How I wish the entirety of America would respond to the following question:
Why do you celebrate Christmas if you have no intention of serving the living Holy and Righteous Son?
Tag Archives: Jesus
Cutting the Difference
Christmas is coming. Many will now turn to a false religion. From their daily life of caring nothing for the things of God, they will now act as though the gospel belongs to them. They will quote a portion of Scripture that says, “Peace on earth and goodwill to men”.
Smiles on peoples faces, music of God will fill the air, and winter will force a certain diminishing of wickedness. Ungodly behavior is but a seed planted in late fall. A treasure of the wicked waiting to sprout in spring.
Christmas is a time of year when the word of Jesus gets passed around rather fluidly. But what about the other 11 months of the year?
Consider these tidbits from the Bible.
1 Peter 4:
17 For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And,
“If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”
Proverbs:
30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
and the one who is wise saves lives.
31 If the righteous receive their due on earth,
how much more the ungodly and the sinner!
Luke 2:
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
2 Timothy:
19 Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”
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Seek the Lord’s favor while it is still called today.
Merry Christmas?
Is it ridiculous to say “Merry Christmas” to the rebellious souls of this world? Someone would answer, “Why would you not put a smile on someone else’s face”?
Isn’t saying Merry Christmas to one who does not have eternal life in Christ, like trying to make a condemned prisoner smile by telling him the world will soon be rid of a murderer? Do you really expect him to share in your joy? Are you right to try to give him a hope that does not belong to him?
What does Merry Christmas mean? Isn’t it that we take joy in the work of Christ within us? Isn’t it that eternal life IS, because God cannot lie and has sealed his promise with the blood of His Holy and Righteous Son? And doesn’t the promise from the Holy Spirit give us a quiet joy that is inexpressible to the ears of Man? Isn’t this what Merry Christmas means?
For those who believe and receive His guidance toward righteousness and purity, indeed Christmas can be merry. But for those who simply want a smile, a gift, and a good work, Christmas cannot be eternally merry. It is impossible for such creatures to grasp the meaning of “Merry Christmas”.
I’m not saying we should be cruel. But I am saying we should think about what tradition tells us to do. Falsehood can come in a beautiful evening gown, dancing elegantly in a sparkling ballroom. Do we really desire truth?
How unpopular this message must be for so many.
When the Sun Rises
Many who think themselves to be firm Christians are compromised. This is not suspicion or an attempt at slander, this is the way it is. While they embrace many things of Christ they also embrace many things of the world. We are told that such lives will suffer loss.
On the day when Christ rises to judge his people, many will realize for the first time that they had compromised their lives. Sucked into the lure of unholy depravity, many perceive the things of this world to be beautiful. Will that perception remain when the loss they are to suffer is presented to them personally?
As we keep our mind focused on eternity, that is being in the presence of the Most High God’s Holy Son, the glitz of this world tends to lose its pull. Isn’t it written that we should not be deceived, but that a man will reap what he sows?
The Ant Head
They gathered in a building. The final place of the final test. They came together to prove the value of Man.
The question was leadership and righteousness. Who is worthy and why.
From the body of the elders they pick the wisest one. They said to him, “Choose for us a prize that we may begin the contest”. The old man, bent over and half blind, said to them, “Bring me the head of an ant”.
The youngest of the elders was the first to move. He ran outside and grabbed the first ant he could find. With urgent dispatch he returned with the head of an ant.
The elder told him to put it plate and set the plate the middle of the table.
The elder sat at the head of the table. “Now debate among yourselves who is worthy to eat this head.”
They all stood speechless for the space of a minute. Then the first to move was the youngest. As his fingers reached for the prize, one of the elders slapped his hand with disdain. “What gives you the right to think you are worthy?” The reaching and the slapping became a spark to a pool of flammable liquid.
It started with a response. But it soon developed into an all out brawl. This went on for quite a while until a breeze came to the top of the table. Not even one elder noticed the ant head drift off the plate, down to the floor, and disappear in a crack.
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I have looked at Man. I have tried to discover why righteousness eludes us. I thought I had the answer. But in the telling of it, it took too long.
In my life I have testified well over fourteen thousand times, trying to nail down the reason why we are full of disarray.
I have come to the conclusion of the elder who ordered the ant head. There is no righteousness among men. There is no peace to be found anywhere on this earth. Man simply does not have eternal life in him.
And I have understood from all that is Christianity, Salvation belongs to our God and to the Lamb. Except that the Living God had done his “Strange Work”, not one man would rise from the grave.
I used to stand at the edge of the city and wait to hear wisdom. I stood along the path where men walk and waited to hear someone utter something wise and beautiful. But I realized I will starve to death before I find a wise man walk by me.
Unless the wisdom of God comes down from heaven, man has no option but death. And hasn’t this been done? Christ Jesus crucified on our behalf. Yes, the wisdom of God has come down.
In Man there is no life. But God has sent mercy. Let every man do as he will; seek righteousness with all your heart. You will not find it here!
The Pursuit of Discipline
A man will lack sleep. He will let go the essential to focus on his desire. The night is witness to his shadow on the wall, busily pursuing his ambition.
Suffering comes in variety of form as he disciplines himself to his intention.
He loses friends. His house becomes unkempt. His belongings rot away. His reputation suffers irreparable damage. With extremely keen focus, he chases after his desire with the most excellent of discipline.
Discipline has specific marks. Ideally chaos suffers defeat through discipline. But even in chaos (wicked abandon) a man may cause damage to everything and everyone else; that he may pursue his desire.
See how every man has intense desire within him.
The question is, intent. To what does a man’s desire aspire?
By our nature our desire is bent toward selfishness. But if a man will turn his desire toward the Holy One of God, discipline becomes the roots of life.
With excellent abandon of all that is around him, men pursue with diligence the discipline of accomplishment. If this is true in the things that are useless, why not turn our discipline to what is Eternal Life?
Words From There 