DON'T LOOK BACK

But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”  (Luke 9:62)

It is tempting at times to look back, but Jesus warned us about it.  He used the example of a man plowing a field.  The farmer must keep his eyes fixed on the ground before him, if his furrow is to be straight. To look back is to go astray and maybe worse—to run into a rock, tree or fence post!

We must not be LIMITED by our past.  We all have a past—some of it is good, some of it is bad.  There are decisions we ought not to have made—and we may still be living with the consequences.  Life has no rewind button.  Regret will only hinder us from getting where we need to go.  “Don’t cry over spilt milk!” is the old saying. On second thought, maybe you do cry with remorse, confess in repentance, but then claim forgiveness and move on.  Failure need not be final.  The pages of the Bible are filled with men and women of faith who messed up, but moved ahead.

We cannot LIVE in the past.  This is the polar opposite of limiting ourselves by past failures—it is relying on previous successes.  This happens when we do not succumb to regret, but nostalgia.  It is, “The good old days” syndrome.  We idolize the way it used to be—which is seldom as good as we imagined anyway—and this hinders us from embracing the opportunity of the present time.

Paul had this wonderful resolve,

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.  ‎Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  (Philippians 3:12-14)

Let’s grab the plow handles firmly, look straight ahead, and go!  Don’t look back!

THE GLORY OF THE GOSPEL

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.  (Romans 1:16)

I am glad someone told me about Jesus!  Who told you?  Maybe it was your parents, a Sunday School teacher, Vacation Bible School worker, a preacher, or a friend—if you are saved then someone, somewhere, sometime shared the Gospel with you.  That’s all it took to bring you into eternal life.  This is the glory of the Gospel!  It was Paul’s passion and it needs to be ours.  The Apostle makes three great, “I am,” statements in Romans 1:13-17.  We will examine those.

There is a glorious mission (v.13-14).  I am responsible: “I am a debtor….”  Our mission is glorious in its scope—to give the whole world the Holy Word.  How are we doing in discharging that debt?  Every minute there are souls slipping out into eternity—dying without Christ and without hope—and no one has shared the Gospel with them.  Are we paying our debt?  We may argue, “I thought salvation is free!”  It is!  Don’t we sing, “Jesus paid it all”?  The next line though is, “All to Him I owe.”  We owe a debt of gratitude for grace given to us, and the debt is paid when we extend that grace to others.  Our sacred obligation is to share the Gospel with all.

There is a glorious motivation (v.15).  “I am ready,” Paul declares.  The Apostle was motivated by His devotion to Christ and desire for the salvation of souls.  It was not an impulsive reaction, but an intentional response.  He knew the cost of commitment.  The old hymn states it like this:

Ready to go, ready to stay, ready my place to fill;

Ready for service, lowly or great, ready to do His will.

The Gospel is grounded in the sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary.  Paul was ready then to lay down his life for Christ in sharing the Gospel.  Jesus still bears the marks of His mission.  Paul said, “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.”  (Gal.6:17).  Do we suppose we would be ready to die for Him when we are not ready to live for Him?

There is a glorious message (v.16-17).  I am regretless: “I am not ashamed….”  Paul says later, “I am free from the blood of all men.”  (Acts 20:26).  There were no regrets.  The blood was off his hands, on their heads, and for many on their hearts!  Paul was not ashamed because of the power of the Gospel.  He had experienced its transforming power!  The Greek word for “power,” used here is “dunamis,” from which we get the word dynamo—an engine of energy.  Paul was not ashamed of the provision of the Gospel.  It was for all who believed.  The plan of salvation is available to all.  God made a way where anyone might be saved—all we must do is believe in Christ.  God stands ready to give us His life, if we will only trust Him with our life.  Paul was not ashamed of the promise of the Gospel.  It brings us into right standing before God.  God cannot lie—what He promises He performs!

We have heard the joyful sound:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Spread the tidings all around:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Bear the news to every land,
Climb the steeps and cross the waves;
Onward!—’tis our Lord’s command;
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

THE REQUEST OF REDEMPTION

 

And he said, "Who are you?" So she answered, "I am Ruth, your maidservant. Take your maidservant under your wing, for you are a close relative."  (Ruth 3:9)

Every religious system tries to present a path to reach its deity—some means of self-effort that can make a person acceptable to whomever or whatever they believe that deity to be.  Christianity is the one radical exception—for it says God has taken the path to reach humanity.  He has provided in Christ the way to be accepted—not through what we do, but what He has done!  This is the great story of redemption, and it is illustrated in the third chapter of Ruth.  Ruth’s redemption was totally dependent on a man from Bethlehem—and that is true for us!

This chapter is the turning point in this drama.  Ruth had known about Boaz, and now she will come to know him personally.  While our redemption requires knowing Christ is the Savior that is not enough.  We must come to know Him as our Savior.  Ruth was aided by Naomi—the matchmaker (v.1-5).  She told Ruth how a girl with a pagan past could enter into a wondrous future with Boaz.  God still uses people like us who know the Man from Bethlehem—Jesus Christ—to introduce others to Him.

Naomi’s guidance for Ruth was grounded in the Word of God (Lev.25:47-55; 27:9-25).  The Law provided for a kinsman-redeemer, and that is the truth that will form the basis of this new relationship.  God uses His Word as the seed of salvation, sown in the fertile soil of a soul that the Spirit has cultivated to bring forth the fruit of eternal life.  That is the power of the Gospel (Rom.1:16; 10:13-17).

Her relationship with Boaz is a private act before it becomes a public announcement (v.6-10).  Ruth responded in faith to the Word.  The testimony of Naomi is accepted and she comes personally to seek Boaz.  She comes to a worthy man, though Ruth herself is so unworthy, for she is helpless to change her situation, but knows Boaz can if he will.  If we would be saved, it is when we enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  His response is one of love.  It is amazing grace for a man like that to embrace a wretch like her—and that is the story of our Savior’s love for us! 

It is not sufficient for Boaz to love her—as wondrous as that is.  The demands of the law must also be satisfied (v.11-18).  Boaz will be her kinsman-redeemer, meeting the legal demands she could never fulfill.  That is what Jesus did for us on the cross!  He assures Ruth of the redemption she has sought.  We are reminded that Jesus promised, “The one who comes to Me, I will by no means cast out.”  (John 6:37) 

It would be 2000 years later that what was foreshadowed in Bethlehem would be fulfilled in the same city.  That dark night when a redeemer was revealed to a needy soul prefigured the arrival on another silent night in that little town One who would be our Kinsman-Redeemer!  Through Him and Him alone can the legal demands of righteousness and the loving desire of redemption become available in the Man who was born in Bethlehem—one of us and yet more than we are!  Fully God and fully man—Jesus is our Redeemer who reconciles unworthy sinners and Holy God.  All we need to do is ask Him and He will save us!

THE ROMANCE OF REDEMPTION

“The LORD repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.”  (Ruth 2:12)

When our children were small, we would say, “How much do you love me?”  We taught them to spread their arms way out and say, “I love you this much!”  How much does God love you?  Jesus spread His arms out on the cross and said, “I love you this much!”  The second chapter of Ruth illustrates this wonderful truth—the romance of redemption.  The romance of Boaz and Ruth picture how God’s love reaches out to us, wins our heart, and brings us into salvation.

All through the story of Ruth we see God writing the plot line in His providence (2:1-3).  There are no dramatic miracles recorded in the book, yet we observe God’s mighty hand directing all the circumstances.  Ruth—from the human perspective—just happens to wind up gleaning grain in the field of Boaz, right where she needed to be.  This was not luck, she was led—the sovereign Lord orchestrating the events.  That a famine came, a family moved to Moab, three funerals brought Naomi and Ruth back to Bethlehem, a field was selected that belonged to their near kin Boaz, each event was a link in the chain to bring Ruth to the man who was her redeemer.  With God there are no accidents, just appointments.  Looking back at how we came to faith in Christ, the direction of God to get us to redemption is a testimony to providence.

So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor.”  (v.2)  She sought favor—or as we might say, she was seeking grace.  Grace is God’s favor given to the undeserving.  Ruth fit that category.  She was a Moabite—a Gentile outside the covenant relationship of God with Israel.  She was a poor widow unable to meet her own needs.  That is representative of our spiritual state before meeting our Redeemer (see Eph.2:1-14).  When Ruth meets Boaz, everything will change (v.4-16)!  His name means strength.  He gave to her what she could never provide for herself. Boaz was man of power and possessions—his wealth was abundant.  Jesus is our Boaz—the Redeemer who is worthy and wealthy.  Ruth wasn’t looking for Boaz, but Boaz saw her and took the initiative.  That is what grace does.  It sees us, seeks us, summons us, and sustains us.  She came under the wings of God (v.12).  That is a wonderful place to abide!  Are you there?

When Ruth returns and shares her amazing story, Naomi rejoices (v.17-23).  She blesses the Lord because she recognizes God is at work.  Ruth brought home an ephah of grain—equivalent to what a working man might collect in ten days!  She didn’t return with a little, but with abundance!  That is the nature of grace!  When Naomi discovers that it is Boaz’ field where Ruth gleaned, she is overjoyed.  The man can be their redeemer because he is their relative!  Thus it is that the Son of God became the Son of Man, that the sons of men might become the sons of God.  That happened in the incarnation—and the place of our Redeemer’s appearance?  Where Ruth met Boaz—in Bethlehem!  Blessed Redeemer!

THE REACH OF REDEMPTION

But Ruth said:

“Entreat me not to leave you,

 Or to turn back from following after you;

 For wherever you go, I will go;

 And wherever you lodge, I will lodge;

 Your people shall be my people,

 And your God, my God.”  (Ruth 1:16)

The book of Ruth reveals the road to redemption.  It affords an Old Testament picture of a New Testament principle.  The road to redemption begins in Moab and ends in Bethlehem—a way out of a place that God called His wash pot and into the place meaning “house of bread.”  Chapter one of Ruth focuses on God reaching down in love.

Redemption begins with God’s sovereign act (v.1-4).  There was a famine in the house of bread.  Elimelech packs up his family and migrates to Moab, seeking greener pastures.  Though his name meant, “My God is King,” he was in rebellion against God’s will, walking by sight rather than by faith.  Canaan, despite its present woe was to be preferred over Moab and its pervasive wickedness.  Its inhabitants were the descendants of Lot’s incest with his daughter.  Moabites worshipped Chemosh, offering their little children in fire as sacrifices.  “But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more….”  (Rom.5:20b)  Despite Elimelech’s sin, God was still King and in His sovereign grace had chosen to overrule his straying child’s disobedience and reach a Moabite girl who was not looking for God.  God, however was looking for her.  As I survey my past, I can see how God was working even during my period as a prodigal to reach me—circumstances that He directed to drive me to Himself.

Two weddings and three funerals took place in Moab (v.3-5).  The chastisement of God fell upon Elimelech and his sons.  They were defiant against God’s will, going where they should not and marrying those they ought not.  “The wages of sin is death,” (Rom.6:23a).  Yet, without these sorrows, Ruth would have never journeyed to Bethlehem where she would meet Boaz, her kinsman-redeemer.  She might have become bitter toward God—many do when facing tragedy.  She could not have understood what this God of the Hebrews was up to, but later she would.  We live life forward, but we understand it backward.  All He does is ultimately for glory and good!

With the death of her husband and sons, there is nothing to hold Naomi in Moab (v.6-14).  She hears that the famine is over and the feasting has resumed—the House of Bread has become a bakery again.  It is time to go back to Bethlehem. 

Remember, that when Naomi and her family came to Moab they were in rebellion against God.  The counsel of a backslider is to be rejected.  Their senses are dulled by their disobedience.  Naomi tells her daughters-in-law to stay in Moab!  Orpah listens and turned back to her demon gods—into darkness forever.  Ruth clings to Naomi—grace at work drawing her to redemption (v.15-22).  This is the mystery of election—two girls so close, yet separated for eternity—like Cain and Abel; Esau and Jacob; Judas and Peter; the two thieves crucified on either side of Jesus.  Orpah and Ruth both had opportunity to go to the place of redemption, but only one did.  Orpah was not made to turn back, nor was Ruth forced to go up.  Still, grace drew her.  That is what makes redemption to be God seeking undeserving sinners. 

Have you reached up the empty hand of faith to the hand of God reaching down with the gift of salvation?  Are you Orpah or Ruth?

THE BLESSEDNESS OF OBEDIENCE

And Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Because you have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts and done according to all that he commanded you, therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not lack a man to stand before Me forever.” ’ ”  (Jeremiah 35:18-19)

Children are rebellious by nature.  We do not have to be taught to be disobedient.  Defiance is in our blood.  We demand our own way.  The imposing of discipline is essential for breaking down that self-centered spirit, and is an act of love to prepare a child for the adult world where there are rules, direction, and subordination to order if one is to function in society.  For Christian parents, the spiritual dimension is even more important as we are getting the children ready for the world to come—teaching them the need of submission to their Heavenly Father. 

This is why the fifth commandment in the Decalogue is a hinge upon which the two dimensions of duty swing.  The first four commandments point to our duty to God.  The last six point to our duty to man.  That is how the Ten Commandments are typically divided.  I prefer to divide them five and five.  The fifth commandment is to honor your father and your mother.  They are God’s representatives—as such this concludes our duty to God for we honor Him in respecting them.  It also gives us a bridge to the second table dealing with our duty to man.

In Jeremiah thirty five, we find a family that has honored their father—the Rechabites.  These were not Jews, but were Kenites—descendants of the nomadic people of Midian—the in-laws of Moses (1 Chron.2:55).  They were “sojourners” (v.7) dwelling in tents (v.10) according to the command of their father Jonadab.  They had also been commanded not to drink wine (v.6), so when Jeremiah set wine before them, it was a test—and they passed with flying colors! 

It was more than a test for them, however.  It was a living illustration of the blessedness of obedience in contrast to the bitterness of disobedience (v.11-19).  God had been a Father to Israel, yet they had been disobedient.  They ignored His warnings through His prophets.  They were intoxicated with idolatry.  The result would be a life of bitterness as doom would fall on Jerusalem.  The Babylonians were already on the march (v.11) as the rod of correction God would apply to His children.

We are free to choose our path, but we are not free to choose the results of that choice.  Choices have consequences.  “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.”  (Ex.20:12)  This is the first commandment with a promise—that obedience brings blessedness.  It is also true that disobedience will result in disaster.  Again, this is about more than submission to a human parent; it is about obedience to the Heavenly Father.  To submit to Him is to experience His blessing.  Rebellion leads to bondage, suffering, and loss.

The Rechabites would be perpetually in a position of service to God (v.19).  They would stand before the Lord marked with approval—honored by the Lord for honoring their father.  In so doing, they had honored God.  Do we not aspire to such?  It is attainable.  It is the blessedness of obedience.

TOMORROW MAY NEVER COME

 

Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, “Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you.”  (Acts 24:25)

Many will miss heaven and be consigned to hell for one reason—procrastination!  They will have heard the Gospel, know they need Jesus, intend to be saved, but wait too late.  I beg you, don’t be one of them!

Some of my best friends are dead—drug overdoses, fiery car crashes, suicides.  I can flip through the pages of my high school yearbook and on page after page see the faces of the dead staring at me.  Worst of all, many of them are in hell.  They did not have to go there.  Some teetered on the edge of receiving God’s gift of eternal life.  They heard the Gospel, were moved by its message, wrestled with the decision, and decided to wait—to wait for tomorrow—a tomorrow that would never come.

In Acts 24, we read of a man named Felix—a Roman governor—who heard the great missionary, Paul, share his faith.  His heart was stirred.  Conviction of sin fell like a hammer upon him.  He felt the fear of an eternity without hope.  He concluded, “Not now.  Not today.  I will.  Later, Paul, I will send for you.  We will talk more of this when it is more convenient.”  So far as the Biblical record is concerned that day never came.  It is likely that Felix is in torment in the flames.  He will suffer for his sin forever.  There was no tomorrow of salvation.  Scripture warns, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”  (2 Cor.6:2b)  There are many excuses people make to justify their delay, but none are acceptable.

Some will want to see lightning flash or hear angels sing—to feel an overpowering encounter with God that drives them to their knees.  Paul had an experience like that.  It was not the emotional experience that saved him, however, it was submission to Christ.  We are saved by faith and not feelings. We may or may not have such an emotional encounter, but no matter how you feel, you must receive Christ!  Felix had a dramatic feeling, but it did him no good.

Others think they need to straighten up first.  They have some sins they won’t surrender.  They are afraid they won’t keep their commitment, and so do not make it.  Yet, you cannot change your life any more than a leopard can change its spots!  Repentance is necessary; surrender to Christ is a must, but it begins with a change of mind—literally that’s what the word means—and then the Spirit of God will change your behavior.  You would fail, but Christ cannot!

You may say, “I’m thinking about it.  I want to investigate this some more.”  How much do you need to know?  Do you know you are a sinner?  Do you know that Jesus died on a cross for you and that He rose from the dead to offer you eternal life?  That’s enough to know!  You don’t have to be a Bible scholar to be saved.

Some argue, “I will wait until I am older.”  None of us are promised another day!  Old people die, but so do the young!  We may so harden our heart as to become callused to our sin, and never receive Christ. 

Today, if you will hear His voice,

Do not harden your hearts….  (Heb.3:15)

Today!  Tomorrow may never come!

 

DAYLIGHT IN THE DARK

 

Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the prison….  (Jeremiah 23:1-26)

Jeremiah was engulfed by the darkness of a dungeon.  It suited the Stygian shadow on his soul—and that not just because of his own suffering, but what was coming upon Jerusalem.  The lampstand inside the temple and the fires kindled on the altars were soon to be extinguished.  Judah had chosen to walk away from God’s light and so the Lord gave them what they wanted.

Yet, into the midnight of the dungeon burst a ray of hope—God had a word for His prophet.  The Psalmist declared, “The entrance of Your words gives light….”  (Ps.119:130)  God’s revelation brought that to his suffering servant.

God directed his man to look up.  He was invited to call out to the Lord, who promises to show him unexpected and unimaginable things.  Though the prophet’s body was in the pit, his spirit surely soared with encouragement!

This was not some positive-thinking, “look on the bright side of things,” which denied reality.  It was dark and getting darker for the people of God.  In His righteous anger, God would overthrow the city. 

That condition, however, would not be a permanent one.  The Lord promised to heal their backsliding.  In a future day, He would liberate them from captivity.  The Redeemer would cleanse and forgive the sin of God’s people.

The promise of future blessing was a light in the present darkness.  The Jews would someday honor the Lord’s name instead of bringing reproach.  Worship would resume in the house of God.  The desolate places will become fruitful and the flocks and herds multiply.  The promises of God will be kept. In Christ, they are yes and amen!  Jesus will see to it when He returns to reign on the throne of David and takes universal dominion.  Israel will be saved and sanctified.  The king and the priest will serve in their positions.  Nothing can halt the fulfillment of God’s intention. You may as well try to stop the world from turning on its axis as to expect God to abandon His covenant people.  He promised Abraham that his progeny would be more numerous than the sands of the sea or the stars in the sky—and so it will be!  The people were at the moment feeling the darkness of dread and despair.  That reality will be transcended by the ultimate reality—the faithfulness of God will not fail.

Friend, are you in a dark dungeon of dismal circumstances today?  Do not despair of hope, if you are a child of God.  Take the Book and open it.  You will find the light of truth breaking into the gloom.  Call out to the Lord for those great and mighty things you think are impossible.  Nothing is too hard for the Lord!  Look to the promises of God.  He cannot fail.  He will not break His oath to you.  Here is daylight in the dark!

THE PROMISE OF HOPE

And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.”  (Luke 1:35)

We live in an age of doubt—sick with skepticism and plagued by pessimism.  Our generation echoes the cynical question Pilate posed to Jesus, “What is truth?”  Most seem to believe the only absolute truth is that there is no absolute truth!  That is a bleak outlook on life and leads to hopelessness.  But, really, is there any hope?  Our text shouts, “Absolutely!” 

We see CERTAINTY IS GROUNDED IN GOD’S PURPOSE (Luke 1:26-29).  Despite the evolutionists claim, our world isn’t a result of a cosmic explosion and our existence isn’t the result of random processes and mutations.  There is a providential plan God is pursuing.

This is the purpose that is purposed against the whole earth,

And this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations. 

For the LORD of hosts has purposed,

And who will annul it?

His hand is stretched out,

And who will turn it back?”  (Isa.14:26-27) 

God’s purpose will be fulfilled!

·        DESPITE SOCIAL DEPRAVITY GOD HAS A PLAN.  The area of Galilee and city of Nazareth were held in contempt by the Jews.  In the time of our text, the location was overrun by Gentile sinners.  Nazareth stood on a hillside overlooking a highway traversed by Roman soldiers and Greek merchants.  These men stopped at Nazareth looking for a good time.  It was a den of iniquity.  But, I want to remind you that “where sin abounds grace does much more abound.”  In these dark days in which we live, our light can shine brighter than ever!

·        DESPITE SPIRITUAL DEGENERACY GOD HAS A PEOPLE.  Gabriel wasn’t sent to the religious leaders with the announcement.  They wouldn’t have believed it.  Later, when Jesus presented Himself to them, they rejected Him.  But, God always has a people to accomplish His purposes—even if it is a poor young girl named Mary.

CERTAINTY IS GIVEN IN GOD’S PROMISES (Luke 1:30-33). We human beings have problems with promises—we break them!  But Scripture says that “God is not a man that He should lie.”  Consider these promises.

·        THE PROMISE OF CHRIST’S GRACE. Jesus means, “Jehovah is salvation.”  For centuries the promise of a Savior had been unfulfilled—that was about to change!  Jesus came to bridge the gulf between holy God and sinful man.

·        THE PROMISE OF CHRIST’S GREATNESS.  There have been many great men who have walked the stage of human history, but Jesus towers above them all, for He was more than the Son of Man; He was the Son of God!

·        THE PROMISE OF CHRIST’S GOVERNMENT.  This promise has yet to be fulfilled—but as the promises connected to Christ’s first coming were fulfilled, we may rest assured those of His second coming will be!

CERTAINTY IS GRANTED BY GOD’S POWER (Luke 1:34-38). The Bible testifies repeatedly that “with God nothing will be impossible.” 

·        THE SOURCE OF POWER is the Triune God. He is with us!

·        THE SCOPE OF POWER. Mary’s faith is strengthened by the report concerning Elizabeth.  What do you need?  Come boldly to the throne of grace!

·        THE SUBMISSION TO POWER.  Experiencing God’s power requires submission to His will.  That isn’t easy.  It cost Mary her reputation.  It almost cost her the man she loved.  It cost her the pain of watching her Son die, yet she submitted.  Have you?

EVERLASTING LOVE

The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.”  (Jeremiah 31:3)

God’s love for His people is everlasting.  If there were ever a people who deserved to be forsaken, it would have been the nation of Israel.  Their rebellion was met with God’s discipline, but He reminds them in this thirty-first chapter of Jeremiah’s prophecy that though He disciplines them, He will not desert them.  They are covenant people, and God will be faithful to His promise, even when His children are not.  Christians in this dispensation are under the New Covenant, and the God of Israel is our God.  He cannot be other than loving to us for it is His immutable nature.

Some would say that such doctrine gives a license to sin, and they want you to believe God’s love is conditional—rooted in our changeable nature rather than in God’s unchanging one.  The reality is that His love will not let us go.  No matter what it takes to bring us back to Himself, God will exert that pressure.  He holds us in His hand and no one can extract us.  Should we seek to foolishly break His grasp, He squeezes ever tighter.  Picture a small child holding his father’s hands as they cross a busy street.  The little fellow may want to pull away—even cry that he is being restrained—but what kind of father would let him loose?  No, love squeezes tight.  If we love like this, how much greater is God’s everlasting love!

God speaks of how Israel received grace (v.2).  Grace is God’s unmerited favor.  It is given by the decree of God based solely on His nature and having nothing to do with any merit of ours.  We did not deserve grace when God gave it at the first and we cannot keep it because we deserve it at the last.  From start to finish, it is all of grace and all of God! 

God’s everlasting love means that it was set on us before the world was created.  Before there was a man or woman formed by God, He knew you and had purposed to love you.  In time, you who were chosen by Him from eternity, were regenerated by the Spirit—God’s love indwelling you and sealing you as His own.  When time shall be no more, His everlasting love remains and our love for Him will be perfected.

The consideration of God’s everlasting love is meant to lead to celebration (v.4-9).  Israel will go through some suffering yet.  They are a people—save for a remnant—still in unbelief.  That will change.  God’s love for them will prevail, and what a day of rejoicing that will be when God brings them home!  We may be sure that though God allows us to go through fiery trials, it is not evidence of His condemnation, but His compassion.  He is refining us—consuming the dross—so that only the pure gold remains.  At all times we can glory in His grace, and worship the Eternal God of everlasting love!  Imagine what it will be like when we reach heaven with all the redeemed of all the ages in an environment of infinite love!  That is the joy that awaits.  We can begin to experience a foretaste today by meditating upon the everlasting love of God.  The Lord our Shepherd will gather all straying sheep of His flock (v.10).  He is our Redeemer (v.11).  Praise His name!

THE WAGES OF SIN

Then Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!”  And he pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the lords and all the people who were in it.  So the dead that he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his life.  (Judges 16:30)

Sin and death walked hand in hand into the Garden of Eden.  God had warned Adam and Eve that if they disobeyed Him they would die.  James described the process this way, “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.  Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”  (1:14-15)  Samson stands as a living illustration of this truth.

His life was marked by compromise (Judges 16:1-3).  Little by little, he abandoned his consecration to God.  Flirtation with the world leads to friendship with the world; friendship then leads to courtship; courtship leads to spiritual adultery.  What Samson saw, he desired, and what he desired, he experienced.  He was a mighty man who could beat back a thousand soldiers, but could not conquer the beguiling form of a female.  This would, at last, be his Achilles’ heel.

Samson’s judgment was clouded by the intoxicating charm of a woman (Judges 16:4-21).  This brought him into the arms of Delilah and that would bring his doom.  His relationship with her—as in the many before—was utterly sensual and not spiritual.  Samson fell—not because he was too weak—but, was too strong.  He was brim full of pride.  After all, he had never lost a fight.  He should have run from Delilah’s den like his pants were on fire.  Scripture says, “Flee fornication.”  Instead he takes the serpent to his chest and plays with it.  He gets by for a while.  Then the venomous fangs bring deadly poison into his life.  Delilah rocks him to sleep.  Samson had forsaken two-thirds of his Nazarite vow, and now abandoned the rest.  Strike three and you’re out!  His hair was not the source of his power, but it was in his dedication to God that his long hair represented.  The Lord departed from him, and what is even worse—Samson did not know it.  Sin binds, it blinds, and it grinds.  Samson’s arms would no longer hold a beautiful woman, but they would be held by bronze fetters—sin binds.  His eyes would never again look with lust at a lovely woman—sin blinds.  He would become a beast of burden—sin grinds.

The Bible solemnly warns, “The wages of sin is death,” (Rom.6:23).  Samson’s story comes to that predicted end (Judges 16:22-31).  Instead of bringing glory to God, Samson inspired the Philistines to honor their idol, Dagon, and rejoice in his victory over the God of Israel.  When believers fall—especially leaders of God’s people—it results in hell rejoicing.  Thankfully, Samson finally sought the Lord in repentance.  “But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.”  (Rom.5:20b).  In the end, Samson conquered by crying out to God instead of calling on his own resources.  In the final act of this tragedy, he brought down the house.

Frank Sinatra’s song, “My Way,” which is an ode to stubborn, self-centeredness that refuses to pursue any other way than one’s own way, has been popular and recorded often since Sinatra first crooned it.  It could have been Samson’s theme song.  Remember, however, “There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.”  (Prov.14:12)

COUNTERFEIT CHRISTIANS

Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Him to them.  ‎ (Mark 14:10)

Have you ever met someone named Judas? 

Probably not.  Many of the characters featured in the Bible are used in naming children—John, Mary, David, Elizabeth, and so forth—but, not Judas.  That name will live in infamy.  It is synonymous with treachery—sealed with a kiss!

The motives of this traitor are not stated emphatically, yet, may be deduced from the text.  Judas’ reaction to the actions of Jesus was one of misunderstanding and a growing dissatisfaction.  He had apparently followed Jesus due to the warped idea of Messiah so many of his generation possessed—expecting the overthrow of Rome and the glory days of Solomon restored.  He saw the Kingdom of God in political rather than spiritual terms.  The blessings Judas desired were not for eternity, but to experience on earth.  Because of this Judas was associated with Christ, but never one with Christ.  He was unconverted—not a believer, but a make-believer.

This thinking reached critical mass one day, when Mary is commended by Jesus for pouring expensive perfumed oil on Jesus—something Judas considered a “waste.”  It was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.  Judas decided to cut his losses and get out of his three years of dashed dreams by betraying Jesus to the religious leaders who hated Him.  Judas sold his soul to the devil for thirty pieces of silver.

This is surely one of the saddest stories in Scripture.  Judas had such an opportunity.  Think of the teaching he heard, the miracles he saw, and the love he received, yet the shine of silver captivated his heart more than the splendor of the Savior.  Heaven slipped from his grasp and he slunk into the shadows—on to everlasting darkness.  He felt remorse for what he did and the tortured wretch ended his life—temporal sorrow soon swallowed up in eternal grief.  Will any weep, wail, and gnash their teeth more than that man?  Jesus said that it would have been better for him not to have been born.

I have no intent to disturb your faith if it is real.  Your faith in Christ may be small, but if it is genuine it is enough.  We are not saved because of the amount of our faith, but the object of it—Christ alone saves us!  My desire is that if you examine your faith and find it superficial that you become disturbed greatly!  To be so close to being a follower of Christ and yet fail of salvation is most tragic.  The story of Judas is to show us the reality of counterfeit Christianity.  We may be identified with the church, yet not in Christ.  We can be near the Kingdom of Heaven and still outside it.  Judas is in hell and we do not want to join him there!

Give yourself unreservedly to Christ.  Commit your all to Him.  It will be His commitment to you that insures your safe arrival home. 

Judas wanted no part of the cross.  Only through that cross, however, can we be saved.  Place your hand in the nail-scarred hand!

WHAT’S THIS WORLD COMING TO?

Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.  (Mark 13:26)

What’s this world coming to?  Have you ever heard that question?  Well, the Bible tells us!  The paradise that was lost be the disobedience of the first Adam will be reclaimed by the obedience of the last Adam, Jesus Christ.  Because the first man of the earth, Adam sinned, death came into the world and because the second man from heaven, Christ died and rose again, God’s eternal kingdom is coming!  But the birth of that eternal kingdom is like that of a woman in labor—whose birth pains intensify until the child is born (Mark13:7-8).  So it is that this world has experienced these pains and now as we are approaching the end, we are beginning to see them become more frequent and more agonizing.  Following the rapture of the church, seven years of wrath will come upon a Christ-rejecting world.  The last three and a half years—the Great Tribulation—are the worst ever known on planet earth (Mark 13:19-20). 

Mark 13 presents this period as a time of PERIL (v.14-23). The Antichrist will break his covenant with Israel and enter the rebuilt temple and declare himself to be God.  The world will think their Savior has come.  Most in Israel will believe their Messiah has arrived.  Jesus warned that this would not be the case (v.5-6, 21-23).  If a Jew is to survive—he or she must flee Jerusalem immediately (v.14-17). 

This is a time of POWER (v.24-27).  God’s power will be seen in the shaking of the universe.  We have heard it said that the darkest hour is just before the dawn—and it will be true before the dawn of earth’s new age and the glorious appearing of Jesus Christ as he comes back to earth in power and glory.  That is how it is portrayed here.

This is a time of PROMISE (v.28-31).  What a promise!  The faithfulness of God is seen in the fruitfulness of the fig tree (v.28-29).  We are told to be observant.  In the spring, we may not know the date of the last frost, but we can tell as the earth warms that spring is approaching.  No man knows the day or hour when Christ will return, but we should be able to discern the season!    

It is a time of PREPARATION (v.32-37).  The key thing about Christ’s return isn’t whether we get all the details right, but whether we are right with God.  Prophecy isn’t given to satisfy our curiosity but to move us to get ready!  Jesus didn’t tell us these things for information or even inspiration but for preparation.  The message over and over is, “Prepare to meet your God!”  (Amos 4:12)  God intended to leave a certain uncertainty about the timing so no one would presume on His grace (v.33-37).  What difference would it make if you knew the next 24 hours on earth would be your last?  They may be!

HATRED OF THE TRUTH

 

Now it happened, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak to all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “You will surely die!  (Jeremiah 26:8)

Several years ago, I helped my father remove some old brush piles.  When I jabbed one of the mounds of limbs with a pitchfork I felt something sting—suddenly, I was being attacked by a swarm of angry hornets I had disturbed!  Their assault was relentless and painful.  The black devils chased me all the way to the house, as I slapped them off me.  Similarly, when the man of God speaks the truth of God, he inevitably will gouge some who will react with anger.  There are those who hate the truth and all associated with it.  Jeremiah experienced this repeatedly in his ministry and we see an example of it in the twenty sixth chapter of his prophecy.

The passage opens with the Word of God coming down as a burden laid on the shoulders of the prophet that he is charged to unload on the wicked nation (v.1).  He is not to soften the blow by even a word (v.2), but be faithful to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, by the help of God.  The message will be a pitchfork jabbed into a hornets’ nest.  The intent, however, is not to do harm, but to hopefully lead the people to repentance (v.3), by clearing the brush pile of sin from the land.  Should they fail to heed the warning, calamity would befall them (v.4-6).  Jeremiah knew that their track record for repentance had not been a good one (v.5b).  Their response, however, was not his business.  What he must do is deliver the mail, whether they liked the contents or not.  This he did (v.7).

Their reaction was predictable.  It is why God warned his preacher to be faithful to speak every word.  The temptation when facing an audience who hates the truth is to hedge the truth.  Indeed the enemies of the Word of God come swarming out of their nest and engulf the messenger (v.8-11).  They hate the truth so much that they want to silence the preacher permanently by killing him!  Satan is both a hater of the truth and murderer of the innocent, therefore, we should not be startled that his spawn follow the same pattern.  We must be courageous to stand up and speak up in a world that seethes with rage against God.

Jeremiah does not back down in the face of the threat (v.12-15).  He knows God had sent him to proclaim the truth and so he does.  The civil authorities reject the demand for the death penalty that comes from the religious leaders (v.16).  Some of the older and wiser men remind the mob of the warnings of the prophet Micah in days gone by (v.17-19).  King Hezekiah and the people of that generation did not rage against God’s spokesman, but repented of their sin.  The current ruler, Jehoiakim, would do the opposite, hunting down another prophet named Urijah and killing him (v.20-23).  Jeremiah, however, was spared for the time being (v.24).  We are immortal until our work on earth is done.

There was a time when America responded to truth as Israel did to Micah—repenting of their sin and turning to God.  We are now in the days of Jeremiah when taking a stand is increasingly dangerous.  Let us speak truth anyway.

 

 

THE PREACHER WAS A JAILBIRD

 

 

Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.  ‎But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.  (Acts 16:24-25)

What if the local news headline read, “Minister Charged with Inciting Riot”?  Subsequently, the preacher was convicted and cast into prison.  If that minister applied for a position at your church, would you hire him?  Surely no respectable church would consider such a fellow!  Then a criminal by the name of the Apostle Paul could not serve at your church!  That preacher was a jailbird!  In fact, his ministry in a town often commenced with a riot, and concluded in a prison!

Christ came into this world with a life of love to share.  The world’s response was to nail Him to a cross.  He warned His followers that the servant is not greater than his Master.  Jesus was a polarizing figure who disturbed those slumbering in sin.  That is a mark of His followers.  Paul certainly fit the bill.  The servant of God is concerned with the applause of heaven and not the approval of humans.  The fact that many will spurn the message, does not mean that we do not speak the message, nevertheless.  Some will believe and be saved.  In the sixteenth chapter of Acts, we see a poor young girl held in the grip of demonic power—yet, she was set free by the surpassing power of the Gospel!  This was the spark that ignited the riot.  Her employers were more concerned with her making gold than her finding God.  So, the opposition arose to these “disturbers of the peace.”  Paul and Silas were beaten and bound.  We should be reminded that we have brothers and sisters tortured and slain in Islamic and communist countries for their faith.  How long before the wave of antichristian sentiment hits like a tsunami on our shores?  Hostility toward the church is not the worst thing—apathy toward us is, when the world feels no threat.

Paul and Silas, however, did not sigh or sob—they sung!  They started the first cell group and had a captive audience!  Instead of whining, they were worshipping.  They really believed that all things work together for good to those who love God.  Nothing is by accident in the believer’s life, but by appointment.  The adversity may well open the door of opportunity!

God is in the business of shaking things up.  He surely did at Philippi!  The devil builds his little playhouses and God delights to tear them down!  When the jailer who had so mistreated them was about to kill himself, we would have understood had the missionaries cheered him on—or at least stood back and let him.  They chose to intervene instead.  Love compels us to forgive and bless even those who are our enemies. 

The darkest night gave way to the brightest day!  That was not only true for the preachers who were freed from their stocks, but the jailer and his family who were freed from their sins!  Midnight had found the missionaries singing in bonds and morning found them shouting at breakfast!  How quickly God can turn things around.

What must I do to be lost?  Nothing.  We are born in that condition.  The real question is, “What must I do to be saved?”  The simple answer: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved….”