Sweet And Bitter

Reading from Revelation 10:1-3, 8-11 KJV The little book with words that are sweet in the mouth; but, will make the belly bitter.

Merry Christmas

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The same was in the beginning with God.

All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

In him was life; and the life was the light of men.                                                                       (John 1:1-4 KJV)

In the beginning was the Word who is Jesus the Christ. What a wonder! The Word became flesh, born to us as a sweet baby child some 2000 years ago. His human life came to an end when he died on the cross for us. Yet, he lives! Jesus the Christ is eternal. He was in the beginning; is now; and will live eternally. 

Today we remember and celebrate his birth. We do this in many ways. Most people will put up an evergreen tree as a symbol of the eternal life of Jesus and of all who believe in him.

I have stuffed my turkey, baked the pies, and in a few minutes will be preparing to leave to worship, giving thanks to God for the Word who is also the life and the light of men; who is Jesus the Christ.

God's Peace - Merry Christmas

Pr. J.

Evil For Good; Darkness For Light

 

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! (Isa 5:20 KJV)

Why one might ask would anyone call evil good!

I have seen evil called good in so many seemingly innocuous places and ways that it boggles the mind. Humankind excuses evil for many reasons. Evil becomes acceptable when we ignore it because we have been told to live and let live; do not judge others. Yet, the word of the Lord clearly tells us that we are to discern between what is good and what is not and we are to refrain from what is not good. We are to steer clear of the evil; not engage in it nor condone it with our silence just to be polite; in order to be liked. 

And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. (Eph 5:11-12)

Evil is not good no matter what false idol claims it to be. Evil does not become good no matter how many times we are told that it is. Those who call evil for good would have you think that they are enlightened. But, they do not live in the light. They dwell in the darkness. Yet, even in the darkness God sees their evil intents and deeds. They may be able to fool some of the people around them; but, they cannot fool God.

The darkness of evil would threaten to engulf us. But, it cannot. We stand on the word of God and no matter what might happen in the world around us we will continue to live in the light of Christ. 

For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Cor 4:6)

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Curses Produce Rotten Fruit

Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.

Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?

Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.

Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.

                                                                                     (James 3:20-13 KJV)

What kind of fruit do you bear? If our hearts are full of anger and bitterness, our lips will provide anger and bitterness to the people around us. Our own lives will bear rotten fruit. We will know no peace.

If we curse those who love us then we will find ourselves living within the very evil that we have wished upon others. But, if we bless others, we will find ourselves among the blessed. If we want to live in peace then it is wisdom to allow others to live in peace. Do not curse; but bless them. Be very careful about what flows from your mouth because it does affect you.

And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. (Luke 6:31)

God's Peace - Pr. J

Conspiracy To Turn You Away From Jesus

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves." Matt 7:15

Oh... for sure... there are more than a few false prophets lurking about and some not lurking. Many are out there in plain view; just turn on your television set and you will hear them.

Some of the false prophets are not so mellow as sheep. They don't even pretend to be sheep. They pretend to be the shepherd who is concerned for your safety. But, if you listen closely you will find another agenda. They will bombard you with gloom and doom. They shout from their microphones that the world is ending. They will present some pretty huge conspiracy theories when in fact they themselves are the conspiracy as they would instill fear in your heart and turn your focus away from your first love who; hopefully, is Jesus the Christ. But, the sheep that belong to the Good Shepherd will not buy into these conspiracy theories. We will not fear them for we know that Jesus is with us and for us. We do not fear the end. We know that the end is nothing to fear as it will only bring a new beginning and so we focus on living life; living life in Christ.

And, then there are those false prophets who do, indeed, come to us in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. The come to us with soft spoken (a few even sickening sweet) voices to lure us away from the truth. They present to the world a new Gospel; a gospel where Jesus is not "the way." He is only one way. Be aware! Stay away from those who would tell you there are many ways. As a conspiracy of man, it is meant to make the false prophet rich in both pocketbook and esteem. As a conspiracy of the devil it is meant to turn you away from the one true God.

Neither the heavy handed or the sickening sweet prophet need be pastors, either. Remember, Jesus said beware of the false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing. These false prophets can be clergy; but, they can also be the supposed sheep within a congregation. They can also be one who claims to follow Jesus; but, hasn't seen the inside of a church building in years. Sheep in wolves clothing come to us in many ways. No matter what their agenda or method is; all false prophets conspire against you to drag you down; to pull you away from the one who truly loves you. Do not listen to them! Keep your first love close in your heart and mind so that the devil cannot sway you. 

God's Peace - Pr. J

Good for Evil; Evil for Good

Woe to those who call evil good
    and good evil,
who put darkness for light
    and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
    and sweet for bitter.

Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes
    and clever in their own sight. 

                                     Isaiah 5:20-21 NIV

The wisdom of humankind is not the same as the wisdom of God. The wisdom of humankind will call the thing that is evil good and the good evil. But, the wisdom of God calls a thing for what it is. That which is good in His sight is good and that which is evil in His sight is evil. There is no in between place.

We all have a tendency to sin. We get so caught up in the ways of the world that we find ourselves agreeing with it. We become a huge part of the problem. There is also nothing that we can do on our own to justify these sinful actions and behaviors that we have become involved in. The verdict is guilty. We have been found guilty of choosing to continue to live in the darkness rather than the light. 

The only one who can bring us out of the dark understanding of our hearts and minds is the light of the world, who is Jesus the Christ. He, alone, can open our eyes and hearts and minds so that we might see and understand the evil that we have done and be justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Thanks be to God, for His mercy is great.

God's Peace - Pr. J