We Are From God

We Are From God

 

We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one--1 John 5:19 (ESV)

 

Faith, obedience and love are three great tests of where we stand in the eyes of God. Without faith, we cannot be pleasing to him (Heb. 11:6). Obedience to his will is the only way to obtain the eternal salvation we seek (Heb. 5:7-9; 2 Thess. 1:7-9). Without love permeating our entire being we will never be able to stand approved before God (Mark 12:29-31; 2 Peter 1:22). All who pass the test of faith, obedience and love will have no doubt as to whom they belong to while living in a wicked, sinful world ruled over by the evil one, Satan. All who live outside of Christ have made themselves subjects of the devil and are under his dominion. The God of this world has truly blinded their eyes (2 Cor. 4:4).

 

Long ago there came a time in which God looked down upon his creation and saw that wickedness was great so much so that the imaginations and thoughts of its inhabitants were only evil continually (Gen.6:5; 11-12). It does appear that we are now witnessing the same conditions unfolding throughout the world in which we live. Our own beloved nation is no exception. America has become a nation filled with anger, hatred, jealousy, covetousness, unbelievable corruption and immorality. Read the words of Romans 1:18-32 and 2 Timothy 3:1-5 and you read words that are as up to date as this morning's newspaper or the evening newscast. The works of the flesh spoken of in Galatians 5:19-21 have now become so commonplace in the lives of men and women they are no longer viewed in horror. As a result, adultery, drunkenness, homosexuality, lesbianism, same sex marriage and transgender foolishness are not only being accepted but glorified as well. Purity of life is openly discouraged as we are fed a steady diet of magazines, books, movies and television openly promoting and glamorizing a host of evil practices (James 4:8; Tim. 4:12; 1 Peter 1:22; 1 John 3:1-3).

 

All is not doom and gloom here. I know of a surety that the God I believe in and serve, the God who created all things and is the ruler of this universe is alive and well and he is still in control. I also know he is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but wants all men to repent (2 Peter 3:9). My friends, understand this, regardless of what human beings may do or become, in the end God wins!

 

Charles Hicks

 

Faith and Commitment

Faith and Commitment 

Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, a spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defiled (1 Samuel 17:45). 

1 Samuel 17:17-51, That which began as a simple visit to his brothers with no indications of any difficulties or troubles suddenly turned into one of the greatest challenges of his young life. We are not challenged to fight a human giant as was David but every day we live, we are challenged in many ways physically and spiritually. As challenging as physical things may sometimes be, it is the spiritual challenges that are the ones that carry the most weight. If we prevail over them, the physical challenges may be difficult but they will never deter us as we press on toward our eternal destiny. 

 Carefully study the entire 12^th chapter of Romans, drink in the words of Ephesians 4:17-32, feed on the words of 1 Thessalonians 5:4-24, think about passages like Matt. 6:33, Matt. 6:19-21, Mark 12:29-31, Col. 3:1-3, 1 Tim. 4:12, 1 John 2:15-17  and you will get a picture of the enormity of the spiritual challenges we will face as we strive to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age (Titus 2:11-12) 

Read carefully 1 Samuel 17:45-47 and take note of David's trust and commitment to God. We can draw at least two great lessons from David as he meets this great challenge head on. First, have an unfailing faith in God, trust him at all times (Psalm 62:8, Prov. 3:5-7, Rom. 1:16-17, 1 Thess. 5:8-10, Psalm 31:23-24). Our faith and trust in God will be the support that will enable us to prevail against the spiritual challenges we face. Remember this, if we are successful in prevailing in spiritual challenges, the ones of a physical nature will not deter us from pressing on to our eternal dwelling (2 Corinthians 5:1, Philippians 1:21, Philippians 3:13-15). 

Secondly, we must have a rock-solid attitude of commitment to our God. This commitment cannot be a half-hearted one—remember Lot's wife (Luke 17:32, Gen. 19). It cannot be just verbal (James 2:14-20, 1 Cor. 15:57, Matt. 5:16). When I think about a rock-solid commitment to God, my thoughts turn to Job who says, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him" (Job 13:13-15). This is a commitment that says, come what may, good or bad, I will not lose my confidence in God, I will maintain my trust in him! This is the attitude of commitment sorely needed by all of us. 

Charles Hicks

 

 

Such As I Have

Such As I Have

 

Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk—Acts 3:6 

As Peter and John went up to the temple at the hour of prayer they encountered a forty year old man who had been lame from birth begging for alms from those entering the temple. Peter fixed his gaze on the man and said, I don't have any silver or gold but I will give you what I do have and what he gave that man was far greater than any monetary gift could or would have been. That man never expected to be more than a poor beggar but Peter gave him a healthy body, the ability to live a normal life and do meaningful work for a living. Peter gave that man hope but greatest of all he gave him Christ enabling the man to praise God (Acts 3:1-8). Perhaps greatest of all Peter gave all the people seeing this man walking and praising God a tremendous example of the power of God and set the stage for his second sermon (Acts 3:9-26).

 Peter did not just look at the man, then turn to John and say, "I feel so sorry for that man, sure wish we could help him". He didn't look at John and say, "Let's go find a charitable organization, tell them about this man and maybe they can help him." He didn't say to John, "Let's go back to the other disciples and form a committee to help this man". He just told the man, "Look on us" (verse 4) and then said, "Such as I have give I to you". Peter simply used what he held in his hand to bring glory and honor to the Lord and to give that man one of the greatest blessings he would ever receive.

 I know that we cannot perform miracles but I am convinced in my heart that God expects no less of us than he did of Peter, namely use what we hold in our hands to glorify and honor him while at the same time being a blessing to others physically and or spiritually. I fear that too often in an attempt to not become too involved, we try to convince ourselves that we are so little and insignificant and there just isn't anything we can do. You see, if we are not very careful, we will tend to look at the leanness of the purse rather than the riches of God. It is far better not to ask ourself what we can do but what can God do through us. I think about the occasion in Matthew 14:13-21 when the disciples of Jesus held in their hands only 5 loaves and 2 fish. A meager amount of food but when placed into the Lord's hand it fed 5000 men besides women and children and twelve baskets full were left over."

 I really like the story told in Mark 14:3-9 about the woman who poured a very costly ointment on Jesus. Seeing this, some of those present were indignant, saying that the ointment could have been sold and the money given to the poor. Jesus responded by telling them to leave her alone, she has done what she could. I wonder, have I, have you, have we done, are we doing what we can? Such as I have, give I to you—that's what God wants from all of us not only to him but to each other as well as our fellow man (Mark 12:29-31; 1 Peter 4:8-10; Gal. 6:10; James 2:14-18; Mt. 5:14-16).    

 Charles Hicks