Now therefore, fear
the LORD,
serve Him in
sincerity and in truth,
and put away the gods
which your fathers
served on the other
side of the River
and in Egypt.
Serve the LORD!
Joshua 24: 14
Before I
begin, I do hope that your Fourth of July was a good day, a day of joy and fun,
and most importantly a day to remember that our nation, the United States,
fought tyranny by those who would force people to believe whatever religion
the leader believed. They brought us a
freedom that no other nation has ever, or now, have had or has. July 4, a day more than firecrackers and
fireworks, a day more than just getting together for picnics and barbecues, all
which is good and needs to be used in our celebration, but, we must never
forget that the majority of men who founded our nation and formed our
Constitution were men who believed in the God of the Bible. I am afraid, more than just afraid, for I see
that our nation has moved away from what our founding fathers formed as a nation. And, in many ways, have attempted to make us
a nation so different from what was formed at the beginning, fought to be
formed and maintained so that this nation would be the light of the world for
freedom. If ever there was a time for
Christians to stand up for truth and freedom it is now. Teach your children the truth about our
nation, do all you can return this nation around, back to its foundation, and
this can be done with the help of the Holy Spirit, but you must take the first
step. If you believe in it, you will!
This
turning to another Christianity by the Corinthians is why Paul had to write
this letter to them so that they could turn back to that which he taught to
them in the beginning: "For I
delivered to you first of all that which I also received: 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, (Psalm 16: -- 11), and that He
was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.
After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater
part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep" (1 Corinthians
15:3 -- 6). Paul in this letter
reprimanded them for they had turned to following men and they had turned the
gift of the Holy Spirit into a practice not warranted by God. Paul had not instructed them to do and
practice what they were doing in their congregations and in their lives that which they had now turned
their Christianity into, more of a euphoric, self-seeking aggrandizement. Paul reminds them that the gospel that must
be the very basis of everything we do and say.
The gospel that he taught to them; verified by those who had seen Jesus
after His resurrection. As Joshua so
aptly spoke to the Israelites, it is our duty and responsibility as believers
in God to worship him in sincerity and in truth. We are to put away anything that is a god that is not the true
God, an idol, a thing that is supplanting the truth for a lie. If you know anything about the Israelites,
remember this, they were well versed in the Scriptures and demanded for proof of
anything that was said, and especially that which was spoken about; especially
about Jesus Christ. If what occurred at
the ascension of Jesus had not occurred, and others wrote that it did, the
Israelites would have been quick to write and speak against this that they
considered to be a lie. This did not
occur, there are no writing that speak against what the apostle Paul had
written in regards to the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. It is the gospel that we have charge over so
that it is the gospel that we need to preach and practice, and it is the gospel
that we are to bring to the world:
"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and
you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to
the end of the earth" (Acts 1: 8).
This is the purpose, a purpose set forth by the very words from the
mouth of Jesus Christ after His resurrection and before His ascension into
heaven, that the Holy Spirit was the aid us in our responsibility to spread the
gospel, this gospel about who He is and what He has done for the world. Question: what are you doing to spread the
gospel? I am afraid that just as we
have allowed this nation to become a liberal nation that except almost
everything that anyone wishes to say and do has also allowed Christians to
become apathetic. Christians today want
to have that euphoric feeling that makes them feel godly and acceptable to
God. Far too often today Christianity
and Christians are more of a milk toast type of Christianity, and the preaching
is more like pablum than the very meat of the Bible. Oh, we speak about the love of God, and this is as we should,
but, that love should drive us to care for our brothers and sisters, and this love
should then extend to the world. What
better way to show the love of God than to bring to the world the gospel? Why are you here on the earth? If you are a believer and are going to
heaven, then why has not God already taking you there? Why the delay? There must be a reason!
It is not the misuse spiritual gifts,
or a misuse of the gift of being able to speak in a language that you may not
have learned but others could know and learn gospel. We are to study God's Word so that we don't just gorge ourselves
and become fat Christians, no, we are to study God's Word so that we are
prepared to defend our faith (1 Peter 2: 15).
We bring the good news to the world so that those chosen by God will
hear it and convert their lives to Him.
It is not by miracles that people come to believe, for if they did what
they have come to believe is not in God but in the miracles. We as Authentic Christians do not need
miracles so that we believe in God. We
believe the gospel, the very gospel that even Paul reminded the Corinthian
church that it was the gospel that he had brought to them and not their need to
practice spiritual gifts unless God had actually given them that gift.
Yes, it is time we stand up for our
nation once again and return back to our constitution that was formed by
biblical Christians from the beginning of our nation. Yes, it is time for Christian to turn back to the truth of the
Gospel and take this gospel to every one they can, to everyone within their
sphere of influence. This is true
Christianity!
So the people
answered and said:
"Far be it from us that we
should forsake him
the LORD
to serve other gods.
Joshua
24: 16
Choose today will
you will serve
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