On the Bible and Faith

THE 3 O'S OF GOD

Everyone knows that the fundamentals of our secular education involve three basic subjects: reading, writing and arithmetic.  A basic understanding of these principles provides a solid platform for most every other subject.  Concerning God, there are three fundamental attributes of His divine person from which we may build a solid platform for our doctrine and practice.  These are: Omnipresence, Omnipotence, and Omniscience.      

OMNIPRESENCE

Omnipresence means that God is everywhere present and nowhere absent.  It means that God not only exists eternally, it also means that He occupies every facet of time and space. I recently read the story of a little boy who showed a great interest and knowledge in the things of God.  Several of the men of the church decided they would get together and ask the little boy some questions and offer him a reward if he could answer them properly.  They asked him, "Where would you say God is right now?  If you give the correct answer we…

"THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE"

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:  Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it"-Matthew 13:45-46

While there are many blessings to be enjoyed in the Lord's kingdom, there is one treasure that sets it apart from all others and that is the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Though many would suggest that our depth of spirituality is dependent upon our particular creed, doctrine, rituals, or the name on the sign in front of our place of worship, Jesus paints quite a different picture.  Jesus shows us by a word picture of Himself that the primary focus of the kingdom of God is not all of those things.  Rather, It involves a relationship; a valuable relationship; a relationship that will cost us something yet provides us riches that we could never imagine.  He is he 'pearl of great price'.

THE VALUE OF CHRIST IN OUR LIVES

In 1905, a man by the name of Kokichi Mikimoto…

"REJOICING WITH CHRIST"

"In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou has hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight"-Luke 10:21

Last week we discovered the "wise and prudent" that Jesus here condemns to be those people who have no interest in Christ or His cross.  At first, this seems like a paradox.  We are to preach the cross, yet there are those we may encounter that will declare the nucleus of our message as "foolishness".  Many questions arise in our hearts as, I am sure, it did in the hearts of those to whom Jesus spoke.  Are we not to preach the cross?  How does one become a "babe" that Jesus here elevates above the wise and prudent and thanks the Father for?   And what is a "babe" anyway?  What should our position be concerning evangelism?  Is God fair to do such a thing?

First and foremost, we must recognize the sovereignty of…

"THE PRAYER OF THE AGED BELIEVER"

"Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not;"-Psalm71:18a

We take our text today from the 71st division of the Psalms, referred to by many as "The Prayer of the Aged Believer".  Much is said today about the youth, yet, in the midst of tutoring our young we can make the grave mistake of forgetting the backbone of our churches, those faithful ones who have witnessed many seasons in God's house: the "old and grayheaded." 

 It seems to be a universal thought among the young that the hoary head has it all together, they have no problems; no struggles; no worries; no fears; and no confusion of face.  Yet, the psalmist presets to us the truth of the matter: when natural strength is waning, when the nest is empty, when pipe dreams are past, when the looking glass is less kind to features, when friends are dispersed into their various places, when many loved ones have passed on to the other shore, the companionship of God is needed more than…

"A LIVELY HOPE"

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead"-1 Peter 1:3 

Many years ago, a battle was fought, the greatest battle that has ever occurred since the world began.  The captain of one army evaluated his enemy, a great opposing force.  He looked at his own army and knew there was no chance for his army to win.  It would be like sending little children to fight giants or matching swords and spears against a nuclear arsenal. So, one day, unknown to his own troops, he marched off to battle and faced the enemy alone.  Though he was just one warrior, the enemy used every diabolical device in their arsenal.  They knew the death of this great champion would mean certain victory for them. As expected, the warrior was killed.  As his body was laid to rest the enemy smiled, considering the millions of captured souls that would become their…

"WHEN I WAS IN DISTRESS"

"Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer"-Psalm 4:1

Distress can come in many ways.  The last part of that word is stress.  Pressure, worries, fears, disappointments, heartaches sickness and fear have always been the soul hunters of God's people throughout the ages.  Some come from our own sin and neglect.  Others are the byproduct of a depraved society.  Surely, these are not new.  David had experienced his portion in the land of the living.  His pen speaks of present and past experiences of distress.  Yet his pen is not one of surrender.  It paints a vivid picture of hope and encouragement…..even in times of distress.  As he considered his present plight and called upon God to hear his complaint a former experience came to light.  As he spoke, God sent him a kind reminder of a miraculous event that occurred the last time he approached the most High in such a state: He…

"NO ANSWER"

"When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid; And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer"-John 19:8,9.  No answer seems to be a hard answer as Pilate desperately seeks the true identity of the Son of God.  Yet, no answer is given.  Some might say, "If the eternal destiny of Pilate was based upon an immediate decision for Christ, surely Jesus missed an excellent opportunity to change this man's life forever by declaring at the top of His holy lungs: I am the Son of God; I am King of Kings: I am the Creator of all worlds; I am the Savior; and etc. and etc."  Yet, Jesus gave him no answer; passed out no tracts; nor called upon this man to make a decision.  It has been two-thousand years since Jesus had this encounter with Pilate.  Much has been forgotten and confused as to why Jesus came and how salvation was really accomplished.  Just look at what the Pharisees and the Saducees had done to the…

"PERSPECTIVE"

It has been over a week since the tragic events transpired in New York and Washington.  Many questions are before the eyes of America today.  Why?  Will it happen again?  If so, where?  What should we do about it?  How should we do it?  To how many should we do it to?  Why did God allow it?  Were the people in the towers greater sinners than others?  From liberals to conservatives, from country to country, even from the core of America we seem to have conflicting signals to many of these questions.  Yet, what we really need to know is what God thinks about it all; what is He saying to us; what is God's perspective?

GOD SCREAMS AT US THROUGH PAIN

C.S. Lewis wrote something like this, "God whispers to us through prosperity and he screams at us through pain".  Though the Old Testament has been labeled by modernists as a book of fables and legends, it was by affliction and pain that God brought His people back to Him.  From the great flood to the invasion of the enemies of…

"PERSPECTIVE"(conclusion)

Last Wednesday morning, I was eating breakfast at Oak Terrace Tea Room, when a sweet sister approached me with Bible in hand.  "I am reading from Lamentations today", she said.  "It reminds me of our nation".  This sister saw more than many see today.  Though we would not confuse God's kingdom with this great country, we must confess that there are many parallels between the weeping prophet's words to Israel of old and what is happening in our nation today.  Our enemy is not without.  It is not people from other countries who laugh at us and our God.  Our enemy is within.  It is the erosion of Biblical values that honor God and His Son.  As God gently removes His restraining grace His is saying, "Come back to Me".  Jeremiah saw it.  He preached, he pleaded with God's people.  Yet, that is not what they wanted to hear.  They threw the faithful prophet into a pit.  He wept.

"WHAT SHALL WE DO"

So, what should we, as individuals do?  We might say, "I am just one…

"HUMILITY"

"And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross"-Philippians 2:8

Of all the Christian graces that are pleasing to our heavenly Father, humility would be found at the top of the list.  Much is written about the subject in scripture, yet it is the grace that is hardest for us to attain.  The Lord Jesus Christ is the ultimate example of humility.  During this great time of distress in our nation I am sure that President Bush has looked at the figures of Lincoln and Washington and pondered the question, "What would they do now".  In the simple affairs of every day life the Christian looks at the captain of their salvation and weighs every thought and action with "What would He do now".

Humility is Not Weakness

To the Greeks and the Romans humility was a form of weakness, a moral flaw or a glitch in the character of real men and women.  Perhaps that is the reason that Jesus gave us so many lessons on humility. …

PETER'S EXPLANATION OF ELECTION

"Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied"-1Peter 1:2

FOREKNOWLEDGE

When the Apostle Peter explained election, he did not begin with the sinner, he began with God.  Peter uses the word "foreknowledge" as he explains election.  That means that God foreknew His people before they knew Him; before they were born.  That was before there were any denominational barriers, rules of decorum, church covenants and articles of faith.  This takes us back to the beginning of our election: to God Himself.  Surely, the bible has a lot of pieces to fit together.  But like the jigsaw puzzle, start with an easy corner piece and all the other pieces will fall into place.  Election is our corner piece, a beginning piece.  It makes other scriptures fall into place.  By this we understand when we were chosen, "According as he…

"GOOD MEDICINE"

As you enter the door of my study at Harmony Church, you will find a plaque that displays the wise words of Solomon:"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones"-Proverbs 17:22.  This is one of my favorite scriptures because it reminds me of an attitude, a posture that should be displayed in the house of God, and among God's people in general. It reminds me of what people around me need, even when I do not feel merry myself and that this medicine needs to be dispensed in abundance because it is good for God's people. Consider with me "Good Medicine".

  Every leader must have a merry heart.  Who wants to follow a sour puss.  A sour, negative leader will produce followers of the same gender.  Sure, we all have down times, times of struggle, times of loss and tragedy, yet there should always be enough "good medicine" around to lift our spirits and guide us through those dark days.  How would our nation feel today if President Bush went…

"KEEP ME FROM EVIL"

Jabez was "more honourable than his brethren".  As we read the words of his prayer In 1 Chronicles, 4, we gain a glimpse of his honor.  We feel to know much about the man, his character and his vision from the words that ascended from his lips as he approached the most High.  Among those we find a noble petition: "Keep me from evil."  

It is wise to ask the Lord to keep us from evil.  Without the hand of God we are no match for Satan.  He will sift us as wheat and bring much pain into our lives.  Is it not evil that causes so much pain in our world?  That was the reason of Jabez's petition: "that it might not grieve me".  The request might at first seem selfish.  It seems as though Jabez would protect only his own honor and conscience from grief.  Yet, we see more to his words than a selfish request.  Jabez knew that evil in his life would not only wound his own conscience, but also inflict pain upon the people around him, people that he loved.  Children, family,…

"SPIRITUAL MATURITY"

Look inside a home and find the child that is obedient, willing to help out around the house and respectful to the parent and there you will find a beautiful grace which we would call maturity.  Go to the classroom and observe, note the children that are attentive, eager to learn and respectful of their teacher and you will find maturity.  Visit the workplace, see those that are busy with their daily routines, find those that are diligent in their tasks, cheerful, considerate of others around them, interested in doing a good job and you will once again find the gentle grace of maturity.  In God's house you will find the same grace.  There we refer to it as "spiritual maturity".

Spiritual maturity is what pastors love to see.  That is why they labor.  They love to take people from unchuched, to the casual attendee, to the regular attendee, to the baptized member, to the devoted member, to the devoted ministering member.  When we minister to others, even if it is…