Wednesday, July 18, 2018

No Place For The Hypocrite

"He also shall be my salvation: for a hypocrite shall not come before him."  Job 13:16. In no place other than God can salvation be found.  God saves from sin, disaster, affliction, and all other earthly maladies.  Indeed, God is the One who saves.  But whom does He save?  Because a hypocrite has no place before Him, God saves those who are sincere.  Job had indeed maintained his integrity.  His affliction was not because of sin that he had committed.  The hypocrite seeks salvation without integrity.  The hypocrite professes to be of high character and unblemished spirit.  That which is claimed by the hypocrite is not the true personality.  The heart of the hypocrite is blackened, and thus, cannot truly see himself.  But, others see him.  And, God surely knows him.  God will not allow one who claims, but does not do, to come into His holy presence.  A heart that sees its own misdeeds can come into the presence of He who desires to save.  God wants us to see our sin, and thus, our need of His salvation.  Let us remove the garments of hypocrisy, and come to the God who promises to save us.

Monday, July 16, 2018

The Godly Have Ceased

"Help, Lord; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men."  Psalm 12:1.  When the godly cease, we do need help.  In such a condition, help can only come from the Lord.  When the godly cease and the faithful fail, look at the conditions that will prevail.  The lips will speak falsehood.  The tongue will be filled with pride.  The poor will be oppressed, and the needy will be ignored.  The wicked and the vile shall be exalted.  All manner of evil and sinfulness will hang like a dark cloud over the habitation of humanity.  Mankind will follow his own way, and decide what is right and what is wrong.  When such a condition arises, very little if anything will be considered as wrongdoing.  Help us O Lord.  His words will keep and preserve the godly and faithful.  In the midst of the abundance of sin, let us hear God as He speaks through His truth.  The generation of righteousness will not perish from the earth for the Lord shall keep His people.

Thursday, July 12, 2018

Cut To The Heart

"When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them."  Acts 5:33.  The end that is desired of the gospel being preached is for the heart to be pricked or cut.  The gospel is ineffective if the heart is not affected.  Sometimes the gospel will be heard by a heart that is hard and cold.  This heart will not respond to the gospel.  In the passage before us, the heart was cut, but a negative response was made by those who heard.  They wanted to slay the messenger.  God wanted them to be mindful of their sin by a pricked heart so that they would repent.  The desire of the pricked heart is change.  These people did not want to change, and neither did they want to be reminded of their sin.  The messenger can be slain, but the message will continue.  Some other messenger will always take the place of the one who is slain.  God's word will continue to travel through the land.  The word of God can not be stopped.  When your heart is cut, what is your response?  Do you want to slay the messenger or change your life?

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

A Hindrance To Baptism

"And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?"  Acts 8:36.  We understand in this conversion of the eunuch that baptism is necessary for salvation.  Salvation from sin does not take place before one has been baptized into Christ.  We understand also that water is necessary.  We also understand that baptism is a burial in the water.  Christ was preached, and the eunuch was baptized in order to enjoy the blessings of salvation that are offered by Christ.  What can hinder one to be baptized?  Unbelief, either in Christ as the Savior or in baptism's power to save, can prevent one from submitting to baptism.  Repentance can certainly hinder one's obedience to baptism.  Repentance is a departure from sin and a turning unto God.  Confession can prevent one from being baptized.  Christ must be confessed as the Son of God.  If one does not believe in the deity of Christ, this would certainly become a hindrance to baptism.  We see that none of these things hindered the eunuch.  He was baptized into Christ and went on his way rejoicing.  What hinders us from being baptized?

Monday, July 9, 2018

Him Ye Believe Not

"And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not."  John 5:38.  Jesus was the fulfillment of the prophets whom they said would come.  The details of His coming were foretold.  His words were indeed a testimony that He was the One whom God would send.  Because they refused to hear His word, they did not believe.  We have for us this day the word that Jesus spoke.  We are to hear that word.  His word provides a guiding light for us.  His word gives us stability in a world that is surely unstable.  His word insures us of His coming to save us from the awful malady of sin.  As He speaks unto us, He tells us of His nature, His love for us, and His sacrifice to offer unto us eternal life.  However, we must believe Him.  We must be assured that He speaks the words of truth and life.  Whether we believe Him will determine our journey to the next life.  Let us not be as those to whom He speaks these words, but let us believe Him that life might be ours.