Chameleons Who Change Colors

Galatians 2:11-14 ESV

 

“But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, ‘If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?’”

 

We should always be those who practice what we preach. Now, this is not to say that we will never fail at this, as Peter obviously did, but that, in practice, we should not be hypocrites. We should live what we teach to others and we should not be those who, in practice, speak one way and live another, like the Pharisees did. We, as followers of Jesus, are to be people of integrity and trustworthy, who walk the walk and who do not just talk it.

 

Now Peter was not a habitual hypocrite like the Pharisees were. He was a true man of God who taught and lived the truth of the gospel. But he was also human, and he let fear overtake him in this instance, and he yielded to his flesh, and he backed away from how he had been living and he changed his ways out of fear of certain people who were not living like he was, and who disapproved of how he was living in acceptance of the Gentiles.

 

Now, back then, a Gentile was a non-Jew, but a Gentile was also a term for an unbeliever. But when Jesus Christ died on that cross for our sins, he destroyed that barrier between Jew and Gentile and he made us both one through faith in Jesus Christ. So, we are no longer Jew and Gentile, but now we are saved and unsaved or believer and unbeliever. So anyone who does not have genuine faith in Jesus Christ is an unbeliever.

 

[Gal 3:16, 26-29; Rom 9:4-8; Gal 4:22-31; Eph 2:14-18; 1 Jn 2:22]

 

So, we are not in the exact same situation today here in America as were the Jews of that time who became followers of Jesus Christ. Well, you might be if you were a Jew by birth and if you were taught that non-Jews were inferior people with whom you are not to associate, and then if you believed in Jesus, and so you began to associate with other believers in Jesus who were not Jews by birth, and then if you went back to how you were before.

 

And I suppose that we can apply this to any kind of prejudicial situation where people of different races were brought up not to associate with others not of their own race. And then if they believed in Jesus and then became convicted that they should not be prejudicial, and so they began to get together and eat together with people of other races. But then, when those who are like how they were before are present, they change out of fear.

 

So, we should not be like that. We should not be one way with one group of people and be another way with a different group of people. We should be who we are always, no matter who we are with. We should be the same out in public as we are at home, i.e. our character should not change depending on who we are with. In other words, we are not to be chameleons who change colors in order to blend in with their environment.

 

So, don’t be a person who changes who you are depending upon who you are with. And please don’t be someone who rejects certain people because of their nationality or skin color or handicap or financial status, etc. Choose to love all people the same, with the love of God, and don’t love them only when you aren’t around your friends. Love them even if your friends are right there, and even if your friends disapprove of you.

 

Basically, don’t be double-minded and don’t be a hypocrite, but be who you are consistently all the time no matter who you are with. And keep on loving other humans with the love of God, and this includes sharing with them the truth of the gospel of our salvation, for that is the most loving thing we can do ever. And if you find yourself in Peter’s shoes, changing who you are depending upon who you are with, then repent, and obey the Lord.

 

[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 8:51; Jn 14:15-24; Jn 15:10; Matt 7:21-23; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10,24; 1 Jn 5:2-3; 2 Jn 1:6; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 5:9; 1 Pet 1:1-2; Jas 1:21-25; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Php 2:12-13; Jn 10:27-30; Acts 5:32]

 

Near the Cross 

 

Hymn lyrics by Fanny J. Crosby, 1869

Music by William H. Doane, 1869

 

Jesus, keep me near the cross;

There a precious fountain,

Free to all, a healing stream,

Flows from Calvary's mountain.

 

Near the cross, a trembling soul,

Love and mercy found me;

There the bright and morning star

Sheds its beams around me.

          

Near the cross! O Lamb of God,

Bring its scenes before me;

Help me walk from day to day

With its shadow o'er me.

 

Near the cross I'll watch and wait,

Hoping, trusting ever,

Till I reach the golden strand

Just beyond the river.

        

In the cross, in the cross,

Be my glory ever,

Till my raptured soul shall find

Rest beyond the river.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5gong-PNmY

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Life's Ups and Downs

Now life, it surely has its ups and downs.

We never know when they will come around.

We cannot know what tomorrow will bring,

So, in every trial, we must sing.

We have no control over floods and storms,

Over things that happen not in our norms.

We can’t anticipate everything.

We have to remember Jesus is King.

So, we give it all to Jesus our Lord,

Trusting our lives in His hands, one accord.

Letting go of that o’er which no control, 

Trusting in Him, not in part, but in whole.

For He has a plan, a plan for it all

That on Jesus we will certainly call – 

Learn from Him all that He wants us to do

When the trials of life we will go through.

An Original Work / December 30, 2022

They Spy Out our Freedom

Video Talk

 

Galatians 2:4-6 ESV

 

“Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery— to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me.”

 

I believe this passage of Scripture is in the context of the Judaizers who were trying to convince Christians that they had to be more like Jews, and that they had to keep some of the Old Covenant ceremonial, liturgical, and dietary laws and restrictions as part of their salvation. And we have some groups of Messianic Jews today who are going into gatherings of what are called “churches,” and they are trying to convince Christians to be more like Jews and to keep some of those Old Covenant ceremonies, et al.

 

I don’t know whether or not they are teaching what they are teaching today as something they believe is necessary for our salvation, but they are convincing many Christians that being more like a Jew or doing some of the things the Jews did under the Old Covenant will somehow enhance their Christian experience or somehow it will bring them closer to God or they will be more spiritual if they do these things. But what they are promoting is not the truth. We do not need to add any of those things on to our salvation.

 

And then we have people today who are legalists, and some of them are huge hypocrites. My dad was one of them. We were taught not to drink, smoke, play cards, dance, or go to movies. But my dad was an abuser to his wife and to his children in some of the worst and most severe ways. So he was definitely a huge hypocrite. He knew the Scriptures intellectually. He attended a strong evangelical gathering of what is called “church” for 86 years, but he didn’t apply his head knowledge to his life in practice.

 

And then we have people today who are teaching a cheapened form of the true gospel of Christ, making the gospel like picking up fast food at McDonald’s restaurant. The faith they are teaching is of man and is very superficial, for it makes no requirements of its adherents to live holy lives pleasing to God. It does not require death to sin and living to righteousness nor obedience to our Lord. Thus, many professers of faith in Christ are still walking in sin and they are not walking in obedience to Jesus Christ.

 

But the gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us we must be crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. And we are to die daily to sin and to self and walk in obedience to our Lord’s commands (New Covenant). For if we do not, but we continue in deliberate and habitual sin, and not in walks of obedience to our Lord, and not in living holy and righteous lives, then the Scriptures teach we do not know God, he does not know us, we are not saved, and heaven is not our eternal destiny.

 

So, please take this to heart! Do not believe everything you hear, read, or think you see, but test everything against the Scriptures (in their context) to see if what you are being taught is of God or if it is of man and/or of the devil. Read the Scriptures in their context, and let the Lord teach you the truth, and then follow the truth in obedience to the Lord. For one day many who say, “Lord, Lord,” in this life are going to hear Jesus say, “I never knew you. Depart from me you workers of lawlessness.” Please take this to heart.

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; 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 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; 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]

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5sooZv1yKk

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He Keeps Me Singing 

 

by Luther B. Bridgers, 1910

 

There’s within my heart a melody

Jesus whispers sweet and low,

“Fear not, I am with thee, peace be still,”

In all of life’s ebb and flow.

 

All my life was wrecked by sin and strife,

Discord filled my heart with pain;

Jesus swept across the broken strings,

Stirred the slumbering chords again.

 

Feasting on the riches of His grace,

Resting ‘neath His sheltering wing,

Always looking on His smiling face –

That is why I shout and sing.

 

Though sometimes He leads through waters deep,

Trials fall across the way,

Though sometimes the path seems rough and steep

See His foot-prints all the way.

 

Soon He’s coming back to welcome me

Far beyond the starry sky;

I shall wing my flight to world’s unknown,

I shall reign with Him on high.

 

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus –

Sweetest name I know,

Fills my every longing,

Keeps me singing as I go.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S23RqEr7ox4

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By This We Know Love

1 John 3:11-16 ESV

 

“For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.”

 

This love that we are to have, one for another, is no ordinary love. It is not human love or emotion but a choice of the will. It is to prefer to live through Christ, embracing his will, choosing his choices, and obeying them through his power. For it is to prefer what God prefers, which is what is holy, just, righteous, and pure, as God is all these. And God is love, and this love comes from God, so when we love others with this love we will do for them and to them what is for their good, and we will not willfully harm them.

 

For we should not be like Cain. And who was Cain? He was the firstborn son of Adam and Eve. And they were the first humans God created. Their second born son was Abel. And Abel was a keeper of the sheep, and Cain was a worker of the ground. And in the course of time they each brought an offering to the Lord. Yet the Lord accepted Abel’s offering, and he rejected Cain’s, so Cain was very angry with God.

 

“The Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.’” Genesis 4:6-7 ESV

 

But Cain did not listen to God and he followed the will of his flesh, instead, and he ended up murdering his brother. Why? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s were righteous. And this is where many people are today, hating and murdering other humans because their own deeds are evil, and because they are selfish and greedy and they want their own way regardless of who gets hurt in the process. And hate is murder, and so murder can be physical, mental, emotional and spiritual abuse, too.

 

So, if you are like Abel, and your life is pleasing to the Lord, and he accepts you as his own because you have surrendered your life to him, and he is Lord of your life, and you have forsaken your sins to follow him in obedience, then don’t be surprised if those who are more like Cain will hate you and will come against you and attack you. And even some people may want you dead, or they may literally kill you. And this is because your love for the Lord and your walk of faith in the Lord is an offense to them.

 

Now, this is not the only reason that people murder others. It isn’t always evil people just murdering those who are righteous. Those who are evil and who are greedy are those who will murder anyone if it suits their purposes. A lot of people are killed regularly for all sorts of evil purposes, including for the purpose of world domination (see Revelation 12-14). And one of the goals of world domination is population reduction.

 

Yet, as followers of Jesus Christ, if we are sincerely following Jesus in truth and in righteousness, and not in form only, we are going to have enemies, including pastors and elders of church congregations, and including fellow professers of faith in Jesus Christ, and including our own family members and those of our own households. It is what Jesus said would happen to us if we become his true disciples and if we follow him in obedience.

 

For not everyone who professes to know God and to believe in Jesus Christ is a true follower of Christ. Many give lip service only to the Lord but by their actions they deny him. They claim Jesus as their Lord and Savior but they do not honor him as Lord of their lives and they do not submit to his plan of salvation for their lives, which is to deliver them out of their slavery (addiction) to sin and to empower them to live godly and holy lives for the praise and glory of God.

 

But since Jesus Christ gave his life up for us on that cross to free us from our addiction to sin and to give us new lives in him to be lived for his glory and purposes, then we are to submit to him as Lord. We are to surrender our lives to him, and we are to walk in his ways and in his truth, by the grace of God, and in his power and strength. And we are to love one another with the love God has for us, and we are not to do to others deliberately and habitually what we know will harm them.

 

[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 7:21-23; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 9:23-26; Lu 21:12-17; Jn 8:51; Jn 10:27-30; Jn 14:15-24; Jn 15:10-21; Acts 5:32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 10:1-22; Php 2:12-13; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 5:9; 1 Pet 1:1-2; Jas 1:21-25; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10,24; 1 Jn 5:2-3; 2 Jn 1:6]      

 

For Our Nation  

 

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

 

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Trust Him with your life today.

Make Him your Lord and your Savior.

Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.

He will forgive you of your sin;

Cleanse your heart, made new within.

 

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.

On our knees to God we’re praying,

Seeking God to give us answers

That are only found in Him.

God is sovereign over all things.

Nothing from His mind escaping.

He has all things under His command,

And will work all for good.

 

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

 

Men deceiving: We’re believing

In our Lord, and interceding

For our nation and its people

To obey their God today.

He is our hope for our future.

For our wounds He offers suture.

He is all we need for this life.

Trust Him with your life today.

 

https://vimeo.com/379406352

The Riches of God's Grace

Ephesians 1:1-2 ESV

 

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

 

These words are addressed to the saints, and the saints are God’s holy ones, those who are set apart for God to do his will and who are now separate (unlike, different) from the world because we are now being made into the likeness of Jesus Christ. We are his called out ones who are no longer to live like we did before we believed in Jesus and who are no longer to be conformed to the ways of this sinful world. But we are now to be conformed to the ways of God, living holy lives pleasing to him.

 

And the faithful in Christ Jesus are those who are trustworthy and who are believing (present active) in Jesus Christ with God-given faith, the faith that comes from God, and is gifted to us by God, and is authored and perfected by Jesus Christ, and thus conforms to the divine character and will of God. And this faith means to be persuaded by God as to his righteousness and holiness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to repent of (turn away from) our sins and to follow Jesus Christ in obedience to his ways.

 

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

 

Ephesians 1:3-6 ESV

 

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.”

 

Now the “us” in this passage of Scripture refers back to those who are of genuine God-given faith in Jesus Christ who are God’s holy people living different from the world because we are now being conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ. This is not a claim to absolute sinless perfection, but our Lord’s true followers are those who have left their lives of sin behind them and who are now walking in obedience to the Lord and to his commands (New Covenant), by God’s grace, in his strength.

 

And every spiritual blessing includes our salvation from our slavery to sin, forgiveness of sins, freedom from both the punishment of sin and bondage (addiction) to sin, and empowerment to live godly and holy lives on this earth while we wait for our Lord’s return. And it includes the hope of eternal life with God to those of genuine God-given faith – a faith which continues until the very end, steadfast and secure. And it includes the gift of the Holy Spirit living within us counseling, teaching, and guiding us in the ways of the Lord and encouraging and comforting us in our times of need.

 

And we were chosen of God even before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before the Lord – something which comes from God by his grace to us but is also to be lived out in our daily lives, by his grace and in his strength and power. For we are to be holy in all our conduct, and we are to no longer make sin our practice, but righteousness and holiness and obedience to our Lord are now to be our practice. And we can only live like this in the power of God and not in our own strength.

 

In love God predestined us for adoption to himself as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will. And he makes his will known to us all throughout the New Testament and in the Old Testament, too. And it is God’s will that we should die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. And it is God’s will that we should forsake our lives of living in sin and for self so that we might now walk in holiness and in righteousness in obedience to our Lord and to his commands.

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; 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 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; 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]

 

Ephesians 1:7-10 ESV

 

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.”

 

When Jesus Christ died on that cross he shed his blood for us to buy us back for God (to redeem us) so that we might now honor God with our lives. For Jesus died that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. And he died that we might now live for him and no longer for ourselves. And he gave his life up for us so that we will die daily with him to sin and to self and so that we will follow him daily in obedience to his commands.

 

[1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 1 Peter 2:24; 2 Corinthians 5:15; Luke 9:23-26]

 

And his grace, which is bringing us salvation from sin, instructs (trains) us to renounce (say ‘No’ to) ungodliness and fleshly lusts (worldly passions) and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s 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” (Titus 2:11-14; cf. Ephesians 2:10).

 

So, God’s grace to us is not freedom to keep on in deliberate and habitual sin thinking we now have our ticket into heaven which cannot be taken away from us. For if we continue in deliberate and habitual sin and not in walks of holiness and righteousness, in obedience to our Lord, then the Scriptures teach that we don’t know God, he doesn’t know us, we do not have salvation from sin, and we will not inherit eternal life with God. And they also teach we must continue in obedience to our Lord until the very end.

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Pet 1:17-21; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

 

The Birthday of a King

 

Author: William Harold Neidlinger

Tune: NEIDLINGER

 

In the little village of Bethlehem,

There lay a Child one day,

And the sky was bright with a holy light

O'er the place where Jesus lay.

 

'Twas a humble birth-place, but O how much

God gave to us that day,

From the manger bed what a path has led,

What a perfect, holy way.

 

Alleluia! O how the angels sang.

Alleluia! How it rang!

And the sky was bright with a holy light,

'Twas the birthday of a King.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12X3BDaqqbI

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Treasuring Christ Above All Else

Acts 4:15-17 ESV

 

“But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, saying, ‘What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.’ So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard’.”

 

Charged Not to Speak

 

Jesus put the old hymn in my mind, “Immanuel’s Land.” Since the language is old (not the English I speak today), I have difficulty understanding the meaning of some of these lyrics. So I decided to look for one of those “behind the hymn” stories which would help me understand what this hymn is saying. But I got a surprise when I found out the history behind the hymn. I will link it below this writing, but I will try to summarize what I learned because it fits perfectly with this passage of Scripture for today.

 

Evidently the hymn was written by Anne Ross Cousin in 1857, but it is “based on a collection of letters written by Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661), a Scottish pastor who was also from Roxburghshire. Many of the phrases and images from the hymn’s 19 verses come from these letters and provide a glimpse into Rutherford’s life and ministry.”

 

Now, as I read this, I immediately thought of the Apostle Paul and how he was frequently imprisoned for preaching the gospel, and how he wrote at least some of the epistles, which are in our New Testament, when he was imprisoned for preaching the gospel. So, in some ways, Samuel Rutherford’s life appears to parallel the life and ministry of the Apostle Paul.

 

Rutherford was a faithful evangelical preacher who loved his congregation dearly. He lost his wife to death in 1630 and his two children soon followed her in death, I am assuming from the same illness she had. At this time the Church of Scotland (a state church) began declining in doctrine and was seeking to impose many Anglican traditions on the Reformed churches. So Rutherford ended up being charged with non-conformity to these changes.

 

As the situation worsened, this led to him publishing a book in 1636 warning of the rising trend away from the truth of the Scriptures. The book offended several church leaders and Rutherford was immediately summoned to the High Commission Court at Edinburgh and charged with non-conformity and treason for his book. The court subsequently condemned and banished him, and he was forbidden to preach the gospel. And this reminds me of today’s passage of Scripture and what the apostles were facing.

 

Rutherford was provided with a home, which reminds me of some of Paul’s imprisonment, which was in a home, I believe. And so from Rutherford’s prison he wrote some 220 letters to friends, seeking to encourage them to persevere, just like Paul wrote to the church in various places for much of the same reasons. And eventually Rutherford was set free and he was asked to teach as Professor of Divinity at a school, and his influence grew.

 

Then, in 1660 he found himself again at odds with the state church and he was removed from church office, charged with treason, and summoned to appear before the British Parliament. By this time he was on his deathbed. And “in the final verse of the hymn he explains why he could not answer their summons – he had a more important call from his Lord!” Amen! And it was recorded that his dying words were, “Glory, glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s Land.” And the hymn that came from that is “a marvelous testimony of treasuring Christ above all else in this life and the next.” Amen!

 

A Present Reality

 

In America, much of what is called “church” today is the state church. Most churches, it appears, have incorporated under the state making them state churches (businesses, really). Most of them have turned their gatherings into businesses which are being marketed to the people of the world. And so most of them (across denominational boundaries) have followed and are following marketing schemes and objectives for how to grow their “churches” and how to attract the people of the world to their gatherings.

 

The Lord first made me aware of this back in 1999, and it was then I began to see what was going on, although it was something I learned a little bit at a time as the Lord began giving me more and more of the true picture. And so when I read the history of this hymn, and the story of this man, I saw many parallels between what he went through then and the situation with so much of what is called “church” in America, today, including parallel experiences in my own life to what he experienced.

 

And by 2004 the Lord let me know that the ministry he had for me was no longer within the boundaries of the institutional market-driven state church, where I had been rejected and cast aside and treated similarly to this man Rutherford whose writings were the basis for this hymn (which follows). And the Lord had a writing ministry for me, as well, and so he placed me on the internet where I could share the truth of the gospel and where I could refute the lies of the enemy and where I could encourage the body of Christ.

 

And according to the Scriptures, it is only going to get much worse. Already not too many people want to hear the truth of the gospel and not too many people are preaching the truth of the gospel. But most appear to be preaching a less offensive version of the gospel which is made to tickle itching ears and to pacify people in their flesh rather than demand death to sin and living to God and to his righteousness. And the truth of the gospel is seriously under attack by pastors and fellow professing Christians.

 

So, it isn’t that we can’t speak in the name of Jesus, for his name today in America has become a household word, and he has been popularized by many movies and TV programs which are altering his image and which are making him out to be more like us and as someone people loved. And the term “gospel” is also being reduced to a profession of faith in Jesus which then secures heaven for you when you die regardless of how you live your life on this earth. But that is not what the Scriptures teach in full context.

 

So, we can speak in the name of Jesus and we can share the gospel, as long as it is the false (watered down) Jesus and gospel we speak of and not the Jesus and gospel of the Scriptures. For the goal today in many or most of these “churches” is to attract the world to their gatherings and not to do or say anything that will offend anyone, except they will offend those of us who are teaching the truth by letting us know we are unwanted and that we should go someplace else where we will be a “better fit.”

 

So, whether directly after Jesus died and the church was under great persecution, or at various times in various places throughout history, or in our present day and time, the truth of the gospel was and is under fire, and the biblical image of Christ is not acceptable to the masses, nor is his gospel message. And so if you are sharing the truth of the gospel, and if you are opposing the lies and the distortions of truth going on in the institutional (state) church, you are going to be rejected and even persecuted.

 

[Matt 5:10-16; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Matt 28:18-20; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19; John 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Acts 1:8; Acts 14:22; Acts 26:18; Rom 5:3-5; Rom 12:1-8; 1 Co 12:1-31; 2 Co 1:3-11; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:17-27; Phil 3:7-11; Col 3:16; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; Heb 3:13; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 2:9; 1 Pet 4:12-17]

 

The Sands of Time are Sinking

a.k.a. Immanuel’s Land

 

by Anne R. Cousin, 1857

 

The sands of time are sinking,

The dawn of Heaven breaks;

The summer morn I’ve sighed for—

The fair, sweet morn awakes:

Dark, dark hath been the midnight,

But dayspring is at hand,

And glory, glory dwelleth

In Immanuel’s land.

 

O Christ, He is the fountain,

The deep, sweet well of love!

The streams on earth I’ve tasted

More deep I’ll drink above:

There to an ocean fullness

His mercy doth expand,

And glory, glory dwelleth

In Immanuel’s land.

 

The King there in His beauty,

Without a veil is seen:

It were a well spent journey,

Though seven deaths lay between:

The Lamb with His fair army,

Doth on Mount Zion stand,

And glory—glory dwelleth

In Immanuel’s land.

 

The bride eyes not her garment,

But her dear bridegroom’s face;

I will not gaze at glory

But on my king of grace.

Not at the crown He giveth

But on His pierced hand;

The Lamb is all the glory

Of Immanuel’s land.

 

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

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Hymn Story: https://cpcissaquah.org/2020/02/12/immanuels-land/

For His Yoke is Easy

Matthew 11:28-30 ESV

 

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

 

Laboring and Heavy Laden

 

There are many ways in which we can labor and be heavy laden. One of them can be an obvious reference to physical labor. We work hard physically and we get tired, sometimes to the point of physical exhaustion, and so our bodies need physical rest. And sometimes when we work hard physically our muscles get tight and it is hard for our bodies to rest until our muscles have time to relax. Or our muscles may have aches and pains and so we can’t rest due to the pain. And the older we get, the worse it gets.

 

Another way we can labor and be heavy laden is emotionally. This could be via lack of trust in the Lord and via worrying, or it may be we are weeping over the sins of the world and over those who are lost in their sins and over the rebellious and the unrepentant who are stubborn and hardheaded and who think they can go on in their habitual sin without true repentance and absent walks of obedience to the Lord. For it should grieve us that so many people professing faith in Christ don’t have true biblical faith in him.

 

And yet another way we can labor and be heavy laden is via Christian ministry and persecution and opposition. When Satan fights against us, and he uses other humans to oppose us and to come against us, it can be wearing on us. Especially if we have consistent opposition from the same enemies who keep coming against us in many of the same ways, and this goes on for years and years without relief, it can wear us down to the point of exhaustion and even to tears. Paul expressed this:

 

“For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead” (2 Corinthians 1:8-9)

 

Trials and Tribulations

 

Something else which can cause us to have to labor and which may bring us to the point of being heavy laden are trials and tribulations which come into our lives to test our faith and to mature us in our walks of faith and to teach us perseverance and to rely on God and not on ourselves. We learn, if we are willing, to trust the Lord with all the circumstances of our lives, even the difficult ones which come into our lives, even the recurring ones that seem to never end and to never go away. I think those are the hardest.

 

Right now my husband and I are experiencing some trying times, although minor by comparison to what many people are suffering throughout the world. For the past month we have had our water cut off to our apartment 4 times (once a week for 4 weeks), but the 4^th week was due to a flooding of our apartment from a burst pipe in the attic above the apartment above us. So the apartment above us was flooded and then the water came down and flooded us and then flooded the apartment below us.

 

Now the apartment management has hired a contract company to come in and tear out the sheet rock that is wet and they will replace it with new sheet rock and then they will have to paint, so this is a 3-day process, and in this process our apartment is in total disarray and our lives are being disturbed and we are not able to function as we normally would, and so we are also not getting adequate rest, and we are exhausted from all the labor we are having to do in this process, as well.

 

Receive His Yoke, Learn from Him

 

And then there are people who labor and are heavy laden because they are not in relationship with Jesus Christ, although some will profess that they are, but they are still the ones driving their own lives and charting their own course and choosing what they want to do regardless of what God has planned for their lives. And some of them claim to be trying to be free from addiction to sin, but they are trying in their own strength and that is not working because their hearts are not really committed to change.

 

So, the solution in all of these situations is to come to the Lord, to take his yoke upon us, to learn from him, and he will give us rest. Now this is no guarantee of physical rest or of rest from persecution and trials and tribulations, etc., for the Scriptures teach us that we will have hardships and trials and persecutions to try our faith and to teach us perseverance and to bring us to maturity in our walks of faith in Christ. And trials oftentimes involve extra physical labor and lack of rest.

 

But if we take his yoke upon us and we learn from him, he will give us rest for our souls and he will give us peace of mind and heart. So what is his yoke we are to take upon us? It is a partnership (a cooperation, a joining together) with Jesus Christ and with his gospel, but it involves him carrying the weight of it and us resting in him. But it means we are yoked together with him and now we are living under his direction and control. He is now Lord and Master and we now work for him and not for ourselves.

 

But there is peace in this relationship because God has it all under control. He has it all worked out way in advance. We can be totally at peace within even if everything around us looks like our apartment looks right now, which looks like a war zone. And I am a person who does not naturally do well in clutter or closed in spaces, and I like things neat and tidy, but neat and tidy is not what we have right now. But I am at peace. I am really okay with it. I am tired, but I am resting in the Lord and in his strength.

 

So, what’s the bottom line here? It is that whatever we are going through, if we are true followers of Christ, we can trust him to work it all out for our good. We just have to take his yoke upon us and learn from him and then follow his lead. We must die daily with him to sin and live daily to him and to his righteousness and trust him in every situation he brings into our lives. And if you have not done that, I pray you will give your life to Christ today and that you will surrender all to him and come under his yoke.

 

[Matt 5:10-16; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Matt 28:18-20; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 9:23-26; Lu 21:12-19; John 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Acts 1:8; Acts 14:22; Acts 26:18; Rom 5:3-5; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 12:1-8; 1 Co 12:1-31; 2 Co 1:3-11; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:17-27; Phil 3:7-11; Col 3:16; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; Heb 3:13; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 2:9; 1 Pet 4:12-17]

 

Hide Me, Rock of Ages

 

Brantley C. George, 1946

 

Oh Thou blessed rock of ages

Trusting now dear Lord in Thee

Keep me till my journey's ended

Till Thy blessed face I see

 

Keep me when the storm clouds gather;

‘Til the sun comes shining through;

Keep me ‘til my work is over;

‘Til I bid this world adieu.

 

Hide me oh blessed rock of ages

'Til Thy blessed face I see

When the storm around me rages

Rock of ages hide Thou me

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRKU-D5k21w

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He's Like a Roaring Lion

Video Talk

 

1 Peter 5:6-11 ESV

 

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

 

When we go through trials which test our faith, if we respond to them in the right way, they tend to humble us, for they teach us that our dependency has to be in the Lord and not in ourselves. For there is so much that happens in this life over which we really have no control. Now we do have control over the decisions we make for ourselves regarding our own thinking, attitudes, words, and behaviors. But so much else is really out of our realm of absolute and total control.

 

Now, when we go through these trials, which test our faith, we must bring to remembrance that our God is absolutely sovereign over all that he has made and that nothing outside of our own control can touch us unless God allows it and he allows it for a purpose, and he will bring good out of it in our lives. So, there is never a cause for us to be anxious and to fret and to worry about anything. And if Satan tries to put doubts and fears in our minds, we need to resist him, and stand firm in our faith.

 

Also, if we are people of God who take God and his word seriously, and if we are walking in holiness and righteousness, and in obedience to our Lord, Satan is going to be after us. And if we are those who are sharing the truth of the gospel regularly and consistently, and who are refuting the lies of the enemy, the devil is definitely going to be on our warpath because he wants people to believe the lies and to reject the truth. So, he is going to see us as strong opposition. So we must be alert to his attacks against us.

 

But then we are to find encouragement in knowing that Christians throughout the world are being attacked, hated, and persecuted in much the same ways as we are, and probably much worse in countries where Christianity is not as normal as it is in the USA. But the acknowledgment of Christianity in the USA as normal is largely not acceptance of the true gospel, but it is acceptance of a cheapened form of the true gospel which does not require death to sin and living to God and to his righteousness.

 

[Matt 5:10-16; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Matt 28:18-20; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19; John 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Acts 1:8; Acts 14:22; Acts 26:18; Rom 5:3-5; Rom 12:1-8; 1 Co 12:1-31; 2 Co 1:3-11; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:17-27; Phil 3:7-11; Col 3:16; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; Heb 3:13; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 2:9; 1 Pet 4:12-17]

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx__zPqi3KM

Caution: This link may contain ads beyond my control

 

Have Thine Own Way, Lord

 

Words by Adelaide A. Pollard, 1907

Music by George C. Stebbins, 1907

 

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!

Thou art the potter, I am the clay.

Mold me and make me after Thy will,

While I am waiting, yielded and still.

 

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!

Search me and try me, Master, today!

Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now,

As in Thy presence humbly I bow.

 

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!

Wounded and weary, help me I pray!

Power, all power, surely is Thine!

Touch me and heal me, Savior divine!

 

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!

Hold o'er my being absolute sway.

Fill with Thy Spirit till all shall see

Christ only, always, living in me!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z11avpKNLsA

Caution: This link may contain ads

Living in the Midst of Liars

Matthew 10:24-25 ESV

 

“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.”

 

Jesus had just finished instructing his disciples before he sent them out to the lost sheep of Israel. They were to say, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And they were to do some of the same things that Jesus was doing, and they were to share the message of the gospel. And if anyone would not receive or listen to their words, they were to leave them and move on.

 

And then Jesus told them what they should expect on their journey. He was sending them out as sheep in the midst of wolves. So, they were to beware of men, for they would deliver them over to courts and flog them in their synagogues, and they would be dragged before governors and kings for the Lord’s sake, and for the sake of the gospel, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. And he told them that brother would deliver brother over to death and that they would be hated by all for the Lord’s sake.

 

And then he let them know that, as he was treated they would also be treated. If they maligned Jesus, which they did, they would malign his followers also. And who were those who maligned and persecuted and harassed Jesus continuously? They were many of the rulers in the temple of God, and those of his same faith. And some were his own family members. And they were hypocrites who put on a show of righteousness for others while they themselves were engaged in willful secretive sin.

 

And, according to what we are taught in the New Testament, we are to expect the same kind of treatment if we are genuine followers of Jesus Christ, i.e. if we are following our Lord in obedience to his commands and if we are walking in his ways. And we will be treated this way by the same types of people, too – by pastors, elders, church leaders, others professing the same faith as us, and even by our own family members and other members of our Christian community.

 

But these will be people who are haters, who love the darkness and not the light, and so they won’t come into the true light. And they will be liars and deceivers, and people who use and manipulate others to their advantage. And they will be those who will purposefully accuse us falsely of what we did not do for the purpose to harm us. And they will be those who will try to trip us up in hopes that we will fall back into sin and so that they will have cause to accuse us, which is what Jesus’ enemies tried with him, too.

 

Matthew 10:26-28 ESV

 

“So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

 

But we are to have no fear of them or of what they might say about us or what they might accuse us of or what they might do to us. But we are to entrust our lives into the Lord’s hands, trusting him to work it all out according to his plan and purpose, and ultimately for our good. For God is completely sovereign over all that he has made, and nothing outside of our control can come into our lives unless God allows it and he allows it for a purpose. And he will use it to work good in our lives.

 

Therefore, we are to keep speaking the truth of the gospel, but we must make certain it is the truth we are teaching. For many people professing faith in Jesus Christ are not teaching the true gospel but a false gospel of man which makes no requirements of us for repentance nor for obedience to our Lord. But Jesus taught both repentance and obedience as necessary components of faith which saves, and we are to teach the same gospel that he taught.

 

[Matt 4:17; Matt 7:21-23; Matt 11:20-21; Matt 12:41; Matt 21:28-31; Mk 1:14-15; Lu 5:32; Lu 9:23-26; Lu 13:1-5; Lu 15:2-7; Lu 24:45-47; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 8:31-32,51; Jn 10:27-30; Jn 14:15-24; Jn 15:1-11]

 

So, we are to teach that Jesus died on that cross that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. We are to teach that he died that we might live for him and no longer for ourselves. And we are to teach that he shed his blood for us on that cross to buy us back for God so that we would now honor God with our bodies. And we are to teach dying with Christ to sin and walking in obedience to him as necessary for salvation (1 Pet 2:24; 2 Co 5:15,21; 1 Co 6:19-20; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Lu 9:23-26).

 

Matthew 10:32-33 ESV

 

“So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”

 

And this is not the only place where similar words were spoken. For if we walk (in conduct, in practice) according to the flesh, in sin, and if sin is what we practice, and if righteousness and holiness and obedience to our Lord are not what we practice, we will not inherit eternal life with God. In fact, the Scriptures teach that we don’t know God, he doesn’t know us, we don’t have forgiveness of sins, we are not saved, and heaven is not our eternal destiny, regardless of what words we professed with our lips.

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Pet 1:17-21; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

 

Awaken the Dawn  

 

An Original Work / January 15, 2013

Based off Psalm 57 (NIV 1984)

 

O my God, have mercy on me!

In the Lord, my soul takes refuge.

In the shadow of Your wings, Lord,

I find shelter till the storms pass.

I cry out to my God Most High.

He fulfills His purpose for me.

He sent His Son to die for me,

So I could be saved.

 

I am in the midst of lions;

Men whose teeth are spears and arrows;

Whose tongues are sharp; words accusing.

They spread a net, my feet to catch.

They dug a pit, in hopes I’d fall.

O God, be exalted o’er all.

Let Your glory shine to all men,

So they may be saved.

 

Steadfast is my heart, O my God;

I will sing of all Your wonders.

Awake, my soul! Sing praise to God!

Early I will rise and praise Him!

I’ll praise God among the nations;

I will sing among the peoples.

God’s love reaches to the heavens,

So we may be saved.

 

https://vimeo.com/115213982