“O Lord our God, other masters besides You have ruled us; But through You alone we confess Your name.” (Isaiah 26.13)

Israel had a long history of being dominated by other masters, such as Assyria and Egypt. Part of the reason why they were subdued by other masters is their practice of adopting worship of foreign gods. Idolatry ran rampant, particularly so in Isaiah’s day. Wicked kings had welcomed foreign deities into Israel and mingled them with the worship of Yahweh. But Yahweh, Jehovah, will not share HIs glory. So, the beauty of the covenant relationship with Him was marred by pagan worship. And other masters ruled them.

What are some “other masters” that we wrestle with today? We may not be so blatant as to worship idols and pagan representations of them. But perhaps “other masters” take the form of habits that dominate our time and sap us of energy for serving the Lord Jesus. If we’re all honest, there are some things that lord over us and dominate our time and capture our attention for far too long. Social media tends to be a black hole for many who simply cannot stop scrolling endlessly through their feed. Television can suck us in to hours-on-end of “entertainment” that dulls our senses to all things holy. Hobbies and recreation often consume hours of our time and keep us from more beneficial things – such as reading and meditating on God’s Word.

Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy some of these things, too. Perhaps too much. There’s nothing wrong with keeping up with friends, entertainment or recreation. But at what price do we participate in them? Paul said in 1 Corinthians 6:12, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.” He mentions food and how it is beneficial for the body, but without proper discipline food can be a problem (ouch!). 

The point is this: we must practice spiritual disciplines that will demonstrate that the Lord Jesus is our Master. It is He to Whom we owe our allegiance. Any “other master” spoils our relationship with Him Who redeemed us. May He help us, by the power of the Holy Spirit residing in us, to not allow “other masters” to rule us. Instead of yielding to “other things” let’s yield to things above.

Grace & Peace! Mike

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.” (Ephesians 1:3-8a)

May this Scripture passage resound in your heart and mind as you celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow. Take some time to count the riches of His grace extended to you in Christ Jesus. Praise God for His providential grace – providing all you need for life and godliness. Praise Him for HIs sustaining grace – giving you life and breath each new day. Praise Him for His intercessory grace through the ministry of the Lord Jesus before God’s throne of grace. Praise Him for the sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit – convicting of sin, correcting you and comforting you to the image of Christ. All these blessings in Christ flow out of the riches of God’s grace. They are immeasurable, incomprehensible and unimaginable to our finite minds. 

“Be glad in the Lord, you righteous ones, And give thanks to His holy name.” Psalm 97:12

Debbie and I send prayers for a Happy Thanksgiving for you and your family.

Deuteronomy 17:1 reads, “You shall not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or a sheep in which is a blemish, any defect whatever, for that is an abomination to the LORD your God.” (ESV)

Israel had received the divine favor of God Who chose them as His holy people. He demanded holiness of them. In Exodus 22:21 He says to them, “You shall be holy men to Me.” As holy men, they were to not only be holy before Him but were to offer holy sacrifices to Him in worship. Thus, the animals sacrificed were to be pure, unblemished and spotless.

Each of us who have been called by God’s grace are also called to be holy. As God’s elect people we are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a  holy nation, a people for God’s  own possession” (1 Peter 2:9). Paul says in Romans 12:1 that we are to present our “bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” Every day we live, our lives are a living sacrifice to Him.

The question is: what do we do with our defects? Since they are an abomination to God, what do we do about those blemishes of sin? There are two points here. The first is that because of our fallen nature we are blemished and spotted and, therefore, unacceptable to God. We have no righteousness of our own to offer Him and we could never muster up enough holiness in our sinful nature to make atonement for our myriad sin. We must come to God through Christ, dressed in His righteousness. Only Christ could be the perfect unblemished sacrifice for sin. We could never attain that perfection no matter how long we live and how strenuously we strive for it. We must come to Christ for this cleansing to make us an acceptable sacrifice in God’s sight. Paul reminds us of this blessed truth and the blessed exchange in 2 Corinthians 5:21 – “He made Him who knew no sin to be  sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

But the other side of the coin is: once we come to Christ, what do we do with the sin that remains because of the flesh? How can we be a sacrifice pleasing and acceptable to God when we have these blemishes? We’ll, the first thing is to acknowledge that we are cleansed through the blood of Christ, and because of His sacrifice in our place we are acceptable to God. But the second half of the equation is that we must acknowledge sin each day, repent of it and turn to live in holiness before God. We cannot and must not take the grace of God for granted and think that since we are in Christ we don’t have to worry about our sin. That is antinomianism, which tries to tell us that we don’t have to be holy. “A little sin here and there is not going to be a problem.”

God said, “do not offer any sacrifice that has a blemish in it – that is an abomination to the Lord.” In our struggle against the world, the flesh and the devil we must strive earnestly to rid ourselves of all blemishes. That means we must take every sin seriously. Far too many who claim to be redeemed Christians make light of their sin. Paul felt the weight of his sin (see Romans 7). We must feel the weight of our sin and recognize that it is an abomination to God. If it is an abomination to Him, it ought to be the same to us. 

As we mature in Christ we will sin less – but we will feel the weight of the sin more. It should cause us grief and pain so that we will turn from it. Even as we rejoice in the grace, mercy and forgiveness of our Father.

Therefore, “let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” Hebrews 12:1

“You shall be blameless before the Lord your God.” (Deuteronomy 18:13).

Fight on, Christian; fight on!

Today is October 31. Many people, including many professing believers in Christ Jesus, will celebrate Halloween. This blog is not one in which we will address the wisdom or folly of celebrating “All Hallow’s Eve.” Instead, we want to address something worth celebrating in the life of every believer.

October 31 is also known as Reformation Day. It was on this date in 1517 that Martin  Luther posted his 95 theses to the door of All-Saints Church in Wittenburg, Germany in protest to the practices and teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Church had distorted the Gospel of Christ and insisted that salvation, justification, was by faith plus works. Along with the despoiling of the Gospel, the Church also had practices and traditions that were no where to be found in Scripture, most notably the selling of indulgences to “buy” your dead loved ones entrance into heaven.

Luther insisted that the Lord’s true church was formed by Christ Jesus and He, as Head of the Church, laid out how the church is to be run. The Roman Church had deformed the Lord’s church, and Luther insisted that things needed to be reformed. Thus, his actions on October 31, 1517 led what came to be known as the Reformation. His protests against the Roman church became the Protestant movement. 

Luther led the Reformation efforts in Germany. John Calvin led the Reformation in Switzerland while John Knox picked up the mantle in Scotland. All these men insisted that the foundation of the Church is Christ Jesus as revealed in Scripture. Thus, sola Scriptura became the rallying cry of the Reformation: Scripture alone will lead one to salvation. Nothing needs to be added from the pope or the bishops in Rome. The Reformers believed that salvation is by God’s grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone (sola gratia, sola fide, solas Christus). And they believed this was all for God’s glory alone (sola Gloria deo).

We can boil the protests of the Reformers down to two main points: who has the authority to say what is true and how can sinful man be reconciled to Holy God? The Reformers concluded that God’s Word is the ultimate authority; not the Church at Rome, not any human tradition. Sola Scriptura! And reconciliation between God and man comes only through Christ and His atoning sacrifice on the cross: Solas Christus!

As we celebrate October 31st this year, let’s remember the Reformation and give thanks to God for those who paved the way for us to hold the truth of God’s Word in our own hands. We aren’t dependent on any one person or a council to tell us what it says. We can read God’s Word for ourselves thanks to men like William Tyndale, John Wycliffe and Myles Coverdale. We can read for ourselves how to be reconciled to God through Christ alone. Soli Deo gloria!

So many so-called Christians today have become convinced that their salvation is secure because they raised their hand, walked an aisle, signed a card, had some emotional experience or even were baptized by immersion. Even more have anchored their salvation to the fact that they were raised in the church, that their parents were pillars of the church, they have had perfect attendance for 30 years or that they have taught Sunday School for decades. Such people have fallen into the trap of what it is to be a Cultural Christian.

The idea that someone could claim to be a Christian and live according to the yearnings of their carnal nature was unheard of up until the early 20th century. Lewis Sperry Chafer wrote a book in 1918 entitled He That is Spiritual in which he claimed that Paul’s instruction in 2 Corinthians 2:15-3:3 described two classes of Christians: carnal and spiritual. Chafer wrote: “The ‘carnal’ Christian is on the same plane as that of the ‘natural’ (unsaved) man.” 

In other words, a “carnal christian” is just like the unsaved people around him. He has not repented, he has not changed. He claims Christ as His Savior but does not live under the Lordship of Christ. His idea gained traction among many believers. There are many today who claim cultural or carnal christianity. Beloved, if Jesus demands anything of us He demands change; He demands genuine transformation of the heart, and that is only accomplished as the Holy Spirit moves through His Word to convict us of sin and leads us to repentance.

I invite your attention to some more rather stunning words in Luke 13:23-24. Jesus is preaching in Perea, a region on the east side of the Jordan River, and He is slowly but purposefully making His way to Jerusalem and the cross. Along the way He is teaching about His kingdom, including a few parables in the previous chapter. As He is teaching someone asks a question: “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?” 

How do you answer that question? I say, let’s simply follow Jesus’ example. Jesus’ main point here is whether there are few or many who will be saved, you make sure you’re one of them! That’s what He is telling us when He says, “Strive to enter through the narrow door.” The personal pronoun you is implied: “YOU make sure you get through the narrow door! Make sure you get in!”

The issue here, beloved, is to make sure you are a kingdom citizen, right? Scripture admonishes us over and over to scrutinize our lives to make sure we are truly citizens of the Lord’s kingdom; to make sure we are true believers. Second Corinthians 13:5 – “Test yourselves {to see} if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you–unless indeed you fail the test?” In 2 Peter 1:10 we are cautioned to be diligent in making our calling and election sure. When we are called to the Lord’s Table, in 1 Corinthians 11:28, Paul commands that because of the seriousness of the occasion and the consequences involved that “a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.”

So there is in Scripture a clear distinction between those who are of this world and those who are of Christ; those who are citizens of the kingdom of the world and those who are citizens of the kingdom of heaven; even more simply, those who are of Satan’s kingdom and those who are of God’s kingdom. That is what Jesus determined when He came in the flesh. With a clarion call He separated good from evil, the righteous from the unrighteous, the just from the unjust, the holy from the wicked.

The entrance exam into Christ’s kingdom demands your death. Don’t you remember? Jesus said in Luke 9:23, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” Paul said in Colossians 3:3, “you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” He adds in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”

Listen, dear friends, you need to understand that entering the Kingdom demands death. It demands that you die, and along with you dies all your dreams, all your plans, all your aspirations, all your ambitions, all your desires – everything dies when you come to Christ. That’s the requirement for gaining entrance into the kingdom of Christ.

Let me ask you men a question here: which button on your shirt is the most important one? The most important button on your shirt is the first one. If you get the first one buttoned into the right hole, a, and all the rest will line up, right? Get the first one right and the shirt will look good on you.

If you don’t understand this vital truth, that entrance into the kingdom demands death, you will never gain entrance into the kingdom of Christ. “Strive to enter through the narrow door.” This is the Master, the Lord of the Kingdom, stating the entry requirement. He is saying in no uncertain terms that coming to Him and entering His kingdom means the end of yourself. And if you didn’t say that when you came to Christ, if you didn’t come to the end of yourself and die, then there is every reason to question whether you’re a Christian or not.

We are continually admonished in Scripture to “examine yourself,” and to “make your calling and election sure.” There must be the daily continual scrutiny of our lives measured against the truth of Scripture. We are pursuing holiness in the kingdom of Christ. All these challenges to live differently than the world are written for our edification. We want to know we are in the Kingdom and all the Scriptures are written……That You May Know.

I ran across this quote from a great Puritan preacher, John Owen: “On Christ’s glory I would fix all my thoughts and desires, and the more I see of the glory of Christ, the more the painted beauties of this world will wither in my eyes and I will be more and more crucified to this world. It will become to me like something dead and putrid, impossible for me to enjoy.”

As I read the Puritans, I have discovered that (in my mind at least) they had a communion and fellowship in their walk with the Lord that is known by few people today. They speak of a pursuit of holiness and godly living that is missing among most believers in our current age. Their language seems to be of another world, and I suppose that it truly is. When reading their writings, particularly their prayers, they seemed to have an ecstasy that flowed out of the closest walk imaginable.

This prompts an observation that is booth telling and convicting. The observation is this: the Puritans probably didn’t sit around their houses all day with social or entertainment distractions. Yes, I realize they lived long before iPhones, iPads, readers and even television. But they surely had their own temptations to distract them from a singular focus on Christ and becoming like Him. I can’t envision these spiritual giants sitting around shooting the breeze about the latest theatrical performance or checking the newspapers for updates on the games of the day. And I certainly can’t picture them arguing with and berating each other over the latest political news.

No, I think these people knew the secret of setting your minds on things above, not on the things of the earth (Colossians 3:2). Believe me, this is no attempt on my part to point an accusing finger because I have yet to experience the singular focus that was apparent with the Puritans. How I long for it. And I know it requires sacrifice. There are many things I must give up if I am to enjoy the sweetest communion with the Lord of glory. How I long for the things of the world to “wither in my eyes” so that I am “more and more crucified to this world.” In that way, I will be conformed to the image of Christ. That is my goal. It is the goal of every true believer. 

I hope this exhortation will encourage you to check your focus. My hope is that your knowledge of the Lord will increase and your fellowship with Him will grow sweeter and sweeter each day. What a joy to be a part of the fellowship of the unashamed and the fellowship of the burning heart. That’s why we study the Word and preach the Word – and that’s why we’re here…..

That You May Know (1 John 5:13)

As we enter into what is commonly known as Holy Week, we do so with great anticipation. After Jesus entered Jerusalem to the shouts of “Hosanna! Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord,” it was the fulfillment of hope for the Jewish people. They were hoping for the Messiah. Sadly, as a whole, they rejected Him. Rejection of Christ then, as well as now, means the loss of hope beyond this life.

We who are in Christ know that there are only two possibilities after we leave this life: heaven or hell. God created them both. Those who have faith in Christ have the hope of heaven; those who are lost have no hope and are doomed to experience the eternal hopelessness of hell. It may be that one of the greatest torments in hell will be the realization that the pain will never cease.

Bu what is this hope of which we speak? People use the word as a synonym for a wish or a desire. We hope to visit friends or family soon; we hope to get a tax refund; we hope to break 90 on the golf course. 

But for the Christian, hope is not a wish, it’s a reality. In the biblical sense of the word hope is fact not yet realized. God has promised it and He will fulfill that promise. In the spiritual sense, hope is the Christian character that gives us a confident attitude toward the future and provides us with the proper motivation to expend our energy in living like Christ to the best of our ability.

Hebrews 6:19-20 says, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf.” Our hope is grounded firmly in Christ Jesus Who has entered the heavenly Holy of Holies on our behalf, acting as our great High Priest and forever making intercession for us. He is our sure and steady Anchor.

Peter adds in 1 Peter 1:3-6 that we have been given a “new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.” Jesus Christ is the foundation of our hope, and since He is unshakable, our hope is secure.

If you don’t know that hope, look to Christ today. He is the only way to eternal hope, and that message is why this ministry is here……that you may know – the hope of eternal life.

1 John 5:13

Scripture often confronts the issue of false disciples. In our world today there are many false teachers and false believers. There are those who have cheapened the grace of God by deceiving themselves into thinking they are believers and disciples of the Lord Jesus when they truly are not. The call to discipleship is the call to Christ as Lord. All who are truly saved are surrendered to Christ as Lord and are deepening their relationship as His disciple. Paul admonishes us in 2 Corinthians 13:5 to “Examine yourselves to see if you are in the faith; test yourselves.”

In order to search your heart and find the comforting assurance the Holy Spirit brings, ask yourself questions like these: Have I experienced the leading of the Holy Spirit in my life? Is the Spirit’s fruit (Galatians 5:22-23) evident in my life? Do I genuinely love the members of Christ’s Body? Is the longing of my heart to commune with God in prayer? Do I live in conscious awareness of the presence of God? Does my life demonstrate a love for the Word of God and are its truths evident to me?

If you can answer these and other questions like them in the affirmative, then hold on to the assuring work of God’s Spirit. These are some of the genuine indicators of true disciples. The beloved apostle John wrote, “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.  I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:12-13). As a true disciple, walk in the presence of the Lord each day and rest in His unfailing love.

If, by chance, you have “failed the test,” seek the Lord while He may be found. Renew your commitment to Christ and feed the hunger of your soul. Deepen your devotion to Christ and truly surrender to His Lordship today. Reading God’s Word and submitting to its instruction, and even its rebuke, is a sure way to examine yourself, for all His Word is written….That You May Know (1 John 5:13).