“My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother” (Proverbs 1:8). The culture will try to dictate what you are to believe and how to behave. The culture changes but the culture should not change us. We are to go into the culture and choose to confront the culture with the gospel. It is the job of the father and mother to teach their children the right way, which is God’s way. The father and mother choose to be the professors in the home, using the Word of God as their main text book, and with total dependence upon the Holy Spirit. When parents live with an agenda that says, “Me and no other” will rule and reign in my child’s life, they are setting themselves up for a fall, and their children. We are to live in the fear of God and not by our own set of fears. When we live with God’s total control over any thing that takes place in our children’s lives, then we can know God’s power. The culture entices but God’s leadership through the parents can be much stronger when children are taught with truth and love.

The Peace Offering

“It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow: and if ought remain until the third day, it shall be burnt in the fire” (Leviticus 19:6).

God desires and commands a freshness about our lives. There is to be an aroma of holiness that is fitting of Christ.  A freshness and newness of life will result when we desire Christ above all.  

It is an odious thing to be stale and contaminated by sin. Because we have peace with God we ought to strive to rest in the peace of God that speaks volumes of a life endued  with power from on High.

Anything that is a stench in our lives ought to be confessed and burned by the consuming fire of God. An awareness and attitude of holiness should be the prevailing function of the Spirit of God allowed to dwell habitually in our temples.

The power of the third day is that we can confess our need and our sins before a holy God and He hears that cry. God has promised peace not only by our justification through the cross of Christ,  but also our “peacefulness” by His life freely dwelling within us.

“And do you abide outside the camp seven days; whosoever has killed any person, and whosoever has touched any slain, purify both yourselves and your captives on the third day, and on the seventh day” (Numbers 31:19). We have an enemy that is against us in every way. The people of Israel knew that and they were forced to right their wrongs. They had been enticed by a nation which led to a plague and death. God said stay outside the camp and purify yourselves and those who are your prisoners. Let them know there is a difference between clean and unclean. God is serious about His people staying clean and maintaining a holy relationship with Himself. No compromise is expected. We can win the battle and lose the victory if we are not careful.  We are to be separated from all that offends our holy and righteous God we serve. Sin is a horrible pit to fall into. We have many battles as Christians. Not a day goes by that we do not face temptations, trials, and battles. We are to maintain a constant relationship with the Lord so that we will see His power to overcome. The battles prepare us for the last battle and the last enemy which is death. Live in the fullness of Christ daily and may we see the power of a cleansed and consecrated life in the sight of our God.

“Stand fast, therefore, in the Liberty with which Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1).

The cross has eliminated sin in the world. We don’t see it or feel as yet but we do know it is coming. God is holy and He can not countenance sin and know this: Sin has been subdued.

Sinlessness will happen for the child of God when he leaves the earth set for heaven. It may be through death or rapture but the albatross of sin is gone as soon as we head for glory to be with the redeemed of all ages.

Sinlessness will happen for the earth and for the heavens when God makes a new heaven and a new earth. The Book of Revelation assures us that there will be no more sea, death, tears, sorrow, crying, nor pain. When every vestige of sin is removed God will remove the very effects of sin.

Times of refreshing are coming. The Kingdom of God rests in the bosom of the child of God. One glorious day we will be totally free from sin. Therefore my fellow believer, stand! Stand in the liberty which Christ has made us free. Do not be confused or entrapped with any sin for God has and will free us from the terrible sorrow of sin! In the mean time live by faith through love to the Father.

“How is the gold become dim! How is the most fine gold changed! The stones of the sanctuary are poured out of every street” (Lamentations 4:1). Gold is full of luster, very malleable, and has great value. Gold has a center of gravity and it is not easily rusted. God says of His city and her people they were like gold at one time. But now Jeremiah laments the city of Jerusalem, for she has become tarnished and dulled. Her children, the seed of God’s people, no longer shine for Jehovah God. There is change all around us. What was once bright now has become dull. Those that once went after the gold of God’s Word now are seeking the fool’s gold of the world. What once was the wisdom of the ages now has become a book that is hardly touched. Where are the fathers that have not changed?  Where are the children that shine as gold? Dads, moms, and grandparents, seem to be out of touch with God. Oh there is a touch but that is about it. America used to shine but now she is as brass. What once was gold now has been stolen. So to put on a good act America is borrowed brass that is shined up with fancy patriotic songs that seem to shine. But words can never do the work that only God can. Jeremiah is not asking a question; he is stating a fact. And because of his verbal analysis of the state of the nation, he is thrown into jail and into a deep pit left to rot. You know a nation is no longer gold when it rejects its prophets and its preachers. When the people want to get rid of that which is pure you can know that judgment is on the way. What once was gold is now but earthen vessels of clay. Dull, lifeless, cracked, and without real value. The gold has been stripped away. The power and presence of God has left that which was once alive and vibrant and expectant. Check the facts:  Are you tenderhearted toward God and others? Does the Word of God change you as you read it? Are you growing into the likeness of Jesus? Are your children living for God? Are you as regular in church attendance as beforehand? Does prayer rise in your heart as never before? Are you ready before God to easily repent of sin at every turn? How hard is it for others to get you off the gold path? And how easy is it for God to get you back on it? Brass will shine, but it is not like gold. We will either turn back to the gold standard or nothing. We have been robbed of the gold. A cheaper brand of Christianity is with us today. Rather than pay the price we have settled down to being just clay pitchers pottered by our own hands.

A New Start

“For which cause we faint not, but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16).

Paul went through much of living in a culture that was antagonistic toward Christ. So many problems came and went against him, trouble on every side of him, problems that pressed hard against him, and yet he learned the secret of contentment.

Look at yourself in the mirror. Tell me what you see? I see in the mirror a man who is aging and breaking down externally. But, again,  take a look in the mirror of the Word. What do you see? Do you see the eternal springing up within you, the everlasting joy that comes from looking away from the obvious to the real?

Paul did not faint because he kept his eyes on the eternal and the internal. His daily focus was disciplined upon Christ and His Word. He learned that the outward things were temporal and could be discouraging. The things not seen were eternal and were an eternal weight of glory. What is discouragement? It is a temporary loss of perspective.

Focus on that which is unseen, the truths you know in your heart, for it is that truth that is a reality. We need to focus on the inner man. Life is passing us by. We have the opportunity to focus on the eternal and internal daily for the next 364 days of the year.