Watch Out!

Proverbs 7.

‘Nuff said! And that goes for pornography, and all those films with SNVNL added to their blurb! And the magazines exploiting women who don’t know better than to show lack of respect for their bodies.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Words of Jesus. Matthew 5:27,28.

Read Romans 1:18-32.

When someone asks how you are, do you reply, "Fine, thanks, and you?" And everyone is "Fine." But society is not fine! In fact, the "un-fineness" is now to be tolerated, even admired, and if condemned we are considered to be "politically incorrect" or "bigoted" or "intolerant."

This passage in the book of Romans warns of the wrath of God being revealed. We would do well to take heed.

Warnings.

Proverbs 5,6 & 7 are full of warnings. Warnings against disaster, folly, adultery, laziness are all so applicable to our day. I think back to history in Europe, and see the conditions in which people lived, and always, it seems, there were those who worked to rise above. Inventions abound to make life easier, but now, with all our labour saving gadgets we have embarked on a period when crime, violence, fraud, and any dishonest way to survive is becoming the order of the day,

Matthew 24:12-13 tells us, Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.

As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of (Jesus) the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. (Matthew 24:37 - 39 Words of Jesus Christ to His disciples.)

I want to be found ready when He comes. Those who think His words are fantasy would do well to examine more of the prophecies of the Bible.
Most have been fulfilled!
What next?

Seek Wisdom, Listen to Words of Insight.

Proverbs 5:21-23

For a man’s ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all his paths. The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of sin hold him fast. He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly. (NIV)

A good friend was brought to a saving knowledge of the Lord through Proverbs 5. He told me of swimming far out to sea one day, and crying out, “God, if you are real, show me.” Nothing happened that he could recognise, but some time later, a Bible was given to him. Reading the Book of Matthew he gave it back and said, “Is there no wisdom in this book. It is just genealogy here.” The man returned the Bible to him and asked him to read the Book of Proverbs, He got to Chapter 5 and said, “This is a God I can follow!”

In Sweden, a secular country, I met a professor of Muslim background, who told me of his conversion through the Book of Proverbs. He said that the wisdom he found there led him to read the whole Bible, and he had to believe what it taught. I have since spoken to several others who have been challenged by this book, and been led to learn more.

Billy Graham is quoted as saying he reads a chapter of the Book of Proverbs every day, and for many months I have done the same. I challenge YOU to try it, and see if the knowledge you gain will lead you to a closer walk with the Lord. 31 chapters are easy to keep track of!

Be blessed by wisdom!

Colossians 2:2-4 (Paraphrased from NIV)

My purpose is that (you) may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that (you) might have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that (you) may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I tell you this so that no-one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.

Many books on my shelves are written by those who have found God, or discovered their need of Him in strange ways.

I was reading the testimony of Eric Barrett, the compiler of two books, Scientists Who Believe, and Scientists Who Find God. Both contain stories and interviews with prior Sceptics, atheists or agnostics, all of whom experienced an awareness that brain power is not enough to absorb True knowledge.

Eric, himself a believer from an early age, has suffered one of my greatest dreads, the loss of eye-sight. Through the unfortunate genetic propensity to develop defects in the retinas of both eyes, he has undergone much trauma. Years of ongoing treatments have preserved limited sight, but Eric, in his belief that we can all learn from experience, has developed his own positive insights. “In the Biblical Gospels,” he says, “it is reported on several occasions that Jesus gave new sight to the blind. There and elsewhere in the New Testament, blindness is used as a picture of the spiritual state of people separated from God by sin: people who have neglected or rejected God, who have lived lives ignoring Him and His laws, and people who have lacked proper love and regard for others. “

He goes on to say that just as, by nature, we all sin in one or more of those ways, so he inherited  the weakness that caused the disease in his eyes. We are all born with the inclination to sin in us. Look at any child and see the desire for his or her own way, now. The Bible tells us that if sin is not treated, or should I say recognised for what it is, rebellion, and left to develop further, so that we die with our sins unforgiven, we have no hope of experiencing the joys of heaven. How can we expect, asks Eric, if we have never acknowledged God in our lives, to be admitted to His home in heaven?

The unbeliever will say, “So what?” He doesn’t believe there is a heaven, so, why worry? Well, I may believe it will not rain tomorrow, and judging by our weather recently, that would be a pretty poor belief, but if I believe it, perhaps it will oblige with its absence. The trouble is that in my heart is a doubt, so I will rather take an umbrella with me, just in case it does rain. Unbeliever, you need an umbrella. Rather examine the Good News that is available, just as Eric explains how he found the right physicians to help him retain some eyesight.

There is a Great Physician, who, if you invite Him, will heal your spiritual blindness. He lived on earth as the God-man, Jesus Christ, and showed His love more clearly than He had ever done before.  Eric goes on to say, “We noted earlier that, on more than one occasion, Jesus performed the miracle of curing physical blindness: something modern medicine can sometimes do today. But no-one other than God Himself can cure spiritual blindness, and so enable us to see Himself, ourselves, and others in new, true, and wonderful ways.”

The folk featured in his books have all received spiritual sight restored through faith in God. Their own personal experiences have thrown light on questions such as:

·         Can Scientists honestly and justifiable believe in a Creator?

·         Is it possible to pursue a career in Science, and practice Christianity, without compromising either?

·         How can finding God lead to fulfilment and satisfaction far greater than any scientific discovery?

Please do not delay. Eric’s condition would have been far worse had he delayed in seeking expert help. The longer our spiritual condition is left, the higher the risk that it may become terminal. Seek help NOW.

Eric sums up with salient points from Paul’s letter to the Colossians, chapter 2, verse 3.

                FIND GOD and all other discoveries will make more sense than before.

                FIND GOD and all other discoveries will seem much less important than they did before.

                FIND GOD and He will lead you into new areas of truth and experience beyond any you ever

                Imagined before.

                FIND GOD and you will want to share this supreme discovery with others too!

Psalm 12 and Lying Lips

Help, O Lord. No godly person is left. Faithful people have vanished from among Adam’s descendants! All people speak foolishly. They speak with flattering lips. They say one thing but mean another.

May the Lord cut off every flattering lip and every bragging tongue that has said, “We will overcome with our tongues. With lips such as ours, who can be our master?”

Because oppressed people and needy people groan, “I will now arise,” says the Lord. “I will provide safety for those who long for it.”

The promises of the Lord are pure, like silver refined in a furnace and purified seven times. O Lord, You will protect them. You will keep each one safe from those people forever. Wicked people parade around when immorality increases among Adam’s descendants.

I was reading Psalm 12 this morning, and wondering about the attitude of those who say the Bible is meaningless, and written by man. This Psalm, indeed written by the man, King David, and so important and meaningful to him that he had it set to music, could be written to the people of our times. I wondered why he zoned in on the “lying tongues” of those around him. History repeats itself yet we do not seem to learn from the mistakes of the past. Look around and see if what David recognised around him is not around us today. People boast about their abilities to over-ride Truth and Honesty. Looking at the cycle of God’s promises being fulfilled, and people’s’ continued rebellion through the ages, I have no doubt that to-days culprits will also be found wanting.

In verse 6 we are told that the promises of the Lord are pure, like silver refined in a furnace and purified seven times. What does that mean to us?

In the days from Adam to Abraham silver had become the chosen substance for monetary purposes, jewellery, decoration and implements. Mined more easily but less valuable than gold, the process of refining it required master craftsmen, and to compare it to the purity of the promises of the Lord was extremely meaningful to the people of David’s day.

What are those promises regarding lying tongues? Most people prefer not to think of the wrath of God and even Christians tend to hope that it is not applicable to them, and is an attitude of the past, before Christ’s saving payment. Yet the Scriptures show that God has made no attempt to conceal that part of His character. He makes it known that vengeance and fury are His prerogative.

Proverbs 6:16-19

There are six things the Lord hates:

Haughty eyes

A lying tongue

Hands that shed innocent blood

Feet that are quick to rush into evil

A false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.

Proverbs 19:5 & 9

A false witness will not go unpunished, and he whom pours out lies will not go free.

A W Pink (1865-1952, a student of the attributes of God and an evangelist), wrote:                      The wrath of God is an attribute of God as much a part of God as any other attribute, an attribute without which God would be less than God:

Now the wrath of God is as much a Divine perfection as is His faithfulness, power, or mercy. It must be so, for there is no blemish whatever, not the slightest defect in the character of God; yet there would be if ‘wrath’ were absent from Him!

He defines wrath as follows:

The wrath of God is His eternal detestation of all unrighteousness. It is the displeasure and indignation of Divine equity against evil. It is the holiness of God stirred into activity against sin. It is the moving cause of that just sentence which He passes upon evil-doers. God is angry against sin because it is a rebelling against His authority, a wrong done to His inviolable sovereignty. Insurrectionists against God’s government shall be made to know that God is the Lord. They shall be made to feel how great that Majesty is which they despise, and how dreadful is that threatened wrath which they so little regarded. Not that God’s anger is a malignant and malicious retaliation, inflicting injury for the sake of it, or in return for injury received. No; while God will vindicate His dominion as Governor of the universe, He will not be vindictive.

Yes, this was written by man, but expounds on the written Word of God, through His servants. I would rather not play around it! I think the dishonesty and hypocrisy of mankind today will indeed be visited by the wrath of God;  mankind needs to beware. A short reading this morning has led me on a journey of discovery which I trust will challenge every reader.

Love, For the Day is Near.

And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies, and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature. (Romans 13:11-14)

I write this with a heavy heart, hoping someone who does not know the Bible will read and try to understand. So often I receive comments like, “If God is good, He will understand my weaknesses” or “A good God would not send people to hell, - it must be figurative. If I have lived a good life, I should be OK.”

The Lord is wearied by those who say, “All who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord, and he is pleased with them,” or “Where is the God of Justice?” (Malachi 2:17)

Then there are those who proclaim, “If God was good He wouldn’t allow all the crime and violence in the world. Why do people get away with rape, murder, robbery?”

You want to see God? Beware! He will come when least expected.

Do you think the devil is a comical red-coated imp with as forked spear? He is happy with that!

My one son has phoned, to say that after three months dry, he will “Stop drinking again at midnight.” Without Christ, he is lost. The devil is tapping him on the shoulder again, and saying, “Don’t worry. It’s not serious. You can always start again, and stop again.”

“Test me”, says God. The sacrifice He desires is a broken and contrite heart.

The Lord watches over all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy. Psalm 145:20

Who are the wicked? Those who try to go it alone. Those who decide they are wise in their own sight. They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. (Psalm 1:4-6)

It is not the Lord’s will that any should be lost, but we are wilful. Only if we turn to Him will he save us from ourselves. My son is in His hands, and I cannot leave him in a better place.

This one thing I do:

But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining to what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13,14)

First of all I can look back briefly with thanks that there were no really adverse effects from my impromptu journey into the world of drugs! Bewyond feeling slightly "behind" everything, and eventually unable to stay awake, I slept for more than 8 hours, completely out for the count, and then started on the new day and the New Year full of joy, hope and trust.
I was no sooner up and running than the first visitors arrived, and surely this is a portent for the year that liers ahead - good friends, good fellowship and good encourgement.

Those who know me are aware that I am fascinated by God's w.w.w. He brings people into our lives, linking us in amazing ways and within the web performs astounding miracles. Abundant love lives within the web, and radiates out to all corners of the world.
That reminds me of a comment by our pharmacist friend, God promises to send His angels from all the corners of the world, - then He made the earth round!
Mercifully, He also made North, South, East and West!

May you know His love this year, and experience the width, length, height and depth of Christ's love in its abundance in every aspect of your lives.