Hope Triumphant

Begotten or Forgotten

2009-12-10T20:16:00.002-05:00

Recently my 5 year old great-granddaughter started the AWANA club program at her church. One day she announced that she had memorized John 3:16. She began by saying, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only forgotten Son…” Begotten was a word unfamiliar to her and not understanding it, she substituted “forgotten” for it. After much discussion and a little more work, she finally got it right.

I wonder, has Jesus Christ become the “forgotten” Son of God? Every Christmas we hear less and less about Christ and more and more about Santa Claus, gifts, parties, trees and lights.

Have you forgotten Jesus this Christmas? I hope not! Help your family focus on the real reason for the Christmas season. It is the celebration of the birth of Christ. Use props to focus on Christ’s birth. Set up a manger scene, sing carols, attend a Christmas Eve or Day service as a family and read the Christmas story before you and the children open gifts. As a way to reinforce God’s great gift of Jesus Christ, change the focus of Christmas from what do you want to get for Christmas to what can we give to others this Christmas.

It is also important that every day of the year Jesus is not the forgotten Son of God. Do you live your daily life like Jesus is the “begotten” Son of God or the “forgotten” Son of God? Every day remember God’s gift: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

Christmas Quotes

2009-12-06T23:25:00.002-05:00

More Christmas Quotes like these can be found at http://www.hopetriumphant.com/christmas_quotes.htm.

"The early Christians did not rejoice because of better things to come. They rejoiced because Christ had come. God's unspeakable gift was not provisional. They rejoiced because it was final." [Handel H. Brown]

"I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year." [Charles Dickens]

"The joy of brightening other lives, bearing each others' burdens, easing other's loads and supplanting empty hearts and lives with generous gifts becomes for us the magic of Christmas." [W. C. Jones]

"It is the Christian belief that much of what is wrong with the world today is moral and spiritual. In other words, the spirit of Christmas is absent." [Handel H. Brown]

"Jesus, the Light of the World, as we celebrate your birth... may we begin to see the world in the light of understanding you give us. As you chose the lowly, the outcasts, and the poor to receive the greatest news the world had ever known, so may we worship you in meekness of heart. May we also remember our brothers and sisters less fortunate than ourselves in this season of giving. Amen." [Karen L. Oberst]

Jesus - Wonderful Counselor Part II

2009-12-03T22:35:00.002-05:00

Our Savior is called Wonderful Counselor. As such He is always close to us, able to keep confidences, compassionate, cognizant of our need and a solution to that need and capable. Why then do so many of those who claim to be His followers find their lives in such a mess? The problem does not lie in the Counselor or the counsel but in His followers.

Consider some of the reasons why Christianity seemingly doesn’t work or why Christians cannot find real life solutions to their problem.

1. People seek wrong counsel [Psalm 1:1]. They seek the counsel of the ungodly and are provided with solutions to their problems that are totally contrary to Biblical principles. In Proverbs we read, “Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away” [4:13, 15].
2. People do not seek the counsel of Jesus because they feel that they know better. Pride causes us to be wise in our own eyes and unwilling to admit we need help. As a result, our problems usually get worse.
3. People seek His advice but while they may hear, they do not put into practice the counsel they have received. The Bible says we need to be more than hearers but does of the Word [Matthew 7:24 – 27; James 1:22 – 25] As a pastor so many people have come to me for advice only to reject my counsel because I did not tell them what they wanted to hear.
4. People listen but are misdirected by the destructive influence around them. Paul tells us we are not to “be deceived: ‘Evil company corrupts good habits.’" [1 Corinthians 15:33]

The counsel we receive from our Wonderful Counselor is good counsel. Our problem is one of not willing to put into practice the counsel they receive. The reason the lives of so many of those who claim to be followers of Christ are messed up has nothing to do with the Counselor or the counsel given but an unwillingness to listen and obey the counsel given.

Jesus - The Wonderful Counselor

2009-11-29T17:01:00.001-05:00

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

Old Testament prophets foretold the birth and life of Christ. One such prophet was Isaiah. In his prophetic writings, we are given a glimpse of the person of Jesus Christ by the names he called Jesus. One of those names is Wonderful Counselor.

Jesus Christ is our Wonderful Counselor. As such He is always close for He promised never to forsake us and accessible and we can communicate with Him by means of prayer. He is a confidential counselor. Therefore the most intimate matters can be taken to Him in complete confidence. The writer of Hebrews also tells that Jesus is “not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” [4:15] He is a compassionate counselor.

Because Jesus is God manifest in flesh [John 1:14], he is cognizant of our needs and knows what is the best solution for us in our moments of difficulty. He is a capable counselor having all the resources of heaven and earth at His disposal. No problem, no difficulty is beyond His ability to resolve. As our counselor He communicates with us through His “counselor’s manual,” the Bible.

If Jesus as our Wonderful Counsel is a close, confidential, compassionate, cognizant and capable counselor, why are so many of His follower’s lives in such a mess? I will answer that question is the next post.

Being Thankful

2009-11-25T15:08:00.002-05:00

As I look back over the past year, I am able to count my blessings. They far outweigh my trials and difficulties. In those times of difficulty, I found the best cure for discouragement was being able to focus on all the blessings God had bestowed upon me.

I would suggest you take a few moments this Thanksgiving season [no it is not Turkey Day as people would have you believe] and make a list of all the blessing God has given you. It will surprise you like it did me to realize my blessings far outweighed my difficulties. In 1897 Johnson Oatman, Jr wrote the following:

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Refrain

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

The Psalmist said, "Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truthh endureth to all generations." [Psalm 100:4, 5]

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Christianity and Islam

2009-11-21T08:12:00.004-05:00

Differences between Christianity and Islam are:

Islam teaches that the Bible is corrupt and that the New Testament does not contain the actual words of Jesus but other people’s words about Jesus. Jesus original words were thus corrupt [Surah 2:75, 78, 79]

Christianity believes that the Bible is inspired by God [2imothy 3:16, 17; 2 Peter 1:21] and has been accurately transmitted to the present day by thousands of manuscript copies. The Bible is the final authority for faith and practice and it contains God’s final revelation to man.

Islam teaches that Allah is the one true God and is an absolute unity. He can have no son and no partner and to say God could have a son is blasphemous because it implies some sexual generation. Islam does not view God as “the Father.” [Surah 19:88 –92; 112:3]

Christianity believes there is one true God [Deuteronomy 6:4] and He is a Trinity [Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 1314]. In the unity of the one God, there are three co-equal and co-eternal persons the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. God is both transcendent, above and beyond us, and immanent, near to us [Jeremiah 23:23, 24].

Islam teaches that man is composed of body and soul and basically has a good nature. His duty is to obey and serve Allah.

Christianity believes man is composed of body, soul and spirit and is born with a sinful nature [Romans 3:9 – 20; 5:19]. Salvation not by works but through faith in Jesus Christ [Ephesians 2:8, 9; Acts 4:12] and the chief purpose of man is to glorify God.

Islam teaches that Jesus did not die on the cross but rather ascended directly into heaven. Judas was crucified in His place. It would be unthinkable that Allah would allow one of his prophets to be crucified. The crucifixion of Christ is viewed as a disrespectful doctrine. [Surah 4:171, 172]

Christianity believes that Jesus did die on the cross for our sins [Matthew 20:28; 2Corinthians 5:21]. He “gave himself as a ransom for all men” [1 Timothy 2:6] and that He rose bodily from the dead appearing on various occasions to individual including over 500 at one time [1 Corinthians 15:6]. Jesus ascended into heaven and is now our Mediator [Hebrews 3:14 –16; 7:25]. He has also been given a name above every name [Philippians 2:8 – 11].

For a more comprehensive study of the difference between Christianity and Islam, go to www.hopetriumphant.com/free_literature.htm for free bookets on this subject and one on the Trinity.

Does Anybody Care?

2009-11-17T20:37:00.002-05:00

“…weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. [Psalm 30:5]

When I see a person with tears running down their cheeks it invokes in me both painful and joyous memories. Tears can be tears of sorrow expressing grief over loved one’s death and at other times anguish over sin committed. Then there are the tears of pain, loneliness, compassion and yes, even joy.

How often have you found yourself in circumstances like the Psalmist who said, “I am weary with my groaning; all the night [or every night] make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears”[1] wondering if our difficulties will every come to an end. Maybe your tears like those of the Psalmist reflected inner doubts as they “continually say unto me, Where is thy God?”[2] On other occasions your tears may have come as the result of “comforters” that instead of comforting us acted as judge and jury in their condemnation. No one understood what that was like more than Job. He cried out, “my friends scorn me: but mine eye poureth out tears unto God.”[3]

When it comes to those moments that evoke tears, no one understands us more than our Savior. John tells us that our Savior wept over the death of Lazarus and the writer of Hebrews reminds us that as our great high priest Jesus is able to comfort and encourage us because He was touch with the feeling of our infirmities. When it comes to pain and suffering, our Savior’s knowledge goes beyond intellectual knowledge. He experienced all the physical pain suffering brings. Jesus’ knowledge went even further. He experienced all the feelings that normally accompany pain and suffering.

The most important facet of our tears is that they do not go unnoticed by God. David said, “thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?”[4] Elsewhere he cried, “depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the LORD hath heard the voice of my weeping.”[5]

In moments of emotional crisis we need to remind ourselves of what we know to be true. We know the following to be true:

God knows when we are hurting;
God cares for us;[6]
God never leaves us alone. We may feel lonely in our times of pain and sorrow but we are never alone;[7]
God does hear our prayers;[8] and
Our pain and suffering is temporary. Even if it lasts for a lifetime, it is still temporary when we consider the eternal suffering of all those who enter into eternity with Christ. In contrast the believer will spend eternity in heaven where there will be no more tears because all those things that produced pain and suffering here on earth will be gone.[9]

We often deal with the pain and suffering of others by overlooking it and focusing on the “benefits.” We talk about God’s purpose for allowing a person’s pain and suffering. About how a person will grow and mature as a result or how it will better able us to minister to others. That’s true and should never be left out of the equation. If in reaching out to others that is or entire focus, we are miserable comforters. People need someone to recognize their pain and to help wipe away the tears. It’s not so much finding the right things to say or giving them a handkerchief but providing a silent shoulder on which they can cry. In the recesses of our hearts during our moments of pain and suffering, we know God cares for us. We need to now if anybody else really cares.

[1] Psalm 6:6
[2] Psalm 42:3
[3] Job 16:20
[4] Psalm 56:8
[5] Psalm 6:8
[6] 1 Peter 5:7
[7] Hebrews 13:5
[8] Isaiah 38:5
[9] Revelation 7:17; 21:14: Isaiah 25:8

Hope

2009-11-12T13:22:00.003-05:00

"And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the LORD...This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope...The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him...It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD...He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope." [Lamentations 3:18, 21, 24, 26, 29]

Five times the writer Jeremiah refers to his hope during the darkest days of his life. No matter how difficult our circumstances, we can still have hope. I would like to suggest that you read the following two books.

Hope Again by Charles Swindoll, Word Publishers

Hope Grows in Winter by Woodrow Kroll and George D. Miller III, Kregel Publications

The Bible's message is one of hope. In the Psalms the writers speak of hope more than in any other book of the Bible. As you read through the Psalms make special notions of the times hope or words of hope are found. It will do you good for in future days of dificulty to be able to go back and note the passages of hope you have marked.

No Longer Thankful

2009-11-09T17:33:00.001-05:00

Our family is scattered around the country. Last year we were unable to travel to be with family, we decided to go to a local restaurant for Thanksgiving Dinner. We arrived at the restaurant and were promptly seated. As the waitress approached the table she said, "Happy Turkey Day!" I thought it a little strange since the restaurant marquee advertised for a Thanksgiving Buffet. We finished our meal and headed home. On the way we made a brief stop for a couple of necessities. As we were checking out the cashier said, "I hope you're having a nice Turkey Day."

Time doesn't let me go into the history of Thanksgiving Day but what's this "Turkey Day" thing? As I pondered the question, I realized for someone to say "Happy Thanksgiving" implied there is Someone to whom we are to be thankful. When a person says "Happy Turkey Day", it removes the idea of a God to whom we are to be thankful and and the necessity to be thankful.

Changing the day to "Turkey Day" betrays our history, denies the existence of God and infers the lack of gratitude. In this year when the emphasis on morals is on the rise, here is an insidious attack on the source of all morals and values. The next time someone say to you "Happy Turkey Day" take a moment to remind them its a day of Thanksgiving to God for all the blessing we receive everyday.

In the Bible we read: "Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands...Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. [Psalm 100:1, 4] 'Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, And declare His works with rejoicing." [Psalm 107:22] "I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, And will call upon the name of the LORD." [Psalm 116:17]

The Apostle Paul in Romans said, "because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened [1:21]. He goes on to say in the first chapter of Romans to show the progression from knowing God to a totally godless, immoral society. It all begins with the man's unwillingness to be thankful to his creator. Why? Other scriptures tell us that thanksgiving is a "sacrifice of praise." Man is not willing to sacrifice his glory to give glory to God. Man is not willing to turn the attention away from self and focus on God. The result is "Happy Turkey Day!" Stand up and be counted, tell the next person who says that to you "it's not Turkey Day but Thanksgiving Day." I feel sorry for people who have nothing for which to be thankful.

The Manner and Implications of Evangelism

2009-11-03T21:21:00.004-05:00

Roland Allen was an Anglican missionary in China from 1895 to 1903. After which time he spent the next forty years writing on missionary principles and practices. Consider his thoughts on the method of evangelism and the benefits for the individual Christian involved in evangelism. The thoughts recorded here are from his book, The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church, Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1962.

"Spontaneous expansion begins with the individual effort of the individual Christian to assist his fellow, when common experience, common difficulties, common toil have first brought the two together. It is this equality and community of experience which makes the one deliver his message in terms which the other can understand, and makes the hearer approach the subject with sympathy and confidence—with sympathy because the common experience makes approach easy and natural, with confidence, because the one is accustomed to understand what the other says and expects to under¬stand him now..."

"Upon the speaker, too, the effort to express his truth exercises a profound effect. The expression of his experience intensifies it; it renews it, it repeats it; it enlightens it. In speaking of it he goes through it again; in setting it before another he sets it before himself in a new light. He gets a deeper sense of its reality and power and meaning. In speaking of it he pledges himself to the conduct and life winch it involves. He proclaims himself bound by it, and every time I hat his speech produces an effect upon another, that effect reacts upon himself, making his hold upon his truth surer and stronger."

"But this only if his speech is voluntary and spontaneous. If he is a paid agent both speaker and hearer are affected that fact...He finds out his own ignorance of many aspects of his truth, and he is generally eager to learn, and to inquire further for himself...He is forced to think over and over again what are the implications of his truth; he has few ready-made stereotyped answers. As he goes on, no doubt, these tend to multiply, but they cannot multiply at first without much real experience. Thus the voluntary spontaneous expression of truth experienced advances the speaker."

When we follow Roland Allen's advice, we find our faith strengthened, our knowledge of the truth grows and we mature in the faith. I believe the reason we have so many weak and immature believers today is the result of their failure to be spontaneous witnesses of their faith to those they meet in events of everyday life.

Truth

2009-10-31T19:32:00.003-04:00

Below are some quotes on Truth from our web site Hope Triumphant. We hope you find them challenging and interesting. We would encourage you to visit Hope triumphant by following the link on this page.

"No matter what the postmodern world concludes about God and truth, reality is that God is still God, and He is still trying to reconcile men unto Himself." (Dr. Sam Horn)

'Truth is incontrovertible. Panic may resent it; ignorance may deride it; malice may distort it; but there it is." (Winston Churchill)

"It is truth that passes into action that produces righteousness." (Richard Bennett)

"To hear the truth and not accept it does not nullify truth." (Brotherhood Journal)

"Truth is not ultimately a matter of pride or humility, it is a matter of fact." (Unknown)

"Always tell the truth. Then you don't have to worry about what you said last." (Robert Cook)

"Your teeth may be false, but always let your tongue be true." [unknown]

"Beware of a half truth; you may get hold of the wrong half." [unknown]

'Truth fears nothing but concealment.' [unknown]

Compassion

2009-10-27T20:06:00.001-04:00

“Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous.” 1 Peter 3:8

God is a God of compassion. While walking among men on earth, the gospel writers tell us that Jesus was moved with compassion in His dealings with others. As followers of Christ, we have been commanded to show compassion to others.

What does it mean to be compassionate? It is our constructive, caring, remedial response to the needs of others regardless who they are. Compassion is not the same as sympathy or empathy. These are feelings but compassion is not about how we feel but what we do in response to what we feel. Joseph Stowell defined compassions as “our commitment to activate ourselves as channels of God’s love, mercy and grace in tender thoughtful, understanding acts of help delivering forgiveness and restoration toward those in need.”

Love is an act of the will whereby we do what is right regardless of the cost or another’s response. When love functions alone there is the tendency to be cold and/or formal in doing the right thing. Compassion acting alone can cause us to be very selective regarding to whom who we minister. When love functions alongside of compassion it keeps us from being selective in regards to those to whom we chose to minister. When compassion functions alongside love it keeps us from being cold and formal in our dealings with others.

Vance Havner said, “Our Lord worked with people as they were, and He was patient – not tolerant of sin, but compassionate.” Our prayer should be “Lord help me to be like Jesus.”

Foolishness

2009-10-22T19:20:00.003-04:00

“There is desirable treasure, and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man squanders it.” Proverbs 20:21 NKJV

Wise people are willing to endure short-term difficulty for long-term benefits. Foolish people seek immediate gratification at the expense of long-term benefits. The area of greatest disaster for people is how they handle their money. We need to learn the value of short-term sacrifice for long-term benefits.

We live in the “I want it now” generation. Just look at the problems we face because of our charge it now pay for it later attitude. Why all the problems? We have not learned to look at the long-term consequences of our “I want it now” attitude. We fail to see the value of sacrifice and the benefits of delayed gratification.

Solomon said it bluntly, “a foolish man squanders” his treasure. What have gained by using credit to buy what we don’t have the money to purchase? You become a slave of the credit card industry. “The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” [Proverbs 22:7] You pay outlandish interest rates running as high as 20%. This adds up to paying a minimum of three or four times the original cost of the item. How things have you bought on credit that are long gone or broken before you pay for them. You are robbing yourself of the freedom to prepare for your future.

It is time to exercise some discipline in money matters. Discipline produces a plan to save for both short-term specific items and long-term savings for our future needs. Discipline rejects the idea that immediate gratification is what is best and teaches us the value of sacrifice and delayed gratification.

One of the greatest examples of these concepts is Joseph. For seven years he systematically put away grain for the coming seven years of famine. If he did not exercise the most stringent discipline in the storing of grain what would have happened in Egypt to both the Egyptians and his own family? Joseph knew the seven years of famine were coming. Our hard times often come upon us unexpectedly making a financial plan that includes no debt and long-term saving an absolute necessity. There are two ingredients that must be an integral part of any plan. The first is being able to distinguish between real needs and wants. This allows us to implement the second concept. Setting aside immediate gratification for long-term benefits.

Where are you financially today because you failed to exercise discipline in your money matters? How many credit card companies own you? How large is your debt? What can’t you do today that you want to because of unwise spending in the past? It’s time to honor the Lord by changing the way you spend you money.

Final words of wisdom from God’s Word: “Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith” [Proverbs 15:16]. “A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked” [Psalm 37:16]. "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise" [Proverbs 12:15].

The Power of God

2009-10-16T02:03:00.001-04:00

God’s power is infinite power. His power goes beyond anything man can conceive or any power man can create. It enables Him to do what He wills. The Apostle Paul gives expression to this power in Ephesians 3:20, 21 when He wrote, “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Jesus Christ throughout all ages, world without end. Amen”

Paul’s ascription of praise to God’s power allows us to see the greatness of the power of God. Consider the follow statements by Paul regarding God’s power.

1. He is able to do. God is not idle, inactive or dead but alive at work in the world and in our lives.
2. He is able to do what we ask. He hears our prayers and answers our prayers not with vain promises because He can do what He promises.
3. He is able to do what we ask or think. He knows our thoughts and even when we dare not ask of him certain things, He is able to do what we think.
4. He is able to do more, beyond. We may be limited by our knowledge when we pray but God is omniscient and able to do more than we ask because He understands what is possible even though we do not.
5. He is able to do all we ask or think. There is nothing we can ask God to do that he cannot do.
[I must caution here that God is not our servant but in prayer all that He does in response to our prayers is governed by His will. Paul also stated in Ephesians “who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. 1:11] The fact that God does not because what we ask is not because He is powerless but because we have asked something out of His will.
6. He is able to do more abundantly than we ask or think. He doesn’t just scrape by but his power is exceedingly great.
7. He is able to do more abundantly. There are no limits to His power.

As we grasp a full understanding of what Paul said, we can with Paul proclaim, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” [Philippians 4:13] Why because power is not beyond our reach. It is the power that works in us. His power is found in the Word of God [this is why we should memorize it] and in His Holy Spirit. It is the power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead. It means we can have victory over temptation, break bad habits and have hope in difficult times. We can have hope triumphant.

Testimony

2009-10-14T21:52:00.000-04:00

"But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name's sake. But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony." [Luke 21:12, 13 NKJV]

We are called to testify of our faith. There many different ways and different places where we can be a testimony for the Lord. There are good and bad ways to be a witness for the Lord. Consider the following possibilities. One, you can be a spurious witness by not telling people the whole gospel or by not living in accordance to the witness we bear. Two, some Christians are shirkers. They fail to share the gospel because they don't want to stir things up or do not want to get involved in the lives of others. Thirdly, some people are forced to give witness to their faith because they are put on the spot by others. In these circumstances people sometime take the easy way out and deny any relationship with the Lord. A perfect example of this is Peter the night Jesus was betrayed. When confronted by the little servant girl, he denied knowing the Lord. Fourthly, some people are sporadic in their witness. One day a ball of fire and others as cold as ice. Lastly, there is the spontaneous witness. The spontaneous witness naturally shares his faith in a faithful manner whenever he has the opportunity.

One of the most difficult times to be a faithful testimony is when we called to suffer for our faith. The Lord told His disciples that times of testing should be an occasion for being a witness of our faith. We bear witness in two ways. The first is by the way we conduct ourselves and secondly by the words we say. The best example is that of the Lord Jesus. "For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously" [1 Peter 2:21 - 23]. Why is it important for us to be a good witness? Peter told us that is the "...will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men" [1 Peter 2:15] What kind of testimony are you for the Lord?

Worship

2009-10-10T09:30:00.002-04:00

“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” John 4:24

Jesus conversation with the woman of Samaria moved from His request that she draw Him water from the well to a discussion about worship. The woman said that she worshipped in the mountain while the Jews worshipped in Jerusalem. In response Jesus contrasted the worship of the Jews and the Samaritans with true worship.

The Samaritans worshipped in ignorance but with enthusiasm. This made their worship nothing more than enthusiastic heresy. On the other hand, the Jews had the truth but lacked the spirit. Their worship had become nothing more than cold, baron, lifeless orthodoxy. The problem the Jews faced was not form but heart. Later on in Jesus ministry He again focused on the problem when he said, “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me [Matthew 15:8]. Jesus statement brought together all the elements of worship.

Jesus explained to the Samaritan woman the essence of worship. He said there are two essential parts to worship. We are to “worship him in spirit.” There is an inwardness to worship. Worship must come from the heart. Jesus does not rule out external forms but places emphasis on the need for worship to be more than form. Then Jesus said worship must be “in truth.” For us to understand that worship must be “in truth,” we need to consider two separate concepts. First, there needs to be intelligence in worship. It is essential that we know God and His Word. We must worship the God who has revealed Himself in the Word of God not one created in our imaginations. Secondly, there needs to be integrity of worship. Jesus rules our pretense by requiring unity of heart with our acts of worship. This means our knowledge [intellect] must govern our choices [will] and our emotions must harmonize so that our acts of worship are not hypocritical.

Worship must be more than duty, more than ritual. It must be in spirit and truth.

God's Faithfulness

2009-10-05T23:40:00.001-04:00

“They [God’s mercies] are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.” [Lamentations 3:23]

One of the marvelous perfections of God is His faithfulness which is best described as being reliable, steadfast, dependable and trustworthy. Believers often refer to God’s faithfulness as it relates to His promises to them but God’s faithfulness also extends to the unbeliever. God faithfully keeps His promises made to them. In order for to us to begin to fully understand God’s faithfulness in keeping His promises we must also recognize the inter-relationship between His faithfulness and His other perfections. In order for us to experience God’s faithfulness, we need to realize He is also sovereign, omnipotent, omniscient and truthful.

In order to understand the depth of God’s faithfulness, we need to consider the following ideas:
1. God is faithful in ALL that He has said.
2. God is faithful in preserving His people [1 Corinthians 1:9; Philippians 1:6; 2 Timothy 1:12];
3. God is faithful in the discipline His children [1 Corinthians 11:30; Psalm 119:75];
4. God is faithful in glorifying His people [Romans 8:28 – 30]

In our times of difficulty after we have prayed much and there seems to be no response from God to our prayers, there is a tendency on our part to begin to question the faithfulness of God. Our lack of understanding of our circumstances and the will of God produces this result but when we begin to factor in the fact that God is faithful to Himself and His purposes and to our plans, we will begin to see the depth and magnitude of God’s faithfulness. It is then we can sing:

Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
there is no shadow of turning with thee;
thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not;
as thou hast been thou forever will be.
Refrain:
Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
all I have needed thy hand hath provided;
great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
sun, moon and stars in their courses above
join with all nature in manifold witness
to thy great faithfulness, mercy and love. Refrain

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! Refrain

Response to My Blog on Hell

2009-10-05T23:12:00.003-04:00

I have edit the following response because the writer was directing people to another website for the purpose of drawing attention to his book. I do not believe my editing damaged the intent of the writer, Rick's response.

"...let me share one of the many points I make in it.If one is willing to look, there's substantial evidence contained in the gospels to show that Jesus opposed the idea of Hell. For example, in Luke 9:51-56, is a story about his great disappointment with his disciples when they actually suggested imploring God to rain FIRE on a village just because they had rejected him. His response: "You don't know what spirit is inspiring this kind of talk!" Presumably, it was NOT the Holy Spirit. He went on, trying to explain how he had come to save, heal and relieve suffering, not be the CAUSE of it.So it only stands to reason that this same Jesus, who was appalled at the very idea of burning a few people, for a few horrific minutes until they were dead, could never, ever burn BILLIONS of people for an ETERNITY!

MY RESPONSE: Jesus did come to save, heal and relieve suffering but the fact of the matter is that not all men were or are saved nor did Jesus heal every person He came in contact with. Taking scripture out of the total context of scripture creates false teaching. The teachings of Jesus on the subject of hell are found in the following passages [I limit refernces to Gospel of Matthew]: Matthew 5:21, 22, 27 - 30; 23:15, 33; 10:28; 25:41, 46; 8:11 - 12; Matthew 13:30, 40 - 43; 13:49 - 50; 18:6 - 9; 24:51.

If there is no hell, there is no God. While people constantly say loving God would not send people to hell they also fall into the same problem but in this case they take the love of God out of the context of the whole person. God is more than a God of love. He is also a holy God, righteous God, a God of justice. God's holiness demands justice and the faithfulness of God demands He keep His Word. Would a loving God send a person to hell? Yes, because He is also a holy, righteous and just God.

Discernment

2009-09-30T17:38:00.002-04:00

Discernment is the ability to perceive differences. There are times when the differences are vast and to be able to discern those differences is rather easy. There are times in life the difference between right and wrong is often blurred and we are called upon in a split second to make the right choice. What makes this choice easier is having our minds saturated with the Word of God. The Psalmist said, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” [Psalm 119:11] God told Joshua that “this book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” [Joshua 1:8] Note reason for memorizing and meditating upon the Word of God. It is that we might observe to do all that is written in the Bible. The benefit is that we will be prosperous and have good success. Not so much worldly or financial success but being able to accomplish what God gives us to do. One reason we need to be discerning is to be able to obey the Word of God.

There is a more sophisticated form of discernment that is vitally important to us. Charles Spurgeon reminds that “discernment is not a matter of simply telling the difference between what is right and wrong; rather, it is the difference between right and almost right.” The Apostle Paul’s prayer for the believers in Philippi addresses this need. He prayed “That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.” [1:10, 11] If our lives are to bring glory and praise to God this ability to discern right and almost right, good and better and things excellent is absolutely necessary. Without this ability, we will find ourselves living in a constant state of hypocrisy and causing irreparable harm to the person and work of Christ.

Discernment comes as a result of knowing the word of God, asking God for discernment and practice. Along the way wrong choices might be made but we can ask for forgiveness and learn from the mistakes made as we move on through life seeking to bring God both glory and praise.

Note earlier post on same topic: http://hopetriumphant.blogspot.com/2009/01/discernment.html

Because He Lives

2009-09-26T21:15:00.003-04:00

Hope brings joy and peace in the midst of darkness. Below is the story followed by the words to “Because He Lives” by Gloria Gaither. May you experience the hope that brings joy and peace during the dark days of your life. Jesus Christ is alive and to know Him as your Savior changes everything.

“I am a wife and a mother. It was in the middle of the upheaval in the sixties that we were expecting our third baby. The drug culture was in full swing, existential thought had obviously saturated every area of our American thought, the cities were seething with racial tension, and the God-is-dead pronouncement had giggled its way all through our educational system.

On the personal front, Bill and I were going through one of the most difficult times in our lives. Bill had been discouraged and physically exhausted by a bout with mononucleosis, and in that weakened condition had little reserve to fight the psychological battle brought on by some external family problems. Someone whom we had cared about a great deal had hurled some accusations at us and at the Fellowship of Believers and at the whole idea of the existence of God.

It was on New Year’s Eve that I sat alone in the darkness and quiet of our living room, thinking about the world and our country and Bill’s discouragement and the family problems—and about our baby yet unborn. Who in their right mind would bring a child into a world like this? I thought, The world is so evil. Influences beyond our control are so strong. What will happen to this child?

I can’t quite explain what happened at that moment, but suddenly I felt released from it all. The panic that had begun to build inside was gently dispelled by a reassuring presence that engulfed my life and drew my attention.

Gradually, the fear left and the joy began to return. I knew I could have that baby and face the future with optimism and trust. It was the Resurrection affirming itself in our lives once again. It was LIFE conquering death in the regularity of my day.” — Gloria Gaither

Because He Lives

God sent His Son, they called Him Jesus, He came to love, heal, and forgive; He lived and died to buy my pardon, An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.

Because He lives I can face tomorrow, Because He lives All fear is gone; because I know He holds the future. And life is worth the living just because He lives.

How sweet to hold a newborn baby, And feel the pride, and joy He gives; but greater still the calm assurance, This child can face uncertain days because He lives.

And then one day I'll cross the river, I'll fight life's final war with pain; And then as death gives way to victory, I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know he lives.

The Solid Rock

2009-09-20T23:10:00.003-04:00

Below we have our hope expressed in song but first the background of the beloved hymn “The Solid Rock.” As you read this story of this great hymn, let me ask you “What is the basis of your hope?”

“One morning it came into my mind as I went to labor, to write an hymn on the ‘Gracious Experience of a Christian.’ As I went up Holborn I had the chorus,

‘On Christ the solid Rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand.’

In the day I had four first verses complete, and wrote them off. On the Sabbath following I met brother King as I came out of Lisle Street Meeting…who informed me that his wife was very ill, and asked me to call and see her. I had an early tea, and called afterwards. He said that it was his usual custom to sing a hymn, read a portion, and engage in prayer, before he went to meeting. He looked for his hymnbook but could find it nowhere. I said, ‘I have some verses in my pocket; if he liked, we would sing them.’ We did, and his wife enjoyed them so much, that after service he asked me, as a favor, to leave a copy of them for his wife. I went home, and by the fireside composed the last two verses, wrote the whole off, and took them to sister King…As these verses so met the dying woman’s case, my attention to them was the more arrested, and I had a thousand printed for distribution. I sent one to the Spiritual Magazine, without my initials, which appeared some time after this. Brother Rees, of Crown Street, Soho, brought out an edition of hymns [1836], and this hymn was in it. David Denham introduced it [1837] with Rees’ name, and others after…Your inserting this brief outline may in future shield me from the charge of stealth, and be a vindication of truthfulness in my connection with the Church of God.” Edward Mote, Letter to the Gospel Herald

My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.

Refrain

On Christ the solid Rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand; All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness seems to hide His face, I rest on His unchanging grace. In every high and stormy gale, My anchor holds within the veil.

Refrain

His oath, His covenant, His blood, Support me in the whelming flood. When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my Hope and Stay.

Refrain

When He shall come with trumpet sound, Oh may I then in Him be found.Dressed in His righteousness alone, Faultless to stand before the throne.

Refrain

False Religion and Terror

2009-09-17T21:14:00.001-04:00

Scientology is false religion that uses terror tactics to silence its critics. First let us deal with the accusation it is a false religion. On its web site is listed some of their core beliefs. One of those beliefs is that man is basically good. This claim directly contradicts the Scripture. The Scripture says, “The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one” [Psalm 14:2, 3] and “…No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulcher; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.” [Romans 3:10 -18] Our life experiences verify the truth of these scripture statements.

Scientology makes a false claim when it says that it is “compatible with all other religious beliefs. It cannot be and is not compatible with ANY religious belief since it clearly teaches that all religion is an implanted false reality. In fact, any other religious belief by a Scientologist is not even tolerated.” [www.holysmoke.org/cos/scientology-lies-and-deceives.htm]

The terrorist tactics of Scientology are revealed on the above web site. I quote. “We are all well aware that Hubbard wrote all the policies used by Scientology management today which are at the heart of the entire war that Scientology has declared on its critics. Hubbard wrote the Manual of Dissemination, for example, in which he instructed his followers that the purpose of a lawsuit is to harass, not to win. He also wrote the Manual of Justice, in which he says that a reporter who dares to write anything critical about Scientology should be harassed and intimidated until he shudders into silence. He also wrote Attacks on Scientology, Additional Policy Letter, in which he details how to destroy the reputation of anyone who is critical of Scientology. There are many, many others, including the most vile of Hubbard's policies, the "Fair Game" policy which has been in continuous use by Scientology since it was written in 1967. Current management is revising these Hubbard policies for the reprints of the OEC and Tech volumes for legal and PR reasons, because Miscavige and his lawyers don't want the public to know how rabidly insane and vindictive Hubbard really was.”

For a wealth of information visit Operation Clambake at http://www.xenu.net/.

We expose Scientology false teaching and deceitful ways but firmly believe they have the right to teach what they will. It is our belief that the truth will set you free. Jesus said, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” [John 8:32] We seek not to silence our critics because in light of the truth they will be exposed for what they are. We oppose the terror tactics Scientology uses. The use of terror tactics exposes the bankruptcy of their belief system that cannot stand up to the light of the Word of God. They obviously do not want fair minded journalist exposing their practices. Why? What are they hiding?

Teaching or Terrorizing

2009-09-14T22:26:00.000-04:00

“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Matthew 28:18 – 20

It is in the words of Jesus that we find the greatest difference between the Christian faith and Islam. Jesus commissioned us to a ministry of teaching, not a ministry of terror. We are called to make willing not unwilling disciples of Jesus Christ. Nowhere in Scripture does Jesus tell His followers to kill, mutilate or intimidate other Christians who wish to deny their faith.

We are to make disciples by preaching of the message of the cross. It is through the preaching of the cross that men and women respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit by confessing their sins and believing on Jesus Christ as their Savior. There have been in history excesses by overzealous men who in the name of Christ have use force but their authority to do so has never been the Word of God or the teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus told His disciples to make disciples through the preaching and teaching of the Gospel message. A person made a disciple against his will is no disciple at all. A religion that makes converts by force is bankrupt – totally devoid of truth and offer no real hope to their followers.

Once a person is a convert to the Christian faith, they are to give public testimony by being baptized. Once a convert is baptized he/she is to be taught to obey the commands of Jesus and if he/she chooses not to obey the commands, there is no “Gestapo” to force them to comply. The reason is simple. Obedience is a sign of one’s love for Jesus and love cannot be coerced. It must be expressed by a willing heart.

Ultimately the goal of the Christian is to glorify God through his willing obedience to the commands of Jesus. How tragic it is to see people being terrorized by people wanting to force them to be converts or trying to hold them under the sway of their religious teachings. The greater tragedy is that these religious terrorist are gaining no real converts and keeping people from finding the truth!

They are afraid of the truth. Why? Jesus said, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” [John 8:32]

Christian or Atheist?

2009-09-10T20:22:00.004-04:00

Once a person denies the resurrection of Jesus Christ and that Jesus was sinless, the next denial is the totality of the gospel. This leaves only one door open for the liberal to open, the door of atheism.

German theologian Gerd LÜdemann a few years ago declared “I no longer consider myself a Christian.” He later stated that liberal theologians try to reformulate Christian doctrine into something that they can believe, and still claim to be Christian and now describes liberal theology as “contemptible.”

There are certain fundamentals of the faith that a person must believe in order to be considered a Christian. He must affirm the inspiration of the Scripture, the deity of Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, His substitutionary death on the cross, His physical resurrection, salvation by faith alone and His future return. One cannot deny any one of these doctrines without denying them all. If one denies these doctrines can one really be called a Christian?

Again German theologian Gerd LÜdemann is able to clarify the picture for us. He stated, “I don’t think Christians know what they mean when they proclaim Jesus a Lord of the world. That is a massive claim. If you took that seriously, you would probably have to be a fundamentalist. If you can’t be a fundamentalist, then you should give up Christianity for the sake of honesty.” [Theologian Abandons Christianity, Christian Century, June 17-24, 1998]

Christians do not blindly proclaim that Jesus is the Lord of the universe. Christians only repeat what the Scriptures proclaim - Jesus is Lord of Lords. For Christians not to take the proclamation of Scripture seriously makes them no better than the self-proclaimed liberal turned atheist. Where do you stand? Are you a true believer or a closet atheist?

Does Anybody Still Believe in Hell?

2009-09-05T09:16:00.001-04:00

What was once standard theological truth is slowly but efficiently being removed from the theological lexicons of orthodoxy. The question is why? Over the years I have come across many reasons for the diminishing belief in and teaching about Hell. Recently I have been reading “The Disappearance of God” by R. Albert Mohler, Jr. in which he asks, “Is evangelical theology about marketing God to our contemporary culture, or is it our task to stand in continuity with orthodox biblical conviction –whatever the cost?"

In our modern day attempt to market our Christian faith, we have down played and then removing all truth that is offensive to the world. One result is that much of what was orthodox Christian faith has been diluted to the detriment of the unsaved. What is left for them to believe? Is the message we have left able to produce a life changing experience? The second result is what we now believe has robbed the church of its missionary spirit and left the lost world on its path to eternal damnation.

No longer do many evangelical believe in eternal damnation in hell for the unsaved. In our attempt to make Christianity marketable, we have dumbed down our teaching on hell and called Jesus Christ a liar. Today evangelicals teach things like universalism, annihilationism and post mortem evangelism in an attempt to make Christianity marketable and acceptable to a lost world. In so doing they have undermined the holiness, righteousness and justice of God by their isolated emphasis on the love of God. They also have either called Jesus a liar or robbed themselves of their own eternal hope of eternal life. Jesus said, “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal” [Matthew 25:46]. The same Greek word “aionios” is used for both everlasting and eternal in this verse. Either there is eternal life for the righteous and eternal punishment for the unrighteous or there is NO eternal life for the righteous and NO eternal punishment for the unrighteous. To say there is eternal life for the unrighteous and NO eternal punishment for the unrighteous is to call Jesus a liar. If Jesus is a liar then our Christian faith is a fraud.

In the attempt to isolate the doctrine of Hell and the love of God from all other aspects of our faith, you undermine the whole teaching of God’s Word. The Bible teaches us that there is a real literal Hell. If not, we do not have a viable faith to live or preach having robbed it of the biblical teachings on the holiness, righteousness and justice of God and the deity of Jesus. The Bible teaches there is literal Hell, I still believe it and it’s time modern day Christianity stood in continuity with orthodox biblical convictions. To abandon orthodox convictions is to abandon Christianity.