May 2011 posts

September 2, 2011

Continuing in Faith

God continues to do wonderful things in and through the life of His dear ones.  I am so blessed to witness the grand works of God around the globe.  Last week, while preaching in my local church, I saw the Father do some incredible things!
I have been preaching through the book of Acts and on that Sunday I was preaching from 16: 11-15.   Following the message I witnessed four former Catholics come forward during the invitation to express, not only their faith in Christ, but their desire to follow the Lord Jesus in baptism.  There were at least three others who came to indicate their decision for baptism!

As I thought on this and listened to the spoken testimony of all of these who came for baptism, the recurring theme was that of obedience.  God is certainly teaching all of His children the importance of obeying His word.  As I witness all that He is doing around the world I am reminded that our love for God and our obedience go hand in hand.  If you love God, you WILL obey Him.  Is your love for God being fleshed out today?

18 May 2011

O how the mighty have fallen

The headlines of recent days reveal a continual problem with humanity.  News of the child of former California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s tryst with a housekeeper and the case of an alleged sexual assault by Dominique Strauss-Kahn is a reminder of the depravity of humanity.  Talk radio and others have been asking the question, “Why do the rich and famous seem to have such a problem with sexual impurity?”

While members of the elite circles certainly garner more attention to their lifestyles and actions, I do not believe such sins are confined to those in high profile positions.  One national radio host asked, “Why can’t human
beings simply do the right thing?”  The answer is not so simple. Here is what I mean.

  1. The “right” thing has become a cluttered mess in our modern society.  For years now there has been a constantly changing line of what is acceptable behavior in our culture.  The classrooms have been teaching for decades that contemporary man must be devoid of moral absolutes.  The academic community has been pounding into the young minds that both morals and absolutes are antiquated abstracts which are certainly unnecessary in an evolving society.  This demonic teaching has finally taken hold in our culture and now “right” and “wrong” are defined individually not collectively.  What were once acknowledged morals and virtues in our society have become simply personal biases today.
  2. The lack of genuine faith has also caused our society to devolve into a muddle of humanity at its lowest form.  When God was intentionally and viciously removed from the national stage — including the classrooms — we witnessed the beginning of the end of our culture.  Scripture attests in Psalm 33:12  “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” and “Righteousness exalts a nation,  but sin is a reproach to any people.” (Prov. 14:34).  There is little doubt in my mind that we have moved far from God and His design for society.  The idea of a personal
    faith in the Lord Jesus has been relegated to the trash heap of superstition by the collective thinkers in America.  As a society we have continually thumbed our collective nose at God and told Him that we
    neither want nor need Him in our lives and I fear that He has granted our request.
In light of these two truths the answer to the original question is easily focused. Without a moral and spiritual foundation man is destined to simply follow the carnal and natural desires of the flesh.  The two men listed above are but a microcosm of humanity.  “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick;” (Jer.17:9) Mankind, apart of Jesus Christ is lost.  Remember, lost people do lost things!
The responsibility of every Christian is to take the gospel message to the ends of the earth.  The earth includes these two men and every person alive.  “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel!” (Mark 16:15)