COMING, DEAD OR NOT

The spectre of death is devastating for everyone, but for the believer it is just a sin-induced blip in eternity.

Athiesm, along with other like religions, believe that when this body dies, it is the end. Kaput. Finito. Gone. Christianity, on the other hand, is based on the rock hard truth of the coming resurrection(s). Job, (whose book is generally accepted to be one of, if not the oldest in the entire Bible), writing whilst under incredible pressure, stated that he was looking forward to the resurrection, and seeing God for himself.

“And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another;” (Job 19:26,27)

The fact of the resurrection is undeniable. It is history. Find the body of Jesus and there is no Christianity today. No one was able to find His body because it wasn’t anywhere to be found. He was risen. Spurgeon wrote:

“REFLECTING the other day upon the sad state of the churches at the present moment, I was led to look back to apostolic times, and to consider wherein the preaching of the present day differed from the preaching of the apostles. I remarked the vast difference in their style from the set and formal oratory of the present age. I remarked that the apostles did not take a text when they preached, nor did they confine themselves to one subject, much less to any place of worship, but I find that they stood up in any place and declared from the fulness of their heart what they knew of Jesus Christ. But the main difference I observed was in the subjects of their preaching. Surprised I was when I discovered that the very staple of the preaching of the apostles was the resurrection of the dead.”

What does the truth of the coming resurrection mean for us today? For those who belong to God, it brings incredible hope. For those who reject Jesus Christ, it means sheer terror as it ushers in the Great White Throne judgment.

“And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.” (Acts 24:15)

Friend, the spectre of death is devastating for everyone, but for the believer it is just a sin-induced blip in eternity. The best is yet to come. For the unbeliever, Hell awaits.

TO SPANK OR NOT

There are always people trying to bring child raising under the umbrella of the socialist state.

David was a lousy dad. He may have been a great king, warrior, statesman, leader, harpist and author, but he was very bad at parenting. “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.” Amnon was a rapist, Absalom a murderer, Adonijah was guilty of treason. David’s family was a train wreck of monumental proportions. Why was this so?

“And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so? and he also was a very goodly man; and his mother bare him after Absalom.” (1 Kings 1:6)

It seems David never, ever corrected his sons, verbally or otherwise. (Notice also that Adonijah and Absalom both had the same mother, Haggith. This tells us a lot about the rebellious influence of the mother, but maybe we’ll save this thought for another time.) The question remains, why do children need to be corrected? God has given us the answer, clearly and distinctly; they are born wicked and foolish.

“Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.” (Proverbs 22:15)

There has been some discussion over recent days about parents’ rights to spank their own children. There are always people trying to bring child raising under the umbrella of the socialist state. This is wrong. What does God say about child raising?

“Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.” (Proverbs 23:13,14)

I think Solomon may have had his half brothers in mind when he penned the following:

“The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.” (Proverbs 29:15)

What is it with modern Australia? Parents have children, and at six weeks of age they are put into childcare for the entire working week, for someone else to raise! What madness! Why have kids in the first place if you don’t want to raise them? The great joy of parenthood is raising your children, seeing them grow day by day, nurturing their development, teaching them all about life. You can’t enjoy this if someone else has taken your place.

Kids need security, and security comes through boundaries. Children are inherently foolish and cannot establish these boundaries themselves. Setting boundaries for life includes loving correction, usually verbally but sometimes with the rod. This job is the sole responsibility of father and mother, not the school, the church or the government.

Someone says, “What about child abuse?” Child abuse is a crime, and should be treated as such. Hitting a child anywhere on the face, or striking a child in anger, is child abuse. (Allowing children to drink alcohol is also child abuse, as is letting them watch degrading, perverted TV shows and movies, and giving them uncontrolled access to the internet. There are many forms of child abuse.) Using the rod sparingly, is not child abuse. It is a God approved, common sense, time honoured and practically proven way of correcting your child.

To those politicians and “academics” trying to force their anti-God philosophies upon us; your advice is not needed. Better still, read the Bible. It contains the truth you desperately need.

ON THIS DAY IN 1969

1969 was quite a year. Richard Nixon was inaugurated as president on January 20th. Yasser Arafat became president of the PLO. In cricket Doug Walters scored 242 and 100 in the same test match. The first test flight of Boeing 747 jumbo jet took place. Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin Jr, from Apollo 11, land on the moon. The Woodstock rock festival began in New York. Pele scored his 1,000th soccer goal. Peter, Paul & Mary’s “Leaving on a Jet Plane” reaches #1. Yes, 1969 was quite a year, but as a skinny, fatherless, freckled faced young Aussie kid, I knew nothing of the above mentioned occurrences, except of course the moon landing. However, 1969 was, for me, something far more special than rocketing to the moon and back.

It was Sunday morning, December 14th and I was sitting with my mother and brother on the first row of the Baptist church at Doyalson, a tiny township about two hours drive north of Sydney. Baptist Union evangelist Norman Harris was preaching that day. I don’t specifically remember anything he preached on, but I do remember him asking for those who wanted to be born again, to come forward. I did just that. I had no prompting from anyone except the Holy Spirit. I don’t remember praying a “sinner’s prayer”. I do remember though that that particular day, I believed on Jesus Christ.

“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” (1 John 5:13)

The Bible is so very clear on this matter; we are saved by faith, that is, believing that Jesus died and rose again for me. Is personal salvation that simple? Sure is, but it’s so simple that most people miss it. Is salvation hard? Yes, for some it’s immensely hard. For me, it wasn’t hard. I was a sinner and I needed saving, but whether hard for some or easy for others, it’s simple.

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…” (Acts 16:31)

Dear reader, are you a child of God? Is Jesus Christ your Saviour? Your sins will take you to Hell. The Saviour wants to take you to Heaven. If you haven’t done so, why not trust Jesus, right now? Take Him at His word, call upon Him, and He will save you. He’s already paid the price on Calvary.

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13)

THE GIANTS KEEP COMING

The Christian life doesn’t get any easier; it just gets better.

Perhaps David’s greatest moment was the slaying of Goliath. It certainly is the most celebrated victory in his illustrious military career. What David didn’t know at the time was, that this triumph wasn’t the end of his battling with giants. In 2 Samuel 21, he almost “bit the dust” at the hands of a giant named Ishbi-benob, but was saved one of the Zeruiah boys, Abishai. An aging King David was then retired to non-contact duties. The relatives of the Goliath continued to fight. We can learn some lessons from these events.

Firstly, one victory doesn’t guarantee another. Whether or not David knew that the brothers and sons of the big fella were going to come for him is not known. They obviously had long memories. As a teenager I once asked a godly man if life got any easier for the believer. His reply? “The Christian life doesn’t get any easier; it just gets better.”

Secondly, there are always different battles to fight. The battles keep coming, the giants keep attacking. Maybe you have won a battle against giant Lust. Don’t worry, there’s Lust’s brothers (Envy, Greed, Laziness and Pride) all waiting for a scrap. One thing is for sure; there’s never a lack of enemies for the child of God!

Thirdly, we need help from others to fight our battles. No believer is a Super Christian. As believers in Jesus Christ we must support those in need, not scald them. We all need help, not criticism. If we are not going through particularly hard battles right now, someone else is. Pray for them, encourage them, love them. Criticism from other sinners is not needed.

“Now we exhort you, brethren … comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.” (1 Thessalonians 5:14)

“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2)

Fourthly, leaders need support. They get old. They get battle weary. They are not invincible. Pastors, preachers, ministers; call them what you like, but every pastor worth his salt is a leader. He is under constant attack from Satan. Realize he is sinful flesh like the rest of us and needs all the help he can get. The burnout/dropout rate among pastors is dreadfully high. We must look after our spiritual leaders even as they look after us.

“…for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief:” (Hebrews 13:17)