The Sword of the LORD

I remember well as a young man growing up in church, I wanted to do well and make right choices; but I found that, despite my best intentions, I still did things that I was not proud of.  Afterwards, I would resolve to do better, only to fall to the same weaknesses a short time later.  Unfortunately, the church that I grew up in could not offer me the answers to the conflict I was feeling.  The Pastor himself admitted openly that he didn’t believe much of the Bible, and so substituted a social gospel that was devoid of any true power to change lives.  For this reason, I thought I had seen religion and found that it had nothing to offer me, so I turned my back on Christianity.  I wandered for a number of years in confusion, and gave myself over to a lot of hurtful pursuits until finally God called me to Himself.   I was amazed one day when I discovered a passage in scripture that exactly described the dilemma that I faced as a teenager.   I read in Romans 7, “For I know that in me (

"And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to Thy word ." (Luke 1:38).   "And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord .  And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour." (Luke 1:45-47).   Faith is an essential element of our walk with God.  Without it, it is not possible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).  Before any Christian work, before any ministry, before any sacrifice, there must be faith.  Jesus said, "This is the work of God, that ye believe in Him Whom He Hath sent." (John 6:29).  So, our faith must be based on Jesus Christ, the Word of God made flesh, and what He speaks to us through the Holy Spirit as He leads us to fulfill that Word.  It is not a vague faith that stabs at some promise hoping that it is God's will; it is a revelation of God's will spoken to our spirit through the Word of

“ For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God ?  And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?” (1 Peter 4:17,18).   In the above verses, St. Peter writes of a time of judgment that was to start with the house of God, and, ultimately, extend to the ungodly and sinners.   This begs the question: is judgment on the house of God still going on today, and, if so, of what does it consist?     Judgment seems like a harsh word to use in terms of those who know and love the Lord, but Paul sheds some light on the concept in I Corinthians 11:31, 32.   He tells us, “ If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged .   But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world .”   So, this “judgment” that the apostles are describing is also referred to as “chastening.”   The word, “cha

“Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.” ( Moses Exodus 1:8).   “Till another king arose, which knew not Joseph.” ( St. Stephen Acts 7:18).   The words of Moses that are cited above were quoted by St. Stephen as he defended himself against those who wished to silence his Christian witness.   Stephen became the first Christian martyr to die for standing up for the truth of the Gospel, following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ his Lord and Savior.   The more I consider these words, the more I am convinced of their relevance to the things we see happening around us in government and in society at large.     Society is breaking down and crumbling all around us, and it seems like no one has the power or the will to stop it.   Aggressors are labeled as the oppressed, and victims are identified as the aggressors.   Right is wrong, and wrong is said to be right.   It should be clear that we cannot fix what we see happening in the world through politic

"And He said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." (Luke 18:27).   "And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible ." (Mark 10:27).   The laws of God are difficult to keep.   Despite all of the miracles that God showed to Israel, they still failed miserably in following His ways.   Repeatedly He would deliver them from the bondage that came as a result of their bad choices, and repeatedly they would disobey His instructions again and wind up in a worse state.   In the fullness of time, God sent His own Son, Jesus, to reveal the truth to the world, and lead men to salvation.   His message was not what many expected, however.   His teachings turned that which was difficult into that which was downright impossible!   Jesus told the folks who had gathered on the mount to hear Him speak that unless their righteousness exceeded that of the scribes and Pharisees (

"So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.  And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah [bitterness].  And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?  And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there He made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there He proved them." (Exodus 15:22-25).   God sent His servant Moses to lead Israel out of the bondage that they knew in Egypt, and to bring them into the land that He had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  God worked a great miracle of deliverance when He divided the Red Sea, and caused Israel to pass over in safety while Pharaoh and his host were drowned as they pursued after the Israelites to destroy them.  What happ

"Peter answered and said unto Him, Though all men shall be offended because of Thee, yet will I never be offended.  Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny Me thrice.  Peter said unto Him, Though I should die with Thee, yet will I not deny Thee.   Likewise also said all the disciples ." (Matthew 26:33-35).   Each of us is willing to give our best resolution to the Lord at the beginning of our spiritual journey.  We make many promises to Him at the start, when our faith is new, and our experience is limited.  Like Peter, we may even pledge our lives in service for Him.  While such sentiments are well meaning, they come from a place of ignorance.  We just don’t know what discipleship is going to cost us yet.  These words and promises come very easily to "all the disciples" at first.    We simply do not understand as young Christians that this is a process, and that we are growing into spiritual maturity s