Are You a Good Person?

Friday, August 31, 2007

Written in Stone

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Name Above All Names

We sing the song, "Jesus, Name above all Names", but do we really mean it? The 3rd Commandment is concerned with how we treat the name of God. Vain speech is improper to begin with, but making God's name no more than an adjective to spice up your sentence is an insult to Him. What society, and most of the church, is not breaking this 3rd Commandment, although I know many Christians teach that. I know of many Christian organizations teach this. And while I do not advocate the use of profanity, I caution the church against turning God's name into something that is profane.

"How can we do that?" Some may ask. It's quite simple. All you need to do is use God's name with the same disrespect you would use any other word you wouldn't think twice about. How about expressions like, "Lordy me, look at how big you've grown," or "For the love of God, can't I get at least one break here?" There are others. We hear these and pass over them, thinking them to be little more than misuse of the English language. I tell you the truth, whoever speaks the name of God without the intent to bring glory to Him or point others to His glory is guilty of breaking this commandment of God. They are "using the Lord's name in vain," that is without thinking, and without giving Him His proper place of honor.

Too many worship services today are empty and hollow before God. His name is spoken, but only to increase the feeling they have during worship. Isaiah spoke of being a man of unclean lips of a people of unclean lips. (Isaiah 6:5) Jesus said a time was coming and now is when men shall worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth. (John 4:23) I tell you that both exist, and they exist within the walls of our church buildings. There are those who worship God with their hearts and in in all truth. The name of God is precious to them. You will find them weeping with joy, or perhaps dancing in the Spirit. At the same time there are those who worship worship. They have no idea of the Holiness of God and profane His name by calling out upon Him that they might "feel" better. They want church services to be times of comfort or praise, but it isn't true praise coming out of their mouths. They are vain words spoken so they might feel better and appease their god of worship.

It is easy to fall into this category. It is easy to worship with your mouth and not your heart. I pray that you might worship God with all your being, with all of your heart, with all of your soul, with all of you mind, with all of your spirit, with all of your strength, so that from your innermost being may flow words of praise and glory and honor unto the Almighty.

David Brollir

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Message to False Teachers about Hell

Satan has an arsenal of weapons at his disposal, and one of the more deadly of them is that Hell does not exist. While you teach that it does, you incorrectly take the horror out of Hell by stating that we, as physical beings, will not suffer a literal eternal punishment. You stated, "The punishment is eternal, meaning that it is permanent and complete." Then go on to talk about how the body will be either
decomposed or burned up and thereby be permanent. You will not stand guiltless before God when people come before Him for Judgment and find that both eternities,
Heaven and Hell, are literal.

You make your mistake by assuming mankind to be a physical being. But God's Word says, "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." (Gen. 2:7) Which shows us that the body was made physical, but the life within the body was from God and is eternal. Like God, yet it a much more limited sense, we are spiritual creatures. In 1st John 3:2 the Bible goes on to further clarify this saying, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." This teaching is echoed also by Paul in 1st Corinthians 13:12, "For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known."

There are many more Scriptures I can give you, but know this, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb shall be the Passover, which also, God proclaimed to be a feast kept unto Him forever. While the Scriptures above talk of the everlasting life of those who are in Christ, there are many more which speak of those who will live in eternal death apart from Christ. Think about what you said. The worms don't die because they turn into flies. But don't these flies die? So the worms (maggots) DO die, but they die as flies, not worms. Are you trying to tell me that God considers worms of more esteem than the creation made in His own image?

From a purely logical standpoint I can argue the existence of Hell and the eternal punishment for those choosing to go there. I am a retired correctional officer. I have seen murderers given "Life Sentences". This is what God is doing. The Lord God
Almighty loved us so much that He chose to become a man that He might pay the debt of sin in sinless man, that is Christ, for sinful man, which is all of us. Those refusing such an act of mercy by the Judge will be condemned for the death of Jesus Christ and sentenced to "Life in Hell without parole." There is no dying there, save that death is the separation from God. In that sense, they were dead long before they were Judged.

David Brollier

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

The Beginning of Wisdom

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth forever." (Psalm 111:10)

One of the things that is missing in our society, yes even in our churches, is the fear of the Lord. I recently heard a person use this phrase as just an exclamation, "For the love of God." How can we say things like this and not know we come under judgment? Have we forgotten that God is God? Have we been so indoctrinated into thinking that the Ten Commandments have nothing to do with us any more, so we can break them as we please? This is really scary when you stop to think about it. When was the last time you heard it preached in church that we should "fear the Lord"? Off and on I hear it mentioned, but I have always rationalized it to mean, we fear hurting His name and reputation. Let's look at that.

When we come to the Lord we acquire a new name. We become children of the Almighty. If we truly respect our Heavenly Father then we would turn from sin, because it brings dishonor to Him. As His children our love should be so great for God that we fear of bringing dishonor to Him. This is a very valid explanation of the fear of the Lord, right?

Only partially. We still haven't reached the point where we seem to have a clue who He is. I think we equate God with some of the other false gods, like Zeus, for instance. Our tiny little minds have difficulty comprehending the greatness of just who God really is. The Bible calls God the Father, the Creator, the Alpha and Omega, the Almighty, and many other names. Lord, is a name that is a majestic title. God is so much greater than we could ever comprehend that it SHOULD fill us with fear. Not just fear that we dishonor His name, but fear that we are judged against His perfect righteousness. We are condemned by that righteousness. The Law of God condemns us. Yet how can we begin to understand God if we do not study the Law?

People, now is the time to get alone with God and humble yourselves before Him. Ask God to break the hardness of your hearts so that He might reign in and through you to His glory. Seek the fear of the Lord, for in finding that you will find the beginning of both wisdom and understanding. How do we do this? By keeping His commands. Why does it say that? Because we can NOT keep His commands. So by keeping them we realize His Holiness and our unrighteousness. Through keeping His law we come face to face with what it really means to fear the Lord. Maybe then we can properly serve Him.

David Brollier

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Tree Withou Branches

This post may be a little more disturbing than the others if you have thought of the Bible as just a book. Even if you have been trying to live a good Christian life it may be of a shock to you, but it's really not something I can keep to myself, and it is supported by the very words of Jesus.

It was in the middle of the night and I was trying to get back to sleep, without much success, when I suddenly saw a tree without branches. The image was imprinted upon my mind just as clearly as if I were looking at any object in the room. There it was, a strong tree, yet every single branch had been cut off and lay at the base of the tree. Then, even more to my amazement, I heard God speaking. "This is My Church," He said. "Unless they be grafted back into My Son they shall be cast off." I didn't have a tape recorder with me and even if I did I doubt it would have captured the holy words of the Almighty as He spoke to my heart. Still, it has always seemed that I shortened this sentence to what it says above. I felt at the time that He wanted to say, "...they shall be cast off forever into the Lake of Fire." Of this I cannot be sure, but I leave it with you so you will understand the impact God's Words had on me.

One thing bothered me. I didn't see a single branch that remained in the tree. They were all cut off. Was God saying that He couldn't find anyone who was faithful? So I asked him why all the branches were cut off. His answer was more startling than if He had said it was. This is what God said to my heart, "It is so that no one can say this vision is not for them."

I have tried to be faithful and relay this vision to as many people as I could over the next several years. I received a few responses from people saying that they bore witness that what I had seen and spoken of was the true Word of God. Yet it was the email of someone whose name I forget that directed me to John 15. Here Jesus talks about being the True Vine and we are the branches. Here we see the Father cutting away every branch that does not bear fruit. And here also we read how our life comes not from within us, but from the Vine. All who try to live apart from the Vine are fruitless and cut off. If they remain so they are gathered together and thrown into the fire.

I mention this so that you will know that Jesus taught this same teaching before I had the vision. While mine was of a tree and Jesus used a Vine for the illustration, they are in every point exactly the same. So what does that mean to me? What should it mean to you? It means that you must tend to your own salvation with fear and trembling. Forget the doctrines of eternal security of those who believe you can lose your salvation. Instead focus on the truth of the teachings of Christ, which were once again echoed in this vision, "If you abide in Me and My Words abide in you, you shall produce much fruit." This is the point of the vision. This is the will of God. We are to bear fruit for His Kingdom. If we are not bearing fruit, we are not doing His will.

Let me qualify this so some of our present day Pharisees won't twist it around to mean something it does not mean. Bearing fruit does not always mean winning souls to the Lord. In fact, Scripture plainly says that only He can save. The job of lifting Him up, that is the fruit. Living in love, joy, peace, goodness (See Gal. 5:22) that is the fruit.

But what has this to do with the Law? That is a fair question. What need do we have to be part of that Tree (or Vine as Jesus puts it in John 15)? It is the Law that teaches us that apart of God there is no life. The Law of God is perfect, condemning sin in sinful man ("Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful." Romans 7:13) It is by the Law of God we realize that we have been cut off from the Vine (or Tree) and lay waiting to be cast into the fires of Hell. In such a state our need to be "saved" is born. The wrath of God is plainly seen through the Law, but grace and mercy through Jesus Christ. It is then the Law that directs us to Jesus that we might find a Savior. It is through the Law that we realize we have been cut off from God and need to be grafted back into His True Olive Tree. It is the Law of God that sends us running into the arms of our Loving Christ, that His blood might not merely be a covering on the Mercy Seat of the Ark of God (See Hebrews 9), but the very lifeblood that flows through our veins, seeing we are the Body of Christ ("Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular." 1st Corinthians 12:27). And in doing so find that Christ completes and fulfills the Law in us, not as something done in the past, but as something done moment by moment through the power of the Holy Spirit, as God said to Moses, "For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul." (Leviticus 17:11) For to the priests of God at the time of Moses, the blood was "given to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls", but now, having made of Himself that Perfect Lamb of sacrifice, offered up Himself upon the altar for our souls. We testify, and bear witness that it is through this precious blood that we now have peace with God ("And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:" Ephesians 2:16) and it is through this blood that we have also been made into "one new man" (Ephesians 2:15) This "one new man" is Christ, of which He has fashion out of us His Body, the Church. It is through this self-same body that His blood runs freely, cleansing us of every sin, a continual offering, through one act of a loving God. It is through the Law that we have found Him. And this blood is that which gives to us nourishment to our souls, life, peace with God. It is the sap that runs through the Vine which bears fruit unto our Heavenly Father. That is what all this has to do with the Law.

David Brollier

Friday, August 24, 2007

Only One God

Interestingly enough there are three major religious groups that believe in only one Supreme God over all; they are Islam, Judaism and Christianity. I've purposely juggled the order there so you don't know which I favor. The fact is that "religion" is man-made. As such it is opposed to God, but we will get to that in a minute.

Eastern religions, such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Taoism all believe in many gods. (Buddhists may argue this point. If they do, concede you don't know enough and move on. Don' let them pin you into a debate.) I have met people who believe in the Norse gods, as well as pagans who believe in "the lord and lady" a duality over a pantheon of demi-gods. There literally isn't room for me to mention all the religions, much less all the various gods these people worship.

The question then is who is right? I find it unique that those believing in many gods are willing to accept other religions that believe in many gods. For instance, Buddhists are tolerant of Hindus, yet both are very intolerant of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Why is that? Is there something about us that puts them off? Maybe it's the way we dress. Whatever it is they are not about to wander into the land of only one god, for that would mean they would have to admit their gods are false.

The thing is, when they are intolerant of monotheistic religions (religions believing in one God), they are actually affirming this to be true. Let me explain. I'm a mystery writer so I like all that CSI stuff. Suppose a CSI working a crime scene comes across a foot print. He looks at it and says, "Looks like a large foot, maybe a size 14." The detective says, "No, that's a size 12 at best." Does the CSI argue the fact. Do they spend the next decade arguing what size boot the foot print left? No! The CSI takes a ruler out of his crimescene kit, lays it along side the print and takes a photograph. He later compares that measurement with a chart of shoe sizes. Whatever he comes up with is what he has to go with, because he knows that is correct. So, when a polytheist (person who believes in more than one god) comes up against the Truth, they argue, not because they think they are right, but because they know they are wrong. Their argument is the ruler next to the foot print. Biblical text tells the correct answer. They can't live with that answer so they try to argue against it.

I don't want non-Christians to think I'm picking on them, because I'm really not. I'm just pointing out a truth. Here's another truth that speaks to those in religions, even Christian religions. Have you let something come between you and God? Is He the first and last thought of your day? Do you really "... love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind"? (Matthew 22:37) If your answer is "No" or "Not all the time" then you too are guilty of worshiping a God other than the true and Living God. You are a lawbreaker and we haven't even gotten out of the 1st Commandment yet.

So, what are some of these idols we worship? What are the names of some of these false gods? They may surprise you.
1. Self - this is the ultimate false god and from it stems all others
2. Money - having money is okay, it is when we love it that it becomes a god.
3. Things - the same with money, there is nothing wrong with having things, but when things have you, then they are your gods.
4. Family - People don't like to see this in my list of false gods, but if family is more important to you than God then they are false gods.
I'm sure you get the point. You could go on and on, adding to this list the various desires and things that have come between your fellowship with God at on point or another. These, all of them, are false gods. The worship of them is an abomination to the Lord.

Now let me ask you something else. Suppose you have truly repented of your sins and asked Jesus as your Lord and Savior. You have realized that you need a Savior, because without Him you are nothing but a filthy sinner in the eyes of God. One who rightly deserves death. Yet, now Jesus has become your payment for that death sentence. What does it say if you turn back to your old idols of money, things, family, friends, fame, house, position, and so on? What does this say to God Almighty who has purchased you with the blood of His Son?

You see, we must always keep the Commandments of God before us that we might walk a straight path and not wander into darkness and wrath.

David Brollier

What's In a Name?

"And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them." (Exodus 24:12)

You may be wondering why I chose such an odd name for a Christian site. Good question. It is because we have strayed so far from God's Law that we sometimes forget how important it is.

In the passage quoted above we see that the Lord actually did write His commandments on tables of stone. Sometimes I'm amazed at how many of our cliches have come from Scripture. "Written in stone" usually refers to something that cannot be changed. In conversation it usually means that whatever directions, commands, or the like that a person has received is only a guide. The statement usually goes something like this, "I know that your mother and I promised that you would be grounded for a week for staying out late, but it's not written in stone. Show us that you can be trusted and we can reduce that time for you."

Two things are being said, most of the time without realizing it. The most obvious is that if it's not written in stone it can always be changed, amended, corrected or in some other way modified. So mom and dad's decision made in disciplining their child can be altered in some way because it is not written in stone. In some ways this is a good thing, for as parents we need to be forgiving, not just mean people always looking to beat on our children. However, taken to the other extreme it is just as dangerous, because it teaches children that there are no absolutes, anything can be changed. Children are masters at manipulation. They know how to pit one parent against the other in order to get these directives modified in their favor. So teaching them that mom and dad's commands are not necessarily written in stone can lead to some dangerous consequences.

Why do I say that? Because the other thing that the above illustration says, by its omission, is that some things are written in stone. Some things are absolute. The Commandments of God are absolute, they are holy, they are perfect, they are just, and they are utterly beyond our capability to keep them. Jesus put it this way, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." (Matthew 5:17,18)

Unfortunately for some of you I like the King James Version of the Bible, but I will try to clear things up as we go along. For the longest time I wondered what a "jot" or a "tittle" was. So that you don't have to go searching and worrying about that, it refers to the tiny markings in the Hebrew language that could change a word from meaning one thing to another. Making things simple for those simple like myself, in English it is the equivalent of saying, "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, not one dot over an 'i' or one cross of a 't' shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."

We see then that God intended to give to us a perfect law that could never be changed, modified, altered or whatever. To impress this upon the children of Israel to whom it was given, God wrote His law in stone.

One might think this is terribly harsh for one who calls Himself a God of love, but it is precisely His love that causes Him to do this. Look at the following illustration.

When Columbus made his first voyage across what we now call the Atlantic Ocean, there came a point when the North Star and the compass pointing north did not match. The other men aboard ship with him were beside themselves. How could they find their way anywhere if they could not determine where true north was. Columbus told them to keep a steady heading and take another reading in an hour. That second reading had both the North Star and the compass point of north identical. So what happened? Did north change? Did it alter while they were sailing? No! They were using two different methods of finding north. One was the North Star, the other was the compass. As it turns out the compass remained steady, but the North Star was actually orbiting around a point in space that would have been true north.

When we travel through this life we need a means of finding our way, just as did Columbus. Tragically, many come forward with their own little ways of finding "north" so we don't get lost. Once you begin to observe them and study them you find that some of these supposed "helps" actually lead you in the wrong way intentionally. Others keep changing, just like the North Star, so they can fit whatever situation they want them to fit. However, unlike the sailors aboard ship with Columbus, the people following these movable points are not filled with the same dread as those sailors. So they drift off in life unaware that they are more than lost, they are headed for certain destruction. God's Law alone stands as the true compass point of north. The Bible itself becomes a type of spiritual compass so that we can navigate safely to God.

One last point for today, while the compass point of God, His true north is absolute, it cannot provide safety. Safety is found only in following the compass point of God's Law to the Cross of Christ. If those sailors actually sailed north history would be much different today. Instead, they used that fixed point to help them sail west. Likewise, the Law shows us where we are going without the mercy of God. It condemns each and every one of us. Knowing that, and because it is perfect, we look not to the Law to save us, but that because of the Law we have a need to be saved. This change in our direction leads us to Jesus, who offered Himself up for us, to die in our place. Knowing where judgment lie, we were able to navigate to the foot of the Cross and there find the mercy of God. It is amazing how many people still miss this and refuse the grace that God offers them.

Look to the Law. It is written in stone. It does not move, but remains constant that by it we would see ourselves utterly sinful. In light of that we can then find the mercy of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. That's when our life truly begins, not before.

David Brollier
Director of Operations for Soar Like An Eagle Ministries