God is the Defender of Widows, Are You?

One remarkable truth that is often forgotten is just how much God loves those who are widows. While society may overlook them and their needs, God does not for they are mentioned about ninety times in the Bible. With the exception of the times they are part of a historical narrative or part of instructions about their marriages in keeping with the old law, almost every reference to them has evidence of God’s love for them.

Hear the words of David. “Let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God; yes, let them rejoice exceedingly. Sing to God, sing praises to His name; extol Him who rides on the clouds, by His name YAH, and rejoice before Him. A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy habitation” (Psalm 68:3-5). Our God sits on His throne and sits there as a defender of widows!

Historically, widows have been the target of mistreatment by society. The Bible speaks of those who “afflict widows” (Ex. 22:22); of those who “perverts the justice due the… widow” (Deut. 27:19); …of the person who “does not good for the widow” (Job 24:21); of those “mistreated the fatherless and widows” (Ezek. 22:7); and of those who “devour widows’ houses” (Matt. 23:14). What widow is there who has not at least suffered in some of these ways? When society takes advantage of widows, God sees it, and He will not forget it even though it may be hidden from others!

Based on the fact that ten percent of the members at Palm Beach Lakes are widows, it is reasonable to assume that in every congregation there are those widows who can so easily be overlooked. What a blessed opportunity the church has to be the hands of God in helping them! I rejoice that so many of you are aware of these hurting sisters and are showing your love to them in so many ways.  If God rarely mentions them in the Bible without showing His concern for them, should not each of us show our concern for these who are loved so much by God?

Every Christian relative of widows has a God given responsibility toward them greater than the responsibility of the whole church (1 Tim. 5:3-8, 16). That person who neglects providing for a widowed relative “is worse than an infidel and has denied the faith” (1 Tim. 5:8). The seriousness of our devotion to God can be measured by our attitude toward widows.

Looking for something to do? Pay attention to the widows in this church. There is no way to measure how much a simple phone call means to the lonely. God will see this for He is the Defender of Widows!

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Why Would God Change a Man’s Name

There is only one man in the Bible who is described as the friend of God. He is mentioned over 300 times in the Bible, but the first sixty times he is mentioned, he is called by a name that does not represent the place God intended for him to occupy. His first name, Abram, means “a high father” or “an exalted father.” God did not see him that way so He gave him a new name, Abraham, which means “a father of the multitude” or “a father of many nations.”

The Jewish nation failed to see the significance of the name and made him the “exalted father” of the Jewish nation. They felt that they were above all people simply because of the fact they were his descendants. Such is the classic example of those who see themselves as a super race, one far above all others. The fact that they were chosen by God to accomplish His purpose was not evidence that they were “saved” any more than when He used Pharaoh or Nebuchadnezzar to accomplish His purpose. The Jews were not truly children of God because of their birth.

This becomes abundantly obvious when one reads the New Testament. Those approved by God were not those who possessed the blood of Abraham but those who possessed the faith of Abraham. Paul spoke of the promise of God which was made to “those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all” (Rom. 4:16). There it is. Abraham is not the “exalted father” of a particular race, but he is the father of those whose hearts are filled with the faith in the heart of this patriarch. Thus the next verse emphasizes this by saying, “As it is written, I have made you the father of many nations.”

So the one thing which truly matters is that we have the faith of Abraham. When God called “those things which do not exist as though they did,” Abraham embraced these non-existent things. God promised him that he would have a child and then waited for 25 years to fulfill that promise to Abraham. Paul said, “He staggered not at the promises of God” (Rom. 4:20, KJV). The later translations say, “He did not waver . . . but his faith was strengthened.” Instead of faith weakening and doubting, the opposite happened. Time only served to increase his faith.

Fellow Christian, how is your faith? Is it growing? Do you have more confidence in His promises now than years ago? May God help us to realize that since faith comes from hearing His word, we must feed our faith. May God help us to have the faith of the man who is the friend of God. Could anything be more important than this?

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What Does Your God Look Like?

How do you respond to tragedy? How do you determine moral issues like abortion, sexual perversion, divorce and honesty? How do you decide how to treat your enemies and those who mistreat you? It all depends on the concept you have of God. When you think of God, how do you view Him?

If we think of God as a myth, our view of life will be so different from those who believe He is a reality. The meaning of life is often seen as being limited to the brief time we live on this earth. Those who see Him as a myth often adopt a hedonistic philosophy expressed by the ancient Greeks as, “Let us eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.” There is no hereafter and there are no laws governing them.

If we think of God as a reality who has little concern about mankind, then we will be filled with despair and helplessness when confronted by the events in our lives. There is no help from above and we are left alone to deal with adversity. We are forced to live a life of uncertainty and doubt and life has little meaning. He may exist, but there is no help!

If we think of God as a tyrant, then our lives will be governed by fear of failure. To please Him we must live a life of perfection, for while He may be just, His justice will never be tempered by mercy. The one-talent man, who hid the money entrusted to him, dreaded the return of his master and cowered in fear of having to give an account of the use of that money. There was no joy in his life, only fear of accountability.

However, if we think of God as one who is intimately connected with us and our lives, then our lives take on new meaning that others simply cannot understand. We have a peace which passes understanding and moral decisions are not determined by our own wisdom. We do not react impulsively when dealing with others who do us wrong, but our response was determined long before their evil action. We look at marriage so differently, for it is God’s gift to us from the One who ordained it and governs it. Our view of the unknown future, even death, cannot be comprehended by those who do not share this view of Him. He has His hand on the helm and we are sure that the best is yet to be and whatever comes can never kill our hope.

We must think of God as He really is and that understanding can never be gained without spending hours and hours inside the book He has given us. Read it. Read it often. Meditate on it. Determine that you will not just know facts about God, but that you know God! God is great! God is good! God is love! Know God and you will understand life!

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Can You Play Violin

Someone once asked Leonard Bernstein, the celebrated orchestra conductor, “What is the hardest instrument to play?” He immediately replied, “Second fiddle. I can always get plenty of first violinists, but to find one who plays second violin with as much enthusiasm or second French horn or second flute, now that’s a problem. And yet if no one plays second, we have no harmony.”

I know so very little about orchestras, and I do not know if there is any position like a “third violinist,” but if there were it must be an even more awkward position to occupy. There is a man who played “third fiddle” in the Bible extremely well and we need to strive to be like him.

However, before discussing him, let me tell you about one of his brothers, James. The brother was not one of the original apostles, but following the death of James, son of Zebedee and brother of John, this James became a great leader in the church. When the angel delivered Peter from Herod’s prison, the apostle made certain that this James was informed of his deliverance. This James was one of the chief spokesmen in the discussion they had over circumcision in Acts 15. It was his wise counsel which became the basis for the decision they made. He was also one of the chief advisors to Paul when he returned to Jerusalem after his third missionary journey. Imagine growing up in the shadow of such a great leader of the church. Yet our “third fiddler” had such a brother.

How could this man be the one who played the third violin when it was obvious that James must have been the first violinist? The truth is that, as great as James was, his older brother was “first violinist” because James’ brother was Jesus. Can you imagine James having such a great brother who was not only part of the church, He was the one who built it! James knew how to play second fiddle!

Then, who is this man who played “third fiddle”? It is Jude, the brother of James and the brother of Jesus. Now imagine that you are Jude and you have been selected by God to write one of the books of the Bible. The book’s purpose was to identify and confront false teachers. Would you not have thought it wise to remind your readers that you were the Lord’s brother? Would you not have wanted to let others know that what you said was authoritative because Jesus was your brother?

Look at his opening words, “Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ and the brother of James . . .” What a man! He knew how to play “third fiddle.” God give us more men in the church who know how to do this!

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Casey Anthony’s Biggest Mistake

This article has nothing to do with the guilt of Casey Anthony, who, in the view of most Americans, got away with murdering her daughter, Caylee. When the “Not Guilty” verdict was read last week, there was an overwhelming reaction of disdain and a resounding cry for justice for Caylee.

The rage came from the evidence presented by the prosecutors of a young mom who had little love for her child. The child was “in the way” and kept her from having a lifestyle characterized by partying. The attorneys portrayed her as a self-centered, self-seeking mom, who viewed being a mother a burden no one should have to bear.

When this evidence was seen by the millions who were captivated by the broadcast of the trial, it was widely believed that the only justice which would fit the crime was for Casey to be found guilty and either sentenced to death or at least life imprisonment. The image of Caylee’s last hours involving chloroform and perhaps suffocation using duct tape burned in their memory and cried out for justice.

Without commenting on whether Casey was guilty or innocent, there is another matter which many Americans should seriously consider. Turn the calendar back to that time when Casey first discovered she was pregnant. Assuming the attorney’s presentation to be true, she would have had no desire to be a mother. The pending birth of little Caylee would demand a change in Casey’s lifestyle. The new baby would simply be in the way. Because she was a self-centered, self-seeking mom, being a mom would force her to stop being a party girl.

However, at that time there would have been an easy “solution.” When Casey discovered she was pregnant, all she had to do was visit a clinic where little Caylee could be broken into pieces inside the womb, sucked out with a vacuum and flushed down the drain. Then this self-centered young lady could continue partying and enjoying the “good life.”

You see the mistake Casey made was the timing of the aborting of Caylee’s life. Had she aborted Caylee’s life three weeks before she was born, it would have been legal and the millions would have justified her action! Her mistake was one of timing!

What is wrong with this picture? America wake up! How hypocritical is it for our nation to defend the right of abortion so that one’s lifestyle is not altered by a child, yet rise up in arms when it is done after the birth? Caylee was Caylee in the womb! No one has a right to abort the life of a child!

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