Which Road Will You Choose

Jesus spoke of a choice man has to make in Matthew 7:13-14. He said, “Enter in by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few that find it.” It is plain. There are two roads in life we can take. One leads to destruction, the other to life.

Using your imagination, picture yourselves in your car at an intersection of two roads. One road is well-paved in smooth black asphalt. It would be easy to navigate. It's relatively straight with few hills to climb and has several lanes for driving. The other road is a two-lane road with potholes, no shoulders, curvy and very hilly. Your ability to see at a distance is limited but it doesn't look like something you want to tackle. Which road would you choose? We know most people are going to take the first road I listed because of the ease of navigation. Why would one willingly go down the second road with all of its difficulties and pitfalls? In reality, we face the same two choices in the spiritual roadway of life. It is easy to engage in the things of this world by following along with the crowd and going down the “easy road.” We will meet little or no resistance if we go along with what everyone else is doing, right? Not only that but if everyone else is doing it, it can't be wrong, right? Choosing this road you can set the cruise control, lean back, crank up the air conditioner, tune the stereo onto your favorite radio station, and sail along with nothing running through your mind to disturb you or get in your way. There is no such thing as “peer pressure” on this road, because whatever carnal activities society dictates, the individual who takes this road will likely engage in them as well (1 Corinthians 3:3-4).


The other choice in the spiritual roadway, however, is not as easy. It is a difficult road (or way.) It is the “way of righteousness” and following the teaching of God’s Word which people often cringe at (Proverbs 12:28; Psalm 1:1-2). There is no compromising on this road. It is indeed “the road less traveled,” and there are “few who find it” according to Matthew 7:14. For the most part, people do not wish to be different from the rest of the world. People want to fit in. It’s a difficult thing to “go against the grain” and be one of those “peculiar” people who try to live a life pleasing to God (1 Peter 2:9 KJV). Millions of people interpret the straight, narrow road as a restrictive, boring, and prudish way to travel through life. When one chooses to take the road less traveled, those of the world think the people who choose the road less traveled to be “strange” because of the stand it requires (1 Peter 4:4). The disciplined life of those traveling the more difficult narrow road seems foolish to those on the broad roadway: 1 Corinthians 1:18 "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God." To the worldly folks on the broad easy road, everything regarding the Bible is ridiculous, foolish, idiotic and unreasonable. But for the Christians on the more difficult path that have given their lives to doing the will of God- even though their road can be difficult at times- have a sense of inner peace and assurance that the other easy road could never give them.

Mind you, these two roads also have crossovers. There is tremendous pressure on those believers who take the difficult road/way to then leave and cross over to the easier, broad roadway where millions red traveling. The road less traveled can become too difficult for them, or perhaps like Demas, they “love this present world” (2 Timothy 4:10) and so they take a detour to the easier road. They fall away. Why would they do that? Because they see that it is much easier to blend in with the flow of traffic on the easier road and choose to take it. But it works the other way sometimes too! A person can go from the easy road to the difficult road by obedience to God’s will and committing to live a life faithful to Him (Matthew 7:21; Revelation 2:10). Many have done it. I did!
The most important thing is we must consider the end of these two roads. The less-traveled road, though it is unpopular in this life leads to the right destination – eternal life in heaven (Matthew 7:14). Whereas the well-traveled road where everyone is heading leads to a dead-end – a destination of destruction according to Matthew 7:13. Which road will you choose? The “easy” wide road, or the more difficult narrow road?
Until next time,
-Pat

You Are The Hunted

I viewed several videos on YouTube this past week in an effort to learn more about hawks, specifically, the "COOPERS HAWK." These particular hawks frequent my neighborhood park looking for "lunch" and in the process wreak havoc on the green heron whom I love to photograph. As I was scrolling through different videos, one video led to another, then another, until I found myself learning about trained falcons. There used to be an ancient sport of falconry where trained hawks or falcons were used in the pursuit of wild game. When the “educated predator” was allowed to fly, it often rose too high for human eyes to see. So a hunter would carry a small caged bird called a shrike. By watching the antics of the little bird, the man could always tell where his hawk was, for the shrike instinctively feared the predator and cocked its head to keep it in view.

I was thinking that as Christians we desperately need an alert perception similar to that of the shrike to detect our spiritual enemy whom we cannot see; Satan. Our adversary, “walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). YOU are the hunted. According to the apostle Paul, we are to be sober-minded and vigilant (1 Corinthians 15:34; 1 Peter 4:7) because we are the hunted. In other words, we are to always be on the alert at all times. Jesus also used the word, "watch." There is a wide range of implications of that word and our survival and salvation could depend on that understanding and action. When the New Testament commands us to “watch,” it is usually the translation of one of two Greek words I found in my concordance, gregoreuo and agrupneo, which have similar meanings—to “stay awake” and to “be sleepless.” They are usually meant in the metaphorical and spiritual sense—to be vigilant and on guard, fully awake, aware, alert and intently focused—again, with several applications and implications. In Matthew 26: 37-40 the meaning of “watch” is primarily physical. Jesus was reprimanding the disciples for not remaining awake during the hour preceding His arrest. But what Jesus said to Peter next had a deeper, spiritual meaning: “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing (intentions are good) but the flesh (mere human willpower) is weak" (Matthew 26:41). Simply, without "watching" and remaining "alert" Satan's schemes will cause you to give in to all sorts of temptations.


It is "spiritual watching" along with prayer that gives us the strength to survive temptations and not to give in to sin. “Awake to righteousness, and do not sin” states 1 Corinthians 15:34. Being awake is equated with righteousness and not sinning. Paul was writing to the church at Corinth, which shows that even true Christians can be spiritually asleep to varying degrees and today, many are. This is why I address my blogs mostly to Christians. Paul also wrote: “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed” (Romans 13:11). In other words, the closer we draw to the second coming of Christ, the more urgent it is that we awake out of spiritual sleep! We have entered the fearful end-time years that are the grand climax of human civilization. If ever there was a time to pay attention and get prepared, it is now! Furthermore, none of us knows when he or she will die as I wrote in my previous blog. Being spiritually prepared for the end of life should be our top priority. God gave us marvelous minds to use —to study, learn, observe, analyze, judge and think. Many people are mentally lazy—wasting a tragic amount of time on the trivial and temporal, mundane and materialistic. Many squander countless hours vegetating in front of their TV or computer seeking only to be entertained. Committed readers are becoming rare. You see, God wants His people to zealously read and study, to think and meditate. He wants us to be well-informed regarding the major geopolitical, cultural and spiritual issues and events of our time. God deplores ignorance, indifference and being “dull of hearing” (Hebrews 5:11).


This is where the Bible is so essential. It provides an essential framework for a godly world view. The Bible is God’s divine revelation of absolute truth, which is just as relevant today as it ever was. Because of this, the Bible should be the prism, lens, and filter by which we can accurately perceive and judge all other information. It enables us to develop a godly world view—the framework and foundation by which we can accurately interpret all that is going on in the world including Satan's schemes. We can then understand our confusing world scene with amazing clarity, sense, and logic! God reveals His plan when we are interested in and dedicate ourselves to knowing Him. We are not only waiting and watching for the Lord's return, but we are also alert and wise to Satan who wants nothing more than to devour our souls before the return of Christ. Make no mistake, Satan is powerful, vicious, and deceptive. How can we win our battle against such a daunting enemy? God has not left us defenseless. His Word educates us about Satan’s methods, and “we are not ignorant of his designs” (2 Corinthians 2:11). When we understand Satan’s tactics, we are better able to keep our senses and remain watchful.


Wouldn't it be nice if God had a personal shrike for each of us to warn us of an attack by Satan? But He doesn’t operate that way. Instead, we must “examine” the Bible daily (Acts 17:11), meditate on its truths (Psalm 1:2), and maintain a prayerful attitude throughout the day (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Does that seem too much to ask? Are you not interested? Are you too lazy to pick up your Bible? Only when we commit to these things will we be sensitive to an imminent assault by the devil and be armed by grace to meet it (Ephesians 6:10-18). As I close, keep in mind that Satan roams through the earth, "going to and fro in the earth and walking up and down in it" (Job 1:7). So the Bible testifies Satan is real (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10; Revelation 12:9), he is a predator (John 10:10), and his target is you (1 Peter 5:8). Your only weapon against him is the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17).
Until next time,
-Pat-

Don't Put Off

I'm not your typical bill-payer. Anyone who knows me well can tell you no grass grows under my feet when it comes to paying bills. The very day any bill arrives I'm quickly filling out a check and mailing it before the day ends. And even though my mother was a frugal woman and a great example of a responsible steward when it came to money, she never instructed me to pay bills the moment they arrive. I don't know why I'm like that but I am. However, there are some people in the world who prefer to live in the state of "tomorrow." By that, I mean those who put off tomorrow what they should AND COULD have done today. I was thinking about this very thing when a scripture popped into my head that "tomorrow" is not promised (James 4:13-15). None of us know what tomorrow will bring. In fact, I've lost people in my life unexpectedly, young people who were too young to die. "Here today, gone tomorrow" as the saying goes.

People are procrastinators. It's just a fact. I remember one Christmas season when I stood in a long line at the post office. I was waiting for my turn to approach the counter as were about thirty-five other anxious patrons. The line was moving at a snail's pace. The post office employees seemed to be purposely going slow as if to aggravate us even further. Most everyone in the lobby was precariously balancing at least five packages in their arms and one lady had so many she brought hers in on one of those collapsible, trolley-type utility carts. People were becoming very impatient. As I looked around eyeing all the different wrapping paper and size of packages I remember thinking to myself, "Why do people wait to the last minute to mail packages? Couldn't they get here a week or two earlier? Sheesh!" Of course, there I was standing right alongside them guilty of the same infraction! Why is it that people unnecessarily wait until the last minute in order to get something accomplished? Let me suggest three reasons:

1) Poor (or no) planning on their part (read Matthew 25: 1-13).
2) Involved in doing too many insignificant things and forgetting the most important thing (take Martha, for instance - Luke 10: 38-42).
3) Some people just like that drama of rushing. They procrastinate to the very last minute as a means to spur them on to complete a project.
When it comes to spiritual matters you should never put off what you can do today but oh how people do. The Bible tells us "now" (today) is the acceptable time, behold, Now (today) is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). Tomorrow may be too late. It has been too late for 3 people I knew. Do you recall the 1997 movie co-produced by James Cameron called TITANIC? I've literally seen it 13 times! The Titanic's captain did not believe the ship was sinking until the water was ankle-deep in the mailroom. At that point, he realized that the 'unsinkable ship' was sinking. Ships that could have helped rescue the people on board were not asked to help early enough and did not arrive in time! In the same way, many people gamble that they will get saved at the eleventh hour. What they do not realize is, it may come so fast they do not know it is the eleventh hour!

God has told the sinful world, in no uncertain terms, to repent (Mark 6:12; Luke 24:47; Acts 3:19; 17:30). To repent means to change your mind from embrace of sin and rejection of Christ to rejection of sin and embrace of Christ. “Today, if only you would hear his voice, Do not harden your hearts” (Psalm 95:7–8). Another problem with delaying repentance is that no one knows the day he will die. And after death comes judgment (Hebrews 9:27). The rich fool in Jesus’ parable (Luke 12:16–20) thought he had plenty of time to enjoy life, but God had news for him: “You fool, this night your soul will be required of you" (verse 20). We have today and we have the present moment but we should use it wisely. Another reason to not delay repentance is that every time we refuse to repent, we continue to sin and our hearts get harder (see Hebrews 3:7–8). Every time a person says “no” to what’s right, it becomes a little easier to say “no” the next time, too. Can anyone relate to that? There’s a gradual hardening of the heart as 1 Timothy 4:2 describes as "searing of the conscience" which can numb an unsaved person to the point of being past feeling. This is a dangerous spiritual condition to be in. Please do not put off what you can do today in this "acceptable time." There are people right now (metaphorically) 'standing ankle-deep in water' who will literally not be here tomorrow and who never took God's plea to repent seriously. Is that you? Please give your life, your heart, and your ways to the Lord Jesus Christ while it is still DAY. Hebrews 3:15 has the perfect message, "If you hear God's voice today, do not be stubborn, as your ancestors were when they rebelled against God."

Witnessing. What Is It?

We hear a lot today about "witnessing" for Christ. It was earlier last week that I submitted a blog and "witnessed" several miracles that have taken place in my life. Hearing about other peoples experiences is invigorating and inspiring no doubt. But what does the word witnessing really mean? More and more I hear people speaking about "witnessing" and less frequently do I hear about Christians speaking about teaching or sharing the GOSPEL of Jesus Christ. While the term "witness" is certainly biblical, and while many people speak of "witnessing" within a variety of denominations, perhaps we should wonder if the way the Bible uses the term and the way churches use the term actually coincide. I have to ask, are we wanting to hear more personal stories about miraculous healings that send goosebumps down our spines or the gospel itself?

As I look at all the different ways in which the word 'witness' is used in the scriptures, I've searched but cannot find a single solitary instance in which it is used in the same way that most religious people use the word today! The apostles were eyewitnesses of the resurrection and so was Paul according to Acts 1:22; 4:33; 22:15). The Holy Spirit was a witness to the Jews that the Gentiles were to receive the gospel message (Acts 15:8). God gave witness to the apostles and prophets through miraculous signs and wonders that what they said and taught was true (Hebrews 2:4). John wrote that the record God gave His Son, Jesus, is the witness that is IN US if we believe that record (1 John 5:9-10). However, we never read of an apostle, prophet, or inspired teacher within the New Testament telling Christians to go out and "witness" for Christ. Now before your eyebrows raise or you feel like getting defensive, hear me out. Though the New Testament doesn't tell Christians to go out and "witness" for Christ, it does tell us to "Preach the gospel" Preach yes. "Witness" no. Where does this concept come from?

Whenever I have heard or seen a church member stand up and "witness" it's always about the "great things" God has done for them in their life. Perhaps they speak about how God saved them from drugs, a pornography addiction, a financial crisis, an unlawful sexual relationship, or how God turned them around to show them the value in loving their spouse and children. The witnessing is always "how God personally helped me." The focus of these testimonies is about the individual's personal experience. There's nothing wrong in God helping and changing a life or telling someone that He has, but unfortunately it is from this type of "witnessing" that those who are listening are supposed to conclude that God will work some kind of personal experience for them as well and that they are supposed to come to believe in God BASED ON THIS "TESTIMONY." But that isn't correct. What I want you to notice is that the faith that is generated by personal "testimonies" does not come from GOD'S WORD, but from someone's personal, subjective experience. Why am I concerned enough to even mention this in a blog? Because there is a danger ... the Bible says, "FAITH comes BY HEARING and hearing by THE WORD OF GOD" Romans 10:17--- (emphasis mine) not by personal stories. No one seems to want to hear God's Word or even read it for that matter! I don't think those who stand up and give endless personal "testimonies" or "witness" for God are doing the lost any favors. They are not preaching the Word of God, they are preaching their own subjective, emotional experiences that draw people to the miracles and not to God's Word. They are causing people to believe something other than the Word of God, and that is NOT biblical faith because we have to HEAR the Word to obtain faith. We must be grounded in the Word, not in emotional highs.

Perhaps someone might say, “Well, the Holy Spirit is really the one who is witnessing.” No doubt, this is what many believe today who participate in this kind of thing. How is the Holy Spirit going to say that "faith comes by hearing the Word" at one point in time and then turn around and say that faith comes by doing something OTHER than hearing the Word at another point in time? The Holy Spirit is not the author of confusion according to 1 Corinthians 14:33. Either faith comes by hearing the word of God or it does not. So many Christians are getting caught up in this. Do they no longer believe that faith comes by hearing the word of God? Do they believe that their simple personal stories are more important than the story of the cross? Do they believe that God’s saving power lies within their own personal experience as opposed to the resurrection of the Son of God? As Christians, we must be careful that we don’t brag and glorify ourselves, which is what some people both purposely and unknowingly do (IE: I used to sell cocaine; I was the best there ever was at home invasions; I was a stud and slept with at least a dozen women every week, etc.) Instead of talking about Jesus they use their testimony as an opportunity to talk about themselves, which is no testimony at all. I’m pretty sure you have heard people even bragging about their past life before they accepted Christ as if it were cool. We need to examine our motives. Your "witnessing" should not be totally about personal life experiences! True witnessing is all about Jesus, The Word, and His glory so don’t make it about yourself. Share the gospel and build one another up because it can have a huge impact on someone’s life.

Barnes commentary explained it this way:
{People sought Jesus because they had seen His miracles and were convinced by them that He was the Messiah. But to follow Jesus then (or even today) simply because their wants were supplied was mere selfishness of a gross kind. Yet, many seek religion from no better motive than this. They suppose that it will add to their earthly happiness, or they seek only to escape from suffering or from the convictions of conscience, or they seek for heaven only as a place of enjoyment and regard religion as valuable only for this. All this is mere selfishness. Though religion does not forbid our regarding our own happiness, or seeking it in any proper way; yet when this is the only or the prevailing motive, it is evident that we have never yet sought God aright. We are aiming at the miracles, and not at the honor of God and the good of His kingdom; and if this is the only or the main motive of our entering the Church, we cannot be Christians}
Let’s believe what the Bible has to say about how faith comes and let us resolve to preach, teach, or share God’s word instead of exalting our own personal experience above the power of the gospel (Romans 1:16). Let's decide not to know anything save Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2). Let’s resolve to speak as the oracles of God (1 Peter 4:11). Let us witness the Word because God's Word is far more important than constant personal testimonies. You know you have matured spiritually when you do not ask what God can do for you, rather, what you can do for God.
Until next time,
-Pat-

Do You Believe In Miracles?

I wonder how many people reading this blog believe in miracles. Not just any miracle as: I got the job, we're finally pregnant, or he was found not guilty. No, I'm speaking specifically about the type of miracles humans have no power in making come about. The kind of miracles Jesus performed like:
1. Changing water into wine (John 2:1-11)
2. Healing the son of a Royal (John 4:46-54)
3. Healing a paralyzed man (John 5:1-15)
4. Feeding 5,000 people w/a few fish (John 6:5-14
5. Walking on water (John 6:16-24)
6. Healing a man- blind from birth (John 9:1-7)
7. Raising the dead to life (John 11: 1-45)
Who believes THOSE kinds of miracles take place today? Miracles that WE can perform. Jesus said, Verily, verily I tell you, whoever believes in Me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these because I am going to the Father. And whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son, you shall have" (John 14:12-14). Jesus Himself said this. It was His promise not only for the disciples in His day but it applies to us as well because He said, "WHOEVER believes in Me." In this blog, I want to talk about 2 types of miracles. The kinds mentioned above and the "greater things than these" Jesus said we could do. Now, you might be thinking, 'how in the world could we do miracles beyond those that Jesus did? There's no way we could do better than raising the dead or opening the eyes of the blind.' Well, I'm here to say yes you can! But before I begin, there is one important thing you must do for it to work. You must have faith. And faith is only developed when you read the Word of God, "Faith comes IN HEARING, and hearing by the Word of God" says Romans 10:17. Faith to believe God's Word is the very essence of receiving the promises that He said we can have! We must have both Faith and The Word for miracles to take place. Look at Hebrews 4:2, "For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them NOT BEING MIXED WITH FAITH in them that heard it" (emphasis mine). I can speak to you all I want about the Bible (the Word), but if you don't read it for yourself to see that it is true and thereby building your faith, it won't profit you a thing and you certainly won't have the faith to produce 'greater things.'

Personally, I have been a recipient of over a dozen miracles in my 40+ years of being a Christian. Here are 3 quick examples: After a prayer meeting one night and driving for about 20 minutes down a dark, unfamiliar, hilly road in southern Missouri, I glanced down at the gas gauge and realized I was driving on fumes. The indicator needle was passed the "E". I prompted other passengers in my car to begin praying using our faith to believe we could get home safely even though we were well over 20 miles away. It was an impossibility of course but we put our faith to work and reminded God of His promises to supply our needs and to never forsake us in a time of trouble. As we ended our prayer the gas gauge still rested below the E. I shouted to my passengers, "Let's sing and praise God." We did and within just a minute or so I saw my cars' gas tank needle go from reading empty to close to 1/4 of a tank! I even shouted to those riding with me that the needle was moving! Needless to say, we made it back home. Another miracle was the day I was visiting a mother who had 4 children. This woman was receiving welfare from the government along with a few staples. Scanning the kitchen I could see that the cupboards were empty and her government check wasn't due for another 4 days. On the kitchen table was a glass bottle that only had a half-cup of milk left in it, certainly not enough to fill four hungry children. I asked the mom and all the children to hold hands with me while I prayed for a miracle. After praying AND BELIEVING that God would feed these children, I asked one of them to bring 4 glasses. The glasses were set down on the table. I picked up the glass bottle and began pouring filling one glass, two glasses, three glasses, four! The milk kept flowing until all four children we satisfied. True story! I was a hero to the children that day but I knew who the real miracle worker was. I just exercised my faith and believed God would help in a seemingly impossible situation.
I returned later that evening and delivered enough groceries to last a week. And finally, just a few months ago I prayed for a lady with a kidney stone the doctors said was too large to pass naturally and that she would require lithotripsy. I'll make this short. I laid my hands over her kidneys believing all things are possible with God and quoted scriptures related to healing. By combining the Word of God with my faith I told her she was healed. The next x-ray could not detect a stone! However, the doctors scared her into believing that the stone had to be somewhere in her body, that it only must have shifted and it would be wise for her to proceed with the lithotripsy. I refused to believe it and stood firm on my faith. However, her faith wasn't as strong so she went in for the procedure a week later. After getting prepped and going through a partial procedure, the urologist told her he could not see nor find the stone. They told her "it must have dissolved on its own." No, JESUS DISSOLVED IT! She was released and cautioned if she had the slightest indication of pain or discomfort to return to the ER. Guess what? She never had to return. So those are my personal examples of miracles still bring performed by God today through prayer, faith, and the Word.

There is no doubt in my mind God still performs miracles today for people of faith and those "WHOEVER believes in Me.". Jesus made the lame to walk, the mute to speak, the blind to see, the leper to be cleansed, and the dead raised to life again. He also filled a gas tank, filled a bottle with milk, and healed a kidney stone. But what about the "greater things than these shall you do" mentioned in John 14:12 ?? What is the greatest thing that any believer could do? Physical miracles or saving a soul from hell? I believe it is to share the gospel with someone so that they might be saved. Naturally, God does the saving, but it is our responsibility to share the good news with lost people in the hopes that God grants them repentance (2 Tim 2:25). If God uses us to heal someone by praying for them, that’s great…all glory to God, but to have someone healed while still rejecting the gospel means they’ll only live a healthier life on their way to hell. What is greater than rescuing a person who would otherwise perish apart from Christ? Does healing sickness or disease equal eternal life in Christ? No way! That’s greater than any physical healing, isn’t it? Even self-proclaimed faith healers die…but Jesus said, “Whoever believes in me, though he dies, yet shall he live” (John 11:25). You can be healed by a miracle and still die in your sins, but when a person puts their trust in Christ, they can endure in this life, even if they’re never healed. They know that not even death can separate them from God (Rom 8:38-39). They also understand that God uses suffering for His glory and our best. We are refined by being passed through the flames, yet not tossed into the fire.

Finally, for those who are running around the world claiming to do greater works than Jesus, I would ask, “Do you really believe that you have exceeded what Jesus did here on earth?” If Jesus only meant that they would do greater miracles than Him, I think it does injustice to the context of His words. Jesus was commissioning them to make disciples of all people. The scope of Jesus’ earthly ministry was basically centered near Jerusalem, but the apostles would spread out far and wide, and leave behind the Word of God (in the gospels and letters). Bartholomew would go to Asia, Matthew to Ethiopia, and Thomas to India. All but John would die a martyr’s death. The gospels would go on to be published and spread worldwide, so they are actually still doing great things, and together, as they spread out, they reached further through the Internet than Jesus’ earthly ministry ever could being limited by space, time, and distance The apostles are still doing “greater things” by reaching all nations with the Word of God because much of the New Testament comes from the original apostle’s writings, but today we’re able to reach even greater audiences than they could because we have greater technology. I would rather have my blogs reach people around the world and draw them to Christ than to see the healing of kidney stones or a thousand glasses filled with milk. Saving souls is the greater miracle.
Until next time,
-Pat-

The Commandments No Longer Pertain To Me

The commandments no longer pertain to me because I am saved, I'm not under the law. REALLY?? Have you ever heard a fellow Christian say this? Sadly, I have. There are those in the religious world and even among misguided Christians who ridicule the idea of keeping God's commandments. They claim that keeping God’s commandments has nothing to do with their salvation. Are you of this same mindset? In other words, the thought process is that we're saved regardless if we continue to sin and disobey what The Word teaches? That, somehow as Christians we have been given a free pass to live any way we desire after being saved by God's grace? That isn't what Paul claimed in Romans 6:1. He stated, "Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of His wonderful grace?" We can slip from time to time as we learn and grow spiritually, but to say we don't have to obey God's law just because we are now saved by grace?? Jesus Himself said, "If you love me, keep my commandments." That's pretty clear!
If an outspoken Christian, including myself, objects and says that we are supposed to keep God’s commandments even though we are saved from sin, the charge of legalism is leveled against him or her. Is it true that keeping God’s commandments has nothing to do with salvation? Hmm? Are we legalists because we say that those who follow Christ must keep His commandments? I want to examine these questions in light of the New Testament scriptures.

Often, Jesus Himself is cited as one who criticized the Pharisees for being commandment keepers. However, such was not the case. We should note that Jesus never condemned anyone for keeping God’s commandments. Jesus, however, did condemn the Pharisees for placing their own commandments above God’s! This is an entirely different situation. Matthew 15:1-9 is one such instance. Jesus confronted the Pharisees in regard to transgressing God’s command to keep their own tradition (Matthew 15:3). He said that they had made God’s commandment of none effect by their tradition (15:6). Then He says that they, in fact, have taught for doctrine their own commandments, the commandments of men (Matthew 15:9). Keeping such commandments should not be placed into the same category as keeping God’s commandments. Are we guilty as well? Do we take God's commandments and make them into what we want them to mean and thereby make our own commandments and rules? Do we take God's command from the Bible to, "Love one another" and pervert it to mean a homosexual relationship is acceptable because God said we are to love one another? Believe it or not, I have heard this from people who use it to validate their sinful lifestyles. Have we not made our own LAWS pertaining to the acceptance of homosexuality? Yes, we have! People will take scriptures and twist them to fit their own beliefs and write their own "laws" to make those laws fit what they want. Yet, they will ignore scriptures from the same Bible that plainly point out how wrong they are. Where do these biblical words fall in light of today's diverse and ever-changing society : "And men, leaving the NATURAL use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly (improper, crass, shameful, ill-advised) and receiving in themselves that recompense (payment for) of their error which was meet" (appropriate, fitting, fair) NOW WATCH THIS: "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate (degenerate) mind, to do those things which are not convenient" (fitting, suitable)- Romans 1:27-29. I think those biblical words nullify our newly written man-made laws regarding today's acceptable views of homosexuality. This is plain. People who know better, who were taught by parents or pastors, who have been to church and heard, who refuse - as Romans 1 says - "to retain God in their knowledge" claim those who keep the commandments and believe all Christians should, are labeled as too strict, too religious, too legalistic!

To equate the desire to keep God’s commandments with the desire to keep man’s commandments in place of God’s commandments is to pervert the words of Jesus and entirely miss the point. Jesus expected others to keep God’s commandments. Because the Pharisees had set aside God’s commandments, Jesus’ anger was kindled against them. In contrast to ridiculing commandment-keeping, Jesus Himself preached it! In John 14:15 Jesus said to the apostles, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” Loving Jesus is dependent upon keeping His commandments. To say that we love Jesus, yet fail to keep his commandments is hypocrisy at best and outright lying at worst! Jesus reiterates in John 15:10 “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.” Note two things about this scripture. First, Jesus equates keeping commandments with abiding in His love. When you note John 14:15 (that you can’t love without keeping the commandments) along with John 15:10 (that you can’t keep the commandments without abiding in love), one gains a very firm conclusion: we can love Jesus if and only if we keep his commandments. But second, what is even more remarkable about John 15:10 is that Jesus himself is a commandment keeper! He abides in the love of the Father through keeping the Father’s commandments. Here is a one-two knockout for those who claim that commandment-keeping has nothing to do with salvation.


The apostle John explains further in his first epistle just exactly what the relationship between commandment-keeping and salvation is. In 1 John 2:3, 4 we read, “And hereby we do know that we know Him if we keep His commandments. He that says, I know Him and doesn't keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” The simple conclusion is that one cannot come to know God without keeping the commandments. If you don’t know God, you can’t be saved (2 Thess. 1:8). The apostle John comments further in 1 John 5:2, 3 “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous.” We cannot even love God without keeping God’s commandments. In fact, John defines love for God in exactly these terms. He said, “This is the love of God.” Don't forget, love for God is the first and greatest commandment! Loving our neighbor is like this commandment, but ultimately comes second (Matthew 22:37-39). My relationship with God always takes precedence over my relationship with other people. This means that I must be concerned about keeping God’s commandments.


The bottom line is this. Those who ridicule commandment-keeping, ridicule Jesus himself, for He was a commandment keeper (John 15:10). Those who ridicule commandment keepers, ridicule the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit was only promised to those who kept Jesus commandments (John 14:15-17). And those who ridicule commandment keepers, ridicule God the Father because we can neither know Him or love Him without doing such (1 John 2:3; 5:2). Such has nothing to do with being a legalist; and has everything to do with our being saved. What would have been the purpose of Jesus dying for you, removing all sin, giving you new life just so you could purposely ignore God's commandments and return to your old ways of sin as a dog returns to its vomit or a sow to her wallowing in the mire? The bottom line is, Peter wrote that those who persist in continual sin embody the wisdom of Proverbs 26:11, "the fool returns to his folly just as a dog returns to eat his own vomit." Similarly, they are like a pig who can be scrubbed clean but soon returns to wallow in the muck & mire again. This is a particularly cutting analogy as pigs and dogs were two of the most despised and unclean animals in Jewish thinking. In other words, Peter was referring to people who were never truly changed in their nature. Dogs and pigs do what dogs and pigs do. Those truly in Christ don't return to a former sinful life, habit, or vice. Through faith and by God's power, true believers are changed in their very nature, becoming more and more like Jesus over time through the power of God at work in them. This does not mean perfection, but it does mean a changed life and a desire to adhere to God's law. Those who show evidence that they were never changed, it stands to reason, are still exactly what they used to be. Jesus could not have said it more simply, "If you love me, KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS."
Until next time,
-Pat-

Life Isn't Fair Is It?

Have you ever done something really nice for someone and it backfired? Life is difficult. In the book of Ecclesiastes, the author, Solomon, saw that life is a messed up, tangled mess as well. Even though Solomon was the most affluent and well-educated man of his time, even though he was the most powerful man, he also understood how painful, unfair, and topsy-turvy life can be. Ecclesiastes 7:15 says, " In my vain life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing. Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself?" That’s a strange sounding passage. He’s not saying the righteous, the just, or good person perishes because they are righteous. And he’s not saying be wicked so that you can prolong your life. Instead, he’s reminding us that is not always fair. He’s telling us sometimes the wicked person seems to win, while the righteous person, the good person comes out on the short end of the stick and seems to lose. That’s not how it should be, but that’s how it is sometimes, isn’t it? The righteous die young and the wicked live a long time. It’s the old saying, ‘the good die young, while terrible dictators and abusive people seem to live to ripe old ages. I have even seen men and women in their 80's and 90's that walk better than me still having use of their legs! "Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself?" Again, that sounds really strange! Don’t be overly righteous? Don’t be too wise? Solomon is really stating a proverb for us. He’s not advocating moral laxity and using poor judgment. He’s warning against the obsession of always needing to be right. Solomon is telling us to insist you’re always right, ultimately is self- destructive. People who have to win every argument eventually alienate everyone around them.

We want life to be fair but it’s not; we want everything to work out but sometimes it doesn’t; we want to live happily ever after but things go wrong because life is a tangled up mess. We want people to treat us fairly, we want them to treat our children fairly. We expect friends, teachers, coaches, other Christians to treat one another the right way. We expect people to talk to us and not ignore us. We expect people to be fair and impartial. I don’t think that is too much to ask for. Especially from other Christ followers. Yet, the Bible tells us the reason it’s a tangled up mess is because we live in a fallen sinful world and we’re all fallen creatures and that affects everything! It impacts our health, the other people around us, and sometimes our own attitudes. At the end of chapter 7, Solomon wrote, "See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes." We’re like that because we’ve all wandered from God. Do you hear that? God made us upright, we were created GOOD! But we come up with a scheme and plan to get things to go our way. Paul gives us a clear indication of who we are in Romans 3, " None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

On our own, we are not righteous. Only through Jesus can we become righteous in God’s sight. On our own, we mess up. We take action on our own terms, without a thought about what it can do to others. We try to control and manage life but that plan doesn’t align itself with God’s plan. As a result, the world is a tangled up mess. Not only is life a tangled mess. Sometimes it just doesn’t make sense. It’s mysterious. The unexpected happens or what is supposed to happen doesn’t and none of it seems to make any sense. Not only is life a tangled mess, the unexpected happens or what is supposed to happen doesn’t and none of it seems to make any sense. Solomon, "Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all." Solomon isn’t talking about the kinds of mysteries we read about when we’re standing in line at the grocery store that say Elvis was seen working at Pizza Hut in Canada, or some woman in England gave birth to a 28lb child with the head of an alien. He’s referring to the strange things that happen that can’t be explained because they appear to be out of natural order of cause and effect. The fastest runner doesn’t always win. The greatest army doesn’t always get the victory. Health and wealth don’t always come to the smartest or the most gifted. Solomon says that sometimes, life is like that. Even more mysterious and disturbing is the fact that suffering can come so quickly as if out of nowhere.

In the next verse, he wrote, "For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time when it suddenly falls upon them." We see the same types of things that Solomon saw. We see hurricanes and tornadoes. We see sudden accidents. We know people who are healthy and suddenly get sick and die. We see the good suffering, the wicked prospering and we wonder how? Why? God, what are you up to? Life is mysterious and it’s all tangled up, and that’s not easy for us to face up to or deal with so we look for help. When we look for help, our world is all too eager to show us how to manage the mysteries of life. One way our world helps us deal with the mysteries and unfairness of life is to live in a fantasy world. We grab onto alcohol and drugs. We escape into porn. We escape into gambling. You don’t have to go to Vegas or Atlantic City for this. You can even gamble on your fantasy football team. It’s all available 24/7. I’ll admit I enjoy watching television. I watch before going to sleep. Yet, I’ll flip through all 5,000 channels or however many we have. And most of the time I end up watching a movie I’ve seen 300 times before. Because there’s really nothing on, at least nothing worth anything. We can watch television and play video games to escape as well. Fantasy is one strategy for dealing with our messed up – mysterious life. For those of us who are part of the church crowd and don’t want to admit that we cave into fantasy, we’ve adopted another one. We try to manipulate reality with formulas. We have the privilege of living in the most scientifically advanced and technologically developed civilization the world has ever seen. Huge advances are being made every day and those have subtly taught us that we can circumvent the mysteries of life and manipulate it for our advantage.

Yet we try to force God into doing what we want Him to do because we think we have all of the answers. We buy books and videos, some of which are helpful, most are just confusing. If Jesus had a formula for fixing life and making it work, He would have given it to us rather than suffering and dying on a Cross for our sins. Oh, and by the way, that is the formula. Follow Christ! So when life doesn’t make sense, Jesus will and He will be there for you. He will be the One who can help you through the tangled and messed up mysteries of life. In chapter 8, Solomon wrote, "Then I saw the wicked buried. They used to go in and out of the holy place and were praised in the city where they had done such things. This also is vanity." Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil. Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before Him. We see the wicked being praised. Somehow it makes perfect sense to the world. They ignore or don’t see the wickedness and we struggle. Why have they not been punished? They’re living it up and we are struggling. It’s not fair! And we rail against God and against one another. If things don’t work out the way we want, we make a scene. But God says “WOAH! STOP!

And Solomon reminds us it will be well with those who fear God. Those who revere God. When you can admit you need God, when you can stop and admit your sinfulness and turn yourself over to God and give God the control you desperately crave, then in the end, did you hear me? In the end, it will be well with you! It may not be perfect in this world, but we know there is a better place coming, but until we arrive there, can we look past the imperfections of one another? Can we look past the unfairness, the tangled up mess of a world we live in? Can we look past all of this and look to the Lord of Hosts? Can we look to the God of the heavenly armies who died for us and who is fighting for us? Can we look to Him? Yup, life is not fair. Life is difficult. We will help someone and something bad will happen to us, and they won’t even say thank you! Solomon is right; we don’t know the future; we can’t predict what will happen to us, or as he says, we don’t know whether love or hate awaits us. But the more important truth, the bigger truth, the foundational truth is that we are in the hands of the sovereign God who loves us more than we can fathom. Even when bad things happen to good people! God still loves us! So, as we walk through life we’re all going to face tangles, messiness, unfairness, and some mysteries. That’s the reality. But we don’t want to use formulas and we don’t want to escape into fantasy land, because they lead to nowhere. Instead, we must seek God’s wisdom and put our total trust in Him because He is crazy in love with us and He wants the best for us.
Until next time,
-Pat-

Meet My Needs Or I Will Leave!

Recently I was asked by one of my neighbors if I knew of a 'good church' but more specifically one that would meet her needs. Have you ever been asked that? 'Do you know of a good church?' What people define as GOOD differs greatly. The question, however, is not uncommon among Christians but one I've never been able to determine what others mean by the word "good". It's subjective. The question is perplexing not because I haven't a clue about a few great churches here and there pastored by devoted men, but because defining a person's "needs" is a challenge. When it comes to your own church, what are your needs? What made you determine to choose the church you attend? The hours offered? The proximity to your home? Casual dress? Free breakfast with coffee on Sundays? It is becoming commonplace for people to seek a church that offers a smorgasbord of programs: extracurricular activities, classes, camps for kids, mission trips, free babysitting, singles clubs, men's club, women's bible studies, etc. If the phrase I need a church that "meets my needs" implies the need to satisfy spiritual hunger, then it is a good expression. God's voice should be heard through spiritual teaching as we need opportunities to serve, love, and be called to repentance. But to some, church membership means reaching for personal goals and satisfying needs outside of the spiritual realm, and if a certain requirement is not met, they feel the need to move on. I'm not an innocent bystander here! I have been guilty of leaving a church in search of another because the music was too dull for me. This was many many years ago. Many of us are guilty of leaving a congregation for a variety of reasons. Here are a few examples:
1. Not being chosen for the choir (IE: "I have a wonderful voice. How could they have chosen her over me?")
2. The preacher talks to long (IE: "He's so long winded a CAT 5 hurricane has nothing on him!")
3. No childcare services (IE: "I won't consider staying in this church if they will not babysit my child.")
4. Diversity (IE: "This church would be okay but there are too many old people here. I feel out of place. I need to go elsewhere")
5. The music (IE: "The music is dead. There are too many old hymns that do not appeal to me and probably more than half the congregation!" THIS WAS ME!

Personally, I have heard every reason I listed above. Sadly, and without meaning to, congregations have adopted and accepted this demand to MEET MY NEEDS OR I WILL LEAVE. As a result, pastors and members of the functioning church will seek out, create, and promote program after program in an attempt to prevent their members from leaving. The truth is, a loss of membership means a loss of financial support and so many pastors just won't let that happen if they can help it. Unfortunately, there are way too many pastors "buying" souls, hoping they can tickle ears and give members what they demand both spiritually and physically (2 Timothy 4:3). Whatever happened to the attitude of members serving the church instead of the church serving the member? John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, in his famous inaugural speech, urged American citizens to participate in public service and to "ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country." With the same mindset, we need to ask what we can do for the church and not what the church can do for us. Church programs are fine. Babysitting options during church service is fine. Annual church socials are fine. The problem is when we choose a church or go to church for everything it offers and we neglect our spiritual growth. Sadly, there are people attending church just to be counted, to say they attend church, to meet someone of the opposite sex, or to receive the "good stuff." When are people most fulfilled, when their own needs are met or when they meet the needs of God's Church?

The Bible tells us that we are filled when we empty ourselves and serve others. This is the example of Christ and given to us in Philippians 2:5-8; a life of a servant. You can do acts of service but still NOT BE a servant if your motivation is rooted in selfish ambition, if your intended outcome is recognition, and if your ultimate purpose is to benefit yourself in some way. Many years ago I knew a church member I'll use as an example. She had the most beautiful voice! She wanted to join the church choir but for some reason was always rejected. I cannot tell you why no one ever knew. I did know, however, that her intended career was to sing professionally but that all fell through. She had a few gigs from time to time but her dream to record CD's never came to fruition. She took that unfulfilled desire to be a musical icon into the church but whatever the reason was for her denial (there were rumors of unbecoming conduct and such) resulted in bitterness and revenge on her part. She wanted to be included in that choir, to appear before Sunday crowds, to be "somebody," to feel accepted, good enough, and yes, to be admired. Her focus was
'self" to revel in the glory. Sometimes our priorities are skewed and we get caught up wanting to serve the flesh rather than the Creator. True servanthood begins with SELFLESSNESS, maintains humility, and ultimately seeks the good of others -- and that, that requires the right heart attitude.

The Bible says in Matthew 20: 26-28 "Whosoever will be great among you let him be your minister (servant)." AND "The Son of Man didn't come to be ministered to, but to minister" (serve). Paul said, "I beseech you (Paul is imploring us) present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God which is your reasonable service (Romans 12:1). It's not a "job" it is a service we offer to God! "Living Sacrifice" implies you're making an "offering" to God. "Reasonable service" is not having our own needs met (ask not what your church can do for you, ask what you can do for your church). Remember "it is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35). Where are your priorities? Do you attend church so that you can have an hour of peace away from your children? Do attend your church for their contemporary music so you can rock-out on Sunday morning only to neglect your spiritual growth? Do you attend a particular church because if you join the missions team you'll be able to travel and see new places you are not financially able to do so otherwise? I hope your true intent and purpose for attending church is that you have a desire to hear, learn, and know God's Word first and foremost and to apply it to your life.
Until next time,
-Pat-

What Do You Hear??

As a girl from the midwest, located in heart of the United States, the only views offered are those of corn fields, flat land, lot's of cattle, farms, and ranches. If you are lucky enough, you could brag about seeing a tornado! Other than that, there isn't much to see or be excited about. So, in the summer of 2004, I took a friend and my two dogs and headed to North Carolina. I had heard so much about the Great Smoky Mountains and the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation. Since the Native American culture has always been so fascinating to me I thought North Carolina would be the perfect destination to learn more about their way of life. Today I'm going to share a bit of wisdom I heard from Chief Ahoyka while on that trip (I can't believe I remembered his name). It is a lesson we can apply today on our walk with Christ.

It was during the noon lunch hour at the Cherokee Indian Reservation where a large crowd was gathered around the center square in anticipation of a pow wow. I was in the front row, seated on the grass, literally feet away from the edge of the designated dance area. Voices from the crowd, children playing, music piped through the outdoor public address system and honking car horns filled the air. Suddenly, Chief Ahoyka appeared. Cheers and whistles erupted. The Chief slowly raised his arms and the crowd grew silent. For the next one and a half hours, I sat in awe as the Cherokee Indians played their hearts out. As the presentation ended, the Chief appeared again. At the time, he asked what I thought was a strange question, "Did anyone hear the cricket while we were drumming with mother earth?" CRICKET?? WHAT CRICKET? A voice came from the crowd, "There was no cricket, and even if there was no one would have heard it over your chanting, drumming, and wind instruments."

Chief Ahoyka responded back, "No. I'm sure of it. No one here heard a cricket?" The gentleman bellowed back, "What? You couldn't possibly hear a cricket in all this noise!" "No, I'm sure of it," said the Chief. He listened carefully for a moment and then began walking across the parking lot to a set of bushes just on the other side. All eyes were fixed on him. He reached into the bushes beneath the branches, and sure enough, there was a small cricket! We were all stupified. The young gentleman shouted out, "That's incredible. You must have super-human ears!" "No," said Chief Ahoyka, "My ears are no different from yours. It all depends on what you're listening for." "But that can't be," said the man. I could never hear a cricket in all this noise and neither could any of us here." "Yes you can," came the reply. "Here, let me show you."
Chief Ahoyka reached into his pocket, pulled out a few coins, and discreetly dropped them on the sidewalk beside him. And then, with the noise of the passing traffic and children's joyful screams coming from the playground, they noticed that every person's head within twenty feet turned and looked to see if the money that tinkled on the pavement fell from their pocket. "See what I mean?" asked the Chief. "It all depends on what's important to you, and what you're listening for." That's what was so tremendous about that day at the Cherokee Nation. After each performance, the Chief appears to share some Native wisdom.
I took something away that day. What's important to us? What do we listen for? The next concert announcement? The car radio? When our date arrives? The point is, there are times we fail to listen to God because we are FOCUSED on other things that are more important to us. The scripture, "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10) should have new meaning for you. The verse encourages believers to reflect on God ... relax, pause, or even stop ... and reflect on Who God is, but there is more to this psalm. That is, we need to take time out of our day to meditate on Scripture and be still, BE SILENT with listening ears toward God.

Amid the distractions of the world all around us (relationships, the Internet, sports, TV, politics, etc) may our ears always be open, not only ready to listen for but to hear and be obedient to God's voice as He speaks to us through His Word (1 Samuel 3: 9-10; John 8:47; John 10:4; 1 John 4:6).
Until next time,
-Pat-

na- na- NA- na- na

Have you heard that chant before? The one in the title of the blog? I used it when I was a little kid. I would place my thumbs (one on the right side of my forehead and the other on the left side of my forehead) and wiggle all my fingers at the intended target. Once in a while, I would stick my tongue out for good measure just to make sure my message was received. The gesture is called mocking. And though no mature adult mocks like what I described, people do mock God. It is a serious offense committed by those who have no fear of God, deny His existence, or ignore His Word. The most easily recognized form of mockery is disrespect typified by verbal insults or other acts of disdain. When I hear mocking, I associated it with ridicule, scoffing, and defiance. If you are a Christian, at some point, you have personally experienced being mocked or at least your faith has been criticized, attacked, or maligned by the general public.

In the Bible, mockery is a behavior and attitude shown by six types of people.
1. The fool (Psalm 74:22.)
2. The wicked (Psalm 1:1).
3. The enemy (Psalm 74:10).
4. The hater of knowledge (Proverbs 1:22; 13:1).
5. The proud (Psalm 119:51; Isaiah 37:17)
6. The unteachable (Proverbs 15:12).
A mocker goes beyond mere lack of judgment to make a conscious decision for evil. Mockers are without a spirit of obedience, teachability, discernment, wisdom, worship, or faith. They are rebellious. Haters of the Word of God. Those who mock God will mock the people of God as well. The prophet Jeremiah "became the laughingstock of all my people" and was mocked "in song all day long" (Lamentations 3:14). Mockery of God's prophets was commonplace (2 Chronicles 36:16). Nehemiah was mocked by his enemies (Nehemiah 2:19). Elisha was mocked by the youths of Bethel (2 Kings 2:23). And of course our Lord Jesus was mocked—by Herod and his soldiers (Luke 23:11), by the Roman soldiers (Mark 15:20; Luke 23:36), by a thief on a cross (Luke 23:39), and by the Jewish leaders who passed by the cross (Matthew 27:41). Those that IGNORE God mock God. Their mantra sounds something like this, "I don't need you, believe you, or want you." Ignoring God, rejecting God, discarding His word as fiction is the same as thumbing your nose at Him.

It is easy for us as believers to point the finger at those outside the church who mock God. But Christians aren't off the hook. The most subtle mockery of God and the most danger comes from those of us sitting in church! We are guilty of mockery when we behave with an outward show of spirituality or godliness without an inward engagement or change of heart. To mock God is to pretend to love and serve him when we really don't. It's unfortunate but I see it everywhere! Mocking is also to act in a false manner, to be insincere and hypocritical in our professions, pretending to obey Him, love, serve, and worship Him when we do not. Mocking God grieves the Holy Spirit and sears the conscience, and thus the bands of sin become stronger and stronger. The heart becomes gradually hardened by such a process. God warns that mockery of what is holy will be punished. Zephaniah predicted the downfall of Moab and Ammon, saying, "This is what they will get in return for their pride, for insulting and mocking the people of the LORD Almighty" (Zephaniah 2:10). Isaiah 28:22 warns that mockery will cause the chains of Judah's sin to become stronger and that destruction will follow. Proverbs 3:34 says that God will mock the mocker but give favor to the humble and oppressed. Second Kings 2:24 records the punishment that befell the youths who jeered Elisha.

There are repercussions for ignoring God's directives and willfully choosing sin. Adam and Eve tried it and brought sorrow and death into the world (Genesis 2:15–17; 3:6, 24). Ananias and Sapphira's deception brought about a swift and public judgment (Acts 5:1–11). Galatians 6:7 states a universal principle: "Do not be deceived: God is not mocked. A man reaps what he sows." God cannot be deceived (Hebrews 4:12–13). Achan's sin (Joshua 7) and Jonah's flight (Jonah 1) were not unknown to God. Jesus' repeated words to every church in Revelation 2—3 were, "I know your works." Proverbs 15:3 should grab our attention, "The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good." How many reading did not know that was in the Bible? Simply said, GOD IS WATCHING. We only deceive ourselves when we think our attitudes and actions are not seen by an all-powerful and all-knowing God. The Bible shows us the way to live a blessed life, sometimes by the good examples of godly men and women and sometimes by the negative examples of those who choose to follow another path. Psalm 1:1–3 says, "Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers."
Until next time,
-Pat-

To Seek Or Not To Seek

When one ignores or puts aside any of God’s instruction from the Word of God, that instruction becomes of no effect to that person. You can say in a sense, God's Word is effectively "lost" to that person. That person can be compared to many of the Jewish leaders Paul addressed in Christ’s day and Matthew 13:15 described such a person, "For the heart of this people has grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes have they closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their heart and turn so that I should heal them."

The same can be said of the world today. God's Word is lost to the world by choice. BY CHOICE! Not because there is no truth. THE TRUTH has been on this earth for over 2,000 years. The problem is, truth is ignored. We have the choice to seek or not to seek. So many are hardened against God and are against anything that has to do with God. We see this in the United States for example in a battle over the Ten Commandments or the effort to remove the motto “In God We Trust” from everything in the public eye. God's Word is openly ridiculed, discredited and called evil! These people have lost touch with the reality that God is their creator. That which is evil is now called good and that which is good is called evil. Scripture speaks of this too in Isaiah 5:20, "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!" For instance, if you stand with the pro-life movement because you believe in saving an innocent life, you are, as New York senator Kirsten Gillibrand suggests, a racist! Being pro-life and standing for innocent babies is now considered wrong and that you should somehow side with those who want you to agree that murdering a full term baby is a right! A right? A right of the woman and her body? NO. Because it isn't her body any longer! There are 2 separate lives there. Two hearts. Two brains. TWO SOULS!!

Here's another, people ignore God's Word regarding homosexuality and refute God's truth plainly pointed out in Leviticus 18:22; 20:13, Romans 1:18;32, 1 Corinthians 6-9-10, 1 Timothy 1:8-10. These are the very passages that show us homosexual activity is a sin- making it clear that it is not a unique sin because it isn't any worse than any other "sin," it is one example of what is wrong with all of us. If you stand on God's written Word regarding this subject, you're considered a hater, intolerant, homophobic, and prejudice. What God tells us is evil is now called good. We are living in prophetic times! These rebellious, indifferent people are like the Gentiles spoken of in Paul’s letter to the Roman Christians in Romans 1:23;25, " And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen" (Refer to my blog "The Seed and the Soil" -Homosexuality- listed under January's blogs.) This is a perfect illustration of what is happening today, yet people do not want to hear the truth which God gave us over 2,000 years ago. And there are consequences for ignoring, BY CHOICE, what He warned us of.

Too, these same are like the hardened soil in the Parable of the Sower I wrote about: “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside” (Matthew 13:19). The Word of God is hidden from their minds: “Whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them” (2 Corinthians 4:4). How terrible that some just can’t find the truths in God’s Word. There is something else that comes to mind. Think of the thousands of dusty Bibles lying on coffee tables or shelves that are never opened! In this case, the “Good Book” is in plain view, but it is never opened. If it is never read, if it is never consumed in the minds of people, the Word is lost and truth cannot be found though it is in plain sight. Ignorance will not be a legitimate excuse on the day Christ judges each and every one of us.

Finding TRUTH is as easy as this: (pay attention to the words I enlarged):
Proverbs2:1-5. "My son, if you RECEIVE MY WORDS and treasure MY COMMANDS WITHIN YOU, so that you INCLINE YOUR EAR TO WISDOM, and APPLY YOUR HEART TO UNDERSTANDING; yes, if you CRY OUT FOR DISCERNMENT, and LIFT UP YOUR VOICE FOR UNDERSTANDING, if you SEEK HER as a hidden treasure, then YOU WILL UNDERSTAND THE FEAR OF THE LORD and YOU WILL FIND THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD.
God's intention is that you and I make His wisdom our own. We are to learn it from the Bible! Pastors, preachers, ministers, and teachers are charged by God with helping us grow. However, we must make God's Word ours and keep it in our heart. Just as with a family heirloom, a lost diamond ring you cannot find. You don't half-heartily eyeball a room and say it isn't there, that it "cannot be found." You have to search, dig, systematically sweep the floor, lifting every throw rug, pulling up couch cushions, moving things off and examining the coffee table, looking in pottery, around pottery, in pottery, getting on your knees to observe the floor from a different angle. And if it isn't found, you go back and repeat your search, maybe three or four more times often going over the same areas do you not? Jesus said, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for everyone that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened." How have you sought the Lord? How have you looked for truth by eyeballing the pages of the Bible and exclaiming, "It's too hard to understand so I will give up my search." Treasure is never found on the surface, it is hidden well and hidden deep. But it's there. The Word is no different. It is there for the serious and for those who desire to know God and know His truths. It's the surest way to separate the half-hearted, lukewarm, heedless and indifferent from the mindful, ardent, fervent, zealous seeker. Which are you?
Until next time,
-Pat-

Problems & Troubles

We live in a troublesome world. You don't have to look very far or have a college degree to see it. It's all around us. Unfortunately, we can become problem-centered rather than God-centered and when this happens, we can lose the proper perspective. Gradually, all our problems begin to look huge and the strength of Almighty God seems small. Instead of moving those mountains by faith (Mark 11:23), we can become constant worriers, creating mountains of needless pressure for ourselves and others. Not only does stress affect our mental health, but chronic anxiety and outpouring of stress hormones can have serious physical consequences, including suppression of the immune system, digestive disorders, muscle tension, migraines, insomnia, etc. This is when we become problem centered rather than God-centered.
I could show you any Psalm and identify a variety of emotions. We all have emotions. For instance, David's Psalm 55 is a Lament which uses a number of feeling words that represent or include positive or emotion. I’ve bolded the positive emotions.
“Plea” (v 1)
“Trouble” and “distraught” (v 2)
“Suffering” and “anger” (v 3)
“Heart is in anguish” and “terrors” (v 4)
“Fear and trembling” and “horror” (v 5)
Oh, that ... longing and “rest" (v 6)
“Confuse” and “violence and strife” (v 9)
“Malice and abuse” = endangered (v 10)
“Once enjoyed sweet fellowship” = loss and grief (vv 12- 14)
“Let death take my enemies” = rage (v 15)
“Cry out in distress” (v 17)
Fear of God(v 19)
“His speech is smooth as butter” = feeling manipulated and “war is in his heart” (v 21)
“Cares” and “sustain” (v 22)
“Trust” (v 23)

In Isaiah Chapter 40, there is an effective prescription if you will, for those of us whose God seems small in times of trouble. God reminds us that He is much bigger than problems or the world He created. He points out that compared to Him, “the nations are as a drop in a bucket” (Isaiah 40:15 – NKJV) and the inhabitants of the earth “are like grasshoppers” (Isaiah 40:22). His words aren’t meant to belittle us, but rather to encourage us to look to Him and gain His perspective of life. HIS PERSPECTIVE!
However, God offers us far more than a new perspective. If we will depend on Him, instead of brooding over our problems, He will renew our strength, and wings of faith will lift our hearts above our difficulties (Isaiah 40:28-31). Some of our problems may be huge, but we can see them as smaller than our great God. And that makes all the difference in the world!

It's always easier to trust God in the good times. It takes much more faith to keep that trust during painful trials. Tough times happen to everyone. It is sometimes difficult to believe that God is willing to take you through the impossible situations in your life. But faith is the most important thing that you must have in this age of crisis and turmoil.
Jesus is so merciful to remember that we are weak. He will never hold it against us if we ask for his help to believe him through our struggles. Striving to work out impossible situations on our own will never succeed. It is only the power of God that can rescue us from the storm. You may have a serious health issue, financial problems, drug or alcohol addictions or even a broken heart but nothing is too hard for our God who created the heavens and the earth and everything in them. We are told by God in Isaiah 41:13, “For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you”. That is a promise that Jesus bought for us at Calvary. Whatever trial or pain you are in, remember that God’s love will never leave your side. Call on him right now to strengthen you to overcome your unbelief. He will help you take that first step in trust so that you will know that God is big enough to conquer all of your problems.
Until next time,
-Pat-

But I'm Not Wrong!

Over the years, as a reader and "student" of the Bible, I've often conducted careful researches to re-evaluate some former conclusions regarding scriptures that originated from preachers, priests, and radio ministers. As a result, I found my own thinking in error by agreeing with them. While being in error is not a good thing, never finding our error is a great deal worse (James 3:1) — proof that we sometimes do not honestly “test the spirits to see if they are of God” or "prove God" (1 John 4:1-5; 1 Thessalonians 5:21). As I learned God's Word over time the more I knew I needed to test the things I previously accepted at face value. No one should ever accept what they have heard from a preacher or teacher as being absolute truth without carefully examining what they heard against the Scriptures themselves. THIS REQUIRES READING THE WORD OF GOD. Sadly, people don't want to read the Bible. So how would you know if what you've heard is the truth? Not every person who teaches (including me), not every preacher, minister, or pastors words should be exempt from examination. Don't accept everything you hear as gospel truth! Compare it to what God has said. You'll have to read scriptures to do that. People often don't want GOD'S truth, especially when the truth differs from what they want their life to be! Contrary to popular belief or political correctness, abortion is wrong according to God's Word. Homosexuality is also wrong according to God's Word. But if you listen to society or some preachers today, they will tell you both these things are not sins. To avoid being mundane I won't repeat all the scriptures that back up, for example, the truth that homosexuality is an abomination in God's eyes since I've mentioned it before in another blog(s). One was written in January, called "Homosexuality. The Seed and the Soil." I even gave a very understandable illustration that should leave no doubt in your mind about the subject. And while you're at it, don't just pass over the word abomination. Look up the definition in any dictionary. It's a grave matter.


Have you noticed as I have, how people become filled with fervent passion or even anger when anyone challenges or questions their religious beliefs when they themselves have never even read the Bible? They have no idea if the beliefs they adhere to (given to them many times by a so-called man of the cloth) are even true? Many times, it is not the ideas themselves that are dear to us, but rather that our self-esteem is threatened. We are by nature stubbornly pledged to defend our own from attack, whether it be our person, our family, our property, our faith, or our opinions.
Sadly, few of us take the pains to study the origins of our cherished "religious beliefs." We like to continue believing what we have been accustomed to accepting as truth (our comfort zone). Unfortunately, resentment often arises when doubt is cast upon our beliefs, which leads us seeking every manner of excuse for clinging to them. The result is that most of our so-called reasoning consists of finding arguments for continuing to believe as we already do. All you have to do is look at the political environment today to really get a sense of how people react when their beliefs are challenged! The more they are disputed, the tighter people cling to them even if their political beliefs are radical and off the cliff! (here is a link to some pretty radical religious beliefs) ... https://www.thrillist.com/culture/the-10-craziest-cults-you-ve-never-heard-of-obscure-religious-sects-and-societies)


The spontaneous and loyal support of our preconceptions — the process of finding “good” reasons to justify our religious beliefs (or any belief) — is known to psychologists as “rationalization.” Rationalization is the self-vindication which occurs when we feel ourselves (or our group), accused of error. This was evident from the patients we worked with when I was employed in the field of mental health. People will cling to their "beliefs" no matter how wrong, misguided, or infused with error they are just to escape hearing or knowing they've been duped. Many times, our so-called good “reasons,” have little value in promoting honest enlightenment, because no matter how solemnly they may be put forth, some are at best the result of personal preference or prejudice — not of an honest desire to seek to accept religious knowledge based upon the inspired Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16).


Many of us frequently engage in self-justification, for we cannot bear to think ourselves as ever being wrong, even though in God’s word, we have constant illustrations of our weaknesses and mistakes (1 Samuel 15:22-24; 2 Samuel 12:1-13; Acts 8:9-24). So, as a result, we spend much time finding fault with circumstances and the conduct of others, rather than admitting our own failures and disappointments! (Matthew 7:1-5).
When studying and sharing God’s word, I pray we always possess honest and open hearts — always having a humble mindset — ready to admit our mistakes and errors when they are pointed out to us (or when we discover them ourselves) and then a willingness to change our "religious" beliefs according to God’s religious standard, the Bible!
Until next time,
-Pat-

Your Heart Is Like Soil

Whenever you read the Bible or hear the Word of God preached, God's Word is like a seed of truth planted in your heart spoil. Some people will read or hear the Word and reject everything they've seen or listened to. Others will read or hear the Word and be interested in it for a time until they are sidetracked by other "important" things in their lives and they forget everything their ears or eyes perceived. They have no further interest. Then there are some who, when they read take note, keep reading, and thirst for more. They continue to read and continue to learn. Have you ever wondered why some people read or hear and want more while others aren't interested or may be interested at first then drift away? The Bible gives us the answer. It has to do with the condition of our hearts. To understand this concept, we first need to consider gardening and seed being planted in soil, to God's SEED/WORD planted in the soil of our hearts.

In gardening, the productivity of seed is directly proportionate to the fertility of the soil it's sown in. Even if the seed is good, if it's planted in unfertile soil, it will either not germinate or it will only produce a sickly, unproductive plant. And so it is with the word of God and human hearts. If the soil of your heart is unfertile, then God's Word will not take root and grow. If the soil of your heart is unfertile yet has a little good soil, the Seed of God's Word might begin to take root but it isn't strong enough to withstand storms of life or other worldly distractions. Only in a fertile, accepting, willing heart will God's Seed germinate, grow, and produce a harvest. The Bible gives examples of different heart soils in the "Parable Of The Sower" (Luke 8:4-15; Matthew 13:1-9; Matthew 13: 18-23). It would be wise to open your Bible today and read the parable. It mentions four kinds of soil:

1) The Wayside (Luke 8:5)
2) Rocky Places (Luke 8:6)
3) The soil in which thorns are abundant (Luke 8:7)
4) Good Soil (Luke 8:8)

Each of these soils represents four kinds of human hearts (Luke 8:12; Luke 8:15; Matthew 13:15; Matthew 13:19). In this parable, The SEED is called "the Word of God" (Luke 8:11). Note that the deficiencies of the first three kinds of soil do not cast a reflection on the innate power of the seed to produce life! The problem is in the soil - NOT in the seed. We should never think of God's Word as being powerless to convert men because the potential to produce new life and change men's hearts is found in the Word of God (refer to Romans 1:16; 1 Corinthians 1:18; 1 Peter 1:22-25). Some of you might ask, "Why doesn't the SEED (God's Word) always bring forth an abundant harvest, after all, it's God's Powerful Word." Simply because the "soil" (the mind, the heart of man), is not receptive to it or it is encumbered with the "cares of this world" and the "pleasures of this life" (Matthew 13:22; Luke 8:14). And in those cases, the seed will not produce. I'm pretty sure you can figure out what the cares and or pleasures of this world are without me naming any. In reality, it's anything you choose more important than a relationship with God. That's the bottom line. Priorities, priorities.

We can't blame God for our lack of productivity, as the kind of soil we are has been our choice. Note the word, "received" in Matthew's gospel, specifically chapter 13: 20, 22-23). They RECEIVED the Word, they heard it, but ultimately their heart condition was up to them. Are there requirements of fertile soil (hearts)? Jesus said there is ... Luke 8:15, "They, which in an HONEST and good heart, having heard the Word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. I believe there are still human beings with good hearts that want to "hear" the Word of God and "keep it." Thus I write these blogs for those that hunger.
For those that hear the Word, and which seed is planted firmly in fertile soil will produce a harvest of fruits. I'm speaking of Fruits of the Spirit (found in Galatians chapter 5:22-23). There are 9 attributes (fruits) of a person living in accord with the Holy Spirit. Paul used "fruit" to help us understand the product of the Holy Spirit who lives in every believer. The fruits of the Spirit are produced by the Spirit, not by the Christian. In and of ourselves we have no power to love those we once hated, to put others first, to have peace in the midst of chaos, to maintain patience to endure and persevere, to be faithful unto death if or when persecuted, to have self-control over our flesh with an ability to say no regardless of how strong the temptation, etc. I hope you take time to talk with your Father in heaven about the soil of your heart. Ask Him to send His Holy Spirit to soften your heart and make it fertile to accept and plant His Word so that you allow it to take root and produce His fruits in your life.
Until next time,
-Pat-