Where is the power, is it in the thunder? Or is it in the lightening? The true power is unseen and unheard for it is the interaction f tiny particles - electrons and neutrons? What of God? 15 Truly, you are a God who hides himself, O God of Israel, the Savior. 16 All of them are put to shame and confounded; the makers of idols go in confusion together. Isaiah 45:15-16 English Standard Version (ESV) There are those who refuse to believe for they say if God existed there would be scientific provable evidence. One as powerful as the God proclaimed by the Hebrews and those foolish Christians would make Himself known with indisputable fact. He would have no need to hide for He would be no match for the mere mortals He created. Why does God hide? For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. Rom. 1:17 (KJV) Which does God desire, to be feared and hated or loved and adored? God does not reveal Himself in these days as He did in times past because in those times past (before the flood, during Sodom and Gomorrah, the exodus) He was feared and hated for He dared to show His power. In these present days He has come to us as a baby to grow up among men and show men as well as teach them that He loves and desires love. He says we should trust in His love and not in His power. His kingdom is of the heart (soul) not of His arm (might). Is He the God who hides? Is He weak? No, He reveals His power in His love for you. You are more precious to Him than conquered worlds or slaves bent by the lash. It is for this reason that He died for your sins. Every time that you see the flash of lightening or the roll of thunder, think of the unseen power of God who loves you.

A little sin makes a person human. At least that is what some people believe. Even some preachers say that a little sin is necessary to keep you humble. Sin has become an out-dated thing to be pitched from modern society like blue-laws. Mis-deeds, mistakes are better words than sin. Even the old standby of “everybody” does is are preferable to labeling moral failure sin. So, just how bad is sin? 1 Pet 2:24 (ESV) "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness." If sin is NOT so bad, then why the severe punishment of Adam and Eve? Banishment and the SIN nature past to posterity…for disobeying one rule? If sin is NOT so bad then why the concern about Cain’s murder of Abel? …he was just “acting out” in response to God’s dissatisfaction with his sacrifice? If sin is not so bad, why did God give Israel the Law? Why did Israel wander for 40 years in the wilderness? …perhaps the 10 spies had a low self esteem...hence their fear of the Canaanite enemy? If sin is not so bad, then why did Achan’s whole family perish with him? Why did God take the kingdom away from Saul? …it was just some extra sheep they took for sacrifices… If sin is not so bad, then why the DEATH of Ananias and Saphira for misspeaking? Why the countless animal sacrifices in the OT? Sin is so bad that an innocent man died on a tree to remove it from your life!

New York Giants fans are very pleased tonight because their team won. Each fan feels like a winner but not a single fan played in the game. You are part of a winning team, you aren’t sitting in the stands eating hotdogs, but you are engaged in the action. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 1 Cor. 12:27 (NIV) We are the Body of Christ, the Church, and we share in the victory of Christ over death and sin. The scoreboard shows us as the winner. Jesus rose from the grave and defeated death and the penalty of sin. He gave that hard-won victory to those who will believe in Him, the church. As the New York Giant fans celebrate let us remember that every Sunday is our celebration day. We share in the victory and therefore celebrate with each other in God’s house. “See what God has done! Amen!” Today may be one of the worst days of your life and you may have tears. Just remember that the score is already posted, verified and in the record books – The Lamb Wins. Your Heavenly Father loves you and has your home prepared. Today is just a day in the journey so pass through it with your head high and your faith intact for you share in the victory of all victories.

Do you know what muscle memory is? Professional athletes are what they are because they train their bodies to do the same motion without thinking about. Take a tennis player, they swing the racket the same way every time they serve the ball. They pitch the ball the same height every time, the racket meets the ball the same every time. The only way this is possible is for them to do the same motion hundreds of thousands of times over years of practice. They do have natural ability but their muscles have to “remember” those motions. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. John 13:17 (NIV) Jesus told us what we needed to know about doing God’s will. He taught His disciples. He set the example. He taught them how to pray. He explained what we are to do in Matt. 28:18-20. (Look it up it you don’t know it) Accepting Jesus is a one-time action in your life. Becoming His disciple is a life long training program. “Now that you know these things ….. you will be blessed if YOU DO THEM.” Believe it or not He has already told you what God’s Will is for you life and it isn’t some secret knowledge. In exercise it is called “repetition” or doing “reps”. Doing the same thing over and over until it becomes second nature. Hey, Jesus said, “Be born again” and Paul taught that that new birth brings a “new nature”. Doing the things Jesus told us to do over and over and over will make that new nature the one nature you live by. “Now that you know these things!”

There are many heart-warming stories about dogs that have lain on the graves of their owners. Loyalty is one of the most admirable qualities in not just dogs but humans. There is nothing that warms our hearts more than having a friend remain loyal when all others turn away. But the Lord stayed with me. The Lord gave me strength so that I could tell the Good News everywhere. He wanted all those who are not Jews to hear that Good News. So I was saved from the lion’s mouth. 2 Tim 4:17 “But the Lord stayed with me.” Paul’s comfort while enduring prison was “Jesus, the Lord”. We read in other verses where disciples and friends abandoned Paul. One, turned back into the world and I’m sure that was hard for Paul to take. “But the Lord stayed” with him. Of this we can be sure – “the Lord will stay” when others leave. You never have to feel that you are alone or that no one cares for your soul. Jesus will stay with you.

God Means What He Said

Political flip-flopping makes headlines. Christian flip-flopping gets no press. How have we come to the point in history where what God said is debatable? Sure in the past it was permissible to say, "God never said we couldn’t dance and even in the Bible we read about people dancing for the Lord." The prohibition against dancing goes back a long way. Is there anything wrong with dancing? Well, yes and no. The yes stems from why preachers preached against dancing in the first place. Recall a verse of New Testament that states to "refrain from even the appearance of evil"? Grandma Mat told her twelve children and her dozens of grandchildren, "Stay away from that dance! The only reason a man wants to dance is rub up against somebody’s wife!" She may have had a point knowing human nature? What about fishing on Sunday? It isn’t anything but harmless recreation so what’s the problem? If you consider that Orthodox Jews don’t cook on the Sabbath nor travel on the Sabbath nor pull out a stray nose hair you might learn something. They believe God when He said, "Keep the Sabbath holy!" Nothing that can be considered work is to be done. Fishing, although Westerners consider it recreation is work. Fishing is how many people around the world and in ancient Israel made their living. For one thing fishing keeps a lot of people out of church on Sunday. Does God mean what He says? The simple answer is yes and for good reason. Man will abuse anything given the opportunity. Many Biblical prohibitions seem harmless but like a man who looks at the picture of a young woman in a bikini, he may well move on to pornography and from there to committing rape. Some will say well that is like the argument against marijuana leading to becoming a heroin addict. True, but we must always remember than man is given to addictions. If man could control his desires and his impulses the ten commandments would have been enough. But we are creatures easily tempted and easily addicted. One beer doesn’t always make an alcoholic but one a day leads to two a day. One pack of cigarettes leads to a lifetime of addiction. Take away one addiction and another replaces it. The old monks in the first couple of centuries after Christ had it right, the only way to avoid the addictions was to seal yourself in a cave. A recent poll found that only fifty percent of Evangelical Christians now believe in Hell. Ten years from now it is predicted that number to drop significantly. On one hand we have professors of theology and mean in the pulpits of the world saying "God is love and therefore because it is His nature to love He will not condemn anyone to a place as described in the Book of Revelation. The logic makes sense but to get to that sensible understanding there has to be a re-ordering of God’s attributes. Also, it will be necessary to erase a good portion of the Old Testament and re-interpret much of the New Testament. Theologians are always re-thinking what the Bible has to say. They do historical, analysis, throw in contextual analysis and comparative analysis and other means of analysis. There isn’t anything wrong with such analysis as along as "God said" is not replaced by "man thinks God said". Too often theologians are placing too much weight on what some theologian has written about what they think God meant when "God said". The ongoing debate on homosexuality is a good example of putting weight on what one theologian said and adding that to what another theologian said. The end result is a justification. An examination of the homosexual justification theology shows it came about as the result of a long history of theological debate. Roman Catholic theologians since founding of the church in Rome have been engaged in this debate. Protestants also joined the debate very early on in their history. The one piece of information not divulged is the number of men engaged in those debates who were practicing homosexuals. Church history, both Protestant and Catholic, reveal many ministers and priests engaged in homosexuality. A logical conclusion for a person studying homosexuality and the justification of homosexuality would conclude those ministers and priests had a good reason for justifying homosexuality. Does God mean what He says? When it comes to sin, yes. Sin is death, eternal death, separated from God from all eternity. Why? Because by saying yes to sin man is saying no to God. "The soul that sins will die" is how the Bible states it. That is pretty clear but there are many other verses that can be flung into the debate that discount the statement. Does God really mean man will die if he commits a sin? Here we are at the very crux of the matter, does God mean what He said. Is what He said open to discussion and debate? Man in order to justify his sin will say yes. Remember man has a vested interest. As long as we can debate and discuss we do not have to concern ourselves with the result of sin. Imagine two men sinking in quicksand. One friend says to the other, "I don’t think we will sink." The other says, "Maybe not for awhile." The first friend says, "No I don’t think we will sink because it wouldn’t be right." The second friend says, "You have a point it wouldn’t be right but still if we do sink it might take a year and by then someone will come along and rescue us." To which the first friend says, "A year, no I would say a year and a month." Their debate and discussion doesn’t change the fact that they are sinking. Man can debate and discuss but it doesn’t change the fact that God said, "The soul that sins will die." God is loving and wants the very best for each person. True, but that is no reason to stake eternity on the belief God will forsake justice. If you step in front of a fast moving freight train the odds are against your survival. To go against "God said" is to deny God will be just. One of the things about God in both the Old Testament and the New Testament is justice. He holds people accountable and justice is exercised as surely as the train coming down the track. It is impossible to say, God will not punish those who sin in the face of so much Biblical evidence of God’s justice. Christian social activist are quick to bring justice to debate and discussion. They argue that all people deserve a chance, even a second chance. "God" they emphasize "is loving". Jesus even stated when asked about forgiveness that man should forgive seven times seventy. To them there is no wrong that can’t be forgiven. This line of thinking is devoid of God as just. The ten commandments given by God are statements of conduct God demands if man will have a relationship with Him. Failure to keep those commandments carries one penalty - God will disassociate Himself with offenders. The history of Israel is a history of justice for when the people take up other gods or forget the covenant God withdraws and punishes. It is well worth nothing that He will not force a person to be in His presence if the person chooses not to be in His presence. The person who sins chooses not to be in God’s presence. God’s justice does not allow Him to go against man’s choice. God may try to persuade but He can not force. Think for a moment of someone like Samson, he had every opportunity to do according to God’s direction but time and again chose to do what he wanted. God time and time again brought hardship to Samson but Samson would not change his actions. This unwillingness to change leaves God no option but to disassociate Himself from the offender. A relationship with God depends on a person’s willingness to accept God’s terms of the relationship. Those terms are laid out in "God said". Does God mean what He said, yes. He is the one who defines the terms of the relationship. Men can debate those terms with other men but in the end the only thing that matters is what "God said". It is not up to man to define the terms of the relationship.