Month: February 2016

MEN OF COURAGE

By Rick Mathes

1 Corinthians 16:13 (NASB77)
¹³   Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

We live in a very fast paced, success driven culture that can move faster than we can move faster than we can. For many of us technology is leaving us behind. It is very stressful to keep up with the world racing to its own destruction morally, economically, politically and socially; a paper lion on fire or a handful of sand with no substance or form. Take a real good look within yourself and recognize that there is an event or distress. That lump in hour gut isn’t going to go away until you man-up and take courage.

A dreadful glance over your shoulder will give you a clear view of all your burning bridges. Like heart-burn, the vivid memories of every moment in your spinelss past escapades with the demons, you can’t help but notice that you were defeated at every turn. The wages of sin is death and thee is no escaping that consequences: none!

Satan can’t make you a coward but he can surround you with wimps that jump at efery chace to distort their fears with counterfeit courage. They will do in jest, anything that gis them the persona of John Wayne or Lennox Lewis. Showtime! A world of shadows and illusions of normalcy and courage that drive the women to plead God for a man like them; When yo look around yourself you will only see man-made religion that is destroying the planet of beautiful marvels that are wilting and dying.

Before you is a brave new world: anything we collectively are courageous enough to pursue. Study the lives of the pilgrims and early settlers that founded the greatest nation in world history smack in the middle of a savage infested wilderness.

There isn’t anywhere to find that raw courage but to look up to our Savior. He alone can deliver us from the punishment we deserve. “Thank you Jesus the police don’t have the rap-sheet on us that Lord has!” Can you even imagine how much time we should be serving in prison? And it is that simple: just look up!

All of the weight of hell is pulling your eyes down and out: horizontal instead of vertical There is no better belight but to stand openly and boldly in the comforting presence of our King Jesus!

MEMBERS ONLY

By Rick Mathes

Matthew 7:21 ” Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.

All I want to do is go about the Father’s business and not know it. A good way to start is to do a great work and let others take the credit for it. What a joy it is to pile up treasure in glory. I learned this from Paul when he wrote the prison epistles.

Here Paul was in a literal hole in the ground prison; hot, humid, filthy and vermin infested writing Philippians, the “joyful” epistle. He looked out and saw all the cities he threw the match of the Word at explode in a fourth of July of converts and prospering churches. He did and gave them the credit and they abandoned him to this deplorable condition of being a captive for the Lord. Yet he said, “Rejoice, again I say rejoice!” What a saint of Christ to model ourselves after. Paul-like for me is much more within range than Christ-like.

Believe in Christ in spite of having not seen Him. This will cause you to love Him and it will convict you of sin so that you repent. One look at Him and you will not be able to do otherwise. Like metal to a magnet, you will be attracted to and absorbed by the power of God the Holy Spirit.

Living a holy life requires that you be wholly His. A surrendered to his loving arms invites also other to do so because if you love Him to love His equally. WE love one another because He first loved us. We would not know what love and holiness are apart from His revealing Himself through the Word and the lives of unbelievers.

So let me ask you, “Does your church know the real you?” I’ll bet they do and they just haven’t been critical because they need your membership and tithing. You can bet the world knows you if you are not His. They embrace relativism and abhor any absolute accept the statement; “They are no absolutes” which negates itself. A tragic comedy of errors that even you may have believed. We lie so much about our lives we begin to live out an illusion. But I guarantee you, Jesus knows you and you are not going to get anything past Him. Pretend that you are hand-cuffed to Him like the criminal you are and watch how quickly your life and living change!

MATHETES

By Rick Mathes

Acts 11:26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And it came about that for an entire year they met with the church, and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

What in the world is “Mathetes?” Is it one of my relatives or a Greek root of my name “Mathes?” I wish it was but no it means “disciple.” It is also the title of the oldest recorded sermon. It is a must read.

In the meantime, back to the verse we are studying. You must be a believer as they were back then and not polluted by the carnality of the now. You can’t walk through a coal mine for 2,000 years in a white suit and not get soiled. So let’s go to a spiritual laundry room and take a closer look at what a joy there is in awaiting and preparing for the King to return. It is only in a steadfast faith will we ever step into the original faith beyond our grasp.

When we have the earnestness of those primitive followers we have an industry of assuredness that all we touch is blessed and in His will. We know we know that if we consecrate our bodies as Solomon anointed the Temple, the Shekinah glory shines once again and it shines in us.

Believers, true to Christ, have a special tact and confidence that leaves all other claims of religions from other gods in the dust. In short; He is alive! His death on the cross was the ultimate self-sacrifice and example for all Christians to follow. He says we must pick up our cross and follow Him or else! (My paraphrase) And when we do, our old self die and the Holy Spirit abides in us and gives us life as we have never had it before.

What response can a Christian have but faithfulness to the source of faith. Faith, by the way, is all that is beyond your grasp. If it was within reach and you accomplished it, you would take credit for it no matter how hard you tried to mask it in religious humility.

The true test is when the going gets tough. But the real test is endurance. The P in TULIP is perseverance. Real Christians don’t quit they pressed on. It is truly a matter of patience. We must do things in His time not necessarily ours. We accomplish His purposes as Christians in His perfect permissive will but rest assured it is perfect. When we breathe our last and glance back, we will be astonished at the genius of His plan and shaping of our lives for His glory.

Now we are back to where it begins: God’s love for us as disciples. Father God is the lover, Jesus is the loved and the Holy Spirit is the love between them. All of that is wrapped up in the privilege of being a Christian mathetes.

 

MASKED MAN

By Rick Mathes

Romans 7:21 (NASB77) ²¹  I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wishes to do good.

The ship’s place is in the sea but God pity the ship when the sea gets into it. Likewise, the Christian’s place is in the world but God pity the Christian if the world gets the best of him. Satan’s consuming passion for his legions of devils to pollute and rot all that God meant for good.

We were made in the beautiful image and likeness of God so you can bet your last dollar that hell is targeting us with artificial pleasures and sensations that metastasize spiritual cancer to eternal death. Our countrymen and women spend billions on their appearance, our outward look at the expense of our inward purity and virtue. Contagious diseases are sweeping our communities in epidemic proportions.

I saw a sign with a handsome young black child and under it was the wording, “The mind is a terrible thing to waste.” The prominence of our brilliance and superiority of thought has been decimated to hours of veggie tunes and mindless video games. The disposition of our attitude has peaked in “Who cares?” The futility of our efforts to make a difference is limp and impotent without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We can do all things physical, mental, educational, vocational and Spiritual if only we will unleash the creative God of the universe in our lives!

Materialism, the god of possessions and affluence has become thick mud under our strained wheels of progress. Property, success and fame with all the glitter and flashing lights point “This way to heaven!” into the surprising flames of that eternal furnace we have tried so hard to avoid.

The junk-yard dog in us is reduced to a whimpering puppy. Just a little praise balloons our self-image in importance and might. Our ability potential and capacity is nothing but an illusion of masked evil. Our strength against the demons is cotton candy to their blow torches of dissemination. But in Christ we can do all things. So take the devil’s mask and pit it off to epose him for who he truly is. Repent and the Holy Spirit will restore you so that you can once again walk with God in the cool of the evening in peace.

MAN VS. GOD

By Rick Mathes

Romans 2:10 (NASB) ¹⁰  but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

HUMANIST MANIFESTON

We believe that traditional dogmatic or authoritarian religions that place revelation, god, ritual or creed above human needs and experience do a disservice to the human species.

Promises of immortal salvation or fear of eternal damnation are both illusory and harmful. They distract humans form present concerns, self-actualization and from rectifying social injustices.

We affirm that moral values derive their source from human experience.

Ethics is autonomous and situational, needing no theological or ideological sanction. Ethics stem from human need and interest. To deny this distorts the whole basis of life.

Reason and intelligence are the most effective instruments that humankind possesses. There is no substitute, neither faith nor passion suffices in itself.

No deity will save us; we must save ourselves.

CALVINISM

Total Depravity

One speck of sin (darkness) forbids you to stand in God’s Light. We must be totally holy or wee will never see God’s presence; only the imputed righteousness of Christ will do.

Unconditional Election

We didn’t save ourselves, we can’t. God chose us or we wouldn’t have chosen Him.

Limited Atonement

Those who refuse His death on the Cross with languish in Hell forever. This is His justice.

Irresistible Grace

Like metal to a magnet, we are drawn to Him, His purposes and His will.

Perseverance of the Saints

We don’t give up!

The choice is yours to make: by grace or works. Consider, the effect is not the cause of the effect. The cause caused the effect. Think, a lighter flame did not cause the lighter flame, the lighter fluid and a spark was the cause. A tear does not cause crying. The physical and emotional sadness causes the tears. It is not by works that we are saved or everyone would be bragging.

When you see the word “works” just substitute it with “effect.” With this in mind, you will see all other “works faith” including the religion of humanism in a whole different light. His Light!

MAN GOD

By Rick Mathes

Romans 1:3 concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh,

Jesus was born a descendent of David through His son Nathan to Mary, His mother. He Holy Spirit caused this hypostasis; a miracle to occur so that He wouldn’t be born of Joseph naturally whose linage from Solomon was cursed. A baby was born that was God incarnate. The angels exploded the heavens with joy and Satan’s swarms of death stinging demons went into a frenzy of venomous oaths to kill the King of Glory. They did kill him eventually only to have Him rise from the dead on the third say as He said He would. Death stung Jesus and died!

Jesus was a man’s man in any measure you may use. The perfect Man is not only worth emulating but also our God in the flesh is deserving of all our worship. Yes, He was born of a woman and was God clothed in the flesh blood. He grew in stature but also in wisdom from His text book mentor, Isaiah.

As many of us have, He would go hungry, homeless and suffer much discomfort and also walk and rest in such luxury as His close friend Lazarus would provide Him with. The women fussed over Him and His gang hung on His every word and eventually died with His name on their lips.

Even from the cross, He pulled back His heavenly glory and pitifully cried out with His parched throat, “I thirst.” His physical attributes were very real and human. Consider that He didn’t have the strength to carry a 50 pound crossbeam to the hill of Calvary. Even before that, He rested at the well with the Samaritan woman and how about when He fell asleep in the boat as it was tossed and turned in that violent storm? He was real Man that bled real red blood like we all do as was evidenced by the Centurion who confessed Jesus as Lord.

The real torture that demonstrated His manhood wasn’t on the cross that was anti-climatic. The horror of the hell He was about to suffer came upon Him in the garden. It was so terrifying that He prayed that it might pass and He sweat blood!

No doubt about it, He suffered, bled and died and was buried like you and I will someday find ourselves, planted in the soil that God created us from. The Bib le and other records verify, without any doubt, He was a real historical figure that walked this earth as we do. He was descended as a man from Heaven and returned a King that had conquered death for us.

LOVE LETTER

By Rick Mathes

John 5:39 (NASB77) ³⁹ ” You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me;

It’s not a much the what as it is the who. You may have your theology with some error but if you  are right with the who, “Jesus” you will be just fine as you keep pressing on to the whole truth.

You can find both in the Holy Scriptures. All we need to know is there. Mark Twain once commented, “It’s not what I don’t understand about the Bible that worries me, it’s what I do understand.” My yardstick of a true believer is: Bible only, Jesus only, Grace only, and Faith only. Let’s examine a few of the building blocks of what we do understand and make every effort to apply and then evaluate the following:

1. You must take up your cross, die to sin an rise to life.
2. It is a natural reaction to the Word to pray fervently.
3. The church is commanded to unify and be in one accord.
4. The response to the Word is to become a soul winner.
5. The Gospel begs to be discussed and searched as a good Barean.
6. It overflows in your spirit and in your way and you will preach the Word.
7. Once the Holy Spirit quenches your understanding you will be responsible.
8. Nothing will silence you as you exhort and encourage.
9. A natural consequence will be to rebuke and correct.
10. All of Hell will do all it can do to deter and stop you.

You can count on the devil attacking you unexpectedly and on your blind side. While you are fast asleep at night, the devil is doing push-ups and planning your destruction in the morning. He is rabidly consumed with a passion to destroy Scriptures and grasp you for his.

He knows your weakest point and that is where he aims his missiles of sin, to kill and destroy any trace of repentance and to ignite the sins within and destroy and trace of repentance and to ignite the sins within you to a furnace so hot it can melt diamonds like butter on a skillet.

Satan is deceitfully friendly as he teaches you that the Bible “contains” the Word of God as other books do. He will twist and turn Scriptures so that you wink at sin and put off all effort of pursuing holiness with a once burning desire that is now only a faint glowing ember.