HE SAID IT THREE TIMES!

 

Sunday, April 30, 2023

 

HE SAID IT THREE TIMES!

 

Luke 14:26-27

26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

 

Luke 14:33

33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

 

Y

ou can’t make a disciple of an unwilling subject. We could excuse some who fail at discipleship because there are so many distractions in our modern world. There is the constant prattle of television with so many bland options that our thumb may evolve to become as large as our great toe! And who can forget the variety of electronic gadgets and especially the cellular phone, which is the most personal of them all? Ours is the most connected generation ever and the loneliest. We could excuse those, but we won’t.

 

T

he real culprit is a fear of ourselves and our own inner thoughts. We surround ourselves with noise and activity to drown out the sound of our own cries. Truly knowing God requires stillness so that we might hear His voice. In a time void of electronic communication, Jesus lists three hindrances to real discipleship.

 

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ELATIONSHIPS! – Jesus said “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. Now, Jesus would never advocate a hatred of family because it would be a violation of the fifth commandment! The meaning is clarified when he adds “and his own life also.” Our love for family and other earthly relationships should seem like “hatred” in comparison to our love for the Lord. Love for God must be superior and preeminent.

 

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ARCISSISM! – Self-absorption will ruin discipleship. This person competes for attention with the One who should be worshipped. Paul highlights the right attitude in the following verse.

 

Acts 20:24

24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

 

M

ATERIALISM – The accumulation of things greatly distract from devotion. If you track a man’s love, it will lead directly to what he values most!

 

 

Luke 12:21

21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

 

W

hen Jesus said, three times, that “ye cannot be my disciple” he couples two Greek words. One indicates an absolute negative coupled with an absolute impossibility. The sense is that you absolutely cannot be a disciple of Christ unless careful attention is given to these three areas!

 

Dear Lord, I want you to be first in my focus. I want you to be the greatest of all my treasures. I want my life to be subjected to your will. I want to be your disciple. AMEN

HIS FOOTPRINT ON MY HEART!

 

Saturday, April 29, 2023

 

HIS FOOTPRINT ON MY HEART!

 

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.

 

          Because a thing is wrong, does not preclude my attraction to it! I am a man of two natures like the Apostle Paul. In Romans chapter 7 he painfully describes the struggle that rages in the heart of the man with two natures. What he wants to do he does not do and what he loathes to do he seems addicted to. In Romans chapter 8 he explains that the liberating difference is Jesus.

 

Rom 7:24-8:1

24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

8 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

 

          Isaac H. Meredith, in 1900 wrote a hymn called Seal us, O Holy Spirit which conveys the thought of Christ’s image stamped on our heart. The first stanza is below.

 

Seal us, O Holy Spirit,

Grant us Thine impress, we pray.

We would be more like the Savior,

Stamped with His image today.

 

Dear Lord, walk throughout my heart and leave your footprints today. Be the difference between me and sin. AMEN

THINKING ABOUT JOB

 

Friday, April 28, 2023

 

THINKING ABOUT JOB

 

Job 1:21-22

21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. KJV

 

          Most of us have felt a kinship with Job. We hurt physically and emotionally for no reason that we can identify. This is a great opportunity to accuse God of being unfair, but Job did not surrender to that urge. “In all this” Job sinned not.

 

          He experienced loss and grief when his children and their families were killed. This was much more than the one-by-one loss of loved ones to death. This was catastrophic, measureless sorrow.

 

          He suffered material loss when all his cattle, livestock, and herdsmen were taken away. Many of us have experienced the loss of employment with its comfortable salary. We wondered how we would make ends meet. We thought we knew how Job felt, but here we are with adequate provision.

 

          Job also suffered in his physical body. Satan was allowed to attack with a general skin condition so severe that Job only found relief by scraping himself with a broken clay pot. This was the final insult for his wife as she suggested that he “curse God and die.” So, yes, it was miserably uncomfortable. If you can remember chicken pox, measles, or the adult version, shingles, you think you certainly know Job’s sufferings.

 

          Job suffered isolation because he lost marital companionship and understanding. He also lost the comfort of friends. The three friends who came to visit just stared at him for days. When they finally spoke, it was not words of comfort but words of condemnation. We all have experienced relationships that brought more pain than pleasure. Abandonment and betrayal are familiar to many of us. Aloneness is difficult to endure.

 

James 5:10

11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. KJV

 

Ps 73:24

24 Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. KJV

 

Thank you, Lord, for mercies I often take for granted. AMEN

BLAMELESS?

 

Thursday, April 27, 2023

 

BLAMELESS?

 

Titus 1:5-7

5 For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:

6 If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. 7 For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God.

 

          As a bishop (pastor) I find this to be a pretty tall order! Good? Certainly! Kind? Absolutely! But the idea of being blameless is intimidating to the best of us.

 

          The Old Testament defines blamelessness as being ethically strong and operating entirely in accord with the truth (Psalm 119:1). In our text above the word blameless is the Greek anegkletos which means unaccused; irreproachable. It does not mean perfection, but it points to a lifestyle of integrity.

 

          As we stroll down the streets of the city do people point and say that we are ethically strong and true in our dealings? When our name is mentioned in polite conversation, do people cringe with disgust or do they nod with approval?

 

          It is not possible to please everyone, because some are insatiable and self-pleasing.

 

Heb 11:5

5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

 

Dear Lord, let me be pure in heart and ethical in my dealings so that others may know that your own Spirit dwells in me. AMEN

JUST A VERY OLD HYMN

 

Wednesday, April 26, 2023

 

JUST A VERY OLD HYMN

 

Ps 121:5-7

5 The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.

6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.

 

This morning I’d like to offer just a very old hymn for you to devotionally consider. “Immortal, Invisible” was written by Walter C. Smith in 1876. The American flag had only 37 stars. Ulysses S. Grant, a Republican from New York was our President. The Civil war was over, and reconstruction was underway. The Presidential election of November 7 ended in dispute with 184 electoral college votes for Samuel Tilden and 165 for Rutherford B. Hayes. 20 votes were in dispute and the outcome of the election was not determined until 1877. This sounds somewhat familiar.

 

Perhaps that is too much history for so early in the morning, but it points out that our present time – so characterized by controversy, violence, and change – is not the first period of instability our nation has endured. While all this was going on, Walter C. Smith wrote about a wonderful, unchanging, and very stable God!

 

Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise

 

Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, Thy great Name we praise.

 

Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might;
Thy justice, like mountains, high soaring above
Thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.

 

To all, life Thou givest, to both great and small;
In all life Thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish, but naught changeth Thee.

 

Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;
But of all Thy rich graces this grace, Lord, impart
Take the veil from our faces, the vile from our heart.

 

All laud we would render; O help us to see
'Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee,
And so let Thy glory, almighty, impart,
Through Christ in His story, Thy Christ to the heart.

 

Dear God! Thank you for being a great big God. AMEN

THE NUCLEAR OPTION

 

Tuesday, April 25, 2023

 

THE NUCLEAR OPTION

 

1 Cor 5:1-5

5 It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife.

2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.

3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,

4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,

5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.  KJV

 

1 Tim 1:19-20

19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:

20 Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme. KJV 

 

          Generally, ministers and listeners prefer the softer approach to “reproof, rebuke, and exhortation” but there is a nuclear option which Paul used on at least two occasions.

 

          Within the Corinthian church there was a man who “had his father’s wife.” Couched in gentle language is an act that Paul described as worse than the sinful acts of the “Gentiles.” So, yes, it was bad, and the church had taken no action to remedy the situation. The action Paul prescribed was not to punish a transgressor but to purify the church. What was that action? It was to DELIVER this young man, officially, to Satan. I will deal with the word in a little bit.

 

          The second time Paul used the nuclear option was to DELIVER Hymenaeus and Alexander to the control of Satan because of their opposition. They had made their own faith a “shipwreck” and were threatening to shipwreck the faith of others.

 

          The word DELIVER is the Greek word paradidomi which means “to surrender, yield up, and transmit.” This is the nuclear option because it is the most powerful thing that might be done. If you read Job, then you know that Satan’s power is limited by God. The believer is protected from much of Satan’s destructive evil. However, on two occasions, Paul, as a judicial act, asked God to remove this protection so that Satan might have freedom to act. It is nuclear! It is reserved for hard cases.

 

          We do not know the outcome of Hymenaeus and Alexander, but we are told in Second Corinthians that this option was effective. The sinning man repented of his sin and abandoned his actions resulting in a “clearing” of the situation. (2 Corinthians 7:11) The intention of all corrective actions is for restoration.

 

Thank you, Lord, that all the fury which should have rightfully been directed at me was poured out upon the Perfect Sacrifice. AMEN

IN THE NAME OF RELIGION

 

Monday, April 24, 2023

 

IN THE NAME OF RELIGION

 

Ps 22:15

15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.

16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. KJV

 

          My thoughts this morning are disturbing and disappointing, even to me. I am amazed at the despicable things that are done in the name of religion. This is what I see in the phrase “the assembly of the wicked.”

 

          Most scholars see this assembly only as the crowd of onlookers at the cross. I see the religious officials who, in their exalted authority, had concluded that this Jesus was an obscene affront to their organized system. I see their systematic and ritualistic observances as the very antithesis of righteousness and purity. Their actions intended to defend honor made them dishonorable men. Jesus warned of the robed piety of impious men.

 

Matt 23:3-5

3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.

4 For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.

5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments. KJV

 

          If your religion is all about structure, symbolism, and mystic ritual, then your religion has no heart for they that worship God must worship Him “in spirit and in truth.” How sad it must have been for Heaven to look upon religious leaders as they crucified the Son!

Ps 51:6-7

6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. KJV

 

Lord, I would not join the ranks of the arrogant and elegant religious gentry. I would be found in the wilderness, clad in garments of camel’s hair and feeding on locusts and wild honey. AMEN

THE NATURE OF OUR ADVERSARY

 

Sunday, April 23, 2023

 

THE NATURE OF OUR ADVERSARY

 

John 10:9-10

9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. KJV

 

Eph 6:12 Amplified

12 For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the despotisms, against the powers, against [the master spirits who are] the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere.

 

1 Peter 5:8

8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

 

          Don’t be misled. Those with whom you contend may unwittingly oppose you at the behest of Satan. Consider this. Does your opponent wish for a better outcome or simply for your downfall? Do you know? Moreover, does he or she know? Have either of you asked the question?

 

          Consider the consequences of capitulation. Will a better outcome result because you have finally come to your senses and listened to reason or will it result in loss, and destruction? Satan has not come to negotiate for a better set of circumstances. If that were so it would be reasonable to align ourselves with his plans. No, he comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy.

 

          We understand that it is sometimes necessary for reasonable men to compromise for the greater good, but pure evil does not desire a greater good. The word “devour”, in 1 Peter 5:8 is katapino which means to “gulp down.”

 

2 Thess 3:1-2

3 Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you:

2 And that we may be delivered from unreasonable (actively malicious) and wicked men: for all men have not faith (neither are they held by it).

 

Lord let me be thoughtful and reasonable, always willing to work cooperatively for a better outcome even though the plans for such an outcome are not my own. Let me also be wary and cautious for all men are not held by and do not exercise the faith they claim to own. AMEN