John 8:36 – “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed!”  TLV

Last time we identified that False Teachers target immature believers or new Christians.  We mentioned that there are three specific reasons this freedom is dangerous and destructive.

False Freedom is Dangerous Because of Where it Comes From…

False Freedom comes from false teachers having been birthed in the pit of hell.  Wherever you find the true you also find the false.  Where you find the genuine you find the counterfeit.  False teachers are not a 21^st-century phenomenon.  They have been around throughout the ages.  They simply become more sophisticated in their methods and message.

False teachers claim to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.  They claim to have a new revelation in Scripture or insist that the Bible is not a valid guide for our faith and practice.  They claim to believe that the Bible is the word of God, but often suggest that their interpretation supersedes the old thought and theological conclusions.  They often twist the Scripture making it conform with their doctrine rather than forming their doctrine on the Word of God.  Their message and method result in spiritual bondage, deception, and delusion.

Peter was clear in his declaration and description.  In verse 1, he identified that they secretly introduce destructive heresies and work in an underhanded fashion.  They never, like Paul, check with other mature believers and ministers to verify their doctrines.  In verse 10, he reveals that the false teachers despise authority.  They are Proud!  They project the idea that they are the only ones with The TRUTH and that becomes incredibly dangerous and divisive.  In verse 3, Peter tells us they used Feigned Words.  The Greek word translated feigned is “Plastos” the word from which we get the English word Plastic.

What are Plastic words?  They are words that can be twisted and shaped to mean anything.  The false teachers use our vocabulary but not our dictionary.  When we talk about freedom, salvation, or sin, we use the biblical definition.  The false teachers do not define them in the same way or with the same meaning.  They use plastic words.

Notice in verse 3, they exploit or make merchandise of the hearer.  They are out for what is in it for them.  That may be money, fame, notoriety, or control.  In verses 14 and 18 we discover that they entice people.  The underlying motive in their actions and organizations is monetary, political, or control.  It is Power and Dollars!

They promote their lies to make merchandise of young immature Christians.  In verse 17, Peter compared them to springs without water and mists driven by a storm.  They are wells without water and clouds that produce no rain.  In verse 13, Peter calls them blots, blemishes, or spots in our love feasts.  They pretend to be godly but use religion as a means of making money, amassing power, and gaining control.  They are Religious Racketeers!  They offer lofty ideals that are nothing more than tinkling cymbals and rain on a tin roof.

The Warning is Clear.  We are to beware of false freedom because of where it originates.  It comes from false teachers who despise the authority of the Word of God.  They defile and deceive immature followers.  They lead back into depravity.  Jesus taught that the Holy Spirit would teach – Truth, Call Attention to Jesus the Messiah, and Validate the Scriptures.  Anything other than that is to be distrusted and avoided.

I want to pick up on warning number two in the next session, but until then I pray you will experience the Holy Spirit developing your ability to discern the truth.

God bless you as you enjoy this wonderful day in Jesus!

John 8:36 – “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed!”  TLV

Christian Freedom can be identified as: “A Life Controlled by Truth and Motivated by Love.”  It is the result of a growing and developing a relationship with Jesus Christ, who is Truth, with the Word of God, and with the Holy Spirit of God, who is the Spirit of Truth.  This is a most wonderful position to be in.  It is a life of tremendous liberty and carries the absence of guilt and condemnation.  It is a perfect relationship enabling us to have continued growth and development.

Even though this wonderful freedom is available in Jesus, there is also false freedom that must be avoided.  This false freedom exists, and, unfortunately, some believers are entrapped by its delusion and deception.  This false freedom does not come from heaven but from the pits of hell.  Those who practice this illusional freedom are not free but are in bondage of the worst kind.  They live a life that is dominated and controlled by lies and motivated by covetousness and lust.  This is the exact opposite of the freedom that Jesus brings.

Before we can delve into the needed examination of this subject, we need to be reminded of some truths that are foundational for understanding True and False Freedom.  God’s Purpose for Man is Freedom!  God’s Method for Freedom is Truth!  God’s Revelation of Truth is Jesus Christ!  We have addressed these in the past and will again in the near future.

It is or should be the objective and goal of every believer to live in this Freedom which is afforded through a personal relationship with Jesus.  It is experiencing the Freedom to be all God would have us be.  It is the Freedom to live without condemnation and guilt over past sins and shortcomings.  It is Freedom from man-made traditions which have no foundation in the Word of God.  It is the Freedom to accept our responsibility in this world and demonstrate and manifest Christlikeness in our every day activities. 

The False Freedom of which I speak is detailed in 2 Peter 2.  In verses 1-3 we read, “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you. They will secretly bring in destructive heresies. They will even deny the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction upon themselves. ² Many will follow their immoral ways, and as a result, the way of the truth will be maligned. ³ In their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction does not slumber.”

            It is beneficial that we consider the words of verses 17-22, “These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. The gloom of utter darkness has been reserved for them. ¹⁸ For by mouthing grandiosities that amount to nothing, they entice in sensual fleshly passions those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. ¹⁹ They promise them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption—for a person is a slave to whatever has overcome him. ²⁰ For if—after escaping the world’s pollutions through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Yeshua the Messiah—they again become entangled in these things and are overcome, the end for them has become worse than the beginning. ²¹ For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than after learning about it, to turn back from the holy commandment passed on to them. ²² What has happened to them confirms the truth of the proverb, “A dog returns to its vomit,” and “A scrubbed pig heads right back into the mud.”

I desire to guard against being negative in my exhortation.  I want to prevent a fatalistic attitude outlook from arising.  But I need to note some specifics.  Obviously, the picture painted thus far in the words of 2 Peter 2 is not a pretty one.  Yet, it contains things vital to be considered and some specific warnings to be observed.

FALSE TEACHERS TARGET IMMATURE CHRISTIANS.

In verse 18 – “For by mouthing grandiosities that amount to nothing, they entice in sensual fleshly passions those who are barely escaping from those who live in error.”  The KJV states it as, “For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.” 

The primary target of False Teachers is New Believers.  They seek to lead them into false freedom that becomes bondage and a means of control.  There are some specific reasons why this false freedom is dangerous for the believer. 

We will deal with that in the next devotional.

God bless you as you pursue the Freedom that is in Christ Jesus and come to know and obey the truth and thereby enjoy God’s True Freedom!

1 Corinthians 13:1-8 – “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.  4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  8 Love never fails…” NASB

The most important thing in our Christian Life is LOVE!  Love for God and love toward our fellow man.  We may be the most eloquent of speakers, have the greatest insight, and manifest incredible gifts but without love, the Bible tells us we are nothing more than NOISE!  Some of the things Paul lists as having without having love seem almost impossible to me but I conclude that while he may not have been speaking literally but metaphorically, I will accept the idea that one might manifest these things and not have love.  In that case, that individual would be quite the show but nothing more than “rain on a tin barn.”  All foam and no beer, as a friend mine likes to say. 

I know some people who are incredibly generous and truly orators but in private I know them to be lacking greatly in the arena of Love both for God and man.  Paul tells us in verses four-eight something about LOVE!  It is patient, kind, not jealous, does not brag, is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly, is not self-centered, not provoked, does not harbor grudges, or rejoice in unrighteousness. 

Love seeks truth, bears burdens, believes in people and God, has hope, and endurance.  Then he tells us the most powerful thing of all – – LOVE NEVER FAILS!  I hear people talk about “falling in love” like love was a mud puddle.  Love is not something you “fall into” but something you make the choice and grow into.  I love my fellow man, not because I fell in love with them but because I love God, and loving God I make the choice to love my fellow man.

If you discover that you are deficient in any gift you once operated in or in an area of spirituality you believe you should have more proficiency in, check your Love Quotient!  How is your heart in that regard?  Turn to the LORD and ask Him to send forth the Love of God so that it is spread abroad in your heart and as it spreads “in” your heart it will “flow out of “ your heart into your life and touch others.

May God be with you as you go through this day!

Hebrews 11:3 – “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”  NKJV

I recently heard Dr. Carl Baugh of the Creation Evidence Museum in Glen Rose, Texas, a scientist and Bible scholar speaking about creation and he used the aforementioned passage from Hebrews.  He said: “We know that vibratory energy (acoustics) is the basis for all subatomic particles, and consequently, all physical matter.”  Then think about Genesis 1 where we read, “And God said, and it was…”  

All the pagan concepts, theories, and religions begin with all the energy of the universe already in place.  They do not and cannot go back to the cause other than theorizing something like the Big Bang and even in that they find major problems and inconsistencies.  Only the Bible goes to the source.  Genesis 1:1 – “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.”   The Heaven or the space-time dimension (shamayim) in Hebrew.  So, in the Bible, we find a beginning and an adequate cause.  In the biblical explanation of creation, we have ‘time, space and matter’ all expressed from the beginning and their cause – God!

Back to the vibratory energy (acoustics) involvement in creation and all that we see. I want you to consider the role of sound and music in life.  Lucifer (the devil) as an archangel may have been, as many teach, created with a purpose to be involved in music and worship.  I glean this from Ezekiel 28:13, “…the workmanship of your settings and sockets, was in you…”  The word settings are (toph) which means timbrel which is a musical instrument, and the word sockets (neqeb) which means pipes, grove, hole or could be the description of a flute.  Isaiah 14 describes him as “the son of the morning…”  This could possibly suggest involvement in music and worship before the throne of God.  I won’t split hairs, but music has and does play a significant role in shaping society.  It is a powerful tool for good or evil.

In creation, none of us have all the answers. Science tells us where God has been as it looks at creation but the Bible tells us where God is! That is a thorn in the side of those who adopt the Naturalism view of creation.  However, if I look at this vast universe that we know so limitedly it is beyond the scope of probability to believe it just happened.  Then I consider the intricacies of the human body I find it impossible to believe it just happened or evolved over time.  Gravity alone is so amazing and the consistency in the solar system, the effect of the moon and sun and the rotation, and how the planets are proportioned and positioned is nothing short of amazing.

God’s creation is so amazing, I stand in awe each time I pause and view the sky, the sunrise or sunset, and the beauty of his creation.  As I consider the role that acoustics plays in creation and life, I understand why the Psalmist would tell us in Psalm 150 to Praise everywhere with everything and continually.  Why?  Because sound, music, voice, vibratory energy is designed and used by God to be creative.  We are celebrating God’s Creation and Creativity each time we engage in expressing Praise through sound be that music, singing, or verbalizing. 

Music, singing, and speaking are powerful tools that God has deposited in us so let’s seek to use them for His purposes.   Sound as a spiritual weapon is a thought that has intrigued my heart. 

God bless you as you go through this day!

Romans 8:26-27 – “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”  NKJV

When we consider the previous verses, it is interesting that the apostle Paul would relate prayer, earnest intercessory prayer with labor pains.  The Holy Spirit works in us in prayer and especially the intense earnest prayer.  Failing to recognize this ministry and availability through the Spirit of God is to rely on our own understanding and frequently results in disappointment and despair.

The Bible mentions, more than once, the weakness of the flesh.  It also points our understanding to the fact that sometimes we simply do not know the mind of God or how to pray about a matter before us.  This is when the Holy Spirit steps in and personally, begins to pray through us with what can only be described as “unintelligible and unutterable groaning”.  He knows the mind of the Father and makes intercession according to the will of God therefore He is not just a helper but our prayer warrior weapon.

The comparison of labor pangs in the previous verses about the entirety of creation applies to the prayer Paul is referring to.  This is warfare prayer and in spiritual warfare more often than not we are battling forces we cannot see and possibly do not even recognize.  The Holy Spirit both sees and recognizes them.  He brings us into the very throne room of heaven and into the presence of the Father to bring our petitions before the Most High.

I love how the next verse is connected to creation groaning and the Holy Spirit groaning through us in prayer to a remind that is pertinent and powerful:   “And we know that all things WORK TOGETHER for good to those who love God, to show who are the called according to His purpose.”  He later infuses comfort and courage saying, “What shall we say to these things?  If God is for us, who can be against us?”  I like to say, “If God is for us what difference does it make who is against us?”

Most of us have had times when prayer was called for.  We have had times when we felt the burden to pray but did not know how or what to pray.  The heaviness of the need was present but the knowledge of what or how to pray was absent.  In those times, I have experienced the Holy Spirit taking over as I submitted to His guidance and began to guide my words, thoughts, and prayers.  I have had those times when I just wept or groaned in prayer.  The image of giving birth is applicable and I felt the intense pain within my heart.  I have known that experience to last hours and then finally a release and I knew that I knew that I knew the answer was coming.  I might not know how or when, but I knew that I knew it was done.

I would suggest that it is the absence of times like that that has weakened the resolve of many to do combat in prayer and refuse to let go of the horns of the altar until the answer came.  I believe we are entering a time when the Body of Christ will once again have to depend on God for our very sustenance and health.  We are, I believe, being driven to the place of faith again, and while the painfulness of that process is not appealing the end is.  The Church is going to, once again rise as an Army, a Body, A Family, and present to the world that which Jesus declared it would be!

God bless you as you go through this day!

1 Corinthians 12:20-31 – “But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. 21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. 23 And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, 24 but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, 25 that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. 26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. 28 And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way.”  NKJV

Before I accepted Jesus as my savior, the girl I was dating and I were in riding with my parents and I told her, “I don’t know why but I have a feeling I’m supposed to be a preacher.”  She said, “Well, do it!”  My response was simple, “You have to be kidding who would listen?”  I and she knew how I was living, and no one would have ever thought of Roy and Preacher unless it was Roy needs a preacher. 

I grew up in a rural church, but did not know the LORD.  After I accepted the LORD as my Savior and begin to feel the tug to ministry I resisted and gave every argument I could think of as to why that was a bad idea and sought to dismiss it.  I told my pastor that I was going to pursue teaching and Christian counseling for that was a need that with the proper training I could see myself addressing.  He just smiled and said nothing.  It was as if he knew inside that I was simply kicking against the pricks and in time would come around to what God truly wanted.

I did not want to be in front, for I considered that too weighty a responsibility.  Most of my life, I have found myself been pressed into a leadership role.  However, I considered the call to preach incredibly frightening!  I resisted speaking publicly. In High School my English teacher continually pleaded with me to join in drama and speaking, but I resisted. 

Most don’t believe it, but I was shy, and standing in front of people was so uncomfortable I wanted no part of it.  In my early Christian experience, I sought to be in the shadows doing tasks that no one wanted to do and assuming roles that others considered beneath them.  God would have none of that and through a series of events that were undeniable to me, He impressed upon me that my call was to preach and when I opened my heart to that He opened the doors of opportunity.

Too many want to be the Body Part, in Christ, that is visible and praised as important.  Many want to be the apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, or teacher being seen.  We want to be the comely parts, but nobody wants to be the little toe.  The human body needs all its members to function in harmony and each part is important to the overall function of that body and the same is true in the Body of Christ. 

Every human body has a head, and every human body has armpits and while I am not calling any role in the Body of Christ “Arm Pit Ministry” I ask that you consider the truth of that imagery.  I have observed people self-label themselves as apostles, prophets, etc.  If you are something, you will function in that gift and calling and you will have to tell no one that you have a particular ministry gift, they will know it for God will make it known through your function. 

Therefore, rather than striving to be the part that is recognized and praised, desire to be what God wants you to be. Seek to fulfill your calling and although you may function in a little known, observed, or appreciated role for a time, in your faithfulness, God may promote you to a larger role.  Do not seek something because it appears more important or has greater visibility.  Seek to be who God called you to be and accept that responsibility.  If God does not open the door or has not ordained, you to function in that role you will fail and likely do more harm than good so be who He has called you to be and rejoice in that call.  Everybody cannot ride the horse some have to shovel the manure!

God bless you richly as you go through this day!

Isaiah 5:20-21 – “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!  21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight!”  NKJV

I know, I know this is a devotional blog, and I’m not supposed to be political, but the overbearingness of political correctness has paralyzed much of today’s church, and that troubles this believer.  We live in a world today where many believe there is ‘No Universal Truth’.  We are engaged in cultural wars to the point that many have been placed in chains out of fear of offending anyone, losing members, support, finances, and/or position.  I believe Isaiah spoke to that quite plainly and perfectly.  I believe that the disciples when ordered by the Jewish leadership to speak no more in the name of Jesus understood when they responded, “Shall we obey God or man?” 

It seems that many today are asking the question of Pilate as Jesus stood before him, “What is truth?”  It would seem ,by the attack on free speech and religious convictions, that the modern view is “There is no definitive truth only relativism.”  If we, as the Body of Christ and the representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ in this world, do not reclaim our voice and holy boldness in standing for and speaking the truth we will see the fulfillment of the Lord’s question in Luke 18:8, “…when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”

In our modern world and much of Christendom we have evolved to the place that many believe:

• Truth is Subjective.  (No longer believing in ultimate or absolute truth)
• Morality is Subjective.  (If it feels good do it therefore whatever a person desires should not be condemned or judged by any definitive standard)
• Consciousness is Being Elevated.  (Belief that to hold moral and ethical standards based on the Bible reflects a narrow-mindedness and should be rejected.)
• A Prime Objective Must be Sensitivity.  (Imprisoning figuratively if not literally who declares Sin)
• In Victim-ism.  (If one is to be deemed a victim then they are exempt from personal responsibility and accountability.)
• In Multiculturalism.  (Ending the ‘melting pot’ ideal of America and separated us into a myriad of varying sects, groups, ideologies, and cultures.  No longer becoming one but remaining isolated and divided.)

In the Body of Christ, we are supposed to become one with Jesus and thereby one with each other.  We are instructed in 2 Corinthians 6:17 to “come out from among them and be separate…”  We are to be holy because He is holy.  The Bible is not silent on sin and lifestyles or actions that are considered abominable to God and we dare not be.  We are instructed to suppress our fear of man because all he can do is kill the body and develop a reverential and holy fear of God who controls our eternal destiny.

If the Bible calls something sin dare we call it anything but sin? Should we not seek to avoid it?  In fact, we read in Proverbs 17:15, “He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD.”  In Proverbs 24:24-25, we find, “He who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,” Him the people will curse; Nations will abhor him.  But those who rebuke the wicked will have delight, and a good blessing will come upon them.”

The simple question for each of us is will we adopt a mindset of Political Correctness or Biblical Correctness.  There are two paths before us and as Joshua addressed the nation, “Choose you this day whom you will serve…”   I choose to follow the LORD!

God bless you as you go through this day!

Romans 1:28-32 – “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.”  NKJV

Each day as various newscasts, newspapers, blogs, articles, and websites detail the happenings within our society, cities, and various nations around the world I come to an arresting realization.  I realize that man is not getting better but the conditions in our world are growing darker by the day.  Here in Romans 1, the apostle Paul is addressing the unrighteousness of man and the wrath of God displayed toward it.  As I read this chapter I shudder thinking how like our present world this description is and if God’s wrath burned hot then how much more now?

In today’s Politically Correct world we are told, and it will soon become mandated, by federal law, that we must subject our core convictions to the will of various groups who discount the Bible and call good those things God calls an abomination.  If that transpires we will be told that if we speak against sin, we have engaged in hate speech.  If we refuse to accommodate the practices that violate our convictions, we face a swift and severe penalty of law.  There will soon come a time when we must decide whether we will incur the wrath of man or the judgment of God and choose which path we will follow.

There are those in today’s world that resent even the mention of the God of the Bible and whose minds have become so debased they are vile, corrupt, and engage in continual blasphemy.  Sadly, there are those within Christendom who condone, excuse and justify those who practice sexual immorality, all forms of evil as Paul’s list details.  Excusing sin and remaining silent when the core values of the Bible are trashed and trampled underfoot is, in my view, equal to those who do practice those lifestyles. 

There comes a time in any society when God will give people over to their evil passions and desires.  We have come to a time when many have had their consciences seared as with a hot iron and no longer feel any remorse.  We have entire segments who no longer value human life and have no respect for the Bible or God.  Our world has become an increasingly more dangerous place and I tremble for the generations yet to rise to adulthood.  What kind of world will they encounter should God allow this world to continue?

There is a remedy for the problems of our world and that is Jesus.  Someone said, “Come to Jesus and your problems are over.”  The truth is that when we come to Jesus, we just entered the battlefield of life, and as He declared we become hated by the world.  Jesus will not remove all problems from one’s life but will afford a peace that is unknown to the world.  Amid the perilousness of our day, we can walk in perfect peace and with supernatural power.  Man, as a whole, is not getting better but the Church of Jesus Christ is beginning to shake herself and is about to rise in power!

God bless you as you go through this day!

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 – “Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  NKJV

I have been concerned about the mindset of people, especially in America, for some time.  I read something recently that caused me to, once again, examine America as a Christian nation or as a nation that is truly thankful to God.  I still believe that the majority of Americans believe in God, the God of the Bible.  I do not know what percentage actually serve God with a whole heart, but I do believe that based on what people believe, America could still be called a Christian nation.

I love history and value books like they were gold mines from which I can glean priceless nuggets.  Reviewing our American history, I find that our first President, George Washington acknowledged his thankfulness and confidence in God unashamedly and without castigation by those demanding the mythical separation of church and state as a constitutional mandate.  In 1789 he proclaimed a “day of public thanksgiving and prayer” and implored the heavens to “pardon our national and other transgressions” while urging the citizenry to practice “true religion and virtue.”  He would probably be impeached and most assuredly censored today for such a proclamation and request.

In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln urged Americans to set aside the last Thursday of November as “a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”  Imagine that proclamation today and consider what the outcry would be from the media, the leftist, and activists.  Lincoln would have been ridden out of town on a rail, but he was unabashed in his willingness to acknowledge God’s hand in the affairs of this nation and our need for His help.

President John F. Kennedy said, “More than three centuries ago, the Pilgrims, after a year of hardship and peril, humbly and reverently set aside a special day upon which to give thanks to God.  They paused in their labors to give thanks for the blessings that had been bestowed upon them by Divine Providence.”  He then quoted the Bible saying, “It is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord.”   That was America of old and the America of my youth and I long for a return to that attitude in this nation, in our churches, homes, businesses, and world.

I do not own, nor will I, this book, but it is used in schools to teach our children about Thanksgiving.  The title is “The Very First Thanksgiving” by Rhonda Greene.  One review of the book said, “This is a beautifully illustrated picture book for young children about the original Thanksgiving feast but there is one caveat, this book nowhere mentions God, who is after all the reason for the holiday.”  The author carefully avoids mention of God in the presentation which is perfect for the politically correct who want to dismiss God from society.

Today we are witnessing an assault on the Christian faith and in a few months, we will be celebrating Thanksgiving.  My question is to whom or what are people giving thanks?  Children today are told to be thankful, but God is not mentioned in the equation.  It is time that we return to the basic principles of our faith and teach those under our care whom we are to be thankful to!  Sadly, we are, by our actions or inactions, giving thanks to everything but God and that is tragic and disastrous.

God bless you as you go through this day!

Judges 3:31 – “After him came Shamgar the son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad; and he also saved Israel.” NASB

Some years back, I asked a group of young people what they could tell me about Shamgar and not one of them had a clue about him.  They had no idea he was a person mentioned in the Bible or the account of his exploits.  I read them this passage and then explained to them that an ‘ox goad’ according to what I understand from Middle-Eastern farming is a pointed 7’ long stick used for pushing cattle around.  Pretty impressive that with a ‘cattle prod’ this man slew 600 Philistine Warriors! 

We do not know much about Shamgar and he could possibly be the same person as referenced in the Books of Samuel as being one of the three, a distinct group of warriors of King David known as ‘Shammah, son of Agee.’  Many Bible scholars believe they are that they are the same, but since we do not have clear information on that I won’t make that leap but leave it as a somewhat obscure man who in the strength of the Spirit of God rose up and resisted an enemy invasion.  The last portion of the verse says, “…he also saved Israel.”  That is the important part.  He did what he had to do in the face of overwhelming odds to save his people.

Sometimes, the Bible makes it clear, you just have to ‘get your fight on’ and stand!  Oh, I’m not trying to make this physical because most of the time that would not be appropriate but in the spiritual, we must Do Battle and we need to realize that the weapons of our warfare and Mighty through God able to pull down strongholds of the enemy.

Yet, no weapon is of any value without the individual that uses the weapon.  It doesn’t matter how formidable the weaponry is, unless there is someone to use it, it is nothing more than just another implement lifeless and inanimate.  It requires a person!  That is what Shamgar provided when God stirred his heart to stand.  He provided the person and God provided the strength and ability.  He took what he had and defended his land and his nation against the enemy.  So, in the spiritual, if the enemy comes in like a flood then we need to anticipate that the Spirit of God is going to use us to stand against him.  He will take what we have and make us able to use it effectively. 

When the enemy attacks remember that the Whole Armor of God has no ‘backplate’ to cover the rear when running away.  All the armament is for the front as we are advancing toward the enemy not running in a frightened retreat.  Of course, the enemy can be frightening, after all, he is a supernatural being, but we are Mighty Through God!  We are More Than Conquerors through Jesus.  We do not have to cower in fear we are victors in Christ.

So, as you face the enemies and obstacles of this day go in the strength and power of the Spirit of God.  If all you have is your ‘ox goad’ take it and Stand!  God will give you the strength to overcome!

Blessings as you go through your day!