The Inclusiveness of God

 (Acts 10:34-41)  Below is a section of a Bible lesson I recently wrote that will be published in the Fall by Stinson Press. In it, we see that God is very inclusive, for the doorway to Him is always open to any who would enter. However, the doorway is Jesus Christ.

God provided the Jewish people with a multitude of guidelines, and prohibitions to maintain their uniqueness and purity of bloodline. However, this was to enable them to be a light to the world and avenue through which His Son would enter the world. Their role was to be a people unspotted by the world but heavily involved in the world. They were to bridge the gap between God and the world. Instead, they separated themselves from the world in every way possible. They looked down on those who were not a part of their Jewish world.

Consequently, God had to do something extraordinary to convince the Jewish converts to take the gospel to the Gentiles. He chose Peter to build the first bridge to the Gentile world.

In the first part of this chapter, God sends an angel by way of a vision to Cornelius, a centurion at Caesarea. He is a proselyte, one who has converted to Judaism. We know this because verse 2 says he was “A devout man and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people and prayed to God always.” In the vision, he is told to send men to Joppa to a specific house and bring a man by the name of Peter back with them.

Just before the men arrive at the house where Peter is staying God gives Peter a vision. In it, a large sheet is lowered down before him with various unclean animals on it. He then hears a voice that tells him to kill and eat. Peter refuses and says he has never eaten anything common or unclean. Peter thought it was a test from God, when in fact, God was conveying a new truth to Peter. After Peter’s refusal, the voice said, “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common” (Acts 10:15 KJV). While Peter was thinking about the vision, the Bible says, “the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee. 20 Arise, therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them” (vv.19-20).

After the men explained what they wanted he was able to understand what the vision was about. When he arrived at Cornelius’s home, he acknowledged that God is not a respecter of people. He then points this out to Cornelius and his household by saying. “But in every nation, he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness is accepted with him” (v.35).

Peter then shares the gospel with the Cornelius’ household. He points out that Jesus is Lord of all and then proceeds to back up his claim by reminding Cornelius of the things that he and all of Israel had heard about Jesus. The baptizing of Jesus by John, the miracles by Jesus, and His death, burial, and resurrection, all of which provide the proof that warrants believing and putting one’s faith in Jesus as the Messiah. Furthermore, Peter points out that the resurrected Jesus did appear to His many followers.

Stay Fit. You might have a chance to do something great late in life.

If we stay fit physically, we can add years to our lives. This is a blessing to those who love us. They want us around as long as possible. Furthermore, the healthier we are, the more we can enjoy life and the less burden we will be on our families. Another big plus is that the longer we live, the more opportunities we will experience.

History is filled with stories of men and women who have accomplished great things late in life. Ronald Reagan didn't enter politics until age 55. Colonel Sanders took his first Social Security check of $99 and began his Kentucky Fried Chicken chain at the age of 65. Noah Webster completed the English Dictionary at age 66. Benjamin Franklin signed the Declaration of Independence at age 70. Peter Roget invented the Thesaurus at age 73. Grandma Moses started painting after arthritis in her hands made it impossible to crochet at age 76. Three years later her work was hanging in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City,

The Bible tells us that God called Moses to led the Israelite people out of Egyptian bondage at age 80. And Noah built the Ark at age 600.

Staying fit physically means exercising, eating right, staying away from harmful drugs, habits, and not taking part in unnecessary risks, just for the thrill of it.

In addition to physical fitness, we also need to stay morally fit. We read almost daily about individuals losing their jobs, their careers, their social standing, and sometimes freedom (imprisonment), because of bad decisions that led to bad actions, or inappropriate words.

The Bible stresses the importance of staying fit in 1 Timothy 4:7-8 ESV, "Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; 8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come."

The Greek word that is translated "of some value" in verse 8 can be translated "for a short time." Physical exercise can help us to stay healthy in this life, but we must remeber that if we live to be 90 years of age, it is short compared to eternity. We need to be fit both physically and morally. We need to make the most of this life and get prepared for the next life. Exercise helps with this life, but godly living helps with being fit for the next life.

Three Amazing Words

Three of the most amazing words one will ever read are "Come To Me." They've been spoken by parents, siblings, friends, and no doubt, foes. Their importance can vary according to circumstances and timing. But what makes these words so amazing is that they were spoken by Jesus Christ. To have the God of the universe invite us to come to Him is absolutely amazing.

Although I've written about these words before, once again they confront me, once again they draw me, once again they mesmerize me. I find them not only amazing because Jesus spoke them, but because He put no qualifying conditions on them. I don't have to have a certain social standing, a defined economic status, a desired skin color, or a specific ethnic background. The invitation is universal and all inclusive. It issues from the heart of God and it targets the hearts of men and women in every corner of the globe.

Although I have previously heeded this invitation, I often forget its standing significance. These three words, which are found in Matthew 11:28 of the Bible, are often viewed solely as an invitation to receive Christ as Lord and Savior. The complete passage reads, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30 ESV).

But they are much more than salvation invitation words. They form a paradise in a sea of anxiety and turbulence. We live in a time-crunched, stress-filled society. Our nerves are often on edge and our energy levels on empty. We funnel down energy drinks and fill our stomachs with nerve numbing pills. But so often we forget, ignore, or don't realize that these amazing words can fill us with the peace we need and provide the rest we long for.

So why don't we readily heed them? Why don't we embrace their truth and flee to Jesus when we need rest, security, and deliverance? Is there something holding us back? Is there something about us that repels us from the One who invites us?

In a recent reading of Oswald Chambers devotional, My Utmost For His Highest, Mr. Chambers writes, “'Come unto Me.' When you hear those words you will know that something must happen in you before you can come. The Holy Spirit will show you what you have to do, anything at all that will put the axe at the root of the thing which is preventing you from getting through. You will never get further until you are willing to do that one thing. The Holy Spirit will locate the one impregnable thing in you, but He cannot budge it unless you are willing to let Him" (Coming To Jesus, October 8).

As I think about his words, I find them painfully true. There have been times I've not gone to Jesus because I was uncomfortable doing so. Sin makes us uncomfortable in the presence of the One who is sinless.

I'm reminded of a scene that would often take place in my home when I was still living with my parents. Whenever our family returned home from an outing, we would be met by our house dog, a French poodle named Pierre. Occasionally, Pierre would show reluctance to come to us when we entered the house. Despite my invitation to "come," he would sometimes tuck his stub of a tail between his legs and avoid me. We soon discovered that his reluctance was a sign that he had wet the floor somewhere in the house. His sense of having done wrong, created a barrier between him and us. The same is true of us and God.

Our barrier, however, can be easily torn down. 1 John 1:9 ESV states, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Jesus says to come to Him. Don't let sin hinder you. Confess it. Repent of it. Then come--for in Him we find rest to both our souls and every aspect of our being.

Conquering Our Fears

Christmas now resides only in our rear view mirror. Although Christmas day is long passed, I'm still playing Christmas music in our bathroom as I prepare for the day. Although our decorations are put up (most of them), and most people have stopped playing Christmas music, there is one truth of Christmas that should always be with us. In fact, the most important thing about Christmas is not the presents under the tree or those that can be bought at a store. It's not the decorations or the Christmas music. The most important thing about Christmas is that God's presence is with us. There is nothing more important than the truth conveyed in the name given Jesus in Matthew 1:23. "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." Jesus is Emmanuel. He is God with us.

I discovered several years ago the importance of His presence. It happened when I was employed at a Fossil Fueled Power Plant. While there I was sent down into a large oil tank serving a huge water pump. My job was to clean out the oily sludge in it. When I reached the bottom of the tank I began having difficulty breathing. I looked up at the opening I came through and the walls around me. Fear gripped me as the impossible began happening. The opening began to shrink and the walls began moving, closing in on me. I realized that in a matter of minutes I would be crushed. I closed my eyes and rehearsed in my mind, “This isn’t happening--solid steel walls cannot move and steel openings cannot shrink." But when I reopened my eyes the impossible continued. The walls were moving closer and the door would soon be too small for an escape. If I didn’t act quickly, this dark slimy tank would be my steel cold coffin.

Although things were not very clear to me at the time, I distinctly remember three things occurring almost simultaneously. I had reached the point where I was about to pass out (due to my hyperventilating). I was about to lose it emotionally and mentally with uncontrolled cries and screams for help. But thankfully, a third thing occurred. A thought, or rather a verse, from the Scriptures popped into my head, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). At the time I didn’t know its reference, but I knew its truth. They were the words of Jesus. They were the words I needed. They were my life-line to sanity. My fear had distracted me from God, but that verse had reminded me of God. Not one millisecond too soon I closed my eyes and began praying.

As I prayed, God’s presence became real to me, my breathing began to slow, and my fears faded. When I finished praying, I forced myself to take a peep. To my delight, the tank had returned to normal. As I cleaned the tank, I rejoiced. I had discovered what so many have searched for. I had found the power to control an uncontrollable fear. This power doesn’t come from within or from some self-help book. It doesn't come from a belief in some vague higher power or by tapping into our spiritual energies (whatever that means). Jesus was the answer. His peace can conquer our fears. He promises us His presence. We can trust His promise and draw near to Him in prayer. Drawing near to Him is essential. Why? Because it is His presence that provides us with a peace that passes understanding, regardless of the storm we are experiencing.

He has said, "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 ESV). Notice He said "in me", not in my words. We need His presence. Being in His Word helps to bring His presence into our lives, but its His presence that brings peace into our fearful hearts.

Red Sea Rule #1

Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 “Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea (Exodus 14:1-2 ESV).

It's not ironic, a coincidence, bad timing, Murphy's law, or just happenstance that we are, where we are, when the enemy shows up, the earth opens up, the storm blows in, or the disease flares up. Instead, we are where we need to be when we find ourselves at a place we don't want to be.

This became so clear to me in Bro. Robert J. Morgan's book The Red Sea Rules. In his first of ten Red Sea rules, we learn as did the Israelites that when we find ourselves trapped with the Rea Sea in front of us, mountain ranges on both sides of us, and Pharaoh and his army behind us, we are where we are meant to be. God doesn't make mistakes. The all-knowing God of the Universe is in control.

Knowing this truth, as well as, the truth of God's love and mercy, provides us with great comfort and encouragement in those very difficult times. As Bro. Morgan, puts it in his first chapter, "God allows our faith to be tried, and He permits troubles to crowd into our lives. Sometimes they seem more than we can bear, but Christ can bear them."

Even when our own actions brings us to the edge of the cliff or plants us in a pool of quicksand, God's permissive will allows it for a good purpose. Our best interest is His great concern. God knows how to get our attention. Just as the Israelites looked to God when facing the Red Sea, God wants us to look to Him when facing our Red Sea, lions' den, or fiery furnace.

God is most concerned about our relationship with Him, not our ease and comfort down here. So when you find yourselves being swallowed up by tragedy, heartache, or insurmountable problems, do as Bro. Morgan recommends, "take a deep breath and recall this deeper secret of the Christian life: when you are in a difficult place, realize that the Lord either placed you there or allowed you to be there, for reasons perhaps known for now only to Himself.

Prophecy, Pansexuality, and Pandemonium

Book Review of Prophecy, Pansexuality, and Pandemonium

by Li-ann Thio (Author) Review by Eddie Fleming

Just as a new pair of glasses helps us to see the world better, Dr. Li-Ann Thio's book Prophecy, Pansexuality, and Pandemonium enables us to see clearly the moral chaos that is occurring worldwide and the reason behind it. She shares stark examples of how laws upholding moral values and traditional standards are being attacked and torn down at an alarming rate.

Dr. Thio's background and experiences provide a perfect recipe to satisfy the hunger of many for truth and spiritual understanding in an increasingly anti-God environment. Her knowledge and use of the Scriptures are impressive. Her goal, which she achieves, is to show how the man of lawlessness (Satan) referred to in 2 Thessalonians 2:9, is behind the moral chaos that is sweeping the world. She reveals how Satan's actions have created a spirit of lawlessness, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 5:20 in which good is now called evil and evil is now called good.

Dr. Thio uses the word "Torah" throughout the book to refer to God's laws. She does an excellent job of using secular history and the Scriptures to build a case that the man of lawlessness is behind the cultural demise that is occurring and the resulting biblically inhospitable environment. She helps us to see that this spirit of lawlessness is not about anarchy--the rejection of man's laws outright--but a rejection of God's law. She points out that Satan's attacks upon God and His Word consist in the rejection, and/or rewriting of civil laws founded on Judeo-Christian principles. She declares that the goal of the lawless one is to bring about the removal of every vestige of God and His Word from society.

She identifies how that the methods of Satan have not changed. In Genesis he used humanism and heresy to get Adam and Eve to reject God's Word and determine for themselves what was good and right. He now does the same by employing diversity, tolerance, and feelings as the benchmark for determining what is right and wrong, good and bad. The end result is the destruction or distorting of God's creation and creative order.

She rightly declares that there can be no neutrality. Those espousing the new norms will not tolerate neutrality. A choice must be made and those who choose the Judeo-Christian way will suffer for it. In fact, she points out how the anti-Christian movement has given rise to a new term, christophobia, coined by Jewish law professor and noted scholar, J H H Weiler. Christophobia, she says, has been defined as an irrational fear or hatred of Christians, Christianity, or Christian convictions because of their position on moral issues, which results in verbal violence, or discrimination against Christians, or even subtle persecution and civil death (p. 47-48).

The battle, as she puts it, is between the sons of Zion and the sons of Greece. The sons of Zion represent "those who are "the community of believers in Jesus Christ who confess His Lordship and sovereignty over their personal and corporate lives." The sons of Greece represent "those who are opposed to God, and His Creation and Moral order."

She concludes the book by focusing on the need for the sons of Zion to fight the work of the sons of Greece, while reaching out to the sons of Greece in love and compassion. I found the book easy to read and very informative. The most compelling truth that I found clearly visible throughout her book was that Christians can no longer afford to ignore the rising tide of secularism and the searing winds of religious hostility. I have not read a better book for helping us understand the moral changes that are taking place in America and around the world.

From a practical standpoint she provides advice for ministers and church members. She points out three perspectives that must be considered for the church "to be the salt and light, hope and healing, a banner for righteousness and a haven where mercy and relational intimacy are deeply experienced" (p. 289).

1) First, people who struggle with same-sex attraction, sexual confusion, etc. fall into the same state that we all find ourselves. All of us are broken spiritually, just in different ways. We all need the grace, mercy, and healing of God.

2) Second, she states that the "Church needs to realize that there is a direct link between religious freedom and the pansexual movement which will destroy religious freedom." (p. 298)

3) Third, she emphasizes that, "If we are His, we will care about what is on His heart." She elaborates by warning the church and its leaders to be on the lookout for apostate churches and Christians. She stresses the need to love the truth, know the truth, and be willing to stand for it regardless of the cost.

The only negative I found in the book was a few missing words, but the context enables one to easily determine the word that was missing.

The Red Sea Rules

Book Review of The Red Sea Rules (Author Robert J. Morgan)

Review by Eddie Fleming

Have you ever gotten caught between a rock and a hard place? Of course you have. We all have. The bigger question is, how do you deal with it? What approach do you take? What principles do you employ, if any? The Rea Sea Rules provides us with practical and spiritually sound principles by which to tackle the difficult moments in life. Just as God gave us the Ten Commandments to guide us in our relationships with God and others, Robert J. Morgan has given us ten principles or as he puts it, "Ten Red Sea Rules" that can assist us when facing our Goliaths, den of lions, or fiery furnace.

The book is fairly small, very easy to read, well written, and definitely worth investing in. The church I pastor has used it along with its workbook in one of our small groups. It's content and price makes it an excellent gift to share with others.