Month: November 2013

They Have Their Reward

Matthew 6:5
“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.”

The Christian life is truly not what you do in public, but what you do in private. The greatness of a Christian is not determined by what they do on the stage, but what they do in practice. Sadly, many Christians perform to be seen of man, but God wants the Christian to serve Him in public and in private.

In Matthew 6, God deals with three areas of the Christians life that should have no public life. I know this sounds strange as much of what we do as Christians is in the public, but these three areas will only be rewarded by how private you are with them.

The first area is in your giving. Matthew 6:3-4 says, “But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.” The Pharisees were known for letting everyone know how much they gave. They wanted man to recognize them. In fact, God said that if you give to be recognized by man, then your reward is man’s recognition. In other words, you can choose to be rewarded by man’s recognition, or you can choose to let God reward you in an open fashion. Giving should never be done for man’s recognition. There are many people who brag about how much they gave, and that will be their reward. They will be highly disappointed when they get to Heaven because they gave up their rewards when they chose to tell everyone how much they gave.

The second area where we should be private is in our prayer life. God says in verse 6, “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” Notice, your prayers should be private. You should not let everyone know for what you are praying. Let God reveal your prayer life by answering your prayers.

The third area in which we should be private is in fasting. Verses 17-18 say, “But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast,…” Fasting is a private thing. You should not broadcast that you are fasting. If a church chooses to fast, then the church needs to keep it in-house if they expect God to reward their fast. Your purpose of fasting is not to show others how spiritual you are, but it is to show God that you need Him to answer your prayer.

God said in these three areas the Pharisees “have their reward” because they did them to be seen of men. Christian, don’t let your reward in these areas be lost because you do them to be seen of man. Keep these three areas of your Christian life private. Let God be the One Who openly rewards you. Always remember that you forfeit your rewards when you let others know what you are doing in these areas. Your choice is to be recognized by man, or to receive your rewards from God. It’s truly a simple choice; God’s rewards are much better than man’s recognition.

Reflecting Christ

Revelation 21:23
“And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.”

When driving your car in a snow storm, one of the things you will notice is that your headlights will seem to get dimmer the longer you drive. Many times I have had to pull over at a gas station to clean the headlights so that I can better see the road as I drive. The grime from the road sticks to the headlights and causes them not to be as bright as they should.

Matthew 5:14 says, “Ye are the light of the world.” God commands the Christian to be the one who shines a light in this dark world. How is it that a Christian can be the light of the world? We are sinners at best. If we shine our light, then the light we shine will be very dim for sin will certainly cover the light.

We see the answer to shining our light in the verse above. As John describes Heaven, he says that the city had no need of light for the glory of God is what lightens this great city. It is interesting that Heaven has no need of light because God is the light. If a Christian is going to be the light of the world, then the Christian’s light must come from God. In other words, if we are going to be the light of the world, then we must reflect Christ through our life. It is not our light that shines to the world, but a reflection of Christ is the light that we shine. The problem with being a reflection of Christ is that many things can hinder the reflection’s image.

First, a reflection can be hindered if dirt is on the object that is to reflect the image. Sin is the dirt that will cause the light of Christ not to shine brightly through your life. Just like driving down a snowy road you get the grime from the road on your headlights, likewise the Christian often gets the grime of the world on their life as they walk through life. It is important that you make sure your life does not have the grime of the world on it. Every time you allow the grime of the world on your life, you hinder your life from reflecting the light of Christ.

Second, a reflection is hindered when an object obstructs its path. Many times in the Christian life we allow our agendas  to obstruct the light of Christ. I’m afraid too often the world sees the reflection of our agendas and dreams and not the light of Christ. When our focus is on what we want, then the world does not see what God wants.

Third, a reflection is hindered because the object that reflects it is not pointed directly at the light. If you turn your life to follow man, then you cannot reflect Christ as you should. Many Christians turn their life to follow a man and they cannot reflect the light of Christ. Instead of reflecting Christ, they are reflecting the image of a man. It doesn’t matter how good the man may be, you are not to reflect man, but you are to reflect Christ.

Does the world see a good image of Christ through your life? Don’t let the sin in your life cause the reflection of Christ to be dimmed. Remove the sin so the world has a clear reflection of Christ. Make sure there are no hindrances that would block the reflection of Christ. Don’t let the world see the wrong reflection. Make sure your life is that clear reflection of Christ so that they can’t help but see the great God Whom you serve.

How to Save Your Family

How-to-Save-Your-Familyby: Jason Watford

“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.” (Genesis 6:5-7)

Man was created to walk, talk and fellowship with God, but in Noah’s day they were not doing this. These were arguably the most wicked days ever. Only Noah and his family were walking with God. Noah’s family was the only family that survived this worldwide flood. Every living thing was destroyed except Noah, his family and the animals he took into the ark. We need to follow Noah’s example to save our family! Let me give you seven things Noah did to save his family.

1. Noah “found grace.” (Genesis 6:8) We usually don’t find something unless we are looking for it. Noah sought God’s help with his family. A lot of times we seek God’s help for the bad times, but we still need God’s help for the good times. We need God’s grace when the grades are good and when the grades are bad. We need God’s grace for the financially good times and the financially hard times. We should be diligently searching to get God’s grace in our family’s lives.

2. Noah “walked with God.” (Genesis 6:9) In order to save our family, we have to walk with God! This requires that we read our Bible. God speaks to us through His word. Many today do not set aside time to spend in God’s Word. Our children need to see us reading God’s Word. If it’s important to us, it will be important to them.

3. Noah cared about the little details. (Genesis 6:14-22) God gave Noah specific details concerning how to build the ark. Every detail saved the life of Noah and his family. Had he not followed each detailed instruction, it would have ultimately killed his family. The Bible has sixty-six books with details on how to live our lives. Each detail we choose not to follow is killing our family. This goes back to reading our Bibles…we can’t follow His instructions if we don’t know what they are.

4. Noah did everything God said. Genesis 7:5 states, “…Noah did according to all that the Lord commanded him.” He didn’t change the instructions. He didn’t do the “best he could” and just hope it would all work out. He did all the Lord commanded him. Our families need to see that we will live all of God’s commandments.

5. Noah taught his children to work. Noah got the credit for building the ark, but Shem, Ham and Japheth worked right alongside their father helping him build the ark as God stated. Don’t be afraid to let your children serve God with you. Teach them the value of hard work. Today, too many times the children are allowed to watch TV or play video games while dad is mowing the yard or mom is cleaning the house. Get your children involved with the work it takes to run your household.

6. Noah’s family was unified. Genesis 7:7 states, “…Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark…” Back in our grandparent’s day, the family used to do everything together. The family was a unit that worked and played together. Today our families hardly ever see each other. We need to get our families back together.

7. Noah was thankful. Genesis 8:20 states, “…Noah builded an altar unto the Lord…” The first thing Noah did when he came off the ark was worship God. He could have built a house for his family to live in, but he saw the importance of thankfulness and teaching his children to worship God first. Many times today thankfulness is the last thing on our minds. Take time to teach your children to be thankful. Teach them to write thank you notes and to express their thankfulness to others.

Today our world is morally, ethically, politically and environmentally going in the wrong direction, but we can still save our families. We can still have a family that honors and relies on God even in this current state in which we live. If you want to save your family, follow Noah’s example in Genesis.

Jason Watford
Pastor
Spring Creek Baptist Church
Seven Springs, NC

Friends Categorized

Proverbs 18:24
“A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”

Knowing who your friends are and what type of friends they are is important to knowing how much you can depend on them. Throughout your life you’ve had people who you called your friends but today you have no idea where they are. Having friends to the day you die should be a desire you work towards.

The Scriptures teach us much about friends. Having the right friends is important to your future, but understanding what type of friends you have is important in order to know how much you can depend upon them. Let me show you four categories of friends that you will have in life.

First, there are gift friends. Proverbs 19:6 says, “Many will intreat the favour of the prince: and every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts.” There are people who as long as you give them gifts they will be your friend. There is nothing wrong with these type of friends, but you can’t depend on them to stick with you through rough times. Gift friends will stop being your friend when you stop giving gifts. I’m not saying that you should stop giving gifts, but you must be careful about putting much trust into gift friends for they will turn on you when the gifts stop. Gift friends are opportunists. If someone else starts giving better gifts they will be a friend to them. Don’t run from your gift friends, but don’t look for them either. You never know when a gift friend will graduate into a better category.

The second type of friend is a friendly friend. The verse above says, “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly:…” A friendly friend is one with whom you are acquainted with on a regular basis. These type of friends may be people with whom you work or with whom you go to church. These people are friends because you live your daily lives around them. You should strive to be a friendly friend with most people, because these are the people whom you see daily. Christians should show themselves friendly, but that doesn’t mean you should get any closer than that. One of the quickest ways to determine a friendly friend is to see how friendly they are to you in your absence. Again, nothing wrong with a friendly friend, but you can’t depend on them in tough times.

The third type of friend is a cause friend. Proverbs 17:17 says, “A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” This is the type of friend whom you discover when fighting for the same cause. A cause friend is one whom you can depend on in the battle because they are in the battle with you; however, if the cause in which they became your friend ever ceases, then they will stop being a friend. If you involve yourself in causes that are lifetime causes, then you will most likely have a friend for life in a cause friend.

The fourth type of friend is a friend friend. It says in the verse above, “…there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” Friend friends are one’s who are your friend whether or not you consider them your friend. In other words, you can’t stop them from being your friend. They are not expecting anything in return for being your friend. The only thing they want is to be your friend. These are the type of friends that when everyone leaves you, you will still find them standing with you. This is the best type of friend.

Every person will have each category of friends, but the only friends you should allow yourself to depend on are the cause friends and the friend friends. Learn what type of friend each person is to you and you will save yourself from being disappointed in people. Moreover, understand that a friend friend most likely started as a gift friend. Allow people to move into the next category, for you will never know when you need a friend.

God’s Love Defined

1 John 5:3
“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.”

We often here people say that we should talk more about the love of God. There are preachers who criticize others for being negative in their preaching. They like to say that we need to be more grace based in our preaching. On the surface this sounds good, but that statement alone is not Scriptural.

The love of God is more than just saying that God loves you. The love of God is more than saying that God loves you in spite of what you have done. Both of these statements are true, but God’s love is deeper than that. The verse above says that keeping God’s commandments is the love of God. Let me explain what that means.

First, it means someone must tell us what God’s commandments are if we are to keep them. You will never know what God’s commandments are unless someone clearly tells you what they are. That means if you are going to keep God’s commandments, you need someone to be as detailed about God’s commandments as they can be. Do you know what that means? That means someone is going to have to tell you what to do and what not to do. Friend, God’s commandments tell us what to say, how to dress, where we can go, how we are to do them and when we are to do them. Just saying that you need to obey God’s commandments is not enough. Someone needs to be as detailed as they can be when telling you what God’s commandments are if you are going to exemplify the love of God.

Second, it means that someone must tell us what happens if we don’t keep God’s commandments. I know, this is not what liberals want to hear, but if I’m going to love people with God’s love, then I must tell them what happens if they don’t obey His commandments. There is not much love when you won’t tell someone what will happen to them if they don’t obey God’s commandments. There are consequences for not obeying the commandments of God. God’s love is not only spelling out God’s commandments so you can obey them, but it is telling you what will happen if you don’t obey them.

Third, it means that someone must tell us when to keep God’s commandments. If God’s love is keeping His commandments, then you must know when those commandments are in affect. Every commandment has a time frame. If someone doesn’t tell you when to obey God’s commandments, then how can you demonstrate the love of God?

God’s love is more than just a feel-good feeling. God’s love is doing what God commands us to do all the time. Always remember that you are exemplifying the love of God when you obey what He tells you to do. For example, I’m showing the world God’s love when I go to church for every service. I’m showing God’s love by not watching the wrong things on television. I’m showing God’s love by not getting angry at people when they wrong me. I’m showing God’s love when I dress like the Scriptures teach. Every time you obey God’s commandments, you are showing God’s love to the world.

Are you showing the love of God to those around you? Do you obey God’s commandments, not just when you’re seen, but also when you cannot be seen? God gives us a simple definition of His love, and that is to obey His commandments. If you truly want to show God’s love to the world, then obey Him.

Receiving Correction

Proverbs 15:10
“Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: and he that hateth reproof shall die.”

Correction is a great indicator of the heart. It says in the verse above that correction is grievous only to those who have forsaken the right way. In other words, those who don’t want to do right are the only one’s who will hate correction.

Throughout my lifetime, I have watched this verse often reveal someone’s heart. I have watched young people who resist correction, and later you see them go the wrong way in life. On the other hand, I have watched young people let correction guide them, and they went on to a productive life. How you receive correction will certainly dictate your future. Let me give you some suggestions on how to receive correction.

First, don’t get upset! When I was a boy, if I ever showed an attitude when I was being corrected, my mother would make sure the attitude was changed before the correction was over. You must understand that you are the one who did wrong. The one correcting you is not happy that they have to correct you. Don’t get upset at the one who is applying the correction. Realize that they are simply trying to help you have a better future.

Second, don’t blame others when you are being corrected. One of the worst things you can do is to try and deflect to others when you’re being corrected. It is not about what others have done, it is all about what you have done. Deflecting is only done to try and bring the attention off yourself. You will never change your ways if you try to blame others. That is what got King Saul into more trouble with God. He wanted to blame everyone else and not take responsibility for his own actions. When you are being corrected, keep your focus on what you need to change.

Third, don’t attack the one who is correcting you. This is a classic reaction to those who don’t want to admit their wrong. You must realize the one correcting you is not the one who did wrong. They are simply doing what they’re supposed to do when someone does wrong. Again, attacking the corrector is not accepting personal responsibility for your actions.

Fourth, let correction show you how to correct wrong actions. When you’re in school, you let errors teach you what you need to correct. You must do the same in life. When you are corrected, you must find the core of the problem that led you to do wrong and correct that core so it won’t happen again.

Always remember that how you receive correction only reveals your heart. If you’re heart is wrong, then get your heart right. Don’t let correction be a grievous things. Thank God that you got caught before you did something that could completely ruin your life. You will find that if you receive correction properly, it won’t seem so difficult to correct your wrongs.

The Price of Freedom

The-Price-of-Freedomby: Allen Domelle

I love America and for what she has stood for over 200 years. America has always been the shining light, the beacon of freedom to the world. We are hated because we promote freedom, but when nations who hate us have had their freedoms taken away because of dictators, they always turn to America for help. We are the envy of nations because of our freedom. There is no doubt that the one thing for which America is known is her freedom.

One of the things that I love about America is our freedom. I love our freedom of speech. I love the fact that not only do patriotic Americans have freedom to stand up and speak their minds, but even those who detest everything that America is have that same freedom.

I love that we have the freedom to worship God in the manner that we choose. I may not agree with every religion, but we all have the choice to worship God in our own manner.

I love the fact that in America you have the freedom to excel. If you have the drive and determination, you can excel in any field.

I love that we have the freedom to express ourselves. Some choose to foolishly express themselves by burning the American flag, but I also have the freedom to say that flag burners should go live in a nation that they like.

I love that in America every American has the right to own and carry firearms. It’s not just a privilege to own firearms in America, but it is our right as an American citizen.

Freedom has been the desire of people for many generations. Many have given everything they had just to experience freedom. Freedom is what makes people swim 90 miles across shark infested waters just so they can have a taste of freedom. Freedom is what causes people to jump barbed wire fences, and swim across the Rio Grande. Freedom is what causes people to pay money so they can be stuffed in a tractor trailer just so they can come and have a taste of freedom. Freedom is what caused the pilgrims to risk life and health to sail across the Atlantic Ocean to America so they could have the freedom to worship God in the way of their own choosing. Freedom is a dream for many, but for those of us who are Americans it is not a dream, it is our reality.

But what is the price of freedom? Freedom is not cheap! Freedom always comes with a cost. The one thing I love more than anything else are the heroes who gave everything to help give our nation freedom or to keep her free.

It was December 1776, that American troops were not far from Trenton, New Jersey. The American revolutionary troops marched through snow, sleet and freezing rain till their shoes gave way, and they continued walking barefoot as they carried muskets and ammunition for the next battle. It was said that you could follow the American troops by the bloody footprints in the snow. Morale was low because of health issues and dying troops.

It was during this time that George Washington planned an attack against Trenton as three regiments of the Hessian army were situated in that town. George Washington knew the Hessians would be drunk because it was Christmas, and the Hessians were known to get drunk on this day. George Washington and the American troops attacked the drunken Hessian forces and won the battle. This victory spirited the troops and led to the winning of the American Revolution. Ultimately, 25,000 troops died because they believed in FREEDOM.

All 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence knew they were committing treason when they signed the petition. They signed this petition knowing full well that if they were captured they would be tortured and killed, but because freedom was not an option, they signed the Declaration of Independence. Most of these men who signed the declaration lost all that they had because they believed in freedom. Freedom is not cheap.

I look at the price of freedom, and I can see men and women who believed in freedom who paid a dear price.

  • World War I – 53,402 troops died for freedom.
  • World War II – 291,557 troops died for freedom.
  • Korean War – 33,686 troops died for freedom.
  • Vietnam War – 47,424 troops died for freedom.
  • War on Terror – 5,281 troops died for freedom.
  • Total Casualties all Wars – 848,163 troops died for freedom.

THESE ALL DIED FOR FREEDOM! These were men and women who loved freedom more than life. These were someone’s son or daughter, brother or sister, husband or wife, father or mother who died so that we could live in a free nation.

Freedom was paid by the body of patriots like Corporal Javier Alvarez. Outside a house of insurgents, and facing casualties, Cpl. Javier Alvarez moved toward the danger in November 2005. During that sprint, insurgents shot him three times in the leg. During treatment on his leg, more enemy fire came, so Alvarez grabbed his rifle and returned fire. At that point, Alvarez heard calls of an incoming grenade. He grabbed the grenade and threw it away saving six Marines and losing his hand in the process. He said, “I lifted up my arm to see what happened, and my hand was completely missing,” He said, “I didn’t mourn over my losses or injuries, I had a mission to accomplish. I had Marines I had to take care of.” Alvarez was awarded a Silver Star for his efforts.

Freedom was paid by the blood of patriots like Specialists Leslie H. Sabo Jr. It was May 10, 1970, in Se San, Cambodia. Spc. Leslie H. Sabo Jr. and his platoon were ambushed by a large enemy force. The 22-year-old rifleman from Ellwood City, Pa., charged the enemy position, killing several soldiers, and then attacked an enemy flanking force, drawing fire away from his comrades. As the enemy retreated, Sabo sprinted towards a wounded American soldier when a grenade landed nearby. Sabo picked it up and threw it, while shielding his comrade with his own body. The grenade blast badly injured Sabo, but he continued to charge the bunker. Crawling toward the enemy stronghold, Sabo was shot multiple times by automatic weapons fire. When he managed to reach the opening of the bunker, he tossed in a grenade, silencing all enemy fire. That same grenade also ended Sabo’s life. – He was awarded a Medal of Honor 41 years laters for his bravery and sacrifice for freedom.

You see, freedom is not free. Freedom costs some their limbs. Freedom costs some everything that they owned. Freedom costs some their family members.

THESE PAID THE PRICE OF FREEDOM:

  • So that American flags can be flown on our own property.
  • So that government cannot dictate that we can’t mention Christ on federal properties.
  • So that prayers could be made at public school football games.
  • So that firearms can be carried by every American.
  • So that one has a right to say sodomy is a sin, and not be charged with a hate crime.
  • So that Christians are not placed on a watch list of terrorists for practicing the Scriptures.
  • So that the 10 commandments could be in all federal court houses.
  • So that every American has a right to his own doctor without federally mandated plans.
  • So that Christians can go door-to-door and invite people to church without being challenged by police.
  • So that every American has a right to free speech.

THEY DID NOT PAY THE PRICE OF FREEDOM:

  • So that we can pattern our country after Europe.
  • So that politicians and judges would make a mockery of our Constitution.
  • So that our freedoms can be slowly taken away by out of touch politicians.
  • So that future generations would not have the freedoms that we have today.

I lift up my hands and applaud those patriots who paid a dear price for freedom and I say, WELCOME HOME. But, I remind every American that all it takes to lose this freedom is for one generation to not pay the price to keep freedom alive!

Galatians 5:1 says, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” As Christ challenged the church to “stand fast” with the liberty that salvation gives, may I challenge every American to stand fast in our liberty. Don’t let America be entangled again in the bondage of socialism or dictatorships. The blood of the patriots cries out for Americans to stand for liberty. Don’t let the scars of those who fought for our freedoms be banished by passive Americans who won’t pay the price, that same price that freedom demands, so that future generations know what America is truly about.

On this Veterans Day, don’t let the blood of patriots be shed in vain. Let those who gave their life so that we could be free be appreciated by honoring the cause for which they died: FREEDOM. Stand up to those who want to take our freedoms away and vote them out of office. Stand up for freedoms we have and use them to carry the Gospel of Jesus Christ to everyone so that they can experience a true freedom that will never go away. Let the price of freedom be appreciated by using our freedoms to preach and teach the Book that gives ultimate freedom, the King James Bible. Honor the blood of patriots who fought to have freedom to worship by going to church every Sunday morning, Sunday night and midweek service. Many paid a dear price for freedom, determine not to let it go unappreciated.

Wavering Faith

James 1:6
“But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.”

When I was a teenager, my family lived in California. We lived close to the coast which allowed us to see the Pacific Ocean. One of my teenage friends had a grandfather who worked on sailboats. A couple of times every summer he invited me to go out in the ocean on the sailboat with his grandfather. Those trips were always enjoyable.

One of the things I learned is that the waves of the ocean can certainly impact your direction. The bigger the swells, the harder it was to stay on course. We had to make sure that we steered the boat in the right direction or the waves would take us completely off course.

James said that it is important to have a faith that does not waver. Just like we had to steer that sailboat in the right ways to keep the waves from taking us off course, the Christian must also keep their faith strong to keep from being steered off course. If a Christian doesn’t keep a strong faith at the helm of their Christian life, then they will find three undesirable results.

First, they will find themselves to be undependable. A wavering faith is like a wave that is back and forth. Notice, just like the waves of the sea go back and forth, so a wavering faith will cause a Christian to waffle on what they believe. Christians who don’t know what they believe are undependable. You don’t know if they will be with you from one day to the next. For years, I have watched Christians come and go, and the whole reason is because they have a wavering faith. The only way you are going to be dependable in the Christian life is to have a strong faith that does not waver.

Second, Christians with a wavering faith will be double minded. In other words, a wavering faith causes Christians not to be able to make a decision because their opinions or beliefs will vacillate from one position to the other. Christians with a wavering faith will not have absolute beliefs; instead they will say that truth is cultural or relevant to a current situation or present day pressures. You will always find that those who have a solid faith will also have solid beliefs. You will find they will say they believe something and will never change.

Third, Christians with a wavering faith will be unstable. In other words, a wavering faith produces a person who is prone to change. Change becomes the position of those with a wavering faith. A wavering faith will not produce security. It produces insecurity because no one knows what they believe from one day to the next. An unstable faith will always produce an unstable and emotional Christian.

Christian, you must make sure your faith becomes solid. How do you do this? God tells us in James 1:5 to ask God for wisdom. God’s wisdom will help your faith to become solid. Simply put, you will find God’s wisdom in His Word. If you will ground yourself in the Word of God, then you will find your faith will become a solid faith that does not waver.

Faith’s Vision

Hebrews 11:13
“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.”

I have been blessed with good eyes. Years ago when I went in to get my medical certificate for my pilot’s license, they checked my eyes to see if my vision was good. After I took the test, the doctor told me that I should have good vision for many years to come. To this day, my eyes seem to be doing well.

Though my physical eyes are good, what I want more than anything else is for my faith to have good vision. I would hate to think that my physical eyes are good, but my vision of faith is blurred. Just like it takes good vision to see with my physical eyes, it takes good vision to see with faith.

The verse above says that the people mentioned in Hebrews 11 died without receiving the promises, but they saw them “afar off.” In other words, their faith had 20/20 vision. Many of them never saw the promises fulfilled while they were on this Earth, but their faith had the vision to see beyond life. Their faith’s vision is what kept them going when the promises seemed as if they were not going to come.

There are going to be times in life when your vision of faith must be good if you are not going to give up. You don’t want your faith to have blurry vision. You want your faith to see 20/20. You want your faith to be able to see afar off when the flesh can’t see the whole purpose of everything you are doing. There were three things that allowed their faith to have 20/20 vision.

First, they were persuaded that the promises of God were true. When the flesh told them they would never see the promise fulfilled, their faith was convinced that God’s promises would come through. If you’re not convinced that God’s promises are true, and if you waver on the promises of God, then you will find your faith will lose its 20/20 vision.

Second, they embraced the promises of God. Not only were they convinced the promises of God were true, but they tightly held to those promises. When they had nothing else to hold onto, they simply held onto the promises of God. When your circumstances take everything away, hold onto the promises of God. Whatever you do, don’t let go of God’s promises.

Third, they confessed the promises of God were true. This is the key to everything. They didn’t just hold onto the promises privately, but they proclaimed to everyone that God’s promises were true. If you don’t make it public that you believe God’s promises, then you will let go of them when times get tough. By confessing the promises of God to man, you put your credibility on the line.

What is the vision of your faith? Is your faith seeing clearly, or is it getting blurry? If your faith doesn’t have 20/20 vision, then you will eventually give up on God. The only thing that will exercise your faith’s vision is to practice these three steps. These steps will give your faith 20/20 vision.

Does God Support Obamacare

Does-God-Support-Obamacareby: Jason Williams

Recently, Obamacare was enacted in America and our nation took a dramatic turn towards socialism. We have heard arguments from both sides of the news spectrum as they chronicle every twist and turn of this currently failing system. Of course, the recent news has been about how the website seems not to be working, which is ironic, because now we will be punished for not joining a system that will not allow us to join even if we wanted to. Of course both sides of the debate are flooding the airwaves with people who claim to support or oppose the system. So far after polling, almost seventy percent of Americans are against this system which brings up the question, if we are against it then why aren’t politicians trying to overturn it? The simple truth is that our current leadership is running our nation more and more like a dictatorship than a democracy, with surveillance on anyone with a phone, the ability to use drone strikes against U.S. citizens, and the rapid loss of freedom of speech, we are dangerously closer to a King than a President. It would seem that regardless of what America wants, our current ruler really wants his new social agenda to be law and he is willing to monitor, threaten, fine, bully, and remove from office anyone who is opposed.

It appears most of America is against Obamacare, and it also appears that our leadership, though fractured, is for Obamacare. As Christians, the real question should be, what does God think about Obamacare? After all, doesn’t the Bible command us to help those who need help? How do we help the poor? Let’s answer these questions one at a time.

Let’s start with the question whether or not we are commanded to help those who need help.  There is over 20 verses in the Bible commanding us to give to those less fortunate. So, there really is no option, but a command. If you are a Christian, then God wants you to help the needy. This was the topic our president brought about in his new book that chronicles his daily devotions. It would seem that God Himself told Mr. Obama that he needs to force us into giving our money to others. But the Bible also makes it very clear that we are to do so out of love for our neighbor, and this is the tricky part. Can you give out of love when you have no option but to give? To answer this Paul said, “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.” (1 Corinthians 13:3) Paul made it very clear that anything given without love is meaningless, which brings up another question that I believe needs to be asked. Can you give out of love when you are being rewarded for it? The obvious answer is no! In fact, Jesus discussed this very issue in the Book of Luke.

Luke 14:12, “Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee.” Christ is saying that while we are commanded to give to the needy, we are not to do so simply to receive a reward. In our case, this reward would be a tax break or avoiding a fine. The truth is government enforced charity is not charity at all, it is simply a government enforcement.

How do we help the needy if not through socialism? I believe the Bible gives us the answer by giving us a warning in Ezekiel 16:48-50. “As I live, saith the Lord God, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters. Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.” God says that Sodom was full of bread, but notice it did not say they didn’t help. It says they did not strengthen the poor. In other words Sodom was guilty of the exact same thing we are doing today. Instead of giving money to give the poor a hand up, they merely gave them a hand out and kept them in the exact same condition they were in before receiving help. They gave food to the needy, but did not teach them how to work or how to take care of themselves.

The truth is that God does want us, and in fact demands us to help the needy out of love without receiving any reward, but helping is not simply giving a handout, sometimes it is giving a hand up.

Jason Williams
Assistant Pastor
High Street Baptist Church
Columbus, OH
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