The Hard Truth

Life is like vapour but no one knows when it will vanish. A right decision NOW is a GUARANTEE to eternal life in HEAVEN when you leave this earth. Because you don't know when MR. DEATH will knock on your door, THIS IS THE ACCEPTABLE TIME to ACCEPT JESUS INTO YOUR LIFE. Take time to read this article and decide to live for CHRIST TODAY!

FLESH GIVES BIRTH TO FLESH

Nicodemus is like many of us. He likes his nation and his race. He feels very special because of his parents and famous forefathers.

Nicodemus may even feel better than most of us. He is born of the noble blood of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Like most Jews of his time, Nicodemus thinks that the Messiah will rule over Israel as a nation. Birth has already placed him in that nation. Therefore, by birthright, he ought to be a citizen of the Messiah's kingdom.

What a shock, then, to hear John the Baptizer. Far from praising leaders of Abraham's family, John calls them a family of snakes! He warns that their birth as Jews will not save them from punishment.

"You brood of vipers! . Do not think you can say to
yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell
you that out of these stones God can raise up
children for Abraham" (Matthew 3:7-9).

Jesus adds another surprise. Anyone seeking to enter God's kingdom must be born again! Nicodemus thinks only of another fleshly birth. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" (John 3:4). Jesus is requiring spiritual re-birth. He explains,

"Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives
birth to spirit" (John 3:6).

Nicodemus comes from the best fleshly line in the world. He belongs to the chosen race. He seems to be a natural heir of the kingdom promised to Israel. If another birth is needed, what does that say about his fleshly birth? Why is fleshly birth not enough?

WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT?

Dear friend, it is time to make a decision about life's true nature. Jesus wants us to choose spiritual life. He assures us, "The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing" (John 6:63). What is the most important thing in your life? What is even more important than food, drink, clothes and a place to stay? What is more important than education and a job? Most of us value these highly. Yet they help life only during our stay in this fleshly body - which is all too brief!

"Show me, O LORD, my life's end and the number of
my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. You
have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span
of my years is as nothing before you. Each man's
life is but a breath" (Psalm 39:4-5)

"Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we
will go to this or that city, spend a year there,
carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not
even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your
life? You are a mist that appears for a little
while and then vanishes" (James 4:13-14).

ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS

Beside the eternity of God's life, our years are "as nothing," like steam from a boiling pot. Compared with the total years of earth's history, how long is your one life? The prophet Isaiah draws this picture of the flesh:

"All men (literally, all flesh) are like grass, and
all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The
grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath
of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass"
(Isaiah 40:6-7).

See the flower in full bloom: how delicate are its petals! How bright its colors! Yet the flower quickly fades and withers away. See the young woman: she is like a flower, so fresh and so attractive. Yet that kind of beauty never lasts. All too soon, she is wrinkled and worn, like her aged mother. See the young man: How strong and handsome! He hopes to escape the way his father looks. He tries to be more healthy and fit. Yet his youth passes. Before long, he too looks old. He too grows frail. Then he dies. He is buried in the same soil as all his forefathers.

No flesh, no matter how young or healthy, is strong enough to escape the cycle of aging and death. As much as we love and respect parents, we must realize that "flesh gives birth to flesh." From our fleshly parents we receive fleshly life, which lasts a few short years, and then is lost.

HIDE OR DECIDE

Many are so busy that they forget their most pressing appointment - death. They never see that life can end at any moment.

Others are aware, but death seems too horrible. They hide in many places: parties and movies that help them pretend; jobs that seem important; friends that avoid serious thought; even drink and drugs that twist reality.

Hiding changes nothing. You are flesh and so is your friend. One of you will stand at a funeral; the other will be laid in the ground. If you both pretend, neither will be prepared for such reality. The living one will be heartbroken at the loss. The dead will be gone forever.

"The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the
spirit returns to God who gave it" (Ecclesiastes 12:7).

The spirit goes to its most important meeting.

"For God will bring every deed into judgment"
(Ecclesiastes 12:14).

"Man is destined to die once, and after that to
face judgment" (Hebrews 9:27).

"So then, each of us will give an account of himself to
God" (Romans 14:12).

That is why Ecclesiastes 7:2 urges us to be wise before our turn comes.

"It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go
to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of
every man; the living should take this to heart."

Before you are two choices: You can hide from death's reality. (How foolish, since it will catch you anyway. How damaging, since it will catch you in the worst way - unprepared.) Or you can decide to be honest. "Take to heart" the truth that flesh is like grass. Your brief life is but one heartbeat from its end.

Why not get ready? We prepare for many things in life: education and exams, business and taxes, weddings and careers, old age and retirement. How much more important to prepare for the one event that is most certain - death.

A BETTER ANSWER

So again we ask, "What is the most important thing in life?"

Any answer based on this passing world is shortsighted. "Flesh gives birth to flesh." "All flesh is like grass." The flesh will fail you. There is a better answer, a better hope.

"The world and its desires pass away, but the man who
does the will of God lives forever" (1 John 2:17).

Fleshly life is brief and fading. God's life is the opposite - always bright, always whole, always fresh, and never ending. Fleshly birth, by its very nature, can never be good enough for God's kingdom.

"Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God,
nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable"
(1 Corinthians 15:50).

In John 3 Jesus announces His priceless gift, "eternal life." Such a prize, though, cannot come through fleshly birth, no matter how noble. It comes only from God's Spirit, and only through rebirth. This is the most important kind of life: life with God, which is richer, fuller and more secure. To be born once is to die. To be born twice is to live forever (even when flesh fails).

"He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies;
and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die"
(John 11:25-26).

What others hopelessly call "death" becomes our doorway into eternal happiness. The One who welcomes us home is our Creator, and much more. He is "our Father!" For He invites you and me to become:

"...children of God - children born not of natural
descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will,
but born of God" (John 1:12-13)

SPIRIT GIVES BIRTH TO SPIRIT

Nicodemus is like many of us. He thinks of himself as a person who is not too bad. He is a family man. He is a good citizen of his nation. He keeps the Law of God. He may do better than most people, for he is a Pharisee. The roots of his party reach back nearly two hundred years, to the Hasidim (Holy Ones). These devout Jews gave up their lives rather than worship the idols of Antiochus Epiphanes. Their great tradition of fighting sin continues in men like Nicodemus. Even the name Pharisee suggests separation from evil.

According to the preaching of John and Jesus, God is soon to open His promised kingdom. Surely godly Pharisees will be among the first to enter. They have looked forward to the kingdom. They should be thanked for keeping Jews pure and ready for the kingdom.

But Jesus is very firm with Nicodemus: one enters the kingdom only when his spirit is re-born. Nicodemus, as he is, is not good enough. Yet he is one of Israel's best. Why does Jesus insist on re-birth, as if he must become a new person?

AN URGENT LESSON

The verse before the Nicodemus story says that Jesus knew what was in a man (John 2:25).

Dear friend, we must learn from Jesus about our human `goodness.' We hear many people say, "God accepts me because I obey the rules. I help others. I'm not perfect; but I'm not so bad either." Jesus draws an opposite picture for Nicodemus:

"Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness
instead of light because their deeds were evil"
(John 3:19).

To another Jewish ruler Jesus says, "No one is good - except God alone" (Mark 10:18). This ruler thinks he keeps every commandment. Jesus proves that he breaks the first command, for he has an idol. He loves money more than God and the poor. Hearing this, "the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth" (Mark 10:22).

Dear friend, do you have idols that push God aside? Some idols are of stone and wood. Others are of sexual immorality and worldly pleasures, selfishness, pride, success, and greed (Colossians 3:5). Do you ever walk away from God? Do you ever feel the sadness of sin? None of us can say, "Not guilty."

Jesus describes the Spirit's work: "He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin" (John 16:8). The Spirit charges us all:

"...Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it
is written: ‘There is no one righteous, not even one;
there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.
All have turned away, they have together become
worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one’"
(Romans 3:9-12).

THE MEANING OF SIN

As a father loves his children and guides them, so God loves us. He knows what is best for us, and gives us wise directions. Both spirit and flesh do well when we follow God's will.

However, you see in your own life that all is not well. The human spirit hurts. The human body suffers. Sooner or later we all feel like Job. "My spirit is broken, my days are cut short" (Job 17:1). Satan has brought sin and suffering into our world.

Sin is, first of all, directed against God. Whether planned or not, it challenges His rule. "Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness" (1 John 3:4). Sin rejects God as King. Sin insults God by denying His vast knowledge and wisdom. Sin dishonors God by turning elsewhere to meet needs. As God says in Jeremiah 2:13,

"My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken
Me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own
cisterns [water storage pits], broken cisterns that
cannot hold water."

Sin turns against us, ruining our lives and families. Conflict and crime spread. "Sin is a disgrace to any people" (Proverbs 14:34). Newspapers are full of reports about sin's harm. Yet news tells only part of the story. Reporters cannot see inside the human spirit. There, evil eats away secretly at our minds, darkening our hearts with guilt and shame.

"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond
cure. Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9).

"The hearts of men, moreover, are full of evil and
there is madness in their hearts while they live"
(Ecclesiastes 9:3).

Jesus is "the Light." He exposes those who claim to be good children of Abraham and of God. He charges,

"You belong to your father, the devil, and you want
to carry out your father's desire" (John 8:44).

"He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because
the devil has been sinning from the beginning"
(I John 3:8).

We learn sin from Satan. By joining his rebellion we become "children of the devil" (I John 3:10). All who sin are in the wrong family - which belong to that ancient serpent (Revelation 20:2).

Jesus is right. We need to be born into a better family!

DEAD IN SIN

Ephesians 2:1-2 describes those who follow their own thoughts and desires. They actually follow "the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient." To disobey God is to enter Satan's kingdom.

* There you are "dead in your transgressions and
sins" (Ephesians 2:1).

* You are one of the "objects of wrath" - literally,
children of anger" (Ephesians 2:3).

* You are "separate from Christ. . . without hope
and without God in the world" (Ephesians 2:12).

As sinners we are in the kingdom that stirs up God's anger. We cannot move ourselves up to the better kingdom. For our spirits are "dead" in sin, and "separated" from divine help. How urgently we need God's Spirit to give life to our dead spirits! Yes, we need a second birth. Thank God for the promise that "the Spirit gives birth to spirit!" (John 3:6).

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Many of us never realize how sinful and dead we are. Satan helps us to cover up with lies.

"When he lies, he speaks his native language, for
he is a liar and the father of lies" (John 8:44).

Nicodemus at first sees no need for a new birth. Other Pharisees are proud to "sit in Moses' seat." They fail to see that they are "hypocrites" fighting God's kingdom (Matthew 23). They think themselves closest to God, yet rush first to kill His Son (John 7; 8).

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Are we also trapped in lies?

* We are "not so bad." Yet how often we fail in
our duties and choices. "Anyone, then, who knows
the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins"
(James 4:17).

* We are "better than others." Yet what happens
when we are alone, where others cannot see? "`Can
anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see
him?' declares the LORD" (Jeremiah 23:24).

* We only do "small sins." Yet how do we react
when exposed or asked to change?

The question is not the `size' of the sin, but its mastery over us. Jesus shows us reality:

"I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave
to sin" (John 8:34).

Any sin gives Satan all the hold he wants. Satan can make anything seem `small' and `justified,' even as he helps it to grow worse.

"The world...hates Me because I testify that what it
does is evil" (John 7:7).

This explains how Bible `believers' come to lead in murdering the Son of God. Jesus warns Nicodemus:

"Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not
come into the light for fear that his deeds will be
exposed" (John 3:20).

THE PAIN OF DARKNESS

Do we hate the Light that shows up our faults and failures? We like to keep our pride. We fear loss of respect, position and control. What will others think or say? Being honest can be painful!

God demands that we go through the pain of being honest. First, God's own truthfulness rejects all lies. Second, God loves us deeply. He knows that darkness holds for us far, far greater pain. For all who join the rebels must receive their sentence for treason. Look at Satan's end:

"The devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the
lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false
prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented
day and night for ever and ever" (Revelation 20:10).

Now look at the sinner's end:

"He, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which
has been poured full strength...He will be tormented
with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy
angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their
torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest
day or night for those who worship the beast..."
(Revelation 14:10-11).

"But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the
murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice
the magic arts, the idolaters and all liars - their
place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
This is the second death" (Revelation 21:8).

All humans face the first death - fleshly death. All in Satan's kingdom then face the "second death" eternal death. Spiritual beings cannot be buried in soil. If their burial is in fire, it must be "the eternal fire." Injury by fire is the most painful thing we know. Thus God often pictures the rebel's punishment as fire. You do not want to hear this sentence from Jesus:

"Depart from me you who are cursed, into the eternal
fire prepared for the devil and his angels"
(Matthew 25:41).

HOPE

Jesus never softens the truth, nor should we. Yet He who warns most about "hell" also offers hope. Notice that "the eternal fire" is meant for rebellious angels, not humans. Jesus tells Nicodemus of God's care for us, and His plan for us:

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one
and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall
not perish but have eternal life. For God did not
send His Son into the world to condemn the world,
but to save the world through Him" (John 3:16-17).

Final judgment is coming (John 5; Matthew 13; 25). But for now the door is open to sinners.

"Now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of
salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Look into heaven and hell. See those born once who die twice in their sins. See those born twice who never die. (Their departure is too wonderful to be called death, John 8:51; 11:25-26.) When you see all this, you realize how much your spirit needs new birth from God's Spirit. "But," you may say, "I've never seen these spiritual things." Dear friend, you can see - by faith! For Jesus shares with you His own direct knowledge. He assures Nicodemus, and us, "I tell you the truth, We speak of what We know, and We testify to what We have seen" (John 3:11). He knows heaven's happiness. He sees all hell's horror. He knows what
is in your spirit.

A GNAT LESSON

Exodus 8:16-19

Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion. —Hebrews 3:8

During one of my daily walks, I inadvertently walked through a small tornado of little insects. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but later on I found all kinds of bites on my ankles and arms. It seems I had walked through a swarm of gnats, whose bites led to uncomfortable itching and sores.

This experience gave me a new perspective on the plague of gnats that God visited upon Egypt when Pharaoh would not free the Israelites. The Hebrew word translated “lice” in Exodus 8:16-18 can also mean “gnats” or “mosquitoes.” Because the insects are compared to the sand of the desert, a swarm of gnats seems the most likely. The pagan priests of Pharaoh who prided themselves in their frequent washings and shavings were now covered with numerous insect bites. God had designed this plague to get Pharaoh to repent and let Israel go, but instead he hardened his heart.

Is God trying to get your attention through some circumstances in your life?

Is He trying to persuade you to get back in step with Him? (Gal. 5:25). We should resist the urge to harden our hearts. But let’s instead submit to God (James 4:6-8) and ask Him what spiritual lessons He wants us to learn. —Dennis Fisher

The sun that hardens clay to brick
Can soften wax to shape and mold;
So too life’s trials will harden some,
While others purify as gold. —Sper

God makes us miserable through conviction to make us joyful through confession.

GOD HAS SPOKEN

"GOD HAS SPOKEN OF JUDGMENT"

"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness" (Romans 1:18).

You may remember that Romans 1:19-20 told us that God reveals Himself through nature. We see in verse 18 that something else is also "being revealed" -- the WRATH or ANGER of God. This anger is against ALL of man's sinful ways. Some, of course, doubt that God really is angry. They do not see or feel His anger right now. Paul goes on in the second chapter of Romans to explain that there will come "the day of God's wrath" when God's anger and judgment will be FULLY revealed. Until then, it is being stored up (Romans 2:5).

"THE DAY OF JUDGMENT"

This warning was given through many of God's prophets and apostles. Jesus spoke often of "the day of judgment" (Matthew 11:22,24; 12:36, etc.). He spoke often of the unending pain and fire of "hell" (Matthew 5:22,29; 25:41,46; Mark 9:43-49, etc.). In fact, every time this "hell" is mentioned in the New Testament (except for James 3:6), it is from the lips of Jesus Himself. He knew that terrible punishment was waiting for sinful people. That is why He gave such strong warning, even to His own followers. He said,

"I tell you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after the killing of the body, has the power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him" (Luke 12:4-5).

Jesus Himself will have a part in judging us (John 5:22,27; 2 Corinthians 5:10).

"God has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising Him from the dead"

(Acts 17:310)

How can we be sure that the Day of Judgment is coming? This verse says that the proof is Christ's resurrection! The resurrection of Christ is well-known because there were many eye-witnesses who saw Him alive after His death. Christ's victory over death proves that death is NOT the end. All will one day be resurrected (John 5:29). Man will meet and answer to God.

WHY GOD IS ANGRY

Looking closely again at Romans chapter one, we find these reasons for God's anger:

"For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him..." (1:21). “They exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles" (1:23). "They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator -- who is forever praised. Amen “(1:25).

We have treated the very things made by God as if they were God! People worshipped and served "created things" rather than the Creator. So that which was meant to help us know and honor God (1:20), is used AGAINST knowing and honoring of God. Men try to "suppress" or cover up the truth about God (1:18). They turn away from God's truth and accept the lie. (1:25).

MAKING A MORE PLEASING GOD

This lie, of course, comes from Satan. Remember that the spiritual struggle is about who should be _worshipped_ (Matthew 4 and John 4). People, following Satan's lie, take their love away from God. They give their worship to His enemy, the devil.

Consider what happened at Mount Sinai. God Himself spoke His Ten Commandments to the whole nation. The second commandment was this:

"You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God..." (Exodus 20:4).

However, the people grew tired of waiting at Mount Sinai. A God who could not be seen, and who took as much time as He wanted, did not please them. So they made a statue in the shape of a calf. They called it the "god" who brought them out of Egypt. Aaron made an altar for offering gifts to it. He then announced, "Tomorrow will be a festival to the LORD (YHWH)" (Exodus 32:5).

It seems that they had the idea of worshipping the true God, YHWH. But they wanted Him in a form that pleased them. So they made a god they could SEE and FEEL. (Such a god would also let them worship and live as they pleased.) They would worship the LORD through this image.

THE WORSHIP OF DEMONS

Look at the result. They showed _disrespect_ for God by breaking His commandments. Though they had seen the awesome power of God on Sinai, they made the eternal

Creator-Spirit seem like a brute beast.

"They exchanged their Glory for an image of a bull, which eats grass" (Psalm 106.20).

Far from worshipping God, they dishonored Him and insulted Him! In His anger, He had 3,000 of the rebels killed and to the rest He made this promise:

"When the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin." (Exodus 32:34).

If their worship failed to honor the LORD, then who actually was honored by it? God gave the answer in the Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32).

"They made Him jealous with their foreign gods and angered Him with their detestable idols. They sacrificed to demons, which are not God....They made Me jealous by what is no god" (Deuteronomy 32:16-17,21).

Here God showed what really happened in the worship of idols. The idol itself was "no god" at all. It was a lie. Standing behind that lie was Satan and his helpers, the evil spirits called "demons." Therefore, sacrifices given to the false gods actually went to the DEMONS behind them.

THE NEW TESTAMENT SPEAKS OF WORSHIP OF DEMONS

In 1 Corinthians 10:19-20 we read: "Do I mean that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God; and I do not want you to be participants with demons."

It is wrong to think that all ways of worship are acceptable to God. Many have - without knowing it -- become worshipers of demons, and partners of demons "participants with demons").

1 Timothy 4:1 reveals that those who leave true Christianity, and follow false rules, are actually following teachings from demons. Peter foretold that "many" would be deceived by false leaders who had once been Christians (2 Peter 2:1-2). Sadly, much of this has already come true. It explains why there are so many differing teachings, and so many divided groups, among those who use the Lord's name. Jesus said that "many" use His name but disobey what He commanded. "On that day" (the judgment day), He will have to say to them,

"I never knew you. Away from Me, you evildoers! (Matthew 7:15-23).

MAN AS HIS OWN GOD

Are we to think that the only idols Satan uses are carved images? Scripture uncovers the fact that he offers many other kinds of "gods" to us. He will even put us and our desires into the place of God, if we let him! It is quite simple. Just get us to think mainly of what we can "see." Man's fleshly eye sees that, among all the animals, he is the highest and wisest. That seems to make MAN the most important.

What can compare with man's great mind? What is to hold man back from fulfilling his own desires? As Paul said of some: "their god is their stomach" (Philippians 3:19). They are "lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God" (2 Timothy 3:4). Who can doubt that the "idols" of many today include pleasures, sex, money, careers, security, success and fame? They seek these things far more seriously than they seek the true God.

"(This person) boasts of the cravings of his heart... In his pride the wicked does not seek God; in all his thoughts, there is no room for God" (Psalm 10:3-4).

These "cravings" (or selfish desires) and "pride" take the place God should have in their hearts. As Colossians 3:5 says, "Greed... is idolatry" Selfish people want more for themselves, and do not care how they hurt others. They think there is no Judge to punish them, so they take advantage of others. They become like the Babylonians of old, "guilty men, whose own strength is their god" (Habakkuk 1:11). To such proud people God says,

"You will be but a man, not a god, in the hands of those who slay you" (Ezekiel 28:9).

GOD MADE IN MAN'S IMAGE

Of course, Satan finds it hard to trick most of us into thinking there is NO God above us. Evidence for God is just too strong. So Satan works on CHANGING truth about God. Satan wants God to be made into the image of likeness of _man_ (instead of man being "in the image of God"). Some feel that God must be as weak as they are. They think God has little power to help them or make their lives better.

Others, having been treated badly, view God as that kind of person. They think that God hates them and seeks their ruin. Others want a God who will never punish anyone. They make God out to be only soft and gentle, with no anger at all. Then there are those who think that God shares their dishonest ways. They do not keep promises, and they feel that God may not keep His word. Although He has promised terrible punishment for sins (Revelation 21:8), they think He may let them off.

Many today escape justice by hiding or by using gifts and bribes. They think they can also hide from God or bargain with Him. To such people God has made these replies:

"For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes" (Deuteronomy 10:17). "God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change His mind" (Numbers 23:19). "You thought that I was altogether like you. But I will rebuke you and accuse you to your face” (Psalm 50:21).

When we make God seem like us, we open the way for false worship. The "God" we claim to worship may become quite different from the God who has revealed Himself. Our "God" becomes a lie, and the honor we give this lie goes to "the father of lies."

SERIOUSLY SEEKING GOD

The prophet Isaiah spoke out against the lies about God. He could do this because God had shown His true glory to Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1-4).

"I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted.... [Seraph angels] were calling to one another, 'Holy, Holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory'" (Isaiah 6:1, 3).

God is "holy" -- so pure that He is far above all that is false or sinful. God's eyes are "too pure to look at evil" (Habakkuk 1:13). Seeing God's power and purity, Isaiah realized that he and his people would be destroyed (Isaiah 6:5). Isaiah himself stayed alive there only because God acted quickly to save him, taking his sins away (Isaiah 6:7). Only those whom God makes holy can live with Him.

"Without holiness no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14b).

All of us fall far short of God's holiness and glory (Romans 3:10, 23). So many tell lies, live lies and follow lies that the Bible now calls Satan "the god of this age" (2 Corinthians 4:4).

"The whole world is under the control of the evil one" (1 John 5:19).

All who love worldly things above God make themselves enemies of God (James 4:4, 1 John 2:15). Thus most people -- whether they realize it or not -- are on Satan's side, and must share the defeat and punishment that God plans for all His enemies.

GOD WARNS US

In the book of Matthew, we read this warning: "Enter by the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it" (Matthew 7:13-14).

How foolish to think that we cannot be among the "many" on the wide road to ruin! How foolish to think that we may enter that small gate by chance or by accident! There must be "every effort," that is, serious seeking for God's way:

"Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and not be able" (Luke 13:24) "Make every effort to...be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14).

This explains why the Bereans eagerly searched the Scriptures every day to learn God's truth (Acts 17:11). We too should just as seriously seek God's way to holiness. For GOD HAS SPOKEN, showing that each of us must answer to the true Judge of all.

"Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). "Our God is a consuming fire" (Hebrews 12:29 – from Deuteronomy 4:24). "The Lord will judge His people. It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:30-31).

God cannot stand lies, for He is completely honest, pure and holy. God's majesty rejects all false worship. False worship and service ends up going to demons. God's firm justice cannot let rebellion go on unpunished. He has spoken clearly of His anger and warned us that there will be final and full judgment against all His enemies. It is time for us to take the coming judgment very seriously.

God bless you!

God provides for His people

Have you wondered how the birds of the air and the animals in the bush survive daily? Have you asked yourself how the beggars get their daily bread? Or have you ever thought of the great sustenance you enjoy everyday of your life?

It is possible that you think all you have is by your power.. to be continued