A Crisis of Holiness

A Crisis of Holiness

Some people can’t find it within themselves to “live peaceably with all men” (Romans 12:18). Why is it that they seem to make an issue out of every little thing? The answer is that they lack holiness.

holiness

Do you know those who make a mountain out of a molehill?

Holy living is not just being a moral person: one who doesn’t commit fornication, drink booze, gamble away money, take advantage of other people, lie, cheat, steal, etc. Holiness certainly avoids these things, but that is not all it is. Holiness means that one is set apart from the world and its ways. This includes not only immoral behavior, but also worldly attitudes. Unfortunately, some glory in their “moral” behavior, but their attitudes are wholly corrupted by the world. The Pharisee who prayed with himself is in this category (Luke 18:9-14).

Let me paint a picture of someone who has a crisis of holiness. This person gets involved in every little scandal. She always seems to be in a panic. He relishes the latest gossip. She is constantly portraying matters in an extreme way to get others sucked into her mind-set. He can’t let go of matters that have long since been resolved. She is neurotic and always feels like something is going on that she isn’t involved with. He is paranoid and constantly worried about what others may be saying about him. Lack of holiness is why it is a sin to be a busybody (1 Peter 4:15), gossip (2 Thessalonians 3:11), talk idly (Matthew 12:36), be fearful (Revelation 21:8), disobey authority (Jude 8), be envious (Galatians 5:26), and suchlike. These actions are all unholy because the person doing them can’t separate him or herself from the world. Moreover, they lead to one engaging in the immoral behavior listed above. May God help us to be holy both in morality, and in attitude.

God bless you, and I love you.

 

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Blood on the Bible – Covenant

Blood on the Bible

The book of Hebrews often gives great insight into Divine truths within just a few words. Read these words, “Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood. For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, ‘This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you to perform’” (Heb. 9:18-20).

blood bible

There is no book of greater worth than the Bible.

That book truly was a sacred message from heaven. Because of this, Moses took the blood of animals and dedicated this book, which was sanctified and made holy by God’s use of that blood. The remnant of that blood was a visual reminder of how special every word found in it was. One could not look at these words without seeing the blood which God used to dedicate it.

When Jesus came, He brought a far greater blood—His own blood. The Hebrew letter spoke of “the blood of the covenant,” but He revealed a newer covenant made sacred by a far greater blood. As He instituted the Lord’s Supper, He took the cup and said, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matt. 26:28).   Blood of the new covenant—think of all that this implies.

His precious blood was shed and used to dedicate the New Testament. While it might not be visible as was that blood sprinkled on the Old Law, with the eye of faith we should see His blood as we turn every page.

There are many books in this world. Solomon said, “Of making of books there is no end” (Ecc. 12:12). There are 29,000,000 in the library of Congress. There are 151,575,778 total items in this library, but only one is tied directly to the blood of Jesus. His blood is the blood of the new covenant. His blood is precious and so is His book. His blood is holy and sacred and so is His book.

What is the value of all the books in the Library of Congress? What is their worth? I do not know, but this I know, all of them added together do not have the value of that one book in your home!

So, the next time you sit and read your Bible, remember to see His blood on every page. See His blood in every chapter. See His blood in every verse. See His blood in every paragraph and every phrase. Look at every word, for remember that we cannot live by bread alone but by every word which comes from the mouth of God (Matt. 4:4), and see the value of every single word in your Bible.

When you do this, you will never find study of the Bible as a burden to be borne. You will not find Bible classes as something to be endured. His blood is on every page!

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Spiritual Coronavirus

Spiritual Coronavirus

As a vital prelude to today’s article, the following understanding is critical. To all of those of you who: #1) Have a compromised immune system, or some other, legitimate, health-related issue which causes you to likewise avoid travel and exposure to other places of public contact as well (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 your age or some other contingent; then thank you, God bless you, and we love you, for being loving and willing enough to make whatever personal sacrifices necessary, whenever you choose to stay home for worship instead of coming to the building for worship, and placing yourself – as well as your brethren – in even greater danger. If any of these three criteria describe you, then the following article is definitely not, about you!!!

coronavirus spiritual

Zoom does not replace the encouragement and comfort of gathering together.

From what I have recently read, heard, and discussed with others, there is a very real, very strong, and seemingly-growing concern amongst many elders, preachers, and other leaders in the Lord’s church, concerning the actual number of fatalities both connected to, and caused by, the Coronavirus. You see, there is something far more deadly than just simply the amount of physical deaths the Coronavirus has and will continue to cause, as reported by the mainstream media. And that is the potential number of spiritual deaths that it will also 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 as well.

How can the Corona virus cause, or even highly contribute to, the loss of many Christian’s eternal lives you may ask? Easy. Here’s how (and hence the reasoning as to why so many faithful and hard-working leaders in the Lord’s church are so deeply concerned): Physically speaking, the virus seems to pose a far more serious threat to, and have a far more deadly impact on, those who already have deeply compromised immune systems or some other serious physical health issues going on.

The same is true when it comes to the spiritual. Spiritually speaking, those Christians who already suffer 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 completely disconnect and distance themselves from both the work and worship of the Lord’s church. After all they 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 one’s P.J.’s, avoid others, and have all of the services simply piped into my living room via Zoom, Facebook, or YouTube?” The problem, as always, is that the longer one chooses to needlessly practice such illegitimate “spiritual-distancing,” the easier it is to not only continue to do so, but to more easily continue to justify one’s absence as time goes by as well. And the further one goes down that road, the harder it gets, and the more effort it takes, to then turn around and finally return home (Heb. 6:4-6).

Yes, todays’ live streamed lessons can be an absolute “life-saver” to those with legitimate health issues and concerns; to those who have been exposed to the Coronavirus and do not wish to contaminate anyone else; and to those who are in the most high-risk category of our culture. However; to those who’s spiritual health has already suffered and been duly compromised and decimated by years of less than complete and undying devotion and dedication to the Lord Jesus Christ and His church, this same, electronic, live streaming lesson blessing, can easily become the exact, opposite, and deadly reverse: an eternal life-decimating and devouring curse.

Which will it be, for each one of us? That is completely and entirely, up to each, individual, one of us (Dt. 30). “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To Him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Ptr. 5:6-11).

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LA ADIVINA DE ENDOR Y SAMUEL

¿HIZO VOLVER LA ADIVINA DE ENDOR A SAMUEL DE ENTRE LOS MUERTOS?

Para algunos podría parecer un tema no relevante. Sin embargo es importante abordarlo y responder con honestidad a la luz de la Biblia la pregunta anterior. El texto en cuestión se encuentra en 1 Sam.28:1-25 cuando por insistencia y por desesperación Saúl consulta con una adivina, queriendo buscar una respuesta diferente a la que Dios ya le había dado. Este caso es bastante único en la Biblia al estar envuelto en la escena; un rey de Israel, una adivina (no autorizada por Dios) y un profeta del Señor que por cierto ya había muerto. Hay un par de aspectos que debemos tener presentes antes de proceder a conclusiones serias.

adivina de endor

¿HIZO VOLVER LA ADIVINA DE ENDOR A SAMUEL DE ENTRE LOS MUERTOS?

La muerte es un estado de ausencia del espíritu fuera del cuerpo. En Lc.16 el Señor Jesús ofrece una de las explicaciones más claras a travez del ejemplo en Lazaro y el rico. Evidentemente nada podía hacer volver al rico de entre los muertos. No, no las buenas intenciones que tenía para con su familia, ni siquiera el buen patriarca Abraham podía conceder privilegios o actos bondadosos estando en el Hadez: “Y de la manera que está establecido para los hombres que mueran una sola vez, y después de esto el juicio,” (Heb. 9:27). Es verdad que ningún ser humano tiene tal autoridad de regresar a un muerto, al mismo tiempo debemos de reconocer que Dios sí puede si así lo desea. De hecho Juan 11 y la resurrección de Lazaro amigo de Jesús es de los ejemplos mas claros que tenemos de ello. El ya tenía 4 días de haber partido al mundo de los espíritus y el Señor le hizo volver. ¿Acaso no podía Dios hacer venir del mundo de los muertos a Samuel para dar un mensaje divino a Saúl? ¡Pero claro que sí podía!.

Por otro lado es importante entender que Saúl mismo había echado y matado a muchos de los adivinos de la tierra de Israel, por eso la adivina teme por su vida. Concerniente a la instrucción dada en Lv.19:31  la  versión en inglés(KJV) dice: “familiar Spirit” al igual que la versión griega del Antiguo Testamento (LXX), que generalmente representa la expresión òb (“espíritu familiar”) por el término griego engastrimuthos, es una palabra que significa “la profecía desde el vientre”. Tal cual lo sugiere Francis Brown al decir:  esta palabra lo que presupone es que las “voces de los muertos” fueron simplemente el resultado del ventriloquismo por parte de los embaucadores que fingieron comunicarse con los muertos durante muchos años ( Francis Brown, et al., 15).  Dios deseaba que su pueblo se mantuviera alejado de estas prácticas no porque funcionaran, ni tampoco porque fueran a desestimar al Dios de los Hebreos, sino más bien porque el Señor deseaba completa y exclusiva dependencia de él. Está muy de moda buscar “hierveros” o espiritistas  para que realicen  “trabajos” relacionados al amor o las finanzas. Otros ponen su confianza en el horóscopo para ver qué les depara el día. Cristo dijo: “Más buscad primeramente el reino de Dios y su justicia, y todas estas cosas os serán añadidas.” (Mt.6:33), hoy mas que nunca nuestra confianza debe de recaer en el Señor y en su Iglesia gloriosa, el Señor nunca nos abandona. Saúl falló en comprender y aplicar eso. Desde el c.13 comenzamos a observar el descenso de este rey que fue escogido por Dios para reinar sobre su pueblo. Saúl era arrogante y desobediente, el  deseaba hacer las cosas a su manera. Nadie puede negar que tuvo un buen inicio pero su final fue caótico. Es verdad que el Señor no le contestaba por ningún medio y la razón, es porque no tenía nada nuevo que decirle. Samuel en este capítulo controversial aparece para pronunciar la misma sentencia de parte del Señor. Nada cambiaría y aquí algunas de las razones principales para creer con seguridad que Samuel si vino de entre los muertos, pero en respuesta simple a la pregunta del encabezado, la adivina no fue quién lo trajo. Observe usted:

  1. La adivina estaba sorprendida. Algunos han querido argumentar que lo que vino fue un demonio. Tal aseveración se torna descabellada. Si en realidad era un demonio el que vino en vez de Samuel mismo y esta adivina tenía relación cercana con ellos, por haber trabajado varios años en el negocio, la pregunta correspondiente es ¿porqué se sorprendió al ver al demonio? Ciertamente el v.12 dice que “ella dio voces” y el v.13 menciona que ella se sintió engañada de lo que estaba sucediendo. Estos indicativos son fuerte para entender que la mujer no tenía control sobre nada aquí (no era un “medium”) quien tenía por negocio engañar resultó engañada.
  2. La autoridad de Dios. Ni la adivina, Saúl ni siquiera el mismo Samuel son poderosos y suficientes en sí mismos para nada de lo que aquí acontece. Aunque Samuel estaba muerto desde hace un buen rato, Dios tenía el poder y la autoridad para impartir un último mensaje a Samuel. El hecho de que anteriormente Dios no había hablado no prueba absolutamente nada. Por cuatrocientos años el Señor estuvo en silencio durante el periodo conocido como intertestamentario, hasta que apareció Juan el bautista y rompió ese silencio. Es absurdo pensar que como Dios estaba en silencio el debía continuar en silencio. El Señor es soberano y absoluto, como pudo haber enviado a Samuel a dar un último mensaje a Saúl, bien pudo enviar a Josué o a Moises inclusive a la mula de Balaam. Ese es el Dios absoluto en autoridad y único que tenemos.
  3. La profecía se cumple. El v.17 es claro en declarar que efectivamente Samuel ya había hablado de esto a Saúl, y el mensaje no cambia. Sin embargo vemos indicios nuevos como por ejemplo “mañana estarás con migo”, “tu y tus hijos”, “y el ejercito de Israel será entregado a los filisteos”. Ningun demonio o espíritu, ni aún satanás mismo conoce el futuro. Eso es un atributo único de nuestro buen Dios. Samuel mismo era quien estaba dando este mensaje por el Señor. Pensar que un demonio en conjunto con la adivina conocen el futuro es realmente algo peligroso.
  4. El estilo. Al leer 1Samuel 15 y como Samuel literalmente regaña a Saúl por su testarudez  y desobediencia uno puede notar un tono fuerte, muy cortante con sarcasmo pero directo por parte del profeta Samuel. En la corta intervención que tiene aquí, sus palabras o más bien su estilo corresponden precisamente al estilo del profeta Samuel: v.16 “¿Y para que me preguntas a mí si Jehová se ha apartado?” Suena muy parecido a la voz de Samuel con como lee 1Sam. 15:13-14 “vino, pues, Samuel a Saúl, y Saúl le dijo: Bendito seas tú de Jehová; yo he cumplido la palabra de Jehová. Samuel entonces dijo: ¿Pues qué balido de ovejas y bramido de vacas es este que yo oigo con mis oídos?”. El mensaje es el mensaje del Señor, el estilo es el perteneciente a Samuel, no a ningún demonio.

En este capítulo Saúl experimentó una noche de decepción y estrés. Saúl no recibió la ayuda de parte de Dios (3-6), el desobedeció la palabra de Dios (7-14), Saúl descubrió el plan de Dios (15-19) y por último estaba desesperado por su difícil situación (20-25). Si algo debemos de aprender de todo esto y como lección  practica es que debemos comprender que la desobediencia a Dios se paga a un precio muy alto y que por más grandes de seamos v.20 Dios puede hacernos caer en tierra.

Referencias

Brown, Francis, Driver, S.R., Briggs, Charles. 1907. Hebrew English Lexicon of the Old

Testament. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, Co.

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Are Some People “Animals”?

Are Some People “Animals”?

Not too long ago, President Trump was criticized for calling gang members “animals.” The response from his critics was that everyone has the spark of the divine within them, and that “animals” was dehumanizing. The truth is that some people invite this description by their behavior.

animals bull

Do you behave in a reasoning fashion or unreasoning?

Read Jude 8-13:

“Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. . . . But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain. . . . These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever” (English Standard Version).

The King James Version uses the words “brute beasts”; the NIV says, “irrational animals” as does the CSB, and RSV. The NASB says, “unreasoning animals.” Why does the Bible call them that? It is due to their own behavior. They have no spiritual component to their lives. Their actions are simply based on their primitive animal desires. Everyone has the spark of the divine within them being made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), but if we deny it, we act no different than animals; President Trump was right to use the word regarding such base behavior. Don’t deny your spirituality by acting like an animal.

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