What If History of the Bible

What If History of the Bible

Mordecai told Esther that there was no way she could know for sure that she (a Jewish young lady) had become queen of the Persian Empire so that she could, by her actions on just one day of her life, change the history of the nation. He simply said, “Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14)? He understood that if she refused to do the right thing, God would use someone else in some other way to accomplish His purposes. Have you ever thought about how history would have been changed if those who knew God failed to do right? Consider the following.

What if Noah had refused to build the ark? What if he had begun the work and then just quit because what God expected of him was just too much? What if he had not obeyed God’s instructions and designed the ark the way Noah thought was best?

History of maybe

What if, they did their own thing?

What if Abraham had decided not to leave Ur? What if he, having been told by God to leave Ur, just kept silent and had stayed in Ur? What if he had thought the journey to an unknown land was just long and dangerous and had stopped before arriving in Canaan? What if he had departed from Ur and then decide he knew of a better route and a better destination for his journey?

What if Joseph had taken the path of vengeance on his brothers when they came to Egypt? What if he had decided that he would just ignore them, send them away and spend the rest of his life as one of the great rulers of Egypt? What if he had failed to save the children of Israel and had not brought them into Egypt?

What if David, having heard the challenges from Goliath, had responded as every other man in Israel? What if he had not stepped out of his comfort zone, ignoring the mockery of his peers and simply returned to the safety of his father’s house? What if he had not led the army of Israel to defeat the Philistines on that day?

What if…? What if…? What if…? Go through the rest of the Bible and see how the actions of one individual changed the lives of those around them. Then, take time to think about who you are and what is happening in your life. What if you, having been given a “Samuel” did not lend him back to the Lord? What if you, as a member of the church, refused to teach our children in their classes? You do not know who you are impacting; what if you thought it demanded too much of you? Make the application. What if you failed to give your all as a church leader? What if you made no effort to reach out and impact the lives of others? What if…? What if…? What if…?

Posted in Dan Jenkins | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on What If History of the Bible

Objects of God’s Wrath

Objects of God’s Wrath

Revelation 16 contains the story of the seven angels who poured out their seven bowls. These bowls represent God’s wrath ful judgment on those that worship the beast. After the third bowl is poured out, we have this interlude of praise to God:

And I heard the angel of the waters saying:“You are righteous, O Lord,The One who is and who was and who is to be,Because You have judged these things.For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets,And You have given them blood to drink.For it is their just due.” And I heard another from the altar saying, “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments” (Revelation 16:5-7).

We learn in Revelation 17:15 that the waters “are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.” These are those who “did not repent and give Him glory,” and “did not repent of their deeds” (Revelation 16:9, 11).

wrath of God

God is the Lord of Justice.

The irony of this passage is that those guilty of bloodshed are given blood to drink as punishment. The implication is that their punishment fits their crime. This is how God dispenses justice to the wicked; each one will be punished according to his wickedness. This means that God’s judgments are true and righteous because He will not punish anyone more than he deserves.

This set of judgments given against the wicked in this chapter is final because Jesus is King over His Kingdom (Revelation 11:15). All will be judged by the words of Christ (John 12:48). This means there is no other standard that will excuse mankind of its wicked behavior. Christ is the final standard of judgment. Let’s use that standard to live for Him so that when judgment comes, we won’t be objects of God’s wrath.

Posted in Kevin Cauley | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Objects of God’s Wrath

Miraculous to the Mundane

Miraculous to the Mundane

My son and I have started studying the book of Genesis together.  This book is foundational to the entirety of the Bible.  It begins with God: “In the beginning, God…”  God created the habitat of all things we know in six days (Genesis 1, 2).  He created it all out of nothing.  This is beyond our scientific laws as we know that something cannot come from nothing.  Thus, we have the supernatural or miraculous.  The Creator created.  Out of nothing, the heavens and the earth came to being.  Created from the earth came vegetation:  grass, herbs, and fruit trees.  He created the stars, planets, moon, and sun which did not exist.  Sea creatures, fish, marine life were spoken into being.  Beasts, cattle, creeping things – God created all.  Even man was created in miraculous fashion from the dirt of the earth itself.  However, His creation was established with defined scientific laws so that it would be orderly and not chaotic.  The creation exists in such a way that it is able to provide for the life of its inhabitants and they are able to thrive without the need for the miraculous.  Within the creation, God’s provision enabled life to reproduce after itself.  This natural function of life may seem mundane, common, or uninspired, but in reality it is the inspire will of God which cannot be thwarted (Isaiah 55:11).  This miraculous to “natural” pattern is also seen in God’s spiritual plan for man.

heavens miraculous

What miraculously began continues in common fashion.

From before time, God had a predetermined plan for man’s salvation from sin (Ephesians 1:4-5). The plan involved the revelation of God’s pattern of redemption by the Holy Spirit through man.  The Spirit would provide man with the mind of God in the form of the Bible (2 Peter 1:20-21).  This was revealed to man over time through supernatural dreams, visions, and prophetic influence of the Spirit (Joel 2:28) and confirmed through the signs, wonders, and miracles (Acts 2:22, Mark 16:20).  However, following the pattern which God established by His will in the creation of all things, God also brought the miraculous aspects of revealing His plan for the redemption of mankind by the hands of man to an end (I Corinthians 13, Ephesians 4) and left the dissemination of that revelation to be accomplished by natural means.  Man must study the word of God (2 Timothy 2:15).  He must choose to be a Christian (Acts 2:38, Mark 16:16). The Christian is then charged to enroll others as scholars of that Word (Matthew 28:18-20) that they too might reproduce Christians in the same natural manner.  In all cases where the Word is recorded to have been delivered whether miraculously or naturally the choice as to whether or not to heed God’s Word is up to each individual, but the consequences of those choices are determined (2 Thessalonians 1:6-10).

What about God’s providence in the salvation of man?  God is a patient God.  He desires none perish, giving them ample time to choose to repent (2 Peter 3:9).  The providence of God is simply His provision for His already established Will to be done.  God has provided mankind with His Word which enables salvation (James 1:21).  The Word of God has not been hidden in a corner, but has been spread throughout the earth (Colossians 1:23).  God has sent forth messengers to all sharing the Word via the Church (Mark 16:15, Acts 8:4, I Corinthians 1:21, 2 Timothy 4:2).  Through the wonders of Creation God has called man’s attention to seek him (Romans 1:20).  God has promised that those who would seek would find (Matthew 7:7) and only those who wish to deny it will find the gospel message hidden (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).  Man may look for a sign, wonder, or angelic visitation as evidence of God’s providence, but these will simply be false wonders and a vain effort.  God’s plan has been revealed and it is spread in common form.  His providence keeps it ever present before man.  It may seem mundane to develop one’s faith by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17), but this is God’s divine pattern and has been from creation.

Posted in Travis Main | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Miraculous to the Mundane

100% Effective Against the Disease

100% Effective Against the Disease

Since the days of Louis Pasteur, mankind has been aware of the relationship between germs and disease. These unseen microorganisms enter into the body and cause us any number of physical problems. It is for this reason that we use various agents to try and kill said disease.

Many times, the cleaners we use to try and sanitize our homes, our offices, and the like advertise how effective they are at getting rid of these unseen, but unwanted, pests. They will say something like, “proven to get rid of 99.9% of all household germs,” or words to that effect.

But is it curious that they never claim to be a hundred percent effective. They always leave themselves that .1 percent of a possibility that there is some super-germ somewhere that will be too tough for even the toughest cleansing agent.

The Bible declares, however, that there is a cleaning agent that is one hundred percent effective. Not effective at getting rid of germs, but rather effective at getting rid of an even worse malady: sin, with all of its spiritual consequences.

cure disease

There is a 100% effective cure for what ails you.

Some might not think sin to be so bad. Used to its ways, they simply accept it as a part of their lives, but while a germ might make you physically ill, or even bring about the death of the body, sin, God tells us, brings spiritual death (cf. Romans 6:23). Concerning our eternal home, Jesus said concerning sin and heaven, “you will die in your sin, and where I go, you cannot come.” (John 8:21) Elsewhere in Scripture we are reminded concerning sin, “those who do such things cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:21; cf. 1 Corinthians 6:9) Simply put, sin keeps you out of heaven and guarantees a judgment of condemnation before God in the last

What to do about sin? Its touch is corrupting, and everyone is guilty (cf. Romans 3:23). Should we just ignore the problem and hope it goes away? While some might decide to do just so, the rational actor, realizing the enormity of the situation, realizes that there is a solution needed. But what is the solution?

The apostle Paul presented the case, in Romans 7, of a man struggling with sin in his life, wanting to do right, but finding that Spiritually, he fell far short of where he wanted to be. He voices the cry of one who recognizes he needs a solution: “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death (Romans 7:24)?”

The wise apostle presents the answer to the dilemma in the very next chapter, stating, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1-2; NKJV)”

The blood of Christ is effective in cleansing the believing saint from all sins. Notice the words of another of the apostles: “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7; NKJV)

Notice the amount of sin that the blood of Christ can cleanse from your life, from your soul. It is not ten percent, or fifty percent, or eighty percent, or even ninety-nine-point-nine percent. The blood of Christ, if we are willing to walk according to the Spirit, living our lives by the light of God’s word, is effective in cleansing one hundred percent of all our sins.

There is no sin that God cannot forgive through Christ if we will come to Him for that cleansing. This does not mean that all men everywhere will be forgiven. Just as a cleaning agent does no good in a bottle under your sink – it is only effective when applied; so too with the salvation Christ offers from sin. You must come to Him in faith (cf. John 8:24), you must repent of those sins (cf. Luke 13:3) and you must be buried with Christ in baptism (cf. Acts 2:38, 22:16).

When you have done these things, the sin is gone. As the Scriptures elsewhere say, you have been washed as white as new-fallen snow, not a blot or a stain remains (cf. Isaiah 1:18). It is, in every case, one hundred percent effective.

 

Posted in Jonathan McAnulty | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on 100% Effective Against the Disease

I Corinthians 10:12 – Heed the Warning

I Corinthians 10:12 – Heed the Warning

“Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.” – 1 Corinthians 10:12

This is a warning many Christians would do well to think about from time to time. After all, God urges Christians to “present (our) bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is (our) spiritual service” and to “not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of (our) mind” (Romans 12:1-2).  He wants His followers to give their entire lives (twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week) to Him through the renewing of their minds.  Christianity is more than just going to church on Sundays.  When Christians start thinking otherwise, they are in danger.

cliff fall

Do you know where you stand? How sure is your foundation?

Throughout the entire Bible, you can read of the problem of sin.  Jesus warned, “If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned” (John 15:6).  The writer of Hebrews warned Christians twice of the dangers of falling away from God through evil, unbelieving hearts (Hebrews 3:12) and willful, unrepentant sin that makes Christ’s sacrifice for sins invalid as far as they are concerned (Hebrews 10:26-31).  This is why disciples of Christ must always be looking out that they are truly righteous in the sight of God and have not fallen away from his ways.

So what is the solution?  The beginning of the answer to this question can be found by examining what Jesus did when he was tempted by Satan in Matthew 4:1-11.  Satan tempted him the first time, and he said, “It is written…” (v. 4).  Satan tempted him a second time (this time using Scripture taken out of context), and he replied, “On the other hand, it is written…” (v. 7).  Satan tempted him a third time, and he came back with another “It is written…” (v. 10).  Jesus had knowledge of the word of God, and that kept him from being tricked by the deceitfulness of Satan’s temptations and succumbing to sin.  Knowledge of the word of God is the first step (Isaiah 5:13; Hosea 4:6; Acts 17:30).

However, knowledge alone does not solve the problem of sin.  James wrote that “faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself” (James 2:17).  He went on to say that “one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17).  Once again, this is a problem many within the church face.  How many Christians can be confident they have knowledge of the truth of God’s word…and yet do they apply those biblical precepts to themselves?  When a matter is being preached scripturally from the pulpit, how many say “Amen!” in agreement to what is being preached and yet do not practice that truth in their lives?  It is like if you’re sick, and you go to the doctor.  He gives you a prescription, you fill the prescription, take it home, read the instructions, understand them…and yet do not follow them.   Even though you have knowledge of what to do in order to get well, will you well without USING that knowledge?  It is the same with having knowledge of the word of God, my friends.  We must practice what we are taught.  Otherwise, falling away from the faith and back into sin is unavoidable…and eternal hell is that much closer.

Therefore, I’d like to join Paul in encouraging us all to “take heed that we do not fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).  Friends, take advantage of every single opportunity to grow in knowledge of the Word.  Assemble with the Church.  Make sure that you are using the knowledge of God’s word you have every single day.  When that happens, you’d be amazed at how quickly a Scripture will come to mind when Satan tempts you to sin, and that will make it that much easier to, like our Lord, command Satan to leave.

Posted in Jon Mitchell | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on I Corinthians 10:12 – Heed the Warning