Sacrificing Children

But as for you, come here,
    you children of a sorceress,
    you offspring of an adulterer and a whore.
Whom are you mocking?
    Against whom do you open your mouth wide
    and stick out your tongue?
Are you not children of transgression,
    the offspring of deceit—
 you that burn with lust among the oaks,
    under every green tree;
you that slaughter your children in the valleys,
    under the clefts of the rocks?
Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion;
    they, they, are your lot;
to them you have poured out a drink offering,
    you have brought a grain offering.
    Shall I be appeased for these things?
Upon a high and lofty mountain
    you have set your bed,
    and there you went up to offer sacrifice.
Behind the door and the doorpost
    you have set up your symbol;
for, in deserting me, you have uncovered your bed,
    you have gone up to it,
    you have made it wide;
and you have made a bargain for yourself with them,
    you have loved their bed,
    you have gazed on their nakedness.
You journeyed to Molech with oil,
    and multiplied your perfumes;
you sent your envoys far away,
    and sent down even to Sheol.
You grew weary from your many wanderings,
    but you did not say, “It is useless.”
You found your desire rekindled,
    and so you did not weaken.

Whom did you dread and fear
    so that you lied,
and did not remember me
    or give me a thought?
Have I not kept silent and closed my eyes,
    and so you do not fear me?

 I will concede your righteousness and your works,
    but they will not help you.
 When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you!
    The wind will carry them off,
    a breath will take them away.
But whoever takes refuge in me shall possess the land
    and inherit my holy mountain

                    Isaiah 57:3-5, 7-13 (NRSV)

During Isaiah's time, children were sacrificed to false gods and idols for the benefit of the parent. Parents were willing to kill their children in order to live the lives they wanted to live. 

There are so many false gods; so many idols that parents worship today. How many lives of children have been taken to reap the imagined benefits of worshipping these idols today? It is a very sad thing that the leading cause of death today is abortion. It is not just sad. It is abhorrent!

Promiscuity is a common and acceptable thing today. But, with sleeping around in the hopes of some kind of pleasure or benefit there are many risks. However; whether in a committed relationship or not; pregnancy is only one of the consequences of sexual relationships. Unfortunately, today it appears that the natural consequence of having a sexual relationship is not all that acceptable to the parent(s). But, killing the child that is conceived so that one can go on living in a life style that is pleasing to the parent is.

Being a parent is not highly revered today. But, enjoying one's life to its fullest seems to be no matter who might die in the interim. So many women (especially young women) have been duped by the media and by health care professionals as well as others and have regretted their decisions after the fact. There are consequences that often come with abortions; physical, emotional, and mental consequences. The people of this country (and many churches that claim to profess Christ) really ought to quit lying to themselves by saying that killing children is acceptable. Our personal pleasures; our dreams; our personal goals are not more important than life itself! They are not more important than the life of a child.

So what or who is it that you worship? Do you worship the one true God who created you and redeemed you?  Do you worship yourself?

If you say that you are a Christian than please read the Holy Scriptures! There is only one God and we are not Him! May God have mercy upon our souls.

God's Peace – Pr. J

That Prophet Jezebel

I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first. Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. (Rev 2:19-22 NIV)

Before I go to sleep at night, I usually listen to scripture or a sermon on YouTube. Some of the sermons are good. Others are not so good. I just pick them at random and get what I get. Last night I listened to one about tolerating sexual immorality based on the letter that St. John was told to write to the church at Thyatira. On occasion someone will point out to me that we are not to judge others. I usually point out to them that we are to be discerning and when someone is sinning and in danger of losing their way, as Christians, we are to help them back on the right path and sometimes that means reminding them that what they are purposely doing is definitely a sin.

As I listened to the sermon on the letter to the church of Thyatira I was reminded that we are not to tolerate the woman Jezebel and her teachings. She will lead us on the wrong path as she teaches that what is a sin is not a sin. She encourages sexual immorality. She encourages eating of food sacrificed to idols. That is, she encourages worship and rituals to false gods. 

This letter; although, written to a particular church regarding the teaching of one particular prophet, is a reminder to us all that we are to continue in the way that the Lord has taught and not in the way of those who would preach another gospel to please the itching ears. And, no we do not get to judge the ultimate outcome for anyone. But, we are to discern, by means of scripture, what we are to teach; what we are to believe. We ought to confront sin and not tolerate it. 

May God help us to discern how to live life more fully in Christ; according to the will of Almighty God and not our own self-serving wills.

God's Peace - Pr. J

No Idolatry; No Adultery

After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. With a mighty voice he shouted:

“‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’
    She has become a dwelling for demons
and a haunt for every impure spirit,
    a haunt for every unclean bird,
    a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal.
For all the nations have drunk
    the maddening wine of her adulteries.
The kings of the earth committed adultery with her,
    and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.

                                                                                   Revelation 18:1-3 NIV

Adultery and idolatry; what is the difference? There isn't much difference. Unfaithfulness is a hallmark of both. 

Whenever we make a commitment to someone to put them first in our lives and then place other things before that commitment, that is adultery. It does not have to be a sexual liaison for it to be adultery. Football or fishing or gold or alcohol or drugs or money or  multitude of other things sometimes edge their way into our lives causing us to be unfaithful to those whom we have committed ourselves to love and care for.

If we say we worship the one true God and then put any thing before our commitment to love and serve God, we commit idolatry.  Unfaithfulness in our committed relationships with others or with God is adultery and idolatry.

Being reconciled, through the blood of Jesus to our Father, is about being in a committed relationship. God our Father committed His only begotten Son so that we might live in and with Him. God, the Son, committed His life to death, that we might live in and with Him. God, the Holy Spirit, commits us to be our help and our strength so that we might live in the presence of this perfect Triune God for all eternity. It's a pretty one sided commitment though. God desires that we should worship Him. He is faithful to us. Yet, we are not faithful to Him. We promise to be faithful and then we go off and serve other false gods committing adultery and idolatry as lovers of Babylon the great harlot.

The angel in John's vision warns us to come out of her while there is still time; for when that final day comes neither the voice of the bride or the bridegroom will be heard in her again.  (Rev 18:4-5)

There are those who would judge that there are many and various levels of adultery and idolatry. I am pretty sure that God sees these many levels that humankind has concocted. If you dip just your foot into a cesspool you will still get dirty.

I am not aware of anyone who doesn't put themselves or others or things of this world before God from time to time. We are all idolaters and adulterers; forsaking the beautiful gift of reconciliation, life with our God, for reconciliation with the pleasures of this world. But, just because we do, doesn't mean we should. When we confess Jesus as our Savior, we make a commitment to him. We make a commitment to the one who was willing to commit his life to us. Even though we have turned our back on him; he did not turn his back on us.

Babylon the Great is sure to fall. May God help you to not fall with her.

God's Peace - Pr. J