Romans 2:1 Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. 2 But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. 3 And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?
That God is good is the most fortunate gift ever provided the universe. Have you ever thought: What if God was NOT good? What if God was not infinitely loving? What if God was not a Creator of beauty, and music, and majesty and mystery and poetry?
One of the key proofs of the existence of God’s goodness is exactly that. We have become aware of what good is. Apart from a standard of good and evil, how would we recognize the difference? How is it mankind has come to recognize what good is?
In this day and age, this certainty is being shaken by those who conspire against the existence of God and the blessings of the certainty of goodness. Rather than viewing certainty as the great eternal hope it is, those who conspire against it cite certainty as a lack of tolerance for others, or as constrictive to the “human spirit” which yearns to be free. “How dare you be so certain of right and wrong!”
If the freedom of the “human spirit” depends upon a lack of certainty about what goodness is, than all that is left to mankind is isolation and hopelessness. The isolation comes from the lack of an agreeable standard, (or at least rebellion against the notion of it,) and the hopelessness comes from any degree of certainty about an eternal destiny based upon an agreeable standard of what is good. In reality, the lie mankind has bought into is that the so-called “freedom of the human spirit” is actually a freedom to sin, afforded only when one turns away from God – and worse – make themselves a god in their own image. They say things like: “My god would not do things that way.” Now they become the judge of God. They have a new and improved formula.
Is the freedom to do wrong and call it right really freedom? We say it is okay to do what we wish, “as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone.” This particular lie is so insidious because the truth is that ALL sin is against God. Deny Him as we wish, the reality remains God is real, God is always present, and there is no sin which does not hurt someone. As the Lord has declared, all sin – every sin – is damaging to the sinner; if for no other reason than the fact sin separates us from communion with the Father, and brings us into communion with Satan. Evidence of this is the confusion in the heart of man about right and wrong. Satan is the author of confusion.
But this is where the most fortunate free gift the universe has ever known comes into play. Because of His goodness, God does not pulverize sinners, He loves them. While it may be love unrequited, it is infinitely present nonetheless. If we only would repent we may. We, despite all we have ever done, are as near to fellowship with God as our will to repent allows. Isn’t that good? Isn’t He?
- Pastor Bill
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
The Father’s Son
Romans 1:1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God 2 which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. 5 Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; 7 To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
In order to have Father’s Day you have to have sons and daughters. There are always certain identifying factors when we talk about sons and daughters, be they genetic, (physical,) moral, (behavioral,) or inclination, (spiritual.) These identifying factors tie the sons and daughters to the father, making their relationship apparent.
Have you ever seen two grown men who look physically almost identical, save for their years? And, every now and then you see fathers with their very young sons following after them, with the same walk, the same sort of bearing, the same hair color, and so on. The family resemblance is unmistakable, the boy looking for all-the-world like a scale-model of the father.
This was what Paul was speaking of so often in the Book of Romans, and especially in his introductory paragraph. He was saying to the Romans, “You’ve never seen me - but here’s what I look like: I look just like my Father.”
It strikes me one of the greatest honors we can do for our fathers is to look like them. I’m not talking physically so much as representationally. I am grateful to my son when he represents me well, and when his behavior is mature and a blessing to all who come in contact with him. I am blessed when people look at my son and say, “You can see his father in him.”
Sons learn resemblance of their fathers by close observation.
John 5:19 Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.
Again, this is what Paul is telling the Romans about himself, by way of introduction. “We’ve never met, but you know my Father so well, it is as if you know me too.” Paul writes, “I am a bondservant, called, and separated to such a great extent to the Gospel of Jesus Christ it is as if I no longer exist. I only live for and through my Father, who is in heaven.” In this he makes his Father’s day!
- Pastor Bill
In order to have Father’s Day you have to have sons and daughters. There are always certain identifying factors when we talk about sons and daughters, be they genetic, (physical,) moral, (behavioral,) or inclination, (spiritual.) These identifying factors tie the sons and daughters to the father, making their relationship apparent.
Have you ever seen two grown men who look physically almost identical, save for their years? And, every now and then you see fathers with their very young sons following after them, with the same walk, the same sort of bearing, the same hair color, and so on. The family resemblance is unmistakable, the boy looking for all-the-world like a scale-model of the father.
This was what Paul was speaking of so often in the Book of Romans, and especially in his introductory paragraph. He was saying to the Romans, “You’ve never seen me - but here’s what I look like: I look just like my Father.”
It strikes me one of the greatest honors we can do for our fathers is to look like them. I’m not talking physically so much as representationally. I am grateful to my son when he represents me well, and when his behavior is mature and a blessing to all who come in contact with him. I am blessed when people look at my son and say, “You can see his father in him.”
Sons learn resemblance of their fathers by close observation.
John 5:19 Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.
Again, this is what Paul is telling the Romans about himself, by way of introduction. “We’ve never met, but you know my Father so well, it is as if you know me too.” Paul writes, “I am a bondservant, called, and separated to such a great extent to the Gospel of Jesus Christ it is as if I no longer exist. I only live for and through my Father, who is in heaven.” In this he makes his Father’s day!
- Pastor Bill
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
What If You Knew?
Esther 6:1 That night the king could not sleep. So one was commanded to bring the book of the records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king. 2 And it was found written that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs, the doorkeepers who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. 3 Then the king said, "What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?" And the king's servants who attended him said, "Nothing has been done for him."
4 So the king said, "Who is in the court?" Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king's palace to suggest that the king hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him. 5 The king's servants said to him, "Haman is there, standing in the court." And the king said, "Let him come in." 6 So Haman came in, and the king asked him, "What shall be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?" Now Haman thought in his heart, "Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?"
Knowing God is behind the scenes should be very comforting to the believer. The hard part is knowing…and how knowing is so often tested by waiting. Waiting is the hardest part about knowing. Waiting tests knowing to the extreme. It is in waiting that knowing becomes doubting, and doubting leads to doing, and doing without knowing leads to failure.
Suppose you were, as was Mordecai in the Book of Esther, waiting to be killed in a holocaust-like operation sponsored by an evil man named Haman. (The text teaches us the Jews were all to be killed by written decree of the king, in 12 months.) A year of waiting to ensue…and what is to be done?
Does this sound like any time to wait on the Lord? Well, there IS time – but so much is at stake. And, since the king has already written an edict which by law cannot be over-turned, what can God really do anyway? Surely, this must be a time to flee the scene for self-preservation. But how can all the Jews be organized to move? It all seems so perplexing…(see Esther 3:15.)
When you are in a perplexed place – as all the Jews were, not just Mordecai – it is a place of waiting. No matter what, a time when you find yourself confounded is a time when waiting is appropriate. We are only to move out and take action in a time when we are as certain of God’s direction as we can be. And waiting is what we are to do when we are as uncertain as we can be about what to do.
We become certain of what to do when we see what God has done while we were waiting and watching. To trust that God is working while you are waiting is the part the Bible shows us over and over again, and it is the part that is imperative to remember. What if you knew God was working while you were waiting? Wouldn’t that settle your heart? What if Mordecai hadn’t waited?
- Pastor Bill
4 So the king said, "Who is in the court?" Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king's palace to suggest that the king hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him. 5 The king's servants said to him, "Haman is there, standing in the court." And the king said, "Let him come in." 6 So Haman came in, and the king asked him, "What shall be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?" Now Haman thought in his heart, "Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?"
Knowing God is behind the scenes should be very comforting to the believer. The hard part is knowing…and how knowing is so often tested by waiting. Waiting is the hardest part about knowing. Waiting tests knowing to the extreme. It is in waiting that knowing becomes doubting, and doubting leads to doing, and doing without knowing leads to failure.
Suppose you were, as was Mordecai in the Book of Esther, waiting to be killed in a holocaust-like operation sponsored by an evil man named Haman. (The text teaches us the Jews were all to be killed by written decree of the king, in 12 months.) A year of waiting to ensue…and what is to be done?
Does this sound like any time to wait on the Lord? Well, there IS time – but so much is at stake. And, since the king has already written an edict which by law cannot be over-turned, what can God really do anyway? Surely, this must be a time to flee the scene for self-preservation. But how can all the Jews be organized to move? It all seems so perplexing…(see Esther 3:15.)
When you are in a perplexed place – as all the Jews were, not just Mordecai – it is a place of waiting. No matter what, a time when you find yourself confounded is a time when waiting is appropriate. We are only to move out and take action in a time when we are as certain of God’s direction as we can be. And waiting is what we are to do when we are as uncertain as we can be about what to do.
We become certain of what to do when we see what God has done while we were waiting and watching. To trust that God is working while you are waiting is the part the Bible shows us over and over again, and it is the part that is imperative to remember. What if you knew God was working while you were waiting? Wouldn’t that settle your heart? What if Mordecai hadn’t waited?
- Pastor Bill
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Right Now
Esther 4:13 And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: "Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king's palace any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" 15 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai: 16 "Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!" 17 So Mordecai went his way and did according to all that Esther commanded him.
We spend so much of our life looking back to the past or looking forward to the future it is sometimes shocking to be faced with doing something right now. Right away. No time to waste.
The diagnosis has been provided by Esther’s adoptive father Mordecai, the one who raised her as his own. She knows she can trust what he says. There is no hyperbole or overstatement involved. The truth from Mordecai: “Unless you do something we will all die.”
Esther’s response is one of bravery and wisdom beyond her age, which is a wonderful representation of Mordecai’s influence upon her young life. Notice Mordecai doesn’t instruct Esther about what to do, he simply informs her of the problem, (ALL the Jews are about to be killed, under the evil direction of the prideful Haman.) Note: How important we as parents build the Word of God into our children’s lives – as it may one day save ours.
Esther, when fully apprised of the problem begs for prayer and fasting on her behalf, that the Lord may give her opportunity and wisdom. I am fascinated by this. I think in her place I may have asked Mordecai what to say to the king. She didn’t. She asked for Mordecai to have all the Jews pray and fast, that God may tell her what to say.
Jesus said, Luke 12:11 Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say. 12 For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."
Jesus has told us we will one day find ourselves in Esther’s place. Speak or forever hold your peace. Life or death. Right now. You’re on. This is the way of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We, as believers, will periodically be provided eternal life-saving moments for those we come in contact with. It was just such a life-saving moment that saved my eternal life – as it was yours. The question before us now is will we continue this lineage, or does it stop with us? Will we, right now, speak forth – even at great risk to our own position or reputation – even our life?
- Pastor Bill
We spend so much of our life looking back to the past or looking forward to the future it is sometimes shocking to be faced with doing something right now. Right away. No time to waste.
The diagnosis has been provided by Esther’s adoptive father Mordecai, the one who raised her as his own. She knows she can trust what he says. There is no hyperbole or overstatement involved. The truth from Mordecai: “Unless you do something we will all die.”
Esther’s response is one of bravery and wisdom beyond her age, which is a wonderful representation of Mordecai’s influence upon her young life. Notice Mordecai doesn’t instruct Esther about what to do, he simply informs her of the problem, (ALL the Jews are about to be killed, under the evil direction of the prideful Haman.) Note: How important we as parents build the Word of God into our children’s lives – as it may one day save ours.
Esther, when fully apprised of the problem begs for prayer and fasting on her behalf, that the Lord may give her opportunity and wisdom. I am fascinated by this. I think in her place I may have asked Mordecai what to say to the king. She didn’t. She asked for Mordecai to have all the Jews pray and fast, that God may tell her what to say.
Jesus said, Luke 12:11 Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say. 12 For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."
Jesus has told us we will one day find ourselves in Esther’s place. Speak or forever hold your peace. Life or death. Right now. You’re on. This is the way of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We, as believers, will periodically be provided eternal life-saving moments for those we come in contact with. It was just such a life-saving moment that saved my eternal life – as it was yours. The question before us now is will we continue this lineage, or does it stop with us? Will we, right now, speak forth – even at great risk to our own position or reputation – even our life?
- Pastor Bill
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