From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] daily devotional
Evening...
Psalm 26:9 Gather not my soul with sinners.
Fear made David pray thus, for something whispered, "Perhaps, after all, thou
mayst be gathered with the wicked." That fear, although marred by unbelief,
springs, in the main, from holy anxiety, arising from the recollection of past
sin. Even the pardoned man will enquire, "What if at the end my sins should be
remembered, and I should be left out of the catalogue of the saved?" He
recollects his present unfruitfulness-so little grace, so little love, so
little holiness, and looking forward to the future, he considers his weakness
and the many temptations which beset him, and he fears that he may fall, and
become a prey to the enemy. A sense of sin and present evil, and his prevailing
corruptions, compel him to pray, in fear and trembling, "Gather not my soul
with sinners." Reader, if you have prayed this prayer, and if your character be
rightly described in the Psalm from which it is taken, you need not be afraid
that you shall be gathered with sinners. Have you the two virtues which David
had-the outward walking in integrity, and the inward trusting in the Lord? Are
you resting upon Christ's sacrifice, and can you compass the altar of God with
humble hope? If so, rest assured, with the wicked you never shall be gathered,
for that calamity is impossible. The gathering at the judgment is like to like.
"Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but
gather the wheat into my barn." If, then, thou art like God's people, thou
shalt be with God's people. You cannot be gathered with the wicked, for you are
too dearly bought. Redeemed by the blood of Christ, you are His for ever, and
where He is, there must His people be. You are loved too much to be cast away
with reprobates. Shall one dear to Christ perish? Impossible! Hell cannot hold
thee! Heaven claims thee! Trust in thy Surety and fear not!
John 4:23-24
(23) But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall
worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to
worship him. (24) God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him
in spirit and in truth.
Several years ago, WorldNetDaily published a controversial exposé that
spotlighted one of the more frequent skirmishes in our current culture war.
Masterfully written by Joe Kovacs, " Christmas in America becomes battleground"
reveals the pagan origins of this esteemed tradition and demonstrates why
increasing numbers of "fundamentalist Christians" are realizing that one cannot
"put Christ" back into something in which He never was.
Apologist C.S. Lewis, in his book Mere Christianity, asserts that one of
Satan's most common ploys is to "send error into the world in pairs"-pairs of
opposites-"and then he encourages us to spend a lot of time thinking, Which is
the worst?" Satan persuades us to argue over two options, or two points of
view, neither one of which is true. Regardless of which side carries the
argument, Satan wins the day.
In the current war over Christmas and religious symbols, Satan has pitted
the secular humanists, who want to blot out Christianity and encourage almost
any other form of worship, against mainstream Christians, who are fighting for
the right to worship as they see fit by putting evergreen trees in schools per
Jeremiah 10:2-5. Atheists and agnostics arrayed against Christmas-bent
"Christians"-for whom do we root?
The truth of the matter is that Satan is the real winner regardless of
the outcome.
Jesus Christ tells us,
But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will
worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to
worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit
and truth. ( John 4:23-24, emphasis added throughout)
As Mr. Kovacs' article shows, the truth about the pagan origins of
Christmas is easily researched. Any good encyclopedia will show that the timing
and trappings of this celebration long predate Christianity. December 25 has
been a focal point of sun-worship for millennia. The pagan origins of this day
are so well-documented that the real question is, "What business do Christians
have in trying to "Christianize" something that has been blatantly anti-God
from the very beginning?" Is this worshipping God in spirit and in truth?
God was so concerned that ancient Israel would begin adopting the pagan
ways of the Canaanites-even under the auspices of worshipping the true God-that
He gave the children of Israel a categorical warning:
When the LORD your God cuts off from before you the nations which you
go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, take heed to
yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed
from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, "How did
these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise." You shall not worship
the LORD your God in that way; for every abomination to the LORD which He hates
they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in
the fire to their gods. Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you
shall not add to it nor take away from it. ( Deuteronomy 12:29-32)
God is very specific in the way that He wants to be worshipped! He has
not given us permission to worship Him in just any way that seems right to us.
He warns His people specifically in these verses, as well as in Revelation
22:18-19, not to add to His instructions, nor to take away from them, and this
is clearly within the context of adopting pagan practices in conjunction with
worshipping Him. Christmas may not involve physical child-sacrifice-although in
spirit millions of children are being sacrificed on the altar of
materialism-but the stench of this celebration is odious nonetheless because it
is still idolatry: replacing the true worship of God with a false one.
The Bible does not specify when Jesus Christ was born (although the best
deduction is that it was in the autumn-see " When Was Jesus Born?" Forerunner,
December 1994). More importantly, the Bible does not give any instruction in
celebrating His birth, nor any example of the first-century church doing so,
nor any indication that the celebration of birthdays is pleasing to God at all!
Even this idea has come from paganism, rather than from God's Instruction Book
for mankind. Is this, then, worshipping God in spirit and in truth?
Is it any wonder that our Savior says, "These people draw near to Me with
their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And
in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men" (
Matthew 15:8-9); and "All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you
may keep your tradition" ( Mark 7:9); and "[you make] the word of God of no
effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things
you do" ( Mark 7:13)? Human nature has the rebellious proclivity to do only
what it wants to do, even when told by God Himself to do things differently (
Romans 8:7)!
We see, then, that on one pole are the secularists, who believe the lie
that God should not be a part of their lives. On the other pole are mainstream
Christians, who believe the lie that syncretism is an acceptable form of
worship. But in either case, the trail of lies indicates who the real "holiday
spirit" is.
David C. Grabbe
From Cogitations on Christmas
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From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
daily devotional
Evening...
1 Samuel 1:27
For this child I prayed.
Devout souls delight to look upon those mercies which they have obtained in
answer to supplication, for they can see God's especial love in them. When we
can name our blessings Samuel, that is, "asked of God," they will be as dear to
us as her child was to Hannah. Peninnah had many children, but they came as
common blessings unsought in prayer: Hannah's one heaven-given child was dearer
far, because he was the fruit of earnest pleadings. How sweet was that water to
Samson which he found at "the well of him that prayed!" Quassia cups turn all
waters bitter, but the cup of prayer puts a sweetness into the draughts it
brings. Did we pray for the conversion of our children? How doubly sweet, when
they are saved, to see in them our own petitions fulfilled! Better to rejoice
over them as the fruit of our pleadings than as the fruit of our bodies. Have
we sought of the Lord some choice spiritual gift? When it comes to us it will
be wrapped up in the gold ! cloth of God's faithfulness and truth, and so be
doubly precious. Have we petitioned for success in the Lord's work? How joyful
is the prosperity which comes flying upon the wings of prayer! It is always
best to get blessings into our house in the legitimate way, by the door of
prayer; then they are blessings indeed, and not temptations. Even when prayer
speeds not, the blessings grow all the richer for the delay; the child Jesus
was all the more lovely in the eyes of Mary when she found Him after having
sought Him sorrowing. That which we win by prayer we should dedicate to God, as
Hannah dedicated Samuel. The gift came from heaven, let it go to heaven. Prayer
brought it, gratitude sang over it, let devotion consecrate it. Here will be a
special occasion for saying, "Of Thine own have I given unto Thee." Reader, is
prayer your element or your weariness? Which?
Matthew 4:3-4
(3) And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of
God, command that these stones be made bread. (4) But he answered and said, It
is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that
proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Even when Satan says truth, even when he quotes Scripture, he puts a
perverse twist to it. How did our Lord fight Satan? With truth! That is how one
defeats Satan: being confident that Jesus Christ has already secured the
victory and that God has put a hedge around us so that we will not fall into a
situation confronting Satan that is beyond us, and being absolutely reliant
upon the truth of God! Even though we may not be able to see how it is worked
out, even though we may feel that following the truth of God is going to
require a considerable sacrifice on our part, we have the example of Jesus
Himself fighting Satan by relying upon the truth of God. He trusted what! God
said.
One might wonder why Satan used "if." He did not use "if" to get Jesus
to doubt His Sonship. Jesus knew who He was. Rather, he was trying to get Him
to reflect on the meaning of "if." Satan seems to be saying, "Surely, if You
are the Son of God, You have the right to expect Your needs at the moment to be
satisfied."
Jesus did not fall for it. As hungry as He was, He knew it was a trap.
He knew He did not have to be concerned about supplying His material needs
because God would do it for Him. Did He not later say, "If God so feeds the
birds of the field"?
This was a temptation for Christ to use His Sonship in a way other than
its God-ordained purpose. What is the God-ordained purpose of our calling?
"Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will
be added to you" ( Matthew 6:33). That is the truth of God. God will supply
what we need. So Jesus' answer was, "Thank you, but I'll just wait for God to
supply My need."
John W. Ritenbaugh
From Satan (Part 5)
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