“Strange Fire”

(Lev. 10:1-2 )"And the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD." Very few stories in the Word of God teach us so strongly about the important lesson of respecting God and His holiness. "Nadab and Abihu," were faithful sons, consecrated to offer the sacred offerings of God, yet God killed them. Why? 1) As an example of the importance of respecting the will of God. God never told Aaron's sons that they could offer the fire of incense anyway they so desired. Their sin was the sin of self-will worship. Brethren (it does) matter how we worship God. Although we probably will not be killed for doing it wrong today, much of what we see going on in many churches is definitely wrong and offensive to a holy God, for it is more of the flesh than it is spiritual. 2) To teach a respect for personal holiness. "And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean;" God desires all who approach Him to respect His holiness, for He is Holy. We as Christians are called by God as the two sons of Aaron were called, to reflect God's holiness while we too dwell in His Temple!

 

 

“Jephthah’s Hasty Vow”

"And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, … I will offer it up for a burnt offering." Little did Jephthah know that his only daughter would come out first. There are some that believe that he offered her up as a burnt offering, but there are others like me who believe that he offered her up to the Lord just as Samuel was offered back to the Lord by his mother Hannah. You see, the importance of this story is not about the offering as much as it is about the vow. "And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel…" Jephthah kept his word even though his only daughter remained a virgin the rest of her life, cutting off Jephthah's future posterity, and his daughter was faithful to Jephthah's vow even though it affected her life forever. Oh that we as God's people would have such faith,  keeping our vows even though  keeping them is difficult. Sometimes believers rashly vow to God at the moment of an emotional high, but quickly forget it even though God still remembers 

Is there Apostasy in America today?

This question can simply be answered, Yes!  But who then is in apostasy?  For you can’t fall away from something that you never really had, so the answer to this question must be found in those that attend our churches today. Apostasy is defined as the abandoning of what one used to believe or practice. In the book of Jeremiah, God called Jeremiah to preach to a people who had abandoned their faith in God for something else. God’s simple message to Judah was to repent and return to the Lord, but they refused to listen. So, why didn’t they listen?  1) They failed to remember their past.  God rebuked them for not remembering where they came from and the God who led them there. As Christians, if we the Church forget God, our nation is doomed. (Ps 9:17) “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” 2) They failed to remember God’s Word. 

(Ps 11:3)” If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” It’s sad but in our country today all of a sudden God’s Word is optional or up for debate, and HisWord is even left out of the conversation. Christian, the remedy for sin is still found in a high respect for God’s Word, our repentance, & the confession of our sin.  (Ps 33:12) Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD.

The True Meaning Of The Lord’s Supper

For centuries churches have been divided over the true meaning of the “Lord’s Supper." Does it save you? Are we actually eating the Lord’s body & blood? Does it impart some type of saving grace when you receive  it?  Well depending on which church you belong to, beliefs differs. I have always said that you can tell what a church believes about the Lord’s Supper by what they believe about salvation. That’s why it’s so important that we know the scriptures. The Lord Jesus Christ on the same night of his betrayal introduced to his apostles what is called the “Lords Supper.” Jesus used the Passover meal to symbolically teach us about the Passover's true meaning and about his great redemptive death on the cross. Jesus taught us that the bread and wine symbolically pictured the death of his physical body, and the shedding of his blood as a covering for our sin. His purpose was to teach to us the importance of remembering often his great sacrifice for our sin, lest we forget. Jesus never taught that he miraculously indwelt the elements on the table, for he is already present in those that are born again and at the table. Therefore it is not a way to be saved, but rather a way to remember his sacrifice often so that we stay close and in love with our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Fear Can Only Be Overcome By Faith In God

(Judges 7:9-10) "And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand.But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host:" In the above passage, Gideon was commanded by God to go down to the encamped enemy and conquer them, but first God wanted Gideon to spy them out. You see, God wanted Gideon to see firsthand that He had already placed a fear in the enemy's heart, but He also wanted Gideon to face his own personal fear; and that's why God told him to take with him his servant. Sometimes we just need another to walk with us. In the story of Gideon hear, God wants all of us to realize that fear is always present with us, even when we know the will of God. God shrunk the army of Gideon from 32,000 men of war to only 300 of the most fearful. Why, to teach him that it was not by his might that he would win the battle, but rather by God's. Fear is natural, but God supernatural. Fear is always present, but if we will just let faith lead as Gideon did, we too will see the victory and God will receive all the Glory!

The Prodigal Father’s Example Of Goodliness

(Luke 15:20) "And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him."  When we look at the story of the prodigal son the focus is mainly on the rebellion and the repentance of the son, but what we need to also see is "the love" of the Prodigal's Father. The Prodigal's Father is an excellent example of what a (F-A-T-H-E-R) should be. 1) He was (F)aithful; He was faithful to his God and to his family. 2) He was (A)ccessible; He was a man approachable and compassionate. 3) He was (T)rustworthy; His son knew that his father  would forgive him and accept him back. 4) He was the (H)ead of his family; He was the leader, provider, and head problem solver in his home. 5) He was an (E)ample of godliness in his home;  In this parable he represents the forgiveness, longsuffering, and agape love of God Our Father. 6) He was (R)esponsive; After his son returned, he responded in  humility and acceptance of his son. Fathers, children need to know that you love them no matter what. A godly father is one that is involved personally in the life of his family, always watching and willing to demonstrate his love to them by more than just words. Thank God for Our Heavenly Father's Godly example. Fathers, may we like the Prodigal's Father practice His godliness!

Add to Your Faith Virtue

(2 Peter 1:2) " Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:" It is the calling of every born again believer to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The "knowledge" spoken of above, has been given to us very clearly in the Word of God, but it takes "faith" to practice it. We have been called to the glory that we will one day have with Christ, but we still need to add to our faith today the grace of certain perfecting virtues.  (2Peter 1:3-7), "…add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity." Therefore, we must diligently work on each virtue individually because each of them in time will lead to the next maturing grace"For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."