Casting Pearls- Allah or God The Creator, You decide.

The whole world would have us believing that the Allah of the Muslim religion is the same as the Christian God. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The translation of Allah is loosely ‘the god’ and in no way is the same as the Christian God of Creation. Allah is ‘the god of the moon’, the Christian God’s creation. If you don’t believe it, then look it up! The Christian’s in this world are being mislead.
        As in the past, in Elijah’s time as when he went up against the followers of Baal, Satan wishes to mislead people into following the Creation, instead of The Creator. The Muslim’s have already been doing this for generations but now the Christian Church is being mislead as well. They have been told over and over again that the God we worship is the same god that the other religion's worship.
        First, The ‘god’ they worship is the god of this world, not the God who Created this world. And Second, as Christian’s we should not have a religion, but instead have a relationship with the Creator of the Universe. If you were to let someone inside you to have complete control over you and your actions, would you not like to have a relationship with them? A really close relationship with them.
        The word Baal is translated ‘The Lord’ and that is what they were worshipping. God The Creator was angry over the way the priests of Baal and the King Ahab and his wife Jezebel had led so many astray from the true God and his following. Just as it was in Elijah’s day, we are seeing it happening now.
        Just recently, The Pope, leader of the largest denomination in the christian churches, called for all denominations to put aside their differences and join together and become one church. He also called for the church to be more ‘inclusive’ of those groups, like the homosexuals, who do not live by the beliefs held by those who believe in the Bible, The Word of God.
        Basically, The Pope both called for the church to do away with it’s worship practices, and to include the ones God The Creator had called an abomination in His Sight. God did not use the word abomination about many things, but the few things He felt very strongly about. in the over 788,000 words in the Bible, Abomination is only used 166 times and often is depicting the same thing when mentioned. This is less than 3 thousandths of the entire scriptures so these times must have been important.
        Both of these things had been spoken of by Jesus and others in their prophecies of the End Times and the things to come. We were to experience a time likeunto that of the times of Noah. When men were lovers of self and only made passing acknowledgment of God. The world is now in that way. The Southern United States, where I live, Is one of the last places where the true Christian Faith is practiced. In the rest of this nation and in the rest of the world the majority of people are secular or only give passing acknowledgment of God in their lives. We are living in dangerous times.

Casting Pearls- Who needs a inoculation?

        In a recent devotional from Billy Graham ministries I read something that provoked thought within me. It said that it would be wonderful if there was a shot we could give people in their arm that would make them nicer and do away with the problems that face this world, it would make them have contentment instead of being greedy and selfish make them love on another rather than hate, it would make them tell truth instead of lie.
        This led me to think of the one thing that can change someone’s heart from evil to good, that is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Most Christians receive the Holy Spirit when they are saved kind-of like an inoculation like the ones you received as a child, or for some as an adult. Just like that we all were well protected from the evil of the world when we received the inoculation, but over time  the strength of the protection has lessened and the world has helped, like a stream on a rock, it has slowly worn our protection down. Many of us are now not much different from the world around us that we say is so evil.
        If we were to stand back and look at ourselves as through another’s eyes, what would we see? Would it be someone who is a good example of what is a good Christian, or is it someone who is a poor example of what a Christian really should be. The world wants us to become closer to the evil that it is instead of the goodness that the Holy Spirit exudes. The reason is that the world wants this is that it wishes to keep us from bringing others to Christ. As a poor example of a Christian, others will say why become a Christian? If there is no difference in our lives other than we are not allowed to have the “fun” that they do, why do they want to change.
        Many of us, myself included, are guilty of allowing the world to infiltrate the loving, giving, caring person we are really and letting the world take over our witness of who and what we are. One of the best quotes i have ever heard is “you are the only Bible some people will ever see”. It is sobering to think that others lives are in your hands. The Lord has other ways to reach the people that you refuse to witness too, but your bad witness can cause someone who is on the edge to back away instead of believe in Christ and invite Him into their hearts.
        Now should you be someone who is on fire to spread his name all the time? Yes you should! God needs fervent and committed followers who are willing to give up the things of this world just to get the things of the world to come. We all need to be closer in our walk with the Lord, not because he needs us, but because we need Him to
strengthen us. You and I can do nothing to spread God’s Gospel without Him, but we cannot be stopped if God is the one in control. Ultimately God is the one in control and the one who can guide our steps.
        So the question is; do you think your inoculation is alright or do you think you need a booster? Has your witness gotten stronger or has it gotten weaker over time? Do you regularly build up your faith with reading God’s word or do you leave the Bible on a shelf and only take it down to look something up or even worse to boost a leg on a table?         Another thing we must think of, is that if someone was to look at our checkbook what would they see is important to us? Where does the majority of the money we have go to. We are fighting a mind set that has been set up by the world we live in. I just now had to change what I was writing to read ‘the money we have’ instead of ‘our money’ because it is not our money any more than this is our life we are living. EVERYTHING belongs to God. He created it and us He merely lets us have it for a time to use. We must try to change our mindset to make the things no longer important and make God important instead.

Casting Pearls- Are you Merry This Christmas?

        Everybody tells other people ‘Merry’ Christmas’ but how many people know exactly what is meant by the words they say. The meaning of Christmas is pretty much self explanatory but I’ll explain it anyway. Christ-mas is actually a two part word, it is about why the day is special, it is when we celebrate the birth of Christ. and the second part of the word is mas which is short for mass or church service.
        The part that is confusing to some is the word Merry. There have been many explanations, including that it is meant to represent the mother of Christ, Mary. The most common explanation is that Merry means Joyful or Happy. It means so much more though. If we understand the Old English meaning of Merry it becomes much more evident.
        In the Old English it was used to represent both Happy or Joyful, and also to represent Mighty or Strong. It is most commonly seen used that way in the song ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’ in which it refers to the Mighty or Very Influential Gentlemen. The world today has tried to change the meaning to be more acceptable to the current definition by placing a comma between Merry and Gentlemen. You will not find this in the older versions of the song.
        The other thing about Christmas is the short way it is said, Xmas.  Many people believe it is only a short way to say it and leave Christ out of Christmas. Most people do not understand that the Greek word for Christ is Χριστός and the letter X is a short way to say Χριστός. Saying Xmas is not leaving Christ out, it is only a short way of saying Christ in Greek and was started by the Roman Catholics when they began to use English commonly and were still using Greek for some of their Bible editions. They Simply used the X to hold the place of Christ in some words that were still written in the Greek and the X was an abbreviation for the greek word for Christ, just like JC is commonly used for abbreviating Jesus Christ today.

Casting Pearls- You think it a strange way to save the world?

        Many of the people we so believe in and trust to do what is right may over time begin to doubt the truths they have been told. Even the truths told to them by God Himself! The story told us in the Bible of John the Baptist is one. In it John the Baptist is the forerunner for the Messiah and even declared himself that Jesus was the Messiah of the Jewish people. He knew all these things to be true and even saw the Holy Spirit descending from the Heavens like a dove to land on Jesus and anoint Him to be God’s Messiah and Son.         Despite all this John the Baptist, when he was in prison and awaiting sentencing by King Herod, after hearing of the exploits of Jesus, and of His supernatural abilities, began to doubt that Jesus was really the Messiah and sent some of his followers to ask Jesus if He was really the one or if they should look for another. John felt as though he had done so much for God, he announced the coming of the Messiah and got many to repent, he got many ready for the Messiah to come, he even presented to the world his cousin as the Messiah and baptized Him. With all the powers at Jesus disposal, could not some small amount be spared to deliver him from the prison he was in?
        Then we must look at Moses. Moses had been allowed to speak directly with God and even look at God’s back as he went on by. Yet when faced with the unbelief of the Children of Israel, he became angry and struck the rock to bring forth water rather than speak to it as God had instructed. He doubted in doing it God’s way and instead did it his way and struck the rock. For this he was punished and not allowed to enter with the Children of Israel into the Promised land. So often we become angry at others who openly defy the teachings of God to the point that it causes us to sin. We are no better than Moses was in our walk, that is why God had to send Jesus to save us from ourselves.
        The ultimate problem is our sinful nature. We see others having fun in this world and want to join in with the fun even though it goes against the teachings and commands of God. If we look throughout the Bible will will find over and over men and women who follow God, and fall away from following when things get tough and they have doubts. I’m sure that Joseph must have been one of these people given all that he had to face.
        Joseph was faced with being betrothed to a woman who was pregnant with a child without him having touched her. He had to take on her shame at the premarital pregnancy and the people of the surrounding area believing him and Mary to have been involved physically prior to marriage. He had to then provide for this woman and her pregnancy throughout her pregnancy without touching this woman, who was supposed to be his wife. He had to attempt to lead them both to Bethlehem for the census and taxing of his family. He had to look for a room for them to sleep in and then to find a place for her to have the baby. All this based on the one time an angel had spoken to him in a dream. All this culminated in a song that told what Joseph must have been thinking when Jesus was born.
        The song is titled “A Strange Way To Save The World” and that is just what Joseph must have been thinking when Jesus was born. It goes like this in the chorus, “Why me, I’m just a simple man of trade, Why Him, with all the rulers in the world, Why here, inside this stable filled with hay, Why her, she’s just an ordinary girl, Now I’m not one to second guess what angel’s have to say, but this is such a strange way to save the world”

Attached please find a link to the fore mentioned song by 4Him.                                                      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEN3wNWM1eE

Casting Pearls- Why was Jesus wrapped in Swaddling Clothes?

    In Luke 2:1-20 we find the Christmas Story of the birth of Christ. it begins simply enough in that Joseph and Mary had to go to Bethlehem to be counted in the tax roles that the Romans were keeping. They were required to go to Bethlehem because Joseph was originally from there and his family was from there. The name Bethlehem, means house of bread in the modern literal translation. It is fitting that Jesus be born there, as in John 6:35 we see Jesus proclaiming to the crowd that He IS the “BREAD OF LIFE”, and whoever eats of Him will “never hunger”.
        While they were there in Bethlehem, the time came for Mary to give birth to Jesus, as was foretold to everyone by the prophets of old. After Jesus was born they wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger. Now why do you think they did this? Well, first it was a practice with new mothers dating back several hundred years to wrap the newborn up tightly so that his bones would form correctly and so they would feel secure as they did in their mother’s womb. At that time mothers would often coat the baby’s skin with salt and wrap them up in swaddling clothes to protect them and to keep them from getting anything on them that could cause them to get an infection, as the umbilical cord was freshly cut and had not had time to heal. Also , because it helped the skin to toughen up and keep it’s moisture in. Salt was a natural preservative and disinfectant.
        After Mary and Joseph wrapped Jesus in Swaddling Clothes, they  put Jesus in a manger, not just to give them a rest from holding the child, but so that if He wiggled around enough to get out of the swaddling clothes, He would still be in a place that kept him in a position to help His bones to form correctly. Many of the practices of the parents from that time would almost be considered child abuse now days, but they had far less problems such as SIDS, or others to deal with. Even with what they knew, the child mortality rate was very high, as they lacked the medical knowledge we have today and as we see in Luke 2:21, after the Birth of Christ and all that accompanied it was over, they still waited for the prescribed eight days before naming Him JESUS. This was because, almost all parents waited for eight days to make sure the child would live before giving it a name.
        Shortly after the child Jesus was born, shepherds, considered the lowest people in that society, came to see the baby Jesus, and told the parents of them seeing Angels that told them of the child’s birth and that they should go worship Him as the Messiah of Israel. He came to a stable, was put in a manger, and was visited by shepherds to show the world and the Jewish people, that God was willing to stoop so far down to show His love for mankind and be an example to people of how we should humble ourselves, both to each other and to God Himself.
        All of this was so we could see how Jesus would come to this world and how He would leave it. Just as He was born in a cave hewn from the rock to be a stable, His body would be laid in a Tomb hewn from the rock. Just as His body was wrapped in swaddling clothes made of strips of cloth at His birth, His body was wrapped in grave clothes and put in the Tomb at His death. Jesus was the perfect lamb born to be the offering for all mankind because of how much God loved US!

Casting Pearls- Want to go fishing?

The World says that we can do nothing to stop it from doing whatever it wants to do. The truth is seen in two places in the Bible that explain that we have all the strength we need to influence the path the world around us takes by only drawing our strength from Christ. The most obvious verse is from Phillipians 4:13 that says; ‘I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength’
        The less obvious place it is shown is in John 20:3-11 which states that Peter, upset and depressed after first denying Jesus, then seeing Him put to death, even though Peter had seen Jesus’ resurrection, he still felt sad and lost because he was unable to forgive himself for denying Jesus.  In spite of how Jesus had tried to reinstate Peter in the leadership of the Apostles Jesus had left behind at His death.
        Peter was so upset and depressed with himself that he had given up on the things he had been taught by Jesus and decided to go back to the one thing he knew how to do without question. Just like Peter, we also give up on God’s plan and go back to what we know, before giving God the chance to work in our lives.  Peter went back to what he knew best and not only went himself, but like we so often do, he took several other Apostles with him. As we take those who are lost or wish to give up on God to go away from God or the things of God.
         He and the other Apostles did what they had been trained from youths to do and began to fish again. They struggled to be successful in their own strength and fished all night, because it was the usually best time for catching fish, and ended up catching nothing. As they came in closer to shore, they saw a man on the shore cooking some food over a fire. The man called to them when they had gotten within earshot and asked if they had caught anything to eat. They had to respond NO.
        The man then instructed them to do something that went against their training as fishermen, let down the nets again where they were close to shore, and let them down on the right side of the boat that was closer to shore. They knew by their own understanding that this instruction by the stranger should do nothing to help as it went against everything they knew to work as fishermen. Peter had an idea as to who this was and it seemed confirmed by what happened next. The net that was let down by them was filled with fish so much so that they could not by their own strength pull the net back up on the ship. This was basically the same thing that had happened to Peter when Jesus had first called him to be a disciple and follow him. Jesus wanted Peter to do the same thing, let down the nets on the boat’s right side. The same thing happened, the net was filled so much with fish that Peter could not bring them all up. The first time Peter could call to other boats in the area to help him with all the fish. This time though, there were no other boats in the area to help. Rather than wait for the boat to return to shore, Peter confirmed his suspicions with John and immediately Put on some clothes, as he was necked from being out on the boat fishing and working hard so he took off his clothes as it was very warm there even at night. Peter put on his over coat and dove into the water to swim on to shore so he could be with Jesus.
        Even though Peter felt depressed and lost he knew that he was very excited to see Jesus again. The other disciples rowed on to the shore dragging the net behind them and Peter filled with the strength of the Lord, then went over to where the boat came ashore and singlehandedly pulled the net with as John said, 153 fishes, on the shore before returning to Jesus. Peter and the other disciples had been blessed beyond anything they had dreamed, again by Jesus. Despite their lack of strength to follow the teaching and direction in their depression and sadness over losing their leader, they were greatly blessed with great riches by God. Peter in himself showed the strength given by God in that he alone was able to drag on shore the net with 153 fish that the other disciples were unable to drag in the boat.
        We have a choice we must face in our life, either follow Jesus and the Holy Spirit in our lives, or follow the world and the things of this world that limit the power of Jesus and His Holy Spirit. Which one do you think you will follow? The Creator of all things, or the creation He made? That is the choice we all have to make, because we know who is the lord of this world and who is ultimately in control.

Casting Pearls- A strange way to save the world?

Many of us fight back whenever we seem to loose control and have to stop driving and let God lead us to where He would have us go. A old bumper sticker said God is my Co- Pilot. A Co- Pilot is supposed to take over when the Pilot is otherwise occupied or unable for some reason to stay in control of the Plane. Some people say that God should be your Pilot rather than your co-Pilot because God should always be in control of the plane of your life. Making God the Co-pilot or the Pilot is hard for most people because we think we have a better plan than God does. God, The Creator God who has had the same plan since Adam and Eve were still in the Garden, God. We have the arrogance to believe that we would even begin to know better than He what is best for the plan of God?
          Whenever we find ourselves out of our own control we begin to struggle and fight to regain even a small amount of control over our own existence. It is only when we find ourselves out of control that we can learn just how much in control God really is. I think that Mary and Joseph are prime examples. We will look at them and the situations they both were in.
        First we look at Mary, the Virgin Mother of Jesus. She was impregnated by an angel of God with God’s own son Jesus, and told to give birth to Him and name Him Jesus. Knowing that this was an offense that at that time and age would be considered an offense that would be punishable by death either by her betrothed husband or the surrounding people in her village. To be pregnant at that time out of wedlock was unheard of and looked upon by the people around her with shame. She would face the chance of death and the almost sure chance that if they did not kill her the people would treat her with such disdain and hatetred that she would wish that she was dead.
         Next we look at Joseph, the Betrothed Husband of Mary. He would be expected to be upset with Mary over her obvious indiscretion with another. If Joseph did not hold her accountable for the indiscretion, it would be the same as admitting to the people that he was the one Mary had slept with and that the child she carried was his and was from a pre-marital tryst between the two of them and would bring shame on him and his standing in the public eye. Again we see that ultimately the whole thing comes down to what people would think as they have no way to understand the mind or the thinking of God.
        I’m sure that even though Joseph had been told by the angel of God in a dream that Mary would have a son and he was to name Him Jesus and that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem, and would be the Messiah of the people of Israel. Joseph still suffered many doubts as he went along. I’m sure that as the song ‘A Strange Way To Save The World’ says, that Joseph must have questioned thinking that he knew better than God Himself, ‘Why me, I’m just a simple man of trade, Why Him, A Baby, with all the rulers in the world, Why Here, inside this stable filled with hay, Why Her, she is just an ordinary Girl, then he qualified his statement so as to not look as though he was questioning God, even though he was, he said, ‘ I’m not one to second guess what angels have to say, but, this is such a strange way to save the world.’
        I’m sure it must have gone on from there, as he thought ‘ To think of how it could have been, If Jesus had come as He deserved, There would have been no Bethlehem, No lowly shepherds at His birth. But thinking on it some more Joseph would have realized that he knew the reason God had to reach so far down to show the lowliest human that they were still worthy of God reaching down to them and saving them from their sins. No matter how bad we are we can’t get so low that Jesus would not be willing to reach down to us. No matter how hard we wrestle with God for control, He still thinks we are worth saving.
         If we go back to Jacob in Genesis 32 where he wrestles with the Lord. It was not Jacob that wrestled with the lord as we so often think. It was the Lord that came down and began to wrestle with Jacob to have control. If we look in verse 24 of chapter 32 it states that the man that represents the Lord was the one who wrestled with Jacob all night. Jacob was not wrestling to take control from the Lord, he was attempting to keep the Lord from taking control of him. It appears that Jacob won the match , but did he really? Did the Lord just let him think he won so that His plan would continue as He had planned for it to go.
        Was Joseph his son more than just a shadow of Christ in what Jesus was coming  to do, or a shadow of Christ in his entire life to come. Would Christ like Joseph be rejected by his own Kin only to be received by them gloriously when He returns on the scene in the time to come? There are many mysteries that will not be known until Jesus returns, but from the signs of the times, that won’t be long. Keep looking up for the time is near! As one of my favorite Radio shows is often saying.

Casting Pearls- Who is Tychicus anyway?

    Who was Tychicus anyway? you may ask. Saint Tychicus as some people know him was a confidant and helper in the ministry of Saint Paul the Apostle. He was mentioned by Paul in Ephesians, Collosians and in Titus and 2nd Timothy. Tychicus delivered many letters and directions from Paul to the believers that lived in Ephesus, Colossiee, and possibly, though we don’t really know, letters written to Laodicea and to Timothy and Titus.
        His help to Paul in his Ministry was sure but his effort comes to little recognition in comparison to Paul or even to Timothy. Even seeing this, we never hear of Tychicus saying any cross word or complaint as to where he has been placed in the complete plan of God. His personal desires were never mentioned. All we really know of him is that he was a worker for Christ’s gospel through Paul.
        Many of us are never going to be a great star that is well known by others as someone who helped spread the Gospel message. We are not even known as someone who sings or speaks openly for His kingdom. Is the role we play in God’s ministry any less important? The answer is NO! We may never do more than help provide for others to spread the gospel, but that makes us no less important in God’s plan. God’s plan is more intricate and detailed than our minds can ever begin to understand. God can make it so there are contingencies for every decision we might make. No matter what we do we can’t mess up God’s plan, and if we refuse to be a part of it, it will continue on, Only through another.It is arrogant on our part to think that we can have any influence in the changing of God’s plan, other than making it easier for God to make it come about.
        By doing the things we know according to the Word of God is correct, we can help to make the prophecies of God to come to pass more quickly. The hardest thing of all to do is let others continue in their sin if that is the will of God to make His plan to come to pass. We pray for our leaders to be given Godly wisdom in their decisions, but are we willing to accept when those decisions are harmful to us, while still in God’s Plan?
        I was recently faced with a dilemma, should I speak out against decisions my leaders were making that were obviously against God and His people, or let them go and thereby help hasten the return of Christ, as it would help today turn more into the days of Noah Jesus spoke of. A friend of mine put it all in context for me when he said to me, It would be arrogant of us to assume that our actions might bring about any change in the plan God had. All we can do is continue to obey God rather than Man and let God’s Plan happen at God’s pace.

Do You Bow Your Head?

As we bow our heads to pray, how often do we find ourselves questioning, Why are we bowing our heads? Many of us are used to this practice, but few really know the reasoning behind it. I am going to reveal some of the reasons to you in this article. 

You see, for years the only place that was acceptable to pray was in a holy prayer room at the Church in the area. If we had requests for God to hear, they must be brought to our Priest and he was alone allowed to present them to God. Supposedly this was loosly based on Matthew 6:6 saying that when we pray we are to enter into our prayer closet and pray alone and in secret to others.  

The idea behind Martin Luther and other reformists in the early Roman Catholic church was to open up both the scriptures and the other things that only the priests did to the general partitioners bring before God instead of only the priest. It cut down drastically on the workload of the priest, while at the same time giving much more responsibility to the individual. 

The idea of bowing your heads came later though as each individual was urged by his church leader to devote a room in their home or somewhere to the practice of prayer and reading of the scriptures. This practice became harder and harder as the people got closer and closer to each other and the population increased.  Soon it became very hard to give up the room for God’s use and for His purposes alone. Soon afterward people were finding themselves in smaller and smaller spaces attempting to continue their practices of praying and studying God’s Word. Soon afterward, it became expedient to men to no longer leave prayer and the study of the scriptures to a special room or place and make a more open way to continue it. 

This is when the bowing part comes into play. Men began to, even though the bible says for them not to do it, pray in public places. This was a compromise made by men to save themselves the time and effort of devoting a room and place of their own to prayer and study of the scriptures. Men, and women, would bow their heads and close their eyes, to simulate to themselves being in a closet where they could be alone with their prayers to God. The Israelites do the same thing to this day by bowing their heads and pulling their prayer shawls over their heads as they pray. This is where the verse, written by Paul, that has received so much controversy about women keeping their heads covered and men not, comes from. 

This is also the reason Paul is referred to as a tent maker in the New Testament. Pulling a prayer shawl over your head to pray is making a personal prayer tent for yourself and so the making of big burly tents made of goats hair and cloth and being very cumbersome to transport, was most likely not Paul’s trade, however the making of prayer shawls out of cloth found almost everywhere he went. And containing the corners with the blue threads interwoven in them as prescribed in Exodus by Moses, was very possible. 

Let me get back to my topic as I seem to be digressing. When we bow our heads and close our eyes we have less distractions to keep us from focusing on the prayer at hand. It is done now because it has become more of a learned behavior and to show reverence to God than for any other good reason. Personally I think that if we should find ourselves not being able to focus on the prayer, perhaps some personal alone time with God is needed by us to ask God to reveal to us the real reason why we cannot stop and pray.

Casting Pearls- Are you denying the true Power thereof?

We speak of the end times to come, but I say to you all ‘it is here’ the times as described in many places in the Bible are showing themselves all around us. We can see them clearly in a few verses in 2Timothy 3:1-5. These verses show us that the signs of the times are all around us, we need only open our eyes and there they are. Sometimes we need not just to look around us, but at ourselves as well. 

The Bible clearly states in the first verse of chapter 3, that we should know this, that in the end times, these signs will come; Verse 2 says, Men will be lovers of themselves, they will think only they are right, the rest of the world could learn something from them. Covetous, lovers of money and things, making excuses that they are serving God by doing so, but really only serving the things of this world. Attempting to prepare for a future by their own abilities and never relying on God to provide, so they miss out on the riches God has to bestow. Boasters, braggarts,people who would rather brag about themselves or others around them, than to tell the truth and give God any credit at all. Pride, the root of most sin, is the most dangerous sin we can play with. It comes on stealthily, and uses our own weakness to cause us to sin.

This is why, over and over again, we are told in the Bible to be humble of spirit, not puffed up or full of ourselves. Blasphemers, Openly willing to give cause for anything to man, but never to God who created everything. Some people may say, ‘If God wanted too, He could have stopped this or that’. They ignore the fact that God has given us free will in our lives, making us responsible for going the right ways, or following the wrong paths and causing hurt to others in the process. Look at Abraham, He chose to try and help God along with the promise God had made to him concerning his offspring. He had a son, Ishmael, who was not the one God had promised to Abraham, but to this day Ishmael’s offspring are supposed to be the fathers of the twelve Arab nations that war against Israel constantly. It’s amazing what one small sin can do over time. Lot, Abraham’s nephew, after he escaped from Sodom, was taken advantage of by his daughter while he was drunk one night because she thought they were the only ones left and her father was the only man left to impregnate her. She had a son, Moab, who became the father of the Moabites, who became long time enemies of Israel. It is amazing what one small sin can do. 

Disobedient to parents, As parents and as children, we need to remember that we hold three different positions in life. First, we are to raise our children in the fear, and reverence of the Lord. The best way I can explain this is the greek word for fear is Phobos, the same root word we get Phobia from. We should almost have a Phobia of displeasing God. If we do, we will both fear and reverence Him.

Secondly, we are to recognize when our children become Adults and no longer are under our guidance and tutelage. They migh listen to our advise, but that all depends on how much we have shown them the love of Christ through our lives. Thirdly, to be willing to let our children care for us when we are no longer able to care for ourselves. 

Unthankful, Not willing to thank God for ALL we have. Realizing that God made all things and giving Him credit for giving us these things to care for for a time.God is letting us have things, possibly for our own use, possibly for us to bless another. Whatever reason we have these things, we should thank God for them. 

Unholy, wicked or immoral without any care as to how their actions may affect others. People who ignore God unless they feel they need Him in an emergency. They ignore the obvious Creator of the Universe and live their lives for themselves, not giving anything, or at least not much, and giving only passing acknowledgment to the Creator of all things.

Verse 3 says; ‘Without natural affection’, meaning they are unable to show others, who they don’t consider important to themselves. Caring only for family and friends and not for anyone else. We were commanded to go out into the world and proclaim to all men the Good News, or Gospel, that is Jesus Christ and Him Resurrected from the dead after dying for their sins.They are people who cannot be counted on to do anything to sacrifice themselves for someone else. 

Truce breakers, people who cannot be counted on to keep their word or keep the peace unless it is in their best interest to do so. False Accusers, people who would rather lie than speak the truth about someone, due to jealousy or hatred or self-worship. It is said that when you lie and put another down, it is only in an attempt to lift yourself up above them. Fierce, Having a strong or violent nature, meeting any and all disagreements with violence or anger.As we see in Jesustime, there is such a thing as righteous anger(Jesus showed it with the money changers). This was not just to show us that Jesus as well as we could be rightfully angered by injustice. It was also to show the coming judgement of the Son of God for any and all that profess to be saved but continue to act like the devil. Despisers of that which is good, Openly turning good into evil with their actions, Lovers of themselves and not of God. 

Verse 4 goes on; Traitors, treacherous people who value their own desires above God’s or other peoples. People who care only for themselves. Rash to jump to a conclusion or opinion without giving thought or audience to other positions. High Minded, Conceited and full of themselves, not willing to listen or hear any differing opinions. Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, wanting things of this world , and not the things of God, things that will pass away. For example, weeat when we are hungry, and in a little while we are hungry again, but Jesus has ‘meat we know not of’ waiting for us if we are only willing to believeand profess Him as our lord before men. See John 4:32. This meat will sustain us and we will never hunger in our souls again. 

Verse 5 states; Having a form of Godliness but denying the power thereof, Those who to have the Holy Spirit and fool the men around them, but never show any outward sign of the spirit indwelling in their souls. In Acts 19:6, Paul baptized the believers who had before been followers of John the Baptist, and laid hands on them, and baptized them in the name of Jesus. They received the Holy Spirit and began to prophesy in tongues. Now not everyone who is baptized will receive the gift of the ability to speak in tongues, but should believe in God’s blessings on us. All people who are baptized in Jesus name will receive the Holy Spirit and be persuaded by It to do good works. We can deny the power of the Spirit by limiting the blessings God wants to give us. The most common way we do this is by not following the Spirit’s leading us to do something and show the Lord’s power, and spread the gospel, so that all may have the chance to be saved. We also deny the power of God by  limiting the degree with which God may bestow His Gifts on us. The Bible states that all we need is faith the size of a mustard seed and we can move mountains. In England, there was a man named George Muller who started an orphanage, he was not rich and did not have a lot of money or backers, yet daily he prayed for the children in his care and asked for God to provide their daily bread. By the time he reached old age and died, Mr. Mueller helped raise over 10,000 children and had 7 different orphanages, 115 Christian Schools to help the poor to learn more about Christ. If we only believe in God, He will bless us beyond measure.All this is not to say to quit your job and rely on God to provide your needs, but trust God to provide your needs, your wants are up to you to provide. If God desires for you to have your wants then He will make it possible for you to have them, but if your wants are out of God’s will then God may let you have them, but the price you pay for them in the end will be much greater than they are worth.

Casting Pearls- Are you ready for ...?

Todays world could learn a lot from the history of the Israelite nation. If we look in the Bible in Psalms 78 we see in the title that Asaph is credited with having written this particular psalm. Asaph was one of the heads of the three psalmist choirs that King David started under the leadership of the three descendants of the original three sons of Levi. Asaph was  one of these men. The psalm labeled 78 is a warning to the children of Israel to remember the trials they had been through and how God had helped them come through. Our country and the Christian people in general should remember all that we have been through, and how God has helped us through. Without God, we could have not made it.

Even when the people of Israel turned their backs on God, they were still under God’s protection for a time. It took some time before God finally gave up on the people turning back to Him and removed His hand of protection. This has happened over and over throughout history, and as a wise man one said ‘ if we don’t learn from history, we will be doomed to repeat it’. The psalm talks about several things God has done for Israel in history, from parting the Red Sea to using it to swallow up the pursuing Egyptians, to providing manna and water in the desert for the Israel to eat and drink. God not only saved the people, but fed them as well. God provided for them at every turn. It was due to their God and how He protected His people, that the nations of Canaan were afraid of them. They heard the stories of how God had protected His people and gave them triumph in battle, even under what appeared to be overwhelming odds at first glance. 

The people, still, over the years, forgot the miracles that God had worked on their behalf. This psalm was a reminder to the people to remember the things God had done, as well as a warning that if they did not turn back to God they would lose God’s protection. It would be devastating for Israel to lose God’s protection as they were on the main travel route between several large nations and they would be in  the way for any of them who wanted to attack another.Over and over through the years, Egypt, Samaria, and the other southern nations came through Israel to attack the northern nations of Assyria, Babylon, Syria and others, and vice versa. These nations would attack Israel whenever they passed through. It was not many years that passed by between attacks. About the only time the Israelites were in peace in Israel was when they were controlled by one of these nations. The people of Israel were warned to remember God and His Laws so they would be safe under His protection. Time after time they seemed to forget though. It finally culminated in their being exiled to several different nations throughout the world. 

Our Country could learn many things from the history of the Israelite people. They have a very strong religious personality that kept them remembering their homeland and religion even after their nation was split up amongst many foreign nations. Their national identity is much stronger than the USA’s so if the same thing was to happen to us, I do not think we would have much of a chance of reinstating this country. I believe that we have attempted to move away from the restraining forces that come naturally to those of us who are Christians, and become as evil and corrupt in our ways as Sodom and Gomorra of the Old Testament, so I also believe we only have a short time left before God takes away His hand of protection from this nation. 

Casting Pearls- Is it really Christmas season?

As we look at the birth of Jesus, and the surrounding events, we wonder, what were the people thinking? Coming up on the Christmas season people begin to think more on Jesus’ birth and life. There are some facts taken for granted by the populace that have no evidence to back them up. This article will discuss some of them as well as bringing out some of the things the characters might have been thinking at the time. 

First we must look at the date of Christ’s Birth, December 25th. Why do you think we celebrate Jesus’ Birth then? The date was set by the early Catholic Church to have christian believers have something to openly celebrate at the same time the pagans were celebrating their sun god. The date set for the celebration of the sun god was December 25th, from almost the beginning of their religion. The first sun god was Nimrod of Babylon, who had a son by his wife, supposedly after his death, who became the sun god in his place. His wife, the sun goddess, began the worship of her son on December 25th, the date of his death by a wild boar, which is where the eating of ham on Christmas came from. 

The Queen’s name was Semiramus, and she claimed her husband was the sun god after his death, and that she became pregnant by the suns rays with his son who became the new sun god. Nimrod was the grandson of Noah and went against continuing to worship God the Creator, much as his father Cush had. Eventually he was put to death for his actions and his body was cut into pieces that were sent to various capitals as a tool to show what would happen to those who went against God the Father. Semiramus escaped from the people who killed Nimrod and had her son in Babylon, and started her sun worshipping group there.One of the things they would do is sacrifice their children to the sun god and some of their followers began dying eggs in the blood of the children to commemorate the queen mothers supposed arrival in Babylon in an egg in the river Euphrates. This was how Easter started, but lets get back to Christmas. 

Next we must look at the story told in Luke of the shepherds and the manger in the barn. The fact that Jesus had to be born in a lowly barn surrounded by animals and laid in a manger(feeding trough) and have his arrival announced to some lowly shepherds instead of the leaders and Kings he deserved, showed just how far down God was willing to stoop to reach the people He loved and cared for. Mary and Joseph new the time of Jesus birth was soon and Joseph was frantic as he searched for someplace for Mary to have the baby. After all his searching, the only place he found was a barn that a inn owner let him and Mary stay in as it was the only place he had left that had not been taken as there was a large crowd there for the festival of Temples that was going on as well as a counting of the people by Caesar Agustus. 

This place and the shepherds being called to witness His birth, were just more signs of how low God was willing to go to save men from themselves. Later in  Matthew we are told of Wise Men (Astrologers), from a far away country, who saw by signs in the heavens that a King was to be born in Bethlehem in Judea. These Wise men took some time arriving at the place where Jesus was born so they never visited the barn or the manger because as we see in Matthew, they found Jesus with His mother Mary living in a house.They were unsure of where to find Him when they arrived, so they went to King Herod to find Jesus. In Luke 2:11 it is said they came unto the House where Jesus was and found Him, His mother and Joseph. They were visited in an angel in their dreams that warned them from going back to King Herod as he asked them to feigning that he wished to go worship the child himself. Herod Knew from what the wise men had told him that the child should be about two years old by then so when the wise men didn’t return, he ordered the guards to kill all the children less than two years old.

Now what do you think was going through the minds of Herod and all his wise men who advised him? They knew from the wise men that a new king was born into Israel, but all they did was stay around the worldly power of Herod, they missed the birth of the King! How do you think these Astronomers knew to look for the signs in the heavens? Some researchers theorize that these Astronomers were descendants of Daniel in Babylon, and that they had been trained by him to search for this sign as they would know by it that it was time to go to Bethlehem and take part of the leftover wealth of Daniel to the new King of Israel. That is also why it was only about two years after Jesus birth that Wise Men of  Matthew’s chronology appeared on the scene. They appeared and gave Joseph the riches he would need to take Mary and Jesus on a trip to Egypt to live for a time to escape Herod’s wrath just in time. It’s amazing how God delivers the means just in time if we are willing to just wait on Him. Next we must look at how their is always assumed that there is three Wise men. Never in the writings of Matthew is it told how many wise men it was. You can naturally assume it is at least two since they are called Wise Men, but never is it said there was three of them. There were three gifts they brought to Mary and Joseph so it is assumed that it came from three men. 

It is not wise to assume anything but with God’s word, especially, we are asking for trouble. It is dangerous to presume anything that is not backed up with scripture. Many of the rituals and beliefs of the Christian Church are actually pagan beliefs that were used by the early Roman Catholic Church to give Christians a reason to celebrate at the same times as the pagans, so they would not feel left out of the celebrations. This was not a satisfactory reason for the celebrations being changed from their real times to coincide with the Pagans and their evil rituals.

Many of us are living a lie in our beliefs, but you may ask, should we change them to the correct times now? the answer is, not really, the real times of these things are wrong, but do they have any bearing on our salvation? the answer is NO. It doesn’t really matter weither we worship Jesus Birth on December 25th, or September 20th. It doesn’t matter if Easter is off by a week or two each year, it doesn’t matter when Jesus died for our sins, only that He did and that we believe and profess to others He did and lives again in our hearts. Ultimately that is the real reason for the celebration. It says in the Bible that the Angels in Heaven celebrate every time a soul is saved. So lets all celebrate the living savior!

Casting Pearls- Do you really want that thorn?

As Christians we go through our lives facing all different types of temptations and trials. As Paul put it some of us were given thorns in the flesh to keep us realizing that we always need God to protect us from the Evil things that surround us.  The world keeps on getting more and more evil and the trials are more and more frequent. I have found the closer we get to God and God’s plan for us, the stronger the Devil’s attacks will become. In other words, the closer you are to God, the worse Satan’s attacks will be.

There are times I believe that God attempting to teach us something by the trials we face, if we don’t pass the test the first time, we are doomed to repeat the trial. God says, like a loving father, He chastises His children to help them learn. If we don’t learn from the bad things that happen to us, then we are destined to repeat them until we do. For example, history shows us what happens when a government grows corrupt, ignores God,  and feeds on the people it governs for growth. Such a government collapses in on itself. We see it in the Roman Empire, the German Empire under Hitler, Russia under Communist control, and many more. The United States Government refuses to learn from history, so they will have to repeat it.

Many people say if God is such a loving God, why does He allow so much suffering in this world. It is caused by our own selfishness and sinfulness, not by God, and God allows it to go on so we will learn from it and live for Him and no longer for ourselves. 

Casting Pearls-What more do you want God to do for You?

I recently had someone who is not a Christian ask me a question, If God is a loving and all forgiving God, how come Jesus told his disciples to shake the dust off their feet and leave those who refused to believe? I told him that God did not want us wasting time on attempting to turn those who refused to hear to Him. We should ‘shake the dust off our feet’, don’t let any of their unbelief stick to us, and move on to others who would be more receptive. 

I also told him that the whole thing reminded me of a story I heard. the story goes like this; There once was a man who lived in a area that was due to be flooded by the building of a dam. Letter after letter was sent to him warning of the impending flooding. He refused to believe them as he had lived there many years and was not about to be driven out by a little water.Finally people were sent to his house to warn him of the impending flood. The man refused to leave with them. when the water began to rise the man had to move up to his second story to keep out of the water. A few men in a boat came along and tried again to get the man to leave, He refused. The water kept on rising and the man had to move out on his roof to avoid the rising water. A helicopter came by and spotted him. The men in the helicopter called to him to come with them, again the man refused to leave. The water continued to rise until the man drowned. When the man got to heaven he asked God why he never saved him from drowning in the flood. God told the man, you ignored the letters I had sent to you, and you ignored the people that tried to persuade you to leave before the flood, and you ignored the people in the boat, and you ignored the people in the helicopter, what more did you want me to do?

To often we hold on so tightly to the things of this world that we refuse to listen to the warnings about the sin that surrounds us or the eternal death that faces us if we do not listen and believe. It is a simple choice to make, but the flesh and satan attempts to keep us from listening. What more do you want God to Do for YOU?

Casting Pearls- Remember the rich young ruler?

The story of the rich young ruler is told in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In all three gospels the story is the same, the Young Ruler bows to Jesus, says good rabbi, Is ridiculed for saying Jesus is good, is told by Jesus to obey all the commandments, the Young Ruler claims to have done so, then he is told by Jesus to sell all he has and give it to the poor and follow Jesus. 

Some people focus on the Young Ruler being controlled by his wealth, some people focus on him being arrogant, some focus on him being too proud. Seldom do you hear about Jesus’ love for the man. In Mark 10:21 of the three, this is the only one that speaks of Jesus looking upon him with Love. 

Jesus was the Son of God, and He was God too. As God, He knew the stance the Young Ruler would take. Jesus knew the man’s riches would prevent him from giving all to God because his love for the things of this world would prevent him from following Jesus. He knew of the man’s arrogance in his piety. Even knowing all this, Jesus still looked upon him with love. 

Ultimately, one of the things that Jesus wants us to know is that He will love us even knowing all about us, God Knows what we have done, are doing, and will do, yet even still he loves us enough to have died a horrible death to be our sacrifice for our sins. Jesus gave more of Himself than we could ever do, or ever have done, for  it is not by strength, or power, or works, says the Lord, But only by the Spirit and the Blood of Jesus that we can be saved. o

Casting Pearls- Wanna promise?

Do you know who you can trust to make the rough places smooth and keep all the promises He makes, Who always tells the truth? There are over a thousand promises in the Bible and all of them are true. Any of God’s promises are in his word and God never lies. If God promises something, you can take it to the bank, it is guaranteed.  God made a promise that Abram would have a son by Sarai his wife, and even though they had both gotten to old to have children, God gave them a son (Isaac), though by the time they had Isaac Abram had another son by Sarai’s handmaiden Hagar because of Sarai’s disbelief of God being able to overcome their physical shortcomings. God changed Abram’s name to Abraham and Sarai’s name to Sara because of their unbelief. 

This is some of the promises God makes in the Bible. For those who wish to know God answers their prayers; Isaiah 58:9 ‘Then shalt thou call and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am.’ Or in Jeremiah 33:3 ‘Call unto Me and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.’

Matthew 7:7-8 says ‘ Ask and it shall be given to you; seek , and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. So anything we ask, believing we will receive it, it will be ours. God wants us to have the confidence that He will always be with us, whatever we may have to face, we should have the confidence that God knows our situation, in fact he knew we were going to be in it, and will listen to our prayers and move on them in His time. 

Many of us think we should have God move to resolve our problems on our timeline. God only moves quickly on things that are out of His will for us. If the situation is within God’s will or God’s plan can still be made to work with our decision to do something, then God will move on it after we learn from it.

Speaking of confidence, we are promised to have confidence in our Savior Jesus, in 1John 5:14-15 the Bible states; ‘This is the confidence that we have in Him, that,if we ask anything according to His will. He heareth us: and if we know that He heareth us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.’ Also in the vein of confidence is the verse in Ezekiel 28:26 that states; ‘And they shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plat vineyards; yea, they shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them; and they shall know that I am the Lord their God.’ Also in 1 John 3:21-22 it says; ‘Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.’

These are only a few of the many promises in God’s Word. God has never lied or broken a promise, so I encourage you and everyone to read the Bible every day so you can too read and claim the promises in His Word.

Casting Pearls- Do we talk to much?

There is ample warning in the Bible for those who talk all the time, to keep your mouth shut. A wise person does not talk a lot, they let others show how they fail to understand. The Bible states in Proverbs 10:19- In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin; but he that restraineth his lips is wise. 

In the New Testament it is the same. 1 Peter 3:10 states;For  he that love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile.Or in James 1:19 the Bible says; Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, and slow to speak, and slow to wrath. 

There are many verses in Proverbs devoted to this topic because the tongue is the only muscle not connected to a bone, that can do such damage. In Proverbs 17:27-28 it states; He that hath knowledge spareth his words, and a man of understanding is of excellent spirit, Even a fool =, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise, and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed of man. So we are told to hold our peace and even if we are not that smart, we will at least appear to be.

In other books we are told not to speak to much too. in Ecclesiastes 5:3 it says; For a dream cometh through the multitude of business, and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words. Back in the New Testament we are exhorted to ‘But shun profane and vain babblings; for they will increase unto more ungodlyness.’ In 2 Timothy 2:16. Then in 1 Timothy 1:6, it states; ‘From which some haveing swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling. 

Jesus Himself said in Matthew 12:36-37, ‘But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give an account thereof in the day of judgement. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.’ So, even Jesus Himself warns us not to speak too much. Listen and be quiet while you do.  There is ample warning in the Bible for those who talk all the time, to keep your mouth shut. A wise person does not talk a lot, they let others show how they fail to understand. The Bible states in Proverbs 10:19- In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin; but he that restraineth his lips is wise. 

In the New Testament it is the same. 1 Peter 3:10 states;For  he that love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile.Or in James 1:19 the Bible says; Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, and slow to speak, and slow to wrath. 

There are many verses in Proverbs devoted to this topic because the tongue is the only muscle not connected to a bone, that can do such damage. In Proverbs 17:27-28 it states; He that hath knowledge spareth his words, and a man of understanding is of excellent spirit, Even a fool =, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise, and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed of man. So we are told to hold our peace and even if we are not that smart, we will at least appear to be.

In other books we are told not to speak to much too. in Ecclesiastes 5:3 it says; For a dream cometh through the multitude of business, and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words. Back in the New Testament we are exhorted to ‘But shun profane and vain babblings; for they will increase unto more ungodlyness.’ In 2 Timothy 2:16. Then in 1 Timothy 1:6, it states; ‘From which some haveing swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling. 

Jesus Himself said in Matthew 12:36-37, ‘But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give an account thereof in the day of judgement. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.’ So, even Jesus Himself warns us not to speak too much. Listen and be quiet while you do.

Casting Pearls-Do you know the Ten Commandments?

Many people know what the Ten Commandments are but how many really know more than one or two of the actual commandments or can even quote correctly one of them. The answer is, not many, if you have not studied them or studied the Bible, you probably don’t know what they are. This article will discuss each of them, where they can be found, and what God was attempting to tell us in each of them.

The first of the Ten Commandments is found in Exodus 20:3, and states, ‘ Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.’ (KJV) This was especially for the Jewish people since they had just come out of Egypt, where they had gods for almost everything, where they worshipped the god of earth, god of water, god of air, god of fertility, et-cetera, et-cetera. They even fell back into that when waiting for Moses to return with these commandments. The Israelites made a calf and covered it with gold, as they had in Egypt, and worshipped it, as they had when in Egypt. By their own actions, and our actions now, we show that we need too be told ‘have no other gods’. You might say , “ I don’t have a golden calf I pray too”, but we put our job, our children, our spouse, our life, as more important than God. Anything we allow to be more important to us than God is something that is now our god in our life. 

The second commandment of God is ‘Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image’(KJV). This, as previously described with the golden calf was in part for the Israelites. You might say how does that relate to me, I don’t have a golden calf? Well, do you think money is more important than God? Do you think your car is more important than God? Do you think any of your things are more important than God? If God wanted you too give up anything you have for His use, would you gladly give it? Anything you would not give up for God is a graven image, wither it was engraved by you or someone else for you, it is a graven image.

The third commandment is ‘Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them’(KJV). Again this was in part for the Israelites due to the golden calf, but anything that we find more important than God and work to make it better for us then we bow down to it. Maybe we bow down to wash the car, or maybe we bow down to do our jobs, or maybe we metaphorically bow down to our boss, or maybe we bow down to someone we love, or something we love, or something we worship. 

The fourth commandment is ‘Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God’s name in vain’(KJV). the Bible says that the Lord will not find one who does this guiltless. You might say I don’t cuss and take the Lord’s name in vain, and maybe you don’t, but do you ever say “Oh my G**” or “Good G**” without thinking? You are guilty of using the Lord’s name in vain. 

The next one is the Fifth commandment, ‘Remember the sabbath day and keep it Holy; six days shall thou labor and do thy work; but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God’(KJV). Technically the sabbath day in Bible days before Christ was Saturday, but Jesus was raised from the tomb on the First day of the week and the disciples began to gather together to commemorate that day on Sunday, so we carry on that belief today. We keep our Sundays as the Sabbath day spoken of in this commandment. 

The Sixth Commandment is ‘thou shalt not kill’(KJV). Killing is looked upon as sin by God, but some people might argue that God calls for the Israelite people to kill the people in various places throughout the Old Testament. God had His hands tied by us and our sin nature. Adam brought death into the world with his sin and the killing goes on through history due to the continued sin of man. 

The Seventh Commandment is the one we have a lot of problem with today ‘Thou shalt not commit Adultery’(KJV). The reasoning behind this was the Lord wanted to have people to make a promise to each other and to Him to do this so as to make a difference between us and the animals we had dominion over. God also wanted to keep the marriage Holy because it was to be a shadow or type of Christ and His Church.

The Eighth Commandment is ‘Thou shalt not steal’(KJV). Theft of things is not really important to a true Christian as these are just things, but these things are God’s things and we are only given them for a short time to care for them until He returns, so we are upset at theft since it is like unto stealing from God.

The Ninth Commandment is ‘Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. This is regularly broken by us as we try to get others to take the blame for our shortcomings. The truth is that no one here on earth can take our place for what we have done or said. We are guilty and even if man doesn’t know God does.

Finally we have the Tenth Commandment, ‘Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s’(KJV). This is the one we have the biggest problem with. Every time we see something that someone else has whither it be a car, or money, or celebrity, or even voice or ability of someone else and want it for ourself then we have coveted. I must admit even I have broken this one. 

All of these are too easy to break in one way or another. we are tempted by this fallen world to do things all the time that will cause us to break these. Luckily for us Jesus came to give Himself as a sacrifice for our sins, past and present and future, so that we can be justified and sanctified before the Lord. All we need do is accept it and begin to profess Jesus to men. Colossians 2:13-14 says ‘And you,  being dead in your sin and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross.’(KJV)

Jesus took all our sins and made it as though we never sinned. Jesus made the Ten Commandments no longer condemning to us. He made us free from the burden of our sin and the Holy Spirit which now inhabits us should help us to attempt to keep those commandments, summed up in two commandments by Jesus for us ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul and love your neighbor as yourself.The first part covers the first five

commandments and the second part covers the last five. Jesus didn’t do away with the law, He only made man able to understand it and get closer to living by it.

Casting Pearls-Are YOU the follower that Jesus Loved?

The Apostle John often referred to himself as ‘the apostle (or Disciple) that Jesus loved’ . Why do you think he did so? If I was to go out to eat lunch with John Hagee and Billy Graham, I would refer to it as John Hagee, Billy Graham and the man that Jesus loved went out to eat lunch. So it was not really strange for John to refer to himself in that way. The real meaning behind that phrase is much deeper for us.

Love is what God wants us to show others and what He wants to show us as His love is unfathomable. When a High Priest presented the blood of the sacrifice for their sin to God in the Holy of Holies, God did not judge the people based on their sin or their sacrifice, He judged the High Priest who represented them. The good news for us is that we are being represented by the most perfect and Holiest High Priest it is possible to be represented by; the Lord Jesus Christ. It is His blood and His sacrifice that God judges for us.

This, by no means, is an excuse for us to sin. Jesus has already paid for everything we have done or are going to do, but this is not so that we could go on living our sinful lives, It is so we could have a second chance, a new start to get it closer to right. When we got ‘saved’ we were indwelled by the Holy Spirit that influences us to do what is right in all circumstances. We have to train ourselves to listen to the Holy Spirit and not the world around us, as it says in Romans 12:2, ‘be not conformed to the world; but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is good, acceptable, and perfect will of God.’ 

Paul tried to explain this to the believers in Galatians 2:17-21 that they were not found to be acceptable before God due to their works in the flesh. You can’t pray, read the Bible, feed enough poor people, or heal enough sick people to make yourself acceptable to God. You have to be DEAD to the flesh and alive in Christ Resurrected with Him and letting the Holy Spirit live inside you. We are dead to being judged under the law, we are made acceptable to God by Jesus.

The Bible, God’s Word, says that Jesus is the only way to Heaven. We have to accept his forgiveness to get that forgiveness. In Luke 15:3-10, Jesus told His followers and those who listened, the parable of the lost sheep, Saying that if there was a shepherd who had a hundred sheep and just One wandered away, would the shepherd not leave the ninety nine alone to go look for the one, and having found it would he not put it on his shoulders and carry it back? The shepherd would then call all his friends together to have a big party to celebrate the one being found and returning to the group. Did the shepherd not go look for it, find it, carry it back, have a party for it’s return? What did the sheep do to get itself back to the flock? All it really did was agree to return. It did not run away from the shepherd when he came up to it. He consented to be picked up and carried back. We are the sheep and Jesus is the Good Shepherd who brings us back, all we have to do is accept that He will take us back to being able to have the relationship we want with God. The Holy Spirit indwelling  us leads us to do the good works and profess Jesus to the world.

Casting Pearls- Do you listen to your conscience?

Though it may seem as though Jesus has given us a free will to go ahead and sin, the Holy Spirit inside you when you are saved should prevent you from sinning. Some call it the prick of conscience, but the conscience can also be a bad thing. 

Conscience can lead someone to feel something about something that is God’s will to happen. If someone you know gets sick with a terminal disease, your conscience may make you feel bad for that person. God could be using that person , and their sickness to reach another. Let me give you an example; 

A pastor told me that there was a very faithful member of his Church that suddenly got sick with a terminal cancer. She asked that the pastor would come visit her at the hospital. This was relayed to him by someone who went to see her on Sunday. They had taken her a tape of his sermon to listen too. The hospital she was in was a Catholic hospital and did not normally have protestant faith literature in it for the patients. The pastor came to visit the woman in her shared hospital room on Monday morning. The woman said she listened to the sermon and wanted to have him meet the Churches newest convert, and introduced him to the woman in the other bed. The Lord had used the woman’s sickness to let her be a witness to the woman in the room with her. Later that day, the woman was tested and her cancer was suddenly gone! She was no longer dying!

We must be careful not to stop God from fulfilling His plan in whatever manner He sees fit. We can allow our feelings to get in the way of God’s will.  The most important thing we can do is to be in God's will. If we want to move mountains, we must make our wants for us the same as God's wants for us. When we are in God's Will, He can move anything out of our way.

Casting Pearls- Are we crossing into the Promised Land?

In Joshua 3:2-5, the people of Israel were about to cross over the river Jordan into the Promised Land. This was the land promised some time before to Abraham as his descendants. This land had been promised to them some years before and they had just spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness ( desert ) before arriving there. All the people who had come out of Egypt with them had died off except Joshua and Caleb. 

Moses himself was not allowed by God to enter the Promised Land. He had sinned against God and his punishment for it was not being allowed to go into the promised land with the rest of Israel. Joshua had replaced Moses as the Leader of Israel as they entered the Promised Land. In verse 2 Joshua had led the people of Israel to the edge of the Jordan River (which at the time was at almost flood stage) and they had camped there three days. The leaders of each tribe of Israel went throughout the people saying to follow the Ark of the Covenant, being carried by the Priests, and they would see where to go, the Bible narrates in verse 3. 

This is another shadow, or type, of how we should follow our God and know which way He would have us go. God wants us to keep our eyes on Him and His Word so we will know the correct way to go. It is only by following behind Him like a sheep does with a shepherd that we can find the way He would have us go. It is only by reading God’s Word that we can hear from God and know the direction He would have us go.

Later in verse 4 we read about the warnings they received from their tribes leaders. They were warned to stay behind the Ark of the Covenant at least two thousand cubits, that they might know the way they should turn and go before they get there, because they had never gone that way before. Though God wants us to follow Him, He wants us to follow with enough room between Him and us that we might know the direction in which He wishes us to turn, before we get there.God also wanted them to be far enough back that they could clearly see Him clear the obstacles out of their way and give God the glory for it .

As God’s children we need His Word and the leaders He provides for us to clearly see the way He would have us go. In the next chapter the Lord shows the people and us that Joshua is His chosen Leader of Israel to replace Moses. He stops the flooding river from flowing and lets all Israel pass across on dry land. There are times in life that we wonder if God is going to work in our case. If God wants us to go there, he will make a way. All we need do is, as the Israelites, Stay back and watch until God opens the door for us.

The key to being the kind of Christian Jesus wants is to be willing to praise God even as we sit and wait for Him to open the door. God works at two speeds. Slowly and suddenly. God slowly opens the door in Hid time not in ours, so it appears that God is not working in our case. Everything seems to go so slowly, then suddenly the door opens. We wait and wait for something to happen, then suddenly it does. So God works at two speeds. 

Casting Pearls- Are you of the order of Melchisedec?

Let’s look at the way God told Moses to dress Aaron and his sons, as High priests and regular priests of the Israeli people and why. In Exodus 28:1-42 God told Moses in detail how Aaron to dress and Aaron’s sons. First, in Chapter 28, Moses is directed by God to dress Aaron both to be beautiful to the people and to God, but also to represent to the people the glory of God. Aaron is to have been consecrated into God’s service, he is to represent God’s forgiveness of sins to the people. To do such he must be of great position, cleanliness and honor among the people, and among his friends. They are all to deal gently with the people, and those who are ignorant and going astray. Moses is instructed to make a breast-piece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban, and a sash.

These pieces of Aaron’s outfit as the high priest each had a meaning to the people presenting the sacrifices. They also had a meaning to us today. Let’s go down the list first a breast-piece, decorated with twelve precious stones representing the twelve tribes of Israel, each of the stones have one of the tribes names engraved in it. The breast-piece represent to the people that the tribes of Israel are close to the heart of God, and that Aaron is the representative of the people to the Lord. 

The breast-piece is also to show authority over the tribes to make decisions. It is to be made of Gold and Blue, and purple and scarlet yarn and of finely twisted linen. It is to be square, a span long and a span wide. The stones are in four rows of three, the first row of ruby, topaz, and beryl, the second row of turquoise, sapphire, and emerald, the third of Jacinth, Agate, and Amethyst, the forth row of Chrysolite, Onyx,and Jasper. Under the breast-piece were the Urim and Thummim, used to help make decisions in very trying times.

These bright and shiny stones represented the tribes of Israel in the same way that we as Christians are supposed to represent Jesus like when you shine a light on a precious stone it gives off the light in the same color, in as many different directions as it has faces. A diamond in a Jewelers shop is shown on a black background under lights that show straight down on it so it shows off the brightness and reflectivity of it to it’s maximum extent. If the Jeweler does not want to show it to you on a black background it probably has some obvious flaws, or is to small to matter, in my case.

Then the priests are to wear Ephods, made of Gold,Blue,and Purple and Scarlet yarn as well as finely twisted linen, the work of skilled craftsmen. It is to have two shoulder pieces of Onyx, polished and engraved with six of the twelve tribes to go on each shoulder.They as the stones on the breast-piece are to be in gold filigree settings. The sons of Israel are to be in the order of their birth on the stones, Aaron wore the Ephod to represent the tribes of Israel before the Lord, and to show the Lord carries the tribes on His shoulders. 

The robe is to be under the ephod to be of entirely blue cloth with pomegranates all around hem of the robe in blue, purple and scarlet yarn with gold bells in-between them,The robe is also to have a hemmed neckline so as to keep from being torn. The sound of Aaron’s tinkling bells were proof that he had not died in the presence of God from sin, and at some point the other priests even tied a rope to the High Priest’s ankle and trailed it outside the Holy of Holies so that if the tinkling of the bells stop, they could pull on the rope to see if he had died. 

The head is to be covered with a turban like hat with a Gold plate on it that says HOLINESS TO THE LORD and is to be worn by the High Priest at all times to make the children of Israel acceptable to the Lord. The tunic and the turban are to be made of fine linen and the sash is to be the work of an embroiderer. The sons of Aaron are also to have tunics, sashes, and headbands so that they might also have dignity and honor in their positions. 

All of them are to have undergarments made of linen, from their waist to their thighs, and are to wear them whenever they are in the Holy place, so they can represent without sin.  

The whole thing is summed up in 28:29 where the High priest that represents the people to god, is to ‘bear the names of the children of Israel before God’ and God looks upon the priest as a holy representative of the people. Thank goodness we have a High Priest in Jesus who can without sin, represent us to God so that we are acceptable in His sight.

All this was done so that Aaron could be the clean representative of the children of Israel before God. The children of Israel were not judged, but Aaron was judged in their place, cleaned of his sin by the blood of the sacrifices. 

We have a High Priest that is stated as in Hebrews 4:15 ‘He cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities; but was in all ways tempted as we are, yet without sin’ He represents us. God sees his cleanliness not our sin. He covers me from my sin, He is the perfect representative who is fully acceptable to God, so that despite my sin, I can go in to Heaven.