Sorry about my nephew’s shaky hand in recording this but the message still holds true. There must be introspection geared toward salvation in order to be victorious.
Much Ado
These past few days the Baltimore area has been inundated with much noise about Hurricane Sandy which caused some turmoil in the Atlantic Ocean as well as the coast line of the eastern United States. Sandy did considerable damage and even caused some death. But the entire time I made comments that those in the Baltimore area were making much ado about a storm that would have little impact on the Baltimore area. Of course I do not know what I am talking about in that Baltimore did receive a full day’s rain; while not heavy rain it was rain that inundated the area. And the winds, there were there but nothing of any great concern.
Yes, much ado was made of this now downsized storm. Not only did the officials close schools but they stopped all the trains and buses were brought to a halt and the city basically closed down. The fact is that the storm, in the Baltimore area, was more of an inconvenience than anything else. Yes the media and officials made much ado about a storm that had little impact on the area. Now, don’t misunderstand, to some Sandy was devastating, but in Baltimore a little wind, rain and chill was the most of the trouble.
In the same vein for years preachers have been proclaiming the return of Christ. They, myself included, have been making much ado about this return. People have been warned about the impending storm to take place once Christ returns to snatch up His people. Many will heed the warnings while many others will make ado about other insignificant matters. Yet the return of Christ will not be a storm but will cause many types of storms the world over. Spouses will be laying in bed and one will be taken and the other left. Some will be working in the field while some will be taken and others left. Some that drive will be snatched away and the passengers will be left without a driver even while some pilots will leave the captain’s chair empty leaving the co-pilot alone.
The difference is that the coming of Christ will not be hyperbole but events that will have an impact on the world for all eternity. Christ’s return has been preached for over two thousand years and been made light of for just as long. Yet I would argue that ado is to be made about anything then it should be made about this one event; the return of Christ.
This aside is being added a day later than the original post lest anyone think I did not take the storm seriously. I know that many were harmed, some killed and others homeless. My point in the message is not reflective of those suffering from Hurricane Sandy, just an analogy as it appeared to me in the Baltimore area.
The Cell Phone Grasp
The following is an article I wrote for my newsletter The Christian Perspective. It is a type of what goes in in the world. Your coments are appreciated.
The Cell Phone Grasp
It does not take much to see how much the cell phone has changed this nation. It seems that everybody and his brother has one. Even more elementary school children are seen walking the streets with these devises stuck to the sides of their heads. Grandma and Grandpa are seen in the grocery stores with these phones as though they have had these things their entire lives. There are people on television declaring that because of their “free” cell phones they can now call their bosses, doctors and grandchildren. Yet one question has to come to mind. What did they do before these cell phones?
But this is the best of the situation. Take for instance the early twenty-something female. On one arm swings the ever important purse or bag. Tightly clenched in her free hand is a cell phone. The young lady is not merely holding the phone but she is holding onto it as though her life is dependent on the firm grasp of the phone. Yet she is not the only one. If you are driving simply look out the car window to the middle-aged gentleman. It is obvious that the well-groomed individual is a businessman. Still he has one hand firmly on the steering wheel of the sedan while the free hand refuses to relent the phone that does everything except scratch his back. O, but wait! Look at the car on the other side and there is a middle-aged lady following suite as the gentleman.
The point is that people treat their cell phones as though their lives depend upon their grasps. One would think that if that phone were dropped or lost that somehow the earth would stop on its axis or that the world would surly come to an end. But other questions do come to mind when the cell phone grasp is considered. For instance, what would happen if these that grasp the phone would take hold to Jesus with such vigor? How much would Christians impact the world if they grasped strongly the filling of the Holy Spirit? How much would the saints grow if indeed they hide the Word of God in their hearts? And the list of questions can go on and on.
The words in Hebrews 10:23 are “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering…” The interesting term in the verse is “hold fast”. In the Greek this term means in part, “to hold downright, hold in firm grasp, to have in full and secure possession.”[1] With this it is encumbered upon those that call themselves Christians to remove the mantel of appeasement and replace it with the garment of holiness. Holiness means that there is taking possession the truths of God and not relenting to the whims of idiosyncratic notions posed by those that choose to live a double standard. Holding fast the profession of our faith means that the Christian must hold securely what the faith is about without allowing the dictates of secularists to present false ideologies of Christendom.
There is no doubt that cell phones have impacted this present society in a number of ways. But the impact of the faith of Christianity has impacted millions from the birth of the Church. This is the reason the Christian might do well to let loose the cell phone and take full possession of God’s Word. Once this is accomplished the Christian will be able to positively impact those around him while at the same time growing all the more relevant for a dying world. No, there is no need to throw out the cell phone but there is a reason to hide the Word of God in the heart of the Church.
[1] Wesley J. Perschbacher. The New Analytical Greek Lexicon (Peabody: HendricksonPublishers, Inc. 1990)
The Matter of Giving
I find this text in Exodus 30 interesting: 14 Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto the Lord.
15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls.
Everyone seems to have been required to give the same amount no matter how much they had or did not have. Everyone was required to contribute. I wonder what would happen if we, as a nation, followed this simple godly principle. No, it is not merely a principle rather a mandate.
Trouble brings about Victory
In my book Down the Via Dolorosa I address the issue of some of the trouble Christ endured as he was en route to Calvary. He had no easy road but it was a road traveled because He had full knowledge that the end of the road was wrought with victory. What if the Christian worked with such determination?
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Raising Godly Children
Yea, it’s true. I have been watching very carefully over the years. I have been watching how parents raise their children. More specifically I have been watching how “Christian” parents raise their children. I have also noticed how Jews raise their children and how Muslims raise their children. It strikes me as odd that the ones that declare that they truly trust in the Most High God don’t even bother to teach their children the virtues of Christendom rather they think it wise to let the children make their own decisions. I wonder if this is wise and wonder if this is the way God intended it to be.
I find it interesting that the children of God were taught to teach their children in a number of instances as enumerated in Deuteronomy. Chapter six speaks to teaching children in this fashion: “And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” It should be noted that these are not mere suggestions but a requirement of God to keep His statutes before the people so that when they become of age the children will be able to continue in the way of the Lord as they pass on the mandate to their children.
If God is the same yesterday, today and forever why have many that call themselves Christians forsaken to teach their children? Why do they allow them to participate in ungodly ventures under the guises of allow them to be children? Is it because these parents are not themselves Christians and are not certain of how to teach their children? These are the questions that need to be posed when parents choose not to teach their children the way of the Lord.
Yet the problem is far from difficult to resolve. The first step to teach children the virtues of Christendom is that the parents themselves must be Christians. If this first step is implemented the godly parents will by nature raise godly children. Parents need to raise their children in the way that they should go not allow them to make their own decisions. I can speak first hand because I was once a teenager and some of the things I did were very ungodly. But I am thankful for salvation at an early age. Yet this does not mean that parent should neglect their own salvation.
No, children should not be left to their own vices but should be taught the Word of God in every possible way at every opportunity. But this cannot be done of the parents are far from godly.
What Should the Christian Do?
Christians are caught in quite a conundrum today. On the one hand there are those that choose to live by biblical standards while others declare that the Bible is antiquated and no longer applicable.
The problem is that the Scripture clearly shows an immutable God; that is to say that God does not and can not change. So, if He does not change the question is should the Christian give in to political rhetoric or should he hold fast to the things of God? I would argue for the latter but what say you concerning these things? Political correctness or holiness? 
preachercarter 