Fighting back against sodomized military

COMMENT: Political promotion of a human perversion does not make it any the less offensive, and those who thought surely common sense would prevail are now making their voices heard. "No" needs to be said loud and clear!

Fighting back against sodomized military (OneNewsNow.com)
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=1260920
A national defense analyst and Pentagon advisor says the new Congress can take a number of actions to blunt the impact of the new law that allows homosexuals to openly display their lifestyle in the U.S. military.

Not Just Any Gift, by Pastor Ed Evans

Scripture: Hebrews 2:10-18
2:10 It was fitting that God, for Whom and through Whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
2:11 For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters,
2:12 saying, "I will proclaim your name to My brothers and sisters, in the midst of the congregation I will praise you."
2:13 And again, "I will put my trust in Him." And again, "Here am I and the children whom God has given Me."
2:14 Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, He himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,
2:15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death.
2:16 For it is clear that He did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham.
2:17 Therefore He had to become like His brothers and sisters in every respect, so that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people.
2:18 Because He Himself was tested by what He suffered, He is able to help those who are being tested.

There is a great quote by Christian author C. S. Lewis about God's gift to you and to me, His gift to the ages, Jesus Christ. It's long, but I want to share it here with you. C. S. Lewis wrote, "I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him. 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic -- on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg -- or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."
In last week's sermon I quoted John R. Rice concerning Jesus, and that is relevant here, too, so I will repeat it:, "You can never truly enjoy Christmas until you can look up into the Father's face and tell Him you have received His Christmas gift."
First, Jesus Christ refers to Himself as "Son of Man," and we find the basis for that as early as Daniel 7:13, referring to a heavenly figure representing God's people, and four times in John -- -- emphasizing His preexistence and His descent into the flesh of this world as a humiliation that both conceals and manifests His glory.
He is also the image and the glory of God -- 1st Corinthians 4:4, 6 and Colossians 1:15 -- such as mankind was made to reflect (1st Corinthians 11:7). But even more than that, for you and I, Jesus' redeeming act of salvation was provided for all of mankind. By faith in Him, we can all participate in a salvation already accomplished by Him. He is that gift of God to every one of us.
I have often thought how fitting, if we would only recognize it, is the idea of giving gifts at Christmas time. For Jesus Christ was the greatest gift that could ever be given, a gift offered to us by God Himself. That's why I reminded us of John R. Rice's precious insight, "You can never truly enjoy Christmas until you can look up into the Father's face and tell Him you have received His Christmas gift."
Any attempt to celebrate Christmas outside of Christ is a futile, empty exercise in playing with things we know nothing about. Those outside of Christ might as well be celebrating the Winter Solstice, the Roman Saturnalia, or the Greek's Lenaea. It would mean as much, and have about as much to do with gift giving as any other hypocritical exercise.
For the gift of the Son of God, to return mankind to the purpose God intended, carries far more spiritual weight than we could ever understand. For example, God did not send just any gift, any angel, and not even the Son of God lightly.
If you read today's scriptural reference thoroughly you will see the ground laid for an extremely important passage, Hebrews 2:14-15, which reads, "Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, He himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death."
Our merciful, loving God was keenly aware of what you and I feel, what we suffer, and what we fear. And how could Jesus walk among us, be one of us, even as the image and glory of God, without the experience of who we are? And so He came to us in flesh and blood, born physically as you and I, spent time growing physically and mentally, subject to the slings and arrows of the physical life, so that He might truly know us, and be what God intended, that meaningful bridge back to God, salvation accomplished painfully on an instrument of torture, humiliation, and death.
I've heard people just throwing off Jesus' sacrifice by saying, "Oh yeah, but He could handle that, because He was the Son of God." Jesus was and still is the Son of Almighty God, but He was also Son of Man, heir to all the human pain of the body, dejection of the mind, humiliation, such as you and I. And yet, He kept His mind stayed on the Father, He knew that a second of the relief He was surely capable of giving Himself, the obvious intervention of warrior angels that was certainly possible, a misstep of serving Himself and His sacrifice to reunite all of mankind with the God who created us, would be in ashes, worthless.
One of the songs that always tugs at my heart is "He Could Have Called Ten Thousand Angels." How many times have you and I, out of sheer instinct, without even thinking about it, lashed out to protect ourselves from a threatened blow? How fast could the Son of God have acted as the muscle-ripping pain built inside of Him, as His breath gave out, and the blood flowed? How quickly?
If you're not familiar with that song, here are the first few verses of the lyrics:

They bound the hands of Jesus in the garden where He prayed;
They led Him thro' the streets in shame.
They spat upon the Savior so pure and free from sin;
They said, "Crucify Him; He's to blame."
Refrain
He could have called ten thousand angels
To destroy the world and set Him free.
He could have called ten thousand angels,
But He died alone, for you and me.

Matthew 26:53 reminds us of Jesus' words: "Do you think I cannot call on My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?" It doesn't take a great deal of imagination to see the skies overhead filled with angels that humans could not see, waiting for a word from the Master, waiting for a signal to stop them from hurting the precious Son of God. And the Bible tells us that on those occasions when God turned the angels loose, they were devastating. What they could have done that day, to relieve Jesus' pain, to pay back those responsible for His pain, His humiliation. This was the Son of Almighty God!
But God had prepared Jesus for this moment, so that not only did Jesus feel it all, was in the kind of excruciating pain you or I would have been in, but He knew the importance of this sacrifice that only He could make, a sinless One for all the sinful people of the world then, and those to come. For you. For me.
1st Peter 1:10-12 reminds us that salvation was not for the angels, and how we respond to salvation is something they are curious about. We can imagine them peeking over the clouds to see our reaction to this precious gift bought with the blood of their sweet Son of God, looking down into the blood of the mercy seat trying to understand salvation.
And yet, perhaps not understanding it all, they would have, and could have according to the Word's description of the power of God's angels, destroyed everything and everyone in sight at a word, a wink, a nod from Jesus. But He would not do that. Thank Almighty God He would not do that, or you and I would be lost forever. .
This was not just any gift given of God, not just an answered prayer, a healing, some object of gain provided through the power and might of God. This was, and remains, a carefully prepared gift of salvation, bought and paid for, for you and I, at great price. At great price. straight out of the heart of God.
Paul, writing to the Romans in a different context, describes the kind of God love that would reach out to us in this way, with the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. In Romans 8:38-39 we read, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." That is in Him, God's gift.
A specially prepared gift, His own and only Son, buying with His own blood, with His death, the gift of life ... for us. For you and I. Please, accept His gift. It's yours, from the heart of God.
Amen.

Daily Scripture Readings for December 27, 2010-January 2, 2011
Monday -- Exodus 20:18-26
Tuesday -- Galatians 3:23-4:7
Wednesday -- 2nd Corinthians 5:16-21
Thursday -- John 3:1-8
Friday -- Ephesians 1:3-14
Saturday -- Colossians 1:15-23
Sunday -- Isaiah 63:7-9; Hebrews 2:10-18; Psalm 111; Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23

Take Off Your Pack, by Pastor Ed Evans

Scripture: Romans 15:4-13

15:4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.

15:5 May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus,

15:6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

15:7 Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

15:8 For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs,

15:9 and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, "Therefore I will confess you among the Gentiles, and sing praises to your name";

15:10 and again he says, "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people";

15:11 and again, "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise him";

15:12 and again Isaiah says, "The root of Jesse shall come, the one who rises to rule the Gentiles; in him the Gentiles shall hope."

15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Take off your pack. Telling someone to "take off their pack" is an old military term meaning to "stand down," to use another military term, to relax, to not be so tense about something, to not worry about it.

When soldiers take a break during a long hike, or at the end of the hike, they are told to take off their pack, to relax, to take a break. Take off your pack.

More directly, in this case, take off your pack, join hands and pray up a storm. Stand in the will of Almighty God and worry about nothing.

The politicians and ruling class making classic mistakes about the economy, about jobs, about health care and the general running of the nation? More and more people out of work? The ground being cut out from under those who provide national security, amateurs in charge of decisions about international relations?

The very first verse of our scripture today reminds us, "For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope."

Our hope cannot be in the intelligent use of people's wisdom, cannot be in the efficient use of plans and diagrams and programs, nor in the best use of force or political power, or diplomacy.

No, the answer lies in what Romans 15:5-7 says, that "the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God."

Christian with Christian with Christian, therein lies the answer. For if it is

Christians side by side, back to back, and living, loving and remaining within the will of God, then nothing else matters.

Wherever you go these days, there is concern and worry about the state of the nation, about its economic future, about the longevity of jobs people have even at this point. There is talk of hoarding food against coming shortages, when even a loaf of bread will be beyond the ability to pay, when the sick and the aged will not be able to afford healthcare, when the jobs and the future of this nation will be assumed by foreign countries.

There is deep concern, frustration and disappointment with elected officials and their lack of commitment to honor, integrity and promises made. And because these actions are rampant in this nation, there is great fear, paranoia, and lack of trust runs like rivulets of water before a crumbling dam.

All about us are people urging that we pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and "take hold." Others want us to join hands with those who would be our enemies, chanting "can't we all just get along?"

And still others want to do away with all judgment of others altogether and simply live by majority rule, whatever that majority says, goes.

But there is a better way. There is a more lasting way. And in a sense, it is a way that is already in motion, waiting for us to simply get there, if we will accept what has already been done for us.

More than 2,000 years ago, a flesh and blood man, born of a woman on this earth, and yet also a man of God, because He is God, set aside His power and allowed Himself to be tortured and painfully crucified on a cross, a very instrument of torture, so that we might be reunited with God. Since we are finite, we die, we constantly break the laws of God, we serve ourselves and our interests first, misusing ourselves and others, because we are flesh and blood, we have nothing close to the holy, righteousness of God. So Jesus Christ, Son of God, He who died on that cross, clothes us in His righteousness, and makes us acceptable to a holy, righteous God.

Jesus did that for us, if we accept His gift. If we don't accept it, He still did it for us.

So we have a future with God, in eternity, if we want it. This is a future that goes far beyond the life of any sordid events taking place now, far beyond the lives of anyone exercising power, good or bad, over us now; far beyond the life of any decision we make now, except the decision to accept what Jesus Christ has done for us. That decision has a life all its own, stretching into a future beyond anything we know.

But that is still future. What about we who are still here, now? There is a great labyrinth of a forest that stands between us and then, the "then" that's way out yonder. And this forest is impenitrable to our foresight, with paths that twist and turn, with low hanging branches of temptation that threaten to sweep us off our feet, full of storms with great thunder and lightning that may give us pause and frighten us. What are we to do with this "now" that we are in, right now, and coming directly at us at the speed of 60 minutes every hour?

Allow me to return to the very first verse of today's scripture, Romans 15:4, which says, " For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope."

What was it that was "written in former days"? It is the inspired word of God, which God knew we would need, and so sent the Holy Spirit to guide us in its understanding and application.

We have no need of worry or concern. Nothing of what we are seeing, nothing of what is happening, nothing of what is even threatened is a surprise to the God who created the universe, and who has kept it intact and operating in ways that provide for our well-being. Take the very worst of situations, war, for example. There has always been war on earth, and there is war in heaven. So long as there are conflicting ideas, cross purposes, greed, desire, sin, there will be war. We are in the midst of it, constantly, but God is dealing with it for us, for us who belong to Him.

One of my very favorite verses is Romans 8:28, "God works all things together for good to those who love Him, for those who are called according to His purposes."

Notice what that verse does not say. It doesn't say "if I take arms against His enemies," or "if I work hard to change the government from bad to good," or "if" anything. But there are still some "if's" at work here. For example, if we understand the importance of recognizing the fruit of the spirit for the purposes of discernment, if we understand that vengeance belongs to God and not to us, if we know and accept that Jesus said "love" is a higher law, then we can stand with full confidence in the power and purposes of God's holy will, and not worry.

Now, I know that sounds simplistic to some, and sometimes that which seems too obvious also seems too easy, and we question whether or not we can trust it as truth.

So let me point out that our scripture for today also talks about how "Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that He might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy."

For ages upon ages, the Jews, the circumcised people of God, were "THE people of God," and there were none like them. Suddenly they are told that "their" Messiah is now going to share God with an uncircumcised people, an "unclean people." But notice what else the verse says. Not only has the Christ "become a servant of the circumcised", but He has done so "on behalf of the truth of God in order that He might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs...." Those are "their" patriarchs.

How God works is not at all simple, and is beyond our understanding. We see only the results of how He works, and even then "through a glass darkly." What we do know for certain is that God is at work, and He is working in behalf of His own. As far back as the ancient text of Jeremiah 29:11, we are assured, "I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord; plans to prosper you and not to harm you."

For those who belong to Christ, nothing has changed. Almighty God is still in charge, and we are invited to stand confidently in His will, not to fear, not to worry, but to stand. Take off your pack, and stand in His will.

Amen.

Daily Scripture Readings for December 5 -- 12, 2010
Monday -- Luke 1:5-25
Tuesday -- Luke 1:57-80
Wednesday -- Matthew 3:1-12

Thursday -- Isaiah 62:1-12
Friday -- Luke 12:35-48

Saturday -- Isaiah 51:1-8

Sunday -- Isaiah 11:1-10; Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19; Romans 15:4-13; Matthew 3:1-12

There Is Poison Loose Among Us

by Pastor Ed Evans

Scripture: Isaiah 65:17-25

65:17 For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.
65:18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight.
65:19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and delight in my people; no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress.
65:20 No more shall there be in it an infant that lives but a few days, or an old person who does not live out a lifetime; for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth, and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed.
65:21 They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
65:22 They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
65:23 They shall not labor in vain, or bear children for calamity; for they shall be offspring blessed by the LORD-- and their descendants as well.
65:24 Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear.
65:25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox; but the serpent--its food shall be dust! They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the LORD.

According to an MSNBC.com news story this week, by Helen A.S. Popkin, the giant online book sales company, Amazon.com, apparently bowed to public pressure and removed a self-published book advocating adult-child sex. The book, "The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure: a Child-lover's Code of Conduct" by Philip R. Greaves II, was initially defended by Amazon.com in a public statement that said, "Amazon believes it is censorship not to sell certain books simply because we or others believe their message is objectionable. Amazon does not support or promote hatred or criminal acts, however, we do support the right of every individual to make their own purchasing decisions."

In other words, it was all about sales, with no hint of social responsibility. Also disappearing from their list about the same time was "Our Gardens of Flesh: From the Seeds of Lust Springs the Harvest of Love," another sexually-graphic e-book by the same author. No one protested that one, but they exhibited the socially responsible good sense to remove it.

Unfortunately, in our modern society, there are those who would buy such books.

I want you to know without a shadow of a doubt that this is more than a First Amendment, free speech, issue. It is more than "holier than thou" people looking down their nose at others. This is an issue not just of differences of opinion or even of breached morals, this is an issue of life and death; eternal life and death. And because I want to ensure you understand the seriousness of this battle raging within our society, I'm going to share with you some very disturbing facts.

According to a study from 2003, performed seven years ago by Internet Filter Review, at that time there were 1.3 million pornographic websites carrying 260 millions pages of this stuff. There are undoubtedly more now.

What keeps it going? The total porn industry revenue for the year 2006 was $13.3 billion in the U.S., $97 billion worldwide.

This is anything but a harmless industry since worldwide it involves sexual adult slaves and children. One in ten adults admits to Internet sexual addiction, and of those 28% are women. But listen to this, more than 70% of men from age 18 to 34 visit a pornographic site in a typical month, according to a study by comScore Media Metrix. That means in an average grouping of 10 men, only three have not.

Of that wretchedness, there were more than 20,000 images of child pornography posted online every week, according to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. What is the impact, the effect on those children? Approximately 20% of all Internet pornography involves children, according to the National Center for Mission & Exploited Children. As of December 2005, child pornography was a $3 billion annual industry, according to Internet Filter Review.

At this point, I want to go wash my hands, scrub out my computer. But, wait, it gets worse. It gets much sadder.

A 1996 Promise Keepers survey at one of their stadium events revealed that over 50% of the men in attendance were involved with pornography within one week of attending the event.

Then you have 51% of pastors saying cyber-porn is a possible temptation, and 37% saying it is a current struggle, according to a Christianity Today Leadership Survey. In fact, more than half of evangelical pastors admit viewing pornography last year.

Focus on the Family's Robert Charman, of Pastoral Ministries, reports that approximately 20 percent of the calls received on their Pastoral Care Line are for help with issues such as pornography and compulsive sexual behavior.

A Christianity Today survey reports 33% of clergy admitted to having visited a sexually explicit web site. Of those who had visited a porn site, 53% had visited such sites “a few times” in the past year, and 18% visit sexually explicit sites between a couple of times a month and more than once a week.

A Barna Group survey shows that 29% of born again adults in the U.S. feel it is morally acceptable to view movies with explicit sexual behavior .

In a Christians and Sex Leadership Journal Survey, 57% of pastors say that addiction to pornography is the most sexually damaging issue to their congregation.

There is more, but I hope you get the picture. Pornography is seriously damaging to the children and adults involved in the making of it, rotting away the base of our society, and weakening the stature of those who should be involved in making us stronger before God Almighty. It is poisoning the well of our children's future, and like the drug trade, it is killing us.

No, you cannot close your eyes to it. You cannot turn your back on it and hope to ignore it. You cannot walk away from it and hope it goes away. It is going to attack someone you love, someone you know, perhaps even someone you respect.

You, me, all of us must deal with it.

Why? Let me begin with Ezekiel 33:8 -- "When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood."

At the same time, I would point out the content of Luke 17:2 -- "It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin."

It is important that the American family take control of its own home, what comes into it, what leaves it. You see, the Internet Filter Review reports that Average age of first Internet exposure to pornography is 11 years old.

A U.S. Department of Justice Post Hearing Memorandum of Points and Authorities, in a case titled ACLU vs. Reno, reads: "Never before in the history of telecommunications media in the United States has so much indecent (and obscene) material been so easily accessible by so many minors in so many American homes with so few restrictions."

We are poisoning the well.

Not long ago the Sears department stores began, on Father's Day, promoting pornographic posters on their Internet web site and in their stores. The reaction of the community they serve was immediate and angry. Still, while after several weeks of protests they finally removed them from their Internet site, they continued to sell them in their stores; a classic example of profit taking precedence over the health of the very community they serve.

Certain hotel and motel chains continue to offer pornographic movies in their rooms despite protests.

Some mass market magazines you routinely find in your grocery stores have pushed the pornographic envelope with a blushing cover now and then, unmindful that these magazines are often on checkout racks at the eye level of a 5-6 year-old child. To their credit, some grocery stories have banned specific issues when this happens.

This is neither vigilantism nor censorship, but responsible stewardship within the community. First, if someone insists on exposing themselves to such puerile trash, there are unfortunately plenty of other places to procure it without exposing young children to it.

Secondly, confusing discernment with vigilantism or censorship is a sign of spiritual immaturity. The novice Bible student might point out that while in 1st Cor. 2:15 it says, "But he that is spiritual judges all things..." while in Matt. 7:1 it says "Judge not, that you be not judged..."

Author F. F. Bruce suggests "Judgment is an ambiguous word, in Greek as in English: it may mean sitting in judgment on people (or even condemning them), or it may mean exercising a proper discrimination. In the former sense judgment is depreciated; in the latter sense it is recommended."

However, while the Christian is not to judge hypocritically or self-righteously, scripture repeatedly urges the believer to evaluate carefully and choose between good and bad people and things. 1st Thess. 5:21 tells us the Christian is to "test everything, and hold to that which is good." That's using your good judgment.

Christian author A. W. Tozer writes: "Among the gifts of the Spirit scarcely one is of greater practical usefulness than the gift of discernment. This gift should be highly valued and frankly sought as being almost indispensable in these critical times. This gift will enable us to distinguish the chaff from the wheat and to divide the manifestations of the flesh from the operations of the Spirit."

In our scripture today God is promising blessings to the faithful, a new heaven and earth where God will answer even before they ask. A blessing worth far more than anything any temporary emotional thrill can bring on this earth. It tells us that God will not leave the world the way it is, but will free us to bring light to the darkness of sin, and those who will not abandon their sin will go down with it. God will see a fulfillment of our purpose here on earth, and those who ignore that, or lack discernment, will be left out, in the darkness to which they cling.

Our God says He will create things anew, and there is nothing new about devaluing life, as pornography does, turning adults and children into objects for pleasure, ignoring their sense of worth, their emotional feelings, demeaning those who are original creations of God Almighty. Pornography is as old as the worship of Baal, and clearly as destructive. It has no place in the Christian's life, no place in the Christian's thoughts.

The reaction to commercial institutions promoting such unacceptable, damaging activity to the human spirit in our communal society must be exactly what it has been, combined community pressure to shame them into placing the interests of a healthy society above the desire to make a profit.

The people of God must make it abundantly clear they will not do business with those who place profits above the mental and emotional health of their children, their community, and themselves.

We have a vote in these matters, with our pocketbook, and with our feet. And a clear word of protest can sometimes clarify the issue for those who have allowed the promise of profits to cloud their judgment.

Just as surely as we look to the fulfillment of God's promise of Isaiah 65:17-25 in which we will glory, we must also hold to the fulfillment of God's promises in 2nd Chronicles 7:14 -- "If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

Amen.

Daily Scripture Readings for November 14 - November 20, 2010
Monday -- Matthew 25:1-13
Tuesday -- Colossians 4:2-18
Wednesday -- 1st Thessalonians 5
Thursday -- 2nd Thessalonians 2
Friday -- 2nd Thessalonians 3

Saturday -- John 4:31-38
Sunday -- Malachi 4:1-6; Psalm 82; 2nd Thessalonians 3:6-13; Luke 21:5-19

Facebook (7) | Ed Evans

Do You Know Who You Are?, by Pastor Ed Evans

Scripture: Isaiah 1:10-18, Luke 19:1-10

Isaiah 1:10-18
1:10 Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah!
1:11 What to Me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.
1:12 When you come to appear before Me, who asked this from your hand? Trample My courts no more;
1:13 offerings is futile; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and sabbath and calling of convocation -- I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity.
1:14 New moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates; they have become a burden to me, I am weary of bearing them.
1:15 When you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.
1:16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil,
1:17 learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.
1:18 Come now, let us argue it out, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

Luke 19:1-10
19:1 He entered Jericho and was passing through it.
19:2 A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich.
19:3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature.
19:4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because He was going to pass that way.
19:5 When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today."
19:6 So he hurried down and was happy to welcome Him.
19:7 All who saw it began to grumble and said, "He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner."
19:8 Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much."
19:9 Then Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham.
19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost."

Whatever happens in America as a result of the Nov. 2nd national election, the stress and strain of coming days makes it most important that you know who you are. For it is on that basis that we make crucial life decisions. Who we are determines our entire approach to life and its highs and lows. We forgive, support or lash out at other people depending upon who we think we are as we come into contact with them.

In today's scripture readings, in Isaiah and Luke, we find two different responses. God had judged the rulers of Sodom and Gomorrah, but they recognized His authority over them not at all. Maybe, for just an instant of time, they thought they had the powers that God has, but He shut them down, permanently.

In Luke, Jesus comes to town and the man thought by all to be a sinner, judges himself as a sinner, but Jesus Christ speaks words of comfort to Zaccheaus, and ignores the judgment of the self-righteous; ignores even their judgment of Him.

The rulers didn't know who they were. The tax collector Zaccheaus knew who he was. In fact, he knew he was short, so he climbed a tree just so he could see Jesus. He knew who he was. Jesus knew who he was. The man's neighbors only thought they knew who he was, because they didn't know who they were. Do you know who you are?

It really is important that we have a clear understanding of who we are because our response to Christ, our understanding of Him, is filtered through our vision of who and what we are, and many have altered views of Christ you will not find in the written, inspired Word of God.

They are like the man who figured there must be some magic in the Bible, and to avail himself of it, all he had to do was pick out a verse and do what it said. So blindly he pointed to a verse. It was Matthew 27:5, which said that Judas went out and hanged himself. Well, that sort of shook him so he blindly pointed to another verse, Luke 10:37, which said "Go and do thou likewise." When you don't know who you are, and you don't know Jesus Christ, you are just up for grabs.

Listen to what Oswald Chambers says in "My Utmost for His Highest" -- "That Christ died for me, and therefore I am completely free from penalty is never taught in the New Testament. What is taught in the New Testament is that 'He died for all' (2nd Corinthians 5:15) -- not, 'He died my death' -- and that through identification with His death I can be freed from sin, and have His very righteousness imparted as a gift to me. The substitution which is taught in the New Testament is twofold -- 'For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.' The teaching is not Christ for me unless I am determined to have Christ formed in me."

Oswald Chambers ends his lesson with a reference to Galatians 4:19-20, where we read Paul writing to the Galatians, "My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you!"

Paul feels the pains of a mother with a stillborn child, seeing that those to whom he preached stopped at the point of thinking Christ was for them, without coming into the fullness of Christ by having Him formed in them. The Galatians knew about Christ from Paul, but they were now listening to others who played upon their emotions, and kept them from moving on to experience Christ.

They thought they knew who they were, but because they now listened to the siren sounds of the world, they were not who they thought they were.

We might use the common zipper as an example. The zipper on our jacket works a wonder to quickly and firmly close the jacket around us and keep out the cold breezes. Unless it gets off-track. Once a snag in the cloth gets in the way, or a hurried movement interferes, the zipper gets off track and does not work correctly. It will not advance and it will not go back. And it does not keep out the cold breeze.

When we not only know about Jesus Christ, but follow His example to experience Him, we can then fully experience the gift of life that God intends for us. Before God Almighty we wear the white-robed righteousness of Jesus Christ. We walk in His will for us, and nothing touches us that does not pass through His hands first. We are not promised that our existence here will be trouble free, pain free, or filled with riches and sweetbreads, but we are promised that He will go through it with us, and, as Mark Twain once alluded to it, ours is "the confidence of a Christian with four aces."

Do you know who you are, or do you only think you know? Are you so caught up in capturing and enjoying what is "good" for you that you have ignored God's warnings about who you are in His eyes? The rulers of Sodom and Gomorrah ignored God's judgment to their own peril, and destruction. The short-of-stature Zaccheaus accepted who he was, and changed, for which God blessed him.

This world does not adapt itself to our wishes, but often buffets us about with difficult lessons and misadventures. What is going on right now in the social structure of the United States of America is creating difficult times for many people, especially in the economic arena. Food, medicines, all the items necessary for life are rising in price, even as jobs and the opportunities to earn a living are disappearing.

Some counsel changing all this through the ballot box, even as reports surface of illegal voting practices. Some counsel change through the law, even as judges have begun to change the laws without the benefit of legislation. Some counsel that freedom and change comes from the barrel of a gun, and call for armed revolution.

Psalm 20:7 cautions us, "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God." The lesson of the Bible is that prayer changes people, and then people change things.

Do we know who we are as people of the Living God, as followers of Jesus Christ? I think we do, for again and again I see quoted 2nd Chronicles 7:14, "If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

Do we indeed know who we are? Are we "...My people, who are called by My name..."? If so, then we know what we must do. The very word of God could not be more clear. So, who are you? Do you know?

Amen.

It's Happened Before, Will It Again? Your Call.

by Pastor Ed Evans

Scripture: Lamentations 1:1-6

1:1 How lonely sits the city that once was full of people! How like a widow she has become, she that was great among the nations! She that was a princess among the provinces has become a vassal.
1:2 She weeps bitterly in the night, with tears on her cheeks; among all her lovers she has no one to comfort her; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they have become her enemies.
1:3 Judah has gone into exile with suffering and hard servitude; she lives now among the nations, and finds no resting place; her pursuers have all overtaken her in the midst of her distress.
1:4 The roads to Zion mourn, for no one comes to the festivals; all her gates are desolate, her priests groan; her young girls grieve, and her lot is bitter.
1:5 Her foes have become the masters, her enemies prosper, because the LORD has made her suffer for the multitude of her transgressions; her children have gone away, captives before the foe.
1:6 From daughter Zion has departed all her majesty. Her princes have become like stags that find no pasture; they fled without strength before the pursuer.

Recently I attended the funeral of a friend, where someone expressed the thought that God should keep His arms around the deceased and give him special care to "make up for all he suffered and all that seemed unfair."

In a perfect world, that would certainly be expected. Right would never be overcome by wrong. Good, decent people would not be taken advantage of by thieves and swindlers and people who didn't believe in being fair. And God would count all the nice things we do to our credit, and balance out our sins.

That, after all, would be fair.

And wouldn't it only be fair if America managed to survive all the neglect it has suffered at the hands of those who live within its borders, who enjoy its God-given freedoms and protections, while ignoring Almighty God; drinking deeply from the well without giving thought to replenishing its waters. Only fair?

But I remember an old country adage that says "fair" is where you find the Ferris wheel and where you take the pig every summer to win a blue ribbon. There is no other kind of fair.

My experience in this life tells me that's pretty much true. How about you?

As for seeking justice from God by having Him balance things out, I'd run from that like a scalded dog. It really isn't justice we want from Almighty God, but mercy.

What has all this to do with our scripture? Allow me to substitute a few words in verses one and two for the sake of illustration:

"How lonely sits the nation of America that once was full of people and jobs! How like a widow she has become, she that was great among the nations! She that was a princess among the provinces has become a vassal, financially beholding to other nations. She weeps bitterly in the night, with tears on her cheeks; among all her lovers she has no one to comfort her; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they have become her enemies."

There are few things that happen in our time that are new, and this is not new. Actually, the same might be said for Israel right now, and Great Britain, and others.

No, life is not fair. If it were, someone has said, we would never learn anything new.

How did America come to be full of people who want, want, want and never give back, give back, give back? What happened to all the jobs? How did the nation with "In God We Trust" stamped on its money, and with Christian mottoes adoring so many of its official buildings in the nation's capitol city -- how did such a nation of people become the nation that murders more infant children than any in the world? The nation that takes from those who productively support the nation and gives to those who have no legal right to be in that nation?

How did America put into place national leaders who claim to worship the Christ, but turn their backs on previously approved national days of prayer, who lie blatantly to the American people, who break their promises to the electorate while blaming others for their misdeeds? How could these things come to be?

There is nothing new under the sun. This has all happened before. No one should be surprised that it is happening again. All down through the history of mankind, through the history of nations, where there is power the righteous and the evil will contend for control. Greed, personal privilege, and avarice will take the field and claim the right of power. Pride, lust, gluttony will lead to sloth and defend itself with anger.

All through history, elaborated upon in the Bible, nations, armies, powers rise and fall as they unite to build themselves up, then drown in their own wretchedness.

It was precisely to avoid such predictable circumstances that the original founders of the United States of America set up a balance of power and organized a government that is "of the people, by the people, for the people." In fact, the first few line of the U.S. Constitution make clear its purpose: " We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

This nation's earliest documents make it crystal clear that this nation was founded on the idea of the free and unencumbered worship of Almighty God, and that government was established for the organized benefit of America's citizens. Somehow the government has become all important and the individual rights of its citizens became less important.

How did we reach this point, with all the checks and balances our forefathers put into place to protect us from ourselves?

Well, let's see.

This is the country settled initially by those seeking freedom to worship as they chose, not as the government required; the Christian Bible was one of the first texts recommended for all schools; in Washington, D.C., the Capitol Rotunda was for many years used as a site for worship services by four different Christian churches, and worship there was first initiated by President Thomas Jefferson. We also have a U.S. Constitution which guarantees us certain "God-given" rights.

And yet, Christian prayer is forbidden in our public schools today, the Bible is not allowed in most schools, the public celebration of Christian holidays is not allowed on most public property and in many schools; lawsuits regularly stop Christian invocations at public meetings, luncheons, even sporting events. Meanwhile the false religion of Islam is promoted by legislators, promoted even in public schools, and so-called ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ urge us to respect and revere the religion of Islam.

We have a President who has attended only one Christian church worship service during his two years in office, he has on two occasions refused to support National Prayer Day events unlike the two previous Presidents, and instead has held at least two public Islamic prayer events at the White House, as well as celebrating the major Islamic holiday of Ramadan at the White House, which this year coincided with Sept. 11th, America's 911 day of mourning.

The original question I posed was, how did we reach this point, with all the checks and balances our forefathers put into place to protect us from ourselves?

We reached it, I believe, because we were not paying attention. We took our eyes off the prize and our minds off praising God. Our attention was diverted by cable TV with its 4,000 stations of entertainment and sports, by easily accessed porn so no one knows, by skipped meditation and prayer times, all separating us from time spent with He who loved us first, with the God who cares enough that He sent His very best, taking our attention away from our own duties in the due concern for the health of our nation, giving free rein to those overcome by the power of their position, turning their back on We the People, and on the God who brought America to greatness. It has all become very confusing.

The Christian writer Oswald Chambers has written, "There are times in your spiritual life when there is confusion, and the way out of it is not simply to say that you should not be confused. It is not a matter of right and wrong, but a matter of God taking you through a way that you temporarily do not understand. And it is only by going through the spiritual confusion that you will come to the understanding of what God wants for you."

It was Almighty God who brought America to its position of prominence in the world, to a level of wealth so we could afford to reach out to others in need and offer them the hand of Christian love, food, medications, strength in their time of weakness.

And I believe it is Almighty God who has brought us to this point in our history, that we might turn to Him once more, come to Him in prayer and worship, that we might return America to its position of greatness, if not for our sakes, for the sake of the world which needs America to be great once again.

It is not that we of America are so wonderful, so decent, so much more intelligent, helpful, or even prayerful than any other nation. But it is as Paul writes to the Philippians in chapter 3, verse 13-16: "Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained."

".....what we have already attained."

God has richly blessed this nation. It can be great once again, if we who worship the One God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will bring to life the promise of God's answer to Solomon's prayer in 1st Chronicles 7:14, if we will stand firm for what is right and what is just before God, if we will draw others to worship God and preserve what God has given us.

Might does not always make right, and right does not always prevail over evil. If we choose to exempt ourselves from the responsibility of God-given citizenship, choose instead to wring our hands and cry "Woe is me," and decline to use the very tools God has set before us for the protection and preservation of this nation He has blessed, then we can look forward to the very real playing out of that portion of our scripture in Lamentations 1:4-6 -- "The roads to Zion mourn, for no one comes to the festivals; all her gates are desolate, her priests groan; her young girls grieve, and her lot is bitter. Her foes have become the masters, her enemies prosper, because the Lord has made her suffer for the multitude of her transgressions; her children have gone away, captives before the foe. From daughter Zion has departed all her majesty. Her princes have become like stags that find no pasture; they fled without strength before the pursuer."

America is one of the last bastions of true freedom for the individual worshipper of God. If we will not work for a transformation of our own government on November 2, if we will not speak out for what is just and right before God, and if we will not ensure that others who worship God get to the polls on November 2nd and clean House and Senate of those who serve themselves and not God, then we deserve what comes.

This wonderful experiment in freedom and liberty does not deserve extinction, our posterity certainly does not deserve it, but those who will not ensure the survival of freedom, justice, and integrity not only do not deserve it, but will not have it.

" Her foes have become the masters, her enemies prosper, because the Lord has made her suffer for the multitude of her transgressions..."

Let us "live up to what we have already attained" in Christ Jesus. Your call.

Amen.

Daily Scripture Readings for October 4-11, 2010
Monday -- Exodus 3: 7-22
Tuesday -- Jeremiah 31:23-34
Wednesday -- 1st Samuel 18:1-5
Thursday -- Hebrews 8:1-12
Friday -- Hebrews 13:1-21

Saturday -- John 15:1-17
Sunday -- Micah 1:2, 2:1-10; Psalm 26; 2nd Timothy 2:8-15; Luke 17:11-19