The Reality of Control

The Reality of Control

My wife and I grew up and lived most of our adult lives in the great state of Maine. Maine; where winter ice coverage on lakes, as well as single storm snowfall amounts are often measured in multiple feet at a time instead of merely in inches, or worse yet, in incremental fractions thereof. Hence, it should come as no surprise – nor does it to us anymore – when the temperatures in Oklahoma where God has now placed us to serve His people get really “cold” (?) and drop into, let’s say, the 30’s or 40’s mid-“winter” J, should we occasionally hear someone jokingly blame us for “bringing the cold weather with us.” And my typical response to such is usually something like: “You’re giving us way too much credit! If you think we have that kind of power – enough to control the weather – then you have far too much faith in our abilities!”

Whether in Maine or Oklahoma, God is in control.

Whether in Maine or Oklahoma, God is in control.

In like manner – only even more preposterously if possible – perhaps you are one of those faithful Christians who has patiently sought to reach out to a lost loved one with the grace-laden gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, only to hear them not-so-jokingly, but in fact, at times, quite antagonistically retort, “Yeah, but you can make the bible say anything you want it to say.” WOW! Talk about someone having WAY too much faith in the power of another! That would take infinitely and immeasurably more power than to even be able to control the weather world-wide would! And here’s why: Psalm 119:89(ESV) says: ‘Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.’

You see, God’s word is eternal. It is more than ‘written in stone’ as we say. It is forever firmly fixed and eternally inscribed in heaven; once and forever completely and flawlessly bound, settled, and protected, far out of the reach of any flawed, sinful, messed up mortal human being to ever even begin to control or make do anything. Kings cannot corrupt it, Sheiks cannot subvert it, and Presidents cannot pervert it. Atheists cannot alleviate it, Hollywood cannot harpoon it, and so-called ‘supreme courts’ cannot rescind, rewrite, or reinvent it. It says what it says; it means what it says, and it says what it means.

So for anyone, anyone at all, to even begin to imagine in their wildest dreams, such an incredibly impossible assessment of your abilities is simply nothing short of absolutely absurd when it comes to almighty God’s eternal word, which is, once and for all time (Just like the one true and biblical faith we find in the bible – Jude 3), forever firmly fixed, established, and bound in heaven, far beyond the reach of any and all humans’ ability to change, challenge, twist, distort or influence in any way.

You see, everyone has only one of two options to choose from when it comes to the unchangeable truths inherent in, the all-authoritative, eternal, and inerrant word of almighty God:

Learn, believe, and obey what is written therein and live forever in the presence of its Author; or, reject what is written therein and be forever rejected by its Author. It’s that simple.

Now, let’s look again at what it says, shall we?

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Zephaniah: 4 Easy Steps to Hell

How To Go To Hell in Four Easy Steps:

Perhaps you are scratching your head and wondering just what this title implies. Does it suggest that a prophet of God taught people how to get to hell? Actually, it does… well, sort of! Zephaniah lived and worked during the reign of Josiah. Josiah was one of the few kings that truly turned to the Lord. He instituted sweeping, nation-wide religious reform, casting down idols and destroying the high places where people worshipped false gods. However, Josiah’s reforms, although fervent, did not effect any lasting change in the morality of the people. Zephaniah was sent by God to the nation of Judah to encourage the people to repent.

The direction to heaven or hell... Zephaniah's words tell you how.

The direction to heaven or hell… Zephaniah’s words tell you how.

In Zephaniah 3:1-2, the Prophet Zephaniah stated, “Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city! She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the LORD; she drew not near to her God.”  His message is simple, “Notice what is about to happen to Nineveh and the other great nations. (Zephaniah 1:8 – 2:15) Watch God’s judgment in action and take note as to why it is happening.” In chapter 3:2, Zephaniah lists four simple steps that would lead to Jerusalem and Judah’s downfall.

Today even you, like the people of Jerusalem, can complete these four simple steps and have your place reserved – for all eternity in “the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone…” (Rev. 21:8).

  1. “Obey not the voice.” Ignore the commandments of God. Don’t read or study the Bible. Skip worship. Be lazy.
  2. “Receive Not Correction.” Develop a prideful attitude. Don’t let others tell you that you are wrong. Get mad when they try to correct you. Tell them: “That’s just your interpretation.” Or, stick your fingers in your ears and yell “Nah, Nah, Nah, NahNah!
  3. “Trust Not In The Lord.” Develop a lack of faith and trust in God.  Exemplify this attitude by your worship of materialism. Trust in the “Almighty Dollar.” Spend the Lord’s money on the Lottery. Call Dr. Laura for help, forget about the Bible – it is irrelevant to modern man.
  4. “Draw Not Near To God.” Place no value in fellowship with the Lord.  In fact, run as far from Him as you can. Be an atheist. Be an agnostic. Become apathetic.

How To Go To Heaven in Four Easy Steps:

Interestingly, the “Prophet Zep’s Four Easy Steps” work both directions. We can take “Zep’s Four Easy Steps: How to Get to Hell,” and apply them in reverse and from them we can determine…

Today even you can follow these four simple steps and have your name written – for all eternity in the book of life. “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” (Rev. 3:5)

  1. “Obey the Voice.” Obey God and His Son Jesus Christ. Heb.5:8-9 “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him…”We learn to obey God as we learn of His Word. 2 Tim. 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
  2. “Receive Correction.” As we read, study and understand God’s Word we come to know what obedience to God’s Word requires. The Word teaches us what we are to obey. 2 Tim. 3:16-17 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” Solomon had this to say with regards to receiving correction, Prov. 3:11-12 “…despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:  For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.”
  3. “Trust in God.” We cannot trust in ourselves or we will fall. The prophet said in Jeremiah 10:23 “O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.” Solomon said in Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” When we hear and heed God’s Word and we receive and apply His correction we demonstrate our trust in Him.
  4. “Draw Near to God.” When we place our complete trust in God and submit ourselves to His Will, we draw ourselves near to Him and He to us. James 4:7-8 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded….”

Unfortunately, Judah succumbed to the same fate as those other nations. Jeremiah, a contemporary of Zephaniah, showed that Israel had already completed the first two of the Prophet Zep’s Four Easy Steps: How to Get to Hell. Jeremiah 7:28 “But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the LORD their God, nor receiveth correction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth.” The Lord had previously commanded them to follow the Prophet Zep’s Four Easy Steps: How to Get to Heaven. Jeremiah 7:23 “But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.”

Will you not do as God commanded Israel – obey His voice, receive His correction, trust in and draw near to Him?

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All Authority

All Authority

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

Matthew 28:18

All of mankind is subject to the authority of Christ.

All of mankind is subject to the authority of Christ.

This was the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy made centuries earlier (Dan. 7:13-14), and was the basis for Peter’s statement made days later on Pentecost:  “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2:36).  Paul, Peter, and the writer of Hebrews also proclaimed the ultimate authority of Christ.  Listen…

For God has put all things in subjection under his feet.  (1 Cor. 15:27a)

That he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.  And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.  (Eph. 1:20-23)

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.  (Phil. 2:9-10)

And you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.  (Col. 2:10)

Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.  (1 Pet. 3:21-22)

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things… (Heb. 1:1-2)

You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet.  Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control… (Heb. 2:7-8a)

Isn’t it interesting how so many who claim to follow Christ choose to unrepentantly disobey him and rebel against his commands and teachings?

For example, most of the professed followers of Christ in Christendom deny that one has to be baptized in order to be saved…even though that was a command Jesus gave right after declaring he had all authority (Matt. 28:18-19), and even though Peter declared in the above quote both that baptism saves and that Jesus had authorities and powers subject to him (1 Pet. 3:21-22).

What did Jesus say?

Why do you call me “Lord, Lord,” and not do what I tell you?  (Luke 6:46)

Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  On that day many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?”  And then will I declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”  (Matt. 7:21-23)

Isn’t it interesting how we want Jesus to be our Savior…and we CALL him our Lord…but we like to pick and choose which of his commands to obey?  Regardless of what we say to ourselves to fool ourselves, Jesus IS Lord.  He HAS all authority.  If we go to heaven, it will be both by his grace and because we penitently obey ALL of what he has told us to do.

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Saving the Family

Saving the Family

How often have you heard it? You set up a bible study with someone whose whole family heritage and background is steeped and rooted in many of the foreign-to-scripture, false and misleading doctrines of man-made denominationalism. But after several weeks of serious and in-depth “book, chapter, and verse” exploration of the sacred text, you slowly begin to see the light of truth starting to pierce through their fog of denominationally-induced darkness. Eventually, they come to the point where they understand, that according to God: one must repent and be baptized specifically for the forgiveness of their sins to be saved (Acts 2:38); that water baptism is the precise and divinely pre-determined point at which one’s sins are legitimately washed away as they call upon the name of the Lord – and not a moment before (Acts 22:16); and that one’s “by faith” baptism into Christ is where one accepts God’s gift of grace, becomes a child of God, and is thus saved and added by God to His Son’s church (Eph. 2:8-9; Gal. 3:26-27: 1 Ptr. 3:21; Acts 2:37-47).

Conform to Christ, then transform the family.

Conform to Christ, then transform the family.

But then comes “that” phrase: “But if I do this, then I’m condemning my whole family!” With all due respect, that is one of Satan’s biggest and most blatantly blasphemous lies! It hinders or halts the salvation of countless lost and misled souls, because nothing – NOTHING – could be any further from the truth (Jn. 8:31-47)! And here’s why: All sinners who have not yet obeyed the gospel and had their sins washed away thereby, are all already condemned anyway (Rom. 3:23), period – no matter whether one of their other family members ever decides to fully and finally study, accept, and obey the truth and become saved or not!

In fact, if one does eventually get to the point of studying and understanding the truth, but then refuses to obey it, it is actually THEN that they are most actively assisting and contributing to the condemnation of their entire family, as they are not doing what is so absolutely vital to helping their family to truly escape their currently unsaved condition, but are instead, aiding, assisting, supporting and promoting their loved ones’ delusion of self-induced deception and destruction! The only and ultimate action one can take to secure their own salvation, as well as to give their loved ones the absolutely best possible chance they can to escape eternal destruction, is to learn and obey the gospel themselves, and then go back and teach every loved one they have why they obeyed the gospel, and why they must do so too!

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Truths at the Cross

Truths at the Cross

The theme for this year has been “At His Cross.” The emphasis for this month is that each of us finds truth at His cross. As you stand at the foot of His cross, what great truths come into your heart? Sometimes our greatest understanding of truth comes in the midst of great trauma.

Do certain truths come to mind when thinking on the cross?

Do certain truths come to mind when thinking on the cross?

At His cross, I learn the truth about myself. There were so many who were impacted by His death and each had his own reason for being there. I wonder if I would have stood beside those who mocked Him? Would I be among those who walked by and kept going with little interest in what was happening? Would I have stood beside His mother and sought to comfort her, or would I have not been there at all like those disciples who fled from the garden? The answer to these questions might be discovered by seeing what emotions I have during the meditation I do when I commune with Him around the His table.

At His cross, I learn the sinfulness of mankind. Think of all the evil that filled the hearts of those evil men whose agenda brought about His death. Three times Pilate asked these men, “What evil has He done?” (Luke 23:22). There is no answer to this question, for He never did even one thing wrong. The Jews could not find any evidence as to why He should die until two false witnesses lied about what He had said about the temple. Why was the mob so enraged? Why were the words spoken to Him and about Him so filled with such blasphemy? Evil is a reality in our world and it has never been seen more clearly than at the foot of the cross.

At His cross, I learn the truth about my inability to save myself. My own “goodness” could not take away the guilt of only one sin. The only hope I have of heaven is that hanging on that cross was the One whose sinless life could redeem me. My sinfulness means I owed a debt, and on that cross was One who paid my debt. There was nothing I could do to remove sin and God sent His son to pay my debt. I feel my sinfulness and helplessness at the cross.

At His cross, I learn about God’s providential love which surrounds me now. Jesus died for me, a mortal worthy of the torment of hell because of my rebellion. Now if God did that much for me when I was His enemy, how much more will He do for me now that I am His child? Mediate on these words, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us…For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (Rom. 5:8-10). He loved me then and He loves me much more now!

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