HOOK UP CULTURE AND THE CHRISTIAN

“Now flee from youthful lusts…” 

(2 Timothy 2:22, NASB).

“Flee from sexual immorality…” 

(1 Cor. 6:18, ESV).

Can a man take fire in his bosom And his clothes not be burned?
(Prov. 6:27, NASB).

In today’s culture hardly anyone anymore bats an eye at sexual immorality such as adultery, fornication, or homosexuality. Many people’s conscience is deadened to such sins. It is no longer a big deal to a lot of people. Sadder still is the fact that “Hook-up culture” is not only thriving, but such sexual vices are approved of (or celebrated) as well (see Rom. 1:32). However, what you never hear talked about from this sub-culture of vice are the consequences associated with such sinful practices. So what are these consequences? (1.) The danger of contracting an STD or the HIV virus that causes AIDS and passing it on to others; (2.) Then there is pregnancy out of wedlock; (3.) Then there is the “comparison of one’s current lover to the last sexual partner” game that never seems to end well; (4.) Addiction to sexual sin. (5.) Multiple sexual partners makes sexual intimacy and bonding with a life’s partner much more difficult; (6.) Contributes to marital unfaithfulness. (7.) Men are less likely to respect or want to marry women who are promiscuous. (8.) Need I say that sexual immorality is sin before God (see 1 Cor. 6:18). This is why Paul warned Timothy to "flee from youthful lusts" (2 Tim. 2:22); and again, The Apostle warns the Church at Corinth to "flee from sexual immorality" (1 Cor. 6:18). Dear friend and fellow Christian, are you struggling with youthful lusts, are you tempted by what Hook-up Culture has to offer? Remember, the consequences I listed earlier. Take heart, the Lord knows all about your struggles and is able to deliver you from them. "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." (1 Cor. 10:13, ESV).

Lord, this world takes such wonderful gifts as sex and corrupts it into something you never intended to be. I’m sure this world that practices sexual immorality grieves your heart, and so it should. Dear Lord, it’s not just the act of sexual immorality that displeases you, it is the very thought of it that took root in the human heart that began the downward fall into sexual sin. O God, search our hearts and see if there be any impure sexual thoughts and forgive us of such sins, and wash us of all such sexually sinful thoughts in Jesus name we pray, Amen.

CAN GOD FORGIVE SINS APART FROM HIS SACRIFICE?

"And without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness."

(Hebrews 9:22, NASB)

A friend had recently challenged me with this question: “Since Jesus is God, why can’t He just forgive us of our sins without the need to die for our sins on the Cross? Since He is God, this shouldn’t be a problem for Him. His dying on the Cross was unnecessary to forgive us of our sins. So why bother?” Great question. First, without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins (see Heb. 9:22). Second, because sin had brought death to man, another had to die in man’s place, one without sin in order to redeem man back to God. Since sin brought death to man, a Man was required to bring death to sin, so that man may have the opportunity to have life once again (see Rom. 5:12; Eph. 2:1, 5; 1:7). Third, also His ways are not our ways, nor are His thoughts our thoughts (see Isa. 55:8). God doesn't need our permission to run the universe, nor does He do things the way we want Him to. He is God, we are not. So can sinners be forgiven apart from Jesus' sacrifice? No! Why? Because "without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" for our sins. (see text).

Dear Lord, how thankful We are that forgiveness is found in Christ. Nothing can wash away our sin, except the blood of Jesus. O how precious is His blood to His redeemed children! There are those who believe your death, burial, and resurrection was unnecessary. However, your children who have been forgiven know better. We know how wonderful it is to drop our burden of sin and guilt at the foot of the Cross and by faith found forgiveness in the Lord Jesus Christ. O bless His Holy Name! Amen.

A SHADOW OF INFLUENCE

“For You have been my help, And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy.” 

(Psalm 63:7, NASB).

A shadow is an extension or reflection of either a living or non-living object. Shadow casting is contingent on light, without light there is no shadow casting. Since non-living objects can’t move unless moved by a force outside itself, its shadow is fixed where it is placed. Therefore, when light shines on it, the shadow casts in a fixed place wherever the position the light is cast upon it. The truth is this present world has its shadows, whereas heaven does not. Now that’s not to say shadows are bad, no, they have their purpose. For example, resting under the shade [or shadow] of a tree can give us some relief from the heat of the sun. Second, the shadows of an eagle’s wings gives both warmth and protection to the young eaglets. So as we can see, shadows do have a certain power and influence. However, without light, there can really be no “shadow” of influence. The fact is, it takes light shining on an object to cast a shadow. The Apostle James refers to God as the “Father of lights” (James 1:17). Even more interesting is the fact that there is no shadow found in Him. We cast shadows, but God does not. Why? Because He is Light, whereas we only reflect light. A full moon shines brightly at night, but the moon itself is not a light. It only reflects the light from the source it draws from, the sun. As believers in Christ, do we draw our light from the Son, the Light of all lights? If we are walking in the Light, then we have the assurance we will reflect that light to the world. Oh, may the light of Christ in us draw people to the love of Christ, while the light may cast our shadow, may it be a shadow of influence that brings refreshment and protection to those who we lead and disciple in Christ. The only time Christ ever cast a shadow was when His glory was veiled in flesh and was hung on a Cross. It was this shadow cast from this particular Cross that has influenced the lives of millions from ages past to the present. May the shadow we cast from the cross we are called to bare influence the lives of everyone God has placed in our lives.

Lord, shadows and light. We are the mixture of both. The shadows we cast reminds us that we are not that light, but rather we are reflecters of the Light of life. The Light we reflect reminds us of the Christ who dwells in our heart. Without Him we could never reflect the Light of Christ. Yes, we may cast shadows, and shadows have their place of influence, but you O Lord, cast no shadows, because You are pure Light, whereas we are but passing shadows that only have power to cast its influence, when the Light of the world, Christ shines on us. Amen.

A BEAUTY THAT IS MORE THAN SKIN DEEP

“To bring Queen Vashti before the king with her royal crown in order to display her beauty to the people and the princes, for she was beautiful.” 

(Esther 1:11, NASB).

In Esther chapter one, we read about one queen, who defied the king’s command and got deposed and demoted. Then we later read about the king’s search for another woman to take her place. Who better to take her place than godly Esther? So who is this queen who defied the king’s command? Her name was Vashti. Her name means “vanity.” She was a woman of great beauty in the sight of all who saw her. This is why the king liked to call for her, to parade her around. In other words, the king liked showing off how beautiful his wife was. The only problem with Vashti’s physical beauty is that it has an expiry date. No wonder the writer of Proverbs said, “Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.” (Prov. 31:30, NASB). Such praise for the vanity of physical beauty that will pass had a short life span. This raises some serious questions. Does a woman just want to be praised and known for her physical beauty alone? Did such beauty save her from being deposed from her position as queen? The truth is, Vashti’s beauty was more earth bound than heaven bound, more outward than inward, more focused on what was passing than what would last for eternity. Now let us take a little closer look at Queen Vashti's Defiance, her Deposition, and Demotion. 
(1.) Queen Vashti's Defiance: She disobeyed the king's order delivered by the eunuchs (1:12, 15). The seriousness of her disobeying the command of the king had to do with the natural order of headship in creation (see 1 Cor. 11:3). It's this act of despising the king's authority that had to be dealt with. Now the king was not without fault here as well. His inhibitions were impaired due to his alcohol consumption, and made a request that Vashti refused to obey.
(2.) Queen Vashti's Deposition: "If it pleases the king, let a royal edict be issued by him and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media so that it cannot be repealed, that Vashti may no longer come into the presence of King Ahasuerus, and let the king give her royal position to another who is more worthy than she." (see Est. 1:19, NASB). Due to her refusal to come to the king when he called for her to come, resulted in Vashti being deposed from her throne as queen. She had been removed from her office and position as the edict says in the above text.
(3.) Queen Vashti's Demotion: She lost her position as queen by king Ahasuerus' side. She enjoyed the luxuries and comforts that came with her position as Queen; but she quickly suffered a reduction in rank and status, due to her defiance of the king's command. She was not only stripped of her rank as queen, she was also divorced from her husband the king as well. Indeed, her disobedience was costly. Had she known this, I'm sure she would not have defied the king's command. 

SEEING THE LORD IN HOLINESS

“Without holiness no one will see the Lord.”  
(Hebrews 12:14, NIV).

The Lord is the absolute embodiment of Holiness. Holiness is at the very heart of His character. There is no spot or wrinkle of ungodliness in Him. There is no un-God-likeness in Him, for if there was, He would cease to be Himself. Because God is Holy, we are to be holy (see 1 Pet. 1:16). In ourselves we are not holy, but in Christ we are. For the eyes of our flesh cannot see God, but the eyes of holiness can see Him. Holiness in character is required to see God. The more holy we become in character, the more clearly we see Him. Many of God’s dear children desire to be holy, but are not holy in life and character (see Rom. 3:23; 5:12). Often, we are so eager and good at making a holy show, but are not so willing to suffer the cost associated with showing ourselves holy. Holiness involves suffering. Holiness can only be obtained through the purifying flame of suffering. Again, many Christians desire holiness, but dread the process required to be holy. It is one thing to fear the flames of hell, but quite another to fear the flaming baptism associated with holiness. Both require death, but only one brings life anew from the ashes of death. Dear fellow Christian, do not conceive the idea in your heart that you can become holy without applying the flame of suffering; nor deceive yourself into thinking in your pride you can obtain holiness in the energy of your flesh. For the Scripture says, “That no flesh should glory in his presence.” (1 Cor. 1:29, KJV). If that is the case, that you glory in your own self righteousness, then you fail to understand the Holiness of God. A proper understanding of God’s Holiness reveals our lack of holiness, which in turn should create in us a hunger for Christ like holiness. For it is when we are most holy, we are most like our God. It is when we are most holy, we are best able to bring glory to the Lord in our worship.

Dear Lord, thank You that your righteousness is imputed on us. So that whenever our Heavenly Father sees us, He sees us in His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We know Lord all our righteousness are as filthy rags before your absolute Holiness (see Isa. 64:6). Nevertheless, we are called to walk in holiness, not according to our flesh that is reckoned to be dead, but in the Spirit we are to walk. For holiness is not found in ourselves, but in Christ. Amen.

The Blessing of Persecution?

“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.” (Matthew 5:11, NASB).

Being persecuted for what we believe as a Christian is never easy. Yet this is a part of what it means to follow Christ. It should not surprise us when people speak evil of us, insult us, and belittle us for living Christ. What's more interesting is the fact Jesus says such people are "blessed." More about that later. The Apostle Paul echoes Jesus’ words in today’s text, when he wrote: “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” (2 Tim. 3:12, NASB). Do you ever wonder why you don’t suffer persecution for the name of Christ, or that you really don’t see fellow Christians suffering for the name of Christ? The answer is this, because we are really not living Christ before a godless world. Our problem is we have become too comfortable, complacent, and worldly in this present evil world. We are supposed to be salt and light to a world of perishing sinners. Yet, we live our lives as though we don’t know God, nor the need all around us. Are we really loving our neighbors by remaining silent? Noted revivalist writer, Leonard Ravenhill wrote: “The early Church was married to Poverty, Prisons, and Persecutions. Today, “The Church” is married to Prosperity, Personality, and Popularity.” This quote is definitely an accurate description of today’s Church. We are too busy compromising our faith to be popular in the world, rather than stand for God’s truth and suffer persecution. If the truth be told, we as the Church are more married to the world then we are to Christ! I came across a quote recently that said this, “A man who won’t die for something, isn’t fit to live”—Martin Luther King Jr. The fear of death is a snare, the Christian martyrs of old knew this. So they learned to die to themselves first until they feared disobeying God more than they feared death. It is when the fear of death loses its hold on us that we find the freedom to really live for Christ. Just as the blood of Christ gave birth to the Church, so the blood of the martyrs from the past and the present was and still is the seed of the Church. As mentioned earlier, such Christians who are persecuted for their faith in Christ are "blessed." First, they are blessed in sharing in the sufferings of Christ (see Phil. 3:10). Second, they are blessed in that such persecution reveals whether they are truly identifying with Christ or the world (see 1 John 2:15). Third, they are blessed in that such persecution has a way of testing our true motives in following Christ. Are we in it for Christ, or ourselves?

Lord, we know the fear of man is a snare to our soul, just as the fear of death is. Lord, help us to settle the matter forever about fearing persecution for your name. Help us to count it our privilege to suffer persecution for your honor and glory. In Christ’s name. Amen.

DON'T JUDGE ME UNTIL YOU ARE PERFECT

Came across this quote from a friend's post here on Facebook. It reads as follows:

"Judge me when you're perfect. Shut up when you're not." -Author Unknown.

Actually, the logic in this quote above is faulty, in that it dismisses any judgment on the grounds that nobody is perfect, therefore it manipulates people into silence, when judgment is really needed on serious matters. Besides, the quote contradicts itself anyway by judging people into silence. So on this grounds, the author of this quote is guilty of judging, which the logic behind this quote doesn't allow him or her to do, since they too are not perfect. Therefore, they are judged into silence as well.

Now having said the above, I realize there are times when bad judgment is made against someone. For example, judging someone in haste without knowing all the facts, especially when they are found to be innocent is never good. It is bad judgment on the part of him or her who judged. The fact is, we all make judgment calls on a daily bases. We judge what we are going to do, what we are going to wear, what we are going to eat, what is safe, or what is harmful, etc. The fact is we ALL judge. When we are going to judge another person on an issue, or their behavior, we should make sure we know the facts before making a judgment. For those who hastily judge others, will soon find themselves being judged in haste. So if we judge others, let's be sure it is done in righteous judgment.

The fact is, we should always judge our own personal lives first, and make any wrongs or offenses we've committed against others right. Then we will be in a better position to see and judge more clearly and compassionately the offenses and wrongs others commit against us. Like the Lord Jesus says, "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." (Matthew 7:5, NASB).

Lord God, sometimes we come across as being judgmental to others. Help us to be wise in our judgments. Too often we judge others without knowing all the facts, or the motive behind why such a judgment was made. We all make judgments on a daily bases. It is a part of life. Lord, when we make a judgment call on someone, help us to judge with righteous judgment. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.