SOME THOUGHTS
As with my other blogs, I will add to this one until it grows to a suitable length and then I will begin anew. You can always email me at clarkmatthews1@aol.com.June 1, 3:51 p.m.
Every once in awhile I will try to post something that (hopefully) teaches you about yourself and if you are saved, your walk with God. Today, will be one of those posts.
Have you ever wondered how any born-again person knows when they are close to God? The answer might surprise you, because at first blush it will sound impossible. Yet, I will not only prove it with examples from the Bible, I think I can write it in such a way that it will become plausible to you as well. It has to do with some crooked sticks... bear with me.
More than 20 years ago I brought this same message in an evening service at HBC. Don't be alarmed though: you will be getting the Reader's Digest condensed version. Many years ago I was made to understand that my ability to ever do any serious preaching had probably been ruined because I got my start in junior church preaching to children. Because of that I find it impossible to make points without using props and breaking examples down so that even the youngest of those who were in attendance could grasp what was being taught. If that is the case... so be it. I like it when I can speak and what I say can be easily understood. Quite possibly it might only mean that I am a simpleton and therefore it would well-nigh be impossible for me to teach anything "deep." Again, I say... fine. Now, to the sticks. (You will have to imagine four sticks with each one being a little more twisted than the one beside it. Then, picture a plumb-line for our perfectly straight line.)
In our short story, God represents the perfectly straight plumb-line. And you, the reader must take your place as one of the bent sticks. If you picture yourself as the straightest of the four... then in your mind please think of three other people you believe to be saved who are just not
quite "as good as you are." If you think of yourself as the worst of the four, then please name three other people who just might be "a little better than you are." You get the picture... find your place in the group of four... then put names to those other sticks around you. Keep in mind that God is the plumb-line... please don't imagine yourself there." (LOL)
Now that's our props... time to get to the message. If you are a guy, have you ever watched a girl apply her makeup? (This is not a message on whether or not Godly women ought to wear makeup: On this issue I am in the camp of the old-time preacher B.R. Lakin. When asked whether or not saved women should wear makeup... He said, "If the barn needs paintin,' you paint it.")
Girls, am I correct that what follows is how you put on your makeup. You most probably own a mirror that is lighted, and in many cases one side of the glass will be magnified. In addition to this bright light and magnified glass... you will put your face within an inch of the glass as you carefully apply your facepaint. I have a question for you. Why do you do that. The answer is simple. The closer you can get to the mirror, the more easily you can see your flaws and imperfections... and because of that you apply the makeup in the areas that need it the most.
Let me ask another question. Have you ever seen any sane woman place a mirror on the other side of a large room and try to apply her makeup from the reflection that she can barely see? In my lifetime I have had the rare occasion to see someone who might think that is how they ought to do it... Tammy Faye comes to mind... but that is not typically how it is done.
II Corinthians 3:18a: But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord..." We, you and I, are made in the image and likeness of God. Therefore, in order to know if you are close to Him, you must behold Him... His image and likeness... and not compare yourself... one crooked stick... to some other saved person... again, just another crooked stick.
Here is the answer, and with the answer I will use men from the Bible to prove with their own experiences that what I now write is the only true-test to see if you are experiencing a close walk with God, or if you are among the foolish group who are only comparing themselves to other believers. II Corinthians 10:12 "For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise." The answer is rather simple. When you honestly begin to see yourself as a terrible and crass sinner... worthy of the deepest Hell and no forgiveness from a Holy God... then it might be that you are beginning to see Him as He is.
Now, if you see yourself as a terrible sinner, and the honest truth is... you are. That doesn't count. But, if you are honestly trying to do everything you know that might please God, and yet the more you do, the worse you see yourself... it might be that you are no longer seeing your own reflection when you seek to see Him... it might be His image is beginning to reflect in you.
Now, let me prove that to you with Godly men from the Bible.
Job, if he were alive in his flesh today... he would probably be the Godliest man you would ever meet. Read the first 37 chapters of Job and see if Job does not stand head-and-shoulders above even all of the other Godly men of his day. Keep in mind though, Job, up to that point, was a crooked stick, comparing himself to other slightly more twisted sticks. Finally, God decides to reveal Himself to Job. (chapters 38-41) Read the first six verses of chapter 42. Keep in mind now that Job is seeing God in all of His Holiness. It is no longer a mere man standing before him. Job 42:5-6 "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." Job, one of the most Godly men who ever lived, said that he abhorred himself after glimpsing God. Why? The crooked stick saw just how crooked he really was, when compared to the plumb-line, and not other slightly more bent sticks than himself.
I could give you the same understanding with other great men of the Bible and their personal experiences with God, i.e., Moses, Daniel, Ezekiel, etc. If you ever become close enough to see God, with your spiritual eyes you will be undone... your own goodness will be as Isaiah stated, Isaiah 64:6a "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;" Look at what happened to the prophet Isaiah when he had a vision of God. Isaiah 6:5 "Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." Are you beginning to understand? If you ever get close to God, you start seeing how really despicable you actually are.
(Many of the famous television preachers are laughable with their testimonies of loving and really "knowing" God. If they ever really saw God, even one time, they would give up their wealth and preach the Gospel to the poor. No more playing and living like the devil in the devil's playground, which is the world.)
The same thing happened to the "beloved disciple" John when he saw God in His glory on the island of Patmos. It is always exactly the same thing... view God... really try to get close enough to want to see His Holiness... and you will fall away with self-loathing.
I will only give you one more example. The apostle Paul. God used him to author nearly one-half of the New Testament. Read about Paul's life and see that from a youth he feared God and tried to keep all of the commandments. Yet, after actually seeing God, one time in a vision, Paul summed up his life, after he was saved, in only five blunt words. I Timothy 1:15 "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief." (of whom I am chief!) Notice the word, "am." That word means that Paul is recognizing in the "present tense" the fact that he feels himself to be a vile sinner. Even though, most probably compared to you and I he would have lived his life like an angel of God.
Do you think you are close to God? How do you see yourself... a pretty good person... you try hard... you're nice to people... you attend church... you tithe... etc. etc. etc. to ad infinitum. No, the honest truth is that you might, just might, becoming close to God, if you do all of the above, and a thousand other good things to do, yet, at your best you know that you are a "worm" and not worthy of the mercies of a Holy God. Why? Because just maybe you caught a glimpse of Him and you saw yourself, really saw yourself---for the very first time.
One time I confronted an older woman from a Nazarene Church. She actually told me she thought she had reached "sinless perfection." I quoted a handful of verses to show her that she was a terrible sinner before God, and just by believing that, sinless perfection, she was calling God Himself a liar... which of course was another sin she could add to her growing list.
Without exception, and in both Testaments, under "Law" and "Grace," every single time anyone caught a glimpse of God, they fell away as dead men while recognizing their own sinful ways.
So by all means, do everything that you know the Bible teaches to be well-pleasing to God, and when you are done, forget thinking you have done well because of it. Remember the admonition, and the very words of God Himself, the Lord Jesus: Luke 17:10 "So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do."
June 2, 8:43 a.m.
As part of mine and my wife's devotions this morning I was reading from Amos chapter six. It begins with (verse one) "Woe to them that are at ease in Zion..." That verse seems to encompass the average life of 99.99 percent of everyone in America who professes to know and serve God.
In reality I am not even necessarily doubting the "know" part of professing believers. As long as they have placed their trust in the shed blood and the finished work of Jesus Christ (death, burial, and resurrection) then at least in that sense they do "know" Him and are saved. That is all very good. My questions would center around the second part of what professing believers say about knowing and "serving" God.
At least in America today (give Obama enough time and this will change) we still have freedom to worship and serve God. Here is my question to you who read this blog today. And my question is only for you if you are of the group who states that they do, in fact, know and serve God. What does your "service" consist of? An hour each week at some church? A couple of dollars in the offering plate? A few (brief) whispered prayers to God? (And those only if you or someone you love has a need or a want, otherwise... you pretty much ignore Him.) Occasionaly you might(?) tell someone about the love of God and their need to trust Christ... but you act as if you are embarrased to do it? Is what I just wrote about... your typical "service" to God?
"Woe to them that are at ease in Zion." Those who claim to know Christ (in America) had better wake up before God finally decides to punish this nation in a way that it will never recover from. At this point in time we have all of the sins in this country happening and people "winking" at them as if it is nothing to God... even though He has already pronounced those actions as sin against Him. The terrible sin of murdering our un-birthed babies... befriending nations (through the wicked United Nations) that God abhors because of their idolatry... homosexuals demanding a "right" to marry, a union that the Bible declares belongs only to a man and a woman... etc. etc. etc.
I think America, as a country, has not ceased to exist for only two reasons. We still are sending out about 90% of all missionaries worldwide, and at least till this backsliding people elected a closet Muslim, we were friends to Israel. Keep in mind that Obama's trip to the Middle East encompasses him visiting Muslim leaders and their countries, but he is not going to Israel. That is why I say that he is a "closet" Muslim and he is not even very deep in the closet.
It is important to also remember that it was many people who "professes" Christianity that went to the polls last November and voted for a man, who by his practices hates the God of the Christian's Bible. If you are one of those people I will give you a "thought for the day." Every few seconds today a small innocent baby will be put to death in an abortion clinic. You, by your vote, helped to keep that terrible travesty happening. At least pray today and confess your part and ask His forgiveness in all of the helpless little babies being killed today.
So, all believers have a choice. Remain "at ease" in your service to God and watch this country fall away and be relegated to the dustbin of history. Of course that means that your children and grandchildren will either be raised in an atheistic country, similar to Cuba, China, Russia, etc. Or they will be raised in a country with a heathen religion like the Muslim nations.
Doubt this verse and you have no hope or part in God's plan of salvation, and your soul will take part in the lake that burns with fire! Jesus, speaking of Himself said, ..."I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6)
Jesus, and only Jesus can save a soul, every other belief is a false belief and it leads to death and Hell. So, at least for a little while you have a choice. If you are saved then... wake up! Stop being at ease in Zion and believe that is somehow right or acceptable to God. And if you have been deceived and are lost... then trust the finished work of the Lord Jesus the Christ to the saving of your soul.
June 3, 4:57 a.m.
I saw part of a hysterically funny show last evening on ABC. What made it even funnier is that I think it was intended to be a serious show. It might have been called "Lucy's World?" I'm not sure, I only got to see the last twenty minutes or so. But I laughed and laughed... it was great entertainment.
This morning, before leaving for work, I will only have a few minutes to type and I will finish this blog later today when I get in. But I wanted to type a little this morning because one line was so funny that I couldn't wait to tell you about it.
Keep in mind that for a show of this type liberals always trot out a long line of Al Gore sycophants. I was sitting too far from the screen to catch the man's name who had the funniest line that I heard during the part of the show I watched. I only wish that I could have seen it all for I am certain there were a lot of lines just like this one throughout the entire broadcast. This particular liberal said, "We can't burn or drill our way out of the problems we are having... we just have to invent something."
I know it sounds ridiculous... but that is what he said. Remember though that liberals always say ridiculous things just like that and other liberals are afraid to challenge them on their nonsensical statements. First of all, the man is patently wrong. We can burn coal and we can dig oil and it will give immediate relief to the problems we are facing. It is just that the liberals have to stop interfering and allow drilling and digging in the places that we already know have huge reserves.
Liberals want us to believe that the quickest way to get us out of the problems we are facing is to not use technology which is already in place... drilling, digging, etc. but for them it is much quicker to invent something! Are they insane? The answer of course to that one is obvious... of course they are.
Keep in mind that they do not even know what they want to invent. And that is the hysterically funny part and what they are not being challenged on. Ask them what and they will tell you that they do not know... but there just has to be a better way than burning or drilling.
(I will add more when I get in from work... have a nice day.)
(2:54 p.m.) I just got in from work and I really only have a couple more points to make. First: a few years ago to prove liberal Democrats wrong a small oil company in the south did an experiment. They set up a rig in an area with known oil reserves, then they drew the crude oil out and sent it to a refinery. From there they put it on the open market for sale. The entire process from the ground to a car's gas tank was less than 90 days!
And secondly: wake up... we do not have to invent something. All of the infrastructure is in place today to be able to start drilling oil offshore and in Alaska and within six months we would start having enough gasoline on the market to start breaking our dependency on the Middle East. From that point and forward gasoline and diesel would drop to the point that all items being transported around the country which are for sale would see a huge drop off in cost. That friends is a fact. And once again the liberal Democrats would be proven wrong because we can burn and drill our way out of the mess we are in!
I also wanted to write something about the death of Dr. Tiller. I personally believe that he was a monster, but the only satisfaction I take in his death is the fact that he can no longer murder any more un-birthed babies.
I do have a question for any person out there who does not believe that George Tiller and others like him are monsters. If killing a helpless and innocent child by some of the cruelest ways possible (literally removing their limbs from their trunks with a sharp scalpel) does not make a human being a very cruel monster... what does?
Some, including myself, think that Tim McVeigh was a monster for setting a bomb and taking the lives of several innocent small children. Yet, Mr. Tiller estimated that he performed abortions on more than 60,000 mothers. In other words, he murdered more than 60,000 innocent and helpless babies. Tiller was a heartless, cruel, murdering, man who must now answer to God for his evil ways.
The other thing I wanted to mention about this story is where he was and what he was doing when he was shot. The fact that he was inside a church building was fine... saint and sinner alike are welcomed into such buildings all of the time. However, he was actually taking a part in the service as an usher. Imagine for just a moment that such a heinous man as Tiller was in your church... would he be allowed to do anything more than sit in a pew and have the right of every sinner to hear the Gospel message?
If he would be allowed to do anything more than that, then leave... don't walk... but run away from that apostate group of people as fast as you can. Then, find a real body of believers who know in their heart that killing helpless babies is a crime against humanity and a terrible sin before the Lord Jesus the Christ.
Consider the following: all of us must stand one day before God and give account for things done in this body. Those who say they support what Tiller did, I bet even they would not want to be in Tiller's place as he stands before a Holy God and tries to give an account for murdering the "heritage of the Lord."
June 4, 8:42 a.m.
This morning I thought I would just like to give some insight into human behavior: albeit, what I write will be ascribing to man's more base nature. My dad repeated many times the famous quote, "Absolute power corrupts absolutely." At least with humans this always seems to be the case. For example, in history, there has never been a benevolent despotic leader. When any person has been given enough power, they have always turned to hurting other and weaker people. It appears that whenever more power is wielded it always turns to cruelty. However, since no one reading this blog is likely to ever acquire the power of a despot, let me show you the cruelty in the "average" person out there whenever they have even a little power.
The story is told of a man's boss hollering at him at work... so he goes home and hollers at his wife... his wife turns on one of the children and screams at them... the little child finds the dog and kicks at it... the dog chases the cat out of the house... the cat goes in search of a mouse... Are you starting to get the picture? It seems that at every stage of life... someone wants to find another who is weaker and tries to pick on them.
With that much of an introduction, I now want to write something that will make it easier to be able to spot cruelty in a person. And whenever you spot such cruelty... pray that the person you see it in never rises to any position of perceived power: or, you may be looking at another Idi Amin or other like-minded evil people.
I also need you to understand that a person does not have to have any real power to display evil tendencies, it is just that if the tendencies are there... they would definitely act on them if given the opportunity. The easiest way to illustrate this is the fact that you do not have to be rich to display the "love of money being the root of all evil" syndrome. Poor people can show this as well as billionaires. It is just easier seeing it on display among those who are already wealthy. The same way it is easier to see evil in a person who has the power to act their evil out. Although this is not what today's blog is about, if you want to know if you have the love of money problem (even as a poor person) it is very easy to know. If you ever sit around and just imagine... "If I only had "X" amount of dollars... all my problems and worries would be over." Then my friend, you have the "love of money" problem. Because money, in and of itself, has never been the answer to any person's problems.
I used to tell my wife that it was easy to spot a teenager who had a good heart and those who were cruel inside. I told her to look for two things. Watch how they interacted with small children and small animals they came into contact with. Were they kind and did they treat these smaller and weaker vessels with kindness, or were they dismissive and even physically hurtful to those they came into contact with who were more helpless than themselves?
Many years ago, by reading case histories, I studied the lives of many of the world's most infamous serial-killers. These were people who killed just for the thrill of it. There is something terrifying to know about such people as these. Without exception... every single serial-killer started out as a young child hurting animals! Now it is true that there have been children who have been cruel to helpless animals and they have not gone on and carried their particular pathology, i.e. hurting those weaker than themselves onto the next level and started killing humans, it is still worrisome to know that all serial-killers began their career by hurting helpless animals.
Isn't this the same understanding we have with hard-core drug users and the reasoning behind staying away from the "softer" drugs. Addicts do not become addicted to heroin by beginning with heroin, they start their long road to death by drugs by experimenting with "pot" and etc.
All of my belief systems are founded upon precepts from the Bible. I try and make certain that if I hold or carry a belief in my mind or heart and it does not line up with Bible precepts, then I change my belief and try to get in line with what the Bible states... if you say that you are a believer then I trust that you feel the same way.
With that in mind read carefully Proverbs 12:10a "A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast..." This also means that an unrighteous man would not regard (or care about) the life of his animal. Remember, how any person treats those around them that are weaker than themselves, always reflects on their character or lack thereof.
It is important also to understand that in the beginning in the Garden of Eden that the animal world was created by God, before man was created. And God, before sin entered into Adam and Eve only meant that animals were to be companions to man. Not something that was to be mistreated or abused simply because man was bigger or stronger or had the cunning to be able to devise a way to do it.
I even actually heard it discussed (recently) whether or not animals would be killed and eaten in Heaven. I'm not kidding. There, evidently, are some that believe a practice (eating animals) that was introduced after sin came into the world will be practiced in a sinless Heaven. I would be very much concerned with any person's Theology in other matters if they do not even have the basic understanding in this.
God created both man and animal, in the sinless Garden of Eden to be vegetarians! Genesis 1:28-30 "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful,and multiply, and replenish the erath, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yeilding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth , and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so." After... sin entered the world and Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden, then, and only then was man allowed to kill and consume animals.
Just a few questions to further prove my point. First: do you beleive the Bible? Secondly: if the Bible is clear on what is stated, do you accept what it says? Does every beast of the earth (today) eat green herbs? Does every fowl of the air (today) eat green herbs? Does every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, (today) eat green herbs? The answer of course to the last three questions is "no."
That can only mean that either the Bible is not true, God is mistaken, or (and the correct answer is this one) the diet for both man and animal has changed since their sinless beginning recorded in the first chapter of Genesis.
If you have a child or a loved one who has a tendency to be cruel to anything around them that is weaker and more vulnerable, then... be very afraid to go to sleep at night. Actually with the last nine-words of that sentence I am only joking. But, if you see this type of behavior displayed in any person, young or old, it is worrisome that they can only feel good about themselves by striking out and hurting something that is weaker. That type of behavior always speaks of both cruelty and cowardice. Cruelty for not having empathy about another's pain and cowardice because they purposefully hurt something that can not hurt them back.
In conclusion: The sad truth is that whatever character a person displays as a child they will carry with them into old-age. Many times we would take children from our Christian school to visit the elderly in the nursing homes. Sometimes there were people in their 90's who were kind and sweet and there were also others in their 90's who were bitter and rude. I explained to the students that had they met both groups of people when they were only nine years old instead of 90, they would have still seen the same type of behavior from that person. The sweet 90-year- old person would have been a sweet nine-year-old. And the bitter and rude 90-year-old, would have displayed the same behavior at nine. Age, in and of itself does not change character.
June 5, 8:57 a.m.
As part of my devotions this morning I was reading the last three chapters of Jeremiah. I just want to leave everyone with a quick thought for the day. God, at least for a season of time, will (sort of) "wink at your sin." By that I only mean that He will tolerate bad behavior in His children for a while. But, and I imagine this period of time is different for all of His children, there will come a time when "enough is enough."
First: I would like to encourage everyone to read their Bible daily, but, as you read do not forsake your Old Testament reading either. Just because we live in the "church age" does not mean that God (Himself) changes. Remember: Jesus is the same yesterday, (O.T.) today, (N.T.) and forever. (into the ages)
I'm much afraid that the average believer gets a completely skewed idea of the nature of God by only reading Matthew to Jude, and they skip the Book of the Revelation and their Old Testament reading entirely. If this is done on purpose, then one day I believe these people are in for a rude awakening.
June 6, 6:38 a.m.
I don't particularly like to write something that is only about a single news story... at least without adding something from the Bible which gives me more of a reason for wanting to talk about it.
For quite awhile now there has been an ongoing story in the news about the flight which went down in the ocean, apparently without a trace of where it went down. Such a tragedy, in and of itself, is horrendous, but for the surviving family members not even knowing where the remains of their loved ones are... must be unbearable.
Sometimes I find that whenever I pray for people I'll never meet and for those that I never knew, it feels a little disingenuous. I mean, it costs me nothing but a little time and I have no way of knowing if my simple prayer helps any of them: yet, it still feels like it is the right thing to do.
After all, in all matters of life-and-death, who else should any person turn to... but God. He alone has the answers and God is also the only one who could be able to give any comfort to the living in a time like that. With that in mind I do pray for those surviving family members to turn to God and ask for His help. And in turn, I do also pray that God will hear their pleas and will help them.
p.m.
posted by Robin Johnson @ 3:50 PM
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