Blind Sight

Seeing What a Blind Man Saw, Immediately

When Jesus opened the eyes of the man born blind, the man understood what had just happened. He told the unbelieving leaders, “Why, this is a marvelous thing that you do not know where He is from; yet He opened my eyes!” He then said, “Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of the one who was born blind” (John 9:30, 32).  Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would open the eyes of the blind (Isa. 35:4-5). It had never happened until Jesus came, and Matthew records Jesus doing this at least six times.

There is a remarkable lesson to be learned as one reads Mark’s account of that time when Jesus opened the eyes of blind Bartimaeus in Jericho. When Jesus gave him this blessing He said, “Go your way; your faith has made you well” (Mark 10:52). His eyes were immediately opened. Now if you had been Bartimaeus what would you have done? Would you have rushed to tell others, perhaps your friends or those who cared for you? The remarkable thing is that Jesus told the blind man to go his way. What way did He go? He followed Jesus! The way He chose to go was the way Jesus went!

What an amazing lesson there is to be learned. Salvation does not come by saying a sinner’s prayer of about fifty words and then going your way. The way of Jesus involves far more than words. Just before He ascended, Jesus told the apostles to go and made disciples of every nation. He then told them how this was done. It involved both teaching and baptism. One makes disciples by telling them about Jesus who will save them, but He is far more than our Savior. He has all authority, and one makes disciples by “…teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:18-20).  Until this is taught one is not a disciple of Jesus.

The problem is that sometimes those who find Jesus do not follow the example of Bartimaeus. When they are saved, they literally go their own way and do not follow His way. When that blind man had his eyes opened, he immediately surrendered his way to follow Jesus. Far too many Christians fail to grow like Jesus by following Him. Jesus did teach about worship, the Lord’s supper, studying the Bible, assembling with the saints, standards of morality including sexual matters, the way we speak, dress and react to others.

Being a Christian involves surrendering our ways and walking in the ways of Jesus, following Him. We are His slaves and in every walk of our lives we give up our lives to follow him. We acknowledge Him in our confession before we are baptized, and then every day of our lives it is a confession that He is Lord, and we surrender to Him (Rom. 10:9-10).

Posted in Dan Jenkins | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Blind Sight

The Reality of the Devil

The Reality of the Devil

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

The word “Satan” means “adversary.” The word “devil” means “accuser” or “slanderer.” This being (most likely an angel that God created and then sinned falling from heaven [2 Peter 2:4, Revelation 12:7-9]) is both the primal enemy of God (and his people) and the one who accuses God (and his people). He tempted Eve in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1-4), brought cruel trials upon Job (Job 1:9-12, 2:4-7), and tempted Jesus (Matthew 4:1-10). He is the adversary of God’s people because he seeks to sift them like wheat (Luke 22:31), devour them (1 Peter 5:8), and oppress them (Acts 10:38). He is the enemy of all righteousness (Acts 13:10), the father of lies, and a murderer (John 8:44).Satan bound in chains

The devil is a corruption of something that was once good. He perverts what is good and uses it for purposes that oppose God. When people oppose God, they do the devil’s work and are used by him for his own purposes. (We have mercy upon those who sin because they are being used.)

The devil does not compromise. He demands absolute loyalty. He will not quit until he has conquered as many as he can. God’s people should not compromise with his evil, but use the message of the gospel to convert people to Jesus Christ since the devil’s goal is to get as many as he can to go to hell, a place prepared for him and his angels (Matthew 25:41). Don’t be deceived by his lies as he can appear as an angel of light to trick you (2 Corinthians 11:14).

Posted in Kevin Cauley | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The Reality of the Devil

Singing a Hymn of Confidence?

Hymn: Is My Name Written There?

There is no way that the author of a hymn has of knowing just how widely it may be used. In every generation, there are songs which briefly appear and just a few years later they are rarely used. There are other songs which have been around for decades, and there must be a reason for this. There was no way for Daniel S. Warner to know in 1893 that the song he published would be around over a century and be translated and sung in both Russia and Germany and become part of over forty hymnals. It is not sung as much today as it once was, but the message it conveys is timeless.hymn name

My name is in the Book of Life,

Oh, bless the name of Jesus;

I rise above all doubt and strife,

And read my title clear.

(Refrain)

I know, I know, My name is there;

I know, I know, My name is written there.

Jesus describes the new birth by which one becomes part of the family of God. The Spirit of God uses the words of God to convict men of sin, righteousness and of the coming judgment (John 16:8) and brings them to a burial in the waters of baptism (John 3:5). The Lord says that if this does not happen, he will never enter the kingdom of heaven. However, when one is baptized, he is added to the kingdom his name is “…registered in heaven (Heb. 12:23). There is a divine book that has within it the names of all who have been born again.

At the final judgment that book which contains the names of all the redeemed will be opened. “And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:15). It is these words which lie in the background of the hymn written 130 years ago.

Can you know that your name is there? The Holy Spirit has revealed how one becomes a child of God in His family. Believers who repent (decide to turn their lives over to Jesus) are lead by the Spirit to be buried in water, into the death of Jesus, as they call upon God to save them (1 Pet. 3:21).

These words of the Spirit bears witness that if one does obey Jesus his name will be written in that book. The sobering question is whether your spirit can bear witness that you have obeyed the words of the Spirit. There are two witnesses needed to establish truth. The witness has been given from heaven, there is another witness and that is that your spirit (your soul). Can you say that you have obeyed the Lord and I know your name is written there? The Bible does not say “to my spirit,” but says “with my spirit.” The Spirit bears witness with my spirit that I am saved (Rom. 8:16).

Posted in Dan Jenkins | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Singing a Hymn of Confidence?

God is Bigger

God is Bigger

There is a scene in the movie Prince Caspian where Lucy approaches Aslan the great Lion (who symbolizes Christ). “’Aslan’ said Lucy ‘you’re bigger.’ ‘That is because you are older, little one’ answered he. ‘Not because you are?’ ‘I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger.’”Bigger

The Bible teaches that God does not change. Malachi 3:6 says, “For I am the Lord, I do not change.” Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Psalm 102:27, “But You are the same, And Your years will have no end.” The Bible also teaches that human beings are to grow spiritually. “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). “As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2). These two truths work together. Without stability, there can be no growth. Without the good ground, the plant won’t germinate (Matthew 13:8). Without the river, the tree won’t bear fruit (Psalm 1:3).

We are not plants or trees, but people. Growth occurs from the nourishment of the word of God, our faith in it, and under conditions where faith is tested. “For whom the Lord loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights” (Proverbs 3:12). It’s not until those times of testing that we learn God actually is bigger, not because He has changed, but because we have. Do we teach our children to sing “My God is so big, so strong and so mighty; there’s nothing my God cannot do,” and then shrink back? When we do so, we deny ourselves the opportunity to experience and know our big God. What are we doing to walk by faith?

Posted in Kevin Cauley | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on God is Bigger

Noah walked with God

Noah walked with God

The man Noah is mentioned in both the Old Testament and the New Testament of the Bible.  He was born during a timeframe when the Lord saw that the hearts of mankind were focused upon evil “continually”.  Due to this fact, God had it in mind to destroy man. After generations of bad decisions, the majority chose to wholly pursue evil.  Noah was not one of those people.  He chose to be righteous (Genesis 6:9).  His example (and that of Enoch before him) demonstrates Humans are not inherently evil as Calvinists proclaim.  “Noah Found Grace in the eyes of the Lord” because of the way he walked with God. walked with God

Noah is widely known for his obedience in building an ark by the commandment of the Lord.  The ark saved Noah, his wife, sons, and daughters-in-law from the wrath of God upon the sinful via a worldwide flood.  It is quite likely that those with Noah were saved to enable the repopulation of the earth (Genesis 9:1).  However, consider the possibility that they were saved due to Noah’s righteous instruction (2 Peter 2:5).  God could have easily started humanity again from the rocks of the earth (Matthew 3:9).  He could have repopulated earth with only Noah and his wife birthing children.  God did not choose to just save two, He saved eight.  In the book of Ezekiel, Noah is mentioned in the grouping of two other men: Daniel and Job.  These also were righteous, God-fearing men.  The text in Ezekiel establishes that no righteous man can deliver the souls of others, but rather souls are saved by their own righteousness that is by faith.  Thus, again, consider the proclamation of righteousness by Noah.  Noah walked with God and may very well have led to the obedient walk and salvation of those with him.

Another intriguing aspect of the life of Noah is that his father Lamech declared Noah would bring relief concerning the work of their hands upon the cursed ground.  Recall that the ground of the earth (nothing else) was cursed when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden.  Many consider this curse to continue today, however, the Bible does not substantiate this claim.  In fact, the Bible refutes it.  Following the flood, Noah and his family depart from the Ark.  Noah then made an offering to the Lord.  God declares that for the sake of man He will no longer curse the earth.  Does He know that man will continue to conceive of evil even when young?  Yes.  However, the Eternal Father blesses man in their new beginning, desiring once again that they be fruitful and fill the earth.

Noah is a transitional character in scripture.  He is the end of an era and the start of another.  Noah walked with God and is an example of how important that is.  Noah’s life illustrates the impact of not only living righteously but sharing God’s direction to live so.  Noah could not save the world, but by proper recognition of God, he enabled the creation of another.  He ended a curse, and he drew a blessing.  Noah was only one person, but he was the right person.  He was the person that God desired him to be.

Posted in Travis Main | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Noah walked with God