Tag / Jesus

by In Light Of The Cross

Mark 5; Demon Possession

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Have you noticed several demon possession stories already in the book of Mark? Are these stories relevent to us today?

Mark 5:1 And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. 

And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. 

 5:2   And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, 

Here a demon possessed mad has an obsession with death. Is it not the same today? Are not gothic people today obsessed with death?

 5:3   Who had [his] dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: 

 5:4   Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any [man] tame him. 

Today there are people in the church (Remember in Mark 1 the demoniac was in the temple) as well as the world who will not be tamed or bound by laws or standards. They want to do as they please without submitting to anyone, yet this is a sign of being controlled by the prince of darkness.

 5:5   And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. 

Studies show that people who are cutters, and suicidal have been abused, usually sexually. With this man’s obsession with death and cutting, he may have been abused. I am glad Jesus came to be His Savior!

 5:6   But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, 

 5:7   And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, [thou] Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. 

Here is a tremendous struggle. The man wants to worship Jesus but is tormented by His presence. Again, it is not Jesus who can’t dwell with sinners, but sinners who don’t want to dwell with God. This man is demon possessed, and so one sign of demon possession is not wanting to be in the presence of God weather it is in the church service, prayer meeting, or family worship.

 5:8   For he said unto him, Come out of the man, [thou] unclean spirit. 

 5:9   And he asked him, What [is] thy name? And he answered, saying, My name [is] Legion: for we are many. 

Jesus did not need to know His name, but asked, so that the disciples could see what they were up against. On our own we are no match for Satan.

 5:10 And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country. 

 5:11 Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. 

 5:12 And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. 

 5:13 And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea. 

 5:14 And they that fed the swine fled, and told [it] in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done. 

 5:15 And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. 

Notice being in your right mind and properly clothed go together. Luke tells us this man was naked. The further we are from God the more clothes we are willing to take off. The closer we come to God the more appropriately we dress. For more on this please click here.

 5:16 And they that saw [it] told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and [also] concerning the swine. 

 5:17 And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts. 

Hhhmm….They want Jesus to go away. I wonder where those demons went after the pigs drowned. Here is a clue when people are asking Jesus to leave!

 5:18 And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. 

A sign of demon possession is wanting Jesus to go away. A sign of conversion is wanting to be in His presence.

 5:19 Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.

by In Light Of The Cross

Mark 3-4; Dealing With Prejudice

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God. And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known.  Mark 3:11-12

Some people say Seventh-day Adventists are deceitful when we hold meetings and do not make it known right away that we are Adventist. In reality we are only doing what Jesus was doing, and that is, removing the prejudice before saying who we are. Satan had told the human race that God was mean and harsh. So if Jesus had come and immediately said He was the Son of God, nobody would have given Him a chance. He silenced the demons, even though they were speaking truth, because the people needed to get to know Him without the prejudice, before He made it known who He was. Today, because of the lies about Adventists, we sometimes need to remove the prejudices before we make ourselves known.

In Mark 4 Jesus talks about the sower and the seed. Sometimes people receive the Word and get all excited about following Jesus, but when trials come they leave God. Could it be the seed was not sown deep enough? It takes time to develop deep roots. Do sometimes rush people into baptism only to find out later that we should have taken more time? Do we spend time building relationships or just through facts at people and expect them to get baptized? Are we geared towards relationships, or just telling people we’re right you’re wrong. That won’t get you anywhere. Jesus was always right, but He was also relational. He spent time with prostitutes and publicans, many of which did not get baptized until several years afterwards. Are we willing to wait that long or do we need them to get baptized right away for some reason? I think Jesus’ way is best.

by In Light Of The Cross

Mark 2; Jesus is The Goal, Not The Sabbath

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.  Mark 2:28

Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath. The Sabbath and the rest it gives points to the grace given us by God. How many well meaning Sabbath Keepers get it backwards? How many think they have done their duty by telling someone that Saturday is the Sabbath, but never point them to Jesus? We are witnesses for Jesus, not the Sabbath. We share the Sabbath only as it points people to the grace of God which saves them. I shake my head in despair, when I hear someone say that their friend or relative has finally accepted Jesus and now all they have to do is convince them about the Sabbath. They make it sound like the Sabbath is the goal and Jesus is not enough. I am not taking anything away from the Sabbath’s proper place, however the Sabbath is not the goal. Jesus is the goal!

by In Light Of The Cross

Mark 1; Sin and Seperation

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Mark does not spend any time on Jesus’ birth of childhood and goes straight to Jesus’ ministry. Makes me wonder if Mark just didn’t like kids or something.

And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him. Mark 1:23-27

Isaiah 59:1 says that our sins separate us from God. God does not separate Himself from sinners. Sinners separate themselves from God. God can dwell with sin, but sin can not dwell with God. God did not run from Adam when Adam sinned. Adam ran from God. In this story we see the demoniac telling Jesus to leave Him alone. Jesus does not tell the demoniac to leave Him alone. God loves sinners, but sinners hate God. This is why God sent His Son to die for them and thus win their love back to Him.

In his sinless state, man held joyful communion with Him “in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 2:3. But after his sin, he could no longer find joy in holiness, and he sought to hide from the presence of God. Such is still the condition of the unrenewed heart. It is not in harmony with God, and finds no joy in communion with Him. 

 The sinner could not be happy in God’s presence; he would shrink from the companionship of holy beings. Could he be permitted to enter heaven, it would have no joy for him. The spirit of unselfish love that reigns there—every heart responding to the heart of Infinite Love—would touch no answering chord in his soul. His thoughts, his interests, his motives, would be alien to those that actuate the sinless dwellers there. He would be a discordant note in the melody of heaven. Heaven would be to him a place of torture; he would long to be hidden from Him who is its light, and the center of its joy.  It is no arbitrary decree on the part of God that excludes the wicked from heaven; they are shut out by their own unfitness for its companionship. The glory of God would be to them a consuming fire. They would welcome destruction, that they might be hidden from the face of Him who died to redeem them.—Steps to Christ, p 17.

But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.  Proverbs 8:36

by In Light Of The Cross

Matthew 27; The God-forsaken God

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Here is a sermon I have preached at least 50 times maybe a hundred. I plan on preaching this over and over until I die. I wanted to share it here for this Easter weekend.  It explores the depths of Christ sacrifice for us on the cross. If you would like you can also watch and share it on video. On the list of videos it is the one called “The God-forsaken God”. I have broken it into sections here for those who are busy and don’t have too much time to read.  

   

 

The Supreme Sacrifice

    

“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring” Psalms 22:1 

 

 

 

  What was it that made Jesus’ death the ultimate sacrifice? Many times we think of the physical torture Jesus endured while on the cross, but many have suffered physically just as much. As a matter of fact, if you asked a cancer victim if they would like another year of chemo or six hours on a cross, they will choose the cross over chemo! What made Jesus’ death the ultimate sacrifice goes a lot deeper than they physical pain. He died a death no one has ever died yet. He tasted the second death.      John Huss sang hymns of praise while he was burning at the stake. If Huss could sing as he died for his faith, why wasn’t Jesus singing songs as He died too? Why was He instead crying out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Because Jesus died a totally different death than Huss or anyone else has ever died. Huss died knowing he was accepted of the Father, but Jesus had to be forsaken by the Father in order for us to be accepted.       “Christ was treated as we deserve, that we might be treated as He deserves. He was condemned for our sins, in which He had no share, that we might be justified by His righteousness, in which we had no share. He suffered the death which was ours, that we might receive the life which was His. ‘With His stripes we are healed.’ ” {Desire of Ages, p 25}  

 

      Crucified, not Stoned  

   “Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And [Pilate] saith unto them, Behold the man! When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify [him], crucify [him]. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify [him]: for I find no fault in him. The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.”   John 19:5-7     

The law the Jews were talking about is found in the verse below, but notice the law states that one who blasphemes (which Jesus did not do but was accused of doing), should be stoned, not crucified.   

  “And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, [and] all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name [of the LORD], shall be put to death.”  Leviticus 24:16

 

 Notice in the verse below, the Jews were not ignorant of this law. “I and [my] Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.”  John 10:30-31   

   “And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree:  His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged [is] accursed of God;)” Deuteronomy 21:22-23      If a man committed a crime worthy of death he could still ask forgiveness and have the hope of the resurrection, but if he was hung on a tree that meant he was accursed of God and it was good-bye to life forever. This is what Jesus experienced for you, so you could experience the acceptance of the Father. “To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.” Ephesians 1:6-7   

 

      Accursed of God  

    And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the LORD do to all your enemies against whom ye fight.  And afterward Joshua smote them, and slew them, and hanged them on five trees: and they were hanging upon the trees until the evening.   Joshua 10:25,26   

  By hanging these five kings on five trees, Joshua was saying that they had their opportunity to accept Israel’s God and rejected Him so it was good-bye to life forever. This is the death Jesus tasted for us. He did not taste the death of the righteous as he did not save us from the death of the righteous. He saved us from the death of the wicked, therefore He tasted the death of the wicked. Jesus faced the death of the wicked which meant facing total oblivion Obadiah 1:16.      

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?  Matthew 27:46      Jesus had always called God His Father. But on the cross, while He was tasting the death of the wicked, He could not call God His Father. He cried out “My God” and not “My Father.” He was not crying out why have You forsaken me till Sunday morning. You don’t forsake someone when you leave them for the weekend, you forsake them when you leave them forever!      

 

 “Satan with his fierce temptations wrung the heart of Jesus. The Saviour could not see through the portals of the tomb. Hope did not present to Him His coming forth from the grave a conqueror, or tell Him of the Father’s acceptance of the sacrifice. He feared that sin was so offensive to God that Their separation was to be eternal. Christ felt the anguish which the sinner will feel when mercy shall no longer plead for the guilty race. It was the sense of sin, bringing the Father’s wrath upon Him as man’s substitute, that made the cup He drank so bitter, and broke the heart of the Son of God.” {Desire of Ages, p 753}

 

 

   

What God did to His Son

 

   

 

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.  Isaiah 53:4

 

 

 Isaiah 53:4 tells us He was smitten not by us or Satan, but by God! This verse is about what God did while Christ was on the cross. Jesus loved you so much He was willing to do way more than endure terrific pain for six hours! He was willing to say goodbye to life forever if that’s what it took to save you! The thought of living eternally in heaven without you was Hell to Jesus!       Sure, Jesus could have come down from the cross and saved Himself. He could have thrown down that crown of thorns and taken back His royal crown. He could have ascended back to His throne and the angels would have welcomed Him with open arms. He could have gone back to those mansions He talked about in John 14. But listen to what He says about those mansions, “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 

 

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, [there] ye may be also.”  John 14:2-3.

 

 

 Did you catch that? “That where I am there ye may be also.”  We always focus on the mansions in that verse, but what Jesus is focusing on is the being with you part.       See, while Jesus had mansions, golden streets, a throne and angels who would bow and worship and serve Him perfectly heaven just isn’t heaven to Jesus without you. So the thought of leaving the Cross and ascending back to His throne without saving you, just didn’t appeal to Jesus. Jesus loves you more than He loves life itself. His feelings for you are beyond love- you are His passion. Do you love Jesus more than you love life itself? Is He your passion?  

   

Tasting Death for Every man

 

 

“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.”  Hebrews 2:9

 

 

 Some may say, “How could Jesus have died the second death while prophesying of His resurrection?” Good question. Remember though, feeling and knowing are two different things.  Many people know flying is safer than driving, but you put them on a plane and they sure don’t feel safer! Jesus may have known He would be resurrected but He sure did not feel it! Also the Bible tells us He tasted the second death in the verse above.        Jesus obviously has not tasted the first death for every man, we taste that death ourselves. The first death Jesus does not even call death, He calls it sleep. Jesus did not taste sleep for every man, He tasted death, the second death. Jesus never lost faith in His Father. But His faith was not in His own salvation but in your salvation!       

 

He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?  Romans 8:32

 

 

 

God gave all when He gave His son! Jesus was willing to say goodbye to life forever to save you! He gave all of His life! Will give Him all of your heart?

 

   If you would like to talk to me about giving your heart to Jesus, you may contact me at racerthree@gmail.com 

For more Easter devotionals click here.  Click here for “Was the Atonement for an Angry God or an Angry Race?”

 

by In Light Of The Cross

Matthew 26; Jesus Called Judas “friend”!

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him.  Matthew 26:50

Even after years of study I have no idea what Jesus, in His humanity was going through, in the garden that night He was betrayed. Many things impress me and I would like to share a couple of them here.

When Judas betrayed Jesus, did you notice what Jesus calls him in the verse above? He did not call him a traitor. He did not call him a back stabber. He called him friend. I don’t think Jesus was just trying to be nice either. Jesus always called things the way He saw them. He was straight forward even with the Pharisees calling them whited sepulchers and brood of vipers. So when Jesus called Judas friend I am sure as far as He was concerned they were friends. Jesus knew His war was not with flesh and blood but against Satan himself. Jesus looked past how Satan was using Judas and He saw a friend. Let us accept the invitation in 2 Peter 1:4 and partake of the divine nature, and look past the faults of those around us and only see friends as Christ did on the night He was betrayed.

In the next verse we read, “And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out [his] hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest’s, and smote off his ear.”

 

In Peter’s zeal for the right he cuts off the ear of a soldier arresting Jesus. We read how Jesus heals the ear and rebukes Peter who meant well but just went too far. Have I ever spoke a word in the defense of truth that hurt someone needlessly? I am afraid I have. I have asked Jesus to do for me what He did for Peter and heal the person that I needlessly wounded. Even in Gethsemane Jesus never stopped healing. He is a healing Jesus!

 

by In Light Of The Cross

Matthew 26; Thoughts on Gethsemane

tampa-bay-016I am writing tonight from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

 

Luke 22:43 says, “And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.” In His darkest hour his friends let Him down and one even betrayed Him, but Jesus was strengthened by an angel. I believe that we can have every advantage that Jesus had. If our friends let us down God will send us an angel or help us Himself if He needs to. As a matter of fact, check this out from The Great Controversy page 560.  “He [God] would sooner send every angel out of Heaven to protect his people, than leave one soul that trusts in him to be overcome by Satan.”  Imagine it. The Father sent an angel to aid the Son of God but will empty all of heaven of every single angel and send them to our aid in time of need. Why depend on the weak arm of man?

 

When Jesus’ friends let Him down and fell asleep when He needed them the most, instead of holding a grudge He excused their weakness when He said, “the spirit indeed [is] willing, but the flesh [is] weak.”  Matthew 26:41. In His darkest hour He looked to heaven and not to man. He was not disappointed in man because He did not expect anything from man. Since He did not expect too much He was not hurt too much by them and even referred to Judas in Matthew 26:50 as His Friend! By calling Judas His friend it shows us Jesus did not demand much at all from His friends while He gave all of Himself.

 

Mark 14:33 says Jesus became “sore amazed.”  You become amazed when you realize something you did not before. This shows us the true humanity of Jesus and that He was amazed as He experienced something He had never known before-the wrath of God-abandonment. In Gethsemane Jesus was facing more than a six hour pain endurance marathon on the cross. He was facing abandonment. The Desire of Ages brings this home for us on page 753, “Satan with his fierce temptations wrung the heart of Jesus. The Saviour could not see through the portals of the tomb. Hope did not present to Him His coming forth from the grave a conqueror, or tell Him of the Father’s acceptance of the sacrifice. He feared that sin was so offensive to God that Their separation was to be eternal. Christ felt the anguish which the sinner will feel when mercy shall no longer plead for the guilty race. It was the sense of sin, bringing the Father’s wrath upon Him as man’s substitute, that made the cup He drank so bitter, and broke the heart of the Son of God.”   

 

This Gospel, not the six hour pain endurance marathon gospel, but the gospel of Jesus being willing to say goodbye to life forever to save us shall be preached in all the world before He returns. In Revelation 14 the first angel has the everlasting gospel, not the six hour pain endurance marathon gospel, but the everlasting gospel to give to the whole world! As Seventh-day Adventists lets not let anything distract us from taking this gospel to the world!

 

This gospel will heal lives and mend hearts and change lives for eternity. It already has. Joseph saw this gospel when he told his brothers that he forgave them even though they betrayed him and caused him to suffer because it led to their salvation and the salvation of others! The gospel healed Joseph’s relationship with his brothers when the self sacrificing gospel was manifested in Joseph. Moses saw the goodness and mercy of this gospel and reflected it when he offered to have his name blotted out of the book of life to save others. This gospel was manifested in a thirteen year old Amish girl who during a violent siege of her school asked to be shot first hoping to buy time for the rescue of the others.  Her request was granted. In Revelation 15 this gospel is manifested in a large group who sing the song of Moses and the Lamb. They share the experience of Moses and Jesus in coveting the salvation of others more than they covet their own salvation.

 

Jesus was more than natural when He gave His life for those who let Him down and betrayed Him. He was supernatural. This gospel, not the six hour pain endurance marathon gospel, but this gospel is supernatural. Is it in you? Next time a friend lets you down or even betrays you do more than what comes natural. Do the supernatural. Let Jesus manifest Himself in you just as He was manifested in Joseph, Moses, Marion Fisher the Amish girl, and a whole host of people in Revelation 15.  If you do the supernatural all heaven will be on your side, and if need be every angel will be by your side, and you will heal hearts, mend lives, and change people for all eternity.

 

Your Christian Servant,

William

 

You can find more of my studies and stories at In Light Of The Cross.

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.