Thursday, August 28, 2008

The Nowhere Man vs. the Son of Man

“He’s a real nowhere man sitting in his nowhere land making all his nowhere plans for nobody.” (Nowhere Man, by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, 1965) In the fall of 1965, while trying to come up with one last song to conclude the Beatles’ Rubber Soul album in his home of Kenwood in Weybridge, England, John Lennon found himself facing a case of severe writer’s block. Try as he might, Lennon was unable to come up with any ideas, so after struggling unsuccessfully for some five hours he did what many of us do while facing similar circumstances: he gave up! It was not until he finally “surrendered” to his writer’s block that Lennon was able to come up with this very enjoyable song. As he later described what transpired that day, Lennon said, "I'd actually stopped trying to think of something. Then I thought of myself as Nowhere Man – sitting in his nowhere land." He later added, “I'd spent five hours that morning trying to write a song that was meaningful and good, and I finally gave up and lay down. Then Nowhere Man came, words and music, the whole . . . thing as I lay down." Although this song came about because John Lennon began writing a song about his inability to write a song, it is much more than that. It is an introspective look at how Lennon was feeling at the time. “Doesn’t have a point of view. Knows not where he’s going to. Isn’t he a bit like you and me?” John Lennon felt that he was a victim of his own fame. What is ironic is that although he was a multi-millionaire living in a beautiful mansion, his material possessions had left him feeling unfulfilled. He was trapped in his “nowhere land making all his nowhere plans.” Young people, in particular, looked to him and his fellow band members for all the answers to all their questions, and John Lennon was telling them, if they would but listen, that he did not have any. He was in just as much need of assistance as they were. What is even further ironic is that later on Lennon was right in saying, “All you need is love.” Unfortunately, however, the love that will truly save was not the love of which Lennon spoke. The Apostle John (and not John Lennon) tells us rightfully that “God is love” in 1 John 4:8, and He demonstrated His love for mankind by giving us the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ (John 3:16). He did this while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:8) and His enemy (James 4:4). It is the love of God and a love for God that will truly save. It is His love that is all you need. John Lennon may have owned a mansion, yet the Son of God was homeless. As He said of Himself in Matthew 8:20, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay His head.” And yet, in spite of this, Jesus Christ was also able to tell us in Matthew 11:28-30 what John Lennon could not: “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” It seems to me that John Lennon would have been better off if he would have reached out to the Lord and learned of Him. May we all learn this valuable lesson in our own lives today so that we will never again be unfulfilled, feeling ourselves to be “nowhere men,” but give our lives to the Lord and drink of the “spring of water welling up to eternal life,” (John 4:14).

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Calling Evil Good: Obama and His Support of Infanticide

Isaiah 5:20-21 says, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!”

During the Presidential campaign of 2004, Swift Boat Veterans of the Vietnam War and POWs for Truth ran a series of ads debunking the claims and false charges made by John Kerry in which he stated repeatedly that he had witnessed them committing “war crimes” while on duty in that war-torn country decades ago. Although Kerry stated on numerous times that he was going to prove the Swift Boat Veterans wrong, never was he or the mainstream media ever able to refute any of the allegations made by the Swift Boat Veterans. What is so sad about this is that the Democrats, along with the help of their friends and cohorts in the mainstream media, have been able to “call evil good and good evil.” Although the Swift Boat Veterans were speaking the truth, while Kerry told lies as an expedient for getting his party’s nomination, the Democrats and mainstream media have successfully invented a new term, “swiftboating,” and introduced it into the election campaign lexicon, denoting one who is being attacked by an untruth. But the fact of the matter is that when this term is used to denounce an individual speaking out against a Democrat seeking office, you can take it to the bank that what was just said was true. Such is the case with Democrat Presidential hopeful Barack Hussein Obama whom party strategists are now claiming has been "swiftboated" regarding his voting record as State Senator from Illinois.

While chairman of an Illinois State Senate committee in 2003, Obama voted down a bill which would have protected survivors of attempted abortions, even after the panel had amended the bill to contain language that was copied verbatim from a federal bill passed by Congress without objection in 2002. Is this the man we should elect President of the United States, a man who when asked recently as to when did a baby get human rights, responded by saying that it was “above my pay scale” to answer that question? It would seem to me to be fair to ask this would-be leader of our nation the following questions: Senator Obama, at what point were your daughters granted human rights? Senator Obama, if it is above your pay scale to determine when a baby has human rights, then what right do you have voting against a bill which would have provided protection to those innocent babies who have survived attempted murder at the hands of abortionists, if you have no idea at one point they have human rights?

Here is what Obama had to say about this bill:

"I mean, it – it would essentially bar abortions, because the equal protection clause does not allow somebody to kill a child, and if this is a child, then this would be an antiabortion statute. For that purpose, I think it would probably be found unconstitutional."

A pro-choice lobbyist who wished to remain anonymous had this to say about Obama:

“I read about that months ago, and posted it everywhere, but no one seemed to believe it (even though they could have looked it up themselves). I think this is the most disgusting thing I have ever heard (and I have always been pro choice). The reason this bill was brought up in the first place was because a nurse in a neonatal unit found these babies in a dirty linen closet left there to die. This was a hospital with a high level neonatal unit and they were fully equipped to save these babies, but because the mothers were aborting them and they had survived they were left to die. How sickening is that??”

It was and is quite sickening, just as it was and is quite telling (and sickening) to see Democratic strategist Bob Beckel on Hannity and Colmes last week reacting to and defending Obama when this story finally "broke" became “news,” even though it is over half of a decade old. This is what Beckel had to say: “Are you suggesting Barack Obama wants babies to die?” (Yes, Bob, that is EXACTLY what Obama wanted to happen.) “I've never thought the Republicans would go this far.” (Why is that, Bob? Republicans should not go so far as to tell the truth about your party’s choice of Presidential candidate?) “This is about as low as you can go!" (Which is it, Bob: Telling the truth is about as low as you can go, or trying to defend the rights of the most defenseless among us is about as low as you can go?)

Yes, all of this is most certainly true. Barack Hussein Obama was the only member of the Illinois Senate to speak against a bill that would have granted legal protection, human rights, to already-born babies still alive after a failed and botched abortion, babies that are above Obama’s pay scale to determine if they are, indeed, entitled to human rights. He used his power to prevent those innocent babies from having the best chance to survive, and he refused to even listen to a nurse describe how she cradled these little innocent babies in her arms (Jill Stanek of Chicago's Christ Hospital). The evidence speaks for itself. This man has no business leading our nation.

If the people of the United States of America choose to vote into office this man as their President, a man who will not answer the question as to what point a baby is entitled to have human rights, a man who does not even believe a baby who survived an abortion is entitled to medical care, is not a country worthy of receiving any more of God’s blessings.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Repentance Unto Salvation

Repentance and faith can be understood as “two sides of the same coin.” Repentance is turning from sin; and faith is turning to Christ. Repentance comes about through the convicting power of the word of God to cause a change of attitude, action, and affection. It is impossible to place your faith in Jesus Christ as the Savior without first of all changing your mind about Who He is and what He has done. This is repentance. Whether it is repentance from willful rejection, or repentance from ignorance or disinterest – it is a change of mind. Biblical repentance, in relation to salvation, is changing your mind from rejection of Christ, which is a sin in and of itself, to faith in Christ.

Many understand the term “repentance” to mean “turning from sin.” This is true, but it is not complete. In the Bible, the word “repent” means to "change your mind," to “think differently or afterwards,” to “reconsider.” The Bible also tells us that true repentance will result in a change of actions (Luke 3:8-14; Acts 3:19). The Apostle Paul declared in Acts 26:20, “I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.” The full Biblical definition of repentance is a change of mind that results in a change of action.

The greatest need for any sinner is to have his sins blotted out, but a man will never have the pardon of sin while he is in love with his sin. There must be a hatred of sin, a loathing of it, a turning from it. Repentance can be described as a revolution in how one deals with one’s attitude and view towards sin and righteousness. Repentance involves a change in one’s attitude and lifestyle. Sin must become, in the eyes of the sinner, just as it is to God: exceedingly wicked and vile. Man, in his lost, sinful, and condemned state, has failed to glorify God. Until a person becomes personally exceedingly sinful in his own eyes, he will never see his need for repentance. When one sees oneself as he appears before God, he is brought to a place where there is true godly sorrow for his sin and hates it altogether. As the psalmist stated in Psalm 38:18, “For I will declare my iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin.” (Psalm 38:18)

In true repentance, there is conviction, contrition, and conversion as one turns from his sin to Christ for salvation. Salvation is deliverance of a person from his sin, not merely from a sinful environment. Jesus Christ is the Savior from not only the penalty and punishment of sin, but also the power of sin. But repentance without obedient faith is nothing more than remorse or regret. As Paul told the congregation at Corinth, “For godly sorrow works repentance to salvation not to be repented of. . . .” (2 Corinthians 7:10)

May the Lord bless you!

Let the Earth Be Silent Before the Lord

The Lord spoke to Habakkuk and said in Habakkuk 2:20,

“But the LORD is in His holy temple; let all the Earth be silent before Him."

The Lord was answering Habakkuk’s questions regarding the current state of affairs that were taking place at the time. It was a time of hardship for the nation of Israel, for God was punishing them for their idolatry, and He was using an even wickeder nation as His instrument of punishment. God was telling Habakkuk here, and us today as well, that He is sovereign. Regardless of the seemingly unending chaos all around us, the Lord remains sovereign, and He is in control. As the Lord told David earlier,

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the Earth." (Psalm 46:10)

We should all seek time out in our daily lives to spend some quiet time alone with God. We are to be still before Him. It is during this time of serenity that we must search our hearts and examine our inner thoughts. This often humbles us greatly before the Lord. During this time we also become conscious of sin in our lives, and we can confess our sins before Him and get them cleared away so that we can really beseech the Lord and not have our prayers hindered. This time of quietness is also a time when we can just contemplate God, to think of Who He is, and to reflect upon His mighty grace and power. It is a time where we can prepare our souls for true communion with Him.

We would be wise to remember the words found in Isaiah 40:31: "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Why is it, do you suppose, that we are told that those who wait on the Lord shall mount up with wings as eagles? Why are we not told they will mount up with wings as doves? I believe it has to do with the nature of the eagle. The eagle is the only bird that flies so high it is lost to sight in the upper heights. The eagle is also a most solitary bird. Have you ever seen or heard of a flock of eagles? His aerie is to be found among the inaccessible crags of a mountaintop. But an eagle is also the stillest of creatures. No living thing holds such reserves of quietness. An eagle is never restless. He can be quiet when it is time to be quiet, at perfect peace and tranquility. That is mounting up with wings as eagles. No Christian will ever do greater service in the kingdom for the multitudes until he first learns to walk silently alone with God.

May the Lord bless you as you mount on wings as eagles!

Saturday, August 16, 2008

George W's War

I was in the middle of putting some of my own thoughts together about this topic when I just happened to receive this article in an email. I have no idea who wrote it, but I share it with you now.
No one likes war. War is a horrific affair, bloody and expensive. Sending our men and women into battle to perhaps die or be maimed is an unconscionable thought.
Yet some wars need to be waged, and someone needs to lead. The citizenry and Congress are often ambivalent or largely opposed to any given war. It's up to our leader to convince them. That's why we call the leader 'Commander in Chief.'
George W.'s war was no different. There was lots of resistance to it. Many in Congress were vehemently against the idea. The 'Commander in Chief' had to lobby for legislative approval.
Along with supporters, George W. used the force of his convictions, the power of his title and every ounce of moral suasion he could muster to rally support. He had to assure Congress and the public that the war was morally justified, winnable and affordable. Congress eventually came around and voted overwhelmingly to wage war.
George W. then lobbied foreign governments for support. But in the end, only one European nation helped us. The rest of the world sat on its hands and watched.
After a few quick victories, things started to go bad. There were many dark days when all the news was discouraging. Casualties began to mount. It became obvious that our forces were too small. Congress began to drag its feet about funding the effort. Manywho had voted to support the war just a few years earlier were beginning to speak against it and accuse the 'Commander in Chief' of misleading them. Many critics began to call him incompetent, an idiot and even a liar. Journalists joined the negative chorus with a vengeance.
As the war entered its fourth year, the public began to grow weary of the conflict and the casualties. George W.'s popularity plummeted. Yet through it all, he stood firm, supporting the troops and endorsing the struggle. Without his unwavering support, the war would have surely ended, then and there, in overwhelming and total defeat.
At this darkest of times, he began to make some changes. More troops were added and trained. Some advisers were shuffled, and new generals installed. Then,unexpectedly and gradually, things began to improve. Now it was the enemy that appeared to be growing weary of the lengthy conflict and losing support. Victories began to come, and hope returned.
Many critics in Congress and the press said the improvements were just George W.'s good luck. The progress, they said, would be temporary. He knew, however, that in warfare good fortune counts. Then,in the unlikeliest of circumstances and perhaps the most historic example of military luck, the enemy blundered and was resoundingly defeated. After six long years of war, the 'Commander in Chief' basked in a most hard-fought victory. Soon that historic day, Oct. 19, 1781, in a place called Yorktown , a satisfied George Washington sat upon his beautiful white horse and accepted the surrender of Lord Cornwallis, effectively ending the 6 year Revolutionary War.
What?...Were you thinking of someone else?...

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Faith Comes by Hearing

In declaring how saving faith is developed, Paul wrote in Romans 10:17, “So belief comes of hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” Hearing here, therefore, means any receiving of the word of God whether it is communicated to us by preaching or reading the word of God, and accepting by faith that what God has said in His word is true, and then obediently acting upon that faith. As Paul said in Romans 1:16-17, “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is revealed a righteousness of God from faith unto faith: as it is written, ‘But the righteous shall live by faith.’”

Hearing is truly the first step in God's plan for our soul's salvation. On the Mount of Transfiguration, Matthew records the voice of God declaring for the benefit of Peter, James and John, "This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased; hear Him.” (Matthew 17:5)

The Hebrews writer states in Hebrews 1:1-2, “God, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by diverse portions and in diverse manners, has at the end of these days spoken unto us in His Son, Whom He appointed heir of all things, through Whom also He made the worlds;”

So when the Holy Spirit came with power on the Day of Pentecost just as Jesus said He would, the apostles were inspired to remember all that Jesus had taught them, as well as being given new revelation. It is in this manner that Jesus speaks to us in this age as the Hebrews writer said. By using the apostles and the other authors of the New Testament, His will for us has been totally and completely revealed. Today, we have the complete written word so we can know His will. In fact, the Apostle Peter tells us that we lack nothing we need to know: “ . . . seeing that His divine power has granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that called us by His own glory and virtue; whereby He has granted unto us His precious and exceeding great promises; that through these you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust.” (2 Peter 1:3-4) Since the Lord now speaks to us through His word, we should hear and heed Him by studying His word and listening to what He has to say. As Jesus said in John 10:5 regarding His sheep, And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. We are to hear the Lord Jesus, which means we will reject any others who teach contrary to His word, regardless of who these individuals are. "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life," said Jesus in John 6:63. Why turn to anyone else? As the Apostle Peter added a few verses later in John 6:68, "You have the words of eternal life."

May the Lord bless you as you hear and heed His word!

Strange Fire

The following article was written by Christina Dozier. For more of her work click on her link at:

http://www.mykentuckybooks.com/

She is also in my links section.

Dozier 20:6 And we drove away from New York City after the Christmas holiday, and came to San Francisco in five days; where we stayed seven days.7 And on Monday, when my family came together for supper, my daughter sang for us, ready to leave the next day; and she sang until midnight.

Questions:

1. Did these people stay in San Francisco seven days just for the supper on Monday?
2. Did they not eat supper all the other days they were there?
3. Do they get together every Monday and only on Monday for supper?

Would We Give the Same Answers?

I think we know that the way we would answer these questions is not the way we answer them about Acts 20:6-7, although that passage is worded exactly the same way. And, no, changing the day, the places, and the event does not change the context nor does it change the meaning of the sentences. The sentences are exactly alike otherwise. Whatever we draw from Dozier 20:6-7 regarding frequency of the event is all we can rightfully draw from Acts 20:6-7.

Somehow, our assumption that the breaking of bread in Acts 20:6-7 is the Lord's supper and Paul's commandment to the Corinthians to save up money on the first day of the week, coupled with Jesus' resurrection on the first day of the week, cause us to declare the first day of the week to be the only day we may partake of the Lord's supper and be pleasing to God. But is this a necessary inference?

Paul's Golden Opportunity

1 Corinthians 11:26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.

Although he had a perfect opportunity here to do so, Paul bound no particular day or time to partake of the Lord's supper. Instead, he said "as often as ye eat" (I Co 11:26). And indeed we know that we are not commanded anywhere in scriptures to commune upon a particular day.

Circumstantial Evidence

The truth is that if Acts 20:6-7 had mentioned the third day of the week instead of the first, we would make no attempt to bind a day. So it is the circumstantial evidence that prompts us to declare this day to be bound in heaven and on earth as the only day to partake of the Lord's supper and to proclaim any communing on Monday, Tuesday, or any day other than Sunday to be sin.

When Did They Break Bread?

Let's look at when they actually broke the bread.

Acts 20:7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.

After this Paul brought Eutychus back to life.

Acts 20:11 When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed.

It is at this point that Paul breaks bread, but it's after midnight and apparently on the second day of the week. Or perhaps they had come together Saturday night and now it's the first day. But most knowledgeable people say that Luke wrote using Roman time. And even if not, how many of us would be willing to come together on Saturday night to partake of the Lord's supper?
Some say this was a common meal Paul was eating the next morning. How do we know? And in fact how do we know Acts 20:7 is not a common meal? If one verse tells us people came together to do something and another verse mentions the doing of the thing, why would we think one was one act while another was a different act entirely, even though the wording is the same? So if this was a common meal, maybe verse 7 was a common meal too.

If Dozier 20 had added in verse 11 that the family had eaten, wouldn't we assume that it was the supper that they had come together to eat in verse 7? Of course we would! Why would we think it was anything else?

Upper Room

Let's look at where the Lord's supper was taken. In acts 20 we know they were in an upper room because Eutychus fell out of the third floor and was taken up dead (Acts 20:9). We also know that Jesus instituted His supper in an upper room (Mark 14:14-24).

We say, of course, that (although we have approved examples for the place just as we do for the day of the week), the place is not important because true worshipers don't worship at a particular place but only in spirit and truth.

John 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

First, I don't see that Jesus told this woman place was not important. He simply said that true worshipers worship in spirit and in truth. (Were the Jews not required to worship God in spirit and in truth?) Second, even if place is not important (and I'm not saying it is, of course), is a day important if we haven't been told that it is but it's simply mentioned in a historical narrative? If true worshipers worship in spirit and in truth, then not only is place not important, but year, month, and day are not important either--unless scripture makes them important. And, as I said, Paul had a perfect opportunity to tell us if the day was important, and he didn't take the opportunity and instead used words that would make us assume the day wasn't important.
Paul did tell us he was afraid of people who observe days in Galatians 4:10-11, but we ignore that. Jesus didn't even say that place doesn't matter (we simply assume it by what He did say), and we declare it as gospel, ignoring the approved example of an upper room. Why? Assumption and human reasoning--which is fallible.

I'm not saying place is important. I'm not even saying the day isn't. What I'm saying is that we make big assumptions and huge leaps in determining that the Lord's supper must be taken on Sunday and only on Sunday. After making these assumptions and leaps with our fallible minds, we make assumptions about the upper room as well--assuming that it is not important. If asked why we don't partake of the Lord's supper in an upper room, which we deem unimportant and unnecessary, we say we have to use common sense and know that we don't follow every little incidental example. Then, if someone else doesn't deem the first day of the week to be important, we tell him he must follow approved apostolic examples and imitate the apostles--so he is sinning. We make our judgments as to which examples in the Bible are important and necessary and then declare our judgments to be bound in heaven and on earth.

Circular Reasoning

We use circular reasoning. We assume Acts 20:6-7 is talking about the Lord's supper (and not just a common meal) because it mentions the first day of the week, and we assume "as often as" in I Corinthians 11:26 means only on the first day of the week because it's talking about the Lord's supper.

We make lots of assumptions with regard to the partaking of the Lord's supper. We assume that Acts 20:6-7 is talking about the Lord's supper. We assume the early Christians partook of it every Sunday. We assume they partook only on Sunday.

Assumptions

Let's see what else we can assume.

Acts 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

Here the apostles and disciples are together and Peter preaches to them. This is Pentecost, the first day of the week, and they are assembling.

Acts 20:7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.

Here we have the disciples meeting again and this time Paul preaches to them. Again, it's on the first day of the week. Do you see a pattern developing?

1 Corinthians 11:20 When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper.

Here Paul condemns the Corinthians because they have come together but it is not to eat the Lord's supper. If he is condemning them for this (and indeed they were attempting to take the Lord's supper), we know, from our circular reasoning, that this coming together must be on the first day of the week. Again, notice the pattern that is developing.

1 Corinthians 16:2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.

Why did Paul tell the people to collect this money on the first day of the week? Obviously because he knew that's the day (and the only day?) they would be coming together. (Pay attention to the pattern!)

And here is the clincher:

Hebrews 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

What day? What day would we expect? Why, the first day of the week, of course! Anytime a particular day is mentioned shouldn't we assume it's the first day? We do that in Revelation 1:10, don't we? We assume the Lord's day is the first day of the week because what other day could it possibly be?

Finally, we know I Corinthians 14 is talking about our assembling to worship because it tells us how to behave ourselves in our corporate worship (when we take the Lord's supper, which may be taken only on the first day). So, once again, we have the assembling of the saints on the first day of the week, or the Lord's day. If this is not a pattern, then I don't know what a pattern is.

Necessary Conclusions

So, based on the above passages, here is what I have concluded.

1. When we assemble it is to eat the Lord's supper.
2. We may not assemble unless we are going to eat the Lord's supper.
3. We may eat the Lord's supper only on the first day of the week.
4. We may assemble only on the first day of the week.

Think about it. We know we may take the Lord's supper only on Sunday. We know we may give only on Sunday. Isn't that enough to make us know that the other three "items of worship" may be done within the assembly only on Sunday too? Why would giving be so important that God had to tell us what day to do it on while preaching, praying, and singing collectively may be done anytime? After all, we may give individually on Monday, right? If I see a hungry person on Monday, surely I have a right to give him some money to buy food. And we all know we may pray on Monday or sing on Monday. We may even invite guests over and have a "singing" or "praying" in our own homes on Monday. And surely we may teach the gospel on Monday.

But the reason the disciples partook of the Lord's supper and gave of their means on Sunday was that these were items of worship that they did when they got together--when they came together in the church. And Sunday is the day, and the only day, they assembled!

We Are Drifting!

Brethren, we are drifting! We are lawless and acting without authority. Our week-long gospel meetings are a stench in the nostrils of God!

You think not? Maybe you're right.

Maybe we are doing something else wrong though. Maybe we are wrong to make wild assumptions about the Lord's supper and when it must be partaken. Maybe we are wrong to declare one particular day to be bound in heaven and bound on earth and proclaim the partaking on any other day of the week to be sin. After all, these are things that God and inspired apostles commanded us not.

Maybe our "first-day only" observance of the Lord's supper and our declarations of sin on the part of our brothers and sisters who might want to commune more often with their Lord and their brethren are actually only our assumptions that are better kept to ourselves. Maybe we need to be very careful before we presume to speak for God and be sure to speak only what He has spoken.

How to Be Safe

It's good to play it safe in our own lives. If we reason logically that we should commune with our Lord and our brethren only on Sunday, then that's what we should do. And nobody has a right to try to force something different upon us. But we need to recognize that "being safe" is what we are doing and be careful that we don't bind on others the conclusions that we have drawn with our fallible minds.

We can speak what we believe and why we believe it. We can say what the Bible says and explain all about what makes us determine the things we believe. But we can't say the Bible says something and we know it to be true when the truth is that we have simply made a judgment.
It is good to know we are safe. It is not good to bind our "safe" things on our brothers and sisters. When we do that we cease to be safe and begin to take liberties with the Word of God. In our eagerness to please God, we don't want to be caught offering "strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded [us] not."

Christina Elizabeth Dozier

May 6, 2008

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

A Night of Delight

As anyone who knows me will verify, I love the wonders God has given us in the nighttime sky of His universe. As we are told in Psalm 19:1-2 (ESV),

1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.
2 Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.

This past week the heavens were screaming their delight in the magnificence of God's presence as we were treated to yet another of the annual Perseids meteor shower. In case you were unaware, the Perseids just may be the most famous of all meteor showers. They never fail to provide a breathtaking, impressive display that fills the heart with the wonder and glory of God and His exquisite creation! Since they arrive each year in the summertime in the northern hemisphere, most people in that part of the world are able to enjoy them.

The Perseids have been observed as a phenomenon as long ago as 36 AD when the Chinese first recorded their occurrence, but it was not until 1862 during the Lincoln administration and the War Between the States that Comet Swift-Tuttle was discovered to be the source of this annual delightful display.

I do not go camping too often, but when I do it inevitably falls during the August Perseid showers. This past Monday night was no exception as I took my three youngest boys camping for the very first time. As it turned out, it was also no exception that we were treated to this astounding, visual spectacle. I awoke my kids shortly before the stroke of 2:00 AM following the setting of the moon in the west, and they and I all agree and attest that it seemed to us as if God was performing solely for our benefit alone as we lay there enveloped under the gorgeous canopy of stars. And since it was the first time they were able to experience such a wonderful demonstration, having never seen before the “stars falling from the sky,” it made it all even more special and enjoyable. As the song of the crickets, the katydids, the tree frogs and the bullfrogs, along with the coyotes in the distance echoed in chorus around us, it seemed they were all proclaiming their own intimate knowledge of the One Who made it all! If only all of mankind would be so wise and discerning as well!

If you can, please take advantage of the joys and marvels of God’s wondrous creation for yourself, and be drawn closer to the Lord in meditation and prayer. Trust me, it will be well worth a little lost sleep!

May the Lord bless you!

Saturday, August 9, 2008

A Sad Pronouncement

The Bible describes two types of people in the world: The saved and the lost. In speaking of these two types of people, Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14,

Enter in by the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and many are they that enter in thereby. For narrow is the gate, and straitened the way, that leads unto life, and few are they that find it.”

Jesus was not one to mince His words when it came to telling people the truth, especially when it came to speaking of the condition of one’s soul. In these two verses alone He makes it abundantly clear that the condition of mankind is a lost one. We are told in Isaiah 59:2 that our sins have separated us from God. This includes everybody, for Paul wrote in Romans 3:23, “ . . . for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God. . . .”

There is much to be gleaned from these words from our Savior found in Matthew 7, but one thing that seems to me to grow keener and clearer the older I get is just how much sorrow and just how much grief must have afflicted the Lord when he uttered these horrible, tragic words some two thousand years ago! Here He was (and is and will forever be) the Creator and the Sustainer of the entire cosmos (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16), the One Who is above all thrones, principalities and powers, the One Who is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end (Revelation 1:8), the One Who is the Redeemer of all the Earth (Job 19:25; Isaiah 41:14), the beginning and the firstborn from the dead (Colossians 1:18), the One Who stretched forth the very heavens from horizon to horizon and the One Who formed us in the womb (Isaiah 44:24), the One Who loved us so much that He left the glory and riches of Heaven to come to this lowly plain of existence and humble Himself to live His life as an unassuming servant (Philippians 2:7). He was (and is and will forever be) the King of kings and Lord of lords, the only Potentate there ever was (or is or ever will be) (1 Timothy 6:15) Who suffered Himself to be beaten, and to be scourged, and to be afflicted for our sins and nailed to the cross of Calvary as a common outcast and criminal. But no mere ordinary man was He, for He was literally “God with us”. This same Person had to tell us, the children whom He loved so very dearly, that in spite of all that He has done for us and continues to do for us, we will, for the most part as a people, continue to reject Him as our Savior and god to our own utter destruction! I can only imagine how hard He must have fought back to keep the tears from flowing and streaming from His eyes and down His face when He spoke these words.

May you choose this day to reject Him no longer!

Thursday, August 7, 2008

The Lord Rejoicing over You with Singing

Zephaniah 3:16-17 says,

16 On that day they will say to Jerusalem, "Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands hang limp.
17 The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing."


Our Wednesday evening Bible class has been studying the Old Testament minor prophets, and we are currently in Zephaniah. What a picture we have painted for us in Zephaniah 3! The city of Jerusalem was under siege. It was being punished by God for her many sins as detailed in verses 1-7. The Lord Himself was depicted as leading the assailing force, pouring out His wrath, and striking the city in His righteous, fierce anger. The devastation was so complete that it seemed as if it was going to overflow and consume the entire world in an awesome, blazing inferno (verse 8).

And then, through the vision comes an amazing discovery. As that dreadful night of judgment comes to an end, and day dawns bright upon the horizon, we realize there are survivors! We see God's scattered people, now purified, and returning to worship their God (verses 9-10). We realize that the arrogance that characterized the people of Jerusalem had been burned away, and the city now held only the meek and humble who would do no wrong (verses 11-13). And we hear a mighty voice raised in triumphant song, tentative at first, but soon swelling in a glad chorus of joy as the people of the city realize that God is with them, and He will quiet them with His love (verses 14-18). And suddenly we see the city itself begin to glow, as God gives His now holy people the honor and praise they thought that they had forfeited forever by their sin and rebellion (verses 19-20).

Just so we need to remind ourselves. When you or I suffer under the discipline of God, everything seems so dark. We feel crushed, unable to go on. As the Hebrews writer states, “All chastening seems for the present to be not joyous but grievous; yet afterward it yields peaceable fruit unto them that have been exercised thereby, even the fruit of righteousness” (Hebrews 12:11). Yet if we were only to look beyond and into tomorrow, we would catch a glimpse of the sight seen by Zephaniah. Can you see just beyond the horizon of your dark today to the bright and glorious dawn of what God intends for you tomorrow?

We sin when we pursue happiness by cutting ourselves at the expense of cutting off ourselves from fellowship with God – the only Person Who can make us truly happy. Zephaniah points us to the way of gladness and joy that is the result of our allowing God to be Immanuel, "God with us". We do that by faithfully following Him and obeying His blest commands. Then God rejoices over us with singing! If you want to be truly happy, then draw close to the source of wonder, joy and happiness by obeying the Lord and Creator of the universe. May the Lord bless you!

Friday, August 1, 2008

The Battle of Destruction!

The following short story was written by my 9 year old son, Damien Ferguson, and he won second prize in the 3rd grade city-wide writing contest for his efforts. That was quite an accomplishment, especially considering that he attends public school.
I hope you enjoy reading it!

It was early daytime one morning not too long ago in the village of Dayfas . . . but it was Game Month in Dayfas!
It was the most fun of all, in fact, it was the absolutely, most incredibly fantastic time imaginable for one boy named Jerry because he just KNEW that he had good cards! He loved to play at home with his brothers and his one sister, not a little sister, but a great big sister who was already 12 years old named Tabitha! He would lose once in a while, but as his father taught him, “That’s just a part of the game!” The funny thing about THAT was that when the baseball bounced and hit Jerry in the mouth and made him bleed and when the football hit him in the eye and made it turn all kinds of shades of purple and black, his father told him at those times that, “That is just a part of the game!” It may be true that it is, but Jerry sure did not LIKE that part of the game!
Anyway, as I was saying, Jerry lost once in a while and now it was coming time for the BIG TOURNAMENT! His mom and dad said, “You’re not going to win!” But if he finished in first place then Jerry would win a Wii! If he placed second he would get a PS2! And if he ended up with a third place finish then Jerry would win an XBOX 360! But that was not the end of it . . . if Jerry ended up in 4th place he still could win a plain old XBOX! And finally, even if he did not do any better than 5th place Jerry still could walk away as the proud owner of a NINTENDO DS!
Jerry REALLY and TRULY wants a Wii! Why? Because a Wii is loads and loads of hours of non-stop fun and entertainment, but his mom and dad said they WON’T buy him one because they say it is just too expensive! They said to Jerry, “If you want a Wii so badly, then you are just going to have to save up the money and buy it yourself!”
But Jerry said, “I have to buy other things with my money! I have to have my HOT WHEELS TRACKS and CARS!”
Here are some pictures of Jerry’s cards (but not all of them). Altogether there are 120 in all of the set, but three of Jerry’s favorite cards are Dragon Fire, Dabe and Dusty. Dragon Fire is a dragon, Dabe is a ghost, and Dusty is a cloud of dust! The cards look like this:
Dragon Fire has 15 lives. His defense is 100% destruction of his foes. Dabe has 10 lives and his defense is 90% destruction of his opponents. Dusty has 10 lives and his defense is 100% destruction of his foes. So Dragon Fire and Dusty are very good cards to have!
Jerry’s friend, James, has a Sharkey card and it is the best card he, Jerry, has ever seen! This is what it looks like:



Jerry said, “Are you going to be in the tournament?”
James answered, “No.”
Jerry asked, “Can I borrow your Sharkey card?”
“Yes,” said James.
“Thank you, James!” said Jerry. James was such a good friend! Jerry was SURE that he would win it all now!
“You’re welcome, Jerry!” replied James.
So Jerry went home and showed his mom and dad his friend’s card, Sharkey, but his mom and dad said, “That’s not YOUR card! That’s your friend’s card!”
Then Jerry said, “But James is not going to be in the tournament, so it’s okay if I borrow his card to play the game!”
“Well, if that’s the case, then it should be okay, son!” said Jerry’s parents. So they agreed to let Jerry keep the card for the tournament.
In two more days the tournament would begin. Then came the special notice! It was announced that the games would be televised on the local television station! It would even be covered on the news, and rumor began circulating around town that ESPN wanted to broadcast it! Not to be outdone, FOX, CNN, Disney, Nick and Cartoon Network all said they were going to broadcast the big tournament as well. Boy, were things ever so exciting in the little town of Dayfas! Why, this was even more exciting than watching the Fire Department get old lady Pencilface Crumpett’s cat, Eraserhead, out of the apple tree in the middle of Thing Park!
Getting more excited as the thoughts of being on TV entered his mind, Jerry said to himself, “Boy, oh boy! I just KNOW that I will win!” As he thought this, Jerry imagined himself being the center of attention as the whole town came out and threw a giant ticker tape parade in his honor right down Main Street!
The next day Jerry played with his mom and dad and his brothers and EVEN his great big sister, Tabitha, who was already 12! He wanted to get in practice for the tournament.
The next day following was Game Day. The first kid Jerry faced was Tom. Tom was easy. Jerry beat him on his second try. Tom won a Nintendo DS. Tom was stupid!
Next up was Fudge. That wasn’t his real name, but since he had been called Fudge for so long no one seemed to know what his real name was, and nobody ever bothered to ask him! Some people called Fudge the Fudge Monster because he is weird and is always eating chocolate fudge brownies. He placed 4th and won the XBox.
Next up was an adult! Jerry was nervous playing against an adult who wasn’t his mom or dad, and this adult had a Dragon Fire card, too, but because he took a picture of Jerry’s card and Photoshopped it he was disqualified. Because of this, Jerry’s friend, Braden, got to play instead and he lost to Jerry and won the 3rd place prize of an XBox 360.
That meant that Jerry was in the finals! He had made it all the way to the championship round! And now he had to play his worst enemy ever, a no-good boy called Toodles McGreedy! What a horrible name for a rotten, stinking (yes, literally stinking of dirty feet and rotten eggs) kid! Toodles McGreedy was so bad that even the snakes in town avoided looking at him!
Toodles snarled at Jerry with a twisted grin upon his filthy face. He thought he would win! But he did not know that Jerry had saved his best friend’s card, Sharkey, for this very moment! Just as it looked as if Toodles McGreedy would come away victoriously, Jerry pulled out Sharkey and defeated that rotten Toodles McGreedy! The crowd erupted in thunderous applause, but Jerry looked over at Toodles and noticed a tear running down the cheek of Toodles. Jerry said,
“What’s the matter, Toodles?”
Toodles said, “I don’t have a mother or a father. I live alone with my younger brother, Foodles, in a small shack by the railroad tracks. All we ever get to eat are scraps that fall off the train as it passes us by.”
Jerry said, “I never knew that, Toodles. Why didn’t you ever tell anyone?”
“I didn’t think anyone would care, Jerry,” said Toodles.
“Aw, shucks, Toodles, I care, and so would my family. Why don’t you and your brother come and live with us? That would make us happy, and it would make everyone happy, too. Especially Jesus!”
So that is how Toodles and Foodles came to live with my family. No longer is Toodles rotten anymore. In fact, he and his brother have become like two more brothers to me and my brothers and sister, and we all get along very well.
Even Tabitha!
I let Toodles play with the Wii I won whenever he wants to, and he lets me play with the PS2 that he won at the tournament. And he no longer stinks! In fact, I think he is really pretty cool.