Some churches teach that a person cannot eat certain foods, and that some foods can only be eaten on certain days. Like fish on Fridays and certain meals of so-called Holy days or holidays.
In the Old Testament the people of God were commanded to eat certain foods (Leviticus 11). But now we aren't under the Old Testament because that part of the Bible isn’t binding on men anymore (Hebrews 8:6-13; 2 Corinthians 3:6). The New Testament said men would teach false doctrine instructing people that they can’t eat foods which God has permitted. Today we can eat anything, as long as one gives thanks (1 Timothy 4:1-5). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. “Traditional marriage.” What is that? The word tradition means practices created and acted out by men being handed down to future generations. But marriage isn’t anything like that, so the term “traditional marriage” ought not to be. There is no such thing as a marriage meaning this, or a marriage meaning that; there is only “marriage.”The institution of marriage was created by God, defined by God, joined by God, and God warned man not to tamper with it (Matthew 9:6).
Man doesn’t need to be promoting something opposite of what God created and calling that a marriage (Proverbs 30.7). God created male and female and placed them in marriage (Genesis 2:18-25; Matt. 19:4-5). God will not join a man and doll as marriage. God will not join a man and dog as marriage. God will not join a man and plant as marriage. God will not join two men as marriage. Some may argue about how much love is present, but that makes no difference to the Lord. The reason is simple, it must fit the profile that God ordained (1 Corinthians 11:3:7-9; 1 Cor. 7:1-4; Colossians 3:18-19; 2 John 8-9). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. I don’t need to begin a long talk about how bad the economy is, but here is a piece of information that we all may not know. The suffering we are enduring should cause everyone to remember that wealth doesn’t last forever. The money in the bank can be here today and gone tomorrow. We need to reflect more upon the uncertainty of things.
For so long we never imagined our money being gone—for some reason we always thought it would be there. But lo and behold, men steal it, or the economy eats it away like cancer (Matthew 6:19-21). Uncertainty is all around us and blows against our skin like the wind (James 4:14; Luke 12:13-21). While it is true that we need to save our money for the future, we need to also meditate upon what the Lord said about riches. He taught us not to make it our number one goal (Mark 9:36-37). He taught us to keep in mind that it could disappear (James 5:2-3). He thought us to put our main interest in things eternal (1 Timothy 6:17). Try not to panic about lost money, just do your best to preserve what you can and use this experience as a time to reflect upon your soul and where you will spend eternaity (2 Corinthians 5:10; Romans 14:9-12). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. Too many police officers have been killed in Philadelphia, and we need to learn from it. People must learn to comfort those who are suffering (Genesis 37:34-35). People must learn to respect the officers who protect us (1 Peter 2:13-14). People must stop committing crimes! (Jeremiah 25:4-5).
If criminals of the past have ended up in jail, why do current criminals think that they won’t get caught? (Galatians 6:7). That man who killed the last officer knew other cop killers are either in jail or dead, but he didn’t learn and took it upon himself to kill a police officer. Now the officer is dead, his family in grief, and this offender is in jail along with the other cop killers (Colossians 3:25). Young men of the future must look at this situation and not do this kind of thing, but they should learn what makes a better city (Proverbs 11:11). People must not protect offenders, there is too much of that going on, and it is wrong. If you are law abiding, those who commit crimes aren’t your friends, they are felons, and you need to do the right thing and give them up (Judges 20:11-13). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. Judas Iscariot was the treasurer among the disciples of the Lord, and he often stole money out of the bag which was there to sustain Jesus and His traveling companions (John 12:6; 13:29). Judas loved money, so he went to the enemies of the Lord and asked them, “how much will you give me if I turn him over to you?” (Matthew 26:14-16). The price agreed on was thirty pieces of silver; though not a lot of money, it was still equal to about a week’s wages (Acts 1:15-18). Judas sold his soul for money, and the Bible teaches men not to love money because there are things far more valuable (1 Timothy 6:10; Acts 8:18-23; Mark 8:36-37).
When Judas realized he made a bad choice, he went back to his fellow conspirators thinking they would also see the light, but they didn’t. Angered by their refusal to acknowledge what was right, he threw the money down and went out and killed himself (Matt. 27:3-5). This tragic account proves that we shouldn’t sell our righteousness for money, and we should not to be so depressed over our mistakes that we kill ourselves. In life there is hope for those of a contrite heart (Proverbs 28:13; Ecclesiastes 9:4; Ezekiel 14:6; Psalm 51:17). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. Why do the courts allow people to swear on the Bible? Don’t they understand that the very Bible they are swearing upon condemns making oaths (Matthew 5:33-37; James 5:12). The teachings of the Bible are there for the safety of man. God is trying to save man from himself by telling him not to swear an oath, because if man swears an oath he will be held accountable even if things turn bad (Judges 11:30-40; Ecclesiastes 5:1-6; Acts 23:12-13).
One’s reputation should be credible if he says “yes I will” or “no I won’t” that should be enough (Colossians 4:6; Matt. 5:37). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. A denomination is an organized group of congregations under headquarters which governs each church and divides the area into dioceses, parishes, etc. But according to the Bible there is no such thing as a denomination (2 John 9-11; Matthew 15:13-14; Galatians 1:6-9; Matthew 7:15-29; Mark 7:6-9; 2 Peter 2:1-3).
Jesus built one church, and it was established on the first Pentecost after his resurrection (Matt. 16:18; Acts 2;1; Acts 2:40-47). This church is called the body of Christ with Jesus as its head (Ephesians 1:22-23, 2:19-22, 4:4, 5:23; Colossians 1:18; 1 Corinthians 12:27; Romans 16:16). Denominational churches don't follow this example. They set up cities to serve as headquarters, and men to serve as head of the church. The Bible also teaches that each church is autonomous under the oversight of its bishops, who are Pastors or Elders (Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:1-4; 1 Timothy 3). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. When studying the Bible, one must realize that there are two sections. The Old Testament is an account of God's dealings with the Jews and the Law that Moses brought to them from Mt. Sinai (Nehemiah 9:13). This part of the Bible is history, and we should read it to be informed about things of that time (Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 10:11).
The New Testament is to be our authority in all things pertaining to salvation, the church, worship, etc. For example, if one is going to prove that instrumental music is not to be used in the worship service, that person would have to prove such by the New Testament. If one were going to prove that Sunday, not Saturday, is the day of worship, he should do so by the authority of the New Testament. The reason for this is because the Old Testament has been taken away by Christ's death, for his blood brought about the new covenant (Mark 14:23-24). The author of the book of Hebrews said that a covenant cannot be in force as long as one who made it is alive, but it takes effect after the creator dies (Hebrews 9:11-28). The Old Testament is history, and the New Testament is for us to pattern our lives. Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. Here are things that everyone should know about the word of the Lord.
First, it is very very old. It is so old, it goes back before the world was created (John 1:1). Which makes perfect sense because God is everlasting and His word is the same (Psalm 90:2). Second, His word will last forever, meaning it has no end. If the Lord spoke it or commanded it, time will have no effect on it (Matthew 24:35; Isaiah 55:11). So, the next time you hear someone say that the Bible isn’t good enough for today, remind them of this fact. Third, the word of the Lord will be our judge on the last day (John 12:48). Yes, the word of God starts from the beginning, runs right by us in 2009, and is waiting for us at the Judgment Day finish line! (Revelation 20:12). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. I suppose that the biggest regret of people who go to Hell will be their rejection of God (John 12:48). Satan has done an amazing job by cloaking the minds of men with unbelief, so that the saving power of the gospel cannot get though to them (Romans 1:16; 2 Corinthians 4:3-4). So the people who end up in hell, will have all of eternality to lament their choice of rejecting God (Luke 16:22-31; Revelation 14:9-11).
No one can help or rescue the lost because they died in their sins, thereby sealing their fate (John 8:21). The reality of Hell is something man must face now because after death, it will be too late. Just look at the graveyards—they are full of people who once were alive just like you and me but are now dead and their deeds do follow them (Rev. 14:13, 20:12-13). If you could talk with a lost dead person, he would tell you to obey the Lord, so you don’t end up like him (Luke 16:27-28). A dead person would also tell an atheist that there is a God and there is a hell! (Psalm 14:1; Mark 9:42-48). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. |