Test Every Wind of Doctrine

Ephesians 4:11-16 ESV

“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 

“Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”

In Preparation for Ministry

God has given to his church pastors and teachers and elders, etc. for the equipping (literally preparing, equipping, and perfecting) of the saints of God for the work of the ministry – the ministry which we are all to be doing. But he has also given us each other to exhort, urge, and encourage one another to walk in holiness and in righteousness, and to not walk in sin, but to follow Jesus in obedience to his commands (New Covenant) to maturity in Christ Jesus, our Lord, as we speak the truth in love, one to the other.

[Rom 12:1-8; 1 Co 12:1-31; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:17-27; Col 3:16; Heb 3:13]

And we need this, but this is not being done much today at all. And this is needed, not only for our spiritual growth and maturity, and so that we do not walk in sin, but also so that we are not led astray by all sorts of winds of doctrines. For many people professing faith in Jesus Christ are indeed being tossed to and fro by many waves (influences), and they are being carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. For not many pastors these days are teaching the truth.

Now I am not saying that they are not teaching any truth, but not many are teaching the full truth of the gospel but they are wandering off to follow after the doctrines and philosophies of other humans. Many are blending truth and lies together, either because they are teaching the Scriptures out of context and are thus making them say what they do not say, or they are following the teachings of other humans in place of the Scriptures or to interpret the Scriptures for them, which can be dangerous if not tested.

Winds of Doctrine

Now these various winds of doctrine are many, and this is why the Scriptures stress that we test everything we hear, read, or think we see, not just against the Scriptures, in context, but in prayer, and against what we know of God’s divine character and will for our lives. For just because something is not mentioned in Scripture it does not make it wrong. But if it is contrary to the teachings of Scripture (in context), and if it goes against God’s divine will and purpose for our lives, then we should not follow it.

And this is why the Lord has me stressing that we need to know the truth of what the Scriptures teach so that we are following the truth and not the lies. For many people, some of them very trusting and naïve, are being led astray, and they are not following the truth, or at least in part they are not following the truth, but they are believing lies. And some of those lies are deadly because they are leading them to believe that they do not have to repent of their sins and obey the Lord, so the lies are leading them to hell.

And this is why you will see me repeating the message of the gospel of our salvation over again, because not many people are teaching the truth of the gospel. For the truth says that by faith in Jesus we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and we are raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. For Jesus died to deliver us out of our slavery to sin so that we would now become slaves of God and of his righteousness.

[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:19-20; 2 Co 5:15,21; Tit 2:11-14; Rom 12:1-2]

Tossed To and Fro

Now, if you think with me for a moment about the writings of Paul, there were two main themes in his teaching which had to do with two main areas where the people of God were being led astray. I have already touched on the most critical area in the church today, and that is the teaching that says that God does not require repentance and obedience for salvation. He surely does because that is what the Scriptures teach. They teach that Jesus died that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness.

But there is another area of concern that Paul stressed often which is still an issue today, and perhaps because it has resurged in importance in our day and age. And that is that there were Judaizers who were trying to convince Christians, primarily Gentile Christians, that they had to be more like Jews, and that they had to follow some of the Jewish customs, and that they had to follow some of the Old Covenant liturgical, ceremonial, and dietary laws and restrictions, including that they had to be circumcised. 

Now, I am no expert in this field, so I am only going to speak of what I know and understand, but I have sat through presentations by Jews in Christian churches where they were convincing Christians to be more like Jews and to follow Jewish customs and ceremonies, as though that was going to make them closer to God. And I hear some of this being taught out of books written by Jews who are purportedly converted to Christianity, and many Christians are buying into this, almost in a worshipful way, I believe.

So, what did Paul have to say about this? Plenty! And so I am going to share some of what Paul (and John) taught on this subject, and I would ask that you please take this to the Lord in prayer. I am not against Jews. I am not against any people. But I am against lies being taught in the church in the name of truth which are leading people to follow after these various winds of doctrine, and which are taking many sincere Christians off course, thinking that what they are following is of God.

What the Scriptures Teach

Okay, the first thing we need to understand is that God spoke his promises to Abraham and to his seed, but “He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as one would in referring to many, but rather as in referring to one, ‘And to your seed,’ that is, Christ” (Galatians 3:16). In other words, Jesus Christ is the promised seed of Abraham through whom all nations are being blessed. So when Jesus came, and he died for our sins, he fulfilled that promise. And all those who follow Jesus with their lives are also heirs of that promise.

Next, we need to understand that when Jesus was crucified on that cross for our sins, he made both Jew and Gentile one by faith in Jesus Christ. Yes, Jewish people still exist, but God has only one people who are his, and they are only those of genuine faith in Jesus Christ, whether we are Jew or Gentile by birth. We are only children of God by faith in Jesus Christ. For Jesus created in himself one new man in place of the two that he might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross (Ephesians 2:11-18).

And then we need to understand that the Scriptures teach that not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring. For it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. And if we belong to Christ, then we are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise (Romans 9:4-8; Galatians 3:26-29).

And then Paul, in explaining to the Christians why they are not to be following the Jews and their customs and ceremonies, he told them that Hagar, who was the slave woman, corresponds to the city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. For the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son. 

Therefore, we who believe in Jesus are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman (Galatians 4:22-31). So we are to get rid of the slave woman and her son, meaning we are not to follow the Jews and their customs. We are not to become more like Jews. But we are to become more like Jesus. And whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ is the antichrist (1 John 2:22). So any Jew who denies that Jesus is the Christ is antichrist. So, the point here is, don’t follow Jews and their customs. Follow Jesus Christ.

Let the Lower Lights Be Burning

By Philip P. Bliss, 1871

Brightly beams our Father’s mercy,

From His lighthouse evermore,

But to us He gives the keeping

Of the lights along the shore.

Dark the night of sin has settled,

Loud the angry billows roar;

Eager eyes are watching, longing,

For the lights along the shore.

Trim your feeble lamp, my brother;

Some poor sailor, tempest-tossed,

Trying now to make the harbor,

In the darkness may be lost.

Let the lower lights be burning!

Send a gleam across the wave!

Some poor fainting, struggling seaman

You may rescue, you may save.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUOMWDbT6iI

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Created in Christ for Good Works

Ephesians 2:1-3 ESV

 

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

 

This is speaking to all those believing in Jesus Christ. We were once (past) dead in our sins in which we once (past) walked. We are to no longer be walking in sin, according to the flesh, because Jesus set us free from our slavery to sin. We once (past) followed the ways of this sinful world, and we were once (past) following Satan and not God. All this is to be in our past lives, not in our present lives. Now we are to be following Jesus Christ.

 

We are to no longer be among the children of disobedience, i.e. to be partaking in the evil in which they partake. We are to no longer be living in the passions of our sinful flesh, doing whatever our flesh desires, living in sin, doing evil deeds, living in sexual immorality, telling lies habitually, ignoring God and his commands, just doing whatever our flesh craves. For then we would still be children of wrath like the rest of mankind.

 

Ephesians 2:4-7 ESV

 

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

 

God’s kindness and mercy to us is not just in forgiving our sins so we can escape hell and so we can go to heaven when we die. God’s kindness (grace) and mercy to us was in sending Jesus Christ to that cross to put our sins to death with him so that we could be delivered from our slavery (addiction) to sin, and we can now walk in holiness and in righteousness in obedience to our Lord, in the power of God (see Romans 6:1-23).

 

For God’s grace, which brings us salvation, trains (instructs) us to renounce (to say “No!” to) ungodliness and fleshly lusts, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s soon return. For Jesus Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (see Titus 2:11-14). This is true grace! No permissions to keep sinning.

 

For Jesus Christ died on that cross that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness and that we might live for him and no longer for ourselves. He shed his blood for us on that cross to buy us back for God (to redeem us) so that we would now honor God with our bodies. And the truth that is in Christ Jesus is that we are to put off our old lives of living in sin and to put on the new self, created to be like Jesus in his character.

 

[1 Peter 2:24; 2 Co 5:15,21; 1 Co 6:19-20; Eph 4:17-24; Gal 2:20]

 

Ephesians 2:8-10 ESV

 

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

 

Neither the grace necessary for our salvation nor the faith to be delivered from our slavery (addiction) to sin are of our own making. We can do nothing in our own flesh to earn or to deserve our own salvation. In our flesh we cannot even come to faith in Jesus Christ. We can’t even come to faith in Jesus Christ unless God the Father first persuades us as to his holiness and righteousness and of our sinfulness and as to our need to repent of our sins and to follow Jesus in obedience to his commands. All this comes from God!

 

But our salvation is not absent of works. For we are not saved from our sins just so we can go to heaven one day. We are saved from our sins so we no longer live in sin and so we now walk in holiness in the power of God, by his Spirit. This is what is taught about our salvation all throughout the New Testament. And if some people would please read Ephesians 2:10 along with verses 8-9 they would see this clearly. Yes, we can’t work to earn our salvation, but works are what we are called to do, but they are God’s works.

 

So, just know that God’s grace is not forgiveness of sins so that you can keep on in deliberate and habitual sin without conscience. God’s grace frees us from our addiction to sin so that we can now walk in his holiness and righteousness, in obedience to his commands (New Covenant). For Jesus doesn’t save us just so we can go to heaven when we die. He saves us so that we can live for him and do his will while we still live on the face of the earth. For by his grace he transforms us and he makes us into new creations so that we can walk in newness of life in him, by his grace.

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:44; Jn 14:23-24; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

 

Christ for Me

 

Author Unknown

 

Christ for me, yes it’s Christ for me.

He’s my Savior my Lord and King,

I’m so happy I shout and sing.

Christ for me, yes it’s Christ for me,

Every day as I go my way it is Christ for me.

What are You Called to Do?

Jeremiah 1:4-5 ESV

 

“Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

 

‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

and before you were born I consecrated you;

I appointed you a prophet to the nations.’”

 

We read in Psalms 139 that God, our creator – which includes Jesus Christ – formed us in the wombs of our mothers, and that in his book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for us, when as yet there were none of them. And we read in other passages (noted below) that God foreknew us, who are his by faith in Christ, and that those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ.

 

And we who are believing in Jesus have been called of God to a holy calling, and he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. So we are to be holy in all our conduct. And we are all gifted of the Holy Spirit with various spiritual gifts, and the Spirit apportions these gifts to each one individually as He wills. And we read also that God arranged the members of the body, each one of them, as he chose.

 

And then we read here in Jeremiah 1 of God’s calling on Jeremiah’s life, which was God’s calling on his life even from before he was born. And he was appointed of God to a very specific task (assignment). So, if we are in genuine relationship with Jesus Christ, by God’s grace, through God-given faith in Jesus, we are all called of God, not just to holy living, and not just to be like Jesus, but to very specific areas of ministry he has planned for us.

 

[Ps 139:13-16; Rom 8:29; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Eph 1:3-4; 1 Pet 1:14-16; 1 Co 12]

 

Jeremiah 1:6-8 ESV

 

“Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.’ But the Lord said to me,

 

‘Do not say, “I am only a youth”;

for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,

and whatever I command you, you shall speak.

Do not be afraid of them,

for I am with you to deliver you,

declares the Lord.’”

 

But you know what? God doesn’t call us because of our qualifications and because we are so good at whatever. He calls us because of his own purpose and design he has had for our lives from even before the creation of the world. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10; c.f. Titus 2:11-14). And he is the one who equips and empowers us.

 

And he may call us to something we had never even thought of before, and that we have no official training for, and that there is no way that we, in ourselves, could ever do what he has assigned us to do. And so he is the one to get the glory, and not ourselves, because we can’t even do what he has called us to do unless he is the one directing our path and equipping us and empowering us to do what he has called us to do. And we know it!

 

So, if you sense that the Lord is leading you to a particular ministry, and you are feeling overwhelmed at the thought of it all, and so you are at least thinking in your mind, “No Way!”, then please surrender your will to the will of God and let him show you that it won’t be you doing it, but that he will be doing it through you as you cooperate with him in his work, and as you obey him. And just know, too, that if he is calling you it won’t be to something that is in direct opposition to his divine character and will for our lives.

 

The other thing to know is that the Lord may call us to do something that is not in our comfort zone at all, and it would not be our choosing, if we were the ones deciding what ministry to do. God may take you totally out of your comfort zone and have you do things you would never have imagined you would ever be doing, but they will still be in agreement with the Scriptures. But we are not to fear the unknown or the unfamiliar. So trust Him!

 

Jeremiah 1:9-10 ESV

 

“Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me,

 

‘Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.

See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms,

to pluck up and to break down,

to destroy and to overthrow,

to build and to plant.’”

 

Again, where God calls he will provide everything that we need in order to do what he has called us to do. But be prepared that following in the ways of the Lord, in doing what he has called us to do, will most certainly be met with opposition of some kind from some people, especially if our calling is to refute the lies of the enemy of our souls and to proclaim the truth of God’s word in contrast to those lies, and if we are called to call people to repentance and obedience, and to warn against non-compliance with God.

 

For having such a calling as this is not going to make us most popular among our peers, and we are just not going to have a ton of people wanting to hang out with us and to be our best buddies. And if we are on the internet on blog sites or on social media or on Christian discussion sites, our posts are not likely to get the most likes or responses, either, and that is absolutely okay, for we aren’t doing it for people to like us.

 

Yet, all of us are called of God to share the gospel of Christ with the people of the world. So we all need to trust our lives into God’s capable hands and we need to trust in his sovereignty over our lives. And we all need to commit our ways to him and to let him lead us in what to do and in what to say and to whom and when and where. For this is not something we should attempt to do in our own flesh. This needs to be led of the Spirit of God.

 

But whatever our calling of God may be, we all still are called to holy living and to walks of righteousness and in obedience to our Lord, and Jesus promised all of us that if we follow him with our lives that we will be hated and persecuted as he was hated and persecuted. So we need to know that this is what we should expect so that we are not taken back by it when it happens. And again, we just need to keep trusting Jesus no matter what.

 

[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19; John 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Ac 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12]

 

‘Til The Storm Passes By

 

By Thomas Mosie Lister

 

In the dark of the midnight have I oft hid my face

While the storm howls above me, and there's no hiding place

'Mid the crash of the thunder, Precious Lord, hear my cry

Keep me safe till the storm passes by

 

Many times Satan whispered

There is no use to try

For there's no end of sorrow, there's no hope by and by

But I know Thou art with me, and tomorrow I'll rise

Where the storms never darken the skies

 

Till the storm passes over, till the thunder sounds no more

Till the clouds roll forever from the sky

Hold me fast, let me stand in the hollow of Thy hand

Keep me safe till the storm passes by

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_obOSQoOpQ

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Submit Yourselves Therefore to God

Addiction to Sin

James 4:1-3 ESV

 

“What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”

 

When people who profess faith in Jesus Christ are still living in addictive sin, i.e. in deliberate and habitual sin against God, and against other people, there is a conflict of interests which takes place. On the one hand they are professing faith in Jesus as their Lord (Master) and Savior who set them free from their slavery to sin, while on the other hand they are still living in addiction to sin which they are professing to have been set free from. That is kind of like trying to like something and hating it at the same time.

 

People who are still living in slavery to sin, but who profess faith in Jesus, and who know what the Scriptures teach, have an internal war going on within them. But the war is often not against the flesh but it is against God and it is against the teachings of the Scriptures. For they prefer their sins over God. And they prefer their sins over walks of obedience to Christ. And they prefer their sins over their marriage relationships and over being good parents and often over their jobs, for their sins have them bound in chains.

 

Now, there is a way out, and they know the way out, so there is no excuse for them to continue in deliberate and habitual sin and in denying Jesus and in saying “No!” to God instead of saying “No!” to their flesh. Jesus made the way for us to be freed from our chains. That is why he died on that cross so that we could die with him to sin and walk in holiness and in obedience to his commands, in his power and strength. They just have to choose to cast off their sins that so easily entangle so that they can live for the Lord.

 

But because they are still living in addiction to sin, and because their sinful passions within them are at war with God, then they may also be at war with those who are walking in close fellowship with the Lord and who are living to please Him with their lives. And so they may take out their anger and resentment and bitterness on those who are serving the Lord with their lives, and they may fight against them, and they may even try to lead them into sin alongside them so that they will no longer walk in holiness.

 

Adulterous Relationships

James 4:4-5 ESV

 

“You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, ‘He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us’?”

 

The Bible speaks of two different kinds of adultery. The first one is really adultery against the Lord. It is cheating on God with “other lovers,” i.e. with the sinful pleasures of this world – the lust of the eyes, the lusts of the flesh, and the pride of life. It is claiming him as your husband, i.e. spiritually speaking, by claiming faith in Jesus Christ, while you still prefer your sin, instead. But not many people today see it that way. For they are being given permission to keep living in sin while claiming Jesus as their Savior.

 

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15 ESV).

 

Now this is not speaking of the people of the world who we are to love and who God loves, but of worldly and fleshly things, behaviors, thoughts, attitudes, and values. We are not to love (prefer, yearn for) what is of this sinful world. For if we do, the love of God the Father is not in us because we have made ourselves enemies of God by refusing to obey our Lord and by choosing our sins, instead. And this grieves our Lord who died on that cross to free us from our addiction to sin. So please take this seriously!

 

The other kind of adultery the Scriptures talk about is what takes place when a man or a woman is unfaithful to his or her spouse. Now this is not just about having physical and sexual relations with someone to whom you are not married. Jesus defined adultery as lusting after someone to whom you are not married (see Matthew 5:27-28). And this can take on many different forms, which can only be in one’s mind and heart, or it can be via porn viewing and self-gratification, or it can involve romantic or sexual extra-marital relationships or light flirtations, etc.

 

The thing of it is, though, is that when we marry someone we are choosing to forsake all others and to keep ourselves only unto our spouse, for so long as we both shall live. And you know what? That is what our marriage to Jesus should look like, too. We are to forsake all “other lovers” and to keep ourselves only unto God, for as long as we shall live on this earth. And God grieves when we cheat on him, and any man or woman who truly loves his or her spouse will also grieve when he or she is cheated on. Don’t go there!

 

Pride vs. Humility

James 4:6-10 ESV

 

“But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”

 

So, what is the solution to it all? We all must submit ourselves to God in full surrender to his will for our lives. There is no other way! As long as you hold on to the flesh and to control over your own lives you will never be free from slavery (addiction) to sin, and you will not inherit eternal life with God. But many people will not submit to God because of their pride. Their pride will not let them surrender. Now, this again is no excuse, and it is not saying that they have no choice in the matter. They absolutely do!

 

But pride is a great enemy to submission to Christ as Lord and to following Jesus in obedience and to being set free from your chains of sin. For pride says, “My Do It!!” Pride will bow to no one but to self. And as long as self is on the throne of your life, and not God, you will never be free. So pride has to go and it will only go when you humble yourselves before the Lord and you yield control of your lives over to him and you take your hands off the wheel. So, you want to be free from your addiction to sin? Submit to God.

 

For God gives his grace to the humble, not to the proud. You want to be forgiven of your sins and have the true hope of salvation from sin and eternal life with God? You have to die with Christ to sin and to self, and you have to surrender your life to him and let him take control, and you take your hands off the wheel. And you have to do this every day for the rest of your life. And then you have to walk in holiness and in righteousness in obedience to the Lord, in his power and strength, day by day, too.

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:44; Jn 14:23-24; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

 

Behold Our God

 

By Jonathan Baird / Meghan Baird / Ryan Baird / Stephen Altrogge

 

Who has held the oceans in his hands?

Who has numbered every grain of sand?

Kings and nations tremble at his voice

All creation rises to rejoice

 

Who has given counsel to the Lord?

Who can question any of his words?

Who can teach, the one who knows all things?

Who can fathom all his wondrous deeds?

 

Who has felt the nails upon his hands?

Bearing all the guilt of sinful man

God eternal, humbled to the grave

Jesus, Savior, risen now to reign

 

Behold our God, seated on his throne

Come, let us adore him

Behold our king, nothing can compare

Come, let us adore him

 

You will reign forever (let Your glory fill the Earth)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCwb1vEXyv4

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A Root of Bitterness

See to it "that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled." Hebrews 12:15 ESV

 

Today I faced a situation which brought to my mind the subject of bitterness, and so the Lord had me write a poem on that subject, and then he directed me to record a video talk, also on the subject of bitterness. And I think this is because so many people have unforgiveness in their hearts which has turned into bitterness, which, if they are believers in Jesus, will hurt their relationships with the Lord and their walks of faith, but which also may hurt them and even those they are bitter against, in other ways.

 

So, it is critical that we see to it that no root of bitterness springs up within us and causes trouble and to where we become defiled in our thinking, in our speaking, and in our behaviors towards God and towards other humans. We need to be people who forgive everyone who hurts us, or who we feel did something or said something that hurt us, and then we need to love our enemies and pray for those who hurt us and do good to them and not hold on to bitterness.

 

And we need to accept God’s sovereignty over our lives, too, for when we are bitter, we are really angry with God because someone else hurt us, or because life didn’t turn out like we had hoped, or because God did not protect us in the way we felt he should, or because he did not rescue us from pain and suffering. So, even though God did us no wrong, we need to forgive him for any way in which we feel he failed us, and then we need to accept his plan for our lives which involves unjust suffering.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FjUaZ9LyT8

Caution: This link may contain ads

 

Note: When I said heartaches, in the video, I meant heart attacks.

Bitterness

Bitterness will eat you up,

Make you now its slave.

Bitterness will fill your cup,

Drink from it always.

Bitterness affects your life,

Happiness not found.

Bitterness will grind you up,

Churning round and round.

Must forgive if you be free

From what holds you down.

Must depart from bitter roots,

Or in them you’ll drown.

Sadness steals the joyful heart,

Turns a smile to frown,

When forgiveness not engaged,

Bitter root is grown.

Please forgive, twill set you free

From your slavery.

Let it go, alive now be,

Heart now filled with glee.

An Original Work / September 29, 2022

The Upward Call of God

Philippians 3:7-9 ESV

 

“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—

 

Worldly or fleshly accomplishments mean nothing with regard to our salvation from sin and eternal life with God. We can do nothing of ourselves, in our own flesh, to impress God with our goodness, nor to be acceptable to God, nor to gain salvation from sin. For all flesh is flesh and the flesh can do nothing to put flesh to death nor to walk in holiness and in righteousness. We can only be saved from slavery to sin and walk in the holiness of God by God’s grace, through God-given faith in Christ, and in his power.

 

So, if you are trying to earn God’s approval and your salvation from sin and eternal life with God by the works of the flesh, even if they are good works, it will get you nowhere. You may be impressed with yourself and with your own accomplishments, and you may be receiving the praises of other humans for the good deeds that you do, but you aren’t gaining points with God. And especially if you are deliberately and habitually sinning against God while you profess faith in him, he is not impressed with your “good works.”

 

So, we can only be righteous in the sight of God via God-given faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of ourselves, of our own works, but which is a gift from God. But faith in Jesus is more than just God’s gift to us, but it is divine persuasion. For we can’t even come to faith in Jesus Christ unless God the Father first convinces us of his holiness and righteousness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to repent of (to forsake) our sins and to follow Jesus Christ in surrender to him and in obedience to his commands.

 

But since this faith comes from God, and it is authored and perfected by Jesus Christ, and it is gifted to us by God, and we can’t even believe in Jesus unless God persuades us to believe in him, then this faith is going to be aligned with God’s holiness and righteousness, and it is going to submit to the Lord’s will and purpose for our lives, because it is of God and not of our flesh. So, if we are believing in Jesus with this God-given faith, it means dying to sin and living to God and to his righteousness, in practice.

 

For look at what it says next… “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:10-11 ESV).

 

To know Jesus is to obey him. If we do not obey him, we do not know him. It is what the Scriptures teach. And to know the power of his resurrection means we have to first of all die with him to sin and to self that we might live to him and to his righteousness. But we don’t do this in our own strength and power. This is the working of God’s Spirit in our lives as we surrender our will to the will of God for our lives. So part of the sufferings we must share in are in dying with Christ to sin and living to his righteousness.

 

And to become like Jesus in his death means we die with him to sin that we might be resurrected with him to walk in newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. But this is not something we do just once. Daily, by the Spirit, we are to be putting to death the deeds of the flesh and to be walking in obedience to our Lord in holiness and in righteousness. For the Christian life is a life of daily dying to sin and to self and of walking in obedience to our Lord, according to his will and purpose.

 

And then this last phrase quoted here is letting us know that it is our walks of faith in Jesus Christ which determine whether or not we have salvation from sin and eternal life with God. And no, this is not us trying to earn our own salvation by fleshly works. This is us walking in the salvation God provided, by his grace, in submission to his will, in his power and strength. For if we continue in deliberate and habitual sin, and not in walks of obedience to our Lord, we will not inherit eternal life with God.

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:44; Jn 14:23-24; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

 

Philippians 3:12-16 ESV

 

“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.”

 

Now, when Paul stated here that he had not already obtained this and that he was not already perfect, he was not saying that he was still walking in sin, like some people like to say about him. I mean, read all of Paul’s words in the New Testament. He was either the biggest hypocrite alive or he was a man of integrity who was walking the walk he was telling all of us we need to walk in order to have salvation from sin and eternal life with God. But when we view our salvation as not completed until Jesus Christ returns and he takes his bride to be with him, then we get a clearer picture of this.

 

For we don’t “get saved” (once) and now heaven is guaranteed us when we die, regardless of how we live our lives on this earth, even though this is the predominant teaching in the church here in America. We who are believing in Jesus Christ were saved (past), we are being saved (present active), and we will be saved (future) when Jesus Christ returns, BUT providing that we are walking (in practice) according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh, in obedience to our Lord, and not in sin. And provided that we continue in those walks of faith until the very end, by God’s grace.

 

So, when he said that he pressed on to make his own what he had not yet obtained, and when he said that he, thus, made it his practice to forget what lies behind and to strain forward to what lies ahead, he was speaking of progressive salvation which is progressive sanctification. For our salvation won’t be complete until Jesus returns and we go to be with him, and only IF we continue in him and in his word in walks of obedience and not in sin. And that is why he said that he pressed on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 8:31-32; Jn 15:1-12; Rom 8:24; Rom 11:17-24; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; Gal 5:16-21; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; 2 Tim 1:8-9; 2 Tim 2:10-13; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; 2 Pet 1:5-11; 2 Pet 2:20-22; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6;24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10]  

 

So, let these words here sink into your hearts and minds. Not one of us is guaranteed tomorrow, so don’t mess around with your life thinking that you have heaven guaranteed you when you die while you continue living in deliberate and habitual sin and not in holiness and in righteousness. Pay close attention to what Paul wrote here. For he taught progressive salvation which will not be complete until Jesus returns, and he taught that there are conditions to our salvation that, if not met, can prohibit us from entering into eternal life with God (Romans 2:6-8; Galatians 6:7-8; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

 

I’d Rather Have Jesus

 

Oscar C. A. Bernadotte

Rhea F. Miller / Joel A. Erickson

 

I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold;

I’d rather be His than have riches untold;

I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands;

I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hand

 

Than to be the king of a vast domain

Or be held in sin’s dread sway;

I’d rather have Jesus than anything

This world affords today.

 

I’d rather have Jesus than men’s applause;

I’d rather be faithful to His dear cause;

I’d rather have Jesus than worldwide fame;

I’d rather be true to His holy name.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u62uYEssk7o

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Look Out for False Teachers

Philippians 3:2 ESV

 

“Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.”

 

A dog is considered to be someone despicable, who is a spiritual predator who feeds off others. “Dog” is often used as a term describing a false teacher, but it is also describing the impure, the wicked, the spiritually unclean, i.e. those outside of genuine faith in Jesus Christ, particularly those who are workers of evil. But they are usually those portending faith in Jesus Christ who are masters at smooth talk and flattery for the specific purpose to manipulate and to deceive the naïve and the unsuspecting.

 

These “dogs” oppose the true gospel of salvation, and they teach a false gospel of men, of the flesh, not of the Spirit. They also oppose the Lord’s servants and messengers who are teaching the true gospel of Jesus Christ and who are exposing the lies. Today these “dogs” would be any teachers of any false gospel which opposes the true gospel of our salvation as Jesus taught it and as Paul and the other apostles taught it, in its fulness, which is the whole counsel of God, which teaches death to sin and living to God.

 

Therefore, if we want to know the true gospel, we have to read the Bible in context and not take Scriptures out of context to build our doctrines. Whether these dogs, i.e., these false teachers, are teaching true legalism (man-made rules), not of God, or whether they are teaching a cheapened form of God’s grace, which is a lie of Satan, either one is still of the flesh of man, not of God, not of God’s Spirit, and thus not the true gospel. So, we need to be aware of this so that we do not fall into any of their traps.

 

[Php 3:2,18-19; 2 Pet 2:1-3,12-22; Jude 1:4,8,10-13; Rev 22:15]

 

Philippians 3:3 ESV

 

“For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh.”

 

Now, the early church – well especially regarding the Jewish believers in Jesus – was in transition from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. And so those who had lived under the Old Covenant had some definite adjusting to do to the New Covenant. And in that period of adjustment and change there were Judaizers who were trying to convince Christians that they needed to obey some of the Old Covenant liturgical and ceremonial laws, including dietary laws and restrictions. And so Paul had to correct that error.

 

But that was not the only error Paul had to correct. He also had to correct the error coming from those “dogs” who “have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:4). For their false gospel does not require true repentance, obedience to our Lord’s commands (New Covenant) and submission to Christ as Lord (Master) of our lives. Yet it promises people heaven when they die.

 

And this is the primary false doctrine which is permeating the modern church of today in America. Yet the Scriptures are very clear that we must die with Christ to sin and live to him and to his righteousness, and that our sins must be put behind us, and we must follow our Lord in obedience to his New Covenant commands. For if we do not, the Scriptures say, we do not have salvation from sin, we are not in relationship with Jesus Christ, and heaven is not our eternal destiny, but hell is (1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10).

 

So we have all kinds of instructions in the New Testament regarding how we are not to live, as followers of Jesus, and how we are to live, as disciples of Jesus Christ. So we are taught that we are to walk in holiness and in righteousness, in obedience to our Lord, and that we are not to walk in sin, in the practice of such things as drunkenness, sexual immorality, sensuality, impurity, orgies, idolatry, adultery, lying and slander, etc. All such things as these are to be put away from our lives.

 

[Matt 15:19; Mk 7:21-23; Rom 13:13; 1 Co 5:1-13; 1 Co 6:13-18; 1 Co 10:8; 2 Co 12:21; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 3:5-11; 1 Thess 4:3; 1 Pet 4:3; 2 Pet 2:2; Jude 1:4-7; Rev 2:14; Rev 14:8]

 

So, the circumcision Paul was referring to here was not a physical circumcision but a spiritual circumcision, i.e. a cutting away of our sinful flesh via us being crucified with Christ in death to sin so that we are no longer living as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and to his righteousness (Romans 6:1-23). And “the flesh” includes our sinful nature and our sinful practices as well as it includes us trying to earn or to deserve our own salvation via our own works, of our own doing, and not of God, but of the flesh.

 

Philippians 3:17-19 ESV

 

“Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.”

 

So, returning to the subject of these “dogs,” we need to be people of discernment, i.e. a discernment which comes from God, and we need to be those who are testing the words of those professing to be evangelists and preachers and teachers of the Word of God and who are pastors of church congregations, etc. For many of them today are wolves in sheep’s clothing, and they are “dogs,” and they are walking as enemies of the cross of Christ, because they are not teaching nor living death to sin and living to God.

 

Instead, many of them are teaching that all we have to do is make a profession of faith in Jesus just once and now we are guaranteed forgiveness of all sins and eternal life with God in heaven. But that is not what the Scriptures teach us. And so they are leading many people straight to hell on the promise of heaven when they die. For their minds are set on the flesh and on the things of this earth, and they are not set on God and on things above. And so they are leading others to be just like them.

 

So, know what the Scriptures teach, for they teach that Jesus died on that cross that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. They teach that Jesus died on that cross so that we might be crucified with him in death to sin so we will no longer live as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and to his righteousness. And they teach that we must walk in obedience to our Lord’s commands (New Covenant), and that we must no longer habitually and deliberately sin against God.

 

And they teach us that if sin is what we practice, and if righteousness and holiness and obedience to our Lord are not what we practice, that we do not know God/Jesus, he does not know us, we are not the children of God, we do not have forgiveness of sins, and we do not have eternal life with God. And they also teach us that all of us are going to be judged by God one day according to our works, and if we have lived to please the Lord, we will have eternal life, but if we lived to please the flesh, we will die in our sins.

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 14:23-24; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

 

I Will Serve Thee

 

By Lynda Randle

 

I will serve Thee because I love Thee

You have given life to me.

I was nothing before You found me,

You have given life to me.

 

Heartaches, broken pieces,

Ruined lives are why You died on Calvary.

Your touch was what I longed for,

You have given life to me.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHvaAix2xVE

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Setting the Right Example

Philippians 2:14-16 ESV

 

“Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.”

 

Those Who Grumble

 

As followers of Jesus, we should not fight and quarrel with each other. Now, if we are falsely accused of something we did not do, this is not saying that we cannot defend ourselves. Jesus did sometimes, and so did Paul. It was necessary for Paul to defend himself, since he was a minister of the gospel, for when he was under fire, so was the gospel. In other words, if he could be discredited, so could the gospel. And if people bold-face lie to us, we are also permitted to renounce the lies they tell, and then to tell the truth.

 

What we are not to do is that we are not to be people who go around throughout life complaining about everything in a bad-tempered way, out of utter selfishness. This is like people who never or hardly ever smile, who don’t like much of anything. They complain about their food and drink, and they complain about the weather, and they are hardly ever or never grateful or thankful for anything. Something is always wrong with everything, according to them, but not all grumblers take it to that total extreme.

 

Now today we have this teaching or this philosophy that is sweeping over the church, at least here in America, where we are being warned against anything that might be considered negative. Everything has to be positive and upbeat and feel-good, and we are not to say anything to anyone that might make that person uncomfortable or to be offended in anyway. And so we are being encouraged to only say nice things that make people feel good about themselves and about us, which is really the bottom line.

 

This is NOT what this passage of Scripture is talking about. For we are taught in the Scriptures that the message of the cross is an offense to those who are perishing. And we are told that if we teach the truth of the gospel that we are going to be opposed, and hated, and rejected, and falsely accused, and fought against, and maligned, and mocked, etc. And they are not going to do that if all we do is say “nice” things that everyone wants to hear. So, yes, we will be accused of being “negative.”

 

So, when this says that we are not to dispute with others, this is not saying that we can’t defend the truth of the gospel and that we can’t refute the lies and tell the truth. But it would refer to those people who go around on the internet, for example, just looking to pick fights with people, and who usually get very nasty in their comments, lowering themselves to name calling and to attacking people’s characters, without cause. But this is not saying that we should not test other people’s words. We should.

 

Blameless and Innocent

 

Now, this is not saying that we have to be absolutely perfect people, without fault of any kind. The apostles were not perfect people, yet they did walk in holiness and in righteousness, and they ceased from living in sin. And that is how we are to live, too. If we died with Christ to sin, and if we were raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, then our old self was crucified with Christ in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin but to God (Romans 6:1-23).

 

The whole idea of being blameless and innocent is that we are not guilty of living in sin. Sin is not our practice, but righteousness is our practice. We are no longer living according to the flesh, to gratify the sinful cravings of the flesh, but now we are walking in holiness in obedience to our Lord and in the daily putting off of the deeds of the flesh, by the Spirit. But this is a process of sanctification. But we need to be moving in a forward direction, not going in circles habitually sinning against God claiming, “I’m not perfect.”

 

So we should be people with clear consciences who know that we are not deliberately and habitually sinning against our Lord, willfully doing what we know displeases him. And we should be people who are daily denying self and dying to sin and who are walking in obedience to our Lord. And if we fail in some way (not talking here about addictive sin), then we confess our sin and we move forward and we don’t keep going back to that same sin. We should always be moving in a forward direction, ever changing for good.

 

A Crooked and Twisted Generation

 

We are definitely living in a crooked and twisted generation here in America, and within the gatherings of what are called “churches.” Moral values have plummeted. Good is being spoken of as evil, and evil is being spoken of as good. If you have moral values and you keep to them, by the grace of God, you may be attacked and accused of being a “holy roller,” or “hyper-religious,” or “self-righteous,” or of being “negative,” and of being “judgmental,” especially if you are teaching those morals to other people out of obedience to the Lord Jesus.

 

For we live in a day and time when the gospel has been altered and adulterated in order to appeal to human flesh and so as not to offend anyone with the truth. And so not many people are believing that they must repent of their sins and walk in obedience to the Lord Jesus and they must live godly and holy lives to the praise and glory of God. They are convinced that a mere profession of faith in Jesus is enough to secure heaven for them regardless of how they live their lives on this earth.

 

And so this is why it is critical that we live holy and godly lives, not only because we love God and we want to obey him, and not only because that is required biblically for eternal life with God (see verses referenced below), but because it is the right thing to do. And it is also as an example to others in how they ought to live so that when we teach them the truth of the gospel we are not doing so hypocritically. For we should not just teach the truth with our lips, but we should lead by example in how we live our lives.

 

Philippians 2:17-18 ESV

 

“Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.”

 

When we follow Jesus Christ with wholehearted devotion, in walks of holiness and in surrender to our Lord, and in obedience to his commands, and when we then share with others the truths of the Scriptures so that they can also die with Christ to their sins, so that they can live to him and to his righteousness, we are going to be hated. We are going to be rejected, cast aside, mocked, slandered, maligned, and we will be falsely accused of wrongdoing when we are doing no wrong that we know of.

 

But, out of love for our Lord, out of a desire to serve him with our lives, and out of love for our fellow humans, we willingly lay our lives down in order to see others go free. So we will tell people the truth they need to hear even if they hate us and misuse us in return. And we will trust their lives into God’s hands, and we will pray for their salvation from sin, because we love them, and we want them to spend eternity with the Lord, even if it is at the last minute. But no one should ever count on having that last minute.

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 14:23-24; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

 

In the Sweet By and By

 

Sanford F. Bennett / Joseph P. Webster, 1868

 

There’s a land that is fairer than day,

And by faith we can see it afar;

For the Father waits over the way

To prepare us a dwelling place there.

 

We shall sing on that beautiful shore

The melodious songs of the blessed;

And our spirits shall sorrow no more,

Not a sigh for the blessing of rest.

 

To our bountiful Father above,

We will offer our tribute of praise

For the glorious gift of His love

And the blessings that hallow our days.

 

In the sweet by and by,

We shall meet on that beautiful shore;

In the sweet by and by,

We shall meet on that beautiful shore.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zWZu-QupWU

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Even if Everyone Laughs

Philippians 1:27-30 ESV

 

“Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.”

 

God’s Plan for Our Future

 

Today I was glancing through music videos on YouTube, seeking out good Christian music, which I found lots of, when I came across a recording of a particular old familiar song. Now, when I was a senior in high school (1967/68) at Akron East High, in Ohio (USA), I was selected to sing a solo for our senior assembly. The song was, “The Impossible Dream,” which, although not a Christian song, per se, has a message in its lyrics that can easily fit with our walks of faith in Jesus Christ, at least in part.

 

The song speaks of dreaming the impossible dream. But a dream doesn’t have to be something we experience in our sleep and/or in a fantasy world. It can be a vision, a revelation, insight, or a plan for the future, something that God plants in our minds and hearts as to something he is calling us to do. For he has a specific assignment for each one of us who believe in Jesus, a specific role he has planned for us to fill within the body of Christ, uniquely designed for us (see 1 Corinthians 12; Romans 12; and Ephesians 4).

 

The second line of the song says, “To fight the unbeatable foe.” And definitely all Christians are called to put on the armor of God with which to fight off Satan’s evil schemes against us. And although he is beatable, i.e. we can conquer him in the power of God, he comes right back at us, so he is still active, and he is still coming against us, and it will be this way until we die or until Jesus returns and he takes us home. So we are all called to resist Satan and to flee temptation and to draw near to God in faith.

 

The next lines say, “To bear with unbearable sorrow and to run where the brave dare not go.” And when we trust in Jesus Christ with our lives, and we follow him in doing his will, he promises us that we will be hated and persecuted as he was hated and persecuted when he walked this earth. For he has called us to a life of suffering, to die with him to sin, to deny self, and to follow him in obedience, which will get us rejected, cast aside, falsely accused, attacked, and perhaps even put to death for our walks of faith.

 

[Eph 6:10-20; Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19; John 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Ac 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12]

 

Our Quest to Follow Jesus

 

The next lines say, “To right the unrightable wrong and to love pure and chaste from afar.” And all of us are called to repent of our sins and to allow Jesus Christ to change our hearts. So, by faith in him we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and we are raised with him to walk in newness of life in him. And now we are no longer to live as slaves of sin but as slaves of God and of his righteousness, and to walk, no longer according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit – but all because of God’s grace, and in his power.

 

And we are all called to love and obey our Lord, and to love other humans. And we are called to live holy and godly lives, in moral purity, in integrity, in faithfulness, and in truth. And the next line says, “To try when your arms are too weary.” And now we are not to try in our flesh to do good, but we are to do good that God has called us to do, in his power and strength. But we still live in flesh bodies, and so we will get tired and weary, and we will need times of rest, but we also need to keep trusting the Lord, too.

 

Now the song speaks of following a star, but as Christians we don’t follow the stars, we follow Jesus Christ, but other than that, these next words fit, and I will substitute “star” with “Jesus.” “This is my quest to follow Jesus Christ, no matter how hopeless, no matter how far, to fight for the right, without question or pause, to be willing to march into Hell for that heavenly cause.” Now Jesus literally did that for you and for me, for our salvation, and that is to be our determination, as well, to fight for the truth of Christ.

 

And then it says, “And I know if I’ll only be true to this glorious quest that my heart will lie peaceful and calm when I’m laid to my rest.” And that is biblical, providing that the quest is to follow Jesus Christ with our lives in doing what he has called us to do. And it is for us to daily (continually) die with Christ to sin and to follow him in obedience, in practice. And it is for us to be sharing the gospel (the truth) with others so that they, too, can be saved from addiction to sin and walk in holiness in the power of God.

 

If we remain in Christ and his word remains in us, and we continue in walks of obedience to him, casting off sin, and following our Lord in doing his will, and if we do not continue in deliberate and habitual sin in sinful rebellion against our Lord and in disobedience to his commands (New Covenant), then we have that hope of eternal life with God and eternal rest and eternal peace. And we will be forever with our Lord. And all our pain and suffering will be over and no more Satan to fight against us. Amen!

 

We Need to Keep Going

 

Now this next part of the song sounds a little like the author may have had Jesus Christ in mind, for it says, “And the world will be better for this that one man, scorned and covered with scars still strove with his last ounce of courage..” [end quote] to do what was required to provide for us salvation from our sins and new lives in him to be lived for his glory and praise. And this can also represent our steadfast walks of faith in Jesus Christ, too, and our determination to keep walking the walk, and to live holy lives for Jesus.

 

And, too, if we are sharing the truth of the gospel with others, and if we are fighting off the enemy of our souls on a regular basis, because he is trying to stop us, and so we are being hated and mistreated and abused and rejected, because we are telling the truth, then the world is better for this that we, although beaten down and cast aside, still strove in the power of God’s Spirit to keep speaking the truth so that many people would hear the truth of the gospel and be saved from their slavery to sin and now walk in holiness.

 

So, even though this song is not an exact match, for it is not a Christian song, I just see so many parallels between the wording in the lyrics and what the Scriptures teach us regarding how we are to live. And lastly, going back to the senior assembly at East High. While I was singing this song, my voice cracked part way through, and the students laughed. But I had been trained professionally in how to sing, so I kept on singing and I walked off the stage with dignity, and then I ran to the bathroom and wept.

 

And the parallel I see with this is, no matter how hard it gets, and even if everyone laughs at us or mocks us because of our faith in Jesus Christ, and because we are sharing his gospel message, and because we are fighting against the lies of the enemy, too, we need to keep going. We need to keep speaking the truth and exposing the lies, for many people are deceived and they need to know the truth through which they can find true salvation from sin and true life in Christ. And it is okay to shed tears, too.

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 14:23-24; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

 

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

 

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

 

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

 

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

 

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

 

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg

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