“Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also.” [1]
This morning, a couple of news articles caught my attention:
“ISIS beheads 10 Christian captives… and shooting an 11th in Nigeria, as part of a grisly campaign to avenge the deaths of its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and the group's spokesman.” [2]
“Police throughout China target Christians and demolish churches. Iran and North Korea… both regimes exert the full strength of their security apparatuses to spy on, imprison, torture, and even execute people who do not belong to either state’s official religion.” [3]
“Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for blessing us with food, clothes, dwelling places, transportation and for freedom to worship You in public places. Today, we remember our brothers and sisters who are suffering for their love for You. Please rescue them from the hands of those who seek to do them harm. Please provide for their needs and for the needs of their families. Please send forth Your holy angels to help them. For it is in Your Name that we pray, Amen.”
[1] Hebrews 13:3
[2] By Barnini Chakraborty | Fox News
[3] By Rev. Joseph D'Souza | Fox News
“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” [1]
Jesus was speaking to His disciples. Pharisees were within hearing distance of him. The Pharisees were the managers of religious teaching. Prior to teaching that no man can serve God and mammon (worldly wealth), Jesus told the parable of a steward who misused his position to cheat his master.
The Pharisees did not appreciate what Jesus was teaching His disciples. Consider this! Jesus was in the process of training a new group of leaders to replace the Pharisees. What does the Bible say about the Pharisees? How did they react to what Jesus taught His disciples?
“Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they derided Him.” [2]
The Pharisees mismanaged the positions God gave them. They were unjust stewards. The first portion of Luke 16 is about a steward who embezzled his master’s money. The Pharisees were serving money and not God. They derided the Messiah that God sent to the world.
The last portion of Luke 16 is a parable about a rich man and a poor man. They both die. The rich man ends up in Hades and the poor man ends up in next to Abraham. The rich man is in the torment of flames while the poor man is comforted.
“Lord Jesus, please forgive us for all the times worldly concerns have become larger than You, and larger than the mission that You have given us, namely, the ministry of soul-salvation. Please help us Your people to be found faithful to You and to Your mission when You return.”
[1] Luke 16:13
[2] Luke 16:14
Five calamites, and yet, they did not return to the Lord.
Lack of bread in all your places – “Yet you have not returned to Me” [1]
Lack of rain and drinking water – “Yet you have not returned to Me” [2]
Disease/pests against their crops – “Yet you have not returned to Me” [3]
Death via plague and war – “Yet you have not returned to Me” [4]
Overthrow as Sodom overthrown – “Yet you have not returned to Me” [5]
So now, “Prepare to meet your God!” [6]
With so much evil happening in our country, you would think there would be a massive turning the Lord. So many “leaders” are defiantly legislating against the Lord. We have mass shootings. We have mass addiction to alcohol, harmful drugs, and pornography. Rather than “fear the Lord,” the message of the day is “fear to believe in God and obey Him.”
“Judah was carried away captive to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness.” [7]
The people of Judah are a negative example for us. They would not worship the Lord. They were defiant. They delighted in a culture of no boundaries. What happened to them? Their land was invaded, destroyed and they were deported to serve the whims of a cruel tyrant.
One of their nation’s founders wrote, “Blessed are those who keep justice, and he who does righteousness at all times!” [8] But now they despise those who invested in their future.
A wise king instructed his people this way: “Do not withhold correction from a child, for if you spank him, he will not die. You shall spank him and deliver his soul from hell.” [9] Offer a lesser pain in a loving way to save the child from a greater pain later on.
The wise king also wrote, “Do not let your heart envy sinners, but be zealous for the fear of the Lord all the day; for surely there is a hereafter, and your hope will not be cut off.” [10]
There is a hereafter. A face-to-face encounter with a holy God! God advises us to prepare to meet Him. It is going to happen.
The Apostle Paul advises us to... “Put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” [11]
Christ is the answer! He transforms sinners into saints. Rather than defiance choose dependence! Rely on Christ. Daily place yourself in His hands. With the backing of the Creator and Sustainer of the universe you will be prepared to meet Him.
[1] Amos 4:6
[2] Amos 4:7-8
[3] Amos 4:9
[4] Amos 4:10
[5] Amos 4:11
[6] Amos 4:12
[7] 1 Chronicles 9:1
[8] Psalm 106:3
[9] Proverbs 23:13-14
[10] Proverbs 23:17-18
[11] Ephesians 4:22-24
“The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.” [1]
Transgressors stumble over the Lord’s ways because He neither sins nor condones sin. “Why” say they, “would anyone not want to sin?” The righteous are blessed by the Lord to keep eternity in their view.
“Scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.’” [2]
How did the devil lure our first parents into sin? He got them to doubt the Lord’s Word.
“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness?” [3]
Stay on the road of holy conduct and far from evil.
“You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.” [4]
We need the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to avoid being lured from our steadfastness by the wily devil. He is a master-hunter. He cannot hurt the Lord, so he seeks to trap and destroy us who are made in God’s image. However, if we cling to Christ, Christ will save us from him.
Praise the Lord!
[1] Hosea 14:9
[2] 2 Peter 3:3-4
[3] 2 Peter 3:10-11
[4] 2 Peter 3:17-18
“The integrity of the upright will guide them, but the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them.” [1]
“Observe mercy and justice and wait on your God continually.” [2]
“The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous and self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries.” [3]
Signs!
When we are driving, the information posted on road signs help us to know when to turn, when to slow down or speed up, as well as when to stop. The information affirms to us if we are on the right or wrong road.
The Bible is a sign that is full of helpful information. Proverbs 11:3 says that integrity and uprightness is the right road while perversity and unfaithfulness are the wrong road. Hosea 12:6 advises us to observe mercy and justice, and to wait on God rather than to proceed forward without Him. 2 Peter 2:9-10 says that the Lord is the Deliverer from temptation. The Lord says that lusting after the flesh and despising authorities is a wrong turn. He advises us not to be presumptuous, self-willed, and bold to speak evil of people in authority.
The angel told the shepherds on the first Christmas morning, "And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” The angel told the shepherds that this child is the Messiah and Savior. [4]
“Lord God Heavenly Father, please help us see and follow the sign that You have provided for us: The Bible and Your Son Jesus Christ. Your Son became flesh and dwelt among us. He was born on earth and placed in a manger. He saves us from our sin. Please Holy Spirit help us to daily observe these signs so that we avoid an eternally bad accident on our way to heaven. This we pray in Jesus’ Name. Amen.”
[1] Proverbs 11:3
[2] Hosea 12:6
[3] 2 Peter 2:9-10
[4] Luke 2:11-12
The Bible places God and Jesus our Lord on an equal plain. Both are referred to as “His divine power.” The Father and the Son, with the Holy Spirit are the Holy Trinity. The one and only Triune God.
Praise be to our Triune God for blessing us to partake of His divine nature. He helps us to escape the corruption that is in the world. Our diligence, faith, divine knowledge, self-control, perseverance, self-control, brotherly kindness, and love are from God. These blessings make us fruitful in our knowledge of Jesus our Lord.
The Lord grants us diligence to make our calling and election sure so that we do not stumble along the way, but the rather, enjoy an abundant entrance into His everlasting kingdom.
“Others...
Were tortured,
Not accepting deliverance,
That they might obtain a better resurrection.
Still others...
Experienced trials of mocking and scourging,
Yes, and of chains and imprisonment.
They were stoned,
They were sawn in two,
They were tempted,
They were slain with the sword.
They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins,
Being destitute, afflicted, tormented—
Of whom the world was not worthy.
They wandered in deserts and mountains,
In dens and caves of the earth.” [1]
“Others… still others” are the heroes of the faith whose names are not given in the Bible. These heroes of the faith wanted a better resurrection. They did not want their rewards on earth. They went through severe trials of the faith on behalf of the Word of the Lord. Their trials included physical pain, emotional pain, being misunderstood, maligned, and mistreated.
These “Others… still others” were a stumbling block to the world. The world wonders, “Why do you endure such treatment for a God that does not save you?” “Are you made in God's image? Look how marred and beaten you are!” “Yes,” the others… still others reply. “Our God became a man with an appearance that was marred more than any other man.” [2]
“Holy Spirit, please fill us with the love of God and neighbor so that we willingly endure trials of the faith for the sake of glory of Jesus Christ and for the sake of presenting the Gospel to lost souls.”
[1] Hebrews 11:35-38
[2] Isaiah 52:14
