Friday, October 31, 2008

Planned Parenthood Caught Admitting Infanticide!

The following are links to YouTube videos in which a worker for Planned Parenthood ADMITS that babies born alive in an attempted abortion are left to die. This is a crime, people, and it cannot be glossed over and prettied up, anymore than what Hitler's goons did in the last century. This is the same organization lauded by Senator Obama, would-be President of the United States, and man who voted three times to deny medical assistance to babies who survived attempted abortions.
Is this REALLY the type of man we whould have as leader of our nation? If you are a Christian who is supporting Obama are you prepared to stand before God on Judgment Day and explain your support for this man?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnlHNbAh6xY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6wea065aYs&NR=1

Thursday, October 30, 2008

A Voice in the Attic

The following is an original story for Halloween submitted by Damien Ferguson, age 10. I hope you enjoy it!
Taylor was alone in the house. She usually enjoyed staying home alone, but tonight was different. Taylor could hear a soft voice calling her from the attic. She could barely hear it, but Taylor could hear it! Then all of a sudden it started getting louder! Taylor was wondering, "What could it be?" Taylor was upset, so she yelled, "WHAT!!!" Then it said, "Come in the attic."
Taylor knew she could not go in the attic. Then it said again, "Come in the attic." But as you know, Taylor knew she was not allowed to go in the attic. Then - suddenly! - the door opened. She looked inside. All she saw was cobwebs. Then she walked inside.
She wondered why her mom and dad told her not to go in the attic. Taylor heard some noise. She saw something. She heard some laughing. She saw blood. A vampire said softly, "Come and join me!" Taylor said, "No!" The vampire replied, "Oh . . . do you have some red Powerade?" Taylor said in a creeped out voice, "Y-e-e-s, why do you ask?" He said, "My name is Apple Seed Dracula." Taylor asked him, "S-o-o-o-o, you know Count Dracula?" Apple said, "Yes, he is my father. He named me Apple because I did not bite him like other vampires." So Taylor gave him some red Powerade and watched as it trickled from the corners of his mouth and fangs.
She knew she would never drink red Powerade again!

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Righteousness Exalts a Nation

Proverbs 14:34 makes the point that "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people." If there is such a thing as righteousness, then Someone sovereign must determine what it is. Humankind has a varied idea of what constitutes righteousness. We could never in a million years agree on what is righteous and what is unrighteous. God, however, is an authority on righteousness, and fortunately for us, God tells us what righteousness means in His holy word. Psalm 71:19 says, “Your righteousness also, O God, is very high, Who has done great things: O God, Who is like unto You!” "All Your commandments are righteousness," says the psalmist in Psalm 119:172. Psalm 98:2 adds, “The Lord has made known His salvation: His righteousness has He openly showed in the sight of the heathen.”

It is a mark of a nation in decline that calls evil good and good evil. As Isaiah 5:20 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!” The "bad guy" is now the norm; the "good guy" is the potential hypocrite who bears watching and extreme scrutiny.

“Sin is a reproach to any people.” What is sin? Again, the Bible defines it: "Sin is the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4).

Our society is in trouble because God’s laws are just as real as the physical laws of science. They are just as real as the law of gravity. A society that is lying and cheating and stealing and promoting what God clearly has called a sin, homosexuality, as a civil right, then that nation is sowing the seeds of disruption and the seeds of its own destruction of everything in it that is solid and that is real. For Jesus Christ is the ultimate arbiter of what is right, what is wrong, and what is true, for He said to Pilate in John 18:37, "You say that I am a king. To this end have I been born, and to this end am I come into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone that is of the truth hears My voice." He also stated earlier in John 14:6, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one comes unto the Father, but by Me."

The Bible tells us, “By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted, but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.” (Proverbs 11:11) “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3) What we can do is turn to God as a people, and trust in Him. God tells us in 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If My people who are called by My name humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

May the Lord bless you, and may He continue to bless us as a people as long as we are a nation turned to Him!

To Worship God in Spirit and Truth

True worship, which is homage that pleases God, is to be in truth, as well as in spirit. Jesus said in John 4:24, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” What does it mean, then, to worship in truth? First, it would be prudent to define "truth." Pilate asked Jesus, "What is truth?" The answer to that question is revealed in the prayer of Jesus in John 17:17, "Sanctify them through Your truth: Your word is truth." The psalmist in Psalm 119:142 wrote, "Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Your law is the truth." So when we speak of the objective truth, the truth of the Bible, we speak of God's word or His law.

Worship in spirit involves doing those acts that please God with the right attitude. It is possible for one to be physically present at a worship service and not be worshipping God because one’s attitude toward worship may not be correct. Thus, one is not worshipping God in spirit. So it is vitally important that we understand the characteristics of worship that is truly in spirit.

Worship in spirit must be with understanding. Paul taught this is 1 Corinthians 14:15: "I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also." To worship with understanding, we must be able to comprehend what is said and done. We must appreciate the significance of each act of worship and think about what we are doing as we worship. For instance, we cannot be talking, daydreaming or sleeping during a prayer, sermon or song and be worshipping with understanding.

The phrase “in spirit” in John 4:24 indicated a mental, conscious, thought-out effort to offer something to God. If a person is not thinking about what is being done, that is, is NOT intending to make this offer to God, then it is not in spirit and it is not worship.

The Apostle Paul in Romans 12:11 urges us to be "fervent in spirit." This means we are to have an attitude of zeal. To worship God in spirit is to do so with the right attitude or from the heart. In the Bible the heart is our mind and includes our intellect, our volition, our conscience and our emotions. One's whole heart must be engaged in worship for it to be acceptable to God. In other words, one’s entire being. This is why Jesus said in Mark 12:30 that the greatest of all commandments was to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” As the psalmist sweetly sang, "I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation" (Psalms 111:1). It is my hope and prayer that we do no less ourselves.

May God bless you!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Facing the Inevitablity of Death

Many people come to the conclusion that the Book of Ecclesiastes is pessimistic and cynical. Why else would Solomon use the word “vanity” in relation to the good God has done if it was otherwise?

“And I applied my mind to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under Heaven; it is an unhappy business that God has given to the sons of men to be busy with. I have seen everything that is done under the sun; and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind." (Ecclesiastes 1:13-14)

“There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God; for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? For to the man who pleases Him God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and heaping, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.” (Ecclesiastes 2:24-26)

I, for one, do not believe the Book of Ecclesiastes should be called pessimistic or even cynical. Instead, a better appellation would be to describe it as simply brutally realistic. Ecclesiastes makes the reader confront the full and dreadful significance of one’s mortality. Most people, whether or not they are religious, refuse to face what death really is. But when you get right down to it, death is a calamity that nullifies all of the achievements of one’s human existence. Ecclesiastes strips away the myths we employ, either consciously or unconsciously, to shield ourselves from this stark fact. In pointing out the dreadfulness and stark reality of death, the Book of Ecclesiastes helps us to see just how profound is our need for resurrection. More simply stated, this wonderful book drives us to seek Jesus Christ. The New Testament shares this perspective as well. Death is not a friend or even a doorway as it is popularly espoused, but a terrible, terrible enemy. It will be, however, a conquered enemy eventually. Listen to how it is described by Paul and John:

“The last enemy to be destroyed is death. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?’" (1 Corinthians 15:26; 54-55)

“Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire;” (Revelation 20:14)

Face the inevitability of the enemy, death, with confidence. Face it with Jesus Christ! May the Lord bless you!

Friday, October 17, 2008

Obama Campaign Begins to Stumble

It seems to me that the Obama campaign maybe beginning to unravel. Joe the plumber has now become the butt of late night TV jokes. His "crime"? Daring to point out the fact that Obama's plan to increase taxes is not good for the economy.
Since his buddies and cronies in the mainstream media felt it would be "funny" to attack a man who was trying to live out what used to be the American dream, Barack Hussein Obama thought it would be a good idea to make fun of this man and John McCain, too, for supporting him. Here is a video clip of Obama attacking Joe the plumber:
It is a sad commentary on America if a politician running for the Presidency of the United States is laughed at for wanting to support an average American man who is only wishing to follow his dreams. How said, indeed.
It is my opinion that this strategy will backfire and be the undoing of Barack Hussein Obama's drive for the Presidency. The elitism and disdain for the average working Americans are there for all to see. Joe the plumber will be to Obama in 2008 what the Swift Boat Veterans were for John Kerry in 2004.
Americans are tired of being called racist if they do not support Obama. Those who are making this false charge are the ones who are the true racists. Unfortunately, this negative attitude has filtered down into the schools across the country. Here is a video of a 12 year old 7th grade girl who has been accused of being a racist for her suppport of John McCain and Sarah Palin:
When it comes right down to it, the truth is hard to fight against. The truth has nothing to hide. The same cannot be said for Barack Hussein Obama.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Sharon's Perfect Sweet Rose

“Sharon’s perfect sweet Rose” is a line from a favorite hymn of mine called Paradise Valley. I must confess that when I was little I loved to sing this hymn, but I had no idea who Sharon was, and why her flowers were being mentioned in this song as being in paradise.

Sharon, however, is not a girl in this case, as I once believed, it is a place. It is mentioned once in the Song of Solomon as well as twice in the Book of Isaiah.

“I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys” is what we find in Song of Solomon 2:1.

Isaiah 35:2 and Isaiah 65:10 say,

“It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing; the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon: they shall see the glory of Jehovah, the excellency of our God. And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down in, for My people that have sought Me.”

Sharon is a plain. It is one of the largest valley plains in all of Palestine. During the time of Solomon it was considered a wild, fertile plain that had a lot of beautiful flowers in it. Sharon was known for its beauty and majesty at that time.

Many people believe that “Sharon’s perfect sweet Rose” and “the wonderful Flower we love” are references to Jesus. That may be the case, and there really is nothing wrong with believing that. The rose is considered by most people to be the most perfect of all flowers. Therefore, the rose represents Jesus Christ, Who is perfection. Through Him we are perfected. Additionally, some view the rose as symbolic of Jesus due to its natural color from whence it gets its name. The rose color is very nearly identical to that of the color of blood, so the rose became the symbol of the blood of Jesus as it was shed on the cross for our sins. Also, some traditions claim that it was from a rose bush that the crown of thorns was made that the Roman soldiers placed upon Jesus’ head when they crucified Him, once again tying the rose symbolically to Jesus Christ.

As I said, I do not object to this view as the meaning of the phrase in Paradise Valley, but I think an alternative explanation can be offered, and that is that “Sharon’s perfect sweet Rose” and “the wonderful Flower we love” represent the church, and here is why.

In the passage from the Song of Solomon, the individual speaking who calls herself the “rose of Sharon” is a Shulamite woman who apparently was Solomon’s bride. The Song of Solomon is symbolic of the love Christ has for His bride, which is the church. Paul says in Ephesians 5:25-27, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself up for it; that He might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word, that He might present the church to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” We also have in John’s revelation the following description given: “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of Heaven of God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And there came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls, who were laden with the seven last plagues; and he spoke with me, saying, ‘Come hither, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.’” (Revelation 21:2; 9) So when we sing “In the midst of it grows Sharon's perfect sweet rose 'tis the wonderful flower we love,” I believe we are singing about the church, the bride of Christ. The Shulamite woman was a bride of King Solomon, and the church is the bride of King Jesus. And as Paul says in Ephesians 5:27, the church is holy and without blemish. It is perfect because it has been washed in the blood of the Lamb. It is the Flower we love, Sharon’s perfect sweet Rose. We should love the church as Christ loved the church. To me, this is a most appropriate and scriptural interpretation of the meaning of this song.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

The Fear of the Lord

In Psalm 111:1-10 David writes,

1 Praise the Lord. I will extol the Lord with all my heart in the council of the upright and in the assembly.
2 Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them.
3 Glorious and majestic are His deeds, and His righteousness endures forever.
4 He has caused His wonders to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and compassionate.
5 He provides food for those who fear Him; He remembers His covenant forever.
6 He has shown His people the power of His works, giving them the lands of other nations.
7 The works of His hands are faithful and just; all His precepts are trustworthy.
8 They are steadfast forever and ever, done in faithfulness and uprightness.
9 He provided redemption for His people; He ordained His covenant forever – holy and awesome is His name!
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts have good understanding. To Him belongs eternal praise.

There is an interesting point to note about this psalm, and that is that this psalm is what is called an acrostic poem, which means that each of its lines begin with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

We live in a very high-tech world in which much knowledge and information is available at the touch of a few keystrokes, but unfortunately, there is very little wisdom existing. It has been our so-called knowledgeable and brightest individuals who got us into the financial crisis we are currently facing, so when the government came to bail them out, what did some of these bright people do? They turned right around and rewarded themselves with an over $440,000 junket to a posh hotel to receive massages and other amenities! That certainly was not the wisest course of action to take. So as we can see, even smart people do stupid things. David reveals the secret of attaining true wisdom and understanding when he writes in Psalm 111:10, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts have good understanding. To Him belongs eternal praise." We also know that David passed this wisdom on to his son, Solomon, for Solomon also says in Proverbs 1:7, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Solomon later added in Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.”

What is particularly interesting is that David and Solomon have revealed for mankind three secrets of wisdom, and no one needs to be an Ivy League scholar or earn any degree from any university whatsoever in order to learn them.

The first secret revealed is that we need to fear God. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," we are told on more than one occasion. This is not the fear that an enslaved man felt before an angry master or overseer. This is reverence that is being described. It is the respect of a loving child given to a loving and kind father. In other words, it is reflected in one’s showing respect for God, respect and honor to His word, and reverence in His presence. It is being willing to substitute our will and replace it with His will in our lives.

The second secret revealed is that we should obey Him. “ . . . all who follow His precepts have good understanding . . .” writes David. A precept is another word for command, so one who follows His precepts is one who has obeyed His commands. God has preserved His word for us not just that we can read and study it, but because He wants us to follow Him. Within it, and it alone, contain the words of eternal life for all who obey Him. Some of us seem to take the attitude that we are simply auditing a class, so all that is required is that we sit in on the lecture occasionally and maybe jot down a few notes. But as James, the Lord’s brother says, “But be you doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding your own selves.” (James 1:22) It is from our obeying God that we begin to come to understand what He is doing. Obedience is the means of finding true spiritual understanding.

The third secret David revealed is that we should praise the Lord. “To Him belongs eternal praise." When our hearts and minds are centered on God with praise unto Him, our own selfishness will be removed out of our lives. We move from vain idolatry and into living a life wholly given to the Lord.

The more we fear Him, the more will we desire to obey Him. The more we obey Him, the more will we desire to praise Him. These are the makings of life that is happy, successful and one that has that “ . . . peace of God that passes all understanding. . . .” (Philippians 4:7)

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Be Careful What You Cultivate

Psalm 109:14-20 says,

14 May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord; may the sin of his mother never be blotted out.
15 May their sins always remain before the Lord, that He may cut off the memory of them from the Earth.
16 For he never thought of doing a kindness, but hounded to death the poor and the needy and the brokenhearted.
17 He loved to pronounce a curse – may it come on him; he found no pleasure in blessing – may it be far from him.
18 He wore cursing as his garment; it entered into his body like water, into his bones like oil.
19 May it be like a cloak wrapped about him, like a belt tied forever around him.
20 May this be the Lord's payment to my accusers, to those who speak evil of me.

We have just recently studied about how our God is a God of love, and He demands that those who are His will love (and hate) the same things He does, for what we love determines how we live, both now and on into eternity. What delights us also directs us. David wrote about his enemies, “He loved to pronounce a curse – may it come on him; he found no pleasure in blessing – may it be far from him.” What do you love? In what do you relish and find delight? You reap exactly what you sow, according to the Apostle Paul in Galatians 6:7. David's enemies were sowing curses, and he knew they were going to reap a harvest of misery. They were running away from the true Source of blessings, God. David knew that in missing the blessings of God, they were going to miss the joys and purposes of not only this life, but the afterlife as well. Let us be sure and careful just how we cultivate the appetites of our inner person, our inner being. What we love we may get, and after we get it we may end up with deep regret. There may be some fun in sowing sin, but there is absolutely no joy when the time of reaping arrives. Christians may toil and shed tears for the moment, but their great joy will come in the reaping. But for those who live for the flesh and the carnal ways of the world, the joy is momentarily found in the sowing. But what they will end up facing are the trial and the tears when they reap their harvest of eternal destruction. If you take what you want from life, you will end up having to pay for it.

How important it is to cultivate our spiritual appetites! How important it is to have an appetite for the word of God, to long to be sequestered alone with the Lord in prayer, to be with His people and to delight in the worship and service of God! Cultivate those appetites of your inner person that lead to spiritual growth. Keep them in check by feeding on God's word daily and by walking with the Lord. He will use your appetites to bring blessing to your life and to others on into eternity!

Are Women Saved Through Childbearing?

A seemingly difficult passage to understand can be found in 1 Timothy 2:12-15:
12. But I permit not a woman to teach, nor to have dominion over a man, but to be in quietness. 13. For Adam was first formed, then Eve; 14. and Adam was not beguiled, but the woman being beguiled hath fallen into transgression: 15. but she shall be saved through her child-bearing, if they continue in faith and love and sanctification with sobriety.
What was Paul talking about here? What does a woman bearing children have to do with a woman being saved? The Apostle Paul was talking about how sin entered into the world. He is referring his reader, Timothy, and those he was instructing, to Genesis 3. Verse 15 above has absolutely nothing to do with women having babies today. If it did, then Paul would be teaching salvation by works. Additionally, he would be teaching in contradiction to the Apostle Peter who said that God is not a respecter of persons, meaning that all people are subject to the same Gospel plan of salvation, in Acts 10:34.
Men cannot give birth. Therefore, to understand that this passage is teaching that women giving birth to babies today somehow saves them is completely off base. What Paul is referring to, once again, is Genesis 3:15:
"I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel."
Paul was referencing the very first prophecy uttered by God Himself in which He predicted that the Seed of woman, Jesus Christ, would be the defeat of Satan. And that is what is meant by Paul saying in verse 1 Timothy 2:15, "but she shall be saved through her childbearing, if they continue in faith and love and sanctification with sobriety." It would be Eve's Seed that would save men, by crushing the head of the deceiving serpent. Paul was showing how Eve had been instrumental in bringing about the fall of mankind into sin, but he did not stop there. He further showed how indispensable she will be in the history of redemption of fallen mankind, due to the boundless love and grace of God. For from the fruit of her body will come the Messiah, Who will save both her and all of mankind. In fact, this is how every woman in particular is saved, for Paul switches to the plural in the last half of verse 15 and makes application to women in general. If this redemptive historical interpretation is correct, and I believe it is, then 1 Timothy chapter 2 has nothing to do with the essential mothering role of women in general. Neither does it apply to some universal prohibition against having women being leaders or "usurping authority" by taking on leadership roles in the "secular" world. Rather, this chapter assures us of the central place of "the woman" in God's redemptive plan and reminds us that women in general are saved from eternal death through faith in the promised Child, His blessed Son, Jesus Christ, if they persevere in holding onto their faith in Him unto death.
May the Lord bless you!

Saturday, October 4, 2008

A Light For My Path

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." (Psalm 119:105)
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1)
"I am the Light of the world: he that follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the Light of life." (John 8:12)
Ever since I was a small boy these have been some of my favorite passages of Scripture to be found anywhere in God's Holy Writ. Although it is true that many things we hold and cherish most dearly in our youth often fade as the years flow downstream along the currents of time, my appreciation for these passages has increased, rather than diminished, through the subsequent intervening years. Even though these verses were written millennia ago, I believe they continue to hold significant lessons for us today.
One of the lessons to be gleaned from these verses is that the world around us is in utter spiritual darkness. The opportunity to achieve advanced education may be at all time record high levels, but true and abiding wisdom among men has plummeted reciprocally. Just as in the days of Paul in the first century when he was penning his epistle to the church in Corinth, mankind has exchanged the wisdom of God in favor of the foolishness that emanates from the darkness engulfing the world. The darkened world rejects the Light of the glory of God in Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 1:31), Who is the Light of the world (John 8:12), and the Word of God incarnate in the flesh (John 1:8).
Secondly, we can discern that our pathway is distinct. Our Lord has marked out a plan of salvation from our sins and disobedience back into His fold, and that path is through His Son, Jesus Christ (John 14:6). As we walk with the Lord we need have no fear as to where He will direct us (Psalm 23:4). The way of the Lord leads to blessings and holiness, for the way of the Lord ultimately will bring the believer to the very throne of God!
Thirdly, we can see that as we tread each footfall of our journey, the Light of Jesus Christ illuminates our path ever greater, directing our steps towards our goal. The Lamp of the Word of God will not be extinguished, and it will not lead us astray. Be encouraged that the way of salvation has not been hidden under a bushel but is manifest for the entire world to see. Jesus Christ is the way, He is the Word and He is the Light. Let the Light of life guide you as your pilgrimage takes you through this world of darkness today!

Friday, October 3, 2008

Jesus, Still the Great Physician

We have in Psalm 107:16-21 what I believe is a Messianic prophecy regarding Jesus Christ:

16 for He breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron.
17 Some became fools through their rebellious ways and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.
18 They loathed all food and drew near the gates of death.
19 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress.
20 He sent forth His word and healed them; He rescued them from the grave.
21 Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men.

It is clear from studying the Bible that the only medicine that can cure the disease of sin that is troubling the world is the word of God, “For faith comes of hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). Without hearing the word of God, we will never be able to develop a faith that saves, for as the Apostle Paul tells us in Galatians 3:26-27, “For you are all sons of God, through faith, in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ did put on Christ.” Now let's consider the Great Physician, Who administers the healing elixir of His word.

Jesus Christ came to call sinners to repent, and only He, and He alone, can save them. There are false physicians in this world today, but Jesus said in John 14:6, “ . . . no one comes unto the Father, but by Me.” What these false physicians offer does not solve the problems afflicting the soul. The false prophets of Jeremiah's day were guilty of applying soothing balms when they should have performed major surgery (Jeremiah 8:11, 22). How would you like for your doctor to lie to you about your health? How would you like for your medical provider to make light of your serious physical ailments? That is, in essence, what was transpiring with these "prophets" at this time in Israel's history regarding their spiritual condition. Physicians are busy people and often cannot be there right when you need them. But Jesus Christ comes when you call upon Him. His diagnosis is always accurate. He can cleanse every wound and heal every disease. He will never force His medicine on you. He waits long-sufferingly for His patients to admit their needs first. And the amazing thing is He has the best health care plan imaginable: He already paid the bill for your care on Calvary's cross!

Lost sinners deserve to die, but as the Apostle Peter says in Acts 2:21, "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." If you've never trusted in Him for your salvation, do so now. He is truly still the Great Physician.

Jesus administers the remedy of His word to your ailing soul. He can save the unbeliever, He can heal a broken heart and He can restore fractured relationships. Whatever sin assails you, Jesus Christ can heal it today.