Keep Fighting Evil.

Idolatry. We need to choose who we worship. Many might immediately say that they do not worship anyone or anything and in a world without God or Satan that might be possible, but that isn't the case. You may choose to believe there is no God, but that doesn't make it true. Just because we believe doesn't make something a fact. Children believe in many made up stories their parents tell them, it doesn't make them reality. Of course, people will then say just because we believe there is a God doesn't make that true.

For me, it is fact that we were created by God. There can be no other logical explanation. Come up with all the big bang theories you want, there is no logic behind something being created from nothing, and you have to go down, way down to the very first something- and ask, where did that come from.

God who is from everlasting to everlasting, God who always ways, without beginning and without end answers the questions that can't be answered. God Is.

Because God Is, all things can be.

God Is and evil became, the two oppose each other with God able to arbitrarily cause evil to no longer exist. The choice not to simply end evil was a choice made because evil came into existence through a creature's choosing. To absolutely destroy evil would mean that choice to destroy being proven to be made from love, pure love, and the decision that evil would never be possible again.

Evil was possible, and we have no way of knowing how long it was possible before it came to fruition in Lucifer. We do know that once it began it was something that needed to be taken to the utmost limits of its power proven beyond doubt the horror and necessity of wiping it out of existence entirely never to be possible again.

Right now evil is almost at its end and what remains is a short window left and in that short window exists still a chance for us human beings to choose God or Evil.

We have a choice and that choice will only exist for as long as we individually live with mental capacity to choose, after death you cannot make the choice. Or until God proclaims enough is enough, and it is over.  Once God makes His proclamation we are all on one side or the other no longer able to choose.

Idolatry is making the choice to choose anything other than God being first and foremost in our life.

If we live for God, we are not living for the Devil.

We truly cannot live for both, if we do we are living a lie. God sees through lies and into the hearts and knows the hearts. We try to hide our hypocrisy but it isn't something that can be hidden from God.

We provoke God to jealousy when we live the lies trying to enjoy sin for a season while proclaim to love God. There is the knowledge given to us by God to know how to live for Him, the things that come from love, and that knowledge is something a lot of people choose to despise. Once a choice to despise the knowledge of God is made we are in grave danger of becoming blind to the evil that exists. We may then, having allowed ourselves to embrace deception, be unable to comprehend the difference between evil and God.

We are told the truth, we are not forced to live the truth.

May we choose God over all… truly over all other things. May His love be what we live, with Him living in us through the Holy Spirit, through Jesus Christ.

May we actively choose to partake in the war against Satan, by being a warrior for God. May we comprehend we won't win every skirmish we are involved in, but we must continue to fight against evil not allowing the setbacks we encounter to cause us to change sides.

All by the grace of God!

1Co 10:15  I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say. 

1Co 10:16  The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 

1Co 10:17  For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread. 

1Co 10:18  Behold Israel after the flesh: are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? 

1Co 10:19  What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? 

1Co 10:20  But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. 

1Co 10:21  Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils. 

1Co 10:22  Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he? 

You Believe- But Do You Live For God?

Run as fast as you can from idolatry! Run! Faster! Run! But first…

You have to recognize a threat before you can be frightened by it, or if not frightened at least concerned that the threat exists.  There are many kinds of threats but one thing about a threat it bodes no good for anyone being threatened. Whether you are threatened by something out of your control- say a hurricane threat, or you are threatened by a thief with a knife- neither of these is under your control. When we are threatened by something of our own making, that's where we have to stop and take inventory of our own selves. You've heard it said and maybe quite often, that we are our own worst enemies and that's true a lot of the time. We self-sabotage, we give in and do things that harm us with either short term or long term damage. Some of our harming is ongoing daily, unendingly. People will see therapists to help them stop their own negative self-destructive ways hoping to get out of the habit (natural or learned) of harming themselves- mentally, emotionally and even physically.

The specific threat in this study we are discussing is one of idolatry. We are told to flee from it…

1Co 10:14  Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry. 

Yesterday we touched much more in-depth on what idolatry is, today I want to touch on a few of those verses.

Rom 1:25  Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. 

Idolatry- when we WORSHIP the CREATURE MORE than the CREATOR.

I need you to re-read that, and think about what it is saying.

We are in grave danger when we worship OURSELVES more than we worship God. We are in grave danger when we worship OTHER PEOPLE more than we worship God.

The first commandment of the royal law, the decalogue, states this--

Exo 20:3  Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 

You say you don't have any other gods before God, now do your actions prove what your mouth is saying and your mind proclaiming? This is the greater test your life and how you are living it. It is so easy to check the 'yes, I believe in God' box and yet live a life void of the actions to prove the validity of that statement. You might be chuckling and thinking- It's valid, I believe God exists but that doesn't mean I'm going to live my life for Him. The Bible even says that devils believe. (James 2:19) We know devils don't live for God. So it isn't enough to believe.

How many can check the box, 'I live my life for God.'  That's a better gauge than the 'I believe' box.  And if you can check that living your life for God, do you? Is this your daily waking desire, to live your life for God? A life He can use for His purposes, a life He can accept as surrendered to Him? A life that holds true to having NO other gods before Him?

Is the creature (self or others) ranking much higher in your estimation than the Creator?

We are also told this-

Rom 1:28  And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient

Retaining the knowledge of God. Do we? To retain the knowledge of God is to not forget God's will. When we choose NOT to retain the knowledge of God we are choosing to discard His will and replace it with our own. And if our focus is our will being done and not God's then we are not God's at all, but liars and deceivers trying to pretend we belong to God by mouthing the words of belief and showing up to church or Bible study without any heart desire for the will of God to be done.

Faking a relationship with God, or having a half-hearted relationship with God to serve our own ends isn't a real relationship with God. As soon as we decide to serve ourselves we are allowed to be godless, we are given up to our own will. The self-serving, godless mind is an awful thing - even if it comes from a beautiful, seemingly sweet, kind, and gentle façade of a pretend God-fearing person.

We must pray with David…

Psa 139:23  Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 

Psa 139:24  And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. 

We need to flee our SELF serving, idolatrous ways. We need to flee idolizing other people. We need to run to God and give ourselves over to Him and His leading, worshipping God and no others.

All by the grace, the mercy, the will of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Now and forever!

What Is Idolatry?

1Co 10:14  Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry. 

If I tell you to flee from something I'm in essence telling you to run away from something, not walk, but run. FLEE! Move as fast as you can from that thing. Do not hesitate, just run! So when we are told to flee from idolatry we are being told to run away from idolatry as fast as we can.

But what is idolatry?  I looked it up online, and then in a few Bible dictionaries, that are on my Bible app and all that information was incredibly informative so I've copied it here. By the grace and will of God we will discuss what we read here tomorrow.  May God bless us, and enlighten us with His truth so we may not live in the darkness of seemingly acceptable sins. May we not be deceived into believing we are above idol worship, that is does not affect our lives, that it does not try to seep into our way of life pulling us away from God.

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Idolatry-

Dictionary definitions-the worship of idols or false gods, excessive admiration or love shown for somebody or something.

IDOL'ATRY, n. [L. idololatria. Gr. idol, and to worship or serve.]

1. The worship of idols, images, or any thing made by hands, or which is not God.

Idolatry is of two kinds; the worship of images, statues, pictures, &c. made by hands; and the worship of the heavenly bodies, the sun, moon and stars, or of demons, angels, men and animals.

2. Excessive attachment or veneration for any thing, or that which borders on adoration.

Idolatry

Image-worship or divine honour paid to any created object. Paul describes the origin of idolatry in Rom_1:21-25 : men forsook God, and sank into ignorance and moral corruption (Rom_1:28).

Rom 1:21  Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 

Rom 1:22  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 

Rom 1:23  And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 

Rom 1:24  Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 

Rom 1:25  Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. 

Rom 1:28  And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 

The forms of idolatry are,

(1.) Fetishism, or the worship of trees, rivers, hills, stones, etc.

(2.) Nature worship, the worship of the sun, moon, and stars, as the supposed powers of nature.

(3.) Hero worship, the worship of deceased ancestors, or of heroes.

In Scripture, idolatry is regarded as of heathen origin, and as being imported among the Hebrews through contact with heathen nations. The first allusion to idolatry is in the account of Rachel stealing her father's teraphim (Gen_31:19),

Gen 31:19  And Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the images that were her father's. 

which were the relics of the worship of other gods by Laban's progenitors “on the other side of the river in old time” (Jos_24:2).

Jos 24:2  And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods. 

During their long residence in Egypt the Hebrews fell into idolatry, and it was long before they were delivered from it (Jos_24:14; Eze_20:7).

Jos 24:14  Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. 

Eze 20:7  Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. 

Many a token of God's displeasure fell upon them because of this sin.

The idolatry learned in Egypt was probably rooted out from among the people during the forty years' wanderings; but when the Jews entered Palestine, they came into contact with the monuments and associations of the idolatry of the old Canaanitish races, and showed a constant tendency to depart from the living God and follow the idolatrous practices of those heathen nations. It was their great national sin, which was only effectually rebuked by the Babylonian exile. That exile finally purified the Jews of all idolatrous tendencies.

The first and second commandments are directed against idolatry of every form. Individuals and communities were equally amenable to the rigorous code. The individual offender was devoted to destruction (Exo_22:20).

Exo 22:20  He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed. 

His nearest relatives were not only bound to denounce him and deliver him up to punishment (Deu_13:2-10),

Deu 13:2  And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; 

Deu 13:3  Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 

Deu 13:4  Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. 

Deu 13:5  And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee. 

Deu 13:6  If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; 

Deu 13:7  Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; 

Deu 13:8  Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: 

Deu 13:9  But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. 

Deu 13:10  And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 

but their hands were to strike the first blow when, on the evidence of two witnesses at least, he was stoned (Deu_17:2-7).

Deu 17:2  If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant, 

Deu 17:3  And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; 

Deu 17:4  And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel: 

Deu 17:5  Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die. 

Deu 17:6  At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death. 

Deu 17:7  The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you. 

To attempt to seduce others to false worship was a crime of equal enormity (Deu_13:6-10).

An idolatrous nation shared the same fate. No facts are more strongly declared in the Old Testament than that the extermination of the Canaanites was the punishment of their idolatry (Exo_34:15, Exo_34:16; Deut. 7; Deu_12:29-31; Deu_20:17), and that the calamities of the Israelites were due to the same cause (Jer_2:17). “A city guilty of idolatry was looked upon as a cancer in the state; it was considered to be in rebellion, and treated according to the laws of war. Its inhabitants and all their cattle were put to death.” Jehovah was the theocratic King of Israel, the civil Head of the commonwealth, and therefore to an Israelite idolatry was a state offense (1Sa_15:23), high treason. On taking possession of the land, the Jews were commanded to destroy all traces of every kind of the existing idolatry of the Canaanites (Exo_23:24, Exo_23:32; Exo_34:13; Deu_7:5, Deu_7:25; Deu_12:1-3).

In the New Testament the term idolatry is used to designate covetousness (Mat_6:24; Luk_16:13; Col_3:5; Eph_5:5).

Mat 6:24  No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 

Luk 16:13  No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 

Col 3:5  Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: 

Eph 5:5  For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 

Idolatry

Idolatry. Idolatry, strictly speaking, denotes the worship of deity in a visible form, whether the images to which homage is paid are symbolical representations of the true God or of the false divinities, which have been made the objects of worship in his stead.

I. History of idolatry among the Jews. — The first undoubted allusion to idolatry or idolatrous customs in the Bible, is in the account of Rachel's stealing her father's teraphim. Gen_31:19.

During their long residence in Egypt, the Israelites defiled themselves with the idols of the land, and it was long before the taint was removed. Jos_24:14; Eze_20:7.

In the wilderness, they clamored for some visible shape, in which they might worship the God, who had brought them out of Egypt, Exo_32:1, until Aaron made the calf, the embodiment of Apis and emblem of the productive power of nature.

During the lives of Joshua and the elders who outlived him, they kept true to their allegiance; but the generation following, who knew not Jehovah nor the works he had done for Israel, swerved from the plain path of their fathers and were caught in the toils of the foreigner. Jdg_2:1. From this time forth, their history becomes little more than a chronicle of the inevitable sequence of offence and punishment. Jdg_2:12; Jdg_2:14. By turns, each conquering nation strove to establish the worship of its national God.

In later times, the practice of secret idolatry was carried to greater lengths. Images were set up on the corn-floors, in the wine-vats, and behind the doors of private houses, Isa_57:8; Hos_9:1-2, and to check this tendency, the statute in Deu_27:15 was originally promulgated.

Under Samuel's administration, idolatry was publicly renounced, 1Sa_7:3-6, but in the reign of Solomon, all this was forgotten, even Solomon's own heart being turned after other gods. 1Ki_11:14. Rehoboam perpetuated the worst features of Solomon's idolatry, 1Ki_14:22-24, erecting golden calves at Beth-el and at Dan, and by this crafty state' policy, severed forever the kingdoms of Judah and Israel. 1Ki_12:26-33.

The successors of Jeroboam followed in his steps, till Ahab. The conquest of the ten tribes by Shalmaneser was, for them, the last scene of the drama of abominations, which had been enacted uninterruptedly for upwards of 250 years.

Under Hezekiah, a great reform was inaugurated, that was not confined to Judah and Benjamin, but spread throughout Ephraim and Manasseh, 2Ch_31:1, and to all external appearances, idolatry was extirpated. But the reform extended little below the surface. Isa_29:13.

With the death of Josiah, ended the last effort to revive among the people a purer ritual, if not a purer faith. The lamp of David, which had long shed but a struggling ray, flickered for a while, and then went out in the darkness of Babylonian Captivity.

Though the conquests of Alexander caused Greek influence to be felt, yet after the captivity, better condition of things prevailed, and the Jews never again fell into idolatry. The erection of synagogues had been assigned as a reason for the comparative purity of the Jewish worship after the captivity, while another cause has been discovered in the hatred for images acquired by the Jews in their intercourse with the Persians.

II. Objects of idolatry. — The sun and moon were early selected as outward symbols of all-pervading power, and the worship of the heavenly bodies was not only the most ancient, but the most prevalent system of idolatry. Taking its rise in the plains of Chaldea, it spread through Egypt, Greece, Scythia, and even Mexico and Ceylon. Compare Deu_4:19; Deu_17:3; Job_31:20-28. In the later times of the monarchy, the planets or the zodiacal signs received, next to the sun and moon, their share of popular adoration. 2Ki_23:5.

Beast-worship, as exemplified in the calves of Jeroboam, has already been alluded to of pure hero-worship among the Semitic races we find no trace. The singular reverence with which trees have been honored is not without example in the history of the Hebrew. The terebinth (oak) at Mamre, beneath which Abraham built an altar, Gen_12:7; Gen_13:18, and the memorial grove planted by him at Beersheba, Gen_21:33, were intimately connected with patriarchal worship.

Mountains and high places were chosen spots for offering sacrifice and incense to idols, 1Ki_11:7; 1Ki_14:23, and the retirement of gardens and the thick shade of woods offered great attractions to their worshippers. 2Ki_16:4; Isa_1:29; Hos_4:13. The host of heaven was worshipped on the house-top. 2Ki_23:12; Jer_19:3; Jer_32:29; Zep_1:5.

(The modern objects of idolatry are less gross than the ancient, but are none the less idols. Whatever of wealth or honor or pleasure is loved and sought before God and righteousness becomes an object of idolatry. — Editor).

III. Punishment of idolatry. — Idolatry to an Israelite was a state offence, 1Sa_15:23, a political crime of the greatest character, high treason against the majesty of his king. The first and second commandments are directed against idolatry of every form. Individuals and communities were equally amenable to the rigorous code.

The individual offender was devoted to destruction, Exo_22:20, his nearest relatives were not only bound to denounce him and deliver him up to punishment, Deu_13:2-10, but their hands were to strike the first blow, when, on the evidence of two witnesses at least, he was stoned. Deu_17:2-5.

To attempt to seduce others to false worship was a crime of equal enormity. Deu_13:6-10.

IV. Attractions of idolatry. — Many have wondered why the Israelites were so easily led away from the true God, into the worship of idols.

(1) Visible, outward signs, with shows, pageants, parades, have an attraction to the natural heart, which often fail to perceive the unseen spiritual realities.

(2) But the greatest attraction seems to have been in licentious revelries and obscene orgies with which the worship of the Oriental idols was observed. (This worship, appealing to every sensual passion, joined with the attractions of wealth and fashion and luxury, naturally was a great temptation to a simple, restrained, agricultural people, whose worship and law demands the greatest purity of heart and of life. — Editor).

1Co 10:14  Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry. 

A Way to Escape.

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 

Examples, our admonition.

Is it important to recognize that as part of the family of humanity from the very beginning of mankind that we all share a certain fate? That fate is one of our ultimate demise. Because since the beginning we have this end of story life, it is important for us to learn during our life and one way we can learn is by example. We can look to all those who have gone before us. We can read the word of God and in that word we can find many admonitions. Admonitions are cautions, warnings, rebukes- you get the picture. We are given many warnings throughout God's word and you know what? Whenever a person is given a warning if they fail to heed it then that is on them and no other. I can warn someone not to do something until I'm blue in the face, until the cows come home, until the end of time and if they choose to do that very thing it's not for my lack of trying to stop them. Would I feel happy if they chose to not listen? No. I would feel a certain sadness, a disappointment, maybe a little anger too because I only wanted what was best for them. These are all very human emotions, but we were given these emotions by our Creator in order to cope with all the chaos in our lives. The Creator knowing good and evil has reactions to both, and we too have reactions to both- having decided for ourselves that we needed to know good and evil.

We are given admonitions and examples and it is up to us to learn from the examples and heed the warnings. Our choice.

We are furthermore told-

1Co 10:12  Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. 

We can't allow ourselves the luxury of independent hope, we must have a dependent hope and that dependence is on a Savior. If we happen to be standing it is only because we are being held up by the grace and will, the mercy and love of our Savior- on our own we can only fall- this is something we cannot forget.

1Co 10:13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 

There are many who would dispute this Bible verse, they'd pick it apart piece by piece. Doesn't it seem like temptations are individualized- tailor made to each particular human being? While that may be true in a certain way, in another it isn't. We all have basic temptations that are common among us. No, I may not lust after a particular person- the one you are lusting for, but I may lust after another. I may not be tempted toward stealing store items, but I have no lack of being tempted to take credit for something I didn't do and steal the rightful praise of another. We may not have the same sins in the tiny details but categorically we will all face the same temptations.

We all have to face temptations, you can't live in our world without facing them. And as soon as we begin to call the temptations good things, normal things, things that make us human- we are attempting to take away their wrongness so we can indulge in them without guilt. While they may be normal because they exists for us all, they are never going to be acceptable, they will forever need to be forgiven should we give into them. Like it or not, this is truth. We live in a very flawed world and we will be tempted to engage in a lot of the flaws.

We are told this..

1Co 10:13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 

…because it is true. Our temptations, no matter what they are, are common to man. It's because we are flawed whether we are born with the temptation to steal, or towards lust, or towards murder, or coveting you name your temptation and whether or not it is one you were innately born with or a temptation that has been roused over time and exposure to certain things, there will be a way to escape committing the sin from that temptation.

Giving in to temptation. Ask yourself, is there any temptation you can refuse to give into and it will kill you because you did not give into it? 

You are tempted to steal. Will you die if you don't steal? You might be able to answer yes, then let me ask you- is it better to die without sinning?  Most would say, no. Let me ask you, would you die if you don't commit the sin of lust? No. Will you die if you don't dishonor your parents? No. We don't die from refusing to sin, and if we do die from refusing to sin is it better to die yielding to the righteousness of God, or die sinning- disobeying God?

There is a way to escape sinning brought on by temptation. With every temptation there is a way to keep from giving into the temptation and thereby sinning. If there wasn't a way to keep from sinning, we would not be told to sin no more, we would not be guilty of sinning if it wasn't something under our ability to control through God. God makes the way to keep from sinning, God is faithful.

Right now if we are caught up in any particular sin we need to ask ourselves what way has God faithfully made for us to escape this sin?

We need to search for the escape, diligently search if it isn't something blatantly apparent to us. It is worth searching for because to willfully disobey God is to align ourselves with Satan. And, if we know the ending to the story already and who wins and who doesn't, why do we want to choose the losing side?

God help us to choose You! God help us to diligently seek to follow You at all costs knowing the reward is worth any temporary pain mentally, physically, emotionally that we have to endure right now. Save us, Lord, save us from ourselves. Please, Lord, show us the ways we need to go as we acknowledge You are our God, lead us in the way everlasting! All through Jesus Christ!

Captivity of Evil Things.

Do you remember the story of the people Moses set free from slavery? You know the one, The Ten Commandments? They made a movie out of it and show that movie every year around Easter time. Here in the New Testament, by people living long after Moses…about 1500 years after… we read about Moses and more importantly the people he freed. They were examples not only for those living in the time of the writing of the book of Corinthians, but for us- yes, us, you and me. Examples.

All those who followed Moses out of Egypt, every single one of them were touched by the miraculous mist of the parted sea. Not one person escaped Egypt that didn't have to pass through the sea which was parted just for their escape. The parting of the sea was miraculous though you'll get skeptics explaining things away as skeptics always try to do thinking their superior intellect keeps them from believing in miracles. That parted sea was held in check by God and every escapee felt the power of that miracle. They were touched by the mist of the sea, some could even say drenched. If you've ever had an opportunity to stand in front of mist, or under a mist machine, or by Niagara Falls when you go on the Cave of the Winds tour, or take the Maid of the Mist boat ride, or simply been outside when it is more misty than actually rainy, then you know how drenching a mist can be. These Hebrew Egyptian escapees were drenched by that mist as they made their journey from shore to shore and in essence they were baptized in that mist and their baptism was of spiritual origins because of the miraculous means.

Then to top it off, after they'd depleted any food supplies they had with them when they left Egypt they had to rely upon food provided for them miraculously. NO one today can claim they've been supplied with angel food from heaven. A lot of people have starved to death (tragically) and not been supplied with spiritual food. The Israelites escaping captivity after four hundred years were given spiritual food, manna, bread from heaven to keep them alive. When they ran out of water to drink and were thinking they'd die of thirst, water was provided for them, again- miraculously. Spiritual water kept them living.  So there we have it…

Baptized in the spiritual mist of the parted sea, fed with spiritual bread, given life sustaining water spiritually provided- these people were blessed with so many blessings it is mind blowing.

To top it ALL off, something a lot of people don't realize, the provider of all these spiritual life saving happenstances was Christ!

The Rock that flowed forth spiritual water was given to them by CHRIST.

That Rock was Christ!

Christ the provider long before He took on human form, some 1500 years, Christ was saving these people.

Read it for yourselves-

1Co 10:1  Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 

1Co 10:2  And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 

1Co 10:3  And did all eat the same spiritual meat; 

1Co 10:4  And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. 

The Rock that Peter was called to build a church upon was the Rock- Christ, not the rock himself- but that's another study.

The Rock was Christ, Christ the Savior was working to save these people and yet…

1Co 10:5  But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 

These people were physically saved from death and given their freedom from slavery and yet they were so corrupted by their years of captivity and refusal to let go of their self-serving ways, God was not happy with them at all. They were hard-hearted refusing to truly surrender their lives to God's leading. They desired the luxuries of captivity by Egypt rather than the depravation of living free and there was great depravation. They no longer had familiar and yes, the comforts of living in Egypt even as slaves and most of them preferred those comforts over the great hardships of their journey to freedom. When a ready food source was no longer there and they felt the first hunger pangs of being deprived- they longed to return to their captivity so they wouldn't starve to death.  That seems logical in a way, doesn't it? Yet, aren't there some who would rather die free than live enslaved? Was their enslavement to a sin serving, idol worshipping, God-less king better because they didn't have to think about where their next meal was coming from, or where their clothing would be provided, or where the wells of water were? They wanted to live enslaved just so long as they could live, rather than die free from slavery and belonging to their Creator who alone could offer a much better world in eternity.

You know this has a more modern version as well- the enslavement of the African people once ended here in America found many slaves destitute and longing for the security they once had under their master's rule. Yet the mere idea of such a thing is repulsive to us and rightly so. Slavery is not something to be condoned.

Even today, right now, you'll get people who have been made slaves who are given a choice to be freed from their captors but choose to stay because it gives them a sense of security in a life they know rather than that insecurity of not being taken care of - food/drink/clothes- all provided for them rather than having to suddenly provide all that for themselves. People can't comprehend why a slave would choose to remain a slave, but the fear of dying free outweighs the aspect of enslavement.

Getting back to Moses and the Israelites freed from captivity. They not only missed the food and drink security, they missed the evil things they'd grown accustom to. They missed the idolatry, the wild abandon of fulfilling lusts that took place in the world of Egyptians. Sure, they had to work under awful conditions very hard, but they were allowed time to indulge their passions as well. Once freed from the idolatrous ways of Egypt, they didn't want to give up the self-serving lusts they were used to. Sure, the idea of being free from the hardships of slavery was great, but the reality was far different for them when they comprehended they were being asked to return to God's care, and give up self-serving.  Here read this--

1Co 10:6  Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. 

1Co 10:7  Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. 

1Co 10:8  Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. 

1Co 10:9  Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. 

1Co 10:10  Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. 

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 

They lusted after evil things.

They had before them the freedom of salvation, yet they lusted after the captivity of evil things.

Today, just as in Paul's day, people lust after evil things preferring the evil things over Christ's salvation. They want evil things so they call the evil things good things, and the good things evil. They want evil things because it is self-satisfying, self-pleasure seeking, and indulging in things that give pleasure is something people often choose because to otherwise endure hardships is something that has become appalling and to be shunned at every turn. Work hard but only because you want to be able to play hard is the motto of many- even if they won't admit to it.

We have grown used to fulfilling our pleasure seeking lives and count it joy when we have been able to do things that please us.

God help us. we are so corrupted in so many ways!

More on this tomorrow… by the grace and will of God.

Choose Jesus.

Parables.

If I tell you a parable it isn't necessarily factual, in fact it could be quite the opposite. I could tell you a parable of a lion and a mouse- the lion with a thorn in its paw it can't get out… oh, you know that parable, but you call it a fable they are basically the same thing. There is a story being told that has a moral meaning in it, but the story itself is not necessarily based on real happenings. We all know that a lion and a mouse do not converse and most certainly a lion would not let a mouse near it's sore paw - those things are facts. The lion would not be in debt to a mouse in reality but for the sake of the parable this story lion was in debt to the mouse and later when the mouse was in trouble the lion saved the mouse- returning the favor rendered.  The moral of that particular fable was we should do good even to those we are afraid of and can hurt us and one day maybe that will help us out.

Jesus spoke in a lot of parables, telling a lot of stories that had meanings beyond the literal words He was speaking. In fact if we took parables literally then we would miss their meaning entirely.  The parable of the seed sown would mean nothing more than seed being sown, some coming up and some not, and there would be no hidden meaning, no lesson to learn whatsoever. We'd just realize the obvious. Of course the seed that falls on a rock won't have dirt to take root in…end of story. That's not what Jesus meant though, He had a lesson to teach.

The following is a parable so for us to interpret it literally would make no sense whatsoever yet people have taken it literally.

Mar 9:43  And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 

Mar 9:44  Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 

Mar 9:45  And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 

Mar 9:46  Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 

Mar 9:47  And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: 

Mar 9:48  Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 

Yes, I told you some people have taken this parable to be literally and have actually sought to maim themselves thinking that would rid them of the ability to sin with said part they are maiming.

What is the parable's true meaning? What is Jesus trying to convey here? The extreme importance of recognizing the offenses we commit and the striving not to commit those offenses. First we have to comprehend what we are allowing ourselves to do with our hands, feet, eyes… our bodies. What controls all of these physical attributes? Does a handless, footless, blind person not have the ability to sin? You might be tempted to answer yes to that question believing that the ability to sin would be gone but that blind man could be caught up in a mental battle of lust, or the one orchestrating intricate plans of thievery and running a drug operation as the brains of the outfit so to speak if nothing much more. Farfetched maybe, but impossible, no. A man sent into war whole bodied might not return as such, but that won't change the man's ability to sin with his thoughts- using other people to carry out acts of sin for him, or with prosthetics and such carrying them out himself.

PARABLE.

What Jesus wants us to realize is how truly important it is that we recognize the evil we are tempted to commit and in recognizing choose not to sin. That it is much better for us to sacrifice to the extreme in order not to sin, than to give into the sinning as if it won't have consequences. 

The kingdom of God will not be filled with one eyed, one hand, one footed people, but it will be filled with those who have realized the need to sacrifice selfishness, flesh prone lusts, all that would keep them from being committed to serving Christ Jesus, to loving God first and foremost and then others as God would have them loved.

The kingdom of God will not be filled with those who are not God's. NOT EVERYONE is going to heaven! This is truth, a truth we like to ignore and sweep under a rug and shove that filth hiding rug in a hole and bury it deep. We don't want to think about the possibility of the majority of the world's people not going to heaven- it messes up our idea of God simply forgiving everyone and not making anyone accountable for actions they choose to commit.

God will and can forgive anyone, but not everyone wants forgiveness and this is truth. God knows the hearts and knows the truth of every person's choice to serve Him or not serve Him.  There will not be a single person in heaven who has not surrendered themselves to God's will, to God's truth, to God's love.

We must make a choice and it's a constant - living the truth of that choice- renewing that choice always- above many, many temptations that will come our way.

God help us to always choose HIM over all!

We would be HIS!

The World Hates Me (Thinks I'm Very Odd) And That's Okay.

Can we all agree that there is no such thing on this earth as having a perfect life? We have expectations of how life should be, how we imagine a perfect life will be, but isn't. We tell ourselves if only this would change, or if I had that, and maybe if this wasn't how I was born- life would be much better. Why couldn't I have that look, or be born with those genes, and into that seemingly idyllic family. We will never have a perfect life. Nothing will ever give us a perfect life. There isn't a single person alive today that has had a perfect life.

We are perceived by others as being odd, and to their way of thinking we may be odd. We are perceived by MOST others as being odd, and to all their way of thinking we may be odd. We are perceived by EVERYONE as being odd, and to everyone's thinking we may be odd. To ourselves we just are. We didn't set out to be odd to anyone. We didn't set out to be different from the majority acceptable norm. We turned out this way because individuality exists.

I'm not the smartest person, I don't have the best common sense, I'm not the prettiest person, I don't have the best body shape (even thin as a board should thinnest be a criteria for best body). I don't have the best hair- not even close. My skin is awful with moles, freckles, age spots, wrinkles and various imperfections too numerous to account for. By all accounts based on every single one of these things just mentioned, I am a huge mess of a human being.

Some of the mess is my own doing, but a lot of it is not. I can't with thinking change a single thing about myself. Externally and internally I am filled with flaws that make people say-

I can't believe you didn't (insert what I didn't do here). I can't believe you thought (insert weird thinking I do here). I wish you would have (insert the many wishes I've left unfilled). Why couldn't you (insert what I couldn't do here). Shouldn't you be (insert what I should be instead). If you'd only do this (insert thing I should do) then you'd be different. Stop obsessing over (insert obsessiveness here). How could you think that (insert odd thoughts). Do you know you made me feel like I can't (insert how I obstructed feelings). Because you reacted this way (insert my not good reaction here) I can't be myself around you. With your believing (insert my beliefs) I have to watch what I say around you. This list goes on and on and on… and on… and on…….. Yes, and on. Even in my bubble wrapped world of immediate family I often end up the really odd one.

What am I left to believe? The beliefs of what so many say or something else?

The beliefs of so many, I have to believe that. The majority rules after all.

So to be able to live with myself I call myself eccentric and somehow that helps a little bit . It makes me sound okay in my extremely flawed state of being. Don't mind me, I'm just very eccentric. Nice way of saying, yeah, I know I'm weird but, hey, it's okay.

If this is your story too, don't be surprised- we are all strange to each other and some accept the others strangeness without pointing it out, while others can't help but point it out- it makes them somehow feel good about themselves.

I can let what others think destroy me, or I can accept myself and the realization that until my Savior returns and changes my vile, corruptible, flawed body and mind- I will be what I am- completely and utterly imperfect, and only growing more so over time hitting me with the 'you are aging really badly' stick. I can let Christ be the perfection I need in me, not me be perfect. I'm not perfect I'm the misshaped, oddball, who stands out even among a world of oddballs- but Christ in me is perfect.

Joh_14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Joh_15:18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.

Joh_15:19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

Joh_16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Joh_17:14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

Joh_17:15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

Joh_17:16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.