2 Timothy 2:23 New King James Version (NKJV)
23 But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. I believe this scripture will benefit us in this turbulent time. Many of Christians gain knowledge in a certain area and it is as if they are on a quest to prove their point to everyone. With the latest supreme court ruling this will only intensify. However, I would ask you, what is the point? What is the point of you proving your point? Is it to sway the other person's beliefs.? Do you really think this is where the results of your "belief quarrels" are headed. You are to speak the truth and move on. Let the scripture be your example. How often do you see Jesus in the scriptures in a back and forth discussions with the Pharisees and religious leaders? It was not often, instead He stated what He believed and moved on. When people are telling me why they believe what they believe I determine my response based on what I hear. First of all, I am not going to argue long what I know is true. Why? Because of 2 Timothy 2:23. I listen to hear the reasons people believe what they believe. If they believe what they believe based on their feelings, my discussion will be even shorter. I can't and will not even begin to compete with feelings. Feelings are a roller coaster ride. It is why some people are like a box of chocolates, in that you never know what your are going to get. I am not going to fight that battle. I also listen to hear if they have to over explain the scripture they use, again it will be a short discussion. Why? Because the scripture speaks for itself. The scripture is pointed and sharp, if I am having to invoke a theses argument to make my point I am probably trying to make the scripture say what I want it to mean, instead of knowing what the scripture means. I agree you need to have a scriptural basis to guide what you believe and you need to seek the Word until you are convinced, but after you are convinced learn and memorize what you believe. Let it be ingrained in your memory. Memorize the scripture you are grounded on, know the scripture verse, and the context. Recite it daily. Use it in your discussion to the extent that it edifies and builds up. But stop continually dueling with someone over their beliefs you know to be false and realize that your continuance is sin it itself. You are violating 2 Timothy 2:23. Believe what you believe, know it is grounded in the scriptures by knowing and understanding the exact scriptures that reveal your stance on the topic. Spend your time memorizing these scriptures. When you say I can't memorize scripture, then go and write the scripture twenty five times. Read the scripture aloud twenty five times and then attempt to quote the scripture five times. If you still don't know the scripture, then do it all over again and do it until you know it. Now when your flesh just said I am not going through all that just to memorize scripture, then look yourself in the mirror and say these words to yourself and Jesus, "I do not believe knowing your Word to the extent of memorization is important enough for me to do what it takes to memorize it." Leave it at that and move on, but stop fooling yourself by just saying I can't. I would agree that some people because of age or ailment may not be able to do what they once did, but in my experience that is the exception and not the rule. And the proof is in the pudding. Are your statements backed up with your papers showing you wrote it out twenty five times. If you try you may be surprised. Brother David
0 Comments
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to recognize same sex marriage and to require all 50 states to recognize it, I would like to take a stance. We have entered a very troubling time in this nation. However, this did not start yesterday or last week. I have held back most of my comments until now because I wanted to gather my thoughts and watch the chaos unfold on social media. For many days now social media has been overloaded with pictures of rainbow white houses, parades, scripture, fumes of anger and fumes of disappointment. Many comments were very emotional and aimed in many ways to hurt. Both sides of the fence took this approach; truthfully very little good resulted from the exchange. I doubt many people surrendered their hearts to Jesus and changed their lifestyle because of the comments posted and the scripture shared. At the same time, I doubt very many people said, ‘well now that it is legal and because of the great arguments presented on Facebook, I think I will now marry Steve or Eve.’ The one thing I want us to understand as Christians is we have an absolute responsibility to stand up and walk in adherence to the Word of God. However, we have to do it in the right way. And we have to know what we are talking about.
So let me begin, am I surprised at this ruling? Not in the least. Should I be surprised? Not in the least. Listen, we are no longer living in a nation that governs, lives, and rules by the principals of Jesus Christ. The Supreme Court of this land makes decisions based on everybody in this land. Yes our nation was established on a Godly foundation; however, we have been building ungodly on that foundation for quite some time. We have been building divorce on our foundation; we have been building abortion on our foundation. We have been building common law marriage on our foundation. We have been shacking up on our foundation. We have been building distilleries on our foundation. We have been building pregnancy outside of marriage on our foundation. We have been building marijuana on our foundation. We have been worshiping idols on the foundation. The foundation is as strong as it ever was, but that which is built on it is not. Many, most, all of these building blocks mentioned happen right in the confines of the church. We need to understand the Supreme Court makes its decisions based on the constitution of the United States of America, to best fit for ALL people, not the majority, ALL people. We live in a democracy not a theocracy. But understand one thing Jesus does not make His decisions on the constitution. Jesus makes no reference to the constitution as He sits on His throne and Jesus does not govern by what is written into law by the Supreme Court of the United States of America. Jesus has His own constitution and it is strictly enforced and amendment free! You see we should not lose our minds that the government of this nation declared that Christian people are set apart, they are different, sanctified, they have a different set of standards than the rest of the world. The truth is the Supreme Court ruled we are different, so what are we to do, BE DIFFERENT! I am proud to be an American and glad to live in this land, but I will not love or depend on the land on which I stand more than the Creator of land. I am not, antipatriotic, I love the US, I am thankful to the men and women who serve to protect us; however, the Kingdom I serve is not of this world and no judge, ruler or earthly king can change my heart or my constitution. One of the main comments I read on the Internet was, ‘God has defined marriage and no court of any land can change that definition.’ I agree completely with this statement, but God in the same book that He defined and described marriage, He defined and described divorce. But where was the outpouring of disgust and the defending of God’s Word and definitions January 1, 1970. On this day California became the first state to recognize no fault divorce, by 1985 every state had followed suit. God defined divorce in His word on more than one occasion. Do you know what God says about divorce? It is pretty simple; we are not permitted to divorce except for adultery and the abandonment by a LOST spouse. Both situations carry with it fault. “No fault” divorce does not exist with Jesus. Matthew 5:32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. Mark 10:11 And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, 12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” Luke 16:18 “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery. 1 Corinthians 7:10-16 Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. 11 But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife. 12 But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. 13 And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. 15 But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us to peace. 16 For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife? Malachi 2:16 “For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the LORD, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says the LORD of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless.” Now the scripture provided is not an exhaustive list, but it is certainly a list to get you studying and to gain an understanding that Jesus is clear there is no such thing as “no fault” divorce. However, today in the land of the free, there is no uprising there are no insults hurled, there are no threats, no slanderous ridicules, and there is no quoting of the scripture regarding divorce law. Why? Because divorce in many ways touches our life personally and in this Chex Mix Christianity that we live in, where we pick out the stuff we want and like and we leave the rest alone, we don’t touch the divorce issue. We allow every part of it in the world and in the church, why? Because it hits close to home and we don’t want to hurt the ones we love. (Now before you go throwing me off the 13th Street Bridge, let me explain my stance on marriage and divorce. Outside of the definition Jesus Christ outlines in His Word for divorce, divorce is a sin. It is a sin that can cause others to commit adultery and certainly negates ones abilities to occupy certain positions in the church. Now once again let me finish before you poke your lip out, the real questions that must be asked regarding divorce and sin is: 1) Where does the divorce fit in regards to God’s Word and 2) Where did the blood of Jesus fall in a life? The best way for me to describe this is by case study, let us look at John Doe. He is a man who had difficulty in his early years and was married three times before the age of thirty. He was saved by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ at the age of 33 and married a beautiful Christian woman at the age of 35. He is cleansed by the blood of Jesus and is not committing adultery in my opinion. Now let us fast forward a few years and look at John Doe, Jr. He was saved and baptized at the age of 24 and married his wife who was saved and baptized at the age of 22. The couple is married for ten years and then decides to call it quits, because they just are not happy. Their divorce is sin and they invoke adultery on anyone else they marry. (That is God’s definition of divorce in my opinion.) It is important because we must understand that the blood of Jesus cleansed us from all unrighteousness and thus puts us in a place where we belong to Christ. We are sons and daughters of God, with this comes the responsibility of living for Him and continuing to live for Him each and every day. We have to make choices each moment all day long that reflects who we belong to. We cannot and must not choose to live contrary to the commands of Jesus Christ. Supreme Court Finds Right to Choose Abortion On January 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court announced its decision in Roe v. Wade, a challenge to a Texas statute that made it a crime to perform an abortion unless a woman’s life was at stake. “Jane Roe had filed the case” an unmarried woman who wanted to safely and legally end her pregnancy. Siding with Roe, the court struck down the Texas law. In it’s ruling, the court recognized for the first time that the constitutional right to privacy “is broad enough to encompass a woman’s decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy” (Roe v. Wade, 1973). Roe v. Wade has come to be known as the case that legalized abortion nationwide. At the time the decision was handed down, nearly all states outlawed abortion except to save a woman’s life or for limited reasons such as preserving the woman’s health, or instances of rape, incest, or fetal anomaly. Roe rendered these laws unconstitutional. The decision also set a legal precedent that affected more than 30 subsequent Supreme Court cases involving restrictions on access to abortion. Today abortion is legal in all 50 states. The Supreme Court ruled that life does not begin in the womb. God says that it does. Job 31:15 Did not he that made me in the womb make him? and did not one fashion us in the womb? Psalms 22:10 I was cast on you from the womb: you are my God from my mother's belly. Psalms 139:13 For you have possessed my reins: you have covered me in my mother's womb. Psalms 139:14 I will praise you; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are your works; and that my soul knows right well. Proverbs 31:8 Open your mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. Isaiah 49:15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yes, they may forget, yet will I not forget you. Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed you in the belly I knew you; and before you came forth out of the womb I sanctified you, and I ordained you a prophet to the nations. Just as God defines marriage and just as God defines divorce, God also defines life and when it begins. It is clear that it begins in the womb. The supreme court of the United States redefined life in 1973. Also in the 70s the courts defined divorce and in 2015 the Supreme Court defined marriage. We can play God all we want, and we can redefine all He has defined, but one absolute remains, we are only playing God, there exists a real God and He is not playing. He is a patient God and a loving God, but He is also a jealous God and a RIGHTEOUS JUDGE. There will be judgment. There are always consequences to our actions, and we will see the true definition of these and many other revelations of man. So where the rubber meets the road is this, it is true that no court or land can redefine what God has already defined. No court or land can establish itself as a higher authority than God. However, we must pull our heads out of the “we are a Christian nation,” hole in the sand and understand we started down a slippery slope a long time ago and what is in America today is a remnant, not a nation. I agree completely with Jonathan Kahn in that we will not sit back and be forced to defy Jesus Christ and all that our faith teaches; however, we must take a long hard look at ourselves, what it is that we stand for, stop compromising in our own walk, and start walking in a manner worthy of the calling. The word remnant that best describes our state of affairs in these United States is found in Isaiah 1:9, “Unless the Lord of hosts Had left to us a very small remnant, We would have become like Sodom, We would have been made like Gomorrah.” In the Hebrew is sariyd and it means, ‘survivor that remains.’ There are a couple of words in the Hebrew that are used to mean remnant, but only one time is the word sariyd used and it carries with it the term, “survivor.” There is a remnant of true followers of Christ left in America, survivors that remain. We must be willing to take on this task, and uncompromisingly cling to the scriptures that define who we are and live the BIBLE. When we as children of God, followers of Jesus Christ, “the sariyd,” stand completely armed with the Word of God, the love of Jesus Christ in our hearts, and the determination to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ as well as those lost and perishing, then the people of this land will look at the “sariyd” and trust that we believe the scripture. It is only when we live what we believe that we will completely and truly believe what we believe. Our belief is expressed in our actions. Our actions reveal a story, a history, and a truth about what we believe as children of God. Jesus has fulfilled the law and left with us scripture by which we are to live, you are either a part of the remnant or not! Your actions will determine your place, your influence and your impact on the Kingdom. Jesus has empowered us to walk worthy of the calling. Go therefore and live the BIBLE. When people look at your life, your actions and your attitude what are they reading about Jesus Christ? What you say is empty and useless if what they see does not line up with what Jesus says. Truthfully, the only way we are going to impact the world in which we live is to live the BIBLE in which we read. If we do not read the Bible, which we are given, then we love not the Savior whom gave it. If we love not the Savior whom gave us the Bible in which we are to live, then we will have no real effect on those whom we are to disciple. The world will be unchanged and our lives only a clanging noise and at the end of the day as we stand before the almighty God we will be without excuse. Choose for yourself this day whom you will serve, but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord. |