An Upside-Down World

We live in an "upside-down" confused world, a world that doesn't seem to know right from wrong.

In his six woes on Israel, Isaiah said in one of them, "Woe unto them that call evil good and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter."(Isaiah 5:20) One is reminded of the confused cook who put sugar in the salt shakers and salt in the sugar bowl."

Some pranksters spent the night in a shopping mall going from store to store changing all the price tags on the merchandise in the windows. The next morning plastic toy cars had a price tag of $5,000 while a fur coat in another window had a price posted of $2.98.  Designer hand bags could be bought for $5.00 each while a box of Cracker Jacks was listed at $200.00.

The devil has pulled a trick on our world, getting the people to ignore the undeniable teaching of God's Word while following the teachings and example of a world gone mad.

Light is still light, dark is still dark, bitter is still bitter and sweet is still sweet, good is still good and evil is still evil.  Don't be duped. Turn to Jesus and follow Him. 

What to Do with Your Sin

"He that covers his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy." (Proverbs 28:13)

From the days of the sin of Adam and Eve when they sewed fig leaves together in an attempt to cover their sin, mankind has been making similar attempts to hide his sin from God. No such attempt is ever successful. Many people are suffering mental and emotional problems from trying to hide some sin of the past from God.

The Bible instructs us to do two things instead of trying to hide from the all-seeing eye of God.  First, confess our sins. Confession means that we agree with the facts that God already knows. Second, Forsake our sins. Another word for the word forsake is the word repent.  Someone described repentance as, "Halt! About Face! Forward, March!"  If one continues down the path of a known sin, even if he has confessed, he has not repented or forsaken his sin.

We are promised mercy when we follow the path of confession and repentance. The hymn says, "Mercy there was great and grace was free: pardon there was multiplied to me: There my burdened soul found liberty at Calvary." 

Give Thanks after Thanksgiving

On the day after Thanksgiving Day it is O.K. to still be thankful.  It is not required that you have a bundle of money to spend on "Black Friday" bargains.

 A prescription for misery is to "spend money you don't have to buy things you don't need to impress people you don't even know."
 

The Bible says, "Let your conversation (conduct) be without covetousness; and be content with such things as you have: For He has said, 'I will never leave you, nor forsake you.'" (Hebrews 13:5)
 

It is a good thing to be content with what we have and to be thankful for it. Yesterday's blessings are appropriate to spark a word of thanksgiving to God even in the middle of the year. We should not wait until November, 2015 to be thankful again.

Where are the Others?

Ten men with the dreaded disease, leprosy, met Jesus at the entrance of a village.  They all cried out for mercy from the Master and Jesus told them to go show themselves to the priests.  As they went they were all cleansed. One man, when he saw that he was healed, turned back to Jesus and with a loud voice glorified God and fell down on his face at Jesus' feet giving the Lord thanks. Jesus said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?" (Luke 17:11-19)

That's a good question.  Many people on our church rolls have made professions of faith in Christ and have been baptized.  But nobody ever sees them. The FBI couldn't find some of them. I wonder if this cleansed leper was thankful the next day and the next and the months and years to come.

The lost sinner is in much worse condition than someone with leprosy. There is but one cure for the lost soul.  That cure is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who loved us and gave Himself for us.

This is not "Turkey Day."  It is Thanksgiving Day. It is not just a day to eat, to watch ball games or go shopping for bargains for Christmas. On this Thanksgiving Day pause before the Lord and give Him thanks for salvation and the many other gifts He has given you. And if you have not yet received Him as your Savior, why not do that now?

Pray with Thanksgiving

"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7)

Worry is like a rocking chair; there's a whole lot of movement, but you get nowhere.  In the above verse the apostle is not suggesting that we just ignore our problems.  The word, "careful" suggests anxiety.  It is, "to be filled with care."  He is saying "Don't worry." 

He then tells us what to do with the things that can cause care, anxiety and worry.  Tell God about it, all the while being thankful that God will hear you.

Peace of God does not come as a result of fretting and worrying over how you're going to work things out, but in talking to Him and trusting Him in the middle of the problem.  Keep praying and keep on being thankful. Faith, not worry, honors God.  As the old hymn says, "Take your burden to the Lord, and leave it there." 

Thanks to God for the Bible

"At midnight will I rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgments." (Psalm 119:62)

What would get you out of bed at midnight if you had been asleep for a while? Perhaps the cry of a sick child would get you out of bed at midnight. Jesus spoke a parable about a man who was awakened at midnight by a neighbor friend who needed some bread to give a visitor. (Luke 11:5-8) Maybe a strange sound in the other part of the house would get you up at midnight.  Worry might do it.

John Phillips points out that the Jewish families in that day went to bed early and midnight would truly be the middle of the night.

The word, "judgments" is used as a reference to the Bible 18 times in this 119th Psalm. The Psalmist is saying that he gets up at midnight to express thanks for the Word of God.  We do not know if this was something he did every night. The fact is, he was thankful for the Word of God. At this thanksgiving season especially, let us express sincere thanks to God for His precious Word.

The Unspeakable Gift of God

A beautiful sunset is hard to describe.  The brilliant colors, the shades of light and dark and before you can call someone to enjoy it with you it's gone.  Beautiful leaves on the trees adorning a hillside are another indescribable scene.  And, even though it's a terrible inconvenience, snow has its own beauty. If we try to describe these rare scenes in nature we are at a loss for words.

During this Thanksgiving season as we think about things for which to be thankful I am reminded of Paul the Apostle's statement, "Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift."  (II Corinthians 9:15)  Other translations use the word, "indescribable" instead of unspeakable. 

And, just what is this indescribable gift from God?  The Bible tells us that "the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23) This gift from God is indescribable, unspeakable. John tells us in his first epistle that eternal life is in God's Son and he that has the Son has life and he that does not have the Son does not have life. (I John 5:11-12)

Can you paint a picture of Jesus whom you have never seen?  We can't describe Him with our limited understanding. It is much more difficult than describing a rose in full bloom to a blind person.

Receive the gift.  Enjoy the gift. Be thankful to God for the gift.