GOD IS FAITHFUL

GOD IS FAITHFUL!

2 Thess 3:3

3 But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.

1 Cor 10:13

13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

James 1:17

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

God is so very constant that we take Him for granted. Angels gathered around Him are in a perpetual amazement at His glory and their praises never cease. We breathe His air, feast upon His bounty and walk upon the ground fashioned by His hands but we ignore Him. God is faithful to the children of men!

Ruth gleans after the reapers in the field of Boaz and they drop handfuls on purpose. God does the same for us day by day. Found treasure is dropped from the pocket of the Almighty. We, the needy, walk along and discover today’s provision. We think ourselves lucky but it is the hand of God that fills our apron. We carry home a bushel. We feast upon it and sell the rest in the marketplace. God is faithful! The morning sun warms our cheek, a bird sings and we fill our breast with the freshness of a new day. God is faithful.

God’s faithfulness is part of His own nature. It is not possible for Him to be un-faithful. When He withholds it is not due to lack or neglect. It is full of purpose. When he withdraws it is to create in us a sense of loss and a thirst for His presence. Everything He does is full of purpose. He has not lost sight of you. He knows your name. He restrains kings for your sake.

God’s faithfulness is not manipulated by our own. Our un-faithfulness cannot cancel out His! “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.” (2 Tim 2:13) God blesses those who curse Him and provides for those who believe not. He cannot deny himself. 

Lam 3:22-23

22 It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

Lord, words fail in my effort to describe your faithfulness! Thank you! AMEN

DIFFICULTY - DECISION - DECLARATION

DIFFICULTY – DECISION – DECLARATION!

Josh 24:14-15

14 Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.

15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Sometimes it is amazing to me the similarities between our nation’s formation and Christian faith. Our nation was formed out of great struggle and DIFFICULTY. The restrictions imposed by England upon the unalienable rights of the Colonies fueled a hunger for independence. When in the course of human events the tyranny of Satan becomes too much for sanity to side with, severance from his devilish grip and an alliance with Jesus is called for!

Some of the founding fathers never imagined that July 4^th would be a day to remember. It was July 2^nd that they thought worthy of remembering. Consider the following…

On July2, Congress finally adopted a resolution in favor of independence, and on July 4 approved the Declaration of Independence. John Adams sat on the committee appointed to draft the document and had himself encouraged Thomas Jefferson to write the original draft, which was accepted with some modifications. As is typical of John Adams, he recognized the historical significance of the event but was just slightly off in his analysis of how it would be remembered – he was convinced Americans would always celebrate July 2 as “the most memorable “Epocha”, in the History of America.

John writes to his wife Abigail from Philadelphia July 3, 1776:
The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade with shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.
You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these states. Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will triumph in that Days Transaction, even although We should rue it, with I trust in God We shall not.

So it is when the human spirit can no longer sustain the pain of servitude to the evil one. He first must DECIDE and then must DECLARE.

Rom 10:10

10 For with the heart man believeth [with the heart a decision is made] unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession [a declaration] is made unto salvation.

Dear Lord, I’m glad for the day that my struggle ended and I declared my allegiance to you. Please be merciful to our delinquent nation for the sake of the godly remnant within it. AMEN

NO TIME TO WASTE

NO TIME TO WASTE! 

Acts 8:1 & 4

8:1 And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.

4 Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.

Historian K. S. Latourette A History of Christianity, Harper & Row Publishers, 1975, observes that throughout the history of the church, whenever the Word of God was put into the hands of laymen, the Gospel tended to spread like a prairie fire. When however, the Word remained in the hands of the clergy, evangelism ground to a near halt!

The challenge, of course, is motivation. How is it possible to motivate a laity that is comfortable? The answer is discomfort in the form of “great persecution” (verse 1). 

A new sense of urgency seems to be sweeping through some of our young people. They have found Christ, truly found Him, and their friends are lost, truly lost. There is no time to wait for clergy who may be occupied with church administration. They must rescue their friends now!

So, which method, do you think would prove more effective in reaching the lost with the Gospel: (1) twenty Billy Grahams daily reaching 20,000 people for Christ, or (2) one layperson discipling another for a year, after which the two of them would split off and each disciple another?

The answer: In 30 years the Graham method would reach 2.9 billion people with the Gospel, while the one-to-one approach would reach 8.5 billion. (Facts of the Matter)

Dear Lord, my friends are too precious and time is too short to wait for clergy! Help me to reach my friends with the Gospel. AMEN

IT IS A SIN PROBLEM

IT IS A SIN PROBLEM!

We are now beginning to see that the problem of our nation is a sin problem. The economy is broken by our greed! The home is in shambles due to our failure to love! Our government is oppressive due to a lust for power. The following verses seem clear enough.

Here is the problem: Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. (Isa 1:2)

And here is the result: Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.

5 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.

6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.

7 Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. (Isa 1:4-7)

Here is the solution: Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;

17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:

20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. (Isa 1:16-20)

What our nation needs is not another Tea Party but a communion service!

Dear Lord, make our message clear and plain. Open ears and hearts and minds to your truth. Heal our land. AMEN

LIFE IS UNPREDICTABLE

LIFE IS UNPREDICTABLE!

Eccl 9:11

11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

           Our abilities are no guarantee of success! Solomon had observed that the fastest runners do not always win the race. They may stumble and lose to a slower, more patient runner. We have all heard the story of the tortoise and the hare. The rapid rabbit was so confident in himself that he literally ran rings around the lumbering turtle. In doing this he wearied himself and decided to take a nap. The tortoise kept up his slow and steady pace and edged out the hare at the finish line.

           Solomon must have remembered the success of his own father, David, against the almost ten foot tall Goliath. Natural abilities and strength do not always win battles. “Men of skill” do not necessarily have the advantage.

           The idea of “time and chance” is actually a reference to the rule of God in the affairs of men. Adam Clarke, in his commentary, said that “All things are under the government and disposal of God.” The smooth stone exited young David’s sling and was guided upon its path to the most vulnerable part of Goliath’s head which was soon removed by a much smaller and weaker David.

           I am a plodder! I try to run my race as a marathon instead of a dash or sprint. I’m not particularly strong or talented so I rely upon God to bring about His will and purposes in my life. I run to win but my strength is in the Lord.

Heb 12:1-2

12 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Lord, help me to keep on running, jogging, or crawling if necessary toward the goal. AMEN