Let me take you back in time a few years. Back to the late 50’s – 70’s where many of you may remember the popular little S & H Green stamps. My mother kept hers in a little booklet and we’d all get excited about what she’d get for them. They were America’s most widely known ‘trading stamps’ from 1900 through the late 70’s. There were even television commercials in the 60’s and 70’s about ‘redeeming’ your S & H [Sperry and Hutchinson co] Green Stamps. Believe it or not you could still redeem the famous little green stamps on line in 2015 through S & H Green points. The premise was simple: you collected them at retail stores with your purchases and then you ‘redeemed’ (traded) them for merchandise through mail order catalogues or certain stores. While that notion of trading in something in exchange for something better is fresh on your mind let me point you to Romans 8 verse 21-23. Underline that little phrase there in verse 23 “…waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body”. The REDEMPTION of the body. In other words, trading in the old body for the new one. This one you live in right now is made of dirt [Genesis 3:19] and is “flesh and blood”. Those three things cannot “inherit the kingdom of God” [1st Cor 15:50]. If you are saved – your soul, spirit and mind are saved – not your physical body. If you doubt that, look in the mirror and tell me if what you see looks powerful, honorable, glorious and incorruptible? But don’t worry, after you and I die, they’ll bury “it” [John 2:19] [Mark 6:29] and you will redeem it for the new one! That isn’t the body you’re going to be living in. You won’t be in a wheelchair or dragging an oxygen tank in heaven. No one will be wearing a hospital gown or dragging a fluid IV pole on the golden street. There isn’t an Ambulance chariot in Heaven! Because when this ‘corruptible body’ [1st Corinthians 15:35-57] breaths the last breath from God’s hand [Job 12:10 and Daniel 5:23] then you will “redeem it” [Romans 8:23] for the “incorruptible body” God has prepared for you. Whether you are standing beside the hospital bed or holding the hand of a loved one at home you are NOT awaiting their death! You are awaiting their victory over death [1st Corinthians 15:54]. If they’ve trusted Christ, you will not bury your loved one to lay sleeping in a hole in the ground. That is false teaching. The grave is for the corpse [Mark 6:29] not the soul. O death where is thy sting? O grave where is thy victory? The victory is that their adoption has been realized. You see Christian, the moment you were saved [Romans 10, Ephesians 2:8-9, Acts 8:27-38] you became like a child in the orphanage who has been adopted but the new family hasn’t arrived yet to pick you up. You are packed and waiting. The car pulls up. The rest of us wave an emotional goodbye. We are sad to see you go but then, we are also thrilled for you as you finally get out of this place and go to your new home [John 14:3] and your new Father [John 14:6]. Thus, the adoption is complete and body is redeemed. Come rejoice with us at Calvary Baptist Church in Palestine across the loop from Pizza Hut.
Author: Malcolm Harrison (page 1 of 7)
Luke chapter 16 contains the famous Parable of Lazarus and the rich man (verse 19-31) so often quoted by so many through these two thousand years since they were written. It pains us to read of the rich man’s selfish indifference to one in such need as Lazarus. Those of us who still have the good sense to “just believe the Bible” know that they both died [verse 22]. We know they were both “released” from this body of dust [Genesis 3:19]. It is put beautifully in Ecclesiastes 12:6 where the soul is compared to a silver cord “loosed” from the body or like a golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern – once this body of dust finally caves in and the soul is set free from it the soul moves on to the “next” place. We bury the dust…not the person [Luke 16:22 the beggar died…the rich man also died, and was buried]. Next notice that verse 23 tells us that the rich man was immediately in the hell he didn’t believe in. The hell he thought was just a scary story made up by ignorant people. That’s what Napoleon Bonaparte thought before he went to it. Will you believe the word of God or the words of a man? Next we see the rich man tortured in hell and pleading for Lazarus to be sent to warn his 5 brothers [Verse 28] whom he knows will join him there soon. Lazarus however was in comfort after all these years of suffering. Dwight L. Moody told of a group of young boys who were asked in Sunday School “which of the two they’d choose to be, the rich man or Lazarus? One boy answered – “I’d like to be the rich man while I live and Lazarus when I die”. Kids are funny. But the problem is – that cannot be. Now the rich man had five godless brothers whom he knew didn’t believe the Bible any more than he had. So, he begged for someone to be sent to warn them. In fact, he even asked if Lazarus could be sent from the dead to warn them for surely a dead man might convince them of the truth of bible and the horrors of hell. What an answer he is given! They have the Bible; they have Moses to tell them the truth and that’s plenty good enough”. But still the rich man pleads saying “no they need something more than that”! The answer is as loud as a thunderclap! “No, if the word of God isn’t enough to convince them, nothing would convince them, even if a man rose from the dead”! You see, a man has already risen from the dead and He pleads that we should hear him yet still…not even a resurrected Jesus can convince some of the truth. God has given the world Moses, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Solomon, David and even His own Son to testify to the truth of the words of God and still it is not enough! Why? You already know the answer. Because some people, most in fact, just won’t be convinced or converted to the truth. They love their sin. It has their heart and they will not allow anything to change it. This Sunday could be your Sunday to choose to be Lazarus! Calvary Baptist Church in Palestine hopes to see you soon! Across from Pizza Hut on the Loop.
There are as yet many unopened lessons God presents us in the book of Jonah and I heartily encourage you to consider a careful reading of the whole book at your earliest opportunity. For sake of time let us conclude this little Jonah series with just one final study from Jonah chapter 4. I want to call your attention to ‘The Wrath of Man”. [James 1:20] tells us “For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God”. Probably some of you Bible veterans remember that the preceding verse tells us “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath” to be “slow to speak”. God didn’t say we couldn’t get angry and in fact there are some things that ‘should’ make us angry! What we see here though is that God warned us to very careful about our anger – because anger unchecked can quickly fan itself into ‘wrath’ and the wrath of man doesn’t lead to godly behavior or godly decisions. As such we are directed “Be ye angry and sin not” [Ephesians 4:26] “Let not the sun go down upon your wrath”. Now with those wonderful counselors from the word of God lets go back into Jonah and see if they hold true. *Perhaps you may remember that last week we saw that Jonah went preaching to Nineveh that God was about ‘overthrow’ them all for their own choices and wickedness? So, the King ordered everyone, man and beast, to “turn from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands”. Which resulted in God turning away His wrath and condemnation. As we open Jonah 4:1 we find that God’s pardon and mercy ‘displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was “very angry”. Again, God’s tender mercy and gentleness has been revealed and instead of rejoicing that these pagan gentiles have responded rightly to the preaching, Jonah is outraged? Yes, they deserve wrath! Yes, they deserve Judgment! Yes, they deserve to be destroyed! But then don’t we all?! Have we not all failed to obey? But God is gentle and gracious, merciful and slow to anger and of great kindness! Praise His Holy name when a sinner will truly repent and call out for mercy the Great God of Jonah is ready to forgive! I wish our Bible recorded a different Jonah! I wish we were reading of a Jonah who rejoiced to see God’s tender mercy and kindness extended to these fellow failures. I wish we were reading of how Jonah ran among them and embraced them and rejoiced and celebrated God’s tender mercies with them. But no. Where I would prefer to read about an obedient Jonah in chapter one, I find a rebel like myself. Where I would prefer to read about a merciful Jonah in chapter two, I find a stubborn and selfish Jonah that reminds me of me. Where I would prefer to read about a Jonah who learned his lesson about grace and forgiveness in chapter four, I read of a selfish Jonah who cares more for his own comforts than for souls. Jonah is easy to condemn, isn’t he? But then, have you obeyed God’s command to tell others who are lost and condemned the gospel? Perhaps you’d better reserve condemnation of Jonah and focus on being more obedient yourself? Pastor Harrison and those at Calvary Baptist Church in Palestine hope to see you soon!
Our Bible studies at Calvary Baptist Church have taken us into Jonah several times where we’ve been considering how Jonah ended up in the belly of a whale. Note that in Chapter 1 Jonah ended up in what he called the “belly of hell” [Ch 2:2] and in Matthew 12:40 Jesus referred to “Jonas in the whale’s belly” as a prefigure of himself three days and three nights in the earth. Which begs the question “was Jonah dead or alive”? Note also in [Ch 2:6] God can hear prayers from the darkest hell! In [Ch 2:9] notice where Salvation is exclusively “of the Lord” and NOT from other religions. From there let us consider [Ch 2:10] that Jonah found mercy! Amen! God is a God of Mercy! [2 Pet 3:9] “…Not willing that any should perish…but that all should come to repentance”. I wish some preachers would quit trying to redefine any and all! Anyway, Jonah found mercy! Are we all agreed on that? Yet notice that after he went and preached, the people of Nineveh did what many unstudied pastors say isn’t necessary – they begged God for mercy and turned from their wickedness! By the way that’s lost men and women begging God for mercy and turning from their wickedness. Dead in trespasses and sins has never meant too dead to beg God for mercy and turn from your wicked ways. Perhaps you’re wondering why the people of Nineveh did this when God had already said He was going to destroy them? Turn to the words of the King of Nineveh in Jonah 3:9 “Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?” Ahh yes! Now that’s good advice! Maybe you are in a horrible mess! Maybe you’re in the middle of a nightmare! Maybe you’ve all but begged God to deal with your rebellious attitude. I don’t know about you, but this King’s words encourage me! Change your ways! Humble yourself before God and just maybe He’ll reach down and lift you out of that pit you’re in. Maybe the great God of second chances will take pity on you! In Jonah 3:10 God saw their works which demonstrated their seriousness about seeking mercy and He didn’t destroy them. Praise God for mercy! Jonah is a crash course on MERCY! It’s the advanced level class on digging your own pit no doubt, but it’s also a crash course on Mercy. Let’s read ch 4:1 and notice Jonah was outraged that God spared Nineveh. Wow?! Outraged that someone got mercy?! Are you kidding? How can a man go through what Jonah went through and find the sea of God’s mercy but still not have any mercy for others? We find the word mercy 261 times in the Bible. Isn’t it just like a man to be so one sided? We expect mercy for our self but chastisement for others. God expects us to use mercy toward our fellow man. I wish it weren’t so but let me remind you that Jonah never did get his heart straightened out. His last recorded words to God concerning Nineveh were “I do well to be angry, even unto death”. God help us to remember to be merciful even when it isn’t deserved! For that is where God extended mercy to us!! This is pastor Malcolm Harrison inviting you to come visit with us at Calvary Baptist Church in Palestine on the loop across from Pizza Hut.
In the book of Jonah Chapter 1 vs 1-14 we read that the prophet Jonah was told to go to the great and wicked city called Nineveh and preach against their wicked ways. *This would be an outrage in our day just as it was in Jonah’s day. No one wants to be told that there is a standard of right and wrong and no one wants to be told that certain behaviors are defiled and reprobate. But let’s move on. Jonah as you know decided that these Gentiles deserved God’s judgment, so he decided to leave them to their fate [Jonah 4:1-2]. In verse 3 Jonah went instead to Joppa {modern day Jaffa} and hired a boat to take him anywhere but Nineveh. *Remember this: When a Christian or lost person masquerading as a Christian has decided to leave church, any ‘ship’ {excuse} will do. Jonah’s decision prompts God to send a storm to ‘get Jonah’s attention’. *Notice that ‘some’, not all, storms may be God’s effort to get your attention. So here is something important: The Source of the Storm {by the way storms can take many forms – economic, domestic, health, financial et al} is in this case God. Note also that since all the universe belongs to God, He can of course do as He pleases with it. NEXT Note that while God is the source of Jonah’s storm, Jonah himself is the cause of the storm. By that I mean that God sent Jonah’s storm but Jonah himself caused this storm. So, here we see the SOURCE of the storm is God, but Jonah is the CAUSE of Jonah’s storm. For those of you who have ‘a meditative and reflecting mind’ I’d wager you know someone who has refused to submit to God’s decrees and divine expectations [which decrees and divine expectations are good and right and just 1st John 5:3, Romans 12:1-2]. God’s storms are good, right and a demonstration of love rather than wrath. These efforts of God are not for our hurt but for our good. When we, as Jonah, refuse and rebel against God’s guiding hand, we become the author of our own storms and we determine their severity. So, we have the source and we have the cause. Let’s see the solution. As you read onward in Jonah chapter 1 the storm became severe and the mariners discovered 1. The Source. 2. The Cause and then they asked Jonah for the Solution. Sound familiar? Have you not many times told someone the SOURCE and the CAUSE and when they asked, ‘the SOLUTION’ only to have them reject it out of hand? The mariners refused. To them the answer sounded crazy. They “rowed hard” [vs 13] to solve it on their own. Typical isn’t it? How many have I told plainly the solution to their storm only to see them continue on in rebellion. I wish we had more space and time to explore God’s storms but let us not forget that God not only has storms, but if storms don’t work, He has whales too. Some of you readers have seen the inside of your own whale and there learned the value of repentance. So, here at Calvary Baptist Church we encourage, we beseech, we urge you to keep sharing the gospel and maybe spare a Jonah from a storm. Perhaps you’ll spare a whale the indignity of having to eat a rebellious Christian. Bring your Bible and come to Calvary. On the Loop across from Pizza Hut.
David, a type of Christ, about whom God said ‘his heart was perfect’ [1st Kings 11:4 and 15:3] said “I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the House of the Lord” [Psalm 122:1]. So what can we deduce from this? A few things, namely, that a man whom God said was perfect in his heart was for leaving one’s home and going to a local physical place known as a “house of God”. The phrase “The House of the Lord” is found 213 times in the Bible! Even the word grace is not found nearly so many times. Something God put in the Bible 213 times is obviously important. Let that soak in a moment. In John’s written record of Christ Jesus we find the Son of God “in the temple” [John 2:14] in Jerusalem. While there He did something very unacceptable among the robed genteel ‘seeker sensitive’ crowd: He ran people out of the church and told them to have their yard-sale fund raiser merchandise junk elsewhere. “And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise” [John 2:16]. Christ said plainly that, that the physical location in Jerusalem, that rock and stone building made with hands WAS His “Father’s house”. When the Lord went to Peter’s house [Matt 8] He didn’t turn over a single table, didn’t throw over any cages or whip anyone and He didn’t call it a temple even though there were believers gathered there. Not convinced? Well take Matthew 13:36 where Jesus is in a house with two of His disciples and some other believers – but he didn’t call it a temple and he didn’t do what He did at the temple in Jerusalem [John 2]. See a church has an ordained, trained, God called Pastor set over it by a parent church under authority. Can these ‘churches’ be ordained inside a regular house? Yes of course. But ONLY by a man sent under the authority of God, trained and approved by God called men who themselves were trained and ordained under authority. There is always a pastor, placed at its head by God. If you want to know what the qualifications are for a man to lead the church of God you can read it clear as glass in a King James Bible in 1st Timothy 3. Now back to John 2 and let’s consider verse 17. Seeing the “Son of God” toss the junk out and drive people who were there for the wrong reason out, the disciples remembered that it was written of the Lord, “…the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up”. Not zeal of McDonald’s. Not zeal for the bass boat or the horse corral. I’m afraid many today have more “zeal” for their lawn or their boat or their hobby [Luke 14:19] than for the “house of the Lord”. But Pastor, what if I am bedridden and cannot go to the “house of the Lord”? There is a clear difference between someone who wants to obey God but can’t VS someone who can but doesn’t have a zeal for things of God. Rather than hide this lack of zeal why not just ask God to give you back your zeal for what He wants in your life? This Sunday find your zeal for the things of God again and go to church! If you don’t have one, come visit with us at Calvary Baptist Church across from Pizza Hut on the Loop. 903-729-5924
Ezekiel Chapter 33 speaks of the uselessness of a ‘watchman’ who, seeing the enemy coming, doesn’t blow the trumpet and warn the people. Verse 6 says that if they perish, it’ll be for their own sins, but their blood will be required at the watchman’s hand. As such let me challenge us Christians to remember that we are the watchmen in our country, our jobs, our schools and our homes. Let us take up the trumpet [Ezekiel 33:2] and give warning. You may be thinking “well preacher, no one is listening to my warnings”. I know, it probably seems that way; nonetheless Ezekiel 33 says for us to give the warning and if people decide to ignore it – so be it, that’s on them. So this week lets look at another good warning. Turn in your Bible to the little book of Esther. I urge you to read the whole thing, its pretty short and very entertaining and this article won’t make much sense if you haven’t read Esther. In the book we find a fellow named Haman who is about as useless as screen doors on a submarine. He’s like the idiot the boss put in charge of things and it went to his head. One of the things this guy required was that if he came by you had to bow and show him reverence. But there was a Jewish fella named Mordecai and old Mordecai would’ve made a good Texan; he loves God and he won’t bow to no man especially a ‘hair in the biscuit’ like Haman. This of course makes Haman furious and he starts plotting to kill all the Jews and especially Mordecai. He even asked his wife and friends, none of whom are exactly intellectual giants, how to kill Mordecai and get the most enjoyment out of it. They all suggested a Gallows built in the living room of Haman’s house. Haman liked the idea and had a big Gallows built right in his living room. Long story short, things don’t work out to well for our arch-villain Haman and he’ll end up swinging from a rope on “his own Gallows” but all ten of his sons as well will be hanged on that Gallows. By now those of you who have a ‘meditative and reflective mind’ have surely seen numerous “life-lessons” and Biblical truths you can use to help people see. I would be interested to hear what you saw in how the devil used Haman’s own wife and his own friends against him. I also notice that often the parents will build the gallows on which their children will hang. By their own example they teach their children to hate God and all things decent and good. Did you find it rewarding to see Esther have the boldness to do right regardless of consequences? Did you notice that Mordecai prays about his actions and urges Esther to pray about her actions as well, but Haman makes his decisions by sheer ego and vanity? Remember the old axiom “it is better to sleep on a decision before hand than to cry over it later”. There is too much to point out but I hope you saw that people like Haman often get hung on their own gallows. Isn’t it long past time for you to bring your heart to Calvary? Come worship with us at Calvary Baptist Church in Palestine. Call for directions and service times 903-729-5924 across from Pizza Hut on the Loop.
For our study this week let me challenge you with Jeremiah Ch 14:1-22 where the “children of Israel” have, with their constant rebellion and disobedience to God’s words, finally provoked Him to anger. As a result, He brings them under the rod of discipline; and that discipline took the form of a terrible ‘derth’ [famine caused by drought]. It had been ongoing for so long that even the cattle were abandoning their newborn calves [14:5]. So, Jeremiah {the weeping prophet} went before God in prayer and begged Him to be merciful to the people and bless them with rain and food. In vs 7 Jeremiah confessed to God that the people had sinned but despite that sin, he pleaded that God would be merciful “for thy name’s sake”. God’s answer must have been completely shocking to Jeremiah! Let’s read it in Jeremiah 14:11-12, “Pray not for this people for their good” 12 “When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burn offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence”. You wouldn’t sell many Christian t-shirts or coffee mugs with that scripture verse printed on them! In fact, if you read vs 13-17 God’s rolling anger is clear and makes us want to turn away from the page in fear. But Jeremiah pleaded still for them vs 20-22. That sets the context for our text in Ch 15:1-2 which I want to bring to your attention. “Then said the Lord unto me, though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight and let them go forth.” Oh My! The implications are massive! Moses and Samuel are faithful men! Not perfect men, but to the best of their ability they were faithful. Here we have God himself endorsing them. If, in this case, Moses and Samuel could not have changed God’s mind, then it stands to reason that perhaps in other circumstances they might have! If they could prayerfully turn God’s mind and hand, then so might you! YOU might stand in the spirit before His throne of grace by faith and plead with him on behalf of those who otherwise HAVE NO MOSES, no Samuel, No Job, No Jeremiah to plead for them! Maybe you’re thinking “well preacher, I am no Moses and no Samuel”. No, but for the sake of those in your family who have no one else will you be faithful to the cross and intercede for those who have no one else? Daniel prayed [Dan 9:18] that God would bless and help the Jews; not because they deserved it – but because God is overflowing with great mercies. Someone you love needs a Moses, a Samuel, a Jeremiah to step in before God in their stead because of their failures. Will you intercede for them? Will you be the Moses who pleads for your friends? Your family? Your church? You church family? Someone must sanctify themselves and try to maintain their close walk with the Lord. Will it be you? I urge you this week to be by God’s grace a ready vessel fit for His use in the lives of those who have no Moses! I urge you this week to pray for our America like never before.
This past Sunday morning our text for Preaching time was Judges 11:1-24(a), with emphasis on verse 23 & 24 “So now the Lord God of Israel hath dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldest thou possess it? 24 Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess? The context of the chapter is, in and of itself, very interesting but for sake of time and space let me summarize it. The ‘Children Of Ammon” have come out to set themselves in battle formations against the children of Israel. Just as the wicked are setting themselves against Christians today huh?! The Children Of Israel had appointed a great captain over themselves who sent messengers to the Ammonites to ask them why they were confronting the children of Israel? Their answer, in short, was “you took our land and we want it back”. The Children if Israel replied ‘no, we didn’t take it from you, God gave it to us’! Moreover, since God gave it to us, should we then just hand it to you? Should we give away the precious gifts of God to you? Jepthah went on to ask them the question: “If your god gives you something will you not possess it?” Hey Christian, let me ask you something! Our Lord has given us many precious gifts, like hope in the finished work of Christ on the cross – should we instead put our hope in the world? Our God has given us the assurance of his eternal inheritance, his eternal salvation, his eternal redemption – shall we rather place our confidence, not in the eternal intercessor, which is Christ [Hebrews 7:25], but in man? Our God has given us confidence in prayer; shall we turn instead to the world, which offers no real answers, no loving sure plan for an expected end [Jeremiah 29:11] or to the Father of Mercy? Jepthah’s reply is bold and exudes confidence in God. “No! God has given this to us and you cannot have it!” Why then do so many Christians turn to the physical world for spiritual help, hope, acceptance, rescue and deliverance? Why do so many Christians conduct themselves as if the world were their redeemer? May I remind you that those things surrendered to the world; your testimony, your witness, your faith, your walk, your hope and your confidence – you likely won’t get back. Those things you surrender to the world, if you do ever get them back, it will be at great personal cost. As such why give them away? If your earthly father gave you a gift of great value, perhaps a family heirloom of immense importance, wouldn’t you cherish it? Wouldn’t you keep it protected and guard it with your life? If some lunatic came along who demanded that you hand it over to him, would you do so without so much as a whimper? I see Christians doing just that! Husbands handing over their children to the world. Mothers handing over their modesty to the world. Teenagers handing over their chastity to the peer pressure of dogs. Christians have much to be thankful for that should not be handed over to the world. Why hand your testimony over to the world and the devil? Why hand over to the enemy those precious things which God has given you? Let the world possess those things it’s god {Lucifer} gives it and let us possess those things which our God gives us!
This past Sunday morning our text for Preaching time was Judges 11:1-24(a), with emphasis on verses 23 & 24 “So now the Lord God of Israel hath dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldest thou possess it? 24 Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess? The context of the chapter is, in and of itself, very interesting but for sake of time and space let me summarize it. The ‘Children of Ammon’ have come out to set themselves in battle formations against the children of Israel. Just as the wicked are setting themselves against Christians today huh?! The Children of Israel had appointed a great captain over themselves who sent messengers to the Ammonites to ask them why they were confronting the children of Israel? Their answer, in short, was “you took our land and we want it back”. The Children of Israel replied ‘no, we didn’t take it from you, God gave it to us’! Moreover, since God gave it to us, should we then just hand it to you? Should we give away the precious gifts of God to you? Jepthah went on to ask them the question: “If your god gives you something will you not possess it?” Hey Christian, let me ask you something! Our Lord has given us many precious gifts, like hope in the finished work of Christ on the cross – should we instead put our hope in the world? Our God has given us the assurance of his eternal inheritance, his eternal salvation, his eternal redemption – shall we rather place our confidence, not in the eternal intercessor, which is Christ [Hebrews 7:25], but in man? Our God has given us confidence in prayer; shall we turn instead to the world, which offers no real answers, no loving sure plan for an expected end [Jeremiah 29:11] or to the Father of Mercy? Jepthah’s reply is bold and exudes confidence in God. “No! God has given this to us, and you cannot have it!” Why then do so many Christians turn to the physical world for spiritual help, hope, acceptance, rescue and deliverance? Why do so many Christians conduct themselves as if the world were their redeemer? May I remind you that those things surrendered to the world; your testimony, your witness, your faith, your walk, your hope and your confidence – you likely won’t get back. Those things you surrender to the world, if you do ever get them back, it will be at great personal cost. As such why give them away? If your earthly father gave you a gift of great value, perhaps a family heirloom of immense importance, wouldn’t you cherish it? Wouldn’t you keep it protected and guard it with your life? If some lunatic came along who demanded that you hand it over to him, would you do so without so much as a whimper? I see Christians doing just that! Husbands handing over their children to the world. Mothers handing over their modesty to the world. Teenagers handing over their chastity to the peer pressure of dogs. Christians have much to be thankful for that should not be handed over to the world. Why hand your testimony over to the world and the devil? Why hand over to the enemy those precious things which God has given you? Let the world possess those things its god {Lucifer} gives it and let us possess those things which our God gives us!
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