Some time back as I was driving down the road, I saw a sign that said, “Honk, if you love America.” All of us have seen the bumper sticker that urges, “Honk if you love Jesus.” I think I realize the patriotic and/or religious zeal that causes some to display such signs, but I am afraid that for far too many, this is the depth of their patriotism or religion.     Loving America involves service and sacrifice. If one doubts this, let him ask a veteran of any of our wars or conflicts. We weren’t “honking,” we were giving loyal service with a willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice for our beloved country.     Loving Jesus is to give obedience from the heart, and giving loyal daily service for and to Him. To my mind, it borders on the sacrilegious to equate a honk of the horn to what it actually takes to express one’s love for Him.     Jesus didn’t say, “Honk if you love Me.” He did say, “If you love me, keep My commandments.” There is a world of difference between these two.

I love the western mountains. Many times in the mountains of northern Arizona, I would see an eagle soaring above the peaks. The sight always left me with a sense of awe. However, do you know that eagles don’t fly in flocks or bunches. They soar alone in the heights. On the other hand, when you see sparrows, they are usually in bunches and seldom fly above the treetops.     There are times in our lives that we like the eagle, must soar alone. The world, society, culture and peer pressure all say, “Pay no attention if it is right or wrong. Be politically correct and fly low like us.” One with a biblical sense of rightness or oughtness will refuse such chattering. He will listen to the voice of God as is found in His Word. Like Jesus he will say, “It is written,” and like Jesus, put to flight Satan’s ministers. He will soar like the eagle. Which are you—a sparrow or an eagle?

The Bible is a marvelous work, which stands above any other piece of literature. It is, after all, God’s revelation of Himself, and His will, for humanity. Written by approximately 40 individuals over a 1600-year period, it shows unity and harmony in declaring the theme of salvation to a lost world.     Questions have arisen, however, as to how we should approach this book. There are those who contend that each book is an individual unit, separate and complete in itself. They argue it was never intended for us to “interpret Scripture by Scripture.” Thus, we shouldn’t consider each book authoritative, and by examining them together, have a complete picture of God’s will. For example, they state Romans was written only for the church at Rome, Philippians for Philippi, and so on. Each letter applies only to those situations to which they were originally written. They were not intended to be examined together, taken together for doctrine and Christian living.     Such a loose view of Scripture is used to authorize practices foreign to our worship. For example, instrumental music doesn’t matter, as the passages speaking of music were not meant to be applied to the church today. They have authority only to those congregations addressed in those letters. Women leading in worship is not wrong, as Paul’s exclusion in Corinthians applied only to Corinth, and not us (1 Corinthians 14:34). Such examples could be multiplied.     While this view of Scripture is being emphasized by some in our brotherhood, …

For as long as I can remember, there have been people who say, “Jesus I love. God I love. But I don’t want any part of this thing called ‘church.’ Too many hypocrites. Too much inconsistency.” They are simply turned off by the word church. This mindset is still very much alive with people who say, “I can take Jesus, but not the church.” In an effort to reach such people, I am hearing some disturbing things. Like, “we’re going to try to convert these people to Jesus and then gradually introduce them to the church later on.” There are some serious basic flaws in this reasoning.     First, let’s look at a few relevant scriptural matters. (1) Ephesians 1:22-23 says Jesus is the head of the church and the church is His body. (2) Acts 2:47 says the saved are added to the church. (3) Colossians 1:13 says we are in the kingdom of Jesus Christ, and Matthew 16:18-19 equates the church with the kingdom. (4) 1 Timothy 3:15 says the house (family) of God is the church. Together, these passages forcefully teach that when one is saved, he is a member of Christ’s body, he is added to the church, he is a subject of the King and he is a part of the family of God. In other words, all of this is a part of being a Christian, a necessary part. The very idea of becoming a Christian without becoming a part of this thing called church is foreign to biblical teaching. To say that one may be an obedient follower of Jesus …

Among the many object lessons God employed through his prophet Jeremiah (figs—Jeremiah 24, bonds and yokes—Jeremiah 27) was a family of people loyal to the commands of an ancestor (Jeremiah 35). God told Jeremiah to offer wine to the house of the Rechabites, and Jeremiah did (35:1-5). These noble nomads refused on the grounds of a forefather’s directive. Rechab’s son, Jonadab, who had lived in the time of Jehu, some two hundred years prior to this event, had instructed them to live in tents as sojourners and to drink no wine (35:6-11; 2 Kings 10:15-17). Though several generations removed, they obeyed.     One might observe from the Rechabites some parallel with the sojourn of a Christian on earth. Christians have their primary citizenship in heaven (Philippians 3:20), and confess that they are “strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (Hebrews 11:13). Earth might be compared to a campground. Christians are just camping here, temporarily, awaiting an eternal, incorruptible abode in heaven (1 Peter 1:3-4). Too many Christians, however, are all too caught up in the amenities of affluent societies. They feel too much at home on earth, and thus, they do not prepare for an eternal abode. Christ’s disciples would be well served to remember they are but nomads wandering on God’s temporal campground.     However, that is not the point God makes with this account. His point is even more simple and basic: If Rechabites can be obedient to the long-removed commands of a dead ancestor, why could not the children …

When we read, study and meditate upon the text of Scripture, we need to be alert and prayerful, desiring divine illumination. God’s Word enables you and me not only to learn the difference between good and evil (Hebrews 5:14), but it additionally gives insight into the devices Satan uses in his efforts to gain the advantage over us (2 Corinthians 2:11).     God has a plan. We know it by Divine revelation as one he formulated in the person of Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world. God’s plan is one characterized by love, mercy and grace to reconcile sinful men to Himself and to one another in one body. God wants to bless all of us with abundant life presently and eternal life when Jesus comes again.     Satan has a plan. We know it as an alternative plan he has devised in his attempt to counteract, disrupt and frustrate God’s plan of salvation. Satan’s plan is to harden hearts so they become unresponsive to heaven’s call and directives; drive wedges to create disunity among God’s children; and, bring together in fellowship those he has begotten with those the Heavenly Father has begotten (Matthew 13:24-30).     Isaiah writes how God’s thoughts and ways are higher or superior to our own. His plan is superior to Satan’s plan. Satan is a loser and all those who allow themselves to be deceived by his lies will suffer enormous loss together with him.

We are all familiar with death. We are all too familiar with the sadness and grief associated with the loss of a dear loved one in this life. We must never forget that God is concerned with our sorrow. In John 11:35, we find the shortest verse in the Bible, which simply says, “Jesus wept.” This is a short verse with much meaning. This one verse shows the humanity of Jesus in such a tender way. Jesus as God in the flesh is deeply touched by the sorrow he sees exhibited by Mary and Martha in the loss of their beloved brother Lazarus. Sometimes, we wonder why Jesus is weeping when He knows that Lazarus will live again very shortly. Most likely, He is weeping out of a sympathetic heart for the sadness He sees in the hearts of His dear friends. This is in contrast to the pagan conception of gods, who are not touched with the feelings and infirmities of man. Their gods may weep for themselves, but in their legends, they neither weep for man nor do they sympathize with man. This verse should clearly remind us that God is still there for us even in the greatest of tragedies.     I believe that a more important point needs to be made along this line. We normally think that the greatest loss and the greatest grief that can be experienced by man is the loss of a loved one due to death. I agree that indeed, it is a …

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)     Naaman the leper is an example of man’s thinking in conflict with God’s way. When Naaman arrived at the house of the prophet Elisha in Israel, hoping to be cleansed of his disease, the prophet just sent a messenger out to tell Naaman, “Go and wash in Jordan seven times…” (2 Kings 5:10).     Naaman “was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought…” (2 Kings 5:11). He had expected something entirely different. But his servants asked him, “If the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it?” (2 Kings 5:13). Only then did Naaman come to his senses and obey the simple instructions of God’s prophet. These are some other examples of how man’s thinking differs from God’s thinking: Man often emphasizes birthdays. Yet neither the month nor day, nor even the year of Jesus’ birth is mentioned anywhere in the Bible. The place of Jesus’ birth was not where man would have chosen. It was not Rome, the world capital; or Athens, the center of learning; or even Jerusalem, but little Bethlehem: “Bethlehem… little among the thousands of Judah” (Micah 5:2). Furthermore, man would probably have had Jesus enter the world as a full-grown man, not as a newborn baby. Not Politically Correct     Jesus’ selection of His apostles was …

In 1 Corinthians 12:9, we find listed the spiritual gift of faith. Although my research is not extensive, every Gospel preacher of my knowledge who has written or spoken about it recognizes that is not the faith that is prerequisite to salvation of which he speaks. It does not take the wisdom of Solomon to realize that the spiritual gift of faith that some Christians were given after they became Christians is not the same thing all had to possess before they became Christians!     So, it appears that the only logical conclusion to which anyone can come is: “It is a special kind of faith that the Spirit imparted directly to enable them to work miracles.” Some, in a more indefinite statement, simply say, “It was a miraculous faith.”     I have not yet heard anyone discuss the question, “If it was the kind of faith that enabled one to work miracles, how did it differ from the gift of verse 10¾the working of miracles?” Did that person have two gifts, or was he able to work miracles without that kind of faith?     It may be that since these spiritual gifts did not all depend on a person’s spirituality, or how closely he walked with Christ, the gift of faith was an impartation of a special trust in God to enable him to have the strength and ability to remove the “mountains” of difficulty that might confront the early church in the task of establishing a new religion.     Surely there can …

Does it really matter how I live my life, Nobody’s watching me, It can’t matter – the things I do, No one will really see. Does it matter if I mention my faith,Tell someone about my God,It can’t matter what I say to them,They’d just think I’m odd. Does it really matter what path I walk, The direction that I head, It can’t matter – the decisions I make No one hears a word I’ve said.  Excuse me if I kindly disagree with youYou are watched constantlyIn fact, it really matters what you doSo many will definitely see.  Your words of faith could snatch a soulUp from the Devil’s hell,Someone may only listen when it is you he hearsWith the message you must tell. Choose the path you tread with the greatest of care,For the end of the path grows near,You can follow the path that leads to a heavenly home,And others down that path you’ll steer. It matters how I live, and what I teach,My spirit and attitude,What I practice when I serve the Lord,May help many evil to elude. I matter: I can be a servant of Christ the Lord,Faithful, sure, and strong,Fighting the fight, running the race, keeping the faith,Till I’m in heaven where I belong. “Does it really matter how I live my life?”It does, most definitely,“It can’t matter – the things I do!”It matters for eternity.

“I’ve been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).     Shortly following the magnificent and awesome events surrounding the establishment of our Lord’s kingdom in Acts Chapter Two, we find two of the apostles of Jesus actively working to increase the numbers of this great family. Despite Peter and John’s arrest, Luke records for us, “…the number of the men came to be about five thousand” (Acts 4:4). These men were about to stand before the same accusers and murderers of the Christ Himself. Though we would expect to see in them fear after being witness to such a horrible death of the Lords, they exhibit the exact opposite.     Peter, by the guidance of the promised Holy Spirit, defended their healing of the lame man and preaching in Acts Three and Four. In his discourse, Peter accuses the men of rejecting Jesus as the “chief cornerstone” and pronounces their eternal demise by his glorious declaration that salvation was in none other, “…for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved”(Acts 4:12). These rulers made an interesting observation following this convicting defense. They saw the boldness of the two men, “…they marveled” and “…realized they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13).     What a powerful …

The television commercial portrayed a young family looking wistfully at a pleasure boat. The problem was that enough money to purchase the boat was not available. It was at this point that a particular bank was put forth as the institution that would provide the needed money to the family through a generous loan. The next scene depicted the happy family driving off in their car pulling the newly purchased pleasure boat. Then the statement was made that “more is better” and for one to come and borrow the money from this bank in order to buy whatever one desired. But is more better?     In his effort to fight inflation, the former president Jimmy Carter made a statement in a speech that “we have learned that more is not better.” Have we in fact learned that more is not better? The evidence is to the contrary. It seems that we all have been adversely affected with the disease of materialism. Webster defines materialism as being “the doctrine that comfort, pleasure, and wealth are the only or highest goals or values.” The philosophy that “more is better” permeates our society today. However, it is not peculiar to the twenty-first century. It seems that in every age there are those who equate happiness with material possessions. Yet, Jesus warned against this idea when he said, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15). In the Parable of …

One reason many people become confused, even to the point of teaching false doctrine, is because they fail to understand the language of the Bible. For example, Dispensational Premillennialists misunderstand the Sermon Jesus preached to his disciples on Mount Olive because they do not understand that words can be used in different ways. For example, after giving many signs of the fall of Jerusalem in Luke 21, he told his disciples, “Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” Because they always think of “redemption” in terms of being bought back to God spiritually through the sacrifice of Christ, they mistakenly believe that is what the word redemption refers to in Luke 21:28. However, a moment’s reflection will demonstrate that this is not what Jesus was speaking of when he made the statement recorded above. Why? Because the spiritual redemption of these disciples had already taken place when the Lord made this statement to them. One of them would later “fall” from his state of redemption by selling the Lord for thirty pieces of silver, but these men were the servants of Christ and were cleansed by the same blood with which all the rest of the Old Testament faithful were cleansed, according to the statement made by the Hebrews author in 9:15 of his book. The redemption that was to come to these disciples at the fall of Jerusalem was not spiritual redemption, for they already had that! They had accompanied Jesus all the time he had …