The Faith of Abraham

The Faith of Abraham

The faith of Abraham is emphasized throughout the Bible. You cannot think of this great man without marveling how his faith impacted every decision of his life. We have faith because we read the Bible (Rom. 10:17), but Abraham did not have one! Yet look at how God had revealed Himself to this “father of the faithful” and given him the depth of understanding about God. We would be better people if we thought of God in this same way.

Abram Knew God As the Most High God

“Abram said to the king of Sodom, ‘I have raised my hand to the Lord, God most High…’” (Gen. 14:22). The pagans had their gods, but the God of all gods was Jehovah. There is none higher and the Most High said we are to have no other gods!

Abraham Knew the God of All the Earth Would Do Right

When God revealed to Abraham about the judgment about to come on Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham had such a close relationship with Him that he confronted God. Not on the basis of how great Abraham was, but on the basis of the nature of the Most High God. “Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked… Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right” (Gen. 18:25). Lives are changed when we see the holiness of God.

Abram Knew God was Worthy of Our Worship

When he entered the Promised Land, “There he built an altar.” Then when he came to Bethel, “He built an altar to the Lord, and called on the name of the Lord.” He came back to Bethel, “And there Abram called on the name of the Lord.” When he went to Hebron, “Abram…built an altar to the Lord.” He took Isaac to the top of the mountain in Jerusalem, “And built an altar there” (Gen. 12:7, 8; 13:4; 13:18; 22:9). You could have followed Abraham by following the smoke which ascended from his altars!

When he met Melchizedek, a priest of God Most High, Abram gave tithes to him (Gen. 14:18-20). How blessed we would be if we too understood that God is worthy of our worship and seeks our gifts.

Abraham Knew That God Was Eternal

Abraham came to Beersheba, “…and there called on the Lord, the Everlasting God” (Gen. 21:33). God was not someone who was part of Abraham’s life when it fit into his lifestyle. God was eternal. He is the One who was, and is, and is to come (cf. Rev. 4:8). Abraham understood that He is I AM before this name was given at Mt. Sinai.

There is More

This is only the beginning. Read Genesis to know the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is your God!

Posted in Dan Jenkins | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The Faith of Abraham

Treasures of Wickedness – Proverbs 10:2

Treasures of Wickedness – Proverbs 10:2

“Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death.” (Proverbs 10:2) KJVtreasures of wickedness

Treasures gained by wickedness lead to no profit at all. In fact, whatever treasure is gained by wickedness is also stained by that wickedness. Someone has said, “Money doesn’t know where it came from.” However true that may be, you will know how you obtained it and so will God! If you were somehow to steal from or defraud someone of millions of dollars and get away with it–commit the “perfect” crime – (or win the lottery, which is simply theft or fraud by consent of the numerous victims) you could live a life of luxury and opulence, which the world would have you believe is the very definition of happiness. Even if you could do that, and get away with it, it still would not profit you. Why? Because money cannot buy the things that are most important in life. Yes, it could buy you a #5 Combo Meal with Jalapenos at Whataburger and that would make you happy – you’d just be hungry again later – but there is no spiritual profit from temporal happiness. Spiritual happiness or joy which the Bible refers to as blessedness is the only thing that matters.

Righteousness on the other hand, even if it comes with poverty, is of great profit! It will save you  from spiritual death! Salvation from spiritual death leads to the condition of blessedness. There’s the true spiritual profit!

Read Matthew 6:19-21; 1 Timothy 6:6-8

Posted in Jack McNiel | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Treasures of Wickedness – Proverbs 10:2

Do You Know the Lord?

Do You Know the Lord?

A commonly used phrase in the religious world is, “Do you know the Lord as your personal Savior?” The concept of knowing the Lord is certainly Biblical, but phrases and concepts are sometimes redefined to describe a concept not found in the Bible. For example, the word “baptism” has spread around the world to describe the sprinkling of water on an infant, but this concept is never found in the Bible.

There is that which the Bible says we can absolutely know. There is no room for doubt because the Bible affirms this knowledge in such a precise manner.

We Know That the Son of God Has Come

John says, “We know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true” (1 John 5:20). The evidence is so overwhelming that there can be no doubt. A baby was laid in a manger more than 2,000 years ago and lived among men. He is the central person in all of history. Time itself is dated using BC and AD to indicate how many years an event happened before or after that manger was used. Think about it. Hindus, Muslims, infidels, atheists and agnostics acknowledge that event every time they write the date. But there is far greater evidence. Consider His miracles (John 20:30-31). Consider His words so often used in our language (John 7:46). Consider the empty tomb—He died and was buried, and the tomb is empty! We know that Immanuel is reality.

We Know That We Know Him

“Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments” (1 John 2:3). Look at these words carefully. Not only is it possible for us to know the Lord, we can know that we know Him. The concept of knowing Him is not some vague, immeasurable idea. There is an absolutely certain way to check if we know Him. How do we know that we know Him? The Bible gives the evidence. It is not by some “born again” prayer that we remember saying years ago. It is not by some deep-seated feeling we have within us. Simply look at your response to what He has commanded, and if you are obeying them then you know Him and you can know that you know.

We Can Know Far More Than We Realize

The phrase “we know” is found more than fifty times in the Bible and the apostle John uses it twenty-eight of those times. Your life will be blessed by using a concordance to discover all that we can know. Aren’t you glad that we can know Him? Aren’t you glad that you can know that you know Him? And aren’t you glad that because of the Bible you can know that you can know that you know Him!

Posted in Dan Jenkins | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Do You Know the Lord?

Lifeless Idols or a Living God?

Lifeless Idols or a Living God?

The psalmist said of idols, “They have mouths, but they do not speak; Eyes they have, but they do not see; They have ears, but they do not hear; Noses they have, but they do not smell; They have hands, but they do not handle; Feet they have, but they do not walk; Nor do they mutter through their throat” (Psa. 115:4-7). What a contrast between them and our living God!

The living God speaks. “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son” (Heb. 1:1-2). What a contrast there was at Mt. Sinai between the golden calf and God whose voice echoed from the heavens and shook the earth.

The living God sees. “For the eyes of the Lord run to and from throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him” (2 Chron. 26:9). Add to this the words of Peter, “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous…” (1 Pet. 3:12).

The living God hears. “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers” (1 Pet. 3:12). He heard the groanings of the Jews in Egypt and sent Moses because He heard them. If He hears every idle word any man speaks (Matt. 12:36), how much more will He hear the sincere cries of His children today? His ears are always open to your prayers!

The living God smells. When Noah exited from the ark, he offered a multitude of sacrifices to God. “The Lord smelled a soothing aroma” (Gen. 8:21) and promised mankind He would never again destroy the earth by a flood. The smell of burning flesh, hairs and feathers might not be pleasing to us, but they are an aroma to God. Remember that your prayers are mixed with incense which comes into His presence (Rev. 8:3).

The living God touches and holds us with His hands. David cried out to God, “Stretch out Your hand from above, rescue me out of great waters” (Psa. 144:7). His hands made the heavens (Psa. 102:4) and how comforting it is to know that He holds us in His hands.

The living God has feet to move and to help. “Yes, He loves the people; All His saints are in Your hand; They sit down at Your feet; Everyone receives Your words” (Deut. 33:33). We must never forget that our God is omnipresent, and His feet are always with us.

Why would any person choose a lifeless idol!

Posted in Dan Jenkins | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Lifeless Idols or a Living God?

Common People, Common Sense

Common People, Common Sense

The most profound truths can so often be evaluated and understood by just using common sense. The reality is that God did not write the Bible in such a way that only the most scholarly could comprehend it. It was written for ordinary people with common sense. To see this, read these words from Mark about the profound teaching of Jesus. “And the common people heard Him gladly” (Mark 12:37).

The prophet Isaiah showed the folly of those who worshiped idols in his day. He described that artisan who was creating his idol, fashioning it “…with his hammers and working with the strength of his arm…He is hungry, and his strength fails; He drinks no water and is faint” (44:12). Common sense would tell you that his idol/god should feed him!

The next few verses describe the process of producing a wooden idol. He cuts down the cedars, the cypress and the oak. He first takes some of the timber to warm himself and bake his bread. “He burns half of it in the fires; with this half he eats meat; he roasts a roast …and says, ‘Ah, I am warm, I have seen the fire.’” He then takes the rest of the “firewood” and carves it into an image. “He falls down before it and worships it, prays to it and says, ‘Deliver me for you are my god.’” Common sense says, “How can firewood do anything for you?” His actions show that his cedar tree is helpless! Idolatry simply does not make sense. An idol is nothing more than a tree!

To see the folly of idolatry read Psalm 115. “Their idols are silver and gold, the works of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; eyes they have but they do not see; they have ears, but they do not hear; noses they have but they do not smell; they have hands, but they do not handle; feet they have but they do not walk; nor do they mutter through their throat.” The most amazing observation is that in the history of mankind millions and millions have fallen down, bringing gifts and burning incense to a piece of metal or wood or some precious stone. Their actions of worship were not seen, heard, or smelled by the idol. Its hands never moved, and its feet never walked.

Finally hear the words of Paul to those who had left idolatry to become Christians. “You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were lead” (1 Cor. 12:2). Those idols were deaf mutes. He says a similar thing to the Christians in Thessalonica. “You turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (1 Thess. 1:9). Hear the contrast and stand in amazement of how anyone could worship an idol. You turned from dumb, blind, deaf pieces of wood to serve a living God. Next week, we will look at the hands, eyes, ears, feet and mouth of our living God.

Posted in Dan Jenkins | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Common People, Common Sense