Sept. 24, 2006
A God Who Forgives

Psalm 130:3 If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? 4 But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.

Did you ever stop to think that a "god" who cannot forgive is worthless?

Think of the gods of the heathen - the ancient Greek gods, the Hindu gods, the gods of old Europe and much of Asia Minor, the gods of the pagans and neo-pagans. According to their mythology, most of them are worse sinners than those who worship them. So, why would they care about the sins of mankind? They wouldn't, except in an arbitrary, unjust way.

But, if some human was worried about their sin, these gods also have no permanent remedy and they cannot forgive them. If there is some pretense of forgiveness in their god-lore it is no comfort for, after all, the gods and goddesses are sinners themselves. When the gods cannot forgive sin there is either no reason to fear punishment or there is no way to escape it.  Unless they were salted by the Gospel, their cultures were and are usually full of immoral customs and low-level crime, at best. In the worst cases there is so little call for "morality" that many are totally amoral unless they live in an environment where it's required to achieve financial gain - good for business or government aid.

Then think of the gods of Islam and Buddhism, Hinduism, the New Age and others. While there may be some call for certain types of behavior in order to appease the gods or get to their "heaven", these gods basically don't care that much about sin. Just "do the best you can". "God" is impersonal and far away. He/she doesn't notice sin much as long as they are faithful to a few basic tenants of the faith, or as long as they give the required "offerings".

But then, if someone does want forgiveness, there is no answer. Ceaseless works and self-privations may give a puny hope that the sin may be forgiven, but if they really thought they were forgiven they wouldn't have to keep on and on with the sometimes torturous practices.

Even in the so-called "christian" sphere we find "Gods" who are not able or are hindered to forgive.

The Roman Catholic God must have a priest - a man who is a sinner like the people - stand between himself and the laity to "absolve" sins - often with some price prescribed in works attached. The conscience is massaged, but the sin is not permanently gone. A stay in "Purgatory" is required by the very best Catholics before they are permitted to "possibly" enter heaven. It is generally forbidden among them to say, "I am going to heaven." "No body knows for sure" they tell us. This boils down to the fact that their "God" cannot forgive! If he could, they would know.

The Mormon "God" was supposedly "once what we are now" - sinners. So, for him to call for holiness is quite dubious. But, more than that, their doctrine states that there are sins their "God" cannot forgive, and so the person who commits such a trespass must pay for the sin with his or her own blood. In the old days, they practiced this out in the open. It was called "blood atonement." Well, that's not much of a "God", frankly. He apparently has not reached the truly powerful forgiveness stage.

What good is a god that cannot say, "You are forgiven" and really mean it? He is no good. There is no point in fearing him. He can't do anything for you.

But, thanks be unto the Lord God who made heaven and earth and all that in them is! He can and does forgive sin! He is able!

Colossians 2:13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

Other Articles: Forgiven

What's more, His kind of forgiveness should be "contagious" for the Christian.

Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

That's the kind of God I want! One who not only forgives me, but who also is an inspiration to me to forgive others. Surely this is a God worth fearing. Not only is He just and holy, but He has the power to forgive those who are not! Now, that's a real God!

And by the way, the desire to forgive is based in love and mercy. That's another attribute missing in most false "gods"!

Ephesians 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

CA

Sept. 14, 2006
Follow Your Heart?

By the way, "Follow your heart" is a philosophy New Agers adhere to. To see for yourself, type "follow your heart" into Google.com and run a search on it. See how many of the links on the first 2 or 3 pages go to obviously New Age type people and things.

"Follow your heart," the world tells us. "If you follow it you can't go wrong. Your heart will always lead you right."

God has a different thought on that -- as is usual where the world's philosophies are concerned.

Proverbs 28:26 He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.

You might want to read that again. That first part is a strong statement, and there's no getting around it. If you "follow your heart" you are a fool. God said so.

Why would the Lord God say a thing like that?

The answer: Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Our hearts are deceitful above all things. There is nothing more deceitful than the heart. Wow. That's a pretty amazing statement, and yet history has proved it absolutely true. I am not an exception. You are not an exception. (And, your wonderful boyfriend or darling son/daughter is not an exception either, by the way.) We are all sinners, and our hearts are not trustworthy.

My grandpa used to say that our hearts are so deceitful we can deceive ourselves and not know it, even when the people around us do know we are deceiving ourselves. Scary, but true.

God has a solution, though. He always does. (That is one of the proofs that He is God Almighty.)

Psalm 119:80 Let my heart be sound in thy statutes; that I be not ashamed.
Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

Now, we might ask, "Since our heart is not trustworthy, how can we trust in the Lord this way or keep our hearts for Him?"

1John 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. 19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. 20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. 21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.

God is greater than our heart! What a wonderful comfort that is! Even if our heart condemns us unjustly, God is bigger and stronger, and He cannot lie! (Titus 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;) The Lord knows if we are saved, if our real desire is to follow Him, and even if we are deceiving ourselves. There is no problem in our heart that is too big for Him!

To "follow your heart" then, is truly folly. We can only be safe in following our Lord, for only He knows and understands our hearts.

Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

1Peter 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: 24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. 25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

CA

Sept. 13, 2006
9/11 - What Does It Mean to You?

Psalm 76:10 Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.

Several years ago I heard a brother, Mr. N., telling how he was working with another Christian man, Mr. R. on the job when a jumbo jet flew over the work site. An exchange something like this passed between them-

Mr. R. turned to Mr. N. and said, "I'll never think of those the same," pointing toward the jet.

"Why?" asked Mr. N. in some surprise.

Mr. R. "9/11. The World Trade Center. I'll always think of that."

Mr. N. later expressed that he was somewhat puzzled by this reaction. He couldn't understand why a Christian would feel that way. He seemed to think that Mr. R.'s feeling was almost superstitious.

But, should our memory of that horrible event serve the Lord or should we serve the memory? What I mean is this - should we, as believers in Christ Jesus, be vexed or trouble by the memories of that event, or should we rather use them to serve the Lord? If some certain thing reminds you of that event, how can you turn it around and use it to the glory of God?

For example, if seeing 9:11 on a digital clock reminds you of that fateful day, how about purposing in your heart to always pray when you see that? It wouldn't be a long, drawn out prayer necessarily. Circumstances might prevent that, but you could pray in your spirit. There are a number of things that may trigger that memory - pictures of NYC, "call 9-1-1", jet planes, firemen, 9:11, etc.

There are quite a number of possible things to pray for - a Christian testimony in Afghanistan, missionaries in the Middle East, that more Muslims and Arabs will hear the true gospel and be saved, for the families who lost loved ones in that tragedy to come to Christ, for the peace of mind for friends in New York City, for the salvation of soldiers, etc.

Whatever may trigger the memory for you, why not use it for the Lord rather than for fear or sorrow or even anger? Let's turn what Satan did - and ultimately he was the prime "conspirator" in that drama - into a weapon of our warfare! Let us use it as a tool to help fight the good fight of faith!

2Corinthians 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

CA

Sept. 5, 2006
Two Kinds of Trees

Jeremiah 17:5 Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. 6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. 7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. 8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

A pastor friend of ours recently preached at both a funeral and a wedding on one weekend. He was highly praised by various people after both events. This is not because he's some kind of Baptist wonder boy or the next John MacArthur. His strength is only in the fact that he trusts and hopes in the LORD, so he has access to the water. He strives to be faithful in giving God's words to saints and sinners because of that.

Those flatterers - and it was nothing but flattery, for as he put it, "somewhat less than one" of them showed up Sunday at the church fellowship he pastors - but, those flatterers' problem is that they trust in man and the arm of flesh, and have departed from God. They are in a desert spiritually. They get all excited when someone passes by and spills some water on them from his full bucket, but the next day or so they've forgotten all about it.

Proverbs 30:15 The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough: 16 The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough.

Now if you ever tried to water plants in a desert area you know how that works. Parched ground in a desert place can absorb water with great speed and require more again tomorrow or it "forgets" it had any. And, when a large amount is dumped on it at one time, it often runs off at a fierce rate and leaves little lasting benefit.

So it is with those who trust in man. They recognize the water when it comes near them, but no lasting good comes from it. Their roots are in parched places. They seem to drink it up but in a day or two they're as dry as ever. (By the way, there a lot of people like this, and they are not all in dead beat churches!)

In the Arizona desert south of Tucson there are many mesquite trees. They are usually rather runted as trees go. They are scrubby and not usually well developed. They survive in that dry, hard soil and they are better than nothing, but they aren't much either. They provide a little shade and a little food for animals.

My parents, though, once had the opportunity to see what mesquite trees could do when planted by water. They found a spot where the trees are growing right by a river where many gallons of water must be available to their roots. Never had they seen such mesquite trees as those! Big, huge trees like oaks - well developed and beautiful. Obviously they never suffer from drought.

The trees up on the desert plain have no idea what good things an abundance of water would do for them. The ones in the river bed have no concept of drought. The ones in the desert are small and emaciated both to preserve water and from the lack thereof. The ones by the waters know not heat nor drought. They flourish.

And so it is with people. Those who have walked away from the Lord, His word and His ways live in a barren wilderness but cannot realize it. Those who trust and hope in the Lord find continual water to bear fruit and green leaves even in these days when spiritual drought has covered the globe! May God grant us the strength to follow hard after Him that we may be among those who do not feel the heat or drought of these times!

Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

John 4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water... 13 ...Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

CA