Abstain From Fornication

"For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication."  I Thessalonians 4:3.  We are all very much aware of the sexual revolution.  Old customs and laws have been pushed aside, and many, very many, have decided to do as they please.  Marriage is becoming obsolete.  Couples have chosen to live together outside of the sacred vow of marriage.  Infidelity has destroyed countless marriages.  Multitudes of children have been born outside of wedlock.  Males have decided to become females, and females have decided to become males.  We witness same sex marriage.  And yet, still in place is the voice of the divine Creator and Lawgiver with a divine word from heaven that we are to abstain from fornication.  Fornication is sexual immorality.  The word implies all types of sexual perversion.  From such activity, we are to abstain because sexual immorality violates sanctification.  Fornication becomes whoredom.  Fornication pollutes the individual.  It uses a person for self-gratification.  God wants us to abstain from fornication because it is sinful.  God's will calls for purity of body.  Fornication cannot achieve such purity.  It defiles and pollutes.  Those who participate in fornication are unclean.  God says abstain.

Hold Fast Till I Come

"But that which ye have already hold fast till I come."  Revelation 2:25.  Difficulty was in place for the church at Thyatira.  The danger of losing their faith and commitment to Jesus Christ was a very real possibility.  Many do not fare well in the face of fire.  This was the threat for this particular body of believers.  What has been attained can be lost.  Did not Judas Iscariot lose his commitment to Jesus because of the desire for the thirty pieces of silver?  Did not Demas turn back because he loved this present world?  The devil wants us to be in tune with the present.  He would not have us believe that God is a present refuge and able to deliver us from the threat of evil men.  It is the wish of Satan that everything look hopeless unless we retreat.  The world provides a safe haven for her own.  Those who walk to a different lifestyle are the ones who must be concerned about persecution and suffering.  After all, the world can always blame God for every disaster.  God wants the church at Thyatira to hold fast because He is coming to help.  We must know that God can and will make a way for us to escape.  The fire of trial may burn bright, but ere long and the God of heaven will extinguish it for us.  When He comes, we will triumph.

They That Have Not Seen

"Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed; blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."  John 20:29.  Thomas was permitted by Jesus to behold the wounds which Jesus had received in His crucifixion.  Proof was given that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead.  Now Thomas believed.  You and I have not seen Jesus.  We were not in the crowd when He was judged by Pilate.  Nor did we witness the death of Jesus upon the cross.  We saw Him not when He was removed from the cross and buried.  On the third day Jesus came forth from the grave by the Spirit of God and forever conquered death.  We have not been eyewitnesses to any of the miracles which Jesus performed nor were we privileged to hear Him speak the words of endless life.  But, we believe.  The Bible has revealed unto us all of the events that are necessary for faith in Christ.  We believe the record that has been written about His life upon the earth.  We believe when we read the pages of inspiration.  Our hearts are uplifted because we believe that Jesus is our Savior. Our burden of sin is lifted because we believe.  We overcome failure because we believe.  We know hope and victory because we believe.  We are blessed because we believe even though we have not seen.

The Proud In Heart

"Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished."  Proverbs 16:5.  The Lord denounces pride while men applaud it.  The world is filled with arrogance.  The Lord hates pride in the heart of man because the Lord knows the heart.  The Lord understands the weakness of man and knows that he is but a frail creature of the dust.  The proud heart keeps itself from God and from His grace.  The proud heart cannot see the tragedy of his own sin.  The proud heart believes that God can be cast down.  And, yet, God knows that man cannot direct his own way.  Have not the proud in heart joined ranks before?  Pharaoh with his mighty army lies buried in the sea.  Korah with his followers has been swallowed up by the earth.  The proud in heart would build a tower to heaven, but confusion struck.  There is no power nor counsel that can stand against the Maker of heaven and earth.  All the forces of pride today will ultimately give way to the mighty arm of God when He brings His swift judgment.  May the proud heart humble itself understanding its need for the Lord who has made us.  The humble will stand while the proud will fall.  The humble will know glory while the proud will know destruction.  Oh, how vain is pride.

The Offence Of One

"For if by one man's offense death reigned by one: much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ."  Romans 5:17.  The offense of one, Adam, brought death.  God had informed Adam and Eve that the violation of His law in the Garden of Eden would bring death.  All who follow the course of Adam shall die.  Sin is a death warrant to those who so engage.  But life reigns through Jesus Christ.  This life through Christ is a gift from God.  Because He is righteous, God sought to save man from the death of sin.  God offers this free gift by grace.  The defining qualities of God are grace and righteousness.  God has ordained that life come unto those who would receive His grace.  The grace of God through Christ was so abundant in magnitude and purpose.  The grace of God has the power to provide righteousness unto all who will receive it through Christ.  Christ must be accepted as the One who can give life unto those who are otherwise dead in sin.  To follow in the way of Adam is to die.  To follow in the way of Christ is to live. 

Doing For The Lord

"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men."  Colossians 3:23.  We are to work with enthusiasm and with devotion.  We are not to be slackers.  We must not expect someone else to do our work.  We must be mindful of the reason for our labor, and the one who is glorified by our labor.  We labor for the Lord and in all that we do, the Lord is to be glorified.  If we are involved in a labor that does not glorify God and honor the Lord Jesus Christ, then we should resign from that labor.  We are to be pleasers of Jesus.  Our work must be accepted by Him.  We must never seek to please men.  Men are fickle.  The opinions of men are varied.  But, God always remains the same.  His judgment is unchangeable.  What pleases Him today will please Him tomorrow.  This is not so with men.  When we seek to please men, we become unacceptable to God.  What pleases God very seldom pleases men.  Men are worldly minded; God is spiritually minded.  Men are concerned with the flesh.  God is concerned with the Spirit.  What pleases men last only for a brief moment.  What pleases God lasts throughout eternity.  With a full heart, let us accept the work which God has given us, and with all our might, let us labor for Him.

God Speaks Through Christ

"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets..."  Hebrews 1:1.  This verse begins one of the great epistles of the New Testament.  There is in this passage a declaration of God.  God is the beginning of all things and the One through which all things consist.  God is the eternal God.  He is the authority of the universe.  When God speaks, His creation is to hear.  Of all the creation, man is superior.  Man was made in the image of God.  Man is to be subject unto the law of God.  In times of old, God spoke to man by the prophets.  But, the book of Hebrews reveals that now in this present age until the end of time, God speaks through Christ.  God in Christ gave a new law to mankind.  The law of Christ is a more excellent law because the One through whom God speaks is more excellent.  Christ is God in the flesh.  Christ is sinless.  Christ is the One through whom redemption comes.  The words of Christ offer life, peace, joy, and hope.  All of the prophets are dead, but Christ lives.  Jesus Christ has triumphed over sin and death.  Hear him at all times.  May we open our hearts to His will and word.  May we walk by His law.  God has spoken.  Let us hear.