Wise Guy (Part 1)

Have you ever been called a wise guy?  Likely, you were called a wise guy for saying something sarcastic.  This happens to me a pretty often.  However, it would be nice if someone meant it in regard to my intelligence on a matter.  Most people would like to be considered a wise person in regard to some aspect of life.  The question then becomes:  “What does a wise person look like?”  Do they look like Isaac Newton? Albert Einstein? Spock?  How about Marie Curie, Elizabeth I, or Hillary Clinton?  In truth, looks are not a reliable factor in determining wisdom.

A wise person is defined by his or her behavior.  Behaviors are driven by knowledge and wisdom comes from knowledge as well.  Man can demonstrate wisdom in regard to an endless number of subjects.  For instance, knowledge gained from a bee sting can lead to the behavior of carefulness around bees.  This is wisdom.  Similarly, knowledge of cooking can lead to caution around a hot oven.  Again, wisdom is shown.  Finally, consider the knowledge gained of the human body which leads to urgency involving strokes.  All of these situations involve the use of wisdom.  If the behaviors of care, caution, and urgency were missing from these scenarios wisdom would be lacking.

When it comes to Godly wisdom, Solomon provides knowledge inspired of the Holy Spirit.  Proverbs 9:10 – “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.”  Fear in this text can involve both being afraid of God and having reverence toward Him.  Fear and reverence come from the knowledge of God who is Holy (I Peter 1:16).  A man with Godly wisdom will exhibit behavior affirming his wisdom.

This series of articles will examine Godly wisdom as seen through the behaviors of a wise Christian.  For this particular article, let us consider Proverbs 13:7-8:

 “There are rich with nothing; poor with abundant riches.  The redemption of an individual’s life is his wealth and the poor do not hear rebuke.”

The individual to imitate in this passage is the poor man.  His wealth results in redemption, not rebuke.  The words of Solomon here are not discussing earthly wealth.  This can be verified through the words of two other scriptures.  First from Solomon’s father David, then from the apostle Peter:

Psalms 49:6-8 – “They that trust in their wealth, And boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; None of them can by any means redeem his brother, Nor give to God a ransom for him (For the redemption of their life is costly, And it faileth for ever)”

1 Peter 1:18 – “knowing that ye were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from your vain manner of life handed down from your fathers; but with precious blood, as of a lamb without spot, even the blood of Christ:”

The poor of Proverbs 13:7-8 are those who have a humble spirit in God such as in Matthew 5:3 (“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”).  The richness of the poor comes from their claim in the blood of Christ.  Redemption cannot apply for those denying Christ.  How can an individual have a claim in the blood of Christ?

2 Timothy 2:11-13 – “Faithful is the saying: For if we died with him, we shall also live with him: if we endure, we shall also reign with him: if we shall deny him, he also will deny us: if we are faithless, he abideth faithful; for he cannot deny himself.”

From this verse observe a number of points. First, living with Christ (which would imply a man was redeemed) requires dying with Him.  According to Romans 6:1-9, dying with Christ means man must go through the behavior of baptism.  This brings him into contact with His blood and gives him claim in Christ (Galatians 3:27).  Second, enduring, so that man can reign with Christ, also involves specific behaviors to engage and avoid.  I Corinthians 10:13 makes it clear that temptations to the Christian exist that would cause him to not endure in Christ.  Yet, He is faithful such that man can endure in the required behaviors.  Third, men deny Christ and are denied by Christ though their behaviors: Titus 1:16 – “They profess that they know God; but by their works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.” Jesus said in Luke 6:46 – “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?”  Finally, to have faithful behavior, men must have faith.  Romans 10:17 declares “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.”  Based on this passage, man gains faith by knowledge through the word of God which sparks his godly and therefore wise behavior.

These points being identified, there is a conclusion that exists to be gleaned from Proverbs 13:7-8.  That conclusion is that a man gains his riches through knowing the value of God’s Truth and then using godly wisdom he acts upon it.

Matthew 13:44 – “The kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in the field; which a man found, and hid; and in his joy he goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.”

 

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We Are Without Excuse

Romans 1:18-20 – “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.  For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,”
NKJV

God expects all mankind to recognize His existence through observation of what He created.  Inspiration says that His existence and eternal power has been clearly evident since the beginning of the creation.  Defining the creation as the world in which we live contained within the observable universe.  In other words, the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, the sky, etc, etc.  God simply said “the things that are made“.  We are going to call this the universe.  God said that his existence has been so evident that all those who refuse to acknowledge this and find themselves standing in shame before the judgment seat will be unable to plead a case based on ignorance of God because He has clearly shown His eternal existence, nature and power in His creation.  God says he will not accept that as an excuse.

Now when we peel all the layers off of this and get right down to the core issue, do Christians have objective or subjective faith?  Is our faith objective, based on facts and not influenced by personal feelings or, is our faith subjective, based on feelings, attitudes, opinions and whimsical hopes?  Jesse Ventura, governor of Minnesota, made a statement in an interview once where he said “religion is a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people”.   God says this is not true.  God says that faith in His existence is something clearly proclaimed throughout His creation and that people like Mr. Ventura are going to have no excuse.  Everybody has faith in something.  Mr. Ventura has faith but it clearly isn’t in God.  The atheists have faith that everything in the observable universe came about as a result of naturalistic processes which brought about the creation of everything in the universe.  So then who’s faith is really based on observable fact (objective) and who’s is really based on feelings, attitudes, opinions and whimsical hopes (subjective)? 

I will submit for consideration that the faith based on observable facts is the faith we should build our hopes on and not faith based on feelings, attitudes and opinions.  The purpose of this lesson is to consider some of the basic most fundamental facts that support our faith in God and to see who’s faith really is based in fact and who’s is only a crutch for the weak-minded.  To do this we need to keep in mind that these observable facts have been built into God’s creation since the beginning.  The first people who ever walked on the earth were expected to be able to see this and draw the conclusion that God existed.  One would think that with all the passing millennia and with all the technological advancements we have and with all of our accumulated scientific knowledge that something as apparent as God and His eternal power, that was said to have been clearly evident since the beginning would be all the more easy to see today.  One would certainly think that.   But obviously it is not the case.   There are none so blind as those who will not see. 

To the question of whether or not God exists we need to examine all the options available to answer this question.  When you narrow all the variables down until nothing is left but the key options on which the answer depends then one can usually determine the truth from eliminating the impossible options until only one is left.  When the impossible has been eliminated, whatever remains must be the truth.    In this instance there are fewer options available than one would expect.  To answer the question of whether or not God exists we need to look to the origins of the observable universe to determine the most key options.   Eliminate evolution for now which is a serious hurdle to be sure, but before there can be any evolution, there must first be the universe.  Because without the universe there can be no evolution.  So lets go all the way back to the existence of the universe and look at the options we have to explain that, which must operate within known natural laws in order to be of any value in a factual examination. 

There are laws of nature which govern the behavior of all things.  Everything in existence is subject to these laws of nature.  Some examples of these are gravity, the laws of motion and others.  What makes a law of nature a law is that there are no known exceptions.  A law is an absolute rule.  If something which were governed by the laws of nature were somehow found to operate outside these laws then it would be by definition a unnatural or supernatural occurrence.   

If one is having a debate with an atheist over creation vs evolution and they make a statement along the lines that the physical laws we know today were not in effect then, well….  You just won the debate…  Atheists argue evolution from a purely naturalistic position and if they have to go outside the laws of nature in order to make it work then they have admitted to something unnatural, or supernatural.  Once we set aside the laws of nature in an examination of this issue, we have just crossed the line from a faith based on reason to a faith based on feelings. 

So with that said, let’s take a look at the only three options we have available to answer the question of whether there is a God or not based on the “things which are made”, defined as “the universe”.   First off, let’s start with a basic premise that states, if the universe was created then there must be a creator. 

The available options to answer this question are:

1)  The universe is eternal.
2)  The universe was created.
3)  The universe created itself out of nothing.

Lets look at option number 1, Is the universe eternal?  This is a question with only two possible answers, either yes, or no.  If the universe is not eternal then it had to have a beginning which implies some sort of act of creation in some fashion.  If the universe is not eternal then option 1 is eliminated leaving us with only option 2 and 3 to answer the question.  

First lets define the word eternal to be something that has always been in existence and will always be in existence.  An important element to consider in answering the question of whether or not the universe is eternal is found within the words “things that were made“.  Paul used those words by inspiration of God for a reason.  Things that are made all possess one common characteristic for which we know of no exception.  Things that are made are temporary.  Mankind cannot identify one single thing in the universe that is not temporary.   Things which are not temporary are eternal, meaning, they have no beginning or ending.  We do not know of any material thing in our universe that is eternal in existence.  The sun and the stars are all burning balls of gas which will some time in the future be exhausted.  Their fuel supplies will eventually be exhausted and their fires will eventually go out.  Our sun gives us life.  Without it, we would perish from the earth in a very short period of time.  Our sun is not permanent.  It is using its own resources every day to sustain itself in its present state and that fuel is not being replenished.  When that fuel runs out, it’s over.  Our sun cannot have been always in existence or the fuel which sustains it would have been long since exhausted.  Our scientists know this.  This is not something that is a secret to our astronomers.  We all know that the sun and the earth we live with are not permanent.  They had a beginning and they will have an ending.  We are focusing on this from the perspective of someone living thousands of years ago, however looking at this from a scientific standpoint only reinforces the notion that if those who lived in the beginning had no excuse, we certainly don’t either. 

In science we have three laws called the laws of thermodynamics. Science likes to use long fancy words but the meaning for this is very elementary.  thermo means heat, and dynamic means power.  So the laws of thermodynamics are the laws of heat power.  As far as science can tell, these Laws are absolute.  All things in the observable universe are affected by and obey the Laws of heat power with no known exceptions.  We will be using the first 2 laws in our examination of this subject. 

The First Law of heat power, commonly known as the Law of Conservation of Energy, states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed in nature. The total quantity of energy in the universe remains the same. It can change from one form to another, for example, heat can change from motion to electricity to light, but the total amount of energy in the universe remains constant.  There is a similar law called the Law of Conservation of Matter which states that matter cannot be created or destroyed in a closed system, although it may be rearranged by the application of energy.  Einstein gave us the famous formula E=mc2, which tells us that matter can be converted into energy and vice versa at a fixed exchange rate. The First Law of heat power should therefore be combined with the Law of Conservation of Matter to state that the total amount of mass and energy in the universe remains constant. Matter and energy are interchangeable which brings us to the second law of heat power.

The Second Law of heat power is commonly known as the Law of Increased Entropy. “Entropy” is defined as a measure of unusable energy within a closed or isolated system (the universe for example). As usable energy decreases and unusable energy increases, “entropy” increases.   Simply stated, useable energy is constantly becoming less and less available in a closed system and will eventually run out.   To illustrate this, think of the gas that powers our cars.  The fuel burns and that energy is used.  Once the fuel is burned, part of it is converted into unusable energy.  All matter has energy.  However, all energy is not useable.  Once the usable energy has been exhausted, none remains.  In the future, there will be no more gas for our cars, there will be no more coal to burn, there will be no more natural gas and, eventually there will be no more sunlight.  All of the useable energy in the universe will have been exhausted.  This is known as the law of increased entropy. 

What these laws teach us is that we live in a universe that had a beginning.  It had a moment in time from which all that we can observe had to be set in place and started.  Modern science does not dispute this fact at all.  It is accepted throughout the scientific community that our universe is not eternal.  They know this and it makes them very uncomfortable.  Why?  Because we have eliminated option #1.  The universe is not eternal and there is no way to get around it.  What we have left is option 2 and option 3.  Since the universe is not eternal then it either had to have been created or it created itself out of nothing.  There are no other options to answer the question of the existence of God.  This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.  God expected people who lived at the beginning of the creation to be able to figure this out on their own.  One does not have to be a 21st century rocket scientist to see this.

What about option 3?  The universe created itself out of nothing.  At face value one would think that could be answered easily.  We would have eliminated it and have only one option left.  But science, eager to explain away the existence of God has come up with numerous theories on how the universe might have been able to create itself out of nothing.  And every single one of them have fallen by the way side because of one inescapable fact.  None of them can occur without violating the natural laws which govern the physics of the universe we live in today and scientists have to prove a completely naturalistic origin of the universe. 

In addition to the laws of of heat power we have the law of cause and effect.  This law states that all material effects must have an adequate and preceding cause.   A fly by itself landing on a book is not an adequate cause to effect the falling of that book from a table.  The cause must be adequate to accomplish the effect.   And the cause must have preceded the effect in time.  There is no such thing as a retroactive cause to an effect.  We have already determined from a scientific perspective that our universe had a beginning so then what caused it to come into existence?  If there was nothing in existence before the universe was caused then what caused it?  In order for there to be a cause something had to exist before the universe did.  This something was greater than the universe, possessed more power than the sum total of all matter and energy which made up the universe and from looking at the way the universe is ordered, possessed considerable intent and purpose in so doing. 

In a nutshell, if option number 3 is true then the universe and everything in it had to have come from nothing without an adequate cause.  Scientists know that and they don’t like it.  They know that nothing creates nothing but nothingness.  They know that if our universe came about naturally that at some point in time nothing had to create something without cause.  Option number 3 is eliminated.  Why? Because it’s impossible.  And it shouldn’t take a scientist to know this either.  And when we eliminate the impossible whatever remains must be the truth.    

Option 1, the universe is eternal, has been eliminated.  Option 3, the universe created itself from absolutely nothing with no cause has been eliminated because it’s impossible.  There is only one left.  Option 2, the universe was created.    That’s the only one of the original three options left.  So, then the next question in our search for the truth of the existence of God is, who or what created the universe?  That’s the only two options available to answer that as well.  The universe was created so it was either created by a “who” or a “what”; a “someone” or a “something”. 

Let’s look at “what” may have created the universe.  We have already determined that nothing can create something with no apparent cause.  But what about those who say “the universe was in another form prior to this one”.  Ok, then what caused it to change forms and what caused it to come into existence?  Because if it had to change forms then it had an ending, so it was temporary just like our universe is.  Therefore it had to have a beginning just like our universe did and in order to have that beginning it had to have an adequate cause.  We can go on and on and on back through as many hypothetical forms of universes as we want but in the end, if the universe was created by something, then there has to be a first creation from nothing with nothing with no cause.  That is an inescapable fact because every material thing in our universe now is temporary and had a beginning somewhere, sometime. 

Our universe could not have been created by a “what” or a “something” and remain within the natural laws that govern the behavior of all material things.  So what about the “who”?  If the universe could not have been created by something material and we have eliminated that as one of two options then what remains must be the truth.  It has to be “Who”.  So now we have to determine the characteristics of “who”.  The “who” that created the universe had to have certain characteristics in order to qualify. 

First, whoever created the universe had to be greater than the universe and powerful enough to cause it to come into existence and intelligent enough to accomplish it. 

Second, whoever created the universe has to have pre-existed all matter.  The implications of this are that whoever created the universe cannot be a material being made of matter.  He has to exist without form or substance and he has to be able to exist outside of our closed system universe. 

Third and last, whoever created the universe has to be an eternal being.  In order to have created anything temporary within eternity, someone has to have lived who never had a beginning.  In order for anything temporary to exist, someone eternal has to have existed forever. 

Now it’s important to keep in mind that if someone who possessed all these characteristics did not exist, then it would be impossible for anything else to exist.  In order for anything material to exist, something must exist with the intelligence, power and the ability to create it. 

There is an unconfirmed story that Sir Isaac Newton had an atheist friend with whom he used to debate the existence of God with.  They were great friends and spent some time together.  At one point in Newton’s life he acquired one of those models of our solar system that is set up with a complex machinery that causes all the planets and their moons to rotate in their orbits around the sun which is in the center.  Isaac Newton was quite proud of this acquisition and when his atheist friend came over for a visit, Newton invited him in to see his working model of the solar system.  Upon seeing the model in action, Newton’s friend was quite enthusiastic about it and he asked Newton who built it for him.  Isaac Newton always ready to make a point to his atheistic friend in favor of the existence of God told him, “nobody built it for me.  It just happened naturally.” 

This story, whether true or not, teaches us the basic concept that with intelligent design there is understood the existence of an intelligent designer.  When there is order, there is understood the existence of an organizer.  If something is created, then there must be a creator. 

There is another story that is told to illustrate a point we need to consider.  God and a man were talking one day and God says to the man, “I made you, I created you from the dust of the earth”.  The man says, “that’s no big deal, I can do that too”, so he stoops down and takes a handfull of dust and God says “Wait…..   You have to use your own dust”.  Hebrews 3:4 reads “For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God“

Our universe was created.  There is no doubt about it and scientists know it.  They are still struggling with whether it was created by something or someone and the only real reason they are doing so is because they don’t want to admit it.  Now to be fair to science in general, there have been several renowned scientists who have come forth and admitted that something is very wrong with the naturalist theories of the origin of the universe.  Big gun scientists who literally wrote some of the textbooks which outline many of the scientific theories used today have jumped ship because they have realized that there is no other possible logical conclusion, other than a creator, that can be drawn from the facts.  For this they are ostracized from the scientific community, rejected as scholars and treated like superstitious idiots.  Their once famous names fade from memory and have been replaced by new naturalist champions who tell the people what they want to hear.  Once one admits there is a creator, what naturally follows is, what does this creator expect of me?  People don’t like expectations because that implies following someone else’s will or direction.  People don’t want to accept the fact that there is a creator because they are uncomfortable with the concept of doing His will, living by His direction and ordering their lives around His expectations. 

We stated earlier that if some material thing which had a beginning exists now, that something which does not have a beginning and is not material in the sense we know it must have existed forever.  If something is not material, then it must be immaterial or, spiritual.  Everything in the universe can be placed in one of two categories.  Matter and energy are interchangeable so we can put them all together into one category.  On the other side, we have all that is not material or made of matter.  What is that?  The answer is….  “Mind”.  Everything in the universe can be categorized as either mind or matter.  Does the mind exist outside of or independent of matter and energy?  Does the mind obey the laws of heat power and the other physical laws of nature upon which the behavior of everything we know depend?

A scientist by the name of John Eccles believed that our minds were independent of our material bodies.  During his life, he set out to prove or disprove this theory.  During his studies and experimentations he was able to determine that the human mind can display intent, purpose and perception without ever showing a hint of brain activity.  He was able to establish a dual existence within man’s brain and he called it man’s mind.  Basically our minds operates within our brains similar to how a librarian operates within a library.  Our minds use our brains like a librarian uses a library.  It exists, works inside and uses the brain but it is not the brain.  as one would imagine there is a lot of controversy over his findings, however it should be noted that John Eccles received the Nobel prize for science which lends a great deal of credibility to his findings.  That means he’s hard to argue with on the matter.  He wrote a book about it too.  It’s called “How the Self Controls its Brain.”  What this means to us is that there is some credible researched scientific evidence out there which points to the reality of a mind operating independently within a person’s brain.

God says man was created in His image (Genesis 1:27).  This was never said of the animals.  God breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul, (Genesis 2:7).  Again, this was never said of the animals.  There is a dual existence within man.  Mankind possesses something given to him by God which is different than anything any animal on earth received and at the same time is similar to something that is inherent with God or in His image.  What is that?  Something with the capacity to hope, to have compassion, to aspire, to understand morality, know right from wrong, to reason and to live forever.  we have a mind.  God is a spiritual entity existing outside our natural boundaries.  There is nothing about Him that is material.  Therefore if He gave us something in His image it cannot be a material thing.  It has to be immaterial.  We have something, given to us by God, that exists independently of our natural boundaries.     

Something material exists today that is not eternal.  In order for anything temporary to exist, something has to have existed forever that is not material.  What is it?  Mind?  That great, eternal, all powerful, all knowing, mind.  Bigger than the universe, older than time itself, intelligent and powerful enough to create what we see around us from nothing, possessing compassion, love, aspiration, knowing right from wrong and possessing the ability to reason.  What some would call that great mind, I prefer to call, my God and Creator. 

We share something in common with the Atheists.  We have faith in something.  We all know that in order for something to exist now, the laws of nature which every known thing obeys had to be set aside.  The Atheists believe in creation outside the normal laws of nature with no explanation for cause.  Christians believe in creation outside the normal laws of nature with the only possible explanation for the cause.  Now, who’s faith is based on logical facts and not influenced by personal feelings.  And who’s faith is really subjective, or based on feelings, attitudes, opinions and whimsical hopes?  Who’s faith is really a sham and a crutch for the weak minded?  Certainly not our faith in God.   

God exists, and His existence is proclaimed loudly and plainly in the things which are made.  The Psalmist wrote, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God” (Psalms 14:1). “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork” (Psalms 19:1), and indeed it does.  For all who will accept it and respond to the call. 

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The Last Mile of the Way

Mark Twain once said concerning New Year’s resolutions, “Yesterday, everybody smoked his last cigar, took his last drink and swore his last oath. Today, we are a pious and exemplary community. Thirty days from now, we shall have cast our reformation to the winds and gone to cutting our ancient shortcomings considerably shorter than ever.”

I must confess that I have not always been successful in keeping New Years resolutions. Like most people, we make them with good intentions but find ourselves woefully lacking in determination and success. I have had a measure of success in the past and I am having a good measure of it this year. But we are only about thirty days into the New Year.

Sadly many people who come to Christ treat the decision like a New Years resolution. They are full committed and faithful for a while, but then find themselves slowly waning in strength and commitment. I believe the problem is that for many people we make unrealistic resolutions and place such lofty daunting goals in front of us that we soon become discouraged at our lack of progress and slowly give in to temptation and return to the old lives we sought so desperately to leave behind.

For example, the person who says they want to lose one hundred pounds may become week and discouraged when they see minimal losses. The person who uses fowl language with every other breath and resolves to never again say a bad word may give up with the first slip of the tongue. The commitment to Christ is in some ways very similar. We come to Christ to be cleansed form our past sins and determined to live a perfect life and when we stumble and fall and defile our garments once again many fall away. Jesus in the Parable of the Sower in Mark chapter four speaks of these who were represented by the seed that was sown among the thorns. “Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful” (18-19).

Someone once said that the Christian race is a marathon, not a sprint. The Bible encourages us to endure! Jesus said, “But he who endures to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 24.13; Mark 13.13). Of the seed that fell upon the stony ground Jesus said, “…they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble” (Mark 3.17). Four different times in Paul’s farewell address to Timothy he tells him to “endure” (2 Tim. 2.3; 2 Tim. 2.10; 2 Tim. 4.3; 2 Tim. 4.5).

As the beautiful hymn say we must “work till the close of the day” in order to “see the great King in his Beauty” when we’ve “gone the last mile of the way.” No, we cannot just work a few hours then retire. We cannot walk just the first few hundred yards. Have you started that journey to heaven? Have you repented of your sins and been baptized into Christ? If not, stop for a moment and consider the destination of the road you are on. Then come to Jesus and be heaven bound. Have you obeyed they gospel of Jesus? How are you doing keeping your resolution to be a faithful child of God? God loves you and Jesus died for you. Be faithful

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The Power of the Devil

Does Satan have the ability or authority to read our minds and plant evil thoughts?

Well, I know that we have free will and that we allow ourselves to make bad choices but the question is: does the Devil have this ability? No, I don’t believe so. At one time, Satan certainly had such power even to the point of having demons possess individuals against their own free will.

However today, Satan has been bound by Christ and no longer exercises the same kind of power he once had.  The Hebrew writer said, “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;” (Heb. 2:14) Through Christ’s death, he bound the power of the Devil.

Consider if you will that John wrote, “And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,” (Rev. 20:2). Satan’s direct power over the mind of man has been removed. Otherwise, we could say before God at judgment that it was not me that sinned, it was the Devil: “He made me do it.”

Now with these things said, this does not mean that Satan has no influence on men today. Peter advised us to, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” (1 Pet. 5:8). Thus, we are to resist him and his influences on our lives.

Now today, we are tempted by means of our own lusts. For, “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” (Jam. 1:13-15) This rises from within ourselves. Satan certainly can place things in our path that he knows will tempt us, but those temptations come from desires and thoughts that we originate.

Remember, Jesus said that it was out of the human heart that evil comes in our lives (Matthew 15:18-20). This is where we need to focus our efforts, not upon worrying whether or not Satan can directly put evil thoughts into our minds.

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Help for the Troubled

The Lord has told us in a number of places that He will not forsake or leave us alone, but will make it possible for us to live a successful life here and inherit eternal life after the judgment. One of the terrors of life to so many is their fear of the unknown or their fear of what will be after death. These are important considerations and deserve answers, answers though concerning such matters will have to come from God, for He alone knows. It is reasonable to suggest that we must turn to God for answers to such unknown answers simply because no one has ever come back to tell us about the conditions or situation after death; except Jesus Christ and He went back to be with the Father without telling anyone what awaits after death. Since no one knows the answer to these matters except God, let us turn to God’s Book and find out what He says about the matter.

HE WILL NEVER FORSAKE HIS CHILDREN WHO ARE FAITHFUL – The Lord is careful to encourage his disciples that he will always be aware of and concerned about every one of his children. Please note the following Scripture references that state this fact:

Hebrews 13:5, “Be ye free from the love of money; content with such things as ye have: for himself hath said, I will in no wise fail thee, neither will I in any wise forsake thee.” (ASV)

Matthew 11:28, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (ASV)

Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (ASV)

THE CHRISTIAN CAN LIVE A LIFE ACCEPTABLE TO GOD HERE – Everyone has the option to come to God through obedience to Jesus Christ if they will.

Hebrews 5:8-9, “8 though he was a Son, yet learned obedience by the things which he suffered; 9 and having been made perfect, he became unto all them that obey him the author of eternal salvation;” (ASV)

Revelation 22:17, “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And he that heareth, let him say, Come. And he that is athirst, let him come: he that will, let him take the water of life freely.” (ASV)

Living a righteous lifestyle is a choice: Every person in the world will make a choice about whether or not they will choose to serve the one true God and Lord Jesus Christ. No one will leave this world without making that choice; whether consciously or not. Indeed, some will not choose to serve or even acknowledge the Lord but that is the choice they have made willingly – no one can make another person make the right choice about their eternal destiny. The choice of salvation or condemnation resides in each person’s ability –

Ezekiel 18:20-22, “20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die: the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. 21 But if the wicked turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. 22 None of his transgressions that he hath committed shall be remembered against him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.” (ASV)

THE LORD WILL NOT ALLOW US TO BE TEMPTED BEYOND THAT WHICH WE CAN ENDURE – Many people are afraid that they cannot live a faithful life or that the temptations of life are greater than they will be able to bear. God’s Word gives us a different perspective on the subject of living an aceeptable life, we will be able to deal with the temptations of this life is we will put forth the effort, notice the following Biblical reference; 1 Corinthians 10:13, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as man can bear: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation make also the way of escape, that ye may be able to endure it.” (ASV)

2 Peter 2:9, “the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment unto the day of judgment;” (ASV)

Don’t worry about being unable to live the Christian life; you can, if you will accept responsibility for your conduct, life, speech, and thoughts. Make a conscious decision about being a Christian and about remaining faithful whatever happens in your life. Maybe you will not be perfect but remember God will forgive you over and over again if you will do as you should about your sin – “repent of them’”

REMEMBER THIS FACT: God is faithful and will always accept our repentance of sin if we will come to him seeking that forgiveness.

GOD HAS PROMISED HEAVEN TO THOSE THAT OVERCOME THE TEMPTATIONS OF THIS LIFE – There is an old saying that “Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people,” That is a real good comment about those that will be in that heavenly abode prepared by the Lord for them – cf.  John 14:1-3, “1 Let not your heart be troubled: believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I come again, and will receive you unto myself; that where I am, (there) ye may be also.” (ASV)

Troubles, trials, and tribulations confront everyone in the world. The sinner experiences troubles just like the Christian but the Christian can turn to God for help, the sinner has no where to turn. Let us understand that we can overcome this life and its troubles and go to heaven if we will place out trust in God who will never leave or forsake us. Hang on dear Christian friend – Revelation 2:10, “Fear not the things which thou art about to suffer: behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life.” (ASV)

COME AND GO WITH ME! – Whenever Moses led the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage one person that he desired to go with them was his father-in-law. In the following verse Moses pleads with his father-in-law to come and go with them for they (i.e. the people and Jehovah) will do you good – cf.

Numbers 10:29, “And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, We are journeying unto the place of which Jehovah said, I will give it you: come thou with us, and we will do thee good; for Jehovah hath spoken good concerning Israel.” (ASV)

We may say the same thing to everyone we know in this world, come and join with us as we travel our spiritual journey through this life. You see, those of us that are Christians are on a spiritual journey that will end in heaven, “someday.” If we are always faithful; apostle Paul an example – cf. 2 Timothy 4:6-8, “6 For I am already being offered, and the time of my departure is come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith: 8 henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give to me at that day; and not to me only, but also to all them that have loved his appearing.” (ASV)

Will you come and go with us? We want you dear reader to become a Christian just like we are and travel your spiritual journey with us. The journey is not difficult or distressing but is filled with Joy, expectation, and hope, each day of our lives here. The true Christian is happy to be traveling this journey that will eventually end in HEAVEN.

REMEMBER THIS FACT:  2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness; but is longsuffering to you-ward, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (ASV)

BUILDING A SAFE LIFESTYLE – Life here is, at best, contingent on the way that we live. Certainly there are some things that we have no control over that may claim our physical life, such as automobile accidents, and workplace accidents, Yes, sometimes we may loose our life due to no fault of our own.

Things that we may control in life: We may control what goes into our body that may alter our alertness to danger. Today there are many substances that one may take into their body that has the ability to kill us or cause us to kill someone else, some of these are; Alcoholic beverages, Tobacco, Illegal drugs (crack, Marijuana, LSD, misuse of prescription drugs, etc.).

We may control where we go for recreation, for vacations, for entertainment, etc – some questions we may ask ourselves: Will we be safe there, Is there any kind of physical Danger lurking in that place?

We may control the quality of our friendships and continued associations that we deliberately cultivate: Will our associates endanger our lives? Will the place our associates encourage us to go be safe? Do my associates carry guns or knives, Do my associates experiment with illegal drugs? Do my associates drive drunk?

One may see that there are many instances where the individual may avoid entanglements with others that may cause danger to life, Why would a person with good sense want to out themselves in harms way by or through such dangerous situations or entanglements? Surely no Christian will involve themselves in such situations.

CONSIDER YE WELL FRIENDS GOD’S INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT BUILDING A SAFE LIFESTYLE BY USING THE WRITTEN WORD (i.e. the Bible). Under the previous heading we have shown you some of the dangers inherent in building a lifestyle without God’s instruction. Under this heading let us look at what God says will build a safe lifestyle. Of course, the Christian may also loose his/her life due to no falt of their own in an accident of some kind, caused wholly by others. Because a Christian will not do the same things and go to the same places and will not choose friends and companions that are wicked. He may less likely to die young.

Consider these references:

1 Corinthians 6:9-11, “9 Or know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with men, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you: but ye were washed, but ye were sanctified, but ye were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God.” (ASV)

Matthew 6:13, “And bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil (one.)” (ASV)

1 Peter 3:10-12, “10 For, He that would love life, And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips that they speak no guile: 11 And let him turn away from evil, and do good; Let him seek peace, and pursue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, And his ears unto their supplication: But the face of the Lord is upon them that do evil.” (ASV)

3 John 11, “Beloved, imitate not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: he that doeth evil hath not seen God.” (ASV)

CONCLUDING THOUGHT: “it is always better to follow the right way (i.e. God’s Written Word) than to follow anything else — To build a good, God pleasing lifestyle.

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