Faith, Your Structure for Life

Everything is going to be OK. In truth, I must say, they are not going to be. The good old days for which some of us long are gone and won’t return. We have set in motion conditions to keep things from being OK. That is a gloomy resolve, but even if it is wrong, as I would like it to be, it is good to be prepared.

Discipline often has collateral disciplinary effects. There were God fearing Jews among those deserving the discipline of exile who were also exiled.

Often the perimeter of discipline deserved by some inflicts some who don’t deserve it. No, things are not going to be OK, but you can be OK. Following is insight regarding how you can be OK in a not so OK world.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11: 1) This is the starting point for ensuring you are OK even when things aren’t.

Faith is the “substance” on which believers stand. Our word substance is made up of two words meaning: “to stand” and “under.”  Substance is that which stands under us.  It is the superstructure of life. There will be times like there have always been when we don’t understand why things are like they are. That is when faith kicks in and sustains us. I’ve been there, haven’t you? Remember that the next time you are tempted to say, “Why God, why?” Faith worked then, it will work when….

Skeptics scoff at the idea of faith, yet they eat in restaurants, fly on planes, drive in the rain, undergo surgery, and take prescribed medicine. They drive an automobile and there is no way to prove the brakes will work the next time they are needed. We live by faith. It is the object of our faith that counts.

A refusal to live by faith is modern man’s way of attempting to deny God. Man became the measure of all things. Everything outside man’s experience or understanding is denied. Yet, they don’t understand how a sheep, cow, pig, and goose can eat grass in the same field and one grows wool, another hair, another bristles, and the other feathers? Yet, we believe it.

The Greek word for substance, hypostasis, is a scientific term opposed to theory or hypothesis. It is used to describe a chemical which settles to the bottom in a test tube. It is the primary element in the formula. Thus, faith is seen as primary to all of life.

“Evidence” is another word in the text in speaking of faith. It means proof.  Our faith is in the unseen, but not the unknown.

Faith is like a title deed to a property you own though have never seen it. You know you own it because you have the title. Faith is the title to God’s promise.

A photon illustrates this. Scientists believe in photons. Yet, they have never seen one. They only exist when traveling at the speed of light, 185,000 miles per second. At that speed they can’t be seen or photographed, yet scientists believe in them.

We live by faith. By it we can live well even in a world that appears to be falling apart. Study Scripture to be sure it, not the news of the day, is your superstructure. Remember. . . .

“You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You,

Because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, For in the Lord, is everlasting strength.” (Isaiah 26: 3,4) Make that your resolve for life. There is still a lot of good news to come the way of the person of faith.

Comfort To Be Sought

 “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.”  (Isaiah 40:1)

This Facebook Page was begun with exactly that in mind. There have been and doubtless will be a few occasions when it has been felt commentary on political issues was expedient.

This passage was written right after a dark time in the life of Israel. Because of their sin God had turned His people over to be exiled by the cruel Babylonians. This had happened to them because of their sin. God always disciplines sin. 

Chapter 40 of Isaiah relates to their return to their home land. Having just returned, the prophet is called to share with them a message of comfort. They needed it and God provided. I love the Authorized King James translation of the passage, “Comfort ye, comfort ye My people.”

During the long exile the Lord had been absent from them as they endured their deserved discipline.

In verse 5 assurance is given “the glory of the Lord shall be revealed.” Oh, glorious day. How we conduct ourselves, our efforts to call His people to repentance, and our personal devotion should be such as to not deserve the discipline of the Lord on America with the result that the glory of the Lord that once was evidenced in America might once again be ours. 

Note some of the promises God made to them as reason for comfort for them. To do so he uses the analogy of a shepherd and his sheep.

• “His reward is with him, and his recompense before him.” (verse 10)

• “He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arms.” (verse 11)

• “He will “carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.” (verse 11)

We must find in our day reasons for comfort. List some things that comfort you. Write them down and thank the Lord for them.

I am comforted that there is a praying legion among us. Many people are praying that God will work so that there will be revival. In the life of our nation, as in the life of individuals, something of a dramatic nature will likely be needed causing a public need for the working of God in our lives. Though undesired, a traumatic event is often needed. If it results in a dramatic widespread revival, it will be worth it.

Then the comfort given Israel will be ours. “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem.

Tell her that her sad days are gone and her sins are pardoned.” WOW!

I am comforted that God’s children live in a bubble. It will not exempt us from difficulty, but it will ensure that the enabling presence of the Lord is with us.

May we so bear ourselves to our duty as to hear the lines from Handel’s Messiah  “Comfort, ye, comfort ye my people,” followed by the exaltation of . . . .

 “Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Praise ye the Lord.”

The Prophets Have Spoken

It is over and the prophets have spoken. Several in virtual unanimity have foreseen that Trump would be retained as President. Several variances have been things such as there being a nationwide blackout associated with it. I don’t know why other than it makes it seem more ominous . Another variance was there would be a major food shortage and people should stock up on food. 

Based on an obsessive desire by some to know the future, prophets have made a profit in the lead up to the election. I have dear friends who have been confident in Trump’s reelection prophesied by people in whom they had great confidence.

Such expressions as “God has spoken to my spirit and assured me Trump will be our next president.” Some have assured their followers that as we have drawn nearer the confirmation of Biden as President God was simply delaying Trump’s triumph as a test of their faith. 

There are two schools of thought regarding the motive of modern prophets. One, they are under self-delusion and really believe God has spoken to them.

The other is they know they are deceiving people for profit.  An occasional luck guess by a charlatan keeps devotees committed.

Prophets have a ready made audience among people who have an interest in the future or those who want to know more than others. An inordinate interest in wanting to know the future is not a healthy thing. It detracts from the present. 

Scripture speaks regarding false prophets and notes  “You may wonder how you can tell when a prophet’s message does not come from the Lord.  If a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord and what he says does not come true, then it is not the Lord’s message. That prophet has spoken on his own authority…” (Deuteronomy 18: 21- 22) Another translation renders the text “whenever a prophet speaks in my name and the prediction is not fulfilled, then I have not spoken it…” Having said “God told him” or “God revealed a thing” the prophet is saying his message is from God. It being false, that is, a lie it can’t be from God because God can’t lie and be true to His very nature. That is one of His characteristics.

Jesus said, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (I John 4: 1)

The elections having come and gone has given occasion to test the prophets’ message and find it false. Those who follow prophets proven to be false should dissociate from them lest they be further deceived.

There are two meanings to the word prophet. One foretells the future and the other meaning is to forth tell, that is share the Scripture. That is good.

Are We There Yet?

 “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is the reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14: 34).

On occasion I have written about a tipping point for America. It is not the point of America being destroyed, but a point from which there is no return. Hopefully we have not reached that point. Assuming we have not, pray for repentance, renewal, revival, and restoration.

Apart from the supernatural intervention by the Lord we are on course to reaching the inevitable tipping point.

I remember fondly when the moral climate allowed me the joy of writing and preaching on pleasant positive topics. This is not that time. A call for a return to virtue and values is needed. This time gives us as a society to present ourselves to the Lord and appeal for His intervention.

In 1831 the French government sent Alexis de Tocqueville to examine our prisons and penitentiaries. He became so intrigued by our system of government and its institutions that he spent considerable time analyzing life in America.

On his return to France he wrote his classic, “Democracy in America.” Many scholars feel it is the greatest of all works on any national policy and culture. In it he wrote:

“I sought for the greatness and genius in America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers, and it was not there…I sought for the greatness and genius in America in her democratic congress and her matchless constitution and it was not there…

“Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand her genius and power. America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”

Tocqueville, like Solomon, was right.

Are the pulpits of America aflame with compassionate appeals for righteous conduct, civility, restoration of morality, integrity in houses of government, and renewed spiritual vitality? Is yours?

Arnold Toynbee, the distinguished historian, researched nineteen great civilizations that have existed since governments were formed. Ours is one. Toynbee observed spiritual currents running through history. He concluded no major nation has ever been murdered. They have committed suicide. They forgot the true purpose of their being, and rotted on the inside. Let’s learn!

Friends! 3/14/99

John 15:12-19
Page 1580 Come Alive Bible

JESUS CHRIST said, “No longer do I call you servants…but I have called you friends…” Thus, He paid us a supreme compliment. The word “friend” in English, as in its Greek equivalent PHILOS, conveys the idea of loving and being loved. There is something warm and pleasant about it.

The secret of success in ones search for friends is found in the wisdom of Solomon who wrote: “A man who has friends must himself be friendly” (Proverbs 18:24). An unknown poet expressed it:
I went out to find a friend,
But could not find one there,
Then I went out to be a friend,
And there were friends everywhere!

An English publication ran a contest seeking the best definition of a friend. The winner was: “A friend — the one who walks in when the world walks out.”

“A friend loves at all times…” (Proverbs 17:17).

“A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24).

A good friend is the person who gives you the better of the two choices, hold your hand when your scared, helps you fight off those who try to take advantage of you, thinks of you at times when you are not there, reminds you of what you have forgotten, helps you put the past behind you but understands when you need to hold on to it a little longer, stays with you so that you have confidence, goes out of their way to make time for you, helps you clear up your mistakes, helps you deal with pressure from others, smiles for you when they are sad, helps me become a better person, and most importantly loves you! Yes, whether known since kindergarten or just met a couple months ago,

This is MY idea of a GOOD FRIEND.

A true friend is one who ask you how you are and listens to the answer.

A friend is one who doubles your joy and divides your sorrows.

True friends are like spaghetti, they stick together.

Life is a cookie and friends are the chocolate chips.

A true friend is one who watches as you make a mess of things and doesn’t react as though you have done a permanent job.

Jesus perfected the art of friendship; and after patterning it, passed it on to His followers. By example and expression He answered the question: “What is a friend?”

I. A FRIEND IS COMMITTED “GREATER LOVE HAS NO MAN THAN THIS…”
Friendship involves commitment. (Story of four G.I.’s on patrol in Vietnam: “You gotta care baby…you gotta care!”)

However, laying down your life involves more than looking into the grey face of death. There is a principle of slow sacrifice folded into the words of the Savior.

It is hard at duty’s call,
To lay one’s life down day by day,
As to lay it down once for all.

Friendship motivates one to daily help another.
It means to make joy possible for those who walk in the shadow of sorrow.
It is to make goodness possible for those who stand in the darkness of temptation.
It is to venture into the world day by day to minister and not be ministered unto.
It is to let the message of your music become the harmony of your life.

Nineteen hundred plus years ago a man lived a life in Galilee and Judea that is today transforming lives. His secret is no secret. It is found in His statement “I lay down my life for you.” Today those who honor Him most are those who comply with the insight shared by His follower John who wrote:

“By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” (I John 3:16)

The day following Christ sharing the words of our study with His followers in the upper room, He spoke to John from the cross of His mother, Mary: “Behold your mother…” In this utterance our Lord laid on John the duty of laying down his life for Him by caring for a lonely broken-hearted woman to whom life had spoken most harshly. Looking after Mary, thereafter, was an act of laying down His life for Christ. That is a friend.

II. A FRIEND IS COMPLIANT “DO WHATEVER I COMMAND YOU” VS. 14
Jesus said, “You are my friends…” He didn’t say “I am your friend.” For me to say “Jesus is my friend” is to pull Him down to my level. For Him to speak of us as His friends is for Him to pick us up to His level.

James 2:23, “Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. And he was called the friend of God.”

Obedience evidences friendship.

Epicetus: “I am free and the friend of God, because I obey Him willingly.”

George Whitfield was asked: “Do you ever tire of your work for God?” He replied, “Sometimes I tire in it, but never of it.”

No one can grow weary in well-doing who lives in the light of a friendship that transforms all
duty into delights.

III. A FRIEND IS COMMUNICATIVE “I HAVE MADE KNOWN” VS. 15
A friend wants to help and protect a friend. The closest of friends should be husbands and wives. One wife called her husband on his car phone and asked, “Honey, are you on highway 280?” “Yes,” was the reply.” “Well be careful. I have the TV traffic report on and they say there is a car driving in the wrong lane on 280. Be very careful.”

“A car,” came the reply, “there are hundreds going the wrong way.” He alone was going the wrong way and accused those going the right way of going the wrong way. Friends help friends.

Jesus wants us to consider “all things”, that is, the facts of Christianity again and again until they become sun-clear. He has told us all we need to know. We need to do all we know.

He said, “To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God” (Mark 4:11).

A friend enjoys helping a friend. That includes making decisions.

Many are familiar with the board game chess. Chess requires imagination and the capacity to think of most moves before made. Moves in chess are often compared to moves by two generals on a battlefield. Chess resembles war in that it requires attack and defense. The object is to move the king into a position in which it has to surrender.

It is possible for a skilled player to make such moves as to put the opponents king in a no-win position, defeat is unavoidable. At that point several moves in advance, check-mate can be declared. The game is over though not finished. The outcome is determined.

A skilled chess player who was also an outstanding artist painted a scene depicting a young man playing chess with the devil. Artistically the artist had portrayed the devil as moving his queen into position making it impossible for the young man’s king to survive. Check-mate was announced four moves in advance. The outcome was determined, the
devil wins.

The work of art hung in a major museum for years with chess players and art afficionados alike marveling over it.

An aged chess player from New Orleans, Paul Morphy, saw a picture of the painting. His intrigue drew him to Cincinnati to view the classic work.

The old undefeated supreme chess master studied the painting for the longest. It is said he studied it for a least thirty minutes. He would raise and lower his hands as though making moves. Suddenly his hands paused, his eyes burned with the vision of an unthought of combination. Suddenly he shouted, “Young man, make that move. That’s the move!”

To the amazement of all, the old master, the supreme chess personality, had discovered a combination that the creating artist had not considered. The young man had defeated the devil at last.

Apart from Christ the devil has us check-mated. Thee is no way for us to win. Then the Master devised a move that enables us to win. That move took Him to Calvary and takes us to heaven.

IV. A FRIEND IS CHOSEN “I CHOSE YOU…” VS. 16
Do you recall the thrill of being chosen when playing childish games? What an exhilarating thrill to be chosen. There was the classic, “Red Rover, Red Rover, send …. right over.” That’s ME!

Chosen on a team, what a thrill.

You who are married, do you remember? What a moment it was when the person who is your spouse said “Yes” to your proposal. The two of you chose each other. WOW!

Perhaps there was a job you wanted and after all the interviews you were chosen as the one for
the job. An upper!

Maybe, there are bitter memories of not being chosen also. Don’t dwell on them. If you are chosen for the greatest why be concerned about not being chosen for that which is not as important. You have been chosen for the greatest of all things.

“God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world.” (Ephesians 1:4).

That is, long before the dawn of creation God the Father determined that those who would put their faith in Christ as Savior would share His eternal destiny. In Christ you are chosen to inherit a heavenly home. The plus, is you have a
Companion for the journey home, Christ Himself. He chose us for…

Joy, Vs. 11, “…My joy remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” A gloomy Christian is a contradiction of terms. How can a person fail to be joyous while walking in His will?

Love, Vs. 12, “…love one another as I have loved you.” To profess to love Christ Who we cannot see and
not love those we can see is a contradiction.

I sought my soul,
But my soul I could not see.
I sought my God, but my God eluded me,
I sought my brother and found all three.

Be Friends, Vs. 15, “I have called you friends.” This was a term used in kingly courts and in the Roman Empire. The confidants of the king were called “friends of the king.” They could see Him at any time. They ranked in importance above even his generals.

We are not sterile slaves who must cower in His presence. We are not members of the remote crowed which must strain to see Him. We are His friends.

Partners, Vs. 15, “friends.” Inherent in the meaning of the word “friend” is the meaning “partner.” A slave was defined as “a living tool.” We are His partners in His task.

As a child I was privileged to be reared in one of those typical old southern homes with a front and back porch. For years the virgin pine of which it was made was never painted. As the porch aged it became obvious it needed painting. I remember my dad laboring to paint it. As it grew late I passed and he said, “Son, get that other brush and help me so we can finish before dark.” I still remember the pride of being a fellow-worker with my father. That is what Jesus wants of us.

Ambassadors, Vs. 16, “you are appointed.” Knights in the court of King Arthur were not chosen to perpetually revel at the banquet table or attend fancy affairs of state. They delighted to be sent on missions of courage for their king. We are His ambassadors sent on a special message like that of the man healed of his demon possession in Mark 5:19, to whom Christ said, “Go home to your friends and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how he has had compassion on you.” The mandate: “Go…tell.”

Advertisements, Vs. 16, “bear fruit”. We were not chosen to be pets but patterns. We are to bring our friends to Christ.

The route of friendship with Jesus is the road of servanthood. He must first be trusted as Savior before becoming your constant companion and friend.

A friend is CHOSEN. Christ has chosen you to be His friend. Will you choose Him?

You can’t go back and make a brand new start, but you can begin now and make a wonderful new conclusion.