02/252019

There are at least three questions the believer can expect to be asked about God.  I have been a Christian since I was 26 years old.  I am now 82.  So that is 56 years of hearing unbelievers voice their questions about God.  The following are questions the Scriptures recognize.

1.      Psalm 73:11-12 And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?”  Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches

Does God know?  In this Psalm the writer gives 3 reasons for the question.

Verse 3-Arrogancy  Verse 6-Pride   Verse12-Wickedness.

2.      Psalm 115:2-3   Why should the nations say,“Where is their God?” Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.

Where is your God?

A.    The first reply is that God is exactly where He is supposed to be.  He is in Heaven on His throne.  Doing what His title, King of Creation, tells us.  He eternally does.

B.     But there is a second answer here.  Here in the heavens on His throne “He does all that He pleases.” Let this be duly considered by all, both believers and unbelievers who think He has any real opposition. cf Psalm 11:4.

3.      Psalm 78:19 They spoke against God, saying, “Can God spread a table in the wilderness?

Can God provide for us at our deepest time of need?

Can you believe that Jesus died for your sins and was raised for justification?  Is so, you are saved. 

Can you believe God created the heaven and the earth?  Can you believe in 2019 God can set up a table for you?  This is your test.  Not for salvation, but for bravery when the contest gets hot.  He can.

02/23/2019

II Peter 1:19

¹⁹ And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts,

Very early as a Christian I became dependent on the Scriptures for my understanding of Christ, the Church, and my responsibility.  Both on the radio and in Bible School I would hear explanations I could not find in the Scriptures.  There was a pastor of a Bible Church in Houston, Texas who also had a radio program.  He was thought to be an excellent Greek scholar.  He once said a certain Greek word could only be translated by “emptying a slop bucket out a window”.  I did not then believe that, and know now it was an exaggeration at its best and deceit at its worst.

Because of this I made for myself certain rules I would follow in understanding the Scripture.  Both then and now they have served me well.  Let me give them to you.

1.      As much as possible understand the Scripture in its plain common sense.  Fanciful allegory and extreme prophetic interpretations do not interest me.

2.      Take the words of the Scripture in their plain natural sense.  “South to Israel” did not then and does not now mean China.  It has always meant Egypt.

3.      Always allow the context to govern the understanding of a word, passage, or book.

I’m sure that other rules are equally important.  These were simple correctives and great help to me.

02/21/112019

I Kings 3:1; 4:25

Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt. He took Pharaoh's daughter and brought her into the city of David until he had finished building his own house and the house of the Lord and the wall around Jerusalem.

²⁵ And Judah and Israel lived in safety, from Dan even to Beersheba, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, all the days of Solomon. 

Solomon again.

In Solomon there is the best of Israel and the worst of Israel demonstrated.  Note in 3:1 the words Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt.  This is the common politics of Solomon that he practiced through 1000 wives and many concubines.  Solomon, according to what would be applauded as political savvy brought peace for Israel with marriage alliances.  Faith in God’s power and protection are never an issue with Solomon.  He doesn’t need them.  He is Pharaoh’s son-in-law.  His alliance with Egypt, the mightiest nation in their world, guaranteed the military safety of Israel.  And if not?  There were other marriages of convenience that would follow.

Look with me to Solomon’s integrity, I Kings 5:5-6, 12; 9:10-14.  If you carefully read these verses you probably will come away saying, “that Solomon is a crafty fellow”.  But whether you do or not there is surely a bad taste left with you, for Solomon uses his wisdom for political advantage and craft for his own gain.  But remember above all—remember his name, II Samuel 12:24-25.

²⁴ Then David comforted his wife, Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her, and she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. And the Lord loved him ²⁵ and sent a message by Nathan the prophet. So he called his name Jedidiah, because of the Lord.

02/20/112019

2 Samuel 11:23

²³ The messenger said to David, “The men gained an advantage over us and came out against us in the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate.

At the time Solomon became king Israel was famous for two reasons.  One was the great deliverance they received in the plagues and the overthrow of Pharaoh’s army. The second was the power of Israel’s military might under the leadership of David.  This was summed up in the fear the surrounding nations accorded David.

But now Israel has a third level of fame.  The wisdom, knowledge, and wealth of Solomon had made him famous. A look at 11:24-25 gives a picture of the respect Solomon commanded.

But somewhere here in the way Solomon left his concern for God’s approval of his agenda.  He ignored God’s primary instructions to any King of Israel, cf Deuteronomy 17:15-17.

¹⁵ you may indeed set a king over you whom the Lord your God will choose. One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. ¹⁶ Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall never return that way again.’ ¹⁷ And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold.

His flagrant disregard of these instructions gave him incomparable wealth, a trading business that was very prosperous, and political alliances through his marriages that brought him peace on all sides. But at what price?

Following in the ability of his father David, he was also a genius but his accomplishments in every instance were lacking in that which would make or break Israel—Faith.

02/19/112019

2 Samuel 5:23-25

²³ And when David inquired of the Lord, he said, “You shall not go up; go around to their rear, and come against them opposite the balsam trees. ²⁴ And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then rouse yourself, for then the Lord has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.” ²⁵ And David did as the Lord commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from Geba to Gezer.

By this time David had proven himself to be an immensely competent and brave military commander.  And it is equally true that he was the Lord’s servant.  So there is an interesting bit of information about David in this Scripture.

When Saul was told by Samuel to wait and Saul knew that was God’s instructions, he did not wait but became impatient and disobedient.

David as a successful field marshal might well have depended on his experience and success to go ahead into battle.  But this is where we see the difference in David.  He puts the army at rest.  They sit in a small forest and wait.  As you look at this, it is rather silly.  An army is sitting at rest waiting for the wind to blow in the trees.  But these are David’s instructions, “Wait until you hear the rustle of the wind in the trees.”

What do we learn about David?  First he is obedient.  He does not go ahead of God’s instructions.  Note Isaiah 40:31.

¹ but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Secondly he is a man of faith.  He asked for victory.  He is told to do this to achieve it.  So he does what he is told for this end, verse 25.e does not go ahead of God’s intruH

02/22/2019

Matthew 12:42

 ⁴² The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

The greater the area of exposure the greater the opportunity for sin.

Jesus could have chosen any of the Old Testament heroes to compare Himself to, but He chose Solomon.  This is at least an encouragement to think that Solomon owned an excellent greatness above any other to which He may have made a comparison.

This excellence to which Jesus refers is that which the Queen of Sheba came to see, and that which we find described in I Kings 10:6-9.  We have no reason to take this excellent description by the Queen at anything less than face value.  The court of Solomon overwhelmed her to the point that the description by which she had made her journey was only half accurate.  And this wealth and wonder was a demonstration of God’s gracious love for Solomon.

It is statements such as this, which begins at his birth and continues throughout his reign, that cannot be squared with anything less than divine gracious election.  God loved Solomon.  God blessed Solomon.  Solomon did not consistently return God’s love.  But we don’t either.

What then was Solomon’s hope and ours?  “One greater than Solomon” is among us.

02/21/112019

I Kings 3:1; 4:25

Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt. He took Pharaoh's daughter and brought her into the city of David until he had finished building his own house and the house of the Lord and the wall around Jerusalem.

²⁵ And Judah and Israel lived in safety, from Dan even to Beersheba, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, all the days of Solomon. 

Solomon again.

In Solomon there is the best of Israel and the worst of Israel demonstrated.  Note in 3:1 the words Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt.  This is the common politics of Solomon that he practiced through 1000 wives and many concubines.  Solomon, according to what would be applauded as political savvy brought peace for Israel with marriage alliances.  Faith in God’s power and protection are never an issue with Solomon.  He doesn’t need them.  He is Pharaoh’s son-in-law.  His alliance with Egypt, the mightiest nation in their world, guaranteed the military safety of Israel.  And if not?  There were other marriages of convenience that would follow.

Look with me to Solomon’s integrity, I Kings 5:5-6, 12; 9:10-14.  If you carefully read these verses you probably will come away saying, “that Solomon is a crafty fellow”.  But whether you do or not there is surely a bad taste left with you, for Solomon uses his wisdom for political advantage and craft for his own gain.  But remember above all—remember his name, II Samuel 12:24-25.

²⁴ Then David comforted his wife, Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her, and she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. And the Lord loved him ²⁵ and sent a message by Nathan the prophet. So he called his name Jedidiah, because of the Lord.

02/19/112019

2 Samuel 5:23-25

²³ And when David inquired of the Lord, he said, “You shall not go up; go around to their rear, and come against them opposite the balsam trees. ²⁴ And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then rouse yourself, for then the Lord has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.” ²⁵ And David did as the Lord commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from Geba to Gezer.

By this time David had proven himself to be an immensely competent and brave military commander.  And it is equally true that he was the Lord’s servant.  So there is an interesting bit of information about David in this Scripture.

When Saul was told by Samuel to wait and Saul knew that was God’s instructions, he did not wait but became impatient and disobedient.

David as a successful field marshal might well have depended on his experience and success to go ahead into battle.  But this is where we see the difference in David.  He puts the army at rest.  They sit in a small forest and wait.  As you look at this, it is rather silly.  An army is sitting at rest waiting for the wind to blow in the trees.  But these are David’s instructions, “Wait until you hear the rustle of the wind in the trees.”

What do we learn about David?  First he is obedient.  He does not go ahead of God’s instructions.  Note Isaiah 40:31.

¹ but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Secondly he is a man of faith.  He asked for victory.  He is told to do this to achieve it.  So he does what he is told for this end, verse 25.e does not go ahead of God’s intruH

02/18/112019

Genesis 12:2-3

² And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

At this place in Scripture we read the first blessing of Abram.  And we should say he is as blessed or saved as he will ever be.  From this point forward he is blessed Abram.

But in this context from verses 4-13 there are two sides to Abram which are revealed.  The first is verse 4, “So Abram went”.  I have driven in Europe and in as many as 35 different states.  So it might seem a small thing for Abram to travel this short distance.  But this was a major undertaking and a mighty act of faith for him.  As far as he knew all the world was his enemy and his people could come under attack at any time.  His only security was God who sent him.  His was a great faith.

Look again at verse 13.  This is the same Abram.  Blessed and faithful Abram is fearful and hiding behind the skirt of his wife.  The promise of God is forgotten and unbelief overwhelms him.

These two acts of Abram, his faith and his fear, are common to us as well.  Our security is never in our faith.  It is always in the blessing.  Our faith may fail at any time—only the promise of God is unfailing.

02/10/112019

A POLITICAL FOLLOWUP

The analysis of the Green Dream or is it a nightmare? If the naked emperor has entered our society this is him. "Look Ma! The Lady is naked.” And she truly is. If she would look at her activity from the time she arose in the morning until the time she stood before the cameras, from her tooth brush and her hairbrush to the glasses she used and the shoes she wore, it was all hydrocarbons that she was using.

The vexing question is where do we get the energy to live. Without an almost infinite supply of energy we return to a caveman society.

One of answers is wind mills. And then we must ask how do we get the windmills, how do we get them to the locations, and how do we erect them?  I travel every so often on an interstate highway. It is not unusual to see the blades of these windmills being transported to their locations. If you have not seen them they are in excess of 60 feet long and are transported by a full size transport truck for each blade. We haven't talked about the manufacture of the blade. What material is used for its construction? I don't know but my best guess is something in same content as that toothbrush and those glasses, some carbon based material.

02/13/2019

Romans 9:17

¹⁷ For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”

The repeated statements in Exodus and this one in Romans has caused continued discussions through the centuries about what does it mean for God to harden the heart of a person.

A review of Pharaoh's experiences well help us. Moses met with him and Moses's staff became a serpent but Pharaoh ignored it. Then the plagues began. Pharaoh ignored them. At one point the plagues were so dreadful Pharaoh’s counselors begged him to let the Hebrews go. But in his stubbornness he wanted to negotiate. There is a powerful certainly with God. He does not negotiate with rebels.

After Pharaoh’s experiences with the ten plagues he apparently admits defeat and drives the Hebrews from Egypt and concedes to Moses's demands. But that is an outward concession. Pharaoh's heart has not changed. He has one last attempt to have his way with them. He pursues them with an army to destroy them. He and his army are drowned in the Red Sea.

What sane person would not agree that Pharaoh was one hard-headed dude.­­  Even to the point of his destruction.  That stubbornness in the face of so much evidence is his hardening.

Illustration:  “Don’t blame the wreck on the train.”

02/11/2019

Hebrews 12: 2

¹² Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees,

"Endure the cross, despising the shame". These words tell us as much about the cross-experience of Jesus as any we may read. What do they mean?

To "endure" is to bear up under whatever causes the pain, discomfort, or agonizing. This “endure" is further explained by “the shame" which is "despised." So there are two elements introduced. One is that totality of pain which Jesus suffered. Second is the “shame” ""which was introduced upon him.

He whose life was spotlessly perfect is punished with suffering beyond that which any other has ever suffered, without a single complaint. His cry to God was not a complaint or desperation but one of the deepest experiences of loss any human has ever suffered.

The shame was at least twofold. First was the public humiliation of the display of His person as a trouble-maker, a traitor to Israel, and a criminal. Secondly was the evil He bore. God accounted Him, laid a charge upon Him, and punished Him for the evil of His people. Please read II Cor. 5:21. Think upon the words who knew no sin!

2/09/2019

I have taken do a little today to political wandering. So bear with me. If there was such a thing as a global ice age--and I have never met a liberal who would deny that--then it has had to be global warming. So global warming being a fact, who can say when it ended?  

When abortion supporters were warned of the slippery slope that would come with it, they were dismissive of even the possibility. The example of Nazi Germany was comedic to them. But we have a number of baby butcheries, partial birth abortion, and now full term death as a legislative adventure. The slope looks both steep and slippery.

For some years the rage against fossil fuels has been both loud and shrill. It is for me a fact that industry will take all the rope they can get and never hang themselves. Let me give you two illustrations. As you head north on Texas 259 past Longview you come to a city named Lone Star for the Lone Star steel mill which is just South of it on Texas 259. You would have had no problem knowing you were within 25 miles of the city because the whole landscape was covered with red dust from the steel mill.

I have another illustration equally graphic. Going east on I-10, as you enter the city of Lake Charles, on the west side of who city were a number of chemical plants. Before federal regulations demanded cleanup for miles you could see a yellow smoke blowing from their smoke stacks. And on both sides of the interstate all grass and trees were dead. That smoke was acidic.

These illustrations notwithstanding, there has been cleanup and the pollution was unnecessary. To even imagine the removal of all fossil fuels is to imagine an environment empty of what we live with and take for granted, like shoes and eyeglasses. Be aware that practically speaking all man-made fibers have a carbon base. All fuels that we depend on have a carbon base. No  air conditioning with carbon based ingredients.

Finally to think of farming without pesticides and fertilizer is to deny that earth's inhabitation are better fed, healthier, and live longer than any time in modern history. How tall are you buddy?

2/08/2019

Esther 4:14c

¹⁴ For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

A fit statement for all believers to remember.  This is our time.  In the Providence of God, and for whatever it is worth, there is no one else but us to do with our day what needs to be done. We cannot wish this day and the problems of it away. We cannot wish for someone else to solve them.  This is our day with its trials and victories.

This we know.  Christ has been raised and exalted to the position of all power in heaven and in the earth.  And on His behalf we must protect the poor, defend the weak, save the lost, and profess the name of Christ no matter the price.

In this day, 2019, there are two great wonders.  One is the blindness of mankind in its wickedness.  Witness the willingness to practice infanticide.  Secondly is the foolishness of going back 20, 30, 40, or even 50 years to find some fault in someone’s behavior.  Let’s apply Romans 3:23.  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

2/07/2019

Lamentations 3:19-24

¹⁹ Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall!
²⁰ My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me.
²¹ But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:

²² The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;
²³ they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
²⁴ “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”

25-33

²⁵ The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
²⁶ It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
²⁷ It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.

²⁸ Let him sit alone in silence when it is laid on him;
²⁹ let him put his mouth in the dust—there may yet be hope;
³⁰ let him give his cheek to the one who strikes, and let him be filled with insults.

³¹ For the Lord will not cast off forever,
³² but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion  according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
³³ for he does not afflict from his heart or grieve the children of men.

Very early as a believer I found these verses, and when the dark times of doubt would hover around me, this and John 17 were dear hiding places for me.  And I have always loved the hymn written with verses 22 and 23.

Lamentations 3 seemed to have been written for me.  The seeming abandonment, the confession, the repentance, and above all the steadfast love of God for men were my hope and my stay in those dark times! I had lost my academic achievements, I had been put out of the church I attended, my friends deserted me, and I was thrust upon God in His Word.  What could I find to console me?  In verses 25-33 there was hope.  What I experienced was not unique.  It was even to be expected.

But then I considered and thought upon verses 34-36.  If my cause was just, God would vindicate me.  I did not have to either wallow in guilt or defend myself.  My part was to allow verses 28-30 to work themselves out and to rest upon verses 31-33.  For it is certain, “Great is thy faithfulness unto me.”

2/06/2019

John 15:26-27

²⁶ “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. ²⁷ And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.

Note:  “Because you have been with me from the beginning”.  In a determinative way the words emphasized from John 15:27 clarify any application made in this context about the coming and work of the Holy Spirit.  This context is limited to those who were with Jesus from the beginning.  This is a historical marker.

There is a certain way in which that activity immediately described is limited to this boundary description.  It does not apply to those who were prior to Jesus.  No prophet, priest, or king qualifies.  It does not apply to those who came after Jesus with one exception, the Apostle Paul.  And he is very careful to describe the fact that he was an exception.

Then it becomes apparent that for some to apply this activity of the Holy Spirit, which follows in this context is a mistaken understanding and an unfulfilled claim.

This is easier and clearer here, but there are other places where claims are as erroneous and even more mischievous.  A caution…read with discernment.

2/05/2019

John 1:31

³¹ I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.”

John was asked by the Jewish leaders three questions:

1.      Who are you?

2.      What are your claims for yourself?

3.      Why are you baptizing?

These were neither bad questions nor was it wrong for them to ask.  Moses had given the responsibility to the religious leadership to prove the orthodoxy of all who claimed to preach a revelation from God whether it be true or false.

John’s answers reveal these truths about his ministry to Israel.  He was sent from God by prophecy, 1:23.  Secondly he was a very humble man who knew his place and his value, 1:27.  Thirdly he identified the single overriding reason for his appearance and ministry 1:31.

If a person does not believe Jesus and His claims with the claims the New Testament writers make about Him, he does not believe any of this narrative about John the Baptizer.  The disbelief of history from the fact that you do not agree with it leaves you in a drab and lifeless world.

God’s Word has somethings that require faith, but this is God’s Word.

1/30/2019

I Samuel 16:11-12

¹¹ Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.”

¹² And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.”

Note—Beautiful eyes

This passage, with no fanfare, introduces David the son of Jesse, the son of Israel, the son of Abraham.  And with no fanfare.  If it were not with what follows other than appearance we would pay no attention to him. But this is undoubtedly the most important, the most gifted, and the most spiritually devoted man of the Old Testament.  He has no peers in any field in which he was employed.

David was a poet without equal.  Only one illustration is needed, the 23^rd Psalm is a classic, and probably one of the best known poems in literature.  He built musical instruments and played them at the highest level.  He was, in II Samuel 23:1, called the sweet Psalmist or singer of Israel. And there is every reason to refer this to his ability to sing accompanied by a stringed instrument.

He was a military general without peer.  He was a masterful governmental organizer.  He set up the order of Temple worship, and was the architect who designed the Temple.  And he was one of the bravest men ever.

Is he not a fit father for our King?