Tag Archives: wickedness

To the Youth

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The righteous retain the right to speak.  But the wicked have forfeited their place among the people.

Blessed and at peace are the ones who obey the Living God; those who are trained from birth to do what is good and pure.  But woe to the wicked man who wakes to his wickedness; the one whose eyes have become open to all the wicked things he has done.  For that one will come to understand, yet he will not be accepted in the ears of the people.

Truth demands a voice.  And he who has truth will find himself compelled to speak.  But woe to such a man as he who has forfeited his right among the people.  A burning fire will consume his heart.  But he will have no place to stand and vent.  Though he knows the answers and can teach them well, no one will hear his words.

Listen to this, you young!  Before you let the folly of youth consume you, hear these words.  Remain dressed in what is good, so that the old man you will become may have a place to stand and speak.

Will you listen to this man?  He was once young just like you.  But in his embrace of wicked folly, he has lost his place among the people.  As truth has come upon him, his heart is changed, but too late.

You do not need to follow his example.  Seek the Lord Jesus and continue in his way all your days.  Then you will retain the right to speak among the people when wisdom has filled you.

Will you be warned?  Will the old man or the old woman you will become, be pleased with what you have done?  For you will certainly learn what is true and wise.  Desire will come up on you to speak.  But if you do not hear these words you will have no place of prominence.  And the wickedness you love so much will become a bitter taste in your mouth.

You will find yourself of value.  But you will be like a beautiful diamond, left in the desert, with no place to be displayed.

By His Grace

What Day is This?

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Timidity and fear, what do they have to do with the people of God in Christ?  Boldness and peace, confidence and love, now these are the targets to which Christians should shoot their life.

Why are we timid?  Isn’t it because the voice of wickedness is so loud? 

Why do we fear?  Isn’t it because we fail to believe?

How does a Christian become bold?  Isn’t it because he trains his ear to deafen at the roar of the world, entertaining no sound but the beautiful whisper of God in his soul.

If a man will learn these things he will have peace, confidence and love.  He will become bold for Christ.

The more wicked the day, the more opportunity.  What day then is this, that Christians should cower in a corner?

By His Grace

I See Your Fear

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I see you everywhere you go.  I do not judge you, but I see the signs of your fear.  You hide behind your things, so sure that no one notices.  But even a man like me see through your charade.

You have become so adept at hiding from truth, that you wouldn’t understand it if it were explained to you.  Why?

You’ve heard the saying, “He’s bought into the things of this world”.  But that isn’t true, is it?  You haven’t bought into anything.  You’re simply afraid.  Why?

You’ve got your music, your favorite  television shows, your job and aspirations.  You have your friends to hide with.  You have all those trophy trinkets you’ve gathered.  And in spite of all these things you don’t know the truth.  Why?

The truth is not hidden.  It’s just that you refuse to look.  It’s so easy to think of yourself as a good person.  But if you stood before God you would know better.

Do you think you will stand the judgment of God without the help of the Lord Jesus?  My friend, you don’t know the living God.  And you don’t know the Lord Jesus.

God is the very truth you are hiding from.  Yet he is a truth that never ceases.  This is why you are afraid of him.  This is why you love lies more than truth.

But you will meet him very soon.  If you hide in this place, where truth is but a shadow, what will become of you when there is no place left to hide and truth is no longer the shadow?

Yes, I see how you push others around to get what you want.  I see how you manipulate truth with lies.  But my friend, you will not push God.  And He will laugh at your attempts to manipulate His truth.

You love your excuses.  Why?  Isn’t it because they help you hide?  In a great variety of ways you say, “I am this way because. . .”  And you fill in the blank with any number of reasons.  Why?

You don’t have to answer to me.  I couldn’t help you if you did.  And what good would your confession be to a mere man?  Your confession would only become another tool to hide behind.

I will tell you this in the form of a warning, but remember I am not judging you.  You’d better get it right with the Holy Lord Jesus.  He’s not that cute fuzzy little teddy bear you’ve heard about.  He is a blazing fire of righteousness.

No one on earth is beyond his willingness to have compassion.  But he absolutely hates lies.  He will put up with your faults if you are willing to learn.  But this offer is only extended while you are still here.

So that brings up the old question.  How long do you have yet to live?  Perhaps 40 years?  Perhaps 10 seconds?  Regardless the time, when you leave this place you are immediately under judgment.

Don’t listen to the liars my friend.  There is no such thing as a good man.  You will not receive eternal life for the good things you think you’ve done.  It’s either His way or death.

And as a passing note, dear friend, it doesn’t matter whether you agree or not.

By His Grace

Regret is But a Vapor

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Among men, there are things that are referred to as truth.  In this place of testing, this place where wickedness is king, such a statement has a moment of viability.  For men will do what they do.  They will accept what they consider profitable.  And they will praise one another for obedience to the expectations of men.

But there is a place where such things called truth will leave all their hands empty.  They will be void of praise for the One who has allowed them freedom to do as their pleasure has demanded.  When Glory no longer allows the pleasure of men, they will have no praise for God.

They give gifts to one another for the sake of worthless profit.  But their hands will be full of regret, at the time of appearing before Him.

How can I help you, my brothers of flesh?  How can I inspire you to gather profit?  How can this tiny man urge you to fill up your gifts for Him?  How can these words displace the pleasure of man within the souls of my fellow man?

Please consider, with the greatest sobriety, how that moment will be.  Every man will see the Holy Angels bowing at the Glory of Christ Jesus.  Every man will witness those whose hands are filled with the Holy Works of God.  Every man will hear the praise, that holy praise, which is rightfully due to the One who has redeemed their souls.  And shame will fill those with empty hands.

Eternity, that great door of Life, will open for those who accept the Lord’s offer of humility.  Void of pride, they will enter His Holy Kingdom.  While the great assembly of eternal dead are ushered to their place of horror, the righteous will abound in joy.

Who are the righteous?  Are they those whose own works of pleasure has filled their holy hands?  No.  This is a fable of man.  The pride of man has promoted this lie.  The righteous are those who have sought the Living God.  It is God who has endowed them with righteous and eternal ways.  They have received!  They have not provided for themselves.

Such people will have what cannot be taken away.  For what belongs to God will remain forever.  But the pleasure, pride, accomplishments of the flesh, and desire for what brings temporary peace, will utterly be void of praise for the Living God.

Regret is a vapor.  Do not let your hands be filled with vapor when you appear before Him.  He offers you profit this very moment.  Be full.  Become profitable for He who is Life Eternal.  Let Him dress you according to His Holy Will.  Why would we remain naked all our days here?

Be a Willing Disappointment

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The letter to the Hebrews, in the New Testament, tells us that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.  Because of the context, we often associate that great crowd with humanity.

Though it is true that no man lives in complete isolation from his brother, it is also true that the great cloud of witnesses comprises far more than the men who live on this planet.

There will be testimony in eternity for what we have done.  The Angels witness our actions.  The Trinity is personally witness to every single detail.  And let us not forget the enemy.  Even the demons notice.

Doing what is right is often a severe irritation to humanity.  But those we irritate here, are considerably few, in comparison to those who will witness the totality of our life.

Let us therefore consider the majority.  If we need a provocation to do what is right, let us live a life of innocent irritation.  When they cuss and yell and scream and squirm, let us not understand the reason why.  Let us set our focus on the majority of witnesses.

And if you need further provocation to do what is right, let us mention the one who has irritated us. 

As we love doing what is right, we are not tempted to do what is wrong.  And if we cannot be tempted or averted from our love, we may be sure we are irritating the one who has irritated us.  Fine, let us be a willing disappointment!

By His Grace

Ethics 101

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We all see it happen all day long.  Relatively decent people making wicked choices.  But let’s face facts.  Wicked choices are expected among the population of this world.

If you don’t strive to be first, your counted as insignificant and stupid. 

If you don’t break the law, just a little, you’re just not an intelligent person.  After all, they won’t throw you in jail for small infractions.

If you don’t lie a little bit, you will be hated by everyone who knows you.  No one confides in the man who tells the truth.  Curiously, such a man is utterly untrustworthy in this world.

In light of all this, I thought to myself, I would like to teach a class whereby men are taught ethics.  But within a fraction of a second, I changed my mind.

Though they would all nod with agreement while they were in class, by the time they got out the door they would forget everything they learned. 

So I thought, the fix, then, is to create a fast search chart.  Let the men hold it while they do all the things they normally do.  But who would be stupid enough to do that?

It was then that the comparison ignited in my mind.  This is what the Holy Spirit does for those who believe in Christ Jesus.  He is the living educator.  And he lives in the soul of those who trust in the Son of the Living God.

What is the summation of all this?  The summation is that those without the Holy Spirit have no hope of doing righteousness.  They are locked in a battle to see who can be the most wicked and get away with it.

They are not free men, regardless what society says.  They are bound to wickedness as surely as the moon is bound to the earth.

As the Apostle John wrote, “Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous . . .”  (1 John 3: 7)   And surely, the one who does what is wicked is a wicked man.

No man can hope to do what is right without the Spirit of God leading him constantly.  No one can hear the Holy Spirit accept that God gives him spiritual ears.  Man is completely hopeless without the sacrifice of Christ.

It is important to note that the word “practice” is often used in conjunction with righteousness.  He who practices righteousness will eventually do it habitually.  We already know how to be wicked.

There, I just held ethics 101.  You don’t need a cheat sheet.  You simply need to fall to your knees and ask God for help.  Or you can remain just like you are.  The choice is right there before you.

By His Grace