Happy New Day

Happy New Day!

“Happy New … DAY…?”That’s right! “Happy New DAY!” That is the first thought that every Christian ought to strive to:wake up with every morning; make their own personal theme for the entire day; and share with everyone they meet throughout each new day – no matter what day,week, time, or year it happens to be – because we know without a doubt, that our Lord’s mercy and compassion upon us never wavers, fluctuates, or fails to be “new every morning” (Lam. 3:22-23). His great love, mercy, compassion and forgiveness is the only reason we are not consumed by His wrath,and therefore enjoy continual hope (See: Lam. 3:21-26) – no matter what morning it is, or how the day’s earthly news may seek to beset or up set us.

Thank the Lord of all for each day He blesses us with.

We know from God’s word that each and every new day is nothing short of a fantastic, one-of-a-kind, never to come again, God-given gift to heartily celebrate and appreciate; Psalm 118:24 stating that “This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.” We also rejoice in the fact that throughout each and every new day, new moment, and new situation that we are given by our God to experience, that “The Lord is righteous in her midst, He will do no unrighteousness. Every morning He brings His justice to light; He never fails…” (Zeph. 3:5).It was David who similarly confirmed, “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits…” (Psa. 68:19), subsequently stating elsewhere: “So I will sing praise to your name forever, that I may daily perform my vows” (Psa. 61:8). Yes, it is obvious that God’s Old Testament faithful understood the infinite value of the priceless gift of each new day.

We also, as God’s New Testament children, people, kingdom, and priests (1 Ptr. 2:9-10), should arise to “stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord” (1 Chron. 23:30) just the same as His Old Testament priests and servants the Levites did (See: 1 Chron. 23:27-30). Only we should do so on a much deeper level, as we have been given a much better covenant with God,through the shed blood of Jesus our Lord(Hebs. 7:18-8:13).

Our faithful first-century brethren also experienced the infinite value, happiness, and appreciation of each new God-given day as they broke bread from house to house, and ate their meals together “with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people,” to the extent that the Lord was able to add “to the church daily” those who saw their daily happiness thus wanted to be saved too (Acts 2:46-47). “And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ” (Acts 5:42);“So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily” (Acts 16:5). Our first-century brethren loved and showed their heart-felt appreciation to God for His great love and forgiveness on a daily basis. They did so by searching the Scriptures daily (Acts 17:11); reasoning from the Scriptures with those not yet Christians daily (Acts 17:17, 19:9); and exhorting one another as Christians on a daily basis as well, so that their brethren would not lose heart and give up and in to sin (Acts 3:13). And they did all of this despite the absolutely life and death physical, political, and persecutorial distractions of their day.

So… over the next few days, if anyone wishes you a “Happy New Year,” return their greeting with a “Happy New Day” … and then tell them how to continually have one each and every day for the rest of their earthly lives in Christ Jesus our Lord (Prov. 16:20, 28:14, 29:18)!

 

 

 

 

 

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Compromised

Compromised

As a vital prelude to the below article, the following understanding is absolutely critical. To all of those of you who either: #1) Have a compromised immune system, or some other, legitimate, health-related issue/issues which causes you to avoid travel and exposure to other places of public contact (such as work, the grocery store, and etc.); #2). Have been exposed to or in close contact with someone who has tested positive for the Coronavirus; and/or, #3). Fall into the most “high-risk” category of our society due to either age or some other contingent; then thank you for your being loving and willing enough to make whatever personal sacrifices are necessary in order for you to choose to stay home for worship instead of coming to the building and placing yourself – as well as your brethren – in far greater physical health danger. If any of the above criteria describe you, then the following article is definitely NOT, about you!!!

From what I have heard and discussed with others, there is a very real, very strong, and apparently-growing concern among many elders, preachers, and other leaders and members of the Lord’s church, concerning the actual number of fatalities both connected to, and caused by, the Coronavirus. You see, there is something even more deadly and sinister than just simply the number of physical deaths the Coronavirus has and will most likely continue to cause. And that is the potential number of spiritual deaths that it will also most likely cause (or at the very least, deeply contribute to); the actual number of eternal lives that will be lost, at least in part, due to the COVID19 outbreak.

compromised

Are you compromised?

How on earth can the Coronavirus cause, or even highly contribute to, the loss of many Christians’ eternal lives you may ask? Easy. Here’s how: Physically speaking, the virus has been proven to pose a far more serious threat to, and have a far more deadly impact on, those who already have a deeply compromised immune system or some other serious physical health issue. The exact same thing is also true when it comes to the spiritual realm.

Spiritually speaking, any Christian who might have already, in years past, allowed Satan to step in and substantially weaken their faith; who might already be suffering from their own self-inflicted series of compromised convictions, lukewarm attendance habits, or lazy, lackadaisical, “take-it-or-leave-it” type attitudes towards the Lord and His church, may very well find in the Coronavirus, the very excuse they have so long been looking for in order to now, finally and completely disconnect and distance themselves from both the work, the worship, the fellowship, and subsequently, the wonderful and eternal future destination of the Lord’s church. “After all,” some of such spiritually-weakened and ultimately vulnerable brethren may reason, “who needs to get up, get ready, and go to worship on a Sunday morning, when it is so much easier to just sit at home, stay on the couch, still in my P.J.’s – all the while being able to avoid any and all of those with whom I might disagree or maybe even in some cases don’t like all that much anyway – and just simply have services piped into my living room via Zoom, Facebook, or YouTube?” One problem, as always, is that the longer one chooses to needlessly practice any such illegitimate “spiritual-distancing,” the easier it is to not only continue to do so, but to more easily justify their absence as time goes by as well. And every step further one goes down that road, the harder it gets, and the more effort it takes, to turn around and ever return home (Heb. 6:4-6).

The time for every Christian to decide what to do will not be once this thing is finally under control. By then it will be far too late and the damage will have already been done. Let’s face it; Satan is far too smart and wants each Christian’s soul back far too much to wait until then to start tempting us to stay away and even more strongly justify our absence from the Lord, His church, and His work. Do not be deceived; he’s already hard at work, incrementally seeking to test your faith, and tempt your fate. If you wait to start fighting his hostile takeover attempt of your soul until the battle is actually already over and he’s already won, then you will have lost far more than you can ever know – until judgement day comes. The time to decide to stand strong and firm in the faith, the word, and the work and fellowship of the Lord’s church, is now, today, and each and every new day to follow (2 Cor. 6:1-2; Hebs. 3:12-4:12).

Yes, todays’ livestreamed lessons can be – and are – an absolute “life-saver” to those with legitimate health issues and concerns; to those who have been exposed to the Coronavirus and lovingly do not wish to contaminate anyone else; and to those who are in the most high-risk categories of our culture. However; to those whose spiritual health has already suffered and/or been duly compromised and decimated by years of less than complete and undying devotion and dedication to the Lord, His word, and His church, this same, electronic, livestreaming lesson blessing can easily be turned by Satan into the exact, opposite, and deadly reverse: an eternal life-decimating and devouring curse. Please, determine today, not to ever let him deceive you, and/or to allow that to become you. God bless.

 

 

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MAS ALLA DEL SOL

MAS ALLA DEL SOL

Mientras disfrutaba de la tarde en mi casa, observaba como el sol se oculta detrás de las nubes para regalarnos un espectacular atardecer. Sin embargo al contemplar este escenario y mientras las pupilas dilatadas se llenaban de lágrimas, vino a mi memoria uno de los más bellos himnos que solía cantar con tanta devoción cuando apenas tenía unos 14 años de edad. El himno se titula “Más allá del Sol”. Inmediatamente me trasladó a aquellos atardeceres que solía disfrutar completamente solo en mi intimidad con Dios mientras caminaba por los senderos de la finca de mi papá, ahí donde solamente los árboles y los dos perros que andaban conmigo podían escuchar.  Muchos años más tarde agobiado y cansado por la maldad de este mundo, por los malos deseos de los hombres y hasta burla por la gentileza y amor que expresan los cristianos la pregunta viene a mi mente de una forma muy distinta no como cuando tenía 14 años de edad. ¿Qué hay más allá del Sol? Suspiro por un momento, y nuevamente la vista se nubla y las lágrimas intentan retraerse… ¡Mas allá del Sol es donde quiero ir!.

sol

¡Mas allá del Sol es donde quiero ir!.

La Biblia provee información reconfortante para quienes hacemos la pregunta ¿Qué hay más allá del sol?. Más allá de las ciencias de la raza humana, y la “filosofía” de algunos incluso predicadores que parecen tener respuesta a todas las cuestiones emocionales y espirituales,  existe alguien que no fue a ninguna universidad reconocida ni se rige bajo las normas de los hombres. El es un ser infinito, único, soberano, cuyo poder no tiene inicio ni fin, su justicia es recta y de amor infinito. Dios el soberano del universo existe más allá del Sol, es decir más allá de las cosas que solamente podemos ver. En repetidas ocasiones Salomón utiliza la frase “debajo del Sol” en Eclesiastés, para describir aquello alcanzable por el hombre conocido y que aún falta por conocer, pero la frase muy usualmente va acompañada por “todo es vanidad”. Uno se pregunta: ¿como un hombre que tuvo mil mujeres, fue desobediente a su padre entre otras cosas malas que Salomón hizo pudo haber sido escogido por Dios para ser parte de los santos escritos?. De una cosa estamos seguros y es que nadie más adecuado que Salomón para escribir este precioso libro. Sabemos que Dios no lo mandó a pecar, Salomón probó de todo en esta vida, tuvo los lujos que su corazón deseó y siendo el hombre más sabio en el tiempo antiguo concluyó que el “todo del hombre” es temer a Dios y guardar sus mandamientos (Ecl.12:13). Algunos piensan que la felicidad se encuentra en casarse (ciertamente eso trae felicidad), después de casado todavía falta algo, y el hombre llena eso que le falta con el primer hijo. Una vez que tiene el primer hijo el tal es muy tedioso y busca un segundo hijo para llenar eso que le falta y así sucesivamente. El verdadero gozo no se encuentra en casarse, ni tampoco en estar soltero o quedar viudo. El todo del hombre es conocer quién es realmente Jesús y tener una íntima relación con él. En Juan 4:14  Jesús le dijo a una mujer samaritana que él era el agua de vida eterna y quien beba de él no tendrá sed jamás. Mientras que en  6:35 afirmó ser el pan de vida, al combinar ambas declaraciones nuestro corazón rebosa de dicha. En tiempos antiguos todo lo que usted necesitaba para sobrevivir era agua y pan y Jesús afirmó ser ambos. Esa es la satisfacción completa y única de la que Salomón hizo referencia sin tener mayor información en el 12:13.

La sociedad en la que vivió este rey no es muy distinta a lo que nosotros vivimos hoy. Salomón vio la injusticia cometida al pobre (4:1-3), una política despedazada (5:8), líderes incompetentes (10:6-7), personas culpables a quienes se les permitió cometer más crímenes (8:11), materialismo (5:10) y un deseo por los tiempos pasados (7:10). El maestro de todos los tiempos en esta línea de estudio hecha por Salomón con respecto a la sociedad, el mundo y todo lo que hay debajo del sol dijo: “Porque ¿qué aprovechará al hombre si ganare todo el mundo, y perdiere su alma?” (Mr.8:36). Salomón experimentó en la vida y se dio cuenta que no existe satisfacción duradera en las posesiones, placeres, poder o prestigio. El tuvo todo lo que quiso y en abundancia, incluyendo mujeres y aún así su vida estaba vacía. Pablo escribe en 1 Tim 6:17 que tenemos “…abundantes riquezas en Cristo Jesús”.En Cristo obtenemos todo lo que necesitamos para esta vida, para la muerte y para la eternidad. En Eclesiastés observamos un tono de pesimismo y desilusión de la vida. Estoy seguro que cada lector  ha sentido  al igual que este autor esa sensación al observar nuestra actual sociedad y el impacto que esta tiene en la Iglesia del Señor. Salomón no tenía la perspectiva de Dios ya que había decidido vivir a su manera, en su propio camino, le había dado la espalda al Señor e hizo todo cuanto deseo pues tenía todo el poder (humanamente hablando) para hacerlo. Salomón igual que cientos de miles hoy solamente están enfocados en lo que pasa debajo del Sol. Los verdaderos Cristianos del Nuevo Testamento observan y piensan muy seguidamente en lo que está más allá del sol. Este hermoso y bello himno de los “viejitos” que tenemos en nuestros himnarios lee tan bellamente de la siguiente manera en la última estrofa y su coro:

A todas las razas

del linaje humano

Cristo les ofrece,

plena salvación

También una casa

no hecha de manos

que está preparada

En la santa Sión.

CORO

Más allá del sol

Más allá del sol

yo tengo una hogar, hogar

bello hogar

más allá del sol.

 

En sus últimas palabras, Salomón en este libro finaliza con “broche de oro” él escribe:

“Porque Dios traerá toda obra a juicio, juntamente con toda cosa encubierta, sea buena o sea mala” (Ecl.12:14).  Muchas veces el hombre parece salirse con la suya en su pecado debajo del cielo pero viene el día en donde más allá del sol mora la justicia. Charles Spurgeon dijo que “el castigo eterno es un pensamiento que despedaza el alma”. Unas  6 ocasiones en este discurso Salomón nos anima a disfrutar la vida, pero en ninguna parte nos manda a disfrutar el pecado. El disfrute del presente depende de la  seguridad en la esperanza futura.  El apóstol Juan escribe: “El que tiene al Hijo, tiene la vida; el que no tiene al Hijo de Dios no tiene la vida.” (1Jn.5:12) Más allá del Sol hay algo más emocionante que nuestra mansión, más allá del Sol se encuentra aquel que obró nuestra redención, el cordero que fue inmolado pero vive para siempre …(Apoc.5:12).         

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Blessed by the Good News

Blessed by the Good News

I was recently at a local filling station fueling up one of the church vans, when a gentleman about my age pulled up on the other side of the pump and began to fuel up his pickup truck. I’d never seen the man before (to my knowledge or recollection), but as he exited his vehicle, we sort of caught each other’s glance and politely exchanged greetings. It was instantly obvious that he was a rather pleasant sort of fellow, and we each went about our business. After beginning to fuel, he asked me about how many we had in attendance here. Upon receiving my answer, he said the place where he attended had about the same. As the conversation ensued, I learned a bit about him. He very excitedly told me how the place where he worshipped was currently studying through the Book of Acts and how he was enjoying that; happily conversed with me about his daily Bible reading schedule; discussed the wonder of God’s word all being one beautiful and blessed story from beginning to end; and gratefully told me how awesome God is, amongst other things… like how he lived not too far at all from the church building here. I’m not sure how long we talked – maybe twenty minutes or so… But I do know this. Our discussion was almost, if not entirely, all about the goodness, kindness, and greatness, of the love, grace, and mercies of God. And I must say that I came away from that conversation quite excited, encouraged, and ready to look for any and every opportunity to encounter him again, and to hopefully engage him in an even more in-depth study of God’s word at that time.

blessed news

How many people have been saved at the gas pump?

But I wonder… is that anywhere near the same impression that most people we encounter on a daily basis are left with when they depart our company? Are we, so happy, joyful, and excited, to truly be and to have all that we do in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8; Eph. 1 & 2; and etc.), that we just simply cannot wait or to help but to talk to everyone we come in contact with – from the customer on the other side of the pump, to the stranger in the store aisle, to the fan in the seat beside us – about how awesomely wonderful and powerful our God, His Son, and Their word are? About how incredibly blessed and grateful we are to truly enjoy His grace and forgiveness through the blood of His Son Jesus (Acts 2:38, 22:16)? About how infinitely comforting and freeing it is, to know for certain,that in Him, we have eternal life, guaranteed, by the God who cannot lie (Jn. 8:31-32; 1 Jn. 5:11-13; Eph. 1:1-14; Hebs. 6:13-19)? Do we (And if we, as members of Christ’s one, New Testament church which we see in the Bible can’t, then who else on earth legitimately can?) exhibit such confidence, joy, and excitement in our God-given, God-promised, and God-provided salvation, that folks we’ve just bumped into and struck up a conversation with simply cannot help but to later on want to go out of their way to seek and discuss those things with us once again?

Or, do they often walk away with a far, far, different impression of us and of what ultimately consumes us? “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks,” Jesus said in Matthew 12:34. In other words, what was the dominant focus of our conversation with them? The bad news of the world, or the good news of the word? Did we seem to them to be more concerned with worry over the Coronavirus, or to be more consumed with the wonders of being in Christ Jesus? With the temporary “things which are seen,” or with the eternal “things which are not seen” (2 Cor. 4:18)?Did they see and sense in us, someone who was “raised with Christ, seek[ing] those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God” (Col. 3:1)? Did they see and sense in us, someone setting their “mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Col. 3:2); or, sadly, the other way around?

Jesus once told a man to “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God” (Lk. 9:60). Let’s let those in the world, talk to those in the world, about what’s going on in the world; while we in the Lord, and in His word, talk constantly and excitedly to those who are “dead in trespasses and sins,”about our “God, who is rich in mercy,” and who, “because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ… and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (See Eph. 2:1-7). And let us never neglect to let them know how they, too, can: ‘because of and by God’s grace, be saved through their faith, by accessing and accepting His free gift of grace and forgiveness (See vss. 8-9), on His terms and where He placed it – in the waters of Christian baptism (Rom. 6).

Now, if the free gift of God’s love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness is not something worth being totally consumed with and therefore constantly conversing with them about – then surely nothing else on this entire earth ever was, ever is, or ever will be(Mk. 8:38-36).God bless – and go share the good news today!

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Looking forward to the Answers

Looking forward to the Answers

Yesterday, I was sitting in the chair in a barbershop in Denver, Colorado. Like normal I asked the person cutting my hair what were her passions in life and what were some things she was looking forward to given the craziness of 2020. She enthusiastically replied, “I can’t wait for the holidays! I can’t wait to gather with my family, eat a wonderful meal, and just enjoy some normalcy.” I suspect she is not alone. I suspect there are thousands of individuals who long to be surrounded by those they love and just enjoy familiar traditions.

looking forward

Why are you here? What are you looking for?

When I asked the young lady cutting my hair what were her favorite Thanksgiving foods she said, “I love all the sides and desserts. Especially the desserts!” Again, I suspect she is not alone.

Consider for just a moment your favorite Thanksgiving dessert:

Pumpkin Pie

Pecan Pie

Apple Pie

Cheesecake

Grandma’s Secret Chocolate Cake

Coconut cake

Fruit Trifle

Carrot Cake

You get the picture. Imagine you walk into your kitchen and there sits your favorite dessert. Science can tell you a great deal about that dessert. For instance, it can tell you what ingredients are in the dessert. It can tell you that the dessert is real and does exist. It might even help us deduce who created the dessert. (Fingerprints, DNA, etc.) But the one thing science cannot tell you is WHY that particular dessert was created.

Only the creator can tell us WHY.

The only way that you will ever know why the dessert was created is if the person who made it reveals it to you. The same can be said for the Earth and the Universe. Science can tell us a lot about the universe, but it can’t tell us why it was created. For that we must turn to the Creator.

If you really want to know why you are here, why the universe was created, why the earth exists, then turn to the Creator. The answer to these questions and so many more are revealed to us in God’s Word. Let me encourage you today to dig deeply into God’s Word to find out why! Ironically, the answer as to why someone baked your favorite dessert and why the earth exists are probably very similar—because the creators of both love you.

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