THERE IS A DIFFERENCE

THERE IS A DIFFERENCE!

Ezek 22:26

26 Her [Israel’s] priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

Ezek 44:23

23 And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.

           Along with the cultural upheaval which so marks our time, we see a confusion between right and wrong! In questioning the sacrosanct we have committed sacrilege. In abandoning the vestments and instruments of worship, religion has become common. We gasp at nothing! We have lost both sophistication and deportment in approaching a holy God. In abandoning traditions, we have gone too far and have blurred the lines between the holy and the profane.

           In the Old Testament, whenever God wanted to do something with a man, he revealed himself in both majesty and holiness. In Isaiah chapter 6, Isaiah saw God high and lifted up. God revealed himself in grandeur that was awe inspiring. The contrast was so keen that Isaiah was immediately reminded of his sins. Shame, repentance and worship was the result. In Genesis 28:16, Jacob saw a vision of a great staircase upon which angels ascended and descended from heaven to earth. He concluded that God was in that place and that he had been ignorant of it.

           It is the duty of the priest or pastor to teach the people that there is a difference between the holy and the profane. Only when we grasp this will our relationship with God be what it should be.

    

Open My Eyes, That I May See

Open my eyes, that I may see
Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me;
Place in my hands the wonderful key
That shall unclasp and set me free.

Refrain

Silently now I wait for Thee,
Ready my God, Thy will to see,
Open my eyes, illumine me,
Spirit divine!

Dear Lord, make crisp the lines of right and wrong in my life. Be thou holy unto me. AMEN

SECRETLY MEETING

SECRETLY MEETING!

Rom 11:2-4

2 God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying,

3 Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life.

4 But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.

John 19:38

38 And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.

           It is Sunday and some of you are already negotiating with yourself as to whether you will attend church. You will check the weather and your general health and then you will evaluate your night’s sleep. Next you will check your calendar and see if anything truly important shows up like a significant televised sporting event. Once all the indicators are favorable, you will check the closet to see if you have anything decent to wear. Ultimately you may decide to go to church.

           What if you had to attend worship secretly? What if you were in danger of prison, punishment, or death if you openly attended a Christian meeting? This was the situation in the days of Elias in the verse above. The Old Testament tells us that he felt very alone. He complained that he was the “only one” who faithfully followed God only to be sharply reprimanded when God told him that there were another seven thousand secretly meeting in worship.

           If worship were a commodity would we waste it? When things are plentiful and free we waste and trash it. We throw away more food in our culture than others in foreign nations eat. Where abundance dwells it dwells with extravagance and waste. What if it were not easily or freely available. What if water, food, or open worship were not easily obtained? What then?

John 16:1-2

16 These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.

2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.

Dear Lord, I am able to worship you freely and openly. Let me not waste this great treasure. AMEN

A DREAM SUDDENLY

A DREAM SUDDENLY!

Gen 37:9-11

9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.

10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?

11 And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.

           A dream awakened me early this morning. It disturbs me still. In this dream a phone call from a distant friend, distant both in geography and in relationship, presented me with the possibility of a vast geographical relocation coupled with fearful prospects and uncertainty. That is about all I want to share about this dream at this time.

           Strangely, Walter Gillan Clippinger, in an article appearing in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, took great pains to discredit dreams! He quotes Shakespeare as follows:

"Dreams,
Which are the children of an idle brain,
Begot of nothing but vain fantasy,
Which is as thin of substance as the air
And more inconstant than the wind."
- Shakespeare.

           Ebenezer Scrooge as well did not trust dreams as he addressed one of three ghostly visitors. He said: “You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of underdone potato. There's more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are!”  But dreams continue to arouse, disturb, and sometimes guide us. Whatever they are.

           Dreams or visions have been used by God to connect the one praying with the answer as in the dream of Ananias. Take a look at the following verses.

Acts 9:10-12

10 And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.

11 And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,

12 And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.

           The Apostle Peter quoted Joel 2:28 when he said: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:” Acts 2:17

           I agree with David who prayed: “Teach me thy way, O Lord , and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.” Ps 27:11

Dear Lord, we long for some guiding communication from you. We want to be warned when danger is ahead and we thirst for assurance that you know the way ahead. Guide us in a plain path. AMEN