Culture should not be used to determine what the Bible, God’s Holy Word says. Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and forever. He does not change. His standards of Holiness do not change.
Scripture must be allowed to say what it says whether we like it or not. My dad asked me a question several times in the years leading up to his death. He had noticed that the churches were changes their rules on dress, music, and many other things. He asked what happened, where they wrong then or are they wrong now. That is a wonderful question that needs an answer. Thankfully we have the answer. All we have to do is look at the Word of God without predetermined ideas. We have to let the Holy Spirit Guide us. John 16:13 says, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.”
However, as you are showed Truth by the Holy Spirit, you must stand firm. Culture is a worldly influence that is making great strides at entering the churches. Some rules possibly were wrong or enforced in the wrong way. However, the idea of letting everything slide does not work either. Someone has to stand up and be an example of how to live. Without faithful God-fearing people leading, guiding, teaching, and correcting the people will perish for lack of knowledge. Hosea 4:6
My people are destroyed forlackofknowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
There are many people who like to eat meat that has been cooked rare. There are some people in this world who use blood as a filling in Sauage meat. Is this permittable according to the Bible?
Genesis 9:3-6 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.
Leviticus 17:12-16 Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood. And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust. For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off. And every soul that eateth that which died of itself, or that which was torn with beasts, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even: then shall he be clean.
Leviticus 19:26 Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times.
Deuteronomy 12:23-25 Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh. Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water. Thou shalt not eat it; that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the Lord.
Acts 15:20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
Acts 15:29 hat ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.
Acts 21:25 As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.
From these scriptures it is plain to see that the refrain from eating blood part of the Law is still in effect even for gentiles. That rule was implemented by God from the time of the flood. It was restated under the law of Moses and the Apostles restated it, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, as a requirement for the gentiles.
Jesus taught us how to pray in Matthew 6:9-13. The bold parts are the prayer. The other parts are just some explanations.
Our Father (God has promised that he will never leave us or forsake us)
Which Art in Heaven (God watches over us from heaven, but at the same time He is with us wherever we go.)
Hallowed be Thy Name (His name is Holy, and we must keep His Name Holy)
Thy Kingdom Come (Our God is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Just as a king rules over his subjects, God rules over the whole world. He wants to be the Lord of our lives. We must give ourselves to God so that His kingdom can live in our hearts.)
Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven (God made the earth and all its many people. He knows what is best for this world. We need to let go of our selfishness and let God do His will in everything.)
Give us this day our daily bread (This is the part where we bring our specific needs to God and believe His promises that He will hear and answer.)
Forgive us our Debts as we forgive our Debtors (We must grant forgiveness to others so that we can receive forgiveness from God)
Lead us not into temptation (If we yield to temptation, it will lead us into sin. The Bible tells us the wages of sin is death. We need to pray everyday that God will put his armor of protection around us to fight against temptation.)
But deliver us from Evil (If we have yielded to sin, there is deliverance from Sin through Jesus. Jesus shed His blood when He died on the cross.)
For thine is the Kingdom, and the power (God has never-ending power to do all we ask of Him in prayer, if we trust him and obey him.)
And the glory for ever (God’s glory will last forever and ever)
Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people. Isaiah 56:7
And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bough in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money changers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. Matthew 21:13-13.
The house of God is supposed to be a place of prayer. However, a quick look at the current state of affairs makes it clear that most churches are anything but a house of prayer. There are so many churches that seem to put on a show. Other churches seem to emphasize programs. Programs are not bad or good. It depends on the program. However, anything that replaces prayer as the main event is a problem.
The apostles prayed about everything.
Acts 1:14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
Acts 1:24 And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,
Acts 2:42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Acts 3:1 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
Acts 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.
Acts 6:4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
Acts 6:6 Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.
Acts 8:15 Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
Philippians 1:4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,
Philippians 1:9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;
Philippians 1:19 For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
Philippians 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Notice that prayer was essential to the development of the early church. Prayer should be essential to our lives as well.
This is a true saying, if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. 1 Timothy 3:1-7
These scriptures explain the qualifications of someone who wants to be a pastor. Unfortunately, not all preachers understand the implications of these scriptures.
Blameless
husband of 1 wife
vigilant
sober
good Behavior
given to hospitality
a teacher
not a drunker
not greedy
patient
not a fighter
not covetous
if he has children, they are to be well behaved
not a new Christian
Many years ago, my dad was beginning to attend church regularly. That is until one fatefully Sunday. This Sunday my parents arrived to see the pastor and another man having a fist fight in the parking lot. My dad saw, exclaimed how bad that was, and left. He stopped going to church. He did not regularly attend church after that for many years. Thankfully, he did come back before passing.
Please, if you see a man, who claims to be a pastor, behaving badly don’t give up on God. God gave the rules on how to select a pastor. It is people who choose not to listen and obey. God gave these rules
for a reason. The preacher, in my dad’s case, had chosen to settle a disagreement by brawling. He completely ignored the part about not being a brawler. In addition, his behavior on that day was bad, not good.
My grandpa used to tell a story about one of his most memorable sermons that he preached. This sermon was inspired by an event that happened the night before he preached the sermon. In his story, he said that he got up to preach and said, “I beat the fire out of my wife last night, and I did right.” The congregation gasped according to him. He then asked the congregation how many believed that he did wrong. Everyone raised their hand. He went on to explain that he did right, and it is not what you do as much as it is why you do it. He then explained that it was cold last night when his wife took a shower. After she got out, she put on her gown and backed up to the space heater. Her gown then caught fire. In her fear, she ran. He had run after her, caught her, and put her on the ground to beat the fire out of her. If he would not have beat the fire out of her, she could have died. He then asked then again if he had done right. Everyone agreed that he had done right.
In the Bible Jesus implied that you could do things outwardly correctly but still not be right with him. Let’s look at a few scriptures.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Matthew 23:27-28
According to this they appear righteous unto men, but they are full of sin. They are so busy trying to follow all the rules that they forget the most important.
Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. Matthew 15:7-9
It looks like it is a heart issue. Just doing things is not good enough.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Matthew 7:22-23
From this we get that you must have a relationship with Jesus. Just keeping commandments and doing good will not get you to heaven. You cannot work your way to heaven.
That is not to say that obeying the Bible is wrong. Jesus also said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:15.
Now let’s look at the teaching of Paul.
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up. I Corinthians 13:1-4
Charity is translated love in many Bible translations. Jesus pointed out that they were doing things, but their hearts were far from him. Paul teaches that we need love.
Jesus likewise teaches love.
Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Matthew 22:36-40
We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. I John 4:6-8
If what you are doing for God is not based on love of God, please examine your motives and heart. You don’t want to hear at the end of time, depart from me, I never knew you.
God has a plan. “Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:” Acts 2:23.
He has spoken the plan. “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;” Hebrews 1:1-2.
Now he is completing the plan. “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.” Revelation 21:3-7.
God gave his overarching plan to the Israelites in the form of his 7 Appointed times (feasts). “Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts.” Leviticus 23:2. Those 7 times point to things that have happened and things that (at the time of the appointed times being given) were still to happen.
Many people including me say that we trust Jesus. But do we really trust him? I have been thinking about different people in history. The disciples for instance really put their trust in Jesus. They risked everything to spread his Word. The Apostle Paul thought nothing of his life. He was only concerned with reaching the lost for Jesus.
There have been countless missionaries who relied on Jesus for everything from where to live to what to eat. My daughter recently was learning about George Muller. He was a pastor who did not even except a salary but lived on donations. He then opened and successfully ran an orphanage without any dependable income. He relied on God to house, feed, and cloth all of those children.
So, do we really trust that Jesus will give us what we need? We are called to follow, trust, and obey Jesus. A wise pastor said, “God does not call the qualified, but equips the called.” Basically, God does not want anyone to think that they can do it without the help and grace of God.
Here are some scriptures to meditate on:
Matthew 19:26 – But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. Luke 1:37 – For with God nothing shall be impossible. Philippians 4:13 – I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Mark 10:27 – And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible. Mark 9:23 – Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. Matthew 17:20 – And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Isaiah 41:10 – Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Mark 11:24 – Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. Luke 18:27 – And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. Jeremiah 32:17 – Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee: Romans 8:31 – What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? Job 42:2 – I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee. Genesis 18:14 – Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. Jeremiah 32:27 – Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me? Isaiah 46:10 – Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: Proverbs 3:6 – In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. John 3:16 – For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Prayer is communication with God. God wanted a people to have communion with, to walk and to talk with. “But ye are a chosen generation, a royalpriesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;” I Peter 2:9. This is echoed from Exodus 19:6, “And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.” At the time of the exodus the children of Israel rejected this idea. So, the Levites were chosen to be the go between for God and the rest of the Israelites. Now God is calling everyone who accepts Jesus to be part of the royal priesthood. Jesus is now the only go between that we need. He is our high priest.
Now we need to go to Jesus often in prayer. According to 1 Thessalonians 5:17 “Pray without ceasing.” What does it mean to pray without ceasing? It means to be in constant communication with Jesus. Remember we are a royal priesthood. God is the king. We are his royal priest.
How do we communicate with God? Communication means to share ideas through written means or verbal means. This means that we are to talk to as well as listen to the Lord. We listen to the Lord by reading His Word and we talk to the Lord through prayer.
Also, as part of the royal priesthood, we should act like it. We need to not only talk the talk but also walk the walk. Too many Christians are only Christians while at church on Sunday morning. This is wrong on so many levels. Our daily behavior should be that is holiness. Did you notice the last half of Exodus 19:6? It speaks of holiness. The people that we see at the store, at work, at school, or at play should recognize that we belong to God by our looks and actions. Just looking outwardly like a Christian but being wicked inwardly does not work. Trying to obey God inwardly but looking like a tramp does not work either. Think about this and pray about it. Ask God how you should dress, talk, and behave. Read the Bible daily. I know that God will reveal to you His will for your like if you truly seek Him with all your heart.
The world has gone crazy. I look around and don’t understand all of what is going on anymore. Things that used to be more or less written in stone is being questioned and, in some cases, throw out like yesterday’s garbage.
This is sad on many levels. It shows just how many people are not rooted and grounded in the word of God. It shows that insanity that is taking place. It shows that we are closer to the return of Jesus than we were a few years ago.
However, everything taken place is only a symptom of the real problem. The majority of the people stopped reading the Word of God. They started just relying what the preacher said on Sunday. Now instead of the people needing and getting meat they need milk again. The milk and the meat symbolize different levels of knowledge. Jesus said that “…Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4). To grow strong and be able to stand against the insanity that is taking hold on our world, we need to go back to the word of God. Sunday morning preaching is not going to cut it. Just as we have to eat every day, or we will grow week, we must read the word of God every day to be spiritually feed.
According to Jesus “…there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” The very “elect” are the ones who are always reading and studying the word of God. They are the prayer warriors. They are the ones with a close relationship with Jesus. They are not the Sunday morning crowd that thinks that is all they need. The elect knows that they need Jesus every hour of everyday.
Now think about what Jesus said. If there was not intervention (if it were possible) even the “elect” would be deceived.
Now days there are some many false teachers and false prophets that it is hard to tell who to listen to. My advice is to stop listening to every one and start listening to God Almighty. His Word does not change. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Paul well wrote “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” 2 Timothy 4:3-4. That is exactly what is happening in our world. Preachers are catering to the itching ears and working overtime to preach what people want to hear instead of the truth. So, unless the word that you hear coming from you preacher lines up with the Word of God, search for a new gathering place on Sunday. For some that may mean going to a different church. For others it may be time to just gather with friends and family in your own house. Yes, we are not islands unto ourselves. However, when Jesus gave the great commission, he did not say go to every church and preach the word of God. Instead he said, “…All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Matthew 28:18-20.
Notice that he said go and teach all nations. Take a look around many churches. Unless it is a mega church, most are in need of people. Yes, we need to meet with other Christians for edification, but that meeting together can be done in many locations.
At this time, many churches are failing to reach the lost, but worst yet, they are failing to reach the children who are sitting on the benches. They are failing to spiritually feed the people who are members of the church. They are failing to even help those who are struggling in their own church. This is unacceptable. Remember what Jesus told Peter. If you love me, feed my sheep.
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. John 21:15-17
What food was he suppose to feed God’s sheep with? The obvious answer is the true Word of God.
The answer to this world is the spiritual food given to us from the creator of the world.
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