Category: God’s truth

Redeem the Year!

Sunday, January 1, 2017

“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:15-17 KJV).

What great advice for 2017!

Despite 2,000 years of Bible schools and seminaries, 2,000 years of a completed Bible canon, 2,000 years of Bible reading in churches, several decades of “Christian” television and radio, and just over a decade of widespread use of “Christian” websites, how sad that Bible ignorance is still quite extensive (it is as if God never gave His Word to start with!).

Frankly, the Church the Body of Christ needs to wake up! The verse previous to today’s Scripture says, “Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light” (verse 14). Paul, loosely quoting Isaiah 60:1, reminded us that the spiritual ignorance that gripped Israel in Isaiah’s day seized Christians in his day—and it still grips Christians 20 centuries later. Feel-good sermons, enjoyable “worship” services, and rites, rituals, and ceremonies will NOT solve this problem—they exacerbate it!

“[God] will have all men to be saved…” (1 Timothy 2:4a). Do you want this New Year to count for God’s glory? First, you need to get saved from sins and hell! You need to become a Christian by trusting in and relying on Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection as sufficient payment for your sins (1 Corinthians 15:3,4). That is only part of God’s will for you, for 1 Timothy 2:4b continues, “[God] will have all men… to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” Now, God’s will for your Christian life is daily, personal Bible study to renew your mind, so your faith in those verses can cause God to work in your life—it will be His life, thus making you “perfect [spiritually mature], throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16,17).

Today’s Scripture urges us to buy back the time Satan has robbed from God (time created for God’s glory). By faith, we need to make that time glorify the Lord Jesus Christ by applying His Word, particularly Paul’s epistles of Romans through Philemon, to our lives. Have a good year in Christ! 🙂

You can download our free “One-Year Bible Reading Schedule.”

See our archived Bible Q&A: “What Scriptural advice can you give me for the New Year?”

By the way, I recently wrote and released a 45-page special Bible article, “The 2016 United States Presidential Election: A Bible-Believing, Grace Perspective.”

The Person of the Year

Saturday, December 31, 2016

“Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…” (Philippians 2:9,10a KJV).

Let us praise the 2016 Person of the Year—our Lord Jesus Christ!

Society’s most stressful time of year, the Christmas Season, is winding down. The year 2016 is nearly over, and a new year, 2017, will dawn soon. At this time every year, various groups and publications feature their particular choice for “Person of the Year.” Whether a chief of state, a philanthropist, a religious leader, a distinguished author or scientist, a television or radio personality, or some other “professional” who impacted society in a negative or positive way the most during the past year, they are all still people with limitations and frailties. One can accomplish all sorts of praiseworthy, generous, and awe-inspiring feats. However, what carries the most weight is the attitude, the heart, underlying the action, not the action. Was it Jesus Christ, or simply the flesh?

The one single event in history that pleased God the Father most was when His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, went by faith in His Word, to an awful Roman cross to suffer the worst possible and most graphic death a human ever experienced, to pay for our sins. “Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11). It is through that finished crosswork of Jesus Christ that He is still doing mighty works, 20 centuries later. How our Lord Jesus Christ has saved countless souls from sins and hell this past year, and how He has saved innumerable Christian souls from false doctrine and spiritual ruin.

Jesus Christ, who in death defeated His greatest enemy (Satan), was raised by God the Father and is now the ascended and glorified Lord Jesus Christ (today’s Scripture). Saints, may we ever thank and praise our Saviour Jesus Christ for what He has done for us, what He has done with us, and what He will do with us next year… and all the countless ages thereafter….

As we close another year of ministry, we look forward to serving you for another! 🙂

The Misunderstood Messiah #4

Thursday, December 29, 2016

“Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God” (John 8:41 KJV).

Did you ever notice the magnitude of the insult put forth toward Jesus Christ in today’s Scripture?

Society’s anti-Bible, anti-Christian attitude is nothing new. While today’s Bible-believing, Bible-quoting Christian is accused of “hate speech” and “bigotry,” the “non-narrow-minded” face no repercussion for their slandering of the Lord Jesus Christ and their trampling His Word under foot. Due to sin, the world is upside down, and when the Christian attempts to expose it, he or she is to blame. The world wants Romans 3:4 to read, “Let every man be true, but God a liar!”

Like the (self-righteous) Pharisees of old, lost mankind, despite religious participation, has no capacity to stop sin. Never become angry at the world and never let their behavior puzzle you. Sinners do nothing but sin: by nature, man literally knows nothing but sin. As Jesus said to the lost Pharisees, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do” (John 8:44a). What they need is not simply to stop their activity (sins); they need a new nature from God! Today’s Scripture demonstrates the Pharisees’ willful ignorance of their sinful state.

Like the (“educated”) Pharisees of old, lost mankind, despite several degrees, has no capacity to understand the Bible. The Pharisees studied their Old Testament scrolls, yet they were equivalent to today’s average seminary graduate—years of Bible “study” and no (!) Bible understanding. Today’s Scripture demonstrates the Pharisees’ willful ignorance of one of hundreds of Old Testament prophecies that foretold Jesus Christ’s coming. They had plenty of philosophy and religion, but they had no capacity to understand and appreciate the Bible. People today do not need degrees to comprehend the Bible; they need the Spirit of God! “But the natural [lost] man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned [judged, evaluated]” (1 Corinthians 2:14).

Let us summarize and conclude this devotional arc….

To Know God

Monday, November 21, 2016

“Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake. Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God? But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands” (Psalm 115:1-4 KJV).

Friend, may you come to know God as He wants you to know Him!

In this world of over seven billion souls, there are approximately 4,200 religions. They all have their various gods and goddesses, each known by its own name. Quoting 1 Corinthians chapter 8, verses 5 and 6: “For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.”

As people who are aware of the God of the Judeo-Christian Bible, we understand there is one God. Elsewhere in Scripture, He is called “the living and true God” as opposed to “idols” (1 Thessalonians 1:9 cf. today’s Scripture). Some of His other names are “the God of Israel” (about 200 times) and “JEHOVAH God.” He is not to be confused with the idols of the world (cf. today’s Scripture). For example, Allah, the deity of the Muslims, is not the God of Christians. Allah does not have a “Son,” but the God of the Bible, “Father God,” does.

The God of the Judeo-Christian Bible is “the living and true God” because all life flows from Him. We live because He was alive first. He is the “living” God, not some dead idol, made by men’s hands, and unable to interact with its environment (read today’s Scripture in context). The God of Christianity “hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.” He is alive, able to think and function, and He is fully equipped to accomplish every detail of His will. In our next six studies, let us get to know Him intimately, that we may learn how He can equip us to learn and do His will, too!

Crossroads

Saturday, November 12, 2016

“If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant” (1 Corinthians 14:37,38 KJV).

People can acknowledge the Apostle Paul’s special ministry—or they can remain ignorant of it!

I just received an email from someone who had read one of our online Bible studies. While he admitted that there was much truth in that article, while he read those Bible verses and knew exactly what they were teaching, and while he admitted everything was logical, he refused to give up his emotional experiences in religion. He actually encouraged me to ask God for such an experience before I reject it. In other words, he wanted me to ignore Bible verses, toss out all reason, and experience some emotional high to confirm God’s presence to me. Unfortunately, there are many millions of people just like this in Christendom. No wonder non-Christians think so poorly of Jesus Christ—look at what so-called “Christians” say and do. They promote ignorance and superstition and then criticize the world for being deceived by Satan!

Now, contrast this with another online correspondence I received around the same time. This particular man, who has a testimony of salvation in Christ, is so grateful to have found right division. Dispensational Bible study has answered so many confusing questions for him. Now, he has such peace, understanding, and joy. Spending over 20 years in one cult, and then spending the next 40 years in another denomination, he has now had quite enough of religious tradition and Biblical ignorance! Even to this day, he is always eager to learn more about the Message of God’s Grace. If only there were more people like him than there are like the individual in the previous paragraph.

Today’s Scripture shows us the Holy Spirit expected people to be unaware and uninformed of Paul’s special ministry. We should teach them. Nevertheless, if Christians persist in staying confused, we are instructed to “let [them] be ignorant.” Brethren, we need to use our time wisely. Find people who want to learn the truth and teach them! Leave the willfully ignorant alone!

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Is Revelation 22:15 referring to sinners just outside of the New Jerusalem?”

Not Left to Ourselves

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:9,10 KJV).

Hallelujah—God did not leave us to ourselves!

Recently, while taking care of business at a government office, my services took so long to be rendered. While I sat waiting, the clerk helping me struck up light conversation. She complained to me how the procedure was “so complicated”—she had to go through so many steps on her computer before she could access my files and print my necessary papers. The thought immediately occurred to me. Millions of people think bigger government will solve our problems! (*Smacks forehead*)

Friends, as a dear brother in Christ often says, when God wants to judge mankind, He does not have to break out into a sweat. He can simply give mankind over to himself and mankind will ruin himself (see Romans 1:17-32). Mankind is just so naturally corrupt, so he will always eventually find himself before insurmountable obstacles and in inescapable dilemmas. Look at the world religions—the absolute spiritual darkness of people who worship rats, trees, cows, monkeys, bread and wine, and even small children! Look at the world governments—avarice, sex scandals, lies, and wasteful spending. Look at the educational system—empty curriculums, confused young people, comical opinions of men proclaimed as “the truth.” (All because they refused the light of the Word of God.)

Left to ourselves, we would truly be helpless and hopeless! However, praise God for the “but” of today’s Scripture! In His goodness, He did not leave us without revelation. He caused His inspired Word to be written down long ago, to be preserved through the ages in a multiplicity of manuscript copies, and to be translated into our language (English) so we can have it right now. We hold that inspired, inerrant, preserved Word of God when we have a King James Bible. If ever we drift away from the standards found in that King James Bible, we will surely go back the way of darkness!

Bible Q&A #320: “Seethe not a young goat in his mother’s milk?”

Arrayed in Hypocrisy

Monday, October 31, 2016

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity” (Matthew 23:27,28 KJV).

“Looks can be deceiving” is not only true during Halloweentime, but confirmed year-round within Christendom.

Today is Halloween, when children dress up and feign themselves to be creatures they are not. Likewise, many church leaders today wear “Christian” garbs, but their ministries do not bring the Lord Jesus Christ glory and honor. They promote their denomination, and seek to perpetuate it, rather than serve and exalt the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. The Bible manifests these who appear to be good, as “wolves in sheep’s clothing.”

In today’s Scripture, Jesus Christ exposed Israel’s corrupt religious leaders who misled the nation in His day. In His Parable of the Tares, Matthew 13:24-30,37-43, Christ explained how just as He had sown good seed (wheat, believing Jews) in Israel, Satan had also sown tares/weeds (unbelieving Jews). Tares resemble wheat; unbelieving Jews resemble believing Jews. The unbelieving Pharisees and scribes, for instance, looked like God’s people (believing Israel). Judas Iscariot was another example of Satan’s tares—the apostles never realized who Judas really was until it was too late!

But Satan’s counterfeit believers are not confined to Israel’s program. Today, within local assemblies of the Body of Christ, there are people feigning themselves to be Christians: “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).

Beloved, beware of the church leaders who are arrayed in hypocrisy, “and avoid them” (Romans 16:17b). If their teaching does not agree with the rightly divided King James Bible, you have no business as a child of God to be listening to them.

*This is excerpted from a larger Bible study with the same name. The Bible study can be read here or watched here.

Our latest Bible Q&A: “What are ‘phylacteries?’”

You may also see our special study, “Should Christians celebrate Halloween?”

His Son #10

Friday, October 28, 2016

“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:1-3 KJV).

What can today’s Scripture teach us?

The Holy Spirit led the writer of the Book of Hebrews to state God’s Son “uphold[s] all things by the word of his power.” Jesus Christ’s words are infinitely powerful, mighty words never to be taken lightly. In fact, our massive (!) universe is held together—yea, came into existence from nothing—because Jesus Christ spoke the words, “Let there be…!” Consequently, Father God admonishes Israel to listen to His Son speaking. That Son will be crowned King of Heaven and Earth one day. Anyone not submitting to His authority will spend eternity in the Lake of Fire! (Friends, those who reject Jesus Christ today will go to that same place of everlasting torment!)

Although sons and daughters of Adam, the Jews could be cleansed of their sins, and thus be qualified to participate in the glorification of God’s Son in the Earth. Jesus Christ came and “by himself”—omitted from the modern versions!—“purged [Israel’s] sins.” His rich, royal, sinless blood was shed for them, that He might “wash” them from their sins (Revelation 1:5). In the early Acts period, Jews were to come by faith in Jesus as God’s Son, having repented of their wayward thinking (idolatry), and then being water baptized in Jesus Christ’s name to serve as His kingdom of priests (Acts 2:38). All that the Prophets have foretold will be fulfilled one day, with believing Jews becoming “sons of God” because they listened to and believed the words of God’s Son (John 1:11,12)!

“Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him” (Psalm 2:12). 🙂

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Do Matthew 10:10, Mark 6:8, and Luke 9:3 contradict?”

His Son #9

Thursday, October 27, 2016

“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:1-3 KJV).

What can today’s Scripture teach us?

Scripture says of God’s Son, “Who being the brightness of his [Father’s] glory….” This “brightness” is radiance, a brilliant light shining forth. Psalm 104:1-2 says, “Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty. Who coverest thyself with light as a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain….” This light—which actually is a rainbow (Ezekiel 1:28; Revelation 4:3)—is God’s righteousness on display. First Timothy 6:16 describes Jesus Christ (verse 15) as: “Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto….” The Lord Jesus is literally the perfect reflection of Father God concerning His radiant righteousness and glory.

In today’s Scripture, we also read of God’s Son as being, “…the express image of his [Father’s] person….” The Greek term rendered “express image” is actually “charakter” (from which we get our English word “character”). Jesus Christ resembles God the Father in every way—His faithfulness, truth, wisdom, love, mercy, grace, peace, power, kindness, and so on. There is nothing dark or mysterious about Father God if we look at His Son, for His son is a clear representation, or explicit portrait, of His Father.

Jesus Christ, “the only begotten Son,” declares the invisible Father unto the nation Israel (John 1:18). Our Lord Jesus said, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9). If Israel knows Jesus Christ, they know the Father, and have fellowship with both (1 John 2:22,23). Any Jew who rejects Jesus will never know anything about the Father God whom He epitomizes. He will remain in the spiritual darkness he prefers (John 3:18-20).

Now we conclude this devotionals arc….

The Truth or Fables?

Sunday, October 9, 2016

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:3,4 KJV).

What is our authority—the truth, or fables?

A well-known television preacher answered a “religious” question submitted to him. The issue was a certain superstition. A lady wanted to know if this belief was just a bunch of nonsense or actually true. Rather than turn to the pages of Scripture, and tell the inquirer what God says in the Holy Bible, the preacher immediately began answering the question by relating a similar experience that he had heard someone else had had. Since that individual had had encountered the same “mysterious” event, the preacher told the inquirer that such things were possible and not at all fantasy. That he would entertain such an idea on national television is ridiculous enough, but worst of all was he never once quoted a Bible verse. His only authority was some vague story someone else had told him! (Why did he not quote a Bible verse? The Bible actually disagrees with him.)

Notice how the aforementioned preacher demonstrated today’s Scripture to be fact not fiction. Having once known Bible truths, he has since left them to embrace heretical theology. It is no shock he would answer that question in the manner he did. Decades ago, he “turn[ed] away [his] ears from the truth” and “turned unto fables.” A “fable” here is actually the Greek word muthos (from which we get “myth,” a tale). Such subjective stories rely too heavily on human emotions and intellect; therefore, they are not sound spiritual authorities. We must have an objective standard, something outside of ourselves, that never changes. That is the importance of the written Word of God, the 66 books of the Holy Bible. Had the professing “Church” “endured [tolerated] sound doctrine,” they would have never embraced such wholesale fantasy!

“Neither give heed [attention] to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying: so do” (1 Timothy 1:4). “But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness” (1 Timothy 4:7).