Weary and Heavy Laden

Weary and Heavy Laden

Welcome to the Sunday morning sick ward of the life-weary and heavy laden; to the Sunday morning assemblage of the wounded and heavily hurting; and to the congregational gathering of the cross-carrying members of the Lord’s church. They have travelled in for one of their vital, tri-weekly appointments with the Great Physician. Don’t let the neckties, dress shirts, high heels and nice dresses fool you. And don’t be deceived by the suddenly-appearing smiles and the “I’m fine, how are you” responses. While such may be truly genuine and reflective of the inner soul of some, there are quite likely many more with whom such responses might possibly be a bit more automatic than authentic, more generic than genuine, and more robotic than realistic.

Feeling weary? You aren't alone.

Feeling weary? You aren’t alone.

The truth is, that if you love enough to probe just a little bit deeper, and look just below the surface, virtually everyone you see here is more than likely struggling with something – whether it is readily apparent to the untrained eye or not. Some may be experiencing the daily pain and stress of a personal, potentially fatal physical ailment. This, while others might be found to be silently struggling to come to grips with an even greater and more intense life-threatening physical ailment involving some beloved family member… such as a spouse, child, or grandchild perhaps.

Many may also be heavily-burdened by some particular personal sin or temptation they struggle to overcome on a daily basis. Some may be carrying and suffering the scars and abrasions produced by such spiritually lethal heart diseases as pride, anger, self-righteousness, or some other sort of sin-producing parasite or paralysis. Still others are quite likely heavily burdened and legitimately heart-broken because of a seemingly hopeless situation involving certain of their loved ones who simply will not come to the Great Physician for the priceless and sin-cleansing cure they so desperately need in order to obtain and enjoy a full earthly, as well as a phenomenally beautiful eternal, life.

Yes, look around. But don’t just look with your physical eyes; really and truly turn and look with your ‘spiritual heart of insight’ eyes. Understand that the person behind you, beside you, and before you, is a weak, and burdened, and hurting, human being. And they have come here, seeking some measure of healing. Help them. Hold them. Love them. Lift them. Listen to them. And help bear their burden with them. Be, just what “The Doctor” ordered (Please see: Matthew 9:11-13, 11:28-29; Acts 20:35; and Galatians 6:2).

 

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Living Without Excuse

We are Without Excuse

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

His power and Divine Nature are clearly seen.

His power and Divine Nature are clearly seen.

Romans 1:20

I think we can all agree that God is under attack in our society these days, and one of the biggest weapons used against him by the militant atheists is that to have faith in a “Higher Power” goes against rational scientific evidence.  “Science proves that God is a myth!” we hear over and over, when in fact the opposite is true.  Faith in Yahweh is not a subjective, blind, “leap into the abyss hoping someone is there to catch you,” emotional experience.  True faith both can and must be reasonable and intellectual.

Because of this, the existence of God is provable to any fair-minded individual.  Take, for example, the undeniable existence of the universe.  What is the explanation of its existence?

  • Is it eternal?  Not according to modern science, which is attempting to give an age to the universe…and thus admitting by default that it has an origin and is therefore not eternal.
  • Did it create itself from nothing?  Not according to modern science, which admits there is no known natural process in which matter could fashion itself from nothing.

Since the universe is not eternal and did not create itself, the only logical explanation is that it was created by something which existed before it and is superior to it…God (Rom. 1:20; cf. Heb. 3:4).

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Exceptions?

Exceptions?

It is a universal truth, although not universally acknowledged, that there are no exceptions to the rules of God.

You are not an exception.

You are not an exception.

Quite a few men, in their self-centric world-view, naively imagine that this truth does not apply to them, that they are indeed the exception, and that, this time, it will be different when they do it. There is an entire philosophy of thought, held to by almost half the population, called progressivism. It is a philosophy which, despite years of evidence to the contrary, likes to imagine that men are capable of doing things in new, improved ways, obtaining results which will be different from those results obtained in the past.

A wise king, Solomon, sagely observed approximately three thousand years ago, “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9; ESV) He went on to note, “Is there a thing of which it is said, ‘See, this is new’? It has been already in the ages before us. There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after.” (Ecclesiastes 1:10-11; ESV)

There is a lot of truth to the sentiment, “those who don’t remember the past are doomed to repeat it.” By studying the actions, and the consequences of those actions, done in the past, we can get a pretty good idea of how our own choices are going to work out for us. Thus the apostle Paul, commenting in the New Testament upon the utility of studying the Old Testament, noted, “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition.” (1 Corinthians 10:11a; NKJV) There aren’t exceptions to God’s rules, and it is this universal truth which allows us to profit from the study of the Scriptures.

Elsewhere, this same truth is stated in a different way: “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” (Galatians 6:7-8; ESV)

The harvest you reap will always depend upon the nature of the seeds which are planted.

There are no exceptions to this rule, physically or spiritually. You can’t plant corn and expect tomatoes. You can’t breed sheep and expect to get calves. You can’t plant sin and expect to reap a harvest of joy and happiness.

“The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23a) There are no exceptions to this truth. God promised from the very beginning that sin would bring death (cf. Genesis 2:17) and counseled sinful men to learn to master their temptation to sin (cf. Genesis 4:7).

But men insist that for them it will be different. Our culture, following in the footsteps of so many others, plunges headlong towards sin, celebrating it, throwing parades in its honor, and defending it. Like the pagans of old, they think it odd when some choose not to run with them in the same flood of dissipation. (cf. 1 Peter 4:4) But the vices of Sodom and the excesses of Rome are not anything new, and God guarantees that they will always and forever produce the same results of unhappiness, sorrow and judgment.

Our Lord Jesus observed that sin was the true problem faced by mankind. Observing the suffering experienced in His own day and age, He asked whether those who had experienced great suffering were somehow exceptions. He concluded, “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:3; cf. vs 1-5)

There are no exceptions. The solution is always the same. And there is only one solution. Jesus said “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)

The path of Jesus, leading to God, is laid out for us in the Gospel of Christ, and it is through obedience to that Gospel that we will find salvation and joy. (cf. Romans 1:16) A major part of the plan Christ teaches is the necessity of dying to sin. (cf. Romans 6:1-4) Therefore: Repent! Give it up. Realize that you aren’t the exception and sin is never going to produce a harvest of hope and happiness.

Thanks be to God that in His love He shows us a better way. Let us pray we have the wisdom to learn to listen to what He is teaching.

 

 

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Let’s Be Thankful

Let’s Be Thankful!

Thanksgiving is my favorite time of the year.  I really enjoy getting together with family, cooking the big holiday meals, and sitting down around the dinner table.  I am thankful for all of these wonderful things each year, and my figure shows it!  There are so many things to be thankful for each and every day.  God blesses us abundantly.  He sends us sunshine and the rain (Matthew 5:45).  He sends us fruitful seasons (Acts 14:17).  He blesses us with friends and family.

Do you appreciate each day you have been given?

Do you appreciate each day you have been given?

Consider this great passage and then be thankful for these wonderful spiritual blessings: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:3-12).

Are we thankful to God for all of these wonderful gifts?  God bless you, and I love you.

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TODO LO QUE ATEIS EN LA TIERRA

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