one was hurt, but the spicy, hot sauce caused hundreds of dollars in damage to curtains, carpeting and furnishings.

Man continues to play around with dangerous items on a daily basis, not knowing for sure where the next explosion will come from or when it will happen.

Surveys tell us that huge segments of society are involved in Internet pornography; other data reveals the numbers are so large it must cross over the threshold and into the very sanctuaries of the household of God. It is statistically unreasonable to expect otherwise.

The Bible tells us our sins will find us out. The Bible tells us we will pay the price for our iniquities, both in this life and the next. We are to keep ourselves unstained from this world [James 1:27] but it appears that much of the church has been sleeping in a garbage truck.

[Adapted from David Miller, American Family Radio, News Network 1999]