The Land that Drinks in the Rain

The Land that Drinks in the Rain

There are several warnings in the book of Hebrews against Christians losing their faith and falling away. One of these reads as follows: “For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned (Hebrews 6:7-8; NKJV).”

To be sure, Hebrews 6:8 is a powerful warning.

But the starkness of verse 8 is contrasted with the beautiful imagery found in the previous verse: “the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it.”

Are you drinking in the rain?

Are you drinking in the rain?

Let us take a moment to think about that image. Christians are like soil, watered frequently by the rain God sends and in this blessed state they bring forth abundant fruit for the Lord.

Rain which falls upon the land in the spring and summer is indeed a blessing: a sign of God’s love and care (cf. Matthew 5:45). When the rains don’t come, and the land grows dry, men despair and worry about their crops. At the same time, when the rains are regular and the crops grow bountifully, too often we take that rain for granted.

The “rain” that God sends upon His people is plentiful and frequent and there are no spiritual droughts of God’s making. In Christ we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3). God so loves us that He sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins (John 3:16; 1 John 4:10). God so loves us that He gave us His holy word which is able to make us wise unto salvation, instruct us in every good thing, and prepare us for every good work (cf. 2 Timothy 3:15-17). God so loves us that He hears the prayers of His saints, and He answers them (cf. 1 John 5:14). God so loves us that He has promised that all things will, in the end, work to the good of those that love Him and answer His call, thus giving us an unshakeable hope and joy (cf. Romans 8:28ff). He has confirmed in His word, and God cannot lie, that there is eternal life in His Son (cf. Titus 1:2).

Yes, the spiritual blessings of God are like the rain, and they come often upon the saint who spends time in God’s word, reflecting upon the promises of God, and allowing those promises to strengthen and encourage the soul. As the beloved apostle John noted, “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1)

When we consider the multitude of God’s abundant blessings upon His followers, it is slightly disheartening that more don’t take advantage of these blessings. Unlike the land, which has no choice in whether to receive the rain or not, individuals have a constant choice whether to heed God or not.

Thus the Scriptures tell us, “blessed is the man who does not walk in the council of the ungodly, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water…” (Psalms 1:1-3a)

We have a choice whether to delight in God’s word, from whence comes so many blessings, or whether we will instead listen to the wisdom of worldly men and order our lives according to their evil principles. The blessings are there, ready to be drunk in by those willing to receive them; but we must choose to partake.

Just as disheartening are those souls who do drink of the blessings of God, yet never choose to produce anything of value with those blessings. Like a garden untended, the heart can produce a multitude of weeds and thorns: thorns which Jesus warned would choke out spiritual productivity (cf. Matthew 13:22). But again, we have a choice what kind of fruit we bear. If we drink in the blessings, but focus our hearts on money and the cares of the world, then the blessings will not bring forth the fruit God wants.

The message is this: God has poured out manifold blessings, raining them down upon all who would receive them. Whether you accept those blessings, and how you use them is up to you.

 

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Iniquities

“Bruised For Our Iniquities” (Isa.53:5)

One of the great lessons of the Mosaic Law is that a holy God cannot dwell among an unholy people.  Yet God desires to dwell with His people, and the people with God.  How?

God planned a sacrifice for man's iniquities.

God planned a sacrifice for man’s iniquities.

God must make provisions to remove their iniquity, the cause of their unholiness.  In Israel’s day, God did this through the tabernacle and the priesthood.  Notice God’s statement to Aaron in Numbers 18:1.

“So the Lord said to Aaron, ‘You and your sons and your father’s house with you shall bear iniquity connected with the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear iniquity connected with your priesthood.’” 

Iniquity here is basic moral failure and the punishment associated with it.  The priesthood and the tabernacle were to assume the punishment for moral failure for the nation of Israel. But who lived in the tabernacle?  God did!  The whole setup was designed to show that ultimately God desired to take the punishment for our sins, and then one day, He actually did it in the person of Christ Jesus.  Hebrews 10:12-14 states this truth:

“But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” 

The priesthood and the tabernacle lead us to Jesus!  In fact, everything in the Old Testament points us to Jesus.  Paul taught us,

“Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith” (Galatians 3:24). 

As we study the Old Testament, let us never forget that it is all about Jesus!  God bless you, and I love you.

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Should One Mock God?

Should One Mock God? Ask Lee Harvey Oswald…

On this particular Sunday morning, the Secret Service agent could perceive that the young man accused of murder sitting before him likes to talk about himself and express his opinions.  Perhaps this would be the key to finding the truth about the charges brought forth against him.

“What do you think about religion?” he asks the young man.

“Karl Marx is my religion,” replies the accused.

“What I mean is, what faith are you?” the Secret Service agent inquires.

“I have no faith,” the prisoner answers.  A moment later he adds, “I suppose you mean the Bible?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Well, I’ve read the Bible,” says the young man.  “Some people might find it interesting reading, but not me.  As a matter of fact, I’m a student of philosophy and I don’t consider the Bible to be even a reasonable or an intelligent philosophy.”

“You don’t think much of it?”

“You could say that.”

The Secret Service agent then asks, “As a Marxist, do you believe that religion is an opiate of the people?”

The young man is in his element, and lights up at the chance to talk about ideology.  “Most definitely so,” he answers.

The young man’s name was Lee Harvey Oswald, and the Secret Service agent was Inspector Thomas J. Kelley, flown into Dallas from Washington, D.C.  Oswald was charged with assassinating President John F. Kennedy and murdering Dallas police officer J.D. Tippit two days prior on November 22, 1963.  The above conversation between them actually took place as cited above in the third-floor homicide office of the Dallas City Hall on Sunday, November 24, 1963, at about a little after 10:45 a.m.

About thirty-six minutes after stating that God’s Word is not “a reasonable or intelligent philosophy,” Lee Harvey Oswald was fatally shot by Jack Ruby while being transferred to the Dallas County Jail.

Lee Harvey Oswald fatally shot by Jack Ruby minutes after denigrating the Word of God
Lee Harvey Oswald fatally shot by Jack Ruby minutes after denigrating the Word of God

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.  (Galatians 6:7)

(The historical information above was taken from “Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy” by Vincent Bugliosi.  An excellent, excellent book that is extremely well-researched.  I quoted the participants in the same way as the author, and made only minor changes to the author’s description of the demeanor or attitude of the participants.)

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Addiction to Pornography

Looking at Centerfolds has an Effect on who Stays in the Fold!

Pornography is destroying the church. In the past year I have had over 20 individuals confide to me that they are struggling with a pornography addiction. More than half of those were preachers. I speculate this epidemic is even worse in young people, who have easier access than previous generations but are more reluctant to discuss their viewing habits.

Take back control of your mind and your behaviors.

Take back control of your mind and your behaviors.

Question: Has the church even acknowledged this problem exists? Are we prepared to deal with members who have this addiction? Are elders coming up with resources and solutions in their weekly meetings? Are we actively discussing preventative measures that will help our young people avoid this pitfall? Do we have individuals who can serve as accountability partners for those who are struggling? Are we inviting men to speak on this topic to inform congregations, or are we simply hoping our child will not be one of the statistics? Have we even given thought about how pornography is effecting our young people’s religious beliefs?

A peer-reviewed study that appeared in the journal Social Forces has demonstrated just how much viewing pornography impacts individual’s religious beliefs—and the results are not good. Samuel L. Perry and George Hayward coauthored a study titled, “Seeing is (Not) Believing: How Viewing Pornography Shapes the Religious Lives of Young Americans.” (Social Forces, 2017, vol 95, pg 1757-1788).  They reported,  “Fixed-effects regression models show that more frequent pornography viewing diminishes religious service attendance, importance of religious faith, prayer frequency, and perceived closeness to God, while increasing religious doubt.”

In other words, porn is destroying the church! The authors went on to observe, “these effects hold regardless of gender.” Add to it that pornography is just more pervasive and just one-click away for the current generation of youth who are constantly plugged into their smartphones or tablets. In their study the authors tested three hypotheses:

  1. Pornography viewing will lead to lower levels of religiosity over time.
  2. Pornography viewing will have a stronger negative effect on religiosity during adolescence than during young adulthood.
  3. Pornography viewing will have a stronger negative effect on religiosity for males than females.

Their first hypothesis was proved true in that pornography certainly impacts the viewer’s religious beliefs. The second hypothesis was found to be partially correct in that it affected the importance of religious faith and perceived closeness to God, but there seemed no difference across the age spectrum on the negative effect on attendance and frequency of prayer. All age ranges diminished in attendance and frequency of prayer. Lastly, they found no difference between pornography viewing and gender, so there was no support for the third hypothesis. The research showed that males and females are affected equally.

Josh McDowell recently commissioned “The Porn Phenomenon,” the largest survey into pornography addiction that has ever been conducted (see https://www.josh.org/key-findings-in-landmark-pornography-study-released/). In a personal interview with Josh I asked him why he commissioned the study. Josh responded, “Brad, five or six years ago, I realized there was a breakdown of authority of the scripture in churches. After research, I found it was pervasive Internet pornography. As soon as you get involved in pornography, you start to question the authority of scriptures, your past, your church, your parents.” Josh’s findings correlate precisely with the findings in the Perry and Hayward study.

What’s more, it appears the effects on religious beliefs are worse for youth. Perry and Hayward observed, “The effects of viewing pornography on importance of faith, closeness to God, and religious doubts are stronger for teenagers compared to emerging adults.” Their belief is that young people still at home and under the moral influence of their parents experience greater internalized guilt and cognitive dissonance associated with their pornography use.

Josh McDowell shared just how much of an epidemic pornography usage really is. He remarked:

In 13-24 year olds, 81% of Christians actively seek out pornography. Now that is staggering. Now what the studies show, Brad, is that from 29 years old and younger, both in culture and the church, there’s been a distinct cultural generational shift in morality. With every age division you go up, fewer seek out pornography. But if you take 29 and under, you get a total shift in truth. 56% will say that “not recycling” is a moral sin, but only 32% will say watching porn is a moral sin.

Recycling worse than pornography?! This is what happens when your conscience has been seared with a hot iron (1 Timothy 4:2) and you move away from absolute truth.

The final conclusion of the Perry and Hayward study is one of the most troublesome: “the growth of pornography use may contribute to the decline of American religion itself.” This study should be a strong wake up call to all parents, elders, preachers, and teachers. We often wring our hands about the declining numbers in the church. This study should be a clarion call to parents to wake up and make sure you know what your children are viewing. It should be a wake up call to congregations about why some of our youth are leaving the church. It should be a wake up call to youth about the soul-endangering threat of pornography.

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SI SE PUEDE SER FIEL

SI SE PUEDE SER FIEL

El enunciado anterior parece imposible cuando uno observa la historia de Israel desde Moisés hasta el cierre del antiguo testamento.  Cuando ellos arreglaban alguna deficiencia otra más grande surgía. De tantos versículos en las santas escrituras a los que uno pudiera ir para analizar esta palabra “fiel” sin duda alguna Isaías 49:7 es uno de los primeros en la lista. En este pasaje la palabra “fiel” es utilizada en referente a Jehová. Lo primero que nosotros hemos de entender es que la fidelidad es algo que tiene su origen en Dios mismo, usted y  yo jamás podremos ser fieles sino no existe la influencia  de Jehová en nosotros.

¿A quién es usted fiel?.

¿A quién es usted fiel?.

Cuando uno llega hasta el nuevo testamento en el estudio de este tema, el pasaje por excelencia es Apocalipsis 2:10 donde la parte “B” del pasaje lee de la siguiente manera: “Se fiel hasta la muerte y yo te daré la corona de la vida”.  En este libro de Apocalipsis el pasaje parece ser esencial  y en nuestro criterio el pasaje  es clave para comprender todo el mensaje por el cual este libro fue escrito. Considere con nosotros algunos aspectos de la fidelidad en este texto:

  1. Los cristianos del siglo primero eran perseguidos de múltiples formas. Para este periodo en particular el emperador Romano Domiciano hacía que todos le adoraran como a “dios” y sino la paga era la muerte o mucho peor…la tortura. Seguramente la tentación para preservar la vida era fuerte y casi podemos estar seguros que muchos cristianos se inclinaron ante el emperador. Es por esa razón que la palabra fiel es usada. Los verdaderos cristianos poseen la  influencia de Dios y por eso se les anima a ser fieles.
  2. La fidelidad de los cristianos no solamente era para con Dios sino a lo que ellos habían creído. La ciudad de Esmirna era la sede del culto al emperador sin embargo aún así la palabra del Señor había llegado con fuerza, ¡Ellos habían creído!. No se puede ser fiel violando las propias convicciones.
  3. La fidelidad de la Iglesia no debía de depender en que persona estuviera en el trono, ser fiel cuando hay libertad religiosa  es fácil pero ser fiel y respetar y aún orar por el emperador (1Timoteo 2:1-2)  cuando este es un tirano y desea destruir el cristianismo es realmente otra cosa. La fidelidad no depende de las circunstancias al rededor, la fidelidad es más bien parte de la naturaleza de un cristiano y la naturaleza no cambia.
  4. La fidelidad puede y va a ser llevada a los extremos. La frase: “Se fiel hasta la muerte” no significa que ellos debían de vivir toda una vida y cuando la vejez llegara todavía iban a seguir siendo fieles. “Se fiel hasta la muerte” significa; sea fiel hasta el punto de dar su vida o de ser sacrificado (explica el hermano John T. Hinds en su comentario de Apocalipsis). Algunos han pensado que los extremos no son buenos pero en este caso la excepción debe de ser hecha. Lo único que a permitir que la vida misma sea ofrecida por aquel, quien también es fiel a sus promesas es precisamente la fidelidad.
  5. La fidelidad  es un requerimiento que Dios desea ver en sus hijos para poder otorgarles la corona de la vida. Es trascendental comprender la palabra “Corona” que, aquí es traducida del vocablo griego “Stephanos”, un símbolo de la realeza. En tiempos del primer siglo la corona era algo que solamente la portaba el emperador de la nación y así es como el Señor está prometiendo a los cristianos que a travez de su fidelidad ellos podían tener un lugar de honor aún mejor que la del emperador que estaba asesinando a tantos cristianos.

La fidelidad a travez  de Apocalipsis es clave ya que por la interpretación de este pasaje llegamos a conclusiones seguras y confiables con respecto a nuestro tema. Si la iglesia del siglo primero y muchos hermanos lograron ser fieles a Dios a travez de las terribles circunstancias, problemas, presiones, tentaciones e intimidación  que experimentaron ellos  y aun así fueron fieles, entonces nosotros también podemos ser fieles en estos tiempos que son más accesibles y tolerantes.  La iglesia del siglo primero no poseía el canon (compilación completa de los libros que han sido inspirados) nosotros no solamente tenemos el canon completo sino que poseemos“todo lo que pertenece a la vida y a la piedad” (2Pedro 1:3-4). Para concluir leemos en 1Pedro 5:12 que Silvano, o quien parece ser no otro mas que Silas, es llamado el hermano fiel. ¡Que honor, que privilegio! Silvano había sido fiel al Señor en lo más obscuro de una cárcel en Filipos en Hechos 16 hasta el punto de ser el emanuense (Secretario) de Pablo quien es considerado  fiel por el apóstol Pedro.  Necesitamos mas Silas en nuestras congregaciones que hayan de ser fieles para con las palabras del Señor. Realmente es posible sin duda alguna alcanzar la fidelidad en nuestros tiempos, pero la pregunta final es; ¿A quién es usted fiel?.

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