Category: General

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2: 14).

What a glorious scene it must have been to the poor shepherds of Bethlehem ” … keeping watch over their flock by night” (Luke 2:8), when, after the angel had given his wonderful message and told them of their Saviour’s birth, there suddenly burst upon their astonished sight ” … a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:13-14).

Very glorious and very awful must it have been; and yet, how must their hearts have thrilled and leaped with joy and gladness at such blessed words. They were the best tidings the world had ever heard. Surely no heart that heard them could be cold and thankless.

But the same ” … good tidings of great joy … ” (Luke 2:10) are spoken to us now. Every Christmas does the joyous song of the angels ring anew in our ears, and the tidings are quite as ” … good tidings … ” for us as they were for the shepherds of Bethlehem. For us, as much as for them, was ” … born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” How then do the tidings fall upon our hearts now? Are they ” … good tidings of great joy … ” to us? Or do they enter our dull ears and cold hearts like an old tale that has lost its charm by being often told?

Oh! Can any true Christian help rejoicing at this blessed season? Is there any faithful child of God whose heart can help bounding again at the joyous Christmas tidings, as they fall, in all their old familiar gladness, upon the ear? They call back childhood’s happy days, when the blessed words of this day’s triumphant joy rang so freshly in our hearts, when the old chiming of the bells, and the old words of the well-remembered hymn, and the bright unfading holly, and the cheerful fireside, and all the many joys of this holy and happy time gave a charm to blessed Christmastime.

This charm it can never lose till our latest hour on earth, and which, perchance, shall help to make the remembrance of it beautiful throughout all eternity. Yea, though years may creep over us, and life with its sins and its sorrows, its disappointments and its weariness, may somewhat deaden the fresher feelings of our younger days, yet cold and deadened indeed must that heart be that, even in saddest sorrow, has no welcome left for Christmas.

Yet, though joy is so natural at this joyous season, there is need of much care and watching that our Christmas rejoicing be of the right sort. It is very easy to rejoice after a wrong fashion – to join in all the merriment and pleasure of the season without having any true Christian joy, without thinking at all of the wondrous event which makes this so really blessed a day to man.

Paul’s command is to “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice” (Philippians 4:4). This is true Christian rejoicing, to “Rejoice in the Lord … ” When can we more fitly and more fully obey this command than on that day when we remember that the Lord was born into the world to live and die for us, when ” … unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given … ” (Isaiah 9:6). The heavenly hosts themselves rejoiced in the Lord, chanting in heavenly strains their song of triumphant praise, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2: 14).

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 – “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.  For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”

Judgment is coming and every secret thing will be weighed. Good cross references are:

Luke 8:17 – “For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.”

Revelation 20:11-15 – “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

Romans 2:16 – “In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.”

“Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” (Ecclesiastes 8:11)

The idea is that of a speedy trial and a speedy punishment. If every killer in America knew beforehand that, if caught he would be convicted and hung before the end of the month, the murder rate would be cut in half before the end of the week.

“Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” (Ecclesiastes 9:10)

Anything worth doing is worth doing with passion. There is no place for half-heartedness in the life of the Christian.

“Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.” (Ecclesiastes 10:20)

This where the expression “a little bird told me” comes from.

^“Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.” (Ecclesiastes 11:1-6).

The ”bread” is the word of God Matthew 4:4 “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.”, and the “waters” are the lost people of the world, Isaiah 57:20 “But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.” Revelation 17:15, “And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” That’s the ministry of the word of God: sowing the seed by faith and not being deterred by circumstances. It might take years (“after many days”), but you will reap if you will sow.

“It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all.” (Ecclesiastes 7:18)

It is not hard to predict the winners and losers in life. The winners and achievers are those who fear God, and the losers are those who lean to their own understanding. Just watch things over the “long haul,” and it becomes very obvious. At forty years of age, the winner will usually have the same wife that he started with, disciplined children, a good church family, a decent job, and a joyful spirit of contentment. The loser will be a chronic complainer on his second marriage or third marriage with bratty step kids while trying to butter up the boss for a raise so he can finance the new boat or the new truck that he thinks will give him happiness,

“For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.” (Ecclesiastes 7:20)

This a good companion verse for Romans 3:10 “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:”and Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”.

“Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?” (Ecclesiastes 8:4)

The “word of a king” is obviously found between the covers of a KING James Bible, which has more “power” than all the other perversions combined.

As we open our Bibles, the word little should encourage us. It should become to us a word associated with victory rather than defeat.

A LITTLE MAID (2 KINGS 5)

A little maid, far away in captive circumstances, knew more about “a man of God” and the power of God than was known by the king of Israel. Her simple testimony brought her leprous master to be healed and become a worshipper of God!

When we find ourselves a captive to circumstances and seemingly far from any place of usefulness, may we direct some “leprous Naaman” to a place of cleansing and salvation.

We may wonder to what place of honor and blessing this captive maiden may have been exalted as her happy and healed master returned.

A LITTLE OIL (1 KINGS 17)

As a refugee from Jezebel, Elijah had left the failing waters of Cherith and the raven’s daily supply. At God’s direction, he found himself a boarder with a widow and her son. Her earthly known resources were but a little oil in a cruse and a scattered handful of meal dusting the bottom of a barrel. She was about to prepare their last meal. Elijah’s asking for a morsel of bread seems cruel in this desperate situation -truly desperate except for God! We are not able to estimate the amount of oil and meal in terms of gallons and barrels, but they ” … did eat many days” (verse 15), and there was enough. It lasted until Elijah left Mount Carmel, until the rains came, and until the famine was lifted.

When things seem “like a famine” and the “oil” and the “meal” are low, are we tempted to withhold from God lest there be not enough? Remembering the widow, we must give to God first. God has ways. How there was enough “for many days” we don’t know – except that God did it- and herein is our assurance and grounds for faith!

A LITTLE CLOUD (I KINGS 18)

A prayer of Elijah had driven the rain from Israel’s skies, and another had brought :fire to earth to consume a drenched altar in contest with Baal’s prophets. Then this righteous man bowed low on Carmel’s heights and fervently prayed for rain and the breaking of the drought. Six times the servant scanned the hot, brassy skies and reported that he

saw nothing-but Elijah kept praying!

After the seventh trip, and a look toward the sea, a little cloud the size of a man’s hand was reported! After three and one-half years, one man, a prayer, and a little cloud-only a little cloud, but it was God’s cloud – the burning, thirsty earth was drinking in the cool, refreshing, and reviving downpour!

Elijah’s God waits for His “Elijahs” today, as James 5:16 tells us, ” … The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much”

A LITTLE FISH (MATTHEW 14)

To face a stadium: filled with five to ten thousand hungry people, and hope to feed them with only a single lunch might well be called impossible! So it might have been that day beside Galilee had not those few fish been placed in the hands of Jesus, and blessed by Him who ages before had created all things.

For the apostles alone it was beyond the realm of possibility. ” … send the multitudes away … ” (verse 15), they said. We say today, “The job is too great and the resources too small!” But wait! Listen! ” … Bring them hither to me” (verse 18), said Jesus, and the fainting multitude had more than enough and were strengthened!

So today -first into His hands, back into ours, and then to the multitude who wait. It is not ours to bewail the “littleness” of what we have, but to dedicate it to Christ for His blessing in order that they need not go away – but have enough.

A LITTLE CHILD (MATTHEW 18)

How small he must have seemed in the midst of that crowd of apostles as Christ lifted him to His lap! He was just a ” … little child … ” (verse 2), but who can measure the space and place that he occupied in the ministry of the apostles, the plan of God, and the salvation of multitudes!

The reason is quite simple. Where there is no humility, God gives no grace He fights against the proud. Therefore, if this little child, in his simple faith, obedience, and submissiveness brings the lesson of humility to these upon whom the launching of God’s program depends-how great is his place!

God may use some of His “little” children to teach some simple lessons needed by those “bigger” ones who may, because of our lessons taught, go forth to great things-of which we have become really a part! Nothing is actually “little” that touches God, souls, and eternity!

A LITTLE FLOCK (LUKE 12)

Placed alongside the non-professing world and the merely professing church, God’s own are a “little flock” both numerically and in natural strength. There is no merit in being “little” as a congregation(it might be a shame if our best has not been done to grow), but His presence in our midst is the important thing.

When we see what great things He has done with “the little” and “the few,” we must conclude that when God ceases to use the things that are “small” and “weak,” He will have ceased to be God.

“For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence” (1 Corinthians 1:26-29).

It is interesting and instructive to note what the New Testament teaches about the grace of God.

Grace is the means of justification and salvation. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

The believer stands in grace, is under grace, and has access to Gods throne of grace. “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4: 14-16).

Although Israel as a nation has been set aside by God, there is a remnant among them according to the election of grace in the present dispensation. “Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace” (Romans 11: 5).

Gods grace is sufficient, so that His strength is made perfect in weakness. “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee for my strength is made perfect in weakness … ” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Gods grace enables for an abundant and effective ministry “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me” (l Corinthians 15:10).

Gods people may and should grow in grace. “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever” (2 Peter 3: 18).

In the ages to come, God will show the exceeding riches of His grace toward us. “That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:7).

“All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.” Ecclesiastes 1:7

So, The Bible had the evaporation and condensation cycle right along before most men. The oceans evaporate and form clouds, which move over the land and drop water, which runs into the rivers and back to the oceans.

“The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. “Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.” Ecclesiastes 1:9-10

So, we say, “There’s nothing new under the sun” and “history repeats itself.”

“I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.” Ecclesiastes 3:14

So, when God saves sinner, it’s forever, and when God damns a sinner, it’s forever.

^“Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.  Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.  For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.  When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.  Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.” Ecclesiastes 5:1-5

This is a great Old Testament companion passage for James 1:19. One should do far more hearing than speaking. James 1:19, “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:”

“There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.” Genesis 6:4

These giants were literal giants that were produced as a result of angels cohabitating with the “daughters of men.” These are the angels that “kept not their first estate.”

“And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” (Jude 1:6)

The “also after that” (Genesis 6:4) indicates that such activity also occurred throughout the Old Testament.

“And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.” (Numbers 13:33)

“For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man.And this land, which we possessed at that time, from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, and half mount Gilead, and the cities thereof, gave I unto the Reubenites and to the Gadites.And the rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, being the kingdom of Og, gave I unto the half tribe of Manasseh; all the region of Argob, with all Bashan, which was called the land of giants.” (Deuteronomy 3:11-13)

“And the border came down to the end of the mountain that lieth before the valley of the son of Hinnom, and which is in the valley of the giants on the north, and descended to the valley of Hinnom, to the side of Jebusi on the south, and descended to Enrogel,” (Joshua 18:16)

“And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.” (I Samuel 17:4)

“And Ishbibenob, which was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David.” (II Samuel 21:16)

“These were born unto the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.” (I Chronicles 20:8)

Satan’s plan in all of this was to destroy the promised seed of Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”, an effort that he continues in various ways throughout the New Testament.

“Judge not, that ye be not judged.” (Matthew 7:1)

Most all unsaved people have a Bible that they live by. The problem is that it has only about ten verses. This is one of them. Matthew 7:1 has been quoted by more lost people than Christians and it has been memorized by more lost people than John 3:16, “ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Unfortunately, this obsession with a verse that they don’t even understand has rubbed off on so many Christians that it is almost universally believed that it is wrong to judge. The following four verses (Matthew 7:2-5) plainly show that the verse one is not a commandment against judging, but rather a warning against unfair and harsh judgment.

“For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?  Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:2-5)

After all, the same Jesus that gave Matthew 7:1 also gave us John 7:24, “ Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” Of course the unbelieving world doesn’t know that verse because it isn’t in their sick and twisted Bible of less than a dozen verses, nor is I Corinthians 2:15, “But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.” I Corinthians 6:1-5, “Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?  Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?  Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?” Proverbs 31:9, “Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.”

Therefore every serious Christian needs to know how to handle Matthew 7:1 responsibly.

“And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.” Matthew 1:25

The word “firstborn” is taken out of the new translations, thus weakening the fact that Mary gave birth to other children. This, of course helps the Catholics to teach that she remained a virgin and is now the Virgin Mary.

Also, Psalm 69:8, says, “I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother’s children.” “my brethren” and “mother’s children” is referring to the other children that Mary had after the Lord Jesus Christ.

Notice what Matthew 13:54-57 tells us, “And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.”

Clearly, Jesus had stepbrothers and stepsisters.