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May

2012

Time and History Belong to God

Quanah Parker, the half-breed Indian War Chief. Quanah was the last leader of the powerful Quahadi Comanche tribe. The Comanches were the most feared, and warlike of all the Indian tribes, and the last to submit to the reservations.

“The white man goes into his church and talks about Jesus, but the Indian goes into his tipi and talks to Jesus.” – Quanah Parker, great Comanche Indian chief.

Journal

Like most Americans, I’ve always been intrigued with our native Americans. Much of this likely comes from my early Indian heritage. The first one in my Martin line to come to the Louisiana Territory was what the settlers called ‘a squaw man.’ This meant that his wife was Indian.

Billy Martin was a Revolutionary Soldier. Like Quanah Parker, whose mother was a captured white woman, Billy Martin’s children were noted as ‘half breeds.’ My Martin family line is buried in our community cemetery, all the way back to my g-g-grandfather, Charles Seth Martin, the half-breed son of Billy and Elizabeth Martin. (White men gave their Indian wives an English name.)

Begin at bottom left: My father (Lawrence Bert Martin "Red"); our son (David Lynn Martin); my grandparents (John Allen & Elizabeth Martin); my great-uncle (Jessie Martin); my great-grand-parents (James Erwin and Mary Martin); my great-great-grandfather (Charles Seth Martin, the half-breed) Note: Billy and Elizabeth Martin are buried at Mitchell Cemetery in Anacoco, Louisiana. There is a special memorial headstone in place with the beginning inscription, 'Pioneer Martin.'

Here is a picture of my family line laid out at Campbell Creek Cemetery. (The Indians called it ‘Campbell Creek’ because of a white settler who lived there for a time.)

What does any of this have to do with time and history?

I’m glad you asked. One reason I wanted to share this is because time and history is laid out in this cemetery.

Each person buried in this cemetery speaks of a life that was lived. Each life contained its own history.

But what really arrested my attention for this journal entry, is when I began thinking about just how short time can be.

Then I thought about history itself in the sense of how many today are not aware of how the world has changed in just a short time.

Think about how the Indians fit in the picture. Here is a bit on …

Getting a Fix on Time

I remember my grandparents on both sides of my family very well. Not only did I love them, but I spent a time with them in my early years. They were all of pioneer stock.

Grandpa John Allen and his brother Jessie. Ben Odom is the ox-man, with four double yoke of oxen. This picture is around 1890.

When I got to thinking about my grandfather Martin, John Allen, and the year he was born (1876), it began to dawn on me that he was born the year of the battle of little big horn, known as ‘Custer’s Last Stand’.

The Indian wars were going on. The country was yet in its pioneer mode. Most of the west was still Indian territory.

Think about it – The following were not even states at that time: Colorado, North and South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, and certainly not Alaska and Hawaii. (Alaska and Hawaii were admitted in my life time.)

My dad was born two years before Quanah Parker died, and Oklahoma had just become a state (1907), two years before dad was born. When my dad was born, New Mexico, and Arizona were not states.

Is it beginning to sink in?

It is not about a history lesson. What I wish to get across is how fast time moves and how much God is involved in all that history has to tell.

What I want to get across is how each person has only a measure of life on this planet. What we do with those short years are a key to the whole of our future, both naturally and spiritually.

The Life-Lesson in Time and History

Listen carefully as the apostle Paul speaking by the Spirit of the Lord, lays out time and history —

“The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things;

“… and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him,

“… though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’

“Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man.

“Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” (Act 17:24-31)

Listen carefully to added instructions from God’s Holy Writ:

Are you ready for the judgment seat of Christ? When Jesus calls your name, there won't be any more time.

“Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.'” (Jas 4:14-15)

“Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things.

“So, remove grief and anger from your heart and put away pain from your body, because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting.” (Ecc 11:9-10)

“Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, ‘I have no delight in them'”. (Ecc 12:1)

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.” (Psa 139:23-24)

Awake Sleeper!

I will always carry in my heart a need to reach the lost man. But one of my deepest concerns is for the young people of today. Many of them know all the right words to say, but when it comes to the things of the Lord, I see so much darkness in their lives. It is as though the spirit of the world has brought them under its power. It is as though their minds are so clouded that they are unable to see the destruction around them.

Yes, I’m deeply concerned, but, no, I’m not dismayed. Not all young people are like that. And I know that the Lord is greater than anything this world can offer.

I know that He is able to break every yoke. I also know that time is always on the side of truth. And I know that many of the young people who are being snared today, will one day break out of the harness of darkness, and will become wonderful testifiers to the grace and love that is found in Jesus Christ.

My prayer will always be for God’s awakening call be felt throughout this generation.

Paul said it well enough:

“For this reason it says, ‘Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.’

“Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.”(Eph 5:14-16)

White Man Goes Into His Church

What did Chief Quanah Parker mean, “The white man goes into his church and talks about Jesus, but the Indian goes into his tipi and talks to Jesus.”

Actually God had already set the stage for the Indians to come to know Jesus. The Great Spirit was called, ‘Wakan Tanka’, by many of the Plains Indians. They believed that the Great Spirit was personal and close to them; that the Great Spirit had created all things and instructed the people how to live.

Quanah did not accept Christianity as it was offered by the missionaries, though one of his sons became a Methodist minister. Quanah helped to set up the Native American Church and their use of peyote. This church for the most part included a belief in Jesus, that He was an intercessor for humans, and a spiritual guardian. They also held a belief in the Bible.

For the Indians, everything was personal. Thus they believed in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. So they believed in talking to Jesus. Of course the use of peyote as an hallucinatory drug made from cactus is illegal for anyone aside from the Indians.

About talking to Jesus, what do you think about that? Isn’t it kind of up front and personal? Isn’t that what true Christianity is really about? And I can agree with Quanah in some of what he thought. For many Christians it seems to be about religion and not necessarily a personal talking relationship with Jesus.

And, no, it really isn’t a matter of having Indian ancestry. Most pioneer families do have such a lineage. In fact my wife shares a direct lineage with the Choctaw nation of Oklahoma. They are quite familiar with the trail of tears.

But it is a matter of time. What are you doing about your time on earth?

While you consider these things, take time to listen to this song, ‘How Great Thou Art.’ It is music only but with Indian pictures for the background.

In Christ always,

Buddy

May

2012

The Words of the Preacher

“In addition to being a wise man, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, searched out and arranged many proverbs. The Preacher sought to find delightful words and to write words of truth correctly. The words of wise men are like goads, and masters of these collections are like well-driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd.” (Ecc 12:9-11)

Journal,

The greater part of my 71 years on this earth have been as a servant of the Lord. (47 years preaching and teaching.)

I want to add that I have always had a great love and respect for all of God’s called ministers. They will forever be dear to my heart. Yes, all ministers have their share of mistakes and struggles, yet it is the truly God called servant of the Lord who has been commissioned by heaven to declare the message of God’s Son to the world.

The apostle says it well enough:

“How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent?

“Just as it is written, ‘HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!'” (Rom 10:14-15)

For my case, in addition to the gifts of preaching and teaching, the Lord has also gifted me with an ability to explain the gospel in a way that can be easily understood by those who chance upon my writings. On the web alone I have over 500 studies that can be accessed. (This number does not include another 334 postings that are found on an earlier blog.)

With that being said, I wanted to make note of the top ten of my 217 studies that are offered in this Journal. You may wish to find out why they have acquired the most readers.

Here they are beginning with the highest read study:

1. Jesus the wonder and mystery of the Bible

http://buddymartin.net/blog/2009/11/jesus-the-wonder-and-mystery-of-the-bible/

2. Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment

http://buddymartin.net/blog/2009/11/mercy-triumphs-over-judgment/

3. Tongues

http://buddymartin.net/blog/speaking-in-other-languages/

4. Passing Through the Valley of Baca

http://buddymartin.net/blog/2010/01/passing-through-the-valley-of-baca/

5. God’s Wings and the Blue Thread of Heaven

http://buddymartin.net/blog/2011/09/gods-wings-and-the-blue-thread-of-heaven/

6. Salvation

http://buddymartin.net/blog/salvation/

7. How Secure are You in Christ

http://buddymartin.net/blog/2010/03/how-secure-are-you-in-christ/

8. My Story

http://buddymartin.net/blog/testimony/

9. Honoring God With First Fruits

http://buddymartin.net/blog/2009/12/honoring-god-with-first-fruits/

10. What Can Make Me Whole Again – Nothing But the Blood of Jesus

http://buddymartin.net/blog/2010/11/what-can-make-me-whole-again-nothing-but-the-blood-of-jesus/

I pray these studies will bless you with the peace and grace that belong to the kingdom of God’s beloved Son.

I want to dedicate this song to all God’s faithful servants. Perhaps you will appreciate it – Daddy Was An Old-Time Preacher

In Christ always,

Buddy

May

2012

The Believer’s Validation of Faith

“ … to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith … ” (Eph 3:14-19)

Journal,

What is it in a believer’s life that validates their faith in Jesus Christ? The answer really isn’t complicated. What validates any true believer’s faith in Jesus, is the presence of the Lord in their heart and life.

Peter address this validation:

“But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.” (1Pe 3:15)

Paul also addresses this quite plainly:

“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.” (Rom 8:15-16)

The Power and Presence of a Person

When the apostle said that the believer is to be, ‘strengthened with power in the inner man,’ he was not addressing an abstract notion. Paul is speaking of the very personal presence of Christ Jesus Himself.

It is the presence of Jesus in the hearts of believers that enables them live in an overcoming life. Jesus strengthens us, nurtures us, corrects us, guides us, disciplines us, but He will never leave us.

The apostle explained this personal aspect of our walk with the Lord. Listen:

“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)

This is why it is so important to realize something of …

The Voice of God

The call of salvation is a personal call to come walk with Jesus. It can never be merely about religion. Nothing can substitute for the call from Jesus Christ. This is why faith in Jesus cannot be conjured up. It is a living reality.

Faith is responding to a living voice.

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word (or, ‘utterance’) of Christ.” (Rom 10:17)

Paul is stating something that Jesus had 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 … ” (Joh 10:27-29)

The Greek term for voice [phõné] speaks of the cry of a living being which can be heard by others, or by someone in particular. It always addresses a voice. In this case it is the call of Jesus for His sheep to follow Him.

Again from Jesus:

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

Phõné is the word used when the Father speaks at the baptism of Jesus…

“And behold, a voice [phõné] out of the heavens said, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.’” (Mat3:17)

Then we have this from the book of Isaiah about the voice of Christ leading us to correct paths:

“Your ears will hear a word behind you, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right or to the left.” (Isa 30:21)

The issue in Isaiah has to do with God bearing witness, even through others.

No matter how much we love where the Lord has placed us in His body, we must never let our religion take the place of our relationship with Jesus.

Religion Was Nailed to the Cross – Relationship Takes its Place

It was religion that was nailed to the cross when Jesus was crucified. I realize this may seem difficult to grasp, but it is very crucial to understand when it comes to living by faith.

We are to have faith in Jesus Christ, regardless of where we may find ourselves worshipping.

Both Jesus and the apostle Paul addressed this. Listen:

[To the woman at the well.] “Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. … God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.’” (Joh 4:21-24)

Jesus is telling her that there is no longer a need for religion of itself to serve as her guide. The time had come when true worshippers will know a personal reality of the Father and will serve Him in spirit and truth.

Paul also shares how the Jewish religion [law of Moses] was nailed to the cross:

“When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him,

“… having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us;

“… and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” (Col 2:13-14)

This brings us to the place where we need to …

Expect the Unexpected

The apostle explained that in learning to walk with the Lord Jesus, we must learn to expect the unexpected.

Listen:

“ … so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, …

“ … and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

“ … Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.” (Eph 3:17-20)

Every word that the apostle shares, counts.

Christ dwells in our hearts by faith. We are to be rooted and grounded in His love for us, that is, a love that we can never be fully comprehended or that we can ever be separated from.

But we are to seek to comprehend that which seems incomprehensible. Thus we have the teaching of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus spoke of this teaching aspect as the schoolhouse of the Holy Spirit. (Schoolhouse is my term.)

“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.

“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 that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.” (Joh 16:13-15)

The Call of Love

Expect the unexpected can be reckoned as the call of God’s love.

We are to realize that God truly loves us, and that Jesus Christ is not limited in our lives to what we think He can do. His presence and power knows no limit.

Expect the unexpected works on two levels. It works in providence, that is, where we can look back and see how the Lord cared for us through time and circumstance. We even see where our trials were a form of blessing.

Expect the unexpected also continues to work with Christ speaking into our lives. (We’ve already address the voice aspect.)

The point is simple. The Lord’s call to, ‘Come walk with Me,’ is the call of God’s love. It includes the call to a straying child. It is the call of love that reaches past our failures, our sins, and even our greatest disappointments.

It is the call of eternity.

What you don’t hear is, “Follow Me, and I will make a wreck of your life.”

Jesus said that He came to give us life and life abundantly.

This is what Jesus said:

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Mat 11:28-30)

Do you need a validation for your faith?

God spoke through the prophet Isaiah, saying,

“Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” (Jer 33:3)

Have you called upon the Lord? Think about it.

In the meantime, here is a song for your meditation – ‘How Great is Our God’

In Christ always,

Buddy

May

2012

Shunning – The Shame of Religion

“The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling at His disciples, saying, ‘Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?'” (Luk 5:30)

Journal,

My wife and I recently watched a movie entitled, ‘The Shunning.’ It was about an adopted Amish girl whose adoption had been a well-kept secret both from her and from the entire Amish community.

Her adoptive mother had lost her baby at birth. At the same hospital a young unmarried girl had just given birth. The unmarried girl gave her baby to the Amish woman. When the Amish mother returned home she and her husband agreed to keep the adoption a secret from everyone.

When the adoptive daughter was intended to marry the Amish bishop, she gained knowledge of her adoption. It created an emotional struggle in her life. She refused to marry the bishop. Failing to repent, the Amish elders placed her under the ban of ‘shunning.’ This meant no one could talk to her or have contact with her on any level. She became a pariah (outcast).

The movie ended up on a good note, but it triggered a memory for me. Years ago I was in business with a gentleman from a Mennonite background. Because he had married a Catholic Hispanic woman, he also was shunned. Wayne Decker shared with me that when they visited his parents, his family had to sit at a separate table from his parents at meal times. It made my heart heavy when he talked about shunning.

But shunning is not simply an Amish or a Mennonite issue. Most religious sects do it in one measure or another.

I know by experience.

“These People Will Never Have Anything Else To Do With You.”

Those were the words I heard from my former presbyter when I handed him a letter of resignation. I was leaving the Pentecostal group that I had been associated with through the years, both as a pastor and as an evangelist.

My response was simple, “Brother, I understand. Just be sure that the people understand that what I believe now, is what I believed when I first came here.”

Here’s the story – When I first came to him three years earlier, his church had just gone through a split. Knowing that I was an evangelist, he ask me to help him to rebuild.

There was a problem. The denomination we were associated with had a firm belief that a person had to speak in tongues as an evidence of their salvation. I shared with him that I did not believe that.

When he still asked me to work with him, we made a gentleman’s agreement. We agreed to disagree about having to speak in tongues. With that, I took to heart that I would not let my belief become an issue for the church.

And it never did become an issue. Yet when I heard, “Brother Martin, these people will never have anything else to do with you’, I never realized just how real those words would become.

To this day it yet amazes me how many (but not all) of my former group are afraid to be seen having any form of relationship with me. Oddly enough they will communicate with me privately but not in a public way. How sad to be a prisoner to this kind of fear. The Bible speaks to this —

“The fear of man brings a snare, but he who trusts in the LORD will be exalted.” (Pro 29:25)

Have I ever wanted to turn back? Not for a moment. I found that the Lord had greater things for me to become involved with. But I do carry a sorrow in my heart for those who stay in such a sad world.

Wow, hard to believe that was 38 years ago. I was 34. I am now 74.

Have there been any changes? The answer is yes, and, no.

There will always be shunning with many religious groups. Yet through the years I’ve seen hundreds of people leave my former association on much the same terms as I left. Yes, I said literally hundreds.

And this is where the Lord began to use me to help people who were being shunned or were afraid of being shunned by that group.

God had me set up…

A Safety Net for the Shunned

It has never been my design to seek anyone out. Yet through the years, many members from my past association began to seek me out, including both pastors and other ministers, and/or their wives. My time included much counselling.

Finally it dawned on me that these folk needed a safety-net, where those being shunned could share with one another.

In 2005, I set in place a restricted ‘members-only’ forum designed strictly for the shunned. Since that time it has grown to several hundred members.

Yes, I still do personal counselling for the shunned, but I try to get them involved in the safety net group that I set up.

Some are so gripped with fear of being discovered, that they never subscribe to the group. So, when I made mention of hundreds, that is true enough. I’m including the well over 200 current members on the forum, and the many others that I’ve counselled through the years.

Anyway, for those reading this entry who are struggling over the issue of being shunned, I brought the safety-net group over to Facebook. Ask the Lord if this group is His will for you. It may be just what you need. (I will need to know about your background and concerns.)

Go to: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Departing/

In addition you can contact me personally: Buddy@ChristianChallenge.Org.

Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?

Many don’t realize that it was religion that crucified Jesus. And religion will continue to crucify people until the people themselves wake up to the reality that Jesus did not come to give us another religion. He came to give us Himself.

The struggle has always been there. Shunning will always be there.

The important thing to understand is that Jesus came to give us a relationship with the heavenly Father. Our citizenship is not of this world, nor are we to live in bondage to any religious system.

The Lord told Pilate, that His kingdom was not of this world. Yet sectarianism has made it all about religion. They have made their group to be the kingdom of God.

Stop and think about that – What is the cause of war on this planet. Are not most wars based on an issue of religion?

The apostle Paul said,

“If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, ‘Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!’ (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)–in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men?

“These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.” (Col 2:20-23)

Did you catch it. Self-made religion.

Smoke in God’s Nostrils

Have you ever wondered why Jesus by-passed the religious authorities of that day? Have you wondered why he ate and drank with prostitutes, with tax-collectors, and with sinners of various cloths? He did so because the religious bigots of that day, with all their rituals and rules, had set up barriers that hindered the people from coming to God.

“Let her alone … She has done a good deed to Me … What this woman has done will be spoken in memory of her.”

Where religion offered condemnation, Jesus offered grace, forgiveness, and acceptance. Where religion sought to control the people, Jesus offered true freedom.

What did God Himself have to say about this attitude?

Listen,

“Who say, ‘Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am holier than you!’ These are smoke in My nostrils, a fire that burns all the day.” (Isa 65:5)

Jesus said,

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.” (Mat 11:28-29)

The yoke of religion never changes.

Not of This World

Oddly enough, nothing that I have shared has anything to do with the church that Jesus came to set up. The church that Jesus put into place cannot be found in any earthly leanings or borders. It is mystical and without boundaries.

The writer of Hebrews described the church in these terms:

“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)

You are not of this world.

The Church of Jesus Christ is made up of true believers from every age, kindred, and tongue.

The Church that Jesus put into place is transcendent in nature, being the body of Christ, existing without schism in its spiritual essence. His Church has only one Great Shepherd and Bishop, Christ Jesus Himself.

The Church that Jesus said He would build, is not of this world. And this is why you will find truly born-again believers in every Christian group.

Actually the invisible Church is hidden in the visible church. One day the invisible church will be taken out of this world. All that will be left will be the remnants of man’s organized religions.

Don’t despair – If you belong to Jesus, then you belong to His church.

And don’t be angry at the shunners. In many cases they are just caught up in their own fears. Many of them will eventually escape from their artificial religious prisons. I did and so can you.

Also keep in mind that not all churches are sectarian in heart or nature. There are many, wonderful, God fearing, Jesus loving, churches throughout the world. Ask the Lord where He would like you to be.

While you think on these things, take time for this song – Rooftops, by Jesus Culture.

In Christ Always,

Buddy

May

2012

The Issue of ‘Once Saved, Always Saved’

Journal,

The following guest study is from Pastor Charles Smoot of ‘Simple Church Ministries’ of Lancaster, PA.

While Charles and I may view some things a bit differently, I have found his study on the security of the believer to be well written. I thought it would be good to offer it here for the benefit of my readers.

Note: Charles’ web site is: http://charlessmoot.org/

[heading style=”1″]Assurances for the True Believer by Charles Smoot[/heading]

There are many promises in the Word of God giving assurance to the true believer in Christ that he cannot lose his salvation. To be saved is to have eternal life.

Eternal life is not based on human merit, but is a gift to all who come to Christ in faith and place their trust in him and his finished work of the cross. To have eternal life is to experience everlasting joy and peace in the presence of God forever. Jesus promised:

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand” (John 10:29).

However, not all who profess salvation are genuinely saved (Matt. 7:21). There are also warnings in the Word of God to make your calling and election sure (1 Pet. 1:10). Indeed, there are tares that grow among the wheat (Matt. 13:24-30). There will be some who will fall away from “the faith” and reveal their true nature as counterfeit believers (2 Pet. 2:1; Jude 4). Only the process of time will reveal who is truly saved and who is not (I Pet. 1:5).

The Apostle John writes:

“They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us” (1 Jn. 2:19)

Even Jesus had followers who walked with him for a while, but afterward walked away from him in unbelief (Jn. 6:64-66). Judas Iscariot was chosen by Jesus, but afterward became a “son of perdition.”

Nevertheless, a genuine believer can and should have full assurance that he is indeed saved, and that heaven will be his eternal home. Yet, how is it that some Christians live from day to day with insecurity about their salvation?

Salvation is a Finished Work

What is sad to me is: Many believers do not yet understand that salvation is a “finished” work. They do not understand the New Covenant of Grace and the basis from which they are saved. In addition to not understanding salvation through Grace, many believers do not understand how the believer is subsequently sanctified through Grace.

Eternally Secure

Often, because of incorrect teaching and ignorance of God’s Word, a believer may embrace some form of legalism (righteousness through human merit) which will distort his understanding in the area of the assurance of salvation. In view of the fact, that legalism encourages a spirit of self-righteousness; the believer, regretfully will look at his performance to validate or invalidate his salvation, rather than to the truth of the Word of God.

Based on their performance (works) or even on the way they feel on any given day (emotions) some believers are just unsure about whether they are going to heaven. Thus, a person’s lifestyle may contradict their profession of being a Christian, and introduce doubt, as to whether they were truly saved in the first place.

Remember, it is Satan’s business to cause the believer to doubt his salvation and his relationship to God.

How can the believer know and be assured that he is saved and that his salvation is secure? He must understand two things:

1) The Word of God makes the believer sure.

2) The blood of Jesus makes the believer secure.

“And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God” (1 Jn. 5:11-13).

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

Often, because of failure to obtain the “perfection” encouraged through legalism, some believers may become discouraged to the point of disillusionment. They may even eventually backslide and stop serving God altogether. This is tragic.

Putting Things into Perspective

Let’s put some things into perspective.

1) As a work of grace, the believer’s salvation is a past, present, and future work that has already been “finished” in Christ.

a) We are saved – (justification) past

b) We are being saved – (sanctification) present

c) We shall be saved – (glorification) future

Paul writes in the book of Romans:

Father, we are all here! (John 6:39 - Heb2:13)

It is in the present tense that we as Christians live. This is the “sanctification” phase of our relationship with the Father; a process which is both an instantaneous and progressive work of God’s sanctifying grace. However:

2) As a work of grace, the believer’s sanctification has been already been completed and perfected in Christ.

Thus, the writer to the Hebrews says:

“For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified” (Heb. 10:14).

This scripture teaches us that our sanctification and perfection is based solely on the blood atonement of Jesus Christ and His finished work of the cross. It has nothing to do with our works, performance, or the way we feel. Notice, He has perfected us “forever!”

Once a Son, Always a Son

In order to understand how sanctification works in the life of the believer we must have an understanding of the difference between the two aspects of relationship and fellowship and how sin and disobedience affects each.

a) Relationship: has to do with our standing or position in Christ. The aspect of relationship is not subject to change. Regardless of the fruitfulness, level of maturity, or degree of victory in the believer’s life, we are sons and daughters, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ.

b) Fellowship: has to do with the quality or level of intimacy of our relationship with Christ. It can range from intimacy and complete submission, to estrangement and rebellion. The aspect of fellowship is subject to change and directly affects the fruitfulness, level of maturity, and the degree of victory in the believer’s life.

How does sin affect the believer in the aspects of relationship and fellowship?

The answer is really quite simple. Sin (disobedience) separates the believer from intimate fellowship with the Father, but sin cannot separate us from His love, favor, and our standing as sons and daughters. As a son, regardless of the quality of our fellowship or lack thereof, our relationship to God the Father remains the same. “Once a son, always a son.”

A good biblical example of these two aspects is given in the story of the prodigal son (Lk. 15:11-31). Understanding the restorative grace displayed in this parable will help the believer understand that:

Though we may often fail, we are by birthright a child of God; a son or daughter completely loved and accepted of the Father. Though we are children of God, we all have the freedom to leave the Father’s house, to stumble, to fail, to repent, and to find grace, mercy, forgiveness, and restoration.

The bible teaches us that broken fellowship can be restored through repentance and faith. We must understand, however, sin and disobedience will affect the quality of our relationship to the father. Sin will impair intimacy, cause estrangement of our relationship, and it will provoke the correction, discipline, and chastisement of the Father who waits with loving arms for the prodigal. A chastisement that may even end in a premature death (Acts 5:1-11).

John the beloved writes:

“Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God” (1 Jn. 3:9).

Personally, I have no problem with the implications of “once saved, always saved.” In my opinion,

The eternal security of the believer is the greatest testimony to the efficacy of the cross of Christ. Therefore, an assault on the eternal security of the believer is, in effect, an assault on the efficacy of the finished work of Christ. Moreover, any doctrinal position with regard to the security of the believer which takes into account human merit (in any sense and to any degree) presents an anthropocentric (man-centered) view of the atonement and diminishes the efficacy of the cross.

Just my thoughts,

Charles S

www.CharlesSmoot.org

[quote style=”1″]Thank you Charles. Now if my readers will just take the time to study the various Scripture references that you have provided, what a great help they would be to them. Buddy[/quote]

One other item for this blog entry….

[heading style=”1″]Congratulations Graduates[/heading]

Congratulation to the graduates of the Christian Challenge International 48th School for Christian Workers. May the Lord bless you in all that you do for His name’s sake, and may you become even more fruitful in the harvest work of God’s kingdom.

May

2012

Do You Remember the Jesus Kids

“The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.’ The LORD will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying, ‘Rule in the midst of Your enemies.’

“‘Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power; In holy array, from the womb of the dawn,

“Your youth are to You as the dew.'” (Psa 110:1-3)

Journal,

Some time back I shared a bit about the Jesus movement of the 60s and the early 70s. The Jesus movement was a precursor to the charismatic movement. One difference was the idealism of these ‘kids’. Oh yes, they were fraught with problems, made many mistakes, and had strange slogans, such as, ‘Make love, not war.’ But their idealism was a thing of the heart.

Anyway, I felt it would be good to use that earlier journal entry as a platform for what I want to share today. What I wish to do with this journal entry is to reach deep into your heart by way of learning the most important lesson in life.

You can decide what the most important lesson in life is for you.

There they were, a boy and a girl hitchhiking

It was 1971, and I was on my way to Lafayette, Louisiana. We had just completed our last revival. The Lord was doing a major overhaul in my spiritual life, and it was time for some time off. My former company had asked me to come back to work with them. So, off I went to scope out everything.

It never bothered me to pick up hitchhikers if my family wasn’t with me. As a youngster myself, I had hitchhiked all across the country from California to Louisiana.

The two young people got in the car. I asked, ‘Where are you going?’ ‘To the Maranatha House across from USL.’ (University of South Louisiana.)

“I’ll take you there.” And that’s where our friendship began. These kids were part of the tail end of the Jesus movement of the 60s. The Maranatha House was an unofficial sorority for campus kids. (It was known earlier as the Mustard Seed.)

Young People Can Make You Love them

One of my favorite Psalms is 110. And I dearly love David’s statement about young people; “Your youth are to You [God] as the dew.”

This is a statement of refreshing. The heart of God is refreshed with the idealism of His youth.

How I fell in love with these young people. They were so noble-minded in their antiestablishmentarianism. But their love for Jesus was refreshing and even a bit disarming. It wasn’t long before they ask me to share Bible studies with them. What a joy. They would sit around me on the floor in rapt attention. They were all like sponges.

Now I must tell a precious story. At that time I was still involved in a very conservative Pentecostal church group. As things went a number of the Jesus kids asked me if I would baptize them. Checking with the pastor to make sure it was alright to use the church baptistery, he gave his OK.

It was on a Saturday. Several of the church people wanted to see the baptism. They heard of my work with these young people. But there was a problem that I had not readied anyone for. In fact I hadn’t even thought about it.

I had failed to tell the Jesus kids how to dress. Here they came with their swim suits, some two-pieced for the girls and shorts for the guys. You should have seen the faces of the church folk. Chins began to drop and eyes were wide open.

It was certainly a new experience for everyone. The Jesus kids got to meet the church kids. (By the way the Jesus kids were often mocked at by being called, ‘Jesus freaks.’ We could use a few Jesus freaks today.)

Oh yes, we don’t need to be reminded. The Jesus kids did have their own struggles and failures just as we do. But they could make beautiful music. Their love for Jesus radiated. I guess you could compare them to diamonds in the rough. Aren’t we all? Oh how I could tell some hilarious stores about these kids. Maybe some other time.

Well, if you would like to see what the Jesus kids looked like back in the 60s and the 70s, here is a clip you will truly enjoy. Just look at their faces and the sincerity in their worship.

Listen to the group, ‘Children of the Day’. ‘For Those Tears I Died.’

Does God Really Understand Our Tears

Sometimes a song will reach deeper into our heart than anything else. Let’s move forward a few years and listen to another group who loves Jesus dearly. This song was from a Christian group of whom the Jewish mother found Jesus Christ as the love of her life.

This song is entitled, ‘He Understands My Tears.’ It is by ‘the Isaacs.’

The most important lesson about life’s struggles

The point is that we all sin. We all miss the mark. We all have issues that have been the cause of our own failings. It is like the apostle wrote,

“There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turn aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one.”(Rom3:10-12 nasb)

Did you catch it? There is not a person on this planet who can claim personal righteousness before God. Did you know that Paul called himself the chief of sinners?

So, what is the object lesson that Jesus gave us. It is found in this simple statement,

“He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7 nasb)

What does this mean? It means to stop pointing your finger at others when you yourself have your own struggles and failings and sin issues.

The Lord was not excusing sin. He was dealing with two very important issues. His first words were to the accusers of the woman caught in adultery. Those who dragged her before Jesus were guilty of a sin that is the most damaging to anyone who claims to be a believer. It is the sin of self-righteousness.

What about the woman? Her sin was not self-righteousness. Jesus also had words for her. See if His words tell you anything:

“Straightening up, Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?’ She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said, ‘I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.'” (Joh 8:10-11 nasb)

Again did you catch it? The only one who could have condemned her was Jesus, and He would not. He did not come to condemn her, but to save her. Jesus came to help her get her life straightened out.

Why did Jesus not condemn her? It is because of the story behind the cross. Jesus ministered grace to this hurting woman.

This is exactly what the Psalmist-Prophet said the Messiah would do. Psalm 45 has been considered a Messianic Psalm, by both the ancient Hebrew people of God and by the Christian Church.

Listen to some of the language:

“My heart overflows with a good theme; I address my verses to the King; My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.

“You are fairer than the sons of men; Grace is poured upon Your lips; Therefore God has blessed You forever.

“… Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of joy above Your fellows.” (Psa 45:1-7)

This Psalm is quoted from in Hebrews 1. But it is also seen in action when Jesus spoke in the synagogue of Nazareth. What did the people hear?

“And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, ‘Is this not Joseph’s son?'” (Luk 4:22)

Lord, save us from ourselves

Our job is not to go about condemning people. We are in the business of helping to save people. It is like the preacher who said, ‘We preach best when we preach out of our own wounds.’

John wrote,

“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…” (John 3:17 nasb)

We need someone who can reach into our lives and save us from ourselves, from our foolish mistakes, from our own self-destructions, as well as from all the destructive forces at work in the world. We need grace! We need a mighty Savior. And that is what Jesus came to give us. Jesus saves eternally.

This is what Paul was talking about when he said that the letter kills, while the Spirit gives us life.

The Lord give us His Holy Spirit to help us walk the journey of life. There are too many situations in life where only the Spirit of the Lord can help us to maneuver correctly. Our problem is that we tend to beat each other up with the letter, or even beat ourselves up, and not allow the Lord to bring healing where it belongs.

So, does God understand our tears?

Yes He does. He actually weeps with us. He knows our heart, our pain, our struggles. But He also knows our future. The Lord decided in eternity passed that He would be our Savior. And He decided in eternity that He would give us the victory of the cross, and that no weapon ever formed against us would ever prosper.

He decided to take our place in this sin filled world, and to share with us His place in His eternal kingdom.

This is why I often make the statement, ‘Jesus saved us. Jesus is saving us. Jesus will save us.’

What about the Jesus kids?

Well, we are those kids. People will always be the same. Maybe it is a good sign that the world calls us ‘Jesus freaks.’ We should consider it a great honor.

I will never lose my love for ministering to those the world sees as misfits. Seems I will always have the heart of an evangelist.

Think about it.

Buddy

Apr

2012

Fixed Points in Time

“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Php 1:6)

Journal,

If you could write a story of your life, chances are each chapter would begin with an important event that was taking place in your life. I like to call these events as ‘fixed points.‘ We all have these fixed points that we can draw on.

Here is one of my fixed points –

He Who Began the Good Work

It was 1964 and I had just resigned from a religious association that had been an anchor in my walk with the Lord. But I knew that the time had come up pull up anchor and set sail. The witness of the Lord was without question.

The next morning a dark gloom settled over my mind. ‘What will I do now? Where will I find fellowship.’

I fell to my knees and reached for my Bible. As the Bible fell open, this Scripture just leaped out –

“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Php 1:6)

God had spoken. The gloom instantly lifted. And that moment in time became a fixed point in my walk with the Lord. I knew deep in my heart that my journey of life was well in the hands of the Lord.

God has fixed points, too.

Jesus told the disciples about redemption’s fixed points, and that these points were not for them to know. The disciples asked the Lord when the kingdom would be restored to Israel. He said,

“It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” (Act 1:7-8)

The Greek word for ‘epochs’ (kairos, pronounced, kahee-ros’) refers to an occasion, a set time. It carries the idea of a new opportunity.

Even Our Days Are Ordained

That being said, the Lord also has fixed points in our personal walk. David alluded to this:

“I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. … Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.” (Psa 139:14-16)

Did you catch it? David said that our days were ordained of the Lord. The Hebrew for ‘ordained’ [yasar] means to fashion, to shape, or to devise, as with work of creation. This word includes the idea of election and predestination.

The Apostle Paul speaks to this:

“ … also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will.” (Eph 1:11)

And again,

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Eph 2:8-10)

The Greek term for ‘workmanship’ (poiema) has to do with a finished product. In this case, believers are the finished work of the cross.

But this needs to be understood in the sense of the believer’s redemption in Christ.

Let’s take this a step further, into …

What is Finished – What is Ongoing

It is important to understand the finished work of the cross in its Biblical sense. Where ‘poiema’ denotes the finished work, it also relates to the word, ‘poiesis’, which speaks of an ongoing work, and to the word, ‘poietes’, which addresses the one who is doing or has done the work.

All three of these words include the thought of a poet. While the poet is working on his project, he always has the finished work firmly fixed in his mind. This sense carries over into the finished work of the cross.

The finished work is already complete in the chronicles of God, but we as believers are experiencing our shaping throughout our life time. Thus we have the paradox of ‘fixed points.’

The paradox involves two issues, the positional truth, and the experiential truth.

The positional truth is that God’s work in the believer is finished. The experiential truth is that the believer is a work in progress, where his life is being shaped for the eternity to come.

Back to ordained events. Now we need to look at…

The Message Behind the Message

The message behind the cross is that Jesus is the author & finisher of our faith; that we are God’s ‘finished’ workmanship; that we are destined for glory.

It is the message is that nothing in all of creation will ever be able to separate the believer from the love of God that is found in Jesus Christ.

Out of the cross comes the Shepherd’s promise that, “I will never leave you and I will never desert you.”

Then we have this on the experiential side of the cross. Listen carefully:

“So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;

“[with the knowledge that] it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” (Php 2:12-13)

Once again, did you catch it. It is God who is working out our salvation. The ‘fear and trembling’ comes from realizing this awesome revelation that God is fully at work in my life.

Actually Job describes this very aspect of fear and trembling. Listen to Job:

“As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will take His stand on the earth. “Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall see God; Whom I myself shall behold, And whom my eyes will see and not another. My heart faints within me!” (Job 19:25-27)

Do you see any doubt in Job, about his eternal salvation? Not one bit. When Job ends of saying, ‘My heart faints within me’, he is speaking of the awesomeness of His Redeemer God.

Now with regard to the Lord working out our salvation, let’s hear it again:

“Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will,

“… working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Heb 13:20-21)

These Scriptures allow us to realize that it is God who is at work in our lives, and that He is working in us that which is pleasing in His sight. It also helps to define what I mean by ‘fixed points’ in our lives. These fixed points accord with a Scripture that most believers can quote from memory –

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Rom 8:28)

These ‘all things” include ordained moments in our lives where a change is in the works. These fixed moments can be seen as transitional moments.

Now let’s talk about…

What is it That is Pleasing to God

What is pleasing to God is the revealing of ‘likeness’ and ‘image’ of Christ in all His children. We call this, ‘Christlikeness.’

The apostle John said that one day we are going to be just like Jesus. Our future glory and likeness to Jesus Christ is what the finished work of the cross is all about.

However, this exact likeness fulfills itself in our final stay in heaven. In the meantime we need lots of help in processing life. We don’t lose our human nature just because we’ve been born again. There will be trails, setbacks, failures, and victories without measure.

This is all part of our experiencing Jesus in this life.

Listen carefully:

“For it was fitting for Him [Jesus], 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.

“For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren.” (Heb 2:10-11)

We are in the process of being brought to glory. The full glory takes place in our life to come.

And so, in Christ the work is finished. In our experience it is ongoing. We are being conformed to His image & likeness.

Now back to…

The Lord’s “I Am with You” Moments

There will be many defining moments in every believer’s life. Some will seem painful at the time, but all of them have to do with shaping the believer for eternity. The issue is that every trial has a purpose and every revelation has something to say to us.

This is also why it is important to take to heart what the apostle said:

“He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Php 1:6)

This is also why we must be able to say with Jesus, “Father, not my will, but yours be done.”

There is so much more to be said about ‘fixed points in time’, that I will leave off for now.

Now to hear from my readers – I would love to hear about one of your fixed points in time where a major change was in the works, and where the Lord gave you the assurance that He was with you.

Take time to respond to this journal entry.

In the meantime, here is a song for your meditation … ‘I Stand Amazed’

In Christ always,

Buddy

Apr

2012

God’s Message to Israel

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.

“Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.'” (Calling upon Jesus as Lord and Messiah. Cf. Matt23:37-39)

Journal,

In Matthew 23, Jesus begins His farewell message to Israel. Of the scribes and Pharisees, the Lord says,

“They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men.” (Mat 23:4-7)

He then ends His message by saying to Israel,

“Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!'” (Mat 23:38-39)

It was known and foretold by the prophets that the Jewish nation through its leadership would turn her back on God’s Messiah. But for now let’s get a feel for modern Israel.

There is a struggle in Israel of which many are not aware. The struggle is so intense that it is not uncommon to hear news media use the term ‘civil war.’ The struggle is largely between the religious Jews and secular Jews. Politicians are caught in the middle.

The issue is over power and influence. An intense hatred exists among the orthodox Jews, especially those of the ultra-conservative sects, for anyone who is not of their sect. This hatred is especially directed to the secular Jews. Secular Jews are considered traitors.

But it doesn’t stop there. These ultra-conservative groups also have war with one another – even over such things as whose rabbis are the greatest, and such like. So the hatred is deeply embedded in Israel’s religious spread.

A good place to begin is to understand that…

Jewishness is Cultural, Not Racial

Regardless of what some may think, being Jewish is not about race. And Judaism itself has never been a monolithic religion. Jewishness and Judaism has always been a mixture of many racial groups with a diversity of religious beliefs. The idea of Jewish blood is even discounted by Jewish writers today. It is promoted primarily by the Orthodox Talmudic groups.

This infighting among the Jews has coursed its way through history, with one group accusing the other of being heretics. A great many Jewish Christians were slaughtered in the Bar Kochba rebellion in 132-135 A.D., because the Jewish Christians would not recognize Bar Kochba as Messiah. This is only a sampling of bloodletting among the Jews. There are many, many other instances.

Orthodox rabbis in Israel have declared Conservative and Reform rabbis to be heretics. This comes through Talmudic writings, which the Orthodox hold as the only authentic guide to knowing and serving God. The only Bible the Orthodox are generally tolerated to study is the Bible as it is seen through the lens of the Talmudic writers.

Secular Jews on the other hand do not wish to be brought under the austere dictatorship of the ultra-orthodox rabbis. A great many Jews in Israel today will not even step inside a synagogue. The larger part of the Israeli population is non-religious. In fact Israel has the fourth highest percentage of atheism among modern nations today.

An Interest in Jesus

Here is the paradox. While we may think that the secular sector in Israel has little interest in Jesus Christ, this isn’t the case at all. Secular Jews are very much interested in Jesus. Actually the Christmas tree business in Israel is flourishing.

A little known fact is that there is a strong underlying Jesus movement sweeping Israel. Not a revival in the sense that Americans understand it. It is a movement of wanting to know more about Jesus.

According to Pinchas E. Lapide, the recently deceased orthodox professor at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, there is a “Jesus wave” passing through Israel. The wave is not about a Catholic Jesus or a Protestant Jesus or a Charismatic Jesus. It is about the Jesus of the land, the Jesus of the gospels.

And in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the New Testament is even used as a text-book in some of their classes.

The ultra-conservative orthodox groups are not very happy about any of this. Talmudic Judaism has attempted to erase Jesus from the history of the Jewish people, but the tables are now turning on them. The people want to know!

A Historical Perspective

It is hard for Christians to understand this enmity and infighting in Israel. We have such romantic notions about Jews. The problem is that most people in the west know very little about the true history of Judaism.

There are three essential periods of history for Judaism. The first temple period concerned itself with the original temple in Jerusalem, that is, Solomon’s temple, and up to the scattered tribes in the Old Testament.

Second temple Judaism began with Nehemiah and the repopulation of Israel, and runs up to the destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem, in 70 A.D. Historians tell us there were twenty-four distinct Judaism’s during that time.

The third period is considered to have begun with the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. and up to our present. It essentially forms itself around rabbinic Judaism. The rabbis considered themselves the last mouthpiece of God, even exceeding that of Moses and the prophets.

The Story of False Messiahs

Then you have the issue of false Messiah’s. Throughout history the Jewish people have been deceived time and time again over supposed Messiah’s. This has contributed to the modern-day Jewish destain for anything religious. Jesus warned the people that this would happen, that many would come in His name and claim to be the Messiah.

But what of the Orthodox enmity against Jesus? This enmity reaches back to the times of Jesus and to the apostles, and even before. It has a spiritual base. Jesus and John the Baptist spoke of this hate element in Israel as, “a brood of vipers.”

Jesus said of them,

“If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well.” (John 15:24)

Jewish orthodoxy has made little to no changes over the centuries. Their hatred for Jesus Christ and for all things Christian is often covered up, but it is always just below the surface. In fact if it came to the need for a blood transfusion, this group of Jews would prefer to die rather than accept the blood of a Christian, or of any Gentile, or even the blood of a secular Jew.

They believe other bloods are defiled. They cannot take a chance on defiling their own sacred “divine” blood.

It was pretty much the same during the time of Christ. Even the apostles had to process this. When Peter was sent to the house of Cornelius, he said,

“You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or visit him; and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean.” (Cf. Acts 10)

The Unraveling of Moses

The Law of Moses never said any such thing about entering the house of a foreigner. This came from the traditions of the elders which in turn became the foundation for all Talmudic writings. Even back then the rabbis had a choke hold on the people in Israel.

This helps us understand why Jesus often went outside the religious establishment to minister to those who were considered outcasts.

Jesus called the religious powers what they were. He said,

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.” (Mat23:13)

If you would like to see the dressing down that Jesus gave the “hate” element in Israel, take time to read Matthew 23. It was immediately following this dressing down, that Jesus said, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem … your house is being left to you desolate.”

The Enmity Goes Forward

Let me share some snippets of beliefs noted in common by the ultra-orthodox groups in Israel.

(1) They forbid Jewish men to listen to a woman singing in a choir or solo, regardless of what she is singing. They believe the voice of a woman is adultery. (Many Talmudic teachings are against women in general. These teachings are very much in favor today.)

Compare this to Paul:

“For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal 3:28 – Peter adds that husband and wife are fellow heirs of the grace of life.)

(2) They believe that when they come to power, all Christian churches are to be destroyed and all non-Jews to be expelled from the country, including secular Jews.

(3) Haredim rabbis often teach that the Holocaust was a well-deserved divine punishment for failure to keep Talmudic studies. (Among other things.)

(4) Their hatred for non-Jews comes from their continuous cabalistic tradition. They are much into magic. (They try to hide this fact from westerners.)

(5) For them the gravest sin is for a Jew to deny Judaism. The Jew who denies Judaism becomes a Canaanite, and to kill such a person is an act of righteousness. (Thus we see their hatred against the secular Jew, and against Jews who turn to Jesus.)

(6) The doctor Baruch Goldstein who slaughtered 20 Muslim worshippers, including children, in Hebron in 1994, is considered a saint by this group and is their intercessor in heaven.

But Why Are They There?

A question remains. Since there is such a dissonance among the Jews in Israel, then why are they there?

They are there because God brought them there. The nation of Israel has a purpose it must fulfill in God’s program of redemption. Yes, one day this Israel nation will cry out to the Lord Jesus and say of Him, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.”

So — What is it going to take to turn the eyes of Israel to Jesus? The answer isn’t as difficult as it may seem. It is clearly set forth in the prophets. The Lord said,

“In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.” (Hos5:15)

Jesus told the rejecters,

“I go away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sins; where I am going, you cannot come.” (John 8:21)

The time is shortly coming when Israel is going to desperately need a Savior. When that moment comes, they will cry out to Jesus. The apostle said,

“The deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob. This is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.” (Rom11:26-27)

We have a prophecy that sets the stage for these happenings. The Lord said,

“In that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth [United Nations] will be gathered against it.”

And again,

“In that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem … I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will LOOK ON ME whom they have pierced; and they WILL MOURN OVER HIM, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.” (Cf. Zech12)

Every statement made in Zechariah 12:10, connects to something said about Jesus Christ in the new covenant writings.

Notice carefully:

(1) “They will look on Me….”

“You will not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.'” [This is a clear statement that Jesus is Yahweh revealed fully in human form.]

(2) “…whom they have pierced.”

“…this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.” (Acts 2:23 – In the Talmud the rabbis never credit Rome with the crucifixion of Jesus. They take it to themselves.)

(3) “They will mourn over Him as one mourns for an only Son.”

“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.” (John 3:16)

(4) “They will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.”

“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.” (Rom8:29)

Just to get you thinking.

There is much more to Jerusalem being the time clock of God.

In the meantime here is a song for your meditation – ‘Baruch Haba. Ma Tovu, B’Shem Adonia’ (Blessed is He), by Paul Wilbur.

Blessings,

Buddy

Apr

2012

Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

[heading style=”1″]“Why, what evil has this man done?” – Pilate[/heading]

“Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.

“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.” (Mat 12:31-34)

Journal,

An issue that believers sometimes find themselves grappling with has to do with what blasphemy against the Holy Spirit means, and if this ‘unpardonable‘ sin has a bearing on a believer.

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is one of the least understood of all Biblical teachings. Because of this it has been a cause of pain for the uninstructed child of God. This is especially true when a child of God ‘senses‘ that a thing being done in the name of Jesus, may not be of the Lord. But someone then warns him or her to be careful, ‘You might blaspheme the Holy Spirit.’

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is a demoniacal inspired sin. It has to do with Satan’s warfare against the Almighty God Himself. This is why Jesus spoke of a particular group of blasphemers as a, ‘brood of vipers.’

To help understand this element of Satanic warfare review these Scriptures: Gen3:15; Mat3:7; Mat12:34; Mat13:38,39; Mat23:33; John8:44; Rev2:9; Rev3:9.

Not a Christian Believer’s Sin

The short side of the story is that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is not a believer’s sin. It has never been, not today, nor any other time. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

This sin comes from darkness. It comes out of a continual Satanic warfare against God Himself. It comes from a person who has actually aligned himself with Satan.

Jesus identified the source of Satanic blasphemy:

“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)

So, when the apostle Paul spoke of having been a blasphemer, he was not placing himself in the Satanic family. His blasphemy came from ignorance. Paul had a deep want to properly serve the God of Israel. This is not the case with the Satanic family.

Paul said,

“…even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief…” (1Ti 1:13)

It is good to know the difference between someone like Paul, who acted in ignorance, and those who have knowledge and have aligned themselves with Satan.

Now let’s talk about…

Open Defiance Against God

The sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit was placed at the front door of a certain element of the Jewish leadership during the time of Christ. It is this element that had been at war against God from the beginning. It goes along with this statement made by the Lord,

“Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and it was your fathers who killed them. So you are witnesses and approve the deeds of your fathers; because it was they who killed them, and you build their tombs.

“For this reason also the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and some they will persecute, so that the blood of all the prophets, shed since the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the house of God’, yes, I tell you, it shall be charged against this generation.” (Luk 11:47-51)

The term ‘generation‘ comes from two Greek words that suggest the idea of a multitude of contemporaries. Jesus is addressing a generation [class of people] who have continued doing the work of the devil from the beginning of time as we know it. This is why John the Baptist and Jesus spoke of this group as being a brood of vipers. Satan had found his place in Israel.

These people were not simply non believers. They were actively serving Satan. It is one thing to be an active agent and another to be caught in the chords of ignorance such as was Paul. It is important to keep these distinctions in mind.

Jesus warned that these seeds of Satan would always be present in the earth and could even be found in the church. The Lord explains this in the parable of the sower. Listen:

“Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away.

“But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’

“And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them.

“‘Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”‘” (Mat 13:24-30)

Disallowing the Spirit of Messiah

Lets begin by examining a Scripture in its context. Jesus said,

“Everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will confess him also before the angels of God; but he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him.” (Luke 12:8-10)

Notice that it was the Spirit of the Lord God, resting upon Jesus that was being blasphemed. So the sin in reality was a direct affront against God Himself. The Holy Spirit has always been reckoned as the Spirit of the Almighty.

The point was that Jesus was doing things that only God Himself could do. He resurrected the dead. He opened blind eyes. He walked on water, multiplied loaves and fish, healed deformed bodies, cured lepers, and did all the things that the ancient sages said would be the signs of Messiah.

It is in this sense that the leadership was without excuse. The things that Jesus did, only God could do. To contribute the works of creation that Jesus did, to the devil, left no room for error on their part.

But pay close attention to the one who openly confesses Jesus. This person is placed out of the picture on the issue of blasphemy. Once again, this is not a believer’s sin.

Actually the sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit has as much to do with Israel’s true calling as with anything else. We need more background for this. Notice how God brought a charge against those of Israel who turned from Him.

“In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them; in His love and in His mercy He redeemed them, and He lifted them and carried them all the days of old. But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; therefore He turned Himself to become their enemy, He fought against them.“ (Isa63:9,10)

Carry this over to Acts 7:51,52, where Stephen makes his defense against some of those who had Jesus crucified. He says,

“You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become.”

I hope that this gives you an idea on what the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is. It is an open defiance against God, and it is done with a degree of knowledge. The blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is the sin where Satan seeks to keep up his warfare against the Lord of glory.

Why is This Sin Unpardonable

What makes the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit unpardonable is that it actually aligns itself with Satan. It is very important to understand that this is a sin against knowledge. It is the antichrist spirit.

This level of blasphemy is a sin that blatantly denies and defies and defiles all the evidence of the work of the cross in Jesus Christ. It is a sin where one’s conscience can become seared. It is a sin against the Light of God. It is the sin of Antichrist. This is why Jesus said,

“If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates Me hates My Father also.” (Joh 15:22-23)

Listen also to John:

“Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.” (1Jn 2:22-23)

The Lord very carefully lays this issue out. Note this language:

“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. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” (Joh 3:16-21)

Antichrist at work today

We need to change gears and talk about another issue other than blaspheming against the Holy Spirit.

There is no question that the antichrist spirit is in the world today. It manifests in many forms. One of its most belligerent forms is found in Talmudic or Rabbinic Judaism. When the temple was destroyed in 70 a.d., the Pharisees took on the mantle of Judaism, and set about to set up their authority over all Israel.

In their Talmudic writings the Lord Jesus is treated as a sorcerer and a deceiver.

This is how Jesus is treated in the Talmuds:

1) He and his disciples practiced sorcery and black magic, led Jews astray into idolatry, and were sponsored by foreign, gentile powers for the purpose of subverting Jewish worship (Sanhedrin 43a).

2) He was sexually immoral, worshipped statues of stone (a brick is mentioned), was cut off from the Jewish people for his wickedness, and refused to repent (Sanhedrin 107b; Sotah 47a).

3) He learned witchcraft in Egypt and, to perform miracles, used procedures that involved cutting his flesh, which is also explicitly banned in the Bible (Shabbos 104b).

Then it isn’t merely Orthodox Judaism that reveals an antichrist spirit. Islam is equally guilty but on a different measure. In Islam, Jesus is one of the five great prophets, that Mohammed is the greatest of all the prophets, even greater than Jesus.

Islam teaches that Jesus is not the Son of God, He did not die on the cross, and the cross has nothing to do with our salvation. And when Jesus comes again it is to turn the world to Islamic faith.

But all this is a subject to itself. I hope that my readers have a better understanding of what blaspheming against the Holy Spirit is really about.

Now for some good news. Both Jews and Muslims by the multiplied thousands are turning to Jesus Christ today. Why are they turning? Because of the power of the gospel.

Most people in Judaism and in Islam, do not know about the true Jesus. Any denial on their part comes largely from ignorance. This is why there is a great harvest at work in the world this very moment.

Listen to the story of an Arabian Muslim who is brought to Jesus. The dialog is in Arabic and underscored in English. (It is happening everywhere.)

In Christ always,

Buddy

Apr

2012

Contending for the Ancient Faith

“Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.” (Jud 1:3)

Which faith did Jude the brother of Jesus say we were to contend for? Was it the Catholic faith, the Baptist faith, the Pentecostal faith, or some other denominational faith? Is it possible that there can be more than one faith?

Every group likes to boast of their having the true faith. However, there has always been and will always be but one faith. Jude said the faith we were to contend for was the faith that had ‘once for all’ been handed down to the saints. [The word ‘saint’ means ‘a holy one’. All true believers have been made holy ones in Christ Jesus.]

If the faith we are to contend for had ‘once for all’ been handed down to the saints, then it must have originated in ancient times, long before the Christ of God took His place among men as the Son of God, and as the Son of Man. (Jesus fully represented both God and man.)

The once for all faith was set in eternity. It reaches its apex and unfolding in the finished work of the cross.

In this study we want to find out what Jude meant by our need to contend for this once for all faith. And why contending is so important.

It Began Before the Foundation of the World

It is crucial to understand that the faith we are to contend for is a faith that was set forth from the beginning of time. It is also important to understand the purpose of the Bible itself. The Bible is a book of redemption.

The redemption story opens with God’s promise of a Redeemer, the ‘seed of woman.’ It completes itself with the last judgment, with the heavenly Jerusalem, and in the eternity to come. All else in-between will relate to great theme of redemption.

And so, the ancient faith reaches far back to the very beginnings of history as we know it. The Bible has much to say about things that took place in eternity. The term “from the foundation of the world” is used several times in the Bible.

Let’s look them over:

(1) Concerning Messiah, it says, “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.” (Matt13:35)

(2) As to one phase of the kingdom of God, the King says to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Matt25:34)

(3) Of the Christ-rejecting leadership, the Lord said, “The blood of all the prophets, shed since the foundation of the world, may be charged to this generation.” (Luke11:50)

(4) When Jesus prayed, He said, “Father….You loved me before the foundation of the world.” (John17:24)

(5) Paul says of all believers, “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him in love.” (Eph1:4)

(6) The book of Hebrews speaks of God’s rest in the Messiah, in saying that, “His works were finished from the foundation of the world.” (Heb4:3)

(7) Of Christ’s pre-existence in eternity, and with regard to our salvation, it says, “He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” (Heb9:26)

(8) Peter says, “(Jesus Christ) was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you, who through Him are believers in God…” (1Pet1:20,21)

(9) Both Rev13:7 and Rev17:8, speak of the names of the saved written in the Lamb’s book of life, “from the foundation of the world.”

All these Scriptures involve the eternity of God. They are hard for our finite minds to grasp. But in the eternity of God, time is of no essence. This is why the Lord could say of Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you…” (Jer1:5)

And this from David:

“Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.” (Psa 139:16)

This brings us to …

The Faith of Moses and the Prophets

The apostle said that the church is built upon foundation laid by the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone. The prophets were the predecessors of the apostles. Sometimes we forget that the memoirs (Scriptures) of the apostles did not arrive until a several years after Jesus has ascended to the right hand of the Father. The Bible of the early Church was the writings Moses, David, and the prophets.

Some tend to limit the role of Moses to the Law given on Mount Sinai. What they don’t realize is that Moses wrote the book of Genesis. And it is in Genesis where we find the ancient faith clearly defined.

Without Moses, the New Testament writings would make no sense. Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible. The Hebrew people speak of these first books as the Torah. They are also called the Pentateuch. The term Torah in Hebrew simply means instructions. The term Pentateuch is from the Greek, ‘pent teuchos’, meaning ‘five-volume (book). It stems from the Jewish designation of, ‘the five-fifths of the law.’

Thus for the ancient Hebrews, the book of Genesis was part of their bedrock faith. Moses wrote about creation, about the garden of Eden and the fall of Adam, of God’s promised Redeemer. He gave the history of the patriarchs, of Noah and the flood. He wrote about Abraham taking Isaac on the Mountain, which was a foreglimpse of the cross.

The coming Messiah is a theme that flows through the book of Genesis. But it wasn’t just Moses. The coming Messiah was an encoded message in the hearts of all God’s faithful Old Testament people. One of the clearest evidences we find of the ancient faith is found in the book of Job:

“As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth. Even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I shall see God; whom I myself shall behold, and whom my eyes will see and not another. My heart faints within me!” (Job 19:25-27)

The prophets of old spoke of God’s eternal covenant to come. The prophets had visitations with God’s Messiah. They had been instructed by the Holy Spirit about the Messiah, that He would be crucified and would arise from the dead, and that the things they were given to write was for the generations of the cross.

Listen:

“As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.

“It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven–things into which angels long to look.” (1Pe 1:10-12)

And now we come to …

The Ancient Faith Realized

The message of the Christian faith takes up from the prophets. We preach the faith of the prophets realized. The apostle Paul said that we had been given a clear message to preach and that our preaching must center on two things; on the message of the cross, and on what had already been written by the prophets.

Listen to these two cautions:

[Preach the cross] “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.” (1Co 2:2-5)

[The writings of prophets] “Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God. Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, so that in us you may learn not to exceed what is written, so that no one of you will become arrogant in behalf of one against the other.” (1Co 4:5-6)

And if these two admonitions are not enough, listen to the instructions of the Lord Jesus:

“Now He said to them, ‘These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’

“Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.'” (Luk 24:44-48)

The point at hand is that there is no power on earth like the true gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a gospel of God’s love and not of our works. It is a gospel that purifies our life. It is a gospel of unconditional grace and acceptance. And the ancient gospel has been written in the stars.

The stars you say?! Yes indeed. The Lord God used the stars to speak to Abraham about God’s Redeemer.

“And He took him outside and said, ‘Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ And He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’

“Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.” (Gen 15:5-6)

Have you looked at the stars lately? Perhaps how is a good time. Ask the Lord if He has a message for you from the stars.

In the meantime, here is a song for your meditation.

In Christ always,

Buddy

Getting a Fix on Time

The Life-Lesson in Time and History

Awake Sleeper!

White Man Goes Into His Church

The Power and Presence of a Person

The Voice of God

Religion Was Nailed to the Cross – Relationship Takes its Place

Expect the Unexpected

The Call of Love

“These People Will Never Have Anything Else To Do With You.”

A Safety Net for the Shunned

Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?

Smoke in God’s Nostrils

Not of This World

Salvation is a Finished Work

Putting Things into Perspective

Once a Son, Always a Son

There they were, a boy and a girl hitchhiking

Young People Can Make You Love them

Does God Really Understand Our Tears

The most important lesson about life’s struggles

Lord, save us from ourselves

So, does God understand our tears?

He Who Began the Good Work

God has fixed points, too.

Even Our Days Are Ordained

What is Finished – What is Ongoing

The Message Behind the Message

What is it That is Pleasing to God

The Lord’s “I Am with You” Moments

Jewishness is Cultural, Not Racial

An Interest in Jesus

A Historical Perspective

The Story of False Messiahs

The Unraveling of Moses

The Enmity Goes Forward

But Why Are They There?

[heading style=”1″]“Why, what evil has this man done?” – Pilate[/heading]

Not a Christian Believer’s Sin

Open Defiance Against God

Disallowing the Spirit of Messiah

Why is This Sin Unpardonable

Antichrist at work today

It Began Before the Foundation of the World

The Faith of Moses and the Prophets

The Ancient Faith Realized

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