Another gospel......

I never read this passage of scripture without shaking my head in amazement.  Paul had preached the gospel to this church...the good news of Christ, offering himself for our sins and delivering us from this present evil world.  He then pens this epistle to them and he too " marvels " that they have been removed from the gospel of Christ to "another" gospel."  Thats like "christian" rock'n roll....oil and water....darkness and light...they just won't mix.  Another gospel?  What news could be comparable to the good news of Jesus' everlasting love to fallen man?  There is none.  Paul says here that it is not "another".  What happens is that the pure truth of the gospel is perverted.  Thats the characteristic of our generation.  PERVERSION!  The simple message of Christ is taken from, added to, twisted and distorted with just enough religion to send this whole world to hell!  The god if this world is the author of such and has many ministers in the pulpits spewing out this doctrine of damnation!  As in the days of Noah and Lot, we are perverted in our minds and our manners.  A social gospel is being preached and sodomy has been promoted as the accepted "lifestyle".  There is no life in that style of living....only death; both physical and spiritual.  What are we to do then?  We are to preach as Noah did.  "Get in!!"  "Judgement is coming!!"  The gospel is and will forever be good news to the sinner. 

My hearts desire....

In Romans 10, we see a man that has been changed completely.  His meeting the LORD turned him around and the one who once had a desire to persecute Christians, now seeks to populate heaven with as many of them as possible.  I am drawn to the "desire" that this man had.  He was untiring, unwavering and unriveled in his passion for his people.  Now...what about us?  We work with, walk with, and even worship with people every day that need to be born again but we have no passion for them.  We will evangelize as long as it's comfortable.  It's time to "launch" out into the deep!  We need to get out into waters where we must totally depend on God and where we can't touch the bottom.  Trusting Him, may we live as a dying man, desiring to rescue multitudes that are dead in sin.  (3) desires to pray for:  SEE him more CLEARLY...LOVE him more DEARLY.....and to FOLLOW him more NEARLY.  

On trial....

We live in a world that is in darkness. Their minds have been blinded by the god of this world so that the light of the glorious gospel of Christ might not reach them.  We that know the truth and have been set free by it realize that we too were once in the same darkness.  These days I dont ask a person if they are a christian or if they go to church.  I ask them if they have been born again. This seems to strike a nerve. Has their darkend soul been quickened by the Spirit of God.  Then I ask them to prove it.  To a born again believer, this opportunity is one of pure joy and delight with no offence.  I remember once when the apostle Paul was taken and accusations were brought against him.  I love what the inspired text said of this occassion.  " They could not prove it "!  Here, the apostle was on trial for being a criminal.  I want to turn this a little and put the burden on us all.  I want to put all of us on trial for being a christian.  What proof, what evidence can you bring against yourself that would prove beyond any shadow of any doubt that your born again?  I love the lost and so many people are religious and reformed and registered with a church membership but have never been born again and the evidence that they present will not stand up in the high courts of the Almighty.  

In wrath remember mercy....

These words were spoken by Habakkuk in his prayer to God for his people.  Much praise can be offered here because many times I believe that the strong hand of the Almighty has been stayed in response to the effectual repentance of the guilty.  Those who have sorrowed after a godly sort.  God's mercy is readily available to those who will come clean and confess their sin.  But in Revelation 14:10, it is a different story.  The bible describes a time here in which this earth has never seen nor ever shall see again.  The Bride of Christ has been called out of this world and "wrath" has come...But the wrath during this time is poured out without measure and without "mixture".  This is the pure, holy, divine indignation of God set upon an unrepentant world.  No mercy!  Those of us who have experienced God's divine mercy shutter at the thought.  While the door of grace is open...; Seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon Him while He is near....and plentious in mercy!

Sin..and sins...

When a sinner comes to Jesus, he comes just as he is.  Filthy and wretched as he may be, his most paramount need is not reformation, education, or recreation but regeneration.  He needs to be born from above.  In Titus 3:5, the Apostle Paul called it the "washing of regeneration".  This washing is two fold and is set forth in Isaiah 1:18.  First, when we come to Christ to be saved, we may have many sins but the issue at this point is "sin" not sins.  For the number is not the problem but our nature.  What we are is to be dealt with here rather than what we have done.  Isaiah 1:18 has the answer ....and I throw in a Whooop!! right here for this is good!  "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow".  When I think of snow that is stained, I think that it can be cleansed one time....when we are born again.  But! When we sin and come short of His glory after we are saved, we can appropriate the second half of this verse.  "Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool"  Wool can be washed over and over again.  What a glorious provision that has been given in the person of the LORD Jesus Christ!  He therefore pardons not only my "sin", but also my "sins"!!!  Bless His Name!!

Bubble, bubble....gurgle, gurgle....

While reading again the account of the woman at the well, in John chapter 4, I felt a moving within my heart that is known only by those who have had their thirst quenched by this water that was offered here.  This woman was an outcast, having no hope and without any promise.  Divine providence would have the fountain of life come to where she was and freely give her of this living water.  My attention was drawn to verse 14 where Jesus said that whosoever drinks of this water shall NEVER thirst again.......when He gives us of this water, it lasts FOREVER!!  But, Jesus goes on to say that this water shall be a "well of water springing up" into life everlasting.  I find myself going to this well often and many times there is a "springing up" of this well.  Many times to overflowing, and the banks of my soul are flooded and cannot contain of all the goodness of God.  I am ever thankful for this living water thats been bubbling over for 32 years now and am assured that it will abide forever...

Strength in my soul....

The psalmist David declares in chapter 138 and verse 3 that in the day that I cried, thou answeredest me and strengthenedst me with "strength in my soul".  Our Father knows us better than we even know ourselves.  He will always give us lasting strength where it matters.  We oft times seek strength for the body and the mind but seldom consider the hidden man of the heart.  Our never-dying soul is our very being, its who we really are; the one that communes with God in the dark hours of the night.  The one that agonizes in pain when one we love is hurting.  The one that leaps for joy when we see evident signs of God moving in our midst.  Our bodies will one day return to the dust.  Our spirit will return to God who gave it, but our souls will live forever somewhere.  Our "soul" has either been quickened by the new birth or we are still dead in our sin.  We have no strenghth in ourselves..but God has all power in heaven and earth!  When we need strenghth in the soul, we can expect it for He has never failed in giving it...Bless His Name!

Tears for my people...

The call of God to Jeremiah was to prophesy, at a very young age, the doom upon his nation for its many sins.  For this he is hated by the priests and the people.  Verse 1 ends with an exclamation mark.  It is impossible to show emotion on a piece of paper, so this mark is used to indicate the utter pain and heartache of the prophet of God.  In this land, seems fit that our eyes be made for crying rather than seeing.  He weeps for the terrible loss that sin brings,  as we read in verse 1. In verse 2, he is so disgusted with the state of his people, that he longs for a place in the wilderness, sufficient enough to hide their decietfullness.  God then says, " Shall I not visit them for these things?"  I ask us today....where are the tears?  Is our day, our nation, our people so much better than they?  We that hold the truth must leave our palace of comfort; engage ourselves in the lives of "our" people, and feel the anguish of the judgement of God that is forth coming.