Promises! Promises!

No matter what year it is and no matter what time of the year it is, Christmas is always coming. Even though Christmas provides the occasion for celebrating a birth that took place about 2000 years ago, it celebrates a promise being kept and a promise being made.
The promise that is kept is that a redeemer was promised many years before. The first hint of it is found in Genesis 3:15 where God said that Satan would be defeated one day by the seed of the woman. God reiterated his promise many times confirming it to each of the Patriarchs. David was allowed to declare it over and over again in the Psalms that he wrote. Isaiah clearly stated that a virgin would give birth to a son who would be “God with us.” Micah was specific about the city where the Messiah would be born. When Jesus was born, lived, died, and rose again, it was a promise kept.
The birth of the Savior was not just a promise kept, but it was also a promise given. Even as the day of His birth was proclaimed, it was declared that He would one day be the King of the line of David. He was King of Kings and Lord of Lords. That promise is yet to be fulfilled, but His day of triumph and glory will come and every tongue will declare that He is Lord.
It should be no surprise that Christmas is a day of continual celebration. We celebrate by giving gifts and expressing love for one another. It is good to remember that these expressions are possible because of the Prince pf Peace who should rule in the heart of every believer.
Every gift given is because of Him. Every expression of love is because of Him. It is sad to think that so many do not understand this and are a part of a celebration that has no real meaning for them. Today would be a great time for e very person to stop and ask, “Why am I celebrating Christmas?” “Who is this child?” “Why did He come?”
He is the one person who came to earth for the express purpose of dying. Oh, other babies have died. Other people have had their lives taken by bloodshed or violence, but only one gave His life for all the world. His gift of life brings a release from death for every person who believes in Him and finds the new life that He offers in exchange for the old one we knew. That gift is a promise given of the life that is to come. Because He now lives, we too will live.

Baby It's Cold Outside!

Baby, It’s Cold Outside!
Our thermometer read 23 degrees this morning.
For someone in Alaska that may not seem very cold, but for a Tar Heel that is cold. The weatherman is talking about an arctic blast that came our way and of another that will be here in a day or two. When we moved to North Carolina, we were hoping that we left arctic blasts far behind.
Real cold is uncomfortable. Real heat may seem uncomfortable, but it is not the same as cold. When the temperature dips, the weather begins to hurt. When the temperature begins to rise, the temperature makes us sweat. There is a big difference.
That is not to say that when the temperature goes very, very high, it is more comfortable than when it is low. When we arrived in South Africa the last time, the first Sunday we were there the temperature was about 104 degrees Fahrenheit. It was hot. We didn’t have any air conditioning in our church so, even though the fans helped, it was hot.
It makes me realize how much I don’t want to spend eternity with the heat of a burning fire welcoming each morning, evening, and night. Nobody will turn off the heat and there will be no respite from it. Day after day. Night after night. Week after week. Month after month. Year after year. It will all be the same.
What will it be like in heaven? We don’t know many details about the heat or cold, but my assumption is that heaven will have a very even, pleasant temperature. In fact, we may not feel heat or cold. Our bodies will not be like the ones we have now. We won’t feel any pain so it will never be too cold or too hot.
It seems to me that going to heaven or hell is not something to take a chance about. God has promised that all who are His children will go to heaven and spend eternity with Him. There are those who are not sure about God, but He is not someone to ignore. He has promised that all those who ignore Him will spend eternity in that terrible, terrible eternal heat. Don’t risk it. Will it really hurt to take God at His Word and trust Him today?

Whose Day is It?

The sky is grey.
The drizzle has started.
It is one of those kind of days.
What am I supposed to do?
I have several choices.
I can go back in the den, turn on the TV, and mope over my fate to have to live in this day that is gloomy and grey. What happens when I do that? I wind up feeling just like the day and act like I have no reason for living in a day like this.
But, wait a minute. The Bible says, “Rejoice always.” Today is part of the always, isn’t it? The Bible does not make any exception for a grey and gloomy day. But how can I rejoice when the day is so much of a downer.
A good way to start is to remember who made the day. The Bible says, “This is the day the Lord hath made.” That appellation applies to every day that we live. If it is bright or gloomy, it is the day that the Lord hath made. In face, that verse goes on to say, “Rejoice and be glad in it.”
That kind of puts a new perspective on things. That means that we should let the temperature, climate, rain, clouds, sunshine, rainbows, etc. determine what our day will be. We need to live the day knowing that God has made it just the way it is and He knows what is best for His children on this day.
That raises another question. Are you His child? You may think that the answer to that question is, “We are all God’s children. He made us.” It is true that He made us, but something happened that means that we have a common heritage, but we are no longer His children. Because of what happened back in the Garden of Eden, we are all born in sin, and the Bible says, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
That makes it hard to rejoice in this day. What does it matter if He made the day, but I am not His child. That makes the day more gloomy than the weather. That is true, but listen to this. God has made it possible for you to become His child. That was the whole purpose of Christmas. God sent His Son into the world to die. Jesus lived a sinless life and He did not die a martyr’s death. He died a sacrificial death. He actually died a death that we all deserve to die, but He did it so we don’t have to do it. In fact, we could not do it. We would have to live a perfect life in order to die for our sins.
That is really something to think about on this gloomy day, or, for that matter, on any kind of day. When we experience that new birth in Christ, we become a child of God and we can say with the psalmist, “This is the day the Lord hath made, I will rejoice in it.”
All of a sudden those grey clouds look pretty good. That drizzle is delightful. We are ready to sing and “rejoice always.” The amazing thing is that for many people, the bright and beautiful days are gloomy because they have no hope. The salvation that Jesus offers is one of hope and joy. It will put a spring in your step that the weather can’t bother. When you come to know Him, you can say with me, “My Father is the King. My riches are eternal. My hope is unlimited. Today is just like any other day. It is the day that the Lord has made. I WILL rejoice.

Who Can Be Saved?

People have trouble in understanding that they are appropriate candidates for God’s salvation. We give many different explanations as to why someone is not the right person to find God and trust Him for their eternal destiny. We think that there people who are not good enough so they can’t get past all the bad things they have done and just believe. We think that some people are too good and don’t understand their need for the Savior. We think that some people have waited too long and have lost the opportunity to believe. Then we think that there are some who are too young to come to know Christ.
The fact of the matter is that it does not matter what we think. What is important is what God thinks. The Bible clearly tells us that “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” What does the word “whosoever” mean? Does it mean all those who are good enough or those who are bad enough? Does it mean all those who are young enough or are old enough? It is obvious that the word “whosoever” means “whosoever.”
The Bible describes children coming to Christ. It tells us of the thief on his cross who trusted Christ and Jesus confirms his belief. The book tells us of the rich people who came to Christ. It describes the woman at the well who lived an unholy life, but trusted Christ and brought the Samaritan city out to introduce them to the one who saved her. The Bible describes those who were desperately sick and without hope, but found hope in Christ. The list goes on and on helping us to see the all inclusive nature if whosoever.
Many people become hung up on the word “election,” feeling that we can’t know whom God chooses so we better not ask them to believe. A friend of mine once observed that it is strange how many people become the “elect” when we tell them about the Savior.
I am sure of this: Whatever the word “election” means, if you want to believe, God wants you to believe. The Bible tells us that God loves the world and He would that all men would come to Him. The great salvation verse of John 3:16 suggest that “whosoever” believes will have eternal life.
God’s gracious offer of a new life here and an eternal life with Him is available to whosoever believes. Isn’t that great? This old sin cursed world implants itself on every one of us and tries to keep us from taking that step of belief. The Spirit of God cries out, “Repent, Believe.” There’s a decision to be made. Either we listen to the world or we listen to God.

Troubled Times

Troubled Times

It is always unsettling to be in the middle of difficult days. I have lived in other countries where the people have been through very difficult days, and even though conditions were not all settled, it is amazing how good it feels to have things be better.
The United States is facing some of the most difficult days that we have seen in our lifetimes. I was born in the middle of the Depression, but nobody told me about it, and by the time I was old enough to understand what was happening, it was really on its way off the scene of things.
Oftentimes we want to ask, “Where is God?” when we are in the middle of difficult days. The answer is a simple one and one that we probably don’t want to hear. He is right where He always was and where He has always promised to be. He is here and He is in control. We may wonder how it can be that He is here and He is in control if things are so bad.
Most of the problems that we as a nation are facing are the result of the greed of evil men. It is either greed for money or greed for power. We look at those who are making the problems and hear the promises of those who claim they can solve the problems and we wonder, “How can we trust anyone?”
The good news is that we can trust God. We can trust Him to deal with the wicked people who have set their wicked purposes on the wealth of the land and don’t care on whom they have to step to gain those riches. The Bible teaches that the heart is deceitfully wicked and no one! Is exempt.
God expects us to honor our leaders and respect them. Notice that does not mean that we have to trust them. How do you respect someone you don’t respect? It is hard, but if God says we should do it, then we should do it.
We need to remember that though the stars fall and all men fail us, we are to remain true to God and serve Him. IF we are going to be true to Him and serve Him then we must know Him. He wants you to come to Him today and trust His Son who died for every one of us. Knowing Christ puts a whole new bounce in your step and makes the financial problems of the day seem very small.

A Hope That Goes Beyond the Grave

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

How much time do you have to live?You don't know the answer to that question, do you?None of us knows what tomorrow will bring. Two years ago I lifted up my eyes and saw my wife floating in the pool face down. She had been in perfect health and now she looked as if she were dead. I dragged her out of the pool, called 911, and within 45 minutes she was in the emergency room at Baptist Hospital. Then she went up to intensive care where she spent the weekend. Thursday she came home without any answers to why she collapsed in the pool.

On the next Sunday she had a stroke. We were back in Baptist Hospital again. There was some thought that a stroke might have been what caused her to collapse the week before, but Thursday we came home, this time on oxygen, and we began life tied to the oxygen tanks or generator. We only made it to Saturday that week, once again the emergency crew took her to the emergency room. While on the way she had a heart attack, and now the doctors were pretty sure that her 90% blockage had caused that initial collapse. She had open heart surgery. We were in a little longer this time, coming home after about two weeks.

We felt as though there had been three major brushes with death. It makes you think a bit about what is beyond the grave. It makes you ask yourself, "Do I really know God and am I ready to meet Him?"The answer to both of those questions was and is, "Yes." We have a peace for living down here and we have a glorious assurance for life with Him beyond the grave.

When you get that close to passing over to the other side, it is wonderful to know that God's promises are real.It does not matter what we think. It does matter what He promises. You can know His peace today, and you can count on His presence tomorrow. Jesus died that you can have that peace and promise. All He asks you to do is to believe. That may sound too simple to you. I am happy to tell you that it is simple. He doesn't ask you to do anything. He has done it all. Trust the Savior today.

Who is Going to Heaven?

How Many People are Going to Heaven?
What a good question that is. It has an easy answer. There will only be righteous people in heaven. That means that every righteous person will go to heaven.
That means that we only have to become righteous and we will go to heaven. There is a problem though. The Bible says that there is none righteous. Does that mean that no one can go to heaven?
The Bible also makes it clear that every person is a sinner, and that would mean that no sinners are going to go to heaven. This gets harder by the minute. If only righteous people go to heaven and there are none righteous, and if all are sinners which means that they are not righteous, then that sounds like no one can go to heaven.
We know that God took Moses up to heaven. We know that God took Elijah to heaven. We know that Enoch went to heaven. Ah, but they were Old Testament people so it must have been that they were good enough to go, Wait a minute. Moses was being punished when God took him to heaven. He wasn’t allowed to go into the Promised Land of Canaan, but he was allowed to go to heaven.
One of the surprising things in the Bible is that no one is good enough to go to heaven, but everyone who wants to go there can go. How can that be? If no one is good enough to go how does someone get good enough to be admitted into that wonderful place?
The amazing thing is that the whole plan to allow man into heaven is a plan that was developed by God before the first man was even born. Since god is God, He knew what man would do before man even did it, and He made a plan where His Son would come to earth, live a sinless life, and die a sacrificial death for all who would believe. He chose a people. He redeemed them as a people from their slavery in Egypt which was a great picture of what He was going to do for all who believe.
He gave them a religion by which they were to live and all that was in their religious observances were pictures of the great sacrifice that His Son would one day make.
His people had religious leaders called prophets who kept giving pictures of what would happen when His Son would come and what God was going to do for His people.
Then the time came. The great apostle named Paul wrote that God’s Son came in the “fullness of time.” It was just the right time that Jesus came. It was the right time because it was God’s time.
Jesus was born of a virgin. He lived a sinless life. He died a sacrificial death and rose from the grave to prove what He had done. He went back to heaven to be forever the God-man representing all who believe in Him at the throne of God.
This means that He will give a new life down here to all who believe. That’s great. We started talking about heaven, but we have to live here before we go there and God wants us to have a wonderful life. He describes in the Bible as an abundant life. That is pretty good.
The Bible tells us that when we receive this new life in Christ, God looks at us in a whole new different way. He says that we are justified when we come to know Christ and experience this thing called the new birth. What does it mean to be justified. It means that God doesn’t see us and our sin, but He sees His Son and His righteousness. Now we are back to where we started. If God sees us as righteous then we can go to His heaven. That’s it. It is so simple and yet so profound.
Each of us can have a new life down here and also know that when we die we will go to live eternally with God. It is not because of anything that we have done. We enter heaven on the merits of Christ who loves us and gave Himself for us. There are no works we can do. There are no clubs we can join. We just have to believe.
This means that anyone can go to heaven. We just have to do it God’s way. Men try to make up ways that God will like, but He has already determined that there is just one way and that is His way. It is simple, but we are the ones who make it hard because we want to do it our way.