religion

Introduction To Psalm 119

Humans exist. If you are here reading this sentence you surely understand that fact. But where we seem to part ways is when we ask “why”? It’s the age old question, right? What is the purpose of life? What is the meaning of man’s existence?

I’m reminded of the Preacher in the book of Ecclisiastes who set out to answer that very question.

Ecclisiastes 1:12,13 says, “I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be exercised.” He spared no expense either! He sought to fulfill every desire of the flesh in search of something that was meaningful and would explain the meaning of life. So what was his conclusion? “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil (Ecclesiastes 12:13‭-‬14).

Genesis 1:1 tells us, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” It goes on to describe how God created everything that exists in six days. Everything that He created has a purpose and is bound by His law. The rise and fall of the sun and moon, the boundaries of land and sea, everything is bound by His natural law.

Genesis 2:7, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” He then goes on to place the man in the Garden of Eden in order that he may tend to it. In other words, his purpose was to serve God and keep His commandments, the same purpose that Solomon concluded.

It seems like it is pretty cut and dry, but as the bible student will come to find out, mankind has a long history of rebellion. Over and over again the Israelites, whom God had chosen as His own special people, repeatedly disobeyed God. They rejected His laws and sought after their own paths and made their own gods to worship. That pattern of rebellion still continues today and leaves people feeling lost and confused, unsure of what the truth is. Lucky for us, we have a God who is merciful and good. He has given us a book in which we can trust to tell us the truth. To tell us the purpose for our lives.

In future posts I will be going through a series on Psalm 119. This is a psalm that declares the greatness of the word of God. I will try to keep each section brief, which will be a challenge since there’s a lot that can be learned in each section. I am looking forward to it. Stay tuned!

I’m Not _________ Enough

Often times when we reflect back on prominent individuals in the Bible we stand in awe of what they were able to accomplish. We compare ourselves to them and that often ends with us wishing we were as smart, or as brave, or as wise as they were. It is sometimes easy to gloss over the fact that they faced the same self doubts that we do which they had to overcome. Let’s consider, for instance, Moses.

In Exodus chapter 3 we have the account of Moses and the burning bush. God had heard the cry of the Israelite people who were suffering in bondage in Egypt. God had compassion for them and remembered his promise to Abraham and so was moved to deliver the people out of their bondage. He chose Moses to lead this effort and appears to Moses in the form of a burning bush to inform him of what he must do. If God were to appear to you today and give you direct instructions on how to accomplish a seemingly insurmountable task, would you trust Him and obey without question?

Moses hesitated. In verse 11 we find Moses struggling with the concept proposed to him by God. “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” Moses seems shaken by what God has asked him to do. God responds, promising that He would be with him. But Moses continues to question God and would seem to doubt his own abilities. What do I say to the people of Israel? What if they don’t believe me?

God gave Moses miraculous signs to prove himself to Pharaoh and the Israelite people, but still Moses questioned. In chapter 4 verse 10, Moses states, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” This same logic and reasoning hinders a lot of Christians today from carrying out the work of the Lord. How many use the excuse, “I am not smart enough”, or “I am not good enough” to teach the Gospel of Christ to others?

Further on in the account, we read that God becomes angry at Moses. But it was God’s will that Moses be the individual to accomplish His work, so He worked with Moses and provided him the means by which he would eventually accomplish his task.

We are human. It is understandable that we would doubt ourselves and our abilities to do difficult things. Being a Christian is a difficult thing. The work of the church, God’s kingdom, is important work indeed. It will often be uncomfortable, forcing us to step out of our comfort zones to do His will. But just as God provided for Moses, He will provide for us as well. We CAN understand the Bible. We CAN know the truth. We CAN teach it to others.

John 8:32 NKJV
And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

Matthew 28:19-20 NKJV
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

What is hindering you from serving the Lord?

The Bucket Religion

Man has devised for himself all manner of beliefs for as long as he has been in existence on this earth.  Among these beliefs is what has been termed the “bucket” religion.  Essentially, this is the belief that as long as your good outweighs your evil, you will gain entrance into heaven.  So, say you have two buckets, one carrying all of your good deeds and the other carrying all of your bad deeds.  The goal is to have your “good” bucket full and your “evil” bucket not as full as your “good” bucket.  As long as you’re a good person, as evidenced by your full “good” bucket, you will be admitted into the kingdom of heaven.  It sounds good in theory, right?  After all, God is good and wants all of his children to have heaven as their home, right?  Surely, if I’m a good person God will not send me to be punished for eternity.  There are problems with this belief and one could take a lot of time to address each one.  For the sake of this post, we will focus on perhaps the greatest illustration that we find in Scripture that argues the case against this belief.

In the book of Acts, we read of a man named Cornelius.  He is described as “a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God.” (Acts 10:2)  Later in the chapter, he is further described as “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation” (Acts 10:22).  We can therefore gather from this text that Cornelius was indeed a “good” person in every sense of the word.  So was Cornelius destined to enter the kingdom of heaven on account of him being good?  The answer is no!  If you read the whole of chapter 10, Cornelius was instructed by an angel to send for the apostle Peter.  Peter, at the same time, was given a vision by God describing to him that salvation was not only meant for the Jews, but also the Gentiles, of which Cornelius was one.  Peter came to Cornelius’ house, where many had gathered, and he preached the gospel to them.  They heard the gospel, believed the gospel, and were baptized into Christ.  This wouldn’t have been necessary if the bucket religion were true.

The Bible instructs us to hear the Word, believe the Word, repent of our sins, confess Christ before men, and have our sins washed away in the waters of baptism.  This puts one into Christ, who is the only way to the Father (John 14:6).  We must be in Christ to inherit that upper kingdom promised to those who love Him.  It’s great if you’re a good person, I commend you.  But don’t stop there!!  We must be obedient as well.