Choices - 31 August 2017, Anno Domini

 

If you prefer, there is an easy to read and print READER version RIGHT HERE!

A

nd Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. (1 Kings 18:21)

            Life is full of choices. Choices are important since they determine our future success, failure, wealth, poverty, health, or even illness. The gravity of the spiritual choices we make are infinitely (and I do mean infinitely) of greater import than any temporal choices we make in this life. The choices we make in serving the Lord our God have eternal consequences not only in Hell, but in the rewards of Heaven.

            It would be a great benefit if the people of God were as the kingdom of the ant. The ant labors season after season in storing up provision for the future when there is no other provision. Should the Christian not do likewise in storing up treasures in Heaven in anticipation of the coming ruin of this world when none other is available? As Jesus said to the rich young ruler, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. (Mark 10:21) The rich, young ruler desired the wealth of this world that he could sift between his fingers, but the treasures we stow in Heaven are on safe deposit for the day when life cannot be sustained by earthly treasures – and it pays an unimaginably high dividend in interest.

            What are the Treasures of Heaven? The Treasures of Heaven are those good works we do for others, or rather allow God to do THROUGH us for others. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38  When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39  Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.  (Matt 25:34-46)

            It is at once obvious that these treasures are not the kind that can be stolen away for they ascend immediately to the Throne of Grace. They are not, either, to be boasted of since they are no longer ours, but belong to Heaven until we go to claim them. 26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. 27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. (James 1:26-27) Do you have this PURE religion? This is not merely an order to the ordained of the church, but to every member of the Body of Christ as ministers of God.

            The question that Elijah posits to the people of God was not simply a question for the moment of its being spoken, but just as literally addressed to us today as to those yesterday. When the issue of homosexual marriage, abortion, or intentional sin arises, the churches are either totally silent, or even join as accomplices to the apostasies. There has arisen a postmodern approach to Christianity that ignores the Word of God and relies upon feelings and human opinion concerning right and wrong. It is a form approaching secular humanism. Even the science of genetics is ignored in order to justify transgenderism. When it comes to homosexuality or gender identity, the science of chromosomal identity is ignored completely and the role of CHOICE is emphasized to the detriment of science. If a baby is born with an XY chromosome, that child is, by scientific definition, a male. The same is true of the female born with the XX chromosome. This is simply scientific fact, and the way one feels about this has nothing to do with the fact. It would be like denying that gravity is in force and walking under a falling boulder of five hundred pounds. The result would be a flat corpse notwithstanding the opinion on gravity to the contrary.

            We are all born with a proclivity to sin in some ways. We may be born with an inclination to lie, cheat, steal, gossip, or even murder. The sin becomes cardinal when we act upon the impulse. If we are tempted and drawn to the same sex, that would be sin if acted upon in a similar manner. No one is born ‘homosexual.’ Of course, there are influences of life that may enter in, even to a child that might create the perversion to sex. But even if a person were born with homosexual inclinations, there is no sin as long as that person remains celibate. 12 For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it. (Matt 19:12) Some eunuchs are born as such; others are made so by the perverse art of man.

            So, when we live our lives, we are confronted with many temptations to sin. It is the concession we pay to sin, and the approbation of society itself, that places our souls in danger of damnation. Yes, Christ is able to forgive all sin, but we are to go, and sin no more. If we commit sin by omission or commission, we confess our sins and continue with all intent to forebear sin.

            I am disappointed when the people of our land ignore biblical morality, but I am not discouraged. It is not the role of a minister to change hearts – that is the doing of the Holy Ghost. It is the preacher’s role to preach the truth and to warn the people. 16 Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein. 17 Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken. (Jer 6:16-17) Jeremiah lost no faith when the incorrigible people of Israel refused to follow God, but THEY DID!

            God has given us choices to make in life just as the story of AESOP regarding the ants and the grass hopper. The grass hopper played all summer long while the ants worked diligently. He even made light of the ants’ industry. But when the leaves began to fall, and the winter snows began to sprinkle the landscape, the grass hopper began to be in want of food and shelter. He went to the ants, but they refused help to one so sluggardly. We have choices between good and evil so that we can rejoice at the blessedness of righteousness over the opposite side of the coin. We can never fully appreciate light until we have experienced smothering darkness. 

            Remember that the Creation of God at Eden began with a choice, did it not? 9 And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. (Gen 2:9)  16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. (Gen 2:16-17) Adam had a simple choice of all of the trees of the Garden (including the Tree of Life representing the Lord); but Adam ate of the ONE tree only of which God had commanded him not to eat.  WHAT A CHOICE!

            Look at the wonderful history of America while it was yet young and righteous. Remember the songs and music of grandeur – My Country ‘Tis of Thee, America the Beautiful, Hail, Columbia, God Bless America, School Days, etc. What ages of innocence we enjoyed as a nation under God. But what went wrong? We forgot the old songs, didn’t we. We adopted vulgar and pornographic lyrics for our songs. Our sons and daughters became addicts of alcohol, drugs, and perversions of sex. We told God he was no longer welcome in our public schools or the public forum – after he had been present in those venues for two hundred years without objection. Someone stole our innocence away. But who? It was the same old Serpent of the Garden whose voice we heard and heeded. His minions walk the halls of Congress and labor in the courts to entangle us in every effort to restore morality to our sin-besieged land. I pray that we will not stop before the tree, or heed that voice longer.

Being of Sound Mind - 30 August 2017, Anno Domini

 

If you prefer, there is an easy to read and print READER version RIGHT HERE!

T

hou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. (Isaiah 26:2-3)

            What is a Sound Mind? Well, there are many different definitions for a sound mind, but I will only cover two – the first:  the legal definition, and the second: the biblical one. The legal definition is derived from simple reason in its first sense; but often the false science of psychology and psychiatric nonsense gets involved and complicates the matter. Here is the definition of a sound mind from ‘A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States. By John Bouvier. Published 1856: 

     1, SOUND MIND. That state of a man's mind which is adequate to reason and comes to a judgment upon ordinary subjects, like other rational men. 

     2. The law presumes that every person who has acquired his full age is of sound mind, and consequently competent to make contracts and perform all his civil duties; and he who asserts to the contrary must prove the affirmation of his position by explicit evidence, and not by conjectural proof. 2 Hagg Eccl. R. 434; 3 Addams' R. 86; 8 Watts, R. 66; Ray, Med. Jur. Sec. 92; 3 Curt. Eccl. R. 671. Vide Unsound mind.

            The biblical definition of a sound mind is illustrated in our leading text above – “Whose mind is stayed on thee (the Lord)” That mind will be at peace and not distraught with worry, confusion, and disorientation. The so-called science of psychology has done far more harm to innocent victims than any narrow sense of good. I have personally witnessed the mental ruin of many fine young scholars of our community and church who have sought treatment from some psychiatrist and never regained their senses after a regimen of debilitating and mind-altering drugs. There may even be some in the field of psychology who believe their arts, but they are as the “blind leading the blind.” Pavlov’s ‘conditioned response’ is very nearly the limit of truth in medical psychology. There is more meaning in the simpler term ‘Behavioral Science’ than in psychology. Psychology has dipped its hand into the government purse and made itself at home there. Patients referred to its web of ruin are helpless to escape. Even if they are aware of the abuse acted upon their minds, their reports are ignored under the guise of not being of a sound mind. So, victims of the psychiatric ward can kiss their Constitutional rights good-bye. Every effort by these demons of the medical world is toward enlarging their largesse with more victims.

            A recent study suggests psychiatry encourages its own ministers to commit suicide: “A high suicide rate among psychiatrists (58 to 65/100,000 compared with that of the general population, 11/100,000) has been reported by the following: Freeman, Blachly et al, DeSole et al, and Pond.1-5” Moreover, a recent global study comparing suicide rates in countries with advanced psychiatric facilities suffered much higher rates of suicide: Recently a third, much larger, study was conducted over 191 countries and a population of 6.4 billion people.  This study controlled extensively for economic factors and found that numbers of psychiatrists and mental health beds were significantly positively associated with population suicide rates and concluded that “Countries with better psychiatric services experience higher suicide rates.” A.P. Rajkumar, E.M. Brinda, A.S. Duba, P. Thangadurai, K.S. Jacob. National suicide rates and mental health system indicators: An ecological study of 191 countries International Journal of Law and Psychiatry 36 (2013) 339–342 Physician, heal thyself!

            I believe the above studies suggests the mind belongs to the Creator, and those narrowly inept minds parading as psychologists would best abandon their greed and sorcery and turn to the true science of the Creator. “O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: 21 Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen.” 1 Tim 6:20-21 (KJV) Is there any true Christian that believes some suicidal psychiatrist can find a comparable cure to mental despondency and despair to that which can be found in Holy Scripture. If I sound angry, I am. I am losing a second child in my church just over this past year – both straight A students academically – to the shamans of psychology. Their minds are being rendered crippled and made dull by the medications given in order to KEEP them in a facility and allowing the psychiatrist to keep their blood money flowing. Our society has gone crazy along with their gods of psychology.

            A sound mind can only be found in the love and truth of God. Any who suffer in ignorance of God are ‘not in their right mind.’ Let me give you a parabolic example from Scripture:

            You will remember the second son of a good father who desired his father divide his inheritance with him even while his father was yet living. His father KNEW well his son’s problem – it was fleshly dreams which had over-powered his spiritual character. Denying the boys request would only delay the problem. Better to have his son learn a hard lesson while the father was still alive to help him through his problems than to wait until the father was dead and buried and helpless to intercede. He gave the boy his part of the inheritance. 13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. 14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. 15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. 17 And WHEN HE CAME TO HIMSELF, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, 19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. 20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. (Luke 15:13-20)

            Was the boy in his right mind when he took his early inheritance and abandoned his father’s house? NO! Was he in his right mind in splurging wildly in riotous living? NO! He had forgotten his father just as many Christians forget their God. They are not in their right minds; but if you will have peace of mind and soundness thereof, you will keep your mind stayed upon the Lord. He will keep your mind sound and safe – not some tin-horned psychiatrist with his fool’s gold of chemical agents and false counsel. The boy only regained a sound mind when he remembered the father that he had left behind. HE CAME TO HIMSELF! That is when we are going in the right mental direction. The boy headed home by the same road he came. It was the SAME road, but it was a DIFFERENT DIRECTION. The old man saw the boy while he was yet afar off, yet he KNEW him and RAN to him. God is like that. Even if we are afar off from God, He cares what direction we are heading. If toward God, God will run to us and embrace us.

            If there are parents reading this devotion, I pray that you will never allow your child to be medicated with the mind-altering drugs of the psychiatrist – whether at school or hospital. I have witnessed first-hand the senseless processes of these fools in ruining young lives. Turn rather to God for His counsel on a Sound Mind.

            If you are one to believe Holy Scripture, here is a divine promise for you: 6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:6, 7)

            You have the choice – either believe God, or the false science of psychology: 7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a SOUND MIND. (2 Tim 1:7)