My Children and Grandchildren

" The Lord is compassionate and gracious..."

Psalms 103:8

"...He does not treat us as our sin deserves or repay us according to
our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great
is his love for those who fear Him; as far as the East is from the West,
so far as He removed our transgressions from us. As a father has
compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who
fear Him; for He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we
are dust. As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower
of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and it's place remembers it no more. But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord's
love is with those who fear Him, and His righteousness with their
children's children ..."

Psalms 103:10-17

Forbid Them Not

Jesus had a very special place in his heart for

children. He said little children were of the

kingdom of God. He forbid anyone causing

one of them to stumble. Indeed our children

are gifts from God. For a grandfather to have

his picture made with these special ones in

God's eyes is a grand privilege. In this picture

with me are six (6) of my nine (9) grandchildren.

I have this picture now in an album and will

always cherish them.

LO, CHILDREN ARE AN HERITAGE

OF THE LORD.

PSALMS 127:3

FISHBONES FOR THE TEACHER

On our recent trip to Israel our group stopped by a restaurant on the Sea of Galilee. The fish we were served at this restaurant surprised all of us. They were the Talapia from the waters of the sea. When we were served about 50 of these fish what a sight it was. They were whole fish, eyeballs and all. As we ate them it was obvious that they were quite bony so we had to eat them carefully.
When I was in college in the early 60's I had a Bible teacher who taught us a course in First and Second Corinthians. One of his favorite statements was "I don't need any fishbones for the teacher." What he meant by that was he didn't want any questions that would cause deviations from the course outline and he wanted to finish the study before the semester ended.
We were all young students and at that point we probably could not have come up with too many serious "fishbones" that he could not have handled speedily and thoroughly. However, it has been over 40 years since I was in that class and I have had many hours to study and to contemplate various topics and life experiences. I think I have entertained a few questions during this time that transcend some sort of pat answer that could be given in the name of religion that does not satisfy the needs of modern day man. The pat answers are not sufficient in my mind because they do indicate a serious lack of addressing the needs of men's souls.
So let's look at some of the questions. Some of them are questions that young people have asked over and over while being taught through the years. Did I give pat answers that did not address specific needs? Probably so. For that I ask forgiveness and I apologize when I did not introduce a loving Saviour to them but a church doctrine.
So here are the fishbones.....

1. Is drinking beer a sin?
2. Is dancing a sin?
3. Does a Christian have to attend every church service to remain a Christian?
4. What is the age of accountability?
5. Is God interested in each one of us no matter what our problems or needs?
6. When does a fetus become a human being?
7. Who is my brother in Christ?
8. Are there Christians in all belief systems?
9. Is there any perfect church anywhere on earth?
10. Is it possible to determine who is a conservative Christian and who is a liberal Christian?
If so which one is saved and which one is not saved or are both saved?
11. Does Christ save me from sin or does the church?
12. Which sins are unforgivable besides the blaspheming of the Holy Spirit?
13. Are there church's that think it is wrong for a woman to attend services without a hat
and are there church's who think it is OK for a woman to go to church without a hat?
14. Are there churches that think Sunday school is wrong?
15. Are there churches that have Sunday school?
16. Are there churches that use one container for the fruit of the vine in the Lord's Supper?
17. Are there churches that have multiple containers for the juice in the Lord's Supper?
18 Are there churches that commune every Sunday? Or Saturday?
19. Are there churches that commune less often?
20. Are there churches that believe monies cannot be taken out of the treasury to support
orphans homes?
21 Are there churches that believe monies can be taken out of the church treasury to support
orphans homes?
22. Are there churches that believe that Christ will come back to earth and reign for 1,000
years.
23. Are there churches that believe that Christ will not come back to earth and reign a 1,000
years.
24. Are there churches that believe in spiritual gifts?
25. Are there churches that do not believe in spiritual gifts?
26. Are there churches that believe that the Holy Spirit is simply the Word?
27. Are there churches that believe that the Holy Spirit is a person?
28. Are there churches that have praise teams?
29. Are there churches that do not have praise teams?
30. Are there churches that raise their hands in praise to God?
31. Are there churches that do not raise their hands to praise God?
32. Are there churches that use instruments in worship?
33. Are there churches that do not use instruments in worship?
34. Are there churches that frown on women wearing slacks to church?
35. Are there churches that do not frown on women wearing slacks to church?
36. Are there churches that believe in paying the preacher out of the church treasury?
37. Are there churches that do not believe in paying the preacher out of the church treasury?
38. Are there churches that baptize believers immediately?
39 Are there churches that wait awhile to baptize believers?
40. Among all these churches is it possible that there might be someone attending their services
regularly who might not agree with everything they do?
41. Is it possible that even a member of another denomination might be going to one of these
churches and considering themselves to be a member of one of these churches and not
agreeing with everything they are teaching?
42. Is it possible that there might be some folks attending their services and having opinions
differing from them and yet they have been accepted into their fellowship?
43. Is it possible that in any one of a number of these churches that there are folks that are
sinners who have been accepted into the fellowship?
44. Are any of the folks in the above churches lost because of their conservatism or liberalism?
45. Does not Paul teach that among churches there will be differing opinions in Romans 14 and
15?
46 Is salvation individual or collective?
47. If so are there saved people in all belief systems?
48. Who decides if a person is saved or lost?
49. Are there any sinless Christians?
50.Is covetousness and idolatry and drunkenness and foul mouthed abuse of others as bad as
fornication?
51. Which of the following sins listed in the Bible is a worse sin than others? If a Christian
commits one of these sins and repents what is the result? (fornication, wickedness,
covetousness, maliciousness, envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whispering,
backbiting, hating God, deceitful, pride, boasting, evil, dishonesty with parents,
covenant breakers, without natural affection, unmerciful, uncleanness, inordinate
affection, anger, wrath, blasphemy, filthy communication, lying, brawling, foolishness,
disobedience, lust, pleasures, hate, adultery, rioting, drunkenness, wantonness, strife,
theft, false testimony, evil thoughts, wickedness, an evil eye, witchcraft, sedition,
heresies, bitterness, clamour, hypocrisy, a lack of love)
52. Why are churches so selective in punishing those who commit a few of these sins and are
not consistent throughout? I believe Jesus would say something like this "let him cast
the first stone".
53. Are there any totally correct, sinless, perfectly orthodox, conservative churches anywhere
in this world.
54. Who is not a sinner?
55. Who forgives sins?
56. And what does poor in spirit mean?
57. Does God give a repentant sinner the right to judge another repentant sinner?
58. Does God forgive the unforgiving?
59. There are over 6 billion people in the world. There are over 300 million people in the
United States. Does a belief system that has less than 10 million people have the right to
judge all the rest to perdition?
60. Who did Paul preach?
61. What is the one thing that saves a person from sin?
62. If one is a believer in Jesus Christ and does not meet the prerequisites of some belief system
is he lost?
63. Can Jesus forgive sins from heaven as He did when He was on earth?
64. What significance did Jesus give the greatest commandment and the one second to it?
65. Thousands are dying today in hospitals and die each day. If they believe in Jesus and do
not comply with a system of belief are they lost?
66. Do you think that all men and women who have died on the battlefields and clung to their
Saviour at death were lost because they did not comply with the intricacies of a belief
system?
67. Do you teach your children that everybody in the third world countries who have never
heard of Jesus Christ go to perdition?
68. Can you perfectly live out the requirements of your belief system?
69. Since you can't what saves you?
70. Is it the Grace of God?
71 If God's Grace can save you when you cannot perfectly perform then why would you
limit God's Grace to others who cannot perfectly perform?
72. Do you pride yourself in being conservative yet allow yourself certain privileges daily to
live life as you see fit?
73. If you give men the right of forgiveness and the freedom to worship God then would that
do any harm to your belief system? If not then what motive do you have in condemning
them?
74. If God honors your belief system with its imperfections then what makes you believe that
He will not honor others with their imperfections?
75. If God instructs you to love your enemies then what is wrong with loving other believers in
Christ?
76. If churches in the New Testament were not exactly like other churches then what makes
you believe they can be exactly alike today?
77. Is it possible that there are some churches that are churches not of Christ who may have
things fairly doctrinally correct but have lost the Spirit of Christ and the disposition of
Christ?

There are probably more fishbones but this is enough. Fact is human beings will never have all the answers. That is where Grace comes in. We see in a mirror darkly. All we can do is put our faith and trust in God; lean not on our own understandings,; never think we have all the answers to all our problems and others; pray, pray, pray for forgiveness and the help of God; believe with all our heart the promises of God; keep our eyes on Jesus; don't compare ourselves with others nor look to ourselves as being the model for others; permit others a like access to God's Grace as we permit ourselves; refuse to believe that we go to a perfect church; give others the right to be imperfect as we are imperfect; stop categorizing people and sins and look at people as being God's creation; quit branding folks because we think we have more insight into God's Word than they; and look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.

Please Allow Me To Have Peace

The picture above is of the courtyard of a church built on the mountain where Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus preached peace for his followers.

The Greek word for peace in the New Testament is eirene. It is the opposite of dissension and trouble. And it is a quality directly associated with and given by God.

Some of the antonyms of peace are; war, fight, conflict, anguish, distress, anxiety, fear, disturbance, confusion, tumult, division, and strife. Jesus is called "...the Prince of Peace..." (Rev.1:5)

God is the giver of peace. Romans 5:1 says "Therefore having been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." The fruit of the Holy Spirit is: "...love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith..."(Gal. 5:22)

Where does one put oneself when he or she constantly attempts to ruin peace in another Christian's life. If we make war in the lives of others I fear we follow the "...prince of this world..." (John 12:31), "...the accuser of our brethren. " (Rev. 12:10), "...a roaring lion ...seeking whom he may devour..." (I Pet. 5:8), "...the god of this world ..." (II Cor.4:4) who promotes the works of the flesh which are "...quarrels..." "...a contentious temper..." "...fits of rage..." and "...dissensions ..." (Gal. 5:19) Jesus desire is that "...we may have peace..." (John 16:33)

What is wrong with a Christian who persists in conflict, upset, fights, trouble. He claims to be a Christian, he is a follower of Christ. Yet, he makes war and creates division. Why? What is the cause? What is the motivation? What spirit causes that? I suppose multiple reasons could be listed. But none can be associated with Jesus Christ the Prince of Peace. Jealousy, pride, contempt, hate, possessiveness or a number of other like negative qualities should not be found "...in Christ...".

Jesus said "...blessed are the peace makers..." (Matt. 5:9) Where does that leave warmongers of the world? Peacemakers are called sons of God. Where does that leave the strivers, contenders, disputers, and antagonizers?

Paul said "...let us pursue the things which make for peace." (Rom. 14:19); "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. " (Rom. 8:6); "...let the peace of God rule in your hearts..." (Col. 3:15); "Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way." (II Thess. 3:6); "Be at peace among yourselves..." (I Thess. 5:13)

James wrote "...the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace." (Ja. 3:18)

It is about time in my opinion that Christians stop hurting one another. And it is about time we all listened very carefully to our Lord and Saviour. There is too much of a pugnacious, quarrelsome, contentious spirit in Christendom.

Jesus said "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27) Jesus said "These things have I spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. (John 16:33) Paul wrote of "...the peace of God which surpasses all understanding. " (Phil. 4:7) And Paul said this peace comes "...through Jesus Christ."(Phil. 4:7)

Fact is no man can take that away from a true child of God. Please. Christ came to give His children peace. Don't try to destroy our peace.

JERUSALEM

As we came out of a tunnel on our way from touring the Dead Sea area, looking across toward Mt. Nebo where Moses died and God buried him, climbing Masada, and walking up the valley of En-Gedi where David dwelt, we looked to our right and viewed a brilliant sight, the City of Jerusalem.

Just as we exited the tunnel and looked toward the City of David the song "Jerusalem" began playing loudly on our tour bus. I don't think there was a dry eye on the bus. I know mine were not.

Moriah was bought by David from the Jebusites we are told. Before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. a magnificent temple was built by Herod on the peak of Moriah. I believe our tour guide told us this temple was about 22 stories high. Today as one comes out of that tunnel one can view vividly the Dome of the Rock, a Muslim temple on the sight where the temples of Solomon and Herod stood. The Muslim temple is not nearly as gigantic and brilliant.

Jesus will come back and there will be another destruction of another temple. Peter tells us when that will happen. "...the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up." (II Peter 3:10)

I do not profess to understand everything about this great city of Jerusalem now and forever. All I know is that the Bible speaks graphically about the city of Jerusalem. May I give you just a few notations? John speaks of "...the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God." (Rev. 1:10) Revelations 3:12 refers to "...New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God...". John saw "...the holy city, New Jerusalem..." (Rev. 21:2)

Thank the Lord Paul said "...the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all...". (Gal. 4:26). Then he said in Galatians 5:1 "Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free,..."

Peter said that we should look for "...new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells." (II Peter 3:13)

Is it any wonder that the writer of the song 'Jerusalem' would pen the following:

"John saw a city that could not be hid.

John saw the city, O yes, he did.

John caught a glimpse of the golden throne.

Tell me all about it, go right on.

Around the throne he saw a crystal sea.

There's got to be more, what will it be?

I want to go to that city he saw, New Jerusalem."

So what do we know about this place? The important thing is that John says "...He will dwell with them and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God."

"and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." (Rev. 21:3-4)

BY GRACE YE ARE SAVED

THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE

EPHESIANS 2:8

FOR BY GRACE ARE YE SAVED THROUGH FAITH

AND THAT NOT OF YOURSELVES, IT IS THE GIFT

OF GOD!

PEACE COMES FROM THE LORD

JAMES 3:17-18 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle , and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

----And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.