Monthly Archives: October 2015

Before your head hits the pillow

Are You Heaven Bound?

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Early this morning I posted a meme that made comments about what would NOT get you into heaven and what WOULD get you into heaven.  The comments that ensued were interesting.  Very rarely have I posted anything that caused this much conversation.

First let me say that no meme or no single post that I place on this page will contain in it all of Biblical doctrine.  I post memes and writings that I hope will challenge you, encourage you, teach you, bring your joy, or make you think.  This one certainly did many of those things.

But since this little meme caused such a stir, I thought that I should write about this topic tonight.  So here goes.

Good works will NOT get you into heaven.  You can be the best philanthropist who ever lived and it will not help you walk through the gates of heaven.  Only trust in Jesus as your Savior will do that.  But we must know that good works are a requirement in the life of a Christian. Ephesians 2:10 tells us, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” And James 2:14-17 says, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

Faith and trust in Jesus DEMANDS good works, for to this we were created.

Merely being baptized will not get you into heaven.  Many are baptized as children.  Just because your parents baptized you does not mean you gain automatic entrance into heaven.  Others were baptized as adults and I would say it is fair to assume that even some who are baptized as adults do not really know Jesus as their Savior.  So baptism in and of itself will NOT get you into heaven.  But that does not mean that baptism is unimportant. Mark 16:16 says,”Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”  Baptism or profession of one’s faith is an outward expression of an inward commitment to the Lord.  This passage however, should not be construed to say that if a person is not physically baptized that they cannot be saved.  The second part of Mark 16:16 says that whoever does not BELIEVE will be condemned.  If you are a true believe then you have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and it is this baptism that is necessary for salvation.  No one can believe without the Holy Spirit working in their lives.

Attending church, mass, or Sunday school will not get us into heaven.  For many people sit in church pews or at mass every week who have not met and believed in their hearts in the risen Savior.  But does that mean that worshiping together is not important?  Quite the contrary.  Hebrew 10:24-25 speaks of this when it tells us this, “and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”  So, although going to church will not save us, we are instructed to assemble together to stimulate one another to love each other and to reach out to those in need.

Giving money and doing charity work will not get us into heaven.  No matter how much you do or how much you give you will never be able to give enough to gain entrance into heaven.   Only trust in Jesus as your Savior will do that.  But does that mean tithing and charity work are unimportant.  No, not at all!  2 Corinthians 9:7 instructs us, “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” That is giving of our time, our treasure, and our talents.

Will taking communion get you to heaven? NO!  Only believing in Jesus as your Savior can do that!  But I Corinthians 11:26 says, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” So although taking communion will not save us it does play a vital part in reminding us of the immense sacrifice that was given to pay the debt for our sins.

Will belonging to a particular denomination or political party get you into heaven?  Absolutely NOT!!  No denomination, political party, or friendship is without stain, without sin.  Each party has its flaws and each denomination has its flaws.  Let’s not get so high and mighty about our affiliations that we start feeling better of ourselves just because of who we associate with.  Only faith and trust in Jesus Christ can bring about salvation which gives us the reward of eternity in heaven.

And positive thinking will not get us into heaven.  Many of today’s modern churches will teach and preach the power of positive thinking.  This positive thinking can NEVER get us into heaven.  But God loves us and God created us in His image so we should not fail to see ourselves in that way.  If we have accepted Jesus as our Savior, we are not only created in the image of the Almighty God, but we are also now called children of God!  What a blessing that is.

So nothing listed in the grouping of what will get you into heaven is bad, but rather most are good, and even commanded.  But none of them alone with get you into heaven.

There is ONLY ONE WAY to heaven.  Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. Acts 16:31.  John 14:6 further states, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

And Acts 4:12 says this about Jesus, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

So what will get you into heaven?  Only faith and trust that Jesus Christ, God Himself, came to earth, lived among men, never sinned, was tortured and sent to the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, for the sins of all who believe in Him.  And that three days later, He rose from the grave and smashed death to smithereens.  He now reigns at the right hand of God the Father and will one day return to earth to bring about a new heaven and a new earth where we will live eternally with Him in Glory!  WOW!! What a Savior!!

Before your head hits the pillow

The Parable of the Sower

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…Before your head hits the pillow…

The Parable of the Sower

So what is a parable and who uses them? When I was a child, I was told that a parable was an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. Now that I am older I think I would view them as extended metaphors. The story (parable) is a doorway to a greater truth, a larger reality. These parables were also understood by those with discernment, those who had ears to hear and eyes to see. (Matthew 13:10-17).

Parables or allegories were told in both the Old and New Testament. You will find parables in the Psalms, in Proverbs, and even in Ezekiel. Jesus told more than 30 parables during His lifetime. He told parables about the Kingdom of God, about service and obedience, about prayer, about neighbors, about humility, about wealth, about God’s love, about thankfulness, about Christ’s return, and about God’s values.

Tonight let’s talk about the Parable of the Sower. You can read this parable in Matthew 13:1-8 and in Luke 8:4-8. The Luke passage says, “While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, He told this parable, ‘A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.’”

The seed in this parable represents the word of God. You and I might consider ourselves the sowers. As Christians we are called to go into the world and make disciples. We don’t know where we will find these disciples, and whether the seeds we plant grow into productive crop is not up to us, that is in the Lord’s hands. It is our duty to plant seeds wherever we can. We may plant some seeds on the by-ways and some in the rocks and some may be sown where they can be choked out. But if we plant enough seeds some will be planted in fertile soil. C.H. Spurgeon once stated, “Our duty is not measured by the character of our hearers, but by the command of our God. We are bound to preach the gospel, whether men will hear, or whether they will forbear. It is ours to sow beside all waters.”

The seed that was sown by the way-side is like the Word that is spread to men with hardened hearts. God’s Word sits on the outside of this person’s heart but never penetrates it. It never sinks in so cannot grow.

The next seeds fall among rocks. The seed sprouts but because of lack of moisture it soon dies. The people who are like these seeds hear the Word, they may even become emotional about what they hear, but their professions are not true. It is based on emotion not on deep-seeded faith. These individuals never really accept the truth or act on its commands so they also die.

Then there were the seeds that were sown among thorns. These seeds are those individuals who hear the Word, they listen, they take the words home with them and may even make a profession of religion. They worship with believers; they may attend your services, and appear to be growing. But they have allowed the things of this world to grow side by side with the Word of God. They have chosen not to die to self. They don’t want to put aside the things of the world, and eventually those very things choke out the Words that they heard so that it never takes root. They never make a complete profession of their faith.

The last is the seed that falls on fertile soil. This seed represents the true Christian. This seed represents the Christian who gives his/her life totally to the Lord, grows in truth and knowledge, and then becomes capable of planting seeds themselves!

It is our responsibility to plant seeds. We must sow them everywhere! Some will fall on non-fertile land but some will fall on fertile soil. Others may come and water your seeds. Another believer may bring in the fertilizer. But that fertile soil plant would not have spouted had you not planted the seed. What a blessing it will be when one day the seeds that you sowed begin sowing seeds of their own!

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How Deep the Father’s Love for Us

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How Deep the Father’s Love for Us

How deep the Father’s love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the man upon a cross
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

-Stuart Christopher Townend

Before your head hits the pillow

Tricking Jesus

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…Before your head hits the pillow…

Tricking Jesus

The Pharisees and Sadducees were constantly trying to trick and trap Jesus. The Pharisees were primarily business class individuals and were viewed in high esteem by the Jewish people. They believed that the Old Testament was the inspired word of God but they also ascribed to many other more traditional laws which were written in the Mishnah as passed on orally from one generation to the next.

The Sadducees were wealthy and more distant from the people. They believed that the Old Testament was inspired and did not believe that oral tradition had equal authority to scripture. The Sadducees didn’t believe in the spiritual realm of angels and demons or an afterlife but the Pharisees did.

But both groups saw Jesus as a threat to their authority and spent much time trying to determine a way to get rid of Him.

In Mark 12 the Pharisees tried to trick Jesus when they asked Him if it was all right to pay taxes to Rome. They believed that if He said no, the Roman government would arrest Him. If He merely said yes it would appear that He was a Roman sympathizer and the people would turn against Him. But Jesus was and is wise. What He told them was to look at the coin. The coin had on it the image of Caesar. He told them to pay to Caesar that which was Caesars and to God that which was Gods.

Later in the same chapter the Sadducees took their turn at trying to trick Jesus. They asked him a really ridiculous question considering they did not believe in the afterlife. They asked Him about a woman who was widowed 7 times. When she got to heaven, whose wife would she be? Jesus was again just too wise for them. He told them that she would be no man’s wife for there is no marriage in heaven. But He didn’t stop there. He then quoted Exodus 3:6 the scripture referencing the burning bush. It states, “I am the God of your ancestors – the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Jesus told them that He wasn’t the God of the dead but the God of the living so Abraham, Isaac and Jacob MUST be alive for God to be their God AFTER they had died.

In John 10 the Pharisees were up to their trickery as well. Divorce was a tricky subject and Moses had given the people of Israel an out. They wanted to see if Jesus too would readily condone divorce. But Jesus in His wisdom schooled them once again. He let them know that Moses had written his instructions about divorce only to please the hard hearted wickedness of the people, but God ordained that marriage should be forever.

We have a very wise and powerful God. Jesus knows all and understands all. He knew when the Pharisees and Sadducees were trying to trick Him and he knows when we are trying to evade Him or control our own lives.

When we try to trick Jesus by bargaining with Him, he knows our hearts. When we bargain with Jesus saying, “If you will do this, then I will do this,” Jesus sees into our hearts and knows that with that bargain our hearts are not completely surrendered to Him.

Just as the Pharisees could not trick Jesus, we will never be able to trick God either. If we are living a life of faulty service and worship, He knows. If we attend church and go through all of the ritualistic motions of being a Christian but have never really accepted Him as our Savior and Lord, He knows.

If we have deep hidden sins, we must know they are not hidden from Him for He knows our hearts. There is nowhere that we can go to hide from God. There is nothing we can do to trick Him into believing that we are something that we are not.

Jeremiah 23:24 says, “Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” declares the LORD. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the LORD.” And Psalm 139:7 tells us, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” And again in Hebrews 4:13 we read, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

God is all knowing and all powerful. The Sadducees and Pharisees couldn’t put one over on Jesus and neither can we. So if today we have unconfessed sins, let’s go before the Lord and confess them. If we have been living a spiritual life riddled with ritual but not filled with the Spirit of God, Let’s fall on our knees and confess Him as Lord. Let’s ask Him to mold us and make us into a new creature, one created to worship and glorify Him! No more hiding, no more bargaining, no more trickery, just sincere worship. That’s what God wants. Let’s give it to Him!

Before your head hits the pillow

What does it mean to judge, or what does the Bible say about judging?

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…Before your head hits the pillow…

What does it mean to judge, or what does the Bible say about judging?

The Bible speaks often about judging and in many cases the word judge has a different meaning.

Below are many passages that warn us against judging. I believe that Jesus warned so frequently against judging, for when we judge others we don’t take an introspective look at ourselves and our own spiritual deficiencies.

We can talk about Sue at the office and how often she gossips, or we can discuss how Larry has such terrible language, or how frustrated that Mr. and Mrs. Lewis never seem to volunteer for anything at church. When we do this, we don’t take the time to look at the plank in our own eye. When Jesus was speaking about this type of judgment he was telling us not to judge hypocritically.

Judging others seems to give us a reprieve, and that is not what the Lord would want. Here are the passages on this type of judging:

Matt. 7:1-3″Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.…

Luke 6:37″Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

Luke 6:41″Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?

John 8:7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Romans 2:1 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.

Romans 14:10 You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.

Romans 14:13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.

1 Corinthians 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.

So if we think it is okay to judge others’ sins or deficiencies we had better make sure that we have taken a good look at our own lives before we do. There may be time when spiritual discipline is in order, but we must be sure that we are the correct person to administer that discipline and we are doing so in love.

Now this doesn’t mean that we ignore sin, but it does mean that we must be careful before we judge someone else’s sin. We do however have a responsibility to assist another Christian who is sinning, to lovingly and respectfully let them understand their error. James 5:20 states: — let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. 2 Timothy 4:2 says – preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.

I think we often confuse discernment for judging. I do believe that it is valid to be discerning. It is appropriate for a parent to look at their teenage children’s friends and make a determination whether they believe those friends are appropriate for their child.

It is appropriate for us to discern that certain people are not good for us so we should not associate with them. That is discernment.

Understanding that something is not Godly, is not judging.

Many have cited the passage that indicates we will know them by the fruit on their tree. This passage, Matt. 7:15-20 is specifically speaking about false prophets and how important it is for us to be able to identify them.

Matthew 7:15-21″Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. “So then, you will know them by their fruits. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.…

Matthew 7:16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles?

Matthew 12:33 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.

Luke 6:44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn bushes, or grapes from briers.

As Christians we must be ever vigilant about from whom we are taking spiritual leadership. I think the most dangerous are those who speak some truth, but not all of the truth. They can sound good, they reference God and His power but they may also espouse Buddha or Confucius. If you find a spiritual leader like this RUN!!!

And lastly there is the judging of one’s eternal destination. I think we will all agree on this one. That is left entirely up to the Lord! We must NEVER judge someone’s salvation, for only God knows this!

So I guess the long and the short of it is: Look at yourself before you pass judgment on anyone else. If a fellow believer is sinning, approach them with love and respect and NEVER judge anyone’s salvation. That is entirely up to God!