The Sword of the LORD

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.  And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.  And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” (Genesis 1:1-3).   “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  The same was in the beginning with God.  All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made.  In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” (John 1:1-5).   God is the Creator and Designer of all that exists in the natural world.  He is the Architect and Builder of all that exists in the unseen spiritual realm as well.  In the beginning He spoke the worlds into existence and hung the stars in space.  Like a potter with a lump of clay, He took this earth which was...

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus..." (Philippians 2:5).   There are many battles that we must face while trying to live our lives for the Lord.  We have an enemy who is intent on drawing us away from our confidence in Christ, and causing us to trust in our own strength and will.  It is not just a matter of overcoming obvious sin, we must also learn that anything that emanates from the natural man is tainted by the flesh, and promotes self-interest.  We do possess some natural strength; but when it comes to spiritual warfare, our greatest natural power is simply insufficient to win the day.  Jesus said, "...without Me ye can do nothing." (John 15:5b).  Many Christians still insist on doing much, though, and the result bears no lasting fruit.  In Christ, however, we find that we are more than conquerors, and as we learn to rely on Him, we find that our enemy must flee away, and our natural life (the carnal man) can be subdued...

"I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.  So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of My mouth.  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked..." (Revelations 3:15-17).   These words of the Lord to the Laodicean church in Revelations are most sobering, especially so when one considers their relevance to the Church today.  The Laodiceans had become lukewarm in their faith, and Jesus told them that He would spit them out of His mouth.  Just like a glass or cup of liquid that has become room temperature and no longer satisfies the need that it was poured for, they had become neither cold nor hot.  They were therefore unable to satisfy the needs around them.  Jesus said He would rather they be one way or the other: to get in all the way, or get...

"This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24).    There is a well-known praise chorus that uses the words of Psalm 118 quoted above.  I have been reminded of this chorus on beautiful, sun-shiny mornings when it has seemed that all was right with the world, but I have never thought of it until recently in regards to the days when things just seem to fall apart.    These words are usually the last thing on my mind when I wake up late for an appointment, spill milk all over the counter and floor, and run out to my car and find it won't start.  As my wife recently quipped, it's then that a day is like a thousand years with the Lord!  Oddly enough, though, this 118th Psalm isn't about the apparent blessings of life at all.  It is about the struggles and how God is ever faithful to bring His servants through them.  Listen to some of David's words in this Psalm.  They are not words of des...

"If God be for us, who can be against us?  He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:31b, 32).   During our fellowship meeting recently, a young lady requested that we sing the old hymn "Victory In Jesus" by E. M. Bartlett.   I was blessed and moved by this classic Christian hymn as I considered just how complete is this salvation that God has secured for us in Christ Jesus.   His love is so great for us that He did not withhold even His beloved Son to guarantee our victory.   The apostle Paul, in his letter to the Ephesian church, urges the believers to "…stand against the wiles of the devil."   He expands this concept of "standing" in the sixth chapter when he says, "Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand .   Stand therefore , having your loins girt ab...

"For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:6).   Jesus Christ is the A to Z, the beginning and the end, the first and the last, the Author and Finisher of our faith, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  He said that no man can come to the heavenly Father, but by Him.  He is the light of the world, and God has commanded that His light should shine into the darkness of this world, and into the darkness of our hearts.  With this light comes the knowledge of the glory of God.  That is, we can see and know the glory of God simply by believing and receiving His Son Jesus Christ.    There are many who think that God likes to hide Himself from man, and that it is difficult to know what it is that He requires of us humans.  This could not be further from the truth.  The fact is, God delights in His fel...

"But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:12, 13).   Power is something that many men and women seek in this world.   The power to amass wealth, the power to lead others, and the power to command respect are all ways in which people seek to wield power.   God offers us something more, however: the power to become the sons of God.   He is not promising us merely a title (for this would require no power at all), but He is promising us the ability to become spiritually mature sons of God, having the same characteristics as the only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.   He has promised us that we can be "partakers of the divine nature," and be changed into His image. (2 Peter 1:4).     How do we receive such power?   It is simply a matter of receiving Jesus Christ, and be...

"And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus: and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof.  And Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus: so Urijah the priest made it against king Ahaz came from Damascus.  And when the king was come from Damascus, the king saw the altar: and the king approached to the altar, and offered thereon.  And he burnt his burnt offering and his meat offering, and poured his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings, upon the altar.  And he brought also the brasen altar, which was before the LORD, from the forefront of the house, from between the altar and the house of the LORD, and put it on the north side of the altar.  And king Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, Upon the great altar burn the morning burnt offering...