The Sword of the LORD

“ Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.   Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.   Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.  Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name .  For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” (Psalm 100).   My wife, Terry, and I were both saved in 1971.   It was toward the end of the “hippie” era, and we considered ourselves part of that counter culture.   We were part of a rock and roll band along with a few of our friends.   We did covers of songs by many popular rock bands of the time.   We were involved with all of the experimentation and excess that went along with that culture.   We experienced much of the angst associated with the civil unrest, racial tensions, anger and frustration over the Vietnam War t

"And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided Him, saying, He saved others; let Him save Himself, if He be Christ, the chosen of God .  And the soldiers also mocked Him, coming to Him, and offering Him vinegar, and saying, If Thou be the king of the Jews, save Thyself …And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on Him, saying, If Thou be Christ, save Thyself and us ." (Luke 23:35-39).   "And they that passed by railed on Him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save Thyself, and come down from the cross ." (Mark 15:29, 30).   Oh, the wisdom and the depth of God's great love!   His plan for our redemption was such that it could not be comprehended by all the forces of evil.   To think that a virgin would conceive, and bear a Son, and that that Son would grow up to be the Savior of mankind and the only begotten Son of God is astonishing enough; but to think

"Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13, 14).   One of the things that cripples people most in their present lives is not properly dealing with their past.  Our personal history can drastically alter the way we think, feel, and act in given situations.  It shapes our attitudes about ourselves and about others.  It can breed guilt, depression, anxiety, anger, impatience, and sorrow on the one hand, and pride, arrogance, and a false sense of one's own worth on the other.  It can trigger a whole host of emotional responses in us that would seem strange or unwarranted to the casual observer.  Often, even we can't explain our behavior.   The apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippian church tells us that there is one thing that he h

"But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed."   (Romans 10:8-11).   There is an important link between what we believe, and what we speak.   Whatever we truly believe in our hearts, we will be anxious to share, and not ashamed to verbalize.   What comes out of our mouth in unguarded moments is usually what we really hold as true in our hearts.   There are, unfortunately, many Christians who have failed to believe in the transforming power of the grace of God in their lives, and who walk in defeat and discouragement as a result.   Their conversation in turn tends to

In his letter to the church that was in Ephesus, Paul mentions many types of human relationships that we all experience in our lifetimes; and how we, as believers, ought to function harmoniously within those various relationships.   He expresses the idea that, in Christ, both gentiles and born-again Jews are now joint heirs of eternal life, and have access to the Father through the Holy Spirit that has been poured out on them.   Together, they have been placed in the same body, and are being built up into a spiritual temple, and a household of faith, so that the enmity that once existed between these two groups is now abolished in Christ (2:11-22).   Later, Paul addresses the oneness of the body of Christ and the importance of maintaining the unity of the Spirit in a bond of peace.   He recites the core beliefs that every believer should hold in common with one another: one body, one Spirit, one hope of our calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all; and that

One thing that every man or woman of faith has in common is that their lives will reflect the One on Whom they believe.  Because Jesus is the Living Word, then as we place our faith in Him, the Word becomes manifested in our mortal flesh, and folks begin to see Jesus in us.  The apostle Paul expressed it in an interesting way when he said that we are living letters from Christ which have been written, not with ink on paper or carved on tablets of stone, but written by the Spirit of God on the tables of our hearts (2 Corinthians 3:2, 3).  Even those who walked by faith under the old covenant witnessed the grace that God would bestow through His Son.  King David, the ancient King of Israel, was one such man.  His life in many ways reveals the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.   The prophet Ezekiel clearly revealed the connection between David and Christ when he foretold the coming of the Messiah, saying, " And David My servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one S

When God met with Moses on Mount Sinai, He made a covenant with the people of Israel.  The covenant was simply this: if the Israelites would carefully follow and obey the commandments and statutes that God delivered to Moses, then they would be blessed and inherit everlasting life.  Seemed like a fair trade, and a very good deal for the Israelites.  What they found was that this was not as easy as it sounded.  The harder they tried to keep the commandments, the more they found it difficult to do so.  Ultimately, God became grieved with His people and said, “They do always err in their heart; and they have not known My ways.” (Hebrews 3:10).   As a result, He spoke through His Prophet Jeremiah and said, “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which My covenant th

“I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but He that cometh after me is mightier than I, Whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in His hand, and He will throughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the garner; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. ” (John the Baptist, Matthew 3:11, 12).   God anointed John the Baptist to call the Israelites to repentance in preparation for the coming of the Messiah.  The message that the LORD gave to John was simple: “Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” (Matthew 3:3).  Repentance was necessary if the people were to receive Christ’s teachings.  Those who did repent and responded to John’s message, he baptized, washing away their sins in the waters of regeneration.  Those who came and only feigned repentance, however, he challenged, saying, “O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?...Bring fo