Month / December 2010

by In Light Of The Cross

Matthew 24; Secret Rapture

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Did Jesus Refer to a Secret Rapture?

 

But as the days of Noe [were], so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.  For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two [women shall be] grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.  Matthew 24:37-41

 

  

While the Bible never speaks or even alludes to a secret rapture, some have tried to twist Matthew 24:37-41 around to where it sounds like a secret rapture. Two are in the field, one is taken the other is left. They try to make it sound like the one being taken is secretly taken away. However the passage very clearly says, that as it was in the days of Noah so shall it be at the coming of the Son of man, when the flood came and took them all away. Who was taken away at the flood? The wicked were taken away and destroyed while the righteous inherited the earth. Likewise when Christ returns the wicked will be taken away and destroyed while the righteous inherit the New Earth.  It clearly is not the righteous who are taken away, but the wicked.

by In Light Of The Cross

Matthew 20-23; My Thoughts

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa bay area.

Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death  and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!” Matthew 20:17-20

Here Jesus clearly tells His disciples that even though He will be put to death, He will rise the third day. This was to comfort them when He died, so that they would not despair. However, when that terrible night came, and He was crucified, His disciples gave up in despair, instead of remembering the promise. Does this happen to us as well? Jesus has warned us that bad things will happen to us as well but that He will always be with us to see us through and make us come out victorious. Let’s not be like the disciples and forget Jesus’  promises just because things get a little dark.

As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”  Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”  Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him. Matthew 20:29-34

After reading this, I paused and asked what the message was here for me. I then prayed that God would give me spiritual eye sight. I may be spiritually blind and not even know it. At least these two men in the story knew they were blind. Jesus tells me in Revelation 3:17, “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.”  If Jesus says that I am blind then I must be blind! But I can ask Him for eyesight and I know He will have compassion and give it to me.

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:  “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”  Matthew 22:34-40

Several years ago, I was reading Mervyn Maxwell’s book “God Cares” on Revelation. I read about the 144,000 being sealed with the character of God. At this same time, I had a friend who was in a major spiritual crisis, and dealing with issues from their childhood that they had no control over. In my tiny little mind I was trying to comprehend how my friend would have a chance to have their character sealed before the second coming, after all they have been through. I guess I was like the people Jesus was talking to in Matthew 22:29 when He said, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.” The scriptures make it clear that God has the power to seal the weakest of humans with His character. Not realizing this, I picked up the phone and called Myervyn Maxwell. Even though I was total stranger, he gladly received my call. I told him my friend’s situation and how I wondered how they would ever have a chance if God is sealing His people right now. I loved his response and have never forgotten it. He told me that Jesus requires us to love Him with all of our mind, and whatever state my friend’s mind is in, all God asks, is that he love Him with all that is left of his mind after all he has been through. That sounds reasonable. Our God is very reasonable.

Matthew 23 is filled with warnings against hypocrites. Often we think of our adversary as the hypocrite and ourselves as being sincere. However, just this morning I ran across a quote of Facebook by C.S. Lewis: “‎”Humans are very seldom either totally sincere or totally hypocritical. Their moods change, their motives are mixed, and they are often themselves quite mistaken as to what their motives are.” I think we all need to remember this when dealing with others.

by In Light Of The Cross

Matthew 19; Single People Are Kind of Like Real People

 
 
 

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

 

 

 

The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”   Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.” Matthew 19:10-12 

 

  I don’t usually make a big deal either way about being single. I don’t think of myself as a “single person”, I just think of myself as a “person”.  While I have heard other single people complain about married people treating them differently, I can only count on one hand the number of married people who have treated me differently because of my single status.  98% of the people I come in contact with treat me no differently than if I was married.    I don’t believe in discriminating between marital or single statuses any more than race or anything else. I simply think of myself as a person regardless of single staus or race or religion and I simply think of other people as people regardless of their statuses.

 

 

 Okay, I agree that celibacy is not the norm. I also totally agree that being single does not make you more holy. (Of course being married does not make you more holy either.) Yes, the Scriptures tell us that Peter was married. However the scriptures also tell us Paul was not married at the time of his ministry and even more so Jesus was never married. So- are Paul and Jesus unnatural misfits?  While Jesus and the scriptures never forbade marriage, Jesus and Paul both have given us enough counsel to see that celibacy has many spiritual advantages. (Matthew 19:12, 1 Corinthians 7)Satan always takes things God says to extremes. For example Satan suggested to Eve that God told her she could not eat of “any” of the trees when in reality He only told her not to eat from one. While the Bible clearly suggests that it is good for some people not to marry, the Bible never forbade marriage and even warns us in 1 Timothy 4 that the antichrist would be the one who forbids marriage. Clearly extremism is to be avoided. No one has to get married and no one has to remain single. I will gladly admit that being married can and should lead one to be a better Christian, and also admit that being single is a very convenient way to be selfish. There is no one as free as a single adult. You answer to neither spouse nor parent. You just do whatever you want whenever you want. (Now in my case add to this that even my job is really not a job but rather my passion. So I have no one in my world telling me what to do other than my boss who just tells me to do what I want to do anyway! I can not begin to describe what a wonderful feeling that is!). While marriage calls for self sacrifice there are many wonderful single Christians who crucify self every day while there are many married people who never think of their spouse or children. While many people say that you have to be married to understand what it takes to make a marriage work, I somewhat disagree. I do know exactly what it takes to make a marriage work and maybe that is why I have chosen to remain single to this point in my life. On the other hand you have married people who are married only because they did not know what it took, or they found their wedding vows to be too inconvenient. I know of many single people who have sacrificed to care for the needs of neglected children who are not their own, even though they never made a vow to. There are many single aunts and uncles, “big brothers” and “big sisters” out there who will never get a Father’s Day or Mother’s Day card though they are quite deserving of one.There are those who believe an elder must be married to give counsel to families. While I have never been a husband or father, I have been a son, brother, uncle, nephew and grandson. So I have been in a family and I do know how families work. Also please don’t slaughter Paul’s counsel to Timothy to mean that you have to be married to be an elder. As 98% of Bible scholars clearly understand, Paul simply meant no more than one wife. Not that you must have one wife. Is ones ability to be a spiritual leader dependant upon being married or being anointed by the Lord? I had someone tell me once that I could not be an elder because Paul says that an elder must rule well his own home. Well I do rule my own home well, by not marrying anyone who would corrupt my home. I heard someone say once that I could not be an elder because I can’t counsel with married people because I don’t know what it is like to be married. So if married elders are the only ones who can help married people then wouldn’t single elders be the only ones who could help single people? But single people don’t need or deserve elders who understand them? Only married people deserve elders who can relate to them? See what happens when we slaughter Paul’s teachings? The logic just gets more and more absurd. 
 
 
 
  Okay now I am going to talk about an obvious issue here- sex. Single people long for intimacy just like everyone else. However not all sex is intimacy and not all intimacy has to be sex. As a matter of fact I read a book once about sexual purity that stated that many people will have sex to avoid intimacy! Intimacy takes place in the mind and heart, not the sex organs. Getting naked together does not make you intimate until you have shared your heart and mind.  I know married people who are still very lonely and some even celibate. In the 5th volume of the Testimonies Ellen White writes of a man who had sexual issues that not even marriage could cure. Marriage is not the sole solution for intimacy.  Neither is marriage necessarily the solution for sexual desires.  What I long for is a woman that I can sit and talk with for hours while it only seems like a few moments. A few years ago, I lost a friend to breast cancer, who had a double mastectomy. When I started visiting her in the hospital, we quickly became friends and could talk and laugh together easily. I really enjoyed her company and while I don’t know what was going on in her mind, the day she died, she told me that she really wished we could have known each other longer here on earth. I’m not sure, but it seemed she was implying that she may have liked me for more than just a friend. If she had lived, the fact that she didn’t have a perfect body would not have gotten in the way of our relationship. She and I could talk together forever, and I loved every moment with her. Please understand that marriage does not guarantee intimacy and being celibate does not prevent it.  The Bible condones marriage or celibacy. Married people can be beautiful Christians, and their marriages can be a living example of what a true self sacrificing Christian ought to be. On the other hand single people can be very devoted to their families, church families and most of all to Jesus.

 

 

 

 

  

I really appreciated a recent men’s ministry convention I attended. For years our church’s preaching and teaching has centered around married people and the message to single people has been, “Listen to this message – it will help you when you get married.” But this time, while they talked about married men and their ministry to their family, instead of telling us single guys that we could apply these teachings later when we get married, they taught us how to apply them now to our church family and our friends who are all around us. They emphasized that even though we are single, we make a significant impact on the lives around us today. They treated us like we were real people!

 

  

What a contrast to the Valentine’s banquet I attended in another state around ten years ago. Several of us singles sat at a table while the emcee spent the evening recognizing married couples and their accomplishments. That is all well and fine, after all it was a Valentine’s banquet, what do you expect? The problem came at the end when the emcee tried to “console” us single people by telling us even though we were single, we were still “kind of like real people.”

Thank you to the 98% who treat me like a real person even though I have chosen to remain single up to this point in my life. Thank you for letting me live my life as a “person” instead of a “single person.” To all I pray these thoughts will be enlightening and a blesssing in your christian walk and fellowship. 

 

by In Light Of The Cross

Matthew 17; Faith in God’s Love

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

In a few of my previous posts I have pointed out that sin is in effect, saying, we don’t believe God really loves us.  We sin, not when we lose faith in God’s power as much as when we lose faith in God’s love. This is clearly seen in Matthew 17. Jesus takes Peter, James and John to the mountain top to see the transfiguration. Meanwhile the other disciples are left behind. They felt left out because Jesus did not take them too. What they did not realize was, that Jesus had left them behind so that they cold minister to a boy harassed by an evil spirit. However, they were unable to deliver the boy of the evil spirit, and Jesus had to do it Himself when he got back. When asked why they could not do it, Jesus responded, “Because you have so little faith.” But their lack of faith was not in God’s power but in His love. They doubted God’s love for them when they were not privileged to go to the transfiguration. They did not realize that God did love them and left them behind so they could do something special for Him.

 

God has you right where you are today because He loves you and wants to do something special through you.

Other posts on this topic:

 

https://christianservant.wordpress.com/2010/08/08/victory-of-sin-what-is-sin-redemption-in-romans-lesson-7/

 

https://christianservant.wordpress.com/2010/12/03/matthew-4-faith-in-gods-love/

by In Light Of The Cross

Matthew 16; Good Questions

 

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”  They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”  “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16:13-16

 

After Jesus asks the disciples what everyone else thought about Him, He asks them what they thought about Him. Often we are tempted to wonder what others think about us, when we should be asking Jesus what He thinks about us. In Revelation 3:5 Jesus says if we are overcomers through Him, He will confess our name before the Father. Isn’t that an amazing thought; Your name rolling off the tongue of the Son of God before the Father on His throne! Shouldn’t our thoughts be centered on what Jesus is saying about us and not man? When wondering what others say about us, shouldn’t we turn and ask Jesus the same question He asked His disciples, “But who do you say that I am?”

 

I heard the title of a book that I have never got to read yet, but I think just the title says it all. The book is titled, “What you think of me is none of my business.” Really that is true. Let people think what they want. There are millions of opinions flying through the atmosphere about a million different things.  The only Person whose opinion matters is Jesus. What Jesus thinks about me is my business. What others think about me is none of my business.

by In Light Of The Cross

Matthew 15; Did Jesus Declare all Foods Clean?


I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. Matthew 15:2

The Pharisees and scribes thought they had found Jesus and His followers in disobedience to the law in not washing their hands before they ate. However this was a man made law, or as Jesus said tradition. Jesus went on to say, “Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are [the things] which defile a man.” Matthew 15:17-20. Some take the preceding statement to mean that Jesus just declared all foods clean, but that was not the point, nor the context of what He was talking about. The end of verse 20 tells us exactly what Jesus was talking about when He said, “but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.” Clean and unclean foods were not the subject here, but rather washing hands according to the traditional laws man had made. Obviously Jesus did not declare Biblically unclean foods clean as Isaiah 66:17 speaks of unclean foods even at the second coming.

People have also tried to take the vision Peter had in Acts 10 out of context. They say God declared all food clean in this vision. In telling Peter that God loved the gentiles as much as the Jews he showed Peter some unclean animals. The fact that Jesus had never declared unclean foods clean is seen by Peter’s comment, “I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.” Vs. 14 In verse 15 Peter hears the voice in the vision say, “What God hath cleansed, [that] call not thou common.” Many try to twist this comment to mean that God had now declared all foods clean. No mention is ever made of unclean foods being pronounced okay to eat. However Peter tells us what the exact context of his vision was in verse 28, “God hath showed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.” Peter was encouraged by God to take the gospel to the gentiles. God told Peter no man was unclean, but Peter nor God ever mention animals being made clean in Acts 10 or anywhere else in the Bible.

For further study on this topic go to https://christianservant.wordpress.com/2009/06/01/healthy-living-in-light-of-the-cross/

by In Light Of The Cross

Matthew 14; Walking on Water

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

When we read about Jesus walking on the water in Matthew 14, we often think that is something He was able to do only because He was God. I remember looking at a greeting card a while back that read, “Some people say I think too much of you, just because I worship the water you walk on.” I have even joked about walking on water because years ago in Oklahoma, I walked across a frozen lake. All joking aside though, Jesus did not do anything that He did not also make possible for us to do as well. Jesus rose raised the dead but so did Peter in Acts 9. Jesus shares His victories over sin and evil with us, and lets us experience the same victories in our lives.

Notice in John 14:10 Jesus attributes His success to His relationship with the Father.  Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

 

Notice in John 14:12 that when we enter into a relationship with Him and the Father that the same success is possible for us.   Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater [works] than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

 

In the story of Jesus and Peter walking on the water in Matthew 14, folks are quick to point out that Peter started to fall in the water when He took his eyes off Jesus, but they fail to point out that he was walking on water, just like Jesus was, so long as he kept His eyes on Jesus. Peter did walk on water! Before Jesus is recorded walking on water, earlier in chapter 14 we see Him spending quality time in prayer alone with the Father. I wonder, if Peter had spent that time in prayer, could he too have walked without falling into the water? Before we can begin to walk like Jesus we must first learn to pray like Jesus.

 

For a Desire of Ages study on how we can experience the same victories Jesus had click here.

by In Light Of The Cross

Matthew 13; An Enemy Has Done This

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.           Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. Matthew 13:24-30

 

What catches my eye as I read this story today, is the fact that not only had the man sowed seed in his field, but so had an enemy. God places people in our lives but the enemy places people in our lives too. Much prayer is needed to tell the difference. As a Bible Worker, I have learned over the years, that while God places people in my path who really need me, that Satan will also place people in my path just to waste my time, and keep me from the people who really want my help. This is where we need to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. How can one tell the difference? In Matthew 5:6 Jesus has a blessing for those who are hungry. I have learned that I cannot make people hungry for the gospel. So I look for those who God is making hungry and I minister to them, while I continue to pray for and befriend those whom God has not been able to make hungry yet. Jesus did the  same thing. In John 5:17 Jesus says, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.” Jesus worked with people whom His Father was already working with. I have seen too often, those who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness, left to starve, while the church goes out trying to entertain people who are not even interested in spiritual things. We have an obligation to those who do not care about spiritual things, but not at the expense of those who already have a desire to be taught the Word of God.

 

We must remember too, that we cannot help everyone. Jesus is their Savior and not me. I have seen  many people get into unhealthy relationships, and they defend the relationship by saying they are trying to save the other person. I assure them that they are not a savior. Jesus will be that person’s Savior.  Unhealthy relationships do no good to either party. Here we must pray for wisdom and be willing to walk away from someone who is wasting our time and keeping us from helping someone who really needs and wants our help.

by In Light Of The Cross

Matthew 12; Did Jesus say He Would be in the Grave Three Nights?

I am writing tonight from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.  
 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Matthew 12:38-40

  

This text has perplexed many people since Jesus was not in the grave for three nights. Some try to move His crucifixion back to Thursday so they can fit him into the grave for three nights. Remember when William Miller thought the earth was the sanctuary mentioned in the 2300 day prophecy of Daniel 8:14? He thought at the end of the 2300 days Jesus would return and cleanse the earth with fire. He had the time right but the place wrong. Nowhere in the Bible does it say the earth is the sanctuary. Likewise in Matthew 12:40 many scholars have the time right but the place wrong. Now maybe we should not be so hard on William Miller for his mistake. Fact is, nowhere in the Bible does it refer to the grave as being the heart of the earth. After all Jesus was not even buried in the earth but placed in a small cave. This verse can also be translated “in the midst of the earth” or in the “middle of the earth.”

  

When Jesus prayed, “Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven,” He was not referring to “in earth” as the grave but the midst of the earth where all the people are. If you take the day for a year in Bible prophecy mentioned in Ezekiel 4:6, you have Jesus preaching the gospel for three years in the midst of the earth where all the people are.

  

The sign of Jonah is not so much about the time anyway. We miss what this verse is really saying when we get all wrapped up trying to explain what three days and three nights mean. The point is, the religious leaders were asking Jesus for a sign while the sinners had already accepted Him. In the story of Jonah the men who throw Jonah overboard prayed to God and believed. The wicked inhabitants of Nineveh believed. The only person who kept rejecting God in his life was the prophet Jonah! Everyone else believed. Jesus is simply saying it is the same now. Sinners believe and accept Him but the religious leaders wont. It is just like it was in the days of Jonah.

How sad that Satan has been able to distract so many people with the “three nights” when that simply has nothing to do with Jesus’ point in this verse. Lets all take heed, lest we like Jonah or the Pharisees have a heart of unbelief while those with less light than we have freely accept Jesus as Savior and Lord.  

by In Light Of The Cross

Matthew 11; Hope For Those Who Doubt

After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee.

 2 When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

 4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy[b] are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 6 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

 7 As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 8 If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. 9 Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is the one about whom it is written:

   “‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
   who will prepare your way before you.’[c]

   11 Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist.. Matthew 11:1-11 NIV

Here is hope for all of us. If John the Baptist had doubts, no wonder we have doubts too. However Jesus still affirmed the ministry of John the Baptist even though he was weak and doubted. What a wonderful Savior we have!

Read more on John the Baptist in Matthew 11 here.