The Truth and Nothing but the Truth

The Truth and Nothing but the Truth

Luke 11: 11-12

11 If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?

12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 

(This a long devotional, but please stick with me to the end)

   This message falls under the category of what I call “Wrong Theology.”  The question is this:  Does God Make You Sick?  There are Christians who would say “yes” to this question.  Does God bring sickness on us as a trial we go through that He uses to test our faith and make us better people, to teach us to trust Him more.  In a word: No! 

   First, one of the names God reveals Himself to us is Jehovah Rapha which means The LORD Who Heals.  In Exodus 15:26 He literally told Moses, I am the Lord Who is healing you.  So the question is:  Would the Lord Who Heals make you sick?

   Some say God sends illness to teach us something.  This is not just wrong but borders on blasphemy.  To think you can do anything to improve your standing with God is to say that the work of Christ on the cross was incomplete.  You have room to grow and mature in Christ but you don’t need to do anything to improve your standing with God.  You’re forgiven, washed clean, made righteous in Him, joint-heir with Christ – just how much more a child of God do you need to get?  And here’s the thing you need to get into your mind and heart; God is not mad at you and He’s not disappointed in you.  He’s Omniscient, so He knows what you are and knows everything about you.  Nothing you do or think surprises Him.

    I Peter 2:24 tells us that Christ bore our sins on the cross but also took stripes to heal us.  It says that by the stripes of Jesus we were healed - past tense.  If God makes you sick, He is actively working against the finished work of Christ.  He would be undoing what Jesus suffered and died to do.  If God makes you carry something Jesus died carrying on your behalf, then Jesus died and was beaten for nothing. 

   Matthew 12:25 But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.

If God is healing and at the same time making you sick then His Will is divided against itself.  But Brother Steve, what about when I sin?  Sickness is as a result of sin and sickness is one way God uses to teach us not to sin. Another lie I used to listen to.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 

16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

God teaches us through His Word.

1 John 2:27 But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.

God anoints us and teaches us through the anointing.

John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things

The Holy Spirit teaches us.

   With three powerful ways of teaching us, why does God need another way to teach us that causes us harm?  Are you saying the Word, the Anointing and the Holy Spirit are not enough to teach you?

   And then a practical question to ask.  If God makes us sick, why do you sin against Him and go to a doctor to get well?  Just stay sick and die and bring glory to God.  If God wants you sick, but you are running to the doctor to make you well, you are in rebellion against His Will.  You should be praying to let the sickness run its full course so you can really learn what God wants to show you.

   You can probably figure out here I’m being a little bit sarcastic.  But I really am NOT trying to hurt your feelings.  I’ve been there but thankfully I’ve been taught the truth. 

Romans 4:8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.

2 Corinthians 5:19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them,

Hebrews 8:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.

If God is making you sick because of sin, then God is lying in all three these verses.  If He makes you sick because of sin it would mean He is keeping score of your sin, He hasn’t blotted them out of His memory and Jesus didn’t carry all sin.  Again, this flies in the face of Scripture.

(If you’re still with me thank you for staying to the end.)

Acts 10:38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

Jesus went around doing good by healing people who were oppressed by the devil.  Jesus was healing people who the devil was making sick.  From this verse I conclude that God is NOT making you sick, the devil is the one bringing sickness to you.  He is trying to make you carry something Jesus died to free you from.  And he’s trying to get you to doubt the goodness of God.  Our God is a good God and wants what’s best you.     

   When you pray, rebuke that sickness.  It’s not there for your good but to oppress you.  I pray you will be healed and enjoy good health in Jesus’ Name.

Stephen Cram                                                             December 29, 2013                    

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, following the tradition of men according to the rudiments of the world, and not in accordance with Christ.  Colossians 2:8

Visit my pastor’s blog at http://pastorjonrhinehart.blogspot.com/.

Unless otherwise noted all Scripture is from the New King James Version of the Bible.

A Light in the Dark

A Light in the Dark

Matthew 2: 1-2

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 

2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

   The world was a pretty dark place.  The Law was in effect and served to show people how sinful they were.  No one could live up to all the requirements of the Law and that fact had been proven over and over again.  By the close of the Old Testament, God sent a message to His people that He considered their offerings polluted and their priesthood corrupt.  Then He stopped sending Prophets and there were no messages from Him for over four hundred years.  It was a dark world.  There had been many promises of the coming Messiah, but after four hundred years not many people still believed and even less were looking for Him.

   So into this dark world a star began to shine, and the Wise Men living in the east saw the light low on the horizon.  They were among the few who were looking for the sign of the coming of the Promised One and they set out to find Him by following the light.

      In a field near Bethlehem, shepherds sat in the dark night.  The flocks had bedded down for the night and I imagine it was quiet around a small fire.  Then an angel appeared to them and told them something wonderful had happened nearby.  Then there were more angels, many more, lighting up the sky singing praises to the astonished shepherds. 

   The shepherds went to a stable.  Was it built of wood or was it a hollowed out cave?  Don’t know.  But we know it held a worried young man and a tired young woman and a little Baby.  I can’t imagine what Joseph thought when a bunch of dirty shepherds crowded around his Mary and the Baby.  “There He is!” one of them must have said. “Just like the angels said” says another. 

   If you look, you’ll see a tiny Baby trying to sleep.  He doesn’t look like much.  His eyes are closed and his face is scrunched up against the light.  A little fist works out of the swaddling clothes and waves in the air.  The hand doesn’t look like much either but that little hand is filled with the power of God and one day it will touch blind eyes and they will see and touch deaf ears and open them and touch withered limbs which will straighten.  That hand will even touch lepers and restore their ravaged flesh and dead people and bring life back into their bodies.  That hand will reach out to the sea and calm the waves and reach into the wind and rebuke it and it will cease.  That hand will break bread and pass a cup of wine around a table.  And that hand will be nailed to a wooden beam and hoisted up into the air.  Then the hand will be showed to a doubt-filled follower.  “Look at My hands.  Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” 

      The light of His coming is the only light in this dark world.  The darkness in the world is total and unrelenting.  Many live their whole lives in this darkness missing the chance to come out into the light.  But here is the glory of Christmas:  Light has come into the world and we are called to bring that light to those living in the dark.  The light around that little manger has increased and multiplied and that light now shines in many parts of the world.  You are part of that light and where you go that light goes.  Don’t hide that light but let it shine like a beacon and push the darkness back. 

Stephen Cram                                                        December 22, 2013                      

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, following the tradition of men according to the rudiments of the world, and not in accordance with Christ.  Colossians 2:8

Visit my pastor’s blog at http://pastorjonrhinehart.blogspot.com/.

Unless otherwise noted all Scripture is from the New King James Version of the Bible.

Angels We Have Heard on High

Angels We Have Heard on High

Luke 2:13-15

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” 

Angels we have on heard high / Sweetly singing ore the plains
And the mountains in reply / Echoing their joyous strains
Gloria in Excelsis Deo

   We don’t see much that fills us with awe.  Technology has brought so much of the world to our fingertips and into our living rooms that we can see anything we want and feel like we are at anyplace we want to go.  Our senses are so jaded we may be getting to the point where we cannot feel awe anymore.  This is also true of our experiences with God.  It’s hard to feel excited about God with all the distractions going on around us.  And reading the Bible seems boring next to a good action/adventure movie or a virtual reality video game.  Our relationship with Him often becomes ordinary.

   So what would give you a sense of awe?  What would cause you to become speechless when you see it?  The pyramids?  Standing on the summit of a majestic mountain?  Riding a diving bell to the bottom of the ocean?  Holding a new-born baby?  How about an angel choir standing on air singing praises to God? 

   The night Christ was born was the most monumental and awe-inspiring event that as ever occurred in human history.  God sent His one and only Son to earth so that we could receive eternal life.  There has not been an event in history before or since that has resulted in such a celebration!  The angels themselves made their physical presence known and their voices raised in song.  Can you imagine how the shepherds’ jaws must have dropped at the site and sounds of the angels singing?  That moment was so majestic that we probably cannot fully comprehend what it was like because, well, none of us have ever seen an angel choir singing. 

   But you can be filled with a sense of awe this season.  To many Christmas is shopping for the gifts.  Or it’s getting the gifts.  Or it’s the food or the decorations or the parties or visiting relatives.  But if you get caught in the trappings of Christmas you’ll miss the awe of Christmas.  Jesus came to earth in the form of a baby and brought God to humanity.  Immanuel – in Hebrew literally "El is with us," is where the awe of Christmas lies.  Mankind was separated from God but now God had come to mankind.  And not just any god but the God Who is over all.  We serve a God Who is more wonderful than our brains can grasp.  Who is more majestic than any monarch – indeed than ALL monarchs - who ever reigned.  Who is not just a God Who shows love towards us but is Love Personified.  I could go on and on.  My point is that if you press into God and let Him reveal some part of Himself to you, you will be awed by the experience.

Luke 2:25-33

25 And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 

27 So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, 

28 he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:

29 “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace,
According to Your word;
30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation
31 Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
32 A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel.”

33 And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him.

Stephen Cram                                                           December 15, 2013                    

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, following the tradition of men according to the rudiments of the world, and not in accordance with Christ.  Colossians 2:8

Visit my pastor’s blog at http://pastorjonrhinehart.blogspot.com/.

Unless otherwise noted all Scripture is from the New King James Version of the Bible.

Bound In His Grave Clothes

Bound In His Grave Clothes

John 11: 43-44

43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” 

44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”

   Lazarus was back from the dead.  There’s no doubt about that fact because Lazarus “came out” of the tomb.  He was free from the bonds of death, but he was still bound by his graveclothes.  The custom of the times was to wrap a dead person’s body in cloths saturated in spices.  They were wrapped from the feet up until the wrappings reached the dead person’s armpits.  Then the arms were put over the chest and the wrappings were then continued to go over the arms.  Lastly a separate cloth similar in size and shape to a large cloth napkin was placed over the face and tied in place. There is a difference of opinion from scholars as to whether or not the spice mix would harden the cloths and cause them to stick to the flesh of the person or not.  Either way the wrapped cloths would bind the legs together and bind the arms across the chest.  The cloth over the face would cover the person’s eyes. 

   So picture Lazarus struggling to rise from the stone shelf he was lying on and shuffling towards the light of the opening.  Her faithfully responded to Jesus’ call for him to “come forth.”  He was free from the bonds of death.  He left the grave.  He was alive and free to live life as he wanted to live it.  But he was hindered by the remnants of his death experience – his graveclothes. 

   In a similar way, many Christians are like Lazarus.  We have heard the voice of Jesus and responded to His call to come to life.  We struggle to obey and begin to move toward the sound of His voice.  We are now sons and daughters of God.  We are alive and we live but we still are bound by a remnant of death; that which Paul calls our old man.  Our spirits are alive but we are wrapped in the decaying life of our old, sinful nature.  We hear Jesus calling to us but we are blinded by the veil that is still over our eyes.

    Paul writes about this “old man” nature four times in the New Testament.  He gives us the instruction that we are to put off this old man and put on a new man that is growing in Jesus.  We don’t actually peel off our flesh and slip on a new body, but we are to peel away the sin that we have in our lives and live the principles we read in the Gospels and the Epistles.  Note I did not say to live BY the principles but to LIVE the principles.  This life needs to become us and we need to become this life.  This is not a lifestyle we adopt and try to live like, but a life we actually begin to live and we grow into.  God is not waiting for us to reflect Jesus like mirrors but to grow into Jesus’ life and become like Him.

   But first we need to heed Paul’s words and act on them by putting off this sinful life that still clings to us like decaying graveclothes.  We are alive inside but wrapped in a sinful life.  What is “putting off” the old life?  I have heard many testimonies about people dealing with this question in different ways.  One example:  our pastor tells of when he got saved.  He loved music and had an extensive music CD collection.  He came to realize his music did not honor God but was endorsing sin.  So he destroyed the collection.  Then God gave him a love for Christian music that replaced the other, sinful music.  He put off a part of his old life and put on a new aspect of his new life.  One piece of his graveclothes fell away.

   Jesus commanded that Lazarus be loosed and set free of his graveclothes.  This is still Jesus’ command today.  If you are a Christian who has grown in your spiritual life then you have the command to help those who may be new to the Christian life and help them to get free from the sinful life that still clings to them.  Teach them, encourage them, pray for them, cry with them, whatever it takes to help them get free from their old sinful desires. 

Stephen Cram                                                               December 8, 2013                     

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, following the tradition of men according to the rudiments of the world, and not in accordance with Christ.  Colossians 2:8

Visit my pastor’s blog at http://pastorjonrhinehart.blogspot.com/.

Unless otherwise noted all Scripture is from the New King James Version of the Bible.

The Sin of Ingratitude

The Sin of Ingratitude

Psalms 23:1 Complete Jewish Bible

1 Adonai is my shepherd; I lack nothing.

   Ann Voskamp wrote: "Satan's sin became the first sin of all humanity: the sin of ingratitude.  Adam and Eve are, simply, painfully, ingrateful for what God gave...... Our fall was, has always been, and always will be, that we aren't satisfied in God and what He gives. We hunger for something more, something other."
   While I believe the first sin of Lucifer was pride, I agree that ingratitude was there near the beginning.  And it certainly was involved in Adam and Eve’s fall.  But I’m not here to quibble over small points, but rather I want to talk about ingratitude during this season of Thanksgiving.

   The sin of ingratitude is running rampant today, but it’s not a sin we talk a lot about.  It’s not like lust, pride, greed, envy.  Those are “bad” sins and rightly named among the 7 Deadly Sins.  We know about those sins and read about them in the news every day.  We face temptations from them all the time.  Surely ingratitude can’t be that bad, not like those sins?  I read through the Ten Commandments and not one of them says, “Thou shalt be thankful."  Besides, if I’m ungrateful, who does it hurt? 

   Any father or mother can answer that one.  You know what it’s like to do something for a child and have them act like they’re bored or not be involved at all or you give them a gift and it either goes into the closet and never sees the light of day again or they look at it like you dragged it out of the trash and gave it to them.  So, who does it hurt?  The parent giving the gift is hurt. 

   Do you think God feels hurt at our ingratitude?  I believe so and God has written to us a few reminders like, Colossians 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

And 1 Thessalonians 5:18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

    In all circumstances, (in everything) give thanks.  And be thankful.
   So….am I grateful to God in everything?  And if not, why not?  How did my heart become so full of ingratitude?  I have much to be grateful for.  So much.  But I’ve let the sin of ingratitude creep in and take root in my heart.  Like Friday morning.  I got up and washed up and got dressed.  I had breakfast.  I went out to the car and put the key in the ignition and turned it and the car started.  I needed gas so went to the station and filled up.  And grumbled all the way to work.  Later I felt uneasy with myself.  Why was I so unhappy?  I have a comfortable bed to get out of, my house was warm, the water in the shower was warm, the food was in the fridge for my breakfast, the car runs, I had money for the gas, and I have a job to go to where I’m paid a decent wage.  Where do I get the audacity to grumble about that?  What part of my morning was so intolerable? 

   I had to ask God to forgive my bad attitude and remind myself that I should be grateful and give thanks for my life.  I’m doing quite well and God has poured blessings on me regularly. 

   I’m not sure if my ingratitude is a byproduct of living in a society that over-indulges itself or if I’m just slipping in my spiritual life and need to ask God for a refreshing.  I’m not a chronic grumbler, so I don’t think it’s a serious problem yet, but I don’t want to neglect a problem and let it grow into a serious problem. 

   I started with thanking Him that He took a stubborn, independent, selfish, sinful person and transformed my heart and mind into one of His children.  And I’m growing in Him every day!  That’s something I am grateful for! 

   My joints hurt each morning and hurt a little more each night.  But I can work and do more than many people I know.  Some younger than I am.  That’s something I am grateful for! 

   My wife loves me, my family loves me, I have loving friends.  And my dog loves me.  God has surrounded me with love.  That’s something I am grateful for! 

   I could go on but you get the idea, right?  With all these blessings, I have no business being ungrateful.  I need to obey the words Paul penned and be thankful in all things and at all times.  I need to remember the words David wrote and acknowledge that the Lord is my shepherd and I lack nothing. 

   If you look into all of the dusty corners of your heart, you’ll find something about your life to grumble about.  My suggestion is that you don’t look.  Instead, raise you head and look up and remember all the good things God has blessed you with.  Tell Him you’re thankful for all these blessings.  Make a habit of giving Him thanks and let your life be one of gratitude.

Stephen Cram                                                             December 1, 2013                     

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, following the tradition of men according to the rudiments of the world, and not in accordance with Christ.  Colossians 2:8

Visit my pastor’s blog at http://pastorjonrhinehart.blogspot.com/.

Unless otherwise noted all Scripture is from the New King James Version of the Bible.

Along The Way

Along The Way

Proverbs 3:5-6 (New Living Translation)

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.
6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

   In last week’s message I wrote about God’s love, (did I mention that nothing can separate you from God’s love?) but there have been times in my life when I was not persuaded of these verses.  I have felt alone and cut off and orphaned and hurt and fearful and cried alone in the night.  There have been times when I’ve wondered where the love of God had gone to because I surely didn’t feel loved.

   I heard a story during one particularly dark period in my life that stuck with me and I take comfort from it.  A person was shown a tapestry.  It was a big piece of heavy cloth that a picture had been designed on using colored thread woven through the fabric.  But when the person first saw it, it was a mess!  Threads crisscrossed the picture and there were lots of knots and bumps that made no sense at all.  The person who made it proudly showed them all the hard work involved and how different colored threads were used and where they began and where they ended.  But it still looked confusing and disorderly.  Then the tapestry was turned over and the picture was beautiful and perfect.  An idyllic town nestled in the woods with a bubbling brook flowing by.  There were deer and squirrels and other animals playing in the woods and a farm had cows, goats and chickens.  The buildings were all different and people walked the streets and stood in doorways.  Threads had to cross on the back and knots had to be tied and ends had to dangle so that there would be a beautiful scene on the front. 

   I cling to this idea.  I will never know why I went through so many bumps and failures and wrong turns but I know with certainty, (I am persuaded,) that it was all for a reason.  Somehow it all had meaning and all worked together for my good.  And even if I never see what the good was in every situation, I will walk by faith and know God has my best interest in mind.  And since we walk by faith and not by sight, I will continue my journey through life confident that God is trustworthy and still in charge and tell myself His ways are not my ways and I need to keep walking along.  I will trip over some of the knots.  I will get tangled in some of the crisscrossing threads.  I will hit some of the bumps.  But I am walking towards a goal I can’t see and won’t understand it all until I’m there.

   If you don’t get what I’m saying, it’s OK.  You’ll just have to trust me.  Just a few years ago I would have read this and scoffed at it.  But as I’ve relied more on God and His love and accept by faith that He is in charge, the more I begin to see the truth in His Word and understand His love. 

Stephen Cram                                                   November 24, 2013                   

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, following the tradition of men according to the rudiments of the world, and not in accordance with Christ.  Colossians 2:8

Visit my pastor’s blog at http://pastorjonrhinehart.blogspot.com/.

          

Paul Answers His Own Question

Paul Answers His Own Question

Romans 8: 38&29 NKJV

38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 

39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

   Paul spent the first seven chapters of Romans building the case that we are to live by faith in God and not by the old Law.  The Law brings death but faith in God brings life.  Then he gets to what we know as chapter eight and Paul hits his stride and writes some of the most precious promises in the New Testament.  When he gets towards the end of this passage he asks the question, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?”  The last part of this chapter is where Paul answers his own question. 

   First we find out Paul says he was persuaded.  Being persuaded is better than being “sold” on an idea.  He wasn’t talking about some good idea he read and was passing on, he was writing about something he had learned about through experience.  My thoughts are that he saw God’s love from the many Christians he persecuted.  He saw Stephen asking forgiveness for the ones who condemned him and then stoned him.  And then there was Ananias, who came to him and prayed for him to have his eyesight restored - a Christian going to pray for healing for the chief persecutor!  Then Barnabas taking him to Jerusalem and helping him begin his ministry.  Paul had lots of experience with God’s love.  Here he says he was persuaded. 

   So if he said he was persuaded that nothing could separate us from the love of God, and left it there, it would be a good ending to this chapter.  But he goes on to make his point a little more.  First he tells us that neither death nor life can separate us from God’s love.  Nothing in your life can separate you from God’s love and even death will not do it.  Period.  You can go now; you know all you need to know.

   But he goes even farther.  “Nor angels nor principalities nor powers…”  Here I see him telling us of the enemy’s agents that work to hinder our Christian walk.  No power of Hell can come between you and God.  If they could, they would, but they can’t!  God is in control and He’s more awesome than all Hell combined.  They don’t have the power to separate you from God’s love.  That’s a promise you need to hear and let it get under your skin and into your heart.  You need to know this when you’re under attack by the enemy.  They cannot separate you from God.  They cannot stop God from loving you and He will never, never, never leave you alone in your fight.  He loves you and will help you in times of trouble.    

   So far Paul’s covered life and death and the enemy, so what’s next?  How about things present and things to come?  Notice he doesn’t mention the past because what’s past is over and forgiven and washed clean by Christ’s blood and so doesn’t matter anyway.  And nothing in this present life can separate you from God.  You can make mistakes and fall away but God will never stop loving you.  You can hurt God and you can hurt others but you’ll never stop God from loving you.  And things to come indicates that the same will hold true no matter what happens in the future.  Nothing in life now or in the future can come between God and you. 

   Ok, Paul, got it!  But he goes on with more.  Neither height nor depth tells me that if I go to the highest mountain or descend into the deepest pit God will still love me.  I can’t go anywhere and be out of God’s Presence or separated from God’s love.    

   Then, just to be sure he didn’t miss anything by telling us that neither life nor death nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor the present nor the future nor height nor depth can separate us from God’s love he adds “nor any other created thing.”  Since all things were created except God Himself, this already all-inclusive statement becomes even more all-inclusive.  Paul is saying that even after he mentioned everything and every scenario through all of time, just so you get it he’s added everything in the whole universe.  Nothing created can come between us and God’s love.  That’s nothing human, supernatural, physical, emotional, present or future, all rolled together.  Nothing.  NOTHING can separate you from God’s love.

   By this time, I hope you’ve seen the truth is this passage.  Nothing can separate us from God’s love.  God is love.  It’s His nature and what we have the most experience with.  God decided to love mankind (and womankind) before He even created the world.  Jesus already committed His life to the cross before there was wood to make one.  “For God so loved the world…”  I have been asked why God cares so much for us.  Because He is love and when you love with your whole being that’s what results.  You love.  And because of Who He is; He will not permit anything to cut you off from that love. 

Stephen Cram                                                     November 17, 2013                     

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, following the tradition of men according to the rudiments of the world, and not in accordance with Christ.  Colossians 2:8

Visit my pastor’s blog at http://pastorjonrhinehart.blogspot.com/.

It Is Written Somewhere

It Is Written Somewhere

Matthew 4: 1-3

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 

2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 

3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

   You know the story.  Three times the devil tempts Jesus while quoting scripture incorrectly and Jesus answers back with scripture quoted accurately.  But this scene could have played out differently.  Had it been many Christians I know, myself included, we would have answered differently.  “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”  And I would have answered, “It is written, somewhere, just a minute, let me get out my concordance and look that up.  Um… I know it’s here somewhere.  OK, devil, just wait until I find it.  Oh, where is that verse?”  Doesn’t work so well that way, does it?

   I never was that good at memorizing scripture, but, I admit, I’ve let my mind get lazy.  I don’t even try to memorize scripture as I used to.  If we went through a time of troubles in our nation and lost the use of electric power, I would be back to looking through concordances and Bible handbooks.  But finding exact verses would be hard because I have failed to heed David’s words, Psalms 119:11  Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Nor did I heed Moses’ words in Deuteronomy 11:18a “Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul.”  When I need a verse for some situation I’m going through, I usually know a verse and can recite at least part of it from memory, but the problem is finding it.  WHERE is it written?  When you need a verse to help you, it’s too late to be thumbing a concordance or doing an on-line search for it, you need to have it in your heart so the Holy Spirit can prompt you right then. 

   Stories abound of Christians being persecuted and not having a Bible handy.  If you were locked up in a dank cell with no Bible, what would you do?  I know enough Bible stories to be able to recall them and draw comfort from them, but how about you?  If you lost use of your Bible, would you remember enough to draw comfort for yourself?  Or if you were with a group, could you do a Bible-less Bible study for them?

   You might scoff about the idea.  We have millions of Bibles in our country so you think you’re safe from ever facing that possibility – and I pray you’re right – but it has happened in the past.  Around eighty years ago the Nazis came to power in Germany and both Jews and Christians lost many freedoms.  The Jews were locked up in camps and often were allowed no Scriptures.  Christians were locked up in prisons and often were allowed no Bibles.  Forty some years ago soldiers captured by the Vietnamese were locked up and often allowed no books of any kind, including Bibles. 

   Winter is fast approaching and here in NW Ohio smart people are making sure they have snow shovels, ice melter for the sidewalks, anti-freeze in the car, warm coats and hats and gloves.  We prepare for the winter season with its cold and snow, but do we prepare for a season of spiritual winter?   Are you ready for the cold winds of persecution?  The icy desolation of God’s Word being forbidden?

   I pray this never happens to America.  But I read the papers and watch the news and see my beloved country stagger further and further away from God.  I know He has an ocean of love and patience, but I also know He let Israel be punished by her enemies for their sins.  If He let Israel be punished, what hope has a sinful, proud America?  I believe we need to prepare for winter.

Stephen Cram                                                                  November 10, 2013                       

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, following the tradition of men according to the rudiments of the world, and not in accordance with Christ.  Colossians 2:8

Visit my pastor’s blog at http://pastorjonrhinehart.blogspot.com/.

   

Is God’s Arm Too Short?

Is God’s Arm Too Short?

Numbers 11:23

And the Lord said to Moses, “Has the Lord’s arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether what I say will happen to you or not.”

   Moses cried out, "Why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the burden of all this people on me?" (Numbers 11:11).  Moses was exhausted with the ceaseless grumbling and complaining of the Israelite people.  They came to him all day long every day with their endless complaints.  Finally he lost his temper and cried out to God, "I alone am not able to carry all this people, because it is too burdensome for me" (Numbers 11:14).  Complaining about the complainers made Moses a complainer.  He was complaining about people always complaining. 

   But the Lord had an answer for him.  What he asked Moses was, “Has the LORD’S arm been shortened?”  The answer, of course, is “No.”  The LORD’s arm is not too short to reach us and not too limited to answer our needs and bring us blessings. 

   The facts were that the people were being taken care of; they just weren’t living in the lap of luxury.  They had food, the manna from heaven, and they had water.  God even saw to it that their shoes didn’t wear out.  They had been brought out of slavery and were on their way to a better land with plenty of water and good soil to grow crops in.  But they still complained.  And now Moses was overwhelmed with those complaints and was suffering from a form of depression. 

   Your faith has enemies, and one of the powerful enemies of faith is depression.  Depression and self-pity can create a condition inside you that leads to spiritual blindness.  When Moses allowed himself to be overcome by the pressures and stresses of his responsibilities, he slipped into depression and temporarily went spiritually blind.  He seems to have momentarily forgotten who God was and what God had done for him and for his people. 

   The people wanted meat to go with their manna and God had told Moses it would happen.  And more than that, there would be so much meat they would become sick of it.  And Moses, in his depressed state of mind, asked God how this could be?  There were 600,000 men, not counting women and children, and how could enough meat be found to feed them all?  This seems strange for Moses to say because God was supplying them with food every day, so why was it so hard to believe that He could give them meat as well?  If God chose to feed them meat instead of manna every morning, would that be too hard for God?  So God asked a question back to Moses, “Has the Lord’s arm been shortened?”  Had Moses forgotten that God already had done so much for them?  The ten plagues, split the sea and left dry land for them to walk on, fed them with manna and brought water from the rock?

   The next time you find yourself doubting God, ask yourself, "Has the arm of the LORD become shorter?"  The next time you find yourself despondent and depressed, remind yourself of what God had already done for you in the past.  Remember that old hymn, “count your blessings, name them one by one.”  I live by that because I can so easily forget what He has done for me and begin to doubt Him.  Again.  And again. 

   But when I begin to remind myself of all that God has blessed me with over the years, my spiritual blindness lifts and I can trust him for the answer.  My faith is never so great as when I am praising Him for what He has already done for me. 

   How about you?  Feeling a bit overwhelmed?  Are you feeling “down?”  You should try counting your blessings, naming them one by one.  And it WILL surprise you what the Lord has done.    

Asaph wrote in Psalm 77:11-12 NKJV

11 I will remember the works of the Lord;
Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.
12 I will also meditate on all Your work,
And talk of Your deeds.

Stephen Cram                                                                            November 3, 2013                      

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, following the tradition of men according to the rudiments of the world, and not in accordance with Christ.  Colossians 2:8

Visit my pastor’s blog at http://pastorjonrhinehart.blogspot.com/.

Become A Fruit Inspector

Become A Fruit Inspector

Psalms 119:105

Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

   When I first heard of computer viruses, I wasn’t really worried.  How could a virus effect a computer badly enough to cause much of a problem?  Then my PC caught one and I learned the true danger from viruses.  Computer viruses are software programs written by malicious people who do this to disrupt the programming on your PC.  They are often downloaded stealthily, without our knowledge.  They suddenly wreak havoc with our computers and cause us to lose data and take a lot of effort to fix the problems that result.  Neither wishing or good intentions help.  You need to actively guard your computer from attack.

   In a similar way, false teaching can come to your church and suddenly spring up and wreak havoc in the congregation and make changes to the way people think and believe.  Sometimes brought in by people who spread the false teaching among you, and sometimes an idea from an outside source that is brought in by someone who has heard it and been deceived and now is spreading the damage to others, false teaching is harmful for many reasons.  The worst danger is that it leads people away from the truth of the Gospel and often denies the Divinity of Christ.  False teaching always keeps people from living full Christian lives pleasing to God.  False witnesses may not be knowingly working for Satan but may just be on a power trip looking for fame and fortune.  The saddest are those who are just deceived themselves.

   The first best defense is to be actively studying God’s Word for yourself and praying earnestly for God’s grace.  I take a “no tolerance” position of false teaching.  I do not allow it in my hearing and do not study it and do not read any writings supporting it and don’t argue those who believe it.  Why allow their garbage into my head?  A person with any knowledge of the dangers of computer viruses would never log onto a hacker’s website and download a virus “just to check it out.”   

   A story I was told in my younger days was about people training to be bank tellers.  They are taught about counterfeit money but are not shown counterfeit bills but shown real currency.  Why?  Because they become familiar with genuine money and when they get a counterfeit bill they know it right away.  My prayer is that Christians become so familiar with the genuine Gospel and the Holy Spirit that when a false message comes to them they realize right away it’s fake. 

   I recently saw a program where the people were showing store owners the danger of counterfeit currency.  One they showed is where real currency, in this case a five dollar bill, was bleached and then reprinted to look like a hundred dollar bill.  This trick works because people feel it and it feels real and because it is real currency it will pass most tests as genuine.  But if you examine it closely you see the watermark shows Abe Lincoln not Ben Franklin.  It is only when you look closely you see that it’s a fake. 

   Most false beliefs are like that.  They are based on the Bible and have the right look and “feel” as genuine teaching.  But when you look more closely you don’t see Jesus in it.  You might see a “watermark” but you won’t see Jesus and if Jesus is not at its center it’s not genuine. 

      2 Timothy 3:16-17 states, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” In Acts 17:11 we read about the believers at Berea, “They received the Word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.”  They studied the Scriptures to be sure that what Paul was telling them was true not counterfeit. 

   In Matthew 7:20 Jesus tells us that we will know them by their fruits.  When you encounter a preacher whose fruit is bad you know their heart is not right with God.  If they are seeking money, power, or fame you know that they are not preaching the true Gospel which puts Jesus first.  John the Baptist set the standard in John 3:30 when he said, (about Jesus,) “He must increase, but I must decrease.”  This is the heart of the true preacher and the test of his ministry. 

   Let the light of God’s Word guide you and never hesitate to inspect the fruit you encounter.  You must guard your hearts from deception and only the true Word will help you.

Stephen Cram                                                        October 27, 2013                     

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, following the tradition of men according to the rudiments of the world, and not in accordance with Christ.  Colossians 2:8

Visit my pastor’s blog at http://pastorjonrhinehart.blogspot.com/.

Your God Will Come and Save You

Your God Will Come and Save You

Isaiah 35:4 (Complete Jewish Bible)

Say to the fainthearted, “Be strong and unafraid!
Here is your God; He will come with vengeance;
with God’s retribution He will come and save you.”

   The news is filled with gloom and doom.  Each piece of bad news follows on the heels the last.  Stock market reports that fluctuate daily, scandals, terrorism, disease, war, riots, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods - the list goes on and on.  There is so little good news being reported it can cause depression and worry in even the strongest Christian.  What the unbeliever does in the face of this onslaught of bad news I cannot imagine. 

   But I say to believers – fear not! 

   We, as believers, don't have to live in fear of what is to happen next.  We don't have to sit around worrying about the world's financial system.  We don’t have to agonize over who will win the next election.  We don't have to allow ourselves to let all the situations going on emotionally drain us to the point of depression.  Just read this verse and focus on two words in it:  “your God.”  Your God is Lord.  Your God has never resigned His position as God Most high, Creator of Heaven and earth.  Heaven is His throne and earth is His footstool. 

   This verse speaks to those who are the faithful.  This message is for the blood-bought of God.  What this promises you is that no matter what happens, He is on your side and He has your back.

   I’m not promising you that hard times will never come your way.  I’m not saying that you will never find yourself in difficult times and be confused about why things are happening to you the way they are happening.  We live daily in this evil world and evil things happen all around us.  But if you walk through this world with your hand in God’s hand, you will find a way through all the troubles ahead. 

   When Judah finally fell into captivity by Babylon, Daniel was taken prisoner and sent to live in exile in Babylon.  But he was faithful to God and lived a holy life and he survived and prospered.  He received grace every day.  Ezekiel, likewise, was taken to Babylon as a prisoner.  He, too, remained faithful to God and lived a holy life and God prospered him and he received grace.  Whatever happens to America when God judges our nation, we have to be faithful to God and live holy lives and God will be with us and hold us in His hand and we will receive grace in abundance.

   In Acts we see the apostles beaten and some were killed.  Yet they lived holy lives and remained faithful to God and they turned their world upside down.  (Or, rather, right-side up.)  Daniel ended up second to his sovereign and later was one of three governors of the next kingdom.  Joseph was sold into slavery and ended up second to Pharaoh.  Just imagine where you can end up if you live a holy life dedicated to God. 

   You may, and probably will, go through storms.  The world is getting more and more wicked and you will see things that will shock you until your shock-center burns out.  But remain faithful and keep yourself holy.  God will give you much grace. 

   Fear is our enemy in these troubled times.  Fear is one of the devil's greatest weapons.  If he can get us to fear, it can bring doubt into our hearts and minds.  If we doubt what God has done, is doing and will do, the devil has a foothold in our lives.  Don't accept fear into your heart.  God is only a prayer away and He will comfort you and calm your fears and give your mind rest. 

Again I say to you:  “Fear not!

Your God will come and He will save you.

Stephen Cram                                                     October 20, 2013                    

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, following the tradition of men according to the rudiments of the world, and not in accordance with Christ.  Colossians 2:8

Visit my pastor’s blog at http://pastorjonrhinehart.blogspot.com/.

Scared Smart

Scared Smart

Proverbs 1:7 (New Living Translation)

Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

   People who think they’ve figured out God scare me.  When then go around telling others that they’ve figured out God scares me more.  When they do this and are not themselves scared scares me even more.  And the thought that I’ve done this in my past scares me the most.  God only gives only small parts of Himself for us to know because we would burn up under the light of His Glory if we saw too much.  When Moses wanted to see God, God put him in a rock cave and covered the entrance and passed by and let Moses peek at a little spot on God’s back.  Moses’ face glowed with inner light for days after.  I believe he would have died if God had showed him more. 

   I occasionally listen to videos of “famous and popular ” preachers and some I relate to and some scare me.  They come into God’s Presence so casually with so little reverence.  One of my weaknesses praying is I am hesitant to ask God for things that are, on a global scale, trivial.  And I need to practice a little more boldness and do as the Bible teaches me and come to Him as my Father God and ask what I need.  But the way some pray is downright rude.  I would never, in my craziest moments, presume to tell God that He owes me and He’d better give me what He owes me or I’ll – I’ll – get really mad at Him.  Or something.  I’m really not sure what they think the consequences are to God if He fails to answer your prayer and give you everything you ask.  But He better give them to you anyway!  I am amazed at some of the prayers I’ve heard.  I am even more amazed that lightning bolts haven’t fallen after they were spoken.     

   What ever happened to Holy fear?  That dread that should come over you when you approach the Infinite, All-Knowing, Omnipotent God, Creator of Heaven and Earth?  Do you feel gratitude that this Magnificent God would draw you to Himself and tell you to call Him Father?  We recognize Christ’s sacrifice every year on Easter, but do we think of a God Who would make that sacrifice - giving His Son to die for an ungrateful world?  Approaching to that kind of love should make you shudder in fear a least a little bit.  Yet many barge into God’s Presence like an obnoxious drunk at a party.  Again:  What ever happened to Holy fear?

   One of the purposes of church is to help people draw closer to God, but maybe we forget to teach proper reverence anymore.  There is a mystery about God that our minds will never figure out.  We may think we have an understanding of God but it is not really there.  We think it’s there, but we really don’t grasp Him in any way.  We need to trust Him and have faith in Him and accept that we don’t really know Him and never will.  We need to bask in His light and be grateful He draws us to Himself.  We benefit from His Mercy and His Grace but will never understand the love that provides them.   We are the beneficiaries of a Being Who is beyond our ability to know.

   I find myself yearning to run away from His face and hide, but am driven to draw closer to Him and lose myself in His fire.  I fear being close to Him but fear being separated from Him.  I can understand Isaiah’s cry, “Woe is me for I am undone!  I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.”  Why did he feel so unworthy?  “For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.”

Stephen Cram                                                          October 13, 2013                     

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, following the tradition of men according to the rudiments of the world, and not in accordance with Christ.  Colossians 2:8

Visit my pastor’s blog at http://pastorjonrhinehart.blogspot.com/.

Learning Nothing From History

Learning Nothing From History

Jeremiah 32: 33-34

33 And they have turned to Me the back, and not the face; though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not listened to receive instruction. 

34 But they set their abominations in the house which is called by My name, to defile it. 

   In a nutshell, after the death of Solomon the Kingdom of Israel divided into two kingdoms, the Northern kingdom called Israel, and the Southern kingdom called Judah.  The Northern kingdom quickly fell into idol worship.  They created sacred groves on the hills where people went to engage in idolatrous practices, many of which involved having sex with harlots in the belief that it would bring fertility to families and to farms.  In about 722 B.C. God allowed the Assyrian army to conquer the capitol city of Samaria and ended the existence of the Northern kingdom. 

   Jeremiah began preaching around 626 B.C. and he preached until the Southern kingdom was taken into captivity to Babylon in 587 B.C.  He said many things to try to convince the people that the Southern kingdom would be punished by God just as the Northern kingdom had been.  They knew the story of the sins of the people and the final defeat of the capitol of Samaria.  They knew why God had allowed them to be conquered - they were worshipping idols and not God and practicing evil and not following the Law given to Moses.  The Northern kingdom had been warned by many prophets, and now the Southern kingdom was following the same steps and were worshipping idols and going to the sacred groves and lying with the harlots just as the people of the Northern kingdom had. 

   In this passage Jeremiah was telling them one point that God found especially offensive.  The people were not only worshipping idols but were bringing their evil practices right into the Holy Temple!  God mentions Shiloh to them and told them to go there and see what happened.  Shiloh was where the Tabernacle had been set up after Joshua led the conquest of the land and was where the people came to offer sacrifices and worship God before the Temple was built in Jerusalem.  But at this time Shiloh was a desolate ruin.  God had allowed it to be overrun by the enemy because the sins of people were practiced even there in that holy place.  He is warning them that if He would allow Shiloh to be torn down because of sin, He would allow the Temple to be torn down because of sin.

   So by now some are saying, “So what, Steve!  What has this old story to do with me today?”  Because I see our churches today, places dedicated to the worship of Almighty God, not just allowing sin to rise up in our society with barely a protest or comment but in many cases actually allowing the evil right into the church itself.  And why?  To help those who are living in sin?  In many cases the sin issue is never brought up.  The church feels good that the pews are full and there are many programs on the schedule and people are happy.  So why tell them about the sin they practice?  We just lead them in the sinner’s prayer then send them back to their lives and never tell them they are still sinning. 

   No harsh sermons fall from these pulpits.  No uncomfortable meetings with the pastor warning them to change their lives and begin to live for Christ.  No sir!  We don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.  And besides, we might get in trouble with the government.  We won’t be the ones to be on the evening news branded as reactionaries and old-fashioned Bible-thumpers.  We want people to see us as the loving church where everyone is welcome.

   So what you saying, Steve?  “Sinners not welcome here?”  No, I’m not.  Sinners need Jesus and the best place for them to go is to church, as long as the church you go to teaches the whole Bible and teaches you to grow in grace and become more like Christ.  But if you go to a church that has invited evil in and allows it to stay and be comfortable there then you will never be taught to live a holy life. 

   Our churches should be beacons of light for a dark world, not a quiet club that entertains you and sends you home with warm-fuzzy feelings.  We need to proclaim Christ and obey His commands.  He instructed us to go out into the world and proclaim the Gospel.  He told us to minister to the sick and to care for widows and orphans. 

   I wonder what some pastors will say on that day when they appear before Christ and He asks them what they did with their congregations.  “Well, Lord, we entertained hundreds every week with a full band and our worship leader was world-class!  Then I preached, sometimes for as long as fifteen minutes.  Then we kept them busy with many programs.”  And Jesus asks them, “What about the sick and the homeless and the lost?  Did you bring the Gospel out into the streets?  Did you tell them I love them and wanted them to come to Me?  Or did you allow sin into your churches but didn’t invite Me in?

   Dear God, please forgive me for every time I failed to share the Gospel.

Stephen Cram                                                                            October 6, 2013                     

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, following the tradition of men according to the rudiments of the world, and not in accordance with Christ.  Colossians 2:8

Visit the blog at http://stephencram.blogspot.com/ and leave a comment.

Visit my pastor’s blog at http://pastorjonrhinehart.blogspot.com/.

How To Break God’s Heart

How To Break God’s Heart

Jeremiah 2:5

Thus says the LORD:
"What injustice have your fathers found in Me, That they have gone far from Me,
Have followed idols, And have become idolaters?”

   What a bizarre thing for God to ask.  This is asked as a rhetorical question.  A rhetorical question, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is: “a question not intended to elicit an answer but asked for rhetorical effect with an assumption that only one answer is possible.”  As in – “What mother doesn’t love her children?”  Rhetorical is defined as: “A question asked in order to make a statement rather than get an answer.”

   God is asking what injustice, or sin, or wrong has He done to the Jewish people that made them leave worshipping Him and turn to idol worship.  The answer is, of course, God had not wronged the Jewish people and committed no injustice against them.  The failure was all on the part of the people themselves.  They were delivered from slavery but had not even left Egypt before they began grumbling and accusing God of trying to kill them in the wilderness.  Their whole history had been one of complaining and failure to trust God even though He delivered them from enemies time and time again.  God led them to a good land that was fertile and well watered.  Yet they turned quickly to idol worship and stopped worshipping God despite His many attempts to call them back to Him. 

   After the Northern kingdom fell and was taken into captivity you would think the Southern kingdom would learn the lesson and turned back to God – even if just for protection – as they were surrounded by three powerful enemies, Assyria, Egypt,  and Babylon.  While there were brief revivals, overall the people backslid further and further away from God.  Now, in the last extremity before the Babylonians were used by God to take them into captivity, Jeremiah is told to write to the people one last warning.  And God, with broken heart, asked them why they turned away from Him and went to worship wood and stone instead of Him.  He warns them that when the time of trouble comes upon them, they can call to the gods of wood and stone to come and save them, but not to call on Him.  How frightening this should have been!  God is laying His heart open to them and telling them He will not hear their cries for help!  But they did not listen and the Babylonians came and destroyed their cities and took them captive.  It all happened just as Jeremiah said it would happen.

   I see a parallel in our country today and it frightens me.  God freed us from servitude to Britain.  It’s all in the Declaration of Independence which was not written to King George but written to God. It is a plea for His justice.  He blessed our land and it is fertile and well watered.  We grew and became strong under Godly leaders who prayed and sought His face.  Then we began to turn away from God.  Just in my lifetime I have seen God kicked out of every government agency. 

   We have embraced the idea that we happened by chance and not created for a purpose.  I’ve seen slime floating on ponds, and can’t imagine how anyone can believe we grew from that stuff.  I’ve been to zoos and seen monkeys and feel no relationship to them.  Yet millions of people in our country believe this and teach this and it is the prevailing belief in our country.  When troubles fall on our land, will the monkeys rise up and defend us?  Will slime flow out and overwhelm our enemies?  No!  We will be undefended because these things can’t help us and after abandoning God He will not answer our cries for help. 

   And the question begs to be asked, "What injustice have your fathers found in Me, O America, that you have gone far from Me, have followed idols, and have become idolaters?”  “Whoa!” you say to me. “We don’t set up idols in our homes and don’t have sacred groves on the hills to go to.  We’re not dumb idol worshippers.  We’re too enlightened for that kind of thing.”  If you don’t think we’re an idolatrous people you’re not looking too hard at our society.  Any people who put something else before God are an idolatrous people.  That which you put before God is an idol.  That which keeps you from praying is an idol.  That which keeps you from living a holy life is an idol.  I repeat:  we are an idolatrous nation. 

   What right do we have to call on God to heal our nation?  We reject Him, ridicule His followers, blaspheme His name, and then think He will come to us and solve all our troubles?  Our nation is heading for a crash and God will allow it to teach our leaders humility.  Every people who rejected God have been humbled.  Read all about it in history.  My heart is sick to see it happening to us and I fear it is coming quickly. 

   Our nation has turned away from God and we have crossed a line He has warned us not to cross.  Is it too late for our nation?  I really don’t know, but I fear it is too late.  Too many of our people have developed deaf ears and blind eyes and do not hear His cry to turn back to Him.  Will God punish us?  I don’t think He has to.  He will do as He did to the Southern kingdom; He will take His hands off and allow us to spiral out of control and then an enemy will come and humble us.  Our proud nation will be chastised by another. 

   The Southern kingdom had false prophets telling their leaders all would be well.  We have false preachers today preaching that all will be well.  They dress in nice suits and have big congregations and talk pleasing words and smile a lot but they are still false preachers.  Any preacher telling you we are going to be OK is bearing false witness to you.  This week read the first six chapters of Jeremiah, the Weeping Prophet, and I pray your heart breaks and you weep for our land and for our families. 

Stephen Cram                                               September 29, 2013                      

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, following the tradition of men according to the rudiments of the world, and not in accordance with Christ.  Colossians 2:8

Visit my pastor’s blog at http://pastorjonrhinehart.blogspot.com/.

    

A Burning Fire in the Bones

A Burning In The Bones

Jeremiah 20:9
Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him, Nor speak anymore in His name.”
But His word was in my heart like a burning fire Shut up in my bones;
I was weary of holding it back, And I could not.

Jeremiah was one of the prophets in Israel just before the Babylonian invasion.  God gave him a message telling the people that because of their sins He would allow the Babylonians to destroy their city and their nation.  The people hated Jeremiah for his prophesy and they ridiculed him and imprisoned him.  During this time, he said he was not going to preach anymore.  He was not going to even mention God’s name anymore.  But he did because, as he said, he could not continue to hold the message back.  It was like a fire inside him burning even the insides of his bones.  He found he had a calling from God and he had to speak his prophesies and he could not stop telling the people the message.  He said it made him weary to try to stop telling them God’s Word.
   We read in the book of Acts where Peter and John faced the same thing.  They were preaching the Gospel of Jesus and the priests and Sadducees became very angry at them.  They were thrown into prison and the next day were threatened and told not to preach any more in the name of Jesus.  “But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it is right in the sight of God to hearken unto you rather than unto God, judge ye: for we cannot but speak the things which we saw and heard” (Acts 4:19-20).  In other words, they couldn’t stop talking about Jesus and could not keep His Gospel bottled up inside themselves.
   Jeremiah had the same thing Peter and John had, a fire burning inside of them that would not let them keep quiet.  When you read the book of Acts you see this fire evident in the lives of the early church.  They were compelled to speak out and warn people of their sins.  They were desperate to tell people about the Hope of the Gospel.  Paul wrote of this in Romans 1:16 - “For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation…”
   Reading that it makes me wonder where that fire has gone to?  Shouldn’t that fire be burning in us today?  We make our churches as comfortable and as entertaining as possible, but is this fire missing?  Have we covered it up with political correctness?  After all, the Gospel will be offensive to many, so do we shy away from confrontations?  Oh Lord, we want to tell others about you, as long as we don’t hurt their feelings while we are doing it.  We’ll march in the streets to have clean air and better water, but won’t speak out about abortions and gay marriages.  We’ll stand in the church foyer and tell all who will listen about the evils in our world but won’t talk to our friends and co-workers about their sins.  Instead of fire in our bones we have marshmallow in our spines.
   Jeremiah and Peter and John and Paul had a fire burning within because they cared for the lost souls of men.  They cared about their eternal destiny.   How concerned are we about the lost souls of men?  Does it hurt your heart to think about people dying without the Gospel?

Stephen Cram                                                              September 22, 2013                  

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, following the tradition of men according to the rudiments of the world, and not in accordance with Christ.  Colossians 2:8


Visit my pastor’s blog at http://pastorjonrhinehart.blogspot.com/.

Dem Dry Bones

Dem Dry Bones

Ezekiel 37: 1-3
1 The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. 
2 Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. 
3 And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
So I answered, “O Lord God, You know.”

   I don’t know what your beliefs about dreams are, so if you don’t accept the idea of God communicating through dreams, you probably want to stop reading now and come back next week.
   Still with me?  Let me tell you of a dream I had recently and what the Lord has been impressing on me.  I was walking into the small church I currently attend and saw the church empty but the floor was scattered with bones.  And then I saw the message displayed for me that Ezekiel received in the valley – “can these bones live?”  I was about to answer when I woke up.  My first feeling was that it was about the church and how it was all but closed last year and now the Spirit of God has been bringing life back to the church.  We have a pastor who loves the Lord and loves people and is preaching the Word.  So I felt that was the end of the meaning of the dream.  And while I do believe what I saw does have meaning in our church’s situation, I also believe there is more meaning to the dream.
   As I have been reading this week I’ve found references of revivals and the background behind some of them.  The more I read, the more I’m reminded of the valley of the dry bones in Ezekiel.  The first application of the vision was to tell Ezekiel his people, Israel, would have a national revival.  Their nation would be overthrown and the people scattered but they would be brought back and restored as a nation.  There was also a spiritual aspect to the vision, a promise that the people would experience a spiritual restoration.  This last has still not come to pass, but will in the future.  The nation of Israel will call upon God once again.
   I believe strongly that churches can and should pray for revival.  I believe that if you humble yourselves and pray that God will pour out His Spirit on your church you will experience revival.  But is there more to this?  Yes, there is a personal aspect to this as well.  In my dream I saw dry bones in the church and feel God is asking if we believe the church can be revived.  And I say, “O Lord God, You know!”  I’m willing to have revival in the church and wish all churches would experience revival.  Lord God you know how desperately wicked our nation is and how much we need You to pour out Your Spirit.
   But also I feel God was calling to me and asking if my life can be revived.  Can my dry bones be brought back to life?  In other words, am I ready to ask for revival in myself?  No church can experience revival until its members experience personal revival.  Personal revival can upset your life.  Jesus wants your life, and not just a little, but all the way.  Am I willing to do that?  I’ve been making a list and, frankly, I find it frightening and not a little intimidating.

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal sin in my life.
Refuse to obey my carnal (worldly) nature.
Seek forgiveness from any I have offended, and forgive any who have hurt me.
Ask the Holy Spirit to guard my walk against complacency and mediocrity.
Examine my motives in every word and deed.
Ask the Lord to search and cleanse my heart daily.
Praise and give thanks to God continually in all ways regardless of circumstances.
Read, study, meditate on, and memorize God's Word.
Pray without ceasing.
Fast and pray.
Hunger and thirst after righteousness.
Love God with all of my heart, soul, and mind.
Seek to share Christ daily to at least one person.
Develop utter dependence on Him and submit to Him in humility.
Determine to live a holy, Godly life of faith.

And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
So I answered, “O Lord God, You know.”
And He does know.  But am I willing?


Stephen Cram                                                                  September 15, 2013                  

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, following the tradition of men according to the rudiments of the world, and not in accordance with Christ.  Colossians 2:8


Visit my pastor’s blog at http://pastorjonrhinehart.blogspot.com/.