GOD’S PROMISES FOR OUR PROBLEMS!

GOD’S PROMISES FOR OUR PROBLEMS!

Isa 43:2-4

2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

3 For I am the Lord  thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.

4 Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.

          These promises made to Israel we eagerly apply to our self. If God gave Egypt for the ransom of a nation then we rejoice to recall that He gave His only begotten Son for our redemption. If those vast lands and peoples were sacrificed because the Jews were “precious” in His sight then how much more must He love us since He gave His Son for us?

          A dry way was made through the Red Sea and the Jordan River! We can be confident of God’s protection when life’s horrors threaten to wash over us. The flames would not kindle upon the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace because there was a fourth man in the fire whose likeness was as the Son of God.

          God did not promise to remove us from troublesome situations but He did promise to join us. His own presence would comfort and reassure us.

Ps 30:4-5

4 Sing unto the Lord , O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.

5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

Dear Lord, may your presence go with those who are enduring trials. Bring Joy in the morning! Amen

BLINDED TO OUR SINS!

BLINDED TO OUR SINS!

2 Cor 4:4

4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

2 Peter 3:5

5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:

Prov 30:20

20 Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.

          Why do so many “Christians” seem to be blinded to their own sin? Jesus pointed out that we are quick to notice the splinter in the eye of our neighbor but completely oblivious to the huge piece of lumber protruding from our own (Luke 6:41-42). The three verses above may give us a clue to this kind of blindness.

          First, Satan is a master at deception! While Second Corinthians 4:4 refers to the blindness of the unsaved, I think believers also are susceptible to Satan’s blinding tactics. There is a fog covering our eyes and our minds that we can’t “see” our own sin. We excuse ourselves and call our sin by some other name. In doing this we eliminate the possibility of forgiveness and restoration. Until we see our sin for what it is our heart will never be properly changed. Until we see our sin as very sinful we will never be moved to repentance.

          Second, there is a willingness to cooperate with Satan in transforming our sin into something else. When Satan offers us another name for sin, we gladly and eagerly take it. Cheating and swindling becomes shrewd business practices and is quickly transformed from something bad into something good. Everyone wants to be a shrewd business man but nobody wants to be a cheat! Satan gladly helps us whitewash our sins.

          Third, in the case of the adulterous woman in Proverbs 30:20, there is simply a denial of wrongdoing. Caught with a cookie near the cookie jar, we simply deny that we have stolen it. We pretend to be shocked that anyone would accuse us of such a thing while chewing and wiping our mouth. Our cry is: “I have done no wickedness!”

          The result of Satan’s tactics, and our cooperation with them, is a weakened soul. Our involvement in Christian ministry begins to fail and we wonder why! John says that we have deceived ourselves and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8). Solomon gave us the simple solution in the verse below.

Prov 28:13

13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

Dear Lord, although it may be painful, open my eyes to my own sin. Let me repent and forsake them that I may have mercy. AMEN

IS IT WORTH THE FUSS?

IS IT WORTH THE FUSS?

Acts 15:36-40

36 And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do.

37 And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark.

38 But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work.

39 And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus;

40 And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God.

2 Tim 4:11

11 Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.

          Driving along with a friend, I quipped that too many people seemed willing to trade a relationship for things. Then, when the “thing” breaks or wears out they wish they had their relationship back! I haven’t changed my mind about that.

          On their first missionary journey, Mark left the “team” and returned home to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13). We do not know why John Mark left the team after its first term. We do know that his departure damaged his relationship with Paul and split the team.

          In over forty-two years of ministry, I have seen many such splits and departures and very few of them have been because of doctrinal error or essential policies. Most have been over personality issues and personal opinions as to just how things should be done. Some have been foolish but all have been painful.

          The good news is that God keeps working with both divided parties and sometimes a reconciliation is possible after some passing of time. Paul’s opinion of Mark in Acts 15 was “not good” but his opinion in Second Timothy chapter four was that he was now “profitable.” Who changed, Paul or Mark? The answer is that probably both men had changed. That is the nature of man and relationships. They change.

          Is the reason for your abandonment of your relationship worth all the fuss? Is it worth abandoning your church for another one? Is it really worth it? Preachers, is your firm stance on some issue worth the loss of a church member? Certainly we can’t compromise biblical teaching, but is your staunch stubbornness just stubbornness?

Dear Lord, heaven is near and our relationships are very valuable. Our Christian friends will spend eternity with us. Let me carefully guard my relationships from my own stubbornness. AMEN