The trumpet sounds

Friends,

In the book of Proverbs, we see the many characteristics of Christ Jesus. And as we are to imitate Him ... to be holy as He is holy ... we see the admonitions that our good and perfect Father has for us.

Proverbs 31:8-9 [NKJV]
Open your mouth for the speechless,
In the cause of all who are appointed to die.
Open your mouth, judge righteously,
And plead the cause of the poor and needy.

This is a command, brothers and sisters. We are to pray for those who cannot - and will not - pray. We are to intercede. We are to truthfully discern what is contrary to God's will, and describe it accurately as sin.

This is not for the faint of heart. It is a battle, meant only for the courageous.

Be encouraged, Jose

His own house first

Friends,

The day is coming. It is a day when the the Lord will judge. Be assured ... Every man is subject to His perfect justice.

Ecclesiastes 3:17 [NKJV]
I said in my heart,
“God shall judge the righteous and the wicked,
For there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.”

Notice a subtlety here. The righteous are listed first. The LORD will judge all men, but He starts with His own people first. He holds us all to the same standard of holiness, and therefore cannot exempt the believers from justice.

Of course, the believer's sins are judged, and the sentence has been carried out by Christ. But that does not give us license to ignore the laws of God. So, we must live lives of holiness, proving our love of Jesus.

Be encouraged, Jose

The only opinion that matters

Friends,

There is a true word of God. But because it's not always what we want to hear, we might - in a time of weakness - seek out a second opinion. Or a third. We do this when we are looking to justify sin and rationalize evil. Not one of us is immune.

It may seem fairly obvious, but it's worth repeating: God is not amused or pleased by this:

Her heads judge for a bribe,
Her priests teach for pay,
And her prophets divine for money.
Yet they lean on the LORD, and say,

"Is not the LORD among us?
No harm can come upon us."

Therefore because of you
Zion shall be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins,
And the mountain of the temple
Like the bare hills of the forest.
Micah 3:11-12, NKJV

The men and women who bribe their pastors to condone their sin are in for a rude awakening. You ask how a pastor could be bribed? It's easy, and shameful. But a big donation for that new program or building fund. It takes two, of course ... that pastor must be willing to value the contributions (tithes and otherwise) more than obedience to Christ. And of course that pastor is headed for disaster, as well.

And after all of that, everyone involved expects ... even demands ... that the LORD smile and bless and approve of such abominable behavior!

Rather than belabor the point, let's go to the solution.

As true believers, we have an obligation and a freedom to obey Christ Jesus. We are now able to hear His word and know His voice. Do not waste that gift by foolishly and sinfully looking for ways to disobey Him. Do not ask a brother to condone sin. Do not ask a sister to rationalize and justify sin.

Instead, stop the sin. Heed the voice of Christ!

Be encouraged, Jose

The antidote for hate

Friends,

It seems that hatred and accusations of hatred are everywhere. If two disagree, each accuses the other of hate. If a man stands up for his beliefs and refuses to compromise his faith, then he is accused of hatred.

It boils down to the discomfort some feel when their sinful behavior is called what it is: sin. The sinful ones react harshly, angrily, and sometimes violently. Fortunately, we have a defender:

Psalm 9:13
Have mercy on me, O LORD!
Consider my trouble from those who hate me,
You who lift me up from the gates of death, [NKJV]

Praying for justice is neither hateful nor sinful. Seeking the wisdom of the One who is truly in a position to render a judgment? This is a loving and humble act. We who truly follow Christ do not usurp His authority. We call upon it and depend on it. And we rejoice in the judgments of a perfectly good and sovereign King.

Be encouraged, Jose

He is not kidding around

Friends,

Are you taking the LORD lightly?
Have you allowed yourself to believe that God's command to "Be holy, as I am holy" no longer applies to our generations?
Are you operating under the belief that Almighty God isn't paying attention?

There will come a day when the word will go out across all nations ... and ALL will turn to hear...

Come near, you nations, to hear; And heed, you people! Let the earth hear, and all that is in it, The world and all things that come forth from it. For the indignation of the LORD is against all nations, And His fury against all their armies; He has utterly destroyed them, He has given them over to the slaughter.
Isaiah 34:1-2 [NKJV]

These are sobering words, brothers and sisters. The voice of the LORD will call all nations to account. The believers and the non-believers will hear Him and be required to acknowledge Him.

We who are counted among His people will see the victory of the mighty LORD of Hosts.

Be encouraged, Jose

Before the Judgment Seat

Friends,

An old friend once remarked to me that he always approached a time of revival in his life with some trepidation. That was because he knew that, before the revival came, he had to go through a period of great conviction and repentance. We can see this illustrated for us in God's word:

Joshua 4:10
So the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the LORD had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua; and the people hurried and crossed over. [NKJV]

When Israel crossed into the Promised Land, all the people had to pass before the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark serves as the God's seat of judgment. We must see the important symbolism contained in this act:

Before we can enjoy the promised blessings of eternal life with the LORD, we must be examined, scrutinized, and judged to be worthy of those blessings!

The cold hard truth is that NONE of us has lived a life that meets that standard. But Christ did. And He has granted that worthiness to His people. As you and I pass before the LORD, we go there having taken our place in the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. To stay in that safe and blessed place, we must recognize that our carnal ways have been judged and sentenced to death. We must repent of them and leave them behind. And then we can enter into the rest and joy of our Master.

Be encouraged, Jose