Not into Tradition - Who said?

2 Thessalonians 3:6

When reading the Bible do you apply it to your life today?  As I read this verse this thought came into my mind, what would I do if my pastor, Ray Still, commanded me to do something as Paul is doing to the Church and to us.  It was not a suggestion, it was an order, a command, and what was its reference, keeping the teaching or the tradition that he had taught them, and to stay away from those who are living a life of self-absorption.  

In my home on 3738 Liberty Drive, we took great pride in the fact that we were different from others because we did not have a bunch of tradition that we had to do, not in our home or in our church.  I believe we equated traditions to being a Pharisee; and we all know that they were self-righteous when it came to rules and formalities; the Rice’s were not that kind of people.  

Looking back on my childhood in the area of traditions, we had many, most were good I think; like we ate our meals together as a family, and dad always ask God to bless our home, family, and the food we were about to eat.  We had a tradition of honoring those who were older than us, showing respect for authority.  We had a tradition of reading the Bible in our home, and worshiping together as a family.  We had a tradition of working for our needs and wants, and never expecting anyone to give you anything.  Others may have thought we were self-righteous, but from a very early age our parents taught us that God loved sinners and at best that’s what we were, but if we invited Christ into our hearts He would open His word to us, and the Spirit would guide us into truth.

Now when it came to the Baptist church, we were proud (good pride not the kind that set a person against God) that we were not like those Methodist.  Do you know that they called baptism sprinkling?   That is what mother did to the yard or clothes that she was going to iron yes, we Baptists knew how to get a person wet all over.  You may not have known that the Methodist danced, but they did in fact, they had square-dances in the church fellowship hall, where as a good Baptist only ate fried chicken in our fellowship halls.  Yes, we Baptist had a few traditions, we did not drink beer or wine in public, and in our home it was viewed as one of the worst of sins.  If you were going to dance with one of those misguided Methodist, you needed to cross the county line, and pray that the deacon kids would not turn you in to the pastor. 

Looking back on being a Baptist, we had some very good traditions, we were taught that God loved sinners, that the Bible was true, and that in it you would find the mystery of living life on planet earth.  We were taught from a child to read and study the Bible, we were taught to honor authority, and that all authority was sent by God.  We were instructed to honor our parents, to assemble together, and the Rice’s had that assemble together down perfect, if anyone was assembling we were there.  The best thing I was taught from a young child is that Jesus Christ the only Son of God loved me so much that He was willing to become like me, to take the form of a human and pay the price for my sins. 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

A Grill and Me

 

The day God spoke to me while cleaning my grill

While cleaning the Barbecue grill these thoughts came into my mind, and because I do not think like this, I believe God was speaking to me about “Sin.”  It went something like this; have you ever given thought to how a barbecue grill and sin have a lot in common?  Wow, where did that thought come from?  No seriously, look at that decayed matter you have left on the grill, it seems as if it is imbedded into those stainless steel bars of your grill.  I’ve been watching and you are spending a considerable amount of time with steel pads and soap and a good amount of effort, and that decayed matter still has a hold in those hard to get areas.

I’ve notice how over the years you have been careful to put aluminum grill covers on the grills to keep the grease from dropping on the grill and yet like sin it was getting below the surface, out of sight, but today you have discovered it, and trying to remove it has been a long and difficult task.  Sin begins with just a small deception in your business with a customer, or in a marriage, it may be the girl at the club, and flirting with her makes the man feel young.  The wife, who feels the need to have a couple of glasses of wine during the day just to take the edge off while she watches “The days of our Life” or some other soap to fill her mind with doubt and disappointment about her place in life.  It a lot like your grill, at first it looks ok, but like the decayed matter on your grill, if not dealt with it gets real ugly.

You see what began with a flirtation will often end in adultery, it never begins there, but at the root is a man who is willing to put his desires before the vow he made before God and witnesses.   At first, he will fantasize, but after that he wants to conquer, and the end game is broken promises, broken lives, and often divorce.  What about the stay at home mom, those glasses of wine increase and before she has any understanding she is an alcoholic.  Like your grill it did not happen over night, it took a while, and sin, no matter what sin, has a way of building decay into the lives of people.  Bob, you need to pay attention to your grill, and you also need to pay attention to you mind, for it is your mind that is the door to your heart.  Embedded sin will dig deep into the heart and mind of a person, and it establishes roots that will leave blemishes and scars.  It has taken hours to clean your grill, but it will take your acknowledgement and confession for my grace to remove your sin.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Why do we Pray?

 

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5

Why do we pray?  When you pray do you believe God is listening or is it just a last ditch effort or playing the long shot?  Are your prayers having any affect on those whom you are praying for?  Jan and I have been active in local assemblies we call the church for almost forty years, and one prayer seems prevalent, that is the prayer for the sick.  And often we prayed that prayer, always desiring that the brother or sister in Christ return to good health, and that is a good thing to do.  Often we are told that the doctor does not give then any chance, if we are not careful it will skew our prayer life, why, because we put more faith in what the doctor has said than in trusting the Creator.  I also believe we often do not want God’s will for that person unless it agrees with our will.  But, do you know what is very unusual in those local assemblies and also in the small groups, we often refer to as Adult Bible Studies, the pray that the apostle Paul is asking the Church of Thessalonica to pray is not voiced.  Pray for those with no understanding of the price paid by Jesus for them, by His death on the cross.

We might refer to this as the lost prayer of the local church, we might also give the lack of this type of prayer as the reason for the decline of the American Church.  “Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men.  For not all have faith.  But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.  And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command.  May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.”  It almost seems strange; we pray diligently for those who are saved are going to heaven that they won’t go too soon, and we seem to give no time to those that are perishing, those who have not the promise of eternal life in heaven with our Lord Jesus Christ much less our enemies.  If Jan and my observations are in error and some how it has only been the assemblies and small groups we been part of over the last forty years that do this, forgive me for implying that it is a major problem in the American Church.

If you are of like mind and agree that we have lost the urgency, the importance of praying for those who are perishing, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead, and many will come to know Christ.  Begin to ask for prayer, do we not believe that the Lord is faithful?  Do we not believe that He will establish us and guard us against the evil one, have we lost confidence in the Lord?  My prayer for all of us is, “May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.”  For this is the heart of God, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”  (John 3:17)

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

It is not cool to be a Follower of Christ

 

2 Thessalonians 2:13-17

Who would have thought that one day in the United States of America being a follower of Jesus Christ would be looked down on by a large number of people!  But it has happened, and it was prophesied, and we did not believe it would happen on our watch.  I read yesterday that some foolish man who claims to be a preacher of the Word of God has given an exact date in May of 2011 for Christ’s return.  There is a very big problem, he is wrong, God has not given that information to anyone, but he has told the church to always be ready.  The sad news is that this kook is not a new phenomenon; from the time of the apostles to this guy, we have had people telling others the exact day that Christ is coming back and so far, they are 100% incorrect and that number will stay consistent.

For us who are followers of Christ, I have some very bad news, it’s going to get worse, the world system hates us because we are light and they are in darkness and the light always exposes what is taking place in the darkness.  Jesus has taught us not to hide our light, but many of us have; we have sold out to this present darkness, hoping that by doing so they would like us, and it has only made us a reproach to God.  It is time to encourage your brothers and sisters in Christ and to give thanks for them.  It is time to stand firm and hold to what you have been taught about letting Christ live His life through your earthsuit.  It’s time to understand that you are greatly loved by the Father and the Son, and that grace will bring comfort to your heart and establish you both in righteous actions and in the word of God.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Written on December 9, 2010

The Enemy Christian seem to underestamate

 

2 Thessalonians 2:3-12

As I was reading these verses, this thought flooded my mind; what chance does a person have in a battle or war that has no understanding of the enemy that is seeking to destroy them?  As I reflected on that thought, it explained so much about the church of 2011, the apostle Paul was instructed by God to tell us about an enemy that is unseen but has been allowed authority on this earth for a season.  Paul did not address this message to the unbeliever, but to the Church, and yet the majority live with no regard or understanding that they are engaged in a battle of kingdoms.  If you read Ephesians 6:10-18, ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to this truth, because without a clear understanding you will live in defeat!  The battle is taking place with rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

It may come as a shock to many Christians, but you have never been lucky, not one thing has ever happen by chance, God has never been surprised at any of your circumstances.  So if many who go by the name of Christian do not understand this truth, what chance does the non-believer have?  I always come back to this truth, God once spoke through a donkey to get the attention of Balaam, and my prayer is that I will be foolish enough to believe God can speak to you from this written word.

A few days ago, a friend told me that he just could not buy that God would only accept in heaven those who put their trust in Christ, referring to what Jesus said, John 14:6, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”  And now the line is drawn in the sand, I did not say that, Jesus did, and I agree that “Faith” believes Jesus, who is God, cannot lie, that He tells the truth.  But my friend said, “what about the American Indian who never heard of Jesus, I’m sorry I could not believe in a God who is that cruel.”  And my thoughts went to, could you believe in a God who would send His only Son to die in your place, to reclaim you from sin?  Could you believe in a God who before He created you or anything, knew that He would ask His only Son the Creator, to die for His creation?  And would you trust a God who was not able to keep His written word from be contaminated?  I must testify, I must confess that I believe that Christ came to save sinners, and I agree with the apostle Paul that I am one of them.

So we come full circle back to 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12, and the man of lawlessness who God is restraining at this time.  But it may be on any day that he will come on the world stage, and it is clear to anyone with eyes, that lawlessness is already at work.  It is imperative to understand that this person will be empowered by Satan with powers and false signs and wonders, and all wicked deception for those who are perishing because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.  Now this may come as a real shock, but it is written; “Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”  It is so important that you understand that God did not send Jesus to condemn the world but to bring salvation, but if you read John 3:16-18, there is a message to those who refuse to believe and put their trust and hope in the finished work of Christ.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

    

Misunderstanding of Christ’s return

 

2 Thessalonians 2:1-4

Do you remember Y2K? “The Year 2000 problem (also known as the Y2K problem, the millennium bug, the Y2K bug, or simply Y2K) was a problem for both digital (computer-related) and non-digital documentation and data storage situations, which resulted from the practice of abbreviating a four-digit year to two digits. Without corrective action, it was suggested that long-working systems would break down when the "...97, 98, 99, 00..." ascending numbering assumption suddenly became invalid. Companies and organizations worldwide checked, fixed, and upgraded their computer systems.” (From Wikipedia)   Many books were written, and I must say that much of the hysteria was from so called Christian writers who were cashing in on the frenzy. They not only implied but many said it was the end of civilization as we knew it and that the utilities and the banking industries would shut down.  They had people buying food and storing water and you name it they were telling us that the end would come because a computer had only two digits.  When the big day came and companies around the world had spend millions of dollars and the clock ticked to January 1, 2000, no major problems, planes did not fall from the skies, banks did not shutdown, stores were running well, no major power outages, and life was normal.  And one last fact, the dollar stores were full of Y2K books, still worth more than their value.

I was teaching a very large class of young couples, most of them were in their twenties and thirties at that time, and my message was simple, do not buy the sales job, it is not going to happen, and I did not fear waking up on January 1, 2000.  Now Y2K had some basis, but it became a feeding frenzy on rumors and just out and out lies, and as always we think we are the only ones this has happen to, but it happened to the church at Thessalonica.

It seems as if Paul’s first letter to this church had been misinterpreted and many believed that Christ’s coming was at hand or had already taken place.  As was the hysteria at Y2K this misunderstanding of Christ’s return resulted in undue excitement and many were holding wrong views about the nearness of the Lord’s coming, this was upsetting many lives.   Paul did what many of us tried to do during Y2K, look at the facts, do not listen to the ones making money off of the fears of the moment.  This was the facts Paul gave them,” Let no one deceive you in any way.  For the day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-call god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.”   What should we take from this, men, all men at best are liars in comparison to God, trust God and do not put your trust in men.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Whose kingdom gets the credit, yours or God’s?

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

The question; how much is my effort and how much of it is God doing through me?  That question gives many Christians who desire to be not just Christian in name only, real problems; especially those who have a personal walk with Jesus Christ and are His followers.  James a servant of God had this to say on that subject: “What good is it my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?  Can that faith save him?  James 2:14   It is important not to miss what James has said, he is not saying faith is not part of Salvation, he is merely saying that faith that has no action with it is of little or no value.  But James has more to say on the subject in verses18-20, “But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.”  Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.  You believe that God is one; you do well.  Even the demons believe and shudder!  Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless.”  So even to someone as simple as me, it is clear that faith does not just talk, but faith always produces action of some kind.

My dear friend John opened a new car dealership in another state and had partners who knew the car business and ran it for him.  As happens in business, there were parties whose actions caused my friend to be exposed criminally as well as to civil lawsuits, unless he acted quickly and made right the wrong that had been done.  It was not a quick process and it looked as if it would require all his personal worth to make right this wrong.  My friend is a follower of Christ, a man of the highest integrity and a leader in his community and his church, and over the many months John came to some new insights about God.  In one of our many talks over this period of time he and his wife were going through this nightmare; God opened John’s eyes to a new truth.  The truth is   that God wants to do it all for us, but it requires us running to him, and crying Father, I can’t, and agreeing with God that, He never said I could, that He can and He promised He would.  You see my friend who was a leader in the local church, a leader in his home, and in the community, had wrongly believed that he should go to God with the big things like the cure for cancer or world peace, and that God expected him to handle the small things; anything below solving cancer and world peace.  He learned at that point in time to look totally to God, (because it is such a warfare with our flesh, the moment you believe you have learned to only look to God, a new battle of wills takes place.)  It may be more correct to state at that time he submitted and looked to God for all his needs. 

This truth is very clear in 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12, “To this end we always pray for you, that our God may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”  Being a bottom line person, it is whose kingdom gets the credit, yours or God’s?

 \

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The apostle Paul and Mother had the same problem

 

2 Thessalonians 1:5-12

The medicine is horrible said the child to his mother, and her reply was, yes dear, it has a terrible taste, but in time it will bring healing to your body.  Growing up poor we did not go to a doctor for anything, but mother had two treatments and they solved almost anything that bothered any of her three children; first was cod-liver oil and it was grotesque.  When mother would say to one of us, your color does not look good, come into the kitchen and get some cod-liver oil, a miracle took place we instantly were healed.  But most of the time all the pleading did not work, so we followed instructions, we held our nose and opened our mouths and let that horrible stuff slid down our throat.  The other treatment was an enema; it cured almost everything, that’s what mother thought.  And today they call water boarding cruel and unacceptable punishment!  I could look at a hot water bottle and fear would fill my body, I will not go into great detail, but let me say this; when your mother put hot soapy water in the water bottle and it made your guts swell to the size of a basketball, and you knew that you were going to explode, you considered many options before letting that happen.

And you ask, what does that have to do with 2 Thessalonians 1:5-12, and I’m not sure?  But this thought came into my mind while reading these verses, and I bet Paul was having as hard a time convincing the new believers that persecution and afflictions were working in their favor, in the same way as mother’s story about how cod-liver-oil and an enema were going to make us well.  Mother’s promise to us was in time this persecution she called medicine would make us well.  Paul is telling them that it is clear that God is to bring judgment on those who are bringing affliction in the early church.  But the apostle goes much farther with his words of encouragement, look at what he said.  “when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.  They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.” (2 Thessalonians 1:7b-10)

If you read those verses, it might be wise to read them again and again, because Jesus is coming back and this time He is not coming as a baby to be laid in a manger, but as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and love will be set aside for justice.  Eternal destruction, and what is that, this is what is referred to as being out of the presence of the Lord and His glory.  But we who are in Christ will be well, and will be glorifying our Lord and in awe of being in His presence.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

You do not make it to sixty without some real pain

 

2Thessalonians 1:4

I do not know of anybody my age who has not suffered loss of some kind, it may have been a job, a home, your favorite pet, or something of great value, like a child or grandchild, a mother or dad, brother or sister, husband or wife, you do not make it to sixty without some real pain.  And most of us can testify that when those painful times came it was often a friend that had little to say but was just there, crying with us or doing things that needed to be done.  As we look back on that moment, we understand the need to be there for a friend, neighbor, or family member.

In some ways that is what the apostle Paul is doing in this letter to the Thessalonians.  His goal is to encourage and to bring some comfort to this church in persecution, he is telling them that he has been boasting about their faith and how steadfast in that faith they are, even in the afflictions and persecutions they are enduring.  It is important for the American Church to understand that we live in a culture that more and more resembles the culture of Thessalonica.  Often when we think of persecutions our minds go to China or some Muslim country, but our culture is not the culture of the 1950’s in fact it is very much like what was happening in Thessalonica.

The following was taken from a paper titled, “The Birth and Growth of a Church” by J. Hampton Keathley, III, and is a good similarity to our nation. “It is really not so surprising that, due to the glorious nature of the message of the gospel, people came to Christ and churches were founded across the country. The amazing thing, considering the pagan atmosphere in which the new converts were immersed, is that they grew, reached out, and endured. With the exception of the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles who attended the synagogue, the greater body of converts came to Christ from outright paganism. They were surrounded with a culture of heathenism and gross immorality. This led to enormous temptation to return to their old ways and significant persecution if they refused to recant their faith in Christ.

The Christian missionaries were carrying the war into the enemies’ country. After every new conquest, annoying guerrilla warfare was set up behind them. Heathenism and immorality, in a thousand forms, were always pressing in upon the territory that had been won. The early converts were often made of very feeble clay. They had only begun to understand the principles of the Christian life. When Paul had left them, when they were thrown upon their own resources, would they not simply drift back to their old ways?”

It should not come as any surprise that we dropped the ball somewhere, we lost our own families to the pagan customs of our culture, and the church has lost it influence because the church often looks like the culture.  You and I need to be diligent in the encouragement of new believers who have been saved out of our culture of heathenism and gross immorality.  And there in may lay the problem; you may not consider our culture in the way listed above. Were we not called to be light, were we not called to encourage the weak and to stand for truth.  If the only time we do that is in a building we call the church, we are history, it’s over, go on vacation and have fun, because you are of little value to the Kingdom of God.  We must return to taking the message of Christ to our workplace, and that may cost you; your friends, and your standing in the neighborhood, but you are the Church, not some building you go to on Sunday.  How is your church doing on Monday through Saturday, is it showing any light at work, in your home, in the market place, with your neighbors?  Does it just want to look good and be religious, if so your life has no power and no light, and no hope?  I want to be like Paul was to my circle of influence.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Thankgiving been around a Long Time

 

2 Thessalonians 1:3

What is your most special day of the year?  Mine, without any reservation, is Thanksgiving, it’s better than my birthday, and a close second is New Years, a day to look back on the past and set a new course for each day that the Lord gives you on this earth.  Both of those days have this in common it is a day to reflect on the many blessings that are yours and to be thankful.  Thanksgiving is not a day centered around opening gifts, but a day to thank the Giver, to acknowledge that your Father in heaven has blessed you abundantly. 

As we look at 2 Thessalonians 1:3, it is all about thanksgiving, and I thought it was an American discovery, but it has been going on since God put Adam and Eve in the garden.  “We ought always to give thanks to God for you brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of everyone of you for one another is increasing.”  I am such a slow learner, and I hope you are not like me in that my flesh often wins the battle with the Spirit that lives in me.  Usually I give thanks for good health, for my family, and friends, and for the many material blessings, but it is rare that I give thanks to our Father for the spiritual growth of a member of my family or a friend.  But a growing faith is of greater importance than any other thing, for a faith that is growing is what over- comes the world.  How shallow of me, have I not read, “Faith is the Victory that overcomes the world?” (1 John 5:4)

But the other thing that Paul is referring to is the love for one another that is increasing.  For me to have increasing love for someone requires first and foremost that God does a work in my heart, and second, that I spend time with the person, so that I begin to be exposed to their heart.  That is why we are encouraged to assemble together, but if the church is large in size, hundreds in worship and that is all you do, it will be almost impossible to love people you have no fellowship with.  Yes, being part of a fellowship, a body, requires each of us to engage in a small group, a Bible study group, so that you can see that the person’s faith is growing and give thanks to our great God for His faithfulness.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

PROPER SPEECH IN CHRISTIAN CIRCLES

 

1 Thessalonians 5:25

“Brothers, pray for us.”  Four words that are common to most of us, it is almost like proper speech in Christian circles, it’s like saying have a good day.  When someone asks you to pray for them, what is in that kind of request?  Do you understand the magnitude of such a request?  Someone is asking you to act as a priest on his or her part, to intercede on his or her behalf before the throne of God. 

Often, we do not understand that the requestor is acknowledging a need far beyond any ability he or she has to complete, accomplish, or overcome the challenge or situation that is before them.  They are asking you to do battle on their behalf, to be a spokesperson before the throne of God for them.  It is not an easy job, and it is not something we should agree to unless we are going to take on the responsibility.

As we examine the request of Paul, it is important to look at his second letter to the church of Thessalonians, chapter 3:1-3, because Paul is making clear what he is requesting.  “Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happen among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men.  For not all have faith.  But the Lord is faithful.  He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.”  Paul understood that God desires his children to become one, to stand as one before men, and before God in unity, desiring the things of God.  When they engaged in prayer on Paul’s behalf they enter into a spiritual battle, and they also became partakers with him in his mission. 

When anyone who is a believer asks prayer of you it will be of value to both you and them to understand that our Lord is always praying for us, He has taken the role of intercessor, you will find that truth in Hebrews 7:25.  It is also helpful to ask if they will share what it is that they need prayer for, as Paul told this church not only how he was praying for them but also how they could pray for him.  Prayer is more than a privilege it is a command.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Can God be trusted?

 

1 Thessalonians 5:24

The Scripture listed above is only eleven words, but if we got our minds and hearts around those words, would we not be more than conquerors?  “He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.”  You may be asking what is He faithful to: First and foremost to His Character, to His Attributes, He is Infinite, He is Self-Existent, He is Self-Sufficient, He is Eternal.  But that is only the short list; He is Sovereign, He is Loving, He is Holy, and we have not touched the surface; He is All- powerful, Ever-present, All knowing, merciful, unchanging, truthful, righteous, just, and yes He is Faithful.  We must never forget He is our Creator, our Judge, and our Savior, and that it was He who called us; in fact it was He that gave us the faith to respond to His call.

One of my many shortcomings is little or no tolerance for a person who does not keep their word.  It happens often in business, and I’ve been guilty a few times in missing an appointment because I forgot to put it in my day-planner.  When that happened it was totally unacceptable and I would do almost anything to make right the wrong I had caused to my customer.   One of my ways of evaluating men that I was mentoring was to see if they kept the appointment we set, I must tell you that most did, but some didn’t and it became clear that it was a blind spot, and made me wonder if they were really faithful men.

God is not surprised by anything because He is all knowing, He is not surprised by my lack of faithfulness, but when I am unfaithful he is still faithful, look at what the apostle Paul tells Timothy; “if we are faithless, he remains faithful – for he cannot deny himself.” (2 Timothy 2:13)  We are called to be a faithful people to our Lord, and 2 Thessalonians 3:3 is a great reminder, “But the Lord is faithful.  He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.”  Once you and I grasp this, we become more than conquerors.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Sanctify and guess What?

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

I grew-up being a Baptist, it was not my fault, if you need to blame someone you might blame my parents, but then they were also brought up as Baptist so do not get down on mom and dad.  As Baptists, we use words that may sound strange to others, like born-again, we were happy with President Carter who made the term a household word, then he became the worst President in history till of late.  But back to words we Baptists use that you may not understand, one such word is sanctify and guess what, most of us have little understanding of it's meaning.

Verse 23 states; “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  What is it that God is wanting to do in our lives completely: sanctify us, is that a word that Baptists use, the answer is yes, but much more important it is a word that God uses to explain to us His heart, for those of us who are His.  To sanctify: to make something or someone holy, and it is so important to understand that it is God’s job to make us holy.  That may come as a shock to Baptists who have perfectionist flesh, and if that is your infirmity, you may sign-up for all the programs the church offers, you may feed the hungry, be a missionary to darkest Africa, and be part of the Tuesday night church visitation, and if your actions are done with the right heart attitude, that is a good thing, but that will not bring about sanctification, God is the only one who sanctifies. 

We who were once an enemy of God, are now being set apart for special use or purpose, but once again it is not our purpose, no matter how noble our desires, it is God doing the act.  If for any reason this word bothers you, read 1 Corinthians 1:26-30, and you will come to agree who you were when you came into Christ.  Verse 30, states; “He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption.”   

The apostle Peter gives this information on what we are in Christ.  And please understand it has not one thing to do with how you feel, you by faith believe that Jesus tells the truth, and you agree that God is sanctifying you completely.  “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.  Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.  Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.”  (1 Peter 2:9-11) 

Do we participate? I personally believe that we do, I believe 2 Timothy 2:21 gives light to that fact.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Are you a practicing atheists?

 

1 Peter 5:6-8

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.  Be sober-minded; be watchful.  Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.”

Now that is a great deal to ponder before my second cup of coffee.  In looking back to verse five, I am told to humble myself before my elders, but verse six is telling me to take that into my relationship with God.  Spending my life in the world of sales, we often asked this question: “What is in it for me?”  You may not be in sales but God knows that question is inherent to man, so God gave us the answer before we even ask, “that at the proper time he may exalt you.”  When exalted by God, it may be in the realm of the physical, as an athlete, or He may stimulate you mentally or spiritually, or He may raise you up in rank or position.  Many who have been on the sidelines or so to say in the stands watching from afar, may give you praise, but the person who has humbled their self before God will have an attitude of thanksgiving and in their heart they will say, “he cares for me.” 

Could it be that many believe the lie that God helps those who help themselves?  They may know that is not in the Bible, but it sounds so good; but God does not share your opinion, in fact he calls that independent living, trying to get your needs met outside of the will of God.  People that are living life independently from God will never humble themselves, never will they cast their anxieties on Him, and they will be open to being devoured by the enemy of their soul.  This type of flesh lives life in this manner, when life gets tough, the tough get going, and they do, and it causes pain for many.

As I set in the July 4, 2011 service being observed on July 3, the words of JK Minton, a retired officer in the Navy, preached on this topic; “Can God bless America,” and he explained that God can, but will he?  He went on to share that our Nation is broke and broken and the trouble does not lie in Washington D.C., the problem is that the Christian people have taken the role of being practicing atheists.  Now that got my full attention, JK did not call us atheistic, but said we live our lives in the same way as an atheist, we go where and when we want to, we do what we want to, we ignore what Jesus has commanded, yes, we often act no different than the atheist who says there is no God and lives his life free from any restraint, he lives an independent life, doing what he wants when he wants with no thought of God.

Dr. Minton’s message was taken from 2 Chronicles 7:14, and it begins, “If my people, who are called by my name” and Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”   It seems as if God’s Holy Spirit has wiggled JK Minton’s lips to speak a hard truth to those of us who claim to be followers of Christ, many are closer to being practicing atheists than followers of Christ.  Note: do you believe “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour?”  If you agree then what are you doing to guard your heart and mind, so you will not be devoured?  Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”  

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The Swamp will put out your fire

 

1 Thessalonians 5:19-21

Moving to the Texas hill country has been such a blessing, and what came with the blessing were many lessons.  Our first blessing was finding the lot we now live on and our piece of property was so full of cedar trees that it was impossible to know what we had bought.  The lessons started as Jan and I began to remove those evil cedars, first we had to learn how to walk and pull brush on a hill.  Sounds easy, but not for two people who had lived on flat land.  Then we were required to make sure that by sundown our fires were out, and the blessing was that every cedar we burnt was one less of those water, stealing thieves gone from the acre and a half.  Jan, who I called Juanita and I was known as Roberto, learned many lessons while clearing lot 122 in the Vistas.  A big one is that a large burn pile does not go out quickly in fact we learned that you may cover it with dirt and a week later it will still have hot embers.  It is difficult to put out a large burn pile when you have no water source. 

But what if we had built in the swamp area of East Texas, and the trees we were burning were pines and you were building your fire on wet ground, and it rained every time you got your fire going, then it might be much easier to put out the fire, in fact it might be hard to keep it going.  As spiritual people that may be a better analogy of what is being said in verse 19 about quenching the Spirit of God living in us.  The world system is much like the swamps, it is designed to put out our fire, and then add your version of flesh to the mix, flesh that has learned to get its requirements met outside of dependence on the Spirit of God, and you end up with wet wood, or better said quenching the Spirit of God in your life.

Yes, the Christian life is life in a swamp that’s trying to keep you from being a torch in your family, office, and your neighborhood.  The question often comes; but how, how can anyone engage the swamp and the self-serving flesh that wants to be first, or wants to look good, or perform outside of dependence on the Holy Spirit of God?  Part of the answer is found in studying the Scriptures and asking the Spirit of God to control your mind.  In verses 20 thru 22, it states, “Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good.  Abstain from every form of evil.”  It has been helpful in my spiritual growth to come to some clear understanding about this book we call the Bible.  This is what I’ve come to understand, God does not lie and His word is true.  In 2 Peter 1:19-21, gives this account of God’s word; “And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation.  For no prophecy ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Doing the will of God

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

I bet you as a believer in Christ want to do the will of God; in fact I will go even so far as to say that most Christians believe they understand the will of God.  It is simple, love your neighbor as yourself, and love God, is that your understanding of doing the will of God?  If so, you are in good company, and loving your neighbor and loving God are surely part of the will of God, but there is more, much more, and verse 16-18 shows us some of the more.  “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

The Holy Spirit using Paul’s earthsuit has spoken and in 22 words has given us a clear understanding of what the will of God is for us, plus a few others we have not read.  And now that you have seen it, now that you understand the will of God for you, it’s just a matter of implementation, all we need is to establish a plan, maybe form a group Bible study, or put together a forty day program at the church, and then surely we will be able to execute this command of our Lord. 

We are so good at putting together programs and Bible studies that are designed to change the direction of our lives, to make us seek the things above, and to take our eyes off self, but I know of none of these that can guarantee results.  There is a simple reason for this, the Christian life was only lived by one person in all of History only one person did the will of God absolutely.   And is that not the real issue!  I’ve watched and even tried to live this Christian life and I can testify to being an absolute failure even in the area of loving my neighbor and loving God, and now I see this command: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  Who’s kidding whom?  It is not going to happen, I am not going to sign-up for that forty-day program at church.  Now before you band me from the church, lets get real, you lose your little pet and you do not comply with this Scripture, much less when you lose your child to a disease, or some accident.   In the flesh I cannot rejoice always and I sure do not want to give thanks in all circumstances, and God knew that I was not made to do such things in my ability.  The only one who has lived the Christian life is still the only one who can live the Christian life, and His name is Jesus Christ.

When you and I entered into Christ something died and something invaded our lives and gave us a new identity, we became a new creation.  Colossians 3:3-4, states the following; “For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”  Once we understand that Christ is our life, we can confess this truth taught by a wise man, “I can’t, you never said I could, you can and you promised you would.”  Yes, Jesus in you can do it all for you.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Jesus was a Radical

1 Thessalonians 5:15

I was never taught as a child that Jesus was a radical, in fact I was never taught this as a teenager or even in my late twenties when I entered into a personal relationship with Him.  But is it not amazing that one could miss that truth, His life on planet earth was extreme, and in fact you would not be going out on a limb, to refer to Jesus as an extremist.  Could it not be said about Jesus that He was a person with radical views on political, economic, and social issues?

Let us just deal with what the Holy Spirit is saying to the Church through Paul, and it may be good to remember that Jesus told us the Holy Spirit only speaks what he hears from God the Father and the Son, John 16:13.  Tell me if you do not think that 1 Thessalonians 5:15 is a radical view in the world we live in?  “See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.”  Folks, that is a radical teaching, but it’s not a golden rule, it is a command; but to whom is it being addressed?  Before going there, look at and make sure you understand the Holy Spirit covers the waters, so to say, no one was excluded, there is no one left out of the mix.

I have not found this type of teaching in any other religion, and it is not directed at the world at large, no, it is a command to the Church.  And yet it is often ignored in the Church, but that is also why the Church is void of influence to the world that has watched its actions and they are not in keeping with the teaching of Jesus Christ.  Let’s take self-examination and see if we are in step with the teaching and commands of our Lord.  Matthew 5:44, “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” A few of us may pray at times for our enemies, but folks it is impossible to love an enemy in your own ability, it requires Jesus to do it for you.  I wish he had stopped with just that command, but look at what we the Church, His Church, are to do: “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.  Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.”  (Luke 6:35-36)

If you and I are going to be followers of Christ, we must become like our Master, and that means being seen by the world that is watching as an extremist.  It will not happen easily, it will cost you greatly, and you may lose all that is dear to you at this time.  But God will call you sons of the Most High, and your life will have eternal benefit to those who are hoping to see Jesus, for you will be a light, a very bright light in the present darkness.  As I read this to Jan, we agreed that we are far from obedience to this teaching, and we must ask the Holy Spirit to change our minds and our hearts.  For what is impossible with man is always possible with God.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice