The first of our irrefutable facts of life is that life is not fair. We’ve probably all heard our parents say this, I know that I heard it from my parents quite often. I’ve grown up and now catch myself echoing that saying to my children as well. It is decidedly a truth in our lives.

Some people get to be rich while others are poor. Some people are very smart while others are left ignorant. Some are well fed while others starve. Some of us enjoy freedom while others are enslaved. Some are in good health while others suffer in sickness. In all these things I think the point is made that life is not fair. God did not promise us a ‘rose garden’ as my father would put it.

Life is not fair. This is the truth of the matter. There is more to it than that however. God did promise us some things. For example: (Mat 6:33) But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. God will take care of us if we put Him first in our lives.

God also promises us that there is fairness in salvation. (Act 10:34) Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: (Act 10:35) But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. God is not impressed by your name, your money, you status or anything else that is worldly. He is impressed with obedience and faithfulness, something that is obtainable by anyone. So even if life ‘deals you a bad hand’ so to speak, you can still trust in God to be honest and true, for He will forever be so.

God also promises us that everyone will be judged. (2Co 5:10) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. In the end there will always be justice for God is a just God (Isaiah 45:21). So those that do ill and receive great earthly rewards will come to answer for those misdeeds, and their lucky streak will end. Those that are faithful will be noted for it as well. (Mat 10:32) Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. If we remember these promises we will not be disappointed when life shows itself to be unfair.

Another fact of life is that we cannot change history. Things happen, and there’s nothing we can do about it. You cannot unring a bell, as my grandmother might say. There are those that would revise history, but that is nothing more than just ignoring the parts they don’t want to remember. The truth is once something is history, there’s nothing we can do to change it. What happened will always be, you can never take it back.

Because of this we need to be vigilant in guarding what we say and do. (Psa 141:3) Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. A word, once spoken, can never return. It can never be unspoken, all that can happen is dealing with the consequences. (Mat 12:36) But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. This is why it is important to avoid words and actions that are not proper.

Say someone comes up and smacks you right in the nose. Does them apologizing for it afterwards make it hurt any less? Does it retract the action and make it like it never happened? Of course not, you will still hurt and feel the repercussions of the event no matter what. The only thing that can be done is coping with what happened.

The same holds true for inaction as well. If someone is drowning and you do not do anything and they die, there is nothing you can do to bring them back. No words or actions will change history.

This is why we have to be careful about what we say and do. Always ask yourself if what you’re about to do or say is proper for a Christian. Know that we will be judged for every word and act as we just read. Know that nothing you can do will change history after the fact. Know that everything you do is a reflection on who you are and what you stand for. (Mat 7:20) Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Children have been known to chant “stick and stones might break my bones but words will never hurt me” but is that right? Sadly it is not. Words have immense power, and they always have. That is why it is said that the “pen is mightier than the sword”. Words can attack in ways that steel never could, and make wounds no bandage can patch.

Words must be given the respect they are due, for without words, where would society be? (Eph 5:6) Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. This is a serious problem because the wrong words can confuse and mislead people.

In the end we are told (2Ti 4:3) For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; (2Ti 4:4) And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. They will turn to lies and the wrong words, and they will suffer for it. The wrong religious teachings can have some huge consequences. (Mat 7:22) Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? (Mat 7:23) And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. So as you can see, making sure you hear and speak the right words is very important.

We must always work hard to choose the right words, and avoid those words that improper and wrong.

A fact of life is that every choice has a consequence. Newton’s third law of motion states that for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. This is spiritually true as well. Whatever you do spiritually has a reaction associated with it. (Gal 6:7) Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. (Gal 6:8) For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. Go against God and bad things will happen, go with God and receive eternal life. So what you do, whether for or against the Lord, has a consequence associated with it.

Many people in the world today ignore this very idea. They do what they want, they act in a hedonistic manner, and they either hope against a bad consequence, or ignore the possibility of one. This is not just a spiritual law, it is a life law. In fact, most religions have a variation on this very theme. Most, if not nearly all, believe that whatever you do will be repaid to you in some manner. Karma is a good example of this.

Then we see this law in nature through things like Newton’s law that I just mentioned. Oddly people only accept this rule if they want to. They will give money to a charity and claim a ‘karma’ deposit, but then will turn around and have casual sex without acknowledging the consequences of that action. It’s easy to only claim positive consequences, but it’s honest to claim negative ones as well.

Understanding that all choices have consequences that must be faced helps remind us of what choices we should make.

A fact of life is that someone will oppose you for doing the right thing. There is a very true saying floating around nowadays: ‘no good deed goes unpunished’. We know as Christians that there are going to be those that stand against us. (Mat 5:11) Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. This tells us that this is going to happen, sure as day. Notice the verse does not say ‘if men revile you’ but instead says ‘when men revile you’. This tells us that it’s going to happen at some point if we are out doing the Lord’s work.

Jesus also said (Joh 15:19) If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. (Joh 15:20) Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. I’m pretty sure that we can all agree that Jesus was persecuted. We are not better than Him so we will face persecution if we keep His commands. If you speak out for God, if you do anything for God, you are going to find someone that will mock you or persecute you in some form or another. You might not be beaten and executed but you might be mocked and ridiculed. There are many forms and levels of persecution.

If we know that we are going to face opposition, we can prepare for it and make sure we have a viable, appropriate defense prepared when it happens. We must be willing to face our persecution with humility and love, just as the Lord did. He did not scream at people or call them names. We must learn from His example so that we can reflect Him in our actions.

A fact of life is that things change. Today is not like yesterday, and tomorrow will not be like today. No matter what, things have changed and are different. Just when you think you have things figured out, life will throw you a curveball, and you’ll face new challenges in your life.

Many of us started out on this journey known as life expecting things to go one way when they in fact end up going another. Few of us have life play out exactly as we plan. Most of us deal with surprises in our professional, home and social lives. These aren’t always bad changes, but they are still changes nonetheless.

Think of the Byrd’s song ‘turn, turn, turn’. That song matches portions of chapter 3 of the Book of Ecclesiastics. As the song says ‘there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven’. This is very true, as there is a time to be born, and a time to die, a time to destroy and a time to build up again. There is a time and place for everything, as they say. This means we have to accept change in our lives because it is just a fact of living.

In the future we have a great deal of changes coming. Glance through the Book of Revelation and you will see a ton of changes that are coming down the line at some point. This is above and beyond the changes that are just a part of daily living.

Having said that, I will say this: (Heb 13:8) Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. He does not need to change because He is perfect in His existence. He went through changes in His life, and understands the changes that we are going through today. That is why we can put our trust and faith in Him.

The last truth we want to remember today is that everyone dies. No matter what science might say about potential immortality, the fact stands that we all pass away, it is just the way of things. I honestly believe that this truth is part of the definition of our mortality and existence. (Heb 9:27) And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: one death is at the very least appointed, and whether or not one suffers the second death is between them and God.

We need to all remember that we will have to face that day when the flesh and the spirit part, and death comes to take us. When we think of this, this should inspire us to be prepared for such an occasion for no one promised us tomorrow or even our next breath. Be right with God because you might be seeing Him a lot sooner than you planned for.

These are just some of the facts of life that we have to deal with as people. If we are aware of them and take what we learn from the Bible and apply it to our lives, we can help make our way through things in a manner pleasing to God. I will leave you with one final thing that should never change in your life: (1Th 5:17) Pray without ceasing. Until next time, God bless.

(Gen 3:9) And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? There are many people that claim this verse proves that God is not all knowing because He asked about Adam’s location. This is not true. God knew exactly where Adam was, what He was doing was trying to get Adam to take responsibility for what he had done. God was giving Adam a chance to tell the truth: “I’m hiding from you God because I have sinned”. This is not an uncommon situation. I, as a parent, have been in this situation many times before. I have, at times, known exactly where my kids were, but I would call out to them anyway, to test them and see if they would admit the truth of the situation or if they would hide it.

My daughter once went to a friend’s house instead of going to a school function like she was supposed to. I found out about it, and called her, asking her where she was. I already knew she was at the friend’s house, but I gave her the chance to ‘fess up. I think this is quite similar to what was going on with God asking that first question.

Imagine now what answer you might have if God asked you where you are. How do you stand with God? Are you a Christian? If not, you certainly need to be! (2Co 5:17) Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. You need to be a new creature as well. (Rom 8:1) There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Getting saved provides a great answer when God asks ‘where are you?’

If you are a Christian, that’s great, but the question is still important. Are you keeping God’s commands? Are you working to do His will every single day? Are you a faithful and diligent soldier of the cross? Since no one is perfect, there is always something more we can do to improve our walk with Christ. Are you working to try to be better, or are you complacent and stagnant in your faith?

Some people say that they don’t know where they are in relation to God. We all need to be diligent to make sure we stand in favor with the Lord. (2Ti 2:15) Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. That’s how we can keep ourselves in the proper alignment, by studying and doing the Lord’s work the best we can.

We all need to remember the basics of being with God, fearing God, and serving God. The writer of the Book of Ecclesiastes made a list of the ‘vain things’ in life and fearing God and keeping His commandments were certainly not on the list. In fact, the writer said that fearing and serving God was of the utmost importance. (Ecc 12:13) Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. (Ecc 12:14) For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

When God asks ‘where are you?’ make sure that you can answer ‘right here!’ and have no reason to hide. Adam, on the other hand, was in bad shape. (Gen 3:10) And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. This leads us into the next question that God asked.

(Gen 3:11a) And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Again God knows the answer, but He’s still giving Adam a chance to speak for himself. This question comes up because Adam and Eve weren’t really into clothing that much before. (Gen 2:25) And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. By being ashamed Adam was showing that something suspicious was going on. They were innocent before they ate the fruit, not caring about nudity. When Adam said that they were naked, he was showing that he was no longer innocent. He had received the ability to discern good from evil.

This leads God to ask ‘who told you this?’ which we know of course was the Devil. Again I want to think about what it would be like if God was asking us the question. Now obviously He wouldn’t be talking about nudity, but He might ask us ‘who told you premarital sex is okay?’ Or ‘who said white lies don’t matter?’ How about ‘who told you that ‘gosh dang’ isn’t profanity?’

Just as Adam and Eve had been fed bum information by the Serpent, we too often take our information from sources that are not reliable. We need to stop and take the time to consider where our information is coming from.

(Gen 3:11) Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? This is God’s third question to Adam. Again God knew what was going on, but He wanted Adam to see his sin. Getting people to see the sins in others is easy, but it can be very difficult to see sin in oneself. Therefore we need to be highly objective when examining ourselves.

(2Co 13:5) Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? We need to look at ourselves and make sure we are actually holding true to the faith, proving to ourselves that we’re on the right path. We need to do this because we all sin. (Rom 3:23) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; this is reason enough to stop on occasion and make sure we haven’t fallen back into our old ways.

Adam could not see his sin. He blamed Eve, who then blamed the Devil. This is actually pretty much human nature. We don’t like to think that we’ve done wrong, and we will actually rationalize our behavior away so that we don’t have to face the fact that we are indeed imperfect people. We must take responsibility for our sins, and be sorry that we’ve committed them. And this remorse has to be more than what the world considers remorse. For with the world, a person is not sorry for their sins, they are sorry that they were ‘caught’ either by others, or by their own conscience. No, we must repent the way God tells us to. (2Co 7:10) For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. To be sorry on a worldly level is to be dead.

(Psa 32:5) I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. The Psalmist is telling us how to be repentant, to be completely honest and open, and confess to the Lord our sins, and He is faithful and true to forgive them. (Psa 51:17) The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. To be of a humble, even broken, spirit before the Lord is more valuable than even sacrifices, and God will look after those that come to Him in the uttermost humility.

(Luk 13:3) I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Repenting is godly sorrow, not the sorrow of the world, which is sinful and not pleasing to God. Here’s an example for us: (Luk 18:10) Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. (Luk 18:11) The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. (Luk 18:12) I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. (Luk 18:13) And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. (Luk 18:14) I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Notice that Adam was not humble before God. Instead he was accusatory, saying that it was Eve’s fault, who then turned and emulated Adam audacious behavior by accusing the snake. God was giving Adam a chance to be repentant, which of course Adam missed out on.

God’s final question to Adam and Eve was spoken towards Eve, though I’m sure it applied to both of them. (Gen 3:13a) And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? God is giving the pair another chance at realizing just how serious the sin they had committed was. Surely Eve wanted to think that all she had done was nibbled a bit of fruit off of a tree, but she had done so much more than that. That is like people today. They do sinful things, and then think ‘oh that was such a little thing!’ when it is indeed a huge thing to God, as all sin is.

In fact, God had told Eve that if they ate of that fruit, ‘in that day you will die’ which is a seriously hardcore consequence. Adam and Eve lost so very much over that sin. They lost their homes and their lives. They introduced sin and death into the world. They changed the way everyone that came after them would live. They changed everything, top to bottom, for all of us.

How many have uttered that phrase in history? “What have I done?” A drunk driver after having killed someone in an accident might say “what have I done?” A spouse that loses their marriage because of their infidelity might wonder “what have I done?” A mother might say “what have I done?” after seeing her child fall into a bad crowd because she was too busy to parent properly. A drug addict might see their mangled and dying bodies, and call out “what have I done?”

It’s clear what happened in those instances, but what about when the answer to the question is “nothing”? What about when we ask ourselves how we’ve served the Lord and the only answer we can find is “nothing”? (Jas 4:17) Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

In the fall of Adam and Eve, God asked revealing and ultimately beneficial questions. First He asked “where are you?” We should ask ourselves on a daily basis just where we are in terms of our relationship with God. If you are not a child of God, you need to become one. If you are out of fellowship with God, you need to return.

“Who told you that you were naked?” This reminds us to remember who told us how to live this way or that way. We need to remember that the ultimate source is from the Lord. We need to make sure we don’t stumble on the traditions of men.

“Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” This reminds us to ask ourselves if we have sinned. Have we done things we’re ashamed of? Have we done things that are wrong? We need to make sure our hearts are right with God.

“What is this you have done?” This reminds us to remain humble and to repent if we have the need to do so. We need to keep a meek spirit, and avoid pride.

Make sure that you can answer “I am repentant of my sins and stand right with the Lord in a close personal relationship! Christ is with me, and if I die today I will be with the Lord forever!” Until next time, God bless.

            We are going to be working from the text found in Luke 10:25-37. The first thing we can note is that a lawyer stands up to ask the question that brings Christ to tell the parable. A lawyer in this context would be someone that is well studied in the law of Moses. The lawyer seeks to ‘test’ Jesus as we see in verse 25. In fact, the King James Version renders the word as ‘tempted’.

            This would seem to indicate that the lawyer was trying to trick Jesus into saying something that could be used against Him. This was a common situation throughout the teachings of Jesus. They were always trying to get Jesus to incriminate Himself. The lawyer stood, which may have been to call attention to himself. His question, “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” may well have been asked not for any sincere reason, but instead as a form of entrapment.

            Jesus answers him by reversing the question and therefore the test saying “What is written in the law? how readest thou?” The man answers with the legal answer (Luk 10:27)  And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. Jesus tells him that he is indeed correct to basically quote Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18.

            The lawyer presses the point, not letting it go by asking just who his neighbor actually is. This question is what leads Jesus to tell the parable of the Good Samaritan. Let’s go ahead and review the parable. (Luk 10:30)  And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. (Luk 10:31)  And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. (Luk 10:32)  And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. (Luk 10:33)  But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, (Luk 10:34)  And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. (Luk 10:35)  And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. (Luk 10:36)  Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves? (Luk 10:37)  And he said, He that showed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

            So the trip the man is taking is from Jerusalem to Jericho, a journey of about 20 miles or so. This route was known as the ‘Way of Blood’ because it was an exceedingly dangerous trip. Bandits and thieves apparently infested this road, and our man has the bad fortune to run into some of these evil men.

            He is beaten and wounded badly in some manner, and all of his possessions are taken from him, including most of his clothes. He is left for dead in the ditch.

            The first passerby comes by and does nothing. We are told that this man is a priest. This means the man represents both the cultural and religious establishments which you would think would be kind and gentle, but instead leaves the wounded man alone.

            The second passerby is a Levite, another religious elite, and once again the wounded man is passed by and ignored. There is no compassion shown by those that are from the religious establishments.

            Next comes along the Samaritan. Now this fellow, he sees the wounded man and is moved to help him. Now what is interesting is the fact that the Jews hated the Samaritans so that would be more than enough of a motivation for the Samaritan to pass the wounded man by.

            The Samaritan applies oil and wine to the man’s wounds, which was the first-aid procedures of the time, even if they do sound odd to us nowadays. Then he puts the man on his own mount, which we can assume means that the Samaritan basically sacrificed his ride and walked to the inn.

            So the Samaritan brought the wounded man to an inn. I personally think this might be because the wounded is out of it enough that he’s not able to basically tell the Samaritan where he lives, leaving the Samaritan no choice but to take him somewhere he would be looked after: an inn.

            The Samaritan gives the innkeeper two denarii which was two days’ salary to take care of the man, promising to check in with the inn the next time he was in town and cover any further expenses required to take care of the wounded man. Think about that, this would be the equivalent of giving a couple hundred dollars or more up to take care of a complete stranger. How many of us would be willing to do that? Giving someone a ride, sure, but spending money on a stranger? I don’t think all that many people would be willing to do that.

            So Jesus asks the question: who was the man’s true neighbor? The men of his own country and of his own religion that passed him by without a second look, or the man of a hated people that stopped and took care of him? Obviously the Samaritan was the true neighbor of the wounded man.

            The lawyer comes to this same answer, and Jesus tells him to do the same as the Samaritan, to look out for people and to show mercy to all. Jesus is calling attention to the idea of us loving our neighbor as ourselves.

            We can learn who our neighbors are by paying attention to this parable. When we think about neighbors some people think of those that are of the same race as they are. Racism has caused many a person to walk on the opposite side of the street when they come across someone in need that is not of the same race.

            But Jesus blasts this practice to oblivion in this parable by His usage of a Samaritan being the helpful one. The Samaritan was of a different race, nationality, and religion than the Jew. There was also animosity between the two groups as we can see in (Joh 4:9)  Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. This did not matter to the Samaritan, who saw someone in need and decided to help out regardless.

            So it is for us as Christians. We should be (Rom 12:13)  Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. Also check this verse out: (Gal 6:10)  As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. We should do good to those that are also believers, but we’re commanded to help out everyone that has a need. Our neighbor, therefore, is anyone we can help!

            Another interesting thing about this parable is that it shows a separation of religion from neighborliness. The first two people that passed the wounded man should have been the first to help him, but they did not. They should have both been influenced by their religion to help instead of ignoring the man.

            These two men would have done well to remember (Deu 10:17)  For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: (Deu 10:18)  He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.

            But because they did not, they proved themselves to be hypocritical. They failed to practice what they preached, so to speak, and showed how shallow their faith truly was.

            We need to be mindful of such things so that we don’t fall into the same trap of ignoring the wounded man and proving our faith to be baseless. (Jas 1:22)  But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. We’ve been told to love our neighbors and take care of each other. Therefore we now know better, and have no excuse not to put that command into action.

            When it comes to compassion we need to be willing to cross all barriers of race, gender, religion, and any other social stigma that we might face. We need to also be willing to face risks if needed in our acts of compassion. The Samaritan faced danger to help the wounded man. What if the bandits were still around? What if different thieves fell on him while he was helping the Jew? These are just some of the risks that the Samaritan faced.

            (Luk 6:30)  Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. This is telling us to help those that need it and ask it of us, and even if they take our stuff we’re not to even push the issue. We’re to give what we can whenever others have need. We need to have faith in God that He will take care of us when we give freely.

            We also need to be willing to be ‘put out’ so to speak, when it comes to helping others. Don’t just keep walking by because you are busy, be willing to set aside your schedule to help someone that needs it. The Samaritan was on a journey when he came across the wounded man. He probably had business to attend to, things he needed to do but he still stopped to render aid. We need to be willing to do the same.

            (Mat 5:41)  And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Or in other words, if he asks for one mile, go with him two. The first mile might be out of compulsion, but the second mile is to be out of love.

            We must also be willing to sacrifice for compassion. The Samaritan gave not only his time but also some of his provisions as in the wine and the oil. He used some of his own goods to take care of the wounded man. The Samaritan also set up an open ended agreement with the innkeeper, offering to pay for anything more than the wounded man needed, even though he had already paid two days’ wages.

            If we truly sacrifice for compassion and follow the example of the good Samaritan, we will be truly following the commands of God. The good Samaritan parable challenges us to rise to a higher level of love and compassion. It tells us that we need to have an expanded definition of who our neighbors are. We are to include any and all that we can help.  We are also challenged to expand our definition of compassion.

            The question now becomes who are we? Are we the Levite or the priest? Or are we more, are we the Samaritan that stops and renders aid and shows the true love that God commands us to show?

            Be the Samaritan. Do what Jesus commanded of us: Go, and do thou likewise. Until next time, God bless.

Welcome. Today we’re going to be talking about how people dress. We live in an age when the more you can show, seemingly the better. It has come to a point to where we are seeing near nudity on both men and women, especially in the summer during swimsuit season. Many people would say ‘hey just enjoy the view’ but that is a problem, for that is a sinful outlook. Our discussion today will present the Biblical view on this issue.

This is a serious subject because it is so universally overlooked in our day and age. You can see copious amounts flesh nearly anywhere you look. And when you can’t see flesh directly, you are looking at clothing designed to illicit a sexual response. Many women wear blouses and tops that reveal nearly all of their breasts. When not wearing tops that reveal copious amounts of cleavage, they wear skintight tops with bras that are meant to enhance the appearance of their chests.

The miniskirt is still very popular, and many women wear those or shorter skirts. Pants are also very popular, and they seem to only come in the ‘check out my posterior’ skintight variety. Then we have bathing suits, which leave very little if anything to the imagination, and we are pushing these skimpy suits onto our children. Go to a lake or pool in the summer, and try to look with a critical eye, and you will likely be appalled by some of the bikinis that you see on girls way too young to wear them.

I fight these battles even in my own house. My oldest daughter is fourteen, and is very fashion-minded so she always wants clothing that I think is inappropriate for her age. Actually, some of it is inappropriate for anyone. Maybe I’m a bit critical because I’m a father, but I don’t think so. When she tries on certain things, I just know instantly that she’s going to be drawing the wrong kind of attention. So I deal with this issue on a daily basis.

It isn’t any better for men, though, to be fair. Men are actually allowed to completely bare their chests, which is a temptation to women. Men are also allowed by society to wear even less when swimming. Though many are mocked for the infamous ‘speedo’ swim trunks, there is a high level of sexuality associated with it as well. While women expose cleavage, some men wear skintight shirts, achieving the same basic effect. Guys need to be just as aware of proper modesty as women do.

I do not believe that women should be covered from head to toe, but I do not believe a woman should be barely covered either. I should look at a woman and be aware of who she is as a person. I should not look at a woman and immediately have to fight off lust. The same goes for any woman. So instead of trying to dress as provocatively as humanly possible, we should dress so that we’re not a lust-inspiring stumbling block to others.

Let’s talk a bit about clothing itself. Adam and Eve was of course the first people to ever wear clothes. They first made clothes out of fig leaves, but that didn’t work very well, so God made them some coats. (Gen 3:21) Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. So obviously wearing clothes is approved by God.

Notice too, that once Adam gained the knowledge of right and wrong, he realized he was naked. This knowledge represents the loss of innocence. This means once we reach that same point Adam reached, where we know the difference between good and evil, we can no longer justify nudity. In other words, I believe that if you are not a child or someone mentally handicapped, you cannot be a nudist. Once Adam had the knowledge of God, i.e. the knowledge of good and evil, he immediately covers himself, showing us that clothing is pretty much a natural state for being with discernment abilities. I think the only way nudity is acceptable is during a state of innocence, and that is something like your virginity, once you lose it, it’s gone forever.

Further into the Old Testament we see that people wore long robe like garments, which covered most of their bodies. They wore these robes for multiple reasons. Firstly because we can infer the command to wear clothes from the fact that God tailored for Adam and Eve, and partly because of the environment in which they lived. The people of the Bible lived in what we call the Middle East, which can experience blistering heat so they would wear long robes to protect themselves from the harsh environment. I know that sounds counter-intuitive, but it works. That is why many Middle Eastern people even today will wear long robes. It helps to protect them from sunburns and keeps their flesh from getting sandblasted during sandstorms.

These long robes also met the conditions needed for modest clothing, so not only would the flowing robes protect you physically, they helped protect you spiritually as well.

Now I’m not suggesting that we all wear head to toe robes or burkas or anything, what I’m saying is to use some common sense and pray about your wardrobe. Be mindful of what the Bible says in regards to a Christian’s dress code.

The Bible also speaks to what is appropriate by gender. (Deu 22:5) The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God. This verse is bad news for all the drag queens and cross-dressers in the world. God does not want men to look like women or women to look like men. To me, this seems obvious as to why. God created us, God has a plan for us, God knows each of us personally. He intended for us to be whatever gender we are, and He doesn’t like us messing up His work.

Men should avoid long hair. This brings up an interesting point. Pretty much every modern representation features Jesus having long hair. But yet, the New Testament says (1Co 11:14) Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? You would think that they would not write this if the Savior had sported long hair. This rule was not something that was new when the Book of 1^st Corinthians was being written. Even in the Old Testament it was considered proper for a man to keep his hair trimmed. Of course I’m sure some of you are asking about Samson, who was noted for his locks, but Samson was a special case, as was Samuel and possibly John the Baptist. Samson was for sure a Nazarite and I have heard it proposed that Samuel and John were as well, but the Bible does not specifically name them. Samson though, was one, and part of being a Nazarite was letting your hair grow until you complete your time as a Nazarite, and then your hair was cut and burned as an offering. So Samson had long hair because he was a member of a religious order that required it. That’s why he doesn’t count.

I just want to throw out what I’ve heard on this subject for you. It usually breaks down to either Jesus was exempt due to His status as savior, or He didn’t really have long hair at all, and that the modern pictures are just artistic license. I’m not saying I’m right on this, but I tend to fall on the short hair side of the argument. It’s not like they didn’t know how to cut hair in Christ’s time. But again, that’s my opinion that is whether or not Jesus had long hair.

The flipside of the coin works as well, women should not have man-like haircuts either. Your gender should be readily identifiable, basically.

The New Testament also has several things to say about modesty in dress. Let’s check out (1Ti 2:9) In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array. Let’s get to brass tacks. What does the word ‘modest’ mean? We could define it as being ‘orderly, well-arranged, decent, and respectable’. While I know this verse is talking to women, I submit that men need to be mindful too lest we become immodest. Before we wear something we need to ask ourselves ‘is this modest?’ If there is any question, pass on it.

The verse we read mentions ‘shamefacedness’. This sounds like a really horrible thing, so let’s check the definition: bashfulness; excess of modesty. That’s not so bad. It’s much better to be overly modest than overly immodest. This is telling us that we should be deeply aware of what is modest and what isn’t. ‘Shamefacedness’ can also mean something like embarrassment, which is something people usually try to avoid. So when they are choosing their apparel, they will stay away from things that might be embarrassing. I know some people in my life that if they were a bit more modest, or were more aware of what is embarrassing, they would save all of us that have to be around them a great deal of embarrassment and discomfort. Believe me, no matter how liberal your views towards clothing might be, I can show you a few people that will make you change your mind.

Next in that verse was the word sobriety. Now this is not exclusively talking about not being drunk, it also means ‘with sound judgment, and self restraint’. This is something that is quite lacking in our modern society, and especially in clothing. The sad thing about the situation is that there are few things more off putting than a beautiful woman that has no sense of shame. (Pro 11:22) As a jewel of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion. A woman with no discretion is also compared to rottenness in (Pro 12:4) A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones. What could be more embarrassing to a Christian husband than if his wife is acting like a floozy?

Another thing that needs to be avoided is lasciviousness. What does this mean? It means ‘wanton, lewd, and lustfulness’ and is a work of the flesh as we see in Galatians 5:19. If the clothing you are wearing draws attention to the intimate part of the body, then you are being lascivious. I’m sure we can all think of different types of clothes that are meant to inspire lust in others. Skintight shirts on both genders, tight pants as well, and skimpy bathing suits all bear the mark of being inappropriate.

How we dress affects more than just ourselves. We also affect those that lay eyes on us. Jesus warned against this. (Mat 5:27) Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: (Mat 5:28) But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. The inverse is true, I believe, that if a woman lusts after a man, she has committed adultery as well. This is how our choices in clothing can affect others. If we dress in a manner that inspires lust, then we are literally leading people into sin.

We are to all guard our own minds, so we can’t blame our lusts on what other people were wearing, but those that help inspire lust share in the guilt. (1Co 8:12) But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ. When you make others sin, then you sin yourself because that is not only the violation of whatever it was you used to make others sin, i.e. you sin by dressing sexy, and you also sin because tempting another is a violation of the command to love each other and help each other.

Now let’s talk about some of the excuses that people use when confronted with their immodest dress. Some say ‘what may be modest in one place isn’t modest in another’. They usually follow this statement up by listing a highly oppressive society as their example of pro-modesty and then contrast it against American life where our society does not seem to condemn anything outside of full on nudity.

The problem with this argument is that, at least when it comes to how a woman dresses, guys are pretty much the same all over the world. What turns a man’s head in one country will likely turn heads in every country around the world. Appreciation for the female form is universal. Oftentimes the societies that do have oppressive rules for feminine clothing do so because of the very things we’re talking about. I won’t argue whether or not it works, but they have at least the intention of cutting down on lasciviousness.

It is a moot point because God’s commands are with us no matter where we are. If it’s wrong to do in Dallas, it’s also wrong in London, Paris, Moscow, Cairo or Tokyo. We are to dress properly no matter where we are, no matter how others are dressing around us, we are to follow God no matter what.

Another defense is ‘I can’t help if they have a dirty mind’. While it is certainly true that each person is responsible for themselves, we need to look out and make sure we are not adding fuel to the fire. Dressing sexily shows that the wearer actually has the dirty mind, as they wish to be seen in a sexual manner. A person who is not interested in presenting themselves in a carnal nature does not dress in those ways, and in fact would most likely be embarrassed if they were made to dress that way.

Some say ‘well it’s for the season’. This applies to summer a lot, to explain wearing barely-there bikinis and other eye-popping swimwear. What is right is right, and what is wrong is wrong. You see, God’s commands don’t have time limits, seasonal blackout dates, or location restrictions. What you wear out ought to be good enough for a church service. If you would be embarrassed to run into your pastor in anything you are wearing, you know it’s time to go change.

Another claim is ‘it’s fashionable, everyone is wearing it/them’. What a childish statement! Not only is it just weak, it is wrapping into the sin of loving the world. (Rom 12:2) And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. So everyone doing it is not a good thing, it is in fact a sign of something we should stay away from. (2Co 6:14) Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? This is why we need to be careful about what we associate ourselves with. So the whole ‘everybody else is doing it’ is probably a textbook case as to why we shouldn’t involve ourselves with whatever it is. And besides, we all remember what our parents said… ‘if everyone else jumped off a bridge, would you too?’

The last excuse we’ll review is ‘my spouse likes it’. This argument is foolish. Your first duty is to God. (Act 5:29) Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. So if your man tells you to wear something inappropriate, then tell him that God comes first. Same goes if it’s a woman telling you. A godly spouse will not want you to wear anything that would be inappropriate in public. Now in private, that is your own business. But anywhere outside the marriage chamber, and you should keep in consideration God’s rules when it comes to proper dress.

In conclusion, we should all be aware of what we are wearing, and what it says about us. We are to avoid clothing that might tempt others towards the sin of lust by viewing what we have on. We are to be modest and chaste, and should avoid at all costs looking like a streetwalker.

We also need to avoid wearing clothing that is representative of the opposite gender. If you are a man, wear clothes made for men. If you are a woman, wear womanly clothes. Follow God’s dress code by always dressing modestly and you’ll always be in style with the one that really matters: the Lord above. Until next time, God bless.

So where is this homeland? (Php 3:20) For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: the world ‘conversation’ here means ‘community’ or ‘citizenship’. (Eph 2:19) Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; we are being told clearly here that we, as Christians, are citizens of Heaven, and that is our homeland.

Heaven is our permanent home, we are just passing through this world. (Heb 11:13) These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. (Heb 11:14) For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. (Heb 11:15) And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. (Heb 11:16) But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. We’re just passing through my friends, being strangers on this earth while we are moving towards that heavenly city. Our time on earth will be as nothing compared to the eternal of the hereafter.

Now that we know our homeland, we need to know that it is under attack. Now our homeland does not exist in the physical plane, or at least does not exist in our material reality that we are able to detect. Our war is indeed one that is spiritual in nature. (Eph 6:11) Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (Eph 6:12) For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Eph 6:13) Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Because we are loyal citizens we cannot sit back idly and ignore what is going on. (Jud 1:3) Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. We have to struggle for the faith, that is what ‘contend’ means. We have to be engaged people! We have to stand for Jesus.

We cannot avoid this war, we are in the very middle of the thickest part of the battlefield which is the material reality in which we live. We are in the enemy’s very territory, and the worst thing about it is that our enemy knows we are here. (1Pe 5:8) Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: he is seeking to devour us so that we cannot be loyal soldiers in the service of Christ. Satan is not going to literally eat us, but he is doing everything he can to silence us. When we are silenced, we are no longer a threat to him or his schemes to destroy as many as possible.

This world that we live in belongs to Satan at this point in time. It is his territory, and it is the battleground for the souls of men. (2Co 4:4) In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. That verse sums up the situation pretty well. Satan is blinding men’s minds, and we’re struggling to shine the light of Christ so that we might bring as many as possible to salvation.

In this war, there are two sides. You are either with God, or you are against Him. There is no neutrality in the battle over men’s souls. (1Ti 6:12) Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. Nothing in this verse tells us that we can be neutral. We are commanded to fight the fight of faith, and so if we do not, we are not following God’s word.

The United States military has a code of conduct that every member must uphold to the fullest of their ability. This code includes instructions on the duties and responsibilities of the soldier, on how they should conduct themselves, and how they should behave if they are captured by an enemy force. This code of conduct ensures that the soldier always knows what is expected of them in any situation.

We, as Christian soldiers, also have a code of conduct. The code itself is the entire Bible. We can draw from it some points that are very similar to the U.S. military code of conduct. Let’s look at six points we can make with the Bible that are similar to what you would find in the military code.

“I am a Christian, a soldier of Jesus Christ, my commander-in-chief. I am fighting to take the gospel of Christ to set free the lost and dying world. I will give my life for this cause.” With this statement we identify ourselves by who we truly are, not as just a member of some earthly nation, but as members of the community of God. We are announcing to the world our citizenship is in Heaven.

Paul knew his duty, and he did it. (2Ti 4:7) I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: with our statement we are confirming that we too know our duty, which is to bring the gospel of Christ to all the world. We will fight the good fight, and we will keep the faith.

We are also telling the world just how far our commitment goes. We are for life people! (Rom 14:8) For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s. I stand for the Lord for life. I am His for life. Actually our commitment goes much further. We are not just His for life, we are His for eternity. I have no problem with giving my life if it is so required for the Lord.

Let’s look at the next statement. “I will never surrender. I will be steadfast, unmovable, abounding in the work of my Savior. If necessary, I will reprove, rebuke, and admonish with the doctrine of Christ.” (1Co 15:58) Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. We know that our work is worthwhile, we know that we are making a difference in the fight against the enemy. New souls are being snatched from the Devil’s jaws all the time. We have to, and will, continue in this line of work until such time as the Lord sees fit to call us home.

“When tempted, I will resist the devil and his servants with every effort. I will go to God’s Word for my escape and strength. I will not compromise or submit to “favors” or “pleasures” of sin for a season.” If we allow ourselves to be moved by the pleasures of sin, we will ultimately find ourselves on the wrong side of the fence. God has no need for spies. He has all the intel on the Devil that He needs. Giving into the pleasures of sin is to be effectively pinned down by the enemy’s attack. (Jas 4:7) Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

(Heb 11:24) By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; (Heb 11:25) Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; now why would Moses do this? He had everything to gain. He would have been a man in high esteem among the Egyptians. But he turned his back on all of this and chose to suffer with God’s people. It is because he realized he would rather fight than betray God. He would rather suffer affliction and serve the Lord than have the world and turn away from Him. The same needs to be true of us.

“If overtaken by sin, I will not give up. I will seek help from God and my fellow-Christians. I will confess, forsake, and repent of my sins. I will be an example to believers. I will obey my Master in every way! I will obey the rules of those over me. I will support my leaders in every way.” This is a lot like being captured by the enemy. When we find ourselves in sin, we have to immediately right ourselves. (1Jn 1:9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

We also have to be examples in this world of darkness. (1Ti 4:12) Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Don’t just be an example in your youth, but for all your life! Do the right thing in your words, in conversation, in helping others, in all things.

We need to follow those that lead us. We have to follow our preachers, pastors, and ministers, and we have to obey the laws of the land in which we live. (1Pe 5:5) Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

“I will eagerly answer any who asks of the hope within me. I will speak of why I am a Christian, and why others should follow Jesus. I will avoid foolish, evil, or profane questions. I will not speak or act in any way that will shame my Lord or His church. I will strive to be an aid, encouragement, and help, and never a hindrance to Christ.” (1Pe 3:15) But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: This is an important function in the Christian life. Our biggest responsibility is to spread the word of God, so answering every person that asks us of our hope is fulfilling this requirement.

(Tit 3:9) But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain. We have to avoid arguing over pointless questions and issues as they will pull away the focus from where it should be: on the Lord. I’m not saying that you cannot do things like read the Bible and ask questions, I don’t believe we are being denied that. It is demanding that we do not allow vain and foolish questions prevent the preaching of the gospel of Christ.

There have been those that deny Jesus through the usage of foolishness. Instead of hearing the whole gospel, they will interrupt and ask questions about things that have no bearing on the situation. They will use contentious arguments to avoid the true issue of salvation and truth. We are not to engage them in this line of arguments and instead will stick to that which really matters, Jesus Christ.

“I will never forget that Christ died for me and I belong to Him! I will never forget I am a soldier in God’s army, fighting the good fight of faith unto the end, when victory is finally won! I will remember I am responsible for my actions. I will trust in God, who is able to deliver me.” (Rom 12:1) I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (Rom 12:2) And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. We belong to God, and we cannot forget that. We cannot ever forget that we are soldiers in this war, soldiers for the Lord. We will keep up the battle until Jesus Christ Himself returns to the earth from on High and gives us leave to stop. Until then, we will fight the good fight.

I got to tell you folks, I snuck a peek at the last page, and guess what? We will win this war! Until this time comes, we must remember that we are responsible for our own actions. We cannot lay blame for our actions on anyone else other than ourselves. God doesn’t buy excuses.

We will also trust in God. (2Co 1:9) But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: (2Co 1:10) Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us; no one else can deliver us, only God can. We cannot save ourselves but we can rest assured that God will yet deliver us.

Never forget that we are in a war. The Devil has not, and will not forget this and he is constantly searching for ways to attack and remove us from the fight. Satan wants to pin down as many Christians as he can so that we cannot spread the glorious gospel of Jesus and lead people to salvation.

We have to keep in mind how we need to conduct ourselves in this fight so that we can be effective soldiers. We need to wear the whole armor of God so that we can resist the attacks of the Devil. We then need to keep ourselves armed at all times with the sword of the spirit which is the word of God. And we have to practice with that weapon. You cannot just pick a sword up and be a master swordsman instantly, it takes years of practice. Wielding the Bible takes continual practice as well. How do we practice with the Bible? By reading it. By knowing it. By keeping it in our hearts continually.

Our standing orders are to preach the gospel of Christ to all the world. You have your orders soldier. You have your code of conduct. Now get out there and fight the good fight of faith! Keep an eye out for the Commander-in-Chief, Jesus Christ, because He’s going to be arriving soon. Until next time, God bless.

Welcome. Today we’re going to be talking about working for God, and how we can do so. When we work for God, there are some tools we need to keep with us to help ensure we do a proper job. We’re going to talk about five tools we can use to do the Lord’s Work. A carpenter wouldn’t go on a job without his hammer or saw, and so we shouldn’t go to the Lord’s work without these essentials.

And they are essential. This past summer, I had some issues in my life where I ‘misplaced’ a tool or two, and let me tell you, trying to metaphorically ‘cut a board with a measuring tape’ is a losing battle! So it is important to keep your tools with you, and in proper working order!

If I asked you what the biggest problems are today among the faithful, what would your answer be? Might it be moral problems? What about institutional problems with the churches themselves? What about divorce, and the splintering of the family? Or maybe the destruction of traditional values? The list could be very long, that’s for sure. But I would submit that there is an even bigger problem present in the faithful: the lack of work.

Make no mistake, Christianity is not a spectator sport. All believers are supposed to get into the game. Let’s check out the Bible on this issue: (Eph 2:10) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Walking in the good works means we should be getting them done. God has marked us all for good works, as this verse tells us. God has set situations and opportunities for us to do good works in His name. That doesn’t mean sit back and watch others do things, nor does it mean to toss a dollar in a plate on occasion, it means to engage ourselves and actively work for God!

And this enthusiasm that I’m talking about isn’t just a quirk of my personality or

anything like that. This too is part of the Word of God that speaks to this issue. Speaking about Christ, (Tit 2:14) Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Thayer’s Greek Definitions tells us that the Greek word translated as ‘zealous’ means one burning with zeal. This agrees with the English definition of the word as well, so we have no way we can possibly duck the meaning we find in this verse.

We are just simply to be zealous about getting the work of the Lord done. It should be something that we look forward to and that excites us. We should be just as into spreading the Word for God as we are about the stats of our favorite sports teams. We should be as into Jesus as we are into what’s happening with the celebrities that fill the rag mags. We should be as studied on God’s Word as we are in our favorite sci-fi series.

Many times, we are not as into God as we’re into those other pop culture things. That’s a real shame because God can give us a joy that no touchdown ever can. The Bible is filled with stories greater than any magazine could ever produce. Jesus is far more interesting and valuable to us all than any two-bit celebrity ever could be. And no sci-fi could top learning about the being that created the entire cosmos!

So we have to focus our studies and learning towards the Word of God and develop the passion and zeal that we are to have for God, who has seen in all His divine mercy and grace, to offer us salvation from sin through Jesus Christ!

The reason why the work we need to do in the world is not done is because we do not equip ourselves with the proper attitudes to get the work done. We do not take time to give ourselves these five tools we’re talking about today. We allow life to interfere with our services, and we become one with the world instead of keeping our eyes on God. We’ll talk about losing ourselves to the world a bit more later. For now, let’s get right into the five tools we need for our service to the Lord.

Tool 1 – A personal love for the Lord. This is pretty obvious. If you don’t love God then you aren’t going to be doing any work for God. But…if you DO love the Lord, then get out there and get your sweat on! Do something, even if it’s just being a bad example! I kid, but we do all need to serve God somehow. For all that God does for us, we can give back, we need to give back. When we sit around and take our blessings from a loving Father, and do nothing in return, we’re really acting like bratty, ungrateful children, even if we are conducting ourselves respectfully in the eyes of the world, we are being at least passively defiant if we do not do works as we’ve been commanded.

(Joh 14:23) Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. (Joh 14:24) He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me. Jesus is telling us that if we love Him we’ll do what we’re told. By doing what we’re told, we’re keeping the word of the Father that sent Christ, so it’s a great idea for our spiritual standing to do as we’re told.

By doing what we’re commanded, we exhibiting our love of the Lord. If you do work for God, then odds are you love God, because obedience is a sign of love. And a personal love for God is the best motivator to obedience there is. Let’s check another verse: (1Jn 5:3) For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. God isn’t asking too much of us, and if we have a personal love for God, then we can more than handle the works He would have us do, such as supporting each other, spreading the word of God among the entire world, and uplifting the disadvantaged among us.

In fact, what we do speaks to the truth that we have in our hearts. (1Jn 2:4) He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. Here we see that if we have a love of God in our hearts, we are compelled to do something to show it, because if we don’t do anything, we’re not keeping His commands, and therefore we do not have the truth in us. So therefore a love of God requires us to take action in support of that love.

Another personal love we need to have is for the brethren. The Book of Hebrews states it quite plainly. (Heb 13:1) Let brotherly love continue. You really can’t get any more straightforward than that! All of us that carry the love of God in their heart and works as we’re commanded to do have ultimately the same goals, so we really should support each other as we move forward in our respective jobs.

(1Jn 4:20) If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? (1Jn 4:21) And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also. We must expel hate from our hearts if we are to love God the way we have been told to. In fact, we’re told to (Heb 10:24) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: we are to inspire each other to good and loving works, instead of hate and darkness. Our personal love should extend to our fellow workers as well.

Moreover, we must have a love for the lost. Let’s consider (Luk 19:10) For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. Jesus came to save the lost, that was His main focus. We can see this attitude in (Luk 15:7) I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. So as we know, Jesus came to save sinners, and we know that we are all sinners as we can see in the book of Romans, we can draw from the text the idea that we need to love the ‘lost’.

If you don’t have love in your heart then what you do will not matter anyways. (1Co 13:1) Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. (1Co 13:2) And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. (1Co 13:3) And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. By these verses we see that when we do things without love in our hearts it does nothing to help us so therefore we must firstly and always keep love in our hearts, love for our Lord, love for each other, and love for those we are reaching out to help.

Tool 2 – A powerful faith in the Lord. The man that believes nothing will do nothing. This one seems a bit obvious but you would be surprised to find how much faith affects us, and how many of us it does affect. There are great deals of people who aren’t working for the Lord because they lack the faith to take the first steps. I myself wanted to do something like this podcast for the Lord for a very long time but I did not have the faith to step out and serve God like I needed to. I know I wasn’t alone in that position either.

If we don’t think we can do something, if we don’t have faith, we’re not even usually going to try. Most people will not turn to faith and believing on God if they have doubts, they will instead make excuses, and those excuses will keep them from doing whatever it is that they should be doing.

We can see an example of this mentality in the Book of Numbers. Moses sends the spies into the land of Canaan, and after they report back on the strength of the peoples living therein, they doubt that they can take the land that God had given to them. They were freaking out and not having faith in God. (Num 13:31) But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. The spies were afraid and had no faith in the promises of God. We have to make sure we don’t end up like those spies because we know that God did fulfilled His promises as He always does.

With faith all things are possible. Let’s look at an instance when Jesus spoke of faith. When answering His disciples about why they could not cast out a demon He said: (Mat 17:20) And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Notice the size of the faith mentioned by Jesus, that of a mustard seed. A mustard seed is a very small seed that grows into a tree that can reach heights of ten feet or more. The point is that the slightest amount of faith can do things on a miraculous scale. Moving mountains by command is like an epic Jedi level feat.

Beyond this, if you have faith, you have to have works. That’s just the way it is. (Jas 2:17) Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. The converse works as well, if you have works, but no faith, they are dead also. By having the tool of faith you are essentially required to get to work with that tool. This makes all kinds of sense because a hammer can build a house, but it won’t drive a single nail if you never take it out of the toolbox.

It’s like having a lightsaber and never using it, or being the captain of the Enterprise and leaving it sitting in spacedock. The tool is the faith, if you have the faith, then you must put it to use or it is quite literally wasted. This tool probably is the equivalent of the hammer, being one of the most important and most used tools in our arsenal. If faith is the hammer, then works are the nails. So yeah, this is an important tool for us to have.

Tool 3 – A joyful heart. We cannot perform our duties if we are all downhearted and downtrodden. You cannot serve God while in what I call ‘eyore’ mode, a.k.a. “woe is me” and such. No one does great work while they are depressed or look to the task with sadness. If you go with a heavy heart, then you won’t put your heart into your work and then the quality of work suffers for it.

I think you all know this already, but financially, my family is not well off. In all actuality, my computer is probably the most expensive thing I own, more so even than my car. So we’re good friends with being broke, and money troubles are never far away. But we don’t lose heart because we know we are God’s children. We know we have a Heavenly Father looking out for us, and that He has a plan for us. We are working to better our position of course, and we do so with a joyful heart, remembering that there are any number of great things to be happy about in our lives, even if we can’t afford all the new, shiny gadgets that are continually coming out.

I will admit though, this is one tool that I lose on occasion, and that’s why I took an extended break last year. I had a lot of trouble with keeping a joyful heart last year. I allowed the weight of the world to come down on me, and I forgot that I can lean on the Lord to help me through. Instead, I tried to struggle through on my own, which did nothing but make me miserable. I can attest firsthand that we have to remember that God is with us, or else we can easily lose our joyful hearts.

Need some inspiration? (1Jn 3:1) Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. (1Jn 3:2) Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. We are the children of God! What does a parent do for a child? Parents look after their children as well as love them with all their hearts. God will look after us and He loves us with all His heart. If there is anything worth being joyful over, that would do it!

Check this out: (Eph 1:3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: God has blessed us all with spiritual blessings! Yet another sign of how much God loves us, and that is something that should make us feel really good. No matter how bad things get in the physical world around us we should remember that God has blessed up spiritually, which is where it really matters.

(2Ti 4:7) I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: (2Ti 4:8) Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. So if you are keeping the faith and doing the Lord’s work, keep your heart joyous knowing that in that great day we will all receive our crowns. God gives us so many reasons to keep our heart joyful it’s not even funny. When you do take those steps into the dark parts of life try to remember and carry the light of Christ with you. Yea though we sometimes walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we need to keep our chins up because God is with us, and He will see us through.

Keeping our hearts joyful is like keeping a saw blade sharp. The better maintained the tool is, the easier the work you’re doing becomes, and not only that, but the quality of your work increases as well. A carpenter keeps his saws sharp, and a Christian should keep their hearts joyful.

Tool 4 – A continual reliance on prayer. Prayer is one of the most important tools that a Christian has. I consider prayer to be a Christian’s ‘heavy artillery’ along with being a tool we can use in the Lord’s work. Prayer is a most basic thing, it is us taking time to speak to God, to listen with our hearts to God, and generally is a great way to get our spiritual bearings.

Not only that, but by praying we are enlisting God’s aid in our endeavors, increasing our effectiveness all the more. Also, (Jas 5:16) Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. The prayers of the righteous man are very productive. That means we can get things done with prayer, and why not? We are praying to the great Creator of all things after all!

If you can’t be motivated to speak to God in prayer, then you are really not going to be willing to do His work, and that’s not good. If you won’t talk to the boss, you aren’t going to take the job seriously, are you? Prayer speaks not only to your commitment but also to state your faith is in. If you don’t pray, then your faith is almost certainly suffering.

Prayer changes things. This is a known fact. It has even been studied by various secular organizations and has born out to be true more than once. We don’t need a university to study the subject for us, for we as Christians know it works either from personal experience, or just from the straight up fact God’s word tells us so. (Mat 7:7) Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: (Mat 7:8) For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. (Mat 7:9) Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? (Mat 7:10) Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? (Mat 7:11) If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

With that said, we should keep in mind to pray for the things that can be changed. If you pray for something outrageous, then you won’t get what you’re praying for. Most likely when you do this, you are praying for something with the wrong mindset. You are likely looking to test God, and that’s a foolish idea at best. Don’t put God to the test, because you may end up on the business end of a very bad situation.

Point is, we are to pray with sincerity, not with a prideful heart. We are to ask God for His intervention in our lives, but we should not, and cannot really, demand anything of God. After all, we are just humans and He is God. Its okay to pray earnestly for great things in the world, but it’s not okay to pray as a test of God’s performance.

So we are to pray for the things that can change earnestly, and pray to accept and be in line with God’s will for everything else. If God chooses to not change something, then we need to pray to have our desire match His.

We must never give up our desire to change things in the world for the better using prayer. We should pray for everything we can, to change everything we see that needs changing. We should pray to be in line with God’s will, but never back off your heavy artillery of prayer. I can find no verses in the Bible telling us that it is possible to annoy God. It just isn’t in there, because I don’t believe we can. So pray it up with an earnest heart as often as you like.

God doesn’t say pray once a night at bedtime. He doesn’t say to limit your prayers to meals either. In fact, the verse I did find says (1Th 5:17) Pray without ceasing. Good advice!

Tool 5 – Our last tool is effort, a persistent effort at that. The work we are to undertake is the job of a lifetime, literally. For us to spread the word and serve our fellow man and do everything else God has asked of us will literally take all our lives. We must stick in there and keep working.

This tool may be a bit harder to elaborate upon, but that is mainly because it is so simply understandable. We know that we need to help the poor in the world and we all know that the likelihood of some kind of Star Trek level utopia where all have plenty is not likely to happen in our lifetimes, if ever at all. So we have to be persistent in our efforts because there will always be work to be done.

Just like God never gives up on us, and never abandons us, we too should remain vigilant in our efforts to keep working for God. Look at Noah, it took him over a century to build the ark, but he didn’t lose faith, he didn’t stop working. Instead he persistently kept at the task God gave him until it was done. And that persistence saved him, his family, and ultimately saved the bloodline of man. And Noah is only one example among many people in the Bible that served the Lord with their lives.

We must also not allow ourselves to be discouraged by a lack of apparent success. Not only might we be reaching people on a level we never know about, God still gives credit for effort. Though I do not have any scripture readily available to prove the thought that it is the effort that counts, I do believe this to be the case. Otherwise the Bible would concern itself with quotas and such when it speaks to what we as Christians should do. We are not told to save ‘x’ amount of souls or do ‘x’ hours in community service, instead we are told to pattern our lives after the example set by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

I know its hard sometimes, and I know we all have to occasionally take some time to gather our thoughts and recharge our batteries, just make sure not to stay away permanently and not to fall into the sandpit of day to day life that the Devil seems to throw at us to keep us from service to the Lord.

In conclusion, we need to keep all five of the tools we’ve talked about today available to ourselves, and keep them ready to go so that we can always serve God in a way that is pleasing to Him. If anyone is going to get anything done for God, it’s going to be those that are loving, joyful, faithful, prayerful and persistent that get it done. What shape are your tools in? Until next time, God bless.

Welcome. Today we’re going to be talking a little bit about money. More specifically we’re going to be talking about the things that money cannot buy you. Today we’re faced with overwhelming greed, and we as Christians are not naturally immune to such desires. This is why we must do all we can to safeguard against the sin of greed and materialism.

(Eph 5:5) For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. I want us to note the ‘covetous’ part of this verse, because it is telling us that if we get caught up in materialism and greed, we will actually come to idolatry, taking the dollar and putting it before God. Idolatry is highly condemned and rightly so throughout the Bible.

(1Ti 6:10) For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. Of course this is a very famous verse, but few take the time to really think on it seriously. It tells us that if we follow the almighty dollar, we will fall away from the faith, and when we do that, we will pierce ourselves with sorrow.

This is true because of the plain and obvious fact that once you lust after money, and begin chasing it in your life, you will never have enough. There is no end, there is always bigger and better things to buy, and higher and higher amounts of wealth to amass. It simply becomes an endless cycle of buying and hording, of which has never, and will never save a man’s soul, or even bring it a moment’s peace.

When you put materialistic things before spiritual things, you are making a grave error, for God is to be foremost in our thoughts and we should be seeking Him first and always. Material wealth is inherently unstable. (1Ti 6:17) Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded; nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. (Pro 23:4) Labor not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. (Pro 23:5) Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven. Money and wealth is fleet of foot and takes to the air and is gone in a flash, and then you are left with nothing. This isn’t a problem for those that put God first in their lives, since they have their eyes and hearts in the proper place. But if you worship money and the money disappears, then you’re going to be lost. That in which you trusted will have let you down, something that God never does.

Let’s talk a bit about things that money cannot buy you. We’re going to take the time to illustrate those things that are of great value but are not available for a monetary price. Truly the best things in life are beyond physical wealth, and the sooner we realize that, the sooner we can move on to that which truly matters: serving the Lord and His will.

The first thing money cannot buy you is good character and reputation. Your reputation is how people think of you, and your character is what you are at heart. Character is the real person within, who God sees when He looks at you. Reputation is what others see when they look at you. Good character follows a person wherever they go, and usually leads to a very positive reputation.

Building character is a long and sometimes difficult task, one that parents are tasked with when they have children. We need to teach good character to our children, so that they are good people. This, along with proper religious training, will serve them well the rest of their lives.

When you live a godly life, you are going to usually have good character by default, for a bad tree cannot yield good fruits. If you truly develop good character and live as godly as possible, you are going to be a good example to those around you and who come in contact with you. This in turn should magnify God, and you will be a very effective witness for Him.

(Pro 22:1) A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver and gold. This isn’t something you can buy, clearly. All the money in the world cannot change who you really are inside, and it cannot even mask a bad reputation. If you have a bad reputation, and your name is worthless then even giving away money won’t help you. You’ll just become the untrustworthy person that is foolish with their money. People might flock to you and pay you lip service, but your reputation will not be saved by money. (Ecc 7:1) A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.

Another thing that money cannot buy is true friends. Money can buy you a lot of good timin’ buddies, but not true, deep, real friends. Fair-weather friends may follow your money, but when the money flies away, they will fly away as well. Notice this in the story of Job and the story of the prodigal son as seen in Luke 15.

(Pro 17:17) A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. Your ‘crew’ that appeared when you landed in the money will split the instant they no longer stand to benefit from you. These are not true friends as a true friend will stand with you through all the things in your life, both the happy times and the hard ones. They are friends with you to be your friend, not because of what they can gain from you.

Friends are made, they are not bought. (Pro 18:24) A man that hath friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. Once you make a friend, and truly do so, then you will find friends that are with you through thick and thin, as you will surely be for them too.

(Php 2:3) Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. (Php 2:4) Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. This is telling us how to be a good friend to each other. If we do things for our own glory we’re not going to find friends. If we do things to ‘esteem’ or take care of each other, we’re going to find that we make friends easily. Consideration and caring goes a long way to getting friends, something money cannot ever do.

Money cannot buy you happiness either. Not true happiness. It can put you in a manic-like mental state, and it can make you self-centered, but it will never really make you happy. Note that there is a difference between pleasure and happiness. Living high off the hog and partying it up is pleasure, and that comes to an end. It is the feeling you’re left with afterwards that is important. You need to find happiness, and not just plain pleasure. Happiness is not fleet, once you properly have it, it does not fade off as pleasure does.

Pleasure only lasts for a season of time and then you end up like the prodigal son, broke and miserable. Having all kinds of pleasures didn’t help make him happy one bit. True happiness is beyond the lusts of the flesh.

(Psa 144:15b) yea, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD. That is where happiness is truly from.

Money also cannot buy you entrance into the Kingdom of God. It isn’t Disneyland where you can buy a day pass or something. You can buy your way into a great deal of earthly organizations, clubs, and groups, but you cannot buy your way into Heaven.

This situation appears in the Bible. (Act 8:18) And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, (Act 8:19) Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. (Act 8:20) But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. God does not care about money, He’s kind of above that kind of thing. So this fellow that offered money showed just how wrong his heart really was, and how far off from the truth he stood. This tells us that the wealth of the world is nothing more but nothingness to God.

The entrance to Heaven is the same for all: salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s that simple, and it’s that free. No money needs to be involved. Once you come to Christ, you become a child of God as said in (Gal 3:26) For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

(Joh 3:3) Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Again we’re not told an entrance fee that has to do with currency. It’s all about things much deeper than just cash. Notice that Nicodemus is kind of bragging on Jesus in the first two verses of this chapter, and Jesus may well be telling him that flattery doesn’t get you in either.

(Mar 10:23) And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! With this in mind, I don’t want a lot of money! I would rather (continue to) be dirt poor than to have riches and have a hard time entering the kingdom of God! By having riches you bring your focus on money and away from God. Few in this world are rich and don’t care about it. Nearly all people who are wealthy, whether it be self-made or by being born into it, are concerned primarily with wealth, in accruing it and keeping it. This is why those with money are usually so very lacking in spiritual health.

There are many out there in this world that believe they can go to Heaven in spite of these verses. These people truly think to see God proven wrong since God is clearly telling us in the Bible that we can’t buy our way into Heaven. I guess they think God won’t pay attention to the books, or won’t take notice of their net worth or something.

I can assure you that God does know, and cannot be deceived. There are those that have tried, there can be no doubt. There is one example even found in the Scriptures themselves. In Acts 5 we see the story of a man and woman that sold a certain possession, a piece of land, and decided that they were going to donate the money to God. But they decided to also keep a part of the money back for themselves, but claim that they had given every last dime. So they go and do so, and the man takes the money and gives it to the apostles. Peter calls the man on the issue, and points out to the man that he has not robbed the apostles or the Church, but instead has robbed God, and the man immediately falls dead on the spot. The man is carried out, and later the woman comes. She also sticks to the lie and fails to admit that they kept some of the money, and just as those that buried her husband return, she is struck dead on the spot as well. This is telling us that God knows all and that you’re not going to pull a fast one on Him.

Don’t bet on catching a very small camel and a very large needle. Not likely to happen.

Finally we cannot buy a single day of life. (Ecc 8:8) There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it. No matter how you try to wrangle it, you cannot extend your life through money alone. Now there are those that might say that modern medicine has extended life, and it surely has, but God is still in control. If God says it is your time to come to the hereafter, then nothing in this world will save you. You will die, as simple as that.

Many people would be willing to give up all their possessions just to have another day of life. The righteous, however, are an exception. We know that we go to our reward. (2Co 5:8) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. We would rather be with the Lord than in this place of darkness and grief. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t think we should throw our lives away with no regard since our lives are a gift to us of the Lord, but we also should be willing to depart this world as well.

Those that live without Jesus in their hearts seem to sense that this is the best they’re going to be getting, and if they die in their sinful state without Jesus as their Lord and Savior, then yeah, this is the best they can expect. But instead of looking to their spiritual condition, they tend to turn even more to their material possessions, and of course there is no answer to be had there. This is when they discover that they cannot truly buy another day of life.

And since they give their time over to seeking the world of the physical, they are obviously not giving time to God. So why should God continue to allot them time? If you spend your life ignoring God and the things that are spiritual in favor of materialistic pursuits, why would God continue to chase after you? (2Co 6:1) We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. (2Co 6:2) (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) The point for consumption here is that now is the time! Today is the day! Don’t wait a single minute longer!

We need to ask ourselves if we are chasing material possessions or if we are seeking the spiritual. We need to understand that seeking after God is the true path we should be taking. Material goods cannot save us, only Jesus can.

(Mat 6:19) Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: (Mat 6:20) But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: not only does Heaven have the benefit of having a completely unbreakable security system, but also we benefit spiritually: (Mat 6:21) For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

We need to be wise enough to realize that materialism is nothing more than another highway to Hell. Possessions will not save you, and God cannot be bribed. (Mat 16:26) For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? The truth of the matter is that we should seek God first and foremost in our lives, and give no thoughts to worldly possessions for they can seduce us into falling in love with the things of the world, something which we are told not to do. (1Jn 2:15) Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

As that old song goes, money can’t buy you love. Money can’t buy most of the really important things in this life, and nothing in the next. How much will you leave when you die? All of it, you’ll leave all your possessions and money behind. None of it comes with you into the afterlife. Take the time to make sure that God is first and foremost in your life, and that all things come thereafter. Retain God in all your thoughts and lay your treasures in Heaven with Him so that your heart will be there as well. Until next time, God bless.

]]> http://smartfaith.org/sfp-83-money/feed/ http://smartfaith.org/sfp-82-devils-devices/ http://smartfaith.org/sfp-82-devils-devices/#comments Thu, 07 May 2009 19:01:47 +0000 admin http://smartfaith.org/?p=72 Welcome. Today we’re going to be talking about the Devil and his devices. (2Co 2:11) Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. We have to educate ourselves about the Devil and his tricks so that we aren’t ignorant. That’s what we’re going to be doing today.

The best way to keep yourself from being caught off guard is to be informed. This throws a major monkey-wrench in the Devil’s plans because many of his devices require us to be ignorant. If we know how to spot the traps, we won’t get snared. Information is truly a powerful weapon to have at your disposal since it can allow you to resist the Devil and his insidious traps and tricks.

So what are some of Satan’s devices?

One device is blinding the minds of the people. (2Co 4:4) In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. The ‘god of this world’ is the Devil himself. He has blinded the minds of many people and has led them astray, so far that the gospel of Christ does not shine on them and they find themselves in darkness.

We know this is going to happen, not only from that verse, but also from (1Ti 4:1) Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; (1Ti 4:2) Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; (1Ti 4:3) Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

We are coming into the latter times now, as we see that many have departed from the faith. This past Easter week, there was a story in a major news magazine reporting that the amount of people that outright deny religion in general has grown by a considerable amount in the past several years. While we might still have a majority claiming Christianity, the minority is very vocal, and sadly, really is growing all the time.

We also have people departing from the faith in a different way as well. They might still claim Christianity, but what does the Bible tell us of them? They give heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. They are falling away from the true faith and following doctrines and principles that are absolutely false.

This is where you start seeing the gospel of prosperity and the little gods doctrines come in, both of which are utterly wrong. Think of the actual opening music for this podcast. The first voice is Jim Jones, the second Kenneth Copeland, and the third is Porky Pig pointing out how insane what they are saying is.

People that follow these teachings are being led down a road away from the Lord and the truth of the Bible. This is a blinding of their minds, one of Satan’s devices.

Also we see that people will speak lies and hypocrisy, which is also more than readily apparent in our world today. We have people that claim to be Christian and then turn around and endorse homosexuality or witchcraft or drunkenness or something like that. We have had several high profile preachers end up in scandal over the past several years. While they might be preaching doctrines that true believers disagree with, the rest of the world sees them just as Christians and they think we’re all hypocrites for it.

Then there are many out there that will ‘amen’ when someone reads Exodus 22:18 and turn around and be absolutely fine with Harry Potter. They prove that they do not want to practice what they preach, so to speak. People will agree with (1Th 5:22) Abstain from all appearance of evil, but when that latest horror flick comes out, they are Johnny-on-the-spot to see it. The non believing world just looks at things like that and thinks that there is no reason to be Christian if we are nothing but hypocrites. They are influenced by our actions. That’s why making sure we, as professed Christians, don’t go get slobbering drunk or get caught cheating on our spouses or anything like that because we are representatives for our Lord. As the old saying goes, you might be all the Jesus someone ever sees.

The doctrines of atheism, Darwinism, and humanism are blinding the minds of many in the world today. The idea that there is no God is absolutely insane to the point of being just silly. To make this claim does nothing more that actually prove the Bible to be true. (Rom 1:22) Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and they are foolish because they cannot answer even the simplest of things. How could a giraffe evolve? Did they climb trees to eat before they grew their neck? If this worked, why didn’t they just become a tree dweller like a koala bear or something? Did they eat grass? If so, why didn’t they just become a creature like a cow or an antelope? No matter how you look at it, it has to be really worked over to allow for evolution. There is a reason for this. (1Co 1:27) 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.

How can we defend against such things? The first way we can defend against being blinded is to actually go on the offense! (2Co 10:3) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (2Co 10:4) (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;) (2Co 10:5) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; this is our battle plan against being blinded. We have weapons so powerful through God that they can pull down castles and strongholds. What are these weapons? The sword of the spirit which is the word of God and the heavy artillery of prayer.

And what is the word of God? Truth. (Joh 8:32) And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. This truth defeats any false argument and casts down all lies. Check out Paul in (Act 17:2) And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures, (Act 17:3) Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ. Paul effectively used the Scriptures to covert many.

We also can counter this blindness by having a Christ-like attitude. We express this by being patient and gentle with others as we see in (2Ti 2:24) And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, (2Ti 2:25) In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; (2Ti 2:26) And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

Another device that Satan tries to use against us is getting us hooked on the things of the world. This is a very effective device of Satan, working both to keep the non-believer from Christ, and even separating the Christian from proper worship of the Lord. We find this device detailed in (1Jn 2:15) Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (1Jn 2:16) For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

This device was used against Eve by the serpent when he convinced her to eat of the fruit of the tree. He convinced her to look to the things of the world, which was the fruit, and not to godly things, which would be keeping the commands of the Lord.

But Eve was not the only person that Satan used this device against. He also used it against Jesus, only this time it didn’t work so well. He tempted Jesus to turn the stones to bread which is the lust of the flesh, he tempted Jesus to throw Himself down which is the pride of life, and offered all that Jesus could see to Him for worship which is the lust of the eyes. Jesus of course just completely defeated Satan’s temptations.

Satan has brought his weapon of loving the world to us as well. And we’re not Jesus and many are not turning away from the temptations. They are instead being snared by a love of the world, and are suffering because of it.

What do I mean by ‘love of the world’? Well when you become too wrapped up in things in life and allow those things to intervene between you and your relationship with God. I am not talking about the physical world, that is created by God and is a beautiful thing. I am talking about the things that man has brought into the world.

Immorality could be considered a ‘love of the world’ since it is surely not something of God. This lust of the flesh includes all the things listed in Galatians 5:19-21, and we’ve talked about those things in a past episode so I’ll let most of those be. I do want to reiterate that things like pornography can put a huge gap in your relationship with God. It’s really easy to get hooked into porn and loose sight of the Lord. Sex in general can be a minefield, and that’s why God gave us the guidelines of marriage so that we can avoid sexual pratfalls.

Materialism is another massive problem we have in our world that is a ‘love of the world’. If keeping up with the Joneses is a priority for you, odds are you are worshipping at the altar of the almighty dollar and not the altar of God Almighty. Materialism is becoming such a priority in our society that we do not even notice it many times.

We all get wrapped up in wanting this and that and we don’t put God first. We want the new big screen T.V., we want the PS3, we want the Blu-ray player but how often do you hear people clamoring for God, or even for a new Bible in that case? No, instead everyone seems wrapped up in getting bigger and better things. We must be careful not to be materialistic. We also must be careful and not covet, since doing so is idolatry as we’re told in Ephesians 5:5 and Colossians 3:5.

Arrogance is also a love of the world that we are to avoid. Another way of thinking of arrogance is pride. Pride is of course one of the infamous 7 Deadly Sins, and for good reason. (Psa 10:4) The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. So by being proud and arrogant, you lend yourself to being wicked, and then God is no longer in your thoughts. Your thoughts are then all about the world, and the things in the world.

(Pro 8:13) The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogance, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. So because we are to hate it, we can safely infer that arrogance and pride are against God. (Pro 11:2) When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom. This is why pride and arrogance are part of the world, because they bring shame.

How can we protect ourselves against the things of the world? Firstly you can protect yourself by staying in the word of God! Seek the word more than you seek anything else and you will be well on your way to overcoming the things of the world. This is part of how Jesus was able to overcome His temptations because He was (quite obviously) utterly immersed in God’s word! Notice that after every temptation Jesus opens with ‘It is written…’ If we keep ourselves in His word, we’re going to find that it is much easier to move past our own temptations.

We need to develop a strong love for the Father as well. As the verse we went over a minute ago about the love of the world shows, a love of the Father is not compatible with a love for the world. (Jas 4:4) Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. It does really come down to a choice, which side are you going to pick? (Mat 6:24) No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

When we stay in the word and when we develop a strong love for God, we will be able to more effectively resist the love of the world. (Jas 4:7) Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Set Satan on his heels!

Another device of Satan is to persecute those who do right. Satan also uses this device against us in our modern world, and to great effect. Many Christians face persecution and allow it to drive a wedge between them and God. When things get bad, they sometimes blame God, or just forget about Him.

There are many that face quite direct, and quite severe persecution, often at a level we can’t even imagine here. There are those that are dying for the faith right now. And the level of persecution is growing for Christians all over the world, as it will do continually until the End.

We do face, here in America, a great deal of social persecution when we express our beliefs. This can be seen with the recent firestorm of persecution suffered by that beauty pageant contestant that answered honestly about homosexual marriage. We face a great deal of ridicule by society. This persecution, especially when it comes through peer pressure, is very effective in stopping some believers from sharing their faith openly. When people refuse to back off their beliefs, they are oftentimes ostracized.

How can we defend ourselves against this device? Firstly by encouraging each other! We need to be there for our fellow Christians and be supportive of each other. Fellowshipping with other Christians is not only good for us and our faith, it’s also usually quite enjoyable. Most people enjoy having friends. And by having friends, and being friends to others, we can help encourage each other and help each other through troublesome times.

We also need to adopt the proper attitude, which is to rejoice in the Lord no matter what we face in our lives. (Jas 1:2) My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; (Jas 1:3) Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. (Jas 1:4) But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. Do you count it joy when you suffer persecution? The Bible is telling us that is exactly what we are to do. (Rom 5:3) And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; (Rom 5:4) And patience, experience; and experience, hope: There is something to be gained from weathering the storm. Finally, (1Th 5:16) Rejoice evermore.

We can also defend against this by committing ourselves to God. (1Pe 4:19) Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator. God knows what you go through and it’s not lost on Him. (2Th 1:4) So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: (2Th 1:5) Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: (2Th 1:6) Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; (2Th 1:7) And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, (2Th 1:8) In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: so know that you can take comfort in the fact that there will be rest for us that suffer and come out the other side with our faith. So give yourself to God and know that your service and your sufferings, all of it, are being noted by He who matters most.

Satan also has the device of getting us to enjoy evil company. Who you associate yourself with is very important and says a lot about you. It also affects you in a big way. Our company can thwart our intentions to do good. (1Co 15:33) Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. So if you are hanging out with someone that communicates in an evil fashion, it will work against you if you are trying to be a good example.

(2Co 6:14) Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? So we really don’t even have any business keeping company with non believers. We need to be working to educate them about Jesus, but beyond that, we should not be all hanging out being buddy-buddy. The reason for this is because odds are you’re not going to get your non believing buddies to go to church functions, but instead odds are they are going to get you whatever they are doing.

So obviously the best way to defend against this device is to keep godly company. (Pro 13:20) He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. Again, remember what I just said about being unequally yoked. Finally (2Co 6:17) Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. We should keep ourselves separate from those of the world that have a love of the world.

We are to witness to them and to try to lead them to the Lord, but we’re not supposed to throw back a brewsky with them. We should be friends with those that are fellow believers, and we are to be witnesses that call others out of the world and into the love of the Lord.

This covers many of the devices that Satan uses against us in the world, but it is by no means comprehensive. It is nothing more than a bit of an example so that you can use the Bible and your own judgment to weed out the others. Satan adapts, and responds to different conditions and adjusts his tactics accordingly, so we have to do so as well. We must be ever vigilant else we’re going to end up in a bad place. (1Pe 5:8) Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: you don’t want to be devoured, that’s for sure!

The Devil is strong. We need to keep that in mind as we go about our lives. We have to be vigilant against his attacks, and there will be attacks, that’s for sure. If we are ignorant of the Devil’s devices, we will susceptible to his traps. We must stand strong for God, stand strong in His word, and rely on Him and we’ll be just fine.

Let’s close with (Eph 6:10) Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. (Eph 6:11) Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (Eph 6:12) For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Eph 6:13) Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Until next time, God bless.

Let’s look over the list and then we’ll jump right in. (Gal 5:19) Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, (Gal 5:20) Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, (Gal 5:21) Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

The works of the flesh are evident, and are easily seen. This list is opened with adultery, but there is some debate as to if this was included in the original manuscripts or not. Some versions include adultery where others do not. The point is somewhat moot, as fornication clearly covers adultery as well as other illicit sexual acts.

Let’s start with fornication. This word in the Greek is porneia, and according to

Thayer’s means illicit sexual intercourse. That is a pretty direct definition. As you no

doubt noted, the word porneia calls to mind the word pornography from our modern language, and with good reason, the meanings are quite similar.

There are three applications for the word found in the Bible, the first of these being premarital sex as we see in (1Co 7:2) Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. This verse is telling us that it is good to be celibate for the Lord, but to avoid illicit sexual activities, a man should have a wife. The implication in this verse is clear: that any sex outside of marriage is considered illicit and improper.

The next meaning is a synonym for adultery as we see in (Mat 19:9) And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery. Now Joe, you might say, but the word adultery is used here along with the word fornication. This is true, but fornication outside of marriage is indeed the definition of adultery and therefore is being used as a synonym here. So the word for fornication is being used in the intention of the word for adultery, indicating that they can indeed mean the same thing, as we all logically know.

Thirdly it is used as a general term for improper behavior. (1Co 6:13b) …Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body. (1Co 6:18) Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. These verses are using the term to indicate that we should avoid all manner of illicit activities of a sexual nature.

The word fornication can clearly be used to cover all sexual behaviors that are considered wrong including premarital sex, adultery, homosexuality, prostitution, incest, so on and so forth. God is clearly condemning such behaviors as being wrong and sinful. There are seven lists of sins in the writings of Paul, and five of them contain fornication, and it is first in each one of them.

Next on the list is uncleanness. This word is numbered G167, and means to be unclean in a physical sense, as well as a moral sense. In the Greek Old Testament it meant to be ritually unclean and had to do with that which separated people from God. It then came to be used to describe moral depravity that disgusts the person who sees it.

There are three ideas that can be associated with this word. Firstly it indicates dirtiness, as some minds are dirty. It also brings up images of impurity and repulsive quality that disgusts descent people. Finally it is that uncleanness that separates man from God.

We are being taught to keep ourselves clean not only in a physical sense, but also in a moral sense. Be mindful of everything you think, do, and say so that you can remain pure and avoid the uncleanness of the flesh.

The next word in the list is aselgeia, which is translated in the King James as lasciviousness. Strong’s defines the word as unbridled lust, excess, licentiousness, lasciviousness, wantonness, outrageousness, shamelessness, insolence. In the New Testament this word indicates sexual excess in a public way.

There are also a few different ways this word can be taken to be describing shameless behavior like filthy words, indecent body movements, and the unchaste handling of males and females. Think about modern dances, movies, and what happens at concerts and you will see this word in action. You’ll hear profanity, you’ll see dances that simulate sex, and will probably see people put their hands on each other inappropriately as well.

This work is something that we’ve all probably seen at some point or another, and we were all disgusted by.

With these first three words, we see that the works of the flesh involves moral impurity. As we continue we’re going to see that the works of the flesh also include spiritual impurity.

Our next word is idolatry. The word is eido?lolatreia (G1495) and means literally or figuratively idol worship. It would do us well to remember that idolatry is not only physical worship of an image, but Paul also lists is as covetousness as idolatry. (Eph 5:5) For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. (Col 3:5) Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: so as we see here we have two examples where covetousness is equated to idolatry.

If you desire something greatly, more than you desire God you are committing idolatry. (Mat 6:21) For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Is your heart with God, or are you seeking earthly treasures? These treasures will rust and can be stolen, but when you lay your treasures up in Heaven with God, then they will be perfectly safe. God has literally the perfect security system, and what you lay up with Him will always be safe. Your heart will also be with God, instead of being lost in the darkness that is our world.

Our world is full of corruption and evil, why would we want to keep our treasures here? God is perfect, just, wonderful, love, and every great thing you can think of, would not we be better off with Him? Personally I pick God.

You must decide for yourself too. (Mat 6:24) No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Can’t love the world and love God at the same time. You must choose one or the other. But know that death comes through the world, but everlasting life is the gift of God through Jesus Christ.

But anything you put forth in your life as being more important than God is an idol and is expressly forbidden. (1Co 10:14) Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry. (Lev 19:4) Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God. (Lev 26:1) Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God. I think this makes the point.

Our next word is pharmakeia which is translated to witchcraft in the King James. Pharmakeia should sound familiar as it is related to our modern word pharmacy. The word can be used in three different ways. Firstly it can be used medically, in relation to medication, and not to any bad meaning at all. Modern medicine may suffer its problems, the advance of medicine is something few would actually call evil as a whole.

Next it can be used to mean the usage of drugs to poison and not to cure. The abuse of drugs can partially fall in this category as drug users are poisoning themselves, some slowly, and others quickly.

The final use is witchcraft and sorcery. Drugs are sometimes used by magicians to cast spells and alter the behavior of others.

Witchcraft is strongly condemned by the Bible, in very clear words. (Exo 22:18) Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. (Rev 21:8) But the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. Pretty clear.

This sin is more than clear today. The Wiccan religion is exploding in popularity as of late, and other occultic practices are being much more widely accepted. Drug abuse is at epidemic proportions and is destroying lives across the world. There is even a rise of abominations such as ‘Christian Wicca’ and other ‘Christian’ occult practices.

So we’ve covered sexual and moral impurity, and spiritual impurity, and now we’re going to move one to the sins that violate love.

Our next word is hatred. This is one concept that we probably all have experience with, either by our own hatred, or by being hated by others. If you have experience through hating someone, I pray that you let go of that hatred and come to repentance as we are told we are not to hate anyone by the Bible. (Mat 5:44) But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.

Hatred is an attitude that humans carry that separates us not only from God, but from each other. Hatred is the direct opposite of love, and when hate rules our hearts, we cannot produce proper fruits of the Spirit. This is the reason that any group that claims religion and hate is in darkness. The Klan is a prime example of a group that claims religion but is truly lost because they allow hate to rule their hearts.

The next word is variance, in Greek it is eris, which means of uncertain affinity; a quarrel, that is, (by implication) wrangling: - contention, debate, strife, variance. It could be said that eris is the actual manifestation of hatred. It is the action you take when you have hatred in your heart.

This word also appears in the Book of Romans where it is rendered as ‘debate’ and is part of the list of evils of the Pagan world. It also appears in (1Co 1:11) For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. This shows us that this sin slips into even the church at times, as the word ‘contention’ here is also a translation of the word ‘eris’. This sin slips into groups of brethren and easily causes destruction to relationships between Christians. This is why we must guard against it diligently.

Our next word is emulations. In the Greek this word is zelos, and means properly heat, that is, (figuratively) “zeal” (in a favorable sense, ardor; in an unfavorable one, jealousy, as of a husband [figuratively of God], or an enemy, malice): - emulation, envy (-ing), fervent mind, indignation, jealousy, zeal according to Strong’s.

This can clearly be either a good thing, or a bad one. Let’s look at some good examples. (Rom 10:2) For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. Having the zeal for God is not a bad thing, but you must make sure to have proper zeal. Now let’s take a moment and look at some bad examples. (1Co 3:3) For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? The word ‘envying’ is what is rendered from the root ‘zelos’ and shows us that zeal can come to a point of envy. It can become so wrapped up in somebody or something that it becomes selfish and twisted.

We should be zealous for God, but we need to make sure that we are not zealous to the point of envy, which usually happens when we become zealous for ourselves. When that happens zeal loses its virtues and becomes envy. And envy we must avoid.

Next up is wrath. This word is pretty clear. In Greek it is thumos, and means wrath and indignation. It can also be rendered ‘passion’ as well. It is mainly referring to an anger that flares up quickly. This is the anger that leads to actions that escalate a situation. This is the kind of flare up that is associated with physical violence a lot of times as well. Obviously explosive tempers also are a demonstration of thumos.

We must be sure not to mix this anger up with righteous indignation that is properly controlled. We can witness this kind of righteous indignation in God in the Book of Romans 2:4-11. (Eph 4:26) Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: here we see anger that is proper and not brought to sin. Anger in itself is not a bad thing, it is the blinding wrath that is a problem.

People will often explain away their explosive tempers by saying that’s ‘just the way they are’ and try to make an excuse for their sinful behavior, but that’s not going to fly. Oftentimes people blame their tempers on their heritage, when honestly we all are responsible for our own behavior.

But as Christians, we’re not to rely on our ‘human nature’ but are to be partakers of ‘divine nature’ as we see in (2Pe 1:3) According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: (2Pe 1:4) Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Having an explosive temper is most decidedly not escaping the corruption that is in the world.

Next up is strife. This word in Greek is eritheia, and means apparently, in the NT a courting distinction, a desire to put one’s self forward, a partisan and fractious spirit which does not disdain low arts. In other words, being self centered.

Some examples are working solely for money, as in getting pleasurable things for yourself. This could also be applied to seeking power for power’s sake, as in running for political office just so that you can ‘do things your way’. This can also apply to those that do good works for charity and the Church with the sole intention of being recognized or gaining some form of earthly reward.

Seditions is up next, with the Greek word being dichostasia meaning division and sedition. It can also be rendered as literally ‘standing apart’. It is a situation where all fellowship and brotherhood is gone. We can see this condition at the Church at Corinth as we see in (1Co 3:3) For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? This church was suffering from all kinds of problems with the members! We are told to deal with people that insist on making problems thusly: (Rom 16:17) Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.

Those that cause sedition and division need to be avoided. If they cannot be brought to understand the errors of their ways and insist on continually causing trouble, they should be handled accordingly.

What divisions can form that cause problems for the entire group of believers? Personal division can be one, where one member will not speak to another, forcing tension on those around either of them. There can be class division where one social class is either forced to be separate or separates themselves willingly from the rest of the group. There can be party division where believers have differing views on politics and divide down a political line. There can be racial division where one race is discriminated against or another is unequally elevated. Finally there can be theological divisions where squabbles over beliefs cause fracturing of the group.

This sin is committed when we confuse prejudice for principles, and stubbornness for resolution.

Next up is heresies, the Greek being hairesis and meaning properly a choice, that is, (specifically) a party or (abstractly) disunion. This is referring mainly to a group with a particular school of thought or action. For example (Act 5:17) Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation… the word sect here is rendered from hairesis.

Peter uses the word to describe false teachers who will bring in destructive divisions in (2Pe 2:1) But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. Thus this word is used to describe divisiveness and has come to mean a belief that is contrary to established belief or the truth.

So this brings heresies to mean false doctrines, teachings, or beliefs. These would by definition be lies, and we know where lies come from. (Joh 8:44) Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Our next word is envyings which is from the Greek phthonos which means ill will (as detraction), that is, jealousy (spite): - envy. William Barclay offers the following distinction between phthonos and zelos: zelos is envy that gives begrudging looks, where phthonos is envy that has arrived at hostile deeds.

It could also be said that zelos is less bitter and less serious but when left alone it easily flares into phthonos. Zelos also has a good side, where phthonos is always bad.

(Mat 27:18) For he knew that for envy they had delivered him. It was phthonos that led the Jewish leaders to deliver Christ to Pilate.

Phthonos is also present in the list of sins in the Book of Romans. (Rom 1:28) And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; (Rom 1:29) Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers…

Being full of envy is oftentimes part of the unbeliever’s life, and that is why it is so important that we shed this behavior after we’ve been saved. (Tit 3:3) For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. So we need to rise above these things, and the works of the flesh that we’re talking about.

Murders are up next, and there is little to explain. I think we all know why we need to avoid murder, and can see that it is clearly the result of hatred and is a complete destruction of the law of love. If you are having trouble understanding why you shouldn’t murder please seek professional help as quickly as possible.

Now we are going to deal with the word drunkenness. In the Greek it is methe, and means apparently a primary word; an intoxicant, that is, (by implication) intoxication: - drunkenness. So that’s pretty straightforward.

The Bible strongly condemns drunkenness as we see in (1Co 5:11) But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one no not to eat. Also let’s look at (1Co 6:9) Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, (1Co 6:10) Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. Drunkenness is such a serious state that it will cost you entrance into the kingdom of God. That’s a pretty serious consequence, is it not?

(Pro 20:1) Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. How many people claim to be able to hold their liquor and end up passed out on the bathroom floor? Drunkenness will make a fool out of you quickly. (Pro 23:29) Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? (Pro 23:30) They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Don’t think drunkenness causes sorrow? Go turn on a classic country music channel, and you’ll hear all about the problems boozing can cause.

We, as Christians are also bound by the principle of influence. Should we engage in social drinking? This contributes to one of our huge drug problems in the country as even though you might only be ‘socially’ drinking, your friends might be putting a bender on, and running the risk of becoming alcoholics. What about the fact that while you might be socially drinking you or another with you may consume enough to impair your ability to drive leading to an alcohol related accident?

Our responsibility is clear: (Rom 14:21) It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak. Alcoholism is most decidedly a weakness, and causes people to stumble both figuratively and even literally. (1Co 10:31) Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. (1Co 10:32) Give none offense, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: (1Co 10:33) Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.

You’re not going to be leading anyone to the Lord drunk or even ‘buzzed’. (2Co 6:14) Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? There is no reason to be associating ourselves with drunkenness! (1Th 5:22) Abstain from all appearance of evil. If drunkenness is sinful, then we should abstain from even appearing like we’re drunk! This would also tell us that we should avoid places where drunkenness is partaken in.

Revellings is up next, which in the Greek is komos. This basically means feasting and drinking parties late into the night that indulge in revelry. A great example of reveling where it is sinful is the party of Mardi Gras, especially in New Orleans along with Christmas parties, New Year parties and some music concerts. This is the kind of partying that is being condemned here.

It’s pretty obvious why this kind of activity is forbidden. It is so easy to get all messed up and carried away with the party and do something you shouldn’t do, like partake in some of the other sins we have discussed today. How many marriages and friendships have been destroyed by party-going that got out of hand? More than can be counted I would imagine.

This kind of behavior is most assuredly beneath how a Christian should behave.

Finally we have …and such like… which covers anything else that might need to be covered. This tells us that the list is not some master list that covers every last detail. Basically the list is given to show us a general idea of the things we need to be mindful of. We can use the Bible and some common sense to discern for ourselves what is right and what is wrong.

That has been the point of this discussion, to take some time to consider some of the things that are clearly wrong. We need to remember that (Gal 5:21b) they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. (1Jn 1:9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Until next time, God bless.

Welcome. Today we’re going to be talking about the story of David and Goliath. You may be familiar with this tale already, but it is important for us to repeat and remember the old stories since they still contain lessons for our lives. (2Ti 3:16) All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: we would do well to remember this!

We are going to be using the entire chapter of 1Samuel 17 as our study text, which is pretty long, so we’re not going to read it word for word. I recommend you take the time to do so for yourself, it won’t take but a few minutes to read it.

There are a great deal of lessons we can take from this story. There are many giant-sized obstacles in our lives that we have to overcome. This story also shows us that youth has a place in the kingdom of God.

We are going to look at the chapter in the light of the champion, the challenge, the consent, the conflict, and the conquest.

Let’s set the scene here. The armies of the Philistines are going to war against the armies of Israel. The two armies find themselves both stationed on hillsides, opposite of each other, with a small valley in between them. Having the high ground was an advantage, and neither side is willing to give up this advantage.

This brings us to Goliath of Gath. Goliath was a huge man. There are debates as to how big he was, with ranges being from 6’7” to over 9’ tall. No matter, it is clear that Goliath was a big ole boy to say the least. His armor is said to have weighed upwards of 160 lbs, and the head of his spear alone weighed nearly 20 lbs, and that’s not counting the weight of the shaft which was said to be as big as a weaver’s beam. So needless to say, Goliath was clearly a mountain of a man by any standards.

Goliath was a man of war, probably having had fought for most of his life. His age is not indicated in this chapter, but he is clearly a formidable warrior. This is evident through the fact that he marches down every day to the valley between the armies and challenges the Israelis to produce a single champion to duel with him. He would not have done this had he not been an experienced fighter.

Furthermore, in his challenges in the valley, he offers that his people will abide by the outcome of his single duel, saying that if he lost, they would withdraw. He would not have been allowed to make such a claim if he couldn’t back his words up. Even if they never intended to keep this bargain, the Philistines would not allow an inexperienced soldier to make it, lest their deception be revealed.

Goliath goes down into the valley every day, and shouts insults and challenges to the Israeli armies. There is no one in the Israeli armies that is willing to go face this monster so Goliath goes about unchecked for well over a month. The same would likely be true nowadays. Who would want to go up for a duel against a man as big as Goliath that had years of experience with his weapons in open warfare? Not many I would imagine.

So we have seen the champion, Goliath, and we’ve seen the challenge issued to the Israeli army, of which no one to this point will answer.

But that is about to change. There is a man named Jesse who has eight sons. Three of those sons are in the camp of the Israeli army, and his youngest son, who is named David, is tending the sheep. One day Jesse calls David, and asks him to deliver supplies, or what we might call a ‘care package’ to his brothers in the army that is camped out opposite of the Philistines. Jesse wants David to also get a feel for his brothers’ dispositions, and make sure they are all doing okay.

While David is with his brothers Goliath comes out and begins his nonsense. When David hears Goliath blaspheme God, he gets all kinds of angry and decides that someone has to teach this bully a lesson. He decided that the armies of the living God should not have to tolerate the horrible things that Goliath was saying. So as he’s commenting on this, his brother gets mad at him.

(1Sa 17:28) And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke unto the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle. (1Sa 17:29) And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?

David repeats this to the men around him, shouting that they should not allow this man to speak against God like he was! David saw that it was a travesty and he’s not too happy about hearing someone blaspheming his God. David was all fired up even though his brother had discouraged him.

There is a lesson here for us. We can’t let others discourage us from doing what is right by the Lord. Many times, the greatest discouragement can come from our families, as they think they know us so well, and oftentimes are aware of flaws that others might not see. Family might not take you seriously because they know how ‘you really are’ or so they think. We have to be careful as to not allow this kind of thought to destroy us and limit our work for the Lord, and we also have to be careful to not be the person that refuses to give someone a chance.

This brings us to the consent. David is speaking all of his views around even over the objection of his brother, to the point that King Saul hears of it, and calls for David. When David comes to the king, he offers to go kill Goliath, and settle the matter for everyone, right there on the spot. But Saul does not believe in David at this time, seeing that he is naught but a young shepherd and not an experienced, trained man of war.

When Saul mentioned this to David, David tells Saul about how God had delivered him victorious against a lion and against a bear that had threatened his father’s flock. Because David was able to destroy such considerable predators, Saul is convinced to give him a chance to take on Goliath.

Saul then gives the young David a great honor by equipping him with the King’s own personal armor. There is a lesson here too. Saul assumed, as many of us would assume, that David needed to be as armored as his foe. This is not the case. David tells the King that he cannot wear his armor because he is not used to it, and that he would be better off with what he’s used to. David understood that he needed to play to his strengths and not try to match his opponent. We need to remember this. Play to what your strengths are, and know you do not have to match your opponent in every respect. Maybe you need to bob and weave, or maybe you are stronger in a straight up situation. Maybe you need to employ hit and fade tactics, or maybe divide and conquer is your thing. What I’m saying is, in your life as you deal with the world, play to what you’re good at and you will find it much easier to win the ‘battle’ of life.

Saul also tried to arm David with the royal sword as well, which David rejected also. We should be like David, having the wisdom to use what is tried and true, and not arm ourselves according to the world with the worldly-gimmicks that are out there.

So David has rejected these things, going with his regular coat, and arming himself with a sling, one that he was quite talented at using. Also take note here that a sling up against a man with a spear is considered a bit foolish. But David knew that his sling would be guided by God.

Now historically speaking, the sling was an effective weapon, but it would not be a wise choice for a one on one duel as was the situation with David and Goliath. To those that watched, David looked seriously outmatched.

So now we have David having obtained consent from King Saul to go out and end Goliath and his blaspheming ways. Instead of suiting up like a warrior, David went like a shepherd going to tend his herd. This brings us to the conflict.

To anyone looking at this match, David is just not only going to lose, he’s going to be ripped to shreds. Here is a man in no armor, holding a shepherd’s staff and a goat hair sling standing against a fully armed and armored, battle hardened warrior.

Goliath himself saw this as well, and was enraged by the fact that the Israelis sent a boy with a rod out to face him instead of sending their fiercest warrior. This relates to our common world today as there are many that look at the young and despise what they are doing. The older groups can fall into a ‘Goliath mindset’ where they hold back the young as the youth strive forward doing God’s work.

If you are a young person in this situation, I urge you to consider (1Ti 4:12) Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

Goliath looked at David and thought that David was equipped to do nothing more than maybe kill a dog, and surely was not armed to take on a warrior such as himself. Goliath then takes a moment to taunt David declaring “Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field” (verse 44).

(1Sa 17:45) Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. (1Sa 17:46) This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

Let’s break down David’s speech. David said that while Goliath may be coming into the fight with all his weapons and such, David is entering the battle with the Lord behind him, who Goliath had been blaspheming for over a month straight. He then says that God will have him win the fight, and that he would chop off Goliath’s head before it was said and done. Then he would slay his fellows up on the hill so that all may know that the Lord is God.

If I would have been Goliath, I might have been unnerved by this a little bit, considering that David was truly unafraid in a situation where any other man would have ran away in fear a long time ago, or not even had the courage to come forward, as the rest of the men of the Israeli army hadn’t. Here was lightly armed and unarmored David claiming that he was going to take Goliath’s head.

Take note here, David said that he was going to win because God was with him, that the Lord was going to deliver Goliath into his hands, and not by his own strength. David is crediting God with the victory he is about to win, and is not claiming that it is his skills at warfare that carries the day since Goliath clearly is the more experienced warrior. Instead David relies on the Lord.

This is an important lesson for us today. We need to rely on the Lord to slay our giants, to get through our daily lives even! If we go at our problems with the faith David had, God will see that our giants topple to us as Goliath did to David. (1Co 15:57) But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

(Rom 8:37) Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. What wonderful promises the Bible has for us!

Let’s take a moment to consider what David didn’t say. He didn’t brag of his battle prowess. He didn’t puff himself up and say he was the be-all end-all. No, David wasn’t concerned with himself, instead he was concerned with God and was angry because God was being blasphemed by Goliath. He wasn’t concerned with himself, or his abilities, but instead was concerned for the God of Israel, of whom he glorified.

David said that through the Lord he was going to slay Goliath. We would all do well to remember how David spoke and glorify God for what we are able to do through Him. (1Co 15:10) 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 labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. It’s God who works through me, not by my own power, but only by the grace of God. Remember that the next time you open your mouth to brag about what you have done.

Now we have the conquest. Right before the battle began, David gets some smooth rocks from the stream in the valley and puts them in his bag. When the battle begins, David runs forward with no hesitation or fear for he knew that the Lord was with him.

This should be our attitude when facing the ‘enemies’ of today. We should not hesitate but run headlong, knowing the Lord goes with us. (Pro 28:1) The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion. How bold are you? (1Co 16:13) Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. Quit like men means to be strong. I actually made a shirt that says “The Faith Is Strong In This One -1Co 16:13” on it. This is a great verse to remember. We need to be strong and bold just like David was.

Now David, as he’s charging at Goliath, takes out a stone and uses his slingshot to fling it at Goliath. David was a dead-eyed shot, so the stone struck Goliath right in the forehead with such force that it actually lodged into his skull. Goliath obviously crumples to the ground from the blow and David rushes forward, draws Goliath’s sword, and chops his head off, just like he said he would.

David had a great trust in the Lord, and if we have the same, we won’t lose either. We’ll be able to overcome and triumph for the glory of God. (Pro 3:5) Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. This can be a terribly difficult thing to do, but once we do it, we’ll realize just how much more better off we are.

The Philistines were in utter shock and awe as they watched David lift Goliath’s head in victory. Coming out of their shock they began to flee, now afraid to face Israel and their God that helped a mere boy overcome their greatest champion.

With his defeat over Goliath, and the ensuing retreat of the Philistine army, David began to build a reputation for himself, whether he realized it or not. We should be working on a reputation for ourselves, and we should be mindful of just what kind of reputation it is. We should strive to be known as servants to the Most High God. We should be sure to be known to be faithful and not build a reputation of being hypocritical.

(Pro 22:1) A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver and gold. (Ecc 7:1a) A good name is better than precious ointment.

Now what did David do? He fought God’s battle, in God’s way, to God’s honor and glory. Just as David did, we should do also, going forth in our lives, living them in God’s way to God’s honor and glory. That will bring us closer to the Lord, and just like David, we will be blessed for it.

(Mat 10:22) And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. Not only did the Philistine army and Goliath have disdain for David, remember his own brother did too. Don’t get discouraged by those that hate you because it is a blessing to us if we endure to the end, as Jesus tells us here.

(Rom 8:31) What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? Take comfort in this fact that if God is with you, even the biggest problem will fall before you if you give it over to God.

But also be like David in the fact that you do not glory yourself when you are seeking the Lord to be with you. (1Pe 5:6) Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. If you go running around yelling that “God’s gonna get you sucka!” and “God made me the greatest!” or something similar, don’t be surprised when God doesn’t help you because you are not glorifying Him properly, but instead you are magnifying yourself.

No, we have to do what God wants done, the way He wants it done, and glorify Him for it. That’s the way things work. David knew this, and that’s why Goliath fell.

Keep these things in mind. Go through life keeping in mind the lessons that David demonstrated for us and you will find that giant problems will fall easily. Until next time, God bless.