The Bible Honors A Soldier

In Luke 4:27 Jesus spoke of Naaman, a Syrian soldier mentioned in the Old Testament. The Bible said in 2 Kings 5:1 that Naaman was an honorable man. The word honorable means he was a man worthy of everyone’s respect. This was said immediately after we were informed that Naaman was a soldier. So serving God and his country as a soldier was the reason given in the Bible that made Naaman worthy of honor.

Today let us recognize the truth that serving your country as a faithful soldier can be honorable in God’s sight. A soldier may also serve the living God by doing his duty.

We are citizens of a noble country and our soldiers, both past and present, are worthy of honor. And let it also be clear that God is involved… so today we ask for His mercy on us, and our soldiers and sailors. God bless America!

Waiting For Sunrise

Romans 13:12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.

This illustration draws a contrast between behavior at night and behavior during the day. The apostle Paul listed a number of “works” commonly done at night: sleep, parties, drunkenness... There are people who live for this. They see the day as the means to gain the night, and sunrise is their gloom.

Bring the night works into the day and you just might lose your job... because day is about being productive. The Christian should live for the day, and see night as the means to gain the day. It is said that my wife, Carol's, great-great grandfather died at his plow while waiting for sunrise. May Jesus find us at our plows waiting for sunrise... because the night is far spent, and the day is at hand.

Devilish Credibility

Mark 1:34b and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.

When I was a young pastor serving in a church staff position I was present during an open church conflict. It was a public meeting filled with rancor and harsh words. The person in the congregation who seemed to be putting the most wood on the fire was a man who was (and still is) known as the church troublemaker. He was always involved or near when there was trouble in the church. While he was raising his verbal ruckus the pastor interrupted him in an attempt to return the meeting to some semblance of Christian order. The antagonist turned from the man he was arguing with and said, “Preacher you’re a good man, but...” Before he could finish his sentence the pastor firmly responded, “I’m not interested in your opinion of me.” Oddly, the man remained quiet for the rest of the meeting, and the pastor was able to restore order.

After the meeting I asked this aged and experienced pastor about his response, and why it had such an effect on this man. He gave me some sage advice, “A complement, deserved or undeserved, carries the character and reputation of the person giving it. If that person is of bad character then accepting a public complement from him may, even ever so slightly, stain me, and can lend him some of my credibility.” He then said, “A tactful rebuke at an appropriate time insures a respectful distance between us. It also speaks volumes about my estimation of his behavior or character, which is probably why he got quiet. It also shows I am not easily influenced by complements.”

Jesus seemed to have been of the same mind. To have accepted the accolades and declarations of demons would have, in a sense, stained the Savior. It would have also made the demons look better, and narrowed the perceived distance between them. So the Savior firmly rebuked and silenced these evil creatures. The evidence of Jesus’ character and attributes was more visible in His authoritative command of the demons than anything they had to say.

We should learn from this too. If we are known as people of bad character then our praises of the Savior may stain Him in the eyes of the ones who really know us. Perhaps He may then decide to distance Himself…

Can't Hide Your Lyin' Eyes

The pictured creature has one of the most interesting defense systems in the world. It looks almost reptilian, but it is really only a caterpillar. This caterpillar will change into the beautiful spicebush swallowtail butterfly.

It has a two tier defense system. The 1st tier is the most obvious: the appearance of eyes on its “head”. In fact the eyes are simply sightless skin pigmentation. In other words they aren’t eyes at all. Also, the front of the insect is enlarged to give a snake-like appearance and it seems to have a mouth.

This is all designed to scare off any predator… and it usually works! In scientific tests it has been proven that various creatures from birds to insects are afraid of eyes. But these “eyes” are very unique. They give the appearance that a potential predator is being watched from every angle. This is because the skin with the tear shaped pupil-like black area is raised or bulging like a real eye.

It is interesting that an evolutionist I’ve read on this creature repeatedly used the word “design”. He also used human art to illustrate the curious effect of these raised “eyes”.These were certainly designed.

The 2nd tier of defense is found just between its real head and fake lip. Two finger-like appendages pop out when the caterpillar is frightened. Each is covered in a noxious toxin designed to drive away predators not frightened by the eyes.

Creation is all about design and the designer. God is amazing.

A Personal Confession

Matthew 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

I still remember when I was a young preacher first feeling the pangs of guilt as I preached against a sin of which I was personally guilty. At that time I would have never let my guilt be known. As the years have passed and I have learned more of both God’s nature and my own sinful nature, I have come to realize that the Christian struggle with sin is deep, personal, and ever present. Preacher or not we all struggle. In one of his most transparent chapters in the Bible the Apostle Paul confessed, “Oh wretched man that I am!” Romans 7:24

Some might say a preacher should never be so transparent. I say, I would not trust a preacher who only preaches against the sins of others and claims none as his own. He’ll lie about other things too.

In Matthew 5, 6, 7 Jesus exposed the root and heart of sin. Sin comes from inside us and is only truly understood when compared to the perfections of God. I wish doing away with sin was as simple as changing cloths… but sadly it is rooted too deep in our nature.

I confess... a sin Jesus exposed in the light of this text seems tightly anchored in my nature, and perhaps is my greatest personal struggle. It is so like Jesus to love His enemies… and so unlike me to love mine... but, oh how I want to love them! My want magnifies my failure.

It seems almost right at times to want to wrench vengeance from God’s hands. Yet… I know if Christ Jesus had felt the same then I, His former enemy, would never have become His friend. Oh wretched man that I am... Lord, please make me more like You!

Forsaking Your Nets

And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him. Mark 1:17-18

Over the years I have watched people willingly walk away from secular jobs to follow Christ's call. It is a difficult thing to walk away from a job. The person without much in this world is painfully aware of how close he is to depending on the welfare of others. If he has a family he is always mindful of the line between his children eating and not eating. Abject poverty, at times, seems only a step away, and most people will fight hard to not take that step.

A person with wealth, on the other hand, may struggle with potentially loosing it all... He may fight to keep what he has and dread the notion of having to trust someone other than himself to meet his daily needs.

The fishermen in this verse were the working class poor. They generally lived off a day’s catch. Yet… when Christ Jesus called them they immediately walked away from their jobs! They were, in practical terms, one day from not eating. It is very possible that Peter was already married at this time... wow... When Jesus calls how many of us will immediately forsake our nets and follow Him?

If The Fairytale Princess Had Kissed This Frog...

...she’d be dead. In fact 1 Golden Frog could kill 10 to 20 people, or 2 bull elephants with the toxin secreted in the slime on its skin. The equivalent weight of 2 grains of table salt will kill a 150 pound person. There is no antidote, so hey... this frog is no prince...

This South American Amphibian is believed to be the most poisonous vertebrate in the world. Native Colombians used the frog to poison the tips of their blow-darts. They would warm the little critter over a fire until it secreted all its poison, then they would roll the tips of their darts in the toxic fluid. The poison can stay potent on their dart tips for over 2 years, and it can kill anything that walks.

This poison is the most potent neurotoxin in the world. It “kills by permanently blocking nerve signal transmission to the muscles.” It has been known to kill dogs which came in contact with a paper towel the frog had walked across.

Scientists are still puzzled over the origin of the secreted poison. They know the frog’s body doesn’t produce the poison. Golden frogs raised in captivity don’t have the poison, so it is believed to come from some bug living in the frog’s natural habitat.

So… not only is the frog poisonous, but it eats something which contains one of the world’s most powerful poisons, stores it in it’s skin, and secretes it to survive… but is unaffected by the poison. Evolutionists say it evolved a special system that is resistant to the poison. Oh really… and how and when did that happen, before eating the poison or after? Another problem of complexity, purpose, and timing. Get real… There is a Creator.

Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen,