Sometimes it takes huge inconveniences to get mankind to slow down and consider that the world doesn’t revolve around our every move. The hurricane that moved though the Southern coastal states last week made that perfectly clear by stopping mankind in his tracks. Airlines, car’s, nightlife, businesses, state governments, and everything else came to a screeching halt.
And guess what? A slow down will occur again by another natural or man-made disaster. But the granddaddy of them all will be the Judgment! (Acts 17:31). On that great day, all men will stop their busy lives to stand before Jesus Christ and be judged for the deeds done in life (Romans 14:9-12; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Matthew 25:31-46). So that storm taught us much, and we need to reflect on the fact that nothing keeps going uninterrupted (not even those energizer batteries) (1 Thessalonians 5:1-10; James 4:13-15; Luke 12:16-20). It is shameful that some will accept what is said about others without confirming it. For example, If Bobby tells Herman, that Stanley was laughing at Scott’s teeth, Herman will believe it. But the right thing would have been for Herman, to ask Stanley if he laughed at Scott’s teeth.
And if Bobby is so opposed to people laughing at others teeth, why did he have to run and tell Herman? The thing that he shouldn’t done, is go to Stanley and let him know that making fun of people is offensive. This all became gossip, when Bobby went to the third person rather then dealing with the person involved. If we hear something about another person, we need to realize that such rumor, because we didn’t see it. And we sure don’t need to be spreading rumors. If we are concerned about what we hear, we need to go directly to the person and find out. Also we need to refuse to listen to people who spread things about others (Acts 17:21; 1 Timothy 5:13; Proverbs 18:8; Leviticus 19:16; Proverbs 20:19, 26:20,22; Matthew 18:15; Galatians 2:11; 2 Corinthians 12:20). A man of faith running for public office is often targeted with questions pertaining to his beliefs and how such will effect his job performance. First of all, anyone running for public office would be insane to refuse help from God (1 Kings 9:2-7). But understand this, God is only going to help those who are faithful (Psalm 34:8-17). So, if a President desires help from God, he must be doing what is pleasing to God.
There is no way God will bless a President who is passing laws that are in conflict with His word (Proverbs 14:34, 11:11; Psalm 33:10-22; 1 Kings 15:25-26, 16:29-34). If homosexuality, abortion, and state lotteries are contrary to the laws of God, then no person of faith serving in public office can be in approval of such things. A man of faith is to live what he knows is right in the eyes of God (2 Chronicles 26:3-5). Also the President will have the best interest of the nation in mind if he vetoes bills that establish sinful practices (2 Kings 18:1-8). Our nation is supposed to be a Christian nation, founded upon religious principles. So why do we get angry and suspicious of a person with morals? Could it be be that most of us have no morals, and we are threaten by those who do? “He, seeing this before, spoke of the resurrection of Christ, that His soul was not left in hell, neither did His flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we are all witnesses.” Acts 2:31-32.
This was the Apostle Peter in the first sermon preached on the Jewish day of Pentecost (Matthew 16:18-19; Acts 2:1,14). Peter establishes several points:
Evil is active because the heart of man desires it (James 1:14-15; Matthew 15:18-20). Murders, robbery, bribes, and bad conduct exist in schools because those who commit such acts see it as the solution (Genesis 6:5, 13:13; 2 Timothy 3:13). People everywhere are talking about how terrible crime is, and how unruly young people are. But evil cannot exist when each person decides to do what is right and that is how evil is eliminated (Jonah 3:4-10).
To put a dent in evil, men must repent by accepting the gospel of Jesus Christ (Luke 13:3; Romans 6:17-18; 1 Corinthians 15:1-2). But therein lies the problem. People refuse to accept the gospel, and it is the only hope for man (Titus 2:11-14; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Rom. 10:13-21, 1:16). However, this must be considered first:
Saving for a rainy day is supported by the principles of God’s word. Just look at the example of the young man who got his inheritance and wasted it on partying (Luke 15:11-13). Had he not done so, money would have been left for him to live on (Luke 15:14-17). In Proverbs 21:20, the Bible teaches that wise men will have money in their accounts, while foolish men blow it. Ephesians 4:28 teaches for men to work and have surplus funds to help those in need. Matthew 25:27 teaches that the lazy servant could have put his master’s money in the bank where it could have gain interest.
Jesus taught that we should “count the cost” before doing anything and that certainly can be applied to the use of money. Money isn’t something that we should be in lovewith because it can’t be taken with us at death (Matt. 6:19-21; 1 Timothy 6:7-10; Job 1:21; Psalms 49:15-20). But that doesn’t mean for us to waste money and not be able to pay the rent (Ecclesiastes 11:1-2). This is great advice from the Bible, so think before spending. Jesus Christ, the Apostles, and some Christians had miraculous powers by which they healed sickness and injuries. They picked up snakes, struck men dead, blind, cast out demons and healed with handkerchiefs and their shadows (Matthew 8:1-17, 9:1-35, 12:9-13, 14:15-36, 15:21-39; Mark 16:17-18; Acts 2:43-44, 3:1-16, 4:7-22, 5:1-16, 6:8, 7:55-56, 8:5-25, 9:6-43, 13:9-12, 14:8-12, 16:16-18, 19:11-12, 20:9-12, 28:1-10).
Ever wonder why you don’t see such from people who claim to have the power of the Holy Spirit? Ever wonder why these people never go in a hospital to heal, or graveyard to raise the dead? Ever wonder why neighbors who live next door to such people, don’t even know they claim Holy Spirit power? And that’s because these lying people know they can’t heal (Revelation 2:2). Thats right! They can’t heal a broken hair on a dog’s tail! If a person has the power of the Holy Spirit, he will be busy using that power and everyone would know about it. People suffering from gunshot wounds, car accidents, stabbing, etc, would all be healed (1 Cor 2:4). There have been many kinds of days throughout time. Once Saturday stood for “the Sabbath,” a day of rest that was commanded by God. In Genesis 2:1-3, the Lord took a personal Sabbath, resting from the work of creating the world. When the Israelites left Egypt, God taught them to keep the Sabbath, and they did so until Christ took it away by His death on the cross (Exodus 20:8-11, 31:12-17; Colossians 2:13-17).
However, we are writing about the first day of the week, which is Sunday. In the Bible, this day is called the “Lord’s Day.” It is the day when the saints come together to observe the communion and give into the treasury of the local church (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:1-4). It is to be a day when men do what God expects, and not use the day exclusively for their own selfish pursuits. The church of Jesus Christ exists for one purpose, and that is to save men from their sins (Romans 1:16). With that being the case, it is easy to see that the church has no earthly agenda (John 18:36, 17:16; 1 Timothy 3:15). Many people believe that the church is supposed to be involved in everything, and when I say everything, I mean just that.
For example, some put the church into politics, some put the church into recreation, some put the church into supporting human institutions. Just look at some of the church buildings out there, they have gyms, kitchens, youth centers, ball fields, college fund raisers, spa’s, etc. etc. Are people going to church or a vacation club? The only thing a church needs to provide are rooms in which to teach the gospel and buy equipment that helps the church perform that work (Ephesians 3:10; Acts 20:28; Hebrews 10:25). Man must allow the church to be the church and if he wants recreation, meals, politics, etc., let him seek and get that on his time and leave the Lord’s house out of it (Romans 14:17; 1 Corinthians 11:34). 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 such 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. |