No More Lost Years

 

For more than a decade we owned a pug-chihuahua named Odis. I did not like the dog. We only kept him because he belonged to one of our sons who was unable to take care of him. It was a very long decade, and there was no love lost between me and Odis when we finally homed him to an elderly couple who immediately fell in love with him. 

 

My bad experience with Odis turned me off to dog ownership, and for another ten years or longer I was quite happy to not have a dog in the house. Then, about a year ago, we brought Frenchie into our home. I absolutely love the little Bichon. I never realized how much comfort and pleasure and companionship I could receive from a dog.  

 

This morning, as I’m slowly recovering from COVID, I raised up on an elbow and looked at Frenchie laying quietly on the carpet beneath the bed. He was staring at me from behind coal-black eyes. He knows something is wrong, so he just lays there, watching. 

 

When I rested my head on the pillow, regret settled over me. I regretted the many, many years I wasted not having had a dog to love and who loved me – all because of a bad experience I had with Odis. I regretted the wasted years during which I could have enjoyed such fulfilling companionship – years which I can now never recover.  

 

The analogy I am about to make is certainly not perfect, but it will be close enough to make sense to some. How many live right now in the midst of their own wasted years, wanting nothing to do with Jesus because of a bad experience they’ve had with the church, or with people who called themselves Christians? How many are quite happy to be without Jesus? 

 

I suspect a lot of people. 

 

Oh! But for those who will eventually find the real Jesus of the Bible – the One who loves them and whom they can love, the One who radiates compassion, the One who offers complete forgiveness for the penitent, the One WITH whom they can find true and lasting peace of heart – when they find the real Jesus and bring Him into their lives – yes, they will regret all the wasted years they’d kept Him away.  

 

I thank God He brought Frenchie into my life. If He had not, I would to this day never know what it is like to love a dog, and to receive the love of a dog. But, oh! What thanks can I offer to Jesus, lover of my soul, who loved me to His own death even while I did all I could do to avoid Him? If I had kept Him away, I would never have known what it is like to love Him and to BE loved by Him. 

 

Are you keeping Jesus away because of bad experiences with a church, or pastor, or a family member who presented to you a false image of the lover of your soul? While no one can ever recover lost years, no one needs to PROLONG those years. I hope you will invite Jesus into your life right now. Just ask Him to do that.  

 

I assure you that He will then guide you to the next steps for a more complete and meaningful relationship with the great lover of your soul.   

Be Alert!

 

I’m reading again through Mark’s gospel and came to this text in the 13thchapter: “Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come. It is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert. Therefore, be on the alert—for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— in case he should come suddenly and find you asleep. What I say to you I say to all, ‘Be on the alert!’” (Mark 13:33-37)

Four times in five verses the Lord warns us – stay alert to your walk. Stay alert to the seductions of this life. Stay alert for the Trumpet!

Which begs the question, I think: Just HOW do we stay alert?

The most common answers typically revolve around daily studying (not just reading) the Scriptures, prayer, confession of sins – and for Catholics, routine reception of the Sacraments.

All good answers.

But – well, I believe those answers do not provide us the complete answer.

I remember what happened to me back in the late 1970s. I was doing all the right things. As a student in Bible college, I took my responsibility very seriously to study the Bible, study commentaries about the Bible, and devour textbooks about the history of the Bible. I prayed every day and attended Sunday and Wednesday night services at our local church.

But Nancy recognized I’d fallen asleep. I was going through the motions of doing the right things, but the motions were not moving me closer to Christ.

So, when our pastor at Central Assembly of God church in Springfield, Missouri announced the start of a week-long old-fashioned tent revival in the overflow parking lot across the street, Nancy urged me to attend.

And she urged me to attend.

And she urged me to attend.

And I resisted. And resisted. And resisted. What did I need a ‘revival’ for? I was already a Bible student getting ‘A’s in my classes. I was already praying. I was already confessing my sins to the Lord. I was already doing all the right things.

But she kept at me. And I finally conceded. And it was there, in that tent, that the Holy Spirit got hold of me and I realized how far I’d drifted from my first love. When I walked toward the altar in that burlap tent, I started once again to walk more closely – and more alertly – with my Lord.

How do we stay on the alert? Certainly, study the Scriptures. Pray. Worship. But all those are mere mechanics to help us stay on the right track. Only the Holy Spirit can awaken us from slumber. As the Psalmist wrote: “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.”(Psalm 20:7)

Said another way, some trust in their bible knowledge. Others in their prayer life. Still others in their frequent reception of the Sacraments. But as the prophet Zechariah reminds us, it is “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.” (Zechariah 4:6).

How do we stay alert? Certainly, the mechanics are necessary. But those mechanics must NEVER become like a check-off list of things to do to stay awake. I was falling asleep all the while I was checking off the boxes.

How do we stay alert? Do the mechanics AND routinely ask the Holy Spirit to shake us from our slumber when our spiritual eyelids grow heavy.

Remember – we are in a supernatural spiritual battle. Our help is only and singularly through the supernatural aid of the Holy Spirit as He moves in our hearts.

Be Careful!

 

According to a 2018 report in Charisma News, pornography is ravaging its way through churches. The report found 68 percent of church-going men and over 50 percent of PASTORS view pornography on a regular basis!!

Of young Christian adults 18-24 years old, 76 percent actively search for pornography. 33 percent of women aged 25-and-under search for pornography at least once per month. Only 13 percent of self-identified Christian women say they never watch pornography.

Put another way, 87 percent of Christian women have watched pornography.

And so God tells us through St Paul: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life." (Galatians 6:7-8)

As pornography permeates the Church, you and I must be extraordinarily vigilant to stand against sin – ALL sin, not just sexual sin – in our own lives and in our own homes. And we must expect holy lifestyles from our pastors. In the context of sexual sin in the Corinthian church, St. Paul warned, “Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?” (1 Corinthians 5:6)

What are we watching and reading? Would we do so if Jesus were physically sitting next to us? That might be a good rule of thumb by which to decide what is proper for us and what is not.

What Jesus warned of in Matthew 7:21-23 should terrify every Christian enough to stay on that narrow road and toward the small gate: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Can you believe it?

 

Jesus told the smug religious guy: “For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven . . .” (Luke 7:47).

I memorized that text some time ago because I so love its message.

Christian! Can you believe it? Just think what that promise means! All your sins, every last stain of every sin you ever committed against the Almighty, Holy God – from the worst thing you have ever done to the ones you think are tiny – all, all, all washed away in the blood of the Lamb. Every, EVERY sin – those you remember and confessed, and even the ones you long forgot.

Completely, totally, forever expunged from your record. Purified by the blood of Christ, never ever to be remembered by God ever again.

OH! Can you believe it? Oh, I so hope so. You can believe it because He promised – He promised it to be true.

No wonder we sing: “Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul. Thank you, Lord, for making me whole. Thank you, Lord, for giving to me, Thy great salvation so rich and free.”

A Brief Word on Independence Day

 

Americans celebrate Independence Day because on this day in 1776, a small cadre of men rose up against a despotic king to demand their freedom. They are called Patriots.

But even on this Independence Day in 2022, there are who rise up against another King – this one a benevolent King, a gracious, loving, self-sacrificial King. They rise up demanding their freedom to do as they choose when they choose and with whom they choose. They are called variety of names: Atheists. Agnostics. Humanists. Skeptics. Pagans. Some prefer other names, but you get the point. They are those who love to live as the rebels of the dark years of the Judges wherein: “Every man did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 17:6; 21:25)

However, such independence seekers are not only outside the Church. We find them in pews and pulpits everywhere, those of whom St. Paul wrote: “They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.” (Titus 1:16)

So, the point on this Independence Day, 2022?

Christian! You who want to be faithful followers of Christ. You who want to live according to His commandments – let us all on this Independence Day, in the pews and in the pulpits, renew our allegiance to the King of heaven and earth. We know there can never be true freedom without submission to His Kingship.

None.

Moving through Matthew Part Two

 

Moving through Matthew part 2

 

We looked last week at the first two chapters of Matthew’s gospel, specifically, the genealogical record of Messiah Jesus’ human ancestry, the prophecy of Isaiah regarding Mary’s virgin birth of our Lord, and the visit of the Magi to the baby Jesus in Bethlehem some two years after His birth.

Before we look more closely now at Herod in chapter two, let’s take a quick excursion once again into Jesus’ genealogy, specifically of Abraham, the Father of true Christian our faith.

Again, as Matthew records it: The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.”

Speaking of Abraham, St. Paul identifies him as an example of the kind of faith that saves a soul. Although Abraham and his wife, Sarah, were well advanced in age, he nevertheless believed God when He promised him a son. Here is how Paul tells it: “In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken . . . [and] without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb;  yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith . . . and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. Therefore, it was also credited to him as righteousness. Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.  (Romans 4:18-24)

 

Do you see? The kind of faith that pleases God is the faith of Abraham who trusts our faithful God to do as He promised us, even when His promise seems impossible. That’s why the writer to the Hebrews tells us: “Without faith it is impossible to please Him.” (Hebrews 11:6).

 

And so, the great apostle continues in the next chapter of Romans with this glorious unconditional promise of the Holy Spirit to those who live the faith of Abraham: “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

 

Justified by faith. That means in the Greek language of Paul that God declares the believer to be ‘without guilt’ because of their sins.

 

I hope you believe that magnificent promise of God – even if it seems impossible that the Holy and incomprehensibly righteous God of the universe could declare you and me, sinners as we are, ‘without guilt’ for those sins.

 

And why can God declare us without guilt? Because of our faith – the faith of Abraham – that God is true to His promises, and that He has placed our guilt and the penalty of our sins on the shoulders of His only begotten Son as He died on that cross.

 

So, now we turn attention to chapter two. In context, the Magi arrived in Jerusalem and asked where the King of the Jews was born. Herod gathered the chief priest and scribes who told the king that Bethlehem was part of the Messianic prophecy. We also saw last week that the religious clergy then went back to their religious activities and left the Magi to find the King themselves.

 

Herod told the magi to report back to him when they found the newborn King. We take up the well-known story at verse nine:

 

“After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.  After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.

 

We can spend a lot of time talking about this scene: Great men of the east – representing the nations of the Gentiles – traveling four to five MONTHS to greet the newborn King. When they found Him, they gifted Jesus with precious treasures.  But I want to focus our attention now on the dream they had that evening; God told them to stay away from Herod and return home another way.

 

These pagans ought to be examples to us of how we, too, should live our faith. Not only did they travel great distances to meet the King of the Jews, but they were ALSO quick to obey the voice of the God they’d heard of – probably from the records of Daniel and the other faithful Jews who’d lived in Babylon centuries earlier.

 

And so the question for us: How diligent are we in our ongoing search for Jesus? How willing are we to lay at His feet ALL our time, talent, and treasure? Or at the very least, how willing are we to say to Him – Lord I WANT to give you my all? Help me in my reluctance?

I often think of the church hymn and ask myself those same questions: “All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give; I will ever love and trust Him, in His presence daily live. I surrender all, I surrender all. All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all.”

 

So, back to our text in chapter two:

“Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.” ¹⁴ So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. ¹⁵ He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

 

¹⁶ Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. ¹⁷ Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: ¹⁸ “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children;
And she refused to be comforted, because they were no more.”

There will be much more to say about this section later, but now I want to focus on what Herod did and WHY he did it. To do that, let’s look a moment at Revelation 12 which gives us a picture of the spiritual battle that was raging during this time in first century Bethlehem:

 

“A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; and she was with child; and she *cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.”  Revelation 12:1-4

 

We put into practice a terrible strategy of spiritual warfare when we dismiss the role of supernatural evil in this world. When Scripture speaks of the supernatural battles in which we are engaged, it does so not only enable us to successfully battle the supernatural evil, but also to remind us of how deadly that Satanic battle truly is.

In the case of Herod – a child and tool of Satan – and his murder of the innocents, Satan lost his battle to prevent Jesus from being born. But Herod was not Satan’s only tool to destroy the work of God through history, beginning with the Garden of Eden. The devil has always tried to prevent Messiah’s first advent through the people God chose. Think of the varied idolatries Israel fell into and as recorded throughout the Old Testament.

 

And do not think for a moment that the devil does not have his modern Herods today who martyr Christians around the world, and who corrupt and dilute God's message of salvation with false teaching and dangerous theologies.

 

Listen: How many churches today can trace their roots to Bible-believing, Bible-preaching, Bible-obeying origins now preach a gospel so watered down that it looks nothing like the gospel message of their earlier days? If it is not because the pastors and leaders of those churches are children and tools of Satan, then why else do they march in the streets promoting evils that got Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed? Why else do these churches and pastors support modern-day child sacrifice on the altars of abortion?

 

Christian – be careful about your OWN walk with Christ. If those churches and denominations that were once bastions of Christian faith have joined the devil’s camp – don’t think you and I as individuals are not in danger of doing the same.

 

Look again at that passage I just read from Revelation chapter 12. And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. It is of critical importance to us that Satan convinced 1/3 of the once-holy angels to follow him in rebellion against God.

 

One third.

Christian, I hope you will not be so foolish as to think Satan cannot convince YOU to do the same. There is good reason the Holy Spirit speaks to us through the apostle Peter: “Be vigilant. Watch. Your adversary the devil roams about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, firm in your faith.” (1 Peter 5:8-9)

Christian, strive to never be like those once-holy angels in heaven who followed Satan in rebellion against their Creator. And do not be like those men and women on earth – even those who once followed Christ – do not be like those who now follow Satan in rebellion against their Creator. All rebels – angelic and human – will end up in the eternal Lake of Fire.

Jesus DIED for men and women so they would not have to endure that destiny. Please. I implore you. If you have never done so – AND if you do not do so day after day – turn your life in obedience to the One who gave His life to be your savior. And continue, day by day, to carry your cross after Him – even if you carry it to your own Calvary.

There is good reason the Lord Jesus warned: “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” (Matthew 7:15)

 

Herod was a type of all Satan’s children. And as he lied to the magi, so also false pastors today lie to us when they tell us they want us to walk close to the Lord; Meanwhile, they lead us further from Him by their false teaching.

 

And we will know their lies because they typically take scripture out of context and deny the total inerrancy, infallibility, and inspiration of God's holy word.

 

PLEASE remember this: If what anyone tells us does not agree in its entirety with God’s Word, then they are walking in darkness. And those who follow them will follow them into the pit.

 

For my final point today, let’s turn back now to Matthew’s gospel at verse 19: “But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said,  “Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead.” So Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. ²² But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Then after being warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee, ²³ and came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

 

Did you ever wonder why God did not simply tell Joseph in the first place, “Go to Nazareth.” Why did the Lord first tell him to return to Israel if He wanted him to eventually end up in Nazareth?

 

Well, I don’t know the answer to that question. But I have a suspicion as to the reason, and my suspicion is based on my own experience and the experience of other Christians I have known over the decades:

 

God does not often move us in linear fashion from points ‘A’ to ‘B’ to ‘C’. Like with Joseph, he led him in one direction, only to then send him and the family off in another direction.

 

It should not surprise anyone who’s walked with the Lord a while that He should do such things. For example, some 45 years ago, I was certain God was calling me to become a home-missionary to the Jewish people. After all, they are of my heritage. I went to Bible college and then seminary to prepare myself for that calling. But after years of preparation, God closed every door I tried to enter to fulfill my missionary calling. After a while I felt God calling me to nursing school, and then back into the Navy as a nurse where I used my Bible training at every military installation where I was assigned.

And now, decades after what I thought was God's leading to missionary work among the Jews, here I am in Georgia, using my bible and seminary training, as well as my ongoing study of God's word, to minister Christ to whomever wants to hear the gospel message.

Now think of your own life. Many of you may thought God was leading you in one direction, but you ended up going far afield from your original expectation. But the sovereign God knew what He was doing in the beginning when He led you to that first step – just like the sovereign God knew what he was doing when he led Joseph to that first step in his return to the land of Israel.

So, what does this point about Joseph have to do with you and me? What do our own past experiences teach us about what often seems a circuitous journey through life?

 

I think it is this – and Solomon said it very well: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him – be mindful of Him – and He will direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

 

And from Jeremiah: “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” (29:11)

 

Whatever paths we have followed, even if we made a series of mistakes and got off the path we SHOULD have traveled – please listen to this word:

 

What is past is past. That might be the bad news. But the GOOD news is that TODAY really can be a new day, a new journey for you in the hands of the omnipotent God who is still able to work His work in you and through you. As St Paul wrote to the Christians at Philippi: “Forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14)

 

So, trust Him. He has led you where you are today, despite your mistakes and failures. He led you to where you are today because He has never stopped loving your or directing you behind the scenes of your life.  And God is not finished with you yet.