Open Sesame

Remember that story?   Ail Baba and the Forty Thieves.   The thieves were hiding their ill-gotten gains and needed a magic phrase to secure their cave.   Locks, bars, switches, barricades, endless requirements for excruciating exactitude — all these things are part of our daily lives, and we don’t even get any rubies or sapphires with them.   Passwords control our lives.

I’m grateful that the Lord God isn’t like that.   No password required.   “All things were made by him;  and without him was not any thing made that was made.”  John 1:3    ”Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;”  Hebrews 1:3   “Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord.  Do not  I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.”  Jeremiah 23:24   Yes, He does.

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”   Romans 8:28   Who are “the called”?   Whosoever will.

Just for some mind-stretching fun, look at the verses at the same numerical reference in the Bible.   Like:  Genesis 1:3, Exodus 1:3, Leviticus 1:3, etc.    This Book is amazing.

Michelangelo Got It Wrong

“God is a Spirit:  and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”  John 4:24   That familiar image of an old, strong man, touching Adam’s finger, is wrong.   We can’t see spirits:  they operate in a different dimension than we do.

‘Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us,  and we gave them reverence:  shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?  Hebrews 12:9

“And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:  God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”  1 Timothy 3:16   When the Mighty God was manifest in the flesh, He could be seen by human eyes.

“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”   Matthew 5:8   Right then, right there in Israel, some of them did.   They saw him turn water into wine, heal the sick and maimed, cast out devils, feed thousands of hungry people, and raise the dead.   There’s more to come.   “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him:  and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.   Even so, Amen.”  Revelation 1:7

“Who being the brightness of his glory, and  the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;”  Hebrews 1:3   One of my daughters gave me a copy of one translation of Michelangelo’s poetry.   It’s easy to see that he had set his heart and mind on the Lord Jesus, the express image of God.   He isn’t seeing the wrong picture anymore.

Information Outweighs Words

Wheat germ oil is described in the Bible.   “Butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape.”  Deuteronomy 32:14     This will seem silly to some people, but this is how the Bible can work.   The Lord God used the language and words that were available to King James (and William  Shakespeare) to describe things that are happening in the early twenty first century.

In Revelation 11:8-12, there’s a description of live broadcast satellite television.   In Revelation 13:16 there’s a description of the computerized tyrannical control of all commerce by The Beast.   In Isaiah 30:26 there’s a description of global warming, and it gives the cause for it.   Please have a good laugh.

Where Are The Fathers?

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:  And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.”   Malachi 4:5 & 6   These are the last two verses in the Old Testament.   If you’re not sure why the Lord God thinks this action is necessary, read a newspaper.

“And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the Lord:  and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth.”  Zechariah 13:3    People who despise the Bible will use this verse to complain against the Lord God.   The context is the time when the Son of God, Jesus Christ, is present and ruling on the earth.   There will be no need and no excuse for ‘prophets’.   And it is absolutely proper for parents to be held responsible for teaching their children not to be rude to God Almighty.

“And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water:  and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:  And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”  Matthew 3:16 & 17   The Lord God claims His children.   Humans, not so much.

More Hogwash

“The Lord helps those that help themselves”    You’ve heard that, right?   No, it’s not in the Bible.   In fact, it’s completely contrary to what the Bible says.

“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”  1 Peter 5:7   “Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord . . . ” 2 Chronicles 20:17

I could spend several days typing out all the verses I’m familiar with that tell us that the Lord God doesn’t need our help.   He created all things with no help from you or me.   He upholds all things by the Word of His power.   We can’t even count the hairs of our own heads, until they fall out.   I’m ready to be wise, and rest a while; let the Lord God take care of things.

The Same Old Headlines

Somebody lied to you.   The Mighty Book does not say what the Liar told you it says.

Yes, that’s a very negative opening.   “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”  2 Peter 3:8   “For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.”  Psalm 90:4   There are people who claim that the verse in 2 Peter “proves” that the earth is only 6,000 years old.   There is nothing else in the Bible that connects 2 Peter 3:8 to any such thought.   There is no place in the Bible that hints that the Lord only planned for this Creation to last for a week of millennia.   This doctrine is a fabrication.   Once a preacher gets away with preaching and teaching this fabrication, they can proceed to ever worse lies.   Like Terry Jones and Fred Phelps and their pathetic groups.

Since the Lord knows the beginning from the end, He gave this warning to the end-time church:  ”And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write;  These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;”  Revelation 3:14    The Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God:  He certainly knows when the Creation began.   And He never hinted that the world would only exist for 7,000 years.   When you hear or read this kind of thing, always insist that the person give you book, chapter and verse.   Maybe the person saying “the Bible says” is a liar.

Fact Checking

Everyone has heard some weird, garbled version of something from the Bible.   Like that silly one about money.   You’ll hear “Money is the root of all evil”.   But that’s the sloppy, wrong version.   “For the love of money is the root of all evil:  which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith,  and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”  1 Timothy 6:10   Money is a tangible object, a necessary tool for any civilized society.   The love of money is a deadly character flaw that causes people to do hideous things.

The most pernicious misquote I’ve heard is the one that claims that “Jesus came to show us the way”.   That isn’t what HE said!    ”Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life:  no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”  John 14:6   Think about the difference.   If He was only showing us the way, then He could reasonably expect us to turn water into wine, as He did in John 2:1-11.   And what about healing the lame, blind, dumb and maimed?   Check out Matthew 15:30 & 31.    If He was only showing us the way, then God rightfully expects that miracle from us.   And what about world hunger?   If the Lord Jesus Christ was only here to show us the way, then nobody should ever go hungry.   We should be doing what He recounted in Mark 8:17-21, feeding the multitudes.   But it’s obvious that we can’t do any of these things.   Not any more than we can resurrect our loved ones or ourselves from the dead.

Today is April 8, 2012:  Easter Sunday.   The Lord Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.    Yes, it happened nearly 2,000 years ago.   True, we can’t see Him now.   “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;  And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:  And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:  After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.  After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.”  1 Corinthians 15:3-7    When those witnesses died, their true testimony did not die.   Nor did their true testimony become false.   The fact of His resurrection is bigger than any church or religion.    Salvation is free.

Trayvon Martin Is Dead

On February 26, 2012, a man named George Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin dead.   Today is April 7, 2012.   Six weeks have gone by:  George Zimmerman has not been arrested or charged.   There are thousands of news articles, editorials, blog entries and TV and radio broadcasts referring to this crime of violence.    Most of the country seems to believe that Zimmerman shot the unarmed 17-year-old  because he hates black people.   So the entire country is now arguing, again, about skin color.   Are you looking for an excuse to hate black people?

“I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool:  his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.”  Daniel 7:9    God the Father has wooly hair.   “And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.   His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;”  Revelation 1:13 & 14   God the Son has wooly hair.

“The Lord trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.”  Psalm 11:5   If you love violence, God hates you.   If you are one of the multitude of vile, disgusting, destroyers who masquerade as Christians, it’s time for you to shut up.   Stop blaspheming the name of Jesus Christ.   Admit that you worship violence, not the Son of God.

Tomorrow, April 8, is Easter Sunday.   Most of the world will be giving lip service to the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.    That’s not the end of that subject:   everyone else will rise from the dead, too.   Whether you like it or not!

Publishing and Reading

“And the gospel must first be published among all nations.”   Mark 13:10   Before all the mighty prophecies about the Lord’s return and the Beast, and the Tribulation can be fulfilled:  the gospel must first be published among all nations.  That’s why the Wycliffe translators worked so hard to translate the Bible and print it out in every language they could learn.

“But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,)  then let them that be in Judea flee to the mountains:”   Mark 13:14   Now, isn’t this delightful?    The Lord spoke these words while He was here in the flesh, nearly 2,000 years ago.    At that time, fewer than 10% of people anywhere in the world could read.   But  that phrase about reading was included and kept:  and it makes sense to us now that reading is a nearly universal skill, in nearly every language on earth.

“And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.”    Habakkuk 2:2   Make it plain?   Maybe in huge print, on billboards?

“Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.”  Revelation 1:3    So we are promised  God’s blessings just for reading or hearing the prophecies in the Book of Revelation.   No struggle necessary.

“But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end:  many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”  Daniel 12:4    There has never been so much traveling on this planet as there is now.   And every day, there are streams of new discoveries available.   Now that the internet is available and computers are in our lives, that knowledge is right at hand for nearly everyone.   The good things are being published:   the blessings are freely available.

Lazarus

“Now a certain man was sick,  named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.  (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)   Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.   When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.” John 11:1-4    So the Son of God, Who knows all things, waited two days before He started for Bethany.

“Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him:  but Mary sat still in the house.   Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.   But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.   Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.   Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.   Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection , and the life:  he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:  And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.   Believest thou this?   She saith unto him, Yea, Lord:  I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.”  John 11:20-27   There are at least seventeen volumes of faith in this section of the Scripture.   The entire chapter is enormous with concepts.   Please get yourself a King James Bible and read it.   Here’s where the shortest verse of the Bible is found:  ”Jesus wept.” John 11:35

“Jesus therefore again groaning in himself, cometh to the grave.   It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.   Jesus said, Take ye away the stone.   Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.   Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?”  John 11:38-40    Yes, the Lord could have ordered that stone to dance out of the way.   Instead, the people who put it there had the honor of moving it.   And everyone who was gathered in that place that day saw the glory of God.

“Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid.   And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.   And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.   And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.   And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes:  and his face was bound about with a napkin.   Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.”  John 11:41-44    If the Lord Jesus Christ hadn’t specified ‘Lazarus’, every grave on the planet would have emptied then.   When the Lord descends with a shout, that shout will contain the name of every human being who ever believed that God loves us.

“Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.”  John 11:45    ”But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death:  Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus.”  John 12:10 & 11    When they “went away”, they took their tithes with them.   Religion is about money.   Faith is about life.   Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.