Not a New Problem

If you have lived in the same home for many years it has probably developed some small idiosyncrasies that you have adapted to.  They are just part of the normal functioning life of your house.  But, if you decided to sell your house and the realtor gave it the check-up we talked about yesterday, what would they say about those idiosyncrasies?  They would say that you had problems that needed to be fixed.  They were not new problems.  They were not problems in your own mind.  The realtor, however, saw them differently.  They were old problems that needed fixing.

Putting up with error in the church is not a new problem.  People have been content to just focus on their own worship and let problems slide by if they don’t stop them from personal worship.  It is an attitude that worship is really just about me and God and not anyone or anything else.  That is a nice idea, but it is false.  We are part of a body and not the body by ourselves.  Corporate worship is part of the whole body functioning in unison and not each member functioning alone.  God has called us to corporate worship; therefore problems in the body, especially leadership, are not an issue that can be ignored.  Their error will trickle down into the very nature of our own obedience to God.  Input that is wrong will ultimately create output that is wrong.

Jeremiah and Ezekiel were constantly at odds with the false prophets of their day.  Those false prophets did not declare themselves to be prophets of Baal or some other foreign god.  They declared themselves to be prophets of the One True God.  But God said of them, I did not send them nor speak to them.  This is a repeated refrain.  The problem was that the false prophets spoke lies about God.  They said that what He was saying through His current prophets and what He had said through His past prophets was false.  Jeremiah and Ezekiel were saying the same things that had been said by prophets before.  That was the clue to God’s people about who was right and wrong among the prophets.  A new message that changed an old message was not acceptable to the God who changes not.  The people, however, were more inclined to listen to the soft words of the new prophets and reject the harsher words of the old.  They had itching ears, as Paul said, and chose the path of sweetest sounds. 

God’s message is eternal.  The declaration of what sin is has not changed.  The declaration of how God will deal with it has not changed.  His promise to all who will repent and believe has not changed.  In our world today there are many new voices that actually say, “The Bible doesn’t really mean that.”  Those are the voices of false prophets.  Friends, hold fast to the true Word of God.  Sing these old words penned by Haldor Lillenas from “The Bible Stands”.

The Bible stands like a rock undaunted mid the raging storms of time.

Its pages burn with the truth eternal and they glow with the light sublime. 

The Bible stands though the hills may tumble,

It will firmly stand though the earth may crumble;

I will plant my feet on the sure foundation for the Bible stands. 

You can contact me and find inspiring Christian books at my website: www.davidccraig.net

You may also find some of my selected daily devotions at http://blog.febc.org/

You may also enjoy my new Gospel dog blog, The Gospel According to Molly Blog and my new Alzheimer’s blog, “Taking Care of Joe: An Alzheimer’s Blog” found on my website.  

Time for a Check Up

Every year the doctor expects to see me.  For insurance purposes it is a year and a week after the last time he saw me.  It is time for my annual check-up.  What I expect him to tell me is that I am wonderfully fit and have the mind, body and reflexes of a man half my age. I expect him to tell me that I have no conditions that need watching and that I have no need of prescription medications.  That is what I expect, but it isn’t what I get.  He is the doctor and He sees me differently than I see myself.  Bummer!

This has a spiritual application in two ways.  First, Paul told the Corinthians to examine themselves to see if they were in the faith.  That was a pretty clear call for a check-up.  They had problems that they consistently denied but that were readily apparent to others.  It is important to note that Paul always called them Christian brethren, but a check-up would help them treat the problem make them more evidently so.  Dr. Paul had spoken and given them multiple prescriptions for healing.

The second application is for the people in the church to examine those teaching in the church.  Paul used this in Titus chapter one where he spoke of the leaders of the Cretan church as being ones who professed to know God but by their works denied Him.  What sounds like truth from the pulpit should look like truth in the lives of those who preach it.  (However, before a charge is brought against an elder or pastor, the chargee must be free from the same sin or any other known or open sin.  They should especially be free from the sin of contentiousness which leads many to accuse others and fail to examine themselves.)  When a leader regularly practices open sin his preaching will begin to stray from the truth.  Soon whole congregations will be led astray from sound doctrine and fall into error. 

Thus we see the rise of many false cults from the Gnostics who opposed the Apostles to ones we see today. We also see the corruption of many denominations that have openly embraced sexual sin.  The Gnostic teaching was particularly debauched in the practice of open immorality by its leaders.  Jude used the phrase to define them, “Ungodly men who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.”  We need to heed God’s call for examination of both ourselves and our leaders to see if there is proper reflection of God’s truth. Edwin Orr wrote the words to a very special hymn that calls for examination. 

Search me, O God, and know my heart today. Try me my Savior, know my thoughts I pray.

See if there be some wicked way in me; cleanse me from every sin and set me free.

O Holy Ghost, revival comes from Thee.  Send a revival, start the work in me.

Thy Word declares, Thou wilt supply our need; for blessings now, O Lord, I humbly plead.  

You can contact me and find inspiring Christian books at my website: www.davidccraig.net

You may also find some of my selected daily devotions at http://blog.febc.org/

You may also enjoy my new Gospel dog blog, The Gospel According to Molly Blog and my new Alzheimer’s blog, “Taking Care of Joe: An Alzheimer’s Blog” found on my website.  

Not All That Glitters Is Gold

This week we are looking at the warnings that the Bible gives us concerning the dangers we face in our Christian walk.  Paul wrote to Timothy that there would be those who held to a form of godliness, but they did not believe the power of God.  From such, Paul warned Timothy, turn away. 

The problem in our human thinking is that’s since God’s name is glorious, when we hear it we attach the glory of His name to the one using it.  We assume that by the use of His name they are presenting a safe and glorious message.  But what should be true is not necessarily true.  Not all that glitters is gold.  God gave 10 Commandments at Mt. Sinai.  One of them is “Thou shalt not take the Lord’s Name in vain.”  In other words, God is giving a warning that people will do just exactly that. 

We often assume that this commandment relates most to those who profane His name by using it as a swear word.  That would be an application, but only one, and such a simple one to identify that we overlook many other blasphemies.  God said that His word is true and righteous altogether.  There are many pulpits today that declare God’s word is subject to debate or not His word at all.  In my book Deceived I cover that topic in depth.   This is not just a problem in an isolated instance or two; it is a very real problem confronting the Church today.  Paul had warned the Ephesians that after his departure some from among that very strong church would turn away from truth and devour the true saints with their falsehood.  He called them wolves just as Jesus had done.

And so Paul cautioned the people to beware.  They will look like you, they will use the same book you use, they will use words you understand, but they will deny Christ’s authority by denying the very essence of the book they preach from.  That was his warning.  A messenger can use God’s name, but if they deny the power thereof, they are using it in vain and we need to stand apart from the certain judgment that God has for them.  This commandment of God came with a specific declaration of punishment: “For the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His Name in vain.” 

Let us make sure that we are standing on the sure foundation of God’s Word and not on the corrupted doctrines of men who use it vainly.  Let us trust the full integrity of God’s Word.  Here is a new song by Joshua Drake, “The Holy Word of God”.

The Holy Word of God: it is the Christian’s rule to teach, correct, rebuke and train— The Church’s priceless jewel.

Let others rule by whim their lives from day to day. God’s children have His Holy Word,
which gladly they obey.

God-breathed, yet penned by man, preserved by arms and art, the Church has born it in her breast— she dare not from it part!

You can contact me and find inspiring Christian books at my website: www.davidccraig.net

You may also find some of my selected daily devotions at http://blog.febc.org/

You may also enjoy my new Gospel dog blog, The Gospel According to Molly Blog and my new Alzheimer’s blog, “Taking Care of Joe: An Alzheimer’s Blog” found on my website.  

Beware of Wolves

Children are a lot of fun to be around.  They are so eager to learn from those around them.  They want to soak up all that they can and are eager to believe what they are told.  From a purely cynical point of view they are gullible.  Lots of people prey on their gullibility.  Advertisers are quick to take note of their inherent belief in whatever they are told.  Predators are quick to take advantage of that fact as well.  Fantasy, fact and fiction all blend in their minds without critical distinction. 

Of the thirteen times the phrase “little children” is used in the New Testament, eight are found in I John where John uses the term to apply to the church.  Nine times in the New Testament believers are called “the children of God”.  This isn’t trivia.  This is important because it reflects two truths.  The first and most important is that God is the Father of all who believe in His Son.  He loves and cares for them, watches over and protects them, feeds and clothes them and picks them up and carries them as babes in His arms.  Secondly it gives us pause to consider the danger in which we often find children.  We are to be innocent children and wise Christians. 

Satan is worse than any child predator.  He is the author of all child predators.  They lie and deceive in order to get their sinful desires.  He is the father of lies.  They often kill their victims and he is a murderer from the beginning.  They destroy lives and he is the thief that comes to steal, to kill and to destroy.  We, the children of God, are his prey.  He stalks us and lays snares for us.  He offers us candy laced with cyanide and kittens that will claw out our eyes.  There is nothing good in him.  But he does not appear to be that way.  He comes as an angel of light professing all things noble.  He comes as a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

In light of this great enemy God wants His children to be protected.  He gives His Word as a protection.  He gives His true servants, ministers of the Gospel, to be a protection.  But how can we know if they are His true servants?  God gives us some litmus tests.  Do they declare the whole Word of God to be true?  Do they declare that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, very God of very God?  Do they declare that we are by nature lost sinners and can only be saved by faith in His Son through the grace of God?  If not, they are wolves.  Little children, beware of wolves.

Martin Luther in his hymn “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” calls us to know we have such a foe and to use the power of God’s word and faith in Christ against him.

          And though this world with devils filled should threaten to undo us, 
         We will not fear for God has willed His truth to triumph through us.  
         The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him; his rage we can endure, 
         For Lo! His doom is sure; God’s gracious word shall fell him

You can contact me and find inspiring Christian books at my website: www.davidccraig.net

You may also find some of my selected daily devotions at http://blog.febc.org/

You may also enjoy my new Gospel dog blog, The Gospel According to Molly Blog and my new Alzheimer’s blog, “Taking Care of Joe: An Alzheimer’s Blog” found on my website.  

An Absolute Certainty

What if everything were guaranteed?  What if each time a politician promised something and didn’t deliver exactly what he promised, he were forced by law to leave office?  That would eliminate a lot of liars from running our country.  What if there weren’t codicils to warranties?  What if advertisers had to stand one hundred percent behind each product that they hawked and give a double refund for each time it failed to live up to its many amazing promises?  If all those things would come to be, then everyone would live in the perfect estate of God.

Here is one very short and important statement about God.  It is found in Titus 1:2.  “In hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before it began,” contains that statement.  Right in the middle of that verse we see four words, “God, who cannot lie”.  God is absolutely holy.  That means, in part, that he is devoid of any possible ability to sin.  He is totally righteous which means that he cannot do anything wrong.  He won’t even tell a “little white lie” or a “tiny fib”.  What he says is true, absolutely true. 

That is seen in all the promises He has already kept.  Those promises have told of the coming Messiah and all that He would do on earth.  They told of His birth, ministry, death and resurrection.  They tell of His second coming.  But God has given other promises that are just as sure and true as those related to Christ.  He gave promises to Adam and Eve, to Noah, to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.  Those promises came true.  He gave warnings to His people and to the people with whom they interacted.  Each warning came true.  He gave detailed promises that took centuries to unfold, but they unfolded according to every detail given.  He still gives promises today. 

Those promises are found in His Word.  We are called upon to lay hold of the promises of God, but we cannot lay hold of those things of which we are unaware.  To know the promises of God we need to be people of the Book.  We need to read it, study it, meditate on it and then claim the promises from it.  There are rich blessings in the Word.  Lay hold of them. This modern hymn of the post-revivalist era (1976) by Christopher Idle says it all right in the title, “How Sure the Scriptures Are!”  (It is sung to the tune for, “Rejoice! The Lord is King”) 

How sure the Scriptures are!  God’s vital, urgent word, as true as steel, and far more sharp than any sword: so deep and fine at His control they pierce where soul and spirit join. 

Let those who hear His voice confronting them today, reject the tempting choice of doubting or delay: for God speaks still, His word is clear, so let us hear and do his will. 

 The Friday Benediction

Until Monday, my friends, may the good God envelop you with His grace; may you prove the common confession of faith, “I believe in the holy Christian church and in the fellowship of the saints”, and may you be enriched with joy and hope as you exercise that confession this weekend.  Amen

You can contact me and find inspiring Christian books at my website: www.davidccraig.net

You may also find some of my selected daily devotions at http://blog.febc.org/

You may also enjoy my new Gospel dog blog, The Gospel According to Molly Blog and my new Alzheimer’s blog, “Taking Care of Joe: An Alzheimer’s Blog” found on my website.  

A Beautiful Garden

We live in a crowded older neighborhood in a city.  Our total lot is only 60 feet by 80 feet.  On that lot we have a house, a two stall garage and a large driveway that can accommodate four cars.  That doesn’t leave a lot of yard space.  But in our yard I have planted hundreds of flowers.  I have also planted four trees, three large decorative shrubs, two strawberry patches, two raspberry patches, two grape vines and various other flowering items for beauty and food. 

There is an old saying in Iowa, “You can take the boy out of the farm, but you can’t take the farm out of the boy.”  I started working full time at age twelve managing my own truck farm. My love for digging in the dirt has never faded. 

Of all the things growing in my yard, I am fondest of the flowers.  They were planted to bring cheer from the first warm sun of spring to the last cold sun of fall.  The hyacinths, daffodils and tulips of early spring give way to iris, lilacs and peonies of late spring.  They are followed by a wide variety of lilies, roses and hostas in early summer, flox and late blooming hostas in late summer and asters and mums in the fall. Multiple other varieties of flowers are in bloom either all the time or in intervals between those mentioned.   From the time the snow is starting to separate itself from the edge of the house in the spring until the first snow lies on the ground in the fall, there is color in my yard and cut flowers for my beloved bride. 

My yard always makes me think of a hymn from the revivalist era. All week we have been considering the blessings that belong to the children of God and are found in and through His Word. Those blessings are as varied as the many thousands of different kinds of flowers and the many variations of each type of flower.  A flower catalog that listed each variety of each type of flower would be volumes in length.  That is the nature of the blessings of God to His children in and through His Word.  This hymn reflects the deep truth about the blessings that we find in our Bibles. They are as rich and rare as a beautiful garden and they exist in abundance.  “Thy Word is Like a Garden Lord” is the only recorded hymn by an Englishman named Edwin Hodder.  

Thy Word is like a garden, Lord, with flowers rich and fair;

And everyone who seeks may pluck a lovely cluster there.

Thy Word is like a deep, deep mine and jewels rich and rare

Are hidden in its mighty depths for every searcher there.  

You can contact me and find inspiring Christian books at my website: www.davidccraig.net

You may also find some of my selected daily devotions at http://blog.febc.org/

You may also enjoy my new Gospel dog blog, The Gospel According to Molly Blog and my new Alzheimer’s blog, “Taking Care of Joe: An Alzheimer’s Blog” found on my website.  

A Secure Fortress

Because we live on this earth we will find times and days and seasons when even the most strong hearted may tremble.  The god of this world is not dead nor has he yet been cast into the fiery pit.  He grabs the reins of kings and governments, of movements and causes, of circumstances and disasters of his own making and he hurls them into cyclones of fury against God’s people.  In the early 1960’s both Bible reading and prayer were banned from schools.  Who was behind that?  It was some liberal thinking, God denying anti-Christs who had, through the agency of the god of this world, made their way to the United States Supreme Court.  Ten years later that same court declared murder was good and right.  Again we see that the “thief” (Jn. 10:10) had had his way.  He comes to steal and to kill and to destroy.  Since that time we have seen immorality spew forth like lava from a volcano and grow like a mountain in the midst of our land. 

Political leaders have learned to use the name of Christ to their advantage over the spiritually ignorant. Luther’s Large Catechism has much to say about the fate of those who thus profane the holy name of God.  He further declares that whole nations suffer disaster upon disaster while such blasphemy reigns in the land.  God said that He will not let go unpunished those who take His Name in vain.  That would apply to those who applaud its abuse as well. 

Such trying times are not new.  The Apostles experienced them in their day.  Luther and the Reformers experienced them in their day and until Jesus comes back mankind will continue to experience them again and again.  Satan has found an effective methodology to discourage mankind and bring vilification on those who speak the truth about the condition of the age. 

So what is the secure refuge?  It is Christ.  It is also His word.  His word conveys to us the greatness of His care and promises in troubling times.  It assures us that God has not forgotten His own.  It promises us eternal victory when temporal turmoil is rampant.  This is so sure that all the Scripture testifies to it.  In his great hymn, “A Might Fortress”, Martin Luther speaks of it in the final stanza.  (There are over 80 different translations of the original German for this hymn.  This is one of them.)  The Word is true, and it is our fortress. 

God’s Word forever shall abide, no thanks to foes who fear it.

For God Himself fights at our side, with weapons of the Spirit.

Were they to take our home, goods, honor, child or spouse, though life be wrenched away

They cannot win the day; the kingdom’s ours forever.  

You can contact me and find inspiring Christian books at my website: www.davidccraig.net

You may also find some of my selected daily devotions at http://blog.febc.org/

You may also enjoy my new Gospel dog blog, The Gospel According to Molly Blog and my new Alzheimer’s blog, “Taking Care of Joe: An Alzheimer’s Blog” found on my website.