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Jul

2012

The Father of All Lies

“Her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ when the LORD has not spoken.” (Eze 22:28)

Journal,

This entry is an overlay of one of my most popular articles, titled, ‘Beware of the Godhood Lie.’ For some reason the original article continues to draw many readers. (It was posted well over a year ago, May 5, 2011.)

So, let’s take another look at the original lie of Satan, that is, the godhood lie.

The Bible says that Eve was deceived by Satan with regard to becoming a god. And it is always the immature believers who become potential prey for spiritual mishandling and psychological abuse. This is why it is so important for believers to grow in the Lord. Spiritual growth brings about spiritual discernment. Discernment is a thing of the knowing heart.

Where the immature believer gets in trouble is when he overrides the cautions in his heart. Often this overriding comes from, ‘Something must be wrong with me. Everyone else thinks this is of God.’

The Longings of the Heart

The problem is that we humans have encoded in us a longing for spiritual realities. But ever since the fall of Adam, humanity has lived in a state of spiritual disrepair. Moses speaks of this as a defect.

Listen to Moses:

“They have acted corruptly toward Him, they are not His children, because of their defect; but are a perverse and crooked generation.” (Deu 32:3-5).

When a person turns to the Lord, they enter into a new expression of life as a believer. However, there is still much work yet to be done to repair what had been lost in the fall of Adam.

The Bible speaks of this work as ‘the renewing of our mind,’ or, ‘the transforming life’. The renewing of the mind includes learning to think under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Now let’s go back to…

The Lie That Caused Mankind’s Disrepair

The original lie that Satan used on Eve can be considered the Father of all lies. Understand this and you are on your way to realizing how this same lie is making its rounds in certain movements today. The lie is the ‘godhood’ lie. Let’s see if you can pick up on it.

Satan said to Eve,

“You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, [you will be a god] knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4,5)

The godhood lie was Adam and Eve could be exactly what God is. They themselves would be gods. They could do all the things that God does.

The godhood lie is found in one form or another through the history of the human race. Roman Emperors were worshipped as gods. The Pharaohs considered themselves to be gods. The emperor of Japan was considered a god.

Hinduism is a major player in the godhood lie as well as is Mormonism and new age teachings.

Today this very lie is being ‘subtly’ promoted by well-known charismatic speakers. I use the term ‘subtly’ because the lie is covered in Biblical language.

It is insidious to the degree that it literally undermines the Lordship of Jesus Christ. If we can do everything Jesus does, then why do we need Jesus. (Think about it.)

An Issue of Mind Control

A lie is a deception at work. A deception is a form of mind control. One Hebrew definition for the term deception means, ‘to steal the heart.’

Jesus tells us that Satan’s primary calling card is lying. Satan’s main mode of operation is defined as, ‘power and signs and false wonders, and all the deception of wickedness.’ (2Th2:9)

The Lord literally lays this at the feet of many of Israel’s religious leaders –

“You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (Joh 8:44)

Do you see it? A lie of darkness can actually be found fermenting in religious groups. This is why Jesus warned the disciples to beware of the teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees. (Mat16:6)

Lying wonders do not do away with the true miracles and workings of God. But the miracles of God are always in a form of bringing glory to Jesus Christ, and not to a man. Lying wonders are cult calling cards. They glorify the man. (Pay close attention to certain TV preachers today – Who is being glorified?)

Self-Deification

Can a lie mesmerize an entire group of people. Think about Germany in WWII. Think about Jim Jones. Now, think about the followers of certain TV preachers today. And remember what the apostle wrote about how the many will fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons. (1Tim4:1)

The godhood lie today is a form of self-deification where humans are made to be god-men. The godhood lie will culminate with the appearance of antichrist. (2Th2:4)

“Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes …

“… and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.” (2Th 2:3-4)

What I have to share here may disturb some of my readers. You must decide for yourself what you wish to believe. The following are quotes of noted teachers who have promoted the godhood lie.

– The Original Lie Seen –

“You don’t have a god in you, you are one.” (Kenneth Copeland, “The Force Of Love”, audiotape #02-0028, Kenneth Copeland Ministries.)

“I am a ‘little messiah’ walking on earth.” (Benny Hinn, “Praise-a-thon Program” on TBN, broadcast.)

Joseph Smith – considered a prophet of the Mormon Church, said: “As God is, man shall become.”

Shirley McClain proudly declared: “I am God. I am God. I am God. I am God.”

Jim Jones (the infamous murder of the Jonestown massacre) – “You are what Jesus was. Jesus said that every human being was a god. It is written that you are gods. I’m a god and you are a god.”

Margot Adler – “We are as gods and might as well get good at it.”

Benny Hinn – “Don’t say you have Jesus. You are everything he was, is and shall be.”

“When you say, ‘I am a Christian, you are saying I am a little Messiah walking on the earth. May I say it? You are a little god running around.” – Benny Hinn

“You are as much the incarnation of God as Christ was….The believer is as much an incarnation as was Jesus of Nazareth.” (Kenneth Hagin, “Word of Faith.”)

“Adam and Eve were placed in the world as the seed and expression of God. Just as dogs have puppies and cats have kittens, so God has little gods; we have trouble comprehending this truth. Until we comprehend that we are little gods, we cannot manifest the kingdom of God.” (Earl Paulk, “Satan Unmasked”)

“I am a little god! … I have His name. I’m one with Him. I’m in covenant relation. I am a little god! Critics, be gone!” (Paul Crouch, TBN).

Jesse Duplantis makes a mockery of God in saying that the Lord God did not even know what He had created. Take time for this video —

End Time Delusions

I want to be kind in saying that there are those who are able to escape from the lies of darkness. Hopefully this will be true for some of the noted charismatic teachers.

For the sake of my readers who are concerned over how to spot someone who may be operating under a spirit that is not of God, there are certain common traits to look for. (I’ve provided Scripture resources for your study.)

Place your cursor over the Scripture reference and it will appear.

– Things to Beware Of –

(1) People with an arrogant boastful spirit. Pride is always a major working factor in a demonic deception. Cf. Dan7:11; James3:15,16.

(2) Counterfeit gifting. Sorcery manifests itself as a form of spiritual mind control, and in a way of fortune-telling. Cf. Acts 8:9-11; Matt7:21-23.

(3) Sensual and fleshly exhibition with no true reverence or respect for holiness. 2Pet2:2,3

(4) The preaching of a false Jesus that does not Biblically agree with the true character of the Son of God. Cf. 2Co11:4,13-15.

(5) The preaching of a gospel that is not in full accord with God’s testimony as given in the New Testament. Cf. Gal1:6-9; 1Tim6:3-6.

(6) Lifting up personalities who claim to be modern-day apostles and prophets, and, who, in turn, claim authority equal to that of the Bible apostles and prophets. Cf. Eph2:19,20; 2Co11:12; 1John2:6.

(7) Where the preacher uses language that equates himself with God; where he boasts of godlike abilities; where he preaches an earthly prosperity message; where he claims powers of creation, and such like. And it is all done in the name of Jesus.

A True Walk of Faith

The only remedy for our disrepair is to come to God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus said,

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”(John 10:10)

And for you are still in fear about your walk with the Lord, keep in mind the great Shepherd promise:

Jesus said:

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (Joh 10:27-30 NASB)

Be encouraged. The love of the Lord belongs to you.

As is my custom, I must leave with you an uplifting song. Listen to the Lord. He wants to speak to your heart.

The Hoppers – I’m a Citizen of Two Worlds

In Christ always,

Buddy

Jul

2012

The Sinner-Sinner and the Religious-Sinner

“But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!'” (Luk 18:13)

Journal,

The focus of this entry has to do with attitudes that are often seen in some who take to themselves the name Christian. The issue of self-righteousness has always been a beset among those who belong to the Lord.

In the gospels, Jesus often confronted the self-righteous attitudes among many of Israel’s religious leaders. So let’s begin with the time of Jesus.

The most religious people during the time of Jesus were, by far, the Pharisees. No one could hold a candle to them. Let’s call certain ones of the Pharisee sect, religious sinners.

Then who were the sinner-sinners? The sinner-sinners were the harlots, the tax collectors, the multiple marriages, the thieves, and all the rest.

Keep in mind that the sinner-sinners of the gospels were also Israelites. They had just given up on religion. (Many discouraged Christians will identify with this easily enough.)

The sin of the sinner-sinner is readily seen. But what was the sin of the religious-sinner?

Let’s see if we can find it –

“The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.'” (Luk 18:11 )

Do you see it? The religious-sinner has a prideful heart. He tries to extract from God, saying, ‘God, You owe me. I’ve been especially good. I’m not like the sinner-sinner.’

We will come back to the Pharisee in a bit.

But for now let’s talk about…

The World’s Only Perfect Religion

Can there really be a perfect religion, that is, a religion that without fail continually demonstrates perfect mercy, and grace, and compassion?

Of course we have to define what ‘perfect means.’ This is what Peter tried to do.

When Jesus had taught the disciples about dealing with sin in the church, Peter asks a question about a person sinning against another believer. –

“Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” (Mat 189:21)

Again keep in mind that Peter was talking about a personal sin against himself. He felt there needed to be a point of cutting off. And so he reaches for the number of perfection.

The number seven was the perfect number in Hebrew thinking. It spoke of that which was finished. It spoke of completion. Peter felt to forgive a brother seven times was perfection.

Now, that really does sound like a lot of mercy. Take note of what Jesus did not say. He did not say,

“Be sure to keep a record of your brother’s offenses. When he reaches 490 times of asking for forgiveness, you have multiplied mercy 70 times. You can then cut him off.”

Wow! That is really being generous.

No it’s not. That wasn’t even the point. If we are keeping records, then our own heart is not right with God. Listen carefully to how Jesus responds to personal offenses –

“I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” (Mt18:21,22)

The term, ‘seventy times seven’ was a Hebraism for, “You must never stop forgiving.”

Please keep in mind that the Lord is addressing personal sins against a believer, and where repentance is in place. There are other instructions the church is to follow with regard to an unrepentant person.

By the way, the short side of things is that there is no perfect religion in the world. Jesus did not come to give us a religion. He came to give us the reality of the kingdom of God.

Listen with your heart –

“‘My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.’

“Therefore Pilate said to Him, ‘So You are a king?’ “

“Jesus answered, ‘You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.’” (Joh 18:36-37)

Again, did you catch it. Religions are what we do. The reality of the kingdom of God is that Jesus does.

This brings us back to the issue of …

Forgiveness and Consequences

The Lord’s response to Peter says something about God Himself. Does the Lord just keep on forgiving and forgiving and forgiving? The simple answer is, ‘You had better thank God that He does.’

However, a point must be made. The forgiveness of sin does not mean there are no consequences to sin. Sin carries its own sorrows and destructions.

Murderers have received the Lord’s forgiveness while on death row. This did not do away with the death penalty.

How about if we believers break one of the big ten commandments more times than once? Let’s continue with the story of the Pharisee and the tax-collector.

“The tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner.” (Cf. Mt18:9-14)

Did you hear what he said? He agreed with every point made by the Pharisee, ‘I have been a swindler, unjust, an adulterer. I don’t fast at all. I don’t pay tithes at all.’

Have you been there? I have.

The tax-collector felt unworthy to even pray towards the mercy-seat. The only prayer he could muster was, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner.” He was saying, “I am guilty of all.”

How many times I’ve had to say, ‘Lord, I am guilty of all.’

But all this brings us to …

The Essence of True Repentance

Here is the essence of the parable. The Lord says,

“I tell you, this man [sinner-sinner] went to his house justified rather than the other [religious sinner]; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

To be justified is to be made right with God. The sinner-sinner became right with God. The religious sinner remained unjustified before God.

The sinner-sinner did not ask for justice. He asked for mercy.

And the great lesson for the religious-minded person is simple – As long as we see ourselves as more worthy than others, we stay with no justification before God. Mercy alone saves us.

Mercy is the great truth of the cross. God’s very throne is called the throne of grace. Our instructions are,

“Draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb4:16)

The Heart of the Cross

Yes, Jesus came down quite hard in defining the true nature of sin. At the same time all we see is mercy and compassion when He is dealing with sinners.

The woman at the well had been married five times and was then living in adultery. The Lord did not tell her to go back to her last husband. Why? It is the because people can only begin their life from where they are, right now. Oftentimes there is no way to go back and correct anything.

So, we must always begin with where we are, right now.

Then you have the woman caught in adultery. Jesus did not tell her to go show herself to the priests to receive her due from the Law. He simply said,

“‘Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?’ She said, ‘No one Lord.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘ I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.’” (Jn8)

This is another picture of mercy triumphing over judgment? Jesus did not condemn her. He simply told her not to return to the sin that had brought her to this place.

So, is there anything to …

Learning a Life of Holiness

Does continuous mercy mean we should not expect to live a life of holiness before God? Not hardly. What it means is that while we are in this world we will be subject to failures, and stumbling, even if it is no more than our thought life.

God knows this. None of this causes the blood of Jesus to lose its power. Nor does the Spirit of Christ ever leave us alone in sin. The Holy Spirit continues the work of conviction to the point of bringing us to the mercy-seat for cleansing.

And the Spirit also supplies power to help us live in a way where we have less and less failures.

The Scripture portion that states this is as follows –

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” (John 3:16-17 )

A Special Problem to Face

There is a special problem that must be attended to when it comes to judging others. We tend to judge others when we are doing well; ‘Well, I would never do that!’

How do you know you would never do that? Life isn’t over yet.

And how often have you sinned in your own thought life and in your heart? Jesus said the sin was not simply in the doing, it is in what goes on inside us.

And how about when we do have a failure? The very thing we thought we would never do, we did. This is why the apostle gave a certain instruction:

“Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.” (Ga6:1,2)

Once again, God never justifies sin but He can and does justify the sinner. He does this through the cross.

He can declare the repentant sinner to be just by the plenteous mercy that He alone can give. After all, Jesus died for all our sins, past, present, and future. He in turn gave us His own righteousness.

The reality is that believers will remain in the presence of sin as long as we are in this life. The continued truth is that sin cannot claim ownership over any believer.

The Lord redeemed us, restores us, keeps us, and cleanses us when the cleansing is needed. The Holy Spirit is continually at work to expose sin and to bring God’s mercy and correction on the scene.

Sure, the hurt remains. Yet it is in our sorrow over sin that we are reminded of God’s love, of His grace, and of His mercy.

And, yes, we should have sorrow over our sins. Having a Godly sorrow is one of the great signs of true repentance.

One Final Thought

Have you ever wondered why some believers who have so many failures in life, and yet the blessings of the Lord seem to follow them in life? Then you have others who try hard to do everything right, and yet they have more struggles than they can handle. There is an answer. It all has to do with an attitude of the heart.

Hopefully this article will help you understand why it

Now for a song. Let the Lord speak to you about, ‘Beauty for Ashes.’

In Christ always,

Buddy

Jul

2012

How the Blood of Jesus Saves

“Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, …

“…having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” (Heb 10:19-22)

Journal,

Science has long since discovered that a person’s lineage can be researched by what is called DNA testing. [DNA: DeoxyriboNucleic Acid] DNA testing is a pretty exact science. It is well accepted in courts.

DNA can be used to prove paternity. It is also used with a high degree of accuracy to decide if an individual was involved in certain crimes. The degree of accuracy is in the millions to one.

[Note: DNA is a nucleic acid that carries the genetic information in the cell and is capable of self-replication and synthesis of RNA. DNA consists of two long chains of nucleotides twisted into a double helix and joined by hydrogen bonds between the complementary bases adenine and thiamine or cytosine and guanine. The sequence of nucleotides determines individual hereditary characteristics.]

I realize all of this seems technical and calls for questions, but for the sake of the study lets keep things very basic. Included in DNA foundational studies are chromosomes. Women have xx chromosomes. Men have xy chromosomes. Only the male has the y chromosome. The male passes this chromosome to his male children. It never passes to the daughters. The y chromosome in the male descendents remains unchanged through the generations.

This is not to be confused with genes. A gene is a part of a DNA molecule. Every child receives 23 genes from each parent. Each child is equally of the father and of the mother, and receives equal attributes, etc., from both parents.

Saved by God’s Blood

With this basic information at hand we can now look at how the blood of Jesus can be called God’s blood. It will help us greatly to appreciate in a deeper way God’s work of salvation through Jesus Christ. Listen carefully to two seemingly disparate Scriptures:

“For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.” (Acts 20:27,28)

“For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well.” (Psalm 139:13,14)

Note: Keep in mind the ‘weaving’ language. DNA is made up of two strands woven together.

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

First let’s look at Paul’s statement. The apostle plainly tells the elders of Ephesus that the blood of the cross was God’s own blood. But where do we go from here? It is here that we must take a journey.

The blood shed at the cross was precious blood. It was both human blood and God’s blood. This is why the apostle said,

“You were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold … but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.” (1Pet1:18,19)

How then did the blood of Christ redeem us?

The apostolic writer said that Christ entered into the heavenly tabernacle with His own blood. Out of this came eternal redemption. But we have to keep in mind that Jesus is the incarnate Son of God. As hard as this may be to grasp, it is yet the truth. And so it can be said that God Himself took our place on the cross.

The work of the cross was for the sins of all humanity, from Adam’s sin, to our own sins, whether they be past, present or future. In His suffering, Jesus took the place of man. The judgment of all sin was upon Him.

The cross was a judgment. Out of His resurrection came justification of life to the whole of humanity. John said,

“He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; but not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1Jn2:2)

Because Jesus was both God and man, it was through His cross that heaven is opened for the repentant sinner, that is, the one who will confess Jesus Christ as his own Lord and Savior. Which, in turn, brings us back to the blood.

When the Blood is Sprinkled

Since the blood of Jesus was and is God’s blood, and since the blood of Jesus also represents the human family, a wonderful thing happens to the repentant person. Peter said that the Holy Spirit takes of the blood of Jesus, which, again, is God’s blood, and sprinkles it upon the believing one’s heart.

“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: may grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.” (1Pe 1:1-2)

To obey Jesus Christ is to come into a relationship with Him as your Lord and Savior.

What is in the sprinkled blood? The very life of God. And this is what being born from above entails. Every person born of God has had his or her heart sprinkled clean by the very blood-life of God Himself. This is why we can be called ‘children of God.’ And this is also why the apostle said that we now share in the divine nature.

Yes, we still have our humanity. But on this planet there are two distinct people. You have the Adam race, which includes all people, whether Jew or Gentile. And you also have the race of Christians, who take their name from the Christ of God.

The race of Christians carry in them the DNA code of heaven, that is, the very life of their Father God. It is in this sense that Christians can be called a divine race. (We have to be careful not to go beyond the Scriptures with this idea.)

Born of God

And now we come to David’s statement, where he said,

“You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well.”

Here is gets even more awesome. It is here that David defines DNA weaving, thousands of years before it was discovered as a chain of life.

Isn’t the Bible amazing?

But there is more. David was a prophet. This means that Christ often spoke directly through David. So in this wonderful Psalm we have a corporate picture of Christ, along with what we are to receive to ourselves as sons and daughters of heaven.

I would encourage my readers to take time to meditate on Psalm 139. You will be able to see both Christ and yourself in this Psalm.

For the sake of Christ, it can be easily said the He was woven in the womb of Mary, that He was fearfully and wonderfully made, and that His soul knows it very well. This is important to understand.

There is a termed used in the New Testament exclusively for Jesus. The term ‘monogenes’ means, uniquely one of a kind, or, one and only. This expression is used seven times with regard to Jesus. The message never varies. Jesus was uniquely the only one of His kind.

This is because in Him was the very life of God. He was fearfully and wonderfully made.

How then does Psalm 139 apply to the person born from above? It applies in a very unique sense, in that each of us is born after the order of Christ.

We are each fearfully and wonderfully made. And though Jesus is the monogenes, we are His brothers and sisters by virtue of God’s blood.

One final thought — The reason our salvation is called eternal is because of the eternal sacrifice made by God Himself. The blood is eternal. Our forgiveness is eternal. We now have eternal life. Eternal life speaks of “without cessation.” It also speaks of the very life of God.

Paul pretty much nailed it down when he said,

“If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us, how will he not also with Him freely give us all things. … For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Cf.Rom8:31-39)

Well that pretty much says it.

Now the question – How can I know that the blood has been sprinkled on my heart?

Jesus took all our sins and failures to the cross. God saves us with an eternal salvation.

Good question and quite easy to answer. If you are right now trusting in Jesus Christ as your own personal Lord and Savior, that is proof positive that the blood has been sprinkled. The apostle said that the Holy Spirit testifies through the blood to our spirit that we are a child of God. And so, faith in Jesus alone is all the proof that is required.

How powerful is the blood? It is God’s keeping power. For God to lose one of those who have been saved by the blood, He would have to cut off His own life. The Bible says that we are saved by His life.

Every child of God should take divine assurance to heart. When Jesus saves, He saved eternally and He loses none. Listen to this mission that the Father gave to His Son –

“This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” (Joh 6:39-40)

We are in the nail prints of the cross. All I can say is, “Thank God for the blood.”

This is a good place to end this part of the study. Feel free to make a contribution, or ask questions.

Here is a song for your meditation – Nothing but the Blood of Jesus.

Yours in Christ,

Buddy

Jul

2012

Whispers of the Heart

“I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.” (Joh 10:16)

Journal,

I’ve enjoyed my semi-pulpit retirement for a while. However, a few weeks ago I had this impression to start preparing for speaking engagements. I’ve come to recognize these impressions as, ‘whispers of the heart.’ (I’ll share more on this a bit later.)

Sure enough, things began to happen. After Nathan went on a retreat, he shared that he felt the Lord wanted me to fill the pulpit of Christian Challenge at least once a month. This would free him up to work on some translation projects. (Our training programs are being translated into Spanish.)

That would be fine. I didn’t mind pitch-hitting for Nathan. But soon after that I received a request to hold a three-day revival at Mora House of Prayer. That was last weekend. I could not have chosen a more heart-warming place for a revival.

It’s hard to put into words my feelings. The revival was more like a homecoming, family reunion. My connection with this church goes back many years. I held my first revival there, forty-two years ago. Then some thirty-seven years ago it was my honor to pastor the same church for a time.

The Mora House of Prayer (formerly known as Red Top Pentecostal Church) was our launching pad for the founding of Christian Challenge International in 1976.

Actually the revival was like…

Stepping Back in Time

This was the strange side of the revival. It was almost like I had stepped back in time. Brother Earl and Sandra Hillman were the pastors there at my first revival. Brother Earl has since gone to be with the Lord. It was my honor to speak at his funeral. But now a full circle has been made and Sister Hillman has the pastorate. That of itself was heart stirring. The whole Hillman family are sweethearts.

But then, most of the old timers that I had grown to love through the years, have already made their journey home. There were still a few old-timers there along with children and grand-children. I pretty much knew them all.

Here is the strange part – As I looked over the congregation it was as though I could see in my heart, the many precious believers who had already made their journey home. It gave me pause for what the apostolic writer said about God’s eternal church and our surrounding witnesses.

Listen —

Perhaps this picture says it all.

Then we have this —

“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, …

“…and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.” (Heb 12:22-24)

No, I don’t believe we are to have interchanges with those who have made their journey home – but who is to say that those already in heaven don’t know what is happening on earth. Just a thought.

I’ll leave that with your own thoughts. But that brings me to…

Whispers of the Heart

The Lord gave me three messages for the revival – Friday evening I ministered on the subject, ‘Whispers of the Heart.’ Saturday evening it was, ‘The Saga of the Lilies.’ And Sunday morning, ‘What it Means to Be Free in Christ.’

Each ministry was a preparation for the next. Wish I had time to share from all the ministries, but let me simply draw a bit on the subject, ‘Whispers of the Heart.’

God spoke through the prophet Isaiah, saying —

“On that day the deaf will hear words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see. The afflicted also will increase their gladness in the LORD, and the needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.” (Isa 29:18-19)

God’s voice is heard in the Scriptures

The expression, ‘on that day’, has regard to the Messiah and the new covenant. When Jesus opened the scroll of Isaiah in the synagogue, and began reading, the people were astonished at the wisdom that flowed from Jesus.

It is easy to miss on what was happening. The book of Isaiah was one of the primary books that were read in the synagogues. They had often heard what Jesus was reading.

So, what made the reading this time so different from any other time? It all had to do with Who was doing the reading.

It was the voice of God that they were hearing from the reading of Isaiah. And in the new covenant, this is what gives life to the Bible. It is when Jesus is speaking to our hearts from the sacred writings, that we truly hear the words of a book.

There is a key to all this. We often refer to the Bible as the Word of God, and that certainly is a truism. The entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation has the breath of God in it. This is what Paul meant by the Scriptures being ‘inspired.’ (The Greek term has to do with breath or Spirit.)

But there is the deeper understanding to be had. While the Bible is the book of God, it only becomes the Word of God when we are able to hear God speak from the book. The Word of God is Jesus Christ Himself and when He speaks to our hearts from the sacred writings, it then becomes to us, ‘the Word of God.’

It is important to understand this distinction.

This brings us to what Jesus meant when He said…

My Sheep Hear My Voice

The new covenant is a life covenant and the life of the new covenant is Jesus Himself.

This brings us to the qualifier about who is a true Christian and who is not a true Christian. Jesus makes emphatic statements —

“When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” (Joh 10:4-5)

And again —

“But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” (Joh 10:26-29)

And one more —

“I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.” (Joh 10:16)

Do you see the common denominator in all these verses? Everything centers on who is speaking into your life.

The question might be, ‘Does the Lord speak to us outside of the Bible?

The answer is simple – ‘Yes, indeed. God can speak to us through nature, through others, and especially in preaching and teaching the gospel. But it is through the Bible that our spirits are trained to know and distinguish the voice of our Shepherd.”

This is why it disheartens me to hear any believer denigrate the sacred writings. We are instructed by the apostle to never exceed what has been written in the Scriptures.

When Jesus taught the people, He always had the Scriptures in the background of His teachings. The reason for this is that the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is spiritually encoded with all that belongs to God and His kingdom. The Bible is the story of redemption

But I’ll leave that where it is.

What else is left? Perhaps I can return to where I begin with this entry –

Now that I’ve heard the whisper in my heart to to start preparing for speaking engagements, I can simply say to the Lord, ‘Here I am Lord. What are my instructions?’

Of course I realize that the revival at Mora and the ministries that I will do at Christian Challenge may have been what the whisper was about.

After all I’m not that thirty year old evangelist anymore. My years are now in the seventies.

But who knows. In any event, I’ve dusted off my …

Twelve-Stringed Instrument

Yep, of all the instruments that I have, including a banjo, a banjitar, a mandoline, harmonicas, and several guitars, all my attention is now fixed on my twelve-string guitar. It will always be my favorite.

Indeed, I love what the Psalmist said —

“Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty expanse. Praise Him for His mighty deeds; praise Him according to His excellent greatness. Praise Him with trumpet sound; praise Him with harp and lyre.

“Praise Him with timbrel and dancing; praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe. Praise Him with loud cymbals; praise Him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD! (Psa 150:1-6)

Don’t you just love the Lord!

In Christ always,

Buddy

Jul

2012

God’s Mysterious Gift of Life

“Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” (Gn2:7 nasb)

Journal,

All life is a gift from God. Angels have life. Animals and plants have their life. Every order of creation has its own life.

And yet no other part of creation was given the measure of life as was given to Adam. Adam’s life was purposely enjoined to God Himself. Actually Adam is the only person in the Bible aside from Jesus Christ, who is called ‘the son of God.’

Yes, Adam shared a kinship with God that no other creature had. He carried with him the image and likeness of God. It is difficult to even imagine what Adam was like in the beginning.

Being made in the image and likeness of God meant something very special to the whole of creation. This is why it was a black day for all creation when Adam chose to act on Satan’s word rather than to live by the instructions that the Lord God gave him.

Adam’s fall would affect all of creation. Paul takes note of this –

“… the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.“ (Rom 8:19-21)

And so we have…

The Fallen Children

This is why it is so important to understand Adam’s original place in creation. It helps us realize why God loves the world so much. Even though the Adam race has been defiled by sin and darkness, God has never stopped loving humankind.

And so Jesus Christ came into our world. This is also why Jesus is called ‘the last Adam.’

Listen and learn:

“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

“He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (Joh 3:17-18)

And again,

“So also it is written, ‘The first man, Adam, became a living soul.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.” (1Co 15:45)

Jesus came into our fallen world to redeem and set free the fallen race of Adam, and to create a new race called, ‘Christian.’ A Biblical Christian has been anointed with the very life of Christ Himself.

This is why the apostle said –

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” (Gal 2:20)

Jesus the Last Adam

The mysterious gift of God speaks of the life that Adam lost, and even beyond. Out of the cross would come a new creation, and in this new creation would come the sons and daughters of God.

But there is something crucial we need to grasp. God did not provide the last Adam (Jesus) a body from the dust of the ground. Indeed not. The Father provided Jesus with a body that belonged to the original race of Adam. By overshadowing the Virgin, Jesus would enter our world both as the Son of God, and also the Son of Man.

In this way Jesus could become the source of eternal life to all the children of Adam. Out of the cross came a judicial verdict based on the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The judicial verdict is simple. It says that anyone of the Adam race is given the right to call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and become a member of God’s new race of Christians.

Listen to Peter on the day of Pentecost as he exacts God’s judicial verdict for the whole of the human race –

“‘AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.'” (Act 2:21)

And thus with the apostle Paul –

“For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for ‘WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.'” (Rom 10:12-13)

Calling on the name of the Lord means to confess and acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior; that the person realizes they cannot become good enough to be saved; that they recognize themselves as lost sinners, and a appealing to Jesus Christ as God’s provision for salvation. It is as simple as that.

The Mystery of Eternal Life

For all who call on the name of the Lord, these become the children of God, and as children of God they are given the very nature of Christ, the last Adam. Because we are given a godly nature, this is why sin hurts so much for a true believer. Yes, we can and do sin, but sin is contrary to our spiritual nature from above. Sinners sin by nature. Christians sin by temptation. There is a vast difference.

Concerning our new life, the apostle wrote –

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” (2Co 5:17-19)

The issue of eternal life is that eternal life cannot be forfeited, just as the natural man cannot lose his natural human life. We are what we are.

And the apostle John says that we are now the children of God. The apostle Paul also speaks to this.

Listen with your heart –

[John] “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

“Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.

“And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1Jn 3:1-3)

[Paul] “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’

“The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.” (Rom 8:15-17)

Welcome home, all you children of God

And so the new race of Christians are actually…

The Children of the Throne

There is much to our future that we are not told about. We do know that all of creation, including the angels, anxiously await the crowning moment when all God’s children are fully restored to their rightful place in creation.

Yes, all the angels recognize each of God’s children. Every child carries in their heart a seal of redemption. In this seal is the very essence of, ‘I belong to heaven.’

In addition to the blood seal, every child of God has already been seated in Christ in the heavens. This is why we can be called ‘children of the throne’. What creation is waiting for now is the children’s full restoration to the glory of God.

Here it is in a nutshell:

For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings.” (Heb 2:10)

It would not do to leave off what the apostle Paul had to say about the children’s glory –

“For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things?

“If God is for us, who is against us?” (Rom 8:29-31)

Touch one of my kids, you touch Me – Lion of Judah

Yes indeed, the life of God in the heart of a child of God is both wonderful and mysterious. It is no wonder that we sing so much about heaven. After all, we are just sojourners in this world. We are looking for the city whose builder and maker is God. But not only a city, the Bible says we also have a country that has been prepared for us.

It is kind of hard to find a stopping place, but stop I must. Just keep in mind that the apostle said that nothing would ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is found in Christ Jesus. God’s love is eternal.

For your meditation here is a song about the Lion of Judah…

In Christ always,

Buddy

Jun

2012

The Measure of Invisible Power

“Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for [My] power is perfected in weakness.’

“Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2Co 12:8-10)

Journal,

Did you know that a believer’s greatest weakness can become their greatest strength? Yes, this is Biblical language. It has to do with something that God does in our lives. Turning weaknesses into strength is one of the great wonders of the new covenant walk. It is the secret to what beautifies a believer’s life. Yes indeed, God wants to add beauty to your life.

Listen as the Lord speaks through the prophet Isaiah;

“[I will] grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.” (Isa 61:3)

We need a good starting place. Let’s begin with the word ‘spiritual‘.

The apostle said…

I can do all things through Christ

The New Testament term so often misunderstood is the term ‘spiritual. The Greek term for spiritual [pneumatikós] comes from two words that have to do with invisibility and power, or that which proceeds from the Holy Spirit.

So, whether it is a spiritual song, a spiritual gift, or a spiritual enlightenment, it will always be of the Spirit and never of the flesh or by natural tendency.

Spirituality is not something to be earned. It comes to us by way of the cross. And yet spirituality is something that the believer learns to draw on. The reason is that in every believer there is a spiritual fountain of life.

Listen to Jesus explain this to the Samaritan woman:

“Jesus answered and said to her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, “Give Me a drink,” you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

“She said to Him, ‘Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water? You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?”

“Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but …

“…the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.’” (John 4:10-14)

From grace to grace

Spirituality is the outflow of God’s grace. Grace is not something that is measured to us on the basis of our merits. No one earns grace. And there will never be a day in a believer’s life where they are unable to draw on grace. (Cf. John 1:16)

God’s grace will always be amazing. It seems to come to us out of nowhere. Paul said it this way:

The apostle also said,

“Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.

“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Php 4:11-13)

A secret to be learned

Paul said he had ‘learned’ the secret. The word ‘learned’ in the Greek context speaks of an entrance into a new condition of living.

Paul had been taught by the Lord how to be independent of outside considerations. What he learned was that the Lord can infuse His strength into any every need that Paul the believer had. Paul’s weakness could become his strengths.

However, it would be important for Paul to recognize his own weakness before the power of God’s grace could become his source of strength.

Another way of saying this is that Christ is living His life in each believer.

This is where we hear Paul say,

“…Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2Co 12:9-10)

You don’t put new wine in old wine skins

A problem for some today is that they try to live new covenant life on an old covenant level. While there are defined callings in the new covenant, in no sense is one believer granted a higher spiritual life than any other. Certainly we should thank the Lord for pastors and other ministers, however, these ministers should never be given a place where they become the voice of God in our lives.

And in no case should a believe be running to and fro, trying to find someone who can give them a word from the Lord. The era of the Old Testament prophet is over. His job was fulfilled in John the Baptist.

Jesus specifically said that the law and the prophets concluded with John. The new covenant is a covenant of spiritual life. This spiritual life is resident in each believer.

It is not that the Lord can’t speak to us through others. He can and He does. The Lord can speak to us through nature or even by way of a sinner. But none of this precludes the essence of spiritual life in the new covenant.

Hear what Jesus had to say about the new covenant:

“When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” (Joh 10:4-5)

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.” (Joh 10:27-28)

The Way of the Cross

After Jesus took His place in heaven as the resurrected ‘Lord of glory,’ the Spirit then came to fill the new covenant church. The purpose of the cross was a new creation wherein each believer would be God-indwelt with resurrection life. This is why Jesus told the apostles that it was to their advantage that He went away.

The Lord went on to speak of the cross to the disciples:

“I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.”

[The term ‘truth’ in in the Greek speaks of the realities of God that comes to us by means of the cross.]

A true spiritual life always centers on Jesus

And again,

“He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said to you that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.” (Cf. John 16:12-15)

[He would take of the finished work of the cross and will disclose it to you.]

Out of the cross would come a new kind of man and woman, a people of the Spirit. These spiritual people would also be ‘heavenly’ born, that is, they would be heavenly citizens in earthly bodies. In their hearts would be a heavenly-consciousness.

They would also be given the mind of Christ.

Our spirituality is the working of the cross in us. It is also the working of heaven in us. If we keep the term, ‘the finished work of the cross’ in view, this will disallow confusion about what it means to be a person of the Spirit in the new covenant.

Jesus Christ is not only Lord and God, He is also the firstborn of many brothers and sisters. John said that His fullness has been given to all believers. Thus we have become men of Christ and women of Christ, that is, we are Christians.

These are things to think about. In the meantime for our locals, don’t miss out the Mora Homecoming Revival next week.

Just for Old Times Sake

The

Martins in Revival

Mora House of Prayer – Mora, Louisiana

Friday and Saturday 6:30 p.m. – June 29th and 30th

Sunday Home Coming 10:30 a.m. – July 1st

Martins: Nathan on the guitar. Shana on the Piano, Faith on the base guitar, Buddy on the banjo, and Rich Waring on the harmonicas.

In Christ always,

Buddy

Jun

2012

Just For Old Times Sake

“Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.”
(Act 3:19-21)

Readers,

When is the last time you’ve been to an old-time revival meeting?

Or to word it better, ‘How would you like to hear an old-time preacher try to preach an old-time revival meeting?’

Well now is your chance. Better mark your calendar. Here’s the information

The

Martin’s in Revival

Mora House of Prayer – Mora, Louisiana

Friday and Saturday 6:30 p.m. – June 29th and 30th

Sunday Home Coming, 10:30 a.m. – July 1st

Martins: Nathan on the guitar, Shana on the piano, Faith on the base guitar, Buddy on the banjo, and Rich Waring on the harmonicas.

Just For Old Time’s Sake

Think back 42 years, and you’ll have the Martins in revivals.

It is such an honor to be invited by Sister Sandra Hillman Wallace to serve as the evangelist for the revival at Mora House of Prayer. How long has it been?

Wow, such memories – Forty-two years ago we held our first revival in this very church. I was 30 years old and now I’m pressing 72.

Come to think of it, many of my readers weren’t even born then. In fact our daughter wasn’t yet part of the picture.

And many of the old timers from those long gone years, have already made their journey home. I have such wonderful memories of God’s people who are no longer with us on this side of heaven.

Well, for the Martins, our evangelism circuit was largely in Louisiana but with some revivals in Texas, and a short stint of ministry work in New Mexico.

However, Central Louisiana was always our favorite preaching grounds. We held meetings or otherwise preached in churches in Mora, Flatwoods, Pinecoupee, Sharp, Lena, and other outlying areas. (We sort of lost count of the baptisms. They were so many.)

But the Mora church will always have a very special place in our hearts. The Hillmans had just taken pastorate of the church and the Martins were their first evangelists. Some years later that we were blessed to pastor that very church before establishing Christian Challenge.

But the circle has been made. Sister Hillman is now the pastor. (Brother Hillman went to be with the Lord in 1999. It was my honor to preach his funeral. How I have always loved that family.)

Yup, it’s time to dust off the guitar, shake out the cobwebs, stir up the bones and set about to preach the old, old, story of how a Savior came from glory.

Yup, you know the story of how He gave His life on Calvary to save a wretch like me.

It’s going to be old-timey. The Martins will be sharing gospel music from yesteryear.

I want to extend a special invite to all our friends who have had a share in the Martin revivals in years gone by. It would be wonderful to see many of those that were baptized during the revivals.

And now for a bit of humor. Yup….

A Little Humor Goes a Long Way

I’ve often been asked how a person can know if they have been called to the ministry? My stock answer is, ‘If you can stay out of the ministry, you weren’t called to begin with.’

As for me, the call to preach has rested on my heart from childhood. You can verify this with some of my cousins.

I use to hem some of my cousins in the outhouse while I stood in the door so they couldn’t escape. And there I would preach a hellfire and brimstone sermon. Course we didn’t have much room for an altar call. Everyone was just glad when I let them out.

Well, no, I’ve never lost my sense of humor. The good news is that I’ve graduated far beyond fire and brimstone preaching. Found out through the years that the gospel has a much greater story to tell.

The old old story is about a Father’s love for all of fallen humanity. It is the story of redeeming grace. It is a story that cannot be measured by any measurement we are acquainted with.

Jesus said it best of all. Listen:

“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.” (Joh 6:37-39)

Guess you could say that my ministry has had great changes through the years.

Be that what it may, here is a song that will minister to your heart. It carries the story of the gospel, the very story that I will be telling in the Mora House of Prayer revival – ‘Selah – There is a Fountain.’

Always in Christ,

Buddy

Jun

2012

The Valley of Baca

“How blessed is the man whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways to Zion! Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring; the early rain also covers it with blessings. They go from strength to strength, every one of them appears before God in Zion.” – (Psa 84:5-7 NASB)

Journal,

I’ve thought it would do well to resend a writing that I provided well over two years ago. It has become one of the highest readings of my blog. It has to do with what the Bible calls, ‘the valley of baca.’ Hope it refreshes your heart.

Have you ever been through the valley of Baca?

Sure you have. Every human has been there The valley of Baca is the valley of weeping. The valley of Baca is part of our journey of life. My wife and I are very familiar with this valley. Forty-three plus years ago we stood by the grave of our nine month old son. We were passing through the valley of weeping. How our hearts filled with sorrow.

But the valley of Baca isn’t simply about tears. Believe it or not the valley of Baca is also the valley of strength. It is in the valley of Baca that a believer finds himself being renewed in the Lord. Betty and I knew that we would see David Lynn again. There was no question in our minds about that. That knowing has become one of the trail markers on our journey of faith.

There is an explanation for this idea of Baca also being the valley of strength The truth of the matter is that…

We are on our way home

No matter what else Psalms 84 may speak to, it also carries its own spiritual significance for our journey of life. And so Psalm 84 begins with,

“How lovely are Your dwelling places, O Lord of hosts! My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.” (Vv1,2)

Psalm 84 opens with the longings of the heart. And while the Psalm has in view the earthly Jerusalem and the tabernacle, its deeper spiritual inference is for those who have been born from above. Its deeper spiritual lessons go far beyond an earthly Jerusalem.

To be born again is to be born from above. In this ‘heavenly’ birthing we actually become children of God, or, heaven’s children. In the heart of every born-from-above person, God places the seal of the ‘Holy Spirit’. Paul calls this seal the ‘pledge’ of our inheritance. (Or, ‘the seal of redemption.)

The seal cannot be broken. It is a seal of ownership. It is also a seal that carries with it the very essence of heaven. We can think of it as our ‘going home’ seal. The seal lets us know that we are pilgrims in this life. It is because of the seal we can say with Paul,

“For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven.” (2Co5:1,2)

See the connection. The Psalmist said, “My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the Lord.”

But in the meantime, we groan. We all have these groaning times in this life. Paul uses the same language as the Psalmist.

The tell-tale sign

The book of Hebrews tells is that this ‘longing‘ is one of the signs of God’s people through the ages. It is applied to the Old Testament saints who longed for Messiah and for a country that was to be their own. It says that Abraham “was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” (He11:10)

Then it speaks of all the holy ones who were before Christ. Of them it says,

“[They] confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth … But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.” (Cf. He11:13-16)

When birds preach the gospel

Psalm 84:3,4 continues with,

“The bird also has found a house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young. Even Your altars, O Lord of host, My king and My God. How blessed are those who dwell in Your house! They are ever praising You. Selah.”

The issue here is that heaven’s children are able see the goodness of the Lord in everything. Even the swallow has a lesson to teach us about God. Perhaps she knows much more than we realize. Did not the Lord say,

“Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?” (Matt6:26)

I’ve had a couple of unique experiences that involved birds. One was when we pastored a former church. For a good while each morning when I showered I would hear a bird outside the window. One day I caught a glimpse of her. She was on a limb right outside the shower. Coincidence? Perhaps. But I like to think that she was sent as an encouragement. Yes I know. I’m a dreamer.

Another time was when the Lord spoke to my heart to ‘Expect the unexpected.’ This was when the Lord gave me a miracle healing from cancer. I was sitting on the hill behind Christian Challenge during a time of devotion and meditation. When the Lord spoke to my heart, I glanced up and right above my head on the high line was a beautiful dove. She didn’t move a feather. I looked at her and she looked at me. Coincidence? Not for me.

Well, let’s continue, Psalm 84:5 says,

“How blessed is the man whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways to Zion!”

Again we can reflect on Jesus. The highway to heaven’s Zion is the path of Jesus. The Psalmist said in another place that God would make the Messiah’s footsteps “into a way.” (Ps85:13)

So where are the highways to Zion? Are not the highways to Zion in our hearts?

And where is our true strength?

It is in Jesus. The Psalmist said, “How blessed is the man whose strength is in You.” Did you know that most burn out in a believer’s life is a burn out of the flesh. There is no burn out in the Spirit. The Spirit refreshes. But if we are doing our work in the flesh, we will wither with weariness.

Let’s now look at the path that leads us home. After all we live in the nasty now-and-now.The Psalm continues,

“Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring; the early rain also covers it with blessings.” (V6)

How many times have we been through the valley of Baca? I’ve been there often. There is no use in me telling you about my “Bacas.” You’ve been there. It is a place of deep sorrow. But it is in the valley of Baca that we come to know the Lord in a even more intimate way. Thus we hear in another place, “Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.” (Ps30:5)

One day the Lord may pull back the veil of our life and allow us to see all the ways He intervened in those moments of deep sorrow. And what may amaze us the most, is when He shows us His intervention in our lives before we came to a conscious knowledge of Him as our Lord and Savior. It is very much like the song which says, “He was there all the time.”

It was 1961. I was in Manila bay with a group of sailors and marines. In tossing a beach ball around, the ball got away, and I began swimming to retrieve it. What I didn’t realize was that the tide was carrying me out. On top of that, every time my fingers touched the ball, it sprang forward. When I finally realized that I couldn’t get the ball, I turned to swim back. But I had been carried far out into the bay. And as hard as I tried, I couldn’t fight the tide. It was pulling me further out. (Manila bay is part of the South China Sea, and is known for its shark activity.)

The short side of this is that I became so exhausted that I began to lose hope. I felt that the sea wanted to drag me down. Then I heard this thumpa, thumpa, thumpa, thumpa. A Philippine fisherman saw my distress and he headed his banka boat straight for me. That non-English speaking fisherman became my savior that day. But to this day I believe the greater Savior was behind the scene. My Baca valley turned to rejoicing.

Every one of them appears before God

The Psalmist continues,

“They go from strength to strength, every one of them appears before God in Zion.” (v7)

Listen to the language. Every one of them! Every one of them! Why does this sound familiar? Jesus said,

“For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” (Jn6:40)

This is Jesus saying, “Every one of them will appear before God in Zion.”

In another place He says, “Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me!” (He2:13)

It is like Jesus is saying, “Here we are Father. They are all here. I haven’t lost a one of them. I have kept them in Your name. The family is home.”

Salvation is an awesome and wondrous thing. But it only becomes truly awesome when we realize that our salvation is never based on anything we can do. Jesus alone saves us. He saved us. He is saving us. He will save us. He intervenes in our lives constantly. He intervened before we came to know Him. And He is ever-present in our lives afterwards to help us process every struggle.

Is it any wonder that our path goes from strength to strength, from grace to grace, from blessing to blessing, and yes, even from baca to baca.

Lets end our study with the ending prayer of Psalm 84. No need for me to explain prayer. Just listen with your heart:

“O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah. Behold our shield, O God, and look upon the face of Your anointed. For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord gives grace and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, how blessed is the man who trusts in You!” (vv8-12)

What say ye — How are you doing on your way home?

Much love to you from the Martins,

In Christ always,

Buddy

Jun

2012

The Gospel of the Prostitute

” … ‘Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.’” (Mat 21:28-31 NASB)

Journal,

Why did Jesus say that prostitutes and tax collectors would enter the kingdom of God before the chief priests and the elders of the temple?

Let’s see if we can find out.

Think about it – The primary reason prostitutes and tax collectors would enter God’s kingdom before the chief priests of the temple, is because the prostitutes and tax collectors knew they were sinners. The chief priests and other religious leaders were of a different fabric. They never considered themselves as sinners.

You see this typified when Jesus healed a blind man. Listen –

“So a second time they called the man who had been blind, and said to him, ‘Give glory to God; we know that this man [Jesus] is a sinner.

“He then answered, ‘Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.'” (Joh 9:24-25)

Why did they say that Jesus was a sinner? It was because the Lord never aligned Himself with the religious system. He was always in the mix of sinners of all sorts. Even lepers were allowed to touch Him.

And so it is with the prostitutes and tax collectors that we find the gospel story unfolding. These people were utterly detested by the religious authorities. You have the dregs of society versus the high and mighty.

You have those who knew they are sinners, and you have those who looked down their noses at everyone not of their sort.

Why Prostitutes and Tax Collectors

To appreciate what Jesus had to say about prostitutes and tax collectors entering the kingdom of God before the religious authorities, we need a bit of background.

The day before this exchange with the chief priests, Jesus ran the money changers out of the temple area. When He returns to the temple the following day, He is confronted by the temple authorities –

“When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, ‘By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?

” Jesus said to them, ‘I will also ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things.

“The baptism of John was from what source, from heaven or from men?

“And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, ‘If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ “But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the people; for they all regard John as a prophet.”

“And answering Jesus, they said, ‘We do not know.’ He also said to them, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.’” (Mat 21:23-27)

It is at this point that the Lord gives the parable of the two sons and follows it up with the vineyard story. (You may want to read the parable and the vineyard story in its entirety: Mat 21:28-436)

But it is how Jesus ends this parable that is so interesting. He simply says that the prostitutes and tax collectors would enter the kingdom of God, ahead of these Jewish leaders?

Once again…

But Why?

Think about it. The Lord was in the temple complex speaking to the recognized leaders of world Judaism. Included in this group would be those who would have Him crucified.

Yes, have you guessed it yet? It wasn’t the prostitutes and tax collectors who would crucify Jesus. It was religion that crucified Jesus.

And this is the story of the cross.

Do you find it interesting to find that the very first person to carry the message of the risen Christ was a woman of whom Jesus had cast seven demons? It wasn’t Peter, or John, or any of the apostles that Jesus first showed Himself to. It was the woman Mary Magalene.

Paul nailed it down very well when he said, “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” (Rom5:20)

The apostle included his personal testimony in how God reaches into lowest points of sin to rescue the sinner –

“It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.

“Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.” (1Ti 1:15-16)

The Sinner’s Story is Seen in the Genealogy of Jesus

Strangely enough the verity of ‘the prostitutes entering first’ can be seen in Biblical form.

In the genealogy of Jesus Christ, only four women are recorded. Three of the four women were non-Hebrew in ancestry; Tamar the Canaanite, Rahab the Canaanite, and Ruth the Moabite.

Two had prostitution written in their lives, Tamar and Rahab.

One was an adulteress, Bathsheba. (Bathsheba was the only Hebrew of the four. She was from the tribe of Judah.)

These four women were in the direct lineage of Jesus Christ. Does that tell us anything at all?

Why were these the only women recorded? Perhaps it is because in these women we see the very heart of the gospel, and the story of God’s love for all of humanity.

Here is a brief rundown.

Tamar dressed herself as a temple prostitute to deceive Judah. Through Judah would come King David, and thus God’s Messiah. (Story in Genesis 38)
Rahab was a ‘harlot.’ [Hebrew is ‘zanah’ which means to be a harlot or to commit fornication.] The two spies were sent to spy out Jericho. Rahab protected them. She believed in the Lord God of Israel. (Story in Joshua 2)
Ruth’s story is one of the most beautiful in all the Bible. She was a Moabitess. Once again we have a non-Israelite woman preserving the seed of Messiah. (See the book of Ruth.)
Finally we have Bathsheba. She was married to Uriah the Hittite. David paid dearly for his sin of adultery with Bathsheba. And yet this is another of the four women who are written in the genealogy of Jesus. (Bathsheba was the mother of Solomon.)

The Issue is Not Justification of Sin

It is important to understand that this is not an issue of lifting up immoral sexual behavior. Sin pulls its own red wagon. Sin is a destroyer of lives. No one knows this better than the one who is in sin.

There is a truism which says…

Sin will take you further than you want to go.
It will keep you longer than you want to stay,
And it will cost you more than you want to pay.

To glory in sin and think that it doesn’t really matter, is a grave mistake. To preach the love of God in a way that sin is not part of the picture, is to preach a false gospel.

Jesus came to save us from our sins, not to endorse us in a sinful life-style.

Sin does matter. It was the sin of the fallen race that brought Jesus to the cross.

This is why in the new covenant God gives us the gift of a new heart. Thus the apostle said that a true believer can never be comfortable in sin. It hurts too deeply.

And this is where religion needs to be looked at more closely.

The Law says, ‘Stone her! What do You say?’

What is Jesus speaking of with the parable of the two sons is that religion in and of itself can become the very destroyer of lives. Sometimes we exalt our religion to the extent that we’ve become ‘religion worshipers.’ This is what had happened in Israel’s religious establishment.

We see religious blindness in the gospel story of Jesus. When the men wanted to stone a woman caught in adultery, Jesus diverted the attention of the men to their own sins.

He spoke nothing but kindness to the frightened woman. However, the Lord said two things to her that we must never forget. First, He did not allow her to stay under the bondage of condemnation.

And secondly, Jesus simply told her to free herself from the sin that she was involved in. He Himself would be her freedom.

The woman at the well is another classic example. This woman had been married five times and was then living with a guy.

How did Jesus handle her? He began by helping her process her life. He spoke to her heart. He awakened something in her. Jesus Himself would be her answer.

But notice that the woman has a final argument. It had to do with religion. She said,

“Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.”

There it is. See how plain and simple it is? All she knew was religion. She had a pain in her heart and couldn’t do anything about it. The Lord took it out of the hands of religion. He said,

“Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.”

He goes one to say,

“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Now we know the primary reason the temple authorities hated Jesus. He was dismantling their power over the people.

No More Special Mountains

Jesus was telling the woman at the well that there wasn’t going to be any more special mountains she needed to go to. There will be no anointed places you need to seek out.

There will be no more great religious figures you will need to bless you. True worship will be a matter of the heart. It will be as personal as a kiss. (The Greek for worship, proskuneo, literally means ‘to kiss.’ It is a very intimate word.)

True worship is deeply personal.

Jesus drew attention to the danger of following religious movements and men:

“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe him. [Keep in mind that the term ‘the Christ’ essentially means, ‘the anointed one’.]

“For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.

“Behold, I have told you in advance. So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them.” (Mat 24:23-26)

Think deeply about what Jesus is urging. He is saying that there will be men and women who will be noted as ‘special anointed ones’, there will be movements and places that will be noted as, ‘special anointed movements and special anointed places’ that you need to go to truly find Jesus.

Anything wrong with this? You decide.

The apostle said it as well as it can be said.

“…to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Col 1:27)

Where is Christ? He is in the hearts and lives of all God’s children.

What Does All This Mean

This brings us full circle back to the high priests, the elders, the prostitutes, and the tax collectors.

What does all this mean? It means the door to heaven has been flung open. The curtain has been ripped. No one can ever again stand between you and the Lord God. There is no prophet that you need to go to.

Jesus is present with every one of His people. He is in their hearts. He is in their mouths. He is in their lives.

“I have other sheep also, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one Shepherd.”

Does this do away with the Church? May it never be.

Jesus Founded the True Church

The Church has never been a building. It has never been a denomination. It has never been an earthly institution. The Church is a heavenly institution and can be found in many forms throughout the earth.

Christ Himself builds His Church, and He flocks His people as He wills. We just need to find out where we need to be.

Did the Lord not say,

“Heaven is my throne and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me?” (Isa66:1)

Well, God did build a house to contain His glory. He built it out of fallen humanity.

The apostle said it well enough;

“For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts (this is the glory shining) to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face [exact presence] of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels…” (2Co4:6,7)

The flock of God

So, whence went religion? If the glory is shining in our hearts, why would we need an outward system of symbols and rituals, with vestments and forms, to tell us what God is like? Well, we don’t really need any of that.

Jesus said,

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.” (Jn10:27,28)

Now the big question – What need do we have for flocking together as a Church?

The need is great. God has ordained that each of His people be assigned to a particular flock for their care and safety.

There are hundreds of thousands of gospel believing churches with the same hundreds of thousands of godly pastors who care deeply for their flock. We just need to look to the Lord to place us in our proper flock.

A church assembly may be of the thousands or it may just be a handful. The church always addresses the gatherings of God’s people.

It should go without saying that we aren’t in heaven yet. Nor are we secured from the presence of evil.

And so God has decreed that He will meet with every flock, regardless of how tiny or how large it may be, and it is in these gatherings that He will make Himself known in special ways.

The point at hand is that the young lambs need a place of security so they can grow properly, and be taught the ways of the Lord, and not have to worry about harassment by wolves.

God’s people do need pastoral oversight. Mature believers are a safe-guard against spoilers of the flock.

Paul warned us about the spoilers. Wolves are sly. They often try to enter the flocks disguised as sheep. But you can recognize them after a bit.

They emit an order that is unpleasant to the sheep.

Besides that, wolves are really stuck on themselves. They can’t hide it. On the other hand, sheep are humble creatures and non-threatening.

I have been a pastor for a long time. My greatest joy is to look at those who have been made part of God’s church, and say …

“Thank you Lord, for every prostitute and every tax collector. Thank you for all these beautiful people. They were once sickened in sin, but you have glorified Yourself in them. Thank you Jesus.”

While you think about these things, take time for the beautiful gospel song – “He Touched Me’.

Much love in Jesus,

Buddy

May

2012

God’s Unfailing Love

“For the LORD your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them.” (Deu 4:31)

Journal,

It really disturbs me when I hear preachers talk to struggling believers as if they were sinners going to hell, and then treat sinners as if they were dogs. Who is the one who would abuse the very ones that God loves so deeply? Jesus did not tell Peter to beat His sheep. He told Peter to love them, to care for them, to feed them.

The Father did not send His Son into the world to lose sinners. He sent Him to save sinners. And saving sinners is not a one time deal. Jesus came into our lives to save us from all our sins, from all our mistakes, from all our failures, and from all our stumbles in life.

Listen to what the angel spoke to Joseph, about the Coming birth of Jesus:

“…an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.‘” (Mat 1:20-21)

The Transforming Power of God

God has given us a message that must be clearly preached. Preachers are not sent to condemn the world. The world is already under condemnation. The message that God sent us to preach is the message of salvation through Jesus Christ. This is the message that God sends to broken humanity?

Listen:

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” (Joh 3:16-17)

Did you notice the two statements that begin with, “For God…”

Look closely to what these statements address: God’s love for the world, and, the mission of God’s Son.

In my forty-seven years in the ministry I have often seen how the message of God’s love for all of humanity works to transform the most sinful of lives.

People need to know that Jesus loves them, and that He loves them without condition. He loves them enough to come and live with them, and to help them work out all the details of their lives.

This does not mean that anyone can be saved aside from receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. What it means it that Jesus is the eternal Savior. Jesus is the Father’s love sent into our world. Jesus came to love us into the kingdom of God.

To believe in and receive Jesus Christ as truly God’s Son, that He died, was resurrected, that He ascended, and is Lord, is what brings a person into God’s family on earth. Each member of the family is given a new heart to love God. Not a heart that is incapable of sinning, but a heart that hurts deeply when sin enters the picture.

What many do not realize is that sin of itself is contrary to the very God-given nature of the child of God. Yes, a believer can and does sin at times, but sin for a believer deeply grieves their heart. Thus we often come to the Lord for our cleansing and forgiveness.

I must again speak of …

A Shock Story Needs a Retelling

I never tire of sharing this story. I hope my readers to never tire of hearing it. The reason I often share it is because of the shock that I received from an old Indian.

So, here it goes again –

I’ve been in and out of Latin American countries on mission trips many times. On this occasion we were among the Mayan Indians in the mountains of Belize. Walking along a mountain trail with some of our group, I noticed an old Indian had stopped by the side of the trail to let us pass. That’s when it happened.

The Lord nudged my heart. I stopped next to the old Indian, and said, “Sabes tu que Christo te ama?” Instantly his hands went to his face and he began to weep. I could hardly believe my eyes. Indians tend to be very stoic people. Why was he weeping? The only thing I said to him was, “Do you know that Jesus Christ loves you?”

You see, these Indians were steeped in idolatry. Fear controlled their lives. They had mountain gods, and witches, and dark spirits at work in their lives. The only other religion they were exposed to was Catholicism. But this religion said little about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

I assured him as best I could about how much God truly loved Him. The old Indian’s eyes were still wet with tears when we parted. But now I understood why the Holy Spirit impressed me to make that statement.

The love of Jesus is the message of the cross. The old Indian did not need to hear a message of condemnation. He lived in a state of condemnation. He needed to know that God truly loved him.

When as I preached that evening in the open mountain building, I became very aware of the oppressing spirits. The darkness felt strong. Yet the message had to go forth, and it did. More people were added to God’s holy kingdom.

Was Satan mad? You bet. Could he do anything about it? Not a thing in the world.

What’s the issue? It is simple. Jesus did not come into the world to lose people. He came to save the lost ones. Jesus is a great Savior. He is a Savior that finishes what He begins. This is why the Bible says that Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith.

Shall I go on? Let me share when…

A Young Man Saves Others

I stood behind the casket of a young man. It was at one of the larger churches in Honduras. The story was very sad. The Honduran army had conscripted him. They often do this by picking up young men off of the streets. Anyway, this young man was a Christian. While serving in the Army a number of soldiers beat him severely. In the hospital he was given a blood transfusion, but the blood had HIV. This became the cause of his death.

No, I don’t have any answers as to the whys of life. But again I preached the simple message of God’s love. And once again the people crowded across the front. They wanted to know and to meet the Savior that loved them. All these people were under a religious system that had little to say about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Yes, Jesus accepted every one of them.

This young man went to be with Jesus. Many more were saved at his funeral than had been saved during his short life. His testimony for Jesus became the gathering point for hundreds to be at his funeral.

Is this not the story of many Christians? Did not the first Christian martyr, Stephen, die with the testimony of Jesus on his lips?

Have you ever wondered why Jesus attracted so many of the outcasts of life? Study the gospels and you will see the Father’s heart as it was revealed in Jesus. Jesus loved people. It was His love that attracted the people to Him. He loved them. He healed them. He shared with them how to live.

I think you are getting the picture. What is it we need to understand? If the gospel of Jesus Christ is not about the love of God, it is no gospel at all. The gospel is good news. It is happy tidings. Why would God send His Son into the world to die for our sins, if it was not because He loved us so much. There is no other gospel.

It is the gospel of God’s love that melts the human heart.

Yes, Judgement Has Its Place

Yes, judgment has its place in the message of the cross. Sin must be dealt with. For those who reject Jesus Christ, the message must become clear on the issue of judgment.

The Bible does speak often of judgment. Listen to a further reading in John 3:

“He who believes in Him [Jesus] is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.” (Joh 3:18-19)

And as for sin, yes, we are free to choose sin if we wish. However, we are not free to choose the consequences. And to reject Jesus Christ is to live under a sentence of judgment.

There are more incidences where God instructed me to speak of His love. Here is another story where the Lord said…

Tell Them that I Love Them

We were in a barrio (village) south of Reynosa. I had a Mexican-American gospel singing group with me. We walked through the barrio inviting the people to a service that evening. A wealthy Christian woman had made her courtyard available for our use.

The courtyard filled up. This time I am startled but for a different reason. I had never seen physical conditions of that nature. One person literally had tumors hanging from her body.

I asked the Lord what He wanted me to say. He said that I was to tell them three things.

First, tell them that I love them.

Then tell them that I want to heal their lives.

And tell them that they must learn to walk in His ways and not in the ways of darkness.

That barrio saw our first church raised up in Mexico. It was all a result of telling the people who Jesus Christ truly loved, that He wanted to share their lives. Yes, once again we saw peoples giving their hearts and lives to Jesus.

There is so much more I would like to share, but I think the point has been well established.

What is the point? The point is that we must never give up on people. God doesn’t.

While you think about that, take time for this song by Chris Tomlin, ‘Unfailing Love.’

In Christ always,

Buddy

The Longings of the Heart

The Lie That Caused Mankind’s Disrepair

An Issue of Mind Control

Self-Deification

End Time Delusions

A True Walk of Faith

The World’s Only Perfect Religion

Forgiveness and Consequences

The Essence of True Repentance

The Heart of the Cross

Learning a Life of Holiness

A Special Problem to Face

One Final Thought

Saved by God’s Blood

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

When the Blood is Sprinkled

Born of God

Stepping Back in Time

Whispers of the Heart

My Sheep Hear My Voice

Twelve-Stringed Instrument

The Fallen Children

Jesus the Last Adam

The Mystery of Eternal Life

The Children of the Throne

I can do all things through Christ

From grace to grace

A secret to be learned

You don’t put new wine in old wine skins

The Way of the Cross

Just for Old Times Sake

Just For Old Time’s Sake

A Little Humor Goes a Long Way

Have you ever been through the valley of Baca?

We are on our way home

The tell-tale sign

When birds preach the gospel

And where is our true strength?

Every one of them appears before God

Why Prostitutes and Tax Collectors

But Why?

The Sinner’s Story is Seen in the Genealogy of Jesus

The Issue is Not Justification of Sin

The Law says, ‘Stone her! What do You say?’

No More Special Mountains

What Does All This Mean

Jesus Founded the True Church

The Transforming Power of God

A Shock Story Needs a Retelling

A Young Man Saves Others

Yes, Judgement Has Its Place

Tell Them that I Love Them

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